One bright spot is the reduction in the number of so-called 鈥渉ot cars鈥� 鈥� train cars where the air conditioning isn鈥檛 working and people are packed together and roasting. Steps are being taken to make sure that if it does happen, the problem is quickly solved.

鈥淲e have mechanics riding the system and actively using their temperature guns to check temperature to ensure we’re monitoring reports of hot cars,鈥� said Metro Deputy General Manager Andy Off. 鈥淎nd if you do experience a hot car, certainly we want to hear from you.”

Sometimes you鈥檒l see another Metro workers riding shotgun with the train operators.

鈥淲e do what’s called heat rides, looking for any anomalies in the track,鈥� said Off. Usually in places where the track might turn or be on a hill, those who are familiar with the rails can tell if an issue might be developing.

鈥淭hey are looking for a potential warp in the rail or things of that nature,鈥� said Clarke. 鈥淲ith this type of heat the track expansion can be real, so that’s what they’re looking for, and then we could put a speed restriction in place.鈥�

Slow downs will occur when rail temperatures hit 135 degrees.

鈥淕enerally doesn’t mean there’s necessarily a safety issue,鈥� Clarke added.

鈥淚t could be just a maintenance issue that we鈥檝e got to work on. But it might mean that we got to get people out there that are specialized, and that might mean 鈥� for safety’s sake, we’ll put a speed restriction. It’s safe to run over, but hey, we’re going to reduce the speed to 35 mph in that section just to reduce the force and load and the potential of something going wrong.鈥�

Metro has also started trying another way to keep those track segments a little bit cooler. About 6,000 feet of track throughout the system have been painted white, an idea used in other parts of the world too.

鈥淥ur rails, like most materials, if they’re black, they tend to absorb heat,鈥� Off said. 鈥淚f they’re lighter, they tend to reflect heat. So that same general principle applies in this scenario.

鈥淲e’re giving it a trial run to see if painting the rails white drives down the temperature of the rail during these heat events,鈥� he added.

鈥淓arly indications are positive. We鈥檝e seen about, I believe, six to eight degree drop lower when they are painted white.鈥�

It鈥檚 not to the point where Metro will be painting all of its outdoor tracks white 鈥� the program is still being evaluated, but those 6 to 8 degree differences can still be significant.

鈥淭hat can be the difference between something bad happening and not,鈥� Off said. 鈥淪o we’ll take it.鈥�

While the infrastructure is the biggest concern during a heat wave, that doesn鈥檛 mean passenger safety isn鈥檛 also on the minds at Metro. Medical emergencies happen every day throughout the system, and crews will be ready for it if anyone spends too much time outside.

鈥淲e need people to be hydrated, we need people to be prepared,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淲e are very concerned and will be watching closely if someone has any medical issues on the system. We鈥檒l closely with D.C. Fire, but when that happens, it can have serious impacts to service, especially if it happens on the train.

鈥淲e have a lot of station staff that are trained in CPR, and some first aid,鈥� he added. 鈥淲e have a lot of police out there. It’s just hot, and we just need people to be prepared, stay in the shade. But we’re also very worried about our employees. We have a lot of employees that are out working, so we’re trying to rotate them and say, hey, every 15-20 minutes, get in, get the air conditioning, drink some water.

鈥淟isten, it’s hot,鈥� Clarke also said. 鈥淚t’s not the end of the world, but just 鈥� some basic common sense here. We’ll keep everyone safe for the next few days.鈥�

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鈥淲e’ll have all hands on deck, like we do every year, including myself and the management team,鈥� Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said. 鈥淭here should be no lacking of uniformed personnel on the system. What we ask people is, if you see something, say something, and you can again do that directly to any uniformed personnel at Metro, or you could do a text to tip line to police, or you could do live chat with us.鈥�

But even if you don鈥檛 see someone in uniform, Metro also has about 30,000 cameras trained on nearly all corners of the system, be it inside stations or on trains and buses. Some of those were on display at Metro鈥檚 offices in Alexandria, Virginia.

On the fifth floor, Metro鈥檚 Incident Command Center is closely monitoring the bus system on one end and the rail system on the other, both by camera and by radio. They鈥檙e connected to operators and maintenance staff, and everyone else who helps make the system go every day. On the Fourth of July, a representative from D.C. Fire and EMS will also be there in case there鈥檚 a public safety incident of some kind.

鈥淲ithin seconds to minutes, we have all that information flowing between all relevant parties,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淲e can respond very quickly and with the appropriate kind of resources.鈥�

There’s another Metro Incident Command Center on the floor above where the focus is strictly on the video elements, providing real time coverage of passengers and operators throughout the system.

鈥淲hat that allows is for our video technicians to be able to access different video feeds across all different modes. So that will be trains, buses, our stations,鈥� said Maurice McKinney, deputy chief of patrol operations for Metro Transit Police. 鈥淥ur system has the ability to track individuals, or we can search by clothing or track individuals going through our station and through trains without the ability of facial recognition.鈥�

The Fourth of July celebrations are only the latest in what have been several high security events Metro has had to navigate this year. Work is already underway for more of them in the future, such as the IndyCar race happening next month.

鈥淲e have a lot of resources to keep people safe for this event, and of course, every day out on the system,鈥� Clarke said.

Trains will be running until 2 a.m. July 5, and Clarke was insistent that everyone who wants to ride Metro home will be able to catch a train or a bus.

鈥淛uly Fourth is kind of our annual Super Bowl kind of test here for the region,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淏ut especially at Metro, when everyone else is kind of happy that the event, kind of, in their mind is over, it really just really ramps up pretty heavily for us.”

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The work will impact far more than the single, cramped Metro station nearby.

During a roundtable discussion with District leaders, Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke laid out the need for improvements to the existing Stadium-Armory Metro stop, and touted a new rapid bus transit line with dedicated lanes.

In tandem, those will be key to getting tens of thousands of people to events at the coming stadium, Clarke said.

鈥淚 absolutely believe the first couple of experiences that people have going to a Commanders game, going to some of the first big events, is going to dictate how people feel about taking transit,鈥� D.C. Council member Charles Allen, who chairs the committee that oversees transportation projects, said. 鈥淪o, we don’t have an option to get it wrong. We have to get it right.鈥�

That’s why Clarke and other District leaders agreed that reaching a memorandum of understanding that lays out the roles, responsibilities and financials of these projects by July 23, the next Metro board meeting, is crucial.

鈥淚 think we’re all working towards that, and pretty optimistic,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淭hen we鈥檝e got to work really hard on design, we鈥檝e got to work really hard on procurement, we鈥檝e got to work really hard on construction.”

Clarke said the stadium’s ability to attract blockbuster events will depend on the transit agency and its ability to move people in and out of the complex.

鈥淲e’re not going to try to get, hosting the Super Bowl, we’re not going to try to host women’s World Cup, we’re not trying to get Taylor Swift and Beyonc茅 back here. I mean, at the end of the day, Metro is going to be the key to the success. We understand the pressure on us,鈥� he said.

For the Stadium-Armory station, that means renovating the mezzanine and adding elevators to handle the increased demand. Clarke also talked about new street-level infrastructure to help manage the flow inside the station.

鈥淪o it’s very Disney-esque, where people feel like they’re constantly moving without actually going too far, if you know what I mean,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淭hen we filter them where we need to go. That is a good example of what we need to do at the surface.鈥�

But Metro won鈥檛 rely entirely on its trains. The roundtable also discussed what鈥檚 been dubbed the Gold Line, which would run buses from Union Station to the stadium.

Construction estimates for bus line are in the $75 million range, District Department of Transportation Director Sharon Kershbaum said

The Gold Line is to run through the heart of the H Street corridor, and transportation leaders said the impact will be everything the streetcar was supposed to be.

鈥淭his is now going to be the east-west corridor that we never were able to accomplish on the streetcar,鈥� Kershbaum said.

鈥淭his is going to have frictionless service, because it will be center-running. So all of the issues 鈥� when a car double-parked and it stopped streetcar service 鈥� all of those things, we’ll be immune from. We are going to see the transportation service that was really never ever reached by streetcar achieved with this,鈥� she said.

The vision for the Gold Line goes beyond the handful of weekends when NFL football is played at the stadium, and beyond initial Union Station-stadium route. Transportation officials see the buses eventually traveling between the Benning Road Metro Station and Rosslyn, Virginia.

鈥淲e want the Gold Line to solve the cross-town problem we’ve had in this community for a long, long time,鈥� Clarke said.

That means providing access to the convention center and also solving the gridlock that fills up K Street NW every day. Clarke said coming up with dedicated lanes on K Street would actually be the most pivotal part of this new transit line.

鈥淭he downtown core of D.C. does not move, especially during p.m. rush hour,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淚f you want people in Benning Road that may work, say on K Street, to have better transportation, solving K Street is equally as important, if not more important, because of time savings and reliability.鈥�

Officials did not specify a timeline for the full expansion, but it would not be completed by 2030.

Where it does run, Gold Line buses would travel in the middle lanes, to avoid what caused problems for the Streetcar, which could grind to a halt when cars would double park. Building out the Gold Line would mean more changes to the way cars move along H Street in Northeast.

鈥淵ou can’t do what you want to do and also keep all the parking,鈥� At-Large Council member Christina Henderson said.

鈥淭here’s intersections where we’re going to have to take turns away at certain intersections, maybe parking in certain places,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淚n other places parking could be kept, because we’re looking at putting platforms.鈥�

Stadium-related transit construction will run far beyond H Street and the Stadium Armory stop.

鈥淲e do want to minimize outages, but there’s going to be significant outages to do this project,鈥� Clarke said.

鈥淚t’s all about where we can turn trains around and how to manage that,鈥� he added. 鈥淪o if we do an outage to Stadium Armory, what that really means is we’re impacting customers from New Carrollton and Largo all the way through the system, and some people that are west of the system that want to go east of Stadium Armory won’t be able to.鈥�

But with the project not even really in the design phase yet, it鈥檚 hard to plan out how and when those impacts will happen.

鈥淲e’ll be doing obviously overnight work,鈥� Clarke said. 鈥淲e’ll probably do some, what we call, early outs. Sometimes we’ll start at 10 o’clock at night. We might be able to do some single tracking on certain types of work. Other work is going to be complete shutdowns.”

鈥淎nd the question is, is that going to be X amount of weekends or is it going to be like a two-, three-, four-week block at a time,” he added. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got to work through all of that.鈥�

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If a match is tied after 90 minutes, teams play 30 minutes of extra time. If they’re still tied, the match is decided by penalty kicks. Those can be tense and exciting, but if you鈥檙e the one taking the kicks, it should be super easy, right?

Think about it: The soccer goal measures 24 feet wide across and 8 feet high. The ball is shot from 36 feet away, which looks stoppable when you鈥檙e standing on the goal line and don鈥檛 know better. But Maryland Terrapins midfielder Albi Ndrenika, who made the All-Big Ten Second Team last fall, provided a reality check.

鈥淚t’s really you versus you in that moment,鈥� he said while standing in front of a goal at the University of Maryland鈥檚 Ludwig Field. 鈥淭en times out of 10, you should be scoring from that distance, you know? If you hit a good shot, the goalie can’t really do anything about it.鈥�

A well-placed shot gives goalkeepers less than a second to react, often forcing them to guess where the ball is headed. Ndrenika agreed the odds are 鈥渧ery much鈥� in the shooter’s favor.

鈥淚t’s a kick you’ve done thousands of times since you were a kid, as you grow up,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o nothing inherently changes but the pressure around you in the situation, so as long as you don’t let that get to you.鈥�

When a penalty kick misses or a goalkeeper makes a save, Ndrenika said pressure is often the deciding factor.

鈥淵ou start imagining, like, 鈥極h, what if I miss? I’m gonna get clowned, my team’s gonna lose,鈥� this and that,鈥� he said. 鈥淜eeping that thought out of your head, and just saying, ‘You know, I’ve done this kick many times, this is no different.鈥� 鈥� The goalie can dance, the crowd behind can holler and do all that stuff, but you pick your spot out, and you trust in your ability that you hit that spot every time you kick the ball.鈥�

So what does he look for when a player steps up to take a penalty kick?

Body language is key, Ndrenika said. Sometimes, he can tell a player lacks confidence before the shot is even taken.

鈥淎re their shoulders up? Do they look confident? Do they look sure of themselves?鈥� he asked. 鈥淚f their head is down, they’re looking away, they’re kind of not stepping up to the moment. That鈥檚 a big tell that they might not have the confidence.鈥�

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The council listened to briefings, and voted on bills and resolutions. The only difference was Council Chair Krystal Oriadha鈥檚 refusal to speak to reporters following a judge鈥檚 ruling that the council could not transfer $39 million from the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

Typically, the council chair is one of the more accessible members of the council, but this time he relied on a three page statement put out by her office Monday morning that defended the council鈥檚 right to transfer the money and argued that the MNCPPC should drop the lawsuit and collaborate with the county.

In the meantime, the only impact the judge鈥檚 granting of a temporary restraining order has is that the $39 million can鈥檛 be spent as it was allocated in the budget passed earlier this month.

“I’m sure that there will be some money shifted from other places,” said council member Jolene Ivey, who is one of two council members critical of the size of the transfers. 鈥淚 think that there are some nonprofits that might not get funded, or at least not get funded at the level that was in the bill.鈥�

Oriadha, along with councilman Ed Burroughs, have argued that the transfers were not only justified, but were also common practice. To a degree that鈥檚 so. What appears to have alarmed M-NCPPC members is the size of the transfers this time around, as well as another $27 million in cuts to the agency鈥檚 operating budget. Leaders there are still trying to determine how its operations will be impacted. Ivey said the agency had no choice but to sue.

鈥淚t has been a normal course of events that $10 to $15 million goes to what we call project charges, she said. 鈥淭hey have complained and said, ‘please don’t take more than that.’ So, how can you get that message, 鈥榩lease don’t take more than that,鈥� and then more than double it?鈥�

Members of the council suggested that it was Oriadha and Burroughs who exerted the most control over the funds. All of this comes just a few months after state lawmakers told the county to stop mid-year transfers of money from M-NCPPC 鈥� something that happened numerous times since last fall 鈥� and only do it during the normal budget cycle.

Now it鈥檚 likely that the state will step into the situation again. Even if an outright restriction of the transfers isn鈥檛 passed, one council member suggested more guardrails than currently exist right now could be established instead.

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While it鈥檚 hard to quantify exactly how many more ticks there are, D.C. area researchers say the population is growing and thriving.

鈥淚f you were watching them over the last 10 years, they’re really kind of exploding, especially in the Mid-Atlantic to northeast area,鈥� Grace Hummell, a University of Maryland faculty researcher, told 小萝莉影视. 鈥淎nd it’s different species.鈥�

And the little bugs find the region has a lot of what they鈥檙e looking for in a perfect home.

鈥淚t’s hot and humid and ticks love hot and humid areas,鈥� Hummell said. 鈥淲e’re having longer springs and falls, so there’s more interaction with the ticks when you’re going out. And then, of course, we have a lot of white-tailed deer here, and host species that are really good at keeping those abundances high of ticks.鈥�

Plus, one tick can make a lot more.

鈥淥ne female lone star tick or one female deer tick can lay up to like 3,000 to 8,000 eggs in one go,鈥� said Hummell’s colleague Logan Owens, a graduate research assistant. 鈥淪o it’s not only that there’s more ticks. They just are incredibly efficient at reproducing, and so that doesn’t help either.鈥�

The ticks’ range is also expanding. The warming climate means ticks that were once found only in the southeastern United States can survive in places like Maine.

Avoiding the little bloodthirsty hitchhikers

If it鈥檚 raining out, ticks will hide out, but they are more likely to hitch a ride on you or your dog on hot and humid days without any rain.

“If you have longer stints of two weeks of hot, humid days, they’re out every day trying to get on a host, so that could be a possibility of why we’re seeing more,” Hummell said.

But it’s best that people be on guard “anytime that they’re outside,” Owens added, “even if they’ve just gone outside, to like take out the garbage or something like that, and they brushed across the grass.”

Hikers and people working in their yards and gardens should take extra precautions.

“You could go out to a park and there’s nothing听and then maybe go to your neighbor’s yard and there’s hundreds of ticks,” Hummell said.

“Taking the time to actually check 鈥� look over your pants, making sure that you’re covering any excess skin that you can. So wearing pants, wearing long socks, tucking your socks into your pants, those are going to be the things, unfortunately, that you have to do,鈥� Owens said.

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While that鈥檚 one sign of strength, the governor鈥檚 campaign also touted another 93%+ win rate. The campaign said that鈥檚 how many of the roughly 200 or so candidates endorsed by Moore around the state also either won, or are winning.

Some of the candidates he endorsed were easy winners too, but others, such as Adrian Boafo and April McClain Delaney, were in tough and expensive congressional primaries. County executive candidates Will Jawando in Montgomery County and Julian Jones in Baltimore County also held leads in competitive primaries.

鈥淚t really shows that, despite having an approval rating hovering right around 50%, he’s got some sway over Maryland Democrats,鈥� said St. Mary鈥檚 College political science professor Todd Eberly. 鈥淚鈥檝e got to think that the Moore team comes out of last night feeling pretty good.鈥�

During Moore鈥檚 first term, there were moments when lawmakers in Annapolis were willing to push back on the governor. They overrode vetoes and would occasionally defy the governor鈥檚 preferred course of legislative action. Eberly said lawmakers might be a bit more collaborative with the governor during a second term.

鈥淢aybe there’s a little bit of rethinking how popular Wes Moore is, the influence that he has, and whether or not you necessarily want to break with him,鈥� Eberly said. 鈥淗e easily secured renomination. He demonstrated his influence among the electorate, demonstrated that withholding his endorsement can actually have an impact on an even very powerful member of the General Assembly.鈥�

Eberly was referring to Senate President Bill Ferguson, who won his race, but not by the margin you鈥檇 think he would against a candidate who was relatively unknown and lacked political experience. Moore notably did not endorse Ferguson after the two clashed over redistricting earlier this year.

鈥淪omeone like Ferguson should not have faced any real challenge at all,鈥� Eberly said. 鈥淭his was primary voters angry with Ferguson over breaking with Gov. Moore over redistricting. Ferguson did what he thought was right, what he thought was the sort of principled decision, and primary voters sort of sent him a message here by giving 44% of the vote to a not really well-known or well-financed challenger.鈥�

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As a result, in a close race, it might take longer to declare a winner, but it shouldn鈥檛 impact the results.

Because of the mix-up, the state reissued ballots to everyone who received a mail-in ballot. But not every voter who got a second ballot actually needed one.

“You do have some voters who got the correct ballot to begin with, returned it, and then they got a second ballot,” said Alysoun McLaughlin, director of the Election Resilience Lab at the University of Maryland.

For those voters, McLaughlin said, the state is holding onto that first ballot until the last day 鈥� waiting to see if the voter also returns the second one. If they don’t, the first ballot counts. But those ballots won’t be counted until 10 days after Election Day, which means close races could take longer to call.

鈥淥n the one hand, they have really solid procedures for handling this,鈥� McLaughlin said. 鈥淭here’s all kinds of reasons why a voter might be sent more than one ballot, so the processes for keeping track of which ballot is the live one, which ballot is not the live one, which one is supposed to count 鈥� that’s an everyday, every election kind of a thing. But the scale of it is different. So, for election officials, it’s more work, it’s more anxiety on the part of the voters.”

She added that if a contest is so close that it comes down to questions about how many ballots were returned, the state will be able to provide that data.

鈥淲e will actually be able to track how many voters got the first ballot, how many voters got the second ballot, how many voters returned which type of ballot. That data is all going to be available. The bad news is that it’s not going to be available right away, so it’s going to take time for people to find out what the history was of the voters in that district,” McLaughlin said.

She said she’s satisfied with how Maryland has handled the situation, pointing to existing procedures designed for exactly these kinds of complications.

“The important thing is that those things get caught,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here’s a paper trail. Those things get caught in the audit before the election is certified.”

She also pushed back on any suggestion the error could taint results, saying Maryland’s election process includes Republicans and Democrats working side by side, along with records that can be reviewed and analyzed.

“Trust but verify,” McLaughlin said, adding voters and political parties can attend canvassing processes after Election Day to check the work themselves.

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With a big parade, a block party, and other festivities, D.C. will have a lot of visitors ready to have a good time this weekend. Those visitors will also be more than ready to spend some money too.

“Pride literally keeps us afloat and keeps us going for the other 364 days a year,” said Eli Downes, the general manager of JR’s, what he calls one of the oldest gay bars in D.C. 鈥淲e are packed the entire weekend. We like to say kind of Pride weekend pays for the entire year.鈥�

Downes said June is the bar’s busiest and most celebratory month, drawing packed crowds all weekend for Capital Pride, which D.C. leaders say brings in roughly 650,000 to 700,000 people to the District.

The direct economic impact of these celebrations isn鈥檛 typically measured, though when D.C. hosted World Pride last year, there were about 1.2 million visitors who had an economic impact of more than $300 million.

鈥淲e know that when people come together for our major annual festivals in the District that it creates a significant amount of revenue activity,鈥� said Nina Albert, D.C.’s deputy mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

That activity includes sales and hotel tax revenue as people dine out, have drinks, and spend the night in the city.

鈥淲e have a lot of gay community that travels from other states,鈥� said Shane Mounts, a manager at Dupont Circle鈥檚 The Fireplace. But it鈥檚 not just members of the LGBTQ+ who come.

鈥淎 lot of them are in support when they have gay family members,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of their family members come to our bars. So whether they live in D.C. or they’re just from out of town, they know about our gay bars down here, so they support that.”

鈥淚t’s not only good for D.C.’s economy, but it’s also good for the gay bars in our community,鈥� he added.

“You feel at home during Pride. You feel safe during Pride. You feel together during Pride,” Downes said.

He said the support comes from all directions 鈥� gay and straight businesses alike, neighbors and visitors traveling from out of state specifically for the weekend.

“It’s helped us stay open for 40 years,” Downes said. “Without community, we have nothing.”

鈥淲e are a city that invites all,鈥� said Albert. 鈥淲e just had the UFC last weekend. This weekend we’re going to be focusing on FIFA and then also at the same time host Capital Pride. It just shows that we are a city that knows how to host big events and festivals and celebrate the true diversity of our country.鈥�

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Over the past 45 years, Rep. Steny Hoyer has amassed the kind of power few in Congress are ever able to obtain, including two stints 鈥� totaling eight years 鈥� as House majority leader.

And when Hoyer announced he was retiring at the end of this term, he set off an avalanche of interest from Democrats, Republicans and Independents who hope to take his place.

Twenty-seven candidates 鈥� two dozen Democrats and three Republicans 鈥� are on the primary election ballot in the sprawling 5th District, which stretches from northern Prince George鈥檚 and western Anne Arundel counties through Southern Maryland.

The candidates also have expansive backgrounds. Some currently hold elected office, risking their current day jobs for this seat. Others work in the private sector, hoping to transition into politics.

And some have decades of experience in politics, while others only know what it鈥檚 like to duel politically with Trump-era Republicans.

Among the Democrats, many of them all share the same concerns. 小萝莉影视 reached out to everyone running to get their views on a handful of issues, and then offered to sit down with candidates who had raised at least $200,000. Of those, Quincy Barebee and Harry Dunn weren’t available. The rest of the candidates spoke with 小萝莉影视.

What were the issues that mattered the most? Affordability and helping fed workers were two of the answers that came up a lot.

鈥淭he things that are affect us are broad,鈥� said former Prince George鈥檚 County Executive Rushern Baker. 鈥淎ffordability. When we talk about affordability, you know, that’s more than just one word. That’s housing. That’s the cost of gas prices that have gone up because of the wars that this president has gotten us into. It’s our electric bills which are going up because of data centers. We’re going to see our water bills going up. So people in the district are concerned about that, but they’re also concerned about transportation.鈥�

Red tape prohibits progress

Transportation also came up in other interviews, with state Sen. Arthur Ellis of Charles County touting his work to revive the once-dormant Southern Maryland Rapid Transit, a light rail line he鈥檚 been championing in Annapolis that would run from White Plains to the Branch Avenue Metro Station.

Another candidate, volunteer firefighter Harry Jarin of Edgewater, said the long, drawn out process 鈥� red tape is how some would describe it 鈥� to getting projects like that done is a textbook example of the lack of coordination between federal and local governments for completing those kinds of big projects in any reasonable amount of time and at a reasonable cost.

鈥淲e need federal policy and we need federal intervention in many cases to override local NIMBYism,鈥� Jarin said. 鈥淵ou have so many federal workers that are mandated back in the office five days a week. A lot of people moved out there during COVID when they could work from home. And the traffic is just a nightmare. I mean, people commuting two hours each direction. It’s atrocious.鈥�

The plight of federal workers also came up often. Ellis touted the second bill he ever introduced in the Maryland State Senate back in 2019, which protected furloughed feds from having utilities shut off and mortgages foreclosed on, as an example of the type of leadership he would bring to the district.

鈥淢y job going to Congress will be to get those fired workers their jobs back with back pay and with benefits,鈥� Ellis said. 鈥淎nd that will compensate them for that unconstitutional firing. Because all these federal programs and federal agencies were created by an act of Congress and funded in a bill through Congress. So the president does not have unilateral authority to just fire people.鈥�
Like Ellis, Baker said his experiences helping federal workers in Prince George鈥檚 County will also benefit the entire district.

鈥淚’ve been through a Trump shutdown and got workers, federal workers help,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淚’ve been through a Trump administration where we actually did transportation and built the Purple Line. I’ve been through the Trump administration when Congress wasn’t helping out, and we actually put money aside for the FBI to come here.鈥�

An original ‘Bernie bro.’

Some of the most progressive stances taken in the race are coming from Prince George鈥檚 County at-large member Wala Blegay. Calling herself one of the original 鈥淏ernie bros,鈥� she rattled off a large list of causes she intends to fight for if elected.

鈥淲hen we push for Medicare for All, we push for taxing the billionaires,鈥� Blegay said. 鈥淎ll of those things. Free community college, even universal childcare. It was kind of like, 鈥榳e can’t afford that.鈥� But now at a time like this, people are seeing why those policies work.鈥�

Blegay also has the backing of several unions around the district, and has made free healthcare and other populist proposals central to her campaign.

鈥淭ax the billionaires,鈥� said Blegay. 鈥淚mplement the wealth tax.鈥�

The contending candidates are running in a District considered a very safe seat for Democrats, with a 17-point registration advantage at a time when President Trump鈥檚 popularity has sunk, especially among independents. Yet voters around the country still talk about significant frustration with the Democratic Party, suggesting at least some of the momentum they might have right now is more because they happen to be the alternative out of power as opposed to being the party that鈥檚 embraced by the electorate. No one really disputed that.

鈥淭he Democratic Party has not provided solutions. They’ve been just anti Trump,鈥� Blegay said. 鈥淏ut the problem is that what happens when we become the majority? Are we just going to say we’re anti Trump or are we going to implement policies that make a difference?鈥�

鈥淚 don’t like my party either. I’ve been battling my party,鈥� said Ellis, who then pointed out his frustration with Maryland state Senate President Bill Ferguson over redistricting this year.

鈥淒emocrats have been running like scared people. They’re frightened.鈥�

Meanwhile Del. Adrian Boafo and Jarin, two candidates in their 30s, both faulted Democrats for losing sight of voters who used to be the backbone of the party, costing them the backing of younger men who voted for President Trump in 2024.

鈥淎s Democrats, sometimes we don’t talk about the issues that are top of mind to people. In 2024, it took us about seven months into the election to start talking about the economy,鈥� said Boafo, who is endorsed by Hoyer, Gov. Wes Moore, and U.S. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks. 鈥淭hat’s a problem for Democrats. And I think part of the solution here is the new generation of folks who understand deeply what it feels like to live in this economy. I tell folks, for the first time in American history, young people, people in my generation, are worse off than ever before.鈥�

‘Deradicalizing’ the GOP

Jarin, who is a consultant and grant writer for firefighters for his day job, pointed to MAGA leanings inside the firehouses he鈥檚 worked in as another example of Democrats losing focus. Despite being married to a former high-ranking director with the DNC who later was appointed to a position in the Treasury Department by President Biden, Jarin vowed to aggressively work to marginalize the Republican Party until it鈥檚 鈥渄e-radicalized鈥� the same way he said Germany rid itself of the Nazis after World War II.

鈥淭hey are a fascist movement. They cannot be reasoned with or dealt with in any way. They are much closer to a cult of personality,鈥� Jarin said.

鈥淲e’re going to have to go through a very severe deradicalization of our politics if we’re going to be able to move forward as a democracy and there’s really no other way,” Jarin said. “And I understand that most Democratic candidates are not talking in these terms, but I want people to understand that that’s the seriousness of what we’re dealing with. We can’t have a two-party system where one party is completely off the reservation and doesn’t accept the basic principles of electoral politics as legitimate.”

Both Boafo and Baker agreed that partisanship has been bad for America, and said federal laws regarding voting and voting rights need to be a priority if Democrats can take control.

鈥淒e-gerrymandering America, making sure that we end Citizens United once and for all and get money out of politics, doing that kind of stuff to safeguard our system,鈥� is some of the solutions Boafo proposed. 鈥淏ut then, more importantly, moving forward, elect people who want to actually be in Congress to serve. Not necessarily there to be celebrities, not necessarily there just to be hyper partisan, but people who want to actually solve issues.鈥�

Baker said Supreme Court decisions and passing a new Voting Rights Act is among his highest priorities, in ways that it wasn鈥檛 just a few months ago.

Court ruling are “going to push us back 20 years or 30 years or even 100,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou think about the representation we’re going to lose, especially not only in the south, but also in some northern states.鈥�

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D.C.’s first Black woman-owned brick-and-mortar brewery is opening in Shaw 鈥� and it’s a full-circle moment years in the making.

Eamoni Collier has spent years trying to open a brewery of her own. 小萝莉影视 told you about her story in 2023 and afterward, she even signed a lease and poured a lot of heart, soul and money into a space in Northeast D.C., only to see it all fall through. But undeterred, that dream finally becomes real on Friday.

will open its doors on T Street Northwest in Shaw, in a spot right next door to the Howard Theatre and inside the same building where Collier first fell in love with making beer when it was home to Right Proper Brewing.

“It kind of made the experience a little bit more comfortable because I know the ins and outs,” Collier said. “But also a bit surreal because it’s now my space.”

Collier, the founder and co-owner of Urban Garden Brewing, said the brewery is D.C.’s first Black woman-owned brick-and-mortar brewery. In an industry where the stereotypical brewery is a bald, bearded white guy, she鈥檚 none of that.

“I realized that there was a lack in representation, especially not just as Black American, but also like Black women,” she said.

The location carries deep personal meaning. Collier’s grandfather used to perform in the Howard Theatre; she described him as one of the pioneers of go-go music who used to work with Chuck Brown.

Inside the brewery, a dedicated space called the Joe Tate Listening Lounge will honor his legacy, complete with vinyl records and a mural in his honor.

The beers themselves are brewed on site and draw from an unexpected source of inspiration 鈥� botanicals found inside the everyday person’s garden.

“We focused a lot more on like the botanicals versus how hoppy we can make the beer,” she said. 鈥淲e love hops, but we really like to explore different botanicals, flowers, herbs and spices to bring out the essence of the beer.鈥�

After years of contract brewing with other established, local brands, Collier thought a spot along South Dakota Avenue in Northeast would be her own, only to lose it. The financial hit was significant, and Collier said she lost some hope along the way.

“I was really just focusing on the how 鈥� like, I want this, how can we have it?” she said.

Co-owner Malaika Tate-Scott, who also designed the interior of the space, said the setback tested everyone involved.

“The losses are big 鈥� financially, it’s big,” Tate-Scott said. “But there was always this little glimmer.”

The joy inside the brewery was palpable.

鈥淚 smile every time I think about it,鈥� Tate-Scott added. 鈥淭here aren’t many words. It’s a feeling really more than anything of like ‘Wow, look what we’ve done, right? Look what, look who we supported, and how much she’s bloomed.’鈥�

Her husband and co-owner Renaud Scott said he first believed in the concept after tasting Collier’s homebrews in a backyard, including a beer called Lotus Flower Bomb.

“There’s love, there’s joy, there’s history, there’s craft in this,” Scott said.

As a self-described “beer lover,” he’s spread the word about Collier’s brews and the story behind them.

鈥淚 just started bragging about it, just because I loved it, right? Lotus flower bomb, lotus flower bomb, lotus flower bomb, all over with my friends and family, and such,” Scott said.

The grand opening Friday includes a ribbon cutting at 1 p.m. You鈥檒l also find a beer garden on the patio, build-your-own bouquets, DJs, tastings from other Black-owned brands and a go-go party with N2L Band&Show. Collier said the full draft lineup of Urban Garden beers and the complete dinner menu will also debut that night.

鈥淲e were raised here in D.C., so it means much more to us,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淣ot only just for the story, the background, the history, the legacy, but also for us as individuals growing up in the city. Seeing us own businesses, seeing us provide services and economical support to the community.鈥�

鈥淭his space for me is really about the gathering of the community,鈥� Collier said.

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That鈥檚 the last day of school for students in Prince George鈥檚 County, and it applies to anyone under the age of 18. It鈥檚 also far more strict than the current midnight curfew.

Following other high profile incidents around the DMV, as well as disruptions at Fourth of July festivities last year, kids under 18 won鈥檛 be allowed out in public after 10 p.m. until after Labor Day.

鈥淲e feel that with the recent team meet up throughout the regions, we just want to make sure that our kids, our community is safe, and so we wanted to execute the curfew right after school let out,鈥� said Laurel Mayor Keith Sydnor.

There are some exceptions, like if kids are out with their parents, if they鈥檙e going to or from work or coming home from some other organized event or activity.

鈥淚t’s something we see as regional and kids follow regional trends, and we just want to be proactive and making sure that our kids are not out too late,鈥� Sydnor said.

Laurel is also planning to host a series of teen-focused events throughout the summer that aim to keep kids safe, but still get them home in time for the curfew. And Sydnor says the city is putting money behind it.

鈥淚 have a Laurel High School rising senior, she’s a student ambassador, and so she’s going to be coming up with ideas and bringing them to my attention, so we can put funding behind it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to engage our kids in positive activities, that way they don’t have to be outside past a certain time.鈥�

Last year, a similar curfew took effect after Sydnor said Fourth of July celebrations were disrupted. Sydnor said no one was arrested or punished after that expanded curfew was imposed and he鈥檚 hopeful there won鈥檛 be any problems with it this year either.

鈥淜ids were meeting up, and then some incidents happened 鈥� this year with Laurel High School students meeting up in the community, and so we just want to put an extra layer of protection for our young people and also our public citizens as well,鈥� Sydnor said.

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The president was sort of led into a question about the race for mayor in D.C., with the questioner on Thursday talking about Janeese Lewis George’s perceived efforts to be a D.C. version of New York City鈥檚 socialist-leaning mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

But that鈥檚 all it took for President Donald Trump to threaten a takeover of D.C. should voters put the Ward 4 council member in the mayor鈥檚 office this year.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 like it鈥� if Lewis George wins, Trump told reporters.

If it happens, 鈥渕aybe we鈥檒l take back Washington and run it on a federal basis. We won鈥檛 put up with it. We鈥檙e not going to lose our businesses.鈥�

However, the message might not play like the president hoped it would with D.C. residents.

鈥淭hey know how they feel about Donald Trump,鈥� said Keneshia Grant, an associate professor of political science at Howard University. 鈥淚f it is the case that Donald Trump doesn’t like Janeese Lewis George, then it might tell them, 鈥極K, me and Donald Trump usually disagree, I’m going to support Janeese Lewis George, because I know that I would disagree with Donald Trump on this.鈥欌��

A recent poll put Lewis George in the lead, thanks to a younger, whiter base of voters who are newer to D.C. They鈥檙e also more progressive and really don鈥檛 like the president.

鈥淚f those people are turning out in greatest numbers, then yes, she had a fantastic day yesterday,鈥� Grant said about Lewis George. 鈥淕etting the president on the record for this was good for her.鈥�

In addition, it could also reinforce to voters a connection the Janeese Lewis George campaign has tried to forge between the other front-runner in the race, former D.C. Councilman Kenyan McDuffie.

小萝莉影视 sent a questionnaire to all the candidates in each contested race, asking them to introduce themselves to voters.听Read their responses here.

Her campaign has been suggesting that a small number of donations given to McDuffie鈥檚 campaign from people who have also donated to the president is indicative of a closer alignment with the president鈥檚 policies, which are not popular in D.C.

For his part, McDuffie has been forceful about denying that and vowing to fight for the city鈥檚 priorities and independence. He鈥檚 also adamant he鈥檚 no fan of the president either. But Grant said Trump鈥檚 words on Thursday might not help.

鈥淭his statement from the President from Donald Trump yesterday made that connection even closer,鈥� Grant said.

By making the claim that he doesn’t want to work with one of the front-runners, Grant said the average voter in the District may come to the conclusion that Trump would prefer to work with another candidate over Lewis George.

And voters who dislike Trump, may opt to vote against candidates he seemingly prefers.

However, voters who are really concerned about home rule might see it differently. That鈥檚 also the case if D.C.鈥檚 historical voting base, older Black residents who go back generations in the city, turns out in higher numbers for their preferred candidate, which is believed to be McDuffie.

鈥淚f the latter group is going to turn out more, then the statement yesterday, even though it came from Donald Trump, might be a big and important moment for Kenyan McDuffie,鈥� Grant said. 鈥淲hy is this the case? That second group of voters is worried about losing the city, and believe that a mayor could work together with Donald Trump, even though they might disagree with Donald Trump on everything, to keep home rule in place.

鈥淭his voter would assume that Donald Trump is telegraphing that I’m not necessarily going to take your city if I get a person who I think is a reasonable politician,鈥� she added. 鈥淎nd the implication is that Kenyan McDuffie is the reasonable politician.鈥�

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The war of words continued into Wednesday. After a lawsuit was subsequently filed by the commission, county leaders did not hold back in their criticism of the agency.

Hours after the council fixed the errors in the new budget, the commission put out a statement warning that tens of millions of dollars in cuts and nearly $40 million more in transfers to other council programs would be destabilizing and threaten jobs and services.

鈥淭he Commission was blindsided by the magnitude of the planned transfer and reductions,鈥� said the Tuesday statement. 鈥淭he Commission believes that a more transparent and deliberative process is essential not only for agencies but for the residents who ultimately rely on these services.鈥�

This is all happening after state lawmakers told the county earlier this year to stop raiding the commission鈥檚 bank accounts after more than $27 million was moved by the county council from the commission to other parts of the county budget.

In a new statement on Wednesday, the commission argued, 鈥渢he transfer of more than $39 million, by July 1, without submission of receipts or invoices, before any services have been provided, and without proper vetting through the Commission鈥檚 procurement process, raises serious concerns about legal authority and our ability to provide the services the residents of Prince George鈥檚 County expect from us.鈥�

The commission also says it needs the courts to intervene and 鈥減rotect the public trust and ensure these resources are used as intended.鈥�

County leaders raised their own concerns about how the commission spends its money and suggested it鈥檚 doing a better job of making sure M-NCPPC money is being used for its intended purposes.

鈥淥ne of the things that we thought was interesting was that they wanted to give themselves a 99% increase in the director’s office,鈥� said County Executive Aisha Braveboy. 鈥淭he chair was asking for a 鈥� over $300,000 salary. So, you were asking me why they wanted to take money meant for residents and give it to themselves?鈥�

Council Chair Ed Burroughs, for his part, went even more aggressive with the commission鈥檚 spending priorities.

鈥淲hat park and planning has done has spent over $100 million on a corporate headquarters building,鈥� said Burroughs. 鈥淵esterday, I was outside of Tucker Road Community Center because they canceled the Oxon Hill Boys and Girls Club’s ability to use the field because they didn’t pay $3,500 in a light usage fee. How is it possible when we pay so much money to park and planning as taxpayers?鈥�

鈥淚 welcome the conversation and debate around park and planning,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t’s a large entity that Prince George’s County taxpayers gives hundreds of millions of dollars to every single year, and so we should be debating what is an appropriate use of those funds.鈥�

But the commission suggests it鈥檚 a debate that Burroughs might want to have, but legally cannot.

The lawsuit argues the county believes it has 鈥渦nfettered access to and control over tax dollars collected for the Commission.鈥� But it says the law is clear that the commission has 鈥渃ontrol over these tax funds to carry out its powers and duties.鈥�

The county plainly sees things differently.

A statement issued Wednesday morning said, 鈥淧rince George鈥檚 County has reviewed the allegations in the M-NCPPC鈥檚 lawsuit. The Office of Law strongly disagrees with their interpretation of governing laws and will vigorously defend the County鈥檚 interests in this case. The project charges agreements between the County and Commission that the Commission is now challenging have been in place for over two decades and have benefited communities all throughout Prince George鈥檚 County.鈥�

The county also said the lawsuit was the commission鈥檚 attempt to defund critical programs from around the county, something the commission itself would happen if the money transfer goes through.

It鈥檚 not clear when the two sides will begin to meet to hash it out inside a courtroom.

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鈥淧ride Month is a time to remember that creating healthy communities means ensuring that everyone has access to the care, support and resources they need to thrive,” county health officer Dr. Toyin Opesanmi said.

“Our mission is to provide compassionate, confident, confidential, and culturally responsive services that help individuals protect their health and well-being,” she said.

The county’s HIV program, for example, provides free and confidential testing, prevention education, linkage to care, treatment, case management support and access to prevention tools.

Opesanmi also said the county health department works with community partners to reduce stigma and connect residents to resources 鈥� and that staff are “committed to meeting people where they are.”

County Executive Aisha Braveboy and members of the county council were also on hand for the ceremony.

Opesanmi called the Pride flag-raising more than a celebration.

鈥淚t is an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to health equity and ensuring that every resident feels seen, valued, respected and supported,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e recognize that health outcomes improve when communities are inclusive, welcoming and connected to resources.鈥�

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