DC Government

From a press release:

“On Wednesday, September 16, at 5:00 p.m. in Room 500 of the John A. Wilson Building, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie (D – Ward 5), Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary, will hold a public hearing on rising violent crime in the District of Columbia. The hearing will also consider Bill 21-0261, the “Sale of Synthetic Drugs Amendment Act of 2015”.

To date, 110 homicides have been committed this year in the District, representing a 41 percent increase over last year. “These homicides and other violent crimes have devastated families and communities across the city,” said McDuffie. “The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the steps that the city is taking to prevent and respond to violent crime, to address the underlying causes, and to prioritize community responses to what we must view as a public health crisis.”

Councilmember McDuffie has been discussing holistic strategies to combat crime in the District with Mayor Muriel Bowser, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier, representatives from federal partners, residents, and national and local organizations. As a result of those discussions and additional research and outreach by his office, McDuffie will be introducing a legislative package in September to offer community- and evidence-based solutions to violent crime.

WHO: Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie
Chairperson, Committee on the Judiciary

WHEN: Wednesday, September 16, at 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Room 500, Council Chambers”

Thanks to a reader for sending an update to yesterday’s post “Is the Mayor directing police officers to gather signatures for a petition?” – from NBC Washington:

“Seventh District Commander Vendette Parker gave officers in her district, which covers most of Southeast D.C. east of the Anacostia River, a quota to get at least five signed pledges each from residents while on patrol, Assistant Chief Diane Groomes confirmed.”

From DPR:

“Today the Bowser Administration announced that due to the expected high temperatures for the remainder of the week, the District’s Department of Parks and Recreation will keep the District Spray Parks open for an additional week. Spray Parks were scheduled to close today, September 7th at 7:00 PM. According to the National Weather Service, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will bring high temperatures and high humidity.

The following spray parks will extend hours of operation until Sunday, September 13th at 7pm.

Ward 1:
14th & Girard Street Spray Park (14th and Girard St., NW) 1
4th & Park Road Spray Park (14th St. and Park Rd., NW)
Columbia Heights Spray Park (1480 Girard St., NW)
Harrison Spray Park (1330 V St., NW)
Westminster Spray Park (911 Westminster St., NW)

Ward 2:
Stead Rec. Ctr. Spray Park (1625 P St., NW)

Ward 3:
Chevy Chase Rec. Ctr. Spray Park (5500 41st St., NW)
Friendship Spray Park (4500 Van Ness St., NW)
Macomb Spray Park (3409 Macomb St., NW)
Palisades Spray Park (5200 Sherier Pl., NW)
Guy Mason Rec. Ctr. Spray Park (3600 Calvert St., NW)

Ward 4:
FortStevens Spray Park (1327 Van Buren St., NW)
Lafayette Spray Park (5900 33rd St., NW)
Petworth Spray Park (801 Taylor St., NW)
Riggs LaSalle Spray Park (501 Riggs Rd., NE)
Takoma Spray Park (300 Van Buren St., NW) (more…)

via DC.gov

“Dear PoPville,

I was walking to the grocery store past 11th and Constitution NE and I had passed two on-duty police officers standing on the corner (the officers were seemingly on-duty, but I did not ask them. They had a patrol car and were in full uniform). One of the officers had politely asked me if I wouldn’t mind signing a petition to help put in place the Mayor’s plan to help end homelessness in the community. While I’m all about helping to end homelessness, I’m always hesitant to sign anything. I asked the officer for more information about the Mayor’s plan, and she could not provide any – she had just said it would support whatever plan the mayor proposes. I ultimately declined my signature and said that I would like to wait until I have more information about the plan.

I’d like to get the community’s thoughts on the following questions: Has the Mayor unveiled a detailed plan to end homelessness? Is the Mayor directing police officers to gather signatures for a petition? If so, does the Mayor have the right to do this? Shouldn’t we be making better use of police officers’ time, especially during these times of high crime?

The situation just rubbed me the wrong way, so I thought I would write to see what others think about it.”

Not sure about directing police officers to gather signatures but from the Mayor’s Office:

The Bowser Administration announced two legislative proposals that will be introduced later this month to strengthen the District’s homeless crisis response system. The first would amend the Homeless Services Reform Act to create an interim eligibility placement provision. This legislative provision would allow additional time for the District to determine shelter eligibility while at the same time ensuring the safety of families who have no identified safe alternative by providing them with shelter on an interim basis. The legislation would also provide families with a fair and speedy appeals process if it is determined they are not eligible for emergency shelter.

The second proposed legislative solution would clarify that the District may develop emergency housing that adheres to a private room requirement. These new emergency housing facilities will be safe, clean, modern developments with private rooms for families and the amenities and services they need to succeed in the long run.

You can read the full release here.

Thanks to a reader for sending in this cool plate spotted in Hill East. Back in 2012 we spoke about the “Bad Boys Club” license plate and before that we spoke about the too cool for school low number license plates assigned by the Mayor or the Council.

Anyone ever see a capitol plate like the one above before? What’s the best one you’ve seen. You can learn about the Anacostia River environmental ones here.

Photo by PoPville flickr user Lorie Shaull

“Dear PoPville,

Did you hear about the new Wildlife Action Plan that the DC government has proposed, which calls for ending the Trap-Neuter-Release program in DC (that’s how I found Troubled!!) and rounding up all the cats to put in “shelters” (i.e., euthanize)? The public has until Sept. 6 to write to the DC government to support the Trap-Neuter-Release program by writing to [email protected] and putting “Wildlife Action Plan” in the subject line.”

From the Mayor’s office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser released the following statement in support of MPD Chief Cathy Lanier:

“After 25 years of policing DC streets, deploying officers and strategies, and building a force of highly qualified officers and leaders, in the good times and the tough times, too, I have every confidence in Chief Lanier.”

From the DC Police Union:

Members of the DC Police Union were asked the following question:

“Do you have confidence that Chief Cathy Lanier is able to properly manage the resources of the Metropolitan Police Department and keep the citizens safe?”

The members had the choice of answering YES or NO.

1,150 members responded to the poll and 1,122 answered NO, they do not have confidence in Chief Lanier‘s ability to manage MPD and keep the citizens of the District safe.

That‘s an overwhelming 97.5% that answered NO; they DO NOT have confidence in the Chief‘s leadership.”

You can read the full release here: DCPU Press Release (PDF)

There’s been a lot of talk, understandably, here about crime lately so I wanted to know what folks thought about the Mayor’s new Safer, Stronger DC legislative campaign? The highlights are above but you can read a more complete version in the PDF below:

public_safety_agenda (PDF)

From the Mayor:

“Dear Washingtonians,

The District has lost the lives of 103 residents to homicide in 2015. Every life is precious, every loss is tragic. And we do not sit idly by as our community suffers.

Over the past few weeks, I have updated you on the increase in violent crime in DC, and what my Administration is doing to address it. We have put more police officers on our streets, walking beats. With the support of the community, we have ramped up our efforts to find and arrest criminals, resulting in a higher crime closure rate than most cities our size. We developed new strategies to fight synthetic drugs. And we launched initiatives to strengthen the relationship between MPD officers and the community – including our Body Worn Camera program.

I want to thank my public safety team and our law enforcement officers, who are working around the clock to keep DC safe.

We are acting with vigor and we are making progress. And there is more we will do. Today, I announced a public safety agenda that will make DC safer and stronger. The agenda, which you can view HERE, includes a number of legislative and administrative measures that will help us prevent crime, and address crime when it happens. Be sure to continue to check mayor.dc.gov/saferstronger for updates.

We will: (more…)

Though the Ward 1 Council Member has written: “I do not think they help us achieve the long term, sustained outcome we truly want for the District.”, yesterday’s poll results are in with 85% supporting, what the police union has requested, the return of vice squads.

The Mayor will release her “Agenda to Fight Crime” later this morning:

“On Thursday, August 27 at 10:30 a.m., Mayor Muriel Bowser will provide remarks on her fall public safety agenda at the former Malcolm X Elementary School, at 1351 Alabama Avenue, SE.

At the event, Mayor Bowser will outline legislative proposals that will help prevent and address violent crime in the District.”

Stand by for updates.