©Muriel Bowser –
Keynote Speech at the African-American Real Estate Professionals Gala.
©Muriel Bowser – With my Run with Muriel 5K a month team at the Georgetown Wellness 5k.
©Muriel Bowser –
Providing a legislative update at the ANC 4B meeting.
©Muriel Bowser –
Hosting DJ from Sharpe Health School on DC Disability Mentoring Day.
News from Muriel
October 30, 2013
Dear
Neighbors:
Happy Halloween! I can’t wait
to see all of the amazing costumes from families and children all around our
neighborhoods. I want to stress that
safety is my most important priority on this holiday. Please view general safety tips provided in
my newsletter, always make sure to be aware of where your children are, and
most importantly, if in doubt, throw it out.
This past Monday, the mayor released details on plans to
alter school boundary and feeder patterns. The Deputy Mayor released the names
of members of the Advisory Committee selected by the Executive that are tasked
with making recommendations about how to change the existing framework. This process
has generated a great deal of anxiety, especially for neighborhoods and
families in the boundary and feeder pattern of Alice Deal Middle School and
Woodrow Wilson High School.
My position is
clear: Ward 4 families should
maintain current access to great schools.
I approach this discussion with the following principles
in mind: We should not split our boundaries down the middle of Rock Creek Park,
all DC families should have access to quality schools in their neighborhood,
and the mayor and the Council should demonstrate that commitment with concrete
plans to improve middle schools city-wide.
With these principles in mind, I am fully prepared to
advocate for the needs of our communities as this unfolds.
The Advisory Committee and Office of the Deputy Mayor for
Education will release a final plan in September 2014, with changes beginning
to take effect in the 2015-2016 school year.
In the meantime, it will be extremely important to
participate in this process to emphasize our concerns. There will be
opportunities to get involved, including city-wide community and focus group
meetings. I encourage everyone to visit
the following website for further information and to sign up for focus groups: http://1.usa.gov/HcgvDE.
The Council’s Committee on Education will also hold a
Public Oversight Roundtable on November 15th in room 412 of the John
A. Wilson building at 9:00AM to hear from members of
the public and District education officials about the current status of plans
to revise school boundaries and feeder patterns. My office will also keep you informed
of any updates and pertinent information as the process moves forward.
Last weekend, Councilmember Bowser provided an update about the expected
closure of Kalmia Road Bridge located between East Beach Drive and West Beach
Drive in Ward 4’s Colonial Village.
Yesterday October 29th, the District Department of
Transportation (DDOT) closed the Kalmia Road Bridge for reconstruction purposes
and provided updates about their detour route that can be found in the picture
below.
DDOT’s website is also now live and can be viewed here: https://www.kalmiaculvert.com/SitePages/Home.aspx.
If you have any questions about the project, please
contact Paul Hoffman at
DDOT at 202-671-4696 or at paul.hoffman@dc.gov or Judi Gold in my
office at 202-724-8052 or at jgold@dccouncil.us
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), in partnership with the Emory
Beacon of Light, Kennedy Street, Brightwood, and Georgia Avenue businesses will
host the Halloween Safe Haven Block Party on Halloween, October 31st
between 6:00PM – 9:00PM in the 900 block of Quackenbos, NW located next to the
Fourth District station.
For more information, please contact Derek Staten of MPD at 202-715-7478
or Derek.Staten@dc.gov.
In
addition, MPD has provided some important general safety tips for parents and
children for Halloween including:
-
Children should never go into homes - stay
on the porch or stoop when asking for treats.
- Children should avoid homes that don't have
their outside lights turned on.
- Children should never talk to strangers or get into
strangers' cars.
- Children should travel in small groups and be
accompanied by parents or an authorized adult chaperone.
- Children should know their home phone number and
their parents' cell phone numbers, when applicable.
- Children should have their names and addresses
attached to their costumes.
- Children should bring home treats before eating
them so parents can inspect them. When children get home, parents should
inspect all candy and other treats before they are eaten. Discard all unwrapped
or loosely wrapped candy or fruit.
- Parents should cut into fruit, such as apples,
to make sure they do not contain foreign objects.
- If you have any questions about suspicious
looking treats, call 911.
- Adults should only give and accept wrapped or
packaged candy.
- Adults should keep porch lights on and their
driveways illuminated.
- Homeowners should ensure that their walkways are
cleared of debris on which children may trip and fall.
- If in doubt, throw it out.
The DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking and the Financial
Planning Association of the National Capital Area is co-hosting the 4th
Annual Metro Washington Financial Planning Day on Saturday, November 2nd
from 11:00AM – 4:00PM at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus located at
3101 16th Street, NW. The
event will feature a series of classroom-style educational workshops addressing
key personal finance topics including financial planning for women, real world
retirement planning and how to be a smart investor.
For more information and to register, please visit their website at www.financialplanningdays.org/dc.
The Zoning Commission will hold public hearings from Monday, November 4th
to Thursday, November 14th on the proposed text of the new zoning
regulations, Zoning Commission Case Number 08-06A. The hearings will take place in the Jerrily
R. Kress Memorial Hearing Room, Suite 220-S at One Judiciary Square located at
441 4th Street, NW.
For more information, please contact the Zoning Commision at 202-727-6311
or visit their website: www.dcoz.dc.gov.
The DC Chamber of Commerce and DC Health Link will host a DC Health Link
Educational forum geared toward small businesses and non-profit organizations
with 50 employees or less. The event
will take place on Wednesday, November 6th from 6:30PM – 8:00PM at
the Shepherd Park Library located at 7420 Georgia Avenue, NW.
For more information and to register, please visit their website at http://washingtondchealthlink.com/events/
or contact the DC Chamber of Commerce at 202-624-0610.
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