DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers. It seems that cities are being ranked for everything these days, from where to raise kids to which city has the best tap water. How does D.C. rank? Find that and more below:

D.C. Named Best Place to Raise a Family Or so says Parenting Magazine, which reviewed 84 categories when creating its list of most family-friendly cities. D.C. topped the list with high marks for access to museums, kid-friendly restaurants and plenty of green space and parkland. According to the magazine, “You want the best for your family… and that includes great schools, affordable homes, low crime rates, plenty of jobs, and lots of parkland.” We’re not sure D.C. is really the best in all of those categories, but the city will take all of the positive press it can get at the moment. (NBC Washington)

A Refreshing Surprise: D.C. Tap Water Ranks Among Top 25 D.C.’s tap water isn’t typically included in conversations about the best-tasting water from around the country, but maybe it should be. A panel from the American Water Works Association got together, tasted water samples and ranked D.C. as 25th. Greenville, S.C. came in at number 1. (Washington City Paper)

The District’s HIV/AIDS Report Shows Improvement First, the good news: the overall number of HIV/AIDS cases in the District have dropped. But D.C.’s overall prevalence of the disease — 3.2 percent of the population is living with HIV or AIDS — exceeds the 1 percent benchmark for an epidemic. Still, Councilman David Catania points out the number of people who converts from HIV to AIDS dropped by 30 percent in recent years. (WAMU)

Leggett mindful of legacy of black political success Recent political scandals in D.C. have almost entirely involved black elected officials. That’s left Montgomery County’s first black County Executive Isiah Leggett reflecting on what that means for black political leadership as a whole. ”A lot of stereotypical attitudes about African American leadership persist: ‘We give them the keys to the treasury, and look what they do.’ … The ones who do wrong are a small segment, but they get nearly all of the attention, and the majority goes almost unnoticed while doing a good job.” (The Washington Post)

D.C. Central Kitchen Steps Up to Fill Elderly Meal Void The company that responsible for delivering food to home-bound seniors in D.C. had to shut down operations last week due to financial troubles. Now, D.C. Central Kitchen has stepped up to fill in, delivering hundreds of meals a week to those in need. (DCist)