Public Policy
The many local governments in the Washington region take actions every day that affect our downtowns and neighborhoods and the quality of life in our cities and counties. Greater Greater Washington writes about the public policies that influence our region and how they promote (or prevent) a growing, inclusive region with walkable urban neighborhoods.
Many different types of public policy influence where and how people live, work, and play. Education, which is one of the biggest reasons people choose a place,can help ensure the success of the next generation. And the environment is vital to preserving a livable region for our descendants.
Public safety and social justice issues affect how people of different backgrounds interact in our public places and whether people feel welcome. Health, food, and jobs are all vital parts of making our region thrive. And our governments make many budgetary and fiscal decisions that shape all of this.
-
Why doesn’t the Committee of 100 adore the zoning update?
The Committee of 100 has relentlessly attacked the Office of Planning’s multiyear effort to update the DC zoning code to match the current Comprehensive Plan and the needs of a 21st-century city. The strange part is that based on their stated goals, the Committee ought to actually be thrilled with the zoning rewrite. In their letter opposing Harriet Tregoning and Gabe… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: Bringing Metro online
Fix escalators, and federal benefit declining; Metro joins the blogosphere; 100 vs. 539 (and counting); Falkland Chase passes Planning Board; Increase RPP fees?; Merchants decry free parking; Indy privatizes parking meters; PEA Party? Planned enough already; And…. Keep reading…
-
Tregoning, Klein do represent what residents want
The Committee of 100 sent a letter today to DC Mayor-elect Vince Gray asking him to replace Harriet Tregoning and Gabe Klein as the heads of DC’s Office of Planning and the District Department of Transportation. They claim that the two don’t listen to to public input. But the truth is that they are hearing far more public input than ever before. That public input simply… Keep reading…
-
Social supports, not time limits, will reduce poverty
Marion Barry is right: generational poverty endangers communities and families. However, enforcing a time limit for welfare benefits is not the way to build strong communities or support families. Councilmembers Marion Barry (Ward 8) and Yvette Alexander (Ward 7) recently introduced a bill to limit Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (also known as TANF and hereafter… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: It’s a Klein world after all
100 against Klein, Tregoning; Challenges ahead for Gabe; Wal-Mart coming to DC; Metro has roof and communication troubles; DCDSC doesn’t want to be democratic; Maryland cancels MARC bid; Where should CaBi go next?; Not all of the NPS is a black box; And…. Keep reading…
-
DC slow to distribute cash-for-appliances
A popular feature of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act is the rebate program for purchases of energy-efficient appliances. I was particularly excited about the program when my kitchen suffered serious water damage from Snowmageddon this past January. “What a great time to replace our appliances,” I said to my wife and son, “since we can… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: Act now
We could have killed 29,000 fewer people; Mall to get flood levee; Answers about CaBi; Arlington approves TJ’s; Megabus expands service from DC; Use it or lose it on HSR; Feds buying EVs; Baltimore Grand Prix goes green; And…. Keep reading…
-
Orange objects to a fairer special election process
DCDSC National Committeeman Vincent Orange, a presumptive leader in the race to fill Kwame Brown’s to-be-vacated at-large council seat, is drawing battle lines around any proposals to amend the Home Rule Act or convince the DSDSC to appoint a caretaker. In an e-mail to committee members, Orange suggests that the Democratic party is being targeted unfairly. He… Keep reading…
-
TPB staples $3 billion 270 widening into plan, ignores MARC
With little notice and virtually no public input, the staff of the Metropolitan Washington Transportation Planning Board have slipped the controversial, $3.4 billion I-270 widening into the region’s long-term plan while ignoring other alternatives and more pressing transportation needs, like MARC. The TPB is the official Metropolitan Plannning Organization… Keep reading…
-
Breakfast links: At the market
Free marketeers for government subsidies; Market-rate hate crimes; Reckless driver sues victim’s family; Gray might raise parking taxes; Tregoning for DMPED?; Security theater proliferates at area airports; NoMA is in good shape; And…. Keep reading…