WINNER OF FIVE SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS D.C. AWARDS Don’t Miss This Month’s Issue of the WI Bridge Center Section Vol. 55, No. 37 • June 25 - July 1, 2020
District Residents Eagerly Settle into Phase Two Reopening By James Wright WI Staff Writer @Jamesdcwrighter The District entered Phase Two of its reopening stage on June 22 and residents took full advantage of what it had to offer, taking care of personal needs and hoping to feed long-delayed desires in the city while mindful that the coronavirus pandemic continues. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser gave the greenlight on June 19, announcing that the District had met specified requirements including a 14-
5 Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill last summer to remove a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike from an area near Judiciary Square. On Saturday, June 20, Norton stood in front of what remained of the structure which was torn down and burned on Juneteenth. (Roy Lewis/The Washington Informer)
Even as an online petition to stop a halfway house from opening in Ward 7 continues to circulate, an elected official who has railed against the project recently expressed a willingness to engage residents with varying perspectives. In a post-Father’s Day letter to the Ward 7 community, ANC Commission Chair Tyrell M. Holcomb acknowledged his incarcerated father and older brother before proposing a virtual town where participants would weigh in, not only regarding the proposed location of the residential reentry facility but also the surrounding conditions he said would be of
detriment to the 300 men living there. “I cannot see us saying that we want to ensure our returning citizens are successful, and have them in the middle of Minnesota Avenue around the increased gun violence and mental health issues,” Commission Chair Holcomb (ANC 74) told The Informer as he explained why he thought the location at 3701 Benning Road NE, formerly known as the Bald Eagle, wouldn’t be ideal for a halfway house. While the date for Holcomb’s town hall hasn’t been determined, he expressed a desire to see Ward 7 residents and CORE DC LLC coalesce around a proposal that places returning citizens in an area where they can thrive profes-
HALFWAY HOUSE Page 39
PHASE 2 Page 14
Prince George’s Pushes for Collaboration, Systematic Changes in Police Department By William J. Ford WI Staff Writer @jabariwill
Ward 7 Official Encourages Discourse on Halfway House By Sam P.K. Collins WI Contributing Writer @SamPKCollins
day decline in positive test results. “We’re adding a lot of activity right now,” Bowser said. “We went from Phase Zero, which [directed] everybody to stay at home, to Phase One which slightly turned on activity.” Phase Two includes more business and governmental activity that can now take place but with several restrictions and requirements. Phase Two allows for an increase from no more than 10 to 50 to gather in groups. Houses of worship, however, have a 100-person limit for groups with singing and activities involving touching not permitted.
5 Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy holds a press conference outside the county’s Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro on June 19. (William J. Ford/The Washington Informer)
A prosecutor. A public defender. A community activist. Law enforcement personnel. They stood alongside each other outside the Prince George’s County Circuit Courthouse with a simple message: stand together to help reform the police department. “The fact that myself, a prosecutor, and the public defender have come together to say there are things that we must agree on. We must work on together to fix this system,” said county State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy. “I’m grateful that we have people who have the courage to point out where there are inequities and prejudices … in our system. If we don’t take them head-on and don’t acknowledge them, how do we fix them?” Trying to restore, repair and restructure a police department with internal strife isn’t go-
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