Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
D.C. files suit against employees accused of collecting two paychecks
The D.C. Office of the Attorney General filed suit against 13 former and current city employees accused of obtaining unemployment benefits while they were employed by the city government, officials said Thursday. Published June 14, 2012
Gandhi to be appointed for 5 more years as D.C. CFO
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray is poised to appoint the city's chief financial officer, Natwar M. Gandhi, to another five-year term as soon as Friday, according to multiple city hall sources familiar with the situation. Published June 14, 2012
Mendelson becomes interim D.C. Council chair
The D.C. Council chose veteran lawmaker Phil Mendelson on Wednesday to lead it as chairman until a Nov. 6 election to replace Kwame R. Brown in the wake of his resignation and guilty plea to fraud and campaign-finance charges. Published June 13, 2012
D.C. health department picks medical marijuana dispensaries
The D.C. Department of Health on Tuesday notified four applicants to the city's burgeoning medical marijuana program they are eligible to open a dispensary at their desired locations, one of the final steps necessary to begin the District's long-awaited effort to aid the sick and dying. Published June 12, 2012
D.C. Council poised to approve Mendelson as chairman
D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh circulated a resolution on Tuesday that would make veteran city lawmaker Phil Mendelson the acting council chairman until city voters select a replacement this November for Kwame R. Brown, who abruptly resigned as chairman last week and admitted fraud and campaign finances charges. Published June 12, 2012
Nov. 6 special election allows D.C. to save money
The D.C. Board of Elections made the thrifty decision Monday to let voters select a replacement for disgraced former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown on Nov. 6 - the same day voters cast their ballot for president and multiple council races. Published June 11, 2012
Former D.C. Council chairman pleads guilty to bank fraud
Former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown softly uttered the word "guilty" in separate courthouses Friday and tearfully apologized to the District for committing bank fraud and authorizing unlawful campaign payments — admissions that contrasted with his defiant reminder that he never stole public funds. Published June 8, 2012
Former D.C. Council chairman Brown faces new charge
Federal prosecutors accused former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown on Thursday of violating the city's campaign finance laws by allowing a relative to set up a "side account" for his 2008 re-election campaign as an at-large member of the council. Published June 7, 2012
Brown resigns as D.C. Council chairman
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown resigned Wednesday after federal prosecutors accused him of lying on a loan application — a historic blow to a city government that has suffered unprecedented legal woes and eroded the public's trust. Published June 6, 2012
Criminal charges filed against D.C. Council chairman
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown was charged Wednesday with one count of bank fraud for lying on a loan application between 2005 and 2007, delivering a historic blow to a city government that has seen unprecedented legal woes and eroded the public's trust. Published June 6, 2012
Norton opposes another federal bill seeking to limit D.C. abortions
The District's sole voice in Congress is lambasting another Republican-backed bill aimed at limiting abortions solely within the nation's capital. Published June 6, 2012
D.C. Council unanimously approves $9.4B budget
D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown on Wednesday shepherded unanimous approval of the city's $9.4 billion fiscal 2013 budget hours before he was forced to address mounting questions about his political future amid a federal probe into the finances of his 2008 campaign. Published June 5, 2012
Gray nominates 3 to ethics board
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray on Tuesday named three attorneys to serve on the newly created D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability, which emerged as part of legislative reforms intended to restore faith in city hall after a year of scandals and ongoing criminal probes by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Published June 5, 2012
D.C. prepares to walk fine line on deportations
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray assured immigrant groups Monday that the city is doing all it can to make sure a program aimed at deporting violent aliens does not erode trust between residents and law enforcement after it goes into effect on Tuesday. Published June 4, 2012
Pot policies in California can’t rely on D.C. program
A decision by Congress in 2009 to stop blocking the District's medical marijuana program should not be construed as federal permission to grow and use the drug, according to a recent legal opinion from California. Published June 3, 2012
D.C. will defend resident hiring law
Mayor Vincent C. Gray and D.C. officials are girding for a legal battle over a highly touted law that ensures city residents are hired to work on projects that receive public assistance from the District. Published May 31, 2012
Man tells officers he murdered, ate roommate
A 21-year-old Maryland man charged with murder told authorities he killed his roommate and then ate his heart and portions of his brain, according to court papers. Published May 31, 2012
Judge sides with Thomas on restitution payments
A federal court judge sided with lawyers of former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. on Thursday by ordering the prison-bound Ward 5 resident to pay $353,000 in restitution to the District instead of a higher figure demanded by prosecutors. Published May 31, 2012
McDuffie takes D.C. Council seat amid several ovations
Kenyan McDuffie had taken only a few steps into the D.C. Council chamber on Wednesday when a standing-room-only crowd applauded and cheered wildly for the newly elected lawmaker. Published May 30, 2012
Brown to introduce plan to repay furloughed employees
D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown will introduce a proposal on Tuesday that would compensate city workers for four furlough days it took in 2011, only to see the District gain a windfall of revenue by the end of the year. Published May 30, 2012
