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DC-area leaders launch campaign to boost pedestrian safety during winter months – WTOP News

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DC-area leaders launch campaign to boost pedestrian safety during winter months – WTOP News


The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is urging drivers to slow down and look out for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments is urging drivers to slow down and look out for pedestrians and bicyclists.

As part of National Pedestrian Safety Month, the council is launching a new Street Smart safety campaign with the slogan, “Slow Down, Life Ahead.”

The campaign aims to cut down on distracted and impaired driving this fall and winter, when there’s fewer daylight hours and decreased visibility on the road.

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“In 2023, we know that there were 110 pedestrian and seven bicyclist deaths in the national capital region,” said Chrissy Nizer, head of Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration. “All of those 117 deaths were preventable.”

As part of the campaign, local police departments will step up enforcement of traffic safety laws that are meant to keep pedestrians and bicyclists safe.

“Maintaining pedestrian and bicycle safety is paramount and it should be the top priority of everyone using our roads,” said Carlos Heraud, assistant chief of D.C.’s police department. “Toward that goal, MPD increased patrols in high pedestrian areas, particularly near schools, to foster compliance and safety.”

Street Smart teams will wear large signs with images of people during important life events and feature the campaign’s message, “Slow Down, Life Ahead.” (WTOP/Juan Herrera)

Street Smart teams will also act as walking billboards in areas where pedestrian-involved crashes tend to happen most. They’ll wear large signs with images of people during important life events and feature the campaign’s message.

“It talks about all of those important life events that we all want to share with our families and friends,” Nizer said. “Whether that’s graduation, a wedding, or moving into a new home, just thinking about that when you’re out on the road tells you that there are consequences for driving distracted.”

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Mike Doyle from Virginia is a crash survivor and founder of the Northern Virginia Families for Safe Streets advocacy group.

He said education is an important part of keeping the region’s roadways safe.

“This Street Smart program helps us to amplify the message of ‘slow down, be aware and just be considerate to save a life,’” Doyle said.

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Washington, D.C

‘What makes your state beautiful’: South Burlington students design ornaments for DC tree

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‘What makes your state beautiful’: South Burlington students design ornaments for DC tree


National Christmas Tree shines during 102nd lighting ceremony

President Joe Biden spoke to a crowd at the lighting ceremony for the national 35-foot Red Spruce Christmas tree from Virginia.

Students at Gertrude Chamberlin School in South Burlington designed ornaments for the 2024 National Christmas Tree display in Washington, D.C.

The 21 ornaments decorate the small tree that represents Vermont outside the White House. First to fifth graders at Gertrude Chamberlin create the ornaments with designs answering the prompt: “What makes your state beautiful?” The drawings include the Green Mountains, including a rainbow version by a first grader; maple trees; the state bird and fish – hermit thrush and brook trout, respectively; as well as a bullfrog and other animals found in Vermont.

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“They represent our state well,” said Jenny Goodrich, the art educator at Gertrude Chamberlin School.

Vermont’s tree is among the 57 other trees with student-designed ornaments that surround the large 35-foot red spruce tree outside the White House. The 58 trees represent each of the 50 states, D.C. and the five U.S. territories as well as schools managed by the Department of Defense Education Activity, and Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education.

“I think it incredible that we come together as 50 states plus and that it’s our art that connects us,” said Goodrich. “Having children do this says a lot.”

Goodrich said she was contacted in July by the Vermont Agency of Education to see if she would like to have her students participate. “I said ‘of course’,” she said. “I knew about the National Tree but I had no idea about the smaller ones.”

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The students were provided a template for the shape of the ornament, and Goodrich mailed the designs to the organizers who transformed them into three-dimensional designs.

Most of her students used crayons or colored pencils to make theirs, but one student made a collage. Goodrich used a high-quality scanner to make it two-dimensional and said it turned out great.

The designs were due at the end of September, so Goodrich picked students to work on the project. The school was limited to 24 ornaments. Goodrich picked students who had shown enthusiasm for art as well as those who had demonstrated growth in art.

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Adding that she picked students who represented a variety of the school’s six grade levels and the student body’s diversity; Gertrude Chamberlin students speak 37 languages and come from many different countries.

What happens to all of the ornaments

Goodrich and two of her students and their families were able to travel to D.C. for the 102nd National Tree Lighting ceremony on Dec. 5 hosted by President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady.

“It was incredible to see so many people there,” said Goodrich. “GE Lights sponsors the event. … It was so dark and then they flipped the switch. They are so bright. It was really amazing.”

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The ornaments will not be returning to Vermont as they are now property of the White House and will be included in the National Archives when the season is over.

“It’s pretty amazing they will be part of our nation’s history forever,” Goodrich said.

How to visit the National Christmas Tree and the state trees

The trees are on the Ellipse, which is south of White House, and are open to the public through Jan. 1. The trees are light each night at sunset but can be viewed as early as 10 a.m. daily. The display is open until 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is free and open to the public.



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Washington, D.C

Construction worker killed in DC row home collapse: The News4 Rundown

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Construction worker killed in DC row home collapse: The News4 Rundown



Construction worker killed in DC row home collapse: The News4 Rundown – NBC4 Washington







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Washington, D.C

Worker trapped after DC row house partly collapses on V Street NW

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Worker trapped after DC row house partly collapses on V Street NW


A row house partially collapsed in Northwest Washington, D.C., on Monday morning, trapping a worker inside, D.C. officials said.

The rear of a two-story row home crumbled in the 1100 block of V Street NW and left the worker “severely trapped,” D.C. Fire and EMS officials said in a statement on social media.

Photos show debris piled near a building that looks destroyed from the back and first responders in D.C. Fire and EMS uniforms climbing over rubble. A yellow pole appears to prop up part of an upper-floor room that’s tilted downward.

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“Patient is trapped under bricks,” an emergency dispatcher can be heard saying on audio of a call to authorities.

Crews are working to rescue the trapped worker and secure hazards, D.C. Fire and EMS said.

It’s unclear why the building collapsed.





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