The Republican lieutenant governor nomination of outspoken conservative black minister E.W. Jackson, who has compared Planned Parenthood to the Ku Klux Klan, has alarmed black elected leaders in Virginia, all of them Democrats.

Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones, also an African-American pastor, bristled at online videos of Jackson drawing analogies to the Klan and to his assertion that the Democratic Party is a latter-day slave master to black voters.

Said Jones, ``Let me be clear right now: nothing is like slavery.''

Bill Euille, the black mayor of Alexandria, voiced amazement that such statements could even be an issue in 2013.

But former Del. Winsome Sears, an evangelical businesswoman and the first black Republican woman elected to the Virginia House, says some black Christians share Jackson's beliefs but don't use his rhetoric.
 

The controversial Republican lieutenant governor candidate, E.W. Jackson, is defending his past statements on social issues, which have been called hateful and radical in the wake of his unexpected nomination.

Jackson is a Chesapeake-based minister and lawyer who has never held public office. He has been criticized for his past extreme comments, including comparing Planned Parenthood to the KKK and stating his belief that there was a direct link between homosexuality and pedophilia.

At a campaign stop in Fredericksburg Tuesday, Jackson said:

"I think that it’s incumbent upon people to understand the values that emanate from folks,” Jackson told reporters, according to the Free Lance-Star. “I say the things I say because I’m a Christian. It’s not because I hate anybody. But because I have religious values that matter to me. So attacking me because I adhere to those principles is attacking every churchgoing person, every family that’s living a traditional, family life, everybody that believes we all deserve to live. I don’t have anything to rephrase or apologize for. People should not paint me as one dimensional. I have a whole lot of concerns.”

Although GOP gubernatorial nominee Ken Cuccinelli has not commented on any of Jackson’s comments or views specifically, he did support him as a potential lieutenant governor.

"I don't need to know what the subject matter that's going to tie up 20-20 that the LG can vote on will be. I'm confident that we're going to get the right vote every single time out of E.W. Jackson," Cuccinelli said of the minister. "So I'm glad he's on this ticket, too." 

IN OTHER NEWS:

* D.C. Public Schools spent $18,475 per student in fiscal 2011, more than any state outside of New York. (Washington Examiner)

* Gov. O’Malley co-hosted a fundraiser Tuesday for New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, further fueling speculation for 2016. (Washington Post)

* Another look at Virginia’s GOP lieutenant governor nominee, E.W. Jackson, and what it means for Cuccinelli. (The New Republic)

* As the Curator’s Office, one of D.C.’s premiere contemporary art galleries, leaves the 14th street corridor, the center of the D.C.’s art scene appears to shift. (Washington City Paper)

* New McAuliffe ad spotlights a bipartisan transportation effort. (Virginian-Pilot)

* Mayor Gray says the District will help Oklahoma “in any we can.” (Washington Examiner) 

Memorial Day, coming up this weekend, is for remembering those who have died fighting for our country. Veterans Day in November honors all who have served.

Your Notebook was a reluctant Naval reservist who in the late 1960s served his active duty here at the Washington Navy Yard. It’s how we first fell in love with local Washington, if not the strict rules of military service.

But the Notebook’s extended family has a far more distinguished military record.

It began in World War II when the Notebook’s uncle, 2nd Lt. Leslie Peyton Turner, served as a bombardier over France and Germany. Turner’s plane was part of the 783rd Bomb Squadron, 465th Bomb Group, 15th Army Air Force. It was shot down over Germany. Peyton was one of seven crewmen who died.

After the plane was shot down, a German priest gathered their remains and buried them properly. Peyton’s father, upon hearing the news, suffered a heart attack and died months later.

The little town of Haselbach, Germany, is hosting a memorial this summer for the crew members. Your Notebook’s brother -- retired Army officer Ed Sherwood, who lives outside of Atlanta and did the journeyman work to chronicle this family history -- will represent the family at this summer's memorial. Peyton’s memory lives on in the person of Peyton Sherwood, your Notebook’s son, who proudly carries the name.

But this is only one small part of one family’s brush with war and service.

“Many don’t know or remember the war’s cost in human lives,” writes Ed Sherwood in an article about this one bomber crew. “The [Haselbach] memorial and the crew’s legacy to their families and new generations of Americans and Germans embody the very meaning of Memorial Day — lives given that we may know freedom from tyranny. We have a duty to remember them. Their story lives on.”

Now, proceed with your weekend barbecues, baseball games and shopping. But remember for a moment that our freedoms were purchased. And the price was -- and always will be -- steep.

■ John Wilson remembered. A few former staffers and friends of the late D.C. Council chairman gathered Sunday at the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Prince George’s County, just over the District line.

They stood around Wilson’s grave marker in the rain, telling heartwarming and funny stories about the civil rights worker and longtime Ward 2 council member who took his own life 20 years ago Sunday. Many thought Wilson would have become mayor in 1994 and rewritten the city’s future. He suffered from depression, but he didn’t suffer fools easily.

Thanks to city activist Marie Drissel for prompting the little gathering Sunday.

■ And then there were two(+). Next year’s mayor’s race is picking up a lot of steam this year.
Ward 6 D.C. Council member Tommy Wells this past weekend joined Ward 4’s Muriel Bowser in the mayoral boxing ring for the April 1, 2014, Democratic primary.

Look for Ward 2’s Jack Evans to jump into the race in a couple of weeks.

Former City Administrator Robert Bobb also is asking around — privately, so far — about mounting a possible campaign.

At-large Council member David Catania continues to eye a possible independent run in the November election.

Mayor Vincent Gray remains intent on running, barring some unpleasant (for Gray) action from U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen.

Though the official election is not until next year, candidates must begin collecting signatures in December to qualify in January for the spring ballot.

■ The Wells rollout. Wells took to the rainy city streets for his announcement Saturday. He arrived aboard a regularly scheduled bus for his rally at the intersection of H Street and Benning Road NE.
It was a good way for Wells to emphasize his transportation credentials with a common flair. Wells has been one of the council’s principal proponents of bike lanes and public transit.

But like most local candidates, Wells began his speech with an attack on the city’s ethics problems, saying there is a “crisis of ethics” in city politics.

Wells also addressed other matters, pledging to cut in half juvenile crime within two years and to provide high-performing elementary schools throughout the city that citizens “can walk to.”

Wells was standing on one corner of the revitalized H Street shopping and entertainment district. He said he wanted to make sure the whole city is “affordable, livable and walkable.” The word “affordable” was added only recently to the Wells mantra. It addresses the fears that gentrification is causing in some African-American and Latino neighborhoods.

Wells is white. There has been no white mayor of Washington since home rule began in 1974. But demographics and political issues are changing.

Your Notebook noted only one gaffe by Wells. He failed to introduce his wife, Barbara, from the stage. She stood quietly in the rain holding an umbrella. When the Notebook pointed this out, a chagrined Wells told us that his speech notes had gotten wet and he had mistakenly skipped over her.

Being part of the media, we had a nasty follow-up question. Did he need a note to remind him to introduce his wife? Having served our duty as the grating press, we let him move on to greet friendlier people.

Tom Sherwood, a Southwest resident, is a political reporter for News 4.

On Monday, First Read DMV wrote about the incendiary remarks made by the surprise GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, E.W. Jackson, in the past. The comments include one in which he compares Planned Parenthood to the KKK and another in which he said he believed that there was a direct link between homosexuality and pedophilia.

Tuesday, news outlets are asking whether this extreme social conservative could actually hurt Ken Cuccinelli's chances of clinching the governor's race.

The Washington Post writes that in the general election, Cuccinelli is attempting to stay in the middle and stray away from social issues, instead stumping on his economic conservatism. Jackson’s place on the GOP ticket could give “fuel to Democrats who aim to paint Cuccinelli as an extreme conservative,” the Post's Rachel Weiner wrote.

The pick of Jackson, which has already proven to be controversial, could rally the Democratic base and brings Dems to the polls who otherwise would have stayed home.

Cuccinelli and Jackson do run separately (meaning one can win, while the other loses) and Cuccinelli told the media that he would not be answering for Jackson’s beliefs.

If Jackson wins, he will preside over the state Senate and cast any tiebreaker votes. The Senate is currently evenly split between parties and, if that breakdown remains, Jackson could be the deciding vote on many key issues.

And here's some reading on E.W. Jackson:

* "How can Virginia’s GOP choose someone as crazy as E.W. Jackson to be lieutenant governor?"(Slate)

* Current Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling said E.W. Jackson, the surprise GOP lt. gov. pick, has made “simply indefensible” comments. (Politico) 

"I was raised to be an FDR Democrat because my father was a young man during the Depression and credited President Roosevelt with saving him from starvation.... In spite of my childhood indoctrination, as a young man newly committed to my Christian faith, I had a crisis of conscience in the late 1970s. Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank was pushing the homosexual agenda," Jackson wrote in a 2012 piece in the Washington Times.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* As part of a series on tax breaks that big developers receive in D.C., a WAMU investigation found the city awarded $1.7 billion in subsidies to 133 groups in the past decade -- and more than a third of the subsidies went to 10 developers that donated the most campaign cash over that time. A fraction of the subsidies went to the city’s poorest neighborhoods. (WAMU)

* The District didn’t collect $6.5 million in tax penalties because the CFO did not enforce a D.C. law tied to electronic filing requirement for certain businesses, the inspector general found. (Washington Examiner)

* Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has been using his agenda and fundraising opportunities to travel the country and get his name out there as he mulls a 2016 run. (AP)

* Adam Kokesh, the man organizing the July 4 protest in D.C. -- in which participants are expected to march in the city with loaded rifles -- was arrested at a marijuana legalization rally over the weekend in Philadelphia, but says his D.C. rally will still go on. (Washington City Paper)

* Cuccinelli is dropping his assertion that the Office of the Attorney General is exempt from state public records laws. (Washington Post)

* Virginia Del. David Ramadan, who represents parts of Loudoun and Prince William counties, will kick off his campaign for reelection tonight. (Patch)

* After failing to disclose a trip to Taiwan he took for business purposes, Ramadan announced Monday that he would amend his financial disclosure forms to include the trip. (Press release)

* Maryland drivers will start to be ticketed while driving and talking on the phone, despite studies showing that such crackdowns do little to prevent accidents. (Washington Examiner)

The new Republican nominee for Virginia lieutenant governor, E.W. Jackson, is being slammed for his past incendiary remarks, including one in which he compared Planned Parenthood to the KKK.

Jackson, a black minister and activist, is a Tea Party conservative and, along with Ken Cuccinelli for governor and Sen. Mark Obenshain for attorney general, completes an entire Tea Party ticket for the Virginia GOP.

In a video posted last September, Jackson said “Planned Parenthood has been far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was."

The Democrat Party has created an unholy alliance between certain so-called civil rights leaders and Planned Parenthood, which has killed unborn black babies by the tens of millions. Planned Parenthood has been far more lethal to black lives than the KKK ever was. And the Democrat Party and the black civil rights allies are partners in this genocide.

He also decried black voters' “slavish devotion to Democrats.” Politico reports that these past comments will likely “inflame the culture-war politics of the state’s 2013 elections.”

BuzzFeed has a list of the top ten most anti-gay remarks Jackson has made, including one where he says he believes there is a direct connection between being gay and being a pedophile.

Jackson beat out a crowded field of seven contenders for the Republican nomination at the state GOP convention this weekend. 

IN OTHER NEWS:

* Cuccinelli is officially the GOP nominee for Virginia governor (News4)

* Sen. Mark Obenshain won the Republican nomination for attorney general at the Virginia GOP convention over the weekend. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

* Hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, Prince George’s County officials unveiled a new foreclosure action plan aimed at speeding up the demolition process after knocking down nearly 50 houses and apartment complexes so far this fiscal year. (Washington Examiner)

* The Eisenhower family opposes Frank Gehry’s design of the Eisenhower memorial. (Washington Examiner)

* Councilmember Tommy Wells announced his mayoral campaign Saturday outside in the pouring rain. (Washington City Paper)

* Judge Katie O’Malley—Gov. Martin O’Malley’s wife—does a fashion shoot for Baltimore Style magazine. (Maryland Reporter)

* Despite similar speculation for Gov. O’Malley and Gov. Cuomo for 2016, the two have vastly different political styles. (Baltimore Sun)
 

The newly named Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, Ken Cuccinelli, is making four stops around the Commonwealth Monday to introduce voters to his new GOP ticket.

Cuccinelli, now Virginia's attorney general, formally became the Republican gubernatorial nominee by acclamation Saturday at a statewide convention.

He'll be joined by the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, Rev. E.W. Jackson of Chesapeake, and by State Senator Mark Obenshain of Harrisonburg, the GOP nominee for Attorney General, for day two of their first unified campaign push.

The trio were nominated at a Republican convention that seemed dominated by tea party activists, who have been Cuccinelli's supporters.

Republicans decided to do a convention this year instead of a primary, a move that helped force two-term lieutenant governor Bill Bolling out of the race for governor. Bolling did not attend this weekend's convention.

Virginia's Democrats will have a primary election June 11. Terry McAuliffe is running unopposed for the gubernatorial nomination, but there are active races for lieutenant  governor and attorney general. (If you want to vote in the primary, Monday is the last day to register; click here for more information.)

The GOP nominees' tour includes stops in the Shenandoah Valley, Roanoke, Abingdon and Martinsville. The group stopped in Fairfax Sunday, a region Cuccinelli says will be critical to the success of his party.

Right now, Cuccinelli's challenger has a slight advantage in the latest poll.

A recent Quinnipiac University survey found McAuliffe has the support of 43 percent of voters, while Cuccinelli has 38 percent.

The race to be elected Mayor of the District of Columbia in 2014 now has two official participants after Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells officially announced his candidacy Saturday afternoon in Northeast D.C.

Wells, an advocate of investing in public transit who has served on the D.C. Council since 2006, pulled up to the event at Starburst Plaza in a Metrobus before his speech, in which he described Mayor Vincent Gray's term of office as "the greatest ethical crisis since the beginning of home rule."

"We're moving forward," said Wells, who vowed not to accept donations from corporations or lobbyists in his speech. "We're bringing in new jobs. If we have a corrupt government, it's all at risk."

Gray, who remains under investigation for issues related to the financing of his successful 2010 mayoral campaign, has not yet announced whether he will run for a second term. In March, Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser officially became the first to challenge Gray when she declared her mayoral candidacy.

In addition to his ethics promise, Wells also introduced three initiatives: halving juvenile crime in the first 24 months of his administration, improving elementary education ("we will be sure that every family in Washington D.C. has a quality elementary school in walking distance to their home that they can attend as a matter of right"), and investing in what he called "the next generation of public transit."

The announcement came more than three months after Wells filed formal papers to begin an exploratory committee, the first candidate to do so. Due to his mayoral run, Wells has forfeited a chance at a third term representing Ward 6 on the Council.

Gov. Martin O’Malley signed Maryland’s increased gas tax into law Thursday, and announced $1.2 billion of new road and transit projects that would be built with the new revenue.

Among the projects: $280 million for the final design of the Purple Line that would link Bethesda and New Carrollton, and $100 million for design of a rapid bus line along I-270 called the Corridor Cities Transitway.

He also designated $100 million for a Red Line in Baltimore.

Read the full list of initial transit projects here.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* A new language immersion high school is nearing approval in D.C. (Washington Examiner)

* William and Sophia top the list of most popular baby names in D.C. in 2012. (Washington City Paper)

* Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is launching an initiative to match more than 1,000 children in foster care with adoptive parents. (Associated Press)

* Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli traveled to Southwest Virginia Thursday and emphasized the importance of coal. (Virginian-Pilot)

* Polling the polls: A round up of the latest polling results of the Virginia gubernatorial race. (Roanoke Times)

* In the crowded Virginia Republican lieutenant governor field, style may trump substance as the candidate is chosen at this weekend’s convention. (Washington Times)

* Maryland’s state universities announced a three-percent tuition hike for in-state undergraduate tuition, the same increase for the past three years. (Washington Examiner)

* A federal appeals court on Wednesday unsealed a recent opinion involving the ongoing investigation into D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s 2010 campaign. (Washington Post)

Democrat Terry McAuliffe has opened up a slight lead against Republican Ken Cuccinelli, with the latest Quinnipiac poll showing him with a 43-38 percent advantage.

The race is still considered a toss-up. A Quinnipiac poll in late March had the race in statistical tie, with Cuccinelli leading 40-38 percent. A Washington Post poll in early May showed Cuccinelli leading 5 percentage points among registered voters, and ten percent among likely voters.

The biggest challenge for both candidates leading up to Election Day will be to get their names out there. Both candidates are still relatively unknown to voters, with 60 percent of voters saying they don’t know about McAuliffe to have an opinion about him and about 40 percent of voters saying they don’t know enough about Cuccinelli.

The poll surveyed 1,286 registered voters and has a margin of error of 2.7 percentage points.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling is creating a PAC, Virginia Mainstream Project, focused on electing mainstream GOP candidates to Virginia’s General Assembly. (Virginian-Pilot)

* Ken Cuccinelli hired former Democratic Attorney General Anthony Troy to lead the case pending against a former chef at Virginia's Executive Mansion. (News4)

* Some D.C. Council members are crafting legislation to lessen the penalties for marijuana possession. (Washington Post)

* Gov. Martin O’Malley is scheduled to sign his major gun-control legislation today at a bill signing ceremony. (AP)

* Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown—who recently announced he would run for governor—is standing in for Gov. O’Malley Saturday to present the winner of the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. (Washington Post)

* Some statistics on how people commute in D.C. (Washington City Paper)

* The crowded GOP race for lieutenant governor is still wide open. (Virginian-Pilot)

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli cited a conflict of interest Wednesday in recusing his office from representing Gov. Bob McDonnell and hiring private lawyers to handle matters arising from a politically explosive criminal case pending against a former chef at Virginia's Executive Mansion.

Democratic former Virginia Attorney General Anthony F. Troy will lead four attorneys from the Eckert Seamans firm in Richmond providing counsel to McDonnell in his official capacity and others in his office as embezzlement charges proceed against Todd Schneider and inquiries into the mansion's kitchen operations continue.

“Due to the practical conflict previously noted by this office in the case of Commonwealth v. Todd Schneider, ... you and your office are appointed to serve as special counsel to represent (McDonnell) ... for matters related to, or arising from, this case and any other related matters,” Assistant Attorney General Ellen Porter wrote in a letter to Troy dated Wednesday.

The conflict includes the exposure both Cuccinelli and McDonnell have had to food supplements maker Star Scientific Inc., the subject of a federal securities probe and three shareholders' lawsuits, and its chief executive, Jonnie Williams. Williams, a political backer, gave gifts to both McDonnell and Cuccinelli, some of which they disclosed belatedly or not until after journalists had first reported them.

Star Scientific gave McDonnell's campaign and his political action committee more than $100,000 and, in 2011, wrote the governor's daughter, Cailin, a $15,000 check to cover expenses for her Executive Mansion wedding reception, including Schneider's bill for private catering services. McDonnell never reported the gift on his required statement of economic interests for that year because state law requires elected officials disclose only gifts to themselves, not family members.

Maureen McDonnell, the governor's wife, has promoted Star Scientific's Anatabloc supplement at an event at the Executive Mansion and has traveled the country to hawk Anatabloc along with other products.

In court documents filed in Schneider's defense, he alleges that he had been told to take food, purchased at state expense, from the Executive Mansion kitchen as compensation for catering and event services he provided privately to the family. He also alleges that members of the governor's family at various times took items from the kitchen for their personal use.

Cuccinelli, meanwhile, has accepted more than $18,000 in gifts from Williams since 2009, including more than $6,000 worth of food supplements, and a $3,500 family summer vacation and $1,500 Thanksgiving retreat and dinner at Williams' luxury lodge on Smith Mountain Lake. Cuccinelli last month amended disclosure statements dating from 2009 to add the lake vacations and other gifts that he said had slipped his mind earlier.

Cuccinelli also owned thousands of shares of stock in Star Scientific when the company sued Virginia's Department of Taxation over a $700,000 tax dispute. His office represented the state for more than a year before it recused itself over the conflict and turned the state's defense in the case over to private attorneys in April. Cuccinelli sold part of his stock last year and the rest last month, divesting himself of all Star Scientific holdings.

Last month, Cuccinelli petitioned Richmond Circuit Court to withdraw as Schneider's prosecutor on four felony counts, citing conflicts that include his and the governor's mutual ties to Williams and his company, but also other conflicts. The court agreed and appointed Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Gregory Underwood as special prosecutor.

Schneider's pending case and ongoing state police investigations could, at some point, require the attorney general to cross examine witnesses from the governor's staff who, under state law, are clients of the attorney general. Another conflict Cuccinelli cites is a former executive mansion director who once worked for a firm that raised political donations for Cuccinelli.

Neither Cuccinelli nor McDonnell is charged with wrongdoing, but the FBI is scrutinizing the relationship between McDonnell and Williams, sources have told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because their roles precluded them from talking publicly. The FBI's interest is related to the securities probe of Star Scientific.

McDonnell's new private legal team -- Matthew B. Kirsner, Richard L. Savage III, Charles Zdebski, David W. Clarke and Troy -- will bill the governor's office at a rate of $250 hourly, according to Porter's letter to Troy.

Their state-paid services would not extend to representing McDonnell in his personal capacity or members of family outside the scope of official activity.

Gov. Bob McDonnell’s approval rating has reached its lowest point in two years, dropping just below 50 percent, according to a new Quinnipiac poll. Forty-nine percent of respondents approved of his job in office, while 28 percent disapproved.

The results come as the governor receives increased scrutiny over his relationship with beleaguered businessman Jonnie Williams Sr, who paid the $15,000 catering bill at McDonnell daughter's wedding in 2011. But the poll showed that voters believe -- 44 to 12 percent -- that questions about Gov. McDonnell's ties to a campaign donor are "just politics" rather than a "major issue."

The poll also found that most Virginia voters don’t really know much about the scandal.

"The relationship between Gov. Bob McDonnell and businessman Jonnie Williams Sr. has been a major story in the news media, but seems so far to have little impact on voters' views of the governor, which remain relatively positive," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "That could change depending on developments, but at this point many more voters see the matter as 'just politics' than as a major issue. The governor retains a favorable view in the eyes of Virginia voters."

There’s good reason to take these results with a grain of salt. A recent NBC poll showed the governor’s approval rating on the up, with a 61 percent approval rating among registered voters.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* All but two of the schools slated for closure in D.C. are in census tracts that are more than 50 percent black and Hispanic. (Washington City Paper)

* A Maryland delegated sentenced to 30 days in jail for operating a boat while under the influence appealed his sentence to a higher court. (Associated Press)

* An interesting map showing the percentage of D.C. residents employed by the government and where they live. (DCist)

* Virginia state revenue increases 2.2 percent in April 2013 compared with April 2012, according to new data released by the McDonnell administration. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

* The trial for the former Virginia Executive Mansion accused of embezzlement is set for Oct. 15-18. (Virginian-Pilot)

* The Justice Department confirms that U.S. Attorney Ron Machen is running the Associated Press investigation. (Washington City Paper)

* Bill O’Reilly aired a segment on Maryland’s correctional corruption scandal and called the state’s correction boss a “moron.” (Baltimore City Paper)

* Mayor Vincent Gray and Councilwoman Muriel Bowser, a mayoral candidate herself, feud over the D.C. budget. (Washington Examiner)

* In a political-pop culture-meta moment, Gov. O’Malley stands in the oval office…on the set of “House of Cards. “ (Baltimore Sun)

* A heated debate erupted among attendees of the first public meeting to get District residents’ input on changing the Height Act. (Washington City Paper)
 

You’ll see them in evening and morning rush-hour lanes, in the bus stops, in the crosswalks, on the sidewalks, in “no parking” zones and in commercial loading zones. In short, you see them parked everywhere.

We’re talking about illegally parked police cars, an embarrassing side of what normally is a heartfelt week in which officers come from around the nation for “Police Week” in the nation’s capital. It continues through Friday.

There are solemn ceremonies honoring slain officers. There are other ceremonies that mark the good work that police officers do every day.

And the officers who come to Washington bring the prestige and honor of the departments for which they work.

Which is why it’s particularly embarrassing when many police vehicles lawlessly park anywhere they damn please.

NBC4’s cameras captured the scene on Monday. Especially near Thomas Circle, there were dozens of illegally parked police vehicles.

The Newark, N.J., contingent went a step further. The officers brought along their own hometown orange cones and put them in the street to mark their territory. The Newark orange cones blocked a busy bus stop, forcing riders into the street as they got on and off the buses.

Your Notebook asked D.C. officials about the rampant illegal parking.

“They are expected to follow the laws just like anyone else,” was the reply from Police Chief Cathy Lanier’s office. A spokesperson for the Department of Public Works, which assigns parking ticket writers, said there was no instruction against ticketing the police. And Mayor Vincent Gray’s office said “no pass” was given for the out-of-towners.

But over several hours on Monday, NBC4 did not see even one ticket on any police vehicle. We did get grumbling about the vehicles from passersby. We did get emails and tweets pointing out other locations and more violations. (And yes, we got a few tweets criticizing us for focusing on the issue.)

Your Notebook is not sure why the city doesn’t block off parking spaces on non-rush hour streets and reserve them for the officers. Maybe the officers could bring their trailers into town, offload their cycles and other gear, then drive the trailers to a less busy part of town.

In fact, there are many more vehicles parked illegally in a sparse area of Southwest near the baseball stadium. A huge lot there is fenced off for outdoor eating, vendors selling police memorabilia and general socializing. But the illegally parked cars in Southwest cause no trouble for anyone. There is even a steady stream of shuttle vans to take officers and their families to and from other parts of town.

Before next year’s Police Week, maybe some better planning could be done. Police officers are an important part of the fabric of our free society. They shouldn’t be seen as Wild West cowboys riding in for a rules-be-damned Saturday night. Let’s find decent parking for all their gear, and then we can salute them rather than have people grinding their teeth over blatant disrespect for our city laws.

■ Better than before. Several D.C. police officers pointed out -- and we agreed -- that Police Week is a lot better than before. Years ago the public drunkenness was as bad as the illegal parking and the racing through the streets, blocking intersections at will.

Chief Lanier has taken to sending a letter to other departments urging officers to respect their badge when they come to town. It has helped a lot.

■ It’s getting crowded here. Mayor Gray told the Notebook last week that the city’s economic boom is continuing. He said planners now expect 250,000 more citizens to live in the District within the next 20 to 25 years. That would take our population to about 880,000 people.

That’s why you’re seeing public meetings begin this week on whether and how to raise the city’s height limit to accommodate some of those folks. It’s why you see city planners thinking up ways to minimize single-occupancy automobile traffic in favor of mass transit and better density for housing.

■ Tourism is booming, too. The marketing group Destination D.C. last week reported that the city set a new record for visitors to the city. It was only a slight 3 percent increase over the year before, but the nation’s capital continues to be a popular destination. The city says tourism supports some 75,000 jobs and creates more than $6 billion in annual spending here.

■ A correction: In our posting last week on the city controversy over food trucks, your Notebook mistakenly wrote that “Andrew Klein” was representing the restaurant association. As we have known for way too many years, his name is “Kline.”

As his email to us read so succinctly, “Dude, I’m still Kline!”

Our apologies.

Tom Sherwood, a Southwest resident, is a political reporter for News 4.

The Prince George’s County Council is considering holding building owners and property managers accountable for prostitution and human trafficking.

Police and county council members are concerned about the growing illegal activity they can’t see behind closed doors.

“We’ve seen cases in the past where women work out of apartment buildings,” CASA de Maryland Political Director Kim Propeack said. “They don’t have street clothes. They can’t leave. They are guarded by people with guns. It does happen in all communities and it happens in this community.”

Human trafficking cases are on the rise in Prince George’s County, and in communities like Langley Park, immigrant women are often the targets, leading to prostitution and illegal servitude.

“Women are fooled into thinking they're going into a legitimate job and they get exploited, abused and forced into prostitution,” Prince George’s County Councilmember Will Campos said.

While the crimes may be hard for police to know about, the Prince George’s County Council thinks some landlords and property owners know when something is wrong. Tuesday the council introduced a bill holding building owners accountable.

“It extends the police officer’s ability to patrol by using the eyes and ears of property managers where the illegal activity is happening,” Councilmember Mel Franklin said.

The bill would expand nuisance laws to include prostitution, human trafficking and activities involving criminal gangs. It’s an amendment to legislation passed in 1993 that held property owners and managers accountable for drug sales in their buildings.

If a manager or owner is found negligent, he or she could face hearings resulting in them losing their property.

Follow Tracee Wilkins on Twitter at @traceewilkins

After cemeteries in the Boston area refused his body for burial, Boston-marathon suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is being laid to rest at an Islamic burial ground near Kings Dominion in Doswell, Va.

Bob McDonnell responded to the burial location on Monday as reporters questioned him after he signed his landmark transportation legislation into law.

“That wouldn’t have been my choice, but it’s a cemetery, it’s a religious cemetery,” McDonnell said. “My understanding is we don’t regulate those and it’s really a matter of private property.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* D.C. Councilman Tommy Wells officially launches is mayoral campaign. (News4)

* Gov. Bob McDonnell signed Virginia's landmark $6 billion transportation funding legislation into law Monday. (Virginian-Pilot)

* The embezzlement case against a former Virginia Executive Mansion is back in court Tuesday. (News4)

* Montgomery County is starting to bill for ambulance rides and will retroactively start charging for ambulance rides taken since January. (Washington Examiner)

* Disgraced former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown’s court imposed house arrest and curfew expired Monday. (Washington City Paper)

* The D.C. Council is considering a smoking ban within 25 feet of any city playground. (News4)

* The Virginia gubernatorial race is taking place on both the national and local stages. (Washington Post)

* A liberal interest group issued a report on LivingSocial -- called DyingSocial -- on the dangers of offering events that include shooting and alcohol. (Washington City Paper)

* A new proposal in Prince George’s County would add prostitution, human trafficking and criminal activity to the public nuisance law designation and would extend the law -- which was instituted in 1993 to deal with the sale and use of illegal drugs on commercial property -- to residences. (Washington Examiner)

* Virginia Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate Aneesh Chopra releases his first television ad of the campaign. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Two weeks ago, Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe released his first campaign ad. In it, he portrayed himself as a family man and successful entrepreneur who got his start in business as a hardworking teenager repairing driveways.

Candidates often seek to define themselves before their opponents and the media do.

The problem for McAuliffe is that he defined himself long before his current bid for governor.

In books and interviews he has told stories that undermine the family man image. McAuliffe, for example, recounts how he left his wife (in tears) and newborn son in a car so he could attend a political fundraiser. He was once thrown out of a delivery room for arguing about heath care reform to the point where he was disruptive. And McAuliffe nearly missed the birth of a child so he could attend a party to honor a Washington Post gossip columnist.

Those stories might not be deal breakers with voters, but McAuliffe’s image-makers will certainly need to adjust his campaign strategy. The “I’m a family man just like you” message is kaput.

McAuliffe’s bigger problem, though, may have been created by the Occupy movement and reinforced by Democrats throughout the 2012 election season.

McAuliffe, who has amassed considerable wealth in part through his connections to the political world, is a “one percenter.”

If there is any doubt that McAuliffe is in the elite tier of wealthy Americans, consider this: The prolific fundraiser bragged about loaning Bill and Hillary Clinton $1 million so they could purchase a home. He did so while joking that the former president could not come up with $25 to buy some pizzas.

Democrats used wealth very effectively against opponents in the last election cycle. In particular, presidential candidate Mitt Romney was pilloried for his role as CEO of Bain Capital. Romney’s fortune was also used to portray him as being out of touch with everyday Americans.

McAuliffe should expect the same treatment from Republicans and the media. What’s good for the goose is good for gander.

I suspect it is only a matter of time before McAuliffe is asked to reveal his tax returns. Based on what Democrats sought from Romney, McAuliffe might want to be sure he paid all the proper taxes on the income he earned fixing driveways 40 years ago.

And McAuliffe will need to explain how he is a more humane businessman than Romney, who was criticized for cutting jobs to save struggling companies in order to turn them into profitable enterprises.

Though their resumes differ, McAuliffe, like Romney, has had to make business decisions.

McAuliffe recently resigned as chairman of an electric car company, GreenTech Automotive. Originally the car manufacturer was slated to be located in Virginia, but McAuliffe opted to set up shop in Mississippi. His explanation has come under scrutiny, but it isn’t the fine print that could doom McAuliffe’s dream to be elected governor.

What will hurt McAuliffe is the need to explain, over and over again, why he didn’t choose Virginia.

Just ask Romney: Voters do not like to hear about bottom line business decisions that take precedence over people and jobs.

And, of course, there are other questions McAuliffe may face. Does he have offshore investments? How about overseas bank accounts? In what ways have his political connections benefited his personal financial interests?

These are all fair questions. Romney had to face them. Now it is McAuliffe’s turn.

Chuck Thies is a political, communications and advocacy consultant. He has worked on national projects and internationally in Europe, Africa, the Middle East , China and Mexico. If you are daring, follow him on twitter @ChuckThies.

The District appears ready to take a first step in banning smoking in outdoor locations.

The D.C. Council heard testimony Monday supporting a new smoking ban within 25 feet of any city playground. It would be the first city legislation affecting smoking in places other than buildings and restaurants. Smoking already is banned in public buildings and schools.

The legislation, proposed by at-large Councilmember Vincent Orange and Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans would require prominently posted signs warning that smoking near the playgrounds is illegal. It’s unclear what, if any, civil penalties would be imposed. That still has to be worked out in the legislation that likely wouldn’t become law until late in the year.

Angela Bradbery, a founder and leader of SmokeFreeDC, testified she wants the city to go further than a 25-foot ban around playgrounds. She wants the city to ban smoking anywhere in city parks.

“Children don’t stay just within the boundaries of playgrounds when they are at play,” she testified. “They visit other areas of the parks, too.”

Bradbery, who helped pass the restaurant no-smoking law, said 44 states and more than 800 cities have made parks smoke free.  She said more than 58 cities in 20 states also ban smoking at zoos.

Ward 3 D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh, chairman of the council’s committee on the environment, said she supports the playground ban and is looking at expanding the legislation to cover parks. Other councilmembers are concerned that open air parks are among the few places people can smoke. No one testified against the legislation Monday.

A D.C. Department of Health spokesman said his agency supports the ban given new studies on secondhand smoke, and D.C. Recreation Director Jesus Aguirre said his department supports the ban with some revisions. He said the park ranger staff is not equipped to enforce the ban and is not legally permitted to write tickets or fines for violations.

The two bills under consideration are:

• Bill 20-93, the Prohibition of Smoking Near Playground Act of 2013, would prohibit smoking within 25 feet of any playground.
• Bill 20-95, the Smoking Restriction Amendment Act of 2013, would also prohibit smoking within 25 feet of a playground and would also require property owners to post four signs stating that this prohibition.

Follow Tom Sherwood on Twitter at @tomsherwood

Former D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown is almost a free man.

His six-month house arrest stemming from a bank fraud charge ended Sunday, however he remains on probation until November.

Brown pleaded guilty June 8 to felony bank fraud in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He admitted to providing false documentation to secure two personal loans totaling more than $220,000.

On a document that listed Brown's consulting income as $35,000, he changed the "3" to an "8," according to a press release from the office of U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr.

He later resigned from the city council.

The compromise transportation plan has become law in Virginia.

The new law provides long-term funding for road repairs and upkeep.

Flanked by lawmakers from both parties, Gov. Bob McDonnell signed the bill, celebrating the bipartisan effort of it.

"There's a big difference between Washington and Richmond," McDonnell said. "Ninety miles can make a big difference. The bill that ultimately passed has 43 Republicans and 43 Democrats -- doesn't get any more bi-partisan than that."

The new law also brings higher taxes and fees.

It eliminates the state gas tax but adds a 3.5 percent wholesale gas tax, increases the state sales tax to 5.3 precent and imposes a $100 fee for hybrid owners.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to officially enact his sweeping transportation funding legislation in a ceremonial signing today at the Virginia Capitol.

The measure would replace Virginia's 17 1/2 cents-per-gallon gas tax with a 3.5 percent wholesale tax on gasoline and a 6 percent levy on diesel fuel. It would also increase the statewide sales taxes from 5 percent to 5.3 percent and add a $100 registration fee for fuel-sipping hybrid vehicles.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* The story of Charles Ramsey -- the man who rescued the captive Cleveland women -- and his visit to the District. (Washington Post)

* The Maryland prison scandal was a big blow to Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s possible 2016 run. (National Review)

* O’Malley officially endorsed his lieutenant governor, Anthony Brown, as his successor. (News4)

* Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is releasing his second television ad Monday touting his $1.4 billion tax cut plan. (Washington Post)

* A deeper look at Todd Schneider, the ex-chef central in Gov. McDonnell’s political drama. (Associated Press)

* The Fairfax County school board is considering a softer disciplinary policy that would suspend a student for up to 10 days if he or she is caught with marijuana for the first time. Under current rules, that student would be expelled. (Washington Examiner)

* A Virginia equality group, EV Advocates, is gearing up for the gubernatorial race and is trying to raise $50,000 to educate voters about the differences between the two candidates. (Metro Weekly)

* D.C. Councilmembers can only vote yes or no on the mayor’s proposed food truck regulations, meaning the controversial legislation is an all-or-nothing proposal. (Washington Examiner)

There was an awkward scene Friday at what is a normally somber and serious salute to fallen police officers from our area.

Police Chief Cathy Lanier, as usual, invited Mayor Vincent Gray and U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen, both important leaders of the city.

The two men may have shared the stage but barely acknowledged each other only once, spending most of the time studiously avoiding even looking in each other’s direction as they sat about 3 feet apart for almost two hours.

The undercurrent of cool distance didn’t distract from the police ceremony. And maybe it was understandable. Machen is in the third year of investigating a $650,000 shadow campaign that helped elect Gray in 2010. Several campaign aides have pleaded guilty in the case. No one could remember Machen and Gray appearing together since the investigation began.

On Friday, Chief Lanier greeted Machen warmly and with a big hug. She did the same for Mayor Gray.

But when Gray walked up to sit next to the chief and Machen, the prosecutor did not even look up from his seat.

And that’s the way it continued throughout the respectful ceremony. Neither man acknowledging the other in words or deeds. Both men are exceptionally friendly in public, which made their distance all the more noticeable.

Only briefly, after Gray had spoken, did the men barely touch hands in a handshake that lasted at best half a second.

After the ceremony, News4’s Mark Segraves asked Machen about the public coolness.

“You were next to Gray there. Was that awkward at all given that you’re investigating him?” Segraves asked.  “Not awkward at all,” Machen replied quickly but politely. Would Machen care to update Segraves on the Gray investigation?  “No, no,” Machen smiled.

What about Mayor Gray’s response?  He shrugged off the question and said there was no interview and walked away.

Chief Lanier didn’t want to get into the coolness. She said she thought “it was important for both of them to be there, and they did, too.”

As he has pursued the corruption cases, Machen has minced no words on public integrity he’s defending.

He spoke Friday of the sacrifice of public safety officers and the theme of community service and honor the officers represent.

“Let us remember the values to which they devoted their lives,” Machen said, “service, integrity and sacrifice… Let us strive to live up to those memories.”

"I'm an entrepreneur."

It's something Democrat Terry McAuliffe mentions frequently as he campaigns to convince voters that his business credentials could make him a Virginia chief executive in the mold of popular former Gov. Mark Warner, now a U.S. senator, but Republican opponent Ken Cuccinelli and his campaign have called McAuliffe's business dealings into question, accusing him of overstating his experience and success.

They point to GreenTech Automotive, a start-up electric car maker in Horn Lake, Miss. McAuliffe was its chairman last July at a flashy ribbon-cutting complete with projections for 1,500 jobs and the ability to build a car a day.

But McAuliffe stepped down as chairman late last year.

Right now, the company has just 100 workers and a site for a second plant remains empty.

But McAuliffe rejects the suggestion that he made promises he couldn't deliver and he says GreenTech is not a drag on his campaign.

"I'm sorry, I don't view it as a drag, " said McAuliffe. "I'm an entrepreneur. Very few people have ever started a car company in the middle of a recession."

McAuliffe said he's proud of the company so far and believes it will be a success. McAuliffe also said his ups and downs in business only bolster his skills to become governor.

“That's what you want in a governor, someone who is out there every day. As Teddy Roosevelt said, 'You've got to be in the arena,’"

But in a statement, the Cuccinelli campaign challenges that, writing, "Time after time, Terry McAuliffe has not lived up to his promises and taken credit when no credit was due."

Follow Julie Carey on Twitter at @JulieCareyNBC

D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh has proposed significant fare hikes for the Circulator buses, doubling the fare for passengers paying cash from $1 to $2.

SmartTrip card users would pay $1.50.

The fares would go into effect July 1, with the expected $1.7 million in revenue from the price increases going to the Washington Elderly & Handicapped Transportation Service and to expand Circulator routes around the city.

A spokesman for Mayor Gray said he would evaluate the proposal, but that the mayor does not support raising fines, fees or taxes, The Washington Examiner reports.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* NBC News/Marist Poll: Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli are statistically tied in Virginia’s gubernatorial race. (News4)

* Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling will not be attending Virginia’s GOP convention because he disagrees with the party’s decision to change the method of nomination from a primary to a convention. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

* Developers submitted a proposal for a 446,000-square-foot office and residential project at the Congress Heights Metro station. (Urban Turf)

* Cuccinelli talked to NBC’s Julie Carey, saying that his failure to disclose gifts from the CEO of Star Scientific was an honest mistake. (News4)

* McAuliffe is being forced to explain on the campaign trail why two commercial ventures he proposed in Virginia haven't lived up to the lofty expectations he set. (The Virginian-Pilot)

* Cuccinelli is the Republican nominee for Virginia governor. How did the Democrats wind up struggling in the race? (Daily Beast)

* Gov. Martin O’Malley launched an initiative releasing a wide variety of state data to the public online. (AP)

* Business group leaders say Maryland needs to be more competitive on taxes. (Maryland Reporter)

* A 62-year-old man living in Columbia Heights apparently committed suicide after being evicted from his apartment. (Washington Blade)

Virginia Attorney General and GOP gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli provided a fuller explanation Wednesday for why he failed to initially disclose gifts he accepted from the CEO of a company that's now under investigation.

"I'm not running for office as somebody who doesn't make mistakes," Cuccinelli told News4. "I certainly do make them and one thing voters can count on is when I do, I'll 'fess up to them."

Since 2009 Cuccinelli accepted more than $18,000 in gifts -- a flight, a stay at a vacation home, a catered Thanksgiving dinner -- from political donor Jonnie Williams, the CEO of Star Scientific. The one-time tobacco company makes dietary supplements.

Cuccinelli made a final disclosure of two gifts from Williams April 26 in a meeting with reporters closed to cameras. Wednesday in an on camera interview he said he did not have a good system in the attorney general's office to record gifts.

"I hadn't been attorney general before,” he explained. “I didn't really have any practice when I came in. This was kind of done on the fly as we go."

Ordinarily, Cuccinelli said, he'd wait until the end of the year and work with his secretary to try to account for gifts.

"Now I did remember some things so it wasn't like they didn't show up on my disclosures but I didn't get everything and that's my mistake," he said.

Cuccinelli said he's since put a new system in place. He's also now proposing stricter gift disclosure laws.

But Democrats have hammered Cuccinelli, suggesting he was intentionally concealing the gifts. Cuccinelli denied that and said there is proof Star Scientific did not get favorable treatment in exchange for gifts.

"The one time Star Scientific came across the radar screen of the AG's office they were immediately opposed," Cuccinelli said.

The company is suing the commonwealth over a disputed tax assessment.

Cuccinelli said he's asked Richmond's commonwealth's attorney to now review his amended disclosures.

Follow Julie Carey on Twitter at @JulieCareyNBC

There was a sliver of a new development Monday in the ongoing criminal probe of D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray’s 2010 campaign. It provides some insight into why prosecutors can’t — as some complain — “just get this case over.”

Federal District Court Judge Royce Lamberth — in a year-old court ruling that was released just Monday — says prosecutors believe Gray fundraiser Jeffrey Thompson has engaged in “efforts … to obstruct the investigation.”

Lawyers for Thompson have lost several rounds in court to prohibit release of Thompson’s financial documents that might shed light on the Gray campaign mess. Thompson could appeal to the Supreme Court next. His lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, makes it a routine practice not to comment to reporters.

The intense court battle over documents between Thompson and prosecutors is important because it has so far delayed the full investigation into whether Gray knew about illegal efforts to elect him.

When you hear people say that the prosecutors ought to fish or cut bait — that is, indict the mayor or get off his case — you might pay attention to the court battle over documents.

Judge Lamberth minced no words in the May 2012 court order denying Thompson’s legal move to severely limit access to his financial records.

“The government in the pursuit of an investigation of serious potential criminal violations has seized documents” through a valid search warrant, Lamberth wrote. “The government has the right to review those documents on a prompt basis, and the public has the right to see alleged wrongdoers swiftly brought to trial.”

Again, that “swiftly” part was written in May of last year.

■ Keep on truckin’ 2. This Friday, a D.C. Council committee will try — again — to make sense of how the city should regulate the growing food truck industry.

No one disputes that some regulation is needed. It’s just a matter of how much.

Mayor Gray’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has written, and rewritten, guidelines. The latest version would authorize “mobile roadway vending locations” for which truck operators would compete in a monthly lottery. Food trucks could park at any metered space but could not “feed the meter” to remain longer than the time posted.

The Food Truck Association is screaming bloody murder, complaining that the regulations severely limit where and for how long they can park.

On Monday, nearly two dozen food trucks showed up as usual at Farragut Square downtown and set up for business. Only this time they didn’t open. The vendors stood outside their trucks and explained to hungry customers that it was a one-day strike. The vendors urged the customers to write or call the mayor and council.

“Well, the situation is dire,” said Curbside Cupcakes co-owner Sam Whitfield. He and his business partner wife Kristi Whitfield took turns holding their young son as they lobbied the passersby.

At-large Council member Vincent Orange chairs the Committee on Business, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and other members include at-large member David Grosso, Ward 1’s Jim Graham, Ward 3’s Mary Cheh and Ward 7’s Yvette Alexander.

Cheh told News4 that she’s inclined to throw out the proposed regulations and start over. She said there has to be a way to be fair to entrepreneurs that are bringing liveliness to city streets and employing people.

That’s all well and good, said the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, but what about the brick-and-mortar restaurants on the same block? The lunchtime crushes of food trucks sweep in, attract office workers and sweep out. Meanwhile, building-based restaurants lose business to the mostly unregulated horde.

Andrew Kline, a representative for the restaurants, says the new rules are not everything his association wanted, but do bring some order to the Wild West situation. He noted that “it’s ironic” that the food truck strike occurred at Farragut Square. He said the regulations would allow the trucks to vend there by paying the parking meter. The food truck folks say they’re limited to one or two hours, which is not long enough to make money with their trucks.

(We’d like to point out that the Notebook’s son Peyton is a partner in a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Columbia Heights. His partners include owners of a food truck. And, your Notebook has been a presenter at the annual restaurant awards ceremony. All of this is to say, we have no dog in this hunt.)

■ “Redskins” offensive? We’re not talking about offense and defense. There’s been a flurry of news stories recently about whether owner Daniel Snyder should change the name of the Washington Redskins.

Snyder and the team have resisted other flare-ups calling for the name change. In the past few weeks, new at-large D.C. Council member David Grosso has promoted a council resolution urging the change. Grosso recommended the Redtails, a salute to the World War II Tuskegee Airmen.

Whatever your feelings on the subject, it’s not a slam dunk to change. A recent Associated Press poll showed that 79 percent of respondents favored keeping the name. Only 11 percent said it should be changed and 8 percent weren’t sure.

Opponents of the name — widely considered to be a slur of Native Americans — contend that discriminatory descriptions shouldn’t be put to a vote. There’s also a move in Congress to deny the team protection of federal copyright laws.

The Washington Business Journal has done one of its online polls on the issue. It’s not scientific, just interesting. The poll as of Monday night had attracted nearly 1,000 responses. It showed 66 percent don’t want a name change. Another 15 percent favored changing the name to the Washington Redtails. But 19 percent favored changing the name, but to something different than Redtails.

Follow Tom Sherwood on Twitter at @tomsherwood

Six months out, the race to become Virginia’s next governor could go down to the wire. Neither candidate is starting out with a significant advantage, according to an NBC News/Marist poll released Wednesday morning.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Ken Cuccinelli are in a statistical tie, with McAuliffe getting support from 43 percent of registered voters and Cuccinelli with 41 percent. But among likely voters, Cuccinelli is ahead by three points, 45 percent to 42 percent.

“No one is approaching the 50-yard line on this. It is wide open,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, which conducted the poll.

Those are different results from a recent Washington Post poll, which showed Cuccinelli leading by five points among registered voters and 10 points among likely voters.

In this NBC/Marist survey, both candidates appear to be polarizing and have little crossover appeal. In fact, 91 percent of registered Democrats support McAuliffe, and 91 percent of registered Republicans back Cuccinelli. The candidates split independents with 36 percent each, leaving almost three in 10 -- 28 percent -- undecided.

• SEE FULL POLL RESULTS

There’s a wide gender gap, with McAuliffe leading among women -- 50 percent to 34 percent -- and Cuccinelli ahead among men, 49 percent to 34 percent. But there’s also an intensity gap, with 53 percent of Cuccinelli backers strongly supporting him, versus 47 percent expressing similar support for McAuliffe.

The candidates are essentially even, but Cuccinelli has a slight advantage on candidate-quality questions such as:

• Who has a better understanding of people like you? (Cuccinelli has a 34-30 percent edge.)
• Who do you trust more to do what’s best for Virginia? (Cuccinelli's ahead 39-33 percent.)
• Who is closer to you on social issues? (Cuccinelli, 33-31 percent.)
• Who cares more about the middle class? (McAuliffe, 31-30 percent.)
• Who shares your values? (Cuccinelli, 35-29 percent.)

Cuccinelli, the state’s attorney general who has been criticized by Democrats as too conservative for a state Barack Obama won twice, has a 51 percent approval rating among registered voters. He has a slightly lower, 42 percent favorability rating (with 27 percent viewing him negatively).

McAuliffe, a prolific Democratic fundraiser and former Democratic National Committee chairman, is largely undefined. In the poll, 44 percent say they are unsure or have never heard of him; 32 percent have a favorable impression and 24 percent have an unfavorable one.

“It's either half empty or half full,” Miringoff said. “Cuccinelli has the slight edge, but McAuliffe has more room to grow.”

Also weighing down Cuccinelli is the Republican Party brand in the Commonwealth. Just 36 percent of registered Virginia voters have a favorable impression of the GOP, while a majority -- 52 percent -- have a negative one. Virginians are split on Democrats -- 44 percent positive, 45 percent negative.

President Obama outperforms that with a 51 percent approval rating and a 53 percent favorable rating.

Most Virginians -- 60 percent -- see their state headed in the right direction, far better than national views about the direction of the country.

Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), who is limited to one four-year term as governor, does the best of anyone in the state, with a 61 percent approval rating. (The poll was conducted April 28 to May 2, partially before and after the news of an FBI inquiry into McDonnell’s accepting of a gift from a campaign donor to help defray the cost of his daughter’s wedding. The pollsters said they saw little change in the governor’s approval before the story came out and afterward.)

But Virginians’ praise for McDonnell appears to be confined to his current job. Fewer than a quarter of registered voters -- 24 percent -- want him to seek the presidency; 58 percent think he should not.

And, if he were to run, win the Republican nomination, and face Hillary Clinton, Virginians say they would vote for the former secretary of state by a 52 to 41 percent margin.

McDonnell would beat Vice President Joe Biden, however, 49 to 42 percent.

The poll surveyed 1,095 registered Virginia voters and has a margin of error of +/- 3 percent.

Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli released his tax plan Tuesday that would cut about $1.4 billion in taxes by reducing the state’s personal income and corporate tax rate.

His proposed plan, “Economic Growth and Virginia Jobs Plan,” would reduce the personal income tax from 5.75 percent to 5 percent and the corporate tax rate from 6 percent to 4 percent.

He says he would help offset these revenue losses by identifying and eliminating “outdated exemptions and loopholes that promote crony capitalism.” He did not specifiy which loopholes he would close.

“The plan is driven by three over-arching goals: Make Virginia more attractive to job creators and open to business development; allow Virginia workers and families to take home more of their hard-earned pay; and put a cap on government spending so that it doesn’t outpace the growth of inflation plus population,” he wrote in a press release.

Read the plan here.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* The. D.C. Council is considering banning plastic firearms created by 3D printers. (News4)

* D.C. set a tourism record in 2012, with more than 18.9 million visitors, an increase of 5.5. percent from 2011. (Washington Examiner)

* About 2,500 people have signed up to protest gun laws by marching into D.C. on Independence Day with loaded rifles on their backs. The D.C. police say they will meet the protesters on the Arlington Memorial Bridge with forces and guns of their own. (Washington Post)

* A Montgomery County activist is trying to collect enough signatures to trigger a referendum and allow voters to decide the fate of Gov. O’Malley’s gun-control legislation. The NRA has already filed lawsuit against the legislation, and if the activist is successful in getting the law on the ballot, then the gun bill and suit would be put on hold until after Election Day. (Washington Examiner)

* The websites of WTOP and Federal News Radio were hacked this week, potentially infecting the computers of people who visited their site within the past two days. (Washington Business Journal)

* Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling -- who has expressed regret that he opted not to make an independent run -- criticized the two gubernatorial candidates for offering unrealistic economic proposals. (Washington Examiner)

* Morton Blackwell, Virginia National Committee member and founder of the Leadership Institute, endorsed Corey Stewart for lieutenant governor. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

* The Dalai Lama visited the University of Maryland and Gov. O’Malley literally rubbed noses with him. (Washington Post)

* Virginia is seeking public input on an upcoming draft report for a six-year transportation improvement plan. (AP)

The District of Columbia is set to certify the results of a recent special election.

Democrat Anita Bonds was elected to the D.C. Council last month to fill a vacant at-large seat. She had been filling the seat on an interim basis since December.

District voters also approved a charter amendment that would allow the city to spend local tax dollars without congressional approval. After the election results are certified Wednesday, that amendment will go to Congress, which would have to vote it down to prevent it from becoming law.

The charter amendment was approved with 82 percent of the vote. Bonds received 32 percent after absentee and provisional ballots were counted. Democrat Elissa Silverman was second with 27 percent, and Republican Patrick Mara was third with 24 percent.
 

The Labor Department is investigating Alta Bicycle Share -- the company that runs Capital Bikeshare -- after a former employee alleged that the popular bicycle-sharing network may have underpaid some of its workers for more than two years.

The Washington Post reports that Capital Bikeshare operates the system under a 2010 contract with the District’s Transportation Department worth up to $16.4 million over five years. The contract stipulates that the company must follow federal “prevailing wage” determinations.

The employee says he was paid $13 an hour for work that should have been paid the “bicycle repairer” rate of $14.43 hourly or “truck driver, light” at $15.66 hourly. He did get a raise to $15 per hour before he left, according to the Post, but was not paid the fringe benefits required by federal law.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* D.C. council candidate Patrick Mara wins absentee ballot count, still loses race. (Washington Post)

* McAuliffe’s 2008 memoir is coming back to haunt him in the governor race. The book includes glowing revelations, including him nearly missing the birth of his daughter so he could attend a ritzy party in honor of the then-Washington Post gossip columnist. (Daily Beast)

* Federal prosecutors have accused Jeffrey Thompson of obstructing their corruption probe into Mayor Gray’s 2010 campaign, according to a court order unsealed Monday. (Washington Post)

* Penn National Gaming, a Pennsylvania gambling company that spent more than $40 million to prevent a gambling expansion in Maryland, plans to bid on the Prince George’s County casino license that was part of that expansion. (The Daily Record)

* D.C. Councilman David Grosso says he will not vote for or against any contract -- he will only vote present -- because he doesn’t think the council should be in the business of approving contracts. (Washington Examiner)

* The Virginia gubernatorial race gets more substance as both candidates start to lay out specific visions of what they would do if elected. (Washington Post)

* McAuliffe officially kicked off his campaign Monday in Richmond. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

* The Montgomery County Council approved Monday a proposal that some lawmakers say would “fast track” construction of a Walmart in Aspen Hill. (Washington Examiner)

A new Washington Post shows that Gov. Bob McDonnell is still a popular politician and Virginia voters aren’t really paying attention to the Star Scientific scandal unfolding in the media.

The poll, released Sunday, found that 64 percent of all registered voters approve of the job he’s doing as governor. That's up six percentage points from last year -- and it's as high as it has ever been in any Post poll throughout his tenure.

Fifty-two percent of Democrats say McDonnell is doing a good job, compared with 38 percent last September.

The polls comes as McDonnell is receiving attention for his role in the Star Scientific controversy -- a beleaguered Virginia company whose CEO footed the $15,000 catering bill for the governor’s daughter’s wedding in 2011. A mere 32 percent of all Virginia residents say they are following the story even somewhat closely, including a just 9 percent following it “very closely.”

Another Post Poll released Saturday showed Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli leading Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia's gubernatorial race, 46 to 41 percent among all Virginia voters and a more significant 51 to 41 percent lead among those who say they will definitely cast a ballot in November.

However, nearly half of the electorate says they’re either undecided or could change their minds.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* The District is expected to spend at least $35,000 to respond to a "confidential, informal inquiry" from the Securities and Exchange Commission, which started an investigation in October into disclosures surrounding sales of the city's municipal bonds. (Washington Examiner)

* McAuliffe visited Norfolk Sunday to present his transportation ideas, the first stop in a series of planned campaign stops over the next several days. (Virginian-Pilot)

* Loose Lips will return soon. (Washington City Paper)

* The developer behind Union Market in Northeast is proposing significant changes to its plans for nearby Gateway Market, cutting out the office component in favor of more residential units, redesigned retail and a possible hotel. (Washington Business Journal)

* The D.C. Taxicab Commission Chairman appeared on WAMU Friday and said that the commission is sticking to its timeline of requiring cabs to accept credit card payments no later than Aug. 31. (Washington Post)

* Maryland state employees whose domestic partners and children receive health insurance coverage are going to have to get married if they want to keep those benefits after January 2014. (Washington Examiner)

Virginia voters won’t decide a new governor for six months, but the two frontrunners’ campaigns are starting to take shape.

Democrat Terry McAuliffe officially starts his campaign this week with a series of public events in which he will discuss a variety of policy issues. The businessman discussed transportation Sunday at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in Norfolk.

On Monday, McAuliffe will join Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) at an event in Richmond, where the two will discuss how to strengthen community colleges. He’ll also appear at events in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg.

McAuliffe hits the campaign trail just days after his first television ad appeared in Virginia and the D.C. area. And according to one new poll, the campaigning may do some good.

A new Washington Post poll finds McAuliffe’s opponent, Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, has an early lead.

The poll of 1,000 Virginia adults gave Cuccinelli a 46 percent to 41 percent advantage over McAuliffe, who has never held public office and is far less known than the Attorney General.

Many, however, expect those numbers to change. Only 10 percent of those who responded say they have followed the race closely, and even fewer say they have made up their mind about their vote.

A new law against cyber-bullying is now in effect in Maryland.

Gov. Martin O'Malley signed the measure Thursday morning to prohibit electronic harassment of a minor based on sex, race or sexual orientation. The new law makes cyber-bulling a misdemeanor.

Violators would be fined $500 or face up to a year in jail.

The new law is called Grace's Law after 15-year-old Grace McComas of Howard County, who killed herself on Easter 2012 after vicious cyber-bullying.

"We think it's a good measure," said Delegate Susan Lee (D-Montgomery County). "It will cut down on the number of attacks on individuals who, through no fault of their own, are attacked online."

There's been a surge of online cyber-bullying in Maryland and across the country.

Buzzfeed dug up an amendment that then-state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli filed in 2006 to change Virginia’s state song to The Beatles “Taxman.”

At that time, the state was without a song because its old song, “Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" was retired in 1997 after civil rights groups protested the song’s lyrics as racist.

So State Sen. Charles Colgan introduced a bill to designate the traditional folk song “Shenandoah” as Virginia’s “interim state song.”

But Cuccinelli objected and offered up the Beatles anti-big government song instead. So why the “Taxman?”

Buzzfeed reports that Cuccinelli said at the time that his constituents would connect more to "Taxman" than to "Shenandoah," because "they feel like all they ever get from Richmond is more taxes."

The amendment was apparently mocked by his cohorts and never voted on.

IN OTHER NEWS:

* In a Quinnipiac poll looking at 2016 Democratic presidential field, Sen. Mark Warner and Gov. Martin O’Malley each captured just 1 percent of voters surveyed. Even if Hillary Clinton -- who polled at 65 percent -- doesn’t run, their numbers aren’t much better. (Washington Examiner)

* A fun Friday day game: Who said it? Terry McAuliffe or a character from “House of Cards"? (Buzzfeed)

* Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is sticking with his story and said Thursday that he viewed a $15,000 gift from a donor to pay for catering at his daughter’s wedding as a gift, and felt no need to report it. He added that he hasn’t decided which approach he favored on ethics and disclosure reform. (Washington Post)

* A judge granted  Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's request to withdraw from the embezzlement case against a former Virginia Executive Mansion chef. (Associated Press)

* Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signs the death penalty repeal into law. (News4)

* The Washington Times asks: “But if “Redskins” demeans Indians, why wouldn’t 'Redtails' demean fighter pilots?” (Washington Times)

* A group called Citizens for an Elected Board launched a petition drive to fight the Prince George’s County Public Schools takeover at a community meeting Thursday night. (News4)

* A new D.C. Department of Health ad campaign, K2 Zombie DC,  uses zombies to keep young people off "fake" marijuana. (Washington City Paper)