Alex Koma

2 days ago | wamu.org | Alex Koma

D.C. lawmakers broadly agree: The city’s violence interruption efforts aren’t working as well as they could be. There’s much less unanimity on the question of what to do about that. The latest debate has spilled into the city’s latest round of budget deliberations, further complicating a process already slowed by D.C.’s worsening revenue picture. The District’s worked for years to experiment with programs aimed at breaking cycles of violence with peers and mentors instead of police.

3 days ago | wamu.org | Alex Koma

Cerise Turner has managed a remarkable feat: She hasn’t paid a utility bill in over two years. In fact, Pepco owes her money; a little over $1,300, to be exact. Thanks to several city programs, Turner added solar panels to her Petworth home and started selling excess energy back to the grid.

1 week ago | washingtoncitypaper.com | Alex Koma

This story was supported with funds from Spotlight DC—Capital City Fund for Investigative Journalism. Thanks for being a member of City Paper! On primary election night 2024, the 1500 block of East Capitol Street NE was home to one of the more bizarre scenes in recent D.C. political history, as two of the top contenders in the premiere race of the 2024 cycle held victory parties next door to each other.

3 weeks ago | wamu.org | Alex Koma

Toilet water spewing into cells. A broken sink an inmate had to fix using his own catheter. Cells so hot or cold occupants can’t sleep. And an inmate death rate three-and-a-half times the national average. The details laid out in D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson’s latest report on the state of the D.C. Jail are alarming. But Rob Barton, who has been locked up at the jail on and off for the last three decades, does not find the problems new or surprising.

4 weeks ago | wamu.org | Alex Koma

The federal layoffs roiling D.C.’s economy meant that just about every local lawmaker and activist were bracing for steep cuts to the social safety net in the city’s new budget. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposal represents the realization of their worst fears. Bowser, at last, unveiled her 2026 budget this week, and it includes a total of roughly $2 billion in cuts spread across the next four years.