DCPacer

@Janeese4DC How about actually charging and convicting criminals? Oh, that’s right - none of your “proposals” actually address anything that will stymie gun violence.

How can we address the issue of gun violence in DC ? 1⃣Intervention: increased focus on DC's Safe Passage program 2⃣Prevention: funding our schools & creating stronger pathways to jobs 3⃣Enforcement: a 911 that works & a police department that closes cases #PeopleFirstDC

@ChuckThies @Janeese4DC Lol the local press ever doing its job.

@dofurg Cirie is an amazing strategist but she can’t do strength stuff or puzzles - it was the only place to put her.

I need some sort of explanation why the entire tribe put Cirie in that critical position in the immunity challenge. #Survivor50

@aparnafordc LOL. The “real causes” behind this are terrible parent(s). Until you and your ilk stop sticking your “head in the sand” about that reality the problem will never be solved.

Imagine if we had real third spaces for kids and provided people with food & housing & dignity. Instead of just pushing kids into smaller and smaller spaces and trying to ignore the real causes behind this. We can be serious about safety or we can stick our head in the sand.

@SafeSidewalksDC @maustermuhle @MayorBowser Yup. And get the kids in juvie to do it, too, instead of playing video games.

@maustermuhle @MayorBowser could have the summer youth employment program staff do all of these things (and more) too but instead we pay these kids to do nothing all summer and miss chances to actually accomplish something with this program.

Soon after Trump announced his federal surge in D.C. a source shared with me a list of possible volunteer projects in federal parks that the National Guard could assist with. These were compiled by folks in NPS. Litter removal is among the projects.

@capitolcaucus @charlesallen Yes. And I also believe it was well-intentioned. But the last seven years have proven this to be a failed social experiment. Why Allen and his ilk (most of the Council) continue to double-down on this failed experiment is beyond me.

A little history lesson is warranted. Around 2016 when @charlesallen became the head of the council’s Judiciary subcommittee he embarked on a “criminal justice reform” campaign that sought to soften the penal code because of its “disproportionate” impact on certain populations manifested most notably by relatively higher incarceration rates. This social theory had been making the rounds in academia & progressive civil rights groups and they itched to put this new theory into practice. Allen was a ready & willing accomplice. At the time, DC crime had experienced a sustained down period. The theory went something like, the way to get crime down even further is to go after the perceived “root causes” of crime most aptly described as socioeconomic distress. The theory goes if you throw public money at this problem crime will go down. Criminal justice reform theory’s other prong holds that sentences, bail, prosecutorial and sentencing practices need to get softer because they have been heretofore unjust as seen by the disproportionate incarceration rate. Essentially, make it harder to put people in jail and hopefully the increased social spending will keep them out of jail. So now you’ve got a situation where you’re letting people off easy and essentially paying to hope the criminal element in the population will stop offending. Allen executed this plan to near perfection lowering sentences, effectively freeing people under 25 from detention or long term incarceration. He also reallocated money away from the police budget to his preferred social welfare programs. He pretty much succeeded by 2020 and then the George Floyd incident happened and he and the council kicked the effort into overdrive. Allen effectively unmasked himself as a “defund the police” champion. @DCPoliceDept was effectively stood down. They stopped enforcing laws at every level including traffic laws. At this point, whatever constraints previously in place that had brought DC to where it was on crime had been undone and the horse was out of the barn. Society gave many inches and criminals took many miles. It didn’t take long for criminals to respond to the incentive landscape and crime erupted. The 2020-present day era has been well documented with the litany of heartbreaking stories and jaw dropping callousness by judges and prosecutors that have allowed violent reoffenders to be set free prior to trial only commit murder in some cases. In conclusion, the voting public must remember that this was a methodical and dogged public policy effort by Allen and his colleagues. Today, the same actors are still in power and his criminal justice policies are still on the books. Real change will come when his policies are repealed.

The federal law enforcement surge & sober assessment of DC’s soft on crime laws by the administration - especially for juvenile offenders - is a long time coming. What’s remains incredible and utterly predictable is this city’s hysterical reaction to a lawful action that has zero downside for law abiding citizens. The laws haven’t changed nor have civil rights for U.S. citizens. It is merely a policy decision to actively enforce the laws (lackadaisical as they are in many cases) that are on the books. If you’re a law abiding citizen, what do you have to worry about? Why does this city prefer to prioritize criminal behavior over public safety. How many innocents have to die before we course correct? Because it’s @realDonaldTrump who’s doing it - that’s why. The Trump Derangement Syndrome on this issue is so acute that DC refuses to acknowledge a basic objective reality - that violent crime and homelessness are at unacceptable levels. The city and its leaders either never had or have lost all objectivity on the subject of crime. They are clinging to statistical comparisons between a set of years when the murder rate had already reached a 20 year high. Between 2020-2024 DC crime reached a fever pitch. Carjackings, muggings and murders soared. Neighborhoods once gentrified for a decade plus backslid into mayhem. This was and remains the objective reality. Shootings in places where they hadn’t happened in years, brazen murders, innocent bystanders hit by stray bullets and the list goes on. While this was happening our elected leadership told us to grit and bear it - handing out free steering wheel locks and sharing defensive driving techniques applicable to war zones. In fact, the @councilofdc and members like @charlesallen wanted to double down & further dial down traditional law enforcement even further in favor of unproven & dangerous social welfare policies that have proven to be rife with financial corruption & scandal. For however long this surge lasts it won’t solve the underlying problems of laws that are too lax for juveniles & violent offenders. Until those are reformed and repealed, criminal behavior will not change. We’ve finally reached a point where the diagnosis is irrefutable and now it’s incumbent that we address the root cause. 1/x

@WashProbs It is super relaxing and normal to have armed guards at the grocery store and to wait to have multitudes of products unlocked from their cases before buying them.

Hey DC, let’s push back against the negative narrative about our city. Share why you love our beautiful home and help show the world the real DC. #TheRealDC

@H_Singh1708 @libsoftiktok Do you know anything about DC? It is an outlier on how much it spends on social services and education. It spends billions on every social program under the sun, and it has changed nothing.

@libsoftiktok Brian Schwalb is right: we can't just arrest our way to safety. Long-term solutions need prevention and community investment, not only prosecution.

Brian Schwalb, the Attorney General of DC, says that "if we want to be safer in the long run, we cannot prosecute and arrest our way out it [crime]." Ummm WHAT???

@rollin_vip @WTOP The tell was rejecting open primaries.

@WTOP Ranked choice weakens democracy. Bizarre how this could be toted as some savior. More likely it can be manipulated to keep these radicals in power.

This week, the D.C. Council added funding for ranked choice voting to the 2026 budget, which is set for a vote later this month. wtop.com/dc/2025/07/dc-…

@maustermuhle I wonder how many of them work for a NGO that is funded by DC taxpayers.

Progressive advocates are outside the Wilson Building this morning ahead of a first budget vote in the D.C. Council. They are pushing for tax increases to help spare cuts to programs like the Healthcare Alliance, which insures tens of thousands of residents, many immigrants.

@ZacharyforWard5 @rollin_vip Zach, DC is an outlier in terms of how much it spends on all social services and in terms of its high tax rate. Obviously the answer to fixing DC is not more money or more taxes.

@rollin_vip How much poverty and suffering is too much?

Imposing a surcharge on capital gains above $350K won’t impact 99% of Washingtonians. 1% on $350K is a mere $3,500 for someone making $1.7 million, on average. In exchange for a very modest surcharge for the very wealthy, we can fund critical programs for all Washingtonians.

@Nobaggage @CMZParker5 Do it. My partner and I - after a combined 70 years living in DC - moved to VA last year. The tax savings are enormous, but more importantly our quality of life went up a hundred-fold.

@CMZParker5 I am so effin tired of being taxed out the ass in DC just to get shitty city service- I have receipts - and systems that can’t control crime and give criminals more power than me. As a 6th gen Washingtonian I have seen this city go to Hell. I’m done here.

Today, I shared a letter with my colleagues proposing a modest capital gains surcharge in the FY26 budget. This targeted approach would help fund vital programs and make our tax system more equitable. We must invest in a fairer future for all District residents.

@NW_Realist @CMBrookePinto Brooke continues to almost get it but then gets sucked in again by activist nonsense.

@CMBrookePinto You had a decent starting plan to move funds to OAGs moderately better run and effective prgram Overall important to point out gun violence has increased since these programs launched, so they have questionable efficacy Instead you flipped and moved it the ONSE joke farm 🤦‍♀️

Since I became Chairwoman of the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, we have made tremendous progress on making our city safer for everyone and that continues to be my top goal. Violence interruption is an important piece of our public safety ecosystem to prevent shootings. But the current system of having dual programs doesn’t make sense. That’s why I developed a plan to merge our programs under one agency.   I’ll always fight to keep residents safe and with opportunities to prosper.  You can listen to our full conversation on the Politics Hour on @wamu885 here: wamu.org/story/25/06/27…

@DCAttorneyGen This like the fourth or fifth one of these cases - why are criminal charges off the table? The chances of recovering the funds are essentially zero.

NEW: We're suing Women in HEELS and its former CEO for misusing $250,000 in Cure the Streets grant funds. OAG detected the improprieties, moved quickly to terminate the grant, and gave them multiple chances to justify their actions. Now, we're suing to recover the misused funds.

@STATter911 @CMBrookePinto @OUC_DC It is CRAZY how long this has been going on; this should be a top priority (as opposed to, say, whether there is a damn fence around Dupont Circle).

PLEASE WATCH: It's clear @CMBrookePinto has zero interest in making DC911/@OUC_DC transparent, holding them accountable, or improving this important agency. I just had the most absurd discussion I've ever head with a DC council member (watch below - sorry for my facial expressions, I found her remarks astounding). After testifying about 13 blown addresses and 17 other errors I've discovered this year, CM Pinto told me none of those need to be counted in the stats or OUC's monthly official reporting, required by Pinto's law, because I didn't provide a phone number of the caller. Of course, she has created a classic "Catch 22" Joseph Heller would be proud of. As a reporter, I can't get the phone number because OUC says that anything about a 911 call is private information. Pinto acts is if it's a heavy burden for OUC to investigate a call error without having the caller's phone number. She's saying the exact time of the call and address aren't enough. Pinto wants you to believe DC911 is too busy to investigate these mistakes if I don't provide the number. Of course, that's ridiculous. If Director McGaffin can't easily investigate a complaint with a time of day and an address she is in the wrong business. What Pinto also ignores is that not all of these errors involve 911 callers and phone numbers. I've reported on radios going unanswered, duplicate dispatches, and other mistakes that have nothing to do with the 911 caller or a phone number. Brooke Pinto isn't doing oversight. She's doing PR and covering up for OUC. It doesn't matter to her that OUC sent four different calls to the wrong quadrant on Memorial Day, lost 20 minutes sending an EMS call for the Air and Space Museum to Southeast, or that blown addresses have lost many minutes on cardiac arrest and trouble breathing calls. Pinto has made the transparency law she wrote a sham. I've never met a council member, prior to now, who is perfectly okay with an agency cooking the books by underreporting crucial data. DC deserves better. #FixDC911 @CMRobertWhiteDC @AnitaBondsDC @CM_McDuffie @Janeese4DC @CMZParker5 @chenderson @charlesallen @ChmnMendelson @BrianneKNadeau @MatthewFrumin @CMWendellFelder @kpattdc @dclinenews @tomsherwood @NFTC_News @ELaserDavies @oliviardiaz @leonardnfleming @RamirezReports @SegravesNBC4 @ANCCostello @SmithSteiner @johnson4b06 @Evan_Yeats @ANCJonah @MayorBowser @SafeDC @theHillisHome @PoPville @dccrimefacts @abeaujon @SchreiberSara @CapitalJeff @Brightwoodian @ODCA_DC @IAFF36 @dcpoliceunion @jennygathright @tednbc4 @Tenleytown411 @6Min2Live

@cedric_elliot @maustermuhle Right? Already saw on TikTok the video at the Circle last year and the planned meetup tonight. Await your tweets, Martin.

@maustermuhle Let’s see what follow up you do tomorrow.

PRIDE NEWS: The fencing placed around Dupont Circle yesterday by the National Park Service is coming down this morning, a few hours before the WorldPride Parade is scheduled to start. Its placement, for public safety reasons, drew widespread criticisms from many locals.

@CMCHenderson CA/HI/MD/MA/MN all have Medicaid eligibility at 133-138% of the Federal Poverty Level. DC is an outlier, with eligibility up to 215%, 319% for pregnant women. This was a policy choice that was never going to be sustainable long term.

As we await Congress’ decision on their reconciliation bill, cuts are at everyone’s front of mind. This video is to help you understand how Medicaid is funded in the District of Columbia and how it may be affected going forward.

@NW_Realist @DCWard7teacher I am pretty sure that Level 4 is “Meets Expectations” - ie, only 1% can do grade-level math.

@DCWard7teacher Never about student achievement from entrenched WTU education aristocracy is it? 1 in 10 students meeting expectations in Math and 4 in 10 English at Woodson Meanwhile school budget has increased 50% since FY19 to $18.9M for 544 students $34,740 per pupil! Thy enemy is thyself

Any politician who touches DFER money, or who allows them to spend on your behalf without openly denouncing and demanding they stop - YOU are actively attacking public education, teachers and our unions. Just because they label themselves "Democrat" doesn't mean they are.

@NW_Realist @ankitjaindc Fun fact: I met the “Senator” at the Council hearing where he was protesting Pinto’s 2023 crime bill.

@ankitjaindc Searching for your protests about former USAO Graves pathetic prosecution rates All I could find was your excuse making for Allen’s botched RCCA Do you have any data about recent prosecution rates to back up this statement?

This is the person whose job it is to prosecute all adult crimes in D.C. Spending his time intimidating academic journals for not spreading conservative propaganda, rather than prosecuting violent crime. The Senate must reject this deeply unserious, dangerous nominee

@ZacharyforWard5 Pretty sure the Ag Dept administers the National School Lunch Program.