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

Our mayoral forum tonight is livestreaming, thanks to @dcpubliclibrary.bsky.social!

Hear from @garygoodweather.bsky.social, Ernest E. Johnson, @janeese4dc.bsky.social, @kenyanmcduffie.bsky.social, Vincent Orange, Rini Sampath, and Hope Solomon.

Watch here at 7pm ET: www.youtube.com/live/a-5xBFX...

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.

We're hiring a contract climate reporter The 19th is seeking a full-time contract reporter to report, write and produce climate coverage, focusing on how politics and policies impact women and LGBTQ+ people.

@19thnews.org is hiring a contract climate reporter! We're looking for a reporter to spend three months covering climate's impact on women and LGBTQ+ people, including how it intersects with housing, child care and health.

Share or apply here: 19thnews.org/2026/04/cont...

The Census Bureau APIs added 1 dataset: 2026/cps/basic/mar
See the full tracker: www.hrecht.com/census-api-d...

One year in, DC’s newest hospital faces growing pains and public scrutiny Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center marks its first year of operation. It has dealt with severe staffing shortages, leadership turnover, and more.

"A patient who was admitted for an appendectomy had an ovary removed instead" !?!?!?!!!!! www.wusa9.com/article/news...

We're not talking enough about the true nerdy problem of mid-decade redistricting, which is that we define legislative district boundaries based on 2020 Census blocks but all other geographies change over time. We can't assume that 2020 county = 2026 county, but some states do.

I'm fun at parties.

Her son needed a fecal transplant for a fearsome C. diff infection. Getting one required a tortuous journey Her son needed a fecal transplant for a fearsome C. diff infection. Getting one required a tortuous journey.

I first learned about fecal transplants in an infectious disease epidemiology class and how the then-homemade transplants were changing everything.

This article about how a child almost died after access was restricted has been haunting me for weeks, read it. www.statnews.com/2026/03/23/c...

Reminder to keep tracking government data disappearances 👇

Help us cover D.C.'s 2026 elections We're looking ahead towards the 2026 local elections, including the June 16 primary and the November 3 general (here's where you can find all of our reporting so far). As we plan our coverage, we…

As we cover the 2026 local elections, we want to know what matters to D.C. residents.

What issues do you think candidates need to address the most? And what questions do you have for candidates?

Let us know via this form, so we can keep track of what you share:

Counting Peak Bloom Map how many cherry blossom trees you can see near your home.

🌸🌸🌸 PEAK BLOOM IS HERE 🌸🌸🌸
here's your annual reminder that you can be experience the joy without the crush of tourists at the Mall.
count trees in your neighborhood: www.hrecht.com/cherry-bloss...

a transcript of me trying to call a hotel in 2026:
human
person
SPEAK TO A HUMAN
other
HUMAN
can you answer this specific question please?
(realization of horror)
are you a human?
SPEAK TO A HUMAN
HUMAN HUMAN
anguished scream

Gamblers trying to win a bet on Polymarket are vowing to kill me if I don’t rewrite an Iran missile story Bettors are using death threats to try to get The Times of Israel's military correspondent to change his report on a missile impact in central Israel. This is his alarming account

Crazy crazy story. Times of Israel reporter ( English language Israeli news site ) gets escalating death threats to change story that’s at center of big polymarket bet. www.timesofisrael.com/gamblers-try...

keychain attachment that says "Data!" in green and blue

it's me

If you’re hiring a graphics/maps person look no further and hire Hannah D immediately. I’ve been privileged to work with her in two newsrooms and she is the best of the best.

Yesss I need more art

Stack of tiny art cards showing U.S. state maps drawn with dot patterns, promoting “The Dormidots Tiny Atlas of the United States,” a set of 51 ACEO prints launching March 8.

From my sketchbook to your map collection: ✨ The Dormidots Tiny Atlas of the United States ✨

This series features 51 Dormidots ACEO map prints — all 📍50 states plus Washington, DC.

Launching March 8. www.studio6101.com

Or on Instagram @studio.6101
www.instagram.com/p/DVlwQ1eDX8...

I love this so much that I can’t choose one excerpt to quote, just read every word of it instead.

ha nooo just in general. At least I hope not!!

most surprising factoid of #nicar26 so far: there are AI toilets
🤯

As measles spreads in South Carolina, RFK Jr’s allies work to gut vaccine laws Activists who dispute safety of vaccines are pushing to limit immunization requirements in schools

Groups with ties to Robert F Kennedy Jr are encouraging followers to organize opposition to vaccine mandates in more than 20 states, including six states with current measles outbreaks.

Table listing Virginia county names with numbers. The letters in the county names are unevenly spaced, some are very close together and others are spread out with lots of space between letters.

crimes against kerning

Feel like it's telling that you *don't* see people who have a lot of experience with T-MSIS data rushing to put out quick-and-dirty analyses (they know how quirky T-MSIS data can be)

Sloppy efforts to "expose" Medicaid "fraud" like this are going to expand the large target already on HCBS services

DC Water also acknowledged that in recent days they put out some of their own testing data on the level of bacteria and E. coli in the river but had their numbers wrong. They blame human error, and it was way off. E. coli levels are about 100 times higher than DC Water initially reported.

Just a little oopsie poopsie. www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/w...

NEWS: Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White's trial for bribery, which was scheduled to begin March 24, will be delayed. A judge agreed that a "significant amount of new information" turned over last month by prosecutors to White's defense attorney justified holding off on trial. No new date yet.

You need to hire @timmeko.bsky.social as your next graphics leader, period.

Back when I was a baby data analyst wanting to make graphics & become a journalist Tim took me under his wing, taught me everything, advocated for me to work with his team. So many of us are journalists now because of Tim.

I had the privilege of working with the Post graphics team for a bit in 2024. Not only are they the absolute best at their craft, but more importantly, incredible people who were so welcoming even though I was just a temp.

Read the thread & hire these amazing gfx/data/dev journalists right away.

Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund

Today I was one of the many laid off from the Post. It is a dark day for news. For now I am going to take some time with my family before figuring out where I go from here.

In the meantime, please consider supporting my colleagues. Any contribution helps: www.gofundme.com/f/standing-t...

Alyssa is the best and incredibly talented and anyone would be lucky to work with her.

My latest @npr.org story: The Trump administration has shrunk the number of locations for this year’s #2030Census field test and added plans to test replacing temporary census workers with postal workers, raising concerns about the Census Bureau’s ability to produce a reliable national head count

R code showing how to get poverty data using the censusapi R package

Table of poverty data showing child and adult poverty rates in Autauga County, AL by year.

The Census Bureau also updated one of my favorite lesser-known datasets this week: the Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates now has 2024 data.

You can get annual timeseries poverty data for states, counties, or school districts in one call. Here's how to do it in R. www.hrecht.com/censusapi/ar...