WASHINGTON, DC — Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George introduced three bills to address important loopholes in the District’s minimum wage and paid family leave laws. These loopholes are systematically denying hard-working residents in the District the full pay and benefits they are entitled to for their labor. All three bills are being co-introduced by a majority of Members of the DC Council. “DC’s minimum wage and paid family leave laws offer critical protections for working families, but some companies exploit loopholes to systematically deny workers the wages or benefits they deserve,” said Councilmember Janeese Lewis George. “These bills will

Dear Neighbors, My weekly newsletter includes an important opportunity to share your DC budget priorities with me and my team, updates from our oversight work and Council legislative meeting, Ward 4 news, community resources, local news, and quite a few community events. Check it all out! Ward 4 and Council News Ward 4 Budget Forum and Virtual Listening Session We have rescheduled our final Listen As We Climb virtual listening session that was originally scheduled for February 2 to Wednesday, February 15 at 7pm by Zoom. The event will also jointly serve as our Ward 4 budget forum. Neighbors can register on Zoom to join us

Dear Neighbors, Here is my Friday newsletter with important updates, resources, and events for our community. Ward 4 and Council News Centering Equity in a New Ward 4 Library On Wednesday, we held our performance oversight hearing with DC Public Library. Ward 4 loves its libraries, and we are grateful for our brand new Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Library, the DCPL Library on the Go-Go mobile unit that is active in our community, and $1.5 million in upgrades to Petworth Library coming in 2024. But we also have a major library service gap in Brightwood Park and Manor Park that DCPL itself

The historic Northern Bus Barn garage has served as a public transit hub for our community in Sixteenth Street Heights for more than a century. Operating first as a storage and maintenance facility for electric streetcars, Northern then transitioned to serving DC’s growing bus network and came under Metro’s ownership in 1966. The bus garage quickly became a critical part of our transit system by housing MetroBuses close to key bus corridors like 16th Street, 14th Street, and Georgia Avenue. As a child, I remember getting off the bus on 14th Street and greeting MetroBus drivers who were enjoying their

Dear Neighbors, I’m writing first to share an exciting update about Northern Bus Barn that was announced this week! I also want to make sure you know about some key Council hearings where you can participate next week; remind you about upcoming deadlines for health care enrollment and the DC School Lottery (Grades 9-12); update you on MetroRail service, OSSE bus delays, and leaf collection; highlight local news you may have missed, and share several community events. Northern Bus Barn to Open with All Electric Buses! The historic Northern Bus Barn garage has served as a public transit hub for

Dear Neighbors, My newsletter this week shares many ways neighbors can make their voice heard: performance oversight hearings, community listening sessions in Ward 4, the opportunity to run for ANC in Brightwood, and several important surveys. I also update our community on the District’s criminal code revision, two great Ward 4 businesses, neighborhood events, public meetings, government services, and community resources. I hope you find this useful! Make Your Voice Heard at a Performance Oversight Hearing Strong civic engagement is essential for a healthy democracy. In a few days, the Council will begin its performance oversight hearings for each DC

Dear Neighbors, My newsletter this week is focused on our continued response to gun violence, as well as our upcoming community listening sessions and lots of neighborhoods news. Community Safety Update Twice now in one month, individuals have recklessly shot and injured young children in our community. It is unconscionable that children making their way home from school or walking down the block to get pizza have to worry about being struck by a bullet, but that is the reality our city faces right now and not a single one of us should accept it. Every neighbor I spoke to this week

Dear Neighbors, I hope your 2023 is off to a good start and that you’re enjoying the days starting to get a bit longer. This week I’m reporting back on our new Ward 4 ANC Commissioners, my Council Committee assignments, two important public safety meetings in Brightwood and Riggs Park, DDOT’s new traffic safety request system, the status of leaf collection, holiday tree and greenery collection, community resources, neighborhood events, local news, and more! Ward 4 and Council News The New Year Brings New ANC Commissioners This week I had the great honor of swearing in both new and returning

Dear Neighbors, I’m writing to you for one last time this year to share some quick but important updates about DC government and our community leading up to the holidays. DC Council Final Legislation Meeting. Last Tuesday, the Council held its final legislative meeting, where we passed the second and final vote on my Safe Routes to School Act to make major traffic safety improvements around schools; Metro for DC to make MetroBus free in DC, expand bus service, and later on create a monthly transit subsidy for DC residents to ride MetroRail; the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to provide essential workplace protections to house cleaners, nannies,

On Tuesday, December 20, the DC Council unanimously passed the second and final vote on the Safe Routes to School Act, which would require sweeping traffic safety improvements around both DCPS and public charter schools in the District. The Safe Routes to School Act comes at a time when the District is struggling with a high number of traffic fatalities. Zy’aire Joshua and Timothy Abbott in Ward 4 were two of many young lives lost on our streets in recent years. And across our city, dangerous driving leads to severe injuries, daily near-misses, and widespread fear among families for their