DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Happy Monday.

USA Today Investigates DC Test Scores Crosby S. Noyes Education Campus was a 2009 National Blue Ribbon School. Former schools chancellor Michelle Rhee used the campus as proof that her methods were effective. But an investigation by USA Today uncovered some disturbing information about the school: “for the past three school years most of Noyes’ classrooms had extraordinarily high numbers of erasures on standardized tests. The consistent pattern was that wrong answers were erased and changed to right ones. Noyes is one of 103 public schools here that have had erasure rates that surpassed D.C. averages at least once since 2008. That’s more than half of D.C. schools.” (WUSA Washington, DC)

Marion Barry’s old block: a D.C. neighborhood’s racial evolution Gentrification and census news, as seen on the Mayor-for-life’s old street: “Joanna Willis, 64, an African American nurse who has lived on E Street for 34 years, said she recognizes the neighborhood’s improvements…But she feels something is missing. The woman she knew as Mrs. Pernell occupied the house to her right, and Mrs. Pernell’s sister, Cora, lived in the house a couple of doors over on the left. Both are gone, she said, and she’s not sure who replaced them. “At one time, the neighborhood was close-knit,” Willis said. “It’s not that way anymore.” (The Washington Post)

Census Shows Rise in Number of Multiracial Children A decade ago, the most common racial combination on the census was white and “some other race”; this option was utilized primarily by members of the Hispanic community. Now, the most common combination is black and white, which was chosen by 1.8 million Americans in 2010– a 134 percent increase since 2000. “I think this marks a truly profound shift in the way Americans, particularly African-Americans, think about race and about their heritage,” said C. Matthew Snipp, a professor in the sociology department at Stanford University.” (The New York Times)

Back to the future? Barry speech in ’95 might suggest path Gray takes In 1995, then-mayor Marion Barry faced scandals, investigations and the impending arrival of a Financial Control Board: “Gray doesn’t face a control board, but he does have to close a $320 million budget gap and try to find answers to 30 percent unemployment in the District’s poorest ward. (In 1995) Barry didn’t address his scandals. Instead, he took aim at the city’s budget woes.” (Washington Examiner )

Many U.S. Blacks Moving to South, Reversing Trend “And Atlanta, for the first time, has replaced Chicago as the metro area with the largest number of African-Americans after New York…At the same time, blacks have begun leaving cities for more affluent suburbs in large numbers, much like generations of whites before them.” (The New York Times)

Good morning, DCentric readers! Enjoy some tasty links before you mentally check out on a Friday.

Remembering Taylor’s D.C. Contributions: More than just money, past and present Whitman-Walker Clinic employees laud Elizabeth Taylor’s HIV/AIDS advocacy Former clinic worker David Chalfant: ”It created a sea change in the way people in Washington, across the country and around the world looked at HIV and AIDS…For her to step out and do that very famous commercial where she holds up a condom and says, ‘This is the one way we know to help prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS — before our sitting president [Reagan] even said the words ‘HIV’ and ‘AIDS’ in public was quite a statement.” (Metro Weekly )

Juan Williams: Making It Too Simple? “To say, as Williams does, that one gets “nervous” around young black men or Muslims is really not to say anything at all. We don’t interact with categories but with people, in specific places and contexts…The real question we should ask ourselves is not whether what he says is true — or rational — but how can we transcend such simple truths in order to better navigate more complicated realities? That’s the conversation we should be having but are not.” (The Root)

Next meal elusive for hundreds of thousands of needy in D.C. area 16.6 percent of Americans do not know where their next meal will come from or when it will be. Compare that to these local numbers: “Nationally, the study showed that 16.6 percent of Americans experienced “food insecurity” — the feeling of not knowing where one’s next meal is coming from — during 2009…Regionally, the percentage was lower overall — about 10 percent — except in the District, where 15.8 percent — or 93,000 residents — experienced food insecurity. Affluent Fairfax and Montgomery counties each had about 70,000 residents experiencing hunger at a rate of 7 to 8 percent.” (The Washington Post)

Student Who Shared Cocaine with Classmates Back Home Child was released to his parents on Tuesday, but is still not in school. Thomson is a “nicer” school than many of us probably realize: “Thomson Elementary School in northwest Washington, D.C. is known for being the first school in the District to offer Chinese as a second language, and for being the closest elementary school to the White House. Now the school is making national headlines for a student bringing something other than lunch and books to school – cocaine.” (afro.com)

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Good morning, DCentric readers! The rain may be gloomy, but April showers bring May flowers…which is no consolation in March. Month-madness aside, here are your bytes for Thursday:

McKinley Principal Pinder put on leave amid allegations Pinder has been accused of doctoring the transcripts of over a dozen seniors at the selective, high school which students must apply to attend. One of the students with an altered transcript was a senior who came to McKinley to play Basketball, who didn’t have enough classes to graduate on time. The whistle-blower, a college and career counselor at the school named Rhonda Robinson, was laid off because of the budget crunch. Robinson later testified that she thought the move was retaliatory. DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson stated that Pinder’s leave “is not a finding of misconduct” but “a necessary precaution” based on information her office received this week.” (The Washington Post)

Fired Chipotle Workers Protest At Local Store Commenters on the Prince of Petworth blog noted that the customer experience at local stores had worsened as a result of the mass staff changes. Several commenters reported that the replacement workers had prepared food incorrectly and in one case, compromised food safety by serving undercooked chicken and steak. The workers were fired for “irregularities” regarding their immigration forms. More: “Wednesday, pro-immigrant groups protested outside one of the stores, saying the workers’ rights were violated. Chanting “Chipotle, listen up, we’re not done fighting,” several dozen protesters are demanding the fast-food company apologize for the way it fired workers without notice or explanation.” (wamu.org)

Expert: Housing boom drove D.C.’s shifting color line Good read on housing and gentrification. Did the perceived wave of white gentrifiers displacing black city-dwellers merely lap at D.C.? The housing boom and bust play a role in this demographic shift: “This week’s (census results) also will likely show the increase in the city’s white population is not as dramatic as commonly perceived. “People characterize it as a huge influx but it’s really [the] white population increasing somewhat with the black population continuing to decline — plus an increase in Latino and Asian residents in the city…”. (Washington Examiner )

Clarus Poll of D.C. Voters: Mayor Gray Posts Negative Job Rating He does have pockets of support, though: “Gray does better among African Americans (42%) than whites (17%). He also does better among Democrats (32%) than non-Democrats (25%). From a regional standpoint, his approval rating is higher in the area of the city that comprises wards 4, 5, 7, and 8 (42%) than it is in the area comprising wards 1, 2, 3, and 6 (21%). Gray does worst among white men (12%) and best among black women (43%).” (PR Newswire)

Allure Marks Shifting Beauty Standards; Declares The “All-American Beauty” Ideal Dead Twenty years ago, Allure polled 1,000 men and women about beauty and found that uptown girl Christie Brinkley’s look was considered “ideal”. Today’s “most beautiful” celeb is darker-haired, fuller-lipped Angelina Jolie. Other major takeaways from the study about race and beauty: * 69 percent of all respondents believe there is no longer any such thing as the “all-American” look “* 85 percent believe that increased diversity in this country has changed what people consider beautiful.” (Racialicious)

Good morning, DCentric readers! Here are your morning links:

D.C. schools investigating possible grade-doctoring at McKinley McKinley’s graduation rate is the second-highest in the city. Its Principal, David Pinder, was not a teacher at the high school but the Examiner found transcripts that listed him as one. More: “Current and former McKinley employees told The Washington Examiner that Pinder instructed data clerks to doctor transcripts for several years at the Northeast magnet school.” (Washington Examiner )

Biddle: Let students ride Metro for free “We in effect charge these kids who don’t have the benefit of living in a neighborhood that has a good school within walking distance,” said Biddle, a candidate in the April 26 special election to permanently fill the seat vacated by Chairman Kwame R. Brown. “There’s actually a cost to go to school and it’s disproportionately impacting many of our low income families who don’t have access to good schools.” (The Washington Post)

D.C. student brought crack cocaine to grade school, attorney says New details in this case– the Thomson Elementary school student who brought drugs to school was in possession of crack, not cocaine as originally reported. The boy found the drugs in his stepfather’s car; he and his little sister are now in foster care. His school principal recommended that the child be suspended for a year; it’s unclear why the boy was in D.C. public school, since he and his parents live in Maryland. (wtop.com)

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Good morning, DCentric readers! Wait…has Spring sprung?

D.C. grant program to provide free screenings for colon cancer Colon cancer is deadly– but also very preventable. It disproportionately affects the African American community: “Nearly 30 percent of D.C. residents who received a colon cancer screening during a six-month study were found to have a precancerous lesion, a rate higher than the national average. Yet only a few residents took advantage of the free screening, prompting physicians to step up promotion of the program.” (The Washington Post)

Teens charged in killings were in DYRS’ hands Four gang members who were charged last week with conspiracy, gun possession and assault with intent to kill were all part of the city’s Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). This isn’t the first crime that young people who are affiliated with DYRS have been involved with; even the Mayor has admitted that the troubled city agency requires an “overhaul”. (Washington Times)

Detective: Girl, 15, charged in teen’s death said she didn’t think gun was loaded The 15-year old suspect had allegedly removed the ammunition clip of what police believe to be a 9mm handgun before playing around and pointing it at a friend. When the suspect pulled the trigger, she killed an Anacostia High Senior who was “serious about his studies”. More: “Nancy Glass of the D.C. Public Defender Service said her client had taken steps to make sure that the gun was not loaded. But the judge called the juvenile’s actions a “grave misstep” and “complete loss of judgment.” (The Washington Post)

2 More Plead Guilty In DC Taxi License Scheme In other news, people who are never able to catch a cab were heard grumbling about how effective the U.S. Attorney’s office is, since a total of 19 people have pleaded “Guilty”: “The U.S. Attorney’s office says Berhane Leghese, 45, of Arlington, Va., and Amanuel Ghirmazion, 52, of Washington, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to commit bribery, acknowledging they had conspired to bribe public officials in an effort to obtain taxicab company licenses. ” (WUSA Washington, DC)

Two people arrested in D.C. selling turtles on street I wonder how many other street peddlers are furtively vending reptiles. Those cologne and makeup people are everywhere! “Lesha Howard and Willard Hopkins were sitting on milk crates on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE when they were approached by cops. Howard and Hopkins admitted they were vending without a license, filings say. Besides selling cologne, wallets, and make-up products, they were peddling turtles, say papers.” (Washington City Paper)

Good morning afternoon, DCentric readers! These links may be late, but look on the bright side…now you can nom them for lunch!

D.C. needs bolder thinking on HIV/AIDS (The Washington Post) Brad Ogilvie, founder of the Mosaic Initiative, an HIV-prevention organization, favors dramatic change in how the District fights the spread of HIV/AIDS, vs. an “entrenched system” or content-free pronouncements like “the mayor has made the disease his No. 1 health priority.” Ogilvie recommends HIV testing for everyone who lives and works in the District, including the graduating high school class of 2012, and he advocates for self-testing, as well.

Gap between local rich and poor among largest in nation (Washington Examiner ) According to a Richmond-based think tank, only New Jersey has a larger gap between rich and poor than D.C., which is number two on the list followed by Virginia and number 3. More: “The top 10 percent of workers in the District earned at least $53.68 per hour, while the bottom 10 percent make no more than $9.78.” Martha Ross, deputy director of Greater Washington Research at the Brookings Institution said, “It’s a real and disturbing trend,” said Ross. “The social fabric gets less [integrated] if there’s a bunch of high-income people and a bunch of low-income people and they don’t see their interests as aligned.”

Adrian Fenty’s fraternity brother: ‘Vincent Gray should resign’ (The Washington Post) Former ANC Commish and Fenty fraternity bro Sinclair Skinner has some strong advice for his friend’s successor: leave. He says the Mayor is corrupt, that he bullied Fenty out of office, and that he lied to voters by promising “integrity” but delivering nepotism and scandal. Skinner says, “Now, with Congress investigating Sulaimon Brown’s claims that he was paid and promised a city job to impugn Adrian during the 2010 mayoral race, D.C. must brace for what could be the greatest political embarrassment since Mayor Barry’s arrest in a 1990 drug sting.”

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