Guest List: Today’s Newsmakers

• Tom Weschler. Weschler has an inside perspective on the difficult economic climate—his family has been running auctions in the District for 120 years. As a result, he’s seen what hard times are forcing Washingtonians to give up and what counts as a small treat during the recession.

• Mamie Locke. The chair of Virginia’s Legislative Black Caucus wants a say in how the state’s congressional redistricts are reorganized next month. She and other lawmakers want to make sure Virginia lives up to the directives of the Justice Department, which says the Voting Rights Act means that when states have the opportunity, they should create districts where more than half the potential voters are members of racial minority groups and that they should try not to dilute the power of minority voters. It’ll be interesting to see how her push influences the final maps.

• Scott Rosen. The Veterans Affairs Department estimates that 6,500 women who have served in the military are homeless. Rose, the executive director of Way Station, wants to help change that. His organization is going to start providing 27 beds for retired military women at a new residence in Hagerstown. They’ll be able to stay for two years, getting mental-health treatment and preparation that will help them reenter the workforce.

• William Kirwan. The chancellor of Maryland’s university system is facing an interesting new challenge: State Senate president Thomas Miller is pushing for a merger between the University of Maryland at College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Miller thinks such a move would boost the combined universities’ rankings in things such as research spending. But what would it mean for students, faculty, and the neighborhoods where both schools are based?

• Sister Mary Bader. Who knew that a home for orphaned and abandoned children incorporated by Abraham Lincoln was still operating? The St. Ann’s Infant & Maternity Home has managed to change with the times, and Bader is overseeing renovations that will make the Hyattsville organization’s facilities look less institutional and more welcoming for the women who raise their children there and area kids who attend daycare at St. Ann’s.

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