News Bytes: Mansion Tax, ‘Bibi’ Visit, G.U. President Recovering From Stroke
By • July 17, 2024 0 1770
This article was updated July 22.
‘Mansion Tax’ Targets Georgetown
The District Council passed the city’s $21-billion budget for fiscal 2025 on June 12. The new budget contains a property tax hike, introduced by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, on homes valued at more than $2.5 million.
The D.C. Policy Center wrote: “The so-called ‘mansion tax’ would separate class 1 properties into classes 1a and 1b. Properties assessed above $2.5 million would be deemed class 1b and would be subject to a $1.00 tax per every $100 of assessed value above $2.5 million, compared to the current $0.85. The tax increase would generate an additional $5.7 million in revenue for fiscal year 2025 and $23.7 over the course of the financial plan.”
The center added: “Georgetown is home to the most properties assessed above $2.5 million, at 515 properties, or 20 percent of its total properties. Of all neighborhoods in the District, Massachusetts Avenue Heights has the highest percentage of properties assessed above $2.5 million, with 50.7 percent of all properties in the neighborhood falling into that category. Over 50 percent of the estimated increase in tax revenue will come from three neighborhoods: Georgetown, Kalorama and Massachusetts Avenue Heights.”
Netanyahu Visit: Traffic Disruptions, Protests
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrival during the week of July 21 is causing street closures and parking restrictions — in effect through Saturday, July 27 — around the U.S. Capitol and Watergate Hotel. Also, protests are planned. Check here for details.
Holy Trinity Asks for Forgiveness on Juneteenth
Holy Trinity Parish dedicated a plaque on June 19 acknowledging its past racism and segregation. Led by Pastor Kevin Gillespie, S.J., parishioners attended a ceremony after Mass in the front of the main church, where the installed plaque reads, in part: “Hundreds of Black parishioners left Holy Trinity in the 1920s and founded Epiphany Catholic Church in Georgetown because of the ongoing segregation and discrimination they found here. O God, forgive us for these sins of racism and the pain they have caused. Guide us from repentance to reconciliation.”
G.U. President Suffers Stroke
Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia suffered a stroke on June 5. He underwent surgical intervention at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and has begun rehabilitation, according to the university. Meanwhile, Provost Robert M. Groves is performing the duties of president of the university. A G.U. alumnus himself, DeGioia has been president of Georgetown University since July of 2001.
2 Pot Shops Ordered Not to Sell Pot
The Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board issued orders on July 3 to two unlicensed pot shops in Georgetown — HotBox, 1564 Wisconsin Ave. NW, and Smoke Island, 1326 Wisconsin Ave. NW — to stop selling cannabis products.
“Up until recently, all pot shops were unlicensed,” The Georgetown Metropolitan observed. “But the city made a shift towards legalizing the commercial sale of cannabis under the ambit of the medical cannabis program. It has begun issuing retailer’s licenses for this purpose. But, as anyone can see, we have a large number of shops that opened before this new regulatory regime. They operated in a gray zone with a tenuous legal status.”
