DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! The groundhog said “Early Spring!”. We say, “Early links!”.

D.C. Council salaries are second-highest among big U.S. cities “For years, the six-figure salaries of D.C. Council members have been a point of contention because the positions are considered part-time and members are allowed to hold other jobs. But the Pew report, released Wednesday, is likely to renew the debate about whether council members earn their salaries: $125,583 for 12 regular members and $190,000 for Chairman Kwame R. Brown (D), $10,000 less than the mayor receives.” (The Washington Post)

Hard Luck: Five Years After a Horrible Attack, Teacher Francis Bolden’s Life is Still Broken “But Bolden’s situation isn’t a run-of-the mill case of a strained back or sore neck. A student tried to kill him, and the city’s solution was to keep returning him to a job he clearly could not do anymore, before scrubbing him off the payroll. After five years of struggling, Bolden says in retrospect he wished the city had placed him on permanent disability after the accident—which doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request, given what happened to him. What’s also troubling about Bolden’s case is that he says he’s been fighting virtually on his own, and his efforts to enlist his union for help didn’t go far.” (Washington City Paper)

Nader to Obama: Why voting rights for Egypt, but not Washington, D.C.? “Why does the Obama administration favor “free and fair elections” in Egypt but not in Washington, D.C., Ralph Nader wrote Wednesday in a letter to President Obama. Nader, the consumer advocate who twice ran on the Green Party’s presidential ticket, pressed Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on voting rights for D.C. residents, in light of the situation in Egypt…”So, come home with your rhetoric, Mr. President, come home to liberate your District of Columbia. What is your response?” Nader asked.” (thehill.com)

Tax Reform Group Takes On DC Bag Tax “”It’s a bother.” That’s how India Wilson, owner of a popular soul food restaurant at 10th and U streets in Northwest, describes the Bag Tax…More people are coming in with their own bags and those who opt to pay the fee are adding another $2 million to the city’s coffers to help clean up the environment. But the Americans For Tax Reform group has a different take. The national organization says the five cents bag tax is being paid mostly by the poor who can’t afford it and the tax is taking disposable income out of the local economy.” (WUSA Washington, DC)

Washington among nation’s best cities in hiring “Jobs are hard to come by in every U.S. city, but you stand a better chance of getting hired if you live in Washington, Dallas or Boston. Those three metropolitan areas topped the rest of the nation’s cities in jobs added in 2010. And all three are home to industries that are poised to hire this year. Information technology companies, biomedical research firms and government contractors are growing industries that are likely to add to their payrolls in the coming months — and the federal government has plenty of jobs listed, too.” (Washington Times)

Redskins owner Dan Snyder seeks dismissal of City Paper writer “In a letter sent to City Paper’s owners after the article’s publication, Redskins chief operating officer David Donovan alleged that Snyder had been defamed by the publication and that legal action was an option…The article was accompanied by a clearly doctored photo of Snyder with horns and facial hair. It drew hundreds of comments on City Paper’s Web site, almost all of them praising McKenna and condemning Snyder. McKenna has written critically about Snyder’s ownership of the team for years, and has broken a number of stories that have painted Snyder in unflattering terms.” (The Washington Post)