Author Archives: Valencia Mohammed

Medical Marijuana The DC Council passed emergency legislation on July 14 to advance the medical marijuana program. The bills provide a patient-centric medical marijuana use program, a sliding scale for the purchase marijuana, and an increase in the number of plants a grower can cultivate to meet patient demands. Passage of B20-678, “Medical Marijuana Plant […]

Eric E. Sterling, president of the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation and director of the Business Council for Prosperity and Safety. For the past two decades, Eric E. Sterling, J.D. has been trying to unravel drug policy legislation he helped write while working on Capitol Hill. Sterling was counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee […]

Supporters for legalizing marijuana in the Nation’s Capital submitted over 57,000 signatures to the D.C. Board of Elections on July 7, to place Initiative 71 on the November ballot. Representatives from the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics (DCBOEE) counted 3,338 pages of petition signatures to legalize the personal growth and recreational use of marijuana. […]

Popular D.C. bookstore, Busboys and Poets. Radio personality Rush Limbaugh, known for his racist tirades, attacked popular D.C. bookstore, Busboys and Poets, because “it dissed his two children’s books.” The ultra-conservative talk show host was upset that the executive director of Teaching for Change remarked on a C-Span network that it specialized in children’s books […]

The Safeway at Petworth celebrated its grand opening on June 28, bringing the community a sustainable new store nearly three times the size of the previous grocery. The long-awaited structure, developed by Duball LLC, measures more than 62,000 square feet and serves as the anchor for a mixed-use project, providing a friendlier and more accessible […]

Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) D.C. supporters of marijuana took a hard punch after House Republicans flexed their muscle against outnumbered Democrats looking to legalize the drug. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) vowed to continue the fight to protect D.C.’s home rule after the House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment blocking the District from decriminalizing marijuana. […]

An AFRO Scoop Former D.C. Mayor and current Councilman Marion S. Barry is still standing following a spate of health problems during his political career, and was eager to share his story ahead of the release of his memoirs later this month. Former D.C. Mayor (center). (Courtesy Photo) “I’ve had a miraculous life,” said Barry […]

Eight months after he initially filed a lawsuit over the actions of the D.C. Council, candidate Paul Zukerberg finally got a big win in his quest to force the election of a D.C. attorney general, an election which was approved by voters overwhelmingly in 2010. On June 4, a D.C. Court of Appeals panel ruled […]

Washington, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Kenneth Ellerbe announced June 5 that he will retire in July following 30 years of service to the city, counting among his achievements the establishment of several programs intended to increase the safety of its residents. “I’d like to thank Chief Ellerbe for all his years of […]