The hours of work, schedule and leave for Washington, D.C. firefighters and EMS personnel are not subject to union collective bargaining agreements, a city board ruled, paving the way for a major change in work schedules for those employees. According to the Washington, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, the city’s Public Employee Relations […]
Author Archives: Courtney Jacobs
AFRO Staff Writer
Posted inPrince George's County News
Prince George’s County, Md High School Student Killed in Shooting
The Prince George’s County, Md. Police Department is searching for suspects in the shooting death of a 17-year-old Suitland, Md. high school student. According to police on Dec. 7 at about 3:15 a.m., patrol officers were called to the 4900 block of Suitland Road to check on the well being of an individual. When patrol […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. Council Member Seeks Tax Break for Low-Income City Residents
D.C. Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-at-Large) wants to raise the individual standard deduction from $4,000 to $12,000 for low-income earners, a move that would exempt working poor families from owing any D.C. income tax. Bonds introduced a bill Dec. 4, the “Standard Deduction Amendment Act of 2013,” that would, if enacted, provide tax relief to persons […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Memorial Service Held for ‘Polo’ Burwell, TCB Band Leader
A memorial service was held Dec. 5 at the Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U Street NW, D.C., for Reginald “Polo” Burwell, 42, long-time leader of TCB, a go-go band, who passed away on Nov. 26 at Saint Thomas More Medical Complex, a nursing and rehabilitation center in Hyattsville. The band wrote under a picture on Instagram, […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Local Entrepreneur Launches Mayoral Bid
Andy Shallal, 59, owner of the Busboys and Poets restaurants in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, is among the almost dozen people vying running for mayor of Washington, D.C. Instead of announcing his bid at one of his four restaurants, where a coffee house atmosphere has been the backdrop for fundraisers for radical causes for years, […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
In Forestville, Everything’s Coming up Roses
It may not be as flashy as the just-opened Tanger Outlets, but miles away from the glittering National Harbor another major commercial step for economic rebirth in Prince George’s County opened its doors Nov. 21. After lying vacant for more than a decade, the Forestville Plaza Shopping Center is on the verge of economic revival […]
Posted inARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Chris Brown Washington D.C. Hearing Set for Jan. 8
A D.C. Superior Court judge set a Jan. 8 hearing for an assault charge against R&B singer and actor Chris Brown. Brown, 24, is charged with misdemeanor assault in connection with an altercation outside a District hotel Oct. 27. Brown was accused of striking a man during a fight outside the W Hotel in the […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Prince George’s County Council Votes to Raise Minimum Wage by 2017
Prince George’s County voted on Wednesday to join Montgomery County in dramatically raising the minimum wage, approving a measure that would increase the hourly rate to $11.50 by 2017 from the current $7.25. The current state and federal minimum is $7.25 an hour, roughly $15,000 annually for a full-time worker, placing the minimum wage employee […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Tanger Outlet at National Harbor Opens for Business
The speeches were scheduled for 10 a.m. but the sales started an hour earlier and the shoppers were lined up before dawn. The long-awaited grand opening of Tanger Outlets at the National Harbor got underway Nov. 22 as thousands of residents from around the region stood in line as early as 6 a.m. at most […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
New Prince George’s County Process Unveiled to Increase Input in Community Development Projects
The Prince George’s County Council Nov. 19 unanimously approved a measure that, its sponsor said, will increase opportunities for residents to play an active role in the growth and development of their communities. The bill establishes a public input and notification process for disposition of property and projects pursuant to the county’s Redevelopment Authority. Under […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
Recently Approved Cataract Treatment Exclusively Offered in Bowie, Md.
A Bowie, Md. surgery center announced recently that it has become the only facility in the metropolitan Washington area to offer a recently approved surgical device to treat cataracts. The eye surgery procedure, which involves implanting a device called the Glaukos iStent® in the eye, is considered minimally invasive surgery for the removal of cataracts. […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
P.G. Council Chair Harrison Added to Washingtonian’s ‘Most Powerful Women’ List
Washingtonian Magazine named Prince George’s County Council Chair Andrea C. Harrison (D-District 5) one of the Washington area’s “Most Powerful Women.” This annually published list places Harrison among the region’s most powerful women in government, business, health, media, law, education, nonprofits and the arts in 2013. “I am humbled and honored to be included among […]