DC Government

Oliver Tunda: The mayor of Mt. Pleasant by Tony Lizza

By Prince Of Petworth

Ed. Note: A few weeks ago a reader suggested that some Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) reps be featured since many readers are unfamiliar with them/their mission. PoP contributor Tony Lizza has taken on the mission and this will be the first in a small series. If you know of a particularly interesting ANC member please email me.

When I first set out to interview an Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) member, I’ll admit to having some preconceived notions. I mean, what kind of person takes an unpaid position that involves frequent meetings about potholes and mundane parliamentary procedures? The role seems perfect for that kid in elementary school who used to ask the teacher for homework. More specifically, I imagined a bunch of over-involved NIMBYers who fear that any new local bar is going to turn their sleepy little hamlet into the next Adams Morgan. Oliver Tunda (ANC 1-D) did a thoroughgoing job of fixing my misconceptions about what an ANC member should be. I recently got the chance to sit down with him to talk about Africa, voluntary agreements, and some of his proudest moments as an ANC member.

Seated at the venerable Sangria Cafe with beer in hand, Oliver Tunda recounts the circumstances that brought him to the US: a civil war in his native Sudan that took him on a grueling over-land journey to Liberia and another civil war in Liberia that took him to Cote d’Ivoire for three years. Oliver has a remarkably sunny disposition for a man who’s fled two countries. He received refugee status and arrived in the United States on September 21, 1995. He repeats the date for emphasis. September 21, 1995. When he first arrived in DC, he moved to Mt. Pleasant, where he lived in the Deauville, now better known as the Burned-Out Shell on Mt. Pleasant St. He finished school at George Washington University and got a job at the State Department processing refugees.

In 2008, his local ANC seat became vacant, so he decided to run for the position. “I had been active with the Sudanese community,” he says, and he wanted to expand his involvement to help more of the community. He met with ANC members and local businesses and ran for ANC in the 2008 election. He ran unopposed and boasts about having won with 97% of the vote. “You can go online and check,” he says with a laugh. Dictatorial margins of victory aside, the electioneering feat he’s most proud of is appearing on a ballot with Barack Obama. “I have the ballot framed in my apartment,” he adds.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Uh Oh, are BIDs Trying to Kill Food Trucks in DC?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

It seems like every couple of days we’re hearing about a new food truck coming to DC. Could their days be numbered? Curbside Cupcakes mentions that some BIDs (Business Improvement Districts) are looking to put a stop to their success. They don’t mention which specific BIDs are behind the campaign.

A readers sends in a link to a plea from Curbside Cupcake’s Facebook page:

Dear Nation,

We need your help! Some local merchants and B.I.D’s are lobbying the City Council to limit or kill mobile food trucks in Washington, DC. They want change the law to stop us from being able to operate in DC. No more cupcake bliss right to your curb!!

In this fight, food trucks like Curbside Cupcakes, Fojol, DC Slices, Sauca, are the little guy and we need your help. Strong lobbying interests are working against us. We need to show City Council that DC wants a diverse base of vending options. Mobile trucks like Curbside Cupcakes and others are reaching out to you our friends, followers and families to help us so we can keep bringing you your cupcakes. Otherwise we could get shut down and shut out by larger interests, that have more money, power and influence than we do.

Will you please join our email campaign? DCRA is helping us by collecting comments on the new legislation. We need to collect as many emails in support of us as possible.

[email protected]

Heres a draft of what it could say:

Subject: I Support Title 24 Chapter 5

Dear City Council,

I am a customer of Curbside Cupcakes and I am writing to support the current proposed DCRA regulation Title 24 Chapter 5 that will allow mobile vendors to stay in DC and continue offering more choices and value. Please do not allow the introduction of any discriminatory language into these regulations. Please pass the regulations as written and protect the diverse vending options in the city.

Thank you,

Since food trucks have reached such a large following, it is not terribly surprising to hear some traditional lunch providers may be a bit upset. Think there is any possibility of successful legislation being passed to limit or kill food trucks in DC?

Dear PoP – What Can Be Done About Overhanging Branches

By Prince Of Petworth


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“Dear PoP,

Do you know if there is anything that can be done regarding overhanging branches from a private yard? I’m thinking specifically of the large overgrown tree on the corner of 11th and Columbia Rd, NW which interferes with the bus stop, as well as pedestrian traffic, especially in bad weather. Since it’s private property, is there anything the city, or neighbors can do?”

This is an interesting question. I believe if the branches overhang a neighbors property the neighbor is allowed to trim back the branches from their property line. But this is different because it seems the branches are overhanging public property. I wonder if WMATA would be in charge of trimming it back if it interferes with the bus stop? Could the city trim it back or have the owner trim it back?

Any suggestions?

Dear PoP – Today is the last day to change party affiliation

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user schmiddi

“Dear PoP,

I’m not sure if you’ve posted anything (or want to), but today is the is the last day to change party affiliation for those that want to Vote in the Fenty vs Gray Democratic primary on Sept 14. People like myself who are registered Independent (or Republican) and would like to vote in the Democratic primary need to change this by COB today.”

You can download a new voter registration application at www.dcboee.org here.

Dear PoP – Parking Woes (Continued)

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Jess J

“Dear PoP,

My DC parking woes continue. (I was screwed by the City’s self-correcting parking meters.) The latest involves vehicle registration/zone stickers. See below for the story; I would be curious if this has happened to any of your other readers?

I recently moved. My new place is in a different “parking zone”, as defined by DC. As a result, I had to get a new Residential Parking Permit (“RPP”) from the DMV so that I could park on the street in front of my new place. (The RPP is the sticker all DC-registered cars have in the lower left hand corner of their windshields.) DC will only give you a new RPP if you bring in the old RPP.

This morning [Thurs.] I drove over to the DMV, parked directly in front of the DMV Service Center, removed the RPP from my windshield, and after thankfully only an hour wait, I exchanged my old RPP (and seven bucks) for a new one. I returned to my car to find a $100 parking ticket for failure to display the RPP, which apparently also serves as the vehicle’s registration tag. How unjust is that? The City requires you to turn in your old RPP to get a new one, but then tickets you for failure to display the RPP!”

Insane.

Friday Question of the Day: Who you gonna vote for and why? (Reader Request)

By Prince Of Petworth


Thanks to a reader for sending in the great shot of a ‘house divided’ above

“Dear PoP,

So in recent weekend outings of mine, I can’t help but see the incredibly enthusiastic Vincent Gray campaign volunteers/staff. So, I begin my research into who I’m going to vote for, which turns out is a little difficult. I can find summaries of debates and interactions, but I want a side-by-side unbiased comparison of where they stand on various issues. I know Gray is running on an education platform, but what else is he planning to do to improve the city–and how is it better than what Fenty’s already doing?

I’m sure opening this up as a question of the day on PoP could yield some strange/inappropriate responses, but myself and I’m sure some other people out there wouldn’t mind digging through those comments to find something of value. Just something to think about before November 2.”

Actually the primary is September 14 so you only have a month to decide! So another reader asked that I put up a more updated Mayoral Poll:


For those who’ve been following the campaign – who are you going to vote for and why?

Dogs By Day/Green Pets Moving from 1724 14th St, NW Needs Your Help to Re-Open

By Prince Of Petworth

Thanks to a reader for sending the news and an email from the owners of Dogs by Day/Green Pets. The reader mentions that they believe the proposed new site is at 1711 Florida Ave, NW. The owner of Dogs by Day is requesting your help to obtain a C of O:

Hello Friends and Neighbors,

As many of you already know, Dogs by Day and GreenPets are moving out of our current location to a new building a few blocks away. We are being forced to move for a number of reasons; mainly the building is no longer safe and the landlord refuses to do any repairs. In addition, the landlord thinks a large restaurant would pay more rent than we have offered, so unfortunately, we must leave. The good news is we found a wonderful new building with a terrific landlord only a couple blocks away. We have also found a second location a couple of blocks south as well. We’re hoping that with these 2 locations we’ll be able to serve you even better than we can now.

That being said, we need your help to move forward. As is true with all dog care facilities, we must apply for a special Certificate of Occupancy no matter how long we’ve been in business. We are fortunate to have a meeting scheduled for this Friday the 13th to discuss this issue. We are urging all of you who are willing to write a letter of support and or sign the petitions we have at the front desks of both Dogs by Day and GreenPets.

We have been in business for over 11 years and we’d very much like to continue for another 11 years. Please help us and fax your letter to the number listed below. Any words of support would be most appreciated.

Board of Zoning Adjustment
441 4th Street, N.W.
Suite 210S
Washington, DC 20001 *
Fax # (202) 727-6072***

I apologize for the urgency however, we need letter of support submitted by noon, Friday, August 13th. Please fax once you completed your letter.

Thank you so very much for your prompt attention to this matter.

Gratefully,
Linda Welch
Owner
Dogs by Day, GreenPets
1724 14th St NW

Dear PoP – How Do Tax Assessments Work?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Faucetini

“Dear PoP,

I thought I’d float this by you to see if any of your readers had thoughts on this: I was reviewing my tax assessment for 2011 and comparing it to that of my neighbors across the street who have the exact same floor plan as me. I have 500 more square feet of land than they do, but they operate the 1st and 2nd floor of their house as a boarding house and the basement as a day care center so I would expect taxes to be adjusted for each situation.

Normally, I have always paid about $20.00 per square foot more then them, but according to my 2011 assessment I will pay a whopping $57.00 per square foot more then them. My tax bill went from $515,720.00 to $448,220.00, and theirs went from $400,610.00 to $242,679.00 though neither house has had any improvements or changes.

Does anyone understand how tax assessments are determined in this city? Are there lawyers that can help me get a more fair assessment?”

I think that there is a cap on how much property tax can be raised. So if your neighbor has lived in their home for 30 years and you’ve lived in yours for 3 then the neighbors assessment will be a lot lower. If your neighbor bought her house for $30,000 in 1974 and the tax can only go up no more than 10% a year or something like that then hers will be lower. Does that make sense? This case sounds a bit more confusing so I’m not sure my explanation applies. Anyone else have any guesses/explanations?

Is it possible to discuss DC’s Problems without bringing up race?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user BrennaLM

Over the weekend there was a lengthy discussion/debate about the huge fight that took place on metro Friday night. I knew some folks would bring up the issue of race but I was surprised to see almost the entire debate devolve into the issue of race. I think when the debate is framed in this manner it does a great disservice to DC. Rather a great disservice to understanding, identifying and fixing DC’s problems. You see, in my opinion, whenever these conversations devolve into a discussion simply of race, it misses the point. The point being: How do we fix these problems? In 2010 to blame all the serious problems the city faces solely on the race of some of its residents is absolutely ridiculous and absurd.

On Saturday, Washington Post columnist Colbert King summed it up nicely in his column about the Mayoral election:

“This is not something to cheer but to regret. Not out of sympathy for Fenty. But out of concern for a city so trapped in its past that it can’t see the problems before its face — problems that are neither black nor white.”

So when do you think DC and its residents will mature to a point that we can discuss the major problems we face for what they are – major problems? Major problems that, sadly, plague many towns and cities regardless of the race/ethnicity of their inhabitants?

Fenty Administration Releases Proposed Medical Marijuana Regulations

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

From a press release:

“Mayor Adrian M. Fenty today introduced proposed regulations for the implementation of the Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Amendment Act of 2010. The Act gives the Mayor the power to regulate the cultivation, possession, distribution and use of medical marijuana.

The DC Council unanimously passed the bill on April 20, 2010 and it was signed by Mayor Fenty on May 10, 2010. After the allotted 30 days granted to Congress to review the bill, it became effective on July 27, 2010. The new regulations will now undergo a 45-day public comment and Council approval period.

“All District residents deserve access to the full slate of medical treatments available,” said Mayor Fenty. “My Administration will work to ensure that medical marijuana is dispensed safely and efficiently.”

The bill allows physicians licensed by the District to recommend medical marijuana to residents with qualifying medical conditions or who are undergoing qualifying medical treatment. A physician may recommend medical marijuana for the following medical conditions: HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, conditions characterized by severe and persistent muscle spasms, cancer or any condition that cannot be effectively treated by ordinary measures. Physicians may also recommend medical marijuana to mitigate the side effects of some medical treatments.”

A reader also wrote in saying that they heard a radio report saying the city may dispense medical marijuana for free to the needy who get a prescription and this would be the only place in the country where that happens. Anyone else hear that radio report?

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