Some of you may have seen the outdoor signs around DC and the Metro but what the buzz is about is that World Water Week is coming to DC March 22nd – 28th.

World Water Week is a week-long charity event launched by the Tap Project, an initiative of UNICEF, to help address the global crises of poor water sanitation in developing nations. The lack of clean drinking water is the second largest killer of children under five worldwide, causing 4,200 deaths from water-related diseases every day.

During World Water Week (March 22-28, 2009) restaurants here in DC and across the United States will encourage patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free. Every dollar raised provides a child with clean drinking water for 40 days.

Tap DC invites Washington residents and local artists to participate in a large-scale public art project to promote World Water Week in our city. Residents and artists are invited to “turn a glass of water into something beautiful”—creating works of art that demonstrate the transformative potential of a glass of water.

Art may be submitted in the artists’ medium of choice: painting, drawing, poetry, sculpture, video or music. Selected works will be displayed in print, outdoor and television advertising, an art exhibition at the Pepco Edison Gallery, and online at TapDC.org.

What you can do:

Restaurants > Become a Tap Project participating restaurant, we’ll provide support materials to help you engage customers and inform local media about your involvement in this important project.

Volunteers > Register to be a Tap Project Campaign Volunteer and help us recruit and support local restaurants and employers.

Everyone > Create a piece of art to help promote World Water Week. Dine out at a participating restaurant March 22-28. Donate at tapdc.org or text the word “TAP” to 864233 (UNICEF) to make a $5 donation.

For more info visit:

The TAP DC site: http://www.tapdc.org/
Tap DC Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35356331705
Tap DC Twitter page: http://twitter.com/tapdc

Full Disclosure: I work for the agency promoting World Water Week here in DC. I am also heading up the blog outreach and promotion across the social media sphere.

District residents, businesses, nonprofits and private schools may now
apply for up to $33,000 in assistance to install renewable energy
systems on their buildings. The Green Energy DC Incentive Program is
the first of a series of upcoming initiatives to support clean energy
technology. The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) will
provide up to $2 million for each of the next four years, beginning
immediately with solar photovoltaic and wind turbine systems.

Incentive payments are based on the amount of electricity the
renewable energy system generates. Projects must be completed within
six months of application. DDOE expects to be able to offer incentives
for solar thermal, geothermal, biomass and methane recovery systems in
the next several months.

For more information and a downloadable packet of application
materials, visit Green Energy DC

For more information, contact the DDOE Energy Office at (202) 673-6700 or greenenergy@dc.gov

From the White House Blog

Friday, January 30th, 2009 at 11:17 am

A strong middle class = a strong America

The mortgage crisis. Wall Street. The loss of millions of jobs. In this economic crisis, the middle class is getting hit from all angles.

That’s why the President created a Middle Class Task Force and asked his right hand man, Vice President Joe Biden, to lead it.

The Vice President lays out the goals of the Task Force in an op-ed appearing this morning in USA Today, which you can find on the Task Force’s new site.

Even though the middle class has been pummeled by this crisis, there are steps we can take to make sure the recovery doesn’t just benefit the wealthy, like past expansions. This time around, we’re going to grow the middle class, improve quality of life, and expand the American dream to millions of people who have shouldered the costs of our economy but not reaped its gains.

So take a look at the new website of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families to learn more, and be sure to leave your comments and ideas.

If you would like to read the full text of the legislation and comment:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/LillyLedbetterFairPayActPublicReview/

Obama signs bill making equal-pay lawsuits easier
By PHILIP ELLIOTT
The Associated Press
Thursday, January 29, 2009; 12:33 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/29/AR2009012900343.html

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama signed an equal-pay bill into law Thursday before cheering labor and women leaders who fought hard for it and the woman whose history-making lawsuit gave impetus to the cause.

Obama, choosing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act as the first bill to sign as president, called it a “wonderful day” and declared that ending pay disparities between men and woman an issue not just for women, but for all workers.

With Ledbetter standing by his side, Obama said she lost more than $200,000 in salary, and even more in pension and Social Security benefits that she “still feels today.” He then signed the measure that effectively nullifies a 2007 Supreme Court decision and makes it easier for workers to sue for discrimination by allowing them more time to do so.

“Making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone,” Obama said. “That there are no second-class citizens in our workplaces, and that it’s not just unfair and illegal _ but bad for business _ to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability.”

Ledbetter said she didn’t become aware of the large discrepancy in her pay until she neared the end of her 19-year career at a Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. plant in Gadsden, Ala, and she filed a lawsuit. But the high court held in a 5-4 decision that she missed her chance to bring the action.

First lady Michelle Obama, in a separate reception with Ledbetter in the State Dining Room, praised her courage and principles. “She knew unfairness when she saw it, and was willing to do something about it because it was the right thing to do _ plain and simple,” Mrs. Obama said.

Ledbetter said the richest reward is that because of the new law, the nation’s daughters and granddaughters will have a better deal.

“That’s what makes this fight worth fighting,” Ledbetter said. “That’s what made this fight one we had to win.”

Earlier, the president appeared in a jammed East Room, and his entrance and many lines of his brief remarks were met with happy applause and yells.

He paid special tribute to Ledbetter, who fought for the bill even though it won’t allow her to recover any money for herself.

And in the room were the living symbols of this fight: Nancy Pelosi, first woman speaker of the House, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who took her pursuit of the presidency further than any other woman, even though she ultimately lost to Obama in the Democratic primary.

Of Ledbetter, Obama exclaimed: “This grandmother from Alabama kept on fighting, because she was thinking about the next generation.”

Ledbetter became a regular feature in Obama’s campaign for the White House, addressing the Democratic National Convention in Denver last year and traveling to Washington aboard Obama’s train for the inauguration ceremonies. Obama spoke strongly in support of legislation to change the Supreme Court decision during his campaign and the Democratic-controlled Congress moved it to the top of the agenda for the new session that opened this month.

The high court said a person must file a claim of discrimination within 180 days of a company’s initial decision to pay a worker less than it pays another worker doing the same job. Under the new bill, given final passage in Congress this week, every new discriminatory paycheck would extend the statute of limitations for another 180 days.

Congress attempted to update the law to extend the time, but the Bush White House and Senate Republicans blocked the legislation in the last session of Congress

Obama cited Census Bureau figures that women still receive only about 78 cents for every dollar that men get for doing equivalent jobs _ “women of color even less,” he said.

The measure, which amends the 1964 Civil Rights Act, also applies to discrimination based on factors such as race, religion, national origin, disability or age.

© 2009 The Associated Press

Metro’s commemorative Obama Inaugural SmarTrip cards and One-Day passes are now available for advanced sale on Metro’s Web site at http://www.wmata.com/fares/purchase/store/

Obama Commemorative SmarTrip® Card

Obama Commemorative One-Day Pass

in honor of a traditional DC institution, the modern revival of a Tenants Rights group is NOW forming and organizing!!!

JOIN THE MOVEMENT FOR TENANTS RIGHTS!!!

DC Tenants Coalition is a grass roots group of DC tenants, tenant associations and other concerned persons and groups. It seeks to strengthen tenants rights in the District of Columbia through education, networking and lobbying.

If you’re interested in getting involved and want to help organize for tenants rights, request to join their listserve at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DCTenantsCoalition/

Let them know you heard about it thru Idealist DC!

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For a copy of the “Tenant Survival Guide” and other tenants/tenant association resources, visit the DC Office of the Tenant Advocate

want to volunteer, work for, or get the latest scoop on the inauguration?

sign up for email updates and check out the official inaugural blog…

check out http://www.pic2009.org/content/home/

D.C. City Councilmember Marion Barry has proposed a resolution to move the Council toward budget legislation that would address poverty “in a holistic manner.” The resolution includes recommendations for funding in a wide range of areas.

On Thursday, December 11, at 10:00 AM, Barry will hold a public roundtable to build support for his approach. The event will be in Room 500 of the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

To testify in person, contact Michael Rious at 202-724-7807 or mrious@dccouncil.us, by December 9 at 5:00 PM. Written statements for the record will be accepted through December 19.

– Kathryn