DC daily roundup: Your April 8 solar eclipse primer; White House promises AI chiefs; $100M for Lightshift Energy

Your guide to viewing the eclipse in the DMV

The DC region is not in the path of totality for the upcoming solar eclipse (and hasn’t been in several centuries). However, there are still plenty of local activities to take part in on April 8. For example, there’s a Solar Eclipse Festival on the National Mall and people will gather at UMD to watch the partial eclipse.

If you can travel to the path of totality, the closest spots being Erie, Pennsylvania, and Cleveland, Ohio, you should, according to experts. And if you are viewing the eclipse, whether it’s partial or in totality, make sure to wear proper eye protection

➡️ Get the details on solar eclipse events here

A remote service desk manager’s road to fintech

David Singh said that technology has always been a part of his life, with some of his earliest memories involving watching his father work in IT during the 80s.

“I like to tell people I was born into technology. Every day as I grew older, the pieces came together,” Singh said.

Now he manages the service desk staff, the first line of support anytime someone has an IT issue, at Best Egg. You can learn more about Singh’s work in Holly Quinn’s latest article.

➡️ Learn more about Singh’s tech journey here.

News Incubator: What else to know today

• A hotel in Baltimore opts for community outreach over corporate branding. Its latest effort is a professional clothing drive for job seekers, which will run until April 30. [Technical.ly]

• A battery storage startup in Arlington has raised $100 million. Lightshift Energy will use the funds to expand its workforce and projects. [Washington Biz Journal]

• Each federal agency will soon have a “chief AI officer,” the White House announced, as the technology becomes more widely used. [Semafor]

• Nominations for Technical.ly’s RealLIST Connectors are now open. This is our yearly series where we track local tech community members who inform others and link people together. Let us know who should be on the DC list. [Technical.ly]

• Rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge will likely take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to experts. [Washington Post]

🗓️ On the Calendar