This week, snow is predicted to fall in the D.C. area according to the National Weather Service. A weather phenomenon most D.C. residents and newcomers are used to, snow fall is both an exciting occurrence and a hinderance.

Hunter Rich moved to Baltimore about five years ago from the Midwest and is used to heavy snow.

“I’ve definitely missed it so far this winter. It’s like 55 degrees outside right now so it’s crazy but I always look forward to it, I always like it,” Rich said.

In Baltimore, Rich said the town and schools would “shut down” when snow was heavy.

According to the National Weather Service, the District of Columbia saw about 16.9 inches of snow last year with most of snow occurring in January 2018.

“I don’t think people are ever fully prepared for it,” said Kenneth Brown, a D.C. native and coordinator with the District of Columbia Public Schools. “There are places still open even if it snows, and if roads aren’t clear fast enough, or something, you have to alter your whole schedule.”

Brown said in the past he has had to buy transit cards in order to use the Metro system to move around in the city when it snowed because he still had to work and commute around the city.

“You can never really be prepared for it,” Brown said.

According to the National Weather Service, the District of Columbia saw about 16.9 inches of snow last year with most of snow occurring in January 2018.

The District Department of Transportation and the District Snow Team in the Department of Public Works provides extensive information on their website and social media accounts to alert residents about the weather patterns.

The District Snow Team also offers advice for residents on how to stay safe during the winter months and during snowfall.

According to the District’s website, residential and commercial property owners in the city are also expected to remove snow and ice from their sidewalks within “the first eight hours of daylight after a storm ends,” or else they face a $25-$150 fine.

For the city, the District Department of Public Works is responsible for snow removal and has about 400 pieces of equipment and about 834 employees working to aide in any storm. According to the Public Works website, the department prepares for impending snow by pre-treating streets, bridges, and overpasses with a “salt brine/beet juice mixture.”

Officials at the District Department of Transportation failed to provide a comment about snow preparedness to 91����.

In Montgomery County, preparations for intense winter weather conditions is dependent on the forecast.

“Montgomery County’s jurisdiction and responsibility extends mostly into our residential neighborhoods,” said Josh Faust. “We have about 5,200 lane miles that we maintain here.”

Josh Faust, the public outreach manager in the Highway Services Division for Montgomery County, said major roads like Connecticut Avenue, Georgia Avenue, and Wisconsin Avenue are all maintained by the State of Maryland.

Faust also explained that for snow preparation, highway employees are called into work before the snow even happens to be sure the county is ready for the worst.

According to Faust, Montgomery County has seven regional depots around the county, including in Bethesda, Rockville, Damascus, Silver Spring, which are all responsible for the roads in those particular areas for smaller storms or events.

The smaller depots handle anything below three inches of snow “in house” and use salt brine to help melt ice.

Highway employees in Montgomery County are always on standby, according to Faust.

“We call our employees in prior to the storm arriving,” Faust said. “If the National Weather Service says it’s supposed to start snowing at six in the morning, we would bring our crews in at probably three or four in the morning so that way we’re all here before the roads become impassable”

Private contractors are also utilized for snowstorms and emergency preparedness. In Montgomery County, there are about 175 pieces of equipment used to improve roads during snow or ice storms, and about 300 employees in highway services.

According to Faust, those numbers can increase when there is a need for contractors to assist the county. Many private construction, landscaping or tree companies have contracts with the county to aid in winter storms.

“We only use the contractors if the weather gets bad enough,” Faust said. In 2016, a blizzard hit and the county saw about 36 inches of snow.

“We were using about 1100 pieces of equipment and about 900 of the pieces were from contractors,” said Faust.

In Alexandria, Va., the Transportation department is preparing for snow scheduled to happen tomorrow. A representative told 91���� that because of the upcoming snow, the snow team was out of office to prepare.

Deputy Director Jeff Duval in the Public Works Department in Alexandria was unavailable for a comment but directed 91���� to their website.

A “SnowReport” feature on the City of Alexandria’s website allows residents to find their current street or location to report problem area during snow events and storms.

The use of social media also plays a role in weather preparedness, according to Metropolitan Police Department.

“MPD utilizes our Twitter platform to amplify Hypothermia Alerts and Cold Weather Emergency Alerts to our followers,” said Alaina Gertz. “Additionally, MPD’s Traffic Twitter account posts messages regarding any traffic disruptions that occur throughout the city.”

According to Gertz, a public affairs specialist for MPD’s Office of Communications, the department’s seven district offices around the city respond to all calls during snow events and storms and, like other city agencies, is prepared to handle anything.

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The sound reminds you of jazz, funk, hip-hop, gospel, and blues but all in a single genre. The energy of people dancing beside you is both entertaining and contagious.

You are not in New Orleans, or in Memphis, but in the nation’s capital where Go-go is both a musical genre, and a lifestyle.

Last month, Mayor Muriel Bower the week of November 17-23 as Go-go Awareness Week while presenting an award at the 2019 Go-Go Awards held at Ballou Senior High School in Southeast.

“This is our sound of the city, this is an indigenous sound to Washington, D.C.,” Bowser said. “It is more than a music genre. It is a movement and a way of life.”

In June, a D.C. city council member introduced legislation to make Go-go the official music of the city. The bill would do more than just recognize the genre but also deepen the appreciation of the culture and people who have called the city home for generations.

“To me, and so many other native Washingtonians, Go-go music has become so much more than just a musical genre,” said Council member Kenyan McDuffie, D-Ward 5, who introduced the “It codifies into law that Go-go will never be muted in the District of Columbia.”

91���� checked and the council has still not officially voted on the resolution, but the thought behind it has been a rallying cry for organizations like Don’t Mute DC.

Don’t Mute DC movement fired up earlier this year when Go-go music, played out of a notable store in the Shaw neighborhood, fell silent after new residents complained about the loudness. The silence sparked a series of demonstrations from local bands and community residents for weeks.

Organizers of the movement and other community activists have named gentrification to be one of the main reasons for the attempts to silence Go-go.

On October 30, city council members invited 46 witnesses from around the city to support the bill introduced by McDuffie and to testify on behalf of Go-go music and the people who live it.

Witnesses at the hearing said the passage of the bill would do more than just allow the music to be played in airports, restaurants, in schools, and on radio stations, but would force the city to pay closer attention to the inequalities among native Washingtonians.

“As we’ve seen D.C. have the most intense gentrification in our country, there’s a need to, just like the music, preserve and protect the natives who participate in the culture,” said Tony Lewis, Jr.

A notable figure in the D.C. community, Lewis works to raise awareness of the impacts of mass incarceration and advocate for resources for returning citizens.

He was one of the witnesses to testify before the council and said the bill would also allow Washingtonians to “educate” and “teach” newcomers to the city about the music and ways of life of residents.

Threats to ‘Chocolate City’

Ronald Moten has been at the forefront of the Don’t Mute DC movement since April, however his fight to make sure Black Washingtonians have equity in the city is not a new passion.

“I’ve been dealing with this for decades. This is nothing new for me,” Moten said.

As a community organizer and activist in the city Moten was already helping another store owner in Northwest battling gentrification when he got a call about Metro PCS in April – which Moten called “the boiling point.”

“This [movement] didn’t just start with Don’t Mute DC, it’s something we’ve been fighting for a minute,” Moten said. “Everybody said ‘this shit is real, we have to stand up, and can’t keep acting like it won’t be me next.’”

According to a by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, nearly 20,000 black Washingtonians were displaced by mostly white affluent newcomers between 2000-2013.

The district as a whole has some of the highest rates of low-income residents being pushed out of their homes in the country, according to

In Southeast neighborhoods, like Congress Heights and Anacostia, housing prices have doubled in the past five years.

In 1995, Moten rallied Go-go bands, students and residents in the city to protest the actions of the formerly known District of Columbia Financial Control Board, which would override key decisions by the D.C. mayor and city council to assist residents.

“Policy is what helped create this mess, so it’s gonna be policy and action to help slow it down,” Moten said.

Most city council members seem to support the bill, however there is more discussion needed to find ways to finance it. The bill would require financial changes and more programs to assist people in the city.

Council member McDuffie’s office did not respond to a request from 91���� for comment on the Go-go resolution status.

Leader of the infamous Go-go band, Backyard Band, Anwan “Big G” Glover, also testified before the D.C. Council and shared the stories of his siblings and friends who have lost their lives to violence in the city, and how his involvement with Go-go music was a means of survival for him.

In an interview with 91����, Glover said Go-go culture was something people just had to “see for themselves,” and the passage of the bill would allow people to have more of an appreciation of the culture.

“We’ve been fighting for this for so long,” said Glover. “There’s a lot of out-of-towners that are open to the music, they just didn’t know about it or didn’t understand it.”

Backyard Band, also known as the was formed by Glover and other members in the early 1990s and has since been one of the main bands spreading the genre in other parts of the country and the world.

According to Glover, the band has worked with rappers Snoop Dogg and Wale on different songs, and more collaborations with mainstream artists would bring even more attention to the music and cultural impacts of Go-Go.

“[The] Don’t Mute DC movement brought so much awareness to the situation, and I’m glad that it happened because now, people worldwide are thinking about it,” Glover said.

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Not everyone in D.C. is excited.

91���� spent a day talking to more than a dozen residents in Southeast D.C. and found mixed reactions. While many were eager to closely follow the hearings, some saw the political action as too little, too late — or ineffective.

“That’s not the issue affecting my community right now,” said Ronald Moten when asked about the impeachment inquiry.

Moten said that he was more concerned about gentrification and rising housing prices in his neighborhood; from in Anacostia alone nearly doubled. He has been active in the Don’t Mute DC, a movement to preserve D.C.’s culture as a historically majority black city.

The neighborhoods East of the River face more economic and social challenges than any other ward in the city and people are distrustful that the frenzy of national politics will impact their daily lives, or that politicians like Trump will see any punishment.

Anacostia resident Bryant Washington, who works at Nationals Park, viewed the hearing Tuesday afternoon with pessimism. He said that if former president Barack Obama had engaged in any of the potentially illegal or, to opponents, corrupt activities that Trump has been accused of, the first African American president would have been forced out of office immediately.

“Anybody else they want to punish – especially black – they would go on and do it,” Washington said. “Since before he got elected, he’s been doing a lot of stuff that they don’t even count him for.”

Julianne Abrams, a Southeast native and full-time caregiver, said she has been keeping up with impeachment because she watches the hearings while caring for her mother. She echoed the idea that lawmakers had waited too long to hold Trump accountable.

“He came in foul,” said Abrams. “He says and does whatever he feels, and it’s all corruption.”

As she stood outside Busboys and Poets talking with her friend she said, “I’m kinda skeptical about it really happening because soon it’ll be close to him leaving anyway. The criminals are leading the world, just doing whatever s— they wanna do.”

Political science studies up close

Since Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi a formal impeachment inquiry against Trump in September, the University of the District of Columbia student Keisha Jones has made it a priority to watch closely.

“I’m a political science major so I try to be into it all,” said Jones. “Impeachment needs to happen because they’re laying the groundwork so he can’t run again and to keep him out of the whole political arena.”

Jones said she is working on a project about the #MeToo movement and felt the impeachment inquiry tied into her work, too. Trump has been of sexual misconduct by at least 25 women. Trump has denied the allegations.

“After this, he needs to be convicted too,” Jones said.

History in his lifetime

The impeachment inquiry against Trump is the first one many people in D.C. have witnessed in their lifetimes.

“It’s historical for me,” said Allan Dubose, Jr., a non-profit employee and part-time bartender. “It’s pretty cool as a younger person just to see that something historical is happening that I’m actually able to tell my kids about.”

Dubose watched the first day of the impeachment hearings and said it has been interesting watching the proceedings, but is uncertain they will lead to something immediate.

“Honestly, in my mind, I think it might be a little later like before the actual presidential race. I think this is just a ploy for a later punishment,” Dubose said.

Kemba Inifo, a bookstore employee, expressed similar views. She said she was glad Congress decided to take action with the impeachment inquiry and became more interested in the process after watching the 2018 documentary “Active Measures” about Russian president Vladimir Putin and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“After watching that, I really wanted him to be impeached. The fact they’re bringing the proceedings against him, I think, is the right thing to do because the evidence has shown he’s being treasonous.”

A new year

Washington wants to believe that the momentum of the impeachment hearings is an indication that something “big” will happen before the beginning of the new year.

Still Washington said that despite the sudden urgency and overwhelming evidence against Trump, he felt unfazed.

“Trump is a gangster. They know he did wrong and they’re taking their time trying to prove it,” Washington said. Congress is not “going to do it because they don’t even have his taxes yet and they’ve been asking for that ever since he got in there. It’s been four years.”

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Since its reopening last month, visitors who come to the remodeled museum are able to see what $3.5 million in renovations looks like with a brand-new entrance, an internet lounge, and a multi-functioning plaza in front of the museum.

When 91���� visited this week, some areas were still under construction but visitors were welcomed by the fresh new redesign and open space to move throughout the exhibitions.

Anacostia Community Museum, a branch of the Smithsonian, has served the area East of the River for 52 years and has a core mission to tell the history of Southeast, D.C., and residents who’ve lived there then and now.

“This is the first museum to come across the river off the mall. People were asking for knowledge, and this museum came about,” said Myra Hines, a lifelong Ward 8 resident and Smithsonian volunteer.

Hines said the museum has always kept the community first and with the new renovations is able to focus on other aspects important to the neighborhood, like the community garden.

Before closing for renovations, the Anacostia Community Museum admits they were struggling with the number of visitors. Now, reopened after seven months, crowds are back, and staff is hopeful that the renovations will continue to attract people from near and far.

“The renovations have brought the museum out into the neighborhood and is focusing on the watershed, the native plants, gardening,” Hines said. “We’re just getting bigger and better.”

Visitors’ mixed reactions

“Before this I didn’t really go to the museums because most of them are downtown near the monuments,” said Tristan Dyson, a resident of the Deanwood neighborhood and mother of two.

Dyson visited the museum with her two small children who played and pointed to decorations and TV screens playing the speeches Martin Luther King, Jr. and documentaries.

“It’s better for me to come here because it’s closer, and I don’t like the high traffic, tourist areas, they’re crowded.” Dyson said. “I like having space and being able to move around.”

Another sightseer, Michael Henderson said “this is my first time here, although it feels familiar. Now that I have a better understanding of this place and the area, it has a lot more gravity to me.”

Henderson was visiting the museum with his classmates from a Sociology class at The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and prior to the visit, he had only ever been to the museums on the National Mall.

“I’ve been here before and when I first came it was pretty empty,” said Iyanna Morgan, a visitor and D.C. resident, when asked about the new renovations. “It’s [the museum] changed a lot, it’s brighter and more inviting. I actually want to come here more. So, I like it.”

UDC Sociology Professor, Kimberly Monroe, is impressed by the renovations but worries that some important aspects are not as prominent.

“They changed the display of the founding director of the museum. They’ve made him much smaller versus before,” said Monroe.

Monroe explained that in her experience, museums that have preserved spaces of history seem more personal like the National Park Service operated Frederick Douglass Home in the Anacostia neighborhood.

“I think this one is a lot more – I don’t want to say commercialized. I don’t think it’s a bad thing, there’s just different organizations handling the history so, you can leave out a lot with that,” Monroe said.

‘A Right to the City’

Chief curator Dr. Samir Meghelli directed the current standing exhibit in the museum titled, A Right to the City.

The exhibit emphasizes the stories of six different D.C. neighborhoods and the ordinary people who helped shape their histories through the fight for equality, public education, health, transit, and jobs. The exhibit also raises questions about the future of D.C.’s native residents in a rapidly changing environment.

According to the Anacostia’s residents have always fought for its interests and continue to advocate for themselves. Since its founding, the museum has opened its doors to local residents with activities, speakers, traveling exhibitions and screenings all relevant to current issues and victories of communities throughout the city.

Anacostia Community Museum administration released their for 2019-2024 with goals to continue serving the people and telling their stories.

“We have to stimulate this community and not wait for someone else to stimulate it,” Hines said.

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“We have to understand the intersectionality of the issues. No one is coming to save us but us, because this is our community,” said White in his opening statement.

The forum came as a timely one after a were shot in Anacostia two days before it, and an Anacostia high school student, , was fatally shot the week before.

One of the main ways White’s office planned to improve conditions in Ward 8 was advocating for more funding for local businesses and programs, initiatives, and organizations. He invited leaders of local organizations and schools to speak at the forum to offer suggestions for solutions to problems.

“We can do more and we should do more, but we won’t do more unless we organize and push the council,” White said.

The panelists, and members in the audience, mentioned the importance of governmental funding to helping the ward’s youth and families in the areas of housing, education, safety, and activity.

Budget Issues

In his 2019 budget request, Council member White requested the council fund $1.3 million to support a pilot intensive youth mentorship program, and $10 million to be put towards violence prevention and intervention grants for the city’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, where the Safe Passage program is housed.

In May, the D.C. Council approved a budget of $15.5 billion to address the direst needs of the city, like improvements to public housing in Southeast Washington.

However, the approval came with debate among the council members about the allocation of funds, and a flat-out rejection from D.C.’s Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey S. DeWitt in June, haltering the spending process all together, according to

Still, the push for more resources and adequate funding seemed to be on the tongues of panelists invited to speak at the forum last Tuesday.

According to them, educational and violence prevention programs, local school improvements, trauma-based solutions and mental illness resources, public housing and jobs all needed more attention, and funds.

“There is funding. We need to tap into that funding,” said panelist Regina Sharlita Pixley, a Ward 8 ANC commissioner and community member.

“They don’t see us”

Tyrone Parker, who runs the Alliance of Concerned Men, lost a 19-year-old son to gun violence. His loss, and the ones of other young men and women, makes him even more invested in improving the community.

Parker remains optimistic about the grants the Alliance received from the Attorney General Office, and the district’s Department of Youth and Rehabilitation Services, but more is needed.

“This is our first year, in seven years, of getting any real support from the city,” Parker told 91���� in an interview. He explained that changes in the city’s “agenda” affect the organizations who can benefit tremendously from financial support.

Around the office of the Alliance, newspaper articles and pictures of success stories decorate the walls. His team visits neighborhoods around the city, correctional facilities, and schools, mentoring young men and women to help them find other avenues for success – a practice that has been working since the early 90s.

Parker said that though funding is helpful, sometimes when the government steps in the voices of the people who have been doing the real work are drowned out, and the meaning of “community-based” is altered.

“I think it’s good if they make it inclusive of community-based grassroots organizations, now this thing has transitioned to a ‘government initiative.’ And there is no avenue for people to come in,” Parker said. “They’re the ones who’ve done the work.”

Founder of ManPower DC, Jimmie Jenkins, was at the forum and spoke to 91���� about his concerns regarding government funding being poured into Ward 8.

“I’m not that confident,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins, a father and Washington-native, said that families East of the River are still behind, and there needs to be more emphasis on “equality.”

“We have to do more, and we can’t get complacent,” Jenkins said. “We have to do a better job of organizing and holding people accountable.”

Optimism rare, but remains

Despite the uncertainty of funding and resources, people committed to their communities are still working. Some are still optimistic about the future.

India Blocker-Ford, a mother and small business owner in the Woodland neighborhood of Ward 8, said she feels “very confident” that new government funds for the area will be distributed.

Tyrone Parker says he “doesn’t sleep,” and believes that as long as people want to see change, it will happen.

“There always has to be a comma, and never a period,” Parker said.

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Anacostia High School is one of the 10 schools selected to be a Connected School this year.

Launched by District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), Connected Schools aim to partner with the community to combine academics, health and social services, youth and community development and community engagement to ensure students succeed in and out of the classroom, regardless of their background or neighborhood.

After the passage of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, public schools became more responsible for how students learn and achieve. DCPS conducted a needs assessment to find out which area students felt they needed more resources.

“Our students asked for something more,” said William Haith, the principal of Anacostia High School. “So, DCPS realized the need to not only create a program that supports students, but this program should also have access to their families as well.”

Connected Schools also work to partner with community organizations and stakeholders who provide direct resources to families and students in a range of areas.

According to DCPS, the five key elements of a connected school include healing-centered practices, community and family engagement, strong student support systems, place-based services, and the role of a manager who serves to implement all the elements.

“Bridging the school with the community”

The Connected Schools Manager serves at each of the ten schools to apply the program’s goals and connects community partners, school employees, and student’s parents together.

At Anacostia High, Latisha Chisholm serves in this capacity.

“My role here is to move us toward being a full-service community school,” said Chisholm who came to Anacostia as a teacher and coordinator four years ago.

At Anacostia High, Chisholm analyzes the structure and resources available in the school, in the community, and identifies where there may be gaps or where new partnerships can be developed.

With the partnerships already available at the school, and the newly established ones outside of the school, Anacostia and Ballou serve as “neighborhood hubs” for parents and their children to find direct resources for things like food, counseling, and health services.

“We have a very strong network of support that is offered to our parents already. With connected schools, we want to make sure there is not anything that they want to happen that we’re not providing,” Chisholm said.

Neighboring Anacostia High School is Frank W. Ballou Senoir High School, another Connected School.

Shajena Cartagena, the redesign director at Ballou, sees connected schools as an opportunity for families to engage more with the schools not just for their children’s wellbeing, but because they personally feel welcomed, loved, and known.

“To me, taking the school to the community is another powerful way of being able to build those relationships,” said Cartagena.

Needs Being Met

Mental health resources are another large aspect of a connected school. The issues of trauma and mental health are ones that faculty and staff cannot ignore.

According to Chisholm, the school has done more to make improvements on to their strong mental health team and this year has established partnerships in this area so that students are offered “extensive mental health support.”

Located in the District’s most economically disadvantaged ward, most students at Anacostia High are Black or Latinx, and come from low-income households.

“There’ve always been issues of high-poverty, high-crime, and now we’re going through the phase of gentrification,” Principal Haith said.

With the looming rise of gentrification and charter schools in the area, student enrollment at Anacostia has been impacted. According to Haith, Anacostia High has seen a decrease in enrollment, and this year barely 300 students are in attendance compared to more than 500 students five years ago, and thousands more years before that.

Despite the changing environment, the school remains resilient. Connected Schools in the district are necessary to the healthy lives of students and families which in turn, affect the entire community.

Earlier this month, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood and Safety Engagement established a for juniors and seniors at Anacostia High School. The academy offers a range of opportunities for students including career-readiness, goal-setting, and safe rides to and from school.

The academy is just one of the myriad of ways Anacostia High School vows to continue their mission to uplift and improve the livelihood of everyone the school serves.

“We want to make sure our students are prepared for college, prepared for their careers, and are prepared to go out and be really strong citizens,” Chisholm said. “We want to be sure we’re giving our students exposure to options and scenarios that they can dream of.”

Photos by Kristen Johnson

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., ignited a media firestorm on Sept. 24 when she launched inquiry of Trump’s actions. A rough transcript of a phone call released Sept. 24 showed Trump asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rivals.

The impeachment proceedings have dominated the news cycle of organizations such as CNN, Fox News, 91����ington Post, and the New York Times. CNN has a dedicated to impeachment news and columns. does as well.

News outlets can, and should, focus on the impeachment proceedings as much as possible, experts say.

‘Barrage of misinformation’

Margaret Sullivan, media columnist for 91����ington Post, said in an interview with 91���� that it is important for journalists to fight against  “a barrage of misinformation.” Reporters, she said in a phone interview, need to be “very, very well prepared.”

In a , Sullivan discussed how Trump, whom she refers to in the article as “the TV president,” has so far failed to spin coverage of the impeachment to his advantage.

“It’s about to get worse: Impeachment hearings are sure to flood the media zone with images and words that cannot make the president look good, despite the best efforts of his loyal defenders,” Sullivan wrote in the column.

A released by CNN on Sept. 30 showed that 47% of Americans are now in favor of impeachment proceedings, up from 41% in May.

Sullivan also said she believes that it’s important for journalists to push back on the spread of misinformation in their networks.

She pointed to instances such as CNN anchor Jake Tapper’s interview with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley’s interview with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. In both interviews, the anchors challenged pushed back at their guests. Sullivan said pushing back against anything that would “muddy the waters” is critical to coverage.

Fernando Pizarro, the Washington correspondent for Univision who also teaches as an adjunct professor at American University’s School of Communication, said this coverage is different from the Bill Clinton impeachment scandal in 1998-1999.

“Things are going very fast. We’re talking about something a lot different from 1999,” Pizarro said, referencing coverage of the impeachment of former president Clinton, which Pizarro covered for CNN Español.

Pizzaro associates the speed of news to the beginning of social media.

Viewer burnout?

Pizarro disagrees, however, with the concept of wall-to-wall coverage, saying that networks are now banking on their viewers being glued to politics. He fears there could be news fatigue, which happens when viewers burn out on a particular issue.

“Twenty-four-hour news networks, particularly at least one, spend too much time on politics,” Pizarro said.

Still, Pizarro pointed to events involving the Trump Administration — such as cabinet resignations and former Special Counsel for the Department of Justice Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election — that helped prime the media for this kind of reporting.

“I think the media is pretty well trained to tackle impeachment at this moment,” Pizarro said.

Alicia Shepard, former NPR ombudsman, said accuracy is key in the fast-moving coverage. In 2006, Shepard wrote a book about journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s coverage of the 1972 Watergate scandal.

Shepard said that news organizations should avoid focusing only on polling — a mistake made during the 2016 elections coverage.

“Polls are a snapshot in time. They are often, and can be, wrong,” Shepard said.

She said journalists “cannot afford” to make mistakes in their reporting. “There is a need to be first,” Shepard said. “No one remembers who was first, they just remember who was wrong.

“The Trump Administration is, and rightfully so, going to be very good at capitalizing on those mistakes,” Shepard added. “All media can do is to be careful to be absolutely sure about the facts that they have and not be invested in the outcome.”

Photo by Kristen Johnson

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A project to clean harmful chemicals that have plagued the Anacostia River for years is on track to begin cleanup efforts by the end of this year, according to city officials.

The Anacostia River Sediment Project has a goal to clean the river’s sediment, or contaminants, at the bottom of the river that affect the fish and water quality.

According to the District Department of Energy and Environment, the project will be given a final decision as soon as December.

Questions from 91���� about the estimated cost of the final project were left unknown but so far, the to determine the nature of the river’s contamination has cost about $25 million.

The soon to be tax-funded project sparks a new excitement for residents who have been hoping to swim in the neighborhood river that’s been neglected for generations.

“I never thought it would be possible,” said Terry Wilkinson, a Southeast D.C. resident.

Wilkinson enjoys the Anacostia Park and walking trails along the river. Since she moved to the Navy Yard area across from the River, she has doubted it would ever become a place where residents can enjoy the water too, much like they do the Potomac River.

“I’m really excited about the project,” said Wilkinson. “I’m excited about the possibility of swimming in the river.”

The Anacostia River Sediment Project’s objective is to make the river more swimmable and fishable by 2023.

For years, residents have avoided interaction with the water in the Anacostia River in fear of waste and chemicals contaminating the water.

Even though the river lies just east of the Potomac River and stretches well into Virginia and parts of Maryland, the Anacostia has been nicknamed as the city’s “forgotten river.”

Like many other urban rivers, the Anacostia has a long history of industrial and commercial activity. Storm sewers, tributaries, pollution, groundwater and industrial sites, like the Kenilworth Landfill, are just some sources of impurity to the river.

According to Gretchen Mikeska, the Anacostia coordinator for the Department of Energy and Environment, industries have dumped waste, trash, and other toxins into the river for nearly 140 years. Efforts to clean the river have been ongoing for more than 20 years.

“The Anacostia River Sediment Project essentially looks at the legacy of contamination and how it has affected the sediment, fish, and other organisms living in the river,” said Mikeska.

Sediment, also known as pollutants and harmful chemicals, have gravely affected the river’s health. The project has been examining the river’s condition and determining what type of cleanup efforts need to be implemented for successful sediment removal.

Mikeska said the process to analyze the river and make determinations has been slow and complex. The project was first initiated in 2014 after the city decided to allocate money to restore the river further.

“There are other successful clean ups across the country we also look at,” said Mikeska, “but big river clean ups take a long time.”

In addition to hosting forums and updating their with information about the project, public input is another focal point.

Last year, the department released their Remedial Investigation Report, Human Health Risk Assessment, and Ecological Risk Assessment to inform the public about the plan to clean the bottom of the river. People were allowed access to the report and given the opportunity to comment.

“Public commentary is important for this project,” said Mikeska. “People had questions and concerns about their health, community and fishing. They also want to know what is going to happen in the next few years.”

The city will begin to see new changes along the river at the beginning of the new year. With the addition of D.C. Water’s Anacostia River Tunnel, water quality is expected to improve and organizations like the Sierra Club and the Anacostia Riverkeepers still work to clean up trash and keep alive the positive legacy of the Anacostia.

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