WINNER OF THREE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS D.C. AWARDS Maryland Rescinds Mask Mandate in Public Schools Page 12 Vol. 57, No. 20 • March 3 - 9, 2022
D.C. Remembers Former Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe Washingtonians ‘Stunned’ by His Sudden Death at 61 WI Web Staff
5 The day before delivering the State of the Union Address, President Biden hosted Black employees working throughout the government in celebration of Black History Month at the White House on February 28 to recognize their accomplishments. (Ja'Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)
Russia, Inflation Take Centerstage at State of the Union Address
When President Joe Biden took the podium for the annual State of the Union Address, it marked the first time two women – Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – sat on the dais for the official address. The President began by addressing the elephant in the room – or at least Eastern Europe.
He declared that the West had united in tackling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, noting that America would join a host of nations in banning Russian aircraft from its airspace. “[Russian President] Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy,” President Biden declared. “He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And he thought he could divide us here at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready.”
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Missing Children Activists D.C. Police Department Continue Search for Relisha Rudd
President Biden Briefly Mentions Need to Pass Voting Rights Bills Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
District leaders and residents continue to mourn the death of former D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services [EMS] Chief Kenneth B. Ellerbe. Ellerbe, 61, was found dead in his home in Southeast on Sunday, Feb. 27. No cause of death has been announced. D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John A. Donnelly, Sr. said Ellerbe’s death stunned and saddened him. “It is so tragic,” Donnelly told the Informer. “He was a Washingtonian. He grew up in Washington, attended school in Washington, joined the fire department and was a leader in the fire department. He stayed in the city
after he retired. This is devastating.” Ellerbe served 31 years in the Fire and Emergency Medical Services, including three as the chief. He led
James Wright WI Staff Writer
In both a symbolic move and a show of solidarity, the President entered the Joint Session of Congress escorted by Congresswoman Victoria Spartz (R-Indiana), a Ukrainian-American. Outside the Capitol, a host of
It has been eight years on March 1, 2014, since an official report indicated that a District youth, Relisha Tenau Rudd, had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Then just eight years old, she remains missing. But activists dedicated to finding missing children, in collaboration with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, remain committed to resolving the case. On the anniversary of her reported disappearance, several people gathered at the intersection of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road in Northeast
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SPELLING BEE Page 12 Celebrating 57 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area
