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Councilman Tommy Wells returns focus to D.C. fire department
Eric P. Newcomer
Updated: Fri, May 17, 2013
A day before Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells officially announced he was running for mayor, he undertook what has become a reoccurring role: holding D.C. Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe's feet to the fire. As Ellerbe has faced repeated trouble and a few calls for his resignation, Wells returned to...
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D.C. to start counting calories on drink vending machines in municipal buildings
Eric P. Newcomer
Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013
By placing labels with calorie counts on District government vending machines, Mayor Vincent Gray hopes city workers will pick healthier drinks. "There are a lot of calories in a lot of these beverages, and they're not necessarily the most healthful calories, either," Gray said Thursday on...
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D.C. considering gun liability insurance requirement
Eric P. Newcomer
Published: Thu, May 16, 2013
A D.C. Councilwoman has introduced legislation that could make the District the nation's first jurisdiction to require gun owners to buy liability insurance. Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh held a hearing Thursday on her legislation, which she believes would make gun owners more cautious about...
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D.C. taxpayers, Pepco customers citywide would pay price for $1 billion plan
Eric P. Newcomer
Published: Wed, May 15, 2013
A panel has endorsed burying power lines in several areas of the District, a process that could frustrate drivers, clog neighborhoods, and cost taxpayers and Pepco customers citywide upward of $1 billion. With Pepco President Joseph Rigby on one side and the District's people's counsel on the...
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The 3-Minute Interview: James Piper Bond, head of Living Classrooms
Eric P. Newcomer
Published: Wed, May 15, 2013
Bond is the head of Living Classrooms, a nonprofit that helps educate children and adults in D.C. and Baltimore. How did Living Classrooms get started? This is our 28th year of operation providing hands-on education and job training programs with a special emphasis on disadvantaged youth. We...
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Report cites unsecured weapons at D.C.'s New York Avenue Men's Emergency Shelter
Eric P. Newcomer
Updated: Tue, May 14, 2013
The District's New York Avenue homeless shelter lacks proper security to protect those staying there from violent crime, and invites potential tragedy by leaving confiscated weapons in a faulty lock box, according to a report by the city's inspector general. The review concluded that the...
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Preservationists praise D.C. efforts as area nonprofits get $1 million
Eric P. Newcomer
Updated: Mon, May 13, 2013
One million dollars from American Express to improve historic D.C.-area sites will certainly help, but experts say that the District, despite its reputation for bureaucratic logjam, has been largely successful over the past three decades in its efforts to preserve historic landmarks and...
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Food truck reform an all-or-nothing proposition
Eric P. Newcomer
Updated: Sun, May 12, 2013
When it comes to the mayor's proposed food truck regulations, D.C. Council members are in a bind: They can only vote yes or no. "The council can only act to approve or disapprove the regulations before us in their entirety," said Vincent Orange, the chair of the Committee on Business, Consumer...
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Study: D.C. mental health system failing city's youth
Eric P. Newcomer
Updated: Thu, May 9, 2013
Three-quarters of youth referred for mental health services in the District don't receive help within one week, as the law requires, a new study has found. Less than 50 percent of children with mental health issues are even seen within a month, according to a report by the Children's Law...
