News & Politics

Guest List: Today’s Newsmakers

The Washingtonians in headlines today we’d like to have dinner with tonight

About Guest List

Guest List is Washingtonian’s fantasy cast of who we’d like to invite over for dinner each month.

• Timothy Donner. The head of Great Falls-based Horizons Television may not have a lot of political experience, but as he weighs whether to jump into the Republican Senate primary in Virginia, knowing what it’s like to be on camera could be a real advantage.

• Marc Barnes. Washington may not be known for its nightlife, but Barnes has done his best to amp up the city’s club scene. After a high-profile bankruptcy and a higher-profile stabbing outside one of his clubs, the Park, can Barnes still set trends and act as a draw for parties far outside Washington?

• Catherine Pugh. The Democratic state senator from Baltimore is taking on what she says is a barrier to people getting the jobs they need in a tough economy: the fact that employers are allowed to check potential employees’ credit scores, even though those numbers may reflect hard times or a string of bad luck rather than a worker’s character or habits. If she’s successful, Maryland would become the fourth state to put limits on credit checks as part of employment applications.

• Christophe Tulou. The District’s director of the environment has reason to be proud: DC tops the list of American cities in renewable-energy purchases. Eight percent of the city’s electricity consumption is renewable, whether it’s through the wind turbines and solar panels that power Phelps High School in Northwest DC or the wind energy that consumers can buy as an alternative to Pepco. Turns out it’s easier to be green than we thought.

• Nick Marvell. The Montgomery County organic farmer tends 20 acres—or he did until the county gave him 20 days to pack up shop so it could build a soccer field on the land he leases. Their tussle illustrates the challenges the growing county faces. How do you meet the needs of a booming school-age population that includes 14,000 children who play soccer while preserving the community that attracted their parents and long-term residents in the first place?

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