Former D.C. Council member Harold Brazil is suing the Jinx Proof Tattoo parlor for $5 million, Melissa Castro reports in the Washington Business Journal. His claim stems from a Oct. 9, 2008 brawl at the Georgetown tattoo business, an incident for which Brazil was ultimately held responsible and sentenced to a 30-day suspended sentence, six months unsupervised probation, and a $100 fine. Famously, Brazil admitted at trial that he did in fact pee on…

So reports Mike DeBonis over at City Desk. D.C. Superior Court Judge Jennifer Anderson apparently decided that Brazil was the one who started the now infamous fight at the Jinx Proof tattoo parlor in Georgetown, and the verdict necessarily followed. The colorful former D.C. Council member was sentenced to 30 days (suspended, natch) and six months of unsupervised probation, plus a $100 fine. WaPo’s Keith Alexander was also in the courtroom….

The City Paper sent two reporters down to D.C. Superior Court this morning to hear the ‘not guilty’ pleas of both recently re-elected Shadow Senator Paul Strauss and former At-large Council member Harold Brazil. Strauss’s not guilty plea on DUI/DWI charges merited an exclamation point on the City Desk blog, while Brazil’s not guilty plea on assault charges stemming from an altercation at a Georgetown tattoo parlor last month did not. Neither men were willing…

Cue sounds of cats hissing at each other. The latest issue of the Washington City Paper contains not one but two tongue lashings of Ward 1 D.C. Council member Jim Graham. The first, a lengthy cover story by Jessica Gould, nicely summarized in the subtitle: “Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham never met a misbehaving nightclub that blanket legislation couldn’t fix,” details Graham’s latest crusade against nightclubs — an issue we’ve certainly talked about before….

In a sign of troubled times to come for the D.C. City Council, first term council-member Kwame Brown (D-At Large) has announced that he is endorsing council chair Linda Cropp in her run for mayor, notes the Examiner. In exchange for his support, Cropp has named Brown co-chair of her campaign. This is significant on a number of fronts. First off, since launching her campaign, Cropp has been seen as lacking the young blood that…

After college, most twenty-somethings move their way into the working world of offices and cubicles for the first time, alternately laboring furiously, scouring the internet for entertainment during slower hours, and attending any number of post-work happy hours. Sam Brooks bucked this trend — at 24, he ran for public office. Surprising the District’s political establishment, Brooks jumped in the race for an at-large seat on the City Council, coming in third to challenger and…

It wasn’t long ago that D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and police chief Charles Ramsey were celebrating a murder rate that looked to be falling relative to years past. Oh, how they must be pining for those optimistic days now. Yesterday marked the unceremonious day during which the District’s murder rate came to match that of the same time last year — 156 dead. And it came after a spate of killings that left four dead…

So the Pope-watch late last week distracted us from keeping an eye on neighborhood news. We’ll do a quick summay. Forgive our tardiness. First off, Loose Lips in the Washington City Paper is massively confused about Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham. The lede says it all: “You can count on one thing from Ward 1 D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham: He’s a tough guy to count on.” From supporting to opposing Mayor Williams’ take-over of the…

D.C.’s best arts and arts organizations were honored Monday night at the 20th annual Mayor’s Arts Awards. The gala ceremony, which took place at the Kennedy Center, was presented by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities and hosted by Mayor Anthony Williams and WRC anchor Jim Vance. Leonard Slatkin (shown at left), music director of the National Symphony Orchestra, was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his imaginative musical programming and…

Get ready, because the D.C. City Council just got a bit more interesting. Former Mayor Marion Barry, scorned by most of the nation but a cult hero to Anacostia, trounced current Councilmember Sandy Allen, 61 percent to 23 percent (16 percent went to other candidates) to recapture his old Ward 8 seat. As Barry’s political stock soared, Harold Brazil, an at-large councilmember, tanked. Plaged by corruption allegations and confronted by a strong newcomer, Kwame Brown,…