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THE WASHINGTON INFORMER NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published weekly on each Thursday. PeriodiPUBLISHER Denise Rolark Barnes STAFF cals postage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional mailing offices. News and adTheWashington Informer Newspaper D. Kevin McNeir, Editor Ron Burke, Advertising/ Marketing Director vertising deadline is Monday prior to publication. Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2016 In Memoriam Dr. Calvin W. Rolark, Sr. Shevry Lassiter,by The Washington Informer. All rights Wilhelmina J. Rolark Photo Editor reserved. POSTMASTER: Send change Lafayette Barnes, IV, Assistant Photo Editor Dorothy Rowley, Online Editor ZebraDesigns.net, Design & Layout Mable Neville, Bookkeeper of addresses to The Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20032. No part of this publication may be reproduced without THE WASHINGTON INFORMER NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published weekly on Thursday. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional mailing offices. News and advertising deadline is Monday prior to publication. Ron Taylor, Copy Editor Tatiana Moten, Social Media Specialist Angie Johnson, Circulation REPORTERS written permission from the publisher. The Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee the return of photographs. Subscription rates are $45 per year, two years $60. Papers will be received not more than a week after publication. Make checks payable to: Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2000 by The Washington Informer. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER:Send change of addresses to The Washington Informer, 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. Washington, D.C. 20032. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. The Informer Newspaper cannot guarantee the return of photographs. Subscription rates are $30 per year, two years $45. Papers will be received Stacy Brown (Senior Writer), Sam P.K. THE WASHINGTON INFORMERnot more than a week after publication. Make checks payable to: 3117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E Collins, Timothy Cox, Will Ford (Prince Washington, D.C. 20032 George’s County Writer), Hamil Harris, THE WASHINGTON INFORMER Curtis Knowles, Daniel Kucin, D. Kevin Phone: 202 561-4100 Fax: 202 574-37853117 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave., S.E. • Washington, D.C. 20032 McNeir, Dorothy Rowley, Brenda Siler, news@washingtoninformer.comPhone: 202 561-4100 • Fax: 202 574-3785 Lindiwe Vilakazi, Sarafina Wright, James www.washingtoninformer.com E-mail: news@washingtoninformer.com Wright www.washingtoninformer.com
PHOTOGRAPHERSPUBLISHER Shevry Lassiter, Roy Lewis, Jr., Robert R. Denise Rolark Barnes STAFF Roberts, Anthony Tilghman REPORTERS Brooke N. Garner Managing Editor Tia C. Jones, Ed Laiscell, Carla Peay Assistant Managing Editor Odell B. Ruffin, Larry Saxton, Ron Burke Advertising and Marketing Mary Wells, Joseph Young Mable Whittaker Bookkeeper LaNita Wrenn Administration John E. DeFreitas Sports Editor Victor Holt Photo Editor Zebra Designs, Inc. Layout & Graphic Design 4 MARCH 4 - 10, 2021 Ken Harris /www.scsworks.com Webmaster PHOTOGRAPHERS Lafayette Barnes, IV, John E. De Freitas, Maurice Fitzgerald, Joanne Jackson, Roy Lewis, Robert Ridley, Victor Holt Women Break the Cycle of wi hot topics COMPILED BY D. KEVIN MCNEIR, WI EDITOR AND WILLIAM J. FORD AND JAMES HARRIS, WI STAFF WRITERS
Seven Years Later, Search Domestic ViolenceFormer CDC Director
Continues for Relisha RuddBy Tia Carol Jones WI Staff Writer When L.Y. Marlow's 23-yearold daughter told her the father of her daughter threatened her life, and the life of their child, she knew something had to be done. Out of her frustration with law enforcement's handling of the situation, she decided to start the Saving Promise campaign. “It seems to be a vicious cycle that won't turn my family loose,” Marlow said. Marlow shared her story with the audience at the District Heights Domestic Violence Symposium on May 7 at the District Heights Municipal Center. The symposium was sponsored by the Family and Youth Services Center of the city of District law enforcement. She said they had come together to bring a sense of uniformity in the way domestic violence victims and survivors are treated. “She's using her own personal story, her own personal pain to push forward,” Davis-Nickens said about Marlow. Davis-Nickens said anyone who reads Marlow's book will “get it.” She said she “puts the case in such a way, the average person can get it.” She said at the end of the day, the book will help people begin to have a dialogue about domestic violence. Also present at the event was Mildred Muhammad, the exwife of John Allen Muhammad, who was sentenced to six consecutive life terms without parole by a Maryland jury for his role in the Beltway Sniper attacks in threat,” she said. Among the programs Marlow wants to see implemented are stricter restraining order policies, more rights for victim's families to intervene on behalf of a victim, a domestic violence assessment unit coupled with further training for law enforcement agencies, a Child's Life Protection Act and mandatory counseling for batterers. “If we are ever going to eradicate domestic violence, we must look at both sides of the coin. We need to address both the victim and the batterer,” Marlow said. Marlow would also like to see programs designed to raise awareness among children in public and private schools. She feels children need to be educated about domestic violence. The former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will help lead Maryland in its fight against COVID-19. Robert Redfield, who served in that capacity from 2018 to 2021 under former President Donald Trump, will serve in a voluntary capacity as a senior advisor to Gov. Larry Hogan’s senior advisor. His duties will include assessing the state’s vaccine roll out and how to safely reopen the state and spread of contagious coronavirus variants. Under Trump, the CDC received harsh criticism for its inconsistent nationwide vaccine roll out. “We did put science first,” Redfield said standing near Hogan in Annapolis on Tuesday, March 2. “If anything, I’m disappointed about during my time at CDC was the inconsistency of messaging. It’s terribly important in public health and you [Marylanders] are so fortunate As the first days of March came and went, District residents marked Monday, March 1 as Relisha Rudd Awareness Day. The child disappeared seven years ago at the age of eight. March 1, 2014, was the last time Relisha, who would now be 14, was seen alive. She was last seen at a motel in Northeast with Kahlil Tatum, a janitor who worked at the D.C. General Shelter where Relisha and her family were staying. D.C. police and others gathered to remember Relisha on Monday. Tatum committed suicide shortly after the child was reported missing. And while police believe he killed Relisha, her body has never been found. Authorities and family members have conducted numerous searches over the years since her disappearance in different parts of the District but to no avail. The FBI continues to offer a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the location and return of Relisha. Comes to Maryland in Fight Against COVID-19 Heights and the National Hook- 2002. Mildred Muhammad is “We have to stop being paswith Gov. Hogan to have that public health Up of Black Women. Marlow has written a book, “Color Me Butterfly,” which is a the founder of After the Trauma, an organization that helps the survivors of domestic violence sive-aggressive with poor children about domestic violence,” Marlow said. message echoed by civic leaders.” Meanwhile, Hogan announced the state will open three more vaccination sites in President Joe Biden: 'U.S. will have enough vaccine for every story about four generations of domestic violence. The book is and their children. “I lived in fear for six years. Six Marlow has worked to break the cycle of abuse in her family, Charles County on March 4, Wicomico Youth & Civic Center in Salisbury on March 18 and adult by the end of May' inspired by her own experiences, years in fear is a long time. It is and is confident the policies she the Hagerstown Premium Outlets at the end and those of her grandmother, not an easy thing to come out is pushing for will start that of the mouth. Vaccine doses are anticipated to President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. will have her mother and her daughter. of,” she said. enough vaccine for every adult in the country by the end of process. double at the sites in Prince George’s County She said every time she reads Mildred Muhammad saidMay. Biden made the announcement March 2 on the heels “I plan to take these policies to excerpts from her book, she still people who want to help aof green-lighting the Defense Production Act to be used Congress and implore them to can not believe the words came domestic violence victim must change our laws,” Marlow said.to assist Merck with manufacturing Johnson & Johnson's that about three weeks ago and were able to say from her. “Color Me Butterfly” COVID-19 vaccine. be careful of how they go into “I will not stop until these polithat we'll have enough vaccine supply for adults won the 2007 National “Best the victim's life, and understand cies are passed.”He also announced an initiative to get schools reopened by by the end of July.” Books” Award. that she may be in “survival Tia Carol Jones can be reachedprioritizing the vaccination of K-12 teachers and staff using “I'm pleased to announce today as a conse-
“I was just 16-years-old when mode”. the federal pharmacy program during a brief speech from the at tiacaroljones@sbcglobal.net quence of the stepped-up process that I've ormy eye first blackened and my White House's Roosevelt Room. “Before you get to 'I'm goingdered and just outlined, this country will have “We have to stop being passive-aggressive with poor children about domestic violence. I plan to take these lips bled,” Marlow said. Elaine Davis-Nickens, president of the National Hook-Up of Black Women, said there is no consistency in the way domestic violence issues are dealt with by to kill you,' it started as a verbal WI D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson will serve as the main sponsor of a bill that installs ranked choice voting as the primary election mode in the District. “During my run for office, it was clear to me that our current system for selecting elected officials is Henderson Wants to Consider Ranked Choice Voting in D.C. The process lets voters rank candidates, usually no more than five, for an office in order of their preference. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, they are the winner. If no majority winner emerges during the first round, the race will be decided by an instant runoff. Ranked choice voting is “When we came into office the prior administration had contracted for not nearly enough vaccine to cover adults in America,” he said pointing a finger at Trump. “We rectified enough vaccine supply, I'll say it again, for every adult in America by the end of May. That's progress,” the president added. challenged when you have 24 candidates running how voters in New York City, San Francisco, Minneappolicies to Congress andfor two seats,” Henderson, an at-large independent member elected in 2020, said in her February 2021 olis and nearly three dozen other municipalities choose elected officials. It is also used in Maine and Alaska. A
THE WASHINGTON INFORMER / WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM implore them to change our laws. I will not stop until these policies are passed. “ L.Y. Marlow newsletter. “Ranked choice voting is a better way to ensure that voters’ choices are truly heard in selecting winners from large pools of candidates and that winning candidates have in fact earned a broad base of support.” ranked choice voting bill was considered by the council in 2019 and had four co-introducers, but it never made it past the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety. “Stay tuned for a forthcoming introduction date and how you can help us get this important bill through the council,” she said.
Bowser’s Program to Fight Gun Violence Met with Mixed Reviews
Building Blocks DC Feted as Innovative but Criticized as Lacking
James Wright and Hamil Harris WI Staff Writer, WI Contributing Writer
PART TWO IN A SERIES
Mayor Muriel Bowser’s new program aimed at addressing the District’s recently issued state of emergency regarding crime and violence in D.C., while praised as innovative by supporters, has been met with pointed criticism by others long engaged in efforts to make communities safer.
On Feb. 17, the mayor, with members of her Cabinet, D.C. Police Chief Robert Contee III, Director of Gun Violence Prevention Linda Harllee Harper and Councilmembers Trayon White (D-Ward 8) and Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), introduced the $15 million Building Blocks DC program. The initiative includes a gun violence prevention emergency operations center that will be housed in the Anacostia neighborhood of Ward 8 and uses city government workers to address ways to engage people and places most atrisk for gun violence.
“This is the first of its kind in the country using the public health approach,” Harper said. “We are focusing on people, places and process. We know that hurt people hurt people and communities. We plan to do this with a data-driven approach.”
The program focuses on 151 District blocks which represent about two percent of the city’s blocks but 41 percent of violence offenses where guns have been fired. The targeted blocks will be scoured to zero in on areas known for extensive gun violence in efforts to reduce the disturbing rise in homicides.
Those identified as at-risk for being either a victim or a perpetrator of gun violence will be engaged by the Building Blocks DC staff for programs dealing in trauma, violence prevention, job training and procurement, housing and neighborhood infrastructure. Two advisory groups will be created – one dealing with science led by Mannone Butler and the Rev. Dr. Roger Mitchell, Jr., the other focusing on the community shepherded by activist Tony Lewis and the Rev. Donald Isaac.
Program supporters believe it will lead to more positive outcomes those who are confronted with incidents involving the use of guns by providing government resources to help them overcome financial and emotional challenges they face.
JURY OUT ON IMPACT OF BUILDING BLOCKS DC
White voiced his endorsement for the program, labeling it as a start, while Allen expressed excitement.
“This is a big deal and an incredibly important step for our city. This can absolutely save lives,” Allen said.
Contee, who has voiced his support of Harper, said, “this is what many people in the city have cried for.”
Ronald Hampton, a retired police officer who works as a criminal justice and security consultant and serves on the District’s Police Reform Commission, said Building Blocks DC “is an interesting concept.”
“This will be a good program if Harper has what she needs to make it work,” Hampton said. “The emergency center could be a good thing as a single place where people impacted by gun violence can go for resources whether they have been the victims of crime or perpetrators.”
Alternatively, some activists remain unconvinced that the new initiative will prove effective.
The Rev. Steven Young of The House of Praise in Northeast has become known throughout the city for putting the funeral programs of people who have died from gun violence on the walls of his church. He believes incarcerating youth involved in gun violence may be the best way to deal with the problem.
“Even those who used to be on the front lines are afraid of the youngsters,” he said. “There are a whole lot of parents who are afraid of their children. The only way a lot of these children can be disciplined is if you lock them up.”
One longtime Ward 8 violence prevention activist, the Rev. Anthony Motley, said often the government exacerbates the problem.
“The government has to get out of the way,” Motley said. “Officials think they know so much but they’ve failed to realize that if they are going to do this thing, the government is not the player. It is a team effort with the faith community. My old professor used to say ‘teamwork makes the dream work.’”
Roach Brown, a prison reform advocate who regularly interacts with atrisk youth, identifies “jobs, jobs, jobs” as the solution to gun violence in the District.
“Jobs reduce crime; jobs also improve public safety,” Brown said. “We need jobs. This is an all-hands-on-deck issue. Folks have to drop their attitudes and egos. We have to come together. This is about saving our race.”
Some citizens say they’re dissatisfied with how the mayor has approached
GUNS Page 43
5 Roach Brown and his wife, Mertine, believe providing jobs for youth will help quell gun violence in the District. (Photo courtesy Roach Brown)
Tree Planting Tree Planting challenge challenge Ward 8 Ward 8
Cool your community Cool Clean the air Clean Protect the planet Protect Earn prizes Earn
What?
Plant a free tree
OR choose a different nature connection: •Write a short story or create a short video •Assemble a free birdhouse •Play tree bingo scavenger hunt •Schedule an outdoor neighborhood walk with Casey Trees (masks required)
Why?
Trees make for healthier, cooler communities
$100 $100
prizes prizes
Learnmore
friendsofoxonrun.org
How?
Go to our website at friendsofoxonrun.org or scan the QR code on the right to complete an entry form
When?
March 31, 2021 (complete tree challenge entry) or April 30, 2021 (all other nature activities)
Who?
The challenge is organized and supported by: Department of Energy and Environment, the Department of Transportation Urban Forestry Division, Friends of Oxon Run, Casey Trees, MITRE Corporation, and most importantly—YOU!
Participation Prizes
All participants who complete a form will be entered to win $100 gift cards.
black facts MAR 4 - 10, 2021 SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB
MARCH 4
1877 – Black inventor Garrett Morgan is born in Paris, Kentucky. 1954 – J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. is appointed assistant secretary of labor by President Eisenhower, becoming the first African American to hold a sub-Cabinet position in the federal government.
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MARCH 5
1770 – Crispus Attucks, widely considered to be the first American casualty in the American Revolutionary War, is killed in the Boston Massacre. 1939 – Acclaimed playwright Charles Fuller (right), best known for his Pulitzer-winning play "A Soldier's Play," is born in Philadelphia. 1985 – The U.S. Postal Service issues the eighth stamp in its Black Heritage series, honoring Mary McLeod Bethune.
MARCH 6
1857 – The U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision in the Dred Scott case, affirming the right of slave owners to take their slaves into the Western territories.
MARCH 7
1539 – Estevanico, one of the first native Africans to reach the present-day continental United States, sets out to explore what is now the southwestern part of the U.S. 1927 – In the U.S. Supreme Court case Nixon v. Herndon, the court strikes down a Texas law forbidding Blacks from voting in the state Democratic Party primary. 1942 – The first class of African American pilots at Tuskegee Army Air Field completes advanced pilot training. 1965 – The Selma to Montgomery marches, held to champion voting rights for African Americans and in protest of segregation, begin in Selma, Alabama.
MARCH 8
1825 – Alexander Thomas Augusta, the first Black professor of medicine in the United States and the Army's first African American physician, is born in Norfolk, Virginia. 1876 – PBS Pinchback, the nation's first Black governor, is denied by Congress a U.S. Senate seat he won four years earlier. 1993 – Famed jazz singer Billy Eckstine dies in Pittsburgh at 78 from complications following a heart attack.
MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE MARCH 9
1841 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the African slaves who seized control of the Amistad slave ship had been illegally forced into slavery, and thus are free under American law. 1966 – Andrew F. Brimmer is sworn in as the first Black governor of the Federal Reserve Board. 1997 – Famed rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (top) is shot and killed in Los Angeles at age 24.
MARCH 10
1849 – Hallie Quinn Brown, an African American educator, writer and activist, is born in Pittsburgh. 1913 – Iconic abolitionist and escaped Harriet Tubman dies of pneumonia in Auburn, New York. 1969 – James Earl Ray pleads guilty to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and is sentenced to 99 years in prison. WI
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BY SARAFINA WRIGHT
In his new podcast with Bruce Springsteen, former President Barack Obama said he always supported reparations for Black Americans, but he feared white backlash and resistance if he was vocal about such during his presidency. What are your thoughts?
ANN SPENCER, /
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS I understand his position, but white resistance, resentment and disrespect was already out in the open. He must have already known that white, Southern Democrats would not have voted on his side.
KIM TURNER /
WASHINGTON, D.C. I really hate he had to pander to white supremacy, but, as we've seen, his life could have been on the line as well. I can't like, love or be angry at this one.
MALCOLM DWAYNE /
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE I'm not rockin' with Obama on this one, but I'm not going to act like "fear of white resistance and resentment" didn't stop things from being done while he was in office.
PRECIOUS BLUE /
NEW YORK CITY Not impressed. The real question is, is he going to put pressure on the Biden/Harris administration to pass reparations and other tangibles that is long overdue for Black Americans?
SHARON ALIVE /
ORLANDO, FLORIDA His point is well-taken by those of us who understood what he stated. Thank you for the My Brother's Keeper program. We still have one in Orlando that was and is run by awesome people. He made a path for health insurance for all. I could go on and on about what he has accomplished.
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I Used to Be Jealous When Champions Gave Their Mothers a Shout – Now I Understand Why
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March is Women’s History Month and as always, we can expect to hear unending conversations about or analyses of the lives of women who have made a difference in our homes, communities and the world.
Some of these women bear names that are well known, even to children in elementary school who find themselves searching for a woman who inspires them and about whom they can write in that obligatory essay.
It’s easy to call the roll: Mae Jemison, Shirley Chisholm, Marian Anderson, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Coretta Scott King, Oprah Winfrey, Althea Gibson, Phillis Wheatley and Michelle Obama. In fact, it’s safe to say that teachers will grow red-eyed and weary after reading version upon version of first-time compositions about the accomplishments these women achieved in their lives despite the odds they faced being Black women in America.
But most of the women who have really mattered in our lives – or at least in my life – have rarely made the evening news with Walter Cronkite or Peter Jennings.
Few, if any of the women integral to our development and instrumental in our own successes have been showcased on the front page of The New York Times. Even the local newspapers in the cities where these “phenomenal women” made their mark, or in some cases continue to make a difference, have given these women their just due.
Yet, the older I become, the more I understand that stardom and praise was never the motivation for why the special women in my life did the things they did.
In fact, with the death of my own mother almost two years ago, which coincided with an unprecedented health pandemic and a surge in domestic violence and heated partisan politics that still threaten to topple our republic, I am amazed at how the ordinary women in my life did such extraordinary things.
While I could easily compile a list of the “sheroes” in my life, I find it more prudent to talk about the things they did, the difficult roads they traveled and the little miracles they accomplished. In this way, I believe that they serve as reflections of the kinds of women that others may remember from their own journeys as well.
Turning back the clock 50 years ago when I was little Black boy often teased by other children because I was a bookworm, intellectually astute and preferred reading books or playing piano over shooting hoops or tossing footballs, I could always count on my mother’s encouragement.
She would say they’re simply jealous. They wish they had the gifts that God has given you. They don’t want you to be the “you” that you’re meant to be.
It isn’t easy to go against the grain or to refuse to yield to the normative boxes in which society seeks to place little boys and girls. In my case, however, my mother helped me find my own voice, secure my own path and develop my own sense of self. I learned to love who I was.
This is what phenomenal mothers – phenomenal women – have done for ages.
Some of the women in my life experienced pain, disappointment and anguish that I cannot fathom. Several of my aunts and adopted mothers were victims of domestic violence in an age when those things simply weren’t discussed – particularly among children. I say them carry the scars. And yet, they always loved the children in their midst fiercely and without reservation.
Others would survive multiple miscarriages – desperately attempting to make their husbands proud by becoming fathers but unable to bring a child to term. And their men would seek companionship elsewhere – deflated or discouraged – as if their wives wanted to lose their children. I didn’t understand.
Some would face frequent abuse and discouragement by the men in their world who believed that women were second-class citizens, there to serve their needs and desires. And I wondered, didn’t those women have needs and desires – dreams – of their own?
And yet, these women, the women who sheltered me from the storms, who wiped my tears when mental or physical pain was at its highest and who walked with me when I felt most alone, seemed to do so almost instinctively. Somehow, my mother, my grandmothers, my mother-in-law, my aunts and older cousins, my adopted sister – even my longtime babysitter and my favorite piano teacher – all knew what I was feeling in my soul. And they poured out their love to help me make it, one day at a time.
I’m sure most of us have watched achievement programs like the Grammy Awards or sports championships like the Super Bowl and heard entertainers and athletes, one after another, thank God and then thank their mothers. Sometimes, they haven’t even mentioned God. But Mom was certainly saluted.
I must admit, for a long time every time someone would give a shout out to their mother, I would experience a tinge of jealousy.
Why didn’t they thank their fathers, or uncles, or brothers, or grandfathers? Why were the women of their lives always given such thanks, love, praise and gratitude for all the world to see and hear?
Now I understand the many reasons why. WI
Deanwood Residents Fight Opening of New Firehouse in Northeast
James Wright WI Staff Writer
The ongoing conflict between the District government and a developer versus a group of Deanwood residents who oppose a new firehouse being built within yards of their residential community continues even as the facility prepares for opening later this month.
A newly built Engine Company 27, located at 4409 Minnesota Avenue., N.E., tentatively will open in the middle of March, a spokesman for the D.C. Department of Fire and Emergency Management Services, told the Informer. The spokesman said the new facility has been built with the consultation of the nearby neighborhood.
“We have had extensive community outreach and we are providing a firehouse the community deserves,” the spokesman said.
However, Dorothy Douglas, who serves as the advisory neighborhood commissioner for district 7D03, opposes the firehouse saying that through the years, the District government hasn’t been forthcoming to the community about what it wants to do with the property.
“We were told years ago by the development company, Valor, that the property would be used to build townhomes and we in the community supported that,” Douglas said.
“However, several years ago, Valor changed direction and decided to build the firehouse. Our problem is that Valor and the District government hasn’t approached the neighborhood about this. The 7D advisory neighborhood commission wasn’t consulted about the change in usage, as it is supposed to be under the law. In addition, the proper environmental studies haven’t been conducted by the city to determine whether the materials that the firehouse and its adjoining facilities that will house fire trucks are free from contamination.”
The Deanwood residents are represented by attorney Jane Zara. The residents have sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) to halt the opening of the facility and has appeared before D.C. Associate Superior Court Judge Kelly A. Higashi to have it granted.
Higashi hasn’t granted the TRO so far and on Feb. 24, the residents appeared before D.C. Associate Superior Court Judge Todd E. Edelman for a motions hearing. The next court date will be March 11, Zara said.
Deborah Brown, who lives on the same block as Douglas, has become frustrated with the ongoing litigation in court and the District government’s inattentiveness to her neighbors’ concerns.
“To me this is underhanded,” Brown said. “The firehouse is too close to the houses here and it is located close to railroad tracks whose trains sometimes carry hazardous materials. We have received information there are contaminants in the ground there and some of our residents suffer from asthma. There is also the problem of parking. People who visit or work at the firehouse site park in front of our houses and we have no place to put our cars.
“Plus, we have not been informed about this whole process by the D.C. government or the developer. Why didn’t they rebuild Engine Company 27 where it is now on Minnesota Avenue and move the Exxon station there for its expansion? The reason is the District government and Valor feel they can do whatever they want to our neighborhood and we can’t do anything about it.”
Lauren King, a housing attorney, also lives on Douglas’s block. King, who happens to be white, agrees with her neighbors that the process of building the new firehouse has been unfair.
“We are newcomers to the neighborhood,” King said. “My husband and I moved here in August 2019. As new Ward 7 residents, we see how Wards 7 and 8 are treated differently from every other ward in the city. The neighborhood should have been consulted about the new firehouse. Mayor Bowser should come talk to the citizens about this.”
WI @JamesDCWrighter
BRANCH CLOSING
The Industrial Bank branch known as F Street, located at 1317 F Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20004 will close at 5pm on March 31, 2021. All accounts currently maintained at this branch will be automatically transferred to our U Street Branch, located at 2000 Eleventh Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20001. No action by you is necessary. Thank you for your continued support.
Any person wishing to comment on this proposed branch closing may file comments with the FDIC located at 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1200 New York, N.Y. 10018. Comments should be received by the proposed closing date.
If you have any questions, please contact us at 202.722.2000
5 Dorothy Douglas serves as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in Deanwood. (Courtesy Photo/Google)
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CAPTURE THE MOMENT
The Prince George’s County Change Makers celebrated Black History Month with a motorcade through Prince George's County on Saturday, February 27 where participants outfitted their automobiles with signs naming some of the trailblazers who paved the way for African Americans. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
Who’s Reading the Informer?
@AzianWitSwag, owner of #FatMunchiez in Ft. Washington, reads the Washington Informer (Anthony Thilghman/The Washington Informer)
WORDS TO LIVE BY
“Black people have done wonderful things for this country (saved its soul, in fact), and we have been an example to the world in the process. This should never be forgotten, even as we continue to press ahead, in our many and varied ways, toward our future. If we did so much when we had so little, think of what we can do now that we have so much more.”
– Vernon Jordan
Texas Power Debacle Shouldn’t Happen in D.C., Utility Company Officials Say
James Wright WI Staff Writer
The power outage that occurred in Texas last month that left millions of people days without electricity has some residents concerned that situation could happen in the District, but utility company officials say they are prepared for extreme weather events.
Dorothea Daniels, a District resident, was surprised and worried about the welfare of relatives who live the Dallas-Fort Worth area. A winter storm left most of the state without power for almost a week due to the overload of the independent state electric grid as a result of the unprecedented demand for power.
Daniels, like many District residents, wonder if such a catastrophe could happen in the nation’s capital but power company officials say not likely.
Ben Armstrong works as the director of operations communications at Pepco, the utility which largely supplies the District its power. Armstrong said Pepco constantly stays up-to-date regarding its grid.
“At Pepco, we analyze and evaluate the local energy grid on an ongoing basis and work is constantly being performed to further enhance reliability and harden the local energy grid,” he said.
“From inspecting and upgrading equipment, installing advanced equipment and using innovative energy technologies, to continuously reviewing equipment and system standards related to variations in weather and climate, our constant focus is on providing safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy service for our customers and communities.”
Armstrong said the consistent maintenance of the power grid in the District, as well as in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, has produced “the lowest frequency of electric outages ever in 2020.”
“Over the past ten years the frequency of electric outages has been reduced by 68 percent for Pepco customers and communities,” he said. “While we are achieving record reliable performance for our customers, our work to make the local energy grid smarter, stronger and resilient never stops.”
Unlike the Texas grid that operates autonomously, Pepco is an element of the PJM Interconnection system, the nation’s largest electric grid serving 65 million people in 13 states and the District. On its website in February, PJM said it and its member companies are prepared for the severe weather “that continues to impact the majority of the country this week.”
“PJM and its members have maintained reliable operation of the bulk power system during the recent extreme storms while exporting record amounts of electricity to neighboring systems,” the website said. “It involves 24/7 system monitoring and dispatch by trained operators, coordination with other operating entities and industry sectors in real time, markets that support reliability and resource adequacy over the long term, and extensive regional transmission planning to ensure the grid is equipped to serve future
5 Utility poles supply power to District residents. (Courtesy Photo/Google)
needs.”
The website said PJM plans for the winter and its member companies have winterized their systems. It conducts drills to prepare employees and procures resources to meet the anticipated demands of extreme weather, the website said.
Manu Asthana, president and CEO of PJM, said “reliability will always be our priority.”
“It takes the joint effort of our employees and our member companies to deliver on that responsibility, and we are grateful for their dedication and coordination in keeping the power flowing,” Asthana said in a statement. “We especially want to acknowledge the hard work of front-line workers including the operators at the plants, the lineman and the control operators and others whose jobs are further complicated by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.”
WI @JamesDCWrighter
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