Columbia Heights street vendors still can’t get licensed

Hi everyone,

Today, we have a packed newsletter for you:

• A roundup of local reporting on last night’s fatal crash
• Reporting on Columbia Heights' street vendors ongoing fight to get licensed
• Updates from Trayon White's last stand at the Wilson Building
• An opinion piece on Vince Micone's turn from Capital Pride board member to Trump appointee
• How to celebrate Black History Month in D.C.
• A guide to giving and receiving help in the District
• Plans for your weekend

– Abigail Higgins

We all woke to gruesome news this morning. An American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River last night. The passenger jet, traveling from Kansas, was set to land at DCA. 

This morning, D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly said search-and-rescue teams have pivoted to recovery operations; it is believed there are no survivors. If true, this would mark the deadliest U.S. plane crash in 24 years. As of publication, teams have recovered 27 bodies from the plane and one body from the helicopter, which was on a training flight with three service members on board. 

More on the situation: 

• DCA resumed flight operations at 11 a.m., although some flights have been canceled or delayed. [Axios DC] 
• Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said “everything was standard in the lead up to the crash,” but that "obviously something went wrong here.” He added: “Do I think this was preventable? Absolutely.” [Post]
• Residents of the D.C. area are mourning. The American Airlines flight was carrying members of the U.S. figure skating community as well as two Russian skaters. They were returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas. On Thursday, the Skating Club of Northern Virginia issued a statement mourning the loss of members of its community. Fairfax County Public Schools also issued a statement confirming the loss of “members of the FCPS community," but did not name any individuals. [Post/NBC4]

For more updates throughout the day, the Washington Post and Axios DC are running live blogs. 

– Colleen Grablick

A year after decriminalization, Columbia Heights street vendors still can't get licensed

In April 2023, the D.C. Council passed a law meant to overhaul how the city regulates street vending. The legislation was supposed to be the solution to a long-standing problem in Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant: dozens of street vendors – most of them monolingual Spanish-speakers – sell goods without a license, leading to frequent run-ins with local police.

But in the roughly 16 months since it officially took effect in Oct. 2023, only three vendors have gotten licensed under the new law.

Wilson Building Bulletin: Trayon's last stand

He came wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the message “The FBI Killed Fred Hampton.”  A truck featuring his image and the words “FBI Set Me Up” stood just outside the Wilson Building. But when he faced his colleagues on Tuesday afternoon, embattled Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White didn’t say anything at all.

Opinion: A Capital Pride board member becoming a Trump appointee should ring alarm bells

Last week, Vince Micone stepped aside from his 15-year stint as a board member of Capital Pride after being appointed by Trump as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. 

Less than a week into his new, temporary role, Micone issued a directive halting all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs within the department, claiming they “divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination.”

While these moves may seem counter to Micone’s own identity and much of his professional background, in some ways we should have seen it coming from a mile away.

Your guide to Black History Month in D.C.

Black History Month is right around the corner. And in D.C. there is never a shortage of ways to celebrate Black culture, creativity, and community. Bring the kids to celebrate Frederick Douglass's birthday with a puppet show, go on walking tours through D.C.'s historic neighborhoods, attend a step show at Howard, and order flowers from what may be the oldest Black-owned flower shop in the U.S.

A guide to giving and receiving help in D.C.

In the aftermath of the election, many of you asked where you could channel your anxiety, time, and resources to protect D.C. and the people who call it home. In response, we published a list of organizations and movements. A week and a half into this administration, many of you are still asking, so we updated and organized this list. We hope it connects you with what you need, whether you're looking to receive help or to give it.

13 things to do around D.C. this weekend

We made it! January is nearly over, and it looks like it’ll be warm enough to leave the house without gloves. Learn how to make your own Pad Thai, cure your writer's block, and celebrate Lunar New Year.

Live in Ward 7? We want to hear from you

We recently launched our Community Connector program to build stronger relationships with D.C. residents. Our first connector is George Kevin Jordan, a Hillcrest resident who says: "I love my neighbors, my community, and the entire ward. It has a legacy of greatness, endless potential, and lots of growing pains in between."

He's popping up at events next month, conducting 1-1 conversations, and collecting responses to this survey.

Please respond if you live in a Ward 7 neighborhood, or share with friends or family who do!

Here's some news you may have missed this week:

• Trump's administration sowed chaos with a freeze on federal loans, tried to clarify, then got blocked by a federal judge before rescinding the order shortly. What a week. [The Post]
• Speaking of reversals: The leader of the Oath Keepers, whose prison sentence was commuted by Trump, is no longer barred from D.C. [The Post]
• We might have lost, but we still have each other: Commanders fans bond on Amtrak, in "varying states of sobriety." [The Post]
• Sucks to suck: Dan Synder is not pleased that the Commanders are thriving without him. [ESPN]
• Housing nonprofits have gone months without funds from DHS, jeopardizing assistance for homeless kids among other vital programs. [WCP]
• Ben's Chili Bowl is taking a bite of the Big Apple. [Eater]
• D.C. says goodbye to another cultural institution. [The Post]
• D.C. students are still struggling to make up for ground lost at the beginning of the pandemic [The Post]
• No matter what Google Maps says, it's still the Gulf of Mexico... and Dulles is definitely still Dulles. [Washingtonian]
• An art scholar sounds the alarm, accusing the Smithsonian of sanitizing a queer artist's work on the AIDS crisis. [Out]
• D.C.'s coders are, perhaps unsurprisingly, trying to make the world a better place – from mapping climate change to tracking trolls. [Technical.ly]
• Federal workers say they're not backing down in this Reddit thread, which makes for a good read. [Reddit]
• The woman who blocked a D.C. abortion clinic and also hid fetuses in her home was pardoned by Trump. [HuffPo]
• A local filmmaker explores the D.C.-area's history of slavery with "The Poppaw Queen." [WCP]

Your Civics Download

You’ll find this handy guide to public meetings at the bottom of every edition of The 51st. We’ll refine and improve along the way, so if you think we’re missing resources, please let us know!

It’s performance oversight season at the Wilson Building! This is the time of year — pre-budget season — when government agencies are called to testify before the D.C. Council’s various committees. This may seem like the typical humdrum operations of government bureaucracy, but performance oversight is one of the council’s most important responsibilities; these hearings can shape what agencies get (or don’t get) money and how they spend it. You can tune into any of these on the council’s website, and you can also usually find the uploaded written testimony of the agencies that are called to testify. 

• On Thursday, Jan. 30, the Anacostia Business Improvement District will be holding a community forum on the future of the Anacostia Arts Center. Residents, artists, and business owners will have a chance to share what they value about the space, how they use it, and what they need from it in the future. The meeting will take place at the Anacostia Arts Center from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• On Saturday, Feb. 1, the Save Chinatown Solidarity Network will present “Little Chinatown, Big Ideas,” — a vision for the future of Chinatown informed by long-time residents. The event will feature a teach-in led by residents and community organization, as well as break-out groups and an art build. Refreshments and interpretations into Mandarin and Cantonese will be provided. The event will be held at Metropolitan Community Church from 3:30 — 5:30 p.m. Doors open at 3:00. You can register here and send any questions to admin@savechinatowndc.org.
• Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is building an advisory group to guide the revitalization of Georgia Avenue. To apply, email cnelson@dccouncil.gov. Community members are also encouraged to fill out this survey about the future of the corridor, and what neighbors need for a thriving Georgia Avenue.

That's all for this week, everyone. Talk soon.

– Abigail Higgins