By Tracy Hadden Loh (Board of Directors), Brent Bolin (Advocacy Committee) • September 29, 2020
In election races in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, candidates are claiming they “support the environment” or “are for smart growth.” Some of those candidates also seem to be against most development while others are more supportive. It’s hard to make sense of all this. What’s the green view of growth?
A report by the National Police Foundation for the DC Council found that MPD’s Narcotics and Specialized Investigations Division disproportionately targeted Black people. While making up only 46% of DC’s population, Black people accounted for 87% of all stops, 91% of arrests and 100% of use of force incidents. Meanwhile, white people made up 5% of the teams’ stops. (Jacob Fenston / DCist)
Montgomery County is providing about $6 million for COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, Spanish-speaking communications, and other services to community partners that provide aid to Latinx residents. This summer, Latinx communities were found to have the highest cases of coronavirus in the county. (Lola Fadulu / Post)
Arlington County will begin a study on missing middle housing on October 29th by soliciting community input from residents. Currently only 6% of the 116,000 homes in the county are “middle” housing like duplexes, and 75% of county land is zoned for detached single family homes. (Angela Woolsey / ARL Now)
A MARC train hit and killed Lynette Michelle Green of Elkridge, Maryland on Tuesday morning. Witnesses say the conductor tried to get Green to flee as the train approached her on the tracks but she did not move. (Angela Roberts / Baltimore Sun)
DC’s Office of Campaign Finance cleared Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto of allegations that she violated the city’s campaign finance laws by using a Logan Circle home as her campaign headquarters. (Mitch Ryals / WCP)
Mayor Bowser is introducing new rules for what qualifies as a “certified business enterprise” for government contracts. Her goal is to stop large companies from setting up small subsidiary shells in DC to win bids over actual local businsesses. (Alex Koma / WBJ)
Kirby Smith was sentenced to 14 days in jail and repaying the nearly $180,000 he stole from Metro over two years by falsifying invoices and charging for supplies that did not exist. Smith worked as an assistant superintendent at Metro when he was fired in 2015. (Justin George / Post)
By Elizabeth Whitton (Contributor) • September 29, 2020
Every so often, Greater Greater Washington writes about the podcasts we have enjoyed. It is time to refresh our list, highlighting old favorites, and sharing some new finds.
By Canaan Merchant (Elections Committee) • September 28, 2020
Herndon is holding elections this fall. Two candidates are running for mayor, and an original slate of 10 candidates is now down to eight people running for all of the six seats on the town council. The race is officially nonpartisan and most of the issues in town are focused on local events and changes.
