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☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, high around 65, dipping to 42.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Rachel Goldsten!

Today’s newsletter is 1,086 words — a 4-minute read.

A new arts playground opens today in Southwest D.C., bringing theater, opera, indie films and a cocktail bar under one roof.

Why it matters: The Revada Arts Center is betting that sharing costs, audiences and resources can help local arts organizations thrive — while making D.C.'s cultural scene more adventurous.

The big picture: Three organizations will jointly run the 9,000-square-foot center a few blocks from Arena Stage: longtime local company Theater Alliance, experimental opera company IN Series and newcomer 4EYE Film Center.

• The space features a 140-seat theater, a 58-seat cinema — Southwest's only movie theater — rehearsal facilities and a cafe-bar.

Behind the scenes: Unlike traditional arts centers that rent space to independent companies, Revada's three founding organizations share leadership, equipment and financial responsibility.

• Theater Alliance executive artistic director Shanara Gabrielle says the partnership isn't born of desperation but of a belief that the organizations can accomplish more together.
• The setup could spark creative mashups, including Theater Alliance's upcoming all-Black reimagining of Sam Shepard's "Fool for Love," paired with films exploring Black cowboy culture.

What they're saying: "You can come any day of the year and walk in, and you don't know what kind of art you're going to get," Gabrielle tells Axios.

• Visitors might catch a play one night, comedy the next or an opera concert paired with a film — then linger over drinks.

Full circle: 4EYE founder Emily Lenzner previously led an unsuccessful effort to revive Cleveland Park's beloved Uptown Theater, which remains dark. Now she's opening a nonprofit cinema of her own.

• Its first series, "Made in DC," features films shot around town, including "The Exorcist," "All the President's Men" and "No Way Out."

Zoom out: Revada opens as D.C.'s performing arts scene faces upheaval, from the Kennedy Center's closure to the loss of smaller venues, including 14th Street's Source Theatre.

• Gabrielle says the region was already short on affordable arts space. "We hope we're filling a need," she says.

If you go: Revada's opening festivities include family-friendly workshops and behind-the-scenes tours tomorrow.

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D.C. could soon get tougher on reckless e-scooter and e-bike riding — and sidewalk-clogging parking jobs.

Why it matters: Deadly crashes, including an e-scooter collision this month, have heightened concerns about electric-ride safety, as the District weighs new approaches.

Driving the news: D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen is pressing the transportation department to use its upcoming permit renewals to hold shared e-scooter and e-bike companies, including Lime and Veo, more accountable for rider safety.

• The new permits are expected to take effect in the first half of 2027, his office tells Axios.

Zoom in: Allen's proposing several changes to the rules governing shared electric rides:

• Slow down on sidewalks: Cut the speed limit for sidewalk riding from 10 mph to 5 mph, while raising the roadway limit to 15 mph.
• Stop scooter dumping: And incentivize riders to park in designated areas.
• Hold bad riders accountable: Make it easier to report dangerous riding, collisions and near-misses, with consistent penalties across operators.
• Keep companies on the hook: Establish clear consequences for operators that fail to address unsafe behavior.

Friction point: DDOT is also proposing to extend operators' permits from two years to five — a change Allen worries could weaken incentives for companies to address complaints and manage their fleets responsibly.

By the numbers: This year, D.C. police reported four fatalities involving e-bikes, two involving stand-up e-scooters and three involving mopeds, as of October.

Meanwhile: Lime has announced a $17 million safety initiative in D.C., including technology to detect sidewalk riding, tandem riders and reckless maneuvers.

• The company says it's banned nearly 1,000 accounts in four weeks and is stepping up age verification, enforcement and street patrols.
• And MPD recently launched a citywide safety outreach effort through the end of the year.

What's next

🚨 State Sen. Louise Lucas, one of Virginia's most powerful Democrats, faces federal racketeering, marijuana trafficking and money laundering charges. The longtime lawmaker, who helped derail the Capitals-Wizards arena deal in Alexandria, denies wrongdoing. (Axios)

😷 A salmonella outbreak linked to Virginia's Little Wicomico Oyster Company has sickened at least 27 people in 12 states, including in the DMV (Virginia health officials report more cases). Five people have been hospitalized, according to the CDC. (WaPo)

🗳️ Arlington County is suing the Trump administration to keep armed federal agents, including ICE officers, away from polling places, citing concerns about voter intimidation. DHS says ICE isn't planning operations targeting polling sites. (WTOP)

🖋️ Federal prosecutors will retry Ward 8 Council member Trayon White on bribery charges after his first trial ended with a hung jury. Prosecutors also plan to seek a new indictment that could add charges. (WaPo)

🦒 Toys R Us, which got its start in AdMo and suffered a big-box collapse in 2018, is making a comeback in Fairfax with new, smaller-format shops. (FFXNow)

A Finnish-style sauna is coming to Arlington.

Why it matters: This isn't your typical gym sauna — Sauna Jungle will be a communal third space where people come together to socialize while sweating.

The big picture: Sauna culture is hot right now — literally — as people increasingly spend on health and wellness and look for activities that don't involve drinking.

State of play: Sauna Jungle is set to open in December in Arlington, with two large Finnish-style saunas, cold plunges, cold bucket showers and rinse stations, owner Steven Hu tells Axios.

• Expect programming like social or silent sauna days, or others reserved just for men, women or the LGBTQ+ community. (The saunas will be mixed-gender and, yes, bathing suits are required.)
• A day pass will be $50, with subscriptions starting at $99 — and the waitlist is over 3,000 people long.

What we're watching: Hu is looking at spaces for a D.C. location, which he hopes to open next year.

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Local celebs and Mayor Bowser toasted Kramers bookstore turning 50 last night.

• Steve Salis, the D.C. entrepreneur who co-founded &Pizza and now owns Kramers, hosted guests like Wolf Blitzer and Councilmember Brooke Pinto for a bash.

☕️ Fun fact: The Dupont bookshop's original innovation was putting a cafe inside a bookstore — and it used to run 24 hours.

🚗 Cuneyt is DIYing on his car after his dashboard lit up like a Christmas tree. Wish him luck.

⬆️ Anna is wishing Cuneyt luck.

📚 Mimi is OOO

This newsletter was edited by Alexa Mencia Orozco.