State of the District
No, not (yet) THAT state – but here’s where we stand as 2026 opens
The new year here in DC began, as it has for over a decade, with the “Fresh Start 5k” run. Now I admit I’m not a runner, and I had other commitments on New Year’s Day – but as I was preparing to write this, I felt a little sad to have missed this annual DC celebration. This year it started and ended, appropriately enough, on the Frederick Douglass Bridge over the Anacostia River, with over 8000 people registered and probably more running alongside.
The January 2nd Washington Post article about the 5k, referenced below, pointed out the many challenges the mayor faces in her final year in office, but at least the initial news about our local economy hasn’t gotten any more dire than it was a few months ago. Efforts at economic diversification have been under way in DC for a long time, but have become even more urgent since last year’s abrupt federal downsizing that has left the local economy and residents struggling.
The situation isn’t made any easier by the terror (it isn’t too strong a word) engendered by aggressive ICE seizures in neighborhoods with a significant immigrant presence, which has impacted children attending school and has kept some workers cloistered at home. This has led to vigorous calls for greater clarity about the extent of local police (MPD) collaboration with ICE officers and the lack, until recently, of significant action by the DC council to demand more information from MPD about it. The new interim police chief, Jeffery Carroll, was fielding questions about this situation before he even took over on January 1. I attended a meeting of my local ANC last month where the district commander couldn’t provide any information about ICE arrests of DC residents, which only feeds people’s worries.
Meantime, although the administration has pulled the National Guard back from Chicago, LA and Portland, Oregon, deployment continues in Memphis and New Orleans, both red states with willing governors, and of course here in DC, where our “governor,” President Trump, directly controls the DC National Guard, and where the Guard presence from Republican states has been increased by another 500 troops – now armed. I haven’t been able to find out whether the MPD is now actually patrolling with the Guard, as was announced after the Thanksgiving-eve killing and injury of two West Virginia Guard members, but I hope our police officers aren’t having to guard the Guard instead of pursuing criminals.
I had this essay mostly written before the president’s speech Saturday following the US seizure of the Maduros in Venezuela. If you listened to the full speech (video link below), you know that about 10 minutes in, he suddenly spent several minutes crediting Defense Secretary Hegseth for the National Guard’s role in transforming DC from “one of the most unsafe cities anywhere in the world” into “a totally safe city.” [The Justice Department declared last January, 7 months before the National Guard deployment, that violent crime in DC was already at a 30-year low.] He went on to say that there is “no crime in Washington, DC,” and said that apart from the Thanksgiving shooting there had been no killing in DC “in 6-7 months.” [Since House Republicans have been doing all they can to discredit MPD crime data, and since 4th-quarter 2025 statistics haven’t been finalized yet, you may choose to believe these blanket statements, but daily news reports do not support them. It is true, unsurprisingly, as I’ve reported before, that DC crime is down given the presence of more uniformed officers on our streets.] He then asserted that “the restaurants are opening, everyone’s happy” [Nation’s Restaurant News says otherwise, as does the December 31st Washington Post article on the DC economy, cited below], and celebrated the fact that “they’re walking their daughters” and “they’re walking their children, their wives.” [I appreciate so much the fact that “they” are walking their females in DC as is the case under Taliban rule, although oddly I see many women, myself included, walking themselves. While you’ll see references below with reference to Trump’s other statements, I regret that my reporting on females walking alone in DC has not made the news and is purely anecdotal.]
Well now, that last paragraph came very close to a rant, so let’s get back to more popular topics! Demolition of the old RFK stadium is well under way, and planning for its redevelopment as the once and future home of the Washington Commanders continues. A survey of local citizens about the redevelopment just concluded, and community meetings continue taking place, but the expectation remains that the Commanders will be back on the banks of the Anacostia by 2030. Now, if only Washington, DC females can find someone to walk them to the stadium…and accompany them to next year’s 5k – oh my!
https://fitdcfreshstart5k26.splashthat.com/
Fresh Start 5k https://wapo.st/4azQC14
https://cfo.dc.gov/release/ocfo-releases-december-2025-revenue-estimates
DC economy https://wapo.st/49dOlq0
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/03/immigration-arrests-washington-dc
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/31/donald-trump-national-guard-deployment-00708714
https://wtop.com/dc/2025/12/how-long-will-the-national-guard-remain-deployed-in-dc/
https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=ZpCySt3UmDQ
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/31/us/trump-news?smid=nytcore-android-share
President’s speech on January 3 https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=taHxIQ1xMUw
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/violent-crime-dc-hits-30-year-low
https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MPD-Interim-Report.pdf
https://mpdc.dc.gov/dailycrime
https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/quarterly-clearance-rates-cy2023-cy2025
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165622
https://eventsdc.com/venue/rfk-stadium/live-demolition-camera
Thanks for injecting some humor into the ridiculousness. And sharing the resilience of DC residents and that we are fine and would be even better without the regime's interference. Here's to walking ourselves and enjoying everything our wonderful District has to offer!
I’ve known you now for about 57 years. Good to know you still have the gumption, mental toughness, moxie, athleticism, sense of independence, or whatever to walk yourself. Not that I ever doubted, but I’m still proud of you!