Wednesday February 12, 6:30 p.m. - Ward 4 Thrives Meeting

Ward 4 Thrives will hold its monthly meeting this Wednesday, February 12 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fort Stevens Recreation Center, which is located on Van Buren St. NW, between Luzon Ave NW and 13th St NW.  
Regular meetings are normally held on the first Wednesday of the month, but due to the Ward 4 Candidate Endorsement falling on this month's first Wednesday, February 5, our monthly meeting will be this coming Wednesday, February 12.  This Washington Post web page provides snapshot bios for several of the mayoral candidates.

As part of the meeting agenda, people who attended the endorsement forum will be encouraged to share their thoughts about how it went, and there is also an important update regarding the Georgia Avenue Walmart court case currently going through the D.C. Court of Appeals.  Please join us to provide your input and participate!

Protesting Walmart, Supporting Local Businesses

Yesterday a number of dedicated concerned citizens participated in a protest at the Georgia Ave Walmart "grand opening." Our efforts received coverage from various media outlets, including NBC and the Washington Post .
Andrea Rosen, a Ward 4 resident and participant in the protest, shares her impressions:

A personal account of the opening of the Georgia and Missouri Walmart:  We had one female police person ask us if we had any idea how many people were going to show up.  That was the extent of interference.  We said we didn't really know because in fact at that point, 7:50 am, it was only a handful—Mike and Rosa from Respect DC; core Ward 4 Thrives people; a couple of people from the neighborhood whom I did not know.  But then Lenny (my husband) and sometime Ward 4 Thrives participants Marc Spiegel and Ann Hoffman arrived and a great longtime city activist, Debby Hanrahan who had worked hard on the LRAA; and eventually, Nikki, who heads DC Jobs with Justice, as well as a few new people who came out of the woodwork, plus some folks from various unions.  So we had a larger group than I’d expected.  Not only did the police let us roam freely back and forth in front of the Walmart, displaying our home-made posters and handing out cards urging people to shop local and hold Walmart accountable!, from one end of the block to the other, but the Walmart folks had to grin and bear it.  That was the most delicious part!

DC Chamber of Commerce doyenne Barbara Lang had just emerged from her limo (well, I didn’t actually see the car) when I arrived, and was, as ever, beautifully coiffed and regal, surrounded by her male acolytes.  Mayor Gray showed up, looking unwell or at least unpleasant, and was forced to shake hands with some of the demonstrators because we’d positioned ourselves in his path at the end of the line of people waiting to get into the store.  I told him that I live in Ward 4 and am very unhappy to have two Walmarts in my ward, and thrust a flyer into his hand, which he was obliged to take.  I was holding a poster that said, “Walmart:  BAD Corporate Citizen – Sponsor of ‘Stand Your Ground’ Laws” with photos of of Trayvon Martin and Renisha McBride.  Then Ms. Bowser came by, and greeted me pleasantly as “Miss Rosen.”  Is that the main qualification for politicians—that they remember people’s names?  She had four petitioners approaching people, many of whom were just pleased as punch to sign to get her on the ballot.  I ran into Vincent Orange at the entrance as well; he was holding a small plastic bottle of what turned out to be chocolate milk.  Walmart was giving customers free loaves of sliced white bread and chocolate milk, gratis.  Deeply nutritious!  Bread for the city!  Walmart had a large yellow helium balloon high in the sky above the store like a beacon — Bread and Circus! 

Perry did an ongoing commentary about Walmart, walking the full length of the block back and forth.  He was tireless!  One of his best:  “Low prices today mean low wages everyday!”  All poster-worthy!

I had a too-brief conversation with a young man who works with Our Walmart.  He said at the Maryland stores, a charity dental-care bus comes around so that employees can get dental care.  Most employees can’t afford the health insurance premiums, so they’re on Medicaid.  He said he’s having trouble persuading them to move to the Affordable Care Act offerings because they are so used to Medicaid.  He was incredulous that this is how things stand in the 21st century.

Lots of media prowled about.  I was interviewed by Channel 7 and gave them an earful; they’ll probably toss the footage, since I’m so unphotogenic.  Before I left at 9:30 am, nearly all 700 flyers had been given out.

I have to say I was somewhat disappointed that there were a lot of customers.  I would guess that more than half came by car.  There had earlier been a traffic accident (involving, I think, a bicyclist!) that caused 14th Street to be stopped in both directions at Military; I got the DC Alert at 6:45 am.  By the time I arrived in the area at 7:45, cars were snaking at a snail’s pace around the store.  Peabody is a LITTLE side street, and that is where the entrance to the garage is!  Brilliant!  Because I was concerned about the bottleneck from the accident, I had taken a circumlocutious route, so I saw the traffic tie-up on foot.  But when it came time to leave at 9:30 (to make my 10 am dental appt.), I got stuck on a street bordering Paul Charter School, trying to make a right onto Missouri.  NO DICE; it was too backed up.  I had to go straight across when I got the light.  DDoT should get some serious heat about this insane situation, as should the Ward 4 Councilmember and the Mayor.

All in all, an interesting experience!

Ward 4’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions

Ward 4 ANC and SMD boundary map

Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, or ANCs, are an important part of DC’s local governance system.  The ANCs were established through a DC referendum facilitated by a federal law passed in 1973 referred to as the District of Columbia Home Rule Act. Section 738c (which is in D.C. Official Code Section 1-207.38) describes the role of ANCs:

(c) Each advisory neighborhood commission --
(1) may advise the District government on matters of public policy including decisions regarding planning, streets, recreation, social services programs, health, safety, and sanitation in that neighborhood commission area;
(2) may employ staff and expend, for public purposes within its neighborhood commission area, public funds and other funds donated to it; and
(3) shall have such other powers and duties as may be provided by act of the Council.

In turn, DC’s Council is required to provide timely communications to ANCs on a variety of matters:

(d) In the manner provided by act of the Council, in addition to any other notice required by law, timely notice shall be given to each advisory neighborhood commission of requested or proposed zoning changes, variances, public improvements, licenses, or permits of significance to neighborhood planning and development within its neighborhood commission area for its review, comment, and recommendation. 

Ward 4 is represented by 5 ANCs, one of which actually overlaps with Ward 3. ANCs are in turn subdivided into Single Member Districts, SMDs. You can view a map of the 2013 ANC and SMD boundaries here. Each SMD has roughly 2,000 residents, and has one ANC Commissioner who is nominated and elected by the registered voters in that SMD.  The ANCs in Ward 4 and the number of SMDs/Commissioners within each ANC boundary are:

ANC 4A – 8 SMDs/Commissioners
ANC 4B – 9 SMDs/Commissioners
ANC 4C – 10 SMDs/Commissioners
ANC 4D – 6 SMDs/Commissioners
ANC 3G – 7 SMDs/Commissioners (this is the one that overlaps in Ward 3)

The term for an ANC Commissioner is two years. ANC Commissioners do not receive salaries from the position. As the District of Columbia Board of Elections web page explains, in order for to become an ANC Commissioner, the individual must:

   1) be a registered voter in the District, as defined by DC Code Section 1-1001.02.
   2) have continuously resided in the SMD for at least 60 days prior to when the nominating petition was filed.
   3) hold no other public office.

Do you know which ANC area and SMD you live in? Do you know who is the ANC Commissioner for your SMD? You can submit your address in DC's GIS Master Address Repository which will then provide you with results that include your Ward, ANC, and SMD, with clickable maps of each. Then you can visit the DC government’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions web site to learn much more about your ANC's activities. Ward 4 residents, workers, and allies can click on the Ward 4 tab to begin to dig deeper into Ward 4 ANCs, including current lists of commissioners and their contact information, ANC meeting times and locations, meeting minutes, committees, ANC resolutions, neighborhood issues identified by the ANCs, and other invaluable information.

H Street Warm-Up, on to Georgia Ave - Protest Walmart Dec 4!

Walmart held a quietly advertised, invitation-only sneak preview of its new H street location Tuesday evening, perhaps hoping to present its desired public image without challenge. Yet as soon as concerned citizens got whiff of this planned public relations event, they sprung into action to deliver a message of opposition to Walmart's many troubling business practices.

Chanting for living wages and respect for workers, participants also handed out information to event attendees and pedestrians. Both preview attendees and passing drivers also got to see that "Walmart's Ruling Family has more than 42% of American Families Combined" as Josh Bivens, Research and Policy Director at the Economic Policy Institute describes in detail here.

Consider this H Street rapid response as a warm-up for our Georgia Ave Walmart protest. Let's continue to make sure Walmart and our local communities know that we haven't given up on supporting real community-led development. Join us Wednesday, December 4, between 7:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. at Walmart's 5929 Georgia NW location to protest Walmart and further raise public awareness of the dangers Walmart poses to our neighborhoods!

You can also join us at our regular Ward4Thrives meeting the same day at 6:30 p.m. at the Fort Stevens Recreation Center, which is located on Van Buren St. NW, between Luzon Ave NW and 13th St NW. There we can review how the protest went and plan next steps. 

Join us! Wed Dec 4, 7:45 am-11:00 am Protest Georgia Ave Walmart!

Yesterday across the nation Walmart associates and their families, friends, and neighbors protested against Walmart.  From as far away as Los Angeles California to as near as Alexandria Virginia, communities spoke out for living wages, better benefits systems, and the end of Walmart’s retaliation against workers who exercise their right to express their grievances, as well as for many more improvements in Walmart’s practices. The protests received worldwide coverage, include Britain's The Guardian and Russia Today.

 

We can sustain this Black Friday momentum during our Wednesday, December 4, protest at the Walmart opening in Ward 4, from 7:45 a.m. to 11 a.m.  The Walmart is located across the street from the Metropolitan Police Department (6001 Georgia Ave NW). Come join us to help Ward 4 thrive!

 

 

 

Ward Four's Contours

Did you ever wonder what were the exact roads and boundaries that contain Ward 4? You can view the latest official 2012 Ward 4 map here, provided by the District of Columbia’s Office of Planning. Here you will see, unsurprisingly, the cap of the DC diamond consisting of its borders with Maryland. The right lower point of the diamond turns abruptly onto Kennedy Street Northeast, which after a hop on South Dakota Avenue slides gently down Riggs Road then plummets south on North Capitol Street. After a longer bumpy descent on Rock Creek Church Road Northwest and a step down New Hampshire Ave, the boundary gently rises up Spring Road. The boundary makes only a little jump on 16th Street, a major artery that virtually bisects the ward, then continues along Piney Branch Parkway. The boundary swerves northward on Rock Creek then veers east along Military Road. After one more abrupt descent on part of 27th Street, the boundary rises steadily northeast to the final left lower point of the diamond cap. It would be interesting to compare this current map with previous maps and sift through what politics shaped the borders. And then there is the rich history within these contours...

Next Ward 4 Thrives Mtg- Sept. 5th at 6:30pm

Please join us  for our next Ward 4 Thrives Community meeting, Wednesday, Sept. 5th, at 6:30pm at Fort Stevens Rec Center (1327 Van Buren ST, NW).  There's still plenty of organizing around the Walmart being built on Georgia Ave- so please come!