Bowser's budget threatens healthcare of thousands
Plus, updates on the Initiative 82 battle, Pride events, and more.
Hi everyone,
Happy Pride! The month started out strong, with the National Park Service pledging to close Dupont Circle for this weekend's WorldPride celebrations – a move one of our readers likened to closing the Tidal Basin during peak bloom. Then, not even 24 hours later – and after predictable and justified outrage – NPS reversed course, stating the iconic park would remain open. Sigh. So before you head to Dupont or wherever you're celebrating this weekend, catch up on what else was going on in D.C. this week.
We've got a story about potentially sweeping changes to public healthcare coverage in Bowser's proposed budget and more updates from the Wilson Building, where they're changing the law thanks to a lawsuit involving an 18th-century monarch. (...Huh?) We'll also catch you up to speed on the battle over the tipped minimum wage, and offer an opinion piece that argues the mayor and her allies on the council have the facts wrong.
In the third column of our collaborative series with More Than Our Crimes, Askia Afrika-Ber, a D.C. resident currently incarcerated in West Virginia, explains how a new phone call policy has cut incarcerated people off from a necessity: talking to people they love.
And keep scrolling for your weekend agenda and ways to get civically engaged around D.C.
Take care,
Colleen
Thousands in D.C. could lose health coverage under budget plan
Mayor Bowser proposed a sweeping plan to roll back public coverage for low-income and undocumented residents amid financial and political pressures.
Wilson Building Bulletin: Sports betting collides with an 18th-century British monarch
Bowser is seeking to amend a 300-year-old law. Plus, the D.C. Council is delaying an increase in the tipped minimum wage as they consider a full repeal of Initiative 82 and pushing back on the mayor's proposal to revoke the city's sanctuary city status.
Opinion: Initiative 82 is not harming the restaurant industry
This week, the D.C. Council voted to pause a wage increase related to Initiative 82, the ballot measure that would eliminate the tipped wage. Elizabeth Falcon, the executive director of DC Jobs with Justice, argues that Mayor Bowser and her allies on the council are caving to misguided talking points – while overlooking the data.
Opinion: Prison phone restrictions sever D.C. residents from their loved ones
Askia Afrika-Ber, a D.C. resident currently incarcerated in West Virginia, explains how a recent policy change has cut incarcerated residents off from communicating with their loved ones — something that's as crucial to survival as eating and drinking.
ICYMI: We're tooting our own horn!
We’re finalists for six (!) Dateline Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. We couldn't have accomplished what we did in the past 10 months without you, and we're looking forward to growing even more together.
FYI: Our story on Bowser's move to strip D.C. of its sanctuary city status is available in Spanish
Martin Austermuhle
13 things to do around D.C. this weekend
There’s a lot to celebrate this weekend, including 50 years of Pride in D.C. and some summery weather, at long last.
Dyke March and more: Your weekly Civics Roundup
Pride is a party and also a protest! Hit the streets with the annual Dyke March, attend a Pride panel, testify about Bowser's proposed budget, or learn how to cop-watch.
Here's more news you may have missed this week:
- Meet six local queer and trans residents who are making gay history right now. [WCP]
- A D.C. Auditor report found that deaths at the D.C. Jail far exceed the national average. [Post]
- Congressional Dems take on Le Diplomate. [Axios DC]
- CVS is shuttering a handful of locations across the D.C. region. [WBJ]
- Twenty people were killed in D.C. in May. [Post]
- "We've created so much lasagna that it's impossible to get a lot of stuff done" – Randy Clarke on abundance. [Statecraft]
- D.C.'s shelter system has a language-access problem. [Street Sense Media]
- Trayon White, who is running to regain the seat he was expelled from earlier this year, was MIA at a Ward 8 candidate forum. [WCP]
- Ward 8 has a new urban farm. [DC News Now]
That's all from us. Have a good weekend.
Colleen
