jonetta rose barras: Doors closing to previously open meetings
In the last few weeks, the DC Council, led by Chair Phil Mendelson, has considered at least two legislative…
Poor air quality may have more impact on the health of vulnerable communities
By Courtney Curtis, Marymanita Mensah, Johnathan Morales, Daniel Oloju, Shaunavahn Reid, Janae Wilson and Anthony Yang
Global warming is a worldwide problem, but it is felt more acutely in some places than others.
Maranda Ward says…
Read More...
Read More...
After monthslong fight between mayor and council, emergency rental assistance gets more funding
Thousands more District residents who are behind on rent will get help this year than previously expected.
DC will put an extra $20.6 million into the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) in 2024, the Department of Human…
Read More...
Read More...
Council looks to Europe’s social housing as a new solution to DC’s affordability crisis
It’s no secret that it’s expensive to rent in DC, especially for people who make below the city’s median income of $152,000 for a family of four. Despite DC investing hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in building and preserving…
Read More...
Read More...
Community pantries step in with solutions to more than just hunger
By Winnie Chan, Michelle Collins, Shane Gomez and Emily Hawkins
On a brisk spring morning, more than a hundred people snake their way around a group of semitrailers in the shabby parking lot at Lakeforest Mall in Gaithersburg, Maryland.…
Read More...
Read More...
Within days, DC’s rental assistance program maxes out during first application window
The need for rental assistance in the city is high. DC's Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) reopened on Oct. 1 after closing in March due to the volume of applications. But by Oct. 10, the program closed again, due to high demand,…
Read More...
Read More...
District Links
Disclosures detail U.S. attorney nominee’s outreach to far-right European politicians; rents climb for DC’s trophy offices; and more
A federal judge yesterday temporarily blocked $11 billion in public health cuts in a lawsuit brought by the District along with 23 states.
Read More...
Read More...
District Links: MPD launches centralized unit to investigate juvenile crime in effort to reduce recidivism; Zuckerberg buys $23M home in NW; and more
Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith today announced the launch of a new Juvenile Investigative Response Unit within the Metropolitan Police Department in an effort to respond more effectively to youth-involved crime citywide.…
Read More...
Read More...
District Links: Senate Dems push for hearing on Trump’s pick as U.S. attorney for DC amid hold on nomination; House GOP mulls budget riders; and…
A Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced plans last night to place a hold on the nomination of Ed Martin to serve as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia — and the committee's other Democrats today called…
Read More...
Read More...
Still Broken: DC's Child Welfare System
Still Broken: DC’s Child Welfare System
Over the summer, the DC government announced it had reached a settlement in the 32-year class-action lawsuit that…
Children at risk: 32 years and billions of dollars later, DC fails to protect thousands from abuse and neglect
Outside the three-story, red brick apartment building at 935 Division Ave. NE, it must have seemed like an ordinary…
Children at risk: Abuse and neglect investigations are opened too late and closed too soon
One day in April 2020, a person renting a room from Diamond Taylor and Tyvez Jackson in their apartment at 2812…
Children at risk: City’s child fatality reviews don’t prevent future deaths as intended
Gabriel Eason’s name appeared in broadcast media and newspapers for a few weeks following his death in April 2020…
Children at risk: Foster care in DC is no safe haven
The child who arrived at the home of Magdalena and Gabriel Acevedo entered the city’s foster care system, managed…
Children at risk: As DC’s child welfare system trends toward destruction and death, will city leaders embrace transformational change?
“I'm going to make you two promises in this trial,” DC defense attorney Jonathan Zucker told the jury in his…
jonetta rose barras: Doors closing to previously open meetings
In the last few weeks, the DC Council, led by Chair Phil Mendelson, has considered at least two legislative proposals that seem to deliberately diminish the agency and influence of District residents in their government, despite the fact…
Read More...
Read More...
jonetta rose barras: The unbreakable spirit and determination of artists
“I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and part of my life was lived during segregation. My family protected us. They also educated me,” explained artist, educator and curator Cheryl Edwards during a recent interview with me. “My mother…
Read More...
Read More...
Terry Williams: Supporting veteran entrepreneurs is a duty — and an opportunity
Across the country, veteran-owned businesses handle $1.3 trillion in sales each year and provide jobs to more than 5 million Americans, according to the Small Business Administration. Each of these nearly 2 million businesses, whether they…
Read More...
Read More...
Ryan Ting: DC should provide low-income students with calculators for advanced coursework
DC should be doing its best to allow all of its students to find successful careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). In 2023, the median annual wage of STEM occupations was $101,650, compared to $46,680 for…
Read More...
Read More...
Art as a call to action: William Gropper’s bold critique resonates post-election
Did William Gropper leap into the future, or have we been pulled back into the past? Are we truly progressing as a society, or merely cycling through the same struggles in new forms? Seeing William Gropper: Artist of the People, a recently…
From murals to martial arts: New Smithsonian exhibit reflects on Chinatown’s history and Asian American influence in DC
At most art museums, visitors typically view and admire the final product, with few opportunities to witness the creative process or the heavy lifting that occurs behind the scenes. However, Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond, the…
For Mosaic’s ‘Lady Day,’ Roz White transforms into Billie Holiday in a captivating performance
She riffed about parole officers, sang to white audiences about racial injustice, and used cuss words as adjectives — that’s Billie Holiday, compellingly reincarnated with fresh depth and dynamism in Mosaic Theater Company’s production of…
Quicksilver resumes some in-person arts activities for seniors after months of physical isolation
At a time when the world has been preoccupied with the health of seniors, dancer and choreographer Nancy Havlik has continued teaching an unlikely approach to the physical and mental well-being of people over the age of 65 — dance.
…
Teenage spirit: High school sophomore’s desire to help people in need starts close to home
Local Templeton Academy sophomore Miguel Coppedge started a fundraiser last year to benefit children in foster care and families experiencing homelessness. His charity donations are destined for St. Ann’s Center for Youth, Children and…
For one little girl, sexual assaults changed her life until she took control. Now she’s a successful public defender.
“On the day my grandmother caught him fondling me, I was wearing my favorite pink cotton dress. Now pink is a trigger for me.”Roz Overstreet-Gonzalez
Growing up, Roz Overstreet-Gonzalez lived a typical life in San Bernardino,…
What We're Reading: DC Headlines
Washington Post: Two in five D.C. students were chronically absent last year, data show
High schools suffered the most, with 60 percent of older students missing weeks of school
DCist: Chronic Absenteeism Remains Stubbornly High In D.C. Schools
Chronic absenteeism and truancy rates improved slightly in D.C. schools, but is still significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to new data on the 2022-2023 school year.
Washington Post: First-time home buyers banked on D.C. aid. Then the city changed the rules.
Six years ago, as Alfred Swailes was entering retirement, he started to think: Would he ever be able to own a home in the city where he spent his whole life?
DCist: Capital One Arena Forever Changed Chinatown. Can It Reverse Downtown’s Post-Pandemic Slump?
On December 2, 1997, 26 years ago this week, the MCI Center opened at the corner of F and 6th Streets Northwest in the District’s Chinatown neighborhood. City officials celebrated, hoping the arena…
Axios: D.C. traffic deaths hit 16-year high
D.C. traffic deaths are up more than 60% this year from the same time in 2022, reaching the highest total in 16 years.
DCist: D.C. Attorney General Warns Retailers Not To Discriminate Against Residents Who Use SNAP Benefits
D.C.’s Office of the Attorney General is warning retailers such as grocery stores and convenience stores to not discriminate against residents who are paying for food with Supplemental Nutrition…
Washington Post: D.C. residents weigh in on Bowser’s bill to address crime trends
Dozens of D.C. residents, business owners and activists on Wednesday sounded off at a hearing on a crime and policing bill introduced last month by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), offering mixed opinions…
Washington Post: In downtown D.C., a long-vacant historic building could pose opportunity
In its past life, the Webster School in downtown Washington had been many things: a segregated school for White children built in 1882, an “Americanization” school for assimilating immigrants after…
DCist: New Bill Would Reduce Responsibilities Of D.C.’s Embattled 911 Agency
A new D.C. Council bill would transfer some 911 dispatching responsibilities away from the troubled Office of Unified Communications and back to the D.C. fire department. The bill, which Ward 1…
City Paper: Litigious Dupont Lawyer Ed Hanlon Claims Brooke Pinto Repeatedly Violated Campaign Finance Law
Hanlon believes Pinto improperly mixed Council and campaign business, filing complaints just as her reelection bid heats up.