VOL. 54, NO. 33 • MAY 30 - JUNE 5, 2019
June is African American Music Appreciation Month. Celebrate!
Don’t Miss the WI Bridge Center Section
Officials, Residents Run Over Traffic Proposal
Smithsonian Regents Name Lonnie Bunch 14th Secretary
By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill
WI Staff Report Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, has been elected as the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian, the institution’s board of regents announced Tuesday. Bunch, who will succeed David Skorton, will begin his new position on June 16. The founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in September 2016, Bunch oversees the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African-American story and its impact on American and world history. His election is unprecedented for the Smithsonian as he becomes the first African American to lead the Smithsonian, and the first historian elected secretary. The historic promotion also means that Bunch becomes the first museum director to ascend to secretary in 74 years. “Lonnie Bunch guided, from concept to completion, the complex effort to build the premier museum celebrating African-American achievements,” said Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who serves as Smithsonian chancel-
BUNCH Page 17
5 Ahead of the D.C. Council vote on Tuesday, May 29, protesters hold a sign on the steps of the John A. Wilson Building. (Anthony Tilghman/The Washington Informer)
UMC Increased, Banneker Set to Move on Final Council Budget Vote By James Wright WI Staff Writer
The District of Columbia’s only public hospital received a boost despite a proposed cut in its subsidy and the city’s leading
academic high school will move to a new location in the near future. Tensions flared as members debated over increasing the budget for the ailing United Medical Center (UMC), the
only hospital serving residents in Wards 7 and 8 in Southeast. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) proposed an amendment to increase the subsidy to
DC BUDGET Page 42
D.C. Council Approves Banneker Relocation to Shaw Site
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
The battle surrounding Banneker Academic High School’s relocation and expansion at the shuttered Shaw Junior High School site recently wrapped up with the approval of the finalized Fiscal Year 2020 budget that funds the District’s top achieving
BANNEKER Page 25
5 Banneker Academic High School student advocates attend a Council Hearing May 14 in their support of a newly built state of the art education campus. (Courtesy photo/ Wendy Glenn Facebook grab)
Several residents such as Sherri James of Landover expressed displeasure with a proposed traffic plan to expand portions of Interstates 495 and 270 with toll lanes in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. James, who’s resided in Prince George’s for about 30 years, said state officials needed to be more upfront and inform residents better. “We are never, never, never asked how do we feel?” she said during a town hall Thursday, May 23. “All of a sudden a plan is developed and here it is. Not a lot of people understand what this means. I hope this is not a done deal.” Dozens of other residents, governmental officials and activists heard about the toll lane plan at the Wayne K. Curry Sports and Learning Complex in Landover. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan supports to make a public-private partnership, or P3 where a private firm would help finance, design and build the toll lanes. The state Department of Transportation would handle the maintenance of the roads along the 70-mile trek. “You may add short term relief, but you add more vehicles to the road,” said Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Maryland), who called for the town hall and doesn’t support the state’s traffic
ROADS Page 48
Celebrating 54 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area