Dear Neighbor, Once again, we are faced with the reality that white supremacy still looms and is an ever-present threat to our safety, security, and democracy. We must all take action to make #StopAsianAmericanHate more than just a hashtag. We must make it a call to action and do our part to protect our neighbors. That means educating ourselves and those around us about the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Within this newsletter, I will cover the new legislation I have introduced, and share information on today's statehood hearing on Capitol Hill, COVID-19, local and federal tax deadline extensions, a new tool for understanding the District's budget, and business and community grants.

This past week marked one year since we first declared the public health emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While this pandemic's effects have been devastating, we are thankful that there is light at the end of the tunnel. To date, over 14% of DC residents are partially or fully vaccinated, and over 150,000 first doses have been administered. The Mayor also extended the public health emergency through May 20 and provided updated guidance for outdoor and public activity. Today, we continue to advocate for a digital record of vaccinations and clearer guidelines for our businesses, restaurants, event spaces, theaters, and music halls as we get more of our residents vaccinated.

Today, the District of Columbia launched its new vaccination pre-registration system, and over 52,000 residents and workers successfully pre-registered. This means that District residents will no longer have to race to sign-up for appointments every week. Eligible residents can now enter their information once and will receive an invitation to book an appointment when a slot has become available. Details on how to pre-register are below.

Dear Neighbor,Happy Women’s History Month! While the myriad contributions of women are seen year-round, we are excited to dedicate the month of March to celebrate the ways women continue to make our society stronger. We must also acknowledge that women have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic – as frontline healthcare and childcare workers, grocery workers, and first responders – and a demonstrated mass exodus from the workforce. This must be addressed throughout our recovery.

Today, DC Health announced that the District will switch to a pre-registration vaccination system to book appointments beginning next week! We are excited about this effort as it will eliminate a great deal of frustration among eligible individuals who navigated a very difficult system over the last few weeks. We are also grateful for other efforts announced to improve the vaccination portal for the remainder of its use.

Councilmember Brooke Pinto spoke with Channel 7's Anna-Lysa Gale about the importance of the District adopting a pre-registration COVID-19 vaccination registration process.

Today, District residents experienced a series of failures as they attempted to book vaccination appointments using the vaccine portal. These technical failures, coupled with the fact that residents could not get through to the call center, are unacceptable. There are no excuses. I voiced these concerns to the City Administrator during a performance oversight hearing this morning. I have also followed up with the District’s Department of Health (DOH) and the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) to better understand why these technical failures occurred and how we can ensure it does not happen again.I have urged DC Health for the last several months to adopt a pre-registration system so residents can fill out their information and be notified of available appointments. Today, DC Health informed me that they are making these changes to the registration system and expect them will be live in mid-March. Here's what comes next.

Dear Neighbors – This week, our nation paid tribute to the 500,000 American lives lost due to COVID-19 and honored the many loved ones they left behind. Here in the District, we honor the 1,000 lives lost by continuing to ramp up our efforts to ensure that we can minimize the impacts of this virus and keep all District residents, workers, and visitors safe.Last week, Mayor Bowser announced the launch of the coronavirus vaccination dashboard. Each week, the dashboard will be updated with information regarding the number of residents vaccinated, the District’s vaccine supply, and related statistics.

Yesterday around 3 p.m., an adult male was shot in a townhome on the 1000 block of Thomas Jefferson Street in Georgetown. There is no current threat to public safety, but I know how troubling this news is, so I want to provide all of the information that we have at this time.

Earlier this month, the Council of the District of Columbia kicked off its annual Performance Oversight process, after which time, we will immediately enter budget season and begin preparing the annual budget for Fiscal Year 2022 and the accompanying five-year financial plan. To ensure that I hear directly from YOU, I will host a Ward 2 Community Budget Meeting on Thursday, February 25, at 6:30 p.m.