The Voice of DC Cab Drivers, July 24, 2011: Examining Taxi Issues in D.C., Prince George’s and Arlington

Posted on July 25, 2011 by admin

Drivers and allies outside the Prince George's County Council, May 24, 2011

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Tonight, in addition to examining what’s going on in the District of Columbia, we turn our attention to two neighboring jurisdictions struggling with taxicab issues.

In Prince George’s, the County Council recently passed a bill which overturned last year’s unanimous vote on CB-36, which provided medallions directly to independent drivers, instead of to the few big players that dominate the county’s taxicab industry.

In a July 3 op-ed in the Sunday Washington Post, Prince George’s County Councilmember Mary Lehman wrote, “This is a classic David vs. Goliath struggle… In Prince George’s County, what has stood between independent drivers and economic security is a system that is reminiscent of the sharecropper system in the Old South in which poor white and black farmers could never get ahead. While cab companies pay the county $200 per year per licensed vehicle, drivers who affiliate with those companies pay a staggering $335 per week – or about 50 percent of their earnings – to essentially rent the license from the corporate holder.” Continue reading →

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Prince George’s County Taxi Workers Alliance Charts Course to Overturn Anti-Taxi Driver Legislation

Posted on July 20, 2011 by admin

Listen to Mary Lehman and Henock Wogderse:

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[The audio for this piece will be aired on The Voice of DC Cab Drivers Sunday evening between 7:00-8:15 p.m. on WUST 1120 AM, wust1120.com]

“This is like a system of indentured servitude,” District 1 Councilmember Mary Lehman said of Prince George’s County’s taxicab industry. Lehman didn’t join with the majority of her Council colleagues who recently voted to prevent the county’s taxicab drivers from attaining financial independence from the handful of companies that dominate the industry.

Just a year ago, the Council unanimously voted to approve CB-36, which provided 390 medallions directly to independent drivers. At the May 24 meeting of the Transportation, Housing and Environment Committee, District 2 Councilmember Will Campos introduced legislation to overturn CB-36. As Campos spoke, the word “corruption” was uttered by taxi drivers, who filled the second floor hearing room. Campos offered an explanation for his reversal, sort of. “I voted for it, but I was not in favor of it,” Campos said of last year’s vote on CB-36. Continue reading →

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The Voice of DC Cab Drivers, July 17, 2011: A Discussion on Service Animals in Cabs; Wells Removed as Chair of Transportation Committee

Posted on July 18, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF DC CAB DRIVERS, July 17:

Councilmember Tommy Wells outside the Council Chamber Tuesday, shortly after speaking with reporters about his removal as chair of the Committee on Public Works and Transporation by Council Chair Kwame Brown

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(In addition to listening to The Voice of DC Cab Drivers live on WUST 1120 AM, you can listen live on your phone at (712) 432-6620 or online at wust1120.com.)

Tonight, we host a discussion on the difficulty in hailing a cab for those with service animals. We’ll be joined by Jim Dickson of the American Association of People with Disabilities and the Equal Rights Center. Dickson was testifying at the June 22 Taxicab Commission hearing when the Park Police entered and arrested two reporters, myself and Jim Epstein of Reason TV. Appearing recently on NewsChannel 8’s NewsTalk, Dickson discussed the event with host Bruce DePuyt

Continue reading →

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Labor Organizer Raymin Diaz on Building a Black-Brown Coalition

Posted on July 14, 2011 by admin

Raymin Diaz in front of construction site at 14th and Belmont St, NW

LISTEN TO RAYMIN DIAZ:

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“The African American in the community looks at the Hispanic as a threat. ‘They’re taking the jobs.’ That’s been the claim,” said Raymin Diaz, a labor organizer with LiUNA, as he overlooked Southland’s construction site at 14th and Belmont St, NW last month.

“But look at who owns Southland, who owns Clark, who owns these companies. It’s not the Hispanic. The contractor is the one who does the hiring. The contractor is the one who underpays [and] undercuts these workers, and overlooks African Americans. As long as we’re down here at the bottom of the hill duking it out for the jobs, the contractors are laughing with that check to the bank.” Continue reading →

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The Voice of DC Cab Drivers, July 10, 2011: A Debate on the Future of the D.C. Taxicab Commission

Posted on July 11, 2011 by admin

The Voice of DC Cab Drivers, July 10, 2011:

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[You can listen to The Voice of DC Cab Drivers on your phone at (712) 432-6620 or online at wust1120.com.]

Tonight, we host a debate on the future of the D.C. Taxicab Commission.
Calls to eliminate the body are growing.

Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells is chair of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation and has oversight of the Taxicab Commission. Wells said, “I don’t know if the commission ever worked… Do we need one?”

In tonight’s debate, we’ll hear from leading voices on both sides of the issue. Joining us will be Washington Post reporter Mike DeBonis, Greater Greater Washington founder and editor-in-chief David Alpert. Also joining the debate will be Ali, Haimanot Bizuayehu, and Nathan Price, all members of the Small Business Association of DC Taxicab Drivers. Continue reading →

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Tuesday’s Vote on D.C.’s Budget Priorities for Additional Revenue Has Received Little Notice

Posted on July 11, 2011 by admin

Listen to Bob Pohlman and Elizabeth Falcon:

Elizabeth Falcon and Bob Pohlman

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In a vote that appears to be escaping scrutiny, Tuesday the D.C. Council will determine the spending priorities for any additional revenue that would result from an upward revision of the city’s revenue forecast.

“If advocates aren’t there at least observing and watching and letting them know that you’re monitoring their actions, it is very unpredictable what will happen,” said Bob Pohlman, executive director of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (CNHED).

In May, some of the most painful cuts to safety net services were staved off when the D.C. Council voted to tax out of state bonds, just like every state does, with the exception of Indiana. Continue reading →

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H Street NE: A Look from the Other Side of the (Streetcar) Tracks

Posted on July 7, 2011 by admin

Bachir Diop standing along H Street NE

Listen to Pamela Johnson and Bachir Diop HERE

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“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that if you block access to my retail business for a long time, four years, there is no way… for me to stay,” said Bachir Diop, who, along with his partner, Pamela Johnson, owns property on H Street, NE.

For almost four years, the nearly one-mile, $50 million reconstruction of H Street has been underway, to the detriment of local businesses, particularly minority owned businesses. At the same time the reconstruction tore up H Street’s roads and sidewalks, making the business environment nightmarish, property taxes jumped by as much as 350 percent, said Johnson.

If that number seems implausible, try this one: $10-15 billion. That’s the total value the streetcar system will bring to D.C., according to New Urban Network: “The 37-mile system, the first corridor of which is under construction and expected to be completed by 2012, will increase the value of existing properties by $5-7 billion, according to the study by Goody Clancy & Associates of Boston. Continue reading →

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The Voice of DC Cab Drivers: PG County Pushes Forward with Anti-Taxi Driver Legislation

Posted on July 4, 2011 by admin

LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF DC CAB DRIVERS, JULY 3, 2011

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In Prince George’s, the County Council is considering undoing legislation that has been in effect for only six months, and was passed into law just a year ago. Last year’s legislation, County Bill (CB) 36, gives medallions directly to individual taxicab drivers, instead of to the few companies that dominate the industry.

The Washington Post noted of last year’s CB-36: “[It] ordered the county to issue 400 new medallions [to independent drivers] and add more in the next few years, depending on how the system was working.”

But now, with only 254 medallions given to independent drivers, the County Council is considering CB 3, legislation that would stop the remaining 146 medallions from being issued. What’s more, CB 3 “allows individuals to sell medallions to cab companies, allowing companies to control as much as 75 percent of the market,” writes Prince George’s County Councilmember Mary Lehman in today’s Washington Post. Continue reading →

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Can the Adams Morgan Hotel Be Built Without Trampling D.C. Zoning Laws?

Posted on June 30, 2011 by admin

Voices from April 30, 2011 Adams Morgan ANC community meeting in Kalorama Park

ANC Chair Wilson Reynolds assists developer Brian Friedman with his plans for a hotel tower in Adams Morgan

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Brian Friedman is a developer in his early thirties looking to make a name for himself. Friedman’s attempt to build a ten-story hotel tower in the Reed-Cooke neighborhood in Adams Morgan is audacious. Fortunately for him, he has financial backing (from his family).

Friedman was able to secure major taxpayer subsidies from the cash-strapped District government for the luxury boutique hotel. Last December, the D.C. Council approved a $46 million tax abatement for the project, which Friedman viewed as perfectly natural. “It’s like any other hotel built in this city… There’s always a subsidy,” Friedman told the Washington Business Journal .

The $127 million, 90-plus foot luxury boutique hotel may not be a good fit for the mixed income neighborhood, according to the zoning regulation. Continue reading →

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Calls to Eliminate Taxicab Commission May Be Misguided

Posted on June 29, 2011 by admin

NewsTalk with Bruce DePuyt on NewsChannel8, June 28, 2011

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