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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

D.C. DOH director to take leave of absence

D.C. Department of Health Director Mohammad N. Akhter will request a leave of absence from his Cabinet post to serve on a board governing the city's health care exchange, a key ingredient of President Obama's reforms that were upheld last week by the U.S. Supreme Court.

July 1, 2012
A fallen tree blocks one lane of traffic on 13th Street NW in the Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, Saturday, June 30, 2012. Violent evening storms following a day of triple-digit temperatures wiped out power to more than 2 million people across the eastern United States. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Storms leave 9 dead in Md., Va. and D.C.; 4 in N.J., Ohio and Ky.

Devastating thunderstorms Friday left nine people in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia dead and hundreds of thousands without power in the region as residents across the area face more extreme temperatures and the possibility of additional thunderstorms this weekend.

June 30, 2012

D.C. DOH director to request leave of absence

D.C. Department of Health Director Mohammad N. Akhter is poised to request a leave of absence from his cabinet post to serve on a board governing the city's healthcare exchange, a key ingredient of President Obama's reforms that were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, he and city officials said Friday.

June 29, 2012
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli waits his turn to talk about the Supreme Court decision on the Health Care law during a press conference Thursday, June 28, 2012 in Richmond, Va. Cuccinelli said the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding President Barack Obama's health care overhaul makes this "a dark day for American liberty." (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Cuccinelli finds solace in aspects of ruling; Maryland, D.C. officials cheer

Virginia Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II said the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Thursday upholding health care reform was a loss on policy but a victory for the Constitution, while across the Potomac in Maryland leaders said the ruling affirmed their decision to act quickly to implement the controversial law.

June 28, 2012
Journalists wait outside the Supreme Court for a landmark decision on health care on Thursday, June 28, 2012 in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Supreme Court health care ruling draws mixed reaction locally

The U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision on Thursday to uphold President Obama's health care mandate as a tax prompted Democratic leaders in the District and Maryland, as early adopters of Mr. Obama's vision, to rejoice while Virginia's Republican governor denounced it as "a blow to freedom."

June 28, 2012
Joe Lieberman

Lieberman defends D.C. on city affairs

Sen. Joe Lieberman on Wednesday publicly defended the District's right to govern its local affairs, noting "no one in Congress would dare to impose laws on any of the states."

June 27, 2012
Pedestrians, veterans and members of the media walk around the grounds of the newly renovated District of Columbia WWI Memorial after a rededication ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 10, 2011. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/ The Washington Times)

Congressman abandons plan to ‘nationalize’ D.C. WWI memorial

A Texas congressman is no longer pursuing a plan to nationalize the District's World War I memorial, a contentious proposal that had prompted D.C. officials to focus on downtown's Pershing Park as a "fitting alternative" to the local monument's prized site on the National Mall.

June 26, 2012
Councilmember Muriel Bowser, chair of the committee on government operations, listens to testimony during a public roundtable Monday, June 25, 2012 at the Wilson Building in Washington, D.C. on the nominees for the Board of Ethics and Accountability. The three nominees -- Robert Spagnoletti, Deborah Lanthen and Laura Richards -- all testified. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Conflicts will be few, says D.C. ethics panel pick

Former D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti told a D.C. Council committee on Monday he can be an effective member of the newly created ethics board - despite what his critics may say - and that his ties to city government are unlikely to force his recusal from many cases.

June 25, 2012
D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan tells a D.C. Council committee that restoring "the public trust in our electoral system" a priority. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

Council hears Gray’s outline in reforming campaign finances

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray will send a package of campaign finance reforms to the D.C. Council by mid-July that answers mounting calls to eliminate pay-to-play politics without resorting to sweeping bans that the nation's highest court has deemed unconstitutional, the city's top legal officer said Monday.

June 25, 2012
** FILE ** D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Investigation finds cheating at D.C. schools

Standardized test scores from three D.C. classrooms were invalidated because teachers helped students choose the right answers or flouted security protocols in April 2011.

June 22, 2012
**FILE** Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals, fields questions during an editorial board meeting in Washington on March 18, 2011. (The Washington Times)

Leonsis: Flat screens on arena mean cash

Ted Leonsis told a D.C. Council committee on Wednesday that his controversial plan to put high-definition flat screens outside the Verizon Center could help teams inside the downtown arena lift the Stanley Cup or don championship rings one day.

June 20, 2012
Michael A. Brown

At-large races for D.C Council draw a crowd of non-Democrats

The field of candidates for the pair of at-large seats on the D.C. Council is taking shape, an uphill battle against incumbents Michael A. Brown, an independent, and Vincent B. Orange, who earned the Democrats' nomination in April.

June 19, 2012
Michael Kelly is Mayor Vincent C. Gray's pick to lead the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development despite some controversy in his previous job in Philadelphia. (Associated Press)

Gray administration hired new DHCD head despite scandal

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray's pick to lead the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development had an affair with a subordinate at his last job in Philadelphia but was hired anyway after an investigation debunked claims that he offered her preferential treatment, officials said.

June 19, 2012
**FILE** House Speaker John A. Boehner, who attended Catholic schools, has made resurrecting the federally funded D.C. school-voucher program a legislative priority. (Associated Press)

White House relents on D.C. school voucher bill

The Obama administration reversed course Monday and agreed to fully implement a controversial school voucher program that provides federal tuition assistance to a limited number of D.C. youths despite historically mixed opinion of the program among city leaders and the White House's own efforts to eliminate it.

June 18, 2012
D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi

Gandhi formally reappointed D.C. CFO

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray formally transmitted his reappointment of the city's chief financial officer, Natwar M. Gandhi, to the D.C. Council on Friday, a move that had been widely anticipated, but is already facing criticism from some city lawmakers.

June 15, 2012