NEWS: Free Financial Planning Day (Nov. 2nd)

The D.C. Government is providing free financial planning advice to D.C. residents on Saturday, November 2nd. Please see the following press release from the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking:

For Immediate Release
Oct. 23, 2013

Free Financial Planning Day for Metro Washington Residents:Nov. 2

Washington, D.C. (Oct. 23, 2013) – We’ve all heard that there’s no free lunch, but in these challenging economic times, D.C. area residents will be able to get free financial planning advice and guidance from professional financial planners at the 4th annual Metro Washington Financial Planning Day Nov. 2 at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus.

The D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking is co-hosting this event with the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area and others to provide residents with free advice on budgeting, retirement planning, income taxes, investment strategies and more.

See more information below and get all the details, including registration, at:www.FinancialPlanningDays.org/DC

WHAT: The Metro Washington Financial Planning Day is an opportunity for residents to meet one-on-one with highly qualified Certified Financial Planner™ professionals and experts from the Financial Planning Association to address important financial issues including: getting out of debt, retirement planning, investment strategies, income taxes, insurance, mortgages and foreclosures and more. The event will also feature a series of classroom-style educational workshops addressing key personal finance topics including financial planning for women, real world retirement planning and how to be a smart investor.

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 2, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

WHERE: Columbia Heights Educational Campus, 3101 16th St., NW, Washington, D.C.

WHO: The Metro Washington Financial Planning Day is a part of the national Financial Planning Days initiative, a ground-breaking program involving city governments and thousands of financial planners nationwide, in an effort to provide free financial education and programming to people nationwide. The D.C. event is organized by the Government of the District of Columbia, the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking and the Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area, in partnership with four national non-profit organizations – Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Financial Planning Association, Foundation for Financial Planning and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

TO PARTICIPATE: Metro Washington Financial Planning Day is free and open to the public. Registration is available online at www.FinancialPlanningDays.org/DC or by calling toll free at (877) 861-7826. Walk-ins are welcome. The venue is located just one block from the Columbia Heights Metro Station on the green and yellow lines.

Members of the news media are invited to attend the event and interview the organizers.

For more information contact: Tanya Bryant, D.C. Dept. of Insurance, Securities and Banking,(202) 442-7761 or tanya.bryant@dc.gov; Daniel F. Drummond, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., (202) 379-2252 or ddrummond@CFPBoard.org; Melissa Sotudeh, CFP®, Financial Planning Association of the National Capital Area, (301) 961-9505 or msotudeh@warner-financial.com

D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking | Office of Communications | 810 First St., NE, Suite 701, Washington, D.C. 20002 | Office: 202-727-8000 | Fax: 202-576-7989
The D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking has two missions: to fairly and efficiently regulate financial services in order to protect the people of the District of Columbia and to attract and retain financial-services businesses to the District. For more information, visit DISB at disb.dc.gov

NEWS: DDOT to host MoveDC transportation planning meeting 5/8/13

This from DDOT:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, April 26, 2013

DDOT Media Contact: Monica Hernandez – 202-671-2261, monica.hernandez@dc.gov

***PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE***

moveDc Transportation Plan Advisory Committee Meeting to Take Place Wednesday, May 8

(Washington D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host a moveDC Transportation Plan Advisory Committee (TPAC) on Wednesday, May 8, 2013.

The TPAC is made up of District residents from each Ward that are active in transportation-related issues and other civic endeavors and is charged with acting in an advisory role to the moveDC project team throughout the plan development process. moveDC is a collaborative planning effort, led by DDOT’s Policy, Planning and Sustainability Administration (PPSA), to develop a Multimodal Long Range Transportation Plan for the District of Columbia.

All TPAC meetings are open to the public. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and participate in the meetings. Each meeting’s agenda will be structured to offer time for presentation and sharing of information, discussion by the TPAC and questions and discussion with the public.

What: moveDC Transportation Plan Advisory Committee Meeting

When: Wednesday, May 8, 2013

6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Where: National Capital Planning Commission (Commission Chambers)
401 9th Street NW, Suite 500 (North Lobby)

Please note all meeting attendees will be required to show state-issued identification to pass through security at the meeting venue.

More information on the time and location of each meeting is available in the calendar section of the moveDC website (http://www.wemovedc.org/calendar.html).

Follow the moveDC project online at www.wemoveDC.org, on Facebook (facebook.com/WeMoveDC) and Twitter (@wemovedc).

NEWS: DDOT to host session on M Street bike lane 5/15/13

This just in from DDOT:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, April 26, 2013

Media Contact: Monica Hernandez at 202-671-2261, monica.hernandez@dc.gov

***PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE***

DDOT Invites Public to Meeting on Protected Bike Lane on M Street, NW

(Washington, D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will host a public meeting on May 15 to present and take comments on a proposed protected bike lane for M Street, NW.

The protected bike lane for M Street, NW is proposed to be installed between 14^th Street and 28^th Street, and is tentatively scheduled for installation this summer. Separated by flexible posts, the bike lane will be placed on the north side of the road. It will be serve as a westbound complement to the recently installed L Street, NW bike lane, and will similarly provide bicyclists with more protection from cars than a typical bike lane. Plans for the proposed protected bike lane will be available for review at the meeting.

What: M Street, NW Protected Bike Lane Public Meeting

When: Wednesday, May 15, 2013

6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: West End Library

1101 24^th Street, NW

Get there: Bikeshare: Kiosks at 25^th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW and 22^nd Street and I

Street, NW.

Circulator: Woodley Park / Adams Morgan / McPherson Square Route

Metrorail: Foggy Bottom Station (Blue and Orange Lines)

Metrobus: Visit www.wmata.com

Parking: On-Street metered parking is available.

NEWS: Mayor & DDOT launch “Potholepalooza 2013”

This just in from the Mayor’s office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, April 22, 2013

CONTACTS: Doxie McCoy (EOM) 202.727.9691; doxie.mccoy@dc.gov

Monica Hernandez (DDOT) 202.671.2261; monica.hernandez@dc.gov

Mayor Gray and DDOT Launch Potholepalooza 2013

District’s Fifth Annual Campaign to Expedite Pothole Repairs across the District; Residents Encouraged to Report Pothole Locations

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Mayor Vincent C. Gray and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Terry Bellamy today launched the District’s fifth annual Potholepalooza campaign to expedite pothole repairs on roadways across the city. The Mayor and Bellamy helped fill potholes on Whittier Street in Northwest Washington as DDOT crews mobilized for the month-long campaign.

“Even though we have had two relatively mild winters in a row, there are always potholes to fill,” said Mayor Gray. “Potholepalooza is great example of how we are striving to provide the best customer service possible through our District government agencies, and we appreciate the participation of District residents who reach out to us during this annual campaign to help ensure our streets are in good shape.”

This year’s Potholepalooza will run through May 22. As part of the campaign, DDOT is adding extra crews to fill potholes and aims to repair identified locations within 48 hours (the normal response time is within 72 hours). During Potholepalooza, residents and commuters are encouraged to phone, go online, tweet, use Facebook, e-mail or use the DC311 smartphone app to submit requests for pothole repairs.

Residents can track the Potholepalooza campaign’s progress online using an online map. DDOT will be posting daily updates of the overall totals of potholes filled during its Potholepalooza 2013 project at ddot.dc.gov/potholes. In addition, there is a Potholepalooza Facebook page at www.facebook.com/potholepalooza. Visit and “like” the page for the latest Potholepalooza 2013 campaign updates, photos, videos and more.

“Our fifth annual Potholepalooza campaign is a chance to collaborate with residents and commuters to smooth over our city’s streets,” said Bellamy. “It’s also an opportunity to showcase the work of our Street and Bridge Maintenance crews, who will be out there filing potholes, as well as our customer service staff, who will be fielding Potholepalooza requests.”

The first-ever Potholepalooza was held in 2009; over the past four campaigns, DDOT crews have filled 21,011 potholes. In 2012, DDOT received 453 service requests for pothole repairs during the month-long campaign and filled 2,443 potholes.

How to report a pothole

Residents and commuters can notify DDOT in a variety of ways:

1. Call the Mayor’s Call Center at 311;

2. Use the Online Service Request Center at 311.dc.gov;

3. Send a tweet to twitter.com/DDOTDC;

4. Post a comment to the Potholepalooza Facebook page at www.facebook.com/potholepalooza;

5. E-mail Potholepalooza@dc.gov; or

6. Use the District’s new DC311 smartphone application.

Those who report potholes should identify the precise location, including the correct quadrant (NW, NE, SW or SE) of the District, and provide as much detail as possible about the hazard, including the approximate size and depth of the pothole. DDOT crews will also be out and about proactively identifying potholes.

How is a pothole repaired?

Road crews fix a pothole by filling it with replacement pavement material. Cold patches are used for small potholes in lightly trafficked areas because they can be quickly applied. Hot asphalt is used in high-traffic areas or on large potholes, because it will hold much more effectively. If the road has become pitted with potholes, it may need to be resurfaced. Resurfacing a roadway involves stripping the upper layers of asphalt off, roughening the bottom layers, and applying a new upper roadway surface.

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NEWS: Ginkgo spraying next week (week of 4/29/13)

This from DDOT:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DDOT Media Contact: Monica Hernandez – 202-671-2261, monica.hernandez@dc.gov

Ginkgo Tree Spraying to Occur Next Week

(Washington, D.C.) To prevent the notoriously unpleasant odor of female ginkgo fruit from overtaking city streets, the District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Administration (UFA) will start spraying these fruits starting Monday, April 29.

Spraying will begin in Wards 1, 2 and 6, where female ginkgo trees are most prevalent, and continue through Wards 4, 3, 7, 8 and 5. Spraying will occur overnight for several nights and there is no need to move vehicles parked on streets. If you have any questions, please contact UFA at 202-671-5133 or visit ddot.dc.gov/trees for more information.

UFA’s mission is to establish a full population of street trees within the District and to ensure that those trees are maintained in a healthy and safe condition. UFA staff includes 20 certified arborists who are responsible for issuing permits, enforcing regulations and caring for approximately 132,000 trees throughout the city.

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Visit goDCgo.com for more information on transportation options in the District