Elise Dean - 91 DC Neighborhood Stories from American University Fri, 31 Jan 2020 17:08:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-The_Wash_4_Circle-1-32x32.png Elise Dean - 91 32 32 Hospital care denied for many victims of violent crime /2020/01/24/hospital-care-denied-for-many-victims-of-violent-crime/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hospital-care-denied-for-many-victims-of-violent-crime /2020/01/24/hospital-care-denied-for-many-victims-of-violent-crime/#respond Fri, 24 Jan 2020 14:27:46 +0000 /?p=6636 A recent political decision has made access to medical care increasingly more difficult for the Southeast D.C. community.

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Gerald Watson was only a few months into his freshman year at Anacostia High School in Southeast Washington D.C. when he was brutally murdered. Just 12 days before Christmas last year, Watson was ambushed by masked attackers and shot 17 times, left to die in the stairwell of his apartment complex.

Watson was just 15.

According to police reports, the motive for the murder of Watson involved a “neighborhood dispute.” (Courtesy of Metro Police Department)

But now, many who knew Watson often ponder whether he would have survived if his commute to the hospital would have been slightly shorter.

“I wonder still to this day, like, what that would have been like had he been taken to a hospital that was significantly closer,” said Nathan Luecking, a social worker at Anacostia High School who knew Watson. “Would he have survived? And that’s the kind of thing that I have to think about every time a student is killed, pronounced dead at the hospital.”

What could have been a brief nine-minute ride in the ambulance to the closest hospital, United Medical Center (UMC), ended up being a longer commute because UMC currently does not operate as a Level 1 trauma center and cannot treat the most seriously injured patients.

According to a spokesperson for the D.C. Fire Department, gunshot victims in Southeast D.C. can be transported to George Washington University Hospital, Howard University Hospital, MedStar Washington Hospital Center or UM Prince George’s Hospital Center.

At the time of Watson’s shooting, the closest active hospital would have likely been Prince George’s, at least 20 minutes away.

The remaining three hospitals are located at least 25 minutes away, excluding traffic.

The Fire Department declined to provide specific emergency care details about the Watson shooting due to concerns over medical privacy.

According to data provided by the Metropolitan Police Department, Wards 7 and 8 have experienced 87 gun-related homicides this year.

But some victims of gun violence in Southeast D.C. don’t get the chance to receive medical treatment, whether at UMC or another D.C. hospital. Community activist Jay Brown said that when he arrives at the scene of a shooting, no one has the necessary training to resuscitate the victim.

“So they literally bleed to death right in front of you,” said Brown. “You literally have to watch somebody bleed to death. They go into cardiac arrest, bleed out, just because we don’t have a trauma center nearby.” 

Brown said that he often sees victims of blunt-force trauma rushed to UMC, only to be transferred to another trauma center, ultimately adding to the amount of time before they are treated by a medical professional.

UMC, the only public hospital in Southeast D.C., offers limited healthcare services to its residents because the D.C. government elected to shut down the hospital by 2023. The decision, spearheaded by Ward 7 ANC Councilmember Vincent Gray, slashed hospital funding for UMC, which forced a shutdown of the trauma center and maternity ward and limited staffing for nurses. 

Many employees are still working at United Medical Center today, but fear for the future of their jobs as the closure date nears. (Elise Dean / 91)

The decision was made, in part, as a result of the questionable track record of the hospital. According to reports by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, there were at least 26 health violations discovered at the hospital in 2018. Some of these violations included patient rights and infection control.

This decision left residents in Wards 7 and 8, like Watson, with no choice but to be transported across the Anacostia River, into the heart of the city, to address both basic and dire health concerns.

Gerald Watson touched many lives, including Amanda Jonas, who was his 5th grade math teacher. Watson on the left. (Courtesy of Amanda Jonas)

But according to reports by the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, homicides by firearm were among the most common cause of death for residents in Wards 7 and 8 in comparison to the rest of D.C. , there were approximately 42 homicides between Wards 7 and 8. 

While the remaining five wards in D.C. only experienced a combined 36 shootings for the year.

Drug overdose and cardiovascular disease were the other two most frequent causes of death in both Wards.

When patients are transferred to hospitals quickly, they are ultimately met with slow diagnoses’ from medical professionals. The lack of funding has placed staffing constraints on hospital employees, especially nurses at UMC.

According to exclusive reporting by 91, if a patient does get treated at UMC, the average wait time can be up to five hours. Based on average national ER wait times , D.C. takes 2nd place behind Puerto Rico for the longest amount of time patients spend in the emergency room.

Members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) attended a recent hearing to testify on behalf of the hospital and the Southeast community. (Elise Dean / 91)

“We need supplies, we need to have adequate staffing, we need safety conditions for ourselves,” said Roberta LeNoir, a nurse at UMC and President of D.C. Nurses Association UMC unit. “There are nurses being hurt in the psych department because of inadequate staffing. We don’t have an adequate housekeeping department, so we’re sweeping floors, mopping floors, pulling trash, pulling linen. We do it all.”

LeNoir and several other community members attended a recent hearing on the future of UMC, which turned into a searing six hours of testimony about the dire need for UMC to remain open.

At the hearing, Councilmember Gray said his priority has been developing a new hospital in Southeast D.C., which is reportedly set to open on December 31, 2022.

Gray says the new hospital will include many of the facilities that UMC can no longer provide including a trauma center.

Meanwhile, without a hospital, community members like Luecking of Anacostia High are still fighting for access to adequate medical care.

“The reason I’m here is because the lack of adequate healthcare funding East of the river is literally killing children,” said Luecking, of Anacostia High. “The length of time it takes a gunshot victim to get from Southeast D.C. up to Howard University or George Washington University is the difference between life and death.”

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District reverses course on athletic field decision /2019/11/19/district-reverses-course-on-athletic-field-decision/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=district-reverses-course-on-athletic-field-decision /2019/11/19/district-reverses-course-on-athletic-field-decision/#respond Tue, 19 Nov 2019 18:09:28 +0000 /?p=5960 Banneker student-athletes find victory in overturning District athletic field decision.

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When the design plans for the new Banneker High School were revealed, the $152-million modernization plan included a sleek new design with open green spaces and new athletic facilities that mirrored a modern college campus.

The front perspective of the new Banneker High School. (Courtesy of DCPS)

Except, student-athletes at Banneker saw some big defects in the design: A football field without a football team. And very limited space for the track team to train, despite a student body full of track stars.

The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) proposed design plan only included a straightaway track for the school.

At a community outreach meeting in late October, students, parents and faculty members all voiced their concerns about the football field. Several community members voiced frustrations about the lack of community input and concerns that the decision wasn’t gender-inclusive. At the time, DCPS staff member, Joi Ruffin, stated that the decision for a football field was signed off by the Chancellor and was no longer up for discussion.

That controversial decision changed last week when DCPS announced in an email that the development team was shifting away from “a football field with straightaway track” to “a partial track with practice field.”

A track schools track record

RuQuan Brown has been running track since he was only seven years old. As a high school senior and the student body president at Banneker, he’s finishing out his high school career by fighting for the future of track at Banneker.

“I think the track is gonna just allow Banneker to continue to be what is has been,” said Brown. “So I think if you look at what Banneker is doing for our community right now, that’s [the track] what it’s gonna continue to do.”

As a senior at Banneker, RuQuan Brown (right) runs track and plays football. (Courtesy of RuQuan Brown)

Brown is considered “a star” for the Banneker track team after getting 2nd in the state for running the 55 meter dash in a 6.63 seconds at the D.C. State Athletic Association Indoor Championship in 2019.

Brown doesn’t just love running track at Banneker. He’s also wide receiver, running back and defensive back on the football team at Theodore Roosevelt High School. Students at Banneker are permitted to play on DCPS sports team that aren’t offered at Banneker.

Brown has clinched at least 24 offers to play college football including several Ivy League schools.

But when asked about whether football has a place at Banneker, Brown said it wasn’t a part of the current vision for Banneker.

“Right now, no,” said Brown. “I think right now it’s not something that Banneker needs. I think that we don’t need a football team right now.”

Brown thinks of track at Banneker as a legacy, especially since all three of his coaches also ran track at Banneker. He said the school has consistently groomed D.C. state champions for at least the last four years, and without a track at the high school, that legacy cannot continue.

Going to bat

Brown isn’t the only one who has been fighting for months for the track at Banneker. Several D.C. council members and commissioners have been actively working for changes in athletic field designs,  including Commissioner Alex Padro and Council member Charles Allen.

When Padro heard about the development shift, he was pleasantly surprised.

Padro told 91 that even though the goal of the football field was to increase the male student population at Banneker, it still posed gender inclusivity concerns and disregarded female athletes.

Before the change, several community members reached out to both Padro and Allen voicing concerns about the decision for a football field.

In an email acquired by 91, a Banneker staff member raised concerns about the original proposed plan to bus track students back to the site of the old school for practice.

“Track and Field is a linchpin sport of the Banneker athletics program and to not have a track to practice on is undermining the program. It would force Banneker athletes catch the bus from the new site back to the old site to use an already crowded 3 lane track for practice,” wrote the staff member.

The email also included renderings of the athletic facilities that Banneker proposed to DCPS, in contrast to the football field.

Several Banneker staff members proposed their preferred design plan, but DCPS moved forward without a full track. (Courtesy of Alex Padro)

However, the design team for the project stated that the space would not be able to accommodate both a football field and a track.

The original proposal of a football field was signed off by the Chancellor of DCPS, Dr. Lewis Ferebee. But in a memo addressed to Ferebee by council members Charles Allen of Ward 6, Brianne Nadeau of Ward 1 and Jack Evans of Ward 2, the decision would ignore the community.

“As has been expressed throughout the School Improvement Team process and in numerous community meetings, both the school community and Shaw and Logan neighbors strongly prefer a track with a multi-sport field over a football field,” wrote the three council members.

A memo addressed to the Chancellor of DCPS about the design plans. (Courtesy of Charles Allen)

School controversy

The new development of Banneker High School has not been without its own set of controversies. When Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the official new site for the school, many community members in the Shaw neighborhood were frustrated by the decision.

In original reporting by 91, the overarching concern for many Shaw community members was the lack of communication and community outreach on development updates.

The adjacent dog and skate parks were among the concerned voices, as DCPS did not inform them of pending park closure dates.

The skate park in specific is heavily used by a group of skaters called The Shaw Boyz. When asked about their thoughts on the new school and the closure of the skate park, members said they were disappointed.

“It’s always in the best interest for the children of course, but nobody ever communicated, like to us, specifically,” said Chris Tate, a member of Shaw Boyz who sometimes skates eight hours a day at the park.

Banneker has a highly successful track team that consistently wins state titles. (Courtesy of RuQuan Brown)

Now that Banneker and the Shaw community will have access to a partial track and practice field, Brown said he’s appreciative of the change. He said it will allow the legacy of track at Banneker to thrive.

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ReCharge: The Guide to Impeachment Podcasts /2019/11/14/recharge-the-guide-to-impeachment-podcasts/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=recharge-the-guide-to-impeachment-podcasts /2019/11/14/recharge-the-guide-to-impeachment-podcasts/#respond Thu, 14 Nov 2019 03:18:40 +0000 /?p=5855 The impeachment hearings have officially gone public, but if you weren’t able to watch on TV today, your next best bet for coverage and analysis might lie in podcast coverage. At least nine podcasts currently release daily or weekly episodes specifically related to the impeachment hearings. The topics typically range from general news coverage to […]

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The impeachment hearings have officially gone public, but if you weren’t able to watch on TV today, your next best bet for coverage and analysis might lie in podcast coverage.

At least nine podcasts currently release daily or weekly episodes specifically related to the impeachment hearings. The topics typically range from general news coverage to analysis on hearings and released transcripts.

But even nine podcasts can be overwhelming, which is why 91 has put together an exclusive guide for you to recharge your brain and become an expert on the impeachment.

Here’s a breakdown of 91 recommendations’ based off of your ‘impeachment knowledge.’

The higher the battery, the more of an expert you’ve become on the impeachment.

 

Get access to the podcasts in the guide:

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Slow city response to dangerous playground conditions /2019/11/06/slow-city-response-to-dangerous-playground-conditions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=slow-city-response-to-dangerous-playground-conditions /2019/11/06/slow-city-response-to-dangerous-playground-conditions/#respond Wed, 06 Nov 2019 17:07:21 +0000 /?p=5574 UPDATE: DC responds to AU Wash investigation into backlogged work orders.

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*This article has been updated to include the Department of General Services’ action plan to repair the playground equipment. 

The electric blue slide at the Kennedy Recreation Center playground was a beloved piece of equipment for kids in the Shaw neighborhood. Now it’s simply a broken down, dangerous pile of plastic and bolts boarded up with wooden planks.

According to ANC Commissioner Alex Padro, the work order for the slide has been open for several months. (Elise Dean / 91)

Jennifer Epperson, a resident of the Shaw neighborhood, said the lack of upkeep has been an issue since she started taking her daughter and son to the playground nearly five years ago.

From the constant presence of litter surrounding the park to a broken, and then removed altogether, merry-go-round, the upkeep has been inconsistent.

“It seems like little by little, most of the equipment on the bigger playground side at least has been falling apart and then not being repaired,” said Epperson.

Epperson said some families explicitly keep their children away from the playground because of the unsafe conditions. But Epperson also mentioned that she isn’t entirely sure who is responsible for the maintenance when it comes to both reporting and financing the repairs.

91 discovered the slide is the subject of an open work order, with at least 13 other alleged languishing repair requests inside the recreation and park areas. These numbers were provided to 91 by an official in Ward 6.

According to a list of open work orders obtained by 91, there are still several unresolved repair requests including the outside handicap door handle, the men’s urinal and the railings on playground equipment. The orders have remained open and unresolved for varying periods of time, from two months to over a year.

Resident Lindsay Tiffany said the playground gets very hot in the summer. Here’s a side by side of missing equipment that could provide shade. (Elise Dean / 91)

ANC representatives and Shaw community members have previously raised concerns about the unsafe playground conditions with both the Departments of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and General Services (DGS). But the wooden planks still remain hammered into the end of the slide, rendering the slide completely unusable.

“We’re just frustrated that the only thing the Bowser Administration seems to prioritize is ribbon cuttings,” said community member Dave McNitt in an email. “Ongoing maintenance is not a priority and that does a big disservice to DC citizens and ultimately wastes limited public dollars when we have to replace instead of fix.”

Commissioner Alex Padro, who has represented part of Ward 6 for the last 20 years, said the issue stems from a lack of attention to the Shaw community.

“If you were to go to Rose Park or Georgetown, or somewhere in Northwest, those kinds of repairs get done pretty quickly,” said Padro. “But when its a neighborhood where people are predominantly people of color and of mixed incomes, DGS can’t find the time to fix the repairs.”

Padro said the recreation center and playground in Shaw can see nearly 200 visitors on a regular day. Additionally, the center is used as a hypothermia facility in the winter, so wear and tear has become more common, ultimately making maintenance a necessity.

The playground was with new playground equipment, fresh play surfaces and greenery surrounding the property. The playground was reopened to the public on January 17, 2014.

91 reached out to DGS for comment last week about the status of the open work orders provided by Padro. Today, the Director of DGS, Keith Anderson, provided 91 with a statement in response to this article:

*The Department of General Services (DGS) takes the safety of all users of the playground at the Kennedy Recreation Center very seriously.  Currently, DGS has five open work orders for this playground.  Of these, four work orders are identified as repair needs; the replacement of basketball court nets – which was recently completed – and canopy material on the gazebo, in addition to repair or replacement of playground equipment and a slide.  The three remaining repair work orders are currently being prioritized.  The final work order is for resurfacing the playground which is considered a capital project.  The playground surface will be inspected to verify that it in fact will require repair or replacement.  This will require collaboration with the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR).

But according to the list provided by Commissioner Padro, there are still work orders for items like the missing timeline on the concrete torus, water fountain leakage and more. 91 is continuing its investigations on the open work orders.

Padro also shared with 91 that DGS labels the maintenance for some of these items as “capital improvements” and is not included in the budget for replacement.

Commissioner Padro calls the playground “an obstacle course” for children playing there.

“The idea that they can’t even make basic repairs so that kids can enjoy during the course of the summer. They’d rather just leave empty space cause they can’t come up with the budget for play equipment,” said Padro.

The DPR page for the Kennedy Recreation Center playground touts a “great outdoor environment… for your convenience.”

But for parents like Lindsay Tiffany, the outdoor environment is not as convenient as DPR claims after her husband discovered extremely unsanitary conditions in the toddler play area of the playground earlier this year.

Tiffany said that her husband reported the presence of excrement to DPR through Twitter, but never received a response.


“We want to advocate for the maintenance of the park,” said Tiffany. “But it was because of issues like these that we started going to different parks.”

Tiffany said that her family now frequents Westminster park, which is slightly further away from their home than Kennedy.

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Graffiti? Not our problem say Shaw business owners /2019/10/22/graffiti-not-our-problem-say-shaw-business-owners/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=graffiti-not-our-problem-say-shaw-business-owners /2019/10/22/graffiti-not-our-problem-say-shaw-business-owners/#respond Tue, 22 Oct 2019 17:57:58 +0000 /?p=5128 $800,000 spent by taxpayers this year on clean up.

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Blue Mori hops on a scooter and travels only about half a mile to work every day at Tobacco King in Shaw. Mori said he can always count on seeing graffiti during his commute.

“Around here in Shaw, there’s pretty much graffiti everywhere,” said Mori. “You can’t walk around and not see it.”

Mori isn’t kidding – there’s graffiti right outside, splayed on the side of Tobacco Kings’ ATM machine. And on the USPS blue mailbox on the corner of the block. If you walk down further, there’s graffiti sprayed along the entire side wall of a building.

Graffiti has been a particularly consistent trend in neighborhoods like Shaw, Logan Circle and U Street. Even as an act of artistic expression, graffiti is considered to be vandalism, and can result in $250 fines at a minimum.

The issue of petty crimes like graffiti, litter and marijuana was raised at a recent emergency Shaw meeting in response to the barrage of violent shootings. 

In a packed room full of concerned and fearful Shaw residents, ANC Commissioner Rachelle Nigro listed several of these smaller ‘nuisance’ crimes as issues that plague areas in Shaw like the Kennedy Recreation Center.

According to data provided by the Department of Public Work (DPW) Office of Communications, there have been over 5,000 service requests for graffiti removal in the District this year. The number of service requests has stayed well within this range over the last few years, with nearly 11,000 removal requests combined in 2017 and 2018. 

Though the clean-up service is free of charge to businesses, it still comes at a cost to taxpayers. The city has budgeted nearly $800,000 for graffiti clean-up services this year.

Additional data showed that at least 30 different graffiti removal requests have been submitted in the last month for the Shaw, Logan Circle and U Street neighborhoods.

But many employees and business owners said that a petty crime like graffiti is mainly a nuisance issue, rather than a serious problem.

“We’ve got 1,001 problems but that’s [graffiti] not one,” said Maxwell Hessman, the general manager for Right Proper, a brewing company in Shaw.

Hessman said that the homeless community and drug use in the area are among the main issues they face, but graffiti does not make the list.

When asked if he reported the graffiti sprayed on the green trash bin outside of Right Proper, Hessman said that it doesn’t affect business or really bother him.

Even if graffiti is in the surrounding area, employees of Right Proper Brewing Company say that it doesn’t affect business. (Elise Dean / 91)

ANC Commissioner Michael Brown, who covers the area where Tobacco King is located, said that graffiti has never been a major concern voiced by his constituents.

“Are my eyes closed when I’m walking around?” said Brown, when told that there was graffiti right outside of the coffee shop where we met.

Brown said that the biggest concern currently for his area revolves around the shootings in Shaw and speeding cars on specific roads, but that doesn’t count out graffiti as an issue.

“It may be because we’re not hearing about it,” said Brown, in reference to the small community presence at monthly ANC meetings.

Brown might have a point, given that Mori, the Tobacco King employee, didn’t know that he could submit a graffiti removal request, free of charge to the business.

The team of employees who clean the graffiti are employed by DPW and are often recognized by the white van they drive to the clean-up site.

Some District residents consider graffiti to be a part of the District’s history, and prefer that taxpayer dollars be spent solving other issues.

“People often just see vandalism, but graffiti has a really interesting history and for many those tags are full of meaning and representation,” wrote Aaron Howe, in Twitter direct message. “So while many see the graffiti van as cleaning up vandalism, I see it as erasing meaning and representation of long time DC residents.”

Graffiti and murals cover many walls across the District, which is partially as a result of , a DPW initiative that aims to prevent graffiti across the city.

According to their website, the initiative selects specific walls that are “frequent targets of illegal graffiti or at risk for graffiti.”

Of the 85 murals across the city, eight are located in the Shaw, Logan Circle and U Street neighborhoods.

Hessman of Right Proper said that the lack of graffiti in their area may have to do with the “beautiful murals” on nearby walls.

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Jane Fonda arrested for climate protest on Capitol steps /2019/10/11/jane-fonda-arrested-for-climate-protest-on-capitol-steps/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jane-fonda-arrested-for-climate-protest-on-capitol-steps /2019/10/11/jane-fonda-arrested-for-climate-protest-on-capitol-steps/#respond Fri, 11 Oct 2019 23:06:22 +0000 /?p=4912 Charge: Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding.

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Capitol Hill Police arrested actress Jane Fonda and 15 other protesters today for openly demonstrating on the U.S. Capitol steps.

The 81-year-old actress and known activist, who recently moved to the District to join the climate change protests, was engaging in one of her weekly “Fire Drill Fridays” campaigns. Fire Drill Fridays, where she would lead demonstrations on the Capitol every Friday through January 2020.

I will be on the Capitol every Friday, rain or shine, inspired and emboldened by the incredible movement our youth have created. I can no longer stand by and let our elected officials ignore – and even worse – empower – the industries that are destroying our planet for profit. We can not continue to stand for this,” said Fonda, according to the announcement on her website.

Eva Malecki, the Communications Director for D.C. Capitol Police, said that the group was charged with “Crowding, Obstructing or Incommoding.”

They declined to provide mugshots of Fonda or any of the other protestors.

Cameras surrounded Fonda as she walked up to the Capitol steps and held a sign that said “No New Fossil Fuels.” Officers gave Fonda and the protestors three warnings to cease protests before taking them into custody. Cheers broke out by onlookers as Fonda walked with her hands zip-tied behind her back and her head held high.

Currently there is not a publicly issued comment about Fonda’s arrest, however her Twitter account remains active with several retweets in the last few hours.

Phillip Morse, the Associate Vice President of University Police Services and Emergency Management at American University, said that these high-profile arrests happen all the time and officers have to understand the various rules and regulations for protests on Capitol Hill. Morse was also previously the Chief of the Capitol Police for more than six years.

Multiple Capitol police officers were at the scene to get the protest under control. (Elise Dean / 91)

“The officers are not there to arrest people or oppose their First Amendment right,” said Morse. “They’re there to facilitate it.”

While officers were facilitating Fonda and her group, other protestors were also present at the Capitol, but took a more civil and peaceful approach to their protest.

Members of Greta Thunbergs’ and another organization called watched as Fonda was zip-tied and taken to a police van.

But there were mixed feelings about how Fonda’s arrest would serve the larger message about the climate change movement.

“There are certainly ways the entire movement could be more collaborative,” said 15-year-old Kallan Benson of Friday’s for Future. “But all of it is contributing and we’re continuing to grow.”

But Sergei Kostin of Code Pink, a grassroots organization focused on peace and human rights, said that big ticket names like Fonda take away from younger voices.

Code Pink is a women-led grassroots movement that protests U.S. wars and militarism. (Elise Dean / 91)

“Everything helps, but you’re also taking that attention away from the people that are here, that have been doing it on a weekly basis for months, and months and months already and could use the support not the face in front of them.”

According to Morse, the former Capitol Police Chief, the misdemeanor charges that Fonda and the group will face typically result in a court appearance or a fine.

The news of Fonda’s arrest comes at a time where climate change has been at the forefront of conversation in D.C. Another organization called Shut Down DC has recently engaged in a series of mass protests across the city, halting cars on their morning commute and planting a sailboat in the middle of an intersection.

Fonda is a two-time Academy Award and seven-time Golden Globe winner who currently stars in the Netflix series “Grace and Frankie.”

 

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Over 600 opioid medication kits distributed in one month /2019/10/08/over-600-opioid-medication-kits-distributed-in-one-month/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=over-600-opioid-medication-kits-distributed-in-one-month /2019/10/08/over-600-opioid-medication-kits-distributed-in-one-month/#respond Tue, 08 Oct 2019 17:51:23 +0000 /?p=4781 A month into a free opioid overdose distribution program, Washington D.C. pharmacies and churches are raving about how this pilot program is positively affecting high-risk communities. According to a spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Health (DOH), “over 600 naloxone kits were distributed in the first month of the pilot.” That includes, for example, 24 […]

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A month into a free opioid overdose distribution program, Washington D.C. pharmacies and churches are raving about how this pilot program is positively affecting high-risk communities.

According to a spokesperson for the D.C. Department of Health (DOH), “over 600 naloxone kits were distributed in the first month of the pilot.”

That includes, for example, 24 kits distributed at the Second Baptist Church in a single night, plus at least five kits distributed daily from a local Walgreens. 

Each Narcan kit comes with 2 doses and provides a step-by-step orientation of how to administer the medication. (Elise Dean / 91)

Naloxone, also commonly known as Narcan, is an antidote for opioid overdoses and serves as an aid in reversing overdose symptoms. 

Pharmacies and churches were armed with nearly 18,000 naloxone kits at the start of September in an effort to save the lives of those at risk of overdose. The project, primarily run by the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), was funded by a 32-million-dollar State Opioid Response grant. Across all eight Wards, there were 17 pharmacies selected to participate in the naloxone pilot program.

According to the pharmacy manager at the Shaw Walgreens, patients are now able to walk into the pharmacy and pick up unlimited naloxone kits, with no identification required. Previously, patients were required to provide proof of insurance. 

This change is significant for neighborhoods like Shaw which is home to many African-American men. , opioid-related overdoses have historically been more common among African-American men in the District, particularly within Ward 6 where Shaw is located.

Pharmacies are not the only place that D.C. residents can access free naloxone. The DBH also administered naloxone kits to faith-based organizations, in an effort to reach communities who emphasize spiritual healing.

“Churches are healers, they’re spirit-filled,” said Dr. Dorothy Payne Bryan, the program director for a naloxone distribution event held at Second Baptist Church. “African American churches have always been at the forefront of healing the community.”

Bryan said that nearly 40 community members attended the event and all 24 of their naloxone kits were distributed.

The free naloxone service is a core tenet of Live. Long. DC., a strategic plan that Mayor Muriel Bowser and DBH implemented in response to the opioid epidemic that persists in the District.

, in 2017 there were 244 overdose deaths related to opioids in D.C., which ranked as the third highest overdose rate in the country.

Shaw residents can access free naloxone from the Walgreens Pharmacy at Howard University. (Elise Dean / 91)

So far, have been

After receiving widespread criticism on the lack of urgency that Bowser’s administration has placed on the opioid epidemic, Live. Long. DC is the most recent, ongoing attempt at targeting the entire D.C. community. states that D.C. Health “plans to distribute nearly 32,000 [naloxone kits] to pharmacies.”

“What the evidence shows is that the more people that can get access to naloxone, the better chance you have of kind of blanketing an area and making sure that the people most at risk, get help,” said Regina LaBelle, the Program Director of the Addiction and Public Policy Initiative at the O’Neill Institute of Georgetown Law. 

LaBelle said that it may not necessarily be patients that walk into pharmacies and request naloxone. Parents are also highly likely to request naloxone from pharmacies when their child is at risk of an overdose.

The Live. Long. DC. plan has an ambitious goal of slashing opioid-related deaths by 50% by 2020. A Freedom of Information Act request was submitted by 91 for access to a more detailed report on the pilot program, however the DOH has not yet fulfilled this request.

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Future of Shaw park spaces in limbo /2019/09/24/future-of-shaw-park-spaces-in-limbo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=future-of-shaw-park-spaces-in-limbo /2019/09/24/future-of-shaw-park-spaces-in-limbo/#respond Tue, 24 Sep 2019 17:04:12 +0000 /?p=4200 The controversial development of Banneker High School in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington D.C. will temporarily close two of Shaws’ most utilized public park spaces.

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Banneker, in the District, will now share a plot of land with the skate and dog parks, and little seems to be known about the future for both of the public spaces.

Brent Cisco said that a smaller portion of the dog park would likely stay open throughout the development process in order to accommodate the dogs in the Shaw area.

According to Shayne Wells, Press Secretary for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), the skate and dog parks will close for an undetermined period of time during the development process.

On Saturday, a celebration with Mayor Muriel Bowser of made it seem like the master plan for the developments had been finalized. But Shaw residents that frequently use these park spaces feel left in the dark about what will happen to their communal green spaces.

The Shaw skate park is often considered to be “home” for members of Shaw Boyz, .

Members of Shaw Boyz said they had initial concerns about the future of the skate park once they learned about the Banneker developments. Jordan Taylor of Shaw Boyz said they attended several community meetings to hear about updates, but no one explicitly shared that the park would close completely, even for a short time period.

“It’s always in the best interest for the children of course, but nobody ever communicated, like to us, specifically,” said Chris Tate, a member of Shaw Boyz who sometimes skates eight hours a day at the park.

According to Brent Cisco of the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), the Banneker project has a designated community planner, who is tasked with sharing updates about the development process with community members like Shaw Boyz. But Taylor said that DPR has shared limited information about school developments, and nothing about the skate park closure.

“From what I grasp, the community engagement process already has started and so they’re a part of that process, but as the details get nailed down, they’ll be in the loop on that,” said DCPS spokesperson Wells, in response to engaging with Shaw community members about development updates.

The masterplan for Banneker High School shows an overhaul of the current green space on the Rhode Island Avenue block. Cardozo playground, a park that was frequently used for kickball and soccer games for Shaw residents, will be developed into an athletic field for the high school.

Brent Cisco of DPR said that the skate park and dog park may not change much in size, but the formation would be different than its current placement.

This current version of the ‘plan’ drops a giant field into the space that dramatically reduces the dog park, awkwardly re-positions the basketball courts into an unworkable configuration, shrinks the skate park and TOTALLY removes the community recreation space,” stated Beth White, President of the Shaw Dog Park Association, in an email to members of the D.C. Council.

Both Wells and Cisco could not confirm a timeline for when the parks would be closed, or for how long. However they hope to provide 30 days of advanced notice prior to closing the parks.

According to this timeline, Banneker High School would be finished in 2021, in time to welcome the 2021-2022 class of students.

“It’s probably too soon, they’ll have to assess safety and construction work,” said Wells.

Shaw Boyz said that they are not disappointed about the skate park temporarily closing, rather the lack of communication from DCPS and DPR which make the situation frustrating.

Chris Downing, another member of Shaw Boyz, said he walked to the school groundbreaking event on Saturday to speak with members of DPR and get some answers concerning the skate park but he added, “they seem just as out the loop as I am.”

When asked what he will do once the skate park closes, Downing said, tongue in cheek, you can still find him inside the Shaw skate park.

“I love this park,” he said. “I grew up in here, 10 years I’ve been skating in this park.”

A DCPS timeline provided by Cisco, shows that the Banneker developments are scheduled to finish by August 2021.

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