Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 61 No 21
March 5 - 11, 2026
With Beleaguered Ward 8 Hospital in the Backdrop, Community Members Organize for Solutions, Alternatives
The Collins D.C. Council Report
Federal Officer Transparency, the Decoupling Impasse, and a Foreign Policy Matter By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Local Politics and Education Writer
By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Local Politics and Education Writer
As Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health struggles to regain patients’ trust, Pan-African Community Action (PACA) is coordinating a grassroots medical program aimed at circumventing a local health care infrastructure that members deem detrimental to Ward 8 residents. The program, known as the People’s Pan-African Wellness Front (PPFW), launched during the latter part of February at R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center in Southeast. Throughout much of that Sunday afternoon, two medical professionals provided services free of charge to
HOSPITAL Page 17
5 Wayne Turnage, D.C.’s deputy mayor for health and human services, says outpatient services at Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health will be fully online by the spring. (WI FIle Photo/Roy Lewis) 3 (L-R) Matthew Brown, David Gadis and Kirsten Williams of DC Water, alongside others, answer the community’s questions about the Potomac Interceptor collapse and overflow after an hour of presentations detailing the response and repair plan. (Mya Trujillo/The Washington Informer)
DC Water Updates Community in Forum Regarding Potomac Interceptor Collapse Residents, Advocates Demand Further Transparency and Accountability
By Mya Trujillo WI Contributing Writer Since the Jan. 19 Potomac Interceptor (PI) collapse and enormous wastewater overflow into the Potomac River, residents and advocates
Sports Page 32
have urged responsible agencies to provide more thorough and transparent communication. More than a month after the collapse, DC Water and Maryland held community forums in the District and Bethesda on Feb. 25 and 26
The D.C. Council started off the month of March on one accord, as it relates to mandating federal officer transparency. The 13-member body also took on a similar tone regarding keeping information— like their strategy around the decoupling quandary— out of the public eye. This edition of The Collins D.C. Council Report focuses on both issues. Further, this report delves into foreign policy matters, something that D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) doesn't deem relevant to the council, despite the intersection of local, national and international politics in the nation’s capital.
COLLINS REPORT Page 8
U.S. Casualties Mount as D.C. Tightens Security Following Iran Strikes By Stacy M. Brown WI Senior Writer Heightened patrols swept across the District with the expanding war with Iran— a conflict President Donald Trump launched without Congressional approval and that has already claimed the lives of reportedly six U.S. service members and scores of civilians across the Middle East. “Our hearts are heavy with the news that U.S. servicemembers have been killed by the Iranian response to strikes, and more are wounded,” Max Rose, senior advisor to VoteVets, said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with all of those in harm’s way and their families, who sacrifice so much for America.”
WATER UPDATES Page 20
IRAN Page 9
5 Heightened patrols are sweeping across the District as the first American casualties were confirmed in the expanding war with Iran (WI File Photo/Robert R. Roberts)
Celebrating 61 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information. MARCH 5 - 11, 2026 1
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