Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Gray defends vision of D.C. tech hub
In the face of steep federal spending cuts, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Monday called on city lawmakers to pass a tax incentives bill for tech companies to diversify the nongovernment economy in the nation's capital and keep 21st-century innovators from fleeing the city with their coveted jobs. Published September 17, 2012
Evans bill would eliminate need for D.C. Council contract approval
D.C. Council member Jack Evans plans to introduce a bill Wednesday that would remove city lawmakers' from the contract approval process, a controversial power that allows the council to have a say in deals worth more than $1 million and has fueled suspicions of pay-to-play politics in the city. Published September 17, 2012
D.C. budget autonomy bid in limbo on the Hill
It's been 16 months since a powerful House member signaled a plan to allow the District to spend its local funds without being tethered to federal spending plans on Capitol Hill, an enticing goal for D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray and the city's piggy-bank minders. Published September 16, 2012
Gray opens center for early childhood education
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray unveiled an early childhood education center east of the Anacostia River on Thursday that serves as the keystone of his aggressive effort to stimulate the minds of children in their first years, preparing them for kindergarten and beyond. Published September 13, 2012
Lawyer for former Brown aide accuses council member of skulduggery
An attorney for a former campaign aide of D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown logged onto Facebook Wednesday and accused the incumbent lawmaker of engaging in the type of skulduggery to which his client has been linked — the theft of more than $100,000 from Mr. Brown's 2012 campaign. Published September 12, 2012
D.C. Council member Brown: Embezzlement victimized campaign
D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown said Tuesday his campaign was victimized by an embezzlement scheme that lasted several months and erased nearly $114,000 from its coffers, leaving him with $18,000 in his re-election race Published September 11, 2012
Sentencing for former D.C. Council chairman delayed
A federal judge has pushed back the sentencing of former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown to November so he can "complete his cooperation" with the U.S. Attorney's Office, according to documents filed in the case. Published September 10, 2012
D.C. elections board says Brown can stay on ballot
The D.C. Board of Elections ruled Monday that D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown collected enough petition signatures from city voters to appear on the ballot in November, despite dual challenges from one of his opponents in the at-large race and a city government watchdog. Published September 10, 2012
Prosecutors won’t seek jail time for Gray aide cooperating in probe
Citing his "substantial assistance" to their ongoing investigation, federal prosecutors on Monday said they are not seeking prison time for an aide to Mayor Vincent C. Gray's 2010 campaign who admitted he paid a minor mayoral candidate with the hope he would stay in the race and bash incumbent Mayor Adrian M. Fenty. Published September 10, 2012
D.C. elections board to decide challenge to Brown’s nominating petitions
The D.C. Board of Elections is expected to decide later today whether D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown collected enough petition signatures from city voters to be on the ballot this November, a hotly contested issue that has put the race for two at-large council seats front-and-center among the city's fall campaigns. Published September 10, 2012
D.C. prosecutor Ronald Machen Jr. could rise or fall with Obama
Voters who decide in November whether to re-elect President Obama or replace him with Republican challenger Mitt Romney also might determine the fate of the most powerful man in D.C. politics. Published September 9, 2012
Congressman proposes site for national WWI memorial
A Texas congressman who abandoned efforts this summer to "nationalize" the District of Columbia World War I Memorial on the Mall has crafted a revamped bill that would honor Americans who fought and died in the Great War on a site north of the Reflecting Pool. Published September 9, 2012
Gray addresses Northwest D.C. flooding problems
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced a trio of short-term measures on Friday aimed at mitigating the impact of severe flooding that has damaged homes in the Bloomingdale and Le Droit Park neighborhoods this summer during bouts of intense rainfall. Published September 7, 2012
First D.C. West Nile death is a ‘senior male’
The D.C. Department of Health on Thursday confirmed the city's first death this year from West Nile virus, a mosquito-borne infection that is causing alarm across the United States. Published September 6, 2012
New D.C. statehood plan: Strategize with Puerto Rico?
D.C. officials have bandied about a number of strategies in recent months to increase the city's voting rights in Congress or achieve statehood, but one stands above the rest in terms of novelty — strategize with Puerto Rico. Published September 6, 2012
D.C. corporate political donations ban will not be before voters in November
Activists hoping to ban direct corporate contributions to D.C. political campaigns are no longer trying to put their issue before voters in November so they can focus on preserving thousands of petition signatures they gathered earlier this year and make the ballot in a special election next spring. Published September 4, 2012
Gray campaign investigation is ongoing, say investigators
Federal prosecutors indicated Tuesday that their investigation into D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s 2010 campaign is still in full swing by delaying the sentencing of a campaign aide who pleaded guilty to destroying a record of furtive payments to a minor mayoral candidate. Published September 4, 2012
Court ruling idles new D.C. taxi meters
A decision by a judge on the D.C. Contract Appeals Board has put on ice the District's highly touted plans to install "smart meters" in its taxicabs and prompted the city's "Mayor for Life" to gloat that he warned officials to delay the gadgets, which are intended to improve the city's fleet. Published September 3, 2012
McDuffie adamant about emergency funds as Bloomingdale floods
A D.C. lawmaker is calling on the city to establish an emergency relief fund for residents of the Bloomingdale neighborhood reeling from flood damage after fierce rains backed up their outdated sewer once again during the Labor Day weekend. Published September 3, 2012
Police ID victim, suspect in fatal Sunday stabbing
Police identified a 27-year-old Northeast man as the suspect arrested in connection with a deadly stabbing near the Waterfront Metro station just after midnight on Sunday. Published September 3, 2012
