The D.C. budget's latest dramas
Plus, how a breakup led to the opening of D.C.'s best breakfast taco spot, and more news.
Hello 51st readers,
I know, I know: Do we really expect you to read an entire article breaking down D.C.'s budget? Budgets are long. Budgets are complicated. Budgets are boring.
Counterpoint: This is probably the most important time of year to be paying attention to what's happening in your local government. D.C.'s 2026-27 budget is about $22 billion, larger than that of some states, and there are real services at stake (did you know the mayor proposed cutting library hours back by a third?). So we've done our best to break it down for you in a way that's digestible and easy to understand, and also not boring. Give it a read.
Here's the rest of your local D.C. news digest:
- The latest on Bowser's push to repeal D.C.'s sanctuary city status
- Part of our D.C. Explained series: Do renters have a right to air conditioning?
- A Q&A with the owners of breakfast taco spot, La Tejana
- Your regular lineup of weekend events and a list of ways to get involved locally
- An opinion piece on D.C.'s overcrowded youth jail
- Plus, we want to know your best tips (for a story next week): how do you beat the heat?
Stay cool out there, and check on your neighbors if you can. See you in your inbox next Thursday.
Natalie Delgadillo
Wilson Building Bulletin: All the D.C. budget changes you need to know
Where things stand on the Commanders deal, Initiative 82, ranked choice voting, library hours, and more.
D.C. Council pauses Bowser’s push to repeal sanctuary-city status
The D.C. Council is pumping the brakes on Bowser’s attempts to repeal the city's "sanctuary city" law, but Congress is another story.
ICYMI:
Colleen Grablick
La Tejana's love story
How a breakup brought one of D.C.'s most beloved breakfast taco spots into being.
ICYMI: Most of the city's bus routes are changing on Sunday
Jazmyn Gray
Opinion: Warehousing kids makes us all less safe
D.C.'s Youth Services Center isn't reducing crime—it's manufacturing it, say Penelope Spain and Joshua Miller of Open City Advocates.
Summers in our city are notoriously brutal. The heat dome currently swallowing D.C. has created miserable, dangerous temperatures all week, and we're set to see more days like this over the coming months. So we want to know: What are your favorite ways to escape, beat, or simply weather the heat? Your answer could be included in a story next week.
14 things to do around D.C. this weekend
After this week's brutal heat wave, take the weekend to cool off (either outside or inside) with an Open Streets festival, comedy shows, and parties for a good cause.
Growing community: Your weekly Civics Roundup
Attend the Ward 8 special election debate, head to a storytelling night for LGBTQ+ refugees and immigrants, or help remove invasive plants from Kingman Island.
Here's more news you may have missed this week:
- After nearly three decades, Miss Pixie's is officially closing. [The Post]
- Is TOPA really driving away investment in housing? Data complicates investors' narrative. Plus, how Adams Morgan residents are using TOPA to purchase their building. [WCP]
- A Ward 8 nonprofit is being sued for allegedly misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars in violence prevention funds. [Washington Informer]
- D.C.'s broken sidewalks are impossible to traverse for residents who use a wheelchair. [730DC]
- How locals who work outside are staying cool this summer. [The Post]
- A deck is coming over that section of Connecticut Ave. just north of Dupont Circle. [Urban Turf]
- How 500 Black neighborhoods disappeared across America. [Capital B]
- Congress could oust these advisory neighborhood commissioners from office for being noncitizens. [The Post]
- The D.C. Attorney General's office is continuing to sue more D.C. area drivers for racking up thousands of dollars in traffic citations. [Washingtonian]
- D.C.'s juvenile detention center, which houses more than 100 young people, has broken air conditioning during this heat wave. [The Post]
And that's all from us!
Natalie
