Eric Falquero
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ericfalquero.bsky.social
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 ⚽
"Looking to the future." I see a vibrant network of better-resourced local newsrooms (us included) working together to make life easier and more just for all the amazing communities that make up DC.

Let's start here. Can you help more people find @51st.news ? 51st.news/lost-51-000-...
November 27, 2025 at 2:26 AM
The party has grown.
October 18, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Looking down on the No Kings rally from the top of the National Gallery of Art: what *appears* to be one security staffer, two military folks, and a rifle.
October 18, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Continuing (⬆️) my list of how many people it would take to reach the last 9%(‼️) of our goal, unlocking the $100K match
givebutter.com/SsQ8CG

-66 $151 donors (sticker pack + 1-year new membership or gift membership)
-196 $51 donors (sticker pack)
-400 $25 donors, the most common amount thus far
August 10, 2025 at 9:26 PM
The @51st.news is ~$10K from the finish line 🏁
givebutter.com/SsQ8CG

Any of these would get us there:
-1 $10K donor (Fountain Inn dinner)
-2 $5K donors (Lifetime, top-tier membership)
-6 $1.5K donors (Featured on our website)
-20 $510 donors (Walking tour)
-33 $300 donors (private happy hour)
August 10, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Last week, as part of the @51st.news campaign to fund full-time workers for our newsroom, we asked community members to do what they can to help—whether that's spreading the word or donating, and whether donations are $5 or $500: 51st.news/doubling-dow...

We've made GREAT progress, but not enough:
August 7, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Flying into my next lap around the sun like this waxwing: laser-focused (and food motivated!) 🥳🎂

Can you help me celebrate? We're building more local news capacity for D.C. as fast as we can @51st.news. Monthly membership, or a one-time gift, would mean the world to me: 51st.news/support-the-...
May 22, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Here's what the deck over will look like:

A "curbless street" with concrete planters and barriers separating the plaza from the service roads.

No permanent furniture or greenery is planned, envisioning an "open canvas" that can be reconfigured for many purposes. Power+water lines built-in.
April 24, 2025 at 12:47 AM
The streetscape features included ADA ramps; improved drainage, water mains, and fire hydrants; protected bike lanes, connected to other existing routes like Columbia Rd; more landscaping and lighting; and multi-space parking meters.
April 23, 2025 at 10:33 PM
The "streetscape" part of the project will stretch down Connecticut Avenue from the California St. NW intersection to Q St and focus on safety improvements benefiting all modes of transportation.

The "deck over" will cover the underpass ramp to expand usable public space.
April 23, 2025 at 10:24 PM
The meeting is being recorded and that recording will be posted online several days from now.
April 23, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Meeting notes potentially threaded here re: tonight's public meeting about the Connecticut Avenue Streetscape and Deck Over Project. ddot.dc.gov/release/conn...
April 23, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Can we get six more subscribers (free!) before tomorrow's weekly newsletter goes out mid-day? 51st.news/signup
April 23, 2025 at 8:54 PM
The ones that got away 😭
March 8, 2025 at 3:42 PM
....for any of the @wikipedia.org editors out there who also value local news.

I'm all about looking forward this year, building with my colleagues @51st.news and our community.

But while we're remembering DCist, note the only entry for it on the Internet's encyclopedia is a REDIRECT to WAMU. 🧵
February 28, 2025 at 3:12 PM
On my way to the DPR compost co-op I belong to, I opened today's @730dc.bsky.social for the "Democracy dies in markets" subject line (🤌🏼) and stayed for the food waste info. It was super easy to find and use the Marie Reed drop-off bin! (if you have a smartphone) zerowaste.dc.gov/foodwastedro...
February 27, 2025 at 1:14 PM
"When the government is supportive of media, you get stronger media. When the government undercuts the media, you get weaker democracy," says Margaret Talev, Director of the Syracuse University Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship, at this month's Journal-isms roundtable.
February 10, 2025 at 11:55 PM
That's a wrap. Very interesting volunteer projects driven by this community of data scientists, programmers, researchers and organizers.

www.civictechdc.org
January 23, 2025 at 2:24 AM
CORRECTION: The ballot initiative work was the penultimate project.

The final project suping up data review for the Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS).

www.civictechdc.org/projects/eav...
January 23, 2025 at 2:15 AM
The third project ingests street-level images (think Google Maps), assess what the image shows -- a proof of concept was greenery/vegetation -- and map that analysis onto an OpenStreetMap.

Training more advanced algorithms, such analysis could be used to flag risks, such as poor building integrity.
January 23, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Next up, DARIA - which started with the DC Abortion Fund and grew to spin off as its own nonprofit.

Now supporting 12 abortion funds, and has helped more than 70,000 patients.

Focused on data anonymization and security, regularly conducting "hackathons to test its strength.
January 23, 2025 at 12:45 AM
First up, a project to identify ways misinformation and disinformation move through social media networks.

They're building tools for researchers, journalists, activists to analyze social media data and identity inauthentic ways that info is pushed (such as by bots).
January 23, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Big turn out at Civic Tech DC's first project presentation event: 30+ people.

www.civictechdc.org/slack
January 23, 2025 at 12:15 AM
And here are the alternative/unaffected resources ⬇️

Disruptions are noted here in the message this is replying to ⏫

And here's the thread link again, for any updates throughout the weekend: x.com/annemariecuc...
January 18, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Over on the bird app, Street Sense's editor in chief is posting updates about how the inauguration is affecting access to shelter for people experiencing homelessness in downtown D.C.

Here's their thread: x.com/annemariecuc...

Here are the known disruptions (click images to enlarge/read) ⬇️
January 18, 2025 at 1:41 AM