As if it wasn’t enough that key city officials have not been willing to agree to support $225 million in public financing for a new stadium at Poplar Point (they’ve been holding at $150 million for the last month), City Paper’s Mike DeBonis reports that more than a dozen people were laid off from United owner Victor MacFarlane’s company last week — including Linda Mercado Greene, a former top aide to Marion Barry who helped secure the Ward 8 Council member’s pro-Poplar Point stance. Sounds like MacFarlane has rid himself of anyone who could still help shepherd a deal between the District and D.C. United.