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March 25, 2011

Fun Facts of the Week: If you were one of the 51 D.C. residents that the city screwed when it came to grants for those expensive solar panels you installed, fear not — the D.C. Council is here to save you.

D.C. Acts

• Act 19-28, “Public Safety Civilian Emergency Personnel Furlough Exemption Emergency Amendment Act of 2011”: As a means to close a $188 million budget gap, the D.C. Council decided late last year to furlough most city employees four times during the first half of 2011 to save $19 million. But on the first furlough day, which coincided with President’s Day, more than 200 emergency calls went unanswered because there weren’t enough workers answering phones in the center that handles 911 calls. This legislation allows those call-takers, along with staff at the D.C. Jail, youth internment facility and Chief Medical Examiner’s office, to take furlough days on alternate dates. Police, fire and emergency workers were exempted under the original legislation setting up the furlough days, which coincide with city holidays.

Resolutions

• Resolution 19-67, “Clean and Affordable Energy Fiscal Year 2011 Fund Balance Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2011”: Remember all those do-gooders that decided to install solar panels because the District promised to give them grants to help cover the costs? And remember how the city decided that it didn’t really have the $700,000 to help pay 51 residents for installing those very expensive solar panels? This resolution allocates that money.

Council Hearings

• Public Hearing Notice (Abbreviated) on B19-118, “Brewery Manufacturer’s Tasting Permit Amendment Act of 2011: As we reported earlier this week, D.C.’s suddenly become a brewer’s town. The problem is that those brewers can’t legally host tastings. This legislation would change that. March 31.
• A few education-related hearings are also on tap. On March 29, the D.C. Council will gather to hear an evaluation of D.C public schools. On March 31, they’ll hear testimony on the IMPACT Teacher Performance Evaluation System. And on March 31, April 6 and April 7, D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown will take the show on the road for a series of community conversations on the selection of Kaya Henderson as D.C. Schools Chancellor. March 31’s will be at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church in Ward 8, April 6’s at Stuart Hobson Middle School in Ward 6 and April 7’s at Lafayette Elementary School in Ward 3.

Final, Proposed and Emergency Rules

• The D.C. Taxicab Commission’s got some final rules allowing SUVs to remain in operation as cabs until it can establish definitive rules on which SUVs are cool and which aren’t.

Mayor’s Orders

• 2011-60: Appointment – Acting Chief of Staff: Paul Quander takes over for Gerri Mason Hall, who recently resigned because, well, she apparently broke some kind of land-speed record for the amount of scandals she lost control of in just two months.