I'd Like a Crack at That $300 Million

Imagine that, in some parallel universe, you are Emperor of Washington. No need to dicker with the city council, no need to wrangle with congressional committees. How would you spend the District's

$300 million budget windfall? Outlook posed that question to a handful of Washingtonians. Here are their answers:

JOSE ANDRES

Chef and co-owner,

Jaleo, Cafe Atlantico,

Zaytinya and Oyamel :

I'm very concerned by the diet of the District's citizens. We should think of following the lead of well-known chef Alice Waters, who founded an "edible schoolyard" program in Berkeley that encourages schoolchildren to plant organic plots; this way, they can learn about where food comes from, the seasons and the importance of fresh products for our health, community and environment. I'd also suggest that we invest in a universal school breakfast program and improve the lunches we serve, so that all children have the nutrition they need to thrive. Lastly, many residents of the District don't have access to stores offering fresh fruits and vegetables. The city should create incentives to draw stores and greenmarkets to its poorer neighborhoods. We need to invest in the health of our residents; improving the food they eat would be a great place to start.

MIMI CASTALDI

Director, AARP District of Columbia:

With the surplus, we could give more financial support to the more than 8,000 D.C. grandparents who, as the primary caretakers, are making often-heroic sacrifices to raise their grandchildren. A bill pending before the District Council right now, for example, would provide low-to-moderate income grandparents with the same financial assistance foster parents receive. The mayor has included start-up funding of $2 million in next year's budget; we'd like to see that expand.

ROB GOODSPEED

Editor, DCist.com, a blog about the District: