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DC celebrates boost in college grant program for students – WTOP News

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DC celebrates boost in college grant program for students – WTOP News


The expanded funding aims to make college more affordable for thousands of D.C. students, continuing a program that has already helped nearly 40,000 graduates pursue degrees nationwide.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser went back to school on Thursday. She headed to the gym at Coolidge High School in Northwest to make an announcement that could make college more affordable for eligible D.C. high school students.

Standing at the podium in front of a vibrant mural in the gymnasium, Bowser told the students, “A few weeks ago we got some good news from the United States Congress!”

“Even they can get it right sometimes!” she added.

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The news from Capitol Hill was that funding for the 25-year-old D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant program, or DCTAG, has been increased, something Bowser said she’s been working toward for 10 years.

Starting in the 2026-27 academic year, the maximum annual award for students who apply and qualify for the grants will go from $10,000 a year to as much as $15,000, and the overall cap increases from $50,000 to $75,000.

“These are real dollars guys, a real $15,000!” Bowser told the students. “This year alone, 4,500 students were approved for DCTAG, and that’s the highest number that we’ve had in the last five years.”

Since DCTAG was established, Bowser said nearly 40,000 D.C. high school students were serviced through the program, attaining degrees at more than 400 colleges across the country.

Among those who benefited from the DCTAG program was Arturo Evans, a local business owner who grew up in Ward 7 and graduated from D.C.’s Cesar Chavez Public Charter School.

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Speaking to the Coolidge students, Evans explained that as a high school student, he didn’t know if his dreams would ever come true.

“Do your homework, go to class, be on time, listen to your teachers,” he said. “Do not let your current situation determine who you can be tomorrow.”

Evans said without the grant money available in the DCTAG program his college prospects would have been “very limited.”

“I probably would have stayed local, probably would have had to go to a community college,” he said.

But he told WTOP, since he applied for and received grant money through the program, “TAG was able to pave the way for me to go ahead and achieve my dreams and go to my dream school,” at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

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While he was at UNLV, Evans said his mother’s illness meant he had to return to the District to help care for her. But thanks to help from his DCTAG adviser, he was able to complete his degree before becoming the CEO of his own D.C.-based business.

Among the Coolidge students attending the event was senior Victoria Evans (no relation to the speaker Arturo Evans), who also was in the DCTAG program and serves as the Command Sergeant Major of the Coolidge Junior Army ROTC.

Victoria Evans said she hopes to study medicine, and explained, “I found out about DCTAG through my school counselors and my college and career coordinators.”

Asked about the application process, she said, “It’s not hard at all. I would definitely say go and get the money they’re providing.”

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton pushed to establish the funding when she introduced the D.C. College Access Act, which passed Congress in 1999. It was designed to address the fact that, since D.C. doesn’t have a state university system, D.C. students had limited access to in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.

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Washington, D.C

Police search for suspect caught on camera slashing tires in Georgetown

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Police search for suspect caught on camera slashing tires in Georgetown


Washington D.C. police are searching for a vandal who was caught on surveillance video slashing the tires of multiple vehicles in a Georgetown alley on Tuesday afternoon. The suspect, who fled the scene on a red bicycle, targeted a Chevy Suburban and a Ford Escape on the 1700 block of 35th Street Northwest.



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Reflecting Pool being drained – again – as Trump administration tries once more to fix DC landmark – WTOP News

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Reflecting Pool being drained – again – as Trump administration tries once more to fix DC landmark – WTOP News


Crews began draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Sunday, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, for the second time in three months.

(CNN) — Crews began draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Sunday, according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, for the second time in three months.

In an interview released Tuesday with Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster and wife of President Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, Burgum said they started draining the pool as planned after the July Fourth fireworks show, noting some of the fireworks debris was still in the water.

Asked about the schedule for this round of renovations, he gave no specifics beyond a broad overview.

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“Drain the water. Clean up the fireworks stuff. Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again,” Burgum said.

As of Tuesday evening, there was still water in the pool, and it was unclear if it will be drained further. Burgum indicated over the weekend that it may only need to be partially drained.

The move comes after weeks of problems – algae blooms, green-hued water, a chipping bottom and allegations of vandalism – have plagued the iconic landmark, making its woes the subject of a national fixation.

Members of the Trump administration, including President Donald Trump, have said vandals caused damage to the Reflecting Pool by gashing the lining, though they have not provided evidence to support that claim. In late June, the president said the pool would be drained after the July Fourth holiday to fix it.

The administration will use the same contractor, Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings, for this next round of repairs. Previously, the company landed a no-bid contract worth more than $14 million for their part of the work – sealing the pool and painting the bottom “American Flag- blue.”

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Asked about the timeline for his part of the repairs, Eddie Gross, owner of Atlantic Industrial Coatings told CNN that “nothing has been set yet.” He declined to answer questions about his contract and the cost of additional repairs.

The Department of Interior did not respond to questions about the timeline for this round of repairs.

Burgum, in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, suggested the repairs could happen with the pool only being partially drained. He sought to portray the costs as minor.

“It’s going to be a small number because the majority of the work was related to the labor and the materials for the liner,” Burgum said.

“We’ll use the same company, because they did a fantastic job,” he said.

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Burgum also said the government could “absolutely” prove the damage was caused by vandals, and that there are photographs supporting the claim. But he dodged a question about whether those photographs show anyone damaging the pool.

The secretary also denied that Trump having his motorcade drive through the pool mid-renovation in May did any damage to the site.

“No, I was with him when we came that night … We were driving in a Cadillac Escalade. It is one of the presidential fleet of cars,” Burgum said, adding that the vehicle Trump took on the ride was “substantially lighter” than the armored presidential limousine known as “The Beast.”

“The whole base level of this industrial rubber layer was not yet completed, and so there was no damage that night whatsoever,” he said. “That was one of the questions we asked before we even brought the presidential motorcade there, but not a chance.”

The other contractor involved in the project, Greenwater Services, previously told CNN that when the pool is drained it will not affect their system, which is up and running.

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Chas Antinone, the president of Greenwater Services, told CNN the company can shut down and then restart the so-called ozone nanobubbler, as necessary.

Companies involved in the renovation have found themselves at the center of national news as Reflecting Pool issues continued.

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DC is second riskiest city for driving, Allstate says

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DC is second riskiest city for driving, Allstate says


D.C. is the second riskiest city for driving, an insurance company report says.

Allstate said it looked at the number of crashes, how often they happen and certain types of behavior behind the wheel.

“On the phones, bike lanes, people on motor scooters having no regard for the law,” one driver told News4. “It is risky, yeah. I’ve seen a lot of close calls.”

The average driver around D.C. goes just about four years in between collisions. Drivers in the least risky city — Brownsville, Texas — go about 15 years in between collisions.

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D.C. also got dinged for bad driving — like being on phones a lot — and plenty of nighttime driving, which increases risk.

Allstate analyzed property damage claims from January 2023 through December 2024 to rank cities. Here’s the Top 10:

  1. Boston
  2. D.C.
  3. Baltimore
  4. Worcester, Mass.
  5. Springfield, Mass.
  6. Glendale, Calif.
  7. Providence
  8. Sunrise Manor, Nev.
  9. Los Angeles
  10. Philadelphia

But local Allstate agent Rudy Alston says D.C. drivers themselves may not deserve the bad rap.

“I think a lot of it isn’t so much from D.C. natives,” he said. “I think it’s a lot of people coming from outside of D.C. — coming from Maryland and Virginia that commute to D.C. — that maybe aren’t as familiar with the traffic laws in D.C. and how congested D.C. is with the influx of pedestrians, Uber drivers, the Door Dash guys on the scooters, the Metrobuses. So, I just think when they get here, they’re just not familiar with it.”



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