Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Oct. 21, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: Wheelchair accessibility, the fate of “Trash Island” and a sign of life from the Commanders.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 9/10. A touch cooler means we may fall short of 70, but another full day of sun puts us back at the brink of a perfect score. Read the full forecast.
THE LATEST
Trending
Much of Alex Graf’s life is the same now as it was before he began using a wheelchair last summer. What’s vanished is his punctuality. Now, Graf can expect to be late — late to work meetings, late to physical therapy appointments, late getting home to his wife and two toddlers.
“Being disabled is hard, but it’s mostly on other people,” he said. “You’re ceding the control of your own time, and you’re ceding it to people who don’t care, honestly. And not people, but systems.”
Graf has taken to Instagram to vent about the Metro elevator outages and long Uber wait times that often leave him stranded around D.C., but he’s hoping to turn that anger into action, The Washington Sun’s Zara Norman reports.
First, he’s pushing for Metro to announce when coming stations have an elevator outage. Though WMATA tracks that information online, it’s not always up to date. He’s also one of many disability advocates pushing for the D.C. Council to pass a bill that would require rideshare platforms to ensure wheelchair-accessible rides arrive in no more than 110% of the average wait time for standard ones, ban drivers from refusing service to disabled people and pay 10 cents per non-accessible ride into a fund that will purchase more wheelchair-accessible vehicles.
“We should not allow companies to operate in the District while offering one service to people who walk, and a lesser one to people who roll,” Graf testified at a Monday hearing. “These are some of the largest, most sophisticated companies in the world. They can solve this. They have done it in other cities, but only when they have been required to do so. Equal access is not a stretch goal. It should be the cost of doing business here.”
Uber sent an email to D.C. users on Tuesday urging them to oppose the bill, saying it could “significantly raise the cost” of trips, Zara reports. Ward 1 council member Brianne Nadeau, the bill’s author, called it “fearmongering.”
“As anyone who takes ride-hailing in D.C. and elsewhere knows, the cost of trips has already been jacked up by surge pricing and other opaque algorithms,” Nadeau said in a statement to The Sun. “If fares go up, the legislation isn’t the problem; rather it’s the business model that boosts profits at the expense of drivers and customers. Even after all this time, Uber still seems to think it shouldn’t be held accountable in the way that other industries are.”
FROM THE DISTRICT
Have you ever been to Trash Island? On Tuesday, President Donald Trump used the derisive moniker to refer to East Potomac Park, where he is pushing aggressively to renovate the existing golf course. Trump said it had been “badly managed for so many decades” and that his proposed rehab project would turn it into an “Island of Beauty and Success.” Critics, though, worry that many golfers will be priced out and runners and cyclists will lose a popular destination for workouts. The fate of East Potomac Park may rest with Judge Ana Reyes, whom The Washington Post profiled this week.
D.C. police have temporarily shuttered the Capitol Hill bar where a National Guard member was shot in a gunfight Sunday night, WTOP reports. D.C. law allows the police chief to close bars or restaurants for up to 96 hours if they deem there is an imminent threat to public safety.
FROM VIRGINIA
The Fairfax County police chief defended an officer who county executive Bryan Hill said treated him disrespectfully during a traffic stop last week, ABC 7 News reports.
Hill was pulled over for a license plate violation and was seen on body-cam footage asking the officer, “Did you hear who I told you I am?” after introducing himself. Hill also called Police Chief Kevin Davis to complain that the officer “had no idea who I was,” according to an email Davis sent to the deputy county executive. Hill later apologized in a statement, saying he contacted Davis to commend the officer’s professionalism.
A premium $125 million passenger terminal is coming to Washington Dulles International Airport, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports. So-called VIPs will be able to enjoy some of the on-the-ground luxuries of flying private, even if they’re commercial passengers.
FROM MARYLAND
The Supreme Court will decide a case on the role race plays in Montgomery County Public Schools’ admissions policies, and how they are challenged in court, The Sun’s Domonique King reports.
PLAN YOUR WEEKEND
For roller skaters: “Late Skate” at Anacostia Park, Saturday.
For horse girls and boys: Kids’ Day at Washington International Horse Show, Saturday.
For Broadway buffs: “Fallen Angels” at various movie theaters, Sunday.
For more info on this weekend’s events, read our weekly culture calendar here.
SPORTS
Things looked pretty bleak for the Commanders at halftime of Monday night’s meeting with the 49ers. Washington was down big, its slow start marked by miscues and mental mistakes. But, as The Sun’s Dave Sheinin writes, “it feels as if that second half changed everything.” The Commanders still lost, 23-17, but their late rally was inspiring enough to keep fans on the hook (and Dan Quinn on the sidelines).
Any potential turnaround will have to happen without Terry McLaurin, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn patellar tendon.
In more injury news: The Wizards will be without rookie AJ Dybantsa in tonight’s season opener against the Bucks, The Sun’s Justice Covert reports. The No. 1 overall pick is still working his way back from the ankle injury he suffered in last week’s preseason finale.
The Tampa Bay Rays are headed to the World Series, and that’s good news for Nats fans. Yes, you read that correctly — Washington’s new regime is filled with former Rays employees, and Tampa Bay’s data-driven culture has had a major impact on the Nats’ new approach. In fact, one coach told The Sun’s Jesse Dougherty that sometimes it feels like the Nats are trying to “out-Rays the Rays.”
What to Watch Today
NBA: Wizards vs. Bucks, 7 p.m. (Monumental)
MLS: D.C. United at Cincinnati, 7 p.m. (Apple TV)
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Nikie Johnson.
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