DC Government

Photo by PoPville Flickr user Lorie Shaull

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Bowser released the following statement regarding the suspicious packages sent to public officials:

“I have been briefed by my Public Safety and Justice (PSJ) officials, including the Deputy Mayor for PSJ, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, on the suspicious packages sent to multiple individuals. The District is maintaining an open communication with our federal partners and we are vigilantly monitoring the situation. There is no additional, credible threat to the District at this time, but we urge all who may see something to say something immediately by calling 911.”

From MPD:

“Multiple packages containing possible explosive devices, similar to the one pictured below, have been located in NY & DC.

If you see any suspicious activity similar to these incidents, please do not hesitate to call 911.”

From the New York Times: (more…)

A reader reports:

“I just called the Board of Elections — they said the envelope needs two Forever stamps.”

Update from DC Board of Elections website:

“Dear PoPville,

I am an absentee ballot voter in DC and had seen the PoPville item on postage and absentee ballots.

I called DC Board of Elections [DC BOE] and asked if or how much postage was required to mail an absentee ballot.

At first, I was told “a stamp” would do it, then I was told “two stamps” “should” cover it.

I asked what “two stamps”? I was told “regular stamps”.

I also asked why there was nothing on the envelope to indicate if postage was required or that additional postage was required as there has been in past elections.

The mail in envelope used to state in the top right hand corner that additional postage was required.

I asked how much postage exactly was required to mail in my ballot. Why should someone use $1 when 65 cents might be enough? I was transferred to someone’s voicemail. (more…)

“Dear PoPville,

After all the stamp debates about absentee ballots, I noticed that DC’s absentee ballot doesn’t have a ‘place stamp here’ box on the envelope, nor does it say ‘extra postage required’. So do you need stamps at all? On some legitimate sources online some say you don’t even need the correct postage because it’s real election mail so it’ll arrive no matter what.

I’m sure there are a lot of people voting by absentee.

I tweeted at the DC Election board or whatever but unsurprisingly did not get a reply. attached is a photo of the envelope. Some places write, extra postage needed on the envelope, some places have a box and say  ‘affix stamp here’, DC’s envelope says nothing, and there is that one Time article that says the USPS will deliver w/o a stamp. So what is it? “

Photo by PoPville Flickr user Eric Spiegel

From the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia:

“4.2 billion robocalls were made to US households in August 2018, and robocalls are up 33.2% in the first eight months of 2018 as compared to 2017. We put these tips together after joining a bipartisan coalition of 35 attorneys general in urging the FCC to strengthen protections against robocalls.

It’s clear that law enforcement must keep pace with technological advances. That’s why AG Racine has joined a bipartisan coalition of 35 attorneys general in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen protections against robocalls. The coalition urged the FCC to find ways to encourage service providers to implement security protocols that can help authenticate legitimate calls and identify illegally spoofed calls. We’re also working with telecom service providers to explore ways that providers can stop robocalls before consumers’ phones even ring.

Below are five ways you can reduce the number of robocalls you receive: (more…)

From an email:

“October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. During this month, local organizations join together to promote greater public awareness about domestic violence. This month provides an excellent opportunity for the District to demonstrate its support in ending domestic violence. Moreover, it is a wonderful opportunity to educate the public on the seriousness of domestic violence and the prevalence of this epidemic in our lives. The Coalition has compiled a calendar of events and we hope that you or colleagues can attend an event or two this month to learn more about the domestic violence advocacy community. You can find all of the events and additional resources at www.spreadlovedc.org. (more…)