Name Games in the Wilson Building: Former Mayor Marion Barry will remain Mayor Barry to Mayor Williams but Linda Cropp isn’t playing. Confused?

The Post reports that Ward 8’s new councilman, former Mayor Marion Barry wants to retain his old title for the sake of protocol. Officially, Barry wants to be known as “Mayor-Councilman Barry,” which is naturally shortened to “Mayor” as under traditions of protocol, Barry’s highest title would be the defacto title. While Mayor Williams says that he’ll call Mr. Barry “Mayor,” District Council Chairman Linda Cropp (Cropp prefers “Chairman” instead of “Chairwoman” or just plain old “Chair” …) will refer to the former mayor as plain old “Councilman.”

Hmmm, we wonder if that is something of subtle significance.

Slots Revival: Get ready, here we go again. Controversial gambling interests from the Virgin Islands have been back in the District circulating petitions in an attempt to get a slots ballot proposal before D.C. voters in 2006. The Post sums up the petition scandal from last year:

… [T]he D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics ruled that slots backers failed to collect enough valid signatures to qualify for the 2004 ballot in a campaign marred by fraud and forgery.

The next step? D.C.’s election officials will have to see whether old signatures (we assume the valid ones) can be transferred and considered for a 2006 vote. This should be an interesting journey through the District bureaucracy and elections process …

Labor Questions RFK Contract Move: The W.Times reports that D.C.-based construction contractors who had been interested in the prospect of renovating RFK Stadium for use by the Nationals baseball team met with the D.C.’s sports authority voicing their strong disapproval over the fact that a New York-based contractor had gotten the job.

Briefly Noted: The District spends $11,269 per pupil per year, more than any other state … Walter Reed says they’re overwhelmed, stop sending donations … Redskin plays on “Wheel of Fortune” Friday night …