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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

** FILE ** (Associated Press)

Wal-Mart jobs set aside for D.C. residents

D.C. officials and Wal-Mart agreed to an "unprecedented" community-benefits package on Tuesday that should ease the retail giant's controversial entry into the nation's capital.

November 22, 2011

D.C. Mayor Gray replaces chief spokeswoman

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray has tapped two Capitol Hill veterans to help him trumpet his "ambitious agenda" to the public after a string of personnel blunders threatened to obscure any progress during his first year at the helm of the city.

November 21, 2011
D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)

Bowser introduces D.C. ethics-reform bill

A D.C. Council member has circulated a widely anticipated ethics-reform bill that creates a three-member oversight body and cuts in half the amount of money lawmakers can raise for funds that are supposed to address constituents' dire needs but have been used for catering, office space and sports tickets.

November 19, 2011
"I will keep the light on this issue until we have a law," Rep. Darrell E. Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said of the D.C. budget-autonomy issue. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Budget autonomy for D.C. still on the table

A Republican House leader pledged Thursday to press ahead on crafting a bill that gives the District more control of its budget process, even after city leaders rejected his initial proposal because it included a ban on funding elective abortions.

November 17, 2011
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton was among three D.C. officials Wednesday to turn down a budget-autonomy deal Tuesday offered by a Republican lawmaker. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

D.C. spurns budget-autonomy deal

D.C. leaders say they cannot support a Republican proposal on Capitol Hill that would give the city greater control over its budget process yet ban local funding for elective abortions.

November 16, 2011
** FILE ** (Associated Press)

Wal-Mart planning for 6 D.C. locations

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Wednesday that Wal-Mart plans to build six stores across the city and threw his full support behind the proposal, saying the company opening two more locations than planned is a much-needed job creator in a city with pockets of 20-percent unemployment.

November 16, 2011
Washington, DC Mayor Vincent Gray speaks to reporters after surveying the damage the Washington National Cathedral sustained from the August 23 earthquake, Washington, DC, Thursday, October 20, 2011. (Andrew Harnik / The Washington Times)

D.C. bides its time on budget proposal

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray and council members are taking their time with a proposal from House Republicans that gives the District more control over the city's budget process, despite an attached ban on locally funded abortions that could have made the offer dead on arrival.

November 15, 2011
Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican

Proposal offers D.C. budget autonomy

A Republican proposal on Capitol Hill puts the District within striking distance of greater budget autonomy, a practical and symbolic goal of city leaders who have repeatedly sought to wrest control of their own affairs from congressional oversight.

November 14, 2011
** FILE ** The U.S. Capitol (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Concealed gun carry cut from House gun bill

A Republican-led effort to allow Illinois residents to carry concealed weapons by obtaining a permit in another state — loosening D.C. gun laws in the process — did not pass a final hurdle on Monday night before major gun legislation reaches the House floor.

November 14, 2011
HONOR GUARD: Alexander Hubichi (from left), Matthew Cranford, Thomas Shedlick, and Matthew Shipley, Army JROTC cadets at St. John's College High School, carry the colors Thursday at the District of Columbia War Memorial. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)

D.C. fights for World War I memorial

Edwin L. Fountain says a teenager who walks around the Mall and takes in the ornate, circular memorial to World War II just might wonder whatever happened to World War I.

November 10, 2011
D.C. Council member Jack Evans (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)

Evans’ challenger cites ‘intimidation’ in dropping out

The D.C. Council's longest-serving member took a giant step closer to securing a sixth term when his opponent dropped out of the race on Wednesday, citing a bizarre chain of events that included a man peering into the windows of her Georgetown home.

November 9, 2011

Ex-staffer for DYRS settles suit for $130K

The District's juvenile justice agency agreed to pay about $130,000 to a disgruntled former employee who sued the city after he was passed over for the top job at a D.C. facility in Laurel that houses young offenders, according to papers from the D.C. Office of the Attorney General.

November 9, 2011

Panel works to land D.C. a bigger part in showbiz

D.C. Council member Vincent B. Orange says the D.C. Armory could make a good soundstage as part of renewed efforts to attract film and television crews to the nation's capital instead of letting Baltimore and far-flung cities act as stand-ins for the city's distinct neighborhoods and architecture.

November 9, 2011

Pick to lead D.C.’s 911 agency pledges to fix morale, service

Mayor Vincent C. Gray's pick to lead the agency that handles 911 emergency calls and 311 service requests says she will improve morale "from the bottom up" and work to make sure emergency calls from Northwest do not end up at dispatch centers in Maryland.

November 7, 2011
Robert Gordon (center), co-owner of the Red Velvet Cupcakery, chats Tuesday with interim D.C. Council member Sekou Biddle. Mr. Biddle was vying against several rivals Tuesday in a special election for a full term. (Nicholas Gingold/Special to The Washington Times)

Biddle running for D.C. Council, sets up rematch

Former D.C. Council member Sekou Biddle says he will run in next year's Democratic primary for an at-large seat, telling voters he will focus on ethics and serving as a role model to young black residents.

November 6, 2011
Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown wants to give top-rated teachers a $10,000 bonus and other incentives to work in low-performing schools. (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)

Brown proposes getting top teachers to bottom schools

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown has proposed legislation that offers a $10,000 bonus and other incentives to top-rated city teachers who agree to work in public schools that need their expertise.

November 3, 2011
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown (T.J. Kirkpatrick/The Washington Times)

Council chief not in loop for trip to Tampa

D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown says he "was not invited" to join Mayor Vincent C. Gray and a pair of council members who went to Tampa, Fla., over the weekend to tour the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' training facility.

November 2, 2011

Gray wants Metro to hire more D.C. residents

Mayor Vincent C. Gray touted his signature job program on Wednesday by meeting with D.C. residents vying for Metro bus driver positions, an event that highlighted the "extremely low" number of city residents working at the transit agency.

November 2, 2011