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Haven’t had enough of the climate march? #ShutDownDC climate activists are holding a meeting Thursday to discuss next steps. Climate change is becoming Democratic voters’ number one issue, and D.C. residents are organizing.

THE NEWS: 

The Council is voting on a few notable items today, including a bill that would sever the existing relationship between the D.C. Department of Corrections and federal immigration agencies. (ICYMI: DOC has handed ICE at least 43 undocumented immigrants since Jan. 2016, per a City Paper public records request.) 

And one hot-button bill is garnering a great deal of attention: an excise tax on soda and sugary drinks. 

During today’s legislative meeting, Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau is introducing the Healthy Beverage Choices Act of 2019, which would levy a 1.5 cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks. The tax would be levied on business owners. Other cities that have created such a tax have seen drink prices rise, and consumption fall. The tax money in D.C., expected to reach $21 million, would be earmarked for D.C.’s Birth to Three program.  

The majority of the Council supports the bill, City Paper’s Laura Hayes reports. And grassroots organizers support it as well, including the #DontMuteMyHealth movement. #DontMuteMyHealth organizers were spotted outside the Wilson Building today. 

“This piece of legislation is about saving lives,” says Stuart Anderson of Families and Friends of Incarcerated People, who launched #DontMuteMyHealth in June. “Black folks are dying faster than anyone else from curable and preventable diseases and sugar is a contributing agent to many of those. Sugar became our first addictive habit.”

Another major piece of legislation getting a final vote today is the District’s Comprehensive Plan, a 20-year roadmap that guides growth and development. The vote comes as D.C. grapples with an affordable housing crisis. 

Not everyone supported changes to the Comp Plan—specifically the section that addressed reforms to “planned unit developments,” or a process for large-scale developments where property owners get more flexibility on zoning in exchange for public benefits. Indeed, D.C. Building Industry Association and the DC Housing Authority tried to water down the tenant protections, but so far those efforts haven’t been successful.

The Council is just approving the Comp Plan’s introductory chapter, so we have a long process ahead of us.—Amanda Michelle Gomez (tips? Email agomez@washingtoncitypaper.com)

MORE NEWS YOU CAN USE:

  • Shootings over the last few days leave Shaw neighborhood shook. [Post] 

  • Third suspect arrested for the robbery and assault on trans woman. [Blade] 

  • Solar permits more than doubled in the District this year compared to last. [WAMU]

  • Amazon is coming to 14th Street NW. [BizJournal]

LOOSE LIPS LINKS, by Mitch Ryals (tips? mryals@washingtoncitypaper.com) 

  • Chairman Phil Mendelson is expected to announce members of the ad hoc committee that will investigate Jack Evans. [Twitter]

  • Prince George’s County delegate charged with wire fraud. [WAMU]

  • Senior affordable housing project planned for Southeast. [Bisnow]

  • Fired D.C. employee is suing over her use of medical marijuana. [NBC]

  • Where do the guns in D.C. come from? [Post]

YOUNG & HUNGRY LINKS, by Laura Hayes (tips? lhayes@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Why some people call Millie’s in Spring Valley “MILFie’s.” [Washingtonian]

  • One in four food delivery drivers sample your food before it gets to you. [Today]

  • Bartenders are trying to rehab tiki’s reputation. [Eater]

ARTS LINKS, by Kayla Randall (tips? krandall@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • The OSYX’s patriarchy destroying debut album comes out this Friday. [WCP] 

  • The National Building Museum is set to close for three months to repair its floors. [WAMU]

  • The mystery of the missing Radford University student newspapers. [Post]

  • Where you can get into autumn and grab pumpkins around D.C. [Washingtonian]

SPORTS LINKS, by Kelyn Soong (tips? ksoong@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • The “old guys” on the Nats (Max Scherzer’s words, not mine) got it done and they’re going to Los Angeles for a decisive Game 5 in the NLDS. [WCP]

  • The Mystics can win it all tonight. Game 4 against the Connecticut Sun starts at 8 p.m. [Bullets Forever]

  • Bruce Allen is trying to gaslight the Washington football team fanbase. [USA Today]

MAKE PLANS, by Emma Sarappo (Love this section? Get the full To Do This Week newsletter here. Tips? esarappo@washingtoncitypaper.com)

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