DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers. Here are four links to start off your day:

Big-Time Philly Restaurant Group Gets Into D.C. Market The landscape of 14th Street, NW is steadily continuing to change. The latest possible development: the vacant Shirt Laundry dry cleaning space may  be filled by a big-time French restaurant, a far cry from the storefront’s former life. (Washington City Paper)

Georgetown study: Pay gap between minorities, white still widespread White men still get paid more than women and minorities — surprise! But one of the researchers isn’t so certain that discrimination and being a part of the old boys’ club is the cause, saying “these numbers get past all of that. Getting hired as a school teacher is not about being connected. And why a school teacher makes less than a school teacher who is a majority person is a mystery.” (NewsChannel 8 )

Modell’s Sporting Goods at DCUSA opens Will Nash’s, a small business sporting goods store located nearby, suffer as a result? (New Columbia Heights)

‘The Sikh Pioneers of North America’: The Punjabi-Mexican Americans of California Did you know that at the turn of the 20th century, a community of Punjabi-Mexican families emerged in Southern California? This post provides us with the history of how immigration policy, discrimination and British colonialism resulted in these two groups coming together. (Racialicious)

Have you cooled off from your sticky morning commute yet? Excellent. Now check out these links:

Young, Scripted, and Black: Regi Allen’s Quest to Make FunkTV the First Urban Alternative Network Mount Pleasant resident Regi Allen pitched a smart and weird show to BET, Fried Chicken Cinema, which Marcus J. Moore of the City Paper describes as “an update of Mystery Science Theater 3000 for lovers of Blaxploitation films.” And then BET rejected it. Now Allen is aiming to start his own television network to appeal to the “young, quirky, well-educated black audience.” Will Comcast fund the project? Suspense! (Washington City Paper)

D.C. Scandals Take Their Toll On City Hall A series of political scandals involving D.C. Councilmembers and the Mayor may scare away Wall Street investors and give little impetus for Congress to give the District more autonomy. Also, Mayor Vincent Gray blasts members of the D.C. media for not “reporting about some of the good things we are doing,” causing his staff to erupt in applause. (WAMU)

Azi’s gets a new owner Beloved Azi has sold her Shaw coffee shop. “Those of you who have been in [the] neighborhood longer than a couple of years will remember Azi’s as one of the businesses that contributed towards changing perceptions of Shaw.” The shop will remain open under new ownership. (14th & You)

Minority youth spend more than half their day consuming media If you want to reach young people, get a Twitter account. And minority youth spend even more time using media than their white counterparts. Black and Latino youth use media for about 4.5 hours more a day than white youth, regardless of class. (poynter.org)

Report documents dramatic shift in immigrant workforce’s skill level While much of the national immigration debate has been centered around low-skilled workers, there’s been a sharp increase in the number of highly-skilled immigrants — and D.C. is one hub for them. Also, many of these highly-skilled new arrivals end up being over-qualified for the jobs they do get. (The Washington Post)

Up and at them, DCentric readers. Here are five links we’re clicking today:

Heat-Related Deaths Reported; Temps to Climb It’s going to be extremely hot today, so please check on any of your elderly neighbors or relatives. (NBC Washington)

On Being a Good Neighbor PostBourgie takes issue with our post on what gentrifiers can do to be good neighbors, pointing out, among other things, that “these are not rules for being a good gentrifier, these are rules… for being a good neighbor, period.” Also, the piece is “firmly stuck in the ‘not funny’ zone” thus creating “a recipe for disaster.”(postbourgie.com)

Syria’s Surviving Human Rights Groups A look at how D.C.-area Syrian human rights activists are connecting to their counterparts back in Syria. (WAMU)

Black Unemployment Crisis: Loss Of Government Jobs Hurts African Americans the Hardest Public agencies are among the main employers of black men and women. “A government job has long offered a pathway for African Americans to sidestep discrimination that has impeded progress in the private sector, where social networks often determine who has a shot at the best jobs, say experts.” (Huffington Post)

Naomi Campbell’s Complaints Get Chocolate Ad Pulled A play-by-play of the saga between Naomi Campbell and Cadbury, the candy company that compared the black supermodel to chocolate. What do you think: was the ad racist? (theatlanticwire.com)

Good morning, DCentric readers. Here are five things we’re perusing:

Sunglasses, Sulaimon Brown, and Marion Barry: Scenes from a D.C. Council hearing After fighting against a subpoena forcing him to testify, Sulaimon Brown finally showed up at a D.C. Council hearing — wearing sunglasses. “Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander failed to capitalize on the work that it took to get Brown there in the first place. She refused to ask any questions, because Brown wouldn’t take off his shades. ‘Excuse me, Mr. Brown,’ Alexander coolly said. ‘I am not asking you a question and I will not ask you questions with those sunglasses on.’” (TBD)

Plessy and Ferguson: Descendants of a divisive Supreme Court decision unite “The descendent of the man who tested Louisiana’s law requiring separate railroad cars for whites and blacks and the great-great-granddaughter of the judge who upheld it met in 2004. The truth is, no reconciliation was required. ‘The first thing I said to her,’ recalled Plessy, ‘was, ‘Hey, it’s no longer Plessy versus Ferguson. It’s Plessy and Ferguson.’ ’ (Washington Post)

Lawsuit against Thomas follows the money A timeline of the allegations brought by D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan against Councilman Harry Thomas, Jr. (Ward 5). (Washington Examiner)

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