VIA THE WASHINGTON POST: The unemployment rate in the Washington region soared to 6.9 percent in January, according to government data released Friday. It is the area’s highest level in 20 years of record-keeping. The region’s jobless rate was 6.2 percent in December and, not seasonally adjusted, 5.4 percent in January 2009. January’s data show […]
VIA THE WASHINGTON POST: District families applied in record numbers to the annual online lottery for out-of-boundary, preschool and pre-kindergarten slots, school officials reported Thursday. School leaders said the historic level of participation, which generated first-time waiting lists at 14 schools, reflected improvements in test scores, school building conditions and teacher quality since control of […]
VIA DCIST: The Post reported earlier that the very first gay couples to get legally wed in the District of Columbia this morning were Jeremy Moon and Bryan Legaspi, a pair of White House staffers, and James Betz and Robert Hawthorne. The two couples appear to have held their marriage ceremonies nearly simultaneously, one inside […]
VIA THE WASHINGTON POST: Turn in a pothole. The District Department of Transportation has launched its second Potholepalooza campaign to attack the ruts created by the harsh winter. In last year’s month-long campaign, the District patched more than 6,000 potholes that were either reported by the public or discovered by the city’s crews of pothole […]
VIA THE WASHINGTON POST: Mayor Adrian M. Fenty was racing through the District’s Southeast neighborhoods, shoveling sidewalks for seniors in Fairlawn, whacking tennis balls with youngsters in Hillcrest and posing for photos with teenage boxers at a recreation center in Bellevue. Four years ago, these predominantly African American communities embraced the young, energetic street-level campaigner, […]
VIA THE WASHINGTON POST: The District has continued to lose African American residents, according to new census estimates released Thursday, while the number of whites and every other census-tracked minority has risen. The city remains a majority African American city, though the numbers and percentage slipped in every year between 2000 and 2008. About 54 […]
VIA BLACK WEB 2.0: Last week search giant Google, technology nonprofit One Economy, cell phone provider Cricket and hardware maker Qualcomm announced a plan to provide free broadband access for two years to low income communities in Washington, D.C. The program, called “Project Change Access, ” will distribute free computers and wireless broadband access cards […]
This morning George Parker, president of the Washington Teachers Union, appeared on FOX 5 to discuss the Washington, DC teacher layoffs and Michelle Rhee. Watch the video right here and share your comments on this volatile situation.
VIA MYFOXDC: WASHINGTON, D.C. – When you think of hot, hip places to live, New York or L.A. may come to mind. But according to a new survey, K Street has become the new Wall Street. When you think booming economy, cosmopolitan living and hip and cutting edge, D.C. is now the place to be. […]
VIA MYFOXDC: WASHINGTON, D.C. – First Lady Michelle Obama bought some veggies and opened the Vermont Avenue Farmer’s Market. The First Lady told the crowd, “I’ve learned that when my family eats fresh food, healthy food, that it really affects how we feel whether we’re trying to get through math homework or whether there’s a […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Budget problems will force $40 million in budget cuts by D.C. Public Schools by the end of October. The move announced Wednesday could prompt teacher layoffs and increasing class sizes. The D.C. schools budget is estimated at $700 million, and the budget ax has fallen. It’s still uncertain of the effect it […]
Summer may be coming to a hasty end but that doesn’t mean that the family fun has to. Here are some suggestions on things to do with the kids on the weekends. Best of all–these ideas are all low to no cost! VIA WASHINGTON.ORG: 1. Watch the National Zoo‘s conservation efforts first-hand and pay a […]
