Some news stories from the past week involving Chairman Mendelson:

DC Council to Vote on Controversial Proposal for Prison’s Health Services – To Mendelson, the matter is simple. People who are focused on the independence of the procurement process are “elevating process above the merits,” he said. “And in the area of correctional health care, the merits are too important to put the process above it.”  [The Washington Post]

DC Council Picks at Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Budget, Questions Spending Cuts and Tax Hikes – Mr. Mendelson questioned whether paying $5 million to include 24-year-olds in the District’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which provides jobs for teenagers and young adults over the summer, is a good trade off for reducing funding to the city’s only public university.  “We would be cutting opportunities to get training that, in turn, leads to middle wage, middle-class jobs in favor of paying 24-year-olds minimum wage for eight weeks,” Mr. Mendelson said. “I question that policy choice.”  [The Washington Times]

DC Council Rejects $66M Contract proposal for Prison’s Health Care – Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said payouts from lawsuits filed against the District in regard to healthcare issues at the jail have seen “a breathtaking drop” during the time Unity has had the contract with the city. From 2006 through the present, he said there have been $59,000 in judgments against the District on account of lawsuits regarding healthcare at the jail compared to $1.2 million in judgments from 2002 through 2006 under a different provider, he said.  [The Washington Times]