“Somebody has been transported to hospital,” confirmed an MPD officer who was on the site of the accident in Northwest, D.C. However, the officer declined to give more information

On Twitter, @alanhenney reported that the person was in cardiac arrest, though 91���� could not confirm that. The identity of the person has not been released.

CRASH WITH PROBABLE FATALITY — Kennedy St at Illinois Ave NW DC. Man crashed auto into barrier. He is in cardiac arrest (possibly suffered a medical event). h/t

— Alan Henney (@alanhenney)

The accident occurred near the intersection of Kennedy Street and Illinois Avenue, NW in a narrow dark alley that connects some residential apartments to the main roads. The car smashed into a concrete jersey barrier that was blocking part of the alley off Kennedy Street.

The back of the car is severely damaged.��

Fatalities on the road have been dramatically increasing these two past years in D.C.��

In 2021, 40 fatalities were reported, the highest number since 2007. As of Dec. 6, 2022, the Metropolitan Police Department reported .��

In 2015, Mayor Muriel Bowser launched Vision Zero, an initiative designed to reduce the number of traffic injuries and fatalities in the city, with a goal of zero traffic fatalities by 2024. However, in October, the mayor released , noting that, while the initial goal was ambitious, the city was making some progress.

According to the report, in the three years before the pandemic, 2017-2019, the District recorded an average of 8,530 traffic crashes per year, or 23 per day, that resulted in injuries.��

“During the nearly three years of the COVID-19 public health emergency, overall reported traffic injuries in the District decreased sharply, by about 30% overall. Among pedestrians and cyclists, reported injuries decreased even more: by 44% (pedestrians) and 51% (cyclists),” the report said.

“However, fatalities did not follow suit, instead showing a divergence, where injuries declined and fatalities increased,” the report added.��

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Despite events organized by District Bridges, a nongovernmental organization, local businesses regret that the neighborhood doesn’t have as much light as it has had in the past.��However, these business owners hope to bring the Christmas spirit back to Columbia Heights.��

District Bridges organized D.C. Holiday Lights, which started in November and will stop on Jan. 8. Holiday Lights spans the District, and anyone can visit the 14 participating neighborhoods and for their favorite display.��

Columbia Heights has participating businesses, which is a little bit less than the average compared to other neighborhoods.��

Blanca Caceres has a beauty salon and barbershop in Columbia Heights. Her business has been open over 20 years, and she participates in D.C. Holidays Lights every year. But she noticed a change through the years.

“A few years ago, our economy was better than now,” she said. “So now we don’t do anything exciting.”

In September, District Bridges Columbia Heights Main Street asked for donations to help decorate the neighborhood, but only one person donated. However, the organization does count on several , such as Amazon.

The Christmas spirit inside these businesses is not dead. Dolores Yanes, a hairdresser, plays holiday songs and decorated a tree with chocolate Santas—she will give them away to children when D.C. Holiday Lights are finished, she said. She also wished the neighborhood had a bigger Christmas spirit.

“We have a lot of businesses here; they have to do more,” she said. “Before the pandemic, they used to decorate 14th Street, they had more motivation.”��

Because her business is not within the Main Street boundaries, she said that she needs to do the decorations on her own.��

Both businesses are located at Park Road, NW.

When strolling around 14th Street, Christmas lights are barely perceptible. This is in stark contrast with other neighborhoods, such as Woodley Park, with the Zoo Lights event, or Georgetown, with GLOW DC.��

Linn Mylien, who works at a nail bar located in the Civic Plaza, said ��she had the responsibility to decorate her shop.��

“We are the center, so we should do something to bring it up,” Mylien said.

Her business won the most colorful light display in the D.C. Holidays Lights competition of 2021. She doesn’t think that the event will bring new customers, but she is doing it “for fun,” she said.

In front of her store stands an undecorated Christmas tree, which was mocked on because of its small size and sad stature.

The Columbia Heights Christmas tree leaves a lot to be desired this year

— Rebecca Rainey (@RebeccaARainey)

Residents will have to wait until Dec. 10 to see the lighting of this tree, which some hope will revive the Christmas spirit in the neighborhood.��

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The new bill would give the right to vote in local elections to lawful permanent residents, also called green card holders, who live in D.C. Last year, the highest number of green cards delivered in D.C. was to Salvadorans, according to ��And Salvadorans represent of Ward 1’s population, US Census data shows.

The process of getting a green card is complex, and ��

Kush Kharod, one of the organizers of the Local Resident Voting Rights coalition, is the son of Indian parents who are green card holders.��

“Coming from a family of immigrants,” he said, “I know what the struggle is.”

He is fairly confident that Mayor Muriel Bowser will sign the bill and send it to Congress for review. Bowser has until Nov. 21 to sign.

Kharod said Bowser already supported when she was a Ward 4 council member. The same bill was introduced in 2014, , , and .��

This year, Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau sponsored the bill, with the help of six other council members. On Oct. 18, 12voted in favor of the bill, with Vincent Gray absent. It was officially transmitted to Bowser Nov. 4.��

“The District of Columbia has long been a place that has welcomed immigrants into our community, and it’s time to allow for their full participation in our institutions,” Nadeau said in a .��

During an August 2022 hearing before the council’s , Jose Barrios, the president of the D.C. Latino Caucus, supported this bill.

“If permanent residents are an essential part of our cultural fabric, if they support our economy as workers and entrepreneurs, if they pay large amounts of taxes, if their kids are in our schools, if they enjoy our parks and local events if they can contribute to their preferred political candidates, and perhaps most importantly if they can die in service to our country, then they also deserve to be able to vote in local elections that matter to them,” Barrios told the committee.

Lance Swinton, a teacher at Columbia Heights Educational Campus, echoed this when 91���� interviewed him at a vote center on Election Day 2022. “I feel like if they occupy the space, they should be able to have a say in who makes changes,” Swinton said.��

The drive to let permanent residents vote isn’t unique to D.C. To date, have extended this right, 11 of them in Maryland, as early as in 1992 in Takoma Park, MD.��

But when voters went to cast their ballot for the midterms this past Tuesday, reactions were mixed.��

“They shouldn’t vote,” Winston Brown said. “They are not citizens. You got to be a citizen of the United States in order to vote in the United States. You come here, you work, and you got to live, but you shouldn’t vote here.”��

Voter Natalie Boyd agreed. “They should wait until they are citizens. They would get the benefits before being a citizen,” Boyd said.

But Lizzy B. disagreed, saying, “If you are here legally, if you are not American but you live in this area, then local elections certainly you should have an influence.” She declined to offer her last name.

If Bowser agrees to the bill, it will have to be reviewed in Congress. Congress will have to review the bill. They can decide to overturn the council’s decision.��

Some states are banning an extension of a franchise like this, . Last week, 77% of the voters cast a ballot in favor of “Issue 2,” which would prohibit noncitizens to vote.

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The new bill made its way to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office after the D.C. Council approved it on Oct. 18. Bowser has until Nov. 21 to act on the measure.

If the major signs it, the bill then goes to Congress for review.

Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau sponsored the measure.��

“The District of Columbia has long been a place that has welcomed immigrants into our community, and it’s time to allow for their full participation in our institutions,” Nadeau said in a .��

On this chilly morning, some voters at Columbia Heights Educational Center were completely opposed.�� One of those voters was Winston Brown.

��“They shouldn’t vote,” Brown said. “They are not citizens. You got to be a citizen of the United States in order to vote in the United States. You come here, you work, and you got to live, but you shouldn’t vote here.”��

Voter Natalie Boyd agreed “They should wait until they are citizens. They would get the benefits before being a citizen,” Boyd said.

However, others were more precautious.��

“I incline to be okay,” said Columbia Heights resident John Salsby.��

And some encourage this opening to noncitizens. Lance Swinton, a teacher at Columbia Heights Educational Campus, said he supports the bill. “I feel like if they occupy the space, they should be able to have a say in who makes changes,” Swinton said.��

Lizzy B. agreed, saying, “If you are here legally, if you are not American but you live in this area, then local elections certainly you should have an influence.” She declined to offer her last name.

Most of those who spoke to 91���� said they were not aware that the bill made its way to Bowser’s desk.

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High schools in Ward 1 plan to change their curricula thanks to the XQ grant, which would impact the education of hundreds of students, and maybe more in the coming years.��

The XQ Association encourages public high schools to rethink and redesign their educational program. XQ partnered with D.C. for the first time , and six high schools applied for the grant. Dunbar High School (Ward 5) and Cardozo Education Campus are the, earning a $25 million grant. Cardozo has been selected by XQ for its project of enhancing students’ .��

It comes at a good time for Cardozo. The campus has both a middle school and a high school, but it faces a continuing decrease in enrollment. From 2019 to 2021, Cardozo welcomed over 700 students. Last year, 620 students enrolled, and the school is expected to . Emily Gasoi, Ward 1 representative on the D.C. Board of Education, said the grant could prevent this trend.��

“I do worry about Cardozo. If Cardozo keeps losing students, even though some students came in the middle of the year, they get fewer kids enrolling at the beginning of the year,” she said.��

“So, few Ward 1 residents actually go to middle or high school in our Ward. And so, what I am hoping is that this new grant will change that.” And having specialized schools could end up helping parents to choose the school that best fits their child’s needs, she said.

Arthur Mola, the principal of Cardozo, emphasized the same thing. He said the school’s curriculum will begin its shift to a business focus next year and will fully become Cardozo Business School in five years.

“Why would you send your child to Cardozo? Well, when you look at the coursework that we’re going to be offering, I would want to get parents very excited because the courses that students will be taking have everything to do with developing financial independence and financial freedom for years to come,” said Mola.

Students will follow traditional classes, such as mathematics and English, with a focus on business. Mola also said that this knowledge would be helpful both for those who want to pursue a college degree and those who don’t.����

Rethinking high schools is the bottom line of the XQ campaign, and this is absolutely necessary, according to Karim Marshall, a candidate for D.C. Council at-large seat, who is endorsed by the Washington Teachers Union. “Our current high school education system is based on the Industrial Revolution when we were training people to work in factories. That’s not what work looks like anymore,” he said.��

CHEC is not facing the same issues as Cardozo, with The school, which also includes a middle school and high school, is .

While CHEC didn’t get the grant this year, it is refining its objectives for the next cohort of DC-XQ, said Percia Williams, the representative of the Parent-Teacher Association for the school.

The school plans an improvement in terms of technology. “You have to rethink high school to a much bigger one. When it comes to learning and technology, the world is getting wider and bigger,” she said.��

But developing a business component is the priority. “The school will become like a business park. Students can create a business and make money that they can use inside the school,” she said.��

The XQ grant could also be used for a greater purpose. “And if it works, then we use that as a proof of concept to see if we can roll it out and other schools, and then we can talk about actually using part of the district budget in order to fund the change,” Marshall said.��

For now, it is still undetermined when the next cohort will be selected. But D.C. public high schools will have several chances to get the grant, as DC+XQ is a multiyear partnership.��

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Vendors welcome the bills, introduced by Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau, but say they hope the effort doesn’t stop there. These vendors say they need a path toward a license.

The smell of fresh empanadas, the loud music from temporary stands, and the call to buy coconuts or papaya are impossible to ignore when exiting the Columbia Heights Metro station. Street vendors became part of the neighborhood’s landscape through the years, and two bills could make them permanent.��

The full council will hold a public hearing on both bills Nov. 16 to hear the voices of anyone interested in these bills.��

Under current law, street vendors may not sell on the sidewalks without a license or a permit. They face a maximum of 90 days in prison and a $500 fine if they do not comply with the license requirements.��

would decriminalize unlicensed street vendors in D.C. and remove criminal penalties for violating vending regulations.��

“Decriminalization is a lazy legislation,” said Matt Geller, the founding president of the National Food Truck Association. “What we need is a pathway to permits.”��

He said that decriminalization doesn’t change anything except helping unlicensed vendors avoid being arrested. However, he acknowledged that a bill to give street vendors the possibility to get permits is complicated and challenging, as several agencies would need to find a middle ground.��

“We need a license to sell without worries,” said Miguel Perez, a street vendor on 14th Street. “When the cops come to the corner, everyone runs, and for me this is not right.” Although he is retired, the money he receives is not enough to survive. Perez said he sells to pay his $1,800 rent and to cover the expenses of his disabled wife.

“With a license, we would be happy,” he said.��

Nadeau also introduced a companion bill, . The bill would create two types of licenses, an individual and a vending zone manager license, according to Nadeau’s ��

Both bills would allow for a managed vending zone in Columbia Heights, which would ensure everyone could enjoy the offerings of the vendors while still being able to access the sidewalks and other businesses along 14th Street, the councilwoman said in an email. She agreed that this bill would be a pathway to permits.��

14th Street is known to be the heart of Columbia Heights and a place with various street vendors. Because many are not registered, a precise number of street vendors is not available.��

An incident in 2019 led Nadeau to introduce the two bills. A 10- and 15-year-old were confronted by the police at 14th Street, leaving one of them injured. A video became viral and revived the debates around decriminalization and vending permits. These bills would prevent negative police encounters, Nadeau said in

“Because of that, I stopped selling for a while,” said Salvador-born Maria Cruz. “It scares me to fall into the immigration because I don’t want it in my record.”

Cruz said wakes up every morning at 1 a.m and prepares food based on yucca, platanus, corn, and packs up fruits such as melon, papaya, and mango. She also said she supports more vital legislation for street vendors, and these new bills could be a start.

“We need formality,” said Chris Rodriguez, who sells Argentinian empanadas. “Some stands are big and others smaller, we need to be all equal.” He said he has been selling every Friday and Saturday for four years at 14th Street. He is not afraid of the police, he said, and he will just follow what the mayor decides.��

Both bills still have a long way to go. After the public hearing this November, they have to go through a final reading, mayoral review, and a congressional review to end up, maybe, as a law.

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These owners know that one themed month is not enough to compensate for the losses caused by COVID-19. But, the month is just one of many ways they hope to bring in new business.

Hispanic Heritage Month started on Sept. 15 and will last until Oct. 15. This is a month to celebrate and recognize Hispanic culture and history. And it comes at a great time, as Hispanic-owned businesses are still trying to recover from the impact of COVID-19.

“COVID-19 slowed everything down. We didn’t close, but we changed our hours. We used to open the whole day, now we just open in the evening,” said operations manager William Martinez of Tequila and Mezcal, a Mexican and Salvadoran family-owned bar and restaurant in Columbia Heights, in D.C.’s Ward 1.

It’s hard to say if it will go back to normal, but Hispanic Heritage Month is an opportunity to bring in new customers after the COVID-19 loss, Martinez said. “There is a new wave of customers to show support during the Hispanic Heritage Month.”

The U.S. government started the Paycheck Protection Program in April 2020 to help small businesses pay their employees, said Walda Yon, a chief executive at the Latino Economic Development Center. LEDC also started loan programs to help Latino businesses pay their rent, she said. However, only 3% of Latino business owners had access to total funding through PPP, compared to 7% for white owners, according to a study by Marlene Orozco and Inara Suman Taraque.

“Clients were not here. They simply went back home,” said Yon.

And Columbia Heights was not spared. The neighborhood is the heart of the Spanish-speaking Latin American population in D.C., with 22% of residents identifying as Hispanics, which is the highest number in the city, according to US Census Bureau figures. District Bridges, a nonprofit organization that aims to help businesses in a large portion of Northwest D.C. to thrive, said that Columbia Heights had the largest number of Hispanic restaurants in Ward 1, with 13 different options.

“I wish I could do more,” said Amanda Monaco, Main Street manager of Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant for District Bridges, about Hispanic Heritage Month.

She helps Latino business owners to develop their businesses.

This ranges from helping fill out government documents to advising them on how to promote their businesses. This summer, the group launched workshops on how to create promotional websites. In the next few months, District Bridges will keep on reaching out to Latino business owners to ask them what they need, she said.

So far, Hispanic Heritage Month hasn’t changed the number of customers visiting Mi Casita Bakery and Deli, explained Brigitte Galicia, the restaurant’s cashier. Customers have passionate conversations in Spanish on the restaurant’s terrace at the corner of a street.

“We welcome everyone, Black, white, Hispanics,” said Deisi Aleman, a Honduran employee of La Cabaña Restaurante at Columbia Heights.

The Mexican-Salvadoran restaurant skipped over Hispanic Heritage Month, as it already painted its windows with Halloween themes. Aleman said there will be “a big happy hour” during the weekend of Halloween. Tex-Mex fajitas, pollo con tajadas and margaritas are very popular and are expected to be widely served during Halloween, she said.

After Halloween, the neighborhood will have another event to attract visitors. Small business owners are encouraged to decorate their stores as Columbia Heights’ Main Street will be part of D.C. Holiday Lights from Nov. 18 to Jan. 8. District Bridges’ Monaco hopes that it will promote the businesses of Columbia Heights outside Ward 1.

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