Downtowner D.C.
By • June 10, 2025 0 114
Poker, Blackjack, Bingo Licenses in D.C.’s Future?
In her budget for fiscal 2026, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed allowing commercial poker, blackjack and bingo in District hotels and restaurants as a means of raising revenue for city government. Her initial plan is to make two-year licenses available from the District Office of Lottery and Gaming. There would be a $5,000 application fee as well as a $2,000 charge for each location where a business would offer card games or bingo.
Bowser Ends Support for Sanctuary City Law
Mayor Bowser, who previously supported D.C.’s status as a sanctuary city, has since backed down in the wake of the Trump administration’s ramping up of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids here. According to the District Council, which has the final say, the mayor’s proposed budget includes repeal of the law prohibiting the Metropolitan Police Department from working with ICE to detain undocumented immigrants.
Ex-Ken Cen Head Calls Foul on Grenell
Deborah F. Rutter stands in front of the Kennedy Center, where she previously served as president. Courtesy Kennedy Center.
In an interview with NBC4’s Tommy McFly, ousted Kennedy Center President Deborah F. Rutter responded to accusations by her Trump-named successor, Richard Grenell, that the Kennedy Center engaged in “criminal” financial mismanagement. “I don’t know what information he was given, and I don’t know anything that has happened since Feb. 12 to May 19,” said Rutter, “but it’s just not true.” The board committees “had full transparency.”
District Has Top Big-City Park System
The park system in Washington, D.C., was rated the best of any major U.S. city, according to the 2025 ParkScore index of the Los Angeles-based Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit. The District has landed in the top spot for five consecutive years. Coming in second through fourth: Irvine, California; Minneapolis; and Cincinnati. Twenty-one percent of D.C.’s land is reserved for parks, among the highest percentage in the nation.
Next-Gen DC Streetcar Is … a Bus?
The sole DC Streetcar line, in operation since 2016, will become an electric bus route. Mayor Bowser called the bus a “next-generation streetcar.” District leaders have been touting buses — a lower-cost alternative to rail systems — as the future of a broader regional transportation network due to recent cuts to federal funding. The mayor’s proposed budget zeroes out the streetcar after two more years, per the Washington Post.
All Aboard the Trump Train?
The Make Autorail Great Again Act, a bill introduced on May 29 by U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Florida Republican, would withhold federal funding to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority until D.C.’s Metrorail system is rebranded as the “Trump Train,” honoring the 45th and 47th president. A press release from Steube’s office said the bill “represents more than a name change” and is a “mandate for performance and transformation.”
