Photo by PoPville flickr user djwpetworth
A lot of people have written in with questions about street sweeping parking rules. Thanks to a reader for snapping a shot of the new sign above in Petworth. I also spotted one in Columbia Heights.
You guys think this’ll clear up the confusion?
Photo by PoPville flickr user Brandon Kopp
Sorry to go on a bit of a rant but man this week is dead. So…I like many others have signed up for DC Alerts to deal with severe weather, crime, terrorism (God forbid) and I’ve been noticing that they are seriously abusing the use of “Breaking News”. For example just yesterday they sent one out saying:
“Breaking News from Alert DC: EAST COAST SNOWSTORM NARROWLY MISSES THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA – RESIDENTS ARE REMINDED TO BE PREPARED”
This is breaking news a full day after the storm missed us? And the storm missing us isn’t exactly breaking news. “Breaking news: Everything is perfectly normal!” I also got a “Breaking News” alert saying a preparedness flier (or something like that) was going to be printed in Spanish. I think that’s great, but hardly breaking news.
Alright, sorry for the rant, it’s just been driving me crazy. Plus I’ve been drinking…
Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC
From DPW:
“The Department of Public Works reminds residents:
1. We will follow the normal trash/recycling collections schedule on Friday, December 31. If Friday is your collection day, please have your materials out by 6 am Friday and return your containers to your property by 8 pm Friday.
2. DPW will collect holiday trees (please remove ornaments, lights, tinsel, etc.) between Monday, January 3, and Saturday, January 15. Place your trees in the treebox space in front of your home, or adjacent to the curb (but not in the street). Please put your tree out for collection between Sunday, January 2, and Sunday, January 9. After January 15, you may put your tree where you put your trash and recycling and we will collect it from there, depending on the truck’s capacity.
3. DPW will suspend enforcement of parking meters, residential parking and rush hour lane restrictions on Friday and Saturday, December 31 and January 1. Also, DPW will not tow abandoned vehicles.
4. Saturday, January 8, is the next Household Hazardous Waste/E-cycling/Document Shredding day. Please bring these materials to the Ft. Totten Transfer Station, 4900 John F. McCormack Road, NE, between 8 am and 3 pm. The February drop-off day is February 5.”
From the Washington Post:
Assistant Chief Diane Groomes “has been restored to duty and returned to her position as the official in charge of the Patrol Services and Security Bureau,” Lanier said in an e-mail.
Lanier had placed Groomes, 44, on administrative leave last month, issuing a statement to the media that said Groomes was allegedly involved in “compromising” a test administered to her fellow command staff.
Lanier said her decision came after an internal investigation concluded that Groomes did not “compromise” the test. Rather, the internal probe found that the exam was an open-book test. “No official obtained or shared the answer key,” Lanier said.
Personally, I’m very happy to hear Chief Groomes is back on the job.
I guess we never really talked about it – are you glad to hear that Chief Lanier (and Groomes) will be staying on in the new Gray Administration?
Photo by PoPville contributor Danny Harris
From an email:
VINCE GRAY MAYOR-ELECT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
MAYORAL INAUGURATION 2011SUNDAY, JANUARY 2, 2011
WALTER E. WASHINGTON CONVENTION CENTERAll events are FREE to the public and will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW
8:00 a.m.
(Doors open at 7:00 a.m.)One City … Praying Together
Ecumenical Prayer Service
Room 201
Tickets are not required
10:00 a.m.
(Doors open at 9:00 a.m.)One City … Moving Forward Together
Inauguration of the Mayor of the District of Columbia
Swearing-In Ceremony of the Councilmembers of the District of Columbia
Ballroom A/B
Tickets are not required
1:00 p.m.
(Doors open at 12 noon)Swearing-In Ceremony –Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners, State Board of Education Members, and Shadow United States Representatives
Ballroom C
(Doors open at 12 Noon)
Tickets are not required
7:00 p.m.
(Doors open at 5:00 p.m.)One City… Celebrating Together
The Inaugural Gala
Exhibit Halls A/B/C – (lower level)
Featuring Chuck Brown, Raheem DeVaugh, Style Band, The Yvonne Johnson TrioFREE – Tickets Required – 7,500 tickets available to the public
Two (2) tickets per person (Must show ID)
Tickets Available: December 22, 28, 29, 30, 2010 – 10am – 2pm
Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center – Room 145
“Dear PoP,
I’ve been getting a slew of ‘Alert DC’ notifications about water main breaks the past few weeks. While the weather has been getting cold, even dropping below freezing now, surely it’s not cold enough for these breaks to be caused by freezing water bursting the pipes. I’d be curious if any PoP readers know why we’re seeing all of these water main breaks.”
When I posted about a recent one in Mt. Pleasant a representative of DC Water gave an explanation:
“PoP Readers,
Across the country, a water main breaks every two minutes on average. Here in the District of Columbia, we average slightly more than one a day, but far more in the early winter months. The median age of a water main in the District is 75 years, with a good number installed during the Civil War era. As you probably know from the extensive media coverage this week, the combination of old pipes and quickly changing air temperature makes water main breaks more likely.
In the budget and rate structure approved by our Board to begin this past October, DC Water is set to replace 1 percent – or approximately 11 miles – of the District’s cast-iron water mains each year. This is not as fast as we would like, but it is triple the previous replacement rate and twice the national average. It will also mean many, many more torn-up streets than before.
Continues after the jump. (more…)
“Dear PoP,
I thought you may want to notify your readers that ANC 1C is holding a forum on Thursday night to discuss the proposed Adams Morgan hotel. The only place I have seen it posted is on the Adams Morgan Yahoo listserv. I know the topic generated a good bit of discussion on your site the other day and I thought some of your readers might be interested in attending.
A reminder that you are invited to the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C Forum on the proposed hotel development on the lots encompassing the First Church of Christ, Scientist and the building housing the Washington City Paper and WPFW Radio Station:
When and Where:
Thursday, December 16
7:00 PM
Mary’s Center for Maternal Care
2355 Ontario Road, NW
(The pink building)”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC
“Dear PoP,
I just got back from Merzi, the new “fast casual” Indian joint on 7th Street, near the Verizon Center. The food was good. The concept appears to have been ripped off from Chipotle, and I think it will do well.
Anyway, I had take out and noticed I got assessed $0.05 for the bag tax. Now, I am not by any means sweating the 5 cent tax at all, but the strange thing is the bag that the food came in was paper. I thought the tax was only for plastic bags. Is the operator into some “Office Space” decimal rounding type scam?
I am sure that the assessment of the tax is pretty inconsistent across the city. I support the tax, since it will/has cut down on plastic bag consumption. Do you know of any recent data that shows how much waste the tax has prevented and how much money the tax has raised?”
First I know some people are gonna get upset by the use of the word tax. So tax or other people like to call it a fee, but bottom line is yes, it applies to paper bags as well.
There are reports that $150,000 was raised in January and the number of plastic bags used plummeted. Anyone know how much total money has been raised so far?
Have you guys noticed that your habits of changed? Do you mostly use reusable bags now?
“Dear PoP,
Are the DC police required to attach a ticket to your car if they tow you? This would seem to be common sense practice.
I rented a Zipcar several months ago and parked in a rush spot (signs made it look legal). They ticketed me $100, and then towed me. I found the towed car, somehow returned it on time and successfully fought the $100 parkign ticket. Now Zipcar/DC is alleging that I owe $100 for the tow. This is news to me. Had I received a tow ticket, I would have argued that as well. Now several months have passed and the ticket is $200.
Similar thing happened to my boyfriend. He parked on Georgia Ave thinking that street cleaning was finished for the year (per your blog), but street cleaning continues on major arteries/evacuation routes. DC police towed his car but left no ticket. By the time he was aware of it, it had doubled.”
Hmm the street cleaning info came straight from DPW. Of course that was residential street cleaning…
Anyone ever deal with a towing/ticket situation like this before?
Thanks to all who sent in word about this development first reported by the Washington Business Journal:
“The District’s lofty long-term vision for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center when the campus closes next year features residential, retail, office, education and medical uses spread out across 62.5 acres.
U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., has one more use he’d like to add: juvenile detention.
Cardin wants the District to move the New Beginnings Youth Development Center, currently located in Laurel, to the Walter Reed campus.”
Council Member Muriel Bowser opposes the idea. From a press release:
“Ward 4 Councilmember Bowser has joined with Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton to fight a proposal to relocate the District’s Maryland-based juvenile detention center to the Walter Reed hospital campus. The District is poised to redevelop a portion of the campus for educational and commercial uses.
“Delegate Holmes Norton and I are committed to protecting Ward 4 and the community’s plans for the redevelopment of Walter Reed,” said Bowser. “Relocating New Beginnings to the campus is simply inappropriate for a residential area, would scuttle the long-contemplated redevelopment plan, and would undermine the desires of the community.”
The proposed legislation, sponsored by Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md, would prohibit the Secretary of the Army from approving a redevelopment plan for Walter Reed that does not provide for the transfer of the recently opened $40 million New Beginnings Youth Development Center, located in Laurel, Maryland.”