Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
Last week, I emailed you asking for your help in calling on the Senate to protect DC’s local budget in the GOP spending bill. Your overwhelming response of support made a difference! While the Senate didn’t fix the Continuing Resolution, they did pass a separate, standalone measure called the District of Columbia Local Funds Act, which would allow us to continue operating at our Fiscal Year 2025 spending levels. The measure now returns to the House of Representatives. When the House returns from recess on Monday, March 24, we are calling on them to expeditiously pass the measure so that the District does not face a $1.1 billion cut to essential services by being forced to revert to FY24 spending levels.
The Mayor and Councilmembers are all having discussions with representatives and their offices to ensure they understand the significance of this bill and how critical it is for our city. We welcome your support as we make the case to the House: this bipartisan, common-sense measure that was unanimously passed by the Senate deserves their support to protect some of DC’s most essential services—fire and emergency medical services, teachers and schools, and more.
In the meantime, I am thrilled about the long-awaited groundbreaking of the Fort Lincoln Campus Improvement Project! Neighbors have been calling on the city to deliver on this project for several years. After I took office, we were told the project was delayed due to increases in cost and an additional $8 million was needed. I was proud to fight for and secure those funds in the District’s budget that same year. Then, neighbors were promised a groundbreaking in Fall/Winter 2024. With further delays, I pressed DPR and DGS on the timeline during the past few months of performance oversight. Now, we are just days away from the groundbreaking. I hope you’ll join us to celebrate and finally get things under way on Monday, March 24 at 11:00 a.m. at 3100 Fort Lincoln Dr NE. Learn more and register to attend here.
Ward 5 Wave Podcast
This week on the Ward 5 Wave, I invited Jhonna Turner, Chief Strategy Officer of CARE Washington, DC, to share about her experience helping to organize students and families to rally at the Capitol and defend DC’s budget last week. We also talk about what’s to come. I wrap up the episode by sharing a bit about the Committee of the Whole’s Student Voice Roundtable as well as efforts to address truancy. Tune in here!
Also in this edition of the Ward 5 Weekly newsletter, you’ll find public safety updates, a community clean-up in Single Member District 5B07 tomorrow, March 22, the kick-off of DC 2050 Comprehensive Plan public meetings starting tomorrow, March 22, and on 25, and 27, the Anacostia River Trail Community Open House at the Arboretum on March 25, the opportunity to vote for summer movies to be shown at Alethia Tanner Park, Legislative Updates in Neferteria’s Nook and budget oversight updates from the Committee on Youth Affairs, a new Resources for Federal Workers section, programs to benefit from including tomorrow’s Free Legal Advice and Referral Clinic, and community events including a Cherry Blossom Market in Bloomingdale next Friday. Keep reading for more!
