I’ve been in my current place for 7 years, but am about to move to a new building so I can live with my partner. I’ve had a wonderful experience at my current property, but the cost of moving reminds me of why so many people who don’t have good experiences stay put.

About 60,000 ordered to evacuate from fires in Spokane, Washington reut.rs/4caRSYf

About 60,000 ordered to evacuate from fires in Spokane, Washington

Around 60,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as ​wildfires threaten the city of Spokane ‌in Washington state, local officials said Sunday, adding the fires in the region had destroyed 600 ​buildings, including homes and businesses.

reut.rs

NEWS: @chairmanmendelson.com has fired back at @mayorbowser.dc.gov after she returned the 2027 budget unsigned and criticized the D.C. Council for its spending decisions. "At a time when our government is under siege, it not constructive to take gratuitous pot shots at your co-equal branch."

“Trump has rejected disaster aid for Democratic-run states at the highest rate in the 47-year history of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” Right now people in blue states are basically paying federal taxes as if they’re colonized territories of red states. www.politico.com/news/2026/03...

In their letter, DoorDash seems to be conflating the passive congressional review that all of our legislation undergoes with active approval. Suffice to say, those are not even close to the same thing.

Martin Austermuhle@maustermuhle.bsky.social · 3w ago

Interesting: DoorDash is supporting the GOP bill in Congress to limit D.C.'s ability to increase or decrease taxes and fees, largely in response to the D.C. Council's recent vote in impose a new 20-cent delivery fee to help fund food-access programs. www.notus.org/metro/uberea...

Another day that ends in "y" and another proposal to interfere in the District's affairs. www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/ju...

Comer moves to give Congress veto power over D.C. tax hikes

House Oversight Chairman James Comer on Thursday introduced legislation that would require congressional approval of any act passed by the D.C. Council that would impose or increase a tax or fee.

washingtontimes.com

Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor who was perhaps best known for his star turn as Dr. Alan Grant in the “Jurassic Park” series, died on Monday in Sydney, Australia. He was 78. Read more about his life and legacy: nyti.ms/3SWU8vI

ICE is engaged in a very large escalation nationwide, with the agency claiming to be hitting record arrest numbers amid the return of quotas. This has gotten very little attention from the media because ICE learned lessons from the chaotic disasters of Kristi Noem’s tenure. Keep a watch.

WA Whistles@wawhistles.bsky.social · last mo.

ICE is surging in the Seattle area. (Map shows activity in the last week) Do you have your whistle with you?

this guy is the co-founder of Airbnb

45 years ago today. Buried on page 20 on a holiday Friday just like this one, news that changed the world. www.nytimes.com/1981/07/03/u...

RARE CANCER SEEN IN 41 HOMOSEXUALS (Published 1981)

nytimes.com

BREAKING: Supreme Court rules against Trump on birthright citizenship, holding that the EO limiting right for for children of certain immigrants does not comply with the 14th Amendment

This is a really poorly reasoned decision that leans heavily (and wrongly) on the Supreme Court's decision in Chiles v. Salazar.

Martin Austermuhle@maustermuhle.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Interesting: A federal judge has struck down a D.C. law that prohibited therapists from outside the city from doing online consultations with D.C. clients, saying it's a violation of the First Amendment. ij.org/press-releas...

In his decision for SCOTUS published this morning, Justice Alito dismissed the idea that the Trump administration would halt all asylum seekers as a mere "hypothetical" not even worth considering.

Mike Walker@newnarrative.bsky.social · last mo.

Stephen Miller says ‘America’s doors are closed fully to asylum seekers’ after Supreme Court rulings www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

Here is Sotomayor, in dissent, explaining the dire consequences of today's decision in Otro Lado. The government may now circumvent a vast range of laws protecting asylum-seekers by simply blocking their entry at the border. An insane loophole to open up. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

I appreciate that building and protecting the reserve funds is the CFO's policy view, but the CFO does not have the authority to make a policy decision that the Council may not use local reserves to support appropriations. My full letter below or at: chairmanmendelson.com/wp-content/u...

I know the race hasn’t been called yet, but with this kind of an early lead @janeese4dc.bsky.social is all but assured to win. Congrats to her and her team!

Martin Austermuhle@maustermuhle.bsky.social · 2mo ago

NEWS: @janeese4dc.bsky.social jumped to a significant lead over @kenyanmcduffie.bsky.social in D.C.'s Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday, claiming 53% of the ballots counted in the hotly contested race. In @notus.com: www.notus.org/election-nig...

A friendly reminder that political candidates don’t control what type of messaging Independent Expenditure (IE) groups decided to put out (via text, mail, online, or on cable TV)

Just to clarify something here: A tax increase could not be moved at second reading of the Local Budget Act (LBA) on June 23rd. Why? Because a tax increase requires the inclusion of legislative language in the Budget Support Act BEFORE it can be recognized and directed in the LBA.

Martin Austermuhle@maustermuhle.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The D.C. Council has restored funding for lots of social services and programs that @mayorbowser.dc.gov proposed cutting in the budget, but it also kicked the can down the road on some big spending and revenue challenges the city is facing: www.notus.org/metro/dc-cou...

Chairman Mendelson's Budget Recommendations have been circulated on the Council Hearing Management System. The documents are available here: lims.dccouncil.gov/Hearings/hea... Tune in to the Media Press Conference on the Budget at Noon on chairmanmendelson.com or on the Council website.

Hey, DC, check out the brand-new independent, free, and reader-supported @capitalweather.bsky.social (they got out of the gang life) www.capitalweather.com

Jac is a friend who has done incredible work in Spokane. The charges against Jac and others (including those who accepted plea deals) should have never been pursued, but the Trump administration wanted to make an example out of them. Absolutely disgusted by the USAOs conduct and this verdict.

RANGE Media@rangemedia.co · 2mo ago

The attorneys for the defense have said they plan to appeal the verdict, but before that they will ask the judge to overturn it in a Rule 29 hearing in five weeks.

Former Rep. Barney Frank, champion of Wall Street reform and LGBTQ trailblazer, dies at 86 www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Former Rep. Barney Frank, champion of Wall Street reform and LGBTQ trailblazer, dies at 86

The most prominent gay member of Congress of his generation, the Democrat represented southern Massachusetts in the House for more than 30 years.

nbcnews.com

Not only did many Democrats vote to criminalize bail funds, even more Democrats (96) supported a bill (HR 5625) directing Trump’s Attorney General to develop and publicly post a list of states and localities that do not require cash bail for a variety of alleged offenses.

Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 3mo ago

32 House Democrats joined the GOP to vote to criminalize bail funds. clerk.house.gov/Votes/2026169

Council gave final approval today to my bill to make it easier to building small and mid-size buildings. The legislation allows buildings up to 6 stories to have one staircase instead of two. With modern fire suppression, sprinklers evidence shows no need for 2 stairwells.

Brianne K Nadeau@brianneknadeau.bsky.social · 4mo ago

What if every medium-sized building had space for 10% more units? The Council gave unanimous approval to my bill, which frees up more room for housing, one of several measures I'm pushing to address our housing shortage. Read more about the One Front Door Act. brianneknadeau.com/building-cod...

By gutting the Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court is killing the Second Reconstruction. The first Reconstruction shows how Congress should respond. Me and Daphna Renan in the NYT on the tools we have to save democracy from a hostile Court.

Opinion | Ruling by Ruling, the Supreme Court Is Undoing the Civil Rights Movement

nytimes.com

This is basically how I described the decision to a friend earlier today.

Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 3mo ago

As far as I can tell, a map-drawer can now say, "I am going to split this community of black voters into separate districts, not because I intend to dilute the votes of black Americans, but rather because black Americans vote Dem and I want to dilute the power of Dem voters," and it's just fine

this is very funny as well as good evidence — you know, beyond what we can see with our own eyes — that there is not some epidemic of anti-white discrimination

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Trump is directing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to prioritize cases of discrimination against white men, but commission staff are "struggling to find complaints with merit"

Not sure how I missed this, but Niknam et al. (2026) released their evaluation of the District's (formerly) two violence-interruption programs: Cure the Streets and the Violence Interruption Initiative. The results are... not good. academic.oup.com/aje/advance-...

Effects of two community violence interruption programs on firearm violence in Washington, DC

Abstract. To reduce urban firearm violence, many cities have enacted community violence interruption (CVI) programs, which rely on credible messengers who

academic.oup.com

"Why won't Democrats tone down the rhetoric?"

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3mo ago

Sen. Rick Scott: "Democrats want President Trump, Republicans murdered all across this country. Capitalists murdered."

Today, Acting Attorney General Blanche signed an order reclassifying FDA-approved cannabis products and state licensed medical cannabis products from Schedule I to Schedule III.../1