Washington, D.C
Letter from Washington DC, city of insecurity and fear
The capital of the United States, home of the government and an amazing number of armed teenagers, set a deplorable record last year: it became the city with the highest number of carjackings in the country per 100,000 residents.
Police reports show that on average, there were almost three carjackings a day – incidents when drivers had their cars taken away at gunpoint. The trend continued in the first month of 2024 – just two a day.
In absolute numbers – there were 958 carjackings in 2023 while 57 have already taken place in January.
Pistol-packing teenagers committed most of the violent thefts of occupied cars. Relatively few are arrested. In January, eight of the criminals involved in the 57 incidents were arrested.
Such numbers have instilled a pervasive sense of insecurity and fear among many residents. As one user put it in a tweet: “What’s scary about crime in DC these days is the randomness. You don’t need to be involved in drugs or gangs to get carjacked.”
The capital’s carjacking wave rarely makes national news except when the victims are prominent in politics or business. In October, Henry Cuellar, a Democratic congressman, recalled what happened to him when he returned to his home in the city’s trendy Navy Yard neighbourhood.
“I was just coming into my place. Three guys came out of nowhere and they pointed guns at me. I do have a (Karate) black belt but I recognise when you got three guns – I looked at one with a gun, another with a gun, and a third behind me. So they said they wanted my car. I said ‘sure’.”
Cuellar’s car and his cellphones were later recovered a few miles from where they were taken. The carjackers, thought to be in their mid-teens, disappeared and there were no arrests. Case closed.
But a more recent attempted carjacking had a bloodier outcome. On February 5, a former official of the Trump administration, Mike Gill, was shot dead while sitting in his car at 5 pm to pick up his wife from her law office in an upscale area of the city.
His wife found him on the sidewalk, his head in a pool of blood, one leg still inside his car. The assailant fled on foot and was shot and killed by police while attempting another carjack.
The wave of carjackings prompted city authorities and police into different actions. DC mayor Marion Bowser declared a public emergency in November and promised to improve monitoring of criminal activity. Police handed out free air tags to help victims of carjackings find their stolen cars.
A sweeping crime bill is under discussion by the 13-member City Council, the legislative branch of the District of Columbia. It dates back to the 1973 Home Rule Act which created a local government for the country’s capital. Council decisions can be overruled by Congress and DC citizens still have no representation there.
While the council discusses ways to stem crime – a bill is expected later this month – there is plenty of advice for citizens who live in fear. A local television station, extrapolating from police data, recently published a list that highlights how widespread crime has become.
The guidance boils down to advice to look over your shoulder wherever you go.
It stemmed from a crack cocaine epidemic in the city and turf wars between drug gangs in defined areas. Use was widespread. The capital’s mayor at the time, Marion Barry, was arrested in January 1990 smoking crack cocaine in a hotel room.
I arrived in Washington in 1998 and, like most residents, did not feel insecure and threatened by violence. Today’s security guidance emphasises that you can be a victim anywhere.
Carjackers find their victims anywhere and at any time with the following situations or locations more common:
· ATMs
· Gas stations
· Car washes
· Garages
· Parking lots
· Grocery stores
· Mass transit
· Intersections controlled by stop lights or signs
· Highway entrance and exit ramps, or any place where drivers slow down or stop
One of the fiercest critics of how the American capital is run has been former president Donald Trump, an extremely unpopular figure in a city which voted more than 90 per cent against him in the 2016 elections.
Trump is facing trial for criminal charges in Washington and has unsuccessfully tried to move the venue.
“No way I can get a fair trial, or even close to a fair trial, in Washington, DC. There are many reasons for this, but just one is that I am calling for a federal takeover of this filthy and crime-ridden embarrassment to our nation,” Trump said in a posting on his social network, Truth Social.
But letting the federal government run the city – the only capital of a country whose citizens have no representation in Congress – is unlikely to fix its problems. According to a series of surveys over the past few years, Americans are deeply distrustful of the federal government.
As former Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill put it: “Dysfunction and chaos are now in the political bloodstream,” and citizens “see this as part of normal, polarised, partisan politics in Washington”.
So, perhaps fixing the carjacking epidemic is better left to the city.
(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)
Washington, D.C
Benjamin Netanyahu to fly to DC for Graham Lindsay’s funeral, meeting with Donald Trump | The Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to fly to Washington, DC, on Saturday night, Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Netanyahu’s visit would mark the first official trip to Washington since the war with Iran, with his last visit in February.
During a recent phone call made by Netanyahu to congratulate Trump on the 250th anniversary of US independence, the two leaders agreed to “meet soon.”
Netanyahu’s main commitment during this upcoming trip will be attending Graham’s funeral, who passed away on Sunday after “a brief and sudden illness.”
Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, mourned Graham in a statement on Sunday.
“Lindsey understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable. He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world,” Netanyahu said in his statement.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”
“Our hearts are with Lindsey’s family and with the American people at this difficult time. May his values and initiatives continue to guide us toward victory and peace, and may his memory forever be a blessing.”
Miriam Sela-Eitam contributed to this article.
WASHINGTON (7News) — Some D.C. residents told 7News they are fed up with the no-parking signs that have been added in front of their homes.
For the first time in 70 years, the view outside Anita Marsh’s home has changed.
“It’s very emotional,” said Marsh. “To be in a place where there’s no access to my door, no one can legally park for me to enter and exit my home. It’s frustrating, but more importantly, it’s upsetting. It’s very upsetting. I find it heartless.”
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Video from Marsh showed what she woke up to on Monday morning. She said the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) installed no parking signs in front of her home.
“How do I walk? How do I get into my house? I’m not very ambulatory,” said Marsh. “I have mobility challenges. So what happens?”
Neighbors about a mile away, over on Kimi Gray Court, reached out with the same frustrations. That’s where 7News met Aaron Harris.
“DDOT put these signs up, these signs, and they are ticketing people who are trying to park in front of their home because they have multiple cars,” said Harris.
Both neighborhoods feel that access to their home will now cost them.
“I’m very nervous because also financial impact is on a retiree,” said Marsh.
7News also got a call from businesses on MLK Jr. Avenue in Anacostia who said DDOT hit them with changes, too. 7News met Ronald Moton in front of his Gogo museum.
“They bring a bus lane without talking to us and take away 29 parking spaces,” said Moton.
Moton said business owners and customers have been hit with $200 tickets.
“This is a community trying to build itself up and survive,” said Moton. “You cannot come and dump stuff like this on us without talking to us.”
“We can’t afford to pay $90 a week or $180 or $270 per week because we’re in violation in front of a property that wasn’t zoned this way,” said Harris. “At least we didn’t know it was owned that way until the signs went up and they started getting ticketed.”
“I’m very scared. I’m very scared. And very upset,” said Marsh. “I’m not going to be able to stay in my house. Then I’m going to be forced to go elsewhere. Because I’m not going to be able to enter and exit my house.”
7News reached out to DDOT and Councilman Charles Allen, who chairs D.C.’s Transportation and Environment Committee, and asked about the no-parking signs community members feel came out of nowhere. 7News has not heard back from either yet.
New office in Tysons, Virginia, brings the firm’s design-build expertise and national resources closer to clients across the capital region
TYSONS, Va., July 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ARCO Design/Build, one of the nation’s leading design-build construction firms, today announced the opening of a new office in Tysons, Virginia, placing the firm in the heart of the Washington, D.C. market and directly on the Capital Beltway. The office expands on the presence ARCO has built in the region over many years and brings the firm’s people, design-build expertise, and national resources closer to existing and prospective clients across the District and Northern Virginia.
A significant share of ARCO’s work in the region has originated in the D.C. area. The Tysons office is the natural next step in the firm’s growth, and a commitment built on established relationships with a track record of completed work. With many of those clients headquartered in the capital region and building across multiple geographies, the Tysons office allows ARCO to be closer to decision-makers, active pursuits, and the opportunities shaping the market today.
The office is further strengthened by local leadership, including Drew Enstice, Vice President, whose experience in the region supports ARCO’s continued growth across the Washington market.
“The Washington region has been central to our growth, and the Tysons office lets us meet it with our full strength,” said Aaron Weir, President, ARCO Design/Build. “We’re building on the relationships and successful work we’ve already established here, while bringing the resources of a national builder to a market with growing opportunity across advanced manufacturing, food and beverage, life sciences, aerospace, defense, and other complex sectors that demand precision.”
ARCO’s integrated design-build approach brings design, engineering, procurement, and construction together under a single accountable team from the outset. The firm delivers cost certainty, compressed schedules, and a single point of responsibility that matter most on complex, regulated, and mission-driven facilities.
About ARCO Design/Build
ARCO Design/Build is a national design-build construction firm delivering the strength, resources, and expertise of an award-winning national builder combined with the responsive, personalized service of a local partner. With more than 50 offices and over 1,800 associates across the country, ARCO provides comprehensive design, engineering, and construction services across various industries such as industrial, e-commerce, logistics, data centers, commercial, life sciences, defense and aerospace manufacturing, healthcare, food and beverage, retail, and light manufacturing facilities. ARCO is a 100% employee-owned company through its ESOP. To learn more, visit arcodb.com.
SOURCE ARCO Design/Build
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