Good morning, D.C. In today’s newsletter: DoorDash’s about-face, the Caps’ emergency goalie and the cost of cleaning up America’s birthday party.
Capital Weather’s Daily Digit — 6/10: Hot and humid, with increasing clouds and a late-day storm risk knocking the rating back from Thursday levels.
THE LATEST
DoorDash is delivering … an apology to D.C.
Trending
The delivery company now says it was wrong to come out in support of a Republican bill in Congress that would have restricted the city’s ability to increase taxes and fees, reports The Washington Sun’s Martin Austermuhle.
The political dustup started over the summer, when the D.C. Council voted to impose a new 20-cent fee on all third-party deliveries. DoorDash unsuccessfully fought the fee in the Wilson Building, then sided with Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) and his bill to rein in local lawmakers’ power to set their own tax policy.
Comer’s bill drew furious condemnation from D.C.’s elected officials, who said it would “straightjacket” the city’s governance. Advocacy group Free D.C. took aim at DoorDash, spearheading a boycott of the delivery company.
The boycott may have done the trick. On Thursday, Max Rettig, DoorDash’s head of global public policy, withdrew the company’s support for Comer’s bill. “We recognize that working directly with District leaders is the right way to fight for District residents, and that doing otherwise calls into question our commitment to D.C.,” he said.
DoorDash also said it would invest more than $1 million in helping D.C. restaurants, while at the same time calling on lawmakers to exempt SNAP food benefits recipients from the new fee, which took effect Thursday.
City officials took a bit of a victory lap in the wake of DoorDash’s announcement. “DC residents are powerful when we fight together! Our right to govern ourselves is not up for negotiation,” Democratic nominee for mayor Janeese Lewis George wrote on X. At-Large council member Robert White, who is also the Democratic nominee for D.C. delegate to Congress, used the moment to send a message: “Let this be a warning to any company considering the same playbook.”
DEEP DIVE
The Capitals’ season opens Friday night, and one of their new additions has perhaps the most fascinating job in the NHL: Connor Leslie is Washington’s first-ever full-time traveling emergency backup goalie.
The 24-year-old got the gig after fitting the extremely narrow criteria for the role (also known as an EBUG), which was established as part of the NHL’s latest collective bargaining agreement. He had to be inexperienced enough so as not to be overqualified for the role — the league didn’t want teams using the new position to sneak another professional goalie onto the roster — but good enough to be able to hold up, well, in case of emergency.
Leslie, a native of Leesburg, spent eight years training with the Washington Little Capitals before playing Division III hockey at Amherst College. He was looking for a job in federal law enforcement when he got the call asking him to take on the EBUG role, which also involves taking shots from Alex Ovechkin and Co. as a practice goalie.
“It’s pretty surreal,” Leslie told The Washington Sun’s Emma Baccellieri. “I’m over the moon about it.”
FROM THE DISTRICT
The Interior Department is paying a Maryland landscaping company almost $3.4 million to repair turf damaged during the celebrations on the National Mall for America’s 250th birthday, The Sun’s Justice Covert reports. Interior also paid the company nearly $1.8 million in late June in a contract for work described as “mall fuel spill urgent cleanup.”
Amazon agreed to pay $8.25 million to settle a lawsuit with D.C. over claims the company used third-party delivery charters that resulted in slower service to predominantly Black neighborhoods. Amazon denied any wrongdoing or deception, but settled to avoid prolonged litigation, The Sun’s Kendall Staton reports.
Advocates urged D.C.’s housing committee to strengthen landlord accountability during a five-hour hearing yesterday. Specifically, they’re seeking more transparency around who’s behind the shadowy LLCs that own and operate D.C. properties, and a fairer, faster process for abating the District’s nearly 89,000 outstanding code violations.
Perhaps it’s obvious to any D.C. resident, but Mother Jones has the data to confirm: Military flyovers above the District have surged under Donald Trump, compared to Joe Biden. There were 33 on the Fourth of July alone. It’s come at a cost: Flying just one F-35 jet for an hour can cost $40,000. Flying a B-52 for the same time can cost as much as $150,000.
Don’t let the near-90-degree weather fool you — it’s October. That means yesterday, a host of new laws took effect around the DMV. The Washington Post rounded up some, including a ban on face coverings for law enforcement officers in Maryland, more criminal records sealed in Virginia and no more pet breed restrictions for D.C. tenants.
The director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, Kirk Johnson, is stepping down after 14 years in the role. He’ll now head up the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
FROM MARYLAND
Montgomery County high schools are navigating “inconsistencies” in the rollout of a new policy banning students’ cellphone use not only during class, but also in hallways and at lunch, Jeff Barker writes for The Sun. Some students are complaining that the restrictions go too far, while school officials seek a uniform answer to a basic question: Where do you store all the phones?
METRO MOMENT
It’s a common scene in CVS stores across D.C.: Everyday items like toothpaste and toilet paper behind locked cabinet doors.
Retailers say they’ve had to lock away products to prevent shoplifting, but the result has often been annoyed consumers — including U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro. But she says that may now be changing in D.C.
“There is just one thing that signals a real quality-of-life improvement,” she said in a video posted to social media this week. “They are unlocking those locked cases in CVS, and that tells me that serious crime is down.”
Is CVS freeing its products? Sun reporters fanned out to find out, and came across little evidence that the retailer is moving beyond its lock-and-key approach. A CVS spokesperson was vague as to whether an edict had been handed down from corporate, saying only that “we are actively taking action to improve the experience across our national retail footprint.”
Pirro’s office didn’t respond to our inquiries about where she’d seen CVS unlocking its goods, but in the video she said she was excited with the newfound consumer freedom. “You know what I’m going to buy at CVS that’s not locked up anymore?” she asked. “Candy.”
Even that was a mixed bag, though. Some CVS stores keep their candy out in the open, even the luxe brands like Lindt chocolate. Others still don’t.
We want to hear from you: Have an image from around D.C. you want to share? A question for our reporters? An “only in D.C.” moment? Tell us about it.
SPORTS
The Mystics were understandably disappointed after being eliminated from the playoffs Wednesday night, but they appear to also understand that better days lie ahead. The youngest team in the league is officially a championship contender starting next year, The Sun’s Dave Sheinin writes, with the chance to further upgrade the roster this offseason in both free agency and the draft.
“We have something special here,” says star guard Sonia Citron. “We love each other. We have fun. We never lose our joy. That’s super special. I don’t think that’s everywhere. And I’m just grateful.”
How does a plane full of pro football players handle a transatlantic flight to London? Not that much better than the rest of us, The Sun’s Martenzie Johnson writes. “I’m tired,” says edge rusher Odafe Oweh. Not even the most luxurious and spacious lie-flat seats can accommodate defensive tackle Daron Payne, who measures 6-foot-3 and 320 points.
“I’m a big guy,” Payne says. “It wasn’t really too comfortable. I might have gotten a couple hours of sleep.”
Still, Martenzie writes, the Commanders feel good about their ability to acclimate to their new surroundings and time zone ahead of Sunday’s game against the Colts. Be sure to follow Martenzie all week in London on our newly launched @washsunsports Instagram account.
What to Watch Today:
NHL: Capitals at Carolina, 7 p.m.
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The newsletter was produced by Jeff Dooley, Nikie Johnson and Andrew Burton.
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