Serving Our Community in the DMV
Vol 61 No 25
April 2 - 8, 2026
Metrorail at 50: Free Rides for Students and Questions about Federal Presence
Capture the Moment Page 37
The Collins D.C. Council Report
A Veto Override, Juvenile Curfew Delay, and the Fight for Utility Rate Payers
By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Writer
As the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) commemorates half a century of Metrorail’s existence, District leaders are celebrating a milestone in their efforts to help young people navigate public transit free of charge. NaTaya Bond recently participated in that celebration at Fort Totten Metro Station, where D.C. Mayor mom Muriel Bowser, WMATA General Manager-CEO Randy Clarke, and several others highlighted WMATA’s overall distribution of 450,000 Kids Ride Free SmarTrip cards. “My best part [of the Metro experience] is that it's free for students because it's reliable. We can use it and a lot of people don't have it,” NaTaya, a junior at Calvin Coolidge High 5 NaTaya Bond, a junior at Calvin Coolidge High School standing between D.C. School in Northwest, told The Informer. “So [WMATA] Public Schools Chancellor Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee and D.C. Department of Transpor-
tation Director Sharon Kershbaum, celebrates the future release of a student SmarTrip
FREE Page 8 card featuring her artwork. (Shevry Lassiter/The Washington Informer)
From Boy Scout to Eagle: Maryland Teen Redefines Legacy
By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Writer
During the D.C. Council’s March 31 legislative meeting, council members discussed open meeting modifications and safety standards for athletes and spectators at Capital One Arena. The 13-person body also took emergency action to disapprove the purchase of two dozen new pumper trucks for D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services. This edition of The Collins D.C. Council Report focuses on the emergency juvenile curfew extension that never happened, as well as the council’s override of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s veto of the Full Accountability in Arrest Reporting Emergency Amendment Act.
COUNCIL REPORT Page 9
Easter and Anniversary of King’s Assassination Offer Hope for Today’s Freedom Fight Faith Leaders Highlight Resurrection Message, Civil Rights Leader’s Legacy
By Jada Ingleton WI Content Editor Achieving the pinnacle of Boy Scouts of America (BSA) felt like a full-circle moment of what was and what’s ahead for Fort Washington, Maryland’s Mark Turner Jr. After a 12-year journey of service and stewardship, the 20-year-old rang in 2026 with an official Eagle Scout ranking and a reimagined take on what it means to define a legacy. As for his own, rooted in a lineage of perseverance, Turner told The Informer he sees himself in a culmination of greatness that has 5 Mark Turner Jr. and proud mom, Alyssa King shaped his entire life, including the future he’s Turner, during his Eagle Scout Court of Honor program in Alexandria, Virginia on Jan. 4. (Courtesy Photo/
By Micha Green, Hamil Harris and Jada Ingleton WI Managing Editor, WI Contributing Writer and WI Content Editor For many religious and civil rights leaders, this Holy Week marks a time of commemorations not only in the church, but the justice fight: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday– which also coincides with the 58th anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — 5 Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, president of Skinner Leadership Institute, is emphasizing the power of hope in the and Easter Sunday.
EAGLE SCOUT Page 23 Virgil Monroe)
Easter message and the call to work toward justice throughout this
EASTER Page 38 season. (WI File Photo/Robert R. Roberts)
Celebrating 61 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information. APRIL 2 - 8, 2026 1
WWW.WASHINGTONINFORMER.COM / THE WASHINGTON INFORMER