🌿 Cannabis rules could get stricter

What's CITY Talking About?

Entire ATM Stolen

An ATM was ripped out of a bank drive-thru using stolen construction equipment. This is a part of a series of ATM thefts that police in Prince George’s County are investigating. [NBC4]

• Related: This wild crime adds to the concerningly consistent rise in crime across the District. [City Cast DC 🎧]

Bill To Restrict Cannabis Moves Forward

Prince George’s County lawmakers are considering a bill that would prevent cannabis dispensaries from opening within 2,500 feet of daycares, schools, camps, or any Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission land. Recreational cannabis became legal in Maryland this summer, and local councils are still working out the kinks. [DCist]

New HBCU Pipeline Program

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a new pipeline program to help graduates of two local, historically Black universities pursue careers in local government. The program will offer a one-year apprenticeship to 25 eligible graduates at Howard University and the University of the District of Columbia each. [Washington Post 🔒]

What To Do

📽️ Immigration Film Fest | Friday - Sunday | Varies

This non-profit-run film fest features films from around the world, focused on stories of immigrants and refugees. Watch in-person or virtually. [$15+, Varies]

🌼 Song & Dance of the Pua | Saturday | 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Join this song and dance celebration of the beautiful flowers of Hawai‘i, by the state society. [Free, Capitol Hill]

🎉 Eckington Day 2023 | Saturday | 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Head to Alethia Tanner Park for music, local vendors, free yoga classes, food, and family activities. [Free, Eckington]

🐕 Halloween Dog Parade | Saturday | 12 - 2 p.m.

Dress your pup to the nines and join this neighborhood parade through Adams Morgan for a chance to win one of the cash prizes. [Free, Adams Morgan]

🌽 Harvest Dance | Saturday | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Enjoy farm fresh food and drink, then participate in group square dances taught by an instructor outside under twinkling fairy lights. [$65, Silver Spring]

🎶 Rock the Park DC | Saturday & Sunday | 3 - 10 p.m.

This free two-day music festival in Franklin Park will have performers spanning go-go, funk, hip-hop, Afrohouse, and rare groove. [Free, Downtown]

🍞 Mid-Atlantic Grain Fair | Sunday | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Celebrate the history of grain farming, milling, and baking with live music, demonstrations, vendors, and most importantly, lots and lots of carbs. [Free, Rock Creek Park]

👖 DC Flea | Sunday | 12 - 4 p.m.

Unni's Closet is hosting a vintage pop-up store at Aslin Beer Co., where you can find secondhand fashion pieces. [Free, 14th Street]

🕯️ Sublime Sunday | Sunday | 1 - 4 p.m.

This fair will have a permanent jewelry bar, pressed flower pumpkin decorating, and candle pouring. [Free, Cleveland Park]

🎨 Black Boy Art Show | Sunday | 3 - 9 p.m.

This showcase pays homage to the creativity of Black male artists, with music, galleries, and live demonstrations. [$30, Mt. Vernon]

😱 DCAF Horror Palooza | Sunday | 3 - 10 p.m.

Attend this horror-themed event by the DC Abortion Fund featuring hot drinks, tarot readings, and films featuring pregnancy or motherhood. [Donation, Shaw]

DC Insider Trivia

Before we get to the trivia of the day, let’s answer last week’s question:

These distinct cast iron columns stand on almost every street corner in D.C. What was their original function?

1. They are an old type of lamp post.
2. They served as emergency call boxes to alert the fire and police departments pre-911.
3. They were part of a city-wide alarm system that would blare like a modern fire alarm.
4. They were the city’s failed attempt to implement little free libraries for all.

Nice work! These were once part of an elaborate communications system to call emergency services when few homes and businesses had telephones. The boxes (blue for police, red for fire department) were locked, and the keys were held by nearby merchants.

Inside the box was a wheel you could turn to send a telegraph key specific to that box. That way, the responders knew where to go. This system was used in D.C. as recently as the 1980s, with 1,500 call boxes at its peak.

Nice work, Barbara S., Moira T., and Kaya H for being the first three to get the correct answer! Let’s see you get this next one.

D.C. has lots of bone-chilling ghost stories but one of the most famous originated in Fairfax County and has been dubbed the Bunny Man.

Who was the Bunny Man?

1. A man that transforms into an evil bunny during a full moon.
2. A serial killer from the 1700s that left a rabbit foot in the pockets of his victims.
3. A man wearing a rabbit costume who attacks people with an axe or hatchet at night.
4. Just a misunderstood guy who really likes rabbits.

If you’re stumped, we tell this ghost story and more in yesterday’s podcast 🎧

Today on City Cast

Wawa Fight, Statehood Struggles, and a Transformed Museum

We’re talking about a fight at a Wawa — or at least about how that fight was covered, and what it says about where D.C.’s at right now. Plus, we chat through the state of statehood and the reopening of the National Women in the Arts Museum.