Past Due

Good morning, D.C. In today’s newsletter: D.C.’s worst landlord, a $300 million Metro expansion and the legendary Venus Williams.

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THE LATEST

D.C.’s worst landlord is its housing authority. Of all city landlords with unabated violations, DCHA is far and away the biggest offender, with more than 2,500 violations and more than $2.2 million in associated fines, NOTUS’ Zara Norman reports.

“It does not surprise me,” said Megan Browder, a director with Legal Aid D.C. “I think it is partially the size of the portfolio and also a systematic disregard for their mission.”

D.C.’s Department of Buildings cannot collect fines from DCHA like it can from other landlords. The agency is responsible for policing its own payments.

The housing authority is not the only proprietor with a long list of unresolved violations: More than 100 local landlords owe the city more than $100,000 each. To better resolve cases, the DOB is shifting its strategy: It’s starting to settle with landlords before heading to adjudication, allowing them to avoid fines if they make immediate fixes.

“For me it’s really concerning,” Browder told NOTUS. “I think it just lessens the accountability for landlords to say, ‘Hey, you can kind of just limp along and settle with DOB without any meaningful corrective action.’”

DEEP DIVE

Fort Myer Construction — a D.C. road-paving titan since 1972 — has agreed to settle a lawsuit with Attorney General Brian Schwalb that alleged nearly a decade of illegal water pollution at the company’s Ward 5 facility.

On paper, the $450,000 penalty might seem like a slap on the wrist. City records show that D.C. has paid Fort Myer more than $1 billion through infrastructure and paving contracts over the past decade, including more than $180 million since the lawsuit was filed in October 2024.

But Schwalb’s office says the real victory is the settlement’s operational requirements. Under a three-year consent order announced today, Fort Myer must overhaul its equipment, fix drainage infrastructure and submit to monthly water-quality testing to stop the alleged petroleum and industrial runoff from reaching city waterways.

In a statement, Schwalb said the agreement ensures that Fort Myer will make “much-needed and long overdue changes to its equipment and business practices to protect the District, our environment and our residents moving forward.”

FROM THE DISTRICT

All aboard for the Commanders stadium. Metro has signed a pair of agreements with D.C. to start working on two projects that will be critical for getting fans to and from the new stadium when it opens in 2030. The first is a $300 million expansion of the Stadium-Armory station. The second is a new bus rapid transit line — dubbed the Gold Line — that will run from Union Station to the stadium along H Street and Benning Road Northeast. There are only about 8,000 parking spots planned for the new stadium, so city and team officials are pressing to increase mass transit options.

D.C. Public Schools officials told parents Wednesday that sensitive student information, such as names and home addresses, may have been exposed in a data breach, NBC4 reports.

A major D.C. law firm’s political action committee told federal regulators that a thief stole multiple political contribution checks from mailboxes in Cleveland Park last year, NOTUS’ Jenna Monnin reports.

The embattled chairman of the D.C. Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities including Pepco and Washington Gas, says he is resigning in August. Emile Thompson’s decision comes ahead of what could have been a contentious fall, especially as the commission has felt the heat over rising electric and gas bills. “Rising energy prices are not attributable to any one agency, group or thing,” Thompson emphasized in his resignation statement.

METRO MOMENTS

Leyla Adali’s tweet asking locals to share their “worst day in D.C.” caught fire this week. NOTUS asked her why. (Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity.)

What inspired you to start that thread?
I was hanging out with my husband and two of our friends — a couple getting married. The groom was not interested in having a bachelor party. We started joking around that he could pick the worst day in D.C. ever. I said we should crowdsource.

Were you surprised by some of the responses? There were some frequent offenders.
Some answers I hadn’t thought of that I quite liked: David’s Tent (religious tunes on the Mall), the Scientology museum. A lot of people captured the spirit of a bad day in D.C.: It’s hot, humid, you’ve been going to museums for hours, you start to feel ill and run to the nearest food truck.

Why do you think this got so much engagement?
One thing about Twitter is people love to complain. This summer in D.C., we have the National Guard around, it’s very hot, a lot of locals felt frustrated by [Freedom 250]. I also think a lot of the worst things in D.C. have been the worst things for a while. … I think it was 2016 that Tom Sietsema reviewed Founding Farmers. I will say, I love D.C. and this was all in the spirit of fun. There are a million ways to have the best day in D.C.

Have an image from around D.C. you want to share? A question for our reporters? An “only in D.C.” moment? Tell us about it.

SPORTS

“How would you like to play doubles with Venus Williams?” That was the question posed to 22-year-old Russian pro Diana Shnaider on the eve of this week’s D.C. Open. In a last-minute reshuffling, Shnaider was paired with the 46-year-old tennis legend, and the duo played two matches together.

As NOTUS’ Dave Sheinin writes, the two players — meeting at opposite ends of their careers — both learned plenty from the experience.

Training camp update: NOTUS’ Martenzie Johnson reports that the Commanders’ revamped defense has made a strong first impression through two days of camp.

What to Watch Today

MLB: Nationals at Braves, 7:15 p.m. (MLB.TV)

WNBA: Mystics vs. Wings, 7:30 p.m. (Monumental)

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The newsletter was produced by Jaden Amos, Michael Errigo and Nikie Johnson.