Category: Washington D.C. News

Howard University President Sidney Ribeau announced Oct. 1 he will retire from his post in December after five years on the job. He is stepping down abruptly, after a three-day meeting of the board of trustees that included intense discussions, campus insiders said, about management and finances at one of the dominant institutions among historically Black colleges […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — An aquarium that opened its doors to visitors in 1885 is closing its doors in the nation’s capital. The National Aquarium is closing its Washington location after the last visitors leave Monday. Officials announced in May that the aquarium must move out of the U.S. Department of Commerce building due to renovations. […]

A Maryland teenager who was charged in the stabbing death of another youth at a Metro station last November in northwest D.C., recently pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Chavez Myers, 18, of District Heights, Md. entered the guilty plea in D.C. Superior Court on Sept. 25. Prosecutors say Myers […]

There’s no produce or prize-winning livestock in D.C., to speak of, but that hasn’t stopped the District of Columbia from holding a state fair. The D.C. State Fair again joined the Barracks Row Fall Festival this year, showcasing creative contests with categories such as “The Funkiest Looking Vegetable Contest” and the “Heaviest Fruit Contest”, highlighting […]

Karen Dale, executive director of AmeriHealth D.C., said Oct. 1 that the new Medicaid manager in D.C. will hold a three-day conference on how D.C. healthcare providers and insurers can improve diabetes treatment. On Oct. 3, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C., Dale will convene Diabetes Innovation 2013, which will bring together some […]

In the face of a possible federal government shutdown, District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray has made a bold move, declaring all local government services essential in order to keep their doors open. The clock is ticking down for Capitol Hill lawmakers to pass an appropriations bill for the fiscal year 2014, which begins Oct. […]

The Rev. Dr. A. Knighton Stanley, the longest serving pastor of one of Washington’s most historic Black congregations, died of heart failure Sept. 21 in Atlanta. He was 76. Alfred Knighton Stanley arrived in Washington in February 1968, two months before the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spawned riots along the […]

Instead of learning about civil rights icons and Black dignitaries in a textbook, Washington D.C. students will have the chance to meet the heroes in person, thanks to this year’s “Back to School With the Historymakers” event. On Sept. 27, W. Gregory Wims, civil rights leader and one of the “Little Rock Nine,” civil rights […]

The month of September is stacking up to be the bloodiest month of the year, with 22 homicides reported through Sept. 21. The killings included the deaths of a dozen people at the Navy Yard at the hands of a sniper. Others include the killing of a man who died a month after he allegedly […]

(Updated 9/23/2013) After 120 years of service, the Greater Washington Urban League (GWUL) is set to host their 15th Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament and recognize the AFRO-American Newspaper for its excellence in covering the community and continuing the legacy of former sportswriter Sam Lacy. On Sept. 24 at the Country Club at Woodmore in Mitchellville, […]

Mayor Vincent Gray’s veto of a living wage bill aimed at big box retailers—and the D.C. Council’s failure to override that decision—could come at a great political cost, critics say. On Sept. 12 Gray vetoed the {Large Retailer Accountability Act} (LRAA), which would have required retailers with stores larger than 75,000 square feet and whose […]

The District of Columbia Council has censured Councilmember Marion Barry for accepting $6,800 in cash from two city contractors. The council also stripped Barry of his chairmanship of its Committee on Workforce and Community Affairs. Barry objected to the punishment, arguing that the council lacked the authority to take away his committee chairmanship. But he […]