Majority of District’s new jobs go to nonresidents…At Savoy Elementary, the arts aren’t ‘tacked-on extras’…Nonprofit advocacy and the fiscal cliff [News, 12.10.12]

WORKFORCE | Over the last five years, 62 percent of the jobs created in the District have been claimed by nonresidents. Experts attribute this gap to the fact that a lot of the new jobs require advanced education. The DC Chamber of Commerce’s Barbara Lang adds (Examiner, 12/10):

The city still has challenges around D.C. residents being prepared for the kinds of jobs that we have in the city…Businesses always want to hire the best person for the job, and we’ve got to ensure that D.C. residents are better prepared.

There’s a lot to be said about the nature of our region – particularly about the fluidity of our borders. What percentage of the jobs do you think should go to a jurisdiction’s own residents?

- Why is everything so complicated? November’s good national jobs report might actually lead to bad news for the long-term unemployed. NPR says that the new job creation takes away leverage that policymakers might have had around unemployment benefits. (NPR, 12/7)

ARTS | At Savoy Elementary in Anacostia, where math and reading proficiency is less than 20%, Principal Patrick Pope is focused on the transformative power of the arts (WaPo, 12/10):

As Pope sees it, song, dance, theater and visual arts aren’t tacked-on extras — they’re essential parts of creating a school where students and teachers thrive.

Amen! I hope educators around the country take note of this article.

- Opinion: The Arts Face Their Own Fiscal Cliff by Michael Kaiser (HuffPo, 12/10)

TRANSIT
- Back to the subject of commuters, here’s a look a where Metro riders get on and off the train during the morning rush hour. The big takeaway is that very few people are riding to stations east of the river. (GGW, 12/8)

- Finally! Here’s our big chance to vote on taxi colors in the District. (WTOP, 12/10) I vote for them to look like this.

HOUSING | Urban Turf looks at what the fiscal cliff could mean for our region’s homeowners. (UT, 12/7)

HEALTH | A local pediatrician wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about the importance of Medicaid, especially for children. (HuffPo, 12/10)

POLITICS | The Chronicle of Philanthropy has two articles (by the same author) about opposing perspectives on nonprofit advocacy and the fiscal cliff:

- White House Urges Nonprofits to Push for Higher Taxes on the Wealthy (Chronicle, 12/7)

- White House Accused of Bullying Nonprofits on Tax Hikes (Chronicle, 12/7)

GENIUS IDEA | The Atlantic reports on rumors that District officials are testing the waters about a possible “trade” with Prince George’s County officials – the FBI for the Redskins. The trade is apparently unlikely because Prince George’s officials think they will get the FBI regardless. (Atlantic, 12/10) As a die-hard Skins fan, I’ve turned down game tickets because FedEx Field is such a pain to negotiate. I can’t imagine turning down tickets to a game in D.C. though.

Happy Monday, friends. I’m wearing my Redskins tie and a huge grin today!

I’ve got two fun things to share with you. First, courtesy of my iPhone’s shuffle function, I rediscovered Rod Stewart’s totally awesome rock song Stay With Me. The intro is epic. Feel free to get up and dance.

Second, here’s a trailer for a new Tom Cruise sci-fi film called Oblivion. I’m excited that it is an original script (and not a reboot, sequel, or remake) – and I was tremendously impressed by the visual scope of director Joseph Kosinski’s last movie, Tron Legacy.