City State: Morning Roundup

PEPECO IS THE MOST HATED COMPANY in the county based on its track record of frequent, sustained power outages and persistent customer complaints have made, a report shows. The much-maligned energy provider to the District and some of its Maryland suburbs ranked dead last in customer satisfaction, topping Comcast, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., UnitedHealth Group and American Airlines, based on findings from the American Customer Satisfaction Index group, reports The Washington Times.

THE D.C. COUNCIL WILL HOLD A CONFIRMATION HEARING on Tuesday on Neil A. Stanley, the nominee to lead the District’s juvenile justice agency, after a council committee disapproved the nomination last week. The nomination being rejected by the full, 13-member council would be a major setback for Mayor Vincent C. Gray, a Democratic administration with a Democrat-controlled City Council. The Committee on Human Services rejected the nomination Friday over concerns about Mr. Stanley’s lack of relevant experience, ongoing troubles in the agency and an inquiry into how a key post had been filled, The Washington Times reports. If there are not enough votes from the council Tuesday to support the committee’s disapproval, Mr. Stanley will automatically be confirmed Thursday, the deadline for action on the nomination.

THE POLITICAL BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THE VIRGINIA SENATE is taking shape as Democrats cling to a four-seat majority eyed by Republicans. The GOP is trying to muscle its way back to the majority it lost in 2007, nominating candidates in all but five of 40 Senate districts and fueling campaigns with help from party heavyweights Gov. Bob McDonnell and House Speaker William J. Howell, according to The Washington Times. Republicans would have to gain two seats this year to reach a 20-20 split, which would tip the majority to their favor because tie-breaking votes go to Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, a Republican.

VIRGINIA GOV. BOB MCDONNELL endorsed a Republican congressional plan to cut transportation funding, but Virginia Democrats said it would kill jobs, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Tucker Martin, Mr. McDonnell’s director of communications, said the proposal by Rep. John L. Mica, Florida Republican and chairman of the House Transportation Committee, merely reflects “the current realities.” Brian Coy, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Virginia, said: “Virginians need a governor who will fight for the funding we need, not a politician who applauds job-killing Republican transportation plans that would make our roads and bridges less safe and damage our economic recovery.”

THE DISTRICT WILL NOT MEET A JULY 27 DEADLINE to fall in line with a federal mandate designed to create a national sex offender registry, likely causing the city to lose $250,000 in grant money that it uses for crime prevention, according to the Washington Examiner. If the city continues not to act, it could stand to lose about $1 million from the feds over the next four years. Tuesday is the last chance before the deadline for the council to act on legislation introduced by the mayor in May that’s designed to bring the District into compliance with the five-year-old Adam Walsh Act. After Tuesday, the council won’t meet again to vote on legislation until mid-September.

THE DISTRICT IS RANKED THE SIXTH HOTTEST CITY in the country, according to the Weather Channel. The average summertime temperature is 86.2 degree, which made it the hottest city in the Northeast and on the list with such places as Yuma, Ariz., and Laredo, Texas. The District had 67 days above 90 degrees last year. But the website says the city’s humidity is really the problem. “Crunching the numbers has proven the nation’s capital to be the standard-bearer for heat in the Northeast,” the site reports. “It’s not just the heat, it’s the humidity. The District is located on a tidal plain whose proximity to the Chesapeake Bay ensures an ample supply of low-level moisture during the torrid summer months.” The temperature today is expected to hit 98 degrees and perhaps break 100 degrees Tuesday.