©Muriel Bowser
– Residents of all ages enjoying the annual Ward 4 Holiday Party.
 ©Muriel Bowser
– Ward
3 Councilmember Mary Cheh’s supporting the holiday party.
 ©Muriel Bowser – Recognizing Neighbors
for Neighborhoods Coordinator, Linda Schmitt along with At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds and DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson.
 ©Muriel Bowser – Recognizing Military Road School Preservation Trust
Executive Secretary Patricia A. Tyson
 ©Muriel Bowser – Recognizing
the Lamond Riggs Task Force
 ©Muriel Bowser – Recognizing DC Chairman Phil Mendelson.
©Muriel Bowser –
With my Council staff at the annual Ward 4 Holiday Party.
News from Muriel
December 18, 2013
Dear
Neighbors:
I would like to thank everyone for attending my annual
Ward 4 Holiday Party last Saturday at St. John’s College High School. I host this party every year to have the
opportunity to celebrate the holidays with my neighbors and supporters of our
community. As part of this annual holiday tradition, I also recognize the
extraordinary work of individuals and organizations for their leadership on
behalf of Ward 4. This year I was so happy to recognize Neighbors for
Neighborhoods Coordinator Linda Schmitt, Military Road School Preservation
Trust Executive Secretary Patricia A. Tyson, Takoma Education Campus Principal
Rikki Taylor, the Lamond Riggs Development Task Force, and DC Council Chairman
Phil Mendelson. In addition, I was honored to posthumously recognize ANC
Commissioner Janet Myers.
In the spirit of the holiday season, I also host my
annual coat drive to provide new coats to deserving Ward 4 girls and boys. The coat drive was an enormous success, with
over 100 coats available for children in our community. I look forward to working with LaSalle-Backus
Education Campus, Truesdell Education Campus, Powell Elementary School, and
Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School to determine the
families most in need. Thank you again Ward 4 for celebrating with us and
supporting a great cause!
At yesterday’s last legislative session before the New
Year, Councilmember Muriel Bowser supported and voted for the Minimum Wage
Amendment Act which will effectively increase the District’ minimum wage to
$11.50 by 2016. Councilmember Bowser
also authored and introduced the following three bills:
Free Transportation for Summer Youth Amendment Act
The District of Columbia Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) is a
locally funded initiative that employs about 14,000 youth between ages 14 and
21 years of age. Currently, under the Kids Ride Free program, all District
students up to the age 22 are eligible to ride the Metrobus for free during
summer school. The Free Transportation
for Summer Youth Amendment Act will allow SYEP participants the same benefit
during their six-week program.
Access to Youth Employment Programs Amendment Act
Councilmember Bowser’s bill will increase the participant
age of SYEP and the in school jobs program from 21 to 24 years of age, making
more youth eligible for the program.
Justice for Ex-Spouses Act
Councilmember Bowser’s bill aims to provide justice to ex-spouses whose
ability to remarry is hindered by malicious conduct. It will establish a civil cause of action for
any individual whose former spouse has maliciously interfered with an individual’s
ability to remarry. It provides for the recovery of damages and reasonable
attorney’s fees by the prevailing plaintiff.
In addition, this bill remedies another problem sometimes faced by
orthodox Jewish women after civil divorces. If an ex-husband refuses to accede
to a religious divorce, or to grant a “get,” the woman is prevented from
remarrying within her faith. Husbands
can use this threat as leverage to extort undue concessions or maintain abusive
control.
For more information, please contact Rob Hawkins at 202-724-8052.
The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), in partnership with the
Deputy Mayor for Education and the DC Public Charter Schools, launched the new
common application and common lottery for District families. The application and lottery are designed to
simplify the process for families and maximize the number of students who are matched
with a school they choose.
The application officially launched on Monday, December 16th. The application deadline for grades 9-12 is
Monday, February 3, 2014 and for grades Pre-K-8 is Monday, March 3, 2014.
For more information and to access the common application, please visit www.myschoolsdc.org.
The Office of Planning will host the Great Streets Grant Information
Session for businesses interested in applying on Friday, December 20th
starting 8:00AM at the Emory Fellowship located at 6100 Georgia Avenue,
NW. The purpose of the
Great Streets Small Business Capital Improvement Grants is to support existing
small businesses, attract new businesses, increase the District’s tax base, and
create new jobs for District residents. The office of the Deputy Mayor for
Planning and Economic Development will award individual grants of up to a
maximum of $85,000 each to support and foster growth among small
businesses. Grant funds will be utilized
to reimburse grantees for capital expenditures to improve the subject property
or for the purchase of equipment that will be used onsite.
For more information, please contact Marsha Brown at the
Emory Beacon of Light at 202-829-5732.
The Committee on Economic Development, chaired by Councilmember Bowser,
and the Committee on Transportation and the Environment will hold a joint
hearing on the Air Quality Amendment Act, B20-368, and the Air Pollution Disclosure
and Reduction Act, B20-569 on Thursday, January 2nd in room 412 at
the John A. Wilson Building located at 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
If you wish to testify, please contact Aukima Benjamin at 202-724-8062 or
at abenjamin@dccouncil.us.
For more information, please visit: http://dccouncil.us/events/transportation-and-the-environment-roundtable-on-air-quality-issues-in-the.
The DC Zoning Commission announced at their December 9th
meeting that they will hold four additional community meetings across the city
to obtain more public input. The four
meetings will be with Wards 1 & 2, Wards 3 & 4, Wards 5 & 6, and
Wards 7 & 8. The meetings are to be scheduled
in February, and once they’re confirmed, the Zoning Commission and the Office
of Councilmember Bowser will provide a time and location. The record for public input is scheduled to close
on March 3rd.
For more information, please visit the Zoning Commission website at http://dcoz.dc.gov/services/zoning/commish.shtm.
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