Photo by brettbattjer Both Mayor Adrian Fenty and Council Chairman Vincent Gray have strong records on supporting LGBT rights in D.C. — but Gray’s record is a smidge better, if the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club’s endorsement is any indication. Lou Chibbaro Jr. reports that Gray has narrowly won the Stein Club’s endorsement, meeting a 60-percent threshold by just 3 votes. According to Chibbaro, activists expected Gray to lead Fenty but figured that the candidates would…

Up until last year, the D.C. Council’s weekly breakfast meetings were closed to the press and the public. The meetings, which then council Chair Linda Cropp claimed were merely social in nature, were thought of by local reporters as the place where city politicos hammered out sensitive deals — and did so away from the prying eyes of the District’s residents. Even though that has now changed, we’ve never really gotten much of a sense…

It’s almost graduation time for colleges around the D.C. area, but many George Washington students aren’t that thrilled about it. Why? The keynote speaker at their commencement is none other than… their outgoing university president. We guess that’s what the highest tuition in the country gets you these days. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, who has been president of the Foggy Bottom university for 19 years, always speaks at graduation, but he usually does so alongside folks…

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….

>> Yeah, you. You need to stay late tonight to make up for the crazy amount of time you’re about to have off. That’s right, those of us who do not work for the Federal Government are currently glaring up a storm at those of you who do, because the word from on high is now official: President Bush has declared January 2 as the official day of mourning for President Ford, which means Federal…

Yesterday, the D.C. Council decided to table emergency legislation to hike their own salaries, already the second-highest in the nation. In the discussion of the bill, first introduced by Chairman Linda Cropp at the urging of D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, the margin of pay increases slowly declined as the hours elapsed, a likely response to public criticism of the proposals. The first move, which came in response to criticism of a proposed 51 percent pay…

How much is public service in the District worth? This Tuesday the D.C. Council might tell us. In its last legislative session of the year, the council will be debating a number of measures and proposals, one that would provide funds for the trasitions of mayor-elect Adrian Fenty and council chair-elect Vincent Gray. But more than just provide them with the money needed to prep their teams for next January’s handover of power, the legislation…

Presumptive Mayor-to-be Adrian Fenty is in New York City today, reports the Post, in order to pow wow with Mayor Michael Bloomberg about how he went all authoritarian on New York’s public school system. Many aspects of what Bloomberg has done in an effort to turn things around for the city’s failing schools are intriguing, if not without controversy: What Bloomberg and Klein will describe to Fenty is a massive overhaul in which they rolled…

If you do, or just enjoy hearing them, you may want to attend the Roast of Anthony Williams on October 18th at the Marriott Wardman Park. The event is part of a Southeastern University gala, and for the low price of $250, will feature jokesters like Adrian Fenty, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Councilmembers David Catania and Jack Evans, GWU President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and Broadway actor and D.C. native…

Fenty Plans Transition: Fresh from his trouncing of rival Linda Cropp, mayor-to-be Adrian Fenty has started planning for an ambitious transition, reports the Post. As part of his move to the Executive Office in the John Wilson Building, Fenty has announced that he will examine city agencies and start enacting programs over the next few months, working cooperatively with D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams to shape the $7 billion 2008 budget. He also reveled in…