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As another election cycle comes to a close, we wanted to share this quote from D.C.’s new shadow senator, Ankit Jain, in our People Issue:
“If you’re a young Indian boy or a Latina girl, you don’t have to look like everyone else in the majority population in the city to run for office and get elected. D.C. is Chocolate City, and everyone knows that, but what people don’t talk about as much is that we have a large immigrant population. It’s important for that community to have representation and people who understand that perspective.”
This moment, captured by Alex Koma, reminds us of the importance of our work.
We’re already navigating the outcomes of the results of the election and what it all means for you. To help us do this, we’re aiming to raise $22,025 by the end of 2024.
Help us hold D.C.’s newly elected officials accountable in 2025 and keep an eye on those in power. Contribute to our year-end campaign today.
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Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s bill to improve D.C.’s flailing juvenile justice system has quite the name: the ROAD Act, short for “Recidivism Reduction, Oversight, and Accountability for the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.” Loose Lips might humbly suggest that “alley” or “lane” would be a better backronym, considering its limited ambitions.
Most councilmembers and experts working on these issues believe the legislation is still worthwhile, as far as it goes, and the bill is likely to pass with strong support before the end of the year. But it is only designed to make a few small-bore tweaks that will not meaningfully address the biggest problems within DYRS: chiefly, overcrowding and understaffing within the city’s jail for kids charged or convicted of crimes. Instead, the bill merely requires the agency to conduct risk assessments of children committed to its custody more quickly and creates new avenues for attorneys to argue for the release of kids from confinement at the jail.
A bizarre disconnect in the debate about the bill has unfolded over the past few weeks. At best, councilmembers feel it’s necessary but not sufficient for meaningfully improving conditions for kids. At worst, Mayor Muriel Bowser has opposed it completely, arguing that a total overhaul of the city’s fractured juvenile justice system is necessary instead. Either way, relatively little discussion of the bill has been on its specific merits. Rather, the debate has sprawled into much thornier arguments that aren’t likely to be resolved for some time.
Bowser’s proposal to create a “unified system” of juvenile justice has proven to be particularly divisive. On the one hand, some advocates see it as a necessary, if difficult, step toward building autonomy for the District, as it would involve taking back control of some functions from D.C.’s federally controlled court system. Bowser’s plan could also allow the city to offer services to kids when they’re accused of crimes but not yet convicted of anything, essentially intervening earlier in the process, which is widely seen as a step that would bring the District more in line with best practices in other states.
“I think we cannot not consider it,” says Tracy Velazquez, policy director for the Council for Court Excellence, a local nonprofit that works on justice issues. “We currently have a system where decisions about youth and their placements is fragmented. … I don’t think we ever can get to making an informed choice on how the system should be organized if we don’t take that first step of outlining a potential plan.”
But some argue that all this talk is merely a distraction. It might be helpful for the city to have these powers, but there’s little reason to expect the District will succeed in regaining them anytime soon—particularly with hostile Republicans seizing unified control of the federal government.
For a closer look at the pros and cons of the mayor’s proposal and what comes next for juvenile justice in the city, check out our full story online.
—Alex Koma (tips? akoma@washingtoncitypaper.com)
A 71-year-old man with a history of fraud convictions pleaded guilty Monday to filing a fake application to the pandemic rental assistance program STAY DC. Geary Simon received a little more than $38,000 from the program by by pretending to be his own landlord and claiming he was owed $72,000 in rent. Simon was once a D.C. government contractor and developer and has been convicted of fraud or business-related crimes at least three times before. [WJLA]
Metro is considering a proposal that would split Silver Line trains traveling east of Stadium Armory, sending half of them to New Carrollton and half to downtown Largo. The regional transit agency is also thinking about restoring Yellow Line service to Greenbelt. The Metro board will meet Thursday to discuss the changes. [WJLA]
A man was pronounced dead after emergency responders pulled his body from the Anacostia River Monday. The man, who has not been identified, reportedly fell into the water from a boat at the District Yacht Club around 6:30 p.m. A D.C. Fire and EMS boat used sonar to locate his body, which they found around 11 p.m. [WTOP]
Homicides and carjackings, two crimes that have steadily increased in recent years, are trending downward so far in 2024. Homicides are down 28 percent compared to this time last year (176 as of Monday); the 458 carjackings in 2024 are almost half of the total by this time in 2023. [Axios]
By City Paper Staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)
Is Mayor Bowser violating ethics rules by accepting lavish international trips as gifts? Her office says the U.S. Conference of Mayors paid for her travel to conferences in Miami and Dubai, and claims that EventsDC reimbursed developer Edens for her trip to the Masters golf tournament in Georgia. But EventsDC can’t provide proof of that payment, and Bowser hasn’t reported any of these sojourns as either donations or gifts, as required by D.C. law. [WJLA]
“I can’t predict what they’re going to try to do to us,” At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson says of the incoming Republican majorities in Congress. “I can just prepare to respond.” [AP]
A D.C. woman was facing thousands in erroneous speed camera fines, as a driver with a very similar license plate kept getting caught breaking traffic rules. The Department of Motor Vehicles initially directed her to fight each case individually, which proved to be extremely time-consuming. It took questions from reporters to convince the DMV to look into the case and dismiss all the fines. [FOX5]
By Alex Koma (tips? akoma@washingtoncitypaper.com)
Places we probably weren’t going to patronize anyway: the Big Board, Cafe Milano, the Capital Grille, Dirty Water, RPM Italian, and others are the speculative spots where Trump supporters might hang in D.C. [Washingtonian]
It costs $90 to get into Capital One Landing, the new lounge at National Airport featuring a menu crafted by José Andrés. They don’t even have showers or nap pods? Hard pass. [Post]
Charlie Palmer Steak, which has occupied a prime location across from the U.S. Capitol since 2002, will close Nov. 29. The team was reportedly unable to reach an agreement for a new lease. [Eater]
By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)
Sarah Marloff is away from her desk. Arts links will return later this week.
By Sarah Marloff (tips? smarloff@washingtoncitypaper.com)
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