Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

From an email:

On February 11, 2012, hundreds of DC residents will gather at the Convention Center to provide Mayor Gray and other public officials with feedback on what can be done to help unify our city and make sure that our government works as effectively as possible to meet the needs of all the residents.

Topics to be discussed will include jobs, housing, public safety, and education. The Summit will be a highly interactive meeting where citizens do most of the talking and the elected officials will listen. Everyone who attends will participate in table discussions, recording their ideas on networked computers and voting on priorities through the use of keypad polling. Those who have lived in DC a while might recall similar citizen summits held by Mayor Williams.
It is essential that the views of all parts of the city be represented at the One City Summit so please spread the word and sign up today at www.onecitysummit.dc.gov or call 202 709-5132 for more information. Get involved and have your voice be heard!

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

From DDOT:

The full DC Snow Team is deploying today, applying salt to major roadways and residential streets, as needed. The District also will move rush-hour traffic signal timing up to begin at 1 pm to facilitate the movement of traffic as employees leave work earlier to reach their destination before conditions can hamper travel.

The weather forecast is for rain and snow, becoming all snow after 4pm and a high temperature near 41F. Less than half an inch of snow is predicted to fall during the day, but snow is likely to continue falling until 9 pm tonight and perhaps another half inch of snow is possible.

The District Snow Team had more than 180 plows on their routes at 11 am today. These crews will work through the night, into tomorrow morning’s rush hour.

Motorists are reminded to drive carefully on wet roadways and give the snow plows ample room to work. Other safety tips for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists can be found at www.snow.dc.gov.

From an email:

“If you want to get your taxes done for free and made $50,000 or less in 2011 see the attached PDF.”

VITA_Free Tax

Photo by PoPville flickr user Brandon Kopp

Dear PoPville,

I returned home last night to a notice on my door announcing a “DCRA Proactive Inspection” has been scheduled for next week.

It goes on to say, “DCRA Inspectors can only enter units for which building owners or managers have secured a tenant-signed consent form (attached)”

Has anyone had any experience with this? I generally think the less number of strangers walking through my house when I am not there the better but wanted to see if I was missing something. I have no complaints or concerns about my apartment.

Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

From a DCFTA press release:

The Washington, DC Food Trucks Association (DCFTA) today announced its support for Mayor Vincent Gray’s proposed new vending regulations and asked the District to quickly pass the new rules.

“Overall, the proposed regulations are a significant improvement to the current rules,” said Che Ruddell-Tabisola, Executive Director of the Washington, DC Food Trucks Association. “We are asking our followers and fans to express their support for the proposed rules to the District before February 18, when the public comment period concludes.”

However, Ruddell-Tabisola said, the proposed rules also contain regulations that need to be addressed to ensure that they do not threaten new and innovative small businesses in the District:

Limiting Sweets Trucks to 10 Minutes: The proposed regulations allow dessert trucks to be open for only 10 minutes if there are no waiting customers. Sweets food trucks should be allowed to be open as long as savory food trucks.

Zoning of Food Trucks: The new regulations propose to create Vending Development Zones. The goals of these zones are worthy. However, Vending Development Zones must not be manipulated by special interest to create “Food Truck-Free Zones” that eliminate consumer choice or fair competition.

Shorter Hours for Food Trucks Than for Restaurants: The proposed regulations require food trucks to close at 10 pm on weekdays and 1 am on weekends. Food trucks should be allowed to be open the same hours as restaurants.

Do you agree?

Photo by PoPville twitter follower @MikeRucki

Mike writes:

“Media and police onsite for Occupy K Street evictions. No significant activity yet…”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Blinkofanaye

Photo by PoPville flickr user hellomarkers!

From the Washington Post:

“Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) said Friday he wants to set red and white as the uniform color of all city taxi cabs so they meld with the color of the DC Circulator and Metro buses.”

Even though more people voted for yellow – do you like the idea of red and white so it will “meld” with the color of DC Circulator and metro buses?

Photo by PoPville flickr user [F]oxymoron

Dear PoPville,

I received a parking ticket on September 3, 2011 at 3:23 am in a residential parking zone in front of my house . The original violation was “fail prop affix stk”. I requested a hearing by mail with evidence to support my case. On January 12, 2012, I finally received a ruling by mail. The letter states that I am liable for “obstruction of tags”. This is a totally different violation. I immediately checked the ticket number and it was the same. Somehow during the process of requesting a hearing by the mail the original violation was changed in error. On January 13, 2012, I made a trip to adjudication services to ask that violation be reversed. After an hour, I was told that no one there had the authority to reverse the ruling and that only the hearing examiner can reverse the ruling, even if it was in error. I was told to write a hand written note to the hearing examiner asking for reconsideration. According to the letter I received, I must pay the $50 ticket by February 5th to avoid tags my being suspended.

What recourse do I have here? Right now I’m waiting to hear back from a hearing examiner that may or may not have received my hand written note. I have already written my council person. I am wondering if any of your reader have any suggestions. Has this happened to anyone else?

I needed a smile after reading the heartbreaking story of Gisele. Thanks to a couple of readers for sending in some good stuff from around town.

Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

Dear PoPville,

i can’t possibly be the only person to have recently been slammed with several hundred dollars worth of citations from the new speed camera on the 7700 block of 16th street.

from mpdc’s website:
“Will warning tickets be issued?

Warning tickets from the mobile photo radar vehicles were issued in July 2001, as part of an initial 30-day period of public education. Since then, the mobile cameras have issued actual NOIs. As new photo radar applications are implemented – for example, fixed-camera or work zone locations – warning tickets only will be issued for 30 days.”

this implies that a newly installed fixed camera requires a 30 day period during which warnings will be issued for violations, rather than citations. i’ve been in contact with muriel bowser’s office over the past week, attempting to find out the date the camera was installed. mpd seems to be claiming that the warning period took place in 2007, when a temporary, non-fixed camera was at that location. i find it unreasonable that a warning period five years ago be considered a legitimate “warning” that should cover the current camera installation.

i get the sense that the person i’ve been communicating with in muriel bowser’s office does want to help, but she has thus far been unable to find out the precise date the camera was installed. i am perfectly capable of being a nuisance all on my own, but since i personally know
several other people who have been affected, it stands to reason that this is a pretty widespread issue.

Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour

You can read about the D.C. Taxi Service Improvement Bill here. And only a couple weeks left to take CM Mary Cheh’s taxi service survey.

“If the District establishes a uniform color scheme for taxis, what color should it be?” I’m voting Orange.

Do you think this will hurt businesses on this still revitalizing commercial strip? Or do you see this as a good sign – like the strip has arrived?

Photo by PoPville flickr user W_Bram

From ANC1B:

ANC 1B is surveying residents about the Enhanced Residential Parking Permit program. This program, if the ANC opts into it, will restrict parking on one side of each residential street to residents only during the hours of parking restrictions. Visitors will still be permitted to park on the other side of each residential street for up to two hours.

Think this is a good idea? Take the survey here.

Photo by PoPville flickr user HLPinDC

Food Truck Fiesta reports:

Over the past week, District officials have been visiting food trucks and telling them that beginning on Jan 13, 2012, they will be ticketing food trucks that don’t have a line formed in front of them. Specifically, if there is a lapse of more than 15 minutes between customers, the food truck will receive a $1000 fine! UPDATE: I hate to report this, but the news is even worse.. District officials were allowing 15 minutes between customers, but starting tomorrow, they will have no time frame! The fine is also set at $50, but escalates with every violation (so, I’m guessing that’s where the $1000 figure comes from). This means that if MPD rolls up and sees a truck with no line, they are immediately fined $50 and told to pack things up and go home. To add insult to injury, if a truck racks up 17 of these violations in one year, they can have their license revoked.

You can find contact info for your Council Member here.

UPDATE: @mayorvincegray just tweeted:

“No new enforcement actions are planned, @DCDPW and @DCPoliceDept ensure me. New regs are moving forward according to law.”

Dear PoPville,

I saw an MPD officer putting up these signs along the east side of the 3900 block of Kansas Ave NW. Though I’m happy to see a drug free zone established in the neighborhood (and hopefully enforced!), I’m a little perplexed about the timeframe (1/12-1/31). At first I thought it was odd to be such a short time frame (about 2.5 weeks) but after looking at the MPD website, it seems that Drug Free Zones may only be established for a maximum period of 10 days.

Also with the amount of active drug activity at the corner of 9th and Quincy (including a homicide in October) which happens to be at the back of the Raymond Elementary school, I’m surprised to not see the area expanded one more block to include this area as well. Have you seen these signs put up before? Anyway to get a permanent drug free zone established?