We’re three weeks from the September 12 District primaries, the contest that will decide who will square off against who in November’s general election (even though Democrats invariably win the majority of contested seats, the Republican and Statehood Green parties also field candidates). And given the sheer number of candidates running in some races — the Ward 5 seat is being contested by 13 people; Ward 3 by 10 — getting all the information necessary…

It was around this time last year that we collectively mourned the fact that the District just doesn’t have very many good bagel shops. Spare the few options most of us could name off the tops of our heads, we realized that within the confines of the city, there seemed to be a relative paucity of bagel providers. And now, a year later, we add one more bagelry to the list, and it’s in an…

Last week we reported that D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams takes in $152,000 in compensation, a salary some viewed as excessive and others as not excessive enough. But if this is how much we currently judge the city’s chief executive to be worth, what would we pay, let’s say, the chief librarian? A lot more, as news has it. The Common Denominator reported on Friday that the D.C. Board of Library Trustees decided to hire Ginnie…

If there is one thing that elected officials know, it’s that they probably won’t get rich while they remain in government. Well, unless they swindle the taxpayers of loads of money and jet off to a country that has no extradition treaty with the U.S., of course. But that notwithstanding, how much are certain elected officials really making? And is it enough, or is it too much? Today The Common Denominator, an independent local newspaper,…

The parking battle that’s been brewing around Logan Circle between double-parking church-goers and neighboring residents appears ready to come to a head. The city government has set this Sunday, April 23, as the date on which parking enforcement is to begin, and area churches are planning to hold a rally in protest on that day at 2 p.m. in Logan Circle. This week’s Common Denominator was able to speak with some area ministers and…

Facing a growing shortage of affordable housing in the District, members of the D.C. City Council yesterday introduced legislation that would strengthen existing rent control laws, reports The Common Denominator. Eleven members of the council joined sponsor Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) in endorsing the legislation, which would limit increases on rent for certain properties to 10 percent per year and restrict the increase of rent on individual units in rent-controlled buildings. The legislation would amend…

This one of those pictures that just makes you stop, makes you wonder, makes you want to ask, “Is that for real?” While we are not discounting the possibility that Council-member Adrian Fenty (D-Ward 4) may be the favored candidate in the much sought after 8-15 age-group, we are guessing that someone’s parents are taking next year’s mayoral race just a step too far. Hopefully she didn’t run into the hyper-active nine-year-old with the…

Good morning, Washington. Today’s lead story needs little introduction, but did deserve a good picture, aptly provided by ponto and posted to Flickr. Cat Owner Declared Unfit: A Northern Virginia woman who owned and hid some 488 cats was forbidden from owning animals ever again, reports the Post. Ruth Knueven, 82, still faces five misdemeanor charges related to 222 dead cats she kept in two townhouses in Fairfax County and for defying police orders that…

The students may not be in the classroom, but District officials and activists are still working to find ways to address the problem of the city’s crumbling schools. Legislation currently working its way through the City Council’s Finance and Education Committee’s would allow the city to borrow up to $1 billion for much-needed school repairs, an issue that has repeatedly dogged D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and D.C. Schools Superintendent Clifford Janey and may well become…

This photo was posted to DCist photos on Flickr by Justin Johnson of digital obscura. It will be clear becoming cloudy with highs in the low 70s today. Retired Veterans Sue Rumsfeld: Some of the residents of the Armed Forces Retirement Home have filed a class action lawsuit against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, alleging he has made illegal cuts in medical and dental services at the home, the Examiner reports. Shopping Rage in Montgomery…