Hill Rag Magazine – January 2022 by Capital Community News

hillrag.com . January 2022

Brokerage

•

Development

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Investments

@formantpropertygroup

1408 9th St. NW

formantpropertygroup.com

Listed $1,399,000 Nantucket Renovation in Glover Park! Mike C. Formant 202-577-3027

406 H Street NE Washington, DC 20002

2044 37th St. NW

Listed $1,000,000 Three units, steps from the Convention Center! Mike C. Formant 202-577-3027

WE HAVE MOVED!

CO U N ND TR ER A CT

B A UY G ER EN S T

Happy Holidays!

202.544.3900

1520 Webster St. NW Sold in one day! $1,075,000 Happy sellers in Petworth! Mike C. Formant 202-577-3027

802 Delafield Pl. NW Sold $829,000 Nantucket Renovation in Petworth! Mike C. Formant 202-577-3027

Hope your holidays were bright and filled with family and good health! Hope your New Year is filled with happiness, health, and hopes realized! YOUR HOME. MY MISSION.

DeeDee Branand Realtor ® DC / MD

202.369.7902

deedeebranand@compass.com deedeebranand.com Compass is a licensed real estate brokerage that abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Compass is licensed as Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in Virginia and Maryland. 660 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20003 | 202.545.6900

January 2022 H 3

HAPPY NEW YEAR! CONTACT US NOW FOR YOUR FREE WINTER ROOF INSPECTION BEFORE SNOW AND ICE SET IN! EMAIL US TODAY AT TOM@RTHOMASDANIELROOFING.COM

OR CALL US AT 202-569-1080 WHILE APPOINTMENTS FOR FREE INSPECTIONS ARE STILL AVAILABLE!

THE HILL’S ROOFER FOR NEARLY 100 YEARS!

R.THOMAS DANIEL ROOFING

UNDER YOUR ROOF IS YOUR MOST

VALUABLE ASSET... YOUR HOME!

YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ROOFER Owner Tom Daniel, outside the original location of the family roofing business at 310 Independence Ave., S.E.

Our Services: • LEAK REPAIR • NEW ROOFS • ROOF COATING • Low Slope Roofing

• • • • •

Steep Slope Roofing Gutter & Downspouts Skylights Chimneys Masonry

Uncover Hidden Future Costs. Warning Signs Could Mean Higher Costs If Not Corrected Today! • • • • •

Roof is over 10 years old Interior water stains Visible leaks or cracks Loose attic insulation Open joints and seams on roof

• Drains/gutters filled with debris • Loose chimney flashing or mortar • Skylight cracked or leaking

202.569.1080 202.544.4430

tom@rthomasdanielroofing.com www.rthomasdanielroofing.com

PROUD TO BE A CAPITOL HILL VILLAGE PREFERRED VENDOR

PROUD TO BE A CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SPONSOR. 4 ★ HILLRAG.COM

January 2022 H 5

EMPOWERING A HEALTHIER NEW YOU

Reach out for 1 on 1 virtual coaching support

FROM PATTIE CINELLI

LEARN:

• Exercises to strengthen & improve your respiratory system. • Identify methods to increase your immune function.

Work with Pattie to keep yourself in optimal shape to deal with anything that comes into your path. 30 years of experience

Work with a Certified Functional Aging Specialist

LET’S TALK. CALL OR EMAIL TODAY.

202.329.5514

FITMISS44@AOL.COM • PATTIECINELLI.COM

SMYAL supports and empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth ages 6-24. Through youth leadership, SMYAL creates opportunities for LGBTQ youth to build self-confidence, develop critical life skills, and engage their peers and community through service and advocacy. Committed to social change, SMYAL builds, sustains, and advocates for programs, policies, and services that LGBTQ youth need as they grow into adulthood.

SMYAL.org

202-546-5940 | supporterinfo@smyal.org | 410 7th Street., SE WDC 20003

6 ★ HILLRAG.COM

January 2022 H 7

IN THIS ISSUE JANUARY 2022

SPRING EDUCATION SPECIAL ISSUE!

2022 Winter-Sp

EDUCATION ring Edition /

PreK-12

A Resource for the Education

and Enrichment of Students

in Washington, DC

SEE CENTER SPREAD (PG.42)

Showing Up: Lora Nunn Works to Improve the Anacostia Watershed by Kayla Benjamin

Going Green: A Hill Resident Saves Money while Helping the Environment by Catherine Plume

New Small Business Round-Up: Four New Shops on the Hill

A CAP ITA L COM MU NIT Y

NEW S PUB LIC ATI ON

• cap ital com mu

by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Live from Your Heart, Not Your Head: A New Year’s Resolution to Make Today by Pattie Cinelli

WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

LOCAL CALENDAR

capitol streets 23

Showing Up: Lora Nunn Works to Improve the Anacostia Watershed by Kayla Benjamin

Our River: The Anacostia – Using Nature to Heal and Empower Communities Along Our River by Bill Matuszeski

Farewell to ‘Pastor Mike’: Lutheran Church of the Reformation Pastor Moves on to Iowa by Elizabeth O’Gorek

New Small Business Round-Up: Four New Shops on the Hill by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Mental Health Issues on the Rise: ANC 6A Report by Nick L. Alberti

DOH on Restaurant Inspection and Rats: ANC 6B Report By Elizabeth O’Gorek

Transportation Committee Chair Honored: ANC 6C Report by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Parcel B Inches Forward : ANC 6D Report by Andrew Lightman

Bulletin Board by Kathleen Donner

nity new s.c om

homes and gardens 51

Blowing in the Wind: DC Mandates Cleaner Leaf Blowers and Provides Rebates for Them by Catherine Plume

Going Green: A Hill Resident Saves Money while Helping the Environment by Catherine Plume

The Hill Gardener: Surroundings Is Here to Stay by Rindy O’Brien

Changing Hands by Don Denton

Dear Garden Problem Lady by Wendy Blair

arts and dining 63

At the Movies: Spanish Film Icon Comes Up with Another Winner by Mike Canning

Capitol Cuisine by Celeste McCall

Art and The City by Jim Magner

Literary Hill by Karen Lyon

Poetic Hill by Karen Lyon

family life 73

Live from Your Heart, Not Your Head: A New Year’s Resolution to Make Today by Pattie Cinelli

The District Vet: Thinking Outside the Litter Box by Dan Teich

78 CLASSIFIEDS 82 CROSSWORD

on the cover: Red Head Woodpecker Sufie Berger watercolor, acrylic and collage Sufie is a local artist resident on Capitol Hill for tthe past wenty-five years. See more of her work at: www.sufiebergerart.com

Next Issue: January 29

Capital Community News, Inc. Publisher of: MIDCITY

F A G O N

GUIDE TO CAPITOL HILL

FAGON

EDUCATION

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

Capital Community News, Inc. Est. 1976 PO Box 15477, Washington, DC 20003 202.543.8300 • www.capitalcommunitynews.com • www.hillrag.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Melissa Ashabranner • melissa.ashabranner@gmail.com

Editorial Staﬀ

M�� E��: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com C�� F�� O��: Maria Carolina Lopez • carolina@hillrag.com E�� R��: Elizabeth O’Gorek • liz@hillrag.com K�� F�� E��: Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com Intern: Sarah Payne • sarah@hillrag.com

Arts, Dining & Entertainment A��:

D��: L��: M��: M��: T��:

Jim Magner • jjmagner@aol.com Phil Hutinet • phutinet@yahoo.com Celeste McCall • cmccall20003@gmail.com Karen Lyon • klyon@literaryhillbookfest.org Mike Canning • mjcanning@verizon.net Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Barbara Wells • barchardwells@aol.com

Calendar & Bulletin Board

C�� E��: Kathleen Donner • calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com

General Assignment

Stephanie Deutsch • scd@his.com Tom Daniel • tom@rthomasdanielrooﬁng.com Michelle Phipps-Evans • invisiblecolours@yahoo.com Maggie Hall • whitby@aol.com Pleasant Mann • pmann1995@gmail.com Meghan Markey • meghanmarkey@gmail.com William Matuszeski • bmat@primary.net Elizabeth O’Gorek • Liz@hillrag.com Virginia Avniel Spatz • virginia@hillrag.com Michael G. Stevens • michael@capitolriverfront.org Peter Waldron • peter218@prodigy.net

Beauty, Health & Fitness

Patricia Cinelli • ﬁtmiss44@aol.com Candace Y.A. Montague • writeoncm@gmail.com

Real Estate

Kids & Family

Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com Susan Johnson • schools@hillrag.com

Homes & Gardens

Derek Thomas • derek@thomaslandscapes.com Catherine Plume • caplume@yahoo.com Rindy 0’Brien • rindyobrien@gmail.com

Commentary

editorial@hilllrag.com

Production/Graphic/Web Design

A�� D��: Jason Yen • jay@hillrag.com Graphic Design: Shawn Henderson • shawn@hillrag.com W�� M��: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com

Advertising & Sales

Account Executive: Kira Means, 202.543.8300 X16 • kira@hillrag.com Account Executive & Classiﬁed Advertising: Maria Carolina Lopez, 202.543.8300 X12 • Carolina@hillrag.com Account Executive: Mariana Heavey, 202-400-3507 • Mariana@hillrag.com

Distribution

M��: Andrew Lightman D��: MediaPoint, LLC I��: distribution@hillrag.com

Deadlines & Contacts

A��: sales@hillrag.com D�� A��: 15th of each month C�� A��: 10th of each month E��: 15th of each month; editorial@hilllrag.com B�� B�� C��: 15th of each month; calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com

Don Denton • DDenton@cbmove.com Heather Schoell • heathersdo@gmail.com

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. 10 ★ HILLRAG.COM

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All Credit Cards Accepted January 2022 ★ 11

The China, Sports and Power lecture is on Tuesday, Jan.11, 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Church Hall (beer hall in Georgetown Park), 1070 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

WHAT’S ON W A S H I N G T O N PROFS & PINTS LECTURES RESUME

Profs and Pints (motto “love to learn”) brings college professors into bars, cafés, company ofﬁces, and other off-campus venues to share their knowledge. They speak on subjects of broad interest, including local history, their region’s environment, emerging trends in business or politics, and the ideas and innovations transforming our society and culture. All talks are delivered on an adult level and may feature mature content. Unless otherwise stated, anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets are $12, plus tax and service charge. Find DC area lectures at profsandpints.com/washingtondc.

IKE UDE: NOLLYWOOD PORTRAITS AT THE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN ART

SEVEN GAMES AND WHY WE LOVE THEM

WE THE PEOPLES BEFORE FESTIVAL

First Peoples Fund and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts present We The Peoples Before, a festival of events designed to explore and expand deep truths and reﬂections about the history and experience of this country’s Native peoples. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy Center and the 25th anniversary of First Peoples Fund, We The Peoples Before is a multi-day event that features performances, workshops, ﬁlm screenings, cooking demonstrations, and discussions. The festival will take place, from Feb. 3 to 6, at multiple locations across the Kennedy Center’s campus including the REACH. All events are free, but some require advance reservations that will be available on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 10 a.m. wethepeoplesbefore.org.

Checkers, backgammon, Go, and chess. Poker, Scrabble, and bridge. These seven games, ancient and modern, fascinate millions of people worldwide. On Wednesday, Feb. 2, 6:45 to 8:15 p.m., join journalist and author Oliver Roeder as he charts their origins and historical importance, the delightful arcana of their rules, and the ways their design makes them pleasurable. He delves into the history and lore of each game: backgammon boards in ancient Egypt, the Indian origins of chess, and how certain shells from a particular beach in Japan make the ﬁnest white Go stones. $25. This program is part of the Smithsonian Associates Streaming series. smithsonianassociates.org. Photo: Oliver Roeder

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Nollywood, Nigeria’s $3 billion film industry, is populated with savvy stars, directors, and producers. Artist Iké Udé returned to Lagos, Nigeria, in October 2014, after three decades away, to photograph its celebrities. In this exhibition, Udé’s portraits appear for the first time with garments and other items used in their creation to make a glamorous, bold statement about African identity. Each portrait conveys radical beauty by reclaiming, reconstructing, and redefining notions of African identity. Ike Ude: Nollywood Portraits opens on Feb. 5 at the National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave. SW. Africa.si.edu.

January 2022 H 13

WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

HE BIRCHMERdEfive-time Grammy KEB’ MO’ AT T an ican blues musician er Keb’ Mo’, is an Am d songwriter, living singer, guitarist, an a is He uer. inn w Award rn blues style is infl see. His post-mode es nn pop Te z, le, jaz , vil ck sh ro Na in ing folk, and genres, includ igi or his by d enced by many eras ine co “Keb Mo” was er nik mo e d Th or . rec try and coun ked up by his tin Dennard, and pic nal drummer, Quen given name, Kevin his of k” abbreviation tal et unt tre “s a as el lab Birchmere, 3701 Mo Keb’ Mo’, is at The . p.m 0 7:3 at Roosevelt Moore, 21 d , on Jan. 20 an VA ia dr an ex Al e., Vernon Av com. $89.50. birchmere.

THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY AT THE NATIONAL

The Simon & Garfunkel Story tells the story from their humble beginnings to their incredible success as one of the best-selling music groups of the ‘60s to their dramatic split in 1970. It culminates with the famous “The Concert in Central Park” reunion in 1981 with more than half a million fans in attendance. Using huge projection photos and original film footage, the show also features a full live band performing all of their hits, including “Mrs. Robinson,” “Cecilia,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “Homeward Bound,” and many more. Read more at thesimonandgarfunkelstory.com. Tickets are $59, up. The Simon & Garfunkel Story is at the National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. thenationaldc.com.

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY’S NOT JUST ANOTHER DAY OFF

During Folger Shakespeare Library’s Not Just Another Day Off presentation, contemporary poets will be joined by actors for the annual celebration of the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This virtual event, available Jan. 17 to 24, features new poetry alongside historical speeches from Dr. King, Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, Frederick Douglass, Malcolm X, James Baldwin, and others. Free but registration requested. folger. edu/events/not-just-another-day-off-2022. 14 H HILLRAG.COM

COMPULSION OR THE HOUSE BEHIND AT THEATER J

Sid Silver is a man obsessed. When he learns about a young girl named Anne Frank and her diary, Silver makes it his mission to ensure her tale is heard. But is the manuscript a work of art? A cultural treasure? Or simply a valuable product? As he fights for the diary’s publication and the rights to adapt it into a play, Silver’s idealism turns to fanaticism, and his good intentions may prove to be his undoing. A fascinating, semi-fictional story about one forgotten writer’s battle for one extraordinary girl’s diary. $40 to $60. Compulsion or the House Behind is at Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW, from Jan 26 to Feb. 20. theaterj.org.

CAN YOU USE A LITTLE MORE HEALTH, FUN, CONFIDENCE, AND SEXINESS DURING THE WINTER MONTHS? If yes, join us for our 10-week group sessions:

TASTE THE PASSION IN EVERY BITE! Our executive chef/owner Danio Somoza has created a menu that will please every palate.

Spring is Around the Corner!

January 10 - March 15

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From our dry-aged prime steaks, freshly sourced seafood, and local produce.

• Daily access to me and our group via a secured text system.

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• SAFETY of being at home - all sessions are VIRTUAL! We are driven to provide the community with the finest family-owned and operated

restaurant in DC.

Reserve your table online now!

harvesttidecapitolhill.com or call 202-733-1691 212 7th Street SE WDC 20003

• Can’t attend live sessions? - They will be stored in our learning platform for you. • Fair price!

Jana is a Wellness Coach, Certified Master Strength Trainer, and 500-RYT Yoga Teacher

ALSO ACCEPTING PRIVATE CLIENTS!

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WELLNESS & LIFESTYLE COACH January 2022 ★ 15

ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA WITH BRANFORD MARSALIS AT STRATHMORE

WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

In 1972, a group of young artists made history by creating an orchestra without a conductor in which musicians led themselves democratically. Orpheus performances unfold dynamically, moment-by-moment, creating an energy shared by musicians and audiences alike. For the performance on Jan. 20, 8 p.m., Orpheus is joined by visionary jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis. Praised for bringing “a graceful poise and supple tone . . . and an insouciant swagger” to his classical performances, Marsalis has proven that his musical command knows no bounds. $54 to $98. Orpheus Chamber Orchestra with Branford Marsalis is at the Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD. strathmore.org.

BEETHOVEN’S NINTH

Beethoven’s epic Ninth is the symphony by which all others are measured. Witness the vast cosmic drama of this groundbreaking piece—the first symphony to include chorus in its orchestration. With its grand emotional melodies and tremendous final “Ode to Joy,” Beethoven’s final symphony resounds as loudly today as it did two centuries ago. This National Symphony Orchestra program at the Kennedy Center, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda on Jan. 27, 7 p.m. and Jan. 28 and 29 at 8 p.m., also includes the Fourth Sinfonia by George Walker, a Washington, DC native and the first Black composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music. $15 to $89. kennedy-center.org.

SEVEN METHODS OF KILLING KYLIE JENNER AT WOOLLY

When Forbes Magazine declares Kylie Jenner a “self-made” billionaire, Cleo takes to Twitter to call out white women who co-opt and profit from Black culture. Not long after Cleo’s tweets go viral with supposed support, the internet mob turns on her. Soon online discourse spills into reality, blurring the tenuous lines between internet personas and authentic relationships. Through a digital world of GIFs, memes, and #cancelculture, Seven Methods… offers a Gen Z analysis of Black womanhood, colorism, and the politics of social media activism. $46 to $64. $20 for age 30 and under. Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner is at Woolly Mammoth, 641 D St. NW, from Feb. 14 to March 6. woolymammoth.net. Playwright Jasmine Lee Jones, Seven Methods of Killing Kylie Jenner. Photo: Helen Murray

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Artist Eileen Schofield with her piece from the Art Enables “New Wave” Winter Showcase entitled “Pies Going All Around.”

WINTER SHOWCASE AT ART ENABLES GALLERY

From Jan. 15 to April 2, the Art Enables Gallery at 2204 Rhode Island Ave. NE, presents a collection of recent works by their resident artists. As always, this studio gallery exhibition is a showcase of the vibrant and varied styles and techniques of some of the most interesting artists in the area. Art Enables is an art gallery and vocational arts program dedicated to creating opportunities for artists with disabilities to make, market, and earn income from their original and compelling artwork. All are invited to the opening reception on Thursday, Jan. 20, 5 to 7 p.m. Visit the gallery online anytime and in person on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. art-enables.org.

2022

GOOD VIBES ONLY THE

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406 H St. NE, Second Floor

(202) 355-6500

tiberrealtygroup.com Michael@tiberrealtygroup.com

January 2022 ★ 17

WINTER RESTAURANT WEEK RETURNS WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

Winter Restaurant Week, presented by Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, returns as the biannual celebration of the region’s resilient restaurant industry this Jan. 17 to 23 with specially priced menus offered throughout DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia. Restaurant Week returns with a focus on on-premise dining, but keeps certain attractions diners have grown to love with the past few cycles including RW-To-Go dinner meals and cocktail pairings. During this time, participating restaurants offer three-course menus for lunch and brunch at $25 and dinners for $40 and $55. Visit ramw.org/restaurantweek for participating restaurant menus, to make reservations and place orders.

Wine glasses clink at City Winery, 1350 Okie St. NE, open Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. citywinery.com/washingtondc.

AND NOW, HOLD ME AT DANCE PLACE

On Jan. 22, 8 to 10 p.m.; and Jan. 23, 7 to 9 p.m., And Now, Hold Me offers up kaleidoscopic approaches to holding space via prismatic performance. This unflinchingly tender and unfailingly tenacious duet teases apart the relationship between self and space by using performance as means to couple the living in—and holding of—fleshy bodies and social spheres. Pay-what-you can. Dance Place 3225 Eighth St. NE. danceplace.org. Sergio Guerra Abril and Dylan Lambert. Photo: Elsa Rinde

THE NEW WOMAN BEHIND THE CAMERA AT THE NGA

inThe iconic New Woman—modern, con and , tive dependent, stylish, crea el mod nary lutio fident—was a revo turfor women across the globe. Fea phol iona rnat inte 120 than e mor ing ind tographers, The New Woman Beh w “ne rse dive the s the Camera explore y raph tog pho d race emb women” who onas a mode of professional and pers the to 0s 192 al expression from the ibition 1950s. This groundbreaking exh wom act imp nt ifica sign reveals the ern mod of ory hist the on had e hav en Behind photography. The New Woman ery Gall l iona Nat the the Camera is at . .gov nga 2. 202 30, Jan. ugh of Art thro el Myers, ABOVE: Ruth Harriet Louise, Carm Angeles 1925–1930, gelatin silver print, Los and County Museum of Art, The Marjorie eum Leonard Vernon Collection© The Must of Modern Art/Licensed by SCALA/Ar Resource, NY

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LIVING THE DREAM... SINGING THE DREAM

On Sunday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m., the long-running, ever-popular tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. returns to in-person performance at the Kennedy Center as the combined choirs of Washington Performing Arts and Choral Arts celebrate the power of music, collaboration, and the human spirit. $25 to $75. kennedy-center.org.

CREATIVE CAULDRON’S GIRLS OF MADISON STREET

A tight-knit family of African American sisters confront hidden truths and well-kept secrets as they come together for their mother’s funeral. Conflicts emerge, tensions flare, but they soon learn that the bonds of sisterhood know no bounds. A “Bold New Works for Intimate Stages” premiere from Helen Hayes Award Winner Iyona Blake. $35. Girls of Madison Street is at Creative Cauldron, 410 So. Maple Ave., #116, Falls Church, VA, from Feb. 10 to March 6. creativecauldron.org.

SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE SMALL BUSINESS WORKSHOP TODAY For existing and aspiring District businesses - the Small Business Resource Center is here for you!

WEBINAR: LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CERTIFIED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (CBE) Thursday, January 6, 2022 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/56491 100 Gallatin St. NE Washington, DC 20011

WEBINAR: DCRA AT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY – LEARN THE PROCESS OF STARTING A BUSINESS Tuesday, January 11, 2022 5:00 pm Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/55579

Pre-K 3 through 5th grade Building a strong foundation for learning

ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR ALL GRADES FOR THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR ADDITIONAL LOTTERY FOR STUDENTS WITH HIGH LEVEL SPECIAL EDUCATION NEEDS.

Apply for admissions at:

www.myschooldc.org or call (202) 888-6336 Lottery Deadline March 1, 2022

Open Houses School Year 2022-2023 *All sessions will be virtual using ZOOM video conferencing. To register please call (202) 545-0515 or email info@bridgespcs.org to get information on how to join the session.

English

Friday 10:00 am - 11:00 am January 14th February 4th February 18th Tuesday 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm January 25th February 15th

Spanish

Friday 11:00 am - 12:00 pm January 14th Tuesday 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm January 25th Friday 10:00 am - 11:00 am February 4th Tuesday 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm February 15th Friday 9:00 am - 10:00 am February 18th

w w w. br i d g e sp c s . org I 2 0 2 . 5 4 5 . 0 5 1 5 Accredited by Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

WEBINAR: FOUNDATIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS: MODULE 2, THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS Thursday, January 13, 2022 2:00 pm Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/56308

WEBINAR: TAKING YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL Thursday, January 20, 2022 2:00 pm Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/56608 Panelists include business owners: John Guggenmos, Cleashay China Sutton, Robert Summers, Brunson Cooper

WEBINAR: FOUNDATIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS: MODULE 3, THE BUSINESS PLAN Thursday, January 27, 2022 2:00 pm Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/56318

Small Business Resource Center (202) 442-4538 | dcra@dc.gov

January 2022 ★ 19

THANKS FOR YOUR LOVE, TRUST & SUPPORT IN 2021!

THE BISSEY TEAM Selling on Capitol Hill for 60+ Combined Years!

202.841.SOLD (7653) TheBisseyTeam@compass.com 660 Pennsylvania Ave, SE | 202.545.6900 Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is not guaranteed. Compass is licensed as Compass Real Estate in DC and as Compass in VA and MD.

20 ★ HILLRAG.COM

r a d n e cal

c o mm u n i t y

The Vassar Haiti Project will co-host the fourth bi-annual sale of Haitian paintings and handcrafts at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church (Capitol Hill) on Fri/Sat./Sun. 1/281/30. All funds raised will support art, education, health and sustainable development in villages in rural Haiti. The event is a celebration of Haitian art and culture, showcasing over 200 original paintings and handcrafts. There will be an opening reception on Fri.1/28 at 6 pm. Also, esteemed Haitian artist Georges Desarmes is coming on Sat. 1/29 at 1pm. The event is free and open to the public. Masks and registration at the door will be required. thehaitiproject.org

CELEBRATING 70 YEARS

Brought to You By

on Capitol Hill serving our community with the country’s best selection of fine wines, spirits, and beer.

Schneider's of Capitol Hill

orchestra concert in the Lang Theater. $35. The Atlas, 1333 H St. NE. atlasarts.com. Rachael & Vilray (feat. Rachael Price from Lake Street Dive). Jan. 23, 8 p.m.; doors at 7 p.m. Rachael & Vilray feels like a rare old vinyl gem that a curious collector found hidden in the dusty bins of some second-hand record shop and decided to share with the world, an unearthed jazz-vocal treasure. $40. The Miracle Theatre, 535 Eighth St. SE. themiracletheatre.com.

WINE. BEER. SPIRITS. TRADITION.

World Builders by Johnna Adams. Jan. 27 to Feb. 20. Max and Whitney are participating in a clinical drug trial attempting to treat their schizoid personality disorder--attempting to turn into functioning members of society--attempting to become “normal.” The Atlas, 1333 H St. NE. atlasarts.com.

The Wharf Ice Rink. The Wharf Ice Rink is on the Transit Pier just outside The Anthem. Open Wednesdays to Fridays, 4 to 10 p.m.; Saturdays, noon to 10 p.m.; Sundays, noon to 8 p.m. $12 for adults; $9 for 12 and under. $6 for skate rental. Thewharfdc.com. Change Agent at Arena. Jan. 21 to March 6. The Cuban missile crisis, the Civil Rights Movement and the Cold War were just some of the most influential periods in US history. What if you could relive those moments through the people and leaders who experienced them directly? Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. arenastage.org. School of Rock (DC/Cleveland Park) Artist Showcase. Jan. 22, 11 a.m.; Jan. 23, 1 p.m. $10. Pearl Street Warehouse, 33 Pearl St. SW. pearlstreetwarehouse.com.

Southwest Nights at Arena Stage. People who live or work in Southwest DC can buy discounted tickets for specially designated Southwest Night performances. Remaining dates are Change Agent, Jan. 27, 8 p.m.; Catch Me If You Can, March 11, 8 p.m.; Cambodian Rock Band, April 13, 7:30 p.m.; Drumfolk, June 1, 7:30 p.m.; and American Prophet, July 19, 7:30 p.m. arenastage.org/ tickets/savings-programs.

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Last Podcast on the Left: Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again Tour. Jan. 28, 8 p.m. (doors at 6:30 p.m.) $35 to $55. The Anthem, 901 Wharf St, SW. theanthemdc.com.

Armonia Nova’s Twelfth Night: Songs of Gratitude and Joy. Saturday, Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m., at St. Mark’s, 301 A St. SE. Donations accepted. armonianova.org.

Chiarina Chamber Players Concert. Jan. 23, 7:30 p.m. The luxurious romanticism of Schoenberg’s early Four Songs gives way to his singular Pierrot Lunaire, a theatrical monologue for soprano and five instruments. $25 online; $30 at the door; $10 age 30 and under. St. Mark’s, 301 A St. SE. chiarina.org. Capital City Symphony Discovery Day. Jan. 23, 4:30 p.m., new music in the Lab by CCS Composers League; 5 p.m., instrument petting zoo in the lobby; 5:30 p.m., full

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Colin Quinn: The Last Best Hope Tour. Feb. 4, 8 p.m.; doors at 6:30 p.m. $35. The Miracle Theatre, 535 Eighth St. SE. themiracletheatre.com. Look What You Made Me Do: A Taylor Swift Dance Party. Feb. 4, 10:30 p.m. $20. Union Stage, 740 Water St. SW. unionstage.com. Working from the Figure Open Drawing at CHAW. Twice monthly on Fridays, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Easels provided. Bring your own bottle, refreshments and drawing supplies. $15. CHAW, 645 Seventh St. SE. chaw.org. u

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SHOWING UP Lora Nunn Works to Improve the Anacostia Watershed by Kayla Benjamin

lands next to RFK stadium, home to a popular city-owned park and a thriving Anacostia River ecosystem. Every other month, she meets with other Anacostia River activists as part of the Anacostia Watershed Community Advisory Committee. She also attends meetings as a liaison for the city’s Anacostia River Sediment Project, collecting community feedback on how the Department of Environment and Energy should address pollutants that lurk in the riverbed’s soil. “One of the great things about the Anacostia River community is that all the orgaLora painted the fence around Kingman island in rainbow colors. Hiking club ran into her while she was doing the deed. Photo: Elizabeth Nelson nizations that work on the river really work together,” she both kids, and then she was just suddenly at all of said. “And because Kingman the meetings I was going to.” and Heritage Islands are kind of the midThroughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Anaway point in the river along the DC section costia Riverkeeper Trey Sherard has spent many afof the Anacostia, a lot of groups use the isternoons hanging out in Nunn’s front yard. Nunn lands as a meeting place.” said he’s “practically [an] uncle” to her eight-yearAnacostia River and watershed activold daughter, Faris, and five-year-old son, King. ists are close-knit community, often conNunn, who also has a 20-year-old stepson, cites gregating at a bar or someone’s home after “raising good kids,” as her personal biggest achieveofficial Community Advisory Committee ment and says her children inspire her to push for meetings, to continue the discussion. a cleaner watershed. As a DC native, she has fond Nunn credits a few Anacostia River boat childhood memories of spending time riverside — tours led by Anacostia Riverkeeper Trey Shebut not on the Anacostia. rard as one of the early experiences that drew “In the ‘80s, we weren’t spending any time in her into the world of volunteer river cleanup. Anacostia, it was really all the Potomac River,” Nunn The two activists met through the work besaid. “But when I had kids of my own, I was like, fore realizing they were neighbors. ‘Oh, I should really do some of the things that I did “She was at a bunch of meetings around with my mom and really get them comfortable with Kingman Island; she started coming to othNunn documents totals and measurements as part of Ananature and the importance of having a clean river.’” er meetings about the Anacostia River,” Shecostia Watershed Society’s Freshwater Mussel Restoration “As long as I have known her, Lora has been Workday on August 11, 2020. Photo: Jeﬀrey Campell rard said. “She’d be at these meetings with f there’s a clean river project going on near her home in Kingman Park, Lora Nunn probably knows something about it. On any given weekend, she can be found wading thigh-deep in the Anacostia River, meticulously measuring mussels. Nunn, a clean river activist and mother in her mid-40s, regularly volunteers with the Anacostia Watershed Society’s project to reintroduce mussels, which naturally filter water and eat harmful bacteria, to the river. “The river affects everyone’s life, whether they realize it or not,” Nunn said. “There had become a certain complacency with the idea that, ‘Oh, the Anacostia is just a dirty river,’ without really acknowledging that there was something that we could do about it. And I think that now, helping people see that there is something they can do, and how much it does impact their quality of life—it really struck a chord with me.” Nunn serves as the vice president for Friends of Kingman and Heritage Islands, a nonprofit she helped found in 2018 to protect the man-made is-

January 2022 ★ 23

Lora Nunn on Kingman Island

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an activist,” Nunn’s husband, Jim Faris, said. “She comes from an activist family in a lot of ways, from her mother signing up people to vote and taking her to marches in Washington.” After going to college at Oberlin University and law school at the University of Michigan, Nunn spent twelve years with the antismoking campaign Truth. That experience, she said, helped her develop skills she now relies on to help Friends of Kingman and Heritage Islands grow. “One important piece of my anti-tobacco work was working with grassroots groups and really focusing in on having people that know the communities reach out to those communities,” Nunn said, going on to note that her nonprofit experiences have “really focused on creative solutions and figuring out how to draw people in in unexpected ways.” Creative outreach has been particularly essential in her efforts to improve racial representation among people working in environmental activism. The task can be challenging, Nunn said, both because much of the work is unpaid and because historically Black neighborhoods like Kingman Park are quickly gentrifying. Jorge Bogantes Montero, who

spearheads the Anacostia Watershed Society’s mussels project, said he sees getting a more diverse base of people involved as a high priority, especially as a Latino environmentalist. “[Nunn] is a great role model,” Bogantes Montero said. “That’s part of our role, to try to engage more people, because here at AWS, we’re like 20 staff — we’re not going to save the river. We need the help of the people, and our watershed is very diverse.” Bogantes Montero described Nunn as a “go-getter” volunteer who “does whatever is needed without complaining.” She is also recognized in the community as an expert on Kingman and Heritage Islands; before the pandemic, the U.S. Forestry Service invited her to speak about her experience as part of a three-work course for international park workers. “I walked with them through the islands and talked about our efforts to protect the park as urban development things happen around us,” she said. “That was a really awesome opportunity to meet these park professionals from around the world.” When she discusses her work, Nunn consistently focuses on forging connections with other people and organizations within the Anacostia watershed community and beyond it. She returns, over and over, to praising the work of other activists with whom she collaborates, such as Friends of Oxon Run’s Brenda Richardson and Ward 8 Woods Conservancy’s Nathan Harrington. “She is always thinking about others, and how she can do something for somebody else or be there for somebody else, and the importance of her showing up,” Faris said. “That’s what Lora does — she shows up.” u January 2022 H 25

.capitol streets.

/ Our River: The Anacostia /

USING NATURE TO HEAL AND EMPOWER COMMUNITIES ALONG OUR RIVER by Bill Matuszeski

here are a number and provide recreation – a good Akiima Price on the Anacostia of special people example is the City’s plan for Photo: Akiima Price who are workKingman Island developed with ing to make t3he neighborhood participation. At Anacostia Rivthe other end is the confusion er come alive as a place to learn and lack of clear plans for Keabout nature and to use that nilworth Park, where the City learning to serve our neighborDepartment of Environment hoods and communities. Tywants to rebuild the tidal weting life in Anacostia and other lands, the City Department of neighborhoods to the River and Transportation has plans for a its tributaries adds new layers of trail in the same place, the Park activities and learning to tradiService wants to put in a bridge tional communities throughout to the National Arboretum that the watershed. will be big enough to handle One of these people is Akipolice and emergency vehicles, ima Price, who grew up around and upstream citizens want to range of recreation and community service activities. the River in Southeast DC and nearby Prince Georgprotect the long natural vista and the safety of their Since 2018, Akiima has been on contract with es County. She studied communication at the Unichildren practicing with their school team in racing the National Park Foundation to help build Friends versity of Maryland Eastern Shore, and in 1991, afboats. Access options are not always clear and simple. of Anacostia Park, a new group slated to start earter working for the National Park Service out west on Second, the River can play a major role in eduly this year. This group will prioritize not only the Lake Mead, she began thinking about how to use the cation about nature, land use and protection, wildgoals of the National Park Service, it will also embenefits of nature to help people in stressed commulife, and water quality. The schools for younger stupower stressed residents to inform projects and pronities. This led her to work in the 90’s for the Earth dents seem to have found a number of groups to grams. Friends of AnacosConservation Corps, Anacostia Watershed Society, tia Park will not only add to and other organizations working to improve the Anthe other organizations that acostia. She even spent a spell in New York City in make up APACC; it will as2006 working on restoration issues. sure that the efforts in and When she came back to the area, she began along the River are not simworking with social service organizations, connectply for the partners and the ing them with environmental groups working to imRiver, but benefit the people prove the Anacostia. Early on she met Brenda Richliving nearby in every way. ardson, President of Chozen Consulting LLC, and There are a number of was impressed. “Brenda was an inspiration, a modways that Akiima’s talents el of caring about social and environmental issues tomight be useful. First, there gether for what I call ‘trauma-informed environmenare always proposed improvetalism.’ She has a gift for engaging people with the ments to access and use of the River, parks and trails east of the River as a natural lands along the River and its resource they can use for healing.” And both womwaters. Some are well thought en have joined forces with APACC (Anacostia Parks out and support the goals to and Community Collaboration) to help achieve these Winter Along an Anacostia Trail. use the River and its lands to Photo: Bill Matuszeski goals by getting folks out and along the River for a broaden public knowledge

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work with on trips and activities along the River. Third, neighborhood and community groups such as churches can be organized to go forth to explore and become engaged in projects to improve areas in and along the River. As the water quality improves, there is bound to be more interest in fishing, boating and swimming. And the 11th Street Bridge Project promises to provide spaces to gather and enjoy the views along the water and a range of associated activities. Fourth, the River and its parks can bring to the public the spirit and blessings of nature. Simply walking along the water is the easiest. But working together on gathering data or completing projects sponsored by the Park Service or non-profits broadens the experience of communing with nature. As Akiima sums it up, “There is the opportunity to serve both the land and the people when we expand the definition of environment to consider not just the physical factors but the social as well.” She sees the value of considering “affective” outcomes as well as “cognitive” outcomes when teaching about the River. “Cognitive outcomes focus on beliefs, ideas or knowledge about something. Affective outcomes focus more on feelings, emotions, attitudes, motivations, appreciation, etc., which gets to the root of necessary behavioral changes to sustain efforts to improve the River and its surrounding lands. For so long it has been about the River and not the people; that, thankfully, is changing.” Bill Matuszeski is a member of the Mayor’s Leadership Council for a Cleaner Anacostia River, and the retired Director of the Chesapeake Bay Program. He also serves on the board of Friends of the National Arboretum and on Citizen Advisory Committees for the Chesapeake and the Anacostia. u

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FAREWELL TO ‘PASTOR MIKE’

Lutheran Church of the Reformation Pastor Moves Onto Iowa

n 2013, Lutheran Church of the Reformation (212 East Capitol St. NE) Pastor Micheal Wilker was preparing for the memorial service for Arnold Keller Jr., his predecessor who served the church and community for 26 years. As he thought about Keller’s ministry, he pushed open the great big doors on the front of the church. The day’s sunlight struck him. Folks were biking past or pushing strollers; others were dressed in suits and were on their way to the Library of Congress or the Capitol. “They were just everyday workers and walkers,” Wilker recalled. “I suddenly realized that one way to think about Reformations’ ministry is that we open the doors of God’s love to the neighborhoods and to the nations. That is just a long-standing value of this congregation.” Wilker, known in the neighborhood as Pastor Mike, walked out those doors for the last time as pastor on Dec. 26, leaving the District Jan. 9 for a new post with First Lutheran Church in Deocorah, Iowa. In his ten years at Reformation, he has carried on the open door tradition. “He has really been a voice for social justice in the community,” said Del Voss, a member of the Reformation congregation since 1995, “and that’s very important for members of the congregation. He’s made sure every person is welcome to participate fully in the ministry and life of the church.”

Pastor Mike Walker and Rabbi Hannah Spiro at the Capitol Hill Community Menorah Lighting, Nov. 29, 2021.

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by Elizabeth O’Gorek “We love him very much, and we’re very sad to see him go,” said Del Voss, a member of the Reformation congregation since 1995. “He’s a very beloved minister.” Reformation has worked with other congregations for the past decade to shape the neighborhood, agitating for affordable housing as part of the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN); welcoming new residents as part of Good Neighbors Capitol Hill; and continuing a tradition of being a safe haven for Americans of all stripes and from all over the nation who come to the Capitol to exercise their democratic rights. In addition to all this, Wilker has presided over the church, located a block from the Capitol Building, during a tumultuous time. He’s offered the prayer to open sessions of Congress and been quoted on political events. But, he says, it is the lives he has been blessed to touch that he will really miss.

Called to Ministry Michael Wilker was born on a hog form in Northern Minnesota, graduating from St. Olaf ’s College before going on to volunteer with service organization Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) in Chicago. It was when he moved to DC to take a leadership position with LVC in the 1980s that he met his now-wife, Judy. She helped him hear the call to pastoral leadership. In 1990 they moved to California, where Wilker attended Lutheran Theological Seminary while Judy completed a Master’s in teaching. From there, Wilker, who is also fluent in Spanish, moved on to a church in the South Bronx, then to a Latino congregation in Watsonville, CA before returning to New York. In 2005, Wilker and his family, now including two children, moved back to the District to take a position as Executive Director of LVC. “But I missed the parish ministry aspect of being with a congregation, a multi-generational group of people over the long course of their lives,” Wilker said. Luckily, Wilker was ready to return to congregational ministry at the same time as Reformation began searching for a Senior Pastor. It was, as he said, a perfect match.

Pastor Michael Wilker blesses newborn twins at a 2017 worship service. Courtesy: Lutheran Church of the Reformation

Histories of Service Reformation has a long history of service that predated Wilker, including providing a base for activism, such as the March on Washington for Jobs and Justice in 1963, the Tractorcade of the American Agriculture Movement in 1979, Dreamer civil disobedience in 2012, and the LGBTQ Marriage Equality Interfaith Service in 2015. “I hope I had some gifts and experiences,” Wilker said, “but I also believe that this congregation shaped me to be the pastor that I became and the leader that I became.” Like Wilker, Anne Ford is a leader of the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN). “Everyone knows Rev. Wilker, and he’s always got his hand out to help someone,” she said, “not just on the Hill, but throughout the District.” Ford is a member of Holy Comforter St. Cyprian Catholic Church (1357 E. Capitol St. SE), just down

January 2022 H 29

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Reformation Senior Pastor Michael Wilker and Good Neighbors Project Co-Chair Kathryn Tobias examine the copy of the Honorary Resolution presented to their congregation on Feb. 25th, 2018.

the street from Reformation. She met Wilker when he came to a neighborhood walk she was leading, hungry to learn more about WIN and about Capitol Hill, knocking on doors with Ford and meeting neighbors. “Since then we’ve been partner to partner on a lot of ventures,” she said. Reformation joined with St. Cyprian and 30 to 40 other District congregations in WIN to engage with the families that were then living at the DC General shelter, helping create the emergency family shelters that are now either open or being built in every ward. In 2016, as news of the Syrian refugee crisis broke, Reformation began to look at ways to help them. Wilker drew on his history of work with immigrant communities to provide the foundation. Good Neighbors Capitol Hill (GNCH) is now a coalition of more than ten congregations that has helped resettle at least 75 Syrian and Afghan families over the last five years.

Opening Doors to Love The Lutheran church shares a roof with Jewish congregation Hill Havurah. Hill Havurah was once distributed in buildings miles apart, Rabbi Hannah Spiro said. Being at Reformation not only merges Hill

Havurah; the two congregations have become a shared community under one roof. Wilker is a mentor and a friend, Spiro said, who comes to speak to Hill Havurah at the beginning of High Holidays and gives her gifts of honey and candles to mark the occasion. She remembers the heady days of January, 2017. On Jan. 20, Reformation opened its doors to those attending the Trump inauguration; the next day, the church was filled by attendees of the Women’s March. Wilker and a crew of volunteers were there both days, offering each group warmth, coffee and washrooms while engaging people in conversation. Spiro said it was a learning experience, and says she is grateful to have been a part of it. “I feel like that’s one really beautiful example of who pastor Mike is and the kind of work he’s been able to do a block from the Capitol,” she said, “and that I’m able to do now.” But for all those accomplishments and activity, Wilker said what he will most remember is the people. “I know in a mysterious way, to be able to serve those people in those critical moments was also a blessing to us,” Wilker said. “So I’m thinking about beginnings and endings a lot here.” WIlker said he has so much gratitude for the residents and leaders of Capitol Hill neighborhood organizations and congregations. He is sad to be saying goodbye to “a community that knows its beloved and wants everyone in DC and beyond to have that experience of belovedness.” But he has faith in the ongoing work and love of the people of the church and community he has called home for the past decade. “Reformation is a dynamic, multi-generational, joyful community that shares its gifts to care for one another and the world,” Wilker said. “And I just know that’s going to continue.” ◆

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NEW SMALL BUSINESS ROUND-UP Four New Shops on the Hill by Elizabeth O’Gorek helped redesign multiple Hill homes —from she also awaits the final documentation needed first floor powder rooms and third floor chilfrom the city to officially open her bakery. dren’s bedrooms to rear additions and whole A former public health consultant, Lijinsky rehome renovations. turned from assignment abroad with USAID to foWhen the rapidly-expanding interior decus on improving her own health. Discovering that sign team moved into a larger studio space at she was allergic to gluten, she set out on a mission: 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE last year, Sanabria to bake without compromise, starting with a glutensaw the opportunity to free wedding cake for make the retail part of her mother. her vision a reality. After four years The Shop is a of research and explace for neighbors to perimentation, Lijintap the staff ’s knowlsky has created a proedge without entering prietary gluten-free the studio. The shop flour blend. She’s has many items, big and learned that customsmall, that would be perers want to buy their fect for seasonal gifting. gluten-free baking Each item is part of a fresh, rather than at a family, Sanabria adds, grocery store or baksuited to be paired with ing it themselves. other items; a Jungle and That’s how the Loom plant with Jaipur dream of the Sweet Melissa Sanabria poses in the doorway of Sanabria & Co. Living pot and the Wild Crimes bakery was The Shop (409 E. Capitol St. NE). Courtesy Sanabria & Co. at Home coffee table born. The brightbook; the fair and simple ly-colored storethrow pillow with a vegfront will offer baked Sanabria & Co. – The Shop an taper from Frères Branchigoods that include Everything in Sanabria & Co. - The Shop matches. aux Candle Co. with a Cultithe cakes that set LiLaid out in a neutral color palette, The Shop (409 A creatively masked employee displays yummy ver linen blanket. jinsky on the baking East Capitol St. SE) is a cozy space furnished with cupcakes at Sweet Crimes, the new gluten free bakery on Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Sanabria & Co is open path, as well as pies, items accumulated by a discerning, but restrained, Thursdays, 10 to 6 | Fridays award-winning docollector: local honey atop a found-wood table; linand Saturdays, 10 to 7 | Sundays 11 to 6. (409 E. nuts, breads, buns and dry mix for the ambitious. ens nestled in baskets; cinnamon-colored throwCapitol St. NE) sanabriaandco.com There are also some surprises: Katja, a baker from pillows on a modern armchair. Georgia, has mastered a gluten-free Khachapuri, Everything, from dinnerware and candles to the Georgian cheese bread, and staff are working linen and carpets, is sourced along the principals of Sweet Crimes on the perfect gluten free empanada. environmentalism and fair-trade in support of small Gluten Free Bakery The shop will offer coffee and pastries, but also businesses. It’s all chosen to enhance the compact When we meet in mid-November, Keri Lijinsky is sandwiches and soups, catering to a lunch crowd interiors of Capitol Hill homes. excited to share two big projects she’s been workthat rarely finds their needs accommodated. Owner Melissa Sanabria is very familiar ing on. Both are expected to launch by the end of Food is the source of emotional memory, Lijinwith those spaces. In 2017, she decided to leave the month – she’s just not sure which will be first. sky adds. Getting it right brings people to a place of her 15-year career as a banking consultant to estab—she’s just not sure which will be first. The foundcomfort and happiness. “They want it to taste like lishing interior design company Sanabria & Co. “I er of Sweet Crimes gluten-free bakery, set to open they remember it,” said Lijinsky. “That’s the stanwanted greater connection with my community,” at 1238 Pennsylvania Ave. NE, is expecting her first dard, and that’s what they deserve.” Sanabria said. child Nov. 28. As she awaits the birth of her child, Since then, she and her team of seven have 32 H HILLRAG.COM

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Growing up, Holley Simmons would help her mother, gluing rhinestones on custom gowns the seamstress created for ballroom dancers. “It was like a playground,” Simmons recalled. It was a crafty, hands-on background that instilled in Waiter Jesse with Fabrizio and Angela Costantini La Casina Simmons an appreciation for the arts. Now, the founder of Now, they’ve brought it to Capitol Hill. fl orist She Loves Me (721 Eighth St. SE) uses But don’t call it a pizzeria! fl owers, fresh and dried, to create her own kind Fabrizio Costantini describes the restaurant as a Pinseria Romana. Roman pinsa is a modern take on an ancient Roman dough. It has a mixture of flours, with low gluten content and high moisture —but no yeast, Fabrizio explains. “It is left to rest for about 36 to 48 hours in the refrigerator. It will ripen naturally, taking on a crunchy appearance when cooked but soft and light inside.” Thus far, Fabrizio has the critical job at the oven, but they’re looking forward to taking on a few more staff, including a prep cook and the right person to train as an additional pinsa chef to work the oven. Besides pizza, the pinseria will serve salads, fried vegetables, mozzarella-filled rice balls, fried stuffed olives, and other Roman dishes. Complementing these classics is draft beer, wine and other beverages. The restaurant will pre-bake halfsized pinsa, ensuring speedy satisfaction for the lunchtime crowd; after three minutes in the oven, customers can walk She Loves Me owner Holley Simmons with ﬂowers in the Aphaway with a freshly cooked, trurodite vessel at the Capitol Hill shop (721 Eighth St. SE). Photo: ly Roman repast. Maddie Kaye

of glamor for special events, celebrations and important moments. “Nature is anything but perfect,” Simmons said. “Something that’s asymmetrical, that’s slightly flawed, something that is kind of curious and draws your eye in—that’s what we aim for with our flowers. That’s also the type of experience we’re trying to create in both our spaces.” She Loves Me first opened in Petworth, but when that location closed it spread its tendrils throughout the District. A new shop set to open any day now in Eckington Yards (1550 Harry Thomas Way NE) will be the flagship store and production facility. Capitol Hill has restauranteur Aaron Silverman (Rose’s Luxury) to thank for a smaller offshoot on Barracks Row. Silverman showed Simmons the little space in front of his catering kitchen, and she decided it was a space well-suited to putting down roots for an intimate little flower shop. She Loves Me offers wreaths, centerpieces, pre-made bouquets and a small selection of dried flowers sold by the stem. Seasonal flowers are sourced from local, women-owned farms throughout the spring, summer and fall. When winter comes, She Loves Me switches its focus, doing its best to work with American-grown blooms. gifts from jewelry and bath soaks and candles to confetti cannons and flower growing kits. In addition to flowers and gifts, She Loves Me offers in-person and virtual workshops and arrangements for micro-weddings. She Loves Me Capitol Hill is open Wednesdays to Fridays, 11 to 7 | Saturdays and Sundays, 10 to 4. Shop online at Shelovesme. com ◆

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Mental Health Issues on the Rise ANC6A REPORT by Nick L. Alberti Chair Amber Gove (6A04) convened the December 9, 2021 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6A via Zoom with Commissioners Keya Chatterjee (6A01), Mike Soderman (6A03), Laura Gentile (6A05), Robb Dooling (6A06), Sondra Phillips-Gilbert (6A07) and Brian Alcorn (6A08) in attendance. Commissioner Phil Toomajian (6A02) was absent.

Mental Health Issues Rise with the Pandemic The Department of Behavior Health provides intervention and treatment services to DC residents struggling with mental health or substance use disorders. The range of services includes emergency psychiatric care and community-based outpatient and

residential services. DBH has been tracking the increase in mental health disorders in DC during the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, residents are utilizing telehealth services at an increased rate. However use within the community of those with a substance use problems is down because this group typically lacks access to the internet. Mayor Bowser has included in her budget funds to purchase 4,000 computers to set up as telehealth portals to combat this disparity. DBH also offers services in DC public schools and in the DC jail, has been working with MPD to train officers in de-escalation techniques when responding to mental health intervention calls as well as working to expand the range of behavioral health services eligible for Medicaid reimbursement as part of the Behavioral Health Transformation and Integration Plan started in 2020. To access services provided by DBH, residents can call the 24-hour Access Helpline at 1-888-793-4357 or by visiting a DC-operated same day urgent care or substance use referral clinic or walk in to a certified community-based clinic. A full catalogue of the Department of Behavioral Health’s services and resources including a list of clinics can be found at dbh.dc.gov.

Other Business •

The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter to DC Councilmembers and the Committee of the Whole reiterating ANC 6A’s December 2, 2021 recommendations for a redistricting map to keep all of ANC 6A within Ward 6, in light of the Committee of the Whole’s recommended map.

Community Outreach Committee •

The Commissioners unanimously approved a grant in the amount of $3,000 to Christ City Church to provide 150 $20 gift certificates for families who live in ANC 6A to secure food for the holiday season. • The Commissioners unanimously approved the 2021 draft of the revised ANC 6A Bylaws and the newly developed Standard Operating Procedures and Codes of Conduct. The Community Outreach Committee meets at 7:00 pm on the fourth Monday of each month.

Economic Development and Zoning •

36 ★ HILLRAG.COM

The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of support to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for the proposed construction of a two-story accessory building at the rear of the property that will not increase the number of dwelling units at 820 Constitution Avenue, NE (HPRB Case #22-036).

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 6A AMBER GOVE, CHAIR, 6A04@ANC.DC.GOV Serving the Near Northeast, North Lincoln Park, Rosedale, and H Street communities ANC 6A generally meets the second Thursday of the month, at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th Street, NE.

www.anc6a.org

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• The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of support to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for special exception zoning relief from the rear yard requirements and an area variance pursuant from the lot occupancy requirements to construct a twostory deck on the rear of their existing single-family rowhome in the RF-1 Zone at 628 9th Street, NE (BZA Case# 20651) on condition that the lot occupancy remains at the same level as is included in the plans submitted (81.5%). The Economic Development and Zoning Committee meets at 7:00 pm on the third Wednesday of each month.

Alcohol and Beverage Licensing Committee • The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to protest the application of Thompson Retail Group, LLC, t/a Milk & Honey, at 1116 H St. NE (ABRA #119672) for a Class C Restaurant License unless a Settlement Agreement is fi-

nalized prior to the protest deadline and that the Co-Chairs of the Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee as well as the Chair and Vice-Chair of the ANC be authorized to represent the ANC in this matter. • The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to write a letter of support to the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) for the Stipulated License application of Thompson Retail Group, LLC t/a Milk & Honey’s application in the event that a Settlement Agreement is finalized prior to the protest deadline. • The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to approve the appointment of Ian Stanford as Co-chair of the Alcohol and Beverage Licensing Committee. The Alcohol and Beverage Licensing Committee meets at 7:00 pm on the Fourth Tuesday of each month. Visit www.anc6a.org for a calendar of meeting times, meeting agendas and other information. u

DOH on Restaurant Inspection and Rats ANC 6B Report By Elizabeth O’Gorek

The Next meeting is 2nd Thursday, January 13, 7:00 p.m. Transportation & Public Space Committee meeting 3rd Monday, January 17, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via Zoom Economic Development and Zoning Committee meeting 3rd Wednesday, January 19, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via Zoom Community Outreach Committee meeting 4th Monday, January 24, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via Zoom Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee meeting 4th Tuesday, January 25, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via Zoom Wednesday, Jan. 26, 7:00 p.m. - ANCs 6A, 6B and 6C will host a meeting with the Office of the DC Attorney General to discuss land use, zoning, and related development issues. Virtual Meeting via Zoom Instructions for accessing the meeting via Zoom have been posted under Hot Topics at anc6a.org. Call in information will be posted under Community Calendar at anc6a.org 24 hours prior to the meeting. You will be able to enter the meeting no earlier than 15 minutes prior to its scheduled start time.

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C P.O. Box 77876 • Washington, D.C. 20013-7787 www.anc6c.org • (202) 547-7168

Next meeting Wednesday, January 12, 2022. Information will be posted on the ANC 6C website.

ANC 6C COMMISSIONERS ANC 6C01 Christine Healey 6C01@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C04 Mark Eckenwiler 6C04@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C02 Karen Wirt 6C02@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C05 Joel Kelty 6C05@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C03 Jay Adelstein 6C03@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C06 Drew Courtney drewcourtney.anc @gmail.com

ANC usually meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm, 214 Massachusetts Ave, N.E. Please check the ANC 6C website for dates.

ANC 6C COMMITTEES Alcoholic Beverage Licensing First Monday, 7 pm Contact: anc6c.abl.committee@gmail.com Grants Last Thursday, 7 pm Contact: torylord@gmail.com Twitter: @ANC_6C_Grants Environment, Parks, and Events First Tuesday, 7 pm Contact: 6C06@anc.dc.gov

Transportation and Public Space First Thursday, 7 pm Contact: anc6c.tps@gmail.com Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development First Wednesday, 6:30 pm Contact: 6C04@anc.dc.gov Twitter: @6C_PZE

Appearing were Commissioners Gerald Sroufe (6B02), Brian Ready (6B03), Kirsten Oldenburg (6B04), Steve Holtzman (6B05), Corey Holman (6B06), Edward Ryder (6B07), Peter Wright (6B08) and Alison Horn (6B09), and Denise Krepp (6B10). Commissioner Jennifer Samolyk (6B01) was unable to attend.

t the Dec. 14th meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B, Chair Brian Ready (ANC6C03) asked Department of Health (DOH) Food Technologist Ivory G. Cooper about the frequency of food service inspections. Citing viral video of rats apparently swarming the kitchen of an Eighth Street SE Popeye’s restaurant, Ready argued that the issue must have been developing for some time before the video went online. How, he asked, could this issue have gone on for so long and what is being done to make sure it doesn’t happen again? “We can only cite what we see,” responded Cooper, a technologist with the DOH Food Safety and Hygiene Division. He said that inspectors were unable to do frequent site visits over the last 20 months, due to the pandemic. January 2022 H 37

.capitol streets.

“At the moment we go in—you may be clean today, and tomorrow you’re filthy—and DOH may not be back for a few months,” said Cooper. He went on to explain how staffing issues, priority shifts and restaurant closures have affected the frequency of inspections, which take place one to four times annually depending on the assessed level of risk. “When we do see these permanent health hazards, these conditions, we’ve closed the establishments down,” Cooper said, adding that DOH works closely with the rodent control division responsible for the exterior of buildings. Ready first invited DOH to appear at the November meeting to speak about inspection frequency and procedures after the video of rats at Popeye’s restaurant went viral, but no representative was in attendance. At the December meeting, Cooper presented on the broad food service inspection process. While Cooper described in detail the infractions and indicators of potential trouble that technicians look for, noting that their primary goal is to prevent foodborne illness, he did not comment specifically on the Popeyes case.

Lead Pipe Replacement in Hill East Representatives from DC Water announced that the utility will do free lead pipe replacement on the 100 block of 14th St SE and the 900 block of 15th street SE early next year. According to the District legislation, DC Water can replace lead water service lines on private property with the consent of the owner whenever it is replacing lead water mains on public property. This may provide an opportunity for residents to have the pipes on their property replaced for free, said DC Water representative Maureen Schmelling. Homeowners on those blocks will be notified about the work. Residents who are notified about an opportunity to replace lead service pipes can opt in. A copy of the agreement is available on the DC Water website dcwater.com. While construction dates have not yet been finalized, work is anticipated to begin in late spring or early summer 2022. DC has vowed to have all pipes replaced by 2030. But if there’s no work scheduled on the street, costs associated with the replacement of pipes on private property are the financial responsibility of the homeowner. DC Water says that on average, replacement on private property costs $720 to bore a hole for a pipe through a home’s basement wall, plus 38 H HILLRAG.COM

$120 per foot of new copper pipe from the home to the property line. To help alleviate costs, DC Council passed a law creating financial assistance programs for pipe replacement on private property. In cases where public and private pipes are lead but DC Water does not have plans to replace the water main, customers can enroll in the Voluntary Replacement Program. Through the program, if the property owner pays for replacement on private property, DC Water will replace the pipe on public property. There is also financial assistance to help residents replace pipes on private property, based on property owner’s income relative to the area’s median income. Learn more about Lead Service Pipe Replacement at dcwater.com.

Joint Meeting on Office of the Attorney General ANCs 6A, 6B, and 6C will hold a joint meeting of their Zoning Committees with representatives from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) on Wednesday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. No business will be voted on; it will be an informational presentation and discussion with OAG. ANC 6B Planning and Zoning Committee Chair Corey Holman (6B06) said that as OAG is no longer the attorney of record for the Office of Zoning (OZ), the office has communicated that they are willing to intervene as a party to represent the District in cases of zoning. They want to work with ANCs to identify cases. Those could include Planned Unit Developments (PUD) or other special cases. For instance, OAG could give expert testimony on whether community goals are being met in a PUD. This involvement can begin in the next fiscal year, which precludes their participation in pending cases, such as the challenge of the E Street SE Door Dash location, Holman said.

Challenge to Special Call Meeting Minutes Commissioner Denise Krepp (6B10) asked to edit the notes from a Dec. 1 Special Call meeting of ANC 6B on redistricting. At the end of that rancorous four-hour meeting, ANC 6B narrowly passed a resolution asking DC Council to address issues in ANC 6B and the surrounding area in the final redistricting map. Krepp said “the notes don’t encapsulate the extreme frustration and angst expressed by residents at

the meeting.” She also asked that an accusation made by Commissioner Alison Horn (6B09) and her rebuttal be included in the record. Commissioners generally took the stance that minutes should reflect the actions taken by the commission rather than opinions stated by individual commissioners or the public. After Krepp cited a place where her opinion was noted, the commission voted unanimously to table approval of the minutes from the Special Call meeting to January, pending an edit that will strip them of narrative and commentary and restrict them to actions taken by the ANC. ANC 6B will hold the next meeting of the full commission virtually at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022. As of December, legislation permitting ANCs to meet virtually had not been extended; ANCs are currently required to meet inperson as of February, 2022. Get up to date information on meetings at anc6b.org u

Transportation Committee Chair Honored ANC 6C Report by Elizabeth O’Gorek Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6C set a record for one of their shortest meetings ever, clocking in at only 53 minutes at the Dec. 8, 2021 meeting of the commission. Christine Healey (6C01), Karen Wirt (6C02), Jay Adelstein (6C03), Mark Eckenwiler (6C04), Joel Kelty (6C05) and Drew Courtney (6C06) were in attendance.

Kwan Honored ANC 6C Chair Karen Wirt (6C02) presented the commission’s Transportation Public Space (TPS) Chair Christy Kwan with a certificate of appreciation for her work and dedication over the years on issues of public safety. “She’s helped the committee and the community so much,” Wirt said. Commissioners added their appreciation for Kwan’s dedication, including Planning, Zoning and Economic Committee Chair Mark Eckenwiler (6C04) who said, “I know that she has spent an enormous effort. She has really been very dedicated as a committee chair, and we’ve been very fortunate to have her volunteer service.”

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“She’s done an amazing job, and a lot of work,” said Drew Courtney (6C06). The text of the certificate reads: ”Certificate of appreciation awarded to Christy Kwan for your outstanding services as chair of the ANC Transportation & Public Space Committee, and your dedication and tireless efforts to improve the District.”

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Historic Concept Approved Despite Parking Concern The bulk of the December meeting was occupied by a consideration of historic concept approval of a two-story garage and study in the alley behind 732 Third St. NE. The project is by-right project and occupies 450 square feet bringing lot occupancy to 60 percent. There are no known zoning issues. It was unanimously supported by the ANC. Neighbor Devorah Adler asked that the case be removed from the consent calendar because she objects to the project, citing concerns about its impact on her ability to park. She said she was not recognized to speak at the Planning and Zoning meeting. Applicant Drury Tallant said his project is on his property and will not change the neighbor’s parking, saying it is difficult not because of any arrangements he might make but because of the fence arrangement at a nearby commercial building. “I don’t quite understand where she is coming from,” he said. Adler said the way the proposed structure is set up will extend to the end of the lot right to the alley. She said that in conversations with her, Tallant said he was aware that his project creates an issue with her parking, but that he refused to address it. Commissioner Mark Ecken-

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wiler (6C) said that in a Historic Preservation Application (HPA) such as this one, parking is not considered a related concern by the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB).

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Commissioner Christine Healey (6C01) reported on the current Supreme Court security posture. In November, the ANC voted to send a letter to Congresswoman Eleanor Norton (DCD) and to Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) expressing concerns about the use of a retractable barrier on the 200 block of A Street NE that Healey described as “very loud and very inconvenient for the neighbors who are trying to work from home when they utilize it.” The Mayor’s Office of Community Relations (MOCR) representative for Ward 6 Kevin Pham said he had talked to the Office of Federal and Regional Affairs which told him that temporary barriers should have been removed around the Supreme Court. Pham clarified for commissioners that District government was not consulted as these barriers were enacted.

Consent Calendar The commission voted to send a letter to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) on the final design for Dave Thomas Circle. The letter expresses disappointment that the ANC was not consulted on the number of lanes and argues that the design falls short of its potential to enhance safety. It adds that DDOT should reduce lanes and add protected bike lanes as were shown in drafts for the 30 percent design. The commission also voted to send a letter to DDOT Director Everett Lott stating enthusiasm for the Eighth Street NE Bus Priority Program, which was initiated in December. The Bus Priority Program seeks to improve bus travel speeds and reliability across the District, which includes 70 miles across all eight wards. A concept design will likely be presented in spring 2022 with DDOT looking towards implementation in fiscal year 2023. DDOT is currently seeking input from residents. The letter notes that the ANC looks forward to further engagement on proposals for bus priority corridors in ANC 6C. 40 ★ HILLRAG.COM

Other Meeting Notes Three years after first introducing legislation, DC has finalized short-term rental regulations. These require licenses and restrictions on short-term rentals, such as those offered through the Air BnB platform. Basically, short-term rentals, including rooms, basement units and accessory dwelling units must be operated by the owner of the unit living on the property. Hosts with these licenses can admit guests for an unlimited number of nights while they are at home. There is also a vacation rental license, permitting hosts to rent for a maximum of 90 days while they are out of town. See the full list of rules at: https://www.dcregs.dc.gov/Common/ NoticeDetail.aspx?NoticeId=N116540 Mayor’s Office of Community Relations (MOCR) representative for Ward 6 Kevin Pham told commissioners that he is working on a list of properties taxed as residential that are believed to be used commercially. He said the DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) is reviewing that list and will conduct a review and, if necessary, change the tax status of properties. Reviews are usually done in January; if a switch is necessary, OTR will connect commercial properties with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) to obtain correct licenses. Dates for 2022 meetings of ANC 6C are already available online. The Jan. 12, 2022 meeting will be held virtually at 7 p.m. As of December, legislation permitting ANCs to meet virtually had not been extended; ANCs are currently required to meet inperson as of February 2022. Get up to date information on meetings at anc6c.org ◆

Parcel B Inches Forward ANC 6D REPORT by Andrew Lightman Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D met on Dec. 13 over Zoom. Commissioners Jared Weiss (6D02, secretary), Ronald Collins (6D03, treasurer), Andy Litsky (6D04), Fredrica (Rikki) Kramer (6D05, vice chair), Rhonda Hamilton (6D06) and Edward Daniels (6D07, chair) were

EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF CAPITOL HILL & BEYOND in attendance. Dr. Marjorie Lightman, elected to 6D0, by acclamation was seated at this meeting.

arcel B is located on the vacant field just to the east of Audi Field and north of the Superior Concrete Plan at 1700 Half Street SW. It is part of the Planned Unit Development (PUD) that includes Audi Field. PN Hoffman & Associates plans a 508,298 sq. ft., development on the lot. The PUD subjects the project to a design review by the DC Zoning Commission, which is scheduled for mid-December. The project also requires a slight adjustment to the PUD’s boundaries and two curb cuts, which must be approved by the DC Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) Committee on Public Space as well as a change of use to accommodate a bowling alley. For the Parcel B site, Hoffman plans 10,780 sq. ft. of retail, 39,661 sq. ft. of entertainment, 41,043 sq. ft. of office and 416,804 sq. ft. of residential uses. A total of 455 rental residences are planned, 110 of which will be 100% affordable housing created based on senior universal design and accessibility standards. The remainder will be market rate except for 8% reserved as affordable dwellings. 305 parking spaces are planned. The offices will house the headquarters of Volunteers of America, which will also be the administrator of the senior component of the project. Hoffman has arranged with DDOT to create a pocket park on the parcel’s northeastern side on top of a section of the two-level parking garage. The remainder of the park is on public space next to Potomac Avenue SW with DDOT’s permission, whose maintenance will be subject to a special covenant with DDOT.

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Parcel B’s new urban park. Rendering: PN Hoffman

In answer to commissioners concerns about remediation and air quality during construction, Hoffman committed to a public presentation of its Voluntary Cleanup Action Plan (VCAP), which reported had been approved by the DC Dept. of Energy and the Environment (DOEE). The commission voted to support the project and authorized Commissioner Kramer to testify before the Zoning Commission.

Square 662 MRP presented its plans for Square 662, which

is on the current site of the Superior Concrete Plant. The parcel, bordered by Half, R, S and South Capitol Streets SW, is being developed in two phases. It is subject to design review by the Zoning Commission as well as curb cuts for a bisecting public alley. In its July meeting, the commission had opposed the public space permit citing lack of detail on the alley’s design. MRP returned to the December meeting with detailed design. Double floor retail bays are now planned for the S Street frontage. The goal is neighborhood-serving retail and a grocer rather than food and beverage, Hoffman representatives stated. MRP also committed to including three bedroom units in its plans for the residential element of the project; 8% of the total will be affordable at 60% AMI. MRP also provided detailed plans for the 30 foot alley that bisects the project’s two phases. The planned road is divided

A rendering of the first Phase of Square 662. Rendering: MRP Realty

into two 12 foot vehicular lanes complemented by a six foot pedestrian walkway. The alley’s purpose is to keep all deliveries off the main streets, provide access to a short term retail parking area and accommodate a future grocer. Two stories of underground parking are planned encompassing 220 residential spaces and another 40 reserved for retail customers. “This started out as a good project and has even gotten better,” stated Commissioner Litsky, “It is one of the handsomest buildings in Buzzard Point.” The commission voted to support the project with Commissioner Lightman abstaining.

Other Matters Developers Jefferson Apartment Group and Fortis provided an update on the environment remediation at their project at 1319 South Capitol St SW. The site is located next to Capitol Liquor. DOEE has approved the VCAP. They found leaks from a gasoline tank and bad urban fill. The plan is to excavate several stories below grade and remove all materials. Perimeter air quality monitoring is planned for the duration of the excavation. Commissioner Hamilton requested a follow up meeting with neighbors and a single point of contact. The commission voted unanimously to support AC Hotel’s community agreement and Class C Hotel and 25% retail license. This 232 key hotel, located at 867 New Jersey Ave. SE, will have summer gardens on its ground floor and roof. The license carries an interior entertainment endorsement. The commission approved a stipulated license as well.

A map of the location of Square 662. Map: MRP Realty

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MPD First District Commander Ralph Mclean briefed the commission on public safety. Crime up 29% over 2020, but lower than 2019. 13 violent offenses. Year to date violent crime down 6%. Property crime increased by 26%. Majority of property crime is stolen autos—69 in the last month. Cars are not being damaged. Most are being used by kids as transportation. Mclean stated that 1D is facing officer shortages. The commission voted unanimously to: • support the Pan Can Run scheduled for April 30, 2022; • protest the liquor license for Pink Taco, located at 100 M Street SE, in the absence of a signed Community Agreement, on the grounds of Peace, Order and Quiet; • support a community agreement, Class C Hotel and 25% retail liquor license for AC Hotel at 867 New Jersey Ave. SE; • appeal the DC Housing Authority’s denial of its FOIA regarding the plans for redeveloping Greenleaf Gardens; • nominate Gottlieb Simon as the commission’s Senior Special Advisory, responsible for advising it on interagency process and governmental relations’ • approve the Amended January Meeting Agenda and November Minutes. • approve Amended Agenda approved UA. November minutes UA. ANC 6D meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of every month. The next meeting is Jan. 10, 2022 via Zoom. For more information and links to join ANC meetings, visit www.anc6d. org. ◆

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BULLETIN BOARD TRANS AM at the Keegan TRANS AM explores the most complex and personal parts of the human experience, through the lens of Lisa Stephen Friday. With stories and songs, Lisa shares her own trans journey as a means of understanding human desire for self-actualization and respect, while calling out the absurdity of a world obsessed with other-ness. An irreverent new one-woman autobiography, TRANS AM features the music of cult-favorite NYC glam rock band Lisa Jackson & Girl Friday. $55 to $65. TRANS AM is at the Keegan Theater, 1742 Church St. NW, from Jan. 29 to Feb. 26. keeganttheatre.com.

The Capitol Hill Home Photo Contest In anticipation of the 65th anniversary of the House and Garden Tour, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society is sponsoring a photo contest—The Capitol Hill Home. Entries are due March 13. Winning images receive two passes to the 2022 House and Garden Tour and will be displayed on the CHRS website. View details and past contest winners at chrs.org/photo-contest-2022.

DC United Opens MLS 2022 Regular Season MLS has announced their 2022 MLS Regular Season Home Opener schedule with DC United playing against 2022 expansion side Charlotte FC on Saturday, Feb. 26 at Audi Field with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. dcunited.com.

Gerrymandering and Democracy Census expert Constance Citro will explore the impact of 2020 census results on state redistricting and the effect of gerrymandering on American democracy on Jan. 18, 7 p.m. via zoom, for Village Voices on-line. Dr. Citro is a nationally recognized census scholar who held leadership positions at the US Census Bureau for some 40 years. Village Voices presentations are sponsored by Capitol Hill Village. They are free and open to the public. Register and join the on-line discussion at capitolhill.helpfulvillage.com/events/8549.

Canal Park Ice Skating The Canal Park Ice Skating Rink, 200 M St. SE, is open Sundays, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Mondays to Thursdays, noon to 10 p.m.; Fridays, noon to 11 p.m.; and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Adults, $11; children and seniors, $10. Skate rental, $5. Youth group lessons are offered on Saturday mornings. For the very 44 H HILLRAG.COM

beginner to intermediate, they offer lessons in a group format. $95 for five weeks of lessons. Adult (16+) lessons are on Sunday mornings. $105 for five weeks of lessons. Private lessons are also available. canalparkiceskating.com.

Monday Trivia Night at Wunder Garten Every Monday, 7 to 10 p.m., is Trivia Night at Wunder Garten with host Mark Lloyd. Bring your friends and test your knowledge to win prizes and glory. Wunder Garten is at 1101 First St. NE. wundergartendc.com.

Southwest Waterfront AARP Speaker Series On Wednesday, Jan. 19, at noon, the Southwest Waterfront AARP Chapter #4751 will host a community teleconference with ANC6D05 Commissioner Rikki Kramer. The dial-In-number is 425-436-6376; access code is 701215#. Everyone is welcome to

join them for this presentation and conversation. You will hear and learn about community matters, programs, and initiatives in support of and benefitting adults 50 and over. For more information contact Chapter Vice President of Programs, Betty Jean Tolbert Jones, bettyjeantolbertjones@yahoo. com or 202-554-0901.

Get Health Coverage During Open Enrollment DC residents are urged to sign up for high-quality, affordable health insurance at DCHealthLink.com, the District’s online state-based health insurance marketplace established under the Affordable Care Act. Open enrollment for individuals and families continues through Jan. 31, 2022.

Air & Space Building to Temporarily Close Spring 2022 The Air & Space Museum will temporarily close to the public March

DCHFA, Your Homeownership Resource in the District. DCHFA, Your Homeownership Resource in the District.

DCHFA, Resource in District. DCHFA, YourHomeownership Homeownership Resource the District. DCHFA,Your Your Homeownership Resource inthe thein District. DC Open Doors DC Open Doors is your key to homeownership in the city. This program offers competitive interest rates and lower mortgage insurance costs on first trust DC Open Doors DC Open Doors DCDC Open Doors Open Doors isD.C. your key to homeownership DChomebuyer Open Doors key to homeownership in the oris ayour resident DC Open Doors is your key to homeownership in the DC Open Doors in the city. This program offers competitive in-and city. 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DCHFA serves serves as a co-administrator of program. co-administrator of this Department of this DC Department of DC Housing and Community Housing Community Development’s Development’s (DHCD) first-time home buyer years orand older who have fallen behind on insurance program. (DHCD) first-time home buyer program. and tax payments as a result of their reverse mortgage. Qualified District homeowners can receive up to years or older who have fallen behind on insurance years orpayments older who have fallen behind on insurance and tax or as ahave result of their reverse mortgage. years older who fallen behind on insurance DC4ME and tax payments as a result of their reverse Qualified District homeowners can receive upwith tomortgage. and tax payments as a result of their reverse DC4ME provides mortgage assistance Qualified District homeowners can receive mortgage. up to Qualified District homeowners can receive up to optional down payment assistance to D.C. DC4ME provides mortgage with government employees. DC4ME is offered to optional years or older who have fallenassistance behind on insurance down payment assistance to of D.C. government and taxfull-time payments as a result their reverse mortgage. current District government employees, DC4ME provides mortgage with optional employees. DC4ME isassistance offered tocan current full-time Qualified District homeowners receive up to including employees of District governmentDC4ME provides mortgage assistance with optional down payment assistance toemployees, D.C. government District government including employees DC4ME provides mortgage assistance with optional down payment assistance toindependent D.C. government employees. DC4ME is offered to current full-time based instrumentalities, agencies, down payment assistance to D.C. government of District government-based instrumentalities, employees. DC4ME is offered offered tocurrent currentemployees full-timeSchools, District government employees, including employees. DC4ME is to full-time independent agencies, D.C. Public Charter D.C. Public Charter Schools, and organizations, ofDistrict District government-based instrumentalities, government employees, including employees District government employees, including employees and organizations, provided the applicant/borrower's the applicant/borrower’s employer independent agencies, D.C. the Public Charter Schools, ofofprovided District instrumentalities, District government-based government-based instrumentalities, employer falls under oversight of the Council of and organizations, provided applicant/borrower's independent agencies, D.C.the Public CharterSchools, Schools, independent agencies, D.C. 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Public Charter Schools, COVID-19 DC MAP COVID-19 provides financial assistance to Program) COVID-19 and organizations, provided the applicant/borrower's COVID-19 DC MAP COVID-19 provides financial assistance to COVID-19 those affected by theprovides impacts of the COVID-19 DC MAP COVID-19 financial those affected byQualified theunder impacts ofoversight the COVID-19 employer falls the of the Council of DC MAP COVID-19 provides financial assistance pandemic. borrowers can receive atoto loan of DC MAP COVID-19 financial assistance assistance toby those aprovides ected by the impacts of pandemic. Qualified borrowers can receive a loan of those affected the impacts of the COVID-19 the District of Columbia. upaffected to $5,000 per month to their mortgage those the impacts ofput the toward COVID-19 up to $5,000 perby month to put toward theirborrowers mortgage pandemic. Qualified borrowers can the pandemic. Qualified forCOVID-19 up to six months. pandemic. Qualified borrowers canreceive receivea aloan loanofof for up to six months. up toreceive $5,000 per month to put toward per theirmonth mortgage can a loan of up to $5,000 to up month to put toward their mortgage fortoup$5,000 to six per months. for uptoward to six months. put their mortgage for up to six months. COVID-19 DC MAP COVID-19 provides financial assistance to those affected by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualified borrowers can receive a loan of Visit www.DCHFA.org Visit www.DCHFA.org up to $5,000 per month to put toward their mortgage Visit www.DCHFA.org how to any DCHFA’s homeownership programs. Visit www.DCHFA.org for up toto sixapply months. how to apply to of any of DCHFA’s homeownership programs.

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28, 2022, until fall 2022 to complete work on new galleries in the west wing of the building. The west-end exhibitions opening in fall 2022 will include America by Air, The Wright Brothers & the Invention of the Aerial Age, Nation of Speed, Thomas W. Haas We All Fly, One World Connected, Kenneth C. Griffin Exploring the Planets Gallery, Destination Moon, and Early Flight. The museum store and Albert Einstein Planetarium will also reopen in the fall. airandspace.si.edu/visit/mall-temporarilyclose-2022.

National Cherry Blossom Festival Dates Announced The National Cherry Blossom Festival, in partnership with Washington, DC officials, festival sponsors, and stakeholders, have announced plans for the return of its springtime celebration and revealed 2022 official artwork crafted by local artist Lea Craigie-Marshall. Festival President Diana Mayhew announced that the Festival’s signature events will be back in person March 20 to April 17, 2022. NationalCherryBlossomFestival.org.

In-Person Choral Singing for Adults 55+ Returns Washington, DC older adults who love to sing can join together in person when Encore Creativity for Older Adults returns for the winter/spring session of its Capital Encore Chorale and DC ROCKS. Capital Encore Chorale is a local choral group that sings a fun and eclectic mix of music in many styles and from many different eras. DC ROCKS is a rock & roll chorus that takes singers back to their favorite hits from the 50s through the 80s. Encore welcomes new and returning singers to its 15-week programs that begin the second week in January 2022. No auditions are necessary. Capital Encore Chorale will meet at First Congregational UCC, 945 G St. NW, on Wednesdays, starting Jan. 12 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. DC ROCKS will meet at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW, on Tuesdays, starting Jan. 11, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Tuition is $190.00 per person for each 15-week in-person program. For more information and registration, visit encorecreativity.org or call 301-261-5747.

Washington Post’s Best Books of 2021 The Washington Post has released its top book recommendations for 2021. The categories are Top 10 Books, Children and Teen Books, Thrillers, Feel 46 H HILLRAG.COM

Good Books, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror and Romance Novels. This year’s series has some amazing titles for readers of all ages and interests—and you can check them out with your Library Card. dclibrary. org/washingtonpost2021.

Fort Dupont Ice Arena Public Ice Skating The Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Pl. SE, schedule for public skating through the end of February 2022 is Sundays, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.; Saturdays, 1 to 3 p.m.; Fridays, noon to 2 p.m. Adult admission is $5; kids, $4. Skate rental is $3. fdia.org.

Wild Turkeys Spotted at the Arboretum Thanksgiving may be over, but turkeys are still out and about at the National Arboretum. Wild turkeys have called the Arboretum home for at least the last 12 years. Though it’s hard to know for certain since the grounds are so large, based on trail camera footage, USNA staff suspect there could be three to six turkeys currently living at the Arboretum. One group, a male tom and two female hens, are living in the eastern side of the grounds near the Dogwood and Gotelli Conifer Collections. Since these turkeys prefer to eat bugs and seeds over plants, they don’t pose a direct threat to the Arboretum’s plants and collections. If you come across a wild turkey during your visit, please be respectful and keep your distance so they do not feel threatened. The outside grounds of the US National Arboretum are open daily to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. usna.usda.gov.

11th Street Bridge Park Commissions Request for Qualifications for Public Art Building Bridges Across the River has issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for public art commissions on the 11th Street Bridge Park. Artists and artist teams are invited to apply for one or more projects and must have a connection to DC, MD, or VA to be eligible. The four public art commissions include: Mural on the Navy Yard wall; Lighting and / or sound installation at the Navy Yard underpass; Hammock grove; and Mobile business kiosk. The RFQ must be submitted using the Application Portal by January 6, 2022. If you have questions about the RFQ or application process, contact consulting@ForecastPublicArt. org. Visit bridgepark.org/publicart for more information.

Become a DPR Lifeguard DC Department of parks and Rec uses the International Lifeguard Training Program (ILTP) to train and certified lifeguards to work at both indoor and outdoor aquatic facilities across the District. The ILTP is an objective driven program that produces lifeguards that perform at a higher level than those of other national/international training agencies. It includes Health Care Provider level CPR (one and two person CPR, AT, Foreign Body Airway Obstruction, and AED training), Emergency Oxygen Administration

Photo: Emilia Kawashima, Friends of the National Arboretum

training, and First Aid, along with state-of–the-art rescue techniques. Training is free. Read more at dpr. dc.gov/lifeguard.

Architecture & Design Film Festival Jan. 6 to 8, the National Building Museum partners with the Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF). ADFF:DC offers 12 feature-length films and a selection of short films from around the world that explore innovation and creativity in sustainability, equitable development, historic preservation and adaptive reuse, the important contribu-

tions of indigenous architects, and the dynamic nature of design leadership. ADFF:DC begins with the Opening Night celebration featuring Bruce Mau and Bisi Williams on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m., and concludes on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 8 with the DC premiere of Danish film Another Kind of Knowledge-Portrait of Norte Mandrup. Opening night ticket prices are $50; $25 for students, which includes the film, discussion and Q&A with Bruce Mau and reception. Single films and associated programming tickets are $15 and $5 for students. The $85 FlexPass allows admittance to multiple films as well as attendance at the Opening Night festivities. nbm.org.

Become a Resident Artist at Art Enables If you are an artist, interested in exploring art as a career and have a love for art and the art-making process, Art Enables may be the place for you. Art Enables serves adult artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities and individuals with a mental health diagnosis. Artists must be 21 or older and live in the DC area. Previous art experience is not a requirement, only a genuine interest in the art-making process and developing as a professional artist. Art Enables is a fee-for-service program. To become a resident artist, applicants must have funding from a sponsoring agency/organization or have the capacity to meet the fee requirements independently. Art Enables, 2204 Rhode Island Ave. NE, has a limited number of scholarships available for those unable to meet the fee requirements. All those interested must go through a formal intake interview and assessment process. To schedule an initial studio tour and interview, contact the studio at 202-554-9455. artenables.org.

DDOT Deploys Traffic Cameras to New Locations DDOT has announced the planned deployment of automated traffic enforcement cameras to new locations throughout the District. The camera locations are traffic sites where data analysis has identified speeding and stop-sign running as safety issues. Once “Photo Enforced” signs are installed in the direction of travel within at least 100 to 150 feet of the approach of the location, a 30-day educational phase will start for each camera deployment. During this period, violators will receive warning citations. After the 30-day warning period, DDOT will begin issuing notices of infraction with fines that will range from $100 to $500 based on excess of the speed limit to violators. The new photo enforcement locations are 1700 block N. Capitol St. NE; 3400 block MLK Jr. Ave. SE; 3400 block Wheeler Rd.; 4000 block Wheeler Rd.; 100 block Florida Ave. NW; Malcolm X Ave. @ Oakwood St. SE; 1500 block Rhode Island Ave. NE; 4400 block MLK Jr Ave. SW; 1300 block Eastern Ave. NE; 3100 block S. Dakota Ave. NE; 3700 block S. Dakota Ave. NE; 4800 block S. Dakota Ave. NE; 4900 block 16th St. NW; 1500 block Gallatin St. NE; 4700 block Reservoir Rd. NW; 2200 block Franklin St. NE; Fessenden St. @ 44th St. NW; Blagden Ave. @ Allison St. NW. ddot.dc.gov/ page/dc-streetsafe-automated-trafficenforcement.

ESL Conversation Circles

French Language Course: Beginner I/II & Intermediate II Starting Tuesday, January 11, 2022, 6:00-8:00pm Long Lunch: Bánh Xèo, or Vietnamese Rice Crêpes, with Chef Mark Haskell Friday, January 21, 2022, 11:30am-1:00pm Date Night Around the World: France with Chef Chericia Easton Saturday, January 22, 2022, 5:00-7:30pm Long Lunch: DIY Dumplings with Chef Mark Haskell Friday, February 4, 2022, 11:30am-1:00pm Sophisticated Southern Brunch: Nashville Hot Chicken with Chef Chericia Easton Sunday, February 6, 2022, 11am-2pm Chef’s Table with Gérard Pangaud Friday, February 11, 2022, 7:00-9:30pm Better Grades in Less Time with Smith Rivas Sunday, February 13, 2022, 3:00-4:00pm GALLERIES: Regional Juried Art Exhibition 2022 Virtual & In-Person Starting Monday, January 10, 2022

Are you a non-native speaker of English who would like to practice speaking English or build your vocabulary? Join a group for MLK Library’s English as a Second Language (ESL) Conversation Circles on Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to noon and/or 6 to 8 p.m. The online sessions meet for two hours. They are designed for non-native speakers of English, ages 18 and oldJanuary 2022 H 47

In anticipation of the 65th anniversary of the House and Garden Tour, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society is sponsoring a

PHOTO CONTEST –

Read her story Entries due March 13, 2022.

at CapitolHillHistory.org

Photo by Lis Wackman

Photo: Library of Congress

View details and past contest winners at chrs.org/photo-contest-2022/.

Goldie Mamakos’ happiest memories revolved around her Greek heritage and growing up on Capitol Hill. She learned about her roots from her many Greek relatives and thrived at local schools, especially the now-demolished Wallach School that once stood near Eastern Market. Read Goldie Mamakos’ oral history at CapitolHillHistory.org. Help preserve Capitol Hill history by becoming a volunteer.

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Join Serve DC’s Volunteer Snow Team Residents are encouraged to join Serve DC’s Volunteer Snow Team which helps clear sidewalks for registered seniors who are 65 and older, and residents with access functionality needs. This year, Serve DC especially needs volunteers in Wards 4, 5, 7, and 8. Volunteers can sign-up at servedc.galaxydigital.com. For more information about DC’s snow program, preparing for winter weather, or where District Snow Team plows are during a storm, visit snow.dc.gov.

WIDE SHOE OUTLET Men’s and Women’s sizes up to 15 EE Savings in store and online

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January Foreclosure Prevention Webinars The non-profit Housing Counseling Services will be conducting Foreclosure Prevention webinars on Jan. 5, 12, 19 and 26 at noon, to provide valuable information about available options for people who are having difficulty paying their mortgage. People who are delinquent on their condo fees or property taxes can also receive help. You may participate in the webinars by internet or telephone. Webinars are free; however, registration is required at housingetc.org/webinar-registration. You may also call the Foreclosure Prevention hotline at 202-265-2255. With an advance request, webinars are available in other languages.

Hypothermia Alerts Hypothermia alerts are activated when the National Weather Service forecasted temperature, including wind chill, is or will be 32° F or below; or, when the temperature is forecasted to be 40° F or below, and the forecasted chance of precipitation is fifty percent or greater. Transportation to shelter is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you see someone outside in need of shelter or a welfare check, call the Shelter Hotline at 202-399-7093 or dial 311. If there is an immediate risk to safety call 911. When calling, include the time, the address or location of the sighting, and a description of the person’s appearance. ◆

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home and garden BLOWING IN THE WIND DC Mandates Cleaner Leaf Blowers and Provides Rebates for Them by Catherine Plume

eaf blowers--sometimes it seems that everyone is foregoing the humble rake for these high-powered machines. People either love them for their efficiency or hate them for high-pitched noise they produce. But did you know that gaspowered leaf blowers are also a major source of pollution and a health hazard? As of January 1, 2022, the Leaf Blower Regulation Amendment Act of 2016 will prohibit the sale and use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers in DC. Residents and landscape companies alike will need to abide by this law or be subject to a fine of up to $500. To help make the transition to cleaner electric and battery-powered leaf blowers, the DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU) is offering $50 residential rebates for qualifying electric leaf blowers and $75 rebates for landscaping companies. Rebates are limited to one per residential customer while any landscaping company licensed to work in DC will be eligible for rebates for up to five electric or battery powered machines under the DCSEU plan.

Why Is This Legislation Necessary?

A 2011 study found that you’d have to drive a Ford F150 Raptor for 3,887 miles, or the distance from north Texas to Anchorage, Alaska to equal the amount of hydrocarbon emissions produced by a two-stroke gas-powered leaf blower operated for only 30 minutes. blower ban is an environmental and public health effort, and I enthusiastically welcome the launch of the DCSEU’s leaf blower rebate program to assist with the phasing-in of electric/battery alternatives. Not only will it lead to safer environments for landscapers, neighborhoods, and local wildlife, but the rebate program will also make the transition to cleaner, quieter alternatives more accessible for everyone.” While electric and battery-powered leaf blowers are better for operator health and the environment, other technological ad-

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), two-stroke gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment (including leaf blowers) produce high levels of hazardous air pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2). Two-stroke engines are lightweight as they combine oil and gas in a single chamber. But they are also very loud and inefficient with as much as a third of the fuel spewed into the air as unburned aerosol. As testimony to the inefficiency of these machines, a 2011 study found that you’d have to drive a Ford F150 Raptor for 3,887 miles, or the distance from north Texas to Anchorage, Alaska to equal the amount of hydrocarbon emissions produced by a two stroke gas-powered leaf blower operated for only 30 minutes. People who operate these leaf-blowers breathe these emissions while landscapers who operate these machines for hours each day are exposed to much higher levels. Over time, these emissions can lead to a host of health issues ranging from cardiovascular disease, to strokes, and respiratory diseases. The noise they produce can lead to permanent hearing loss. The DCSEU has rebates for residents and landscape companies to make the switch to electric and battery-powered leaf blowers. Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) and Chair of the DC Council’s Committee on Transportation and the Environment is happy to see these gasvancements are also favoring electric leaf blowers. In addition powered machines abolished in DC, noting, to being quieter than gas-powered machines, a November 2021 “Gas-powered leaf blowers are noisy, toxic, and New York Times article comparing types and brands of leaf blowGas-powered leaf blowers are out, but exceptionally polluting. The gas-powered leaf ers also notes that “the best corded models are on a par with or cleaner air is in! Photo: C. Plume

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better than many gas blowers.” At least some local landscaping companies are embracing the legislation and eager to see the switch to electric. Nancy Sainburg, owner of Enchanted Garden, a DC-based landscaping company notes, “We’ve been using only battery-operated blowers for the past five years. We’ve had no complaints from clients. In fact, several clients have come to us after hearing that we only use battery-powered blowers.” To get the DCSEU rebate, visit the DCSEU website at https://www. dcseu.com/homes/electric-lawn-care. Residents will need a copy of their receipt that includes a model number of the leaf blower purchased. Rebate applications (limit one per utility account) can be submitted through the Online Rebate Center or through the mail-in application. Commercial customers will need to submit a copy of their DC business license and can apply for the rebate online through on the DCSEU’s website. Ted Trabue, Managing Director of the DCSEU urges people to act on this rebate now. “Don’t wait until every leaf has fallen to take advantage of our rebate. Make the switch before January 1, 2022, to stay in compliance with the new District ordinance. Electric leaf blowers and lawn equipment are better for the environment and for the health, safety, and hearing of workers and residents, and we look forward to helping residents and businesses make the switch.” And if you really want to be carbon neutral and even get some exercise, remember, that rake will still work, too! Catherine Plume is a lifelong environmentalist, an urban homesteader, a writer, and blogger for the DC Recycler: www.DCRecycler.blogspot.com; Twitter: @DC_Recycler. She is also the Chair of the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club, however, perspectives expressed are her own and do not necessarily represent the positions of that organization. ◆

Over 95% of our business is past client clients or their referrals who come back to us time and time again. 908 MASS. AVE NE SOLD PRICE: $2,495,000 A lovingly restored Victorian retaining exquisite original period details that have been blended perfectly with modern updates. Prominently sited on Massachusetts Avenue, with approximately 4900 square feet,1 bedroom/1 bath unit with a C of O. A stunning home for gracious entertaining located just off Lincoln Park.

814 G ST SE SOLD PRICE: $1,326,814 A unique antebellum farmhouse offered an irresistible combination of history, location and charm! Located across from the stately Commandant’s home with 3 spacious bedrooms and study, plus a 4 room deep 1st floor with updated kitchen, breakfast room and charming living room. A wrap around patio in the rear leads to a historic carriage house.

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This Stately Victorian, located just 2.5 blocks from Eastern Market, Spacious and wide rooms throughout, a large eatin kitchen, 3 real bedrooms and 2.5 baths PLUS a lower level apartment 1 bdrm with a Certificate of Occupancy made this house irresistable!

January 2022 H 53

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GOING GREEN

A Hill Resident Saves Money while Helping the Environment by Catherine Plume

hat’s the easiest way to save money while helping fight climate change? If you ask Hill resident John Ten Hoeve, the first thing he’ll tell you is to invest in solar energy for your home. Ten Hoeve has lived on the Hill with his family since 2015, and he’s been interested in weather and climate from as far back as he can remember. With degrees in meteorology and environmental engineering, he’s acutely aware of the impact that greenhouse gas emissions are already having on our planet, and he wants to be a part of the solution. Fortunately, DC offers a wealth of opportunities to do just that. As a homeowner, John is a huge fan of rooftop solar. The solar array on his rowhouse generates 75% of the electricity his family consumes, which is impressive given that his roof also houses an air conditioning sysCapitol Hill rowhouse roofs often provide a perfect site for a solar array. Credit: Solar Solution tem and ductwork. Between the electricity savings and Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) that he sells on the SREC market, the payback period for his solar ing to a community solar project that will ray (approximately $10-15k for an average array is only four years while the panels will last about 25 years. Afoffset your electricity bill or purchasing Capitol Hill home after tax credits) and ter that four-year payback period, the array will be generating income green electricity from a verified 3rd party instead, invested that money in the stock for him—through reduced electrical bills and SREC payments. Ten wind or solar electricity supplier that uses market, you would need roughly a 11% anHoeve explains, “If you took the upfront cost of installing a solar arexisting Pepco infrastructure. Ten Hoeve nual rate of return over 10 years to match notes, “I bought 100% wind energy before the money generated from the solar panI purchased a solar array for my home, and els--which is risk free! After running all of I continue to purchase wind energy for the these numbers, I was honestly shocked by 25% of the electricity I don’t generate from how much financial sense it makes to insolar.” Meanwhile, programs such as the stall solar.” District Department of Energy and EnviBut not everyone has thousands of ronment’s (DOEE) Solar for All program dollars to invest in a solar array installahelp low- and middle-income residents— tion. Solar installers offer a variety of finanboth homeowners and renters—save moncial arrangements that allow you to lowey by adopting solar energy. er your down payment and/or sell your But moving to solar power isn’t the SREC credits up-front or to lease panels through a power purchasing agreeonly way to go green. According to Anment (PPA). If all this sounds interesting drew Didden, Financial Advisor at the Nabut hard to fully grasp, DC Solar United tional Capital Financial Group located at Neighborhoods (https://www.solarunitNational Capital Bank, “The number of edneighbors.org/dc/) has a wealth of inforenvironmental, social, governance (ESG) mation to guide you through the process. investment options has increased substanAnd if your roof is shaded or you don’t tially over the last few years while associated management fees for these funds have own your home, you can still power your Composting is a great way to reduce your waste and improve the soil dropped considerably. This makes green home with renewable energy by contributaround your home. Credit: K. Rostkowski

54 H HILLRAG.COM

investing a lot more affordable.” Ten Hoeve notes, “Many people don’t realize that a large percentage of their carbon emissions are tied to their investments or their debts, but there are many more options now to reduce these indirect emissions through more sustainable investing.” Ten Hoeve has also taken on more hands-on tactics that save money while reducing his family’s carbon footprint, and thereby helping to protect the environment. ”We use our car sparingly, we only eat meat once or twice a week, and we compost our food waste for our backyard garden. My four-year-old daughter already lets me know when I leave the lights on!” While Ten Hoeve appreciates that he’s able to save money and be more environmentally friendly through these changes, he’s also very much aware of the magnitude of the climate challenge we face. ““While cutting your own carbon emissions is laudable, the United States cannot reach its targets through personal action alone. We also have to support political movements that advocate for large-scale changes in our electricity, transportation, and residential heating/cooling systems.” So, no, in short, installing a solar array on your home isn’t going to save the world, but it will help address the climate crisis and even increase the value of your home and put some money in your pocket!. Catherine Plume is a lifelong environmentalist, an urban homesteader, a writer, and blogger for the DC Recycler: www.DCRecycler.blogspot. com; Twitter: @DC_Recycler. She is als the Chair of the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club, however, perspectives expressed are her own and do not necessarily represent the positions of that organization. ◆

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. home and garden .

/ The Hill Gardener /

SURROUNDINGS IS HERE TO STAY

wo of Capitol Hill’s favorite businesses have reached an agreement that is a win-win for the neighborhood. Charles Hudman of Surroundings Floral and Landscaping has announced the sale of his property at the corner of East Capitol and 11th Street SE to Attila Suzer and Lisa Friedman, co-owners of Wine & Butter. Some feared that the sale would result in Surroundings no longer operating from the premises. But the owners of the two businesses have reached an agreement that will allow both of these very popular businesses to continue operating from their location across from Lincoln Park. The new arrangement will make the floral courtyard accessible to Wine & Butter patrons with a few tables and chairs and a new fountain that will be designed so you can sit and enjoy your lunch and a drink as you stroll through the flowers. It’s wonderful to see the two businesses cooperating in a way that really works for the neighborhood and allows Surroundings to continue serving customers from their long-time location.

The corner of 9th and East Capitol is one of Surroundings projects and features a working water foundation brought by the owner from Italy. Photo courtesy of Surroundings

56 H HILLRAG.COM

Article and photos by Rindy O’Brien

Surroundings’ History

Surroundings at 11th and East Capitol

Charles Hudman and John Kukendall, cohas been sold to Wine and Butter. The good news is that it will remain a owner and consultant, first started on Caplandscaping company on Capitol Hill itol Hill in a basement business in 2006 at operating from a warehouse. 328 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E. Charles started his floral business in Georgetown and the new location made it easier to service Capitol clients. The shop was very small and their interest in expanding into landscaping was growing. Charles says the name was plucked from a Thesaurus, but so captured what the company wanted to offer residents. “We want to make your outdoor space as inviting and beautiful as your indoor space,” he says. “You can think of it as a way to surround yourself in beauty.” In 2008 Surroundings moved to Its current location. Charles will still be able to provide floral arrangeCharles has spent his entire life working in the ments for Hill residents, whether you want a bouquet garden and floral industry and brings decades of to carry home or are planning a wedding. knowledge of both plants and design to his clients’ projects. Nothing is cookie cutter with the work perLandscaping at Your Service formed by the six to ten employees of Surroundings. The pandemic, looking like it is sticking around a When the pandemic started in 2020, suddenly while longer, has made Hill residents value every inch the floral business came to an abrupt stop. The Capof space on their property. Many residents have not itol was no longer hosting their weekly conferences been able to travel to weekend getaways. Families and all the larger social events were cancelled. But with smaller children who are unable to be vacciwith homeowners sent home to work, there was sudnated are desperate to use their yards for their kids’ denly increased interest in expanding outdoor spacoutdoor activities. Taking the weed-covered back or es and investing in landscaping. front yard and turning it into enjoyable family space is essential for everyone. Surroundings: 2022 Version Charles notes that Surroundings has the experiCharles is thrilled to be continuing his business at the ence of dealing with some of the common problems 11th Street location along with Francisco Sorto, a that occur on Capitol Hill when tackling outdoor third owner of Surroundings. “Francisco has been a projects. For instance, water issues often need to be member of the Surroundings team for over 20 years addressed. Sometimes it is too much water seeping and is integral to carrying out my designs, providing into the foundation and, at other times, it is a lack of homes with great new decks, patios, and gardens.” water where irrigation is needed to keep things green “The corner of 11th Street and East Capitol and growing. was really a mess when we purchased the property Capitol Hill soil can be a hurdle in improving in 2008,” says John. The transformation of the coryour outdoor space. ner has become one of Surroundings best testimoSurroundings always starts by cleaning out the nials for what homeowners can do to increase their existing soil, digging out one to two inches and reliving spaces. The corner now has a lovely large founplacing it with new organic soil. “Getting rid of the dation and front patio. Having Surroundings as part clay soil, and sometimes years of over-mulching the of the corner business guarantees that the Europeanonly way to make sure the new plants can thrive,” styled coffee shop, Wine & Butter, will always have says Charles. Surroundings also believes that garbeautiful flowers and patio seating. It also means that

Additions & Basement Experts BUFFALO COMPANY, LLC www.buffalocompanyusa.com For all your Construction Needs ADDITIONS RENOVATIONS REMODELING KITCHENS INTERIORS Charles Hudman and John Kukendall are co-owners of Surroundings along with Francisco Sorto. Photo: Rindy O’Brien

dens should be beautiful year-round, and he help homeowners choose the right balance between flowers and evergreen trees and shrubs that will look great even in winter. Without weather delays, Surroundings can transform a 15-foot by 15-foot outdoor space in nine to ten business days. The myths that you can only plant in spring and fall are just that. “We can work anytime except when the ground is frozen, and with the warming weather here, that is year-round,” Charles notes. The list of landscaping services is a long one including creating grill or pizza ovens, patios, decks, pergolas, grassy areas for children to play, retaining walls and fences, roof top gardens, and creating award winning flower gardens. As important as creating the outdoor spaces is the task of finding competent people to help maintain them, if you aren’t the gardening type. Surroundings will do that for you, either as an emergency cleanup or with an annual contract. So, thankfully, Surroundings is here to stay and Wine & Butter as new property owners will be expanding their services making the Lincoln Park corner even more neighborhood friendly. It’s great news as we begin the new year.

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January 2022 ★ 57

. home & garden.

CHANGING HANDS Changing Hands is a list of residential sales in Capitol Hill and contiguous neighborhoods 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

PRICE BR

FEE SIMPLE 14TH STREET CORRIDOR 1539 T St NW

ADAMS MORGAN 1724 Euclid St NW

$1,225,000

ANACOSTIA 2242 Chester St SE 2509 1/2 West St SE 1915 21st Pl SE 1522 White Pl SE

BARRY FARMS 1349 Talbert Ter SE

$1,100,000

$642,500 $490,000 $484,900 $450,000

3 3 2 4

$395,000

BLOOMINGDALE 114 Adams St NW 124 V St NW 18 S St NW 140 Q St NW

CAPITOL HILL 135 11th St NE 133 13th St NE 515 7th St SE 221 11th St SE 908 Independence Ave SE 17 Frederick Douglass Ct NE 611 Maryland Ave NE 312 10th St NE 721 A St SE 713 G St SE 421 Independence Ave SE 226 9th St SE 517 E St SE 512 G St NE 523 11th St SE 814 G St SE 624 C St NE 221 9th St NE 1107 G St SE 512 10th St SE 1332 G St NE 1028 D St NE 228 9th St NE 632 E St SE 1239 Independence Ave SE 113 8th SE 600 E St SE 123 E St SE 525 3rd St NE 1253 Walter St SE 1209 Linden Pl NE 1310 D St SE 502 D St NE 119 10th St NE 1524 Gales St NE 710 4th St NE 202 16th St SE 535 5th St SE 335 14th St NE 623 Pickford NE 119 15th St NE 1305 Potomac Ave SE 1542 D St SE 25 7th St NE 1200 Linden Pl NE 1352 C St NE

$1,050,000 $975,000 $927,100 $805,000

4 4 4 3

$2,670,000 $2,337,500 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $1,700,000 $1,700,000 $1,700,000 $1,560,000 $1,560,000 $1,554,000 $1,550,000 $1,495,000 $1,430,000 $1,406,000 $1,340,000 $1,326,814 $1,325,000 $1,249,000 $1,232,500 $1,220,000 $1,220,000 $1,150,000 $1,150,000 $1,150,000 $1,125,500 $1,100,000 $1,075,000 $995,000 $969,000 $950,000 $915,000 $910,000 $900,000 $900,000 $887,000 $875,000 $866,501 $865,000 $855,000 $795,000 $765,000 $748,500 $705,000 $700,000 $699,000 $675,000

5 4 8 4 3 3 5 4 4 5 6 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 2 2

CAPITOL HILL EAST 115 15th St NE 216 17th Pl NE 1621 C St SE 1503 Constitution Ave NE

DEANWOOD 809 49th St NE 5711 Clay St NE 900 45th Pl NE 4041 Gault Pl NE 5355 Gay St NE 950 Division Ave NE 4234 Dix St NE 5911 Dix St NE

58 ★ HILLRAG.COM

$1,050,000 $830,000 $719,990 $719,000

3 3 2 2

$658,000 $620,000 $599,999 $590,000 $540,000 $515,000 $500,000 $489,900

4 5 5 3 4 3 4 4

5605 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave NE 4030 Lee St NE 244 56th Pl NE 4526 Eads Pl NE 5315 Blaine St NE 14 55th St NE 5028 Jay St NE 217 47th St NE 5078 Jay St NE 84 57th Pl SE 5349 Ames St NE 34 46th Pl NE 309 56th St NE 5803 Dix St NE 539 59th St NE

DUPONT CIRCLE 1927 S St NW 1505 Swann St NW 2019 Q St NW 1903 S St NW

ECKINGTON 142 R St NE 50 Quincy Pl NE 304 T Street NE 153 V St NE 2018 4th St NE

$469,999 $469,000 $450,000 $435,000 $435,000 $430,000 $425,000 $425,000 $403,000 $402,000 $400,000 $399,000 $395,000 $370,000 $290,000

3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 4 2 3

$1,900,000 $1,500,000 $3,250,000 $2,495,000

4 2 4 5

$1,400,000 $907,500 $804,500 $749,500 $689,000

5 4 3 4 4

FORT DUPONT PARK 4020 Q St SE 3370 Minnesota Ave SE 7 Ridge Rd. SE 4222 Nash St SE 1521 41st St SE 4038 D St SE 4034 D St SE 1618 Fort Davis Pl SE 809 51st St NE 4429 A St SE

FORT LINCOLN 3320 Theodore R Hagans Dr NE

$600,000 $590,000 $490,000 $454,900 $440,000 $430,000 $334,900 $301,300 $285,000 $230,000

4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 2

$740,000

H STREET CORRIDOR 641 L St NE 634 Morton Pl NE 1023 6th St NE

HILL CREST 3728 Nash St SE 3109 N St SE 1711 33rd Pl SE 2133 31st Pl SE 3055 Q St SE 3155 Westover Dr SE 3505 Carpenter St SE 2137 36th Pl SE 2511 Fairlawn Ave SE

KINGMAN PARK 704 16th St NE

LEDROIT PARK 2102 Flagler Pl NW 410 U St NW

$1,175,000 $923,500 $759,900

5 3 3

$750,000 $660,000 $658,500 $630,000 $585,000 $540,000 $535,000 $510,000 $350,250

4 4 3 2 2 3 3 3 2

$875,000

$1,500,000 $815,000

4 3

LOGAN CIRCLE 925 R St NW 1342 Wallach Pl NW 12 Logan Cir NW 1421 S St NW 1109 P St NW

$1,305,000 $1,154,250 $4,600,000 $1,649,000 $1,565,000

MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5025 Ayers Pl SE 5356 E St SE 5221 D St SE 5121 Hanna Pl SE

MOUNT VERNON 408 NW N St NW 1236 4th St NW

NOMA

1125 3rd St NE 1218 Florida Ave NE 222 Parker St NE

OLD CITY #1 1222 Constitution Ave NE 709 7th St NE 26 16th St SE 619 14th St NE 1402 Massachusetts Ave SE 324 9th NE 413 D St NE 1334 G St SE 648 Orleans Pl NE 538 13th St NE 2 Browns Ct SE 325 14th Pl NE

OLD CITY #2 912 Westminster St NW 1606 New Jersey Ave NW 2207 12th Place NW

RANDLE HEIGHTS 1951 S St SE 1517 25th St SE 2351 Q St SE 1832 Frederick Douglass Pl SE 1517 Tubman Rd SE 1851 Tobias Dr SE 1491 Howard Rd SE 3106 28th St SE

3 3 7 4 4

$600,000 $500,000 $317,500 $290,000

4 3 3 4

$1,050,000 $700,000

3 3

$830,000 $785,000 $620,000

2 3 1

$1,395,000 $1,105,905 $1,052,375 $1,030,000 $1,025,000 $950,000 $905,000 $877,500 $785,000 $636,000 $590,000 $555,000

4 4 4 3 3 4 3 2 2 2 2 2

$1,200,000 $800,000 $798,000

4 3 2

$540,000 $515,000 $500,000 $439,900 $420,000 $400,000 $400,000 $380,000

3 3 4 4 4 3 2 3

SHAW 931 Westminster St NW 1821 Vermont Ave NW 1423 New Jersey Ave NW 205 Bates St NW 507 Rhode Island Ave NW

$1,565,000 $1,499,999 $869,900 $845,000 $835,000

SW WATERFRONT 715 6th St SW SW 1217 Carrollsburg Pl SW

$1,215,000 $1,010,000

TRINIDAD 1279 Owen Pl NE 1434 Montello Ave NE 1629 Lyman Pl NE 1233 16th St NE

$840,000 $815,000 $650,000 $410,000

TRUXTON CIRCLE 35 Bates St NW 207 Bates St NW

$938,600 $935,500

5 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 3 2 3 3

U STREET CORRIDOR

1929 12th St NW $1,180,000 4 2121 12th Pl NW $1,150,000 3

January 2022 H 59

The Capitol Hill Garden Club presents

CONDO 14TH STREET CORRIDOR 2125 14th St NW #203W

$659,000

ADAMS MORGAN

Dear Garden Problem Lady, by Wendy Blair

1806 Kalorama Rd NW #4 2444 NW Ontario Rd NW #3 1674 Euclid St NW #B 2550 17th St NW #613 1957 Calvert St NW #B 2424 17th St NW #105

$965,000 $814,000 $730,000 $575,000 $515,000 $280,000

ANACOSTIA 1970 Naylor Rd SE #24

$269,900

ATLAS DISTRICT

Gardeners spend January sitting by a cozy fire reading garden sales catalogues. I can’t. My New Year’s Resolutions are too URGENT. Please help me improve years and years of compacted (probably still clay-ish) soil. My garden is just SAD. Your question is clear, simple, and not uncommon, but compacted soil is the hardest garden problem to fix, partly because you need to change your own mind about it. Improvement cannot be swift. It takes patience. And work. Address obvious causes of compaction first, of course. Do not walk anywhere on your soil -- make stepping stones or a path for planting, weeding and watering. Then you must mix organic materials thoroughly with existing soil. Into the top six or seven inches of your garden, fork or dig bark, sawdust, manure, leaf mold, compost and peat moss. Slowly earthworms, insects, bacteria and fungi will transform your soil into soil nutrients and humus, with enough air that water can enter and plant roots thrive. Ultimately you will have crumbly soil that you can dig with your hands. That’s the tilth you need, and you are in it for the long haul. What about coffee grounds? Mother used to add them to the soil of her peerless garden. I think I’ve read that they really don’t help -- why not? Used coffee grounds, which are categorized as “green” compost, add nitrogen to a compost pile, but not to your garden soil until they can be balanced by other composted “brown” 60 H HILLRAG.COM

(or carbon-providing) materials such as wood chips or sawdust. Confusing? Coffee grounds (used, not fresh) do attract worms, and make soil look dark and healthy. Using un-composted coffee grounds does not help much in the garden, but it does get rid of the coffee grounds. I wonder if you know whether there exists a squirrel-proof bird feeder. I was hoping for one that doesn’t drop any seeds or seed shells on the ground, so that I won’t have squirrels and rodents coming to eat off the ground in my backyard. The Audubon Society in Chevy Chase (301-652-9188) sells feeders with squirrel baffles. If you use a suet-only feeder you’ll miss many of the loveliest birds. An article in Sapsucker Woods, the magazine of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in Ithaca, NY, touts safflower seeds as distasteful to squirrels, but there’s anecdotal evidence against that (squirrels seen eating these). Squirrels are a problem the Problem Lady needs help with – please! 2022 meetings of the Capitol Hill Garden Club resume on Zoom, on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 pm. Meetings are free and open to all. The club welcomes new members. Dues are $50/ year. Please visit capitolhillgardenclub.org for program information. Feeling beset by gardening problems? Your problem might prove instructive to others, and help them feel superior to you. Send them to the Problem Lady c/o dearproblemlady@gmail.com. Complete anonymity is assured. u

1110 6th St NE #6 1125 G St NE #2 1350 Maryland Ave NE #109

$905,000 $837,500 $495,000

BARRY FARMS 2605 Douglass Rd SE #403 2617 Douglas Pl SE #302

$340,000 $269,000

BRENTWOOD 1332 Bryant St NE #4

$384,900

CAPITOL GATEWAY 88 V St SW #409 88 V St SW #713 88 V St SW #513

$828,000 $575,000 $552,000

CAPITOL HILL 12 3rd St SE #3 819 D St NE #19 226 Kentucky Ave SE #C-2 410 5th St NE #23 440 12th St NE #11 819 D St NE #22 1513 Constitution Ave NE #2 420 16th St SE #304 11 2nd St NE #205

$996,000 $970,000 $828,000 $605,000 $539,000 $510,000 $375,000 $310,000 $299,000

CAPITOL HILL EAST 1375 Maryland NE #D 1391 Pennsylvania Ave SE #571

$740,000 $675,000

CAPITOL RIVERFRONT 1300 4th St SE #1010

$665,000

CARROLLSBURG 240 M St SW #E502 1250 4th St SW #W802

$333,000 $205,000

CENTRAL 2301 N St NW #216 920 I St NW #1003 1133 14th St NW #804 616 E St NW #1110 400 Massachusetts Ave NW #617 1133 14th St NW #507

$890,000 $695,000 $630,000 $485,000 $460,000 $310,000

CONGRESS HEIGHTS 3415 5th St SE #34 625 Chesapeake St SE #105

$132,000 $105,000

2 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 3 3 1 3 2 2 1 1 1

$810,000 $753,152 $707,000 $695,000 $499,900 $412,000 $374,500 $370,000 $290,000

$264,500 $225,000 $695,000 $635,000 $599,000 $551,500 $551,500 $501,000 $500,000 $490,000 $465,000 $457,500 $457,000 $445,000 $415,000 $394,000 $379,555 $377,000 $336,000 $333,000 $328,000 $260,000 $255,000 $232,700 $228,000 $560,000

ECKINGTON 51 T St NE #1 1715 N Capitol St NE #2 1831 2nd St NE #409 2004 3rd St NE #103

$705,000 $392,000 $299,000 $260,000

FAIRFAX VILLAGE 3 3 3 1 2 1 1 1 0 1 2 2 1 0

3683 Alabama Ave SE #B

$275,000

FORT DUPONT PARK

3960-3960 Pennsylvania Ave SE #306 $208,000

H STREET CORRIDOR 646 H St NE #PH-3 802 L St NE #1 1638 K St NE #301 1638 K St NE #303 1350 Maryland Ave NE #311 1638 K St NE #202 1638 K St NE #1 301 H St NE #203

$1,045,000 $800,000 $635,000 $604,900 $500,000 $324,900 $299,900 $233,398

HILL EAST 117 17th St SE #2 117 17th St SE #1 1512 K St SE #5 401 15th St SE #303

$905,000 $655,000 $570,000 $411,000

IVY CITY 2 1 2 1 1 0

1838 Providence St NE #3

$608,000

LEDROIT PARK 2014 2nd St NW #1 150 V St NW #V102 150 V St NW #V209

$775,000 $515,000 $500,000

0 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 2 3 2 1 1 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 1 1 0 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 1

LOGAN 1 2

DUPONT 1735 New Hampshire Ave NW #603 1824 S St NW #404 1617 Riggs Pl NW #3 1813 16th St NW #2B 1731 S St NW #9 1731 Willard St NW #405 1711 Massachusetts Ave NW #405 1904 R St NW #6 1615 Q St NW #610

1801 16th St NW #407 1 Scott Cir NW #715 1325 18th St NW #903 1708 19th St NW #2 1830 17th St NW #306 1768 Church St NW #B 1712 Corcoran St NW #5 1916 17th St NW #209 1727 R St NW #LL2 1815 18th St NW #202 1727 R St NW #301 1325 18th St NW #606 1700 17th St NW #407 1916 17th St NW #110 1621 T St NW #607 1545 18th St NW #813 1747 Church St NW #2 1933 18th St NW #103 1718 P St NW #413 1727 Massachusetts Ave NW #816 1816 New Hampshire Ave NW #409 1 Scott Cir NW #405 1260 21st St NW #715 1 Scott Cir NW #705 1727 Massachusetts NW #505 1808 S St NW #2

2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0

1413 P St NW #302 1735 Johnson Ave NW #G 1443 S St NW #1 1450 Church St NW #503 1115 12th St NW #702 1735 Johnson Ave NW #B 1211 13th St NW #604 1211 13th St NW #502 1 Scott Cir NW #313 1822 15th St NW #203 1918 12th St NW #2 1327 R St NW #2 1309 Q St NW #1 1301 NW Rhode Island NW #4

$1,730,000 $1,595,000 $965,000 $815,000 $647,500 $640,000 $568,000 $520,000 $250,000 $249,900 $1,355,000 $3,000,000 $1,410,000 $875,000

2 3 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 0 3 4 3 2

1423 R St NW #205 1433 R St NW #1 1400 Church St NW #307 1437 Rhode Island Ave NW #707 1225 11th St NW #8 1010 Massachusetts NW #905 1325 13th St NW #206 1225 N St NW #A 1320 R St NW #5 1120 Rhode Island Avenue NW #4 1326 R St NW #1 1441 Rhode Island Ave NW #520 1618 11th St NW #T101 1245 13th St NW #212 1215 N St NW #2 1 Scott Cir NW #714 1414 Belmont St NW #305 918 NW N St NW #1

$785,000 $705,000 $695,000 $680,000 $675,000 $640,000 $611,000 $605,000 $515,000 $494,000 $490,000 $489,000 $415,000 $359,900 $342,500 $196,500 $455,000 $979,000

MARSHALL HEIGHTS 4442 B St SE #1

MOUNT VERNON 216 Morgan St NW #2 445 M St NW #1 920 I St NW #607 1010 Massachusetts Ave NW #413 424 M St NW #5 424 M St NW #3 424 M St NW #2 437 New York Ave NW #211 424 M St NW #1 1111 M St NW #7 437 New York Ave NW #Y26 301 Massachusetts Ave NW #404

NAVY YARD 37 L St SE #507 900 11th St SE #307

NOMA

50 Florida Ave NE #108 911 2nd St NE #508 50 Florida Ave NE #408

OLD CITY #1

624 1/2 8th St NE #201 915 12th St NE #2 1007 Maryland Ave NE #304 1367 Florida Ave NE #101 1520 Independence Ave SE #1 660 Morton Pl NE #4 1621 E St NE #1

OLD CITY #2

301 Massachusetts Ave NW #1202 1401 Church St NW #522 1401 Q St NW #304 1612 15th St NW #4 1730 16th St NW #13 555 Massachusetts Ave NW #1118 910 M St NW #830 475 K St NW #910 1731 S St NW #PH 11 1718 P St NW #907 1001 L St NW #611 66 New York Ave NW #101 80 New York Ave NW #205

PENN QUARTER 616 E St NW #849 715 6th St NW #603 916 G St NW #306

RANDLE HEIGHTS 1624 26th Pl SE #1 1701 Gainesville St SE #302

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Find your neighborhood news,

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CAPITOL HILL 516 A St NE #105

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arts ining d and

AT THE MOVIES Spanish Film Icon Comes Up with Another Winner

by Mike Canning

panish writer-diAlmodovar has, for years, rector Pedro Albeen known for his lavish use modovar continof color, especially in interior ues to amaze with scenes with strong primary colhis latest effort, ors that often frame his gorgeous “Parallel Mothers,” a touching protagonists. That practice figand brilliantly realized film that ured in his last film “Pain and brings him back to the world of Glory” (2019), and it is shown the hospital, a context he last exhere, too, with vibrant hues, esplored in the great “Talk to Her” pecially covering the scarlet-to(2002). (This film, subtitled in carmine spectrum, shown in the Spanish, runs 123 minutes, and costuming, furnishings, and inis rated “R.”) terior details (leaving aside a Two women, Janis (Pelush mint-green for the hospinelope Cruz) and Ana (Milena tal scenes). Smit), are pregnant in a hospital It doesn’t hurt that the diFrom left: Penelope Cruz and Milena Smit star in “Parallel Mothers” by Almodovar. room with their deliveries on the rector again has Penelope Cruz Photo Courtesy of Sony Classic Pictures same parallel track. Both are sinas his muse in this film. She is as gle and became pregnant by aceffective as ever, playing a heartthey both learn the ways of newborns. Janis adjusts cident. Janis, a professional photographer is middlefelt, if practical, character who knows her own mind, without difficulty, but she has to leave her demandaged, but she does not regret her pregnancy and is a kind of natural, hard-headed feminist (and one who ing high-fashion photography to take on more modrather thrilled by the prospect. Her pregnancy comes adores her child). As he often does, Almodovar veers est contract work. The bond with the more depenabout as a result of a one-night stand with a rugged awfully close to melodrama in “Mothers,” but Cruz dent youngster means that Janis eventually agrees to academic Arturo (Israel Etejade). However, Ana, a helps him avert this by never being seen as other than take Ana into her household, so and they can raise callow teenager, struggles with the implications of grounded and real. their children in tandem. Arturo comes in and out of this sudden change of life (we don’t know who the Almodovar is as comfortable with the actress Janis’s life but not in any romantic way, while Ana’s father is), and she longs for the support of her actor as he is with her long-time male equivalent, Antoattempts to involve her mother in the raising of her mother Teresa (Aitana Sanchez Gijon), whose amnio Banderes. (last seen in his 2019 “Pain and Glonewborn goes nowhere. bition to star in a new play on the road will keep her ry”). He handles just as well the young Smit, a loveAna’s awareness of who her baby’s father might way from her vulnerable daughter. ly new discovery to include in his now vast panoply be is moot since she had made love with several After witnessing their ferocious, almost simulof Spanish screen actresses. young men at the same time, while Janis has doubts taneous births, level-headed Janis tries to encourage about her child’s origins and looks to DNA tests to Hill resident Mike Canning has written on movies for the Ana in her new, unwanted role. Having bonded in try to confirm the identity of her baby’s father. At this Hill Rag since 1993 and is a member of the Washington their days chatting in hospital corridors and later afpoint, Almodovar story takes a sharp right turn, and Area Film Critics Association. He is the author of “Hollyter they have welcomed their babies, the two new wood on the Potomac: How the Movies View Washington, the relationships shift radically for the rest of the picmothers agree they will stay in touch. DC.” His reviews and writings on film can be found online ture. What does not change is the by-now firm relaat www.mikesflix.com. ◆ The abandoned Ana begins to lean on Janis as tionship between the two women. January 2022 ★ 63

. arts and dining .

CAPITOL CUISINE

orty layers of lasagna? Yes, I counted them, or—I started to count them when Peter and I were dining at L’Ardente, 200 Mass. Ave. NW. But somewhere in the middle of this unusual lasagna I lost count. No matter, I was too busy consuming chef David Deschaies’ layers of short rib beef sugo (tomato-based sauce), truffle Mornay (like bechamel) and grated Sottocenere cheese. The latter is a truffled cow’s milk cheese from northern Italy’s Veneto region. Presented sideways on my plate, this amazing creation emerged from the kitchen of chef Deschaies and partner Eric Eden in their “simple but elegant’ Italian restaurant in the sprawling Capitol Crossing development. This place is gorgeous; glittering chandeliers hover over the spacious dining room, two bar areas and comfy booths. A huge, blue and yellow abstract mural embraces one wall. Also emerging from the spacious display kitchen: Whole grilled branzino ($65) scented with fennel; bistecca ala Fiorentina (dry-aged steak with a raisin, black pepper and

Presented sideways, L’Ardente’s signature lasagna reportedly has 40 layers.

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by Celeste McCall brandy sauce); and a richly delicious risotto ($26). That dish had Peter fooled. Instead of rice, the “risotto was actually finely minced calamari enhanced with crab and lobster. We did not get to the saffron-spiked arancini (fried, mozzarella-filled rice balls). We also missed the “Duck Hunt,” a concoction of duck jus, The battered octopus cream and foie gras with duck-stuffed ravcorn dog is a favorite ioli. The bite-sized morsel is presented in appetizer at Barracks a little cup with tiny duck feet. Row’s recent arrival, Kaiju Ramen. But there’s more: L‘Ardente’s woodburning grill comes from Barcelona producer Mibrasa, while the domed charcoalfired pizza oven bakes naturally leavened pies crowned with the likes of smoked octopus, prosciutto, “hot” salami and Brussels sprouts. L’Ardente, by the way, is Italian for “burning.” Complementing these innovative dishes is a reasonably priced wine list offered by the bottle and glass, including a Ornelis Molon Pinot Grigio and Punzi Sangiovese/Chianti blend. Both are tagged at $12 per glass. The full bar showcases Italian-themed cocktails and after-dinner cordials. Kaiju’s open kitchen is a busy place at night, turning out zesty Sadly, we did not leave space for desramen dishes and exotic appetizers. sert: A reported showstopper is pastry chef Manabu Inoue’s tiramisu, a sphere could not wait to check it out. Formerly housing Porof Valrhona chocolate enveloping espresron by Anxo, the dark décor is dramatic. Neon lightso-soaked ladyfingers and mascarpone, then flaming snakes around the walls and ceiling; Godzilla imbéed tableside. Next time. ages lurk everywhere, including the restrooms. Dinner for two, with a glass of wine apiece and Our trio snuggled in a corner table by the winthe $20 percent service charge, came to $100. If I dow, and we warmed up with hot sake as we perused had a complaint, our service, rendered by Liam, the menu. We were eager to try the tako (octopus) corn was almost too swift. We wanted to spend more time dog, a whimsical take on the old fashioned standby. here, just soaking up the ambience, so we lingered A trio of battered octopus globes was threaded on a a bit. skewer, inspired by the restaurant’s scary moniker, L’Ardente is open for dinner Monday through which means “strange beast” or “monster” in JapaSaturday, closed Sunday; for reservations (highly nese. We also shared the more conventional edamarecommended) or more information visit www.larme, along with chashu fried rice, studded with pork dente.com. morsels and crowned with an omelet. While billed as an appetizer, the dish fed three of us. Godzilla has Invaded…. Then we shared Tokyo-style ramen; pork and Grab your chopsticks: Kaiju Ramen, 525 Eighth chicken strips swimming in savory broth laced with St. SE, has finally arrived on Barracks Row. We

January 2022 H 65

Check out all of our happenings at

www.Mrhenrysdc.com LIVE MUSIC returns

Wed through Sat evenings. Tickets at

Instantseats.com Every Wednesday Capitol Hill Jazz Jam 1/6 - Pablo Regis 1/7 - Elin

1/20 - Fran Vielma Orchestra

1/13 - Beatles Extravaganza

1/21 - Lanah Koelle

1/14 - Kevin Cordt Quartet

1/27 - Fahel

1/15 - Lionel Lyles

1/22 - Jeff Weintraub 1/28 - Landon Paddock 1/29 - Maija Rejman

scallions and nori (seaweed). Even tastier was the black miso cheese ramen, replete with noodles, egg, corn, black sesame and enlivened with squid ink. Broths, we’re told, are simmered for 10 hours; noodles are made fresh daily. Ramen dishes hover around $15 to $16, but the wagyula ramen—highlighting pricy waygu (beef) and gold flakes among other ingredients--will set you back $65.95. The Japanese beer and sake listing includes intriguing sparkling varieties. Dinner for three with sake came to $73 before tip; service was excellent. The Barracks Row newcomer is an offshoot of Maryland’s Akira Ramen & Izakaya. Chef Junzo Miyajima hails from Saitama, Japan, and formerly At Eastern Market’s weekend farmers line, Chef Ewa cooks wielded his whisk at the highly touted pierogis and other Polish victuals. En Japanese Brasserie, in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. For Kaiju hours Nearby, Taqueria Las Gemelas continues its and more information, visit www.kaijuramen.us. popular “fast fancy” service a few doors down at

Nearby Opening soon: As You Are Bar, a LGBTQ watering hole at 500 Eighth St. SE, formerly District Soul Food and before that—Banana Café.

How Sweet it is Sweet Crimes, a gluten free bakery, has opened at 1238 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, next to the Capitol Hill Animal Clinic. Besides gluten free “criminally delicious” breads, biscuits, cakes, pies, cookies, cupcakes and macaroons, the friendly shop also dispenses sandwiches, biscuits, muffins, quiches and more. Plus coffee and tea drinks. Open daily; visit www.sweetcrimes.com. (There’s another Sweet Crimes at 1407 T St. NW.)

Old but New

Mon-Fri 11am – 1:30am Sat & Sun 10:30am – 1:30am

601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE 66 ★ HILLRAG.COM

In La Cosecha, the contemporary Latino market at 1280 Fourth St. NW (near Union Market), Las Gemelas Cocina Mexicana has morphed into a full-fledged restaurant with a new moniker: Destino. The menu offers “modern Mexican cuisine and drinks, inspired by the culinary team’s favorite places in Mexico.” Expect updated classics like guacamole with smoked tomatillos; salsa caju (sauce with smoked cashews); a smoked beet dish; camarones (heads-on prawns); blue corn tamales; pork belly mole verde with house-made noodles.

La Cosecha. For hours and more information, visit www.lacoshecadc.com.

Market Watch (Polish Power) We’ve stumbled upon a new Eastern Market outdoor vendor: Chef Ewa. Her stand dispenses Polish-style pierogis—savory pastries with various fillings. A generous serving, with cabbage--is $11. Today’s pierogis were stuffed with potato and cheese, potato/bacon/sauerkraut/mushroom. You can also find golabri ($12), ground beef and rice smothered with tomato sauce. Chef Ewa hopes to continue operating on Saturdays; for updates visit www.chefewa.com.

Winter Restaurant Week Coming up January 17-23: The 2022 Winter Restaurant Week. Sponsored by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), the promotion will highlight special deals throughout the metropolitan area. Diners ward off winter’s chill with $40 or $55 multicourse dinners, as well as $25 per person multicourse brunches and lunches. As many as 250 restaurants are expected to participate, and offpremises dining will be available. For more information, and for an up-to-date list of participating restaurants, visit www.ramw.org. ◆

OPEN MONDAY - SUNDAY 11:30AM - 10PM

Located in the historic Barracks Row neighborhood, Sushi Hachi, founded by highly talented Chef, Steve Yoon, offers a premier dining experience like never before in DC. Dishes are plated with thick cut slices of fresh fish that is flown in daily, and rice that is prepared with the highest care. Sushi Hachi takes on the art of traditional sushi with an innovative drive.

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. arts and dining .

ARTandtheCITY by Jim Magner

ARTIST PORTRAIT: RACHEL ROTENBERG

achel Rotenberg thinks with a pencil and speaks with wood. She draws and draws and keeps drawing until the forms begin to take shape on the paper and in her mind. Each is a “prevision” not a reiteration of the past. Each is a new expression—a complete feeling. And there is no title until it is finished—the complete

the emotions of a lifetime. At times, colors insinuate themselves, adding another visual dimension and imparting a distinct personality. Rachel was born in Toronto, Canada. She attended University in Toronto, Jerusalem and New York City receiving her BFA from York University in 1981. In 1984 she moved to a studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and chose wood as her primary medium. In 2014 Rachel began sculpting for extended periods of time in Israel, where she now lives. You can watch a video of her constructing a large installation on her website and see a complete display of her work at: http://rachelrotenberg.com Also, she is exhibiting this month at The MacLean Project for the Arts. (See, At the Galleries.) mpaaart.org

Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art

SYLVAN 41" x 54" x 15" 2007. Cedar, Vine, Oil Paint

work tells her what it means. Rachael says that drawing can lead to something not previously imagined…a delight to her and others. There are no limits in her drawings, and very few limits within her sculptures. They are about space as well as form. The spaces, within and around encompass and create the visuals character. They curve sensually—holding, stepping, twirling. They talk, they sing. The enveloping zone around the large installations can be quietly thunderous. The sculptures are about ideas and feelings, but they do not translate literally. They are collectively her autobiography—the experience of life. She expresses in wood what she knows “deep down in her bones.” And the wood absorbs and reflects the beliefs and 68 H HILLRAG.COM

OPENING 38" x 36" x 14" 2013. Cedar, Oil Paint

main enigmas to ourselves. We twist and turn and circle back and let various colors impose themselves... and then fade. We must have quiet times as well as the charged, busy times. Quiet is not the absence of sound; it is a precious force in thinking and imagining. The dead times in the middle of the night, or the times when the mind is just drifting, are buttresses to our creative structures. In those times, pictures appear and then

In the works of Rachel Rotenberg, the empty spaces are not empty, they have substance. They are as essential as the wood itself—as meaningful as the pauses in music or the breaks in poetry. The voids among the solids are like the empty spaces between tree branches…just as alive. They give the trees character. Most paintings have both active and quiet areas, like skies and mountains…water and boats. But it is all equally essential. The corners are as important as the center. Yes, there are those whose paintings are a solid tone and they are as interesting as a symphony with one long unvarying note. We understand Rachel’s sculptures because they are us. Our lives are made of positive and GATEWAY 41" x 36" x 10" negative spaces. We may present a 2013. Cedar, Oil Paint bold face to the world but we re-

Photo: Linda Johnson

become something else—sometimes floating— sometimes fleeing. But always creating. Joy without an occasional sorrow is as emotionally numbing as a painting without contrasts: without lights or darks or warms and cools. A color desperately needs to reach out to its complement. Blue reaching for red. Red for green…yellow for violet. There has to be contrasts. In life, contrasts define the forms.

ing, tearing and other modifications to create collages and assemblages as well as works on canvas. In “Mass-Balance-Space,” Gale Wallar paints mountain scenes, but they are not your standard landscapes. She focuses on the upper reaches of peaks and glaciers—almost exclusively on snow accumulation zones. She is after “vibrant realism balanced by a sense of serenity. www.touchstonegallery.com

At the Galleries

Juxtapositions” at the BlackRock Center for the Arts 12901 Town Commons Drive Germantown, Maryland 20874 Jan 15 - Feb 26 Tory Cowles, and the CityDance Conservatory Dancers, come together for a winter celebration of installations and dance. It is always dynamic, but you need reservations. Check this out: https://docs. google.com forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekiac1jEAwGmdpV3V-jvXbzyekVjijdiO2mEOHdAGaMpcww/viewform

Give and Take: Building Form MacLean Project for the Arts 1234 Ingleside Avenue MacLean, VA 22101 “Give and Take” features abstract wood sculpture by Rachel Rotenberg (see: Artist Profile) Emilie Benes Brzezinski, Foon Sham and Norma Schwartz. They all work primarily in wood, each presenting a personal vision along with their methodology. mpaart.org Touchstone Gallery 901 New York Ave. NW Jan. 7-30 Recep: Sun., Jan 9, 3-5 In “Seeing My Way,” Sonya Michel is exploring many different media to express how she sees the world and responds to it. She has been drawn to less conventional materials—the stuff of everyday life—packaging and labels; textiles, paper and plastics:” found objects large and small. She incorporates them into her work, as is, or by crunch-

On A Personal Note: You can watch the very short video (85 sec.) for my historical fiction novel, The Dead Man on the Corner. https://youtu.be/bQad2_Ck78Q You can buy the book on both Amazon and Barnes and Nobel, along with my other new historical fiction novel, John Dillinger and Geronimo. www.JamesJohnMagner.com. A Capitol Hill artist and writer, Jim can be reached at Artandthecity05@aol.com u

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. arts and dining .

the LITERARY HILL A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events The Soul of a Dog As a foreign service offer, Christopher J. Datta served in some of the most volatile hotspots in the world: Israel, Lebanon, Liberia, South Sudan. “My career took me into situations no one would ever want to experience,” he writes. “What saved me in those hardest of times was my friends, of which I am fortunate to have many. But even more than them, what saved me was Scout.” “Run Scout Run” is a loving tribute to the dog he adopted as a puppy in Sudan and brought to his home on Capitol Hill. For 13 years, they enjoyed the strongest of bonds. “When I was happy, we played,” he writes. “When I was depressed, he put his head on my lap. When I was sick, he lay in bed with me. He was my constant friend, my companion and my protector.” Friendships don’t get much better than that. Interspersed with the story of Scout are nuggets of animal research Datta has unearthed and his astute and unvarnished observations on a variety of related topics. He ruminates on “the alpha male fallacy,” takes issue with Rene Descartes’ contention that animals have no souls, and bemoans the arrogance of the human race. “We think we are so damn unique,” he writes. “Uniquely short-sighted, perhaps. Uniquely blind to the beauty and intelligence of the world around us, absolutely.” Written with warmth, humor, and a big dose of humility, “Run Scout Run” offers abundant proof—if any were needed—of why Datta was such a successful diplomat. His passion for equality and his caring philosophy of exercising “patience, consistency and love” to the whole “family tribe” of people and animals is a model we would all do well to emulate. Christopher Datta is the author of two American Civil War novels, “Touched with Fire” and “Fire and Dust”; a supernatural thriller, “The Demon Stone”; a detective novel, “A Perfect Disguise,” cowritten with his wife, Debra Datta; and a memoir, “Guardians of the Grail,” which recounts experiences from his long career as a civil conflict specialist with the U.S. State Department. Find him on Twitter @dattacj

A Life in Full Retired diplomat Christopher Datta offers a personal meditation on the human-animal bond in “Run Scout Run.”

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Jill P. Strachan offers this caveat to readers in the preface to her new book: “It is not strictly a memoir.” But the rich vignettes and insightful portraits she provides

BELOW: In “Waterfalls, The Moon and Sensible Shoes,” Jill P. Strachan offers an intimate reflection on her life.

in “Waterfalls, The Moon and Sensible Shoes: One Lesbian Life,” while not necessarily chronological, add up to as complete and compelling a picture of a life as you’re likely to find. Strachan’s father was a diplomat, so she grew up all over the world—Greece, Pakistan, Egypt, Sri Lanka—with several sojourns home to attend boarding school in Virginia. Bolstering her memory with a trove of diaries and letters, she evokes a palette of vivid experiences: riding a hot bus in Cairo that often got stuck in traffic near piles of rotten onions; being surrounded by “lone men with guns slung on their shoulders” while crossing the Khyber Pass with her family; and, at St. Agnes School, avoiding a formidable housemother by peeing in a trash can rather than visiting the communal bathroom in the middle of the night. She is equally eloquent when describing the people in her life, including the gay man she fell in love with in the 70s and the younger woman who became her first lesbian relationship. But she is most perceptive in the chapters devoted to her mother and father. It took her years to come out to her parents—and the result was not good. As she writes, “we had no common tools with which to engage in a discussion of this importance.” Her mother wanted to “fix” her through therapy, and her farther became so infuriated that he ordered her out of the house. She nevertheless writes a heartfelt and forgiving appreciation of her mother, in which she also forgives herself. “I did not honor her for who she was,” she admits. And she is able to rise above her father’s ire to recognize not only his “irresistible” charm but also the obstacles he overcame to become the “successful, self-made man” she idolized as a child. “He had not always been the angry man sitting on the couch yelling at me to ‘Get out!’,” she writes. Told with intimate honesty, “Waterfalls, The Moon and Sensible Shoes” is a powerful account of one woman’s ongoing struggle to find her place in the world and to understand the people with whom she has shared her life. A Hill resident since 1977, Jill Strachan was the executive director of the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, a singer and general manager for the Lesbian & Gay Chorus of Washington, DC, and is currently a singer in the a cappella group Not What You Think. She is also a poet whose haiku has appeared in the Poetic Hill. u

THE POETIC HILL by Karen Lyon

David Camero is an artist, educator, mixed media painter, comedian, and poet originally from Caracas, Venezuela. A DC resident since 2004, he has taught cultural workshops in a number of schools and development centers and participated in both solo and collective art exhibitions. He founded the ALACP/Art Latin American Collective Project to help promising artists from Latin America promote their work together and share their creativity and cultural backgrounds with other groups. His poems below were translated by José Ballesteros. SEARCHING Searching in the infinite cruelty of the blank page Between tongues, just one word that may define The fluids of that adolescent love Before voluptuous deities Midnight Searching for the text amid settled reason The repeated memory of your face Among the ‘four hundred youths’ On the shore of the river Long before I became a bearded elder Forgetting all indifference I write you Searching to remember the hours When we shared graces

OF THE EARTH We are the tree of life The tree of death we are Who displaces us? Each one of the successive breaths A leaf that is born and grows the pore Each hair, roots to the sky Curious eyes of aloe, full Mouth, ears, nose... Orifices all to the wind Open to breath Neck, stem, trunk, arms, branches Feet, fingers, delicate hairs, Adorn the epidermis of time Becoming coarse and dry Fighting against the gravity Of the earth... 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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LIVE FROM YOUR HEART, NOT YOUR HEAD A New Year’s Resolution to Make Today

by Pattie Cinelli

ividing my time between my profession and avocation for decades—a midlevel public relations’ manager position in an association, and my avocation, teaching fitness at night and on weekends— was getting to be too stressful for me. I knew something had to go. When I visualized my life without my fitness work I felt empty and unfulfilled. When I visualized my life without my office position I felt free. My decision was Wellness Coach Jana Lerbach clear. That is, until I talked about it with others. Just about everyfor one minute. one told me how unwise it would be I’ve been living from my heart for to give up a well-paying position and a long time. I resonate with what feels all the benefits that went with it for a good to me. I listen to my intuition or path that was financially insecure and my gut, not what was is accepted path uncertain. But my heart was telling me of the majority. My gut is not perfect, otherwise. When I checked in with my but my decisions keep me healthy and brain it said, yes, it would be risky but clear about my own path. it assured me that if my business plan The heart is where we experience didn’t work out I could always get anwho we really are. It is also the way we other job. I followed my heart, started can consciously co-create our world my own business and never regretted it and fulfill our purpose for being. By living from the heart we connect to all life. And “Start listening to your own heart. Follow the best part is that we your intuition and your guidance. Become all can do more of it.

still enough to connect to it and listen. Don’t get lost in everything happening around you. Pay attention to what is welling up within you. You are your own north star. This intuition is a blessing. Follow your heart.” Panache Desai, author of You Are Enough

What is Living from the Heart? “When we live from the brain we live in a constant state of stress (for

survival)”, said Jana Lerbach, wellness coach. “When we ignore the heart and the emotional part of us, it impacts our physical health, increases stress, increases negative social interactions, and slows our intellectual growth.” Lerbach said she spends three of 10 coaching sessions with clients discussing living from the heart and understanding their emotions. The heart is where our imagination resides. Living from the heart means our mind is accepting and expanding to the energy and wisdom of the heart. You don’t first try to understand with your head but instead, you relate and connect with your heart. You feel your way through the experience and call on your thoughts for support. You can be living from the heart and not even realize it. And you can be living from the heart and be deeply aware of the beauty of it. The heart perceives life differently from the mind. The heart operates more from a feeling state. The heart sees how everyone and everything is connected, not how we are all different. Our heart is not only the organ that pumps continuously to keep us alive, but it is also our connection to our soul and our authentic selves. By tapping into our heart intelligence we can go beyond the limits of the mind and connect with a deeper aspect of ourselves. Nil Demircubuk is an intuition teacher and life coach who has a background in engineering. She said there is much research that defines living

from the heart, following your intuition or feeling it in your gut. She said, “Your intuition is like a nudge. It tells you to go this way or that way. Sometimes you may interpret it wrong but you can always check with your logic or your brain. It is like a crazy search engine that taps into all information in your subconscious without overwhelming you.”

Benefits of Living from the Heart Demircubuk said that when we tune into our intuition we are connecting deeper with every living being. “Usually we are reacting to what is happening in the environment and what others bring to us instead of noticing what our body needs now,” she said. Demircubuk uses her intuition often while interacting with others. It helps guide her how to speak to someone and tells her when to be quiet. “It connects me

Dr. Kimberly Martin Psy.D LLC

January 2022 ★ 73

74 H HILLRAG.COM

PROTECT YOUR BODY & IMMUNE SYSTEM AGAINST COVID-19 more with my compassion, including self-compassion.” “If you live from your heart, daily activities and creativity becomes easier,” said Karin Edgett, artist and nutritional cook. “One of the qualities is being present or being neutral. That means you can see that you and I may not agree but we are both right in our beliefs.”

How Can We Live from the Heart? Modern culture has taught us the importance of intellect and outside ‘experts’ who know better than us about almost everything. We were Nil Demircubuk, intuition coach taught at an early age to listen to down.” If you get the body to calm voices outside of ourselves. In order first then it’s easier to get the mind to to be accepted in the mainstream we calm down. learned to disregard our inner voice. Living from your heart is like anyAfter a while we couldn’t hear it anything else. It takes practice to become more. The good news is we can learn expert. The more often I remember to how to follow our heart once again. breathe before responding, the more Dr. Kimberly Martin, a psycholosatisfying my responses are and the gist, works with adults to help identimore my day is fun, filled with pleasfy their life purpose and find ways they ant encounters and desired outcomes. can change both their thinking and As Carlos Santana said, “If you behaviors to reach their goals. “I ask, carry joy in your heart, you can heal ‘What is it that drives you? Your head any moment.” You may change your can do too much planning. The logimind 1,000 times a day yet your heart cal process of the head contains lots of remains the same. Live life from your memories. Too much focus from the heart space where you can feel more head can cause a person to get caught deeply and appreciate the little every up in the past.” day joys. As you become more aware Martin, who is also a yoga teachof your heart’s intentions and realize er and a Buddhist, said that yoga is a it always has you in the best light, you good way to begin listening to what can change your life. your body is saying and to recognize For questions: Dr. Kimberly Marwhat is best for you at the moment. “If tin www.drkimberlym.com; Jana Leyou are focused on the moment you are rbach www.janalerbach.com; Karin more fluid,” she said. “If you are out Edgett www.karinedgett.art; Nil Demirenjoying a great day, you don’t want to cubuk teachmeintuition@gmail.com. focus on the impurities in the air which exist. You want to be more present and Pattie Cinelli is a health and fitness prohave a fuller life experience.” fessional and journalist who has been Martin suggests that yoga or medwriting her column for more than 20 itation can help you begin to focus on years. She focuses on holistic and nonthe present and begin to hear the heart mainstream ways to stay healthy, get well and connect with your true self. Please whispers. She said the brain creates email her with questions, comments or narratives. It spins a mile a minute. column suggestions at: fitmiss44@aol. “Meditation will help you deal with com. ◆ that spinning and slow your brain

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January 2022 ★ 75

. family life .

/ The District Vet /

THINKING OUTSIDE THE LITTER BOX

hen people think of potty training, they often tend to think about either newborn babies or puppies, but not cats. This may be due to the fact that cats tend to be inherently “litter box” trained even when they are kittens. While cats rarely need to be taught how to use the litter box, it is not uncommon for cats to urinate or defecate outside of their litter box which could be a sign of illness, stress, or even (unintentional) human error. Here is the inside scoop, pun intended, on how to keep your cat’s litter box habits healthy! Let’s start with the easy things that cat owners can do to ensure litter boxes are up to their cat’s standards. If all of the steps below are followed, it can help a veterinarian determine if the litter box avoidance is behavioral or medical in nature more readily. • Have one more litter box than you have cats - For example, if you have two cats you should ideally have three litter boxes in the house. This can be easier said than done, especially in D.C. where square footage is precious. Why is this important? Some cats prefer to urinate in one litter box and defecate in the other and if they aren’t able to separate them in the litter box cats will take it upon themselves to find somewhere else to urinate or defecate. Cats can also be territorial of their litter box and might not want to share with their brother or sister cat. • Variety - Cats like to have choices with their litter box scenery so I recommend providing one litter box that is covered and one litter box that is uncovered. If you have a senior

76 ★ HILLRAG.COM

by Dan Teich, DVM

•

cat, it is also important to consider possible arthritis and jumping in/out of the litter box could be stressful on the joints. Providing a low entrance litter box can be beneficial. Litter type - Unfortunately, cat litter marketing is starting to focus on humans rather than the cats. Scented litter can actually be irritating to cat paw pads. As much as I loved the scent that came with the Hawaiian Aloha Febreze litter, my cats definitely had other thoughts. Location - Cats can be incredibly independent creatures and can enjoy privacy with their litter box habits. I recommend keeping their litter box away from noisy rooms (laundry rooms, i.e). It’s also advisable to have litter boxes in separate parts of the house. If you have multiple floors, it would be great to have a litter box on each floor especially for older pets that might have arthritis. Additionally, cats do not like to have their food and water by their litter boxes. I recommend keeping cat and food bowls in a completely separate room than their litter boxes. Liners - There are plastic products that you can line litter boxes with to help with the cleaning of the litter box. The noise created by the liners can cause cats to avoid using the litter box. Cleaning - Litter boxes should be strained at least once a day. While some cats are more tolerant than others about adhering to this schedule, it is also important for their overall health. Cat urine has ammonia in it - which is what causes the potent smell. If ammonia builds up, it can be harmful for cats and humans alike. Additionally, litter boxes should be deep cleaned once a month. This means all the litter should be removed and the box itself should be scrubbed down with soap. If you are doing all of the things above but your cat is still not using the litter box, there could be a medical problem to blame. Here are some of the medical

conditions that can cause litter box avoidance. • Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) - This is a common source of litter box avoidance especially in female cats. UTIs are caused by bacteria that can cause inflammation leading to pain when urinating, increased frequency to urinate, blood in the urine, and straining to urinate. Cats can associate the pain from urinating with the litter box so they try to avoid the litter box to help prevent the discomfort. UTIs require appropriate antibiotic treatment to ensure resolution of the infection. • Urinary Blockage - This is more common in male cats that are two-five years of age. A cat can become blocked with a bladder stone/crystal or even just a plug composed of protein, cells, or debris. This is a medical emergency and can be life threatening if not treated promptly. If your cat is blocked, he may visit the litter box multiple times and produce little urine or your cat may posture to urinate outside of the litter box and still not produce urine. • Feline Idiopathic Cystitis (FIC) - This is a fancy way of saying when your cat gets stressed the bladder becomes inflamed and irritated. This can cause discomfort just like a UTI but without the bacterial infection. Pay attention to when your cat stops using the litter box: is it when you leave for a trip, furniture is moved, or guests come over? These can be stressful events for cats. Litter box avoidance has several causes and can have several solutions. Please contact your veterinarian if you notice your cat is not using the litter box so we can help ensure your cat’s health and provide an appropriate treatment plan. We hope this gave you an inside look on what your cat wishes they could tell you, aside from asking you to fill up their half-empty food bowl. Dan Teich, DVM is Medical Director at District Veterinary Hospital Eastern Market. ◆

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72. Diverse 76. Top model Alessandra 82. Top model 84. Becoming visible 85. Twin, e.g. 86. Russian fighter 87. Lead, often 88. Family room 89. __ and Tina Turner 92. “Where did ___ wrong?” 93. Whatever 94. Emirates, for short 95. 1969 Peace Prize grp. 96. Formerly, USSR 97. Scale starts 98. Prefix with acetylene 99. Indian lentil stew 100. Accident-assessing areas, briefly 101. Awry 105. Flemish painter van Eyck 106. “I’d love you to want me” singer ____ 108. Punjabi believer 112. Top model 113. Top model 116. The best 117. St. intersector 118. MIT grad. 119. Seeker of attention 120. Cousin of a gull 121. Equal terms 122. All-male affair 123. Shreks

Down: 1. Fairy tale figures 2. “I cannot tell ___” 3. Frisbee, e.g. 4. Folk singer Burl 5. Spanish contraction 6. Atmospheric music genre 7. “Spring forward” amount 8. Domini preceder 9. Green stuff 10. Campfire residue

Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com 11. Pabst Blue Ribbon 12. Pieces on a board 13. “___ Croft: Tomb Raider” 14. One’s partner 15. Liquorish flavor 16. It may be loaded 20. Shaggy-haired ox 22. Kind of Halloween vandal 23. Pink color 24. Cultivated carp 29. Imp followers 30. Maharajah wife 31. Chief Vedic god 32. “A house ___ a home” 33. ___ fatale 34. Coach who has a “Legacy Seat” in the Royals’ stadium 35. Back in? 37. ‘’Ella Enchanted’’ star Hathaway 38. Lamb section

39. ‘’Silly’’ birds 40. Fresh-mouthed 41. Qty. 46. Cow, maybe 47. Mil. branch 48. Divers’ breathing device 50. Eisenhower and Turner 53. Lee of literature 54. Doctors Without Borders, e.g. 55. ‘’Can’t Help Lovin’ __ Man’’ 56. Downed 57. Jamaican religion 61. Manual ringer 65. Keen 66. Plaintive cry 67. Decorative vase 68. Intel group 69. Golf gimme 70. Drain 73. Meek 74. Pal

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Hill Rag Magazine – January 2022

Articles inside

The District Vet: Thinking Outside the Litter Box

Live from Your Heart, Not Your Head: A New Year’s Resolution to Make Today by Pattie Cinelli

Poetic Hill by Karen Lyon

Literary Hill by Karen Lyon

Art and The City by Jim Magner

Going Green: A Hill Resident Saves Money while Helping

Changing Hands by Don Denton

Transportation Committee Chair Honored

DOH on Restaurant Inspection and Rats

New Small Business Round-Up: Four New

Our River: The Anacostia – Using Nature to Heal and Empower Communities Along Our

Mental Health Issues on the Rise

Farewell to ‘Pastor Mike’: Lutheran Church of the Reformation Pastor Moves on to Iowa