Why D.C.'s mayor doesn't have an official residence is a very D.C. story that involved fights over the location, local and federal concerns, and more: dcist.com/story/12/04/...

A DC Water policy change this year left renters without access to water at home for weeks due to their landlords' inaction. Four days after we published this story from @maustermuhle.bsky.social, the D.C. Council amended the municipal regulations. Help us make more impact in 2026? 51st.news/signup

Interesting: An administrative judge in D.C. has reversed MPD's firing of an officer who in late 2023 drove his department-issued vehicle while under the influence to try and interfere with D.C. police who had stopped his fiancée for allegedly driving under the influence.

Subscribe to @51st.news, damn it! That’s a direct order from your favorite former DCist editor.

This Petworth home wins the holiday season.

NEWS: The Trump administration has canceled the 50-year lease given to the National Links Trust to manage the D.C. golf courses at East Potomac Park, Rock Creek, and Langston. The group won the leases five years ago, and had started work renovating the Rock Creek course.

Interesting: Here's the solicitation put out by the D.C. Board of Elections earlier this month for a consultant to help implement ranked-choice voting for 2026. "This is a significant undertaking, and a RCV expert can help make this transition to RCV voting smoother," it says.

Per the D.C. CFO, the impact of the federal government layoffs may finally be hitting the city's revenues. He says in a new revenue estimate that sales/withholding tax collections for October were down, potentially reflecting the layoffs taking effect.

What. A. Year. It. Has. Been. Locals have lost jobs because of the slashing of the federal workforce. D.C.'s local laws and budget have been targeted by the GOP. And Trump flooded the streets with federal troops. I can't imagine a more important time for independent media.

There's been another setback for the @dcaffordability.bsky.social ballot initiative that would impose a two-year rent freeze in D.C., among other provisions. A legal assessment from @dcattorneygeneral.bsky.social says a provision changing how D.C. spends money on affordable housing is unlawful.

Interesting: @brianneknadeau.bsky.social has a new bill that would require that D.C.'s mayor set five-year goals for housing construction (affordable and market) and give them additional authority to propose ways to reduce barriers to construction in places that don't meet the goals.

NEWS: D.C.'s CFO comes bearing gifts today. He's told the D.C. Council that there's $51 million in additional money from the last fiscal year (which ended Sept. 30), and that it will be used to pay for programs and items on the council's contingency list.

Gotta give big props to the Downtown D.C. Holiday Market. In the last few years it has gotten *way* better, and proves that people will absolutely come out for well-planned car-free spaces and events. More of this, D.C.!

We knew it was coming, but @mayorbowser.dc.gov has formally created the RFK Stadium Project Management Office, which will take the lead on coordinating and facilitating all the work to build a new Commanders stadium and the related residential and retail development at RFK.

NEWS: The Department of Justice has sued D.C., claiming that the city's elections board did not turn over extensive amounts of voter information, including driver's license and partial Social Security numbers. DOJ has sued 22 states for not turning over all that information.

OK, I need some help: For anyone who's got a 12-year-old kid, what books are they reading and really loving? Looking for ideas of books to get my daughter. (If you're reading this, kiddo, get off of social media.)

NEWS: D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto, joined by her 12 colleagues, has sent a letter to Chief Pamela Smith asking for answers on MPD's cooperation with federal agents on law enforcement/immigration enforcement. She says answers would help "ensure accountability & bolster public trust."

Interesting: Trump may just have legalized recreational weed sales in D.C. A congressional rider has banned those sales in D.C. since 2015. But it specifically references Schedule I drugs, which weed was. With Trump rescheduling marijuana, the rider may no longer apply.

At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie announced this week he’s stepping down from @councilofdc.bsky.social after 13 years in office. Given his open musings about running for mayor, the news isn't a surprise, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports — but it's setting off an unprecedented chain of events.

For you football-loving drivers: A new bill from soon-to-depart Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie would create a Washington Commanders specialty license plate in D.C., with the tag fees going to a fund for youth sports in the city. The Nats, Capitals, Wizards, and Mystics have their own tags.

Interesting point here: In response to recent accusations from House Republicans and U.S. Attorney for D.C. that MPD officials were fudging crime numbers, Carroll says he's going to establish a dedicated team to audit crime data and ensure it's accurate.

Today @mayorbowser.dc.gov is appointing 21-year MPD veteran Jeffrey Carroll as interim police chief in the wake of Pamela Smith’s resignation at the end of the year.

In testimony to D.C. Council, Metro General Manager Randy Clarke says a key to getting people to and from the new Commanders stadium at RFK will be bus rapid transit from Union Station. "It's critical... we need to be able to get a lot of people on the Red Line and take BRT to the site," he says.

Inbox: @mayorbowser.dc.gov will be announcing her interim chief of police today at 1:30. Current Chief Pamela Smith departs on December 31.

"Public service is much like seasons. I know when it’s time to step forward into a new season," says McDuffie in his final comments from the D.C. Council dais. "I am not done serving the residents," he adds, hinting to his upcoming mayoral run.

The D.C. Council is now starting to debate the emergency bill from Councilmember Anita Bonds that would delay the rollout of ranked-choice voting beyond next year. "Does the city have adequate time to educate and demonstrate?" asks Bonds, a longtime skeptic of ranked-choice voting.

Interesting: @cmlewisgeorgew4.bsky.social has introduced a bill that would significantly restrict when D.C. can assist in federal immigration enforcement in the city. Unless there was a judicial warrant, D.C. couldn't help transport immigration agents or conduct surveillance.

Interesting: @mayorbowser.dc.gov says she is “concerned about the [election board’s] ability to implement a glitch-free election” with ranked-choice voting in 2026. She’s siding with Bonds on delaying the rollout of RCV.

NEWS: At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie says he will be resigning from the D.C. Council on January 5, 2026. That's in preparation for his run for mayor, since he will be changing his party affiliation to Democrat and he's currently in an At-Large seat reserved for non-Democrats.

Later today the D.C. Council will vote on an emergency bill that would delay ranked-choice voting. Councilmember Anita Bonds, who introduced the bill, says she worries that the D.C. Board of Elections isn't ready to educate voters ahead of the 2026 elections. But...

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Interesting: New data from @brookings.edu shows that spending in D.C. dropped significantly when President Trump deployed the National Guard in mid-August. Similarly, hotel revenue has been on a steady decline since mid-summer. www.brookings.edu/articles/con...

Ahead of tomorrow's D.C. Council vote on a bill delaying ranked-choice voting, five candidates in the Ward 1 race say lawmakers should "bolster the efforts of the Board of Elections rather than wasting time and sowing doubt about the rules of an election that is underway."

Since 2014 almost every D.C. election cycle has included an initiative on the ballot — and 2026 could end up being especially crowded. That increase, and the issues these ballot measures are addressing, is prompting pushback from some quarters of D.C., @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports:

Really fun to join @ward5familybiking.bsky.social today for one of their monthly rides. So many kids, so many cargo bikes, and even Santa came along!

Related to the ongoing debate in D.C. over when ranked-choice voting can be properly pulled off next year, the Bipartisan Policy Center has an interesting new report on what that transition can require. In D.C. it'll be less of a technical change, but much more of an education effort.

Interesting: There seem to be some issues within the Executive Protection Unit, the MPD unit that protects @mayorbowser.dc.gov on a daily basis. One current member and one former member are suing MPD over allegations that their lieutenant unlawfully retaliated against them.

NEWS: At-Large Councilember Anita Bonds will try to delay ranked-choice voting's rollout at next Tuesday's D.C. Council session. She has an emergency bill that would push RCV to 2027, instead of it being used next year. She says there isn't enough time for outreach and education.

A two-year rent freeze. A ban on foie gras and Daylight Saving Time. A $25 minimum wage – and no more tipped wage. These are all things D.C. could be voting on next year. Are D.C.'s ballot initiatives people-powered democracy, or have they gone too far? 51st.news/dc-ballot-in...

Pretty big fundraising haul for @janeese4dc.bsky.social since she announced her mayoral run less than 2 weeks ago: Per her campaign, she took $218,000 from more than 3,100 donors, almost 2,600 of which are D.C. residents. With that, she should be getting more than $900,000 in public funds.

Hmmm: This month @mayorbowser.dc.gov quietly removed Shantelle Wright, the chair of the D.C. Public Charter School Board, from her position. She's been on the board since 2022, but served as chair since late last year. No reason has been given for the sudden removal.

Interesting: Four Democratic senators are asking the Trump administration about its plan to dramatically scale up the U.S. Park Police's presence in D.C. They worry it's a "a tool of the President for him and his ideological extremists to impose their will on the streets of D.C."

Interesting: Urbanist group @ggwash.org is suing @ddotdc.bsky.social over its refusal/failure to release a study the city conducted on congestion pricing possibilities in downtown D.C. The study was finished in 2020, but has never been made public – even in response to FOIA requests.

Per an analysis from the D.C. CFO's office, there are 11% more women than men in D.C., a far higher gap than in surrounding states or the country at large. Also, women helped lead D.C.'s population recovery after the pandemic. (Link: ora-cfo.dc.gov/blog/populat...)

Random D.C. trash fact: There are some 6,600 public trash cans in the D.C., and replacing them with sealed cans that wirelessly notify the city when they need to be emptied (simplifying the pickup process, and helping mitigate rats) would cost almost $30 million.

Interesting: At an event, Bosboys and Poets owner Andy Shallal says D.C. should have some form of commercial rent limits to protect small/local businesses that could be priced out by landlords raising rents. He says he moved his NoMa location after landlord wanted 30% increase.

Update: A proposed ballot initiative would increase D.C.’s minimum wage to $25 by 2029 and get rid of the tipped wage by 2031. It would also require that service charges go to employees. The initiative is being pushed by same groups behind I-82, which was partially repealed.

Update: After plenty of pestering by the D.C. Council, OSSE says it is finalizing a contract to put GPS trackers in the buses that carry kids with special education needs to and from school. This will allow parents to better know when the buses will pick up and drop off kids.

The D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability is again charging Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White for not filing required financial disclosure forms for parts of 2024 and all of 2025. These disclosure forms are pretty basic: any other sources of income, investments, gifts, etc.

NEWS: @mayorbowser.dc.gov says that D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith is stepping down on December 31. That’s going to leave a big opening at the top of MPD’s ranks, just as Bowser goes into her last year in office.