Eric Falquero
@ericfalquero.bsky.social
DC community journalist: ericfalquero[at]51st[dot]news.
Co-founder of the worker-led nonprofit @51st.news 📰. Past professional lives at WAMU/DCist and Street Sense Media.
Appalachian, Llanito, bird nerd 🦅, @footballclubgroup.com member / owner / fan ⚽
Co-founder of the worker-led nonprofit @51st.news 📰. Past professional lives at WAMU/DCist and Street Sense Media.
Appalachian, Llanito, bird nerd 🦅, @footballclubgroup.com member / owner / fan ⚽
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Here's your chance to do something about the people being starved and beaten in Broadview ICE custody.
Share this post, and I'll donate $1 to the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund (www.mibfc.org).
And if you make a donation to them, let me know how much and I'll match it 1:1.
Share this post, and I'll donate $1 to the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund (www.mibfc.org).
And if you make a donation to them, let me know how much and I'll match it 1:1.
November 12, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Here's your chance to do something about the people being starved and beaten in Broadview ICE custody.
Share this post, and I'll donate $1 to the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund (www.mibfc.org).
And if you make a donation to them, let me know how much and I'll match it 1:1.
Share this post, and I'll donate $1 to the Midwest Immigration Bond Fund (www.mibfc.org).
And if you make a donation to them, let me know how much and I'll match it 1:1.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
🌟Our latest "5 Questions with" features @christurdisani.bsky.social, @maddiepoore.bsky.social of @51st.news, discussing the newsroom’s worker-led structure, a popular story about a restaurant’s “luscious” plant display and expanding its Community Connector program. www.tinynewsco.org/5-questions-...
5 Questions with The 51st’s Christina Sturdivant Sani and Maddie Poore
Learn about The 51st's origin story and how it has thrived in its first year since launch.
www.tinynewsco.org
November 10, 2025 at 3:18 PM
🌟Our latest "5 Questions with" features @christurdisani.bsky.social, @maddiepoore.bsky.social of @51st.news, discussing the newsroom’s worker-led structure, a popular story about a restaurant’s “luscious” plant display and expanding its Community Connector program. www.tinynewsco.org/5-questions-...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
"I left The 51st’s first birthday party feeling in awe of what we’ve built together and more determined than ever to keep going."
See photos from the party — and read more of what it meant for @maddiepoore.bsky.social and the rest of our team to celebrate with you:
See photos from the party — and read more of what it meant for @maddiepoore.bsky.social and the rest of our team to celebrate with you:
A first birthday worth recapping
Celebrating the wins of the last 12 months and scheming for the future
51st.news
November 10, 2025 at 10:01 PM
"I left The 51st’s first birthday party feeling in awe of what we’ve built together and more determined than ever to keep going."
See photos from the party — and read more of what it meant for @maddiepoore.bsky.social and the rest of our team to celebrate with you:
See photos from the party — and read more of what it meant for @maddiepoore.bsky.social and the rest of our team to celebrate with you:
Reposted by Eric Falquero
A beautiful story about a beautiful man in an occupied neighborhood in my occupied city. We are all worse off for this loss, and I am so grateful to local independent journalists for calling attention to it.
Gael Gomez and his family are all but certain to leave the country this week, upending the lives they’ve built in D.C.
But Mount Pleasant's 19-year-old sidewalk astronomer wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
@samdelgado.bsky.social reports:
But Mount Pleasant's 19-year-old sidewalk astronomer wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
@samdelgado.bsky.social reports:
Mount Pleasant’s sidewalk astronomer might have to leave his home
But Gael Gomez wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
51st.news
November 4, 2025 at 1:28 PM
A beautiful story about a beautiful man in an occupied neighborhood in my occupied city. We are all worse off for this loss, and I am so grateful to local independent journalists for calling attention to it.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
"D.C. natives are living newsworthy lives that are not being recognized by traditional news media," Dwayne Lawson-Brown writes.
As a community connector for The 51st, they're making space for these stories, while de-centering trauma and working from a place of celebrating communal success.
As a community connector for The 51st, they're making space for these stories, while de-centering trauma and working from a place of celebrating communal success.
How we're making space for D.C. natives in local media
Dwayne Lawson-Brown has been learning about longtime residents’ information needs — and, in the process, about their own relationship with local news.
51st.news
November 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM
"D.C. natives are living newsworthy lives that are not being recognized by traditional news media," Dwayne Lawson-Brown writes.
As a community connector for The 51st, they're making space for these stories, while de-centering trauma and working from a place of celebrating communal success.
As a community connector for The 51st, they're making space for these stories, while de-centering trauma and working from a place of celebrating communal success.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
There’s so much going on that it’s easy to forget how important it is to talk to young people about what’s going on & to listen to their ideas. Here’s some advice about how to do that from Foram Mehta
51st.news/dc-takeover-...
51st.news/dc-takeover-...
How to explain ICE and the national guard in DC to kids
We asked experts how to discuss ICE, the national guard deployment, and the current political moment with kids.
51st.news
October 31, 2025 at 11:32 PM
There’s so much going on that it’s easy to forget how important it is to talk to young people about what’s going on & to listen to their ideas. Here’s some advice about how to do that from Foram Mehta
51st.news/dc-takeover-...
51st.news/dc-takeover-...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
If you believe that within every person is a whole world, then within every community is a universe. So what happens to a neighborhood when it loses one of its stars?
For Mt Pleasant, it means losing Gael Gomez, a 19 year-old who helped bring the cosmos to the people.
51st.news/mount-pleasa...
For Mt Pleasant, it means losing Gael Gomez, a 19 year-old who helped bring the cosmos to the people.
51st.news/mount-pleasa...
Mount Pleasant’s sidewalk astronomer might have to leave his home
But Gael Gomez wants people to keep looking up — at the sky and in life.
51st.news
October 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
If you believe that within every person is a whole world, then within every community is a universe. So what happens to a neighborhood when it loses one of its stars?
For Mt Pleasant, it means losing Gael Gomez, a 19 year-old who helped bring the cosmos to the people.
51st.news/mount-pleasa...
For Mt Pleasant, it means losing Gael Gomez, a 19 year-old who helped bring the cosmos to the people.
51st.news/mount-pleasa...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
“To say that D.C. residents are traumatized by the surge of federal agents and stepped-up immigration enforcement is not hyperbole,” Councilmember @brianneknadeau.bsky.social said this week.
Here's @maustermuhle.bsky.social's report on testimonies at the Council hearing she called on the issue:
Here's @maustermuhle.bsky.social's report on testimonies at the Council hearing she called on the issue:
D.C. residents speak out against MPD’s work with ICE at D.C. Council
Local cooperation with immigration enforcement has become a flash point since the federal surge in D.C.
51st.news
October 31, 2025 at 10:00 PM
“To say that D.C. residents are traumatized by the surge of federal agents and stepped-up immigration enforcement is not hyperbole,” Councilmember @brianneknadeau.bsky.social said this week.
Here's @maustermuhle.bsky.social's report on testimonies at the Council hearing she called on the issue:
Here's @maustermuhle.bsky.social's report on testimonies at the Council hearing she called on the issue:
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Quick update: A federal judge ruled this afternoon that the Trump administration has to use contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits. City officials tell me they are reviewing the decision, but either way city funds will be available to ensure no benefit payments are missed.
Federal funding for food assistance programs is expected to lapse this weekend, and the Trump administration has refused to use a contingency fund.
D.C. will cover the cost of residents' November SNAP and WIC benefits, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last night.
More from @maustermuhle.bsky.social:
D.C. will cover the cost of residents' November SNAP and WIC benefits, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last night.
More from @maustermuhle.bsky.social:
D.C. will use its own money to pay for SNAP amid shutdown
The Trump administration has refused to use contingency funding to pay for food assistance.
51st.news
October 31, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Quick update: A federal judge ruled this afternoon that the Trump administration has to use contingency funds to pay for SNAP benefits. City officials tell me they are reviewing the decision, but either way city funds will be available to ensure no benefit payments are missed.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
"Cooperatively run structures are a path forward when we're seeing systems collapse."
Proud to be one of 6(+???) worker-led newsrooms in @tinynewscollective.bsky.social.
Here's how to join us, feat. interviews with our co-founder @maddiepoore.bsky.social and @soleilho.com of @coyotemedia.org:
Proud to be one of 6(+???) worker-led newsrooms in @tinynewscollective.bsky.social.
Here's how to join us, feat. interviews with our co-founder @maddiepoore.bsky.social and @soleilho.com of @coyotemedia.org:
How to start a worker-led news outlet: A tale of two newsrooms
How two newsrooms — The 51st and COYOTE Media Collective — launched their worker-led organizations
www.tinynewsco.org
October 27, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Reposted by Eric Falquero
World’s coolest cake for the @51st.news one-year birthday party.
October 24, 2025 at 1:19 AM
World’s coolest cake for the @51st.news one-year birthday party.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Happy birthday to @51st.news !!! If you are not already a member, SUBSCRIBE! The only way we get through this crazy moment is with robust local news!!!
October 24, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Happy birthday to @51st.news !!! If you are not already a member, SUBSCRIBE! The only way we get through this crazy moment is with robust local news!!!
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Hey soccer Bluesky! If you like calcio come say hi! 🤌
We play in Italy’s 8th tier, Seconda Categoria 🇮🇹⚽️
There are no million dollar signings, no private jets, no billionaire owners.
Just a beautiful small town, a fiery football club, and a three-headed dragon 🐉
If you’ve forgotten why you fell in love with football, Terminio is here to remind you.
There are no million dollar signings, no private jets, no billionaire owners.
Just a beautiful small town, a fiery football club, and a three-headed dragon 🐉
If you’ve forgotten why you fell in love with football, Terminio is here to remind you.
October 24, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Hey soccer Bluesky! If you like calcio come say hi! 🤌
Reposted by Eric Falquero
"Cooperatively run structures are a path forward when we're seeing systems collapse."
Proud to be one of 6(+???) worker-led newsrooms in @tinynewscollective.bsky.social.
Here's how to join us, feat. interviews with our co-founder @maddiepoore.bsky.social and @soleilho.com of @coyotemedia.org:
Proud to be one of 6(+???) worker-led newsrooms in @tinynewscollective.bsky.social.
Here's how to join us, feat. interviews with our co-founder @maddiepoore.bsky.social and @soleilho.com of @coyotemedia.org:
How to start a worker-led news outlet: A tale of two newsrooms
How two newsrooms — The 51st and COYOTE Media Collective — launched their worker-led organizations
www.tinynewsco.org
October 27, 2025 at 8:40 PM
"Cooperatively run structures are a path forward when we're seeing systems collapse."
Proud to be one of 6(+???) worker-led newsrooms in @tinynewscollective.bsky.social.
Here's how to join us, feat. interviews with our co-founder @maddiepoore.bsky.social and @soleilho.com of @coyotemedia.org:
Proud to be one of 6(+???) worker-led newsrooms in @tinynewscollective.bsky.social.
Here's how to join us, feat. interviews with our co-founder @maddiepoore.bsky.social and @soleilho.com of @coyotemedia.org:
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Does it matter that THERE IS NO EMERGENCY that justifies Trump’s occupation of cities. open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...
October 26, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Does it matter that THERE IS NO EMERGENCY that justifies Trump’s occupation of cities. open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Next summer?!?!
In this week's Wilson Building Bulletin, from @maustermuhle.bsky.social:
• The National Guard may remain in D.C. through next summer
• How much did Congress's unexpected budget cut cost the city?
• This week's attempt to derail the RENTAL Act
• The National Guard may remain in D.C. through next summer
• How much did Congress's unexpected budget cut cost the city?
• This week's attempt to derail the RENTAL Act
Wilson Building Bulletin: The National Guard may be here a long while
Also: Congress makes D.C. spend money it didn't have to, and the D.C. Council exempts small properties from a longstanding tenant right.
51st.news
October 23, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Next summer?!?!
Reposted by Eric Falquero
we're prepping for Adams Morgan Porchfest next weekend (and maybe learning about bats...). see y'all there
What are you doing this weekend? 🦇 👻 🎃
Get into the spooky spirit with Halloween adventures for all ages — a witchy dance party at @blackcatdc.bsky.social, a lesson about bats at @dcpubliclibrary.bsky.social, a fundraiser show for @girlsrockdc.bsky.social, and more
Get into the spooky spirit with Halloween adventures for all ages — a witchy dance party at @blackcatdc.bsky.social, a lesson about bats at @dcpubliclibrary.bsky.social, a fundraiser show for @girlsrockdc.bsky.social, and more
13 things to do around D.C. this weekend
Get into the spooky spirit this weekend with horror films, witchy dance parties, and Halloween adventures for all ages.
51st.news
October 24, 2025 at 10:48 AM
we're prepping for Adams Morgan Porchfest next weekend (and maybe learning about bats...). see y'all there
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Happy 1st bday @51st.news! Great party with local artists and bakers and cocktails at KBird - a lovely way to reconnect with so many of you in person after all these years and meet new folks 🥰
October 24, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Happy 1st bday @51st.news! Great party with local artists and bakers and cocktails at KBird - a lovely way to reconnect with so many of you in person after all these years and meet new folks 🥰
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Selena gets it!! Join here: 51st.news/signup
Happy birthday to @51st.news !!! If you are not already a member, SUBSCRIBE! The only way we get through this crazy moment is with robust local news!!!
October 24, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Selena gets it!! Join here: 51st.news/signup
Reposted by Eric Falquero
"It was alarming we were hearing one thing from elected officials but in reality something else was happening on the ground."
Advocates want the D.C. Council to publicly question MPD about their cooperation in immigration enforcement.
Advocates want the D.C. Council to publicly question MPD about their cooperation in immigration enforcement.
Questions remain about MPD’s work with ICE. Activists want lawmakers to step in
They say the D.C. Council should publicly question MPD about cooperation on immigration enforcement.
51st.news
October 24, 2025 at 1:01 PM
"It was alarming we were hearing one thing from elected officials but in reality something else was happening on the ground."
Advocates want the D.C. Council to publicly question MPD about their cooperation in immigration enforcement.
Advocates want the D.C. Council to publicly question MPD about their cooperation in immigration enforcement.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
We’ve been experiencing the collapse of so many systems, including local news.
But amid all this loss, there’s room for building something better than before.
Here's what our team learned from participating in a recent conference of cooperative businesses:
But amid all this loss, there’s room for building something better than before.
Here's what our team learned from participating in a recent conference of cooperative businesses:
This moment isn’t normal, but here’s our glimmer of hope
Lessons from a cooperative businesses conference, and being a part of a larger movement
51st.news
October 21, 2025 at 1:02 PM
We’ve been experiencing the collapse of so many systems, including local news.
But amid all this loss, there’s room for building something better than before.
Here's what our team learned from participating in a recent conference of cooperative businesses:
But amid all this loss, there’s room for building something better than before.
Here's what our team learned from participating in a recent conference of cooperative businesses:
Reposted by Eric Falquero
I’d love to see many of you at the @51st.news birthday party this Thursday! I’ll high-five anyone who shows up, I swear.
Curious? Come to our birthday party on Thursday, Oct. 23! 😈😈😈
RSVP here:
RSVP here:
One Year of The 51st
Our scrappy worker-led newsroom has been publishing for ONE YEAR! Come celebrate the milestone and hang with other 51st readers!
www.eventbrite.com
October 20, 2025 at 10:14 PM
I’d love to see many of you at the @51st.news birthday party this Thursday! I’ll high-five anyone who shows up, I swear.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
More than 7.3 million children in all 50 states rely on special education services, which are partially funded and enforced by the federal government.
Trump’s attempt to gut special education office has some conservative parents on edge
The president called the layoffs a part of cuts to “Democrat programs,” but children across the nation would be impacted.
19thnews.org
October 17, 2025 at 4:34 PM
More than 7.3 million children in all 50 states rely on special education services, which are partially funded and enforced by the federal government.
Reposted by Eric Falquero
When a Microsoft data center opened next to the small Mexican town of La Esperanza, locals say electricity outages and water shortages grew severe. The local doctor rushed patients a half hour to the nearest hospital when blackouts cut off his oxygen concentrator. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t...
From Mexico to Ireland, Fury Mounts Over a Global A.I. Frenzy
www.nytimes.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:00 AM
When a Microsoft data center opened next to the small Mexican town of La Esperanza, locals say electricity outages and water shortages grew severe. The local doctor rushed patients a half hour to the nearest hospital when blackouts cut off his oxygen concentrator. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/t...
Reposted by Eric Falquero
Where are we most likely to see you this weekend?
♨️ Mobile sauna village
🔤 Word-nerd birthday bash
🎨 Mandala-doodling workshop
🥧 Apple pie contest
♨️ Mobile sauna village
🔤 Word-nerd birthday bash
🎨 Mandala-doodling workshop
🥧 Apple pie contest
13 things to do around D.C. this weekend
The next few days are full of ways to celebrate local culture in the crisp air, including several fall festivals.
51st.news
October 17, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Where are we most likely to see you this weekend?
♨️ Mobile sauna village
🔤 Word-nerd birthday bash
🎨 Mandala-doodling workshop
🥧 Apple pie contest
♨️ Mobile sauna village
🔤 Word-nerd birthday bash
🎨 Mandala-doodling workshop
🥧 Apple pie contest