Guest post

On April 23, 2014, ANC 5A held its monthly community meeting at the Backus Campus of UDC’s Community College. The meeting included information on the following topics.

Auto-Related Crime Has Increased

MPD Officer Lucas reported on police activity in the Fourth District.  Year-to-date, there have been dramatic increases in the number of stolen autos and the number of incidents of theft from autos.

Officer Lucas reminded us of the steps that each of us can take to avoid becoming a victim of auto-related crimes. (Click here and here for auto crime-prevention tips.)

New Trash/Recycling Receptacles

Call 311 to arrange pickup of your old, unwanted trash and recycling receptacles

2015 Budget

The DC budget cycle for FY 2015 is in-progress, so public hearings on the budget are being conducted. This website has the 11-page public hearing schedule for DC’s “Fiscal Year 2015 Proposed Budget and Financial Plan.”

Bike Lanes

Commissioner Edwards said that DDOT is moving ahead with its plans for bike lanes this year. (See this list of “2014 Planned Bikeways” and this link for a map of those bikeways). These plans include bike lanes on Harewood Road between Michigan Avenue and Taylor Street, and on Fort Totten Drive between Bates Road and Rock Creek Church Road. If you need more information on the bike lanes or have comments, contact DDOT Bicycle Program Specialist Mike Goodno at mike.goodno@dc.gov or (202) 671-0681.

National Park Service Options; Comments Due May 2nd

The Commissioners passed a resolution in support of a direct path between Gallatin and Galloway Street, the option that the community agreed upon at the recent SMD 5A08 meeting on improvements to the NPS paths between Gallatin and Galloway Streets. Contact Commissioner Alston about wording of the resolution. Remember comments are due May 2nd on the project’s website.

New Charter School to Open on AFRH Campus This Fall

Golnar Abedin, Ph.D., is Executive Director/Principal of the Creative Minds International Public Charter School, currently located at 3224 16th Street NW in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.

Dr. Abedin said that this fall, the school will open an additional facility, for pre-school through 5th-grade students, on the campus of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH; aka the Old Soldiers’ Home).

After Dr. Abedin described the School’s programs and admissions policies, the ANC 5A Commission voted to pass a resolution in support of the School’s AFRH facility. (Note that the application period for Creative’s 2014-2015 school year closed in March.)

An April 2nd article in the Washington City Paper about the school’s additional facility also mentions other ways the AFRH campus could soon be open to non-AFRH residents.

Education Officials Discuss Plans

DC Councilmember David Catania and DC School Board President Mark Jones spoke about various initiatives in the DC public school system.

Councilmember Catania, who is Chair of the Council’s Committee on Education, described the Committee’s recent legislative efforts. President Jones announced that the Deputy Mayor for Education is holding a series of community meetings to get the public’s opinions on the proposals she has made to change school feeder patterns and boundaries.  (Greater Greater Education blog has a post discussing the boundary change process that also includes a link to an app created by Code for DC to help families determine how the proposed changes affect them.)

Also, President Jones described the School Board’s work on revisions to high school graduation requirements to ensure preparation for college or careers.

Former ANC5A Commissioner Rip Preston reminded us that a non-profit, community-based organization, the Ward 5 Council on Education, is working to improve the quality of education in Ward 5 schools.

DC Humanities Council Offers Grants; Proposal Deadline is May 9th

Natasha Brown, from the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, announced that proposals are due May 9th for applications for the DC Community Heritage Project (DCCHP) grant. This particular grant provides funding and support to community leaders interested in preserving the history, architecture, and collective memory of their neighborhoods. The Humanities Council has other community-based grant programs as well.