BUDGETS | The D.C. Council unanimously passed a first-round vote on the budget yesterday, eliminating an income tax hike and the controversial “theatre tax,” and seemingly preserving funding for social services, including homeless shelters. The Post reports that “Brown and his colleagues found scads of revenue in several new taxes and fees — including a little-discussed proposal to tax non-D.C. municipal bonds for the first time.” (WaPo, 5/26) ‘Scads’ is certainly an obscure word.
SOCIAL MEDIA | Why I Tweet, Blog, and Facebook by Terri Freeman of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
(WG Daily, 5/26)
YOUTH | Budget cuts to summer programs will leave as many as 15,000 District youth without summer activities. (WAMU, 5/26) The article reports, “In response, the police department is restructuring its staffing to keep officers on the beat.” It is pretty depressing that that response is necessary.
- VIDEO: BB Otero, D.C.’s Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, talks about how funders can partner with the city to ensure youth have a safe and fun summer. (Grantmakers Channel)
CENSUS
- Baby boomers and retirees are the fastest-growing populations in our region’s suburbs, according to Census data, and the Examiner says that growth “will strain state and local governments to the breaking point.” (Examiner, 5/26)
- Related: WRAG’s Working Group on Aging is dedicated to exploring the needs of the region’s aging population. In a recent program, they explored the region’s direct care workforce. (WG Daily, 5/17)
- The region’s Asian population has grown by scads – a 60 percent increase since the 2000 census. (WaPo, 5.26)
AWARDS | Congratulations to Horton’s Kids for winning The Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management! (Center for Nonprofit Advancement, 5/25)
Now I have proof that the Rapture didn’t happen last weekend. I saw Paul Simon at Constitution Hall last night, and there is no way God left that man behind. He played scads of his hits, invited an audience member on stage to sing along with his song Gumboots, and came back for two multi-song encores. It was beautiful.
