Our favorite 2025 stories from D.C. newsrooms

We’re a small team made of two full-time staffers, part-time editors, and freelance writers. While we’d love to report everything that happens in D.C., we just can’t. 

That’s why we share stories published by other local media outlets in the Read Line section of our newsletter. In that spirit, we’re closing out the year by singling out some of our favorite stories from fellow journalists across the city. 

"Behind the scenes of the D.C. mayor’s battle to keep Trump at bay"
Jonathan O'Connell, The Washington Post

I cover politics and politicians for a living, and I often stop and think: If it was me making that big decision, what would I do? The hypothetical on which I’ve most wildly swung back and forth: How would I, as D.C.’s mayor, have managed the second coming of President Donald Trump? That’s why I think one of the year’s most engaging and enlightening reads was The Washington Post’s inside account of how Mayor Muriel Bowser handled the aftermath of Trump’s D.C. takeover. It’s rich in details that add critical nuance to how the public saw Bowser navigate an almost impossible situation — and the troubling tradeoffs she agreed to that will continue to dog the District. — Martin Austermuhle

"The Missing Men of Mount Pleasant"
Bo Erickson, Washingtonian

This story really stuck with me! I love a story that starts with a reporter digging into a curiosity of their neighborhood. In this case, a makeshift memorial in Mount Pleasant uncovered a much deeper tale about queer love and friendship. As a big fan of queer archives, I thought the accompanying photos and letters, illustrating the anecdotes that accompanied them, added so much texture. Reading it, I was so moved — the story gave me goosebumps at parts and brought me to tears at others. I’m just so glad it was told, and that I could share it with so many friends. — Maddie Poore

"On Places: The Inhabitants of Sherwood Farmhouse Represent a Microcosm of D.C. History"
"On Places: Repurposing—and Queering—an H Street Corridor Carriage House"
Tanya Paperny, Washington City Paper

I’m a firm believer in always reading the plaque — but what if there isn’t one? In a series that launched a couple of months ago, Washington City Paper contributor Tanya Paperny highlights overlooked buildings to explore forgotten D.C. history. Our team loved the first two entries, about a charming 1886 farmhouse in Brookland that hosted prominent anti-war activists in the Vietnam Era, and a carriage house near H Street that was once “a refuge and an incubator for Black gay and lesbian artists and activists.” We’re excited to read more!

If I can mention another, I’m proud of this reported essay from Natalya Buchwald that I edited for 730DC this fall, remembering the legacy — both broad and more personal — of prominent local organizer Arturo Griffiths, who died in June. — Gracie McKenzie

"The lasting impact of Trump’s federal surge on one D.C. neighborhood"
Ellie Silverman, Joy Sung, Juan Benn Jr., and Katie Mettler; The Washington Post

It’s been hard to keep track of everything the Trump administration’s chaotic reign has changed for D.C. residents. So The Post’s decision to zoom in on how a single Congress Heights apartment complex weathered the occupation was a powerful one. The interactive audio-visual piece stitches together video interviews of residents with cell phone footage of a Labor Day cookout suddenly raided by an alphabet soup of federal agents, some with rifles. Regular patrols have harassed residents and terrified their children, the neighbors say. And a series of arrests, mostly for drinking or smoking, has deepened distrust in authorities. It’s the kind of ambitious, well-resourced local reporting we need from The Post, and that I hope its journalists are able to keep doing in 2026. — Abigail Higgins

"Evicted from Nowhere: D.C. Landlords Are Trying to Evict Tenants from Demolished Apartments"
Suzie Amanuel, Washington City Paper

Suzie Amanuel reported more than a dozen really detailed, powerful stories on housing this year for Washington City Paper. I read them all as I wrote newsletters for Spotlight DC, which funded her work. One in particular really stuck with me: An affordable housing complex called Belmont Crossing Apartments promised that tenants who were relocated when the building was demolished could return after construction was finished. But some of these tenants were threatened with eviction for their nonexistent apartments, Amanuel found — and they weren’t alone. Through interviews with affected tenants and legal experts, Amanuel keeps the absurdity of the situation in focus as she breaks down internal documents, including one inadvertently emailed to a former tenant. — Sam Delgado