Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Oct. 1, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: What it costs to feed the National Guard, the Circulator’s re-circulation and a federal crackdown on D.C. … mosquitoes.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 8/10. On the warm side, with highs well into the 80s. But we’re running low on warm days, so it’s worth enjoying. Full forecast from Capital Weather.
THE LATEST
Trending
National Guard members have worked up a $49 million appetite patrolling D.C. over the past year, The Washington Sun’s Zara Norman reports.
That’s how much the Department of Defense has spent since October 2025 on catered “breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight meals” for National Guard members deployed to D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s Safe and Beautiful Task Force and Freedom 250 celebrations, according to government contracts reviewed by The Sun.
It’s the latest figure ratcheting up the estimated price tag on the Guard’s presence in D.C., which has been extended through the remainder of Trump’s term. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated the cost of deploying 1,000 troops to a city to be $18 million to $21 million a month (as of early August, there were 4,630 troops deployed to D.C.). It’ll cost $292 million to house troops in 2,000 “apartment-style lodging units” around the District through June 2027.
It looks like it will cost an additional $20 million to feed troops for the rest of this year, as one contract good through December has that amount unspent. Neither the National Guard nor the catering vendors it contracted with responded to questions about the contracts or any further catering costs the Guard will incur through January 2029.
DEEP DIVE
Questions were circulating in The Sun newsroom yesterday after our colleague Emily Kennard spotted a D.C. Circulator bus driving along Maryland Avenue NE.
You may remember the Circulator as the red buses that started carrying passengers in 2005, seeking to fill gaps in the service provided by Metro. At its peak, the Circulator buses — which served routes including around the National Mall, from Georgetown to Union Station and Congress Heights to Union Station — carried more than 5 million passengers a year.
The Circulator was killed off in late 2024, in part because ridership fell after the pandemic and the city entered a period of budget woes. The city sold off its stock of Circulator buses, with many ending up in far-flung locations like Boston, California and even the resort town of Stowe, Vermont.
But what of the rogue Circulator Emily spotted? Six Circulator buses did stay within the city’s government, though not as part of a secret fleet to restore passenger service. (Bummer.) Two went to D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services for use at its academy, one went to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, and the remaining three landed at the Department of Employment Services.
The bus Emily saw was destined for the Infrastructure Academy, a new job training site at the old Spingarn High School building in Northeast and reopening today after a $73 million renovation. The academy has bus bays for students training to be bus and auto mechanics, a DOES spokesperson tells The Sun.
See something that you want us to dig into? Get in touch.
FROM THE DISTRICT
A marathon D.C. Council hearing on the $3.8 billion RFK Stadium master plan revealed deep community anxieties over massive parking garages, environmental impacts and the threat of displacement in Ward 7, The Sun’s Michael-Brice Saddler reports.
D.C. mosquitoes and ticks, be warned: The federal government is coming for you. The Sun’s Justice Covert reports that Trump signed an executive order this week directing federal agencies to work with local officials to reduce the city’s mosquito population by 90% and cut its tick population in half by 2028. Ambitious? Certainly. Likely to earn him local plaudits if it’s successful? Absolutely.
There’s mixed news for D.C.’s budget. A new revenue estimate from the city’s chief financial officer finds that D.C. is closing the 2026 fiscal year with $200 million more in revenue than it expected, while also looking at less revenue in the four years to come.
The Kennedy Center was on relatively stable financial footing when Trump took control of the institution, according to internal documents and tax records reviewed byThe Washington Post. Since then, the center has burned through its borrowing capacity, tapped restricted funds and written off $48 million related to unpaid pledges.
The Washington Monument has a new, British neighbor: a time capsule, planted by United States and United Kingdom officials on Tuesday, that won’t be opened until 2276, Justice Covert reports. The capsule, designed by British architect Norman Foster, includes a proclamation from Britain’s King Charles III, signed letters from Trump and Vice President JD Vance, soil from George Washington’s Mount Vernon home and booklets of winning entries from student writing contests.
American University is fostering a new partnership that aims to keep more local public school students in the city, The Sun’s Shamira Muhammad reports. It’s the second D.C. institution to partner with the D.C. College Access Program, which helps public school students use grants and other financial aid to make the cost of attending college low or free. In recent years, AU has admitted more than 40 D.C. students a year, an increase from an earlier average of just 10.
FROM VIRGINIA
Police say a man killed himself after fatally shooting two of his colleagues and wounding a third yesterday morning at the United Rentals facility in Manassas, WTOP reports.
FROM MARYLAND
An essential water use advisory for more than 1.9 million customers in Maryland was lifted Wednesday night. Crews continue to work toward a permanent solution for an electric feed that failed Monday morning at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission’s Potomac filtration plant. The facility serves about 70%-75% of WSSC Water’s customers across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.
TALK TO TOM
Tom Sietsema is back and answering your questions about eating in the D.C. area. Submit your questions here.
How long should restaurants hold tables for late arrivals?
The general rule is about 15 minutes, sometimes with more flexibility for diners who inform the establishment they are behind schedule.
Ignorance is not bliss. Restaurants like to be informed when someone’s arrival is delayed, because it removes guesswork and helps with planning. Some restaurants have time limits for tables; latecomers may be informed of the fact when they show up. Also, high-end restaurants with tasting menus and multiple seatings might allow for less time, since a latecomer can throw off the pacing of the dinner.
When the tables are turned — when a diner’s reserved table isn’t ready — I think a similar grace period should apply. A thoughtful restaurant might sweeten the wait and throw in a gratis glass of wine or some other small touch to thank a customer for their patience.
For more from Tom, check out this week’s Talk to Tom Q&A.
SPORTS
The Mystics’ season is over after they lost Game 2 of their playoff series against the Atlanta Dream on their home court Wednesday night, The Sun’s Emma Baccellieri reports. Washington, which exceeded expectations this season as the youngest team in the WNBA, has plenty of reason for optimism heading into the offseason, despite the disappointing finish to the year.
Jayden Daniels practiced with the Commanders in London, where the team is preparing for its Week 4 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. He wore a large brace on his injured left elbow, reports The Sun’s Martenzie Johnson, and it remains unclear if he could return in time for Sunday’s game.
Head coach Dan Quinn said the team will see how Daniels’ elbow, which he dislocated two weeks ago against Dallas, holds up in practice this week before deciding if he’s ready to get back on the field. “We’re not going to put him out there before he’s ready,” Quinn said.
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The newsletter was produced by Matt Berman, Jaden Amos and Erik Schutz.
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