RECIPIENT OF THE DC BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION 2023 LEGACY AWARD
Washington Teachers Union, DCPS Reach Tentative Agreement
Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 59 No 51...October 3 - 9, 2024
Amid Affordable Housing Crisis, D.C. Council Okays Evictions, with Conditions
Advocates, Councilmember Question Bowser’s Assertion about Tenants By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer
Just one year after the expiration of its retroactive contract, the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) and District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) finalized a tentative contract that dictates the next four years of their working relationship. This milestone marks what's been one of the shortest, but more tumultuous, contract negotiations between the two entities in more than a decade. “I hope this shows that we’re able to
EDUCATION Page 42
Jazz Keyboardist Matthew Whitaker Page 34
5 The D.C. Council unanimously passed the Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Emergency Amendment Act on Oct. 1. (WI File Photo/Ja’Mon Jackson)
The Pervasive Fears of Black Parenthood In Urban Communities District Parents Face Unique Stressors, Concerns for their Children
By Lindiwe Vilakazi WI Health Reporter
5The Washington Teachers’ Union, led by Jacqueline Pogue-Lyons, and District of Columbia Public Schools have finalized a tentative contract that dictates the next four years of their working relationship. (WI FIle Photo/Ja’Mon Jackson) 5A parent walks with her two children to school in Prince George’s County Maryland. (WI File Photo/Anthony Tilghman)
Today’s social climate has presented children with a host of obstacles and challenges, many of which make a parent’s job all the more anxiety-ridden. The quality of an environment can greatly impact the course of a child’s life, and for Black parents across the District of Columbia, city life bears its own burdens of stress and concern
PARENTHOOD Page 36
In the hours leading up to the D.C. Council’s approved emergency legislation that narrows emergency rental assistance and eases evictions, Molly Catchen continued to implore council members to understand that tenants are, in fact, applying for emergency rental assistance in good faith. Despite D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s assertion that delinquent tenants are deliberately using the emergency rental assistance application process to delay evictions, Catchen told The Informer that it’s the landlords who are slowing up the process. “We see situations regularly where tenants apply for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program [ERAP] and landlords don’t respond to requests for documentation and/or payment plans,” said Catchen, super-
HOUSING Page 52
Collins Council Report: Medical Marijuana, Circulator Bus Drivers, and 911 Response Oversight By Sam P.K. Collins WI Staff Writer The D.C. Council conducted its legislative meeting on Oct. 1, the beginning of Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. There was much to discuss, including changes to emergency rental assistance, medical marijuana, and Circulator bus employees. In the days leading up to the legislative meeting, D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) started her fall season oversight of a beleaguered D.C. Office of Unified Communications. In addition, the Council also unanimously passed the Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Emergency Amendment Act, and more information on the vote and bill can be found in a separate article.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA MATTERS
On its final reading, the D.C. Council unanimously approved the Medical Cannabis Classification and Program Enforcement Amendment Act, legislation that D.C.
COLLINS REPORT Page 52
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