DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! And now for some links:

Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause “I passed five fast-food and family restaurants in one long block, including one that advertised a ‘Texas-size breakfast’ of three scrambled eggs, two fried potato cakes, a buttered croissant and a choice of three sausage links, three ounces of ham or four strips of bacon — enough to produce a Texas-size heart attack, and for $1.99. Americans are not known for resisting such temptations, especially if money is tight.” (The New York Times)

Unemployment Math – Ta-Nehisi Coates “The black population in DC covers a huge swath of economic life, from the 25% unemployed in almost entirely black Ward 8 to the President sitting in the oval office. The demographic profile of the white population, on the other hand, is much more skewed, and reflects–as you said–the substantial educational, social, and other differences between the median white person in DC and the median white person elsewhere.” (The Atlantic)

Sentencing in McDonalds Transgender Beating “Teonna Brown pleaded guilty last month to first-degree assault and a hate crime. Prosecutors have said they plan to ask for a prison term of five years at her sentencing Tuesday. The beating at the McDonald’s in Rosedale in April attracted national attention after a video of it was posted online.
people.” (NBC Washington)

Household Income Drops To Lowest Level Since 1996 “‘It’s all about joblessness,’ said Timothy Smeeding, director of the Institute for the Research of Poverty at the University of Wisconsin. ‘Young guys don’t have work, and poverty would be even higher if so many 25- to 34-year-olds weren’t living at home with their parents.’” (WUSA Washington, DC)

The Needle: Half Off Whole Foods Edition/We’re No. 22! “Every year, college admissions officers swear they don’t care how U.S. News & World Report ranks their school…The highest-ranked local school on the list this year was Georgetown, ranked 22nd. The University of Virginia came in at 25th, William and Mary was 33rd, George Washington University 50th, the University of Maryland 55th, Virginia Tech 71st, American University 82nd, and Howard University 115th. Not that anyone at any of those schools is counting, of course.” (Washington City Paper)

Student Loan Default Rates Rise Sharply in Past Year “‘Borrowers are struggling in this economy,’ said James Kvaal, deputy under secretary of education. ‘We see a strong relationship between student default rates and unemployment rates.’” Although the new overall rates are the highest since the 1997, when they were also 8.8 percent, default rates peaked in 1990 at more than 20 percent. (The New York Times)