DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Here are your links:

Oldest African American, and one of my church ladies, carried no anger, no stress “According to the Gerontology Research Group, Winn had been one of two known people left in the United States whose parents were almost certainly born into slavery. It’s as if a living history book has vanished. And, yet, just her presence spoke volumes: A contemporary woman, born in 1898, only one generation removed from the Civil War and the “peculiar institution” that started it…Sort of makes you wonder how anyone could believe that the effects of 300 years of slavery, along with another century of Jim Crow racial oppression, could disappear in such a short time.” (The Washington Post)

DC Councilmember Mary Cheh Reintroduces Restaurant Hygiene Grading Bill “D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh has introduced a bill that would require D.C. restaurants to publicly display letter-grade report cards on their premises based on Department of Health inspections. Restaurant owners are already pushing back. A similar measure failed to make it out of committee last year. Cheh says it’s not a “gotcha game” and wants to work with restaurants. Owners say inspections are a snapshot based on one day and they worry there are not enough inspectors to make it fair or to fix problems before they get a bad grade.” (myfoxdc.com)

Jim Graham Resurrects “Obama Park” Resolution “In July 2009, Ward 1 D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham introduced a Council resolution to rename the then-recently renovated community space at 14th and Girard Streets NW as “Barack Hussein Obama Park.”…Well, the Council is back in session today, and Graham just proposed the resolution again. Does a year-and-a-half make a difference? If approved, the park would still be the first piece of D.C. city property named after Obama.” (DCist)

Thieves Steal From After-School Mentoring And Education Program In D.C. “We don’t want to point fingers, we don’t want to place blame. That’s not productive, that’s not going to move us forward at all,” said Allison Brown. “If somebody else is hurting, they’ll even steal pennies from a child,” said Sabater. The mentoring and education program, honored by the White House, had been fundraising to build a new facility and serve more urban children who need them the most. “Right in the midst of you trying to make your break-through, somebody’s trying to do a break-in,” said Sabater.” (WUSA Washington, DC)

D.C. mayor offers most explicit criticism of IMPACT teacher evaluation system “Mayor Vincent C. Gray says that the IMPACT teacher evaluation system, regarded as former schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee’s signature reform, has “a long way to go” before it is fair because it disadvantages instructors in schools with large numbers of students challenged by the effects of poverty and other social conditions…Gray’s criticism of IMPACT, his most explicit since entering office, echoes that of the Washington Teachers’ Union, a major financial supporter of his candidacy.” (The Washington Post)

GU takes student ghetto approach to housing undergrads “Why should Georgetown University be expected to build additional on-campus housing for undergraduates? If you visit the couple dozen blocks around the University in West Georgetown (west of Wisconsin Ave) and Burleith, you will find a student ghetto that simply wasn’t there in 1980. The area is becoming characterized by dilapidated houses and unbagged trash strewn across lawns. 27% of student group homes have had run-ins with the police in the past year. The university touts this as a success.” (Greater Greater Washington)