Opinion

If anyone running for elective office this year in DC promises to expand existing government programs, turn and walk away. Do not give a second thought to marking your primary or general election ballot for such a fantastical thinker. The…

I spent last week exploring the disturbing connection between COVID-19, race and class, and speaking with experts about how it could be broken. Doing so won’t be easy, that’s for sure. Recent statistics from New York City, Chicago,…

For nearly a decade, DC officials have promised to construct a purpose-built building for the District’s archives. Despite appropriating millions five years ago, they have not delivered, endangering the irreplaceable physical materials…

Late last month Congress cheated DC out of its fair share of federal relief aid, and now we learn that the District faces an anticipated $607 million revenue shortfall due to the impact of COVID-19. Congress saddled Washingtonians with a…

The DC Council mandated last week in its COVID-19 Response Supplemental Emergency Act of 2020 that the DC Board of Elections mail a ballot request form to every eligible voter for the June 2 primary and the June 16 Ward 2 special election.…

Here in the District of Columbia and across the nation, we have upended normal life to combat the coronavirus — insisting on social distancing, for instance, and transferring learning from school to home, much of it online. This should not…

“It seems like August,” I said recently to a Lyft driver who was taking me to my retina specialist for yet another of those God-awful injections. “What do you mean?” she asked. Many drivers of for-hire services don’t live in the city; they…

Last week started on a hopeful note for the DC government and its more than 700,000 residents, with the city seemingly on track in addressing the public health emergency and potentially covering the financial costs. That’s not the way it…

Even before the U.S. Senate could settle on its nearly $2 trillion stimulus package as a bulwark against the coronavirus’s ravaging of the national economy, the DC Council had offered its own relief that relied on drawing millions of…

I've been addicted to Revel's shared electric scooters almost since the operator debuted in DC last autumn. My experiences with the micromobility vehicles and my work as a local transportation journalist have demonstrated to me the power…

The truest test of any society is how its most marginalized members fare during times of crisis. We at the Bainum Family Foundation ― like many others in philanthropy and across the nonprofit field here in DC ― have particular concern for…

Last summer, Washington Post columnist Colbert King wrote a tribute to the late Don Fraser, an eight-term congressman from Minnesota. While we do not disagree with the sentiment in the headline — “The District is a better place because of…

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has insisted that to slow or halt the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 citizens must practice what has been characterized as social distancing. Agency officials have advised…

Kent Cooper may look like some mild-mannered bureaucrat. However, he is the epitome of that oft-provided counsel to those interested in understanding the inner workings of government and politics: Follow the money. The co-developer of…

Right now, a large portion of DC’s elected officials are considering whether they should run for another term in office. Members of the District’s 40 advisory neighborhood commissions (ANCs) are discussing with loved ones the unpaid time…

Political floodgates in DC opened after at-large Council member David Grosso announced he would retire at the end of his term this year, rather than seek reelection. A virtual sea of individuals — at least a dozen at last counting — have…

Like many others in our city, I have been closely following news about the recent sweeps of homeless encampments. I, too, have been upset that these men and women experiencing homelessness have few other options for housing in our…

It might seem like working people in the District of Columbia have a lot to celebrate. In fact, researchers at Oxfam not long ago named DC the most worker-friendly place in the country. Over the past few years, the DC Council has raised…

The District is one step closer to ensuring that access to safe, legal abortion is protected for its residents. The DC Council voted unanimously in its first reading Feb. 4 to approve legislation that would ensure that the full range of…

When my husband and I first began looking for child care while I was pregnant with our first child in 2013, we were overwhelmed by the difficulty of finding it. We toured several child care centers, paid application fees and heard nothing…