WI Web Staff
Tonya Williams knew the first thing she was going to do when she moved into her first home last weekend – drop to her knees and thank God for making homeownership a reality.
"It's exciting," Williams said in anticipation of her move. "Very exciting."
Williams is the first homeowner assisted from start to finish in the Prince George's County Department of Housing and Community Development's (DHCD) newest homeownership "Buy Suitland" program. Through the program, qualified buyers receive up to $40,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance for the purchase of their first home. The program offers homeowners a 0 percent interest loan and half of the loan is forgiven if the house remains the homeowner's primary residence for 15 years.
Williams, 51, an administrative assistant with the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, is leaving the world of renting behind at a substantial savings. She will be paying $458 a month less in mortgage payments than the rent on her apartment in Suitland, where she's lived for 14 years.
Her new home is a two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom townhouse. She purchased it through a short sale and the process took two months from her initial contact with DHCD to her signing papers at closing.
Williams also qualified for a loan to make home improvements [a new roof, remodeled kitchen, and a bathroom update along with termite treatment] to the house before she moved in.
Toward the end of moving day, June 30, an exhausted Williams only said, "It is nice."
"After renting most of my life, I'm sure I've paid for one or two houses by now in rent," Williams said. "Finally, a home of my own – my grandchildren can come over and play in the playground just out back."
William, who said she's been packed for a year, had attempted to purchase homes in the past with no success and had gotten to a point of shying away from the housing market.
"There [aren't] a whole lot of programs helping with down payment and closing costs," Williams said. However, those two areas are where the "Buy Suitland" program provided assistance.
"Oh wow, it was excellent," said Williams of the guidance and support she received from the county.
"Suitland is one of our target areas for the county executive's 'Transforming Neighborhoods Initiatives' with specific county resources dedicated to the area as well as a community anchored by the Suitland Metro station, the Suitland Federal Center and the planned mixed use of the Suitland Manor Redevelopment Project. It is an excellent location to purchase a foreclosed or short-sale property," said Eric Brown, DHCD director.
"Renters like Ms. Williams should seriously consider the benefits of homeownership and how our 'Buy Suitland' program can help."
Williams encourages those who have been thinking about purchasing a home but have become discouraged to consider the "Buy Suitland" program and to be patient.
"It's an overwhelming feeling," Williams said. "I am considered a homeowner."
Rev. Fred Luter to Take Over Southern Baptist Convention
On Tuesday, June 19, the Rev. Fred Luter, pastor of New Orleans' Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, was elected as the first Black president of the 16-million-member Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) during their annual meeting in New Orleans. The two-day annual meeting's theme was "Jesus: To the neighborhood and the nations."
The previous SBC president is Bryant Wright.
When asked what message he hopes his nomination and SBC presidency will send, Luter, 55, explained that the lesson people should learn is about the importance of faith.
"Why me out of all the thousands and thousands of preachers in this city and state and nation?," he asked. "I believe it's not because I've accomplished so much; I just believe it's because of the faithfulness of God and that He has honored me because of my faithfulness."
According to the Annual Church Profile, the Southern Baptist Convention has approximately 15 million U.S. members and of those, an estimated one million members are Black. The selection of a Black minister for the highest post in the SBC has particular relevance because of how the convention was founded nearly 167 years ago. The Southern Baptist Convention was created in 1845, when participants decided to leave the Northern Baptists because they believed slavery was biblically just.
Many, including Luter, have difficulty believing the racial injustices perpetrated by SBC churches and their members.
"I've been in this thing four years now," he said. "I don't feel a need to leave. All of us got a past. All we can do is apologize about those things and move on."
The SBC is well aware of its racist history and in recent years has made moves — big and small — to address its past and shape its future. In 2011, the convention passed an historic measure calling for more ethnic diversity in their leadership ranks; in 1995, they even formally apologized "to all African-Americans' for their past stance on slavery.
Black Clergy Take New Approach to Fight HIV
African-American clergy are reportedly ready to join the fight against HIV by focusing on HIV testing, treatment and social justice.
"We in public health have done a poor job of engaging African-American community leaders, and particularly Black clergy members, in HIV prevention," said Amy Nunn, lead author of the study and assistant professor of medicine in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.
"There is a common misperception that African-American churches are unwilling to address the AIDS epidemic. This paper highlights some of the historical barriers to effectively engaging African-American clergy in HIV prevention and provides recommendations from clergy for how to move forward."
Dozens of interviews and focus group data have been analyzed among 38 African-American pastors and imams in Philadelphia, where racial disparities in HIV infection are especially stark. Seven in 10 new infections in the city are among Black residents. Nearly all of the 27 male and 11 female clergy members said they would preach and promote HIV testing and treatment.
That message would provide a needed complement to decades of public health efforts that have emphasized risky behaviors, Nunn said. Research published and widely reported last year, for example, suggests that testing and then maintaining people on treatment could dramatically reduce new infections because treatment can give people a 96-percent lower chance of transmitting HIV.
According to the paper's analysis, many religious leaders acknowledged that they struggled with how to cope with the epidemic, particularly with challenges related to discussing human sexuality in the church or mosque setting.
"It's my duty as a preacher to tell people to abstain," one pastor told the research team, "but if they're still having sex and they're getting HIV, there has to be another way to handle this."
Natalie Mitchem, pastor of Calvary AME Church and director of the First Episcopal District Health Commission, has been supportive of efforts to engage faith leaders in the fight against HIV. She says HIV awareness and education is a comprehensive part of the AME church's health ministry.
"I feel like it's a very significant, vitally important ministry for churches of all denominations. It's important for us to share the messages about prevention and education in our congregations and in our communities — so that people know we care," Mitchem says.
The Affordable Health Care Act means affordable health care for all Americans. The green light the law received last week from the U.S. Supreme Court finally puts Americans on the right path to becoming healthier regardless of income, race, gender or preexisting conditions. Now what can be so incredibly wrong about that?
Apparently many members of the Republican Party have huge problems with what they like to call Obamacare. It doesn't matter that millions of Americans will have health insurance, including young adults who will be covered by their parent's health insurance until age 26, Republicans are insistent that the law must be repealed.
But not all Republicans are casting darts at the measure which ranked among the top issues voters wanted Barack Obama to address if he won the presidency in 2008. Some voters have short memories of the plethora of testimonials by Americans who were suffering due to the lack of access and affordability of health care.
But many young Republicans are flexible enough to separate politics from sound public policy. The dilemma of conscience young Republicans say they are facing stems from a desire to stick with the party because of their belief that you always support the party, or do they go with their conscience which leans toward President Obama who seems to get it when it comes to the issues that impact the next generation.
Their view is that the Republican Party is engaged in a really stupid game of partisan politics which will make it difficult for them come November to vote the party line.
Many young Republicans are not sold on Mitt Romney, either. What they hear is a candidate who represents a party that speaks more about what President Obama has done wrong instead of what their party is proposing to do to address the issues of health care, jobs, immigration and education.
These voters will most likely go to the polls in November and very likely may support President Obama's re-election bid. If they do, they will still be Republicans and they may become the hope for their party's future.
Andy Griffith, the warm-hearted, common-sense sheriff of rural Mayberry, featured on the "Andy Griffith Show," has died. He was 86.
Revered as" America's favorite sheriff," the affable Griffith passed away early Tuesday at his home on Roanoke Island, Dare County, N.C., according to a statement from the sheriff's office.
"Andy Griffith passed away, after an illness ... Mr. Griffith has been laid to rest on his beloved Roanoke Island,"a statement from the actor's family conveyed.
Griffith's wife Cindi Griffith added that, "Andy was a person of incredibly strong Christian faith and was prepared for the day he would be called Home to his Lord."
Griffith's stellar career ranged from nightclub and radio appearances to movies and music. But it was his renowned role as a small-town sheriff on TV that endeared him to millions of Americans.
According to a CBS report, viewers tuned into "The Andy Griffith Show" which ran from 1960 to 1968, not to watch Sheriff Andy Taylor solve big crimes, but to watch him solve the little problems of life in the fictional Mayberry, N.C. Don Knotts played Deputy Barney Fife, and Jim Nabors portrayed Gomer Pyle, the gas pumper.
Although critics rated the weekly family-oriented show -- that also featured "Aunt Bea" -- number four among the top five sitcoms ever on TV, other reports state that, "The Andy Griffith Show" was one of only three series in history to end its run at the top of the ratings. "I Love Lucy" and "Seinfeld" also bowed out on top.
Griffith was born June 1, 1926, in the small town of Mt. Airy, N.C. He was brought up in the church where he sang and played slide trombone in the band at Grace Moravian Church. He got break an actor when he played the role of Sir Walter Raleigh in Paul Green's outdoor pageant, "The Lost Colony," in Manteo, N.C.
Griffith graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1949 with a degree in music, and years later in 1972, he began his own production company.
Griffith returned to TV in 1986, playing the lead role in "Matlock," a courtroom-based drama, which aired until 1995.
As of Tuesday, Pepco reports state that the number of residences and businesses that remain without power in the District has been reduced to about 20,000, compared to 40,000 two days ago -- and the initial 443,000 customers that were impacted after a violent storm ravaged the city and parts of nearby Maryland on Friday.
But Council member Mary Cheh, who contends that 20,000 customers in the dark is still too many, joins Mayor Vincent Gray in declaring it's time for Pepco to step up its game when major storms ravage the area.
An obviously frustrated Gray said in an interview Monday that it's not like storms of that magnitude have never hit the District before. To that end, he and Cheh have indicated Pepco has little excuse why it will be during the weekend when power to the rest of the city is fully restored.
However, with the intense heat expected to linger, going four more days without power has caused members of the D.C. Council's Public Services and Community Affairs Committee -- chaired by Ward 7 Council member Yvette Alexander -- to meet with Pepco officials to determine what's behind the delay restoring electricity and how a repeat scenario can be avoided.
"Instead of generalities, we would get specifics," Cheh was quoted as saying. Otherwise, she added, alluding to Pepco officials' veracity, "What alternative do we have other than to believe what they say?"
In comparison to Pepco, utility crews in neighboring locales like Northern Virginia and Baltimore, were quickly able to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers.
For instance, Dominion Virginia Power, which worked feverishly to restore power to nearly 1 million customers on Friday night, had restored 86 percent by 10 a.m. Saturday, according to a report. The report further stated that on Tuesday, Baltimore Gas &Electric had repaired lines serving 527,000 out of about 680,000 affected customers.
DC Scores Receives New Toyota for After-School Program
Tuesday, 03 July 2012 20:02 Published in Local
DC SCORES named the first winner in Toyota's 2012 100 Cars for Good program
DC SCORES, which provides award-winning after-school programs for low-income youth in Washington, D.C., today received a brand new Toyota Sienna as part of the automaker's100 Cars for Good program. The Toyota 100 Cars for Good is a national philanthropic initiative which awards 100 cars to deserving nonprofit organizations with winners selected daily on Facebook for 100 days through August 21.
Joined by dozens of DC SCORES participants, Toyota Vice President Michael Rouse presented the keys to the new vehicle to DC SCORES Executive Director Amy Nakamoto at a press conference at the Marie Reed Elementary School in Washington, DC.
"There is a lack of after-school programs in the DC area and DC SCORES has stepped in to fill that need – offering kids the chance to participate in organized sports and arts programs," said Rouse. "Toyota is committed to being a community partner and is focused on supporting programs in ways that achieve long-term sustainable results. We hope this vehicle helps DC SCORES build upon the amazing work already established here in Washington."
Amy Nakamoto said, "We are extremely excited to be receiving a van from Toyota through the 100 Cars for Good program. Thanks to Toyota's generosity and service to our community, we will be able to provide and transport much-needed soccer and writing equipment to over 40 DC public schools who host a DC SCORES after-school program. This will increase our efficiency in using time, money and people to directly impact hundreds of DC students in the coming years. We are very grateful to be part of such a large and effective philanthropic initiative by Toyota."
DC SCORES was selected as a finalist out of thousands of applicants nationwide and chosen by online voters as this year's first winner. Their programs benefit more than 800 children at 27 schools across Washington, DC. The new Sienna minivan will support DC SCORES activities that promote physical activity and creativity throughout the city and will help facilitate the organization's expansion to 20 new schools in the District. DC SCORES detailed how they will use their new Toyota Sienna in a video, found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToOq2XrJ-Yc.
Toyota will profile five finalists each day at www.100carsforgood.com, where individual members of the public are invited to vote for the nonprofit they think can do the most good with a new vehicle. The nonprofit with the most votes at the end of each day wins one of six Toyota models. Runners-up each receive a $1,000 cash grant from Toyota. A six-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty will also be provided for each vehicle, compliments of Toyota Financial Services.
A memorial service will be held Friday, July 6 for Albert R. "Butch" Hopkins, who passed away last week at age 71.
At the time of his death on June 28, Hopkins -- a fourth generation Washingtonian -- was president and CEO of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) where he had served since 1969. Hopkins, a graduate of Howard University where he also earned a law degree, was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. In May, the city designated the 1800 block Martin Luther King Avenue in Southeast as Butch Hopkins Way.
Ward 8 Council member Marion Barry, who issued a statement on Hopkins' passing, praised him a dear friend who will be sorely missed by the community.
"As the president and CEO of AEDC, as well as one of the founders of the Anacostia Coordinating Council, Butch Hopkins has been in the forefront of moving the Anacostia community forward for decades," said Barry. "His efforts have resulted in unsurpassed economic development, entrepreneurial opportunities and jobs that not only benefit Ward 8, but the city overall. Butch Hopkins was loved, admired and respected in the Anacostia community and throughout the city."
Hopkins is survived by his son, Mark Hopkins and his daughter Michelle Hopkins Lawrence, six grandchildren; and his sisters, Althea Holland and Barbara Hopkins.
A celebration of Hopkins' life will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursday, July 5 at Joseph Gawler's Sons Funeral Home, 5130 Wisconsin Ave. in Northwest. The memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Matthew's Cathedral, 1725 Rhode Island Ave. in Northwest.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Butch Hopkins Memorial AEDC Scholarship Fund, c/o AEDC, 1800 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20020.
Mayor Vincent Gray has expressed frustration that two days after a sweltering storm hit the area -- killing at least 10 people -- it could be a week before electrical power is restored to thousands of homes and businesses across the District.
To make matters worse, weather forecasters say that the intense heat, which enveloped the area over the weekend, is expected to return.
Grat voiced his sentiments Monday surrounding Pepco's timeliness restoring power. He said in an interview that it's not like the storm that swept through the region Saturday, "hasn't happened before."
As a result of power outages and other damages that occurred, District of Columbia Public Schools will be closed Tuesday, July 3. While federal agencies in the District will be open on Tuesday, non-emergency employees have the option of working from home or taking a day's leave.
As a result of the major storm that hit the area on Friday night, all District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) will be closed on Tuesday, July 3.
Students and staff assigned to summer school, summer bridge or extended school year (ESY) programs should not report to their sites.
DCPS schools will not be open for use by other community based organizations (CBOs) or programs, including SYEP participants, on July 3.
DCPS administrative sites will be open.
School officials hope to resume normal operations and open schools for all programs on Thursday, July 5.
Capitol Fourth Celebration to Feature Kool and Gang, Others
Monday, 02 July 2012 16:35 Published in Arts & Entertainment
This July 4th, America's national Independence Day celebration kicks off our country's 236th birthday, as A CAPITOL FOURTH on PBS welcomes a brand new host, Emmy Award-winning television personality Tom Bergeron.
Hot off another winning season as host of the hit TV series, DANCING WITH THE STARS, Bergeron will lead an all-star cast in a patriotic evening of unrivaled musical performances, topped off by the greatest display of fireworks anywhere in the nation.
The multi award-winning event will feature AMERICAN IDOL winner Phillip Phillips; two-time Tony Award winner Matthew Broderick performing songs from the hit Broadway musical NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT with four-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara; acclaimed Broadway and television star Megan Hilty (SMASH); singer-songwriter Javier Colon (winner of THE VOICE); country music star Josh Turner; R&B superstars Kool & The Gang; world renowned tenor Russell Watson and the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly.
Eight-time Olympic medalist Apolo Anton Ohno will host a tribute to Team USA, honoring the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic teams, featuring five-time Academy Award-winner John Williams conducting his "Olympic Fanfare."
Broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, A CAPITOL FOURTH will air live in HD on PBS Wednesday, July 4, 2012 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings) before a concert audience of hundreds of thousands, millions more at home, as well as to our troops serving around the world on the American Forces Network. The program can also be heard live in stereo over NPR member stations nationwide.
A CAPITOL FOURTH has truly become America's favorite Independence Day celebration, and a cornerstone of PBS's annual programming line-up, as is evidenced by the ratings. During the 2010-2011 season, A CAPITOL FOURTH took the top prize, for the second consecutive year, as the number one rated program in primetime. With a 4.6 Nielsen rating A CAPITOL FOURTH reached over 11 million viewers.
"What an honor to be in the nation's capital for America's biggest birthday party," said Tom Bergeron. "Hosting A CAPITOL FOURTH enables me to celebrate two things I'm a big fan of - America and PBS!"
Added Executive Producer Jerry Colbert, "We are thrilled that Tom Bergeron will lead our nation in this star-spangled celebration. We are also humbled that the viewers have chosen this unique live television event as their favorite. With the eyes of America upon us, we join as one family to celebrate our freedoms, using the magical medium of television."
The 2012 broadcast of A CAPITOL FOURTH will include two unique segments:
• Apolo Anton Ohno and legendary composer John Williams will lead a rousing and patriotic send off to Team USA as they head to the London 2012 Olympic Games featuring current and past U.S. Olympians as well as members of the U.S. Paralympic team; and
• A musical tribute to beloved American legend Gene Kelly, in celebration of his 100th birthday, featuring the National Symphony Orchestra performing a medley of Hollywood classics including SINGIN' IN THE RAIN and AN AMERICAN IN PARIS.
Offering viewers extended coverage of the fireworks display, A CAPITOL FOURTH will capture the stunning pyrotechnics from every vantage point with twenty TV cameras stationed around the city – including the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Washington Monument and across the Potomac River.
The show will be capped off with a rousing rendition of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" complete with live cannon fire provided by The U.S. Army Presidential Salute Battery, an audience favorite and now an A CAPITOL FOURTH tradition.
Also participating in the event will be The Choral Arts Society of Washington, along with The U.S. Army Herald Trumpets, The U.S. Army Ceremonial Band, the Quantico Marine Corps Band, Members of the Armed Forces carrying the State and Territorial Flags and the Armed Forces Color Guard provided by the Military District of Washington, D.C.
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