Now, more than ever, is the time to support your local media. For real—subscribe to your local newspapers. They’re one of the few bastions of free speech and 1A. I support @51st.news in DC. What do your recommend for your city?

D.C. doesn’t have its own prison, so its residents are sent to federal facilities all over the country. This is a bad system that serves no one. Story via @51st.news.

We’ve been reporting on the Commanders stadium deal since it was first unveiled by Mayor Bowser in late April. Now that it’s officially approved, here are some takeaways from @maustermuhle.bsky.social on D.C.’s single biggest investment in any sports team to date.

As the Trump administration targets hospitals and schools, parents are scrambling to protect their kids. What does that mean in the D.C. area? For our first story in partnership with @19thnews.org, @oriion.bsky.social interviewed five local families:

This week's takeover update from @maustermuhle.bsky.social: So...... what happens now? Also: 🚁 That helicopter you've been hearing might be CBP 🚔 Has Congress been stiffing D.C. on police costs?

I think you should fund orgs like @51st.news (maybe you do already) @capitalb.bsky.social and @19thnews.org . These are fairly new organizations that I think does amazing work 19thnews.org/2025/09/tran...

My dad was at DC Jail for almost a year, then sent to southern VA, and then transferred to Seagoville, just outside of Dallas. Removing people away from where their families can visit and they can remain somewhat connected to where they live in no way prepares people to be healthy when they get out.

The problems with D.C.’s beloved, newly renovated Fort Dupont Ice Rink became clear earlier this month. In a cave, stalagmites are a natural curiosity. On an ice rink, they’re a problem. What's delaying the rink's reopening? @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports:

D.C. doesn’t have its own prison, so its residents are sent to federal facilities all over the country. This is a bad system that serves no one, Askia Afrika-Ber writes. This writer is a D.C. resident currently incarcerated at USP Hazelton in West Virginia, published here via More Than Our Crimes:

What are you doing this weekend? Brazilian drumming, '90s nostalgia, a clay festival? Choose your own adventure in our weekly events guide:

D.C. parents! A few readers have told us their children are struggling emotionally with the federal takeover and increased local law enforcement presence. We’re wondering: What strategies have you found to support your kids? And what information might help you in this challenging moment?

Want to make D.C. a better place this week? Options in our weekly civic engagement roundup from @colleengrablick.bsky.social: 🏝️ Love-Island-themed fundraiser for local climate organizers and migrant families 🌳 Kid-friendly park cleanup ✊ What we can learn from Andor about resistance in D.C.

Lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to a $3.7B deal to bring the Washington Commanders back to D.C. — and into a 65,000-seat roofed stadium at the old RFK site. What can we expect? @maustermuhle.bsky.social has the details:

I have seen so much joy & laughter in trans kids that I know. And the parents of trans kids that I know are really amazing parents. I will fight for their kids to access appropriate medical care, attend school, use restrooms, and live as who they are.

Families in and around Washington, D.C., are navigating the White House’s crackdown on gender-affirming care and a growing assertion of federal power. This story was produced in partnership with @51st.news, a worker-led local news source for D.C.

D.C.’s beloved Fort Dupont ice rink closed in early 2023 for a $40 million demolition and reconstruction. The group that has managed the rink since the mid-1990s says local officials have mismanaged that work, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports.

“We deserve to live here. She deserves to live here. No trans person is asking for more rights. Just stop picking on us.” @oriion.bsky.social spoke to five local families about their experience raising trans kids right now in the D.C. area. In partnership with @19thnews.org:

It's Thursday! In your inbox today: Raising trans kids in Trump's D.C. (our first story in partnership with @19thnews.org), a beloved D.C. ice rink faces an uncertain future, the Commanders get their stadium, and how the Federal Bureau of Prisons is failing D.C. residents:

An important read on the anti-democratic voted yesterday in the US House of Representatives. #FreeDC

Follow for all of @maustermuhle.bsky.social's council updates:

The D.C. Council is back tomorrow! The lawmakers will be busy working their way through consequential local bills – from a controversial housing bill, to the Commanders stadium deal, to police raises – all while trying to fend off aggressive Congressional interference. 51st.news/dc-council-f...

A news tidbit: This week the D.C. Council will vote on an emergency bill from @cmchenderson.bsky.social that will allow pharmacies to administer the COVID-19 vaccine without a doctor's prescription. Because of changes at the federal level, local pharmacies have been requiring a prescription.

Fall is the perfect season for a stroll. With a new book from two D.C. experts, you can turn your walk into an hour-long history lesson. 51st.news/dc-authors-2...

This was published almost a year ago, but is more important than ever. DC needs The 51st! Become a member today: 51st.news/dc-deserves-...

The @newrepublic.com actually does very useful and helpful REPORTING. How about @propublica.org? Excellent. The @51st.news is doing excellent actual reporting. So is @thetriibe.com in Chicago. There are so many other places to get actual useful news.

"But in the eyes of Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council, TOPA is a burden on developers and delays the timeline of transactions. In other words, tenant rights are always expendable in the name of landlord profits." 51st.news/dc-tenant-as...

I know most WaPo subscribers outside the DMV are/were in it for their national reporting but also consider our local news groups for support!

D.C. used to limit police collaboration with immigration enforcement. This video investigation from @bellingcat.com and @evidentmedia.org shows how much that's changed. 51st.news/dc-police-wo...

The session took place on the final day of President Trump’s 30-day takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department, indicating that while one form of federal control was coming to an end, a new form of interference was just getting started. 51st.news/house-republ...

Cheers 🍎🍇🍒🍏🍓

“We all kind of came together randomly, but we were the perfect random people to work together on this.” 51st.news/dc-authors-2...

Write letters to incarcerated D.C. residents, unite with members of the city's queer community, brush up on your rights as a tenant, and more opportunities to get engaged in the city this week.

Start a stamp collection, cheer on half-marathoners, and salsa all the ways (dancing and eating!) with our weekly events guide.

Four D.C. tenant unions penned a letter against the RENTAL Act, read it here:

House Republicans played D.C. Council this week, advancing 14 bills targeting everything from the District's traffic cameras and criminal justice laws to how residents chose an attorney general: 51st.news/house-republ...

Enjoy Art All Night multiple nights (plus an art walk and a show by artists with disabilities), and attend Adams Morgan Day this weekend.

“In the eyes of Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council, TOPA is a burden on developers and delays the timeline of transactions. In other words, tenant rights are always expendable in the name of landlord profits.”

The team behind "22 Walks In Washington That You Must Not Miss" explains why the book is essential for newcomers and longtime residents alike. 51st.news/dc-authors-2...

Meet the three young vintners who turn local apples, berries, cherries, and grapes into Spinning Wheel Wines.

D.C. residents currently elect the city's attorney general, but under a bill that advanced in the House this week, President Trump would instead get to appoint the city's chief law enforcement officer. That was among 14 bills targeting D.C.: 51st.news/house-republ...

The occupation feels relentless but there are things you can do: film arrests, attend a @freedcproject.bsky.social orientation, and dance it all out at a Latin Afrobeats Hip Hop Fundraiser for @dcmigrantmutualaid.org 51st.news/free-dc-civi...

If you're as thankful as we are for Martin's reporting, help fund the work: 51st.news/signup

A 🧵: It was a wild day for D.C. in Congress yesterday, where a House committee advanced 14 bills targeting the city – everything from banning traffic cameras to giving Trump the power to appoint the city's attorney general. I've got a detailed write-up in @51st.news: 51st.news/house-republ...

I'm back from maternity leave and our newsletter is in your inbox! Open it for brief musings on becoming a parent in a city under military occupation and some really great reporting on how Republicans' relentless targeting of D.C.

@51st.news is vital reading for anyone interested in D.C., or in the existence of democracy in the United States

Our latest newsletter just landed in your inbox: The GOP wants to control D.C. so bad (14 bills later), plus a spotlight on local winemakers, a new book on D.C.‘s best walks, and attacks on tenants’ rights.

As Trump's federal surge to tackle crime in D.C. continues, his administration is undermining a local law meant to prevent gun deaths.

We're so proud of @ericfalquero.bsky.social for being part of this cohort! The 51st is lucky to have him and excited for what we will learn.

"Federal prosecutors say they are coming after illegal guns in D.C. – but not the illegal high-capacity magazines that can feed those guns dozens of bullets at a time." important scoop from @maustermuhle.bsky.social for @51st.news 51st.news/high-capacit...

More news, in making D.C. safer.....