Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Oct. 16, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: Possible tax hikes, Bard and the Guard and a red panda that needs a name.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 6/10. Warm for mid-October with some sunshine, but humidity, increasing winds and late-day storms take away a few points. Full forecast from Capital Weather.
THE LATEST
Trending
D.C.’s license plates may say “Taxation Without Representation,” but today the city’s elected representatives will be discussing — you guessed it — taxation.
The D.C. Council is holding a long-awaited invite-only public hearing on possible tax hikes, covering everything from investment income and second homes to law firms’ and lobbyists’ currently untaxable proceeds, reports The Washington Sun’s Martin Austermuhle.
The discussion comes at a time of profound change for D.C., with a new mayor set to take office in January but already facing a likely $600 million budget deficit and slowing economic growth.
“The city faces a big shortfall and we’re going to have to solve it either by cuts or revenue increases or a combination of the two,” said Ward 3 council member Matt Frumin.
Progressive groups and some lawmakers are pushing for tax increases on wealthy households, calling it a matter of simple fairness. One bill would impose a local version of an existing federal tax on proceeds from investment income for high-income households, while another would increase property taxes for second homes that aren’t occupied on a full-time basis.
“When you break it down to who’s paying what and you see that people who are making millions of dollars are paying lower tax rates than people who are struggling, it’s just not fair,” said Ward 1 council member Brianne Nadeau, one of the main proponents of raising taxes.
Business groups and some tax skeptics counter that the worst time to raise taxes is when D.C. is already facing a slumping economy. “My worry is if we only do revenue and we only do weird goofy revenue things that no one else does, that’s going to hurt the long-term growth rebound,” said Joe Bishop-Henchman, the vice president of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
Today’s hearing is just the start of a conversation, and sources tell The Sun that it’s unlikely that anything will move forward before the end of the year. Still, what happens today could tee up big changes once Janeese Lewis George takes office, as she’s expected to on Jan. 2.
DEEP DIVE
“This is not a war zone”: Not long after classes let out at Bard High School in Congress Heights on Wednesday, a group of National Guard members stood nearby and watched as community members gathered to hold a meeting about their presence.
Parents and students, as well as community leaders like Ward 2 council member Brooke Pinto and Ward 8 State Board of Education member Dr. LaJoy Johnson-Law, held a listening session to discuss the impact of having armed troops marshalling a majority Black community, The Sun’s Shamira Muhammad reports.
“[Students] are watching armed personnel come outside their school, get ready for their duty, strapping guns [and] bulletproof vests on their body, dressing themselves in tactical gear,” said Kianna Faucette, vice president of Bard’s PTO.
A Bard senior reported seeing “[troops] outside my window in class.” Another student said he tries to “quickly walk past” the guard members. Bard parent Erica Brown said she has seen them out in the area as early as 6 a.m.
“I am a fourth generation Ward 8 resident,” Brown said. “Regardless of what people may say about us, this is not a war zone.”
Pinto said council members are considering a 1,000-foot buffer zone around schools, while Johnson-Law added that the state board of education is introducing a resolution that would allow high schoolers in the District to obtain REAL IDs so they can prove their age to guard members.
FROM THE DISTRICT
Metro is using the L’Enfant Plaza station as a testing ground for new system-wide signage meant to make trains easier to find, board and exit. But, as The Sun’s Will Hofmann reports, some customers complain the signs are more disorienting than dependable.
Cockroaches in oatmeal, dead mice in salad, milk containers covered in mouse poop — those are just some of the disgusting dishes a new lawsuit alleges a D.C. jail has served people incarcerated there since July 2023, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports.
The Trump administration has formally invoked presidential communications privilege to withhold documents and block testimony about Donald Trump’s involvement in the Kennedy Center’s management, The Sun’s Torrie Herrington reports.
Lengthy elevator outages in D.C.’s public schools — some of which have persisted for months — are preventing students and teachers with disabilities or mobility issues from attending class and could violate their civil rights, The Washington Post reports.
FROM VIRGINIA
Less than a month before Election Day, Alexandria residents found flyers citing federal laws that bar immigrants who are in the country illegally from voting, The Sun’s Justice Covert reports. Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins said in a statement to The Sun that she believes the flyers, which were stuck to cars in the area, are an attempt to intimidate voters. Though the flyers featured the U.S. Department of Homeland Security seal and phone number, a spokesperson said the department was not involved in their distribution.
Around 4,000 fewer students are enrolled in Fairfax County Public Schools compared to last year, following a trend of decreasing enrollment numbers felt across the DMV, The Sun’s Justice Covert reports. This is the fourth consecutive school year FCPS has seen fewer students enrolled than the previous year.
FROM THE DINING ROOM
Tom Sietsema, The Sun’s food correspondent, writes about some under-the-radar cooking.
A D.C. chef is serving a controversial fine-dining ingredient, albeit not by name. Diners have to ask their waiters for details about what’s cryptically listed among specials as “You Didn’t See This On the Menu.”
The dish? Foie gras, the fatty liver of duck (sometimes goose). The veteran chef offers two slices of the delicacy, marinated in whiskey, sugar and black pepper, with quince and apple, along with slices of brioche for $42.
On Nov. 3, District voters will decide whether to ban the sale of foie gras. Initiative 86, known as the Prohibiting the Force-Feeding of Birds Act, is backed by Pro-Animal D.C., an advocacy group that collected 45,000 signatures to qualify the measure. If approved, the ban would take effect in July 2027. Violating the law could result in fines as high as $5,000. The measure is opposed by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, among other groups.
The District chef I spoke to, whose name is omitted to avoid controversy, says he serves about half a dozen orders of foie gras on a busy night. “Why can’t I serve foie gras?” he asks. Referring to how other popular items are acquired, he adds, “What about cows and chickens?”
METRO MOMENT
The Smithsonian Zoo has welcomed a fiery new addition, and is asking for Washingtonians’ help in naming her. The female red panda cub — described as “bold” and “feisty” by the zoo — was born to parents Keahi and Rocket this past June.
Your three, pre-selected choices:
- Dolly, after the legendary Dolly Parton.
- Pyra, which the zoo says translates to “heat” in Greek, but historically has been used more morbidly to denote a funeral pyre.
- Dolpa, after a Nepalese district home to wild red pandas.
You can cast your vote here.
SPORTS
What’s it like to have kids in the NBA and WNBA at the same time? Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream tip off in the WNBA Finals on Saturday. Meanwhile, her brother, Julian, is preparing for the NBA season with the Pelicans. The Reeses are just one of the seven basketball families who are represented in both leagues. The Sun’s Alex Schiffer caught up with a few of them to try and find the secret to raising a pair of pros.
What to Watch This Weekend
Saturday
NWSL: Spirit vs. Gotham FC, 12:30 p.m. (CBS)
NCAAF: Maryland vs. Rutgers, 12:30 p.m. (BTN)
NHL: Capitals vs. Devils, 1 p.m. (Monumental)
MLS: D.C. United at Orlando, 7:30 p.m. (Apple TV)
Sunday
NFL: Cowboys at Packers, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Gaby Morera Di Núbila.
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