DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Ready for some links?

In 48 hours, Mayor Gray’s office suite is revamped on a budget of zero “We wanted to bring this office back to life and bring people up here again,” says Gray, 68. “It really feels like me.”…A change of leadership usually brings a change in style. And in Gray’s case, he decided to relocate the mayor’s office to the traditional suite on the sixth floor. Former mayor Adrian M. Fenty had moved his command center to a more open-plan, third-floor bullpen. Williams’s modern suite – reception area, long hallway, wood-paneled library, conference room and private office, all decorated with lots of wood, glass and beige – had been virtually unused during the Fenty years.” (The Washington Post)

Wal-Mart Bumps Up the Lobbying “Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is seeking to build bulk quantities of stores in D.C., has quadrupled the retainer it pays to well-connected lobbyist David Wilmot. The beloved group home leader took in $60k from Wal-Mart during the last six months of 2010, lobbying disclosure forms show. That’s up from $15k during the first half of last year.” (Washington City Paper)

Facebook Burglary Suspect Identified? “D.C. police sources tell 9News Now they have identified the man who is posted on a burglary victim’s Facebook Page, wearing his father’s stolen coat and brandishing cash that may be part of the loot taken from their Capitol Hill Home last month. Washington Post columnist Marc Fisher wrote about the burglary and apparent brashness of the intruder. Police sources say the man on Facebook is 19-year-old Rodney Knight of Southeast D.C., who is already in jail on an unrelated gun charge. Court records show Knight has a criminal record for burglaries and thefts.” (WUSA Washington, DC)

Md. Schools Ranked Best in Nation Again “For the third straight year, the trade publication Education Week has named Maryland’s public schools as the best in the country. The annual rankings give Maryland schools a letter grade of B+. New York and Massachusetts rank just below Maryland with a B average, followed by Virginia. Washington D.C. ranks next-to-last with a D+…The ranking is a point of pride for Gov. Martin O’Malley, who mentioned it frequently on the campaign trail. But some experts say the rankings give too much of an advantage to states with a wealthy population. Maryland is one of the nation’s richest states.” (myfoxdc.com)

Survey: Black, white fans see sports as racially progressive “The athletes surveyed resoundingly (81 percent) believe African-American athletes need to take a more active role in the black community. “You need more black athletes doing more positive things,” said a world champion boxer. “A lot of people in the ghetto, in poor neighborhoods like where I grew up, don’t believe there’s life outside of the city, outside what they know. We need to be in there showing them, telling them, that there is.” (sports.espn.go.com)

Obama aims to revise No Child Left Behind “Obama favors better tests, more attention to student growth and broader measures of schools than snapshots of reading and math achievement. Last year he proposed giving most schools more flexibility to meet targets, while focusing intervention on the lowest performers. To propose revisions to the education law would open a wide-ranging debate on school funding (most states face painful budget cuts), vouchers for private schools, performance pay, national standards, special education, bilingual education and school safety, among other matters.” (The Washington Post)