Photo courtesy of DCPS

This morning it was announced that DCPS’ Interim Chancellor would lose her interim status and retain the chancellory of DCPS in the new Gray administration. Rumors have been swirling for the last few days that Henderson would stay on, with yesterday’s audience at the Metropolitan Club being the first to hear it from the Mayor.

Henderson has been acting at Chancellor since October when it was announced that Michelle Rhee was departing in the wake of the September primary loss by her patron, then-Mayor Adrian Fenty. There are some questions as to the results of the reforms started by Chancellor Rhee, with some standardized tests not showing the same gains as the initial results.

Henderson was responsible for enacting a number of Rhee’s priorities while serving as Deputy Chancellor, including negotiating the contract with WTU last year. In a statement released via email, Henderson said, “I am very excited that Mayor Gray has offered me the opportunity to be Chancellor of DC Public Schools. I have devoted the past 13 years to working to improve educational opportunities for students in this city. I am honored and humbled to be afforded the opportunity to continue this work in the role of Chancellor.”

We had a chance to interview Chancellor Henderson in October, and the long-time DC resident is clearly dedicated to her craft, and I wish her well in her new position.

‘Mall Turf Sign’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

Today is Tuesday, March 1st. Congress’ continuing budget resolution (CR) that has kept the government funded will expire on Friday, March 4th at the end of the day. While Congress is still negotiating a deal that would extend the current CR for two weeks to allow for further talks about the impasse between the Republicans and Democrats regarding spending priorities.

The last shutdown of the government took place in late 1995/early 1996, when the government closed for 21 days, shuttering the National Parks, the Smithsonian, and putting almost all of the Federal Workforce on furlough.  The exceptions have to do with protection of “life and property,” but many functions of government will be stopped in its tracks for the period.

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‘In the good old summertime. [canoe] (LOC)’
courtesy of ‘The Library of Congress’

Good news, everyone. We’re up a creek, but at least we’ve got a paddle.  That was the news from the CFO’s office this afternoon, as Dr. Gandhi released the latest revenue numbers for 2011 predictions, and set a final estimated deficit for the FY2011 budget.  The deficit, which had been rumored to be in the $600M range, is actually closer to its original projection at $322M.  That’s both good and bad news.  The cuts in spending, and the consideration of an increase in income tax, will still have to be examined, but the situation isn’t nearly as dire as it was suspected to be.

The increase in revenues came from four sources: real property (due in large part to the strong commercial real estate market in 2010), sales & excise taxes (4% annual growth!), Individual/Business Income, and Deed-related taxes (due to growth in high-value home sales). The letter also includes some nuggets: the private sector in DC added 15,433 jobs last quarter, but unemployment rolls grew by 2,000 people. Wages were up, at 5.4% growth year-over-year, more than double the national growth rate.

‘How Much is that Bottle in the Window?’
courtesy of ‘Karon’

While it’s not yet clear who’s gone over at TBD, it’s clear that a lot of people lost their jobs today in a massive layoff the scope and depth of which are yet to be determined.  This is just short weeks after the writing went up on the wall when TBD was folded back in under Bill Lord’s chain of authority at WJLA.  It sounds as if a staff of 20 became a staff of 0 with 8 jobs.

We’ll be updating this post with details when they’re available.  In the meantime, we wish to thank each and every person at TBD that we’ve dealt with for their incredible professionalism, boundless enthusiasm, and detailed work.  We wish you all the best, and hope you’ll stay in this city, those who moved here for that job.

Update 1, 11:59a: According to our source, everyone involved with the Community team is out, as are all the news reporters and sports team. We’re so sorry, guys.

Photo by Brownpau

The National Christmas Tree, a 48-foot Colorado blue spruce from York, PA planted during the Carter Administration in 1978, was a casualty to the very high winds in the District today.  The tree was split near its base, and felled without injury or structural damage, according to DC Fire EMS and the National Park Police.

No plans are immediately available for the replanting of the tree, or the disposal of the current tree.

An NPS horticulturalist, and National Park Service spokesman Bill Line, are saying that a “successor” tree is ready for planting on the spot as soon as the current tree is disposed of — chipped and mulched, starting today. The tree that fell today was the third tree of its kind on that spot — prior trees had also been blown over in high winds, and the Park Service specifically has advance plans in place for just such an event.

The next tree will be up in time for “next year’s Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony.” Not clear from that if Mr. Line was thinking in 2010 terms and meant to say “in time for the next Christmas Tree Lighting,” or if it’ll take till 2012 to get a new tree into the spot.

More photos after the jump:

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‘STOP’
courtesy of ‘fromcaliw/love’

Virginia is considering a bill (actually, it’s most of the way through the system) that would allow the police to charge anyone who makes a California stop at a red light with a class one misdemeanor that could add six points to their license, suspend it for six months, fine you $2,500 or put you in jail for a year.

That’s the equivalent of a DUI.  For a rolling right on red.

The original bill was set to have this take effect if you were involved in a traffic accident where someone was killed or badly injured, but the committee saw fit to replace the original bill with a more generic provision which would place the infraction at the discretion of the police officer. The proposed law would affect infraction related to traffic signals, not just right on red, which would also apply to traffic signals that are offline.

The committee that proposed the bill is chaired by Rep. David Albo, whose firm does work related to DUI defense and other “Serious Traffic Issues.” Who better to defend you than the guy whose committee brought out the law, right?

‘Dick Turpin: Horsethief’
courtesy of ‘The National Archives UK’

Last November, when police arrested Jack and Leslie Johnson at their residence, it made a bit of a stir, mostly because Mrs. Johnson was attempting to smuggled $79,000 in her brassiere, leading to a lot of questions about Mrs. Johnson’s undergarments and about Mr. Johnson’s business dealings.

Today, eight counts of federal bribery, extortion, witness tampering and other related corruption charges were filed with the Federal Court in Baltimore, based upon an affidavit sworn by Wendy Munoz of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which alleges at least $120,000 in kickbacks were provided for Johnson’s help in an official capacity in securing federal funds for development.

Something tells me this is just the tip of the iceberg for Prince George’s County.