DCentric

Good morning, DCentric readers! Here are Thursday’s links:

There’s a D.C. Council Race On. Why Aren’t Any Women Running? “On paper, a gig as an at-large councilmember seems like an ideal job for a working mom. It’s part-time, has flexible hours, and pays extraordinarily well…Why then, aren’t more moms, or women of any sort, interested in the job?” (Washington City Paper)

Gray cautioned on scrapping school vouchers “Mr. Gray used his first opportunity to testify as mayor to emphasize his support for charter schools and again bat down the voucher program, which he called “an experiment.” He said D.C. parents “do have choice. In addition to our traditional public education within the D.C. Public School System, we have what may be the most robust charter school movement in the nation.” (Washington Times)

Single motherhood still rejected by most Americans, poll finds “Cherlin said that for many Americans, the convictions rise not only out of moral concerns but for practical reasons. “Most people aren’t thinking of Murphy Brown,” he said. “They’re concerned about the economic problems of single mothers, and the amount of effort it takes to be a good parent. People aren’t anti-single mother as much as they are pro-two parents.” (The Washington Post)

Black Is a Multiracial Country “The point here is that when we discuss a “beiging of America” as though it’s new, it really ignores the fact that beige people are as old this country. But sometime in the 17th century, for rather embarrassing reasons, we decided to call them “black.” (The Atlantic)

Homeless People Start Tweeting in New Awareness Initiative Powerful idea: “It’s easy to ignore someone when you don’t know or care to know anything about them. But it’s different when that person shows up in your social media stream, telling you about a lonely day on the street or simply wishing you a happy Valentine’s Day.” (Mashable)

Joe Mamo, D.C.’s Gas-Station Master: Meet the guy who owns half of D.C.’s filling stations “By 1987, Mamo had moved to Washington, where an old friend had settled among the region’s large Ethiopian community. This too was “an accidental move,” he says. “I didn’t know Washington that well but I liked it here because it was much more diverse than Chicago. There’s a lot of Ethiopians, a lot of different cultures.” (Washington City Paper)