Are you ready for Ward 6 Week? It starts tomorrow (!), and we've got a great lineup of events. If you're in town and looking for ways to explore your own neighborhood, check out the full schedule below. A few events are already at capacity (I'm not kidding - we've had 700+ sign ups for the Wash Spirit tickets), but plenty of fun remains, including Saturday's Lemonade Stand for a Cause Contest (one of many stands from last year pictured right), free entry for Ward 6ers to the National Building Museum, a late-breaking and perennially popular addition: Tour a Ward 6 Firehouse, and more.

And on a different note, it's summer and Congress is about to leave town for a month-long recess, but that hasn't stopped some of them from continuing to meddle with DC. You probably heard, but earlier this week, a House Committee passed a bill that represents the most serious rollback of District autonomy since Home Rule was enacted, requiring congressional approval for any changes to our taxes (increase or decrease). Obviously, Congress is known as one of the most efficient, focused, effective, and hard-working legislative bodies - so getting into the weeds on approving every single change or alteration to a fishing license or dumpster permit fee makes total sense. Right? There's no real point or need to restate just how hypocritical this is, but I do appreciate newly-elected Virginia Rep. James Walkinshaw speaking up on our behalf, and Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost's full-throated defense was inspiring, as he pointed out Congress can't seem to do its own job, let alone wanting to assume much of the duty of running a city (with an excellent financial and bond rating on Wall Street, I might add). It's just the latest example of some members of Congress abusing their power to use the District as a political punching bag. Until DC is a state, these attacks (and this shameful lobbying reported on by CityCast DC) will continue, because no one in that room is accountable to DC taxpayers and voters and therefore has DC voters' best interests at heart.

QUICK LINKS: Ward 6 Week | Public Safety | Stellar Ward 6 Restaurants | Rumsey Update | Sherwood Rec Community Meeting | Rosedale Pool Returns | Get Ready for the Southeast Library | RESALE Act | Metro Updates  | Constituent Services Wins | H Street Plan | Upcoming ANC Meetings | Tickets! Tickets! Tickets!

Miss the last newsletter recapping the special guests at our Fourth of July parade, RFK plans, and hope in the 'War on Rats'? Read it here.

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Ward 6 Week: We still have a few events with space for you!

Ward 6 Week is almost here, and I'm really looking forward to a fantastic lineup of events running from Sunday, July 26 through Saturday, August 1.

Ward 6 Week is an annual event my office holds during the dog days of summer to check out some of the very best our Ward has to offer -- all at no cost to residents. While most of our ticketed events are at capacity, there's plenty left with room for you and your family or friends - just like our lemonade stand contest! You can always visit our site for more information and the full schedule:

• Monday July, 27: Ice Cream Social at Cobb Park: 12:30 to 2 p.m. (200 H St. NW)
  
  
• Tuesday, July 28: CIVIC. on Eighth Office (Happy) Hours with Me: 4:30 to 6 p.m. (501 8th St. SE) 
  
  
• Wednesday, July 29: Two Girls Trivia, Ward 6 Edition at Henceforth,: 7 to 9 p.m. (1335 H St. NE)
  
  
• Friday, July 31: Ward 6 Day at the National Building Museum for THE PLAYGROUND: 2 to 5 p.m. (401 F St. NW) 
  
  
• A late-breaking addition and fan favorite - Saturday, August 1: Tour a Ward 6 Firehouse: 9 to 10 a.m. (414 8th Street, SE) 
  
  
• Saturday, August 1: "Lemonade for a Cause" Capitol Hill Lemonade Stand Contest: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. throughout Capitol Hill
  
  
• Sunday, August 2: Cake Party at Hill's Kitchen!: 1 to 3 p.m. (713 D St. SE)

Public Safety Update

Welcoming Spaces for Young People: There's been a lot of attention and focus on 'teen takeovers' both locally and nationally, which is understandable given how disruptive and chaotic they can be. This NOTUS piece from Shamira Muhammad does a great job profiling some of the good work DPR has been doing for years through the Late Night Hype and Late Night Drip summer events, where DPR locations are open late, serving food, and playing good music to give teenagers a free place to enjoy their Friday and Saturday nights. As I'm certain this issue will be one we continue to wrestle with, I wanted to be sure you saw this piece profiling one of DC's more successful efforts to create spaces where young people can go as a good example of something I think we could be doing more of. 

Barriers Going Up for Indy Car Race, MPD Road Closures to Come for Upcoming F1 Event Downtown: Now that the July 4th celebrations are wrapping up, prepare for barriers and road work ahead of the Indy Car Grand Prix in late August. Yes, you read that right. In case you hadn't heard, there will be an Indy Car race in downtown DC later this summer. This NBC4 article has a good summary of announced work and plans so far.

Major cities host Indy Car races, and it can be a lot of fun for folks who enjoy the race. But there will be impacts (and noise). Expect occasional traffic disruptions on the streets around the National Mall. So far, preparatory construction is being done on Pennsylvania Ave, NW, causing lane closures on some blocks. Starting this Sunday, construction crews will begin installing safety walls and fencing along streets where the race will take place, but only between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m.. Race organizers say traffic impacts should be minimal until the week of the race, but you can likely count on some impediments the closer we get.

Specific road closures for race week have not been announced by MPD, but expect closures on at least the roads included in the course map. In particular, this is going to impact Metrobus routes that normally use these roads. More information on traffic disruptions should be released closer to the Grand Prix—which will take place over the August 22-23 weekend. All tickets to the race have been claimed at this time. There are plenty of questions remaining over how this impacts residents getting around the city. Here’s the full race weekend schedule. 

The NYT loves Ward 6 Restaurants

Given the sad divestment of the Post from a lot of local coverage, it was exciting to see the New York Times Food Section cover DC's Top 25 Restaurants. And no surprise, but Ward 6 restaurants got plenty of buzz in last week's write-up!

Here's your reminder to carve out time to be a tourist in your own city. Whether it's one of these restaurants being recognized today, your favorite place that's been there for years, or a new spot, Ward 6 has a great food scene. And it's reflected in the New York Times’ '25 Best Restaurants in Washington, D.C., Right Now’ list. 

Congrats to these Ward 6 businesses: 

• 2Fifty (Mt. Vernon Triangle)
  
• Baan Siam (Mt. Vernon Triangle)
  
• Dōgon (Southwest)
  
• Ethiopic (H Street)
• Maketto (H Street)
• Pascual (H Street / Capitol Hill)
• The Duck & the Peach (Eastern Market)

Near-Final Rumsey Designs Released

On Wednesday, DPR and DGS unveiled the near final version of the Rumsey Aquatic Center construction project designs. This is their latest version following community feedback, as well as reviews by various approval bodies. There were some changes indoors, along with a new brick exterior design. I've been fighting hard for the updated Rumsey as part of a bigger vision to improve the community and recreation space where neighborhood comes together. It's a generational opportunity.

So what are the next steps? Send me and/or the DPR Chief of External Affairs your final feedback (and I'll be sharing my own, as we still have some work to do to manage water users' programmatic needs and better small business activation on the C St side). 

In terms of construction, DGS shared that the construction is expected to begin (and the current Rumsey closed) by late fall/early winter 2026. I'll keep you updated on when I hear the latest on this project. 

In the meantime, check out the full project details, along with previous community meeting presentations, here. 

Happening Today: Sherwood Rec Center Meeting with DPR on Improvements Needed

Join DPR and DC's Department of General Services for a community meeting to learn about upcoming improvements to Sherwood Recreation Center, and share your thoughts on the future of this neighborhood space. The funding to improve Sherwood has been included in the budget in the past, but we're finally seeing progress on the planning moving forward. Now's your chance chance to weigh in. The meeting is happening today, Saturday, July 25, at 1 p.m. inside Sherwood.

Check out sherwoodrec.splashthat.com for more information. 

Rosedale Pool is Back!

Welcome back, Rosedale Pool! As of Thursday, this Ward 6-adjacent DPR pool has been re-opened after some much needed renovations!

A few years ago (back when the pool was in Ward 6 and before the most recent redistricting shifted the Ward 6/7 boundary), I had successfully pushed to add funding to expand this pool. The old capacity was just too small, and folks often had to wait in line outside for up to an hour just to get in and cool off. Now, there's over 1,400 square feet, with six expanded swimming lanes for competitive swim, an interactive splash pad, upgraded filtration systems, and new lifeguard stations. 

The pool will now be open every day of the week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Wednesdays, when it will be closed for maintenance and a day off for staff.

Find all outdoor pools here and spray parks here, including hours of operation. 

A Final Construction Update on the Southeast Library Before it Opens!

I'm so excited for our Southeast Library ribbon cutting on September 10! This project has meant years of hard work with DCPL and neighbors, and it's an amazing renovation.

We started the journey together nearly 10 years ago to build the vision and will to reimagine this historic Carnegie library building. Now, it will reopen with nearly triple the space, dedicated spaces for all ages, modernized amenities, and a true community hub - all while preserving the historic aspects of this significant building.

I couldn't be prouder.

I wanted to share a before and after photo of the 7th Street side that shows the amount of work that went into this transformation. We'll have more information in the lead up to the opening that I can't wait to share!

Council Passes the RESALE ACT and Stands with Local Venues and Music Fans

At its last Legislative Meeting, the Council unanimously gave final approval to my RESALE Act, which will rein in the secondhand market where fans of live shows and theater have been getting ripped off by bots and digital scalpers for too long. What does this mean for you? Come January, the city will have the strongest consumer protection laws in the nation around reselling live music and theater tickets, including a 10% cap on how much a ticket can be resold above face value.

This was an issue we worked on with DC's most popular independent venues and theaters after hearing how problematic the secondhand market was for their operations: tickets only available at steep mark-ups, empty seats at showtime, and fans showing up with fake tickets.

There's so much money being made in scooping up tickets and reselling them for a lot, lot more. It's become so pervasive - so expected - that we don’t realize how badly we’re all being ripped off by big tech. It all largely looks the same coming out of a Google search or on StubHub, SeatGeek, Vividseats, or any of the dozens of other platforms that have popped up.

The 10% price cap is central to taking away the massive profit motive to use illegal bots and shifting accounts to resell tickets at high volume, but it still allows you to sell a ticket you can't use. The bill also bans the practice of speculative ticket sales - selling tickets that the seller doesn't actually possess - and requires bonding and registration from high-volume resellers. DC's leading the way, and I fully expect more states to follow our lead, with California and New York both eyeing similar laws. Recent reporting also shows StubHub is in on the scalping itself, undermining their argument that they're just a simple platform helping music fans offload and buy tickets one at a time.

WMATA to Add Glass Safety Panels at Red Line Stations (And 2027 Construction to Know About)

This week, WMATA announced plans to install glass panels on Red Line metro stations as a safety precaution -- the panels will all stand slightly taller than 5 feet. It's a part of their modernization plan for one of the most heavily used lines in the system. This is in the early stages, according to Metro, and we'll learn more soon. 

But as WTOP notes, "Metro officials said it would be completed no earlier than 2028. And exactly how the stations would operate while they are being installed is not clear."

As for construction projects in 2027, WMATA's planning an extended shutdown in August of next year for Union Station, NoMA, and Rhode Island Avenue stations, which will affect plenty of Ward 6 neighbors. We'll keep you updated as we know more on the nature of the project, and here's a link for all the upcoming construction.

A Few Good Constituent Services Wins

I'm proud to have a hardworking and experienced constituent services team, and as I have in past newsletters, I want to take a moment to share some of the different kinds of problems they're helping Ward 6 neighbors solve every single day. As always, you can request help with a challenge through our website (please include your address or quadrant when you submit so we can respond faster). 

Here are a few ways we helped solve your problems in the last couple of weeks: 

• Ensured DPW cleaned up debris, trimmed trees, and removed trash along the 1200 and 1300 blocks of Delaware Ave. SW. Given this area regularly needs attention, I'm pushing to have it added to the street sweeping, leaf collection, and snow removal service maps DPW follows.
  
  
• Helped a resident who had been waiting months for Pepco to credit their account for clean energy credits from solar panels -- rather than being in arrears, they now rightly have a surplus balance! If you'd like to explore solar to achieve the same benefit, start here.
  
  
• Guided a constituent through Medicaid benefits following a layoff and lapse in  coverage. 
  
  
• When a renter's fridge broke in her unit, ensured property management brought her a mini-fridge within hours so she could preserve her diabetic son's insulin.
  
  
• Worked with DPW to install clear parking signage along alley residences to prevent persistent out-of-state parking.
  
  
• Helped neighbors remove extensive mud after a water main break at 10th St. SE and North Carolina Ave. SE that had made accessing the street from parked cars messy and challenging.

Last Call! Comments Due by July 26 on Office of Planning's First Draft of New H Street Plan

In a previous newsletter, I shared the Office of Planning's initial draft plan and report on the future of H Street, NE. I know there are a lot of neighbors and small businesses invested in seeing H Street grow, so I wanted to make sure you knew the comment window for the first draft closes tomorrow, July 26. Your feedback will help inform the final product, likely to be released later this year.

Upcoming ANC Meetings

ANC 6/8F: Tuesday, July 28 | Zoom Link & in-person (250 M St. SE)
ANC 6E: Wednesday, July 29 | Zoom Link with passcode

Locate your Advisory Neighborhood Commission here.

Ticket Giveaway

Thanks for reading to the end! We're hoping for a solid postseason push for the Nats, and you can watch them play the Cubs on August 11. Reply to this email if you'd like to be entered into a drawing for two tickets.