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Celebrating 58 Years - Vol. 58, No. 48 • September 14 - 20, 2023
Residents and Government Officials Feel Pressure of Food Insecurity By Lindiwe Vilakazi and Sam P.K. Collins WI Health Reporter and WI Staff Writer
5 Commanders Quarterback Sam Howell (14) runs for a first down in a win over the Arizona Cardinals 20-16 during the season opener at FedEx Field in Landovr on September 10. (Abdullah Konte/The Washington Informer)
Since moving to the Bellevue neighborhood of Ward 8 three years ago, Jay Clark has become quite familiar with the lack of quality produce in his community grocery stores. So much so that he often travels across the Anacostia River to shop for his food. Clark, a lifelong D.C. resident hailing from Northeast, said it’s by design that the Giant stores located in Eastover in Oxon Hill, Maryland and along Alabama Avenue in Southeast carry what he, and several others,
Pilot Curfew Program Highlights Polarizing Debate about Parental Involvement By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer Since the District’s pilot curfew program went into effect, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has dispatched officers to seven areas where young people have frequently engaged in violent activities at night.
Tia Bell, a District resident committed to quelling violence through a public health approach, said MPD took one of her young people to the Department of Youth and Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) after an encounter near Georgia Avenue in Northwest on Sept. 1, the first night of the curfew. The youth was returning home from a football game, Bell said. However Bell contends that D.C. officials didn't include her
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consider some of the worst produce in the D.C. area. “They don’t give the people in Southeast good, quality foods. Simple as that," said Clark, 41. "The pineapples aren’t going to look like the pineapples they carry in the Connecticut Avenue location,” he continued. “They aren’t going to get the fresh peaches, the fresh bananas. Not the top of the line.”
ATTEMPTING TO CLOSE THE FOOD SECURITY GAP
Clark lives in a food desert, which is defined as a geographic area where residents lack access to grocery stores
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NEVER FORGET
Local Faith Leaders Remember Sept. 11 22 Years Laters
By Hamil R. Harris WI Staff Writer
5The Metropolitan Police Department dispatched officers to seven areas where young people have frequently engaged in violent activities at night as part of the new curfew program. However, some people worry about the effectiveness of the program and are challenging District officials to hold parents accountable for their childrens’ actions. (Courtesy Photo)
James Daniel Debeuneure was a father, husband, church-man and fifth grade teacher at Ketcham Elementary School in Washington, D.C. In addition to teaching he devoted much of his time to students, educational programs and working with the school safety patrol. On September 11, 2001, Debeuneure was part of group six of teachers and students from three District schools who were aboard American Airlines Flight 77 headed to California when shortly after takeoff from Dulles Airport terrorists hijacked and
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