WASHINGTON — Behind the counter of Georgetown’s Compass Coffee,  Spencer Young takes orders, makes drinks and works the kind of full-time schedule many college graduates hope will lead to independence.

Forty-hour weeks making coffees, teas and other drinks earn him $840 a week before taxes. In 2024, Young graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in theater. His rent is $2,200 a month, and he still owes about $55,000 in student debt. After rent, food, bills and loan payments, he said, there is little left.

“After rent, living expenses and debt, I don’t really have anything left,” Young said.

Young, 23, is part of a generation expected to have great financial influence. A 2025 analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the international consulting and accounting firm commonly known as PwC, said Gen Z’s spending power is expected to reach $12 trillion by 2030, even as young consumers adjust to inflation, rising interest rates, student loan payments and a difficult job market.

PwC found that Gen Z cut overall spending by 13 percent between January and April 2025 and planned to reduce holiday spending by 23 percent, but still expected to spend an average of $1,357 during the season.

The report also found that Gen Z is patiently frugal. More than 79 percent wait for products to go on sale, while 64 percent have tried buy now, pay later at least once. PwC described the generation as “cautious with money, yet quick to spend when the purchase carries emotional weight.”

Young started college in 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted universities across the country. He studied theater at George Washington and graduated four years later.

“I started college in 2020, so COVID was my first year,” Young said. “It was a terrible year to start.”

Now, he wants to move to New York and keeps applying for jobs there. He said he is not especially worried about the future, even though his present finances are tight.

“I’m not really worried about the future,” Young said. “I think it’s just a matter of trying and trying again and surviving in the meantime.”

For Sara Jones, a sophomore at American University, money is not a serious concern yet.

Jones’s regular expenses are limited to what she chooses to buy for herself while she studies political science with a minor in communications and works a few days a week at the front desks of AU residence halls.

She makes $18 an hour and tries to keep her weekly spending under $50, mostly on coffee, occasional treats, beauty products and, rarely, clothes.

Her father covers the rest of her major costs, including college, housing, food and her planned law school tuition.

That support gives her space to focus on academics and career preparation, ahead of full financial independence.

She said she applied to one internship this year because she wanted “a job for the summer in preparation for study abroad” and “some real-world experience relating to my major.” She sees internships as useful, but not everything.

“I think they’re beneficial,” Jones said. “I don’t think they’re necessary, but I think they definitely can help with some career readiness.”

She says early career opportunities, like internships, do not always pay enough to support the students they are supposed to help. The internship she applied for was in her hometown and paid about $13 an hour, which she considered good because it was above the local minimum wage. But she said that kind of pay would not go far in Washington.

“I don’t think the internship alone pays enough at all,” Jones said. “I think like $18 an hour is definitely not enough to like pay for an apartment, especially here where it’s way more expensive than most cities.”

In Lexington, Virginia, McCormick’s money goes further.

He works at the front end of a Walmart, eight hours a day, five days a week. He makes about $15 an hour, better than the $13 he made at Kroger. He is classified as part time, which means he does not receive benefits, even though his hours resemble full-time work.

“It’s easy work,” McCormick said. “I mostly watch self-checkout, run registers, bag groceries and sometimes help with pickup orders.”

McCormick lives with his parents and does not plan to go to college or trade school. His father works at Dominion Energy and earns enough to comfortably support his family. McCormick applied for a job there and was rejected, but he said it did not bother him.

His biggest expense is his truck, a 5.0-liter Coyote V8 Ford F-150 that gets about 17 miles per gallon. He pays around $450 a month for it.

“My truck is my pride and joy,” McCormick said.

His other major expense is fishing. He drives about 30 minutes to fish on weekends and sometimes after work. He mostly catches and releases bass, though he occasionally cooks fish wrapped in foil with lemon, butter and herbs.

“I’m always chasing the biggest bass,” McCormick said.

Tapiwa Sande, a second-year master’s student in finance who has researched consumer confidence and studied banking and finance as an undergraduate in Zimbabwe, said young adults are entering a job market where credentials alone may not be enough.

“For Gen Z, getting a job is no longer just about what you know,” Sande said. “It is also about who can vouch for you.”

Sande said artificial intelligence has made applications easier to polish, making personal connections more important.

“Gen Z is stuck in the classic catch-22,” Sande said. “You need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience.”

Sande said Gen Z is also being shaped by new forms of consumer credit and recurring payments. Companies such as Klarna and Affirm have made buy now, pay later programs common in online shopping. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned in a 2022 public inquiry that those products can appear to consumers as a standard payment option even though they are taking on debt.

“Buy now, pay later does not always feel like debt to young people,” Sande said. “It feels like a monthly payment.”

PwC’s analysis also found that more than 40 percent of Gen Z consumers who used buy now, pay later had made a late payment, a risk Sande said builds exponentially through recurring charges and installment plans.

Sande said that can make young consumers look stable month to month while still building up obligations through rent, phone payments, subscriptions, credit cards and installment plans.

“The danger is that young people can look financially stable month to month while still becoming seriously indebted,” Sande said.

But he said Gen Z is not simply reckless. Many young adults are thinking creatively about money because they do not trust one paycheck to provide security.

“Gen Z does not only think about a nine-to-five anymore,” Sande said. “They think about investing, content creation, streaming, side hustles and online businesses.”

Not every Gen Zer is living the same way. Jones is spending carefully while preparing for a professional future. McCormick is working steadily and spending on a truck and hobby he loves. Young is trying to survive expensive city life long enough to reach the next opportunity.

The post For Gen Z, a Paycheck Does Not Mean Stability first appeared on 91����.

By Yuri Perelman

When Thea Kano was younger and growing up, she questioned where in the world she would like to perform music as a conductor. The Kennedy Center always came to mind, she said, because of its perception as the nation’s stage.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts had a lengthy development. It opened to the public on the evening of September 8, 1971, according to a New York Times published the following day. Roger L. Stevens, then chairman of the board, wrote to Congress the following day that the center’s “promise and purpose” would be to strengthen the life of the performing arts throughout America and all they can give to all Americans.

Stevens also gave a speech on the center’s opening night explaining that the center was dedicated as a memorial to Kennedy, and the only such one in Washington. Today, the chairman of the board is President Donald Trump himself.

Today, Kano is Artistic Director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D.C. She is one of many engaged in performing arts in Washington D.C. that have been inspired by the Kennedy Center from a young age who also disagree that Trump’s actions towards the center have not been appropriate, or faithful to the intentions of those involved in its development.

Artistic organizations face pressure

Trump has had a heavy influence since taking the role of board chairman.

The Kennedy Center, now branded the Trump Kennedy Center, has been targeted by the administration for the quality of its facilities. Consequently, The center will be closing for two years to undergo a complete reconstruction, starting on July 4.

Groups like the National Symphony Orchestra, whose primary performing venue is the Kennedy Center, are going to have to find alternative locations to perform at during this period.

Lola Zulps, an alum of American University’s College of Arts and Sciences and former operations intern with the NSO, finds it unfortunate that the city will lose its largest cultural hub. But she observes that by performing in local venues, a silver lining is that the orchestra will be able to connect with the D.C. community on a deeper level.

“I do think the Kennedy Center closing allows us to reach more people, and for people to be more connected to us and more willing to see us in a show,” Zulps said in an interview.

Zulps also notes that by being able to disassociate itself with the president, the orchestra has a stronger chance of regaining patronage it has lost since Trump began making alterations to the Kennedy Center.

“We’re hoping that when the shutdown happens and we’re on the road and we’re performing at all these other venues, we get our audiences back, because we’re not affiliated with that center anymore,” Zulps said.

Andrew Taylor, the director of the Arts Management program at American University, says that the closure of the center will bring substantial challenges to the orchestra. Finding a suitable venue, with the proper acoustics for the large orchestra, will be difficult.

“It’s hard to beat the Kennedy Center for the quality and stature and credibility,” Taylor said in an interview. “The audiences tend to think, Oh, it’s gonna be good if it’s in that space, and the acoustics are great, and the building is great. So it’s hard to find comparable venues.”

Taylor projects that by not being able to perform in the Kennedy Center, the orchestra will see fewer performances, fewer contracts, less musician hours, and fewer opportunities for people to see them.

There will also be a reduction in job opportunities for performing arts in the D.C. area.

“Performers will have less opportunities to perform,” Taylor said. “All of the stage professionals and the craft professionals and the technical and sound and audio and engineering. Everybody who makes a show happen, will have a significant reduction”

In the meantime, the nature of programming at the Kennedy Center has changed. Many events with LGBTQ themes are no longer taking place. The Gay Men’s Chorus, as an example, was scheduled to accompany the National Symphony Orchestra during a show in June 2025, until the performance was abruptly .

However, Kano also says that the Kennedy Center has changed so much as an institution, and is a hostile place for groups like the Gay Men’s Chorus.

“We do not feel welcome there even if the doors remained open,” Kano said.

Artists protest the changing of a cultural center

When Donald Trump attended the Kennedy Center’s premiere of Les Misérables, he sat in a theatre that was mostly empty. Senator Ted Cruz and far-right activist Laura Loomer were the few in attendance. But also in the audience were three drag queens.

One of them was Tara Hoot, a drag artist whose stage name was derived from their hometown of Terre Haute, Ind. They recalled that this act of protest was highly effective, going on to garner media coverage from outlets like the New York Times.

“It was pretty empty inside, but we got a pretty good applause, and we just wanted to show up as a form of protest and take up space,” Hoot said in an interview.

Today, Hoot serves as emcee of a weekly demonstration organized by advocacy group Hands Off the Arts. Every Friday evening, a group gathers in lively song and protest on the steps leading up to the entrance of the Kennedy Center.

Hoot says these protests are important because it is difficult to predict the extent to which the Kennedy Center will change after Trump’s planned reconstruction.

“I don’t trust Donald Trump,” Hoot said. “He tore down the East Wing of the White House without anybody batting an eye. And, you know, he doesn’t listen to any moral compass or have any rules or follow any rules. So, you know, if the Kennedy Center closes, what’s to say that we wake up one morning and it’s not there anymore, physically?”

Many involved in leadership positions with Hands Off the Arts have personal connections to the center that drive them to the cause. Mallory Miller, an alum of American University’s College of Arts and Sciences and the organization’s co-founder, studied classical ballet from her childhood through college and says the existence of the Kennedy Center has always been very profound to her.

“I grew up in central Indiana, and I became aware of the Kennedy Center when I was very, very young, and understood that I could have a career because a place like this existed,” Miller said in an interview.

Forrest Robinette runs Hands Off the Arts’ arts and community outreach committee, and is a former tour guide at the Kennedy Center. He observes that the closure of the Kennedy Center is going to be especially devastating for the Washington D.C. community at large, pointing particularly towards those who benefit from their educational programs.

“Many of these students are not students who would go see the ballet normally,” Robinette said in an interview. “They are not students who would go see the symphony normally. They are not students who would engage in performing arts normally without this.”

Looking towards the future

Some of those who currently work within the Kennedy Center, like Zulps, have encouraged an optimistic outlook.

“It is so, so important to continue playing and to continue putting on shows, and to keep doing what we’re doing with our heads up, and keep moving forward,” Zulps said. “Because if we don’t do that, then what?”

After all, Zulps said, artists won’t be unsupportive during this period.

“We’re not under his name, and we know that we have support, and we know that there are people rooting for us,” Zulps said. ”We just have to get through this difficult time.”

This mindset was pushed back somewhat by Hoot.

“I think that the people that are optimistic are, I don’t want to say delusional, but I’m not nearly as optimistic thinking about if the Kennedy Center closes, that it’s going to open up and be what it was before,” Hoot said.

But Hoot has a word of advice for those who are concerned about how the arts scene in Washington will cope.

“Don’t lose hope,” Hoot said. “If I can throw drag on in two hours and get down there every single Friday to try to make a difference, and to show up on Capitol Hill, and to do this. I mean, showing up is the least that people can do right now.”

The post Kennedy Center woes prompt protest: “Hands Off the Arts!” first appeared on 91����.

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order (EO) 14168 titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” Eleven days later, Dr. Mandi Pratt-Chapman was notified her grant had been terminated.

By 5 p.m. on January 31, her study on how rural cancer centers collect sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data was shut down.

Pratt-Chapman is the Associate Director of Scientific Communication & Dissemination at The George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center and a professor in the Department of Medicine and Department of Prevention & Community Health.

“There was an intentional targeting of higher education and science– and to an extent it worked,” she said. “There was an intention to be overwhelming and a lot of us were very overwhelmed.”

Her grant was one of many canceled following the implementation of President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), primarily focused on reducing federal spending. On the DOGE website, it states that 15,887 grants from various government agencies have been terminated, saving approximately $49 billion.

Pratt-Chapman’s funding was flagged because EO 14168 states that “federal funds shall not be used to promote gender ideology.” It enforces a strictly binary understanding of sex and gender which is part of larger anti-transgender rhetoric from the Trump Administration.

Pratt-Chapman described her grant as relatively small, but its cancellation raised big questions on the future of LGBTQ+ research and federally funded science. She said the data lost will have lasting effects after Trump’s term.

Grant cancellations are just one part of the administration’s greater agenda against the education bureaucracy they say is failing. In another unprecedented EO last year, Trump dismantled the Department of Education, saying its closure “would drastically improve program implementation in higher education.”

Pratt-Chapman’s terminated grant was for the study “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Data Collection in Community Oncology Practice.” Pratt-Chapman and her colleagues were following up on their study of how SOGI data of cancer patients is collected in urban and more populated areas.

They had already gathered more than one-third of the federally funded data, and planned to interview 16 additional rural cancer centers when they lost funding.

“I felt personally in a crisis,” she said. “So I organized a space for others experiencing this to be heard and validated.”

She began a monthly meeting for the sexual and gender minority interest group that was previously hosted by the National Cancer Institute. When the meeting series ended, Pratt-Chapman took over as a touchpoint for researchers to continue building community.

“I still have a monthly call for scientists in the LGBT community that want to talk about research or vent,” Pratt-Chapman said. “I still hold that hour every month just in case someone wants to call in.”

In an interview, Dr. Lauren Houghton, an epidemiologist, researcher at Columbia University, and colleague of Pratt-Chapman described her as a leader in the sexual and gender minority cancer community.

“She immediately offered sessions and places for us as researchers going through a trauma to connect,” Houghton said.

In addition to the monthly meetings, Pratt-Chapman surveyed 158 researchers and interviewed 22 on their experiences with grant terminations, financial instability and job changes. She anticipates the analysis being submitted to a journal by the end of March.

“The way I look at all of my research is trying to remedy an injustice,” she said. “It was the same skillset, just applied to my peers.”

On February 7th, 2025, Pratt-Chapman shared her experience in Science Magazine– an action many other researchers were hesitant to do. She says she was shocked by the level of intimidation people felt and hoped that speaking out would lead to justice.

Houghton described Pratt-Chapman’s willingness to speak with the media as inspiring.

“She was one of the first people to do it,” Houghton said. “I think it was important to have that voice out there and not be afraid. She was so brave.”

Pratt-Chapman said it felt like the natural thing to do. Being a point of connection not only helped strengthen her professional community, but document the shared experiences of researchers.

“If you don’t state truth, then you are at risk of losing it,” she said. “And if you don’t stand up for the values that you believe in, then you lose them too.”

The post How One Researcher United LGBTQ+ Scientists After Her Grant Was Canceled first appeared on 91����.

For the first time in 44 years, the election for Ward 1’s Council seat will not include the incumbent council member after Brianne Nadeau announced she would not be seeking reelection last year. Several candidates have entered the race to represent one of the city’s most densely populated and progressive wards and are ramping up their campaigns for the primary election in June. 

Among these candidates is Aparna Raj, who has volunteered with the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter and has been endorsed by 11 unions. Raj is the child of Indian immigrants, is a nonprofit worker, has organized for tenant and workers rights, and is a member of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild union, which represents news, information, and nonprofit workers. 

Raj’s platform consists of free childcare, rent caps, and expanding workers rights. Her platform and proposed policies have led to endorsements from workers and unions in D.C., including Teamsters Local 639, United Food and Social Workers Local 400, and the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which Raj is a member of.  

“I think sometimes people view political endorsements as just a logo that’s in literature or on a mailer,” Raj said “It really means that the members and the workers who form these unions put their faith and trust in me. They see this campaign as one that will fight for them.” 

Raj says her labor platform seeks to expand D.C. worker’s power. She supports the increasing of the minimum wage to $25 from $17.95 and the restoration of Initiative 82 which would increase tipped minimum wage. As well as the protection and expansion of the Pay Equity Fund which would raise childcare workers wages, and the strengthening the right to organize for workers in the public sector.  

“I know that in the Wilson Building [D.C. Council Building], I will be able to collaborate with them [unions] and I know that labor has got my back, that workers have got my back, and I will always have theirs,” Raj said.  

The Trump administration hasthe National Labor Relations Board, and has rolled back the Biden administration’s pro-Union positions and replaced officials placed by the former administration. As a result, Raj plans to propose a D.C. Right to Organize Act, similar to legislation seen elsewhere in the country and on the national level, including the proposed . 

If the Trump administration were to dismantle the NLRB, the D.C. Right to Organize Act would protect workers rights in the city and expand on labor protections for workers who are not currently protected by federal labor law. A key element of this proposed legislation includes allowing workers to unionize through majority card check. 

“It is a way for us to try to preempt some of the big federal antilabor legislation we anticipate,” said Raj. 

Recently, Raj hosted an event in collaboration with the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union and Unite Here Local 25, which is the union which represents hotel, casino, and restaurant workers. Both of the unions have endorsed Raj.

Raj spoke to the attendees of the event about her reasons for running for office. Her parents’ experiences as immigrants and laborers, her own experiences with others while organizing, and disappointment with the current city government were all reasons she stated. 

“I have organized alongside tenants who are living in terrible conditions. People who have to deal with mold, with rodents, with water leakages, with the heat going out in the winter, so they have to use their ovens to stay warm,” Raj told the audience “I have organized alongside workers who are working two or three jobs to get by, or people who are forced to leave D.C. entirely, because they can’t afford rent, groceries, childcare, and utilities. And I have seen our Council let this happen.” 

Hannah Stephens, the vice president of organizing at the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union Local, said that the union represents and fights for the best interests of its members while being politically engaged through legislative work and political education events. Stephens described the decision to endorse Raj as an easy one for herself and the members of NPEU.  

“We did a poll for our members and our D.C. members voted 96% in favor of endorsing Aparna and a lot of that is because she’s a union member herself. She is unapologetically pro-worker,” Stephens said “We are a huge part of the DC community, and we feel seen in her campaign.” 

Raj has hosted events with DC mayoral candidate front-runner Janeese Lewis George, including a tenant rally at The Woodner Apartments in late March. Raj said that she is a big supporter of her mayoral campaign and was involved in her reelection campaign for Council in 2024. Raj and Lewis George are running on similar progressive, affordability focused, and worker oriented platforms. 

“I think if we both get elected it will shift government in a way that we haven’t seen before and really give power to renters and workers in developing policy,” Raj said “I think on the council side, having a friendly mayor is huge.” 

In her speech at the event, Raj spoke about her disapproval of the current Mayor Muriel Bowser, who is not seeking reelection. 

“I have seen our mayor give billions of dollars to a billionaire sports stadium owner, while our schools are crumbling, while our libraries and our rec centers and our parks are falling apart. And I am tired of us always having to be on defense for emergency rental assistance, or to protect our wages, to protect the things that belong to us. And I think it’s time that we had a government that fought for us.”  

The post Nearly a Dozen Labor Unions In DC Endorse Aparna Raj for Council first appeared on 91����.

Washington D.C. restaurants face economic and staffing problems depending on the Ward they reside in with the United States economy fluctuating throughout 2025 and 2026. 

“There used to be five of us in this kitchen, 14 years ago,” said Sergio Lobo, the owner of Mario’s House Pizza in Anacostia. “Now it’s just me, one staff worker, and my wife”.

The restaurant has been around since 1936, serving sandwiches and pizza by the slice. It sits in Ward 8, next to the bridge that connects Anacostia to the rest of D.C. Lobo worked in the restaurant as staff for over a decade before moving to Nevada in search of job opportunities. When visiting D.C. two years ago, the owner of Mario’s offered to sell the restaurant to Lobo, leaving him as owner. 

“Everything right now is expensive. Especially meat. We only buy ribeye. Since people are so used to us using ribeye, I can’t change the cut”, said Lobo. “Vegetables are expensive too, sometimes tomatoes fluctuate in price”.

Tariffs and inflation have affected various businesses throughout D.C.  that in 2025, 92 restaurants throughout the city were closed. The number went up from 2024, where 73 restaurants shut their doors. “If the trend continues, the city could surpass 100 closures by the end of 2026,” said ABC. 

“The majority of the tourists that come to D.C. are downtown. We don’t get a lot of them down here,” Lobo said. “We’ll sell around 60 pizzas on a good day. On a bad day, we will sell 10”. 

Lobo points out the neighborhood’s lack of security, pointing at a bullet hole on the main door of the restaurant. 

Anacostia is regarded as one of the least safe neighborhoods in D.C.  reports Anacostia to be in the 7th percentile for safety, meaning it is less safe than 93% of average U.S. neighborhoods. 

The Urban Institute, a D.C.–based nonprofit research organization  that there is a disparity in capital and funding distribution within Washington, with lower-income Wards like Ward 8 being less likely to receive funding. 

“DC’s neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, as well as much of Prince George’s County, received relatively low investment per household,” the authors of the report said. “In the Washington region, in general, the greater the share of white residents in a neighborhood, the more investment that the neighborhood receives. On average, neighborhoods with the largest shares of white residents (more than 80 percent) receive 2.3 times more overall investment than neighborhoods with the smallest shares of white residents. These trends are largely the reverse for majority-Black and majority-Latine neighborhoods”. 

Lobo mentioned the current political climate under the Trump administration. “The Hispanic business owners are dealing with the worst of it right now, due to the political situation,” said Lobo. 

A  article reported that after the continuous ICE raids that have occurred within the U.S. throughout the Trump administration, Hispanic people are more likely to stay at home and do shopping online. The authors of the article said that small businesses have suffered the most from this, as those with small online presences lose a chunk of their market. This same thing is happening in D.C. to the restaurant business. 

Seventeen minutes away from Mario’s House Pizza is Barcelona Wine Bar, a Spanish restaurant known for serving tapas. It has two locations within D.C. Established near Logan Circle in 2013 and later expanded into Tenleytown, the restaurants are funded by private equity. They lie within Wards 2 and 3, two of the most affluent Wards in D.C.

“We have never had to worry about closing. We have expanded to other states. The restaurants here on 14th Street are the busiest ones for the whole business. It’s really popular, we have some customers that come by every day,” said Bryan Alas, the manager for the Ward 2 location of Barcelona Wine Bar. 

“Our location helps a lot. When tourists come, they are near our location and our restaurants always appear on recommendation lists. People come from so many places, increasing our popularity,” said Alas. “I attribute the success to our location and team. All the team we hire gets a lot of preparation to become good servers, line cooks, and bartenders and to give the best service. Our (low to medium) food prices help us too”. 

On a good week, the Logan Circle location of Barcelona Wine Bar sells around 30,000 to 40,000 plates. 

“I go about twice a month,” said Abagael Smith, a Barcelona Wine Bar frequenter. “It’s a cool atmosphere and offers something different than other bars. There’s just more options, and it feels a bit more upscale and safe”.

Barcelona Wine Bar sits a short distance walk away from important D.C. landmarks like the National Mall and the White House.

The post D.C. Restaurants Face Challenges Based on Ward Economies and Location first appeared on 91����.

The total number of full grocery stores in the district increased from 76 to 80 in 2025, with only one being placed in Ward 8, according to a report released by D.C. Hunger Solutions. Between Wards 7 and 8, where half of the district’s food deserts lie, there are seven grocery stores in total.

Calvin Conway, who lived in the Anacostia area for 14 years, said their neighborhood does not get the best selection of food and fresh produce is especially hard to find.

“It [produce] says it’s fresh. But you can tell it’s been frozen before,” Conway said. “It doesn’t look that great. And it doesn’t hold up that long in the refrigerator.”

The scarcity of retail grocery stores in low-income neighborhoods leave local residents to rely on corner stores and bodegas to shop for groceries, according to USDA SNAP-Ed Connection. Corner stores, like King Street Convenient Store, allow for locals to shop for their food at lower prices.

Maradait Jackson, a resident of southeast DC, travels to Virginia to do her grocery shopping.

“If I want to eat healthy, I’m gonna find it,” Jackson said.

Jackson arrived at King Convenient Store to buy her “junk food,” for the day, and said she normally has someone drive her to do her grocery shopping twice a week.

Jemil Issa, a worker at King Convenient Store in Anacostia, alongside his brother, said the most popular items sold in store are canned foods, sodas and groceries, similar to larger grocery stores.

“The store is convenient and prices are fair,” Issa said. “The customer has to be happy and they’ll tell you if they aren’t.”

Affordability is one of the issues in generating full service grocery stores in food deserts. Inflation continues to increase the prices of groceries, with the cost of meat, poultry, fish, and eggs rising 6.5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index.

Conway noticed this change when shopping for groceries and producing basic dinner meals.

“You used to be able to make spaghetti for ten dollars. Now the meat itself is ten dollars,” Conway said. “Oodles and noodles used to be the cheapest thing you could get. Three or four packs for a dollar, now they want seventy-five cents for a pack. They make it pretty hard for us.”

In order to reach consumers and retailers in low-income neighborhoods in the district, programs like DC Central Kitchen have initiatives to deliver fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables to stores in these areas. The program supplies products at a volume discount price and in smaller quantities, according to the DC Hunger Solutions report. Resources like these, from large agencies that can provide, make accessing food more affordable for store owners and consumers.

In September 2025, Dreaming Out Loud, a nonprofit designed to create economic opportunities for marginalized communities, opened Marion Berry Avenue Market. The organization works by building community-based food systems in Wards 7 and 8.

Maiya Ennis, the Market’s culinary production manager, said the community aspect is what made her want to work at Marion Berry Avenue Market, and everyday looks different.

“[We are] able to provide fresh fruit and vegetables outside of a normal corner store that has snacks and drinks,” Ennis said. “ I think people being able to have access to fresh, local food is really important.”

She mentioned the lack of grocery stores within Ward 8, which creates a greater need for stores like the Marion Berry Avenue Market. Especially for those who deal with deal issues and cannot travel far distances to access fruit and vegetables.

“People are also dealing with high cholesterol, diabetes, and all sorts of different diseases and things like that. So the food that you eat is gonna fuel you and can help heal you,” Ennis said.

The post Residents of Anacostia struggle to access fresh and affordable food first appeared on 91����.

When Kareen Gill first became a senior at American University, she was hopeful that with her undergraduate degree in political science, she would be able to secure a full-time job, or an internship that could lead to one in politics. She quickly realized that was not the case.

“In 2024 it was way easier to network and get an internship,” Gill said. “A lot of the jobs I thought I would be interested in don’t really exist because the agencies don’t exist.”

Kareen is among thousands of students across the country who are choosing to go straight from their undergraduate degree into graduate school, in the hopes that it will give them a competitive edge in the job market.

But graduate school is not the only way that Gen Z college students are changing the “typical” college experience. Data released by top universities across the country, including Harvard, Belmont, Yale and University of California Los Angeles, demonstrated that there has been a significant increase in double-majoring.

While some students who are choosing to double major are doing it out of choice, many others choose to double major in college in order to set themselves apart from the “crowd,” using it as another way to gain a competitive advantage in the post-grad job market.

Another popular choice for Gen Z students is transferring as many credits as possible from high-school into college or pursuing accelerated programs, in order to spend as little time in college as possible.

Students are also taking part in dual or combined degree programs that allow them to stay on at their university after completing their undergraduate degree, and complete a masters degree in a year, for a fraction of the price of a graduate degree.

And the data reflects these choices. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the National Center for Education statistics found that more than 5.3 million degrees or certificates at postsecondary institutions of education were awarded to about 4.8 million students.

Angelina Szkotak is one of the millions of students who have chosen to take part in a dual degree program. Szkotak received her undergraduate degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communications at American University in May of 2025, and is on track to graduate with a master’s in Strategic Communications in May of 2026.

Szkotak’s older sister, a teacher, helped her make the decision to stay and get her master’s – a decision that has improved her job prospects.

“She [Szkotak’s sister] decided to go right from undergraduate into work, so she did not get a master’s degree”

As Szkotak was trying to make the decision on whether or not to stay on at American, her sister told her that she wished she “had just done both.”

Szkotak saw the dilemma her sister was dealing with. Despite wanting to go back to school, she would have to contend with the amount of time and effort it would take, and how that time away from her job would affect her earning potential.

In the end, Szkotak made the decision to stay. “It only benefits me,” she said.

She is right. Since starting to apply for jobs, she has received three job offers, something she feels the university contributed to.

Evelyn Thimba, the Vice President of Undergraduate Enrollment Management at American University, has noticed a difference in the way students are approaching college, and is working with the university to create a new Strategic Plan to address the concerns that both students and parents have regarding the “return on investment” of an American University degree.

“At AU, we don’t have a heavy STEM focus, but we are thinking about how do we build competency tracks that allow students to say “I’m an art history major but I have tech literacy in these areas.”

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American University School of International Service students and survivor advocacy group NoMore-AU staged a protest Wednesday afternoon in response to the university’s response to Professor Earl Anthony Wayne’s name appearing in the Epstein Files, a recently-released trove of more than 3 million documents related to the Justice Department investigation into billionaire human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

The files include an email exchange between someone identified as ‘Ken Turner’ and an NYPD Detective, Walter Harkins. In the 2019 messages, Turner suggests Wayne should be questioned in relation to his involvement with an underage girl. The documents do not indicate Wayne was accused of any crime by law enforcement.

Wayne, the Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer and former US Ambassador to Mexico from 2011-15, who teaches two spring classes in U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy, told 91���� he had reviewed the documents and described the claim as “baseless” and “fabricated”.

Said Wayne: “It appears to originate from a disjointed email chain that makes outlandish claims regarding international conspiracies and events that demonstrably never occurred as they would have been matters of public record or reported in the media at the time they occurred, and they were not.”

We don’t know what’s going on, and that makes us feel unsafe.

Students unsatisfied with the university’s response to the unverified allegations protested Wednesday, calling for a transparent investigation. The AU chapter of NoMore, a national organization that advocates for ending sexual and domestic violence and empowering survivors, organized the walk-out after news of the professor’s name in the files spread on YikYak, an anonymous campus-based message board.

“We don’t know what’s going on, and that makes us feel unsafe,” said Adah Nordin, one of the student protestors who helped organize the walk-out. “As someone going to class and getting a diploma from SIS, we deserve to know.”

The documents are being released as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, passed late last year, which requires the government to release all its investigatory files concerning the late sex offender and financier.

Students have developed a list of demands for the university in response to the allegations.

“We want the university to push for a criminal investigation, for him to be suspended without pay while it goes on, transparency on the process, and a statement from SIS administration and AU addressing these allegations,” said Tanishka Khanna, a senior who also helped organize the walk-out. “Survivors need to feel safe on campus.”

As of Thursday morning, there had been no official statement from the university addressing the allegation.

“Knowing someone with these allegations is teaching here…this can’t be a safe place for survivors without transparency,” said Emily Kershner, Vice President of NoMore-AU. “Whether the allegations prove true or false, we need transparency.”

In the email exchange, Turner writes: “You may want to question the Ex US Ambassador to Mexico; Mr. Earl Anthony Wayne about his involvement with an underage girl when he attended and was arrested by the Federal Police.”

He goes on to allege Wayne fathered a child with an 11-year-old child in Mexico and that another man is incarcerated there for Wayne’s crime.

Wayne said he sent a statement to each of his classes describing the allegations in the file as “online misinformation.”

“I stated unequivocally that the allegations about me are false,” he wrote.

Wayne also said that he never heard from law enforcement about the matter, and that he does not know who Ken Turner is.

Update: Following news of the allegations, the American Academy of Diplomacy released a statement. It reads, in part;

Upon reviewing the available facts, the Academy believes allegations in recently released Epstein files concerning Ambassador (ret.) Earl Anthony Wayne are false and malicious.

The allegations of sexual misconduct with a minor reference a party in 2014 and a supposed trial in Mexico in 2017. Any allegations as serious as those described against a United States Ambassador would at least have been reported to the Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security. We have checked with the relevant incumbent at the time and there was no such report.

You can read the full statement here: .

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The D.C. Council on Dec. 2 extended the juvenile curfew implemented in November until April 2026 in an effort to reduce crime.

However, Navy Yard residents question whether this is a fair public safety measure or will further criminalize Washington, D.C.’s predominately Black and Brown youth—without addressing root causes.

After a large, chaotic fight on Halloween night, the D.C. Council implemented a juvenile curfew in that prohibited large groups of teens under 17 from gathering on the streets after 11:00pm.  Just one month into the curfew, and amid further disturbances, council members voted 10-3 to extend the juvenile curfew until spring 2026.

While some residents praise the measure as a step towards increased public safety, others raise concerns about what this may mean for D.C. youth.

Michael Lewis, a Ward 6 resident and father of a 16-year-old daughter, said that just as deploying the National Guard was not about fighting crime, he’s wary of the curfew.

Brittney Gates, 38-year-old former federal employee who lives in the Navy Yard said, while some residents feel safter, she feels more unsafe by the growing police presence around the kids.

Federal employee Vonni K., who withheld her last name for privacy concerns, has a 17-year-old college son in D.C. She said she’s not as worried about him because he is less inclined to be out late.  She said the curfew also deters the kids who are not out causing trouble since they don’t want the hassle of being stopped by police.

Mixed reactions from residents.

Lewis said he believes the extended curfew is a ploy by the administration to keep residents distracted from the real issues.  He said they want everyone to talk about this issue and advance the narrative about crime in D.C., but he said the curfew alone won’t change it.

Gates concedes she is “genuinely torn” on the curfew issue. As a Navy Yard resident, she said people pay high prices to live in this neighborhood with an expectation of safety.

Gates said she doesn’t fear for her personal safety, but she has seen large groups of kids congregating around the neighborhood. Around the fourth of July she witnessed teens dangerously igniting fireworks near buildings.

She said it’s quieter since the curfew, but the city should focus on programs, jobs and spaces to keep kids productively occupied. If the city doesn’t address the root issues, Gate said, the curfew will be a temporary fix.

Vonni K. said three years ago, in the quiet of the pandemic, she may have had a different, perhaps more self-righteous opinion about the curfew. However, after seeing her son’s experience with crime in the city, she said she supports an extended curfew—and whatever it takes to combat crime.

She recounted how her college-age son and friends—all honor students—had to hide behind cars to avoid drive-by gunfire after a high school football game. Because of such incidents, school officials moved all sports events to the daytime to reduce late-night alterations.

“The gut check is that suddenly, when it’s your kid who comes home telling you about having to dive behind a car, it becomes much realer. What are we willing to do here to make this not happen again?”

As a federal worker, Vonni K. said she’s lived overseas in some dangerous places and has been evacuated three times because of civil unrest.  She said her son was taken to school in armored vehicles, yet it wasn’t until he returned to the nation’s capital that he personally witnessed regular violence.

She recalled when he witnessed a fight at school in which a kid was pummeled to the ground and stabbed. She said considering the situations they experienced living overseas, she couldn’t imagine she would need to prepare him for the violence in Washington, D.C.

Vonni K. lamented the perceived absence of parental curfews and said that if parents had set curfews and boundaries in the home, the city wouldn’t have to.

“I am positive that the word ‘curfew’ does not exist in some houses, and it is the city that has introduced this word,” Vonni said that the curfew may represent the first real restriction some kids have faced.

Profiling is baked in.

According to the Juvenile Curfew Second Emergency Amendment Act of 2025, the Metropolitan Police chief can declare juvenile curfew areas where large youth gathering pose public safety risks.

Some residents said they were concerned about how the curfew would be declared and enforced and the potential for police to unfairly profile Black and Brown youth.

Taking a pragmatic approach, Vonni K. said, “They would have to profile, right? There is a profile baked in, and the profile is someone who appears to be under the age of 18, so there has to be some degree of profiling for police to apply it.”

Lewis, more wary of profiling, said the curfew is merely a means to target teens.

“I think it really sends a message to young people that they’re not wanted here—it’s a way to corral them and be able to profile them,” Lewis said. He said public trust has been eroded due to the deployment of National Guard and every measure to reduce crime should be met with elevated scrutiny.

Questioning the racial lines of enforcement between predominantly White institutions and historically Black universities, Vonni K. asked

“Would the young people from Georgetown and American University be treated the same as those from Howard University—I don’t know, I would sure hope so,” she said.

Gates, understanding that curfew implementation will lead to profiling, said, “I recognize that this disproportionately affects the Black community and our Black youth to be able to congregate in spaces.” Gates said the curfew would create a false sense of security in the community and disenfranchise the youth.

Vonni K., recounted an incident two years ago when an off-duty law enforcement officer shot a and killed a 13-year-old boy who tried to carjack him.  She said the juvenile had been arrested several times prior, “These are the dire scenarios the city is up against.”

A safer D.C.

Residents remain united in need of a safer D.C.; they debate whether the curfew will reduce crime or criminalize youth.

Gates said kids are not outside as much in the winter, so she is cautious of statistics indicating incidents have decreased since the extended curfew was implemented.

Vonni K. said she’d like to see the data to understand how the curfew is affecting crime.  She said if there is a better way to contain crime—she’s open, but for now, she supports the curfew to bring crime down.

“For folks who are, like, adamantly opposed— which I am in principle, but not in practice. What would you suggest?… Because what we’re doing so far is not working,” she said.

“But I think sometimes, you know, we forget that we were once kids too,” Gates said.

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American Indian’s Native Art Market, but one stood out: . 

The family owned textile company traveled from Peru after receiving an invitation to participate in the market this past weekend where 30 Indigenous artists from across the Western Hemisphere featured their work at the Smithsonian’s. 

Whitesell, who’s been going to the museum since it opened in 2004, said she expected strong craftsmanship and storytelling from vendors and the event succeeded her expectations. 

“We should support this community and the artists who have traveled all this way,” Whitesell said. “The quality of work is truly fabulous.”

For Marilu Fernandez, general manager of Llapan Maki, receiving an invitation to the market marked a milestone. She said she grew up in Peru watching her father, Ciprian Herminio Fernandez Quispe, founder of Llapan Maki,  weave textiles rooted in Quechuan traditions using patterns holding cultural meaning. 

In 2020, Fernandez said her family decided to sell their products to “help our community in Peru.”  With that goal in mind, Fernandez applied to the Smithsonian market. Vendors must submit their portfolios to the museum prior to being considered for the market. Fernandez said the process was competitive and extensive, but said it was worth it.

For the family, Fernandez said, their first appearance in D.C. was not only about selling goods but about sharing their culture with people far from home.

“I will go back to Peru with more energy and inspiration,” Fernandez said. “It’s important that people appreciate our work.”

For vendors like , the market has become a tradition. 

Rafael, a jewelry designer and a Navajo from New Mexico, has displayed her work at the market since the event started in 2012. Rafael said she returns each year to reconnect with vendors, exchange techniques and meet visitors who often become repeat customers. 

This year wasn’t different. With 10 minutes left of the market to spare, Rafael worked on polishing some more jewelry as customers lingered with curiosity, asking for her contact and backstory on her work.

“Coming here is like seeing art shows everywhere,” Rafael said. “People come and take the time to talk to the artist, to get to know them. It’s about supporting local businesses and local artists.”

Rafael was raised in Gallup, New Mexico, by grandparents who were silversmiths and grew up around jewelry making. She said she began refining her own skills shortly after high school while working in a manufacturing shop. 

Since the early 2000s, Rafael said she has sold jewelry full time at art shows across the country. 

Although each place is “unique in its own way,”  Rafael said there is something different about doing it in D.C. 

“It’s like ‘Wow, you’re in the Smithsonian,’ and I’m honored to be here,” Rafael said. “All artists here are top well-known artists. D.C. is special, not like any other show.” 

One of those artists, beadworker Naomi Smith, sat in the booth next to Rafael’s

Although the two had crossed paths in previous years, Smith said sitting next to Rafael is an opportunity to learn from fellow artists. 

Smith, who is from the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation, has over 40 years of experience in her craft. Her work is a fusion between Woodland and Haudenosaunee beading techniques. She said she doesn’t apply to the market just because she wants to sell products.

“Beading for us is medicine, it’s healing, ” Smith said. “If it happens to find a home then that’s fine. But the have personal stories attached.” 

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