DC Government

Post-20-Week D.C. Abortion Ban Bill Defeated

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user thisisbossi

From the office of Eleanor Holmes Norton:

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today released the following statement on the defeat in the House of H.R. 3803, a bill sponsored by Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) that would have banned abortions in the District of Columbia after 20 weeks of pregnancy:

“Seldom does the District win a vote on the floor of the House this big. Republicans failed to achieve the two-thirds majority necessary on a bill that would have denied District of Columbia residents of their constitutional rights for the first time in American history. Women’s groups, among them Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America, helped us blow the whistle on a bill that used D.C. residents to target the reproductive rights of women across the nation. Every member of the House, except the one representing the only district affected by the bill, had a vote on the bill. During floor debate, Ranking Member John Conyers Jr. (D-MI) asked Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), the sponsor of the bill, why his bills was not introduced as a national bill, Franks never answered. Women understood the answer, however. The D.C. label fooled no one. And, in the end, I am grateful that an overwhelming majority of Democrats stuck with the District and refused to cross over to be a party to this abuse of congressional power. The bill has had the effect House Republicans most dreaded. It has reinvigorated the pro-choice movement in our country, raising the consciousness of American women again to understand that their right to reproductive choice is always on the line.”

Dear PoPville – Does Your Neighborhood Have Visitor Parking Passes?

By Prince Of Petworth

Dear PoPville,

Last evening I was astonished, and quite frankly, pissed off to find an envelope from DC-DOT containing a letter and visitor parking pass (VPP) for ANC-1C (Adams Morgan).

Having been a resident of Adams Morgan for coming on 10 years, this has got to be the worst action to effect our Ward 1 specifically those who resided in Adams Morgan. As if parking for us wasn’t already a problem!!!! Now we have to compete for parking spaces from everyone’s “visitors” for an unspecified amount of time?!?!?! I was excited by the potential to have a side of the street saved for residents but it looks like this potential future option (if ANC-1C votes approvingly), still allows for these VPP users to park there.

This system is going to be uncontrollable, unenforceable, and allow a fraudulent underground business to occur (selling passes, renting passes), etc.

I wanted to see what other PoPville readers have thought of these programs throughout the city? Has your community, Ward, or ANC suffered due to this? Does your community have a huge bar/social scene that draws an exorbitant number of “visitors”?

From DDOT:

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is continuing the annual Visitor Parking Pass (VPP) program in Wards 1, 3, 4, 5 and portions of 6. The goal of the VPP program is to make it easier for residents to host their guests. A Visitor Parking Pass is mailed to each residence in the proscribed Wards which eliminates the inconvenience of having to obtain a new temporary visitor parking permit each time a visitor is expected.

During the month of July DDOT will provide 2012/2013 visitor passes to residents in the following areas:

Ward 1: Residents in ANCs 1A, 1B and 1C and residents on RPP blocks in ANC 1D
Ward 3: Residents on RPP blocks
Ward 4: Residents on RPP blocks
Ward 5: Residents on RPP blocks
Ward 6: Residents on RPP blocks in the Ballpark Area bounded by
North: Pennsylvania Avenue SE
East: 11th Street SE
South: Potomac Avenue SW
West: 9th Street SW

If you live in any of these areas you will receive an annual visitor’s pass that will allow your guests to park on RPP blocks in your community; this includes sides of streets with Resident Only RPP protection. These passes are only valid during the hours of RPP enforcement and they do preclude a resident from Registration of Out of State Automobiles (ROSA) tickets if they live in the District of Columbia and do not register their vehicle with the District DMV within 30 days of moving to the city.

Goals

To provide District residents with parking passes for their guests.

Mayor Gray Announces One City Action Plan

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

From a press release:

Mayor Vincent C. Gray today unveiled the One City Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy that describes in specific steps how the Mayor’s One City vision will be achieved. Organized by goals, strategies and actions, the plan provides District residents and business leaders alike with a concrete roadmap to understand and measure progress and hold city officials accountable in the areas that matter most to stakeholders. Picking up on the theme of the mayor’s 2012 State of the District Address – “Seizing Our Future” – the plan emphasizes the need to harness the tremendous change the District is experiencing to remake and reinvent our city for the next generation.

The One City Action Plan is organized into three overarching goals:

Grow and Diversify the District’s Economy,
Educate and Prepare the Workforce for the New Economy, and
Improve the Quality of Life for All.

Within each goal are strategies and specific actions District officials are taking, as well as measurable key indicators for each goal. Each section allows District residents to easily identify actions being pursued by the administration and how they link to the Mayor’s One City vision and goals. Additionally, the plan provides an action checklist so that residents can track progress and hold city officials accountable.

The One City Action Plan was built using the Mayor’s priorities, day-to-day feedback from community members and data from the nearly 2,000 residents who participated in the One City Summit in February 2012.

Full plan in PDF below:

One_City_Action_Plan

Dealing with Flooding in Bloomingdale

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville resident SG

Thanks to all who sent links to the new page by DC Water:

“The flooding events of July 2012 are evidence of a change in the Bloomingdale neighborhood since DC Water last extensively surveyed the area in 2006. The permanent, long-term solution is the Clean Rivers Project, scheduled for 2025. In the meantime, our Bloomingdale Action Agenda is a list of specific steps DC Water, residents and businesses, and other parts of the government are taking and can take to reduce the effects of runoff and flooding.”

DC Water also wrote in an email:

“We have already begun implementing what I call our Bloomingdale Action Agenda,” commented DC Water General Manager George S. Hawkins. “This is a list of specific steps DC Water, residents and businesses, and other parts of the government are taking and can take to reduce the effects of runoff and flooding.”

In addition, DC Water and Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie are in communication about coordinating a multi-entity examination of this problem. District and federal agencies with jurisdiction over streets and alleys, stormwater management, plumbing codes, insurance and flood plains, and residents, all have a part in this discussion.

DC Water will also attend a special meeting of the Bloomingdale Civic Association on Saturday, August 4 at St. George’s Episcopal Church, 160 U Street, NW in the basement.

Another reader sends a note from Teri Janine Quinn, President, Bloomingdale Civic Association:

We met with DC Water during the Bloomingdale Civic Association held this past Monday. Many residents were underwhelmed by DC Water’s presentation. We agreed to host a second public meeting with DC Water on Saturday, August 4th (time and location to be determined). It is troubling to know that many residents just experienced flooding for the third time in less than two weeks. It has become painfully obvious that we cannot wait indefinitely for solution.

As an initial matter, we need to get a better understanding of how many residents have been impacted and the scope of the damage. These questions were asked of DC Water during our meeting but the representatives were unable to provide clear and concise responses and have not since followed up with additional data. Even if DC Water provides information regarding the impact and scope of the damage, unless we assess the problem on our own we will have no way of evaluating the accuracy of their data. As such, Please find below a link to a brief survey (10 questions) for residents who have experienced flooding. You do not need to complete the survey if you have not experienced flooding. In addition, we only need one survey completed per address. The information we collect will be useful in discussions with DC Water and elected officials. As such, if you have experienced flooding recently or in past years, please complete the survey as soon as possible but not later than Wednesday, July 25th. Here’s the link to the survey:

Bloomingdale/LeDroit Park Flooding Survey

“Norton Sees Possible Home-Rule Breakthrough in Height Act Hearing”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

From a press release:

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that she was pleased at today’s hearing on the Height Act when Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) invited her to join him in a colloquy about giving the District of Columbia greater authority to decide Height Act matters for itself. “Not unlike Chairman Issa’s announcement at the end of his hearing on the D.C. budget last year that he supported D.C. budget autonomy, the chairman’s comments today indicated another breakthrough with his willingness to consider greater authority for the city under the Height Act,” Norton said. “Such a change would simply acknowledge that in hometown D.C., local officials would be best able to make changes, if needed.”

Norton said that neither the witnesses from the city, or subcommittee members envision changes in the near term, with the possible exception of allowing human occupancy in areas on top of buildings now used exclusively for housing mechanical equipment, such as for elevators. This idea, she said, appears to offer the benefit of additional space for human occupancy with no change to the city’s vistas or views. In fact, D.C. Office of Planning Director Harriet Tregoning testified that those views and vistas could be enhanced with various kinds of uses in the space now used for mechanical penthouses, allowing more residents and visitors alike to enjoy unique views of the nation’s capital.

Chairman Issa said that a study on how the District would view changes to the Height Act would be appropriate. If there is concern with the federal interest, Norton said she believes the current zoning board, which has both local and federal representatives, would protect federal concerns and would be consistent with the transfer of greater home-rule Height Act authority to the District.

Dear PoPville – Are Afterhours Construction Permits Legit?

By Prince Of Petworth

Dear PoPville,

I just had to bang on my neighbor’s door at 12:30 because he was doing construction, hammering on the party wall, table saws, the whole bit.

I said “Come on, you can’t do construction after midnight” but he said he had an after hours permit. And that they were finished.

I’ll talk to him tomorrow when I’m less exhausted and less angry, but does an after hours permit really trump noise regulations and allow you to do make that much noise after midnight?

I couldn’t find anything on the dcra website.

Friday Question of the Day – Should Mayor Gray Resign?

By Prince Of Petworth


Mayor Gray with former Council Chairman Kwame Brown during happier times. Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

The Washington Post has reported:

“A secret $653,000 effort funded by one of the District government’s most prominent contractors corrupted the 2010 mayoral race and helped Vincent C. Gray get elected, the city’s top federal prosecutor said Tuesday.”

Many have already called for his resignation, most notably Council Members Mary Cheh, David Catania and Muriel Bowser. One of the few dissents I’ve seen was from an opinion piece in NBC Washington by political analyst Chuck Thies:

There are skilled investigators probing the campaign and related matters. They have already claimed three scalps. Others are sure to follow. No one knows if Gray will be one of them.

In the meantime, the city is doing fine. Gray has been a solid mayor.

So what do you think – should Gray resign immediately or let the investigation run its course?


Dear PoPville – Is the 311 App Actually Improving Efficiency?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user johnmcochran2012

Dear PoPville,

A few weeks ago I used the 311 iPhone app to schedule a bulk trash pickup. My wife and I just moved in together and I was getting rid of some of my old furniture. Using the app, I submitted my request and I received an email immediately with my scheduled pickup date – July 9th. Nearly two weeks went by and we finally moved the bulk items to the front curb (we don’t have an alley on our block). On Monday morning (our regular trash day, for what it’s worth) DPW came and took approximately half of the bulk items. Frustrated, I called 311. The rep claimed that DPW probably ran out of space in the truck and she rescheduled another pickup for the next morning. Today, DPW either didn’t come or they came but didn’t take the rest of the items. I called 311 again, and discovered that my address had been entered into the system incorrectly.

The problem, it seems, is that the 311 system and the 311 app are not in sync when it comes to recording addresses. For example, my request was submitted through the app with my actual address – it even has my exact address in the comment of the service request; but the 311 system recorded it as the address two doors down. Did DPW show up at the neighbor’s house, not see any trash out front, and decide not to take our trash because it didn’t match the address on file? I suppose it’s possible. In any case, with the 311 app out of sync with the 311 system, it’s hard to imagine that this is actually an improvement in efficiency.

Sorry to my neighbors who have had to deal with this eyesore for the past 2 days – I sure hope DPW comes through tomorrow (on attempt #3).

Anyone else have problems with the 311 app? Anyone have success with the 311 app?

What the Helen of Troy is Going on in the Omnibus Alcohol Beverage Regulation Amendment Act!?!?!?

By Prince Of Petworth


Page 2 of the Omnibus Alcohol Beverage Regulation Amendment Act Legislation 2012

So, this is odd. Please note the last sentence from page 2 of the Omnibus Alcohol Legislation 2012 in the image above. Yesterday someone sent me a link to CM Tommy Wells page to look into the Omnibus Alcohol Legislation 2012. It was posted June 26th and explains:

Earlier today, Councilmember Jim Graham introduced the “Omnibus Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Amendment Act of 2012.” The legislation has a wide variety of amendments to the city’s alcohol laws and policies. It includes items related to noise in the neighborhood, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions’ voluntary agreements, Sunday alcohol sales, and much, much more. We’d love to hear your thoughts and reactions to the legislation.

It also has the full PDF of the legislation. So a reader asked that I look into growler sales and whether or not stores like D’Vines will be able to sell them again. Anyway, right as I got to page two I noticed some very odd language:

“(2) Paragraph (34) is amended by replacing the word “buttocks” with the word “anus”.”

So, uh, what exactly are we legislating here… Staffers having fun?

Oh yeah, back to the original request, if anyone wants to comment on whether stores like D’Vines should be able to sell growlers again, you can do so here. The current language looks like only full-service grocery stores and brew pubs will be able to sell growlers.

You can see the full legislation below:

Omnibus Alcohol Legislation 2012 (PDF)

“DC Council is voting tomorrow to prevent Uber from lowering rates”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Nikoo’s Photos

Thanks to all who forwarded the notice from the Uber car service:

On Independence Day, Uber announced a roll out of a lower cost service that we call UberX. A less expensive Uber option on an all-hybrid fleet. We’re pretty excited about it and think it’s a great idea for cities across the country. What some of you probably noticed is that there was no roll out of this service in the District. That is because, only days earlier, the DC City Council informed us that they intended to pass an amendment to the taxi modernization bill that would make it illegal for Uber to lower its prices or to offer a low cost service in any form.

The Council’s intention is to prevent Uber from being a viable alternative to taxis by enacting a price floor to set Uber’s minimum fare at today’s rates and no less than 5 times a taxi’s minimum fare. Consequently they are handicapping a reliable, high quality transportation alternative so that Uber cannot offer a high quality service at the best possible price. It was hard for us to believe that an elected body would choose to keep prices of a transportation service artificially high – but the goal is essentially to protect a taxi industry that has significant experience in influencing local politicians. They want to make sure there is no viable alternative to a taxi in Washington DC, and so on Tuesday (tomorrow!), the DC City Council is going to formalize that principle into law.

For obvious reasons, Uber is seriously concerned about punitive government intervention in a well functioning marketplace. Because of this we felt it was our responsibility to let our riders know about the issues at hand.

Take Action
THE COUNCIL VOTES ON THE UBER AMENDMENT TOMORROW!
If each of us writes or calls our DC Council people, we could make an impact on this law. What are we asking for?

Strike down the MINIMUM FARE language from the Uber Amendment.

Here are the City Council members’ contact info. Call/write as many of them as possible!

Phil Mendelson (Chairman), (202) 724-8064, [email protected]
Mary Cheh, Ward 3, (Chairperson of Committee on the Environment, Public Works and Transportation), (202) 724-8062, [email protected], @marycheh
Michael Brown, at-large, (202) 724-8105, [email protected],
@cmmichaelabrown
Jim Graham, Ward 1, (202) 724-8181, [email protected], @jimgrahamward1
Jack Evans, Ward 2, (202) 724-8058, [email protected], @jackevansward2
Muriel Bowser, Ward 4, (202) 724-8052, [email protected], @murielbowser
Kenyan McDuffie, Ward 5, (202) 724-8028, [email protected], @kenyanmcduffie
Tommy Wells, Ward 6, (202) 724-8072, [email protected], @tommywells
Yvette Alexander, Ward 7, (202) 724-8068, [email protected], @cmyma
Marion Barry, Ward 8, (202) 724-8045, [email protected], @marionbarryjr
David Catania, at-large, (202) 724-7772, [email protected], @cataniapress
Vincent Orange, at-large, (202) 724-8174, [email protected], @vincentorangedc

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