Dear Neighbors,

April has been especially busy for me and my staff because we have been working on the District’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2010.  After going over every aspect of every agency’s budget within my Committee’s oversight, I was able find over nine million dollars of unnecessary or wasteful spending and many more millions of inactive or stalled capital projects.  In the context of such difficult economic times, we must trim the fat wherever we can find it.  It is my hope that some of the budget savings that I have identified can be used to mitigate the increased taxes in the Mayor’s proposed budget.

This month, I introduced the “Whistleblower Protection Amendment Act of 2009,” to provide financial rewards and additional legal protections for whistleblowers in the Government of the District of Columbia.  Under my legislation, if a whistleblower’s disclosure “leads to the recovery by the District of an amount of $500,000 or greater [the whistleblower] may be granted a cash award up to 2.5% of the recovered amount or $25,000, whichever is less.”  Furthermore, the bill will expand procedural protections for whistleblowers who are subject to retaliation or threats from supervisors.  Lastly, the legislation will require that all new District employees receive a letter from upon their employment describing whistle blowing protections, responsibilities, and expectations.  It is important that District employees feel safe blowing the whistle on waste, fraud, or abuse.

In the Spring Valley neighborhood, I hosted a “Chat with Cheh” at Le Pain Quotidien.  My regular Chats are an opportunity for you to meet with me and discuss any matter involving the District or my job as your Councilmember.  As my next Chat approaches, I will post notices on my website, on the neighborhood listserves, and in the Northwest Current.  Hopefully, if you haven’t already, you will join me to chat sometime.

I am also excited to let you know about a new pilot project that my office and the Office of Planning are working on: the Neighborhood Sustainability Indicators Pilot Project. Following the success of similar projects in other jurisdictions, a Neighborhood Sustainability Indicators Study creates a way for a community to embrace its own definition of sustainability and its green goals, and to establish a way towards achieving those goals over time. Look for more information about this Study in the coming weeks.

Each year around this time, I take part in the Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup.  This year marked the twenty-first year that the cleanup has taken place.  I met up with a group of neighbors near Peirce Mill to pick up trash around Rock Creek 

Also, to celebrate Earth Day, I attended another watershed cleanup, the 14th Annual Anacostia Watershed River Cleanup and Earth Day Celebration.  This year, 2,000 volunteers fanned out across 30 cleanup sites along the Anacostia and its tributaries to clean up garbage.  At the end of the day’s activities, I addressed the volunteers to thank them for their commitment to protecting our local natural resources and presented them with awards.

Another Earth Day event: the unveiling of the green roof at Regency House, a public housing development located at 5201 Connecticut Avenue, represents the greening of the public buildings in the District.  To celebrate this project, I attended the unveiling with the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Shawn Donovan, and Mayor Adrian Fenty.

I also participated in Kingman Island Day.  Kingman Island is an accessible stretch of natural parkland along the Anacostia River that has suffered tremendously from pollution.  On Kingman Island Day, we celebrated this important natural resource with a hands-on cleanup project and live entertainment.  I was glad to support this event and appreciative of the opportunity to address the volunteers.

On April 30th, I hosted a Ward 3 Education Forum at Alice Deal Middle School to discuss important education issues affecting Ward 3 and to allow residents a chance to preview Deal’s new and modernized facilities, which are scheduled to be completed this summer.  The discussion was informative and productive.  Since then, I have sent a letter to Chancellor Rhee asking her to address the issues raised at the forum.

Lastly, I had the opportunity to testify at the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority hearing on proposals to eliminate services to respond to budget shortfalls.  After hearing from neighbors concerned by the proposed decrease in service to Ward 3, I testified at the WMATA public hearing on the D5 discontinuation.  I was pleased to add my voice to my neighbors in opposing the elimination of the D5 bus route, and I am optimistic that the D5 will remain in service.

If you have any questions on these or any other matters, please contact my office at mcheh@dccouncil.us or (202) 724-8062.  Also, to join my email list click here.