Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Oct. 5, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: Another rally to save East Potomac, the Commanders in London and funding for Black neighborhood preservation in D.C.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 7/10: After morning clouds burn off, a “sun”-sational 70-degree afternoon. Full forecast from Capital Weather.
THE LATEST
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D.C. residents rallied again Sunday at East Potomac Park over fears that it will be transformed into an inaccessible luxury golf course, The Washington Sun’s Shamira Muhammad reports.
But less than a mile away, the sound of saws reverberated across the golf course as a crew of National Park Service arborists appeared to be in the process of clearing several trees from a mature grove.
It goes to show how urgent the fight for the park is becoming, said Rebecca Miller, the executive director of the D.C. Preservation League. The recently introduced Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act includes a section that she believes will “gut” Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, which allows non-federal actors to intervene if there is the potential harm to historic sites and has formed the basis of the group’s lawsuit opposing the East Potomac renovation.
“That law is what is protecting this site currently,” Miller said. “That is what we are suing under on all of these different actions.”
The rally also laid bare the different way D.C. locals see “beauty” as compared to President Donald Trump, whose beautification projects around the District include the park, freshly gilded monuments, a triumphal arch — “All of which sully rather than beautify the space,” local resident Marc Blackman told The Sun.
FROM THE DISTRICT
Could D.C.’s next mayor get a pay bump? A new bill introduced by At-Large council member Anita Bonds would push the chief executive’s pay to $290,000 next year, up from the $250,000 that Mayor Muriel Bowser has been bringing in annually since 2023. Bowser is already among the highest-paid mayors in the country, and if the raise passes council muster, her likely successor Janeese Lewis George would only slightly trail New York’s Zohran Mamdani. Now, to be fair, D.C. doesn’t have its own version of Gracie Mansion; our mayor has always paid their own rent or mortgage.
“We need finality. We need either an acquittal or a conviction,” said D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson on WAMU 88.5’s “The Politics Hour” on Friday, weighing in on what will be U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro’s decision on whether to retry Ward 8 council member Trayon White on bribery charges after a mistrial. Her verdict is expected later this month; if she chooses against another trial, White will still face political and personal challenges.
The National Park Service has awarded D.C. a $72,000 grant for Black neighborhood preservation, The Sun’s Justice Covert reports. The D.C. Office of Planning can spend the funds on a new nomination to the National Register of Historic Places.
This year’s Kennedy Center Honors will be held at the Capital One arena in downtown D.C., rather than at the storied venue itself, FOX5 DC reports.
Transit nerds rejoice. Metro is scrapping plans to get rid of the iconic color stripe design on top of pylons marking train station entrances after weeks of fierce customer pushback, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports.
Richard Ables Sr. saw generations of Black Washingtonians through the process of burying a loved one at Hall Brothers Funeral Home, until the D.C. fixture closed seven years ago. Ables, who died last month, planned his own send-off, too, The Washington Post reports.
FROM VIRGINIA
At last week’s annual Mid-Atlantic Police Motorcycle Rodeo, motor officers navigated orange cone-lined courses at Dulles Town Center to show off their skills and train for the job, The Washington Post reports.
TRIVIA
Maryland is one of only 4 states in the country with a law mandating the youngest age a child can be left home alone. What is the minimum age?
- 8 years old
- 10 years old
- 14 years old
Email us the answer — the first reader who gets it right gets a shout out. The answer will be at the end of the newsletter tomorrow.
SPORTS
The Commanders’ season hit another setback on Sunday, as backup quarterback Marcus Mariota — starting in relief of the injured Jayden Daniels — was knocked out in the first quarter of their 30-13 loss to the Colts in London, reports The Sun’s Martenzie Johnson from historic Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Washington fans who made the trip across the Atlantic instead were left to watch third-string rookie Athan Kaliakmanis — who, to be fair, held up better than one might expect from a seventh-round draft pick — in a less-than-stellar QB duel with the Colts’ Daniel Jones. (So much for trying to convert the British into American football fans.)
Now 1-3, the Commanders desperately need Daniels to return for next Sunday’s game against the Giants, writes The Sun’s Dave Sheinin.
In the hours after their playoff exit Wednesday, the Mystics decided to keep the night going. In a fun story wrapping up Washington’s breakthrough season, The Sun’s Emma Baccellieri details the late-night “cute little kumbaya” the tight-knit group of players held at guard Georgia Amoore’s apartment before they all dispersed for the offseason.
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The newsletter was produced by Jeff Dooley, Jaden Amos and Gaby Morera Di Núbila.
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