Mayor Vincent Gray (D) announced on Feb. 27 in a press conference that insurance plans regulated by the D.C. government must cover transgender health care expenses, including gender-reassignment surgery. D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB) issued a bulletin that prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and expression by insurance companies writing health insurance […]
Author Archives: Maria Adebola
Special to the AFRO
Posted inPrince George's County News
Prince George’s NAACP Chapter Travels to Annapolis for Foreclosure Rally
Members of Maryland NAACP chapters, including representatives of the Prince George’s chapter, converged on the Maryland statehouse Feb. 24 to urge Gov. Martin J. O’Malley and statewide legislators to place a moratorium on foreclosures until a top-to-bottom investigation is conducted into practices that are leading thousands of homeowners to lose their property. About 15 members […]
Posted inPrince George's County News
University of Maryland Computer Breach Exposes Personal Information of More Than 300,000
A computer breach at the University of Maryland exposed the personal information of more than 300,000 faculty, staff, students and affiliated personnel from the College Park and Shady Grove campuses, school officials said Feb. 19. University President Wallace Loh said that the database record included names, Social Security numbers, dates of births and university identification […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Facebook Acquires WhatsApp for $19 Billion
Facebook has reached an agreement to buy online messaging service WhatsApp in a deal worth $19 billion to the small startup. Under the terms of the deal, Facebook will pay $4 billion in cash, $12 billion in stock and $3 billion in restricted stock to WhatsApp’s founders and employees. According to its website, the WhatsApp […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Friendship Collegiate Students Receives Surprise Scholarship
It was the surprise of a lifetime for three Friendship Collegiate Academy seniors who received scholarships to further their education at Hanover College in Indiana. Associate director of admissions and director of the Templeton Scholars Program, Monica Green from Hanover College visited the school, Feb. 28, to make the presentations to Takima Johnson, Cora Smallwood […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
U Street Florist Flourishes on Valentine’s Day in Spite of Snowstorm
Despite a massive mid-February storm that even slowed the U.S. Postal Service in D.C., a U Street florist made sure that his Valentine’s Day deliveries didn’t get stuck in the snow. The storm that dumped eight inches of snow in D.C., 10 inches at Thurgood Marshall/BWI Airport and more than 12 inches at Dulles Airport […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. Man Arrested in Shooting Death of 18-Year-Old
A 24-year-old southeast D.C. man was arrested in the shooting death last month of 18-year-old Deangelo Gatling. The suspect, identified as David Washington, was arrested by members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force on Friday. According to charging documents released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Washington was armed […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Dellums, Hill Detail D.C.’s Role in Free South African Movement
As part of their celebration of Black History Month, the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University hosted a discussion panel on Feb. 6 entitled, “Washington, D.C. and the Free South Africa Movement: A Retrospective,” detailing the involvement of D.C.’s political activist community in the anti-apartheid movement. The event was co-sponsored by The Ronald W. Walters […]
Posted inAfro Briefs
Haitian President Speaks at Howard U. on Country’s Education and Recovery
Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly emphasized the importance of learning to a crowd of faculty, students, and other attendees at Howard University on Feb. 5, saying that “education frees us of ignorance and servitude.” Martelly and his wife, Sophia Martelly, visited Howard’s School of Business to talk about education and the positive changes Haiti has […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
D.C. Residents to Receive New Garbage, Recycling Cans
Beginning in February, D.C. residents will have the option of doing away with their old garbage and recycling cans. Mayor Vincent Gray recently announced that he had secured approximately $9 million in funding for the Department of Public Works to distribute new garbage cans and recycling containers to residents who receive trash and recycling collection […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Gray Brings Out Warming Buses to Protect Homeless During Cold Weather
As temperatures dropped to frigid temperatures, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) took extra measures to protect the city’s vulnerable residents from Jan. 23-25, activating four D.C. Department of Parks and Recreations sites to serve as overflow shelters and stationing warming buses at four more locations. The city worked with the District’s Homeland Security and […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Anacostia Community Museum Celebrates Legacy of King, Mandela
Friends of the Anacostia Community Museum came together Jan. 14 to remember the legacy of two Black leaders in an event featuring focusing on the leaders of tomorrow. Just before they entered the Baird Auditorium at the National Museum of Natural History on Jan. 14, a young usher greeted attendees with a pleasant smile, saying […]