Trump says he wants to make D.C. parks great again. That might be harder than he thinks Residents say the federal government has long created more problems than solutions for the city’s green spaces.

I reported on this last year for @51st.news: 51st.news/trump-wants-...

It's great that NPS and the Trump administration is investing in federal parks in D.C. (The deferred maintenance is valued at roughly $1.6 billion.) But: many federal parks/parcels in D.C. neighborhoods aren't getting much love. Also, consistent funding is needed.

A watchful D.C. resident sent me a photo of something we haven’t seen in years; water flowing down the cascading fountain at Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park. NPS started work on the long-dry fountain late last year, as part of a broader project to refurbish the park.

Bowser, though, opposes Crawford's amendment, saying it would create "administrative hurdles that essentially prohibit the use of juvenile curfew zones." She also won't agree to requiring DPR to provide programming whenever curfew zones are declared. She says it's infeasible.

As a means to somewhat bridge the gap between proponents and opponents of the teen curfew zones, At Large Councilmember Doni Crawford has floated an amendment that would keep the authority for D.C. to declare the zones while adding requirements for DPR programs whenever the zones are in effect.

Interestingly, there's probably enough votes for the permanent bill (since it needs seven), but whether the emergency bill passes is an open question (it needs nine). In a letter to the council yesterday, @mayorbowser.dc.gov strongly pushed for both to be approved.

Today the D.C. Council takes up two bills dealing with the 8 p.m. teen curfew zones: an emergency version to let the city keep using the zones over the summer, and a permanent bill that would enshrine their use into law forever more (or until repealed or changed).

In a letter to council, Bowser says she’s strongly opposed to this amendment, saying it would create “so many administrative hurdles that essentially prohibit the use of juvenile curfew zones.”

ASK A DC CANDIDATE: A MAYORAL FORUM MONDAY, APRIL 20 6:30 – 8:30 P.M. MLK LIBRARY AUDITORIUM SOLD OUT — LIVESTREAM TIX AVAILABLE PRESENTED BY: THE 51ST, THE WASHINGTON INFORMER, SPOTLIGHT DC, AND THE DC PUBLIC LIBRARY

Our mayoral forum on Monday with @washingtoninformer.com + @spotlightdc.bsky.social is SOLD OUT — but thanks to @dcpubliclibrary.bsky.social, there will be a livestream!

RSVP for free livestream access here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ask-a-dc-c...

Got details on Crawford's proposed amendment. In short, it would extend the city's authority to declare the 8 p.m. teen curfew zones over the summer, while removing the mayor's power to extend it citywide. It would also require DPR programming on any day a curfew zone is used.

"I’m optimistic because there are conversations taking place and efforts at making tweaks to make members comfortable," added Mendelson, referring to a possible amendment from At-Large Councilmember Doni Crawford that may be looking to bridge the gap on how to proceed on teen curfew zones.

"There’s a minority of members who are concerned that we are criminalizing juveniles just being together and being outside. That’s one way of looking at it, but it’s not the way I am looking at it," said @chmnmendelson.bsky.social at his press briefing this morning.

So there's a very real chance the council could pass the permanent version of the teen curfew zones bill, but reject the emergency extension over the summer. That means D.C. could get the teen curfew zones back in the fall, after the congressional review period.

There will be two separate votes tomorrow: one on a permanent bill that would allow D.C. to use the teen zones in perpetuity, and an emergency version that will extend them only over the summer. The permanent needs seven votes to pass, the emergency needs nine votes.

TEEN CURFEW NEWS: There's plenty of movement within the D.C. Council ahead of a debate and vote tomorrow on a bill that would revive the 8 p.m. teen curfew zones that the city has been using since last summer. The bill authorizing the zones lapsed on April 15.

Here's the Supreme Court's ruling and Jackson's dissent: www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...

Here's the request from @dcattorneygeneral.bsky.social that the Supreme Court take up the case: www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...

The only written dissent comes from Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who argues the Supreme Court didn't need t get involved: "I am not sure why our Court sees fit to intervene in this case, let alone to do so summarily."

Interesting: In an unsigned order published today, the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned a ruling from the D.C. Court of Appeals that tossed out a D.C. police officer's arrest of an individual on Fourth Amendment grounds. The Supreme Court says the arrest was legal.

Meet the candidates running to represent Ward 1 Five Democrats are vying for the open D.C. Council seat to replace Brianne Nadeau.

NEW: Five Democrats are vying for the open D.C. Council seat to replace Brianne Nadeau.

@maustermuhle.bsky.social + @samdelgado.bsky.social interviewed @rashidaforward1.bsky.social, @miguelward1.bsky.social, @aparnafordc.bsky.social, Terry Lynch, + @warriorforward1.bsky.social.

What they learned:

I’m traveling with my kids in Guatemala this week, and there’s a transportation option I want to export to D.C.: the tuk tuk. It’s basically a tiny three-wheel cab. It’s amazing for short trips in tight spaces, and some drivers totally deck them out.

But: The way this assessment is written it doesn’t yet seem like the tax rate would go down, but rather extra revenue above what is needed to run UPFL would go to the city’s general fund.

If those changes were to come to pass, Bowser estimates that the payroll tax employers pay would drop from 0.75% per employee to as low as 0.11%. Now, recall that much of the current tax rate revenue just goes to the city's general fund instead of covering the UPFL program.

Details on Bowser's proposed changes to the UPFL program are below. In short, she wants to cap weekly benefits at $1,000 (currently it's $1,190) and decrease how much paid time off people get (the max is now 12 weeks).

As part of her proposed 2027 budget, @mayorbowser.dc.gov wants to make changes to the universal paid family leave program for private-sector workers in D.C. She initially said she wants a pause for medical and family leave claims for a year, and vaguely alluded to other changes.

The Fair Elections program is popular with new candidates for office; there's been plenty of first-timers using it. But some of the benefits (increasing power of individual D.C. contributors, limiting corporate money) can seem less tangible when the budget is tight.

With tighter budgets there's been some increasing criticisms of the Fair Elections program, with some people saying it could do with reforms to ensure that candidates can't use public funds to campaign for a bit and then drop out.

Interesting: As part of her proposed 2027 budget, @mayorbowser.dc.gov wants changes to the public financing program for candidates for office. She wants to make candidates personally liable for public funds they spent if they drop out, don't qualify for the ballot, or engage in fraud.

Judicial Security and Privacy Act raises First Amendment concerns However well-intentioned, legislation to prevent the disclosure of federal judges’ personal information could also impede accountability reporting.

I don't exactly know what spurred this proposed bill, but it seems to match legislation that's been debated on the federal and state levels: www.rcfp.org/judicial-sec...

Interesting: @chmnmendelson.bsky.social has a new bill that would prohibit government agencies, individuals, and businesses from publicly posting personal information about federal and D.C. judges, including their home address, if they ask that it be kept private. lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/...

There's already a public hearing scheduled on the bill for May 4: lims.dccouncil.gov/Legislation/...