KOJO NNAMDIYou're tuned in to The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5. Welcome. Today it's your turn to share what's on your mind. What stories are sticking with you? What's sparking conversation in your community? What story should we suggest to you? News broke late yesterday that a U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant living in Silver Spring, who self-identified as a white nationalist was plotting a domestic terrorist attack targeting democratic politicians and journalists. What do you think about that? Were you surprised at that this alleged terrorist plan? Does it come as a surprise to you? Give us a call.

KOJO NNAMDIThe Vatican has defrocked former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick stripping him of the rights of the priesthood after an investigation found he abused both children and adults. Some of his abuse victims live in the Washington region. Are you Catholic? What does the Vatican's punishment of Cardinal McCarrick say to you? Is it fitting or too little too late? Do you remember last month ions ago when a video of an encounter between a teenager wearing a Make America Great Again hat and a Native American activist on the National Mall went viral?

KOJO NNAMDIWell, now that teenager, Nicholas Sandman's family contest the characterization of the events that day and is now suing the Washington Post. They're seeking $250 million in damages. The same amount Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos paid for the paper. The suit alleges that the Post quoting here, "Targeted and bullied 16 year old Nicholas Sandman in order to embarrass President Trump." It is your turn. You set the agenda today by making your calls. Joining me in studio is Jacob Fenston. He is WAMU's Environment Reporter. Jacob, thank you for joining us.

JACOB FENSTONHi, Kojo.

NNAMDIThe Washington region got pummeled with snow, sleet, and freezing rain yesterday leading schools and government offices to close. Some school districts are running out of snow days and are looking to adjust their schedules. That would be tough on one Arlington family, who the Washington Post reported on yesterday. They have three kids enrolled in public and private schools across different jurisdictions making snow days for them parental purgatory. Do you have kids in different schools and different districts? How did you handle yesterday's snow day? Give us a call. Can you easily coordinate child care when inclement weather keeps your kids at home?

NNAMDIWell, whether you have kids or not, did you jurisdiction handle all the snow, sleet, and slush well? Jacob, while we're on the subject of Washington weather let's talk about the climate issues facing our region. A new report says that if current climate change projections hold in one generation D.C. will feel a lot like Greenwood, Mississippi. What will this feel like on a season by season basis? Will we even have seasons anymore?

FENSTONRight. So yeah, there will be seasons. They will just be very different. So this based on sort of a business as usual scenario if we keep emitting greenhouse gases at this current rising rate and don't do very much to slow it down. These researchers found that D.C.'s climate in the 2080s will feel like Greenwood, Mississippi does today. And I printed out some, you know, average weather there just to compare. So, for example, February in D.C. the average high temperature now is 44 degrees. So that's about like if you went outside right now. It's about that temperature, kind of cold. In Greenwood, Mississippi the average high temperature in February is 58 degrees. So that's pretty different.

NNAMDIFourteen degree difference.

FENSTONYeah, and then in the summer, you know, its average high in August is 92 compared to D.C.'s 84. So things would be a lot warmer in the winter, hotter in the summer, very little if any snow.

NNAMDIHow did climate change scientists come to this conclusion?

FENSTONSo it was two researchers. One at the University of Maryland's center for environmental science and another at North Carolina State University and they basically -- it's not new information, but they wanted to find a way to communicate it that would really resonate with people. So they took climate data from the 1960 to 1990 sort of historical data and compared it to projections from the U.N.'s intergovernmental panel on climate change for the 2080s. And they looked for a sort of analog cities for 500 cities in North America, so the one that matched up for D.C. was Greenwood, Mississippi.

NNAMDIBut apparently other big cities will be affected too.

FENSTONYeah, and they have this whole interactive map, which is very fascinating and frightening to look at, but under this high emission scenario, you know, for example, Minneapolis would be more like Kansas City, Missouri. Portland, Oregon would be kind of like central California. Denver would be like Texas. Los Angeles would be like the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. So, you know, it sort of helps you imagine this changing climate in a way that's hard if you're just talking about sort of mean global temperatures or, you know, the numbers of days that will be above 90 degrees.

NNAMDIDo warmer winter appeal to you or do they leave you wrecked with anxiety. What questions do you have about this report that Jacob is talking about and about this region's climate future? Now is the time to call. While we're discussing the environment, Jacob, Georgetown University has found itself in a bit of a conundrum. In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a university backed solar panel project is causing controversy, because it would require clearing 210 acres of trees in rural Charles County, Maryland. What's going on here, Jacob? What enemies is the university making as it pushes forward with this project?

FENSTONYes. It's a really interesting conflict. There's a bunch of environmentalists in southern Maryland. This is sort of an, you know, an area in Charles County just south of Prince George's. People with the Sierra Club, the southern Maryland who are upset, you know, they found out about this recently. They feel like it's not a good trade off. That you shouldn't be cutting down a forest to, you know, install a green project. And I think it's interesting, because Georgetown, you know, is doing this to try to sort get ahead and deal with this climate change issue that we've been talking about. And it's actually very ambitious project. It would be this big solar farm that would power -- it would provide half the energy to power the entire university, which is huge.

NNAMDIDo you agree with Georgetown's argument about this being a necessary trade off? What kind of tradeoffs have you or your community considered in order to make environmentally conscious decisions? If cutting down 210 acres of trees does not seem like a fair trade off to you, how do you propose urban areas invest in alternative energy? What exactly is the goal of this project, Jacob?

FENSTONYeah, so like I said provide a lot of green energy to Georgetown. And I mean, they say that the tradeoff is a good one and basically that, you know, the reduction in emissions by providing this solar power to the university would be just so much greater than the value the trees provide. So they sent me a statement that said basically cutting down those 200 acres of trees, putting in solar panels. The solar panels would be the equivalent emissions reduction of 30,000 acres of trees. So, you know, you're comparing 200 acres of trees to 30,000 acres of forest in terms of just greenhouse gases. On the other hand, you know, environmentalists in this part of the state say that you could put the solar panels somewhere else. Put them on roofs. Put them on, you know --

NNAMDISome place you don't have cut down trees.

FENSTONYep.

NNAMDIWho owns that land?

FENSTONIt's owned -- I mean, it's a family that owned it, you know, forever basically. And they are trying to sell it to this company called Origus, which is a solar, you know, a solar company. And then Origus basically has a contract with Georgetown to buy that energy into the future.

NNAMDISo Georgetown is moving ahead on this project.

FENSTONThat's the plan. They didn't want to do an interview, but they, you know, gave me a statement defending it. And it's gotten some initial approval from Maryland. But there are some more hurdles to jump through and there is public meeting I think on February 27th.

NNAMDIBack to the study on climate change that we discussed earlier. Joseph emailed, "What about humidity in D.C.?" I guess Joseph wants to know what the area's humidity level would be if it would change significantly by 2080. I suspect if it's going to get a lot hotter, it's going to be a lot more humid too.

FENSTONYeah, I think it's going to be hot and humid and, you know, another thing is rain. We're expecting that there will likely be more of these really big rain events including, you know, those big summer storms that we get.

NNAMDIJacob Fenston is WAMU's Environment Reporter. Jacob, always a pleasure.

FENSTONGreat to talk to you, Kojo.

NNAMDIAnd if we do get more questions about this as we might during the course of this hour, I know where to find you. Going over the story of the Coast Guard white nationalist, news broke yesterday that a U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant living in Silver Spring, who self-identified as a white nationalist was plotting a domestic terror attack targeting democrat politicians and journalists. He was arrested after federal investigators discovered his supply of weapons and ammunition. And discovered notes detailing his dream to quoting here, "Kill almost every last person on Earth and also to establish the white homeland."

NNAMDIIs there enough public discourse about the threat of white nationalist violence in our communities today? We just read the story of a young man, who went into pizza parlor Comet Pizza that became famous for other reasons a few years ago and started a fire there. He later had to be tased while trying to access the White House, I think. Are you concerned about the rise in hate crimes both in the region and around the country? What do you think can be done to address them? Here is Michelle in Silver Spring, Maryland on that issue. Michelle, your turn.

MICHELLEHi, Kojo. Thanks for taking my call. Yes, I'm in Silver Spring and last night I was actually trying to figure out where this lieutenant lived in Silver Spring. And while I was doing so, you know, googling away I hit upon a white nationalist forum. And they were discussing this. And basically they're saying his cache didn't look that impressive. If their stuff got caught, they would be in so much trouble. So I'm really concerned about that. And wondering if we have any idea who has, you know, these kind of caches, paramilitary, military. I mean, I'm kind of rambling. Sorry.

NNAMDINo, no. But are you --

MICHELLEYou know what I mean, like I'm just concerned about -- I mean, he had intent. But that kind of pile could do so much with or without intent. And he's not alone. So how many others are out there?

NNAMDIAll true. Are you surprised about the fact that he lives in your jurisdiction, Silver Spring?

MICHELLENot really. Not really. Silver Spring is a big mix. But I think I know where he does live and that was surprising thing, because it's a largely Latino neighborhood, large Latino, Ethiopian, African. So that was a little surprising. And I might not be correct.

NNAMDIOkay. Well, thank you for sharing your thoughts and your concerns. We mentioned that the Vatican has defrocked former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick stripping him of the rights of the priesthood after an investigation found he abused both children and adults. Some of his abuse victims live in the Washington region. And earlier this week Georgetown University announced that it is resending McCarrick's honorary degree. That's unprecedented move for the university.

NNAMDIThe historic punishment of the former archbishop of Washington has once again shaken the faith of Catholics near and far. So what is your view of this? Are you a Catholic? What does the Vatican punishment of Cardinal McCarrick say to you? Is it fitting or is it too little too late? Here now is Alex in Tacoma Park, Maryland. Alex, your turn.

ALEXHi. Thanks, Kojo. I was going to comment on a slightly different edge of the sexual abuse clergy scandal.

NNAMDISure.

ALEXAnd that being that there's so much energy on that and it's a hugely important issue for sure. But I'm curious how little mention there is about the families that the youth came from and why they're not -- they don't give any kind of more energy on, you know, what is the issue with the families? So I experienced abuse in the Catholic school I went to personally. I couldn't tell my father and stepmother what was going on, because of their own social wounds and problems.

ALEXAnd so that just is interesting -- and for the last two years I've been working for an organization called Boys to Men and I facilitate mentoring circles in public schools in the area. And basically, you know, we're there so boys can feel listened, admired, modeled, and praised, because, you know, with the breakdown of families so many don't have positive male role models in their lives. And so we're trusted in some cases more than the counselors and the teachers in the school, because, you know, we kind of come in separate. We're not under the umbrella of, you know, school requirements.

NNAMDISo your focus is more on what happens to the families and the victims of Catholic priests. What do you think about Georgetown University resending McCarrick's honorary degree? How do you feel about how other faith based communities have responded to his abuse?

ALEXWell, that seems, you know, totally appropriate. You know, symbolic is important and it makes sense to me. And they finally are stepping up and have a lot of work to do looking at this shadow in the church. But I'm more interested in the present now with the boys.

NNAMDIOkay.

ALEXAnd us addressing how, you know -- our social breakdown in our culture where youths do not have integrated families, united families. And getting their support from the families and how important mentoring is needed and lost in our culture.

NNAMDIOkay. Got to take a short break. But this is "Your Turn" where you can just call 800-433-8850. A white woman from Prince George's County made headlines this week for creating three whites only groups on the events platfrom Meetup, white woman yoga, white woman walkers, and Caucasian camera buffs. What do you think? Did this touch a nerve? Feel free to share your thoughts with us? What do you think about safe spaces for people of color or for people of other marginalized identities? I'm Kojo Nnamdi.

NNAMDIWelcome back. This is "Your Turn" when you get to set the agenda. National pizza chain Papa John's has partnered with local Capital City Mambo Sauce to bring the local condiment to several D.C. area locations. You remember that Papa John's CEO had some trouble after he used the "n" word. The Mambo Sauce in this partnership is for the chain chicken wings and chicken poppers. What do you think of Capital City's decision to partner with Papa John's? Who do you think is benefiting more in this partnership?

NNAMDIJoining us in studio again is Jacob Fenston, WAMU's Environment Reporter, because a lot of people wanted to talk about the Georgetown University solar plan. Here is Orieta in Frederic, Maryland. Orieta, your turn.

ORIETAHi. Thanks for taking my call. I applaud the steps that Georgetown is taking in the green direction, but it doesn't make sense to me that we would cut down all these trees if we need trees to combat climate change. Trees store carbon. They help prevent soil erosion. They also protect sensitive species such as birds, reptiles, and other wildlife. I mean, these species need their resources to function.

ORIETAAnd also, you know, we're on the mid-Atlantic flyway. We have a mass migration of monarchs and birds coming to our area that utilize this habit. There are other ways. There are rooftops. There are abandoned commercial sites. It's really a shame. And as an avid birder and somebody who enjoys the wildlife in Charles County, this is very sad that this is happening all in the name of climate change. It just doesn't make sense to me.

NNAMDIStay on the line for a second, Orieta. Allow Jacob to comment and then I have someone, who differs with you by way of email.

FENSTONYeah, I think that that is an excellent point. The Audubon Society considers this area along the Potomac in Charles County as an important bird area. And if you look at -- like if you look at a satellite image on Google Maps or whatever you can see it's just this little -- it's called an Nanjemoy peninsula and it's all trees. You know, it's 81 percent forest. There's a little bit of agriculture in there, but it's just this really solid block of habitat for birds and other creatures.

NNAMDIWell, Orieta and Jacob, here is what Chris had to say by email. The issue is protecting the bay really. Cutting the forest increases sediment pollution through erosion. Maryland plans to convert cropland to solar, which helps the bay by reducing nitrogen pollution. To which, Orieta, you say what?

ORIETAWell, I mean, nitrogen is also stored in the soil as well. So you do need these coastal forest habitats to trap the nitrogen. So that doesn't really make sense to me either.

NNAMDIOkay. And, Jacob, we got a question from a Twitter user named greenmoonart. Why don't they look at all of the unused rooftop acreage in D.C.? Every roof with a southern exposure is a potentially energy source. Cutting down thousands of trees in southern Maryland is not the answer.

FENSTONYeah, and I think that that's a question that a lot of people have. When I asked a spokesperson for this company Origus, that is doing the solar farm, his sort of reaction to that. He said, that it's just much more expensive to do these smaller projects either on rooftops or on, you know, smaller industrial sites or what have you. He said, it's just much more cost effective to find a big piece of land and do it all there.

NNAMDIHere's Linda in Nanjemoy, Maryland. Linda, your turn.

LINDAHi, Kojo. I wanted to give some background on this project and the company that is planning on clear cutting not only this parcel -- 210 acres on this parcel, but another 200 acres of forest in Charles County. So this company Maryland Solar LLC, Maryland Solar One LLC is formed in Delaware, is a subsidiary of Origus Energy U.S.A., which is a Miami company, which is a subsidiary of Origus Energy Limited, which is a company out of the country of Cypress. And unfortunately we have two issues with the applications.

NNAMDIPlease try to make your issues brief.

LINDAThe application misrepresented the value of the forest, which Maryland DNR later rebutted. And we have staff here that Charles County has said has worked too closely with developers in the past. And I don't think that Origus looked for alternates. And as one of your other guests said, forests do provide more than just carbon sequestration. And this forest, the largest forest in the Nanjemoy is actually acting as an air conditioner for this region and these large solar rays actually become heat islands.

NNAMDIOkay. But I do understand your position, but now that the project has been approved, what do you think it would take to stop it?

LINDAWell, I think there's an out for Georgetown. I'm going to assume that they either did not know where the project was going to be or where they were also misled on the value of this forest.

NNAMDIJacob, has Georgetown given any indication that it is open to hearing new arguments in this and presumably revising this proposal?

FENSTONThey have not said much. You know, they issued a short statement.

NNAMDIOkay. Linda, thank you very much for your call.

FENSTONYou know, I was just going to point out too that, you know, these sorts of conflicts are going to become much more, I think common in the future. A lot of places in the region have these sort of aggressive goals to increase renewable energy including solar. D.C. passed, you know, a law in December mandating 100 percent renewable electricity by 2032, which we've talked about. And 10 percent of that has to come from solar. So people are going to be looking for places to put solar panels a lot more in the near future and, you know, there's not unlimited amounts of space.

NNAMDIYou won't be leaving this room any time soon. Email from Ryan says, I want to say first that I'm beginning to wonder how the empirical observable data of the weather in Virginia in the last six or so years has not convinced many politicians living in the D.C. area that climate change is real. It has been very apparent that since about 2011 winters have been consistently warmer weather more sporadic and local ski resorts struggling to keep snow. I've been in Virginia my whole life and these weather changes have been very obvious and sudden. My question is why if global warming has been happening for a while it has seen to become apparent so suddenly?" I guess why the effects are now being seen so dramatically, maybe because we weren't paying this kind of attention earlier. Is that possible, Jacob?

FENSTONYeah, I mean, I think it's a whole bunch. It's a whole combination of things. And I think it does, you know, matter what you're thinking about how you experience the weather. And it's become very politicized. So it's almost hard for certain politicians that you mentioned to change their minds.

NNAMDIHere is Ingrid in Bethesda. Ingrid, your turn.

INGRIDThank you, Kojo. I always love your show. My point is like a couple of other callers points about habitat. People bring this up when they're arguing it. But it usually doesn't get on the air is that there are millions and I mean millions of living beings in that area. It is their home. And I would urge people if you think about the deer, the raccoons, the possums, the tree frogs would have nowhere to go and the birds as your caller said.

INGRIDDo our civic duty and not just be upset about it, but let Georgetown know even if they show no indication of changing their minds. If they hear from enough people, they might. It's like the wall, there are always animals, problems that are associated with taking down habitat or interfering with migratory routes.

NNAMDIOkay. Thank you very much for your call. Care to comment, Jacob?

FENSTONYeah, and, I mean, just sort of a counter point to that is also, you know, the current zoning of the land where the solar farm will go. It could be timbered. The current owner could cut those trees down, now, just to, you know, make money selling the timber. It's zoned, you know, such that it's not protected right now. So, it's not necessarily that it's the solar farm that's going to get rid of the trees. You know, the owner could choose to do that right now.

NNAMDIHere is James, in Annapolis. James, your turn.

JAMESHi. Thank you for taking my call. I agree that the proposed tradeoff is not sustainable. You know, how many acres do we -- of forest do we have that we can cut down for this kind of trade off? The second point I'd like to make is that the company evidently made the usual arguments that alternative approaches are too costly. But clear-cutting forests does have cost, a lot of cost. Some callers have already made the point. So, I think the problem with the traditional approach has been to shift a lot of the real costs to the environment and other things. So, the economy has not had the opportunity to adjust to the, you know, true cost.

JAMESAnd I think going forward, this has to change. I think there has to be a paradigm shift. And I think a major university like Georgetown really should be looking toward a better paradigm than to simply doubt the usual approach of just going to a place and cut down trees.

NNAMDICare to comment, Jacob?

FENSTONI mean, I think those are good points, but, you know, again, these projects have to go somewhere. And if they're too expensive, then they're, you know, not going to necessarily happen.

NNAMDIHere's Andrew in Arlington, who apparently favors the project. Andrew, your turn.

ANDREWHi. So, I just wanted to add a comment to the conversation that, you know, the global canopy, the global population of trees that we have in the world is currently incapable of, you know, counteracting and combating climate change on a meaningful level. And we need large-scale solar projects like these in order to provide, you know, renewable energy that's not giving us the greenhouse gas. These projects have to go somewhere, and like you said, the land is already zoned for commercial use. So, I think this is a great use of land. It's going to do a lot of good.

NNAMDIWell, some people do favor it. Jacob?

FENSTONYeah, and if you look at the mix of energy that the DC region uses right now, and I was just trying to pull it up, but, you know, renewables are a very small fraction of it. And if we really want to reduce our carbon emissions, like, we have to make really huge changes. It's not about, you know, a couple solar panels here and there (laugh). Like, we really need to make really big changes, and now I can't find the actual energy mix that I was looking for. But, yeah, it's not very much renewable right now.

NNAMDIOnce again, Jacob, thank you so much for joining us.

FENSTONYeah, thank you, Kojo.

NNAMDIIt's your turn. We do have a lot of other topics to discuss, and there are people who are on the phone who would like to discuss some of those topics. We got an email from Janice, who says: child molestation is illegal, and yet I hear nothing about arrests. I'm deeply shocked that McCarrick cajoled seminarians into spending the night with him. How sheltered are these guys, anyway? How naïve are they, and how vain are their parents? By the way, I am Jewish, and a local Rabbi is in jail for abuse of power, too. He videotaped women at the ritual bath of that seminar, a story that was covered here on WAMU news, also. So, thank you very much for getting in touch with us, Janice. Here now is Bruce in Laurel, Maryland. Bruce, your turn.

BRUCEHi. Thanks for taking my call. I just want to comment. Yesterday, you had on that discussion of rape, and a man called up and he said, if there was consensual sex when people were drinking, than a woman should have some responsibility. And then you asked the panel and the person, Lisa Johnson, rather than answering that, she goes, well, a man -- that you are responsible for what you do when you're drunk. But, of course, it was the woman -- he was saying the woman should have some responsibility. So, she totally ignored the question, and I think there should've been a follow-up, but you didn't have one.

NNAMDI(overlapping) What would you -- what do you think the follow-up should've been, and how would you have responded to it?

BRUCEWell, first, if he was still on the line, I would say, ask it again. But what I would say is, you're responsible if you drink -- if you're in a bar, if you drink you drive home -- this is if you're a college student -- if you drive home, you're responsible for alcohol. If you go into a person's apartment, it's not robbery. It's not breaking and entering. So, why is it that not only is it he gets a responsibility, but it's not even a lower crime, it's rape. Why is that a fair thing?

NNAMDIGotcha. And I think that's what I was trying to extract from that conversation yesterday, but it never really went there, so thank you for bringing it up, Bruce. The Georgetown project in Charles County has got a great deal of response, but we do have to move on from that now. We're going to take a short break, and if that's what you're calling about, well, please hang up, because I'm going to discuss some other issues that people might want to talk about.

NNAMDISome District residents think it may be time to rename Woodrow Wilson High School. The 28th President, remembered mostly for his foreign policy successes like the League of Nations, also promoted policies that marginalized black people in the District. He segregated federal employees and residential neighborhoods. The Wilson High School Diversity Taskforce and the DC History and Justice Collective hosted a forum last week for students, teachers, alumni and community members to weigh in. What's your view? Do you think Wilson High School should be renamed? Why or why not? Give us a call. Are you a student, parent, teacher or alum from Wilson High School? We would love to hear from you.

NNAMDIAnd we mentioned last month a video of an encounter between a teenager wearing a Make America Great Again hat and a Native American activist on the National Mall went viral. In the video that many shared, it initially seemed as if the teenager -- whose name is Nicholas Sandmann -- was goading the activist, Nathan Phillips, and it led to a lot of outcry. Sandmann's family contests the characterization of the events that day, and is now suing the Washington Post, one of many outlets that have reported on the video.

NNAMDIThe family complaint says that, quoting here, "The Post wrongfully targeted and bullied the student, " Nicholas Sandmann, and called the Post's coverage of the incidents false and defamatory. The family is seeking $250 million in damages, the same amount Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos paid for the paper back in 2013. The suit alleges that the Post targeted and bullied Nicholas Sandmann in order to embarrass President Trump.

NNAMDIAnd the news broke it late yesterday that a US Coast Guard Lieutenant living in Silver Spring identified as a white nationalist was plotting a domestic terrorist attack, attacking Democrat politicians and journalists. Is there enough public discourse, in your view, about the threat of white nationalist violence in our communities today? It's your turn. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.

NNAMDIWelcome back. It's your turn. Just give us a call. We have made several suggestions. Several topics are on the table, so to speak. We'd be interested in hearing your views about the Coast Guard white nationalist. We'd be interested in hearing your views about the white woman from Prince George's County who created three whites-only groups on the events platform Meetup, White Woman Yoga, White Woman Walkers and Caucasian Camera Buffs. We'd like to hear your view about the Covington teen's family that has sued the Washington Post for $250 million.

NNAMDIWe'd like to hear your views about whether or not Woodrow Wilson High School should be renamed. And, of course, the national pizza chain Papa John's has partnered with local capital city Mambo Sauce to bring the local condiment to several DC area locations. Former CEO of that pizza chain, John Schnatter, came under fire last year when he used the N word in a conference call in which he was apparently attempting to distance himself from other racist actions.

NNAMDICapital City released a statement saying this was a hard decision to make, considering Papa John's history, but through conversations and meetings, we realize that the company is made up of a lot of really good people -- where have I heard that before -- who are serious about making sure Papa John's is doing better in the communities where they do business. The mambo sauce is for the chain's chicken wings and chicken poppers. What do you think of Capital City's decision to partner with Papa John's? Do you order pizza from Papa John's? And John Schnatter's words in 2018, what do they say to you? Do you, as a Washingtonian, need some sort of gesture of goodwill from Papa John's?

NNAMDIOkay. Let's talk baseball. Rumors are flying over free agent Bryce Harper, who has reportedly turned down offers worth over $300 million in the past few weeks. At one point, the Philadelphia Phillies seemed to have the best chance in signing him, but the list of competitors has expanded to include the San Francisco giants. And, of course, there's the Washington Nationals, where Harper has played for the past seven years, and where he has become a star. Where would you like to see Bryce Harper land? Give us a call, 800-433-8850. If the Phillies or the Giants offer him a historic contract, should and could the Nationals match it?

NNAMDIAnd, finally, there's this. Former city official Josh Lopez spoke this morning at UDC's Founders Day event, despite calls from DC lawmakers to revoke his invitation. Lopez resigned from the DC Housing Authority's board of commissioners last May after being involved in an anti-Semitic scandal. A speaker at a rally that he organized called DC Councilmember Elissa Silverman a fake Jew. Lopez did apologize later, and has since been meeting with some community leaders, but Silverman and Councilmember Mary Cheh from Ward 3 both contacted UDC's president to express their concerns about Lopez's involvement at the rally and his behavior in political campaigns.

NNAMDIWhat do you think? Did you follow the scandal involving Josh Lopez last spring? How do you view his presence at the rally today? Let's go to Katherine in Clifton, Virginia. Katherine, your turn.

KATHERINEOh, it's an honor to talk to you, Kojo. You're very much respected, and thank you for taking my call.

NNAMDIYou're welcome.

KATHERINEI've lived in the northern Virginia area now for 35, almost 40 years. And in the eighties, my children were in a small Catholic school in northern Virginia. My daughter, about the time, was probably nine years old, and she was molested twice by our priest in that parish. And it was something that he did in public, in terms of the way he touched her. So, in attempting to report that, I did a little more investigating in the school and found out that this was relatively common behavior that he was doing, and pretending that it was funny. He was also doing some other physical stuff, like grabbing little girls' earrings and tugging on them until they bled.

KATHERINESo, I called the diocese office. The very first thing that I was told by the woman who answered it was, oh, come on, now. He's just an old man, and he doesn't mean anything, and he's going to retire soon. I pushed a little bit, because I've worked in Protective Services. And she said, well, okay. All right. We'll take the report, but, you know, your daughter, she's going to have to tell the story over and over and over again. And that certainly made me -- it did make me think, because I knew that would be part of the process, that she would have to tell it at least a few times. And that's where it stopped.

NNAMDI(overlapping) Indeed, yesterday, when we had a discussion here on sexual assault and about cases that were cleared, and using a factor called extraordinary clearance, one of the things that was pointed out was that when women, young women, or women in general who are traumatized are questioned about those events immediately after the trauma, sometimes they're not in a position to make sound decisions, and so they decide not to pursue it. What you seem to be saying is when you realized just how much this young woman would have to deal with, that you decided not to pursue it yourself.

KATHERINEThat's true. And what I also came to find out is within the school, all of the teachers in the school had been warned never to leave that priest alone in the classrooms with the children. So, this code of silence that people are talking about, it really exists. And who do I hold responsible here? I don't hold just the perpetrators. I hold the administrators. I hold the Bishops. I hold other priests. I hold anybody in the administration, because...

NNAMDI(overlapping) You hold the institution.

KATHERINE...Kojo, they all knew.

NNAMDIYou hold the institution of the Catholic Church responsible?

KATHERINEI do, because they all knew. They knew, and...

NNAMDI(overlapping) Clearly, a lot of people do feel that way, and it's going to be a point of discussion over the course of the next several days. It's a point of discussion around the world, even as we speak. So, thank you for sharing your view with us, but we do have to move on, on this edition of Your Turn, to Calvin in Silver Spring, Maryland. Calvin, your turn.

CALVINHi. I assume, based on the variety of topics, that this is sort of like an open-mic session, at this point.

NNAMDIIt is.

CALVINOkay. I just have an interesting, I guess, perspective on renaming Woodrow Wilson High School in the District. And, again, you're correct that, under his administration, black citizens of DC didn't do very well, particularly in the post office and re-segregation of the government facilities. And sometimes I wonder whether -- I mean, if you look at renaming Wilson, then obviously, there's going to be a discussion about renaming a number of the other public high schools. Because...

NNAMDI(overlapping) Not to mention the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. We got an email from someone who asked: what about the Woodrow Wilson Bridge that connects Alexandria and Oxon Hill?

CALVINSo, I wonder whether there needs to be a discussion about their racist past, rather than rename the schools, because it's just that it's going to result in a resurge -- with exception, obviously, of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. I mean, that's a different story.

NNAMDI(overlapping) Sure.

CALVINBut I sometimes wonder, when you do that, whether you open up, without discussing their racist past...

NNAMDI(overlapping) Well, no. There are discussions taking place at Wilson High School. Indeed, participating in those discussions are people who have made it a history of documenting the history of the Fort Reno neighborhood where Wilson High School is, and talked about the fact that they have ancestors who were forced out of those communities during the Wilson administration, and as a result, lost their property and lost a great deal. So, they're having a great many conversations about it before any decision will be made.

CALVINOkay. Okay. I wasn't aware that there had been some previous discussion. But sometimes I wonder, in general, just how are we going to approach, from a broader perspective, of renaming, you know, historical institutions, you know, without thinking about exactly how we're going to educate people about what their roles were, these individuals.

NNAMDIRight. Well, they seem to be saying, at Wilson High School, that education, since it is a school, is going to be a central part of this conversation, whether or not the name is ultimately changed. Of course, there are people like Alan, who called in, but couldn't stay on the phone. He says it should be renamed after the playwright August Wilson. So, I guess that would mean they wouldn't have to change the name. It would, of course, be August Wilson High School, rather than Woodrow Wilson High School. But thanks for your call, Calvin. I do have to move on. Here is DT in Potomac, Maryland. DT, your turn.

DTHi, Kojo. I'm so happy to be speaking to you. I'm a big fan of yours for the past 20 years that you've been on air.

NNAMDIThank you.

DTYou know, talking about the Make America Great hat, I just want to talk about it from a very different perspective. As a brown American bringing up young ladies in this country, my older daughter is a senior at the Boston Conservatory, in an art school. And I just want to talk about her experiences. And, for me, as a brown American in America and what that Make America Great hat represents to me.

DTSo, basically, I came to this country in 1992. I have lived the American Dream. I have a Bachelor's in computer science. I worked at NASA. I run my own Indian dance school. My child was a privileged American kid who went to an art school which was predominantly a very Caucasian school, even though...

NNAMDI(overlapping) Well, what does all of that have to do with the young man who was wearing the MAGA cap at the Mall?

DTOh, yeah, I know. Let me come to that. So, basically, she is in a school, and the elections happened, Make America Great happened. And my child goes into the school, she has forgotten her key card, and she's trying to get into the school. And somebody let her in, and then looked at her and said, I hope I didn't let a terrorist in.

NNAMDIYes, because your daughter has an appearance of being an Asian?

DTYes, so, we are of Indian origin, so she looked brown, so she looks different. So...

NNAMDI(overlapping) Well, one of the concerns we're talking about with the arrest of this Coast Guard Lieutenant who is a white nationalist is whether or not we are seeing an increase of that kind of racial and ethnic profiling in this region. And there seems to be an increasing consensus that, yes, we are seeing an increase in that. But thank you for your call. I do have to move on, because Brenda in Northwest Washington wants to talk about the same issue. Brenda, your turn.

BRENDAHi, Kojo. I saw the picture of the boy who seemed to be glaring on purpose, intentionally. And because -- he is a very good-looking boy, and he was really fixated on the American Indian man who had the drum. I think that he noticed -- and I am a teacher, and I have taught kids that age for 35 years. I looked at that boy, and I looked at that picture. Several days in a row, I looked back at that picture. And I thought to myself, this is the situation when people with cameras come around and start taking pictures of things that are going on, without any real knowledge of what's happening.

BRENDAThat they took a picture of a boy who's maybe in middle school, maybe in junior high school, who, because somebody was taking his picture, was frozen in that position, and he looked sort of like that, like I'm stuck now, and I don't know what to do. So, I'm just going to stay right here. And I felt like everybody involved in that whole thing was kind of off on the wrong foot.

NNAMDIWell, what was contextualized was -- first and foremost, it was a video, it was not a picture. And what was contextualized is that the Native American activist Nathan Phillips was trying to get between the young people who had come here for the March for Life and a group of men known as Hebrew Israelites. And he was beating his drum in order to get between the two groups. And the young man said he was standing there and doing nothing. He just happened to be looking at the Native American activist and people, well, interpreted the picture the way they wanted to interpret it.

NNAMDIThe question we were raising is whether or not the lawsuit filed against the Washington Post for $250 (sic) naming -- saying that the Post covered it in the way that it did because they just wanted to slam President Trump, is that something that you would agree with?

BRENDANo, and I think that it looks like everybody involved -- and I haven't heard what you just told me before, so that's news to me. It just seems like everybody involved in that was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and they exhibited the absolutely inappropriate behavior at that time, didn't they? And then the things about pictures that we do nowadays, where we get a picture and it looks like anything, and we immediately send it off and start having everybody look at it and make assumptions about the picture that aren't true.

NNAMDIWell, it's what starts conversations today, and that video certainly started a great many conversations. But I'm afraid we're just about out of time for this edition of Your Turn, so thank you very much for participating in it. Today's Your Turn was produced by Ruth Tam and Cydney Grannan. Just a reminder, we're hosting an event on school diversity in Montgomery County. If this topic interests you, you can be part of shaping our conversation. Go to KojoShow.org/blog and fill out our survey on how you've used school boundaries and the achievement gap.

NNAMDIComing up on tomorrow's Politics Hour, we'll hear the latest updates from the DC Council, including the fast-tracking of the new sports gambling program from Councilmember Phil Mendelson. Plus, we'll talk with Howard County's Executive Calvin Ball about his plans for the county's biggest challenges, including flood protection in areas like Ellicott City. And we'll also dig into a new poll about Marylander's opinions on everything from a possible President Larry Hogan to Old Bay. So, that all starts tomorrow at noon. Until then, thank you for listening. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.