Dear Ward 8 Residents, 

Councilmember Trayon White and the DC Community Development Consortium (DCCDC) announced the Ward 8 Community Investment Fund (W8CIF) that will provide grants and loan funding support for Ward 8 aspiring entrepreneurs, small businesses, and visionaries.

The W8CIF grant-supported loan program both catalyzes business growth for Ward 8's brilliant and creative small businesses and increases the capital absorption capacity of the small business economy in Ward 8.

The grant-supported loan program is available only to Ward 8 residents and business owners. Award categories are separated into three tiers:

$2,500 Grant | $2,500 Loan

The Explorer tier is for aspiring entrepreneurs who need funds to explore a business idea. Explorers may still be in the research phase and need funds to further that research to finalize the product, service, or business. Explorer applicants are required to submit a pitch desk with the application.

Start-Up - $10,000 Award

$5,000 Grant | $5,000 Loan

The Start-Up tier is for aspiring or current entrepreneurs who have completed the research phase and have a plan for a new business, service, or product ready for launch. Start-Up funding supports entrepreneurs with launching their business or taking their new product/service to market. Start-Up applicants are required to submit an Executive Summary with the application.

In-Business - $20,000 Award

$10,000 Grant | $10,000 Loan

The In-Business tier is for established business owners with a minimum of 1 year in operation, either as a sole proprietorship or other legal business entity. In-Business applicants should be seeking funding to enhance operations and build capacity. In-Business applicants are required to submit an implementation plan, 1 year Profit & Loss statement, and 3 months of recent bank statements.

APPLY NOW

For details on the Ward 8 Community Investment Fund's Grant-Secured Loan program, please review the Information Packet HERE. ​

Apply for the Ward 8 Community Investment Fund Grant Secured Loan. Applications are due September 7, 2022. 

Regards, 

Trayon White, Sr.
Councilmember, Ward 8

Court Permanently Bans Polymer80 from Selling Firearms to DC Residents

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Attorney General Karl A. Racine announced that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) won a $4 million court judgment in its lawsuit against Polymer80, a ghost gun manufacturer and distributor. In a landmark ruling, the court permanently barred Polymer80 from selling unserialized, untraceable firearms to District residents and ordered the company to pay more than $4 million in penalties for making false and misleading claims about the legality of its products. 

“This judgment against Polymer80 is a major victory for DC residents and for public safety, and it will help slow the flow of deadly untraceable ghost guns into our community,” said AG Racine. “As the District continues to face an epidemic of gun violence, our office will do everything in our power to keep DC residents safe. It’s why we work to implement innovative, data-driven approaches to respond to people who violate the law, address the root causes of crime to prevent people from reoffending, and—like we did in this case—use the law to reduce the number of guns on our streets. The more than $4 million in penalties imposed by the court in this case should send a strong message to firearm manufacturers, distributors, and dealers across the country: you cannot sell illegal guns to DC residents.”

AG Racine filed suit against Polymer80 in 2020 for illegally advertising and selling untraceable firearms to District consumers. He was the first attorney general in the country to file such a suit against the company, which sells gun kits and parts that come without serial numbers or other identification numbers and can be assembled into fully functional, untraceable firearms—including semi-automatic AR-15 rifles and a variety of handguns—in less than 2 hours. (Since then, several other states and municipalities have also filed suit.)

The District alleged that Polymer80 violated consumer protection law by falsely claiming that its weapons are legal in the District and by selling illegal guns to DC consumers. With the suit, OAG sought to stop Polymer80 from selling its ghost guns in DC, where these weapons are increasingly being used to commit crimes, and sought monetary penalties. The District moved for a preliminary injunction soon after the filing of the case, causing Polymer80 to cease selling weapons to District residents in July 2020.

In an August 10, 2022 judgment in favor of the District, the court affirmed that Polymer80 violated the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act by selling illegal firearms in the District and by making false and misleading claims about the legality of its products. The court ordered Polymer80 to:

• Permanently end sales of its illegal ghost guns to DC consumers: The court permanently banned Polymer80 from selling all handgun frames, lower receivers, or Buy, Build, Shoot kits and any comparable products to District consumers both directly through its own website and indirectly through its dealers and distributors.
   
• Inform consumers that its products are illegal in DC: The court ordered Polymer80 to inform dealers and distributors that its products cannot be sold to residents of the District of Columbia, and to place prominent notifications on each product page that its products are illegal to purchase and possess in the District of Columbia. 
   
• Pay more than $4 million in penalties: The court found that Polymer80 directly sold 19 firearms to DC residents and made illegal misrepresentations to consumers, including falsely claiming that consumers had the right to possess its products in the District and that it had approval to sell firearms to District consumers. These misrepresentations remained on Polymer80’s website for at least 1,198 days. The court imposed civil penalties for each day the misrepresentations were made, and Polymer80 will be required to pay a total of $4,038,000 to the District within 30 days. 

The court order granting the District’s motion for summary judgment is available here.

OAG’s Efforts to Crack Down on Ghost Guns & Improve Public Safety in DC
In recent years, the District has seen an exponential increase in the number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement. For example, the Metropolitan Police Department recovered just three ghost guns in 2017 but 439 in 2021, a 146-fold increase.

AG Racine has led the way in cracking down on ghost guns in the District and urging the federal government to take needed action to regulate these weapons across the country. In July 2022, he led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing a brief backing a new federal rule requiring serialization of weapon parts kits and partially complete frames and receivers, and requiring background checks to purchase these weapons. He previously led a coalition of 22 AGs calling on ATF to better regulate these weapons and improve public safety. In 2021, he also joined a White House meeting on holding gun manufacturers accountable and highlighted the need for more regulation of ghost guns.

Effective July 12, 2022, DC DMV, in partnership with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), resumed offering child car seat inspections and installs. The free service is offered at the agency's Inspection Station located at 1001 Half Street, SW during normal business hours.

As part of the service, a Certified Passenger Child Safety Technician will properly install a child safety seat and share information with parents and caregivers about the importance of proper use of child safety seats. Learn more here.

Stay tuned for DC DMV's next live video chat on social media, featuring a demonstration on how to properly install a child car seat. More information will follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Our Office Served 1,000 Students With Backpacks and School Supplies at the Back To School Backpack Giveaway & Community Fun Day.

Saturday, August 13, 2022

The Office of Councilmember Trayon White is still feeling the good vibes from Saturday’s Back to School Event in partnership with The Davon Thomas McNeal Foundation and the Cureton Family. 

Without the charitable contributions of our sponsors and community volunteers, events like this would not be possible.Thank you to everyone who answered the call to meet the need of the community.

Woodberry Village Was Our Last Stop For Resources To The Block This Summer.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Woodberry Village was our last stop for this summer’s engagement initiative of  Resources to the Block. This summer, we made 18 stops in Ward 8 neighborhoods and connected thousands of residents with essential services.

We appreciate our community partners that made these pop-ups possible and to all of the residents for joining us this summer. 

Please stay connected to The Office of Councilmember Trayon White as we move into the fall. We have more events and community engagement activities coming your way.

It Was Senior Day For Ward 8 Residents at the Nationals Ballpark.

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

The Office of Councilmember Trayon White joined Ward 8 seniors for a fun day at the National's Game. Unfortunately, the Chicago Cubs defeated the Nationals, but it still was a great afternoon at the stadium.

“Many residents who are not considered at high risk for monkeypox are scared for themselves and for their children who will return to school later this month,” the letter reads. “They do not feel they have sufficient information to know what their own risk is or how to protect themselves and their family members.”

The councilmembers urged Lewis to develop communications, dashboards and other materials aimed at residents who are outside the highest-risk groups for monkeypox infection in the District.

The councilmembers also called on DC Health to ensure that it distributes the monkeypox vaccine in an equitable manner by publicly providing data on vaccine distribution by ward and the department’s outreach efforts.

“We would like to know more about what other efforts are being undertaken to reach eligible residents who may not be on social media or have consistent internet connection,” the letter reads.

District leaders have also called for timely briefings to be made to the council staff similar to the ones DC Health officials used to have regarding the spread of Covid.

Councilmembers Mary Cheh, Robert White, Charles Allen, Brooke Pinto, Trayon White, Elissa Silverman, Brianne Nadeau, and Anita Bonds signed the letter.