On Thursday, February 4th, 6:30 – 7:30 pm, Councilmember Tommy Wells and ANC Commissioner Mary Beatty will co-host a follow-up meeting to the December community meeting related to the recent increase in armed car-jackings.

At the December meeting, MPD Chief Lanier committed additional police forces to the area and we heard from many neighbors witnessing an increase in the visibility of officers and communication from MPD. However, there has been another recent car-jacking in the same area and many neighbors remain understandably anxious and concerned.

The meeting will be held in the same location as the first meeting -- Options Public Charter School, at the corner of 14th and E Street, NE in the auditorium.

The follow-up meeting will provide the community an opportunity to hear an update on progress and discuss what more may be needed. MPD officials and representatives from the Mayor’s office will be in attendance to help share new information and join in the conversation.

What’s below: Battery, Cork, Brita Water Filter Recycling on the Hill; Carjacking Follow-Up Meeting; DC Link Roundup; Heard In The “Hood”; 2010 State of the Hood: Looking Back and Ahead; Demolition to make way for the Forensics Lab on 4th; 4th Street SW Update!

Battery, Cork, Brita Water Filter Recycling on the Hill – DCRecycler blog reports that Leah at Hill's Kitchen says that people are now hearing about (and using) filter recycling at the store.

Carjacking Follow-Up Meeting – Frozen Tropics shares information about the follow-up meeting being co-hosted by Tommy and ANC Commissioner Mary Beatty to continue the discussion on recent carjackings. Details are also posted on Tommy's website.

DC Link Roundup: Heard In the “Hood” – See what’s going on downtown on the Penn Quarter Living.

2010 State of the Hood: Looking Back and Ahead - Check out the yearly overview of what's happened in near southeast over the last 12 months, and what the next 12 months are looking like on JDLand.

Demolition to make way for the Forensics Lab on 4th – SWDC blog shows that demolition began early last week on the site of future Forensics Lab

4th Street SW Update! - Check out photos of asphalt being laid today on the soon-to-be-reopened 4th Street running through Waterfront Station, on Southwest: The Little Quadrant That Could.

Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells Makes Call for Nominations for Pedestrian Advisory Council

Today, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells put out a call to Ward 6 neighbors for nominations to the District’s new Pedestrian Advisory Council (PAC).

“Creating a livable, walkable community requires us to be proactive and thoughtful about increasing pedestrian safety and accessibility,” commented Wells.

Last year, Councilmember Wells introduced legislation creating the PAC – an advisory body modeled after the Bicycle Advisory Council. The PAC will serve as the advisory body to the Mayor, the Council of the District of Columbia, and District agencies on pedestrian safety issues for the city and make recommendations on policy and legislation. Each Councilmember will be allowed to nominate one member to the PAC.

The PAC will begin its work in the coming months and Councilmember Wells has put a call out to all neighbors interested in serving as the member representing Ward 6.

Nominations can be made through Councilmember Wells’ website (link: http://bit.ly/6Yz76z) and are due by 5:00 pm on February 12th. The Ward 6 PAC member will be selected from the nominations by Councilmember Wells.

Click Here to make a nomination.

Councilmember Wells Introduces Legislation to Assist Residential Overnight Parking

Councilmember Tommy Wells introduced the “Residential Overnight Parking Enhancement Amendment Act of 2010” to clarify and create additional overnight parking on residential blocks.

“I will continue to push for aggressive growth of the city’s alternative transportation that does not rely on cars, but the fact is that I hear from families, seniors, and other residents who cannot find on-street parking near their homes and don’t feel safe walking several blocks from their car to their front door late at night,” stated Councilmember Wells.

With the proposed legislation, there will be potentially four new spaces available to residents for overnight parking on RPP zoned blocks. The law would allow, between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. – hours where there is considerably less vehicular and pedestrian traffic – residents with a valid RPP sticker to park in the spaces at the ends of the block, within ten feet of the intersection. The proposal also allows the Department of Transportation to prohibit these end-of-block parking spaces if it is determined unsafe or creates hazards such as limiting access for emergency vehicles. Parking would continue to be prohibited that blocks fire hydrants, crosswalks and other violations.

In his comments, Councilmember Wells described the proposal as part of his ongoing efforts to better manage the limited resource of on-street parking to best meet the demands to benefit residents.

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