Good morning. This is The Washington Sun Metro Newsletter for Nov. 9, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!
In today’s newsletter: D.C.’s minimum wage, dangerous residential construction and a playoff win for the Spirit.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 6/10. Sunshine and highs in the 60s are nice, but wind gusts over 30 mph? Not so much. Read the full forecast.
THE LATEST
Trending
With a foie gras ban behind them, D.C. voters will now have to turn their attention to another issue that could hit the ballot as soon as the spring: whether the city should increase its minimum wage to $25 an hour.
A New York-based advocacy group tells The Washington Sun’s Martin Austermuhle that later this week it plans to submit 40,000 signatures to the city’s elections board to get Initiative 87 on the ballot for a special election that’s expected to happen by March or April of next year.
The marquee question that Initiative 87 asks D.C. voters revolves around hiking the minimum wage to $25 by 2029; it’s currently $18.40 an hour. But it also seeks to increase the lower tipped wage — currently $10.30 — that’s paid to bar and restaurant servers so that it meets the prevailing minimum wage.
“The price of everything has gone up,” said Saru Jayaraman, president of One Fair Wage, which has been coordinating a push for a $25 minimum wage in cities and states across the country. “People are fucking angry about the cost of living in America.”
If the tipped wage question seems like déjà vu, you’re not crazy: D.C. residents voted to phase it out in ballot initiatives in 2018 and 2022, but both were either fully or partially repealed by the D.C. Council.
“My concern lies in the fact we need to be clear-eyed about what this proposal is going to be asking employers to absorb, what it means for workers’ hours and how it impacts hiring, and how much of this cost will be passed down to customers,” says Shawn Townsend, CEO of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.
That concern is partially shared by Mayor-elect Janeese Lewis George. She tells The Sun that she doesn’t want to move to a $25 minimum wage too quickly, though she still favors phasing out the tipped wage. But, she adds: “We need a strategy that will make D.C. a better place to work and a better place to start a business.”
DEEP DIVE
D.C. residents have complained for years that the city doesn’t do enough to crack down on dangerousresidential construction projects that damage their properties, leave them on the hook for damage and can even lead to buildingcollapses that, in one case,killed a construction worker.
An audit of the Department of Buildings released late last month bore those concerns out, The Sun’s Zara Norman reports. It found that DOB has failed to adequately audit the third-party inspectors it contracts with, doesn’t always notify neighbors of adjoining construction projects and doesn’t always collect the required paperwork before issuing permits.
DOB agreed to implement most of the audit’s recommendations, but did call out the selective sampling of the audit — it only looked at eight properties (one from each ward) drawn from a list of 57 that ANCs around D.C. flagged as being possible examples of dangerous construction.
Now that the audit is in, D.C. homeowners want to see council action to enforce changes, particularly as the District looks to ramp up its housing production. DOB issued 63,675 permits in fiscal year 2025, up 23% since fiscal year 2023. That figure will only grow, as Lewis George has ambitious plans to build 72,000 new homes in the next five years.
FROM THE DISTRICT
Standing down: At-large council member Christina Henderson has called off her bid to switch her affiliation from Independent to Democrat and occupy Robert White’s vacated seat, Martin reports.
What ended the weeklong, in-the-weeds saga? Council Chair Phil Mendelson announced that today he will swear in D.C. Democratic Party pick Jamal Holtz, the president of the D.C. Young Democrats, to fill White’s seat and serve as an interim at-large council member instead. D.C. Dems said Holtz will only serve until the party can organize a more open process to select an interim replacement for White, who was elected D.C. Delegate last week.
Several D.C. monuments have gone dark while awaiting repairs from an understaffed and underfunded National Park Service, The Washington Post reports.
A federal judge blocked construction on President Donald Trump’s triumphal arch last week, about two hours after the National Capital Planning Commission voted 8-4 in favor of the 250-foot structure despite enormous public opposition,The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports.
FROM VIRGINIA
Amazon isn’t done with Loudoun County just yet. The company is planning another data center on 23 acres it purchased last month in Chantilly for almost $100 million, The Washington Business Journal reports.
FROM MARYLAND
With their party set to control congress, Maryland Democrats plan to press the FBI to build its new headquarters in Greenbelt, The Washington Business Journal reports.
TRIVIA
In 1991, D.C. voters shot down a ballot initiative promoted by animal rights activists. What would it have done?
- Banned horse-drawn carriages from public streets
- Banned animal circus acts from performing in the District
- Banned the use of mounted police horses
Email us the answer — the first reader who gets it right gets a shout out. The answer will be at the end of the newsletter tomorrow.
SPORTS
Spirit 4, Thorns 1. The Spirit is headed to the NWSL semifinals after an offensive explosion at Audi Field on Sunday afternoon against Portland. With four goals, Washington delivered its best offensive output since early May. Trinity Rodman led the way, scoring twice to continue her fine form. The Sun’s Emma Baccellieri has the story from a momentous quarterfinal win.
Washington will host the Utah Royals next weekend at Audi Field.
Rams 20, Commanders 13. Washington falls 2-5-1 after an inconsistent afternoon in Landover. After a strong first half, the Commanders watched their lead — and a prime opportunity for an upset win — slip away after the break. The Sun’s Martenzie Johnson breaks down Washington’s glaring issues in the defeat, while Dave Sheinin takes a look at how Rams star Puka Nacua (14 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown) methodically — and predictably — took over the game.
Trae Young is one of the best players in Atlanta Hawks history. Now, he’s a Wizard. On Friday, Young played against his former team for the first time since they shipped him off to Washington in a salary dump trade. The Sun’s Dave Sheinin went down to Atlanta to write about a complicated homecoming.
What to Watch Today
NBA: Wizards at Pistons, 7 p.m. (Monumental)
NFL: Bills at Vikings, 8:15 p.m. (ESPN)
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Gaby Morera Di Núbila.
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