Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Oct. 8, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: A fated D.C. spa complex, Trayon’s latest push for acquittal and how Tom Sietsema stays trim.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 9/10. Basically as awesome as yesterday, but a bit warmer and breezier.Full forecast from Capital Weather.
THE LATEST
Trending
Relax, D.C. Or not.
An effort to bring a massive spa complex to the banks of the Anacostia River seems to have lost steam, after Ward 4 council member Janeese Lewis George — who is also likely to be D.C.’s next mayor — said she opposes it.
“I have concerns regarding the proposed development project at Poplar Point, which is one of the East Coast’s last great urban waterfront redevelopment opportunities,” said Lewis George in a text message to The Washington Sun’s Martin Austermuhle.
The proposal for the 500,000-square-foot spa from Austrian wellness company Therme was an anchor for Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plans to redevelop Poplar Point, a 110-acre plot of riverfront land between the Frederick Douglass and 11th Street bridges.
Bowser’s pitch would give Therme 15 acres of the site for $1 in annual rent for 20 years, and the company said it would spend $500 million to build a new destination for the underserved side of the Anacostia River.
But the pitch fell flat with Lewis George, who has been more skeptical of D.C.’s historical tendency to give away public lands in exchange for development and benefits for residents. “This is prime waterfront real estate that should be used to leverage the building of more affordable homes and the creation of good jobs. The current proposal does neither. We must make this a better deal for District residents,” she told The Sun.
The clash between Bowser and Lewis George doesn’t just reflect the details of this deal, but also competing interests. Bowser is looking to cement her legacy with development deals, some that have been years in the making, while Lewis George is looking for opportunities to enact her own priorities once she takes office Jan. 2.
The news isn’t all bad for Bowser, though. Other development deals she has sent the council — including a proposal to build a new library and recreation center with housing on top in Chevy Chase — look to be moving forward.
FROM THE DISTRICT
Attorneys for D.C. Council member Trayon White, whose first bribery trial ended in a deadlocked jury and mistrial last month, are once again urging a federal judge to acquit him from the bench. “Trial revealed the Government’s undercover sting operation in this case to be a failure on many levels, worthy of the textbooks,” they wrote in a filing on Tuesday, arguing that while White accepted money from an FBI informant, he never intended to pressure government officials to extend the man’s city contracts.
White’s defense team is also arguing that the court should dismiss White’s case on double jeopardy grounds — though they acknowledged that doing so would be a “very unusual step.” Parties in the case are expected to meet at a hearing later this month to hash out these various legal arguments before the judge.
The D.C. Board of Elections has tossed out $16,000 in fines levied against Lewis George’s mayoral campaign ahead of the June primary, Martin reports. At the time the Office of Campaign Finance said Lewis George’s campaign impermissibly coordinated with local unions, but on Wednesday the elections board said there was no actual evidence of that.
D.C. Water says there has been no lasting harm to the Potomac River after a catastrophic sewage spill in January poured 243 million gallons of untreated waste into the water, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports.
If you bought something to eat or drink at Capital One Arena last year, you could be entitled to a slice of a $4.5 million settlement over a 3% “venue fee” that Aramark vendors didn’t include on menu prices, The Sun’s Justice Covert reports. The settlement stemmed from a November 2025 lawsuit filed by the consumer advocacy group Travelers United that accused Aramark of “systematically cheating” customers and violating D.C. consumer protection laws.
Police say four teens have been charged in a string of eight home invasions around Northeast D.C., City Cast D.C. reports. The burglaries escalated over time, included stolen cars, and ended with an armed invasion and attempted sexual assault last week.
Marine One will now be required to give additional notification to air traffic control each time it takes off under a new policy implemented following a communication issue earlier this year which almost resulted in an in-air collision with a commercial jet, The Washington Post reports.
FROM VIRGINIA
A 911 call shows how staff at a Springfield group home mishandled the choking death of a nonverbal disabled resident in 2024, negligently claiming they were unable to help him by performing CPR, NBC4 reports.
FROM MARYLAND
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin introduced a bill yesterday that calls on the Smithsonian to collect and display the massive banners depicting President Donald Trump that are draped over federal agencies as part of a “governmental propaganda” exhibit, Axios D.C. reports.
TALK TO TOM
Tom Sietsema is back and answering your questions about eating in the D.C. area. Submit your questions here.
How do you do this job without gaining a ton of weight?
One of the first things I did when I became food critic of The Washington Post in 2000 was hire a trainer, which might sound like a yuppie affectation until you consider that the job involves constant eating out and no matter how careful you are, a steady stream of fried food, rich sauces, cocktails, meat, bread (gotta sample the bread baskets!) and desserts add up. I viewed exercise as insurance. Plus, you just feel better, mentally and physically, when you move more than your utensils from hand to mouth.
Here at The Sun, I’m still eating out as often as five or six meals a week. So at home, I eat pretty clean — fresh fruit and cottage cheese for breakfast is a near-daily habit. In restaurants, I rarely finish a dish, preferring to let others at the table do that or take home leftovers. (I hate wasting food, but I don’t necessarily want it in my fridge.) At this point, for instance, I can judge a steak in about three bites. And if it’s just two of us, I’ll order wine by the glass versus a bottle. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame once shared that her simple trick for losing weight was cutting out alcohol.
Restraint sounds boring, but that’s my mantra — unless, of course, I’m in front of a plate of french fries at Et Voila! in the Palisades or a tavern-style pizza at La Merna in Dupont Circle. “Moderation in moderation” is another rule I follow.
For more from Tom, check out this week’s Talk to Tom Q&A.
SPORTS
The Commanders are getting some reinforcements. Wednesday saw the return of several players from injury, with running backs Rachaad White and Jeremy McNichols, safety Nick Cross, cornerback Trey Amos, defensive lineman Deatrich Wise and right guard Sam Cosmi all practicing. For Wise, it was his first day back in over a year.
Quarterback Jayden Daniels, meanwhile, practiced for the first time in America since dislocating his left elbow, after getting in a few sessions last week in London — while sporting some extra protection on his arm.
“I was blessed enough to still be allowed to play this game,” Daniels said after practice. “I’m going to embrace it. I’m going to embrace the brace.”
Thank you for reading! If you liked this newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please sign up — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at metro@washsun.com.
The newsletter was produced by Jeff Dooley, Jaden Amos and Gaby Morera Di Núbila.
Authors
