DC Government

“$122.1 million for the K Street Transitway, a major redesign of K Street NW between 12th and 21st Streets NW”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Julian Ortiz

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Mayor Muriel Bowser showcased plans to design and build the K Street Transitway, a major streetscape project on K Street NW with dedicated bus lanes, enhanced bicycle accessibility, and safer pedestrian intersections. The project is projected to improve bus speeds by 30 percent for an estimated 40,000 daily bus passengers.

“As DC continues to grow and prosper, we need to reimagine our major roadways for the 21st century with infrastructure improvements that make public transportation more efficient and reliable for residents who rely on it,” said Mayor Bowser. “The K Street Transitway project will transform Downtown with dedicated bus lanes, protected bike lanes, redesigned sidewalks, and safer intersections to help keep DC moving and growing.” (more…)

Get Free Pollinator Seeds Monday Morning

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo from Mass. Ave by Nora

From DOEE:

“On Monday, April 22, the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), Department of Public Works (DPW), and Mayor’s Office of the Clean City will be giving out pollinator seeds at 14 Metro stations across the District. 2019’s theme is “Bee the Change,” to represent the strength of our #DCValues to protect the future against the changing climate. Learn more about native pollinators and their importance to District Wildlife at doee.dc.gov/pollinators. Native flowers are not only beautiful, they provide critical habitat for DC’s diverse pollinator wildlife, and this year’s batch of seeds is meant to highlight the importance of pollinators like bees and other insects to the health of the District’s natural ecosystem.

WHEN: Monday, April 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

WHERE: (more…)

D.C.’s Food Waste Drop-Off Locations Reopen This Weekend at Various Farmers Markets

By Prince Of Petworth


courtesy DPW

From DPW:

“This Saturday, April 20, the Department of Public Works (DPW) will reopen its free Food Waste Drop-Off program at the Uptown Farmers’ Market in Ward 4 and Brookland Farmers’ Market in Ward 5. Residents can bring their food waste to be composted at these markets in addition to the three year-round sites in Columbia Heights, Dupont Circle, and Eastern Market. Additional locations in Wards 2, 3, 7, and 8 will reopen for the season in May and June. The food waste collected at these drop-off locations is composted locally at District community composting sites and at the Prince George’s County Organics Compost facility. (more…)

“Because, unlike others, I do not want to live in a neighborhood where I “feel safe”, I want us all to live in neighborhoods where we are safe.”

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to Bill for passing on “I thought Kent’s message here was pretty thoughtful and addresses some of the key challenges and tensions in Columbia Heights right now.”

From Kent C. Boese | Chair, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1A | Single Member District (SMD) 1A08 (posting with Kent’s permission):

“The ANC members continue to work with officers, get to know them, and advocate for officers to walk our neighborhoods. We attend the Police Service Area Meetings when they are scheduled and many of us have developed strong relationships with our officers. What has changed in the 8+ years since you were on ANC1A isn’t the commitment of Commissioners or our dedication. We work very hard on public safety issues, often without the support we need from above.

While some of the challenges we face in effective policing are logistical (i.e., changing officers due to promotions and retirements, changes in MPD police district and PSA boundaries), the real challenge we face is changes (good and bad) in what our officers are allowed to do, largely based on political decisions from the Council.

Frankly, when it comes to public safety in Ward 1, I do not believe we have an effective advocate in the Wilson building who can articulate a sound policy that balances the rights of residents with the responses from our police and social service agencies. Yes, we now have the NEAR Act which I voted for on the ANC and which I wholeheartedly support. But we are not going to see the benefits of the ACT immediately, and even when we see the full benefits of the NEAR Act in the coming years, there will still be an appropriate role and need for police. (more…)

“You might have read some of the recent coverage of the latest city government screw-up”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

You might have read some of the recent coverage of the latest city government screw-up: Serve DC (in the mayor’s office) didn’t bother to file DC’s grant paperwork with the Corporation for National and Community Service this year, which is going to cost the city $3.75M in federal funding that goes to support the work of City Year (those nice young people in the red jackets), and two early literacy intervention nonprofits, Literacy Lab and Reading Partners.

Many studies show that it’s vitally important that kids be reading at grade level by the fourth grade. At that point, they’re no longer reading to learn to read, they’re reading to learn all their other subjects, so if they’re behind in reading by the fourth grade, they quickly end up behind in all their subjects, and they often never catch up.

In 2017, only 19% of DC’s fourth graders from low-income families could read at or above grade level. Kids who are reading at or above grade level by fourth grade are four times more likely to stay in school and graduate, creating a firm foundation to be successful in life. That’s what Literacy Lab and Reading Partners exist to do.

I’m a volunteer with Reading Partners. We were due to receive $560,000 to fund 30 AmeriCorps positions in the 2019-2020 school year. That represents 20% of our budget. (more…)

“Today I’m taking a whole day off of work to go to a walk-in hearing at the DMV to prove where I live, that my car isn’t actually a Volkswagen, and a stop sign doesn’t exist.”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I have the flip side to the recent story of an abandoned vehicle with thousands of dollars in tickets not being booted/towed for months. My car has been impounded for a week for 2 tickets. I contested one a year ago, but never received a ruling. The other I never received. Neither are legitimate: (more…)

#GoodSignDC “a new initiative that calls on residents and motorists to help DC Government replace or clarify confusing and broken signs around DC”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Lorie Shaull

From the mayor’s office:

“We also kicked off #GoodSignDC – a new initiative that calls on residents and motorists to help DC Government replace or clarify confusing and broken signs around DC. Residents are encouraged to report signs in need of attention to 311 or by using #GoodSignDC on social media (please include a photo and location).”

Notes from Last Night’s ANC 1A (Columbia Heights) Public Safety Committee Meeting by Bill DeBaun

By Prince Of Petworth

Bill DeBaun lives with his wife and child in Columbia Heights. Thanks to Bill for taking the time to write this up.

“Last night there were about 20 attendees at the ANC 1A Public Safety Committee meeting at District Bridges in Columbia Heights. The panel last night consisted of representatives from the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement. A representative from the Department of Behavioral Health was supposed to attend but couldn’t make it. Notably there was no MPD representative (it appears that was last month, next month will be representatives from community-based organizations engaged in the ANC). During introductions, half or more of the attendees noted they were there out of concern for Columbia Heights’ recent shootings. Attendees identified homelessness, public substance abuse, stop and frisk, underfunding of the NEAR Act, and concerns about MPD training exchanges with Israel, among other issues, as concerns.

Judy Williams ([email protected]) was the DHS representative and discussed her and her team’s work with homeless engagement and meeting those living on the street where they are and connecting them with available resources. She noted there are currently two members of her team on homeless outreach (for the whole city!) and two focusing specifically on opioid outreach and K2 monitoring/prevention (also for the whole city). There was some discussion about whether or not an additional three positions on these teams were funded and just not filled yet or whether funding was pending (I wasn’t clear on where that shook out from my notes, apologies.) K2 (“spice”) is a big problem in Columbia Heights’ plaza, and she noted that they try to keep tabs of what the K2 “hot spots” are to try to put cold water on them by being present as a deterrent and monitoring those who have bad reactions to the drug. (more…)

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