DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! The rain may be gloomy, but April showers bring May flowers…which is no consolation in March. Month-madness aside, here are your bytes for Thursday:

McKinley Principal Pinder put on leave amid allegations Pinder has been accused of doctoring the transcripts of over a dozen seniors at the selective, high school which students must apply to attend. One of the students with an altered transcript was a senior who came to McKinley to play Basketball, who didn’t have enough classes to graduate on time. The whistle-blower, a college and career counselor at the school named Rhonda Robinson, was laid off because of the budget crunch. Robinson later testified that she thought the move was retaliatory. DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson stated that Pinder’s leave “is not a finding of misconduct” but “a necessary precaution” based on information her office received this week.” (The Washington Post)

Fired Chipotle Workers Protest At Local Store Commenters on the Prince of Petworth blog noted that the customer experience at local stores had worsened as a result of the mass staff changes. Several commenters reported that the replacement workers had prepared food incorrectly and in one case, compromised food safety by serving undercooked chicken and steak. The workers were fired for “irregularities” regarding their immigration forms. More: “Wednesday, pro-immigrant groups protested outside one of the stores, saying the workers’ rights were violated. Chanting “Chipotle, listen up, we’re not done fighting,” several dozen protesters are demanding the fast-food company apologize for the way it fired workers without notice or explanation.” (wamu.org)

Expert: Housing boom drove D.C.’s shifting color line Good read on housing and gentrification. Did the perceived wave of white gentrifiers displacing black city-dwellers merely lap at D.C.? The housing boom and bust play a role in this demographic shift: “This week’s (census results) also will likely show the increase in the city’s white population is not as dramatic as commonly perceived. “People characterize it as a huge influx but it’s really [the] white population increasing somewhat with the black population continuing to decline — plus an increase in Latino and Asian residents in the city…”. (Washington Examiner )

Clarus Poll of D.C. Voters: Mayor Gray Posts Negative Job Rating He does have pockets of support, though: “Gray does better among African Americans (42%) than whites (17%). He also does better among Democrats (32%) than non-Democrats (25%). From a regional standpoint, his approval rating is higher in the area of the city that comprises wards 4, 5, 7, and 8 (42%) than it is in the area comprising wards 1, 2, 3, and 6 (21%). Gray does worst among white men (12%) and best among black women (43%).” (PR Newswire)

Allure Marks Shifting Beauty Standards; Declares The “All-American Beauty” Ideal Dead Twenty years ago, Allure polled 1,000 men and women about beauty and found that uptown girl Christie Brinkley’s look was considered “ideal”. Today’s “most beautiful” celeb is darker-haired, fuller-lipped Angelina Jolie. Other major takeaways from the study about race and beauty: * 69 percent of all respondents believe there is no longer any such thing as the “all-American” look “* 85 percent believe that increased diversity in this country has changed what people consider beautiful.” (Racialicious)