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By now, you've heard me talk about how much of a priority public safety is for Ward 6 and across the District. And you've also heard me talk about how the approach we have to take needs to fully fund public safety, rather than falling into "either/or" arguments. We need both action and accountability when harm is committed, and we need to invest in proven strategies to prevent, interrupt, and break cycles of violence. As the Chair of the Council's Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, I've moved a budget forward today that does exactly this, and it was unanimously approved.

April is here with plenty of happenings in the neighborhood. The Nats are back -- and I, for one, am an optimist who chooses to believe we're going to do better than projected this year. Live music will return to Eastern Market Metro Park soon, and allergies aside, I think everyone is looking forward to the sweet spot of spring where the weather is nice enough to sit out, but we have a brief window before the mosquitos truly make their debut. Let's hope anyway.

At a press conference on Tuesday, March 29, Councilmember Charles Allen and Councilmember Vincent Gray, co-chairs of the DC Council’s Special Committee on COVID-19 Pandemic Recovery, will present the Special Committee’s recommendations ahead of a vote on its final report on Wednesday afternoon.

Now that Capital Weather Gang has officially declared winter over and spring here, it's time for Ward 6 to put its best foot forward as we all come out of our winter hibernation. As a way to celebrate and reconnect with each other, please join me and my team for The Great Ward 6 Spring Clean on April 2 to do a little spring cleaning around the ward. Sign-up to join us at one of our locations across Ward 6, or just grab a neighbor and clean up your own block or alley - and be sure to post some pics with #GreatWard6SpringClean! The point is pretty simple: let's all welcome spring by taking a few minutes to show off our neighborhood pride and do a little spring clean on the block, in the alley, or at the park. More details below, and a lot of updates to jump into to!

Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6) has re-introduced legislation that would require movie theaters show a certain number of films with open captions to ensure the movie-going experience is accessible to deaf and hard-of-hearing residents who often don’t have viable ways to enjoy a trip to the movies.

In advance of this evening’s State of the Union address by President Biden, I wanted to update Ward 6 residents on ongoing security preparation and restrictions.

Today, Wednesday, February 23, the Council's Committee on Transportation and the Environment will hold a public hearing beginning at noon on Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen's Metro For DC Act, which would provide any DC resident with a monthly balance of $100 on a registered SmarTrip card and create a dedicated fund of $10 million to improve bus service with a priority on neighborhoods historically underinvested in and transit-dependent. 

As the long weekend winds down, I've got a number of updates I want to share with you. Last week was a busy week at the Council and in local government in general.

I'm throwing together a quicker Ward 6 update to touch on a few urgent topics around public safety, our COVID-19 response, and some notes for small businesses, fans of Metro (aren't we all?!), and more. I hope you're staying warm and looking forward to a bit of a reprieve this week from the cold and the snow.