National Night Out is this Tuesday, August 3rd. Will be there?

In Ward 6, there are several events to celebrate with neighbors and get to know your local police officers:

4:00 – 8:00 pm, the 1st District of MPD will host a celebration with food, fun and entertainment for all at Landsburg Park, located on the 1000 block of Delaware Avenue, SW (behind the 1D station on M Street SW).

5:00 - 6:00 pm, PSA 105 of the 1st District will host an ice cream social and dog treat event with officers and neighbors at Marion Park, 500 E Street SE.

5:00 - 7:00 pm, 1D officers in PSA 107 will join PeterBug Matthews and neighbors at 1300 E Street SE with food and entertainment.

In addition to these events, join a bike ride on the Met Branch Trail with officers, police officials and elected officials departing the S & 4th Street NE pocket park on the trail at 7:45 p.m. At this location, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy will be giving away a limited number of youth bike helmets. Bring your bike and ride with officers! Don't have a bike? A limited number of bicycles will be available at this location for use from MPD.

The National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) is sponsoring a one day free medical clinic on Wednesday, August 4, 2010. The DC C.A.R.E. Clinic will offer basic medical care and health education. The event will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, 801 Mount Vernon Place NW (clinic entrance on 7th Street side near M Street NW).

The event is for uninsured patients seeking medical care and care will be available from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. Walk-ins will be seen on a limited, first-come first-serve basis.  Patients can call 877-233-5159 for more information and to make an appointment.

NAFC is also in need of 1,000 volunteers to make this event success.  So far there are approximately 800 volunteers including doctors, nurses, and support staff.  Volunteers will assist with 76 examination rooms to test for cancer, HIV, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, as well as conduct physicals for people who haven't seen a doctor for many years.  This event will draw individuals from Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia

The NAFC has volunteer opportunities for Medical and Non-Medical Volunteers for the following shift times:

Tuesday, August 3rd - (volunteers needed for set-up):

First Shift        9:00am - 1:00pm
Second Shift   1:00pm - 5:00pm

Wednesday, August 4th - (medical volunteers needed):
All Day           9:00am - 9:00pm
First Shift       9:00am - 3:30pm

If you would like to volunteer please sign-up at: www.regonline.com/dccare.

The Department of Transportation just shared the following press release:

DC Circulator Launches Planning Study
Six Month Project Will Map System’s Future

(Washington, D.C.) The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has launched a 6 month planning effort to guide the expansion of the DC Circulator over the next five to ten years. This comprehensive study will enlist the help of riders and other stakeholders to evaluate the current system and identify future corridors for new service.

"The Circulator is very successful and the feedback from riders is overwhelmingly positive,” said DDOT Director Gabe Klein. “We want to build on that success, but we want to do it right and we want to do it in a transparent manner so everyone knows where the Circulator is going in the years to come.”

Since its launch in 2005, the DC Circulator has grown substantially, now operating 43 buses on five routes and carrying four million passengers a year. By connecting District neighborhoods and providing high quality, high frequency service, the Circulator has contributed to the success of a reinvigorated downtown. One of the early goals of the Circulator was to efficiently move workers, residents, and visitors around the downtown area and the Monumental Core.  Now, as population and employment centers throughout the District grow, DDOT anticipates expanding the Circulator to serve additional wards.  As the system matures, DDOT will continuously strive to balance the desire for new service with its commitment to provide service that is frequent, comfortable, and easy to use.

Policymakers, city staff, and the community will have several opportunities to learn about current transit conditions and help define the unmet needs through an ongoing public involvement process. Through November 2010, the project team will engage residents, civic and business leaders, transportation agencies, and planners to identify transportation needs, opportunities, and challenges.

The first Community Advisory Panel workshop was held on July 12. Fifteen people participated in the workshop, representing residents and businesses in all eight wards. Members of the panel had the opportunity to provide input on the future goals of the DC Circulator. Their input will be used by DDOT and its partners to create a planning framework for the system. The panel will continue to meet and participate in the planning process.

The public is also encouraged to provide input by visiting www.DCCirculator.com, where they can participate in an online survey and sign up to receive email notifications about public meetings and other opportunities to get involved.

The project team includes DDOT, DC Surface Transit, Inc., the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the National Park Service, the DC Office of Planning, and the Council of the District of Columbia Public Works Committee.  A consultant team comprised of KFH Group, FourSquare Integrated Planning, WB&A, and Sharp & Company will support the planning process.

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The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the District of Columbia is implementing a one-time only tax amnesty program for residents and businesses alike that will run until September 30, 2010.  If outstanding balance of taxes due are paid in full during the amnesty period, penalties and fees will be waived, without fear of prosecution, for outstanding tax debts owing to the District prior to December 2009.  The amnesty applies to individual income, corporate and unincorporated franchise, withholding, sales and use, personal property, fiduciary income, motor fuel, gross receipts, estate, tobacco, toll communication and special event taxes.   It does not apply to any recent taxes beyond December 2009 or partial payment on delinquent taxes and also does not apply to real property taxes, nursing home provider fee or ball park fees. All taxes and interest owing must be paid by the September 30, 2010 deadline in order for the amnesty to be applied.

Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) will, over the next several weeks, mail out Notices of Amnesty to eligible taxpayers who will need only to attach a check to the stub and return it, in order to receive the amnesty. Anyone owing any delinquent taxes is urged to file and take advantage of this amnesty, even if you have never or only sporadically filed tax returns previously.  There is no statute of limitations for unfiled returns which means you can be prosecuted for any returns you have failed to file that are discovered at any time.  This amnesty will protect you from prosecution or criminal penalties on any of the returns you file and pay during this amnesty period.

After September 30, 2010, OTR will begin a concentrated effort to find any remaining delinquent taxpayers who did not participate in the program  with employers empowered to decrease any employees’ withholding  to 0 -- thereby increasing the amount of money taken from each paycheck. Also important for business owners:  with new federal laws, credit card receipts will be reported through the IRS to OTR beginning in 2011 -- providing OTR much more sales tax data about your business activities and a baseline for sales tax receipts that could trigger an audit if there has been underreporting in the past.

OTR has set up a special email address to assist taxpayers with questions or to get forms at dctaxamnesty.com or taxpayers can call 202.727.4TAX (4829) or visit www.dctaxamnesty.com.