This week, we had several constituents stop by the office to say hello. Sometimes people stop by to schedule a meeting, drop off information, or ask a question. We always try to answer and help out as best we can -- although, sometimes it can be a little challenging. We had one particular gentleman who stopped by this week and said he had sent a letter to the Councilmember and he now wanted a copy of that letter for his records, because he had not made a copy for himself. One of the things I do when mail arrives is to log it into a database. I record the date, who its addressed to, who its from, and also which staff person is responsible for either responding to it or keeping it on file. I searched through the mail log, and we had no record of receiving this gentleman's letter. At the end of the day, we finally realized that he had mailed the letter to Council several years ago (that's why it wasn't in our database) and another staff person spent some time listening to his concerns and compliants and tried to help him with his problem. With a good team, we try to respectfully address everyone's concerns in the office.

I hope everybody has a great holiday weekend! 

Great news coming out of the DC Department of Transportation. As part of developing a comprehensive traffic calming plan for residential streets throughout Ward 6, Tommy has been pushing for Constitution Avenue, NE to be converted from a one-way morning rush hour commuter route to a two-way residential street at all times. This was a recommendation from the Captiol Hill Traffic Study.

Tommy was quoted in a press release on the move saying, "In my first meeting with DDOT officials, I made this traffic pattern change a priority and appreciate DDOT expediting this move. Constitution Avenue, NE is supposed to be a residential street on Capitol Hill, not a commuter throughway. I want to continue shifting the emphasis away from finding ways to make commuters' drive easier, and focus on protecting and calming residential streets for pedestrians and residents."

DDOT reports that the switch will be made on or about July 1, 2007 for traffic on Constitution Avenue, N.E. between 3rd and 14th Streets. Residents should see DDOT sign boards for both eastbound and westbound traffic go up soon to alert drivers about the upcoming change.

[UPDATE, 5/25/07]: We'd be remiss if we didn't give a tip of the hat to ANC 6A and Omar Mahmud who have been dogged in advocating for this move as well.

[UPDATE, 5/29/07]: The Examiner picks up the story today and includes a quote a from ANC 6A Commissioner Nicolas Alberti. 

Ward 6 resident and community blogger extraordinaire Jacqueline Dupree is the focus of this week’s Distict Extra in the Washington Post. For full disclosure, she’s also an employee of the Post. As it became clear that the near Southeast and Southwest neighborhoods were about to undergo a radical transformation, Jacqueline began her blog to keep the community updated on progress, as well as track the changes taking place around her. Armed with a digital camera, her website has become an amazing resource for the neighborhood. She has patiently documented several before, during and after projects by taking pictures from fixed locations as the development takes place. Frankly, I’ve talked with several District officials and developers that regularly read her blog and cite it as being the most comprehensive, as well as most up to date, information regarding the area’s growth.

We have her blog linked from our website in the Links category and I hope you all check it out. As she says herself, her blog is "a web site that shows what happens when someone armed with a digital camera gets way too interested in goings-on around the neighborhood." Well Jacqueline... we happen to think its a good thing.

The first bill I ever worked on was the Manpower Development and Training Act of 1962 and I continued working on Federal legislation until I retired 30 years later – so would you blame me if I tell you that I  considered myself an expert in legislation when I came to work for Tommy Wells in 2007.

But boy was I was wrong. I may have been an expert in Federal legislation but legislation in the District of Columbia is completely different. The United States Senate works one way; the House of Representatives another; and the process in the D.C. Council has nothing in common with either Federal body. So I had to go back to school to learn the process and style -- elementary school at that.

To start over, I first had to read the basic text – the Rules of the Council  -- and learn how a bill is introduced at Council; what has to be contained in a committee report; what is a first reading of a bill and when does it require a second or a third reading; what notice must be given for a hearing and what is the difference between a public hearing and a public roundtable. For anyone who wants and needs to learn these things, the Council’s General Counsel provides great study aids and also gives a short course for neophytes at Council.

Some of this stuff may seem dull, but if you don’t understand the rules and the process, you can’t get legislation passed here at Council. I am happy to say that I can still pass the first grade and I hope that I will be able to help Tommy pass a lot of legislation that will improve the lives of the citizens of DC.