Initiative 77, the Washington DC ballot question that raised the minimum wage and eliminated the tipped wage back in June is still in the news – but seemingly not still in play. Recall that voters handily approved the measure by a 56-44% margin earlier this year, but recognizing the negative impact that the mandate would have on restaurants within the Nation’s Capital, the city council voted to repeal the law in October. Subsequently, Initiative 77 advocates began a concerted effort to collect the 25,000 signatures necessary by this Wednesday to put the measure back on the ballot in 2019 – and they apparently succeeded, submitting almost 35,000 this week. Alas however, it also appears that the final shot was delivered by DC Superior Court Judge Neil Kravitz, who ruled this week that the DC Board of Elections did not give proper notice to the public of the public hearing at which the Board approved the language of the referendum. The bottom line is that the measure cannot be legally put before the voters in 2019 – it is dead, for now!