Denali Graham

2 months ago | 51st.news | Martin Austermuhle |Colleen Grablick |Cornelia Poku |Denali Graham

Opinion essays published by The 51st represent the views of their authors, and not of The 51st or any of its editors, reporters, or contributors. Submissions or responses may be sent to [email protected]. The toxic nature of restaurant industry work has grabbed headlines in recent years.

2 months ago | 51st.news | Denali Graham |Estela Lux |Colleen Grablick |Cornelia Poku |Martin Austermuhle

Last fall, I got the dreaded envelope in the mail from the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles. I didn’t even have to open it to know what it was: a ticket from one of the city’s many traffic cameras. I had been caught going 36 in a 25 mph zone. I repeated every possible excuse to myself: It was a new camera and on a wide roadway, and there were no pedestrians or cyclists around, and I swear I’m a great driver! But at the end of the day, the truth had been caught on camera.

2 months ago | 51st.news | Martin Austermuhle |Denali Graham |Estela Lux |Cornelia Poku

We’re two months into Trump 2.0 and the attempts to strip D.C. of its autonomy are rolling along. In early February, two Republican congressmen introduced a bill seeking to repeal D.C.’s home rule and abolish more than 50 years of the city’s local governance. As you’ve probably heard, the bill is called the BOWSER Act, which is, I guess, supposed to be a sick OWN in the minds of AI-brain-rotted weirdos who overuse the 🤣 emoji and think wearing sunglasses inside is totally friggin’ epic.