Posts about George Hawkins

On Anacostia Park, within his first six months in office Fenty dismantled the Anacostia Waterfront Development Corporation, which had been charged with implementing the vision articulated in the Anacostia Framework Plan of 2003. He now wants to build 6 million square feet of commercial and residential development at Poplar Point, compared with the approximately 1 million square feet that had been negotiated during the Plan's development. Defending Poplar Point is the Sierra Club's top land-use priority.

Fenty put a good man, George Hawkins, at the helm of DDOE, but then repeatedly saddled the agency with bloated green-jobs programs that drove Hawkins and most of his senior staff crazy. Hawkins ultimately left for WASA (now DC Water).

Fenty also wouldn't allow Hawkins to express support for Tommy Wells' wildly-successful grocery bag fee bill, which passed the Council with nary a dissenting vote.

This year the Mayor instituted major funding cuts for DDOE—more than for any other agency. He then raided the supposedly sacrosanct "Tree Fund," transferring $539,000 of "dedicated" tree revenues into the General Fund.

As we approached the culmination of our campaign to force Congress to quit burning coal in the Capitol Power Plant, we approached the Mayor with an offer to put him in front of our campaign. We considered this a no-brainer given the obvious health impacts of burning tons of coal in the middle of the District, not to mention the global warming implications. But the Mayor wouldn't accept our offer despite the silver platter. Only weeks later, Congress caved in. Decades of coal-burning in downtown DC ended last year!

Similarly, reduced greenhouse gas emissions are the central goal of DC's new Sustainable Energy Utility. But Fenty recently proposed to reduce its budget by 85%. He then tried to slash the DC tax credits for solar energy installations.

Then the Mayor nominated Lori Lee—his wife's best friend—to chair the Public Service Commission, which regulates electricity production and sales. When I sat down with her she quickly revealed that she knew nothing of the subject, candidly admitting that she didn't even know what global warming is ("something to do with the ozone layer?") We managed to bump her down from Chair to Member.

The Mayor is also fighting us on the pending "MS4" stormwater discharge permit from EPA. We would like to see improvements in the draft permit, but generally support its rigor. The Administration is doing its best to weaken it, arguing that the suburbs should take the lead on water quality improvement.

Meanwhile, during his six years on the Council, Chairman Gray has always been a friend of the District's environmental movement. My records show that he has been a 100% green voter for his entire tenure.

Earlier this year Vince valiantly fended off Mayor Fenty's proposed cuts in next year's budget for sustainable energy development, rooftop solar, as well as basic funding for DDOE. This largely unheralded work came at a steep price, because other budget priorities had to be sacrificed. Granted, he wavered for hours on streetcar funding, but ultimately made the right call. This was, after all, a very tough budget year.

Vince has supported our campaign to save Klingle Valley since the days when Adrian was holding pro-road press conferences in the Valley itself. In responding to our recent political questionnaire, he distinguished himself from Mayor Fenty in his commitment to oppose over-the-top development at Poplar Point.

Gray talks to us. He attended the Sierra Club's Annual Dinner last Fall and gave a rousing address. This is a leader whom we can trust and fully expect to work with in the coming years.

For these and related reasons, the Sierra Club's leadership voted unanimously (10-0) to endorse Gray.

If we want Washington to take its rightful place alongside Seattle and San Francisco as one of America's most progressive environmental cities, we need an executive that will work hand-in-hand with our now progressive legislature. Gray has the vision; Fenty doesn't. And Gray will end the war-between-the-branches that has held DC in second gear for four years.

The color coding represents the approximate elevation of different parts of the city. Blue water mains run along roads at the lowest elevations (between zero and 70 feet above sea level). Red water mains are located at the second elevation range (between 70 and 140 feet), green at the third range, orange at the fourth, and brown at the highest elevations. The red and green areas east of the Anacostia River are separate zones than those west of the river, while the lowest zone (blue) spans both sides of the river.

This means that the reservoir that serves your house isn't necessarily the one closest to your house, or even in your quadrant of the city! For example, our house is in Trinidad. While the closest reservoir is at Brentwood Parkway and New York Avenue (just north of Gallaudet University), we are served by reservoirs in Berkley and at the Armed Forces Retirement Home, both across town in the Northwest quadrant of the city.

Meanwhile, the reservoir nearest our house serves locations at the lowest elevations (below 70 feet), from lower Georgetown and Southwest in the west all the way to Rosedale and Deanwood in the east.

Some other examples of reservoirs and the neighborhods they serve:

• The reservoir at Van Ness and 44th NW serves neighborhoods at intermediate elevations across the city like Brookland, Woodridge, and Michigan Park in Northeast; Columbia Heights, Mt. Pleasant, Adams Morgan, and Kalorama in the center of the city; and Foxhall and the Palisades in Northwest.

• Two of the reservoirs at Fort Reno serve higher elevations like Glover Park, Cleveland Park, American University Park, and Forest Hills west of Rock Creek Park; and Petworth, North Portal Estates, Manor Park, and Takoma east of Rock Creek.

• The highest reservoir at Fort Reno serves the highest elevations in the city—neighborhoods like Tenleytown, Chevy Chase, and Shepherd Park.

Neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River have had a persistent problem with lower water pressure. DC Water is looking to rectify that with the construction of the new reservoir and pumping station in Ward 8. The construction of the new Department of Homeland Security headquarters on the campus of Saint Elizabeths will greatly increase demand for water in that part of town, and Mr. Hawkins said it would be a win-win for the neighborhood and DHS to get the new reservoir built as part of the new construction there.

Cross-posted at The District Curmudgeon.