Throughout June, WTOP is recognizing and honoring the rich history and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community in the region. Find stories celebrating Pride on air, online and on the WTOP News app.

Despite federal cuts to HIV funding and community grant programs, the LGBTQ+ community is fighting to ensure its voices remain heard, a Human Rights Campaign executive told WTOP.

In the D.C. region, the organization is working to mobilize 5 million voters with a focus on better laws and safer schools and workplaces.

It has also launched a national playbook for elected officials and political candidates across the country, “about what is a winning issue and not falling into the traps of letting queer and trans people be scapegoats,” said Jonathan Lovitz, senior vice president of campaigns and communications of the .

Though conversations about transgender bathroom and sports policies appear in advertisements and political rallies, including during last year’s gubernatorial election in Virginia, Lovitz said the LGBTQ+ community feels heard. It’s working to ensure LGBTQ+ rights aren’t pushed to the side in the current political environment.

“The biggest thing that we have to fight right now is the erasure of our voices in the marketplace of ideas,” Lovitz said. “It’s why LGBTQ+ people have to show up in the huge numbers we’re expecting in the midterms.”

In many cases, the issues facing the LGBTQ+ community are “universal American issues,” Lovitz said, adding, “We want safe places to work, safe schools for our kids, lower prices, more affordable housing, more work opportunities.”

The organization, Lovitz said, is routinely speaking to and collaborating with members of Congress, and “there is more bipartisan courage to support equality than people realize.”

Lovitz said they’re “always grateful when Congress re-ups ,” and other pieces of legislation that address inequities.

“Even if those don’t move forward right now, to know that that is on the mind and lips and hearts of so many of the members,” Lovitz said, “who again realize that LGBTQ people live in every one of their zip codes that they oversee.”

As the midterms approach, Lovitz said LGBTQ+ issues are only a small part of what’s motivating people to vote. Instead, he said, it’s a focus on things such as the cost of living.

“You don’t think we’re heard, look at the millions and I mean tens of millions of people who are showing up at Pride events all over the country this month and are going to continue that message all summer long, right up to the midterms, to remind people we’re here, we’re queer and we are not going anywhere,” Lovitz said.

Close margins in political races across the country, Lovitz said, suggest, “people are returning back to the fold and saying we have gotten way too off the path of what really makes America work and part of that answer is making sure that everyone is included and represented to that and that includes queer people.”

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The D.C. government’s website is getting a complete revamp, a step city leaders hope will make it easier for residents, visitors and business owners to access the help they need.

The District unveiled a beta version of the new DC.gov — — and plans to have the redesigned site ready to launch before the end of the year.

The website’s overhaul is the first in more than a decade. It comes in response to feedback that it’s hard to find information on the current site without being efficient at using Google or other search tools.

“This website, it’s really going to eliminate the alphabet soup that you have to remember every day,” said Stephen Miller, the District’s chief technology officer. “So, do you need to know that it’s DPW that’s picking up your trash, or you just need to know that it’s dc.gov?”

The site is built on Drupal 11, which the city said has stronger built-in security features. It includes an integrated calendar and sections for seasonal government services.

Popular searches, based on site traffic data, will also be featured prominently on the main page.

“It’s going to show you, here’s popular services today, based on being a resident, based on being a new resident, based on being a job seeker, based on being a business owner, or based on just being a general resident of the city,” Miller said.

The project cost about $500,000 in dedicated funds.

“We’re setting this up so that you can just go in, say, ‘My trash was missed,’ and it’s going to tell you exactly how to fix that problem,” Miller said.

D.C.’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer is collecting feedback. Residents can leave comments on the beta site and at Haynes Senior Wellness Center and Eastern Market, among others, in the coming weeks.

An artificial intelligence-powered search tool, built using Google’s AI technology, will be included on the new DC.gov site after its official launch.

The District, Miller said, is “trying to clean up our content, because what we want to make sure is when we put AI into this site, it’s giving you the right information.”

“We see a lot of future use with AI,” Miller said. “I’d love to get to a point where it’s, ‘Hey Siri, renew my driver’s license,’ and we’ve laid out the foundation for something like that to happen in the future.”

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Virginia Task Force 1, which includes the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team, has been deployed, as has a similar group from California.

John Morrison, a spokesman for the Virginia suburb’s Urban Search and Rescue Team, said Thursday afternoon the State Department is still working to coordinate transportation because of potential damage to the main airport in Caracas.

The group, Morrison said, is bringing about 80 people and six dogs. To avoid requiring assistance from Venezuelan authorities, they’re traveling with 70,000 pounds of equipment, which includes shelter, food, water, rescue and medical equipment, communications gear and computers.

“We hope to get to Venezuela as quickly as possible, and then work with the local emergency management authorities to figure out where they need our capabilities and capacity the most, and go to work,” Morrison told WTOP. “And hopefully rescue some victims that are trapped in buildings after the earthquakes.”

At least 180 people have died after the earthquakes, The Associated Press reported.

The team specializes in “rescuing the deeply entombed from collapsed reinforced concrete structures post-earthquake,” Morrison said.

It was deployed to Haiti and Nepal after earthquakes in those countries, and last month, it simulated response and rescue after a large earthquake in an urban area during a joint exercise with responders from Los Angeles.

It’s unclear exactly how long Virginia Task Force 1 will remain in Venezuela. It’s dependent on how long the host government needs the extra help and resources, and “they’re the ones that would take a rescue phase and declare it a recovery phase, so we’ll be there as long as we’re needed,” Morrison said.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes injured about 1,500 people, and thousands have been reported missing, The Associated Press reported.

Fairfax County’s Fire and Rescue department sponsors Virginia Task Force 1, which has about 200 trains responders.

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Within a week of starting her job at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus in Northwest D.C., Kiesha Lewis saw a rat sprint under her office door and into a wall.

She shared the space with a colleague who was unbothered by the rodents. Lewis bought sticky rat traps and the coworker put them in corners of the office. He would often ensure the room was free of rodents before Lewis, the middle school community development coordinator, arrived.

When that coworker left the school this spring, Lewis worked from the one part of the large middle and high school campus where she never saw an animal or droppings: the front of the cafeteria.

Despite pleas to school and city leadership, Lewis said the broader issue has lingered. She isn’t planning to return to the school campus in the fall.

“Rodents do carry diseases and even if you don’t come in contact with the rodent, if you come in contact with their droppings or their urine, it has the potential to have people get sick,” Lewis told WTOP.

Lewis doesn’t know how many rats the office traps caught, because her colleague would throw them away and put down new ones, assuring her it was OK. Other co-workers, she said, shared “that this problem with the rodents has been going on for years and that it hasn’t been addressed.”

In one adult bathroom, there were holes in the walls. Sticky traps, Lewis said, were used to patch them.

She alerted the city’s Department of General Services directly, writing in a late April email that in her time at the school, “more than seven rodents have been captured in my work area alone.” She stressed that the issue isn’t related to the operations or maintenance staff, and the “situation is clearly beyond what routine maintenance can address.”

The result, she said, was a “mass trapping effort.”

In a statement, D.C. Public Schools said campuses routinely get preventive pest control services, and the school system works with the Department of General Services to “address any concerns between scheduled visits.”

The Department of General Services, meanwhile, said there have been biweekly service visits, trapping efforts and installation of bait stations at the Columbia Heights campus, home to Lincoln Multicultural Middle School and Bell Multicultural High School.

“DGS has identified gaps in existing cabinetry that may be allowing rodent movement and will begin exclusion work in July to seal these passageways and address the source of the activity,” the statement said. “DGS also identified opportunities to strengthen housekeeping and pest prevention practices and has encouraged staff to sanitize workstations daily, properly store food, and reduce clutter, particularly in areas where food is prepared and stored.”

A D.C. Health food establishment inspection report from mid-May found rodent droppings and dead insects in glue traps in the school cafeteria.

The school, Lewis said, doesn’t have a policy preventing students from eating in other parts of the campus.

“That doesn’t help their efforts to try to mitigate rodents,” Lewis said.

For students, Lewis said “it’s almost an expectation” that rodents or droppings are going to be present. Some co-workers are afraid to sound the alarm because of a fear of retaliation, she said.

The building, Lewis said, needs remediation, “not only to kill the rodents that are there, that are living in that walls and the ceiling, but also to find the points of entry.”

Lewis said she’s afraid of the rodents, so the possibility of their presence made it hard for her to concentrate. Friday will be her last day with the school.

“I have no interest of going back in the building because I do have a phobia of them,” Lewis said. “I don’t want to take the chance of seeing another one or one crawling into my belongings.”

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Mengtong Xiang learned about all the celebrations in advance of America’s 250th birthday through news reports.

Her curiosity prompted her to learn more about America250, the bipartisan organization that Congress created to help plan for and celebrate the milestone.

Inspired by the events, the Montgomery Blair High School student crafted a poem for the America’s Field Trip contest. The competition, open to kids in grades 3-12 across the country, asked students to respond to the question “What does America mean to you?”

Xiang reflected on her parents’ experiences, spent about a week crafting her submission, and then forgot about it, leveling her expectations.

But then, she got an email with “America250” in the subject line. It announced she was one of the contest’s winners.

The competition drew over 10,000 submissions, but Xiang was named one of the 250 awardees. She’s also one of five Montgomery County, Maryland, students to be recognized through the contest.

“To put it in writing and then submit it, and to receive recognition for it, it felt very rewarding,” Xiang told WTOP. “It definitely pushes me to think more about how I can share my own stories and struggles to other people, and hopefully they’re able to relate to it.”

The competition allowed students to submit either an essay or artwork.

Xiang was one of 125 first-place winners who won trips to selected places across the country. The other 125 earned $500 awards.

Winston Churchill High School’s Vivaan Samaraweera also won a first-place award at the high school level, and Angela Zhang earned a second-place award.

Naomi Song and Rithika Ayyalasomayajula were first-place winners in the grades 3 to 5 category.

Xiang titled her poem “Practice Test for the American Dream Form I Exam.” It aims to mimic a student taking an exam and draws on her parents’ lived experiences.

As immigrants, Xiang said her parents “definitely had a lot of challenges with assimilating into the culture, trying to find the balance between Chinese culture as well as American culture, as well as learning a whole new language. That’s something that was pretty much unseen by me, primarily.”

The goal, Xiang said, was to describe a feeling of always having to prove yourself. She considered how easy it is to take “your parents’ experiences for granted.”

“You can be introduced into this environment where not all the pieces fall into place for you,” she said. “There might not be opportunities that are super easily accessible to you. There might be a lot of challenges.”

After learning she was named a winner, Xiang called her dad, who had encouraged her to consider entering the contest. They celebrated the possibility of a paid-for trip to Yellowstone.

As a Maryland resident, Xiang said she’s been to many East Coast destinations, but none out west. She picked Yellowstone because it “has a lot of cool thermal features, especially like geothermal features.”

Their trip is scheduled for next month.

“Writing and expressing your thoughts on paper is a great emotional outlet, and I really got to understand myself and my family, as well as the dynamic for immigrants in the United States, better,” Xiang said.

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Virginia lawmakers approved a two-year spending plan Monday, ending months of negotiations as the deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown approached.

The Senate approved the plan with a 23-16 vote, and the House of Delegates passed it 71-22. Now, it heads to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk.

The votes end a saga that included name-calling and finger-pointing, as senators hoped to end a sales tax exemption for data centers. The House and Spanberger expressed concerns about the potential consequence of taking that step, hoping to keep existing agreements in tact.

The compromise, detailed late last week, keeps the sales tax exemption in place but calls for a new data center electricity consumption tax.

“This conference report took longer than most, but the senate conferees and I spent a lot of time trying to find the right balance between compromising with the House and the governor and having something that made the data centers pay their fair share,” Sen. Louise Lucas said. “This budget achieves that right balance, and the Senate and House and the governor’s office all had input into this final project.”

Under the approved budget, there’s an $0.011 fee per kilowatt-hour of electricity used. It’s expected to create $600 million in additional revenue in each of the next two fiscal years, according to state projections.

In a statement after both chambers approved the budget, Spanberger called the statewide energy consumption tax the first of its kind in America, and an “idea I first proposed this spring, to ensure this industry pays its fair share and does not drive up costs for Virginia families.”

At least one group, Data Center Coalition, criticized it.

While Lucas said the budget package includes protections related to noise pollution and water conservation, she stressed the details of the proposed compromise, adding “expiring the data center sales and use tax exemption would be the best plan forward. However, this conference report provides an alternative path where data centers pay their fair share to support services for Virginia and ensure structural balance.”

Separately, the package includes a 4% raise for teachers and a 3.5% raise for other state workers.

It also paves the way for Virginia to create a retail marijuana market, an effort that former Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed several times. The marketplace, Spanberger said during an announcement last week, will open July 1, 2027. There will be 350 retail licenses available, though they won’t all be available at once.

“There’s a lot of good in the budget as it relates to pay raises for teachers, pay raises for our state employees, some much needed investments in our infrastructures and things of that nature, as well as raising the standard deduction,” Del. Terry Kilgore said Monday.

The plan increases the standard deduction to $9,200 for single filers and $18,400 for joint filers.

The debate over the tax exemption for data centers, which isn’t scheduled to expire until 2035, escalated in recent weeks. In a social media post, Lucas referred to Spanberger as “Data Center Diva” and House Speaker Don Scott as “Amazon Don.”

For weeks, Virginia faced its first ever government shutdown as July 1 approached. In a statement, Spanberger called the budget a compromise and added, “Failing to pass a budget would have been unprecedented in the history of our Commonwealth — and it was never an option.”

If Spanberger proposes changes to the budget package, lawmakers would have to return to Richmond for another special session.

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William Kinne’s mom was a safety patrol while she was a student in Fairfax County, and he admired his older sister, who served as a safety patrol at Canterbury Woods Elementary School where he attends.

He described her efforts as “cool,” and noticed she emerged as a leader on the Annandale school campus. He hoped to be a leader too.

Kinne filled out an application and received a recommendation from a teacher. He eventually emerged as one of the over 100 kids at the school who seek to help during the bus and car arrival and dismissal process in the mornings and afternoons.

On Tuesday night, Kinne was recognized as AAA’s Safety Patroller of the Year. It marks the second consecutive year a student at the school has received the honor.

“I get to know that I’m making a difference in my school and keeping people safe,” Kinne told WTOP.

As a sixth grader, Kinne finished his last-ever safety patrol shift Wednesday afternoon. He shouted call numbers into a crowd of students, escorting them to their parents’ cars and wishing them a great summer break.

In the mornings, he oversaw the unloading process and stopped cars in line from moving when students need to cross the street to enter the school building. In the afternoons, he shouted numbers and alerted school staff if a student hadn’t responded to being called.

Other safety patrols ride the bus and report anything of concern to the driver. Some hold signs so students know where their bus is physically located or work with crossing guards to make sure kids are crossing safely.

“They listen to him,” Principal Leslie Malkowski said. “You can tell that he is a leader because the way he can talk to the students and the way that they respond when he says something just shows that he has that natural leadership.”

School staff is still struck by how Kinne handled working with students in the aftermath of January’s winter storm, which left snowcrete behind. Some kids picked up the snow and threw it at cars, Kinne said.

“One time I had to jump in front of a car, so it would stop for the kids, because they couldn’t really see them, so that was kind of scary,” he said.

In another instance, school was dismissed early “for some crazy wind, and for that, we kind of had to rush everyone out, which got a little crazy,” Kinne said.

The school’s safety patrol sponsor recommended Kinne for the AAA award as he was honored during the sixth grade promotion ceremony. School leaders learned about the recognition in advance, as did his parents.

But when Kinne stood up to accept the award, he was overcome with joy.

“His peers all erupted and cheered for him, because you could tell that he’s very deserving, and all of his peers felt the same,” Malkowski said.

Meanwhile, his mom, Lauren Kinne, said the experience as a safety patrol helped Will realize the importance of helping others.

“Being kind, being helpful, being empathetic are just some of the most important qualities you can have,” Lauren Kinne said.

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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced a deal Tuesday to allow retail marijuana sales across the Commonwealth starting next summer, a step some advocates say will help the illicit market begin to dissipate.

During a news conference, Spanberger, Del. Paul Krizek and Sen. Lashrecse Aird called their agreement a compromise. Retail sales would begin July 1, 2027, and there’d be 350 retail licenses available across the state, though they all wouldn’t be rolled out at once.

The fate of the plan is dependent on the state’s ongoing budget process, but Aird expressed optimism that an agreement can be reached before the start of the new fiscal year next month. The plan comes after former Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed the idea twice, and Spanberger did the same after the General Assembly rejected her proposed amendments.

Rodney Holcombe, vice president of public policy and communications at the marijuana wholesale platform LeafLink, said the longer the wait to establish a retail market, “the more entrenched the illicit market gets.”

“We can advance efforts to go after and shut down illicit operations and illicit stores, but I mean, to some degree, it’s a game of whack-a-mole,” Holcombe said. “You, of course, need to provide an alternative to consumers, and that alternative is the regulated market. Let’s give consumers an opportunity to purchase legal, tested, age-gated products.”

The agreement detailed Tuesday calls for a 6% state tax on marijuana products, increasing to 8% in 2029. Local jurisdictions will also have the ability to introduce an additional tax of 1-3.5%. Still, Holcombe said the total tax rate for Virginia’s plan is about 14.8%, “and what we see in some jurisdictions is that they go much further than that 14.8%, so much so that it deters legal market purchases.”

Initially, Spanberger had proposed making the penalty for public consumption a Class 4 misdemeanor. Under the updated plan, though, it would be a $250 civil fine starting next year, up from the current $25 civil fine.

Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of the group Marijuana Justice, said it’s the result of conversations comparing cannabis to alcohol.

“There are racial disparities where Black and low-income people, unhoused people, renters feel this fine the most, and when people are not able to pay their fines and fees, what happens with those collateral consequences?” Wise said. “We do see a space for there to be shifting, but we’re still really concerned that this is a conversation we’re having to revisit again.”

Wise said the compromise is “something that we can support,” touting the removal of many of the criminal penalties from the plan and redistribution into Cannabis Equity Reinvestment fund, a program that invests money in communities harmed by previous marijuana enforcement.

In a statement, JM Pedini, executive director of Virginia’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana laws, said, “This compromise represents a meaningful step toward bringing Virginia’s cannabis laws in line with public opinion and moving the Commonwealth closer to a marketplace that consumers have long demanded.”

In a news release, Spanberger said revenue from marijuana sales will be used for K-12 education, early childcare and education and behavioral health and public health programs.

Maryland, according to the State Comptroller’s Office, brought in about $26 million in tax revenue from marijuana sales from January to March. There’s a 12% state tax on those sales in Maryland.

Meanwhile, in a statement, JM Pedini, executive director of Virginia’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana laws, said, “This compromise represents a meaningful step toward bringing Virginia’s cannabis laws in line with public opinion and moving the Commonwealth closer to a marketplace that consumers have long demanded.”

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Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced Tuesday a plan for a retail marijuana marketplace to open in the commonwealth, a deal described as a compromise after months of ongoing discussions.

As part of the agreement, the marketplace will open July 1, 2027. The state tax on cannabis products will begin at 6% and increase to 8% in 2029.

The plan, which is tied to the state’s lingering budget process, comes after Spanberger vetoed the proposal that made it through the General Assembly. But the conversations continued, and the latest legislation will be included in any budget package that Spanberger reviews.

Though the concept of a legalized marijuana market had previously passed in Richmond, former Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed the idea twice.

“In the end, we all wanted to deliver a marketplace that the Commonwealth could implement effectively for the long term,” Spanberger said at a news conference. “We have always had this same end goal, an end goal that has been years in the making.”

In one of the biggest differences, the plan unveiled Tuesday includes a $250 civil penalty for public consumption, which will go into effect next year. That’s an increase from the current fine, but Spanberger had initially proposed making public consumption a Class 4 misdemeanor.

There will be 350 retail locations across the commonwealth, the same number that elected officials agreed upon in the vetoed legislation. Spanberger proposed reducing that to 200, but the new agreement restores the 350 licenses and calls for a phased approach, so they all won’t be released initially.

The shift, state Sen. Lashrecse Aird said, gives the retail market “a real opportunity to meet demand across Virginia.”

By not releasing 350 all at once or right away, Aird said, “it will allow us to assess, geographically and otherwise, the regulators that is, how that should be rolled out.”

Virginia’s Cannabis Control Authority will be tasked with overseeing the process.

Local jurisdictions, Del. Paul Krizek said, will be able to install a 1-3.5% tax on cannabis products.

Part of the agreement, Aird said, includes a focus on “emphasizing enforcement of individuals that will bring harm to young people.”

Spanberger echoed that sentiment, adding, “The place where we clearly found common ground was in ensuring that the penalties are significant and clear for those who sell to underage young people.”

Under the deal, Virginians will be able to buy up to 2 ounces of marijuana per transaction.

While lawmakers had hoped to start the market Jan. 1, the new agreement allows for retail stores to operate beginning July 1, 2027.

The deal includes strict testing and safety standards and calls for a geographically balanced approach in determining where the stores will be located.

Meanwhile, the plan calls for the authority to give out up to 100 microbusiness licenses by May 1, 2027, a step Krizek said is key to ensure small businesses aren’t an afterthought.

A Cannabis Impact Business Support Team will help “businesses and communities most affected by past cannabis enforcement,” Krizek said.

Krizek previously told WTOP some studies have found that a legalized marijuana marketplace could produce about $100 million annually. Revenue will be used to help pay for early childcare and education, K-12 schools and behavioral health programs for substance use disorder prevention and treatment programs, among other things, according to a news release.

After the General Assembly passed the framework earlier this year, Spanberger returned it with dozens of amendments. State leaders opposed over 40 of them and sent it back to her desk, prompting her to veto the plan.

The new agreement is tied Virginia’s ongoing budget process. Lawmakers remain at odds over whether to end a sales tax exemption for data centers.

Asked about the fate of the plan being tied to the budget, Aird cited a Tuesday morning Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee meeting and said, “I believe that the Senate is very much interested in also getting us a budget and that we have shared goals on how to get there.”

Lawmakers are working to approve a new budget package before July 1 to prevent the commonwealth’s first-ever partial government shutdown.

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The company’s parent app, called Stopfinder, uses GPS technology to track the buses. Parents receive an invitation from the school district and then download the app. Anyone who downloads the app and tries to use it without an invitation won’t be able to.

During a committee meeting in November, Arlington school officials discussed ways to improve the bus routing system. The software they previously used had been in place for over a decade, according to school board documents.

The change comes after the previous software delayed sending routing information to families and schools, and operated an inefficient routing process.

Nearby Loudoun County Public Schools and Baltimore and Anne Arundel County schools in Maryland are among the D.C.-area districts that use Transfinder, President and CEO Antonio Civitella told WTOP.

“We would like to extend our appreciation to our Superintendent, members of our School Board, Cabinet, and our Assistant Superintendent of Facilities and Operations for supporting this partnership,” Lance Johnson, Arlington Public Schools’ executive director of transportation and fleet services, said in a statement. “We are excited about the opportunities it brings and look forward to enhancing our level of service.”

The Stopfinder app, which is free for parents, allows families to sign up for various alerts, including a notification for when the bus is 10 or 15 minutes away from the pickup spot.

Last year, over 200 million alerts were sent to parents. More than 2,500 school systems across North America use the tech, Civitella said.

If a school bus is taking attendance, parents can sign up for notifications when a student gets on or off the bus.

“Parent apps have a tendency of having high friction,” Civitella said. “Friction means you have to register, you have to know kids’ IDs and so forth, and so there’s a low adoption rate. What we did, we want to make it frictionless.”

Separately, through a process called trip absorption, the company’s tech can be used to help find quick solutions when certain drivers aren’t working on any given day, he said.

“Two, three drivers are out today. Well, how do I consolidate just for today?” Civitella said. “How do you let our routing algorithm say, ‘Hey, I don’t want this to happen all the time. Today, let’s consolidate some routes.’”

The company’s Routefinder Plus technology, meanwhile, helps school divisions create the safest bus routes for students. It considers ways to minimize having kids cross the street to get on or off the bus using artificial intelligence optimization.

“We also consider the approach,” Civitella said. “Approaching a stop at the kid’s house, maybe it’s faster to come from the north. But if the kid’s on that side, it’s important to create a stop that the kid doesn’t have to cross the street. Those are really our superpower when it comes to optimization.”

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When Kaelyn MacKay was 8 years old, her mom wanted her to learn about self-defense.

So she learned Brazilian jiu-jitsu, competing locally and working her way up. She did it for eight years, but then had the realization that jiu-jitsu isn’t an option in college.

As she started classes at McLean High School, MacKay considered wrestling. The competitions are similar, she said.

She debated joining the boys’ wrestling team her freshman year, but “my dad didn’t want me to join the boys’ team,” MacKay said.

Two years later, Fairfax County made girls’ varsity wrestling a new sports option. MacKay was eager to join and did, becoming part of a cohort of first-ever team members across the Northern Virginia suburb.

Now, MacKay and two other students who were part of the inaugural teams have been recruited to compete in college. She called the new sports opportunity “a golden ticket.”

“Girls should have the same chance as anybody else,” MacKay said. “Wrestling is a very inclusive sport. You can be any shape or size, so it’s very impactful for all girls. You don’t have to be a certain type of person to try wrestling, anybody can do it.”

MacKay will wrestle at Ithaca College, as will Oakton High graduate Kate Crockett.

Crockett started wrestling at the end of eighth grade and knew she wanted to continue in high school, expecting it would help with focus and time management. She anticipated the hourslong practices and ability relies on a team that would help shape her high school experience.

When Crockett initially joined Oakton’s wrestling team, many of the tournaments were co-ed. There were four girls total her first year, but this school year, with girls’ varsity its own category, there were 13.

Some girls, Crockett said, were hesitant to join the sport because they didn’t think they’d have a place.

The countywide change enabled Crockett to participate in more tournaments.

“Sometimes, people have a misconception about girls’ wrestling, thinking that it’s less challenging and less competitive and overall discredit the amount of work that a lot of the girls put in,” Crockett said. “Just because it’s smaller, that doesn’t mean it’s not as hard and that doesn’t mean that we don’t work as hard in order to accomplish our goals.”

Lewis High School graduate Ashley Lopez similarly considered wrestling as a way to navigate stress and establish a routine. Initially, “it was mostly like I would compete against boys,” she said.

There were about three girls on the team when she started, but Lopez said after the change, it’s becoming more appealing.

“The legacy we’re leaving behind is that girls can also wrestle,” Lopez said. “We can also do it, too. We work just as hard. We are all wrestlers in the sport.”

Lopez will be wrestling at Marymount University after connecting with the coach there during a recruitment camp.

Jason Planakis, head wrestling coach at Lewis High School, said there are an increasing number of girls-only tournaments and expanding collegiate opportunities.

The amount of time it took for girls’ wrestling to become its own varsity sport was frustrating, he said, but “that’s what it was, and we’re here now, so we’re all pretty excited that everybody has the opportunity.”

Courtesy Fairfax County Public Schools

Courtesy Fairfax County Public Schools

Courtesy Fairfax County Public Schools

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The hourslong hearing, called “Breaking Trust: Attacks on Parental Rights, Inappropriate Content, and Legal Abuses in America’s Schools,” brought school leaders from Loudoun, Chicago and San Francisco to the Capitol.

Loudoun County Superintendent Aaron Spence faced several questions about the division’s policy for intimate facilities, which allows students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity instead of biological sex. In an interview with WTOP after the hearing, Spence said he was “a little saddened by some of the questions, but also hopeful by some of the conversation.”

During one exchange, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) told Spence the division allows “men to use the women’s restroom over and over and over again, and you can argue insanely whether that’s OK or not.”

Separately, Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) referenced an incident at Stone Bridge High School, during which two male students reported that a transgender student who identified as male allegedly filmed them in a boys’ locker room. The two male students were later suspended for sexual harassment.

“You are extremely weak, pathetic, and thank God my children didn’t go to your school,” McClain told Spence.

“One of the sort of continuous themes was this kind of mantra of boys’ and girls’ bathrooms, and when we ask that question about why are boys and girls bathrooms, what we’re saying is that transgender people don’t exist, and I’m not going to be somebody that ‘others’ people out of existence,” Spence told WTOP.

Spence similarly faced questions about how the division notifies families when an overdose occurs on a school campus, how it responds to sexual assaults and the case of PE teacher Byron Tanner Cross, who was placed on leave for refusing to address transgender students by their preferred pronouns.

The district has been the subject of several federal Education Department investigations. Most recently, in May, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched a Title IX investigation into allegations of unauthorized recording in a Freedom High School bathroom.

Referencing the several federal investigations, Spence said, “Much and most of that remains unresolved, and without getting into sort of the specifics of individual investigations, I’m concerned about the factual basis for some of the findings. I’m concerned that some of the findings are in direct conflict with federal law, and we’re going to continue to work through those to resolutions, and then make adjustments as necessary.”

Anytime there’s an incident on a school campus, Spence said the division launches an investigation to “understand the facts,” responds in accordance with its policies and evaluates where any changes would be needed.

Citing the policy that allows kids to pick bathrooms based on gender identity, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) accused the division of “child abuse and neglect,” an assertion he first made Tuesday night in an interview with WJLA.

“I find that to be a horrific, indefensible allegation,” Spence said. “It’s meritless, it’s not based in fact, it’s not based in any sort of reality. Clearly, it’s trying to score political points, and frankly, it was inappropriate.”

Asked if he had any regrets about the division’s handling of high-profile incidents, Spence said, “No, I really feel strongly that as we comply with federal law, we are really one of the best school divisions in the country with making sure that we’re working alongside our parents to know that their child will be safe, to know that we will work with them to address their concerns.”

Spence is finishing his third school year with the school division and had his contract extended in 2025. He cited the existence of family liaisons in school buildings and the creation of a family and community engagement office as steps the division is taking to help build and maintain trust with families.

“I recognize the challenges that come with this job, and I’m willing to take on those challenges so that we can do the good work of educating kids,” Spence said. “Would I prefer not to have to testify in front of Congress on these issues? Of course. But am I OK with doing it? Yes, I have the opportunity to represent our schools and all of the good work that we’re doing.”

Loudoun County’s schools were thrust into the national spotlight during former Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s 2021 gubernatorial campaign. Spence said the school division doesn’t want to be “the face of these issues,” speculating it could be getting national attention because of the proximity to D.C. or “because some of the authors of Project 2025 said that they thought Loudoun County needed to be burned down.”

Nonetheless, Spence said, “We should be hopeful about our schools and not be focused on things that aren’t really what’s happening in our schools on a day-to-day basis.”

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The Alexandria City Council is scheduled to weigh in this weekend on a plan to turn an old power plant in Old Town North into a 2.5 million square foot mixed-use development featuring housing, restaurants and new parks.

The council was briefed on a proposed $135 million, 30-year financing plan for the project Tuesday. A vote could come Saturday.

The old Potomac River Generating Station closed over a decade ago, and HRP Group purchased the property in late 2020.

During a Planning Commission meeting last week, the developer described plans for a multiphase project that would transform the area along the Potomac River.

“This is a big moment for our city,” Ken Wire, an attorney representing HRP Group, said during the meeting.

“I’ve been here 20 years. I have an office, a small business in Old Town North, about six blocks away from here, and I’ve been watching this project for the past 14 years.”

The proposal would divide the nearly 19-acre site into several sections. One would feature an arts and cultural center, which would also have offices and retail space. Another would have condos and apartment buildings, and the third would also have condo and rental towers.

Some of the housing in the project will meet the city’s affordable housing threshold, Wire said.

There would be a two-level underground parking garage connecting two of the sections, with over 900 spaces and 136 tandem parking spots, according to city documents.

Through the use of solar panels, the area has set a 3% goal for on-site energy generation. It would also include EV charging stations and a Capital Bikeshare access.

The plan calls for the creation of a waterfront park, which would have about three acres of new park space and upgrades to nearby land that the National Park Service oversees.

Another park would feature athletic fields, playgrounds and a renovated guard house with public bathrooms. The concept also calls for dog parks.

If the council approves the funding plan, work on the first phase of the project could start next year. HRP Group has submitted a plan that would allow the power plant to be demolished while construction begins on another part of the parcel.

“The process will start, of course, with the painstaking abatement and deconstruction of the power plant, which 14 years after shuttering still looms over our waterfront and the Mount Vernon Trail,” said Melissa Schrock, executive vice president of mixed-use development at HRP Group.

Some residents have expressed concern about the demolition process and the impact it could have on the surrounding neighborhood.

Bill DePew, an Old Town North resident, said it’s a “heavily contaminated site with significant unknowns about what lies in and under the power plant, or in those areas not already sampled.”

William Hamm, meanwhile, said the traffic study conducted as part of project planning uses data from 2022, which still reflected traffic patterns in the aftermath of the pandemic.

“It is essential for this commission to understand the impact that the proposed redevelopment project will have on traffic flows on the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the city streets that feed into it,” Hamm said.

Martha Harris questioned the project’s timeline, suggesting “the next few years will see two 17-story buildings constructed with no clarity about … an anchor arts tenant, who it might be and where it will be located.”

Harris also pushed back on the number of affordable housing units that will be available, adding “only 19 units, all rentals, will be provided in these two high-rise buildings that will be constructed in this first stage of development.”

According to city documents, the project’s first phase, which includes deconstruction of the power plant, environmental abatement and condo and apartment construction, has to start by Dec. 31, 2027, and be done by Dec. 31, 2030.

Construction on the second phase, which features the arts and cultural anchor spaces, has to start by 2030 and be done by Dec. 31, 2034. The city manager can extend those deadlines for up to two years.

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State senators voted to end the tax break, a step that the House of Delegates rejected. Gov. Abigail Spanberger has said the state needs to honor its existing agreements but called for data centers to pay what she has described as their “fair share.”

As July 1, the start of fiscal 2027, approaches, Virginia could be facing its first-ever partial government shutdown. However, one source familiar with the budget negotiations said an agreement is likely to be reached before the deadline.

The House of Delegates is planning to return for a special session on June 18. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene on June 22.

The debate is solely about whether data centers should continue to get a tax break on equipment and software. Because more data centers are popping up across the commonwealth and many are updating chips and equipment with the emergence of artificial intelligence, supporters for ending the exemption said it’s costing the state nearly $2 billion in revenue.

The exemption is scheduled to end in 2035, but senators want to end it sooner.

On Friday, Sen. Louise Lucas and House Appropriations Chair Luke Torian met with Spanberger to create a plan for a final budget. But after that meeting, Lucas said the governor and House “decided that they did not want to alter the freeloading policy for data centers.”

In a post on the , Lucas said she proposed several consequences, but “Data Center Diva and Amazon Don couldn’t understand that this is about the policy — fair taxation and protecting our resources and citizens.”

Torian, meanwhile, said in a statement that the House is committed to working toward a budget agreement.

Spanberger said she’s confident “that General Assembly leadership will get a bill on my desk that I can sign on time. Because there is no other option — those responsible for funding our government have an obligation to deliver.”

Some lawmakers have mentioned the idea of a “skinny budget” that would cover essential government services. In a t, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell referred to the concept as a “DC-style” continuing resolution and said it would be a step “instead of resolving difficult problems & making choices between teachers and data centers.”

Could marijuana marketplace plan be revived in budget talks?

After the General Assembly rejected her changes to the legislation that would have created a legalized marijuana marketplace in Virginia, Spanberger vetoed the plan.

However, it might be revived through the budget process.

Speaking to reporters at an event Monday, Spanberger said she’s had ongoing conversations with the lawmakers who proposed the bill, according to WVTF Richmond Bureau Chief Brad Kutner.

“We have the shared priorities of wanting to have a legal framework for a recreational market that can make sense of where we are today, that can put real constraints and guidelines on a market, with ensuring that we are working in the best interest of Virginians, certainly protecting kids, ensuring public safety and community priorities, but also ensuring that we have clear rules of the road,” Spanberger said.

She declined to offer an exact timeline and didn’t disclose whether the marketplace could move forward as part of budget talks or next year, when the General Assembly returns for its regular legislative session.

Some state officials have said revenue from the marketplace plan had been included in projections for the fiscal 2027 budget.

The plan passed in Richmond would have had the retail marketplace opening Jan. 1. Anyone 21 or older would be able to buy marijuana and there’d be 350 retail stores across the commonwealth.

Spanberger, though, called for retail sales to begin July 1, 2027, and introduced several changes to criminal penalties tied to marijuana possession. Public consumption is currently a civil penalty, but Spanberger proposed changing it to a Class 4 misdemeanor.

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As Heather Williams takes nursing students on tours through the halls of Wakefield High School, she makes a point of showing them red boxes mounted on the walls.

They contain naloxone, which has increasingly become available in D.C.-area schools. She also explains the Arlington school district allows kids to carry the opioid overdose treatment if their parents provide permission.

In the years since a Wakefield student died after a suspected overdose in the school bathroom, Williams has worked to gain students’ trust, warn them about the dangers of opioid use and connect them with any medical services they may need.

Last year, she connected over 100 kids with community health providers and administered 271 vaccines.

In May, Williams, a public health nurse finishing her fifth year at Wakefield, was recognized as Virginia’s Nurse of the Year. The honor came from Virginia’s Department of Health.

“I’m just showing up consistently and making my clinic a safe space for these students, and so they see my face every day,” Williams said.

“I’m able to listen to them. I’m able to recognize when they may have some needs, whether they may be health needs, mental health needs, whatever their needs are, I’m trying to meet those needs.”

Many mornings, without an ailment and before the school day starts, Williams said students visit the clinic to greet her. If she’s off campus on any given day, they ask where she was.

Those relationships, Williams said, stem from “listening to them, non-judgmental, meeting them where they’re at, not judging them for anything, and just educating them on the level that they need.”

Each day, Williams administers medications and vaccines and helps care for students with chronic health care needs. In some cases, she is the first or only medical provider a student will see, because “some families might not have the legal status or health insurance or a medical home to quickly call the doctor and say, ‘Hey, I’m sick, I broke my arm, my tooth hurts, I need to go to the dentist,'” Williams said.

In 2023, facing a rise in youth opioid overdoses and the death of student Sergio Flores, Williams said it was clear there needed to be a focus on education, offering students age-appropriate educational materials and connecting them to community resources they might need.

“If I can build trust with the community, especially with teens or adolescents, I can build that trust and give them the tools or the education that they need to make life saving decisions,” Williams said.

Through that work, Williams said she warned students against taking candy or cookies from friends. She also emerged as a confidant for some, recognizing that they felt more comfortable with her than family members or friends.

Outside of the school’s campus, Williams mentors teen moms and is a community engagement coordinator with the Arlington Addiction Recovery Initiative. She was part of several events that emphasized overdose prevention and harm reduction, according to a news release.

“Being able to just see their smiles, to know that I am their safe person in that building, that is all it takes for me,” Williams said.

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