After a brief hiatus, Phil in the News is back!  Here are some news stories from the past week involving Chairman Mendelson:

DC Responds to Marijuana Investigation – Council Chairman Phil Mendelson laid out the argument that the roundtable did not violate the law, including a memo from Racine, in his response, which was obtained by CQ Roll Call. Mendelson noted that the Oversight staff agreed to consider limiting the employee disclosure to council members, rather than council employees who participated in the discussion.  “We are concerned that the disclosure of Council staffers’ names may cause them or their families to feel intimidated,” Mendelson wrote in the letter. Mendelson also said he would be happy to meet with Chaffetz and Meadows, writing, “Indeed, a meeting might be more useful to you.”   [Roll Call]

Mayor Changes Course in Budget Autonomy Fight in the District – Mendelson (D) said he knew the mayor had been considering the move for several weeks and said he hoped the judge would weigh seriously the new mayor’s position.  “We believe strongly in the correctness of our position, and the mayor’s position now shares that view,” Mendelson said. “The obvious part is that we are pleased with her decision but, in the end, what’s important is the merits of the case: The overwhelming vote of citizens was a legitimate process for amending the Home Rule Act.”  [The Washington Post]

DC Jail Medical Contract Sparks City Council Criticism – DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, also has expressed skepticism about the Corizon award, having noted that the number of lawsuits filed against the District regarding inmate health care and the value of losses paid out in those cases have “plummeted” in the time Unity has held the contract.  [The Washington Times]

 

DC Delayed Snow Response in Order to Protect Car Owners from Towing – DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said that while he thought the response to this storm was better than six weeks ago when snowfall exceeded forecasts, he still found major roads like Georgia Avenue unplowed as the storm settled in on Monday evening.  “The District and the region still hasn’t learned how to remove snow … northern cities still put us to shame,” he said.  Mendelson declined to comment on the administration’s decision to not begin a snow emergency earlier on Georgia Avenue and other thoroughfares. “We just need to get better,” he said.  [The Washington Post]

Some news stories from the past week involving Chairman Mendelson:

DC Has ‘Discussion’ on Legal Pot on Fear Hearing Illegal – Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has said that by March the city would begin to treat Initiative 71 as law, which would in effect legalize possession without any way to buy pot legally.  [Reuters]

Pot Push Could Land DC Council in Jail – WUSA9 asked Council Chair Phil Mendelson about the letter, he said,”Congress is the bad guy in all this. Because Congress is the one that says they want to restrict what we can do.”  [WUSA9]