Photo illustration by Emma Spainhoward with photograph by Getty Images.
Good morning. Sunny with a high of 73 today, and a low of 46 overnight. (Winter is so over, the Capital Weather Gang says.) The Wizards are in Detroit tonight, and the Caps will visit Anaheim. You can find me on Bluesky, I’m @abeaujon.87 on Signal, and there’s a link to my email address at the bottom of this post.
I can’t stop listening to:
Kim Deal, “Big Ben Beat.” Thanksgiving, Christmas, and an impending administration change kept me from getting to Kim Deal’s solo album in a timely fashion, but the delightfully weird video for this track got me to take the plunge, and I am happy to report that the water is fine.
Here’s some administration news you might have blocked out:
• The White House tried to characterize yesterday’s stock sell-off as “blips in the data,” but investors are wobbly. (Washington Post) President Trump has changed his message about Americans’ prosperity. (NYT)
DOGE days of March: Elon Musk said he plans to double DOGE’s staff and remain in Washington for another year. (NBC News) (P.S.: It’s only been seven weeks since Trump took office. It only feels like a year.) DOGE staffers are aware that they don’t have the best PR and are looking for “wins.” (Washington Post) Musk…um…”pushed debunked theories” about Social Security again. (AP) DOGE should be subject to FOIA, a federal judge said. (Politico) NASA will eliminate its chief scientist position. (NYT) NLRB staff welcomed Gwynne Wilcox back to work. (Lawrence Ukenye)
• “The Justice Department’s pardon attorney was dismissed a day after she refused to recommend that the actor Mel Gibson, a prominent supporter of President Trump’s, should have his gun rights restored.” (NYT)
• DNI Tulsi Gabbard stripped security clearances from Anthony Blinken, Mark Zaid, and others. She also canceled former President Biden‘s security briefings, something Biden also did for Trump. (NBC News)
• Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a number of…um….unusual claims about measles. (NYT)
Three ways to make the most of today’s nice weather, by Daniella Byck
Theodore Roosevelt Island. Photograph by the National Park Service.
Kick rocks, Punxsutawney Phil! It officially feels like spring in DC, and there are many ways to partake in this writer’s favorite activity: simply sitting in the fresh air. For an easy picnic, grab onigiri from Hana Japanese Market and spread a blanket in Meridian Hill Park or bring provisions from Green Almond Pantry to Georgetown Waterfront Park. Enjoy drinks al fresco at a drink garden (Calico in Blagden Alley), rooftop bar (Tiki TNT at the Wharf), or waterfront spot (Barca in Old Town). If you’re hit by the urge to move, consider taking a walk along Roosevelt Island’s 1.5-mile Swamp Trail or Sligo Creek Trail in Montgomery County.
Recently on Washingtonian dot com:
• Demolition began at Black Lives Matter Plaza yesterday.
• Dentists say the whole Trump-Musk thing has people around here cracking their teeth.
• They’re also taking up ax-throwing, yoga, and knitting.
• Baylen Dupree from the TLC show “Baylen Out Loud” told us about her life in Arlington.
Local news links:
• Sudiksha Konanki, a college student from Loudoun County, is missing in the Dominican Republic. Local officials fear she has drowned. (People)
• Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, and members of the DC Council visited Capitol Hill yesterday to try to get Republicans to correct a funding patch that would blow a nearly $1 billion hole in the District’s budget. (Politico) The House Rules Committee did not adopt Norton’s proposed fix. (Hill Rag)
• The Washington Post will overhaul its newsroom. (Axios) Ruth Marcus resigned from the paper’s opinion shop yesterday, saying publisher Will Lewis killed one of her columns. (NPR)
• WMATA will eliminate its DEI and sustainability offices. (Washington Post)
• “Job posting data shows there are not enough ‘knowledge worker’ roles in the DMV to support the estimated flood of fired federal workers who could soon be looking for a job.” (Axios D.C.)
• The Ottawa pension fund PSP Investments is in talks to buy out Hoffman-Madison Waterfront, the majority owner of the Wharf. (Bisnow)
• Chocolate Chocolate has new owners. (Golden Triangle BID)
• Fancy PB&Js fuel the Washington Wizards. (Washington Post)
• Here’s how cuts to NPS have affected area parks (Axios D.C.)
• Rat poison is killing DC wildlife. (Washington Post)
Tuesday’s event picks:
• City Cast podcast founder David Plotz will talk news with Amanda Ripley at Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library.
• Learn to are for your plants at Jungle & Loom.
• JoAnn Hill discusses DC’s weird and wonderful places at the West End Neighborhood Library.
See more picks from Briana Thomas, who writes our Things to Do newsletter.
Did you miss our 100 Very Best Restaurants List? It’s here.
Tuesday awaits!
Senior editor
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.