WASHINGTON, DC NEWS

COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: Split Aired on Development Guidelines
Whether Council Should Act or Wait At Issue in Hearing

By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 27, 2006; Page B02

The DC Council heard testimony yesterday from dozens of residents who think that the city needs a new Comprehensive Plan to guide development over the next 20 years.

About 90 people spoke before the council or submitted documents, and they all said the current plan, adopted in 1984 and last amended in 1998, is outdated.

But they split over whether the council should approve a 500-page draft document this year or action should be deferred until a new mayor and council take over in January.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/27/AR2006092700016.html

Developers Selected to Transform Southwest Waterfront

By Dana Hedgpeth
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 29, 2006; Page A01

A team of developers was chosen last night to transform 47 acres of the Southwest waterfront, from the 12th Street Bridge to Fort McNair, into a multi-million dollar neighborhood with housing, restaurants, shops, offices and cultural attractions.

The developers, PN Hoffman of the District and Baltimore's Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, plan to invest $800 million to turn a concrete-heavy product of 1960's urban renewal into a leafy park-like setting that attempts to capitalize on the riverfront landscape, with an inviting promenade and tall ships docking at the piers.

The area is now home to the Fish Market, Channel Inn Hotel, the Zanzibar and other nightclubs, Phillips Seafood restaurant and parking lots. The Fish Market will remain, but it remains unclear whether some of the businesses, such as Phillips, will stay in the new development or not.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092801442.html?nav=hcmodule

Mayor Seeks Millions for Health Needs
Plan Would Allocate Tobacco Settlement Funds to DC Facilities, Services

By Susan Levine
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 26, 2006; Page A01

Mayor Anthony A. Williams will propose today that the city dedicate at least $245 million in tobacco settlement funds to an array of major health initiatives, from cancer prevention to new comprehensive clinics east of the Anacostia River to significant improvements in hospital emergency care.

The sweep of Williams's plan in many ways exceeds the government's previous commitment to residents' health needs. It would buy bricks and mortar as well as services, all aimed at reversing the District's acute rates of chronic disease and making care more accessible across the city. More than half of the money would be directed to poorer eastern communities.

"We have never invested this kind of money in the health-care infrastructure of the city," DC Council member and Health Committee Chairman David A. Catania (I-At Large) said yesterday. "This is the way you address the health disparities."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092501226.html

New Stadium Focus Is Parking
District Appears to Put Area Revitalization Plans on Hold

By David Nakamura and Thomas Heath
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 24, 2006; Page C01

District government leaders appear resigned to slowing their efforts to create mixed-use development near the new Washington Nationals baseball stadium in Southeast, concentrating instead on ensuring adequate parking when the ballpark opens.

Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) had hoped that a proposal from Herbert S. Miller to build two 13-story condominium towers adjacent to the ballpark would anchor a sweeping redevelopment of the neglected Anacostia waterfront.

But after the deal collapsed a few days ago, city officials said they have only enough time and money to satisfy their legal agreement with the Washington Nationals, which requires that the stadium and 1,225 parking spots be completed by March 2008.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/23/AR2006092300373.html

Williams Names Deputy Mayor To Be New City Administrator

By Yolanda Woodlee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 23, 2006; Page B04

DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams said yesterday that Edward D. Reiskin, one of the city's four deputy mayors, will serve as the interim city administrator for the last three months of Williams's tenure in office.

Reiskin came to the District in 2003 as chief of staff to City Administrator Robert C. Bobb, who has resigned to run for president of the DC school board. Reiskin worked for Bobb in Oakland, Calif., and has served for nearly two years as the city's deputy mayor for public safety and justice. As deputy mayor, Reiskin oversaw the police, fire and emergency medical services departments.

Williams said he wants Reiskin to help ensure a smooth transition when a new mayor takes office in January. The city administrator oversees government operations and the four deputy mayors.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/22/AR2006092201550.html

GAO: Terrorism Insurance Soloing Not Doable

WASHINGTON, DC-A new report issued this week by the GAO lends credence to the argument that the private market cannot support terrorism coverage without a federal backstop in place. The heated debate between some members of Congress and the real estate and insurance industries was only partially laid to rest when Congress extended the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 late last year for another two years.

"Given the challenges faced by insurers in providing coverage for, and pricing, NBCR [nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological] risks, any purely market-driven expansion of coverage is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future," the GAO team concluded.

http://www.globest.com/news/735_735/washington/149366-1.html

Camden Forging Ahead on $99M Rental Project

WASHINGTON, DC-Camden Property Trust, the Houston-based multifamily owner and operator, is finalizing plans to build an apartment building on a one-acre plot that it acquired 18 months ago in Southeast Washington.

James Hinton, senior vice president of Camden's real estate investments, says the land at 1325 S. Capitol SW is ideally situated--across the street from the Nationals stadium that is now under construction. The firm is in predevelopment and approval talks with the DC government. Hinton tells GlobeSt.com that Camden should be ready to begin construction on the 244-unit, 210,000-sf building in Q2 2007. The development's name has yet to be picked.

http://www.globest.com/news/734_734/washington/149355-1.html

REGIONAL NEWS

Prices of Existing Homes Fell in Aug.
Drop Is First in 11 Years as Supply Swells

By Tomoeh Murakami Tse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 26, 2006; Page D01

The median price of existing homes fell in August, compared with a year earlier, the first year-over-year drop in 11 years, according to an industry report released yesterday.

The report by the National Association of Realtors also said that home sales fell to the slowest pace in more than two years and that the supply of unsold homes ballooned to the highest level in 13 years.

After a year of cooling activity, the latest signals from the weakening U.S. housing market came as no surprise to analysts, who had expected a slightly larger drop in sales. Many said they expected the market to decline further in coming months, although they differed on the extent.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092500357.html

Sales of New Homes Rise, But Gains Predicted to End

By Martin Crutsinger
Associated Press
Thursday, September 28, 2006; Page D03

After falling for three months, sales of new homes rose in August. But the gain was expected to be temporary, as the housing industry struggles with a near-record level of unsold homes.

The Commerce Department reported yesterday that new-home sales increased 4.1 percent last month, the largest showing since an 8 percent increase last March.

But even with the increase, the median price of a new home fell to $237,000, a drop of 1.3 percent from August 2005. It was the first price decline from one year to the next since late 2003.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/27/AR2006092701857.html

Mfume Endorses Cardin, but Adds Caveat
Ex-Rival Urges More Diversity

By Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 28, 2006; Page A01

Senate candidate Benjamin L. Cardin received the critical endorsement yesterday of Democratic primary opponent Kweisi Mfume, whose blessing came with a blunt warning about the lack of diversity among candidates for statewide office in Maryland.

The main attraction at Cardin's campaign rally at the University of Maryland was supposed to be Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.), a rising star in the Democratic Party. But Mfume -- who lost to Cardin on Sept. 12 -- left a stark impression, telling the Baltimore congressman and fellow Democrats, "We have a problem."

On stage at an outdoor amphitheater filled with college Democrats, the former NAACP president enthusiastically put his arms around Cardin, saying: "I know what he's done in the past, and I know what he'll do in the future. He's going to make a damn good senator."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/27/AR2006092701358.html

Highway Backer a Steady Ehrlich Donor
Proposed Route Crucial to Success of Developer's 'Mini-City' Project

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 26, 2006; Page A01

The $4,000 checks started arriving in Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s reelection campaign treasury Jan. 2 from such obscure corporations as Freestate Owner LLC, Muirkirk, Chase Limited and President Street Associates.

By Jan. 3, there were seven of the checks, each from a company directly linked to developer Kingdon Gould III, a descendant of railroad barons who is one of Maryland's most prolific political donors and a vigorous booster for the intercounty connector.

That same day, Ehrlich's transportation secretary signed off on a final study of the controversial highway, an 18-mile ribbon of asphalt that would extend east from Rockville to the gravel pits where Gould plans a massive commercial and residential development called Konterra.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092501457.html

Fort Meade Expansion Ignites Fears
5,400 New Workers Will Clog Roads and Crowd Schools, Residents Say

By Raymond McCaffrey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 25, 2006; Page B04

When the Pentagon announced a long-term plan to reorganize the nation's military bases, Fort Meade became one of the region's big winners.

Now, more than a year later, residents near the Anne Arundel County base fear that they might turn out to be the big losers, as developers rush to accommodate an estimated 5,400 additional workers coming to the base.

Residents say the influx of homes and office buildings will put more cars on clogged roads, bring more students to crowded schools and continue to erode the close-knit atmosphere that drew them to the area.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/24/AR2006092401077.html

'Troubled' By Election, Edwards Concedes

By Eric Rich
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, September 25, 2006; Page B06

Congressional hopeful Donna Edwards (D) accepted defeat yesterday, saying 12 days after a deeply troubled primary election that she believes votes in the congressional district straddling Montgomery and Prince George's counties have been counted "to the extent that they will be."

Edwards, who challenged Democratic Rep. Albert R. Wynn in a bid for Maryland's 4th District seat, had previously taken the position that a narrow margin in early returns and concern over the integrity of the balloting left the contest too close to call. But with the final ballots from the Sept. 12 primary counted by late Friday, unofficial results had her falling short by 2,725 votes.

Edwards said that although she remains "really troubled" by "multiple layers of failures" in the election, she is no longer contemplating legal action. She urged lawmakers and the state Board of Elections to conduct a thorough investigation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/24/AR2006092400308.html

Some Road Relief, but Not for Waldorf Bypass

By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 28, 2006; Page SM01

State transportation representatives visited the three Southern Maryland counties this week to brief officials on current and future road construction projects.

The long-awaited Hughesville bypass, which Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said continues as the No. 1 priority for Southern Maryland, is more than halfway complete and is on schedule to open next summer.

But the traffic congestion on Route 301 in Waldorf received the most attention in Flanagan's briefing Monday with Charles County commissioners and state legislators. Del. Murray D. Levy (D-Charles) and others said they are frustrated that it has taken so long to identify a solution to traffic woes there.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/27/AR2006092700073.html

Sunrise Seals Portfolio Deal With $222M Loan

McLEAN, VA-Arcapita Inc., an Atlanta-based firm formerly called Crescent Capital Investments Inc., has sold its 80% interest in a 16-asset portfolio in 12 states to Sunrise Senior Living REIT of Canada. Its US REIT, Sunrise Senior Living Investments Inc., remains the 20% stakeholder through a subsidiary.

In structuring the transaction, the Canadian REIT has set up its US subsidiary, SZR US Investments Inc., as the official majority owner. The portfolio consists of 327 independent-living units, 789 assisted-living units, and 279 Alzheimers units.

The deal closed with a $221.5-million loan from Newark-based Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. The loan, which equates to 65% of cost, has a 10-year term that amortizes over a 25-year period. All properties are cross-collateralized and cross-defaulted, but the Prudential terms allow release and substitution rights.

http://www.globest.com/news/728_728/washington/149243-1.html

Board Addresses Vehicle Mileage, Allows Most Tall Houses to Remain

By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 26, 2006; Page B05

Fairfax County supervisors yesterday demanded that employees be disciplined if they are caught running up mileage on their government cars to avoid losing them.

"This isn't a cat-and-mouse thing," Board Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) said, a day after a Washington Post report detailed how employees from fire investigators to caseworkers, faced with the prospect of losing cars that have relatively few miles accrued, set out to drive them more.

"The fact that I just want my vehicle and I don't want it taken away. . . . Artificially putting miles on a vehicle you know wouldn't be justified or using it for purposes that are not legitimate business purposes is wrong," the chairman said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/25/AR2006092501419.html

Va. Transportation Funding Talks Die

By Amy Gardner and Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, September 29, 2006; Page A01

RICHMOND, Sept. 28 -- The Virginia General Assembly left town Thursday night after failing to reach an agreement on a long-term transportation solution, ending months of efforts by lawmakers and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to improve the state's highways and transit systems.

Lawmakers cut short a special session on transportation that was scheduled to end Saturday after the Senate rejected a $2.4 billion House plan. That left commuters in the state's most traffic-choked regions -- Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads -- with no hope for relief this year.

The result leaves several Northern Virginia priorities unfunded, including adding more rail cars for Metro, widening Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway and widening Interstate 95 south of the Springfield Mixing Bowl. Lawmakers also did not concur on a plan to match $50 million in annual federal funds for Metro operations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/28/AR2006092801030.html?nav=hcmodule