And other take-aways from the new assignments, which will be finalized in January.

A proposal for D.C. bars to stay open for an extra hour on weekdays and weekends was voted down by a D.C. Council committee this afternoon, though extended hours for liquor stores were approved.

A member of Congress is holding a hearing to determine why the Occupy D.C. encampment at McPherson Square has been allowed to stay as long as it has.

Legislation that seeks to strengthen the District’s ethics laws moved forward today, though its progress might be slowed by members of the D.C. Council who want more time to discuss, digest and debate it.

Due to allegations that he diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars in city funds to his Team Thomas organization, Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. has stepped down as chairman of the D.C. Council’s influential committee on economic development. Thomas stepped down in a letter sent to Council Chair Kwame Brown; Brown announced the around 6:30 p.m. this evening via email.

OK, we had some technical issues loading the web cast there, so apologies, we ended up missing the first 30 minutes of the hearing. (Tip to Mac users: you have to download Real Player for Mac before you can stream the hearing). Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, hearing on: H.R. 157, the “District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act if 2009” 10:30 a.m.: Rep. Jason Chaffetz just wrapped up his…

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Tex.) Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Ut.) We’ve learned that the list of witnesses at this morning’s hearing on legislation to grant the District a voting seat in the House just got much more interesting. On top of a predictable panel of supporters including Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), former Virginia congressman Tom Davis and Leadership Conference on Civil Rights President Wade Henderson, two of our favorite foes will argue against it — Rep….