We would prefer that you express your appreciation in writing to DPW Director Howland at either William.howland@dc.gov or the address below. Please include the truck number, your block, e.g., 1300 block of R Street, NW, and the names of the crew members, if you have them. On behalf of my co-workers, thank you for taking the time to recognize their hard work and happy holidays to you and yours.

William O. Howland, Jr.
Director
DC Department of Public Works
2000 14th Street, NW
6th Floor
Washington, DC 20009

Though Emily Post notes that tipping $10-30 is standard for garbage collectors, she concedes that one should first "check city regulations if it is a municipal service."

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

DPW To Discuss the City's Snow Removal Plan During Live, Online Chat, Wed., Nov. 30, at Noon

The Department of Public Works Street and Alley Cleaning Division will discuss how the city is preparing for the upcoming snow season and answer residents' questions during a live, online chat Wednesday, November 30, 2011, from 12:00-1:00 pm.

To participate in the session once it has begun, place dpw.dc.gov/livechat into the search browser or visit www.dpw.dc.gov and select the "Live Chat" icon up at the top of DPW's homepage. Transcripts of all chat sessions can be reviewed after the session by following the same instructions listed above to join the discussion.

WHAT: Live, One-Hour Chat to Discuss Snow Removal

WHEN: Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 12:00-1:00 pm

WHERE: dpw.dc.gov/livechat

DPW's online chats are held at noon on the last Wednesday of each month, with DPW Director William O. Howland, Jr., and other DPW officials.

Kevin B. Twine
Staff Assistant
Department of Public Works
Office of the Director
2000 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Ph: 202-671-2593
Fx: 202-671-0642
kevin.twine@dc.gov

What Will Keep United In D.C.?: Baltimore wasn't playing when it decided to make a bid for D.C. United, which isn't happy, or profitable, playing at RFK. (Fans, meanwhile, aren't happy with the team's inability to make the playoffs.) Major League Soccer has been surveying fans up I-95 about how they'd feel about a soccer team moving to the city, apparently to see whether a relocation would be viable. In response, United supporters here are circulating a petition to District officials and investors, saying the team should be able to build a stadium at Buzzard Point, near the Nationals ballpark in Southwest. The cynical prediction: No stadium for United, which is the only major D.C. team to win a championship in its league in the last decade, but the city does wind up dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into a Redskins practice complex. -1

Key Bridge, Don't Fall Down Now: The bridges in the D.C. area haven't gotten great reviews lately, but sometimes a politician needs a convenient prop. And so it was that President Barack Obama brought his campaign to invest in infrastructure to the Key Bridge, speaking with Rosslyn behind him about the manifold joys of public works projects. The recent Wilson Bridge reconstruction, the White House says, has cut bottlenecks dramatically. As for the Key Bridge, it's not in such great shape—Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood exhorted Congress to spend some money fixing it up soon, lest Obama give his next Georgetown speech in front of a pile of floating rubble. +1

You Don't Have To Go Home, But You Can't Stay Here: The last time bad weather settled in during a wintertime rush hour, the city hit levels of gridlock not seen again until the August earthquake. Theoretically, that'll change this winter. Instead of letting everyone go whenever they feel like leaving, the federal government will tell workers when to leave or tell them to stay until roads are clear. We still recommend tele-commuting the next time it snows, though. +2

Boots Off: Budget cuts have left city and state governments around the country trying to do—as the irritatingly chipper phrase has it—more with less, and D.C. is no exception. The latest round of cuts, though, may be good news to anyone who has a habit of parking illegally: The District Department of Public Works has laid off 30 people, cutting in half the number of parking enforcement officers devoted to booting cars. -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 37 Today's score: +1 Today's Needle rating: 38

Leaves are falling and the Department of Public Works is ready to deploy more than 200 employees Monday, November 7, 2011 to start collecting them.  Leaf collection season runs through January 14, 2012, and every neighborhood in the District will have its leaves collected.

“Leaf collection is our most labor-intensive program,” said DPW Director William O. Howland, Jr. “For two and a half months, our crews work six days a week, including Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day, across the District.  We give each neighborhood two, two-week collection cycles, so please check the leaf collection brochure, which was mailed to households receiving DPW trash/recycling collection services, or go online to http://leaf.dcgis.dc.gov/ learn your collection weeks.

Somewhat relatedly, I just signed up for Alert DC, which provides DPW and public safety alerts. It's good to get notices like this, but I may have to tweak the settings because the multiple text messages—especially about local crimes—are poorly designed. They're hard to read and each text comes from a different phone number, even if it's part of a series of messages, so they show up as separate conversations (which are a pain to read). Yeah, yeah, first world problems.

Anyway, full DPW leaf-collection release after the jump:

DPW TO BEGIN COLLECTING LEAVES MON., NOV. 7
Residents are asked to place bagged or loose leaves in treebox the weekend
before their collection cycles.

(Washington, DC)  Leaves are falling and the Department of Public Works is ready to deploy more than 200 employees Monday, November 7, 2011 to start collecting them.  Leaf collection season runs through January 14, 2012, and every neighborhood in the District will have its leaves collected.

“Leaf collection is our most labor-intensive program,” said DPW Director William O. Howland, Jr.  “For two and a half months, our crews work six days a week, including Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day, across the District.  We give each neighborhood two, two-week collection cycles, so please check the leaf collection brochure, which was mailed to households receiving DPW trash/recycling collection services, or go online to http://leaf.dcgis.dc.gov/ learn your collection weeks.

“The program works best when residents rake their leaves into the treebox the weekend before the first day of their neighborhood’s collection cycles,” he said.  “The crews move fairly quickly, especially in the opening weeks because there are fewer leaves.  So to make sure your leaves are collected, the weekend before the collection cycle begins, put loose or bagged leaves in the treebox or place bagged leaves where you put your trash/recycling.”  Mr. Howland also said this year DPW will compost bagged leaves as well as the loose leaves vacuumed from the treeboxes.

Here are some tips for a smooth-running leaf collection season:
•Look up your street’s collection schedule in the leaf collection brochure or athttp://leaf.dcgis.dc.gov/.
•Rake leaves into the treebox the weekend before your street’s collection cycles.
•Please – leaves only! Tree limbs, bricks, dirt, rocks, etc., will damage the equipment and delay collections.
•Prevent fires, parking problems and possible flooding by placing leaves in the treebox, not in the street.  When it rains, leaves will block the storm drains and cause flooding.  Please remove any leaves you see blocking the storm drains.
•If you choose to bag your leaves, please use paper bags.  Plastic bags will be accepted but paper bags are preferred.  You may place bagged leaves in the treebox or next to the trash/recycling container(s).
•Protect the safety of our crews by driving slowly around their work area or change your route and avoid them altogether.

Leaf collection season coincides with the beginning of snow season.  Mr. Howland said, “I want to remind residents that the leaf collection crews are the backbone of the snow removal program.  When snow and/or ice are predicted, we stop collecting leaves to convert our leaf equipment to snow plows.   No leaves are collected until after the snow event ends.  Sometimes predictions don’t result in snow, but we must have our snow equipment on the street regardless.”

Sent by DC HSEMA to e-mail....powered by Cooper Notification RSAN

The Dry Run showcased about 250 pieces of equipment, including front end loaders that fill the plows with salt, tow trucks used to remove vehicles parked illegally during a snow emergency, and tanker trucks used to pre-treat the major roadways.  In addition to drivers, team members include IT, quality control, safety and salt dome staff.

What about you? Are you ready? Will you sit under a pile of blankets on the couch next to your bony greyhound and watch a Drop Dead Diva marathon on Netflix? Will you stand outside in defiance and let the snow and rain cover you in tiny crystals?

Or will you just go about your business and laugh like John Travolta at the rest of us?

Full DPW release after the jump.

(Washington, DC)  The DC Snow Team (Department of Public Works and Department of Transportation) conducted its “Dry Run” today, giving heavy and light plow truck drivers and other equipment operators the opportunity to practice their skills before the first snowfall, which might be tomorrow, October 29.  The Dry Run showcased about 250 pieces of equipment, including front end loaders that fill the plows with salt, tow trucks used to remove vehicles parked illegally during a snow emergency, and tanker trucks used to pre-treat the major roadways.  In addition to drivers, team members include IT, quality control, safety and salt dome staff. 

Saturday’s forecast calls for rain mixed with snow in the afternoon, ending around 7 pm to 8 pm.  Any snow mixed with rain is expected to melt on the roadways, and pavement and air temperatures are expected to remain above freezing.

“The District will deploy several plows during the day to monitor bridges and other elevated structures and apply salt if necessary,” said DPW Director William O. Howland, Jr.  “If the snow doesn’t materialize, we will stand down.”  He added, “It is a coincidence that the Dry Run occurred the day before the first flakes are predicted for the District.  Tomorrow’s forecast of rain mixed with snow kept us focused, and we will be ready if Saturday’s forecast becomes more severe and we have to deploy more plows.”

“Our Snow Team is a year-round operation. From the moment it stops snowing to the moment it starts, we are preparing our plan, our people and our plows for the snow season,” said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy. “The Dry Run brings it all together and allows us to fine tune everything before the real work begins. This is also a good time for the public to look ahead and develop a personal plan for their families and their commutes in bad weather.”

Photo by nutmeg66 via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution Generic 2.0 License

1:05 p.m.: Commenter Ellen diligently follows instructions to place leaves in tree boxes near her home on the 3500 block of 16th Street, yet must place several calls to DPW before leaves are collected due to parking restrictions. She begs for advice.

1:10: DPW informs Ellen that leaf collection does not begin until street sweeping ends Oct. 31st. Looks like Ellen will have to wait.

1:11: Commenter Teresa complains that leaves blow out of tree boxes before collections: “What options do we have for placing bagged leaves in the tree box for collection?”

1:13: DPW encourages bagged leaves, especially since it prevents people from slipping on wet leaves.

1:15: Ellen isn’t satisfied. The parking restrictions have nothing to do with street sweeping, but with rush hour.

1:17: DPW responds ambiguoulsy, “We will collect between rush hour on the collection days” to avoid traffic congestion and safety issues.

1:30: Ellen comes back for a final zing: “The dense presence of parked cars outside of rush hour times is why our leaves are never collected. I will just plan on following up with DPW after our last collection has passed and the leaves are still there.”

1:31: DPW refuses to take her sass. “Actually, Ellen, our crews do work around cars and other vehicles parked in front of the treeboxes. We will make sure that this occurs this year.”

The next 28 minutes were devoid of comment. Perhaps most leaf enthusiasts are wandering the Vermont countryside.

1:59: DPW posts one wrap-up message stating that leaf collection doesn’t actually start until Nov. 7.

2:00: Teresa now has a question about which type of bag to use.

2:01: DPW doesn’t really care, but prefers “paper yard waste bags.”

Photo by Flickr user pdeonarain, Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license

Medical Montel: Between infomercials for blenders, financial counseling, and security companies, Montel Williams may soon be busy here in the District. The talk show host is part of a group that's applying for one of the medical marijuana licenses up for grabs; he's the public face of a dispensary in Sacramento, Calif., already. (Williams has MS and has been actively supporting laws allowing medical use of pot for a while.) That California outfit is fairly popular—one online reviewer recently called it the Neiman Marcus of Marijuana. No word on whether that means Williams' group will try to set up shop in Mazza Gallerie. +2

No Parking, Seriously: Should your car be stolen in the District, the police may not find it, but the Department of Public Works will. Just ask Brandon Bray, whose car was stolen, then left for six weeks in a tow-away zone in front of a school, where it accumulated $300 in parking tickets, some of which were there so long that they melted to the windshield. He now has the car back, and won't have to pay the fines. Guess that "tow-away" thing doesn't mean much, though. -1

Knock First: Metropolitan Police Department officers were very eager to get inside a home a few years ago, after someone stopped for a traffic violation told them her son, who dropped a gun as he ran from the stop, lived at that address. The only problem? He didn't. Police spent 45 minutes with a battering ram, drill, and crow bar breaking into the home, doing more than $10,000 in damage to the door and the interior walls—then refused to pay for it, because they had a warrant. Never mind that the information that led to the warrant was erroneous. Eventually, the homeowner sued, and five months after they first complained, got paid back for the repairs they did. Still, let that be a lesson: Don't live in a house the cops might want to bust into. -2

Ni Hao Saxa: Vice President Joe Biden was at the Verizon Center to see the Georgetown Hoyas beat the Duke Blue Devils a couple of years ago, along with President Barack Obama and thousands of others. But only now is the true depth of Biden's devotion to the team becoming clear—his first stop, upon arriving in Beijing yesterday, was at a gym to watch the Hoyas (on a preseason tour of China) play the Shanxi Brave Dragons. The visiting college team won, 98-81. Look for the Brave Dragons to drop out of the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll as a result. +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 63 Today's score: 0 Today's Needle rating: 63

Trash Man Didn't Get the Trash Today: The real world impact of municipal budget cuts isn't always immediately apparent. But one of last fall's decisions may lead to obviously visible—and smellable—results. The D.C. Department of Public Works, facing a $3.9 million cut to its budget last year, decided to stop ordering trash cans and recycling containers. Which means there's a significant backlog for getting new ones out to new residents or replacements to people whose cans get stolen. Time to start composting! -2

Fake Pot, Real Cops: Federal authorities banned fake pot—known as K2 or Spice—earlier this month. A few weeks later, D.C. authorities are finally getting around to seeing if they can make a bust under the new regulations. Cops visited stores where they'd previously purchased the synthetic weed and threatened consequences if the stuff is still for sale. (It might go on your permanent record!) The whole exercise seems ridiculous; after all, the only reason there's any market for fake pot in the first place is because of the inane criminalization of real marijuana. -2

Constitution Avenue Reconstituted: Between the cherry blossoms and the rolling waves of spring breakers and their families heading to town, venturing anywhere near downtown during the spring usually means battling hordes of tourists, both on the sidewalks, in the Metro, and on the roads. Add to the usual seasonal chaos some serious road work. The National Park Service, which for some reason owns the length of Constitution Avenue, will tear up and replace the stretch between 15th Street NW and 23rd Street NW, one block at a time. The concrete under the road, which dates to the 1950s, will all be replaced with new slabs. It'll cost $10.3 million and should be done sometime in "early 2012." Don't hold your breath. -3

Snow? Really?: Just because we've sprung the clocks forward and it's officially spring doesn't mean you get to put the snow shovels away yet—weather forecasters say there's a chance of flurries or snow showers later this week. The good news: It wouldn't actually pile up anywhere. The bad news: If it's snowing, it won't be 60 degrees. -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 67 Today's score: -8 Today's Needle rating: 59

Welcome to The Daily Show: If you suddenly feel like the air around town is somehow more ironic, it may not just be because of the hipster riding past you on a track bike. Jon Stewart has arrived in D.C., five days ahead of Saturday's Rally to Restore Sanity, to tape this week's Daily Show episodes from the Harman Center for the Arts in Chinatown. The guest tonight is Austan Goolsbee; his boss, Barack Obama, shows up on Wednesday. We assume the invitation for Washington City Paper editors to appear as a group on the show has simply been delayed in the mail. +3

Sweep-up Time: D.C. isn't anywhere near as rigid as New York in enforcing the alternate-side street parking rules designed to allow for regular street cleaning. That may be because we don't clean the streets as often. At any rate, street-sweeping will end this week until the winter, as the Department of Public Works switches to leaf cleanup mode. Which means, the weather notwithstanding, it is officially fall. +2

More Statements About Nothing: Maybe rural Virginia isn't Wale's base. The president of the University of Mary Washington, Rick Hurley, has apologized to Fredericksburg, Va., residents who were upset by profanity uttered by D.C.'s biggest rap star at a concert Saturday night. If the university had known Wale was so foul-mouthed, it would have put the concert inside, Hurley says. (Give him points for not saying he would have canceled it.) -1

Super Bowl Bound?: It took the Redskins 16 games to win four games last year. This year, they've done it in seven. The Skins beat the Chicago Bears, 17-14, in an error-filled game that should probably have resulted in the loser being shipped off to the Xtreme Football League. Might the team be motivated by our pessimistic preseason forecast of a 6-10 year? If so, we'll accept thanks for the inspiration in the form of Super Bowl tickets. +2

Friday's Needle rating: 48 Today's score: +6 Today's Needle rating: 54

Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic and Web Design: We're beginning to get the sense that maybe, just maybe, Michelle Rhee's resignation announcement this morning wasn't a last-minute decision on her part. A few hours after appearing with Almost Mayor Vince Gray and Still Mayor Adrian Fenty, Rhee unveiled a new website, Facebook page and Twitter account dedicated to, well, Rhee. By mid-afternoon, she had 319 people "liking" her on Facebook. Just think, if all those people had voted for Fenty... he still would have lost. -2

Ah, Listserves: When a Department of Public Works employee was shot and killed this morning at the Fleet Management Center in Northeast, the city, reasonably enough, canceled garbage and recycling collection for the day. There was an investigation to run, after all, and besides, DPW workers would probably be mourning Larry Hutchins, 51, their late colleague. Apparently that bit of human decency was too much for one Adams Morgan resident, though, who took to the neighborhood's e-mail list to complain that the decision would mean "rats will have a great time tearing open the bags," and that the DPW move was "NOT ok." It's impulses like that that make us wish Al Gore had never invented the Internet. -4

Don't Drive Over There!: Most of the bridges named by Travel + Leisure as the scariest in the world share a few common characteristics: They run through the Alps or the Rockies; they're made of rope or wood; they're in parts of the world where the budgets for preventive maintenance maybe aren't what you might prefer. Then, there's #9 on the list—our own Bay Bridge, on Route 50 leading to the Delaware and Maryland beaches. Apparently frequent violent storms helped put it on the list; we think it's actually the presence of so many drivers from Virginia. Then again, Travel + Leisure just doesn't seem to like the region much: D.C. also came in 13th in its list of "America's Dirtiest Cities." -3

Rush Hour in Disguise: Okay, yes, closing the 12th Street tunnel all afternoon to allow Transformers 3 to shoot its undoubtedly Oscar-winning scenes probably inconvenienced a few thousand people who ordinarily use that route to cut from Northwest to Southwest. We prefer to look on the bright side: Unlike Monday, Michael Bay's little project didn't wreck any city-owned vehicles today! (And miraculously, the Hollywood-owned car involved in the wreck this week is back in business.) +2

Hail to the Radar: Being a professional football player (on a team that, somehow, has compiled a winning record) has its perks. You've got the millions of dollars in salary and bonuses, the endorsements, the dudes wearing your name on their shirts around town. And also, apparently, some good luck in traffic court. Redskins left tackle Trent Williams had a reckless driving charge, stemming from being clocked doing 90 m.p.h. on the Dulles toll road in June, thrown out because the mechanic who calibrated the speedometer in the police car that chased Williams down didn't have a certification notarized he's a professional football player. +1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 38 Today's score: -6 Today's Needle rating: 32

The department had offered weekly disposal service at its Fort Totten Transfer Station, but will instead accept and process such materials once a month, every first Saturday, starting this week.

The weekly service at Fort Totten was implemented to replace the semi-annual household hazardous waste and e-cycling events at Carter Barron Amphitheatre. The District was the first jurisdiction in the region to offer weekly document shredding for residents.

So, if you have an old television set, a substance that can "[d]estroy living tissue on contact," or other object or material that should be disposed of properly (complete list here), be sure to mark off the first Saturday of the month. Also, if you have a substance that can destroy living tissue on contact, you may have some other logistical problems to worry about.

The Fort Totten Transfer Station also gets high marks on Yelp—4.5 stars to be exact: "The folks here are always there to greet you with a smile—and they truly have one of the worst jobs—for what most people would prefer to do. Easy to navigate—nice people—convenient hours. Excellent customer service!!!!"

Well, not as convenient as it once was. Still, better than the Department of Motor Vehicles inspection station! From Yelp: "[R]est assured that any trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles is likely to end with you feeling more violated than your average Abu Ghraib torture victim." Ouch.

Photo courtesy Jay Goodman Tamboli

An update to the anti-statehood license plate cover City Desk told you about on Thursday! In the situation of our BMW driver on Capitol Hill who isn't apparently all that jazzed about the notion of D.C. statehood, a spokeswoman for the city, Kate Stanton, tells us that this particular cover is indeed illegal. It's technically a license frame.

In an e-mail:

In this case, there is much discussion about whether frames are included in the law. However, in the case of the picture, not only is “Taxation Without Representation” covered, but the state/jurisdiction “Washington, DC” is also covered. Since this is a specific plate identifier, along with the plate number, this frame would still be an illegal covering...

Why is the jurisdiction important? Stanton noted that a state trooper in Ohio, for instance, would be able to read the license tag number, but would have no idea that the car is from the District of Columbia. (Apparently, the iconic D.C. flag does not count!)

Because of the Driver Privacy Protection Act, Stanton was not able to disclose the identity owner of the vehicle in question. She said that the Department of Public Works could be contacted about ticketing the BMW for its license frame transgressions.

Two commenters on Thursday's post noted that there is a U.S. Supreme Court case on the books that makes the license frame issue quite interesting legally. In the 1977 ruling in Wooley v. Maynard, the high court ruled in favor of a George Maynard, a Jehovah's Witness, who objected to a New Hampshire law mandating the Granite State's motto, "Live Free or Die," be displayed on all non-commercial vehicles. Maynard was fined and jailed for covering up the slogan.

From the Oyez Project's summary of Wooley v. Maynard:

The Court found that the statute in question effectively required individuals to "use their private property as a 'mobile billboard' for the State's ideological message." The Court held that the State's interests in requiring the motto did not outweigh free speech principles under the First Amendment, including "the right of individuals to hold a point of view different from the majority and to refuse to foster...an idea they find morally objectionable.

D.C. Shadow House Rep. Mike Panetta chimed in on Thursday's post as well, calling the BMW owner a "douche," and noting that drivers can choose a D.C. license plate without the "Taxation Without Representation" slogan.

Typically, forgetting to move your wheels during street-sweeping hours will cost you a manageable $30 Sweepercam citation. But the machine can also  issue an order for a tow, claims Allen. Lately, a few sweeper-obstructing cars have ended up in an impound lot, forcing drivers to pay large fines. Allen says residents have asked what gives—in the past, the Department of Public Works tended not to cart vehicles off for blocking the Sweepercam. DPW once simply towed the offending  cars a block or two away, if they towed them at all. "You can think of it almost like a courtesy tow," Allen says.

DPW spokeswoman Nancee Lyons says the residents who have been complaining about being towed are mistaken. Her office hasn't taken any sweeper-obstructing cars. "We actually haven't been towing anyone," Lyons says. As for fuming customers who don't like Sweepercam tickets, Lyons says neighborhood street-sweeping is optional, and residents can discontinue the service if they want. "We're trying to do what people ask us to do," says Lyons.

The Issue: First picnic tables, now a spray-painted mural of a giant dog and children blowin’ bubbles is causin' a ruckus in Walter Pierce Park. Not so much the mural, per se, but the process it took to get there. Ward 1 residents were given a 10-day notice, posted on a neighborhood Listserv, that a mural would be painted along both sides of a wall in Walter Pierce Park last October. Don’t know what a Listserv is? Too bad.

As discussions took place between Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham's office, which commissioned the artwork through his MuralsDC initiative, and  the D.C. Department of Public Works (DPW), residents and the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) were seemingly left out of the decision process. “It was only after the site was selected and announced that the ANC met with members of MuralsDC,”  says local ANC commissioner Bryan Weaver (who, perhaps not incidentally, is opposing Graham in the upcoming council election). Only after that process were residents informed, says Weaver.

The Clock Was Tickin’: “Weather was an issue,” says DPW spokesperson Nancee Lyons. Instead of starting in the summer, the program didn’t get rollin’ until last fall, so certain aspects were rushed in order for the art to be completed by winter, Lyons says. “Should there have been some signage posted at the park? Probably,” says Mindy Moretti, the local ANC commissioner and president on the board of Friends of Walter Pierce Park. But MuralsDC was heading the project, so that would’ve been their responsibility, Moretti says. “The process was obviously flawed…but this project was dealing with a short budget and timeline, and a push was made to make the project happen,” Weaver says. In the month between the Listserv announcement, and the start of the artwork, residents were mum with their opinions, he adds.

Sketches of the mural were presented at a local ANC meeting, counters Dominic Painter, executive director of the Midnight Forum, a managing agent for MuralsDC. “No one had concerns, so we went with the positive feedback. It’s a ridiculous notion to think we’re going to reach every single person that lives in the neighborhood,” he says.

Adds Graham, writing on the Listserv, “I have every reason to believe that the process was followed in this case."

What’s in a Listserv?: A single message on an email discussion group is appalling, says resident Gretchen Cook. “It assumes everyone worth consulting has a computer, knows about the Listserv and has the time to check it regularly,” she says.  There should have been a sign at the park and an open forum, she adds. Says neighbor Glenn Hennessey, “I consider the park a place to escape the city, not a place to be reminded of it….any type of artwork is wrong.” Hennessy adds that the Listserv failed to mention exactly which wall the mural would be painted upon.

What’s Next: There are no plans to do away with the mural. Instead, local artist and mural creator Aniekan Udofia is currently working on renewing one of the other three murals in the park that is deteriorating.

Photo by Glenn Hennessey.

This is a snow melter. Its purpose, you might guess, is to melt snow. Earlier this month, the District saw much snow. This snow melter melted none of it. Rather, it sat, not melting snow, on a city lot.

All this was revealed by WRC-TV's Tom Sherwood, who reports that the city purchased the contraption in 2003 to handle the city's last huge snowfall. "The $120,000 snowbot could take 10 dump truck loads at a time and was pretty efficient, even though it broke down at least once during operation," reads his item. So what gives?

City officials declined a request for an on-camera interview, saying in a statement the snow melter needed parts, was difficult to operate and wasn't worth using again. So it sits on the city's public works lot.

Why isn't it worth it? Using the melter would have had environmental benefits, since the runoff could be piped into sewers and treated at Blue Plains, rather than melting directly into the Anacostia River, which is what the snow trucked out of downtown this month is doing.

And if that still isn't worth it, why not sell it/give it away to some municipality that could fix it and use it? (Probably not in the Dominican Republic, but you get the idea.)

Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham plans to explore the snow-melter issue at upcoming oversight hearings.

Photo courtesy of Tom Sherwood