RECIPIENT OF THE DC BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION 2023 LEGACY AWARD
dmv35
December 2023. Volume 9. Issue 12.
DMV 35 Under 35
under35
Serving Our Community in the DMV
Majority of D.C. Council Supports Plan to Sue Mayor Bowser for SNAP Funds By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
The battle between the D.C. Council and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) over Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits reached new heights on Tuesday when D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson filed a resolution allowing the council to initiate or participate in a lawsuit for the disbursement of excess funds initially intended for the program. The council will deliberate on the legislation, titled SNAP Litigation Authorization Act, on Jan. 9. If it passes, this will mark the first time in a decade that the D.C. Council has
sued the executive. Council members took a similar course of action against then-D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) in 2014 for budget autonomy. During the latter part of last year, the Bowser administration officials told the D.C. Council Committee on Health that, due to competing budget priorities, it wouldn’t direct $39.6 million in excess revenue toward SNAP benefits. They reached this conclusion even though the Fiscal Year 2024 Local Budget Act mandates the disbursement of excess funds if September’s quarterly local revenue estimates exceed the D.C.
SNAP Page 40
Vol 59 No 12... January 4 – 10, 2024
5 Mayor Bowser leads the annual FITDC Fresh Start 5K held Jan. 1, 2024 starting at Freedom Plaza in Northwest. (Ja'Mon Jackson/The Washington Informer)
Plans for a New D.C. Archives Include Fossil Fuels — That Might Break District Law
Family Members Mourn Loss of DPR Lifeguard during the Holiday Season
Jazmin Jefferson, 21, Dies Three Weeks after Incident at DPR Pool
By Kayla Benjamin WI Climate & Environment Reporter
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer Jazmin Jefferson, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) lifeguard who suffered severe brain damage after an incident at Roosevelt Aquatic Center, recently succumbed to her injuries. She was 21 years old. On the evening of Dec. 23, Jefferson’s immediate family surrounded her as she took her last breaths in the intensive care unit at Howard University Hospital. Her death came three weeks after she was found
LIFEGUARD Page 34
This Month's WI Bridge Center Section
5Rendering of the proposed D.C. Archives building on the University of the District of Columbia’s Campus, from the front entrance. (Hartman-Cox Architects)
Last year, the D.C. Council passed a law prohibiting newly constructed buildings owned by the city from using fossil fuel heating systems. Now, a $103 million project headed by the Department of General Services includes plans for gas-burning boilers in a new D.C. Archives building. It’s scheduled to begin construction next year on the University of the District of Columbia’s campus. “There's no wiggle room in the law — it literally says on-site combustion of fossil fuels is not allowed,” said Matthias Paustian of the Sierra Club. “We are talking about a building that will be in existence, starting perhaps in the second half of this decade, and we're still building it with fossil fuels.” The District just released its Carbon Free DC plan Dec. 1, while Mayor Muriel Bowser attended an international cli-
Celebrating 59 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information.
PLANS Page 15