Heads up that the Reeves Center at 14th and U St, NW is not a polling station. See all the polling stations here: Read More

Photo by Phil Yabut

Thanks to all who shared word of the 7pm curfew tonight and tomorrow night from the Mayor’s press conference:

“The curfew runs from 7 PM to 6 AM both nights.

There are several exemptions from the curfew:
* Anyone voting or participating in tomorrow’s election activities (e.g., poll workers & volunteers);
* Essential workers when engaged in essential functions; &
* Anyone traveling to a hospital/urgent care.”

From a press release Read More

15th and P Street, NW by Dan at 5:45am

A lot to unpack. I’m just getting back to the computer going through everyone’s messages.

Regarding the photo above, Dan reports:

Driver evading police loses control and drives into TD bank at 15th and P. Took off on foot. MPD pulled about 30 liquor bottles out of the trunk. The occupants didnt get far and were detained outside of Milkbar. A fair amount of vandalism in the immediate area, but nothing that cant be fixed or is more important than healing the wounds that caused this unrest.”

Standby. Many, many updates coming.

Photo by K Street Photography DC

From Mayor Bowser:

“Mayor Bowser is ordering a citywide curfew for the District of Columbia from 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31, until 6:00 a.m. on Monday, June 1. She has also activated the DC National Guard to support the Metropolitan Police Department.”

More from the Mayor’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser ordered a citywide curfew for the District of Columbia from 11:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 31 until 6:00 a.m. on Monday, June 1.

During the hours of the curfew, no person, other than persons designated by the Mayor, shall walk, bike, run, loiter, stand, or motor by car or other mode of transport upon any street, alley, park, or other public place within the District. Individuals performing essential duties as authorized by prior Mayor’s Orders, including working media with their outlet-issued credentials and healthcare personnel, are exempt when engaged in essential functions.”

Photo by Brett Weinstein

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Chief of Police Peter Newsham provided an update following last night’s protests in Washington, DC.

Below is the Mayor’s statement, as delivered.

I want to start by saying we certainly recognize and empathize with the outrage that people feel following the killing in Minneapolis last week. And we certainly empathize that the killing of George Floyd wasn’t the first, and that people are expressing outrage and demanding action.

We also recognize that we are proud of our city and we do not want our city to be destroyed.

So our police, and firefighters, and members of the public safety team for Washington, DC, along with our federal partners, have been working to make sure people can exercise their First Amendment rights, while not destroying Washington, DC.”

Photo by Nicholas Macek

….good practice.” As you saw last night, they were very cool & very professional. Never let it get out of hand. Thank you! On the bad side, the D.C. Mayor, @MurielBowser, who is always looking for money & help, wouldn’t let the D.C. Police get involved. “Not their job.” Nice!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2020

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Chief of Police Peter Newsham responded to the President’s tweets about protests in Washington, DC.

Below are the Mayor’s remarks, as delivered.

Good afternoon. I want to briefly address the President’s tweets, and then we will take questions.

I am joined today by the Chief of Police Peter Newsham, the City Administrator for the District of Columbia Rashad Young; I’m also joined by Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen and At-large Councilmember Anita Bonds.

I want to be very clear: My police department in Washington, DC will always protect DC and all who live and visit here. Read More

Photo by John Brighenti

“Dear PoPville,

We want my dad, who has worked in HVAC and plumbing for over 40 years, to install air conditioning minisplit units at our house. He’s not licensed in DC, but I seem to remember reading something about DIY home improvement projects being done yourself or by immediate family not needing a permit or something similar, and heard the same from our real estate agent. Was this a hallucination/told to us in error? Is he able to do this work for us at all, or are we forced to hire a DC contractor or risk fines? It almost goes without saying that the DCRA website is less than intuitive or helpful, and has very little info for people interested in doing work themselves.”

and

“I find myself in need of help/advise on building a pool in NW DC. We are purchasing a home in Hawthorne and I don’t have the slightest clue where to begin with this endeavor. I know we will need DCRA approval, but I also want to find a reputable pool company-preferably not a big name chain, to do the design and work. Can you help please!”

Thanks to S. for passing on from Council Member Allen’s office:

“BEGINNING MONDAY: The new local road default speed limit will be 20 mph, down from 25 mph. This is a change I’ve urged as part of my Vision Zero Enhancement Legislation, so I’m grateful to see it going into effect for the safety of our residents. The Mayor said she expects this to be a permanent change, even after the public health emergency ends.

DDOT launching a “Slow Streets” Initiative that will reduce speeds to 15 mph and likely set up physical barriers to slow the entrance of vehicles onto roads. These roads will not be closed outright. I’ll share more information on this initiative as I have it, but other cities have used a similar approach very successfully.“

Mayor Bowser tweeted: “The new speed limit will go into effect this Monday, June 1st. 20 is plenty.”

and regarding the graphic above:

“Streateries: streets that will allow for safe, outdoor space that restaurants, retailers and their customers can use.”

Photo by angela n.

From ABRA (Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration):

“In accordance with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s lifting of the District’s “Stay-at-Home Order” and the start of Phase One, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Thursday adopted emergency rulemaking modifying the current suspension of on-premises alcohol beverage sales to allow for outdoor dining. ABC licensees are able to start offering table service for outdoor dining effective Friday, May 29 at 8:00 a.m., including on existing rooftops.

Establishments with existing sidewalk cafes and summer gardens making no changes to the perimeter of the licensed space do not need to register with the ABC Board and may start operating tomorrow.

Additionally, the ABC Board adopted emergency rulemaking allowing ABC licensees to sell and serve alcoholic beverages in new and expanded outdoor dining space. Potential options include patios, courtyards, alleys, sidewalks, and surface parking lots. All new and expanded space must be on ground or street level.

Key guidelines include: Read More

Photo by Jim Havard

“Dear PoPville,

My fiance and I had to postpone our October wedding to ensure our immunocompromised friends and families wouldn’t be put at risk, and we rescheduled for Memorial Day weekend of next year. We still want to get married, so we decided to take advantage of DC’s online applications for marriage licenses, so we can get married on May 30th, so that our wedding date next year will be our one-year anniversary.

Unfortunately, we submitted our application a month ago and still haven’t heard anything from the DC Marriage Bureau. We tried calling the number listed on their site, and a woman answered, “HELLO?!” and seemed genuinely surprised and very unhappy that we were calling. She dismissively told my fiance to check his spam folder (obviously we already had), said nothing else could be done by her or anyone else to check in on our application, and hung up.

We have just two weeks left to figure this out… would love to hear if anyone else been able to get their license through the online application process during the quarantine?

We reached out to our Councilperson for help, who reached out to Rep. Holmes-Norton, who hasn’t responded. Any other suggestions would be really appreciated! We’ve already had a tough year of loss and challenges (recognizing that we’re not the only ones), and it’d be great to have at least one thing go right – or, rather, for DC’s bureaucracy to do one thing right.”