Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
AAA says D.C. ‘addicted to revenue’ from tickets
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray's plan to raise $30 million by expanding a traffic-camera program is evidence the city is "addicted to revenue" and balancing its books on the backs of out-of-District drivers with no say in city hall, AAA Mid-Atlantic says. Published March 26, 2012
Budget belt-tightening concerns D.C. lawmakers
Contentious battles over police staffing and tax increases that marked last year's D.C. Council budget debate likely won't be repeated this year, but competing priorities for future revenue again will offer an invitation for mischief. Published March 25, 2012
Gray’s D.C. budget calls for many more traffic cameras
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray presented a $9.4 billion spending plan on Friday that does not impose any new taxes or fees but relies on about $30 million in new traffic fines generated by automated-enforcement cameras. Published March 24, 2012
Thomas pays $20,000 toward settlement
Former D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. came up with $20,000 this week to chip away at the $300,000 sum he agreed to pay back to the District for stealing public funds from 2007 to 2009, the D.C. Office of the Attorney General said Thursday. Published March 23, 2012
D.C.’s campaign-finance law rife with gray areas
A serious turn in the federal probe of D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray's 2010 campaign and a recent trickle of subpoenas to D.C. Council members is delving into the tricky — and supposedly arms-length — role that candidates play at the roulette wheel of political funding and influence. Published March 22, 2012
Campaign finance fix ‘daunting,’ Gray says
D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray said Wednesday that it is time to take a "broad look" at staffing levels in the Office of Campaign Finance and the laws that govern political contributions to city races. Published March 21, 2012
New limits put on D.C. medical marijuana
The D.C. Council on Tuesday imposed new limits on the city's medical marijuana program about two weeks before the long-awaited initiative is expected to begin in earnest. Published March 20, 2012
Cheh targets money orders
D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh is set to introduce legislation on Tuesday that puts contributions in the form of a money order on par with cash, capping them at $25 to avoid the suspicions and federal inquiries that shook the D.C. campaign process last week. Published March 18, 2012
Graham’s treasurer says he has complied with subpoena
A campaign treasurer for D.C. Council member Jim Graham says he has already complied with a subpoena the U.S. Attorney's Office sent on Wednesday in connection with a broad investigation into one of the city's most prolific political donors. Published March 16, 2012
Nominee for D.C. utility regulator defeated
A sharply divided D.C. Council committee rejected Mayor Vincent C. Gray's nominee to a three-member commission that oversees public utilities, citing her temperament and the need to recuse herself from more than half of the current caseload. Published March 15, 2012
D.C. Council Chairman Brown ordered to turn over records
Federal prosecutors ordered D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown to turn over campaign records on Thursday, adding to the list of city lawmakers who have been linked to an investigation of one of the District's most prolific campaign contributors. Published March 15, 2012
Subpoenaed D.C. Council members to comply in Thompson investigation
The District's political scene was abuzz when federal agents raided the home and offices one of the city's most prolific campaign donors about two weeks ago. But when the feds came looking for answers from elected officials' campaign teams, things got messy around city hall. Published March 14, 2012
Cheh seeks limit on money-order contributions to D.C. races
Council member Mary M. Cheh has directed her staff to work up legislation that would ban — or at least significantly curtail — the use of money orders to finance campaigns in the District. Published March 14, 2012
Records subpoenaed in D.C. campaign donor probe
Federal prosecutors are reportedly asking several D.C. government officials for all records related to Jeffrey E. Thompson, his companies and his associates as part of a probe into campaign-finance issues emanating from the prolific donor, who holds a lucrative managed-care contract in the District worth more than $300 million per year. Published March 13, 2012
Atypical fundraising keys Barry campaign
Marion Barry's re-election bid to his D.C. Council seat from Ward 8 has attracted almost 150 campaign donations since Feb. 1, yet fewer than 10 of them came from regular folks in his ward. Published March 13, 2012
Unopposed Evans boasts big re-election stash of cash
Campaign-finance reports tied to D.C. Council seats up for grabs this year show candidates with widely divergent amounts of cash to play with in the homestretch to the April 3 primary elections. Published March 12, 2012
Davis’ portrait not endorsement of her views, D.C. court says
The D.C. Superior Court says a courthouse display on influential black women included Angela Davis for her "contributions to the political debate" and should not be viewed as an endorsement of her views or as a statement on accusations she was involved in a California kidnapping 40 years ago. Published March 12, 2012
D.C. Council concerned by lingering troubles at DYRS
The District's juvenile justice agency needs to provide more substance-abuse treatment options for its troubled wards and drastically improve its communication with parents of young people housed as far as Utah, a D.C. Council committee says. Published March 11, 2012
D.C. activists to congressman: ‘Don’t be a wiener’
Dozens of protesters are set to descend on Capitol Hill and an Arizona congressman's office out West with a simple message — "Don't be a wiener." Published March 8, 2012
Gray: Let campaign donor probe play out
Mayor Vincent C. Gray distanced himself on Wednesday from an active D.C. political donor whose home and offices were raided on Friday as part of a federal investigation into campaign finance activities. Published March 7, 2012
