The Ward 5 Report:
In Loving Memory of
Tim Clark
January 23, 2015
 Councilmember McDuffie reflects on the passing of Tim Clark
Tim was an integral member of Team McDuffie from the beginning, and I am forever indebted to him and his family.
To know Tim was to love Tim. Those who had the pleasure of knowing Tim
personally or professionally knew he was a public servant who cared
deeply for every neighborhood in Ward 5
and across the District of Columbia. He served the Edgewood and
Eckington neighborhoods admirably on the executive board of the Edgewood
Civic Association and as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner of 5E
(formally 5C). Most recently, after working on her campaign, he joined
Mayor Muriel Bowser's administration as a staffer in the Deputy Mayor
for Economic Development's Office. His passion and dedication to his
community made him an unparalleled asset to the District. In fact, even
at his young age, Tim had a political acumen that rivaled many seasoned
political advisors nationwide. Truly, Tim had a bright future ahead of
him.
I will deeply miss Tim. God bless him and the entire Clark family. I hope you will join me on Monday, January 26, to celebrate Tim's life.
Monday,
January 26
Viewing: 9:00 AM
Service: 11:00 AM
A repast will take
place shortly after the interment
Location: Bible
Way Temple
1100 New Jersey
Avenue, NW
 Councilmember McDuffie attended ANC 5C's first meeting of 2015 on Wednesday, January 21.
Legislative & Committee Updates
Councilmember McDuffie to convene a joint public roundtable on WMATA’s L’Enfant Plaza Station incident
On Thursday, February 5, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie,
Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary, and Councilmember Jack
Evans, Chairperson of the Committee on Finance and Revenue, will hold a
joint public oversight roundtable to examine the responses of the
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and public safety
agencies to the January 12, incident at L’Enfant Plaza Metro
Station.
The public oversight roundtable will be held in Room 412 of the John
A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., at 2:00 p.m. The
Committees invite the public to testify or to submit written testimony.
Anyone wishing to testify at the roundtable should contact Kate
Mitchell, Committee Director for the Committee on the Judiciary, at
(202) 727-8275, or via e-mail at kmitchell@dccouncil.us,
and provide their name, address, telephone number, organizational
affiliation, and title (if any) by close of business Monday, February 2. Representatives of organizations will be allowed a maximum of
five minutes for oral testimony, and individuals will be allowed a
maximum of three minutes. The Chairpersons reserve the right to modify
the time allocations afforded to witnesses in order to permit all
witnesses to testify. Witnesses should bring ten copies of their written
testimony and, if possible, also submit a copy of their testimony
electronically to kmitchell@dccouncil.us.
If you are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements will
be made part of the official record. Copies of written statements should
be submitted either to the Committee on the Judiciary or to Nyasha
Smith, Secretary to the Council, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite
5, Washington, D.C. 20004. The record will close at the end of the
business day on Tuesday, February 10.
Councilmember McDuffie introduces legislation on Title IX, worker's compensation and more
On Tuesday, January
20, 2015, the Council held an organizational meeting for the Committee of the
Whole (“COW”) to approve the COW rules and staff appointment resolutions. Councilmember McDuffie voted in favor of the
resolutions, and additionally had the opportunity to introduce several
important pieces of legislation which are detailed below.
“Title IX Athletic Equity Act of 2015”
An extremely
important measure in ensuring fairness in schools, the “Title IX Athletic
Equity Act of 2015” will create more transparency and equity in athletic
programming. The bill will require elementary, middle and high schools to
submit annually data to the Mayor regarding athletic participation, staffing,
funding, expenditures, scheduling, competition success, academic supports, and
facilities’ conditions. The bill will also require the Mayor to develop a
strategic plan every five years to close the gap between boys’ and girls’
participation in athletics.
“Failure to Yield for Emergency Vehicles Amendment Act of
2015”
Currently,
the fines for drivers who fail to pull to the curb, or yield the right-of-way to
an emergency vehicle, are only published in the District of Columbia Municipal
Regulations. The “Failure to Yield for Emergency Vehicles Amendment Act
of 2015” will codify the infractions in the Code of the District of Columbia.
The bill will not only encourage cautious driving practices by bringing more
visibility to the need to pull over for emergency vehicles, but will also align
the District of Columbia with virtually every other jurisdiction in the United
States.
“Injured Worker Fair Pay Amendment Act of 2015”
The
“Injured Worker Fair Pay Amendment Act
of 2015” will correct an injustice being suffered by some of our District
government employees. Currently,
workers who are receiving workers compensation for injuries
suffered through their employment do not receive the same workforce-wide raises
that their non-injured counterparts do.
For example, at the beginning of this fiscal year when government
workers received a 3% pay increase, those workers who were receiving
workers compensation did not receive the same. This bill will correct that inequity by allowing all of the District government’s employees to be eligible for workforce
wide raises, regardless of whether they are currently injured.
“Books from Birth Establishment
Amendment Act of 2015”
Introduced along
with the author of the bill, Councilmember Charles Allen, the “Books from Birth Establishment
Amendment Act of 2015” will establish a new program to mail a book, once a
month, to any child up to the age of 5. The purpose of the bill is to engage children in reading during early childhood so that we can close the achievement
gap.
Announcements
DC Water is hiring!
 On Friday, January 16, DC Water provided an update to its current job listings. To see the full listing of jobs, please visit DC Water's website at https://www.dcwater.com/employment/water_works.cfm or call 202-787-2304.
Councilmember McDuffie brings greetings to the Grand Re-Opening of Sierra Cooperative
 On Wednesday, January 22, Councilmember
McDuffie joined the Department of Housing and Community Development's
(DHCD) Director Polly Donaldson, Georgetown University Law Center's Dean
William Treanor, affordable housing advocates, and residents for the Grand
Re-Opening of the Sierra Cooperative.
The Sierra Cooperative
is a 20-unit affordable housing building that has been fully renovated
in Ward 5's Eckington neighborhood. Prior to the renovations, the
conditions in which the residents lived were deplorable—a collapsed
roof, mold and uninhabitable units throughout the building, as well as
squatters living in the basement. After Sierra received funds from DHCD
and Local Initiatives Support Corporation, the building was fully
rehabilitated. Georgetown Law’s Harrison Institute provided development
consulting and legal counsel as well.
DDOT and participating jurisdictions to Host Capital Bikeshare
Open House on January 28
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT),
Arlington County, City of Alexandria and Montgomery County—the jurisdictions
that own Capital Bikeshare—will host an Open House on Wednesday, January 28.
Representatives
will present proposed fare increases, review system highlights and performance,
solicit feedback from riders and discuss other issues related to the growth and
development of the region’s most innovative transportation network.
The
event information is as follows:
What:
Capital Bikeshare Open House
When:
Wednesday, January 28
6 pm to 8 pm
Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library – Room A5
901 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
How
to get there:
Capital
Bikeshare: Station at 9th Street and G
Street, NW (on Library Plaza), 23 docks
Metro:
Gallery Place (Served by Red, Yellow and Green lines)
Metrobus:
Stop at 9th St. & G St. NW, served by the 42 and 79 Buses
DC
Circulator: Georgetown-Union Station route, stop at 9th St. NW and
New York Ave. NW
If
you are unable to attend, please join DDOT on Twitter during the event, as the agency live-tweets using the hashtag #CaBiOpenHouse. You can also provide comments on
the proposed price increase by emailing pricing@capitalbikeshare.com.
Litter Free DC
 Litter Free DC is a new program sponsored by the Department of Public Works (DPW) to eliminate litter from our streets.
Why is DPW starting Litter Free DC? Litter is ugly. Litter attracts
rats. Litter lowers property values and makes neighborhoods
unattractive.
Litter is expensive to remove. DPW spends about $19 million a year to
keep our streets and alleys clean. And that money can be put to better
use.
DPW is engaging high school and middle school youth because their
parents want to know what they are thinking and their younger siblings
want to be like them.
Litter thrown from trucks and cars can injure, even kill, as other motorists swerve to avoid it. A Litter Free DC is a safer DC.
We can have a Litter Free DC! Use any of the 4,800 street litter cans
for your litter, NOT your household trash! Put household trash in your
trash can or building’s dumpster.
A Litter Free DC starts with you! Contact DPW to arrange a school visit or community meeting presentation. Call (202) 673-6833 or email Linda Grant at linda.grant@dc.gov.
Ward 5 Events
Good Food Markets Grand Opening
 Please join Councilmember McDuffie at 10:30 AM on Saturday, January 24, for the ribbon cutting ceremony of Good Food Markets, located at 2006 Rhode Island Avenue NE. The ceremony will be followed by an all-day celebration with
samples, in-store events and music as we welcome the newest retailer to Rhode Island Avenue.
Good Food
Markets is a community grocery store in Ward 5's Woodridge neighborhood that focuses on
providing the neighborhood with fresh, high-quality produce, essential
groceries and healthy, delicious grab-and-go meals all at affordable
prices.
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