Friday eve!

⛅ Today's weather: Partly sunny. High 66, low 52.

🎂 Happy birthday to our members Nina Ravi and John Barry!

Today’s newsletter is 1,104 words — a 4-minute read.

A new poll paints a nuanced picture of Washington: A region its residents love, but often find difficult to live in.

Why it matters: Three of the main drivers of whether a Washingtonian is "thriving" — jobs, housing and a lack of economic stress — are exactly the areas where many locals are struggling, according to a Gallup poll of locals conducted earlier this year.

The big picture: While just over half of DMV residents (52%) say they're "thriving" — higher than the national average of 48% — 44% say they're struggling and 4% suffering, according to the poll.

Zoom in: People who live in Arlington and Alexandria (61%) and Loudoun County (59%) are most likely to be thriving. 53% say so in D.C.

• Less than half the people in Prince George's (47%) and the Fairfax area (48%) say they're thriving.
• And homeowners are considerably more likely to be thriving than renters — 57% versus 45%, a 12-point gap.

State of play: The poll looked at specific issues affecting Washingtonians, such as:

✂️ Federal cuts

The majority of Washingtonians (55%) say they or someone in their household were negatively impacted by federal job cuts or furloughs in the past year.

• Cuts hit hardest in D.C. (66%) and Arlington and Alexandria (62%).

Most people in households earning over $90,000 or more say their household was impacted, compared to 48% of those earning below $90,000.

• Meanwhile, 14% of locals say they or someone in their household used a social service like a food bank or job placement help for the first time in the past year.

🎯 Job market

Locals' opinions of the DMV job market have "deteriorated dramatically" since 2023, when 65% of Washingtonians rated the availability of jobs as "good" or "excellent."

• That's dropped to 51% as of this year.
• Geography plays a factor: Only 35% of respondents in Prince George's and 41% in D.C. said they would rate the availability of good jobs highly, as opposed to 64% in the Fairfax area and 67% in Loudoun.

🏠 Housing

Washingtonians are fed up with the housing market.

• Only 11% of respondents rated the availability of affordable housing as good/excellent.

And a third of Washingtonians are "somewhat" or "very worried" about paying their rent or mortgage.

• Prince George's has the highest concentration (45%).

Zoom out: While most don't plan to leave the area, 14% plan to leave in the next year and 16% are unsure.

• The reason? Primarily the increased cost of living (59%) and housing or rent (58%).

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President Trump is shaking up the federal government's role in cleaning the Chesapeake Bay — with potential consequences for the D.C. region.

Why it matters: The Potomac is the Bay's second-largest tributary, and governments have spent decades working together to curb pollution flowing into it.

• Now, Trump's order raises questions about the federal money, manpower and oversight behind that work.

Driving the news: Trump last week revoked a 2009 Obama-era order that expanded federal coordination around Chesapeake protection and restoration.

• His new order directs the EPA to prioritize "on-the-ground" projects that cut pollution — think trees that keep fertilizer out of waterways.
• It also targets local stormwater fees — which Trump calls "rain taxes" — directing the EPA to assess their costs and encourage localities to repeal them.

The rationale: It fits Trump's broader push to scale back federal environmental regulations, which his administration says will lower costs and give states more control.

Reality check: The order doesn't end the Chesapeake cleanup, eliminate federal pollution limits or repeal local stormwater fees.

Zoom in: Pollution entering the Bay has declined — and critical grasses are rebounding — but there's work to do.

• Environmental groups like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation say that federal coordination helped produce progress — and that weakening it could jeopardize those gains.

Maryland's entire congressional delegation — including Republican Rep. Andy Harris — opposed the move, saying the old order provided "vital federal resources."

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⚖️ Jury deliberations began yesterday in Council member Trayon White's bribery trial. And not without controversy: Prosecutors say a member of the public engaged in "improper contact with a juror." (WTOP)

🤦‍♂️ Alexandria overspent millions on running its free public DASH buses. The apparent culprit? A spreadsheet error. "There must be accountability for what happened," said board chair David Kaplan, though there weren't any hints of stolen money. (WaPo)

🤖 Declaring that "people are fed up," Maryland Gov. Wes Moore yesterday signed strict new rules for data centers. A new task force will review each project and publicize plans on an online dashboard, plus there's new requirements around local hiring. (WTOP)

There's another fringe Partiful shindig happening this weekend in D.C., but this one is for *checks notes* … people who really love data centers?

Why it matters: Data After Dark: A Pro-Data Center Party is going down amid a nationwide pushback against data center construction.

State of play: The party, happening Saturday at PubKey — aka D.C.'s "crypto-bro clubhouse" — has 900 people expected to attend, co-organizer Jonas Du tells Axios.

• Du originally planned to host the party at his Shaw rowhouse, but it went viral after organizers posted it online.
• Now it's sponsored by groups like the '76 Crew, the Manhattan Institute, the Bitcoin Policy Institute, and several AI companies, says Du.

What they're saying: The gathering is a response to the "bipartisan psychosis over data centers," says Du, a tech journalist at Pirate Wires.

• So, uh, what exactly happens at a data center party? "We just want to have a good time and celebrate American AI and American computing dominance," says Du. "I don't think it's too much deeper than that."
• Expect cocktails like a Loudoun County Iced Tea, a SMR-tini, and a Closed Loop Spritz, plus a photo booth that turns you into an AI image.

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Metro riders can start collecting limited-edition Smart Trip cards today celebrating 50 years.

Why it matters: Think Pokémon for Metro nerds.

Zoom in: Five gold-tinted designs, each highlighting a decade of Metro, will drop every two weeks through Nov. 19.

• About 20,000 of each will be sold at select stations.

The bottom line: Collectibles aside, can we go back to "SmarTrip"?

🍂 Anna is embracing sweater weather.

📕 Cuneyt is reading "Wiseguy," the nonfiction book that inspired "Goodfellas."

📚 Mimi is interviewing former Stephen Colbert producer Carly Hillman about her novel, "The Refuge," tonight at East City Bookshop — come hang!

Today's newsletter was edited by Alexa Mencia Orozco.