DC Government

“Monsanto Will Pay $52 Million To The District Over Toxic PCB Contamination”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Tim Brown

From The Office of the Attorney General:

“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced that Monsanto will pay $52 million to resolve a lawsuit over the company’s production, promotion, and sale of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that damaged the District’s natural resources and put the health of residents at risk. The settlement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) resolves a May 2020 lawsuit which alleged that Monsanto sold PCBs for nearly 50 years, despite knowing that these chemicals would pollute waterways, kill wildlife, and cause significant health problems in humans, including cancer and liver damage. There are at least 36 bodies of water in the District with high levels of PCB contamination, including the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. OAG’s lawsuit sought to force Monsanto–which manufactured over 99 percent of the PCBs ever used in the U.S.–to pay for clean-up of PCB contamination in the District. This settlement, secured just two months after the lawsuit was filed, is OAG’s largest recovery to date in an environmental action. (more…)

AG Racine announced settlements in “three lawsuits against neglectful landlords in Ward 8 and Ward 4.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Victoria Pickering

From the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia:

“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced that Castle Management and other defendants, which owned and managed the Forest Ridge and The Vista Apartment complexes (398 units) in Ward 8, will pay $3.5 million to settle a lawsuit over dangerous and deplorable conditions at its properties. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleged the property owner forced hundreds of tenants to live with vermin infestations, water damage and mold, no fire safety systems, and security defects that led to persistent gun violence. Separately, OAG resolved a lawsuit against the owner of Good Hope Laundromat requiring it to address persistent gun and drug nuisances at the property and pay penalties to the District. In a third settlement, the landlord and management of a Ward 4 apartment building accused of misrepresenting its apartments as safe and habitable despite ongoing housing code violations is required to substantially renovate the property, prove its properties are compliant with D.C. housing laws for future rentals, pay $50,000 in combined civil penalties, and implement an employee Housing Code training. (more…)

Three New “Car Free Lanes” Coming at the end of July

By Prince Of Petworth

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced plans to install Car Free Lanes in high-traffic corridors that will support improved efficiency in bus travel and create space for bicyclists.

“We know that dedicated bus lanes make public transportation more efficient and reliable. As we continue reimagining public spaces, these lanes will help us encourage bus and bicycle travel, reduce traffic, and build a greener DC,” said Mayor Bowser.

The DC Car Free Lanes, which will be designated by red paint, will be installed at the following locations beginning in late July: (more…)

“Confusion Regarding COVID Test Result Timeline”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by
DCbmyers

“Dear PoPville,

I am writing with some concern about the test result timeline for COVID testing conducted at public sites in DC. I received a test last Wednesday and was told both verbally and on a printed handout that results would be ready in 3-5 business days (today at the latest). I called the number to receive my results and was told that the timeline is now 5-7 business days. (more…)

“Mayor Muriel Bowser urged the Council to seriously consider several key issues that are broadly problematic for sound budgeting and the operations of our government in the response and recovery from the pandemic and the recession it caused.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Carla

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Ahead of the Council of the District of Columbia’s first vote on the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget, Mayor Muriel Bowser urged the Council to seriously consider several key issues that are broadly problematic for sound budgeting and the operations of our government in the response and recovery from the pandemic and the recession it caused.

Among the concerns outlined by the Mayor in a letter sent to Chairman Phil Mendelson and members of the Council is the reduction in funding for the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) Cadet Program, a very effective program that recruits and employs officers who are both from and familiar with DC neighborhoods and plays an important role in recruiting women and officers of color. Additionally, the Mayor highlights concerns with reducing the MPD budget by nearly $10 million, a reduction that would result in a level of sworn officers that has not been seen in DC since the 1990s, with seemingly no analysis on the impact this cut would have on the deployment of officers, officer response times to calls for service, and on community and neighborhood safety.

They Mayor’s full letter to the Council is below. (more…)

“the House of Representatives voted 232-180 to pass the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51), the first time a chamber of Congress has approved a bill to make the District the 51st state.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Morgan Barna

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser issued the following statement after the House of Representatives voted 232-180 to pass the Washington, D.C. Admission Act (H.R. 51), the first time a chamber of Congress has approved a bill to make the District the 51st state.

Today, with this historic vote, DC is closer than we have ever been to becoming the 51st state.

More than 160 years ago, Washingtonian Frederick Douglass told us: Power concedes nothing without a demand. As Washingtonians and as taxpaying American citizens, we are demanding what is owed to us – the rights guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution.

It is past time to fix this injustice. It is true that DC is more brown and more liberal than many other states. But the issue of taxation without representation was settled more than 200 years ago through the Declaration of Independence, and disenfranchising more than 700,000 taxpaying Americans is wrong no matter our politics or demographics. Who we elect is our business, and denying us statehood based on who we might send to Congress is both undemocratic and un-American. (more…)

“The United States is the only democratic country that denies both voting rights in the national legislature and local autonomy to the residents of the nation’s capital.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Jim Havard

From Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s office:

“Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today managed the historic debate on the House floor on her District of Columbia statehood bill (H.R. 51) . In her opening statement on the bill, Norton said, “As we approach July 4th, it is long past time to apply the nation’s oldest slogan, ‘no taxation without representation’ and the principle of consent of the government to D.C. residents.”

Norton’s opening statement, as prepared for delivery, follows.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
Floor Remarks on H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act
June 26, 2020

The United States is the only democratic country that denies both voting rights in the national legislature and local autonomy to the residents of the nation’s capital. As we approach July 4th, it is long past time to apply the nation’s oldest slogan, “no taxation without representation,” and the principle of consent of the governed to District of Columbia residents. H.R. 51 would do so, and Congress has both the moral obligation and constitutional authority to pass the bill.

H.R. 51 would admit the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth into the Union and reduce the size of the federal district. (more…)

“How can the city claim jurisdiction over so-called heritage trees, and mandate their preservation, but refuse to compel a dc citizen to address a tree that poses a threat to life and limb?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Alexis Diao

Alexis Diao tweets us a situation we’ve touched on from time to time:

“The limb from an enormous tree next door in Columbia heights straight up fell across our yard and the next door yard. Thankfully no one was hurt. So crazy. my neighbor was standing right under it 20 seconds earlier. There’s damage to my car, flattened the recycling bins like a pancake, broke the fence. I feel really lucky actually bc it could’ve been much much worse. This tree is beautiful and big, but clearly has been dying for some time. We’ve actually had an arborist come out 3 times over 3 years bc we have been concerned about it. They said this tree is an accident waiting to happen. But the owner’s done nothing since we sent our reports. (more…)

Councilmember Charles Allen: “I am recommending a reinvestment of millions of dollars from traditional policing into programs better suited to meet the community’s needs.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Dean

From Councilmember Charles Allen’s office:

“Yesterday, Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6), Chair of the DC Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, circulated recommended changes to the budgets of the 33 agencies, boards, and commissions under the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. The Committee will meet remotely to consider and vote on the budget recommendations today June 25, at 1 pm. The meeting will be broadcast live, available to the public and press here:  http://dc.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=87

The full budget report is attached to this email – pages 12-23 contain an introduction narrative that helps provide context for various budget decisions.

The budget recommendations come as the District faces a massive economic shortfall under necessary restrictions to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. At the same time, protests following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky have the District, and the nation, once again confronting the role of policing in racial injustice today and in our history. The following is a statement from Councilmember Charles Allen: (more…)

View More Stories