January 03, 2006

New math in D.C.

D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams insists he's making progress in convincing the city council to back his Washington Nationals stadium lease, without giving details. He also insists that the city wouldn't really be stuck with most of the costs, because, as the Associated Press reports it, "He says only a fraction of the financing costs will come from the city's ballpark tax." Well, yes, five-ninths is a fraction.

In other news, MLB COO Bob DuPuy has unleashed the first hissy fit of the stadium season, writing in a Washington Post op-ed that "the D.C. Council is trying to walk away from the agreement that brought the team here" and that Washington should be grateful even to have a team, what with its "city leaders [who] frequently quibble with baseball about its commitments, and often quarrel with each other." Perhaps MLB would prefer working with a government with less open dissent.