Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro newsletter for Sept. 25, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: Final plans for a new Commanders stadium, no verdict (yet) for Trayon White and the Mystics get ready for the playoffs.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit: 7/10. Mainly bright but breezy. Still, it’s plenty comfortable with temperatures up a handful of degrees from yesterday. Full forecast from Capital Weather.
THE LATEST
Trending
A “whole new neighborhood” is coming to D.C.
Mayor Muriel Bowser submitted final plans for the new, $3.8 billion Commanders stadium and wider RFK campus to the D.C. Council on Thursday, informed by months of local outreach and thousands of public comments on a draft version of the plan published in June, The Washington Sun’s Michael Brice-Saddler reports.
Bidding for construction will begin in November and December, with stadium foundation work slated for the spring. The 65,000-seat stadium is expected to open in 2030, and will host 200 events a year.
The plans are far larger than just a stadium. The master plan promises to generate some $4 billion in tax revenue, create 30,000 construction jobs as well as 2,000 permanent positions, and build between 5,500 and 6,500 new homes — with at least 30% designated as affordable — as well as commercial spaces and a grocery store.
Controversially, to some in Ward 7 and beyond, the plans officially nix adding a second Metro stadium to the site. A summary document from the city’s Office of Planning notes that WMATA concluded the idea was infeasible due to “cost, engineering and timeline constraints.”
The transit authority maintains that an expansion of Stadium-Armory and a new rapid-transit bus line will be enough to ferry game-goers to and from the stadium, and Bowser said the bus — dubbed the Gold Line — will be ready for 2030.
“This is our obligation,” she said.
FROM THE COURTHOUSE
The jury deliberated for a second day without reaching a verdict in the bribery trial of D.C. Council member Trayon White, The Sun’s Jenny Gathright reports. Jurors asked the judge a question: Is it bribery if the defendant received money to perform an official act, but had no intention of fulfilling the agreement? The answer was no. Deliberations resume this morning.
FROM THE DISTRICT
Evictions in D.C. need to be speedier, about 60 landlords said this week while advocating for two housing bills, The Sun’s Zara Norman reports. One would make it easier to kick squatters out of short-term rentals, and the other would set a 60-day deadline for initial court hearings in lease violation cases. The changes are needed, landlords say, because tenant nonpayment and protracted court processes are pushing them to the brink, and sometimes out of business.
Tenant advocates warned that that could backfire, given how strained D.C.’s courts are already, and pointed to record numbers of evictions in 2025 as evidence that the system is working.
Janeese Lewis George’s listening session for Ward 3, held at Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, drew more than 500 RSVPs, The Sun’s Michael Brice-Saddler reports, which forced organizers to extend the event space outdoors.
“We had to move outside because so many people want to be engaged in local government,” the city’s likely next mayor told the crowd. Ward 3, D.C.’s whitest and wealthiest ward, is the only one she did not win in the June Democratic primary. “Be open to this experience,” she said to the attendees.
During the session, many residents voiced concerns regarding the state of the ward’s affordable-housing supply and the gaps between schools, among other issues. Acknowledging that she was not immediately familiar with everyone in the room, Lewis George said she plans to create an “accountability scorecard” for residents to hold her to her promises.
Three teens arrested in connection with a May brawl at a Chipotle in Navy Yard have entered into plea agreements. Two pleaded guilty to simple assault, while a third pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon. The 16-year-old defendants are required to do community service, abide by “stay-away” orders and write apology letters to Chipotle staff, victims and witnesses. Charges for the teens have the potential to be dismissed, but they face incarceration until age 21 if they fail to comply with court orders. A fourth teen is scheduled for a court hearing next month.
D.C. Health collected only 10% of the standard medical forms required to enroll students in the District’s public and charter schools last fiscal year, At-Large council member and health committee chair Christina Henderson posted on X. At a public hearing Thursday, a school nurse of 10 years testified that she’d never been asked to submit the forms. Rachel Johnston, D.C. Charter School Alliance’s chief of staff, testified that she wasn’t sure whether D.C. Health could access the school portals that parents use to upload student health records.
DOGE pains: The local economy and employment landscape are still recovering from the effects of a massive reduction to the federal workforce that has slashed 50,000 positions in the D.C. region since early 2025, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports.
FROM VIRGINIA
Free doesn’t always mean free. Alexandria overspent by $3.7 million on public buses — which are free to riders — last year largely because of a spreadsheet error, The Washington Post reports.
FROM MARYLAND
What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas. A smaller version of the famed Sphere, a massive events venue built in Las Vegas in 2023, is coming to Prince George’s County. But local workers are pushing for a labor agreement before they give their support to the $1.4 billion project, The Sun’s Justice Covert writes.
METRO MOMENT
Landlord Jacques Chevalier provided some levity to an otherwise serious housing hearing yesterday, saying in his testimony:
“This is my hometown. I was born here — D.C. General. So is my wife,” he said. “So is my side piece.”
He added: “That part was a joke, y’all. My wife’s gonna kill me.”
SPORTS
The Mystics closed out the regular season with a big win over the Chicago Sky. In a game where they never trailed and led by as many as 25, they locked in the No. 5 seed in the WNBA playoffs, which start on Sunday. It’s been a remarkable stretch run for the youngest team in the league, winning seven of their last eight. Their first-round playoff opponent will be the No. 4 seed Atlanta Dream.
Training camp started last week for the Capitals. It’s already nearly over. Such is life now in the NHL, where a new collective bargaining agreement has brought a new schedule, with a shorter training camp and shorter preseason. For a team like the Capitals, who made several big acquisitions over the summer, that leaves a brief window to integrate new talent and make tough roster calls. “It’s more difficult, no doubt,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said.
What to Watch Today:
MLB: Nationals vs. Mets, 6:45 p.m.
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Nikie Johnson, Jeff Dooley and Andrew Burton.
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