If you’re like “why does this site feel so 2004” it’s because this absolute genius designed it that way okay

Solid reporting on why "age verification and age assurance" are just fancy ways of saying "online identity checks" and why lawmakers have much better ways to address online harm if they'd just listen to experts and impacted communities www.governing.com/policy/state...

Each week, we list some ways to get engaged in the city — whether that’s protesting, organizing with your neighbors, or testifying before your councilmembers. Here's this week's full guide: 51st.news/washington-d...

NEW: Some D.C. services are facing substantial cuts in the proposed 2027 budget. Is there a city program that you care about that’s on the chopping block? Or a service that you think could use some changes? Here's @samdelgado.bsky.social's guide to getting involved in the budget process:

Excited to celebrate #NationalLibraryWeek with our mayoral forum tomorrow!! It’s been so fun to plan it with The People’s Archive at MLK!

Hungry for better food journalism? New worker-owned outlets like @weareravenous.com are dishing it up. objectivejournalism.org/2026/04/rave...

NAACP: Black Neighborhoods Are Being Sacrificed to Feed Elon Musk's xAI - Capital B News capitalbnews.org/elon-musk-xa...

MeidasTouch host Katie Phang testifies in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the proposed merger of Paramount-Skydance and Warner Bros.: "Democracy cannot survive if powerful people get to decide which facts are allowed to exist and what version of the truth they want to peddle for profit."

🗳️ April is a great time to get election-ready! Build your voting confidence at the DC Board of Elections Ranked Choice Voting Townhall—learn how RCV works & ask your questions. Learn more: https://www.dclibrary.org/civic-learning-library

Once again, I am holding a FREE event to help publishers leave Substack this Thursday. luma.com/qho2psws

Voters in a small Missouri town, unhappy with the city council’s approval of a $6B data center, ousted all four incumbent council members running for reelection

Essential practice 👇 Working this way has helped me build trust with communities of sex workers, people who use drugs, and unhoused folks — all of whom are under/badly covered by media. Be a human first, a journalist second.

good reminder to change your signal notification settings

I feel like not enough people know i have a one-eyed cat. Louie !!

I’m so glad you included this perspective @samdelgado.bsky.social!

NEW: What are you doing this week? What about next week? Or ... the week after?? Don't miss @graciemck.bsky.social's roundup of recurring, free-or-inexpensive events around the city:

Today is #LocalNewsDay, a national day of action promoting the importance of local news to communities like ours. On this special day, will you support our growing newsroom by becoming a paid member?

It's newsletter day! Are you signed up? Get our latest stories in your inbox this afternoon:

I’m so stoked to see it!! Go support this new worker owned outlet!! 😤🤩

BWA BWA BWAAAA airhorn noises, new worker owned collective founded by a group of geniuses!!!

🥳🥳🥳

“The obvious question was, like, ‘Well, have you gone to the doctor?’ His answer was simply, ‘No. I have no money.‘” Mayor Bowser characterized recent cuts to healthcare spending as a way to address rising costs during dire financial times. We talked to the people feeling the pain:

🎉 Hiring news: Thanks to your support during our crowdfunding campaign last month, we’re adding a reporter! Come join our collaborative team making local news by and for D.C.:

The Supreme Court did not strike down conversion therapy bans today. Not nationwide. Not in Colorado. Not anywhere. Here's what actually happened in Chiles v. Salazar—and why the coverage you're seeing serves the conservative legal movement more than it serves you.

Since Thursday, @coyotemedia.org has published stories on: — the IOC’s new sex testing policy — a scene report from a massive geography conference — a local musician’s first solo EPs — Trans Day of Visibility and its costs Paid subscriptions make this work possible!(We also have a tip jar!)

Oh did you want 3300 words from me on today's IOC sex testing rules? An essay on the nature of evidence and why we can't seem to stop getting stuck in the same traps around sex and gender in sports? Wow lucky you!! www.coyotemedia.org/the-olympics...

“These cases are, of course, different in very meaningful ways. Yet both men have been central figures in the modern food system, operating from opposite ends: Redzepi in the world of fine dining; Chavez, among the laborers producing the food that ends up in the world’s kitchens.” — @soleilho.com

Solid turnout at the Wilson Building of child care providers, advocates, and parents protesting @mayorbowser.dc.gov decision to impose a wait list on D.C.’s child care subsidy program in order to contain costs. It goes into effect on May 12.

How are you getting involved around D.C. this week? Our weekly Civics Roundup is out now — don't miss a flower potluck, Narcan distribution, and more from @colleengrablick.bsky.social:

If you want to know what mining in Zambia actually looks like, with the support of @pulitzercenter.org, I sent @thexylom.com's Editor-at-Large KC Cheng to central Zambia to document the prevalent unease among Chinese migrant workers and locals last year: www.thexylom.com/post/six-dec...

We also aim to support more organizations like us! We've helped inform resources like powering.news. Co-founders @abigailhiggins.bsky.social and @maddiepoore.bsky.social just spoke at a local co-op development event with @dc-bci.bsky.social last night! 51st.news/our-team/ 🧵15/?

I have watched 6 hours of a DOGE bro deposition. The whole thing, start to finish. It's a fascinating, and horrifying, look at the people who caused so much damage, didn't really achieve anything at all, while still being so sure they are right. Here's what they said: www.404media.co/i-watched-6-...

I met with AI data labelers in Kenya who are organizing their colleagues to fight the brutal working conditions and horrible pay given to the workers at the "bottom of the AI supply chain." They believe the NDAs they've signed are unenforceable so are speaking out: www.404media.co/ai-is-africa...

Nope

This heartbreaking story, about the after effects of family separation, was written by our very own @tinavasquez.bsky.social. We recommend that you read it:

Last week, I wrote about the DC Court of Appeals' ruling that tossed out the approval of the latest Pepco rate hikes. On Friday, a motion was filed to the DC Public Service Commission's (PSC) to restore rates to what they were before this rate hike, & issue a refund to customers.

"We want to be the newsroom D.C. needs at this critical time, so we’re raising funds to triple our reporting capacity." a quick thread on why you should support this (if you're in the DMV) and similar outlets if you're elsewhere 51st.news/the-51st-is-...

When we were launching @51st.news we received guidance and support from DC's very own coop incubator @dc-bci.bsky.social, join @abigailhiggins.bsky.social and I tonight talking about this growing newsroom model: www.eventbrite.com/e/coops-101-...

In dire need of some good news and this update from @rangemedia.co has me grinning - I <3 coop media. Congrats y'all. www.rangemedia.co/im-back/?ref...

What can be done about your expensive Pepco bill? Financial assistance, energy audits, and avoiding third-party suppliers can help, @samdelgado.bsky.social reports:

Dozens of readers reached out to tell us about the drastic increases they've seen in recent electricity bills from Pepco. @samdelgado.bsky.social dug deep into why this is happening, and what’s being done about it.

Anywho, there's no better time than now to put your ideas out there and invite other people to do things with you. Might as well try. You don't have to know everything before starting. You can just start.

The overall fundraiser is over $150k, and y'all have contributed more than $1000 for me to match (+follows/reposts)! Let's keep it going; this weekend, sign up for a membership with or make a donation to The 51st (any amount!) - and I'll match it *and* send $50 to a food bank of your choice.

DC Statehood yesterday

I don't have the personal capital to do much of anything. But I believe wholeheartedly in our effort to hire more local journalists for DC in the wake of the Post layoffs. And after seeing Russ's extra contribution for Minneapolis (⬇️), I had to give that same amount here. 51st.news/the-51st-is-...

I'm gonna toss in a sweetener here because Valentine's Day sucked and I need a pick-me-up. TONIGHT ONLY: if you make a donation to/buy a membership for @51st.news tonight - of any amount - not only will I match it, but I will send $50 to a good cause in Minneapolis (TBD, but it'll be legit).

Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.

"What we all need to agree and commit it to is that journalism is a public good. Journalism is a thing that we need. Particularly when it comes to local news." For @inequality.org, @millsrodrigo.bsky.social interviewed two 51st co-founders, @abigailhiggins.bsky.social and @maddiepoore.bsky.social:

The 51st has produced so much valuable reporting in just a single year, with only one full-time reporter. Can you imagine what a second year could look like if this newsroom had triple the reporting capacity? The good news is that we don't have to imagine — we can make it happen. ⬇️⬇️⬇️