Meet the city workers who pick up dead animals
Plus, Sankofa is trying to future-proof itself, and more news.
Hi everyone,
Another Thursday, another newsletter from The 51st. This week, we meet the unsung city heroes who pick up dead animals from the city's streets, alleyways, parks, and yards.
Plus, Sankofa Video Books & Cafe has been a fixture on Georgia Ave for 27 years, and the owners are trying to make sure it stays that way – this time by turning the bookstore into a worker-community-owned cooperative.
In case you missed it earlier this week, we've got an in-depth story on the D.C. Council's partial repeal of Initiative 82.
And last but not least, we've got your roundup of things to do this weekend and ways to get involved in your community.
Happy reading!
Natalie Delgadillo
These D.C. workers pick up dead animals, and they’re very busy
A deceased deer, a run-over rat, a headless goat: someone has to get rid of them.
Sankofa is trying to future-proof itself
Plans are underway to expand the business and transform the bookstore into a worker-community-owned cooperative.
ICYMI
Martin Austermuhle
11 things to do around D.C. this weekend
It may be muggy out there, but don’t give up on summer just yet. Grab your neck fan and welcome the dog days of the season with an outdoor movie, a cat video extravaganza, and a day at the fair.
TOPA Canvass: Your weekly Civics Roundup
Knock on doors, learn the history of budget riders, or catch a film about co-ops.
Why you support The 51st
You've definitely heard by now: We're raising money to hire on a full-time reporter. Martin Austermuhle has been covering the D.C. region for 20 years. His knowledge of local politics is encyclopedic and his energy for marathon council meetings is untouched by the sands of time. Turns out, plenty of you think that too! Thanks for donating and sharing.
Here's more news you may have missed this week:
- Jeanine Pirro, the interim U.S. attorney for D.C., sent out a memo this week requiring immigration checks on all local and federal defendants. (It's unclear what the effect of the new directive will be, since ICE already receives people's fingerprints when they're booked into jail). [Post]
- Teen artists made moving work about what it's like to be a teenager right now for an exhibition at the American University Museum. [NPR]
- How the very last wholesalers of Union Market are hanging on in a gentrifying neighborhood. [Post]
- What Trump is doing to D.C.'s museums. [TIME]
- Synetic Theater is running a completely wordless adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. [WCP]
- Turns out a really hot summer is ... not great for ice cream shops? [Washingtonian]
- Surprise! More flash floods are possible in the D.C. area later today. [WTOP]
See ya next week!
Natalie
