Monique Rose Sneed, owner of the Latin and Cajun fusion restaurant, La’Caj, in Prince George’s County, says live entertainment was a feature that helped draw people to the location, from customers to members of the community who gathered to listen in public spaces neighboring the eatery.

But events in recent weeks prompted Sneed to start a .

for the petition which states, in part, that “La’Caj Seafood Restaurant at Restaurant Row in Camp Springs is facing efforts that could jeopardize its future despite operating with the appropriate licenses and serving as a positive contributor to the community.”

“La’Caj has become more than a restaurant. It has become a destination where families, friends, neighbors, professionals, and visitors come together to enjoy great food, culture, music, and fellowship,” the petition also states.

What started as an issue with her landlord took on another dimension after the police were called to the restaurant and the liquor board was contacted.

“Now it’s become a county problem,” Sneed said.

She was told that the county hadn’t been getting complaints about the restaurant’s patio entertainment. But since they learned about those gripes, La’Caj was told by the Liquor Board that they “can’t have entertainment on a patio. At all,” Sneed said.

But she tells Â鶹ąŮÍř complaints were few when they had live entertainment.

“This isn’t every day, this isn’t six times a week, this isn’t for five hours, this is every other Thursday, when weather permits,” she said.

Sneed says noting that the two sets the band played equaled two hours on those Thursdays, and that they’ve had live music on the patio for nearly three years.

“To tell me I can’t play music on an outside patio when I have an entertainment license is taking 60 seats away from my restaurant,” she said.

Sneed says her focus now is seeking clarity from the county Liquor Board. She’s “more concerned about the county being very clear on what their rules are for the entertainment license, which is Rule 75.”

“I’m not getting [clarity] from the Liquor Board … a lot of these things are at their discretion, which I understand, but for someone like me, having so much of my business rely on somebody’s discretion is where I’m looking for some help,” Sneed said.

“I’m not asking for special treatment, I don’t want them to circumvent a rule for me,” Sneed said. But she’s seeking clearness “because it does not say in their very own rule what’s being communicated to me.”.

“I have been in the county since 2016, providing good brands and businesses to the area. I just kind of think I deserve a conversation,” Sneed said.

Â鶹ąŮÍř has reached out to Prince George’s County Liquor Board for comment.

Sneed tells Â鶹ąŮÍř the petition originated after she received a letter from her landlord’s attorney that claimed the eatery violated its lease.

“There’s a clause that says you cannot have employees or patrons gathering or loitering … basically they cannot be gathering outside of your establishment, that you’re responsible for that. And if that happens, that’s a default of the lease, and that’s what they leaned on, saying we had defaulted our lease,” Sneed said.

“I did try to explain that those were not our patrons, they did not patronize La’Caj. That’s how we landed where we are now,” Sneed said.

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“We are very excited, honestly, about all of the momentum around Prince George’s County,” County Executive Aisha Braveboy said.

At the announcement, developers said The Promenade at Lottsford is a $340 million project that will bring housing, retail and gathering spaces near the Largo Metro station.

Omar Karim of Banneker Ventures is one of the developers of the Promenade, “which will include 763 units of workforce housing, 44,000 square feet of elevated retail,” he said at Thursday’s event.

“The promenade will create more than 800 construction jobs and bring more than 150 permanent jobs to Downtown Largo,” Karim added.

Carri Robinson of Bright Horizon Ventures is Karim’s development partner. In addition to the hundreds of residential units, Robinson said there will be “5,000 square feet of thoughtfully designed public gathering space that will help establish the vibrant, walkable downtown district this community has long envisioned.”

Representatives from Metro and the Maryland Department of Transportation said the venture fits with state and transit goals.

“This project also aligns with a Moore/Miller state plan to tackle the affordable housing shortage by promoting transit-oriented development and leveraging underutilized land near transit stations to bolster economic growth,” MDOT Secretary Katie Thomson said.

“And Gov. Moore’s Transit and Housing Opportunity Act that the General Assembly recently passed will further support this project,” Thompson added.

And Metro said the new riders this destination will attract is what they’d like to see.

“We share Prince George’s County’s vision of a vibrant Blue Line corridor,” Katie Cristol, with Metro’s Government Relations office, said.

“We welcome the increased ridership that will come with the enhanced development near Blue Line stations, as well as across our system,” Cristol said.

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Attorneys representing both sides appeared in court Wednesday morning.

The parks and planning commission said they’re against the County Council’s transfer of $39 million from the commission’s coffers by July 1, which they say is not aligned with state law.

The Council’s Office of Law disagrees with that interpretation.

After the hearing, employees of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and other supporters, including members of the County Council, spoke to reporters outside the courthouse.

“Hopefully, the judge will see that under state law, those funds do not belong to the county. Those funds belong to Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. No one else,” said Manuel Geraldo, with the Parks and Planning Commission.

“We’re not a county agency. But people think that we are,” Geraldo said. “The money that they’re taking … it’s a raid of our budget. Because we’re fiscally responsible, we have reserves. So, the county believes they don’t have the reserves, so they want to take our money. It’s just not fair,” Geraldo said.

Two Prince George’s County Council members who are against these types of budget transfers from the Commission to the Council were at the hearing as well.

Sydney Harrison of District 9 and At-Large Council Member Jolene Ivey also spoke to reporters afterward.

“This is strictly about process and what our legal authority is as a county council and what does the state expect from us,” Harrison said.

Ivey expressed concern about what happened with an earlier budget switch to an administrative fund.

“We’ve asked what’s become of that money, and we’ve not gotten answers. And we’re county council members,” Ivey said. “If we don’t know, the public doesn’t know.”

Ivey said even though the reimbursement procedure for project charges is far from perfect, “we need to fix that process. We don’t need to eliminate it by transferring the money from Park and Planning into what essentially becomes a slush fund for the County Council.”

A ruling is expected on June 26.

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However, there’s a bit of bad news. A Consumer Reports analysis of several hair dyes and hair chalks found issues.

James Rogers, Consumer Reports’ director of food safety, told Â鶹ąŮÍř they sent 21 at-home hair dye kits and 2 hair chalks to a lab. All of the tested products are readily available in retail stores or online.

“We could detect levels of toxic chemicals in every product tested, and some of the products had more than one,” Rogers said. “We found a probable human carcinogen called methylene chloride in every product.”

Methylene chloride is a chemical used in paints, adhesives and pharmaceuticals and it causes cancer in animals, the report said.

“So that was very interesting to us. But more concerning is that within the two hair chalks that are marketed to children that contained a chemical called benzene, which is a known carcinogen,” Rogers said.

They also tested for the following heavy metals: Arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury. Most were undetectable in the dyes. However, three heavy metals were detected in the two hair chalks.

Exposure to heavy metals over time is associated with a range of issues from cardiovascular diseases, cancer, problems with the immune and reproductive systems and even contact dermatitis.

You can read more about Consumer Reports’ findings on .

Â鶹ąŮÍř’s Veronica Canales contributed to this story.

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During a routine delivery, driver Courtney Seaton signed on for extra work when Zurmuhlen asked her if she had any experience working as caregiver. However, the gig didn’t last long.

Seaton told Â鶹ąŮÍř that the work included household chores and grocery shopping.

The next day, Zurmuhlen requested a steakhouse delivery. But, unlike the initial order, the request included a plate for a woman named Jo-Ann who was also at the home.

“I fixed him a plate of everything that he wanted,” Seaton said. “He had me fix her a plate with yogurt and blueberries and strawberries in it.”

Although Seaton took the food into Jo-Ann’s room, she said Zurmuhlen didn’t really want her to go in. He told her to fix the food, take it to her and shut the door.

“She was nothing but bone and skin,” Seaton said. She was shocked at what she saw.

Later, Seaton was asked to empty Jo-Ann’s bedside commode.

“When I saw her urine, it severely was dark,” Seaton said. “I know I compared it to a pot of coffee, but it was — truly was that dark.”

Seaton quit on day three after she says Zurmuhlen asked her to lock Jo-Ann in the room.

“Instead of you being able to lock it from the inside, the lock was on the outside the door,” Seaton said.

She didn’t see the padlock that investigators later saw, but speculated that it’s possible additions could have been made after she was there last.

Seaton consulted with both her boyfriend and mother about the situation, ultimately deciding to call the Adult Protective Services of Calvert County.

A representative did make a home visit, but there was no answer at the door. The official ended up leaving a business card on the door.

It wasn’t until March 21 that a welfare check was carried out by the Maryland State Police.

Zurmuhlen was arrested at a later date. Court records show he is scheduled to appear for a preliminary inquiry on May 11.

Seaton also told Â鶹ąŮÍř that the police welfare check intersected with another event that day, one involving viral police body camera footage that captured the moment officers saved a choking baby.

She said that while law enforcement officers were “dealing with my situation over at that house, the choking baby was right across the street.”

Â鶹ąŮÍř’s Michelle Basch contributed to this story.

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“Our goal for this year would be 2,500 meals on Thanksgiving, and then 2,500 meals again a month later on Christmas Day,” said Jay Herriott, founder of , a D.C.-area nonprofit that donates meals on the 25th of every month.

Herriott said the organization has noticed a slowdown in donations compared to last year. He suspects that is because of the recent 43-day government shutdown, which was the longest in U.S. history.

Volunteers have been signing up, but those at The 25th Project have noticed “less food … less protein, less ham, less turkey, from what has been in years past,” Herriott said.

Still, he remains hopeful that donations will rebound. “We anticipate it picking up as everybody’s going back to work,” he told Â鶹ąŮÍř.

To donate food items or to volunteer, register on The 25th Project’s . In addition to proteins, the organization is in need of side dishes and desserts. “We have a whole pie-cutting station,” Herriott said.

All food items must be fully cooked and brought to Burke Community Church on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day. Volunteers can reheat food at the church, so items prepared in advance are acceptable. “As long as it’s completely cooked, then we can use it,” Herriott said.

Food plating begins at 8 a.m. on both holidays.

Burke Community Church is located at 9900 Old Keene Mill Road in Burke, Virginia.

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Well, bonnets are an option and aren’t just for characters from “Little House on the Prairie” or Holly Hobbie.

Consumer Reports put a bunch to the test and published a list of the ones they liked best.

Ginger Cowles, a managing editor at Consumer Reports, said that during their research she learned hair bonnets are a big business.

“We did our research. There were 7.8 million bonnets sold on Amazon in the last 12 months alone,” Cowles told Â鶹ąŮÍř.

She said a team of six testers tested several bonnets over a two month span earlier this year.

Each tester has a different hair texture and each rocks a different hair style. Two had never worn bonnets before.

Test question one: Will the thing stay on all night?

But, at the same time, they wanted to know “did the band feel too tight when it was wrapped around your head?” Cowles said.

“Then, we also wanted to find out, do they leave a mark on your head?”

Additional test points included breathability when sleeping because, “if there’s heat being trapped in there, then that’s going to affect your hairstyle. So, if you have a silk blowout, that’s going to get those roots really curly,” Cowles said. “That moisture is going to be something that you probably don’t want for that style.”

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And while people are bracing for increased health care costs, an analysis found that what health insurers on ACA Marketplaces are charging for coverage is set to increase next year. That amount is set to rise even more if pandemic-era enhanced subsidies are allowed to expire when 2025 ends unless Congress acts,, a nonpartisan and nonprofit sources that provides facts and analysis on policy uses and public programs.

Those subsidies allowed more people to be eligible for the ACA.

“These enhanced premium tax credits did two things. They both increased the amount of tax credit for people who were previously eligible for the original formulation under the Affordable Care Act, but they also increased eligibility to those who are more middle income,” Matt McGough, a policy analyst for KFF, said.

He said for a family of four with an income of $125,000 a year, this would translate into payments more than twice what they’re contributing this year, which “will certainly be significant for a lot of people’s wallets.”

Actual amounts depend on several factors, including location, family size and income.

“Over the last few years. People have expected their health coverage to be a little bit cheaper. These enhanced premium tax credits have over doubled enrollment in the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare marketplaces — up to 24 million people this year. So, more people than ever are going to be seeing their health coverage cost increase,” McGough said.

But Joel White, president of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, said most health insurance consumers will pay more whether they are obtaining it through the ACA or not.

“Regardless of the fate of the enhanced tax credits, I think most consumers will see probably higher premiums this year,” White said. It’s a result of rising health care costs.

“The cost of hospitals, doctors, drugs, primarily drive up those premiums. And then enhanced tax credits expiring have a more minimal impact. It’s about a third of the cost increase. Really it’s the cost of services that’s driving up those premiums.”

But White said the foundational credits will remain, even if the enhanced subsidies expire.

“The underlying credits that are available to people with incomes four times the poverty level and below are staying in place. Regardless of what Congress does, those subsidies that are going to pick up about 86% of the cost of the premium remain,” White said.

For that reason, White added that shopping around to find the best price is important.

And McGough said some customers may only see their payment amounts increase “by a dollar or two” each month.Ěý Again, depending on location, family size and income level.

McGough said during Open Enrollment, “Always shop for a lower cost option. See if there’s a plan that works for you and your family that is at a lower price. This could include going down to a bronze metal to your plan.”

Choosing such plans could lower the monthly premium but will increase other costs, from the deductible, out of pocket limit and co-payments for visits to the doctor.

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“According to the Federal Trade Commission, people all across the country are getting calls and calls and calls about their supposed loan application that they haven’t applied for,” said Herb Weisbaum, a contributing editor with Consumers’ Checkbook.

The FTC said people report getting between five and 20 of these urgent-sounding calls every day — from different phone numbers. Those who respond find out the so-called “loan” is on hold because more information is needed.

Weisbaum said if you receive this type of illegal robocall, the best thing to do is hang up. And if there’s an offer to press a number on your keypad to remove yourself from their call list, never respond to that prompt.

“Don’t press the number to unsubscribe. They sometimes say if you want to unsubscribe, press the number. The Federal Trade Commission says that only lets the dishonest company know your number is good, and they will keep calling more often,” Weisbaum said.

Scammers use urgency and helpfulness as a tactic to get people to respond.

For example, one call received by a Â鶹ąŮÍř staffer said, “The (loan) approval window is closing soon, and while you could always reapply later, I’d like to help you get it wrapped up now while everything is still in motion.”

Weisbaum said a couple of things could happen to those who end up on the phone with such scammers.

“Number one, they can figure out a way to steal your money by trying to get you to give a credit card number or something like that. The other thing is they can steal your personal information and use it for all kinds of identity theft,” Weisbaum said.

Hanging up or not interacting with them at all is the best way to avoid their snares, “because they’re trained, and they know the longer they keep you on the phone line, the more likely you are to do what they want,” he added.

Weisbaum said he’s heard people say they turned over their information to a scammer because they just wanted to get off the phone: “No, no, hang up! You don’t have to give them information to get off the phone.”

What is a robocall?

A robocall is a call that plays a recorded message, usually trying to sell you something or get you to hand over your personal information, Weisbaum said.

“According to the FTC rules … it’s illegal unless the company has written permission to contact you and try to sell you something. You have to give them specific written permission to do that,” he said.

Legal robocalls are allowed for “surveys, purely informational or charitable purchases, political purposes, as long as there’s no sales pitch. And it also allows debt collection robocalls if you truly have a debt and that company is trying to collect from you,” according to Weisbaum.

But if you tell the debt collector to stop calling you, “The law says they can’t call you anymore,” Weisbaum said.

“If you haven’t given the company permission to call you, and the robocall is not purely informational … like the cable company’s confirming a service, or the dentist says you have an appointment next week — that call is illegal, and it’s probably a scam,” he added.

Even if your number is on the National Do Not Call Registry, “the scammers don’t care about that, Weisbaum said. “Now, it’s important to be on the Do Not Call list. It will reduce the number of calls you get, because all the good retailers will follow the law and not call you. But that does not prevent you from getting an illegal robocall from all the bad guys out there.”

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Nett was arrested Wednesday and is facing six counts related to bid-rigging following a Virginia State Police investigation that was authorized by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares. Town manager and former mayor Kwasi Fraser was also charged with two felony counts and turned himself in.

On Friday, during a special meeting, the Purcellville Town Council voted 6-0 to put Fraser on an administrative leave with pay, according to . Diana Hays, who served as the assistant town manager, was also appointed to serve as interim town manager.

But, what sparked the investigations that led to the charges against Nett and Fraser?

“What got our attention a couple of months ago was that the town precipitously announced that it was going to dissolve its police department without a plan to actually replace it,” said Tom Julia, communications director at the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

“That was done … without any consultation with the sheriff’s office, which would have to do it, nor with the county government, which would have to fund it.”

This triggered additional investigations to figure out what led to the decision.

“There was a vacancy in the police chief position, and a consultant was brought in by the town to determine what the town should do insofar as perpetuating its police department restructuring, and potentially, even over time, seeking to dissolve it and have it absorbed within the county police department,” Julia said.

Julia noted that Nett wanted to keep the department and then be its chief.

“It is asserted that he had some involvement with the bidding process on the consultant. It is asserted, furthermore, that when that did not go his way, somehow this discussion of dissolving the police department then came about,” Julia added.

Questions emerged about the town manager’s role in the consultant bidding process and whether to keep or dissolve the police department.

Julia said Fraser’s appointment as town manager also came under scrutiny because it was supposed to be an interim role. However, he was named as permanent town manager without “a competitive interview and bidding process.”

“So all of this sort of brings up issues of … the legality and appropriateness of actions by the council as a whole, and actions of certain members of local government that called for the indictment of these two individuals on a series of charges,” he said.

Julia seemed astounded that a town would even attempt to dissolve its police department, calling it “somewhat unprecedented.”

“What were the decisions that led up to that, and what were the potential motivations? And that’s how we get where we are today. You can’t just suggest that you’re going to dissolve your police department and someone else is going to do that job without actually sitting down with us and working it out,” Julia said.

Â鶹ąŮÍř’s Nick Iannelli contributed to this report.

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was able to hire most of those impacted AmeriCorps staff for their summer academic program. But now, the focus is on the fall and making sure they can continue to accommodate the target number of students who are members of historically underserved communities.

“Aspire is the only after-school academic program that’s offered at no cost to families in Arlington County,” said Paula Fynboh, CEO of Aspire Afterschool Learning. “We have 140 kids, our biggest yet, in our full-day summer program. And they’ve just been having such a fun summer.”

But Fynboh said there’s a financial gap due to the President Donald Trump Administration’s funding cuts to the AmeriCorps, which impacted 17 members of AmeriCorps who were working with the nonprofit.

“Without our AmeriCorps grant, that’s essentially 30% of our operating budget that is no longer there,” Fynboh said.

A private fundraiser called is underway and has been somewhat successful, which means they’ll be able to serve more students.

“Instead of serving only 100 kids, we’ll be to 125,” Fynboh said.

But they usually accommodate more people during the academic year — roughly 160 students. They’re grateful to be able to provide after-school learning and rigor to a smaller number, but “of course, losing 25 to 30 kids is still heartbreaking,” Fynboh said.

“We know who these kids are, we know their names. They’ve been with us since they were in third grade, and we know their families. We know everything that they’re capable of,” she added.

When parsing the financial numbers after their AmeriCorps funding was eliminated, “We knew that if we weren’t able to close that funding gap, 1 out of 3 of our kids would lose access to our programming,” Fynboh said.

She noted that some students would also miss out on “a safe place to be after school, reading and math support, a free hot meal. It would also mean another year of progress would be lost, and these promising young kiddos would be left behind.”

Last school year, most students entered the program two or more grade levels behind in reading. Some were lagging by one grade level. But Fynboh also said their numbers show those who tested at grade level were students with continued enrollment in the program.

While the nonprofit’s private fundraising campaign is helping to fill the money gap, Fynboh estimates the current need is “an additional $130,000. And we would need that much for at least two years, so ($260,000) … that way we know that we can serve them this year, as well as next year, while we continue to look at more sustainable or different kinds of funding streams.”

“With federal funding being pulled, and being uncertain, it is really hard for nonprofits. At the same time, I know there’s enough to go around. I do think … even though things feel so uncertain right now, the more that we can plug into abundance and a belief in enough and caring for our most vulnerable, I believe that we can find some alternative solutions,” Fynboh said.

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Now, the city wants those dollars back.

In a release, Schwalb’s office said the anti-violence organization received funding in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years for violence reduction programs in the Congress Heights neighborhood to support local women and girls.

The grant was awarded to the organization in March 2022 as part of Cure the Streets, the Office of the Attorney General’s violence reduction program. Women in H.E.E.L.S. was picked to run one of the program’s sites in Congress Heights.

Former CEO Ikeia Hardy is accused of diverting $57,302.48 in grant funds from the charity to her personal checking account.

“As soon as we become aware of this illegal conduct, we terminated the Women in H.E.E.L.S. grant. Now, we are seeking to recover the misappropriated funds and ensure that they are redirected toward public safety efforts in the District,” Schwalb wrote.

The nonprofit is also accused of failing to return more than $200,000 in unspent money after their grant agreement was terminated. Another $153,500 in funds from 2022 is being sought because, according to the lawsuit, the nonprofit never provided documentation to support the spending of that money.

In addition to seeking a return of those funds, the lawsuit also claims there was “a prohibited conflict-of-interest transaction with a consulting firm owned by a WIH managing employee,” in violation of D.C. law and the grant agreement terms.

The states the charity lost its federal tax-exempt status on Feb. 15, 2023, and has also lost its nonprofit status with the District.

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AAA predicts a — will venture at least 50 miles from home during the upcoming holiday travel period, which ranges from June 28 until July 7. That domestic travel forecast is 1.7 million more people than last year and 7 million more travelers than 2019.

But most of those folks, about 61.6 million people, will be using their cars to travel domestically during the holiday period.

“That’s a lot of people out on the road,” CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg said. “One of the reasons for that is that gas prices haven’t really spiked and it’s relatively affordable.”

But there’s another side to that reason.

“On the other hand, domestic airfares have skyrocketed as more and more Americans are not planning to go overseas for the summer for all sorts of reasons: From trade and tariff wars to immigration worries — you name it,” Greenberg added.

Greenberg said if you’re still planning to travel within the contiguous United States, booking airfare sooner rather than later is best because the “law of supply and demand kicks in and airfares have been rising rapidly for the last 3 to 4 weeks, an average of about 4% every two days. So, the longer you procrastinate to make that July 4 reservation, the more expensive it’s going to be.”

Greenberg noted those higher prices also apply hotel bookings.

Where the deals are

If you’re looking for a deal within the mainland U.S., Greenberg said to check out specific types of towns — especially ones that have regular, predictable population decreases.

“Take a look around where college campuses are in major states, whether it’s Wisconsin, Minneapolis, in the Midwest, even Iowa, and you’re going to find a lot of availability in beautiful locations because students are not populating those campuses. You’ll find hotel availability, attractions that are available and you’re not going to have to stand in line — that’s where you’re going to see some of the discounts,” he said.

National park alternatives:

Greenberg said there are alternatives to wildly popular national parks that regularly see lots of visitors in the summertime. He recommends considering state parks that are nearby.

“Believe it or not, if you take a look at all the national parks in the U.S., there are state parks within 10 to 15 miles of them that are often a better experience,” Greenberg said, noting they’ll be less crowded and less expensive.

“There’s a state park literally within 10 miles of Yosemite that, to me, is just as beautiful and … that’s the one I always pick,” he added. “But remember, there are also national parks that are part of a national seashore.”

Greenberg said Acadia National Park in Maine is on the popular list, “but at this time of the year, may not be totally overcrowded.” He described it as “always, always great.”

Europe’s “golden month:”

Greenberg said the best time to avoid overcrowding at locations such as Paris “or anywhere in Europe, it’s the magic month of September and you cannot go wrong. It’s anywhere in France, Spain, Italy, the entire Mediterranean, that’s the magic month.”

Dealing dollars:

For those considering international travel, Greenberg also said one way to find a good deal outside the U.S., is to “look where the U.S. dollar is still strong against those local currencies. Turkey, South Africa, Argentina — three great choices for summer travel where the dollar actually has meaning and power.”

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WorldPride, which is set to begin in May, is hosted in D.C. every two years. With events scheduled throughout the nation’s capital, some — like the “Tapestry of Pride” festivities — were expected to be held at the Kennedy Center.

“Regardless of what’s happening in local, national, geopolitical climates, we’re always going to be here for our community and we’re always going to be here to provide services,” said Eddie Mansius, a board member at D.C.’s LGBTQ+ Community Center.

Speaking to the Kennedy Center’s cancellation of “Tapestry of Pride” events, Donald Burch III said,” it’s sad to me.”

Burch said even with the larger LGBTQ+ community center opening — a happy event — he thought the country was in a different place.Ěý

“Even having the center and having the community, it’s still feeling like there’s a fight — that we have to fight and we have to continue to work and that we’re still struggling to survive. I, for one, naively thought maybe we were passed that,” Burch said.

Dee Tum-Monge told Â鶹ąŮÍř the situation was “unfortunate.”

While they were celebrating the new community center, Tum-Monge pointed out that “there’s frustration in the community” at what unfolded with the Kennedy Center.Ěý

Other WorldPride events were switched from the Kennedy Center to other locations.Ěý

“We shouldn’t let it stop us in any way in continuing to host events elsewhere,” said Alex Fantasia, a community organizer with DMV Queers.Ěý

Mansius said challenges are nothing new for the LGBTQ+ community.Ěý

“We’ve always had hurdles that come up that seem unsurmountable [sic], seem like it’s the end of the road. But it never is because we’re such a strong community,” Mansius said.Ěý

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A from Alexandria Police said Aber was confirmed dead after officers responded to the 900 block of Beverly Drive in Alexandria, Virginia, at approximately 9:18 a.m.

Officers were initially called to the scene in response to an unresponsive woman.

A cause of death has not yet been released by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Virginia. An investigation is underway.

Area leaders are remembering her work as a public servant.

Erik Siebert, who serves as the current U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, remembered Aber as an “unmatched as a leader, mentor, and prosecutor.”

“She is simply irreplaceable as a human being. We remain in awe of how much she accomplished in her all too brief time in this world,” he said in a . “Jess was a proud Virginian from high school through college and throughout her career.”

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares praised Aber for her work with Ceasefire Virginia, a statewide initiative implemented in 2022 designed to combat violent crime.

“I am saddened to learn of the passing of Jessica Aber, whose career of public service included U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and whose work with Ceasefire Virginia saved more lives than we may ever realize,” Miyares .

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine Aber “an exceptional public servant who dedicated her life to serving her fellow Virginians. She will be deeply missed.”

Aber was nominated to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in 2021, during former President Joe Biden’s term in office, according to. She had been unanimously confirmed to serve in the posting.

During her time in that role, Aber led a staff of 300 prosecutors, civil litigators and support personnel across the state. The DOJ said she worked on “a variety of financial fraud, public corruption, violent crime, and child exploitation cases.”

Aber resigned from the position in January, when President Donald Trump came into office.

She received the Assistant Attorney General’s Award for Exceptional Service from the Department of Justice in 2019.

Before joining the DOJ, she was an associated at McGuireWoods LLP, from 2007 to 2008, and worked at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia from 2006 to 2007 as a clerk under then-Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck.

Aber, a Virginia native, did her undergraduate work at the University of Richmond and received her law degree in 2006 from William & Mary Law School.

Â鶹ąŮÍř’s Gaby Arancibia and Will Vitka contributed to this report.

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