Category: Washington D.C. News

A hodgepodge of candles and teddy bears covered the ground where Joshua Hopkins, 19, spent his final moments grasping for life. Mourners gathered at the 6100 block of Banks Place N.E. on July 6 for a vigil honoring Hopkins’ once-promising future and memory – an all too common scene on the city’s streets this summer. […]

Falling in line with a federal mandate that calls for drastic improvement, the District of Columbia Public Schools system has begun restructuring six of its 129 schools and positioning another to operate with the assistance of an external partner. The restructuring processes, which come as the result of a five-year failure in meeting Adequate Yearly […]

The mercury level in the District has been so high the past few days that temperatures have easily exceeded 100 degrees, causing the Department of Parks and Recreation to extend its outdoor swimming pool hours. “Because of the high temperatures we wanted to give District residents an opportunity to beat the heat,” DPR spokesman John […]

Baltimore native Donte’ Greene usually stars as the high-flying forward for the Sacramento Kings. On Friday, Greene moonlighted as the high-flying, backboard-slapping star attraction at Washington, D.C.’s George Goodman Summer League. In Greene’s second appearance at the famed street ball league, the 6-foot-11-inch swingman showed off his athleticism while mixing in some long-range shooting and […]

The Supreme Court on June 28 struck down Chicago, Ill.’s strict anti-handgun legislation, but D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton said the decision in fact sanctions Washington D.C.’s new and revised gun laws, created after the same court struck down the city’s more restrictive gun ban two years ago. The nation’s highest court struck down a […]

After Yvonne Moore, a member of Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., sat through a same sex commitment ceremony in her church in 2007, she was angry. First, she filed a lawsuit. Then she left the congregation she has been a part of for nearly 40 years. “Why did I do it?” Moore said during […]

Even though City Council Chairman Vincent Gray lavished praise on the architects of the landmark teachers union contract, he acknowledged that inequities exist and that those who have been impacted have looked to the Council for assistance. In comments to the media, Gray expressed relief that the controversial contract, approved unanimously this week by the […]

Mayor Adrian Fenty was a no-show at the highly anticipated June 28 debate that was slated to focus on the state of the city’s troubled public schools system. According to the District of Columbia Chapter of Young Education Professionals, which sponsored the “Great Education Forum,” Fenty was expected to spar with his chief opponent in […]

Mayor Adrian Fenty has joined with the District Department of Human Services to congratulate the U. S. Interagency Council on Homelessness on its release of the nation’s first comprehensive plan to prevent and end homelessness. The plan is entitled, “Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness,” and is the result of a […]

For years, because it lacked adequate housing for juvenile offenders, the District resorted to placing them in facilities outside the city; most times, in other states as far as 300 miles away. This was particularly true for females. Last year for instance, of the more than 300 youths from the District that were detained in […]

WASHINGTON—Academic awards are usually given to students that excel on a consistent basis. But Councilmember Kwame R. Brown recently recognized 22 District students who may not have started off as “A” students but have worked their way past obstacles to a higher academic standing. They were students like Michelle Burris, of School Without Walls. Burris started […]

Following months of sometimes contentious debate, Metro’s Board of Directors has paved the way for the first of two fare hikes. The first went into effect June 27 and is part of the beleaguered transit system’s effort to cover a $189 million budget deficit. The agency’s new fiscal year begins July 1 and incorporates an […]