Friday, May 18, 2012
Councilmembers Mary Cheh and Tommy Wells got to check out Google’s new driverless car.
Google's new driverless car took to the road Thursday downtown with Councilmembers Mary Cheh and Tommy Wells each taking a turn behind the wheel. The Google car, which uses data collected through Google's street view map network, video cameras, a rooftop sensor and artifical intelligence software to navigate, is not yet legal in D.C. But the Department of Motor Vehicles gave a special permission for the Thursday test-drive. The car does have options for a driver to take control by stepping on the brake or turning the wheel. Just last week Google's blue Toyota Prius, tagged with California license plates, was parked on 30th Street in Georgetown. The Nevada state legislature was the first in the country to permit testing of driverless cars, …
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Only two members of the District Council have pledged publicly to restrict corporate contributions and influence on local campaigns.
New campaign finance legislation aimed at reducing corporate influence on local governance and campaigns lacks support from the majority of District Council members. Councilmembers Tommy Wells and Mary Cheh are the only two to co-introduce the “Campaign Finance Reform Amendment Act of 2012.” Last year, Wells tried to tack on similar regulations to ban "bundling" onto an ethics bill, but all 12 other councilmembers — including Cheh — voted against it. The new legislation "would prohibit pay-to-play, require disclosure of external fundraising activities, and – most notably – ban corporate contribution," according to a press release from Cheh's office. The ban on corporate contributions takes aim at the practice of "bundling." Under current …
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Despite Council hardships and divisive politics, Tommy Wells takes the high road
There’s no whitewashing the political climate at the Wilson Building these days, and Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells sees it all too clear. It is Wells who has taken some of the biggest hits as of late, not from scandal, but from his own colleagues who have bowed under pressure from Council Chair Kwame Brown. Ask Wells about it though, and he just laughs. That’s not to say Tommy Wells doesn't take seriously the current state of affairs on the DC Council. “Certainly, our popularity and credibility have plummeted. I think we’re all aware of that,” he said in an interview. Wells acknowledged the Council has lost momentum after of a number of scandals involving Kwame Brown, Harry Thomas, Jr. and Mayor Vincent Gray. “There’s nothing to …
