The state of the Ward 8 race

Hey everyone,

Before we all head out for the holiday weekend, we'd like to invite you to the hottest event of the season: The 51st's Summer Happy Hour! The team will be hanging out in the Heurich House Biergarten from 6 - 8 p.m. on Friday, July 11. If you're a paying subscriber – check your email. We sent you a special invite earlier this week with a discount code.

Come by to chat about the news, celebrate what we've built together, and peruse the merch we'll be debuting! Nothing swaggier than wearing your support of worker-led nonprofit journalism on your person.

Okay, now on to the reason we're even here: the news! This week, Martin dives into the hotly contested special election for a vacant Ward 8 D.C. council seat. Trayon White, booted from the council earlier this year over federal bribery charges, is asking for a second chance. Meanwhile, his challengers say it's time to move on. Will they be able to put the past in the past?

We've also got:

• Updates from the Wilson Building, where lawmakers expanded a youth curfew
• A curiosity on spotted lanternflies and another, lesser-known invader
• An opinion piece on proposed cuts to violence interrupter programs
• A goodbye to Best World, a Mount Pleasant staple
• A roundup of ways The 51st team and some of our readers weather this heat
• Stuff to do this weekend (beyond watching fireworks and eating hot dogs)
• How to root yourself in D.C. community if you're not feeling the patriotic spirit

Scroll on. I hope to see you on July 11th!

Colleen

Trayon White wants another chance. Ward 8 challengers say it's time to move on

For the last two months, the four candidates have been knocking on doors, attending debates, and making their pitch to voters ahead of an unexpected election whose outcome is unpredictable. 

Wilson Building Bulletin: Tightening youth curfews and banning phones in schools

Plus, the D.C. Council continued an expansion of pretrial detention – but stopped short of making that expansion permanent.

We’re losing the war on spotted lanternflies, but we’re overlooking another battle

You know the drill: you see one, you stomp on it. But did you know there's another invasive, non-native species aiding the spotted lanternflies' rise to power in D.C.? Enter: Tree of heaven.

Opinion: The D.C. Council must not cut an effective violence interrupter program

In the next installment in our partnership with More Than Our Crimes, contributor Robert Barton has a message to city leaders: violence interrupters do crucial work in this city. They deserve to be supported.

Best World closes for good

Here's what decades of serving the D.C. community meant for the owners, employees, and customers of the Mount Pleasant grocery store.

How The 51st team (and our readers) stay cool in D.C. summers

Go out early. Get out of town. Eat an ice cream cone and remember this too shall pass. We share some of our tips for weathering this season, with some helpful additions from our readers.

17 things to do around D.C. this weekend

There'll be fireworks, sure, but we've also got a pool party for pups, an unplugged basement dance party, and comedians roasting politicians like it’s their patriotic duty.

Alt Fourth of July Activities: Your weekly civics roundup

Community forums, trainings, and more stuff to do this weekend if you're not exactly dripping in patriotism, but want to feel rooted in your community.

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

• How a program that prioritizes at-risk students in the school lottery is working so far. [WCP]
• A former guard at D.C.'s youth detention center was convicted of sexually abusing a teenage girl committed to the facility. (ICYMI: Last week, we published an op-ed arguing that the detention center is harming, not helping, kids.) [Post/The 51st]
• What a quiet, one-acre urban farm means to the Ward 8 community. [WAMU]
• Capital Bikeshare prices are going up in August. [WTOP]
• A big-name weed retailer is coming to U Street. [Washingtonian]
• Pride is NOT over! Read about Sheila Alexander-Reid, who founded a whole magazine to bring together D.C.'s Black lesbians. [Post]
• Trump's Big Beautiful Bill could cut healthcare coverage for thousands in D.C. [Washington Informer]
• Housing advocates are not happy with Bowser's budget, and they're letting that be known. [Street Sense]
• Something to show people when they shit on D.C. [Washingtonian]

That's all from us! See you here next week.

Colleen