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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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Good Monday afternoon, D.C. Winter weather predictions have been all over the map. But the next two weeks in particular are supposed to see some big temperature swings, from highs approaching 70 degrees this week to lows in the 30s this weekend. Here’s some news you might have missed while you were basking in the Spirit’s semifinal win in penalty kicks to advance to the NWSL championship.
Arts Ouster
Stephanie Stebich, the former director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, was quietly removed from the leadership role and given another job this summer, following complaints from staff. She is now a senior adviser in the Smithsonian Institution.
Senior members of the museum’s staff sent a letter in July 2023 to Smithsonian leadership outlining years of frustration. In mostly anonymous interviews with the Post, museum employees described how Stebich berated them in public meetings, gave contradictory directions, and blamed them for her mistakes.
During an all-staff meeting in the spring of 2023, a group of consultants led an activity where staff were asked to anonymously list their top concerns, which then appeared in a word cloud projected on a big screen. “Burnout,” “bullying,” and “staff morale” were among the submissions. But ultimately, the phrase “toxic director” took over the cloud because so many employees submitted it.
Ink Stained
Pete Hegseth, a Fox News personality and President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, was labeled an “insider threat” by a fellow member of the National Guard due to a tattoo on his bicep that has been linked to white supremacist groups.
The episode resulted in Hegseth being instructed not to deploy with his District of Columbia National Guard unit, which was assigned to protect President Joe Biden during his 2021 inauguration.
The tattoo in question says “Deus Vult.” The Latin phrase that translates to “God wills it,” a Christian battle cry during the First Crusade in the Middle Ages. It has become popular among white nationalists. Hegseth resigned from the guard after he was told to stand down in 2021. He has also been accused, in a separate incident, of raping a woman in 2017. He has said the encounter was consensual and paid her an undisclosed amount in a settlement that includes a confidentiality clause.
—Mitch Ryals (tips? mryals@washingtoncitypaper.com)
About four years ago, Freddie the Beagle was on the streets. Now he’s one of six pups in the Beagle Brigade that patrol Washington Dulles International Airport sniffing for food that travelers are not allowed to bring into the country. [Post]
Lela Sandoval lost two sons this year. The first, John Smith III, died following a brain aneurysm in July. The second, Bryan Smith, a D.C.-based DJ and barber, died following an attack by a group of young people on T Street NW. Two teenagers have been arrested in Bryan Smith’s death, and though they aren’t yet charged with murder, police believe they were involved in a string of other robberies that same day. [Post]
Four Black entrepreneurs sought to to develop a “Chevy Chase for Black people” in 1906. They planned to call it Belmont, but the endeavor fell apart when the Chevy Chase Land Company, which owned the area where they wanted to build, refused to complete the sales. “Belmont exemplified the ambition of Washington’s early-20th century Black community and foreshadowed the coming struggle over housing segregation,” says a Roadside Historical Marker installed in September. [Washingtonian]
By City Paper Staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)
Plans to overhaul the Rock Creek Park Golf Course were approved amid pushback from environmentalists months ago, but opponents haven’t given up. They’re sounding the alarm about work that’s already being done on the site, arguing it signals a start to the removal of more than 1,000 trees on the property. The course’s management, however, says it’s merely cleaning up trees that have already fallen down. [NBC Washington]
The clock is ticking on legislation to hand D.C. control of the RFK Stadium site, and the Senate is set to hold a hearing on the bill this week. But amendments from Utah Sen. Mike Lee and others could once again hold up the process. [WJLA]
President-elect Trump should use several special tax incentives to spur the revitalization of downtown D.C., argues prominent developer Paul Dougherty. [WBJ]
By Alex Koma (tips? akoma@washingtoncitypaper.com)
Oyster Oyster is partnering with the company Terratela to turn its food waste into clothing. For the Shaw restaurant, that means a T-shirt made from soybean hulls, seaweed, and hemp. [WUSA9]
Divino, a new northern Italian restaurant from chef Daniel Perron and owner Luca Giovannini, is opening today in Glover Park. [Washingtonian]
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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