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Jun 08, 2007

Go Home Already: Free to be You and Me

>> In case you missed this story in the Washington Post this morning, it seems another one of D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s favorite long-term projects, expanding the District’s Home Rule Charter to give the District budget and legislative autonomy, is actually getting some play up on the Hill. We can’t even count how many times she’s introduced bills like the two currently before the House, but it’s been at least 15 years since Congress…

Nov 08, 2006

Bush Caught Off Guard With Voting Rights Question

Amidst tough questions in an early afternoon press conference today on the loss of the House, the war in Iraq, and the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, President George W. Bush faced a question he wasn’t expecting — on District voting rights. A reporter asked Bush on whether he would support legislation currently moving through Congress that would grant the District one voting seat in the House of Representatives and may come to…

Sep 14, 2006

Voting Rights Legislation Gets Second Hearing Today

Step by step, inch by inch. That’s how legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives is proceeding, but at least it’s going somewhere. The House Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing today on the D.C. Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act, a legislative proposal put forth by Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton that would finally give the District a full…

Jul 26, 2006

District Voting Rights Bill Moves Forward

It was mid-May when we found out that a bill that would grant the District a voting seat in the U.S. House of Representatives was finally moving forward, having met with the approval of the House Government Reform Committee. Yesterday news came through that the legislation — known as the D.C. Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act — may soon overcome another obstacle, putting the District one step closer to voting representation in the…

Jun 15, 2006

Morning Roundup: First Day of the Weekend Edition

Ahhh, Thursday. First day of the weekend. And a good day to play hooky and watch Trinidad and Tobago (powered by Howard alum Shaka Hislop) take on England at noon. And the news for the day: Controversy Over Terrorism Funds Continues: Local officials feel they were cheated of valuable federal anti-terrorism funds. Federal officials claim that local requests of funds for anti-terror program were ineffective at best. Who should we believe? The Post is…

Jun 08, 2006

And Thus Starts the Battle Over Voting Rights

When it comes to fighting for District voting rights, activists face two main challengers — the U.S. Congress and themselves. Members of Congress just either don’t care much about whether or not the District’s 600,000 residents have voting representation, or believe its a constitutional mandate written in stone that they shouldn’t. They can be swayed. But many District-based voting right activists differ sharply on what the best approach to gaining voting rights is — some…

May 19, 2006

Votementum Building — Committee Passes D.C. Legislation

Are the stars aligning? We’re slow to trust Tom Davis after he toyed with our heart last week, saying first that a vote for D.C. was a sure thing, then warning us that the road was still quite long and fraught with danger. One thing’s for sure, however. Davis is doing his damnedest to build momentum (Tomentum?) for the bipartisan bill, and he’s close to convincing us it’s a real possibility. Yesterday, with District officials…

May 12, 2006

Morning Roundup: Representation Oddsmaking Edition

Good morning, Washington. We hope you got through yesterday’s tornado warning alright — it seems likely that you did. Today should bring better weather, with a high of 75 and relatively twister-free skies. Optimism Over Voting Rights Bill: Yesterday brought news of Reps. Davis and Norton’s bill to bring congressional representation to the District. Now the Post brings us more details on the challenges that the measure will face. Congressman Davis says that the House…

May 11, 2006

New Voting Rights Legislation Introduced

Pretty much everything has been proposed to get the District its long desired voting rights, but not much progress has been made since the city’s residents were disenfranchised in 1801. Will today be the day that changes? We can only hope so. At 9:15 a.m. today, Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton formally introduced new legislation that would grant the District one full voting seat in the U.S. House of Representatives….

May 02, 2006

Comcastic Clash Could Cut Cable

While racial tensions are simmering over the battle to win ownership of the Nationals, another longstanding baseball feud is nearing a head, with potentially frustrating results for District television viewers. Comcast, which provides cable service to most D.C. cable subscribers, has refused to air Nationals broadcasts produced by MASN, Orioles owner Peter Angelos’ sports network, which owns the rights to Nats games. Three weeks ago, Virginia Representative Tom Davis (R) held hearings on the matter…

 
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