Murals keep popping up, including the new D.C. statehood mural in Southeast. Reminder: the House of Representatives is holding the first statehood hearing in 26 years tomorrow, at 10 a.m. in the Rayburn Building.

THE NEWS: 

The Council is back and that means bills, bills, bills. 

On Tuesday, At-Large Councilmember Robert Whiteintroduced legislation to track sexual misconduct complaints within the D.C. government; Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allenintroduced legislation to provide loans and rent subsidy options to small and local businesses; and At-Large Councilmember David Grossointroduced legislation to protect abortion rights in the District.

But one piece of legislation has garnered a lot of attention, given that President Donald Trump even supports the idea and wants to take it national: banning flavored e-cigarettes. 

Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh introduced a bill to prohibit the sale or distribution of “flavored electronic smoking.” The bill says this includes flavored e-cigarettes, e-liquids, and e-cigars. And that means goodbye to fruity, dessert- or mint-flavored e-cigarettes. The penalty? A civil fine of no more than $1,000. And a license to sell tobacco products could be suspended for a first or second violation, and revoked for a third. 

“The e-cigarette industry has built this youth market by targeting children through advertising and widely available flavored products—taking a note from the playbook of the closely-aligned tobacco industry,” says Cheh in a press statement. 

This bill has support from nine other members, meaning it could actually become law and override a veto should Mayor Muriel Bowser not support it. (Her spox didn’t respond to a request for comment.)    

Ward 7 Councilmember Vince Gray also introduced a bill that bans the sale of any electronic smoking device or liquids unless it’s at a pharmacy or medical marijuana dispensary to a person with a prescription. The bill has less support, with four members co-introducing it.  

We’ve reached an anti-vaping tipping point, as hundreds have suffered vaping-related illnesses and seven have even died. On Tuesday, New York became the second state to ban flavored e-cigarettes. 

The Wilson Building is probably going to see a lot of vaping lobbyists in the coming weeks—maybe we’ll spot former Deputy Mayor Courtney Snowden? —Amanda Michelle Gomez (tips? agomez@washingtoncitypaper.com)

MORE NEWS YOU CAN USE:

  • More than 100 workers lost their jobs in a month’s time. [WCP] 

  • After 3+ years of construction, you can now visit the Washington Monument [WAMU]

  • Are those scooters enviro-friendly? Well, a single e-scooter produced more emissions per mile traveled than a bus with high ridership. [DCist]

  • Amazon held a “Career Day” and thousands actually showed up. [Post]

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

  • Who do opportunity zones really help? [WAMU]

  • D.C. department head says shady lottery contract squares with the law. [Post]

  • Blaze it, D.C. employees! [DCist]

  • Home from prison for accepting a bribe, former Councilmember Michael Brown now has a radio show. [Twitter]

  • The Jack–Evans–Shark–Tank video. [Twitter]

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

  • Whole Foods and Starbucks won’t support this weekend’s H Street Festival. [WCP]

  • Pizzeria Paradiso’s statehood pizza is topped with chili and half-smokes. [WCP]

  • This new Baltimore restaurant’s dress code is a big problem. [Post]

  • And the group behind that dress code is bringing two restaurants to D.C.’s Moxy Hotel. [Washingtonian]

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

  • Nina Totenberg remembers her friend and colleague Cokie Roberts. [NPR]

  • Meet the rich man behind the Washington Monument’s restoration. [Post]

  • Alexandria gets another news source. [Washingtonian]

  • Theater leaders Michael J. Bobbitt and Raymond O. Caldwell talk diversity and inclusion in the theater world. [DC Theatre Scene]

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

  • The Mystics escaped with a 97-95 win over the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the WNBA playoffs semifinal after a series of controversial events in the final minutes. Emma Meessemanled all scorers with 27 points. [FanSided]

  • Rookie catcher Tres Barrera took a long and emotional journey from South Texas to his debut in D.C. with the Nats. [WCP]

  • World Cup hero Rose Lavelle has been cleared to resume full training with the Washington Spirit and is expected to play on Saturday. [Post]

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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