Happy Tuesday, D.C. It’s the last official day of spring and we’re diving into another work week, but you can keep your belated case of the Mondays at bay by making some solstice plans. If you’re planning to vote in Virginia’s primary election today, polls close at 7 p.m.
Here’s the news you may have missed over the holiday weekend.
Saturday Night News Dump
Just before midnight on Saturday, June 17, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration released a damning report outlining the investigation into her former chief of staff and ex-deputy mayor for planning and economic development, John Falcicchio. Two D.C. government employees accused Falcicchio, who abruptly resigned three months ago, of sexual harassment in March, and the report revealed findings so disturbing that sneaking them online in the middle of a weekend night was almost unsurprising.
The report substantiated allegations that Falcicchio made inappropriate physical sexual advances toward the initial complainant and sent her thousands of sexually charged messages on Snapchat. According to the report, “the Complainant alleged she was subjected to unwelcome touching of a sexual nature by [Falcicchio] during [two] incidents and that [he] exposed his sexual organs during the second incident.” These actions “more likely than not constituted sexual harassment as defined and prohibited by Mayor’s Order 2017-313,” the report concludes.
Following the release of the report, Bowser released a short statement and referred all questions to the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel, which led the investigation. “We take sexual harassment allegations and findings seriously and will continue to work urgently to ensure our workplaces reflect our policies and our values,” the statement reads in part.
Attorneys Debra S. Katz and Kayla Morin, who are representing the complainant, released a statement encouraging D.C. “to implement immediate reforms that will prevent others from being treated in this reprehensible fashion – especially by those in positions of power.”
As for what happens next, multiple D.C. councilmembers are pushing for accountability and consequences, though sources close to the investigation told NBC4’s Mark Segraves that the report’s findings will not be referred for a criminal investigation. What D.C. taxpayers can likely count on, according to City Paper contributor and Politics Hour analyst Tom Sherwood, is “a huge $$$ settlement beyond any legal/criminal liabilities Falcicchio is facing.”
Celebration and Sorrow
The Bowser Administration also brought the community together to celebrate Juneteenth. At a gathering on Black Lives Matter Plaza, kids jumped in a bounce house while other attendees listened to live music and reflected on the significance of a celebration a few blocks from the White House, a residence built using the labor of enslaved people.
Further north, celebrants gathered in Scotland, a historically Black neighborhood in Montgomery County, for activities, including a walk and a car show. In Southeast D.C., members of the clergy held a prayer breakfast to commemorate the holiday and also acknowledge the continuing violence that shakes the District. Eleven people in D.C. were shot between Friday and Monday. Four of them died of their injuries.
Two of the shooting victims were teenage cousins, Demarcos Pinckney, 15, and Kevin Mason, 17, who were fatally shot in Southeast Sunday night. A 6-year-old boy was also critically injured by gunfire Sunday, as was a 16-year-old, who was hit by a stray bullet in her home. And Stephon Shreeves, 14, was shot and killed Saturday in Southeast. Eleven people under 18 years old have been fatally shot in D.C. this year, according to police.
—Caroline Jones (tips? cjones@washingtoncitypaper.com)
- Nikita, the 11-year-old Amur tiger at the National Zoo, is not pregnant, according to zoo staff, after a failed artificial insemination procedure. Zookeepers will continue attempts to breed the Amur tigers, but with a younger female cat. Amur tiger cubs haven’t been born at the zoo since 1948. [DCist]
- If D.C.’s office-to-residential conversions downtown are going to be successful, we’re going to need more of the things that people want to live close to: grocery stores, medical services, and child care, for example. [WTOP]
- Not everywhere in the region got rain, but we were all feeling the heat Monday, as it was June’s third 90-degree day. The humidity is here too, so brace yourselves. [Post]
By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)
- District residents might’ve found plenty of ways to celebrate Juneteenth on their own this weekend, but the city still doesn’t have an official event for the holiday, despite creating a commission to run one last year. The Council and Mayor Bowser still haven’t found funding for it or named members to it. [Street Sense]
- A hearing on At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie’s bill to create a group studying reparations for descendants of enslaved people attracted more than 100 witnesses. That included some members of a California task force that recently wrapped up similar work, who had ideas about how to make reparations work in practice. [Informer]
- Assistant police chiefs Morgan Kane and Pamela Smith have emerged as the leading internal candidates to take over MPD’s top job, according to sources within the department. However, Baltimore police commissioner Michael Harrison’s sudden resignation has also spurred rumors he’s interested in the District, though he’s denied that. [Post]
By Alex Koma (tips? akoma@washingtoncitypaper.com)
- Critic Tom Sietsema loved the “not traditional” twist on Saga’s patatas bravas, a Spanish fried potato dish. The secret ingredient? Crushed Doritos. [Post]
- The Truxton Inn, a cocktail bar in Bloomingdale, is officially closed. But owner Matthew Weiss hinted that another bar could open in its place. [WTOP, Eater]
- Washingtonian’s Best of Washington dropped last week, with highlights including best tuna melt, best martini, best rooftops, and best drag brunch. [Washingtonian]
- New downtown cocktail bar and restaurant Kitchen & Kocktails specializes in Southern comfort food (lobster mac and cheese, fried catfish, and fried chicken and waffles) and over-the-top cocktails (Don Julio margs are served in a repurposed tequila bottle). [Eater]
By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)
August Wilson’s Radio Golf Captures the Unending Churn of Urban Gentrification
The play packs less of an emotional punch, but its lack of finite resolution is […]
Asteroid City Reveals Writer-Director Wes Anderson at His Most Poignant Moments
The film, opening in D.C. on June 22, features some of the most poignant scenes […]
By Sarah Marloff (tips? smarloff@washingtoncitypaper.com)
- It’s official: Wizards All-Star guard Bradley Beal is on his way to Phoenix, in a trade that the Post’s Candace Buckner calls a “complete and total surrender.” Guard Chris Paul, 38, could be coming to D.C., but those details are still being hashed out. [ESPN, Post]
- Propelled by his victory at the Stuttgart Open, Frances Tiafoe is officially ranked in the top 10 in the world. He is only the third Black American player to reach that feat, joining Arthur Ashe and James Blake. [WTOP]
- The Spirit were down by two goals to the Kansas City Current, but came back to win 3–2. [WTOP, CBS Sports]
- The D.C. Shadow, our Premier Ultimate League team, lost to the Raleigh Radiance Saturday night in the league semi-finals, 18–16. Raleigh went on to win the championship over the New York Gridlock on Sunday. [DCist]
By City Paper staff (tips? editor@washingtoncitypaper.com)
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