|
| | Why This Year’s Budget Is a Shit Sandwich | Mayor Bowser’s proposed budget is catching some serious flak. We talked with her budget director Jenny Reed about why the Bowser administration proposed making cuts to day care and medical leave over raising taxes. [WUSA9/City Cast DC 🎧] | | Youth Curfew Is Ineffective, Advocates Say | A group of advocates is calling for an end to D.C.’s controversial youth curfew, saying the policy is ineffective and targets Black kids. The curfew, put in place by emergency legislation, will expire on April 15. [NBC4] | - At the same time, four more arrests were made during a teen takeover in Navy Yard over the weekend, the second takeover this month. [WTOP]
| | DC School Applications Plummet | Applications for local pre-K programs are down 14% this year amid federal layoffs, declining birth rates, and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Drops were steeper — nearly 25% — in immigrant neighborhoods and at schools with Spanish dual-language programs. [Washington Post 🔒] | | Paint the Town White | President Trump submitted plans to cover the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in a “magic” white paint, which he says would prevent stains and water damage. But a group of preservationists warn that the paint job would not align with the surrounding architecture and is unlikely to work on the building’s granite surface. [CNN] | | Naked Burglar Apprehended | Police arrested a notorious naked burglary suspect in Centreville yesterday during an early morning stakeout. Sedrick Walker, 21, fled the scene naked, on foot, but was tracked down by drones and charged with multiple counts of burglary. [Fox5] |
|
|
|
| | | Your passport to French culture starts here. Alliance Française of Washington, DC invites you to immerse yourself in the language and joie de vivre of France. Adult classes run May 2–June 30, sign up by April 17 for an early bird discount. Language-rich summer camps available for kids too. Become a member for year-round access to exclusive cultural events and DC's vibrant Francophone community. Learn more at francedc.org. Bienvenue! |
|
|
|
| DC Blooms Better Than the Cherry Blossoms |
|  | Gardens at Hillwood Estate. (Photographed by Erik Kvalsvik/ Courtesy Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens) |
| Cherry blossom peak bloom may be behind us, but D.C.’s most colorful season is just getting started. The city is filled with flowering trees and bushes that get overlooked thanks to the spotlight-stealing cherries. Here are the other best blooms to look out for. | | | Entry: $18 suggested donation | Marjorie Merriweather Post – cereal heiress and mid-century D.C. hostess extraordinaire – is known today for her palatial Forest Hills home and her lifelong love affair with orchids. The vast grounds contain over 1,200 different species of orchids. March was “Orchid Month” but you can find varieties blooming year-round, including in Post’s greenhouse. Staff at the visitors center will even loan you a picnic blanket and map if you ask nicely. | |  | Sacred Lotus blooms at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. (Kaela Cote-Stemmermann/City Cast DC) |
| | Entry: Free | With over 45 ponds and hundreds of thousands of lilies, it’s well worth a trip to these gardens at the far edges of the D.C. diamond. Go in late July when the blooms are at their peak, but don’t wear your best shoes, since it is a marsh after all. Besides the blooms, don’t miss the marsh boardwalk at the far back corner of the park. The natural wetland is home to over 250 species of birds. | | | Entry: $15 for timed-entry tickets | The 50-acre English-style gardens at Dumbarton Oaks are an instant serotonin boost and essential part of D.C. spring. The estate was once owned by Mildred Dumbarton (a laxative heiress) but is now open for all. The grounds feature incredible flowering plum trees, an orangery, and voluminous forsythia bushes. For me, the highlight is the hanging Wisteria that blooms in April at the pebble garden. Get tickets ahead of time as service there is spotty. Food and drinks aren’t allowed, so finish your coffee beforehand. | | | | Entry: Free | The Arboretum’s 446 acres are full of flowering trees. Come for the magnolias (mid-March to June), dogwoods (mid April to early June), and the crab apple trees (early April to May). But the most magical time (IMHO) is when the azaleas bloom in April, covering the hills with swaths of red and pink. The Arboretum’s free app can help you find them. | | | Entry: Free | Situated between the Smithsonian Castle and Independence Avenue, this garden is flanked by rows of old magnolia trees, especially around the Moongate Garden. It's the perfect spot to get away from the National Mall crowds and steal some photo ops away from tourists. For something more local, try Oak Hill Cemetery in Georgetown, which has rows and rows of magnolias lining its paths. |
|
|
|
|
|
| 💌 Kaela | Today’s blooms article was written in part by Madeline Weinfield. |
|
|
|
|
