Local investigative reporting is vital for our community. SpotlightDC's mission is simple, 💲resource reporters doing this important work. Hear from @js_kaplan, one of our first grantees:

SpotlightDC is proud to have supported the launch of Dream City, a new podcast focused on timely analysis of the most important stories in D.C. — and holding the powerful accountable along the way.

New data shows evictions in D.C. have surged past pre-pandemic levels, fueled by shrinking aid, high rents, and weakened tenant protections. Reported in partnership with @streetsensedc and @irworkshop, with funding from @Spotlight4DC:

@mhbaskin @DCAttorneyGen And, thanks to @NewsMatch all your gifts (up to $1000) will be DOUBLED now through the end of the year - help spread the word!

@mhbaskin @DCAttorneyGen Accountability journalism like this is expensive, that's why SpotlightDC exists, to help fund the gaps. We can only do so with your support:

@mhbaskin We were happy to see our impact this year when the @DCAttorneyGen took action:

Starting way back in March of 2023, @mhbaskin dug into the exploitation of the city's voucher program by this developer, leaving low-income tenants living in squalor.

SpotlightDC is proud to continue to fund the accountability investigations into D.C. slumlord, Ali “Sam” Razjooyan. Read the latest here: https://t.co/d9tZfXUlTw

Thanks to @Spotlight4DC for helping fund this story and to 51st members who make our existence possible! Join in today:

This is an awful situation, though Jubilee stepping in seems to be a ray of hope. So glad @ndelgadillo07 put in the time to connect with tenants, sort through the polices and procedures, and shine more light on this (with @Spotlight4DC's support).

Today our first project with @51stnews published, the new worker-led news site coming out of the ashes of DCist. Give it a read:

I am so excited about this proposed legislation! Thank you @charlesallen @CMCharlesAllen for listening to residents like me and those in my building. we know there is a long road ahead, but we are so excited that this step is being taken to protect DC renters! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

One month after the SpotlightDC funded @wcp investigation published, @charlesallen introduced legislation banning common area utility fees in large buildings. #Impact https://t.co/zgrdGK8pIG

This wasn’t an anomaly, and will keep happening unless the DC government prevents known bad actors from receiving lucrative housing contracts. For every Razjooyan that gets sued, there are a dozen others with racks of housing code violations who continue to house the vulnerable

Today the DC attorney general announced he’s suing this landlord for egregious housing code violations and defrauding the city’s rapid rehousing program 👇

Impact: It was @mhbaskin's SpotlightDC funded investigation published by @DCist + @wamu885 that first called attention to the unlivable conditions in Sam Razjooyan's buildings.

I am honored to have had the opportunity to tell my story about the negative impact of common area utility billing (RUBS) and how it exploits #DC renters. We need laws to make this predatory and non-transparent practice illegal. Thank you to Suzie Amanuel, @Spotlight4DC & @wcp!

Another important housing story published by @wcp, funded by SpotlightDC. Make sure you give @AlexKomaWCP's latest a read:

When you’re dealing with the messy business of inheritances, the last thing you want is a years-long wild goose chase searching for probate records. Yet that’s exactly what some DC families have endured, my latest @Spotlight4DC investigation found: https://t.co/Ruq0YTonYv

Deep reporting like this costs $$$ and time (which also costs $!) SpotlightDC is proud to fund investigations like this one. Donate to make more of this work possible:

The issue wasn't just in Nikki's building. This reporting looked at 100s of eviction filings, multiple lawsuits and spoke with over 60 tenants to uncover a pattern of charing renters misleading utility fees in over 20 buildings around the city: https://t.co/wxIPkuRDFn