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Harry Jaffe: Stalemate over documents is a win for Mayor Vincent Gray
Harry Jaffe
Published: Tue, May 7, 2013
How to interpret news that D.C. businessman and political kingmaker Jeff Thompson has been able to keep federal investigators from digging into documents that might expose a trail of corruption all the way to Mayor Vince Gray? We learned this week that prosecutors have accused Thompson of...
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Harry Jaffe: Mayor Gray's early childhood crusade paying off
Harry Jaffe
Updated: Tue, Apr 30, 2013
A colleague at work has a daughter who just turned 3, the time to begin pondering her education. Best to start early. She and her husband have been considering their options: Flee the District for stellar public schools across the suburban line? Beg the grandparents for part of the $34,000 a...
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Harry Jaffe: Apathy and race lift Bonds to D.C. Council win
Harry Jaffe
Published: Wed, Apr 24, 2013
There was Marion Barry whooping it up with Anita Bonds Tuesday night after it was clear she had prevailed in the special election for city council. Why not? The "mayor for life" probably figures he has two votes now on the 13-member council. It would be so easy to chalk up Anita Bonds'...
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Harry Jaffe: Anybody but Gray voters hit the polls
Harry Jaffe
Updated: Tue, Apr 23, 2013
What happens if they hold an election and nobody votes? This occurred to me Tuesday afternoon as I visited Precinct 143, in the Chinese Community Church at Fifth and I St. NW. Poll workers outnumbered voters 6-1. The polls had been open for nine hours. The electronic machines showed 75 had...
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Harry Jaffe: D.C. still split by race 40 years after home rule debate
Harry Jaffe
Updated: Tue, Apr 16, 2013
Walking some neighborhoods of Washington, D.C., you might get the wrong idea about integration and race. Sample the bars and restaurants around Logan Circle and up the 14th Street strip. You will see a colorful mix of black and white faces, Latinos and Asians. On a tour of Bloomingdale and...
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Harry Jaffe: D.C. asks Congress to erase $36 million bill to firefighters
Harry Jaffe
Published: Tue, Apr 9, 2013
It might seem a tad hypocritical for Mayor Vincent Gray to appeal to Congress to intervene in a local budget matter at the same time he's asking for budget autonomy. But that's where he finds himself. In the fine print of the 2013 Budget Request Act, Gray has asked Congress to enforce a 2000...
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Harry Jaffe: Lead-based paint still a threat in D.C.
Harry Jaffe
Published: Tue, Apr 2, 2013
Merrit Drucker was driving through the Fort Stevens neighborhood a few months ago when his eyes fixed on one of the older apartment buildings that line 14th Street north of Military Road. What caught Drucker's eye was the paint on the outdoor woodwork. It was rough. Older building? Flaking...
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Harry Jaffe: Money and the mayor's race: Who can raise big dough?
Harry Jaffe
Published: Tue, Mar 26, 2013
Money being the mother's milk of politics and all, where might it wash up in the upcoming mayoral campaigns? Who will be the recipient of all that pay-to-play cash, known in more refined circles as campaign contributions? Experts tell me it will take about $2 million to win. I suspect Muriel...
