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Reopening of Ben’s Chili Bowl Honors ’D.C.’s Mom’ Virginia Ali
May 7 - 13, 2026
Cyber Threats Are Growing—But So Are Ways to Stop Them
With Tech 101, D.C.’s OCTO Puts Digital Safety in the Hands of Consumers
Celebration Highlights Restaurant as District Staple, Furthers the Ali Legacy
By Jada Ingleton WI Content Editor
By Micha Green and Demarco Rush WI Managing Editor and WI Contributing Writer After six years of planning and undergoing renovations since July 2025, community members, public officials and longtime supporters gathered to celebrate the reopening of Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street NW on Friday, May 1, a moment that represented more than the return of a historic restaurant. A little more than a week ahead of Mother’s Day, the reopening served as a gift to the endur- 5 Virginia Ali (center), co-founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl, walks with D.C. Mayor Muriel ing commitment and legacy of Virginia Ali, the Bowser (right) and Maryland First Lady Dawn Flythe Moore (back) through the doors of the newly renovated Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street NW on Friday, May 1. (Demarco Rush/The
BEN'S CHILI BOWL Page 9 Washington Informer)
From the onset, Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) and her former D.C. Council colleague Kenyan McDuffie have emerged as frontrunners in what is the Dis-
Former Ward 5 Councilmember Reflects on the Legacy of His Mother, the Late Romaine B. Thomas
trict’s most consequential mayoral race in decades. As these two candidates fight for the top spot, other candidates, like former D.C. Councilmember Vincent Orange, continue to make their case to voters. If elected, Orange pledges to reverse much of what he calls the damage done by Lewis George and McDuffie on the
By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Writer
CANDIDATES Page 44 3 (L-R) Vincent Orange, Rini Sampath, Gary Goodweather, and Yaida Ford are other contenders in a race where Kenyan McDuffie and D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George have emerged as frontrunners. (Illustration by WI Photography)
CYBER THREATS Page 15
This Mother’s Day, the Thomas Family Honors a Giant
Change: Beyond Lewis George and McDuffie: The Other Mayoral Candidates Aims for the Throne
By Sam Plo Kwia Collins, Jr. WI Senior Writer
With a rapidly evolving digital world and heightened dependence on the internet, technology advocates note that most Americans ought to be prioritizing cybersecurity. Amid concerns of personal data breaches, phishing scams and extortion, plus the likes of artificial intelligence (AI), studies show the nationwide surge in cybercrime is neither beyond the average consumer nor unavoidable with the right precautions. Here in the nation’s capital, Chief Technology Officer Stephen N. Miller says there’s no better time to take the
5Family and community members are remembering Ward 5 matriarch and longtime District educator Romaine B. Thomas. (Courtesy Photo)
Family members recently said their final good-byes to Romaine B. Thomas, a Ward 5 matriarch who, for more than half a century, educated young people, stood up for the elderly, and preserved history amid gentrification, all while being a wife and mother to local political leaders. As Mother’s Day fast approaches, Thomas’ only son, former Ward 5 D.C. Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr., is taking solace in the more than 60 years he spent with his late mother. “None of that is always guaranteed to any of us,”
MOTHER'S DAY Page 40
Celebrating 61 years. Your credible and trusted source for Black news and information. MAY 7 - 13, 2026 1
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