Washington, D.C

7News pushes DC's 911 call center for answers on system disruptions

Published

2 years ago

August 7, 2024

7News pushes DC's 911 call center for answers on system disruptions

WASHINGTON (7News) — The Office of Unified Communications (OUC) claims a contractor is responsible for its outage on Friday. That’s when a 5-month-old went into cardiac arrest and later died.

During the outage, dispatch struggled to communicate with first responders.

On Tuesday, no one from the OUC, including its director Heather McGaffin, made themselves available to answer questions. They said their seven-line written response provides all answers. In their response, officials blame a contractor for its issues.

7News went inside the PChange Protective Service, dispatch center. It’s run by former officers Lowell Duckett and Kevin Polistin.

“We have watch commanders with hand landline communication,” Duckett said. “If there’s a system failure there’s a hard wire hardline so she can communicate, our officers are trained to call our system directly.”

RELATED | DC contractor fired after botched update disrupts emergency services

The Office of Unified Communications claimed Monday that a contractor incorrectly installing an update is the reason for its dispatch failure.

A 5-month-old went into cardiac arrest and died while its systems were having issues.

7News questioned the city and OUC for two days straight pushing to find out about its backup systems and plans to make sure the community is still protected even with e technical glitch.

The city and OUC still have not answered those questions and said they will not be providing interviews to address the community’s concerns.

7News also asked why OUC’s director Heather McGaffin has not directly answered questions that we presented from the community after the agency she oversees had technical difficulties on Friday with no response.

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Related Topics:7news contractor dispatch emergency Featured Heather McGaffin OUC outage System failure

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Washington, D.C

San Francisco Ballet cancels upcoming performances at Kennedy Center

Published

10 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

San Francisco Ballet cancels upcoming performances at Kennedy Center

Sunday, March 1, 2026 6:36AM

SF Ballet cancels upcoming performances at Kennedy Center

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The San Francisco Ballet board has voted to cancel its upcoming performances at the Kennedy Center.

The company is scheduled for a four-day run in Washington D.C. in May.

Petition urges SF Ballet to cancel Kennedy Center tour stop as company opens 2026 season

Last year, Pres. Donald Trump overhauled the Kennedy Center’s board, including naming himself the chairman.

That led several artists to cancel scheduled performances.

A statement from SF Ballet says the group “looks forward to performing for Washington, D.C. audiences in the future.”

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Washington, D.C

97-year-old World War II veteran honored virtually at home

Published

23 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

97-year-old World War II veteran honored virtually at home

At 97, Veteran Harley Wero wasn’t up for a trip to the nation’s capital, so volunteers from the Western North Dakota honor flight brought the trip to him. Wero, his wife Muriel and their daughter Jennifer got to experience Washington, DC, without ever leaving their home.

Web Editor : Sydney Ross

Posted 2026-02-28T15:57:08-0500 – Updated 2026-02-28T15:59:05-0500

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Washington, D.C

DC Public Health to begin daily testing of Potomac, Anacostia rivers for E. coli

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

DC Public Health to begin daily testing of Potomac, Anacostia rivers for E. coli

WASHINGTON – Beginning on Monday, the D.C. Department of Health will be conducting daily tests for E. coli in the Potomac and Anacostia rivers.

It comes more than five weeks after the Potomac interceptor collapse sent millions of gallons of sewage into the river.

The testing will also coincide with an important safety advisory being lifted.

Why it matters:

Director of the D.C. Department of Health, Dr. Ayanna Bennett, says they will begin daily testing for E. coli in the Potomac and Anacostia rivers on Monday, along with help from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Currently, D.C. is only testing weekly.

“We feel really secure that the initial sewage is not a threat to people, it’s passed through some time ago, but we do want to get more information about what the long term condition of the river is gonna be and how we should look at it going forward.”

Big picture view:

Monday is also an important day because it’s when the District is expected to lift its advisory that recommends against recreational activities on the Potomac — we’re talking boating, fishing, walking pets by the water.

It’s important to note, however, that D.C.’s advisory pertains to its portion of the Potomac, and it has no bearing on advisories issued by officials in Maryland or Virginia.

Still, this is being treated by many as a hopeful sign.

What they’re saying:

But significant concerns absolutely remain for residents.

“I’ve had tons of messages from people saying they’re not going to let their kids row crew, they’re not going to go to sailing schools. We catch three million tons of blue cats out of the Potomac River. That season starts next week, and they’re not gonna be able to bring those blue cats to market,” said Dean Naujoks with the Potomac Riverkeepers.

“You knew years ago that parts of this Potomac Interceptor were corroded and vulnerable, especially where it broke, in Cabin John, our neighborhood,” one resident said, speaking at a public meeting in Bethesda on Thursday.

“I know there are small business owners here. Who’s accounting for all of our losses that we’re getting due to your sewer blowing up?” another resident asked.

Officials with D.C. Water, which is a public utility, have been running daily tests and will continue to do so as well.

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