Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Sept. 22, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: The future of ballot initiatives, a Tom Sietsema rec in Dupont and a new starting quarterback for the Commanders.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit: 5/10. Autumn’s first notes are a soggy song, with our coolest weather since May. But hey, it’s that old refrain that we need this rain! Read the full forecast.
THE LATEST
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D.C.’s version of direct democracy may get a little more difficult to pull off.
Today, the D.C. Council is expected to cast a first vote on a bill that would add new requirements and restrictions on ballot initiatives, the proposals from normal residents and groups that are presented directly to the city’s voters.
Ballot initiatives have become a regular part of D.C.’s elections. In 2024, the city’s voters approved a ballot initiative bringing ranked-choice voting to local elections; you may remember voting that way for the first time in the June primary. Voters have also been asked to weigh in on wages for restaurant workers, legalizing possession of marijuana and whether police should enforce laws against magic mushrooms.
Some say the ballot initiatives have gone too far, oversimplifying complicated public policy issues to yes-or-no votes for residents who may not have studied up. A bill from At-Large council member Anita Bonds would extend the review process for proposed ballot initiatives, limit any initiative to a single subject, and more.
Bonds has said she’s only looking to give election officials and the public the chance to weigh in on proposed initiatives before proponents start collecting signatures to get them on the ballot. Council Chair Phil Mendelson is on her side: “An initiative is written by one person; there is not the type of debate you have in the council,” he said.
Critics of the bill say the goal is to make it almost impossible to get an initiative on the ballot. In a nine-page letter to lawmakers sent last week, former D.C. Board of Elections Chair Gary Thompson called Bonds’ bill a means to “essentially strangle voter initiatives” and subject them to “death by a thousand cuts.” He added: “There is no problem to solve. There is nothing broken.”
That will be left to the council to debate today. Regardless of the outcome, a new ballot initiative will be voted on this fall: whether D.C. should ban foie gras. And two others are in the works: one that would raise the city’s minimum wage to $25 by 2029, and another to impose a two-year freeze on rents.
FROM THE DISTRICT
In other council news, lawmakers are also expected to vote today on a bill that would ramp up parking enforcement by letting neighborhood business groups and event organizers pay off-duty city workers to write tickets, and another that would extend the period during every year that landlords have to keep air-conditioning on for tenants. Also: a bill to create an official Washington Commanders D.C. license plate.
A new AI-powered air traffic control tool touted by the Trump administration as a way to reduce delays and manage overcrowded airspace launched at D.C.-area airports Monday, The Washington Sun’s Kendall Staton reports. The three capital region airports are the first to implement the tech ahead of a nationwide rollout. It uses AI to analyze data including weather patterns, flight paths and controller staffing levels and suggest alternative routes when airspace is crowded.
Hold the line! Waterside Drive in Northwest D.C., which was supposed to close yesterday as part of a rehabilitation project, will remain open for now, WTOP reports. During preliminary excavation work last week, crews discovered a utility line dating back to the early 1900s.
The average D.C. renter pays $2,200 less per month than the average D.C. homeowner, according to a Zillow report shared in Axios D.C.’s newsletter. Over the course of a year, that’s a $26,400 difference. Cha-ching!
Tonight: The Sun’s Michael Brice-Saddler will moderate two D.C. Office of Campaign Finance debates: one for at-large council candidates and another for the mayoral race. They will be streamed live on YouTube starting at 6 p.m. Shoot him an email if you have a question you’d like asked!
FROM THE DINING ROOM
Tom Sietsema, The Sun’s food correspondent, recommends a timeless Italian restaurant in Dupont Circle.
“I have no problem telling guests we’re out of something tonight.”
That’s Luigi Diotaiuti, the chef-owner of Al Tiramisu in Dupont Circle, talking. If he can’t get, say, vongole veraci (small, sweet carpet shell clams) for his linguine alle vongole, he’d rather not serve the classic Italian dish at his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it restaurant.
I called Diotaiuti — a native of Basilicata, the mountainous region in southern Italy — to ask how Al Tiramisu made it to 30 this year, which is several lifetimes in the mercurial restaurant industry. Having dined at the cozy draw the week before, however, I pretty much knew the answer.
No matter how much time has elapsed lapsed between meals at Al Tiramisu, I always return to find the same snug bar with six stools up front, the same yellow walls throughout, complimentary house-baked focaccia the moment I settle in followed by a genial server bearing a tray of fresh fish (and knowing the menu as if he had written it himself). The kitchen, under the day-to-day watch of Thomas Ayala, delivers the same consistency. There’s a reason Diotaiuti says he can’t ever take his feathery fettuccine draped in veal ragu off the menu: It’s sublime comfort. I’m frequently torn between the catch of the day, simply grilled and sparked with lemon, and lamb chops marinated with rosemary, sage and thyme, trailed by a haze of garlic.
Those who enjoy a little privacy should ask for the semi-enclosed booth, No. 15. Star-gazers should check out whoever lands at the roomier No. 1, also known as the “presidential table,” says Diotaiuti. That’s where George Clooney and company gather when they’re in town. The owner, who’s been cooking for 50 years now, predicts the world-famous actor is going to run for president in his lifetime. Maybe something he overheard? Diotaiuti also correctly predicted he’d see the first American pope. Stay tuned!
SPORTS
Marcus Mariota will start the Commanders’ home opener on Sunday. In coach Dan Quinn’s Monday press conference, he provided no real update on the status of Jayden Daniels’ dislocated elbow, but said Mariota will start Washington’s Week 3 meeting with the defending champion Seahawks. The Sun’s Martenzie Johnson and Alex Schiffer report that Daniels is expected to consult specialists this week as the team maps out a timeline for his return.
After Sunday’s disaster in Dallas, the Commanders are 0-2. Johnson breaks down the good, the bad and the ugly from a 37-20 loss to the Cowboys. On the one hand, the team got strong performances out of new players like Rachaad White and Stefon Diggs. On the other hand, well, there was everything else.
What to Watch Today
MLB: Nationals at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. (MLB.TV)
WNBA: Mystics vs. Sun, 7:30 p.m. (Monumental)
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Nikie Johnson. Finally, yesterday’s trivia answer was C) William Howard Taft. He and John F. Kennedy are the two presidents buried at Arlington National Cemetery. A special shout-out to Bob Witeck, who answered first.
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