Paul Ryan’s visit to the state on Friday, August 17th got a sold out crowd at the Westin Hotel in Arlington, VA, and it also generated a small crowd of people that stood outside the hotel. A small crowd held signs outside the hotel against the Vice Presidential candidate while he was talking o the crowd in the Hotel. Virginia is one of the battle ground states. In 2008 the state voted for a Democrat in the presidential election. Republicans are hoping to turn the state red in 2012

It’s been too common in the news recently: A young person commits suicide because of some type of bullying. Bullying is a serious problem that causes harm, including death. It is estimated that 2.7 million students are bullied each year.

The headlines motivated a nonprofit in North East DC called Neighbors of Seaton Place Inc (NSP) to put together a summer youth program called Positive Youth on the Move!. “I started NSP-Positive Youth on the Move! to bring all the positive energy of young people and create something meaningful by them that could be used to help others, particularly other young people,” said Neighbors of Seaton Place Inc Founder and Executive Director Cleopatra Jones. The 6-weeks program started in the middle of June and lasted through the beginning of August, and enrolled over 80 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) /DC Public School (DCPS) participants from Wards 1-8 that met at the recently remolded state of the art Wilson High School in Northwest DC. In addition to focusing on an anti-bullying campaign, participants were also taught career exploration, job readiness, and life skills.

One of the main parts of the program was the development of an anti-bullying campaign video by the participants. The 4 minutes and 30 seconds long video is made up mostly of original footage and photos of the participants. The youth engaged in role playing and drafted a message that they believe young people will relate to. “I am very proud to have participated in the development of this video and I hope it gets wide exposure so our message can be heard,” said 14 year old Jamica Frye, who plays a character in one of the scenes of the video. “This was a very unique summer for me and I will never forget it, because I feel like I was part of something important,” she concluded. Neighbors Seaton Place Inc – Positive Youth on the Move! was sponsored by the Department of Employment Services (DOES) and the DC Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). The Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, provides young people in DC ages 14-21 employment opportunity for the summer months. In the last six years, the program has been very successful, giving young people in the city the opportunity to be involved in real life changing experiences. The 4 minutes and 30 seconds anti-bullying video by Positive Youth on the Move! is below.

The overwhelming outcry of support for the Mayor started after last week 3 City Councilmembers called on the Mayor to resign.  The premature call for the Mayor’s resignation has angered many residents of the city that believe this fueled more drama to a delicate situation.  Amongst the speakers at the Press Conference were the Reverend Graylan Hagler, President of the Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice, and Reverend Willie Wilson, author, community organizer and pastor at Union Temple Baptist Church, Johnny Barnes, former Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Capital Area (ACLU-NCA), and Franklin Garcia, from the DC Latino Caucus.  Most speakers at the Press Conference were making a call to let the process play out and to support the Mayor to continue improving the lives of the residents of Washington DC.  Some of the speakers also chastised the Councilmembers who called on the mayor to resign, saying that it was irresponsible for legislator to make such statement without knowing all the facts.

Member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalist, DC Chapter, host meeting at the US Capitol with members of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus. Meeting was held on Wednesday, July 18. A few members and representatives from the Hispanic Congressional Caucus attended meeting, including Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard, and Congresswoman Grace Napolitano. Congressman Henry Cuellar was confirmed to attend, but a last minute engagement prevented the Congressman from attending; he sent a representative to the meeting.

In the 2010 Mayoral primary, 54% of District voters voted for Vincent Gray to be Mayor of the District of Columbia. Recently, 3 DC City Councilmembers have called on the elected Mayor for his resignation because of the continued drama in his 2010 Mayoral campaign, starting with the claim by Mr. Sulaimon Brown that he was offered a job and was paid by the Gray for Mayor 2010 Campaign to discredit the competition, specifically Adrian Fenty, to the most current development that more than $650,000 were injected into a shadow campaign to help the than DC Council Chairman Vincent Gray defeat former Mayor Adrian Fenty. There is an on-going investigation on these allegations with the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Ronald Machen.

Now, arguably, for whatever reason, a lot of people disliked the former Mayor and wanted him out of office. Mayor Fenty started his campaign way in advance of Vincent Gray, and with a historical record of over $4 million dollars he still lost by a 10% margin. And yes, while no one wants to be on the side of wrong doing, it is highly unlikely that the alleged shadow campaign worth around $650,000 would have changed the outcome of the election. Once the on-going investigation is over, I believe we’ll be able to better assess any real impact this so call shadow campaign could have had in the 2010 ;election outcome. The verdict is still out on how much Mayor Gray knew of this shadow campaign.  If Mayor Gray wasn’t aware of what some people were doing on his behalf, is he still guilty anyways, as one Councilmember who called on his resignation implies?  Yes, it may be true that the ultimate person responsible for his campaign is Vincent Gray, but to think that he should be responsible for everyone in the city that campaigned outside of the legitimate 2010 Gray for Mayor Campaign is simply unreal and not practical, if he was unaware of such campaigning. The latter is the benefit that some members of the DC Council are not willing to give the Mayor, but that most residents of the city believe is necessary in this process. I believe that the premature calling on the Mayor’s resignation by our city legislators, while an investigation is on-going, is reckless behavior that will only bring more unnecessary drama and elevate the negative perception of the city.

The DC Latino Caucus participated in the 2012 4^th of July Palisades Parade. This is the 4^th year the organization participates in the community 4^th of July parade. A Washington tradition for over 40 years, the Palisades Parade attracts many local politicians and community leaders to the Ward 3 section of the city. This year the DC Latino Caucus joined the Office on Latino Affairs and the National Latino Alliance for DC Statehood to participate in the parade. Thousands filled MacArthur Blvd to watch the many floats, bands, politicians, and organizations that marched down the wide street. The parade started at 11 am and ended around 1pm. As customary, at the end of the parade participants and observers were treated to free food, drinks, and other amenities at the neighborhood park, where the parade ends. To view photos of the event, please visit: http://www.dclc.org/events/4ofjuly2012.htm.

Rally at Barcroft Park in Virginia with Delegate Alfonso Lopez, Congressman Jim Moran and former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe. Event was help on June 10, 2012. Video by Franklin Garcia.