On February 18, a Special Legislative Meeting of the Council of the District of Columbia will be held.

Chairman Phil Mendelson is calling the 13 councilmembers to come together under Council Rule 303(b) to consider legislation concerning COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the District, specifically the Public Health Protections Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2022 and the Public Health Protections Emergency Amendment Act of 2022. Nine votes are required to pass the emergency legislation. Additionally, the legislation cannot have costs associated with it.

This announcement came in part in reaction to Mayor Muriel Bowser lifting the requirement that District businesses check the vaccine status of patrons, according to WTOP News.

The D.C. Council unanimously approved a bill in a second full council vote that aims to restrict political contributions by government contractors doing business with the district.

The bill also addresses improper coordination between campaigns, political action committees and independent expenditure committees.

The pay-to-play component of the bill would ban campaign contributions by businesses seeking contracts of $250,000 or more.

Provided the mayor approves the legislation, the act of the council travels to Congress for a 30-day review. If approved and funded, the bill would take effect on October 1, 2019.

Pay-to-play provisions would take effect after the November 2020 general election.

D.C. Council Member Kenyan McDuffie announced his plan to introduce emergency legislation to ban contributions to political action committees during non-election years.

There are currently other bills pending before the council that also seek to close this same campaign finance loophole, but they only had their first public hearings Nov. 16 and are unlikely to pass before the start of 2017.

McDuffie’s emergency bill would bypass many of the steps ordinarily required.

State and Federal Communications, the sponsor of the 2016 Cherry Blossom Princess of The Ohio Society of Washington, D.C., introduced Ms. Jasmine Wyatt as this year’s Ohio winner at the National Conference of State Societies (NCSS) Cherry Blossom Premiere Event in Washington, D.C. on April 11.

State and Federal Communications President and CEO Elizabeth Bartz honored Ms. Wyatt at a dinner event at The Army and Navy Club, along with the other winners of their respective states and territories.

Since 1948, state and territorial societies, as well as the international embassy community, have selected more than 3,000 accomplished young women for their academic achievement, exceptional poise and appearance, leadership, interest in social, civic, community and world affairs, with a strong desire to serve others through community service, maturity and responsibility to represent their respective states as “Cherry Blossom Princess.”

The week-long National Cherry Blossom Festival allows the ladies to participate in a number of activities, community service, and cultural exchange events. The week culminates by selecting one Cherry Blossom Queen, who is then invited by the Japan Cherry Blossom Association (JCBA) to visit Japan.

Ms. Bartz explains, “The Cherry Blossom Princess program is a wonderful event that State and Federal Communications is so proud to sponsor. These young women have outstanding backgrounds and have already achieved much in their early careers. Our support empowers them to fuel their dreams of future leadership positions. We look forward to Ms. Wyatt representing The Ohio Society of Washington, D.C., at many events this season.”

Ms. Wyatt is a 2011 graduate of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, and a 2015 graduate of Harvard University where she majored in government and minored in South Asian studies. She currently works as a Staff Assistant for Senator Richard Durbin (IL). She began her career in D.C. in 2010 as a Congressional Page. Since then, Jasmine has interned in the Akron mayor’s office, interned with the Department of State, and was the Franklin Williams Fellow-Women & Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.

On a more personal note, Ms. Wyatt has taught English to children in local hospitals in Lima, Peru and studied abroad at the School for International Training in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ms. Bartz adds, “Jasmine is an excellent representative for the State of Ohio in the Cherry Blossom Festival. It is a special bonus that she graduated from high school in Akron, Ohio, the same city that State and Federal Communications calls our home.”

For information on the event, visit: http://www.statesocieties.org/cherry-blossom-1/