DCentric

Hello, DCentric readers! Here are your morning links:

Another death, another reason to remove stigma of mental-health care “She was nearing a nervous breakdown,” one said. It’s a threat frequently ignored in a country where mental health care is stigmatized and too often discounted. That’s especially true in the region’s growing immigrant population. Dela Rosa is from the Philippines, and a family member told The Post that she was recently upset because she couldn’t go there for funeral services after her brother died.” (The Washington Post)

Southwest Waterfront: A Neighborhood Where A Change Is Gonna Come “A hundred years ago, the area was a crowded enclave, the first stop for immigrants from Europe as well as for freed slaves and other African Americans who’d made their way to DC. Though poor, it was a scene of row houses with busy stoops, small bodegas scattered about, and bustling street activity, all centered around what is now 4th Street SW (back then it was called 4 1/2 Street). But the area started to decline in the 1920s, and by the late 1950s, concerns about the existence of a squalid neighborhood in the shadow of the Capitol led to the city’s first big experiment in what’s now referred to as “urban renewal.” (dc.urbanturf.com)

ColorofChange’s James Rucker Explains Why We Need Net Neutrality “With so much at stake for black communities, you would expect black leaders and civic organizations to line up in support of an open Internet. Think again. Many of our nation’s leading civil rights groups — like the NAACP, the National Urban League and LULAC — and influential members of the Congressional Black Caucus have signed on to letters and made statements that have had the effect of supporting AT&T, Verizon and Comcast in their efforts to kill net neutrality. In some cases, the leaders and groups don’t seem to understand the actual issues in play or don’t know how they are being used. In others it seems to be a matter of long-standing relationships or the need to maintain the flow of corporate dollars.” (The Root)

D.C. Students Sing, Dance, Act To Protect Teachers’ Salaries “There’s a budgetary shortfall for Duke Ellington this year, of nearly $1 million,” he says. Pullens says the D.C. public school may have to cut as many as 15 staff members because of the budget crunch. But he has another plan: Ellington hopes to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars with its production of the musical “Dreamgirls.” The arts school even hired a Broadway director to make it happen.” (wamu.org)

Police, families continue search for two missing moms in D.C. “Two young mothers from the same neighborhood, are missing in DC, leaving two families to wonder what happened. Unique Harris, 24, vanished from her apartment in the 2400 block of Hartford Street, SE, on October 9, leaving behind her two little boys, 4 and 5. In August, Latisha Frazier, 18, was last seen near 18th and Trenton, SE, about a mile away from where Harris disappeared. She left behind a three-year-old daughter.” (tbd.com)

Jack Evans: Just Kidding About That Whole Redskins Field Idea “On Tuesday, WTOP reported some vague comments from Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans about the prospect of building a $2 to $3 billion, 110,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof to bring the Redskins back to the District–which, considering he’d just finished a 15-hour hearing he a $188 million budget gap would require making painful cuts to social services, seemed like a particularly ill-timed remark, not to mention a dumb idea…”Turns out that was more of a football fan talking than a politician with a strategy,” Bisnow reports.” (Washington City Paper)