VOL. 54, NO. 10 • DECEMBER 20 - 26, 2018
The WI Family Wish Our Readers Joy and Peace
Miss Saigon Page 28
Residents Clamor for East End Hospital at Town Hall
Council Fast Forwards Plan for SE Hospital
Hundreds of residents braved the torrential rain over the weekend for a town hall meeting to make it clear that a new hospital is needed in the District’s neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River. The residents gathered at the Union Temple Baptist Church in the Anacostia neighborhood in Ward 8 on Dec. 16 to listen to speakers and to reiterate the need for a state-of-the-art East End hospital and clinic system in Wards 7 and 8. Washington Informer Publisher Denise Rolark Barnes and WPFW Radio personality Ron Pinchback served as co-moderators. The Rev. Willie Wilson, the co-pastor of Union Temple, told the gathering that the present
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
But Questions and Uncertainty Still Remain
By James Wright WI Contributing Writer
TOWNHALL Page 38
5 Cataleya Claros, 5, visits Fred Conlell dressed as Santa sharing her long list of gifts at the Mall at Prince George’s in Hyattsville. (Roy Lewis/WI)
Push is on For Diversity on the Hill By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia
5 A townhall panel discussion about construction of a hospital in Southeast held at Union Temple on Sunday, Dec. 16, (L-R) Ambrose Lane Jr., Eric Goulet, Dr. Fred Goodwin and Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White. (Roy Lewis/WI)
Incoming Democratic Nevada Rep. Steven Horsford has hired an African-American woman as his chief of staff, joining Georgia Democrat Lucy McBath and a few others on the 116th Congress to hire individuals of color in top staff positions in the U.S. House of Representatives. The list includes Massachusetts Democrat Jahana Hayes, who hired a Black man as legis-
lative director; California Democrat Katie Porter (Latina legislative director); New Mexico Democrat Xochiti Torres Small (Hispanic male chief of staff) and Virginia Democrat Elaine Luria, whose legislative director will be a Black man. “In 2019, a record 35 diverse, talented and brilliant women will come to Congress, bringing us one step closer to a government that looks like the people it represents,” said California Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, who will serve as the third cochair of the Steering and Policy
After months of public debate and private negotiations, a stateof-the-art healthcare facility on St. Elizabeths East Campus in Southeast has been approved to open two years earlier than originally intended. The D.C. Council passed the East End Health Equity Amendment Act at the end of a grueling legislative session on Tuesday, Dec. 18. But healthcare professionals from United Medical Center (UMC) who spent much of Tuesday in the Wilson Building said the final bill all but eliminates any likelihood of workplace benefits, or
HOSPITAL Page 29 Committee, a body that votes on which members get to sit on certain committees. As a co-chair, Lee reportedly will have the power to influence who will shape House Democrats’ agenda and investigations. “I am excited and honored to serve with them all,” Lee said. Still, while Congress will experience more diversity in its ranks, others remain concerned about the lack of Black and brown individuals in top staff positions. Individuals of color represent
CONGRESS Page 17
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