Parents and Advocates Renew Calls for a Shaw Middle School

Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn is “luke warm” on a stand-alone middle school.

Parents and education advocates renewed yearslong calls for a new middle school to serve students in Shaw and surrounding neighborhoods during a D.C. Council public roundtable yesterday. They said families were pulling their kids out of D.C. Public Schools and enrolling them in charter or private schools because of the perceived lack of quality middle…

The John A. Wilson Building in Washington, D.C.

New Bill Aims to Speed Up Second-Parent Adoption Process

Renee Perrier and her spouse, Karen Combs, had their first child in 2009. Perrier had carried the baby through pregnancy, so the law automatically considers her a parent. But the monthslong “home study” process required for Combs to become the child’s legal guardian was demoralizing, Perrier says. As a social worker, Perrier was already familiar…

The Big Dunce: Which D.C. Agency Is the Worst?

This performance oversight season we compare them and attempt to determine a victor (or loser depending on your perspective) in a March Madness-style bracket.

It’s performance oversight season in D.C., that special time every year when nearly every local government agency and office lines up in front of D.C. Council committees to describe their work over the past 12 months and answer hours of questions. Constituents provide their own feedback as well, often highlighting major issues that marred the…

Anti-vaccine protesters gather in front of the Lincoln Memorial Sunday Jan. 23, 2022.

Anti-Vaccine Mandate Rally Draws Misinformation, RFK Jr., and Comparisons to Nazi Germany

D.C. now requires proof of vaccination for extended entry to most indoor public spaces.

Anti-vaccine activists gathered on the National Mall Sunday to protest vaccine mandates, wrongly rip prevailing public health policy, and rail against the power of the pharmaceutical industry.  It was a marquee event for those opposing vaccine mandates for extended entry to most indoor public spaces. D.C.’s vaccine mandate went into effect just over a week…

The Other Essential Workers

Meet the people who keep the ordinary and extraordinary parts of D.C. running.

“What do you do?” is often the first question asked in D.C., where the federal government workers turn over like it’s, well, their job.  Consultant, lobbyist, policy researcher, strategist, legislative staffer. Yawn. They’re a dime a dozen in this town.  But as any good native Washingtonian or longtime resident knows, there’s another side of work…

Illustration of covid-19 vaccine

Some of Your D.C. Vaccine Mandate Questions, Answered

The first phase of the city’s indoor vaccine mandate takes effect Jan. 15 and covers businesses like restaurants and sports arenas.

Update 1/14: This story has been updated to include information on enforcement and violations. In late December, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced D.C. would join a host of other major cities in instituting an indoor vaccine mandate for businesses ranging from restaurants to sports arenas before the holidays. Starting Jan. 15 at 6 a.m., customers 12…

Ma la wontons at Great Wall Szechuan House

City Paper’s Best Stories of 2021, As Selected By Its Staff

Presenting Washington City Paper’s best stories of 2021, as selected by its highly objective, in no way biased staff.

Of the roughly 1,100 stories Washington City Paper published in 2021, some were bound to rise to the top. Earlier this week, we presented the 15 stories readers clicked on most this year. Now we’re getting subjective and sharing the stories that resonated with us over the past 12 months. The pieces below, selected by…

Sign on building advocating to cancel rent in D.C.

Will STAY DC Program Be Enough to Stop Expected Surge in Evictions?

Advocates fear those who had trouble applying and receiving funds through the flawed program will be evicted in the new year.

Antonio, a D.C. busboy, had no work after the pandemic forced some restaurants to lay off employees. For nearly a year, Antonio’s household of four had no income; his wife, Irma, 54, has been on dialysis for five years. The family had to scrounge up whatever money they could while accumulating more than a year…

A man stands at a microphone holding his hands out while telling a story

Give It Up, D.C. 2021

Our annual guide to giving back, presented in partnership with the Catalogue for Philanthropy: Greater Washington

Nonprofit organizations are an industry unto themselves in D.C., providing careers for many and directing services to thousands of individuals across the region. Big-budget nonprofits may get a bigger share of the glory (and the donations), but City Paper’s attention often drifts toward smaller organizations doing direct outreach. Perhaps it’s because we share similar underdog…

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