RECIPIENT OF THE DC BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION 2023 LEGACY AWARD
Serving Our Community in the DMV
ACT Now Hearing Highlights Tug-of-War in Public Safety Discussion
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
For some public officials, law enforcement officials, and residents, recent crime trends are calling into question the effectiveness and necessity of police reform measures passed in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. The Wilson Building, once again, became ground zero in that debate, as people on both sides of the issue weighed in on D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Addressing Crime Trends Now (ACT Now) legislation during a hearing conducted by the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. On Wednesday, Kenithia Alston,
mother of the late Marqueese Alston, spoke out against provisions of ACT Now that would allow police officers to review body camera footage before submitting an initial report. She called the bill an affront to her son’s life and that of other Black people killed by law enforcement. “It took the deaths of many Black lives from our D.C. community and the advocacy of mothers like myself to get legislation that would advance transparency and encourage accountability in D.C.’s police department,” Alston said in her testimony before the D.C. Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. “It’s imperative that I advocate for
ACT NOW Page 52
DYRS Reports Progress In Addressing Safety and Personnel Concerns at Youth Services Center
Kiosk Added Without NPS Approval Will Need to be Relocated
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
By Kayla Benjamin WI Climate & Environment Reporter
DMV Page 24
Page 43
5 he Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety held a public hearing on the “Addressing Crime Trends (ACT) Now Amendment Act of 2023” on Wednesday, Nov. 29. (Ja'Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)
D.C. DMV Mistakenly Installs Car Emissions Test Site in Kenilworth Park with DPR Permission
Junel Jeffrey, president of the Eastland Gardens Civic Association, has a vision for Kenilworth Park, where she walks with her dog every day. That vision includes truly clean soil beneath wide-open green spaces, well-lit walking trails and restored basketball and tennis courts. It does not include additional cars coming in and out of the park for biannual emissions checks. When the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) installed a new self-service kiosk earlier this year within park boundaries
Capture the Moment
Vol 59 No 8..., December 7 - 13, 2023
Junel Jeffrey, an Army service member and president of the Eastland Gardens Civic Association, speaks about the testing kiosk while standing at the site Nov. 22. She walks past the spot each day with her dog, Selah V. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
Weeks after the D.C. Department of Youth and Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) Director Sam Abed’s Council confirmation, the agency said that he has made some headway in addressing safety and personnel concerns at the Youth Services Center (YSC) on Mt. Olivet Road in Northeast. Earlier this fall, reports surfaced about fights and substandard living conditions at the YSC, where several dozen male and female youths are detained by order of the court. A DYRS representative told The Informer that
DYRS Page 52
Celebrating 59 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information.
5A representative from the Department of Youth and Rehabilitative Services reported that Sam Abed, the agency’s new director, is making progress in addressing safety and personnel concerns at the Youth Services Center in Northeast, D.C.