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In June, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced proposed changes to training requirements for special police officers. Pan-African Community Action thinks it’s too little, too late. . . . → Read More: Mother of Alonzo Smith and PACA Respond to DC Mayor’s Proposed Regulations on Special Police and Security Officers  Comments are closed  Justice System, Police Brutality  Alonzo Smith, Beverly Smith, Justice for Zo, Muriel Bowser, PACA, Pan African Community Action, police training, special police 
Mayor Bowser has a plan to address D.C.’s rise in crime. It involves more police and greater police powers. Your experience with the police may suggest that this might not be the best way to go. Let the mayor and the city council know how you feel about this issue. Tell your story on videotape at the below locations today and tomorrow!!! 
On August 27, 2015, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly unveiled her plan to reduce violent crime in a press conference at the shuttered Malcolm X Elementary School in Ward 8. The rate of homicides within the District has been on the rise. To counter it, Mayor Bowser has proposed a series of initiatives with a focus on cracking down on crime and enhancing police authority. Highlights of the speech can be found in the video shot and edited by Joshua Rose Schmidt below. Her plan may sound reasonable to many who legitimately fear the rise in violent crime, but it did little to assuage those who have every reason to fear the police. Bowser claims that her plan will make Black Lives Matter more than just a hashtag. What the mayor fails to recognize is that Black Lives Matter is in fact a movement that recognizes that police misconduct and brutality are ongoing, systemic problems whose history begins long before the advent of the cell phone video. Those within the movement believe that doubling down on techniques that have failed in the past will not solve the problem now. Black Lives Matter activist and founder of the Stop Police Terror Project, Eugene Puryear has a plan that should be considered by the mayor and anyone who wants to see an end to murders committed by the police and murders committed by citizens. Download a pdf of Stop Police Terror Project DC’s alternative plan here: Response to Bowser’s Anti-Crime Plan Fact Sheet For more information about the Black Lives Matter Movement in the District of Columbia check out the following links: https://www.facebook.com/stoppoliceterrorprojectdc https://www.facebook.com/BLACKLIVESMATTERDMV http://blacklivesmatter.com/ The National Black United Front DC Chapter is also working on this issue and any number of organizations active within the communities most impacted by crime such as the Family and Friends of Incarcerated People and The Reentry Network for Returning Citizens. If you want to know ahead of time what D.C.’s development community plans to do with our city, consider attending this event. Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning and Economic Development presents: “March Madness” with special guest Mayor Muriel Bowser Monday, March 30, 2015, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Lincoln Theatre at 1215 U St. NW Doors open at 11 a.m. – Program starts at 11:30 a.m. It’s that time of year. March Madness. On March 30, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), joined by the Department of Housing and Community Development and Department of Small and Local Business Development, will reveal its top seeds – in the form of new and upcoming projects soon to be available to D.C.’s development community. At this event, DMPED and other District agencies will discuss the solicitation process and response requirements, and most importantly, provide a forum for interaction among potential team members across the community development sector. Organizations in the following areas should consider attending: • Real estate development teams • Design & engineering consultants • Architectural firms • Housing • General contractors • Subcontractors • Equity providers • Lenders • Capital sources • Small businesses The disposition of District assets requires local participation for District-based employees and service providers. This event provides an opportunity for dialogue among talented local Certified Business Enterprises (CBEs) and development professionals to create relationships for future respondent teams. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development encourages CBE’s with appropriate professional background to participate in this event. Attendance at this event is not a requirement for submissions of interest for the projects. *Please RSVP for each individual attendee from your organization. The Eventbrite tickets associated with registration are not necessary for entry into the Lincoln Theatre on the day of the event, but please RSVP to ensure we know you are joining us. Comments are closed Gentrification March Madness, Muriel Bowser, Office for Planning and Economic Development 
Curious about how the city will be spending their budget next year? Mayor Bowser’s budget is not yet put together, but according to D.C. Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey S. DeWitt she’s got a shortfall in the amount of $256.3 million to worry about. How did that happen? According to Colbert King of the Washington Post, this is what happened. Excerpt from Mayor Bowser’s Budget Test by Colbert King Warning: I’m about to get into the weeds with numbers, but there’s no way around it. The digits are what got us here in the first place. And we can’t get out without dealing with the numbers, in all their boring forms. Shortly after the November election, DeWitt, operating under the notion that fair warning is fair play, notified Mayor Vincent Gray (D), Mayor-elect Bowser and all members of the D.C. Council that the city faced a budget gap of $163.1 million. A good chunk of the deficit resulted from spending for homeless services. In addition, the city had to cough up an estimated $15.7 million as a result of a court order. Subsequent to the November report, DeWitt identified an additional $53.7 million of increased costs related to city-provided services. The news wasn’t very bright on the revenue side, either. In fact, DeWitt notified city officials in December that anticipated fiscal 2016 revenue had fallen short by $39.5 million. Hence, the total $256.3 million budget gap that Bowser and the council must close as they formulate and produce a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year. What to do? What to do? After all those campaign promises to spend more on affordable housing, programs to end homelessness and incentives and subsidies for economic development comes now the hard part: fulfilling those champagne dreams with a soda-water pocketbook. However Bowser and the council decide to balance the budget, they will have to find ways to reduce spending and increase revenue. And it’s not going to be painless. These numbers may be used as an excuse not to fund programs that are important (if not crucial) to DC’s under-served communities. On the other hand, maybe I’m just being cynical. The best way to hedge our bets here is to show up at the new mayor’s Budget Engagement Forums. Anyone willing to step up to the microphone will have the opportunity to provide input to help shape the District’s budget priorities. The forums are scheduled for the following dates and times: Budget Engagement Forums Thursday, 19 February 2015 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Woodrow Wilson High School 3950 Chesapeake Street, NW Saturday, 21 February 2015 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Anacostia High School 1601 16th Street, SE Monday, 23 February 2015 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Dunbar High School 101 N Street, NW |
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