Thanks, Captain Bowers, for this great news. Yes, I would like to come and see the engine! Let me know, Bests CM Jim Graham

Councilmember Graham,

It's been a while since my last update, but a lot has been happening at your local "Columbia Heights" (3420 14th St. NW) fire house. We recently took possession of a new 2011 Pierce Arrow Wagon/Pumper. This new wagon, capable of pumping 2000 gallons of water per minute has one of the largest pumps on it of any of the wagon/pumpers in the city. We are close to placing it in service now as all the members are receiving training and we finish mounting all the tools on it. Once in service I would invite you at any time to stop by and see this impressive piece of apparatus.

In addition to getting a new wagon ready for service the members of Engine 11 responded to numerous calls for service this summer. Engine 11 alone responded to over eighteen major fires this summer including the July 1st fire at 919 Decatur St, the July 20th fire at 3620 16th St., and the September 7th fire at 3219 Mt. Pleasant St. Also we were first on the scene of over sixteen shooting/stabbing incidents this summer including the shooting incident on July 8th at 1445 Parkwood Pl.

As always I hope all is well. If you, your office, or constituents ever need any service from DCFEMS please feel free to contact me.

Respectfully,
Eric M. Bowers
Captain - Engine 11

Dear Friends:

I am very pleased to announce the Council today has passed legislation that I introduced with strong community support  to name two Department of Park and Recreation facilities in Ward One.

The Mary and Daniel Loughran / # 10 Boys and Girls Club will now be renamed as the “Rita B. Bright Family and Youth Center” to honor the work and legacy of Rita B. Bright, long time Columbia Heights businesswoman and community organizer.  I want to thank Mayor Vincent Gray and Council Chairman Kwame Brown, in particular, for their tireless support and efforts to make this name change a reality.  The Mayor also is acknowledged for his leadership in authoring the funding to purchase this club house. Rita’s memory and commitment will now be imprinted on all of the positive, diverse and vibrant educational and recreational programs for families and youth at 2500 14^th St. 

Additionally, I am pleased to announce the official naming of “The Park at LeDroit”.  Formerly the site of the Gage – Eckington Elementary School, the Park is the culmination of over three years of neighborhood planning, hard work and partnership with the District government to help make a community’s visions come true.  A special thanks to the LeDroit Park Civic Association for their efforts to mobilize and organize efforts to make the park a real asset for the entire community.

I look forward to continue our work together on making sure these facilities, and all of our DPR facilities in Ward One, continue to support positive and enriching experiences for persons of all ages.

Bests, CM Jim Graham

Dear Friends,,

Mr. Soliman, the General Manager of Panera’s  newest store opening in Columbia Hts on Irving, announced that the store is looking for upbeat focused people that are in search of a career not just a job. They want to hire some great people from the our Ward 1 neighborhood.

Panera will be holding a Job Fair at our DuPont Circle location on Tuesday, Sept 6th from 2pm to 6pm. To help speed up the process you can also direct prospective associates to--

1)  www.panerabread.jobs

2) choose the appropriate career opportunity

3) choose the location "Columbia Hts"

4) Choose the position of interest and click "proceed to Registration"

Going through this process they will already have an application on line that Panera can pull off line and have a quality interview the day of the job fair

This looks like a fine opportunity to me! Please pass this along.

Bests Councilmember Jim Graham