DC Government

Pay for Parking all over DC by Mobile Phone Soon

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

From a DDOT press release:

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and Parkmobile today announced a program that will allow residents, workers and visitors to use their mobile phones to pay for parking at all of the approximately 17,000 on-street metered spaces throughout the District of Columbia.

Parkmobile already provides pay by phone service in the Foggy Bottom, Georgetown Hospital, and Ballpark areas and will start adding locations around the District starting in June. Drivers can sign up at www.parkmobile.com, where they can also download a mobile app. Once registered, customers can use the mobile app, the internet, or a phone call to pay for parking. The parking transactions appear in real time on the handheld devices used by Parking Enforcement Officers.

The mobile apps for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry are easy to use. iPhone users will also be able to take advantage of the GPS functionality, saving up to 5 favorite zones and license plates. You can quick park in the same zone and parking space that was used the last time you parked. These additional features are coming soon for Android and Blackberry. Please visit www.parkmobile.com for information on the features of each app.

Motorists who signed up with other pay by phone parking services during the pilot period in the following areas Dupont Circle, Union Station, downtown on K Street, I Street, and New York Avenue, NW locations, will want to create a new account with Parkmobile which has been selected to provide pay by phone service citywide.

Friday Question of the Day – Are “online gambling ‘hot spots’ in hotels, bars, clubs and other venues across the city” a Good Idea? (reader request)

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user yostinator

The Washington Post reports:

D.C. officials said they are planning to set up 20 to 30 online gambling “hot spots” in hotels, bars, clubs and other venues across the city by around Sept. 1, marking a major step in a bid to turn the nation’s capital into a haven for Texas hold ’em and other potentially lucrative Internet-based games.

We talked about online gambling in general back in Dec. ’10 but this sounds like a pretty different beast to me (even it is only an interim step). So the Friday Question of the Day is another simple one – do you think setting up these “hot spots” in hotels, bars and other spots around town is a good idea?

Should DC just host straight up casinos (if Congress would let us)?

Hearing on Proposed Liquor and Bar Changes in Hours Apr. 20

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user hellomarkers!

From Ward 1 Council Member Jim Graham:

I am holding a public hearing on proposed changes to alcohol sales and taxes. The hearing will be on Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. in Room 120 of the John A. Wilson Building.

We will take testimony on these matters:

Proposed by the Mayor – –

§ Allow beer, wine, and liquor stores to remain open until midnight (currently 10 p.m.)
§ Increase the sales tax on off premises alcohol sales from 9% to 10%

Proposed by the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration – –

§ Allow bars to sell alcohol beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Sundays (currently 10 a.m.)
§ Allow liquor stores to sell alcohol on Sundays.

These revenue enhancements will raise approximately $6.3 million for the city’s general fund in fiscal year 2012. The latter two proposals funding will go to support the police cost reimburseable program on weekends at the bars. The other proposals will be used as General Fund revenues.

Those wishing to testify should contact Mr. Benton Heimsath at [email protected] or at (202) 724-8191 by Tuesday, April 19, 2011.

Do you support or oppose the changes?

Mayor Gray and Council Members Arrested to Protest Budget

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user thisisbossi, Andrew Bossi

Bossi writes:

In response to the Congressional budget debacle which proved that DC is but a colony — prone to being singled out unlike any other city in the country — a number of activists, elected officials, and general citizens came out in force upon the grounds of Capitol Hill.

The crowd first formed on the sidewalk, but after some opening remarks by elected officials and activists: they quickly spilled into the street. The Capitol Police had been on hand & I’d thought it amusing that a couple were taking photos & videos… it wasn’t until I saw the wristbands come out when I realised these weren’t officers enjoying the moment; they were recording evidence.

With many minutes of warning, large portions of the group shifted over the sidewalk; whilst a core of dedicated supporters — including our Mayor, a number of councilmembers, and members of DC Vote — remained behind to block the roadway. The officers began to surround the group & repeated their warnings to get back on the sidewalk or face arrest.

Now in all fairness to the Capitol Police: they were doing their job. They were quite courteous about it & the protest was similarly jubilant right back. One woman was first to be bound, soon followed by several other activists. Then came Muriel Bowser: first councilmember to be arrested.

In general, I tend to dislike political grandstanding… but this was different. If our council was being arrested by our own police, I’d think it a cheesy photo op… but now our locally-elected officials were being arrested by the very forces we were out to protest: the Feds. This wasn’t a mere photo op arrest; this was actually a legitimate arrest… the kind of thing that goes on your record; the kind of thing you spent a night in jail for.

Now granted, I don’t expect anyone will be in jail longer than tomorrow; I’d be surprised if any were still locked up by midnight tonight. But it was Councilmember Bowser’s arrest which really hit a moment… you could see the look on her face was of some worried concern: someone who had never been arrested before & didn’t show up here today expecting to be arrested. As she was placed into the police van: her look of concern changed to a bit more worry. I mean this as no knock against Councilmember Bowser’s committment; rather I felt it really help to humanise the entire event. It made me respect her all the more.

Yvette Alexander stood right beside us for quite some time, complicated in that she didn’t have her ID on her. While it was entertaining to see our top officials being frisked, it was also quite entertaining that our easily-recognisable councilmember needed her ID… prompting a standerby to call one of her staffers with the best introduction I’ve ever heard over a phone: “Hi, your councilmember has been arrested.” Also, kudos to Councilmember Alexander for going to jail in high heels!

There is a lot I can complain about with the council in general; and certainly with individual councilmembers & even the mayor. Heck, that’s what politicians are for: you’re not supposed to always like them. But this was an opportunity to set aside some of those issues (frankly, I’d say DC was glad to have a unifying moment after the past couple weeks) and cheer on our own brothers & sisters as they stood up in support of our rights.

It was certainly a proud moment to be a DC resident and a fine boost to our collective esteem after several weeks of turmoil within our local & federal levels of government. It’s aggravating that my support for small & local government is inhibited by those in Congress whom advocate small & local government. If I wanted to live in a colony, I’d have moved to Williamsburg.

What do you think the Mayor and Council Members should do next?

Shutdown Avoided with DC Riders Attached to Budget

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Brandon Kopp

The Post reports:

The spending deal agreed to Friday night to avert a government shutdown includes a provision banning the District from spending its own funds to provide abortions to low-income women as well as funding to continue a controversial school voucher program.

Leading Democrats said repeatedly in the hours leading up to the deal that they would not accept a larger prohibition on federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and they appear to have been successful in that goal. But District activists have feared for weeks that Democrats might concede on the D.C. ban in order to pave the way for excluding the Planned Parenthood ban.

@mayorvincegray tweets:

“Anti-DC-autonomy riders on budget bill on abortion rights, vouchers shameful violation of our right to govern ourselves.”

Dear PoP – Utility Pole Leaning

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user fromcaliw/love

“Dear PoP,

My house abuts and alley and I have a utility pole on my property line that is leaning. It sways on windy days and isn’t really in danger of falling…yet, but its slowly breaking my fence and its again impacted by me neighbors large tree that also sways in the wind so both cause my cable to go out in high winds. I have contacted the 311, the utility commission, comcast, and verizon to no avail in the past 3 months. Any suggestions from readers on what to do? Right now its leaning at around 25 degrees onto my fence.

BTW does anyone else hate comcast and their phantom charges? My bill went up from 58 dollars to 180 dollars and I now get random charges for telephone taxes of 10 dollars ( I don’t have a telephone and the service isn’t listed on my bill )”

Would this be a Pepco situation? I would def. contact your council member for advice as well. Anyone ever dealt with utility pole problems before?

Dear PoP – More Graffiti Problems

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

Just a heads up on the Graffiti Removal Program under Fenty. When someone tagged buildings in the past, you just needed to call 311 and Fenty would have it removed within a day. This was great because when graffiti is not removed immediately, a “tag war” often occurs where a competing vandal then tags the building, and so on. As always, the Fenty administration was extremely responsive whenever we called. We have called three times in the last 2 weeks about the graffiti in our alley (and yes, a tag war has erupted by now) and were finally told today that “The Mayor’s Office no longer removes graffiti.” I’ll leave the editorializing about Gray to the commenters….”

In early Feb. I asked if DC’s graffiti problem had reached epidemic proportions? Unfortunately, I don’t think the question can be debated anymore. Unfortunately I hear some of these jackasses who are doing the tagging don’t even live in DC. Anyway, have others noted a more difficult process to have graffiti removed?

Dear PoP – Blight in Brightwood Remains, Revisiting 809 Kennedy St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

809 Kennedy St, NW was on PoP here, a year ago.

While the disgusting flow of water did get resolved, the property is still a shoddily-fenced disaster — huge pits full of stagnant water, a wasteland of mud and debris. And it’s been like that forever. Again, it’s slightly better than it was in that PoP post from a year ago (chain-link fence surrounds it, and the piles of debris got a bit smaller, it’s not quite as smelly), but it’s worse than an eyesore, it’s dangerous and depressing.

Is there anything residents can do about properties like that? Or is it, since it’s private property, OK by the city as long as their taxes are paid?”

We need to get DCRA and Ward 4 Council Member Bowser’s office to follow up on this property. Since there doesn’t seem to be an actual property on the property – does anyone know how this affects how it gets taxed? Do you guys have any other suggestions on how to remove this blight beyond contacting DCRA and CM Bowser’s office?

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