DC Government

“Are we going to wait until a child walking to school at 8:30 in the morning is killed at the intersection?

By Prince Of Petworth

Dennis Junius reported just before 8am:

“another accident at Taylor and 13th place NE. How many more until we get a traffic pattern change or someone gets killed? Been happening for years now with no action.”

Chris Baronner also reported just before 10am:

“@kenyanmcduffie Are we going to wait until a child walking to school at 8:30 in the morning is killed at the intersection of Taylor St NE/13th Place before making 13th Pl one ways or at least a 4-way stop? @PoPville Too many accidents/way too many near misses on daily basis!”

“Commercial Airbnb Hosts Add Strain on Single Mothers Across D.C.”

By Prince Of Petworth

Yukia Hugee, lives in North East and is part of the It’s Time DC coalition.

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.


Photo by PoPville flickr user DCbmyers

Ed. Note: You can read “The DC Council will vote Tuesday on legislation that would place severe restrictions on short-term rentals in DC.” posted yesterday here.

Commercial Airbnb Hosts Add Strain on Single Mothers Across D.C.
By: Yukia Hugee, single mom and Northeast D.C. resident

Safety is a main concern for any mother. This concern is only heightened for a single mother, like myself, that lives in a hustling and bustling city like D.C. and is safety is always one of the main concerns I have for my young family and I. Consequently, knowing the members of my community that surround me, work near my home, and protect my neighborhood is very important to me as I raise my children in our vibrant city.

That is why I am so disheartened to see my community unwrapped by commercial operators running illegal hotels that are creating a revolving door of strangers who don’t have an attachment to our community.

That isn’t creating a safer neighborhood for me or my family – it’s breaking it down. (more…)

My 20 year old self disagrees but ultimately this is a good thing

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to Mark for sending yesterday:

“I saw this at 7-11. Apparently they added $2 tax on all cigarettes and raised the age to 21 effective today.”

So how much does a pack a cigarettes cost these days?

Council of DC also tweeted yesterday:

“Effective today, the Prohibition Against Selling Tobacco Products to Individuals Amendment Act of 2015 is fully funded for the first time”

311 App – Effective or Not?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user 311

“Dear PoPville,

Just going through the comments in the post on Park Road and I got to thinking about how ineffective the DC311 mobile app has been for me. I’m curious what other readers’ experiences have been?”

Ed. Note: I haven’t used the app but when I call or tweet 311 I’ve had very good success. You guys?

“The DC Council will vote Tuesday on legislation that would place severe restrictions on short-term rentals in DC.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user dullshick

Jim Havard lives in Hill East. 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.

Open Letter to DC Communities and the DC Council
By Jim Havard

DC Short-Term Rental Legislation – An Allowance Should be Made for “Plus One” Properties, Without “Caps”

The DC Council will vote Tuesday on legislation that would place severe restrictions on short-term rentals in DC. The bill on the table would, among other things, ban any short-term rentals from properties outside of the primary residence, and limit owners pursuing short-term rentals when away from primary residences to 90 days a year. To be clear, the primary impact of this legislation for DC would not be to regulate some big corporation (like AirBnB or VRBO); rather, it would be to cripple short-term rental small businesses in DC, including those owned by local people – like widows, seniors, and parents with challenging medical conditions – who are renting out their small “plus one” properties in an effort to make ends meet. These folks should be allowed to keep their businesses; this bill is too restrictive and should be amended. (more…)

As if the world weren’t absurd enough – D.C. edition

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Phil

Well this is just bonkers.

The Washington Post reported:

“Gray, 75, “basically told the guy to chill out,” and was shoved out the door, said the adviser, Chuck Thies. Thies said Gray was at the club for “Art All Night,” a city wide arts festival.”

NBC Washington reported:

“[Sheila Bunn, Gray’s chief of staff] Bunn told News4 that Gray, 75, had said, “Don’t I look old enough?”

The DC Eagle gave News4 the following statement: (more…)

“Welcome to Mount Pleasant – Slow the Hell Down”

By Prince Of Petworth

The following was written by PoPville contributor David McAuley, founder of Short Articles about Long Meetings.


detail from documents DDOT handed out at the meeting

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1D/Mount Pleasant voted to endorse a plan to repave and restripe a section of Park Road NW, from the bridge over Piney Branch Road in Rock Creek Park to just past the intersection with Walbridge Place. The plan, as presented at the September 25 ANC meeting by a representative of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), would eliminate several on-street parking spaces in the neighborhood, which brought some local residents to the meeting to object.

The ANC’s resolution to urge DDOT to proceed with the plan includes a suggestion to refrain from putting a “Stop” sign and a “No parking” sign at the corner of Park Road and Pierce Mill Road, which would create a new 40-foot long area (about 2-3 car lengths) where parking would be unambiguously not allowed. Apparently, parking occurs there now, but Emily Dalphy, DDOT Transportation Engineer, said that parking in this area might already be “technically illegal”. (more…)

Should the D.C. Council Repeal Initiative 77? (raising the minimum wage for tipped workers)

By Prince Of Petworth

Yesterday WAMU reported:

“The D.C. Council will vote next Tuesday on a bill repealing Initiative 77, the ballot measure approved by D.C. voters in June that would gradually raise the minimum wage paid to tipped workers.

The bill repealing Initiative 77 already has seven co-sponsors, the exact number needed to pass the Council. But because it is being considered as an emergency measure, it will need nine votes to pass, and would only remain in effect for 90 days. The Council would eventually have to vote on a permanent repeal bill.”

So should the Council repeal the bill completely, not at all or work on some sort of compromise?

To the polls!!


“Emergency Legislation Will Make It More Difficult for Producers and Suppliers of K2 and Other Synthetic Drugs to Evade Law Enforcement”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Last Friday, a week ago, I exited the Petworth metro – about 1.5 blocks from my house – and found a woman overdosing right outside the exit on the east side of Georgia Ave. She was writhing and screaming and frothing at the mouth and smashing her hands on the concrete. I called 911. Some other folks and I tried to roll her over and hold her until the paramedics arrived. They eventually did and did so fairly quickly, to their credit. Thanks to them. I got home covered in blood and showered before touching my young son. I suspect she was overdosing on spice/K2 which is clearly becoming a big(ger) issue in this city. The woman killed at 11th and P recently was, reports appear to suggest, the result of someone on the synthetic drug. The massive overdoses in front of schools (Mundo Verde is a big recent example) is due to bad batches of the drug, likely cut with fentanyl or worse. What does it take to get the DC council to respond? It’s clear that it is tough to regulate the synthetic drug but DC police know *exactly* where it is being sold and used and do nothing about it.”

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Mayor Bowser announced she will be introducing legislation to simplify enforcement against producers and suppliers of dangerous synthetic drugs – often referred to as K2, spice, and Scooby Snax – by broadening the classification of what constitutes a prohibited synthetic drug. The emergency legislation will update the existing drug classification system to enhance the ability of law enforcement and prosecutors to go after synthetic drug dealers. The “Revised Synthetics Abatement and Full Enforcement Drug Control Emergency Act of 2018” bans chemical compounds often found in synthetic drugs based on the class of the chemical compound, rather than the individual compound. (more…)

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