The confirmation hearing for Terry Bellamy's appointment to permanent director of the District Department of Transportation was less an examination of his skills, abilities, and progress than an airing of parochial grievances by members of the D.C. Council.

Today's four-hour hearing on Bellamy, currently DDOT's interim director, saw valuable input from testimonials by D.C. residents. But questioning by the present councilmembers was only occasionally what you'd expect to be asked of the guy who will soon head up an agency of nearly 900 employees responsible for the functionality of the city's streets. Councilmembers Muriel Bowser, Phil Mendelson, Marion Barry, Jim Graham, and Tommy Wells too often brought up points that would have been better suited for small-scale community meetings at either the ward or Advisory Neighborhood Commission level.

Bowser, for example, was emphatic that Montgomery County be made to comply with the District's institution of signal prioritization around 16th Street NW. Mendelson doggedly pressed on when parking meter signage, which is presently rather hard to understand, would be replaced with notices that clearly state when meters are and aren't monitored. Graham declared that there was absolutely no problem with Metro station names that are more like mouthfuls, and suggested Bellamy would have quite the fight ahead should he attempt to shorten "U Street-African American Civil War Memorial-Cardozo" to the much more reasonable "U Street." Barry rambled at length about the quality of bus stops along Mellon Street SE, and demanded that Bellamy inform him how much money would be spent on bus stops in Ward 8. And though Wells, who oversees the council's Committee on Public Works and Transportation, largely stuck to broader questions, the hearing's last hour was essentially a Q&A based on topics brought up by his Twitter followers.

While all of these concerns are certainly valid and fall under DDOT's purview—and some interesting tidbits, such as the fact that Bellamy rides Metrorail more than buses, and walks to work, emerged—Bellamy's character and qualifications as an administrator didn't receive the same treatment. Wells rightfully grilled him on what he thought about green alleys, Complete Streets initiatives, and the timeline for streetcars on H Street NE; Bowser asked what Bellamy believed to be his greatest accomplishment (answer: technology around parking, workforce training that has resulted in D.C. residents making up 97% of crossing guards, and the ever-vague "community outreach").

Still, councilmembers used the hearing primarily to gauge whether their pet projects would be acknowledged during Bellamy's time at DDOT, rather than exact Bellamy's expectations and goals for the agency. Then again, Bellamy isn't nearly as vivacious as his predecessor, Gabe Klein, and didn't assert any particular visions for DDOT's work.

Bellamy, formerly the deputy director of operations at DDOT under Klein, was named interim director in January and is set to be confirmed as permanent director on July 12. Unless someone finds a parochial problem with him, that is.

Photo by Flickr User DDOTDC, Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Former District Department of Transportation boss Gabe Klein just moved to Chicago this week, and already, two high-ranking DDOT officials are leaving the agency.

Leah Treat, deputy director for resource management, and Karina Ricks, associate director for the policy, planning, and sustainability administration, will both be resigning soon.
WAMU'S David Schultz broke the news on Twitter; DDOT officials confirmed it to City Desk afterwards. Treat will follow Klein to Chicago, where he has been installed as the commissioner of the city's Department of Transportation under now-Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Ricks will "spend more time with family," having "expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of" DDOT, according to Schultz's Twitter account.

Schultz expanded on his tweets in a comment on a Greater Greater Washington post:

Out of fairness to Ricks, I feel I should expand upon what she said to me. She was referring to the lack of a permanent director at DDOT. As you are all aware, Mayor Gray still has not put forth a nomination for a permanent DDOT director. Ricks said this has left many career employees feeling as if they are in a sort of 'purgatory.' However...Ricks made it abundantly clear that she is very proud of all that DDOT has accomplished in the past ten years. She also had nothing but complimentary things to say about everyone still working there, including and especially interim director Terry Bellamy. She says the main reason she is resigning is to spend more time with her family.

Mayor Vince Gray terminated Klein, an Adrian Fenty pick, in December 2010. Terry Bellamy has served as the agency's interim director since then; nearly five months later, Gray has yet to appoint a permanent replacement for Klein.

Of Treat and Ricks' departures, DDOT spokesperson John Lisle says, "The timing is coincidence, but they're leaving for different reasons."

Video Killed the Radio Star: The bad news continues for National Public Radio, as another hidden-camera tape by right-wing provocateur James O'Keefe shows executives were aware of the phony gift O'Keefe's stunt was pretending to pass along to the network. With the federal budget what it is (which is to say, bad, if not quite as bad as D.C.'s), this scandal probably means Congress will try even harder to cut funding to public radio. Which means more fundraising drives on WAMU. On the other hand, that means more chances for tote bags for listeners. -1

Maryland, Why, Maryland: Gay marriage will remain an only-in-D.C. feature of life in the region—Maryland lawmakers killed a bill to allow same-sex marriages in the Old Line State. Maryland courts may recognize same-sex unions performed in the handful of states that allow them, thanks to an opinion issued a few years ago, but supporters had hoped to get a law passed to allow them in the state. That'll have to wait until next year. Feel free to come visit the District, though! -3

Vigilante Parking Justice: Since the new administration took over, some former city officials have moved on to new projects; ex-Mayor Adrian Fenty, for instance, is keeping busy giving speeches, working for an accounting firm, and advocating union busting. Former transportation boss Gabe Klein, however, is busy enforcing traffic regulations. Alerted to cars parked illegally in the 15th Street NW bike lane, Klein went down, snapped a photo, and tweeted it at the agency he used to run. In response, the Department of Transportation issued 15 tickets. +2

Are You Ready for Some Football Lockout?: Maybe a stultifyingly boring mid-century federal office building wasn't the ideal place to try to salvage the next NFL season. Talks at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service between football owners and the NFL Players Association broke down this afternoon; the union plans to decertify, the first step in what could now become very lengthy legal proceedings before any pro football is played. The bad news: You may have to find something else to do on Sundays this fall. The good news: The Redskins can't lose any games if they're canceled first. -2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 50 Today's score: -4 Friday bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 48

Who Needs a Vote?: The Tea Party's rallying cry all of last year was, "No taxation without representation!" So it's somewhat mysterious that among the first moves the Tea Party-powered Republican House did today was to strip D.C. of the mostly symbolic representation we get for our tax dollars, voting down a resolution by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton to retain a vote in the Committee of the Whole. Hey, at least they're taking care of the problems facing America by reading the Constitution out loud! -4

The Reagan Era is Upon Us: Speaking of Republicans, the last time the GOP ran things on Capitol Hill, Congress spent a good share of its time looking for things to name after Ronald Reagan, like airports (successful) and 16th Street NW (failed)—and he wasn't even dead yet. Now that we're in the 100th anniversary year of the late 40th president's birth, watch out; random Washingtonians may find themselves renamed Ronald by House resolutions. To commemorate the birthday, the National Archives is putting on an exhibit of Reagan's rare papers. Er, we mean, the Ronald W. Reagan National Archives. -1

Share This: Back in preschool, it was sometimes tough to learn to share with others; there was always one or two kids who simply didn't like the idea that everyone could take turns using toys, instead of each getting their own. Evidently, one of those kids, grown up, was in Mt. Pleasant lately. A Zipcar near Mt. Pleasant Street NW and Park Road NW was attacked earlier this week, its windshield bashed in and the Zipcar sign on the nearby curb dented. We just hope former DDOT czar and Zipcar honcho Gabe Klein is on vacation somewhere and didn't hear about this. -2

Mega Miss: The jackpot climbed to $355 million for last night's Mega Millions lottery drawing, but alas, the two winning tickets were sold in western Idaho and eastern Washington—the state, not the city. D.C. Lottery officials say the sales generated $200,000 for the city's general revenue fund, though, and local stores took in more than $33,000 in commissions. A total of 671,451 tickets were sold in D.C. since the last drawing on New Year's Eve. Better luck next time! -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 65 Today's score: -8 Today's Needle rating: 57

Baltimore United?: Has there ever been a more nefarious, underhanded state than Maryland? Our northern neighbors have embarked on a campaign to snatch D.C. United out of the District and relocate the team to Baltimore, putting out a study predicting up to $6.4 million in state and local revenues if the Maryland Stadium Authority built United a new home. Those revenue projections would fall short if the team keeps playing as badly as it did this year, which reduced attendance. We're with United no matter what, but we'd prefer not to have to take a MARC train to the matches. (In other soccer news, Barcelona will play Manchester United here on July 30—if Barça wants to move to D.C., then maybe we'd be okay with Baltimore moving north.) -2

You Want More Bikes? You Got More Bikes!: If the frigid weather lately has you longing for a nice bike ride, you are officially in luck. District Department of Transportation and Arlington County officials have secured money to expand the popular Capital Bikeshare program, with 20 new stops in D.C. and 16 new stations in Arlington. Ride them now, while you still can, before DDOT boss Gabe Klein departs and takes all the bike lanes away with him. (They fit very nicely in a carry-on.) +3

Hail Mary: This hasn't been the best year for the Washington Redskins. But this Sunday, as they stride into battle behind quarterback Rex "Sexy Rexy" Grossman, the team may have some help from a higher power. Donald Wuerl, the archbishop of Washington who was recently elevated to cardinal, has officially converted from Pittsburgh Steeler fan to Redskins devotee. Which means that if the Jacksonville Jaguars beat the Redskins, it's because God is dead. +2

Ants Beware: The District's population of giant anteaters expanded by one today—a baby was born at the National Zoo to proud anteater parents Maripi and Dante. It was the third anteater born at the zoo since the pair arrived on loan from Nashville in 2006. And yes, this item officially means it's a slow news day. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 59 Today's score: +5 Erev Christmas Eve bonus: +2 Today's Needle rating: 66

So Long, and Thanks for All the Bike Lanes: It was revolving door day at the Wilson Building. DDOT Director Gabe Klein, a favorite of the smart growth set, departed in the morning, along with DCRA ; by the afternoon, the big news was the appointment of Allen Lew as city administrator and Gerri Mason Hall as Almost Mayor Vince Gray's chief of staff. So that's one transit-friendly official out, one former Amtrak official in. May not be time to trade that Bianchi in for a BMW yet, after all. +2

But I'm a Congressman!: Last month, around 1 a.m. one night, a guy got into some kind of altercation near the Capitol building and called police for help. He was, he told the cops, Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga. In fact, police now say, he was Walter Nelson Lewis Jr., he was, at 26, less than half Kingston's age, and he had somehow gotten a hold of a real lapel pin identifying him as a member of Congress. Lewis has been charged with impersonating a member of Congress—which we're not saying is a tactic Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton should use if Republicans don't give D.C. a vote, but we're also not saying she shouldn't. +1

The District is All In: Vegas on the Potomac is here at last! The D.C. Council passed a law last night allowing the D.C. Lottery to set up online poker games, which would be legal as long as players are physically in the District while gambling. The bill would generate about $13.5 million in revenue, which the city could certainly use. Yes, technically, the law would run afoul of several federal statutes. So what? Raise! +1

Twitter Power: Annoyed about your Pepco bill and/or that time the power went out while your TiVo was in the middle of recording Glee? (Note: We don't watch Glee, but we understand a lot of you do.) Vengeance can be yours tomorrow, as Pepco president Thomas Graham will take to the utility's Twitter feed to answer questions from customers. That is, unless power suddenly cuts out at the Pepco headquarters on account of all the trees in D.C. Hit Graham up at @PepcoConnect. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 40 Today's score: +6 Today's Needle rating: 46

Dear drivers, this rhyme is your warning
Don't waste your time angrily horn-ing
What sounds like a hoedown
Shan't end in a mow-down
Tomorrow at ten in the morning

The latest of schemes from Gabe Klein
Endeavors a safe redesign
While drivers' thumbs twiddle
You cross in the middle
Diagonally? Yeah, that's fine (!!)

"It is certainly possible that in certain areas of the city it would be free," District Department of Transportation Director Gabe Klein tells WTOP.

City officials yesterday unveiled a 66-foot-long, 168-seat Czech-designed prototype of the streetcars planned to one day shuttle Washingtonians to and fro. (Our own Lydia DePillis was on the scene.) The city's proposed 37-mile streetcar system will cost a reported $1.5 billion to build. But, at this early stage in development, the price of a fare seems harder to pin down:

"We could also design something where you pay once per day, or it could just be inexpensive — it could just be a dollar," says Klein. "So we will structure it in such a way that people feel very comfortable using it at will, anytime they need it."

Klein points to Portland's "fareless square" as a model of what might be possible in terms of free transit.

Closely examining the streetcar prototype on display, the, um, Examiner yesterday couldn't help but notice the metal arms atop the car that would connect to overhead power lines, noting:

A law dating from the 1890s bans overhead wires in much of the District.

DDOT's Scott Kubly told the paper the city "hasn't given up on changing the law. But it is working on creating the nation's first hybrid system to use overhead wires in portions of the city, then switch to an alternative power source for areas with views of the Capitol, the Washington Monument or other landmarks."

CHRIS MATTHEWS PLAYED HARDBALL last night with the District, pounding Fenty like back-to-back snowstorms. D.C., said Matthews, has "the weather of Buffalo with the snowplowing capability of Miami." LL dispatched Matthews nicely last night; for a more nuanced take check out yesterday's Kojo NnamdeNnamdi, on which I heard DDOT head Gabe Klein remind people that you can't fund snow removal with the expectation that you'll get 15 inches a year, then freak out when that isn't enough money to deal with 60.

MORE SNOW MONDAY? Parents region-wide will freaking contemplate suicide if this happens. Today will be my kids' seventh day in the house, and when you find yourself shaking your head knowingly at a Petula Dvorak column, you know it's grim. Not "Johnny Damon looking for a job" grim, but close.

BY THE WAY DO YOU KNOW HOW SERIOUS THIS STORM WAS? It sort of affected New York City!

WHAT'S THE BUZZ? Google Buzz! I'm not sure what it is, but I have 31 followers on it and am following 45 others. Seems like a good way to keep up with my friends' bon mots, even if it has a "huge privacy flaw." We still get to care about privacy? Some things I learned in Google Buzz yesterday: Genius CP alum Mike Riggs has decided to consolidate all his information there: "Hey Buzzers! Welcome to my Google land, where everything tastes like John Mayer's regret!" and stalwart contributor Aaron Leitko is organizing a videoshoot on the CP parking deck. "Aaron, is this offer only good while there's snow piled up? How many cameras?" asked Tom Carrico at 10:07 p.m. Sorry if that's a flaw in your privacy, dudes.

ALLEZ LES HABS! (Sorry.)

The statement is a step back from Hizzoner's aggressive talk over the weekend, about having the city "open for business" by Monday after 26 inches of snowfall. The District government completely closed today for weather reason for the first time under Fenty's watch—a decision that he said was due to "the heaviest winds we've seen in a snowstorm this winter, recent winters, maybe ever."

City officials also took pains to put this month's storms in the proper perspective. Fenty noted that the weekend storm was the second-highest single-event snowfall ever for the city, and that the city's seasonal snowfall record is likely to be broken. DDOT chief Gabe Klein called the storm "absolutely historic for the region and for Washington."

The officials, in various ways, sought to discern this snow event from the December "snowpocalypse" that was handled relatively smoothly by city crews, earning Fenty wide plaudits. Expectations are being lowered, attitudes are less gung-ho.

Recovery from the storm, Fenty said, is "going to be in stages," with a goal to "get as many businesses up and running by tomorrow and Friday." But it may take a long holiday weekend to render the city fully mobile, he said. Fenty added that street clearing can depend on factors out of a government's hands: how quickly it warms up, for instance. He noted that the weekend snow "froze much quicker" than the big December snow, complicating cleanup plans. Added Klein, "You've got to deal with snow removal differently with the quantity" that's fallen—as much as a foot more than in December, all told.

Plow crews will be working 12-hour shifts for the foreseeable future; the Department of Public Works has called in dozen of private trucks to help the city, in addition to using heavy equipment—bulldozers, front-end loaders—to assist the plows. The D.C. National Guard has about 10 Humvees out in the city, moving key city personnel, such as fire and police, around. DPW chief Bill Howland added that 100 trucks worth of salt were delivered to the city yesterday.

As for the budget impact? Don't ask, but Fenty says the city will be applying for federal emergency funds available to local governments who have had "historic" snowfall—a category that applies to both the December snowpocalypse and this month's storms.

The most attention-grabbing choice is his pick to lead the Department of Transportation. Probably more eyes were/will be on this pick than any of the others because of the ongoing campaigning by planning geeks/urbanists to put someone in charge who's at the cutting edge of urban transit trends. In a perfect world—barring somehow convincing current NYC transpo commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan to slum it in the District—they'd like to see a clone of Sadik-Khan, someone with a proven record of advocating for multimodal transit options, not just finding the most efficient ways to move cars through the city.

Is Klein that? Doesn't look like it. [UPDATE, 2 P.M.: LL may have spoken too soon; a "gabe klein" signed David Alpert's form letter asking for a "visionary" DDOT leader, adding these personal comments: "I agree, love Michelle Rhee, Harriet Tregoning, and of course Dan Tangherlini. Lets bring someone of that caliber in to take over DDOT, a hugely important position in Washington. For instance, without Dan Tangherlini's vision, carsharing would not be what it is in Washington (one of the top carsharing cities in the U.S.)"]

His biggest job in transportation is his four years on the job as regional vice president of Zipcar. That's certainly a business that's taken a progressive view of urban transportation and has more likely than not contributed to the removal of personal cars from city streets, but it's not a position that's required any experience with managing public transportation, bicycling, pedestrian access and safety, or any of the other stuff he'll have to be dealing with.

Since he left Zipcar, he's headed up On the Fly, the vending and mobile catering business that's helped end the street-vending monopoly held by the half-smoke crowd. (He also did the catering for Fenty's birthday party/fundraiser earlier this month.) The telling lines from the press release announcing Klein's appointment tout that Klein has "over 12 years experience leading marketing, business development, and operations efforts for both start-up and established retail, transportation and technology-oriented companies. Klein has proven experience partnering with government and business sectors in the District of Columbia."

In other words, this guy has the get-it-done DNA Hizzoner loves to see in his agency heads—something he loves to see a lot more than actual expertise in the area they'll be working in. And from Klein, Fenty can expect loyalty.

Davis, tapped to replace JoAnne Ginsberg as his chief of policy and legislative affairs, is another Fenty loyalist without a showstopping resume. More to the point, she's not exactly known in key D.C. Council offices the way Ginsberg had been. She's been with Fenty since Day 1 of his mayoralty, first in his community-relations shop, then as head of the Office of Boards and Commissions. Replacing her there, in a job that manages the mayor's hold on various organs of government, is Tracy Sandler, a staffer in Fenty's communications office since March.

Smith has the strongest resume and weakest Fenty ties of the four. He'll be leaving a job as director of administration and government affairs for the Washington Convention Center Authority, where he was brought in by CEO Greg O'Dell to bring things into line after Reba Pittman Walker left in May. He had previously done a stint as chief of staff to O'Dell at the Sports and Entertainment Commission, helping to oversee ballpark construction. Before that, he'd done a long stretch for about-to-be-former At-Large Councilmember Carol Schwartz as legislative counsel and committee clerk.

Klein can't provide a ton of detail at this point, other than to say that On the Fly, is "really expanding, on a lot of fronts." The expansion will include more of On the Fly's land-locked Smartkafes, which can already be found at Results, The Gym, on Capitol Hill and at the Farragut North Metro station. Admittedly, those operations ain't gonna improve our curb-side snackage one bit, but Klein's plans also include more of the grasshopper-like carts that hawk a far more diverse array of foods—from tacos to gazpacho to barbecue—than the tin cans that currently dot our streets. Look for more of those green carts on school campuses, in Arlington, and along the Mall, where On the Fly has been conducting a pilot program. On the Fly is close to announcing a deal with the feds to keep those snacks flowing for tourists and locals alike.

More as we know it.