Mayor Muriel Bowser announced two pieces of legislation designed to cut red tape for local businesses working with DC government. The Supporting Local Business Enterprises Amendment Act of 2026 aims to increase access to government opportunities for the District’s Certified Business Enterprise (CBEs), building on a decade of steady progress to ensure that investments in the District create meaningful economic opportunities for local businesses across all eight wards. The Procurement Reform Amendment Act of 2026 updates and streamlines the District’s already strong procurement laws so the city can deliver services faster, better protect taxpayers, and open even more doors for local businesses.
“When we make it easier to do business in DC, we make it easier to create jobs, we make it easier for Washingtonians to realize their dreams of starting a business, we make it easier for entrepreneurs to bring new ideas and opportunities to our neighborhoods,” said Mayor Bowser. “We have been very focused on how we shift our economy, how we keep jobs and opportunity in DC, and how we have efficient and predictable processes. These two pieces of legislation keep that momentum going — they expand opportunity for local businesses while cutting through red tape that gets in the way of growth.”
Officials … unveiled the 1.66-mile course for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, which will traverse the eastern quarter of the National Mall with seven turns between Third and Ninth streets NW, bounded by Pennsylvania and Independence avenues
The event, set for Aug. 23 with events on the preceding two days, is the first-ever auto race (at least one that is sanctioned) on the streets of D.C. It will be free for the public to attend and organizers hope setting up a course amid the monuments, museums and federal buildings will be a big tourism draw that merges with America’s 250th birthday celebrations this summer.
… Accolade Partners indicated it has raised $116.1 million from 38 investors over the past 11 months for its Accolade Empowerment Fund III LP. That fund, one of five for the company, invests in “emerging venture capital and growth equity managers from historically undercapitalized communities,” according to its website.
[Accolade has] raised $200 million for its first empowerment fund in 2021, which ultimately backed nearly two dozen funds including D.C.’s Construct Capital, a women-led firm investing in software companies operating in the logistics, manufacturing and transportation sectors.
The Washington Commanders have unveiled another round of renderings for their forthcoming $3.8 billion stadium — and the echoes of old RFK are stronger than ever with the new batch of plans.
The new renderings depict the domed stadium, which is being designed by Dallas architecture firm HKS, tucked in with the D.C. Armory and from vantage points along the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge, across the Anacostia River and from Kingman Park and Hill East. They also showcase conceptual views of fans congregating at the east and west sides of the stadium — with a particularly large gathering of fans on the median on East Capitol Street directly west of the stadium.
D.C.’s Whitman-Walker Health System is resuming construction on a biomedical research lab in Congress Heights after securing some crucial funding for the project that had previously been cut.
The project, which involves building out a lab at 1201 Sycamore Drive SE, would bring the 118,000-square-foot Max Robinson Center to full capacity now that the organization has successfully locked in tenants for its unused floors.
The roster includes Labcorp, New Hampshire Medical Supply, the GW Cancer Prevention and Wellness Center, the Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School and the Advanced Technical Center, a health care apprenticeship program for high school students through D.C.’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education