Local
Mayor joins Whitman-Walker in groundbreaking for new building
Health organization to open largest-ever facility at St. Elizabeth’s East
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. Council members Trayon White (D-Ward 8) and Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7) joined other city officials and community leaders in a groundbreaking ceremony on July 15 for Whitman-Walker Health’s new healthcare center at the city’s rapidly developing site in Ward 8 known as the St. Elizabeth’s East Campus.
The six-story, 118,000-square-foot building, scheduled to open in the middle of 2023, will be Whitman-Walker’s largest-ever healthcare facility and will expand the health services currently provided in Ward 8 by Whitman-Walker’s Max Robinson Center in nearby Anacostia, according to a Whitman-Walker statement.
“This new health care home will reflect the vibrancy of the community and will give us an opportunity to expand care in ways we have been dreaming of for decades,” said Whitman-Walker CEO Naseema Shafi. “We are humbled to be working with Mayor Bowser and her team on this project,” Shafi told participants in the groundbreaking event.
Whitman-Walker describes itself as a non-profit community health center serving the D.C. metropolitan area with a special expertise in HIV/AIDS healthcare and LGBTQ healthcare. It says it currently provides services and care to more than 20,000 people annually.
In a statement released on the day of the groundbreaking event, Whitman-Walker said the new building will provide, among other services, primary, behavioral, dental, and “substance misuse” treatment services. Shafi said the new facility, similar to Whitman-Walker’s other facilities in Northwest D.C., will provide HIV-related care and care for transgender people and LGBTQ people in general.
According to the statement, the new facility will also include a ground-floor pharmacy and increased care for young people. In addition, it will provide administrative office space for over 100 Whitman-Walker staff, the statement says.
“This expansion will also allow Whitman-Walker to diversify and expand its research portfolio,” said Whitman-Walker spokesperson Jewel Addy. “Whitman-Walker has conducted research since 1987, studying nearly every HIV and Hepatitis C treatment on the market today,” Addy said.
“It’s difficult to say how important Whitman-Walker has been to D.C. residents,” Mayor Bowser told close to 100 people who turned out for the groundbreaking. “You’ve been part of the community for almost 50 years,” the mayor said. “And as you have grown and expanded, you have always prioritized the needs of the community. And because of that, Whitman-Walker has earned the trust of D.C. residents,” she said. “And we can’t wait to welcome you to St. Elizabeth Campus.”
White said he was pleased that Ward 8, which he represents on the D.C. Council, will be the host to the new Whitman-Walker facility. He and Gray, who represents nearby Ward 7, said they were looking forward to the expanded healthcare services the new facility will provide for people in need who live in the eastern section of the city, which historically has been underserved in healthcare.
John Falcicchio, the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, told the gathering that the new Whitman-Walker building will be one of several public and commercial buildings and facilities that either have already opened or will soon open at the St. Elizabeth’s East Campus.
He noted that the campus is home to the already operating St. Elizabeth’s East Sports and Entertainment Arena, which is home to the world champion Washington Mystics women’s basketball team. He said the campus will soon become home to a 252-unit housing facility, about 80 new townhomes, a new parking garage, a new city library, and a new hospital.
The Whitman-Walker statement says the D.C. development companies Redbrick LMC and Gragg Cardona Partners are working with Whitman-Walker to arrange for the construction of the new building.
“This groundbreaking represents the beginning of the realization of a bold vision shared by our partners at Whitman-Walker, Gragg Cardona Partners, District leadership and members of the community to build a new engine for economic vitality and quality healthcare,” said Louis Dubin, managing partner at Redbrick LMD.
Maryland’s legislative caucuses outlined their legislative priorities heading into the final weeks of the 2026 General Assembly during a joint press conference on March 24.
The press conference was titled “We are Maryland,” where a representative for each of the legislative caucuses outlined priorities.
State Del. Kris Fair (D-Frederick County) of the LGBTQ+ Caucus opened the press conference with a statement on the unity of Maryland’s caucus.
“Together we can show our state and our community a different world, one where we mutually support one another and through that support uplift every Marylander,” he said.
In a press conference on March 5, the LGBTQ+ Caucus outlined its top legislative priorities. Fair highlighted two of those bills again during the “We are Maryland” press conference.
The first of the two highlighted pieces of legislation was Senate Bill 626 and House Bill 1589.
The bills would simplify the process of updating an individual’s birth certificate and align the Department of Health and DMV systems to reflect those changes. The bill is being led by state Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Anne Arundel and Howard Counties) and state Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s County).
The second piece of legislation is Senate Bill 950 and House Bill 1209, which would update and modernize laws and regulations around so-called conversion therapy. The bills have failed to pass either chamber thus far. They are being led by state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery County) and state Del. Bonnie Cullison (D-Montgomery County).
(The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a Colorado law that bans so-called conversion therapy for minors. Maryland is among the U.S. jurisdictions that prohibit the widely discredited practice for anyone under 18.)
Martinez and Lam have introduced bills in their respective chambers that would expand PrEP access in Maryland. Martinez did not attend the press conference, and Fair did not mention it when he spoke.
State Del. N. Scott Phillips (D-Baltimore County) represented the Black Caucus during the press conference. State Del. Dana Jones (D-Anne Arundel County) spoke on behalf of the Women’s Caucus, State Del. Teresa Woorman (D-Montgomery County) represented the Latino Caucus, and State Del. Lily Qi (D-Montgomery County) represented the Asian-American and Pacific Islander Caucus. State Del. Jared Solomon (D-Montgomery County) represented the Jewish Caucus, and state Del. Sean Stinnett (D-Baltimore County) represented the Muslim Caucus during the press conference.
Solomon ended the press conference by explaining the importance of all the caucuses coming out together.
“We are stronger when we’re together, and many of these issues that we have talked about, again, impact all of us,” said Solomon.
District of Columbia
Blade contributor, husband exchange vows in D.C.
Yariel Valdés and Kevin Vega held ceremony at Jefferson Memorial on March 23
Washington Blade contributor Yariel Valdés and his husband, Kevin Vega, exchanged vows at the Jefferson Memorial on March 23.
The couple married in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Nov. 24, 2025. The Jefferson Memorial ceremony — which Blade International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Samy Nemir Olivares officiated — coincided with the third anniversary of Yariel and Kevin’s first date.
Yariel in 2019 asked for asylum in the U.S. because of the persecution he suffered as a journalist in his native Cuba. He spent nearly a year in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody before his release on March 4, 2020.
Yariel wrote a series of articles about his time in ICE custody that the Blade published. The series was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award in 2022.
Yariel and Kevin live in South Florida.
District of Columbia
‘Out for McDuffie’ event held at D.C. gay bar
Mayoral candidate cites record of longtime support for LGBTQ rights
More than 100 people filled the upstairs room of the D.C. gay bar Number 9 on Thursday night, March 26, to listen to D.C. mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie at an event promoted as an “Out for McDuffie” meet and greet session.
Several local LGBTQ activists who attended the event said they support McDuffie, a former D.C. Council member, in his run for mayor while others said they had not yet decided whom to vote for in the June 16 D.C. Democratic primary election.
As of March 27, eight other Democrats were competing against McDuffy in the June 16 primary, including D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), considered McDuffie’s lead opponent. Lewis George also has a record of strong support on LGBTQ issues.
Most political observers consider McDuffie and Lewis George the two lead candidates in the race, with the others having far less name recognition.
The two lead organizers of the Out for McDuffie event were LGBTQ rights advocates Courtney Snowden, a former D.C. deputy mayor in the administration of Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Cesar Toledo, a local LGBTQ youth housing services advocate.
“I’m a candidate for mayor of Washington, D.C. and I’m running for mayor because I love this city,” McDuffie told the gathering after being introduced by Snowden. “And now more than ever we need leadership to take us to the future,” he said, adding that he and his administration would “stand up and fight” against President Donald Trump’s efforts to intervene in local D.C. affairs.
“Our strength is in the 700,000 beautifully diverse residents of Washington, D.C.” he told the gathering. “And as Courtney said, I didn’t just show up and run for mayor and then start saying that I’m going to be an ally for the queer community, for the LGBTQ+ community,” he said, “I’ve lived my entire professional life fighting for justice and fighting for fairness.”
Following his speech, McDuffie told the Washington Blade, “We’re going to fight to protect our LGBTQ+ community every single day. That’s what I’ve spent my career doing, making sure we have a beautifully diverse and inclusive city.”
He remained at Number 9, located at 1435 P St., N.W., for nearly an hour after he spoke, chatting with attendees.
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