This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSeventeen of the candidates running for the D.C. Council’s hotly contested at-large seats staked out a wide range of positions during more than four hours of debate this week about how the city should confront its months-long public health emergency, the budget crunch resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, and a public outcry over policing practices and racial inequity.Some candidates vying for attention in the crowded field proposed that the District save money by canceling recently established programs including paid...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSeventeen of the candidates running for the D.C. Council’s hotly contested at-large seats staked out a wide range of positions during more than four hours of debate this week about how the city should confront its months-long public health emergency, the budget crunch resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, and a public outcry over policing practices and racial inequity.Some candidates vying for attention in the crowded field proposed that the District save money by canceling recently established programs including paid...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSydney Miles heard an ominous swishing sound last Thursday in the basement of her childhood home, which she shares with her mother in Northeast Washington’s Edgewood neighborhood. Dim images of the basement appeared on a security camera: Laundry baskets and other small objects floated around in an immense sewage flood.An intense midday rainstorm left her and dozens of neighbors sideswiped by a downpour that unleashed a torrent of wastewater into their homes. Days later, with her basement carpet, toilet and two inches of...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareSydney Miles heard an ominous swishing sound last Thursday in the basement of her childhood home, which she shares with her mother in Northeast Washington’s Edgewood neighborhood. Dim images of the basement appeared on a security camera: Laundry baskets and other small objects floated around in an immense sewage flood.An intense midday rainstorm left her and dozens of neighbors sideswiped by a downpour that unleashed a torrent of wastewater into their homes. Days later, with her basement carpet, toilet and two inches of...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareVisitors arriving from most states to the nation’s capital soon must self-quarantine for 14 days to help slow the increasing spread of the novel coronavirus.D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said , which takes effect Monday, will help the city battle a recent increase in coronavirus infections. It’s the latest action taken this week in the greater Washington region as leaders try to avoid the infection spikes seen elsewhere in the country.“We know, unfortunately, there are states that are seeing significant spikes in new...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareVisitors arriving from most states to the nation’s capital soon must self-quarantine for 14 days to help slow the increasing spread of the novel coronavirus.D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said , which takes effect Monday, will help the city battle a recent increase in coronavirus infections. It’s the latest action taken this week in the greater Washington region as leaders try to avoid the infection spikes seen elsewhere in the country.“We know, unfortunately, there are states that are seeing significant spikes in new...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareWhen the District’s public libraries began gradually reopening in late May, many residents rushed to check out books for the first time in six weeks. By mid-July, the library was opening its doors for six hours a day, five days a week, for patrons who could come inside to borrow items and spend time using public computers at 14 locations.But librarians say the reopening has been poorly handled, exposing both staff members and the public to potential coronavirus risks. They also say library managers have kept staff in the...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareWhen the District’s public libraries began gradually reopening in late May, many residents rushed to check out books for the first time in six weeks. By mid-July, the library was opening its doors for six hours a day, five days a week, for patrons who could come inside to borrow items and spend time using public computers at 14 locations.But librarians say the reopening has been poorly handled, exposing both staff members and the public to potential coronavirus risks. They also say library managers have kept staff in the...WW…

This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareThe plywood boards that have for months covered glass windows and doors in downtown Washington have . Window displays and happy hour specials outnumber the wooden shields and painted placards for the first time since racial justice protests began nearly a year ago, following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.Tall, no-scale fencing that for the better part of a year has been replaced by waist-high aluminum barriers.But behind this easing exterior, the District has amped up its police presence, placing...…This article was published more than 1 year agoCommentGift ShareThe plywood boards that have for months covered glass windows and doors in downtown Washington have . Window displays and happy hour specials outnumber the wooden shields and painted placards for the first time since racial justice protests began nearly a year ago, following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.Tall, no-scale fencing that for the better part of a year has been replaced by waist-high aluminum barriers.But behind this easing exterior, the District has amped up its police presence, placing...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by Leaders in the District, Maryland and Virginia made a joint request to the federal government this week, asking that it take responsibility for vaccinating tens of thousands of essential federal workers who live in the Washington region.“Our request, we acknowledge, is a little bit unconventional and unique. But we would like for it to be entertained and approved,” D.C. Health...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by Leaders in the District, Maryland and Virginia made a joint request to the federal government this week, asking that it take responsibility for vaccinating tens of thousands of essential federal workers who live in the Washington region.“Our request, we acknowledge, is a little bit unconventional and unique. But we would like for it to be entertained and approved,” D.C. Health...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharecorrectionEarlier versions of this story misattributed a quote. It was Anita Jenkins of Howard University Hospital who said: “We were ‘voluntold’ ... No, no, we were given the opportunity — it didn’t matter to any of us who we got.”  In addition, Bonnie Levin’s comment about officials not anticipating problems with vaccine signups referred to public health officials in general, not specifically to D.C. officials.The first precious boxloads of the frozen elixir arrived in December, bearing great promise for curtailing the...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift SharecorrectionEarlier versions of this story misattributed a quote. It was Anita Jenkins of Howard University Hospital who said: “We were ‘voluntold’ ... No, no, we were given the opportunity — it didn’t matter to any of us who we got.”  In addition, Bonnie Levin’s comment about officials not anticipating problems with vaccine signups referred to public health officials in general, not specifically to D.C. officials.The first precious boxloads of the frozen elixir arrived in December, bearing great promise for curtailing the...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by Indoor restaurants can reopen Friday in the District, even as the rate of new daily coronavirus infections in the city has stayed well above the target for such activities for more than two months.Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) ordered in December what she termed a “holiday pause” on indoor dining and several other activities. At the time, she promised to allow those activities to resume...…This article was published more than 2 years agoGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by Indoor restaurants can reopen Friday in the District, even as the rate of new daily coronavirus infections in the city has stayed well above the target for such activities for more than two months.Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) ordered in December what she termed a “holiday pause” on indoor dining and several other activities. At the time, she promised to allow those activities to resume...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by D.C. lawmakers advocated for changing coronavirus vaccine policies Wednesday during a contentious meeting, saying White residents are edging out Black residents in vying for scarce appointments during the first week vaccines are being administered to seniors.Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt defended her department’s process for allocating vaccines, in which residents register...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareThis article is free to access.Why?The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service.Follow this story and more by D.C. lawmakers advocated for changing coronavirus vaccine policies Wednesday during a contentious meeting, saying White residents are edging out Black residents in vying for scarce appointments during the first week vaccines are being administered to seniors.Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt defended her department’s process for allocating vaccines, in which residents register...WW…

This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareD.C. voters upended city hall politics in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, ousting an ally of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser in favor of an insurgent left-leaning candidate and ending the political career of a veteran lawmaker tarred by scandal.D.C. Council member Brandon T. Todd (D-Ward 4) lost his reelection bid to Janeese Lewis George, a lawyer and who had been endorsed by her former employer, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D).In affluent Ward 2, voters decisively rejected Jack Evans’s he held for nearly three decades...…This article was published more than 2 years agoCommentGift ShareD.C. voters upended city hall politics in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, ousting an ally of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser in favor of an insurgent left-leaning candidate and ending the political career of a veteran lawmaker tarred by scandal.D.C. Council member Brandon T. Todd (D-Ward 4) lost his reelection bid to Janeese Lewis George, a lawyer and who had been endorsed by her former employer, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D).In affluent Ward 2, voters decisively rejected Jack Evans’s he held for nearly three decades...WW…