Washington Strains For Inauguration [View All]

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Washington Strains For Inauguration
Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

With the inauguration approaching, workers in Washington built a reviewing stand by the White House. The city bears much of the cost of the ceremonies.

By IAN URBINA
Published: November 29, 2008


WASHINGTON — Even for a city practiced at handling huge protests, marches and funerals, the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama will put an unusual strain on local resources.

Because Washington has been allotted only about $15 million in federal money to help pay for all major events in the city for the entire year, local officials say they are most concerned about the costs of handling the more than 1.5 million spectators expected to come here, the largest crowd in inaugural history.

The $15 million is roughly $2.3 million less than the city spent just for President Bush’s second inauguration, in 2005, which attracted 300,000 spectators.

The amount also pales in comparison with the $50 million that Denver and St. Paul each received from the federal government for security for the Democratic and Republican national conventions this year.

“Our city has plenty of experience hosting the inauguration, and it cherishes being the seat of the federal government,” said Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s delegate to Congress. “But it doesn’t come cheap.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/washington/30district.html?hp