The mayor is scheduled to publish her budget on March 20, which triggers a series of budget oversight hearings at the Council. During each hearing, the agency's proposed budget is examined. The public is invited to testify at those hearings, and I strongly encourage residents to do so. You can view the full list of budget oversight hearings on the Council's website, and I look forward to seeing Ward 5 residents out in force.
City officials are taking steps to expand the safety net for unpaid federal employees, contractors and residents who are struggling to make ends meet as the partial government shutdown stretches into a second month.
The D.C. Council unanimously passed emergency legislation put forward by Cm. Anita Bonds to protect workers from losing their homes, while the Bowser administration found $2 million in emergency funds to help food stamp recipients. Mayor Bowser also announced she was introducing legislation to give the city authority to grant unemployment benefits to federal employees forced to work without pay, such as TSA airport screeners and special police. Furloughed workers who are not being forced to work are already eligible for benefits. The U.S. Labor Department denied her request to authorize such benefits last week.
Members of the Langston Civic Association met Tuesday night to discuss a variety of upcoming events in our community.
Capt. Duncan Bedlion of MPD updated the community on recent crimes in the area and requested the association's support for an upcoming collaboration between DPW, DCRA and MPD to tackle vacant properties that have become haven's for drugs and other crime. The civic association's president, Sydelle Moore recently sponsored a community walk-through to identify these properties and other ongoing issues with Mayor Bowser's Office of Community Relations and members expressed approval that MPD would be making an effort to address these concerns. Community members also heard presentations from Community Mediation DC, received an update on RFK redevelopment and talked over the details of several upcoming projects and events in our community with the Anacostia Watershed Society. Our association will be partnering with the Anacostia Watershed Society to do several projects this year including:
Please keep an eye on our blog for additional details about these upcoming events. Take a Look at Preliminary Sketches for Two Murals:
Please remember these drawing are not completed. They are just sketches.
The new owner of the Food 7 Store also attended the meeting to share his plans for addressing some of the longstanding issues at the store and reaffirm his commitment to abiding by the terms set in our settlement agreement. Community members thanked him and then continued the conversation by discussing ways that Sylvia's Liquor could improve safety near the store. Everyone has until the end of the week to submit suggestions for a possible settlement agreement with the store. Learn more about what types of suggestions can be made and how to make them by reading our previous post on this topic.
Mayor Bowser and Cm. McDuffie also sent representatives to offer updates on the budget and what their offices are doing to address violent crime. You can read about Cm. McDuffie's work on his website. Video From Mayor Bowser's Office:First of all, thanks to everyone who made this project a success. The Langston Civic Association partnered with The Mission Continues, BAE Systems Inc., Mayor Bowser's office, Cm. McDuffie's office as well as community volunteers to renovate the courtyard at Browne Education Campus. More than 20 volunteers showed up in the rain to help pull weeds, build new picnic tables and organize the courtyard to give the children a beautiful outdoor space for studying. The garden now boasts more than 50 new plants including a vegetable and herb garden. We will be hosting Part 2 of this service project at some point this summer. Due to the weather, we were unable to paint and would like to ask neighbors to keep an eye out for details about that fun, upcoming project. Also, neighbors with herbs and vegetables to donate to the children's garden should contact [email protected]. Thanks! BEFORE & AFTERThe Work We Do MattersEven if you do not live in our community and would like to donate to the work that we are doing to help improve the lives of the people who live here, please donate. Community organizations like ours need your support.
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