paul schwartzman

Ronnie Eldridge, a Fixture in N.Y. Politics, Dies at 95

A true pillar of West Side politics who always called back #RIP Especially fun to talk to her with Breslin ranting in the background. The best of New York.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/o...

A mayor ordered no clapping at a city meeting. Applause did not follow. The Takoma Park, Maryland, mayor’s order that people not clap during a public meeting led to insults and even a poll.

wapo.st/4aQtzPr

Everyone who’s won this seat in Congress has gotten divorced afterward Two new candidates are vying for the “divorce curse” seat in Oregon’s 5th District. They’re both happily married . . . for now.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and husband Shawn were all marital bliss in a 2022 WaPo piece.

They met when they were 14.

Now he’s accused of sexual assault and barred from Labor offices.

www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/20...

The lesser-known part of Jesse Jackson’s legacy: His fight for D.C. Before and after then-D.C. Mayor Marion Barry’s arrest on cocaine charges, Jackson faced questions about whether he would run to succeed him.

wapo.st/3OktgDH

Jesse Jackson vs. Marion Barry: the mayoral race DC once braced for

‘Us versus them’: The battle that’s tearing a small Virginia town apart The drama in Purcellville, Virginia, involves a town council contingent that calls itself “Team Mayberry,” felony charges, lawsuits and an attempted citizen revolt.

Greetings from Chaos-ville:

wapo.st/3ZARnQP

Work is how I’m coping with getting laid off at the Washington Post. Editors: I’m open to any general assignments on the ground in South Korea, and I have extensive experience in business writing and book-related coverage. Link to my clips below.

The final Sunday arts section I worked on. (It’s a lovely one.)

How an unsolved 1971 murder led to a surprise DNA connection A detective investigating a murder stumbled on something else — a “case within a case,” he called it — involving a long-lost brother and sister who’d grown up in an orphanage and hadn’t seen each othe...

This is Paul Duggan’s last WaPo piece before being laid off, the kind of intricate crime narrative he has been writing since joining the paper in 1987. Paul is a newspaper original. wapo.st/4azZseB

He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years

He Was Laid Off at The Washington Post After Working There 60 Years www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/b...

Eleanor Holmes Norton lacks a vote but not a (withering) voice Introduced by Stephen Colbert as “the fake congresswoman, the D.C. Delegate can be eloquent or profane.

Archives — a profile of ENH in which she leads a tour of her interesting kitchen and recalls her meeting with Medgar Evers just before his assassination. Hers is a remarkable life:

www.washingtonpost.com/local/eleano...

The historic D.C. buildings Homeland Security wants to raze were deemed stable A team of engineers hired to inspect the buildings in Southeast Washington for the government concluded in August that they are viable for renovation.

News: A few months before Kristi Noem announced the emergency demolition of 13 historic DC buildings, an engineering firm hired by the feds declared those buildings viable for renovation and re-use, documents obtained by the Washington Post show.

wapo.st/3NnmZXd

Homeland Security wants to demolish historic buildings deemed stable A team of engineers hired to inspect the buildings in Southeast Washington for the government concluded in August that they are viable for renovation.

“The precedent could be devastating for sites across the country. If an agency can declare an emergency to tear down buildings, then it could happen anywhere.”

wapo.st/3NnmZXd

Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.

Homeland Security seeks ‘emergency’ demolition of historic buildings in D.C. DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem, in a memo obtained by The Washington Post, said the buildings “constitute a present risk to life and property.” Preservationists contend no evidence of an emergency exist...

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem fears that “malicious insiders” could use vacant buildings at St. Elizabeths to stage attacks. “For senior leadership the principal risks include targeting of executives,” according to DHS security report.

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Olivia Nuzzi’s Tell-Nothing Memoir Can “American Canto” turn scandal into literature?

If nothing else the Nuzzi nausea is inspiring a spate of inspired takedowns: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

Trump pivots from bashing Mamdani, predicting he will ‘do a great job’ as mayor Trump warmed to Mamdani, even declaring he would finally feel comfortable moving back to the city with the 34-year-old democratic socialist running city hall.

Cuomo predicted during campaign that Trump would cut through Mamdani like a “hot knife through butter.”

Was it the other way around today? #Mamdani

www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

A few headlines on an ordinary November Thursday

Cheney’s funeral draws Bush, mix of Democrats and Republicans. Not Trump. The former vice president, who served in the George W. Bush administration, was honored Thursday at Washington National Cathedral.

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Selling a Founding Father’s estate, for this couple, means leaving home Among the decisions Gayle and Tom DeLashmutt faced about Oak Hill was what to do with the Virginia mansion built by America’s fifth president, James Monroe.

19th century real estate porn:

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

How Zohran Mamdani is charming a famously hard-nosed city Zohran Mamdani’s promise of a more affordable New York has vaulted him to the top of the polls — and Republicans’ enemies list.

wapo.st/4nDF1Rs

In the annals of NY politics, few stoked racial division more to build their name than Sharpton (see: Brawley, Tawana)

D.C.’s newest tourist attraction is a demolition site. (Yeah, that one.) The East Wing demolition has become a surprise tourist attraction in Washington D.C., with visitors gathering to watch the destruction of the historic building.

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

White House demolition: a new tourist attraction #trump #dc

‘Our hands are tied’: Can anyone stop Trump’s tear-down of the East Wing? Many preservationists fear the answer is no. A pro-Trump review board is expected to approve the president’s planned 90,000-square-foot ballroom, too.

As Trump tears down the East Wing, we keep getting this question: Can anyone stop him?

The answer, many experts fear, is no.

And Trump's planned ballroom is likely to be approved by a panel stocked by his allies, too.

w @wapops.bsky.social @jonathanreports.bsky.social

How Zohran Mamdani is charming a famously hard-nosed city Zohran Mamdani’s promise of a more affordable New York has vaulted him to the top of the polls — and Republicans’ enemies list.

Zohran Mamdani is leading the New York mayoral race with a platform focused on affordability. His rise reflects demographic shifts in New York, but his lack of experience and controversial positions have sparked debate.

“He’s a vibe.”

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

How Zohran Mamdani is charming a famously hard-nosed city Zohran Mamdani’s promise of a more affordable New York has vaulted him to the top of the polls — and Republicans’ enemies list.

Whaddya gonna do New York?
www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

A D.C. neighborhood long home to immigrants pushes back against ICE arrests In Mount Pleasant, long home to a large Latino immigrant community, neighbors have sought ways to counter a pervasive sense of helplessness as ICE agents have swooped in.

A D.C. neighborhood is trying to push back against ICE, using whistles, a text chain and patrols to alert each other of raids.

“Can we stop ICE from coming? No,” said one longtime resident. “But can we make it uncomfortable? … Yeah.”

A D.C. neighborhood long home to immigrants pushes back against ICE arrests In Mount Pleasant, long home to a large Latino immigrant community, neighbors have sought ways to counter a pervasive sense of helplessness as ICE agents have swooped in.

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...