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WASHINGTON, DC NEWS

Candidates Address Business Concerns
Questions About $1 Billion Spending Pledge Surface at Board of Trade Forum

By Elissa Silverman and Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, June 16, 2006; Page B02

The five major candidates for DC mayor were asked yesterday to explain how they planned to pay for pricey promises made on the campaign trail, including a pledge to commit $1 billion in public money to affordable housing and youth programs.

Seated before captains of industry at a Greater Washington Board of Trade forum held at George Washington University, the five candidates, all Democrats, positioned themselves as pro-business, lean-and-mean budgeters who would resist raising taxes. But they also were asked several times whether the $1 billion commitment they made weeks earlier to the Washington Interfaith Network was feasible without a tax increase.

"As business owners, our members are concerned where all the money for the billion-dollar promises will come from," said Mary L. Lynch, who is an officer of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Greater Washington.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/15/AR2006061502292.html

 City Urged to Support 2 Proposals
Team Owners Push Aboveground Plan as a Backup to Mayor's Deal

By David Nakamura and Thomas Heath
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 22, 2006; Page B04

Washington Nationals owner Theodore N. Lerner urged Mayor Anthony A. Williams yesterday to pursue two different parking plans for the new baseball stadium as they prepare for a key hearing before the DC Zoning Commission on Monday.

Lerner wants city officials to adopt his proposal for aboveground-only parking as a backup if the mayor's plan for parking aboveground and below falls through.

Williams (D) said Tuesday that the city will build a mix of underground and aboveground parking surrounded by shops, restaurants, 660 condos and a hotel that will be the hub of an entertainment district. The Lerner group stressed that it will agree but asks that the city consider the group's plan for aboveground parking with no other development as a Plan B.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062102043.html

 

DC, NY Mayors Criticize Cuts

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 22, 2006; Page B03

DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg yesterday sharply criticized the Department of Homeland Security for cutting anti-terrorism grants to the two cities, telling a congressional panel that the cuts would delay upgrades for bomb squads and communication systems in the District, as well as a new program to increase security in lower Manhattan.

The agency's decision to cut funds by 40 percent for the two cities targeted in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks -- while increasing funds for places such as Omaha, Charlotte and Louisville -- suggests that the grant process has been infected by "the exact kind of political pork barrel it was specifically designed to avoid," Bloomberg said.

"There are places that should get the agriculture money because they have agriculture," he said. "And there are places that should get the homeland security money because they have targets."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062101511.html

 

Cropp Draws Big Names, Big Spenders

By Lori Montgomery and Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 22, 2006; Page DZ02

More than $4.5 million has already flooded the campaign accounts of the five leading Democratic mayoral candidates, making the 2006 mayor's race the most expensive in DC history. And with nearly three months left until the Sept. 12 primary, the battle of the billfolds is nowhere near over.

On Monday, the slugfest continued as second-place fundraiser Linda W. Cropp ($1.75 million) held a bash studded with boldface names at swanky Cafe Milano in Georgetown. Her campaign chairman, lawyer Max Berry, said he expected the event to net as much as $100,000.

The party was headlined by Mayor Anthony A. Williams and co-hosted by a bevy of deep-pocket contributors, including Ann Jordan, wife of Washington power broker Vernon Jordan; Democratic fundraiser Beth Dozoretz; baseball boosters Dwight Bush and Joe Robert Jr; and retired Chinatown restaurateur Linda Lee. Fred Malek, head of the passed-over Washington Baseball Club, made an appearance, as did Georgetown gallery owner Marsha Ralls and the District's first first lady, Mary Washington, wife of former mayor Walter Washington.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062100768.html

 

Williams Takes One Last Dip

By Petula Dvorak
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 22, 2006; Page B01

Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D), having shed a few pounds and all modesty, continued a tradition unique among the nation's mayors by stripping to red trunks and cannonballing into a local swimming pool to herald the start of summer yesterday.

In his eighth and final plunge, the mayor -- dubbed "Cannonball" for his annual aquatic antics -- challenged his successor to embrace his example and take a dive for the city.

Two of the leading candidates allowed that they, too, would follow suit, or at least name someone else to do so on their behalf. Council member Adrian M. Fenty (D-Ward 4) pronounced it an excellent idea. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D) has confided to her husband that the ritual is something of a burden.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062101689.html

 

More Cooperation Sought on Area's Future
Civic, Business and Government Leaders Are Organizing Effort to Plan Vision

By Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 21, 2006; Page B05

A group of business, civic and government leaders is preparing a multimillion dollar effort to plan for Washington's future, saying a major initiative is needed to overcome regional divisions that hamper solutions to the area's problems.

The effort's leaders say the Washington area is at risk of becoming a victim of its success as the region's booming economy produces concerns about traffic congestion and sprawl, housing affordability and imbalanced economic growth. The region, which leads the nation in job growth and includes some of its fastest-growing counties, is expected to add 2 million residents and 1.6 million jobs by 2030.

Too often, say participants, the region has failed to act as one because it is divided among the District and two states, with the added complication of the large and not-always-cooperative presence of the federal government.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/20/AR2006062001405.html

 

Cropp Shifts On Control Of Schools
Candidate Seeks Takeover If Standards Aren't Met

By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 18, 2006; Page C01

DC Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp said that if elected mayor, she would seek to take control of the city's failing public schools on a case-by-case basis, a shift from her position on the council, where she sought to maintain the school system's autonomy.

In a policy paper released by her campaign last week, Cropp (D) laid out a plan to ask the council and Congress for authority to allow the executive branch to take over public schools whose test scores are below federal standards five years in a row.

Cropp's plan did not include specifics about how the schools would be managed once her administration took them over or how many schools would be targeted. Eighty of the city's 147 schools have made no progress on the federal No Child Left Behind Act standards.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/17/AR2006061701227.html

 

DC Buyer Will Drop Another $100M on Buys

WASHINGTON, DC-Federal Capital Partners has acquired two commercial properties in the Fairfax submarket for $158 million. Meanwhile, it's in the process of laying down another $75 million to $100 million for a handful of others in the Washington, DC metro.

By the end of the year, Federal Capital hopes to have completed some $500 million to $600 million in acquisitions, says Howard Jenkins, an associate for the locally based buyer. The newest pieces for the portfolio are Circle Towers Apartments, a 16-acre, mixed-use complex at 9411 Lee Highway in Fairfax, and Shirlington Gateway, a 12-story, 207,000-sf office building at 2800 Shirlington Rd. in Alexandria.

For the most part, the company's acquisition strategy is investing in under-managed, under-capitalized properties that need some improvements or upgrades. Jenkins says Shirlington Gateway, a glass-and-steel building that is 97% leased to a group of government contractors, associations and professional services firms, is somewhat of an exception because it is a core plus building in an improving submarket. Federal Capital plans to invest about $1 million as leases roll over, to upgrade the facilities and make cosmetic improvements to the lobby. As part of the transaction, Federal Capital assumed a loan with a 4.98% interest rate.

http://www.globest.com/news/602_602/washington/146793-1.html

 

DC Government Details Street Initiative

WASHINGTON, DC-The city government here has released details about its "Great Streets" Initiative to redevelop underinvested DC parcels in corridors in such neighborhoods as Bellevue, Deanwood and Shepherd Park that are publicly or quasi-publicly owned. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development points to sites such as the historic Howard Theatre (adjacent to 7th Street NW) and properties owned by the National Capital Revitalization Corp. and Metro as possibilities.

The office's FY 2006 budget includes up to $16 million to be invested in economic and community development activities in certain neighbors. Those funds will be matched by over $100 million in transportation, streetscape, and transit improvements through the District Department of Transportation.

The targeted corridors designated as "Great Streets" includes: 7th Street--Georgia Avenue NW (Mount Vernon Square to Eastern Avenue); H Street NE (North Capitol Street to 17th Street NE); Benning Road NE (Bladensburg Road to Southern Avenue) and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE + South Capitol Street (East of the Anacostia River--Good Hope Road to Southern Avenue.) Others include Pennsylvania Avenue SE (2nd Street SE to Southern Avenue), Minnesota Avenue (Good Hope Road to Sheriff Road) and Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE (Ward 7.)

http://www.globest.com/news/603_603/washington/146805-1.html

 

Multifamily Investment Flows Remain Strong

WASHINGTON, DC-Commercial/multifamily mortgage debt outstanding surpassed $2.7 trillion in Q1, a 2.9% over the past three months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association analysis of Federal Reserve Board Flow of Funds data. Multifamily mortgage debt outstanding stood at $690 billion at the end of the first quarter--an increase of $15 billion or 2.3% from the fourth quarter.

Jamie Woodwell, MBA senior director of Commercial/Multifamily Research, tells GlobeSt.com that the market is likely to continue to grow. "We are starting to see a pick-up in building and when that kicks in we will see a rise in development financing as well."

Unlike commercial retail, which is exhibit slight signs of wear and tear thanks to rising gas prices and rising interest rates, commercial multifamily fundamentals remain very strong. "Vacancy rates are decreasing and rents are increasing," Woodwell says. "Properties in general are doing better. MBA does not forecast in terms of originations, but we do see stable interest rates going forward. Also we expect to see strong performance on loans in terms of low delinquency rates continue."

http://www.globest.com/news/594_594/washington/146633-1.html

REGIONAL NEWS

Falling Through at the Table
Even Solid-Looking Deals Can Collapse at Closing

By Tomoeh Murakami Tse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 17, 2006; Page F01

Ah, summer. The time for beach vacations, piņa coladas and suntan lotion. And for home buyers and sellers, a period of much nail-biting and hand-wringing, the start of that most stressful of times: closing season.

Every spring brings an uptick in the number of contracts signed between buyer and seller. Now, with lawyers, inspectors and appraisers in tow, both sides must head to the settlement table and collect the rewards of their house-hunting or curb-appeal-enhancing efforts.

But as any veteran real estate agent can attest, even the most solid-looking of transactions can crumble like plaster. And the stakes are rising for home sellers, who in a cooling market face the possibility of selling for less if they have to put their homes back on the market after a closing gone bad.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/16/AR2006061600749.html

 

Gardened and Glowing in Trinidad
Residents Turn Their Front-Porch NE Neighborhood Around

By Marianne Kyriakos
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, June 17, 2006; Page G01

Garden club members in Mabel Blocker's DC neighborhood have a preferred pastime for balmy weekend evenings: "We do a little planting," Blocker said. "Then we all sit out together on a neighbor's porch until late at night. Wine and cheese and crackers and fruit are passed around. We do a lot of that."

Such a scene might be taking place in Georgetown or Cleveland Park, or all over the suburbs. But it also is happening where Blocker and friends live, in Northeast Washington's Trinidad, a community whose name not long ago shared sentences with words such as "blight," "neglect" and "drug-infested."

Members of the year-old Trinidad/Ivy City Garden Club and others in the neighborhood are finding new adjectives to describe their gentrifying inner-city enclave. A mix of longtime African American residents and newcomers -- black, white, Asian, Hispanic and deaf (from nearby Gallaudet University) -- they have embraced a changing neighborhood.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/16/AR2006061600835.html

 

Even After Paying Off a Mortgage, Some Papers Are Worth Keeping

By Benny L. Kass
Saturday, June 17, 2006; Page F04

Q: Several years ago, my sisters and I purchased our property and obtained a mortgage loan from a bank. At the settlement, we were given a copy of the deed of trust. We recently paid off that mortgage and the bank sent us a copy of the release that had been filed with the county recorder of deeds.

Are there any other documents that we should have? Also, when we bought the property we paid for a title insurance policy. We never received a copy of that policy. How can we get title to our property?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/16/AR2006061600748.html

 

Former teachers union president runs for state Senate

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

COCKEYSVILLE - With a middle school at her back, outgoing state teachers union President Patricia A. Foerster on Tuesday launched her bid to unseat Senate Minority Whip Andrew P. Harris.

Surrounded by family members and union colleagues, Foerster, 66, vowed to continue advocating for better schools and bring a more moderate voice to Annapolis.

"Most of us seek commonsense solutions, a sensible middle ground. But some politicians force us into rigid boxes on the right and left," she said. "They divide our community. They talk about values, but abandon morality when it stands in the way or power and wealth."

http://www.gazette.net/stories/062006/montsta155602_31951.shtml

 

Ehrlich narrows down running mate possibilities
Announcement is expected sometime next week

Friday, June 23, 2006

ANNAPOLIS - While Democrats continue to sort out the fallout from Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan's departure from the governor's race, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. plans to announce his running mate next week.

Duncan pulled out of the race for governor on Thursday, clearing the Democratic field for Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley.

The Republican governor has to choose a replacement for Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele (R), who is running for the U.S. Senate, by the July 3 filing deadline. Ehrlich aides are targeting Wednesday for an announcement while trying to decide whether to have one major event announcing the governor's re-election and running mate selection or hold two separate events.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/062306/polia%20s201639_31948.shtml

 

Ehrlich vetoes rate relief bill; lawmakers head back for override

Friday, June 23, 2006

ANNAPOLIS - Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. vetoed the legislature's effort to ease the burden of increasing electricity bills on Thursday, serving as the penultimate chapter in the ongoing saga of Baltimore Gas and Electric rates.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch said the Democrat-controlled General Assembly would continue its special session today, overriding the veto and adding another policy victory over the Republican governor.

House Minority Whip Anthony J. O'Donnell said Republicans would try to get colleagues to consider an alternative plan submitted during last week's special session that satisfies Ehrlich's objections.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/062306/polia%20s200956_31944.shtml

 

Schaefer Ends the Guessing: He'll Run
84-Year-Old Comptroller Has Primary Challengers

By Matthew Mosk and Steve Vogel
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, June 22, 2006; Page B01

Former Maryland governor William Donald Schaefer ended weeks of speculation about his political future yesterday, announcing he will seek a third term as state comptroller.

The 84-year-old political veteran, who became widely known over 50 years in public life for his theatrical flair and unpredictable wisecracks, launched his campaign without any of the usual fanfare. Instead, he made an announcement shortly after delivering a glum monologue about aging and death at a public meeting.

He has some reason to be dour: Recent polls showed Schaefer (D) at a level of political danger he has not experienced since his early years as Baltimore's mayor in the 1970s, and he has attracted two aggressive primary challengers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062101964.html

   

Delayed Vote on Growth Draws Ire
Some Question Tulloch's Motives

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 22, 2006; Page B01

Just hours after the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors delayed a long-awaited vote Friday on a controversial plan to restrict home building in the rural west, the e-mails began flooding into the county government center.

In a county known for its volatile board, residents were confused ("What happened on Friday?"). They were upset ("Did you think people wouldn't notice that you didn't take the vote?"). And mostly, they were angry at Vice Chairman Bruce E. Tulloch (R-Potomac), the man responsible for the delay.

"What kind of game are you playing, Mr. Vice Chairman?" said John J. Seraphin of Leesburg in an e-mail distributed to all nine county supervisors. "You gave your word. That was supposed to be a done deal."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/21/AR2006062101883.html

 

3 Months Late, Va. Budget Approved
House Vote Sends Governor Two-Year, $72 Billion Spending Plan Without Transportation Package

By Rosalind S. Helderman and Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, June 21, 2006; Page B01

RICHMOND, June 20 -- Members of the Virginia House of Delegates approved a $72 billion state budget Tuesday -- three months late and with little additional money for roads and rails -- then immediately pledged to turn their attention to transportation.

By 91 to 2, the Republican-controlled House agreed to the two-year spending plan, which had been negotiated over weeks of grinding conflict with senior lawmakers from the state Senate. The Senate approved the budget Monday. It now goes to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), who may offer amendments or veto it.

Republican leaders in the House hailed the budget as a victory over Kaine, who had supported higher taxes to pay for increased spending on transportation projects. Kaine and his allies in the Senate had pushed for tax increases that would have raised billions of dollars over the next decade for roads, bridges, tunnels and transit.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/20/AR2006062001579.html

 

New Sector Plan Project Wins Approval

ARLINGTON, VA-Arlington County has approved the first project under the Clarendon Sector Plan, to encourage preservation in the historic district of Saul Centers' Clarendon Center. It includes office space, retail and a residential tower, and is located between Wilson Boulevard, North Highland Street, 11th Street North and North Garfield Street.

A county spokesperson tells GlobeSt.com the county was pleased with the developer's willingness to preserve two buildings in the project, instead of just the one building it initially proposed. "The thinking was, we had to get this one right, as it is essentially an anchor for the rest of the Clarendon sector," she says. "A lot of negotiations went into it with the developer." The end plan, "was considered a serious win. We had not been able to save two historic buildings in one project before," she said. The two buildings kept intact in the development are the Underwood Building, built in 1939, and Old Dominion Building, built in Art Deco style in 1941.

http://www.globest.com/news/598_598/washington/146714-1.html

 

Task Force Proposes Realignment

CRYSTAL CITY, VA-Last year when the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure Commission announced its plans to redeploy military assets around the country, the suburban Northern Virginia submarkets -- particularly Crystal City ? were in the bull's eye. According to a newly released report by Arlington County's BRAC Transition Task Force, 76.8% all office space in the Crystal City submarket will be affected by BRAC 2005. Rosslyn (12.8%); Ballston (8.5%); Pentagon City (1.8%); and Court House (0.1%) are other Virginia submarkets that will also feel the pinch.

The task force's new report, its first since it began meeting at the beginning of the year, suggests several directions in which these submarkets could move in order to attract private development to fill the void that will be left by BRAC when its process is complete in 2011. The overarching goal for the county, the panel recommends, is a transformation of Crystal City's landscape from the suburban glass, box-like office buildings that characterize it today to a more mixed-use neighborhood.

http://www.globest.com/news/596_596/washington/146671-1.html

 

Law Outlines Affordable Housing Options

ARLINGTON, VA-Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine has signed into law new legislation that will implement a bill adopted by the Virginia General Assembly last year--SB 273 Affordable Dwelling Unit Ordinance--that outlines new perimeters in which developers are to work with Arlington County to create affordable housing.

Under the new law, a developer can chose from four options: provide on-site Affordable Dwelling Units; provide off-site Affordable Dwelling Units nearby; provide off-site Affordable Dwelling Units in Arlington County; or make a cash contribution to Arlington?s Affordable Housing Investment Fund. Contributions from developers are projected to double (compared to the pre-ordinance period), according to the Arlington Economic Development Agency as a result of the plan.

http://www.globest.com/news/595_595/washington/146659-1.html