DC Government

“Dear PoPville,

The annual kerfuffle over general lawlessness during Cop Week has already gotten some press this week on PoP.  I thought it might be worth adding to the discussion by noting an enforcement problem on the MPD side of things.  The SeeClickFix site has received numerous complaints of foreign law enforcement parking illegally.  See e.g.,:

• Trailers blocking 15th Street
• Trailers blocking 15th Street

The back and forth between the citizens and MPD–with the complaints being repeatedly closed then reopened–that was required to get them to finally issue tickets is really something.  Enough so that it prompted me to go and look up the citations on DC’s ticket system.  Lo and behold, the tickets that were reported to close the complaints do not correspond to the license plates of the offending cars and trailers.

I was curious as to whether this is a problem of MPD trying to give our visitors “professional courtesy” or a larger issue with the SeeClickFix site.  It appears that it may be a larger issue.  See e.g.,

• Contractor’s truck parked in bike lane
• Shuttle parked in bike lane

In each case the online ticket system reports the ticket having been issued to a different license plate than is visible in the picture.  Does MPD/parking enforcement just report any random recent ticket in order to close the SeeClickFix complaints?

If you run Ticket #8127714136 through the DC ticket database, it returns a result for a MD car with license plate #2AZ1236.  But the car and trailer that were noted in the online complaint have Texas and Mass. plates (see the third Q&A in the complaint).  Another complaint was made about the same car and trailer the next day (this time only noting that the truck has Texas plates).  The ticket number supposedly issued to the truck to close that complaint, #8127269975, returns a ticket issued to another MD car, this time with license plate #8BE3378.

For the second set of links that I provided, regarding the contractor and the shuttle bus, their license plates are visible in the pictures linked to the online complaint.  However, the ticket numbers issued, as reported in the comments, are for different license plate numbers.“

“Dear PoPville,

I recently bought a house and waited a few weeks to update my license address so that I could get the REAL ID. I went to the DMV and actually had a rather pleasant experience (no wait!). However, when I received my new license, I was a little disappointed. The expiration was 2 years and one month away. I noticed that this was the same expiration as my old license, so I emailed the DMV to let them know that someone forgot to update the expiration date before printing my new ID. The DMV responded that the expiration was not updated because this was a “duplicate transaction.”

This makes no sense to me. I can understand that the expiration would not be extended if someone lost an ID and needed a replacement that was actually identical to the old ID. However, in this situation, I had to go to the DMV, prove who I am, prove where I live, and I had a new picture taken. So not only is the information/picture on the ID not the same as my old ID, but the ID itself is completely different.

Now, I will admit that I only paid $20 (instead of the $44 renewal fee), but if I had been given the option, I would have gladly paid $44 now to avoid having to renew in two years. Am I crazy in thinking that this is ridiculous? It seems to me that the DMV should be charging the renewal fee to anyone who gets the REAL ID (or at least giving people the option to pay more) and giving them the standard 8 year expiration date. I am just curious what PoPville thinks…”

From a press release:

“Mayor Vincent C. Gray and the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) unveiled the redesigned DC.Gov home page and associated resource pages. The launch of the new home page is part of a migration of all DC.Gov websites to the District’s Drupal content-management system (CMS). The launch of the home page is a highlight of the migration effort, but also represents the next generation of enhancements to give residents, visitors and businesses a more user-friendly experience.

The new home page arranges content to be more user-friendly, improves navigation tools to provide easier access to content, redesigns the look and feel of the home page, and improves the user’s ability to search for content. It also remedies a number of usability problems with the old home page, and incorporates a responsive design – introducing a best practice in web design that stays current with explosive growth in the use of mobile devices to gain access to web content.

“The new DC.Gov home page aligns with one of the goals of my One City Action Plan – strengthening government accountability,” said Mayor Gray. “DC.Gov will better serve the residents, businesses and visitors of the nation’s capital by improving a user’s ability to find and obtain information about District government operations more quickly and more efficiently.”

“The District’s new DC.Gov home page offers users a whole new set of functionalities that will make it easier than ever before to access, organize and make sense of web-based information and services,” said Rob Mancini, the District’s Chief Technology Officer. “This site reflects Mayor Gray’s goal of greater government accountability and transparency and further enables the ongoing exchange of ideas and information with our residents, visitors, and business owners.”

Highlights of the new DC.Gov web portal include: (more…)

From DPW:

“The Department of Public Works announced today that it will conduct a citywide blitz to remove all old, unwanted Supercans, 32-gallon trash cans and 32-gallon recycling cans from public space. Since receiving their new Supercans or 32-gallon trash cans and new recycling cans, District residents have indicated they want the old cans removed. More than 60,000 cans have been collected but there are many thousands more that remain in alleys and along city streets awaiting removal.

“We have had requests to remove thousands of old, unwanted cans and when we go to these addresses, we find two, three and four times the number of cans for which we have requests, and that volume overwhelmed our resources to collect them in a timely manner,” said DPW Director William O. Howland, Jr. “So, now we are taking all old cans that remain in public space [alleys and curbs] to relieve residents of the cluttered alleys and curbs.” Director Howland added that residents who want to keep their old cans MUST take them from public space (alleys and curbs) and put the cans on their own property after their collection day, otherwise the cans left on public space will be removed and not returned.

DPW will follow this schedule to collect from Supercan (once-a-week trash collection) neighborhoods.

Removals will be made from alleys and curbs on:

Saturday, May 10: From Monday and Wednesday collection neighborhoods
Monday, May 12: From Thursday collection neighborhoods
Tuesday, May 13: From Friday collection neighborhoods
Wednesday, May 14: From Monday collection neighborhoods
Thursday, May 15: From Tuesday collection neighborhoods
Friday, May 16: From Wednesday collection neighborhoods

DPW will follow this collection schedule to collect from twice-a-week trash collection neighborhoods.

Removals will be made from alleys and curbs on:

Wednesday, May 14: From Monday/Thursday collection neighborhoods

Saturday, May 17: From Tuesday/Friday collection neighborhoods

DPW appreciates residents’ patience with the slower than anticipated pace of this operation. We are taking measures to speed up the removal process.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

From a press release:

“The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) announced today the adoption of new regulations aimed at curbing the sale and use of synthetic drugs, which are often manufactured to evade law enforcement. The new regulations would allow the District to take enforcement action against a business that sells synthetic drugs consisting of substances identified on a controlled substances list or new variations and derivatives of those substances.

“Synthetic drugs present a danger to communities, especially to children. Use of these substances has been linked to severely adverse health effects, including death,” said Mayor Vincent C. Gray. “The District has already taken steps toward eliminating synthetic drugs from the District, and these regulations are the next phase of that.”

Synthetic drugs are manufactured substances intended to mimic the effects of illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and ecstasy. Often, they are manufactured from substances that were not, at the time of manufacture, included on controlled substances lists. To stay ahead of law enforcement, manufacturers frequently change the composition of synthetic drugs, so that the products continue to be free of controlled substances at the time of manufacture. By the time a new substance can be added to controlled substances lists, manufacturers may have replaced it with something similar but new.

The District’s new regulations target the sale of substances that resemble synthetic drugs in appearance and effect. Government personnel could treat products that are exorbitantly expensive and contain unusual warnings as synthetic drugs. For example, regulators could deduce that one gram of glass cleaner selling for $50 and containing a warning “not for sale to minors” is a synthetic drug. If a business has any questions about a product that they are selling, the business can seek clarification from DCRA about whether the product qualifies as a synthetic drug.

Under the new regulations, DCRA can potentially fine and revoke the license of any business making a prohibited sale. In concert with enforcement efforts, DCRA will also conduct an education campaign, so that businesses and consumers are well informed about the new regulations. First offenders will generally be given a warning, but upon subsequent violations, consequences will escalate quickly.

“Our goal is compliance, not shutting down businesses; some businesses may not fully realize what they are selling. We try to educate and engage first,” said DCRA Director Nicholas A. Majett. “Make no mistake, though, the continued sale of these substances, whether or not on a controlled substances list, will not be tolerated.”