Good morning, D.C. In today’s newsletter: Janeese Lewis George meets with campaign foes, a veteran sues the National Guard and Dulles Airport gets a makeover.
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THE LATEST
Oh, to be a fly on the wall in that meeting.
Trending
Janeese Lewis George, winner of last month’s Democratic mayoral primary, recently met with the leadership of the D.C. Police Union, which was highly critical of her during the hotly contested campaign.
The meeting — brokered by the firefighters union, which endorsed her — was part of what Lewis George’s aides do not yet want to call a mayoral transition, but is an effort to lay the groundwork for the significant shift in priorities and policies that will take place if and when she takes office in January.
“There is a sense of urgency here,” said Ward 6 council member Charles Allen, who has been advising Lewis George’s post-primary efforts. “We have a lot of work ahead of us, and any candidate who won with a massive mandate would be champing at the bit to be engaged.”
That includes meetings with friends and foes alike to try to find common ground — or at least open channels of communication, NOTUS’ Martin Austermuhle reports. Other than the D.C. Police Union, Lewis George recently sat down with a small group from the Greater Washington Partnership, which represents large employers in the region.
The business community has been especially concerned about what Lewis George will do in office, though some leaders think it’s best to keep an open mind. “We can’t walk in saying, ‘We don’t like this,’ without saying, ‘This is what success looks like,’” said one local business leader.
Lewis George’s aides say they believe winning the primary with 54% of the vote gave her a broad mandate, and they are still focusing on her plans to try to bring down prices of child care and utilities, build more housing and end police cooperation with ICE.
DEEP DIVE
A veteran alleges that National Guard troops assaulted her outside her D.C. home, and she’s asking for $3 million in damages. Anna King said she was sitting on her front patio, scrolling on her phone, when National Guard troops walked onto the property and violently detained her, restraining her with handcuffs so tight that she tore at least one ligament in her wrist and required surgery. The ACLU of D.C. posted a video of the interaction, which happened in May.
King filed a tort claim with the Idaho National Guard and the Defense Department on Wednesday. She has been a vocal critic of the Guard’s presence in the District, and was detained in May over an accusation of assaulting Guard members two days earlier. She was never charged in that case, but has been charged with assault over the incident on her patio.
A spokesperson for the Idaho National Guard declined to comment on the specific allegations in King’s tort claim, citing the pending litigation, but said the Guard takes “all allegations of misconduct seriously.” The Defense Department did not provide comment.
Michael Perloff, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU of D.C., which is helping to represent King, told NOTUS the incident shows that National Guard troops have been acting like police. “Military members are trained for war,” he said. “There shouldn’t be people who are trained for war policing the streets in American cities.”
FROM THE DISTRICT
Revving up: Mayor Muriel Bowser hopes next month’s Freedom 250 Grand Prix will be the first in a series of IndyCar races in D.C., she said at a press conference Wednesday.
“Let’s see how it goes this year,” responded Penske president Bud Denker, who is chairing the race. Denker estimated the event, scheduled for Aug. 22 and 23, will see “about 140,000 people a day come through the gates.”
FROM VIRGINIA
President Donald Trump announced a $22 billion renovation of the “really horribly thought of” Dulles International Airport in a Wednesday press conference, promising to add more than 5 million square feet of new or renovated space, NOTUS’ Jenna Monnin reports. The airport will also get a new 32,000-space parking garage and do away with its famous “people movers.” United Airlines will help fund the project.
FROM MARYLAND
The Education Department threatened this week to yank federal funds from Anne Arundel County Public Schools after parents complained a high school helped “their daughter pretend to be male,” The Washington Post reports.
TALK TO TOM
Tom Sietsema is back answering your questions about the D.C. dining scene. Submit your questions here.
Question: Is it just me, or are tasting menus getting longer?
Ah, you must have heard me grouse about the time I sat for over three hours at a D.C. hotspot and ended up taking home 99% of the pastry chef’s multiple desserts because I simply couldn’t eat ONE. MORE. THING. While much of the food was very good, the flurry of dishes felt like a forced march, as though the chef wanted to pack all his ideas into one epic seating. By the end of the night, I felt as if I had dispatched a Thanksgiving’s worth of food and drink (and wished I had stretch pants on). My one-word review would have read, “Uncomfortable.”
But I digress. The opposite of that night occurred just last week, at Rooster & Owl on 14th Street Northwest, where chef Yuan Tang offers what might be my favorite tasting menu in D.C. One, it’s four courses, with multiple choices. Two, the cost is $125, a value given the quality, creativity and competition around town. Three, the meal is paced perfectly, so there never seems to be a rush or a lag. Two of us were in and out in about 90 minutes. We left sated but not stuffed, and eager to return.
In the full Q&A: Why slow restaurants sometimes provide worse service, how to tip on a comped item and the gradual disappearance of free bread.
SPORTS
Training camp update: NOTUS’ Martenzie Johnson was out at Day 1 of Commanders training camp Wednesday, and he reports it was a great opening session for the defense. Linebacker Odafe Oweh, the team’s biggest offseason addition, was disruptive whenever he was on the field, and there were near interceptions by Mike Sainristil and Jordan Magee.
Daronte Jones, the team’s new defensive coordinator, is a football nomad with roots in rural Maryland. The Athletic’s Barry Svrluga profiles the 47-year-old tasked with getting Washington’s defense back into shape.
What to Watch Today
Nationals at Braves, 7:15 p.m. (ESPN)
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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Nikie Johnson. Photo by Kainaz Amaria/NOTUS.
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