VOL. 54, NO. 40 • JULY 18 - 24, 2019
Combat National Anti-Boredom Month in July. Read a Book!
Dee Dwyer’s Call to Action Page 37
Skyland Topping Out Ceremony Will Highlight Addition of Lidl Grocery Store
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia
Bowser, Gray Both Pushed for Development, Full-Service Grocer By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia They were once political rivals fighting for the District’s mayor’s office, now Mayor Muriel Bowser and Ward 7 Councilman Vincent Gray are both welcoming success on the East End of the city with the topping out celebration of Skyland Town Center, a promis-
SKYLAND Page 46
Trump’s Racist Tweets Rebuked
5 Trump verbally attacked four progressive Democratic members of Congress known as “The Squad,” (L-R) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar, telling them to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” (Courtesy photos/US House of Representatives)
This time President Donald Trump’s racist messages didn’t go without response from his own party. In tweeting that four congresswomen of color – New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib – should all “go back to their countries,” Trump not only received a rebuke from the women – each whom are American citizens with three of the four actually born in the U.S. – but GOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said the president’s attacks were “not constructive but racist.”
RACIST Page 17
DC Council Seeks to Give Ex-Felons a ‘Clean Slate’
McDuffie Proposes Second Chance Legislation
By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer @StacyBrownMedia
5 D.C. Councilman Kenyan McDuffie (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)
District Councilman Kenyan McDuffie wants to give ex-offenders a clean slate. In legislation that’s not unlike what lawmakers in Pennsylvania passed in 2018 and went into effect last month, McDuffie has introduced the District of Columbia Clean Slate Amendment Act of 2019, which would expand the ability for ex-offenders to have their records sealed after a period of three years for qualifying misdemeanor convictions and seven
years for qualifying felony convictions. McDuffie’s proposal would amend the definition of the “completion of sentence” to clarify that failure to pay fines and fees does not count towards the completion of a sentence. The bill would also amend the definition of eligible felonies to include certain nonviolent offenses and it would require the automatic sealing of non-convictions, eligible misdemeanors, and eligible felonies after a certain period of time. The bill also would shift the
CLEAN SLATE Page 35
5 Sterling Tucker, the first elected chairman of the D.C. City Council, died Sunday. His grandson reported he died at his home in the District at the age of 95. (WI File Photo/Lateef Mangum)
Celebrating 54 Years of Service / Serving More Than 50,000 Readers Throughout The Metropolitan Area