About Washingtonian Today
Washingtonian Today is not just another political news roundup. Instead, this daily morning brief provides local context on national news, catches you up on what’s happening at Washingtonian, points you toward super duper awesome things to do around town, and lets you in on some special events going on in-house. Sign up here to receive Washingtonian Today in your inbox every morning.
Good Friday morning. US Senator Cory Booker is running for president. He announced this morning—the first day of Black History Month—in a video to supporters. “Together, we will channel our common pain back into our common purpose,” Booker says. Take a look at his logo and slogan, which looks to be “RISE 2020”. But can that starry-eyed optimist Booker gain support from a party so riled up and angry, a party yearning for massive change? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Louise Linton, wife to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, was spotted at Sundance Film Festival to launch a four-woman production company called Stormchaser Films. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Linton’s got two films in the works: a serial-killer film starring Ed Westwick and a satire called Serial Daters Anonymous, “in which Linton plays the lead role of Claire, a fashion columnist who leaves her husband at the altar.”
Hello, I’m your author, Brittany Shepherd. Email me with comments or questivisons and follow me on Twitter. Sign up for this newsletter here.
We are all bullet points in space: The second-anniversary party for Axios took place last night at the Showroom DC. Andrew Beaujon was there and reports:
The theme was “To the Future” and the sponsor was Boeing, and the whole thing was a lot like that weird video Axios made to celebrate the party. All the hors d’oeuvres were from the future, too, like tuna sashimi on little rafts and scallops in a sort of goldfish bowl thing. The signature cocktail was a glass of red liquid with stuff floating in it that one bartender filled with wood smoke and another spritzed with some sort of “essence.” After Jim VandeHei welcomed guests in a room with screens along curving walls, padded white benches, and a spacesuit in a case (and pronounced the name of the site “AxiOHs“) a curtain parted and we were ushered into a further room dedicated to the future with desserts like “disappearing ravioli” and “Space Orb.” There I went into a mirror-covered chamber where a big screen on one wall simulated trips to the moon and Mars on Boeing products. In the future, we will all congregate briefly in a zany room with Mark Ein. A few of the bold-faced names there: Kellyanne Conway, Steve Case, Jason Miller, Neera Tanden, Kim Darroch.
In case you missed it: Senator Tim Scott moved into Orrin Hatch‘s old office yesterday. Their team posted a video set to The Jeffersons‘ theme song, and it’s pretty fun! (Though deluxe apartment in the sky is a bit of a stretch.)
It’s snowing again today. Jot down the DC emergency shelter phone number, 202-399-7093, and flag the city’s night shelter info.
What we have cooking at Washingtonian:
- Are the 2020 campaign logos even good? We spoke to an expert, who says: well, sort of.
- Those Sizzlis aren’t so good for your waistline, but dang if they’re not delicious. Here are the best and worst things to eat at Wawa, according to ~*science*~
- On its 50th anniversary, we wonder: does the Washington Post Style section have a future?
- Everything old is new again. And with that in mind, we declare: caviar is hip and trendy.
- Does DC Mayor Muriel Bowser have a viable runway to the presidency? Our editor, Mike Schaffer, mulls the idea over.
- No, you probably shouldn’t be wearing that pocket square, Roger Stone. A local attorney lets us know how to properly dress for court in DC.
- I enjoy iced coffee all times of year, just like these other locals!
Our pick for things to do around town:
FILM The film/discussion weekend series “A Long, Long Way: Race and Film, 1989–2019” showcases two Spike Lee films, 1989’s Do the Right Thing (Friday night) and 2018’s BlacKkKlansman (Saturday night). Each film screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by NPR’s Korva Coleman. On Saturday afternoon, there will be a workshop to explore the themes of race and justice in the two films. Through February 2. Each event (at the National Cathedral) is $15..
Good reads:
Carrying all the weight at work can be a taxing, back-breaking task, writes Sue Shellenbarger. The downsides can loom large. (Wall Street Journal)
Big events from Washingtonian
Okay, you’ve had a week to go over our 100 Very Best Restaurants list (or at least the Top 25 online). Join Ann Limpert to discuss it today at 11 AM.
Brittany Shepherd covers the societal and cultural scene in political Washington. Before joining Washingtonian as a staff writer in 2018, Brittany was a White House Correspondent for Independent Journal Review. While she has lived in DC for a number of years now, she still yearns for the fresh Long Island bagels of home. Find her on Twitter, often prattling on about Frasier.
