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CT TRA N O C CAPITOL HILL
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226 5th Street, SE #101 1BR/1BA Condo
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804 H Street, NE 2nd Floor Office Space Stan Bissey 202-841-1433 www.BisseyTeam.com
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We Are Capitol Hill!
Capitol Hill’s Coldwell Banker Agents Support You! • • • • • • • • •
Capitol Hill Cluster School Capitol Hill Community Foundation Capitol Hill Arts Workshop Capitol Hill Day School St. Peter School Barracks Row Main Street Capitol Hill Children’s Baseball League Capitol Hill Children’s Hockey League Brent Elementary
• • • • • • • •
Maury Elementary Capitol Hill Village Hine Jr. High School Eastern High School Capitol Hill Merchants And Professionals Capitol Hill Restoration Society Young Marines Of Capitol Hill St. Coletta’s of Greater Washington
In addition, our individual agents last year alone contributed $50,000+ and literally hundreds of hours to community organizations. While we are proud of what we have accomplished, we know that we couldn’t have done any of this without the support of friends and clients. You won’t see this office on TV. You won’t hear from us on the radio. You won’t even get much mail from us. But, you will see us when you see the growth in our schools. You will see us when you see the growth in our community building blocks! You will see us in the progress of our Capitol Hill neighborhood! We welcome the challenges of the future and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
202.547.3525 - Main Office INFORMATION DEEMED RELIABLE BUT NOT GUARANTEED
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June 2015 H 15
What’s Inside?
23
Special Section
47 Bulletin Board
164 Last Word 166 The Nose
23
52
Where to Site the Marine Barracks?
54
The District Beat
56
The Numbers: If the Jobs Aren’t There, We Should
Charnice Milton
Jonetta Rose Barras Ed Lazere
Create Them
38 Calendar
156 Classified Ads
Kathleen Donner
capitol streets
In every issue:
74 Hill Rag Crossword
Summer and the City
Bill Matuszeski
58
A Soccer Stadium Update
62
C Street Traffic Mitigation Moves Closer
64
Crossing Maryland Avenue Pedestrian Safety Project Will Not Start Anytime Soon
Charnice Milton
Charnice A. Milton
June 66
ANC 6A Report
Charnice A. Milton
68
ANC 6B Report
Jonathan Neeley
69
ANC 6C Report
Charnice A. Milton
70
ANC 6D Report
Roberta Weiner
71
ANC 6E Report
Steve Holton
72
EMCAC Report
Charnice A. Milton
community life
103
75
E on DC
76
In Memoriam: Gary Humfelt
E. Ethelbert Miller
78
In Memoriam: Maria Calomiris
80
Capitol Streets
Stephanie Cavanaugh
Sharon Bosworth Elise Bernard
82
H Street Life
84
South by West
86
Capitol Riverfront
88
A New Playground for Potomac Gardens
Andrew Lightman
William Rich Michael Stevens
Charnice A. Milton
real estate 91
DC Preservation Law Must Change
94
Changing Hands
Don Denton
William King
123
on the cover:
Tegucigalpa Aùos 20, Maury Flores-Gomez (Honduras, b.1950) Circa 1990, acrylic on canvas, 18 x 24� (46 x 61 cm). Collection OAS Art Museum of the Americas A frequent theme of the artist is geometrically articulated urban landscapes, Honduran cities of the early 20th century. Visit Art Museum of the Americas at 201 18th Street, NW, 202-370-0147. www.museum.oas.org
arts and dining 103
Table
Meghan Markey
106
Theater: Goodbye to Berlin, Again
108
Andy Prosky
Meghan Markey
110
Dining Notes
Celeste McCall
114
The Wine Girl
Lilia Coffin
115
Sock Super Heroes at Hill Center
116
At the Movies
118
Art and The City
120
The Literary Hill
Barbara Wells
Elizabeth Nelson
Mike Canning Jim Magner Karen Lyon
health and fitness 123
Water Wizards Make a Splash
Paul Rivas
126
Is Frisbee the Ultimate New Sport?
128
Blocked!
Paul Rivas
Heather McCurdy
kids and family 131
Kids & Family Notebook
136
School Notes
Kathleen Donner
Susan Braun Johnson
homes and gardens 147
Bayou Bakery
Annette Nielsen
150
Hill Gardner: Sex and Sneezing in Your
Garden
154
Dear Garden Problem Lady
Cheryl Corson Wendy Hill
F A G O N
MIDCITY
GUIDE TO CAPITOL HILL
YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
Capital Community News, Inc. • 224 7th Street, SE, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20003 202.543.8300 • www.capitalcommunitynews.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Melissa Ashabranner • melissaashabranner@hillrag.com Publisher: Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Copyright © 2015 by Capital Community News. All Rights Reserved.
Editorial Staff
M������� E�����: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com CFO � A�������� E�����: Maria Carolina Lopez • carolina@hillrag.com S����� N���� E�����: Susan Braun Johnson • schools@hillrag.com K��� � F����� E�����: Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com F��� E�����: Annette Nielsen • annette@hillrag.com
Arts, Dining & Entertainment A��: D�����:
L���������: M�����: M����: T������: W��� G���:
Jim Magner • jjmagner@aol.com Emily Clark • clapol47@gmail.com Celeste McCall • celeste@us.net Jonathan Bardzik • jonathan.bardzik@gmail.com Karen Lyon • klyon@folger.edu Mike Canning • mjcanning@verizon.net Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Stephen Monroe • samonroe2004@yahoo.com Barbara Wells • barchardwells@aol.com Jon Genderson • jon@cellar.com
Calendar & Bulletin Board
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General Assignment
JUNE
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Elise Bernard • elise.bernard@gmail.com Ellen Boomer • emboomer@gmail.com Elena Burger • elena96b@gmail.com Stephanie Deutsch • scd@his.com Michelle Phipps-Evans • invisiblecolours@yahoo.com Maggie Hall • whitby@aol.com Mark Johnson • mark@hillrag.com Stephen Lilienthal - stephen_lilienthal@yahoo.com Pleasant Mann • pmann1995@gmail.com Meghan Markey • meghanmarkey@gmail.com Charnice Milton • charnicem@hotmail.com John H. Muller • jmuller.washingtonsyndicate@gmail.com Jonathan Neeley • neeley87@gmail.com Will Rich • will.janks@gmail.com Heather Schoell • schoell@verizon.net Virginia Avniel Spatz • virginia@hillrag.com Michael G. Stevens • michael@capitolriverfront.org Peter J. Waldron • peter@hillrag.com Roberta Weiner • rweiner_us@yahoo.com Jazzy Wright • wright.jazzy@gmail.com
BEAUTY, Health & Fitness
Patricia Cinelli • fitmiss44@aol.com Jazelle Hunt • jazelle.hunt@gmail.com Candace Y.A. Montague • writeoncm@gmail.com
KIDS & FAMILY
Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com Susan Johnson • schools@hillrag.com
Homes & Gardens
Derek Thomas • derek@thomaslandscapes.com Catherine Plume • caplume@yahoo.com Cheryl Corson • cheryl@cherylcorson.com
COMMENTARY
Ethelbert Miller • emiller698@aol.com T�� N��� • thenose@hillrag.com T�� L��� W��� • editorial@hilllrag.com
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We welcome suggestions for stories. Send queries to andrew@hillrag.com. We are also interested in your views on community issues which are published in the Last Word. Please limit your comments to 250 words. Letters may be edited for space. Please include your name, address and phone number. Send Last Word submissions to lastword@hillrag.com. For employment opportunities email jobs@hillrag.com.
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FOR EXISTING & ASPIRING DISTRICT BUSINESSES SmartStart Program Integrated Licensing and Money Smart for Small Business Program Date: Monday, June 15, 2015 Time: 9:00 am – 11:00 am Location: 1100 4th Street SW 2nd Floor (E-268) Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://goo.gl/Trg5qE
A Comprehensive Guide for Small Business Planning Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 Time: 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm Location: 1100 4th Street SW 4th Floor (E-4302) Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://goo.gl/w752Vq
Navigating Government Contracting with DCPTAC
The Regulatory Process of Starting a Business
Date: Thursday, June 18, 2015 Time: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm Location: 1100 4th Street SW 4th Floor (E-4302) Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://goo.gl/e7TYv9
Date: Monday, June 22, 2015 Time: 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Location: Takoma Park Library, 416 Cedar Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://goo.gl/OwXrsJ
How to Open a Small Business by Navigating through DCRA’s Regulatory Process Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 Time: 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Location: 1100 4th Street SW 2nd Floor (E-200) Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://goo.gl/kTdwBD
SBRC’s Navigating through Business Licensing and Corporations Process Date: Monday through Thursday Time: By Appointment between 10:00 am to 2:00 pm Location: 1100 4th Street SW 2nd Floor (E-268) Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://bizdc.ecenterdirect.com
For further information : Jacqueline Noisette (202) 442-8170 jacqueline.noisette@dc.gov Claudia Herrera (202) 442-8055 claudia.herrera@dc.gov Joy Douglas (202) 442-8690 joy.douglas@dc.gov June 2015 H 19
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SS U M M E R
C I TYY
andthe
a local summer
tourism guide
June 2015 ★ 23
S U MMER CIT Y
In the Good Old Summertime
S
ummer is a perfect time to renew your acquaintance with the city--the monuments at night, the Mall museums, the patriotic “high” of a military band concert at the Capitol, an afternoon ball game at Nat’s Park, July 4th fireworks, a jog through Rock Creek Park, a picnic on the river. In summer, we eat outdoors, shop the farmers markets and catch a cricket match at West Potomac Park. It’s all here. Summer is also the time to consider getting
by Kathleen Donner
three months. Don’t waste them! (We have supplied you with a check-off list at the end of this article. Cut it out and plaster it to your refrigerator door. It will be a daily reminder to have a great DC summer.)
Listen to the music
A big part of a DC summer has always been the outdoor military band concerts in town and around the
US Navy Band performs at the Navy Memorial
your nose pierced, a tattoo on your butt, and make a resolution to walk more (not January 1 like everyone thinks). We seem to want a new experience, a new thrill, a new love or to find a new talent. So before we all have to get serious again in the fall, here are some suggestions on how to enjoy the classics and have an adventure during the next
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area. Weekday nights at 8 p.m., hear exquisite live music on the steps of the Capitol (west side). In addition, Navy Memorial “Concerts on the Avenue” are on Tuesdays, through Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m., at 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW and the Air Force Band plays every Friday night at 8 p.m. at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington. These concerts are casual and wel-
coming. Feel free to bring a blanket, your leashed dog, kids and out-of-town guests. While locals are used to the sight of the sun setting over the Washington Monument, it invariably knocks visitors out. The DC Jazz Festival, June 10-16, is everywhere--The Phillips Collection, the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, UDC, THEARC, Tudor Place Historic House, The Atlas Performing Arts Center, Bohemian Caverns, the Japan Information and Cultural Center, Hecht Warehouse, The Hamilton Live, National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden; the Francis A. Gregory Neighborhood Library, Tryst, The Yards Park, the Anacostia Arts Center, Twins Jazz, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, We Act Radio, Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital and the Dorothy L. Heights Benning Neighborhood Library. We can’t keep up so we suggest you consult their online schedule. Some of it’s paid and some of it’s free. dcjazzfest.org On Sunday, June 14, 7:30 p.m, there is a sing-along of the Mozart Requiem under the baton of Cathedral Choral Society music director J. Reilly Lewis at the National Cathedral. Singers of all abilities are invited to join in. This sing-along is perfect for singers and singers at heart. Bring your own score or borrow one of theirs. You’re invited to experience the joy of choral singing in a grand setting. Tickets and score rental are $10.
Set sail
Known for their learn-to-sail programs, DC Sail is DC’s only community sailing program. It offers beginning, intermediate lessons, social sailings, refresher courses and youth sailing. It’s a great way to get out on the water, support river health and your own personal healthy life style. dcsail.org
June 2015 ★ 25
S U MMER CIT Y
Learn to dance
French tall ship L’Hermione
Dance Place, in the Brookland neighborhood, offers adult classes in African dance, Jazz, Salsa, Afro-Cuban, modern dance and hip-hop dance. You can drop-in any class, at any time, for $15 ($10 weekdays). And there’s a discount for 55+. You can also get a ClassPass at considerable savings. Dance Place is at 3225 8th St. NE. danceplace.org Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MD, offers a dizzying array of ballroom dancing, swing, tango, salsa, Irish, belly and blues in their famous Spanish Ballroom. They even do Contra dancing (nothing to do with Daniel Ortega). Instead think Stroll or Virginia Reel where you’re facing your partner in a long line--hence “Contra.” Whether it’s a hot Latin dance like the Salsa or a precise, structured dance like Irish stepping, the instructors are professional, all are welcome and you don’t need to drag along a partner. It’s for grown-ups so they’re generally looking for a minimum age of 17. glenechopark.org
Learn to relax
This summer, you can explore an exact replica of the ship that brought the Marquis de Lafayette to George Washington with news of full French aid in 1780, helping turn the tide of the American Revolution. French tall ship Hermione will sail 3,819 miles across the Atlantic to commemorate Lafayette’s historic voyage before docking in Alexandria. On June 10, 11 and 12, there will be free, sailor-guided tours of Hermione including historic shipbuilding demonstrations, costumed characters and a traveling exhibition that tells the story of L’Hermione, its reconstruction, and Lafayette’s role in the American Revolution. visitalexandriava.com We’ve all seen DC Ducks on the streets hauling tourists around. Did you know that these odd-looking vehicles have a celebrated past? The DUKW’s were an essential part of the World War II Allied war effort. They were used to bring supplies to the soldiers in places where the enemy assumed that because there was no seaport, there was no means to make an effective landing. Today, the DUKW’s have been restored to their original condition and guests can take a 90 minute ride and see our monuments and museums before heading to the Potomac for a river cruise. Tickets are $39; $29 for kids 0-12. There is a substantial
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online discount. DC Residents, and those who live within a 50 mile radius of the District, can ride for free with one full-fare adult paying guest. It’s called their Hometown Pass. dcducks.com
African Dance Class at Dance Place. Photo: Enoch Chan 2014.
Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga (SUP Yoga) class can get you off the mat and onto the water for an outdoor yoga experience. Get all the known benefits of yoga- greater flexibility and mental clarity, increased vitality and wellbeing--with the added bonus of prac-
June 2015 ★ 27
S U MMER CIT Y
A SUP Yoga Class on the C&O Canal seems to attract a lot of attention! Photo: Ted Usdin
ticing asana (yoga poses) in nature on the board. Holding poses on the paddle board encourages greater muscle activation through the constant isometric contractions needed to stabilize on the water. Classes are Thursdays, 6:30-8 p.m.; Saturdays, 4:30-6 p.m. and Sundays, 9:30-11 a.m., all summer long, and are held in Potomac, MD at a location called Widewater off the C&O Canal. outdooryogadc.com Drop-ins are welcome at Meditation in Capitol Hill, Mondays, 7:30-8:30 p.m. at the Hill Center. The meditations known as Lamrim are the basis for the teachings and guided meditations this season. The emphasis for this particular collection of Buddhist teachings was on practicality. By engaging in these meditations, we can deepen our insights and make our daily experiences meaningful. We can use these teachings to form a consistent meditation practice which allows us to remain calm and happy throughout our life. $12 per class ($6 seniors/students/unemployed). Read more at meditation-dc.org/capitol-hill. Tai Chi Classes at Lincoln Park on Saturdays, weather permitting, 8-10 a.m. (8-9 a.m. class forms and practice and 9-10 a.m. push hands practice). The class meets at the corner of 11th and East Capitol St. SE. and all levels are welcome. Regular class is $50 a month; $300 for a half year. Regular class includes outdoor Satur-
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trash with you. The museum itself is at 1307 New Hampshire Ave. NW. in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. Every third Thursday from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, the Heurich House Museum partners with a local craft brewery for house tours and beer tastings. Guided tours through Heurich’s Victorian mansion will discuss his brewery and the region’s rich brewing history. Guests must be 21 or older. heurichhouse.org Any bike or auto trip north or south on GW Parkway, will offer numerous picnic opportunities. It’s just a question of being able to pull over. We like Great Falls. It’s a terrific destination especially after a rain storm. And there’s plenty of parking. Fees are $5 per non-commercial vehicle for the car and its passengers. People
day class and one intensive onehour small group class per month at the teacher’s house. Before you take the plunge, you might want to join the Tai Chi yahoo group. Visit capitolhilltaichi.com for more details.
Plan a picnic
We all know people who will grab a folding chair, their lunch, a good book and wander onto public space and play the country squire. It’s one of the pleasures of city living. Especially good for this sort of activity are Lincoln Park, the Capitol Grounds (west side), grass on the National Mall, Yards Park, Meridian Park, and Fort Dupont Park. For a special experience, picnic in the garden behind Heurich House Museum anytime between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Enter the garden from Sunderland Place, east end (Sunderland Place is one block long and behind the museum). You’ll see a sign. There’s only one table but there are lots of benches and a nice lawn. They ask that you take your
Heurich House Museum is open to visitors. Photo: Courtesy of Heurich House Museum
June 2015 ★ 29
S U MMER CIT Y
and gently used designer bags, belts, sweaters, shoes and boots for sale online.
Skyrush at Hersheypark
Find an amusement park
who walkin or bike in (not in a car) are $3. These fees are good for 3 days. nps.gov/grfa
Try a new look
Fashion Trucks on U are the latest trend in fashion merchandising. Think “food trucks” but with a mix of designer scarfs, dresses, belts, hats and shoes instead of hot dogs, kebabs and tacos. Fashion trucks have interesting names--The Strut Truck, The Board Truck, Pichardo Mobile Boutique, The G Truck and Curbside Fashion Truck to name a few. Fashion Trucks on U has taken over the space where U Street Flea used to be--across from Nellie’s Sports Bar at 912 U St. NW. They operate on Sundays, noon-5 p.m. On weekends, the vendor’s area around Eastern Market is laden with jewelers’ stalls and all manner of scarf, hat and dress peddlers. The merchandise is often exotic and interestingly designed. It’s a way to jazz up your look for not a lot of money. Most only take cash. If you don’t mind pawing through racks of clothes, you mighty try Frugalista resale shop in Mount Pleasant. People who do well there are the ones who can stop in regularly and have a bit of time to browse. Frugalista is at 3069 Mount Pleasant St. NW. Also, for bargains, visit the store’s dcfrugalista.com. It’s a amazing website that offers vintage
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Six Flags (the former Wild World) in Upper Marlboro is the closest of the area’s big amusement parks. There are 10 roller coasters in the park with the opening this summer of the Bourbon Street Fireball. Some of the roller coaster names are Apocalypse, BATWING Coaster and Mind Eraser--you get the point. There are also tons of rides for small kids and water rides. Prices are $59.99, general admission and $39.99 for guests under 48”. Kids 2 and under are free. sixflags.com It’s a little over two hours to Hersheypark in Hershey, PA. Hersheypark also has, in addition to roller coasters and kids rides, a large variety of water rides including a wave pool, wave rider, surge, riptide, pipeline, a boardwalk. All rides are rated by height. One thing you won’t find anymore is a tour of the chocolate factory. The factory is gone. The
The BEACH is at the National Building Museum, July 4-through the end of summer. Image: Courtesy of the National Building Museum
chocolate experience there now is just an elaborate retail store. One-day admission prices are $61.95 and $38.95 for guests 3-8. Kids two and under are free. There are some senior discounts. Go in the direction of Baltimore, 695 toward Towson, 83 north to Harrisburg and then 322 to Hershey. hersheypark.com All of these amusement parks offer early season deals, bring-a-friend deals, family specials, after 4 p.m. specials, single day admission, multiple day admission and online ticket purchase discounts. You’ll need to go to their websites and figure it all out.
Find a beach
The Beach is coming to the National Building Museum on July 4th. Spanning the Museum’s Great Hall, the BEACH, created in partnership with Snarkitecture, will cover 10,000 square feet and include an “ocean” of nearly one million recyclable translucent plastic balls. Monochromatic beach chairs and umbrellas will sprinkle the 50-foot wide “shoreline,” and the “ocean” will culminate in a mirrored wall that creates a seemingly infinite reflected expanse. You’re welcome to “swim” in the ocean, or spend an afternoon at the “shore’s” edge reading a good book, play beach-related games such as paddleball, grab a refreshing drink at the snack bar, or dangle your feet in the ocean off the pier. The Museum is also planning a snack concession to be operated through a partnership with Union Kitchen, a D.C.-based food incubator. Purchase
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tickets starting June 20. The National Building Museum is at 401 F St. NW. 202-272-2448. nbm.org P Street Beach at 23rd St & P Sts. NW still gets mixed reviews in Yelp but for many it’s a great place to sun bathe, read a book and generally hang out. It’s officially part of Rock Creek Park and it really is a beach--a better one when there’s been some rain--and it’s close. If you’re interested in getting out of town, the Town of North Beach on the Chesapeake Bay is a quick trip and a fine destination. It’s about 45 minutes and a world away. For those who long for small town America, it’s all here-- movies on the beach, name-the-boat contests. There are concerts on the beach on June 13, July 11, and Aug. 8 and a Dragon Boat Festival on June 20. Before heading out, have a look at the town website at ci.north-beach. md.us and you’ll understand. Off the beltway, take Route 4 and then Route 260 to Chesapeake Beach and North Beach.
weather permitting. Find more pick-your-own farms, listed by state and then country at pickyourown.org. It’s not summer without crabs. The St. Mary’s County Crab Festival is on Saturday, June 13 in Leonardtown, MD, about one hour, 15 minutes directly south--take Pennsylvania Ave. SE over the bridge, a right on Branch Ave. and Route 5 all the way to Leonardtown. Watch for signs. When you get there, you can enjoy steamed crabs, crab soup, crab cakes--also live music, kids’ activities, an antique car show, crafts. All proceeds benefit the Leonardtown Lions Club.
Find deals for teens
Visitors 18 and younger are always free at the Phillips Collection. Teens will see paintings by Renoir Hall’s Green Farm, 506 Crain Highway, Upper and Rothko, Bonnard and O’Keeffe, van Gogh and Marlboro, MD, is a close-by pick-your-own farm Diebenkorn among the many impressionist and that is open M day-Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. (closed modern works that fill the museum. The blog (blog. Sundays). The farm is located on Southeast Crain phillipscollection.org) may give young people some Highway, also known as 301, between Queen Anne idea of the gallery and the way it operates. 1600 21st Road and Trade Zone Avenue. Crops available for St. NW, a short walk from the Dupont Circle Metpicking are cabbage, green beans, beets, tomatoes, ro. Parking is tricky. yellow squash, bell peppers, okra, corn and potaHere’s a remarkable alternative to a movie toes. Fall vegetables include turnips, collards, rape, and burger date. If you’re age 30 years or under mustard greens and pumpkins. Call in advance to you can pay your age at Arena Stage! Tickets go see what you can pick at 301-249-7669 or just take on sale eight weeks before the performance date, your chances. Sales are cash only and picking is and patrons may purchase tickets by phone or in person. Pay-Your-Age tickets are limited to four per Courtesy of Arcadia Farmer Markets household. Arena is easy to get to, parking is not bad and, as a date, it’s as impressive as hell. The 2015-2016 season has been posted. Summer is the time for families to visit Newseum. From July 1 through Sept. 7, it’s free for kids 18 and younger with a paying adult. This summer’s blockbuster Reporting Vietnam at Newseum is on exhibition through Sept. 12. Vietnam was America’s first tele-
Enjoy the fruits of summer
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The Prince George’s County Fair is Sept. 10-13
vised war. This exhibit explores the dramatic stories of how journalists brought news about the war to a divided nation through powerful photos and news footage, evocative music, 90 compelling artifacts, and historic newspapers. 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 888-639-7386. newseum.org
Roam the fairgrounds and festivals
The Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall (between 3rd and 4th Sts.) is between June 24-28 and July 1-5. Festival hours are 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., with special events taking place most evenings beginning at 7 p.m. This year the focus is Peru. Visitors to the festival will experience Peruvian culture through cooking and craft demonstrations, music and dance performances, moderated discussions, ritual and celebratory processions. Federal Center is the closest Metro. festival.si.edu The Prince George’s County Fair, the oldest running fair in Maryland, began in 1842 as a friendly gathering for local farmers to showcase their produce and livestock and have a little fun. Though it started out as mostly livestock and field crops, eventually it came to include competitions for the best jams, jellies, canned goods, pies, breads, cookies, clothing, quilts, and handicrafts. Rides and carnival games of chance. The PG fair really marks the end of summer, Sept. 10-13--the weather’s still warm and the kids are already back at school. Time to enjoy the harvest! It’s just off the beltway at Route US 301, 14900 Pennsylvania Ave., Upper Marlboro, MD. countyfair.org We’re sure the horses are terrified but the annual pony round-up at Chincoteague is necessary
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in Elsinore with the dubious task of identifying what afflicts their childhood friend Hamlet. Folger Shakespeare Theater is at 201 E. Capitol St. SE. folger.edu Be on the look-out for the Shakespeare Theater Free-For-All later this summer. This year’s production is “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and it will be playing Sept. 1-13 at the Sidney HarGuildenstern (Adam Wesley Brown, left) and Rosencrantz (Romell Witherman Hall, 610 F St. NW. spoon, right) try to assist their childhood friend Hamlet (Biko Eisen-Martin) shakespearetheatre.org in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. On stage at Folger Theatre, For 18 days every through June 21. Photo: Teresa Wood July, the annual Capital Fringe Festival creates a to keep the wild herd on the island healthy. The city fi lled with non-stop theatre, dance, music, round-up is July 25 and 26; the beach walk is July visual art, and everything in-between. Audiences 27; the pony swim and walk to the carnival grounds enjoy nonstop, creative cultural experiences and is July 29; the auction is July 30; and on July 31, artists develop their artistic visions in total freethe adult ponies will make the return swim to Asdom without any curatorial barriers from bringsateague Island where they live in the wild. 2015 is ing that work to adventurous audiences. The im90th year of the pony round-up, swim and sell-off. pact is enormous as art takes over neighborhoods, The foal sell-off prices range from about $1,300animating the spaces of our city--from tradition$2,700. The beauty of this event is to see the poal theaters to corner bars and vacant storefronts. nies up close. The drive there is a little over three Art will be everywhere this July 9-26. capitalfringe. hours. chincoteague.com org. The Capital Fringe year-round headquarters is now at 1358 Florida Ave. NE. It is a destination for conversation, art, community and an on-site bar. Summer presents an excellent opportunity to participate in the coming fall season as a volunteer usher, office help, production help, proCourtesy of the DC Department motion help or any other kind of help they of Parks and need. And you’d be surprised at how much Recreation work goes into the production of a play. We’re going to refer you to theatreindc.com for some idea of what’s around and listings of theater companies. Wade in and you’ll find a whole new world of production activity, arty friends and people who actually need you. A few productions are in town this summer. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is at the Folger through June 21. Stoppard’s feast of wordplay and wit thrusts two of Shakespeare’s most incidental characters into the limelight. Courtiers and close compatriots, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves
Join the theater crowd
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DC SUMMER CHECK LIST Add your own and try to do half of them. Have a wonderful summer. ___ Dine Al fresco ___ Exercise Al fresco ___ Listen to music Al fresco ___ Watch a movie Al fresco ___ Discover a talent ___ Learn to dance (anything counts) ___ Leave your comfort zone ___ Become a sports fan (any sport) ___ Visit a private art gallery ___ Re-visit the memorials at night ___ Re-visit any Mall museum you haven’t been to in over 5 years ___ Find a new favorite out-of-own spot ___ Picnic outdoors ___ Enjoy DC swimming pools ___ Help out a new theater company ___ Spend a day at Newseum
C ool off in a pool
DC’s outdoor pools, indoor aquatic centers and spray parks are free for DC residents (have photo ID), spread throughout the city, and an easy popin for a quick dip, a lane work-out or just the same experience you had as a child running through a sprinkler. Every outdoor pool is open six days a week from June 20 through the Labor Day weekend with the exception of the Ft. Dupont pool which is closed for the season. The indoor aquatic centers are all open but may have their mid-day hours changed to accommodate camp groups. Otherwise just enjoy the splash and play of one of DC’s great assets. dpr.dc.gov Great Waves at Cameron Run is one of the area’s best waterparks. Located just off the beltway at 4001 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria, Great Waves features 20 acres of pools and waterslides. It’s open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, and is considered one of the premier waterparks in Northern Virginia. There are also lap lanes, a bathhouse, snack bar and raft rental. Nearby are miniature golf, batting cages, picnic shelters and a lake. Entrance
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and lively Main Street Districts at both ends of the trip. Prices are $35, adults; $18, 12 and under for standard coach seating. wmsr.com
Become a serious sports fan
Virginia Canopy Tours, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Bentonville, VA, enable visitors to tour the park by zipline.
fees range from $3.95 to $15 depending on the day, holiday or not, height of the individual, age of the individual and time you enter. greatwaveswaterpark.com
Seek an adventure
Many of people reading this article can walk to Nat’s Park. For others, it’s a short Metro or Circulator ride. (Fair warning: You will get a ticket if you park illegally near the park and that ticket will probably be $100.) Major League Baseball games take up an entire evening or afternoon by the time you get there, watch the game, and get home. But a Washington National’s home game is a communal experience, the crowd has a lot of energy and gameday grandstand seating is always available. Two nights to look out for are July 3 and Aug. 7 when there are post game fireworks. Go Nat’s. washington.nationals.mlb.com While there’s no tailgating at a Nat’s game, there definitely is at DC United soccer games. The crowd is an international mix, more emotional and fun. The fans bring enthusiasm into RFK with chanting, giant flag waving and drum beating. There’s plenty of parking around the stadium and, of course, Metro is right there. dcunited.com The Citi Open Tennis Tournament at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, Aug, 1-9, will feature some of the best men tennis players in the world. Single session tickets are on sale now. Visit citiopentennis.com. You may also want to subscribe to their online newsletter for updates. They’re looking for about 500 volunteers. You can pick the job you want to do such as usher, tournament office work, airport greeter, ball person, will call, check in, etc. Visit citiopentennis.com and click VOLUNTEERS. ◆
Explore Shenandoah Valley hardwood forests in a thrilling new way--zipping through treetops with Virginia Canopy Tours. The tour offers a fresh adventure covering the environment, culture, history and wildlife. The grand finale is an exhilarating 1,000-plus foot-long zip offering stunning views of Massanutten Mountain followed by a 30-foot rappel. Participants receive individual safety and braking training and are accompanied by two certified eco-trained guides who handle all gear and transfers. Participants are well-secured at all times when off the ground. Allow three hours for the experience. Two nights to look out for are July 3 and Aug. 7 when $89. Bentonville is about 85 miles directly west and a little beyond Front there are post game fireworks. Go Nat’s. Photo: Royal. zipthepark.com Courtesy of the Washington Nationals For vicarious thrills and closer to home is the Indiana Jones and the Adventure of Archaeology Exhibition at National Geographic Museum through Jan. 3, 2016. An original audio greeting recorded by Harrison Ford invites you to embark on a quest to uncover the true origins of archaeological mysteries featuring an exclusive collection of original Indy props, models, concept art and costumes from all the films. The National Geographic Museum is at 1145 17th St. NW. 202-857-7588. ationalgeographic.com Cumberland is just over two hours away in western Maryland. The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad makes the trip worthwhile. The round trip excursion, originating from downtown Cumberland, is a mix of mountain scenery and transportation history. It’s an entertaining and educational experience for riders of all ages and interests with interpretive history
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J U N E CALENDAR Safeway Barbecue Battle. June 27, 11 AM-9 PM; and June 28, 11 AM-7:30 PM. Pennsylvania Ave. NW, between 9th and 14th. $12 a day, $20 for two day pass. bbqindc.com
Photo: Courtesy of Safeway Barbecue Battle
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OUTDOOR SUMMER MUSIC, THEATER AND MOVIES
Navy Memorial Concerts on the Avenue. Tuesdays, June 2-Sept 1, 7:30 PM. 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NE. navyband.navy.mil Air Force Band Concerts at the Air Force Memorial. Fridays in summer, 8 PM. Air Force Memorial at One Air Force Memorial Drive in Arlington, VA. (14th St. Bridge into Virginia, merge onto Washington Blvd. and then Columbia Pike in the direction of the Navy Annex. Then follow signs.) Expect a pleasing mix of contemporary and patriotic tunes and spectacular views of the nighttime Washington, DC skyline. airforcememorial.org Jazz in the Garden Concerts at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Fridays through Aug. 28, 5-8:30 PM. June 5, Robert Jospé featuring Butch Taylor (drums and keyboards); June 12, DC Jazz Festival presents George V. Johnson, Jr. (jazz vocals); June 19, Deanna Bogart (“bluesion,” blues fusion); June 26, Marty Nau (saxophone); July 3, Speakers of the House (old school funk, boogaloo, and rock); July 10, Hendrik Meurkens (vibes and harmonica); July 17, Lao Tizer (keyboards); July 24, Sin Miedo (salsa); July 31, Incendio (acoustic guitar); Aug. 7, Miles Stiebel (jazz violin); Aug. 14, Origem (Brazilian jazz); Aug. 21, Seth Kibel (clarinet); Aug. 28, Afro Bop Alliance (Latin jazz). Concerts may be cancelled due to excessive heat or inclement weather. For up-to-date information, visit nga.gov/jazz or call 202-289-3360. Golden Cinema in Farragut Park. June 5, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy; June 12, The Social Network; June 19 Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade; June 26, Hook; July 10, Nine to Five; July 17, Miss Congeniality; July 24, Italian Job; July 31, The Wedding Planner. 7:30 PM at Farragut Park Connecticut Ave. and K St. NW. goldentriangledc.com Union Market Drive-In Movies. Fridays in June, 8 PM. Gates open at 6 PM, close at 7:45 PM. Free. Cars are $10. Union Market Parking Lot, 13905 5th St. NE. Get a car ticket at unionmarketdc.com.
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the Hill Center grounds. Performances are preceeded by a short Q&A with the artists. Sponsored by Stella Artois. Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. hillcenterdc.org
Performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM; Saturdays and Sundays at 2 PM.
Faction of Fools Theatre Company Presents “Our Town”. Through June 21. With sensitivity to Wilder’s use of pantomime, direct address, and metatheatrical commentary, they apply a Commedia sensibility to rediscover the classical archetypes still familiar in Our Town today. $25 ($18 students, seniors, military; $12 children 12, under). Tickets available at door. Gallaudet University’s Elstad Auditorium, 800 Florida Ave. NE. factionoffools.org/ourtown American Root Music Concert Series at the Botanic Garden. June 11 and 25, July 9 and 23; 5-7 PM. June 11, Clarence “The Blues Man” Turner, Blues; June 25, Zydeco Crayz, Louisiana Roots Music; July 9, Big Daddy Love, Appalachian Rock; July 23, Moonshine Society, American Blues. Concerts are outside but go inside in bad weather. usbg.gov The Fat and Greasy Citizens Brigade Presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream. June 11, 12, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, and 27, 8 PM (doors open at 7 PM) at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown, 1041 Wisconsin Ave. NW. Audience members will be able to lay out blankets, pack a picnic and enjoy a free performance out under the stars. In case of inclement weather, the show will be performed indoors. fgcitizens.org Military Band Concerts at National Harbor. June 13 and 20; July 11 and 25; Aug. 1, 8, 15 and 22; Sept. 12; 7-8 PM. nationalharbor.com Military Band Concerts at the Capitol. Weeknights throughout summer, 8 PM. West side of the Capitol. There’s plenty of parking near the Botanic Garden. Hot 5 @ Hill Center: (outdoor) Jazz on a Summer’s Eve. June 14, Fred Foss; July 19, Rochelle Rice; Aug. 16,. Sine Qua Non; Sept. 20, Nasar Abadey; 5 PM. Free concerts on
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NoMa Summer Screen. Wednesdays, through Aug. 19. Free outdoor film series featuring music, giveaways, food trucks, picnicking and great movies. NoMa Summer Screen at Storey Park Lot, 1005 First St. NE, which will be temporarily transformed for 2015 into a mural-filled urban park. Here’s the remaining lineup: June 3-Center Stage; June 10-Bride & Prejudice; June 17-Flashdance; June 24-Strictly Ballroom; July 1-Grease; July 8-Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo; July 15-Singing in the Rain; July 22-Save the Last Dance-July 29-Moulin Rouge; Aug. 5-Stomp the Yard; and Aug. 12-Footloose. Movies start at dark and are screened with subtitles. Coolers, children and friendly (leashed) dogs are welcome. They encourage moviegoers to bring chairs, blankets, Frisbees, and picnic coolers to connect with friends and neighbors starting at 7 PM. nomabid.org
Yard’s Park Friday Night Concert Series. Fridays, through Sept. 11, 6:30-8:30 PM. Come to Yards Park to relax and enjoy the river view, fantastic bands, food and beverage, and a large variety of great restaurants within a 5-minute walk from the park. Family-friendly lyrics and grassy open space make this an enjoyable event for adults and kids alike. The Yards Park, 355 Water St. SE. yardspark.org
SPECIAL EVENTS Celebration of Pride in the Nation’s Capital. June 3-24. Pride Parade is on June 13, 4:30-7:30 PM, in the Dupont and Logan Circle neighborhoods. Pride Festival is on June 14, noon-7 PM on Pennsylvania Ave. NW, between 3rd and 7th. capitalpride.org Art Walk in the Park at Glen Echo. June 5, July 3, Aug. 7, and Sept., 4, 6-8 PM. Glen Echo invites the public to visit all the Park’s resident visual arts studios in one evening in order to learn about their programs, meet resident artists and instructors, view artists at work in their studios, purchase unique artwork and gifts, and enjoy the beauty of the park. Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD. 301-634-2222. glenechopark.org
Marine Barracks Sunset Parades at Iwo Jima Memorial. Tuesdays, through Aug. 11, 7-8 PM (Aug. 4 and 11 begin 30 minutes earlier). Lawn seating. Bring blankets and chairs. No public parking available at the Memorial grounds on Parade evenings. Guests may park at the Arlington National Cemetery Visitors’ Center for a small fee. Marine Barracks provides a free shuttle bus service from the visitors center to and from the memorial grounds. barracks.marines.mil 2015 Twilight Tattoo at Fort Myer. Wednesdays (except July 1), through Aug. 19 , 7 PM with preceremony pageantry starting at 6:45 PM. Members of the 3rd US Infantry (The Old Guard), the US Army Band “Pershings Own,” Fife and Drum Corps and the US Army Drill Team will perform an hourlong sunset military Pageant. Over 100 Old Guard soldiers dressed in period uniforms will provide a glimpse of Army history from colonial times to the soldier of the future. The Twilight Tattoo will be performed on Summerall Field from through June, and on Whipple Field, July through August. twilight.mdw.army.mil Marine Barracks Row Evening Parades. Fridays through Aug. 28, 8:45-10 PM. Performance features music and precision marching, the Evening Parade features “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, “The Commandant’s Own” The United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, the Marine Corps Color Guard, the Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon, Ceremonial Marchers, and LCpl. Chesty XIII, the official mascot of Marine Barracks Washington. Reservations suggested. barracks.marines.mil
From Marie Antoinette. Fake cupcakes are included. $100. May have been sold.)
Woolly Mammoth’s Online Yard Sale. Anyone interested in purchasing something from the Woolly stage that caught their eye can check out what’s for sale, including set pieces, furniture and props that have starred in their productions. Keep coming back to the site as there is always a new show and a new pile of stuff that they can’t keep. woollymammoth.net
Dupont-Kalorama Museum Walk Weekend. June 6 and 7, 11 AM-4 PM. Discover Anderson House, Dumbarton House, Heurich House Museum, Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, National Museum of American Jewish Military History, The Phillips Collection, and the President Woodrow Wilson House. All free of charge. dkmuseums.com Scholarfest at Library of Congress. June 11, 9 AM-4:30 PM. Seventy top scholars participate in rapid-fire dialogues, panels and scholarly conversations on a series of thought-provoking topics beginning at the Thomas Jefferson Building. For a complete schedule, visit loc.gov/loc/kluge/ news/scholarfest-2015.html. loc.gov Truckeroo Food Trucks. Fridays, June 12, July 10, Aug. 21 and Sept. 11, 11 AM-11 PM. Eating events at the corner of Half St. and M St. SE, near Nat’s Park. Truckeroodc.com CHAW Performance Festival. Saturday, June 13. Join CHAW for a full day of performances, exhibits, and workshops that encompass the depth and breadth of their artistic offerings and showcase the creative minds of the community members. Chaw is at 545 7th St, SE. 202-5476839. chaw.org Smithsonian Folklife Festival. June 2428 and July 1-5. Festival hours are 11 AM-5:30 PM, with special events taking place most evenings beginning at 7 PM. Theme this year is PERÚ Pachamama. On the National Mall between 3rd and 4th, just north of the National Museum of the American Indian. festival.si.edu
MUSIC
JP Jofre, Bandoneon Player, at Hill Center. June 3, 7:30-9 PM. Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-549-4172. HillCenterDC.org Music at Ebenezers. June 4, Somerton; June 5, The 9 Singer-Songwriter Series; June 6, Josh Harty; June 12, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Heather Mae, Joy Ike; June 13, Grace Fuisz; June 18, Annalise Emerick, Brian Dunne, KaiL Baxley; June 19, Carolyn Crysdale (full band). Ebenezers
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broadcast. Burke Theater, 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. swingtimethemusical.com
DC National Guard Concerts at DC Armory. June 6 and 7, 3 PM. The 257th Army Band, The Band of the Nation’s Capital. Free. DC Armory, 2001 E. Capitol St. SE. Music at the Atlas. June 11, 8 PM, Brad Linde’s BIG OL’ ENSEMBLE presents new music big band music by Elliott Hughes. Atlas performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. 202-399-7993. atlasarts.org
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead at the Folger. Through June 21. Stoppard’s feast of wordplay and wit thrusts two of Shakespeare’s most incidental characters into the limelight. Courtiers and close compatriots, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves in Elsinore with the dubious task of identifying what afflicts their childhood friend Hamlet. Folger Shakespeare Theater, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. 202-544-7077. folger.edu
“Notes from the Crypt” Chamber Music Concerts at Congressional Cemetery. June 14, 4 PM. This onehour concert is held in the historic 1903 Chapel. The program is followed by a wine and cheese reception. Admission is free, and seating is first come, first served. Historic Congressional Cemetery is at 1801 E St. SE. 202-543-0539. congressionalcemetery.org Dounouya: Global Sounds on the Hill Concert. June 28, 4 PM. Amadou Kouyate. Concert will be preceded by a 30-minute conversation with the artist. Tickets are $12 (available online at hillcenterdc.org) and $15 at the door. Craft beers and wine will be available for sale. Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-549-4172. HillCenterDC.org Homegrown Concert at the Library of Congress. June 30, noon. Marinera Viva!!! presents the national dance of Peru. Jefferson Building, Coolidge Auditorium. No tickets are required. 202-707-5510. loc.gov Jazz Night and Blues Night in Southwest. Jazz is every Friday, 6-9 PM. Blues is every Monday, 6-9 PM. Expect a large, fun and friendly crowd. The cover is $5. Children are welcome and free under 16 years old. Reasonably priced meals offered. 202-484-7700. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW (Fourth and I, south side of intersection). westminsterdc.org Church of the Epiphany Weekly Concerts. Every Tuesday, 12:10 PM. Free but a free will offering taken. 1317 G ST. NW. 202-347-2635. epiphanydc.org
THEATER The Blood Quilt at Arena. Through June 7. Gathering at their childhood island home off the coast of Georgia, four disconnected sisters meet to create a family quilt to honor their recently deceased mother. Arena Stage, 1101 6th St. SW. 202-488-3300. arenastage.org Swing Time--The Musical at the Naval Heritage Center. Through June 27. Swing Time brings back the sights and sounds of the World War II era with an authentic, “big band” recreation of a war bond radio
Jumpers for Goalposts at Studio. Through June 21. Hope springs eternal in the post-game locker room of Barely Athletic, an amateur soccer team competing in the five-a-side pub league in Hull, a Yorkshire fishing city that’s seen better days (as have these athletes). Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. 202-332-3300. studiotheatre.org Zombie: The American at Woolly. Through June 21. The year is 2063 and Thom Valentine, the first openly gay President of the United States, faces a host of problems: an imminent civil war, the threat of an African invasion, an adulterous First Gentleman, and zombies in the basement of the White House! Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW. 202-393-3939. woollymammoth.net
Unique Handcrafted Papier-Mâché Mirrors Made by Artist Tuesday Winslow since 1995
Tartuffe at Shakespeare. June 2-July 5. Orgon has fallen under the spell of the pious fraud Tartuffe, at great cost to his family and household, in Tartuffe, Molière’s crowning achievement and scathing indictment of religious hypocrisy. Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. 202-547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife at Theater J. June 3-July 5. Marjorie Taub, Upper West Sider and devoted lady who lunches, is deep in the throes of mid-life existential ennui when an enigmatic childhood friend with a taste for mischief unexpectedly arrives at her door. Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW. 800-494-8497. washingtondcjcc.org Occupied Territories at Anacostia Playhouse. June 10July 5. Highly physical, Occupied Territories tears away easy boundaries to question how bodies, minds, and souls are vast territories altered by the nation’s relentless history of War. Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Pl. SE. Tickets may be purchased at anacostiaplayhouse.com.
SPORTS AND FITNESS DC Public Outdoor Pools. Nearby outdoor pools are East Potomac Pool at 972 Ohio Dr. SW; Randall Pool at South Capitol and I Sts. SW; and Rosedale Pool at 1701 Gales St. NE. All outdoor pools are open week-
PHOTO- “WHEEL” WORLD MAP
Artistic and Functional Accents for Kids Rooms • Office • Foyers • Hallways • Bathrooms Mayan Inspired | Respectful of the Environment Made Locally | Artist Signed
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ends, noon-6 PM. Weekday hours are 1-8 PM starting June 20. Every pool is closed one day a week for cleaning and maintenance. All pools are free for DC residents. Have picture ID. dpr.dc.gov Free public tennis courts in Ward Six. King Greenleaf Recreation Center, 201 N St. SW; Garfield Park, Third and G sts. SE; Randall Park First and I sts. SW; Rosedale Recreation Center, 1701 Gales St. NE; Sherwood Recreation Center, 640 10th St. NE. All courts are open daily, dawn to dusk. Some are lighted for extended evening play. Courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis for one hour intervals; extended use of tennis courts requires a permit. Proper shoes and attire is required. 202-671-0314. dpr. dc.gov/dpr
H Street NE Farmers Market. Saturdays, through Dec. 19, 9 AM-noon. Located at H St. and 13th St. NE. EBT/Food Stamps can be redeemed at the information table. All EBT customers and WIC/Senior coupon customers will receive “Double Dollar” coupons to match their EBT dollars or WIC/Senior coupons redeemed up to $10. freshfarmmarket.org
Meditation in Capitol Hill. Mondays, 7:308:30 PM. $12 per class ($6 seniors/students/unemployed). Meditation in Capitol Hill is at the Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Read more at meditation-dc.org/ capitol-hill. Walk-ins welcome.
Dupont Circle Farmers Market. Sundays (rain or shine), year round, 10 AM-1 PM. 20th St. and Mass. Ave. NW, 1500 block of 20th St. NW (between Mass. Ave. and Q St. in the adjacent parking lot of PNC Bank). 202-362-8889. freshfarmmarket.org
Zumba at Southwest Library. Wednesdays at 7:30 PM. Instructor Roshaunda Jenkins will lead this one-hour fitness and dance class--all fitness levels welcome. Southwest Neighborhood Library, 900 Wesley Pl. SW. 202-724-4752. dclibrary.org/southwest
Branch Avenue Pawn Parking Lot Flea Market. Saturdays, year-round (weather permitting). Set up after 10 AM. 3128 Branch Ave., Temple Hills, MD
13th Annual Hope for the Homeless Golf Tournament (save the date). Sept. 21, 1:30 PM. Tournament at the Glenn Dale Country Club benefits the Capital Hill Group Ministry. chgm.net
MARKETS AND SALES
Palisades Georgetown Lions Club Flea Market. May 31,10 AM. MacArthur Blvd. and Arizona Ave. NW. Friends of Southwest Library Summer Book Sale. June 6, 10 AM-3 PM and June 7, 1:304 PM. Most books $1 or less. 900 Wesley Pl. SW. 202-724-4752. dclibrary.org/southwest Market SW “night market”. June 26, July 24, Aug. 28, Sept. 25 and Oct. 23, 4-9 PM. Bills itself as “an evening of arts, food, flea & fun, live music.” Market is at 4th and M Sts. SW. marketswdc.com
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Eastern Market. Daily except Mondays and important holidays. Weekdays, 7 AM-7 PM; Saturdays, 7 AM-5 PM; Sundays, 9 AM-5 PM. Flea market and arts and crafts market open Saturdays and Sundays, 9 AM-6 PM. Eastern Market is Washington’s last continually operated “old world” market. 200 block of 7th St. SE. 202-698-5253. easternmarketdc.com
Fresh Tuesdays at Eastern Market. Every Tuesday, 3-7 PM. Tuesday afternoon farmers’ line of fresh produce. Eastern Market, 200 block of 7th St. SE. 202-698-5253. easternmarketdc.com Union Market. Tuesday-Friday, 11 AM-8 PM; Saturday-Sunday, 8 AM-8 PM. Union Market is an artisanal, curated, year round food market featuring over 40 local vendors. 1309 5th St. NE. 301-652-7400. unionmarketdc.com Georgetown Flea Market. Sundays year around (except in the case of very inclement weather), 8 AM-4 PM. 1819 35th St. NW. georgetownfleamarket.com Maine Avenue Fish Market. Open 365 days a year. 7 AM-9 PM. 1100 Maine Ave. SW. 202-484-2722. Fashion Trucks on U. Sundays, noon-5 PM. Fashion Trucks offer a mix of crafts, clothes,
accessories and jewelry at the former home of the Sunday U St Flea in the parking lot, next to Nellie’s Sports Bar at 912 U St. NW. ustreetflea.com
CIVIC LIFE
National Archives Hosts Conference on Declaration of Independence. June 23, 9:15 AM-4:15 PM. National Archives will host a free conference on the Declaration of Independence titled “Punctuating Happiness,” in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives. The conference is free and open to the public, and advance registration is required at phdc2015.eventbrite.com. archives.gov DC Statehood and Representative Democracy Discussion. June 25, 7 PM. A distinguished panel of experts will discuss the current state of representative democracy, focusing on the unique status of the District of Columbia along with other voting rights issues. Moderated by Lenny Steinhorn, of American University, panelists include former DC Mayor Anthony Williams; former Member of Congress Jim Walsh (R-NY) ; and others. National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. archives.gov ANC 6A. Second Thursday, 7 PM. Meeting at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th St. NE. 202-423-8868. anc6a.org ANC 6B. Second Tuesday, 7 PM. Meeting at Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-5433344. anc6b.org ANC 6C. Second Wednesday, 7 PM. Meeting at Heritage Foundation, 214 Mass. Ave. NE, first floor conference room. 202-547-7168. anc6c.org ANC 6D. Second Monday, 7 PM. Meeting at 1100 4th St. SW, DCRA meeting room, 2nd floor. 202-554-1795. anc6d.org ANC 6E. First Tuesday, 6:30 PM. Meeting at Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library, 1630 7th St. NW. anc6e.org u
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Bulletin Board
Paddle Nights on the Anacostia Thursdays, through Sept. 24, 5-7:30 p.m., discover the Anacostia by joining the Anacostia Watershed Society in the free Paddle Nights on the Anacostia Program. AWS provides the canoes, life jackets, paddles and safety lesson: everything needed to have a great paddling experience. The events are first-come first-served, so come early for a better chance of getting out on the water. Paddle Nights leave from different locations--June 11, July 30, Aug. 27 and Sept. 10, Paddle Nights leave from Kenilworth Park, 4000 Deane St. SE. June 25, July 16, Aug. 13, Sept. 3 and 24, Paddle Nights leave from Ballpark Boathouse, Diamond Teague Park, First and Potomac Ave. SE. June 18, July 9, Aug. 6 and Sept. 17, Paddle Nights leave from Bladensburg Waterfront Park, 4601 Annapolis Rd., Bladensburg, MD. June 4, July 2 and 23 and Aug. 20, Paddle Nights leave from the Anacostia Community Boathouse, 1900 M St. SE. Please register for this event at anacostiaws.org. Registration does not guarantee a canoe, but does guarantee a heads-up if the event is cancelled. Paddle Night at Kenilworth Park, July 24, 2014. Photo: Chris Myers, Anacostia Watershed Society
Capitol Hill Group Ministry Initiates Two New Volunteer Opportunities Homeless Assistance Response Team. HART will provide outreach and care to chronically homeless neighbors beyond hypothermia season. HART members will deploy across the streets of Ward 6 on weekday evenings to support unsheltered neighbors. HART volunteers will be empowered with tools to effectively engage homeless neighbors and provide resources to help them get through a night on the streets. HART will also allow CHGM to have far more regular contact with homeless neighbors than they are able to have with staff alone. Shirley’s Place Guest Services Volunteer Program. CHGM’s Shirley’s Place
Hospitality Day Center offers immediate-needs services to the homeless neighbors of the Centre, including shower and laundry services, workshops, light meals, and light case management. Additionally, the facility serves as a safe place for anyone. Volunteers will have the opportunity to support Shirley’s Place’s general daily operations through both client services and administrative support. Volunteers will be trained on the facility’s general operations and clientele. For more information on either program, email volunteer@chgm.net.
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Union Market Drive-In Movies Return Union Market announces the return of its popular drive-in movie series. The series is best known for honoring themed movies, with this year’s sequence celebrating the glory of the ‘80s and ‘90s decades. The series will flashback every Friday in June starting on June 5 at 8 p.m. with an outdoor screening lineup featuring Pretty Woman, Beverly Hills Cop, Space Jam and Jurassic Park. The movie will be projected onto the two-story front wall of the market. The weekly event is just $10 per car (a portion of ticket sales will go to the Wheatley Education Campus in nearby Trinidad) or free for walk-ups and bikers in the picnic area on a first come, first serve basis. To hear the movie, patrons can either tune in to their car radios or listen over the loudspeakers. Gates open at 6 p.m., close at 7:45 p.m. The movie begins at 8 p.m. in the Union Market Parking Lot, 13905 5th St. NE. Buy a car ticket at unionmarketdc.com. Whether its for the movie, the snacks or the fun, Washingtonians of all ages will come together to enjoy vintage service by the DC Rollergirls, on-hand delivering speedy snacks and drinks on wheels. All 40 Union Market vendors will remain open for service throughout the movie.
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Folger Theatre 2015/2016 Season Celebrates the Wonder of Will: 400 Years of Shakespeare Folger Theatre begins its season with a collaboration with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in November, with Shakespeare’s harrowing adventure tale “Pericles.” In January 2016, Aaron Posner will direct Shakespeare’s romantic classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The season concludes with the world premiere of “District Merchants,” a new play writ-
ten by Aaron Posner, commissioned by Folger Theatre, and based on Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice.” In addition, during this 3-play season, Folger Theatre will present (as a season opener) the world premiere of “texts&beheadings/ElizabethR “in September. As part of The Women’s Voices Theater Festival, dedicated to featuring new works by female playwrights, this limited engagement uses Queen Elizabeth’s I’s own words to explore the nature of royalty. In April 2016, the riotously innovative Reduced Shakespeare Company returns to Folger
Theatre for the east coast premiere of William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged). folger.edu
CHAW’s Paint Bucket Campaign The Paint Bucket Campaign runs through July 4. The goal is to raise $65,000 in 65 days. Any donation goes directly to helping get more kids more art. Throughout CHAW’s history, it’s been a priority to never turn anyone away from classes and programs because they can’t afford to pay. In just the last two years, CHAW gave $125,000 in tuition assistance. About 90% of students receiving tuition assistance were children and the other 10% adults. To learn more and donate to Paint Bucket, visit chaw.org.
Capitol Hill Reads Book Club at Hill Center On Thursday, June 18, 6:30-8:30 p.m., join Southeast Branch Library’s monthly book discussion lead by librarian David Quick. June’s title is Phil Klay’s “Redeployment.” The book takes readers to the front lines of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, giving a front line view of what happened there, and what happened to the soldiers who returned. Free. Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. hillcenterdc.org
Capitol Hill Restoration Society Hosts Architect of the Capitol The Capitol Hill Restoration Society will host a community presentation June 15, 7 p.m. at the National Community Church, 858 8th St. SE. The speaker is Stephen T. Ayers, FAIA, LEED AP, Architect of the Capitol. The
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presentation will be preceded by a brief business meeting at 6:45 p.m. Mr. Ayers will take participants behind the scenes of the work on the Capitol dome, and share plans to restore the Ulysses Grant memorial at the base of the Capitol’s west lawn. This presentation is free and open to the public; no reservations needed. chrs.org
CHRS Walking Tour of Historic Groff Court Neighborhood On Saturday, June 20, 10 a.m., take a walking tour of the historic Groff Court neighborhood, featuring Victorian houses, famous Washington builders, economic boom and bust, scandal, and life in the alley. Meet at 324 E St. NE, rain or shine. Tour is free. No reservations needed. chrs.org
Ground Broken on Capitol Crossing On May 12, the ground was broken on Capitol Crossing, 222 Massachusetts Ave. NW, a $1.3 billion project that will transform a seven-acre site in Ward 6 into a cityscape spanning three blocks, reuniting the East End and Capitol Hill communities. The development of Capitol Crossing will create up to 4,000 construction jobs and 8,000 permanent jobs, while improving the infrastructure supporting the local neighborhoods.
Join the Fringe Board Capital Fringe needs new board members to support their growth. They are looking for professionals with the following experiences to join their Board of Directors: Marketing, Communications, PR (at a high level); Real Estate Negotiations and Development; Bar and Restaurant Management; Financial Management of budgets between $3 to $5 million. To find out more, contract Julianne Brienza, CEO/Founder julianne@capitalfringe. org or Peter Korbel, COO peter@capitalfringe.org.
Host a Traveling Fringe Artist Capital Fringe is looking for neighborhood residents who are interested in hosting a Fringe artist for several days during the Festival, July 9-26. Hosting simply means offering a couch, spare bed, or air mattress. Hosts receive free passes to the Festival. For more information, contact Alex Engel at alex@capitalfringe.org. capitalfringe.org
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DC Streetcar Kicks Off Rush Hour Safety Campaign DDOT has kicked off a special rush hour safety campaign at key locations along the H Street/Benning Road corridor. The campaign targets pedestrians, motorists and cyclists with “share the road” safety messages as DC Streetcar continues simulated service and prepares for passenger service later this year.
gy combines GPS, Bluetooth LE and keyless remote technology to provide a safe and seamless car sharing experience. Getaround is the only car sharing company that allows DC residents to rent anything from a Prius to a Tesla with the touch of their phone, while empowering car owners to earn hundreds of dollars each month off of their underutilized vehicles. Sign up is free and insurance is included in every trip. getaround.com
CALL TO ARTISTS: Request for Qualifications for Urban Farm Environmental Public Art Project
New Online Preservation Resource, “Saving Our Stuff,” Now Available
The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCCAH) in partnership with the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and the Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP) is seeking artists or artist teams for a public art project that will result in an environmentally-focused sculpture in a new urban farm to be created in the DC neighborhood of Capitol View in Ward 7. Up to five artists/artist teams will be selected for a shortlist phase. Semifinalists will receive a $1,000 to $2,000 stipend to be used for design proposal and travel. The total project budget for the public art is $120,000. The winning artist/team will collaborate with DCCAH, UDC, UWFP and a project team comprised of District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA) members who will provide site design and build out. Submission deadline is June 10, 2015, 5 p.m. EST. To obtain a copy of the prospectus and application, visit dcarts.dc.gov. For questions, contact Elizabeth Carriger, Public Art Coordinator, elizabeth.carriger@dc.gov, 202-724-5613 or Tonya Jordan, Public Art Manager, tonya.jordan@dc.gov, also at 202-724-5613.
Getaround’s Launch into the DC Market Getaround, the leading peer-to-peer car sharing community, has announced its expansion to Washington DC, the company’s first East Coast market. Getaround’s expansion to DC follows the company’s recent shift to an entirely on-demand car sharing experience--eliminating the need for owners and renters to meet in person in order to handoff keys for each reservation. Each car is powered by the company’s one-of-a-kind hardware technology, the Getaround Connect. This technolo-
The Library of Congress announces a new online resource, “Saving Our Stuff,” to help members of the public preserve their personal and shared collections of papers, books, photographs and other materials. The site, loc.gov/preservation/outreach/ workshops/public/PW2015/index.html, provides information on handling, storage and technology considerations. The Library’s Preservation Directorate created the resource in celebration of Preservation Week 2015 (Apr. 26-May 1). In addition to the web page, the Library is featuring a short-term display, “Saving Our Stuff,” in the North Gallery of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. The display is free and open to the public 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Saturday, until Monday, June 22. Like the online resource, the Jefferson Building display focuses on three topics: handling, safe storage and digital preservation. loc.gov
DDOT Introduces the RideDC Trip Planner DDOT announces the new RideDC Trip Planner, a mobile application to help the District’s residents and visitors navigate the city. The RideDC Trip Planner—which is currently available for free for iOS and Android smartphones—features a trip planner, real-time rail and bus arrivals and departures, and a map that shows transit options near users’ current locations. The app’s “Plan a Trip” feature allows users to chart a course between two destinations using a variety of transit options, including the DC Circulator, Metrorail, Metrobus, Capital Bikeshare and several car-sharing services. It also contains real-time location information from DC Circulator vehicles. To download the RideDC Trip Planner, visit iTunes or the Google Play.
ANC6C Funds Grants for Capitol Hill Groups The ANC6C Grants Committee approved grants to three Capitol Hill non-profits for the first quarter of 2015. Recipients of the grants included Capitol Hill Cluster School PTA/Capitol Hill Classic Race Committee Capitol Hill Fun Run, the J.O. Wilson Elementary School PTA Annual School Musical at the Atlas Theatre, and Capitol Hill Group Ministry’s new Homeless Assistance Response Team. The next deadline for applications is June 15. For more information visit www.anc6c.org and link to Documents to download the grant instructions and application.
Kenilworth Park Water Lily & Lotus Festival Volunteers Sought Volunteers are sought to work at the annual Kenilworth Park Water Lily & Lotus Cultural Festival on Saturday, July 11, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Those interested should contact contact Tina O’Connell at tina@friendsofkenilworthgardens.org.
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Appalachian Trail Conservancy Hosts Annual African American History Hike The Appalachian Trail Conservancy will host its annual African American History Hike in celebration of National Trails Day on Saturday, June 6, at its Visitor Center in Harpers Ferry, WV. This special event will allow participants to experience the rich African American history in Harpers Ferry via a guided hike that highlights key locations like Storer College, one of the nation’s first institutions of higher learning open to African Americans. Participants will also be able to experience a scenic section of the Appalachian Trail. For more information or to register, visit appalachiantrail.org/events. u
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Where to Put the New Marine Barracks? Residents Weigh in on the Five Alternatives
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n April 12, the Marine Corps released its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Multiple Projects in Support of the Marine Barracks Washington (MBW). The lengthy document outlines a series of proj-
by Charnice A. Milton ects the Marines hope to accomplish in the next five years and their potential environmental consequences. One of the main projects includes replacing the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) Complex, currently housed in Building 20 on I and 8th Streets. On April 22, residents and other
stakeholders had a chance to meet Marine Corps representatives and discuss which of the five proposed sites suit both the Marines’ and the community’s needs.
Background According to the EIS, the Marines are currently updating the MBW Master Plan. “The goal of the Master Plan is to provide for continued efficient and orderly development of real estate and facilities resources so the MBW can successfully continue its assigned mission,” it states. “That’s a requirement for us to review and look at, said Major Matt McKinney, MBW Quartermaster. “So it was determined in the Master Plan that Building 20 did require replacement. That generated the possibility that there may be a requirement to acquire land. Once they determined that land acquisition was involved, then it opens up the opportunity to start the EIS project.” The EIS was also impacted by the Community Integrated Master Plan (CIMP) process, which began in 2010. “The process proved effective in identifying potential planning solutions that are community-driven and built on consensus through a series of public meetings, interviews, and workshops designed to gather data and public input,” the EIS explained. The CIMP process helped identify two alternatives explored in the EIS.
The Five Alternatives Alternative A, located adjacent to Virginia Avenue Park and bounded by L, Eighth, and Ninth Streets, is a three-acre privately-owned site. If chosen, a block of L Street will close to vehicles and pedestrians, the site will be rezoned as federal, and 14 historic buildings could be demolished. Alternative B is a 1.8 acre privately-owned This map shows the five possible alternative sites for the Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) Complex. It is one of many projects evaluated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Multiple Projects in Support of the Marine Barracks Washington (MBW). Photo Credit: Marine Corps.
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site bounded by L, 10th, and 11th Streets. Like Alternative A, the site will be rezoned; however, a section of L Street will remain open to pedestrians only. Also, five business located on the site will be displaced. However, JDLand.com reported that the Washington Humane Society has purchased the site; this will be addressed in the final EIS, coming later this year. Alternative C is a federallyowned 2.1 acre site located in the Southeast Federal Center. However, the site is also within the footprint of “The Yards” Master Redevelopment Plan, which developer Forest City legally controls. If chosen, the Marines have to negotiate a land transfer agreement with the General Services Administration and Forest City. Alternative D is a 1.67 DOD-owned site located in the Washington Navy Yard. This site, which currently houses an administrative building (Building 169), as well as tennis and basketball courts, does not require land acquisition; the Navy Yard Master Plan identified the site for redevelopment in 2014. Alternative E is a 0.89 acre DOD-owned site located between Building 25 and 26 at the MBW Annex. Like Alternative D, this site requires no land acquisition process. If chosen, the new BEQ will wrap around Building 25 and connect via a breezeway. There is also a no-build option. “Marines living in Building 20 would continue to contend with BEQ housing units that are smaller and lack the configuration and amenities of the current Marine Corps standard BEQ unit,” stated the EIS.
Resident Response
uents, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) Meredith Fascett, whose single-member district (SMD), 6D07 includes the MBW Annex, attended the open house and gave her opinions on the alternatives. “I am consistent in my support of Sites D and E,” she said. “We’ve talked extensively about any sort of downsides...I think that they meet the needs...and they are, by far, the least intrusive to the neighborhood.” Commissioner Fascett explained that the other available options require land acquisition and security measures that could disrupt the community. “When you think about the appropriate security measures they need to take for these buildings, they cause a substantial setback, which means there’s no active streetscape.” Michael Stevens, President of the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District (BID) shared similar concerns (although he did not mention a preferred option). “While we all support the Marines and all personnel of the military, these facilities sometimes become dead zones,” he explained, “meaning that they don’t have ground floor retail, they significant security standoffs, and while this is an urban environment, [the height limit is] still 66 feet.” M Street resident Tami Hultman appreciated that the Marines are trying to be good neighbors. “There has been a lot of attempts to asses community feelings and some of the earliest possible sites were discounted, I think, because of objections from the community,” she said. “I think that indicates the sensitivity of the process and how it’s been carried out.” u
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Is a Mayoral-Council Slugfest in the Future? The District Beat
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hen Mayor Muriel Bowser made an appearance last month on Fox News Sunday as its “Power Player,” host Chris Wallace didn’t mention that the DC Council had failed to approve important parts of her 2016 budget proposal. There was no reference to her spat with newly elected Attorney General Karl Racine that kicked up a hornets’ nest of citizens complaints against what some saw as a “power grab.” There also wasn’t any talk about the solid wall of resistance in the legislature to jail health care contract for Corizon, which Bowser championed. Despite those defeats in these early days of her administration, some people speculate that the arrival on the council of two Bowser acolytes—Ward 8’s LaRuby May (D-Ward 8) and Brandon Todd (D-Ward 4)—will make the mayor a force to be reckoned with. “She does have the cards stacked in her favor,” admits Daniel del Pielago, a community organizer with the nonprofit organization Empower DC. It may be too soon to cast the council as Chihuahua and Bowser as Bulldog, say many political observers and activists, including del Pielago. No one should discount the political skills of Chairman Phil Mendelson (D); and May’s and Todd’s abilities shouldn’t be over-estimated, they point out. Further, the 2016 election season, expected to kick off in the fall, is sure to be an important wildcard in relationships and coalitions forged in the corridors of the Wilson Building. “Any mayor would want to have sure votes. But I don’t know if [May and Todd] have the po-
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by Jonetta Rose Barras litical chops to build a coalition,” says Melik Abdul, a Ward 8 activist. “That’s two votes and there are 11 others. I don’t think [the council] will roll over,” said Logan Wiley, a Ward 7 resident and former DC government budget analyst. “It’s easy to under-estimate Phil,” said Ken Cummings, a political observer and former Washington City Paper Loose Lips columnist. “[But] he’s always the first or second top vote-getter.” In the past three election cycles, Mendelson has had only token opposition. In the 2014 General Election, for example, he received 77.85 percent of the vote--138,066 votes--in his citywide chairman’s race. Bowser received 54.5 percent or 96,666 votes in the mayoral challenge. Those results indicate that separately each brings a potent cache. That could exacerbate any potential conflict, resulting in a relationship that could mimic the one between Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Chairman Vincent C. Gray. Between 2007 and 2010, there were times when business stalled as the two fought over everything from the lottery contract to the composition of the University of the District of Columbia Board of Trustees. Says Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), There won’t be automatic approval of Bowser’s policies and programs, says Jack Evans (DWard 2. “Nobody rubber stamped Tony Williams. Nobody rubber stamped Adrian. The council is not even going to rubber stamp the chairman.” Interestingly during final budget negotiations, it appeared that Evans, except for the mayor’s tax proposals, supported Bowser. He led the opposition to cuts proposed by Mendelson to the
McMillan, Walter Reed and St. Elizabeth capital budgets. Each spending reduction was minor when compared with the project’s total budget. Perhaps the greatest concern among some people is that any conflict between the mayor and council could expose racial fault-lines that, heretofore, have been dormant. Bowser’s perceived allies on the council include Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7), Anita Bonds (D-At Large), Vincent Orange (D-At Large), May, Todd and Evans. Except for the latter, what do they have in common, asks Abdul. “There is going to be a racial component to it.
The Budget Tussle That black white divide spoke, sotto voce, during the fight over the Corizon health care contract, when most of the African American council members voted to approve it. Weeks later, during the debate over Bowser’s $5 million expansion of the summer youth jobs programs to include young adults ages 22 to 24, Orange accused Mendelson and others of being insensitive to the plight of poor people. The council chairman was unfazed by the coded race-speak. He has strong support among African-American voters. In last year’s Democratic Primary, for example, he received 76.52 percent of the 11,542 votes cast in Ward 5 in the chairman’s race where he faced a black opponent. Legislators subsequently approved Bowser’s summer job program but not before Mendelson made clear that the mayor had violated the law when she pushed ahead with expanding the age of its recipients before seeking the council’s autho-
rization. That was his clear signal that he might not be so unforgiving of Bowser’s after-the-factFenty-esque tactics. “She’s Fenty 2.0 in the sense of consolidating power,” continues del Pielago. “It’s very problematic.” Days after the approval of the summer jobs legislation, council members seemed less amenable to Bowser’s 2016 budget proposal. Mendelson rejected her structural changes, forcing a budget realignment of the Office of the Secretary and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety. He also led the opposition to her efforts to reduce the term appointments of several key managers including the chief procurement officer. Meanwhile, council Chairman Pro Tempore Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5) put the kibosh on the expansion of police body cameras after a swarm of advocates, including the city’s own Office of Open Government and the ACLU, raised concerns about the mayor’s and Chief Cathy Lanier’s decision to prevent disclosure of the video footage. At-large member David Grosso (I), chairman of the Committee on Education, proposed new criteria for determining the order for modernizing public schools, which could handicap Bowser if she runs for reelection. Public education has a strong advocacy base, particularly among voters in Ward 2 and Ward 3; Bowser could not have won the Democratic Primary without the support of those communities. Grosso also restored money the mayor has cut from the DC Public Library. Perhaps seeing the handwriting on the wall, Bowser sent a letter on May 11, 2015 amending her 2015 and 2016 budget requests. She said the “errata letter” corrected mistakes that had appeared in printed budget documents. It also restored funding for key items, which she said had been made possible by pulling some money associated with the Southwest wharf development
project and because charter school enrollment was down from projections. That was Bowser “realizing she made a political mistake. That was an ‘oops’ budget change,” says one top-level government official. ”The council also took apart her innovation fund. Basically they took away her cookie jar.” Bowser’s move may have been too late. Council committees had already held weeks of public hearings. Their mark-up of the budget had begun. Through those processes an attentive public already had a hint of how the legislature would alter the mayor’s proposals. “She had an opportunity to have consensus budget,” says Cummings. Despite changes by the council, some of which Bowser fought vehemently, Bowser won a lot of what she wanted in her first budget submission as the city’s chief executive. But in politics, sometimes, what you lose can become as important as what you win.
Beyond Dollars and Centers Quite frankly, the budget battle is a temporary thing, played out in two months of a 12-month year. Disagreements often arise between the executive and legislative branches around program priorities and policy implementation. Both the mayor and the council agree that the DC General family homeless shelter should be shuttered, for example. But how that happens, where people are sent, and how much money is spent remain points of contention. What’s more, the current committee assignments suggest that the person in the legislature at the locus of those tensions could be the chair. Mendelson’s Committee of the Whole doesn’t just hold sway over the budget, it also oversees large swaths of territory critical to Bowser. The Office of the City Administrator, the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, human services, the
interagency council for the homeless, and the office of contracting and procurement all lie within the chairman’s domain. While all council members are part of the Committee of the Whole, the volume of work usually divides the group until its time to move legislation before the full council for approval. Then, if the mayor and chairman disagree, a seven vote majority becomes critical. “Phil is completely transactional,” explains one high level government official, who requested anonymity. “He keeps his cards close to his vest. “[But] the mayor is cut-throat and tough as nails—unflinchingly tough,” adds the official. Still, most observers expect Mendelson to have the upper-hand, believing, as Cummings does that the mayor “will have a tough time holding together a coalition.” That task is further complicated by the fact that many of the mayor’s allies are up for re-election. Alexander, Orange and Evans are expected to run for four more years. May and Todd, who won the recent special election, earned the right to complete the unexpired term vacated by Marion Barry’s death in Ward 8 and Bowser’s ascension to the mayoral suite in Ward 4. That means they, too, will have to run for reelection. Party primaries are scheduled for June 2016. Bowser flexed her muscle during the special election. She helped her acolytes to raise large sums of money and personally appeared at campaign events. As mayor, she can pass out goodies to allies. But will that be enough? Bowser “may want to reign over things, like the queen, but I don’t see her having the juice,” says Wiley. Mendelson “may not be as good as John Wilson but he knows how it’s done, and has the chutzpah to keep it together.” Jonetta Rose Barras is a Washington, DC-based freelance writer. She blogs at www.jonettarosebarras.com u
June 2015 H 55
{capitol streets / the numbers}
If the Jobs Just Aren’t There, We Should Create Them
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n an ideal world, everyone who wanted a job would find one, and it would pay enough to make ends meet – and maybe even enough for a child’s piano lessons and to take an occasional weekend trip to the beach. There was a time in the U.S., after World War II, when unemployment was low and wages were growing across the board--the closest thing we’ve had to broad prosperity. But that ended 40 years ago, and now income inequality is accepted as a given. In DC, troubling economic trends are just below the surface of what appears to be a strong economy. One of three residents with a high school diploma is under-employed – out of work or working fewer hours than they want. Unemployment for those without a college degree is still nearly twice as high as before the last recession, and the disparity between the best-paying and lowest paying jobs is at 35-year high. If the DC economy is failing to create jobs, maybe it’s time for DC’s leaders to pick up the slack. One of the city’s most popular programs – the Summer Youth Employment Program – creates 14,000 jobs each year for youth. So why not a program that provides short-term jobs for 14,000 adults? It’s an idea that has been around since FDR’s Works Progress Administration, one also used as recently as the last recession, when federal stimulus funds put millions to work. Job creation can provide a leg up to people who have trouble finding work. It can support neighborhood development from the ground up, as residents in DC’s poorest neighborhoods have more money to spend. Creating more jobs for parents can strengthen and stabilize families in ways that help children do better in school. By helping the
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by Ed Lazere hardest to employ, job creation programs can have other positive effects, such as reducing recidivism for residents returning from prison. The District has some jobs programs for adults, but they serve about 1,000 residents, far smaller than the scale of the Summer Youth Employment Program. The benefits of job creation are clear, but lots of steps need to be taken to get it right. In particular, the District should scale up programs slowly, so they are well managed and that workers get the most from them. And the city should work to make sure a transitional publicly funded job is the first step in a career path, with connections to literacy and job training services.
How Subsidized Jobs Programs Work Subsidized jobs programs are important for several reasons. They provide jobs and income to residents who otherwise may have few options, such as in a recession when unemployment is high, or for groups that routinely struggle to find jobs, such as returning citizens. They offer a chance for work experience, networking, and skills development in a supportive environment, which ideally helps lead to permanent, unsubsidized employment. Publicly funded jobs also are important because they carry the dignity that comes with a job. And workers in subsidized jobs often meet important community needs, such as keeping neighborhoods clean or engaging in outreach on important public health initiatives. The District can think about job creation in two ways. One kind of program would give work experience to long-term unemployed residents, with the goal of providing income, job exposure, and coaching on how to succeed in the workplace. The second approach would be to identify important community needs that can be met through jobs that can be performed by residents without advanced educations or skills. The District already has some of both types: • Project Empowerment – provides up to six months of paid employment with a private company, government agency or non-profit. About 800 people go through it each year. Workers go a three-week orientation and then are placed in a job, with visits every few weeks from program staff to resolve any workplace problems. • Clean teams: DC provides funding to hire residents to clean up commercial corridors, employing about 100 people.
•
Community Health Workers: A DC government grant trains workers to engage in outreach in medically vulnerable communities, to engage in health education and ensure that residents are connected to health care. These programs, while helpful, pale in size with the Summer Youth Employment Program, DC’s largest employment program by far.
Job Creation Programs Have Many Benefits Programs that put people to work do many good things, starting with the fact that offer the dignity of work and put money in someone’s pocket. But there are many other advantages. • Temporary jobs programs increase the chance that someone will be working when the subsidized job ends. A recent program for long-term unemployed adults in Florida, for example, found that participants earned $2,500 more in the year after the program ended than other unemployed residents who did not participate. • Jobs programs increase consumer spending, particularly in poorer neighborhoods. The best way to spur economic development is to make sure residents have money to spend in their community. DC leaders want to promote retail and restaurant development across the city, but that cannot happen if people in the community don’t have any money to spend. • When programs put residents from prison into jobs they otherwise would not have, the likelihood of recidivism goes down. A New York City employment program for former prisoners, for example, reduced rates of recidivism, with the greatest effects occurring when participants started the program shortly after leaving prison. • When families with young children have more income, research shows that their children do better in school, are more likely to graduate from high school, and are more likely to work as adults.
Fitting Job Creation into a System of Education and Training
tant part of a broader system to help residents get or keep jobs. Some things to consider: • Connect with training and education: Once someone is in a subsidized jobs program, it may be easier to identify gaps in their education and training. Yet only a small number of participants in DC’s Project Empowerment receive literacy help, and only a small number are referred to training programs. If workers complete a short-term public jobs program and fail to transition to an unsubsidized job, they should be good candidates for job training. • Provide sufficient coaching on the job: People who have been out of the labor market a while often struggle with issues like timeliness or coping with workplace conflict. These are things that employers do not want to deal with. So instead, the District’s jobs program should provide counseling to help transitioning workers develop these “soft skills” • Avoid displacing other workers: Job creation programs won’t do much good if they just take the place of jobs currently held by DC residents. So as much as possible, short-term jobs should be designed to do new things or to help businesses expand. For example, when a resident is placed with a private company, it should be asked to commit to hiring participants if they do a good job. While DC’s leaders should do all they can to help the city’s economy grow and create more jobs, that alone will not be enough. Many residents will continue struggle to get a foothold in the city’s economy. A smart approach to short-term jobs will offer job experience and much-needed income to residents eager to get ahead, and will strengthen DC neighborhoods left behind in the city’s recovery. Lazere is executive director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (www.dcfpi.org). DCFPI promotes budget and policy solutions to reduce poverty and inequality in the District of Columbia, and to increase the opportunity for residents to build a better future. u
Transitional jobs programs can play an impor-
June 2015 H 57
{capitol streets}
A Soccer Stadium Update Opening likely pushed to 2018
W
hat is it about Buzzard Point that makes it so difficult to get things done? Local historian Hayden Wetzel can fill your ears with 200 years of tales of all the things that never came about there – the promised port never built, the farmsteads that faded away, the rails and canals laid down for boats and trains that never came to the industries that never located there. Today this area of the southwest quadrant remains a mostly vacant place of promise, but maybe now its time has come. Because it looks like we are actually going to get a soccer stadium built there. Not that it will be easy. First the City must consolidate a set of five land parcels, three of them currently in private hands. Then they have to remove and remediate any toxics and prepare the site to turn over to DC United for construction. The various steps, outlined below, mean that the stadium is likely to be inaugurated in 2018.
Where Will The Stadium Be Located? The site is a four block area in the northern part of Buzzard Point above the Pepco power plant. The boundaries are R St SW on the north, T St SW on the south, 2nd St SW on the west and Half St SW on the east, plus a small triangle already owned by the City northeast of 1st and R along Potomac Avenue to Half St SW. The two eastern blocks between 1st and Half Streets and from R to T Streets are owned by PEPCO; the northern one is vacant and the southern one has little other than some old transformers. The southwest block, between 2nd and 1st and S and T Streets, is vacant and owned by Akridge, a devel-
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by Bill Matuszeski opment company. The problematic block is the northwest one between 2nd and 1st and R and S Streets. Except for the northwest corner, which is City property, it is owned by Mark Ein, and has been leased to Super Salvage and Capitol Bikeshares. Most is piled high with scrap metal and a portion of the block has buildings for shops and offices. Fort McNair lies to the west of the entire
site, and a triangle-shaped area lies along the River to the east of the site; currently much of this is used as a cement plant, but plans show it as developed with high-rise buildings.
How Much Will The Soccer Stadium Cost And Who Will Pay For It? $140 million has been set aside by the DC Government -- $89 million to purchase the land and $46 million to prepare the site, including removal and disposal of a yet-to-be-quantified legacy of toxic materials. An additional $5 million will go to community benefits, most of it for a new Circulator route. Once the site is readied, the owners of the soccer team, DC United, will construct a 20,000-seat stadium at a cost to them of about
$150 million. DC United will pay a nominal rent for 10 years, after which there will be a $2 surcharge on each ticket going to the City.
What Is Expected In Terms Of The Toxics Cleanup? Because much of the area has historically encompassed industrial activities, it is assumed that there
is a legacy of hydrocarbon and heavy metal toxics., Briefing materials provided to the City Council last year (Buzzard Point Soccer Stadium Regulatory Framework and Strategic Summary, May 27, 2014, p.20) provided initial findings from site investigations on some of the properties. These included “levels of petroleum hydrocarbons, benzo(a)pyrene [sic], polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s), arsenic and chromium [in soils that] slightly exceed regulatory thresholds”, as well as groundwater contamination. As it did with the baseball stadium, the City wants to pursue a “Voluntary Clean-up Plan” or “VCP”, which is a way to get the job done without going through the time and complexity of a Superfund remediation.
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What Happened When They Did This At The Baseball Stadium Site? It actually went pretty well, according to the records. The site was about double the size of the soccer stadium site, had had far more landowners and a wide variety of potential toxic sources, including dry cleaning operations, leaking underground storage tanks and petroleum facilities. Work began in 2006, and consistent with the approved plan over 300,000 cubic yards of soil was removed and more than 600,000 gallons of groundwater was treated. Sampling was carried out to assure that all contaminants were removed and monitoring wells assured no movement of the impacted groundwater. The Certificate of Completion was issued in 2010.
What Is The Procedure We Can Expect At The Soccer Stadium Site? The basics are that one City agency, the Department of General Services (DGS), buys the land, and a second City agency, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), applies for “Voluntary Cleanup Plan” approval to a third City agency, the District Department of the Environment (DDOE). On March 20 this year, DMPED applied to DDOE for the first step, approval to carry out a VCP. The purpose of the application is to show that there is contamination, and therefore a reason to do a cleanup. The application included for each of the five sites a Phase 1 with historical information, and a Phase 2 with sampling data to establish the presence of contamination. But there is no need to quantify the risk or propose the removal actions at this point. According to Richard Jackson, Deputy Director of
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the DDOE Environmental Services Administration, “those elements are dealt with later in the VCP Cleanup Action Plan.” This has caused some concern in the area. As Andy Litsky, Vice-Chair of ANC 6D points out, “this project will be the lynchpin for a complete redevelopment of a large part of our neighborhood”, and “the devil is in the details”. So there is strong feeling in the neighborhood that there be not only a clear statement and analysis of the degree of contamination, but well-defined steps for remediation. Along with these is the importance of an adequate opportunity to comment and receive responses from the City. DC Council Ward Six member Charles Allen points out that the nearby neighbors have had longstanding concerns about possible exposure to chemicals from the parcels that comprise the site. “These changes are incredibly important to this part of Southwest; folks there have a right to know what are the hazards, what steps are being taken, and who is responsible,” states Allen. This view is in line with the thinking of Rhonda Hamilton, the ANC 6D Commissioner from the immediate area. She believes the identification and handling of the toxic materials from the site is the critical factor. “The remediation must be done right with no shortcuts – our health depends on it. Even simple things like assuring the trucks removing the soil are sealed to prevent escape of chemicals into the air must be designed right and carried out properly,” states Hamilton.
What Is The Timeline For All This? According to the Richard Jackson at DDOE, the intention is for the Department to review and comment on the VCP application within 90 days. Assuming approval of the VCP,
it then falls to DMPED to develop the Cleanup Action Plan (CAP). When the CAP is received by DDOE, Notice will be published in the DC Register and the ANC will be notified. There will be another DDOE review for up to 90 days. This will be when the ANC and others will have the opportunity to comment on the analysis of what toxics are present and what should be done to remediate them. Once DDOE takes into account the public comments and approves or modifies the CAP, the clean-up will begin. Originally the timeframe was to complete remediation and other site preparation work by fall of 2016 to allow for construction and opening of the stadium in 2017. However, in a surprise to those following the process, the VCP Application indicates that completion of the stadium will be in 2018.
And the next step? Watch for the availability of the Voluntary Cleanup Plan’s Cleanup Action Plan sometime in the fall. You can follow progress on http://green.dc.gov/sites. And meanwhile, take a trip over to look at the site and check the web for some great visuals of what it will be like when Buzzard Point, after two centuries of unfulfilled dreams, finally meets its destiny. Just Google “New DC United Stadium” and click on “more images”. Bill Matuszeski writes monthly about the Anacostia River. He is the retired Director of the Chesapeake Bay Program, current Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee on the Anacostia River and a member of the Mayor’s Leadership Council for a Cleaner Anacostia River u
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June 2015 H 61
{capitol streets}
C Street NE Traffic Mitigation Moves Closer Debate continues on Balancing Rights of Residents and Commuters
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by Charnice A. Milton
n April 30, representatives from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) presented the results from the C Street Multimodal Corridor Study. Since February, the agency collected data from the corridor between 16th and 21st Streets and surrounding streets and build on results of two past studies to understand how C Street is used and how it can be improved in the future. This was the first of two meetings in which residents and stakeholders meet DDOT representatives and Kittelson and Associates, Inc. (KAI), a transportation engineering and planning firm and ask questions about the project and its effects on the community.
History In 2006, DDOT completed the Capitol Hill Transportation Study, a year-long effort to document transportation changes in the area and identify problems and solutions. C Street Corridor was identified as a priority location because of high speeds and traffic volumes. According to the final report, the study suggested “...improvements... to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, such as extending the bike lane and narrowing travel lanes to decrease vehicular speeds.” Since then, some of those suggestions, including bike lanes and sidewalk, ramp, and median pedestrian refuge updates have been implemented. Four years later, DDOT completed the C Street Traffic Calming Study; thanks to high community and stakeholder engagement, the agency developed three potential concepts. However, the project was suspended as DDOT was handling two major projects: the Benning Road streetscape and the 11th Street Bridge. “Those two projects are done,” said Colleen Hawkins, DDOT’s Manager of Strategic Planning. “We knew that we needed to come back out and gather data based on the changes after those major construction projects were completed.”
Study Results In recent years, traffic volumes along C Street have decreased thanks to the Benning Road and 11th
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Street Bridge. However, speed and speed-related crashes are still considered issues. For instance, the study found that cars tend to speed through a school zone located between 18th and 19th Streets during school hours, when the speed limit lowers from 25 to 15 miles per hour. C Street also sees a high level of pedestrian activity. However, pedestrians have to deal with long crossing distances, taking approximately 25 seconds to travel 90 feet. As a result, the signals do not allow for pedestrians to cross in one movement. Bicycling has increased in the area, as evidenced by the bike lanes on C and nearby North Carolina Avenue. In fact, MoveDC, the city’s transportation plan, recommended adding protected bike lanes on C and D Streets. However, there are limited east-west facilities in the area. In terms of public transportation, there is only one bus line in the study area (D6) and less than 100 boardings per stop. As result, there are no benches or shelters along the corridor.
The Alternatives KAI Senior Engineer Adam Vest presented the three alternatives. Concept A has three westbound lanes, one eastbound lane, and an eastbound left-turn
lane. This narrows the roadway from 90 to 55 feet, which shortens crossing time to 16 seconds. Concept B is similar to Concept A, except one westbound lane is restricted during morning rush hour. Concept C eliminates a travel lane in each direction. This narrows the roadway to 44 feet and shortens pedestrian crossing time to 13 seconds. Each alternative features protected bike lanes, expanded curb cuts, and green infrastructure. The study also predicts how each alternative would affect traffic in the future. If left unchanged (no build option), there could be an increase in traffic volume, creating delays at East Capitol Street and 19th Street, especially at morning peak hours. With Concept C eliminating two travel lanes will also cause delays. “Our modeling shows that some of that traffic has to find somewhere else to go,” said Vest. “That’s why we’re looking at all these other streets...You can’t make things better for people on C Street and make things worse on some other street, especially if it’s a local street.”
Resident Response Some residents objected to Concept B’s restricted parking during morning peak hours. “I’m not happy about taking away my parking on the street,” said a C Street resident. “To take away my parking to accommodate people coming in and going back into the city, I’m not with that.” In an informal poll, most of the attendees picked Concept C. However, another resident stated that the alternatives seemed more commuter-focused. “Please give weight to those of us who live here,” he said. “So, all those numbers you have,...they’re all about protecting the rights of commuters. We’re asking you...to give greater weight, this time around, to the concerns of those of us who live on C Street and live around there.” When residents meet with DDOT and KAI on June 17 6:00 pm at Mount Moriah Baptist Church (1636 E Capitol Street NE), they hope that the two agencies will incorporate their suggestions to create better alternatives. For more information, visit cstreetstudy.com or contact Colleen Hawkins at colleen.hawkinson@dc.gov. u
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{capitol streets / safety}
Crossing Maryland Avenue
Pedestrian Safety Construction Will Not Start Anytime Soon
I
“
’m a neighbor of yours. I live on 12th and D,” said District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Leif Dormsjo to a group of residents at Northeast Library on May 12. “I’ve crossed Maryland Avenue virtually every morning that I go on a run, which is virtually every morning.” Hosted by Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, Dormsjo and his staff gave an update on a pedestrian safety project many residents believe is long overdue. “For me, this is about the safety of my neighbors over and above the safety of the people in the city I work for,” he assured his audience. “It’s both professional and personal.” The impetus for the project, launched in March 2011, came from area Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) and others in the communitywho listed problem areas along the Maryland Avenue corridor and offered possible solutions. Then-Councilmember Tommy Wells helped allocate funds to DDOT for the project and a series of
by Charnice A. Milton meetings for residents to give feedback were held. After ANCs 6A and 6C approved a preferred concept in 2012, not much happened. The project went through environmental and historic impact studies, and the delays frustrated residents. Then, on June 9, 2014, Elizabeth Lang, the head librarian at the Northeast branch of the D.C. public library, was hit by a taxi in a crosswalk on Maryland Avenue. While DDOT took emergency stop-gap measures (flex posts and extra signage) in that intersection, the residents demanded a permanent solution. Unfortunately, nothing will be done anytime soon.
Issues Addressed According to Sam Zimbabwe, DDOT’s Associate Director of Policy, Planning, and Sustainability Administration (PPSA), the key issues that the road plan seeks to address are speeding along the corridor due to a relatively low traffic volume; in fact, the
times in which traffic volumes are the highest are during morning and evening rush hours. “When it’s peak time, the congestion makes speeding somewhat hard to do,” Zimbabwe explained. “But in the early [morning] and even midday, you start to see a good number of cars [traveling at] over 40 miles per hour. We’re talking about 40-50 cars an hour.” Also, the study showed the severity of crashes along the corridor is higher that the city average.
“A Textbook Road Design” Currently, a typical section of road would have two 17 to 18-foot travel and parking lanes, 10-foot travel lanes, and a 4-foot median. DDOT’s recommended alternative has two eight-foot parking lanes, two five to six-foot bike lanes, two 11-foot travel lanes, and a 10-foot wide median, which acts as a left-turn lane at intersections. “This is really textbook,” said Zimbabwe. “This is the one that’s been tested around the country in many, many scenarios.” According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Road Diet Informational Guide, studies show that road designs like this lead to a 19 to 47 percent reduction in overall car crashes, as speeding drivers are forced to follow the lead vehicle’s set speed. Also, the left-turn lanes allow drivers to make safe turns out of the way of other vehicles.
Timeline
A concept rendering the proposed road design at the intersections of Seventh, D, and Maryland Avenue. (Photo Credit: DDOT)
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“In terms of how much design has actually been done...we’re at zero percent,” said Dormsjo. “We don’t have anything on paper I can hand over to a contractor.” The meeting was part of the concept stage, in which DDOT conducts extensive community engagement while setting design goals, key issues, and research environmental and histor-
ic impact. This month, DDOT hopes to finalize their environmental impact documents and obligate FHWA funds to begin preliminary engineering. During this phase, which could last until spring 2016, DDOT will come up with a more detailed design plan, including road profiles, utility locations, and a detailed cost estimate. By 2017, the design should be finalized and construction can begin.
Community Frustration “I’m more encouraged now than I have been in the past,” said Todd Hettenbach, a resident who lives on D Street. “But we just can’t afford to wait another five years or three years for the construction to be done.” Another resident agreed, saying, “I’m appalled that we don’t have Maryland Avenue the way those drawings say. I don’t know what monies been spent...but I’m appalled that this thing has dragged on for so long.” Speaking to resident frustration on the project, Councilmember Allen said, “I think we have studied this to death...I really think that DDOT wants to take up that charge, as if to say, ‘Let’s stop studying it and let’s figure out how we design different features.’” “I have no problem with the feedback that we need to do more, because I agree.” said Dormsjo. “I completely agree. We’ve got to raise the performance level of this agency.” To learn more about the Maryland Avenue Pedestrian Transportation Project and make comments, visit the website at tooledesign.com/ marylandave/index.php or visit the Maryland Avenue Neighhors Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ MarylandAvenueNeighbors) u
In Loving Memory The Mother of Eastern Market Maria Calomiris 1938 to 2015 Beloved Wife of Christopher Calomiris Mother of Zoy Calomiris Krouskas, Thomas Calomiris and Leon Calomiris Grandmother of Sofia Calomiris Krouskas, Maria Calomiris Krouskas, Alex Calomiris Krouskas, Kerr Calomiris and Kim Calomiris. Contributions in Maria Calomiris’s name can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www.stjude.org)
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{capitol streets / anc news}
ANC 6A by Charnice A. Milton
Follow-Up from Mayor Bowser’s Office Frank Maduro and Seth Shapiro, the Ward 6 Representatives from the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Service, returned to the Commission to follow up on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s visit in April. • DC Streetcar update: According to Malia Salaam of the DC Streetcar Communications Team, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) completed the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) peer review and the ensuing punch list to ensure a safe project completion and is currently awaiting APTA approval. The Communications Team will increase its safety outreach campaign. • Maryland Avenue Safety and Transportation Plan: Commission Chair Phil Toomajian (6A02) recapped the May 12 meeting hosted by Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen about the project, which is currently in the design stage. In the meantime, DDOT will install a new traffic light at the corner of Tenth Street and Maryland Avenue and hold community meetings at 30, 60, 90, and 100 percent completion during the design phase. • Sherwood Recreation Center: During the winter, the Sherwood Recreation Center was used as a temporary homeless shelter. However, it
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became a disruption for the surrounding community. The Subcommittee of the Inter-agency Council on Homelessness are developing a winter plan and will evaluate past emergency sites and zoning regulations in order to minimize community impact; those who are interested can contact Maduro (frank. maduro@dc.gov) or Shapiro (seth.shapiro@dc.gov). Alleys: The representatives reminded the audience to call 311 to report alley problems. They also discussed specific alleys, like Lyndon Court, whose reconstruction begins soon, and Lyndon Place; the Mayor’s Office will meet with residents from the latter to talk about concerns like rat abatement and community safety. Eliot-Hine Middle School Modernization: The Mayor and representatives from the Department of General Services (DGS) completed a walk-through with Eliot-Hine Principal Tynika Young and parents and identified issues that needed to be address. Since then, most of the issues have been addressed.
Lot 810 at 20 14th Street Commissioner Matt Levy (6A04) discussed a case involving a property owner who wants to use a portion of Lot 810 as a car-sharing parking area for four cars. However, it is unclear if this proposal is qualified for a special exception under zoning regulations. The area where Lot 810 is located is an R-4 residential zone, meaning that a special
excep- tion is required for parking lots. However, it is unclear if the proposed action meets the definition of “parking lots” under zoning regulations and if recent laws regarding car-sharing spaces apply in R-4 residential zones The Committee recommended that the Commission send a letter to Zoning Administrator Matthew LeGrant asking for clarification on zoning regulations as it pertains to the proposal. The owner addressed the Commission, stating that there were many inaccuracies in their draft. “I have a CO [Certificate of Occupancy]. I have an agreement in place. The car-sharing service is there,” he said. “So by sending this let-
ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 6A PHIL TOOMAJIAN, CHAIR, PHILANC6A@GMAIL.COM Serving the Near Northeast, North Lincoln Park, Rosedale, and Stanton Park communities ANC 6A generally meets the second Thursday of the month, at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th Street, NE.
www.anc6a.org Next ANC 6A meeting is 2nd Thursday, June 11 7 p.m, Miner E.S., 601 15th St. NE Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee - Tuesday, June 16, 2015 7pm at Sherwood Recreation Center • 640 10th St., NE Jay Williams - Co-Chair (906-0657) / Christopher Seagle - Co-Chair
Transportation & Public Space Committee - Monday, June 15, 2015 7pm at Capitol Hill Towers Community Room • 900 G St., NE J. Omar Mahmud - Co-Chair (594-9848) / Todd Sloves - Co-Chair
Economic Development & Zoning Committee - Wednesday, June 17, 2015 7pm at Sherwood Recreation Center • 640 10th St., NE Dan Golden - Co-Chair (641-5734) / Andrew Hysell - Co-Chair
Community Outreach Committee - Monday, June 15, 2015
7pm at Maury Elementary School • 1250 Constitution Ave., NE Multi-purpose Room (enter from 200 Block of 13 Street) Dana Wyckoff - Co-Chair (571-213-1630) / Raphael Marshall - Co-Chair
Please check the Community Calendar on the website for cancellations and changes of venue. June 2015 H 67
THE ARCHITECT OF THE CAPITOL DISCUSSES THE CAPITOL DOME Architect of the Capitol, Stephen T. Ayers, FAIA, LEED AP, will discuss the work in progress on the Capitol dome, and share plans to restore the Ulysses Grant memorial at the base of the Capitol’s west lawn.
MONDAY, JUNE 15TH AT 7 P.M. The National Community Church | 858 Eighth Street SE
THE GROFF COURT NEIGHBORHOOD WALKING TOUR Tour this historic neighborhood, featuring Victorian houses, famous Washington builders, economic boom and bust, scandal, and life in the alley.
SATURDAY, JUNE 20TH AT 10 A.M. Meet at 324 E Street, NE, Rain or shine. Both events are free and open to the public. No reservations required.
ter and identifying this property specifically, it places a cloud over me.” He later states that he did everything in good faith and the letter suggests otherwise. The Commission voted 8-0 to adopt the Committee’s recommendation.
Triangle Parks
Capitol Hill is a special place. We promote, preserve, and enhance the character of our historic neighborhoods.
Join Us Today at 202-543-0425 info@chrs.org; www.chrs.org; @CHRSDC
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C P.O. Box 77876 • Washington, D.C. 20013-7787 • www.anc6c.org • (202) 547-7168 ANC 6C generally meets the second Wednesday of each month. 214 Massachusetts Ave NE
ANC 6C COMMISSIONERS ANC 6C01 Daniele Schiffman Daniele.Schiffman@gmail.com
ANC 6C04 Mark Eckenwiler 6C04@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C02 Karen Wirt (202) 547-7168 6C02@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C05 Christopher Miller 6C05@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C03 Scott Price (202) 577-6261 6C03@anc.dc.gov scott.price@anc.dc.gov
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ANC 6C06 Tony Goodman (202) 271-8707 tonytgood@gmail.com
ANC 6C COMMITTEES Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee First Monday, 7 pm Contact: (870) 821-0531 anc6c.abl.committee@gmail.com
Transportation and Public Space Committee First Thursday, 7 pm Contact: mark.kaz.anc@gmail.com
Grants Committee Last Thursday, 7 pm Contact: ducotesb1@gmail.com
Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development First Wednesday, 7 pm Contact: zoning@eckenwiler.org Twitter: @6C_PZE
Parks and Events Committee First Tuesday, 7 pm Contact: christinehealey100@gmail.com
In a case that began in 2014, the Transportation and Public Space Committee (TPS) discussed DDOT’s revised regulations regarding Federal Reservations, also known as pocket, or triangle parks. Originally written to address concerns about pocket park maintenance and the need for public access, the Commission supported the original document, stating that pocket parks are a public asset and community input in park maintenance should be allowed. Commissioner J. Omar Mahmud (6A01), who is the TPS Co-Chair, reiterated this stance in the Committee’s recommendation; however, they also requested a clarification for the definition of “triangle parks” and a list of such areas, in order to eliminate ambiguity. “Our reading of the rule-making, as it stands now, it does a pretty good job of explaining what we all understood this issue to be all along,” Commissioner Mahmud said, “which is that private land owners who happen to live adjacent to a pocket park or triangle park can’t take action to appropriate that land for their own use.” However, Commissioner Levy motioned to send another letter draft, arguing that the currently law does not clearly state who is responsible for park maintenance, which could lead to neglect. “There probably will be some people who will step up as good neighbors and apply for the process,” he said. “I don’t think it will be enough to keep
these properties well-maintained.” However, Commissioner Mahmud stated that the city is responsible for public space; if the community disapproves of how DDOT handles that responsibility, the community should take it up instead of giving adjacent landowners rights over public land. The debate later referenced a case involving a resident, Joyce West, who planted what neighbors describe as a wall of trees that enclosed half of Reservation 266, the pocket park adjacent to her property. They also testified that she verbally attacked, and in some cases sued them if they crossed what she called her property. “I strongly believe that public property and land should be open and available to the public,” said Lisa Turner, a 20-year resident. “I appreciate the landscaping, but when is this going to stop?” West responded, saying, “Pocket parks are federal property; they’re not public parking...Grandfathering is unacceptable because it limits DDOT’s ability to ensure between public access and responding to changes in public needs.” With the meeting now an hour over time, the Commission voted adopt TPS’ recommendation (4-21), while Commissioner Levy’s motion failed to carry (2-5).
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The Commission voted 8-0 to support a proposal by Commissioner Bob Coomber (7D01) and architect Ziad Demian to turn approximately 80 acres of land north of RFK Stadium into the Capitol Riverside Youth Sports Park. Angie Weatherington of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) discussed a proposal to expand its budget in order to implement civic, juvenile, and consumer protection initiatives.
Capitol Hill Village is looking for its next exceptional leader.
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The Commission voted 8-0 to send a letter to DDOT sharing concerns about proposed sign regulations. The Commission voted 8-0 to send a letter to Kenneth Brewer, President of the H Street Community Development Corporation supporting the preservation of the Wylie Street Community Garden. The Commission voted 8-0 to send a letter to DDOT Director Leif Dormsjo asking for clarification on resident-only parking restrictions.
The next ANC 6A meeting is on June 11, 2015 at 7:00 pm at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th Street, NE Washington, DC. u
ANC 6B by Jonathan Neeley
Owners of Rose’s Luxury to Open a Second Restaurant on Barrack’s Row ANC 6B reached a settlement agreement with Aaron Silverman, the owner of Rose’s Luxury (717 8th Street SE), that defines terms for his opening of Elaine’s, a 65-seat fine dining restaurant with a sidewalk cafe at 715 8th Street. As part of the agreement, Elaine’s will store all of its trash in a room built specifically for that purpose, which employees will be required to get to via an interior door rather than the alley so that trash doesn’t spill outside. The agreement also stipulates that Elaine’s will make its best effort to store grease in the kitchen rather than in the trash storage room, and that it will power wash the area that backs up to the alley at least once per week. The agreement comes after months of talks between Aaron Silverman and nearby residents, who are wary of the pest control issues endemic to Barrack’s Row. Neighbors recently pushed for and eventually got similar concessions from &Pizza and The Ugly Mug,
though this time around negotiations were much more cooperative-- 6B commissioners received a flood of emails praising Silverman’s willingness to address their concerns and voicing support for Elaine’s getting the green light.
911 and Police Response On May 7th, there was a shooting on the 200 block of 18th Street SE. Hearing gunfire, residents called 911… and got no answer. This came to light at 6B’s May meeting, where the police department’s First District Commander Jeff Brown reported that in some parts of Capitol Hill, crime is up. Commissioner Denise Krepp immediately moved to send a letter to the Office of Unified Communications (911 calls go to this agency rather than the police department) requesting an investigation into what went wrong at the time of the shooting and stressing that such mishaps are unacceptable. “The inability of the Office of Unified Communication operators to answer 911 calls in a timely manner is troubling,” read the letter. “911 is the number DC residents are told to call if there is a problem. How can the police respond or life-threatening medical emergencies be addressed if 911 calls go unanswered? How can neighbors protect themselves from armed assailants like those on May 7th if 911 operators place them on hold rather than provide immediate help? “People’s health and safety are at risk,” the letter continued. “Please address this issue immediately. The 911 call system is broken and it should be the city’s top priority to fix it.”
Green Alley Designation for Freedom Way The Department of Transportation is planning to renovate Freedom Way, which sits between 16th Street and Kentucky Avenue SE, just northwest of Pennsylvania Avenue. 6B sent a letter to both DDOT and the Department of the Environment urging both to include Freedom Way SE in the District’s Green Alley Program, which invests in sustainable stormwater controls for alleyways.
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Freedom Way, noted the letter, is an important part of a redeveloping neighborhood, but it’s also in “terrible shape.” The alley borders two major construction projects and runs downhill. Its surface is in disrepair, which leads to flooding for residents who live at the bottom at the southeast end. Freedom way is also a habitat for a lot of birds that live on the Anacostia River, making it “an ideal site for urban habitat restoration.” The letter called Freedom Way Resurfacing it as a green alley would cut down on stormwater runoff, improve the habitat for birds, and make the alley a more inviting public space.
Sidewalk Repairs Along 10th and 16th Streets In late May, DDOT did extensive sidewalk work along 10th Street from Independence Avenue to C Street SE, 10th Street from G Street SE to I Street SE, and 16th Street from Potomac Avenue SE to H Street SE. The work included sidewalk repair and replacement, crosswalk repairs, and installing porous Flexi-Pave in areas where street trees have uprooted sidewalks.
6B Communications 6B is changing how it communicates with residents, shifting from a manual community email distribution list to automated notifications. To sign up, go to www.anc6B.org and enter your email address under the subscription heading on the right side of the page. Also, 6B emails will no longer include information on other DC agencies and government happenings. To get emails on such matters, go to http://dc.gov/page/subscribe to sign up for GovDelivery updates. u
ANC 6C
by Charnice A. Milton Union Kitchen Grocery Union Kitchen Grocery’s owners have submitted an application for two licenses. The first is for a
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Class B license, permitting a retailer to sell alcohol for off-premise consumption, with a tasting endorsement. One point of contention was the operating hours; while the store is open 24 hours, alcohol sales are 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sundays and 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. on Mondays through Saturdays. The second is for a Class D license, allowing an establishment to sell and serve alcohol for on-site consumption, with a sidewalk cafe endorsement. Most neighbors complained about noise issues and the hours. Despite this, the ABC favored the Class B license. The ABC recommended that the Commission support a stipulated license and protest the Class D license. Since the ABC meeting, the applicant, represented by Union Kitchen co-founder Jonas Singer, withdrew the Class D license application. Commissioner Mark Eckenwiler (6C04) stated that the Commission and Union Kitchen are interested in drafting a settlement agreement and he recommended protesting the Class B license application with this in mind. However, the Commission can still support the stipulated license, as a protest will not take effect until the June 22 roll call hearing. The Commission voted 5-0 (one Commissioner was out of the room) to support a stipulated license and protest the Class B application.
320 Florida Avenue Located across the street from Commissioner Tony Goodman’s (6C06) single-member district (SMD), the applicant, Level 2 Development, LLC, plans to build a mixed-use retail and residential building at 320 Florida Avenue (currently occupied by a Burger King). According to Commissioner Eckenwiler, chair of the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development (PZE) Committee, there was discussion about the affordable housing aspect of the project; thanks to a partnership with Habitat for Humanity, the applicant can build larger affordable housing units off-site. While one PZE member disagreed with the idea, the Committee recommended that the Commission support the project. Level 2 co-founder and Principal David Franco explained that the decision was a response to ANC 5D’s concerns about greater affordability in Ivy City; as a result, the developer hopes to provide
more home-ownership opportunities and change the community’s landscape. While the affordable housing is not included at the project site, Franco said that the project is focusing on redeveloping new homes, not multi-family units. The Commission voted 5-0-1 to file for party status in support of the project, highlighting ANC 6C’s needs and encouraging opening green space to the public at the northwest corner of the site.
Proposed Zoning Amendment In December 2014, the Commission unanimously voted to support a zoning regulation amendment focusing on the definition of a mezzanine, maximum height and minimum lot requirements in residential zones, and R-4 zone (matter-of-right single-family residential) use permission. After the Zoning Commission (ZC) 3-2 vote, the Commission is re-evaluating the proposed amendment. ZC added changes, including additional conditions regarding “pop-ups” and defining a mezzanine as a story for a primary dwelling, but not for an accessory structure, like garages. The Commission voted 4-0-1 to support the proposed amendment.
DDOT Issues Transportation and Public Space (TPS) Committee Chair Mark Kazmierczak presented highlights from a meeting with new District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Leif A. Dormsjo and his staff: • Residential Parking Permit (RPP) rewrite and resident-only parking policy: The Office of the Mayor will now handle the issue; the Office will release a proposed ruling for public comment soon. • Florida Avenue road diet: While the road diet is in the works, DDOT is still vetting ideas before going into the design stage. Afterward, DDOT will review the project at 30, 60, 90, and 100 percent completion; community input is crucial at 30 and 90 percent. In the meantime, DDOT will perform stop-gap measures, including re-striping, at Dave Thomas Circle (Florida and New York Avenue). • Maryland Avenue redesign: This project is currently in the design phase, which will last about a year. During a May 12 meeting on the
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project, Commissioner Eckenwiler talked to ANC 6A Chair Phil Toomajian (6A02) about a possible joint committee meeting. Parking Signage: TPS raised concerns about parking signage issues, including limited information before any changes. Dormsjo indicated that he wanted to change the notification process by improving communication with stakeholders. H Street loading zones: There have been issues on the 400 and 500 block of H Street as bus and streetcar stops get rearranged. Commissioner Scott Price (6C03) stated that Dormsjo appointed Sam Zimbabwe, DDOT Associate Director of Policy, Planning, and Sustainability, as the primary point of contact for researching residential impact on H Street and recommended creating an ad hoc group to identify major concerns. 600 block of K Street: TPS also raised concerns about rush hour parking restrictions at the 600 block of K Street and the rise of commuters speeding around school areas; past requests to remove those restrictions were denied. Dormsjo recommended applying for a traffic safety study; however, Commission Eckenwiler stated that Dormsjo said he would look into the request.
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The Commissioner elected Commissioner Chris Miller (6C05) to succeed Commissioner Price as Treasurer. He will begin his tenure at the July 8 meeting. A representative for the AARP DC Office, Ivan Lanier, discussed the organization’s advocacy priorities for the year, including proposed legislation, the city budget, and the “Age-Friendly DC” initiative. For more information, contact Lanier at 202-434-7715 or ilanier@aarp.org. Inspector Thomas Burr of the Public Assembly Division of the DC Office of the Fire Marshall introduced himself and his colleagues and explained their roles as inspectors. They are located at 1100 Fourth Street and can be reached at 202-276-6162.
RENOVATIONS
The next ANC 6C meeting will be on June 10, 2015 at 7:00 pm at the Heritage Foundation, which is located at 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC. u
REMODELING KITCHENS INTERIORS
ANC 6D by Roberta Weiner
Welcome to Night Market As part of its renewed effort to provide longpromised amenities to 4th Street SW in the spaces surrounding the Metro stop and Safeway, Southwest residents will soon welcome Night Market, a Saturday evening combination fresh produce, craft, food trucks, and flea market. It will be managed by Diverse Markets Management which organizes and run the downtown Holiday Market. Night Market will provide visitors with, according to developer Vornado’s representatives, a terrific and unique way to spend a summer Saturday evening. The Market will be located on 4th Street SW, at a space now being constructed in front of 1101 4th Street and Waterfront Station restaurant.
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Capitol Park Towers Changing Its Status A presentation from Perseus Realty let the word out that the venerable Capitol Park Towers, a multi-building mainstay of Southwest’s mid-50’s legacy on G Street SW that the development is poised for conversion to a condominium community. The developers promise amenities galore—a rooftop pool, a business center, landscaped gardens, garages, bike storage—in short, a new-fashioned version
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In what has become an annual ritual., the Commission voted unanimously to support the 31st Army Ten-Miler Race,, which will be held on Sunday, October 11th Supported, with a vote to write a letter of supArchitects & Builders on The Hill since 1986 Architecture | Interior Design | Construction | Remodeling
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June 2015 H 71
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port to the installation of a mural as part of the Jair Lynch development currently being built at N and Half Street SE just north of the ballpark. Approved the renewal of two CX licenses for the DC Yacht Charter and Tour Company that operates from the Southwest waterfront. The licenses are for two boats, and in a second vote, the commission also requested support for the granting of stipulated licenses for the two boats. Scarlet Oak, a large restaurant on New Jersey and K Street SE, was unanimously supported by the ANC in its request for a CR license, Finally, the Commission agreed to write a letter of support to DPR for the establishment of a weekly farmer’s market at the Duck Pond in Southwest. It will run until the autumn and will feature locally grown products.
The next meeting of ANC will be held on Monday June 8th, at 7 PM, at 1100 4th Street SW, 2nd Floor conference room. u
ANC 6E by Steve Holton
BicycleSPACE Coming To Mt. Vernon Triangle The successful bike shop, BicycleSPACE, will not be renewing its lease on Seventh St. NW and will be opening a new location on 440 K St. NW at the end of May. Shop owner, Eric Kugler, spoke at the ANC 6E meeting on the shops new location and how it will be a benefit to the community. Kugler plans to have hard wood flooring and a large art installation in the interior of the building and believes that it will be the largest bike shop in the city once it opens. They plan to have free yoga sessions every Monday night with a potential Saturday night session if a volunteer instructor can be found. Six group bike rides will be planned every week to explore D.C. and show riders different ways to get around the city. For those who do not own a bike and are curious about the group rides, the shop
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will offer a loaner at no charge. Free bicycle maps will also be available at the new location to outline the unique bike trails that the city has to offer. Due to the large size of the building, BicycleSPACE will also show free movie screenings and offer up the space for community events as well. Some of the shop’s mechanics and technicians have over 40 years of experience so it will also serve as an excellent source for bike repair and restoration. The shop also offers a folding bicycle which is one of their exclusive products. “There is not much space to store a traditional bike in some areas, so this model makes it easy for you to fold and store in your closet when you get home,” said Kugler. “Erik has quite a following and we are excited to have him back in the neighborhood. Go see him at BicycleSPACE when you get the chance,” said ANC 6E05 Chairwoman Marge Maceda.
Artistic Wrap A privately-funded art project will be installed at the corner of Fifth and K St. NW in the middle of May and later taken down the following November due to weather conditions. Rachel Schmidt was chosen as the local artist and was looked at as the most appropriate person for this type of project. Deirdre Ehlen MacWilliams, who is a public art project manager, provided a little more detail on the artwork at the meeting. MacWilliams has previously worked on the Foggy Bottom outdoor sculptures as well as the Georgetown GLOW public art exhibition. “Beautifying the area and joining the neighborhood will be the two focal points of the project,” said MacWilliams. The art piece will wrap around a chain link fence and will be collage of wildlife and cities all of the world with the focus on how they evolve and change over time. The artwork will encompass 160 square-feet of coverage and project artists will be available to meet at the local farmer’s market. There will also be a forum available to the public for feedback. For more information on the art project, visit www.mountvernontriangle.org.
6E Support For Art Grant Application Rachel Dickerson, creator of ArtSpace located at 614 S St. NW, appeared at the meeting seek-
ing $1,500 in grant funding to help support her community based art program. The program is run out of the New Community Church and has been around since 1999. Workshop classes and exhibits are offered for adults, children and toddlers. Community residents are encouraged to come in on Monday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. with their own project and work in the program’s space. Those who do not have a project are encouraged to come anyway to watch and be inspired. The funding will go toward supporting a minimal staff, program publicity and art supplies. The committee supported the grant and will submit the request to the Office of the City Auditor for approval. For more information on the program, visit www. artspacedc.org.
6E Area Crime Report Over the past year, violent crimes have gone down nine percent and robberies have declined 21 percent while assault with a deadly weapon has risen by 18 percent. There has been a reduction on property theft but auto theft continues to spike upwards. DCPD officials noted that Marion St. NW and the 400 block of Q St. NW are the greatest areas concentrated on auto theft. “If you have friends over with out-of-state plates, make sure they bring their valuables inside or have them locked away in the trunk and out of view. If criminals see something valuable they will break your window to inspect it whether they decide to keep it or not,” said a DCPD official. There was a shooting at 1300 Eighth St. NW on April 20 where the victim survived. The suspects who fled were identified and warrants are soon to be served. Another individual was shot three times and survived on April 26 at the 600 block of P St. NW. The suspects fled away in a black or dark-colored Jeep Liberty. DCPD suggested that everyone be on guard during the warmer months when more people are outside and generally more crime occurs. ANC 6E will meet again at 6:30 p.m. on June 2 at the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Library located at 1630 Seventh St. NW. Visit www.anc6e.org to view the ANC 6E newsletter. Follow on Twitter, @ANC6E and on Facebook by searching ANC6E u
{capitol streets / emcac report}
EMCAC Report by Charnice A. Milton
Marketing and Promotions According to EMCAC Vice-Chair Chuck Burger (CHAMPS Representative), the Marketing and Promotions Task Force recommended two concepts for advertising and promotions: the Historic Market (“The Real Thing”), focusing on Eastern Market’s status as a cultural and historic site, and the Working Market (“The Real Deal”), focusing on the relationships between the consumer and vendor and the merchandise and product. They also plan to capitalize on aspects like its role as a major transportation hub (with nearby Metro and Bikeshare), future parking opportunities, and its local and national reputation as a top non-government destination. These ideas will lead to the next stage of planning: message crafting. Burger distributed the task force’s draft recommendations and asked all EMCAC members to share it with their organizations, neighbors, nearby business owners, and other stakeholders for feedback. He also invited everyone to the task force’s next meeting (May 12). All suggestion can be forwarded to Burger, preferably by email (cburger@cbmove.com).
Hine School Project Parking Eastern Market Manager Barry Margeson announced that the demolition phase of the Hine School Project has begun, eliminating weekday merchant parking on the property. He outlined the new parking procedures (which he emailed to merchants a week before the meeting). The most controversial point was the $70 charge for merchant parking in the alleyway, which will be added to their rent. Vendors can park either at the surface parking lot on C Street ($10/car and $20/truck on weekends) or the underground parking lot at 600 Pennsylvania Avenue ($10/car on weekends). Signage will go up on May 11. Mike Bowers (EMCAC Tenant’s Council) called the parking plan for merchants a “non-starter,” as they see the charge as a rent increase, parking signage already exists, and there are enough parking spaces for every stall to have at least one (more can be added for larger stalls). He asked EMCAC to recommend that the market manager issue parking permits to merchants and ta-
ble payments as part of lease negotiations. Bill Glasgow (South Hall Representative) agreed, calling the fee “insulting,” especially since merchants’ parking have been free in the past. However, EMCAC Chair Donna Scheeder (Ward 6 Councilmember’s Office Representative) believes that the fee is a good deal, as the cost is $3.00 a day and suggested scheduling a market operations’ meeting to further discuss the issue.
North Hall Events Glasgow brought up an issue South Hall merchants have with North Hall events. Whenever there is a popular event, like Boogie Babes, occurs, the lines extend towards the merchants’ stalls, disrupting businesses. In other events, visitors and event organizers tend to take up the alleyway and merchants’ parking spaces. After many weeks of complaints, Glasgow warned that the merchants will leave if they keep losing money. Margeson pointed out that event permits show where event organizers can park; however, larger events like March’s Distilled, Moonshine and Craft Spirit Festival, are more difficult to manage. He proposed a new requirement in which the event organizer must designate a logistics choreographer. Burger suggested creating a threshold in which event organizers are required to pay a fee to hire someone to enforce parking rules.
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Margeson reported that the farming contingent for Fresh Tuesdays is increasing and on track to reach 10 by June. Monte Edwards (EMCAC Secretary and Stanton Park Neighborhood Association Representative) nominated EMCAC and Eastern Market for the Committee of 100 on the Federal City’s Vision Award, which recognizes exemplary programs throughout DC. The winners will be announced in June.
The Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting on May 27 at 7 p.m. in the Market’s North Hall. For more information, visit easternmarket-dc.org. u
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Crossword Author: Myles Mellor • www.themecrosswords.com • www.mylesmellorconcepts.com
Inside Measurements by Myles Mellor and Sally York Across:
1. Charge for 16-Across 5. Lollygags 10. Brown inks 16. See 1-Across 19. Mideast hot spot 20. Old pay-to-graze arrangement 21. Capital on the Missouri 22. Wood sorrel 23. Standing firm 27. “Green ___” 28. Medieval stringed instruments 29. Turn back 30. Caesar’s meal starters? 32. French romance 33. Asian shrines 34. Expands, in a way 35. Deep cavity 36. Doha’s land 37. Litmus reddeners 38. Raiding grp. 39. Kesey’s vehicle 40. Former P.M. of Ireland 44. White House nickname 45. Doctrine 47. Share 49. Metal in rocks 50. Brightly colored fliers 56. Realizes 57. Emulate Demosthenes 58. Ends 59. Specious reasoner 62. Lifework 63. ___ checkers 64. Zoroastrian texts 65. Beau 66. Where the action is 67. Annual Denver-area event 73. Popular cooking spray 74. Rakes 75. Take over, in a way 76. 1969 Peace Prize grp. 77. Pix 80. Photo ___ (media events) 81. Red Cross supply 82. Diamond stat 84. Derby prize 86. Brothers’ keeper? 89. Medieval helmet
90. Former kingdom of western Africa 93. Orchestra group 94. Scribe 95. Comparatively cockamamie 96. Gas additive 97. Middle Eastern tree 98. Community events 104. Start and end of the Three Musketeers’ motto 105. More unctuous 106. Hawk’s home 107. Chitchat 108. Abbr. next to a telephone number 109. Fishing gear 110. Sugar source 111. With skill
Down:
1. Wreath material 2. “You ___” (Lionel Richie hit) 3. Churchill’s “so few,” abbr. 4. Matched 5. Property owners 6. A de Mille 7. Turns sharply 8. N.Y. minutes? 9. “___ Weather” 10. Phlegm 11. Kind of down 12. Gamepieces 13. It makes one hot 14. Turkey’s highest peak 15. African republic 16. Funnel-shaped 17. Capital of Ghana 18. Thai money 24. Some hospital procedures 25. Bronx jeers 26. Key material 30. Michael Moore film title 31. Departure 32. Endure 33. Cheap jewelry 34. Homeless child 35. Shills for, e.g. 36. Estimate 38. Weather map area 39. Montana city
Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com
41. Bing, bang or boom 42. Algonquian people 43. 1946 Literature Nobelist 45. Barbary pirate 46. Like jasmine or garbage 47. Curve, in mathematics 48. Most crafty 51. Put into service again 52. ___ Hill 53. Scottish slopes 54. Gridiron move 55. Island west of Maui 59. Pitches a tent 60. Winged 61. 1965 march site
62. Volumes 63. Inched 65. Defeats, informally 66. Underway 68. Mawkish 69. Palm trees 70. Fancy home 71. Kind of wrench 72. Popular TV series 78. Projecting part 79. By hook or by crook 82. Marriage announcement 83. Former capital of Kazakhstan 85. European republic 86. Can’t stand
87. Division of Cameroon 88. Crone, in olden times 89. Letter getter 90. Iraqi money 91. Anoint 92. Salutes 93. Different 94. Danger 96. Lake near Niagara Falls 97. Stringed instrument 99. Getting on in years 100. Nay’s opposite 101. Chem class 102. Building annex 103. What’s up?
Sign up now for Labyrinth’s Summer Kid-Focused Events Including Kids’
Night Out!
For more info and to register go to www.labyrinthdc.eventbrite.com 645 Pennsylvania Ave SE 74 H Hillrag.com
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202.544.1059
{community life}
E on DC The Vanishing Days of Our Fathers by Ethelbert Miller
W
hile my father was alive I never had a conversation of any length with him. Our love was maintained by my fetching the newspaper for him so he could check the television schedule. Watching television was my father’s major form of relaxation. It was often those westerns like Bonanza, Gunsmoke and Maverick that found us in bed together. We never watched a baseball game. Our television compromise was watching the Ed Sullivan Show. I think my father made the trip from New York to Washington only five times to visit me. The first time was 1972, when I graduated from Howard University. I recall my father being more concerned with the heat of the sun than my scholastic achievement. Yet I knew everything was made possible by the money he made to pay for my education. My father worked almost his entire life for the U.S. postal service. He had one of those “good” jobs where one expected a decent pension and simple respect at the end of one’s labor journey for all the days and years worked. Today that respect no longer seems to be given to the American worker. It is difficult being an African American father in the 21st Century. The media circulates the message that we are missing, like the lyrics of a song no one can remember. Is it “Lift Every Voice and Sing?” My father was always in the next room, sleeping or mumbling to himself. At the kitchen table his head was often bowed as he silently ate his food. I never talked to my father while I had meat or potatoes in my mouth. I never questioned if there was going to be
a next meal. There are some things you simply expect to be there the next day; near the top of the list is air and gravity. My father never provided me with rules on how to be a good father. Every June I pass the rack of cards in CVS and wonder who the Father’s Day cards are for. I have two children. When my father was alive I would buy a card for him which he would never read. I would print my name in it and first show it to my mom. Maybe my Father disliked mail because he handled nothing but envelopes his entire life. At times I thought his love for me was as small as a stamp. I know better these days. Love has many definitions, we just struggle to use it properly in a sentence. I never told my father that I loved him. It was only in those Hallmark cards that I could find the courage to print a four-lettered word. There is a strange silence that can engulf the men in a family. The silence between brothers as well as fathers and sons can be deafening. When I wrote my first memoir, Fathering Words: The Making of an African American Writer, I tried to recall every memory I had of my father. I found there were few, so I went about the business of “inventing” a man who would be as heroic as any character in the center of a Greek myth. I wanted to create the ideal African American father in much the same way Ron Karenga slipped us candles and called it Kwanzaa. Last month, my father would have been 100 year old. He is buried in a cemetery near Yonkers, outside Harlem and the Bronx. My father was born in Panama and came to America when he was a little boy. I believe he was a man who lived his entire life in exile. My father was a man who worked hard to build a home while understanding the loneliness built into the walls. My father was a man from Panama with a canal running through his heart. Today, I have nothing but oceans of love for him. E. Ethelbert Miller is a literary activist. His Collected Poems (edited by Kirsten Porter) will be published next spring by Willow Books. Mr. Miller was recently inducted into the Washington D.C. Hall of Fame. u
June 2015 H 75
{community life / in memoriam}
Toasting Gary Humfelt A Friend and Neighbor Passes... by Stephanie Cavanaugh
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f you dig down through the floor beneath Gary Humfelt’s favorite stool at the Capitol Lounge and keep on going you’ll come out in China. Didn’t your mama tell you that? In this case, I’m certain, you’d emerge at the bar in the Peking Hotel where Gary met his future wife, Maggie Hall, back in 1979. But on this drizzly late May day we’re stateside-up, one hundred-some family and friends packed into a room at the Lounge, celebrating his life. “Now we’ve all got a drink,” Maggie announced, “by the way, keep on filling your glass it’s on the house, well Gary’s house, until the cash Gary instructed to be put over the bar has gone...” When they met, Maggie was a reporter with the London Daily Mirror. Gary was a computer engineer, selling an air traffic control system to Peking, which back then just had lights on a landing strip, she says. “He and David Wright, a chap from Bradford (who I really had my eye on)...got pretty zonked on fifty cent shots of Chinese brandy, or was it gin,” Maggie said. “Four months later I was posted to New York.” Gary was back at his home in Minnesota. She sought him out. Though she kept mum, her office wondered “how every time I went out to the West Coast, Colorado, Vegas, even Florida, I always managed to get a flight back to New York that went via Minneapolis.” He became known as Mr. Minnesota, as well as her “Chinese Takeaway, my Peking Pick-up...” Lori, his daughter, remembered “his warm brown eyes, his broad smile, his big appetite for life, his wanderlust, his warm voice, and uncanny ability to relate to everyone everywhere he went.” Granddaughter Lisa sang “Let It Be.” We sang along. The American Legion presented Maggie with a flag flown above the Capitol, in celebration of Gary’s life and recognizing him as a “true ambassador.” “He was what everyone hopes that folks abroad would think when they heard the word American,” said Carroll Kindel, “He represented us very, very well.
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Gary was transferred to Washington and Maggie went freelance to be with him. They bought a place on 10th Street, off Pennsylvania Avenue, a fine old house with a big bar and a dart board in the living room, where they threw 30 years of parties. Gary played Santa - complete with beard and suit - at Christmas. When he retired he made furniture, wonderful pieces that graced homes, restaurants, gardens. A trellis for the Kindels’ patio, a desk for Ken Jarboe. Barbara Rich called him her “Tune Inn buddy.” Saturday mornings they’d trundle off to breakfast, a slow crawl behind Maggie who knows everyone and has to stop -- if you don’t know her, you will. “Margaret! Maggie! Mags!” bellowed my husband Greg, fondly imitating Gary’s yell. He was as handsome as Sean Connery. A deep sea diver, with one of those helmets. A republican in a liberal sea. He’d sigh, rock back on his heels, smile a little smile, shake his head. He made a mean chili and tinkered with computers. They lived enviably. Deep winters spent some-
place curious and warm, a toss of a dart to a beach in India, maybe Mexico. With no lodging reserved they’d arrive at a pub and chat up the locals for a place to stay. In spring they sailed grandly, with tuxedos and gowns, to her seaside house in Yorkshire, in the port town of Whitby. In the fall they’d sail back to DC. Friends from here went there. Karl Kindel got his earring in Whitby, and Gary almost did - with Ken Jarboe prodding. Whitby once came to Washington, with friends parceled out to various guest rooms and garden flats (what we call English basements). The Whitby folk sent a letter, “...We salute you for that good and generous nature of yours, that coped - and seemingly enjoyed - our British oddities, humour and customs... “Hey, ‘what the heck’ Gary! A great guy and friend who is going to be much missed. Hope you left your Boston Beans recipe behind for us...” Our glasses refilled we ate pizza and wings, then sang Rod Stewart’s Sailing, Abide with Me, and bridged the oceans with My Country ‘Tis of Thee -- the tune of God Save the Queen, which Gary led each Independence Day in Whitby. A few years ago they moved to a contemporary flat across from Eastern Market, but the parties continued. Oscar night, this past February, was the last. Maggie wrote and read... “Gary, you are gone But not far away. Memories have a habit Of coming back to play... Your voice lives on Your laugh resounds. Your “what the heck” still echoes...” Bill Adcock asked for a Gary shout, “Hey by golly!” We all chimed in, three times, with gusto. StephanieCavanaugh@verizon.net u
June 2015 H 77
{community life / in memoriam}
Maria Calomiris: 1938-2015 The Mother of Eastern Market by Andrew Lightman
Leo Deutsch, held by his grandmother Stephanie Deutsch, receives a banana from Mrs. Calomiris, a scene repeated thousands of times over the years. Photo: Chris Deutsch
I
t is the spring of 1993. I have spent the morning soldiering through a convoluted dissertation at my computer. Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I emerge from my English basement on Seward Square. It is time to head to Eastern Market, the beating heart of Capitol Hill, to shop for dinner, a treasured daily ritual. Walking into the then seedy municipal market, I navigate its aisles crowded with freezers, shoppers, dogs and the occasional stroller. A white haired lady greets me by name at Thomas Calomiris & Sons pro-
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duce stand. Her friendly face breaking into a wide smile, Maria Calomiris, or “Mamma” as I knew her, offers me the gift of a delicious Greek date. “Come on, you gotta be my date,” she teases in a musical Greek accent. My difficult day has suddenly become that much brighter touched by her warmth and old world courtesy. Maria Calomiris died of cancer on May 11, 2015, working at the market until a few weeks before her death. This is the story of how we knew her on Capitol Hill.
Coming to America Maria Calomiris was born on the 28th of September in 1938 in Sparta, Greece. The war years were difficult. First, there was the German invasion and occupation. Her father died in a concentration camp. Civil war followed quickly on the heels of liberation. Fleeing the unrest at age 18, Maria emigrated to Canada staying with siblings. In 1957, she came to stay with extended family in Washington, DC. Here, ensconced in DC’s vibrant Greek
community, she met her beloved husband Chris Calomiris. They were married in 1958. Immediately upon marriage she joined her husband in the family business, Thomas Calomiris & Sons, then located at the New Center Market on K and Fifth Streets in Northwest. In 1963, they were one of 12 businesses from the demolished Central Market invited to move into a then half-vacant Eastern Market; Theirs was the only one of these establishments to survive into the 21st Century.
A Labor of Love Maria enjoyed working at Eastern Market. “She really loved her customers, especially the kids. Work made her happy,” recalled her son Thomas. The Market was her second home. “Well, at Eastern Market we have beautiful people and wonderful customers through the year. Of course I was young and everybody, oh my god, admire me and I love them too,” Maria told Ev Barnes in her 2009 interview for the Ruth Anne Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project. “I have fun. Oh my gosh, they come and hug me like I'm grandmother. I'm very proud, very proud. For all the people I know through my life and now they, like I say, they got their children. Sometimes they got the grandchildren and I feel great. I feel like a million dollars,” Maria continued. “So they [customers] try and help me, sometimes I was pregnant and I pick up 50 pounds bushel basket and some beautiful, wonderful people say, "No, no, don't do that because you know you hurt yourself." I said, "Don't worry, I'm not. I pick up sack of potatoes -- put them here, put them there." And I never forget the guy said, "No, no, I'm going to pick up for you." I said, "Okay, thank you very much but you know you don't have to. I do all the work." And I went home, cook, washed my windows, paint the house, do the job whatever I'd have at home. The next day back to work,” explained Maria in her Overbeck interview. Maria's enthusiasm for her work was not only infectious, it was good business.
Love & Knowledge Were Her Secret Produce was available at much cheaper prices right across the street at the small Safeway (closed in the 1990s). A savvy merchant, Maria understood that her business had to up its game. Spending hours on
her feet working closely with her husband Chris and later with her sons, she made a point of learning the names of regular customers, their culinary habits, their foibles, their life stories. She dispensed cooking advice, taught visitors the wonders of fresh produce, and selected the perfect herbs. No child visited Eastern Market, passed Maria's stall and went away empty handed. “Wandering through the market one day, Mrs. Calomiris gave my baby a banana. I still felt new to the Hill and I did not yet know that this was what she did even if we weren’t shopping at her stand. It
Maria and Chris Calomiris in earlier years. Photo: Courtesy Calomiris family
was such an unexpected act of kindness and generosity. I eventually learned to accept the banana without guilt. The kids learned to accept a kindness with grace, or something close to it. That baby is currently an opinionated teen who prefers kiwi over bananas. But Mrs. Calomiris was my first introduction to the ways of this throwback, old fashioned, neighborly neighborhood and I fell in love,” Jen DeMayo told the Hill is Home. “I talked to Mrs. Calomiris a lot about her cooking. She was a very good old fashioned home cook,” recalls Bonny Wolf, longtime Capitol Hill resident and managing editor of American Food Roots. “One day I asked her about what to do with fava beans. “What do you do? You cook them. You eat them. That’s it!”
A Quiet Leader
up Seventh Street that morning, camera in hand, devastated by loss, my eyes filled with tears. Capitol Hill's heart, The Market, no longer pulsed. The South Hall merchants were milling around across from the wrecked building watching the firemen put out the remaining embers. In their midst stood Maria, grim-faced, teary eyed, dispensing hugs to customers, neighbors and fellow stall owners. “The day after the fire, Mrs. Calomiris and her husband were outside with a table full of fruits and vegetables. There she stood for the next several months, every day, rain or shine. Others soon joined her. But, Mrs. Calomiris was always there on her feet. She set an example for the entire market. What a work ethic!” recalls Wolf. “Maria Calomiris represents the authenticity of Capitol Hill – and we’ll remember the love she brought with her to the market through her perfect baklava to the many hugs she dispensed – she’ll be forever missed, said Annette Nielsen, Food Editor of the Hill Rag.. “Maria did not have a mean bone in her body. She was a saint, always filled with warmth and love. I have never known anyone quite like her. This market will never be the same without her,” said Thomas A. Glasgow, owner of the Market Lunch. “Truly she was the mom, the matriarch of the Eastern Market,” said Melvin Inman, Senior, proprietor of Market Poultry. “Maria Calomiris' death is so much more than the passing of an individual. It is a challenge to the rest of the Eastern Market Community to continue in the spirit of kindness and generosity to all that she displayed each and every day. She is an icon and she will be sorely missed,” stated Donna Scheeder, chair of EMCAC. As the Quaker song says: 'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be, 'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me", Maria Calomiris gave us, the residents of Capitol Hill, many such wonderful gifts. I myself will forever miss my “dates” with Mamma. u
In the early hours of April 30, 2007, the Eastern Market was gutted by a catastrophic fire. Walking
June 2015 H 79
{community life / capitol streets}
Capitol Streets
Homebody Finds A Home, Clothes Encounters Gets New Owner and New Chefs Debut on The Hill by Sharon Bosworth
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hen contemporary home design store Homebody, 715 8th St, SE, lost its lease earlier this year, the Capitol Hill neighborhood rose up in indignation. But Henriette Fourcade, one of the store’s founders, says she was never worried and recently announced a move this September to the lower level of The Forecast (218 7th St, SE, forecaststore.com). The new location is just three blocks from her present store, plus she is assured of solid foot traffic every weekend from Eastern Market. She bubbles over with the optimism typically found among entrepreneurs. “The store will evolve when we move to The Forecast and I’ll continue to change with my market.” Debbie Danielson, owner of The Forecast, is equally optimistic. “I’m very excited by the new energy Henriette will bring.” The two women plan to showcase Homebody upholstery products among The Forecast’s high fashion accessories and wardrobe classics. The lower level will be dedicated to Homebody with more custom-made products added to the already eclectic Homebody product mix. Helping make that mix even more dynamic is Peter Danielson, long time friend of Fourcade, and Debbie Danielson’s son. Peter Danielson is a master wood carver – making sculptures from tree trunks and plaster – as well as an accomplished furniture maker. Fourcade already has decided that Peter Danielson’s line of decorative interior doors will be a highlight at the new Homebody. homebodydc.com
over in July from founder Linda McMullen. The new owner will be only the second in the shop’s history. In 1978 the Steven Spielberg movie with a similar name won Oscars for best sound effects and best cinematography. At this almost-namesake shop it takes a special effects guru with laser focus to successfully pull off this kind of retail. Unlike the many consignment and vintage venues that come and go Clothes Encounters of the Second Kind has been in business for 35+ years. Peter Danielson begins crafting a Here’s a day in the life: first, panel for his new line of interior the consignees’ clothes, shoes and doors debuting at the new HomeChef Duff Holcombe Takes handbags must be assessed on the body this September. Over at Willie’s Brew & Que spot – are they in true re-saleable Duff Holcombe, the new chef at condition? Are the brands what shoppers are lookWillie’s Brew & Que, 300 Tingy St, SE, williesing for? What is the real dollar value? Then the right brewnque.com, hails from Northern Mississippi. deals must be negotiated many times a week with a Holcombe grew up working in his grandmother’s stream of hopeful consignees. The eventual selling celebrated lunch place, Booga Bottom Cafe. Booga price will be split between store and owner. There Bottom, Mississippi is 25 miles from Clarksdale in are dazzling once-in-a-lifetime finds at Clothes Enthe Mississippi Delta. Holcombe’s dad was a farmcounters (some in the $2.00 bin) and shoppers er but on the side had an exporting business sourcdescribe their experience as part of the enduring ing hard-to-find meats for Asian and American rescharm of a day of discovery at Eastern Market. taurants – including farm-raised turtle and alligator.
New Owner of the Second Kind? Recently we learned of the sale of Clothes Encounters of the Second Kind, 202 7th St, SE, 202546-4004. The new owner, as yet unidentified but rumored to be a Hill resident, is expected to take
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beach vibe at Pacifico and the creative hand-painted decor, Tellez plans to continue to tweak the menu, featuring handcrafted recipes made with fresh and local ingredients. Although large traditional Mexican platters will still be available she is adding lighter fare and small plates so that diners can casually nosh through dinner while enjoying the 8th street scene. Another core menu item Tellez recently introduced is the Cinco de Mayo classic celebration dish, Chiles en nogada, made with pablano chiles filled with cream sauce, beef, raisins, walnuts and apples. Finally Tellez is making sure her mojitos and margaritas are perfect. She grows mint for mojitos on the roof of Pacifico and squeezes fresh lime juice every day for margaritas. “We got rid of all the Margarita mix as soon as I got here,” she says. “I run a scratch kitchen!”
Homebody’s Henriette Fourcade: “I wasn’t worried!”
Chef Maria Telez: Authentic Mexican Fare at Pacifico “I will bring the very best street food of my country here,” Maria Tellez, the new chef at Pacifico, 514 8th St, SE, pacificodc. com, promises. “Excellent sopas, tostatos, carnitos tacos are available throughout all parts of Mexico – why should you not enjoy them in DC?” Telez is originally from the central Mexican city, Michoacan. Happy with the laid-back
“Needs another hour.” Willie’s Brew & Que Chef Duff Holcombe demonstrates to visiting Chef Maria Tellez of sister restaurant, Pacifico his test for doneness.
After graduating from Johnson and Wales, Holcombe’s career path included stops in North Dakota, the Eastern Shore, Lake Tahoe, and Naples, Florida. But true to his Mississippi roots, his soul belonged to barbecue – at Willies Brew & Que he serves up huge portions of chicken, pork or beef barbecue (Memphis style ribs are a house specialty).. Holcombe adds: “Barbecue is a multicultural language with influences from American cowboys to Mexican caballeros, the Carolinas, Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe. It’s very precise.”
Chef Thuya Soe Experiments at Lola’s and Molly Malone’s Molly Malone’s 713 8th St, SE, mollymalonesdc.com, and Lola’s 711, 8th St, SE, lolasgrilldc.com, share a common kitchen. Richard Cervera, owner of Barracks Row Entertainment, the parent company of Molly Malone’s and Lola’s notes, “ Sharing a kitchen, as illogical as it seems, is a coming trend in the restaurant industry--we’ll be seeing more of it.” In the Molly’s and Lola’s kitchen, a dedicated chef team, led by Laotian Chef Thuya Soe, turns out amazing Irish Shepard’s Pie, as well as succulent corned brisket with cabbage and fresh Irish and Scottish salmon. The fish is 100% sustainable; the beef is all natural, hormone free; the chicken free-range along with locally raised vegetables. Meanwhile at Lola’s Chef Thuya is considering rolling out a selection of healthy French-Asian fusion dishes. This column covers the area of Capitol Hill from Massachusetts Avenue to M Street, SE, from South Capitol Street on the west to the Anacostia River on the east. Have a tip for Capitol Streets? For instance, what is the name of the new owner of Clothes Encounters? Contact me at bosworthsharon@gmail.com. u
Try Pain-Pill Free Chiropractic This month, we met an 80-year old man with intractable neck pain after a car accident, who had been to PT. This can happen in anyone, certainly the elderly, with arthritis complicating factors due to age. But the pain log-jamb was broken after three chiropractic visits. He’s progressing quite well now. For the better health and life experience of you and your family Capitol Hill Chiropractic Center 411 East Capitol St., SE | 202.544.6035
Read More About This Subject On www.capitolhillchiropractic.com Serving The Capitol Hill Community Since 1984
Unique Handcrafted Papier-Mâché Mirrors Made by Artist Tuesday Winslow since 1995
PHOTO- “WHEEL” WORLD MAP
Artistic and Functional Accents for Kids Rooms • Office • Foyers • Hallways • Bathrooms Mayan Inspired | Respectful of the Environment Made Locally | Artist Signed
202.286.5371 June 2015 H 81
{community life / h street life}
H Street Life by Elise Bernard Sally’s Middle Name Aims to Give Vegetables Their Due Sally’s Middle Name, 1320 H Street NE, opens this month with an assortment of small plates and a wish to put our vegetable friends on more equal footing with their animal protein brethren. They are currently scheduled to open June 3, but have made sure to whet the appetites of their neighbors by hosting a pop-up tasting at Boundary Road and a Mother’s Day brunch at Toki Underground. Sally’s will feature a menu that changes daily based on local and seasonal ingredients. Look for menu items like the roasted carrots with cumin, coriander, cider, and sherry vinegar, or poached sablefish with escabeche. Head upstairs and you’ll find their second floor lifestyle and home goods boutique, Akae (http://www.akaedc.com), that sells everything from handmade ceramic dishes, clothing, and custom stationary to reimagined furniture and household accent items.
Summer Outdoor Movie Season Returns Warmer temperatures mean the return of outdoor movie screenings. Our neighborhood is blessed with two such series, NoMa Summer Screen and Union Market Drive-In. Summer Screen is a 13 week series that runs every Wednesday night and features films centered around this year’s theme, “Dance, Union Market’s Drive-In series features films screened directly onto the Union Market building. Photo: Joy Asico.
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Neighbors enjoy a pre-garden tour social in Trinidad.
Dance, Dance.” Kicking off in late May, the film series screens its last flick August 19th. You can catch favorites like Strictly Ballroom, Flashdance, and Singing in the Rain. As always, there will be plenty of food trucks to feed the hungry crowds. Please note that they have a new location this year (http:// www.nomabid.org/noma-summer-screen, 1005 First Street NE) that is asphalt, so you should make plans to bring folding chairs. As in past years, you are free to bring Frisbees, blankets, and coolers. All films in this free series include subtitles. No tickets are required, but show up early to get a good spot. Only a few blocks away you’ll find the Union Market Drive-In (http://unionmarketdc.com, 1309 5th Street NE), which will screen a film every Friday night in June. This year’s theme is Flashback and the line-up includes: Jurassic Park, Pretty Woman, Space Jam, and Beverly Hills Cop. Tickets can be purchased online (http://umdrivein.ticketleap. com/summer15) for those who wish to watch from their cars. Admission is free for those who sit in the outdoor picnic area (no ticket is needed for walkups, but show up early to ensure you get a seat). A portion of ticket sales will go to benefit the Trinidad neighborhood DCPS school, Wheatley Education Campus. Patrons can either tune in through a car radio or listen over the market’s loud speakers. The DC Rollergirls will be on hand to deliver snacks and drinks on wheels. In addition, all 40 Union Market vendors will remain open to serve you. Cinephiles craving a salty-sweet mashup
will enjoy complimentary Shinola Cola and popcorn throughout the evening.
The Annual Trinidad Neighborhood Garden Tour Draws a Crowd The popular Annual Trinidad Neighborhood Garden Tour once again brought a large group eager to mingle with neighbors and visit local gardens. Mixed in with the neighbors were newcomers with a general curiosity about the area. This year’s free tour featured eight scheduled stops and kicked off with the traditional pre-tour brunch garden social.
Free Rooftop Yoga at Maketto If you needed yet another reason to check out H Street NE’s new addition Maketto (http://maketto1351.com, 1351 H Street NE), you’ve got it in the form of free yoga sessions. They take place every Sunday from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Classes come via Love Supreme Yoga (http://www.lovesupremeyoga.com). Reward yourself post-yoga with some Asian street food. Just remember to bring your own mat.
Jimmy Valentine’s Celebrates Eight Years on Bladensburg Road NE It’s hard to believe it’s been eight years since Jimmy Valentine’s Lonely Heart’s Club (http://www.
jimmyvalentineslhc.com, 1103 Bladensburg Road NE) welcomed its first patrons, but the tiny tavern recently celebrated its birthday with a Labor Day weekend party featuring DJs and carefree revelers. Back in 2007, that stretch of Bladensburg Road didn’t boast a lot in terms of food- or drink-oriented businesses. Jimmy’s opened up in a space once home to Liberty Income Tax. Bladensburg Road between Mount Olivet and Florida can still feel a bit desolate, but Jimmy’s has since been joined by a Denny’s, W. S. Jenks & Son Hardware, Mother Rucker’s Subs, and Bardo Brewery, all of which draw visitors to the strip. Despite its tough location, Jimmy’s has continued to draw loyal crowds over the years, as well as those interested in seeking out something a bit different and off the beaten path. The bar regularly hosts DJ nights, as well as very popular Halloween and New Year’s Eve parties. For years the bar kept a very low profile and you had to know the exact address if you hoped to find it. These days it’s easier to spot due to the murals that adorn the building. But Jimmy’s has cultivated a bit of an underground vibe since it opened. In 2011, Playboy Magazine dubbed the tavern one of “America’s
greatest late-night bars.” It was the only District establishment to make the list. Although plenty of neighbors have told me over the years that they didn’t even know there was a bar at that location, Jimmy’s has made efforts to embrace its neighborhood, including hosting an annual fundraiser to support youth activities in the Trinidad Neighborhood that owner Mark Thorp calls home.
W. S. Jenks & Son Adds Sunday and Evening Hours Local hardware store W. S. Jenks & Son (http:// www.wsjenks.com, 910 Bladensburg Road NE) boasts all manner of items any homeowner (or renter) might need, but until recently their limited hours made it hard for many to patronize the store. In response to neighborhood demand, they recently made a decision to expand their evening hours and to open on Sundays (Monday-Friday 7:30 – 7, Saturdays 9 - 5 , and Sundays 10 - 4). For more on what’s abuzz on, and around, H Street NE, you can visit my blog http://frozentropics.blogspot.com. You can send me tips or questions at elise.bernard@gmail.com. u
Amb. Leonardo “Nard” Neher (ret.) 1922 - 2015
Jimmy Valentine’s celebrates eight years on Bladensburg Road NE
Inveterate traveler, insatiable learner, linguist and committed rationalist, died at peace on Monday, May 11, at 10:30 am. Throughout his 92 year life, this poster child of the “Greatest Generation” stayed firm in his dedication to service and liberalism. His passing diminishes by some small measure mankind’s quest to improve the world by individual effort and personal example, and he is missed by all who knew him. He is survived by three children and six Grandchildren. A Service of Remembrance will be held at the DACOR/Bacon House (1801 F St NW) at 12:30 pm on Saturday, June 6.
June 2015 H 83
{community life / south by west}
International Spy Museum May Come to L’Enfant Plaza by William Rich
A
lthough it appears that plans are moving forward to bring the International Spy Museum to L’Enfant Plaza, the deal is not done yet. “It is important to note that we are in discussions with the Spy Museum, though contrary to the reports in various media sources, we do not have a deal at this point in time” stated Matthew Blocher, Senior Vice President at the JBG Companies in an email. “We are very excited about the possibility of the Spy Museum coming to L’Enfant as we believe that it would provide an incredible amount of energy to this area of Southwest, similar to their impact when they opened in the Penn Quarter.” Nevertheless, a revised concept plan for 900 L’Enfant Plaza was presented to the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) on April 16, which included a six-story building facing 10th Street, SW that would be used as the new home of the International Spy Museum. Behind the planned museum building is a courtyard and office building. Previously, 900 L’Enfant Plaza was planned as strictly an office building. In a letter to the JBG Companies dated April 24, the CFA stated their support for the idea of the International Spy Museum to move to L’Enfant Plaza and general design concept. However, the Commission has concerns about the positioning of the proposed buildings and some design elements. The development team will need to go back before the CFA later this year with a revised concept submission. Between 600,000 and 700,000 people visit the International Spy Museum annually, which would bring additional traffic to L’Enfant Plaza and help to transform the complex away from a primarily nine to five office environment. The plans dovetail the SW Ecodistrict Initiative which calls for a better mix of uses in the area south of the National Mall and north of the Southwest freeway, including museums, residential, and hotels. If the International Spy MuseTwo new multifamily buildings will be constructed on the parking lots of The View at Waterfront apartments on 6th Street, SW. Rendering courtesy of SK&I Architects
um relocates from Penn Quarter to L’Enfant Plaza, it could serve to draw people south from the National Mall on their way to The Wharf. Last year, the JBG Companies completed the second phase of renovations to the retail portion of the complex, while the east office building was recently renovated and the north office building’s revamp will soon be complete. In addition, the L’Enfant Plaza Hotel (owned by an affiliate of Sanford Hotel Group) is currently under renovation and will reopen in 2016. This is not the first museum to consider moving to the office-heavy mixed-use complex. Before being lured away to National Harbor, the National Children’s Museum was moving to L’Enfant Plaza in a new building that would have been constructed in the middle of the plaza. Ironically, the Children’s Museum is now also looking for new space in the District after being open at National Harbor for only two years.
View at Waterfront Addition Gains ANC Support At the May Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D meeting,
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A new building is planned for the plaza at the center of L’Enfant Plaza that may become the home to the International Spy Museum. Rendering courtesy of Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
representatives from Mill Creek Residential Trust and SK&I Architecture presented plans for the development of two apartment buildings on the parking lots of The View at Waterfront apartments on 6th Street, SW. A modified Planned Unit Development (PUD) was filed for this project earlier this year – the original PUD was approved several years ago under a previous owner, but several changes have been made. The height and density of the project have been reduced, resulting in a change in building materials from concrete to wood-frame. Also, the number of apartment units and parking spaces has been reduced. In addition, the number of bicycle spaces has increased and the distance between the new and existing buildings has increased. Below is a summary of the major changes to the design of the buildings: • Building Height Old PUD: 112 feet Revised PUD: 85 feet
In Loving Memory Gary Humfelt • Floor Area Ratio (FAR) Old PUD: 4.35 Revised PUD: 3.40 • Number of New Units Old PUD: 324 units Revised PUD: 260 units • Parking Spaces Old PUD: 569 (0.98 spaces per unit) Revised PUD: 290 (0.56 spaces per unit) • Courtyard Space Between New and Existing Buildings Old PUD: 51 feet Revised PUD: 57 feet The north tower will be on the K Street lot and the south tower will be on the M Street lot. Ground floor retail with 20foot ceilings will be located in the south tower at the corner of 6th and M streets, ideally a restaurant. The south tower will also have a cut out on the top of the building for a large rooftop entertainment area where residents can gather and get a view of The Wharf. Meanwhile, the north tower will have loft units and a two-level gym. The ANC commissioners voted unanimously to support the revised PUD application, which will go before the Zoning Commission on June 11. The current development timeline calls for construction to begin around mid- to late April 2016 and exterior work on the north and south towers to be complete in December 2017 and March 2018, respectively. Construction is currently scheduled to be completed by November 2018.
Gary Humfelt, age 76, died - from complications with congestive heart failure - at home on Capitol Hill, May 10th. He is survived by his second wife Maggie Hall; his son Craig Humfelt of Strasburg, VA; his daughter Lori Schwebel of Manhattan, NY and his grandchildren, Lisa, Jaime, Eric and Andy. From St Paul, Minnesota, he was a computer engineer with a long and interesting career in the industry that took him all over the world. He lived on Capitol Hill since 1983. In place of a funeral there was a memorial gathering at Capitol Lounge. Donations in Gary’s memory can be made to:
The Washington Home and Community Hospices – Charitable Gifts Department 3720 Upton Street, NW Washington, DC 20016 or online at: www.thewashingtonhome.org
William Rich is a blogger at Southwest…The Little Quadrant that Could (www.swtlqtc.com). u
June 2015 H 85
{community life / capitol riverfront}
The Development Wave Continues
Future National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Headquarters at 1 M Street, SE.
by Michael Stevens
C
apitol Riverfront is a beehive of construction activity as exhibited by tower cranes and new buildings rising in our cityscape; and significant planning is underway for the new soccer stadium and its Buzzard Point neighborhood as well. There are nine new residential buildings underway containing 2,868 new apartment units that will be delivering for lease over the next 5-24 months. We will double our current inventory of apartments when these buildings are completed, and should double our residential population by 2018 – over 9,000 residents in the Capitol Riverfront!
New Condo, Retail and Hotels There will soon be new construction in the condo market as there are at least three condominium projects scheduled to break ground over the next 12 to 14 months. PN Hoffman will be developing approximately 142 condo units at the corner of 4th and Tingey Streets, SE directly across from the VIDA Fitness. The Metro chiller site at L and Half Streets, SE will also start construction as 126 condo units by MRP/CAS during that same time frame. And the partners in NOVO Development are currently designing a condo project for their sites at 818 Potomac Avenue, SE that will include the renovation of the existing historic apartment building and a two phased construction of new condo units for a total of 55 units. This will be a great anchor project for the Lower 8th Street area of the Capitol Riverfront. Whole Foods Market at 800 New Jersey Avenue, SE delivering in 2017.
All this residential development will only increase demand for new neighborhood serving retail and restaurants. The new 35,000 square foot Whole Foods Market is under construction and will deliver in 2017 with 336 new apartments at 800 New Jersey Avenue and H Street, SE. The Grosvenor project on First Street named “F1rst” will include a Taylor Gourmet and a Chop’t Creative Salad Company. Three new restaurants are also under construction – Due South and Navy Yard Oyster Company in the Lumbershed Building, and Scarlet Oak located in 909 New Jersey Avenue, SE. Three new hotels are being built within a one block walk of Nationals Park. The new 168-room Hampton Inn and Suites has topped out and should be open for business in August 2015. The Grosvenor F1rst project also includes a 170-room Marriott Residence Inn, while Englewood Development is constructing a new 195-room Homewood Suites at 50 M Street SE directly across from the Half Street Metro Station. The Capitol Riverfront office market will exhibit new growth as well with the impending start of construction on the Skanska Class A office building (225,000 SF) at 99 M Street, SE; the announcement that the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is moving from their building in DuPont Circle to a new office building (116,000 SF) that will be constructed at M and South Capitol Streets, SE (1 M Street) by Monument Realty; and the construction of DC Water’s new headquarters administration building that will consolidate several office locations into one building (150,000 SF) at 2nd Street, SE on the Anacostia River.
Getting Ready for the Soccer Stadium A coordinated planning process is underway in Buzzard Point to prepare that area of our neighborhood and Southwest for the new DC United Soccer stadium. The DC Office of Planning and the DC Department of General Services are working with DDOT, DDOE and DMPED on an Urban Design Framework Plan for this area so that the investment in the soccer stadium is maximized by accelerating compatible new development surrounding the stadium site. The plan is examining existing zoning and future land use patterns, en-
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THOMAS DESIGN CONSULTANTS Boutique Renovations of Capitol Hill Spaces
vironmental conditions that need to be removed and remediated, utilities and infrastructure systems that need to be upgraded, the future street network, a future open space network including an extension of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail around Buzzard Point, the incorporation of environmental sustainability and storm water management throughout the neighborhood, and pedestrian connections to the Metro stations at Waterfront and Navy Yard/Ballpark. The next area of the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood that is undergoing substantial change now is the Half Street District, the two blocks immediately north of the stadium’s centerfield gate. With recent property acquisitions by Jair Lynch on the east side of the street, and JBG and Brandywine Realty Trust on the west side of the street, plans are being developed for new building programs on these vacant parcels and the site of the Fairgrounds. Each side of the street will have residential buildings above with approximately 60,000 square feet of 1st floor retail uses for a total of 120,000 SF along Half Street. This will create the Half Street entertainment district that was always envisioned as the gateway for Nationals Park. But that entire “ballpark district” should be under construction or largely completed by the 2018 MLB All-Star Game as well. With the Grosvenor and Skanska projects on 1st Street, the NAB office building on South Capitol Street that will be accompanied by a residential building by Monument, and the 1244 South Capitol Street residential project by JBG all either under construction or starting soon, this district will be a new mix-use sub-area for the Capitol Riverfront. It is exciting to see these parcels adjacent to the stadium start construction and enter into detailed architectural design.
Another substantial piece of the development puzzle is the area east of the stadium between 1st Street, SE and the historic DC Water pump house, and south of N Street SE. Often referred to as Yards West, this land is either controlled by Forest City Washington as part of the Yards development, or owned by DC Water. Negotiations are underway to relocate the DC Water fleet maintenance and sewer operations facilities to other sites, allowing that acreage to be redeveloped as housing, office, retail, and the 16-screen ICON movie theater complex. The historic pump house and the O Street pumping station will remain as active DC Water pump stations. They will be joined by the aforementioned DC Water office building that will overlook the Anacostia River, and the development program proposed by Forest City Washington. Many other parcels are underway or deep in the planning and approval process, such as the MRP apartment building “Dock 79” at the Florida Rock site, and the 1333 M Street mixed-use complex by Cohen Siegel Investors, LLC east of the 11th Street Bridges. The Capitol Riverfront neighborhood is a constant work in progress, a cityscape that is changing on a monthly basis. The Capitol Riverfront has and will continue to experience a growth cycle unlike any in its recent history. It is a validation of the vision established by the city and the over $1.1 billion in public investment in the neighborhood. The response by the private sector is evident in all the existing and emerging buildings that are redefining our cityscape. If you are attending a movie, concert or festival this summer in the Capitol Riverfront, be sure to do a “walkabout” of the neighborhood and see all the new construction activity.
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Michael Stevens, AICP is president of the Capitol Riverfront BID. u
June 2015 H 87
{community life}
A New Playground for Potomac Gardens
W
by Charnice A. Milton
hen children from Potomac Gardens, the public housing complex located at 1225 G Street SE, returned home from school on May 8, they were surprised to see some workers putting the finishing touches on a new playground. At the same time, other volunteers installed new headboards for the basketball court and planted trees throughout the complex. While the children would have to wait until the end of the weekend to play, they were happy to share what they liked about the new playground, from the slides, monkey bars, and the orange and blue color scheme. One child said it best: “I like everything!”
Resident-Driven The process began in 2014, when a group of Potomac Gardens residents requested funds for a new playground. “At one point, there was no playground there, period,” said Aquarius Vann-Ghasri, long-time resident and president of the Potomac Gardens Family Residents Council. “So we went through the process of getting the first playground.” However, it became a health and safety hazard due to age and a lack of maintenance. “The old playground was not only outdated, health and safety-wise, but it had been vandalized,” said Micheal Coleman, regional property manager for CT Management, who maintains the housing project. After community members asked Vann-Ghasri to present the matter to the Executive Board, she said that they rejected it. “I went back to the parents and let them know we would have to organize,” she said. “The residents of Potomac Gardens organized, did a petition, gave the petition back to me to present to the Executive Board to request $2,000 to reach out to make this happen.” Since then, the residents have stayed
Volunteers from Potomac Gardens, DCHA, Little Lights Urban Ministries, Make Kids Smile, Inc. and Foulger-Pratt working on the new playground. The groups also painted walls, planted trees, and updated the basketball court. Photo Credit: DCHA
involved with the project, from picking the design to helping with the build out. “This is a resident-driven project,” said Vann-Ghasri. “Each of them have an assigned skill or chore. Many of our residents that live here are unemployed; however, they have skills in construction and labor.”
Help From Little Lights
Mary Park of Little Lights looks on as a young Potomac Gardens resident cuts the ribbon, opening the new playground. Photo Credit: DCHA
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Vann-Ghasri credits the Little Lights Urban Ministries for bringing more organizations to help with the project. Little Lights, a non-profit taking a holistic approach to serving families and children living in poverty in Capitol Hill, have worked in Potomac Gardens and its neighboring community, Hopkins, since 1997. “We work with about 120 kids per year,” said Steve Park, founder and executive director of Little Lights. “We also have a family center and work with about 200 adults, helping people with their resumes, providing a high-speed computer lab.” Little Lights also runs the Clean Green
Team, a landscaping business that employs community members. “We have a contract with DC Housing [Authority (DCHA)] to do all the landscaping work at Potomac Gardens and Hopkins,” he explained, “and we have clients, mostly on Capitol Hill.” When it came to the new playground, Park said, “We made a commitment to push it forward and talked with Aquarius...We talked with Laurie Putscher [Director of Asset Management at DCHA]. She helped us to find a funder, Make Kids Smile...Then we talked to the Potomac Gardens property manager at CT Management and Michael Coleman. They gave $5,000 to the project; the Residents Council gave $2,000...and Little Lights provided the extra funds to help complete the funding part and kept making sure that the ball didn’t get dropped.”
Make Kids Smile Founded in 1999 by the Ognibene family, Make Kids Smile, Inc. is a
non-profit dedicated to building playgrounds for children with little to no safe recreational opportunities in the DC area. “We’ve built a total of 35 playgrounds,” said Peter Ognibene, Make Kids Smile’s president. “Close to half of what we have built has been in DC.” Make Kids Smile has had a working relationship with DCHA since the nonprofit’s inception, building 12 playgrounds for its public housing properties, including Hopkins. “Little Lights really was hoping for a nice playground, and DC Housing contacted me and we came together and raised the money for this playground.” Make Kids Smile contributed $12,000 to the project. Ognibene also serves as the Chief Financial Officer at Foulger-Pratt, a commercial real estate firm, which donated $5,000 and volunteers for the installation.
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What a New Playground Means “It’s not just a playground,” said Vann-Ghasri. “If you are going to have everyone in [a safe] community, you don’t blame the victim. You give everyone the opportunity to live in a decent, safe environment.” Park agreed, saying “It’s a place for kids to be kids.” DCHA Director Adrianne Todman, who attended the ribbon cutting ceremony, was happy with the results. “I’m very proud of the Resident Council and I’m very proud of Little Lights for taking leadership to get this done,” she said. “I think it tells the kids that we care about them. I think it tells them that we want them to have a safe place to exercise and have a good time.” u
June 2015 H 89
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{real estate} William King delivering the Inaugural Dick Wolf Memorial Lecture on March 27th at the Hill Center on which this article is based. Photo: John Jack Photography.
DC Preservation Law Must Change A Proposal to Bring Clarity and Accountability to the Demolition Permitting Process for Historic Structures
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by William King
icture your favorite historic building in DC. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have trouble choosing just one. DC’s historic places are integral to the city’s character but, as in all cities, they must sometimes give way to the demands of modern life. Cities like DC grow and change, and they require new schools, apartments, firehouses, and office complexes. But how do we decide what to save and what to let go? DC historic preservation law sets out a process for doing just that, although it’s far from perfect. I propose one strategic change that will improve its clarity, predictability, and accountability to the citizens of DC. DC historic preservation law creates a presumption against the demolition of historic landmarks and structures that contribute to historic districts, but provides that demolition may proceed where a proposed new construction project is one of “special merit.” A proposed construction project constitutes special merit if it promotes significant benefits to the District of Columbia or to the community by virtue of: 1) “exemplary architecture,” 2) “specific features of land planning,” or 3) “social or other benefits having a high priority for community services.” The Mayor’s Agent, an administrative judge appointed by the Mayor of DC, decides whether or not a proposed project constitutes special merit. His or her decision rules unless overturned by the DC Court of Appeals. Analysis under the first (“exemplary architecture”) prong requires careful consideration of a proposed building’s exterior architectural elements including height, appearance, texture, color, and materials. One of the most famous examples of the special merit exception in action is the Rhodes Tavern case. Rhodes Tavern stood at the corner of 15th and F Streets NW. Despite being one of DC’s oldest buildings, it was demolished in 1984 after the Mayor’s Agent concluded that the office complex slated to replace it constituted “exemplary architecture.” Although the proposal was pleasant to look at (the Metropolitan Square Office Building now stands at 15th and F Streets NW), many objected that it was far from “exemplary” and
did not outweigh the tavern’s historical importance. The second (“land planning”) prong of special merit depends on the extent to which a given project promotes land planning objectives, usually outlined in DC’s Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is a detailed statement of those policy goals that DC stakeholders most value in the future development of their city, including economic development, housing, environmental protection, and transportation. The DC Code requires community input at every phase of the Plan’s adoption and implementation so that the Plan “in all its elements is the valid expression of District residents, property owners, commercial interests, and other groups and individuals in the District.” The third (“social or other benefits”) prong hinges on the proposed project’s provision of “social” or “other” goods deemed compelling by the Mayor’s Agent. The special merit exception has proven an important safety valve, facilitating DC’s recent and rapid revival. However, the greatest threat posed by any “safety valve” is that it will become a loophole undermining preservation. As written, the special merit exception has the potential to do just that. The special merit exception has confused demolition permit applicants and threatens the structural accountability of the demolition permit review process. I propose deleting the third (“social or other benefits”) prong from the definition of special merit to promote clarity and predictability for demolition permit applicants and preservationists, and accountability to the citizens of DC. DC Mayor’s Agent decisions have consistently conflated the second and third prongs of special merit. Demolition permit applicants generally argue that their projects provide both “specific features of land planning” and “social or other benefits,” and the Mayor’s Agent is usually unclear as to which argument he or she finds more persuasive. Even where a project is explicitly deemed special merit under one of these prongs, there is usually ample evidence in the record to support its special merit under the other.
Woodward Building (photo taken c. 1911-1945). The Mayor’s Agent granted a permit to demolish the Woodward Building, but the D.C. Court of Appeals overturned that decision. The case was a landmark decision because the Court of Appeals overturned the Mayor’s Agent for not sticking to the “social benefits” outlined in the Comprehensive Plan. The case supports my proposal. The Woodward Building still stands today. Photo credit: Library of Congress.
The confusion generated by two overlapping special merit prongs makes the permit review process needlessly onerous for developers and advocates of historic preservation. Currently, very few parties appearing before
June 2015 H 91
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the Mayor’s Agent attempt to argue from precedent. Imprecision in the case law certainly does not encourage them to do so. Simplifying the special merit provision as proposed would begin to clarify the issue, but would also increase the predictability of the process for all involved. Analyses under both the second (“land planning”) prong and the third (“social or other benefits”) prong require the Mayor’s Agent to weigh public policy concerns against preservation interests. This process obviously involves a certain amount of unpredictability, depending on how the Mayor’s Agent reads the metaphorical scales. However, the third prong invites a second level of unpredictability because it essentially vests the Mayor’s Agent with discretion to invent policy concerns to weigh against preservation interests. While the second prong is written narrowly to encompass only land planning concerns (DC’s Comprehensive Plan being the clear guide), the language of the third (“social or other benefits”) prong is very broad. Eliminating this third prong will make the permit review process a more predictable one, by limiting the list of “benefits” that the Mayor’s Agent may consider to those expressly outlined in the Comprehensive Plan. In a landmark 1989 decision, the DC Court of Appeals seemed to agree. The Court overturned the Mayor’s Agent’s grant of a permit to demolish the Woodward Building at 15th and H Streets NW in the historic 15th Street Financial District. Why? The court objected that the “benefits” to demolition identified by the Mayor’s Agent, including downtown housing and daycare services, were not directly supported by the Comprehensive Plan. Since the Mayor’s Agent and DC Court of Appeals have consis-
tently turned to the Comprehensive Plan in ascertaining “specific features of land planning” under the second prong of special merit, I propose codifying this relationship in the DC Code. To ensure that the Comprehensive Plan is the Mayor’s Agent’s exclusive guide, I propose amending the second prong of special merit to read: “specific features of land planning outlined in the District of Columbia’s Comprehensive Plan.” This proposal has the added benefit of making the permit review process a more democratic process, rendering the Mayor’s Agent more accountable to DC voters. In addition to being a more predictable source of “benefits” for the Mayor’s Agent’s consideration, the Comprehensive Plan is likely closer to the people’s own preferences than the Mayor’s Agent’s individual assessment based on listening to both sides in a demolition permitting dispute. The Mayor’s Agent is not an elected official, but is a political appointee. While the Mayor’s Agent “is” the Mayor in name, the Mayor has little to no involvement in the Mayor’s Agent’s hearings. In contrast, the Comprehensive Plan is approved by the popularly elected city council, and with extensive community input, as mandated by the DC Code. We deserve a system that respects our priorities, as recorded in the Comprehensive Plan, rather than allowing one individual, who no one elected, to invent reasons for demolition. My proposal is a strong step in that direction. William King is a graduate of Swarthmore College and a third-year J.D. student at Georgetown University Law Center. On March 27, 2015, he delivered the Inaugural Dick Wolf Memorial Lecture on the topic of DC historic preservation law. He can be contacted at wbollingerking@gmail.com. ◆
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{real estate / changing hands}
Changing Hands Changing hands is a list of most residential sales in the District of Columbia from the previous month. A feature of every issue, this list, based on the MRIS, is provided courtesy of Don Denton, manager of the Coldwell Banker office on Capitol Hill. The list includes address, sales price and number of bedrooms. NEIGHBORHOOD
CLOSE PRICE BR
12 FRANKLIN ST NE 1047 TAUSSIG PL NE
BURLEITH
4005 MANSION DR NW 3609 S ST NW
FEE SIMPLE 16TH STREET HEIGHTS 1416 MONTAGUE ST NW 1422 MADISON ST NW 5242 COLORADO AVE NW 1315 ALLISON ST NW 1309 KENNEDY ST NW
ADAMS MORGAN 1644 ARGONNE PL NW
CAPITOL HILL $1,140,001 $1,009,000 $799,187 $675,000 $622,000
5 5 4 4 3
$949,000
4
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK 4125 46TH ST NW 4206 RIVER RD NW 4610 49TH ST NW 4335 BRANDYWINE ST NW 4416 YUMA ST NW 4626 WARREN ST NW 4639 DAVENPORT ST NW 4640 CHESAPEAKE ST NW 4633 ELLICOTT ST NW
ANACOSTIA 1675 W ST SE 1614 16TH ST SE 2110 16TH ST SE
ATLAS DISTRICT 908 3RD ST NE
BERKLEY
2003 48TH ST NW 4712 RESERVOIR RD NW
BLOOMINGDALE 2037 1ST ST NW
BRENTWOOD
2224 13TH ST NE 6620 6TH ST NW 1387 SHERIDAN ST NW 718 ROXBORO PL NW 5622 KANSAS AVE NW 510 TUCKERMAN ST NW 7121 GEORGIA AVE NW 5930 4TH ST NW
BROOKLAND
4111 12TH ST NE 2029 NORTH CAPITOL ST NE 1608 LAWRENCE ST NE 15 EVARTS ST NE 610 REGENT PL NE 645 GIRARD ST NE 2917 NORTH CAPITOL ST NE 2020 MONROE ST NE 3602 18TH ST NE 310 BRYANT ST NE 2509 10TH ST NE 4721 12TH ST NE 1304 GIRARD ST NE 5119 CAPITOL ST NE 3521 17TH ST NE
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$1,190,000 $1,050,000 $1,000,000 $988,000 $985,000 $967,500 $905,000 $832,500 $800,000
5 4 3 5 4 3 3 3 3
$365,000 $290,000 $125,000
3 3 4
$660,000
2
$2,379,270 $1,450,000
5 5
$650,000
3
$480,000 $710,000 $610,000 $525,000 $415,000 $370,000 $365,000 $361,000
3 4 3 3 3 3 3 4
$900,000 $880,000 $860,000 $720,000 $679,000 $604,000 $580,000 $560,000 $557,500 $528,000 $513,000 $512,000 $510,000 $460,000 $450,000
4 4 3 4 3 4 3 3 4 3 6 3 4 3 3
135 11TH ST NE 608 A ST NE 309 10TH ST SE 604 A ST NE 604 A ST SE 622 MARYLAND AVE NE 421 11TH ST NE 316 KENTUCKY AVE SE 817 C ST SE 615 A ST NE 1234 C ST NE 603 A ST SE 510 9TH ST SE 512 10TH ST SE 447 TENNESSEE AVE NE 509 10TH ST SE 30 9TH ST SE 912 G ST SE 13 10TH ST SE 1313 D ST NE 623 SOUTH CAROLINA AVE SE 649 CONSTITUTION AVE NE 1429 EAST CAPITOL ST SE 307 E ST NE 1004 CONSTITUTION AVE NE 1738 BAY ST SE 548 14TH ST SE 559 15TH ST SE 17 15TH ST SE 419 9TH ST NE 1428 AMES PL NE 219 17TH ST NE 703 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NE 320 G ST NE 1014 11TH ST NE 1505 C ST SE 807 9TH ST NE 18 14TH ST SE 256 WARREN ST NE
CHEVY CHASE
3724 INGOMAR ST NW 3905 ALBEMARLE ST NW 3308 MCKINLEY ST NW 2750 RITTENHOUSE ST NW 5819 CHEVY CHASE PKWY NW 5600 BROAD BRANCH RD NW 6615 WESTERN AVE NW 5320 28TH ST NW 3418 QUESADA ST NW 5600 32ND ST NW 3147 TENNYSON ST NW 3810 MILITARY RD NW 3005 MCKINLEY ST NW 7001 31ST ST NW 4009 FESSENDEN ST NW 5505 33RD ST NW
CHILLUM
6436 2ND PL NW
$435,000 $330,000
3 2
$1,430,000 $890,000
3 4
$1,950,000 $1,550,000 $1,437,000 $1,400,000 $1,270,000 $1,241,500 $1,100,000 $1,090,700 $1,000,000 $995,125 $995,000 $980,000 $965,000 $949,700 $949,000 $925,000 $925,000 $915,000 $875,000 $870,000 $865,000 $841,000 $833,000 $808,000 $806,000 $805,000 $785,000 $753,000 $745,000 $738,000 $730,000 $725,000 $704,203 $672,000 $662,000 $640,000 $631,500 $600,000 $570,000
5 3 4 4 3 5 4 4 4 3 4 3 2 3 4 4 2 3 3 4 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 2
$1,625,000 $1,430,000 $1,385,000 $1,335,000 $1,300,000 $1,230,000 $1,200,000 $1,189,000 $1,185,000 $1,050,000 $1,042,500 $980,000 $885,000 $853,500 $841,000 $780,000
7 4 5 5 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 3
$550,000
3
8 4 6 8 6 4 4
C
1
D
3
D
8 9 4 5 2 4 5 8 5 4 5 9 9 2 1
D
1 1 1 1 1
E
CLEVELAND PARK 3307 MACOMB ST NW 3721 UPTON ST NW 3543 QUEBEC ST NW 3053 PORTER ST NW
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 3817 KANSAS AVE NW 1242 IRVING ST NW 1016 QUEBEC PL NW 3223 11TH ST NW 1334 RANDOLPH ST NW 1349 QUINCY ST NW 733 OTIS PL NW 1432 MERIDIAN PL NW 1417 PARKWOOD PL NW 1306 SHEPHERD ST NW 1403 PERRY PL NW 637 KEEFER PL NW 617 PARK RD NW 3300 SHERMAN AVE NW 601 LAMONT ST NW 830 OTIS PL NW 709 NEWTON PL NW 1310 SPRING RD NW 1007 LAMONT ST NW 10091/2 LAMONT ST NW 649 COLUMBIA RD NW
CONGRESS HEIGHTS 3211 5TH ST SE 503 OAKWOOD ST SE 3717 HORNER PL SE 628 MILWAUKEE PL SE
$2,825,000 $1,910,000 $1,495,000 $900,000
6 5 3 4
$949,900 $900,000 $822,000 $805,000 $729,000 $715,000 $700,000 $687,500 $687,000 $685,100 $660,000 $625,000 $600,000 $574,900 $574,900 $550,000 $530,000 $507,000 $408,000 $399,900 $330,000
5 3 4 5 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 7 2 4 3 2 3 2 2 3
$380,000 $290,000 $285,000 $283,000
5 3 4 3
1 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 3 7 3
F
8
F
2
F
4 4 4
F
1 4
G
3 1 3 2 3 2 1 3 3
W ORKIN G S M ART ER
879 BARNABY ST SE 4024 2ND ST SW 662 BRANDYWINE ST SE 838 YUMA ST SE 622 SOUTHERN AVE SE 4402 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE SW 442 ORANGE ST SE
$281,505 $280,000 $260,000 $255,000 $242,500 $185,297 $142,500
CRESTWOOD 1846 UPSHUR ST NW 4314 18TH ST NW 1620 DECATUR ST NW 1715 SHEPHERD ST NW
$1,085,000 $950,000 $850,000 $780,000
DAKOTA CROSSING
3292 ROBERT CLIFTON WEAVER WAY NE $512,000
DEANWOOD 824 48TH PL NE 926 48TH PL NE 4519 FOOTE ST NE 5371 HAYES ST NE 210 58TH ST NE 4508 LEE ST NE 5609 FOOTE ST NE 811 46TH ST NE 5912 EADS ST NE 4605 HUNT PL NE 5322 AMES ST NE 918 46TH ST NE 920 44TH ST NE 220 35TH ST NE 1115 50TH ST NE
$399,000 $370,000 $360,000 $359,900 $343,000 $299,500 $275,000 $260,000 $250,000 $215,000 $210,000 $160,000 $140,000 $139,000 $90,000
F O R Y OU!
3 3 4 3 2 2 3 3 4 3 3
!
YS R A DE -6 D N U CT A TR N
$2,850,000 $2,107,000 $1,545,000 $1,440,000 $1,350,000
ECKINGTON
1819 NORTH CAPITOL ST NE 1804 1ST ST NW 317 TODD PL NE 19 SEATON PL NW 127 U ST NE 151 U ST NE 2039 2ND ST NE 1928 4TH ST NE 301 S ST NE 7 S ST NW 317 W ST NE
$835,000 $770,000 $699,990 $699,000 $675,000 $650,000 $640,500 $575,000 $570,000 $530,000 $370,500
FOGGY BOTTOM 812 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW
$735,000
FOREST HILLS 2912 ALBEMARLE ST NW
$1,700,000
FORT DUPONT PARK 4568 C ST SE 4227 FORT DUPONT TER SE 4329 F ST SE
$335,000 $315,000 $189,900
2 7
Welcome to Historic Capitol Hill, just steps to Watkins Park, Eastern Market and Barrack’s Row! Classic Federal Style Row House with kitchen of stone, brick and steel. Brick and hardwood flooring, wood-burning fireplace, exposed brick walls, and all BRIGHT.
!
YS R A DE D N T-5 U C A TR N
CO
2841 Myrtle Ave NE 5BR/3.5BA $675,000
!
LD
ST
548 14th St SE 3BR/3BA $749,900 SOLD $785,000
SO
JU
Tired of cramped spaces and stretched budgets? Less than 4 miles from Logan or CapHill awaits your solution in wonderful Woodridge! New construction on classic 4-square foundation - Over 3000 SF incl knock-out kitchen open to giant living, dining and den. 5BRs/ 3.5BAs, big green lawns, shade trees and parking just 1.5 miles from Brookland Metro!
9 6 5 4 3 7 7 4 0 4 3 3 4 3 5 3
403 12th St SE 2BR/1BA $629,000
CO
Fully detached & WIDE porch front with 3 levels of living space, HUGE master bath, fully finished lower level with bonus family room + bedroom and bath with rear entrance. Original heart pine floors and historic trim throughout and private patio in rear! All nestled between Lincoln Park serenity & H Street hustle!
DUPONT 1721 P ST NW 1821 19TH ST NW 1421 S ST NW 1749 SWANN ST NW 1828 15th NW
534 13th St NE 4BR/3BA $765,000
CO
3 7 6 3 4 3 3 5 3 3 3 3 4 3 2 3
!
YS R A DE -6 D N U CT A TR N
Completely renovated Federal steps to Potomac Metro. Wide open layout on the main floor, bright kitchen at rear with fully finished lower level suite with full bath and laundry. On the top level, dual Master suites! All on DEEP lot with roll up garage door off public alley and gardens in between! Don’t miss this amazing opportunity for true City convenience. !
R T! DE C N A U TR N CO
305 10th St SE 2BR/2.5BA $749,000 The ORIGINAL clapboard row home you’ve been seeking – in just the right spot between Eastern Market, Metro, and Lincoln Park! Inside, completely renovated with central kitchen of stone, steel and maple – with back yard paradise of blooming cherry blossom. Upstairs, two BIG bedrooms along with guest bath and Master en suite bath.
CO
YS R A DE -5 D N U CT A TR N
1532 Constitution Ave NE 2BR/1BA $559,000 Graceful flow w French doors between living and dining spaces, masterfully-crafted kitchen featuring tin ceilings, maple cabinets and more! Upstairs, bright brs front and back book-end sky-lit classic B&W central bath. In the master suite, enjoy a bonus office, dressing room, or future en suite bath! Outside, a private patio w parking.
4 3 2
FOXHALL 1542 44TH ST NW 4411 GREENWICH PKWY NW
$1,090,000 $775,000
GEORGETOWN 3317 PROSPECT ST NW 1525 29TH ST NW 3058 R ST NW 2709 OLIVE ST NW 3626 PROSPECT ST NW 2523 P ST NW 1511 34TH ST NW 3424 P ST NW 3715 S ST NW
$4,100,000 $3,800,000 $3,250,000 $2,275,000 $1,751,000 $1,515,000 $1,055,000 $925,000 $872,500
5 3 5 6 4 5 4 3 3 3 4
June 2015 H 95
Moving?
We take the stress out of leaving your real estate. We take over. Find qualified tenants. Transfer utilities. Get the House/Apartment ready. Manage it. And, send you reports & money regularly. REMEMBER: We manage condominium associations & individual units in condos and co-ops, co-op and homeowner associations, property for non-profits & churches as well as investors & estate managers.
JOEL TRUITT MANAGEMENT, INC. 734 SEVENTH STREET, SE WASHINGTON, DC 20003 (202) 547-2707 FAX: (202) 547-1977
www.joeltruitt.com
3424 RESERVOIR RD NW 2803 OLIVE ST NW 1528 26TH ST NW
$800,000 $733,500 $692,000
2 2 2
GLOVER PARK 2415 OBSERVATORY PL NW 2030 37TH ST NW 3540 W PL NW 2123 OBSERVATORY PL NW 2001 37TH ST NW 2320 HUIDEKOPER PL NW
$943,500 $890,000 $864,519 $850,000 $764,000 $750,000
4 3 3 3 2 3
H STREET CORRIDOR 808 4TH ST NE 1659 KRAMER ST NE
$745,000 $553,500
3 3
HILL CREST
Specializing in all aspects of Real Estate Settlements
We Guarantee Attention to Detail & Personalized Service 650 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Suite 170 Washington, DC 20003-4318 202-544-0800
“We are part of Capitol Hill, We don’t just work here... We live here, too. Let our neighborhood experience work for you...”
3810 CARPENTER ST SE 2709 MINNESOTA AVE SE 2716 MINNESOTA AVE SE 2942 M ST SE 3249 O ST SE
$470,000 $280,500 $269,000 $259,000 $215,000
4 3 3 2 3
KALORAMA 2137 R ST NW 2230 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW 2132 LEROY PL NW 2561 WATERSIDE DR NW
$3,278,000 $3,100,000 $2,110,000 $913,000
5 10 6 4
KENT 5520 HAWTHORNE PL NW 5027 CATHEDRAL AVE NW 5147 CATHEDRAL AVE NW
$2,222,500 $935,000 $830,000
LANGDON PARK 1434 MONTANA AVE NE
$542,920
LEDROIT PARK 25 W ST NW 2100 2ND ST NW 40 W ST NW 148 BRYANT ST NW 2010 2ND ST NW
$950,000 $810,000 $805,000 $799,997 $550,000
LILY PONDS 3321 AMES ST NE 3429 CLAY ST NE
$258,500 $179,000
6 4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 2 2
LOGAN 1209 S ST NW 1305 Q ST NW 1600 15TH ST NW 1417 T ST NW
202.546.3100 210 7th Street, SE. #100. WDC 20003 www.monarchtitle.net
$2,000,000 $1,711,000 $1,350,000 $1,025,000
MARSHALL HEIGHTS 126 53RD ST SE 4807 B ST SE 5129 ASTOR PL SE 4809 BASS PL SE
$310,000 $250,500 $159,900 $155,000
MICHIGAN PARK
Steve Hagedorn Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
Search listings at cbmove.com/steve.hagedorn Licensed in DC & MD
Direct: Cell: Office: Fax: Email:
202-741-1707 202-841-1380 202-547-3525 202-547-8462 shagedorn@cbmove.com
96 H Hillrag.com
4853 QUEENS CHAPEL TER NE
$495,000
MOUNT PLEASANT 1805 KENYON ST NW 3108 16TH ST NW 1726 LAMONT ST NW 1756 KILBOURNE PL NW 1755 HARVARD ST NW 1725 NEWTON ST NW 1647 NEWTON ST NW 3212 18TH ST NW
$1,100,000 $1,020,000 $975,000 $789,500 $787,500 $779,000 $775,000 $727,000
NAVY YARD 311 VIRGINIA AVE SE
$1,032,500
4 5 4 1 3 2 2 2 3 6 4 7 3 2 3 4 2 4
NORTH CLEVELAND PARK 3742 APPLETON ST NW 4406 35TH ST NW
$1,120,000 $1,050,000
OLD CITY #1 736 11TH NE 124 KENTUCKY AVE SE 401 L ST SE 713 7TH ST NE 622 9TH ST NE 1434 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE 1340 K ST SE 716 K ST NE 710 5TH ST SE 1142 ABBEY PL NE 1811 POTOMAC AVE SE 816 12TH ST NE 1715 A ST SE 1415 DUNCAN ST NE 1315 EMERALD ST NE 1427 IVES PL SE 558 23RD PL NE 906 12TH ST SE 1132 PARK ST NE 1516 CONSTITUTION AVE NE 1735 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE 315 19TH ST NE 619 18TH ST NE 619 16TH ST NE 1808 ROSEDALE ST NE
$1,746,000 $1,175,000 $1,075,000 $980,000 $940,100 $857,000 $820,000 $805,100 $749,900 $739,622 $725,000 $695,000 $675,000 $624,000 $605,000 $595,000 $569,500 $553,000 $540,000 $467,000 $465,000 $455,000 $399,900 $392,000 $285,000
OLD CITY #2 1531 8TH ST NW 1724 5TH ST NW 1412 COLUMBIA ST NW 1425 W ST NW 1611 1ST ST NW 32 N ST NW 410 RIDGE ST NW 1320 8TH ST NW 433 RIDGE ST NW 12 HANOVER PL NW 1317 1ST ST NW 410 FRANKLIN ST NW
$1,137,500 $1,100,000 $970,000 $939,000 $910,000 $760,000 $650,000 $635,000 $625,000 $580,000 $545,000 $429,500
5 4 2 4 4 4 5 5 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 3 4 3 2 2 2 3 2
PALISADES 5401 POTOMAC AVE NW
$1,562,500
PETWORTH 432 RANDOLPH ST NW 4807 ILLINOIS AVE NW 4509 ILLINOIS AVE NW 429 INGRAHAM ST NW 4916 ILLINOIS AVE NW 5722 8TH ST NW 4716 8TH ST NW 442 JEFFERSON ST NW 5127 3RD ST NW 730 MARIETTA PL NW 722 JEFFERSON ST NW 4703 4TH ST NW 827 INGRAHAM ST NW 5416 7TH ST NW 5314 7TH ST NW 423 KENNEDY ST NW 4934 1ST ST NW 4706 5TH ST NW 4140 7TH ST NW 324 TAYLOR ST NW 5231 8TH ST NW 4730 8TH ST NW 5718 8TH ST NW 720 MARIETTA PL NW 5009 7TH ST NW 5407 2ND ST NW
$860,000 $752,000 $725,000 $714,000 $650,000 $649,900 $649,900 $639,000 $635,500 $626,000 $614,500 $600,000 $595,000 $574,535 $570,000 $550,000 $520,000 $509,000 $484,000 $480,000 $450,000 $450,000 $435,000 $430,000 $428,325 $425,000
4 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 3 4 3 3 3
FIRST OPEN HOUSE SUNDAY, MAY 31 ST, 2-4PM
611 FARRAGUT ST NW 619 JEFFERSON ST NW 647 HAMILTON ST NW 609 LONGFELLOW ST NW
PHILLIPS PARK
2116 DUNMORE LN NW
RANDLE HEIGHTS 2806 BRUCE PL SE 3044 30TH ST SE 2802 BRUCE PL SE 3455 24TH ST SE 2026 SAVANNAH PL SE
RIGGS PARK
5516 4TH NE 5520 4TH NE 714 KENNEDY ST NE 743 JEFFERSON ST NE 1278 DELAFIELD PL NE 5350 CHILLUM PL NE 223 OGLETHORPE ST NE 1247 DELAFIELD PL NE 5028 SARGENT RD NE 5803 3RD ST NE 5018 SARGENT RD NE 5019 13TH ST NE
RLA (SW)
603 7TH ST SW
SHAW
1616 NEW JERSEY AVE NW 1631 MARION ST NW 1821 9TH ST NW
SHEPHERD PARK 1429 JUNIPER ST NW 1424 IRIS ST NW 7330 14TH ST NW 1511 ROXANNA RD NW
SPRING VALLEY 4721 RODMAN ST NW 4810 UPTON ST NW 3810 47TH ST NW
TAKOMA PARK
6725 PINEY BRANCH RD NW 232 TUCKERMAN ST NW 14 UNDERWOOD PL NE 29 UNDERWOOD ST NW
TRINIDAD
1310 MONTELLO AVE NE 1001 18TH ST NE 1265 OWEN PL NE 1328 STAPLES ST NE 1608 TRINIDAD AVE NE 1260 FLORIDA AVE NE 1227 ORREN ST NE 1309 STAPLES ST NE 1424 MONTELLO AVE NE 1821 L ST NE 750 18TH ST NE 1637 LANG PL NE 1210 OWEN PL NE
U STREET
1436 FLORIDA AVE NW
$399,000 $380,000 $350,000 $325,000
3 2 3 4
$3,590,000
7
$297,000 $235,000 $185,000 $115,000 $113,050
3 3 3 2 3
$640,000 $640,000 $479,950 $470,000 $460,000 $437,500 $350,000 $347,500 $345,000 $320,000 $300,000 $290,000
4 4 3 3 3 3 2 4 3 2 3 3
$895,000
3
$960,000 $904,900 $781,000
3 3 4
$860,000 $670,000 $595,000 $505,000
6 3 4 3
$1,897,500 $1,350,000 $796,000
6 4 3
$729,900 $510,000 $475,000 $346,000
4 4 4 2
$720,500 $665,000 $665,000 $663,750 $645,000 $578,000 $445,000 $435,000 $435,000 $421,500 $417,000 $400,000 $350,000
3 10 4 4 4 2 3 3 3 2 3 2 3
$700,000
4
VILLAGES AT DAKOTA CROSSING 3628 WRIGHT TER NE
$521,990
3
Gorgeous new renovation, top quality throughout. Two bedrooms, two full baths, two half baths. Large windows, lots of light. Finished basement for family room or 3rd bedroom. Deck, parking.
1426 Ames Pl NE. $749,900.
Licensed in DC, MD & VA
REDUCED to $239,900 Extra large 1BR corner unit
Parking 3900 Tunlaw Rd NW #119
Your Neighbor On The Hill
“The road to success is not always straight; let me help you through the real estate maze to a happy and successful destination”
Deborah Charlton
Long and Foster Realtors Christie’s Great Estates
(202) 415-2117 (202) 944-8400 DC.DC@LongandFoster.com www.yourneighboronthehill.com June 2015 H 97
WAKEFIELD
3752 CUMBERLAND ST NW 3743 APPLETON ST NW
WATERFRONT
490 M ST SW #W-802
WESLEY HEIGHTS
4304 FOREST LN NW 3201 44TH ST NW 3200 NEW MEXICO AVE NW 4535 KLINGLE ST NW 4349 WESTOVER PL NW 4349 EMBASSY PARK DR NW
WEST END 2150 L ST NW
WOODLEY
3104 GARFIELD ST NW 2903 32ND ST NW
WOODRIDGE
2841 BELAIR PL NE 2605 HAMLIN ST NE 2946 MILLS AVE NE 3713 22ND ST NE 3030 OTIS ST NE 2007 FRANKLIN ST NE 1864 BRYANT ST NE
$1,251,000 $910,000
6 3
$375,000
1
$1,800,000 $1,750,000 $1,525,000 $1,430,000 $895,000 $849,950
4 5 5 5 3 2
$1,660,000
4
$2,895,000 $1,900,000
6 4
$829,000 $619,900 $435,000 $419,900 $375,000 $280,000 $245,000
5 5 3 3 5 3 4
$393,000 $265,000
2 2
$622,000 $480,000 $439,500 $420,000
3 2 1 1
CONDO 16TH STREET HEIGHTS 5511 COLORADO AVE NW #201 1322 MISSOURI AVE NW #104
ADAMS MORGAN
2633 ADAMS MILL RD NW #302 2301 CHAMPLAIN ST NW #212 2627 ADAMS MILL RD NW #403 1726 LANIER PL NW #3
Law Offices Of
James m LOOts, Pc Serving the Capitol Hill Community Since 1984 General Litigation and Arbitration Franchising and Business Organizations Commercial Leasing and Development Labor and Employment Issues Contract and Licensing Matters
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK 4101 ALBEMARLE ST NW #521 4101 ALBEMARLE ST NW #350 4345 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #4345 4101 ALBEMARLE ST NW #616 4101 ALBEMARLE ST NW #633
BERKLEY
46131/2 MACARTHUR BLVD NW #B
BLOOMINGDALE 73 U ST NW #2 122 BRYANT ST NW #2 52 QUINCY PL NW #104
BRENTWOOD
1334 DOWNING PL NE #B 1334 DOWNING PL NE #2 1386 BRYANT ST NE #201 1333 ADAMS ST NE #3 6718 3RD ST NW #202
BROOKLAND
3725 12TH ST NE #2
TOP “AV” RATED BY MARTINDALE-HUBBELL
634 G Street SE, Suite 200 | Washington DC 20003 (202) 536-5650 • Fax: (202) 315-3515 www.lootslaw.com 98 H Hillrag.com
CAPITOL HILL
6221/2 8TH ST NE #201 526 13TH ST SE #B 504 G ST NE #2
$749,000 $730,000 $593,000 $477,000 $475,000
2 2 2 1 1
$530,000
2
$850,000 $780,000 $375,000
4 2 2
$335,000 $286,000 $230,000 $210,000 $259,900
3 2 1 2 1
$210,000
1
$1,379,900 $869,000 $661,000
3 2 2
315 12TH ST NE #103 401 15TH ST SE #402 301 G ST NE #31 719 5TH ST NE #3 611 2ND ST NE #2 1816 D ST NE #4 1630 D ST SE #3 350 9TH ST SE #18 440 12TH ST NE #304 1209 G ST SE #9 101 2ND ST NE #B 1020 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #302 1391 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #520 644 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NE #205 1211 G ST SE #10 1209 G ST SE #3 624 MARYLAND AVE NE #9 401 15TH ST SE #203 1363 K ST SE #D
CENTRAL
2425 L ST NW #937 1010 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #701 400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #511 631 D ST NW #845 1112 25TH ST NW #1 1010 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #705 1133 14TH ST NW #801 631 D ST NW #836 701 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW #1127 701 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW #1205 1325 18TH ST NW #R-512 1325 18TH ST NW #513 1330 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1014 2141 P ST NW #301 1280 21ST ST NW #906
CHEVY CHASE
4301 MILITARY RD NW #312 4301 MILITARY RD NW #408 5201 WISCONSIN AVE NW #208
CHILLUM
33 KENNEDY ST NW #101
CLEVELAND PARK
4301 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #3008 3711 39TH ST NW #E191 3851 NEWARK ST NW #E461 3022 WISCONSIN AVE NW #201 3701 39TH ST NW #E185 3821 NEWARK ST NW #C441 3802 PORTER ST NW #303 3010 WISCONSIN AVE NW #301 4007 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #410 3601 WISCONSIN AVE NW #301 3100 WISCONSIN AVE NW #306 3100 WISCONSIN AVE NW #403 3701 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #821 4301 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #6011
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
2307 15TH ST NW #7-2 3467 HOLMEAD PL NW #3 3320 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #2 728 GIRARD ST NW #3 1343 KENYON ST NW #2 1423 COLUMBIA RD NW #4 1354 MONROE ST NW #B 1476 BELMONT ST NW #1 1320 PARK RD NW #2 3821 14TH ST NW #PH8 1336 BELMONT ST NW #201 2535 13TH ST NW #405 1461 GIRARD ST NW #400 1109 HARVARD ST NW #R
$602,400 $590,000 $565,000 $542,505 $516,500 $457,000 $451,000 $447,000 $439,000 $404,900 $400,000 $397,000 $381,500 $356,000 $299,000 $284,900 $261,500 $249,000 $222,500
2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
$1,180,000 $851,500 $665,000 $633,000 $615,000 $595,000 $469,000 $442,000 $435,000 $415,000 $399,000 $399,000 $385,000 $380,000 $328,500
2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1
$885,000 $570,000 $365,000
2 2 1
$158,500
1
$550,000 $437,500 $430,000 $429,500 $425,000 $419,900 $365,000 $314,900 $314,500 $280,000 $264,500 $242,000 $205,000 $190,000
3 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
$1,280,000 $854,900 $804,950 $725,000 $720,000 $699,900 $695,000 $688,750 $632,500 $599,000 $585,000 $575,000 $560,000 $540,000
2 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 2 3
Experience. Integrity. Enthusiasm. 1464 HARVARD ST NW #13 1300 TAYLOR ST NW #102 3519 14TH ST NW #2 1401 COLUMBIA RD NW #305 1435 CHAPIN ST NW #208 739 NEWTON PL NW #203 3318 SHERMAN NW #205 1469 HARVARD ST NW #3 3900 14TH ST NW #518 1437 SPRING RD NW #12 2920 GEORGIA AVE NW #101 3205 GEORGIA AVE NW #401 3205 GEORGIA AVE NW #201 3602 ROCK CREEK CHURCH RD NW #8 1108 COLUMBIA RD NW #103 1440 COLUMBIA RD NW #403 3902 14TH ST NW #419 526 KENYON ST NW #303 1401 COLUMBIA RD NW #112 3866 9TH ST SE #202 3872 9TH ST SE #203 100 DANBURY ST SW #100 14 HALLEY PL SE #103
DUPONT
1280 21ST ST NW #307 1737 WILLARD ST NW #8 1414 22ND ST NW #7 1815 18TH ST NW #103 1824 S ST NW #101 1615 Q ST NW #707 1502 17TH ST NW #4 1545 18TH ST NW #512 2001 16TH ST NW #604 1736 WILLARD ST NW #302 1615 Q ST NW #412 2032 15TH ST NW #4 2008 16TH ST NW #7 1545 18TH ST NW #302 1727 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #203
ECKINGTON
12 S ST NE #1 329 RHODE ISLAND AVE NE #100 14 S ST NE #102
FOGGY BOTTOM
955 26TH ST NW #709 3 WASHINGTON CIR NW #705 1001 26TH ST NW #506 522 21ST ST NW #311A
FOREST HILLS
3901 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #501 3883 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #105 3901 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #108 2939 VAN NESS ST NW #831 2939 VAN NESS ST NW #920 2939 VAN NESS ST NW #1009 3701 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #108 3701 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #805 2939 VAN NESS ST NW #1135
GARFIELD
2818 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #301 2501 CALVERT ST NW #703 2737 DEVONSHIRE PL NW #26 2501 CALVERT ST NW #510
GEORGETOWN
3012 R ST NW #1/2 1013 PAPER MILL CT NW #1013 3333 N ST NW #8
GLOVER PARK
2320 WISCONSIN AVE NW #312
$512,500 $500,000 $482,000 $450,000 $445,000 $399,990 $393,384 $389,900 $385,000 $383,000 $379,900 $369,900 $349,900 $325,000 $324,450 $317,000 $311,000 $221,000 $200,000 $74,900 $62,000 $50,000 $46,000
1 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 0 2 2 3 1
$630,000 $628,010 $590,000 $535,000 $435,000 $430,000 $419,000 $397,500 $390,000 $371,000 $365,000 $339,000 $292,799 $269,500 $221,000
2 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
$446,500 $407,000 $340,000
2 2 2
$780,000 $665,000 $320,000 $213,500
2 2 1 0
2325 42ND ST NW #219 4000 TUNLAW RD NW #730 2725 39TH ST NW #208 3819 DAVIS PL NW #5 3925 DAVIS PL NW #B7
H STREET CORRIDOR 1151 MORSE ST NE #2 607 14TH PL NE #1 660 MORTON PL NE #8
HILL CREST
2103 SUITLAND TER SE #202
HILL EAST
732 15TH ST SE #UNIT 1
KALORAMA
1820 KALORAMA SQ NW 1840 VERNON ST NW #403 2415 20TH ST NW #27 2311 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #505 1807 CALIFORNIA ST NW #204 1854 MINTWOOD PL NW #8 1831 BELMONT RD NW #304 1845 KALORAMA RD NW #2 2009 BELMONT RD NW #101 1901 COLUMBIA RD NW #301 2010 KALORAMA RD NW #506 2145 CALIFORNIA ST NW #305 2032 BELMONT RD NW #432
LEDROIT PARK
2022 FLAGLER PL NW #F202
LOGAN CIRCLE
1506 Q ST NW #PH 1401 Q ST NW #305 1425 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #30 1506 Q ST NW #2 1445 CHURCH ST NW #24 1634 14TH ST NW #203 1441 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #301 1010 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #905 1300 13TH ST NW #309 1314 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #806 1 SCOTT CIR NW #104 1420 N ST NW #215 1420 N ST NW #1013 1440 N ST NW #404
MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5037 CALL PL SE #302 5106 F ST SE #9
$390,000 $345,000 $309,900 $300,000 $275,000
2 2 1 1 1
$749,900 $452,500 $350,000
4 2 1
$44,189
2
$349,900
1
$2,300,000 $801,000 $668,000 $667,000 $598,225 $595,000 $490,000 $484,900 $441,000 $397,000 $385,000 $362,000 $280,000
5 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
$403,000
1
$1,475,000 $1,200,000 $1,175,000 $995,000 $905,000 $699,000 $690,000 $625,000 $592,800 $418,000 $262,500 $260,000 $244,500 $213,000
3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 0 0
$57,774 $57,000
2 2
$705,000 $528,000 $462,000 $440,000 $392,500 $303,000 $280,000
2 2 2 2 1 1 0
$749,000 $685,000 $680,000 $295,000 $291,125 $285,000 $245,000 $215,000 $210,000
2 2 3 1 1 1 1 0 0
$570,000 $485,888 $474,000 $473,000
2 2 2 2
MOUNT VERNON TRIANGLE
$749,900 $672,500 $632,850
2 2 1
NAVY YARD
$410,000
1
MOUNT PLEASANT
2448 ONTARIO RD NW #2 1615 KENYON ST NW #51 3314 MOUNT PLEASANT ST NW #4 1613 HARVARD ST NW #114 3220 17TH NW #110 1708 NEWTON ST NW #303 1613 HARVARD ST NW #309 437 NEW YORK AVE NW #1009 555 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1301 400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1203 811 4TH ST NW #1201 1025 1ST ST SE #1305 1025 1ST ST SE #712
$503,500 $494,900 $448,000 $434,900
1 2 1 1
$655,000 $590,000
2 1
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June 2015 H 99
NOMA TAKOMA 44 N ST NW #A
$472,000
OBSERVATORY CIRCLE 4100 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #508 2801 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #1005
$945,000 $591,000
OLD CITY #1 1409 G ST NE #22 520 E ST NE #301 1391 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #507 1391 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #307 423 18TH ST NE #8 400 21ST ST NE #5 400 21ST ST NE #3 245 15TH ST SE #304 400 21ST ST NE #1 400 21ST ST NE #6 1628 C ST SE #202 400 21ST ST NE #2 400 21ST ST NE #4 19 14TH ST NE #19 1449 A ST NE #D 1524 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE #BO-2 1417 MASSACHUSETTS AVE SE #4 1601 ISHERWOOD ST NE #1 1601 ISHERWOOD ST NE #2 7 18TH ST SE #104
$497,000 $467,500 $465,000 $455,000 $452,000 $447,000 $441,000 $435,000 $427,000 $417,000 $415,000 $397,000 $397,000 $390,000 $389,000 $345,000 $340,000 $320,000 $300,000 $85,000
OLD CITY #2
Up-To-Date Local Real Estate Listings Another great reason to visit
www.hillrag.com 100 H Hillrag.com
811 4TH ST NW #1011 1523 1ST ST NW 1515 15TH ST NW #412 1300 13TH ST NW #804 1408 Q ST NW #1 2120 VERMONT AVE NW #516 1201 O ST NW #2B 811 4TH ST NW #618 46 N ST NW #B 440 L ST NW #1001 1245 13TH ST NW #104 2100 11TH ST NW #G03 1401 R ST NW #308 475 K ST NW #426 1806 6TH ST NW #201 1545 18TH ST NW #920 1523 1ST ST NW #A 2125 14TH ST NW #229 1930 18TH ST NW #31 1748 CORCORAN ST NW #2B 1413 T ST NW #302 1239 VERMONT AVE NW #406 1420 N ST NW #502
$1,475,000 $755,000 $750,000 $749,000 $637,000 $614,000 $599,000 $598,000 $575,000 $532,500 $530,000 $498,000 $485,000 $475,000 $458,000 $410,000 $399,000 $390,000 $379,000 $348,000 $334,500 $332,500 $306,000
PENN QUARTER 601 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW #405
$390,000
PETWORTH 456 RANDOLPH ST NW #2
$735,000
RLA (SW) 250 G ST SW #127 350 G ST SW #N211 800 4TH ST SW #N801 240 M ST SW #E215 1250 4TH ST SW #W208
$669,000 $427,500 $398,799 $310,000 $289,000
2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 3 3 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3
343 CEDAR ST NW #10
1143 SUMMIT ST NE #1 1668 TRINIDAD AVE NE #2 1220 HOLBROOK TER NE #101 1220 HOLBROOK TER NE #104
$430,000 $249,900 $229,000 $214,900
U STREET 1931 12TH ST NW #B 1011 T ST NW #B 2030 8TH ST NW #409 1916 9TH ST NW #2 2120 VERMONT AVE NW #308 2030 8TH ST NW #503 2030 8TH ST NW #311 2030 8TH ST NW #403 929 FLORIDA AVE NW #5002 2030 8TH ST NW #303 919 FLORIDA AVE NW #3 2120 VERMONT AVE NW #412 2030 8TH ST NW #404 1413 T ST NW #304
$1,825,900 $1,200,000 $824,900 $715,916 $600,000 $529,900 $524,900 $509,900 $500,000 $492,900 $483,500 $438,000 $434,900 $289,900
WAKEFIELD 4600 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #524 4600 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #510 4600 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #405
$540,000 $540,000 $422,500
WESLEY HEIGHTS 3227 SUTTON PL NW #D 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #702E 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #1109W 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #1218W
$625,000 $337,500 $269,900 $210,000
$725,000 $565,000 $542,500
SW WATERFRONT 821 DELAWARE AVE SW #225 700 7TH ST SW #813
$638,500 $500,000
2 2 2 3 3
2 2 1 1 4 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 1 1
WEST END
1155 23RD ST NW #4D $1,600,000 2 1155 23RD ST NW #8L $1,049,000 2 1155 23RD ST NW #N6M $912,500 2 2425 L ST NW #339 $860,000 2 1140 23RD ST NW #407 $430,000 1
CoOp 16TH STREET HEIGHTS 1365 KENNEDY ST NW #208
$180,000
ADAMS MORGAN 1860 CLYDESDALE PL NW #101
$291,000
CHEVY CHASE 5112 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #209 5112 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #109
$237,000 $217,000
CLEVELAND PARK
$835,000
DUPONT CIRCLE 1701 16TH ST NW #711 1701 16TH ST NW ##332 1725 17TH ST NW #300
$499,000 $372,500 $242,500
BOTTOM SHAW FOGGY 2510 VIRGINIA AVE NW #602-N $710,000 1523 3RD ST NW #2 1816 5TH ST NW #2 440 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #103
1
TRINIDAD
3024 TILDEN ST NW #303-C 3 2 1 2 1
$232,990
2475 VIRGINIA AVE NW #625/626 2475 VIRGINIA AVE NW #904 730 24TH ST NW #718 950 25TH ST NW #607-N 730 24TH ST NW #314 2475 VIRGINIA AVE NW #218
$620,000 $537,500 $290,000 $275,000 $260,000 $250,000
1 1 1 1 4 2 1 0 2 2 2 1 1 1 1
FOREST HILLS
3001 VEAZEY TER NW #534 3001 VEAZEY TER NW #1618 3001 VEAZEY TER NW #705
KALORAMA
2100 19TH ST NW #206 2122 CALIFORNIA ST NW #258 1875 MINTWOOD PL NW #25 2220 20TH ST NW #67
MOUNT PLEASANT
1860 CLYDESDALE PL NW #401 1820 CLYDESDALE PL NW #204 2801 ADAMS MILL RD NW #113 1801 CLYDESDALE PL NW #103
NORTH CLEVELAND PARK 3020 TILDEN ST NW #101
OBSERVATORY CIRCLE
4000 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #736B 4000 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #825-B 4000 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #248B 3900 WATSON PL NW #B-7F 3900 WATSON PL NW #B-6D 2720 WISCONSIN AVE NW #705 4101 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #608 4101 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #208 4101 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #616
OLD CITY #1
1000 NEW JERSEY AVE SE #724
OLD CITY #2
1701 16TH ST NW #722 1725 17TH ST NW #408
RLA (SW)
1245 4TH ST SW #E307 1301 DELAWARE AVE SW #N509 1311 DELAWARE AVE SW #S-141 1311 DELAWARE AVE SW #S427
SOUTHWEST WATERFRONT 1378 4TH ST SW
U STREET CORRIDOR 1915 16TH ST NW #802
WATERFRONT 1344 4TH ST SW 560 N ST SW #N303 429 N ST SW #S-210
WATERGATE
700 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #1108 ◆
$548,000 $300,000 $235,000
2 1 1
$403,500 $317,500 $295,000 $283,000
2 1 1 1
$526,500 $345,000 $239,900 $153,000
3 2 1 0
$606,000
2
$1,030,000 $720,000 $297,500 $280,000 $279,000 $255,000 $242,000 $226,000 $141,500
3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
$334,000
1
$367,000 $340,000
1 1
$250,000 $185,000 $180,000 $120,900
1 1 1 0
$485,000
3
$515,000
2
$534,000 $330,000 $235,000
4 1 1
$575,000
1
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June 2015 H 101
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{arts & dining}
t S
The Root
a
of Flavor
b
l
by Meghan Markey, photos by Andrew Lightman
e
ummer is an exciting time for dining, when crisp, colorful summer vegetables are highlighted on menus across the city. Table, an intimate yet welcoming bistro, opened in Shaw in January 2013 and immediately made an impression on the restaurant scene. Bon Appetit named it one of their best new restaurants of 2013, and last year it was included on Washingtonian’s best restaurant list. It’s easy to see why. Chef Patrick Robinson marries clean, simple American cuisine and zaps it with a touch of French influence that elevates the offerings, and utilizes the freshest of what’s in season. Beignets, cassoulets, panna cotta have all graced the menu. However, in my opinion, it’s what Table does with vegetables that really stands out. It’s well established that DC has moved away from the carb and protein-heavy menus of times past, as diners are more knowledgeable about sustainable and healthy eating, ex-
We get our New York Strip locally sourced from Roseda Farms in Maryland where the cattle is carefully bred and naturally grass fed. We pan sear and butter baste it, finish with salt and pepper, a red wine sauce and serve it with roasted sweet, gold and purple potatoes.
“The squid we get fresh from Rhode Island,” says Chef Robinson. “We stuff it with a beautiful swiss chard and hazelnut pesto and serve it on top of a bed of piperade, finished with thinly shaved Serrano Ham.”
emplified in the explosion of the farm-to-table esthetic. Vegetables are not merely side dishes anymore. This is where Table shines. The menu includes one of the few (affordable) vegetarian tasting menus on offer in the city, with dishes such as intensely colored beetroot soup with crème fraiche and puff pastry, and a cauliflower dish prepared in the French “meuniere” style. Meaning “miller’s wife,” the preparation is traditionally reserved for fish, where it is dredged in flour before being cooked in brown butter with
June 2015 H 103
{arts and dining}
parsley and lemon juice. Cauliflower is the perfect host for Table’s version of the buttery meuniere sauce, which includes leeks, hazelnuts and capers. The meatiness of the vegetable complements the simple yet decadent sauce, neither is overpowered by the other. The ricotta gnudi – gnudi resembles a small dumpling – has pillowy rounds of ricotta nestled in a deep and flavorful romesco sauce. Slightly charred wedges of brussel sprout hover along the edges of the bowl, adding crunch and smoke. The menu reads like the result of a late spring evening’s walk through a magical garden. Who could resist a white asparagus soup with shaved baby vegetables? Or ricotta beignets laced with orange blossom honey? Not anyone I want to eat with. It’s difficult to make vegetables the star. One has to be extremely skilled in the kitchen to be innovative enough to make a carnivorously inclined individual even think about ordering a plate of cauliflower, and Table has succeeded in this area. Even when vegetables are on the side, they are so beautifully prepared and presented, that Cauliflower Meuniere is a guest favorite, and one of the Chef’s favorites as well. The cauliflower is pan seared and basted with brown butter and lemon, finished with capers and leeks and toasted hazelnuts.
104 H Hillrag.com
Chef Patrick Robinson marries clean, simple American cuisine and zaps it with a touch of French influence that elevates the offerings, and utilizes the freshest of what’s in season.
they steal a little thunder from whatever meat they are draped across, below or beside. Squid stuffed with swiss chard pesto on a bed of piperade (a combo of onion, green peppers and tomatoes cooked down with red Espelette pepper) and serrano ham is delightfully colorful, the bright green of the pesto
mixing in with the intensity of the reds. Crispy-skinned guinea hen is flanked by a hill of ramps, carrot and white onion – and there’s an added surprise of a soft, glazed meatball plopped in the middle. But even with both guinea hen and meatball sitting in a cherry reduction sauce, I still found my attention drifting to the mound of colorful baby veggies. A dry aged NY strip steak should have been the main event – but the slightly crispy, thick cut salted slices of sweet potato nearly upstaged the beautiful piece of meat. Table not only shows its love affair with its vegetables through its food – outside, one can’t help but notice the large vertical hanging planters, laden with various greenery. Upon entering, a similar swath of wall is covered with herbs and plants. The restaurant itself is small, with only about ten tables (a mix of two and four tops) combined with two chef’s tables that abut the long open-access kitchen in the middle of the space. Keeping on trend with the more thoughtful way we eat these days, people want to see chefs and their teams in action, to feel more connected with food and the artistry that goes into it. Even if you aren’t at a chef’s table, you can easily watch the chef at work – a positive aspect of a not-so-huge space. And the rooftop garden terrace is a must for a glass of rose and a bite on a warm summer evening. Vegetables can be tricky. A small eating space can be tricky. Delivering fresh, seasonal, streamlined yet interesting European influenced dishes in a small space showcasing as many vegetables as possible sounds like a challenge indeed. And yet this is exactly what Table has done, demonstrating this cozy neighborhood spot probably hasn’t seen the last of its accolades come in. u
Southwest • Waterfront
Fine Indian Cuisine that reflects the breadth of Indian culinary traditions; it’s diverse culture, art forms, religions & regional specialities.
1101 4th St., SW WDC 20024 202.554.1101 www.masalaartdc.com
Lunch Dinner Brunch Happy Hours
June 2015 H 105
{arts and dining / theater}
W
in Frank Labovitz’s lingerie-inspired costumes. Their performances are accompanied by a live orchestra, directed by Jon Kalbfleisch, that energizes the production with vibrant jazz. Enter Sally Bowles. As ho hasn’t been to Berlin’s Kit the club’s featured attraction, Kat Club, that renowned symBarrett Wilbert Weed conbol of post-World War I sofronts a challenge somewhat cial decadence amid economeasier than Taylor’s. She folic collapse and the rise of the lows the countless Hollywood Nazi Party? One blockbuster stars who have taken a turn at film and three revivals after erasing the memory of Liza Cabaret first stunned BroadMinelli, immortalized on way audiences nearly 50 years film in a career-defining perago, it’s hard to imagine a fresh formance. Thankfully, in contake on this classic. Yet, in Sigtrast to actresses like Brooke Wesley Taylor (Emcee) and the Kit Kat nature Theatre’s bracing new Shields and Emma Stone, Girls in Cabaret at Signature Theatre. Photo by Margot Schulman. production, director/choreWeed was not cast to act her ographer Matthew Gardinway through difficult musier proves Cabaret still has recal numbers with a mediocre serves of wit, insight and pathos to be mined. voice, based on the premise that the character she Gardiner begins by transforming Signature’s plays has meager talent herself. Weed is gifted flexible MAX black box theater into the club itwith both musical chops and the emotional depth self, seating center orchestra audience members to bring raw power to the show’s pivotal songs, like at café tables near a bar onstage — open for busithe wistful “Maybe This Time” and, in her rendiness and staffed by shirtless chorus boys in sustion, a bitterly defiant “Cabaret.” And anyone who penders serving up pineapple Old Fashioneds has Minelli stuck on the brain can enjoy the suband sparkling wine to delighted patrons. Scenic tle differences in Weed’s take on the role. designer Misha Kachman’s backdrop of reflective Sally is a lost soul seeking fame and forstreamers shimmer in the garish light as a few sultune, a character who might be reduced to a by Barbara Wells try dancers languish at the stage’s edge. calloused party girl or hard-boiled opportunist. Then Wesley Taylor bursts on the scene But in Weed’s portrayal, she has a kindness and with a resounding answer to the burnsensitivity that’s merely masked by a ing question: How can an actor reinshow of edgy worldliness. Her warmth vent the iconic Emcee, obscuring the and humanity shine through in every Barrett Wilbert Weed (Sally) and Gregory Wooddell (Cliff) in indelible marks of Joel Grey and Alan scene with Gregory Wooddell’s Cliff, Cabaret at Signature Theatre. Cumming? Taylor’s secret is to not try the American traveler searching for Photo by Margot Schulman. too hard. While he clearly owes the liadventure, the makings of a novel and on’s share of his characterization to perhaps some definition to his own sexCumming, clad in leather lederhosen, uality. painted in ghoulish makeup and prone By turns wary and exuberant, to raunchy dance moves, he makes this Wooddell exudes Cliff’s excitement mesmerizing creation his own. Simply with every breath and movement as he put, he’s kind of adorable — a valuable slowly gives in to an irresistible fascinaasset for enticing even the most prudtion with Sally. He deftly takes his charish among both Kit Kat Club and Sigacter from tentative observer to fullnature audiences to enjoy a bit of smut. blown participant in Berlin’s raucous Taylor cavorts with a full-throated social scene, until he becomes the first chorus line of saucy dancers, always a to realize the party’s over. The chemishair’s breadth from indecent exposure try between Wooddell and Weed makes
Goodbye to Berlin, Again Signature’s Cabaret Beckons Us Back
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FO R
SA LE
Rick Foucheux (Herr Schultz) and Naomi Jacobson (Fraulein Schneider) in Cabaret at Signature Theatre. Photo by Margot Schulman.
707 7th St SE Cliff’s fantasy seem almost plausible: that this sexually ambivalent dreamer could really marry this promiscuous showgirl, and they would raise a family together back “home” in Pennsylvania. This dream of happily ever after is mirrored in the romance of another ill-fated pair, the landlady Fraulein Schneider and her beau, Herr Schultz, a gentle Jewish fruit vendor. As the middle-aged couple that begins a hesitant courtship and falls blissfully in love, Naomi Jacobson and Rick Foucheux could not be more sweet and endearing. Limited vocal range actually serves them well as two utterly ordinary people, caught up in an extraordinary time, who occasionally burst into song. Their duet of “Pineapple Song,” an ode to exotic and perhaps forbidden fruit, is a funny yet moving high point of the show. The ominous undercurrents skirting these love stories finally surface when Fraulein Kost takes Cabaret to one of its darkest moments. As the shameless hooker who has borne her landlady’s insults once too often, Maria Rizzo’s Kost is all sass and wit — un-
til she unveils a shocking capacity for cruelty. In a standout performance, Rizzo’s menacing reprise of “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” is drenched in resentment, chilling and perfectly pitched. Rallying her neighbors, in minutes she not only isolates Herr Schultz but also renders him toxic in his own community. Ironically, it’s Cliff, the “innocent,” who recognizes the dangerous path Berlin has taken. Like 1930s America itself, his first impulse is to offer refuge from evil, at least for Sally, hoping she will just pack up her life and start over. His second choice is to say goodbye to Berlin, perhaps because where brutal prejudice takes hold, the consequences of intervening are so difficult to bear. Without even uttering the words “Hitler” or “genocide,” Cabaret reminds us of another terrible cost: when we try to look away. Cabaret is at Signature Theatre’s Running MAX Theatre through June 28. Barbara Wells is a writer and editor for Reingold, a social marketing communications firm. She and her husband live on Capitol Hill. u
LARGE 2 BR, 1 BA Large unfinished basement with fireplace; lots of potential In bounds for Brent $799k By Appointment Only
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5-Star Premier agent
June 2015 H 107
{arts and dining / profile}
For Actor Andy Prosky, You Can Always Come Home Again by Meghan Markey
Guildenstern Are Dead,” an absurdist, existential play based on the two characters from Hamlet. Although Andy has since moved to New York, he was raised in Capitol Hill where he spent his formative years under the auspices of talented parents. Andy’s stage and film credits are numerous and impressive. He has performed in theaters all over the country, with credits such as “King Lear,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” “Around the World in 80 Days,” and “The Price,” to name but a small handful. His film credits include much loved movies Mrs. Doubtfire, The Great Outdoors, Men in Black, and Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock. However, following graduate school, he cut his teeth as a professional at none other than the Folger Theatre, appearing in “Richard III,” “Antony and Cleopatra,” “The Merchant of Venice,” and “Macbeth.” His return to the Folger in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” marks a sort of homecoming for the actor.
in Virginia. She eventually helped create a local Hill soccer league. “She is really active in St. Peter’s, also in St. Joseph’s, and well there’s a boy scout troop at St. Peter’s - Troop 2380 that I was a member of, but before that, I wasn’t old enough to join and there was no Cub Scouts. And my mother, bless her heart, got on the phone, and basically created a Cub Scout troop, because I wanted to be one and I wasn’t old enough yet,” Andy recalls. “We’re standing on the shoulders of giants because it was not the tony neighborhood it is now. And we were - talk about free range kids we were long-range free range kids. I was walking to school at 7 years old, back and forth, but those families back then, I think it’s important to stress how much they invested in this community, and how well that turned out. And it was tough at times,” Andy says. Following the 1968 riots, friends suggested moving out of the city. But Ida asked herself, if all the sane people left, what would happen to the neighborhood? It was important to them to stay.
A Capitol Hill Family
Andy Prosky as Polonius in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Photo by Teresa Wood.
I
’m sitting across from actor Andy Prosky in a dressing room at the Folger Theatre, and I keep glancing at a navy cup-like thing that sits between us. “Oh! That’s my co-actors codpiece. Don’t tell him I left that out,” he chuckles. Andy is one of those people that evokes an instant ease; convivial and funny with a wonderful voice - it’s not difficult to see that this guy is an actor. He is currently playing Polonius at the Folger Theater in Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and
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“My mother is a saint,” Andy says with conviction. “I don’t know how I turned out to be such a putz with a mother like that. She is just a dear.” Learning about Andy’s mother Ida, you’d be hard pressed to argue with that assertion. Hailing from Virginia, Ida Hove was working at Georgetown University in the late fifties when her boss set her up on a blind date with Robert Prosky. A year later, in 1960, they married and moved into their first house at 5th and E Street SE, right across from Marion Park. They would later move to Constitution Avenue NE, and then they settled at 9th Street SE. Andy credits his parents, particularly his mother, along with a handful of other local families with setting the foundation for what residents love about Capitol Hill today. When her young children were attending Capitol Hill Day School, Ida spearheaded a program called Using the City as a Classroom, a field education program to supplement student’s classroom learning with field trips to area museums and galleries. When she noticed her children were spending a lot of time in front of the television, she began taking them to play soccer in a league
Andy Prosky with his father Robert Prosky
a taste of
Old Havana!
Banana Cafe & Piano Bar Even today at 80, she still volunteers for Capitol Hill Village. Ida Prosky really is a saint.
In the Footsteps of his Father Like many endeavors of young men, it all started as a way to meet girls. Andy claims the theater was the only way to meet young ladies at the all- boys Gonzaga College High School. “All of the girls would come from the Catholic girl’s school to audition. So that was an enticement,” he winks. However, Andy’s beginnings as an actor can be traced to even earlier in his childhood. One may recognize the name Robert Prosky, Andy’s father. His acting career comprised nearly fifty years, including 23 seasons as a company member of Arena Stage where he played well over a hundred roles. His acting credits span Broadway, television and film. He was nominated for two Tony Awards. He played cop Stan Jablonski in “Hill Street Blues” on television, and had major parts in the films “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Dead Man Walking”, to name a few. It was during Robert’s days as a company member at Arena that Andy got his first taste of theater life. “There would be a need for roles for children. They’d bring me to audition when I was about 10 or 11, and so I did three shows there, and that got me hooked. It was just a big playground. I adored it.” Andy went on to study at Gonzaga, where, as well as striving to impress girls, he cemented his career arc. Robert passed away in 2008, and going through old family photos that Andy has brought, he smiles fondly and a little sadly, his crystal blue eyes lighting up. “And this is the bleachers at Gonzaga,” Andy points, “We’re go-
ing to see my brother John at a track meet and there he is doing his dad duty, fixing my finger.” Andy worked alongside his father in many productions from childhood through adulthood, and recalls one performance of Arthur Miller’s emotionally heavy “The Price,” where he received tepid reviews. In the role of Victor Franz, he pulled back a little, and Robert noticed – and pulled his son aside: “You’re different, do you know you’re different?” He went on to inquire if Andy might be having troubles with a girlfriend. “No, it’s the reviews!” Once a dad, always a dad. Robert, Andy and his brother John all acted in Arthur Miller’s “The Price,” in 2007 at Theatre J, a role for which Robert received a Helen Hayes Award in 1994 at Arena. Today, there’s a Helen Hayes category named after him - The Robert Prosky Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play. Andy says, “He was first a father, and a comrade and a coworker and all that, but he was just...wow... we will never see another like. I think about him every day.” Theatre runs deep in this family, and so does a sense of community.
Brunch All Weekend Saturdays & Sundays
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Where Every Customer is Family! Serving the Finest Cuban, Puerto Rican and Latin Cuisine. 202-543-5906 500 8th Street, SE www.bananacafedc.com
H y p e r L o c a l | hīpər
. lōk(ə)l |
connotes information oriented around a well defined community with its primary focus directed toward the concerns of its residents. synonym:
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Homecoming As we chatted, Andy told me his brother John was flying in that day because they, along with his other brother Stefan (a Hill resident), were throwing their mother a birthday brunch the next day. With roots in the neighborhood and coming from such stellar parentage, Andy Prosky proves you really can come home again, and Capitol Hill is an exceptional place for that to be. You can see Andy Prosky as Polonius in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” playing through June 21 at the Folger Theatre. u
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{arts and dining / dining notes}
Dining Notes B by Celeste McCall
Today’s soup is asparagus, and pimento cheese is always a popular snack at Bayou Bakery Photo: Celeste McCall
ayou Bakery has finally opened. Ensconced in the former carriage house of Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, the long-awaited bakery/café is a joint effort of New Orleans-born chef David Guas and Hill Center. Much of the interior of the 150-year-old carriage house—which housed horse-drawn ambulances--is created from reclaimed materials from the post-Civil War hospital. A bridle, saddle and a pitchfork grace exposed brick walls recalling the equine history. Bayou Bakery seats 50, plus about 35 on the patio. A friend showed David Guas the site more than two years ago and it was love at first sight. The wrought-iron fence—and much of Capitol Hill—reminds him of New Orleans. In fact, Bayou Bakery makes me homesick for the Big Easy, where I lived for three years in the 1960s. For now, a limited menu is served from 7 a.m. till 3, but it will soon expand to a day-long array of New Orleans-inspired fare. (Guas also operates Bayou Bakery in Arlington.) We’ve sampled his beignets—puffy, powdered sugar-dusted donuts we’ve gobbled in New Orleans’ Cafe du Monde. David’s version—an order of three served piping hot—are equally decadent. Customers order and pay at the counter, find a seat and await their food. An alfresco lunch featured a “muff-a-lotta”—Guas’ take on New Orleans’ famous muffaletta, a toasted sesame roll filled with salami, mortadella, ham provolone and olive salad. A cup of rich, dark gumbo is laced with chicken, andouille and rice, topped with green onions. The repast went well with an Abita, Louisiana’s signature beer. Other mid-day options include seasonal soup (today’s was asparagus), grilled pimento cheese, and smoked “douille dog” with Creole mustard and Vidalia onion marmalade. Everything is prepared inhouse except the bread, David said. Finale? Decadently divine pralines. Bayou Bakery is at 901 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, near the Eastern Market Metro. Call 202-664-5307.
Royal Arrival
At Bayou Bakery at Hill Center, the coffee counter is always busy, and patrons have donated coffee cups. photo: Celeste McCall
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Peter McCall relaxes in the former carriage house stable – now Bayou Bakery. Photo: Celeste McCall
Coming to LeDroit Park is The Royal, a coffee/lunch shop by day, a bar and casual eatery by night, located at 501 Florida Ave. NW. The all-day menu, crafted by owner Paul Carlson and Chef Lonnie Zoeller, is inspired by family ties to Colombia. Meats, seafood and vegetables will sizzle on the custom-made wood-burning grill. Mixing cocktails will be bev-
host your next dinner party in
Perfect for Bridal Parties and Showers erage director Horus Alvarez, whose extensive vermouth listing includes a house made selection on draft. Eight to 10 wines will flow by the glass, plus draft and bottled beers. The Royal, named after the buildings previous tenant, the Royal Liquor Store, is Carlson’s second venture; in 2007 he opened Vinoteca six blocks away. The split-level space will open to a bar area with high ceilings and a communal dining table. An open staircase leads to a second-floor, a loft-style dining room with rustic exposed brick walls and an original fireplace. Visit www.theroyaldc.com.
China Rave Our neighbors Kris and Roy have raved about Jose Andres’ latest venture, China Chilcano, which opened in January in Penn Quarter. They’re right; the place is amazing. Head chef James Gee’s spectacular cooking is matched by the stunning interior. As the restaurant’s moniker suggests, the hybrid cuisine celebrates 18thcentury Chinese settlers in Peru. For lunch, we began with piqueos (snacks), a bucket of plantain and taro chips dipped into sweet potato salsa enlivened with rocoto, a fiery pepper. Then we shared “ceviche classico,” marinated covina (a firm white fish) spritzed with cilantro and red onion. But the showstopper was dim sum—gossamer light dumplings filled with shrimp, pork, jicama and egg--arranged in traditional bamboo steamers. One selection was actually sprinkled with gold leaf. We were tempted by the listing of piscos, the potent Andean potable, but settled on a Peruvian beer and a
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{arts and dining / dining notes}
enough on my plate (actually a styro-foam container) to see us through another meal, which I shared with Celeste. She agreed the pork is delicious, but the slaw too gloppy, the potato salad better when heated and the cornbread a miss. Would I return? Well, there is better BBQ pork on the Hill—e.g., Mr. Henry’s and Market Lunch.
Nick Stefanelli will open Masseria at Union Market. Photo: Joshua Cogan
New Chef At China Chilcano, Gold leaf sprinkled on dim sum is good enough to eat! Photo: Celeste McCall
On Barracks Row, Molly Malone’s, 713 Eighth St. SE and Lola’s, next door at 711, recently welcomed a new chef, Thuya Soe. Born in Burma, Soe was previously sous chef at Circa (Foggy Bottom). At the Taste of Barracks Row last month, we sampled his shepherd’s pie and it’s delicious!
Quiche to Go
glass of lovely Spanish albarino. China Chilcano is a special occasion destination (lunch for two was about $70), but we shall return. Open daily, China Chilcano is at 418 Seventh St. NW; call 202783-0941 or www.chinachicano.com.
Kenny’s Good ‘Que From Peter: Remember Hogs on the Hill? That neighborhood eatery at 732 Maryland Ave., NE, morphed into Kenny’s Smokehouse years ago. I hadn’t returned for ages. On a recent visit, I tried the chopped BBQ pork platter with coleslaw, potato salad and cornbread. The heaping portion of chopped/pulled pork features a good smoky flavor reminiscent of the savory hickory-smoked BBQ pork from my Tennessee boyhood. I know good (or bad) barbeque when I eat it. Kenny’s is good but not great. There was
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Speaking of pies, we’ve found something tasty at Radici (7th and C Sts, SE). Little quiches made by Whisked!, a local bakery. The pies come in appealing varieties like Southwestern (spinach, pepper jack cheese), feta/ kale, and traditional Lorraine. Priced at $10, the quiche—if accompanied by a salad or side dish-serves two. Simply take it home and heat. Radici is open daily. By the way, Whisked! Was voted “Best Bakery” by the readers of the Washington Post Express.
Navy Yard Oyster Company Navy Yard Oyster Company, another project of restaurateurs August Paro and Elias Hengst (Beuchert’s Saloon and Sonoma Restaurant & Wine Bar), and Forest City Washington. Set to open this summer, the1887-square-foot restaurant will occupy the south side of the Lumber Shed at The Yards, featuring stunning views of the south-
east waterfront and Yards Park. Highlighting the menu will be oysters from the Chesapeake Bay and the Rappahannock, and other waters. Complementing these bivalves (and other seagoing creatures) will be wines-by-the-glass, plus locally-produced spirits and beers.
Coming Soon… Headed for the Union Market neighborhood is Masseria. Set to open at 1340 Fourth St. NE, Masseria is the maiden voyage for Italian-born chef Nick Stefanelli. Sporting the rustic ambience of an estate in Puglia, Masseria will seat 60 guests. Assisting Stefanelli in his enterprise are GM/Sommelier David Kurka (formerly of Brabo and the late CityZen) and head bartender Julien-Pierre Bourgon of the cocktail lounge PX.
Market Watch At Eastern Market, we’ve discovered a nifty TexCal-Mex vendor, El Taco Loco. You’ll find the stand weekends at Eastern Market’s outdoor section. A nation-wide chain, El Taco Loco was founded by John Adler and Roger Butler in New Hope, Pennsylvania on May 5, 1989 (coincidentally Cinco de Mayo.) Loco dispenses tacos, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas and the like. Call 215862-0908 or www.el-tacoloco.com.
And… Congrats to Lavagna, 539 Eighth St. SE (Barracks Row), recently voted “Best Italian Restaurant” by City Paper’s Readers Poll. u
Rated One of the Best Wine Shops by Washingtonian Magazine July “Best & Worst” Issue Listed in the Wall Street journal as one of the most enjoyable places to shop for wines nationwide. “Best Website Award”, 2008 by the Wine Spectator’s Market Watch
Voted “Best Liquor Store” and “Best Wine Selection” an unprecedented FIVE years in a row by the City Paper
Stanton Development Corporation Property Accountant / Office Manager Small real estate management/development firm seeks highly organized individual proficient with Sage Timberline Accounting Software, bookkeeping, general office management and a keen ability to multi-task.
Project Accounting • Prepares and is responsible for full cycle accounting needs through and including monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements • Books day to day entries and monthly recurring entries including depreciation, amortization and pre-paid entries • Prepares and maintains balance sheet reconciliations • Prepares monthly bank reconciliations • Prepares and analyses cash management reports • Processes loan payments and works with lenders to meet reporting requirements • Assists with the preparation of annual budgets and reforecasts • Prepares annual operating expense reconciliations • Prepares schedules for owners and external auditors • Oversees processing of property 1099’s • Co-ordinates payment of semi-annual real property and bid taxes • Co-ordinates financial audits with clients and third party outside auditors • Co-ordinates tax preparation with clients and third party outside tax preparers
Our Mixed Case of the Month features hand selected wines from across the world that change according to the seasons and are priced up to 50% off the regular retail price. Purchase as many assorted cases as you like and get additional wines as the listed sale prices. This month’s case features six reds, four whites and two Rose’s at 47% OFF!
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Other Responsibilities • Filing / General office upkeep (supplies/printer). • Special projects and other duties as assigned • Answering the phone • PC/MAC maintenance. • Schedule Meetings & Conference calls.
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NEW Saturday and Sunday Brunch 10:30 - 4pm $15 Bottomless Momosas $20 Buckets of Bud / Bud Light
20 M Street, SE
across from Nationals Stadium June 2015 H 113
{arts and dining / wine girl}
Booze Bio
Catoctin Creek Distillery by Lilia Coffin
S
cott Harris from Catoctin Creek Distillery in Purcellville, VA graciously answered some questions about their beautiful young distillery and the love story behind it. Scott and Becky started Catoctin Creek back in 2009. Both were engineers for twenty years, Scott in government IT and Becky in chemical engineering and manufacturing. Both gave up those careers to jump at the chance to own and run their own distillery. Following their passion in their hometown was a no-brainer. Why a distillery? After twenty years of government work, Scott had developed a great love of drinking. He had worked at wineries in the past, but wanted to do something different. And that’s when the idea of a distillery hit him. Becky was the one who encouraged him to write a business plan to make sure it was viable. Why Loudoun? Because it’s their home. They now live less than a mile from our distillery, and life is “awesome!” Rye for Virginia, Gin for… gin. “We really like the history of rye in Virginia, and until 2009 when we started, it was largely forgotten,” said Scott. “ We researched old recipes and found ways to make it that were informed by the past. What we hope to bring back is a type of whiskey that was common in Virginia in the 1910 timeframe.” Gin came after the rye. They were making the rye, and had excess alcohol that wasn’t suitable for whiskey (cuts from heads and tails), so they decided to redistill it and make gin from it. Gin is now their #2 selling product. What Scott enjoys is meeting people and seeing how they enjoy our products. You will see him often downtown or at various restaurants, and he likes talking to customers and seeing them incorporating the spirits into their lives and celebrations. Scott and Becky Harris of Catoctin Creek
For Becky, it’s the chance to do cool new things on the equipment: like distilling apples for apple brandy, which they have coming out this August. This was a collaboration between Catoctin Creek and Blue Bee Cidery in Richmond. “The brandy is amazing,” says Scott. “It should be a great addition to our existing lineup of fruit brandies.”
Some of Their Favorite Cocktails Tim Gunn Cocktail The cocktail’s namesake “is the perfect example of poise, character, and sophistication wrapped with warmth and humility. He’s handsome and oh, so classy without being a snob.” 1-2 oz Roundstone Rye whisky ½ oz Maple Syrup ½ oz Chai Pear shrub (make your own, or use Element Shrub from DC) Splash of soda Lemon peel garnish Dash of cherry bitters Mix the rye, maple and shrub in a cocktail shaker of ice. Strain into a rocks glass with a nice big ice cube. Splash in a little soda water, garnish with lemon, and add a dash or two of cherry bitters on top.
The Martinez A classic cocktail that predates the martini. This one is really good with our Old Tom style Watershed Gin, if you can find it! 2 oz Watershed Gin ¾ oz Sweet Vermouth ¼ oz Luxardo maraschino liqueuer 2-3 dashes aromatic bitters Cherry garnish Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Stir and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a cherry. You can visit Lilia Coffin for all your wine, liquor and beer needs at Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, 300 Massachusetts Ave NE, where she is a wine and liquor consultant and events manager, or email her at lilia@cellar.com. u
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{arts and dining / craft}
Sock Super Heroes at Hill Center by Elizabeth Nelson
S
tep aside, X-men, Batman and Wonder Woman. Take a break, Spiderman, Iron Man and Supergirl. A new generation of Super Heroes is taking center stage at Hill Center this month. The Heroes are the invention of fourth grade students at Maury ES where art teacher, Lauren Bomba, set out to stretch their understanding of textiles, fibers, craft media and contemporary art. The study culminated with the creation of their own personal super heroes made from socks and found materials. These “avatars” incorporate the students’ ideas about their own best qualities – what makes each of them “super.” The students began by exploring the various properties of fibers, where they come from and how they are prepared for use. The goal was for students to understand the artistic process from start to finish and to gain an appreciation for the effort, dedication and time it takes to create a textile from scratch. Handcrafted objects reflect, in a deeply personal way, the spirit and intention of their creators adding value beyond functionality. After examining spinning, felting and dyeing, the fiber arts unit concluded with the study of knitter, print-maker, and performance artist, Mark Newport. Newport is best known for his life-size, hand-knit costumes representing both tradition-
Maury students learning to sew
al super heroes and those of his own creation. His work challenges the idea that all super heroes must be strong, fast and covered in impenetrable metal in order to be heroes. He draws his own super hero strength from participating in a craft tradition passed down through generations of women in his family. Knitting his costumes makes Newport feel safe, brave, kind and ready to protect his family. Maury students invented their super heroes by considering their own strengths--for example, their love of animals, their compassion, their intelligence, their athletic ability . They then turned these strengths into super powers –protecting endangered species, cheering up a friend, confusing bad guys with tricky math problems or lassoing Super Hero “Fin” has a red-belt in Karate, loves them with a well-aimed hula hoop. They creatmonsters and the military ed symbols to express their powers and fabricated sock dolls reflecting these qualities. the ground floor gallery at Hill Center, 921 PennThe kids are taking the project very seriously; sylvania Ave, SE, throughout June. Ms. Bomba inas Talan Manago puts it ”I get to add my own traits vites you to come visit and “take a moment to look this time--not copy Superman’s. I get to make stuff closely at the detail, care and heart put into each of my own, like designer stuff!... I even have my Maury super hero.” She is convinced that encourown logo already. “ For Niah Gamble, the reward aging her students in a deep understanding of their is in acquiring a new skill, “I’m just now learning own power to effect change will make our world a to sew for the very first time!” better place for all. u The completed Super Heroes are on display in
Super Heroes begin life as simple sock dolls
June 2015 H 115
{arts and dining / at the movies}
From left Sam Elliot and Blythe Danner star in I’ll See You in my Dreams. Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street Films.
Paul Dano (center) sings his heart out as Brian Wilson in “Love and Mercy”. Photo Credit: Francois Duhamel
At The Movies
Two New LA Films: A Candid Look at a Beach Boy and a Walk on the Widow’s Side by Mike Canning I’ll See You in My Dreams “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” offers something tempting for “mature” moviegoers: a chance to see the acting paragon Blythe Danner in a leading role. For years, she has played character parts in movies fine and foolish (see “The Great Santini” and “The Prince of Tides” for the fine and “Meet the Parents/ Fockers” for the foolish). (The film, now at area theaters, is rated PG-13 and runs 95 mins.) Here Danner plays Carol Peterson, a widow of 20 years in a comfortable if aimless retirement in a handsome home in Los Angeles. She left an early career as a jazz singer to become a teacher and follow her lawyer husband. Her routine is established but hardly scintillating, her one daughter (Malin Akerman) is far away, and she does nothing special with her days. Her social life seems confined to her regular bridge game where she plays with a testy Greek chorus composed of raunchy Sally (Rhea Perlman), naïve Georgina (June Sqibb), and pushy Rona
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(Mary Kay Place). Their basic message to Carol is to get back into the dating game. After some clumsy follies, like embarrassing speed dating, she falls into a friendship with a denizen of the home, Bill (Sam Elliot), a drawling stud of a guy who represents a new life very different from her old one. She also strikes up an intriguing, partially nurturing relationship with her new pool guy Lloyd (Martin Starr) who is attracted to her seriousness and class. Danner is the reason to see “I’ll See you in My Dreams.” She looks fetching and off-hand sultry in her now-senior years (she is 72) and shows sensitivity and intelligence, with her distinctive husky voice and her water-blue eyes. She may also be channeling her own life a bit, since she was left a widow a dozen years ago after the death of her TV producer husband, Bruce Paltrow. Her moments with Elliott are among the best things in the film, as she tentatively begins to open up to a new affection. She also hits a karaoke version of “Cry Me a River” out of the park, a touching performance which astounds
the naive Lloyd, an aspiring guitarist. Overall, however, “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” directed by Brett Haley, is on the thin side with predictable comic plot points (seniors smoking pot), and some too-easy stereotypes, like Perlman’s sex-happy Sally and the inveterate matchmaker played by Place. The writing, by Haley and Marc Basch, should have been better for an actor of Danner’s caliber. One wants a serious picture about people of a certain age to be better since so few of its ilk are being made these days. This effort is not rich or subtle enough to be memorable but does offer a chance to watch the perfectly named Blythe (aside: she has played in “Blithe Spirit” on stage) glow for a while.
Love and Mercy You might presume that a movie about the Beach Boys’ creative intellect Brian Wilson would carry a title from one of their classic surfin’ numbers. Yet no, it’s not to be, and in Bill Pohland’s brilliant
and ingenious new movie, that makes perfect sense. For this is not a straightforward pop music biopic—like the recent “Jersey Boys” or “Get on Up”—but a nuanced examination of a struggling artist brought back from the brink of madness and suicide, a man who definitely needed “Love and Mercy” to survive (the film, to be released on June 5, is rated PG-13 and runs 120 mins.) Hardcore fans of the Beach Boys oeuvre of the early 1960’s might be disappointed if they expect a parade of the group’s hits. In fact, the early Beach Boy catalog is dispensed with quickly in a lively credit sequence that shows them at the apex of their bouncing, candy-striped fame. Because this isn’t really a story of the group but of Wilson himself, the key creator of their sound. And that story is told in two roughly equal, interlaced parts, one showing the young Wilson (Paul Dano) on the brink of a stunning breakthrough concept album “Pet Sounds” (1966) which redirected popular music and also on the brink of a ghastly breakdown which affected him for decades. The second part, taking place in the late 1980’s, features the mature, troubled Wilson (played by John Cusack) and his fight to escape a paranoid, overmedicated state and find a new life with his girlfriend Melinda
Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks). The two parts are carefully calibrated to each create their own tension. With Dano we witness his ethereal connection to the music in his head and his drive to recreate it on the page. We also see his alienation from his band, which, especially represented by lead singer Mike Love (Jake Abel), wants to just churn out the hits. However, his musical different drummer begins to compete with more ominous signals in his brain that isolate him from everyone he knows. Dano is winning, touching, and wholly convincing as this self-taught soul squeezing tricky harmonies from a fevered brain. With the more mature Wilson, we have a John Cusack in one of his best roles in years. Even from his early years, Cusack has specialized in mostly bright, earnest young men with a cocky aspect. Here his Wilson is a caged being, enslaved by the voices in his head and his controlling psychologist, Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti, in a chilling turn). Wilson’s reaching out to the winsome Melinda is stumbling and off-key, a tic she finds puzzling at first yet ultimately endearing. This second part of Wilson’s life becomes a race to save Wilson; with the committed Melinda using any tactics she can to rid Brian of Landy and his lurking entourage. A word about Elizabeth Banks as Melinda. This is an actress with both beauty and range who doesn’t get enough parts to test her talents. In “Love and Mercy” she finds an appropriate role, one that allows her to underplay Melinda beautifully as a sensitive and magnanimous soul, so genuine you come to really believe she would commit to salvaging a wreck like Wilson. To note: people who knows Brian Wilson’s work will be aware that the film’s title “Love and Mercy” comes from a tune Wilson first recorded on a solo album from 1988, a song which he said “is probably the most spiritual song I’ve ever written.” Amen. Hill resident Mike Canning has written on movies for the Hill Rag since 1993 and is a member of the Washington Area Film Critics Association. He is the author of “Hollywood on the Potomac: How the Movies View Washington, DC.” His reviews and writings on film can be found online at www. mikesflix.com. u
LIVE MUSIC @
H E N RY ’ S U P S TA I R S
Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Capital Hill Jazz Jam Bluegrass Jazz Ladies of Jazz
1025 FIRST ST SE 202.652.1009 IN THE VELOCITY CONDO BUILDING
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VISIT US FOR OUR PROGRESSIVE HAPPY HOUR FROM 4-8PM. SATURDAY: 50¢ WINGS FOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL - EAT IN ONLY
June 2015 H 117
{arts and dining / art and the city}
I
by Jim Magner
t could be a map to shadowy remembrances not intended to be relived. Or it could be the exercise yard of the insentient mind, where notions are sentenced to spend their days in the forced company of other haphazard thought patterns. Lawrence Cromwell “likes to draw, ” but it comes from inside, not out there. He lets fragments of ideas happen on the point of his pen or brush, and “whatever happens, happens.” But the confining space forces them together—bumping, pushing, clinging, trying to hold on to their identities— or happily getting tangled up, anonymously, in the exercise yard. In all of Lawrence Cromwell’s works, the images often scurry before your eyes, do loopde-loops, or float while others sink. But finally, the jumble of ideas and the tumble of color, line and form become a balanced composition and an elevated work of art. “Hi Ho Hi Ho,” on a large wooden panel, is divided into two seemingly dissimilar sections. The orange half is mostly pictures of discarded thoughts. You might find houses, teepees or covered wagons in isolated pockets. The blue half is like an undersea garden of suggestions. Somehow, a mysterious visual force brings them together and makes Hi Ho whole. “Bound for Bound To” pulls you into a floating escapade, a trip to nowhere, or maybe somewhere you have often been, but can’t quite recall. “Tin Man”” may be the ultimate act of release—lifting off, leaving solid ground for a space in your own imagination…or maybe a brightly lit aquarium of possibilities forever drifting in unknowing and unperturbed satisfaction. Lawrence was raised on Capitol Hill, within playing distance of the great museums. He studied art at the University of Tennessee, and has an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. You can find his work at the Hill Center this month. (See, At the Galleries.) www.mateer-cromwell-art.com
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Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art Lawrence Cromwell describes his work as “a dark and sardonic rollercoaster ride that twists, pulses and stretches out in an intuitive and self-defining relationship of form.” Yes, but they are not always dark and sardonic, at least for me. Some float with the joy of fantasy and the fresh air of ideas. I find that my own frame of mind can inject the art I see with anger, depression, or, often with great happiness and the wonder of creation. It could be the same painting on different days. In a grumpy mood, I see paintings as dark and decaying. It doesn’t have to be Hieronymus Bosch or Alexis Rockman. I might see a Thomas Kinkade as secretly emitting subversive signals to a universal cabal of conspirators, poised to destroy the earth as we know it. (Actually, that may be true.) I have heard folks describe my painting of Ted Kennedy as placing him in a fiery hell. No, it just happens to red and a bit wild. I did the painting one night with a Janis Jo-
artandthecity
Artist Portrait: Lawrence Cromwell
Tin Man, 2006, Lawrence Cromwell, 45” X 64”
tures, belief systems and political issues provide an examination of life, death and the continued power of art to express the unspoken and intangible.” It is the first exhibition to occupy all four levels of the museum—22,000 square feet—and features painting, video projection, installation, sculpture, textiles, printmaking, film, photography and collage. This is a very important show.
At the Galleries
Hi Ho Hi Ho, 2004, Lawrence Cromwell, 44” X 48”
plin CD at full volume. (You contemporaries know what I mean.) It became a commentary on the 60s, which, in different ways, were dominated by both of them. The point is, it comes down to what you see at a particular time and place, without the benefit of explanation. And that’s good. And that’s why you should see the Lawrence Cromwell show. It’s about you. It mirrors your reflexive moments—the times when you look more in than out…it’s that drifting in a dream phenomena. The jumble of barely recognizable symbols can unexpectedly coalesce into substantive meanings, or, revert to neurological fantasies—a brain release— simply the exhaust fumes of a lifetime of seeing.
At the Museums The Divine Comedy Smithsonian National Museum of African Art 950 Independence Ave. S.W. To Aug 2 The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists is a monumental exhibit exploring the themes of Dante’s epic poem with major works of art from more than 40 contemporary artists from 18 African countries. Dante’s literary work has inspired western visual artists for centuries. Here, “diverse contemporary cul-
“Sheep and Lamb II” Steven Scott Gallery 808 South Ann St. Baltimore To June 27 Painter Sheep Jones and photographer Amy Lamb join together again for a wonderfully balanced show. Sheep’s complex and always imaginative paintings mingle ideas and images that normally do not congregate, in often-mysterious ways. Amy is a biologist who goes beyond taking exquisite photographs of magnificent flowers. She combines science, personal identity and passion to produce images that reach another dimension, exalting both the architecture of the natural world and our indefinable exhilaration with natural beauty. www.amylamb.com. www.sheepjones.com. “Wonderful Washington, D.C.” American Painting Fine Art 5118 MacArthur Blvd., NW June 13 to Sept. 26 Opening recep. Sat, June 13th, 5-7 The Washington Society of Landscape Painters celebrates the many visual glories of DC: the monuments, the area landscapes and wonderful little places unknown to tourists. Over 20 members of the society will be there for the opening to let you know the best places to paint of photograph. www.classicamericanpainting.com.
“The Spring Exhibit Hill Center Galleries Old Naval Hospital 921 Penn. Ave. S.E. To June 21 You will see about everything in this eight-person show. Jim Dougherty’s dynamic landscape photographs capture the visually unexpected in a grand way. The large oil and wax paintings on board by Lawrence Cromwell, (see Artist Profile) draw you into a fantasy—the collective observations and notions that lie in waiting to be discovered. www.hillcenterdc.org. “Back to the Garden” Capitol Hill Arts Workshop 545 7th St. S.E. June 1 - 17 Opening Recep. June 4, 6:30 - 8:30 Rindy O’Brien opens a solo show of her exquisite photographs of gardens and landscapes on the Hill and the surrounding area. You will also find handmade frames with pressed flowers from the Himalayan Cottage Industry. www.chaw.org, “Lucent Moments” Zenith Gallery Presents 1429 Iris St., N.W. To July 3 Emily Piccirillo paints photo-realistic “skyscapes” on canvas panels tied within steel grids that stand off the wall. This gives the illusion of a 3-D effect. The paintings appear to float in space like the clouds drifting across them. www. zenithgallery.com u
Bound for Bound to, 2008 3 feet X 3 feet
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the
LITERARY HILL
A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events
by Karen Lyon Food for Thought Susie Perkins seemed to have it made. As marketing director for the London branch of DeKripps Foods Inc., she won kudos for her Crunchaloosa cereals slogan—“DeKripps, caring for you and your family”—and for her candy bar campaign aimed at children. On the home front, she’s got a sexy French husband, Serge, and a 20-year-old daughter, Mimi, a rebel with a cause who is finally showing the occasional glimmer of humanity. Then Serge (who could never remember to drive on the left) is killed in a head-on car collision. Traumatized and in need of a change of scene, Susie requests a transfer to DC. In “Food Fight,” author Anne Penketh shows us Washington through Susie’s eyes, bringing a uniquely British perspective to such local foibles as the packs of tourists charging around on Segways and the Presidents’ race at Nationals Park. More seriously, she takes aim at the entrenched business of corporate influence peddling and political corruption.
ABOVE: Anne Penketh RIGHT: A new novel about Big Food and politics is sweetly addictive but packed with substance.
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With the food industry in her sights, the author is off and running, delivering an astute and witty exposé of a culture where a “bold” decision to minimally cut sugar content in flavored milk is ballyhooed in the halls of Congress and executives defend their sugar-laden products with a cavalier “Who are we to argue with our customers? If they didn’t like it, they wouldn’t buy it.” Penketh is equally unsparing of “the lobbyists, the Congressmen in their pockets and the tight relationship between Big Food and the federal regulators.” When Susie gets caught in the middle of a scandal that threatens to blow the lid off their sweet deals, her career—if not her very life—is on the line. “You know,” speculates her boss, following a particularly damaging revelation, “this could be our 9/11. Of course we’ve done nothing wrong… But it could be our turn for a walloping. Look at Big Tobacco. Every industry has its turn and it may be ours next.” Given what Penketh has set
LEFT: In the latest from Green Kids Press, L.T. puts his creative recycling skills to use raising chickens. BELOW: Tom Noll
forth here—which, despite the fiction, has the appalling ring of truth—we can only hope. Anne Penketh is a British journalist who says that living on Capitol Hill for three years gave her the “insight into the world of politicking and lobbying” that allowed her to write “Food Fight.” Visit her at http://annepenketh.com.
Chickens to Riches L.T. is about the most resourceful kid you’d ever want to meet. In “The Bicycle Fence,” he not only made himself a recycled bicycle, but he also constructed a fence out of the parts he didn’t use. “One man’s trash is my treasure!” is his motto. Now, in “Selling Eggs,” written by Tom Noll and illustrated by Brandon Fall and Kimiyo Nishio, L.T. turns his attention to poultry. After taking care of the chickens on his grandparents’ farm while they were on vacation, he decides he wants to raise some birds of his own. He figures a dozen chickens could yield a lot of eggs—which could translate to some serious pocket money. His parents agree to his scheme, and soon a box of chicks arrives. L.T.’s resourcefulness is tested as his baby chicks outgrow
their successive homes but, thanks to his penchant for recycling, he’s up to the task. He even ends up devising a surprisingly effective technique for marketing his eggs. Bookended with loads of useful information about recycling, “Selling Eggs” is Tom Noll’s second book in his “Trash to Treasure” series for Green Kids Press, an environmental publisher here in DC. For more, visit www. GreenKidsPress.com. Or to join L.T.’s Recycle Club, go to www. LTsRecyclingWorld.com. Both books are for kids ages 5 to 10.
On the Hill The Hill Center presents a discussion with Garrett Peck, author of “Walt Whitman in Washington, DC: The Civil War and America’s Greatest Poet,” moderated by Bill Press, June 9, 7:00 p.m.; and hosts the Capitol Hill Reads Book Club (www.meetup.com/CapitolHill-Reads/) led by librarian David
Quick, discussing “Redeployment” by Phil Klay, June 18, 6:30 p.m. Free but register at www.hillcenterdc.org or 202-549-4172. The Folger Shakespeare Library presents “Folger Friday: Poets Respond,” with Sandra Beasley and members of Madeira’s Slam Poetry Team responding to “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” June 5, 6:30 p.m. www.folger.edu, 202-544-7077 The Smithsonian Associates offers “How to Plan a Murder in Washington, D.C.: It’s a Literary Crime!” with crime writer Allison Leotta, June 4, 6:45 p.m. www.smithsonianassociates.org. The Library of Congress hosts a poetry reading with Pacific Islander poets Brandy Nalani McDougall, Craig Santos Perez and Lyz Soto, June 3, 6:30 p.m.; a lecture by Gabriel Weimann, author of “Terrorism in Cyberspace: The Next Generation,” June 10, noon; and a book talk with Laura Auricchio, author of “The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered,” June 17, noon. www.loc.gov Congressional Cemetery hosts a lecture by Garrett Peck, author of “Walt Whitman in Washington, D.C.,” that reveals the final resting places of a number of Whitman’s friends, including his partner, Peter Doyle, June 2, 7 p.m. www.congressionalcemetery.org
Summer Reading The DC Public Library’s 2015 summer reading program, “Every Hero Has a Story,” encourages reading for all ages. From fostering a love of reading in little ones from birth to age 5, to cheering on older kids and teens with prizes and badges, and supporting adults who want to learn new skills, the program promotes literacy at every level. Participants can take part in a variety of activities at neighborhood libraries, and may also have a chance to win a special lunch with famous children’s authors and tickets to a Washington Nationals baseball game “Every Hero Has a Story, which runs from May 30 to August 31, is sponsored by the Washington Nationals. For more, visit http://dclibrary.org/summerreading.
“Reach” for the Stars Reach Incorporated, the local organization that trains teens to help younger students with their reading skills, has been awarded the National Book Foundation’s 2015 Innovations in Reading Prize. The group was singled out for having “developed innovative means of creating and sustaining a lifelong love of reading.” The teens in the program not only provide tutoring, but also write books that engage their young charges with stories and language relevant to their lives. For more, visit www.reachincorporated.org.
The Lyon’s Share Dear Readers, do you have an appetite for food writing? Well, here’s your chance to dig in. On June 13, the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) presents a food-writing workshop, where you will first find inspiration among the seasonal offerings at Eastern Market—with prompts and guidance from a seasoned teacher—and then return to CHAW to write about your experience. The workshop is part of the day-long CHAW Performance Festival, Writing Day & Adult Student Show Opening, where you can also enjoy youth arts program performances, an art show, and a concert by KIPP students in the string residency program. CHAW promises that “everyone will find some way to connect creatively at the Festival.” The festival is free, but there is a fee for the workshop. For more, visit www.chaw.org or call 202-547-6839. u
The Poetic Hill
D
by Karen Lyon
eborah A. Dessaso co-manages the Academic Support Center at the University of the District of Columbia, where she is also the contributing editor of “The Phoenix,” the University’s literary journal and occasionally teaches English courses. An avid reader and freelance writer, her essays and poems have appeared in several literary publications and newspapers, including a number of op-ed columns in the Washington Post. The poem below was previously published in “Writer’s Exchange” in spring of 1989. lines from unfinished poems they look so pretty all by themselves. . . yet incomplete together they blend. . . like oil and water
If you would like to have your poem considered for publication, please send it to klyon@literaryhillbookfest.org. (There is no remuneration.) u
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{health & fitness}
Water Wizards Make a Splash
Seniors find friendship and exercise at Rumsey Pool by Paul Rivas
Fact:
One in ten people who fracture a hip dies within a month.
Fact:
Swimming is the only type of exercise shown to lower the risk of a fall for older adults.
Facts:
The DC Water Wizards are a swim team for seniors aged 50 and up, they practice Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9-11am at the Rumsey pool next door to Eastern Market, and they’re an amazingly warm and welcoming bunch of folks, some of whom didn’t even know how to swim when they joined, and many of whom have recovered from serious surgeries with the help of swimming. Their chair, Dinah Griggsby, is all of the above. “I had two bouts of breast cancer, but here I am,” Griggsby beamed. “Swimming’s really been the best thing for me. All I wanted to do was come back to the pool, just to swim with my group. Swimming seems to be an equalizer. If you can get in the water, you can do it!” Kathleen Grant, the co-chair of the Water Wizards, agreed. “Almost no matter what’s wrong with you, the first thing a doctor will let you do is get in the water,” she said. “I have a torn meniscus and a pinched nerve issue in my back, but I got off a really powerful medication because my back muscles got so much stronger.” Grant accidentally joined the team four years ago after an injury prevented her from jogging anymore. She had started going to the Rumsey pool for lessons on how to properly swim freestyle, until one day that part of the pool was too full and she was bumped over to the lanes where the Water Wizards practice. “There was this guy who just kind of leaned over and said, ‘You know, you’re crossing your arms. That means you’re working harder than you need to be,’” Grant recalled. “Next time I went back and tried to get into the other part of the pool, they told me, ‘No, no, you’re on the swim team now.’” The guy was Water Wizards coach Rodger McCoy, and the Rumsey branch of the DC-wide Water Wizards
Practices offer something for everybody, including warm-up, drills, and interval training
June 2015 H 123
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team includes 15-20 regular participants, eight a low-impact sport. “My body has so completeto ten of whom might come to practice on any ly changed. I stand up straighter, and no matter given day. where you poke me now, I feel like you can tell “The primary purpose of this program is that there’s been some muscular development fun, camaraderie, and building a team. Not just from swimming. And it’s so motivating!” within Rumsey or Takoma or Turkey Thicket, Rumsey regular Sonja Williams has always but all over the city and, hopefully, all over the loved swimming but had never been involved nation,” McCoy said. with a team before. The Water Wizards team, as McCoy de“It wasn’t until I was on sabbatical [from fines it, includes not only those swimmers Howard University] and I knew that I had time based at the Rumsey or Takoma Park pools that I got into it and I was like, ‘Wow, I should who choose to compete in occasional events, have done this sooner,’” Williams said. “One, like the recent DC Senior Games, but also the it’s great fun. And two, there’s a lot of camarafolks who take part in water aerobics classes and derie. Not just with our coach, but we all help senior swimming lessons around the District. each other and talk about each other’s strokes, There’s a lot about the experience of swimming with the Rumsey group that is unexpected for newcomers. “Swimming allows tremendous range of motion and strength development,” McCoy explained. “A lot of people don’t think about it, but swimming really involves moving weight – the weight of the water – because you have to pull yourself through the water. Your legs, your arms, your entire body’s working with the water.” Kathleen Grant has been Water Wizards co-chair Kathleen Grant (left) and chair Dinah astonished by the strength gains Griggsby invite anyone aged 50 or over to come be part of the she’s made participating in such magic
ELIMINATE PAIN RESTORE FUNCTION with EDUCATION • TREATMENT • EXERCISE and it’s just fantastic.” Several Water Wizards members who learned to swim as adults with McCoy’s coaching and the team’s support competed in the DC Senior Games last month, and some will even go on to compete in the National Senior Games in July. “When I started, I couldn’t even go 25 yards,” recalled team chair Dinah Griggsby. “They taught me how to swim, and now they’re teaching me how to compete. I went to Cleveland for nationals in 2013 and I came in tenth in the 500! So this is just a life-saver for me.” Co-chair Kathleen Grant has improbably made it to nationals, too, but is quick to point out that competition is not required. “This isn’t the Olympics. People just want to see if they can do it,” she assured. “People are worried about the competition, or the chlorine, but you should just come try it. It’s done so much for me, and I see what it’s done for others, I just don’t want anyone to miss out.” “You don’t even have to swim to be a Water Wizard,” promised Griggsby. “You can be part of the family, part of the community. We need marketing, fundraising, advocacy, because we need somebody to speak up for us as seniors. If you just want to do water aerobics, that’s fine, you can still be a part of this. “As seniors, people should be happy that we’re all out here getting exercise, so we’re not a burden on anybody. We’re taking care of ourselves!” The Rumsey Aquatic Center, located on Capitol Hill behind Eastern Market, is open daily and offers a wide variety of classes, lessons, practices, and lap swim options. For more information, visit the DPR website or call 202724-4495. u
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H y p e r L o c a l | hīpər
. lōk(ə)l |
connotes information oriented around a well defined community with its primary focus directed toward the concerns of its residents. synonym:
HillRag.com
Daily online. Monthly in print.
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{health and fitness}
Is Frisbee the Ultimate New Sport?
Keeping his eye on the disc, a Thurgood Marshall defender knocks down a pass intended for a Wilson receiver Photo: Cory F. Royster
by Paul Rivas
I
n the same historic week as the DC sports trifecta – when both the Capitals and Wizards won road playoff games on the same April night that the Nationals won at home – the first-ever DCSAA High School Ultimate State Championship Tournament took place at Kelly Miller Middle School in Hillbrook in northeast DC. That’s “ultimate,” as in “ultimate Frisbee.” But don’t call it Frisbee. Don’t even call the Frisbee a Frisbee. The game is just called ultimate, and the Frisbee is called a disc. “It’s all new to me,” said John Webster, the first-ever DCSAA ultimate czar. “Some of the coaches in DC wanted to put together a tournament to find the best team in DC, so this is what we came up with.” Wilson High School won the eight-team tournament by beating The Field School 11-5 in the final, despite playing the tournament with only five players on the field due to not having two girls to complete a regular sevenplayer co-ed team under the DCSAA tournament rules. The other schools participating were Edmund Burke, Georgetown Day, Maret, School Without Walls, Thurgood Marshall, and Washington Latin. Currently, nine DC high schools field teams, with Sidwell Friends being the only school that didn’t participate in the state tournament. The ultimate season An Edmund Burke School player throws a forehand while a Maret player defends Photo: Cory F. Royster
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runs from February until May. Logistically, ultimate is a pretty simple game. “It’s hard to get a place to play with enough field space,” Webster acknowledged, “but aside from that, there’s no equipment really needed. You need a disc, your cones, and you’re good.” “It’s a fun, low-key, easy-toget-into game,” explained Field School co-captain Carl Johnson. “You might think you’re bad at the beginning, but once you get into it, once you go to five or six practices, you’re just like everyone else. No one’s born to throw a Frisbee.” There were no referees at the DCSAA tournament, and there are generally no referees in ultimate. Instead, players govern themselves according to the “spirit of the game,” explained tournament director and 41-year ultimate player John Capozzi. “It’s not about referees and cheating. It’s really
about learning ethics and how to make it work.” Strategically though, ultimate is more complicated than even its local regulators expected it to be. “It’s way more technical than I thought at the beginning,” said Webster. “Strategy, plays, I hear them calling ‘man’ and ‘zone’, and to see them actually putting on different defensive plays and offensive plays, it’s interesting.” “It’s just fun. They just love to throw that disc,” said Dan Radack, whose sons Jake and Sam play for Wilson. “It’s like an excellent combination of a little bit of football, a little bit of soccer, even some basketball, and so it’s a great, in theory, non-contact sport.” If that makes ultimate sound like a real sport, well, that’s because it is. There are not one, but two professional ultimate teams in the District of Columbia alone. The DC Current, the reigning champions of Major League Ultimate, play at Catholic University, and the DC Breeze of the American Ultimate Disc League play at Gallaudet University. There’s also a thriving local ultimate community and a Washington Area Frisbee Club, founded in 1979. The WAFC sponsors youth, adult, and mixed leagues yearround. The summer recreational league, at which teens with parent permission are welcome to play, runs midJune to mid-August. Capital Ultimate Camp is offering three weeks of day camp this summer, as well as its first-ever overnight camp. Capitol Hill junior high and high school kids whose schools don’t yet offer ultimate as an official sport can follow the WAFC recommended strategies for starting a team of their own. Wilson co-captain Jake Radack, a junior, explained how
Woodrow Wilson High School won the inaugural DCSAA ultimate state championship, part of a historic DC sports week. Photo: Cory F. Royster
Woodrow Wilson co-captain and team founder Jake Radack winds up to throw a hammer Photo: Cory F. Royster
he founded the team two years ago: “Got some friends together that played at our middle school, found a coach from our pickup league, and kind of worked with the school to start a club and made it into a real sport.” It hasn’t been easy though. “We go to a big urban high school, and trying something new is not what a lot of people like to do, especially because it’s not a mainstream sport,” the Wilson co-captain explained. “It’s hard to get people to come out and want to play. But I think if people came out, they’d love it and stick with it. We’re working on it.” Carl Johnson would make the following pitch to any boys and girls thinking of trying ultimate: “It’s a good way to stay fit,
it uses your mind, and it’s a little more fun than running.” “Getting more people to play is the real goal here,” said Capozzi. “High schools have been playing in Maryland and Virginia for years. That’s why groups like DC Statehood, Stand Up! for Democracy in DC, our shadow representative Franklin Garcia, our shadow senator Paul Strauss, and a group called Ultimate Peace, which promotes peace by getting Palestinian and Israeli youth to play ultimate with each other, were all very interested in sponsoring this tournament: it’s about pride in the city.” To show your DC sports pride in a historically up-andcoming way, mark your calendar for next year’s DCSAA ultimate state championship, go see the professional teams play, and try anything on the Washington Area Frisbee Club website, wafc.org. To show your Capitol Hill frisbee pride, join a pick-up game on the mall weekdays at noon, or at the polo field Saturdays at 10 a.m. or Sundays at 2 p.m. u
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{health and fitness / pets}
Blocked! by Heather McCurdy
S
mokey hid in the closet. Since his owners had returned to their Capitol Hill apartment after a weekend away, he had been acting oddly. Maybe he was angry at being left alone with just the neighbor checking on him once a day. He had urinated on the rug in the bathroom. He cried and did not sleep with them at night. In the morning there was a pile of vomit on the floor and Smokey’s breakfast kibble remained untouched. He was only three years old. Maybe he had eaten something? His owners, concerned that something wasn’t right about their young three year old cat, his owners pried him him out of the closet and took him went to the veterinary clinic to see me. When the veterinary assistant removed Smokey from his carrier it was obvious something was wrong. He did not hiss or growl as he usually did. His heart rate was abnormally decreased, when normally in the vet clinic it would be elevated. As I ran my hands over his belly I felt it – the hard, abnormally firm ball in his lower abdomen that was his distended bladder. Smokey was “blocked,” he could not urinate because his urethra was plugged with a combination of crystals, mucous and cellular debris. If we didn’t help him soon the problem could be fatal. The syndrome in cats that led to Smokey’s urethral obstruction is called Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC). Idiopathic means we have don’t know what is causing it, the problem and cystitis means inflammation of the bladder. So it is an inflammation of the bladder with no discernible cause. Males and females, often younger than 10 years of age, are equally affected, and often younger than 10 years of age. The cats look and feel like they have a urinary tract infection – they need to pee all the time, are wandering in and out of the litter box, or are trying to urinate next to the litter box, or on the rug, couch, or pretty much anywhere. They strain, producing only small amounts of urine. Sometimes the urine is bloody. However there is no actual infection – no bacteria. Antibiotics will not help these kitties. There is treatment, but no cure (since we don’t know the cause), and most episodes last 5 to 7 days. A cat may have just one or multiple episodes. Unfortunately for the males, with their long, narrow urethras leading from the bladder to the tip of the penis, plugs can develop, preventing them from urinating, and within 24 hours a life-threatening emergency develops. Toxins that are normally excreted through the kidneys build up in the body, leading to nausea, vomiting, and decreased mentation (mental activity). If untreated, cats can die within 48 to 72 hours, usually from the build-up of potassium in their blood stream. Potassium is crucial to cell function, including heart muscle contraction, and is secreted in urine. As the level of potassium rises in the blood, the heart rate slows and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) develop, leading to cardiac arrest.) Luckily for the females, with their short, wide urethras, plugs from FIC almost never happen. Females can, however, develop urethral obstructions from bladder stones, however. While we call the disease idiopathic, we do know there are contributing factors to its development. Consuming a dry, dehydrated diet tops the list. Cats that eat dry kibble must meet all of their fluid requirements by drinking water, and they tend to have more highly concentrated urine than their counterparts who eat canned food. Less urine leads to less flushing of the bladder. The FIC episodes themselves are often made worse by stress such as owner travel, disruption due to home renovation, construction, visitors, or new pets. Changing abruptly to an exclusively new dry foods abruptly may also trigger an episode. If Smokey only had FIC and not a urethral obstruction, I would have given him subcutaneous fluids, which involves injecting a bleb (bubble) of fluids under
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his skin over his shoulder blades to rehydrate him and increase urine production. I would have prescribed pain relievers and a medication to relax the smooth muscle of his urethra, decreasing straining and allowing him to pass urine more easily. The owners would have been instructed to encourage Smokey to intake more fluids. I also would have put Smokey on a special prescription diet made specifically for lower urinary tract disease. Smokey, however, was in dire straits. We placed an intravenous catheter and started IV fluids to help lower the concentrations of toxins in his blood. Then Smokey was sedated and a urinary catheter was placed, removing the urethral plug and the bladder was flushed out as much as possible to remove any remaining inflammatory debris and crystals. Smokey remained in the hospital for two more days on intravenous fluids with an indwelling urinary catheter (a catheter designed to be left in place for a prolonged period). The urinary catheter was removed after 24 hours once the urine appeared clear. We stopped the IV fluids when his blood values returned to normal. Smokey was sent home on pain relievers, a smooth muscle relaxer and a special diet and the owners were told to watch him closely. Up to 25% percent of male cats will re-obstruct within 30 days. Some cats also end up with permanent kidney damage if treatment was delayed too long. How can you prevent this? Keep your cat hydrated. If possible feed them all or some canned food everyday. Try a water fountain or, leave multiple bowls of water out around the house to encourage drinking. If you are switching your cat’s food, transition to new foods slowly. Avoid activities that stress your cat. And watch your cat pet closely – especially the males. If you see your cat going in and out of the litter box, straining to urinate, urinating in inappropriate places, producing bloody urine or crying uncomfortably – get them examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible. Dr. McCurdy is a graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. She currently works at AtlasVet in Capitol Hill, located at 1326 H St. NE. She lives with her husband, two daughters and assorted animals in the northeast Washington DC neighborhood of Brookland. u
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{kids & family} N O T E B O O K by Kathleen Donner One World, One Sky: Big Bird's Adventure at Air and Space Join Big Bird and Elmo as they explore the night sky with Hu Hu Zhu, a Muppet from "Zhima Jie," the Chinese co-production of Sesame Street. Together they take an imaginary trip from Sesame Street to the moon, where they discover how different it is from Earth. They also journey to Zhima Jie to learn about the similarities in views of the sky. This program is presented at 10:30 a.m. every Friday and Sunday, plus the first Saturday of each month. Complimentary tickets are distributed at the Einstein Planetarium and Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater Box Offices on a first come, first served basis. P.S. Fridays tickets are often gobbled up by school groups. Best chance for individual families is Sunday's show. si.edu/imax/movie/14 Left to right: Hu Hu Zhu, Big Bird, Elmo Image: Courtesy of Sesame Street
Mommy Mondays at Hill Center The Fitness for Moms program is designed and dedicated to the fitness needs of new mothers and soon-to-be mothers. The program is progression based and will ease participants into a workout lifestyle to help meet the physical challenges of motherhood, while regaining and even surpassing pre-pregnancy fitness in a fun and supportive environment. Their certified professionals will take an individual through a never-boring fitness program, which includes cardio, core strength, and flexibility. Mondays, June 1-29, 7-8 a.m. $99 for one month. Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. hillcenterdc.org
Kids’ Music: Rainbow Rock Band at Ebenezers On Saturday, June 6, 10:30-11:15 a.m., the Rainbow Lady (Kate Moran), joined by some of her friends, Guitarmony Gus (Derek Evry), Sgt. Bam Sam (Sam Carolla), Captain Toe Tappin (Kevin de Souza), Princess Fiddlesticks (Lynn Rovelli), Bassious Berry (Matt Berry) or Prince Pop & Walk (Ryan Walker), will entertain the little ones with a combination of classic and original children’s songs. Inside the box of fun, tambourines, shakers, and more are always on hand for the kids to join in the fun, and, if they
are feeling like completing their rock star appearance, they can get a nice little temporary Rainbow tattoo from, none other than, Pattycake Patty (Patty Moran) or the lovely Rockin Rox Anna (Anna Goist)! Suggested age range is infant-8. $6 in advance and $8 at the door for everyone 1 year and older. Ebenezers Coffeehouse, 201 F St. NE. 202-558-6900. ebenezerscoffeehouse.com
Hoop Dreams Basketball Tournament and Life Skills Event The DC Housing Authority (DCHA) will hold its Fifth Annual Basketball Tournament and Life Skills Event on June 26 and 27, 2015 at Trinity Washington University, 125 Michigan Ave. NE. The event takes place from 8 am to 6 pm both days. The tournament opens on Friday, June 26, with a pep rally at 9 a.m. What started five years ago as an event just for children of families participating in DCHA’s Housing Choice Voucher Program has expanded. The Basketball Tournament and Life Skills Event now includes children between the ages of 8 and 16 of all families served by DCHA. Last year, more than 300 boys and girls participated. The star-studded event teaches youth team building skills through sportsmanship. For more information call DCHA at (202) 535-1000 and ask for Noelee Wishart or Stephanie Alger. Online registration is available for eligible families at www.dchousing. org/basketball.
Chamber Dance Project Family Matinee The Chamber Dance Project Family Matinee is on Saturday, June 27 at 2 p.m. at the Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. The world premiere of Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Wild Swans, inspired by Jazz Age poet Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poem of the same name, appears alongside a pair of well-loved works by Diane Coburn Bruning: the sensuous pas de deux Journey, which was created on Peter Boal, and Exit Wounds, an intense male duo exploring the aftermath of war with music by Philip Glass. A live string quartet will perform stand-alone musical pieces by Russell Peck and Prokofiev followed by another exciting round of structured improv with Jorge Amarante’s dazzling tango ballet Sur ending the show on a high note. Kids get to go on stage with the performers after the show. Tickets are $20-$70. chamberdance.org
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Capitol Hill Little League Girls Softball Open House The Capitol Hill Little League Softball Open House is on Sunday, June 7, noon-6 p.m., at Tyler Elementary School field, 1001 G St. NE. All three divisions of their girls will be playing, with the schedule as follows: noon-2 p.m., ages 7-9; 2-4 p.m., ages 10-11; and 4-6 p.m., ages 12-14. There will be parents on hand to discuss the program, players autographing softballs for younger visitors, games, and a popcorn machine from Frager’s. chlldc.org
DC Government’s Annual “Truck Touch” The DC Department of Public Works invites the public to attend a free, citywide “Truck Touch” Saturday, June 6, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at RFK Stadium, Lot 7. A host of DC government agencies will present and demonstrate nearly 30 vehicles used to clean and repair streets, change traffic lights, collect refuse, clear snow, provide emergency services, administer mobile health care, and more. Last year, more than 3,000 residents came out to climb on packer, sweeper and boom trucks; sit atop MPD’s Mounted Unit’s police horse and maneuver the levers of a police chopper; ride Segways, and test drive electric sedan vehicles. Residents also learned how potholes are repaired, sewers are vacuumed, and received information about vital city services. dpw.dc.gov
Magna Carta Family Day at National Archives On Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., celebrate 800 years of Magna Carta. Meet Eileen Cameron and Doris Ettlinger, the author and illustrator of Rupert’s Parchment: Story of Magna Carta, a new book perfect for ages 6-11. They will engage visitors young and old as they share the story of Rupert and Magna Carta. Participants will also engage in hands-on activities and as they discover more about a document that helped shaped how Americans think about rights. National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. archives.gov
Father’s Day 8k and Kid’s Kilometer The 6th annual Father’s Day 8K will be run on a flat and fast out-and-back course along the C&O Canal Towpath. The first 300 participants will be
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provided a technical race shirt, and awards will be given out at the post-race celebration to the top 3 M/F overall, the top M/F in each 10-year age group, and the top Father-Son and Father-Daughter teams. Race is on Sunday, June 21, 6:30 p.m. $40 to register ($5 for kids’ run). fathersday8k.com
CHAW Summer Camp CHAW Summer for preK-high school runs June 22-Aug. 31. Camps run throughout the summer with 1-, 2-, and 3-week options and prices range from $225 to $1,200. Tuition assistance and before and after care are available. Detailed programming information, prices, and registration forms are at chaw.org/index.php/register/chaw_summer or by calling 202-547-6839.
First Moves at Labyrinth Games & Puzzles First Moves is a special game club for young children, ages 3-6, on the second Saturday morning of the month. The kids will play all sorts of games designed to help dexterity and logic, math and language, and social skills. These First Moves classes are designed to help children learn the basic skills needed to play games, including taking turns, winning and losing with grace, and following directions. They play many cooperative games too. This helps the children learn to work with others in a productive manner. Each class is $15 per child. Children may be dropped off alone or accompanied by an adult. Children must be potty trained and a spot must be reserved for this class. Register via labyrinthdc.eventbrite.com. Labyrinth Games & Puzzles, 645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-544-1059. labyrinthgameshop.com
DC Public Library’s Summer Reading for Kids: Win Prizes for Reading This year’s Summer Reading theme is Every Hero Has a Story. Visit dclibrary.org/kidsummerreading for details on how kids can read, win, explore and get two free tickets to catch a Washington Nationals baseball game.
Capital Pride Queer & Now Youth Dance On Saturday, June 13, 6-10 p.m., come party at the only youth-exclusive event over Capital Pride
weekend–the Queer & Now dance at National City Christian Church, 5 Thomas Cir. NW. There will be free dancing and food. smyal.org
“Saturday Morning at the National” Free Performances for Children On Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. there are free live performances for children in the National Theatre Helen Hayes Gallery. Tickets are required and distributed first come, first seated. Tickets are distributed 1/2 hour prior to performance. One ticket per person in line. The National Theatre is at 1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. 202-783-3372. Here’s the summer line-up: June 6, The Three Not So Little Pigs by the Blue Sky Puppet Theatre, Inc.; June 13, Magician Brian Curry; June 27, Curtis Blues-Delta Blues; July 11, Andres Salguero, ¡Uno, Dos, Tres, con Andres!; July 18, Bright Star-Aesop’s Fables; July 25, Katherine Lyons: Transformations Imagination; Aug. 1, Rainbow Puppets: Pirate Party. Read more at thenationaldc.org.
Library of Congress Kicks Off Summer Essay Contest for Rising 5th and 6th Graders The Library of Congress has launched its annual summer essay contest, in conjunction with area public libraries, to encourage rising 5thand 6th-grade students to reflect on books that have made an impact on their lives. The “A Book That Shaped Me” Summer Writing Contest is administered as part of summer reading programs at public libraries in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Prizes will be awarded and top winners will be invited to present their essays at the National Book Festival, Saturday, Sept. 5 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Essays, focused on a single book, should be one page in length and must be submitted with an entry form, in person, at a participating public library. The deadline for entries is Friday, July 10. Submission forms are available at the Library of Congress Young Readers Center in Room G-29 of the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE, or at participating public libraries. The list of participating libraries is at loc.gov/bookfest/ kids-teachers/booksthatshape.
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Building on our strong foundation as an early childhood program
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APPLICATIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE 2015-2016 SCHOOL YEAR
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www.bridgespcs.org 1250 Taylor Street, NW, Washington, DC 20011 p: 202.726.1843 e: info@bridgespcs.org Accredited by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Voted one of the Best Preschool in DC, City Paper Readers Poll 2013 -2015!
For the 2016-2017 school year Bridges PCS will be in our new location: 100 Gallatin St. NE, Washington, DC 20011.
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hands-on
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Bridges PCS is an expanding elementary school growing to serve grades Pre-K–5th by 2017-2018.
NORTHEAST STARS MONTESSORI How much fun are your kids having this summer? Register for Northeast Stars Montessori Summer Camp to find out. nestars.net — northeaststarsmontessori.nes@gmail.com — 703.945.0408 Alexandria, VA — Arlington, VA — Washington, DC
Week 1: Rainforest animals and environment
Week 6: Desert Animals and environment
Week 2: Arctic Tundra animals and environment
Week 7: Exotic birds and their environment
Week 3: Safari animals (African Savannah) and environment
Week 8: The world of insects (their environment is everywhere!)
Week 4: Ocean animals and environment
Week 9: Guide to Dinosaurs
Week 5: Mountain animals and environment Northeast Stars Montessori places high priority on the outdoors, where children are free to explore the natural world and challenge themselves physically at the playground. We spend around 3 hours outside each day when the weather cooperates so the children can enjoy the sense of freedom that being outside provides.
I
my Hill Rag Published Daily Online & Monthly in Print Capitol Hill’s News Source Since 1976!
W W W. H I L L R A G . C O M
Observations: Call to request your spot! June 3 & 5 - DC • June 4 - ALX Open House at 6:30 PM! June 17 - ALX • June 18 - DC June 2015 H 133
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Shawnee: Living in Both Worlds (family) Festival at American Indian Museum On Friday, June 12 and Saturday, June 13, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., join the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and the Shawnee Tribe to learn more about the culture, history and contemporary lives of these tribal entities through dance performances, artist demonstrations, music, hands-on activities for families and more. The National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall is between the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum and the Capitol. nmai.si.edu
Youth Chess Club at Rosedale Library Children learn how to play from an experienced instructor and participate in friendly games against each other. The instructor will be at Rosedale from 3-4:30 p.m. every Monday. Rosedale Neighborhood Library, 1701 Gales St. NE. 202-727-5012. dclibrary.org/rosedale
Imagination Bethesda Celebrates Children and the Arts The 21st annual Imagination Bethesda, a children’s street festival celebrating children and the arts, is scheduled for Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Musical performances and professional children’s entertainers will light up the stage, while hands-on art and craft activities will line the streets along Elm St. and Woodmont Ave. in downtown Bethesda. The festival will host 25 local businesses and arts organizations that will provide a variety of hands-on art and craft activities to entertain and energize the 12-andunder crowd. Additionally, the festival will feature face painters, balloonists, a stilt-walker, free giveaways and more. For more information, call 301215-6660 or visit bethesda.org.
Festival of Youth Choirs at National Cathedral The 20th Annual YouthCUE Nation’s Capital Festival Grand Concert takes place at on Friday, June 26, 7:30 p.m., at the Washington National Cathedral. The concert features a combined choir of 200 youth from 10 individual choirs, spanning five states and five Christian denominations, accompanied by members of the Na-
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tional Symphony Orchestra. Free admission. Information about YouthCUE can be found at youthcue.org.
The BFG (The Big Friendly Giant) at the National Theatre The BFG is the world’s only friendly giant. He operates in the strictest of secrecy to bring good dreams to the human world, while his nasty counterparts steal and have the despicable habit of eating children. Upon meeting little orphan Sophie through her window, he whisks her away to his home in Giant Country. Together they embark on an adventure to Buckingham Palace to get help from the Queen and save the children from the other giants! Nominated for eleven Helen Hayes awards; winner of two (Outstanding Set Design, Hayes Production and Outstanding Production, Theatre for Young Audiences). July 14-25. Best for ages 5, up. The National Theatre is at 1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. 202783-3372. thenationaldc.org
“Jazz N’ Families Fun Days” at the Phillips Collection A free, fun family event, “Jazz n’ Families Fun Days” offers live jazz music in the Music Room and galleries, an instrument petting zoo, art-making activities, and more. The Jazz N’ Families Fun Days are always on the first weekend in June--this year, Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, June 7, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. There will be a Young Artists Exhibition with works of art by DC public school students, an opportunity to hear live jazz, attend an art workshop, visit an instrument petting zoo, listen to a story, take a picture in a photo booth and hear about the “luncheon of the Boating Party”. Phillips Collection, 1600 21st Street, NW. 202-387-2151. phillipscollection.org
Eleanor Holmes Norton Juneteenth Book Festival The Eleanor Holmes Norton Juneteenth Book Festival, on Saturday, June 20, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., at Anacostia Park, is a cultural book festival providing platform and dialogue with publishers, writers, book sellers, literacy stakeholders and independent artists of the African Diaspora with a clear goal of placing a book in the hand of every child. Very family-friendly, there will be a Children’s Pavillion, rollerskating, basketball and literacy-fo-
cused activities throughout. Attendees can expect live performances, engaging workshops including a cooking demonstration for children by celebrity chef, Chef Daniel W. Thomas, poetry readings, theatrical skits, films, and, of course, book readings, signings, swaps, sales and give-a-ways. Go to juneteenthbookfestival.com for more information.
Gave Healthful Welcome to their Shipwreck’d Guests at the Folger On Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m., explore the excitement and possible danger of ships in Shakespeare’s plays and the Folger exhibition, Ships, Clocks & Stars—The Quest for Longitude. Shake Up Your Saturdays happen on the first Saturday of each month. Children ages 6-12 and their families are invited to join them for this hour-long program to have fun learning and sharing Shakespeare’s language and experiencing the Folger. Free. To register, visit folger.edu/shake-your-saturdays-reservations. Folger Shakespeare Theater, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. folger.edu
Kids Run the Bases at Nat’s Park Kids ages 4-12 can run the bases after select Nationals games. Kids Run the Bases begins immediately following the game, weather permitting. Remaining dates are: June 7 and 21; July 5 and 19; Aug. 9, 23, and 30; Sept. 6, 20 and 27. An adult must accompany runners to the field. One adult per child on the field. Starting at first base, kids will be directed to run around the bases as the adults continue along the warning track and meet the runners near home plate. Kids and parents/ guardians can begin lining up at the end of the 7th inning, however fans that would like to stay and watch the entire game will still be able to line up once the game has ended. Participants must exit the ballpark through the Right Field Gate. The line forms outside of the park on the sidewalk along First St. washington.nationals.mlb.com
Smithsonian Sleepovers at the Americn History Museum Solve a Smithsonian mystery of historic proportions! The devious diva Miss Rose has stolen six valuable objects from the National Museum of American History—and participants need to discover what’s missing before evening’s end. Become a detective and roam through the museum’s galleries. Use cun-
ning and skills to collect clues that help solve the crime scene. After solving the crime, roll out a bag and sleep soundly knowing that some of America’s treasures have been protected and plenty of fun has taken place! Sleepover dates are Saturdays, July 18 and Aug. 1; and Fridays, Aug. 7, 14 and 28. Call 202-633-3030 (MF, 9-5) to order tickets. smithsoniansleepovers.org/american-history
The Puppet Company at Glen Echo The elegance of 17th-century France, combining elaborate costumes of the Comédie-Française and Offenbach’s “Gaiety Parisian” to adorn the tale of the cinder girl who captures the heart of the handsome prince. “Cinderella” runs through June 21. $10. Appropriate for Kgrade 6. Running time is 45 minutes. When Snow White meets seven vertically challenged bachelors, she discovers that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and that friendship and teamwork make any challenge smaller. June 25-Aug. 9. $10. Appropriate for preK-grade 4. Running time is 40 minutes. The Puppet Company, a Center for Exploration of the Puppet Arts, is at Glen Echo Park, 7300 Mac Arthur Blvd., Glen Echo, MD. 301-6346380. thepuppetco.org
Ethiopian Children’s Book Author at Sankofa Children’s book author Fitsame Teferra is visiting Sankofa Video, Books & Cafe and launching her book “My First Book of Amharic Words.” On Sunday, June 7, 3 p.m., bring the kids for storytelling, to meet the author and get a book signed. Sankofa Video, Books & Cafe is at 2714 Georgia Ave. NW. Sankofa offers the largest collection of black children’s books and an annual Magical Mirror’s Children’s Book Fair in December. sankofa.com
Library of Congress Releases New Student Discovery Sets for Tablets The Library of Congress invites students everywhere to touch, draw on and explore some of its most valuable treasures through its three newest free interactive ebooks for tablets. The Library of Congress Student Discovery Sets bring together historical artifacts and one-of-a-kind documents on a wide range of topics, from history and science to literature. Interactive tools let students zoom in for close examination, draw to highlight interesting details and make notes about what they discover. The Library’s latest Student Discovery Sets are available now for the iPad and can be downloaded free of charge on iBooks. These sets cover the Industrial Revolution, Jim Crow and Segregation, and Children’s Lives at the Turn of the 20th Century. They join six previously published sets on the U.S. Constitution, Symbols of the United States, Immigration, the Dust Bowl, the Harlem Renaissance and Understanding the Cosmos. A teacher’s guide for each set is on the Library’s website for teachers, loc.gov/teachers. Regular tips and resources for teachers are available on the Teaching with the Library of Congress Twitter feed, @TeachingLC.
Marine Corps Marathon Kids Run Registration Open Marine Corps Marathon Kids Run registration has opened. The Kids Run is on Saturday, Oct. 24 and will be held in the Pentagon North parking lot. Nearly 3,600 children ages 5-12 will participate in the one-mile just-for-fun event. All participants receive a T-shirt, medal and snacks at the finish line. Register at marinemarathon.com. u
Enc Empowouraging e Imagin rment and Safe anation in a d Enviro Caring For Chnment ild Ages 3 ren -9
From June 22 - August 14, 2015 Younger children (ages 3-5) will enjoy performances, trips, picnics in the park, water play. Older ones (ages 6-9) will enjoy science classes, field trips, Labyrinth games, fitness classes, arts, weekly visits to the pool, gardening, cooking classes and more.
Registration is OPEN!
Download applications at www.politepiggys.com Mail to PO Box 31215, WDC 20030 Flexible Scheduling: ages 3-5: ages 6-9:
Weekly $315 $345
Whole Day $60 $69
Half Day $41 $46
Drop In $66 $71
Sibling Discount - 25% OFF More Info: 240-396-8957 ask for VanNessa www.politepiggys.com politepiggysdaycamp@yahoo.com June 2015 H 135
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School Notes by Susan Braun Johnson
St. Anselm’s School St. Anselm’s Junior Presents at Lunar and Planetary Science Conference with his Dad! For most families, a father-son trip might include a baseball game, a camping trip or maybe a hop to a museum. For Ryan Montesi and his father Laurent, it meant traveling to Houston to present research at the annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference on March 19. Ryan is a junior at St. Anselm’s Abbey School, and his father Laurent is an Associate Professor of Geology at the University of Maryland, close to their home in University Park. Ryan has been doing research all year with Dr. Jim Zimbelman, a planetary geologist at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Ryan presented a poster summarizing their findings, which point to probable volcanic activity on the surface of Mars, at the Houston conference. Though Dr. Zimbelman was in attendance, Ryan was on his own to explain the poster to many scientists who stopped in throughout the conference. Shortly before the Houston Conference, Ryan presented a paper on his research at the Student Academic Symposium hosted by HSPA (High School Principals Association), held on March 12 at the Catholic University of America. Ryan will continue his research through the Smithsonian, but his academic interests are not limited to the sciences. After winning a school-wide competition, he recently placed second in the District competition of Poetry Out Loud.- Kristin Hurd. St. Anselm’s Abbey School, 4501 South Dakota Avenue, NE, www.saintanselms.org.
School within School Community Read With Author Fred Bowen
St. Anselm’s junior, Ryan Montesi, presents at Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. He’ll continue his research this summer at the Smithsonian.
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First through third graders at School within School participated with their parents in a community read of the sports novel Winners Take All, then took part in a discussion with author Fred Bowen. Bowen is local author who pens children’s sports books, as well as a Thursday sports column for kids in “The Washington Post.” Students and parents both read Bowen’s book and then discussed it during a lively evening talk with the author. It was a fun night of discussing tough choices, consequences, and the joy of baseball. Bowen answered questions, and drove home the point that sometimes people want to win so badly that they
are willing to cheat. He talked about why personal excellence and honesty are more valuable than winning.
School within School on Wheels Congratulations to SWS kids for a great showing during National Bike to School Day on May 6. Students all over the country and city rode bikes and scooters to school to promote exercise, health and safe streets. About half of SWS students participated, an increase from about 30 percent last year. SWS came in third place in the city. Way to roll!
SWS’s First Yard Sale The school held its first yard sale, and it was a success. Thanks to the school community for helping to host it, and thanks to the larger community for coming by to purchase some great items. The school aims to make the sale an annual spring tradition. Stay tuned for next year’s sale. – Allison Klein. SWS, 920 F St. NE; schoolwithinschool.org.
Capitol Hill Day School CHDS Navigators A canoe in the middle of the classroom signaled the start of a new study unit for Capitol Hill Day School Early Childhood students. The ships and waterways unit grew out of the children’s interests in pirates and boat building. The children imagined exploring different kinds of ships, their purposes, and ship-related jobs. They created multi-media representations of what they know about boats and what they want to know, and then formed committees to research kayaks, racing shells, sail-
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222 8TH St. NE THURSDAY CLASS AT CHRIST CHURCH
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MEMBER: WORLD TAE KWON DO FEDERATION Master Erica Gutman, 7th Degree Black Belt
mastergutman@gmail.com 202.546.6275
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and Wilson. Congratulations! - Jane Angarola. Capitol Hill Day School, 210 South Carolina Avenue, SE, jangarola@chds.org.
Eliot-Hine Middle School Career Day On April 28, Eliot-Hine held its second annual Career Day. Presenters from a variety of backgrounds, from a doctor to a hair stylist to an airplane pilot, spoke with students and took their questions. Thank you to all of the presenters who took time out of their schedules to share their careers with students at Eliot-Hine!
Girls on the Run
CHDS students examine racing scull at Anacostia Community Boathouse. Photo Bernard Asare.
boats, and submarines. In class and on field trips, students connected ships and waterways to science, social studies, math, and art. They explored how cities develop around waterways and ports, learning more about DC and the Chesapeake Bay watershed. They met with an expert rower and had a sculling demo at the Anacostia Community Boathouse, sailed from Gangplank Marina on the schooner “American Spirit,” and traveled down the C&O Canal on a mule-drawn boat. They sketched boats at Yards Park, had a kayaking demonstration with an Olympic slalom kayak racer, and visited the U.S. Navy Museum. They conducted sinking and floating experiments, learned how boats are made, studied and made maps, and played regatta math games. June 12 is Graduation Day, and CHDS eighth -graders are navigating their way to eleven high schools, having received accepts from Barrie, Bishop McNamara, Bishop O’Connell, Burke, Duke Ellington, Emerson Prep, Field, GDS, Gonzaga, Holy Cross, Maret, Montgomery Blair CAP,
Potomac, St. Albans, St. John’s, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes, School Without Walls, Sidwell Friends,
The Girls on the Run season wrapped up with a 5K held at Anacostia Park on May 3. Schools from across the District participated in this fun and inspiring event. Five girls from Eliot-Hine – Ashley Alexander, Des-
Eliot-Hine’s Girls on the Run team soaking it up at the Anacostia Park.
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tiny Crawford, Makaela Swann, Eniece Welch, and RaShawn Welch, completed the 5K. Thank you to Gilbert, LLP, for sponsoring the team this year. Thank you also to the coaches, Ms. Diner and Ms. Whyte, for a meaningful season.
E-H Roundup Eliot-Hine is hosting its Prom on June 10, from 7-10 p.m. Volunteers are needed for set-up from 4-6 p.m., as well as for chaperoning the event. If vetted DCPS volunteers are interested, please email Ms. Elliott at Charlotte.Elliott@dc.gov. Eliot-Hine is partnering with Higher Achievement starting this summer. Higher Achievement has a rigorous after school and summer academy program designed to close the opportunity gap for middle school youth in at-risk communities. New families must intend on attending Eliot-Hine for middle school. More information can be found at www.higherachievement.org. To sign up, contact HA director Breylon Smith at 202-255-7309 or bsmith@higherachievement.org. Thank you to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation for funding EH’s Radio and TV broadcast, and for making it possible for a recorded show idea come to life. Eliot-Hine appreciates the ongoing support from the school and community! - Community Affairs Director Tammy Whyte. Eliot-Hine Middle School, 1830 Constitution Ave NE. www.eliothinemiddleschool.org.
Tyler Elementary What a Week! Teacher Appreciation Week From May 5-8, Tyler families commemorated Teacher Appre-
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ciation Week and showed their appreciation for teachers and paraprofessionals by showering them with lots of surprises. They were treated to cupcakes, flowers, specially created cards and other fun gifts. In addition, the week was kicked off by a special visit from Councilmember Charles Allen and DCPS Chief of Human Capital Jason Kamras who gave $100 gift cards to teachers.
subtracted from the jar’s penny total. The students were ruthless on the final day of war – nearly doubling the amount collected in first four days of competition. At the end of the day, nearly $2,200 was raised for the school in Haiti!
Newbery Club Reading Adventure
A troop of young bibliophiles embarked upon the annual St. Peter’s Newbery Club reading adventure, Bike to School Day an independent reading group cenAn annual tradition amongst the tered on books awarded the prestiLaps Around Lincoln Was a Huge Success Capitol Hill schools community, gious Newbery Medal for distinBike to School Day was held on guished contribution to American May 6 and dozens of Tyler students rode their bikes literature for children. After reading three separate or scooters from Lincoln Park to Tyler. The event Newbery novels of their choice, and a mandatobegan with a speech from Councilmember Allen ry reading of “When You Reach Me” by Rebecca and a performance by the Tyler Step Team. Stead, club members tested their mental gymnastics with an exclusive trip to the Spy Museum to Laps Around Lincoln explore more thought-provoking mysteries. The week was capped off with Laps Around LinField Day Barbecue with Dads coln, a fun Tyler community and fundraising Students celebrated the end of the school term event, which took place on May 9 at Lincoln Park. with another great field day topped off with a barThis year marks the sixth annual race! There were becue put on by school dads. Students and faculty two heats and runners were encouraged to run enjoying rounds of capture-the-flag, relay races and around the park as many times as they could in a massive tug-of-war battle before sharing lunch thirty minutes. There was an amazing turn out! grilled up by a corps of St. Peter School dad volOver 100 students, families and staff registered for unteers. The highlight of the the race. Cheered on by family, friends, Tyler staff day was enjoying frozen treats members, and the Tyler Soles (Tyler’s boys runand the annual eighth gradening team), the runners ran for a total of over 1,047 faculty basketball game. Now laps! Funds raised will be used for books for the it’s time for a well-earned sumTyler library and balls for the Physical Education mer break for students, teachdepartment. Special thanks to race sponsors PACers and faculty! – Sally Aman. ERS and Harris Teeter who help make the race St. Peter School, 422 Third St, happen each year! - Anika D. Wilson. Tyler EleSE, www.stpeterschooldc.org. mentary, 1001 G Street, SE. TylerElementary.net; anikacd@yahoo.com.
St. Peter School Penny Wars! The Penny Wars were brutal this year! Initiated by the Student Council last spring, the “wars” raise money for their sister school in Haiti. The schoolwide, interclass competition involves students collecting pennies in class jars. But strategy is key! Classes can sabotage penny totals by dropping silver coins into other class jars, total of which is then
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An educator and administrator for many years, Jordon joins Friendship following a successful tenure at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School in Parkside. Under his leadership, the school entered the ranks of the high-performing charters classified by the charter board as Tier One. “Dwan is a proven change agent whose career has been defined by making a real difference in the lives of his students,” said Donald Hense, founder and chairman of Friendship Public Charter School. “He is focused on readying students to succeed in life, emphasizing diligence, hard work, character and civic responsibility—values that align with Friendship’s mission.” Jordon is a graduate of the 2010 Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Principals’ Center National Institute for Urban School Leaders. He also serves on the advisory board of the Principals Center at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education. Friendship Collegiate Academy is a college preparatory high school serving students in grades nine through 12. Challenging and relevant, Collegiate Academy’s comprehensive curriculum prepares students for the academic rigor of a college education and the world of work in a global economy. Collegiate boasts high graduation and college acceptance rates. Of the nearly 300 seniors enrolled in 2011-2012, 92 percent graduated and all graduates were accepted to college. “We’ve set a high bar at Collegiate Academy, which has a 92 percent on-time graduation rate,
Friendship Public Charter School Dwan Jordon to Lead Friendship’s Collegiate Academy in D.C. Friendship Public Charter School has appointed Dwan Jordon as principal of its Friendship Collegiate Academy in northeast Washington.
Dwan Jordon, new principal of Friendship Collegiate Academy.
BASIS DC’s Science Bowl team, led by Dr. Kristy Sundberg, competed nationally in early May.
and Dwan Jordon is the right person to continue building on that success,” said Hense. Friendship Collegiate Academy, 4095 Minnesota Avenue NE. www.friendshipschools.org.
BASIS DC Public Charter School Students Excel Across Disciplines BASIS DC is making quite a name for itself in just its third year of operation, landing recognition in the disciplines of debate, Latin and science. A public charter school, BASIS DC draws many students from Capitol Hill by offering a rigorous liberal arts curriculum for fifth through tenth grades, with the first class graduating in 2017. BASIS DC Latin students traveled throughout Virginia and to Yale and Harvard universities during the school year to play certamen, a quizbowl style game of fast-recall facts about Latin and classical civilization. (Certamen is Latin for competition.) The certamen players, led by Latin teacher Maureen Beabout, excelled in all events in which they competed, particularly Yale Invitational Cer-
tamen in which they won first place. BASIS DC’s Debate Team, under the direction of teacher Robert Biemesderfer, qualified to compete on a national level and participated in the English-Speaking Union of the United States Middle School Debate Championship Tournament in Tarrytown, N.Y. In the National Science Bowl Competition, biology teacher Dr. Kristy Sundberg, led the BASIS DC Middle School Science Bowl Team to success. The team competed in the academic science bowl competition and tied for second in their division, ending up 18th in the country. The team also competed in the problemsolving event and the electric car engineering challenge and in both came in second place in the nation. BASIS DC Chemistry teacher Lindsey Pickett led of group of BASIS DC middle school students to compete at Chemathon, an annual competition for area high school chemistry students at the University of Maryland in College Park. Competing against 37 teams from 25 high schools, the BASIS DC team came in fourth in the Chemical Jeopardy category. Not bad for middle school
Hoop Dreams 2015
5TH ANNUAL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT & LIFE SKILLS EVENT The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) will hold its 5th Annual Basketball Tournament and Life Skills Event June 26-27, 2015 at Trinity Washington University, 125 Michigan Ave NE, Washington, DC 20017. From 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on both days. Players must be ages 8 to 16. For more information call DCHA at (202) 535-1000 and ask for Noelee Wishart or Stephanie Alger. Online registration is available for eligible families at www.dchousing.org/basketball.
PARTNERS: Hopefinders, Inc., DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, ORCA, Omega Psi Phi, The Mission Continues June 2015 H 141
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both traditional super heroes and those of his own creation. Ms. Bomba’s art students are applying their learning in the development of their own personal super heroes made from socks and found materials. These “avatars” incorporate the students’ ideas about their own best qualities – what makes each of them “super”. Their work will be on view in the ground floor gallery at HillCenter throughout June. - Elizabeth Nelson.Maury Elementary, 1250 Constitution Ave., NE. www.mauryelementary.com.
Payne Elementary Payne’s Fourth-Graders Discovered Art Around the Corner Each year, students from all over the country venture to Washington, DC to visit museums and experience the Nation’s Capital. For students within DCPS, these destinations are right in their back yard, some might even say “around the corner”. Payne was selected to participate in the Art Around The Corner Program hosted by the National Gallery Of Art (NGA). This special program is
Bats were among the visitors to Maury’s STEM Expo
students competing at the high school level! BASIS DC also expanded its sports offerings during the 2014-15 academic year and now offers lacrosse, soccer and tennis, among others. The school looks forward to welcoming a new crop of fifth-graders and adding eleventh-grade to the fold this fall. - Kirsten Mitchell, BASIS DC Boosters, BASIS DC, 410 8th St N.W.; www.basisdc.org.
Maury Elementary STEM Expo When 82 scientists, engineers, educators and professions from national leading STEM organizations mix with over 600 excited elementary learners, their families and neighbors, #STEMExpo15, the Fourth Annual Think Tank and STEM Expo takes place at Maury Elementary. This year’s event took place on April 28. Visitors were able to control a game with their brain waves, try their hand at chemistry, use night vision goggles, watch a 3-D printer in action, meet local aquatic animals from DDOE’s Aquatic Resource Center, and try out puzzles and games from Labyrinth. Among the highlights of the evening were the visitors from the Organization for Bat Conservation, who brought their furry mosquito-eating friends with them. What could be cuter than a flying mammal? For a full recap on the night’s events, visit http:// maurythinktank.blogspot.com. Ms. Ford extends her sincere thanks to all who participated.
Sock Super Heroes Fourth-graders at Maury ES have been exploring the various properties of fibers and where they come from. They’re concluding this fiber arts unit with the study of knitter, print-maker, and performance artist, Mark Newport. Newport is best known for his life-size, hand-knit costumes representing
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Payne students participate in Art Around the Corner
A piece of the fence mural created by Peabody’s Kindergartners
designed to encourage students to engage in “critical- and creative-thinking activities to make meaning from art, acquire art vocabulary in context, and create art in response to what they see.” This three-day workshop introduced students to Sculpture Studio: Designing in 3-Dimensions, featuring 20th century American sculptor Alexander Calder, known for originating the mobile. First, NGA instructors visited Payne and taught a lesson encouraging pairs of students to identify a sculpture then practice using the See/Think/Wonder method to analyze, describe and discuss what they saw in it. The second lesson was a field trip to the National Gallery’s Sculpture Garden where students used what they’d learned to examine the
different sculptures found in the garden. The final day of the workshop had the students back at NGA where they toured the museum looking at different sculptures before entering the Educational Center. With a variety of materials, Wildcat Sculptors created their own sculptures to take back to Payne for display. The program’s mission: “to deepen [students’] understanding of art, strengthen critical thinking, and broaden life experiences” was accomplished and proud Wildcats Sculptors have received rave reviews on their creations! For more information of Art Around the Corner, visit: http://www.nga.gov/ content/ngaweb/education/teachers/art-aroundthe-corner.html. - Deirdra Norman, Art Teach-
er, Payne Elementary School – 1445 C St, SE. Facebook: PayneES; Twitter: @PayneDCPS and @ PrincipalPayne Instagram: PayneDCPS New website coming soon.... www.PayneDCPS.org
Capitol Hill Cluster School Peabody Primary Coming this summer: Watch the construction fence around the Hine School redevelopment project for artwork from Peabody’s kindergartners. The kids created a banner featuring a huge cherry tree under a vivid blue sky, with a warm summer sun above and layers of rich soil with earthworms below. Pre-K3 students have started their first-ever
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“bread study.” To kick it off, the Watkins continues to lead students took a trip to Bagels and all of DCPS in First in Math, Baguettes. There, they looked at surpassing the 900,000 stickthe menu and talked about how er count mark on its way to to order bread items. Then, stu1,000,000 stickers. dents ordered bagels and a big Watkins fifth-grade historibaguette for a taste test. Teachers ans culminated their Civil War have worked hard to plan field unit with a trip to the historic trips to go see many different Gettysburg Battlefield. Students types of bread and how they are toured the battlefield along with made. To create continuity, stua licensed guide and later took dents in FoodPrints will be makadvantage of the newly renovatWatkins teacher Kristina Keling croutons. ed visitor center to see the historlogg, who was a finalist for the math and science teaching In kindergarten math, stuic cyclorama and conduct a mupresidential award dents have begun a new geomseum scavenger hunt. 420 12th etry unit. Some of the essential St. S.E. concepts they will cover include how and where Stuart-Hobson Middle shapes are used in everyday life, how the numStuart-Hobson students: winners of the “batber of sides on a shape can teach the names of tle of the books.” at MLK library. Tickets are now shapes, what can be used to make two-dimensionavailable for the musical “Fame.” Stuart-Hobson al shapes, and how to make different shapes out students will take the stage May 29-30 in the renof two or more other shapes. ovated auditorium for this foot-stomping musical. To mark Earth Day, the kids met Michael Performances are 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. and 6 Recycle (librarian Susan Bloom) and Litterbug p.m. Saturday. Tickets are available in the front Doug (special-education teacher Marnie Jones) who talked about ways to take care of the earth. They sang songs, chalked on the sidewalk, had relay races to see which team could recycle the most items, saved baby animals under the parachute, and played a bowling game with bottled water. 425 C St. N.E.
offices at the Stuart-Hobson, Peabody and Watkins campuses. Stuart-Hobson’s math and English teachers welcomed more than 20 DCPS and D.C. Charter teachers and school leaders in May to observe how the school uses “blended learning” to change the way students learn in the classroom. Blended learning combines traditional instruction with digital and online content. The feedback from the visitors to Stuart-Hobson was overwhelmingly positive, and they said that Stuart-Hobson teachers have implemented the blended-learning model better than any of the 21 middle schools they’ve visited nationwide. The Stuart-Hobson Panthers brought home the first-place trophy from the Battle of the Books at D.C.’s Martin Luther King Jr. Library. Three other schools competed — Hardy, Kelly-Miller, and Deal. Participating were Leah Silverman, Amari Smith, Sadye Moore, Amber Whetstone, Emma Morris, Nora Sweeney, L’Naya Chase and Louisa Spector. Judges included librarians and library volunteers. Participants were required to answer questions within 20 seconds with full title and author after reading six books, including “The Watsons Go to Birmingham: 1963,” “The London Eye Mystery,” and “Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library.” 410 E St. N.E. -Capitol Hill Cluster School PTA communications team. www.capitolhillclusterschool.org.
J.O. Wilson
Watkins Elementary DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education recently celebrated finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), including Watkins teacher Kristina Kellogg. The PAEMST is the nation’s highest honor for teachers of math and science. Awardees serve as models for their colleagues, inspiration to their communities, and leaders in the improvement of mathematics and science education. The National Science Foundation administers PAEMST on behalf of The White House Office of The Stuart-Hobson Panthers brought home the first-place trophy from the Science and Technology Policy. Battle of the Books
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Anti-Bullying Tips from Redskins’ Desean Jackson Students in third and fourth-grade got a great anti-bullying message recently when DeSean Jackson, wide receiver for the Washington Redskins, visited the school to talk about getting along with peers. In an inspiring talk, Jackson urged the students to be kind to each other, and to trust adults to help solve problems instead of resorting to fighting. This excellent program came to J.O. Wilson through a partnership with Playworks, a nonprofit dedicated to making sure that children have the opportunity for safe, healthy play.
Mother’s Day Jewelry Shop Moms do lots of hard work, and it’s important to make sure they’re appreciated. J.O. Wilson’s annual Mother’s Day Jewelry Shop allowed students to choose gifts for Mom or other caregivers, free of charge. All jewelry was donated, and each student had the chance to make a selection the week before Mother’s Day. The Jewelry Shop is run by volunteer Nina Benton and the Friends of J.O. Wilson.
Garden Market Springtime means that the J.O. Wilson garden is back up and running, and it’s shaping up to be a stellar harvest this year. The Garden Market and CSA started up again on May 27 for a short threeweek run before taking a short break for the summer. In the fall, fresh local produce from the garden will be available for another eleven weeks. Surplus produce from the garden is sold to Field to City, a store in Bloomingdale, and Indigo restaurant on K Street. The garden isn’t just a moneymaker—it’s also a living classroom. Mr. Varhall’s fourth-graders have planted strawberries and radishes in the garden and are tracking and recording data about growth. As a complement to the lessons in the garden, the class recently took a field trip to Sweetgreen, where they learned about ‘eating the rainbow’ and local, fresh produce. Kate Sweeney, Librarian. J.O. Wilson Elementary School, 660 K St. NE.
DCPS to Award Seal of Biliteracy to Students at Graduation This spring, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) will award the Seal of Biliteracy as a special recognition to students who have demonstrated proficiency in more than one language by high school graduation. The recognition of attaining biliteracy will become part of students’ high school transcript along with an official seal affixed to their diploma. “Earning the Seal of Biliteracy is a tremendous accomplishment for our students who have demonstrated mastery in multiple languages,” said DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson. “We are extremely proud of their hard work and commitment to gaining multilingual and multicultural skills. These abilities are strong assets in today’s global society and will support their success
throughout their entire lives.” The DCPS Seal of Biliteracy is awarded based on guidelines drafted by The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), the National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE), the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL), and TESOL International Association. To be eligible to receive the DCPS Seal of Biliteracy, students must submit an application to their guidance counselor with completed course work and test results demonstrating cultural and communicative competency. Nationwide, nine states and the District of Columbia award a Seal of Biliteracy. DCPS is proud to be the first in the region to recognize the unique skills of multilingual students with this award. DCPS is committed to providing students opportunities to obtain these skills. For a third year in a row, they have committed funds to provide all DCPS elementary school students access to weekly world-language instruction. Eight DCPS schools also offer duallanguage programs. To expand on these offerings, the new Brookland Middle School opening in fall 2015 will provide students with intensive arts and world-language experiences. “We challenge our schools and communities to invest in our future leaders with opportunities for developing biliteracy or multi-literacy skills,” said Dr. Libia Gil, U.S. Department of Education assistant deputy secretary, director of the Office of English Language Acquisition. “Congratulations to DCPS for taking this challenge and making a commitment to recognize graduates with a Seal of Biliteracy for their achievements in two languages.” DCPS high school seniors and juniors can apply for the Seal of Biliteracy by obtaining an application from their guidance counselors or by contacting the DCPS website: http://dcps.dc.gov.
D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools The D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools held its annual STARS Tribute, in which school leaders, parents, students, teachers, and others in the charter school community nominate outstanding students and leaders in each of the categories. The winners are listed here: College Graduate- Kiana Murphy, Friendship Collegiate
Friendship Woodridge scholar Eriyelle Trotter, who took home two STARS awards for The Most Outstanding Student and The Most Outstanding AllAround Student.
Academy; High School Graduate- Jay Cammon, Jr., Friendship Collegiate Academy; Administrator- Arsallah Shairzay, Friendship Collegiate Academy; All-Around Student- Eriyielle Trotter, Friendship Woodridge Elementary and Middle;Athlete- Quarvez Boulware, Friendship Collegiate Academy;Charter School HOPE Award - Carlos McKnight, Thurgood Marshall Academy; Most Improved Student - Sydni Foshee, Thurgood Marshall Academy;Most Outstanding Student- Adult - Francisco Ferrufino, Carlos Rosario; Most Outstanding Student - Keneon Williams, Thurgood Marshall Academy; Liuty Kiros, Achievement Prep; Ife Shango, Roots Public Charter School; Eriyielle Trotter, Friendship Woodridge Elementary; Parent - Elementary - Anabel Cruz- Mundo/Verde;ParentMiddle School- Taniesha Harrison; Parent - High School- Angelia McDuffie; Principal - Ryan Tauriainen, Apple Public Charter School;Scientists - Philip Horrigan, Stephen Mirabello, and Mihir Patel, Washington Latin; Teacher/Leader - Early Childhood- Jenny Barcarse, Potmac Preparatory; Teacher/Leader - Elementary - Ana Maria Donado, Elsie Whitlow Stokes; Teacher/Leader - Middle - Jack Dever, Potomac Prep; Teacher/Leader High School - James Bradley, Achievement Prep; Teacher/Leader - Adult Education - Hugh Beshers, Potomac Prep; For more information, visit www.dcacps.org. u
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The adaptive re-use of the carriage house on Hill Center at Old Naval Hospital’s campus sees the transition from a building used for horse-drawn ambulances for the Civil War-era hospital to the charming Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar and Eatery.
Noted by the architect, David Bell, as a ‘pleasant surprise,’ the herringbone patterned brick is original, intact and in great shape at Bayou Bakery Coffee Bar and Eatery.
Bayou Bakery A
Bayou Bakery
and Adaptive Reuse Authenticity and AdaptiveAuthenticity Reuse by Annette Nielsen
braham Lincoln commissioned Washington, DC’s first Naval hospital in 1864, and the horse-drawn ambulances serving the Civil War-era hospital were housed in an adjacent carriage house. Hill Center, transformed from a hospital to a community-focused cultural gem, welcomes the more recent rehabilitation of the carriage house as chef David Guas brings his Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar and Eatery to Capitol Hill’s culinary destinations. Nicky Cymrot, president emeritus of the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital foundation and member of the board of directors says of Guas, “It was all about finding the right person who had views and interests that would best serve the public in this space – identifying someone who was focused on establishing a facility that would operate seven days a week, be food-centered and family friendly.” An extensive rehabilitation and adaptive reuse project requires patience, focus and funding, where attention to important historic details needs to coexist with issues of sustainability and code compliance. Now you’ll see a room in the carriage house that was used for feeding horses transformed into a cozy space where the stroller set can enjoy a cup of coffee or a bite to eat. You’ll also find a re-purposed door the chef found on the property and crafted into a coffee table. The glass-enclosed conservatory overlooking the gardens serves as a beautiful four-season dining venue, and guests will appreciate original elements throughout from the herringbone-patterned brick floor to the now decorative grain chutes and feed troughs. The architect on the carriage house project also worked on the hospital. David Bell is principal of BELL Architects, a well-known District-based architectural design firm specializing in urban sites, historic preservation, sustainable design and adaptive reuse. Bell says the carriage house rehabilitation is respectful of its past while also allowing for a creative approach to its reuse. “Part of the process was defining what Hill Center needed for the carriage house – and the Foundation decided on a food venue. The building was relatively small and it was decided that more space was needed downstairs to make it financially viable, so a conservatory space was built out before a tenant was identified,” said Bell. “The conservatory helps to connect the café spaces to the garden as well as having a nice visual to the outdoors when the grounds are being used for various functions.” The bakery, kitchen and small office are located on the second floor; a small lift efficientlys transport food and supplies to and from the first floor.
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BELOW: The conservatory, a carriage house build-out even before David Guas and Bayou Bakery were identified, was included as to increase the usable space that would provide more seating for a food establishment and ensure sustainability.
This is the second restaurant for David Guas, a native of New Orleans and the chef and owner of Arlington’s Bayou Bakery. He started conversations with the board of directors about the space over two years ago after an evening walk by the Hill Center. He was impressed by the tall wrought-iron fence enclosing the classic architecture of the building and he immediately fell in love with the property and the carriage house. “I was taken back for a minute and thought these are the details found on every corner of the Garden District (in New Orleans). This feels like home. I did not wait one day to find out how I could be there.” The New Orleans qualities that Guas admires--a wonderful mix of cultural influences, architecture, people and ambiance—he finds in the carriage house. “The historic carriage house brings together all the qualities of New Orleans I adore in one place. Our interior design respects the classical proportions of the Civil War era, but introduces a more contemporary design focus in acquired furnishings and accessories from around the South that give it that New Orleans funk.”
ABOVE: The Guases are avid collectors of antiques, incorporated into the eatery’s décor. Here, the cast iron fry pans, procured on a Civil-War era antiquing trip to Franklin, Tennessee, are displayed in the foyer.
wife Simone are avid antique collectors, you’ll notice other items from their collection, including hospital memorabilia decoupaged on the walls of the women’s room, a collection of vintage cast iron fry pans from an antiquing trip to Tennessee, and a curved 1930s era glass makeup counter employed as the pastry case at the coffee bar. Bell says that the surprises in the project came with some elements that have remained. “We knew the herringbone brick floor was there, but we were pleasantly surprised how intact it was. We were able to consolidate the below grade plumbing and limit disturbance of the existing floor– the contractor trenched a small portion, performed the plumbing work and toothed the brickwork back in. While
Success is in the Details The wrought iron fence around the campus perimeter was fully rehabilitated by Baltimore-based J. Krug and Sons, and the gas lantern affixed to the exterior of the carriage house main entrance is working again. Even the building numbers that Guas had created are held in place with nails he had made to match the building’s vintage. As Guas and his
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Chef David Guas, owner of Bayou Bakery. Photo: Patrick G. Ryan
Keith Roofing
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BELOW: Decorative elements of the carriage house Feed Room include a coffee table fashioned by David Guas from a door found on the property to feed chutes on the exposed brick walls.
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it was a lot more work, it kept the integrity of the flooring.” Bell says that while the stall separators for the horses weren’t in the feed room when they started on the project (but you could see their ghost lines), pretty much everything else that was there remains, including three grain chutes.
A Successful Collaboration “The ‘three legged stool’ metaphor is one that architects use for describing the key to great projects-- you need a good client, a good architect and a good contractor. If any one of those is weak, the stool wobbles. Both The Hill Center and Bayou Bakery are great clients – from Nicky Cymrot’s leadership and respect for community to David Guas’ aesthetics with fixtures and artwork – they embraced the entire thing. When you have people that are truly collaborating – the end result can be better than the ideas of just one person.” Bell is equally complimentary of the contractors-- Potomac Construction Services Inc. as the general contractor for the carriage house, and Katchmark Construction, Inc. for the installation of its zinc-coated copper roof. While everyone acknowledged up front that this project would be challenging, it seems like the right people came together for success. From the approval of the exterior and interior work by the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service, the project also saw important iterations as a result of careful consideration of the community’s constructive comments, as well as recommendations from the Capitol Hill Restoration Society and the Dis-
trict’s Historic Preservation Office. Of the approval process Bell says, “When it is done well, design can benefit from public engagement. It can help to develop long-term support for the business, because the community has had the opportunity to be heard and to influence the outcome. The Hill Center, including Bayou Bakery, is an example of this.” Diana Ingraham, Hill Center’s executive director is enthusiastic about the collaboration with Guas, “Everyone is just so pleased that Bayou Bakery is up and running. David and Simone are wonderfully inventive and want to make a difference in the community. Bayou Bakery will attract people who may have never visited the campus before, and with our film screenings, author talks, concerts and other programming, people will be able to grab a bite to eat before or after an event.” As the former hospital and carriage house are on a 65-year lease with the District, the board of directors is already looking ahead to the next 20 years – putting systems in place to ensure the building remains a focal point of the community. Ingraham continues, “There’s a real synergy with Hill Center’s missiondriven model and the really smart community-oriented board of directors. It’s a great way to build community.” 901 Pennsylvania Ave SE, 202.664.5307, bayoubakerydc.com Annette Nielsen is the food editor of the Hill Rag. She can be reached at annette@hillrag.com; follow her @The_ Kitchen_Cab. u
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{home and garden / hill gardener}
Sex and Sneezing in Your Garden: Plant Gender, Allergies, and Pollinator Politics
P
article and photos by Cheryl Corson, RLA, ASLA
lant selection is a lot like socially responsible investing: the more you know about it, the harder it is to do the right thing. Are native plants good or bad? That depends. Is pollen good or bad? That depends. Are plant-eating bugs in your garden good or bad? That depends, but usually better than you think. Add to the conundrums of bee colony collapse disorder, monarch butterfly decline, bat white nose syndrome, and dare we say it – climate change, is the precipitous rise in recent decades of allergies in the American human population. Allergies now rank fifth in all American chronic diseases http://www. webmd.com/allergies/allergy-statistics. Pollen allergies are connected to asthma, another serious chronic disease, especially in children. Allergy proliferation may be attributed in part to commercial ornamental plant propagation practices. Here’s how.
Plants and Sex Before industrial scale agriculture and horticulture practices, street trees were grown from seedlings, a slow natural process resulting in approximately 50% male and 50% female plants. You may remember that some trees and shrubs are dioecious, which means male and female plants are separate individuals. Female trees tend to be called “messy,” meaning when people encounter their fruit, flowers, and seeds they don’t like all the cleaning up. If you live on Capitol Hill you’ll know that female Ginkgo trees shed their pungent fruit on sidewalks in the fall. Many people complain about this despite a long list of health benefits conferred by Ginkgo fruit (see Web MD), including
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This checkered-fringe prominent caterpillar (Schizura ipomoeae) hides from hungry birds by disguising itself as a dead leaf.
as a remedy for asthma. According to the great description in his new book, The Allergy Fighting Garden (2015, Ten Speed Press), and a chapter called, “Botanical Sexism and Our Current Allergy Crisis,” author Thomas Leo Ogren explains how modern plant cloning and other propagation practices carried the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s mid-20th century recommendation to select for male plants to avoid all that female messiness. And on a massive scale, that’s just what happened, resulting today in mostly male street trees which produce, you guessed it, copious amounts of airborne pollen in environments with highly concentrated human populations. Ogren and others correlate this doubling of urban airborne tree pollen with the rise in allergies. His book makes a clear and convincing case.
Pollen and Pollinators “But wait a minute,” you say, “I thought we were supposed to help bring back pollinators like the honey bee and the monarch butterfly. I thought pollen was good.” Keep in mind that, as Ogren says, “if you spend as much time looking at pollen under a microscope as I do, you’ll learn that all pollen is different, just like people.” He differentiates between predominately lightweight airborne tree pollen which is problematic, and the larger, heavier, insect borne pollen found in many flowering perennials and shrubs, which is not wreaking the same havoc on humans because it isn’t getting in our lungs. This is the pollen spread by all the beautiful and good invertebrates we are trying to bring back from the
Standard Cleaning Services brink of extinction. Or at least we say we are. It’s not that all airborne tree pollen is bad and all insect borne flowering plant pollen is good. That would be too easy. But in Tom Ogren’s perfect world, street trees would be female and thus, pollen free. He has developed a numeric ranking of ornamental plants by how much problem pollen they disperse, called, after himself, OPALS, the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale. His book ranks a number of trees, shrubs, perennials, and even bulbs according to this one to ten scale (where “one” is good). Your own personal allergies are important to consider when purchasing trees for your garden, but urban school grounds where kids exercise are critical in terms of exposure to excessive amounts of airborne tree pollen. Male clonal cultivars in these environments may cause a disproportionate amount of harm to young people whose immune systems are still developing. And some of these male trees are native plants. Indeed, it is nearly impossible to purchase seedgrown tree stock these days now that cloning and tissue culture are the norm. It’s a thorny issue. If you purchase Ogren’s book, keep in mind that he is California based and many plants listed are known invasives in our Mid-Atlantic region. Perform due diligence on any low-OPALS rated plant to be sure it is not going to create problems in your yard or your neighbor’s yard. Running bamboo is a case in point. It has a low OPALS rating but I would never recommend it, even with a so-called root barrier. Still, the OPALS rating is the first of its
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June 2015 H 151
{home and garden / hill gardener}
Yellow swallowtails in a feeding frenzy on native Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum)
Honeybees feeding on flower nectar transport pollen from flower to flower.
kind and has been endorsed by the USDA, which is a tad ironic.
National Pollinator Week Now that you understand that we can dislike some pollen and not others, June is the month to celebrate the good pollen and the pollinators we love. National Pollinator Week is June 15-21 this year. And what would Capitol Hill-style Pollinator Week be without an Executive Memorandum? The “2014 White House Directive on Dwindling Pollinator Health” is our President’s effort to get federal agencies working together to address this serious environmental and economic issue. Mark Cason, the American Society of Landscape Architects’ liaison to the U.S. Department of Transportation on the pollinator action plan, is advocating for the “Highway BEE Act” in the current congressional session. This effort would allow willing state departments of transportation to change their highway maintenance practices to reduce mowing, which cuts off flowers needed by pollinators, plant pollinator friendly plants on roadsides, and use IPM, or integrated pest management in lieu of harmful herbicides and pesti-
152 H Hillrag.com
cides. Cason says the goal is to include pollinatorfriendly language in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill, MAP-21. You can celebrate National Pollinator Week by attending several events at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History including an outdoor Pollinator Party on June 17 from 10am-1pm. Or, you can attend a Capitol Hill Congressional briefing hosted by the Pollinator Partnership on June 20 from 3-5:30pm at the Longworth House Office Building. For more, see: http://pollinator.org/ npw_events14.htm.
How to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden You can find resources at the National Wildlife Federation to support pollinators in your yard. See: http://www.nwf.org/Pollinators/PollinatorDecline.aspx. When purchasing plants, be sure they have not been treated with a prevalent new class of insecticides called, “neonicotinoids.” These are, according to the Xerces Society, “systemic chemicals absorbed by the plant, and dispersed through plant tissues, including pollen and nectar.” See: http://www.xerces.org/wp-con-
tent/uploads/2013/06/NeonicsInYourGarden.pdf. This means you can buy a native Aesclepias tuberosa, or butterfly weed, and if it’s been treated with a neonicotinoid, it will not do your monarch butterfly a bit of good. Home Depot is now labelling their plants treated with this class of chemicals. Ask your local garden center before you buy plants, so you can be assured you really are providing the help you intend. It’s not easy to do the right thing, but knowledge is power. Homeowners can buy wisely by reading books and labels. Landscape architects and designers can specify plants carefully. Garden centers can eliminate harmful chemicals from their supply chain. Governments can be mindful of unintended consequences of their policies. And we can all take some time to learn more than what we think we know. Happy pollinating! Cheryl Corson, RLA, ASLA, is a local licensed landscape architect working on Capitol Hill and beyond. The more she learns, the less she thinks she knows. With her designs, she tries to “first, do no harm.” See: www.cherylcorson.com. u
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The Capitol Hill Garden Club presents
Dear Garden Problem Lady, by Wendy Blair
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Why does the chemical lime, which I am guessing is powdered limestone, have the same name as the green fruit, lime? The Problem Lady does not know. The name of the green fruit comes from an Arabic word, “limah”. The kind of lime used in gardens to “sweeten” or make soil less acidic, when soil needs that, is powdered Calcium Oxide made from Calcium Carbonate. This “lime” derives from an old English word, “lim” or “lam” meaning loam or clay.
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I recently received news that my soil is 5.7 on the chemical pH scale -- a bit on the acid side. I had sent soil samples in their kit to the University of Maryland testing service. I am not sure what to do because my flowers seem OK. Alas, the University of Maryland no longer does soil testing. On a scale of 1-14, soils with pH levels below 7.0 are considered acidic. Soils with pH levels above 7.0 are considered alkaline. 7 is considered neutral. There is much to know about when to add lime to one’s soil to make its nutrients available to plants that cannot access them without a change of pH. The great majority of garden plants and trees need a soil pH of 6 to 7. Your flowers may all require an acid soil – so make certain before you do anything. Your soil may be ideal for what you have. Acidity can be caused by having too much of any one
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Feeling beset by gardening problems? Send them to the Problem Lady c/o The Capitol Hill Garden Club at andrew@hillrag.com. Your problems might prove instructive to others, and help them feel superior to you. Complete anonymity is assured. The Capitol Hill Garden Club’s regular monthly meetings on the second Tuesday evening of each month will resume on Tuesday, September 8, 2015. Membership details: www.capitolhillgardenclub.org. u
June 2015 H 155
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June 2015 ★ 163
{the last word}
In Praise of Maria Calomiris Maria Calomiris, an amazing woman, and an icon at Eastern Market for decades, has passed. We all knew her well and will miss her gentle smile, strong will, and constant enthusiasm. Condolences to all who knew her, loved her, and will miss her wonderful ways. Barry Margeson, Market Manager An enduring memory Maria is her courage and determination to keep her business going after the fire. All during that cold winter you would see her standing in the cold; always smiling and offering a welcome to her customers. It was a sure signal of hope to Hill residents that Eastern Market would survive. She will be missed. Marthena Cowart cowart.marthena@gmail.com
Maryland Avenue Safety Project Needs Urgency and Transparency. This edition of the Hill Rag includes an article about a meeting on May 12, 2015 hosted by Councilmember (CM) Charles Allen to review the project to improve safety of Maryland Avenue (MD Ave) NE between the Supreme Court and Benning Road. Two characteristics seemed to be missing from the news by the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT). 1. Urgency. Neighbors near MD Ave have a sense of urgency for this project that arises from observing near-miss accidents with alarming frequency. CM Allen shares this urgency, but it is not clear that DDOT does. Many of DDOT’s statements seemed to be far more reflective of “business as usual,” e.g., final design will be complete in two years; PEPCO and other utilities will not review the design until it is 30% complete. We have seen how quickly DC government can act when its staff have a sense of urgency, as when Frager’s hardware store burned, and within one week Frager’s was open for business in the Eastern Market pop-up. 2. Transparency. The nearest milestone identified by DDOT appears to be the 30% design stage which might occur in 2016, but we have no
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way to assess their progress towards such a goal. We have observed inexplicable delays in this project, as when the historical review occurred in November 2014 and appeared to involve mostly the same information that was available when the ANC6A and 6C approved this project in 2012. This lack of transparency is in stark contrast to Mayor Bowser’s comments as a candidate and since she was elected. DDOT staff said many of the right things during the meeting on May 12. However I recommend that all our elected officials should continue to encourage better performance in DDOT’s efforts to reduce the hazards which our neighbors experience daily. Thanks to all the community residents who support this project, including Todd Hettenbach and Beth Bacon, ANC6A Commissioners Phil Toomajian and Omar Mahmud, and Gary Barbour of the ANC6C Transportation and Public Space Committee. Also thanks to the Capitol Hill Restoration Society for supporting the analysis of impact to the L’Enfant streetscape design. Commissioner Scott Price (6C03) Scott.Price@anc.dc.gov
Oppose The Gigantic Digital Billboard Pollution Protection Act DDOT proposes to radically change DC’s sign control and billboard ordinances to spread digital advertising on the sides of buildings and rooftops throughout the city. The draft regulations, Second Proposed Rulemaking – Title 13: Sign Regulations, are now out for public comment. (View the proposed regulations at http://dcregs.dc.gov/Gateway/NoticeHome.aspx?noticeid=5312901 We urge citizens to oppose these radical and unwarranted changes that constitute, in effect, the Gigantic Digital Billboard Pollution Protection Act, by the revised deadline in early July 2015. (DDOT will announce the exact due date in a forthcoming notice in the DC Register that we will post on our web site: www.committeeof100.net) The proposals permits billboard companies to obtain a routine sign permit to spread the most intrusive forms of outdoor advertising technology thus far devised, erasing the last vestiges of Dis-
trict’s historic ban on billboards (see DC v. Billboard Industry: A History below) and caving to the industry’s demand for free-range billboards in the nation’s capital. Here’s how it would be done: • Digital “variable-message” billboards: 40sf video monitors flashing a different screen every ten seconds could be installed anywhere zoning allows commercial activity. This would include mixed residential/commercial districts, where there would be no restriction on proximity to, or impact on, residential units or offices. • “Designated Entertainment Areas” - Supersized full-motion-video billboards up to 1200sf could be erected anywhere in the city that a Mayor, in his/her sole discretion with only token public consultation, labels an “entertainment area” – for example a neighborhood commercial strip with a theater and a couple of bars featuring live music. There would be no restrictions on either size or location. These “DEA’s” could pop up near residential areas, historic sites, parks, monuments, federal buildings or anything else. In addition to Gallery Place and Verizon Center, two more much larger billboard zones would be created instantly: SW Waterfront and the Nationals Ballpark. For the first time, digital projection would be allowed that can turn any available surface not already occupied by some other sign into a full motion video. • “Special Signs” –Gargantuan wall-screen billboards whose size is limited only by the size of the building on which they’re mounted could migrate from downtown where, since 2001, they have been confined. Some have been as large as 6000sf. • Rooftop signs - Still-image video billboards could even be located on rooftops, visible for miles around. For further information on billboard control nationwide: www.scenic.org For further information on DC’s regulations, please contact: Meg Maguire, The Committee of 100 megmaguireconsultant@msn.com u
June 2015 H 165
{the nose}
THE NOSE
Bring On The Bowser-Ettes by Anonymous
T
here is nothing like an election to get this columnist’s blood flowing. Whether it is the sight of M.C. “Baby” Barry” parading astride a white steed or listening to fellow talking head, “Earnest” Eugene Kinlow, bravely soldiering through a position paper at a news conference. Why binge watch Game of Thrones, when one can sip one’s favorite poison awaiting the Ward 8 returns? Unfortunately, the Ward 8 electorate did not share your poor scribbler’s enthusiasm. Of the 51,954 voters registered, only 7,308, a mere 14 percent, considered punching the ballot important enough to take a break from watching the latest Real Housewives of Benning Road to wander over to the hustings. When the dust settled on election eve, the Green candidate, LaRuby “Color Me Purple” May eked out a 151-vote victory over Trayon “Barry” White. In the end, this narrowed to a mere 78 ballots. May’s take represented only 3.76 percent of the Ward 8 electorate; and only 26.75 percent of the total cast. To generate this massive mandate, May raised $269,083.76 as of April 20, 2015. She had spent $227,826.17 as of that date. A total that omits her Get Out The Vote (GOTV) costs on the days preceding the election. Your esteemed columnist, Dear Readers, may not rank as an Einstein. However, simple sums do not escape his weather eye. If one divides the total amount expended by Miss May by the votes she garnered, each ballot cost her $136.64. To put May’s achievement in perspective, let’s take a look at her patron, Mayor Muriel “The Emerald Puppeteer” Bowser. In her November victory, her Green Machine raised $3,638,828.32. 96,666 votes were cast in her favor. The Puppeteer got a bargain. She spent a mere $37.64 per ballot, 28 percent of what her protege May expended to get elected in a single ward. If The Nose had access to that much Purple cash, Dear Readers, he could have easily rounded up more than 2,000 voters. A trail of Benjamins laid down
166 H Hillrag.com
MLK, Mississippi and Malcolm X Avenues and along Good Hope Road could have pointed citizens straight to the polls. As a further incentive, anyone seen with an “I Voted Sticker” could have been blessed with a $25 Walmart gift card. As an infamous politician once said on an FBI wiretap, “Money talks and bullshit walks.” In her Purpleness’s defense, Ward 8 voters are a hard lot. Here is their swan song cribbed from the Beatles songbook: Can’t buy my love, love Can’t buy my love I’ll take your happy meal my friend if it makes you feel alright I’ll put a sign in my yard if it makes you feel alright Cos I don’t care too much for politics, and money can’t buy my love I’ll give you all I got to give if you promise to employ me too I may not have more than one vote to give but that one I’ll give to you I don’t care too much for money, money can’t buy my love Can’t buy my love, the pundits don’t really know Can’t buy my love, Oh No No No, No! The Emerald Puppeteer has successfully installed her two backup singers, The Bowser-Ettes, on the Council. It remains do be seen whether they will help her organize that body into singing a 13-party harmony. Have a comment for The Nose? He loves hearing from his Dear Readers. Email him your thoughts. u