Washington City Paper: Contents for May. 13

See the Amazing Mayor Williams Jump Through Hoops!
Federal politicians don’t want a feisty demagogue in the D.C. mayoral suite. You shouldn’t, either.

Cover Story

It was July 30, 1997, and Mayor Marion S. Barry Jr. was pissed.

Congress and President Bill Clinton had just agreed to strip the mayor of hiring-and-firing power over most city departments and hand it over to the federally imposed financial control board. The deal effectively ended his mayoral career.

Naturally, Barry took umbrage at the power grab, which came to be known as the “Rescue Plan.” By the end of the day, he had drafted and released a 400-word statement decrying the intervention of the Republican Congress. “Senator [Lauch] Faircloth, who has led the effort to re-colonize the citizens of the District, has raped democracy and freedom....[T]hose who rape democracy will at some point pay the political price.”

This shrill tone was nothing new for Barry. Fourteen months earlier, he had compared the control board to a totalitarian German regime after it attempted to oust one of his agency heads. Along with dodging questions from the press, Barry specialized in throwing rhetorical bombs at a Congress long eager to trample on the District’s rights.

Earlier this year, Mayor Anthony A. Williams faced a congressional power grab of his own.

When a gay couple who had been married in Massachusetts inquired whether they could file their District income taxes jointly, D.C. Attorney General Robert J. Spagnoletti said in April, yes, go right ahead.... Continued

Issue of May. 13 - 19, 2005

News and Features

See the Amazing Mayor Williams Jump Through Hoops!
Federal politicians don’t want a feisty demagogue in the D.C. mayoral suite. You shouldn’t, either.
Cover Story By Mike DeBonis
Gullible Travels
How my $75 bed ended up costing me $2,820
Feature By Carollyn James
Please, Take My Car
Bungling car thieves can’t get it right in Brookland.
The City By Dave Jamieson
Marquee de Façade
A Dupont Circle sign becomes a matter of “hysterical preservation.”
The City By Sarah Godfrey
Hall Monitor
Selected readings from D.C. Public Schools incident reports
The City By Mike Kanin
Price Pick of the Week
Celebrating the District’s Real-Estate Boom
Seller's Market By Constantine Caloudas
Jagged Little Pill
The Mail By Bob Massey
Drivel to Tears
The Mail By Ryan Carroll Nelson
Surf’s Up
The Mail By Sharon J. Chambers

Columns

Kickball Wars
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Salt in the Wounds
City Desk By Jeff Horwitz
Everyone Wins
City Desk By Constantine Caloudas
KNEECAPPED
Loose Lips By James Jones
Savage Love
Savage Love By Dan Savage

Eats

The Everyday Sommelier
Young & Hungry By Todd Kliman

Movies

A House Is Not a Homeland
Talking Pictures By Mark Jenkins
Tunnel Vision
Film Review By Tricia Olszewski
Ecstasy and Wine
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Kicking & Screaming
Film Reviews By Tricia Olszewski
Another Road Home
Film Reviews By Louis Bayard

Music

In Case We Die
Music Reviews By Chris Hagan
Dimmer
Music Reviews By Michael Little

Theater

Love and Learn
Theater Review By Bob Mondello
Shakes, Rattled and Rolled
Theater Review By Trey Graham
Side Man
Theater Reviews By Janet Hopf
Cigarettes and Moby Dick
Theater Reviews By Jeff Horwitz

Arts and Events

Flash(back) Cards
Artifacts By Joe Dempsey
Change of Life
Artifacts By Heather Morgan Shott
Culture Vultures
What does it take to get an arts grant from the D.C. government?
Culture Vultures By Mike Kanin
A Life Prosaic
It took a liver transplant, more than one death, and 18 years in literary limbo for Richard McCann to discover his great subject: a perfectly ordinary subdivision in Silver Spring.
Arts By Adam Mazmanian
A BEAT-DOWN AMONG GENTLEMEN
Show & Tell By Chris Shott