RECIPIENT OF THE DC BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION 2023 LEGACY AWARD
2025 Financial Literacy Supplement
Nurture and Grow Your Financial Future
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Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 60 No 52
October 9 - 15, 2025
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2025 Financial Literarcy Supplement Center Section
Federal, Furloughed Workers Encouraged to Try Entrepreneurship
Early Childhood Educators, Organizers and Youth Respond to Federal Government Shutdown
By James Wright WI Staff Writer
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
As the 2025 government shutdown enters its second week, some early childhood education providers are bracing for a situation similar to the pandemic, when they saw quarantined and newly unemployed parents pull their children out of daycare. While Kiara Fernandez said that has yet to be the case at Blandi’s Child Learning Center on 5With the government shutdown in its second week, some early childhood education providers are bracing for a situation similar to the pandemic, when parents pulled their children out of
SHUTDOWN Page 22 daycare. (WI File Photo)
Local Work Continues in the Shadow of a Shuttered Federal Government
Laughter, Logic, Listening: 3 Innovators Uplift Mental Health
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
COUNCIL REPORT Page 19
LAYOFF Page 14
World Mental Health Day
The Collins Council Report
The D.C. Council conducted a legislative meeting on Oct. 7 that, at a couple of points, hinted at the pressure that District residents face amid a federal government shutdown. For one, the council unanimously approved temporary legislation allowing DC Health to conduct marriage ceremonies and issue marriage licenses while D.C. Superior Court is unable to do so. D.C. Councilmember Christina Henderson (I-At large), who shepherded a similar bill during the 2018 shutdown, told council members that time was of the essence. “I’ve already even just today had two couples who emailed wondering when this was going to be finalized as they have weddings planned in the next week or so,” Henderson said. “While we
When Mary Hawkins (who has asked to use a pseudonym for protection) graduated from college in 1999, she landed a job with a Cabinet-level federal agency and settled into what her mother always told her: find a good government job and keep it. However, Hawkins was one of thousands of federal employees who the Trump administration, through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), laid off earlier this year. With the federal government formally shut down on Oct. 1, many agencies suspended operations and thousands of workers are left in peril of not receiving pay and benefits, if not losing their jobs.
By Dr. Patrise Holden WI Contributing Writer
5 Council Chair Phil Mendelson is navigating ways to best respond to the movement of bills through the Senate that are aimed at the local public safety ecosystem. (WI File Photo/Ja’Mon Jackson)
As people in the District and worldwide navigate increased political unrest, economic shifts, and the constant noise of social media, three innovators are seeking to increase accessibility to mental health care through building creative pathways for people to connect, reflect, and heal. This World Mental Health Day,
MENTAL HEALTH Page 20
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5 Ward 8-based actor and comedian Tommy Taylor Jr. uses a creative mix of comedy and connection to foster reflection, laughter, and community. (Courtesy Photo/ Taylor Creative)