Washington Informer

Mary Bowman is a 24-year-old fast food employee who lives in Suitland, Md. For the last three years, she has been expressing herself, and revealing snippets of her life through poetry. She recently recited a poem in which she describes her mother as a dandelion in the midst of roses.

"Ignorant of her purpose she uprooted her soul and unknowingly left herself for dead to dandelions," said Bowman at an HIV/AIDS event at Howard University on April 11, the day after the first National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day. "All the while dying on the inside, AIDS didn't kill my mother. It put her at rest," Bowman told the crowd.

Her mother died when she was three.

"It's definitely a part of my life, it's as second nature as having an arm," said Bowman about being born HIV positive. She didn't know she had the disease until she was in the fourth grade and she shared her status with her entire class. To tell her story and to help others tell theirs, Bowman created a nonprofit organization called Purpose Over Entertainment or P.O.E.T., which helps to inform others how she and those like her live with the disease.

Bowman joins 76,400 young people nationwide who are living with HIV, according to Advocates for Youth, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that aims to help and inform young people about their sexual health. The organization used April 10, 2013, as the first Youth AIDS Day, in the hope of bringing attention and awareness to the importance of getting tested, and to also bring attention to the fact that one in four new HIV infections in the United States is among youth between the ages of 13 and 24. There are 1,000 new HIV cases diagnosed among young people each month.

Discovered in the 1980s, Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). AIDS weakens the body's immune system so it loses the ability to fight off infection and illnesses. When it was first discovered, many people thought it was a death sentence. However advocates contend that new medications have made living with HIV far more manageable.

"Diabetes is harder to manage as a patient, and the medical outcomes are worst," said Justin Goforth, 47, a registered nurse and director of community relations at Whitman-Walker Health, a nonprofit community health center in the District with special expertise in HIV/AIDS care and care for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community. Goforth handed out flyers and pamphlets that showcased the clinic at a table at a Howard University symposium on increasing the numbers of minorities in health professions on April 10. He said young people stopped to chat about the clinic's work.

Dawn Wilson, a graduate student at Howard University, was waiting for the results of her HIV test at the April 11 AIDS awareness event at Howard, which was hosted by Metro TeenAIDS (MTA) in Southeast, a community health organization dedicated to supporting young people in the fight against the disease.

"I'm not nervous at all," said Wilson, 25, a Silver Spring, Md., resident. "This isn't my first time. I know my status and I do what I have to do." Besides visiting Howard to offer free HIV tests, MTA took its RealTalk bus into Wards 7 and 8 to offer these tests. About 60 people received HIV tests, said Dwayne Lawson-Brown, a community outreach coordinator for MTA.

"In the District, we have a special understanding of how HIV/AIDS can destroy lives," said Adam Tenner, MTA executive director. "We won't stop until we have created the first AIDS-free generation."

Advocates for Youth, which provided the majority of the literature for the National Youth HIV and AIDS Awareness Day, insists that although 50 percent of young people say they want more information about HIV, only 22.6 percent of sexually active high school students have been tested.

Goforth understands the impact that HIV can have on loved ones.

His 23-year-old adopted son, who came out as a homosexual to his biological family at 16, has lived under the cloud and shame of having the disease for several years.

"He would take his medications in private, closing his door," said Goforth, 47. "He's an example of what we see, young, gay black men who are disowned by their families, sofa surfing, and who have to deal with both being gay and their HIV status." He said that churches need to provide some leadership as HIV and AIDS enters its fourth decade.

"I'm always shocked how after all this time, attitudes toward HIV haven't changed all that much," said Goforth, who has had HIV since 1992. He said people can live with the disease, take their medications without dramatically changing their lives.

"People still ask me if they could get it though saliva or from kissing. We have to change people's minds on what HIV is, and we have to continue to encourage young people, all people to get tested," he added.

Ward 7 resident Patrice Irby enjoyed a meal at the Big Chair Bar & Grill on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue in Southeast one recent Wednesday afternoon. During her meal, she marveled at the many changes taking place in the neighborhood.

“This is my first time here,” said Irby, 57, a federal government contract specialist and native Washingtonian who grew up in Southeast. “It’s fun to see how D.C. has [been] revitalized. It’s not the same.”

Irby voiced what longtime residents have witnessed of late in Ward 8’s Anacostia community: a flurry of economic activity, a budding arts district and an influx of new residents.

“We’re seeing an unprecedented renaissance, which collectively plugs into [Mayor Vincent Gray’s] vision,” said Stanley Jackson, 60, newly appointed president of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation (AEDC), a nonprofit that’s promotes Anacostia real estate and business expansion. “We have the opportunity to look at this vision and optimize assets to help the government, the community and the bottom line. We must have a community that’s proactive in engaging developers.”

Jackson, who served as the deputy mayor for planning and economic development under former Mayor Anthony Williams, said his mission with AEDC is a culmination of his efforts under Williams between 2005 and 2007.

“We want to maximize this neighborhood to create a walkable community to live, work, eat; and where we can attract any of the 17 million people visiting Washington, D.C. Few come east of the river,” said Jackson, a longtime resident of the Bellevue neighborhood in Ward 8.

In early January, Jackson introduced himself at a meeting of the civic organization, the Historic Anacostia Block Association (HABA), in front 75 people, said Charles Wilson, the association’s president.

“He’s excited and he wanted people to prepare themselves for the changes,” said Wilson, 36, about Jackson’s presentation, “and to ensure [that] we work together.”

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Anacostia Historic District is a small geographical location built between 1854 and 1930. Wilson said, it’s bounded west by Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, north by Good Hope Road, east by Fendall Street and the rear of the Frederick Douglass home, and south by Bangor Street and Morris Road. It also includes a District landmark, The Big Chair, the Anacostia Metro and the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum.

Anacostia residents are abuzz, said Nikki Peele, director of business development and marketing at the ARCH Development Corporation (ADC), a nonprofit focused on Anacostia’s revitalization through arts culture and small business development.

“We’re seeing the fruits of our labor, as of late,” said Peele, 36, who added that although ADC used arts as a revitalization tool, it wasn’t the only catalyst. “We match arts efforts that go well with something else.” For instance, she said that the arts could be paired with a business improvement district. To date, residents who live in Historic Anacostia have witnessed the opening of two gallery spaces, and small business incubators – all ADC projects.

Peele has a theory about the sudden popularity of Anacostia.

“The true story of the neighborhood was told for the past five years,” said Peele, who writes a blog, Congress Heights on the Rise. “People are blogging, tweeting and [using Facebook to talk about real life experiences], educating the mainstream, and balancing the negative [stereotypes] about the community.”

A combination of changing attitudes and moderate housing prices, afforded Anacostia an opportunity to entice arts-related development from a burgeoning community in Northeast.

This spring, a performing arts venue, H Street Playhouse, will reopen as the Anacostia Playhouse.

Managing director, Julia Robey Christian, said moving from H Street to Anacostia took a minute.

“It already has an arts presence, and people who trust us will come with us,” said Christian, 36, who added that rising costs partly led to the move. She said a new mission will develop as the playhouse begins to produce more socially conscious productions with more community involvement.

Anacostia’s growth, however, has been slower than H Street’s due to the negative reputation that’s still attached to the area, said Kenneth Brewer, executive director of the H Street Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit established to reinvigorate the corridor.

“You would think because Anacostia has the Metro, it would do better,” said Brewer, 52, a longtime resident of the Hillcrest neighborhood in Ward 7. “But population must grow to support retail.” It took 25 years to get “this much movement” on H that relied on “market forces and conditions.”

The H Street corridor in Northeast, which spans from North Capitol Street to 17^th Street, has become a destination spot – with a cornucopia of restaurants, theater venues and retailers. Voted as the sixth most “hipster” place in America by Forbes magazine in September 2012, the H Street corridor – counted among one of the District’s earliest and busiest commercial districts; it was the location of one of the first stores Sears, Roebuck and Co., opened in 1929. The H Street corridor waned after World War II and businesses suffered after the 1968 riots. However, the once bustling corridor has experienced a resurgence within recent years.

“To see the change is good,” said Carolyn Thomas, the owner of C.A.T. Walk boutique in Northeast. “I used to be afraid of this area when I was growing up. Now, I’m looking forward to Ben’s Chili Bowl coming across the street.” Thomas has been on 10^th Street in Northeast since May 2012.

“I disagree it’s just the arts driving the changes,” said Brewer about Anacostia. “It’s more. I think Stan Jackson understands economic development and the framework that [the late] Albert ‘Butch’ Hopkins left behind.” Hopkins led AEDC for more than 30 years.

The two communities share bragging rights.

Both neighborhoods boast about their local festivals. The H Street Festival, sponsored by H Street Main Street, attracts thousands. Last year, ADC hosted Lumen8Anacostia, a festival of lights, arts and music, which Peele said will take place again this year. The event attracted a large and diverse crowd.

Regardless of what’s driving the Anacostia engine, Michael Sterling, The Big Chair Bar & Grill’s new owner said, he sees progress. Sterling, who relocated from Detroit in 2011, has noticed an influx of new faces.

“I see lots of Caucasians trying to field out the area, and they will ask about the neighborhood,” said Sterling, 40, who has managed the café for a year.

Sterling said that he’s a silent partner in the reopening of the Uniontown Bar & Grill, across the street from his café. Uniontown, a sit-down restaurant, closed in 2012, after the owner was charged in a federal drug-trafficking case. Sterling said that his two partners have restaurant experience; and one has managed a nightclub.

“This is still a transitional community, and we need to learn from the history of those who were there before,” said Jackson.

There’s a sense of excitement throughout the halls of the John A. Wilson Building about the renaissance taking place in the Historic Anacostia district. Mayor Vincent Gray, 70, said he’s excited about the initiatives that are creating jobs and tax revenue in Washington, D.C.

“The mayor is committed to seizing opportunities to revitalize neighborhoods across the city with a mix of office, retail and residential development,” said Doxie McCoy, the senior communications manager for the mayor. 

When the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., occurred on Friday, Dec. 14, the District of Columbia Public Schools system was closed for a professional development day for teachers. So, children didn't have to attend school that day. It may have been a blessing for District parents.

That's how Monica Evans felt when she first heard about the tragedy inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults. Two others were wounded.

"My heart felt so heavy," said Evans, a 40-something -year-old mother from Ward 7. "However, I have to admit the next emotion I felt was completely selfish. I was so glad that DCPS was closed. My child was safe at home with my father."

Evans, who has a five-year-old son at a school on Capitol Hill, said when she first heard about the situation from a colleague, her "immediate response was to pray."

"I just started looking at the pictures and the families. Some were relieved faces. Their children were safe," Evans said. "Some were pained faces. I knew what that meant. I knew their lives would be changed forever. I could not put myself in their shoes."

Evans voiced what many parents in the D.C. area have been feeling ever since the news broke recently that 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother, 52-year-old Nancy Lanza, in Newtown before heading to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he killed 20 first graders – mainly 6 and 7 years old – and their teachers. It rocked the core of the tight-knit community of about 27,000 residents, just outside Danbury, Conn. Lanza left a total death count of 28 people after a 10-minute murderous rampage, which ended in his suicide.

As the country continued to ask the question, "why," and tried to put the pieces together, one Southeast mother said it best, "you can replace the name, Sandy Hook, with any elementary school here in D.C., and you can have us dealing with the same tragedy. It could have happened anywhere."

During the weekend following the shooting, many parents who gathered for holiday parties and dinners talked about the magnitude of the carnage, especially so near to the holidays. In whispered tones – eyes darting at their children nearby – many discussed how they'll approach the children, and more important, what they will tell them.

Kimberly Kennedy said she talked about the shooting with her son, Christopher Salmon, 8, before he headed back to school.

"His reaction was what I expected," said Kennedy, 44, who's both a parent and a teacher's aide at Maury Elementary School in Northeast. "He didn't seem frightened but I just wanted to talk to him before he heard it at school." Kennedy said she was personally horrified by the massacre's "randomness."

On Monday, Dec. 17, the first day back to school after the tragedy, each school in the District's public school system chose to deal with its students differently.

At Maury, the principal joined several teachers in greeting the students and their parents by their names as they entered the building. Many parents said they were pleasantly surprised and touched. The rest of the staff was on the playground interacting with the children.

At Watkins Elementary in Southeast, parents said they noticed a police officer at the corner of the school on 12th Street. At Eastern Senior High School on East Capitol Street in Northeast, the students observed a moment of silence. One Northwest dad said he didn't experience anything different at the school.

On the first day back, Beth Caine hesitated to take her four-year-old son to his pre-kindergarten class in Northwest.

"I wanted to keep him home with me this week," said Caine, 30, "especially since it's close to the holidays. If someone told me this would be my reaction after I had kids, I would've just laughed. I'm horrified for those parents."

To help alleviate reactions such as these, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson sent a letter with the children to take home.

"Parents should never have to worry about the security of their students when they're in our care," Henderson wrote. "But what happened ... is another example that these horrible events can and do happen and we have to be vigilant in our efforts to prepare for every scenario and situation."

In many instances, principals in the public school system of 46,000 students, employed robo calls to children's homes, or emailed personal messages to parents, emphasizing their belief in the schools' safety processes; and to offer emotionally affected students opportunities to speak to counselors.

"The main question that I predict will come up is 'Am I safe in my school?' for those children who know about what happened," wrote one principal. "I'll be talking with staff on ways we can help students feel safe without directly mentioning specifics." Most schools chose not to address the tragedy in class; choosing instead to bring it up only if a student initiated the conversation.

In Prince George's County Public Schools, Communications Officer Briant Coleman said the 125,000-student body took several actions to deal with the tragedy, including a review of safety protocols, and increased security around the schools as a precautionary measure. It also observed a moment of silence on Monday, Dec. 17 to remember the youngest of victims.

Coleman said the school system immediately sent a letter to Newtown to express its sympathy.

"It's so important to reach out because during the D.C. sniper attacks, so many school districts reached out to us and it was so helpful," said Coleman who's been in his position for the last two years. "That's why we thought it necessary to communicate as much as possible." The Beltway Sniper attacks took place in October 2002 in several locations in the D.C., area, which left 10 people dead and three others critically injured.

Liselle Yorke, a 41-year-old mother whose daughter attends a school in Morningside, Md., in the Prince George's County Public Schools system, said she spoke to her 9 year old on the same day as the attack.

"She doesn't want to hear or see anything about it," said Yorke, who lives in Capitol Heights, Md. "She hasn't asked too many questions since then." However, her daughter asked her one question that stumped her.

"She asked, 'Will the teachers who died be teaching those children up in heaven?'" Yorke said. "I told her, 'I don't know.'"

Both District and Prince George's County public school systems have added resources on their websites to help parents respond to children's questions, many asked in innocence.

Some parents, like Evans, still have the option of not saying anything.

"My son is only 5. He doesn't know about what happened," said Evans, who, on Friday, Dec. 14 went home and hugged him and her father because her husband had not arrived home yet.

"He's too young to know. I won't tell him. I won't take his innocence yet."

Hundreds of people, including Vice President Joe Biden, attended the grand opening Thursday, Nov. 29 of the new Costco, located in Ward 5 in the vicinity of South Dakota and New York avenues.

The 154,000-square-foot membership facility marks the District’s first big-box retailer to open its doors at The Shops at Dakota Crossing. The highly anticipated wholesale warehouse, which will serve as an anchor among shops at the Northeast center, brings a variety of specialty departments.

 “I thought they would have put a Walmart here for sure,” said Reginald Evans, 45, of Northwest, who was browsing the aisles stocked with UGG boots and Kenneth Cole wallets. Evans said he usually shopped at Costco in Brandywine, Md.

Sandra Green, another District resident, said she was happy she can shop here in the city.

“I usually go to the one in Crystal City [Virginia],” Green added as she lifted her twin toddlers into the cart, and pushed it into the store. The parking lot was full of cars with District of Columbia license plates.

Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden were among the store's first shoppers. They loaded an apple pie, cookies, children’s books, and a 32-inch TV in their cart. The vice president even tried food samples, much to the delight of the other shoppers who were flashing cell phone cameras as the Bidens browsed through the store.

In addition to offering name-brand and private-label merchandise, the area's newest Costco will feature a bakery, meats and produce, a variety of liquours and wines, as well as an optical department, tire center and food court.

“Costco Wholesale’s opening today signals a huge milestone for retail in the District,” said Mayor Vincent Gray, who joined other District government leaders and Costco officials at the opening celebration. “Having the big-box retailer call the District home as this shopping center’s anchor tenant means that many more District residents can partake in its discount shopping options here, thereby slowing retail leakage and keeping tax dollars in our jurisdiction—two critical elements of my administration’s economic-development strategy.”

Costco is situated on a 44-acre site for which ground was broken in February. Besides Costco, the center will house 430,000 square feet of retail space and 2,000 parking spaces.

The project, part of more than $2 billion that has been recently poured into District-affiliated efforts, is also expected to create 1,200 new jobs and generate $634 million in tax revenues for the city over the next 30 years.

Many District residents driving to work on roads that connect the District to Maryland or Virginia know too well how long the morning commute on Pennsylvania Avenue in Southeast; or the 16th Street corridor in Northwest, can be. The numbers of District license plates streaming into the city are dwarfed by those from Maryland and Virginia.

That may change as District lawmakers held a hearing Oct. 3 to consider three bills related to residency requirements for District government employment. The bills were first introduced in 2011. One required new nonresident D.C. government employees to pay four percent of their salary annually to the city. Another bill required agency heads and the mayor to justify hiring nonresidents for government positions, while a third would expand residency requirements for D.C. workers making over a certain amount of money annually.

"It's not enough for us to say to the private sector to do their part, and we're not following up," said Council member Muriel Bowser [D-Ward 4] about the District's first-source law that requires government-assisted projects to fill at least 51 percent of jobs with District residents. Bowser is chair of the Committee on Government Operations, which held the hearing.

"I wanted to get various public opinions on these bills as this can affect how we keep District dollars circulating here," said Bowser, 40. She added that the District government consists of approximately 31,000 employees. Out of that, only 13,000 are District residents.

"That's roughly 42 percent of District government workers who live in the District," she said. The number, while it may seem high, is low relative to other jurisdictions, which hire significantly higher numbers of their own residents.

This is one of the reasons Council member Yvette Alexander [D-Ward 7] introduced the District Domicile Requirement Amendment Act of 2011, one of the bills.

"Our investment starts at home with D.C. residents," said Alexander, 51. "No other municipality has a majority of their workers from outside their state and neither should we." Alexander's bill amends the Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act to require newly hired employees at a rate of CS 12 [$62,499] and above to be domiciled here or within 180 days and stay domiciled for at least seven years after the date of hire.

"We have talented, qualified residents that can fill our government positions and contribute to the growth of our city," Alexander added.

Opposition to the bills came directly from labor unions who argued that the bills would discourage qualified nonresidents from seeking D.C. jobs.

Kristopher Baumann, chair of the D.C. Police Union, said the bill requiring future government employees to pay four percent of their income, "strangles" the Metropolitan Police Department's ability to recruit, and worries the bill will scare away future workers even if it does not pass. Others argue the District is simply too expensive to live for many on a local government salary.

Bowser disagreed with those who argue that the city is unaffordable, saying that she and other legislators represent more than 600,000 people who chose to live here.

"I don't believe housing is unaffordable," she said. "People make a choice. I know there are affordable places in D.C., and many programs that the worker can take advantage of."

The bills are expected to address the city's unemployment rate, which is 8.8 percent overall, and averages around 19.3 percent east of the river, Alexander's jurisdiction, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In terms of when the council will vote on the legislation, Bowser said she "wants to take the time to get it right, as some ... see the bills as an attack on their jurisdictions and on [their] residents."