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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh, Ward 3 Democrat, says the legislation that passed a first reading Thursday hits a “sweet spot” in reconciling the city’s oversight of taxis, sedans and limousines. Many D.C. taxi drivers think the upstart companies should play by the same rules as the city’s cab fleet. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

D.C. Council test drives sedan service rules

D.C. lawmakers gave preliminary approval to a billthat limits taxi regulators' authority over sedan-on-demand companies as long as drivers are transparent about their fares and follow some consumer-protection rules, making the nation's capital the latest American city to tackle 21st-century services that allow passengers to order up a ride with a few keystrokes on their smartphone.

November 15, 2012
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (Craig Bisacre/The Washington Times)

D.C. mandate to report child sex abuse moves ahead

The D.C. Council gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that mandates "universal reporting" of sex abuse against children, making the District the latest jurisdiction to re-examine its laws in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State University.

November 15, 2012
Former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown leaves federal court in Washington on Tuesday after being sentenced to one day in custody and six months of home detention for lying on loan applications. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

D.C. Mayor Gray seeks to move on after probes

U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. followed a public shaming of the former D.C. Council chairman this week with a vow to "ensure public trust" — a pledge sure to be tested as he resolves his probe into Mayor Vincent C. Gray's 2010 campaign, the last in a trio of investigations that blazed a path this year from city hall to the federal courthouse.

November 14, 2012
Former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown is released from federal court after being sentenced to one day in custody and six months of home detention for lying on loan applications, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 13, 2012. Brown was also found guilty on a misdemeanor campaign finance violation in Superior Court Judge earlier in the day but will not face jail time on that charge as long as he stays out of trouble. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Brown sentenced to a day of custody, 6 months home detention

A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown to an afternoon in custody for lying on loan documents, making him the second city lawmaker to lose his liberty in front of the public he was elected to serve.

November 13, 2012
Ms. Rucker holds a picture of her son, Jonathan Rucker, at the D.C. World War I Memorial on Monday. The District’s flag has three red stars and two red bars on a white background. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

D.C. flag AWOL at military ceremony

D.C. residents Tomi Rucker and Michael Boyd beamed with pride as their son walked out for his basic-training commencement from the Great Lakes Naval Station in Illinois.

November 12, 2012
Former Rep. Thomas M. Davis III, Virginia Republican

Referendum approach to D.C. budget autonomy hailed

The District's plan to pursue financial freedom from Congress through an amendment to the D.C. charter is being hailed after the prospect of budget autonomy has seemingly gone nowhere in the 18 months since it was proposed by a prominent congressional Republican.

November 11, 2012
“We have one chance to do this right” - Dr. Mohammad Akhter, chairman of the District’s health exchange board. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

D.C. on its way to health care compliance

President Obama's re-election on Tuesday smoothed the way for states to implement his signature health-care reforms, a challenge the District took on with vigor while other states waited to see if Republican opponent Mitt Romney could deliver on a promise to unravel the controversial law.

November 8, 2012
At large D.C. Council Member, Michael Brown, middle, greets voters outside of precinct 110 polling site in Washington, D.C., to cast their vote, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012 (Craig Bisacre/The Washington Times)

Grosso’s victory suggests an affinity for progressives

Stacks of pizza sat untouched, the salad bowls kept their plastic lids and roughly a dozen red-shirted volunteers sat in a circle Tuesday night, gazing at a lone television in search of pleasant news inside their small campaign office on Florida Avenue Northwest.

November 7, 2012
David Grosso (left), running for an at-large D.C. Council seat, greets a voter at a Precinct 33 polling site Tuesday. The Democrat was given the best chance for an upset. Incumbent at-large D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown (below), a Democrat, makes a last campaign pitch to voters outside a Precinct 110 polling site Tuesday. There were five challengers for his and another at-large seat.

Grosso upsets incumbent Brown in D.C. Council bid

Upstart challenger David Grosso, a relatively unknown former D.C. Council staffer who started campaigning a year ago, unseated incumbent Michael A. Brown on Tuesday for an at-large seat in the only significant upset in the city's elections.

November 6, 2012
Washington residents take advantage of early voting at Judiciary Square in Washington on Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012. According to voter site officials, some 2,400 voters had voted here since Monday, when the voting opened. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Long lines expected at local polls despite early voting

Officials in the D.C. region predict heavy turnout at the polls despite the long lines that marked pre-Election Day voting, as campaigns urge citizens to flock to the ballot box on Tuesday to decide a deadlocked presidential race, heated local contests and controversial ballot questions.

November 5, 2012
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (Craig Bisacre/The Washington Times)

Ethics issue looms over D.C. campaigns

Voters in the District will decide Tuesday whether to reshape the D.C. Council in election contests that serve as a referendum on the makeup of a body that has faced a steady trickle of ethical problems in the past two years.

November 4, 2012
Mayor Vincent Gray was joined by Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier and other public safety officials on Friday, Nov. 2, 2012 at the Wilson Building in Washington, D.C. to announce changes to improve both safety and fairness in the photo enforcement violations for traffic cameras in the city. The new program, which goes into effect on Monday, will include the following changes: Violators caught speeding up to 10 mph over the limit will be fined $50 instead of $75; violations from 11 to 15 mph over the limit will be fined at $100 instead of $125; and violations of more than 25 mph over the limit will increase from $250 to $300. The mayor said that the revenue raised from these fines will go towards hiring 100 new police officers in 2013. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Gray lowers some D.C. speed camera fines

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Friday lowered the fines for all but the most egregious speeders who are nabbed by traffic cameras in the District, pledging to use higher-than-anticipated revenues from the automated enforcement program to hire 100 new police officers.

November 2, 2012
Former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown (left) enters the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse for his plea hearing in Washington, D.C., Friday, June 8, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr/The Washington Times)

Prosecutors want six days in jail for Kwame Brown

Federal prosecutors think former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown should serve six days in jail and spend three years on probation for submitting false information on loan applications while he served as a city lawmaker, according to papers filed Thursday in federal court.

November 1, 2012
Gray

Gray begins assessing storm damages

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray set off on a tour of shelters and sites along the Potomac River Tuesday morning to examine the damage and debris left by a one-two punch of harsh weather in the capital region.

October 30, 2012