Some news stories from the past week involving Chairman Mendelson:

DC Concealed Carry Fight Could Provoke Congress, Contempt of Court – There are at least 14 sensitive locations and circumstances where carrying would be banned, and other changes related to the bars and restaurants that serve alcohol could be coming Tuesday, Mendelson said during a Monday briefing. The city wants to keep its restrictive gun culture in place, despite the challenges.  [Roll Call]

DC Council Set to Remove Tax Breaks from Soccer Stadium Deal, Borrow $62 Million – At a news conference Monday to discuss the agenda, Mendelson said he planned to discard a proposed 10-year sales tax abatement worth roughly $7 million while leaving in place the more extensive 20-year property tax abatement worth $43 million.  Mendelson said he was more dismayed by the sales tax break because it was “hard to see how it would have a direct economic effect on the team.  Cutting all of the abatements might be a wonderful idea, but what is before us is the result of negotiations,” he said.  [The Washington Post]

DC Council Approves Soccer Stadium Deal, Paving Way for Games in 2017 – But Mendelson employed an unusual legislative maneuver, financing the stadium by resurrecting a budget bill Gray had submitted in June, which city lawyers and finance officials suggested was improper. The council passed the bill.  “The point is to force the mayor to fund the stadium,” Mendelson said.  [The Washington Post]

DC to Move Primary Election Back to September After Dismal April Turnout – Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), who had repeatedly tried to move back the April date last year, saying it would benefit incumbents, called this year’s experience “horrible.” He downplayed concerns about the first Tuesday in September, saying students would be back to school and it would be only a week from the city’s traditional second-Tuesday-in-September primary date.  [The Washington Post]

DC Council Advances Permanent Gun Bill Regulating Concealed Carry – “It permits carrying in ordinary restaurants,” said DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson of the latest version of the bill. “Unless of course the owner says no.”  [The Washington Times]

Citizens and Civic Leaders Turn Out to Remember Former Mayor Marion Barry – Mendelson called it a “sad day” for the District government, of which Barry was a reigning figure for nearly five decades.  “It is fitting that we are here to bring Mr. Barry to city hall one last time,” Mendelson said.  [The Washington Post]

Election Day Win for Marijuana Legalization Followed by Lingering Haze (We Couldn’t Resist) – Congress has 30 days to review any law changes in the District. That process won’t start until Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, D, sends the measure to the Capitol, which he indicated he’ll do next month.  [Washington Business Journal]

Marion Barry Sent Off with Lengthy, Often Lively Memorial – DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson aimed to lighten the mood with a story about Barry trying to arrest Mendelson, then a neighborhood activist.  [Washington City Paper]