For nearly three decades, public housing in the District has been alien territory for disabled people. Impassable stairways and narrow doorways are just a couple of the obstacles that have exiled the wheelchair-bound to nursing homes and other institutions. On March 27, though, a federal court approved a negotiated settlement between the D.C. Housing Authority and public-housing residents seeking more disabled-friendly units. The housing authority must, among other things, build or renovate 565 accessible units over the next five years. The settlement comes too late for Mwenea Ajanaku, 46, a plaintiff who has been living in the J.B. Johnson Nursing home for more than two years (“Before Their Time,” 10/27/00). Ajanaku is moving to Silver Spring, Md., this week with his wife and 3-year-old son. “I’m glad the housing authority is owning up to its responsibilities,” he says. —Annys Shin