RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Textualism, judicial restraint, originalism were all words thrown about inside one second floor classroom at Reno High.

The words may seem foreign and not easily understood.

At least those were the initial impressions of Asha Marryout. As a junior last year, she came to a class to see just what “We the People” was all about.

“I went in and sat in on the practices and honestly had no idea what anyone was talking about,” says Marryout. “So, my expectations were, it was going to be very hard. It was going to be stuff that was hard for me to understand.”

She applied any way and is in this year’s class which combines government studies and debate competition.

Students are engulfed in the U.S Constitution and then take that knowledge and plug it into U.S. Government, state governments, the courts, and other aspects of the law.

“You have to put in so much work, over breaks I’ll be staying at the university for like five hours a day five days a week,” says Spiros Anastassatos, a “We the People” student. “Though it may be a little stressful at times, it’s all worth it.”

An example of that: Winning the state “We the People” competition just two months ago.

The 26 kids are now preparing for the national competition in Washington D.C. in April.

“You get to argue with them all the time,” says Martin Peralta on the preparation with his classmates. “So, it’s a very good relationship I have with these people in this class. I think that allows for more in-depth learning.”

“I think however we are going to do… we will be awesome,” says Cruz Smith another “We the People” student. “And do the best we can do.”

And although they may not truly appreciate it yet, there will be life-long friendships made here, and memories of a class that was tough but made them better citizens.

But those thoughts are for another time.

The 26 students are hunkering down and preparing for that trip to the nation’s capital. They’ll represent their school and the state of Nevada. They are asking for the community’s help to pay for the trip.

For anyone who needs a reason to contribute, their teacher Richard Clark has many of them.

“These are kids that are curious,” says Clark. “These are kids that want a different experience. These are kids that are nerds. These are kids that are active in everything, and they are everything in between. They are competitive, they are well spoken. They are kind.”

To Contribute to Reno High, “We the People” students and their trip to Washington D.C. for national competition go to Qgiv, a unified fundraising platform for nonprofits. 2025 We the People Nationals – Reno High School

Copyright 2025 KOLO. All rights reserved.

Courtesy Bobby Lee

Courtesy Bobby Lee

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In the 1980s and ’90s, the “Rally in the Alley,” hosted by Mister Days, was one of D.C.’s most popular annual bar scene events — this weekend it’s being held in Clarendon for the first time since the sports bar left midtown D.C. in 2001.

“We’re bringing the ‘Rally in the Alley’ to Virginia,” said Mister Days found and owner Bobby Lee, who reopened Mister Days Sports Rock Cafe in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington in 2024.

Back in the day, the annual daytime rally was held in the alley outside Mister Days’ location between L and M streets Northwest, among midtown office buildings, several blocks south of Dupont Circle.

Lee said the event was always held either the week before or after St. Patrick’s Day, with DJs spinning music and people dancing.

“We probably had 10,000 people in and out,” Lee said. “We had lines going all the way from the alley, out to 18th on one side and out to 19th on the other.”

This year’s ‘Rally in the Alley’ event will be Saturday at 1101 N. Highland Street, from noon to 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15 and are available online.

Lee said the rally will be held at Mister Days outdoor bar, “We have named that ‘The Alley’ — even the sign from the inside says ‘The Alley.’ We haven’t opened that bar yet, but we’re opening it this week for ‘The Rally in the Alley.”

The indoor-outdoor event will also stretch onto adjacent 11th Street, which will be closed to traffic.

“We’ve only taken half a block because I have bigger plans for next year and I don’t want any problems with it,” Lee said.

“I’ve heard from a lot of alumni about this weekend — it’s always been a younger event, but I think we’ll get a bit of everybody this weekend.”

“I’ve been getting calls from old bartenders to do a shift,” he said. “That’ll probably last about 15 minutes.”

Even with the passage of more than two decades, Lee hopes to reunite with a lot of former customers, who still reminisce about the original rallies.

“Although I don’t expect they’ll be dancing,” he half-joked.

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WASHINGTON – Right now, D.C. officials are pleading with the U.S. Senate to restore the city’s funding levels after the House passed a spending bill that would cut about $1 billion from the District’s budget. 

Critics of the continuing resolution passed Tuesday say if the money isn’t restored, it could affect everything from public safety, schools and a host of D.C.’s public services. It’s all tied up in the continuing resolution to keep the government open but it also would hit D.C. 

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a post on X Wednesday that Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to pass the legislation. 

With the deadline to avoid a government shutdown looming — the bill has to be on President Donald Trump’s desk by midnight on Friday — Schumer says Democrats are willing to pass a 30-day continuing resolution to keep the government open and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass.

House passes spending bill that could slash $1B from DC budget

“We should vote on that,” Schumer said. 

Impact on D.C. 

What we know:

Official numbers have not been released but analysts say if the continuing resolution stays as is, it would force D.C. to revert 2024’s budget. That would mean a 16% across-the-board budget cut, including $67 million from D.C. police, $28 million from human services and $358 million from schools.

The House passed the CR Tuesday and D.C. officials are now focusing on trying to get the Senate to amend the bill to allow D.C. to continue to operate on its current budget, which has already been in effect for six months. 

Local perspective:

D.C. At-Large Councilmember Robert White told FOX 5 that he’s been personally lobbying senators all day. He says the fiscal impact to D.C. would be devastating.

 Local leaders respond after House passes spending bill that would cut DC budget by $1B

“I also want to be honest with people. It’s important for resident and the country to know HOW severe this will be. The District would overnight cut jobs, freeze contracts, furlough people,” White said. 

The president of the Washington Teachers Union Jacqueline Pogue Lyons tells FOX 5 that her members are worried. 

“We were just starting to see signs of things improving and I think this could really, really take us back if we lose this money,” Lyons said. 

D.C. residents push back

What they’re saying:

A Bowser administration official told FOX 5 today talks are underway with the White House and Republicans in Congress, but so far no deal has been reached. 

There are also questions on how this could stall Trump’s own demand that the nation’s capital be run as a “safe and beautiful” city. And for some of those who rely on the District’s public services, they say they would be severely impacted. 

“It’s discouraging to think about the impacts and that’s really frustrating piece regardless of what’s happening,” one D.C. resident told FOX 5.

“It’s going to hurt a lot of people. That’s all I’m going to say about that. It’s going to hurt a lot of people,” said another. 

So, the clock and the calendar are in play as the Senate has to pass the continuing resolution by midnight Friday.

While there have been complaints from Senate Democrats about the bill, there’s no indication that Democrats are interested in shutting down the government over D.C.’s budget issue.