Anti-Putin protests hit Glover Park this weekend. I saw this scene outside the Russian embassy on Wisconsin Avenue.

The funny thing was from a distance, it looked like they were protesting the Christmas tree lot. I’m very glad I was wrong about that one.

Though, I’m pretty sure this guy was just waiting for the bus:

Andy uploaded a bit of a provocative question to the forum yesterday:

Many of us yuppies you see on PoP have decided to make DC home, long-term. And many of us are politically savvy, heck, many of us even work in politics or public affairs or communications work professionally.

But not a ton of people you see represented here are involving themselves politically in the District.

And you know many of us roll our eyes at the thing we read about or see ourselves every day, whether it’s business permitting headaches, bike lanes or DC council ethics. So I think we should all consider where we belong in making the District a better place. If not now, when?

So, what should we do to get involved? What is appropriate? Are there rules of thumb for diving into DC politics?

From an email sent by DC Shadow Senator Paul Strauss:

“Actress and Activist Hayden Panettiere will be the guest of honor at a fundraiser supporting the D.C. Statehood Fund this Friday Evening at “Cities” restaurant and lounge, located at 919 19th Street, NW. Please come out and meet a talented woman supporting a worthy cause.”

We last saw Hayden Panettiere back in Oct. ’08 when she spoke about the Save the Whales Again! Campaign and her Get Out the Vote (GOTV) efforts.

From the New York Times:

“President Obama and Congressional leaders of both parties said late Sunday that they had agreed to a framework for a budget deal that would cut trillions of dollars in federal spending over the next decade and clear the way for an increase in the government’s borrowing limit.”

“Dear PoPville,

What do folks think is the likely impact of the outcome of debt ceiling (and related) negotiations on the development of DC?

Should we be worried about significant layoffs in the Federal Govt as a result — and follow-on impact on demand for DC real estate and the like?

Interested in getting the perspective of PoPville…

Thank you.”

Dear PoP,

I’m surprised you haven’t reported on this already.

I am infuriated by our current leaders’ corruption. Council Chair Kwame Brown is removing Councilman Tommy Wells from his Chairmanship of the Committee on Public Works & Transportation and the metro board. This sort of demotion is unprecedented in DC.

Tommy Wells has been outspoken in fighting for improved bike lanes in the Committee. He criticized DC’s DOT for potentially cancelling the L/M St bike lane plans recently–and asked why they’re prioritizing suburbanites over a transportation route for many DC residents. A leadership replacement would further delay any bike infrastructure plans.

Also, Tommy Wells’ committee reported on Brown’s leasing of two fully-loaded luxury SUVs this year ($24,000/yr for each one–we pay for them). It was Wells’ committee’s responsibility to investigate this. Did he really expect Wells to lie for him and try to hide it?

Either Kwame is worried my bike lane is too intrusive–he needs extra room to get down the road with his black-on-black SUV and the gray-on-gray at the same time. Or he’s sending a message to his Council–speak out against Kwame and his corruption and you’ll be stripped of your power.

The shameful acts just don’t end. Tommy needs to stay. Kwame needs to go.

Please let readers know they can contact DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown (kbrown@dccouncil.us) and urge him to change his mind–or the rest of the City Council so they can tell him he’s gone too far.

Also, on L/M St bike lanes–Tommy Wells said that they may be cancelled.”

According to DCBOEE Orange (28%) beat out Patrick Mara (25%) who took second and Sekou Biddle (20%) who took third (Weaver came in 4th with 13% and won Ward 1). Only 12% of the electorate voted.

D. Kamili Anderson won State Board of Education seat for Ward 4.

Trayon White Sr. won State Board of Education seat for Ward 8.

On twitter last night there was a lot of discussion that Mara had lost the election because the white vote was split – do you feel like there was a ‘Ralph Nader ala 2000′ candidate(s) in this election?

Thanks to a reader for sending. And a good reminder – don’t forget to vote today!!!

You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. I’ll open this thread every Monday and Friday. So anything good happen to you this weekend?

And I’ve been getting lots of emails to remind people to vote tomorrow for the at large Council Candidate seat and state board of education seats. This is not a primary – the results will permanently fill
an at-large Council seat. List of candidates and statements are here. So don’t forget to vote tomorrow, Tues. April 26th!!!

“Dear PoP,

They just walked past our building at 14th and H St. NW [around 12pm]. They are heading down H Street towards Chinatown. Signs read – “POWERSHIFT. CORPORATIONS OUT OF DEMOCRACY.” “1%.” They have some paper mache people with signs that read “Exxon” and “Chevron” and “Coal is over.”

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?