And God Said, Let There Be Books

Bribes and payoffs come cheaply in DC, I guess. All it's taking to sway the seventh and final vote in favor of Mayor Williams' stadium proposal is a pile of library books.

Mr. Williams appears to have prevailed by landing the support of Ward 1 Democrat Jim Graham, a swing vote in the political battle between Mr. Williams and Mrs. Cropp.

Mr. Graham last night was completing a deal with the mayor to earmark millions of dollars from the stadium-financing package for city libraries. The money would come from a tax-increment financing district that the mayor wants to establish around the Southeast ballpark.

Library funding was a loosely stated goal of a community benefits fund announced two weeks ago by Mr. Williams.

But Mr. Graham argued for more specific funding for libraries, starting with a $45 million infusion. A press conference to announce the library deal and Mr. Graham's support has been scheduled for this morning before the council hearing.

"If we don't have seven votes for this [library plan], we don't have seven votes for the mayor's proposal," Mr. Graham said.

Linda Cropp conceded that her proposal probably lacks the seven votes necessary for passage.

Frankly, I'm sick of reading about all this crap. I just want to see what happens one way or another and get to the fun stuff--putting together the roster that's gonna deliver us third place in the NL East!