Please join me on Saturday, June 23rd, for the First Annual Ward 6 Family Picnic and Celebrity Softball Tournament.

The celebration will take place at the Rosedale Recreation Center at 1700 Gales Street, NE. We'll get started at 10:00 am and activities will run through the day until 4:00 pm. I hope that this event can bring all of our Ward 6 residents out for a great day.

We'll start with a recreation center clean-up at 10:00 am and start our softball tournament around 11:00 am. We'll also have soccer, basketball, and dodge ball for the kids and the pool will open for the summer at 12:00 noon. Children of all ages are welcome!

Sponsors of our event include the Washington Nationals, DC United and many local Ward 6 businesses. Several agencies will also provide information about various programs and services, such as summer youth programs and testing for blood pressure and blood sugar. Food and recreation will be provided for all members of the community.

Sign up for the softball tournament featuring celebrity Nationals pitchers, members of the DC City Council, and other celebrity guests. The Department of Parks and Recreation has already assembled a team! To sign your team up, become a sponsor, or if you have any questions, please contact Daniel Conner at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202-724-8063.

I hope you’ll join me at this great event and bring your family, even the four-legged members, out to the Ward 6 Family Picnic!

Tommy Wells 

Earlier today, the DC Department of Transportation annouced their summer "Extreme Makeover" for the Frederick Douglass bridge and South Capitol Street connection. While its not likely to make it on prime time television during sweeps week, DDOT is currently working on a massive and radical makeover of the bridge. As residents and commuters are already experiencing, work has begun with weekend closures of some lanes, but the bridge will be shut down completely beginning July 6th with work expected to be wrapped by late August.

To highlight the plans, DDOT showed a snazzy video (which we hope will be made available online soon) using graphics and renderings to show the anticipated changes of lowering the Douglass Bridge down to grade at the intersection of Potomac Ave -- part of the longer-term effort to create a grand boulevard out of South Capitol Street and greatly improve the streetscape making it more attractive and inviting for pedestrians, bicycles and other modes of transportation.   

DDOT outlined their traffic alternative plans to handle the bridge shut down, including additional parking being made available at the Anacostia and Stadium/Armory Metro stations, and an emphasis on their Bridge Bucks program that incentivizes the use of Metro for people that usually drive over the bridge. They have funds available for 1,500 commuters and have already signed up 600. Traffic on the bridge during July and August is typically reduced by 15 percent, but even with the best of plans to re-route the traffic, education and outreach will need to continue to keep residents and drivers up-to-date on the changes.

On Wednesday, I joined Mayor Fenty, my colleagues on Council, and Congresswoman Norton at a press conference on Capitol Hill with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Joe Lieberman to show unified support for voting representation for DC in the US Congress.  Senator Lieberman, a longtime DC voting rights advocate, noted that we do not yet have the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster by the Republicans, but that passage is still possible because the Republican delegation from Utah is working hard on their colleagues to support the bill.  The proposed legislation provides Utah with another seat in the House until redistricting takes place in 2010 (where the state is projected to gain an additional seat in the House anyway because of population growth).

We've come to a critical juncture in this fight. We won the recent battle with the House, but it's time to focus on the Senate. I am asking all DC’s residents to personally lobby our friends and neighbors -- who either work for or have ties to Republican and the few undecided Democratic Senators -- to support this bill.  Despite years of education and outreach, many of them are still uninformed about our status, in particular that DC citizens pay taxes to the Federal government while other territories like Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands do not!

Please join me in taking action today. 

Tommy Wells 

(Photo credit: Lateef Magnum) 

JUNE IS HOME SAFETY MONTH:Take a Hands-On Approach to Home Safety

If you ask most Americans where they feel safest, most will say their homes.  Of course, our homes are our havens.  They are also where accidents occur, resulting in nearly 21 million medical visits each year.  No one wants to think about being injured or dying at home.  Yet every day in homes across America, 55 people die and another 58,000 people are injured and need medical care.

There are simple things you can do to help save lives and prevent injuries. With just a few minutes and your own hands, you and your loved ones can avoid serious and costly injuries. If you install the right safety products and do some simple planning, you can make your home a safer place.

These are a few actions you can take today to make a difference in your home.

Falls
- Did you know that falls are the leading cause of emergency room visits among children and are the leading cause of injury and deaths among older adults?
- Have grab bars in the tub and shower.
- Have bright lights over stairs and steps and on landings.
- Have handrails on both sides of the stairs and steps.
- Use a ladder for climbing instead of a stool or furniture.
- Use baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs, if babies or toddlers live in or visit your home.

Poisonings
Did you know that one out of four people dies from poisoning at home every year?  Be smart about where and how to store poisons, especially in homes where children live or visit.
- Lock poisons, cleaners, medications and all dangerous items in a place where children can’t reach them.
- Keep all cleaners in their original containers. Do not mix them together.
- Use medications carefully. Follow the directions.  Use child resistant lids.
- Install carbon monoxide detectors near sleeping areas.
- Call the Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222 if someone takes poison. This number will connect you to emergency help in your area.

Fires/Burns
Did you know that having smoke alarms cuts your family’s risk of dying in a home fire almost in half?  Protect your loved ones from fires and burns in the home.

- Have working smoke alarms and hold fire drills. If you build a new home, install fire sprinklers.
- Stay by the stove when cooking, especially when you are frying food.
- Keep space heaters at least three feet away from anything that can burn. Turn them off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
- If you smoke, smoke outside. Use deep ashtrays and put water in them before you empty them. Lock matches and lighters in a place where children can’t reach them.
- Only light candles when an adult is in the room. Blow the candle out if you leave the room or go to sleep.

Prevent Choking and Suffocation
Did you know that half of children who die before age one die from choking or suffocation? Little things can be dangerous in little hands.

- Things that can fit through a toilet paper tube can cause a young child to choke.  Keep coins, latex balloons, and hard round foods, such as peanuts and hard candy, out of children’s reach.
- Place children to bed on their backs.  Don’t put pillows, comforters, or toys in cribs.
- Clip the loops in window cords and place them up high where children can’t get them.
- Read the labels on all toys, especially if they have small parts.  Be sure that your child is old enough to play with them.
- Tell children to sit down when they eat and to take small bites.

Be Smart Around Water
Did you know that children can drown in as little as an inch of water in just a few minutes?  Water can be deadly for young children.

- Stay within an arm’s length of children in and around water. This includes the bathtub, toilet, pools and spas – even buckets of water.
- Put a high fence all the way around your pool or spa.  Always keep the gate closed and locked.
- Empty large buckets and wading pools after using them.  Keep them upside down when you are not using them.
- Make sure your children always swim with a grown-up. No child or adult should swim alone.
- Keep your hot water at or below 120˚F degrees to prevent burns.

Consider your home's danger areas and take these simple steps to create a safer environment and reduce your family's risk from potential injuries.  Taking a hands-on approach to keeping loved ones safe at home is easy and does not require a lot of time or money.  Insure your home is indeed your safe haven.  

Visit the Home Safety Resource Center at http://www.homesafetycouncil.org to review and download free information, including posters, brochures, safety checklists and additional tips to help safeguard your family.