This week’s tweets have been rather uninspiring. So to punish all you tweeters for your boring content, Vox has instead gathered the following series of tweets from D.C. Council member Marion S. Barry, Jr.:

Barry pioneered twaggin, the Twitter technique that no doubt was instrumental  in his nomination for Ward 8 representative. Twag away, good sir.

Barry explains the source of his twag. We assume that he is not referring to the revolutionary Situationist International movement of the late 1950s, which was strongly rooted in Marxist ideals.

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This month’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting lacked the kind of heated debate that can often break out on the second floor of the Georgetown Visitation School, but it did feature an appearance from Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans that spiced things up a little.

Evans’ appearance gave the crowd on hand an opportunity to ask some greater-D.C.-related questions, which touched on the District of Columbia’s current budget issues, the city’s response to the massive snowstorm in February, and the possibility of statehood—all in all, more civic-minded questions than the ones residents asked of Evans last year, such as a question about getting those infernal trolley tracks taken out of P Street.

Evans seemed uninterested in pursuing statehood at the moment. Why?

“It’s not in the cards right now. I hate to say this about one of my colleagues, but every time Marion Barry does crazy things it feeds right into Congress’ view that he could be elected mayor again and God forbid if they had control over their affairs what could happen then? I was talking with Northrop Grumman about relocating and his name came up, and that’s a problem,” Evans said.

The meeting also included a brief presentation from Georgetown Energy, a Georgetown student-run not-for-profit organization that is advocating the implementation of rooftop solar technology across the District.

Anthony Conyers (COL ’12), Peter Nulsen (COL ’12) and Jessica Robbins (SFS ’12) accompanied Mike Meaney (SFS ’12), who directly addressed the ANC about Georgetown Energy’s campaign.

He emphasized the financial sense of installing solar panels on roofs, noting that the typical Georgetown home would receive a net profit of $30,000 over a 30-year period by installing solar panels.

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No matter how poorly your 4th of July went, it’s safe to say it was probably better than former “Mayor for Life” and current D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry‘s (D—Ward 8). Saturday evening Barry was arrested by the Park Police and charged with stalking his ex-girlfriend, Donna Watts-Brighthaupt.

The stalking charges were dropped on Wednesday, but not before it was revealed that Watts-Brighthaupt received $20,000 in city contracts after her relationship with Barry began. City Paper‘s Loose Lips columnist (and former Voice EIC!) Mike Debonis got the scoop of the week when he obtained recordings of some of Barry and Watts-Brighthaupt’s phone conversations, leading to the greatest City Paper cover line of our time: “You put me out in Denver ’cause I wouldn’t suck your dick!”

Meanwhile, the fallout from the Red Line crash continues. A couple more lawsuits have been filed against WMATA and commuters are getting cranky about the delays and crowding caused by the ongoing investigation. Metro also announced that it is planning a $177 million overhaul of the line to begin in 2010.

After months of fights about whether or not the recognition of same-sex marriages could be put up to a referendum vote and concerns about congressional interference, D.C. officially started to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states at 12:01 a.m. this Tuesday. D.C. Councilmember David Catania (I—At Large) is expected to introduce legislation that will allow same-sex marriages to be performed in the District soon.

After the jump: Metro’s new “one strike” texting policy, the Onion takes on the Nat’s kiss-cam, the summer youth jobs program is going broke, and more!

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On Monday at about 5 p.m. two Red Line trains crashed into each other near the Fort Totten station, resulting in the deadliest crash in Metro’s 33 year history.  Nine people died, including Jeanice McMillan, the operator of one of the trains, Ana Fernandez, a mother of six, and Retired Major General David Wherely, Jr. who led the D.C. National Guard and his wife Ann.  Although investigations are ongoing, it’s looking like the accident was probably caused by a malfunction of the computerized control system.

D.C.’s Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi announced that his office is projecting a $340 million budget shortfall over the next two years due to the recession.  In light of the dire news, Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) discretely ordered 40 government agencies—including the police department—to cut more than $35 million from their budgets.  It probably doesn’t help that the city can’t find thousands of dollars it collected in fines from misdemeanor cases..

On Thursday, June 18th, a gunman opened fire outside the Columbia Heights Metro station, shooting and injuring two.  This week it was revealed that the gunman was actually working as an intern for a D.C. Councilmember, Jim Graham (D—Ward 1).  Graham himself took the young man, Devyn Black, to the police station to turn himself in.

After the jump: taxi fare increases, how Twitter can help you get fired from your D.C. government job and more!
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Last night, Daily Show host Jon Stewart took D.C. Councilmember Marion Barry (D—Ward 8 ) to task for claiming that his decision to cast the sole vote against recognizing same-sex marriages performed in different states was made because he is a “politician who is moral.” To Barry’s credit, it takes a lot of, uh, chutzpah to brag about your “moral compass” when your national reputation is based on a grainy video of you doing cocaine in a motel room…

13/13 12/13 D.C. Council members support gay marriage!

The D.C. Council’s final vote on recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states (first voted on in early April) went remarkably smoothly, passing 13-0… until Ward 8 Councilmember and former “Mayor-for-life” Marion Barry (D) realized what he was voting on. The confused Councilmember, who had pledged to Christian groups that he would vote against recognizing same-sex marriage, then requested a reconsideration of the bill.

The ensuing debate, which City Paper‘s Mike Debonis chronicled, was rather personal since two Councilmembers, David Catania (I—At Large) and Jim Graham (D—Ward 1) are gay. Catania said “[Barry's] position is bigoted” and Graham said he respects Barry’s civil rights record but “We part ways today on this issue” and that “There is not enough love in this world today.”

While Catania, Graham and their allies couldn’t convince Barry to change his position, the vote ultimately came down to a resounding 12-1 in favor. Not unanimous, true, but still a nice victory for the gay rights movement.

Photo from Flickr user bobster855, used under a Creative Commons license.

Block sweet block

Ok, so it’s a little early for nostalgia, but it’s only fair that we keep you posted.

In last week’s cover story, Eric Pilch explained the passion and rationale that accompanied the University of the District of Columbia’s Board of Trustee’s decision to raise tuition at D.C.’s only public university.

Guess City Councilmember Marion Barry (D-Ward 8 ) didn’t read it. Fresh out of the hospital from a kidney transplant operation, the former mayor had intended to pass emergency legislation to prevent UDC from changing its open enrollment policy and require that its Board take 45 days to reevaluate their decision to nearly double tuition as of Sunday evening. Loose Lips predicted a 3-10 vote.

But by Monday morning, the Washington Post‘s D.C. Wire reported that they expected Barry to withdraw his emergency bill in favor of introducing “a permanent bill, which takes longer to make its way into law and requires fewer council members to get approval.”

At the end of the day, Barry never showed up the the City Council meeting—doc’s orders. He withdrew his original bill, but has yet to introduce his permanent legislation. We’ll keep you posted.

Update: Marion Barry has returned to Howard University Hospital, and aides expect him to remain there until the week is out.

Photo taken from Flickr user dcdailyphotos under a Creative Commons license.

Is anyone surprised that former mayor Marion Barry boxed in a car before going to a radio interview? The mayor-for-life has obviously softened in his old age, since thoughtless parking is only the post-lunch nap to his feast of kleptocracy and mismanagement. His constituents in Anacostia continue to love him, though.

Anyone interested in Barry’s rollercoaster rise and fall and rise, and the ride DC took with him, should read Dream City. Lauinger Library has a copy.

The Washington City Paper’s Loose Lips column this week published a sweet photo of Washington’s former mayor Marion Barry sporting a trademark brimmed hat in what appears to be his own little patch of Ward 8.

Despite Barry’s dapper appearance, the column goes on to note that the seventy-year-old fixture
of Washington politics is quickly fading as a significant force in the city’s Democratic party. As the columnist notes: “His [Barry's] public pat-on-the-back will do little to bring voters out for his chosen candidate. There is no Barry machine to get busloads of senior citizens rolling to the polls for Fenty or Cropp. The once-powerful operator has now been relegated to the role of symbolic political helper.”

It seems that city council Chair Linda Cropp was banking on Barry’s endorsement in the mayor’s race. Her staff is peppered with former Barry appointees and her own husband was once an aide to the crack mayor.

Now, however, Barry is leaning toward the favorite in the race: Ward 4 Councilmember Adrian Fenty. We’ll see what favors Fenty throws in turn toward Ward 8 if he is selected to be the Democratic contender (and hence the de facto mayor in this Democractic city) in the Sept. 12 primary.

Posted by Chris Stanton, News Editor