DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Why not start your Wednesday with some links:

To Be Black, And Also A “Mutt” “In response to perceived social slights, West severs Obama from any individual claim to blackness while inviting him to accept the terms of an implicit contract by which his lost negritude might be restored. For mixed people, blackness is not accepted as a fact of existence but something negotiable, a question of membership to which those whom are Truly Black may grant you access. This gives the game away of course, the reality of race as an invention, if one we have no choice but to live with.” (The American Prospect)

Councilmembers vehemently stand up for stingy, multiple-car owning, wealthy residents “In a budget that makes very deep cuts, there was more passion for keeping parking cheap and for keeping taxes on the wealthy low than anything for keeping people off the street and from going hungry…This parochial argumentation seemed more bizarre in the context of all the cuts that threaten the life or health of some of the least fortunate residents. Asking households with 3 cars to pay $100 more per year is apparently “exorbitant,” to use Thomas’ term, but having families unable to get basic food and shelter didn’t stir up nearly as much outrage.” (Greater Greater Washington)

Metro Bus Riders With 7 Day Pass Charged Extra “Many passengers have noticed that their SmarTrip card is being charged bus fare, which means the $15 pass they bought is money out the window. ‘In two weeks I went though $100,’ said Corinthia Offutt, an Anacostia resident. Metro officials admit there is a problem with their software, but they say it will take until next month to get it fixed. Until then it’s up to customers figure out if they’ve been overcharged.” (WUSA Washington, DC)

Young woman, saved from a violent life in D.C., seeks to empower others “’Wherever we bumped into someone we were [feuding], a fight might break out,” Davina (Callahan) said. “Metro stops, shopping malls, neighborhood festivals — it didn’t matter.’ To single out a turning point in her life would be an oversimplification. But in 2004, when she was in ninth grade, Davina got an opportunity to join a life skills program called Saving Our Sisters. It was funded by former D.C. mayor Anthony A. Williams and Brenda Walker, his deputy for children, youth and families.” (The Washington Post)

Metro proposes longer train waits, but D.C. bus cuts more likely “Metro is hosting public hearings, gathering written testimony and surveying riders as it considers service cuts to fill a gap in the next budget. Much of the attention has been focused on cuts to the rail network that would make riders wait as long as 25 minutes for trains on weekends — not the more likely changes to buses that would primarily affect D.C. riders.” (Washington Examiner )