D.C. Councilmember Trayon White Faces Federal Bribery Charges Mendelson Strips White’s Committee
Chairmanship, Explores Ad Hoc Committee
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
A physically free, but slightly disheveled, D.C. Councilmember Trayon White (D-Ward 8) walked out of a federal court building on Monday afternoon as a small group of friends and supporters surrounded him and shepherded him to a car that pulled up along Third Street NW in Downtown D.C.
Howard University Students and Faculty, Local Experts Unpack Potential Effects on Incoming Classes
By Jada Ingleton WI Comcast Digital Equity Fellow
As the 2024-25 school year marks the first admissions cycle since the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturned affirmative action in June 2023, Howard University students and faculty, as
well as local experts, expressed concerns about the potential effects that the controversial court ruling could have on future students.
“I feel like [the overturning of affirmative action] just reverts society back,” said freshman Riian Martin, a member
ADMISSIONS Page 38
DMV AT THE DNC: LOCAL LEADERS, ADVOCATES, DELEGATES SPARK WOMEN’S
By Ashleigh Fields and Micha Green WI Contributing Writer and WI Managing Editor
The DMV region has shown the full force of its social, political and influential authority at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, igniting conversations and calls-toaction in the nation’s capital, the country and worldwide.
“The D.C. delegation always makes a big impact and we make it a point to bring back information about the important issues,” said former District First Lady Cora Masters Barry. Stuart Anderson, second vice chair of the Ward 8 Democrats and a member of the Democratic State Committee, said the STATE Page 34
5In their first joint public appearance since President Joe Biden ended his candidacy, he and Vice President Harris met a friendly crowd in Prince George’s County, Maryland and spoke about their administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug costs. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
By Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter
More than 2,000 Marylanders flocked to Prince George’s County Community College’s Novak Field House on Aug. 15 to witness President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, in their first joint appearance since Biden ended his re-election campaign and endorsed Harris to lead the Democratic Party to victory in
Celebrating 59 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information.
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NEWSPAPER (ISSN#0741-9414) is published weekly on each Thursday. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C. and additional mailing offices. News and advertising deadline is Monday prior to publication. Announcements must be received two weeks prior to event. Copyright 2016 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 $55 per year, two years $70. Papers will be received not more than a week after publication. Make checks payable to:
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REPORTERS
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STACY M. BROWN, NATIONAL REPORTER; RICHARD ELLIOTT, WI CONTRIBUTING REPORTER
On the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the Obamas took center stage and delivered electrifying speeches that reverberated through the United Center in Chicago. The convention, already energized by a capacity crowd at Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Milwaukee, reached new heights
as the former First Lady and former President rallied Democrats with their powerful words.
Harris had her speech live streamed into the United Center, effectively connecting the two cities in a show of Democratic unity and strength. Her presence set the tone for the evening, with her words filling both venues.
Michelle Obama took the stage before her husband in Chicago, immediately captivating the audience.
“Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it? I’m talking about the contagious power of hope,” she declared as the United Center enthusiastically rocked. “America, hope is making a comeback. Kamala Harris is one of the
The Negro League Legends Hall of Fame (NLLHOF) and United States Postal Service (USPS) teamed up for a stamp to honor celebrated baseball player Henry “Hank” Aaron on Aug. 17.
Nearly 100 attendees filled NLLHOF’s suite at Prince George’s Stadium to hear about Aaron’s legacy in both baseball and Black history and purchase envelopes bearing the stamp and the NLLHOF branding. Books of stamps were available on the stadium concourse for $14.60 each, while the envelopes were $8 for the special edition and $7 for the first day issue.
“This was an amazing event. Dwayne [Simms] (the event’s founder) brings our history, in sports and in the community, to the forefront,” Montré Dupree, deputy chief of staff for Prince George’s County Council District 6, told The Informer. “It’s a great opportunity to see art and history blended together so beautifully. Chuck Styles who
designed the stamp did an excellent job. I’m excited to be here as a volunteer for this historic event.”
Attendees celebrated the festivities, with many decked out in game-day attire. Some women donned 1920s era flapper attire, with other people wore Negro League gear, such as a Josh Gibson jersey, and several vintage Jackie Robinson jerseys. Due to a rain delay, the East-West Negro League All Star Game and Auto Show, originally scheduled as part of stamp ceremony activities, has been rescheduled to Sept. 1. This year’s game is particularly significant as Major League Baseball finally chose to integrate Negro League stats into the career records for retired players.
“The game is free: this is my gift to the community I grew up in,” Dwayne Sims, founder of NLLHOF, told FOX5 in an interview. “You saw all these nice vintage cars before Negro League games at Griffith Stadium and we’re keeping that tradition alive with the auto show.”
At the Democratic National Convention, a cadre of leading Democratic women took the stage, unleashing a barrage of criticism against Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, framed by the Republicans’ notorious record on women’s issues. The stark differences in vision and values between the twice-impeached and 34-times convicted former president and Vice President Kamala Harris were on full display in Chicago. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened with a searing take on Trump’s legal woes.
“Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial,” Clinton recounted to an amused crowd. “When he woke up, he’d made his own kind of history — the first
person to run for president with 34 felony convictions.”
Clinton’s statement sparked a wave of laughter and wild applause, leading to chants of “Lock him up!” echoing the irony of Trump’s previous attacks on her, during her run against him for president in 2016.
“We have him on the run now,” Clinton declared. “But no matter what the polls say, we can’t give up.”
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas (D) highlighted the divergent paths of Harris and Trump.
“One candidate worked at McDonald’s while she was in college at an HBCU. The other was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and helped his daddy in the family business: housing discrimination,” Crockett said, sparking boisterous applause from the audience. “She became a career prosecutor, while he became a career criminal, with 34 felonies, two impeachments, and one porn star to prove it.” WI Read more on washingtoninformer.com.
By Ashleigh Fields WI Contributing Writer
Despite a busy campaign trail, Vice President Kamala Harris found time to return to her roots at Howard University, and offer inspiring words to incoming freshmen and their families outside of Cramton Auditorium on Aug. 12.
“I had freshmen orientation right here in Cramton where I met lifelong friends. You all are standing next to people who are going to be in your wedding,” Harris, an alumna of the institution, said proudly.
Students gathered with their parents for the second day of Bison Week, a time where the campus is closed to upperclassmen and specifically dedicated to orienting and welcoming a new class of leaders to campus.
“You are receiving a superior education priming you to be leaders of our nation and in the world,” she told the crowd, before reflecting on her own experience. “Look what happened, you might be running for president of the United States.”
According to reports from the
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most qualified people to ever seek the office of president. And she is dignified.”
The former first lady didn’t shy away from addressing the twice-impeached and 34-times convicted felon and former President Donald Trump directly.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us… His limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking and highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black. Who wants to tell him that the job he’s seeking just might be one of those Black jobs?” she asked, eliciting raucous applause from the crowd.
Barack Obama then took the stage and immediately lifted the energy in the arena to a fever pitch.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling fired up,” he began, his voice
New York Times, the Vice President hosted a mock debate on Monday at Howard to prepare for her Sept. 10 debate with former president Donald Trump. The Harris campaign did not respond to The Informer’s requests for comment regarding either visit.
However, the presidential nominee often mentions how the university has served as a home and breeding ground for her success.
“The thing that Howard taught me is that you can do any collection of things, and not one thing to the exclusion of the other. You could be homecoming queen and valedictorian. There are no false choices at Howard,” Harris said.
Khariss Bender, a junior broadcast journalism major, had the opportunity to report on Harris’ surprise visit and said the opportunity is one she’ll remember for life.
“Vice President Harris' visit was a statement and an empowering message to all HBCU students—a message of hope that reminds us of what we are capable of,” Bender told The Informer. “Despite the stereotypes and setbacks we may face, we continue to exceed expectations and pave our own legacy.”
booming across the United Center.
“Even if I’m the only person stupid enough to speak right after Michelle Obama.”
Obama then turned his focus to Harris, praising her as a leader who embodies the best of what America stands for.
“This country has a chance to elect someone who’s spent her whole life trying to give people the same chances America gave her,” Obama said. “Someone who sees you and hears you and will get up every single day and fight for you: the next president of the United States of America, Kamala Harris.”
The former president left the crowd with a final, resonant message.
“If we work like we’ve never worked before, we will elect Kamala Harris as the next president and Tim Walz as the next vice president. And together, we too will build a country that is more secure, more just, more equal, and free.”
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She believes visits like these are crucial developmental moments for those who aspire to create a career in Washington, D.C.
“I highly anticipate more political figures visiting,” she added. “Their presence will surely open doors for students like myself and grant us more opportunities to cover hard news and politics.”
Although the University did not respond to inquiries about the impact of Harris’ speech, former leaders on campus agree that the exposure is life changing.
“Experiences like Vice President Kamala Harris welcoming the incoming class of Bison affirms that they are a part of a legacy of excellence,” alumnus Michael Franklin, former student body vice president shared. “Moments like this are a staple of the Howard experience and a reminder of the community that students are now a part of.”
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AUG. 22
AUG. 26
1917 – Famed blues singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker, known as the "King of the Boogie," is born in Mississippi.
1950 – Althea Gibson becomes the first African American on the U.S. tennis tour.
1978 – Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first prime minister, dies at 86.
1989 – Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, is shot and killed by a reputed drug dealer in Oakland, California.
AUG. 23
1900 – The National Negro Business League, which was founded by Booker T. Washington, holds its first meeting in Boston.
AUG. 24
1950 – Edith Sampson, a lawyer and judge, be comes the first Black U.S. delegate appointed to the United Nations.
1987 – Civil rights leader Bayard Rustin organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, dies in Manhattan.
AUG. 25
1925 – A. Philip Randolph becomes head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids, the first predominantly African American labor union. 1927 – Althea Gibson, the first African American on the U.S. tennis tour and first to win a Grand Slam title, is born in Silver, South Carolina.
2001 – Music star and actress Aaliyah others are killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas after filming a music video. She was 22.
AUGUST 22 - 28 , 2024
SOURCE: BLACK AMERICA WEB
1946 – Singer/songwriter Valerie Simpson, half of legendary husband-wife duo Ashford & Simpson, is born in the Bronx, New York.
1947 – Brooklyn Dodgers' Dan Bankhead becomes the first Black pitcher in Major League Baseball history in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, also hitting a home run in his first at-bat.
1960 – Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis is born in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana.
AUG. 27
1949 – A concert by famed singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson in Peekskill, New York, is called off when concertgoers are attacked by locals screaming racist and antisemitic slurs. Robeson is lynched in effigy and a cross is set ablaze during the riot, which resulted in more than a dozen people being seriously injured.
1963 – Famed author, scholar and NAACP co-founder W. E. B. Du Bois dies in Accra, Ghana, at 95.
1975 – Haile Selassie, former emperor of Ethiopia, dies in Addis Ababa at 83.
2008 – Barack Obama officially receives the Democratic presidential nomination at the DNC convention, becoming the party's first African American nominee.
AUG. 28
1955 – Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy, is lynched in Mississippi at the age of 14 after he was accused of flirting with a white woman.
1963 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his iconic "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington.
1968 – Rev. Channing E. Philips of Washington, D.C., becomes the first African American to be nominated for president by a major national party.
BY SARAFINA WRIGHT
DANIEL TAYLOR / BRONX, N.Y.
BRYANT LOUIS / KANSAS CITY, MO.
No matter how limited your environment may be, you must be able to see and dream beyond it. Don’t be a victim of it or the low expectations associated with it. Understand pain and failure are all part of growth and learning; don’t let pain become your fear.
Learn about the stock market and investments, and aim for long-term investments. Exercise helps with longevity; make it a lifestyle. Don’t give up on your dreams. No matter how long the goal may take, if it’s worth it, your dream won’t have an expiration date. Keep pushing for it.
CLAUDELL TURNER / WASHINGTON, D.C.
KAREEM VAUGHN / PHOENIX, ARIZ.
Go to college or trade school for something that makes you the product. If you are a lawyer, trainer, engineer, architect, or even a welder, you create the income because you create the value. If you do that, you always have the flexibility to work for someone or open your own business!
Stay positive! Refrain from impulses that lead you to question yourself! Be firm and up straight! Say what you mean; mean what you say! Treat women like she’s your mother/sister! Plan and make goals on a five-year scale. Love yourself first! Save your money - invest in your future. Learn the difference between what you need and what you want.
JEREMY GRICE / GREENSBORO, N.C.
Build multiple streams of income. Everything that glitters ain’t gold. God, family, and then self. Don’t have kids too soon. Get a passport and see the world. Don’t chase materialistic things that lose value over time.
Our staff is made up of writers, just like you. We are dedicated to making publishing dreams come true. Trusted by authors for nearly 100 years, Dorrance has made countless authors’ dreams come true.
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
District of Columbia Attorney
General Brian L. Schwalb announced today that IHG Management LLC (IHG) has agreed to pay more than $186,000 to settle allegations of failing to provide transparent and timely compensation policies to workers at the former Moon Rabbit in Southwest, D.C. The now closed restaurant was owned and operated by IHG at the InterContinental Hotel.
According to a news release, the settlement follows accusations that the company’s practices left staff vulnerable to exploitation and confusion over their wages. Under the terms of the settlement with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG), IHG will pay $126,650 in compensation to 42 former employees of the Moon Rabbit restaurant, located at The Wharf. Additionally, the company will pay $60,000 in penalties to the District and commit to revising its practices to ensure compliance with wage and hour laws at any restaurant it manages in the future.
“Workers are legally entitled to know how much they’re going to be paid and when—full stop,” Schwalb said in the release. “IHG
kept employees in the dark, sowing fear and confusion among staff and leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. I’ll always have workers’ backs and use every legal tool available to ensure that businesses in the District compete on a level playing field.”
Linda Martin, President of UNITE HERE Local 25, which represents hotel and restaurant workers in the region, praised the case’s outcome. “This is a win for restaurant workers across DC,” Martin remarked. “We are grateful to have an OAG that fights so hard to enforce the District’s powerful worker protections. We know many other restaurant workers are still struggling, and if you suspect your employer is violating the law, we urge you to reach out.”
The settlement stems from concerns raised by IHG employees regarding a lack of transparency in tip-sharing practices at the former Moon Rabbit restaurant. Workers reported that service fees were not clearly allocated and that tips often took weeks to be distributed in paychecks. The OAG’s investigation found that IHG had violated the District’s Minimum Wage Revision Act by failing to properly inform workers of its tip-sharing policies, leading to confusion and
uncertainty about their pay.
IHG, a Maryland-based hospitality company, operated the Moon Rabbit restaurant at the InterContinental Hotel from October 2020 through May 2023. In early 2023, Chef Kevin Tien, who had been leading the restaurant, announced his departure from IHG. Shortly thereafter, IHG closed Moon Rabbit and later opened a new restaurant in the same space.
Chef Tien has since opened a new, independent Moon Rabbit restaurant in Penn Quarter, which is not affiliated with IHG. The OAG said the settlement pertains only to the former Moon Rabbit location at The Wharf and does not involve the new establishment, which opened in 2024.
As part of the settlement, IHG is required to comply with all District wage and hour laws at its District restaurants moving forward and will be required to provide regular reports documenting its compliance with tipped-wage requirements.
Eligible workers who were not properly informed of tip-sharing policies will be contacted in the coming weeks regarding their compensation.
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By Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Health Reporter
Featuring live music, food, and fun activities for District youth, Whitman-Walker’s East of the River Fall Festival 2024 at Sycamore & Oak Retail Village in Southeast, D.C. on Aug. 17, offered a fun-filled day to engage with the community and prepare for the upcoming school year.
With live entertainment by Culture Queen, go-go performances by Sirius Company, spoken word poetry performances and more, Whitman-Walker hosted the event to provide families with backpacks, school supplies, and a reminder the organization is always there to offer health care and a helping hand.
“We are completely delighted with the turnout. We gave out over 500 backpacks and school supplies towards Wards 7 and 8 youth. That is Whitman-Walker's core mission, really connecting with the communities that we serve in a variety of different ways beyond just HIV [and] LGBTQ services,” Whitman-Walker’s External Affairs and Community Coordinator Dwight Venson told The Informer. “We are connecting with Ward 8 families through our Max Robinson Center and our East of the River Fall Festival, and so many other ways.”
Venson said partnering with Sycamore & Oak and corporate sponsors like PricewaterhouseCooper International Limited (PwC) and Deloitte helped bring the event to fruition.
“I think we like to think of ourselves as a vehicle to sort of navigate communities to resources that we can find. Whitman-Walker, by no means has the resources to do all of this alone, and so it wouldn't be possible without our corporate sponsors, such as PwC, who donated all the backpacks and
supplies, and Deloitte who sent out a troop of volunteers,” said Venson. “The Sycamore & Oak folks have come out and supported so much by just donating the space and supplying a few activations like face paint, cotton candy, popcorn, etc. It really is a community effort, and we're happy that we can show up in that way.”
Parents, such as Randy Foster, were extremely grateful to receive school supplies to equip their children with the tools they need to thrive as the Aug. 28 back-to-school date for District of Columbia Public Schools quickly approaches.
Foster attended the community event with both of his sons Alex, 6, and “It’s a nice event for the community. They are taking care of everybody. [My two sons have received] backpacks, folders, pencil pouches, things they really need,” Foster told The Informer.
“Especially with inflation and the prices going up on everything, this is helping me out a lot.”
The annual community event was originally created in 2017 by a beloved staff member, Adisa Bakare, known as “a helpful and passionate leader of many,”who passed away earlier this year. Moving forward, the event will carry on under Bakare’s namesake, in honor of his life and legacy.
“I'm standing in the shoes of giants and just continuing [Bakare’s] legacy. I'm so honored to be able to continue to expand this event,” Venson said. “It started off as a barbeque in the parking lot of our old facility. Now, it [has] evolved into so much more, and that's really a testament to the strength of how this community has evolved, but also how Whitman-Walker has evolved with the community.”
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“I think what motivates people is not great hate, but great love for other people.”
Yamiche Alincdor, NBC News Washington Correspondent, and Trymaine Lee, NBC News Correspondent, read a copy of the Washington Informer at the 2024 National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Convention in Chicago. (Jada Ingleton/The Washington Informer)
By James Wright WI Staff Writer
When one says the words “company man,” Joseph Knight, the new IHOP franchise owner of the District’s Congress Heights location in Ward 8 in Southeast, fits the definition.
Knight has worked for IHOP since the age of 14. Now in his mid-30s, Knight has stayed with the company as he attended high school and Fairleigh Dickinson University and rising through the ranks to become a manager of multi-unit restaurants in his native New Jersey under the instructive eye of serial entrepreneur and restaurateur Adenah Bayoh.
When he found out months ago through the IHOP corporate office that the Congress Heights location needed new management, he jumped at the chance to move to the District.
“I have been saving my money for a chance like this,” Knight said. “I wanted to own an IHOP.”
Knight took charge of a restaurant that opened in 2008 at its location at The Shops at Park Village. Owned by Jackson Investment Companies, the Congress Heights IHOP closed in 2022 due to the negative economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. When it was opened in 2008, it was the first national sit-down restaurant to set up a location in Ward 8.
Nicole Durham-Mallory, IHOP’s vice president of franchise development, said the corporation supports Knight’s efforts.
“It was important for us to find a franchise to reopen the IHOP location in The Shops at Park Village because we know how important this location is to the local community,” she said in a statement that was published in the June 25 edition of The Washington Business Journal. “The restaurant has been a landmark for local businesses and members of the community to meet over a delicious meal and provides a destination for togetherness.”
IHOP was founded under its original corporate name, International House of Pancakes, in the Los Angeles area in 1958 with its first restaurant opening in July 1958 in Toluca Lake, California.
5Joseph Knight is the new owner of the Congress Heights IHOP. (Courtesy Photo/ Kemry Hughes)
IHOP has 1,841 locations throughout the world with the overwhelming majority operating as franchises like Knight’s. The IHOP menu focuses on its all-day breakfast offerings such as pancakes, waffles and omelets but also offers its diners lunch and dinner items such as sandwiches, burgers, salads, steaks and fish.
Many of the locations are open 24 hours, seven days a week. However, Knight’s location operates from 7 a.m.-10 p.m., with plans to go 24 hours in the works.
Knight said he wants Ward 8, and the District as a whole, to fall in love with his restaurant.
“I want people to have a safe space for them to eat and enjoy themselves,” he said. “I want people to feel loved when they come inside our doors.”
Knight stressed that the food at its restaurant is made to order, not precooked. Noting that he is a health fanatic, Knight said he strives to serve the best food to his customers.
In terms of community involvement, Knight said he would like to initiate activities such as procuring prom dresses and prom suits for young people as well as have a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway.
His 50 employees are from the neighborhood and that was
done intentionally.
“It is important to hire people who look like me from the community,” he said. “That’s how you sustain the community.”
On Aug. 17, Anari Walters walked out of the Congress Heights IHOP with a takeout order in a white plastic bag. When asked about her experience at the restaurant, she smiled and responded.
“It was cool,” Walters, 18, said. “It’s convenient to get to. I live in the neighborhood. It looks better inside.”
Walters said she has patronized the restaurant under the former management and likes the changes that have taken place under Knight’s leadership. She would commit to being a regular customer but said she is moving out of the neighborhood.
“If I have the time, I will be back,” she said.
Inside the restaurant, the wait staff escorts customers to their tables or booths, depending on their preference. Several people were in the restaurant waiting on their orders or eating while listening to Destiny Child’s hit song “Say My Name” being played softly over the sound system.
Sitting at a table in the southwest corner of the restaurant by the window facing Alabama Avenue SE was longtime community activist Kemry Hughes eating a meal with a friend.
During the meal, Knight stopped by to greet Hughes and his friend and engaged in conversation. After the meal, Hughes said he was happy about Knight’s venture.
“I am excited,” said Hughes, 62. “Our eatery has come back. There is a new owner with a new vision. Joseph is new to the city, and I am glad he is investing in Ward 8.”
Hughes said the Congress Heights IHOP had become a meeting place for community organizations over the years and anticipates that to be the case under Knight’s leadership.
“I want to introduce Joseph around the community,” he said. “He wants to be a good corporate citizen.”
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Read more on washingtoninformer.com.
Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter
FEDERAL JUDGE VOIDS SEVERAL LOCATIONS AS GUN-FREE ZONES, MAINTAINS PARTS OF 2023 GUN SAFETY LAW
Federal Judge George Russell III ruled against parts of the Gun Safety Act of 2023, a state law barring gun owners from carrying their weapons in bars, within 1,000 feet of a public demonstration, or on private property without the owner’s permission.
His ruling maintains a ban on carrying guns in amusement parks, casinos, museums, government buildings, and some other locations. Maryland Shall Issue, a gun rights advocacy organization, is considering an appeal and several other similar organizations believe parts of the Gun Safety Act violate the Constitution.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has concerns regarding the ruling, as one of his administration’s focuses has been to prevent gun violence. In just the second year of his administration, Baltimore City experienced a historic drop in homicides and Prince George’s County is now seeing a reduction in total crime.
“The Gun Safety Act of 2023 demonstrates a common sense approach to gun safety and preventing harm. The Court did not disagree. Judge Russell’s ruling upheld the law’s approach to restricting the carrying of firearms in museums, healthcare facilities, state parks and forests, mass transit facilities, school grounds,
government buildings, stadiums, racetracks, amusement parks, and casinos,” said Moore spokesman and staffer Carter Elliott in a brief email.
“The Moore-Miller Administration respectfully disagrees with the Court’s opinion that similar restrictions in the law for private buildings, public demonstrations and locations selling alcohol for onsite consumption should cease to exist, and is considering all options as the case continues through the judicial system that will prevent harm to Marylanders in these locations.”
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The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Maryland’s 2013 ban on assault weapons will remain law. Local and national Second Amendment advocacy groups are likely to appeal the court decision. Weapons including the AR15, AK-47, and Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle were specifically listed as “excessively dangerous” and some of the numerous mass shootings of the past several years were cited in upholding the law.
“Assault weapons at issue fall outside the ambit of protection offered by the Second Amendment because, in essence, they are military-style weapons designed for sustained combat operations that are ill-suited and disproportionate to the need for self-defense,” read the majority opinion as written by Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III. “Moreover, the Maryland
law fits comfortably within our nation’s tradition of firearms regulation. It is but another example of a state regulating excessively dangerous weapons once their incompatibility with a lawful and safe society becomes apparent, while nonetheless preserving avenues for armed self-defense.”
One of the five dissenting judges, Judge Julius Richardson, cited the necessity of the Second Amendment as “a protection against tyrannical government.”
“The Second Amendment was adopted to ensure that the people are equipped to protect themselves against both public and private violence,” read the dissenting opinion. “It is a weighty responsibility, undoubtedly, and one that other nations deem unworthy of entrusting to their citizens. Yet our system does so all the same.”
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law barring
Former House Democratic leader and high-ranking Democrat Steny Hoyer (D- District 5) suffered a mild stroke on Aug. 11 and is currently recovering. He is expected to return to his normal schedule before September.
“Mr. Hoyer has responded well to treatment and has no lingering symptoms,” said Deputy Chief of Staff Margaret Mulkerrin in a statement. “Mr. Hoyer’s wife and family extend their deepest thanks to his medical team.”
Following his work on the staff of the late Sen. Daniel Brewster (D-Md.), alongside former Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the mid-1960s, he was elected to the Maryland State Senate and became the youngest senate president in Maryland’s history.
He ran for lieutenant governor alongside acting Governor Blair Lee III in 1978, but lost in a surprise to the gubernatorial ticket of Harry Hughes and Sam Bogley.
Hoyer has represented his congressional district since a 1981 special election against then-Bowie Mayor Audrey Scott (R) and has since risen in Democratic leadership as he accrued legislative ten-
or
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) has concerns regarding the ruling, as one of his administration’s focuses has been to prevent gun violence.
ure. He is now the longest serving House member in Maryland’s history.
He stepped down as House Majority Leader in 2023 to make room for a new generation of leaders, and was an early endorsement for both Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Angela Alsobrooks, helping them win in highly-contested statewide races.
During the Biden Administration, he has been a major champion of domestic manufacturing and increased pay for federal workers.
Maryland Republican and Democratic U.S. Senate nominees Larry Hogan and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, sent Hoyer well wishes.
“Yumi (Hogan’s wife) and I are keeping Steny and the Hoyer family in our thoughts and prayers, and are glad to hear he is doing well,” Hogan, Maryland’s former governor, who Hoyer beat in a 1992 election, wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “We wish him well as he recovers.” Hoyer has been a longtime mentor and coach for Alsobrooks, who expressed gratitude that he was recovering well after the Aug. 11 medical episode.
“I am so glad to hear that my dear friend, Congressman Steny Hoyer is recovering well after experiencing a mild stroke this weekend,” the county executive wrote on X. “We are all wishing you a speedy recovery and know you will be back delivering for Marylanders, as you always have, very soon!
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By Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter
BELTSVILLE
SOLID STATE BATTERY
MANUFACTURER ION STORAGE SYSTEMS
WELCOMES STATE AND LOCAL LEADERS
Beltsville’s ION Storage Systems welcomed Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), University of Maryland President Darryll Pines, Advance Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) Director Dr. Evelyn Wang, and other state and local officials on Aug. 13, celebrating the battery plant’s successes and growth. Their company has received millions of dollars of grants, including $20 million from the Department of Energy.
"ION Storage Systems is a Maryland original. Their success underscores our state's growing leadership in science, technology, and advanced manufacturing," said Gov. Moore. "Today, we take another step toward driving public investment in the innovation economy, creating jobs, and spurring growth for years to come. In partnership, we will make Maryland the best place in the world to change the world."
ION builds an adaptable solid-state battery that removes the need for cobalt, nickel, and other less sustainable materials and can be used for a variety of applications. The company’s website cites their batteries as safer, faster charging, sustainable, and versatile.
"ARPA-E's SCALEUP Program is designed to scale transformative technologies that create more secure, affordable, and sustainable energy," said Wang. "ION Storage Systems is well-positioned to accomplish this goal, and we are excited to see what they achieve."
Data center expert Michael Fox foresees considerable growth for high-technology industries including battery plants and data centers in Prince George’s, particularly because the northern Virginia tech hubs are
running out of space and power capacity and the use of AI is very energy intensive.
“The ballpark estimate is AI alone will drive a doubling and tripling of power need and demand by 100% year over year,” said Fox in an interview. “Most AI solutions are using between 5-10 times the amount of power than a traditional IT solution.
For a traditional IT environment. one needs approximately 5-10 kilowatts of power per rack of equipment. An AI rack requires between 25-50 kilowatts per rack and the newest Nvidia AI pods use 8-10 Racks at over 100 kilowatts per rack!”
For students looking to work in these industries in the future, he recommends learning large language models, how to write code, and cybersecurity.
Rep. Ivey noted ION’s progress as a perfect opportunity to bring more jobs to Prince George’s County.
"Today, I'm proud to celebrate this important funding from the Biden-Harris administration's historic Investing In America Agenda which is powering the commercialization of transformative energy technologies that companies like ION Storage Systems are pioneering.” said Ivey. “I'm proud to partner with Governor Moore and the great State of Maryland to ensure that ION and other companies like it are creating jobs right here in Prince George's County."
Civic activists filed a petition of legal review to CB-15, a zoning bill passed on July 16 just before the Prince George’s County Council recessed for the summer, alleging the bill contains provisions that are preferable for developers and the building industry. This petition is part of a plan to overturn CB-15, which is scheduled to become law on Sep. 3.
“Throughout the months-long, often rancorous debate over CB15-2024, civic, environmental, and good-government organizations
raised serious concerns about those developer-backed amendments and objected to violations of procedural laws by the Council,” read a press release sent out by activists Greg and Dan Smith.
“We believe that the developer-backed provisions in the bill will cause broad, long-term damage to communities and the environment by undermining: the county’s ability to achieve important goals set forth in the county’s General Plan, Climate Action Plan, and local master plans; residents’ rights and abilities to challenge damaging developments; the county’s ability to address climate change; and the county’s ability to address major shortfalls in essential public services and infrastructure.”
Fort Washington residents are planning to protest a proposed logistics warehouse on Aug. 24, Aug. 26, and Aug. 28 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. each day. Fort Washington Forward (FWF) is organizing efforts and distributing information via email.
“We are planning a peaceful pro-
test march against the logistics warehouse development located at 9405 Livingston Road, 20744. The protest march will begin on Taylor Acres Road on public property next to the Harley Davidson shop on Livingston Road,” read Fort Washington Forward’s email to potential protestors.
The Fort Washington based organization also noted the proposed development brings 18-wheeler trucks to Livingston Road. WI Read more on washingtoninformer.com
By James Wright / WI Staff Writer
The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) Women Investing in Real Estate (W.I.R.E.)
Pillar hosted a mini conference for advancing women in real estate during the organization’s annual convention on July 31.
The event provided a platform for women to gain valuable knowledge on investing, financial planning, and navigating the real estate market. It also offered interactive workshops and networking opportunities with like-minded professionals.
“There is a team who has worked tirelessly to curate a life changing experience for you today,” said NAREB President Dr. Courtney Johnson Rose. “Just know that you are already blessed for being in the room and being a part of this experience. We have designed it for African American women. We will start with the data to understand the power we possess as African American women.”
Renowned actress Lynn Whitfield moderated the event. Lydia Pope, a founder of W.I.R.E. and NAREB’s immediate past president, was honored during the event.
Pope said, “real estate invest-
ment thrives on connections and collaborations.”
“W.I.R.E. creates a dynamic community where women investors can connect,” she said. “Our networking builds long-lasting relationships.”
The authors of the NAREB’s W.I.R.E. Report, Dr. Vicki McBride and Dr. Sheri Smith, detailed the Black women’s identity and economic influence. Their data found 45% of Black women are single, while 27% are married.
Nevertheless, they calculate that Black women control more than 50% of African American households as “the breadwinning mothers.”
The W.I.R.E. report also documented the economic gains paving the way for the success enjoyed by Black women, who are 6.3% of the nation’s population, 52% of the African American population, and 12.5% of all women.
Plus, 63.4% of all Black women over the age of 16 are active in the labor force; 89.3% of Black women have graduated from high school or its equivalent; and 48% of Black women are single and have never been married.
The report said Black women are also making tremendous strides as entrepreneurs. Businesses owned by Black women grew 50% be-
tween 2014 and 2019, with Black Women accounting for 42% of all women who opened new companies during that period.
In 2021, 17% of Black women were starting a new business - 7% more than White women and 2% more than White men.
There were panels that discussed topics such as entrepreneurship, financial literacy, leadership, and thriving in the C-Suite. WI
Major General Troy E. Dunn has been selected as a member of the board of directors for Melwood, a leading employer, advocate and service provider for people with disabilities.
The board plays a key role in
3The Washington Association of Black Journalists will be honoring veteran journalist Allison Seymour, an anchor with WUSA9. (WI File Photo/Robert R. Roberts) or (Photo/WUSA 9)
the governance and stewardship of the organization, guiding strategic priorities, investment, and innovation to fuel Melwood’s vision of a world that fully includes people with disabilities. Dunn, a C-level executive and retired major general in the Air Force with more than 30 years of leadership experience has successfully led initiatives in emerging technologies, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence and talent management.
“Technologies like artificial intelligence are the way of the future, and I’m proud to be part of an organization that sees that, embraces it, but goes further to train the workforce of the future,” said Dunn. “With a shared commitment to advancing innovation, inclusion and social good, I’m proud to help advance Melwood’s mission of creating an equitable society where all people, including those with disabilities, can thrive.”
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The Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ) announced that Allison Seymour, morning co-anchor for WUSA9, is the 2024 recipient of the WABJ Lifetime Achievement Award.
This honors journalists with over 15 years of experience who have significantly contributed to the enrichment and advancement of Black life and culture in the District. Seymour will be recog-
nized at the WABJ Special Honors & Scholarship Gala on Dec. 7 at the Blackburn University Center at Howard University.
Since 1999, Seymour has been on the anchor desk at Fox 5 DC and now WUSA 9, and covered critical stories, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the D.C. sniper shootings, the disappearance of Relisha Rudd, and the coronavirus pandemic.
Seymour is an Emmy-award winning anchor who holds a bachelor’s degree from Hampton University, where she is honored in the Mass Media Hall of Fame, and she received her master’s in mass communication from the University of South Carolina.
“Allison Seymour exemplifies reporting excellence,” the WABJ Awards Review Committee said. “She has been a steadfast presence in the D.C. media landscape for 25 years, serving at two of the city’s leading television stations.” WI
REP. BARBARA LEE
The Black Professionals in International Affairs (BPIA) will celebrate 35 years of operation with National BPIA Week starting on Sept. 7 and will culminate by honoring U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, as well as model and Goodwill ambassador Sabriana Elba.
The events serve as a celebration that will highlight and honor the contributions Black professionals have made in international diplomacy.
Lee has represented California’s 12th District (formerly 13th) since 1998. She is the highest-ranking Black woman appointed to Democratic leadership, serving as cochair of the Policy and Steering Committee.
Cherfilus-McCormick has represented Florida’s 20th congressional district since 2022 and holds the distinction of being the first Black woman to serve in this role. Elba is known for her advocacy of social causes and involvement in global initiatives.
The Black Professionals in International Affairs (BPIA) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded in 1989 on a mission to increase the involvement of African Americans and those of African descent in international affairs. WI
By Richard Elliott WI Contributing Reporter
HotWorx, an infrared fitness studio and gym, held their grand opening in the Shoppes at Highbridge on Aug. 3, just outside of Bowie.
Co-owners Eric and Tammie Watson originally met in California, where the latter played college basketball. Eric Watson served 20 years in the Marine Corps, and Tammie Watson became a realtor and wellness coach. They have lived in Bowie for a decade.
The couple previously opened a restaurant in California, but saw better opportunities in their new backyard.
“We felt like if we're going to start a business like this, a brick and mortar type business where we're going to be directly interacting with the community on a day to day basis, we would prefer to start something like that in our own community,” said Eric Watson in an interview with the Bowie Sun.
HotWorx will be open from Monday through Saturday, opening at 11 a.m. every day except for Friday’s, when they open at 9 a.m. Some of the exercises offered include hot yoga, hot pilates, and isometric workouts. With the sauna effect in their exercise space, each workout is more intensive despite the short timeframe.
“It's just education,” Tammie Watson said. “I think many times our community aren't aware of ways that they can improve their health and overall wellness with simple, holistic ways, and this is one of the holistic ways that they are able to improve their health.”
To join HotWorx, click here. You can apply to work at HotWorx Bowie by clicking here.
WI
A block of eight townhomes is under construction near Hyattsville’s DeMatha High School, built in the style of townhomes in nearby Arts Districts.
There are frames for the townhomes already at the site. The expected date of completion is not currently known.
Alan Rahimi is listed as the lot owner.
While the site was previously zoned for commercial development, it has been converted to housing. It previously was a vacant lot following the razing of a previous bungalow home.
The developers will pay a fee as there will be no green space at the site. WI
The Washington Convention and Sports Authority t/a Events DC Bid Opportunity
ELECTROMECHANICAL RIGGING SERVICES
Request for Proposal (rfp) Bid # 24 - S - 212 - 063
The Washington Convention and Sports Authority t/a Events DC is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide Electromechanical Rigging Services.
This RFP has a thirty-five percent (35%) set-aside for a Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) required under the provisions of “The Small and Certified Business Enterprise Development and Assistance Amendment Act of 2014”, effective June 10, 2014.
Interested parties can view a copy of the RFP by accessing Event DC’s e-procurement website at https://eventsdc.bonfirehub.com.
Key Dates
RFP Release Date: Thursday, August 15, 2024
Preproposal Conference Date: 10:30 AM EST, Thursday, August 29, 2024
RFP Questions Due Date: 12:00 PM EST, Thursday, September 12, 2024
Proposal Due Date: 5:00 PM EST, Monday, September 23, 2024
Primary Contact
Name: Megan Manego
Email: megan.manego@eventsdc.com Phone: (202) 249-3038
FILM AND VIDEO POST-PRODUCTION SERVICES
Request for Proposal (rfp)
Bid # 24 - S - 112 - 054
The Washington Convention and Sports Authority t/a Events DC is soliciting proposals from qualified firms to provide Film and Video Post-Production Services.
This Request for Proposal (RFP) is designated for District of Columbia Department of Small, Local, and Business Development (DSLBD) certified business enterprises only.
Interested parties can view a copy of the RFP by accessing Event DC’s e-procure ment website at https://eventsdc.bonfirehub.com.
Key Dates
RFP Release Date: Thursday, August 22, 2024
Preproposal Conference Date: 12:00 PM EST, Thursday, August 29, 2024
RFP Questions Due Date 12:00 PM EST, Thursday, September 5, 2024
Proposal Due Date: 5:00 PM EST, Thursday, September 12, 2024
Primary Contact
Name: Megan Manego
Email: megan.manego@eventsdc.com Phone: (202) 249-3038
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
In a move hailed as a significant win for seniors, the Biden administration announced it has successfully negotiated substantial price reductions for 10 of Medicare’s most expensive and widely used prescription drugs. The result of intense negotiations with pharmaceutical giants, the move is expected to deliver billions in savings for both U.S. taxpayers and millions of older Americans who rely on these medications to manage chronic and life-threatening conditions.
The White House revealed that the newly negotiated prices could save U.S. taxpayers a staggering $6 billion.
In comparison, Medicare benefi-
ciaries are projected to save an estimated $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs during the first year of implementation. The price cuts are a direct outcome of the Inflation Reduction Act, a legislative victory that has empowered the federal government to negotiate drug prices directly with manufacturers for the first time in history.
The impact of these negotiations will be felt across a range of critical medications, including drugs that treat heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other severe conditions. Among the most notable price reductions:
• Eliquis, a blood thinner from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer, will drop its price from $521 to $231—a nearly 60% reduction.
• Imbruvica, a blood cancer treatment from AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson, will be reduced from $14,934 to $9,319, with a monthly savings of more than $5,600.
• Januvia, a diabetes medication from Merck, will now cost $113, down from $527—a 75% reduction.
The price changes, which will take effect in 2026, represent a seismic shift in Medicare’s interaction with the pharmaceutical industry, marking a new era of accountability and affordability.
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
Inflation in the United States showed promising signs of easing in July, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) falling below 3% for the first time in over three years. The unexpected slowdown in price hikes could lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates as early as next month, potentially easing borrowing costs and providing a boost to economic growth.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices rose 2.9% over the past year, down from June’s 3% annual in-
crease. On a monthly basis, prices ticked up by 0.2%, reversing a slight decline of 0.1% in the previous month. The primary driver of this increase was housing costs, with the shelter index climbing by 0.4%, accounting for nearly 90% of the overall monthly increase.
According to FactSet consensus estimates, economists had anticipated a 0.2% monthly rise and a 3% annual increase. Meanwhile, core CPI, which strips out the volatile categories of food and energy, also rose by 0.2% from June, with its annual rate slowing to 3.2% from 3.3%—the lowest rate since April 2021. Various financial
experts said these figures suggest that the inflationary surge seen earlier this year is beginning to wane.
This latest report builds on June’s positive data, which saw the overall CPI decline for the first time since April 2020. The steady cooling of inflation has given the Federal Reserve and financial markets increasing confidence that the worst inflationary pressures may be behind us. However, the Federal Reserve has been cautious, holding off on reducing interest rates until
“This is a historic moment,” declared Neera Tanden, White House domestic policy adviser, during a press call. “For the first time, we are harnessing the power of Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, and millions of seniors and others on Medicare will soon see their drug costs go down on some of the most common and expensive drugs.”
Medicare, which currently insures over 65 million Americans, has long been barred from negotiating drug prices. Officials said this restriction left millions of seniors grappling with skyrocketing prescription costs, but the Biden administration’s successful negotiation represented a dramatic reversal of the status quo and a significant step toward making healthcare more affordable.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which officials said made the negotiations possible, also includes other critical provisions to reduce healthcare costs, such as capping insulin prices at $35 per month and placing an annual cap on out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries.
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who played a vital role in the negotiations, described the process as “intense,” noting that it required “hard-nosed bar-
gaining” to secure these deals.
Vice President Kamala Harris called the agreement “life-changing” for millions of Americans and said it reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to continuing the fight against Big Pharma’s “price-gouging practices.”
“For years, millions of Americans were forced to choose between paying for medications or putting food on the table, while Big Pharma blocked Medicare from being able to negotiate prices on behalf of seniors and people with disabilities. But we fought back—and won,” President Joe Biden said.
Officials said the administration has already set its sights on expanding these negotiations. In 2025, the administration plans to negotiate prices for up to 15 additional drugs under Medicare Part D, with more to follow in subsequent years.
White House officials said the move signals a new era in which the federal government can take on powerful pharmaceutical interests and deliver actual savings to millions of people who need it most.
“Every American should be able to access the health care they need, no matter their income or wealth,” Harris said. “Today’s announcement will be life-changing for so many of our loved ones across the nation, and we are not stopping here.”
WI @StacyBrownMedia
INFLATION from Page 16
there was more consistent evidence of sustained progress in curbing inflation. However, recent developments in the labor market, including a weaker-than-expected jobs report for July—where only 114,000 jobs were added, and unemployment rose to 4.3%—have shifted the landscape.
Financial experts said those labor market weaknesses have reignited fears of a potential recession, leading to heightened expectations that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting rates as soon as next month. Reducing interest rates would bring much-needed relief to borrowers, particularly those with mortgages, credit cards, and auto loans. Analysts predict the Federal Reserve will likely start with a modest rate cut, possibly around 0.5 percentage points.
Even with potential rate cuts on the horizon, experts predicted that high-yield savings accounts, which currently offer some of the best rates at up to 5.35%, are expected
to remain attractive. Certificates of deposit (CDs), which have been popular amid the high-interest-rate environment, may still offer favorable returns. However, financial experts advise caution in locking long-term high-yield CDs ahead of potential rate reductions.
As the Federal Reserve’s decision looms, consumers are advised to focus on paying down credit card debt to position themselves favorably for improved borrowing conditions. Mortgage rates, currently averaging 6.55% for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, have already spurred a 16% surge in refinancing demand, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
A possible rate cut by the Federal Reserve could push mortgage rates even lower, making now a suitable time for homeowners and prospective buyers to consider refinancing.
The automotive sector has also seen fluctuations, with the average interest rate for new vehicle loans in July at 9.72%, down from 10% in June but still higher than a year ago. The average monthly
auto loan payment rose slightly to $727. As dealerships clear out inventory for new models in the coming months, consumers may find opportunities for discounts.
President Joe Biden responded to the July inflation report, highlighting the progress made in controlling inflation.
“Today’s report shows that we continue to make progress fighting inflation and lowering costs for American households. Inflation has fallen below 3%, and core inflation is at its lowest level since April 2021. While there’s still more work to do, we are seeing real progress, with wages rising faster than prices for 17 consecutive months,” Biden stated.
The president also criticized large corporations for maintaining high prices despite record profits and emphasized ongoing efforts to reduce costs for American families.
“We are taking on Big Pharma to lower prescription drug prices, cutting red tape to build more homes, and tackling price gouging to reduce everyday costs from gro-
ceries to air travel,” Biden added. He contrasted these efforts with Republican proposals, which he claimed would raise prices for middle-class families while cutting taxes for the wealthy and large corporations, vowing to continue fighting for economic progress.
Project 2025 is Donald Trump and JD Vance’s plan to remake the federal government if they win. It would:
Use Civil Rights-era laws created to address discrimination to instead benefit white people – Axios, 4/1/24
Gut the Affordable Care Act, which will raise health care costs and threaten health care coverage for millions of Americans – AP News, 11/27/23
Cut Social Security and Medicare Americans have earned – Washington Post, 2/9/23
Ban abortion nationally – New York Times, 2/16/24
“While they try to take us back, we will fight for the future." the president declared.
WI
Tuesday, August 27 4:30PM 1110 Oak Drive SE
November.
During the rally, days before the kickoff of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (Aug. 1922), the president and vice president announced a significant stride in health care, celebrated administration achievements, and emphasized the need to win the general election.
The president pushed the importance of advancing health care for all Americans– no matter the age. He said the first bill he co-sponsored in the U.S. Senate was a 1973 bill to allow Medicare to directly negotiate with drug companies, a dream his administration is now putting into law.
Celebrate Black Business Month with the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) as we empower residents to start and grow small businesses.
RSVP: tinyurl.com/BlackinBiz2024
“It’s good to see so many friends… There’s a lot of love in this room for our president, and for a lot of reasons,” the vice president said, before sharing big news in relation to the Inflation Reduction Act.
“Today we take the next step. No senior should choose between their rent and their medication. Why are prescription drugs so expensive? Big Pharma has often raised the price, charging many times what it costs to make and millions of Americans have suffered,” she said. “Two years ago as vice president, I was proud to cast the tie-breaking vote that gave Medicare the power to negotiate. I was proud when that bill crossed his desk and our president signed that bill into law.”
The Inflation Reduction Act will halve the cost of nine of the 10 prescription drugs under Medicare’s Price Negotiation Program, including Enbrel, Stalara, and Januvia.
Biden also, highlighted the big win for health care, but not before the crowd celebrated him, offering a 90-second standing ovation, with many people shouting, “Thank you, Joe!”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” said Biden. “Kamala and I both get it. It’s not just about health care. It’s about dignity, security, peace of mind, taking care of your family,” the president said. “I think health care should be a right not a privilege in America.”
“I was too damn young when I first got elected at 29, and now I’m too damn old,” he reflected.
More than 50 years later, there’s still a lot of work to do to advance health care, Biden emphasized.
“We pay more for medication than any other industrialized country in the world. If I took you to Toronto, it would be about 46% cheaper. It’s so expensive that Americans skip doses, cut pills in half,” the president explained. “We beat Big Pharma, without a single Republican vote. The guy Kamala is running against, he wants to get rid of this.”
Harris, Biden, and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becarra celebrated this Medicare advancement as a win for consumers that saves over $6 billion for taxpayers.
Administrator for Medicaid and Medicaid Services Chiquita Brooks-LaSure also spoke at the rally and celebrated the stride in health care.
“Today’s announcement is a huge step forward for medical care in America,” said Brooks-LaSure of the historic negotiation with Medicare. “These are some of the most costly and frequently used drugs; they treat diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and more. This will save billions for not only the government, but for all Medicare recipients. We thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for their tireless work on behalf of all Americans.”
WI
Read more on washingtoninformer.com.
By Washington Gas President Blue Jenkins
Promo sentence: Affordable, reliable, and safe energy helps fuel the literal and figurative dreams of our communities.
We’re at the midpoint of our brightest season of warm days and starry nights. William Shakespeare might have said it best: "Summer's lease hath all too short a date," so enjoy those midsummer night dreams!
As President of Washington Gas, I’ve also discovered a contradiction associated with these months: the hotter it gets, the more warmth you need. Let me explain.
Natural gas might not be the first thing you link with summer since it’s often associated with providing heat. For example, consider the Washington Area Fuel Fund (WAFF) program. Do you envision helping warm homes during the cold winter months?
I hope you do because since 1983, WAFF has assisted more than 320,000 people with almost $34 million to warm unheated homes. It’s an honor to offer a program that helps offset the discomfort, danger, distractions, and discouragement that icy homes can bring.
Affordable, reliable energy is one of our most urgent goals. As recently as 2020, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that up to 27% (34 million) of U.S. households face some level of energy insecurity. Twenty percent of U.S. households reduced or forewent necessities to pay for heating and cooling.
I emphasized that last word for a reason.
When thinking about air conditioning, natural gas might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but it’s a major contributor to keeping you cool. It also plays a significant role in making the electricity that runs most of today’s air conditioners. In 2023, about 44% of the electricity that powered homes in the PJM came from natural gas-fired power plants.
Closer to home, natural gas is essential during hot weather because it helps fuel absorption chillers. These are vital to hospitals, pharmacies, universities, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, and other larger businesses, ensuring they remain cool and operational during peak summer months.
Our local distribution network delivers the natural gas for many of those absorption chillers. Thankfully, it boasts a 99% reliability rate, helping to ensure the dependable running of these absorption chillers' natural gas service even when power grids are under stress.
WAFF’s funding distribution reflects this same symbiosis across the energy industry. The program has already provided over $900,000 to local households in 2024. Based on more than 1,800 applicant awards, 71.8%
represented electric homes, 24.1% were Washington Gas customers, and about 4% consisted of oil, other gas companies, propane, and wood.
I’ll explore the beneficial relationships between natural gas and other fuel sources in an upcoming article. Suffice it to say that these bonds strengthen all aspects of providing dependable energy. While this matters to all of us, WAFF is there to help some of our most vulnerable neighbors keep air conditioning flowing and fans whirling, no matter their energy source.
I can’t overemphasize how much stable energy matters throughout the year. Too cold or too warm homes can have various effects, ranging from mild to severe. Even sleep can be impacted, interrupting the dream phase that is critical to rest and cell regeneration.
Here at Washington Gas, we are passionately committed to our +175-year mission to provide steady comfort that fuels the literal and figurative dreams of our communities.
To quote the Bard again, these hopes fuel our lives because “We are such stuff / As dreams are made on.”
Back to my riddle: the hotter it gets, the more warmth you need. You probably already guessed the answer. I’m speaking of the endless warmth of human care and kindness, and our DMV is exceptional in its generosity.
Supporting dreams can take many forms, from a gala to raise awareness and funding for local families to multiple energy assistance programs. Many of you stand ready to support WAFF through text donations (SPREADWARMTH to 53-555), donate to our award-winning Gift of Warmth program, or volunteer to support local causes.
Circumstances can surprise anyone and disrupt hopes and dreams, but steady, reliable energy can help keep life running smoothly. Your support and acts of kindness are at the heart of those goals because “how far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed.”
Safety is always a priority at Washington Gas. Washington Gas began a construction project in Ward 4, which was permitted through the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT). This project was created to coordinate with DC PLUG, a public-private partnership between Pepco and District Government agencies to improve electric service reliability and reduce the impact of storm-related outages in the District by placing vulnerable overhead distribution lines underground. Washington Gas will be replacing cast iron mains and affected service in advance of DC PLUG work.
The project began in November 2022 and was broken into multiple sequences corresponding to DC PLUG’s anticipated construction schedule. Expected date of completion is Spring of 2025.
Affected Streets
6800 - 7000 block of 8th Street, NW
Majority of work completed
• 6800 - 7100 block of 9th Street, NW
Working
• 900 block of Aspen Street, NW
Majority of work completed
• 700 - 900 block of Butternut Street, NW
Complete
• 500-800 block of Dahlia Street, NW
Work remains at Dahlia Street, NW & Piney Branch Road, NW
Affected Streets (continued)
• 7000-7100 block of Piney Branch Road, NW Majority of work has been completed
Work completed
Washington Gas’ contractor will be conducting all construction activities in accordance with the guidelines set forth by DDOT. We will do our best to minimize the amount of disruption and impact to customers residing in the area. Construction work will entail the replacement of main and services between 9:00 am–4:00 pm, Monday–Friday, weather and construction conditions permitting.
Washington Gas values and is committed to a continuous improvement process. We are grateful for your patience want to reassure residents that we will continue to communicate with our contractors. If you have questions regarding any of our construction processes, please call the
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Senegal has achieved a historic milestone in its technological development with the successful launch of its very first satellite, Gaindesat. The launch, conducted on Aug. 16, in partnership with SpaceX in the United States, marks the country’s entry into the field of space exploration and demonstrates its commitment to scientific innovation.
Gaindesat, designed and built by engineers in collaboration with the Montpelier University Space Center (CSUM), is tasked with collecting crucial data for several key sectors in the country. It will notably contribute to climate monitoring, water resource management, weather forecasting, and air safety. This data will be used by various state agencies, such as the Directorate of Water Resource Management and Planning (DGPRE) and the National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology (ANACIM).
Following the launch, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye commented on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account, “Today, Senegal enters a new era with the successful launch of our first satellite, GAINDESAT-1A, at exactly 6:56 PM from the Vandenberg base in California. After five years of hard work by our engineers and technicians, this achievement marks a significant step toward our technological sovereignty. I wish to express my pride and gratitude to all those who made this project possible.”
The success of Gaindesat-1A opens new prospects for Senegal both nationally and internationally. It enhances the country’s capabilities in science and technology while boosting innovation and research. This technological advancement is also expected to encourage other space initiatives in Africa, contributing to the continent’s development in this strategic field. By becoming the second sub-Saharan Francophone country to possess a satellite, after Djibouti, Senegal sends a clear message: Africa is ready to participate in space exploration and use advanced technologies to address its most pressing challenges.
As Senegal celebrates this remarkable achievement, the country sets a precedent for technological progress and space exploration in Africa. The successful deployment of Gaindesat not only signifies a leap forward for Senegal but also reinforces the growing role of African nations in the global space community. With this milestone, Senegal paves the way for future advancements, fostering a spirit of innovation and collaboration that promises to elevate Africa’s presence on the world stage. WI
Bahamas Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin highlighted the positive trends in the latest results from The Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) and the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examinations, on Friday, Aug. 16. The minister noted that improvements have been seen across the islands, The Tribune, one of The Bahamas’ leading daily newspapers, reported on Saturday, Aug. 17.
Speaking in the House of Assembly, Minister Hanna-Martin said the 2024 BJC examination saw 10,745 candidates from 63 government schools and 74 independent and private centers record a slight decrease of 1.72% from the 10,933 candidates in 2023.
Of these, 1,388 candidates achieved grades of C or higher in at least five subjects, a minor decline from 1,417 in 2023. Additionally, 1,948 candidates received grades of D or above in five or more subjects, a slight increase from 1,945 last year.
A total of 1,298 candidates earned at least a C in Mathematics, English, and Science subjects, down from 1,402 in 2023. This decrease may be attributed to recent adjustments in the National High School Diploma requirements.
The 2024 BGCSE examination, marking its 32nd sitting since 1993, involved 5,935 candidates from 41 government schools and 66 independent/private centers. This represents a 10.05% increase from the 5,393 candidates in 2023. The total number of grades awarded rose to 20,598, a 9.99% increase from 18,727 grades in 2023.
The performance of male and female candidates reflects overall trends in the BGCSE exams. Both groups have improved their percentages of A to C grades, decreased in D to G grades, and shown increases in U grades. Females continue to outperform males, although males have made greater strides in improving B grades and reducing D and F grades.
"The numbers demonstrate that we have gotten our children back into school, that we are mitigating the effects of the pandemic loss, and that we are positioning our young people for success. We are pleased to see the improvements among our girls and boys," Hanna-Martin said.
WI
By Angela Swinson Hulett
When Jameka Miller of Miller Real Property Services and Property Management, was looking to establish private relationships, she wanted to set herself apart as a woman owned business in a space that was dominated by men. It was a challenge. She wanted something that targeted and identified her so that people could meet her.
That was when she started in the Chase Coaching for Impact Program and was encouraged to get her national supplier diversity certification, which is part of a movement that goes back more than a century.
Today it is known as the
Minority Business Enterprise certification, which was designed by the federal government, said Darla Harris, a senior business consultant with Chase.
Miller had already obtained her Minority Business Enterprise certification with the District of Columbia, but Chase helped her go beyond the local certification.
“There were just certain documents, that as a smaller company, you may not even know that you need,” Miller said.
Harris said to qualify for a supplier diversity certificate, a business must be 51 percent minority owned, women owned, veteran owned, disabled veteran, disability owned, or LGBTQ owned. Government agencies certify businesses, but many entrepreneurs don’t
know that there are also certifying bodies that support private sector corporations, which facilitate opportunities for corporate contracts.
One of the main benefits of the certification is that it helps the business grow, Harris said, adding that businesses can also qualify for government contracts with the certification. “I usually like to refer to it as, it's not a guarantee, but it's like a license to fish. It just opens up more opportunities for you and your business, either in the public sector or the private sector,” Harris said. Harris added that it also takes time to build a valuable business relationship.
In 2023, JPMorganChase spent more than $3 billion directly and indirectly with diverse suppliers.
For more than three decades, the bank has sought to provide equitable access to opportunities. Chase has committed to spending an additional $750 million with Black, Hispanic and Latino owned suppliers as part of the firms five-year $30 billion racial equity commitment announced in 2020.
certification process,” Harris said.
Businesses seeking certification should make sure their resume is updated and their financial picture is in good standing, Harris said. They should also consider working with a Certified Public Accountant to get financial documents and have an updated business plan. “We recommend all our business owners have a business plan as a blueprint so that you can go back and look at your strengths, your weaknesses, your opportunities, and the threat to your business, and then move through the
Miller runs a full-service property development, construction and consulting company. The business specializes in single and multifamily residential and commercial development and provides tenant services for low to moderate income residents.
Harris agreed. “Your certificate is one of the first steps of growing the business, because it gives you access to people and networks. Becoming certified can also help you access contract opportunities as well as education,” she said.
Chase has assisted in lowering common financial barriers faced by small and underrepresented businesses seeking corporate contracts with a Diverse Supplier Grant Initiative, which provides growth capital to help businesses meet the minimum requirements for doing business with large corporations.
“Once I became certified, I began to apply with a lot of the larger contractors because they're going to subcontract a considerable amount of work out,” Miller said, adding that opportunities began to present themselves in the government space and other construction companies. “Once you get in the system, these are opportunities that you don't necessarily have to go find. They really do come to you.”
By Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Health Reporter
When DMV native and photographer Brigette Squire developed gestational diabetes during her pregnancy with her first child more than 12 years ago, she feared the possibility of her condition growing into full-blown diabetes later in life. Now, at 35, after recent warnings about her weight, Squire’s primary care physician recommended an injection often used to treat patients with diabetes: Ozempic. Despite her apprehension, Squire has started taking Ozempic to avoid a diabetes diagnosis, assist in weight loss and promote a healthier lifestyle overall.
“My goal really wasn't, like other people's goals, to lose an extreme amount of weight. I still like my curves and I didn’t [aim] to be super skinny,” said Squire. “I just wanted to be healthy, and I was mostly concerned about getting full-on diabetes, so that's really why I decided to take it.”
Although the popular brand of Semaglutide injections known as Ozempic has become widely popular due to side effects of weight loss, the medicine was initially approved to
treat patients with type 2 diabetes.
While physicians like Squire’s recommend the medicine to help patients struggling with their weight, some patients face negative comments, coined as “Ozempic shaming” for taking the medication to reach weight loss goals instead of relying on exercise or diet.
“Once you start looking into this, there's a lot of nonsense reporting around Ozempic, let me be frank with you. It’s kind of an extension of fat shaming, right? Fat shaming is the last kind of thing that is okay to do, that's actually wrong,” argued Tommy Zondo, 53, who has been taking the Ozempic injections for a year-and-ahalf.
According to the World Health Obesity Federation, weight stigma is defined as: “The discriminatory acts and ideologies targeted towards individuals because of their weight and size.” Similarly, “weight bias refers to the negative ideologies associated with obesity.”
While some contend that people should be capable of maintaining a healthy weight on their own accord, without medications, organizations like the American Medical Association recognize obesity as a disease involving metabolic, genetic, and behavioral as-
5Some patients taking the medication Ozempic for weight loss face negative backlash as the prescription was initially FDA-approved for patients with type 2 diabetes. (Courtesy Photo)
pects that require medical support. Further, a significant part of the controversy behind the medication is the growing concern that people seeking Ozempic for weight loss purposes are leaving a scarce supply for type 2 diabetics who are in dire need of the prescription.
However, Zondo, a local accountant, called bluff on that accusation, seeing an underlying bias toward those facing overweight and obesity as a cause of the backlash.
“You can fat shame people in meetings and various social spaces, and it's alright, and everyone just has a good old laugh. And now that there's Ozempic, the same people that are usually fat shaming, they don’t like [us having access to it], so it's just getting all twisted,” Zondo told The Informer.
Beyond testimonies, medical research and studies show supporting evidence behind Zondo’s claims. A study conducted by Deboarh Carr, and Michael A Friedman MA, “Is obesity stigmatizing? Body weight, perceived discrimination, and psychological well-being in the United
States,” highlighted that those persons with a BMI of 35 or higher are more likely to undergo employment and institutional discrimination.
The pervasiveness of stigma and discrimination obesity have grown so consequential that organizations and health advocates like the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the National Consumers League (NCL) introduced the Obesity Bill of Rights earlier this year in an effort to protect the autonomy and dignity of those battling the disease.
“Obesity is not a lifestyle problem or a failure of willpower. It is a chronic disease as serious and potentially deadly as diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers,” the NCL said in a statement.
“Yet, people with obesity are treated differently than those with any other disease. Many are fat-shamed and discriminated against for having obesity, and very few receive a formal diagnosis or counseling from their physicians.”
While Ozempics begets several health benefits, it also comes at quite the cost for those interested.
Ozempic ranges anywhere with tales from ranging $1,000 a month uninsured, to $200 and $300 dollars monthly, to copays as little as $10.
However, many patients recount the pushback from insurers on requested prescriptions, as many health insurance plans don’t cover Ozempic for weight loss, since the medication is currently only FDA-approved for type 2 diabetes treatment.
Medicare, for example, does not provide coverage for medications prescribed for weight loss. Simultaneously, in many states, Medicaid programs cover Ozempic for type 2 diabetes treatment, but with stringent requirements for medication approval, including quantity limits and step therapy, with programs varying by state.
Squire has been grateful to be approved for coverage, as she explained the extensive process to show ample pieces of proof--including her gradual weight gain, sugar levels, and underlying health concerns – before her insurance decided to greenlight the prescription.
Likewise, Zondo was almost on the brink of denial for his treatment, as he felt as though he had to be sick with full-on diabetes for his insurance company to approve the prescription.
With coverage, his insurance helps cut monthly Ozempic costs down to roughly $25 a month. Without insurance, he would be charged closer to nearly $1,000, which he said he was ultimately willing and financially able to pay. However, he said he empathizes with diabetic patients who cannot front the expenses for a medication that could greatly improve their health.
“I was lucky to get it, and even if I wasn't lucky, I was able to afford it,” Zondo said. “But insurance companies are really full of it right now. They're keeping a lot of people who need this drug from getting it because it's expensive, [and] because they're going to lose a lot of money [the more prescriptions they approve for coverage.”
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
A ground-breaking study found glaring disparities in the language that healthcare professionals use when recording patient interactions, which could have an impact on the caliber of care that minority groups receive.
Titled “Examining Linguistic Differences in Electronic Health Records for Diverse Patients with Diabetes: Natural Language Processing Analysis,” the study analyzed electronic health records (EHRs) of Black, white, and Hispanic or Latino patients treated by 281 physicians in a major metropolitan area. The findings highlight how racial and ethnic biases may permeate even the most intimate and routine aspects of healthcare.
The research, led by Eden King, the Lynette S. Autrey professor of Psychological Sciences at Rice University, sought to ascertain whether doctors use biased language when describing patients in post-visit reports.
“Language and communication are central to social interactions across cultures, including the critical exchanges that occur between clinicians and patients,” King stated. “Our study sought to uncover whether the words physicians use in health records reflect biases, and the results are concerning.”
The study employed a sophisticated natural language processing tool, the Sentiment Analysis and Social Cognition Engine (SEANCE), to examine various linguistic markers in the EHR text. The analysis revealed that physicians' notes for Black and Hispanic or Latino patients contained significantly more negative adjectives—such as “unkind,” “negative,” and “stupid”—and words associated with fear and disgust, including “intimidate,” “attack,” and “cringe.” In contrast, notes for white, non-Hispanic patients featured more positive language, including adjectives like “supportive” and “kind,” as well as verbs indicating trust, such as “affirm” and “advise.”
“These findings align with a growing body of research demonstrating that racial and ethnic minorities often receive inferior care, marked by less empathy, reduced rapport, and diminished patient trust,” King explained in a news release.
The study's results are consistent with previous reports, such as the 2018 National Healthcare Disparities Report, which found that Black and Hispanic patients frequently experience worse care on numerous quality measures compared to their white counterparts. This includes receiving less respect and attention from physicians, further contributing to health disparities.
Researchers assert that the implications of these linguistic biases are far-reaching. Language in EHRs not merely reflects a physician's observations but also influences future medical decisions, as these records are reviewed and referenced in subsequent patient encounters. Bias in these records can perpetuate negative stereotypes and lead to ongoing disparities in care. The study's authors emphasize that understanding and addressing these biases is crucial for improving health outcomes for minority populations.
King and her team hope their research will be a wake-up call to the medical community.
“If we can develop and refine algorithms to detect such biases, we can raise awareness among clinicians during patient interactions,” King said in the release. “This heightened awareness could be a critical step toward more equitable healthcare.”
The study also points to the need for systemic changes in how medical professionals are trained and how EHRs are utilized. While EHRs are essential for documenting patient care, officials noted that the language used in these records can reflect unconscious biases that may influence patient outcomes. They said the research underscores the importance of ongoing education and training for healthcare providers to recognize and mitigate these biases.
The study's findings open the
door for further research into the relationship between biased language in medical records and patient outcomes. The research team, which includes experts from institutions such as the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the University of Houston, and Duke University, plans to explore whether biased language correlates with poorer health outcomes for minority patients and whether interventions can reduce these disparities.
The study, supported in part by a grant from the Rice Race and Anti-Racism Research Fund, was published in JMIR Medical Informatics and is available at medinform.jmir.org. WI
@StacyBrownMedia
By Tonya Calhoun Word in Black
This article was originally published online with Word In Black, a collaboration of the nation's leading Black news publishers (of which the Informer is a member).
Every year, as August 28 approaches, I find myself counting down the days — not just to celebrate another year of life but to reflect on the day Hurricane Katrina forever changed mine.
Growing up, my birthday was a time of joy, filled with streamers, balloons, and the aroma of my favorite local dishes. My mother always went
out of her way to make it special, decorating our kitchen with bright colors and preparing my favorite meals. But on August 28, 2005, that joy was replaced by fear, anxiety, and a deep sense of loss.
Now living in Atlanta, Georgia, I’d planned to travel home for my birthday that year, but a looming storm forecast made me cancel my trip. Instead, I stayed in Atlanta, enjoying shrimp etouffee, French bread, and alligator bites with friends. We were having a great time, completely unaware of the devastation that was about to unfold.
But as I left the restaurant, my heart sank as images of my beloved
city of New Orleans flashed across every TV screen. It was the day before Hurricane Katrina made landfall, and I watched in horror as the levees broke, the city flooded, and thousands of lives were turned upside down.
The devastation was severe — over $100 billion in damages, communities shattered, and more than 1,800 lives lost. I am grateful that my family survived, but the psychological scars
remain. The trauma of that day left me with deep PTSD, and while I still look forward to celebrating my birthday, it now serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the persistent threat of climate change.
of these neighborhoods more vulnerable to flooding. A Redfin study from 2021 illustrated that areas previously affected by redlining are now also prone to extreme flooding and sea-level rise, a problem compounded by poor infrastructure that fails to mitigate these risks.
Specifically, hurricanes can result in extensive infrastructure and property damage and cause uncontrolled toxic flooding from major pollution sources. These communities are likely to suffer more severe damage and have less capacity to recover from the impacts.
Even today, nearly two decades after Katrina, many in New Orleans are still grappling with the destruction of the levees and fighting for stronger flood protection. A single flood event can push a low-income family below the poverty line, making it nearly impossible to rebuild and recover.
As we mark the 19th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I find myself asking: Are we better prepared as a nation to avoid such disasters? The answer is complicated. We’ve made progress, but the work is far from over.
In the years since Katrina, we’ve seen some promising developments.
The Biden-Harris Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law two years ago, represents the largest-ever public investment in climate action and clean energy in U.S. history.
This landmark legislation has funneled over $350 billion into climate initiatives, clean energy, and infrastructure, providing a critical lifeline to communities across the country. These investments have spurred sustainable infrastructure projects, incentivized clean energy developments, and created jobs essential for our transition to a cleaner, greener future.
But as extreme weather events continue to intensify, driven by climate change, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The hot, moist air thick with clouds, combined with the unusually warm waters of the Gulf, is a potent combination that can supercharge storms. And while climate change threatens everyone, its effects are not felt equally.
Black communities, like those in New Orleans, are disproportionately at risk. Historical redlining and systemic discrimination have left many
This is why the next four years are so critical. The success of the IRA has shown us that we can make meaningful progress on climate change, but we cannot afford to slow down. We must continue to advocate for policies that are equitable, just, and grounded in the needs of the communities most impacted by climate change. The decisions we make now will determine whether we can prevent future superstorms like Katrina or if we will be doomed to repeat the past.
The challenges we face are immense, but they are not insurmountable. We have the tools, knowledge, and resources to build a more resilient and sustainable future. What we need now is the will and collective determination to see it through. This November’s election is not just about choosing leaders; it’s about choosing the future we want for our children and grandchildren.
As we approach this critical moment, we must remember that the power to move the needle on climate progress begins with collective action. Our communities, families, and future generations are worth the fight. Together, we can work toward a future where everyone has what they need to protect their homes, their loved ones, and their culture for years to come.
In the end, the question is not just about whether we are better prepared for the next storm. It’s about whether we have the courage to build a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable future for all. The time to act is now.
By James Wright WI Staff Writer
D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb announced that Kenmore Pest Control & Termite Service LLC (Kenmore) will pay $137,000 in penalties and environmental clean-up costs after allegations that the company repeatedly and illegally applied pesticides, endangering District residents and damaging the city’s natural resources.
“Washingtonians have a right to be safe from toxic contamination in their homes and neighborhoods,” said Schwalb.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) investigation revealed that Kenmore, based in Forestville, Maryland, violated District law by improperly applying highly toxic pesticides around apartment complexes: Columbia Heights Village in Ward 1 and Mayfair Mansion Apartments in Ward 7.
A dangerous pesticide was applied to areas accessible to children and pets at Columbia Heights Village.
“This haphazard application of a dangerous pesticide led to a dog being poisoned. The dog’s owner, a District resident, incurred significant expenses because he had to take his dog to the veterinarian where his dog had his stomach pumped and other treatment,” according to the complaint against Kenmore.
At Mayfair Mansion Apartments, Kenmore applied a chemical harmful to humans and highly toxic to birds, fish, and wildlife. The District government was forced to intervene to protect the environment and human health,
incurring over $12,000 in expenses cleaning up the contaminated soil.
Further, Kenmore allowed unqualified employees to apply pesticides for years. According to the company’s records, from 2019-2022, employees without legally required licenses or registrations applied restricted use pesticides. Additionally, Kenmore misled consumers, saying it complied with District law and claiming its employees were fully vetted.
Kenmore will enter a three-year probationary period through which the OAG can ensure quick consequences for future violation of environment laws. Additionally, the company’s workers are also barred from applying pesticides until they are properly trained.
Specifics of the settlement agreement include the $137,000 in penalties and clean-up costs. The District will receive $125,000 in civil penalties and $12,006 to cover the city’s costs to clean up environmental contamination at the Mayfair Mansion Apartments.
Kenmore’s current employers are barred from applying pesticides until they receive eight hours of continuing education training in pest management from a training course approved by the District, Maryland and Virginia. The company also must comply with District law moving forward.
“This settlement continues to make clear if you violate our environmental protection laws, damage our natural resources and threaten the health and safety of our residents, the Office of Attorney General will hold you accountable,” said Schwalb. WI @JamesWrightJr10
in penalties and environmental clean-up costs after allegations that it repeatedly and illegally applied pesticides, endangering District residents and damaging the city’s
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) SOLICITATION NO.: 54-2024
JOB ORDER CONTRACT (JOC) PROGRAM
Geneeral Construction Contracts
The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) requires licensed, qualified professionals to provide Job Order Contract General Construction services in response to this solicitation.
SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available beginning Monday, August 19, 2024, can be found on Bonfire at: https://dchousing.bonfirehub.com/portal
Proposers will then need to log in and locate this RFP for all related documents. It is the Proposers responsibility to check the Bonfire site regularly to stay current on the documents that are available as this is the primary communication site for this RFP.
To access files Vendors are required to Register on the Bonfire platform. See registration link below. https://vendor.bonfirehub.com/
DCHA will provide either a live or pre-recorded demonstration for any vendors unfamiliar to the platform, this will be provided at the mandatory Pre-Bid Conference.
will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 23, 2024, at 300 7th St. SW, Washington, DC 20024, 1st Floor Board Room, MPR145A. Parking is limited to street meter parking or an adjacent parking lot.
PROPOSAL RESPONSES ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE Thursday, September 19, 2024, at 12:00 NOON.
Email Gene Summerville, Sr. VP Procurement and Contracting (OAS) at genesummerville@dchousing.org with copy to business@dchousing.org for additional information.
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) SOLICITATION NO.: 51-2024
General Consulting Services
The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) requires licensed, qualified professionals to provide General Consulting Services.
RFP DOCUMENTS will be available beginning Monday, August 12, 2024, on DCHA’s website at www.dchousing.org under “Business” and “Solicitations”.
PROPOSAL RESPONSES ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at 11:00 AM.
Email Ahmad Zubair MAJEED, Sr. Procurement Consultant at amajeed@dchousing.org with copy to business@dchousing.org for additional information.
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY
INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) SOLICITATION NO.: 47-2024
On-Call General Repair And Maintenance For Dcha Properties
The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) requires licensed, qualified professionals to provide an On-Call General Repair and Maintenance for DCHA Properties in response to this solicitation.
SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available beginning Monday, August 12, 2024, on DCHA’s website at www.dchousing.org under “Business” and “Solicitations”.
PROPOSAL RESPONSES ARE DUE ON OR BEFORE Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at 12:00 NOON
Email Gene Summerville, Sr. VP of Procurement and Contracting, at gsummerville@dchousing.org with copy to business@dchousing.org for additional information.
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
NOTE: This story was updated at 6:20pm on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024 to reflect the Eagle Academy PCS board’s recent decision.
The D.C. Public Charter School Board (DCPCSB) recently denied Friendship Public Charter School’s request to absorb and fully operate Eagle Academy Public Charter School, a public charter school (PCS) that’s struggling to keep its two campuses open after years of declining enrollment and financial mismanagement.
Those on the board, like Shantelle Wright, who voted against the asset acquisition agreement, and the change in Friendship’s charter that would facilitate such an agreement, said they did so to ensure that Eagle Academy wouldn’t escape accountability.
“I don’t agree that a school should be able to abuse its autonomy with financial mismanagement and turn around and be able to unilaterally decide what the response to that behavior should be,” Wright told her fellow public charter school board members on the night of Aug. 19.
Wright, along with DCPCSB chair Lea Crusey, secretary Shukurat Adamoh-Faniyan, and board member Carisa Stanley Beatty voted against the asset acquisition agreement while DCPCSB vice chair Jim Sandman, and board members Nick Rodriguez and Dwight Davis voted in favor of it.
The 4-3 vote followed more than 90 minutes of discussion about various aspects of the asset acquisition plan, including whether the D.C. Department of General Services (DGS) would approve the lease transfer of Eagle Academy’s flagship campus on Wheeler
Road in Southeast. Other points of contention focused on whether Eagle Academy exhausted every option to remain fiscally viable on its own.
Despite her three colleagues’ impassioned calls for continuity and a smooth transition, Wright zeroed in on what she said she long believed to be an abused tool in the public charter sector.
“Our systems shouldn’t allow a failing LEA (local education agency) to decide the response to its behavior, regardless of the time of year,” Wright said. “The current policy practice [of asset acquisition] plays out to circumvent true accountability.”
On Tuesday, DCPCSB confirmed that Eagle Academy PCS relinquished its charter. This leaves more than 350 students without a school less than a week before the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
For some Eagle Academy PCS community members, like one who reached out to The Informer anonymously, and even alerted us to the charter relinquishment, the writing was on the wall for several months as Eagle Academy PCS continued to reel from financial mismanagement.
“There has been zero transparency,” the community member wrote.
“The firing of staff has continued from Christmas break up until the very last week of summer school and beyond, leaving many people in hard times. I don’t know what the solution should be but there needs to be a deeper investigation into where the money was actually going.”
In 2003, Cassandra S. Pinckney, in collaboration with Dr. Joe Smith,
launched Eagle Academy Public Charter School, the District’s first exclusively early childhood public charter school, at the McGogney building, eventually becoming the institution's flagship location.
After Pinckney died in 2016, Smith would continue to serve at the helm of the school until his resignation earlier this summer, as Eagle Academy’s precarious financial situation, and lack of transparency around it, became increasingly apparent to the District’s public charter school board.
On July 10, Eagle Academy entered a financial corrective action plan with the board, with stipulations that included the strengthening of internal accounting controls, the submission of the budgeted weekly cash flow statements, monthly budget monitoring for variance throughout Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026, and commencing the search for a sublessee in the McGogney building.
Though Eagle Academy PCS’
ment from Friendship, while leaders continued to engage DGS in dialogue about the lease transfer of the McGogney building. These moves, Patricia Brantley, CEO of Friendship, said on Aug. 14, hinted at the public charter network’s ability to absorb two more campuses without incident.
“Every school is different in terms of demographic, but the demographics of the two Eagle Academy sites is similar to Friendship,” Brantley said. “Eagle does have a high number of students with special needs. It’s not typical for schools that are preschool to third grade. However, we’re operating schools with younger, high-need, special needs populations.”
With asset acquisition no longer on the table, DCPCSB, under the leadership of executive director Dr. Michelle Walker-Davis, will explore the possibility of charter revocation for Eagle Academy.
Some of the public charter school board members who voted in opposition to asset acquisition cited what they called the lack of transparency around Eagle Academy’s deal with Friendship; they suggested that the option be open to more public charter LEAs.
on June 12 in favor of an asset acquisition with Friendship PCS.
During a special DCPCSB meeting on Aug. 14, Jennifer Leonard, Eagle Academy’s newly installed CFO, told public charter school board members the more-than-$1 million in liabilities incurred by the public charter school increases the likelihood that the institution wouldn’t be able to operate throughout the entire school year.
“We’re starting this year with a deficit,” Leonard said. “We don’t want to get into the school year and find out we can’t make the changes on leases or we didn’t get the students we need to make the budget.”
Over the last three weeks, Friendship Public Charter School administrators have made their presence known at Eagle Academy’s two campuses, engaging community members and raising their awareness about the probable merger.
Teachers at Eagle Academy also received provisional offers of employ-
Meanwhile, some people, like Eboni-Rose Thompson, president and Ward 7 representative on the D.C. State Board of Education (DCSBOE), say that DCPCSB should pursue Eagle Academy’s charter revocation. She pointed out, among other things, its financial malfeasance and the possibility that the McGogney building could serve as swing space for students attending District public schools undergoing modernization.
“While the closure of a school is always unfortunate and disruptive, making this decision now allows families to begin the school year afresh. More importantly, it creates an opportunity for long-term stability in Ward 8 and across the education landscape east of the river,” Thompson said in her email to public charter school board members.
“The McGogney building, for instance, presents a unique opportunity to establish a turnkey swing space within Ward 8. This would enable students to remain in the community while their schools undergo much-needed modernizations, and it would prevent scenarios where schools like Nalle are forced to sacrifice play and community space to serve as temporary swing spaces.”
WI
Read more on washingtoninformer.com. @SamPKCollins
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer
New research from Stanford University has brought a ray of hope for Washington, D.C.’s students, especially Black children and those from low-income families. The research revealed that the city's substantial investment in a tutoring initiative has borne fruit in its first year, significantly boosting academic performance and narrowing the persistent gaps in reading and math that have disproportionately affected these groups.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating effects on education motivated the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE) launch of the high-impact tutoring program. Targeting students in Wards 5, 7, and 8—areas historically underserved by private tutoring services— the program aims to bridge the achievement gaps that have persisted for years.
The numbers are telling. During the 2022-2023 school year, over 5,100 students from 141 traditional public and charter schools participated in the program, with the focus squarely on those who have struggled the most. By the end of the year, students who received more than 20 tutoring sessions were performing at levels much closer to their peers who were not part of the program. Officials said the progress marks a critical step toward leveling the educational playing field.
“Those students who were receiving high-impact tutoring are shrinking the gap with their peers,” Nancy Waymack, director of research partnerships and policy at Stanford’s National Student Support Accelerator, told reporters about the D.C. program. “It’s exciting, the number of students that they served and it’s exciting that they are hitting the population that I think needs to receive high impact tutoring the most.”
Furthermore, the program’s impact extends beyond academic performance to school attendance. The data reveals that students were more likely to attend school on days when they had a tutoring session, particularly among middle schoolers and those with a history of poor attendance. This appears to underscore the program’s role in improving academic outcomes and fostering a
stronger school connection. However, the report also points to disparities that need addressing. English learners were more likely to receive math tutoring and less likely to get help with reading, potentially because they had already received other services to improve English proficiency. Additionally, students with disabilities attended fewer tutoring sessions, likely due to their involvement in other specialized interventions.
Despite the promising results, the future of D.C.’s high-impact tutoring program remains in jeopardy. The federal funding that has been the backbone of the program is set to expire, posing a significant threat.
In response, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration reportedly has pledged $4.8 million in local funds to keep some programs running for the current school year. Additionally, D.C. has secured an extension from the U.S. Department of Education to use a limited amount of remaining coronavirus relief funds for tutoring. However, the need for sustained funding remains a pressing concern.
“The OSSE High Impact Tutoring Initiative’s first year of implementation represents a significant stride towards educational equity and acceleration of learning for students, particularly among D.C.’s at-risk students,” the researchers wrote. “We found that the initiative was successful in serving students of color and at-risk students for tutoring services and many of those students received a meaningful amount of tutoring.”
The initiative’s focus on high-impact tutoring has demonstrated clear benefits, they concluded. The researchers found that participating students were more likely to attend school on days they had tutoring, an effect that was particularly strong for students who were more likely to be absent in the prior school year.
The attendance findings for District students are “the first pieces of evidence that demonstrate a positive effect of HIT on attendance,” the researchers wrote.
Moreover, the initiative’s targeted approach has proven effective in reaching students who are academically furthest behind including historically marginalized groups, with significant participation from Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino students.
They concluded that challenges largely related to logistics underscore the need for continuous improvement to maximize the initiative's effectiveness.
“Given the multifaceted needs of these populations and the promising initial results, we anticipate the efforts to continually improve the Initiative’s effectiveness will continue throughout the life of the initiative,” the researchers determined.
Researchers said OSSE’s proactive measures through the High Impact Tutoring Initiative serve as a robust model of how targeted educational investments and collaboration between state education agencies and tutoring providers can facilitate improvements in student outcomes.
“Continued monitoring and adaptation informed by the initiative’s comprehensive data collection will be crucial to sustaining and expanding its impact, ultimately contributing to a more equitable educational landscape in Washington, D.C.,” they wrote. WI
5 Research from Stanford University revealed that the city's substantial investment in a tutoring initiative has borne fruit in its first year, significantly boosting academic performance and narrowing the persistent gaps in reading and math that have disproportionately affected Black students and low-income families. (WI File Photo)
COMMUNITY COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY, PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL
The Community College Preparatory Academy has a need for Toni Thomas Associates to provide Information Technology training services. This includes the provision of both onsite and virtual support, immediate CompTIA A+, IT Fundamentals, Network Plus, and Security Plus training to reach the assessment thresholds set by our governing authorities. These services are crucial to support the School’s operations as this Contractor offers unique, critical support which is especially necessary as we adopt a new performance metrics framework. Toni Thomas Associates achieved our highest technology training performance to date, supporting a 90% passage rate for our students. The estimated cost of these services is $150,000.
Former President Donald J. Trump does not respect intelligent, strong Black women.
Such distaste for strong Black women was evident during a recent appearance at the annual meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago, Illinois.
As soon as he walked on stage, Trump was condescending and insulting. When ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott posed the first question, asking why Black people should support his second candidacy for the White House based on past comments of Black leaders, support of January 6, 2021, questioning of former President Barack Obama’s birthplace, rioters, and diversity hiring, he immediately went on the attack.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,” Trump said. “You don’t even say, ‘Hello, how are you?’ Are you with ABC? Because I think they are a fake news network.”
Never mind that Scott, an intelligent, strong Black Woman, greeted him with a handshake, and said, “President Trump, so
happy to see you,” and followed up with, “Mr. President, we so appreciate you giving us an hour of your time,” before posing her first question.
At a 2018 press conference, Trump did not like a question from reporter April Ryan, an intelligent, strong, Black woman, in the White House Briefing Room, resulting in him telling her to “sit down,” later calling her “nasty” and a “loser.” What was Ryan’s alleged crime? Questioning Trump about voter suppression.
During his appearance at NABJ and subsequently, particularly since she became the presumptive and now official Democratic nominee for President, Trump has lobbed offensive insults at Vice President Kamala Harris. At NABJ, he opined Harris “happened to turn Black” a few ago, continuing “all of a sudden, she made a turn” in her identity.
Since his appearance in Chicago, he has publicly called Vice President Harris a expletives on a golf course, as well as “stupid” and a “loser.” In addition, close aides have reported that he often pri-
vately refers to Harris as a “bi**h.” Harris, the first female and the first Black and South Asian vice president of the United States, is an intelligent, strong, Black woman.
What Trump is incapable of comprehending is that he is not the first white man to question the value and intelligence of Black women. Before he did so with Harris, Scott, and Ryan, there were white men challenging strong Black women such as Sojourner Truth, Dorothy Height, Fannie Lou Hammer, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Shabazz, Coretta Scott King, and countless others.
Harris, Scott, and Ryan stand on the shoulders of Truth, Height, Hammer, Chisholm, King, and other intelligent, strong Black women.
Intelligent, strong Black women will always be a threat to Donald J. Trump.
And much to the former president’s chagrin, the intelligent, strong Black woman that is Vice President Harris will certainly not ease any of those insecurities. WI
Marion Wright Edelman, the Black activist for civil and children’s rights who also had a major influence on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has long been credited for saying, “Democracy is not a spectator sport.”
She repeated the phrase often to suggest how important voting remains for all Americans and how voting is not only a right but a responsibility. However, the irony remains that depending on where you live, democracy can be “a spectator sport” – at least when it comes to exercising and enjoying some of the rights guaranteed under the Constitution to all citizens.
If you haven’t guessed by now, we’re referring to the laws that exist in nearly 48 states which either ban or restrict voting for those with felony convictions.
Roughly 4.6 million Americans, 1 in every 50 adults, cannot legally
vote because of felony convictions. For African Americans, the numbers are even worse – 1 in 10 Black adults cannot legally vote.
The differences in laws from one state to another have often led to both fear and confusion for returning citizens – that is, former felons whose sentence has been served and have been released from incarceration. So while you don’t have to have a college degree, a basic understanding of U.S. civics is recommended for those who want to exercise their right to vote – especially if you’re a former felon.
Unfortunately, that’s where the unabashed absurdity begins. Where you live matters.
According to the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, as of July 1, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (as well as Maine, Puerto Rico and Vermont), a criminal conviction never restricts your voting rights.
In Maryland, you only lose your
right to vote if you are currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. Immediately upon release, you can register to vote, as long as your conviction was not for buying or selling votes. Further, pretrial detention, misdemeanors, probation and parole do not restrict your voting rights.
In 2021, then Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, took executive action to automatically restore the right to vote to all Virginians who are not currently incarcerated. But then, in 2022, when Gov. Glenn Youngkin took office, he quietly terminated that practice. Nuances to the new law notwithstanding, Virginia now counts as the only state in the Union that permanently disenfranchises all people with felony convictions, unless the government approves individual rights restoration.
Is race an issue? You be the judge. A large percentage of felo-
Thanks for highlighting some of the Black businesses in Ward 8 for Black Business Month. I will definitely be checking them out very soon. Love to see it!
James Finley Washington, D.C.
Shout out to the numerous DMV athletes who won gold and participated in the Summer Olympics in Paris! The talent we produce is amazing! We are so proud!
Claudia Parks Laurel, Md.
ny convictions are for non-violent drug charges. Further, America’s long history of discrimination and racial bias has led to disproportionately higher rates of arrests and incarceration for Black males.
So, depending on where you live, you may never lose the right to vote, or you regain the right to vote upon your release, or you can regain the right to vote with parole and probation times, or your right to vote is denied indefinitely.
Critics of restoring voting rights believe that being a convicted felon has stopped a person from being a responsible citizen. Sounds like they’re opposed to giving folks a second chance.
Does that mean that they have never broken the law, or that they have never been caught? Maybe,
they could afford a high-priced lawyer that resulted in their being found innocent in court.
For our money, it’s all just a slippery slope – or so it seems.
During The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran from 1989 to 1994, Hall, employing a touch of hiphop culture, coined a phrase that remains embedded in the minds of many Americans, African Americns in particular. During his monologue each night, when considering an issue that led to consternation and confusion, sometimes even bordering on the absurd, he would say, “things that make you go hmmm.”
Arsenio, we agree with you. Sometimes, sadly, that’s all you can say. WI
avuncular running mate, projects joy and confidence. The chemistry between Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is visible and bodes well for this campaign.
When did politics become such fun? While Democrats will roll up our sleeves to win the November election, in the meantime our candidates are clearly having a good time with the process. Every time she strides across a stage, she beams. Her smile is an incandescence. Her wave joyful.
And as we get to know him, her
The best thing about VP Harris and her three-week-old campaign is that she has not stooped to the bizarrely weird level of her opponent. Whether he is attacking her race, minimizing the size of her crowds, or being downright ignorant and insulting ("low IQ individual'), she allows her surrogates to respond to his idiocy and floats about the non-
sense.
And while the former president delivers rambling and incoherent attacks, his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, is slightly more coherent, but equally ignorant. He and his wife have dialed back on his bizarre comments about "childless cat ladies," but even their dial-back raises questions.
For example, Vance, who did not support the child tax credit in the Senate, now describes Democrats as "anti-family." His wife, Usha, who is reportedly a brilliant Yale-educat-
ed lawyer, attempted to defend the crass remarks by saying they were just a "quip" and that he would never insult people who are "trying to have children."
In other words, I suppose, those who choose not to have children are the ones he has contempt for.
One in six adults have no biological children for any number of reasons.
Vance apparently does not mind alienating such a significant portion of the population.
Watching the Republicans unravel is amusing. The latest baseless
dust pollution, and permanently change the landscape of West St. John Parish." — Whitney Plantation Museum
"This proposed structure will be as tall as the Statue of Liberty. It is a major threat to the slave-descendant community of Wallace. This grain elevator would take up hundreds of acres of the fields around you that once formed Whitney Plantation, potentially destroying unknown burial sites. It will contribute to the existing toxic burden with grain
The cancellation of plans for a sprawling grain export facility in Louisiana is a victory for community activism, historic preservation and environmental equity.
Following a three-year campaign by the Descendants Project, Greenfield LLC this month announced that it was "ceasing all plans" to build what would have
As consumers struggle to cope with mounting debt, a new economic report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York includes an unprecedented glimmer of hope. Although debt for mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and more increased by billions of dollars in the second quarter of 2024, student loan debt decreased by $10 billion.
According to the New York Fed, borrowers ages 40-49 and ages 18-29 benefitted the most from the reduction in student loan debt.
In a separate and recent independent finding, 57% of Black Americans hold more than $25,000 in student loan debt compared to 47% of Americans overall, according to The Motley Fool’s analysis of student debt by geography, age and race. Black women have an average of $41,466 in undergraduate student loan debt one year after graduation, more than any other group and $10,000 more
been one of the country's largest grain facilities just footsteps from the Whitney Plantation, a historic site dedicated to the memory of those who were enslaved there.
That includes my own ancestors; my great-great-grandparents, Victor Theophile Haydel and Marie Celeste Becnel, were born on the Whitney Plantation. When the last Haydel to own the plantation died in 1860, Victor and Anna were listed as part of the estate's inventory, valued at 800 and 100 "piastres" — the Cajun word
for dollars — respectively.
I was proud to join the fight, chiding the company financing the project as insensitive to the historic, treasured and sacred site of an essential element of African American history, and outlining the adverse health and environmental impacts and the destruction of the surrounding landscape.
Egregiously, the developers altered a report on the project's impact to erase a historian's conclusion that the grain elevator would have "an adverse effect on historic
Trump claim is that the rousing crowd (estimated at 15,000) that turned out for VP Harris' Detroit landing on Aug. 7, was AI-generated. Several news organizations attended the rally and have live footage of it, but the former president, in his dotage, claims that Harris somehow "manipulated" the photographs that were featured on the front pages of many newspapers. Even more bizarrely, the former president, obsessed with crowd size,
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properties" and that the entirety of proposed site should be in the National Register of Historic Places.
"Thus far, no enslaved cemeteries have been found for either Whitney or Evergreen Plantations despite hundreds of enslaved people being kept there for over 155 years," Erin Edwards and a co-author wrote in the report they submitted to her employer, Gulf South Research Corporation. When the company submit-
than men.
This same analysis found that Washington, D.C., residents carried the highest average federal student loan debt balance, with $54,146 outstanding per borrower. Americans holding high levels of student debt lived in many of the nation’s most populous states — including California, Texas and Florida.
The Fed’s recent finding may be connected to actions taken by the Biden administration to rein in unsustainable debt held by people who sought higher education as a way to
secure a better quality of life. This decline is even more noteworthy in light of a series of legal roadblocks to loan forgiveness. In response to these legal challenges, the Education Department on Aug. 1 began emailing all borrowers of an approaching Aug. 30 deadline to contact their loan servicer to decline future financial relief. Borrowers preferring to be considered for future relief proposed by pending departmental regulations should not respond.
If approved as drafted, the new rules would benefit over 30 million
borrowers, including those who have already been approved for debt cancellation over the past three years.
"These latest steps will mark the next milestone in our efforts to help millions of borrowers who’ve been buried under a mountain of student loan interest, or who took on debt to pay for college programs that left them worse off financially, those who have been paying their loans for 20 or more years, and many others," said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel
In two years, we will celebrate our nation's 250th birthday. Our great country has survived a Civil War, two world wars, a Cold War, and a plethora of legislative and judicial fits and starts in our pursuit of a "more perfect Union." We have endured some devastating Supreme Court decisions — Dred Scott, The Slaughterhouse Cases, and Plessy v. Ferguson,
to name just a few. We have survived some oppressive presidencies, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford Hayes and Woodrow Wilson tantamount among them. Johnson attempted to nullify the impact of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Hayes ended Reconstruction. Wilson's policies towards federal civil service employment seem to be the foundation upon which a significant portion of Trump's 2025 Project is built.
But eliminating civil service jobs is not the only devastating and oppressive
Rep. James E. Clyburn
policy proposed by Trump's Project 2025. Project 2025 is a detailed plan to update the efforts of Johnson and Hayes to limit Black participation in our society, deny women freedoms over their own bodies, and deny association and nuptial rights to our LBGTQ+ community. Trump's Project 2025 is a radical agenda that would — among other things — eliminate the Department of Education, zero out federal funding to low-income schools, and end the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. As Maya Angelou admonished, "When people tell who they are, believe
As our nation experiences a political convention where a woman of color makes history, it's another chance to look back at the convention that happened 60 years ago this week in Atlantic City, N.J., during the civil rights movement's landmark Freedom Summer.The extraordinary woman who made history then, as the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party unsuccess-
fully sought to unseat the segregated slate of Mississippi Party regulars, was one of our nation's civil rights sheroes and one of my own great lanterns and role models from the dog days of struggle in Mississippi: Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer. As Children's Defense Fund continues to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer, we honor that moment and its legacy today.
Mrs. Hamer, the 20th child born of poor Mississippi sharecroppers, once asked her mother why they weren't white. She internalized and lived her mother's answer: "You must respect
yourself as a little child, a little Black child. And as you grow older, respect yourself as a Black woman. Then one day, other people will respect you." And we did respect Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer as a Black woman. And we loved her. I loved her. Mrs. Hamer was 44 and working on a Sunflower County, Mississippi, plantation when civil rights workers arrived in the county. She went to hear them when they spoke about voter registration, and when they asked if anyone was willing to try to register to vote, she raised her hand. Her indomitable spirit and self-respect led her
them the first time." The PSLF Program became effective in the first year of Trump's presidency and in his entire four years, only 7,000 public servants benefited from the program. In the three-and-a-half years of the Biden-Harris administration, nearly 1 million teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public servants have received over $69 billion in student debt relief.
Trump's Project 2025 would also eliminate the requirements for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to collect racial data on employment, making it hard to deter-
mine where disparities and gaps persist. Further, the plan would end disparate impact liability, making it harder to bring a case of employment discrimination.
Trump's Project 2025 would remove diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) from all federal laws and regulations and shut down DEI offices across the federal government. Project 2025 would make it harder to organize or be represented by a union. In sum, coupled with recent Supreme Court decisions on
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to cofound the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) and travel to Atlantic City as vice chair of the MFDP's integrated delegation. There, Mrs. Hamer testified before the convention's Credentials Committee on the intimidation, arrest and brutal jailhouse beating she had experienced trying to register to vote in Mississippi. In one exchange, she described the conversation she had with the white man who owned the land where she and her family lived and worked as sharecroppers when he angrily told her he would evict them because she had
tried to register to vote: "My husband came, and said the plantation owner was raising Cain because I had tried to register. And before he quit talking the plantation owner came and said, 'Fannie Lou, do you know—did Pap [her husband] tell you what I said?' And I said, 'Yes, sir.' He said, 'Well, I mean that.' Said, 'If you don't go down and withdraw your registration, you will have to leave.' Said, 'Then if you go down and withdraw … you still might have to go because we're not ready for
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The IRA is Still Our Biggest Step Toward a Brighter Future for Our Children
I often think about a factory hallway in Dalton, Georgia, that is filled with pictures drawn by children. It is a reminder of what can be, what will be, thanks to the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which celebrates its second anniversary this month.
The drawings capture how these children see their parents who work
at this solar manufacturing plant. There are pictures of beautiful sunny days, of the earth with pristine water. Of their parents saving the world. These children see their parents as superheroes. As I remember these pictures, I wonder: how can anyone not be inspired by these children to fight every day for a better, livable future? For more clean energy jobs, in big cities and rural communities across the country, that will power our economy — and our homes — for generations to come?
Around this anniversary, the news has been filled with reflection on what the IRA has achieved and what still needs to be done. It is — as it should be — a major focal point at the Democratic National Convention happening now in Chicago.
You do not have to look hard to find examples of its success. More than 334,000 new clean energy jobs have been created across the country. More than 3 million U.S. households have collectively saved over $8 billion on upgrades that
will save them money and make their homes more energy efficient.
In Illinois alone, for example, nearly 140,000 residents claimed more than $260 million in tax credits on their 2023 tax returns for installing solar or making other energy efficiency improvements on their homes.
One fact should loom larger than most: the IRA is still this nation's biggest single step ever toward securing a healthy and livable planet for all. No other single piece of legislation has done more to address
our climate goals and support the clean energy revolution already underway. Through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, the IRA is projected to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050. That's equivalent to the emissions from about 5 million homes' energy use every year for more than 25 years.
Need a reminder of the urgency
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WASHINGTON INFORMER WEEKEND CHECKLIST
WASHINGTON INFORMER'S
By Jada Ingleton WI Comcast Digital Equity Fellow
The Washington Informer invites the DMV to bask in a weekend filled with culture, community, and even some social experiments.
In the mood to wine and dine?
Let your taste buds do the work in Thursday’s A Guided Tasting Experience, or check out the African + Caribbean Music & Arts Festival on Sunday and dive into a cultural culinary explosion.
Enjoy five nights of laughter with Improvapalooza 2024, and pay homage to R&B royalty at Saturday’s “Tribute to Legends.”
Residents can celebrate Latin culture at the Washington Salsa Festival and Embassy of Nicaragua, or celebrate National Black Business Month with the Black Business Showcase and Black + Forth Farmers Market.
There’s always something happening in the DMV to keep your spirit -- and social life -- lit. To keep up with all the fun, don’t forget to check out the Washington Informer Calendar.
THURSDAY, AUG. 22
Washington Wines, D.C. Dines: A Guided Tasting Experience 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.| $95.00 + fees La Vie, 88 District Square SW Floor 4.6, Washington, D.C., 20024
Join Sommsation Wine Company for an evening of exquisite wines from the state of Washington at the Sommsation Lounge at La Vie in D.C. The Sommsation Lounge is designed to bring guests the best of wine country, through experiential tastings, sommelier-led educa -
tion, and expert pairings.
The team of sommeliers will take guests on a journey through the top wineries from Washington State – limited-production wineries not easily found on local shelves or wine lists. All seasoned wine experts and curious wine beginners will discover the unique flavors and varieties sommeliers, winemakers, and critics can't get enough of.
Improvapalooza 2024
7:30 p.m. | $24.14
Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St NW, Washington, D.C., 20005
Improvapalooza is Washington Improv Theater’s community-beloved marathon of experimental improv shows. In a culmination of five nights of daring improv experiments, the festival hosts over 200 shows featuring outlandish costumes, big ideas, and even bigger laughs, each completely different from the next.
Seating at Improvapalooza is festival-style and is first-come, first-served. To make sure you get a seat, arrive early for the show you want to see.
Check out the schedule here: witdc.org.
FRIDAY, AUG. 23
Black Business Showcase 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. | Free 6500 Springfield Mall, 6500 Springfield Mall Town Center Springfield, VA 22150
Come to Springfield Mall Town Center for a day of shopping, supporting local businesses, and enjoying the summer vibes. Discover unique products, delicious treats, and one-of-a-kind finds from a variety of small businesses. Whether you're looking for gifts, home decor, or just want to treat your-
self, this event has something for everyone. Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect with the community and shop small.
General admission is free. Friday vendor space is $125.00 plus fees.
Evening at the Embassy of Nicaragua
7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.| $68.45 Embassy of Nicaragua, 1627 New Hampshire Avenue Northwest Washington, D.C., 20009
Having been recently redecorated, the Ambassador and all the diplomats of Nicaragua are proud and excited to officially welcome guests to the Embassy. Take in the beauty and excitement of Nicaragua, without ever boarding a plane.
Step onto foreign soil and experience an energetic, culturally magnificent Central American nation at the Embassy of Nicaragua. Through the food, drink, music, diplomats and other cultural aspects of the evening, get a taste of the rich customs of the multiple regions of Nicaragua.
SATURDAY, AUG. 24
“Tribute to Legends” Marvin Gaye & Teddy Pendergrass
8 p.m. | $40.00+
The Hamilton, 600 14th St NW, Washington, D.C., 20005
Get ready to groove with “The Official Teddy Pendergrass Band,” in an ultimate homage to the legendary R&B icon. Endorsed by Teddy Pendergrass’ estate and family, this band is
on a mission to keep his legacy burning bright.
Featuring original band members Robert “Wawa” Legrand, Bill Jolly, Brett Jolly, and Johnny Croom, this powerhouse ensemble delivers a soul-stirring experience like no other. They breathe new life into Teddy's timeless classics, from the seductive “Turn Off the Lights” to the soulful anthem “Love T.K.O.” and the sultry “Close the Door.”
With each note, they transport audiences back to the golden age of R&B, capturing the essence of Teddy's electrifying live performances.
Washington Salsa Festival
8 p.m. | $39.00+ EagleBank Arena, 4500 Patriot Cir, Fairfax, VA 22030
The Washington Salsa Festival promises a thrilling celebration of salsa music and dance at the EagleBank Arena, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia. The 2024 edition boasts an impressive array of talent.
Headlining the event are some of the most celebrated names in salsa music including Grupo Niche, a Colombian salsa group known for their vigorous, up-tempo music and politically inspired lyrics; El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, often dubbed as ‘the most popular salsa group that has ever existed;’ and more.
SUNDAY, AUG. 25
Black + Forth Farmers Market
10 a.m. - 2 p.m. | Free The Spice Suite, 2201 Channing St NE, Washington, D.C., 20018
The Black and Forth Farmers is a
bi-weekly outdoor marketplace located in the heart of the Langdon, Northeast neighborhood at Black and Forth. Easily accessible by foot, car, and public transportation (Rhode Island-Brentwood Metro station), this market exclusively hosts Black-owned farmers and food artisans.
Stop by to join in on outdoor fitness workshops, dance to live DJs, and pick up groceries, flower arrangements, a cup of coffee, and so much more from Black-owned businesses. The Black and Forth Farmers Market features fruits and vegetables, pastured eggs, sweet and savory baked goods, prepared foods from food trucks, lemonade, seedlings, flowers and more, and is stationed at the entrance of The Spice Suite, a spice shop with pantry staples like hot sauces, sugars and spices, jams, honeys, ground coffee and kitchenware.
The Black + Forth Farmers Market will take place rain or shine.
African + Caribbean Music & Arts Festival
Noon - 9 p.m. | Free Veterans Plaza, 1 Veterans Pl, Silver Spring, MD 20910
A product of Carnival Nation – a dynamic community focused on showcasing the DMV’s rich multi-cultural heritage through ‘Music, Arts and Cuisine’ – the 2024 African + Caribbean Music & Arts Festival showcases drum core, steel orchestra, live bands, performances, and more. The highly anticipated event is free for all ages and brings the sounds of reggae, afrobeats, soca, and kompa, with host Vibes Master G-Nice. WI
“This time, it’s TREATMENT WORKS.
By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer
Talking about life the way he saw it was a big part of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s appeal. The hip-hop legend, born Russell Jones, is the subject of an A&E documentary, “Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two Dirtys,” a twohour film airs on August 25 at 9 p.m. Ol’ Dirty Bastard, or ODB, was a founding member of Wu-Tang Clan. Other hip-hop performers and record producers respected him because he could quickly heighten a
track or make a video even more special and entertaining.
The documentary features comments from ODB’s closest friends and family, including Mariah Carey, Wu-Tang Clan members Raekwon and Ghostface Killah, ODB’s wife Icelene Jones, son Bar-Sun Jones, his parents, and recording industry executives. It also includes loads of video footage filmed primarily by ODB’s wife.
Icelene Jones’ videos are grainy and jumpy, which makes OBD’s decline even more troubling.
What gives the film value is ODB’s approach to his music. His rap messages may have felt outlandish to some, but he attracted an audience that embraced his truth-telling style. For instance, his collaboration with Carey on the remix of her hit “Fantasy” became an even bigger hit.
When the money started coming in from albums with Wu-Tang and an advance from his first solo album, he went overboard with the fame.
The documentary looks at ODB’s life as he acquires success—overspending, infidelity, drug abuse, petty theft, eventually landing in prison.
He died two days before his 36th birthday after collapsing on the floor of the recording studio of his cousin RZA, a fellow Wu-Tang founder.
“Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of Two
Dirtys” is packed with a lot of ODB’s life and problems. The deep love from his family and colleagues could save him. It appears people in the recording industry were focused more
on the revenues from his talent. Sam Pollard directed the film. He has also directed “Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes,” “Citizen Ashe,” and “Mr. Soul” WI
STATE from Page 1
D.C. delegation has prime real estate at this year’s convention, held Aug. 19-22 at the United Center.
“[The] D.C. section is on the floor, that is huge,” Anderson emphasized.
“We’re sitting right in front of New York.”
However, the hotspot on the convention floor is not the only way the District is showcasing its power. Much like the party’s national ticket, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, is at the helm of the District’s representation.
“I’m proud of D.C. and the mayor, who leads the delegation,” Barry told The Informer.
And Bowser is not the only Black woman from the DMV shining during the DNC. Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who is running for U.S. Senate, showed her support for Harris and represented for the DMV all at once.
“I am honored to be delivering a keynote address,” said Alsobrooks hours before she hit the stage. “I have
known Kamala Harris for 14 years, and I look forward to sharing exactly why she is going to make an incredible president of the United States. Marylanders deserve a future we can all be proud of– one where our freedoms are protected, and our families can thrive. With Kamala Harris in the White House, and a Democratic majority in the Senate, we will fight together to deliver that future.”
For Barry, Harris’ nomination is a sign of continued progress for Democrats, and forges a path for other women of color who have big political dreams.
“My first convention was the Carter one in New York at Madison Square Garden (in 1980). From that era to now there's been a lot of gains by the party, it is much more diverse and we’ve had a Black president so it's only natural that we have a Black woman president,” Barry said. “I think it will help a lot of locals like Angela Alsobrooks.”
As DNC Committee Chair and
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By Brenda C. Siler WI Contributing Writer
The air was thick with anticipation as people entered D.C.’s National Theatre for “MJ the Musical,” and the production running until Sept. 8, did not disappoint.
Jamaal Fields-Green is Michael Jackson, surrounded by a fantastic cast that takes on multiple roles throughout the musical. The story tells how Michael and his brothers developed their music careers under the stern oversight of their father, Joe Jackson. Mother Katherine Jackson is on the sideline, showing love and compassion to Michael, who gets the brunt of his father’s criticism.
Audiences expecting “MJ” to be a Michael Jackson concert will hopefully not be disappointed. The musical moves between a current-day preparation for a tour in the early 1990s and flashbacks about the start of Jackson’s music career and family dynamic. Many much-loved songs are performed, but many take on new meanings as they illustrate Michael’s genuine emotions as his career evolves.
Fields-Green has the moves and powerfully interprets Michael’s singing style. He also has the emotional muscle to deliver all the ups, downs, joy, and insecurity Michael probably experienced.
Jordan Markus, also a beautiful singer, plays Michael as he moves from teen idol to the young adult phase of the entertainer’s trajectory. Here again, how Markus portrays Michael shows the up-andcoming “King of Pop” moving toward independence. Both actors
are believable as Michael.
Devin Bowles plays the dual roles of Rob, the tour manager and Joseph Jackson, the family patriarch. Rob is a frustrated character who has to manage Michael’s need for perfection through multiple last-minute and costly adjustments to this tour. Bowles gives us a difficult time accepting Joseph Jackson. Bowles morphs smoothly between the Joseph and Rob characters.
Lynn Nottage, who wrote the book for MJ, had a lot of material to work from, including news accounts and collaborating with the Michael Jackson Estate.
Christopher Wheeldon is both the director and choreographer for “MJ.” The dance numbers are spectacular, which is an understatement. Kudos to one of the hardest-working casts I have ever witnessed in a musical.
An insightful dance sequence is where Michael honors his dance influences: Fred Astaire, a film actor and dancer; Broadway genius Bob Fosse, and the Nicholas Brothers, who were smooth, acrobatic tap dancers.
Derek McLane, a two-time Tony and Emmy Award winner, is the scenic designer. Seven-time Tony winner Natasha Katz is the lighting designer. Together, they create astonishing boom and splash moments in “MJ” that make us want more. The effects are colorful, jagged, explosive, and jaw-dropping, as they need to be.
“MJ the Musical” is an exciting time at the theater.
WI @bcscomm
By Brigette Squire WI Contributing Writer
The Retail Village at Sycamore & Oak in Southeast, D.C. turned into a site to celebrate the beauty and boldness behind historically Black fraternities and sororities --- also known as the Divine Nine-- on Aug. 10, at the 2024 Black Greek Festival.
The Saturday all-day event was part of the three-day, third-annual Black Greek Fest ( Aug. 9-11), which included parties, networking opportunities and even an emphasis on health and education.
"Black Greek Fest was created to bridge Black Greek life and the unity that supports our system— the Divine Nine—and to connect it with the communities we serve,” said Kwame Safo Agyemang, one of the festival’s organizers. “What unifies us is our commitment to the community, and we want to continue building that here on the south side of the city at Sycamore & Oak.”
The weekend kicked off on Friday, Aug. 9, with the D9 Takeover at Park on 14th, attracting fraternity and sorority members from across the country. This event set a tone of solidarity, proving that even in an era marked by separation, the Divine Nine remains a beacon of togetherness.
The festival continued on Saturday with the Black Alumni Hike and the Day of Service College Fair, both underscoring the value of health, education, and service within the Black community.
Saturday afternoon’s main event at Sycamore & Oak was a powerful testament to the festival’s mission to unite.
"The festival is more than just a gathering—it’s all about unity," said Warren Morris. "In a time where division is so prevalent, coming together like this reminds us of our collective power. Our fraternity (Kappa Alpha Psi) has always been about lifting up the community, and the Black Greek Festival is the perfect space to do that. It’s one of the few events where we can all come together in the District, despite our letters, and work towards a common
goal—uplifting our people."
More than 50 vendors, Blackowned businesses, and hundreds of attendees gathered at Sycamore & Oak in a celebration that transcended individual organizations and emphasized the power of unity in the African American community.
“I’m really big on community, and I’m really big on physical, mental, and spiritual health. Building that connection with people through something like this is most important. It’s all about the connection and the people. It’s very authentic and raw. People grew up here, they raised their families here. They are keeping it in the neighborhood to build people up and bring people up. We are one, I feel,” said Gaspara Cole, an esthetician vendor who participated in the main event.
Deondra Randle told The Informer the message behind Black Greek Fest aligns with the mission behind his Black-owned beverage “Brotha Whiskey.”
“I have a whiskey, and it is a movement—not just a spirit. It is a movement of inclusivity, of culture, of heritage, of community,
one of camaraderie. Our flagship is called ‘Fellowship.’ Fellowship, we come together, we drink, we sip. The Brotha Whiskey brand is inclusive to all. We are all one, no matter what you do and where you are at,” Randle explained.
Sunday’s D9 Brunch & Day Party brought the weekend to a close, leaving attendees with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to their communities.
As the festival continues to grow, many attendees noted it stands as a shining example of what can be achieved when the Divine Nine unites under one roof, driven by the shared values of service, brotherhood, and sisterhood.
"This is the type of space that we need; if we don’t create it, who will,” remarked Nabila Magnum, who also considered the upcoming general election. "I’m excited and proud to support Kamala Harris, who’s not only in my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, but is also a strong Black woman running for president. I think we are long overdue for change. It’s time for us to step up into these bigger roles to be able to carry a bigger legacy."
WI
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of Howard University’s largest incoming class on record. “The whole point of affirmative action was to help minorities have better opportunities. And it's not giving them benefits, it's just making it equal like how it was supposed to be since the beginning of time.”
The overturning of affirmative action “reverts society back” more than 60 years.
As a response to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and other social justice efforts of that time, President John F. Kennedy created a Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity in 1961 and issued Executive Order 10295, which introduced the term “affirmative action” in reference to “measures designed to achieve non-discrimination,” according to White House archives.
Affirmative action soon played a vital role in higher education admissions and allowed students from marginalized communities equal opportunities at competing against their white counterparts in academics. But in June 2023, when two Supreme Court cases – Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard University and SFFA v. University of North Carolina – challenged the legalities of affirmative action in the college admissions process, SCOTUS judges ruled 6-3 against precedent and sparked much debate across college campuses about the future of diverse enrollment.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the Wake of the Overturning of Affirmative Action
Despite the overturning of affirmative action, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have always provided opportunities for diverse students to have access to education.
Martin told The Informer attend-
ing an HBCU was always the end goal after high school, noting it was imperative to be in an environment that prioritizes education and the Black experience.
Possessing a keen interest in theater and a long-term track to study law, it was ultimately a career move that pushed the Florida native to choose Howard University for undergraduate studies. However, with the June 2023 SCOTUS ruling, she worries she won’t be able to approach graduate school applications with as much confidence and reassurance.
“There is barely any diversity at PWIs (predominantly white institutions) already. I honestly just don't feel like there will be any diversity with the loss of affirmative action,” Martin said. “Black people won't be getting the right opportunities that they could be if affirmative action was in place.”
Administrators and experts across multiple HBCUs have spoken out against the decision and the potential harmful effects it could have on the respective universities.
Howard University released a statement in a press release mere hours after the ruling was announced last summer:
“Today’s Supreme Court decision to overturn affirmative action is deeply concerning,” read the statement. “The decision will not only have a devastating impact on the diversity of colleges and universities across the country, but will also decrease access to higher education for students of color everywhere. Education is still a top driver of economic success for all Americans, and this decision will have far-reaching ramifications for those seeking equity in the college admissions process and beyond.”
Among the list of concerns since the
ADMISSIONS Page 44
In the hours leading up to White’s release, friends, family, colleagues, and constituents alike questioned what triggered White’s Sunday afternoon arrest by FBI agents. However, as those who sat in the courtroom on Monday recounted, sadness gave way to anger and disbelief as a judge revealed the details of a criminal complaint charging White with bribery.
“I respectfully submit that there is probable cause to believe that White committed bribery,” FBI Special Agent Matthew Gano wrote in an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint and arrest warrant, “by agreeing to accept and accepting items of value in return for 1.) being influenced in the performance of official acts, 2.) being influenced to commit or aid in committing, or to collude in, or allow, any fraud, or make opportunity for the commission of any fraud on the U.S.; and 3.) being induced to do or omit to do any act in violation of his official duties.”
White, allegedly agreed to accept $156,000 in cash payments in exchange for leveraging his political position to pressure employees in the Office of the Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and D.C. Department of Youth and Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) to extend contracts totaling $5.2 million for two companies that provide violence interruption services in the District.
If convicted, White faces 15 years of imprisonment. He’s due back to court on Sept. 19 for a status hearing.
White, chairman of the council’s Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs, conducts oversight of ONSE and DYRS. Parties identified in the affidavit include government employees in ONSE, DYRS, the Executive Office of the Mayor and the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
DYRS forwarded The Informer’s inquiry to the Executive Office of the Mayor. ONSE didn’t immediately respond.
According to the affidavit, White’s relationship with the person known as Confidential Human Source 1 started as early as early as 2020, when White allegedly accepted a $20,000 bribe to coerce an OAG employee into resolving a dispute involving the termination of Confidential Human Source 1’s contract.
Confidential Human Source 1, who recently pleaded guilty to Paycheck Program Protection fraud, disclosed prior criminal activity, including the alleged instance with White, as part of his plea agreement.
Companies owned by Confidential Human Source 1 provided violence interruption services in Wards 1, 4, and 5. Those companies are listed in the affidavit alongside a nonprofit that received three ONSE grants totaling more than $10 million during Fiscal Year 2024 to provide quality assurance, compliance and fiscal management to subgrantees.
White’s most recent alleged dealings with Confidential Human Source 1 involved White’s acceptance of approximately $35,000 in cash payments from Confidential Human Source 1 on June 26, July 17, July 25, and Aug. 9, while Confidential Human Source 1 was working with the FBI.
These surveillanced meetings in Confidential Human Source 1’s car often involved White discussing the terms of engagement, including his fee of 3% of each government contract acquired, and the details of his meetings with the government employees. White and Confidential Human Source 1 also explored the possibility of getting Confidential Human Source 1 into the mental healthcare space and the housing sector.
During at least one of these meetings, White emphasizes that he has at least four more years in office, and the power to dictate whether the high-ranking ONSE official he was pressuring on behalf of Confidential Human Source 1 gets confirmed by the D.C. Council. Fred Cooke, White’s attorney, declined to comment on Monday.
On June 4, White, a two-term council member, successfully defended his seat against Salim Adofo and Rahman Branch in the Ward 8 D.C. Council Democratic primary. With D.C. being a heavily Democratic city, White had virtually won re-election.
However, White’s future on the
council seems to be in question. On Monday, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) announced White’s removal from the helm of the council’s Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs. Mendelson also revealed that, in accordance with the council’s rules, he will set up an ad hoc committee to examine the situation, including evidence of wrongdoing and questions about the council member’s residency.
“Unfortunately, it is impossible to create laws that actually prevent individuals from breaking the law. What does make a difference, however, is electing individuals who aspire to high ethical standards,” Mendelson said. “Citizens expect us to be the best. Not just our best selves, but a cut above everyone else. Regardless of whether that is achievable, the public has the right to hold us to the basic standards of trust, honesty, and integrity.”
While visiting teachers at Alice Deal Middle School in Northwest on Monday, Bowser didn’t mince words as she too weighed in on the allegations.
“It’s very troubling and disappointing. People [in Ward 8] need representation. I speak for them in my disappointment,” Bowser said. “It distracts from the work that needs to be done. If we’re talking about offices that focus on keeping people out of the way and our focus on law enforcement strategies that puts these effective strategies at risk, people need to be held accountable.”
Reactions throughout Sunday and Monday ran the gamut, with some people relishing in the council member’s legal troubles, to others, like congressional candidate and Anacostia-based We Act Radio co-owner Kymone Freeman, questioning the legitimacy of the FBI and alluding to officials alleged to have committed relatively worse acts.
Read more on washingtoninformer.com.
WI @SamPKCollins
friendships. Trust is believing a person
Partner with a friend or family member to take a
One person closes their eyes or wears a blindfold.
Holding hands, the person with open eyes takes their partner on a walk.
When a person takes care of something you loan to them.
Trust is something you don’t just have. It takes time to build trust.
Each time someone keeps a promise, tells the truth, is kind to you, or is careful with your things, trust builds. It is like building a house. You start by building a foundation with bricks of trust.
Help Ben guide his blindfolded partner, Jacob, through the maze!
At rst, the blindfolded person may feel a bit scared. But, if the open-eyed partner is very careful of their safety, they will start to trust.
After a while, switch roles.
Afterward, talk about how it felt to do the Trust Walk.
Read the sentences. Finish each one with an answer that shows
Juan heard a bad rumor about Sarah. Juan should
Tomas found $10 in the gym. Tomas should
If you break a promise or tell a lie, the bricks fall down, and it is hard to build them back up.
Unscramble the letters on these blocks to discover a key way to build trust.
Sasha found Maria’s diary. Sasha should
Select a person or a character in a book that you trust. Look through the newspaper for five words that describe that person or character. Use these words to write about why you trust them.
Standards Link: Language arts: Identify and use adjectives.
Face a partner. One person will be the “mirror,” and the other will be the person looking into the mirror.
The mirror follows the movements of the person looking into it as best as they can. After a few minutes, switch roles.
Talk about how the mirror and the person looking into it could help each other.
How many di erences can you nd between these two friends playing the mirror game?
Standards Link: Language Arts: Write in a variety of genres. Look through the advertisements in your local newspaper, and select a business that you trust. Write a letter to the editor telling the community why you trust this business.
by Theresa McCulla
c.2024, The University of Chicago Press
$32.50 / 345 pages
Terri Schlichenmeyer WI Contributing Writer
You've spent a lot of time scouring the internet in search of menus. Will you try this dish, or that one? Sample two entrees, or three? Can you understand the people in a city without tasting their best dishes? You'll know soon enough because you've chosen the restaurants for your dining experiment but remember: as in the new book "Insatiable City" by Theresa McCulla, the taste of the truth may be bitter.
In the early summer of 1719, the slave ship the Aurora, "the first ship bearing enslaved people to arrive in Louisiana from Africa" dropped anchor just off the French territory of Basse-Louisiana, near the city of New Orleans. Once the ship was emptied, her human cargo was fed and then immediately taken and sold on a large auction block at a market inside a "luxurious hotel" while white buyers ate and drank their fill at a nearby bar.
This one act forever tied New Orlean's famous cuisine with its racial history.
McCalla says that enslaved women who were known to be "good cooks" were in high demand by white owners who dreamed of the meals to come. What those men probably never thought about was that, because slaves were forbidden to read or write, recipes for those meals were shared verbally, having sprang from a variety of cultures and lands. The ingredients for those meals were planted by Black hands, harvested by Black hands, prepared by Black cooks, served by Black slaves, and the table was cleared by Black servants.
In later years, when the French Market was first opened, Black marchandes sold their wares — cheese, coffee, fruits and vegetables — both at the market and to white homes that lined the streets — and gained a little upward mobility. Black cooks found their way out of white homes, and onto ships that docked nearby, and into the city's opulent hotel kitchens.
Ultimately, restaurateurs were forced to acknowledge Black and Creole contributions to their menus — but not without a lot of fight, and a lot of Jim Crow, too.
Despite that its subject is such a fascinating one, "Insatiable City" could be a bit of a struggle to read. The topic is narrow — how African Americans left a hidden-in-plain-sight thumbprint on the many famous dishes of New Orleans and, indeed, Louisiana — and so there's a lot of the same inside the narrative here.
Dig in, though, just a little deeper.
Fortunately, author Theresa McCulla includes a wealth of stories that save this book — stories that came from former slaves, courtesy of the WPA; advertisements, photographs and menus; and accounts from Black and white journalists and eyewitnesses traveling in the city. Through these old documents, readers will not only learn about the many dishes of New Orleans, but also about individual people and cooks, and the politics of food in decades past.
This book will appeal to anyone who reads cookbooks for fun, and for anyone planning a trip to the Crescent City any time soon. Find "Insatiable City." It should be what's on your reading menu. WI
AUGUST 22 - 28, 2024
ARIES Early in the week, you'll be inspired to enjoy an eye-opening experience with your partner. An unusual date (think staying in and cooking an exotic recipe together or going on an impromptu weekend trip) has you feeling joyful and alive. Later, it's possible you'll feel like you've been overworked and have yet to receive the recognition you deserve for your efforts. Lucky Numbers: 4, 8, 51
TAURUS You'll feel driven and powered up to succeed while working closely with colleagues on a highstakes project when the week starts. Collaboration and playing to one another's strengths can elevate your energy around your efforts, so do your best to be a team player! Later, you'll do well to prioritize one-on-one time with your partner or someone special. Lucky Numbers: 12, 40, 49
GEMINI You'll be feeling self-assured and inspired to take on a major project related to your wellness and your community (like a charity walk or run) when the week starts. Your desire to support and work alongside others not only earns you a round of applause but might also boost your public profile among people you respect. Later, you'll enjoy a burst of dreamy, creative energy. Lucky Numbers: 3, 10, 46
CANCER At the beginning of the week, working toward shared aspirations and feeling in sync comes even more organically for you and your significant other, dearest friend, or closest colleague. Close collaborations that happen at a one-on-one level will allow you to hit your own goals and strengthen your bond as well. Lucky Numbers: 15, 25, 33
LEO Bumping up your focus and commitment to your fitness and clean eating routines comes even more naturally starting early in the week. You'll be inspired to try new workouts and experiment in the kitchen with delicious, healthy recipes or a meal delivery service. The more you can make it part of your everyday routine, the more vital and centered you'll feel. Lucky Numbers: 14, 25, 51
VIRGO When the week starts, you can count on a bevy of opportunities to express yourself creatively while kicking back and having joyful, carefree fun with loved ones, friends, and romantic interests. Laying off the heavy-duty planning and work for a bit can infuse your love life and career track with joyful moments and artistic fulfillment. Lucky Numbers: 22, 49, 50
LIBRA You might be itching to pump yourself up and step up to the plate to share a major business proposal with higher-ups early in the week. They'll applaud your passion, drive, and solid game plan, which can lead to a green light for bringing in the cash you've had your eye on. Lucky Numbers: 6, 15, 34
SCORPIO You'll crave joyful quality time with your partner or your nearest and dearest loved ones at the beginning of the week. Open up about your sweetest emotions in a physical, flirtatious way, if you feel so inspired. This can go far to amplifying your chemistry. Later, you might feel like you have no choice but to write up a list of errands and busywork that can end up feeling intensely overwhelming. Lucky Numbers: 2, 4, 25
SAGITTARIUS Early in the week, the cosmos is magnifying your potential to pinpoint and bring in new moneymaking opportunities. Thankfully, these won't be just any gigs that you feel less than enthused about. Instead, this is a time when you can enjoy growth related to projects that really get you fired up and feel like they're in line with your values. A slow and steady approach serves you best. Lucky Numbers: 31, 44, 47
CAPRICORN At the week's start, your enthusiasm and confidence are amplified. If you've been itching for a bit of a personal makeover or fresh fuel for your most pressing personal goals, you'll have the power of the cosmos on your side. You can apply this expansive energy toward your fitness, professional, or relationship goals! Later, you might be frustrated if it feels like your work is taking far too much of your energy and infringing on the downtime you want to share with loved ones. Despite being perpetually industrious, you deserve to rest on occasion. Lucky Numbers: 9, 10, 26
AQUARIUS It's possible you'll have to straighten out a confusing turn of events or miscommunication that crops up related to money matters at the beginning of the week. The cosmos could cloud rational thought, making it difficult to get a grip on solid facts. For that reason, make sure you double-check and question anything that seems off and perhaps hit pause on making any big moves now. Lucky Numbers: 3, 5, 34
PISCES At the week's start, the cosmos is giving your team efforts and friendships a major boost. The magnifying, expansive energy can help make it possible for you to benefit from your various support networks and pinpoint ways to turn collaborations into reaching long-term goals. A feeling of community fuels your success. Lucky Numbers: 12, 24, 31
By Ed Hill and Skylar Nelson WI Contributing Writer and WI Intern
Now that the 2024 Summer Olympics are in the books, it is time to resume the second half of the season for the WNBA. For the Washington Mystics, it is a chance to build on the play on the team’s six winning games after opening the season winless at 0-12.
Early in the season, the Mystics (6-19) were able to compete through the first three quarters, but the fourth period became their Achilles heel as they either lost leads or allowed teams to pull away.
During the current turnaround, it has been in their ability to compete to the end despite playing with a less than full deck.
“That’s been the biggest thing," noted Mystics head coach Eric Thi-
STATE from Page 34
former White House political director, Minyon Moore emphasized that Harris' leadership is empowering the nation in more ways than one.
“We've all had the opportunity to not just work with Harris, but to understand her vision of America as well. And so, leading as a Black woman is part of it, but leading as a leader is the most important and best part of it,” Moore told The Informer. “She's building on everything that she has accomplished with President Biden. So, it is historic in so many different ways as he passes the torch.”
D.C. Brings Statehood Conversation to the National Stage
While supporting the Harris-Walz ticket has been the primary focus for many of the people hailing from the DMV area, several Washingtonians have used their time in Chicago to advocate for the nation’s capital to become the 51st state.
bault. "You know we had a group of players that had been playing a lot and holding the fort down while we had other people injured. So they needed the break for probably a little mental and physical rest. And, we needed that time to get those other players back in who had been out. So, hopefully it’s going to pay off. For us, we have to go through the process of reintegrating everybody into the team again. Part of that is playing games and having to work it out in pressure situations so that’s the challenge for us now.”
The team has played without the services of two of their important players, guard Brittney Sykes (11.8 points per game, five rebounds per game), who has played in only three games this season and talented center Shakira Austin who has missed all of the season. They could return as early as the next game and that would be a big boost for the team.
On day-two of the convention, Hip-Politics and the National Urban League hosted the Culture and Content House at Chicago Firehouse Restaurant, where breakfast and lunch were served with a helping of powerful panels and conversations that pushed toward equity and justice.
One of the first sessions was: ”The Case for DC Statehood and Congressional Representation,” featuring Jamal Holtz, president of D.C. Young Democrats, Sheika Reid, strategic partnerships and campaign strategist, Yilin Zhang, a principal strategist and member of the League of Women Voters, of, U.S. Shadow Representative Oye Owolewa, and moderated by Troy Donte Prestwood of the Prestwood Group.
“I can understand that D.C. statehood is a very political issue that could cause us a divide at the moment but I think this is an opportunity to bring us great unity when
During the absence of their Dynamic Duo, the Mystics can hang the hats on their ability to distribute the ball (23 assists per game) and proficiency in three-point shooting (39%), where they rank in the top three in the league.
From an individual standpoint, the Mystics have turned to Ariel Atkins. The sixth-year pro is averaging almost 16 points, four assists and 3.7
there are lots of eyes on democracy right now and this election,” Holtz, a native Washingtonian, told The Informer. “When we can root the fight for statehood into principal and a foundation based on what our country was founded on which was ‘no taxation without representation’ that has to happen in all shapes and forms which would include D.C. Statehood.”
According to statistics from the District of Columbia, D.C. taxpayers pay more federal taxes per capita than any state, more total federal taxes than 12 states and pay more in total federal income tax than 22 other states. The District has 712,000 residents which accounts for more than Vermont and Wyoming in addition to other comparable states including Delaware, Alaska, and several others.
“The role is raising awareness, but it’s also getting people to understand that people– real people– live
rebounds per game. She posted career highs in points in a game (36) and three-pointers made (six) in a game against the defending champion, Las Vegas Aces.
“I think obviously we’ve had some bodies in and out," said the versatile Atkins, who ranks among the WNBA leaders in scoring and steals. "We figured out different ways to weather the storms. We do have six wins in there
in D.C. Real people are fighting for their rights, and it is no longer acceptable to have members of Congress saying what we should do,” Zhang emphasized.
The statehood movement has been ongoing for decades with advocates like Josephine Butler, former U.S. Del. Walter Fauntroy, Julius Hobson and Calvert I. Cassell, leading a call to action for voters across the nation. Together, the group founded the D.C. Statehood party in the early 1970s which is now known as the D.C. Statehood Green Party and boasts over 4,000 members.
Currently, D.C. elects a non-voting Delegate to the US House of Representatives who can draft legislation but cannot vote. On January 4, 2021, the incumbent Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, another leading Black woman, reintroduced H.R. 51 early in the 117th Congress with a record 202 co-sponsors.
sprinkled in… so that does feel good. I just think taking the time to realize who we have playing and how do we play to each other's strengths has been the big focus. And, I think going into this next half of this season, which is really only a month left, just making sure that we focus on each other’s strengths and try to get the best that we can out of this, and race to get in one of the eight spots.” WI
The bill, cited as the Washington, D.C. Admission Act would have created the state of "Washington, Douglass Commonwealth" in honor of Frederick Douglass, and officially instate two senators and one representative in the House of Representatives based on population. The act would have also carved out a smaller federal district, dubbed "the Capital" consisting of the White House, U.S. Capitol, and other federal buildings like the National Mall. It passed in the House with a vote of 216-208, but fell dormant in the Senate.
Undefeated, Norton has reintroduced the bill to the 118th Congress for reconsideration as required and it awaits review from the Committee on Oversight and Accountability in addition to the Committees on Rules, Armed Services, the Judiciary, and Energy and Commerce. WI Read more on washingtoninformer.com.
6 On Aug. 17, The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) hosted the 10th annual Chuck Brown Day, honoring the music legend, affectionately called, the “Godfather of Go-Go,” who died in 2012 at the age of 75. In its first year at Fort Dupont Park in Southeast, D.C., the annual event is considered the largest summer celebration of go-go music, and is held every year, near Brown’s birthday (August 22, 1936), in commemoration of the artist’s life and legacy.
By Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer
At a time when pastors are struggling to rebuild their congregations after the COVID-19 pandemic, Howard University School of Divinity’s (HUSD) Black Congregations Resource Center has reintroduced itself to the community.
Dr. Harold Dean Trulear, Ph.D, has been named as the new director of the Resource Center that was first created nearly a decade ago and has allowed Howard to work with large and small churches across the country.
“Our three foci are preaching, congregational life, and social justice,” said Trulear, a veteran theologian and associate professor of Applied Theology at the School of Divinity.
In an interview with The Washington Informer, Dr. Kenyata Gilbert, Ph.D, HUSD dean, talked about the work the center has been doing with a variety of churches “since around 2013,” which led to a $1.25 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.
“The Black Church is diverse. It
consists of large and small churches, congregations in urban, suburban, and rural areas, and it is both denominational and nondenominational,” Trulear said. “We seek to provide resources that can be adaptable in multiple venues and settings."
Trulear said that the center identified between seven to 10 congregations to be part of a case study and both large and small and urban and rural churches are doing well in terms of growth.
The material for the courses in the program includes the writings of Howard Thurman, Lisa Allen, and Barbara Holmes.Trulear said participating churches can also look to “historical exemplars,” like Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and Apostolic Church of God in Chicago for a study on maintaining and growing congregations.
Trulear said other churches, not just large ministries, are doing well.
“Look at Peace Fellowship Church in the District under the leadership of Delonte Gholston,” he said. “The most successful churches are when there is a connection between
I, Karen LaTise Richardson Born on May 3, 1975, at Howard University Hospital in Washington D.C., to parents and daughter of Vernessa Dale Wallace-Scott and Randolph Eugene Scott Sr. I Karen LaTise Richardson affirm that I am a living, sound-minded individual, over 18 years old as of May 3, 1993.
worship and social justice."
For instance, on Peace Fellowship’s Facebook page, Gholston posted that the church partnered with CenterPoint Baptist Church, pastored by the Rev. Dr. Orlando Jermaine Bego, for Friday's Peace Walk in Deanwood.
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controversial SCOTUS decision are population increase, limited housing and funding, and the “continued attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI),” said Dr. Wil Pilar, senior vice president of The Education Trust.
He noted that higher education has already seen some of the adverse effects of the Supreme Court ruling.
“Institutions like Duke University are pulling the scholarships that they have for minorities, Penn State is undoing the multicultural resource center without any legislation. I'm hoping that institutions openly continue to do what they're doing – challenging a court of law. That is not what we're seeing, though,” Pilar told The Informer.
Having spent time working in admissions, Pilar said systemic disadvantages and biases – notably, how they “overwhelmingly benefit wealthy white students” – is what led him to advocate for affirmative action.
The seasoned commentator be-
Fellowship is part of the church’s mission to serve the community.
“We are not a perfect Church by any stretch, we are just trying,” Gholston, who became pastor of the church in 2017. “We have always been focused on Deanwood in Ward 7. Going into the neighborhood not as messiahs but as servants like Jesus. Jesus said don't call me master, call me friend.”
Trulear also emphasized the importance of intergenerational ministry. However, he noted that by the time some churches realize that there is a need to listen to churches’ older congregants and leaders, “many of the senior citizens are gone.”
Under Trulear’s leadership, the resource center, in addition to classes, will provide continuing education programs for church leaders, collect and disseminate information, and host conferences and podcasts for the community.
“Thank you to Pastor O. Jermaine Bego for showing up to love and connect with our neighbors! Some brothers who didn't have jobs a month ago have jobs now and more are on the way! God is moving,” the post read.
Ghloston said the work at Peace
lieves there is still work that can be done to preserve diversity on the collegiate, and hopefully, federal scale.
“I think a lot of what happens in higher education nationally is going to really be dependent upon what happens in this election. While there was some support for HBCUs in the [current] administration, I'm not sure if we'll continue to see that,” he admitted. “With a less supportive administration, I think we're going to see attacks that will come at the federal level. So, it matters who controls the House, the Senate, and who controls the White House.”
As the first admitted class post-ruling starts this fall, it is still too early to see the concrete effects of affirmative action on HBCUs and PWIs. Noneless, experts have various predictions and hopes for what the impact could look like.
Howard School of Law professor and interim-dean Lisa Crooms-Robinson said that the
“Trulear is a premier voice in social justice and criminal justice reform, and his spirit of ambassadorship is unparalleled,” said Gilbert, who also championed the importance of the Black Congregations Resource Center.
“It is allowing our divinity school to make significant contributions both locally and nationally.”
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future of the celebrated HBCU will remain intact, with possibilities of stronger credentials in future applicants and a higher percentage of Black students to make space for on campus.
According to Crooms-Robinson, this year’s “record number of applications” reflected that HBCUs will become more in demand.
“HBCUs have been a safe haven for all of us who choose to come here. It's just now more people realize that they're not safe,” she said. “We're going to do what we do regardless of what other institutions do. The education that Howard delivers, I don't think that's going to change. We'll just have to deliver it to more people, potentially.”
Some sources told The Informer they hope that HBCUs will start to see more federal funding to compensate for the potential increase in students. Others would like to see a shift in the focus of DEI initiatives and who they are meant to target.
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"For we walk by faith, not by sight."
We all have a sixth sense — hunches, inklings, thoughts that keep coming back. Things each of us are destined to do, if we only heed the call, and begin to take action steps.
You may get a sense that someone is pretending to be our friend, you can feel it, but you ignore that notion and they hurt you. Or when you feel your husband or wife is cheating on you and, again, you ignore the signs and are devastated when they ask for a divorce. Or that time you feel the need to give a phone call to someone ends up being a time when they really need you. That, my friend, is your sixth sense at work, with the last instance showing how powerful our sixth sense is, when we listen. As Christians, this is a discerning spirit.
Notice the first word of the title of Napoleon Hill's book "Think and Grow Rich." In his chapter where he teaches about our sixth sense, he reminds us how every action begins with what it is we are thinking. What we choose to do with those thoughts, once they come forth, is what makes things happen for our good or for our
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bad. It is a choice.
According to Hill, our sixth sense is considered infinite intelligence. Infinite means never-ending. It is quite simple, as Hill states over and over again, "Whatever the mind of man can conceive, he can achieve." This book has helped millions of people learn how to make their dreams become a reality by simply "walking by faith, and not by sight." Scriptures are always necessary, as we walk our road throughout our lives. In fact, 2nd Corinthians 5:7 is the lead scripture for this week: "For we walk by faith, not by sight."
There will be times when things won't make sense as you travel along this journey toward where God is leading you. You will have to trust God and continue to move forward.
Do your part. Dream about things you want, believe you can have them, then see yourself in possession of whatever those things are desired — that's called faith. See yourself running your business, see yourself married to a wonderful husband or wife, see yourself driving that new Jaguar you want, see yourself graduating from college. See the dream as if it is already a reality — by faith, not by sight.
Then you get busy fixing any weaknesses you may have. Weaknesses that hinder you from getting to your destination, we all
have some. Do you need more training in a special subject? More mentors? Are they successful?
Cast your care upon the Lord. Pray, stay positive, don't get jealous of others who don't have your problems. God has a plan just for you. Don't compare your life to others. Be committed, especially when it's hard to do. As Psalm 37:3 says: Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pastures. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this.
Practice walking by faith, and not by sight, and allow the Lord Jesus to "order your steps" all along the way! We often get started, but can't seem to see our way clearly. Don't quite know how we're going to make it to that goal God promised us will be ours. We must not quit, we must keep going, as God keeps directing your path. Finally, you will reach the other side; good things will begin to happen for you. Never give up. Don't be weary in well doing, in due season you shall reap. The Word says, "We're the head and not the tail; our faith moves mountains."
It's important to listen to your thoughts, your sixth sense. It is God speaking directly into your spirit, leading, guiding and directing your path.
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Service and Times Sundays: 10 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Music and Hymns Wednesdays: 12:10 p.m. - Holy Eucharist www.stmarysfoggybottom.org Email: stmarysoffice@stmarysfoggybottom.org
Rev Kevin A. O'Bryant Pastor
401 Van Buren St., NW, Washington D.C. 20012 Office (202)-882-8331
Service and Times Sunday Worship 10:30 am Zoom: zoom.us/;/2028828331
Bible Study: Wednesday 7:00pm Communion Every First Sunday "Serve, teach and Live by precept and example the saving grace of Jesus Christ."
All are welcome to St. Mary’s to Learn, Worship, and Grow.
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www.firstrising.org “Changing Lives On Purpose “ The Rev. E. Bernard Anderson
Website: Theplbc.org Email: churchclerk@theplbc.org
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 FEP 000083
March 18, 2004
Date of Death
Jessie T. Reede Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
James William Reede, Jr. whose address is 6008 Wynnewood Way, Sacramento, CA 95823 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Jessie T. Reede, deceased, by the Circuit Court for Cook County, State of Illinois, Probate Division. Service of process may be made upon Aimee D. Griffin, Esq., Life and Legacy Counselors, 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 440, Washington, DC 20015 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.
The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property: 414 21st Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
James William Reede, Jr. Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2024 ADM 000873
Diane C. McCain Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Mark S. McCain, whose address is 3623 22nd Street, NE, Washington, DC 20018, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Diane C. McCain who died on 5/31/2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Mark S. McCain Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000119
Deloris Davis
Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Deloris Davis who died on May 24, 2023 without a Will. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq.
Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 FEP 89
March 23, 2021 Date of Death
Tomoe Dunning Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Robert Leslie Dunning whose address is 5145 Roberts Rd., Colleyville, TX 76034 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Tomoe Dunning, deceased, by the Superior Court for Snohomish County, State of Washington, on July 9, 2021. Service of process may be made upon Robin Laupheimer, 1920 L Street, NW, Suite 835, Washington, DC 20036 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. Decedent has cause of action in DC. The decedent owned District of Columbia personal property. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Robert Leslie Dunning Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 874
Martha McNeill
Decedent
Howard J. Walsh, Esq. 7101 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1200 Bethesda, MD 20815
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Conor Randolph Scott, whose address is 2543 Alberta Ave., SW Roanoke VA 24015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Martha L. McNeill who died on June 21st, 2024 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Conor Randolph Scott Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 FEP 000042
November 16, 2021
Date of Death
Teri Marie Johnson Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Dennis Eugene Johnson whose address is 2083 W. Maple Ave., Flint, MI 48507 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Teri Marie Johnson, deceased, by the Probate Court for Genesee County, State of Maryland, on December 18, 2023.
Service of process may be made upon Robin Laupheimer 1920 L Street, NW, Suite 835, Washington, DC 20036 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.
Decedent has cause of action in DC.
The decedent owned District of Columbia personal property. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Dennis Eugene Johnson
Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000888
Priscilla L. Turner Decedent
Keonna Carter, Esq. 205 R Street, NW, Unit #B Washington, DC 20001 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Rashad Turner, whose address is 7800 Contee Road, Apt. 424, Laurel, MD 20707, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Priscilla L. Turner who died on April 10, 2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Rashad Turner Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000864
Mary Louise Smith Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Felicia Renee Allen, whose address is 638 Gallatin Street NW, Washington, DC 20011, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Mary Louise Smith who died on May 24, 2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Felicia Renee Allen Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000890
Robert Lee Davis, III
Decedent
James Larry Frazier, Esq. 918 Maryland Ave. NE Washington, DC 20002
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Sherry Davis Young, whose address is 120 Kaylee Court, Fayetteville, GA 30214, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Robert Lee Davis, III who died on June 25, 2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Sherry Davis Young Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 865
Doris Mae Little Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Angela L. Barnes, whose address is 7405 Llminster Avenue, Fort Washington, MD 20744, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Doris Mae Little who died on May 13, 2024 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Angela L. Barnes Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000436
Fannie Mae Searles aka F. M. Searles Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Marcia Searles Miller and George U. Searles Jr., whose address is 7204 Cimmaron Ash Ct., Clinton, MD 20735 & 1511 41st SE, Washington, DC 20020, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Fannie Mae Searles aka F. M. Searles who died on July 12, 2023 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication:
8/8/2024
Marcia Searles Miller
George U. Searles Jr. Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000849
Rosemary Eory aka Rosemary J. Eory Decedent
Matthew F. Shannon, Esq. 1420 N Street, NW #203 Washington, DC 20005
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Matthew F. Shannon, whose address is 1420 N Street, NW, #203, Washington, DC 20005, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Rosemary Eory aka Rosemary J. Eory who died on June 18, 2024 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Matthew F. Shannon Personal Representative
of Wills
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 FEP 000088
11/11/2022
Date of Death
Lillian Mae McCloud Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Wilhelmina Adesoye whose address is 7108 Kingston Drive, Temple Hills, MD 20748 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Lillian Mae McCloud, deceased, by the Orphans Court for Prince George County, State of Maryland, on February 28, 2024.
Service of process may be made upon Beza Mesfin, 4560 3rd Street, SE #203, Washington, DC 20032 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.
The decedent owned District of Columbia personal property. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Wilhelmina Adesoye
Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2024 ADM 000424
Walter Thomas Phillips aka Walter T. Phillips Decedent
Donald Marlais, Esq. 411 10th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Paula C. Hawkins, whose address is 7903 Shirley Court, Clinton, MD 20735, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Walter Thomas Phillips aka Walter T. Phillips who died on April 7, 2007 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Paula C. Hawkins Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 000703
Karen Ann Jameson Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Jeffrey K. Gordon, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, #400, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Karen Ann Jameson who died on July 8, 2021 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Jeffrey K. Gordon, Esq. Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 843
Frederick N. Lawson Sr. Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Levana Lawson, whose address is 710 49th Place, NE, Washington, DC 20019, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Frederick N. Lawson Sr. who died on 1/5/2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Levana Lawson Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 ADM 001378
Estate of Dorothy M. Sims aka Dorothy Mae Sims
NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE
Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Rodney L. Sims and Stacie D. Sims for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.
In the absence of a will or proof satisfactory to the Court of due execution, enter an order determining that the decedent died intestate appoint an unsupervised personal representative
Date of first publication: August 8, 2024
Sharon Legall, Esq. 1325 G Street, NW, Suite 500 Washington, DC 20005
Petitioner/Attorney:
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 FEP 84
June 4, 2017
Date of Death
Eldridge T. Freeman, Jr Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Joyce Freeman-Baker whose address is 400 E. Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Eldridge T. Freeman, Jr., deceased, by the Circuit Court for Cook County, State of Illinois, Probate Division, on June 5, 2022.
Service of process may be made upon Aimee D. Griffin, Esq., Life and Legacy Counselors, 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 440, Washington, DC 20015 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property: 414 21st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Joyce Freeman-Baker Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 FEP 000085
9/22/2011
Date of Death
Janice Meadows Freeman Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Eldridge Freeman, III whose address is 15372 Gatehouse Terrace, Woodbridge, VA 22191 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Janice Meadows Freeman, deceased, by the Circuit Court for Cook County, State of Illinois Probate Division, on 2/29/2024.
Service of process may be made upon Aimee D. Griffin, Esq., Life and Legacy Counselors, 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 440, Washington, DC 20015 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C.
The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property
414 21st Street, NE, Washington, DC 20015. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Eldridge Freeman, III
Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000844
Charles Earl Hall Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Judy G. Hall, whose address is 518 M Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Charles Earl Hall who died on February 6, 2023 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Judy G. Hall Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 FEP 000087
2/4/2022
Date of Death
David Eugene Rivers Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Sandra T. Middleton whose address 110 Oak Knoll, Fayetteville, GA 30214 was appointed personal representative of the estate of David Eugene Rivers aka David E. Rivers, deceased, by the Probate Court for Charleston County, State of South Carolina, on June 2, 2022.
Service of process may be made upon Brenda K. Pennington, The Pennington Firm, 300 E. Lombard Street, Ste. 840, Baltimore, MD 21202 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property: 1406 Carrollsburg Place, SW, Washington, DC 20024. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Sandra T. Middleton Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000866
Remona Montgomery aka Remona L. Montgomery Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Sherrone Lowery, Shereece Lowery, whose addresses are 1731 Carriage Ct., Severn, MD 21144 & 1824 Village Square CT, Severn, MD 21144, were appointed Personal Representatives of the estate of Remona Montgomery aka Remona L. Montgomery who died on September 5, 2023 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/15/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/15/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/15/2024
Sherrone Lowery
Shereece Lowery Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000424
Walter Thomas Phillips aka Walter T. Phillips
Decedent
Donald Marlais, Esq. 411 10th Street, NE Washington, DC 20002
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Paula C. Hawkins, whose address is 7903 Shirley Court, Clinton, MD 20735, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Walter Thomas Phillips aka Walter T. Phillips who died on April 7, 2007 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/8/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/8/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/8/2024
Paula C. Hawkins Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIVIL DIVISION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001-2131
Jackson vs Jackson 2024-CAB-000671
Wilbert Lee Jackson, Jr. Plaintiff
Nathaniel Bush, Esq. 1119 44th Place, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20019
Attorney NOTICE OF SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION TO UNKNOWN HEIRS AND UNKNOWN PERSONS OF INTEREST IN THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1646 GALES STREET, N.E, WASHINGTON D.C. 20002.
Before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Civil Division, came the plaintiff Wilbert Lee Jackson, Jr., by Motion for an Order to Allow Service of Process by Publication filed on April 2, 2024. On February 1, 2024, plaintiff filed a Complaint seeking an order to quiet title to property located at 1646 Gales Street, N.E. premises situated, lying and being in the District of Columbia described as Square 4510 Lot 126. The motion seeks an order permitting service by publication “on all unknown owners of the property… their devises, personal representatives, executives, administrators, grantees, assigns and successors… and any persons having any interest” in the property. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the property set forth in the proceeding herein or any person claiming an interest in the property shall enter their appearance in this matter and file their claim or objection, in the Office of the Clerk of the Civil Division of the District of Columbia Superior Court, 500 Indiana Avenue, N.W., Room 5000, Washington, DC 20001 on or before 10/10/2024 or be forever barred.
ORDERED by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, that notice be given by the insertion of a copy of this order in the Daily Washington Law Reporter and a newspaper having a general circulation in the District of Columbia once a week for three (3) successive weeks notifying all person of interest or persons with a claim or in the real property described above to file said claim in the Civil Branch of the D.C. Superior Court.
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2023 ADM 000477
Estate of E. N Ade aka Esau N. Ade aka Esau Nji Ade
NOTICE OF STANDARD PROBATE
Notice is hereby given that a petition has been filed in this Court by Roseline Oniya for standard probate, including the appointment of one or more personal representatives. Unless a responsive pleading in the form of a complaint or an objection in accordance with Superior Court Probate Division Rule 407 is filed in this Court within 30 days from the date of first publication of this notice, the Court may take the action hereinafter set forth.
Order any interested person to show cause why the provisions of the lost or destroyed will dated June 12, 2013 should not be admitted to probate as expressed in petition
Appoint an unsupervised personal representative
Date of first publication: 8/15/2024
Sharon Legall 1325 G Street, NW Suite 500 Washington, NW 20005
Petitioner/Attorney:
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Civil Division
WILBERT LEE JACKSON, JR. : Plaintiff : : Vs : : Docket No. 2024 CAB000671
ROBERT JACKSON, et. Al., : Defendants : ORDER
Before the Court is plaintiff’s Motion for an Order to Allow Service of Process by Publication filed on April 24, 2024. On February 1, 2024, plaintiff filed a Complaint seeking to quiet title for property located at 1646 Gales Street, NE. The instant motion seeks an order permitting service by publication “on all unknown owners of the property. . their heirs, devises, personal representatives, executives, administrators, grantees, assigns or successors, . and any all persons having or claiming to have any interest” in the property.
WHEREFORE, for the above stated reasons and any others that may appear from a review of the entire record herein, it is this 1st day of July 20204, hereby
ORDERED: that plaintiff’s Motion for Publication is GRANTED
July 1, 2024
_________/S/____________ Date
MILTON C. LEE, JR
Associate Judge
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 FEP 000092
2/26/2021
Date of Death
Mary Smith Harrell
Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Davie E. Smith Jr. whose address is 1332 Randolph St., Washington, DC 20011 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Mary Smith Harrell, deceased, by the Register of Will Court for Prince George’s County, State of Maryland, on March 7, 2024.
Service of process may be made upon Davie E. Smith Jr., 1332 Randolph St., NW Washington, DC 20011 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. The decedent owned the following District of Columbia real property: 4514 Texas Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20019. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication:
8/15/2024
Davie E. Smith Jr. Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000912
Delores Jones Meikle Decedent
Deborah D. Boddie, Esq. ProbateLawDC 1308 Ninth Street, NW Ste. 300 Washington DC 20001 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Geraldine Burt, whose address is 3431 Carpenter Street, SE, Washington, DC 20020, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Delores Jones Meikle who died on June 14, 2023 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
Geraldine Burt Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000908
Jaeiza Harmal Decedent
Charles F. Walton 10905 Fort Washington Road Suite 201 Fort Washington, MD 20744
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Sandra Bond, whose address is 1522 Mateer Place Court, Missouri City, Texas 77459, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Jaeza Harmal who died on December 3, 2023 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/15/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/15/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/15/2024
Sandra Bond Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000542
Juan Rolando Green aka Juan R. Green Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Tracy Steen, whose address is 3402 Wood Creek Dr., Suitland MD, 20746, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Juan Rolando Green aka Juan R. Green who died on 12/11/2022 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding.
Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
Tracy Steen Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division
Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 886
Rosa Candida Aguilar Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Marisol Mar Aguilar, whose address is 741 Longfellow St., NW, Apt. 410, Washington, DC 20002, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Rosa Candida Aguilar who died on 7/5/2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication:
8/22/2024
Marisol Mar Aguilar Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2024 ADM 000921
Robert L. Davis Decedent
Aimee D. Griffin, Esq. 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Suite 440 Washington, DC 20015 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Brenda D. Jones, whose address is 6974 Kim Lane, Friendship, MD 20758, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Robert L. Davis who died on November 13, 2023 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
Brenda D. Jones Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2021 ADM 000483
Mary J. Thomas Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed
Personal Representative of the estate of Mary J. Thomas who died on November 17, 2020 with a Will. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq. Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2002 ADM 000994
Vernon Owens Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed
Personal Representative of the estate of Vernon Owens who died on May 20, 2002 with a Will. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq. Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000499
Willie F. Johnson Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Willie F. Johnson who died on February 24, 2024 without a Will. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq. Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2024 ADM 913
Alice J. Gatewood Decedent
Deborah D. Boddie, Esq. ProbateLawDC 1308 Ninth Street, NW, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20001 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Norman L. Gatewood, whose address is 3105 McBride Court, Burtonsville, MD 20866, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Alice J. Gatewood who died on July 22, 2015 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
Alice J. Gatewood Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000286
Joe Nelson Sprowl Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq., whose address is 5335 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20015, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Joe Nelson Sprowl who died on April 29, 2021 without a Will. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
J. Anthony Concino III, Esq. Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131 2024 ADM 000934
Dorothy A. Mills Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Lisa Mills Taylor, whose address is 804 New Orchard Place, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Dorothy A. Mills who died on 5/31/2024 with a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment (or to the probate of decedent’s Will) shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
Lisa Mills Taylor Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROBATE DIVISION Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 FEP 94
January 12, 2024
Date of Death
Bobby Joe Anderson Name of Decedent
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF FOREIGN PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS
Tabitha Anderson whose address is 415 Kendra Drive, Smithville, Tennessee 37166 was appointed personal representative of the estate of Bobby Joe Anderson, deceased, by the Chancery Court for Dekald County, State of Tennessee, on February 8, 2024.
Service of process may be made upon Robin Laupheimer 1920 L Street, NW, Suite 835, Washington, DC 20036 whose designation as District of Columbia agent has been filed with the Register of Wills, D.C. Decedent has cause of action in DC.
The decedent owned District of Columbia personal property. Claims against the decedent may be presented to the undersigned and filed with the Register of Wills of the District of Columbia, 515 5th Street, NW, Third Floor, Washington, D.C. 20001 within 6 months from the date of first publication of this notice.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
Tabitha Anderson Personal Representative
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000932
Lillie Mae Valentine Decedent
Julius P. Terrell, Esq. 1455 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20004 Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Eric Valentine, whose address is 17920 Curio Dr., Pflugerville, TX 78660, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Lillie Mae Valentine who died on February 17, 2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
Eric Valentine Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY Nicole Stevens Register of Wills
Washington Informer
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Probate Division Washington, D.C. 20001-2131
2024 ADM 000965
Pauline Elizabeth Johnson Decedent
George A. Teitelbaum, Esq. 2416 Blueridge Ave., Suite 200 Wheaton, MD 20902
Attorney
NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT, NOTICE TO CREDITORS AND NOTICE TO UNKNOWN HEIRS
Eric G. Klimes, whose address is 933 E. Foxhill Dr., Fresno, CA 93720, was appointed Personal Representative of the estate of Pauline Elizabeth Johnson who died on June 28, 2024 without a Will and will serve without Court supervision. All unknown heirs and heirs whose whereabouts are unknown shall enter their appearance in this proceeding. Objections to such appointment shall be filed with the Register of Wills, D.C., 515 5th Street, N.W., Building A, Third Floor Washington, D.C. 20001, on or before 2/22/2025. Claims against the decedent shall be presented to the undersigned with a copy to the Register of Wills or filed with the Register of Wills with a copy to the undersigned, on or before 2/22/2025, or be forever barred. Persons believed to be heirs or legatees of the decedent who do not receive a copy of this notice by mail within 25 days of its first publication shall so inform the Register of Wills, including name, address, and relationship.
Date of first publication: 8/22/2024
Eric G. Klimes Personal Representative
TRUE TEST COPY
Nicole Stevens Register of Wills Washington Informer
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MALVEAUX from Page 30
has amusingly claimed that he has drawn larger crowds than Dr. Martin Luther King. Is this the person we want to have with the nuclear codes?
Even Trump's former close allies, like Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (La.) have urged the former president to stop the personal attacks and stick to the issues. He would have to remember the issues to stick to them!
Instead, Mr. Trump has spawned a new industry — fact checking! National Public Radio found that his hourlong press conference on Aug. 8 asserted "at least" 162 "misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies." That's more than two lies a minute.
MORIAL from Page 30
ted the report to the state three months later, "The determination of the historic district, the findings about the impact on Whitney and the community around it, and the lone sentence about unknown graves had all been removed."
The Army Corps of Engineers ordered a new study after the de-
CROWELL from Page 30
Beyond the lies and misstatements, there is the toxic energy that Trump exudes. He is in constant attack mode, and he has as dystopian vision of our country. It appears that he wants to frighten people into thinking that Democrats will "ruin" the country and, especially, the economy. While economic fluctuations and inflation have been troubling for some, President Biden has improved the economy from the time that he became president. Indeed, his challenge has been to clean up the mess that the 45th president left.
Meanwhile, Vice President Harris continues to comport herself with grace and joy. There is a refreshing contrast between the dour, scowling, incoherent, elderly man and the vital, joyful vice president. Our nation
does face some of the challenges that could wipe the smile off anyone's face, and we certainly don't expect her to smile her way to the Sept. 10 ABC News debate (if Trump manages to show up), but her effect of joy, even among the challenges is a much-needed change of focus for our nation. It explains, perhaps, why Harris attract the large crowds that seem to unsettle the former president.
Grace, joy, determination, firmness, amiability and cordiality are words that describe Vice President Harris' campaign. And millions of Americans appreciate. It fuels the momentum that Republicans like to dismissively call a "sugar high." Democrats are high but not on sugar — we are high on joy and possibility. WI
ception came to light. The Corps also rejected the second report, criticizing the developers for "failing to meaningfully consult with people whose lives would be impacted by the dozens of looming grain silos, new rail, truck and shipping traffic and pollutants from the facility," or "to account for the ways that the development project might harm communities of color."
Descendants Project co-founder Joy Banner was among the crowd that "burst into jubilant cheers" when the developers made the announcement at a local church.
"It shows what happens when communities fight," she said. "The erasure of the Black communities didn't work."
WI Cardona.
The draft rules would benefit borrowers with either partial or full forgiveness in the following categories:
• Borrowers who owe more now than they did at the start of repayment. This category is expected to largely benefit nearly 23 million borrowers, the majority of whom are Pell Grant recipients.
• Borrowers who have been in repayment for decades. Borrowers of both undergraduate and graduate loans who began repayment on or before July 1, 2000, would qualify for relief in this category.
• Borrowers who are otherwise eligible for loan forgiveness but have not yet applied. If a borrower hasn’t successfully enrolled in an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan but would be eligible for immediate forgiveness, they would be eligible for relief. Borrowers who would be eligible for closed school discharge or other types of forgiveness opportunities but haven’t successfully applied would also be eligible for this relief.
• Borrowers who enrolled in low-financial value programs. If a borrower attended an institution that
failed to provide sufficient financial value, or that failed one of the Department’s accountability standards for institutions, those borrowers would also be eligible for debt relief.
Most importantly, if the rules become approved as drafted, no related application or actions would be required from eligible borrowers — so long as they did not opt out of the relief by the Aug. 30 deadline.
"The regulations would deliver on unfulfilled promises made by the federal government to student loan borrowers over decades and offer remedies for a dysfunctional system that has often created a financial burden, rather than economic mobility, for student borrowers pursuing a better future," stated the Center for American Progress in an Aug. 7 web article. "Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration also introduced income limits and caps on relief to ensure the borrowers who can afford to pay the full amount of their debts do so."
"The Center for American Progress estimates the interest waiver provisions would deliver relief to roughly 6 million Black borrowers, or 23 percent of the estimated number of borrowers receiving relief, as well as 4
million Hispanic or Latino borrowers (16 percent) and 13.5 million white borrowers (53 percent)."
These pending regulations would further expand the $168.5 billion in financial relief that the Biden administration has already provided to borrowers:
• $69.2 billion for 946,000 borrowers through fixes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
• $51 billion for more than 1 million borrowers through administrative adjustments to IDR payment counts. These adjustments have brought borrowers closer to forgiveness and addressed longstanding concerns with the misuse of forbearance by loan servicers.
• $28.7 billion for more than 1.6 million borrowers who were cheated by their schools, saw their institutions precipitously close, or are covered by related court settlements.
• $14.1 billion for more than 548,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability.
• $5.5 billion for 414,000 borrowers through the SAVE Plan.
More information for borrowers about this debt relief is available at StudentAid.gov/debt-relief.
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CLYBURN from Page 31
presidential immunity, the weakening of the Voting Rights Act, and the elimination of affirmative action, Trump's Project 2025 represents less freedom for a growing majority of Americans and more favor for a privileged few. In short, Trump's Project 2025 is Jim Crow 2.0.
Although Trump has repeatedly tried to distance himself from Project 2025, it is hard for him to do so when six of his former Cabinet secretaries, four individuals he nominated as ambassadors, his first deputy chief of staff, and 140 individuals who worked in his administration all had a hand in crafting the document. And dozens more were
from Page 31
that in Mississippi.' And I addressed him and told him and said, 'I didn't try to register for you. I tried to register for myself.'"
She continued her testimony with the brutal, painful details of what happened after she was brought to the county jail. Her speech was nationally televised, despite President Lyndon Johnson's last minute attempts to push her off the air to avoid alienating white Southern voters. She powerfully concluded: "All of this is on account of we want to register, to become first-class
JEALOUS from Page 31
and necessity of this investment in combating the climate crisis? Just turn on the news. Or step outside. We are experiencing the hottest summer on record … in the hottest year on record. Supercharged storms and wildfires from all that heat are impacting more and more Americans. Hurricane Ernesto is just the latest storm to batter homes and businesses and leave hundreds of thousands of Americans without power. With so many people hurting and at risk, the IRA remains one of our most powerful tools to mitigate climate change's harm. We must continue to learn from our experience implementing it, fill gaps where we see them, and double down on our efforts to protect people, places and the planet we call home. And we must remember that throwing everything we have at combating the climate crisis is also the way America wins in the next economy.
In the decades since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the shipping of U.S. jobs overseas has helped destroy towns and cities across America.
contracted to advise on Project 2025, including his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and longtime adviser Stephen Miller.
I remember when my parents were able to cast their first effective vote. I remember segregated lunch counters and "separate but (un)equal" schools. I do not want my grandchildren to grow up in a country like the one my parents and grandparents experienced.
During the stormiest days of the Revolutionary War, Thomas Paine, an English immigrant and critic of slavery, wrote in his little pamphlet, "The American Crisis No. 1":
"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and sunshine
citizens. And if the [Mississippi] Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I question America. Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off of the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America?"
The MFDP were only given two at-large seats at that convention, but it was made clear that change was on the way. Eight years later Mrs. Hamer was officially elected as a national party delegate. She never let anything turn her back, although, as she once
Now, the IRA is fueling a manufacturing rebirth that is creating good-paying jobs while bringing our energy economy into the 21st century.
Plans to build a new solar cell factory near Minneapolis, Minnesota, are currently underway. This factory will create more clean energy jobs in the Midwest while addressing the need for more American-made solar cells. The solar company Heliene, which coowns the project, publicly credits the IRA's tax credits for inspiring its decision to invest in U.S. solar manufacturing.
Just an hour drive away from Minneapolis is the town of Becker. It is the home to one of the largest coal-burning power plants in the country. Yet Becker will soon be known for something else: being a national leader in the transition to clean, renewable energy. Xcel Energy is fully retiring the Sherco coal-burning power plant by 2030. Literally within eyesight of the old plant, they are building what will become the fifth-largest solar project in the United States. Taking advantage of new and extended tax credits and grant programs,
patriot will in this crisis shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."
Thomas Paine's words are as apropos today as they were in 1776. Storm clouds are forming, and current conditions are not conducive for fair-weather friends. Trump's Project 2025 represents the reincarnation of "Jim Crow," and defeating "Jim Crow 2.0" requires the participation of "soldiers and patriots" who are willing to fight in stormy as well as sunny times. WI
said, "I'm never sure anymore when I leave home whether I'll get back or not. Sometimes it seems like to tell the truth is to run the risk of being killed. But if I fall, I'll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom. I'm not backing off." Her spirit of grit, love and courage made history then and is still an inspiration for the history being made right now. As Vice President Kamala Harris makes another historic leap forward, it extends the legacy of barrier-breakers determined to be "the first, but not the last."
WI
the Sherco solar and energy storage facility will bring 1.8 million solar panels online in 2026. It will employ hundreds of workers — many of them moving over from the coal plant — and power more than 150,000 Midwest homes each year.
The IRA was always designed to set us up for long-term economic success. Part of how it achieves this is by putting money back into Americans' pockets and ensuring that no community is left out of the transition to cleaner, safer, and more affordable clean energy. Tax credits and rebates are lowering the cost of home improvements and electric vehicles that themselves will save consumers money. The Solar For All program is awarding $7 billion to projects across the country that will help over 900,000 low-income households benefit from solar energy.
We owe it to ourselves and to our kids to build on this momentum. On this IRA anniversary, I think of those children in Dalton and children in communities big and small across the country. I am excited for all the pictures to come if we get this right.
WI
these 10 HBCU students drive the summer internship of a lifetime with Black-owned newspapers
