Washington, DC (7News) — Tens of thousands of people flooded H Street in D.C. on Saturday for the H Street Festival, which started nearly 20 years ago.
Last year when 7News covered the festival, some local business owners were concerned about their daily operating hours. 7News reported on a string of burglaries in the area and a 25 percent jump in violent crime.
7News spoke to Deonte Gaines on H Street, as he attended his first H Street Festival.
READ|’Where is our help?’: H Street business owners seeking answers from Bowser safety summit
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“It’s great to see a bunch of different cultures out here a bunch of different vendors promoting their businesses,” Gaines said.
The thousands of people and lines of vendors told 7News that the H Street Festival is a reflection of the growth and changes in the area.
Neb Daniel opened the Focus Social Club on H Street three years ago.
“I think overall in D.C. it has been a lot better than last year, “ Daniel said. “But specifically on H Street none of my employee’s cars have been broken into. Customers have not really been complaining.”
READ|2nd business leaving H Street Corridor in a month, community leaders working to slow trend
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Daniel said he chose to open the focus social club on H Street because of the corridor’s history. He said the business had concerns last year.
This year, the Metropolitan Police Department’s crime map shows a safer H Street. From the start of the year to date, it shows there have been 136 fewer incidents compared to the same time last year.
“I feel very comfortable. It feels good to be with my friends and family exploring everything that the vendors have to offer,” Gaines said.
WASHINGTON — In addition to articles already covered by Native News Online, here is a roundup of other news released from Washington, D.C. that impacts Indian Country recently.
Trump FY 2027 Budget Proposes Eliminating Funding for Institute of American Indian Arts
The Trump administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget proposal, released Friday, April 3, 2026, calls for the elimination of federal operating funding for the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA), drawing sharp opposition from the institution’s leadership.
IAIA’s Board of Trustees and administration condemned the proposal as reckless and inconsistent with the federal government’s treaty obligations, trust responsibility, and longstanding commitment to American Indian and Alaska Native higher education.
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If enacted, the proposal would cut IAIA’s annual federal appropriation from $13.482 million to zero beginning in the next funding cycle. Leaders say the loss would severely impact the school’s ability to maintain academic programs, student support services, and daily operations—placing at risk an institution that has served as an international center for contemporary Indigenous arts and cultural leadership for more than 60 years.
“IAIA exists because Native artists, Native communities, and Congress recognized that Indigenous creativity and cultural knowledge are vital to this country,” said IAIA President Dr. Shelly C. Lowe (Navajo). “Eliminating IAIA’s federal appropriation will weaken educational opportunity, threaten the development of future Indigenous artists and leaders, and severely undermine a mission that Congress has supported for decades. We urge Congress to reject this proposal and support IAIA in FY 2027 at $14.1 million.”
OSHA to Host April 8 Webinar to Support 2026 Safety Stand-Down Efforts
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is hosting an April 8 webinar aimed at helping employers across all industries participate in the 2026 Safety Stand-Down.
The session will provide guidance for employers planning events tied to the 20th annual Georgia Struck-by Alliance Safety Stand-Down, held each year during National Work Zone Awareness Week. During these events, employers are encouraged to pause work and focus on preventing serious injuries and fatalities through training, education, and demonstrations of safe workplace practices.
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OSHA staff will share free compliance assistance resources, information about consultation services, and details on the agency’s Safety Champions Program. The webinar will also offer practical ideas for organizing stand-down events and explain how employers can register their activities to receive a workplace safety certificate.
The agency recommends employers host safety stand-downs during nationally recognized observances such as National Work Zone Awareness Week (April 20–24) and Workers Memorial Day (April 20–24).
Tough morning in Shaw – Metro driver told me that a car ran a red light and collided with another and the driver swerved to avoid and ran into ambar. Driver is injured and at the hospital along with a passenger who went through a window… horrible. Thank god it was 7 am or there would be a lot of dead or gravely injured people.”
photo by DC Fire and EMS
DC Fire and EMS reported starting at 7:23am:
“Update vehicle into building 7th & Q Sts NW. 3 adult female patients transported with minor injuries. Further structural assessment will be conducted once bus has been removed from inside building.
Update crash with vehicle into building 7th & Q Sts NW. Bus & vehicle involved with bus partially inside unoccupied restaurant. 4 patients being evaluated. Collapse team evaluating structural stability. Firefighters have secured utilities & searched structure.
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Crash with vehicle into a building 7th & Q Sts MW. Bus into unoccupied restaurant. Working to determine number of injuries.”
Thanks to all who messaged me Saturday morning around 8am:
About an hour before D.C.’s youth curfew kicked in Friday evening, in a neighborhood just added to the list of curfew zones for this holiday weekend, a huge brawl broke out, and a teenager was arrested for brandishing a knife, police said.
Dozens of teenagers got involved in the fight near the Banneker Rec Center in Northwest – one of five high-traffic areas where people under 18 are not allowed to gather in groups of nine or more in public or in businesses after 8 p.m. this weekend.
One of the teens waved a knife around but didn’t hurt anyone, police said. He was injured, however, and taken by ambulance to a hospital where he was in police custody Friday evening.
Not an hour later, at the other end of the same curfew area, dozens of young people gathered together in and around the McDonald’s restaurant. Police told them if they were under 18, they were not allowed to gather there in groups. Eventually, they complied and left the area.
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D.C.’s chief of police and mayor have said youth curfew zones prevent teens from swarming nightlife areas, causing trouble and sometimes violence. Mayor Muriel Bowser wanted the D.C. Council to extend the chief’s authority to establish the zones for another three months, but it voted this week to delay that vote until the current order expires April 15.
“It was a decision by the Council as a whole,” Bowser said earlier this week. “The chairman moved for postponement, and all of the councilmembers agreed. And that is, in essence, killing the youth curfew.” “So, the Council will say, Oh, we drove crime down, so let’s start going back to soft-on-crime policies,” the mayor said.
Council Chairman Phil Mendelson worries the mayor’s remarks will be used by Republicans who want to overturn home rule in the District or to encourage President Donald Trump to federalize the police department again.
“The mayor’s remarks can be used as ammunition against a District by Republicans in Congress who’ve done that before,” he said. “That’s a problem. And the mayor’s remarks can offend some councilmembers, and we need those councilmembers to get to yes.”
This weekend, the chief designated youth curfews in four other neighborhoods, as well: Navy Yard, U Street corridor, Chinatown and the Southwest Waterfront.
