In the past DCist has speculated on who might run for mayor. Now that the mayoral lineup has shaped up, we’ve got greener pastures to move on to. And given that the new biggest story in District politics is the emerging scandal of the $425 million in unauthorized payments and no-bid contracts (we’re going to jump the gun here and designate it “Contract-gate”), we figure it’s high time to start guessing who might face firing,…

Halloween falling on a Monday night, DCist took the night off, opting to hand candy to passing children and fend off egg attacks from neighborhood hooligans. We did explore area houses, though, taking in decorations both simple and elaborate. And proving that some people will use any opportunity to make a statement about the state of affairs in the country, we spied one gravestone marked “Scooter Libby, R.I.P.” and one proclaiming the death of world…

Economically ruinous scheme or social justice imperative? Well, tonight you’ll at least hear the latter argument over whether or not the District needs a living wage. D.C. for Democracy is hosting a meeting tonight at which three speakers — MacKenzie Baris of D.C. Jobs With Justice, Ed Lazere of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, and several students from the Georgetown University Living Wage Campaign — will discuss legislation currently before the D.C. City Council mandating…

Hearing on D.C. Gun Laws Tomorrow: The District’s three-decade old gun laws, some of the most restrictive in the country, will be the focus of attention at a hearing of the House Government Reform Committee tomorrow. Chaired by Tom Davis (R-Va.), the committee will consider legislation put forth by Rep. Mark Edward Souder (R-Ind.) that would overturn the city’s gun laws and restrict the ability of the City Council to impose other controls upon gun…

D.C. Auditor Releases Report Critical of Mayor: In a 17-page report detailing three instances in which no-bid contracts were awarded to consultants for different city projects, D.C. Auditor Deborah K. Nichols chastised City Administrator Robert Bobb, at right, and D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams for “management behaviors that did not conform to the high ethical and professional standards expected of government officials and employees in the performance of their official duties.” The report, dated June 3…

Budget Negotiations Almost Complete: D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and members of the City Council are set to wrap up negotiations over the city’s $4.94 billion 2006 budget today. After District CFO Natwar Gandhi verified in recent weeks that the city’s finances were doing better than expected — he predicted a $90 million windfall over the next two years — members of the Council proposed that the surpluses be directed towards schools and social programs or…

A Republican member of the Maryland House of Delegates has promised to find ways to force a vote on legislation he authored making English Maryland’s official state language, reports the W. Times. Del. Pat McDonough of Baltimore County said yesterday that if his legislation fails to make it out of the House Health and Government Operations Committee — it currently has only nine of 13 votes needed for passage — he will find ways to…