Interested in public policy, the DC budget, research and information to inform and improve the caliber of public policy discussions or advocacy? This is the place for you: information and intelligence that improves advocacy is the stock in trade of this blog.
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Thought you might be interested Thursday: #HereIAm
Greatist's This Is the Message Every Fat Girl Needs to Hear has this to say about JC Penney's #HereIAm video:
... five successful women have one thing in common: They aren't about to let their size define their worth... The video's powerful one-liners will remind you that you shouldn't wait to start loving and appreciating it for all it can do.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
July 12: last leg meeting before council recess
And that's a wrap, folks. Our next Legislative Meeting (and the last one before recess) will be held on Tuesday, July 12. See you then!
— Council of DC (@councilofdc) June 28, 2016
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Ward 8 BID gets new leadership
Lessons from research on job training and supportive services
- Which supportive services are most critical to success in job training programs?
- How widely available are these supports?
- Is there evidence that supportive services improve outcomes?
- What are some strategies for increasing the impact and leveraging resources to access support services?
There is no recording of the webinar on the website but the presentation (PDF) is available. In it you will find data that can be used to identify the needs met and unmet of job training program participants. An example of data from the research is shown below.
Monday, June 27, 2016
ICYMI: Elise Schmelzer, WaPo local politics intern
Pitch WaPo's ed board
Please pitch us your idea, and briefly explain your reasoning. We will pick the most promising suggestions and ask readers to vote, and then we will report, write and publish an editorial on the winning topic.
WaPo is game for national, international, and DC region pitches. So start submitting!
Mendo on child and youth policy
Here's a taste of what you will read:
As he thinks about what has shaped his views on public policy related to children, one incident stands out: the South Capitol Street shootings....
The tragedy made a lasting impact on Mendelson – as it did on many families living in DC at the time. The shooters and victims were all very young, mostly teenagers. He learned that two of the young perpetrators were brothers with a long criminal history.
"I thought at the time: what is going on that two kids, two brothers are out there shooting people? Clearly something was going on in that home. We should have intervened long before, we should have been knocking on their door," he says.
"It got me thinking."
Mendelson’s search for solutions led him to believe in intervening earlier in a child’s life. As leader of the Council’s Judiciary Committee, he focused on preventing the school-to-prison pipeline by identifying children who were chronically truant and intervening before problems grew.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Reports, more on CFO's website
The OCFO also announced that the FY 2017 budget sent to the President is now on the the Budget page of the website.
DC's teen birth rate at historic low, says DC Campaign
the city's teen birth rate is at the historic low of 28 births per thousand girls 15 to 19 years old according to KIDS COUNT Data Book, released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. www.aecf.org/2016dbChildren born into families started by teens face serious obstacles that include family instability leading to involvement with the juvenile justice and foster care systems, school failure and persistent poverty.
Led by DC Campaign, local youth-serving organizations banded together to achieve a dramatic 57.7 percent teen pregnancy rate reduction in 2005 and are well on the way to achieving the lowest teen pregnancy rate in District history. While the teen pregnancy rate is arrived at by a formula that adds teen births, abortions and fetal deaths divided by population, the teen birth rate reflects the actual number of births to teens. http://doh.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doh/publication/attachments/Reported%20Pregnancy%20Rates%20in%20DC%202009-2013.pdf
DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy was founded in 1999 with the mission of cutting the teen pregnancy rate in half in Washington, DC. www.dccampaign.org
Questions about the data, teen pregnancy prevention, or local public policies re: teen pregnancy? Contact the Campaign's ED Brenda Miller, (202) 789-4666 x3.
June 27 update: This information is about the teen birth rate and not teen pregnancy rate; I had the wrong info in the title. Apologies.
Events and activities in Wards 7 and 8, week of June 27, 2016
Get the details of these events and many, many more by visiting the Wards 7 & 8 Community Calendar on the East Bank DC website.
Update your media list: several changes at WJLA
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Mendo's leg meeting briefing, June 27
Monday, 10:30AM: @ChmnMendelson holds his media briefing on the following day's Legislative Meeting. Watch then at https://t.co/SfI1ojoPd7
— Council of DC (@councilofdc) June 24, 2016
Friday, June 24, 2016
Popular social media platforms and advice to go where your audience is
Best social media sites and platforms: https://t.co/0QSg1HwqMl How to choose what channels make sense for you pic.twitter.com/Vt5JmQ9z2V
— Hootsuite (@hootsuite) June 3, 2016
I appreciate the data aggregation and feel compelled to reiterate: Go where your audience is.
Census' data summer camps (webinars)
- June 23, Where to Find Business & Economic Data on census.gov
- June 28, A Closer Look at Same-Sex Couples and Families in America
- July 1, Age Search
- July 12, Measuring America Series – An Overview on Asian Population Statistics
- July 20, Increasing your Competitive Advantage- New Tools to Access Regional Economic Development Data from the U.S. Census Bureau
- August 2, Data on a Deadline: Quick Data Tools & Interactive Maps
- August 4, Get The Knack Of The Census Tract: Learn the history, usefulness, and how to get tract data
- August 19, Your Community by the Numbers: Race, Ethnicity, Ancestry, and Foreign-Born Populations
- August 25, Introduction to the American Community Survey
- September 13, Measuring America Series – An Overview on Children Statistics
Shout-out to DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy for sharing this important resource.
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Update your media list: Ryan Hughes to WJLA news team
Ryan Hughes To 7 - 6/20 - Ryan Hughes is the newest reporter hired by Sinclair's Channel 7/WJLA. He comes from WFMZ-TV in Allentown PA, where he's worked since 2011. Before that, he was at Salisbury's Channel 47/WMDT.....
No idea when Hughes will start at WJLA.
Wards 7 and 8, add your July 4th events to community calendar
If your organization or community is holding a celebration in Ward 7 or 8, make sure the event is on the Wards 7 & 8 Community Calendar. Detailed how-to's are online; simply, email event details to susie.cambria@gmail.com.
Thought you might be interested Thursday: Advice for new parents
The don't-needs include milestone stickers ("These stickers are adorable (and super helpful if your 9-month-old is in Pharma sales but otherwise you can live without them.)"), belly casting kit, Baby Bullet ("Not denying that this is adorable but it appeared to just be a small blender with a smiley face on it and is there a reason you can’t just draw a face on the blender you already have at home?"), and a banana saver.
Some of the must-haves are humility, patience, tenacity, a sense of humor, and perspective.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
Summer.dc.gov is go-to resource for summer
Summer.dc.gov is THE resource for those caring for children and youth during the summer. Of all the features caregivers need, I think these are the most important:
- Free summer meals. Every child through age 18 can eat for free this summer. Check the website often for added sites.
- Programming. There are two ways to identify programming: the activities map and the activities calendar.
- Adding activities to the calendar. Organizations of all kinds and communities are encouraged―read, do it!―to add their child- and youth-appropriate activities to the summer.dc.gov calendar (DME adds it to the map automatically).
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
June 21 council action
Video now online: Today's Committee of the Whole meeting https://t.co/PesLIKoh08
— Council of DC (@councilofdc) June 21, 2016
Video now online: Today's Legislative Meeting (including budget and minimum wage votes) https://t.co/O12dKxnD6U
— Council of DC (@councilofdc) June 21, 2016
More online learning apps and websites
- CourseBuffet curates online courses offered by universities from efforts such as Udemy
- Free Code Camp teaches coding and helps nonprofits at the same time
- HelloHealthy posts weight loss and fitness articles
- Busuu is a language-learning tool with which users can interact with native speakers
- Makezine is an online magazine for makers of all manner of things
- Zidbits has an insanely large collection of articles on (mostly) scientific topics
- Pianu does what the name suggests, it teaches the piano online
Using the feds' report on economic well-being to inform public policy
Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they are either "living comfortably" or "doing okay," up 4 percentage points from 2014 and up 6 percentage points from 2013. Seventy-seven percent of non-retired adults without a disability are confident that they have the skills necessary to get the kind of job that they want now--an increase of 10 percentage points from the 2013 survey results.
And the widely reported (The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans, for example) bad news:
Forty-six percent of adults say they either could not cover an emergency expense costing $400, or would cover it by selling something or borrowing money
As troubling as the $400 problem is, consider these results:
- "Twenty-two percent of respondents experienced a major unexpected medical expense that they had to pay out of pocket in the prior year, and 46 percent of those who say they had a major medical expense report that they currently owe debt from that expense."
- "Forty-six percent of adults desired additional credit in the prior year, and 40 percent of those who desired credit say that they faced a real or perceived difficulty in accessing credit."
- "Just 16 percent of young adults (ages 25 to 34) whose parents both have only a high-school degree or less completed a bachelor's degree, whereas 65 percent of young adults with a parent who completed a bachelor's degree have completed one themselves."
- "Thirty-one percent of non-retired respondents report that they have no retirement savings or pension at all, including 27 percent of non-retired respondents age 60 or older."
All the survey topics―income and savings, economic preparedness, banking and credit, housing and living arrangements, car purchasing and auto lending, education and human capital, education debt and student loans, and retirement―are public policy-related, with local and national implications.
Monday, June 20, 2016
Update your media list: Di Caro joins WTTG
WAMU's Di Caro Adds 5 Gig - 6/18 - WAMU reporter Martin Di Caro, who covers transportation issues, adds reporting duties at Channel 5/WTTG, where he will also cover transportation issues, including the Metro rail system. Starting June 20. In addition to WAMU, Di Caro also works for the Associated Press Radio Network in DC and NYC. Previously, he'd worked for DC's WMAL and Trenton's WKXW.....
June 20: summer solstice and strawberry moon!
A special summer solstice. In the northern hemisphere, today is the longest day of the year—and in a rare coincidence, it also features a strawberry moon. The two haven’t come together in decades. For those without a clear view, the phenomenon can be observed via an online livestream.
WETA on DC neighborhoods, starting July 5
WETA To Cover DC "Neighborhoods" - 6/11 - Channel 26/WETA unveils "WETA Neighborhoods, whih covers "the lesser-known aspects of our favorite greater Washington surroundings. The one-hour special highlights four neighborhoods bursting with personality and stories: Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill, and Anacostia." It debuts Tuesday, July 5, at 8 PM. More at weta.org/neighborhoods.....
June - July at the council
Roadmap for the Rest of the SummerLegislation is a year-round pursuit for the Council. Having said that, there are some predictable ebbs and flows across the year. Our year breaks into a few predictable segments:
- a January busy with the introduction of legislation a late winter and spring focused primarily on performance oversight and passage of the District's budget
- an early summer burst of legislative activity
- summer recess (taking advantage of the pause in harried legislative activity to focus more on constituent service and deliberative projects)
- a long, uninterrupted legislative fall, lasting through the winter holiday recess
Speaking of the summer burst in legislative activity, looking at the next several weeks, the Council plans to hold nearly weekly Legislative Meetings, with up to three to be held prior to the July 15 recess.
On June 21, the Committee of the Whole will meet, and potentially an Additional Legislative Meeting will be held. At that meeting, the second vote on the Budget Support Act could occur, as could the second vote on the minimum wage legislation.
On June 28, another Legislative Meeting will provide an additional opportunity for the second vote on the minimum wage legislation. It will also allow for first votes on any legislation that faced hearings and markup since the budget season ended.
Finally, on July 12, the last Legislative Meeting prior to recess will be held. At this meeting, second votes on any legislation the Council wants to see passed prior to the fall will be held.
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Malcolm Gladwell's podcast
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Update your media list: Matt McFarland to CNN
It's my last day at The Post! Has been an amazing 9 years.
— Matt McFarland (@mattmcfarland) June 17, 2016
Monday I start at CNN -- more fun covering innovation, tech & transportation!
Friday, June 17, 2016
June 28: Email Best Practices
#DC #Nonprofits: Join #Net2DC on June 28 for "Email Best Practices" https://t.co/lkucXgLHH5 #nptech
— Chris Tuttle (@ChrisTuttle) June 7, 2016
Update your media list: Kavitha Cardoza to leave WAMU
Kavitha Cardoza Leaves WAMU - 6/13 - DCRTV hears that education reporter Kavitha Cardoza (right) is leaving American University public radio news talker WAMU, 88.5, to be a multimedia reporter at Education Week, edweek.org, which produces reports for "PBS Newshour" and documentaries for PBS. Cardoza joined WAMU in 2008, and, before that, worked at the University Of Illinois' public radio outlet WUIS in Springfield, Illinois. She was also an adjunct faculty member for the university's Department Of Communication. While at WAMU, her five-part series on childhood obesity won a first place award from the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association.....
Read more in Education Week Adds Kavitha Cardoza.
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Economic development, data, GIS, and more June 23
You don't have to be a GIS expert to attend. I've gone and learned lots of useful information and made contacts with people in and out of DC government who are willing to help or just generally good to know.
As you can see from the agenda (PDF), some important topics will be discussed including DC government's open data policy, the role of GIS in economic development, and highlights of the government's open data catalog.
More information, registration, and WebEx info.
Image by Emilio Gómez Fernández (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC BY 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons.
June 21: How to Use YouTube for Nonprofit Donations webinar
Register; it's free.
Thought you might be interested Thursday: The failure of this parenting style
There was a kid running at the neighborhood pool the other day. The pool attendant asked him to walk — as pool attendants have done since pools existed. The boy's dad — a big-chested, serious kind of guy — came over to the attendant and told him (I swear I'm not making this up), that as the child’s father, he's the only one to tell his kid what to do, and that if the attendant has something to say, it should be directed at him, don't talk to his kid; he'll decide if his kid needs direction.
And the very best part:
I don't mean to brag, but my high schooler fails at quite a few things. None of them too epic, but there's still time. We talked about it recently. I told him it's my job to let him fail while he’s still at home with me, because he needs to learn how to lose his shit and then pick it up and move forward.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Be a delegate at the Constitutional Convention; two days remain!
Learn more about the Constitutional Convention, read the draft constitution, and generally learn more about statehood at statehood.dc.gov.
Historic DC flag returns to JAWB
In Time for Flag Day, A Restored and Historic District Flag Returns to the Wilson Building https://t.co/fvMxdmZzLO pic.twitter.com/itIJd6xEmp
— Council of DC (@councilofdc) June 15, 2016
Understanding the appeals court decision on net neutrality
ban practices that are known to harm the Open Internet:
- No Blocking: broadband providers may not block access to legal content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
- No Throttling: broadband providers may not impair or degrade lawful Internet traffic on the basis of content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices.
- No Paid Prioritization: broadband providers may not favor some lawful Internet traffic over other lawful traffic in exchange for consideration of any kind—in other words, no “fast lanes.” This rule also bans ISPs from prioritizing content and services of their affiliates. The bright-line rules against blocking and throttling will prohibit harmful practices that target specific applications or classes of applications. And the ban on paid prioritization ensures that there will be no fast lanes.
Naturally, ISPs opposed the rules and challenged the FCC. The Hollywood Reporter explains in Appeals Court Upholds Net Neutrality Rules the challenge: it was about the FCC's classification of the internet as a utility.
The New York Times explains that equal access to the internet is an essential service to life in the 21st century, just like electricity is essential. (see Court Backs Rules Treating Internet as Utility, Not Luxury)
FCC commissioner statements are in the FCC newsroom. Read the 184-page decision on United States Telecom Assoc. v. FCC (PDF).
Ward 7 primary winner Vince Gray on @kojoshow June 15
Morning, D.C.! I'm hosting @kojoshow today and we've got a TON going on. @VinceGray2016, @tomsherwood ... then @toddkliman & Nora Pouillon!
— Michael Martinez (@MikeMartinezDC) June 15, 2016
So if you've got questions for @VinceGray2016, send them over! ... and all your questions about Michelin reviewing DC's restaurants too!
— Michael Martinez (@MikeMartinezDC) June 15, 2016
Tune in to WAMU (88.5 FM) Wednesday, June 15 at Noon to hear Mike Martinez talk with Ward 7 primary victor Vince Gray.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Canva adds presentation templates
In addition to plain old text, users may add videos, images, and webpages; change colors and typefaces; and more!
June 14: DC Council re-hangs historic DC flag
No formal ceremony is planned for the re-hanging of the flag. More information about the flag, archival news coverage, and photos will be available later today.
Update your media lists: WTTG expands local and national election coverage
So excited to join @Fox5Shawn for a new kind of newscast on #FOX5DC, weeknights at 6:30, starting 7/18! https://t.co/Hwa8e3LNf9
— Jim Lokay FOX 5 DC (@LokayFOX5) June 8, 2016
Monday, June 13, 2016
@wildapricot's list of free and low-cost tools for nonprofits
- Accounting, Invoicing, Billing Tools
- Discussion Forums, Online Community Tools
- Events Management, Registration, Scheduling Tools
- Fundraising Software, Online Payments, Donor Management Tools
- Mailing List Management, Email Marketing, Newsletters
- Meeting Management, Conferencing, Webinar Tools
- Membership Management, Contact Management (CRM) Tools
- Presentation, Video, and other Multimedia Tools
- Project Management, Document Editing, Sharing, Collaboration Tools
- SMS Text Marketing Tools
- Social Media Tools
- Time-Tracking Tools
- Volunteer Management Tools
- Website Analytics, Data Collection, Tracking Tools
- Website Builders, Blogs, Content Management (CMS) Tools
- All-In-One Solutions for NonProfits
The post also provides advice "to help you decide which are best fitted to your organization. Think of this as your nonprofit online tool encyclopedia."
Twitter Town Hall about doing business with DC gov, June 15
OCP staff will be on hand to answer questions on how businesses can do business with the DC government. Tag @DCGOV_OCP and use the hashtag #ASKOCP. OCP will answer questions using @DCGOV_OCP and #OCPANSWERS.
Nnamdi and guests on whether DC's vote matters, June 13
Democratic voters in D.C. will finally get to weigh in on the presidential nomination process when the city conducts its primary elections this week. Many voters throughout the region, in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, are already voicing frustrations about whether local election systems have prevented their choices from being truly meaningful. As part of NPR’s series, "A Nation Engaged," guest host Marc Fisher explores the primary process from a regional perspective with a local Republican delegate and Democrat superdelegate.
Updated DMHHS staff list (June 10, 2016)
- Brenda Donald, Deputy Mayor, Brenda.Donald@dc.gov
- Rachel Joseph, Chief of Staff, Rachel.Joseph@dc.gov
- Christian Barrera, Policy Advisor – Health Policy, Christian.Barrera@dc.gov
- Rashida Brown, Policy Analyst, Rashida.Brown@dc.gov
- Jenna Cevasco, Senior Policy Advisor, Jenna.Cevasco@dc.gov
- Marcus Ellis, Safer, Stronger DC Community Partnerships Manager, Marcus.Ellis@dc.gov
- Kristy Greenwalt, Executive Director, Interagency Council on Homelessness, Kristy.Greenwalt@dc.gov
- Gail Kohn, Age-Friendly DC Coordinator, Gail.Kohn@dc.gov
- Nick Kushner, Age-Friendly DC Strategic Analyst, Nick.Kushner@dc.gov
- Tina Roper, Executive Assistant, Tina.Roper@dc.gov
- Theresa Silla, Policy Advisor, Interagency Council on Homelessness, Theresa.Silla@dc.gov
"New" DMHHS staff:
- Carmen Berry, Safer, Stronger DC Community Outreach Specialist, Carmen.Berry2@dc.gov
- Michael Dodson, Safer, Stronger DC Outreach Coordinator, Michael.Dodson@dc.gov
- Marvin Gay, Safer, Stronger DC Community Outreach Specialist, Marvin.Gay2@dc.gov
- Katherine Haines, Capital City Fellow, Katherine.Haines@dc.gov (June 20 start date)
- Ben Link, Program Analyst – Constituent Services, Benjamin.Link@dc.gov
- Cherise Mattheson, Safer, Stronger DC Community Outreach Specialist, Cherise.Mattheson2@dc.gov
- Cameron Shields, Safer, Stronger, DC Community Outreach Specialist, Cameron.Shields2@dc.gov
- Rachel Streeter, Safer, Stronger DC Community Outreach Specialist, Rachel.Streeter@dc.gov
Sunday, June 12, 2016
Congratulations Patrick Madden!
"Patrick Madden's story 'Assault on Justice' is a power-packed 16 minutes of on-air reporting with an equally strong result online," said Margaret Low Smith, President, AtlanticLIVE, who served as the prize’s finalist judge. "Madden took on one of the most pressing policy issues of the day—the mass incarceration of African American men—and exposed a critical piece of that puzzle at work in the nation's capital."
Project partners were WAMU, the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University, the Center For Investigative Reporting, and PRX.
The $5,000 Schorr award, sponsored by WBUR and Boston University, and funded by Jim and Nancy Bildner, recognizes a new generation of public radio journalists under the age of 35 seeking to inspire them to stretch the boundaries of the medium.
Photo from WBUR.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
June 11: Heat emergency activated
HSEMA just issued a heat emergency alert. Temps near 100 are no joke so stay cool:
- Stay inside
- Visit a DPR pool — locations are listed online: http://dpr.dc.gov/
- Call 311 for information about cooling center locations
- Get water for the homeless by calling the DC Shelter Hotline — (202) 399-7093
- More information about heat emergency and hyperthermia is on the HSEMA website
- DO NOT open fire hydrants
Friday, June 10, 2016
Contribute to democracy. Participate in the Constitutional Convention starting June 13.
Each day/night of the Convention will feature speakers on specific elements of the constitution; learn more in the rules (PDF). No matter the speaker topics, members of the public may comment on any part(s) of the constitution.
RSVP for the Constitutional Convention.TA: @stevebuttry offers up online storytelling tools
Honor for veterans
Photo by Gina Rodriguez.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
New on Twitter: @DCstatehood51
Interested in statehood for DC? Follow the New Columbia Statehood Commission on Twitter: @DCstatehood51.
Digitize your local and family history
The DC Digital Museum wants your memories. https://t.co/g0pInMM85h pic.twitter.com/EW986zt99K
— DCist (@DCist) June 8, 2016
As the DCist story points out, DC Public Library has similar tools and goals in Memory Lab to the Humanities Council of Washington D.C. Digital Museum. Both seek to collect local history with the active participation of DC residents and former residents.
Residents are asked to take four to five objects which tell your family's story to the Humanities Council; participants will create a brief oral history about their contributions. Those interested in participating should RSVP.
I would encourage DC Public Library and the Humanities Council to collaborate with other DC-based libraries and local museums to become a DPLA hub so that DC's rich history can be more widely available. I would also encourage individuals to share their digitized history on History Pin, a cool online tool where people can share stories, images, and videos.
Thought you might be interested Thursday: A rightful meltdown over rudeness to the environment
I want to hug this kid right now. Absolutely, those people are being rude to the earth. https://t.co/NPK6EIoo4c
— Julie Lawson (@srfrjulie) May 27, 2016
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
June 15: roundtable on the best use of DC's rivers and marinas
For more information, call Norton's office, (202) 225-8050.
Photo by Jennifer Boyer.
Bob Malson retires, stays active in health advocacy
Another highlight from earlier today-honoring Robert Malson on the occasion of his retirement from @DCHospitalAssoc pic.twitter.com/RFJDwchiz0
— Council of DC (@councilofdc) June 7, 2016
Never thought I would see the day that Bob Malson was not a fixture in the Wilson Building or a leader in the health advocacy world. Whew, Malson has retired, but is not gone! Joan Lewis has taken the helm of the DC Hospital Association as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Malson is Senior Advisor to the board for legal and legislative advocacy matters.
Emergency preparedness in Ward 6 community meeting, June 18
Chris Geldart, HSEMA director, Tommy Wells, DOEE director, and a representative from FEMS, will address the broad issue of resident safety in an emergency and will answer these among other questions: What should you do in case of a CSX train derailment in the neighborhood? If there is a hazardous materials incident, should you shelter-in-place or evacuate? Where can you find accurate information during an emergency?
Contact Fascett for additional information via email, Meredith.Fascett@gmail.com or Twitter, @MeredithFascett.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
June 13: Constitutional Convention kicks off #eotr
Review the draft constitution.
WAMU's Martin Austermuhle explains latest on DC General
ICYMI: @maustermuhle on the final vote on closure of DC General & plans for new homeless shelters in the city. https://t.co/wbxGi1OIgK
— Susie Cambria (@susiecambria) June 5, 2016
Monday, June 6, 2016
Tune in at 10a for leg meeting, June 7
Tomorrow, 10AM, Rm 500: The full Council meets for its 28th Legislative Meeting. https://t.co/fKNj5KhWrP
— Council of DC (@councilofdc) June 6, 2016
Is your service line lead? Read this.
NEW interactive map lets you search by address to see if the service line is lead: https://t.co/JTapJQAqbU pic.twitter.com/wGmIPB0oK4
— DC Water (@dcwater) June 6, 2016
Do you know what your service line is made of? Look it up on our new interactive map: https://t.co/JTapJQAqbU pic.twitter.com/Mvl9U183H6
— DC Water (@dcwater) June 6, 2016
D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center hires new housing attorney
According to the email announcing the news,
Jennie comes to us from the D.C. Tenants' Rights Center, where she provided a variety of low-cost legal services, including representation, to tenants in disputes with their landlords. Prior to joining the D.C. Tenants’ Rights Center Jennie worked as a staff attorney for D.C. Law Students In Court, where she represented low-income tenants in Landlord Tenant Court. During law school Jennie worked on housing issues as a law clerk for Legal Counsel for the Elderly and the Legal Aid Society. Prior to law school Jennie helped to organize tenant associations as a trainer at Housing Counseling Services and worked on disability cases in various roles at Bread for the City.Jennie can be reached at jnetburn@dcbar.org and by phone at 202-737-4700 ext. 3380.
Sunday, June 5, 2016
June 6: Media briefing on June 7 leg meeting
COUNCIL CHAIRMAN MENDELSON TO HOLD LEGISLATIVE MEDIA BRIEFING WHO/WHAT:
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson will hold a Media Briefing to preview the Council's upcoming Legislative Meeting.WHEN:
Monday, June 6, 2016
10:30 a.m.WHERE:
John A. Wilson Building, Room 412, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20004BACKGROUND:
Chairman Mendelson will hold a media briefing to discuss major actions to be taken at the Council’s legislative meeting on Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.
Additional information is available by calling (202) 724-8032.
Unable to make it to the Wilson Building? Watch the briefing streaming live on the council website.
Free webinars in June 2016
24 Free Nonprofit Webinars for the June #assnchat #nptech https://t.co/ecUZ9tVQSJ
— Wild Apricot (@WildApricot) June 4, 2016
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Uncovering the "hidden side" of DC: Architect of the Capital
Interested in history? Interested in learning about not commonly known things about Washington, DC? Take a look at the new blog Architect of the Capital. Author Elliot Carter writes about the "interesting hidden side of Washington, DC."
Two of the posts: interesting federal government agency logos (Surprisingly Creative Branding From the Federal Government) and a tunnel which provided easy access to books for legislators and staff (Hidden Book Tunnel).
The blog is not affiliated with the Architect of the Capitol.
Friday, June 3, 2016
Attend, participate: Draft Constitution Town Hall, June 4
On Saturday, June 4 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at Thurgood Marshall Academy PCS (2427 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave SE), the New Columbia Statehood Commission is hosting the second of four town halls for residents to learn about and comment on the draft constitution of the state of New Columbia. The public is encouraged to attend; RSVP online.
Save the date: Bloomingdale history, June 16
attend the 2nd "History of #BloomingdaleDC" presentation on Thursday, 06-16-2016, at @StGeorgesDC, by #PrologueDC https://t.co/8X8siPKhWl
— Scott Roberts (@ScottRobertsDC) June 2, 2016
#DCision16 at-large candidates on @kojoshow June 3
Today's Politics Hour lineup:
— The Kojo Nnamdi Show (@kojoshow) June 3, 2016
** A forum featuring the Democratic candidates for the at-large race seat on the D.C. Council.
A style guide for progressives
The SumOfUs A Progressive's Style Guide (PDF) is a rich resource of effective, sensible, and appropriate advice for communicators. The guide considers language in a number of issue areas―including age, disability, environment/science, immigration/refugees, sexual and domestic violence―and offers specific advice about what words and phrases to use and those to avoid and similarly, how to think about using respectful and appropriate imagery. It also links to other style guides.
Read more about the guide and its genesis in Hanna Thomas' Medium piece A Progressive’s Style Guide.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
June 4: Economic and Social Value of Bilingual Education
Panelists will discuss the value of linguistic and cultural competence for the new American family in today's global economy, where dual language programs, and ways that residents can help create more dual language programs in their community.
The event will be moderated by CNN and CNN En Español political contributor Maria Cardona. Panelists are:
- Berenice Pernalete, Biliteracy Instructional Guide, Mundo Verde PCS
- Daniel Bremer-Wirtig Director of External Affairs, Global Ties US
- Amy Mejia, Spanish language PTU President and Dena Huff parent, Bruce Monroe @ Park View Elementary DCPS
- Jimell Sanders, Director of Engagement, DC Language Immersion Project
- Francisca Piantini, high school senior student, Columbia Heights Educational Campus.
DC State Board of Education Ward 1 Representative Laura Wilson Phelan will welcome participants and Jackie Reyes, director of OLA, will deliver closing remarks.
The event will be simultaneously translated in Spanish and in English, and American Sign Language interpretation will be available. Light refreshment will be provided. Childcare will be provided by toddler storyteller Veronica Jimenez of Bloombars fame, and will be available on a first come first serve basis. If you anticipate needing childcare, email info@dcimmersion.org with the following information: number of children, children's ages, guardian name, and guardian phone number.
Registration (English). Matricúlese en Español aquà bilingue.eventbrite.com.
Co-sponsored by Ward 1 Education Collaborative, Bloombars, Latino Economic Development Center, Latin American Youth Center, and Mexican Professionals Network Washington DC.
P&P is on YouTube!
Who knew? Well, I did because I watch author events all the time on the Politics and Prose YouTube channel. P&P staff described the basics in a recent newsletter:
With so many extraordinary authors stepping through the doors of Politics & Prose week after week, we started thinking several years ago about how to preserve their events on video. Our first tentative step in this direction involved setting up a YouTube channel. In time we hired a staff videographer and now regularly record four or five author talks a week, showcasing them on the P&P channel.The number of subscribers to that channel is close to topping 10,000. P&P’s videos have received nearly two million total views. We’ve taped more than 700 P&P-sponsored events, as well as interviews with some visiting authors. All the footage is skillfully filmed and edited in-house, a significant capability that’s unusual for a bookstore.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Policing topic of discussion on May 27 @kojoshow
Is D.C.'s police department getting whiter? Does it matter? We discussed race and policing on #PoliticsHour:https://t.co/PDWB5UnJuc
— The Kojo Nnamdi Show (@kojoshow) May 29, 2016
Good conversation. https://t.co/tMJF5OHm66
— Tom Sherwood (@tomsherwood) May 29, 2016
DC Auditor report on ANCs, their finances, and their internal operational challenges
What you will find in the report relate to the FY 2015 financial activities of the city's 40 ANCs:
- Total Funds Maintained by all ANCs as of September 30, 2015
- FY 2015 Categories of Increases and Decreases in Expenditures
- Summary of Receipts and Disbursements: FYs 2006 - 2015
- FY 2015 Disbursement Summary by Ward and Category
- FY 2015 Percentage of Available Funds Spent
- ANC Savings Account Balances as of September 30, 2015
- Allocation of the $677,688.00 FY 2015 ANC Appropriation
- Summary of FY 2015 Quarterly Receipts and Disbursements
Readers will also find these tidbits (in the order they appear in the report):
"For FY 2016, ODCA reduced the number of expenditure categories from 24 to 9 and this change will be reflected in next year’s annual report. We felt that requiring ANC Commissioners to assign their expenses to 24 different categories was excessive and did not provide enough benefit to warrant the time spent recording and reviewing the data. The goal for the reduction in categories is to ease the administrative burden on ANC Commissioners while still providing useful information to citizens, the Council, and the executive agencies of the District of Columbia."
"Each year, we continue to find a significant number of ANCs who are not properly reconciling their checking accounts and quarterly reports. As a result, ANCs often report incorrect beginning and ending balances on their quarterly reports. For purposes of this annual report, ODCA used each ANC’s October 1, 2014 bank statement balance as the starting point for Appendix VI, the Summary of FY 2015 Quarterly Receipts and Disbursements."
Direct questions about the report to Anovia Daniels, Communications Analyst, via email, anovia.daniels@dc.gov.