DC’S METRO TRANSIT MESS (REP COMSTOCK’S REFORM BILL)

DC’S METRO MESS (REP COMSTOCK’S REFORM BILL):

FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE DMV’s METRO SYSTEM SHOULD BE HALTED UNTIL PEOPLE SEE CHANGE.

METRO PASSENGERS & DMV BLACK VOTERS DESERVE TO BE RESPECTED.

DISABLED & SENIOR PASSENGERS ALSO DESERVE TO BE RESPECTED.

Sources: WTOP, NBC News, Washington Post, House.gov, YouTube

District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia all share the responsibility of managing a massive public transportation system called the METRO.

More than 600,000 people utilize the METRO System each week to travel to Work and other various reasons.
The METRO operates via Federal Funding and extremely high-priced, unregulated Passenger Fares.
It’s unregulated because each region is legally allowed to charge passengers whatever the Elected officials choose to for service.

Unlike New York’s very well-organized MTA Public Transportation system, the DMV’s METRO System can legally charge riders up to three different Fares for just one trip.

Yet despite receiving Billions and Billions of Federal dollars, along with daily Fares from passengers the DMV’s METRO Public Transportation system remains plagued with:

***** Poor Service levels (Late Arrivals),
Poorly trained Operators,
Waste & Abuse of Federal Funds,
No Accountability,
Black Management Employees with Bad Attitudes who consistently display Poor Customer Service especially to Black patronage,
Corrupt Private Contracts (Dispatchers),
Preventable Accidents,
Broken Escalators (SUITLAND),
Workplace Drama (Adulterous Affairs & Sexual Harassment) which adversely impacts Employee Performance,
Top Heavy Management who are in it only for MONEY,
Nepotism,
etc.

I welcome Congresswoman Rep BARBARA COMSTOCK’S Metro Reform Bill to help straighten out this maze of the DMV’s Public Transit Mess.

Federal Funding should be halted until REAL Change is evident to the Voters and METRO’s passengers who deserve better from their Elected Officials.


***** New bill in Congress promises more money for Metro if…

Metro would get billions more in federal funding in exchange for a more powerful inspector general and better service under a new proposal to be introduced in Congress.

The region’s Democrats led by Virginia Rep. Gerry Connolly are proposing to continue current federal funding of $150 million per year for capital projects, but would add another $50 million per year to support Metro’ operations for the first time plus $2 billion in additional cash over 20 years.

The proposed funding is dependent on a more independent inspector general, and that Metro would meet targets set by the U.S. Department of Transportation for better, safer, more cost effective service.

Among other competing proposals on Capitol Hill, Virginia Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock’s bill would require different reforms and provide significantly less money than the Democrats’ new proposal. She is the only Republican in Congress whose district includes a Metro station.

Even that bill has yet to have a hearing in the Republican-led House, so the prospects for the Democrats’ bill appear dim at best. Comstock opposes the latest proposal.

“It’s unfortunate that in the 9 years it took Gerry Connolly to write an 8-page bill, he failed to include any of the substantial management, financial or pension reforms advocated on a bipartisan basis by numerous transportation experts and Metro advocates who have been working for years to seriously improve and reform the system.

Throwing billions more at Metro without defined reforms is a dead on arrival strategy,” Comstock said in a statement.

General Manager Paul Wiedefeld has said additional money is needed beyond current levels to pay for maintenance and repairs that were put off for decades.

Without additional federal money, local taxpayers would have to foot the bill alone. Maryland, Virginia and D.C. are considering legislation to boost their share of dedicated funding for Metro.

The co-sponsors of the newly introduced bill with Connolly are Maryland’s Steny Hoyer, Jamie Raskin, Anthony Brown and John Sarbanes; Virginia’s Don Beyer; and D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Raskin and Brown had also introduced their own Metro bill that tracked transit union recommendations.
A separate bill from Maryland Democrat John Delaney would require changes to Metro’s collective bargaining structure and the size of Metro’s Board in exchange for an extra $750 million over 10 years.

MARYLAND BLACK WOMAN THROWN INTO FREEZING STREET BY BALTIMORE HOSPITAL

MARYLAND BLACK WOMAN THROWN INTO FREEZING STREET BY BALTIMORE HOSPITAL:

AN AFRICAN HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL SAVED HER.

WASHINGTON DC & MARYLAND BLACK LEADERS TREAT MOST BLACK PEOPLE LIKE DRUG DEALERS AND CRIMINALS.

INCLUDING LOCAL BLACK VOTERS.

IT’S WORSE THAN JIM CROW.

DOES THE GOV OF MARYLAND REALLY CARE ABOUT BLACK VOTERS?

DO DC POLITICIANS REALLY CARE ABOUT BLACK VOTERS?

AFTER WITNESSING HOW BLACK PEOPLE ARE MISTREATED BY BLACK LEADERS IN DC & MD, I NO LONGER THINK THE DMV IS BETTER THAN NYC.


Sources: AP, CBS News, TIME, Yahoo News, The Independent, Washington Post, Youtube


******* Man who aided hospital patient discharged in gown shocked


The man who said he came to the aid of a woman discharged from a Baltimore hospital wearing only a gown and socks on a cold winter's night, says he was left outraged and stunned at how she was treated.

Imamu Baraka, identified in local reports as the person who sought to help the woman, told The Associated Press he was so angry he decided to record Tuesday night's events on cellphone video, fearing no one would believe him if he reported a woman being left at a bus stop like that.

"I saw the unthinkable: another human in a wheelchair being wheeled out in the dead of cold," he said in the phone interview Thursday evening.

He described frigid temperatures in the 30s and a cold wind blowing at the woman's hospital gown, exposing her to the elements.

Baraka, who said he has a psychotherapy practice in a building across the street from the Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus, said he rushed back to his office, retrieved his cellphone, returned and hit "record" while growing increasingly angry.

As a medical professional, the psychotherapist said he sought to keep his emotions in check even as he repeatedly challenged those who had wheeled the woman out to the street in the dark.

"At first I was shocked. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. And I move beyond that to the next level from being shocked. I became ... irritated and fearful for the young lady. And then I became angry," he recalled.

He added he failed to get satisfactory answers as he tried to help the woman.

Of those who brought her outdoors, he said: "I asked them three times, I asked them specifically, 'Are you going to leave this lady out here like this?' They kept walking. They then went inside of the building." He said he went and asked a security guard outside the hospital for a supervisor and was told "I am the supervisor."

Rebuffed, he said, he then went and tried to help the woman shelter in the bus stop while calling 911 for an ambulance. He said he asked the arriving ambulance crew where they would take her, and they replied "back to the hospital."

Recalled Baraka, "I said, 'Are you kidding me, they just dumped her on the curb.'"

It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the woman after she was driven back toward the hospital. But the hospital confirmed in a statement that the woman was discharged that Tuesday night.

Dr. Mohan Suntha, president and CEO of University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus, told a news conference on Thursday afternoon that the hospital had "failed" after the video posted on Facebook showed the unidentified woman mumbling and appearing disoriented in frigid weather outside. Suntha also said there were no excuses for what happened to the woman.

"We believe firmly that we provided appropriate medical care to a patient who came to us in need, but where we absolutely failed, and where we own that failure, is in the demonstration of basic humanity and compassion as a patient was being discharged from our organization after having received that care," he said.

He added that the woman wasn't mistreated while in the hospital's care and that the incident was isolated and that hospital officials were conducting an extensive internal review.

Said Suntha, "We do not believe that what occurred Tuesday night in any way defines who we are as an organization. There has been a lot of conversation since this incident came to light."

MURIEL BOWSER TO ENACT "BAN THE BOX" IN DC TO REMOVE EMPLOYMENT BARRIER (ARREST RECORDS); ARRESTS DOESN'T EQUAL CONVICTIONS

MURIEL BOWSER TO ENACT "BAN THE BOX" IN DC TO REMOVE EMPLOYMENT BARRIER (ARREST RECORDS):

AN ARREST DOES NOT EQUAL CONVICTIONS AND MANY PEOPLE (ESPECIALLY BLACKS) CAN'T GET JOBS DUE TO VERY OLD ARREST RECORDS WITH NO CONVICTIONS.

WHITE JOB APPLICANTS WITH ARRESTS ARE STILL HIRED, NOT BLACKS.

REFUSING TO HIRE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ARRESTED WITHOUT CONVICTIONS IS A FORM OF DISCRIMINATION.

NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD EXPUNGEMENT.

IT'S TIME TO REMOVE SUCH BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT.


Sources: NBC News


****** DC Mayor Moves to Ease Process of Sealing Criminal Records



Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed legislation Thursday that could make it easier for D.C. residents to seal their criminal records.


DC Could Make It Easier to Seal Criminal Records


Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed legislation on Thursday that could make it easier for D.C. residents to seal criminal conviction records.


Bowser's plan proposes that arrest records that aren't prosecuted or end with a conviction be automatically sealed, wait times for record sealings be trimmed down and some convictions should be reviewed to be eligible for record sealing, according to a statement from her office.


"We know that when we remove barriers to housing, education and employment for some residents by giving them a clean slate, we are actually building a safer, stronger city for all residents," Bowser said in the statement."Through this legislation, we will give more individuals, more families, and more neighborhoods a fair shot at success."

Although sealed criminal records can't be accessed by potential employers during a background check, some employers, including those who work with children, law enforcement officials and courts can see them.Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed legislation Thursday that could make it easier for D.C. residents to seal criminal conviction records.

Bowser proposed that arrests that aren't prosecuted or don't end with a conviction automatically be sealed. The plan also calls for reduced wait times for record sealings, and a review of the types of convictions eligible for record sealing, according to a statement from her office.

"We know that when we remove barriers to housing, education and employment for some residents by giving them a clean slate, we are actually building a safer, stronger city for all residents," the mayor said in the statement."Through this legislation, we will give more individuals, more families, and more neighborhoods a fair shot at success."

Over 40,000 people are arrested every year in D.C., and only one-third of those people are prosecuted.

Brian Ferguson works in the mayor's office helping people who were released from prison assimilate back into regular life. He also was in prison for 11 years before having a conviction for homicide overturned. He said these laws could help people get back on their feet.

"Arrest records are holding them back from being able to potentially obtain employment, professional licensing, education or housing," Ferguson said.

Sealed criminal records can't be accessed by landlords, employers or other third parties during a background check. However, certain employers that serve vulnerable people, law enforcement officials and courts can see them.

Currently, under D.C. law, people must petition to have their records sealed by proving their innocence, which can take from six months to years.
According to Bowser's statement, more than 10,000 people annually ask for help to have their records sealed in D.C. Superior Court from the Public Defender Service.

WASHINGTON DC POVERTY - A TALE OF TWO CITIES (NO REPRESENTATION)

WASHINGTON DC POVERTY - A TALE OF TWO CITIES (NO REPRESENTATION):

GREAT WEALTH vs GREAT LACK.

WIDE ECONOMIC GAP CREATED BY 21st CENTURY GENTRIFICATION.

LOWER INCOME BLACKS ARE BEING PUSHED OUT OF NATION'S CAPITOL.

DC CITY GOVT LEADERS DON'T CARE & USE CITY ATTORNEYS TO SILENCE POOR BLACKS.


Sources: Washington Post, RT America, BBC News, YouTube


******As D.C. families get richer, staggering disparities persist, report finds


As the D.C. budget grows more flush and housing prices continue to soar, concentrated poverty among households with children persists in some areas, according to a report released Tuesday.

The report by a local advocacy agency found that the overall median income of D.C. families has climbed since 2010. But families living in Wards 7 and 8, the only wards east of the Anacostia River, have experienced sharp declines.

D.C. Action for Children’s annual “Ward Snapshots” report breaks down child poverty rates and family economics by ward, saying that as the city fills its coffers, it needs to ensure that families across the city benefit from it.

“As the District gets more wealthy, how is it affecting all kids?” Shana Bartley, the group’s acting executive director, said of the report. “Ward Snapshots” culled data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the D.C. Department of Health, the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education and more.

Since 2010, the number of young children living in the city has increased by 23 percent, and children younger than 5 account for nearly 40 percent of the child population. But the wards with the highest share of these young children — Wards 5, 7 and 8 — have the lowest median family incomes.

In Ward 8, for example, the median family income dropped nearly 17 percent between ­2006-2010 and 2010-2015, from $28,979 to $24,096.

Likewise, in Ward 7, the median family income during those years went from $34,562 to $31,273, a nearly 10 percent drop.

By comparison, the median family income in Ward 2 jumped nearly 65 percent, from $114,752 to $189,324.

Bartley said that one factor driving these disparate incomes is that as families are priced out of neighborhoods in Wards 1 and 2, for example, they are moving to Ward 8, the city’s poorest ward.

While the overall child poverty rate has declined to 26.7 percent — a drop of three percentage points since 2010 — there has been a slight uptick in Wards 3, 4 and 8. Ward 3 had a child poverty rate of 2.9 percent in 2015, compared with Ward 8’s 49 percent. Some of the increases could be attributed to rising housing costs. Ward 3’s rate was previously 2.4 percent; Ward 8’s was 48.3 percent.

The report found that more than 40 percent of D.C. residents spend more than a third of their monthly income on rent and related costs. The number of children enrolled in Medicaid increased by 21 percent, with the largest jumps in Wards 3, 4 and 8.

Some positive trends also emerged: In Wards 7 and 8, teen pregnancy rates steadily declined between 2010 and 2015, and students’ standardized test scores there saw slight increases between 2015 and 2016.

The report does not create a new narrative in the nation’s capital: The city has long been divided by race and socioeconomics. The report suggests that the wave of wealth the city has seen in recent years — the D.C. budget has reserves totaling $2.4 billion — has not trickled to all residents equitably.

“The biggest thing for the District to be is forward thinking,” Bartley said. “We’re continuing to see a baby boom, we are seeing families laying down roots in the city, public school enrollment is increasing, but we have to make sure that there’s infrastructure in the city to support healthy growth for all families and kids in the District.”

D.C. Action for Children recommends that the city boost access to quality early-childhood care and education, use census and local demographic data to determine how to allocate the city’s budget, and put more resources toward home-visiting programs that would support maternal and child health.

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser released her 2018 $13.8 billion budget earlier this month that proposes modest spending increases for affordable housing, homeless services and education.