Mayor Anthony A. Williams signed legislation yesterday for the revitalization of the Sursum Corda neighborhood, where affordable housing and redevelopment have been promoted and organized by residents.

The bill advances a plan that calls for 1,600 housing units in Sursum Corda, a cooperative housing complex bounded by K and M streets NW between North Capitol Street and First Street, 520 of which are to be designated as affordable units for low-income families. The rest of the housing will be condominiums, apartments and townhouses intended for moderate-income and more-affluent residents as part of an effort to create a mixed-income community.

"It'll have a wonderful effect on the neighborhood," said Alverta Munlyn, a former resident who was a major force behind the redevelopment plan. "After two and a half years of work between the community and the government, we have a plan that will work for everybody."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/25/AR2006072501451.html

DC Developer Sways the City With Big Bucks and Big Ideas
Miller Aims to Build Near Nationals Park

By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 25, 2006; Page A01

Developer Herbert S. Miller boasts that he can thank a taxi driver in any of 55 languages. He lives in a 28,000-square-foot Georgetown mansion with spiral staircases, two pools, a spa and a gym. He has developed an energy plan that he says could change the way Americans live.

Miller, 63, speaks eloquently, lives large and thinks big, which is why friends, colleagues and even some competitors call him a visionary whose ideas lead him places where others won't go or can't get to. Potomac Mills, Washington Harbor and Gallery Place are among his signature achievements.

This summer, Miller has worked his way into a key role in the biggest project in town: the construction of an entertainment district near the planned Washington Nationals baseball stadium in Southeast Washington.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/24/AR2006072401067.html

Citing Crime Bill, Cropp Rebuffs Poll

By David Nakamura and Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, July 25, 2006; Page B02

Linda W. Cropp dismissed yesterday a Washington Post poll that found she trails Adrian M. Fenty in the race for DC mayor and said the results would have been different had the survey been conducted after the DC Council approved a crime bill last week.

Cropp (D), the council chairman, said Fenty (D-Ward 4) was out of touch with residents because he was the only council member to oppose the crime legislation. The bill, which came after a city crime emergency declaration, imposes a 10 pm youth curfew, gives police immediate access to some confidential juvenile records and installs surveillance cameras in neighborhoods.

"Mr. Fenty does not even recognize that there is a neighborhood crime problem," Cropp said. "Obviously, he's not talking to the community."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/24/AR2006072401021.html

Williams's Support Hits Lowest Point in His Tenure as Mayor
55 Percent Ready for New Direction

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 23, 2006; Page A06

In his first term, DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams basked in the rosy glow of an optimistic city where three in four residents said he was doing a good job.

Well, that honeymoon is long over. And as Williams prepares to retire in January, a new Washington Post poll suggests that a majority of District voters are ready for a change.

Support for Williams (D) has fallen to its lowest point since he was first elected in 1998. Slightly more than half of voters surveyed -- 54 percent -- say they approve of the job he is doing. But 40 percent are not satisfied, with blacks and the poor registering the highest levels of disapproval.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200821.html 

Williams Seeks Meeting To Heal Rift With Lerners
Mayor Calls Nats Owners Condescending

By David Nakamura and Thomas Heath
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 27, 2006; Page B04

DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams called yesterday for a meeting to restore goodwill between city officials and the new owners of the Washington Nationals, saying that the family of Bethesda developer Theodore N. Lerner had been "condescending" in dealings with the city.

Relations between the owners and the city have deteriorated in recent weeks over parking facilities at a stadium planned along the Anacostia River.

Nationals President Stan Kasten played down the rift yesterday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601694.html

DC Mayor Wants Study Of Need for More Police

By Lori Montgomery and Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 27, 2006; Page A01

Calling for a review of police staff levels and deployment, DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams said yesterday that the District may need to hire hundreds of officers to meet the twin demands of a growing population and a rising crime rate.

"We may have to go up to some higher number," Williams said, adding that restoring the department to its past peak of 5,100 officers may be a possibility.

Williams (D), who is retiring in January, said he has spoken with Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey and other top officials about designing "a really good, comprehensive review of deployment" so the city can determine "what we need and what citizens want."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601628.html

Stadium Lease Issues Resolved; Team Sold

WASHINGTON, DC-Major League Baseball has officially transferred ownership of the Washington Nationals to a group headed by Washington developer Theodore N. Lerner. The move had been delayed last week due to a possible default on a construction administration contract by the city for the planned $611-million Washington Nationals stadium.

According to a spokesperson in the DC Sports & Entertainment Commission, the letter MLB sent to the city, which was printed in a national newspaper, was much ado about nothing and the city's lease had never been in jeopardy. "They just wanted more clarification from us on certain issues; unfortunately it was characterized as a default," he tells GlobeSt.com. Some of the issues had to do with claims pending against the city's use of eminent domain and because these claims haven't been resolved yet, he says, "we couldn?t deliver all of the paperwork."

Another source in the District of Columbia's mayor's office also confirms that the paperwork has been processed and the city is in no danger of default.

http://www.globest.com/news/644_644/washington/147609-1.html

Sports Agency Disputes Default Notice

WASHINGTON, DC-The 11-member DC Sports and Entertainment Commission, an independent agency of the District of Columbia government, Friday was rushing paperwork to Major League Baseball officials who contend the city has defaulted on a construction administration contract for the planned $611-million Washington Nationals stadium. The stadium is tentatively scheduled to open in April 2008. The team currently plays its games at the 45-year-old RFK Stadium.

Tony Robinson, director of public affairs for the commission, tells GlobeSt.com Major League Baseball's citation is a technical but not a legal issue. "To the best of my knowledge, all of the documents they asked for have been completed and will be delivered today," Robinson says. The DC attorney general's office is preparing the requested paperwork.

Sources in Mayor Anthony A. Williams' office tell GlobeSt.com Major League Baseball cannot legally move the team out of Washington. The city has 30 days to answer the default notice before baseball executives can file a lawsuit, according to the mayor's office. Tom Ostertag, a lawyer representing Major League Baseball, couldn't be reached at GlobeSt.com's publication deadline. Sources in a position to know tell GlobeSt.com Ostertag, in a letter to the city this week, alleged the city had defaulted on its development contract for the new stadium.

http://www.globest.com/news/642_642/washington/147575-1.html

HFF Sees Positive DC Investment Sales

WASHINGTON, DC-Steve Conley, one of the heads of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.'s Washington, DC office, believes the area is well on track to meeting or exceeding last year's $10.8 billion in investment sales, despite that fact that midway through 2006 only $3.6 billion has closed.

In general, he tells GlobeSt.com, the second half of the year is always busier. Also, he says, there are a lot of deals pending out of the public's eye at the moment. "Based on what we know is happening in the market and what we are tracking, I believe there will be a significant level of additional closings in the second half of the year."

HFF's DC office is on track to meet last year's $1.75 billion of investment sales transactions and $1.3 billion of debt transactions, he adds. "We are already approaching $1 billion in investment sales and over $1 billion in debt."

http://www.globest.com/news/641_641/washington/147551-1.html

REGIONAL NEWS

Buying Into Baltimore
Washington Transplants Are Streaming North to Grab Budget Prices

By Eugene L. Meyer
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, July 22, 2006; Page F01

To hear Falita Liles talk, you would think she had died and gone to heaven. But all the University of the District of Columbia librarian has done is move from Washington to Baltimore.

Thousands of Washingtonians each year are moving north from the Capital City to Charm City, attracted by cheaper housing, ethnic neighborhoods and urban amenities they say are lacking here. The ex-Washingtonians have leveraged the appreciation on their DC homes to buy larger and, they say, live better in Baltimore.

The migration has been aided by Live Baltimore, a largely city-funded nonprofit that since April 2002 has spent about $350,000 to market Baltimore to Washingtonians, quietly luring prospects with nearly monthly free happy hours in and around the District.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/21/AR2006072100663.html

Sales of New Homes Decline in June

By Martin Crutsinger
The Associated Press
Thursday, July 27, 2006; 7:12 PM

WASHINGTON -- Sales of new homes fell in June for the first time in four months, and the government also lowered figures for May, providing further evidence the high-flying housing market is losing altitude.

The Commerce Department reported Thursday that new home sales dropped by 3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 1.131 million units. It was the first decline since an 11.5 percent drop in February.

The government also marked down sales activity in May to a pace of 1.166 million units, substantially below its initial estimate of 1.234 million units.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/27/AR2006072700389.html

After 5 Years of Growth, Home Prices Drop
Inventories Swell in Parts of DC Region

By Tomoeh Murakami Tse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 26, 2006; Page A01

In what may be the most telling sign yet that the real estate market here has shifted downward, median prices of homes in several parts of the Washington area have declined when compared with the same time last year.

In Loudoun County, for example, the median price of homes sold dropped 1.2 percent last month, compared with June 2005, according to Metropolitan Regional Information Systems Inc., the area's multiple listing service. In Fairfax County, prices fell by half a percent in May and a tenth of a percent in June. And in the District, the decrease was 0.8 percent in March and 1.2 percent in May, compared with the same months last year, even though prices in the District in June were higher than the year before. The median is the point at which half of the houses cost less and the rest more.

The declines are small, and certainly not universal. Prices continue to rise in some areas, most notably Prince George's County, where houses are still relatively inexpensive. But the drops are significant because they mark the first time in half a decade that home prices have fallen in a 12-month span, illustrating just how much the real estate landscape has changed after five years of double-digit growth in home prices.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/25/AR2006072501513.html

Clever Ploy or Misstep?
Senate campaign may benefit from candor

Friday, July 28, 2006

The flap over Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele's attempt to distance himself from President George W. Bush and the Republican Party might actually help him with Maryland's more moderate and independent voters -- so says a leading national political analyst.

"I don't think he's going to lose a single Republican vote," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center of Politics. "Plenty of moderate Republicans will identify with what he said. There's a lot of disquiet about Bush and about his GOP strategies. It could attract some moderate Republicans that Steele needs. It could attract the independent voters Steele needs."

For Steele to win in November against the Democratic candidate, he will need to attract the same voters who put him and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in office in 2002, Sabato said. "If Steele wins, it'll be the same way, winning almost all the Republicans, 60 percent of the independents and a tiny slice of Democrats," he said.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/072806/polia%20s193120_31950.shtml

Targeting Miller, Candidate and Symbol
Republicans see the District 27 Senate election as a chance to make a gain, and a statement

Friday, July 28, 2006

CLINTON -- Maryland's political universe trembled four years ago when a political novice did the unthinkable and dethroned House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr., a pillar of the legislature for almost three decades.

With Republicans vowing to pour unprecedented resources into ousting Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr., some are asking whether history can repeat itself this year or if the GOP nominee is the party's quadrennial martyr.

While many consider Miller unbeatable in a district that trends heavily Democratic, the appearance of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. at a campaign kickoff Thursday in Prince George's County for ex-Bush administration official Ron Miller signals that Mike Miller is enemy No. 1 for Republicans.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/072806/polia%20s193134_31953.shtml

GOP turning out in Baltimore City

Friday, July 28, 2006

Some Baltimore city voters in November will see something they might not have seen in past elections: Republicans.

The GOP is fielding at least one candidate in each of the city's legislative districts, either for the Senate or the House of Delegates.

State GOP Chairman John M. Kane said his party has been more successful in recruiting candidates to run for office, even in a Democratic stronghold like the state's largest city.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/072806/polia%20s193154_31956.shtml

Packed Council Meeting Leads To National Harbor Compromise

By Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 27, 2006; Page T02

A veritable who's who of county politics attended a packed County Council hearing last week to decide what conditions to impose on Gaylord Entertainment in exchange for tax incentives designed to encourage the company to expand the massive hotel it is building at the National Harbor site.

There was County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), of course. He negotiated a deal in February to get the Nashville-based hotel chain to enlarge its Prince George's behemoth from 1,500 to 2,000 rooms. Now, his deal was threatened by a council move to tie a $50 million bond package to requirements that at least 15 percent of Gaylord's contractors and vendors be minority businesses. He spoke first and encouraged the council to find some way other than the bonds to enforce the minority business requirements.

Then followed a parade of current and past county leaders. Nathaniel Exum (D) spoke and said his comments would have been echoed by Ulysses Currie (D), except that his fellow state senator had to leave.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072600985.html

For Whites in Prince George's, a Mirror on Race
County's Black Affluence Reverses Roles

By Lonnae O'Neal Parker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 27, 2006; Page A01

The swimming pool in Abby Hopper's Bowie development was already crowded when Hopper, her husband, their two toddler girls, her sister-in-law and her two young kids arrived in a cloud of plastic buckets, kickboards and Cinderella floaties. Just settling in was a huge production. Then, sitting in her lounger, Hopper finally looked around. There had to be 75 people at the pool.

They were the only whites.

Hopper, 35, felt that stab -- call it acute self-consciousness. She didn't know the people around her, and they didn't know her. What if Madeline made a splashy mess or Ellie took another child's floatie -- because that's what little kids do. What if the other moms thought her girls were some entitled-feeling white kids, with their entitled-feeling white mother looking on?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601974.html

Wolf, Davis Say Tunnel May Delay Dulles Rail

By Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 27, 2006; Page A01

The leading congressional supporter of extending Metrorail to Dulles International Airport warned Virginia officials yesterday that an underground route through Tysons Corner could doom the project, casting plans for a subway tunnel into doubt.

In a strongly worded letter to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), the rail extension's top federal backer, and Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) said that a tunnel under Tysons, although preferable in theory, would delay the project and raise its cost, imperiling key federal funding and the entire 23-mile extension from West Falls Church.

Virginia "may very well be rolling the dice on the future of this project," Wolf and Davis wrote. "Simply put, we are concerned about the long-term viability of the project with any decision that could delay it."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601500.html

Loudoun Again Postpones Vote On Home Limits
Critics See Intrigue in Delays

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 26, 2006; Page B01

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has again delayed voting on home-building limits in the county's rural west, and critics are questioning some board members' commitment to slowing the growth in homes, traffic and taxes in the state's fastest-growing county.

Late Monday, for the second time in as many months, supervisors agreed -- after four hours of emotional public testimony -- to postpone action on the proposal, this time until September. They said they had little choice after the county Planning Commission had unexpectedly agreed moments before to send the measure back to a discussion meeting instead of recommending it to supervisors, as almost everyone thought they would at the joint meeting.

But critics, including several supervisors who were ready to vote this week, said the Planning Commission's maneuver leaves them increasingly suspicious that a small group of opponents of the building restrictions is orchestrating the delays to protect -- or grandfather -- landowners who are rushing to subdivide their property before the restrictions take effect.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/25/AR2006072501576.html

Tysons Landowners Could Cover Cost Of Metro Tunnel
State Considers Raising Tax in Area

By Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 26, 2006; Page B05

Amid indications that Virginia is leaning toward building a Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport below ground through Tysons Corner, Fairfax County officials and Tysons landowners are discussing a higher tax on Tysons properties to pay for a tunnel.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and Transportation Secretary Pierce R. Homer are on the verge of deciding whether to build a tunnel or elevated track for the four-mile Tysons stretch of the 23-mile extension to Dulles. Tomorrow, they are to receive the results of a two-month study of the question by a panel of independent engineers.

The decision has emerged as a defining moment for the $4 billion project and for the future of Tysons Corner. Fairfax officials, Tysons landowners and some Metro officials say a tunnel would be less disruptive during construction and would contribute far more to the county's hopes of transforming Tysons into a walkable, urban-style hub. But others, including the project's contractors, say a tunnel would be prohibitively expensive and would delay the extension.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/25/AR2006072501365.html

Loudoun Housing Plan Irks Neighbors
Traffic Study Roils Fairfax, Pr. William

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 21, 2006; Page B01

Civic activists and elected officials from Fairfax and Prince William counties are criticizing a plan to allow thousands of new homes in southeastern Loudoun County, days after the release of a state study that predicts the homes would cause gridlock across the three Northern Virginia jurisdictions.

Others, however, have excoriated the Virginia Department of Transportation study, saying it was poorly conducted, politically motivated and cynically timed to be publicized before the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors was scheduled to begin discussing the controversial Dulles South proposal. The study was released July 13.

Supervisors met Tuesday, and several of them were so angry at VDOT district chief Dennis C. Morrison that, after taking turns verbally lashing him, they voted to delay action on the plan until a more complete traffic analysis can be done by the county. Among other things, they accused Morrison of painting a dire portrait of Dulles South to create support for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), who is seeking new taxes to fund transportation improvements.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072001945.html

Old Magnets Just Don't Attract
As the Big Stores Wilt, Malls Look to Food and Cinema

By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 23, 2006; Page F01

Even 17-year-old employee Michelle Yass has noticed: When shoppers at paper store Papyrus in Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax have a question, what they're asking about isn't engraved invitations or shades of vellum. Increasingly, it's the Cheesecake Factory.

The restaurant, which boasts more than 200 menu items and, often, two-hour lines, is scheduled to open at Fair Oaks in the fall, along with steakhouse Texas de Brazil. Customers are waiting with bated breath.

"I've told everyone," said Yass, who lives in Herndon. "Everyone's gonna go now. This mall needs it."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200104.html

MetLife Places $23M Mortgage on 1625 K St.

VIENNA, VA-MetLife Real Estate Investments has placed a $23-million fixed-rate mortgage on 1625 K Street NW, a 108,085-sf building that Shorenstein Properties LLC purchased one month ago from GE Capital Real Estate. It was the San Francisco firm's fifth major acquisition in the Washington, DC area. This transaction was for an equity investment fund that the company created 18 months ago. Brian V. Casey, R. Steven Taylor and Stephen Brill of MetLife's Washington, DC office led the transaction team.

This deal follows a recent $140.5-million fixed-rate mortgage MetLife placed on 1350 Eye Street NW, a 345,990-sf office building 98% leased to 25 tenants. In this deal, the borrower was controlled by an affiliate of Beacon Capital Partners, LLC. The acquisition of this property closed on June 6, according to a Beacon Capital Partners spokesperson, and is now part of Beacon's Fund IV, a $2-billion real estate fund that closed in April.

http://www.globest.com/news/649_649/washington/147716-1.html