DC Government

While I always delight in August Christmas tree sightings, I also like the environment – so be a good steward and get your tree picked up and composted by the 27th!!

From DPW:

“Holiday trees and greenery will be collected from the curb in front of your home through January 27, 2017 and will be composted. Trees and greenery collected after January 27 will be collected with the trash as space permits in the truck. Please remove ornaments, tinsel and other decorations and put the tree(s) and greenery where your trash and recycling are collected.

Just a reminder, apartment buildings with four or more units are required to provide their tenants with solid waste collections, including holiday trees.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user andy ward

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Bowser signed legislation that makes it a criminal offense for persons on probation or parole to tamper with GPS monitoring devices. The legislation – which she proposed and that is part of the Mayor’s Safer Stronger DC initiative – closes a critical loophole that allowed individuals on supervised release who were ordered to wear electronic monitoring devices to go unpunished after removing, disabling, or tampering with the device.

Under the new law, any agency that can order a person on supervised release to wear a GPS monitoring device, such as the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, the Pretrial Services Agency, and the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, can enforce attempts at tampering with the device. Individuals found guilty of tampering with their GPS monitoring devices can face up to six months in jail. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user wolfpackWX

From the Department of Energy and Environment:

“Dominion Virginia Power has agreed to pay $75,000 to the District of Columbia stemming from a spill of more than 13,000 gallons of mineral oil from its Crystal City sub-station into the Potomac River on January 24, 2016. In the Administrative Consent Order issued by Tommy Wells, the Director of the District of Columbia’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE), Dominion was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $25,000 and to pay $50,000 to DOEE to fund a Supplemental Environmental Project for the Department to conduct a stream survey and create a registry of all streams within the District. The Order was issued under the District of Columbia’s Water Pollution Control Act. While the Dominion facility is located in Virginia, the Potomac River is a waterway of the District of Columbia and subject to the requirements of the District’s Water Pollution Control Act.

On February 3, 2016, an oily sheen was reported in the Potomac River; it extended from the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary and Gravelly Point to the Ronald Reagan National Airport and Jones Point. Tracing the sheen, DOEE response personnel and investigators from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality identified the source of the sheen as originating from an outfall in the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Kate Conradt

Thanks to textdoc for passing on:

“Key wording from FAQ: “Starting January 1, 2018, businesses, government, and residents will be required to source separate and recycle all materials included on the Mayor’s List of Recyclables and Compostables. The list is being issued now to allow ample time for education and outreach and for public and private entities the opportunity to adjust or renegotiate service contracts.”

I am puzzled to see pizza boxes added to the list — I thought that virgin pizza boxes were recylable, but that food-soiled ones were not.

Interestingly (to me), plastic bags/film/wrap will no longer be accepted for recycling.”

From DPW:

“The Department of Public Works (DPW) is proud to announce the release of the newly developed Mayor’s List of Recyclables and Compostables. The purpose is to provide a single, comprehensive list of recyclable and compostable materials for DC residents and businesses.

In 2014, the District enacted the Sustainable Solid Waste Management Amendment Act of 2014, which requires the District to issue a list of materials that are considered to be recyclable or compostable. The law also requires that solid waste materials be source-separated into three categories: recyclables, compostables and trash. Effective, January 1, 2018, this list will inform District residents and property owners about the District’s mandatory recycling programs.

In the coming months, the District will provide education and outreach resources to assist District residents and businesses in recycling the new list of materials. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Kate Conradt

Looking forward to hearing what each and every member of the Council of the District of Columbia has to say about how this well intentioned but clearly flawed law can addressed. Thanks to all who sent links and props once again to the Washington Post for devoting the resources and covering this depressing (all around) issue.

Read He says he robbed 100 people in D.C. Could he have been stopped before he killed? here.

“SECOND-CHANCE CITY | This is part of a continuing series that examines issues related to repeat violent offenders in the District of Columbia. Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

…D.C. judges twice sentenced him — for simple assault and robbery — under the District’s Youth Rehabilitation Act, a unique law passed in the 1980s that allows shorter sentences for some crimes and offers offenders under age 22 the chance to clear their records. All the while, he says, he returned to the streets to commit more robberies and sell crack cocaine.

“It’s just a slap on the wrist. And then you think you can get away with bigger crimes,” Smallwood says during a recent interview in prison.

The District’s Youth Act opens the door to all offenders under 22 except murderers, puts no limit on how many times the law can be applied and allows for departures from mandatory minimum sentences for violent gun crimes…”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Jordan Barab

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Mayor Bowser released the following statement regarding the Council’s passage of the Paid Family and Medical Leave Bill:

“Chairman Mendelson and the Council passed a $250 million tax increase to mostly benefit residents of Maryland and Virginia. It is wrong to raise District taxes to fund a costly, new government program that sends 66 percent of the benefits outside of the city, and leaves District families behind. If the Council wants to raise $250 million in new taxes, shouldn’t the focus be on District residents and their needs?

Councilwoman Cheh was correct when she described this legislation as ill-considered, a situation we are likely to regret, and not the best way to go. I predict the Council will need to revisit this legislation and address the detrimental impacts on District residents and small businesses.

I will not add my name to this legislation.”

The Washington Post reports:

“The bill, which passed by a veto-proof margin of 9 to 4, guarantees eight weeks of paid time off to new parents, six weeks to workers caring for ailing family members and two weeks of personal sick time.”

From Council Member Silverman’s office:

“Councilmember Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) voted with a majority of her D.C. Council colleagues to approve, on a second and final reading, the Universal Paid Leave Amendment Act of 2016, which will create a family and personal medical leave program in the District of Columbia. The legislation passed by a vote of 9 to 4.

Under the final bill, the District will create a social insurance system that will provide up to eight weeks of annual paid leave to new parents for a birth or adoption, up to six weeks for District workers to care for a sick loved one, and up to two weeks for District workers in need of personal medical leave. Self-employed individuals may opt into the program. District government employees will remain under the D.C. government program; federal employees and District residents who work for employers outside of D.C. will not be covered by the bill. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mark Andre

From the Mayor’s office:

“Mayor Muriel Bowser welcomed the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau showing that Washington, DC has reached a total population of 681,170, a figure not seen since the 1970s.

“Our growth in population shows that Washington, DC continues to be an attractive place to live, work and start a family,” said Mayor Bowser. “Our neighborhoods continue to grow safer and stronger, and our schools continue to enroll more students and improve outcomes. The District’s investments in neighborhoods – from affordable housing, public infrastructure, and transportation to public schools, parks, retail, and the arts – are all making DC a highly desirable place to call home.”

In general, the upward trend in Washington, DC’s population is expected to continue due to DC’s growing economic diversity and quality of life. Between July 1, 2015 and July 1, 2016, Washington, DC added 10,793 new residents, a 1.6 percent increase or an average of 900 new residents per month. The city has now grown by 79,000 (13.2 percent) since April 2010 when the decennial census count took place. (more…)

“Dear PoPville,

Is this par for the course for Jack Evans?

I am ashamed to admit that I don’t pay much attention to ward politics, but I have had a generally neutral impression of Jack Evans from the little I’ve read/heard. Then, last night I saw this response of his to a question on the Dupont listserv.

I was shocked by his condescending, curt, and utterly unhelpful non-answer to a question posed to him. (I have no opinion on the question posed- I was just dumbfounded that a politician in DC would respond so ridiculously.)

Is this normal? It’s so incredibly petty, it’s embarrassing.”

Jack, your constituents in Ward 2 on these list serves are anxious to hear how your leadership in promoting billboards in the District, and quite likely in our Ward in the future if the proposed legislation passes, benefits them. I for one remain opposed to visual blight and did not understand your leadership on this issue until I read the Washington City Paper article. As I said before, this battle over visual blight was fought decades ago with the billboard industry and our highways and byways are better for it. Please explain your position and provide your perspective concerning the assertions made in the Washington City Paper.

From: “‘Evans, Jack (COUNCIL)’

I don’t read City Paper.

Subsequent reply from another member of the listserv:

“Translation: I don’t care if my constituents hate me. I just got re-elected unchallenged because corporate donations have so filled my coffers that no one was willing to run against me. Keeping those corporate interests happy means more to me than a few constituents and an alt-weekly complaining about my corporate sell outs.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Phil

Meant to put this up from a late rant/revel post last week that not many folks saw:

“Rant! My ANC commissioner is terrible and literally hasn’t returned a single email in months. Our NE neighborhood has a HUGE speeding problem – HUGE. There are a few repeat offenders I’m just waiting to get caught. I see police randomly patrolling our street but sadly they never see the brunt of the problem. I’ve asked other neighboring ANC commissioners for advice on how to contact my current one and they all pepper her with compliments (although if you ask my actual neighbors, no one can stand the inaction and indifference anymore as her reign has been too long and she avoids the idea of change all too much.) She was re-elected this year ….and alas, I’m back to trying to figure out the best way forward with this very dangerous speeding issue. I’ve literally watch the same two people almost PLOW DOWN dog walkers crossing in the cross walk as they do 75 on a 15 mph street (or something well above 40!) Any advice on how I can bring this issue to light?”