The 51st
@51st.news
Information with representation, by and for D.C. residents.
Worker-led nonprofit newsroom, funded by readers like YOU.
🌐 https://51st.news
Support the work: https://51st.news/signup
Worker-led nonprofit newsroom, funded by readers like YOU.
🌐 https://51st.news
Support the work: https://51st.news/signup
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The 51st
@51st.news
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🧵 1/ It’s hard to find hope amidst so much collapse.
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
It's newsletter day! Are you signed up?
Get this week's 👀special edition👀 in your inbox this afternoon:
Get this week's 👀special edition👀 in your inbox this afternoon:
Join The 51st
The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. Our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better — no paywalls, ever. But that's only…
51st.news
February 12, 2026 at 1:40 PM
It's newsletter day! Are you signed up?
Get this week's 👀special edition👀 in your inbox this afternoon:
Get this week's 👀special edition👀 in your inbox this afternoon:
Reposted by The 51st
Interesting update: A D.C. judge has found the city in contempt for refusing to turn over budget documents in long-running legal fight with a public interest law firm. The judge has given D.C. 21 days to turn over the documents; if it doesn't, daily fines of $1,500 will be assessed.
Do you think Judge Judy would settle a little intra-government dispute?
ICYMI: @maustermuhle.bsky.social breaks down why the D.C. Council is considering taking legal action against Mayor Bowser in a year-long fight over budget documents.
ICYMI: @maustermuhle.bsky.social breaks down why the D.C. Council is considering taking legal action against Mayor Bowser in a year-long fight over budget documents.
DC Council could sue Mayor Bowser for budget documents
A years-long fight over budget documents has escalated.
51st.news
February 11, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Interesting update: A D.C. judge has found the city in contempt for refusing to turn over budget documents in long-running legal fight with a public interest law firm. The judge has given D.C. 21 days to turn over the documents; if it doesn't, daily fines of $1,500 will be assessed.
Reposted by The 51st
The 51st has produced so much valuable reporting in just a single year, with only one full-time reporter. Can you imagine what a second year could look like if this newsroom had triple the reporting capacity?
The good news is that we don't have to imagine — we can make it happen. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
The good news is that we don't have to imagine — we can make it happen. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
5/ We want to be the newsroom D.C. needs — so we’re raising funds to triple (!!!) our reporting capacity, and beef up our editing team to support these writers.
More on our plans here, and how you can help 👇
More on our plans here, and how you can help 👇
The 51st is expanding
D.C. needs more local journalists. You can help us hire them.
51st.news
February 11, 2026 at 8:26 PM
The 51st has produced so much valuable reporting in just a single year, with only one full-time reporter. Can you imagine what a second year could look like if this newsroom had triple the reporting capacity?
The good news is that we don't have to imagine — we can make it happen. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
The good news is that we don't have to imagine — we can make it happen. ⬇️⬇️⬇️
Parents feel the impacts of cuts to programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families directly.
In a recent focus group conducted by @dcfpi.bsky.social, one D.C. mother said, “If my children can’t eat, they can’t go to school and be productive.”
Proposed cuts could go into effect this year:
In a recent focus group conducted by @dcfpi.bsky.social, one D.C. mother said, “If my children can’t eat, they can’t go to school and be productive.”
Proposed cuts could go into effect this year:
Opinion: DC must restore TANF, pull children out of poverty
Planned changes to Temporary Cash Assistance for Needy Families will impact 15,000 children, pushing them deeper into poverty.
51st.news
February 11, 2026 at 8:43 PM
Parents feel the impacts of cuts to programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families directly.
In a recent focus group conducted by @dcfpi.bsky.social, one D.C. mother said, “If my children can’t eat, they can’t go to school and be productive.”
Proposed cuts could go into effect this year:
In a recent focus group conducted by @dcfpi.bsky.social, one D.C. mother said, “If my children can’t eat, they can’t go to school and be productive.”
Proposed cuts could go into effect this year:
Reposted by The 51st
Supporting local news like The 51st is one of the most powerful ways we can create accountability in this world. I support The 51st already and hope you will too.
🧵 1/ It’s hard to find hope amidst so much collapse.
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
February 11, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Supporting local news like The 51st is one of the most powerful ways we can create accountability in this world. I support The 51st already and hope you will too.
Reposted by The 51st
We have some suggestions: www.dcfpi.org/all/lawmaker...
February 11, 2026 at 3:26 PM
We have some suggestions: www.dcfpi.org/all/lawmaker...
NEWS: Some D.C. residents say they haven’t gotten their trash picked up in three weeks.
The post-storm collection challenges have also tied into some broader concerns with services from the D.C. Department of Public Works, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports:
The post-storm collection challenges have also tied into some broader concerns with services from the D.C. Department of Public Works, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports:
After snowstorm delays, D.C. is rushing to catch up on trash collection
Some D.C. residents say they haven’t gotten their trash picked up in three weeks.
51st.news
February 11, 2026 at 3:12 PM
NEWS: Some D.C. residents say they haven’t gotten their trash picked up in three weeks.
The post-storm collection challenges have also tied into some broader concerns with services from the D.C. Department of Public Works, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports:
The post-storm collection challenges have also tied into some broader concerns with services from the D.C. Department of Public Works, @maustermuhle.bsky.social reports:
Reposted by The 51st
It’s been such a rough few weeks but getting together with other people and dreaming what a different world could look like — say, perhaps, where Jeff Bezos doesn’t stand between us getting the information we need about our neighbors and our city — is what is getting me through. Hope you'll join us.
🧵 1/ It’s hard to find hope amidst so much collapse.
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
February 11, 2026 at 1:58 PM
It’s been such a rough few weeks but getting together with other people and dreaming what a different world could look like — say, perhaps, where Jeff Bezos doesn’t stand between us getting the information we need about our neighbors and our city — is what is getting me through. Hope you'll join us.
🧵 1/ It’s hard to find hope amidst so much collapse.
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
February 11, 2026 at 1:31 PM
🧵 1/ It’s hard to find hope amidst so much collapse.
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
But in the wreckage of today’s crises, people are also powering solutions — and The 51st, backed by the community of D.C., is one of them.
Will you help us build a local newsroom that a billionaire can’t break?
One of our goals as a newsroom is to make living in the District easier for the residents who call it home.
We want the regular explainers we publish to serve you, so... what do you want explained?
Let us know — and see some examples — here: forms.gle/LNfsAMsndiT6...
We want the regular explainers we publish to serve you, so... what do you want explained?
Let us know — and see some examples — here: forms.gle/LNfsAMsndiT6...
Help us explain D.C.
At The 51st, we aim to make living in the District easier for the residents who call it home. To that end, one of our editorial focus areas is explainers: stories that demystify opaque city services…
forms.gle
February 10, 2026 at 10:41 PM
One of our goals as a newsroom is to make living in the District easier for the residents who call it home.
We want the regular explainers we publish to serve you, so... what do you want explained?
Let us know — and see some examples — here: forms.gle/LNfsAMsndiT6...
We want the regular explainers we publish to serve you, so... what do you want explained?
Let us know — and see some examples — here: forms.gle/LNfsAMsndiT6...
Reposted by The 51st
this is where I used to teach in DC! so proud of this kiddo for writing this and putting it out there (and thanks to @51st.news for running it!)
Kids deserve consideration in school reopening plans, writes a Jackson-Reed High School student in this opinion piece: 51st.news/opinion-dc-s...
February 10, 2026 at 3:36 PM
this is where I used to teach in DC! so proud of this kiddo for writing this and putting it out there (and thanks to @51st.news for running it!)
Kids deserve consideration in school reopening plans, writes a Jackson-Reed High School student in this opinion piece: 51st.news/opinion-dc-s...
February 10, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Kids deserve consideration in school reopening plans, writes a Jackson-Reed High School student in this opinion piece: 51st.news/opinion-dc-s...
Reposted by The 51st
do not sleep on the DC tax ratfuckery either s/o @51st.news 51st.news/republican-b...
February 10, 2026 at 12:50 AM
do not sleep on the DC tax ratfuckery either s/o @51st.news 51st.news/republican-b...
Do you think Judge Judy would settle a little intra-government dispute?
ICYMI: @maustermuhle.bsky.social breaks down why the D.C. Council is considering taking legal action against Mayor Bowser in a year-long fight over budget documents.
ICYMI: @maustermuhle.bsky.social breaks down why the D.C. Council is considering taking legal action against Mayor Bowser in a year-long fight over budget documents.
DC Council could sue Mayor Bowser for budget documents
A years-long fight over budget documents has escalated.
51st.news
February 9, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Do you think Judge Judy would settle a little intra-government dispute?
ICYMI: @maustermuhle.bsky.social breaks down why the D.C. Council is considering taking legal action against Mayor Bowser in a year-long fight over budget documents.
ICYMI: @maustermuhle.bsky.social breaks down why the D.C. Council is considering taking legal action against Mayor Bowser in a year-long fight over budget documents.
In NYC, Mayor Zohran Mamdani cruised to victory in part because of a pledge to make child care free.
But D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George's plan for affordable childcare doesn't go that far: “People have said to me, ‘We don't want free child care. We just want affordable child care.'"
But D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George's plan for affordable childcare doesn't go that far: “People have said to me, ‘We don't want free child care. We just want affordable child care.'"
Janeese Lewis George wants affordable child care for DC
It’s not free, and her plan faces fiscal challenges.
51st.news
February 9, 2026 at 5:01 PM
In NYC, Mayor Zohran Mamdani cruised to victory in part because of a pledge to make child care free.
But D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George's plan for affordable childcare doesn't go that far: “People have said to me, ‘We don't want free child care. We just want affordable child care.'"
But D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George's plan for affordable childcare doesn't go that far: “People have said to me, ‘We don't want free child care. We just want affordable child care.'"
Reposted by The 51st
"These rules don’t protect the public — they protect a monopoly on the practice of law, and they’re the biggest barriers between vulnerable people and the legal help they need."
This week, the D.C. courts issued an order allowing trained community justice workers — who are not lawyers — to provide legal assistance to people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer: newsroom.dccourts.gov/press-releas...
In November, we ran this opinion piece in support of the then-proposal:
In November, we ran this opinion piece in support of the then-proposal:
Opinion: Too many people can't afford legal advice. Let non-lawyers help.
D.C. courts are considering a proposed “community justice worker” program that would authorize trained people without law degrees to offer free legal advice.
51st.news
February 8, 2026 at 3:51 PM
"These rules don’t protect the public — they protect a monopoly on the practice of law, and they’re the biggest barriers between vulnerable people and the legal help they need."
Reposted by The 51st
The $1.65 million a day spent on the National Guard deployment is about $600 million annualized. For comparison, the approved FY26 budget for Economic Security Services, which includes TANF, is $305 million.
February 9, 2026 at 3:56 PM
The $1.65 million a day spent on the National Guard deployment is about $600 million annualized. For comparison, the approved FY26 budget for Economic Security Services, which includes TANF, is $305 million.
What would you spend $1.65 million a day on?
A new report from Democratic members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee finds that the deployment of the National Guard in D.C. is costing $1.65 million a day, and over seven months has hit $332 million. The report is here: hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/upl…
February 9, 2026 at 3:15 PM
What would you spend $1.65 million a day on?
"In a city that has worked for years to ensure children don’t go hungry, to improve access to housing, and to reduce truancy, cuts to TANF will reverse that progress," argue @childrenslawcenter.org CEO Judith Sandalow and United Planning Organization CEO Andrea Thomas.
Opinion: DC must restore TANF, pull children out of poverty
Planned changes to Temporary Cash Assistance for Needy Families will impact 15,000 children, pushing them deeper into poverty.
51st.news
February 9, 2026 at 3:02 PM
"In a city that has worked for years to ensure children don’t go hungry, to improve access to housing, and to reduce truancy, cuts to TANF will reverse that progress," argue @childrenslawcenter.org CEO Judith Sandalow and United Planning Organization CEO Andrea Thomas.
Reposted by The 51st
As an added bonus @51st.news has an RSS feed so that you can get their stories into your favorite feed reader in a convenient way.
Let's bring back the old Internet and indie media.
51st.news/latest/rss/
Let's bring back the old Internet and indie media.
51st.news/latest/rss/
February 8, 2026 at 6:06 PM
As an added bonus @51st.news has an RSS feed so that you can get their stories into your favorite feed reader in a convenient way.
Let's bring back the old Internet and indie media.
51st.news/latest/rss/
Let's bring back the old Internet and indie media.
51st.news/latest/rss/
This February marks the 100th anniversary of Negro History Week, the predecessor to Black History Month.
@bgexploredc.bsky.social has curated a month-long calendar of events for you to check out across the city:
@bgexploredc.bsky.social has curated a month-long calendar of events for you to check out across the city:
Your guide to Black History Month in D.C.
Whether you feel contemplative or festive, solemn or uplifted, this is your guide to what’s happening in February 2026 across the District.
51st.news
February 8, 2026 at 8:00 PM
This February marks the 100th anniversary of Negro History Week, the predecessor to Black History Month.
@bgexploredc.bsky.social has curated a month-long calendar of events for you to check out across the city:
@bgexploredc.bsky.social has curated a month-long calendar of events for you to check out across the city:
"I understand that it’s very hard for parents to have their kids home for extended periods of time, especially parents of young children...But conditions were not safe for many students asked to attend class that day," writes ninth-grader Rayna Leibowitz Hampton.
Opinion: If D.C. can’t clear all roads, it shouldn’t send students to class
Kids deserve consideration in school reopening plans, writes a Jackson-Reed High School student.
51st.news
February 8, 2026 at 3:01 PM
"I understand that it’s very hard for parents to have their kids home for extended periods of time, especially parents of young children...But conditions were not safe for many students asked to attend class that day," writes ninth-grader Rayna Leibowitz Hampton.
Know about a cool event happening in (or around) the city soon? Let us know via the form below.
We publish two roundups each week — one featuring fun weekend events, and the other sharing opportunities to get more civically engaged. Submitting by Sunday night ensures we see it in time!
We publish two roundups each week — one featuring fun weekend events, and the other sharing opportunities to get more civically engaged. Submitting by Sunday night ensures we see it in time!
Submit your events to The 51st
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airtable.com
February 7, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Know about a cool event happening in (or around) the city soon? Let us know via the form below.
We publish two roundups each week — one featuring fun weekend events, and the other sharing opportunities to get more civically engaged. Submitting by Sunday night ensures we see it in time!
We publish two roundups each week — one featuring fun weekend events, and the other sharing opportunities to get more civically engaged. Submitting by Sunday night ensures we see it in time!
Get into the Palentine's spirit by showing up for your D.C. community this week, feat. @dcabortionfund.bsky.social, @freedcproject.bsky.social, and more: 51st.news/dc-civic-eng...
February 7, 2026 at 6:13 PM
Get into the Palentine's spirit by showing up for your D.C. community this week, feat. @dcabortionfund.bsky.social, @freedcproject.bsky.social, and more: 51st.news/dc-civic-eng...