Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Oct. 23, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: Trayon White, downtown housing and the wrong Washington.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 8/10. Another sunny, dry day, though a bit cooler and breezy. Highs around 60 to the mid-60s feel brisk in the shade. Read the full forecast.
THE LATEST
Trending
D.C. Council member Trayon White’s already-lengthy legal saga just got extended.
Federal prosecutors said in court Thursday that they intend to seek a new indictment from a grand jury — which could include new charges against the lawmaker — and then proceed with a new trial. Attorneys for White, whose first bribery trial ended in a mistrial last month, argue that prosecutors are unfairly targeting him because of his race and seeking to drive him from elected office, The Washington Sun’s Jenny Gathright reports.
“This is designed to break the back of Mr. White’s efforts to effectively defend himself,” said defense attorney Gary Kohlman, who said it may be prohibitively expensive for White to maintain his current legal team through the duration of a new trial.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro called Kohlman’s statement about racial bias “absurd.”
If there is another trial, it won’t start until May at the earliest, prosecutors said.
DEEP DIVE
D.C. needs more housing, stat. Developers struggling to finance projects are finding hard-won success with a government tax abatement program — dubbed “Housing in Downtown” — that incentivizes them to convert vacant office space into residences.
It’s a rare bright spot in D.C. development news (national lenders apparently see the District as “a serious red flag”), and it’s one that could transform downtown neighborhoods like Dupont Circle, West End and Golden Triangle that never fully recovered after offices bottomed out during the COVID-19 pandemic, The Sun’s Zara Norman reports.
“Our office vacancy [rate] has stabilized, and it’s because we are taking empty offices offline and putting them to new uses,” said Nina Albert, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, at the grand opening of the first project to use the program.
Albert told The Sun that D.C. is on target to bring 15,000 residents to 10,000 downtown units by 2028. Developers say the program could be one way out of the housing crisis, which one said has placed a “pretty substantial” portion of D.C.’s affordable housing at risk of failure.
“The affordable housing crisis that we’re having right now, I hope, is a temporary problem that we’re continuing to work on making fixes to, so that we can stabilize that portion of the market and get it back on track,” Albert said.
FROM THE DISTRICT
Rep. Joyce Beatty requested that a federal judge force the Trump administration to reveal communications about the president’s management of the Kennedy Center, The Sun’s Torrie Herrington reports.
A Tuesday court filing claims that the administration improperly withheld information about President Donald Trump’s role in closing the performing arts center for two years, and that Trump’s communications with Kennedy Center staff fall outside the scope of presidential privilege.
Workers could start constructing Trump’s triumphal arch in two weeks, pending final approval from a federal commission stacked with Trump appointees, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports.
FROM VIRGINIA
Federal authorities arrested state Sen. L. Louise Lucas yesterday in a sprawling public corruption case that includes fraud and racketeering accusations involving a cannabis business she co-owns, The Sun’s Michelle Del Rey reports. The 82-year-old Democrat, who denies the allegations, was a prominent figure behind her party’s redistricting efforts earlier this year.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger criticized the timing of the arrest so close to an election, and said Lucas and her family “deserve the opportunity to present their defense and speak to the allegations presented.”
Pulling the plug: Amazon will not build data centers on George Washington University’s Ashburn campus after facing local backlash, The Washington Post reports.
Washington Manassas Airport officials celebrated breaking ground on a new $41 million air traffic control tower, a project the director said was 26 years in the making, according to a news release. The new tower will replace the current one the city bought from a Colorado airport in 1992 for $65,000. The city expects to complete construction by 2029.
FROM MARYLAND
Seven schools in Montgomery County were placed under “secure” status following a shooting near Walter Johnson High School on Wednesday, FOX 5 reports.
After reviewing surveillance camera footage, authorities concluded that the four individuals they detained in relation to the shooting were victims and that they had not identified a suspect, the department said in a news release.
METRO MOMENT
Thanks to Reddit sleuths, we know that, as recently as Wednesday night, Fanatics was selling a Capitals sweatshirt that featured the outline of Washington ... state.
The problem is that the Capitals play in Washington, D.C., not in the Pacific Northwest — a fact that can be verified in a number of places, including Google. The link for the sweatshirt, which was for women and retailing at $64.99, now leads to a more general page on the Fanatics website. In other words: The sweatshirt is no longer for sale, officially making it a limited-edition item.
It is not the first time, either, that a clothing company has mixed up the District and Washington state in apparel for a D.C. team. Geography’s hard, after all, and there are just so many professional franchises to keep straight.
SPORTS
The Wizards’ season-opening win on Wednesday marked a turning point for the franchise, The Sun’s Dave Sheinin writes. After three years of misery, Washington finally seems committed to winning and they just might have the talent to do so. Star forward Anthony Davis, who was dominant in the win over Milwaukee, said it wasn’t hard to notice the change inside Capital One Arena on Wednesday night.
“The crowd was great. They were into it,” Davis said. “Last year … it was like ‘Dress Like a Seat Night’ in here.”
Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois has missed the past five games with an illness, but Washington got some good news Wednesday as the veteran suited up for practice. There is no official timeline for his return, but The Sun’s Emma Baccellieri writes that Dubois should provide a “dynamic, meaningful boost” when he does get back out on the ice.
At Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, a unique football program is led by a trailblazing coach. When she was hired this offseason, Rachel Worsham became the first female varsity football coach in Virginia, and at T.J. she faces a distinct challenge. Representing one of the best public magnet schools in the country, many Colonials are playing football for the first time. The Sun’s Noah Ferguson profiles Worsham and her team.
What to Watch This Weekend
Friday
NBA: Wizards vs. Raptors, 7 p.m. (Monumental)
Saturday
MLS: D.C. United vs. Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. (Apple TV)
NBA: Wizards at Bulls, 8 p.m. (Monumental)
Sunday
NWSL: Spirit at Kansas City Current, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
NFL: Chiefs at Seahawks, 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Nikie Johnson.
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