photo by Victoria Pickering
From the office of Councilmember Charles Allen:
“The DC Council unanimously approved Councilmember Charles Allen’s Healthy Homes bill that sets DC on a course to replace fossil-fuel powered appliances and home heat with electric appliances in the homes of 30,000 low- and moderate-income DC residents by 2040. The bill marks an ambitious undertaking to address a key source of both carbon output and in-home air quality issues. (more…)
Thanks to Jonathan for sending this great potential caption contest – go!
From a press release:
“Today, Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) is introducing legislation to reduce dangerous driving and expand accountability for drivers who make our roads unsafe. The bill improves street safety in three main areas: (1) enhanced booting, towing, and impounding of offenders’ vehicles based on repeat or serious traffic violations in a six-month window, (2) new authority for the Office of the Attorney General to bring civil suits against drivers or the vehicles themselves, and (3) stronger and more streamlined license revocation procedures for repeat DUI offenders.
“No matter where you live in the District, not a day goes by without a driver recklessly speeding with little regard for pedestrians, cyclists, or other drivers. Our current accountability tools are failing to change behavior or save lives,” said Councilmember Allen. “Driving on our roads is a privilege, and there should be serious, effective, and timely consequences when a driver breaks the law – especially repeatedly. This bill better focuses our dangerous driving laws on repeat offenders, creates a novel legal authority for the Attorney General to try to get bad drivers, including from states without reciprocity agreements, off our streets when other tools aren’t working, and fixes the communication problems between the Court and DMV we’ve seen in recent weeks with drunk driving enforcement. It’s also equitable: just because you can pay your ticket doesn’t mean you’re a safer driver. We want to offer second chances to people who try to follow the rules, regardless of their ability to pay, but go after those who think they can get away with endangering others.”
The bill is named the Strengthening Traffic Enforcement, Education, and Responsibility (STEER) Amendment Act of 2023. Councilmember Allen serves as the Chair of the Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment and has oversight of the District’s traffic laws, DDOT, and DMV. The bill follows a public hearing Councilmember Allen held on traffic enforcement on May 23, 2023 and builds on the Committee’s oversight of the DMV following that hearing, focusing on gaps in the District’s system for revoking licenses for anyone convicted of a DUI.
To improve safety on our streets, the bill: (more…)
From WMATA:
“Over the bridge and through the tunnel, trains on the Yellow Line are ready to go. Starting Sunday, May 7, Yellow Line service will resume across the Potomac River, following an eight-month, on-time and anticipated to be under budget rehabilitation project to repair the deteriorating 1970’s tunnel and bridge.
The reopening, announced last month, will provide a faster, more direct connection for customers between Virginia and downtown DC, including travel to/from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Yellow Line trains will initially operate every eight minutes weekdays from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. for the first month between Huntington and Mount Vernon Square, and every 12 minutes all other times and on weekends, a 60 percent increase in train service than before the closure last fall. In June service will improve to eight minutes all day, seven days a week.”
photo by nevermindtheend
From the office of Councilmember Charles Allen:
“The following is a statement from Councilmember Charles Allen on WMATA’s Letter Delaying Fare Free Buses One Year:
“I’m frustrated with WMATA, but bold ideas sometimes take time. A one-year delay isn’t the end of the world, but I do hold some skepticism about Maryland and Virginia’s genuine interest in fare-free buses. (more…)
500 Irving Street, NW
Ed. Note: You can learn more about and support Aurora Market here. “Veteran Owned & Family Operated. The Modern Mom & Pop Shop. We are more than an organic grocery store. We are a pillar of the community.”
Thanks to those who tagged us and messaged us Aurora Market‘s plea from IG:
“Posting mugshots of repeat offenders wasn’t in our plans when opening @auroramarketdc
As a recent United States Army retiree I made a decision to remove myself from government and politics. Today, I feel compelled to voice my frustration with the lack of support from our representative @brianneknadeau
Since we began developing @auroramarketdc on 2/1/2021 my wife and I have contacted @brianneknadeau office numerous times without any response: (more…)
From the office of Councilmember Charles Allen:
“Today, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) are holding a joint press conference to announce Councilmember Allen’s Metro For DC bill will include two major additions when it comes up for a vote next Tuesday, December 6.
The bill makes all WMATA buses operating in the District free to riders beginning next summer.
In a major win for DC’s nightlife and service sector, the bill funds overnight service for 12 major bus lines.
The bill still establishes a $10 million bus service improvement fund dedicated to annual investments in bus lanes, shelters, and other improvements to make bus service itself faster, more reliable, and more enjoyable.
The bill still provides a $100 monthly subsidy for all DC residents to use on Metrorail, buses outside of DC, or anywhere else SmarTrip is accepted. This is similar to what was previously announced. (more…)
From the office of Councilmember Allen:
“Recognizing the growing demand for electric vehicles and the need for charging stations, today, Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) introduced legislation charting the path forward to at least 7,500 public charging stations in the District of Columbia in the next four years. (more…)
From the office of Councilmember Charles Allen:
“On Friday, October 21, at 2pm, the DC Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety will meet to vote on the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 (RCCA), legislation to advance a long overdue modernization, organization, and revision of the District’s entire criminal code. The legislation was introduced at the Council by the District’s independent Criminal Code Reform Commission (CCRC) after years of work by its staff and five-member Advisory Group, including the Office of the Attorney General, the United States Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender Service, and local law school professors. The vote follows more than a year of Council consideration of the proposal and nearly 20 hours of Council public hearings. (more…)
PoP-Ed. posts may be written about anything related to the District and submitted via email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail please include PoP-Ed. in the subject line. No guarantess they’ll be published but I’m always happy to take a look. Thanks.
Francisca writes:
“Earlier this year, Councilmember Elissa Silverman announced the Domestic Worker Employment Rights Amendment Act of 2022 and just this month, the Committee on Labor & Workforce Development held a public hearing on the legislation. I want to share why it is so important for the council to pass this for domestic workers.
In a city like Washington, DC, many people rely on nannies like myself. Nearly from the moment I moved here, I have gotten up every morning and gone to work helping families care for their kids. The work I do is essential. Without it, working moms and dads wouldn’t be able to do their own jobs.
Throughout the pandemic, thousands of nannies in this city did the same work that I do. I was extremely fortunate to have employers that continued to pay me for six months during the lockdown when I could not go into work. However, some either never stopped working or lost their jobs and all income. The types of protections others typically have in their jobs, we don’t and it is time to change that. (more…)
Photo by Pablo Raw
From DDOT:
“Today, by order of the DC Council, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced that the fares on the DC Circulator will be reinstated effective October 1, 2021.
On March 2020, in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19), Mayor Muriel Bowser announced all DC Circulator fares were suspended through the public health emergency that ended on July 25. After positive feedback from District residents, the Mayor announced her extension of fare suspension on DC Circulator through September 30.
The Mayor’s FY 2022 budget proposal set aside $6.5 million in funding for free DC Circulator service. After deliberation, the Council rejected the zero-fare policy funding, requiring DDOT to reinstate the one-dollar fare on October 1, the beginning of FY 2021. (more…)