Washington Strains for Inauguration

Ian Irbina with the New York Times says even for a city practiced at handling huge protests, marches and funerals, the inauguration of President-elect Barak Obabma 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.

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

Ms. Norton said she was trying to get an additional $15 million allocated to the city, since the $15 million already set aside was supposed to cover the cost of policing all large events throughout the year.

“If we spend all these funds on the inauguration,” she said, “how is the city is going to pay for events like the Fourth of July celebration and the antiwar marches that happen every year and are federal in focus?”

Despite such concerns, local businesses are expecting big benefits.