DCentric

Greetings, DCentric readers. Here are the five things we’re reading:

Redistricting Roils Wards 6, 7 and 8 "Frances Campbell is a firm believer in elected officials heeding the concerns and interests of those they serve, but during this redistricting process, he said, Ward 6 residents have been ignored. The District’s plan to move a section of Ward 6 into Ward 7 has left the 60-year-old incensed. 'We have done a remarkable amount of work so far, things turned around and the quality of life has improved,' said Campbell, a five term ANC commissioner. 'There was a time when we had assaults and murders and now that we have turned all this around, they want to come and take a piece of the ward.'" (Washington Informer)

Congress Mulls Cuts to Food Stamps Program Amid Record Number of Recipients "Congress is under pressure to cut the rapidly rising costs of the federal government’s food stamps program at a time when a record number of Americans are relying on it….More than 44.5 million Americans received SNAP benefits in March, an 11 percent increase from one year ago and nearly 61 percent higher than the same time four years ago." (ABC News)

One-fifth of Metro's escalators out of service "The outages aren't just wearing on the riders. Two escalator repairmen, who asked their names not be published for fear of retribution, said they showed up to shifts recently to be told they needed to work mandatory overtime that night and every night that week. Such orders usually are reserved for emergencies, such as snowstorms, one said. And it didn't matter if they had other plans — or had parked their cars in places where they would get towed. They said they were told they would be written up if they didn't work the extra hours." (Washington Examiner )

D.C. charter schools up by 1 "Three of the District’s charter schools will not reopen in the fall, yet when the new school year begins, D.C. still will have more than it does now — a point that advocates for charter schools say proves their worth…the D.C. closings will be offset by four new charter schools, boosting the total to 53…More than 29,000 students — about 39 percent of the District’s student body — attend charters." (Washington Times)

Crack law could spring 1,200 D.C.-area criminals "More than 1,200 prisoners will be released into the Washington area if new sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine offenses are made retroactive, a proposal just pitched by the Justice Department…Michael Nachmanoff, the district's public defender, said the retroactive changes would alleviate overcrowding and save U.S. taxpayers more than $1 billion. The crack cocaine penalties disproportionately affect black people. In 2009, 93 percent of the defendants sentenced for crack offenses in his district were black, Nachmanoff said." (Washington Examiner )