Friday, At large Council-member Phil Mendelson (yes the same one who says the current redistricting plan is discriminatory) filed a letter to the Zoning Commission opposing the 2010 campus plan. He further writes that he is in agreement with ANC2E and the Office of Planning in that Georgetown should house 100% of students on campus.

At right, David Catania

As things stand, the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C. says it will have no choice but to abandon its contracts with the City if the December 1 vote on the D.C. City Council’s proposed same-sex marriage law is successful.

The pulled contracts would have substantial consequences in D.C., as diocese-run “Catholic Charities,” currently serves 68,000 District residents and spends $10,000,000 on social services in the city annually in the District, and so City Council members are hurriedly seeking a compromise that will keep Catholic Charities in the City.

On Wednesday, Councilmembers Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) and David A. Catina (I-At Large) (SFS ‘90, LAW ‘94), the Georgetown graduate who introduced the bill, sent a letter to the Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl asking the Church to adopt a policy like the one in effect at Georgetown that allows the University to provide medical coverage the same-sex partners of employees without recognizing their union.

The New York Times editorial board seconds the idea (which City Paper columnist and Voice alum Mike DeBonis wryly notes is probably “the first time a D.C. Council committee report has been quoted in the Gray Lady”).

Susan Gibbs, the spokesperson for the Archdiocese, has not responded to a request for comment, but she has told the Catholic News Agency and the Washington Post that she is “not confident” and “not sure the proposal alleviates the Church’s concerns.”

An explanation of Georgetown’s policy, after the jump

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Last week, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier and D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles jointly testified before Councilmember Phil Mendelson’s (D – At Large) Judiciary Committee on the “Omnibus Anti-Crime Amendment Act of 2009” and the “Public Safety and Justice Amendments Act of 2009,” two hefty crime bills originating from the Mayor Adrian Fenty’s office and Mendelson’s office, respectively.

Fun facts! Out of their testimony, City Paper’s Jason Cherkis reports, comes some startling estimates of how many gang members there are in the District, and not-so-startling reports as to where they are not:

“I am not sure if this is an overwhelming number. But here’s what Lanier and Nickles stated: ‘At the present time, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) estimates that there are approximately 1,730 active gang members in 87 gangs in the District.’ …. Looks like only 2D (of course) is gang-free turf. Hey kids: Georgetown is yours for the taking!”

Will Georgetown University best GWU? It begins.

What’s in those bills anyway? Mendelson’s bill and the mayor’s Crime Omnibus are sometimes at odds, but they both seek to (among other things) curb gang activity using harsher sanctions against gang members. The mayor’s bill seeks to give judges the right to issue gang injunctions against juveniles in addition to adults. The Crimnibus also broadens stalking definitions and would put the lockdown on police records concerning violent crimes to protect witness and victim information. Cherkis notes it “beef[s] up the penalties associated with gun charges.”