Photo by Aziz Y.Good morning, Washington! It’s a very big day for D.C. voting rights activists, as S.160 faces the dreaded Senate cloture vote at 11 a.m. Yesterday, only Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) chose to speak about the bill in any way, but any senator may speak on the motion to proceed this morning between 10 and 11. Then we’ll have the vote for cloture which, assuming the current vote counts are accurate, will then push the bill forward and debate on the bill itself will begin. “Our present count indicates that we have the 60 votes necessary to invoke cloture and begin the debate on S. 160,” D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a statement. And here’s the WaPo editorial in this morning’s paper: “Two years ago, similar legislation fell three votes short of the 60 needed to proceed to debate and consideration. Advocates for D.C. voting rights, buoyed by Democratic congressional gains in November as well as the support of President Obama, are cautiously optimistic.” And finally, an ABC News/Washington Post poll shows 58 percent of Americans support the bill.
Contradictory Reports on Harvard Hall Fire Alarms: WJLA follows up on reports that fire alarms did not go off during the Harvard Hall apartment building fire in Adams Morgan, citing the property manager as saying the building’s smoke detectors are not connected to the building’s fire alarm system. In the Post’s story on the fire this morning, which blames the apartment fire on a candle, they found at least one resident who did hear the alarm: “The alarm sounded, one resident said, and ‘we all went out’ in whatever garments could be found — coats, nightgowns and ‘everything.’ ‘You got to do what you have to do,’ the woman said.”
More on Fenty Trip to Dubai: WTOP reports that Fenty did attend the controversial Dubai Tennis Championships, which has drawn controversy due to an Israeli player, Shahar Peer, having been denied a visa to enter the country. The Post’s follow up story has this Fenty quote on why he chose Dubai for his vacation: “I always wanted to go. I did set up some meetings. They were very general. . . . It was a fantastic city, very cosmopolitan, like D.C. I even met a few people there who were from Washington.”
Briefly Noted: Bill would reimburse $59 Million for local Inauguration security … Democrat inserted provision endangers DC Opportunity Scholarship program … Police looking hard at missing woman’s ex-boyfriend … Man stabbed inside Silver Spring restaurant … Alexandria eyes funding study of new Metro stop.
