Tom Howell Jr.

Webb tells how she got swept up in scandal

Rochelle Webb has had a week to "get over the shock" of the abrupt end of her city job on April 1 — a parable of sorts on how an outsider was swept into the gears of local influence and the roulette known as the excepted service, a system of political hires who serve at the will of the executive.

April 11, 2011

Gray ex-aide concedes errors

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray's former chief of staff testified Thursday that she made errors in hiring for the administration and allowed informal standards to guide how much appointees were paid.

April 7, 2011

City State: Gray ‘cronyism’ hearing in progress

Updates from the D.C. Council hearing on the personnel practices of Mayor Vincent C. Gray

April 7, 2011

Spending increase proposed for office with ties to Gray

A D.C. Council member on Wednesday cried foul over a four-member city agency slated for a budget increase that would cover the salary of the daughter of a close confidante of Mayor Vincent C. Gray.

April 6, 2011

City State: Catania questions increase for D.C. movie office

A D.C. Council member is questioning a 22 percent budget increase for the District's Office of Motion Picture and TV Development.

April 6, 2011

Brown moves to keep out non-resident students

D.C. residents have told officials that for years they have seen cars with Maryland license plates pull up to their schools and drop off students.

April 5, 2011

City State: Wal-Mart protesters disrupt Council

A pack of vocal protesters barged into the D.C. Council chamber Tuesday with a gift for Ward 4 Democrat Muriel Bowser.

April 5, 2011

CityCenterDC a ‘piece of the puzzle’ downtown

Standing on the edge of the long-awaited CityCenterDC real estate project, D.C. Council member Jack Evans joked that he had met with George Washington and Pierre L'Enfant to "talk to them about how to get this done."

April 4, 2011

Gray confidante withdraws name from nomination

A close confidant of Mayor Vincent C. Gray withdrew her nomination Monday to be the chairman of the Washington Convention Center and Sports Authority, the mayor's office said.

April 4, 2011

Qatari money funds D.C. city center project

An investment arm of oil-rich Qatar is putting up the equity needed to fund the massive CityCenterDC project, officials said moments before breaking ground Monday at the site of the old downtown convention center six blocks from the White House.

April 4, 2011

D.C. budget has ‘deal-breakers’ for 2012

Mayor Vincent C. Gray's fiscal 2012 budget proposal already has drawn sharp criticism from D.C. Council members who either oppose tax increases for the city's top earners or cuts to social services, providing a glimpse into the potential battles in the coming weeks.

April 3, 2011

Gray pulls nomination of embattled appointee

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Friday withdrew the nomination of a Cabinet-level appointee under fire for using an employee as a chauffeur and staying at an expensive hotel at taxpayer expense.

April 1, 2011

Gray introduces ‘very difficult’ budget

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Friday announced plans to levy higher taxes on the city's wealthiest residents while steeply cutting human services programs in a fiscal 2012 budget proposal that favors education and keeps public safety funding steady.

April 1, 2011

Idea brews, comes to a head to let beermakers offer tastings

Anyone who watches a beer go from mash to bottle at their local brewery is going to want a swig at the end.

March 31, 2011

Bill memorializes Southeast shooting victims

A D.C. council member introduced ambitious legislation to stem truancy among youth and recognize behavioral issues that could lead to violence one year after several youths were gunned down in front of a house on South Capitol Street.

March 30, 2011

Proposed licensing system enrages D.C. cabdrivers

Dozens of D.C. taxi drivers gathered in front of City Hall on Wednesday to angrily protest a bill that would introduce a medallion licensing system in the District.

March 30, 2011

D.C. chief returns old seal to uniforms

The District's new fire chief has ordered members to use a patch with a pre-2007 department seal on their uniforms, reversing the phase-in of a Maltese eagle logo ordered under the city's former fire chief.

March 29, 2011

Gray sets lofty goals in State of D.C. address

D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray envisions a District of Columbia with the best schools in the nation, a place where anyone can earn a living and enjoy the rights of a full U.S. citizen, and a city "that acts as a magnet for the best talent in the world."

March 28, 2011

Efforts to hire Brown detailed in D.C. hearing

A former D.C. government worker said Monday he was directed by D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray's chief of staff to find a job for controversial mayoral contender Sulaimon Brown.

March 28, 2011

City State: D.C. Council begins hearing on Gray hirings

A hearing into the personnel practices of D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray started this morning with council member Mary M. Cheh's announcement that a second hearing will be tentatively scheduled for April 7.

March 28, 2011