Sophie Kaplan

D.C. Council decides to make Jack Evans investigative report public

The D.C. Council made public Tuesday an investigative report that notes nearly a dozen ethics violations by Council member Jack Evans after a copy of the report had been leaked to The Washington Post.

November 5, 2019

D.C. Council mulls future of electric scooters

The D.C. Council is considering how to regulate the city's ever-growing electric scooter industry as alternative transportation for the District's motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and public transit riders.

November 4, 2019

Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals return to jubilant city

The Nationals' return to Washington on Thursday capped a delirious day of high-fives, hugs and impromptu "Baby Shark" jams in a sports town known more for failure than success that is suddenly, improbably, amazingly celebrating a third national championship in just two years.

October 31, 2019

D.C. Council holds hearing on making go-go music the official sound of the city

The D.C. Council held a hearing Wednesday on preserving go-go music as the official sound of the city, while members of the go-go community aim to spotlight the homegrown art form in the tourism industry and in the school curriculum.

October 30, 2019

Stephanie Gidigbi, Obama transportation official, nominated to D.C. Metro board

The D.C. Council will nominate a former U.S. Department of Transportation official to represent the District as a voting member on the Metro board of directors, filling the seat left vacant by Council Member Jack Evans.

October 29, 2019

D.C. Council weighs independent office for child safety, ombudsman

On Monday, the D.C. Council's Human Services Committee held a hearing on legislation to establish an independent office for a child safety and well-being ombudsman.

October 28, 2019

Charles Allen rips Jessica Liu for skipping hate crime hearing

D.C. Council member Charles Allen repeatedly expressed disappointment Wednesday that federal prosecutors did not send a representative to his Judiciary Committee hearing on the lack of prosecution of hate crimes in the District.

October 23, 2019

Mary Cheh: Jack Evans ethics probe must be transparent

D.C. Council members convened an ad hoc committee Tuesday, stressing that transparency will be a priority as the panel proceeds with its ethics investigation of council member Jack Evans.

October 22, 2019

D.C. police’s refusal to release body-camera footage blasted

D.C. residents fought through tears Monday as they expressed frustration with the Metropolitan Police Department's refusal to release video footage from body-worn cameras showing officers killing their loved ones.

October 21, 2019

Police suicide ‘epidemic’ spurs soul-searching

The suicide of a police officer in Montgomery County, Maryland, this week is part of a surge in law enforcers across the country taking their lives, prompting police departments to address concerns about the mental health of their members.

October 17, 2019

‘The President Is Missing’ predicted to boost Maryland economy

The Maryland Film Office is celebrating the millions of dollars that movie and television productions have spent in the state and anticipates more positive economic activity when a new Showtime series begins filming in the Free State.

October 16, 2019

Thomas Bomba, Montgomery County police officer, died by suicide, medical examiner says

The Montgomery County police officer who was killed Monday at a Silver Spring parking garage died by his own hand, officials said Tuesday evening.

October 15, 2019

Montgomery County police search for cop killer; officer shot in downtown Silver Spring

Montgomery County Police are searching for the person who fatally shot an officer Monday morning in a Silver Spring parking garage -- the county's first fatal shooting of an on-duty police officer since 2003.

October 14, 2019

Woodside Deli in Silver Spring, Maryland, closes after 72 years in business

For co-owners Shira Elvarat and her father, Paul Vlotnicki, the closing of the Woodside Deli at its flagship location in Silver Spring was like a death in the family or the loss of a best friend.

October 13, 2019

D.C. Council hears support for letting jailed felons vote

The legislation, co-introduced by the entire D.C. Council, would make the city after January 2021 the first jurisdiction in the country to restore the right to vote to incarcerated felons. (Maine and Vermont never took away the right to vote for prisoners.) As the law stands right now in the District, convicted felons can vote only after fully completing their sentences.

October 10, 2019

My Sister’s Place, a D.C. shelter, gets Silent Beacon devices

It was just a week ago, Mercedes Lemp recalled, that a survivor of domestic violence faced harassment on a D.C. street, panicked and called for help.

October 9, 2019

D.C. Council weighs new soda tax, changing Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day

The D.C. Council faced a full agenda Tuesday, taking up a proposed new tax on sodas and sugary drinks, a ban on noncompete agreements for workers in low-wage jobs and tougher new restrictions on cooperating with federal immigration agencies.

October 8, 2019

D.C. Council to weigh bill escalating fight against cooperation with ICE

The D.C. Council will consider emergency legislation on Tuesday prohibiting city agencies from cooperating with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers without a warrant, an escalation of the clash with the Trump administration that Chairman Phil Mendelson said was consistent with the city's approach "toward the federal government's inability to deal with immigration."

October 7, 2019

D.C. residents plea for lawmakers to address gun violence

The mother of a young man who was gunned down in Southeast in August pleaded Thursday at a D.C. Council hearing for something to be done about the disproportionate amount of violence her community faces and the lack of resources it has to address it.

October 3, 2019

Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs director works to empower, protect District community

Sheila Alexander-Reid says she knows the everyday pain, loss and violence endured by LGBTQ people in the District and across the country. She taps that knowledge as director of the Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs to create opportunities to uplift the community.

October 2, 2019