DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Ready for some links?

FCC chairman applauds Comcast for low-cost Internet program "The plan offers high-speed Internet service for $9.95 and a "netbook-style laptop" computer for $149.99. Only low-income families with school-age children are eligible for the program. Comcast agreed to offer the plan in order to secure regulatory approval of its merger with NBC Universal earlier this year. Genachowsk said poor Internet access hurts children's ability to learn. He cited one example of a girl who had to do her homework in the library parking lot in order to use the library's wireless connection." (thehill.com)

Tax Hike For Wealthy In DC "The tax on the wealthy goes from 8.5 to 8.9 percent. Supporters say the measure should bring in $106 million over four years. The tax will expire after that time. Councilman Jack Evans who opposed the tax increase says it will affect 6,000 individuals and small businesses, costing each one about $5,000 per year." (WUSA Washington, DC)

D.C. cabbies sue Mayor Gray and Taxicab Commission chairman Ron Linton "D.C. cab drivers once strongly supported Gray, but their relationship has soured. They're still upset about the change in fare system from zones to meters, which is partly why they supported Gray over Adrian Fenty in the last mayoral race. 'As soon as he got office, we could not meet with him, contact him, he made every excuse in the world,' said taxi driver Larry Frankel." (tbd.com)

Gaurav Gopalan’s Death Ruled a Homicide "The news comes in the wake of initial confusion about the case, and amid a string of shootings involving transgender women in the District. (Gopalan was wearing women's clothes when he was found by a passerby on the 2600 block of 11th Street NW.) Early rumors suggested a homicide investigation, and in the context of the other assaults, D.C. gay activists feared a hate crime." (Washington City Paper)

What Often Goes Unsaid "What concerns black journalists is the wider editorial latitude and the generous financial resources that some white journalists receive from their (often, but not always) white editors to pursue stories that minority journalists are sometimes denied. Then there is the high degree of attention and "pick up" that these race-sensitive stories by white journalists receive from other white journalists…a sense lingers among many black journalists that legitimate, important stories of hardship experienced by people of color are made extra legitimate if white journalists unearth them." (nieman.harvard.edu)