Photo by csuspect
>> If you’re wondering where Mayor Vince Gray will be this weekend, it’s far, far away. The AP reports that he’s off to China on a mission to attract investors to the city’s red-hot real estate market. (D.C. has established a business office in Shanghai, too.) As we wrote in April, the trip is being paid for in part by the Chinese and in part by D.C.
>> There’s not much the D.C. Council can to about the weather, but it can try to make it easier to deal with when it hits. The Post reports that two councilmembers will introduce legislation that would prohibit Pepco from shutting off a resident’s electricity when the heat index rises above 95 degrees. Similar legislation has passed every summer since 2007.
>> Once again, D.C. is spending more per public school student than anywhere else in the country. The Examiner reports that D.C. spends $18,667 per public school student per year, more than New York, Wyoming, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Among the largest school districts in the country, meanwhile, Montgomery County came in second at over $15,000, while Prince George’s County came in fifth and Fairfax County ninth. When it comes to D.C., of course, the usual caveats apply—it’s a fully urban school district that offers many services that its suburban counterparts don’t. Still, education policy experts believe the city spends too much for what it gets out.
Briefly Noted: University of Virginia board to consider reinstating ousted president … Albrecht Muth sent back to psychiatric for more evaluations … Region sees increase in jobs even as federal government shrinks … Maryland not collecting enough of the debt that it’s owed.
This Day in DCist: On this day in 2011, some Manhattan expats pining to go home said some pretty stupid things and two journalists were arrested at a D.C. Taxicab Commission meeting. In 2010, there were more delays for the Armenian Genocide Museum.
Martin Austermuhle