Author Archives: Erica Butler

It’s been a turbulent three months for Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (D). The city’s executive was arrested April 11 along with the other “DC 41”—local officials and activists who protested riders in an agreed upon 2011 federal budget that impinged on the District’s autonomy. Before that, Gray had to shoulder criticism for his initial […]

With black bands wrapped around their mouths and sporting T-shirts that read, “No Taxation Without Representation,” nearly 80 students stood in front of the Senate building last Friday to fight for Washington, D.C.’s autonomy, even though some participants were not D.C. residents. “D.C. was silenced in the Senate and that’s why we wore the gags,” […]

Last week’s congressional and White House approval of a budget that includes the $100 million, five-year renewal of a D.C. school-choice program is stirring controversy between local officials, unions and residents. Detractors say the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), which provides private school vouchers for low-income District students, has not borne the promised fruit and […]

Decrying what they saw as a trampling of the District of Columbia’s autonomy in a budget deal that could impose new restrictions on the city, Mayor Vincent Gray (D) and other leaders were among 41 people arrested April 11 during a protest on Capitol Hill. Gray and his cohorts blocked traffic, sat in the street […]

Washington, D.C.’s tech-market is growing – and job-seekers are watchful. Mayor Vincent Gray’s recent groundbreaking for the $25 million broadband expansion in Wards 5, 7 and 8 has been one major step this year to close the digital divide. The new DC Community Access Network (DC-CAN) will reach clinics, community centers, and other digitally disconnected […]

WASHINGTON — Two days of testimony about the questionable hiring practices of Mayor Vincent Gray’s administration seem to indicate he was unaware of the nepotism practiced by some of his staff and the alleged quid pro quo hiring of former mayoral candidate Sulaimon Brown. On April 7, 11 witnesses were called before the Committee on […]

WASHINGTON – Sulaimon Brown, who accused Mayor Vincent Gray (D) and his administration of pay-to-play practices, refused to testify before the D.C Council April 7. Brown left the government operations hearing led by Councilmember Mary Cheh, who called a five-minute recess. The former special assistant in the Department of Health Care Finance and mayoral candidate […]

While an entrenched Congress faces a government shutdown April 18 due to partisan wrangling over the nation’s fiscal budget, residents in Washington, D.C., face a budget crisis of their own. Mayor Vincent Gray (D) rolled out his fiscal year 2012 budget proposal and tax hikes and expenditure cuts are crucial ways Gray desires to seal […]

The fast approaching April 26 race for the at-large D.C. Council seat left empty by newly-elected Chairman Kwame Brown is, for many voters, largely a contest between Councilmember Sekou Biddle and longtime D.C. politico Vincent Orange. But, as with many elections, it’s also a showdown between unions. Each candidate is backed by a major labor […]