Loves Me, Loves Me Not

After a series of "on-again, off-again" manuevers that more closely resembled the high school dating scene than governance of the nation's capital, city officials have struck a new deal that would bring the Montreal Expos to Washington and build a new stadium along the Anacostia River. As of yesterday morning, city council chairperson, Linda Cropp, had all but killed the deal by enacting legislation that required 50% of stadium costs to be covered by private sources. Major League Baseball officials rejected the proposal because it deviated from the original agreement signed by Mayor Anthony Williams. The new deal, agreed upon late last night, still requires 50% private funding, but Chairman Cropp agreed to remove the legislative language killing the deal without those funds in place. "The hard work we have done has come to a positive conclusion," Mrs. Cropp said. "We went a long way to reduce the risk and cost of this project to the District of Columbia." Mayor Williams, who had previously criticized Cropp publically for ruining the city's chances to land a baseball team, said, "I applaud the chairman for reducing the cost to the city and stimulating additional investment in the city." The Expos will play in a rennovated stadium in the city this coming season and move into the new waterfront stadium soon thereafter.

Thanks to Peter Buryk