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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

ROD LAMKEY JR/THE WASHINGTON TIMES The Washington Monument, seen through barricades on the Mall, remains closed since August's earthquake. Design for repairs should last into midspring, when bidding will begin. Work will be paid with $15 million in federal and private funding.

D.C. still years, millions away from fixing quake damage

Six months after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake stunned the nation's capital, the Washington Monument is still closed and awaiting $15 million in repairs, the D.C. government is looking for a federal reimbursement for its hodgepodge of damage and the Washington National Cathedral needs $18 million for major restoration efforts that could take up to five years.

February 22, 2012
** FILE ** Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

McDonnell backs D.C. budget autonomy

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has thrown his support behind a proposal to allow the District to spend its local funds without tying the process to congressional budget bills, citing the risk of disruptions to services in the nation's capital in the event of a federal government shutdown.

February 22, 2012
Marion Barry

D.C. Council tightens behavior rules after Marion Barry dustup

The D.C. Council passed a measure Tuesday that expands its self-imposed ban on profane or abusive language to any public meeting attended by members, a swift response to a blowup between two members at the council's retreat on Valentine's Day.

February 21, 2012
**FILE** A woman walks through a line of cabs outside of Union Station in Washington, D.C. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

‘Shared riding’ in D.C. cabs set for Nationals Park

Baseball fans who would rather see pitcher Drew Storen close out a win for the Washington Nationals than beat the final-inning rush from the stadium will notice a major change to one of their postgame transit options this season.

February 20, 2012
Capitol Police officer Angel Morales stands on guard Feb. 17, 2012, on the west side of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, after a 29-year-old Moroccan man was arrested in an FBI sting operation near the Capitol while planning to detonate what police say he thought were live explosives. (Associated Press)

Terror suspect arrested near U.S. Capitol

A 29-year-old Moroccan man was arrested Friday on accusations he planned to detonate a suicide bomb in the U.S. Capitol before undercover agents thwarted him through a lengthy sting operation, the Department of Justice said.

February 17, 2012
D.C Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Education bills get mixed reviews from D.C. schools officials

A long line of witnesses testified Thursday in favor of legislation that requires D.C. high school students to take college entrance exams and apply to at least one college. Yet the city's charter school board feels the measure amounts to "overreaching" and the traditional public schools system could not offer unqualified support for the bill.

February 16, 2012
Denny Jones (left) flanked by D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (right) as he offers remarks regarding the settlement of the lengthy Dixon v. Gray case over the District's mental health system, in the John A. Wilson Building in the District on Thursday, February 16, 2012. (Rod Lamkey Jr/ The Washington Times)

Long-running D.C. mental health case settled

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced Thursday the "historic" settlement of 37-year-old litigation brought by mental health patients who decried the District's lack of non-institutional treatment settings.

February 16, 2012

D.C. bill would assess third-graders’ readiness to advance

A D.C. Council committee is vetting a bill Thursday that ensures third-graders are ready for fourth grade, a reflection of efforts across the country to gauge academic progress in the early years of children's education.

February 15, 2012
A public-private trust at the center of former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr.'s theft scandal gave more than $100,000 to groups not registered as nonprofits and others not in city records. (The Washington Times)

GOP’s Day among dozens filing for Thomas’ open seat

A Republican who blew the whistle on former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr.'s surreptitious habit of stealing from the city is among those who filed petitions to appear on the ballot in the special election to replace the disgraced ex-legislator from Ward 5.

February 15, 2012
D.C. Council member Michael Brown

Online-gambling bill’s future uncertain

D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown is repeatedly warning that repealing the District's online-gambling law will put the city in a bind if Congress decides to legalize and regulate Internet gaming, clearing the way for "casino interests" from Nevada and elsewhere across the country to hit the jackpot in a burgeoning market.

February 12, 2012
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif ., right, talks with Washington D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, left, and City Council Chairman Kwame Brown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 12, 2011, prior to the start of a House Health Care, DC, Census, and the National Archives subcommittee hearing on the city's budget. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

Obama budget to support D.C. spending autonomy

The Obama administration supports legislation that would allow the District to spend its local funds without waiting for Congress to approve its own spending priorities, according to the office of Mayor Vincent C. Gray.

February 10, 2012

Former DYRS ward sentenced for killing honor student

A 20-year-old D.C. man was sentenced to 60 years in prison on Friday for killing a 17-year-old honor roll student who was walking back to his Northeast home with a friend last year after a brief jaunt for cigarettes.

February 10, 2012

Park Service to replace quote on MLK Memorial

The National Park Service announced on Friday it will correct a paraphrased "drum major" quote etched into the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial to "more accurately reflect" King's words.

February 10, 2012
** FILE ** D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan (Pratik Shah/The Washington Times)

D.C. fires city workers for unemployment fraud

The D.C. government has begun firing city workers identified in a probe that found rampant abuse of unemployment benefits by employees in most of the city's agencies, officials said Wednesday.

February 8, 2012
Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray (center) arrives with D.C. Council members and D.C. citizens at the New Hampshire Statehouse in Concord, N.H., on Friday, Jan. 27, 2012, to try to gain support for D.C. statehood. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

New Hampshire rejects D.C. statehood resolution

The New Hampshire House of Representatives defeated a resolution on Wednesday to recognize the District as the 51st state, with members noisily ignoring its sponsor before one critic instructed his colleagues to "save money on the parchment, not that it's much."

February 8, 2012
Mayor Vincent C. Gray, in his State of the District address Tuesday, touted the District as a thriving "city of firsts" that is growing, attracting investors and saving for its future while it yearns to bring its neediest residents into the tent of prosperity. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

D.C. Mayor Gray makes amends for his missteps, looks ahead

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray acknowledged the missteps of his administration on Tuesday and pledged to regain his footing after a scandal-plagued first year in office that featured hiring missteps and allegations of nepotism and campaign payoffs.

February 7, 2012