Earlier this week, the news came of Mary Ann Luby's passing. She was 70 years old. The Washington Post noted her tireless advocacy for the homeless as the director of a women's shelter and as an outreach worker for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. Her co-workers at the legal clinic wrote on their [...]
This week, various poverty rights orgs tried to blogged on what they're thankful for. Save Our Safety Net led the effort and a bunch of local progressives penned heartfelt thanks on their own blogs—maybe giving Councilmember Marion Barry material for his next op-ed. It's also their way of highlighting programs that they hope Mayor-Elect Vincent Gray [...]
You don't see this every day: a bicyclist struck and injured two pedestrians along the 600 block of Mass Avenue NW. The accident took place this morning.
Shepherd Park's listserv has actually had a healthy debate on Walmart potentially moving into the old dealership lot at Missouri and Georgia. But one resident sticks out—she claims that she may have gotten polled by Walmart. It's pretty interesting, and not unusual considering the company has already set up its own propaganda website. The resident [...]
Today, Councilmember Marion Barry and/or his ghostwriter writes an op-ed addressing his controversial TANF legislation that would impose a five-year limit on public assistance and a host of other aid to District residents. Is this guy trying to score a book deal? Become the next Bill Cosby?
Debate after the jump!
In yesterday's edition, the New York Times editorial board took on Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells' residency requirement for homeless services bill. The board called his proposal "inhumane" and suggested it was simply "very bad public policy." The board also cited the CFO which stated that Wells' bill wouldn't save the city any money. Late [...]
Today, the New York Times' editorial board took the unusual step of issuing an opinion on a local D.C. issue. The board thoroughly shreds Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells' incredibly lazy proposal to limit homeless services to District residents. If only the Washington Post would be so bold.
Times editorial after the jump.
After a short hiatus during the recent campaign season, Save Our Safety Net is back up and fighting. The group's latest issue: taking on Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells' bill that would restrict homeless services to only District residents. The Safety Netters show that there's more to this bill than the residency requirement.
On Oct. 30, WaPo's editorial board took precious space away from either praising Michelle Rhee's school reforms or using it as a litmus test in deciding who to support in tomorrow's election (see the board's non-endorsement of Councilmember Mary Cheh) to address the growing numbers of D.C.'s homeless residents. Despite local government's stagnant efforts to [...]
Last week, I chronicled one very good cop's encounter with kids who were victims of homophobia. I also wrote about one foster child's horrific journey through the District's child-welfare system. This week I'm going to focus on my interviews with the lawyers, judges, and advocates who see homophobia up close via their involvement with the [...]
This week I wrote about a gay D.C. foster kid, Kenneth Jones, who had been bullied at school, relentlessly teased by relatives, and eventually threatened by his foster father. I have been following Kenneth for two-and-a-half years. Much of that bullying or its aftermath I'd witnessed. But in the course of my reporting, I interviewed [...]
Councilmember Tommy Wells may have held off on trying to pass an emergency bill on homeless services. But he's still seeking passage of a non-emergency version of the same bill which would impose residency requirements for families seeking shelter. Here's the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless response to the bill on their blog:
"Rather than [...]
Joram Regis, principal of the Prospect Learning Center, a D.C. public school located in Capitol Hill that focuses on special-needs students, developed a string of get-tough ideas to keep his students and teachers in line.
Regis routinely held afternoon faculty meetings in the school's auditorium. These often turned into one-man bitch sessions, in which Regis would [...]
A few months back, I ran into Corey Moore in Takoma. He was driving down Piney Branch one afternoon when he saw me and hollered. He pulled over. His teenage son rode shotgun. He had another smaller boy in the back seat of his SUV. I hadn't seen him in years. He told me he [...]
As the Washington Post reports, yesterday's D.C. Council hearing on homeless services turned city officials into Sharron-Angle style fear mongers. Officials claimed that outsiders i.e. Maryland and Virginia residents were utilizing the city's homeless services. Officials stated that 10 percent of city beds were being taken up by these interlopers:
"A study of the rolls at [...]
