1 big thing: 💉 Covid shots for tiny tots

Illustration of a blue teddy bear with orange band-aid on its arm. 

2. 😱 Somehow, traffic got worse

Traffic with the Capitol in the background.

3. Town Talker: So many candidates, so little polling

Illustration of a ballot filled in to create a question mark

Do you see yourself with a new career? 

4. Around the Beltway: Budget, passed

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5. 🥗 Super fast salads

It's Wednesday. The rain has cleared up for today.

🌥 Today's weather: Mostly cloudy, high 69.

Today's newsletter is 917 words — a 3.5-minute read.

🤔 New to D.C. and wondering about one of its quirks? 

“Hey, I’m new here'' is a series where Paige asks a savvy, opinionated local to answer a question about a Washington folkway or ritual. Reply to this email to send her your questions. 

Washington D.C.

A daily look at the most significant and interesting stories affecting Washington, DC. Written by Chelsea Cirruzzo, Cuneyt Dil and Paige Hopkins.

Axios D.C.

1 big thing: 🌀 Stormy weather ahead  

2. A tragic chart

3. 🏡 The market's still hot

An "under contract" sign outside a house for sale.

4. Around the Beltway: 🐻 Wildlife back at it again

Illustration of a giant panda wearing glasses and looking at a smartphone.

5. 📚 Doo you read? 

Two men wearing baseball uniforms hold up children's books

6. 🔍 Where is Chelsea? 

☁️ Today's weather: A chance of showers and a high of 72. 

📍 Situational awareness: The Nationals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 last night, snapping a nine-game skid against the team and becoming the first in 2022 to hold them to a shutout. 

Today's newsletter is 867 words — a 3-minute read.

📚  Like the Nationals, our team loves books. Here's what we're reading:

📕 Chelsea is reading "I Kissed Shara Wheeler."

📘 Cuneyt is reading "Madonna in a Fur Coat."

📙 Paige is reading "Girl, Woman, Other."

📗 Our editor Kayla is reading "To Sleep in a Sea of Stars."

Editor's note: The first story in this newsletter has been updated to clarify that the first six storms include tropical storms and hurricanes, and that NOAA says it is possible the 2022 season will exhaust the list of English names.

1 big thing: Abortion's precarious state of play in Virginia

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2. 📬 Reader mailbag: The mask car

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3. 🎓 Around the Beltway: Congrats grads?

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New jobs to check out


4. ⚓️ Airbnb for boats

5. 🧇 1 brunch to go

Good Monday morning. We hope you weren't affected by any downed trees after last night's winds. 

⛅️ Today's weather:  Partly sunny, then a chance of evening showers. High 74.

📍 Situational awareness: Lidl is expanding to Tenleytown, right next door to the soon-to-open Wegmans, the Washington Business Journal reports.

Today's newsletter is 952 words — a 3.5-minute read.

💔 Cuneyt is fuming over Manchester City's comeback to win the Premier League over my Liverpool. 

👩🏾‍🍳 Paige is experimenting with new recipes.

🚰 Our editor Kayla is just trying to stay hydrated.

1 big thing: Inside the fight over COVID case data 

2. 🍼 Formula frenzy

3. Around the Beltway: The old Trump Hotel’s new money

4. 🏡 Hot homes, for $379k and up

A couch with a nice chair and a coffee table in a living room. 

Stop by to see who’s hiring

5. 😎 Tourists in our town

⛅ Today's weather: It's officially Hot AF. Expect highs in the mid-90s today and all weekend.

📍 Situational awareness: 🚲 It's Bike to Work Day! Send us a picture of you on your commute and we may post it on our Instagram. 

Today's newsletter is 731 words — a 3-minute read.

🎓 Our editor Kayla is celebrating her brother's graduation from Elon University this weekend.

And congratulations to all of our local grads this month!

1 big thing: 🚚 The food truck fix

2. Commanders eye Woodbridge

3. 👍 Mary Cheh reveals Ward 3 vote

Seeking employment? 

4. Around the Beltway: Back in service

Illustration of a Washington Metro sign edited to read "Around the Beltway."

5. 🏊 Take the plunge 

🌧 Today's weather: Rainy, especially in the morning. High 62.

Today's newsletter is 959 words — a 4-minute read.

🎁  Share Axios Local with friends, family, and colleagues to earn rewards with our referral program! The more subscribers you refer, the bigger the rewards. Get started: https://www.axios.com/referral/local

D.C. council members undercut trust in DC Health when they probed why COVID-19 data wasn’t shared recently with the CDC over a two-week span, the agency’s director said in a letter to lawmakers that was obtained by Axios. 

DC Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt also said the District wouldn’t change when it releases new case information, citing burnout. 

Public health workers have experienced “12+ hour workdays, attacks both verbal and physical on public health professionals, and significant misinformation about public health and our work,” Nesbitt said. 

Why it matters: Residents were in the dark about the COVID risk when the city’s data disappeared from the CDC website — which made it look like the District had zero cases. And D.C. officials refused to explain the lapse.  

Nesbitt’s letter to several council members gives the first explanation.

Details: D.C. had been submitting automated and manual reports to the CDC, but stopped the manual reporting between April 27 and May 8, Nesbitt wrote.

The CDC confirmed receipt of the data during this time, per Nesbitt’s letter. 

The other side: A CDC spokesperson previously told Axios that the District’s reports actually stopped during that two-week period. 

Between the lines: The agency and council members are at odds over when to share case data with the public. The council wants case information to come out on Mondays instead of Wednesdays, so there isn’t a three-day lag on the previous week’s data.

But Nesbitt rejected that request in her letter, saying she would not allow staff to work on weekends. Monday reporting would “increase burnout, decrease morale, and it will not improve the public’s ability to understand their health risk,” she wrote. 

Nesbitt called on the council to come to her directly in the future, rather than airing their concerns in public. 

D.C.'s COVID data lapse, explained

The council wants more timely reporting. DC Health is burnt out.

DC Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt.  Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Washington, D.C.

D.C. council members undercut trust in DC Health when they probed why COVID-19 data wasn’t shared recently with the CDC over a two-week span, the agency’s director said in a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="letter to lawmakers that was obtained by Axios" data-vars-click-url="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22024696-covid-19-case-reporting_51922" data-vars-content-id="1df4fca0-69cc-4dd2-8488-a124faaaa3c4" data-vars-headline="D.C.&#x27;s COVID data lapse, explained" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22024696-covid-19-case-reporting_51922" target="_blank">letter to lawmakers that was obtained by Axios</a>. <ul><li>DC Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt also said the District wouldn’t change when it releases new case information, citing burnout. </li></ul>Public health workers have experienced “12+ hour workdays, attacks both verbal and physical on public health professionals, and significant misinformation about public health and our work,” Nesbitt said. Why it matters: Residents were in the dark about the COVID risk when the city’s data <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="disappeared" data-vars-click-url="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/09/dc-covid-case-counts-stopped/" data-vars-content-id="1df4fca0-69cc-4dd2-8488-a124faaaa3c4" data-vars-headline="D.C.&#x27;s COVID data lapse, explained" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/05/09/dc-covid-case-counts-stopped/" target="_blank">disappeared</a> from the CDC website — which made it look like the District had zero cases. And D.C. officials refused to explain the lapse. <ul><li>Nesbitt’s letter to several council members gives the first explanation.</li></ul>Details: D.C. had been submitting automated and manual reports to the CDC, but stopped the manual reporting between April 27 and May 8, Nesbitt wrote.<ul><li>The CDC confirmed receipt of the data during this time, per Nesbitt’s letter. </li></ul>The other side: A CDC spokesperson <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="previously told" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/05/11/dc-slight-covid-19-uptick-reporting-delay" data-vars-content-id="1df4fca0-69cc-4dd2-8488-a124faaaa3c4" data-vars-headline="D.C.&#x27;s COVID data lapse, explained" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/05/11/dc-slight-covid-19-uptick-reporting-delay" target="_self">previously told</a> Axios that the District’s reports actually stopped during that two-week period. Between the lines: The agency and council members are at odds over when to share case data with the public. The council wants case information to come out on Mondays instead of Wednesdays, so there isn’t a three-day lag on the previous week’s data.<ul><li>But Nesbitt rejected that request in her letter, saying she would not allow staff to work on weekends. Monday reporting would “increase burnout, decrease morale, and it will not improve the public’s ability to understand their health risk,” she wrote. </li></ul>Nesbitt called on the council to come to her directly in the future, rather than airing their concerns in <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="public" data-vars-click-url="https://twitter.com/BrianneKNadeau/status/1524867652178657294" data-vars-content-id="1df4fca0-69cc-4dd2-8488-a124faaaa3c4" data-vars-headline="D.C.&#x27;s COVID data lapse, explained" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://twitter.com/BrianneKNadeau/status/1524867652178657294" target="_blank">public</a>.

COVID

An unusually active Atlantic hurricane season could hammer the East Coast this year. That's not great news for the mid-Atlantic region, which is particularly vulnerable to heavy rains, storm surges, and high winds. 

Why it matters: While we don’t know if D.C. will be in the direct line of any future storms, we do know they can be destructive. 

If the forecast proves accurate, this would be the seventh-straight year of above-average hurricane activity. 

The big picture: NOAA is forecasting a 70% chance of 14 to 21 named storms, Axios' Andrew Freeman reports.

Three to six hurricanes will be Category 3 or greater, the agency predicts.

Zoom in: These damaging storms could wreak havoc on the coasts and beaches of Delaware, Virginia, and Maryland. 

Tropical storm Isaias, which became a hurricane, hit parts of Maryland with very strong winds and hammered D.C. with heavy rains in 2020.

Other notable storms have included Hurricane Hazel (1954), Hurricane Isabel (2003) which caused a total of $5 billion in damages, and Superstorm Sandy (2012), which left an estimated $70 billion in damages.   

Andrew thought bubble: The D.C. region is vulnerable to a variety of impacts, including tropical storms and hurricanes and torrential rain and storm surge flooding, along with high winds if a storm tracks just right. 

The most at-risk areas are east of D.C., depending on how storms travel at this latitude.

The city can also be significantly affected by the remnants of a once-powerful storm swirling up the Appalachians that can lead to heavy rain and severe thunderstorms across the area.

Chelsea's thought bubble: The first six named tropical storms and hurricanes on the list this year will be Alex, Bonnie, Colin, Danielle, Earl, and Fiona. (The process of naming hurricanes is a strict, meticulous process with the names recycled every six years.) Let's hope we don’t make it all the way down the list to Tobias or Virginie, though NOAA says that is quite possible

What this means for you: Start preparing. 

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the first six storms include tropical storms and hurricanes, and that NOAA says it is possible the 2022 season will exhaust the list of English names.

What the 2022 hurricane season has in store for D.C.

While we don’t know if D.C. will be in the direct line of any future storms, we do know they can be destructive.

Tropical storm Isaias, as seen from Woodley Park. Photo: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images.

An unusually active Atlantic hurricane season could hammer the East Coast this year. That&#x27;s not great news for the mid-Atlantic region, which is particularly vulnerable to heavy rains, storm surges, and high winds. Why it matters: While we don’t know if D.C. will be in the direct line of any future storms, we do know they can be destructive.

News

D.C.’s homeless population is aging, introducing a new and urgent set of challenges to the city’s race to end homelessness. 

Why it matters: The city has a plan to end homelessness by 2025, but six years into the effort, it’s still behind in helping individuals find housing — right at a time when more of the aging boomer population comes into the system.

By the numbers: According to the annual count, 3,403 single adults were homeless, and 39% of them were aged 55 and older.

That over-representation of seniors has been steady for years. 

The wrinkle: Unhoused seniors have far more complex health needs than their housed counterparts. 

Unhoused people in their 50s and 60s in three cities examined by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania had health conditions more akin to housed people who were 20 years older. 

Housing providers are now seeing people with cognitive and mobility challenges at ages far younger than expected, says Courtney Pladsen, director of clinical and quality improvement at the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

Pladsen cited heart disease, overdose, and late-stage cancer as leading causes of mortality for unhoused people in recent years, signs of an aging population with limited access to care. 

Zoom out: D.C. acknowledges that the aging population is straining its homeless services system. “We have not been able to move as fast as desired to create the number of new affordable and supportive housing opportunities needed for the population,” says its second plan to end homelessness released in 2021. 

District officials now plan to make a big investment in a housing model that holds promise for seniors. Will it be enough?  

Data: The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness. Chart: Axios Visuals

“I can sell a paper to a pigeon,” says Phillip Black. 

His story: Black is a vendor for Street Sense who often sells papers around Eastern Market wearing a Cat in the Hat hat. He’s 61. And he’s been on-and-off homeless since his 40s.

Black initially found himself homeless after a health crisis that landed him in the hospital for nearly two months. He says his wife left him, taking their money. 

He has struggled with the restrictions in shelters. “You always gotta follow someone else’s rules,” he says. Some housing advocates believe that shelter rules — such as those not allowing couples to room together — have made them difficult for people to stay, dispelling the idea that people are shelter-resistant and arguing that shelters are resistant to people. 

Meanwhile, as D.C. has gotten increasingly expensive, it’s been that much harder for Black to find affordable housing. 

He recently had a heart attack. He now needs heart medication and must keep up with regular doctor visits — a new complication in his pursuit of stable housing.

Zoom out: The housing model that many advocates call a gold standard for ending homelessness for citizens such as Black is known as permanent supportive housing, or PSH.

It’s a voucher program under which many chronically homeless people with a disability can get intensive case management and pick their own apartment. 

Most seniors qualify, Department of Human Services director Laura Zeilinger tells Axios. 

Last year, D.C. invested big in the approach, funding more permanent supportive vouchers through a tax hike on wealthier residents. 

Yes, but: Authorizing vouchers is one thing; actually housing people is another. 

While roughly 2,600 vouchers were matched by the end of April of this year, 600 people have moved into housing.

Meanwhile, the number of aging, unhoused seniors hasn’t budged in recent years. Both 2020 and 2021 also saw roughly 40% of unhoused people over the age of 55. 

That’s caused some to worry that most versions of PSH may not be enough to support seniors. 

“As this population grows and continues to age,” more intensive services need to be layered on to PSH, the Homelessness Policy Research Institute concluded in a 2019 report. Those cited include 24-hour crisis response, geriatric healthcare, and transportation assistance. 

D.C. does have a promising housing model — tested during the pandemic — that could be expanded and tailored for seniors, specifically. 

Context: Since the start of COVID-19, the city has been relocating medically vulnerable unhoused people over the age of 55 into hotels. 

Participants in the program, called PEP-V, receive case management and follow-up from DHS if they require home health aides or have other intensive health needs, plus meals and 24/7 security. 

735 of those people — most of them seniors — have now moved into their own homes, DHS director Zeilinger tells Axios. 

In normal times those seniors would be in shelters or on the streets while they waited for vouchers, or looked for the best permanent fit. 

Why it matters: Programs like this one have immense potential in improving the health of seniors — which in turn can help them remain in stable housing. 

At a similar initiative in Chicago, where 40% of participants were 65 and older, there was better management of hypertension and diabetes among participants, according to a 2021 study. 

Over half moved into housing following their stay. 

While D.C. doesn’t have data on health outcomes for its PEP-V pandemic-housing program, officials and advocates like what they’ve seen so far. 

What they’re saying: PEP-V was “really helpful in terms of helping people manage their medical issues,” says Catherine Crosland, medical director for homeless outreach services at Unity Healthcare. “The meals on site … people have access to their bathroom, shower … there is a sense of unity.”

The bottom line: PEP-V isn’t a long-term housing solution, but the approach can be built upon to help seniors find permanent homes. And there are providers in the city who are already showing the way.  

Andrea Reid. Photo courtesy of New Endeavors

Andrea Reid knew she couldn’t get a mastectomy while living in a shelter when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012.

Her doctors agreed, worrying that the mother of three would struggle with stress.

So, after years of bouncing between her mother’s house and shelters, Reid again returned to her mom’s. 

“Emotionally, physically, spiritually, it took a toll on me,” Reid says. 

Today, her doctor’s advice may have been different. That’s because Reid, now 59, resides in what’s known as a project-based apartment building — a souped-up type of permanent housing that is great for seniors in need of additional support. 

Zoom out: In project-based housing, more than 50% of a building is occupied by PSH voucher holders. That means case managers can more easily and efficiently work with residents. 

The city funds the vouchers, and residents can stay as long as they want. 

There are eight such facilities exclusively for seniors. 

How it works: New Endeavors, the non-profit that runs Reid’s building, has two properties specifically for women aged 55 to 75.

A case manager can help participants get on Medicare. A life skills specialist may help with medication management. 

New Endeavors’ second facility is a dorm-style arrangement, which helps ease the burden of meal prep, and offers activities such as bowling and computer access. 

In her nearly three years housed, Reid has received back-to-work training and landed a job at the USPS.

Although she recently had to resign citing strain on her back and knees, she’s now hoping to get a desk job. 

The program has also helped her set boundaries with family, and work on anger management, all of which are keeping her healthy. 

Reid says she is indebted to New Endeavors, which has helped stabilize her life. 

“The whole journey I fought through because I was homeless, I really pushed, because I love [my grandchildren] that much,” she says. 

What they’re saying: There’s little turnover in the New Endeavors programs, says Antoinette Norris, project manager at the non-profit. 

And others see the potential. “If we could do a project-based PSH site in all eight wards, I think that would be a really good way to address homelessness among individuals,” Ward 1 council member and housing committee chair Brianne Nadeau tells Axios.

The pandemic has taught the city there are ways to bring seniors in. After all, the COVID hotels-to-housing PEP-V program put 735 people — most of them age 55 and up — into permanent homes. 

“We know we need to build more project-based PSH. We’re planning for that, funding it, and continuing to do that,” DHS director Zeilinger tells Axios. 

Between the lines: The working 2023 budget would add 646 permanent housing units for individuals — which is what advocates hoped for. 

Yes, but: 146 of the new vouchers would go toward project-based housing.    

Meanwhile, PEP-V may end soon. Zeilinger says it isn’t likely to be made permanent, and it’s currently dependent upon federal funding. 

The other side: Not all seniors may want to be in a project-based building, Zeilinger says. 

“Some people may want it, but we really operate around the value of respecting people’s choices around where they want to live.” 

Some residents told Street Sense in 2021 that the COVID PEP-V program’s medical check-ins and curfews denied them some autonomy. 

Zoom out: Lessons learned from the pandemic have inspired the city to plug the gap in care for seniors in other ways.  

Earlier this year, D.C. opened its revamped 801 East shelter for unhoused men, which includes specific beds for seniors and a medical respite program that gives people who don’t need to be hospitalized a space to recover. 

“We've seen [that] being able to really provide an integrated care model with behavioral health and health care and other services on-site focused on helping people get into the kind of housing they need,” Zeilinger says. 

The bottom line: The city’s promise to make key investments in permanent supportive housing options is essential in tamping a worsening aging crisis in homelessness — but it’s dependent on actually housing seniors in places that meet their complex needs. 

This article was written with the support of a journalism fellowship from The Gerontological Society of America, The Journalists Network on Generations, and the Silver Century Foundation.

Editor's note: This piece has been updated with more current DHS data, stating that around 2,600 people received vouchers by April and 600 have moved into housing. The updated story also reflects that the fiscal 2023 budget would add 646 permanent housing units and 146 would go toward project-based housing. 

D.C.’s struggle to end homelessness is getting more complicated

The district's plan is getting more complicated by an aging population with medical concerns.

Illustration of row houses masked by the shape of Washington D.C. 

D.C.’s homeless population is aging, introducing a new and urgent set of challenges to the city’s race to end homelessness. Why it matters: The city has a plan to end homelessness by 2025, but six years into the effort, it’s still <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="behind" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/04/21/dc-latest-homelessness-numbers" data-vars-content-id="9e5997d8-622a-4f8f-a665-71e30b4d520c" data-vars-headline="D.C.’s struggle to end homelessness is getting more complicated" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/04/21/dc-latest-homelessness-numbers" target="_self">behind</a> in helping individuals find housing — right at a time when more of the aging boomer population comes into the system.

D.C. area officials are preparing to vaccinate children under the age of five who may be next in line to get their COVID-19 shots. 

Why it matters: Parents who want their little ones vaxxed, stat, will be queuing up as soon as they get the green light. 

What’s happening: A key FDA advisory committee will meet next month to consider whether to recommend authorizing both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children under five.

Both companies’ vaccines are smaller doses than the adult dose.

Details:  D.C. officials say they’re confident the vaccine will be available through its COVID Centers, pop-up vaccination clinics, and home-visiting programs. 

They also say they’ve been training staff on the next round of vaccinations and preparing to provide shots to pharmacies, pediatricians, and health centers. 

In Maryland, Prince George’s County officials say pediatricians, pharmacies, and health centers will all provide vaccines for children six months and older. The health department, which has set up clinics for the 5-and-up set, does not provide services for those under five. 

Montgomery County did not respond to inquiries by press time. 

In Virginia, both Fairfax County and Alexandria City are working to ensure providers, including pediatricians and pharmacists, are approved by the CDC to vaccine young children.

Alexandria says its city health clinics will offer the shots and is planning to bring vaccine outreach to schools and daycare centers. 

Arlington County says it's prepared to administer vaccines once authorization is granted. 

Meanwhile, here's everything you need to know about booster shots for children ages 5-11.

Those children can now receive a Pfizer booster shot if they’re five months from their second shot. 

For children, visit one of the city’s walk-up sites or make an appointment. 

D.C. COVID Centers will also provide shots, regardless of whether or not the child is a resident. 

Boosters for children in Prince George’s County can be found here and in Montgomery County, here. 

Boosters for children in Fairfax County can be found here. 

D.C. area officials prepare to vaccinate young children

A key FDA advisory committee will meet next month to consider whether to recommend authorizing both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children under five.

D.C. area officials are preparing to vaccinate children under the age of five who may be next in line to get their COVID-19 shots. Why it matters: Parents who want their little ones vaxxed, stat, will be queuing up as soon as they get the green light.

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Stories

Nationals launch summer reading program

What the 2022 hurricane season has in store for D.C.

D.C. area officials prepare to vaccinate young children

D.C.’s struggle to end homelessness is getting more complicated

D.C.'s COVID data lapse, explained

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Virginia's abortion future

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