From David Nakamura's blog at ...

From David Nakamura's blog at http://voices.washingtonpost.com/inauguration-watch.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein's legislation that would make the resale ofinauguration tickets a federal crime died Thursday in the Senate.

Feinstein (D-Calif.), chair of the Joint Congressional Committeeon Inaugural Ceremonies, had hoped to ban the sale of the 240,000tickets to President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony.Those tickets are being distributed free by congressional offices;Feinstein and others grew concerned by reports of tickets beingoffered on eBay and StubHub for thousands of dollars.

The legislation was supposed to be "hot-lined" through theSenate, meaning it would be approved by unanimous consent. Butseveral senators raised technical objections to the wording of thelegislation and time ran out before the issues could be worked out,said Howard Gantman, staff director for the Senate Committee onRules and Administration.

"The fear was how it impacted other things not directly relatedto the sale for profit of inaugural tickets," Gantman said.

Gantman noted that Feinstein was able to secure voluntaryagreements from eBay and StubHub not to sell inauguration tickets.

Updated 9:41 p.m.: Gantman e-mailed to say: "Senator Feinsteinplans to reintroduce the bill in the new Congress and seek expeditedpassage. The bill has been modified to allow the officialPresidential Inaugural Committee to provide tickets to people whodonate funds for producing the various inaugural festivities. Thishas been done by Presidential Inaugural Committees of both partiesfor years. What has not happened in previous inaugurals is theextent of ticket scalping at astronomical prices that is nowoccurring, spurred on by the huge demand and proliferation ofinternet sites."

-- David A. Nakamura, Dec. 12, 2008 (4:55 p.m. ET)

A D.C. Council member filed formal notice Thursday that heintends to propose an emergency law that would alter the terms ofthe council's legislation that extended the hours of operation forbars and nightclubs during inauguration week.

Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) was among the 9 to 4 majority that lastweek approved the bill that allows bars, nightclubs and restaurantsto serve alcohol until 5 a.m. -- several hours later than normal -- and stay open all night from Jan. 17 to 21.

But Wells is crafting a revised bill that would roll back some ofthe new rules and set tougher restrictions on the night-lifeestablishments, said his chief of staff, Charles Allen. Wells filednotice in the D.C. Registry to offer his emergency bill at Tuesday'scouncil meeting.

Among the changes being considered, according to Allen:

Rolling back alcohol service from 5 a.m. to 4 a.m., the same asNew Year's Eve

Potentially excluding Sunday, Jan. 18, from the extended hours

Creating a registration date and nominal fee for establishmentsinterested in staying open later. That would give police a list ofplaces to monitor and force owners to make a decision beforeinauguration week.

Also, council members said they did not intend for last week'slegislation to override the "voluntary agreements" many bar andnightclub owners have signed with neighborhood groups. Thoseagreements often set strict limits on such things as operating hoursand live music.

The voluntary agreements are likely to remain enforceable, saidDoxie McCoy, a spokeswoman for council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D).

The legislation was the idea of the Restaurant AssociationMetropolitan Washington, which brought it to the council. With morethan 1 million people expected to come to Washington forinauguration week, restaurant, bar and nightclub owners stand tomake healthy profits.

But this week, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Bob Bennett(R-Utah), who are on the committee that is planning President-electBarack Obama's swearing-in ceremony, sent a letter to Gray and MayorAdrian M. Fenty (D) objecting to the extended hours because ofconcerns about public safety. The Downtown Cluster of Congregations,a nonprofit ecumenical group, also has objected.

-- David A. Nakamura, Dec. 11, 2008 (3:44 p.m. ET)