Report: DC Region’s Unfunded Infrastructure Needs Total $58 Billion – “We want transportation to run smoothly, electricity and natural gas to turn on when we flip the switch, water to flow when we turn on the tap, clear communications in an emergency, and first-class public buildings,” said Phil Mendelson, board chairman of the Council of Governments as well as the DC Council chairman, in the preface to the draft report. “However, maintenance and replacement costs in critical sectors have been deferred as leaders have been faced with competing priorities, and the need for investing in new systems to support growth and maintaining a state of good repair totals in the billions.”  [The Washington Post]

DC Challenges Congress to Halt Marijuana Legalization in Nation’s Capital – The District of Columbia defied its new Republican overseers in Congress on Tuesday, challenging the House and Senate to either block or let stand a voter-approved ballot measure to legalize marijuana in the nation’s capital.  DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) sent the voter-approved measure to Capitol Hill, starting the clock on a 30-day review that Congress has invoked only three times in 40 years to quash a local D.C. law.  [The Washington Post]

Regional Council Wants WMATA to Appear After Monday Incident – DC Councilman Phil Mendelson also supports the measure and hopes Metro will provide answers.  “We have a right to understand what happened. Recognize that there is an investigation and we shouldn’t impede that investigation. But we still have a right to know and it’s understandable that people want answers as soon as possible,” says Mendelson.  [WTOP]

Metro’s a Mess.  All the More Reason to Ride It – A Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments report presented today highlights the region’s conundrum. The D.C. area faces a $16 billion budget gap for public transportation (mostly Metro) in order to meet the needs of a growing population over the next 10 years, the report finds. There’s also an $8.5 billion budget gap for roads and bridges, which will only be exacerbated if more people turn away from Metro and start driving.  “Maintenance and replacement costs in critical sectors have been deferred as leaders have been faced with competing priorities, and the need for investing in new systems to support growth and maintaining a state of good repair totals in the billions,” Phil Mendelson, chair of the DC Council and the Council of Governments board, warned in the report’s preface. He wrote those words before the Metro accident, but they’re all the more haunting in its aftermath.  [The Washington Post]

‘Death with Dignity’ Laws Are Proposed, Bringing National Debate to DC and Md. – “In terms of occupying the council, I wouldn’t put it in the same league as marriage equality,” an issue that drew hundreds of witnesses to hearings, Mendelson said. “This is not a jurisdiction that gets all twisted up over a lot of these social issues.”  [The Washington Post]

Alarm Bells Ring for Washington Regional Economy on Growth, Infrastructure – District Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D), who initiated the council of governments study, said it was necessary because politicians too often found it easy to ignore the problem.  “The reason [infrastructure] is underfunded is it’s not sexy,” Mendelson said. “It’s far better for me to go out and talk about how I’m going to end homelessness than for me to go talk about how I’m going to put the city on a five-mile-a-year water main replacement schedule.”  [The Washington Post]

DC Council Sets Up Hearings on Marijuana Regulation – D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said the council should be in the clear to hold public meetings on the proposed legislation, which would codify regulations regarding marijuana that were not included in a voter-approved ballot initiative.  “All we’re talking about is a hearing,” Mr. Mendelson said. “I don’t think that’s inappropriate. And I think trying to muffle public discussion would implicate constitutional issues. It would be bad public policy.”  [The Washington Times]

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