But nearly a month after the community organization Friends of Rose Park urged action at the November Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E meeting, little progress has been made on the park’s ongoing trash crisis. Neighbors are concerned that the popular annual event will add to an already growing problem.

Rose Park is located in northeast Georgetown, between P and M streets, NW, bounded on the east by Rock Creek Parkway. It is one of the area’s busiest public spaces, offering recreation and leisure to both residents and visitors.

As the number of visitors to D.C. grows and construction continues in the triangular area at M Street and 28th Street, the park’s trash cans have become overwhelmed. Neighbors say they are concerned that trash cans attract rats and pose a public health risk.

FRP and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E are calling on the city government and the National Park Service to increase collection frequency, add more cans and introduce rat-proof trash cans.

According to , the official tourism and convention marketing organization for Washington, D.C., 27 million visitors came to the city in 2024. Thefound that Georgetown attracted 13.2 million domestic visitors that year, the highest number since the pandemic.

Gail Daubert, president of FPR, said the lack of trash cans along M Street has led pedestrians and construction workers to leave sandwich wrappers and drink containers in the park.

“We frequently pick up litter along that section of park, including lots of cigarette butts around those benches,” she said. “It’s pretty disgusting. And the trash can at 27th Street and Olive Street is always overflowing.”

Daubert said that if the trash situation is not addressed, the natural beauty of Rose Park will deteriorate, and the area will continue to attract rats and other pests. Rats pose a significant public health concern as they carry diseases and create unsanitary conditions for families, children, and all park visitors.

To improve trash management, Daubert said three steps are needed: increase the number and quality of trash cans, improve their placement, and increase collection frequency.

She added that many residents have expressed concern about trash cans with lids that require hand contact, saying they avoid using them. FRP is now fundraising to purchase closed trash cans that open with a foot pedal.

Chair of ANC 2E Gwendolyn Lohse said that Volta Park, located on the east side of Georgetown, is also undergoing renovations. If the new trash cans in Rose Park prove effective, the same type could be installed there.

Because Rose Park includes both city and federal land, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Daniel Chao said the National Park Service and the Department of Parks and Recreation must cooperate to improve collection. Chao noted that the NPS has been more proactive than DPR in addressing the issue.

With winter events including Winter Market Night and upcoming holiday crowds, Rose Park will face heavier visitor pressure in December. However, the trash problem has seen little progress.

“Sadly, no updates yet on the trash can issue. Other than one trash can was added near M Street in front of Rose Park,” Daubert said in late November.

Daubert did not provide further details on when additional trash cans will be installed.

The post Georgetown residents push to fix Rose Park trash crisis first appeared on 91����.

During the federal government shutdown, this has become almost his only daily source of meals. For privacy reasons, Mark declined to provide his full name.

Georgetown is often considered an affluent neighborhood, but its community organizations play an important role in the citywide relief network. These organizations assist not only local residents in need but also people from other areas who come to institutions such as the assistance center Georgetown Ministry Center, or GMC, for help.

Mark said he “just got out of the joint.”

As a returning citizen, he said he has been unable to access sufficient government support during the shutdown. He said he comes to GMC for help but also takes on some volunteer work at the center.

“Dump the trash, try and do my part, because they’re feeding me,” he said.

Located near Grace Episcopal Church on Wisconsin Avenue, is the only assistance center in Georgetown providing help for vulnerable people that are mainly homeless.

Uncertainties of benefits.

For residents like Mark, the government shutdown has created uncertainty over basic food assistance.

The government shutdown has disrupted SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, which was expected to be paused this month.

Two federal judges in late October ordered the government to continue payments. On Nov. 9, a Senate vote advanced the reopening process. But the government still to the Supreme Court on Nov. 10 to freeze SNAP funding.

In , SNAP supported an average of 41.7 million people each month, about 12.3% of the U.S. population, according to the US Department of Agriculture. 91���� of D.C. residents rely on SNAP, ranking second nationwide, USDA reported.

On Oct. 30, D.C. said she had authorized the use of local funds to keep SNAP running temporarily. But it still takes time for people in need to receive funds on their cards.

Responses from communities.

In response to the disruption to federal programs, nonprofits and local organizations have stepped in to support residents who would otherwise go without food and other necessities.

GMC Executive Director Claire Wilson said most visitors rely on SNAP and other public benefits to meet their basic needs and losing access to these resources has profound effects on their health and well-being.

Many GMC clients are scared and worry about going hungry, even though SNAP alone would not fully meet their needs, Wilson said.

“It is difficult to put into words how traumatic these past few months have been and to see it culminate in a loss of food assistance is devastating,” Wilson said.

She added that GMC is entirely privately funded, so it has not been affected by the government shutdown. The organization also works with agencies that rely on federal support to fill gaps.

World Central Kitchen offers meals.

The shutdown has not only affected those who rely on benefits but also furloughed federal employees, many of whom face food insecurity. Restaurants that serve federal workers have also struggled.

World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides meals to people affected by disasters and crises, is currently helping federal workers in D.C.

“We’re buying meals from local restaurants and sharing them with federal workers,” said Laura Hayes, a senior manager at World Central Kitchen. “Everyone is being supported a little.”

A long-term mission to help people.

For GMC, the suspension, reduction, and delay of SNAP is the biggest crisis in the past month, but helping vulnerable people is a long-term task.

As winter approaches, about 80-to-100 people now visit GMC’s drop-in center daily, nearly double the number in summer.

In August, President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in D.C., and many homeless encampments were cleared as a result. Many people lost all their personal belongings, creating significant additional demand for clothing, toiletries, and sleeping bags.

Wilson said, GMC is working to meet these needs, providing showers, laundry, food, some clothing and supplies.

On Nov. 10, GMC launched its Winter Dinner Program, which runs from mid-November through the end of winter. Dinners are hosted on a rotating basis at different congregations in Georgetown.

Every day, volunteers drive to GMC to help deliver and distribute supplies to visitors.

“We have seen an outpouring of support for which we are very grateful,” Wilson said. “And we want our community to remember that this crisis is a long-term one. With work requirements going into effect and costs rising, we are going to have to show up for our unhoused neighbors consistently.”

The post Communities step up amid food security uncertainty first appeared on 91����.

A 2 p.m. update on the school’s Planning and Facilities Management said an emergency generator is expected to be installed overnight to support sensitive research equipment, but a full restoration time is still unknown.

Bret McLean, the mechanical technician responsible for restoring power, said around 6 p.m. that the outage is very serious and crews will continue working through the night. He said power could be restored as early as tomorrow morning.

Access to the affected buildings is restricted. The Georgetown Office of Emergency Management told lab staff to ensure sensitive laboratory equipment was set to prevent damage from a power surge once electricity was restored.

In an email, the office said employees who need assistance should contact onsite staff wearing red vests or the Office of Environmental Health and Safety.

The emergency management team also instructed employees whose workspaces are affected to use alternative locations on campus, including Suite 401 in the Reiss Science Building, which provides workspaces and a lounge.

Classes in the affected buildings should follow faculty continuity plans, the office said in its email. Faculty may request alternate classrooms through the Office of the University Registrar, it noted.

The school first reported the outage to the campus community at about 10:30 a.m.

The post Georgetown’s Hilltop Campus experiences emergency power outage first appeared on 91����.

Washington, D.C., area residents said Wednesday they are less interested in the political battles, and more focused on the potential loss of benefits and what that means for their families.��

SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is a government-funded food assistance program designed to support low-income households with children, seniors and people with disabilities; it offsets the cost of nutritious food during economic hardship.��

Stress is palpable

More than a million people in the D.C. metro area suffer from food insecurity, according to the Capital Area Food Bank, the largest food distribution center in the region.����

Bernice Anderson, a D.C. resident, received her SNAP benefits on Nov. 1, but said the possibility of not receiving them kept her awake for several nights in a row.��

Anderson, who has been receiving SNAP benefits for the past six years, said she depends on that help to feed her three children.��

“Three kids, bills and all the things,” Anderson said. “We would have no food if we didn’t get stamps.”

Hillary Salmon, senior director of marketing and communications at Capital Area Food Bank, said 430,000 people in the DMV area rely on SNAP benefits, with monthly assistance averaging between $186 and $330 per household. Without the SNAP dollars, Salmon said 80 meals a month are “gone from families’ tables.

“We are trying to fill the gap,” Salmon said. “For every meal that a food bank provides, the SNAP program provides nine. That can get you a sense of how broad the issue is.”��

Salmon said Mayor Muriel Bowser’s announcement that the city will fund SNAP through November brought relief. But she said the food bank is still planning for potential impacts from possible delays. In November, Capital Area Food Bank is ramping up to provide a million more meals than previously projected, a 25% increase from the same time last year.��

Although residents in the Washington, D.C.,�� area will still receive benefits this month, Salmon said the community’s stress is palpable. Phone calls to the organization’s Hunger Lifeline, which assists those looking for emergency food aid, have tripled over the past three weeks.��

In September, the Capital Area Food Bank’s Hunger Report found 36% of residents in the DMV area don’t know where their next meal will come from. Salmon said she suspects the numbers will get worse following recent federal layoffs and the government shutdown.��

“We are dealing with many forces acting upon each other,” Salmon said. “A lot of these folks are really experiencing economic strain and a lot of anxiety about what’s going to happen.”

Mixed messages from the feds

Conflicting messages from the federal government on SNAP funding have led some to question whether they will get their benefits in November.

In October, the website said SNAP benefits would not continue in November.

“Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued on November 1,” the Food and Nutrition web page said at the time.

On Oct 30, Bowser announced that the District will use its own money to cover the cost of food benefits received by Washingtonians under SNAP through November.��

On Oct. 31, federal judges ordered the Trump administration to use emergency federal funds to sustain SNAP benefits through the shutdown.��

Then, Trump said on a Nov. 4 Truth Social post,�� SNAP benefits would be held.

On the same day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the Trump administration is distributing SNAP benefits.

“The administration is fully complying with the court order,” Leavitt said.

‘Frustration’ and confusion��

Behind the shutdown, political banter, confusion and court orders, residents are worried.��

Mike, who received food from Bread for the City, an assistance center, and who requested not to use his full name for privacy reasons, said he welcomed Bowser’s decision to authorize the use of local funds to support SNAP.

“Without that help,”�� Mike said, “I would lose my benefits.”

For Katrina Sanders, a Washington, D.C., resident, the possibility of not receiving her SNAP benefits in November is unimaginable.

Sanders, a mom of four, said a foot injury has kept her from working, and the benefits provide peace of mind for her and her four children.��

Scheduled to receive her SNAP benefits on Nov. 8, Sanders said she is relying on different community outreach programs, such as Martha’s Table, a nonprofit service organization, to have access to fresh produce.��

“I am going to have to make due with what I have,” Sanders said. “You rely on all these things put in place, and to hear they may not continue to be in place is so frustrating.”��

��World Central Kitchen helps federal workers

The NGO World Central Kitchen is helping people in need in Washington, mostly federal employees and their families. The government shutdown has affected not only SNAP recipients but also the food security of many federal workers.

“We are feeding people working without pay,” said Laura Hayes, senior manager of the Chef Corps for World Central Kitchen. “They are coming into the office, and we are making sure to take care of them.”

By helping federal workers overcome food insecurity, they are also supporting local restaurants, which have been struggling as fewer federal employees eat out.

Hayes said the group has provided more than 36,000 meals and all of them are purchased from local restaurants.

“We are buying the meals from the local restaurants and then sharing them with furloughed workers,” Hayes said. “So everybody is supported a little bit.”

Salmon said concerns and caution are rampant in the community. But with support from community networks, there is some ease to the tumultuous environment.

“We know there was an existing high level of need in our community even before anything related to the shutdown, and we are working to step in and help provide even more food out into the community,” Salmon said.��

The post Anxiety, concern seize community over SNAP benefits first appeared on 91����.

The C&O Canal, part of a 184-mile national park that runs from Georgetown to Cumberland, Maryland, has been undergoing major restoration since 2023, including lock and wall repairs and flood prevention measures, which Romm told 91���� are almost complete.

The Georgetown community has stayed engaged through volunteer events and celebrations, keeping the canal’s spirit alive during the closure.

Earlier this month, volunteers and families gathered along the Georgetown section of the canal for Canal Community Day and the inaugural Canal Day. People cleaned trash, maintained structures, and participated in educational and recreational activities, keeping the canal alive while the canal remained drained and boat tours suspended.

Families celebrate at Canal Day.

The inaugural Canal Day was held Oct. 18, attracting many families and tourists. Activities included live music, lawn games, model boat building, and meeting a donkey and a mule. Though the boat tours are suspended, children could still enjoy songs and watch a puppet show on the boat.

“The main goal is to remind people the canal is still here and to celebrate its magic,” Romm said. “We want to get the champagne out of the bottle and make sure everybody knows about it.”

Georgetown Heritage is the organization that sponsors the canal boat tours. Its says its mission is to celebrate and elevate the history, heritage, arts and culture of Georgetown.

During the restoration project, the group focused on canal walking tours as well as programs of arts and culture in Georgetown.

The National Park Service launched a $12.7 million preservation and rehabilitation project in March 2023, aiming to protect key parts of the nation’s early transportation history and reduce flooding risks during heavy storms.

The restoration focused on repairing and stabilizing historic locks and stone walls along the canal between D.C. and southern Montgomery County, Maryland. The work aimed to strengthen aging structures, improve safety and resilience, and preserve the historic canal landscape, particularly the lower five miles that run through Georgetown.

Some sections of the towpath in Georgetown have been closed for extended periods of time to facilitate construction.

“We’ve been very lucky they’re doing this maintenance work,” Romm said. “It’ll hold water now for decades to come, and that’s great.”

Community volunteers keep the canal alive

The Canal Community Day was held in Georgetown for the first time, just a day earlier, on Oct. 17. The volunteers, mostly students, wearing reflective safety vests and holding grabbers, removed trash, painted structures, performed maintenance, and managed invasive plants along the canal.

“I think it’s important to keep outdoor spaces clean and nice,” volunteer Grace Wiczek said.

The C&O Canal Trust, the official philanthropic partner of the C&O Canal National Historical Park, has hosted the event for 18 years. This year marked the first time the Trust brought the program to D.C., after focusing primarily on canal sections in Virginia and Maryland.

In , volunteers contributed more than 7,000 hours, removing over 20,000 pounds of trash and vegetation and refurbishing over 200 structures.

“We’re trying to increase youth volunteer participation and educational outreach,” said Lauren Riviello, the Trust’s president and CEO. “We want to instill a strong environmental ethic and a love of outdoors, especially for this park.”

Historical significance and looking ahead

Beyond the celebrations, the canal carries historical and educational value, drawing 4-to-5million visitors each year, Riviello said.

“America doesn’t really have a lot of super old things, but this one is kind of old,” volunteer Amanda Baron said, noting the canal offers a glimpse into Georgetown’s industrial past.

Romm said the canal does help visitors think about history. ��“We run a lot of STEM-based tours that show how the canal was built all by hand, which was pretty amazing,” she said.

Volunteers hope that when water returns, visitors will appreciate the canal’s historic and ecological value.

The National Park Service last year ended its philanthropic agreement with Georgetown Heritage, though Romm said the group will still work with NPS running the canal boat.

The philanthropic agreement with Georgetown Heritage was signed in 2019 with the goal of enhancing rehabilitation efforts, environmental and historic education, and community engagement along a 1-mile stretch of the canal in Georgetown. However, NPS announced in March 2024 that it terminated the agreement.

“Terminating a philanthropic agreement is unusual and happens only after exhausting all other avenues to try to resolve the issues,” NPS said at the time. “As we move forward, the NPS will expand its work in Georgetown with longstanding park philanthropic partner C&O Canal Trust and will continue to foster partnerships with organizations that share similar missions, values, and goals.”

According to the park service, the termination of the philanthropic agreement didn’t change the operation of the canal boat in Georgetown.

“The District of Columbia government funded the construction of the canal boat and Georgetown Heritage owns the boat, which it operates under a different agreement with the NPS,” it said.

Jeff Wesser, a new D.C. resident, said he learned a lot about the history of the canal during the Canal Day and looks forward to joining the boat tours next spring.

“I like seeing the locks work, and when they have the canal watered,” Baron said. “So that you can actually paddle up and down it versus having it drained all the time.”

The post C&O Canal awakens as Georgetown prepares for boat tours’ return first appeared on 91����.

According to more than 200,000 demonstrators gathered near the U.S. Capitol for the second “No Kings” rally of the year around noon on Oct. 18, one of more than 2,700 protests nationwide.

also said about 7 million people across the country participated in the lawful, nonviolent No Kings Day, 2 million more than the first round in June. At rallies across the country, participants carried signs and chanted messages asserting that the nation belongs to its people, not to a president who acts like a king.

Delonte Gholston, a pastor at Peace Fellowship Church in Northeast D.C., asked: “Who will not bow to a kind of religion that wants to be close to power but won’t empower anybody else?” The question marked the official start of the rally.

Participants held signs on immigration, liberty, the Constitution, LGBTQ rights, health care and anti-fascism. But all called for the same thing: No Kings. That included a demand to remove and impeach Trump. Protesters said that, since his second term began, Trump has ruled over the nation like a monarch, a role that has not existed in the United States since 1776.

As the first politician to take the stage, longtime Trump critic Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said the United States was facing a real threat to democracy. No outside force would save the people, he warned, because protecting democracy depends only on the people themselves.

He said Trump had attempted to undermine free speech, fair elections, independent media, and the right to peaceful protest. But the people, Murphy said, could still unite, draw moral lines, uphold the Constitution, and defend the 250-year experiment of self-government, a democracy without kings.

“I’m optimistic, maybe even foolishly so, about our ability to win this fight, because 400 years ago, in the small but mighty state of Connecticut, we wrote down a simple idea: In America, the people rule. In America, there are no kings,” Murphy said, emphasizing the link between the Constitution and his home state.

As the broadcaster Mehdi Hasan took the stage, the crowd laughed at his sharp wit. He mocked Trump’s behavior with humor and irony, saying he was “everything Donald Trump loves” because he is a journalist, an immigrant, and a Muslim.

He pointed out that Trump himself is the son, grandson, husband and ex-husband of immigrants, emphasizing the value of immigration and joking that immigrants “will do the jobs even Americans won’t do.”

Behind and in front of the stage, several small groups formed around speakers, moving their bodies to the rhythm of dance music. They waved flags and signs and wore all kinds of outfits: some wore American flags as capes, some dressed as Spider-Man, others holding colorful umbrellas.

Voices from the crowd

During the rally, Julian C., a Maryland resident who requested anonymity, stood for hours on top of the U.S. Department of Labor building waving a Mexican flag in support of Latino immigrants.

“We don’t accept the ICE raids happening around the country solely because of people’s skin color or nationality,” Julian said. “I’m trying to spread the message that there should be more representation of Latino people and other immigrants in the streets.”

Ten-year-old Jacqueline Hill-Bowling joined the protest with her mother. Though young, she was already experienced and noticed there were “a lot more people than [her] last protest.”

Hill-Bowling said one main reason for the protests was that due process was “messed up.”

“I learned that due process is the process in which all Americans or anyone, even immigrants, which apparently Trump doesn’t agree with, get to defend themselves,” she said. “It’s like a trial, but some people don’t get one, and it’s unfair, and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal.”

Protests began before the rally

The No Kings rally was scheduled to start at noon, but volunteers had been setting up since early morning, laying cables and placing barriers.

Rows of police officers on bicycles stood by, and snipers were seen on the roof of the National Gallery of Art, ready for emergencies. Police said afterward that no one had been detained.

But the demonstrations had already begun two miles away in the U Street Corridor.

The feeder march “Remove the Regime,” led by grassroots political groups like 50501DC, DC Against Trump, and Refuse Fascism, began around 9 a.m.

The march looked like a modest-sized crowd at first, but within an hour it swelled, becoming few blocks long.

Lelaina Brandt, cofounder of the veterans’ group “Remember Your Oath,” which joined the march from the beginning, said she appreciated people showing up but felt discouraged that many treated it as just a fun day out instead of acting every day, because the rise of authoritarianism and fascism in the country is urgent.

“This has been a 40-year plan by groups like the Heritage Foundation to usher authoritarianism and fascism into our country,” she said. “We can focus on Trump, but the work won’t be over when he’s gone. We must keep standing up until fascism is crushed once and for all in this country.”

Warming up at the Lincoln Memorial.

The rally’s energy built on earlier events Friday afternoon, when organizers began delivering speeches at 3 p.m. to prepare for the weekend.

The most eye-catching was a protest organized by the Backbone Campaign, where activists wore oversized caricature heads of Trump and his three allies Stephen Miller, JD Vance and Kristi Noem.

Dressed in prison stripes, the four embodied what many Americans already assume — partners in crime, chained by accountability.

Bill Moyer, the group’s executive director, said, “These people deserve to be ridiculed, and it’s our job, as citizens, to ridicule tyrants.”

The protest never stopped

The No Kings rally in D.C. ended around 3 p.m., but demonstrators didn’t stop there.

FLARE, a grassroots political group that camped at Union Station Plaza, prepared to continue into the evening with another protest in Arlington, outside the home of Russell Vought, a key architect of Project 2025, to denounce him as one of Trump’s technocrats.

On Saturday night, Trump posted an AI-generated on Truth Social showing himself flying jets, wearing a crown, and dropping waste on protesters.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who earlier this month described the rally as “,” said at a Monday press conference that Trump “is using satire to make a point.”

“The president uses social media to make the point,” he said. “You could argue he’s probably the most effective person who’s ever used social media for that purpose.”

Matt Gordon, another co-founder of “Remember Your Oath,” disagreed with Johnson.

“He doesn’t care about unifying a nation. He cares about humiliating those he thinks are his enemies,” Gordonsaid. “He’ll do that by creating ridiculous AI videos of himself stomping on people protesting him in the streets.”

Gordon also said the next wave of “Remove the Regime” march begins on Nov. 5.

The post “We will not cooperate!” Washington says ‘No Kings’ again to Donald Trump first appeared on 91����.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston Wednesday put on hold the subsequent mass firing of about 4,100 of the federal workers — a decision aimed at the Trump administration. Illston, with the Northern District of California, questioned the legality of the administration to fire them.  

Even as the courts weigh in, the shutdown appears far from over.

Senate leaders voted against ending the shutdown Wednesday for the ninth time after efforts to end the stalemate collapsed on Tuesday. 

The shutdown is tangled in deep partisan divisions, with Republicans and Democrats refusing to negotiate over Democrats’ push to extend health care tax credits, which make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act. 

The shutdown — the fifth longest in modern history — mirrors the political brinkmanship seen during Trump’s first term when the stoppage lasted 34 days.

Stephen Farnsworth, political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington, said the administration’s strategy of sustaining select programs while tightening pressure on Democrats suggests the shutdown may be less a short-term funding lapse than a calculated battle over the future of federal spending and health care policy.

“Democrats find it difficult to make a deal with Republicans in Congress when the president has shown little interest in following the terms of existing laws on the federal budget,” Farnsworth said. 

Deadlock in D.C.

Leadership wasn’t budging Wednesday. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a press conference he will not bring back House members until Senate Democrats agree to reopen the government first.

An hour and a half later, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats were willing to negotiate, but would not approve any funding bill without action on health care subsidies. 

“We are ready, we are willing, and we are able to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement,” Jeffries said outside the Capitol. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-LA, said that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, is avoiding compromise with Senate Republicans on the shutdown to fulfill a “hostage list” of demands that will undermine Americans.

The impasse reflects a familiar dynamic in Washington, but this time the stakes are higher.

The layoffs across seven federal agencies started Friday, including at the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. Before Illston’s decision, over 4,100 employees received layoff notices. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-PA, said that Congress “should have never shut the government down,” when addressing concerns of mass layoffs of federal workers.

“They’re not going to get paid,” Fetterman said. “Don’t put them in that spot by shutting the government down.”

Republicans also want the government open, but blame the holdup on Democrats.

“I voted nine times to open the federal government,” said Sen. John Boozman, R-AR, outside the Senate subway. “The Democrats were blocking that.”

What is working or not

As key federal programs face growing uncertainty, the White House is working to shield certain services from disruption. 

On Saturday, the Trump administration announced $8 billion would be reallocated to cover the pay of about 1.3 million active-duty personnel and National Guard members. Although they received their paycheck on Wednesday, Johnson said  service members will miss their Oct. 31 paychecks if the government doesn’t reopen by then.

The move appears aimed at maintaining critical operations while blunting public backlash against the administration. But those steps may also remove much of the pressure that could otherwise force a deal.

Johnson said that conservative Republicans “prioritize troops and law enforcement.” 

Republicans “moved that over to prioritize payment of those who are putting their lives on the line today, and the families in serious situations,” Johnson said.

When questioned about Capitol police working without pay, Johnson said that Republicans “are not taking pleasure” in this scenario. 

The Senate is expected to vote again Thursday on the GOP-led funding bill without any expectation of a different outcome, according to Politico. 

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On Oct. 13, the District Department of Transportation arranged for workers to remove trees as part of a larger drainage project aimed at addressing flooding, ponding and erosion at the Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society cemeteries in Georgetown.

The main work on the project is scheduled to begin next year after several delays.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) gave its final answer about the delayed project at an Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2E public meeting on Sept. 29, 2025: it is expected to begin in spring 2026.

Commissioner Daniel Chao said that, since the project has been delayed many times, he needed a clear time when it will begin.

“This is fantastic,” Commissioner Mimsy Lindner said. “This project has been delayed, and it’s such an important project.”

Afrom the D.C. Council’s Committee on Transportation & the Environment for fiscal year 2023 noted that the District has provided DDOT with $1.65 million to address stormwater problems at Mount Zion and the Female Union Band Society cemeteries by investing in stormwater management infrastructure improvements.

Congress also passed the in 2022, with the aim of facilitating nonfederal activities to identify, interpret, research, preserve, and record unmarked, previously abandoned, underserved, and other African-American burial grounds.

However, according to a letter from ANC 2E to DDOT, the drainage project’s construction date has been pushed back at least three times, even though the design of the infrastructure improvements has been completed.

“Construction was projected to start in fall 2025. Due to delays in our contracting process and the availability of our crews, we expect construction to begin in 2026,” Christophe Wassmer, the Ward 2 and Ward 3 liaison for DDOT, said. “We understand that this project has experienced a lot of delays.”

Wassmer said some of the delays were for items that were outside of the contract that had to be negotiated.

Wassmer said DDOT started the negotiation and the contracting process in November 2024. The process typically takes six to nine months to complete, but it took longer this time.

Different from previous delays, with the contract having been issued through DDOT’s Office of Contract and Procurement, delays now are related to DDOT crews currently being assigned to other projects, Wassmer said.

Important history behind the cemetery.

Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society cemeteries are in northeast Georgetown, bordering Rock Creek Park and the historic museum Dumbarton House.

The neglect of the two African American burial grounds can be seen vividly from two sides of Dumbarton House in Georgetown—one side is Oak Hill Cemetery, a well-preserved cemetery historically reserved for White residents with few exceptions, where the tombstones of congressmen and cabinet members tombstones can be found; the other side is Mount Zion and Female Union Band cemeteries, where slaves, freedmen and mostly black citizens were buried and where unmarked gravestones lie in disarray and weeds have overgrown.

Mount Zion and Female Union Band Society cemeteries are among the oldest African American cemeteries in D.C. and among the few that still preserve a significant number of graves of former slaves.

According to an prepared for the D.C. Preservation League by EHT Traceries, a small business specializing in historic preservation, the cemetery has been used as burial grounds since 1808. Originally, it was used to bury white parishioners of Mount Zion Church and their slaves, but many white remains were removed westward from the old ground to the new Oak Hill Cemetery in 1849.

The overview also said that the cemetery was connected to the Underground Railroad. Its brick burial vault served as a hiding place for runaway slaves, making the cemetery not only bear witness to the early development of African American communities but an important symbol of free Black culture in the United States.

The cemeteries need protection.

The D.C. Preservation League has listed the cemeteries on its issued since 2012.

Lisa Frager, executive director of Black Georgetown Foundation, said that Georgetown’s infrastructure channels water directly into the site, therefore causing erosion at both cemeteries.

She added that, since some land has been taken under eminent domain, she serves as a liaison between the National Park Service, which is responsible for Rock Creek Park, and the D.C. government.

But efforts by the community and nonprofit organizations to preserve the two burial grounds as historic landmarks and urban oases never stops.

The most recent event was a held Oct. 6 that brought together gravestone restoration expert Jonathan Appell and representatives from four historic cemeteries in the Washington area to discuss how to restore and repair gravestones, monuments and stonework, focusing on the most common problems.

Frager said, “We’re working to preserve the cemetery, making it a historic memorial park, where people learn American history, that a lot of people have forgotten.”

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Local groups and government agencies are working toward an ambitious goal: making the river swimmable year-round. From large-scale tunnel construction to community outreach, advocates say momentum is building to restore the nation’s river and ensure future generations can enjoy it safely.

One recent example came on Sept. 20, when more than 50 kayakers took to the water for the inaugural Potomac Paddle Off at the Georgetown waterfront. Proceeds from the race supported restoration efforts, and organizers said the event highlighted both community spirit and the river’s potential comeback.

The region’s leading clean water advocate Potomac Conservancy hosted the event in partnership with Guest Services, a hospitality management company.

The event was open to paddlers of all levels, offering short-course and long-course options. Both options required participants to paddle beneath the historic Key Bridge in an upstream-and-back course.

“It’s exciting to see more than 50 people coming for the race,” Guest Services CEO Nico Foris said at the opening ceremony. “This is the kind of event that brings the community together whether you’re racing, cheering from the shore, or learning how to make a difference for our river.”

Potomac Conservancy President Hedrick Belin said more people would get involved to protect Potomac when they have opportunities to get on the river and “develop a true joy of how special it is.”

The “Potomac is both the nation’s river and our hometown river,” Belin said, “[Participants] might volunteer for cleanups and lend their voice to strengthen clean water policies.”

Community turns out for the paddle.

The event successfully drew participants from diverse backgrounds, including local students, new residents, immigrants, and professional paddlers.

“Without this river,” Aquil Abdullah said, “it’s possible that I wouldn’t be here right now, because this river is where I learned to row.”

Born and raised in Georgetown, Abdullah, a former Olympic rower, was invited to the event as the emcee.

“This is a great event as like a waterman,” the winner of the long course race Ian Ross said. “I feel like if you’re not an environmentalist, you’re probably super hypocritical, and you probably shouldn’t call yourself a waterman.”

Ross added that it was important for everyone to have a piece in taking care of the river, since it was also the water they drank. Although he didn’t make a lot of money doing this work, he said it was worth it to him, and that was why he was there.

Harrison Tsui, who moved to Georgetown from New York in August to work as a legislative fellow for the House, said he had not known much about the river before participating.

The “Potomac River for D.C. is like East River for us in New York,” he said, adding that the experience highlighted the importance of promoting awareness of environment protection.

Carol Wong, a volunteer, said the event encourages families to get involved while also raising funds for an important mission.

Ongoing efforts to improve water quality.

Potomac Conservancy and other organizations have made tremendous progress to restore the river’s health in last 20 years. The Potomac River’s health has improved from a dismal “D” to a “B” grade in the span of just 12 years by 2023, according to the group’s biannual .

Though great achievements have been reached, said Melissa Diemand, vice president of communications of Potomac Conservancy, work is not yet done because there still are issues because of pollution.

“Anytime it rains hard in the region, there’ll be, unfortunately, raw sewage going into the river, and so there’s steps being taken to reduce that those overflow,” Diemand said.

She added that one of the biggest challenges the team still faces is the continued loss of tree cover along the shorelines. These green buffer strips help filter the water, she noted, and it is critical to protect existing trees and forests, as has been done along the C&O Canal just upstream.

Various government agencies and organizations are actively coordinating efforts to protect the river.

began construction to stabilize the slope on Canal Road NW between Foxhall Road and the Georgetown University entrance on Sept. 20, the same day of the paddling race.

The slope stabilization is part of the $819 million Potomac River Tunnel Project, a 5.5-mile tunnel designed to sharply reduce untreated sewage and stormwater flowing into the Potomac River.

Crews plan to stabilize the slope by clearing loose material and trees, drilling about 725 steel dowels into the hillside, securing it with mesh, applying hydroseed, and replanting trees at the top, according to the project fact sheet.

The work is expected to take about six-and-a-half months. Temporary road lane closures may occur during off-peak hours, and the sidewalk will remain closed for the duration of the project.

Looking toward swimming in the river.

 “There used to be swimming historically, like 100 years ago,” Belin said. “It’s sort of our goal to get to a river that’s where you can swim in it or paddle in it 365 days a year without fear of getting sick.”

 Other organizations, such as the Potomac Riverkeeper Network (PRKN), have also worked for years to end the decades-old ban on swimming in D.C.

PRKN has collected and tested weekly water samples from May to October for the past five years to determine when and where contact with the water is safe, according to the Swimmable Potomac Report 2024.

Data show that, on average, the water is safe for human contact more than 70% of the time across the five-year period.

PRKN Program Director Brent Walls said that everyone has a right to clean water and D.C. should protect the public’s right to swim in the Potomac River.

“It is our goal to have safe swimming almost every day of the year. This advocacy extends particularly to the District of Columbia, the only local jurisdiction with a decades-old, and now unnecessary, ban on swimming,” he said.

But the water quality for Georgetown seems less encouraging. PRKN ended the water quality monitoring season for the Upper Potomac this September, and weekly reports this year from May through September show that at two monitoring sites in Georgetown, the water met swimmable standards only about half the time.

“It won’t get well overnight,” Belin said. “We will definitely have more swimming activities.”

He said he remained optimistic about swimming in the river, and he hoped to see another Olympian in the future could say proudly, “I grew up swimming in the Potomac River.”

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These locals say the slowdown stems the presence of armed National Guardsmen on the area’s iconic streets, the threat of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and rising costs.

President Donald Trump announced the deployment of the National Guard in the capital on Aug. 11, saying it was intended to combat what he called a “crime emergency.” The move now appears to be affecting the city’s tourist districts, including Georgetown.

“Slower! Visitor traffic has been off and on since the National Guard arrived, and overall, it’s been getting slower and slower,” said Michael Williams, a National Park Service employee responsible for the Old Stone House.

Williams said the Old Stone House, the oldest building in Georgetown, even though not a large museum, traditionally attracted many visitors interested in its history. But now, fewer tourists are stopping by, he said.

He added that inflation is also a factor, even in one of Washington’s priciest neighborhoods.

“If prices were better, we would likely see better visitor numbers,” he said.

The combination of inflation and the federal surge also has placed a strain on Georgetown’s restaurants.

“Since the pandemic ended, business has steadily increased,” Marcelo Rodriguez, manager of Angola Ristorante Italia, said. “The National Guard’s deployment has discouraged some tourists from visiting, particularly Georgetown,” he said.

The recent drop in customer traffic is worrying, he said.

Rodriguez’s concerns is reflected in citywide from OpenTable’s “State of the Industry” report, which found that the number of seated diners across D.C. have declined year-over-year since President Donald Trump announced the surge in federal law enforcement and the National Guard deployment, aside from the period of Summer Restaurant Week 2025.

“This isn’t a good signal. We don’t want to go through the struggles we faced during the pandemic this fall,” Rodriguez said.

In addition, Rodriguez noted that stricter ICE enforcement this year has made hiring staff more difficult, as even immigrants with legal status are hesitant to take risks.

For general visitors, they can smell something has changed in the area.

Christina Hoehner, a visitor from Virginia who sometimes comes to Georgetown University to see friends, said her visit this time left her a different impression.

“I’ve started to dislike the vibe here. There are armed National Guard troops everywhere, even though Georgetown has always been a safe and lively area,” she said. “Next time, I might meet my friends somewhere else.”

Hoehner added that while she understands the National Guard is also engaging in some beautification efforts in these two days, she still finds it silly given the number of professionals available to handle such tasks.

She is not alone in questioning the need for the National Guard deployment. Last week, Georgetown University students joined students from three other area universities in a walkout protesting the deployment.

In August, Destination DC, the official destination marketing organization for Washington, DC, said it expected D.C. will see a 5.1 percent decrease in international travelers over 2025. The organization said these tourists in particular are “coveted” because they spend four times as much as domestic visitors.

However, a member of the Georgetown Business Association board of directors, Christopher Dent, disagreed, saying he saw no federal surge affecting Georgetown tourism and business.

Tourism and business in Georgetown are as good as it has been or better, Dent told 91����, though he declined to give any further explanation.

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