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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

**FILE** D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

D.C. Council to seek budget freedom from Hill

The president could be forced to side either with the District or lawmakers on Capitol Hill if D.C. residents support a charter referendum next spring that would allow their elected leaders to spend local funds without approval from Congress.

October 2, 2012
D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

D.C. may reserve 10% of meters for disabled

A D.C. Council member will introduce a bill Tuesday that reserves more than 10 percent of the District's on-street parking spaces for disabled motorists, a "red-top" meter program designed to comply with federal law despite cutting into an already thin supply of curbside spots in the nation's capital.

October 1, 2012
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (Craig Bisacre/The Washington Times)

D.C. Council to consider charter amendment on budget autonomy

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson plans to introduce a charter referendum bill on Tuesday that, if passed, will allow city voters to say whether their elected leaders should be able to spend local funds without pre-approval from Congress.

October 1, 2012
D.C. officials, Nats mascots and LivingSocial leadership unveiled LivingSocial's deal to pay for extra hours of post-season Metro service at a press conference at the Navy Yard Metro station last week. (Tom Howell Jr./The Washington Times)

Mendelson praises LivingSocial Metro deal for Nats playoffs

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson is grateful that daily deal-provider LivingSocial "stepped up" and offered to put down a deposit to cover any costs from extended Metro service after late-night playoff games at Nationals Park this month.

October 1, 2012
Vincent B. Orange

Pre-election mailing puts D.C. Council member Orange in a gray area

D.C. Council member Vincent B. Orange is set to host a small-business summit downtown on Friday -- a who's who event at which Mayor Vincent C. Gray and top officials discuss business opportunities in the city -- but a mailing that advertises the event tests the delicate boundary between an incumbent's duties and the fight for name recognition on the path to Election Day.

September 27, 2012
Fans celebrate after the Washington Nationals beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-1at Nationals Park, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012, in Washington, DC. The Washington Nationals clinched a spot in the playoff for the first time in team history. (Craig Bisacre/The Washington Times)

LivingSocial funds Metro service for Nats playoff games

Daily-deal provider LivingSocial delivered a clutch hit for the Washington Nationals and the District on Thursday by offering to pay for extended Metro train service in October, if needed, when the ballclub enters the playoffs for the first time in decades.

September 27, 2012
D.C. Council member Jim Graham (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

D.C. alcohol board members criticize pick for chairman

A pair of D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board members on Thursday accused Mayor Vincent C. Gray's pick to chair the independent body of creating a "toxic" environment behind the scenes while the board grinds through its heavy workload.

September 27, 2012
Former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. makes his way to a waiting car after his sentencing at the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse in Washington, D.C., Thursday, May 3, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr/The Washington Times)

Thomas investigation ongoing

Federal prosecutors on Thursday signaled the investigation into former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr.'s scheme to bilk $350,000 in city funds is alive and well, even if the ousted lawmaker is already serving time at a prison in Alabama.

September 27, 2012
The District plans to build 315,000 square feet of new stores, restaurants and housing at the site of the Skyland Town Center with Wal-Mart as an anchor tenant. “Who can’t wait for that to come here?” said Council member Yvette M. Alexander. (Associated Press)

Gray helps demolish ‘worst shopping center in the city’

With the swipe of a mechanical claw, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray demolished a slice of a Ward 7 retail center that has been a sore point for officials and residents alike for two decades and symbolized the challenges that come with ambitious projects east of the Anacostia River.

September 26, 2012
Doug Riley with Associated Builders Inc., works in November 2008 to build a presidential reviewing stand in front of the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The District is starting to prepare for the Jan. 21 Inauguration. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

City gets in gear to inaugurate president

D.C. officials are gearing up for Inauguration Day festivities that will stretch from the U.S. Capitol to the White House, a logistical tightrope walk that costs millions, requires onlookers to deal with street-level checkpoints and puts city hall in the hands of the Secret Service.

September 25, 2012
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick fears “gray areas” in proposed regulations to oversee the burgeoning sedan-for-hire industry in the District could harm his car service business. Uber advertises itself as “your on-demand private driver.” (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Uber CEO: ‘Gray areas’ plague D.C. car service laws

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick told D.C. Council members Monday that legislation and proposed regulations to oversee the burgeoningsedan-for-hire industry in the District are chock full of "gray areas" and impediments that could harm his business and the customers who rely on it.

September 24, 2012
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Falling D.C. unemployment ‘good news,’ not great

New labor statistics show the District's unemployment rate continues to decline — from 8.9 percent in July to 8.8 percent in August — although the city still lags behind the national rate of 8.1 percent and nearly 1 in 4 residents of Ward 8 cannot find work.

September 23, 2012
As council chairman, Vincent C. Gray took the lead in voting down the contract award, thus necessitating a rebid, according to the memo. (The Washington Times)

D.C. unemployment declines in August

Labor statistics released Friday show the District's unemployment rate continues its decline — from 8.9 percent in July to 8.8 percent in August — although the city still lags behind the national rate of 8.1 percent and nearly one in four residents of Ward 8 cannot find work.

September 21, 2012
** FILE ** D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (Raymond Thompson/The Washington Times)

Wells joins call for D.C. campaign reforms

D.C. lawmakers are heaping new bills onto an already deep pile of campaign-finance reforms on the agenda at city hall, creating what amounts to a smorgasbord of solutions aimed at restoring confidence in their scandal-tinged body.

September 20, 2012
Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray fields questions as he holds a press conference to announce the first set of grades for Grade.DC.gov at the John A. Wilson Building in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, July 24, 2012. The Grade.DC.gov platform is being piloted first with five District government agencies whose employees and online presences interact with large segments of the District's residents and businesses on a daily basis. The online feedback system is designed to analyze and improve customer service. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

D.C. Council amends tech incentives bill

The D.C. Council on Wednesday delivered a blow to Mayor Vincent C. Gray's vision of a thriving tech sector in the District, hours after he strenuously defended investor-friendly tax cuts as a compelling way to diversify the District's economy in the face of potentially steep federal spending cuts.

September 19, 2012
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson holds a media briefing to discuss topics which may come up during a legislative meeting to be held on Wednesday, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, September 18, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Mendelson sees confidence gap for D.C. Council

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said he wants to effectively and efficiently restore public support for the city's legislative body, even as lawmakers gird for a fight Wednesday over the best ways to mitigate the effects of potentially steep federal spending cuts next year.

September 18, 2012
Michael A. Brown

Brown notches endorsements despite recent troubles

D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown's campaign for re-election announced endorsements from nine unions Tuesday despite troubling headlines that have ranged from missing campaign funds to a close call on petitions he submitted to get on the ballot.

September 18, 2012
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray meets Monday with Jonathon Perrelli, managing director of the business incubator Fortify. Mr. Gray is looking to tech companies to diversify the nongovernment economy in the nation’s capital. (Craig Bisacre/The Washington Times)

Gray defends vision of D.C. tech hub

In the face of steep federal spending cuts, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Monday called on city lawmakers to pass a tax incentives bill for tech companies to diversify the nongovernment economy in the nation's capital and keep 21st-century innovators from fleeing the city with their coveted jobs.

September 17, 2012
D.C. Council member Jack Evans (The Washington Times)

Evans bill would eliminate need for D.C. Council contract approval

D.C. Council member Jack Evans plans to introduce a bill Wednesday that would remove city lawmakers' from the contract approval process, a controversial power that allows the council to have a say in deals worth more than $1 million and has fueled suspicions of pay-to-play politics in the city.

September 17, 2012