Huge changes in suburban poverty

May 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment

As The Atlantic points out, the word “suburb” brings to mind a stereotype of cheery prosperity. Whatever truth might have once inspired that image is now colliding with major demographic shifts. New research from the Brookings Institution finds that over the last decade, poverty in American suburbs has overtaken cities (Atlantic, 5/20):

Between 2000 and 2011, the population living in American cities below the poverty line increased by 29 percent. During that same time, across the country in the suburbs of metropolitan areas as diverse as Atlanta and Detroit and Salt Lake City, the ranks of the poor grew by 64 percent. Today, more poor people live in the suburbs (16.4 million of them) than in U.S. cities (13.4 million), despite the perception that poverty remains a uniquely urban problem.

The research includes profiles of metropolitan areas across the country. The Greater Washington region’s profile finds the poverty rate still lower in suburbs, but the number of suburban poor has increased 55 percent. Read more about what is driving our local changes – and what the implications are for our region.

Related: Here’s a look at how nonprofits in Montgomery County are struggling to address the increase in suburban poverty. (WAMU, 5/20)

EDUCATION
- Studies have shown that the achievement gap between high and low-income children can begin forming as early as nine months old. Home visits from family support workers might be one way of preventing the gap from forming. (WaPo, 5/20)

- Montgomery County has an increasing trend of students failing math tests. What is causing the trend? Theories abound. (WaPo, 5/20)

Maybe students are stuck in a vortex of chaos and confusion due to the fact that the school system imposes a failing grade of “E” rather than the traditional “F.” E is for “Excellent!” F is for “Fail!”

NONPROFITS | NPR ran an interesting news segment on the work of Dan Pallotta, who argues in favor of a paradigm shift that would financially incentivize working in the nonprofit sector. Click the “Listen to the Story” box to hear it. (NPR, 5/17) Thanks very much to Nick Geisinger – founder of the Daily! – for passing this along.

HOUSING
- Opinion: To Curb Domestic Violence, Start With Housing by Terri Ludwig, President and CEO of Enterprise Community Partners (HuffPo, 5/9)

- Major Campaign Donors Score Hefty City Subsidies (WAMU, 5/20) For the second time in a week…Steve Urkel!

TRANSIT | Maryland has announced plans to run MARC train service between D.C. and Baltimore on the weekends! At the moment, the only easy option for getting between the two is Amtrak, which is unreasonably expensive. (WAMU, 5/17)

Related: Columbia, Maryland, was originally designed to be a connection point that would bridge the geographic gap between Baltimore and D.C. It didn’t quite work, but its story is fascinating.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend, even though none of us won Powerball…unless the winner from Florida is a Daily reader?! Anyhow, my weekend was glorious, mostly because my girlfriend and I ran into Arnold Schwarzenegger at Georgetown’s graduation ceremony. We didn’t talk to him, but I assume that when he saw us, he thought, “Who is dis lovely couple dat I get to share da sidewalk with?” Life changing moment.

On a completely unrelated note, I’ve had Dusty Springfield’s Son of a Preacher Man stuck in my head. Great tune!

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School closures mostly impact primarily-minority neighborhoods

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

EDUCATION | City Paper’s Aaron Weiner writes about the planned DCPS school closures,  all but two of which are in majority black/Hispanic neighborhoods. The other two schools have student populations that are majority black/Hispanic. However, there is a reasonable explanation (CP, 5/15):

Parents in the poorer, eastern neighborhoods of the city—which tend to be overwhelmingly black—are more likely to want to send their kids to charter or out-of-boundary schools, to get them away from rougher schools or rougher streets on the way to school or both. This doesn’t happen as much at schools in richer parts of town…So schools in poorer (and, yes, blacker and more Hispanic) neighborhoods get depopulated and close down.

While the explanation makes sense, it also implies a self-perpetuating cycle of disadvantage. Students have to commute further. Parents face the added stress of seeking out less convenient education options for their kids. And neighborhoods become less attractive to prospective residents. Not good.

LOCAL | DCist mapped out public sector employment in the Greater Washington region by neighborhood. The results are interesting and give us a really great sense of the employment diversity in our region. (DCist, 5/15)

HOUSING | The Nonprofit Roundtable retweeted an interesting report that asks a great question – are student loans causing home and auto sales to decline? (Federal Reserve, 4/17) Yes, they are. Believe you me.

Related: Young Americans are driving less and buying fewer cars. (NYT, 5/14)

Event: This Saturday, the Communications Action Network (CAN), is sponsoring its Parade of Homes. The event features open houses at 20 affordable housing communities across the region. It’s a great opportunity to see the many types of local affordable housing options and how they are impacting the region. [Learn more.]

WORKFORCE | A proposal in front of the D.C. Council would require “big box” stores to set a higher minimum wage ($11.25 hr) than other local businesses. (WAMU, 5/14)

Here are couple of thoughts on this. The minimum wage should be higher across the board. Singling out one type of business over another seems unfair and arbitrary. And “higher” and “hire” are homophones.

PHILANTHROPY | Charities Want More Insight Into Grant-Making Decisions, Says Study (Chronicle, 5/15)

DEMOCRACY | In hopes of building the levels of civic engagement, Takoma Park will now allow most 16 and 17 year-olds to vote in local elections. (WAMU, 5/15) One might argue that a 16 year-old isn’t informed enough to vote. I would respond by laughing heartily and pointing out that many adults aren’t either.

Imagine looking up on a sunny day and seeing this! That’s pretty darn funny.

Also, here’s a fun comparison – biopic actors and the real people they play. Part one and part two.

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Using technology to combat senior isolation

May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

People often lament the fact that technology is deteriorating human relationships. But for seniors, the opposite might be true. A new pilot program funded by the AARP Foundation is building technological connections for seniors as a way of combating isolation. The program provides iPads to seniors, as well as classes on how to use the Internet, social media, Skype, and more (WaPo, 5/9):

In the District, the program selected low-income seniors at high risk of being disconnected from friends and family, said Najeeb Uddin, the AARP Foundation’s vice president of technology.

“We’re targeting people on the verge of being isolated and depressed. Their spouse might have passed away,” he said. “It’s about connecting to the community. It just happens to be that we’re using technology to do it.”

YOUTH | The Children’s Law Center has released its 2013 Children’s Mental Health Report Card. This year’s marks for the District are mixed, but hopeful (WAMU, 5/9):

Judith Sandalow is the executive director of Children’s Law Center, a nonprofit in D.C. She says there are “promising beginnings” when it comes to how the District serves children with mental health needs.
…
But Sandalow says there is still a long way to go. She says there are too many agencies involved leading to what she calls “bureaucratic fragmentation.” And Sandalow says how soon a child gets treatment is also a problem.

Read the report here.

Related: Pushing for More Progress in the District’s Children’s Mental Health System (HuffPo, 5/9)

HEALTH | Jacqueline Bowens has been named to succeed Sharon Baskerville as the CEO of the D.C. Primary Care Coalition. (WBJ, 5/9)

Related: The D.C. Primary Care Coalition is one of the key players in our Beyond Dollars story on expanding the health care safety net. You can check out the report here.

EDUCATION
- The District is set to open a “hybrid traditional-charter” school in Southeast. Chancellor Kaya Henderson says, “It’s an animal that we’ve never seen before.” (WaPo, 5/9) Is it a unicorn? I bet it’s a unicorn. I knew they existed!

- Putting Inner City Students on a Path to High-Paying Jobs, For Real (Atlantic, 5/9)

HOUSING
- In case the economic collapse didn’t do it already, Richard Florida has deflated the American dream of homeownership. He digs into a report about the relationship between unemployment and homeownership and says, “Higher rates of homeownership lead to higher rates of unemployment.” (Atlantic, 5/9)

Related: Florida discusses the relationship between housing and commuting. We looked at the same issue in our recent report on housing affordability.

- Greater Greater Washington’s Dave Aplert explains how the increased production of high-end rental units in our region could trigger drops in rent through a process called “filtering.” (GGW, 5/9) Contrary to my initial expectation, this does not mean refraining from swearing at leasing agents to get better rates.

LOCAL
- Arlington’s population is expected to continue booming, thanks especially to the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Plan. (WTOP, 5/9)

- Robert McCartney writes about how impressed he is about regional collaboration to clean sewage. (WaPo, 5/9)

- Lots of great stuff from The Atlantic today. Here’s a look at how highway construction ruined Southwest D.C. – and how new development could resurrect it. (Atlantic, 5/9)

I forgot to post this yesterday, but Jimmy Fallon and John Krasinski (from The Office) had a hilarious lip syncing competition. It’s pretty funny. (Note: I downgraded my sentiment and didn’t even notice when I published.)

And, here’s an amusing connection between autocomplete and the platypus.

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A progress report on philanthropy and big change

May 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

A lot can change in a few years. That’s why WRAG is excited to release Beyond Dollars: Philanthropy and BIG Change in the Greater Washington Region. The new release is a 2013 progress report on our earlier publication, Beyond Dollars: Investing in BIG Change from 2009.

The earlier report chronicled and celebrated the unrecognized benefits of philanthropy in our region while also elevating what we saw as the common elements that led to change of great magnitude. Now, almost five years later, we want to check in on this work. Is the change lasting? If so, what factors have been critical? If not, what lessons have been learned?

The impact of philanthropy is especially important to consider in light of potential changes to the charitable deduction. As Beyond Dollars shows, philanthropic investments continue to make an important difference in our region.

HOMELESSNESS | The Senate has approved legislation for an Internet sales tax. It might not make it through the House, but if it does, D.C. Councilmembers Jim Graham and Mary Cheh think that the new revenue could end homelessness. As Aaron Wiener points out, this idealism is rooted in the belief that we could beat homelessness if we just had the money. (CP, 5/7)

If they really believe this, then it’s unsettling that better attempts haven’t been made to secure the necessary funds in the past.

HOUSING | ElevationDC interviews Michael Diamond, director of the Harrison Institute for Housing and Community Development, about affordable housing, gentrification, and policy solutions in our region. (Elevation, 5/7)

WORKFORCE | Over the weekend, New York Times bureau chief Dave Leonhardt wrote about the very high nonemployment rates of 25 to 34 year old Americans and the “grim shift” that has landed our country in a much worse position than most of Europe.

In a follow up, Leonhardt looks at the geography of the problem. Fortunately, our region is one of three spots in the country bucking the trend. (NYT, 5/7) Leonhardt is a great writer – very literary. The opening paragraph of the first article is fantastic.

HEALTH | Slowdown in Health Costs’ Rise May Last as Economy Revives (NYT, 5/6) Well, that’s a confusing headline.

Have you ever wondered what the subjects of abstract paintings might look like if they were real people? Me neither – but I found out the answer anyway. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Internet, somebody updated famous portraits for modern times.

And since there’s so much rain, how about the Belle Stars’ version of Iko Iko from Rain Man? If ever there was a movie that needed a music video…this was definitely not it. Good song though!

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Is ‘social housing’ a solution to our affordable housing challenges?

May 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment

HOUSING | Opinion: Roger Lewis, a professor emeritus from the University of Maryland, revisits some familiar statistics that showcase how un-affordable housing has become for both low- and moderate-income families. He even sketched the cartoon to the right to drive the point home. But he takes the conversation a step further and suggests a possible path forward (WaPo, 5/4):

We should take a cue from Europe, where countries such as Denmark and Austria build “social housing.” Social housing is public housing, but only in the sense that it is government-financed. European social housing is subsidized yet serves middle-class as well as low-income households, thereby avoiding many of the socioeconomic issues associated with America’s public housing.

Using the words “social” and “Europe” in an American policy debate virtually guarantees immediate dismissal. But that fact aside, what do you think of Lewis’ idea?

Related: Last week, WRAG released a new report on housing affordability in the Greater Washington region – What Funders Need to Know: Housing. It details many of the affordability issues that Lewis mentions. (Daily, 4/30)

Related: Earlier in the spring, WRAG heard from former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros about ways that funders can support housing affordability. Check out number eight on his list, which directly relates to Roger Lewis’ idea of “social housing.” (Daily, 3/26)

Related: Housing Crash Fades as Defaults Decline to 2007 Levels (Bloomberg, 5/6) Related: What the heck, how many times can we write “related” in one issue?

Event: Next Saturday, the Communications Action Network (CAN), is sponsoring its Parade of Homes. The event features open houses at 20 affordable housing communities across the region. It’s a great opportunity to see the range of options and quality for local affordable homes. [Learn more.]

HOMELESSNESS | Advocates, City Officials Spar Over Homeless Amendments (CP, 5/3)

AGING | This is a tough but important read – Elderly Couple’s Tale Of Abuse Not So Uncommon (WAMU, 4/4)

GIVING | Opinion: The Hudson Institute’s William Schambra writes about the politics and potential impact of “genuine compassionate conservatism.” (Chronicle, 5/1)

BOOK REVIEW | In today’s Daily, The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s president, Eileen Ellsworth, reviews Do More Than Give: The Six Practices of Donors Who Change the World by Leslie R. Crutchfield, John V. Kania, and Mark R. Kramer. You can read the full review here. Eileen writes that the book is a worthwhile read for all funders (Daily, 5/6):

[Do More Than Give] is a useful and thought provoking work for every kind of donor, in any kind of community. If you are looking for a practical, step by step manual for how to become a more effective donor, this book has a very great deal to offer.

TRANSIT | If you’ve ever ridden the New York subway and accidentally ended up on an express train to the Bronx when you were aiming for Brooklyn, then you probably appreciate the relative simplicity of our Metro system. And if you haven’t had that experience, lucky you, because it’s a time-consuming mistake that makes you feel like a helpless dimbulb.

Our addition of the Silver Line – and it’s graphical rendering on the WMATA system map – is pushing things into confusing territory. (Atlantic, 5/6)

I’ve been trying to find something funny to share with you on this gloomy Monday. There’s a whole website of hilarious – sometimes intentionally and sometimes not – web product reviews. I can’t vouch for the appropriateness of the whole site, but this entry amused me. I guess a ceiling fan is a cheap alternative to these dudes.

And if you aren’t in the mood to laugh, here’s a really beautiful song – Where Our Destination Lies by Ben Gibbard. I don’t think I’ve shared it here before. Apologies if I have, but it’s a great one.

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The most powerful (and useless) city-run Internet in America

May 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment

In 2010, the federal government directed $17.4 million of stimulus money to construct the “most powerful city-run Internet infrastructure in America.” It is the sort of network that could bring super-fast, free Internet service to everyone – including many low-income homes that can’t afford the expensive service offered by companies like Comcast or Verizon.

That network was built right here in D.C. But, perhaps appropriately considering the notorious bureaucracy for which the city is known, it isn’t actually available for residents to use. City Paper‘s Aaron Wiener explains (CP, 5/2):

The idea was to help bring the city’s existing fiber network, DC-NET, to underserved areas. That doesn’t mean simply blasting a public Wi-Fi signal at Congress Heights, though. The city isn’t allowed to be a so-called last-mile provider, bringing the Internet directly to consumers, but rather a middle-mile network that Internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon, as well as “community anchor institutions,” can use to bring a powerful Web connection to the masses.

Related: Earlier this year, the Post wrote about how low-income students without reliable internet access are at a disadvantage in the classroom. (WaPo, 2/27)

HOUSING | President Obama has nominated North Carolina Congressman Mel Watt to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Post suggests that Watt’s nomination “suggests that the administration would like to speed up the slow-going effort to determine the future of the taxpayer-backed mortgage giants.” (WaPo, 5/2)

EDUCATION | The 2014 budget for DCPS calls for staff and program cuts at dozens of schools. Chancellor Henderson and Mayor Gray cite under-enrollment as the cause for the cuts, but the budget actually cuts funding for schools where enrollment is increasing, too. One PTA member comments (WaPo, 5/2):

The message that DCPS sends to families looking for anything other than the bare minimum is, ‘Go to charters.’

FOOD | New data from the Department of Agriculture show that grocery costs have risen between 35 and 39 percent for all income levels over the last ten years. Families using federal food assistance, for example, have seen a 35 percent increase with the weekly cost of groceries increasing from $107 in 2003 to $146 today. (WTOP, 5/2)

Also alarming is the fact that 2003 was a decade ago…?!

TRANSIT | Metro has spent the last few years jacking up fares and severely inconveniencing riders in the name of safety “improvements.” But one thing that they haven’t fixed, at least since I was in middle school many moons ago, are the broken speakers in rail cars. This week, a muffled announcement caused passengers to think they were supposed to evacuate. What happens when there is a real emergency? (GGW, 5/2)

Related: We won’t need Metro anymore if designer Riten Gojiya’s personal airships become reality! (Atlantic, 5/2)

Rebekah has the Daily tomorrow. Hope you all enjoy the beautiful weather that we’re supposed to get this weekend. I will be watching Iron Man 3 over and over again (or at least once).

But first, here are 99 “life hacks” that will (mostly) make you say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

- Christian

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In Virginia, housing discrimination against Latinos

May 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

What can you expect if you are a Latino looking to rent a home in Virginia? Unfair treatment most of the time, according to a new report from the Equal Rights Center. The organization conducted in-person tests to compare the experiences of white and Latino renters. In 55 percent of the tests, Latinos experienced outrageous things like:
  • Being quoted higher rents or higher fees for the same rental unit than white testers;
  • Not being offered incentives or “specials” that were offered to white testers seeking the same housing;
  • Being offered fewer available units or later availability dates than those offered to white testers;
  • Being told about additional application requirements, such as credit checks or providing a social security card, which were not told to white testers.

Related: If you missed it, WRAG released a new report on housing affordability in the Greater Washington region yesterday – What Funders Need to Know: Housing. (Daily, 4/30)

HEALTH | A tracking poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Americans are both misinformed and under-informed about the Affordable Care Act. First, a depressingly hilarious statistic (KFF, 4/30):

Four in ten Americans (42%) are unaware that the ACA is still the law of the land, including 12 percent who believe the law has been repealed by Congress, 7 percent who believe it has been overturned by the Supreme Court and 23 percent who say they don’t know enough to say what the status of the law is.

Second, and more importantly, responses that have implications for health funders and nonprofits:

About half the public (49%) says they do not have enough information about the health reform law to understand how it will impact their own family.

The share of the public who says they lack enough information to understand how the ACA will affect their family is higher among two groups the law is likely to benefit most – the uninsured (58% of whom say they lack enough information) and low-income households (56% say so).

This is reminiscent of a Pew poll from 2010 about the Supreme Court.

EDUCATION
- D.C. Council member David Catania says that the DCPS goal of all schools being 70 percent proficient by 2017 is “incredibly unrealistic.” He is seeking ways to aggressively change consistently low-performing schools. (WAMU, 5/1)

- Opinion: Mayor Gray’s early childhood crusade paying off by Harry Jaffe (Examiner, 5/1)

WORKFORCE | Science, tech jobs dominate region, census says (Examiner, 5/1) Austin Powers might have something to say about that.

SEQUESTRATION | With parts of the Smithsonian being shutdown due to budget cuts, White House tours being suspended, and the Washington Monument being scheduled to take about 162 years to repair after the earthquake, the District is in for a bad tourism year. (WJLA, 5/1)
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What does affordable housing look like in the Greater Washington region?

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

To be considered affordable, a household needs to spend less than 30% of its income on housing costs. As you can imagine, that’s really hard to do in our region.

In WRAG’s new installment of our What Funders Need to Know series, we take a detailed look at local housing – what it costs, how transportation factors in, what it means to live in different parts of our region. Then we discuss what our future looks like if we don’t fix this problem, and what funders can do to get involved.

COMMUNITY | The Consumer Health Foundation’s president and CEO, Yanique Redwood, is highlighted in the new issue of Bethesda Magazine as a rising star who is making a difference in our region at a young age. The magazine talked with Yanique about what drives her (Bethesda, May 2013):

[She] was inspired to pursue a career in public health after learning about a shameful chapter in America’s past. Beginning in 1932, the Tuskegee syphilis experiment followed the disease’s progression in poor, African-American sharecroppers over a 40-year period without ever providing treatment.
…
A tearful Redwood discussed it with her professor, who encouraged her “to use my anger and do something about this injustice.”

EQUITY | The recession was bad news for just about everybody, but a new report from the Urban Institute finds that the wealth gap between non-Hispanic white Americans and minorities widened considerably during the downturn. As NYU professor Darrick Hamilton puts it, “It was already dismal…it got even worse.” (NYT, 4/29)

AGING
- Yesterday, hundreds of older District residents rallied for increased spending on senior services in the 2014 budget. (WaPo, 4/30)

- The AARP Foundation has a great series of short videos featuring experts discussing senior isolation. (AARP)

EDUCATION | Different reports have claimed to prove that D.C. education reform has been either a success or a failure, but Greater Greater Education says that nobody is even reading the source data correctly. (GGE, 4/30)

Happy 80th birthday to Willie Nelson! If you ever get a chance to see him live, I recommend taking the opportunity. He’s a lot of fun – and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. I especially love his cover of City of New Orleans. Whoever uploaded the slideshow to accompany the song has an unfortunately literal mind.

On an unrelated note (unless Willie is an intergalactic musician), check out these photos of a massive, gigantic, humongous, gargantuan, other dramatic adjective storm on Saturn. The color-corrected photos make it look like the sixth planet from the sun is actually a gateway to a terrifying hell.

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What Funders Need to Know: Housing

April 30, 2013 By Leave a Comment

“Affordable housing” can seem like a vague term, but it has a specific definition. For a home to be affordable, it means that the amount a person spends – rent/mortgage, insurance, taxes, and utilities – is less than 30% of the household income.

In the Greater Washington region, an average two-bedroom apartment costs $1,412 a month. At that rate, a household would have to earn $56,480 annually for the rent to be affordable (less than 30% of income). And to make that salary, a minimum wage worker would have to work 132 hours a week.

Housing costs decrease as you move further away from the District. But as they go down, transportation costs go up and offset savings. Environmental impact increases. Traffic increases. Family and personal time slip away. It’s a no-win scenario for our region and its residents.

In WRAG’s new installment of our What Funders Need to Know series, we take a detailed look at housing in our region – what it costs, how transportation factors in, what it means to live in Frederick compared to D.C. or Manassas or Arlington. Then we take a hard look at what our future looks like if we don’t fix this problem and suggest five ways that funders can get involved.

Read: What Funders Need to Know – Housing (April 2013)

Previously: What Funders Need to Know – Education (October 2012)

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A new public-private infrastructure bank?

April 23, 2013 By 1 Comment

Federal City Council head Anthony Williams, who previously served for eight years as the District’s mayor, is leading conversations with both Mayor Vincent Gray and members of the D.C. Council about the potential development of a new, nonprofit D.C. Public-Private Development Trust (WBJ, 4/23):

The Federal City Council is lobbying D.C. leaders to create an infrastructure bank that would pool public and private dollars for critical capital and social projects without saddling the District with more debt — a groundbreaking idea that would, if adopted, transform how the city tackles its major development projects.

WRAG’s president, Tamara Copeland, is interested in learning more about the exploration of new ways to meet challenges facing our region. She says:

When Anthony Williams met with WRAG CEOs earlier this year, this wasn’t an idea that he shared, but it’s definitely an interesting one. As we think about the societal problems facing our region, it’s exciting to have new concepts for social financing on the table. WRAG will be monitoring these conversations as they move forward. How might philanthropy be a part of the social finance solution?

IMPACT | On a similar subject, Rebekah recaps our recent Brightest Minds event with the Strive Network’s Jeff Edmondson. He spoke to funders and local leaders about the concept of “collective impact” and its four key elements. (Daily, 4/23)

VOTE | For our readers who live in the District, don’t forget to vote in today’s special election for At-Large Councilmember! Here’s where to find your polling station.

Related: Housing is a big priority for WRAG – here’s where the candidates stand on the issue. (UT, 4/22)

HOUSING | According to a new report from the MacArthur Foundation, home ownership is a decreasingly essential component of the American Dream. About 70 percent of American adults believe that “it is less likely for families to build equity and wealth through home ownership today compared with two or three decades ago.” (Atlantic, 4/23)

AGING | In the Greater Washington region, Prince William County has seen the sharpest rise in residents 65 and older. Thanks to new developments aimed at attracting this cohort, the Post has labeled the county as “a regional retirement mecca, a small-scale version of Florida on the outskirts of Washington.” (WaPo, 4/23)

A few thoughts. First, how did “mecca” become a casual noun? Second, does this “version of Florida” include alligators, hurricanes, and sinkholes? Third, if it does, can we have some Disney theme parks to make up for that stuff? Thanks.

EDUCATION
- D.C. Education Advocates Seek More Funding For Adult Programs (WAMU, 4/23)

- Council questions push for special-ed students in D.C. public schools (WaPo, 4/23)

HEALTH | WRAG’s Health Working Group has been focused on supporting local implementation of the health care reform. Just a reminder that the National Health Law Program is hosting a webinar on the subject – Health Reform: An Overview – tomorrow. [Details and registration.]

 

As I was walking to lunch yesterday, one of the at-large candidates was unceremoniously standing in front of the grocery store greeting shoppers and handing out flyers. No staffers, no press – just a final push for a few more votes. That’s a really great work ethic and it made me confident in my vote.

In other news, did anyone downtown see the giant blue whale replica at Freedom Plaza yesterday? I only saw pictures, which reminded me of two things: my favorite Star Trek line and the Michael Jackson song from Free Willy.

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