Winter is here weather-wise, and I’m writing to you from under a blanket with this week’s news.
The 2026 election is still almost a year away, but there’s already a battle over what we’ll get to vote on, Martin reports. A bill before the Council would put more limits on ballot initiatives, which have increased in number over the last 12 years. (Think ranked-choice voting, tipped minimum wage, andmagic mushrooms, to name a few recent examples.)
Then, we have two interviews with D.C. natives: Christina spoke to Kamal “Ben” Ali, second-generation owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl, about the restaurant’s lasting local popularity. And contributor Emma Akpan has a feature on Lindsay Adams, a rising star in the painting world whose art explores Black American migration, past and present.
We’re trying to bring in 3,000 new subscribers — paid or free by the end of the year. We’re almost 20% of the way there, and we know we’ll make it with your help.
Metropolitan Police Department chief Pamela Smith is stepping down at the end of the year. Mayor Bowser says she didn’t request the resignation, and will name an interim chief this month. Meanwhile, at a marathon public safety hearing last Thursday, hundreds of residents testified before the Council on the department’s collaboration with federal agents, as well as reducing gun violence, the youth curfew, and more. [The Post, Washington Informer]
Local complaints continue about the response to 911 calls by D.C.’s Office of Unified Communications, and the agency’s refusal to investigate complaints. [Petworth News]
At their sold-out 930 Club show last night, your newsletter writer heard The Beths remark that D.C. has an impressive number of traffic circles. Why is that? [City Cast]
As the restaurant industry pushes back on a new potential ballot measure raising the minimum wage, three Eastern Market restaurants just voted to unionize. Democratic lawmakers are supportive. Their existing boycott over unionization efforts includes St. Anselm, where restaurateur Stephen Starr now faces charges from the NLRB over alleged union-busting. [Washington Business Journal, Axios, Philadelphia Inquirer]
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