The council previously approved the county’s nearly $6 billion fiscal 2027 budget on May 27, but County Executive Aisha Braveboy sent the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission budget back to the council last week.

In the days before the revote Tuesday, and immediately after, county council leaders were adamant there was nothing deceptive about the errors, and that the budget was always balanced.

“Anytime you have people doing the budget for the first time, there might be things that they are learning and mistakes that they can make,鈥� Council Chair Krystal Oriadha said.

“We have two major spreadsheets that we use, one for the major budget and one for parking planning, and then we give it to staff and it’s a big document. They take the spreadsheets and embed it in every document,” she said.

鈥淚f they miss a page or a line from the spreadsheet, then it’s not complete. It’s not what we intended, it’s not what we gave them,鈥� Oriadha said. 鈥淪o that’s a technical error because we know what we intended to pass.”

The error was a first for the council, and Oriadha said the revote didn鈥檛 have to happen.

鈥淭he option was that if it’s technical in nature, that I could just upload it, didn’t need to vote, didn’t have to do anything at all,鈥� she said afterward.

鈥淏ut what’s important to me is to be very transparent, right? Because even if that was an option, I felt like that was not what I was going to do, right? I said it didn’t matter if people wanted to say things or stretch the story or become even a narrative that’s not accurate. The most important thing is accountability.鈥�

This is the council鈥檚 latest issue with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which has been heavily criticized by certain members for everything from how the agency spends its money to perks demanded by leadership.

A recent state law put a stop to the council’s mid-year reappropriations of M-NCPPC money. Some council members worried the repeated movement of money would diminish the agency in the future.

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A daily arts-based after-school program started by a nonprofit known for its work in the arts is now coming to a Prince George’s County elementary school that needs it.

Dozens of students at William Beanes Elementary School in Suitland will get to begin a program through the Brentwood, Maryland-based Joe鈥檚 Movement Emporium, which focuses on arts education and youth development.

This program will start by targeting Beane鈥檚 students in pre-K through second grade, keeping them at school as late as 5 p.m., when dismissal is normally at 1:40 p.m. every afternoon.

“For a parent that works a traditional nine to five, that becomes a barrier around what community supports are available to them to pick up their child at the bus stop,” principal Nyree Smith said.

鈥淭his program will help support ensuring that our parents have a safe space for them.鈥�

Brooke Kidd, executive director of Joe’s Movement Emporium and its community center Creative Suitland, said students will explore all sorts of visual arts like painting, drawing and sculpture, to the performing arts like dance, music, theater and poetry.

By emphasizing reading and literature, the hope is that it also leads to better test scores, while also improving attendance.

鈥楾hey’ll be excited to come to their after-school program and want to make sure they get to school,鈥� Kidd said.

鈥淭hey can have exhibitions and performances throughout the year and just share the talent and creativity school wide.鈥�

The money for this program is coming from federal funds allocated by Congress. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, who spent part of her youth growing up in Suitland, said the investment is personal. She said she was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder around age 8, leading her parents to enroll her in Howard University’s children’s theater program, where she eventually found herself performing at Arena Stage.

“That set the foundation for absolutely everything else that happened in my life,” Alsobrooks said. “The confidence that I developed, the ability to present myself to others, to stand on the stage in those productions, it has carried me for the rest of my life.”

Beanes Elementary was the last of four stops made by Van Hollen and Alsobrooks on Monday. The two also visited Prince George鈥檚 County鈥檚 Latin American Youth Center, College Park鈥檚 Attick Towers Apartments, and Ivy Community Charities of Prince George鈥檚 County, in order to tout further federal investments in programs offered there.

鈥淭his is an opportunity to show where the federal government, by investing a little bit of money, a lot of seed money, can help good things grow,鈥� said Van Hollen. Most of the programs targeted youth around the county.

鈥淥ne of the smartest investments we can make is in our young people, especially when they’re very young,鈥� he said.

The one exception was the money that will help renovate the Attick Towers Apartments, which is owned by the College Park Housing Authority and is a senior living facility.

鈥淪eniors can live in dignity鈥� there, said Van Hollen. 鈥淲e have an affordable housing crisis in Maryland and throughout the country. Seniors, especially since they’re on fixed incomes, have trouble affording rising rents and costs. We’re able to renovate this building and let them stay there 鈥� age in place rather than be thrown out on the street.鈥�

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Whatever you do, definitely don鈥檛 go reaching for a new bag of fertilizer, and think twice about firing up the mower again anytime soon. Instead, the best thing you can do right now is actually the easiest: back off.

“Do as little as possible,” said Daniel Sandor, an assistant professor of turf grass science at Virginia Tech. “The grass knows what to do. It can recover.”

Most D.C.-area lawns are cool season grasses 鈥� fescue and bluegrass for example 鈥� and Sandor said those are the ones most affected by drought stress. The key right now is limiting anything that adds extra strain.

That means cutting back on mowing. Since the grass isn’t getting enough water to grow, it’s probably not growing much anyway.

When you do mow, Sandor said to raise your mowing height to at least three inches, or as high as your mower will go, and always follow what he calls the “one-third” rule: never cut more than one-third of the blade in a single mow. In fact, he鈥檚 an advocate for mowing at higher heights anyway.

鈥淚 know a lot of people want their lawn to look like a golf course or a fairway, if you will,鈥� Sandor said. 鈥淭he higher you mow, it really helps reduce the stress on the turf and allows those roots to go deeper, so that when that drought does come, those roots are already deeper in the soil, or trying to go deeper in the soil, to where they can maybe get water at deeper depths. If we’re just mowing short all the time, those roots aren’t really going very far.鈥�

Skip the fertilizer, too. It might seem like a good way to nurse a struggling lawn back to health, but Sandor said it won’t do much good right now.

“If the soil is already dry, you don’t have the ability for the fertilizers to breakdown in the soil solution, but also for the active energy in the roots to absorb those nutrients,” he said. Instead, wait until fall, when root growth is most active and nutrients are more readily absorbed.

And if you’re planning a backyard cookout or a kids’ birthday party on the grass? Go for it, as long as you鈥檙e OK knowing the extra foot traffic will add some stress. Sandor said the lawn should still bounce back once rain returns.

For next year, Sandor said the best drought defense starts well before summer by fertilizing in the fall, and then conducting a soil test every three years to help you know exactly what nutrients the lawn needs.

鈥淭hat really helps the turf in terms of root growth and shoot growth during those times of active growth, really be fortified,鈥� Sandor said. 鈥淭hat should ultimately improve their drought resistance if they’re healthy going into the drought period.鈥�

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The boat that Kevin Sherwood of Springfield, Virginia, bought is still in dry dock as he makes final repairs and preparations ahead of the whole reason he bought the “Bay Retriever” in the first place.

If all goes as planned, he鈥檒l get it in the water Wednesday, and starting at noon on Friday, he鈥檒l be heading south down the Chesapeake Bay on a 753-mile voyage to Bermuda.

Sherwood鈥檚 boat is one of 21 in , or A2B, which dates back to 1979. He鈥檒l be joined by a crew of four others in a race he said is among the most challenging on the East Coast.

鈥淚 bought this boat in 2022 specifically for the Bermuda race,鈥� Sherwood said. 鈥淪ince I bought this, everything we’ve done has been prepping for it.

鈥淧lenty of sailors never leave the Chesapeake. It’s very different when we’re dealing with ocean waves, ocean weather, all kinds of different conditions. So, the boat really needs to be set up for it.鈥�

The bay, being both relatively shallow and surrounded by land, can make for ideal sailing; if something still goes wrong, help isn鈥檛 far away.

Heading out in the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean to an island more than 600 miles off the coast can present more difficult circumstances. Yet, if you go on the race鈥檚 website, you鈥檒l see a long list of people hoping to get picked up by a boat to help take part.

鈥淲e’re out of rescue range for a portion of the trip. They’ll ask a passing freighter to come help you if you have a problem,鈥� Sherwood said. 鈥淲e are on our own out there.鈥�

Some boats will have full galleys available to help cook meals for the crew. But Sherwood’s vessel, being smaller, has been stocking up on food and water from the grocery store.

He and the crew will take turns sailing and resting in the cabin down below. A 鈥渓ee cloth鈥� 鈥� imagine a hammock, more or less 鈥� will catch anyone if the boat leans one way while they鈥檙e sleeping, lest they fall to the floor.

Of course, that assumes they鈥檒l have strong winds and waves. Sherwood, who has done this race twice before, said that鈥檚 not always the case.

鈥淢y first Bermuda race, we had plenty of nothing going on,鈥� he said. For two days, the winds were so calm Sherwood’s team was “barely making two knots.鈥�

Two years ago, he saw more clouds than stars and sun, and waves were running 12-15 feet high.

鈥淭he last couple of races we haven’t seen many sunsets because of clouds, fog, rain, that sort of thing,鈥� Sherwood said. 鈥淏ut when you are out there all alone and just the stars, it’s incredibly detached. There’s really nowhere left in the country to get this isolated.鈥�

Of course, having access to Starlink means there is some connection out on the water 鈥� though, if you鈥檙e on duty, you鈥檙e too focused to care. If you鈥檙e not, you鈥檙e probably resting.

鈥淭here’s definitely parts I’m going to hate,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here’s parts I’m going to be asking myself, ‘Why am I doing this? Why am I here?’ But it’s just such an awesome team sport. When I go off watch, I’m trusting the other guys to keep sailing, keep racing, to keep us safe, to keep the boat moving fast. We get to detach from the world.鈥�

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For how long is anyone鈥檚 guess. Weather and winds will determine the time it takes to get there.

鈥淚f conditions are amazing, we’ll get in on Tuesday,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f conditions are great, Wednesday. If they’re average, Thursday, and if they’re terrible, Friday.鈥�

Those following from home . Whenever he arrives, he said workers on the docks will have a 鈥淒ark n’ Stormy鈥� 鈥� 鈥� waiting for them.

He鈥檒l also be hoping to be handed a trophy he can sail back with, but that鈥檚 not the most important thing right now.

鈥淭here’s a point of pride just for completing this; 753 miles of ocean sailing is a big deal,鈥� he said.

鈥淪o, yeah, I mean, I want to do well, but my first goal is just to make it back here safely in two and a half weeks. My next goal is to make it to Bermuda safely. Then my third goal is to finish well and get a podium finish again.鈥�

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While militaries around the world are deploying AI on the battlefield, organizations such as the Red Cross and peace-focused tech companies are using the same tools to try to protect civilians, reunite families and help broker ceasefires.

Laura Walker McDonald, technologist with the Red Cross, said the organization uses AI to identify targets, the same way some militaries do. But in the Red Cross’s case, those “targets” are people who need help.

“So we can understand where people might need assistance or where people are even,” Walker McDonald said.

The Red Cross also uses drone technology. Walker McDonald pointed to a major earthquake in Nepal years ago, when damaged roads made it nearly impossible to reach remote villages.

“You could fly a drone out there, and it would be able to send back imagery and tell you what had happened so you could get help to people,鈥� she said.

But drones used in conflict zones can backfire for aid agencies such as the Red Cross, since the sound alone can trigger fear in people who’ve recently been attacked.

“When you hear it, you think, ‘I have to hide, because I don’t know what’s going to happen,'” Walker McDonald said. “Whether they’re looking for people and will come back, or whether the drone itself is armed makes you feel stressed.”

Because of that, Walker McDonald said the Red Cross won’t deploy drones anywhere the noise itself causes harm.

The Red Cross has also turned to AI to dig through a century’s worth of records on missing persons 鈥� files that are damaged, faded or simply hard to read.

“We have archives of information about people who have been missing in war, who’ve been seeking their families, or whose families have been seeking them,” Walker McDonald said. “They go back 100 years. We’ve been able to train an AI to start looking at those records and actually digitizing the information much faster.”

On the peace-building side, Frank Aum, a peace strategist with the AI company Transcend, said AI can compress the timeline for conflict analysis from months down to moments, which can be a big help for private companies working in areas where conflict and tensions have raged on for decades, as well as the United Nations, which seeks to resolve such disputes.

“We have built agents and a platform that can do the type of analysis that humans would do in the period of days, weeks, months, which AI can do very quickly,” Aum said.

Transcend, founded by Ola Mohajer, focuses on de-escalation.

鈥淲hat we want to do now is automate a lot of that analytical layer of the work,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o that we can do the important things like building trust, addressing political will.鈥�

She said examples of how that information could help the private sector could involve a mining company working in Africa, where there鈥檚 lots of documented tensions.

鈥淲hat you’re likely to find there are things like black market rates for critical minerals, child workers, unsafe working conditions, forced labor,鈥� she said. 鈥淐ompanies absolutely do not want this. They don’t want it anywhere in their supply chain, and so, what companies pay attention to is making sure that, A, it’s not in there in the first place, but B, if it does get in there, make sure it’s quiet and taken care of.”

Mohajer said the technology could also help figure out solutions to the root of those problems.

Aum said automating the analytical work so human experts can focus on the harder parts 鈥� building trust and political will 鈥� will save senior decision makers and experts time.

“Helping governments, nongovernmental organizations make peace and the resolution of conflict faster,” Aum said.

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The county’s World Cup Festival will be held at the Prince George’s County Sports and Learning Complex in Landover.

It starts on the night of Friday, June 12, when Team USA takes on Paraguay in its first match of the World Cup.

The game will be broadcast on a jumbotron with premium concert quality sound, County Executive Aisha Braveboy said Friday at a press conference.

“We hope that you will bring your families, your friends 鈥� come with your blankets and your lawn chairs to enjoy this festival atmosphere,” she said. The event will feature food trucks, music and half-time entertainment.

On Saturday, June 13, Eagle Sports 鈥� the county’s partner running the event 鈥� will host a Youth World Championship tournament. The competition will feature young athletes on teams representing their countries of heritage, according to organizers.

“We love soccer here in Prince George’s County and we’re going to celebrate the way that we can celebrate, which is by bringing everyone together,鈥� Braveboy said.

One reason FIFA chose not to hold any World Cup matches in the D.C. region was the poor condition of the NFL stadium in Landover. It was not considered up to standard when FIFA toured the facility.

So the county is doing what it can to make the best of the situation.

鈥淭his competition will unite our young athletes on teams representing their countries of heritage, showcasing our county’s incredible global diversity,鈥� said David Okhumale, managing partner at Eagle Sports.

Taiye Akinmboni, head soccer coach at Prince George’s Community College and an Eagle Sports partner, said the tournament comes at a time where the amount of soccer talent native to the county is increasing.

鈥淧rince George’s County is known as a basketball and football county,鈥� said Akinmboni. 鈥淏ut over the last few years we’ve done our best to make sure that we are also known as a soccer county.鈥�

The county has begun producing professional-level talent. Kristian Fletcher of Bowie is currently playing for Cincinnati FC in Major League Soccer, and Akinmboni鈥檚 son, 19-year-old Matai Akinmboni, is under contract with Bournemouth FC, which finished in 6th place in England鈥檚 Premiere League, qualifying it for the Europa League tournament as well.

“Next year we will have our own Prince George’s County native playing in European cup football,” Akinmboni said.

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Hundreds of D.C. second graders rolled into Kenilworth Park on a gorgeous Friday for “Graduation on Wheels,” and many of them would leave school with a stylish new ride.

Learning to ride a bike is part of the D.C. Public Schools curriculum for second graders. Over a handful of physical education classes this year, they learned how to balance, pedal, stop and all the other aspects of safe biking.

Friday’s event was an opportunity for them to show off what they learned, though for 300 kids in Ward 7 and Ward 8, it came with a bonus 鈥� free bikes.

“They’re brand-new bicycles with their name on it, with their helmets, with locks,” said Fred Schaufeld, founder of the D.C. Bike Ride. “It’s one of the most fun events that I’ve ever been to.”

Students decorated their rides with stickers before heading home. Second grader Elaiya Hamilton was one of them.

“The stickers look very nice, and I like that I have a dinosaur sticker because I love dinosaurs,” she said.

Hamilton said she’s planning to ride to the park and back home this summer, and she’s already thinking about paying it forward.

“When you learn how to ride a bike, you could show your other friends how to ride a bike too,” she said.

Other kids were just as excited about that idea.

鈥淲e are riding some bikes!鈥� Zoren Geffard said. 鈥淵ou can do tricks on it, and you can ride it around wherever you want,鈥� adding she was already scheming about where this new bike would take her.

鈥淚t鈥檚 super fun,鈥� she said excitedly. 鈥淚 would go to some Target, some Five Below to get some more NeeDohs. I would get some Dumplings squishies, and then I would go to the mall and spend my mommy and my daddy鈥檚 credit card.鈥�

It鈥檚 the kind of excitement any adult can remember feeling themselves as a kid.

鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing like breaking off into the wind, riding away, enjoying riding a bike, but also being active,鈥� schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said. “We hear a lot about students not being as active as they used to be in years past, and so this is one way we can ensure that students are active, they’re out and enjoying the great park space and amenities we have here in our city.鈥�

School leaders stressed that knowing how to ride a bike was an important life skill to have, especially in a city like D.C.

鈥淭hese kids have got to understand the joy, the independence, the fun, the freedom that comes from riding a bike,鈥� Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn said. 鈥淚t’s liberation. You are riding along, going as fast as you can, as safely as you can, and you just feel let loose from the world.鈥�

For some kids, getting to keep the bike seemed mind-blowing, Schaufeld said.

鈥淵ou remember it for the rest of your life,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n some cases, they just can’t even wrap their heads around the fact that at the end of the day those bikes are going back to their schools and back to their houses for them for the summer, forever.鈥�

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The Fairmount Five Market is a partnership between Prince George’s County and Goodr, an Atlanta-based company that has opened 34 similar stores across the country since 2021. It is the first Goodr location in the D.C. area and the first permanent Goodr store to open inside a library.

Goodr founder and CEO Jasmine Crowe-Houston said the store will serve more than 200 families each month, offering meat, dairy, produce, juices and other grocery staples, all for free.

“This is a real grocery store,” Crowe-Houston said. “This is not something that’s just giving to people. We really want it to be dignity and treating people well.”

To shop there, residents had to apply in advance. Nearly 200 households were accepted, and there is already a waiting list, Crowe-Houston said.

“They get to come in and go shopping, no questions asked,” Crowe-Houston said. “They get a reusable grocery bag. We ask that they bring it back.”

Organizers said there was a major effort to make the experience as dignified as possible.

“I would often say, in this country, there’s a big difference between access to meals and access to food,” Crowe-Houston said. “It’s one thing to get a box of food that you don’t know really what you’re going to make with it. It’s a completely different thing to come in and pick out things that you’ll go home and cook.”

Fairmount Heights is considered a food desert. Most of the households accepted so far are led by seniors, and Prince George’s County Council member Shayla Adams-Stafford, who helped bring the store to the community, said they no longer have to travel miles to reach basic food options.

“So many of our seniors were suffering in silence, not able to afford grocery store prices, but maybe they made a little bit too much to qualify for food programs,” Adams-Stafford said. “Having a program like this that allows them to come and shop with dignity, it really is going to make a big difference here.”

Families in Prince George’s County can register through District 5 or the library. The store is open on a set schedule, with families notified when they can show up and fill their bag with items they need. On opening day, the selection included green peppers, apples, oranges, bananas and potatoes.

The store is funded through a county grant that will be used to keep it stocked each week, Crowe-Houston said. Prince George’s County Council Chair Krystal Oriadha said a second free grocery store is set to open in District 7 soon.

Maryland first lady Dawn Moore attended the opening, held on World Hunger Day. She said the state is also investing in food access through its “Food is Medicine” initiative, which includes a new Medically Tailored Meals program that launched this month. Moore said the program will provide nearly 1 million meals to more than 3,000 Marylanders.

“These are older communities, they are established communities, but they are deserving of all of the opportunities that every community throughout the state of Maryland can offer and have,” Moore said.

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A massive warehouse in Laurel, Maryland, is being transformed into a high-tech film and TV production facility that company and county leaders said will make the area a magnet for major film, commercial and streaming projects.

鈥淲elcome to the future of filmmaking in Maryland,鈥� Revolution VP Studios co-founder Zach Guerra said at an event Thursday. 鈥淲hen we open our doors this October, our VP studios will be the most technologically advanced virtual production studio facility in the world. Not in Maryland. Not on the East Coast. In the world.鈥�

Prince George’s County Executive Aisha Braveboy was on hand to celebrate the project.

“Hollywood’s going to be worried about folks wanting to come here,” she said. 鈥淲e are actively positioning Prince George’s County as a leading center of technology, innovation, and entertainment.”

Virtual production uses video walls as backdrops, unlike the often fake-looking studio backgrounds seen in old movies.

“You know when you’re watching James Bond. He’s driving 鈥� and it looks like he’s just in the car,” Guerra told WTOP. “Or Dorothy when she’s running from the tornado in Wizard of Oz.”

Virtual production technology, he said, makes it look like actors and props are in that environment.

“When the camera moves, the background moves in accordance with it. So it’s really an infinite world. Anything that you want to make, you can do inside the stage, which is revolutionary,鈥� Guerra said.

Lights that wash the screens out is one of the telltale signs of a virtual production. This studio will use LED wall panels designed to be more filmmaker friendly.

Guerra expects Revolution VP’s services to be in high demand, and Braveboy said it will be a catalyst for economic growth.

There are only four other stages like this one in the entire country, and perhaps seven worldwide 鈥� and they’re already booked out, Guerra said.

“Every time you bring a production in, it’s an army,” Guerra said. “And we need a lot to make an army run.”

That includes catering, hotels, electrical work 鈥� “just a vast amount of things,” Guerra said.

Potential customers include Netflix and other streaming services, independent filmmakers, and Maryland companies like Epic Games, which is already using the technology, but has to leave the state to do so, Guerra said.

“We’re going to be a national brand,” Guerra said.

So many of the movies and TV shows associated with Hollywood are shot elsewhere that it’s become an issue in California politics. County officials were confident this facility will overcome efforts to bring more production back to the West Coast.

“The demand for time in the studio is huge, so we think that we’re going to be extremely competitive. In fact, we’ll probably be the place to come on the East Coast,” Braveboy said.

Guerra said virtual production has several advantages over that location-based shoots.

“A lot of the costs for production are moving bodies. Feeding them and moving bodies, transportation, things like that,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can shoot five different locations in a single day here, which is really is wildly helpful. So it doesn’t matter the time of season. What’s most important is the technology.”

Officials talked about a partnership with Bowie State University and its immersive media, entertainment and gaming program, focused on game design, animation, and visual effects.

The partnership will give students hands-on work and access to facilities they would otherwise find Atlanta or New York City.

鈥淲e’re looking to make a huge impact in the area,鈥� said Guerra.

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A University of Maryland art teacher is striking a chord with people through musical chairs 鈥� not the game, but pieces of art made from plastic lawn chairs and harp strings.

admitted the pieces are a bit strange, but also bold, and they’re connecting with people who have memories of sitting in chairs just like them, known as monobloc chairs.

One day, Leizman took some harp strings and attached them to one of the chairs. Why? Even they admitted that’s a good question.

鈥淚t sort of was an accident,鈥� Leizman said.

Feeling kind of stuck artistically, they just started trying things, not knowing how much it would resonate with people.

鈥淚 sort of feel like the town jester a little bit, especially with how much attention these have gotten online,鈥� Leizman said.

鈥淚t is a little ridiculous. They’re very silly, but I think also, as a teacher, my goal is to make weird stuff.鈥�

The musical chair is just that, and yet they’re all over Leizman鈥檚 apartment too. They’re still figuring out the right way to play that doubles as an art piece; sometimes Leizman uses a bow, as if it were a violin or cello, and sometimes they just pluck it like a guitar.

鈥淚t’s sort of been compared online to something between, like, a guitar and a piano,鈥� Leizman said.

鈥淓specially because these strings are low, so I’m playing it with both hands often. It feels a little bit more like I’m playing a piano, but it sounds a little more like a guitar.鈥�

But it鈥檚 the visual of the chair itself, not necessarily the sound it produces, that is striking a chord with audiences.

鈥淧eople all over the world have either a physical memory of sitting in it, or some sort of, like, visual association with it,鈥� Leizman said.

鈥淏ut there are associations everywhere you go, and I think that that’s something that makes it sort of invisible until you realize it’s there. Then suddenly we’re all like, 鈥極h my gosh,鈥� like we all have a connection to this thing that invites us to rest, and to rest often in groups with other people.鈥�

It鈥檚 those memories, conveyed to them by people who see the chair and start recounting their memories, whether happy or sad, that made Leizman think they had something more significant than just a cheap piece of plastic.

鈥淏eing as human as possible is a big motivator. Especially AI 鈥� you can’t tell what’s real online, oftentimes,鈥� Leizman said.

鈥淚鈥檓 trying to be as weird and myself as possible, even though that goes against everything that my brain is telling me to do, because it’s for the sake of being human in public. I think that’s a good reason.鈥�

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Cooking techniques and ingredients give Asian cuisines their distinct and regional flavors, and the same holds true for their alcoholic beverages.

At D.C.’s Moon Rabbit restaurant in Northwest D.C., the Asian-focused cocktail menu draws on ingredients and techniques specific to the regions of the continent.

With the botanical earth and spice in Asia, there’s a wide range of variety to make into different flavors,鈥� said Thi Nguyen, the restaurant’s award-winning bar director. 鈥淭he playing field is a little bit more open and more free for people to create their own gin.鈥�

Moon Rabbit, which received a Michelin award for an exceptional cocktail program in 2024, carries Vietnamese, Indian and Korean gins, which feature fruits, such as longan, rambutan, jackfruit and dragon fruit.

One of the herbs Moon Rabbit uses in its cocktails is “culantro.”

“Almost like cilantro, but a little bit more spice into it 鈥� a very distinct spice note,” Nguyen said.

She said people often describe cilantro as soapy, but culantro is different.

It’s “minty and has a little kick into it,” Nguyen said, adding that culantro is long leaf with spiky edges, while cilantro has short leaves.

Moon Rabbit’s take on a gin gimlet was inspired by an Asian cucumber salad, featuring a mix of lime juice, ginger syrup and a cucumber-infused Indian gin. It’s shaken and garnished with a few drops of sesame oil that float on top.

“A very summer drink,” Nguyen said.

While at most bars, you tell the bartender what you’d like to drink, Nguyen said her customers tend to defer to the bartenders when it comes to what kind of libations to imbibe.

“They tend to do more like a bartender choice, where they just tell the bartender what they’re looking for and then the bartender would make it for them,” she said.

Experimenting with sh艒ch奴聽

A similar cultural norm exists in Japan. Honkaku Spirits founder Christopher Pellegrini is a Japan-based expert in shochu, Awamori and other koji spirits. Koji is a type of mold that is used in traditional Japanese fermentation that creates 鈥渦mami-laden spirits with a character unique to Japan,鈥� .

Pellegrini said in Japan, you鈥檙e likely to have canned beverages or a single bottle of a spirit at home, but not much more than that.

“There’s not really a reason to have a big spirits cabinet in your home,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to have dinner parties that you need to entertain in most cases. Most people meet out at a restaurant or a bar when they’re socializing.”

In terms of what people in Japan are drinking when they鈥檙e out, Pellegrini said shochu is a category unlike anything most American drinkers have tried. Shochu 鈥� not to be confused with soju from South Korea 鈥� is softer than most spirits in terms of alcohol volume, and it’s made in a variety of different ways.

It鈥檚 usually bottled at 25% ABV, Pellegrini said. Most Awamori, another Japanese spirit, is at 30%. It鈥檚 usually served with meals rather than being consumed as a standalone drink.

鈥淭hey just never really do them in isolation. If there’s food on the table, then there may be drinks,鈥� Pellegrini said. 鈥淚f there are drinks, then there will also be food on the table.鈥�

In Japan, shochu outsells sake, he said, and if you weren鈥檛 aware of that, you shouldn鈥檛 be surprised. Pellegrini said less than one-tenth of 1% of shochu production ever leaves Japan, compared with about two-thirds of mezcal and tequila production leaving Mexico.

But shochu and Awamori are showing up increasingly in cocktail bars in the U.S. Pellegrini predicted they will be “one of the next big things internationally.”

鈥淭hey use a variety of different food stuffs to make sweet potato shochu, barley shochu, rice shochu, Kokuto sugar shochu and many other styles,鈥� Pellegrini said. 鈥淭here are 53 approved styles in Japan today. It is the most diverse spirits category in the world.鈥�

Part of the appeal for bars, he said, is practical: Shochu carries no additives and is what Pellegrini called “the lowest calorie spirit in the world.”

What connects whiskey with DC’s famous cherry trees?

Japanese whiskey, a centuries-old tradition, has a connection to the nation’s capital.

Jokichi Takamine, a Japanese chemist, patented a process for producing a maltless whiskey in Illinois in the 1890s, Pellegrini said.

Takamine licensed the process to the Illinois Whiskey Trust, which planned to switch from malted grains to a Japanese fermentation style using k艒ji mold 鈥� the same mold used to make miso and soy sauce.

鈥淗e was nearly successful at changing American fermentation and American whiskey,鈥� Pellegrini said.

Legal disputes and suspicious destruction of some of his equipment put an end to that, however. Takamine moved his family to Harlem, New York, where he 鈥� epinephrine 鈥� the precursor to the EpiPen, Pellegrini said.

Takamine used his earnings from those patents toward philanthropic measures. He helped facilitate the donation of thousands of cherry trees on behalf of Japan to D.C. 鈥� the same ones you see today on the Tidal Basin.

This year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, which marked America’s 250th anniversary, included a donation of 250 more cherry blossom saplings to D.C. 鈥� continuing a tradition that traces back to Takamine’s original 1912 gift, Pellegrini said. The Takamine Koji Whiskey brand was a sponsor of the festival this year.

Pellegrini said he and a colleague approached Takamine’s family in Japan and asked if they could revive the koji whiskey in his name and the family agreed.

鈥淪o much of the Japanese tradition of making whiskey, which is only 100 years old, is based on the Scotch tradition,鈥� Pellegrini said. 鈥淭his is made in Japan, but there’s no malted grains in it. It’s kojified grains. It’s barley that has had koji propagated onto it. It somehow runs a little sweeter.鈥�

He described it as “a bridge between Japan and America, much like Dr. Takamine was back in his day.”

An 8-year-old koji whiskey, he said, “feels older when tasted 鈥� like it’s 15 years old.”

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Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan said about 150,000 visitors are expected in his town alone, rain or shine.

“Everybody’s open. Everybody’s excited,” Meehan said. 鈥淭he boardwalk looks great. The beach looks just as pretty as I’ve ever seen it. We’re ready for the big crowds, and there’s so many things to do.鈥�

He鈥檚 also confident the weather forecast this weekend won鈥檛 keep many people away.

鈥淲e’re not expecting it to be a washout. We’re going to have intermittent rain, hopefully it’s going to break Saturday, be nice Sunday and Monday,鈥� Meehan said. 鈥淪o we’re still excited. I think there’ll be big crowds. People are looking 鈥� it’s been a long, cold winter 鈥� are just looking to get away.”

He said whatever weather that does make its way to the coast this weekend, it won’t dampen their excitement.

“Don’t miss an opportunity. If you’ve got three days, take advantage of spending that time with your kids and your families,” Meehan said.

Similar greetings come from a few miles up Coastal Highway in Rehoboth Beach, where around 50,000 or so visitors could show up this weekend regardless of the weather, according to Mayor Stan Mills.

鈥淥ur star attractions are waiting for your arrival,鈥� Mills said. 鈥淥ur star attractions: our boardwalk, our stores, eateries and beach.鈥�

He said there鈥檚 just too much happening for the rain to wash any plans away.

鈥淩ain or shine, we are ready,鈥� Mills said. 鈥淵ou can still walk a mile and a half along boardwalk. You can go to Fun Land amusements and arcade. Stores that have roofs over them.”

He has no doubts anyone who’s been planning to do all of that for a while will follow through.

鈥淲e believe a lot of people have already made their vacation plans. They’ve already rented houses or hotel rooms,鈥� Mills said. 鈥淭hey’re going to make the best of it. We have a saying here that a bad day at the beach is better than a good day back home.鈥�

Both towns touted a calendar of events from concerts to fireworks, and all sorts of other free, family-friendly activities throughout the year, beginning this weekend.

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Jeanette Epps, who spent a record 235 days in space in 2024, is the commencement speaker at Thursday’s graduation ceremony. The mission put her in the record books, but getting there took far longer than she expected.

鈥淚 waited 15 years to fly to space despite knowing, looking at all the things that I had done 鈥� successfully is the keyword there 鈥� and trying to figure out, well, why am I not flying? Patience is a key ingredient in that, and knowing when to be very proactive in a situation and not pointing fingers or anything like that at people,” Epps said. “None of that would have helped my situation.”

She’ll pass on lessons learned from her journey to the Class of 2026, speaking to them about the importance of patience and how to deal with setbacks.

鈥淚f it is linear, great. The chances are it won’t be linear,鈥� Epps said. 鈥淭hat’s OK. Sometimes when you go off schedule, off plan, you end up in a better place. And I happen to think that I ended up in a much better place, having gone through some of the things I did.鈥�

Epps was replaced from space missions twice before finally getting chosen to go into orbit, and talking about her setbacks has not only helped those in her audience, it’s helped with her own confidence in her qualifications and abilities.

When she did finally fly to space, she thought the long wait wouldn’t be worth it. She turned out to be wrong.

鈥淚 had a wonderful time in space. So, I could say that, for me, despite everything that happened, I’m a better person for it,鈥� Epps said.

鈥淚’ve seen solar eclipse from space. I’ve seen 16 sunrises and sunsets every day, looking out the window and seeing new things on the surface of our planet,鈥� she said. 鈥淒oing the work in space was sometimes difficult, sometimes it was super easy.鈥�

Those challenges also taught her the importance of teamwork. She credited her team members with helping her get to space and succeeding on the mission.

鈥淵ou don’t launch alone. You can’t go through life alone,鈥� Epps said.

When Maryland students graduate, they鈥檒l receive a special patch, similar to what astronauts get when they go to space. It has a graduation cap and rocket with a star for each college in the university. There鈥檚 also a terrapin shell that looks like a bright star.

Epps said she’s hopeful students will leave with the same optimism she has about the future, and that space exploration can help with that.

鈥淟ook at what happened when the Artemis II mission occurred,鈥� Epps said. 鈥淔or 10 days 鈥� instead of hearing about wars and rumors of wars and things like that, we were looking at something that was bringing the world together.”

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Up to 335,000 drivers are expected to cross the Bay Bridge this weekend, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, and officers said the most common cause of crashes on the bridge is completely avoidable 鈥� distracted driving.

“You’re looking off to your side, looking at the ships out there. You’re talking to your passengers and you’re not paying attention to the traffic in front of you,” Lt. Col. Timothy Eikenberg, MDTA Police’s administrative bureau chief, said.

Rear-end collisions are the leading cause of crashes on the bridge, Eikenberg said, often at the one big curve on the bridge, though they do happen along the entire stretch. He’s urging drivers to maintain a safe following distance and keep their focus forward.

Rain in the forecast this weekend won鈥檛 help things either, and MDTA Police will deploy additional officers to respond to crashes and keep traffic moving as efficiently as possible.

Maryland State Police will also be out in force everywhere else in Maryland. Secretary of State Police Col. Michael Jackson said troopers will be targeting impaired and distracted drivers out on the roads.

“Safety is a partnership with every motorist on the road, year-round,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淲e urge Marylanders and those who travel through our state to make safety their No. 1 priority.

Jackson said the Maryland State Police DUI team, known as “Spider,” will be working to remove impaired drivers from the road. Troopers will also be targeting those who speed.

鈥淐hoose to drive sober or choose a sober driver,鈥� Jackson said. 鈥淎nd use a rideshare service, folks. It is like just this simple. Use a rideshare.鈥�

All told, more than a million people are expected on the roads this weekend, with some of the heaviest traffic beginning Thursday as people work to get a head start. If you’re heading out to the Eastern Shore, Eikenberg offered more simple advice.

鈥淲e always recommend, leave early, stay late,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat way you can try to avoid some of the congestion, and you can spend more time down at the beach or wherever you’re traveling to.”

And if you must be on the road during peak travel days, know what to expect.

鈥淚t’s going to be a high volume of traffic going across that bridge.鈥�

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It鈥檚 Commissioning Week in Annapolis, Maryland, as the next class of Midshipmen get ready to graduate from the Naval Academy on Friday. But before that happens, as is tradition, the Blue Angels put on their annual performance over the Severn River.

Once again, they did not disappoint.

Thousands of people traveled to Annapolis on Wednesday afternoon 鈥� with lots of people downtown, and lots more on the other side of the Severn River by the World War II Memorial. To those who haven’t seen the show, locals say you’re missing something words can barely capture.

Andrew Livingston of Millersville was among the thousands who showed up.

“It’s almost the start of summer,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s really amazing to see how fast and incredibly loud they are, and how talented to keep the planes so close together as they fly by.鈥�

The jets are loud 鈥� ear-splitting, rattle-your-chest loud 鈥� especially when they fly upside down right over you.

Michelle Greenwalt drove in from Gambrills and said there’s simply no substitute for being there.

“The noise, the sound, the aerial 鈥� everything that they do is amazing,” Greenwalt said. “Until you experience it, you really don’t understand it.”

鈥淭he plane goes faster than the sound, so that tells you how loud it is,鈥� she added. 鈥淧eople cover their ears, but you have goose bumps with the thrill of the sound.鈥�

Greenwalt was there with her husband, Tim, who had never been before, as well as Andrew Domshick of Arnold.

鈥淚 love the sound, I love the speed, I love the talent and the skill that these pilots have,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he amount of training that goes into this is unbelievable, and it just says America 鈥� screams America 鈥� gives me goose bumps every time.鈥�

Plenty of kids were in attendance too, and lots of them also wore massive, noise-canceling headphones over their ears. But Colton Grondalski of Glen Burnie did not.

鈥淭hey’re very loud,鈥� he said of the planes.

The 8-year-old gets to skip school every year to see the show.

鈥淭here’s tons of tricks. There’s just cool stuff,” he said.

Plenty of adults who had never been before also showed up. That included Chris Sewell and Sarah Brooks, both of Silver Spring.

鈥淢y friends used to actually skip school to come and see this,鈥� Sewell said. 鈥淚 never got a chance to do it, so I’ve wanted to come for years and years and years. And finally, I saw it was going to be nice weather 鈥� so we decided to come on out.”

He and Brooks arrived around 9 a.m. to snag a spot overlooking the Severn River Bridge into downtown Annapolis.

鈥淢y dad grew up designing plane engines,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 just think it’s really cool to be able to see it this close.鈥�

Friday’s graduation ceremony at the Naval Academy is expected to draw thousands more to Annapolis.

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