COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT

AAPI Youth Town Hall with Mayor Gray 

The DC Mayor's Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs invites all youth in the District of Columbia to engage with Mayor Vincent C. Gray in the first AAPI Youth Town Hall.

The Youth Town Hall will provide AAPI youth an opportunity meet Mayor Gray and discuss the issues and concerns they face. 

The event will be held on March 17, 2012 from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm at the Chinatown Community Cultural Center, 616 H Street, NW, Suite 201, Washington, DC.

To RSVP, please click here.  

Please email or call OAPIA at (202) 727-3120 with additional questions or concerns.

D.C. Resident Samira Cook-Gaines Recognized as White House ‘Champion of Change’

On March 6, Mayor Gray congratulated Washington, DC Women’s Business Center Director Samira B. Cook-Gaines for being recognized by the White House for her efforts to mentor budding entrepreneurs in the District. Ms. Cook-Gaines founded the Washington, DC Women’s Business Center, where she provides women entrepreneurs with expertise and support in creating stable business foundations. Read more.

Groundbreaking on The Heights on Georgia Avenue

On March 8, Mayor Gray, government officials and representatives of the development team celebrated the groundbreaking of The Heights on Georgia Avenue – a mixed-use project that provides affordable housing and retail space along the historic Georgia Avenue corridor in Ward 1. Principals from the development partnership, Neighborhood Development Corporation, were joined by Mayor Gray, Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, DC Housing Finance Agency Director Harry Sewell and Department of Housing and Community Development Director John Hall to ceremonially kick off construction at the site that will house the 100,000-square-foot building. Read more.

Completion of Pennsylvania Avenue Great Streets Project

This week, Mayor Gray, District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Terry Bellamy, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez, D.C. Office of Planning (OP) Deputy Director for Neighborhood and Citywide Planning Rosalynn Hughey and community representatives marked the completion of the Pennsylvania Avenue Great Streets Project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Pennsylvania Avenue Great Streets Project is a $35 million transportation project, supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The project has dramatically improved the physical character of the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor by enhancing transportation operations and safety for motor vehicles and pedestrians as well as improving the streetscape. The project area includes Pennsylvania Avenue from 27th Street SE to Southern Avenue SE. Read more or view clip.

Produced by the Executive Office of the Mayor, Office of Communications | 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004 | (202) 727-5011 | Email: Vincent.Gray@dc.gov

Mayor On The Move

January Figures Show DC Unemployment Rate Dropping Below 10 Percent 

On March 13, Mayor Gray welcomed news from the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES) that preliminary January estimates show the District’s unemployment rate continuing its decline, dropping to 9.9 percent after similar figures for December showed a 10.4 percent unemployment rate.

More complete reporting from employers revised the District’s December jobless rate to 10.1 percent – itself a significant decline from the November rate of 10.6 percent. The number of unemployed DC residents in January stood at 34,400.

The Mayor pointed to the continuing success of unemployment-fighting initiatives such as the District’s One City ● One Hire program. The innovative effort by DOES connects qualified, unemployed DC residents with jobs and provides employers who commit to hire unemployed District residents with placement, screening and training support. Read more.

Mayor Gray Signs Agreements with Labor Leaders

On March 9, Mayor Gray, other D.C. government officials and union representatives signed several labor agreements that highlight continued improvements in labor relations and the realization of the Mayor’s campaign pledge to re-establish the Labor Management Partnership Council (LMPC). The accords – including a Labor-Management Partnership Agreement, agreements with D.C. Compensation Units 1 and 2 and an agreement with the Service Employees International Union – are part of the Mayor’s efforts to reassure District government employees and their organized representatives that his administration will deal with them as partners, not adversaries. Read more.

Mayor Gray Denounces Recent Apparent Anti-LGBT Attacks 

Earlier this week, Mayor Gray strongly denounced recent violent crimes that appear to have targeted members of the District’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

“All crime is horrific and destructive to the fabric of our community, but especially violent behavior that targets people because of their ethnic background, sexual orientation, faith or other identifying characteristics,” Mayor Gray said. “These kinds of crimes are particularly insidious, because they are designed to instill fear in an entire community. This cannot and will not stand in the District of Columbia, where all of our residents have the right to walk the streets of our neighborhoods free of fear, regardless of their identities, beliefs or characteristics. The Metropolitan Police Department and I will not rest until the perpetrators of these brutal crimes are arrested, tried and safely locked away.”

Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Third Annual Business Expo

Mayor Gray at the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce 3rd Annual Business Expo with Congressman Christopher Van Hollen (MD); Congressman Bob Garcia (NY, retired); Ana Harvey, Assistant Administrator of the Small Business Administration Women’s Business Ownership Office; Walter Tejada, Member of the Arlington County Board; Miguel Ornelas, Chairman of the Board of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Angela Franco, President & CEO of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Michael Brown, DC Councilmember At-Large; and Roxana Olivas, Director of the DC Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs. (3/15/2012)

'CTRL, ALT...Compete' Premieres in D.C.  

On March 6, Startup DC, in partnership with Startup America and Microsoft, premiered the documentary CTRL, ALT…Compete at the first-ever DC Entreprelooza! Mayor Gray was in attendance, spoke to the audience about the importance of tech startups and businesses to the District’s economy and reinforced his commitment to the presence and growth of the technology sector as part of his efforts to build a new economy for the District. The documentary follows the real lives of people in tech-startup companies as they hone their ideas, look for funding and try to compete in the fast-paced tech industry. It recently premiered at the Napa Film Festival and will eventually have a wider release. It was executive produced by Microsoft. The co-founders and CEO of DC-based policy/tech startup POPVOX are some of the film’s stars.