WASHINGTON – Drifting wildfire smoke will come close to the Washington D.C. region on Wednesday afternoon and could slightly impact some areas to the north with hazy skies.

“Wildfire smoke is working across northern Pennsylvania, getting into New York City this morning,” said FOX 5’s Tucker Barnes, “I don’t think that’ll make it down here, but it’ll be close. If you see a little haze later today, especially if you’re off to the north, that’s wildfire smoke.”

The smoke is from wildfires in parts of western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. The National Weather Service says the smoke is moving from north to south and could impact parts of Pennsylvania and New York for the next several days. No harmful impact to air quality is expected, they say.

Parts of our area were impacted by smoke and haze from wildfires burning across Canada and parts of the U.S. earlier this year and last summer, creating smokey conditions, closing or postponing some outdoor activities, and degrading air quality.

According to an interactive air quality map from the Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality index in the Baltimore and Washington area ranged from good to moderate on Wednesday.

August is National Black Business Month, when Black-owned businesses are celebrated, and leaders in D.C. are marking the occasion by visiting and highlighting entrepreneurs in the area.

“We’re recognizing Black-owned businesses,” said Nina Albert, D.C.’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development. “It’s an opportunity for me to hear from folks and hear how it’s going.”

Albert went on a tour of small businesses Tuesday, shaking hands and talking with business owners in Southeast D.C.’s Congress Heights and Anacostia neighborhoods.

“You have a choice — you can buy from Amazon or you can go and explore what our community has to offer,” Albert said. “We want to make sure that entrepreneurs in this community have the support system that they need.”

One of the spots Albert stopped by was Sycamore & Oak, a shopping center in Congress Heights that has more than a dozen Black-owned businesses.

“This is brand new,” said business owner Le’Greg Harrison. “We’ve only been here for one year.”

Harrison’s store, “The Museum DC,” sells clothing and art.

“We have emerging entrepreneurs, and it’s their first time in a brick-and-mortar space,” Harrison said. “We’re all here learning and growing together.”

According to recent national figures, there are about 3 million Black-owned businesses across the United States, which employ 1.2 million people and generate $133 billion in total sales.

“Often we hear that small businesses are the backbone of the economy, but sometimes people don’t know how they can support those businesses,” said Rosemary Suggs-Evans, director of the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development.

Suggs-Evans was with Albert on Tuesday for the small business tour.

“Just going out to a business, going out to dinner or going shopping is a way not only to support a business but to support other businesses that contribute to that business,” said Suggs-Evans.

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Employees at the District of Columbia’s 911 call center arrived at work Tuesday morning to find an email from their boss telling them that effective immediately, they would be eligible for an $800 bonus if they show up for all their assigned shifts in August.

The email from Office of Unified Communications Director Heather McGaffin explained the payment is part of a “pilot” to address staffing issues. McGaffin’s email to OUC staff was first reported by NBC Washington.

In her email, McGaffin wrote that, “Unscheduled call outs of all kinds are up and causing a hardship for fellow employees,” who often have to come in early or fill shifts on their days off.

WTOP has contacted the agency to ask about the staffing issues and the pilot program.

Anna Noakes, OUC spokesperson, wrote, “We appreciate how hard our team at OUC are working and will continue to acknowledge and reward those efforts. Staffing is crucial to the success of the agency, and we will continue to explore ways to enhance agency performance while being good stewards of District resources.”

OUC’s call center is among the busiest in the country and, according to the agency, recruitment efforts are ongoing.

The statement didn’t address the volume of call outs by 911 staff members or what’s behind the increase of absences by staff.

The OUC dashboard shows that in July, 58 of 66 shifts were completed with the “Staffing Target Not Met.” That data is updated monthly.

“The fact that they have to offer people $800 just to show up for their job — I think it’s highlighting how bad it’s gotten and it’s a management and a leadership failure,” D.C. Council member Charles Allen told WTOP.

Allen said he believes the agency “is in crisis” and added, “There’s not a week that goes by that I don’t hear from a constituent” about 911 calls that ended with a hang-up, a busy signal or what he calls “a bad answer.”

The agency has also experienced technical issues linked to its computer-aided dispatch system. The most recent outage lasted 20 minutes.

Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto, chair of the D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, issued a statement saying, “Our 911 call takers and dispatchers do challenging, high-stakes, and lifesaving work,” adding that it’s critical “our essential workers are fairly compensated.”

Pinto went on to say, “I am concerned about the trend of low staffing levels we are seeing at OUC” and urged exploring incentives, including hiring and performance bonuses.

Council member Christina Henderson wrote to WTOP saying that OUC has “suffered from significant staffing challenges in the past few years.”

She said she has encouraged D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration to raise their wages “to increase the caliber of individuals applying for these positions.” Henderson also noted that offering the current level of bonuses doesn’t require council approval, “so long as funding is available in the agency budget.”

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