Washington

National Guard asks DC leaders for ‘beautification’ projects as Trump says crime is gone

Published

6 months ago

September 13, 2025

National Guard asks DC leaders for ‘beautification’ projects as Trump says crime is gone

WASHINGTON – Matthew Cohen couldn’t believe the DC National Guard was offering up its soldiers to help with a neighborhood clean-up.

“To have the National Guard come to our neighborhood to help pick up litter is absurd,” said Cohen, an advisory neighborhood commissioner, one of Washington’s hyper-local elected officials in the city’s low crime Northwest.

But he could use the help.

So long as thousands of soldiers had standing orders from President Donald Trump to remain on duty in the capital, Cohen wondered, what was the harm if his community took them up on the offer?

Troops that deployed to the city in August were meant to combat what Trump called a crime emergency. Groups of camouflage-clad soldiers have since become a familiar presence, pacing the underground platforms of Metro stations in the city’s downtown, along the marble halls of Union Station and at the National Mall, home to the Washington’s popular monuments.

Soldiers have also been spotted in parks carrying out tasks typically assigned to gardeners and landscapers – shoveling mulch, blowing leaves and scooping up trash.

Now, the DC National Guard is asking city leaders if they might help with local “beautification” projects. This tender offer comes amid protests against Trump’s takeover of the city under the banner of “Free DC” and the Guard’s own assessments that its deployment prompted “alarm and indignation” among residents.

The Guard may have worn out its welcome, but soldiers were still assigned to the region.

Trump has said the ongoing military presence in the capital – coupled with his takeover of the local police force and surge of immigration agents – has made crime in the city a thing of the past.

“Over the last year, it was a very unsafe place. Over the last 20 years, actually, it was very unsafe, and now it’s got virtually no crime,” Trump said of Washington as he stood on a corner of the city’s downtown on Sept. 9. “We call it crime-free.”

Trump’s emergency declaration allowing him to seize control of police expired Sept. 10, but the National Guard deployment won’t wrap up until Nov. 30, and it could be extended further.

The takeover remains widely unpopular among Washington residents – some 80% oppose it, according to a Washington Post poll.

DC Guard accepting pitches for ‘beautification’ projects

What else could the soldiers do?

In a letter sent to local leaders Sept. 8, Marcus Hunt, the director of the DC National Guard, asked for “help in identifying projects or initiatives” where guardsmen can pitch in on “neighborhood beautification efforts.”

“While our ability to support painting is limited, our teams are well positioned to contribute manpower for clean-up and improvement projects,” Hunt wrote, according to a copy obtained by USA TODAY.

“Most importantly, we want to do this together with the community – building relationships and strengthening the bond between the guard and the community we proudly serve.”

Hunt told USA TODAY the response to the email had been “positive.”

However, local leaders in Washington said they felt torn between their constituents’ opposition to the deployment and the opportunity to recruit military help with sometimes long-neglected community projects.

Cohen, who represents a neighborhoods near American University, decided it would be OK to engage with the soldiers: “If the National Guard wants to clean graffiti or beautify federal parks in our neighborhood, I don’t think anybody is going to oppose that, even if we think it’s a silly way to get that job done and an unwise use of taxpayer dollars.”

Others were reluctant to accept help.

“Our DC National Guard should return back to their families, back to their full-time jobs. This show of force is unnecessary,” said Tom Donohue, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for part of southeastern Anacostia.

But he added, “I’d rather them do something if they’re required to be here, than stand around and do nothing.”

Anacostia, where Donohue is based, is statistically one of the highest-crime areas in Washington – roughly one-third of homicides in the past year occurred in Ward 8, which encompasses part of his region. He said National Guardsmen were to be found in his district.

National Guard sees ‘alarm and indignation’ on social media

The DC National Guard’s own assessment of social media posts about the deployment also found that relationships with community members have been rocky.

An internal media review by the DC National Guard and sent accidentally to USA TODAY and other outlets found that social media discussions of the deployment mentioned “Fatigue, confusion, and demoralization – ‘just gardening,’ unclear mission, wedge between citizens and the military.” The assessment was first reported by the Washington Post.

According to the Army, the media review emails were mistakenly sent to reporters, but the information in them is publicly available.

“Trending videos show residents reacting with alarm and indignation,” according to the assessment. It says “self-identified veterans and active-duty commenters expressed shame and alarm” about the reactions.

One DC National Guard member told USA TODAY that frustration is growing among their ranks. As a resident of the city, he sees the deployment as unnecessary, but he is compelled by lawful orders to stay the course, the soldier said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

When it came to beautification efforts, some leaders warmly welcomed the help. John Adams, a commissioner for a district in Ward 7, on the eastern side of the city, said the community would “invite and embrace” help with beautification. “We appreciate the support,” he said.

In Ward 8, which encompasses Donohue’s district, troops have already been assigned to help with food distribution at a soup kitchen, according to Donohue and a National Guard member with knowledge of the deployment.

For Donohue, a one-on-one discussion with Hunt and a later meeting with his constituents further complicated his decision. The community is “very split” on whether to accept the help, he said.

“They are our neighbors,” he said. “If they have to be here, why not utilize them?”

After all, was a helping hand so different if it came from a soldier?

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Washington

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Published

24 hours ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury has announced that she and her husband Matt are expecting a baby in July.

The couple made the announcement in a video on the Spirit’s social media channels, holding a baby goalkeeper jersey on the pitch at Audi Field.

Kingsbury becomes the most recent Spirit star to go on maternity leave, following defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Andi Sullivan and forward Ashley Hatch.

Sullivan gave birth to daughter Millie in July, while Hatch welcomed her son Leo in January.

Krueger announced she was pregnant with her second child in October.

Kingsbury has served as the Spirit’s starting goalkeeper since 2018, and has been named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice (2019 and 2021).

The 34-year-old has two caps with the U.S. women’s national team, and was named to the 2023 World Cup roster.

The club captain will leave a major void for the Spirit, who have finished as NWSL runner-up in back-to-back seasons.

Sandy MacIver and Kaylie Collins are expected to compete for the starting role while Kingsbury is on maternity leave.

The Spirit kick off their 2026 campaign on March 13 against the Portland Thorns.

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Washington

Washington state board awards Yakima $985,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington state board awards Yakima 5,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima could soon take a major step toward redesigning Sixth Avenue after the Washington State Public Works Board awarded the city a $985,600 loan.

The loan was approved for the design engineering phase of the Sixth Avenue project. The funding can also be used along Sixth Avenue for utility replacement and updated ADA use.

The Yakima City Council must decide whether to accept the award. If the council accepts it, the city’s engineering work will move forward with the design of Sixth Avenue.

The cost of installing trolley lines is excluded from the plan. The historic trolleys would need to raise the funds required to add trolley lines.

The award is scheduled to be discussed during next week’s City Council meeting.

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Washington

Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

Press Room

Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Microsoft will ramp up its investment in the University of Washington.

Brad Smith, the company’s president, made the announcement at a press conference with University of Washington President Robert Jones on Tuesday.

That means hiring more UW graduates as interns at Microsoft, he said.

And he said all students, faculty, and researchers should have access to free, or at least deeply-discounted, AI.

“ Some of it is compute that Microsoft is donating, and some of it is pursuant to an agreement where, believe me, we give the University of Washington probably the best pricing that anybody’s gonna find anywhere,” Smith said. He assured the small group of reporters present that it would be “many millions of dollars of additional computational resources.”

The announcement today didn’t include any specific numbers.

But Smith said Microsoft has already invested $165 million in the UW over several decades.

He pointed to Jones’ vision to spur “radical collaborations with businesses and communities to advance positive change,” and eliminate “any artificial barriers between the university and the communities it serves.”

Microsoft’s goal is for AI to help UW researchers solve some of the world’s biggest problems without introducing new ones.

At Tuesday’s announcement, several research students were present to demonstrate how AI supports their work.

Amelia Keyser-Gibson is an environmental scientist at the UW. She’s using AI to analyze photographs of vines, to find which adapt best to climate change.

It’s a paradox: AI produces carbon emissions. At the same time, it’s also a new tool to help reduce them.

So how do those things square for Keyser-Gibson?

“ That’s a great question, and honestly, I don’t know the answer to that,” she said. “I’m highly aware that there’s a lot of environmental impact of using AI, but what I can say is that this has allowed us to make research innovations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

“If we had had to manually annotate every single image that would’ve been an undergrad doing that for hours,” Keyser-Gibson continued. “And we didn’t have the budget. We didn’t have the manpower to do that.”

“AI exists. If we don’t use it as researchers, we’re gonna fall behind.”

Microsoft reports on its own carbon emissions. But like most AI companies, it doesn’t reveal everything.

That’s one reason another UW student named Zhihan Zhang is using AI to estimate how much energy AI is using.

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