City Cast DC with Michael Schaffer
🚨 Bowser picks new police chief
July 18, 2023
Happy Tuesday, D.C. Turns out D.C. real estate CAN be affordable, as long as you only want a wall. Someone in Georgetown is selling a wall on M Street with “limitless opportunities.” Which is totally valid, if you’re a mouse.
What's CITY Talking About?
Bowser Picks New Police Chief
Mayor Muriel Bowser has nominated Pamela A. Smith, the former chief of the U.S. Park Police. She joined D.C. police in 2022 as its first chief equity officer. The leadership change comes after Robert Contee left the position for the FBI and during rising violent crime rates in the city. If the D.C. Council confirms Smith, she will be the second woman and the first Black woman to run the agency permanently. [WTOP/City Cast DC 🎧]
No More Sprinting For the Bus
Starting Saturday, strobing lights at bus stops outside some Metro stations will alert bus drivers that a train is arriving. When the light goes off, bus drivers will wait up to five minutes for people to connect. The pilot program will start at the Greenbelt station for the C2 bus stop and then expand to other lower-frequency routes. [DCist]
The New Eyes and Ears For Metro
Metro’s new strategy to increase safety and reassure riders without more police presence is yellow-shirted ambassadors who will assist riders with directions and timing updates on trains and in stations. [Washington Post 🔒]
- Related: This is part of Metro’s response to the rising crime in stations and the short-staffed Metro Transit Police. [City Cast DC 🎧]
Another Purple Line Delay … Shocker
The Purple Line is facing another delay, pushing the project back to 2027. The delays in the planned light rail line from New Carrollton to Bethesda have caused $148 million in additional costs despite already being $3.8 billion over budget. [DCist]
- Related: We covered why the Purple Line project is taking so long. [City Cast DC 🎧]
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What To Do
🏴☠️ A Space Shanty Singalong | Tuesday | 7 - 10 p.m.
You’ll have to attend to fully understand this event, but from what I can tell it’s a space science-themed pirate shanties singalong party. [$10, U Street]
🧘 Free Yoga | Wednesday | 8 - 9 a.m.
Start your day with an outdoor yoga class from CorePower in Met Park. [Free, National Landing]
⚽ MLS All-Star Game | Wednesday | 8 p.m.
Major League Soccer is coming to Audi Field this Wednesday and there are still tickets left to watch them take on Arsenal! [$195+, Navy Yard]
🏘️ Social Housing Night School | Thursday | 6:30 p.m.
Learn about D.C.’s housing problem and the policies that can help address it from local activists and nonprofit leaders. [Free, Petworth]
Today on City Cast
What to See at Kenilworth’s Lily and Lotus Festival
The Lotus and Water Lily Festival is in full bloom at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens where you can catch the iconic lotuses. Cornelia Poku from the Instagram account Black Girls Explore DC tells us the best way to see the blooms before it’s too late.
That’s all for today, see you tomorrow!
Kaela
Today’s newsletter was edited by Natalia Aldana. News was written by Susannah Broun.
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