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MAY 2026 HEALTH, WELLNESS & NUTRITION SUPPLEMENT

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

WI Health Supplement Center Section

TITLE SPONSOR

Serving Our Community in the DMV

Vol 61 No 31

May 14 - 20, 2026

The Collins D.C. Council Report

Open Meetings, Youth Affairs, and One Last Round of Assistance for Displaced Condo Owners

During its May 5 legislative meeting, the D.C. Council deliberated on several issues, including permanent youth curfew legislation, support for former Talbert Street SE condominium owners, and certified business enterprise compliance and enforcement. The legislative body also approved, on its final reading, the Open Meetings Clarification Temporary Amend5 Members of Black Swan Academy (BSA), who stood outside the John A. Wilson Building ment Act of 2026. This bill continues a practice in which alongside clergy and other activists before the D.C. Council’s May 5 legislative meeting, are the council and the mayor can conduct closed meetings organizing for extended recreation hours, enrichment programming, and the creation of a youth

COUNCIL REPORT Page 36 governing council. (Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr./Washington Informer)

HIV Vaccine Awareness Day Promotes Need for Further Research

Local and National Programs Offer Care, Resources, Work Toward 5 Participants walk and advocate for a fight to end HIV in the Whitman-Walker 5K in October 2022. (WI File Photo/Robert R. Roberts) Prevention

When President Bill Clinton issued a call for a vaccine against HIV on May 18, 1997 at Morgan State University, health advocates leapt into action, and a year later kicked off an annual commemoration working toward that goal. However, with the Trump administration’s

An Inside Look: The Public Charter Sector’s Budget Season Fight for Funding Equity

By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Staff Writer

By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Writer

By Micha Green and Jada Ingleton WI Managing Editor and WI Content Editor

CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS

Despite D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed Uniform Per Student Funding Formula (USPFF) increase, public charter school leaders are decrying the outside dollars that D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) receives for utilities and facilities maintenance. Patricia Brantley counts among those who say that, without a similar type of assistance for public charter schools, students in that sector will suffer under the weight of steadily increasing expenses. “One of the hopes that I have is that the city has thought about a way, where if D.C. Public Schools’ [DCPS] fixed costs are transferred to another agency, something like that could also be done for charters,”

FUNDING Page 11

Green and Richard Elliott Maryland Leaders ByWIMicha Managing Editor and Celebrate Installation WI Contributing Writer Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), U.S. Sen. Van Hollen (D-Md.) and other federal, of Final Piece of Rail Chris state, and local officials gathered at the future Street – Woodside Station in Silver Spring for Purple Line 16th for the installation of the final piece of rail con-

2027 budget prioritizing defense spending on things such as border security and law enforcement, health advocates are speaking out against the decision to dramatically reduce or altogether cut funding for necessary research that could save lives. For many health advocacy organizations, such as AIDS United, the move sends a clear message. “The health and well-being of Americans

HIV Page 19

necting Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties on May 7. Moore, who is running

RAIL Page 13

3 State, federal and county leaders, including Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, gather to connect the last rail of the Purple Line at 16 Street-Woodside Station in Silver Spring on Thursday, May 7. (Robert R. Roberts/ The Washington Informer)

Celebrating 61 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information. MAY 14 - 20, 2026 1