Dear Neighbors, There’s a lot to cover this week! DC School Lottery results. Renewing your Medicaid coverage. Deadline to apply for DPR summer camps. COVID Centers closing. Ward 4 traffic safety improvements. Great community events, including Spring Carnival at Petworth Library. New legislation on emergency rental assistance. And more Congressional meddling in DC affairs. Most of my time was dedicated to budget oversight hearings lifting up community issues. I pressed the Department of Buildings about addressing blighted properties in Ward 4, inspecting tenant buildings for housing violations, and the questionable quality of companies that do “third party inspections” of residential construction and

Dear Neighbors, It is now officially spring and officially budget season! My team and I have been analyzing the Mayor’s proposed budget since it was released on Wednesday, and I laid out some initial impressions for you in this newsletter. I am grateful that this week included a powerful listening session with Ward 4 residents hosted by DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb and his team. The experiences, priorities, and ideas that neighbors shared there are grounding me as I begin my work on the DC budget on behalf of our community. In addition to the deep dive on the budget, I

Dear Neighbors, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! We are gearing up at the Council for the Mayor to release her budget proposal this coming Wednesday. I wrote to the Mayor a month ago to share some of my budget priorities, and I look forward to beginning to work on the budget once it’s transmitted to the Council. I am calling on Ward 4 to show up strong for budget oversight hearings (as we always do) and advocate for our community’s needs to be met. There are instructions for how to sign up online, and my team can also point you in the right direction or answer

Today Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George and every member of the Council reintroduced the Work Order Integrity Amendment Act of 2023, legislation to require a school-level staff member (like a foreman, operations director, or principal) to give affirmative approval before a work order ticket for repairs or maintenance in a school can be closed. This bill will improve school maintenance and communication between DGS, DCPS, and our schools. “All of our students deserve safe and comfortable learning environments. Principals and school staff know their buildings better than anyone, and we need to empower them to ensure that repairs and

Dear Neighbors, I hope you’ve had a good week. My newsletter this Friday includes legislation to replace all lead pipes in DC, a quick recap of our Council session on Tuesday, updates on Congressional intervention in our local affairs, expanded hours at Emery Heights Community Center, a new summer camp registration system, community events, free resources, and lots of local news! Green New Deal for a Lead-Free DC We know that lead pipes carry severe health risks for our communities — especially for young children, seniors, and expectant mothers. DC has a goal to replace all of its lead pipes

Today Councilmember Janeese Lewis George and seven other Councilmembers reintroduced the Green New Deal for a Lead-Free DC Amendment Act to accelerate the removal of hazardous lead water service lines on public and private land in DC, while also expanding the District’s lead remediation specialist workforce with a new job training program through the Infrastructure Academy. “We need to move much faster and more aggressively to replace the more than 40,000 lead pipes in DC, which are severely harmful for our children, seniors, and communities as a whole. The Green New Deal for a Lead Free DC will streamline the

Dear Neighbors, This week I talk about the importance of defending DC self governance, share a glimpse into our oversight work with DGS, provide community safety updates, highlight helpful government services and community resources, and round up some upcoming events in Ward 4. Standing Up for DC Home Rule This week the President of the United States and many Senators turned their backs on DC residents and our fundamental right to self determination by backing a resolution to overturn a local District law for the first time in more than three decades. This is the latest chapter in a long,

Today the President of the United States and many Senate Democrats turned their backs on DC residents and our fundamental right to self determination.  This is the latest chapter in a long, dark history of Congress forcing its will on the people of DC. It harkens back to when Congressmen openly opined that DC’s Black leaders were incapable of self governance. Instead of burying that racist legacy, Congress and the President seek to resurrect it.  This country was founded on the principles of self governance and democratic representation that have always been denied to us. As DC residents, we have

Dear Neighbors, We’ve had a week full of oversight work, new legislation, and being in community. First, I’m excited to share that I am co-hosting a Ward 4 Youth Career Building Workshop this coming Monday, February 27 from 10am-2pm at Emery Heights. Please make sure the young people in your life (ages 17-24) who want support building a career know about the event! We are keeping the focus on youth this week, with big updates on recreation opportunities in this newsletter and a Council roundtable happening this Saturday at noon at the RISE Demonstration Center to hear directly from young people about the issues that

I hope you’ve had a good week. Thank you to everyone who joined our Ward 4 Budget Forum on Wednesday, or any of our other Listen As We Climb events. Through these listening sessions, my team and I have heard from more than two hundred neighbors, and your ideas and priorities are already shaping our work this year on the Council and in our community. This week has been full of performance oversight hearings, where I engaged agencies on the issues that impact our community, including improved government services from DPW, filling critical vacancies in DC government, truly affordable housing, more