Dear Editor, In your May 2023 issue, you quote Mayor Bowser as “quipping that in Southwest ‘people fought [her] tooth and nail’ over emergency, or bridge, housing that eventually became The Aya along I (Eye) Street SW.” I was the ANC Commissioner for the Single-Member district that includes the Aya, […]
Bowser Promises More Engagement on Neighborhood Issues in Southwest
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser addresses Southwest residents at Arena Stage before sitting down with Southwester editor Mike Goodman, right. Courtesy of Southwester Staff. By Matthew Koehler Kicking off April (though not on the most foolish day of the month) DC Mayor Muriel Bowser sat down for a conversation with Southwesters as […]
New DC Emergency Operations Center Opens in Navy Yard
By Southwester Staff A new DC Emergency Operations Center was inaugurated in Navy Yard in early 2023, with more space for responding to large-scale emergencies and collaboration across federal and local agencies. The center’s opening was attended by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland […]
Amidon-Bowen Parents Tell Mayor and Chancellor: Stop Shortchanging Our Children
On March 8, parents at Amidon-Bowen Elementary School launched a campaign to lobby Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC Public Schools (DCPS) Interim Chancellor Amanda Alexander to provide additional funding to our Southwest neighborhood elementary school. Parents identified two main sources of these problems. First, Bowser’s 2018–19 budget did not provide […]
#NominateMyWall During the Great Graffiti Wipeout
On June 12, Mayor Muriel Bowser launched the “Great Graffiti Wipeout,” an eight-week initiative to remove graffiti and illegal tagging around Washington, DC. The mayor also announced that MuralsDC, a collaborative initiative between the Department of Public Works and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities that replaces graffiti-ridden walls with […]
The Mayor’s Closing of DC General and Southwest’s Future
On Feb. 11, 2016, I attended Mayor Bowser’s community meeting for Southwest regarding her decision to close DC General and build short-term housing in each of the city’s eight wards. The location for one of those shelters is proposed to be located behind the Blind Whino Arts Center near the […]