On July 17, Mayor Vincent C. Gray, officials from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and members of the community celebrated the completion of the Benning Road Reconstruction Project in Ward 7. The group cut a ribbon to ceremonially open the new roadway and then walked across Benning Road using the new signalized crosswalk at Benning Road’s intersection with 39th Street NE.

The new crosswalk signal was one part of a $5 million project that began in March 2011 and included the complete reconstruction of Benning Road from 39th Street to 42nd Street NE. The project encompassed safety, aesthetic and environmental improvements, including new curbs, gutters, sidewalks and driveways. Other new features include ADA-compatible sidewalk ramps, concrete bus pads, new landscaping, improved roadway signage, trash receptacles, fire hydrants and catch basins to reduce water runoff. Read more.

In June, Mayor Gray submitted nominees to lead the District’s Health Benefit Exchange Authority (HBX), which will guide implementation of a crucial part of the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) – state-level insurance exchanges that will provide health insurance customers with more choice and buying power in purchasing affordable health care plans. The nominees were confirmed by the D.C. Council earlier this month and Mayor Gray swore them this week. The authority was created by the Health Benefit Exchange Authority Establishment Act of 2011 (DC L12-0094).

Dr. Mohammad Akhter, Director of the D.C. Department of Health (DOH), will take an unpaid leave of absence to serve on the Executive Board of the District’s newly created HBX. Dr. Saul Levin will serve as the Interim Director of DOH during Dr. Akhter’s absence. Read more.

Last week, Mayor Vincent C. Gray administered the oath of office to newly appointed Commissioners of the DC Commission on Human Rights. The Commission on Human Rights adjudicates private-sector discrimination complaints brought by District residents, employees, or visitors under the provisions of the DC Human Rights Act in the areas of employment, housing, education and public accommodations.

Administrative law judges conduct hearings on behalf of the Commission in cases where “probable cause” of violations has been found by the Office of Human Rights.  A tribunal of three commissioners serves as the ultimate decision-maker in these cases.  If the Commission finds discrimination, it can impose monetary damages or other remedies afforded by one of the most comprehensive anti-discrimination laws in the country – the DC Human Rights Act. The commissioners were nominated by Mayor Gray on April 26 and approved by the DC Council on June 5. The 13 commissioners are: Nkechi Taifa (Chairperson), Motoko Aizawa, Javier Araujo, Alexandra Beninda, Earline Budd, Rahim Jenkins, Mathew McCollough, Edwin Powell, Denise Reed, JD Robinson, Gabriel Rojo, David Scruggs and Michael Ward.

On July 17, Mayor Vincent C. Gray joined Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor Hoskins, Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) Director Harold Pettigrew and Kauffman FastTrac President Alana Muller to launch FastTrac DC, an innovative partnership designed to foster the growth and success of DC small businesses.

This substantial investment in industry-leading entrepreneur development represents one of Kauffman FastTrac’s first large municipal partnerships, and will help DC-based entrepreneurs develop the skills and networks needed to create, manage, and grow successful businesses. Read more.

On July 12, Mayor Vincent C. Gray announced the availability of Smart911, a new initiative by the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) to improve public safety by providing immediate crucial information to emergency responders. Speaking to the media at a press conference at Children’s National Medical Center, Mayor Gray discussed how Smart911 will provide emergency responders with much more complete information about 911 callers so they can respond to the right location, with the right personnel and the right equipment. Coming on the heels of the introduction of the DC 311 smart-phone app, the availability of Smart911 will add to OUC Director Jennifer Greene’s goal of making OUC the nation’s most efficient and responsive emergency communications agency.  Introduced less than two years ago by Rave Mobile Safety, the trusted software partner for campus and public safety, Smart911 is a public/private partnership enabling the creation of a critical caller database that integrates with the District’s 911 system.

With Smart911, residents are able to create a Safety Profile at www.smart911.com that is automatically displayed to 911 during emergency calls. The profile can include home and work addresses associated with mobile phone numbers, specific medical conditions and disabilities, all family members, vehicle information and even information about pets.

Residents are encouraged to create their Safety Profile with Smart911 today to have their information immediately available to 911. Smart911 data is private and secure, is only used for emergency responses, and is only made available to the 911 system in the event of an emergency call. Read more.

Last week, Mayor Vincent C. Gray celebrated another step forward towards a more Sustainable DC with the completion of the District’s first “green” alleys. Mayor Gray, joined officials from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the District Department of the Environment (DDOE), and watched as workers poured water on a newly constructed alley in Northeast Washington to demonstrate how storm water seeps into the permeable surface rather than running into storm drains – helping cut one of the major causes of waterway pollution.

The Green Alley Pilot is part of the Mayor’s Sustainable DC initiative to make the District the nation’s greenest, healthiest, most livable city. The alley project – a partnership between DDOT and DDOE – is aimed at reducing the quantity and improving the quality of storm water runoff within the District’s right-of-way. Read more.

After a thorough evaluation process, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) and the Department of General Services (DGS) will recommend to the D.C. Council that it award the Rudolph School at 5200 2nd Street, NW to Washington Latin Public Charter School.  Washington Latin is a shining example of what our public charter schools can achieve, and it will be a welcome addition to the Fort Totten/Brightwood Park neighborhood.  This recommendation begins to make good on Mayor Gray’s commitment to offer surplus DCPS buildings to high quality charter schools.

At present, Washington Latin conducts classes at three separate campuses along 16th Street NW in Ward 4.  By leasing the Rudolph School on a long-term basis, Washington Latin will be able to consolidate its high-performing middle- and high-school programs into one location to better serve students and families.  Both its lower school, which serves grades 5-8, and its upper school, which serves grades 9-12, are ranked Tier 1 under the Public Charter School Board’s Performance Management Framework.  This was the first year that the school has had a graduating class and all 42 of its seniors have been accepted to college. Read more.

Shortly after he returned from his business-development mission to China, Mayor Vincent C. Gray signed and submitted a letter to President Obama requesting a presidential disaster declaration for the damage caused by the June 29th severe thunderstorm event that caused extensive tree and power-line damage across the District.

 

The Mayor’s request came after a complex system of thunderstorms – known by the meteorological term “derecho,” which denotes a long-lived severe thunderstorm event characterized by destructive straight-line winds – struck the DC region. The high winds caused a significant percentage of the District’s homes and businesses to lose power, and extreme heat has followed in the storm's wake.

The declaration, if granted, will allow the District to seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for costs associated with the effects of the storm. Read more.