Breakfast links: Jobs and education for DC

by Erik Weber • March 10, 2011 8:45 am

Photo by Wayan Vota on Flickr.

Ensuring jobs for DC's own: Despite stricter background checks and no first-source requirements, the GSA has hired more DC residents than most contractors on city-funded projects. Will Mayor Gray enforce the employment protections his predecessor seemingly ignored? (Housing Complex)

Graduate School to anchor waterfront: The Graduate School USA will anchor the planned redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront. The school will also begin tailoring more courses to meet needs of DC employees and job-seekers. (Post)

DC area dorms among best and worst: Likely to add fuel to the Campus Plan fire, Georgetown's Darnall Hall was ranked 3rd worst in the country in a new survey. George Mason and Howard dorms also made the list, while every private college in DC had at least one building in the "best dorm party" list. (WTOP)

Metro faces serious backlog: Metro officials recounted a long list of crucial maintenance that they lack the staff and funding to handle except very slowly. Escalators, buses, even security cameras are facing or have passed obsolescence. (Post)

Zero real plots against Metro: Yesterday's Post editorial in favor of bag searches said Metro was a specific target, citing the October "bomb plot." But that was the plot where the FBI, not Farooque Ahmed, had suggested Metro as a specific target. (Ben Somberg)

ANCs eschew liquor bans: Who said all ANCs are unreasonable? Dupont Circle's voted to relax the liquor license moratorium on P Street west of the circle, and a task force at Barracks Row is trying to use other means than a moratorium. (Housing Complex)

PG may lose development oversight: The Prince George's County Council, the only elected body in Maryland that approves development, may be stripped of that power in a State senate proposal in the wake of the Jack Johnson scandal. (Gazette, Donald J)

From the desk of Vince Gray: The mayor officially nominated Kaya Henderson as permanent DCPS Chancellor (WUSA) ... Gray will no longer answer any questions regarding Sulaimon Brown's various accusations (WTOP) ... Gray advisor Howard Brooks has a questionable history as a lottery operator in Georgia and DC. (Post)

And...: Capital Bikeshare announced its Winter Weather Warrior winners (TBD) ... The flagging Shops at Georgetown Park mall may get both a Target and a Bloomingdale's (Georgetown Dish) ... Bike parking is so much more efficient! (WashCycle)

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15 comments

Tags: ANC, bag searches, Barracks Row, bicycling, bike parking, bike sharing, Capital Bikeshare, Capitol Hill, DC, DDOT, development, Dupont Circle, education, George Mason University, Georgetown, Georgetown University, GWU, Howard University, jobs, Kaya Henderson, links, liquor licenses, Maryland, Maryland legislature, Metro, Metro safety, press, Prince George's, retail, Richard Sarles, Southwest Waterfront, Sulaimon Brown, terrorism, unemployment, Vincent Gray, WMATA

Erik Weber has been living car-free in the District since 2009. Hailing from the home of the nation's first Urban Growth Boundary, Erik has been interested in transit since spending summers in Germany as a kid where he rode as many buses, trains and streetcars as he could find. Views expressed here are Erik's alone.

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I read elsewhere on the internet that the DC First Source agreement states rules on hiring *new* construction workers to a DC project. It does allow you to carry forward your existing crew from past work done by your company without those employees being judged by the First Source criteria. That seem's fair to me. That said I'm not sure how much turnover construction crews have from year to year.

by Jason on Mar 10, 2011 8:54 am

@PG County
I would be intrested if anyone knew more / had a point of view on the PG County board being stripped of development oversight. In my experence there not very efficient at it, but I can not say if there better / worse then anyone else.

by Matt R on Mar 10, 2011 8:57 am

I suspect that if the bag searches were implemented by George W. Bush, the Post's editorial board would vehemently oppose them. Does anybody still take that paper's editorials seriously?

by Eric Fidler on Mar 10, 2011 9:10 am

Ha! I lived in Commonwealth Hall. It wasn't too bad but compared to the newer construction it definitely pales. Also, the campus has made great strides in making the campus feel more campus like and connecting with the city of fairfax and trying to provide options for students who can't or don't want to drive.

by Canaan on Mar 10, 2011 9:10 am

@eric fidler; given how conservative the post's editorial board is now, I think they would love anything GWB proposed.*

* Not bashing conservatives. Makes certain sense to run an ed board that is opposite to the presidential party, but they attract a lot of jokers and dead white people (george will).**

** I also thought will was a scrawny little geek, but I saw in Georgetown walking and he looked normal.***

*** will someone tell him that walking, biking and trains are very 19th century and thus conservative?****

**** still waiting to bring back horse riding as a transport method.

by charlie on Mar 10, 2011 9:35 am

The City of Gaithersburg has it's own zoning ordinance and the Council approves plans there. It works good there. Its not the process as much as WHY they are doing whay they do.

by deee4 on Mar 10, 2011 9:42 am

@charlie,

Makes certain sense to run an ed board that is opposite to the presidential party, but they attract a lot of jokers and dead white people (george will).

You make a good point. We definitely saw this during the 00s when the Democrats held the House, Senate, and White House under notorious liberal Dem George W Bush.

Actually, it's pretty funny: it's been quite well-documented that "liberal" NPR and PBS have a significantly higher ratio of conservatives to liberals year in and year out. When the GOP is in power, they claim this is because they want someone who can give them the inside story. When the GOP is out of power, they've claimed it's to provide a balanced perspective.

I think it's simpler than that: liberals will watch a bunch of right-of-center talking heads yammer at one another. The opposite is absolutely not the case.

by oboe on Mar 10, 2011 9:55 am

re Darnall Hall: Darnall is a freshman dorm, and freshman are required to live on campus anyway, so I don't think this really has much to do with the Campus Plan debate.

by Phil on Mar 10, 2011 10:18 am

Going to go out on a limb and guess that GU's students have higher expectations for their dormitories than the college-age population at large.

(Also: Gallaudet is private, and did not make the best party dorm list. They've got a pretty great town-gown relationship with their surrounding neighborhoods.)

by andrew on Mar 10, 2011 10:23 am

Prince Georges is the only county in the state where the county council also serves as district council for development. The council members pretty much have the final say over what happens in their district. There have been several incidents where Maryland Park and planning has come out against a plan and the council person would ignore the advice of trained professionals and would approve it anyway. Hopefully, this will reduce the meddling in development affairs and allow for development to be handled in a more county-wide manner. Personally I would prefer to see municipalities given more say over what goes on in their borders. Several of the cities such as Greenbelt, College Park, Bowie have been pushing for this, but the county council has pushed back in order not to give up their power.

by Donald James on Mar 10, 2011 10:46 am

Doesn't the Montgomery County Council also serve as the district council?

by David Alpert on Mar 10, 2011 11:03 am

@David Alpert:
Yes. The Montgomery County Council sits as the District Council.

by Matt Johnson on Mar 10, 2011 11:06 am

The dorm reviews are from a newly launched website, trying to get off the ground, so these evaluations are based on an extremely small sample (of students giving feedback). Hopefully they'll get better samples in the future. I wouldn't put too much stock in it yet.

by Chris W on Mar 10, 2011 11:51 am

Who said all ANCs are unreasonable?

I did. And I maintain that. The narrowness of the measure is only proof.

by Jasper on Mar 10, 2011 12:47 pm

@ andrew: Gallaudet is private, and did not make the best party dorm list. They've got a pretty great town-gown relationship with their surrounding neighborhoods.

Is that because the Gallaudet rolls over to the ANC, because the ANC is reasonable, or because railing against deaf students sounds (pun intended) way less sympathetic than railing against wealthy white kids?

by Jasper on Mar 10, 2011 6:29 pm