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07/12/2025

Trayon White made history by becoming the first D.C. lawmaker ever expelled from office. Despite his bribery charges and a bare bones campaign, Ward 8 activists still expect to see him re-elected in the July 15 race to fill his seat.

He’s scarcely appeared at public events in the brief run-up to the July 15 special election. He hasn’t spent a dollar on his re-election bid. And he’s hardly doing any typical campaigning, like knocking on doors or otherwise talking to voters, according to local activists like Stuart Anderson.

“I don’t know of any incumbent who won re-election and did nothing,” said Anderson, who ran against White in 2020, but had served as his campaign manager in 2016. “Even the great Marion Barry, he came out and his team was active in engaging people around his campaign. I just don’t see a lot of effort in the Trayon camp.”https://wamu.org/story/25/07/10/despite-bribery-charges-and-a-bare-bones-campaign-trayon-white-is-favored-to-win-ward-8s-special-election/

07/11/2025

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07/11/2025

This week on Get Out There, we cool down from the summer heat with a dip in the pool, a swim in the bay, a lick of ice cream, and a swing at indoor putt putt.

This week on Get Out There, we cool down from the summer heat with a dip in the pool, a swim in the bay, a lick of ice cream, and a swing at indoor putt putt.

07/11/2025

Mayor Muriel Bowser counted closing the D.C. General shelter as a key achievement of her second term in office, arguing its overcrowded, squalid conditions were unacceptable for the unhoused families living there. But advocates fear she’s now pushing a policy change that could reverse the city’s progress since its closure in 2018.

Advocates and lawmakers fear the change would reverse the progress the city’s made since closing the dilapidated D.C. General shelter in 2018. Officials see it as a stopgap measure as shelters near capacity.

Bowser’s 2026 budget proposal includes a provision allowing the District to temporarily house families in more communal, less private shelters, known as “congregate” facilities. This would partially roll back guarantees to unhoused families that have been enshrined in D.C. law for the last four decades. The city has long struggled to actually meet those commitments in providing privacy for unhoused families, however; It took closing D.C. General to make strides on that front. https://wamu.org/story/25/07/07/dc-could-put-some-unhoused-families-in-communal-shelters/

07/10/2025

Statewide candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general are hitting the road in Northern Virginia.

Virginia Republicans say they're running to continue the business-friendly, culturally conservative policies of current Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is running for a second term, says Youngkin's election brought Virginia back from the brink of pandemic-era Democratic leadership.

“We were dying as a state. We were 46th in the country in job creation. We were 48th in reopening our schools,” says Miyares.

Miyares spoke at a rally in Vienna with Youngkin and Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who's now running to succeed her boss.

Meanwhile, Democrats are proposing policies to curb health care, housing, and energy costs and pushing back on cuts to the federal workforce.

Here's how former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor, put it at a visit to small businesses in Falls Church.

“We need a governor and we need a ticket and we need state legislators who are focused on making sure the foundation is strong and that we are standing up for our communities and for Virginians every time there is chaos coming out of Washington.”

Vote-rich Northern Virginia will be key to both campaigns, with Democrats hoping to turn out their base and Republicans seeking to retain voters who swung right in the presidential election.

07/10/2025

WAMU's regional politics team breaks down what the federal spending plan means for D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.

Massive cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs will create gaps already strained state and local governments say they won't be able to cover. Meanwhile, some higher-income residents will see…

07/10/2025

We had a great time last night with the UniverSoul Circus as they practiced for the show and taught us new tricks in their circus camp!

Don't miss out on WAMU night at the circus Friday, July 11 with guest ringmaster Kojo Nnamdi. Tickets are still available! https://www.ticketmaster.com/universoul-circus-national-harbor-maryland-07-11-2025/event/150062A89AC62573

07/10/2025

Trayon White made history by becoming the first D.C. lawmaker ever expelled from office. Despite his bribery charges and a bare bones campaign, Ward 8 activists still expect to see him re-elected in the July 15 race to fill his seat.

The July 15 special election was prompted by White's expulsion from the D.C. Council. Although he hasn't made much of a public case for why he deserves another chance, he's still the frontrunner.

07/10/2025

This week on The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi, we’re joined by U.S. Congressman Glenn Ivey (D-MD4), U.S. Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA10), and WAMU's Senior D.C. Politics Reporter Alex Koma.

You can join the conversation by leaving your comment below or calling into the show live at (800)-433-8850. https://wamu.org/show/the-politics-hour/

07/09/2025

Some new sounds are coming soon to the WAMU weekend broadcast schedule, and the line-up is about to get more fun. Beginning the weekend of Saturday, July 12, WAMU will start airing The Sam Sanders Show and Tiny Desk Radio!

The Sam Sanders Show is about the things we obsess over in our free time: TV and movies, music and celebrities, internet and memes, and the people who make them — an hour of pure joy. Tiny Desk Radio is the online phenomenon you already love, now on-air.

We know the intense news cycle shows no signs of slowing down, so join us on the new weekends to take a step back and catch your breath. tch your breath.

Find out more: https://wamu.org/around-wamu/weekend-program-changes-beginning-july-12/

07/08/2025

Congrats, and thank you to the Capital Weather Gang!

It's been 10 years since we first started delivering the weather forecast on WAMU 88.5!

“Christmas came early for Washington-area weather enthusiasts Monday, when the dulcet voice of the Capital Weather Gang’s Jason Samenow blasted out of their radios,” Washingtonian wrote in early July 2015.

More details at http://cwg.live

07/06/2025

D.C.'s Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund, a well-regarded program to deliver raises to childcare workers faces an uncertain future, thanks to Mayor Muriel Bowser's budget proposal. Funding for the program could soon disappear, forcing big changes to the city's daycare sector.

“I don’t know if I will be able to afford continuing to teach,” says Zharray Johnson, who works at Educare daycare facility in Northeast D.C.

About 4,000 other early childhood educators may find themselves in similar situations as D.C.’s budget debate heats up. Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed spending about $70 million next year on this “pay equity fund,” which sends money to private daycare facilities to help them afford higher wages for their workers. But her budget slashes any money for the program moving forward.

“Our educators deserve more reassurance than a year-to-year bargain whether or not these types of programs are going to be funded,” said Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker.
https://wamu.fm/45K6fk6