DC Government

DC AG: “Amazon deceived thousands of its customers who live East of the River, collecting their Prime membership fees while secretly excluding them from full Prime membership benefits.”

By Prince Of Petworth

photo by Tim Brown

From the Office of the Attorney General (OAG):

“Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that Amazon.com, Inc. (Amazon) will pay $8.25 million in refunds and penalties and change its business practices to resolve the District’s lawsuit alleging that Amazon deceived tens of thousands of DC residents by failing to inform them that their ZIP codes were excluded from Amazon’s in-house delivery services and misleading Prime members about the true cause of shipping delays. (more…)

“Councilmember Matthew Frumin introduced the “Pied-à-Terre Property Tax Amendment Act of 2026,” to address a reality that certain owners of luxury second homes strategically avoid paying DC income taxes.”

By Prince Of Petworth

photo by Clif Burns

From the office of Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin:

“Councilmember Frumin Introduces Legislation to Address Income Tax Avoidance Strategy and Raise Over $130 Million for District Services

On September 16, 2026, Ward 3 Councilmember Matthew Frumin introduced the “Pied-à-Terre Property Tax Amendment Act of 2026,” to address a reality that certain owners of luxury second homes strategically avoid paying DC income taxes.

“Across the District, there are homeowners who are careful to live here for one day less than the 183-day statutory residency test and instead establish residency in a low- or no-tax state,” said Councilmember Frumin. “These wealthy owners benefit from District infrastructure, services, and amenities for nearly half the year, but pay zero income tax to DC. This tax avoidance strategy shifts the financial burden onto resident taxpayers. This bill ensures that those who use DC as a part-time residence pay their fair share.”

The bill establishes a new Class 1C property tax category that applies to select non-owner-occupied residential properties that carry an assessed value of $2.558 million or greater and for which the owner does not claim the District’s homestead deduction.

Key Features of the Bill: (more…)

“Tenants at this 10-story building have been without air conditioning and working elevators since early July and face shocking, dangerous housing conditions.” OAG files lawsuit

By Prince Of Petworth

1400 Florida Ave, NE

From the Office of the Attorney General (OAG):

“Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today sued the owner and manager of Delta Pearl, a large affordable apartment building located at 1400 Florida Ave NE, for extreme neglect at the property that is actively endangering the health and safety of tenants. An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found evidence of severe and pervasive housing code violations at the building, which is owned and managed by developer Buwa Binitie through two of his companies.

“The conditions at Delta Pearl are shocking, as has been ownership’s refusal to promptly address them,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “This extreme level of disrepair and neglect, and the health risks it poses to tenants, are unacceptable. We are suing to force Binitie and his companies to make critical safety repairs and to do so immediately.”

“Just two short years ago, I helped cut the ribbon on 1400 Florida Ave NE and welcomed neighbors into a beautiful space that was funded with tens of millions of dollars in tax credits and public financing. What has happened since then defies reason,” said Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker. (more…)

311 Issues Persist – Blood and Graffiti

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to T. for passing on Joy’s disturbing report:

“explain why my 311 service request was closed without action, stating “rain will clear it”? Why couldn’t DPW be bothered to send a crew to clean up actual biohazardous blood on a heavy trafficked public sidewalk?”

And regarding the graffiti issue: (more…)

“Short term rentals / current and proposed legislation concerns”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I’m reaching out regarding Mayor Bowser’s proposed changes to short term rentals. Please indulge me with some context first that powers my alarm. And I’d like to be anonymous please.

I saw your recent posts on rats. In Brightwood they are bad, and on our block getting worse due to a short term rental that isn’t owner occupied and appears to be owned by a VA resident. There are numerous large parties generating lots of garbage. And in recent months no one is putting the trash in the alley. The piled up garbage on the property is feeding a surge in rats on our block.

For many, many months my neighbors and I have been going from DC department to department and to Airbnb directly to try to address the non-owner-occupied full time Airbnb (violation of current law) on our street and as noted the numerous parties that often exceed quiet hours and generate uncontrolled garbage.

In researching links to share with Airbnb, (more…)

Janeese Lewis George: “When I think about how government should work, I think about Christmas trees.”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by C. from Takoma DC taken August 9th 2026

K. writes “Oh no!Last Christmas Tree in Town may be in peril! 🤣 We’ll see.” and passes on the fundraising note from current Councilmember and the presumptive next Mayor Janeese Lewis George: “When I think about how government should work, I think about Christmas trees. Stay with me – the city is supposed to pick up Christmas trees soon after they’re placed on the curb in January. But I have friends and neighbors who’ve told me about trees that are still sitting out there months later. It sounds like a small thing, (more…)

“$81,064 judgment secured against the former ANC 8C treasurer for misappropriating public funds.”

By Prince Of Petworth

From the Office of the D.C. Auditor:

“D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson today welcomed action by the D.C. Superior Court which awarded a default judgment totaling $81,064 against Rhonda Edwards-Hines for unauthorized spending while she served as treasurer of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8C in 2017 and 2018.
The civil judgment was announced Friday by Associate Judge Darlene M. Soltys and includes $42,564 in treble damages for $14,188 in misappropriated funds and $38,500 in civil penalties for seven violations of the District of Columbia False Claims Act (D.C. Code § 2-381.02(a). The lawsuit was filed by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) based on audit findings published in the 2019 Office of the D.C. Auditor (ODCA) report, ANC 8C Misappropriated Funds. (more…)

DDOT Approves Two More Sidewalk Robot companies for DC

By Prince Of Petworth

From DDOT:

“The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced that permits have been issued to two personal delivery device (PDD) companies, Serve Robotics and Coco Robotics. Their sidewalk robots will offer door-to-door food delivery services in the core of the District.

“Personal delivery devices offer an additional option for food delivery in the District and can be an alternative to trips made by larger vehicles,” said DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum. “We are excited to add this delivery option.” (more…)

More Trash Troubles: “We need someone to take responsibility for these waste bins in front of Dunbar”

By Prince Of Petworth


101 N Street, NW

Update from DPW: “A DPW crew has serviced this trash can to support cleanliness and safety for nearby residents. We are working with our agency partners to ensure consistent long-term management of these cans.”

“Dear PoPville,

I read your post about a public trashcan that no DC agency wants to take responsibility for and I thought to myself “Did I accidentally black out and email PoPville??”

I’m a first-term ANC Commissioner in Truxton Circle, representing a district centered around Dunbar High School. There is a pair of trashcans that are along the public right-of-way in front of the athletic field that were installed by, and are supposed to be maintained by, Dunbar HS. Because the cans are publicly accessible, they are regularly used by neighbors as well as Dunbar students and visitors. The Dunbar custodial staff (which may be Department of General Services [and not DCPS] employees, it’s not entirely clear to me), basically do not believe they need to take responsibility for these cans because neighbors use these as public trash cans. As a result, the trash cans are, on a near-weekly basis, overflowing with trash. Check out the attached email (see below) for an example of the response I’ve gotten. At one point the custodial staff told me I should hold a community meeting to encourage neighbors to stop using the trashcans!

The crazy thing is I’m actually very sympathetic to the notion that Dunbar shouldn’t be the entity responsible for these. (more…)

“Truly mind numbing levels of incompetence.” (TRULY. Read to the end.)

By Prince Of Petworth


Hobart Twins Park – 700 Block of Hobart Place, NW

“Dear PoPville,

I know I’ve written to you about it before, and many popville readers would dismiss this saying “it’s a side street, of course it’s ignored by the city,” but it’s driving everyone on the block absolutely crazy how terribly the city is responding. It’s so bad that we have folks on our neighborhood group chat debating whether we should just petition for the removal of the trash cans outright. (more…)

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