DC Government

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr.TinDC

From the Mayor’s office:

“Mayor Bowser announced the appointment of D.C. based restaurateur and chef Spike Mendelsohn to chair the District’s newly created Food Policy Council (FPC).

“Spike’s leadership will be a tremendous asset to the D.C. Food Policy Council,” said Mayor Bowser. “The District’s food landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade. Policy makers, non-profit service providers and other sectors of the food system should be equal partners in our efforts to create a nourished D.C. I look forward to Spike’s leadership and expertise as we work collectively to transform our food system.”

As Chair of the Food Policy Council, Spike Mendelsohn will spearhead efforts to promote the food economy and entrepreneurship, improve food access and equity in all 8 wards, and promote urban agriculture and production. (more…)

From the Mayor’s office:

“Today, the Bowser Administration, with the support of union leaders from American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) announced an “All Hanks on Deck” effort to catch up on trash collection that has been delayed due to hazardous conditions on weather-impacted alleys.

Additional trash collection crews will hit the roads tomorrow and throughout the weekend to collect trash that has not been collected. As part of the effort, the District has allocated the following resources:

· additional crews from the leaf team will be activated for trash collection;
· additional crews from private companies will be engaged to add capacity; and
· an unprecedented effort to salt alleys to make them passable for trash collectors.

“We apologize for the delay in service. We are committed to providing the best service possible to the District’s residents. This winter has been particularly challenging, but the District’s government and our employees are rising to the challenge,” said City Administrator Young, Department of Public Works Director Howland and AFSCME Leaders Andre Lee and Barry Carey. “Our crews are going all hands on deck and will work through the weekend to ensure that all trash is picked up in the next 72 hours.”

Due to public health concerns, crews will co-mingle trash and recycling to ensure that all cans are emptied as quickly as possible. Some winter precipitation may occur early next week; therefore, the start of the weekly residential street sweeping program will be postponed to Monday, March 9, 2015.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user bajidc

From DPW:

“The Department of Public Works announced today that residential mechanical street sweeping will resume Monday, March 2. Signs are posted that identify the days of the week and hours of the day when parking restrictions will be enforced so the sweepers can clean the streets effectively. The fine for violating this restriction is $45.

The program represents a true commitment by residents who have committed to move their vehicles when sweeping is underway. “To become part of the program, we require 80 percent of the residents to sign a petition pledging to honor the parking restrictions,” said DPW Director William O. Howland, Jr. “Their cooperation is what makes the program successful.”

Mr. Howland noted DPW established March 1 through October 31 in 2012 as residential street sweeping season and this information appears on the signs where the program is in effect. He asked motorists to obey the times parking is restricted. “A supervisor follows behind the sweeper and may require the block to be swept again, so don’t park until the end of the posted sweeping period,” he said. Beginning March 2, parked cars also may be towed to allow the sweepers access to the curbside. Generally, parking is prohibited for two hours while sweeping is underway.

DPW street sweepers cover about 4,000 lane miles monthly, removing litter and pollutants by brushing them onto a conveyor system, which transports the material into a debris hopper. The sweeper also emits a fine spray of water to help control dust. In addition to sweeping residential streets during spring, summer and fall, DPW also sweeps commercial streets overnight year-round (weather permitting), and parking restrictions also apply.”

Photo courtesy PoPville resident Danny Collier

DPW reminded some listserve folks of DC’s alley plowing policy (from 2009):

“The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and Department of Public Works (DPW) want to remind residents that as a policy the District does not plow alleys.

“The District does not plow alleys,” said DPW Director William O. Howland Jr. “We do not have the resources and in the majority of the alleys there is no place to push the snow. It would be too difficult and labor intensive to plow any type of alley, whether narrow or wide, in the District.”

“We are receiving numerous requests from residents, higher than in years past,” said DDOT Director Gabe Klein. “Our crews are focused on clearing the District’s 1100 miles of roadway, in particular the residential and side streets. We just do not have the resources to plow alleys.”

On twitter @creolebeth shared her frustration with @PoPville about trash pick up:

“Trash pickup alt #1: train drivers to drive in snow/ice.

Trash pickup alt #2: ask alley homes to put trash on street for pickup when snows.

Trash pickup alt #3: have trash pickup walk down alley to get trash.

Trash pickup alt #4: place dumpsters in parks for residents to bring trash.

Trash pickup alt #5: create trash drop off sites in accessible areas for the trash trucks.

Trash pickup alt #6: extend dump hours so people have place to store trash.

Trash pickup alt #7: pay some over time and work extra hours on days between storms.

Trash pickup alt #8: do nothing until residents decide to store trash at city hall.

Trash pickup alt #9: Do what you did in 2014 — lots of snow and trash was still collected.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Zhou Jia

From DPW:

“Regretfully, we continue to have problems with regard to the icy condition of many of the alleys and how this affects residential trash/recycling collection. We truly regret the inconvenience of having to hold onto your trash and/or recyclables until the next collection day when weather conditions create unsafe circumstances for our collection crews.

We ask our drivers to use their best judgment when driving their routes, keeping uppermost the safety of the crew and the public. All our drivers must possess a Commercial Driver’s License to be employed by DPW in this capacity; and they can lose their license, and livelihood, if they are determined to be at fault in an accident. The drivers also weigh the risk to employees who collect the cans when determining if an alley or street is too icy to navigate. Injury to the crew or the public as well as property damage, weigh heavily on a driver’s conscience even if an accident is not his or her fault.

Again, we do recognize we are inconveniencing the residents when trash and recycling aren’t collected timely and hope that we have no more winter weather to impede our work.”

Q. When will Initiative 71 become law?
A. 12:01 a.m. on Thursday, February 26, 2015.

From the Mayor’s office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Police Chief Cathy Lanier and other administration officials outlined the District’s plan to ensure the safe, responsible administration of Initiative 71.

“In November, residents of the District of Columbia voted to legalize small amounts of marijuana by adults for personal, in-home use in the District,” said Mayor Bowser. “We will uphold the letter and the spirit of the initiative that was passed last year, and we will establish the Initiative 71 Task Force to coordinate our enforcement, awareness and engagement efforts and address policy questions as they arise.”

Implementation of Initiative 71 represents an incremental change from the District’s law which decriminalized marijuana. The Bowser Administration has laid out clear expectations for what is lawful and what remains illegal.

Under Initiative 71, individuals 21 years of age or older will be able to lawfully:

· Possess two ounces or less of marijuana;

· Use marijuana on private property;

· Transfer one ounce or less of marijuana to another person, as long as:

1. no money, goods or services are exchanged; and

2. the recipient is 21 years of age or older; and

· Cultivate within his or her primary residence up to six marijuana plants, no more than three of which are mature.

Under Initiative 71, it will remain a crime for anyone to:

· Possess more than two ounces of marijuana;

· Smoke or otherwise consume marijuana on public space or anywhere to which the public is invited; including restaurants, bars, and coffee shops;

· Sell any amount of marijuana to another person; or

· Operate a vehicle or boat under the influence of marijuana. (more…)

From the Mayor’s office:

“Today, Mayor Bowser released a new web video outlining her Administration’s commitment to working with residents to develop strategies to close the District’s quarter billion dollar gap while developing smart solutions to support our key priorities, like investing in education, job training, infrastructure and affordable housing. The video comes a day before Mayor Bowser will hold her first of three Budget Engagement Forums, which are designed as interactive discussions where DC residents can provide input to help shape priorities.

Mayor Bowser and Administration Officials have been attending dozens of community meetings across the District this month to discuss the Mayor’s budget priorities. The Budget Engagement Forums are scheduled for Thursday, February 19 at Wilson High School, Saturday, February 21 at Anacostia High School, and Monday, February 23 at Dunbar High School.

For more information and to register to attend a Budget Engagement Forum, click here.

SCRIPT:

Hi – I’m Mayor Muriel Bowser.

A month in, I could not be happier and prouder to be your Mayor.

On the campaign trail, I promised to deliver the District a Fresh Start and that’s what my Administration is doing.

We have brought on top talent and are laying the groundwork to grow the District’s economy and leave it in a better place for future generations.

Our city is on the move. We have the fastest improving urban school district in the nation. A thousand new residents are making DC home every month and our communities are thriving.

While we are a city with great opportunities, we also have big challenges.

When I came into office I inherited past successes, failures and overdue promises.

For example:

· We have a streetcar line that never had a plan to launch effectively.

· We have housing costs rising at such a pace that many long-time residents can’t afford to live in their own city.

· And on top of that, our city faces a quarter billion dollar budget gap.

That’s right – a quarter billion dollars.

How did we get here? (more…)

From MPD:

“The Metropolitan Police Department announced today the deployment of new photo enforced locations beginning on or about February 17, 2015. The deployment locations for the Photo Enforcement Units will be sites where speeding and pedestrian safety has been identified to be a problem.

The 30 day educational phase, or “warning period”, will commence on or about February 17, 2015. During this period, violators will receive warning citations. After the 30 day warning period, MPD will begin issuing live moving citations to violators. The new photo enforcement locations are [above].”