Local leaders announce Washington Commanders return to the District
By Ashleigh Fields
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser joined with City Council leaders at the National Press Club on Monday, April 28, to announce the return of the Washington Commanders under a $3.7 billion deal.
“The time is now. Let’s bring the @Commanders home,” Bowser wrote in a Monday post on the social platform X.
Managing Partner of the Washington Commanders Josh Harris and National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell stood alongside the Mayor and others as she made the announcement on the team’s move.
The NFL franchise played at the RFK stadium in Northeast D.C. for 35 years before moving to Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. Game attendance and support from fans deteriorated after the transition and loss of their previous team name of Washington Redskins.
Bowser has been working with leaders both locally and federally to help the District gain
ownership of the land that houses the historic stadium where the Commanders won three Super Bowls (1983, 1988, 1992) and the money to revitalize the space.
In January, Former President Biden officially signed the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial
Stadium Campus Revitalization Act into law granting the District control of the 177 acres that encompass RFK stadium.
The bill requires D.C. to reserve 30 percent of the campus for parks and open space and prohibit D.C. from building along the waterfront.
Sen. Cory Booker
Commanders return to the District from pg. 1
While some have supported Bowser’s effort to facilitate the team’s return, others say the measure is too costly for the local municipality.
“The cost to the District will be at least $856M, and I continue to be concerned with investing any public money into a stadium while we have constrained budgets and revenues, and unmet needs,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said in a statement.
As the team’s leadership works to finalize plans for the future, sports fans are awaiting football season’s return with hopes of another successful year for Washington.
Last year, the team made the playoffs for the first time in 19 years.
Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center GW Health Opening in SE D.C.
The Capital News
Gene A. Lambey
The newly built Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health in Southeast D.C., celebrated its opening ceremony on April 10th. It has been over 20 years since D.C. built a new hospital within the city. Mayor Muriel Bowser, along with other known officials and representatives, spoke at the event. The mayor cut the ceremonial ribbon, signifying the opening of Cedar Hill. It officially opened its doors to the public on April 15th.
“In my first year as mayor, I promised to bring a full-service hospital east of the river. Today, I am proud to fulfill that promise with the beautiful Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health,” Bowser said. “Cedar Hill will change the trajectory of health care in our community. This is a first-class hospital, staffed by some of the most prestigious health institutions in the world.”
More than 500 District residents from Wards 5, 7 and 8 helped in the hospital’s construction.
“George Washington University is honored to be a partner in providing care at the new hospital to serve the residents of the District,” said Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), Barbara Lee Bass, MD.
The new hospital would provide ease of access for Ward 7 and 8 residents. Residents east of the river would no longer need to travel far into the city to receive medical assistance.
Local businesses would benefit from the new hospital, generating more revenue for the community of Ward 8.
For Ward 8, this is especially important. This $434 million, 136-bed facility ( which can expand to 184) is located in the city’s most underserved areas, representing an important moment for D.C.’s health care landscape.
“This marks the beginning of a new chapter in prioritizing the health and well-being of D.C. residents who live east of the river,” said Dr. Anthony Coleman, CEO of Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center, GW Health.
Cedar Hill offers health services such as immediate and primary care, emergency care, behavioral health, outpatient services, general and specialty surgery, rehabilitation, mental health services and women’s services in gynecology and maternity. A Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ( NICU) is included as well.
Cedar Hill is located at 1200 Pecan St SE on the former campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital within Ward 8. It is north of the CareFirst Arena and shopping district, Sycamore and Oak. The closest Metro station to the hospital is Congress Heights. The closest bus stop is
Photo: Courtesy of 7News by Joe Ball
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Democrats protest budget cuts proposed by Republicans during protest on Capitol steps
By Ashleigh Fields
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) joined forces on Sunday, April 27, to protest upcoming cuts proposed by Republicans in the next budget reconciliation package.
The two sat with hundreds on the steps of the Capitol to draw attention to their most pressing concerns upon returning from a two week recess.
“Martin Luther King said, ‘Budgets are moral documents,’ and that’s the spirit we come here with this morning,” Booker said during the protest, which coincided with his birthday.
“That bill, we believe, presents one of the greatest moral threats to our country that we’ve seen in terms of what it will do to providing food for the hungry, care for the elderly, services for the disabled, health care, health care for the sick and more,” Booker continued.
Republicans have slated billions in cuts to healthcare research and other areas which some worry could threaten Medicaid funding.
Jeffries said lawmakers would now face “an existential struggle to defeat Republican efforts to try to jam a very reckless budget down the throats of the American people.” At the start of the Trump administration, the president announced the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would seek to slash wasteful spending and attack abusive spending.
The Republican party, which now holds the majority in both chambers of commerce, publicly claims they don’t want to reduce
Medicaid funds but their legislative actions tell a different story.
“We’re going to protect the benefits that everyone is legally entitled to, the beneficiaries who have a legal right to that, it will be preserved. Those are essential safety net programs that Republicans support. The president has made clear: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid will not take a hit. So you can count on that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in April.
“We can find well more than $800 billion in savings, and we will,” Johnson continued.
However, many have said the goal is not attainable without jeopardizing care for millions of seniors, children, parents, veterans or people with cancer or disabilities.
“The [budget] cuts, when we’re talking about
cuts, people bleed and we should put names behind them,” Maya Wiley, the president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said during the protest.
Sen. Cory Booker breaks records with 25 hour speech on the floor
By Ashleigh Fields
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (D) rewrote the history books with a 25 hour 5 minute long address on the floor surpassing segregationist Strom Thurmond who once spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes in protest of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Booker opened his record breaking speech with words frequently spoken by his predecessor John Lewis, an activist politician from Georgia who was known for the phrase “Good Trouble.”
“Tonight, I rise with the intention of getting in some good trouble. I rise tonight because I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis,” Booker said. “These are not normal times in America, and they should not be treated as such.”
He spoke late into the night Monday evening and all day Tuesday without ceasing in an effort to combat the Trump administration’s mandates which have included cuts to healthcare, research and federal jobs.
“I will not stand for another American to lose their health care for a billionaire. I will not stand for another veteran who’s dedicated to stopping the suicide of other veterans to lose their job. I won’t stand for the air quality in my community to made worse because they’re letting polluters pollute more. I won’t stand for the collective assaults on the Constitution by a man who even the highest judge in our land, a Republican appointed judge said stop threatening and bullying other branches of government,” Booker pleaded with spirit in his eyes.
“When is it going to be enough. My voice is inadequate, my efforts today are inadequate
(Pictured D.C. neighborhoods map credit: Getty images)
to stop what they’re trying to do but we the people are powerful we are strong we have changed history we have bent the arc of the moral universe and now is that moral moment again ,it’s the moral moment again.”
Although millions watched online and thousands cheered him on behind screens, most of the New Jersey senator’s speech was given to a silent chamber free of the traditional rumble from angry legislators and empty of usually filled seats.
“God bless America. We need you now. God bless America. If you love her, if you love your neighbor, if you love this country, show your love. Stop them from doing what they’re trying to do,” he said fervently. “For almost 20 hours we have laid out what they’re trying to do, 20 hours. I could and I want to stand more.”
It was in the moment front facing for history, alone, Booker prayed.
“God please god don’t let them take Medicaid away from 10, 20, 30 or 40 million Americans who desperately need it. Don’t let them do it,” the lawmaker pleaded.
“Behold, Lord, here I am. And so I confess that I have been imperfect. I confess that I’ve been inadequate to the moment. I confess that the Democratic Party has made terrible mistakes that have given lane to this demagogue. I confess we all must look in the mirror and say, we will do better. And it’s not just defining ourselves, what we’re against,” he added.
Booker used the moment to call on not only his colleagues but everyday Americans to join the fight against the Trump administration. “We, the next generation, as the baby boomers are leaving the stage, the last baby boomer president, we have to say that we’re going to redeem the dream. We’re going to dream
America anew. We’re going to start talking about bold things that don’t divide people, that unite people,” he said.
“Bold things that excite the moral imagination of a country to do better, to go higher, to call us together. This is the time where new leaders in our country must emerge,” Booker added. “ I’m not talking about senators. I’m talking about citizens.”
In the midst of his speech, Democratic party members were careful to check in on the determined New Jersey senator. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (DMd.), Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) were all among the crowd who onlooked in support of the vicious task at hand which allowed for no bathroom breaks or exits from the senate chamber.
At the end of his speech, Schumer asked Booker, “Do you know how proud this caucus is of you? Do you know how proud America is of you?”
To which Booker responded by lowering his head in humble acknowledgment of the words of approval and admiration.
After accomplishing the daunting feat of resistance, he received praise from around the world and across party lines.
“Whether you agree with him or not, the past 24+ hours was what most people think a filibuster actually looks like. Congratulations to @SenBooker for his historic feat (while staying on his feet!),” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wrote in a post on X.
Despite the applause, the next day business went on as usual for President Trump who im-
posed tariffs on more than 30 countries across the globe. House Speaker Mike Johnson (RLa.) spoke out against allowing proxy voting for new moms elected to Congress and the Department of Government Efficiency continued marking proposed cuts to federal aid. However, through it all Booker remained proud of the moment he caused if only for a brief second and reminded those who side with him to be encouraged.
“I may be tired and a little hoarse, but as I said again and again on the Senate floor, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent,
when we must speak up. What’s most clear to me tonight is that this is just the beginning, that Americans across this country, no matter their title or party, are ready to be heard,” Booker said of the historical moment.
“I believe that history will show we rose to meet this moment. It will show we did not let the chaos and division go unanswered. It will show that when our president chose to spread lies and sow fear, we chose to come together, to work together, and to rise together.”
By Ashleigh Fields
Trump administration imposes striking global tariffs
President Trump shocked the world on April 2 when he issued a 10 percent baseline tariff on almost all of the United States’ foreign trading partners. The administration touted the move as “Liberation Day” and increased 10 percent levies on nations they felt were in unfair trade relationships with the U.S., leading to levies of up to 50 percent high.
Traditional allies including the United Kingdom, France and Germany were not spared from the raise in costs on imports surprising business owners and global leaders alike.
“I would like to speak directly to my fellow Europeans. I know that many of you feel let down by our oldest ally,” Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission said of Trump’s actions.
(Photo courtesy of the Associated Press)
“THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DAYS, IN MY OPINION, IN AMERICA’S HISTORY,” TRUMP SAID. “IT’S OUR DECLARATION OF ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE.”
“Yes, we must brace for the impact that this will inevitably have. Europe has everything it needs to make it through the storm,” she added.
At first, many threatened to fight the tariffs with their own economic sanctions which caused the stock market and bond market to drop significantly.
Observing turmoil, Trump decided to grant a 90 day pause on tariffs for all nations except for China which introduced similar tariffs to fight the president’s new changes to U.S. trade policy.
China, the world’s second largest economy,
provides a wide range of products to the U.S. daily including machinery, children’s toys and food. In protest to tariffs, which they claim are illegal, the nation has denied products ranging from jets to gas exports from U.S. companies.
“If the U.S. side really wants to talk it should show an attitude of equality, respect and reciprocity,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian.
“If the United States ignores the interest of the two countries and the international community and insists on fighting a tariff war and a trade war, China will certainly accompany it to the end,” Jian continued.
Saturday, March 29th in Ward 8 & Saturday, -
By Ashleigh Fields
D.C. celebrates Emancipation Day with star studded concert
Washingtonians from across the District gathered in Freedom Plaza on April 13 to celebrate Emancipation Day.
“DC Emancipation Day is an opportunity to celebrate the history of our city and the vibrancy of our community,” Bowser said of the annual celebration.
Britt Waters of ABC 7News hosted the 20th anniversary of the traditional day-long concert with musical performances from Anthony Hamilton, Chante Moore, Crank Crusaders Featuring Raheem DeVaughn, Black Alley, Tim Bowman, Jr., DJ Kool, and the Washington Performing Arts Children of the Gospel Choir.
The concert has historical roots derived three years after the Civil War ended and after the 1865 ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was implemented to abolish slavery nationwide. Black Americans in the District began to celebrate April 16 as a holiday.
After decades of celebrations, the historic commemoration began to die down until 2002 when the city revived the parades due to the research, lobbying and leadership of Loretta Carter-Hanes, a descendant of those enslaved at former President George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate.
Because of Hanes, Mayor Marion Barry declared April 16, 1996, “Emancipation Day” in D.C., and in 2005 Mayor Anthony Williams signed legislation making Emancipation Day an official public holiday in the District.
The Cuts: Updates to the Ward 8 Member of the D.C. Council Special Election
Special to The Capital News
By Shelley Rice
The candidates list for the Special Election of the Ward 8 Member to the D.C. Council has dwindled down.
We reported the twenty-one candidates last month, some of which had withdrew, that entered the running to have their names included on the 2025 Special Election ballot.
April 17, 2025, was the deadline to submit petitions that contained 500 D.C. registered voters. Eleven submitted petitions; Two withdrew earlier, and ten did not submit petitions.
SUBMITTED PETITIONS:
1. Mike Austin (D)
2. Sheila Bunn (D)
3. Charnal Chaney (D)
4. Khadijah Clark (D)
5. Eric Cleckley (D)
6. Doc Adams (R)
7. Kenneth Diggs (R)
8. Mary Roach (D)
9. Trayon White (D)
10. Salim Adofo (D)
11. Delonte Singh (R) (write-in)
WITHDREW EARLIER:
1. Robbie Woodland (D) withdrew earlier
2. Robert Butler (D) withdrew earlier
DID NOT MAKE IT TO THE APRIL 17, DEADLINE:
1. Dion Jordan (D)
2. Darrell Gaston (D)
3. Kara Johnson (R)
4. Oliver Roy (D)
5. Jennifer Gelencia Muhammad (I)
6. Michael Reese (I)
7. Armonte V Wilson (D)
8. Anthony O. Devaughn (I)
9. Jauhar Abraham (D)
10. Tonya Hawkins (I)
The challenge period for the Ward 8 Special Election was 10 days. It started on April 20 and ended April 29, 2025 at 5:00 pm.
All candidates must adhere to the signature requirements and vetting which makes everyone fair game for this process.
As of April 30, 2025 the following displays the List of Nominating Petition Challenges for the July 15, 2025 - Ward 8 Council - Special Election:
Monday, May 19 is the last day for the Board to determine the validity of challenges to nominating petitions.
D.C. residents across social media platforms have commented that the election would be much more manageable with fewer candidates.
We will continue to watch and report the final candidates who pass the board review of petition challenges.
Be on the look out to attend upcoming candidate forums to hear and question plans on housing, violence interruption and many of the other chllenges facing Wrd 8 residents.
Pictured: Vacant Office Sign for the Ward 8 Council Member at the Wilson Building
https://www.purewow.com/wellness/month
AQUARIUS
(January 20 to February 18)
As mentioned above, money has been a huge focus for you over the past few months if not the past few years. You’re finding a better balance between giving and receiving. Venus retrograde ends on the 12th and the second half of the month is a sweet spot for you to make some extra cash.
PISCES
(February 19 to March 20)
Financial growth has been slow and frustrating over the past few months, but when Mars enters bold Leo on the 18th, you’re hit with a wave of determination. With this influence also comes the risk of not knowing your limits so be careful you’re not girlbossing too close to the sun.
ARIES
(March 21 to April 19)
Tread carefully with your spending this month. You’ve been doing so much self reflection and healing, and the urge to treat yourself has been real (and deserved). But with Venus—the planet that rules over both your relationships and your bank account—in your unconscious sector for the entire month, you must be diligent about tracking expenses.
TAURUS
(April 20 to May 20)
Exciting changes are happening in your work and professional life right now. What’s most exciting is the increase in your regular paycheck! This is definitely a month to save rather than a month to invest thou.
GEMINI
(May 21 to June 20)
Hot and bothered Mars finally leaves your money sector on the 18th and you can let go of the financial stress that’s been on your mind since September. This period hasn’t been easy but has also paved the way for abundance that’s coming later this spring.
CANCER
(June 21 to July 22)
Action planet Mars enters Leo and your money sector on the 18th bringing money problems from November and December back to the forefront. Avoiding the issue won’t work this time, you have to face your spending habits head on.
LEO
(July 23 to August 22)
Mercury—the planet that rules your bank account—begins the month retrograde and caught up with illusory Neptune. To put it simply: buyer beware! Magical opportunities could come your way but those offers could also be snake oil. Financial matters improve once Mercury enters Aries on the 16th.
VIRGO
(August 23 to September 22)
You’re slowly coming out of a period that has been very tumultuous for your finances. The full moon in Libra on the 12th puts a spotlight on how far you’ve come in stabilizing your accounts and budgets. Cash is still tight, but you’re moving in the right direction.
LIBRA
(September 23 to October 22)
By the end of the month, a money problem that’s been hanging over your head for a long time now is finally put to rest. Something that was initiated in November and got complicated in January finds its resolution around the 26th. There are opportunities to grow resources through your community if you’re willing to tap into them.
SCORPIO
(October 23 to November 21)
Between now and June 9, you have the opportunity to grow through your shared resources. This has been a theme for you since Jupiter first entered Gemini back in May 2024, but it’s only now that you’re really seeing the benefits. Lean into collaboration, investments and diversifying your portfolio.
SAGITTARIUS
(November 22 to December 21)
Mars finally leaves your shared resources sector on the 18th ending what has been months of stressing over debts, your partner’s salary and overdue invoices. You’re developing a higher risk tolerance when it comes to your security, and become very interested in exploring entrepreneurship this month.
CAPRICORN
(December 22 to January 19)
A gentle shakeup at work around the 4th leads to a creative project falling into your lap. Though you might not be earning any extra income for this endeavor, you’re feeling much more satisfied in your day to day.
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