In
2 Wards, Democrats Go for Gray
By Nikita Stewart and Robert Pierre
Council member
Vincent Gray
(D-Ward 7) is stomping through the wards and right over
Council member Kathy
Patterson (D-Ward 3) in the race for council
chairman, with two new endorsements by local Democratic
committees.
Gray, who is in his first
term, solidly won the endorsements of the Ward 1 and
Ward 8 Democratic clubs, a feat that candidates for
mayor, at-large council seats and shadow representative
couldn't accomplish. And, unlike the real Sept. 12
Democratic primary, in which candidates need only a
majority of the votes to win, both Democratic clubs
require more for their endorsement: 60 percent in Ward 1
and two-thirds in Ward 8.
The ward endorsements
often are an indication of how well a candidate will be
able to get out the vote on election day.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071900788.html
Gentrification, With a
Difference
By Nikita Stewart
More than two years ago,
the District identified 14 "hot spots," communities
where open-air drug-dealing had overtaken neighborhoods.
The city was working to
deter crime in those areas, but Deputy Mayor Stanley
Jackson said authorities could see that crime was not
the only problem. "We wanted to look at the
characteristics that made these places hot," he said. "A
hopelessness was pervasive."
Encroaching gentrification
also was pervasive, as developers looked for new places
to erect high-priced condominiums. The hot spots "were
right outside the gentrification bubble," Jackson said.
"We can help manage this wave of development from
totally overwhelming these communities."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071900773.html
Kenilworth Rec Area to Be
Revived
By David Nakamura
Under a broiling midday
sun this week, Greg Rhett and Clark Ray stood in the
middle of the vast Kenilworth-Parkside recreation
complex surveying their surroundings.
The Northeast site is 10
acres, but no one else was around, save a reporter, a
photographer, three people playing handball on a
vertical slab of concrete and a couple others playing
tennis on the hard courts nearby.
If the heat kept people
away, so did the condition of the playing fields. The
track is two lanes of bumpy gravel. Three of six
basketball hoops are gone. A makeshift football field
was removed a few months ago for a rebuilding project
that has been talked about for years but has gone
nowhere.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071900720.html
Mayor Takes Aim at City's
Spike in Crime
By Lori Montgomery and Nikita Stewart
DC Mayor Anthony A.
Williams moved yesterday to combat a wave of serious
crime in the District, unveiling emergency legislation
that would allow installation of surveillance cameras
for the first time in residential neighborhoods, provide
an extra $8 million for police overtime and give the
mayor authority to adjust the city's youth curfew.
In a letter to council
Chairman Linda W. Cropp, Williams (D) asked the council
to return from summer recess for a rare special session
to approve the package, which is aimed at curtailing
what he called a "sharp increase in criminal activity"
that includes 15 murders since July 1. Last week, Police
Chief Charles H. Ramsey declared a crime emergency, but
Williams said police "cannot do this job alone."
"Our immediate goal is to
reduce violent crime by 50 percent over the next 30
days, and coordination of efforts will be critical to
achieving this goal," Williams wrote. "It is with this
sense of cooperation and partnership that I ask you and
the rest of the Council to demonstrate a united front by
convening a special session to pass critical emergency
legislation."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/17/AR2006071701219.html
Johns and Fenty to Hold
One-on-One Debate
By Lori Montgomery
Former Verizon executive
Marie C. Johns fired an unexpected salvo in the DC
mayor's race Friday, dialing up a live radio show to
challenge council member Adrian M. Fenty to a one-on-one
debate.
Fenty (D-Ward 4), a guest
on WAMU's "DC Politics Hour with Kojo and Jonetta," was
briefly stunned by the call from Johns, a
middle-of-the-pack candidate who is among the campaign's
most formidable public speakers. After a long pause, he
replied: "Sure."
Within hours, the date was
set: 9 a.m. Aug. 12. Maybe in Ward 8.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/15/AR2006071501193.html
Cropp, Fenty Chase
Different Donors
By Lori Montgomery and Elissa Silverman
The race for DC mayor has
been cast as a battle between proven experience and
fresh energy, and that contrast is apparent when you
follow the money.
The front-runners, DC
Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp and council member
Adrian M. Fenty, each have collected just over $1.75
million, fueling a campaign that is the most expensive
in city history. But with two months to go until the
Democratic primary, Cropp is raising funds the
old-fashioned way, building trust among big donors,
while Fenty is hustling for smaller contributions and
inspiring more ordinary voters to get involved in the
political process.
A Washington Post analysis
of campaign finance records shows that much of Cropp's
money has come from downtown developers, former
government officials and other members of the city's
political establishment, while more of Fenty's cash
comes from small businesses and his Ward 4 constituents,
many of them people writing their first checks in a
local election.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/15/AR2006071500934.html
Orange, Now Plodding, Sees
Room to Surge
By Yolanda Woodlee
Since Vincent B. Orange
Sr. unveiled himself as a "man on a mission" during a
lavish breakfast gathering 19 months ago, he's been
trying to build momentum and visibility in his quest to
become DC mayor.
In the beginning, the
two-term Ward 5 council member moved aggressively to
raise his political profile. He sent out 90,000 glossy
mailings, produced a 49-minute DVD chronicling his 49
years and held a big birthday bash at a popular
nightspot in his Northeast Washington ward. He even
pumped gas to attract attention to his call for a
moratorium on the city's gas tax.
But in recent months,
Orange, one of five major mayoral candidates seeking the
Democratic nomination in the Sept. 12 primary, has had a
tough time getting his message across. Although he has
spent countless hours at candidate forums and visited
hundreds of homes, Orange acknowledged that he is behind
in the polls and low on campaign cash.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071401527.html
DC Says It Has Found
Parking Near Stadium
By David Nakamura and Thomas Heath
Washington Post Staff Writers
District officials said
yesterday that they have identified nearly 9,000
potential parking spaces near the site of a new baseball
stadium in Southeast Washington, more than enough to
handle sellout crowds of 41,000 when the ballpark opens
in 2008.
Not all of the land for
parking is under the city's control, and some of the
spaces would be as far as 10 blocks away. The farthest
parking lots would be a 15-minute walk from the
ballpark, but city officials pledged that fans will find
access convenient at the ballpark's premiere.
"We're confident it can be
done. Yes, a lot of work has to happen, but there's an
opportunity to create a great fan experience," said
Stephen M. Green, the city's director of development,
who is overseeing stadium issues for Mayor Anthony A.
Williams (D).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/13/AR2006071301746.html
Rreef Makes $73M Buy in Downtown DC
WASHINGTON, DC - Chicago-based fund manager Rreef has
acquired 1250 Eye Street, NW on behalf of an
institutional client, for $73.8 million, according to a
source, from TA Associates Realty, a Boston-based
adviser to pension fund investors. The sale, which
closed in May, illustrates Rreef's ongoing interest in
the Washington, DC, market, a spokesperon tells
GlobeSt.com.
The
1250 Eye Street property is in the heart of Downtown
Washington, an area that block by block is rapidly
redeveloping. Finding competitive pricing for properties
in the central business district has become extremely
difficult, many institutional investors acknowledge, as
just about every investor from conduit to bank to life
insurance company wants to own a piece of real estate
here.
For
instance, in June MetLife Real Estate Investments placed
a $140.5 million, fixed-rate mortgage on a property one
block away at 1350 Eye Street NW. The building is a
345,990-sf Class A office building that is 98% leased to
25 tenants including several law firms. The borrower is
controlled by an affiliate of Beacon Capital Partners,
LLC. The asset is now part of Beacon's Fund IV, a $2
billion real estate fund that closed in April.
http://www.globest.com/news/638_638/washington/147500-1.html
Industrial Preleases Lower Than Expected
WASHINGTON, DC - By and large, activity in the metro
area industrial market remains steady, according to a
new report by GVA Advantis. However, preleasing of space
currently under construction is lower than expected,
which raises concerns that vacancy rates might be higher
than average in coming quarters.
"We
usually see preleasing rates that are higher than 26%,"
Tonya Ginter, director of Research, GVA Advantis, tells
GlobeSt.com. On the other hand, she adds, "we are seeing
industrial condo sales remain fairly steady. So the
sales market is doing pretty good."
According to the report, the Washington, DC-area
flex-industrial market ended the second quarter of 2006
with a vacancy rate of 11%--a slight increase from the
first quarter 2006 rate of 10.6%. Supply, meanwhile, is
increasing. During the second quarter, 705,875 sf of new
construction delivered in the DC area, compared to
385,306 sf delivered during the first quarter. It is the
2.5 million sf under construction at the moment--with
1.3 million sf in Maryland and 1.2 million in
Virginia--that concerns some industry watchers.
http://www.globest.com/news/636_636/washington/147458-1.html
$6B CarrAmerica, Blackstone Merger Closes
WASHINGTON, DC-The
the $5.6-billion merger between CarrAmerica Realty
Corp. and the New York City-based Blackstone Group
closed today. CarrAmerica's stockholders gave the green
light to the deal, which was brought to the table in
March, on Tuesday.
Now
that the deal is done, the locally based REIT will merge
with and into Nantucket Acquisition, Inc., an affiliate
of Blackstone. Approximately 99.6% of the shares of
CarrAmerica common stock present and voting at the
special meeting earlier this week approved the deal.
That figure represents approximately 71.9% of the total
number of shares of CarrAmerica common stock entitled to
vote at the meeting, according to the company. Under the
terms of the merger, holders of CarrAmerica's common
stock will receive $44.75 in cash, without interest, for
each share of common stock issued and outstanding
immediately prior to the effective time of the merger.
At the
time news of a possible merger was revealed in March,
Thomas S. Carr, chairman and CEO, said the deal would
allow the company to fulfill its mission to its
stockholders and create growth opportunities, as
GlobeSt.com previously reported. "With our most
aggressive performance assumptions, we don't believe we
could match the value being offered to our shareholders
today by this offer," he said at the time.
http://www.globest.com/news/629_629/washington/147314-1.html [
Back to Top ]
O'Malley Comes A-Courtin'
By Philip Rucker
Baltimore Mayor Martin
O'Malley, the presumptive Democratic nominee for
governor, came to Waldorf on Friday to pick up the
endorsements of more than two dozen elected officials in
Southern Maryland.
Just two months ago,
several of the endorsers, including state Sen. Thomas M.
Middleton (D), gathered at a sprawling Charles County
farm to endorse O'Malley's opponent in the Democratic
primary, Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan.
But Duncan dropped out of the race last month, and
Southern Maryland's Democratic officials -- like the
party establishment across the state -- quickly rallied
around O'Malley and his running mate, Del. Anthony G.
Brown (Prince George's).
On stage Friday, with a
green-and-white O'Malley-Brown banner behind them and
matching stickers on their lapels, were the titans of
Southern Maryland politics. There was Middleton, the
Charles County farmer who has served two decades in
elected office. There was state Sen. Roy P. Dyson (D), a
former congressman and fixture in St. Mary's politics
since the 1970s. And there was U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer,
the House Democratic whip from Mechanicsville. The only
top Democrat missing was state Senate President Thomas
V. Mike Miller Jr. (Calvert), who has officially
endorsed O'Malley but had a scheduling conflict.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/15/AR2006071500005.html
Rep. Davis's Plan to
Increase Funding Has a Long Way to Go
By Tim Craig
The effort by Rep. Thomas
M. Davis III (R-Va.) to boost federal and regional
support for the Metro transit system faces an uncertain
future in the U.S. Senate and state capitals, despite
his victory in the House of Representatives.
Much of Metrorail's system
and equipment must be refurbished or replaced. At the
same time, ridership is surging. More people took
Metrorail last month than during any other month in the
system's 30-year history. The average weekday ridership
last month was 747,329, compared with 734,582 the
previous June.
On Monday, the House
narrowly approved legislation that would commit $1.5
billion over 10 years to improve Metro service if the
region's governments match the money. The federal funds
would come from federal revenue from offshore drilling
operations. The District has agreed to provide a portion
of its sales tax to Metro, but Maryland and Virginia
have not acted.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901972.html
Who connects to Gov.
Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. through the Republican Main Street
Partnership?
Who connects Ehrlich
to the Young Republican National Federation?
And just who has
belonged to Yale University's elite secret society,
Skull and Bones? Not to mention, what did one of this
esteemed lot supposedly steal?
For political junkies
of all stripes, the answers to these questions and
others can be found atpoliticalfriendster.com.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/072106/polia%20s194045_31916.shtml
ANNAPOLIS ? For more
than a year, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has charged the
Democrats in the General Assembly have overreached their
authority on a host of issues, most notably in
regulating business.
On Wednesday, a U.S.
District Court judge agreed with him.
The legislature's
landmark legislation that would have forced retail giant
Wal-Mart to increase its spending on employee health
care was struck down because it violated a federal law
on employee benefits.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/072106/polia%20s194044_31915.shtml
Rerouting the Heart of
Fairfax City to Build a Destination
By Tom Jackman
Fairfax City is holding
its breath.
The big day will be
sometime around Aug. 5, when officials convert downtown
one-way streets to allow two-way traffic, hoping to
create a pedestrian-friendly destination for shopping
and dining.
City officials say the
change is a necessary step in revitalizing the downtown,
the part of the city that many have dreamed of turning
into a sort of Old Town. They are betting that the
changes will not trigger chaos or gridlock at one of
Northern Virginia's major intersections, the juncture of
Routes 123 (Chain Bridge Road) and 236 (Main Street).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071900734.html
Webb Campaign Appears
Undaunted by Fundraising Gap
By Tim Craig
RICHMOND, July 14 -- The
Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Virginia raised
just under a half-million dollars in the two weeks after
the June 13 primary but still trails Republican
incumbent George Allen in the hunt for campaign cash,
according to finance reports released Friday.
The filings with the
Federal Election Commission show that James Webb has
$424,000 in the bank as he enters what is likely to be a
bruising battle against the better-known Allen leading
up to the Nov. 7 general election.
Allen, a former governor
who has been stockpiling money for a possible
presidential bid in 2008, reports having $6.6 million in
the bank, even though he spent $1.7 million from May 25
to June 30 on a television advertising campaign and
other expenses.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/14/AR2006071401545.html
Losing the 'No Car Tax'
Promise
By Brigid Schulte
Come October when personal
property tax bills arrive in the mail, about half the
vehicle owners in Arlington County are likely to have a
big question: Whatever happened to Virginia's "no car
tax" promise?
Their car tax bills will
be going up. In some cases, way up. Tax bills will more
than double for those who own cars valued at $20,000,
from $251 last year to $510.
The reason for the
increase is complicated, involving state budget
politics, Arlington's bid to keep wages competitive and
the County Board's desire to promote progressive
policies that ease the tax burden on lower-income
residents.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071900567.html
JER, Formation Capital Acquire Tandem for $620M
MCLEAN,
VA-JER Partners, the private equity investment arm of
J.E. Robert Cos., has strengthened its hand in the
healthcare real estate asset class with the $620-million
acquisition of Tandem Health Care, Inc., a provider of
long-term healthcare services in Maitland, FL.
JER
Partners acquired the 77-facility portfolio from Behrman
Capital, a private equity investment firm in New York
and San Francisco, under a consortium relationship with
Formation Capital LLC, an operator and investor in
senior housing based in Alpharetta, GA, and Jenkintown,
PA.
JER and
Formation plan to restructure Tandem into an owner of
skilled nursing and other senior housing facilities.
Tandem's senior management will maintain operational
control of the facilities through a joint venture formed
between Joe Conte, Tandem's president and COO, and CFO
Gene Curcio, called Consulate Healthcare.
http://www.globest.com/news/628_628/washington/147285-1.html
Entrepreneurial
Spirit, as Seen in the Numbers
By Michael S. Rosenwald
Economic development
officials have counted the number of companies
opening or expanding within the county in fiscal
2006. The final tally: 156 firms employing 7,624
people and occupying 3,436,474 square feet of office
space.
"These numbers show
that our efforts to expand and retain our talented
workforce and our innovative companies are paying
off," said David Edgerly, the county's economic
development director. "Our mission is to bring
high-quality jobs into Montgomery County to match
the incredible talent of our residents."
The county is the
state's largest job center, adding 93,000 jobs since
1995. It also has the state's highest number of
female-owned firms, as well as the most
Hispanic-owned and Asian American businesses.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071900940.html
Three on Council Back
Former Agency Head to Return to Position
By Ann E. Marimow and Nancy Trejos
Three Montgomery
County Council members said yesterday that they
would back Royce Hanson, a blunt-talking, nationally
recognized land-use expert, to rehabilitate the
troubled planning agency in the county's most
powerful appointed role.
Although most of the
nine council members have yet to name their pick,
Hanson emerged as the leading candidate from a pack
of contenders for the job of Planning Board
chairman.
Council President
George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) declined to say
yesterday whom he supported or to speculate for whom
the council would vote when it formally considers
the issue July 25. But he said he had "a sense of
where the council is going to end up, and if you're
calling around today, you can probably do the math."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/17/AR2006071701321.html
Ex-Real Estate Agent,
Others Cleared in Tax Case
By Ernesto Londoño
Montgomery County
prosecutors last week dropped theft and conspiracy
charges against a Bethesda woman and four others
accused of fraudulently seeking tax breaks in a real
estate transaction.
Prosecutors said
felony charges were dropped against Minh Vu Hoang,
54, after her sister, a codefendant, pleaded guilty
to a misdemeanor charge. The sister's plea "made it
impossible to show criminal intent by other parties
in the matter," said John McLane, a spokesman for
the Montgomery County state's attorney's office. He
declined to elaborate.
Hoang has been in the
real estate business for more than 20 years and has
purchased hundreds of foreclosed properties in the
Washington area -- including many in Montgomery --
that she has later sold. This is the second time in
less than a year that felony charges filed against
her relating to real estate transactions have been
dismissed before trial.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071901842.html
Ehrlich at the JCC:
Opportunism Or an Attempt to Reach Out?
By Ann E. Marimow and Nancy Trejos
Gov.
Robert L. Ehrlich
Jr . (R) made a guest appearance Monday
at the Jewish Community Center of Greater
Washington's summer lecture series. Participants
arrived at the Berman Hebrew Academy in Rockville to
learn the "Secrets of Smart Investing" from
James Glassman.
But first they were treated to brief opening remarks
by Ehrlich, who expressed his support for Israel at
a time when the Jewish community is anxiously
following news from the Middle East.
Ron Halber,
executive director of the Jewish Community Relations
Council, said many in the audience were thrilled to
see the governor. There was polite applause and
people were respectful and appreciative, he said.
But Halber
acknowledged there was some dissatisfaction in the
audience, including from the man who underwrites the
symposium in honor of his parents.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071900893.html
Advocates Fight to
Save Groundbreaking Building
By Miranda S. Spivack
Can a building that's
less than 40 years old be a piece of history?
Preservationists hope the County Council will agree
that the Comsat Corp. building is.
If the building, a
low-rise, tubular, glass-and-aluminum structure on
30 acres along Interstate 270 near Clarksburg, is
designated as historic, it will be protected from
demolition.
Designed by architect
César Pelli, it may be torn down as part of plans by
Lcor Inc. of Berwyn, Pa., to build 1,500 apartments
and townhouses, up to 1 million square feet of
office space and shops and restaurants.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071900942.html
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page DZ02
City Hopes a Mix of High and Low Incomes Will Stamp Out
Drug Havens
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page DZ01
Rebuilding Had Been Plagued With Snags
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page DZ01
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 18, 2006; Page B04
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 16, 2006; Page C04
One Taps Longtime Political Connections; the Other,
Grass Roots
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, July 16, 2006; Page A01
Mayoral Hopeful, No Stranger to Comeback Victories,
Likes Where He Stands
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 15, 2006; Page B01
Almost 9,000 Spots Are Possible, Officials Say
Friday, July 14, 2006; Page B01
Area Officials Rally With Endorsements
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 16, 2006; Page SM01
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page B06
Six degrees of politicians
Making friends? Got a conspiracy theory? Surf here
Wal-Mart decision: Business, GOP crow
Democrats vow to appeal or rework the law to make it
acceptable to the court
Officials Say It's Worth Trying, but Main Street
Proprietors Say They'll Be Hurt
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page VA18
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 15, 2006; Page B02
Bills to Rise for Many Under New Formula
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page VA03
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page GZ04
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 18, 2006; Page B05
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page B06
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page GZ02
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 20, 2006; Page GZ03
