“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” – Epicurus
Wilmer Leon on Black Santa See Page 21 •
C e l e b r a t i n g 4 9 Ye a r s o f S e r v i c e
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Serving More Than 50,000 African American Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area / Vol. 49, No.11 Dec. 26, 2013 - Jan. 1, 2014
Artists on Monroe! Artist Carmen Torruella Quander chats with an art aficionado at a recent Holiday Open House during the Arts Walk at the Monroe Street Market in Brookland earlier this month. /Photo by Roy Lewis
Gray: Economic Development Plan Bearing Fruit By Barrington M. Salmon WI Staff Writer @bsalmondc The District of Columbia is riding the wave of an economic boon that going into its second year has produced almost 18,000 new jobs, $281 million in tax revenue and slightly less than $1 billion in foreign investment in
real estate projects. Mayor Vincent Gray (D) said the city is on track to achieve its goals of 100,000 new jobs and at least $1 billion in new tax revenue at the end of five years. Gray said city officials have partners, universities, the local business community and a host of others to thank for helping put
the District in this position. “We’re projecting in years two through five to create 82,863 jobs and $281 million in tax revenue,” Gray said during an hour-long presentation at a recent mayoral press conference. “We’re also anticipating $691 million in sales, hotel, restaurant, property taxes, including the taxes of individu-
als moving to the city.” “We’ve been combating sequestration. We can’t fight it so we’re going in another direction in the city. We’re adding population and people are bringing resources to this effort … Almost 10,000 private-sector jobs have been created but we lost federal jobs. If we don’t shift this
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economy in a different direction, we will continue to be affected by what’s going on in the federal government. We can either wring our hands or redefine who D.C. is.” The Nation’s Capital has become the city of choice for mil-
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