Hill Rag Magazine – May 2021 by Capital Community News

hillrag.com . May 2021

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IN THIS ISSUE MAY 2021

Celebrating

HILL

our

20 Welcome to the Other Capitol Hill, Congress! The Need-To-Knows about the Neighborhood to Your East by Stephanie Cavanaugh 24 Neighbors Support Barracks Row Businesses: During Pandemic A 75 Percent Increase in Local Shopping Buoys Corridor by Elizabeth O’Gorek 26 Local Mother’s Day Gift Ideas, From A to Z by Cory V. Langley 28 CHRS Mother’s Day “Tour of Tours”: Eight Outdoor Tours on Capitol Hill by Elizabeth Nelson

32 2021 Capitol Hill Community Achievement Awards by Stephanie Deutsch

Opinion / The South Side of Garfield Park Needs Fixing by Robert Krughoff

34 OUCH!: A Shot Across The Verbal Bows No Problem? You Bet There Is! by Maggie Hall

Moni & Mandi: The Hill’s Hot New Furniture Refurbishing Company by Elizabeth O’Gorek 12

The 50 States Art Project, Part One: Seventeen States and a Global Pandemic by Phil Hutinet

Euphoria Healing and Wellness: An Oasis in the Heart of the Hill

WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

capitol streets 37

Pandemic Strands Defendants in DC Jail: Extended Pretrial Detention Upheld Despite Powerful Dissent by Gavrielle Jacobovitz

Our River: The Anacostia—Remaking Kingman And Heritage Islands: Creating Special Places To Enjoy Nature by Bill Matuszeski

Opinion: The South Side of Garfield Park Needs Fixing by Robert Krughoff

In Memoriam:› Barbara Riehle 1956–2021 by Suzanne Wells

Solar Options for DC Residents: ANC 6A Report by Nick L. Alberti

Funds Exhausted for ANC Lawyer in Handle19 Protest: ANC 6B Report by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Unsafe Bike Lanes Need Addressing: ANC 6C Report by Sarah Payne

Commission Blasts DDOT on Safety Concerns: ANC 6D Report by Andrew Lightman

Bulletin Board by Kathleen Donner

by Pattie Cinelli

homes and gardens 63

Moni & Mandi: The Hill’s Hot New Furniture Refurbishing Company by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Get Help With DCRA Contractor Rating System: System Joins Permit Wizard to Help Residents Make Project Decisions by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Dear Garden Problem Lady by Wendy Blair

Grubb’s Pharmacy’s Garden: A Gift To The Neighborhood by Rindy O’Brien

Changing Hands by Don Denton

arts and dining 74

Capitol Cuisine: New Steak House Arrives by Celeste McCall

At The Movies by Mike Canning

The 50 States Art Project, Part One: Seventeen States and a Global Pandemic by Phil Hutinet

Art and The City by Jim Magner

Literary Hill by Karen Lyon

Poetic Hill by Karen Lyon

family life 89

Euphoria Healing and Wellness: An Oasis in the Heart of the Hill by Pattie Cinelli

The District Vet: Cats and Aggression by Dan Teich

Kids & Family Notebook by Kathleen Donner

102 CLASSIFIEDS 106 CROSSWORD on the cover: We are all Thirsty for Deliverance, Michael Madzo 32” x 28” Printed cut paper stitched on paper Available from Zenith Gallery • www.zenithgallery.com Also on exhibit: Zenith Gallery Presents Much Out of Little – The Art of Mixed Media Featuring Linda Atkinson, Holly Boruck, Ram Brisueno, Julee Dickerson-Thompson, and Michael Madzo Exhibit Dates: May 21 - June 26, 2021 Opening Reception: Friday, May 21, 4:00 – 8:00 PM Masks are required and temperature will be taken at door. About Michael Madzo: Michael Madzo’s artwork speaks for itself in luminous hues and vivid, often-times whimsical subjects. His trademark technique of sewing bits of his paintings together attracts attention both for its symbolism and for the rich texture it adds to the works. Madzo’s artwork is a synthesis of both traditional and textile art. Many of Madzo’s images depict personae and creatures that are at once fanciful, grotesque, and heroic, and, at the same time, communicate a compassion and empathy that results in a haunting impression.

Next Issue: May 29th

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WHAT’S ON W A S H I N G T O N STC’S BLINDNESS From May 1 to 23, Shakespeare Theatre Company will open the doors of Sidney Harman Hall for the first time in over a year for the Donmar Warehouse’s sound and light installation Blindness. In a unique experience where the audience is onstage, but actors are not, socially distanced patrons wear binaural headphones plunging them into the dystopic world of Blindness. This darkroom play, based on Nobel Prize writer José Saramago’s novel, unearths how a pandemic of blindness causes chaos, fear, and social unrest. Performances are 7 p.m., Tuesday to Friday; 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays; and another at noon on Wednesdays. $49. shakespearetheatre.org. Blindness, a sound and light installation. Photo: Helen Maybanks

HONEST TO GOD

BIKE TO WORK DAY The Washington, DC region’s 20th Anniversary Bike to Work Day is Friday, May 21. Join other participants at pit stops in DC, Maryland and Virginia for this free event for a healthy and safe way to start your day. Even if you’re working from home in May, get exercise by biking to a T-shirt Pickup Point and then back home to work for the day. The first 15,000 who register and arrive at a pit stop by bike will receive a free T-shirt. Staggered hours and a strict COVID policy will be in place. Registration is open at biketoworkmetrodc.org. Photo: Courtesy of Bike to Work Day

Honest to God is an online series presented by the Washington National Cathedral featuring wisdom leaders, theologians and others offering spiritual conversation for uncertain times. On Tuesday, May 11, 7 p.m., chef and humanitarian José Andrés joins Dean Randy Hollerith and Canon Missioner Leonard Hamlin for a conversation about leadership, inspiration, and public service. Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters, shares the stories behind his humanitarian efforts to eliminate poverty and feed the hungry. Free; donations accepted. This and prior conversations are available at cathedral.org/outreachprograms/honesttogod. Chef and humanitarian José Andrés. Photo: Scott Suchman

THE CIVIL WAR IN PERSPECTIVE: OUR EVOLVING STORY No event has altered the United States more profoundly—or been analyzed more exhaustively—than the American Civil War. Contemporizing the war began soon after Appomattox as memories faded and Americans sought to use the conflict to find new meaning in a modern society. That process of re-evaluation spanned pivotal decades of the 20th century, and today Americans are still debating how to contextualize Confederate memorials, monuments, and flags. On Saturday, May 22, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., on Zoom, historian Stephen D. Engle traces 150 years of an ever-changing narrative of the Civil War and why we still contend with reaching an acceptable version of its legacy. $90. smithsonianassociates.org. Civil War reenactments became a growing hobby in the 1960s, a century after the war.

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WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

VAN GOGH: THE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE Tickets are going fast for Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience. It is a 360º digital art exhibition, July through December 2021, that invites you to step into the universe of the Dutch genius, Vincent van Gogh. The experience illuminates and transforms a unique physical space into a fully immersive exhibit, where Van Gogh’s work takes over the walls, through cutting-edge 360-degree digital projections, and unique VR experiences. Visitors are immersed directly into the paintings themselves and become the eyes of Van Gogh. This 60-75 minute, family-friendly, COVID-safe experience is appropriate for all ages. Venue to be announced. $19.90 to $36. Catch a glimpse at youtube.com/watch?v=dZkQSjZYsgc. vangoghexpo.com.

CAPITAL BOOK FESTS On Thursdays, May 20, June 17, July 15, Aug. 19, Sept. 16 and Oct. 21; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., downtown DC’s outdoor, pop-up bookstore reappears on Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Shop thousands of gently used books, CDs and DVDs, all on sale for $6 or less. Books are provided by Carpe Librum, a local used bookstore benefitting nonprofit Turning the Page (turningthepage.org). The Capital Book Fest is cancelled in the case of inclement weather. These book sales feature protocols for proper distancing and hygiene (face coverings required and hand sanitation stations onsite) and limited capacities, if needed. downtowndc.org.

JUSTICE IS BEAUTY: THE NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM REOPENS Justice is Beauty: The Work of MASS Design Group showcases a nonprofit architecture firm whose work focuses on public health, personal well-being, and human dignity. Over its first decade, MASS Design Group has paved the way in designing health structures that manage disease outbreaks such as tuberculosis, cholera, and Ebola. Other innovative projects include schools, prison design alternatives, food-conservation labs, urban space designs, and memorials to commemorate civil injustices. Justice is Beauty is on display through September 2022. The National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW (use Fifth Street and G Street entrances), is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. $10 for adults; $7 for kids, student with ID and seniors 60+. Order online. The nbm.org. Great Hall of the National Building Museum. Photo: Courtesy of the National Building Museum/Elman Studio

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TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER PLAZA REOPENED Arlington National Cemetery has reopened the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier plaza to the public. This is part of a gradual reopening under improved COVID-19 conditions. Reopening the Tomb plaza is an important element of the yearlong centennial commemoration for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which culminates on Veterans Day 2021. Only 150 visitors will be allowed on the plaza stairs at any one time. Staff will be on site to assist with directions. arlingtoncemetery.mil. A sentinel from the Old Guard walks the mat at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, November 11, 2020. Photo: US Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser

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WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON

LAST CALL: PROHIBITION LANTERN TOURS Intended to be the model dry city for the country, Washington, DC ended up with more than 3,000 speakeasies and a widespread disregard for the law of the land. Even Congress employed its own bootleggers, known as the Man in the Green Hat (now immortalized by a locally made gin). Prohibition in DC started before the rest of the nation in 1917 and lasted until 1934. On May 21 and 22 (rain or shine), 6 to 10 p.m., trespass into the past and discover the secrets of some of Congressional Cemetery’s “residents” from this notorious time-period in Washington, DC history. These hour-long tours depart every 15 minutes. $30 for adults; $15 for kids. congressionalcemetery.org.

ANNAPOLIS FIRST SUNDAY ARTS FESTIVALS First Sunday Arts Festivals are held on the first Sunday of every month from May to November, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the first blocks of West Street between Church Circle and the Graduate Annapolis Hotel and Whitmore Park on Calvert Street in downtown Annapolis. The festival features about 130 vendors each month. There is free admission to the festival and all safety protocols are in place. The outdoor festival may be cancelled due to severe weather. Closer to home, you can also enjoy the First Sunday Arts Festival virtual edition. Find candles, soap, glass, pottery, wall art, wood, textiles, jewelry, home décor, books, cards and food. firstsundayarts.com.

DC UNITED’S SEASON OPENS The upcoming DC United May and June matches at (limited capacity) Audi Field are May 13, 8 p.m., vs. Chicago Fire FC; May 16, 8 p.m., vs. Orlando City SC; May 23, 7 p.m., Philadelphia Union; June 19, 8 p.m., Inter Miami CF. Masks and social distancing required. Purchase tickets and read more at dcunited. com/matchday/reunited. Last season’s match with fans in March against Miami. Photo: Courtesy of D.C. United

USBG VEGETABLE AND FLOWER GROWING The US Botanic Garden has announced a calendar of spring programs to be offered online through May. While the Garden is currently closed due to COVID-19, it continues to offer educational programming online to connect people and plants. Highlights from the upcoming programs include many sessions celebrating spring through horticulture and gardening: tips for preparing and growing a cutting garden in urban spaces, how to successfully start seeds; vegetable gardening questions will be answered live in a Kitchen Garden program with a USBG gardener, and then learn about adaptive gardening strategies for all ages and abilities. The Garden celebrated Earth Day with a special program of tips and best practices for spring container gardening. Many programs are free and many are available at usbg.gov afterwards. USBG offers tips for preparing and growing a cutting garden in urban spaces. Photo: Courtesy of the US Botanic Garden

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“NECESSARY SACRIFICES” RADIO PLAY Ford’s Theatre has announced an audio drama adaptation of Richard Hellesen’s Necessary Sacrifices, featuring Washington actors Craig Wallace as Frederick Douglass and Paul Morella as Abraham Lincoln. Commissioned by Ford’s Theatre, Necessary Sacrifices explores the two documented encounters between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln during a period of national crisis. During the summers of 1863 and 1864, Douglass challenges Lincoln to use his power as president to bring truth to America’s founding ideal that “all men are created equal.” The radio play is available to the public through May 30 on fords.org. Necessary Sacrifices at Ford’s Theatre. Photo: Courtesy of Ford’s Theatre

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Celebrating

HILL

our

Welcome to the Other Capitol Hill, Congress! The Need-To-Knows About the Neighborhood to Your East

ew to the Hill? Not the buildings of state that surround the Capitol, but the neighborhood that fronts it. Even if you imagine you know it all, you might not. Assuming that we’ve turned the corner on the plague, there’s a wonderful small town here just waiting for you to discover. Here’s a brief tour. The front end of the Capitol is probably not where you think it is. The back of the Capitol faces the Mall, the front looks toward the neighborhood, which is split by East Capitol Street, which runs uninterrupted to Lincoln Park, which is, more or less, the eastern end. The boundaries of the largest historic district in Washington are wriggly things. You can best tell the edges by the pop-ups on the rooftops of our turn-

The iconic bridge in Yard’s Park. (Capitol Riverfront BID)

of-the-last-century row houses —verboten within the boundaries— which must look as they did when built. (Though adjacent areas, which stretch to the Anacostia River and over to H Street ,are like beloved step-siblings, part of the family, with plenty of verve to spare). What most consider our centerpiece is Eastern 20 H HILLRAG.COM

by Stephanie Cavanaugh

Market Manager Barry Margeson at the Eastern Market Farmer’s Line. (E. O’Gorek)

Market, the 150-year-old building at 7th and North Carolina, SE that offers beef and poultry, fish, cheeses, veggies, fresh pasta, baked goods and flowers every day but Monday. Tuesdays and on weekends farmers arrive with fresh eggs, fruit, designer lettuce and such. The street is packed on Saturdays and Sundays when artists, craftspeople, and vendors of all manner of interesting things sell their wares and browsers buy them. But do check out the shops near the Market; you’ll find finds you’ll never see in a big box store. Groovy DC has terrific cards and a cool assortment of gifts, upstairs is Paris Bleu with an ever-shifting collection of hand bags, soaps, jewelry, scarves, and curious trinkets imported directly from Paris. Just up the street Woven History is a mecca for hand-crafted rugs, Quavaro has gorgeously buttery leather goods of their own designs, and Clothes Encounters of a Second Kind is a treasure hunters paradise.

to big stores like Trader Joe’s, two Harris Teeters, two Whole Foods, a Giant and a fancy schmancy new Safeway with a popcorn kiosk and an oyster bar. Restaurants range from diner-dives like the Tune Inn and Jimmy T’s to hold-on-to-your wallets two Michelin-starred Pineapple and Pearls. In between are so many gems like Roses Luxury, Bistro Cacao, Joselito, Trattoria Alberto, Chikos, and Ambar. Plus, a bumper-crop of pizza joints and Mexican/Salvadoran spots – even a fancy new food court at The Roost. There are plenty of bars as well, hang outs like Tunnicliffs, Mr. Henry’s and assorted hot spots along H Street, Pennsylvania Avenue and Barracks Row. Wine your thing? Among the many choices. DCanter on Barracks Row 8th Street has a fine assortment, plus wine tastings and classes. Schneiders is the go-to for the rarified. But don’t overlook the smaller spots, Like Wine & Butter on Lincoln Park and Radici, which offers delightful wines at reasonable prices to take home or enjoy on their patio overlooking the Eastern Market scene. Wine goes very well with books. Not only are there two great libraries—the Northeast and Southeast branches—there’s the Library of Congress with the

Foodie Heaven This is a neighborhood where foodies rejoice. From weekend farmer’s markets to small shops for pastries, and cookies, spices and fabulous breads, and corner stores for emergency candy and beer,

Sidewalk dining at the venerable Jimmy T’s on East Capitol.

Spring day in Lincoln Park (M. Ashabranner)

motherlode. We also have the wonderful East City Bookshop, with its seemingly endless book clubs, Fairy Godmother for kid’s books and gifts, Solid State on H, and Capitol Hill Books for both new and used tomes. Pick up something from a restaurant or carryout and picnic in a park—wine is forbidden so hide it well, please. There are large parks, pocket parks, waterfront parks, kid’s parks, and dog parks. Seven-acre Lincoln Park is the largest. Dogs illegally romp among the cherry trees, magnolias and chestnuts, runners run, children learn to bike, and toned bodies bikini roast in the summer sun.

How Do Those Bodies Get Toned? Gym rats have several hot spots: Balance Gym, Orange Theory, and Capitol Hill Sport & Health (which accepts Silver Sneakers. If you don’t know what that is, don’t worry about it—yet). There’s rowing on the Anacostia, yoga in every form and at every turn, and a great route for runners and walkers along the waterfront. The Hill is very flat so if you bike you basically roll along with little effort—go up and down Capitol Hill if you want to pump the pump. For swimmers there’s the natatorium at Eastern Market with lap lanes and water aerobics. May 2021 H 21

Historic townhomes are the fabric of our neighborhood. (M. Ashabranner)

Heading Out

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Once polished up, show it off. Maybe check out the art scene. There’s theater at the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, which also has classes and there are all manner of offerings at The Hill Center: book signings and lectures and art shows. They also offer cooking classes and language instruction to perfect your oofs, achs, and zuts for your next vacation. Or catch a game (or Taylor Swift) at Nationals Stadium. We even have movies. The Hill Center frequently has a film series, as does the Library of Congress. When people settle here they’re reluctant to leave, that’s where the Capitol Hill Village is handy indeed. Offering social, educational, and support services that allow residents to remain in their homes—or move from apartment to house to apartment to… Yes! You can even rest in peace right here! Congressional Cemetery still has space. A few years ago, Diana McClellan, Queen of Washington Gossip, was buried there with a string quartet and a champagne send-off under the cherry trees. You too can arrange such a memorable do. While you’re waiting, you can sign up to walk your dog. It’s one of the favorite places for pups to romp, with no leash requirement–though you might die waiting for your name to come up. Stephanie Cavanaugh is a writer and longtime resident of Capitol Hill. ◆

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Neighbors Sustain Barracks Row Businesses During Pandemic A 75 Percent Increase inLocal Shopping Buoys Corridor by Elizabeth O’Gorek

ou did it, Capitol Hill residents. You really made a difference. A recent study commissioned by Barracks Row Main Street (BRMS) found that businesses on the Eighth Street corridor were sustained by a surge in shopping by local residents. Since April 2020, shopping by local customers has not only increased —it’s nearly doubled. For April and May 2020, the months most dramatically affected by the pandemic, retail sales along Barracks Row were only 50 percent of 2019 numbers. While shopping by out-of-towners bottomed out in April, sales along the corridor were buoyed by local shoppers to the point they were only down 30 percent from 2019 levels. That’s great news, said BRMS Executive Director Martin Smith. Not only has nearly every business on Barracks Row so far survived the pandemic, over a dozen new businesses have come to Barracks Row since the lockdown began last March, Smith said. “So, it’s something that people in other neighborhoods are recognizing,” he noted. “That’s the other takeaway: Barracks Row is a great place to have your small and local business.”

Neighbors Taking Care of Business Local shopping is why Barracks Row was able to remain more stable than almost any other District commercial corridor throughout the pandemic, said Jon Stover of the economic development consultancy Jon Stover & Associates (JS&A), which conducted the study. The study used a blend of newly-accessible data sources, including monthly customer spending and traffic data from credit card companies as well as geospatial cell phone data to determine where shoppers lived, when they were shopping and how much they were spending. 24 H HILLRAG.COM

The study found that the number of visitors and customers from outside of the neighborhood decreased dramatically from February to April 2020, declining by 47 percent. At the same time, neighbors turned out in droves to support their neighborhood businesses: there was a 75 percent surge in customer traffic from local residents over the past year. “The data shows that there’s been a deliberateness of local spending on Barracks Row,” Stover said. “The data also shows that it has made a major difference in terms of supporting and sustaining these businesses.” Nancy Metzger lives a block and a half from Barracks Row. Over the past year, she’s made the extra effort to support local businesses, especially the restaurants. “I certainly wasn’t getting takeout twice a week for three people before the pandemic,” she laughs, noting she does like to cook. She and her spouse choose a different restaurant every time, spreading their dollars along the corridor. When they visit their son in Southwest, they bring him a dinner as well. Metzger said that, like her, many neighbors have personal relationships with the business owners.

“I think everybody goes by and they worry —‘How are they doing?’” she said.

Differing Impacts

The study found that different types of businesses were affected by the pandemic in different ways. Entertainment establishments and restaurants were hit the hardest, while many local grocery stores, home improvement stores and pet stores actually experienced an increase in sales during the pandemic. Bart Vandaele is the Executive Chef and owner of Belgian restaurant Belga Cafe and rooftop cocktail bar Betsy. Both are located at 514 Eighth St. SE. In July 2020, he closed his 14th Street restaurant B Too to focus on the Hill. He said the past year has been tremendously difficult, but, he adds, the support has been unbelievable. “My customers are very, very loyal. The customers who are coming are saying, ‘As long as you stay open, we’ll support you,’” Vandaele said. In June 2020, Vandaele decided to focus his energies on creative ways to move forward. He acquired the greenhouses that made outdoor winter dining possible, pivoted to offer Mother’s and Father’s Day brunches togo, hosted wine dinners and cocktail classes. “This is what we do; we have to be creative, day in and day out, problem-solving on a fast pace,” he said. “Yes, it’s been hard, but we’ve been here for 17 years and we’ve had 17 years of support.” Other businesses also pivoted multiple times to adapt to changing circumstances and District regulations. They also came up with creative ideas to continually attract customers and at the same time maintain safety. Kimberly Hawkins, owner of Howl to the Chief (719 Eighth St. SE), said business has been solid over the last year. The pet store updated their website to include e-commerce, curbside pickup and delivery and are not only considering keeping it post-pandemic, but even expanding those services. Howl to the Chief saw a surge in sales, which Hawkins suspects was fueled both by increased numbers of locals working —and shopping—from home, as well as a commiserate increase in pets that she also noted in her role as Director of Rural Dog Rescue. Almost all of the customers were local, she said. “The past year for us has been, honestly really good. Prior years before, we weren’t 100 percent sure we would pursue another lease.” But instead, when her lease was not renewed after running out this year, they found another location

Comparison of Monthly Retail Spending on Barracks Row, 2019-2020. Courtesy: JS&A

just down the street. “My hopes are that the community continues to support us as a small business,” Hawkins said. She’s worried that once parking enforcement goes back into place and people start returning to offices, that business will decline and people move their purchasing online. “But who knows?” she asks. “We might hit a new norm.”

Challenges Still Ahead Christopher Martin is a BRMS Board Member and a Principal with Martin-Diamond Properties, which has buildings in multiple neighborhoods, including five along Eighth Street SE. He says that Barracks Row has been the most resilient of the neighborhoods where he owns. In some ways, the pandemic has helped demonstrate how great a neighborhood Barracks Row is for businesses, Martin said. “I think that Barracks Row lost its luster when the Wharf opened, and Navy Yard began expansion,” Martin said. “But over the past 18 months, retailers have recognized the built-in traffic, density and income Barracks Row has are crucial to be able to support business.” But there’s still a long way to go before business will be able to get back on its feet, Martin notes. Many took on tremendous debt. That’s especially true of brand-new businesses who didn’t qualify

for much of the federal funding or grants. “I think it’s going to take some time to stabilize their business and return to 2019 numbers or better,” Martin said.

Moving Forward While the general message of the report is that things aren’t not as bad as they could be, Stover notes that many businesses have been heavily impacted. With the data from the report, the businesses most in need can be identified, he said, allowing assistance to be provided in the most effective way. Finally, the report shows that identifying and attracting the local customer base is key, because that’s what is keeping the businesses afloat. Smith said BRMS is using this information to shape strategy for the next three to five years. Businesses have made changes in the way they operate, some of which are going to become permanent. “We want to be available as a program to provide them with that small business technical assistance to help them really structure their business around a new, post-COVID environment,” Smith said. “The businesses on Barracks Row have survived with community support and we have to keep that going,” he said. “That’s been a critical difference for us that has to be maintained.” Visit www.barracksrow.org to learn more about Barracks Row Main Street. u May 2021 H 25

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26 Local Mother’s Day Gift Ideas, From A to Z by Cory V. Langley

Envelope containing heartfelt Mother’s Day card from Groovy Cards and Gifts (321 Seventh St. SE)

Flower bouquet from Volan-

ni, Capitol Hill’s premier florist. Volanni.com

Jigsaw puzzle in a meditative mandala design from Labyrinth Games and Puzzles (645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)

One-of-a-kind objet d’art from Easzern Market Flea Market (225 Seventh St. SE, Saturdays and Sundays) Pretzel bomb (Nutella-filled, cin-

namon-glazed, salt-kissed) from the Pretzel Bakery (257 15th St SE)

Gerbera daisies made of milk

Quality kitchen goods (table settings, candy molds, D.C. dish towels, cute aprons) at Hill’s Kitchen (713 D St. SE)

House

Running shoes and gear from Pacers (600-C H St. NE)

chocolate from Capitol Candy Jar (201 15th St. NE)

Tapas at Joselito, 660 Penn. Ave. SE

our assignment is Mother’s Day 2021. Your deadline is May 9. Lucky for you, there are plenty of treats for mom nearby. Here are 26 ideas, from A to Z, taking you from Eastern Market to H Street to the Waterfront and back home.

Adorable family photos, printed and framed by Capitol Hill Frame and Photo (645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)

and Garden 2021 Mother’s Day “Tour of Tours” tickets from Capitol Hill Restoration Society (outdoor tours and art show) at https://chrs.org/house-andgarden-tour/

Ice cream outing for flavors like Blackout Chocolate Cake, Skillet Cinnamon Roll and Brown Butter Almond Brittle at Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (526 Eighth St SE)

Brunch for the whole gang—try

Cold-pressed juice cleanse for in-

creased energy from Turning Natural (750 C St. SE)

Dozen assorted cookies from Cap-

tain Cookie (660 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)

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Flowers from Volanni on Capitol Hill

scrubs made of pure, all-natural

Kamala Harris magnet, mask, print, T-shirt at Shop Made DC (10 District Square SW) Luxury designer accessory (Fendi, Gucci, Vuitton and more shoes and bags) from Clothes Encounters (202 Seventh St. SE) Mother’s Day Surprise Pack with one book of your choosing, selected from a curated list, and a box of J. Chocolatier small-batch chocolates from East City Book Shop (645 Pennsylvania Ave SE)

Belgian waffles at Belga Café (514 Eighth St. SE) or Spanish tapas at Joselito’s (660 Pennsylvania Ave. SE)

Spa gift basket with soaps and

Mandala jigsaw puzzle at Labyrinth, 645 Penn Ave. SE

Nail appointment plus cocktail gift certificate from Nailsaloon (740 C St. SE)

Mother’s Day Surprise Pack – Book and J. Chocolatier chocolates from East City Books

ingredients from Hunnybunny Boutique (311 Eighth Street NE)

Tibetan pile rug from Woven History (311-315 Seventh St. SE)

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S WEBINAR: FRANCHISE YOUR BUSINESS: A PROVEN STRATEGY FOR GROWTH & SUCCESS Spa gift baskets from Hunnybunny online and at 311 8th St. NE

Useful bike accessories from the

Daily Rider (600 H St. NE)

Varietals of vino from DCanter (545 Eighth Street SE)

Monday, May 3, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/51604

WEBINAR: DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE, SECURITIES AND BANKING “COFFEE & CAPITAL” AT DCRA Tuesday, May 4, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/51844

WEBINAR: ALL THINGS NON-PROFIT Thursday, May 13, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/51836

WEBINAR: DCRA AT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY - LEARN THE PROCESS OF STARTING A BUSINESS Tuesday, May 18, 2021 5:00 pm Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/51850

WEBINAR: LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CERTIFIED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (CBE)

WEBINAR: MARSHALL HEIGHTS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION

ern Market Pottery (225 Seventh St. SE)

Wednesday, May 5, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/52845

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X marks the spot: A treasure hunt

WEBINAR: HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR MADE IN DC CERTIFICATION

SBRC ONE-ON-ONE CALL SESSION: STEPS TO OBTAINING A BUSINESS LICENSE

Thursday, May 6, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/51922

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WEBINAR: FOUNDATIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS: MODULE 2, THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS

SBRC ONE-ON-ONE CALL SESSION: “TALK BUSINESS AFTER HOURS”

Wheel throwing class from East-

ending with a treat (up to you)

You’re the Bomb cake from My Cake Theory (325 Seventh St SE)

Zzzzzzzz: Finally, please let her sleep in!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms! ◆

Wednesday, May 12, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/51922

Monday and Wednesday By appointment between 4:00pm - 6:00pm Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events

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CHRS Mother’s Day “Tour of Tours” Eight Outdoor Tours on Capitol Hill

Article and photos by Elizabeth Nelson

he 64th annual Mother’s Day Tour of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society (CHRS) takes place this year on May 8 and 9. As the traditional, indoor House & Garden Tour is not possible due to the Covid-19 pandemic, CHRS is instead offering a selection of outdoor, guided walking tours. Whatever your interest in this very special neighborhood, you’re certain to find a theme that appeals.

Frederick Douglass’s Capitol Hill home.

Visit the Capitol Hill institutions and homes and hear the stories of a diverse set of people and groups who have stood up for political, social, and cultural change in the area of civil rights. Some names are well known, like Frederick Douglass and John Lewis. Others, including Mabel Vernon and Myrtilla Miner are less familiar. Take the “Resistance” tour to see sites significant to civil rights for women, minorities and the LGBTQ+ community. Robert Pohl, local professional tour guide and author, will lead this tour. From the early 19th-century to contemporary times, some of the most fascinating politicians, activists, artists, writers, and others have made Capitol Hill their home. Curious to know where Barack Obama snoozed while he was a senator from Illinois and William Cody aka Buffalo Bill hung his hat? Your guide will show you on the “Notable People” tour. How many stories can you find in one of Capitol Hill’s square 28 H HILLRAG.COM

The “Whimblocks? If it’s the square sy of Capitol Hill!” with Logan School at is the perfect outing 3rd and F Streets NE, for the young and the answer is “many.” young at heart. TourIn this tour, you’ll meet goers will be guided Rosina Tucker, an imthrough streets and portant civil rights acalleys near Lincoln tivist you’ve probPark, with a scavenably never heard ger hunt list of funof. Spy the path of to-find items. These Reedy Creek, once include murals, yard a major impediornaments and water ment to building in features—the special this neighborhood. touches beloved by Imagine the impact Capitol Hill neighof building the magbors. Children will be nificent Union Sta- Home of Civil War heroine, provided with worktion just two blocks “Gentle Annie.” sheets and pencils so west of this site. And they can “keep score.” you’ll understand the perseverance it It’s increasingly difficult to picture, but took to establish Logan School, which Capitol Hill was once home to many indushas expanded from 1892 to the prestrial and commercial operations including ent day. Want to know more? Sign up manufacturing, beer brewing, coal yards, for “Community Evolution Near Loand other now-vanished businesses. Traces gan School.” Row houses near Marion and Garfield Parks

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remain; you’ve doubtless walked by them and may have wondered about their origins. Join the “Our Industrial Past” tour to learn about this fascinating aspect of the neighborhood. When Pierre Charles L’Enfant developed his 1791 plan for the City of Washington he established a network of public spaces, squares, linked by broad avenues. These squares were designated for variety of public functions, including serving as social centers of the neighborhoods. Marion Park is one such square. The residential neighborhood surrounding it, extending toward Garfield Park, evolved over centuries into a rich National Capital Brewery. Image courtesy LOC.

Buffalo Bill slept here.

(F.O.S.E.L.) for a book focusing on DC movies, “Hollywood on the Potomac” published several years ago. In this hour-long walking tour, Mike will lead a group of cinephiles to sites along East Capitol Street, where he will point out prominent location sites and offer both historical lore and cinematic anecdotes. Autographed copies of his book will be available for sale during the tour. Love the flicks? Make a reservation for “Hollywood on the Hill.” Home of civil right icon, John R. Lewis.

tapestry of buildings, old and new. On the “Parks: Treasures of Capitol Hill” tour, you’ll hear stories of buildings, organizations and people in the area while allowing the youngest tour-goers to stretch their legs in the parks. Mike Canning, a Capitol Hill neighbor and a member of the Washington Area Film Critics Association, has reviewed movies for the Hill Rag newspaper in DC for over 25 years, writing often on the depiction of Washington in American feature films. His reviewing led to a commission by the Friends of Southeast Library 30 H HILLRAG.COM

Former Logan School

Vestige of our industrial past. By DC street artist Kelly Towles

Last but not least, the public is encouraged to enjoy the free “Artists at Home” gallery. Local artists will be exhibiting their work in their own outdoor spaces from 1-5 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Also, students from Eastern High School will be participating on school grounds. A map with locations and artists’ information will be published on the website prior to the event. To make the experience safe and enjoyable, the size of tour groups will be capped at ten or fifteen people and masks are required. Reservations are $10 for adults and $2 for children 12 and under and can be made at chrs.org/2021-mothersday-tour-of-tours. Elizabeth Nelson is the chair of the CHRS House Tour Committee u

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CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY GUIDE An Insider's Guide to Life on the Hill!

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2021

Capitol Hill Community Achievement Awards by Stephanie Deutsch

ust a year ago, the CapiBonny Wolf tol Hill Community FounBonny Wolf spent much of the past year dation made the painful dewith her husband, Michael Levy, in a cision to cancel its annual house they rent on the Eastern Shore gala dinner, never imagining where the surroundings are beautiful and that a year later in-person celebrations social distancing is easy but the uncerwould still be impossible. However, tainty about what comes next and cancelthe women chosen for last year’s Comlation of many events are just as heavy as munity Achievement Awards are even they are in town. When Michael’s brothmore worthy of recognition now than er died last spring, it was not possible to they were last year and they WILL be mourn the painful loss in the usual ways. honored, albeit in a virtual rather than A major birthday celebration was relegatin-person event. The good news about ed to Zoom. Visits with their son and that, according to Foundation president friends happened outside which was deNicky Cymrot, is that—unlike in the elelightful in the summer but challenging as gant great hall of the Folger Shakespeare the weather turned cold. Library—there’s room online for everyStill, the year brought dividends. body. The program will be broadcast While it was still warm, paddle-boarding on the evening of Wednesday, May 19 Kathleen Donohue, Bonny Wolf and Pat Joseph are the 2021 Capitol Hill Commuon an inlet of the Chesapeake Bay became nity Achievement Award recipients. Photo: Elizabeth Dranitzke/Photopia and Patricia Joseph, Bonny Wolf and a daily relaxant for Bonny’s mind and Kathleen Donohue will be honored for workout for her body. Inside, she spent in a blue moon” did she go into her eerily empty office their many and varied contributions to the life of our time writing, working on what she hopes will be the building. She rarely saw her councilmember. neighborhood. Serve Your City and Everyone Home first in a series of “farm to table mysteries.” And she But daily walks to and from Eastern Market, strolls DC will be recognized for the community works that continued her commitment to the Hill Center where by the Anacostia River with jazz, R&B or Barbra Streiearned them Arnold J. Keller, Jr. Awards for 2021 for almost twenty years she has been central to every sand playing through her headsets, have helped. A few and 2020 in the amount of $20,000 each. aspect of the Board’s work. She is “most proud” of her short trips out of town and regular Saturday evening part in planning the Center’s demonstration kitchen conference calls with her far-flung sisters and brothers Pat Joseph and successful collaboration with Children’s Hospihave kept her connected to family. Weekly live streams For Pat Joseph, as Constituent Services Director for tal and the Common Threads organization sponsorhave brought her familiar faces and the comfort of serCity Council member Elissa Silverman, the year since ing programs promoting family cooking and nutrition. vices at St. Monica and St. James Episcopal Church. the cancellation of last spring’s festivities has been “a Now she has conceived a new project–a community She continues on the Board of Everyone Home DC and perfect storm.” Adapting to teleworking while at the cookbook to be published in the fall of 2021 as a funtakes satisfaction in what the organization has been able same time carrying a tremendously increased work draiser, part of a kick-off celebration for the tenth annito do, meeting virtually, picking up unexpected grants. load as constituents dealt with wildly unexpected cirversary of Hill Center. She has been busily filing and So despite the multiple challenges of this most unusucumstances created by the pandemic and then contesting the recipes pouring in from well-known chefs al year, Pat is upbeat. She is encouraged by ongoing effronting the summer’s racial unrest was, she rememwho have taught at Hill Center and from neighbors forts to get people vaccinated. She got a pillow for her bers “a nightmare.” Dealing with everything from making dinner for their families or remembering fahome office with a 51 embroidered on it and is guardassisting people as they filed unemployment claims vorite dishes from childhood. edly optimistic about the chances for DC Statehood. to connecting isolated seniors to organizations proAnd, once the pandemic is over, she’s looking forward viding groceries or picking up prescriptions and, later, Kathleen Donohue to traveling again, especially to Florence and Milan. But transportation to vaccination sites, Pat found herself Kathleen Donohue, founder and owner of Labyrinth always, she says, she will be happy to come home, not working long hours by herself at home. Only “once Games and Puzzles on Pennsylvania Avenue, says the just to DC, but to Capitol Hill.

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past year has been “like a tornado that never stopped.” At the beginning “every phone call I received, I lost money” as one after another scheduled events were cancelled and the store closed to in-person shoppers; but merchandise nonetheless had to be paid for. She was committed to keeping her loyal staff of 14. Despite assistance from a federal Paycheck Protection Plan loan to help meet payroll she says she “really thought we would have to close down.” The confinement at home was hard on her family, especially her son. And every day, “I missed my customers.” Before long, though, Kathleen was going in to the closed store to work on building an e-commerce website and she was working with Mary Quillian Helms, owner of Mr. Henry’s to create a convenient pick up point for over-the-phone purchases for her customers as well as those of East City Books and Hill’s Kitchen. She began donating games to local shelters and receiving unexpected donations from customers offering to help her pay her staff. Now, she says, she is seeing “the light at the end of the tunnel.” Via the website, she is selling games and puzzles to families serving with the State Department in faraway countries. Since she used her PPP loan to pay staff, she does not have to repay it. The store is open to small numbers of shoppers at a time and she is anticipating, at some point, being able to again offer in-store birthday parties and game nights. Mostly, though, she is overcome with gratitude to her staff and to the community. Pat Joseph and Bonny Wolf will receive Capitol Hill Community Achievement Awards and Kathleen Donohue will be honored with the Steve Cymrot “Spark” Award at the virtual gala on May 19th. For information about making a donation to the Foundation and watching the event visit www.capitolhillcommunityfoundation.org/achievement-awards. u

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May 2021 H 33

OUCH! A Shot Across The Verbal Bows No Problem? You Bet There Is!

by Maggie Hall

e all have phrases and words that we hate, either because they can be ambiguous, plain incorrect or just sloppy repetition. My number one bête-noire should be spiked in newspaper and broadcasting newsrooms. The President and other leaders need to delete it from their speeches. Please stop talking about “shots in arms.” I have a feeling that if the COVID vaccination was given in derrieres no one would be saying “shots in bottoms.” Also, in our fair city in particular, no one should be talking about being “shot,” unless it’s for real. Several turns of phrase, day in, day out, drive me nuts. Weather forecasters have me cringing with their “your,” followed by the day of the week. In response I often shout at the TV, “don’t like that forecast, so swop mine for the one aimed at my neighbor….” And how many times have I stood in line for coffee at Peregrine, only to hear one after another customers make their “Can I have?” latte requests. You’ll often hear me mutter behind such an offender, “No, you can’t.” For those who are guilty or don’t get my aggravation, all that is required is, “A latte, please.” And spare me from the diners who decide, “I’ll try....” How I admire the servers who bite their tongue and resist responding with “And then what, are you going to send it back?” Among lingo I’m dying to see die out is the plethora of words and phrases used when someone has died. As in “succumbed,” “gone,” “lost,” “departed.” Hearing or reading that someone has “passed away”—the most common euphe-

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mism—always brings back the memory of when, as a cub reporter on a local paper (back home in Yorkshire) I, along with other young colleagues, had to help proofread the death announcements. We were told off severely by the “real” proof-readers—both old enough to be our grandfathers— that it was not a laughing matter and if they heard us giggling as we talked about someone “evaporating” once more they would.... Well, the threat was never actually uttered, as our elders had to fight hard to keep a stern face. At the risk of being labelled pedantic, in my years as a journalist I have never understood the compulsion to write, say, “for the very first time.” I know, it’s there for emphasis. But it’s used so casually, without thought, that when it could possibly be justifiably used for an extremely rare event, its impact is lost. Much better in that case to say, “It’s hard to believe but this is the first time....” Another word, commonly used for no-need emphasis, is “own,” as in “he killed his own mother,” or “she found her own sister in bed with her own husband.” You get the drift. Sad but true, a constant misuse of language (along with grammatical errors like the abused possessive apostrophe) abounds. A glaring example is the invitation for a speaker to step up to the “podium”, when in fact there is no dais to be stepped on. Just a lectern waiting for notes to be set on. Many will argue that common usage means that most realize that when “podium” is used they know “lectern” is meant. But when have you ever heard of a podium being called a lectern? And it puzzles me why people use “could” when it should be “would” and viceversa. How not to mix them up was drilled into

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me as a child with the ditty: “Woody would if Wood could, but Woody couldn’t, could he.” One get-rid wish is that “everyone” would replace “you guys.” I don’t object to “guys” in a pinch for gender-neutral words, but its ubiquitous usage is pathetic. And how about the person you don’t know and will never come across again, as they take their leave after a brief encounter, uttering “see you later.” And as for “you’re welcome.” Don’t get me going. It’s uttered with such monotony and lack of feeling most don’t realize they’ve said it. If you want to acknowledge someone who’s thanked you for something, a nod and a smile is enough. Which brings us to the most irritating expression— “no problem.” Again, an utterance, that is used with such meaningless, tedious repetition that it burns the ears to hear it. ## Lets’ start a debate - so the Hill Rag can do a follow-up. If you do have a problem with anything you’ve just read, let me know. Better still, what are your lexicon bugbears? Send comments to: whitby@aol.com. Meanwhile, I just hope I haven’t fallen into a verbal trap of my own making in this piece! ◆

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years or older who have fallen behind on insurance and tax payments as a result of their reverse mortgage. Qualified District homeowners can receive up to

DC4ME provides mortgage assistance with optional down payment assistance to D.C. government employees. DC4ME is offered to current full-time District government employees, including employees of District government-based instrumentalities, independent agencies, D.C. Public Charter Schools, and organizations, provided the applicant/borrower's employer falls under the oversight of the Council of the District of Columbia. 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 up to $5,000 per month to put toward their mortgage for up to six months. HomeSaver HomeSaver is a foreclosure prevention program that assists unemployed and underemployed homeowners who may have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. The program offers lump sum or ongoing monthly assistance with a maximum assistance of $60,000 per household. The deadline to apply for HomeSaver is May 14, 2021.

Visit www.DCHFA.org how to apply to any of DCHFA’s homeownership programs. 815 FLORIDA AVENUE, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20001 • 202.777.1600 • WWW.DCHFA.ORG 36 ★ HILLRAG.COM

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DEFENDANTS STRANDED IN JAIL BY PANDEMIC

Extended Pretrial Detention Upheld Despite Powerful Dissent

hen Tom was released by the DC Superior Court from DC Jail in December 2020, the twenty-seven-year-old man had been held for over seven months, pretrial and unindicted. Tom (a pseudonym) had been charged by the DC Superior Court with assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction. While incarcerated, he was separated from his young son. After being jailed for over half a year, prosecutors decided not to prosecute him, dismissing his case. Given the year-long jury trial suspension in the District, Tom’s extended detention is not unique. On April 21, 2021, there were 719 DC Superior Court pretrial defendants being held in DC Jail. Normally, for people held under most charges, the US Attorney’s Office of DC (USAODC) is required to indict, or formally charge, defendants within ninety days, per DC Code. Defendants must be brought to trial within one hundred days or released. However, in late March 2020, the Court paused this deadline, under the authority of a statute which allows for the suspension of time deadlines due to emergencies or natural disasters. In January 2021, the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) represented approximately 52 clients who were being held in DC Jail under the statute that includes this trial-clock, according to Janet Mitchell, special counsel to the director. The average number of days they had been held was 272, said Mitchell. Of the 110 PDS clients detained pretrial under a statute

by Gavrielle Jacobovitz reserved for those facing serious charges such as murder, the average number of days detained was 462. “And the numbers—both of clients and of the days [of ] the average length of detention—have only grown since then,” said Mitchell. “You have people that are waiting, they have not been legally found guilty yet, so they are awaiting their trial, their day in court. They are innocent until proven guilty as is their legal right,” said Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D). Allen chairs the Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. Lawmakers disagree on whether the pause of the trial clock is statutorily authorized or constitutional. From March 2020 to January 2021, the number of pretrial detainees in DC Jail grew 57 percent, Capital Community News previously reported in its first article in a series on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the DC system of justice. This third article in the series, which is funded by SpotlightDC.org and supported by DC Witness, examines the recent ruling on the appeal against the tolling of the trial clock. In March 2021, the DC Court of Appeals ruled on the question of extended pretrial detention during the pandemic. A majority found that detaining two defendants, who had appealed their detention past one hundred days without trial, did not violate DC Code or the Constitution under the current emergency circumstances. The view was not unanimous. “Many” of those detained pretrial “will eventually be acquitted, have their charges dropped, or plead to charges carrying sentences that are less than the time they have already May 2021 ★ 37

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served pretrial,” wrote Hon. Judge Corinne Beckwith in her dissent.

Pausing the Clock In its most recent order, published on March 30, 2021, the DC Superior Court extended “the period during which deadlines are suspended, tolled, and extended for all statutory and rules‐based time limits” in DC Code and Court rules until at least May 20. The original order was issued by then Chief Judge Robert Morin in late March 2020 with authority from the Joint Committee on Judicial Administration, soon after DC announced its first presumptive case of Covid-19. Due to public health precautions, jury trials were suspended in the city until April 5, 2021, when they resumed on a limited basis. Specifically, per the Court’s site, a maximum of one case will be scheduled for trial per day and two trials can be held per week. Bench trials, or those in front of a judge, resumed in December. However, the lengthy pause in trials due to Covid-19 has created a backlog of unresolved cases. Jury trials are the “bread and butter of the court system,” said Attorney Paul Zukerberg. “That is what drives the system along,” he added, either because cases are tried before a jury or the impending jury creates a “firm deadline” which “encourages people to resolve the case.” “While PDS appreciates the challenges the Superior Court faces in resuming jury trials that are safe for all participants and that meet constitutional requirements, the large numbers of PDS clients who are being held indefinitely at the jail pending resolution of their cases is staggering,” said Mitchell, who is a former PDS trial chief, a few days before trials’ constrained resumption. Under DC’s progressive pretrial supervisory system, 92 percent of all Superior Court defendants were released pretrial in 2020. For those charged with felonies, however, the number drops to 76 percent, and 24 percent are detained. “That is not a small number,” said Megan Stevenson, an economist and criminal justice scholar and an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, given the presumption of innocence and the cost of incarceration on defendants. Stevenson and Sandra Mayson, assistant professor of law at the University of Georgia School of Law, released a paper in February that quantified, per the paper’s abstract, “[h]ow dangerous must a person be to justify the state in locking her up for the greater good?” 38 H HILLRAG.COM

“It’s hard to quantify the harm of being uprooted from one’s life, one’s family and job and neighborhood and home and being held in a jail facility,” explained Mayson. However, this study attempts to “get a grip on how that harm compares” to the potential harm of a person committing a serious crime while released. “The results suggest that even short periods of incarceration impose grave harms, such that a person must pose an extremely high risk of serious crime in order for detention to be justified,” they concluded in the paper. Pretrial detention, especially during Covid-19, can impact defendants significantly. Anthony Petty, who was detained in DC Jail for the last few months of a 30-year sentence, described to CCN the potential consequences of pretrial detention, which he said include loss of employment and difficulty for incarcerated peoples’ families. Petty, a mentor with the Young Men Emerging program, witnessed the impact of detention, including the mental toll of the medical stayin-place. Petty serves on the advisory board of organization Neighbors for Justice. Additionally, as CCN previously reported, attorneys raised concerns that the Court’s detention of defendants for an indeterminate amount of time could increase pressure on defendants to accept a plea deal rather than wait for a trial. Notably, however, according to Mayson, DC is the “vanguard in terms of rational regulation of pretrial detention and release.” Most jurisdictions, unlike DC, rely on cash bail systems to determine who is held pretrial. The tolling of indictment and trial deadlines poses both constitutional and statutory issues, argued defense attorneys who filed appeals against their clients’ detention past 100 days. One such consolidated case was adjudicated recently.

The Appeal On Dec. 15, 2020, attorneys and judges convened for oral arguments streaming live to dozens of viewers for a consolidated case of two pending pretrial detention appeals. They met, on behalf of two defendants who were detained pretrial in DC Jail for longer than one hundred days, to consider whether the DC Superior Court’s pause of the trial clock met statutory and constitutional requirements. The Superior Court had denied both defendants’ motions for release. Their lawyers appealed, arguing that the Court’s decision to “toll” the trial clock violated DC Code and the US Constitution’s Due Process clause.

The first defendant, represented in the appeal by PDS attorney Mikel-Meredith Weidman, had not yet been indicted in December but has been since, formally charged with sex abuse while armed. The second defendant, represented by Attorney Carrie Weletz, was indicted on 45 counts in March 2020 including possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, kidnapping while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon and burglary while armed. The USAO-DC did not respond to a request for a comment on the appeal. It previously declined to comment on the pending case. In an opinion published on March 11, the DC Court of Appeals ruled in a two-to-one decision that the DC Superior Court had the authority to detain the two defendants beyond 100 days.

The Ruling The pandemic had “severely disrupted” operations in the Superior Court, wrote Court of Appeals Hon. Judge Stephen Glickman, a President Bill Clinton appointee, for the majority. The other judge siding with the majority ruling, Hon. Senior Judge Frank Nebeker, was originally appointed to the Court by President Richard Nixon. Courts are authorized to pause deadlines during emergencies and natural disasters under a DC Code provision passed by Congress in 2011, he cited. The opinion also noted that the emergency tolling statute allows for the pausing of any deadline and disagrees with the defense’s categorization of the 100day limitation as not a time deadline, defined as “the latest time by which something must be done.” Additionally, extensions of deadlines are permitted in increments with “good cause,” Glickman argued. Glickman addressed constitutional arguments by citing a previous case. The emergency tolling is not indefinite, as it will end when the emergency does, he wrote. It is “reasonably foreseeable that trials will resume in the Superior Court in the not-too-distant future,” noted Glickman, weeks before they did, for felony 2 cases previously set for trial where defendants were detained under the statute that includes the trial-clock. Glickman also cited the facts of the cases at hand and the rationale for holding the defendants. The DC Court’s decision to pause pretrial detention clocks is not unique. A blanket pause on formal or informal speedy trial mechanisms due to Covid-19 has been nearly universal in the US, according to Jenny Carroll, Professor of Law at the University of Alabama School of Law.

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“There’s been pretty robust litigation around this,” Carroll said. The DC Court of Appeal’s ruling was “consistent with opinions we’ve seen out of other state level appellate courts” in which defendants challenged their non-finite pretrial detention due to Covid-19, Carroll stated. Still, Carroll pointed out pretrial detention imposes significant costs on defendants, their families, and their communities, as well as victims and the court system writ large. The three-judge panel was not unanimous in their ruling. In her dissent, Judge Corinne Beckwith raised the consequences of her colleagues’ ruling.

The Dissent The defendants’ detention was “unlawful,” concluded Judge Beckwith, a President Barack Obama appointee. Neither statute in question “clearly authorizes their continued incarceration pending trial,” she argued. “The law’s drafters, some or all, may well have deemed it sensible to toll any and all discovery, indictment, trial, and briefing deadlines while having no intention of authorizing further pretrial detention of people who are presumed innocent,” wrote Beckwith, noting that “many” of them will be acquitted, have charges dropped, or plead to charges with shorter sentences than they have already served. “Each additional day of pretrial incarceration, however, could mean the difference between a job and no job, or absence from the birth of one’s child, or the risk of being physically assaulted or contracting a deadly virus,” Beckwith wrote. Noting that one defendant had been held for around 500 days and the other for 300 days, Beckwith pointed out that prosecutors had not filed for the 20-day extensions for good cause allowed by the statute. Nor did the other statute, allowing for suspension of time deadlines, “expressly autho-

rize such detention,” she stated. The majority’s logic of applying a “breadth and generality” to the emergency tolling statute, Beckwith cautioned, could lead to the extension of time limits “for any number of significant intrusions on liberty.” For instance, it could be applied to post-conviction sex offender registrations, family court’s jurisdiction, or prison sentences. The majority opinion called this argument a “mini-parade of horribles,” examples which do “not involve deadlines involved in court proceedings.” Additionally, Beckwith noted that the two defendants do not qualify for a trial under current plans for the resumption of jury trials, based on their charges. There are also due process concerns, Beckwith stated in agreement with the defense. Beckwith agreed with the majority that the constitutional test “hinges on the indefinite nature of the detention,” but she disagreed that her colleague’s interpretation of the statutes hadn’t “effected indefinite detentions.” “For an ever-increasing number of people in the D.C. Jail awaiting trials, there is only uncertainty,” Beckwith wrote.

Since the nineteenth century, alley buildings have contributed to both the footprint and function of Capitol Hill. In this virtual presentation, Architectural Conservator Justine Bello will explore the boom in adaptive reuse of these structures to meet contemporary needs. Free. For details, visit chrs.org/adaptivereuse-alley-buildings-pc/

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In The Meantime In the nearly eight months that Tom was held in DC Jail after he was arrested and before his case was dismissed, the twenty-seven-year-old man never himself appeared before a judge, he said. Before the pandemic, even if Tom’s charges were dismissed months after his initial arrest, with the charges he faced, he likely would not have been held for so long. The USAO-DC did not respond to a request for a comment on Tom’s case. DC Jail “was on lockdown” because of Covid-19, Tom said. Since the start of April 2020, the DC Jail has had a medical stay-in-

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May 2021 ★ 41

SOUTHWEST COMMUNITY CENTER

SOUTHWEST COMMUNITY CENTER ENGAGEMENT KICK OFF Join the Southwest DC Community Center to hear what we’ve been up to & how to get involved...and get a sneak peek at our future initiatives!

ABOUT THIS EVENT The Southwest DC Community Center (SWDCCC) all-volunteer Board and Community Engagement & Communications Committee have been busy getting up and running as a non-profit, establishing an online presence through our website and social media channels, gathering information from local partners to build a community asset map, and planning for a series of community engagement initiatives so we can hear from YOU about what you’d like to see in the new Community Center—currently planned to open in October 2023 at the future site of 375 M Street SW.

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place, limiting its residents to one hour a day for leaving their cell. For a large part of the lockdown, residents were not allowed outdoors. “We barely could get on the phone, barely take a shower,” Tom stated. In March 2020, the PDS and the ACLU of DC sued the DC Department of Corrections on behalf of residents of DC Jail, challenging conditions in the facility due to Covid-19, in the US District Court for DC. In a June 2020 preliminary injunction, the Court ordered the jail to improve detainees’ access to medical resources, enforce social distancing, and more. However, this January, the Court found the jail hadn’t properly complied with that order. The medical stay-in-place policy was implemented to follow “the science that was recommended by the CDC and DC Health” and the preliminary injunction, said DOC Director Quincy Booth in an interview. That is, the policy was calculated in order to facilitate social distancing. DC Jail provides tablets for its residents, he also added, which has provided its residents with opportunities for certain activities that previously would have had to take place outside of the cell. Regarding the suit, Booth said that DOC works with its partners as part of “an ecosystem of actors” and they “continue to do the things that have been outlined in the preliminary injunction.” “Our number one goal is the safety and security of the individuals that are in our care,” said Booth. “[...] What I follow is guidance by [Director of DC Health] Dr. [LaQuandra] Nesbitt and her team, the CDC, as well as what’s in the preliminary injunction,” Booth added. “Such punishing conditions raise serious concerns about [detained defendants’] physical and mental health, both in the short-term and over the long-term,” said Jade Chong-Smith, a criminal defense lawyer at KaiserDillon PLLC and board

member at DC Justice Lab. This is not only a health issue, but also a racial justice issue, she added. Booth disagreed with the view that DOC’s Covid-19 measures are punitive. According to a statement from DOC, residents receive physical and mental health services. As of April 23, 262 residents of DOC facilities have tested positive for Covid-19. According to Mayson, “there is a gaping open question of federal constitutional law, which is: what constraints does the US Constitution place on pretrial detention?” Neither defendant in the appeal has filed an appeal en banc, meaning the case would be heard by all of the judges in the Court of Appeals, according to court dockets. Patrice Sulton, founder and executive director of DC Justice Lab, predicts motions for release based on statutory or constitutional grounds due to defendants being held past one hundred days will still be filed, though she clarified her prediction is not legal advice. This is due to the fact that changes in circumstances, including time passing and the pandemic, could alter a judge’s analysis. Moreover, while criminal jury trials resumed on April 5, 2021 on a limited basis, the backlog that was created by the pandemic will take time to address. “There’s simply no way even once we resume jury trials that we’re going to be able to start the clock running and try a year’s worth of cases within the hundred day time period,” said the Superior Court’s Criminal Division Presiding Judge Juliet McKenna in early December, before jury trials had resumed. To safely and competently make their way through the backlog of cases in the Court, McKenna predicted that even once jury trials resumed the timelines would remain suspended for some time. At the moment, they remain paused through at least May 20.

Additions & Basement Experts BUFFALO COMPANY, LLC www.buffalocompanyusa.com For all your Construction Needs The resumption of jury trials at the start of April “was done in close consultation with public health experts and reviewed by the DC Department of Health, which authorized the court to proceed with a limited number of jury trials,” said McKenna in a statement. McKenna further added that a Court survey found 97 percent of people who reported for jury duty felt “very safe” in the courthouse. “It’s not a light switch,” said Councilmember Allen. “It’s not like we’re going to be able to just eliminate that backlog overnight.” In the meantime, detained defendants will await movement in their case amid these delays while incarcerated. DC Witness, a non-profit dedicated to creating transparency in the District’s justice system, is providing data on criminal cases for this project. For more information, visit www.dcwitness.org. This article was supported by a grant from Spotlight DC: Capitol City Fund for Investigative Journalism. Spotlight DC encourages the submission for proposals by independent journalists. For more information, visit www.spotlightdc.org. Gavrielle Jacobovitz is a graduate of Columbia University and a freelance reporter at Capital Community News. She has previously interned with HuffPost Politics and NBC Owned TV Stations. ◆

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/ Our River: The Anacostia /

REMAKING KINGMAN AND HERITAGE ISLANDS Creating Special Places To Enjoy Nature by Bill Matuszeski

any of you already know about Heritage and Kingman Islands, located in the Anacostia alongside and above the RFK Stadium and readily accessible to folks living on both sides of our River. What you may not know is that there are major efforts underway to make them very special places to learn about and help restore the natural assets of these islands. The process to make that happen has been in the hands of a series of experts under contract for a few years already, and it is now opening up to include the public. If you are not already involved, this article may make you convinced you need to be, which would be great! The focus of these efforts is quite unique for an area located in the midst of a major city. The idea is to restore and manage the islands to create a natural system of land and water, plants and wildlife, and seasonal and natural change, and to use it to teach nature to students and the general public. Beyond that, the hope is to be able to rally the public to protect LEFT: Heritage Island Trail. it, support it and to act Photo: Bill Matuszeski.

within and around the islands as a guest, causing no harm but learning a great deal. Essentially, the goal would be to teach nature, to learn what needs to be done to protect and conserve it, and to provide a series of formal and informal activities in what becomes an outdoor classroom. The challenge is to accomplish this without adding so many structures and facilities that they undercut that very goal of restoring nature’s dominance. This all began four years ago, when Mayor Bowser provided funds to the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) to issue contracts to experts to study how the Islands might become an urban ecology center of some type, with everything from wilderness designations in some areas to new structures for learning. As DOEE Director Tommy Wells puts it, “You really have a natural habitat that is indigenous to the neighborhood growing up with hardly any disturbance at all. People appreciate the greener City emerging from the Mayor’s efforts and investments.” Nearly $5 million was allocated to the effort to figure out how to make the islands safe, accessible, and a place for learning. A feasibility study was de-

LEFT: Map of Kingman and Heritage Islands. Photo: DC Department of Energy and Environment. RIGHT: Kingman Island boat ramp site. Photo: Bill Matuszeski

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veloped, areas were identified for conservation and critical wildlife, and talks and trips were set up with members of the community. As this went on, four themes began to emerge to focus the efforts: 1. ecological restoration – keep what nature is there and build on it; 2. access and safety -- for the public to be comfortably surrounded by nature; 3. programs and activities – public walkways, camps, classrooms, jobs; and 4. environment and education – places to gather, learn and help nature. A virtual Kingman Community Envisioning Meeting to go over these and other issues and to identify areas where the public felt the need for more focus was held on March 2, with over 165 participants. Feedback was very positive with a number of issues flagged for further study or greater emphasis. Among these were: 1. Access and safety improvements, including pedestrian bridges, seawall and loose concrete removal and parking for the boating dock access off Benning Road; 2. Removing non-native invasive species including poison ivy; 3. Improving connections with communities on both sides of the River; 4. Building and maintaining structures; 5. Using paths – bicycles? dogs? 6. Places for art classes and art displays; 7. Consideration for climate change and rise of water levels. Many of these subjects raise a common issue, which is the degree that support facilities – covered areas, trails, boat ramps, art exhibits etc. -- can be added before the underlying purpose of public access to the islands – to learn about and experience nature – is damaged. There is no simple answer, but the committee of experts hired by

DOEE has presented some innovative options such as structures of natural materials with light roofs that open on the sides. Many of these issues were scheduled to be discussed at a series of three 6:30 pm virtual public meetings. The first has passed – an April 28 session on ecological restoration and boating, although the notes from the meeting may be available on the website listed below. On May 12 there will be a public meeting on programming and environmental education. And on May 26 the focus will be on inclusive access and safety. Of course, not all these issues will be settled and there will always be a need for change and adjustment. The key is to focus all the decisions on creating and maintaining the underlying goals – to restore and support nature and to teach both young and old how it can be safe and accessible, friendly and educational. If you want to keep abreast of the process of coming up with the final plan for the future of Kingman and Heritage Islands, as well as upcoming public events and document review opportunities, you can check this address for questions/comments: DOEE. Kingmanisland@dc.gov; or the website: Kingmanisland.org. There is no end to the issues. But now there is a framework for making decisions, and it is an innovative and challenging framework to restore and protect nature on the Islands while providing unlimited public access to enjoy and learn and participate in the restoration and protection. Worth the effort! 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

May 2021 H 45

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/ Opinion /

THE SOUTH SIDE OF GARFIELD PARK NEEDS FIXING by Robert Krughoff

arfield Park is a great asset for the Capitol Hill neighborhood and for all of DC. But the southern edge of the park and the area a small distance south of the park are in very bad shape as a result of long deterioration and then serious damage during the CSX tunnel construction that began in 2015. Fortunately, this can be fixed and greatly improved. Councilmember Charles Allen got $1 million put into the DC budget available as of the fiscal year beginning in October 2018 to fund needed work. But, unfortunately, District Department of Transportation (DDOT), which is responsible for planning the work and making needed infrastructure fixes, has gotten virtually nothing done. Though $900,000 has recently been allocated to the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to make some improvements throughout Garfield Park, the Friends of Garfield Park, of which I am a long-time Board member, wants to push DDOT and other agencies to fix all of the deterioted elements in the park which are important for recreation, safety and basic enjoyment of the park.

Big Improvements That Are Needed 1. The basketball court that was there for more than 25 years and heavily used has been ruined—one upright and backboard removed, lines removed, holes and cracks in court surface, and a pile of more than 20 concrete blocks, most weighing hundreds of pounds each, is sitting in the middle of the court. 2. The skateboard park that was built by users starting about 2010 has been mostly removed and was never as good as many other skateboard parks in other cities and a few in DC. It should be rebuilt to standard. 3. There is no good route under the Freeway for people to walk through Garfield Park toward or from Yards Park, the increasing number of residences south of the freeway, the Whole Foods store, etc. Allen’s plan called for an ADA-appropriate walkway dealing with ups and downs of curbs and walls and a gradual path from the underpass up a hill into the park. But DDOT has not made that happen. There were many complaints from neighbors, for example, that on the steep steps into the Park from New Jersey Ave. there was no handrail. When the government did nothing about this problem, some neighbors finally purchased a rail from an iron-works 46 H HILLRAG.COM

company and worked with that company to install it. 4. There is a stretch of Virginia Ave., going from the skatepark west all the way to the New Jersey Ave. bridge, that has been closed to traffic for years because of security concerns of the Architect of the Capitol. And good news is that DDOT has now stated that there will be no parking or use by ordinary vehicles on that stretch. This has made the stretch available to, and frequently used by, pickleball players. Some of these players have painted lines for four pickleball courts and purchased a steel cabinet with a padlock that can be shared. And they have stocked it with paddles, balls, a leaf blower, and portable nets that players can easily set up and take down. And they have spread the word on court availability to the public, resulting in hundreds of court users. A major plus is that the pickleball courts are on an otherwise abandoned strip of road and don’t take up any of the space that has been so valuable in the main grassy area of Garfield Park. So, what needs to be done? Repair cracks in the pavement/courts and make a smooth surface, put good courts in place, make an exciting skateboard park, add lights under the freeway in the areas where the freeway serves as a ceiling and add 10 or more Washington Standard light posts in the area not under the Freeway and set the lights to stay on for usability and safety until shutting off automatically at roughly midnight as the lights in Garfield’s existing tennis courts can do. Figure out and implement a strategy for processing water that comes down out of the park and brings mud and debris (possibly by putting in pipes under some surface ar- FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: eas, a few rain-gardens in the park, a few walls, Pickleball being played on Virginia Ave. by neighbors who and some slopes or road installed the makeshift court. contours that will move Unusable basketball courtfull of water into non-prob- concrete blocks. lematic areas). All this accumulated at the edge of is feasible at manage- Water the park at the underpass. able cost. Some of the work Where water is eroding the park on its way to the underpass. that should be on a new list of what the agencies Neighbors finally had to buy install this railing on steep contract for include in- and steps in Garfield Park. stallation of at least one

/ In Memoriam /

BARBARA RIEHLE 1956–2021

more volleyball court (possibly immediately to the west of the existing volleyball court), replacing badly functioning or unsafe children’s play equipment and resurfacing the ground beneath all the equipment, adding about 15 new benches, and replacing the now cracked tennis court surface. The infrastructure part of this work is to be done by DDOT. But the DC government apparently assumes that the other parts of the park like the play areas will be done by DPR, so it will be important that DDOT and DPR work together on the planning of each piece so that, for instance, a surface or wall will not be put in by DDOT that is inconsistent with a court that DPR might want to put in. Friends of Garfield Park played a key role in coordinating the planning for the last major renovations of Garfield, in 2001, including installation of children’s play equipment, a volleyball court, horseshoe pits, extensive plantings, a sprinkler system, etc. The Friends will seek to play a similar role now, bringing the agencies together, monitoring contractors’ performance, coordinating the process of getting citizen input, etc. If you’d like to play a role, contact Friends of Garfield Park at: Friends4Garfield@gmail.com ◆

by Suzanne Wells

arbara (Scotti) Riehle, a long-time Capitol Hill resident, died on April 18 at George Washington University Hospital. She was 65. With Barbara’s passing, Capitol Hill lost a neighbor whose presence in the community is not easily replaced. Barbara was a passionate participant in the life of her beloved neighborhood, and a force to be reckoned with when advocating for any cause. In 2008, Barbara was one of the founders of the Eastern Market Metro Community Association (EMMCA), which promotes the civic interests and quality of life for DC residents who live in the area near the Eastern Market Metro. She served as EMMCA president until 2012. Barbara made herself heard during the development of the Hine Project and fought mightily to make sure nearby neighbors had a voice in shaping that and other Capitol Hill development plans to meet neighborhood goals. She did not hesitate to reach out directly to locally elected officials to advocate for the neighborhood, and she often organized ANC and City Council election forums to help her neighbors be informed about the candidates’ positions. It was a tribute to her commitment to the community that even those who disagreed with Barbara often recognized the importance of hearing her insights and perspective. Her children attended the Montessori program at the Capitol Hill Cluster School, where she was an active parent, including serving as the vice-president of the PTA. Along with her husband, Thom, and son, Peter, she helped with Troop 500’s annual winter coat drive. She was proud of Peter’s Eagle Scout project, which helped to place benches in the park across from the Eastern Market metro station, and was gratified the park’s recent redevelopment retained them. Barbara was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the fifth daughter of the late Rita W. (Dwyer) Scotti and the late Dr. Ciro O. Scotti. She was educated at Elmhurst Academy of the Sacred Heart and moved to Washington in 1974 to attend American University, where she earned a degree in international relations and Soviet studies. She began working for Senator John Chafee of Rhode Island as a campaign volunteer in her teens and after college joined his Senate staff. She later worked for Senator Lincoln Chafee. A lifelong Republican, BSR – as she was known to many – relished the rough-and-tumble of politics but steeped in the decorum of the Senate, was distressed by the crass and craven turn public life in the nation’s capital took in her last years. That is not to suggest she was shy about trading political punches, especially if her sparring partner was named Thom-

as Riehle, a staunch Democrat but highly regarded nonpartisan pollster. Barbara met Thom at a Halloween party in 1985 and as one of her closest friends recalls, the sparks lit up the night. They immediately became inseparable, were married in 1986 in the Scotti Family chapel in Providence, and raised two children, Anna, and Peter, in Washington. Both Thom and Peter predeceased Barbara. Barbara’s tenacity as a community activist and public servant was matched only by her physical courage. Throughout her life, she battled serious illnesses repeatedly and despite all odds, she prevailed. And she did so without a whimper. Over the years, her vision deteriorated, but aided by her faithful four-legged friend Nell, she still shopped at her cherished Eastern Market, held court at her Capitol Hill rowhouse, and traveled back to Rhode Island. Barbara loved the beach, and she and her family spent summers in Narragansett, RI, where her idea of bliss was a humorfilled cocktail hour (perhaps spiced up with a bit of gossip) and a steamed lobster. Like her mother and Aunt Alice B. Dwyer, Barbara had an innate elegance, a hearty laugh, and an unmatched sense of fun. To her friends, Barbara was a wonder of liveliness and kindness. To her brothers and sisters, she could be exasperating, funny, combative, self-effacing, and loving all in the space of five minutes, but never dull. To her nieces and nephews, she was a sympathetic ear, an endlessly caring aunt who could always be relied upon. To her husband and children, she was a font of loyalty and boundless, selfless love. For those lucky enough to have these close relationships, Barbara’s deep lovingness changed their lives for the better. For all she touched, though, Barbara was one thing: extraordinary. Barbara is survived by her daughter, Anna, whose graduation from Georgia Tech with an MS and an MBA Barbara was able to witness in her final hours: three sisters, Paula Shevlin of Jamestown, RI; Elena Scotti of Southwest Harbor, Maine; Alicia Scotti Mandel of New York City: four brothers, all of Rhode Island, Ciro Scotti of Matunuck; Frank Scotti of Jamestown; Peter Scotti of Cranston; Joseph Scotti of Jamestown: 23 nieces and nephews. Barbara was predeceased by her brother N. David Scotti and sisters Maria Scotti Chapin and Rita Scotti. A funeral will be held in Rhode Island in May, and a memorial service will be announced at a later date. Donations in Barbara’s memory may be made to the Holy Comforter/St. Cyprian’s Community Action Group, Capitol Hill Village, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Capitol Hill Montessori or an organization of your choice. ◆ May 2021 ★ 47

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Solar Options for DC Residents ANC6A REPORT by Nick L. Alberti Chair Amber Gove (6A04) convened the April 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.

Solar Options for DC Residents Katya Botwinik, an Energy Program Specialist with the Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) presented on the Solar For All program. The mission of this DOEE program is to bring access to solar energy to 100,000 low to moderate income homes by

2032. DOEE is partnering with organizations across the district to install solar panels on single-family homes and set up community solar projects that will benefit renters. Community solar projects take advantage of off-site solar farms and panel arrays on large buildings like schools and warehouses or built on designated land. This allows renters to enjoy the cheaper, cleaner energy from solar sources even if they cannot install panels on their dwelling. Participants in this program can expect to save, through credits applied to their monthly electricity bills, about $500 per year for 15 years. To learn more or apply, visit doee. dv.gov/solarforall or call (202) 299-5271. Jessica Finnegan, an outreach coordinator for Grid Alternatives, a DC based nonprofit solar installer talked about two programs her organization is also running in partnership with DOEE. They’re offering no-cost solar panel installation for qualifying DC residents as well as the Solar Work DC training program. The training program is for DC residents 18 years of age and older lasts 12 weeks, Monday through Friday, paying $10 per hour. For more information about this training, email solarworksdc@gridalternatives.gov. Residents interested in no-cost solar panel installations must meet an income threshold, own their home, reside in the home and have a roof in good condition as determined by the installers as the solar system will need to be in place for 20 years. Homeowners taking advantage of this program can also expect to see a credit to their Pepco bill of about $500 per year with no additional bills or fees. To learn more, visit gridsolar.org/sfa, email dcoutreach@ gridalternatives.org or call 866-921-4696.

Transportation and Public Space (TPS) Committee •

The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) opposing the issuance of permits for the installation of the small cells in Rosedale until more information is received about the process for selecting locations and the safety of 5G small cell infrastructure; and that DDOT contact ANCs first before issuing permits. • The Commissioners voted to send a letter to DDOT in support of Public Space Permit Application #361713 for the replacement of a retaining wall at 424 11th Street NE. • The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to pass a resolution in support of extending the DC Streetcar to the Benning Road metro station and support for requisite funding in the FY 2022 budget. The Transportation and Public Space Committee meets at 7:00 pm on the third Monday of each month. 48 ★ HILLRAG.COM

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 6A AMBER GOVE, CHAIR, AMBERANC6A@GMAIL.COM 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

ALL ARE WELCOME Economic Development and Zoning Committee •

•

The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of conditional support to the Zoning Commission for a requested modification of consequence (modify number of balconies on eastern façade) for 1701 H Street, NE (ZC 15-31A) on condition that the additional units that are going to be proffered with the 7 th floor addition be made 30% area median income (AMI), or substituted with the same number of units at 30% AMI. The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of conditional support to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for a special exception from the lot occupancy restrictions, the rear addition requirements and the rooftop and upper floor restrictions to construct a new, three-story with cellar and roof deck, rear addition to an existing, two-story with cellar, semi-detached, principal dwelling unit in the RF-1 Zone at 211 13th Street, NE (BZA #20450), on condition that the applicant make best efforts to get letters of support from neighbors. The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of conditional support to the Historic Preservation Office (HPO) for the renovation of an existing single family row home with a rear and third floor addition in the Capitol Hill Historic District relief at 17 9th Street, NE (HPO #21-254), on condition that the applicant make best efforts to get letters of support from neighbors. The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of support to the BZA for a special exception from the lot occupancy requirements and the alley centerline setback requirements to construct a third story addition and roof deck

to an existing two-story flat, and a second story addition to an accessory detached garage in the RF-1 Zone at 308 11th Street, NE (BZA Case #20382). The Economic Development and Zoning Committee meets at 7:00 pm on the third Wednesday of each month.

Other Business •

•

The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to approve a Resolution regarding ANC 6A support for funding the DC Office for the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing in DC’s FY2022 budget. The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to approve the amendment of the ANC 6A FY21 budget to reallocate unused resources from the FedEx and DCPS security line items in the amount of $2,255.00 to grants ($1,870.00) and ZoomPro ($385.00). The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to approve a letter to DDOT requesting installation of speed humps in the 1400 block of Duncan Street NE as indicated in TSA# 20-00287735.

Visit www.anc6a.org for a calendar of meeting times, meeting agendas and other information. u

The Next meeting is 2nd Thursday, May 13, 7:00 p.m. Transportation & Public Space Committee meeting 3rd Monday, May 17, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Economic Development and Zoning Committee meeting 3rd Wednesday, May 19, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Community Outreach Committee meeting 4th Monday, May 24, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee meeting 4th Tuesday, May 25, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx By Laws Review Committee meeting (Ad Hoc Committee) Wednesday, May 26, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Instructions for accessing the meeting via WebEx 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, May 12, 2021. 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

Funds Exhausted for ANC Lawyer in Handle19 Protest ANC 6B Report by Elizabeth O’Gorek

uring the discussion of financial reports at the Wednesday, April 14 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B May 2021 H 49

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attendees were told that the ANC had been billed the entirety of the $14,000 allocated for legal fees. Counsel was retained to support the ANC protest of an application for a liquor license for Handle19, the bar, restaurant and sports book slated for 319 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. The District Alcohol Beverage Control Administration (ABRA) informed ANC 6B on April 1 that Handle19 had withdrawn the application. The Handle19 application for in-house sports betting was denied by DC Lottery in February but was expected to be resubmitted. Sports betting facilities, or sportsbooks, operating in DC have to be operated together with another retail aspect such as a convenience store or restaurant. In January, Commissioner Corey Holman (6B06) made a motion to rescind the allocation of the funds. The motion reallocated them towards restarting the ANC grant program that funds community relief efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Neighbors had declared themselves parties in opposition to the application. At the December ANC meeting, one representative cited statistics showing that a sportsbook would increase neighborhood crime. Commissioners in accord with them argued that sports betting does not belong in a residential neighborhood and will increase both vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the area. With the case, commissioners had hoped to establish guideines on appropriate locations for sports book facilities. Materials prepared for the hearing, originally scheduled for April 8, are now on file with the ANC. However, now that Handle19 has withdrawn its application, there has been no resolution on that issue. At the April meeting, commissioners supported an application for a substantial change in order to add a sports wagering license from the Ugly Mug (723 Eighth St. SE). That application concerned geofenced mobile apps for personal phones rather than physical kiosks. The ANC simultaneously supported the request from the same applicant to offer physical consoles for the electronic game of skill Dragon’s Ascent.

Support for Pacci’s Lincoln Park Zoning Adjustment Commissioners supported a Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) application for a use variance to expand the existing restaurant use at 106 13th St. SE to the cellar and second story of the building. Owner Spiro Gioldasis has been planning to open a Capi50 H HILLRAG.COM

tol Hill location for his Pacci’s restaurants on the site since 2018. The building has been used as a restaurant since 1991, but the top floor and cellar are still zoned residential. The use variance would allow the applicant to expand capacity from 40 on the main floor to include an additional 30 in the cellar and 60 on the second floor, a total of 140 seats. The application had received overwhelming support at the Apr. 6 Planning and Zoning Committee. Upwards of 23 people signed a petition in support of the adjustment. However, the case was pulled from the Apr. 14 consent agenda to give a resident of North Carolina Avenue opportunity to speak. The resident said the expansion was unnecessary to sustain a business and would create undue traffic and parking issues. There is no parking on premises. Historic buildings are exempt from parking requirements. Both Gioldasis and his representation said they expect to primarily serve people coming from the surrounding blocks, meaning that most customers will not drive to the area. However, they are willing to work with nearby churches and schools to rent parking if required. Many commissioners referenced their own families as well as constituents in support of the argument that customers will come from the area via foot or bicycle. Citing the neighborhood desire for a successful business at that location, commissioners supported the BZA application by a vote of 8-0 with one abstention [one commissioner was absent]. Pacci’s Capitol Hill is expected to open by fall 2021. Follow progress on their Facebook Page, www.facebook.com/PaccisCapitol-Hill-2446906155543427/ NOTE: According to former 6B08 Commissioner Chander Jayaraman, the Office of Zoning missed a notice requirement so they are delaying consideration of the Pacci’s BZA case until May 26. Gioldasis acquired the property in 2018.

In Other Business The Commission voted unanimously to support • A concept for a Historic Preservation Application (HPA) for 602 E St. SE to enclose a balcony to add to living space on the rear of the house. Appearing for the applicant, architect Mark Cerny said that he had been part of a 2016 project to open the living space up as a balcony initiated by the previous owner; this project essentially reverses the previous work. • A New Retailer’s Class “A” Internet License for

Select Whiskey LLC, (700 Pennsylvania Ave. SE). The business sells a curated selection of whiskey online. There will be no sales on the premises. A Settlement Agreement (SA) limits delivery hours to 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to midnight on weekends. Commissioners also voted in support of a stipulated license, allowing the business to begin sales immediately pending full ABRA approval. • A letter to District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Interim Director Everett Lott in regard to the I-695 Ramp Traffic Study Update. The study looks to improve cyclist and pedestrian safety along 11 Street SE between I and N Streets SE. Commissioners said that the study was better than the status quo but does not meet the once-in-a-generational opportunity to advance the city’s safety goals. The letter cites in particular narrowing sidewalks, an excessive number of turning lanes and a need for wider bike lanes. • A letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and the District Department of Public Works (DPW) requesting that enforcement of Residential Parking Permit (RPP) zones be resumed by August 1, 2021. The letter also requested that towing of abandoned vehicles be resumed in the ANC. Note: On April 19, Mayor Bowser announced that all parking enforcement and vehicle towing as a result of parking violations would resume as of June 1. • A letter to the City Administrator and Mayor Bowser asking that the city take the lead in finding a new location for a District heliport. Congressional Aviation, which operates the current South Capitol Heliport, will vacate the site in 2022. The company informed ANC 6B that they were no longer interested in seeking to relocate to the corner of 12th and Water Street SE. ANC 6B opposed the heliport on multiple levels, including that it was inconsistent with past community-led planning efforts. The heliport is used by essential services such as Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and local hospital. Commissioners requested that the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) delay hearing an HPA application to make a rear addition and change in front façade from stucco to wood siding at 420 11th St. SE as they had not yet had any communication with the applicant. Appearing were Commissioners Jennifer Samolyk

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(6B01), 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). Commissioner Denise Krepp (6B10) was unable to attend. Learn about Commissioners and committees and subscribe to the ANC 6B newsletter by visiting anc6b.org or connect with the commission via email at 6b@anc. dc.gov or via @ANC6B on Twitter. The next meeting of ANC 6B is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, May. 11, 2021. For the most up-to-date information on meetings and how to join a virtual meeting via Webex, visit anc6b.org. u

Unsafe Bike Lanes Need Addressing ANC 6C Report By Sarah Payne All six ANC commissioners: Christine Healey (6C01), Karen Wirt (6C02), Jay Adelstein (6C03), Mark Eckenwiler (6C04), Joel Kelty (6C05) and Drew Courtney (6C06) were in attendance.

t the April 14 meeting of the ANC 6C, commissioners discussed the development of bike lanes on K Street NE and community concerns surrounding cyclist safety and an update to NOMA public parks.

Cyclist Safety and Bike Lanes Transportation and Public Space Committee Chair Christy Kwan spoke about the recent development and construction on the bike lanes on K Street NE. The project goes down K Street from First St NE westward to Seventh St NE. Kwan said that while the committee is pleased to see development that will allow bikers to bike safely from the neighborhood to Mount Vernon Square and downtown, there are some safety concerns that have not yet been addressed by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). “There are several concerns,” Kwan said. “Mostly about the intersection of First St,. and K St. NE and needing a protected intersection since that’s 52 H HILLRAG.COM

the intersection of two major travel routes. There has not been any recent movement from DDOT to figure out what are the safe biking routes underneath the rail bridge (100 block of K St. NE).” Kwan emphasized that these bike lane concerns have been raised multiple times in the past in the outreach and comment period for these projects. The ANC’s main concern is vehicles turning across the bike lanes at the present traffic light. Additionally, Kwan said she has received feedback from community members raising concerns about the lanes being blocked or inaccessible. Community member Tim echoed these concerns about the blocking of lanes. He emphasized that parked cars are blocking the bike lanes forcing cyclists to merge with traffic, make cycling “more dangerous than if there were no bike lanes at all” for cyclists. “The bike lanes that are supposedly protected in the northeast portion between North Capital St. and First St., I find blocked even more often than the unprotected version,” Tim said. “I just didn’t want it to go unnoted that the only problem is with unprotected portions; it’s really with the whole thing.” The ANC 6B and 6C unanimously voted to send a letter to recommend that a robust protected intersection underneath the rail bridge (100 block of K St. NE) be built; to study the changes of the traffic flow; to consider solutions such as new or different traffic light signals for cars to maximize public safety for walkers and cyclists; to implement a loading zone near a child care facility on the 200 block of K Street NE; and to convert the unprotected bike lanes on K St. NE into protected lanes, as well as to implement floating bus islands to ensure cyclist safety.

NOMA Parks Update The NOMA Parks Foundation will implement three new development programs during the upcoming months to be completed by the end of the calendar year. These projects include the installation of outdoor seating benches in the area, an underpass lighting project and an open park space. The lighting exhibit will be displayed under the (K street) overpass and will feature projector reflected art along the walls of the 430-foot tunnel. The art is expected to change approximately every six months, and the District has plans to work collaboratively with Humanities DC, local and international artists to fill the space. The Swampoodle II park (Third and L streets NE), situated just north of the Swampoodle dog park and playground, is expected to be constructed this

year. The plans show that this park will be a passive park space with benches, chairs, tables and a large lawn space with Astroturf, a type of artificial grass. There will also be a recycled shipping container to be used for community storage space or food and drink distribution at various events. The ANC did not vote on the NOMA park update, but the Environment, Parks, and Events Committee expressed support for these plans. Commissioner Kelty, however, expressed concern about the potential toxicity of the artificial grass in the park.

Additional Items • The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) released a notice of intent to expand the hours of a commercial loading zone on First St. NE across from Union Station, a one-hour zone available 24/7. The ANC plans to send a letter in response to this notice and to CC the Department of Public Works (DPW) and parking enforcement manager Johnny Gaither, noting support of the initiative and emphasizing that DDOT and DPW need to closely coordinate with these changes. • Two Board of Zoning adjustment (BZA) applications were discussed, one at (1165 Third St. NE) which is an application for special exceptions from lot occupancy requirements and rear yard requirements to construct a three-story rear addition that was previously rejected by the ANC. There have been “significant” changes made to the application since its opposition in the ANC, and the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development (PZE) committee recommended that Commissioner Eckenwiler and Commissioner Courtney be appointed as witnesses to appear before the BZA committee. • The second BZA application at (1173 Third St. NE) was also formerly opposed by the ANC and was revised. The proposal’s opposition came as a result of a failure to comply with the requirements of regulations for special exceptions, among other issues. The PZE committee recommends Commissioner Eckenwiler and Commissioner Courtney serve as authorized as witnesses before the BZA in the next hearing on April 28. • Wunder Garten (1101 First St NE) requested permission to extend its operating hours and open earlier in the morning for both corporate events and sports game viewing. The Alcohol Beverage Licencing (ABL) Committee recommended that chair Steve O’Neil be authorized

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The next meeting of ANC 6C is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, May 12 via Webex. Visit anc6c.org for a link to join their monthly meetings or for more information about the commission. Sarah Payne is a History and Neuroscience student at The University of Michigan interning with HillRag. She writes for and serves as an assistant news editor for Michigan’s student newspaper, The Michigan Daily. You can reach her at sarahp@hillrag.com. ◆

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Commission Blasts DDOT on Safety Concerns ANC 6D REPORT by Andrew Lightman Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D met April 12 over WebEx. Commissioners Andrew Bossi (6D01), 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 in attendance.)

he Interim Director of the DC Dept. of Transportation (DDOT) Everett Lott visited to listen to commissioner concerns. Led by Chair Daniels, commissioners questioned him intently. The session began with Chair Daniels expressing his anger at the destruction of six heritage trees located on Maine Avenue SW next to Arena Stage. The trees’ roots were damaged by a DDOT contract. The fines are likely to total thouMay 2021 ★ 53

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sands of dollars, Lott stated. Daniels reiterated his extreme disappointment in DDOT’s management of its paving contractor. Discussion then turned to the subject of protected I Street bike lanes. Commissioners raised concerns about their integration with the pickup/ drop-off zones currently in front of Amidon-Bowen Elementary School and also planned for the senior housing under development across the street at Westminster Church. DDOT Bike Specialist Gregg Matlesky promised to balance the needs of bike riders with those of seniors and students. His design team is working to separate the lanes from the pickup/drop-off areas. He promised to return to the commission to brief them once plans were finalized. Commission Kramer immediately objected. “We need some way of considering alternatives,” she stated, suggesting a sit down with commissioners. She then proceeded to pepper the DDOT staff with questions. How many parking spaces are being lost? How were the numbers of garage spaces generated and how were they factored in? These garages are private, not public, she pointed out. 75 spaces would be eliminated on I Street, Matlesky responded. In Southwest, 20 residential and 30 metered spots would be eliminated. Chair Daniels turned the discussion to difficulties of getting DDOT to correct small signage and street marking issues. The agency is adding contractors to speed the process, stated Lott. Safety is the first priority and work is often clustered by locality, he added. “I find it unfortunate that it takes a child being hit at Third Pl and L St SE to get DDOT to issue a Notice of Intent (NOI) to look at the issue. How many plans and surveys are needed before you fix an issue that any lay person could analyze in five seconds,” said Chair Daniels. Move DC incorporates all of this, responded Lott. Asked about a new parking overlay plan for the stadiums, Lott responded that there was no revision to the existing plan. Commissioners pressed Lott to commit his agency to creating a comprehensive transportation plan for Capitol Riverfront and Southwest. DDOT does not create to that level of neighborhood planning, Ward 6 DDOT Community Engagement Specialist Andrew DeFrank responded. “There will not be a 6D specific transportation analysis,” he stated.

Capitol Riverfront Update Capitol Riverfront BID Executive Director Michael 54 H HILLRAG.COM

Stevens briefed the commission on the work of his organization. Stevens touted a DDOT funded, M Street Mobility Plan being conducted in partnership with Southwest BID and DDOT. This multimodal study looks at the M Street Corridor from 11th Street SE to South Capitol. His BID is also studying plans for the highway underpasses, the completion of affordable housing, creation of additional parks, river accessibility and civic infrastructure such as schools, libraries and firehouses. Stevens expects the population of the Capitol Riverfront BID to grow to 35,000. The BID is working with the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) to increase affordable housing beyond the replacement of the original Arthur Capper/Carrollsburg units. Also, ensuring that DCHA incorporates ground floor retail into its developments. The Yards Park water features will reopen on Memorial Day. There will be signage for Covid safety and breaks for purification. The BID plans to hire two officers for security in Yards Park. Operations will return to normal in the fall, he stated. Also Pepco will be consolidating the equipment in its substation just north of the Buzzard Point Power Plant into that building’s interior.

45 Q Street SW Community Agreement Dennis Lee, the developer of 45 Q Street SW apartment project, complained about their lack of good faith. “You (the commission) want the benefits without giving us the support. It doesn’t make any sense to me.” Speaking about the project, Commissioner Hamilton objected to its size, glass façade and public space intrusion. She remained concerned that the construction will lead to the displacement of current residents. However, the real issue turned out to be a “Good Neighbor Agreement” (GNA) that Lee had negotiated with neighboring residents to which the commission was not a party. Lee wanted the commission to go on record in favor of his project before agreeing to sign the GNA. He also objected to incorporating a cash request from a neighboring business into its terms. “We are not accepting a cash contribution in return for our support,” stated Hamilton, noting the GNA had nothing to do with the commission. Commissioners resolved however to support the GNA with two abstentions.

Greenleaf Redevelopment While DCHA has been meeting monthly with Greenleaf residents, the agency has not met with the larger community, commissioners complained. The180 day negotiate period granted to DCHA director by the agency’s board of governors ends to ink the redevelopment deal ends on May 12. The agency, commissioners complained, has still not identified units for a “Build First” approach ot Greenleaf ’s redevelopment. DCHAs’ Director may attended the commission’s May meeting, Chair Daniels stated. The commission voted unanimously to send letter to the mayor, DC Council and DCHA asking for a greater role in Greenleaf ’s redevelopment.

Other Matters Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Lt. George Donigian briefed the commission on public safety. Stolen autos were a growing issue in April mainly in the Capitol Riverfront. They are usually stolen while left running and unattended, Donigian stated. There were three robberies and five assaults involving a weapon. Many involved juveniles. Additional police resources are being used to deal with stadium events. What was MPD’s policy on policing ATV riders, asked Chair Daniels? Their street antics can really injure bystanders, he added. “It is a loaded question. I wish I had an answer for you. Unfortunately, chasing doesn’t work. Even approaching on foot results in an outrageous confrontation. What we have been doing is capturing them on video and trying to identify them,” Donigian responded. It is a minor violation that only rarely results in jail time, he added. Officers are working on identifying the riders and securing arrest warrants. However, this is difficult because the bikes are not registered, he stated. The Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement presented an overview of its programs. Community Services Agency Executive Director Sylvia Casaro Dietert briefed the commission on the Randall School Pre-Apprenticeship program. The initiative will train 10 to 15 ANC 6D residents for construction jobs at the Randall School project. The program starts on April 26. They are recruiting participants now. The commission voted unanimously to: • support The Army Ten Miler on Oct. 10 using the same race course as in 2019; • send a letter to District agencies regarding loading dock at Parc Riverside and send Jared Weiss

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BULLETIN BOARD ly significant people who have made Capitol Hill their home); and Community Evolution near Logan School (focusing on the neighborhood east of Union Station, a look at how the city and citizens turned once-unbuildable land into a welcoming neighborhood). The Tour of Tours also includes an “Artists at Home” component. Local artists have been invited to display their work on their porches or in a tented front yard. chrs.org/2021-mothers-day-tour-of-tours/.

Adaptive Reuse of Our Alley Buildings, CHRS Presentation May 19 Since the nineteenth century, alley buildings have contributed to both the footprint and function of Capitol Hill. Though not visible from the street, these structures have served varied and important roles in neighborhood life. The last several decades have witnessed rapid and substantial reimagining of these buildings. On Wednesday, May 19 at 6:30 p.m., the Capitol Hill Restoration Society will host a virtual presentation with Architectural Conservator Justine Bellow who will explore this boom in the adaptive reuse of alley buildings to meet contemporary needs. Free. For details, visit chrs.org/adaptive-reusealley-buildings-pc/. Photo: Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens/Megan Singleton

Volunteer at Kenilworth Park

Capitol Hill Community Achievement Awards, May 19 Each spring, Capitol Hill neighbors come together to honor individuals whose distinguished service to our community benefits us all. Through the generosity of Capitol Hill residents and businesses who sponsor and attend the Dinner, funds are raised to support the Foundation’s Community Grants and projects. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the 37th annual awards were postponed until 2021. They now invite you to attend a virtual event on Wednesday, May 19, 7:30 p.m., to honor Patricia Joseph, Bonny Wolf, and Kathleen Donahue. They will also recognize the recipients of the 2020 and 2021 Arnold F. Keller, Jr. grants of $20,000: Everyone Home DC for outreach services for homeless individuals in the community, and Serve Your City for coordinating the local emergency response during the pandemic. To receive the link, donate to the Capitol Hill Community Foundation at any level before May 19. Your donation will support the Foundation’s Community Grants to the critical organizations, institutions, and projects. capitolhillcommunityfoundation.com/achievement-awards.

On Saturday, May 22, 9 a.m. to noon, volunteer at Kenilworth Park for a morning of park stewardship. Participate in a variety of activities including invasive plant removal, litter collection, flower bed weeding and trail maintenance. Some activities involve working in shallow ponds. Registration is open to groups and individuals. Space is limited for this event due to COVID. For this reason, there will be no walk-up registration. They ask that you only register if you are 100% certain you will be in attendance. They provide all necessary tools and supplies including gloves, boots, waders, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, trash bags, trash pickers and more. They recommend you bring a water bottle, snack, hat, string bag, a change of clothes, and sunscreen. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens is at 1550 Anacostia Ave. NE. Register at kenaqgardens.org/calendar.

CHRS Mother’s Day Tour of Tours The Capitol Hill Restorations Society’s Mother’s Day Tour of Tours, on May 8 and 9, includes walking tours: Hollywood on the Hill (filming locations on Capitol Hill with Author Mike Canning); The Resistance (sites significant to civil rights for women, minorities and the LGBTQ+ community); Our Industrial Past (industrial and commercial sites, many of which have been repurposed); Parks--Treasures of Capitol Hill (the history of Marion and Garfield Parks and their surrounding neighborhood); Whimsy of Capitol Hill (search for amusing yard ornaments--a guided version, with fresh images, of the scavenger hunt posted on our website last year); Notable People of Capitol Hill (sites associated with many of the historical56 H HILLRAG.COM

Hill Center May Online Classes Hill Center Online classes this month are: May 4, 6 p.m., Family Style Series-Jackfruit Tacos; May 6, 6 p.m., On the Cooling Rack--Peanut Butter & Banana Pie; May 8, 11 a.m., Flower Arranging with Olga Berman--Hand-tied Technique

EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF CAPITOL HILL & BEYOND ($25); May 11, 6 p.m., Family Style Series--Congolese Chicken Mwamba; May 13, 6 p.m., Comfort Food for the Whole Family--Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes; May 15, 6:30 p.m., Dinner for Two--Fish Tacos; May 18, 6 p.m., Kitchen 101--Knife Skills; May 20, 6 p.m., On the Cooling Rack--Fudge Krispies & Malted Milk Chocolate Bars. These online classes are $20, unless otherwise noted. hillcenterdc.org.

Farmers Market Opens at RFK Campus On Thursdays and Saturdays through mid-December, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Festival Grounds at RFK Campus hosts a Farmer’s Market. eventsdc.com/venue/festivalgrounds-rfk-campus.

What Happened During the 2020 Census? On Monday, May 10, 7 p.m., Hill resident and census expert Dr. Constance Citro will present a free on-line lecture to explore what happened during the 2020 census, what we know about the results (which have not yet been released), and the possible impact on redistricting and on our democracy. This lecture is sponsored by Capitol Hill Village. It is free and open to the public. To register and join the on-line discussion, visit capitolhill.helpfulvillage.com.

Ward 6 Walk-Up Vaccination Sites for 65+ DC residents who are 65 and older are now able to get vaccinated without an appointment at walk-up sites across DC. Each site, which will administer either the two-dose Pfizer vaccine or the two-dose Moderna vaccine, will be able to accommodate up to 30 walk-ins each day. The Ward 6 walk-up sites are

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Rosedale Rec Center, 1701 Gales St. NE; Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW, Thursday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. vaccinate.dc.gov.

Capitol Riverfront Drive-in Movies

down & Chris Paul; May 30, The Amish Outlaws; June 4, The Reagan Years. berchmere.com.

DC Live Candlelight Concerts Listening to classical music by candlelight in a beautiful setting sounds like the peaceful haven we all need. Calm your mind and experience classical music in a new light with these sensational concerts in some of Washington DC’s most magical locations—indoors and open air. Candlelight invites everyone to relive the greatest works of classical music, from Vivaldi to Mozart to Bach, in an intimate atmosphere. $20 to $55. secretdc.com/candlelight-concerts-dc.

Through May 28, join the Capitol Riverfront BID for a Friday night drive-in movie series at The Stacks in Buzzard Point, 101 V St. SW, featuring popular films inspired by all of your post-pandemic goals including traveling, concerts, house parties, Met Galas, and more! Each movie is a fun, contact-free experience for all ages and will have space for 100 vehicles set at an appropriCarpe Librum Used Book Sale ate social distance. Movie-goers can On Saturdays, May 15 and June 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., join Carpe Librum in the southsecure their spot at a cost of $20 per ern block of Canal Park, 200 M St. SE, for a pop-up, socially distant nonprofit used National World War I car, per movie. All funds will be dobook sale. Browse through thousands of books all under $6 in a safe, outdoor setting. Memorial Flag Raising nated to local charities. Here’s the Crowd size limited to 50 at any time. These book sales are weather dependent. capiOn April 16, the World War I Cenremaining lineup: May 7, Ocean’s tolriverfront.org/canal-park. tennial Commission celebrated the Eight (PG-13) benefiting DC CenInaugural Raising of the Flag of the tral Kitchen; May 14, Remember United States of America over the A complete list of events and acceptable items can be the Titans (PG) benefiting Unity Health Care; May newly constructed National World War I Memorial found at rlgamericas.com/DCecycling. 22, Booksmart (R) benefiting Living Classrooms; site in Pershing Park. The Memorial pays everlastand May 28, Bridesmaids (R) benefiting Capitol ing tribute to 4.7 million Americans who served their Nearby Live Music Area Food Bank. Attendees must be registered with nation in WWI, 200,000 who were wounded, and Live music at The Hamilton, 600 14th St. NW: May an Eventbrite ticket to enter this event. No tickets will 116,516 who paid the ultimate price. It is a memo7, Oh He Dead; May 8, Pressing Strings; May 14, Eric be sold onsite. eventbrite.com/e/capitol-riverfrontrial to all Americans who supported their troops and Scott; May 15, Jamie McLean Band; May 21 and 22, spring-drive-in-movie-series-tickets-150100812571. did so with pride, then as they do now. Pershing Park The 19th Street Band; May 28, Joey Harkum. thelies within an area bordered by Pennsylvania Avenue hamiltondc.com. Free eWaste Recycling Events and 14th, 15th and E Streets, NW. firstcolors.worldLive music at The State Theater, 220 North in DC war1centennial.org. Washington St., Falls Church, VA: May 2, Robbin DC residents, small businesses and non-profits can Kapsalis and Vintage #18; May 6, A Tribute to the recycle electronics without cost at e-waste recycling DC Shorts Free Film Festival Red Hot Chili Peppers; May 8, Berlin Calling; May events throughout 2021. Upcoming events are on DC Shorts presents over 375 films from the past ten 9, Lush; May 13, 19th Street Band; May 19, NoMay 8, Kennedy Street and Colorado Avenue, NW; years for your viewing pleasure. Sort through the where Men; May 21, Caligula Blushed; May 27, Ken May 15, Seventh Street and Monroe Street, NE; May genres or years they were programmed and click to Wenzel & Cross Kentucky. thestatetheatre.com. 22, I Street NW (east of Mount Vernon Triangle watch. All films may be watched full-screen--and many Live music at the Birchmere, 3701 Mount VerFarmer’s Market); June 5, 41st Street between Alaare in HD. More films are added all the time, so check non Ave., Alenandia, VA: May 2, A Phyllis Hyman bama Avenue and Fort Dupont Street SE. All e-waste back often. archive.dcshorts.com. Tribute; May 7, Stephen Kellogg; May 8, We Are ne recycling events are held rain or shine from 10 a.m. to X-perience; May 9, Troubadours; May 11, Suzanne 2 p.m. Covered electronic equipment includes deskThe Business of the Arts Vega; May 14, The Bob Seger Experience; May 15, A top and laptop computers, tablets, E-readers, smallProfessional Development Series Tribute to Little Feat; May 16, Devon Lamarr Organ scale servers, portable digital music players that are The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities’ Trio; May 20, Ana Popovic; May 21, Tommy Emmanbattery powered, computer monitors, mice, keyBusiness of the Arts Professional Development Seuel; May 22, White Ford Bronco; May 23, The Bob boards, desktop printers, televisions, VCRs, DVD ries provides knowledge and skills related to fundBand; May 28, Molly Tuttle; May 29, Huggy Lowplayers, gaming consoles used with TVs and more. 58 H HILLRAG.COM

G G ROOFING raising and development, marketing and public relations, legal concerns and entrepreneurship. Free workshops and seminars are led by accomplished professionals and subject matter experts. Register for future workshops and listen-in to past workshops at dcarts.dc.gov/ page/business-arts.

The Kennedy Center Couch Concerts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces a free, live digital performance initiative, Couch Concerts, to help inspire, uplift, heal, and bring the performing arts from the homes of artists into homes across the country and around the world during these difficult times. For 23 years, Millennium Stage has brought free performances to audiences in person at the Center and virtually through a livestream. The Kennedy Center will now stream concerts direct from artists’ homes at 4 p.m., every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday while the Kennedy Center remains closed, due to COVID-19. Visit the Couch Concert archive at kennedy-center.org/whats-on/millennium-stage/couch-concerts.

Sixth & I’s Virtual Shabbat Sixth & I is a mission and valuesdriven community dedicated to bringing people together. Accordingly, they offer a virtual Shabbat experience every Friday night on facebook.com/sixthandi for the foreseeable future. Since they use many different melodies during services, they have created a music library to help you feel more comfortable adding your voice to the community. Follow the links at sixthandi.org/jewish-life/shabbat-music/ to listen to audio files for each prayer and download the transliteration.

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Public Art Request for Applications

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The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is soliciting applications from qualified individual artists or organizations for its Fiscal Year 2022 Public Art Building Communities Grant Program. Multiple awards may be made under this RFA. Award amounts vary. The program supports individual artists and organizations in their effort to design, fabricate and install new temporary or permanent works of public art that connect artists (and their artwork) with communities. Submission deadline is July 16. For more information and to submit an application, visit dcarts.dc.gov/page/ public-art-building-communities.

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DC Palestinian Film & Arts Festival Call for Submissions The DC Palestinian Film & Arts Festival (DCPFAF) is looking for film entries from Palestinian directors, producers, and writers for their festival this October. The DCPFAF showcases the diverse and creative work of Palestinian filmmakers and artists across the globe. They want to spark conversations about film, culture, and diaspora, starting with the perspectives of Palestinian artists. They accept feature films, documentaries, shorts, animation and experimental works. Submission deadline is May 31. dcpfaf.org/submit.

Shared Motor Driven Cycle Pilot Continues DDOT has announced plans to continue the demonstration pilot for motor-driven cycles, also known as mopeds, through December 31, 2021, as part of the District’s continued commitment to foster new shared mobility options. DDOT launched the pilot program in 2019 to enhance and increase mobility access by exploring an alterna-

Apple billboards throughout DC have recently featured the Atlas Performing Arts Center marquee. There was one driving into the city on the side of RFK Stadium and one on 395 near the Capitol. Here’s how it happened. Chris Cardi is an artist and activist. He started the ﬁrst-ever H Street 5K last summer to raise funds for Covid Relief and to register DC voters. The Atlas had just begun their #MarqueeMessage campaign to help lift spirits on H Street and Chris asked if he could use their marquee for the weekend of his big race.

tive to private vehicle ownership and offering another Mobility On Demand service to all District residents while reducing transportation-based emissions. Applicants interested in participating in the demonstration pilot should contact DDOT at ddot.parking@dc.gov. Relevant terms and conditions are at ddot.dc.gov/page/shared-motordriven-cycles-district.

New Dialing Procedure for Customers with the 202 Area Code All customers with the 202 area code should prepare for 10-digit dialing and the introduction of the new 771 area code. The 771 area code will be added as an overlay to the 202 region. An overlay is the addition of another area code to the same geographic region served by an existing area code (202). An overlay does not require customers to change their existing area code, but does require customers to dial the area code to complete local calls. A six-month permissive dialing period began April

Remember the Pearl event at the Southwest Duck Pond was held on April 15 commemorating the escape to freedom by enslaved people in 1848 from the southwest waterfront. Photo: Courtesy of The Southwester

10, 2021. During this period, local calls can be made with either 7 or 10 digits, and all calls that are local will continue to be local even though you dial 10 digits. Beginning Oct. 9, 2021, all local calls made within the DC 202 area code must be placed using 10 digits (area code + the 7-digit telephone number). On and after this date, calls placed using just 7 digits will not be completed. Beginning Nov. 9, 2021, new telephone lines or services may be assigned numbers using the new 771 area code. dcpsc.org.

Hotline Provides Emergency Medication to Stop HIV DC Health has launched the District’s Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) Hotline, a new resource for people who may have been exposed to HIV. PEP is emergency medication taken to prevent HIV and has to be started within 72 hours of possible exposure. The DC PEP Hotline is open 24/7 and can be reached by calling 202-2993737. GetPEPDC.org.

DC Vaccination Help The pre-registration system can now be accessed through vaccinate.dc.gov as well as the District’s call center at 1-855-363-0333. Eligible individuals are encouraged to visit the website or call the call center throughout the day to pre-register. With this pre-registration system, there is no need to scramble to be online or to call at a spe-

cific time. At this time, the order in which individuals register will not affect the order in which they are selected; a person who registered today at 8:30 a.m. will be in the same position as a person who registers at 6:30 p.m. Eligible individuals can register online at any time on any day via vaccinate.dc.gov, or register by phone Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or on Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The pre-registration questionnaire now includes a question about an individual’s vaccine preference. An individual’s response will not impact whether or when they are selected for a vaccination appointment. At the time of booking, individuals will continue to see which vaccine is available at each available appointment. DC Health continues to urge Washingtonians to take the first vaccine available to them.

COVID-19 Rent Assistance

STAY DC is a $352 Million fund for District residents that will pay up to 12 months of back rent and utilities or three months forward of rent and utilities for residents experiencing financial difficulties due to Covid. The STAY DC program launched last week. Renters can apply for economic support with rental assistance and utilities payments. There is also a Spanish language translation and hopefully other languages coming soon. The site is: http://stay.dc.gov. u May 2021 H 61

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home and garden MONI & MANDI

The Hill’s Hot New Furniture Refurbishing Company

This chair, purchased from Facebook Marketplace and restored to china blue, gives oﬀ “Bridgerton vibes,” say Moni and Mandi. Courtesy: Moni&Mandi

by Elizabeth O’Gorek

onica (Moni) Patel and Amanda (Mandi) Vivian met three years ago when they joined the same DC Fray flag football team. When DC Fray suspended the league at the end of summer 2020, the two friends, both in their late 20s, found themselves at loose ends. “It was COVID,” Amanda recalled. “We couldn’t do anything— we didn’t even have football to occupy us on the weekends.” So Mandi and Moni, did what you’d expect two young football players to do: they started a furniture refurbishing business out of Moni’s back yard.“ I kept seeing people do this on TikTok,” said Mandi, “and I kept sending them to Moni, like, Moni, we could do this. This looks really fun.” That day, she came home and there was a table on the corner near her Capitol Hill home. “I was like, “come and get it! This is going to be our first project.” Their pieces sell quickly. Mandi and Moni learned the arts of staging and photography from TikTok (one photo features the two in bubblegum pink wigs). Furniture is photographed as mis en scene, staged to help people see how each piece —whether antique, vintage or bold— can fit into their homes and their lives. “We try to show people what their

This was the ﬁrst piece Moni&Mondi worked on. “We were driving by and saw this gorgeous chair on the side walk! As soon as we saw the seat color we knew this had potential,” they said. It sold to a Capitol Hill buyer the day it was posted. Courtesy: @Moni&Mandi

Monica Patel and Amanda Vivian founded furniture reinvigoration company Moni&Mandi. Photo: Raj Gandhi @therajgandhi

May 2021 ★ 63

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Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 350 7TH ST. SE, Washington, DC 20003

house can look like if they acquire a piece,” Moni said. “Most people are a bit scared to go outside the box and use different colors —it’s nice to see what you can do with it.” The business started out of a love of color and design and a desire to restore the beauty of furniture that might otherwise be wasted. The work is beginning to fill in the daily spaces around their full-time employment, Mandi said. In their day jobs, Mandi works for a heath care not-for-profit and Moni is a pediatric nurse practitioner. Redesigning cabinets in geometric patterns and recasting chairs in candy pink may seem a long way from those roles, but Monica said that it compliments their chosen professions very well. “We’re very stressed in our jobs,” she said. “A lot of this is us being able to drill things or hammer things,” she said. “It has been very helpful in our lives.” They pick up pieces from online sites and Facebook Marketplace, selecting that unique intersection of potential with pricing. They also find their pieces on curbs and street corners, rescuing articles whose quality is still visible beneath the varnish of age. That quality is clear even from the passenger seat, said Mandi. Once, when Mandi and Moni were driving to a friend’s house with Moni’s spouse, they forced him to swerve and pull over —they had spotted a large, stuffed chair on the side of the road that just had to fit in the car. Not only do they resurrect furniture, they also use leftover paint that District residents often have difficulty disposing of once their projects are complete, matching the colors to the pieces they will best enhance. Through experimenting, they have learned a great deal about upholstering, carpentry and painting, moving from brushes and rollers to spray technique. “Everything is about trial and error,” said Moni. “We’ve had our fair share of error.”

Now, they are receiving commissions through their instagram page, @monimandidc, helping customers to meet their visions. They’ve been asked to come out to a home 45 minutes outside the District to reimagine a set of heavy china cabinets. They’ve also branched out, refurbishing and donating furniture to The Purple Stars Foundation, which works with unhoused people in the District. When the District matches an unhoused person to a new place to live, they often aren’t provided with furniture to make it a home. Through the Purple Stars Foundation (purplestarsfoundation.com), Moni&Mandi are hoping to do a little to help make a house a home. They plan to build up their craft and their business to meet the standards of their own creativity and passions. “We’re going to be the hot young furniture girls,” Mandi jokes. But they also want to ensure their customers, past, present and future are as happy with the work as they are. They diligently monitor and respond to messages on Instagram and Facebook, where they meet most of their customer base, sell their work and arrange pick-up and delivery. Do you have a refurbishment project in mind, or are you in search of something newly reborn? Connect with Moni&Mandi on Instagram @MoniandMandidc and on Facebook facebook.com/monimandidc. You can also reach them via email at MoniMandiDC@gmail.com or by telephone at 202-618-2224. u

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GET HELP WITH DCRA CONTRACTOR RATING SYSTEM

System Joins Permit Wizard to Help Residents Make Project Decisions

etting work done on your home or business can be an anxious road to travel. How can you be sure the contractor is dependable? How much experience do they have navigating the District’s inspection and permitting systems? The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) is well aware of those concerns. “DCRA frequently hears the real life nightmares of District residents, often senior citizens, who pay for renovations and repairs, but don’t receive the work for which they have paid,” said a spokesperson. “Unfortunately, the options for recourse after the fact are sometimes limited, and always a headache.” Enter the DCRA Contractor Rating System, which arms residents with information so they can hire contractors who possess a proven track record of proper licensing, construction and inspections. While ratings from customers are available on platforms such as Yelp, Angie’s List and Google, DCRA says their Contractor Rating System is both different from and complementary to those systems. “As a licensing and enforcement agency, we are in a unique position to objectively provide public information regarding a building professional’s actual performance, both on a single project and overall,” the agency writes. “DCRA does not provide recommendations, but empowers you, the customer, with information so that you can make a betterinformed decision.” The information in the DCRA rating system can be paired with customer reviews from other sites to help prospective clients make better choices based on their needs. Ratings are based on DCRA’s past experience with professionals, taking into account quality of plans at intake, caliber at review and the pass/fail rate for inspections. Projects are categorized, and professionals given percentile scores, with different weights assigned to categories for differing professionals. Each star is worth 20 percent, meaning a 4.5 star rating indicates a 80-89 percent score. Some contractors won’t be found in the sys-

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by Elizabeth O’Gorek Most new residential tem. In order to be listand commercial construced, they must be licensed tion require a building perin the District and have mit as well as building plans worked on a project in the during submission. The past three years. They may building plans must be dealso be listed under a difsigned to the current buildferent name; for instance, ing code and local design an architect may be listed criteria. A site plan may also as part of a firm. be necessary based on the The system was land disturbance activity of launched March 9. It will expand in phases, to fathe property construction. cilitate improvements and If you are starting a feedback. It started out project and want help dewith architects and interitermining what kind of peror designers, general conmits will be required, use tractors and home improvethe new DCRA Permit Wizment contractors. Phase Department of Consumer and Regulatory ard (https://dcra.dc.gov/ permitwizard). Customers two will include electri- Affairs (DCRA) Director Ernest Chrappah demthe Contractor Rating System at the are guided through a series cians, plumbers, gasfitters onstrates March 9 launch event. Courtesy: DCRA of questions, and the Permit as well as professionals in Wizard will identify the persprinkler systems, refrigermits needed for the entire project – customers no ation and air-conditioning. The final phase will add longer have to know permit types in advance. It also permit expediters and professional engineers. identifies any additional required documentation When fully launched, there will be 4,731 proand anticipated inspections. fessionals in the Contractor Rating System. If you Here are six things that everybody should be know which contractor you are interested in, you aware of before coming to DCRA for any type of can use the system to see how seamlessly a project permit: was guided through planning and inspection. How1. Many permits for small home improveever, you can also use the system to find a profesments can be obtained online through the DCRA sional for your project. Permit Wizard. Select the type of business professional you 2. Any time construction work involves ocare looking for, and then sort them by either their cupying the public space (sidewalk, public street name, overall score or star rating. Selecting their and alley), you must get a public space permit from name gives you a list of recent projects and their the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) overall scores. (https://ddot.dc.gov/) before a DCRA permit can Check out the Contractor Rating System for be issued. yourself at https://govservices.dcra.dc.gov/con3. Any construction that takes place beyond tractorratingsystem. the authorized construction hours of 7 a.m. and 7 Six Permitting Tips p.m. requires an After-Hours permit (https://dcra. Perhaps you want to get a read on what kind of perdc.gov/afterhourspermit) that must be approved by mits and documentation are required for your project. DCRA.

4. Anyone can check any property restrictions on an address prior to applying for a permit by using the SCOUT program from the DCRA website (https://scout.dcra.dc.gov/ login). The Online Resources page (https://dcra.dc.gov/service/view-online-resources) also gives District residents information about permits issued, illegal construction, violations, inspections and vacant building data. 5. Anyone can check eRecords (https://dcra.dc.gov/ erecords) for construction permit documents involving structural support or an adjoining property (land, building or structure) requiring Neighbor Notification (https://dcra. dc.gov/neighborhood-notification-program). 6. Scout allows residents the option to track their permit applications by providing the Application ID or property address. You can also see how other government agencies are involved in permitting process by using the DCRA Agency Dashboard at https://eservices.dcra. dc.gov/DCRAAgencyDashboard/index. This will allow you to see how each agency and the customer contributes to the timeline for issuing a permit. The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) issues business licenses and building permits; conducts inspections; enforces building, housing, and safety codes and regulates land use and development. Questions? Use the live chat feature on the website, call (202) 442-4400 Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or email dcra@dc.gov. To learn more about DCRA, visit the website at DCRA. dc.gov. u

The Capitol Hill Garden Club presents

DEAR GARDEN PROBLEM LADY, by Wendy Blair In April I realized my Flowering Quince, which burst suddenly into glorious peachy-orange blooms, is the biggest star of my garden. It has lived in a pot for at least 4 years and is total perfection. I should have more of it, shouldn’t I? First, where? It needs full sun. Do you have enough sun -- and space? Second, what will two potted flowering Quinces look like – or three? Third, this glorious shrub blooms for three weeks before turning nondescript and straggly for the rest of the year. You wisely put it in a pot to control its growth, and now, as always, you must cut it back so it can survive in the pot. It’s true many gardeners make the opposite mistake and order fewer plants than are needed to make a decent show. But why mess with perfection? More would be less. Since January, all over Capitol Hill, I’ve been noticing and coveting the beautiful pansies -- but my husband says I can’t plant any in our garden now because they’re over. Yes, they are. Beloved annuals for cool months, pansies just can’t survive temperatures much higher than 75’ Fahrenheit. I’ve just learned that foxgloves are biennial plants. What precisely does this mean? I feel a bit blind-sided, and need to understand my newly bought foxglove plants. Annuals complete their life cycle in one year. Perennials live many years. (Perennial flowers and leaves may die to the ground after frost, but their roots survive the winter.) Biennial plants live for two years. The first year they grow leaves, stems and roots, then go dormant for the winter. In the second year the biennial will flower, produce seeds, and die. But despair not. You can make foxgloves last by planting their seeds every year. The seeds are prolific

– every single individual foxglove has a seedpod filled with hundreds of seeds. When the seedpods are about to open, tip the seeds into an envelope or jar. To germinate properly, these seeds need cold weather, so scatter them in late autumn, or else late January before sunshine warms the earth. Each germinated seed will become a full plant that will live 2 years. In order to be certain that you have foxgloves blooming every year, just collect and plant the seeds every year. How much shade do foxgloves need? The hotter the summers, the more shade foxgloves need. Foxgloves are hardy in gardening zones 4 through 10. They can survive in full sun in zone 3, but in DC, where summer days can reach 95’F for days, they are happiest in midday and afternoon shade. The Capitol Hill Garden Club will reconvene in September. Until then please consult our website at capitolhillgardenclub.org. 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

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GRUBB’S PHARMACY’S GARDEN A Gift To The Neighborhood Article and Photos by Rindy O’Brien

pring has been remarkably beautiful in 2021. A few warm days mixed with the cooler and wetter weather have created a perfect condition for the blooming trees and early spring flowers. Some seasons the flowers seem to bloom one set at a time, but this year the tulips, daffodils, dogwoods, redbuds, phlox, and wisteria all are arriving simultaneously. The result is like walking into a colorful painting. No doubt, our appreciation of this spring is enhanced by the fact that, slowly but surely, we are finally emerging from the long COVID pandemic. We can now be tested and receive vaccinations. Grubbs Pharmacy located at 326 East Capitol Street, S.E. is home to one local testing and vaccinating site. The longest operating community pharmacy in DC, this business has been an integral part of the Hill neighborhood for over 150 years. Joan Kim and her husband, Dr. Michael Kim,

have owned the pharmacy for almost 20 years. In 2006, they renovated the interior of the store and, in 2011, they decided to transform the very tired looking outdoor area into a nice formal garden. “It required excavating all the old soil and layers of wear and tear, basically starting over,” says Joan.

Creating A Garden Haven The garden itself is divided into two parts, separated by the walkway to the main entrance. On the left hand side sits a very large oak tree, and in the neighboring yard a large holly tree. This side of the garden doesn’t receive much sun. Wisely, two large Victorian black urns have been planted with heuchera plants that do better in shady and cool spots. The plants

Joan Kim, co-owner of Grubb’s Pharmacy, in the formal garden at the corner of 4th and East Capitol Streets, S.E.

Grubb’s Pharmacy is the oldest community pharmacy in Washington, DC, having been founded in 1867, and is currently doing COVID rapid testing, and administering vaccinations.

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are perennials, but often are used more as annuals when planted in the ground. Pansies in the front of the garden add just the right amount of color. Joan says the more formal garden on the right, bounded by boxwoods, has been a little bit of a challenge to keep going. “We have had to replant them several times in the last few years.” One of the issues with the shrubs is that this side of the garden does not quite drain properly and the beautiful fountain in the middle also makes the garden a little damp. Boxwoods are used to create flowerbeds and hedges because they are dense, and slower growing. Too much water or dampness can be deadly. Often it takes three to four years for the plant to reach its mature height. Boxwoods like sun, but do well in light shade. In the Grubbs’ garden they create a maze around the fountain and make little spaces for a variety of annual plants. Joan says they first started out with neighbors volunteering to help with the planting and maintenance of the garden, but to keep the garden thriving they have hired a landscape gardener, Antonio Ayala. “He helps keep the garden looking good with

every season, switching out annual plants to keep the color.” For spring, there were colorful pansies featuring yellows, pinks, and purples. The phlox has spread over the years, creating a lovely patch of purple, that is duplicated down the righthand side. Additionally, there are tulips, daffodils of different kinds, and knock-out roses that will bring summer color to the garden.

A Place to Sit “We really wanted to bring some life and beauty to the neighborhood,” Joan says, ”and to make a nice place for our employees to enjoy as well.” Being a good neighbor is important to the Kims. “We like that our neighbors as well as our customers can take a seat and find a quiet place for meditation.” Three benches make the border of the formal garden, surrounded by the boxwoods. Grubb’s is administering COVID tests and vaccinations, once the J&J vaccine is available again. So the garden is a great place for people to sit while waiting rapid test results in fifteen minutes, or resting after being vaccinated. That’s just one of the ways that the garden is playing its part in helping us get back to normal. There is an old saying “Never underestimate the healing power of a quiet moment in the garden.” The Grubb’s Pharmacy garden is a living example of this and a wonderful model for what it takes to be a good neighbor. Thank you Michael and Joan Kim for your commitment to Capitol Hill, and brightening our neighborhood through your garden and good work. Rindy O’Brien is thankful for businesses, like Grubb’s, that invest in the beauty of the Hill. Contact Rindy at rindyobrien.com ◆

ENTER THE ANNUAL

PET PHOTO CONTEST!

CATEGORIES: • Best Overall Photos • Darling Dogs • Finest Felines • Cleverest Caption

• Best Buddies • Human & Pet Best Buddies •Hill Haunts • Pandemic Pics

Send us your favorite pet photos for a chance at fame! Winning entries will be published in the July Hill Rag, our Special Pet Issue, and on our website at hillrag.com.

TO ENTER:

Email to pets@hillrag.com OR mail to PO BOX 15477 Washington, DC 20003 (make sure your photo is over 300 dpi, photos cannot be returned) • Maximum of two photos per entry. Include your name, a phone number, the name of your pet, a caption and category for the photo.

DEADLINE: 6/16/21 Capital Community News, Inc. Publishers of:

MIDCITY YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

May 2021 ★ 69

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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

KINGMAN PARK 1835 E St NE 431 20th St NE

LEDROIT PARK

FEE SIMPLE ANACOSTIA 1446 W St SE 2202 16th St SE 1726 R St SE 2514 Palmer Pl SE 1343 Dexter Ter SE 1619 R St SE 1818 Minnesota Ave SE 1343 Talbert Ter SE

BARRY FARMS 2813 Pomeroy Rd SE 2809 Pomeroy Rd SE

BLOOMINGDALE 2301 1st St NW 24 S St NW 2214 1st St NW 133 Adams St NW 1930 1st St NW 432 S St NW 126 V St NW

CAPITOL HILL 337 6th St SE 619 North Carolina Ave SE 635 Maryland Ave NE 135 Kentucky Ave SE 902 Maryland Ave NE 137 North Carolina Ave SE 220 11th St SE 132 12th St SE 301 C St SE 638 C St NE 637 C St NE 135 D St SE 145 D St SE 1006 C St NE 322 A St NE 1100 Park St NE 505 C St NE 1728 A St SE 1300 C St NE 1121 Constitution Ave NE 1323 F St NE 414 7th St NE 1711 A St SE 417 D St NE 1114 D St NE 513 14th St NE 646 Acker Pl NE 547 11th St SE 312 10th St NE 1817 Independence Ave SE 1525 Pennsylvania Ave SE 503 D St SE 610 Elliott St NE 1606 E Capitol St NE 322 14th St NE

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775,000 605,000 532,500 445,000 415,000 350,000 330,000 285,000

4 3 3 4 2 2 2 2

300,000 300,000

3 3

1,925,000 1,824,000 1,475,000 1,334,500 1,199,000 1,035,000 920,200

8 7 4 4 4 3 5

1,700,000 1,640,000 1,625,000 1,585,000 1,555,000 1,505,000 1,455,000 1,397,000 1,375,000 1,375,000 1,367,650 1,340,000 1,285,000 1,285,000 1,275,000 1,250,000 1,242,500 1,215,000 1,140,500 1,107,000 1,106,880 1,098,000 1,060,000 1,040,000 986,000 959,610 931,000 899,000 880,000 875,000 875,000 857,000 799,850 775,000 735,000

4 5 5 3 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 0 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 2

336 U St NW 1929 2nd St NW 418 Oakdale Pl NW 420 Oakdale Pl NW

LILY PONDS 3321 Dix St NE

NAVY YARD 911 Potomac Ave SE

OLD CITY #1

1247 K St SE 113 15th St SE 1525 Constitution Ave NE 620 14th Pl NE 709 14th St SE 1008 9th St NE

725,000 710,000 705,000 700,000 680,000 600,000

CAPITOL HILL EAST 344 14th St SE 1310 Watkins Aly SE

925,000 610,000

CARVER LANGSTON 1928 Bennett Pl NE

DEANWOOD 4108 Hayes St NE 4509 Eads St NE 529 42nd St NE 4407 Foote St NE 307 57th St NE 4800 Eads St NE 204 56th Pl NE 4600 Brooks St NE 4650 Hayes St NE 4226 Gault Pl NE 711 49th Pl NE 4608 Jay St NE 53 46th St NE 5344 Central Ave SE 46 58th St SE 4612 Hayes St NE 820 55th St NE 4206 Grant St NE 807 51st St NE 4922 Just St NE

3 5 2 3 3 3 3 1

650,000

632,000 575,000 530,000 515,000 514,999 507,000 501,000 475,000 465,000 450,000 437,750 430,000 410,000 400,000 380,000 360,000 360,000 285,000 281,000 170,000

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

ECKINGTON 20 T St NE 317 Todd Pl NE 2111 4th St NE 54 Q St NE

950,000 945,000 850,000 755,000

FORT DUPONT PARK 4328 Alabama Ave SE 4557 C St SE 4461 B St SE 1233 44th Pl SE 701 Adrian St SE 3400 C St SE 4350 H St SE

FORT LINCOLN 2474 Baldwin Cres NE

530,000 525,000 505,000 500,000 450,000 425,000 400,000

5 4 3 3 4 3 3

700,000

H STREET CORRIDOR 907 12th St NE 406 K St NE 1024 5th St NE 635 L St NE 1439 G St NE

HILL EAST 1647 C St NE 124 17th St NE 1408 G St SE 406 Kentucky Ave SE 1617 Potomac Ave SE

IVY CITY

1943 Capitol Ave NE

4 4 4 3

1,175,000 976,000 950,000 920,000 842,000

4 2 3 3 3

1,000,000 1,000,000 950,000 911,000 695,000

4 4 2 3 2

450,000

215 F St NE 1127 G St NE 522 F St NE 1307 Corbin Pl NE 516 F St NE 1007 I St SE 653 Morris Pl NE 1221 Maryland Ave NE 516 E St SE 916 15th St SE 604 Tennessee Ave NE 826 12th St NE 1629 Rosedale St NE 542 23rd Pl NE 737 18th St NE 319 15th St NE 253 Warren St NE 766 13th St SE 540 13th St NE 1828 SE Massachusetts Ave SE

OLD CITY #2 1522 8th St NW 920 Westminster St NW 1728 18th St NW 421 M St NW 2012 13th St NW 435 Ridge St NW

RANDLE HEIGHTS 1805 18th St SE 1942 Good Hope Rd SE 1831 S St SE 1611 25th St SE 1738-1740 Gainesville St SE 2702 Stanton Rd SE 2252 S St SE 2640 Stanton Rd SE 3219 Stanton Rd SE 2033 R St SE

RLA (SW) 608 4th Pl SW 602 7th St SW

SHAW

1513 8th St NW 1831 Vermont Ave NW

713,500 525,000

3 2

999,000 765,000 640,000 600,000

3 3 2 2

438,000

740,000

1,500,000 1,400,000 1,328,000 1,200,000 1,180,000 1,060,000 967,500 962,000 961,000 950,000 940,000 851,000 750,000 740,000 735,737 725,000 705,000 675,000 655,000 605,000

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

3,000,000 1,543,000 1,427,078 1,239,000 1,005,000 950,000

6 4 3 5 3 2

580,000 565,000 555,000 555,000 525,000 460,000 432,600 420,000 415,000 410,743

4 3 3 6 4 4 4 3 3 3

1,275,000 940,000

5 5

1,625,000 1,418,900

3 3

MAY WE HELP YOU ACHIEVE YOUR REAL ESTATE DREAMS? 1607 New Jersey Ave NW 942 N St NW 515 S St NW 1615 New Jersey Ave NW 1805 5th St NW 449 M St NW 974 Florida Ave NW

TRINIDAD

1508 Montello Ave NE 1265 Owen Pl NE 1113 Owen Pl NE 1511 Trinidad Ave NE 1672 Montello Ave NE 1305 W Virginia Ave NE 1934 Bennett Pl NE 1783 Lyman Pl NE 1254 Queen St NE 1530 Levis St NE

TRUXTON CIRCLE 83 P St NW 40 New York Ave NW

1,117,000 1,052,000 930,000 930,000 830,000 825,000 621,000

4 3 2 3 3 2 1

924,950 875,500 794,000 790,000 766,000 726,000 716,500 660,000 649,900 480,000

4 4 4 3 3 3 4 4 4 2

950,000 810,000

G IN ! M N O O C O S

EW ! N ICE PR

5 5

417 G St SW 1,190,000 3

CONDO 2351 16th St SE #103

ATLAS DISTRICT 1111 Orren St NE #303

BLOOMINGDALE 2102 1st St NW #3 74 Adams St NW #1 2102 1st St NW #2

BRENTWOOD 1355 Bryant St NE #5 1355 Bryant St NE #1

CAPITOL HILL

645 Maryland Ave NE #201 811 E St SE #2 1340 Massachusetts Ave SE #1 1309 E St SE #24 1111 Pennsylvania Ave SE #311 300 8th St NE #101 1335 A St SE #D 1315 Independence Ave SE #4 310 East Capitol St NE #A 440 12th St NE #307 1124 E St NE #D 311-315 6th St SE #1 819 D St NE #27 1449 A St NE #C 901 D St NE #7 523 8th St NE #T1 513 12th St NE #8 233 Kentucky Ave SE #2 610 3rd St SE #5 22-32 17th St SE #26 101 North Carolina Ave SE #106 412 19th St NE #203 101 North Carolina Ave SE #402

185,000

535,000

1,055,000 745,000 645,000

3 2 2

425,000 349,000

2 2

1,580,000 1,200,000 1,106,000 1,035,000 999,900 790,000 760,000 679,000 640,000 630,000 558,021 545,000 460,000 448,000 435,000 430,000 399,999 389,000 369,900 364,075 322,500 318,000 284,000

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

CAPITOL HILL EAST 254 15th St SE #5 1434 Potomac Ave SE #2

761,259 604,000

2 2

G IN ! M N O O C O S

THREE LEVELS OF BRAND NEW CRAFTSMANSHIP ON EAST CAPITOL ST! Local Capitol Hill builders Pitchpine Building Co. have done it again! This gorgeous ground-up construction creates another classic Capitol Hill porchfront along favorite East Capitol Street, just steps to Lincoln Park! Delivers 3 tall above ground levels with all of the beautiful touches you expect and appreciate from these longtime Hill builders: gorgeous woodwork & cabinetry, high-end kitchen and bath finishes, and plenty of living, working, and entertainment space for the modern homeowner! Don’t miss this launch later in May...

WATERFRONT SW RLA

ANACOSTIA

1409 East Capitol St SE 4BD/3.5BA

E BL A IL W! A O AV N

515 7th St SE 9BR/5BA (Multi-Family) $2,444,000

PERFECT PORCHFRONT AT POTOMAC AVE! The Quintessential Hill Home! 3BRs/1BA up, 1BA down. Front porch welcomes you to open floor plan w/ Classic original features: hardwood floors, exposed brick, and new upgrades like skylights, open travertine kitchen off private patio & rear deck to offer a peaceful oasis! FULL LL w/ great storage & walk-out stairs...QUIET BLOCK! Literally steps to Potomac Ave Metro, The Roost DC culinary clubhouse, River Trail, & all that Penn Ave SE has to offer.

ER T! D C N RA U T N CO

1239 E St NE 4BR/3.5BA $1,250,000 VIBRANT VICTORIAN FACADE WITH DRAMATIC DEPTH! It’s THAT immaculate row of Victorian turret-tops that you always admire, just 3 blocks from H St/Atlas District! Inside this historic facade is a gateway to a dramatically enlarged and renovated interior across three levels featuring cherrywood floors, exposed brick, a dramatically expanded rear kitchen, and 3 REAL bedrooms + 2 full bathrooms up the skylit stairs. With the flexible lower level and lovely rear yard, sometimes Spring delivers the perfect package!

FFAMILY COMPOUND AT HEART OF THE HILL - MILES FROM ORDINARY! Reduced $55k! Nestled between Barracks Row and Eastern Market - walk or bike everywhere from this GRAND 1851 Historic porchfront with multiple units + 3 level carriage house, standing proudly in a row of striking wood frame houses! Unique investment opportunity with bountiful square footage in an incredible locale- a lovely tree-lined block at Eastern Market Metro.

508 4th St SE 3BR/2.5BA $1,360,000

1412 G St SE 3BD/2BA

A TALE OF TWO HOUSES AT THE HEART OF THE HILL! Well-preserved original details (1875) seamlessly blend w/ MASTERFUL 2015 expansion that DOUBLES the size of the home! Historic front porch, wide plank heart pine floors, and stone hearth up front flow to new mudroom with separate side entry and STUNNING farmhouse kitchen open to coffered-ceiling GREAT room! Upstairs features rich reclaimed barn wood floors in owners’ suite w/ giant walk-in closet & tranquil spa bathroom, plus two add’l spacious bedrooms and laundry. All new windows and systems for low-maintenance / high-efficiency living.

1240 Wylie St NE 4BD/3BA $1,575,000 FIFTY FEET OF FRONTAGE HIDDEN AT HEART OF H ST / ATLAS DISTRICT! Originally 3 historic homes separated by a breezeway, this reimagined property now delivers nearly 2600 finished sq ft across 2 above grade levels, plus serene sculpted side and rear gardens, all basking in southern sunshine! Exposed brick boundary walls, raw structural steel, and roughcut timbers visibly tell the story of the buildings’ life chapters, & countless renovation details pay homage to timeless textures with salvaged doors, hardware, and case moulding in 9 rooms & 3 finished baths. HUGE BONUS: rear sculpted patio + side covered pavilion w/ room for 2-car parking. Don’t miss this ONE-OF-A-KIND WONDER on Wylie Street!

202.243.7707

info@joelnelsongroup.com May 2021 H 71

1391 Pennsylvania Ave SE #260 1519 K St SE #101 1516 K St SE #4A

475,000 465,000 425,000

CAPITOL RIVERFRONT

Architects & Builders on The Hill since 1986

1211 Van St SE #TH-1A 1211 Van St SE #TH-1D 1211 Van St SE #TH-1C 1211 Van St SE #TH-1G 1211 Van St SE #TH-1H 1211 Van St SE #407 1211 Van St SE #413 1211 Van St SE #912

architecture | interior design | construction | remodeling

CENTRAL

wentworthremodel.com 240.200.4802

REALTOR ®

Experience Matters When it

FINDING YOUR DREAM HOME.

Comes to

Over 30 years assisting clients in residential, multi-family & probate estate sales in the DMV.

1117 10th St NW #W4 1099 22nd St NW #604 777 7th St NW #314 2301 N St NW #116 2555 Pennsylvania Ave NW #808 1230 23rd St NW #505 400 Massachusetts Ave NW #305 1325 18th St NW #309 1260 21st St NW #808 400 Massachusetts Ave NW #1007 1010 Massachusetts Ave NW #1105

CHINATOWN 777 7th St NW #434

EVELYN BRANIC REALTOR ®

202-741-1674 Ebranic.cbintouch.com Ebranic@cbmove.com 350 7th St SE, Washington, DC 20003

YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD REALTOR

GEORGE OLSON (202) 203-0339 - (M) (202) 203-0339 - (D) george.olson@cbmove.com Capitol Hill Office 605 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE 202.547.3525

ADVERTISE WITH THE HILLRAG! Call Kira Means at 202.400.3503 Or email: kira@hillrag.com

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CAPITOL CUISINE New Steak House Arrives by Celeste McCall

Steak in the Community The Hill is getting a new steakhouse: Harvest Tide. You’ll find it later this year at 212 Seventh St. SE, where Aqua al 2 used to be. Emerging from chef/ owner Danio Somoza’s kitchen will be dry-aged USDA prime steaks, crab cakes and grilled salmon. Sides and salads will be fashioned from seasonal produce. The family-owned enterprise also operates another Harvest Tide in Lewes, Delaware and Zoca (Mexican Modern Cuisine), nearby in Bethany Beach. Another Harvest Tide is set to open in

that same Eastern Shore beach resort. For updates visit www.harvesttidecapitolhill.com.

Food Fight Local chefs are stepping up to the plate–literally– to help combat hate crimes against Asians and Pacific Islanders. Supporting the AAPI community and businesses is Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate. Cofounded by Executive Chef Kevin Tien of Moon Rabbit (Intercontinental Hotel, District Wharf ) and Chef Tim Ma of Lucky Danger (Mount Vernon Triangle), Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate is a series of Sunday Suppers to help raise funds. Also preparing suppers are about 45 other chefs. Tagged at $150, the dinners feed two. Partici-

pating chefs have come up with intriguing menus. Also helping out is Mayor Muriel Bowser, whose office has donated $10,000 to the AAPI effort. For more information or to order a supper visit www. chefsstoppingaapihate.com. In the spirit of solidarity, (we also love the cooking!), Peter and I returned to Maketto, in the Atlas District. Operated by Erik Brunner-Yang, who also has ABC Pony (Capitol Riverfront) and Yoko and Kota (The Roost), Maketto showcases the exotic flavors of Cambodia and Taiwan. Chef Brunner-Yang was born in Taiwan and raised in the United States. On our first visit to Maketto, the café was upstairs; the shop and bar on the main level. The café is now a record shop and bar. We sat downstairs. Emerging from the kitchen are small, medium and large plates. From the first list we shared crystal shrimp dumplings, a trio of gossamer light pillows scented with cilantro and red peppers. Peter’s Cambodian-style pho–laced with white and dark

ABOVE: A lobster tail is perched atop a USDA prime steak at the Lewes Delaware Harvest Tide Steakhouse; a spinoﬀ is due to open on Capitol Hill. Photo courtesy of Harvest Tide Steakhouse. RIGHT: Chef Danio Somoza chats with customers at the Lewes, Delaware Harvest Tide Steakhouse. Courtesy: Coastline Restaurant Group

May 2021 ★ 75

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LEFT: Maketto’s Cambodian-style pho is laced with chicken, noodles, lemongrass, cilantro, ginger and jalapeno slices. Photo: Celeste McCall

will position its two components side-by-side. A patio on N Street will seat 33, more during Nationals games. Look for Chicken + Whiskey by year’s end.

BELOW: At Maketto, (Atlas District), crystal shrimp dumplings practically fly out of Chef Erik Brunner-Yang’s kitchen. Photo: Celeste McCall

And...

chicken meat–was scented with lemongrass, cilantro, ginger and jalapeno slices. Generous enough to feed two, the savory soup arrived with a dough stick–sort of an Asian-style beignet. An accompanying dish of red chili oil/sriracha delivered just enough heat for dipping. Other menu options include veggie spring rolls, crispy chicken wings, roast duck, drunken shrimp-fried rice. Heading the dessert list are egg custard tarts and pastries (also available for breakfast). Plus coffee, tea, cocktails, wine and beer. A pleasant Argentine vino blanco complemented my meal. Lunch for two–including a 20 percent service charge – came to $61.58. Located at 1351 H St. NE, Maketto is open 6 days for breakfast, lunch and dinner, closed Sunday. Call 202-838-9972 or visit www.maketto1351.com.

Coming Soon ...to Barracks Row: Bodega Spanish Tapas, 515 Eighth St. SE, a spinoff of the excellent Georgetown restaurant (www.bodegadc.com), and Classy Corks, a wine and liquor store at 801 Virginia Ave. SE (Eighth and L). For updates visit www.classycorksdc.com Meanwhile, good things are happening in Capitol Riverfront, but we’ll have to wait awhile. Chicken + Whiskey is unveiling a spinoff at 70 N St. SE, in Jair Lynch’s new condo building. The future restaurant will be an offshoot of Star Restaurant Group’s Logan Circle rotisserie/whiskey bar. For his future enterprise, Latin chef Enrique Limardo (Seven Reasons, Immigrant Food, Imperfecto) will brine chickens for 12 hours, slow-roast them and then serve the birds with Venezuelan arepas. Unlike the narrow layout Logan Circle’s original Chicken + Whiskey–with the poultry out front and the bar in back – Navy Yard’s version 76 H HILLRAG.COM

Nats Park is getting yet another new neighbor: The venerable Maryland-based chain Silver Diner will unveil its first outpost in the District–this one with a second story bar–at Half and N streets SE, next

to the ballpark. Again, don’t rush over there right away; the 8,000 square foot transplant won’t open until next spring. Plans include an outdoor terrace overlooking the stadium. The upstairs area, dubbed Bar Silver, will sell drinks and small plates. The lower level will look more familiar, serving Silver Diner’s hits from executive chef and “Chopped” winner Ype Von Hengst. Founded in 1989, the Rockville-based company operates 18 eateries in Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey. Although DC doesn’t have a Silver Diner, the company operates Silver – its upscale, brasserie-style spinoff – in Northwest’s Cathedral Heights neighborhood.

Still more... The long-awaited Knead Hospitality Group’s Gatsby opened on April 8 at 1201 Half St. SE, across the street from Nats Park. The

May 2021 H 77

kitchen will showcase updated diner classics including an In-N-Out-inspired burger, vegan Caesar salads, and elegant cakes, pies and retro cocktails. (In-N-Out refers to a 73-yearold California-based chain featuring “freshly-made” burgers.) Gatsby is open daily, with weekday happy hour. Coming soon: brunch, then lunch. Knead Hospitality Group also operates The Grill and Mi Vida at the District Wharf, and other upbeat area restaurants. For updates call 202-817-3005 or visitgatsbyrestaurant.com.

Get the Point Fish & Fire Food Group, which brought us Tony and Joe’s (Georgetown’s Washington Harbour) and the Tavern at Ivy City Smokehouse are unveiling The Point, near DC United’s Audi Field. Located at 2100 Second St. SW, The Point is part of the ambitious waterfront development which will eventually connect the District Wharf to Capitol Riverfront. Helming the kitchen will be Executive Chef Benjamin Lambert, a Restaurant Nora alum who also cooked at District Winery. He’ll work with partner and culinary director Ron Goodman and founder Greg Casten, who also owns sustainable seafood purveyor ProFish. The hospitality group is also adding a boardwalk-type market called Beside the Point, which will hawk soft-serve ice cream, calamari cones, lobster rolls, fries, sushi, bagels and Ivy City Smokehouse products. u

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. arts and dining .

AT THE MOVIES People on the Brink: A Man Contemplates End-of-Life and a Mother Faces Loss of Her Daughter to Drugs by Mike Canning

East of the Mountains

dog and offers hospitality to Ben. In her, he finds a cent example is the 2018 Julia Roberts-Lucas Hedgperson to whom he can talk and explore his fears at es film, “Ben Is Back” which showed the extremes of This is a film as character study. An older man at an the end of his life. parent paranoia and headstrong child. Now comes end-of-life crossroads contemplates his own demise “East of the Mountains” is based on David Gut“Four Good Days,” a parallel story where a mothin a world that has been comfortable for him. He is erson’s novel of 1999, set in the gorgeous Columer Deb (Glenn Close) must deal with her long-time Ben Givens, played by veteran actor Tom Skeritt in bia Basin, where the film’s spectacular landscapes junkie daughter Molly (Mila Kunis). his first leading role, moving through his beloved were filmed. Guterson, a SeThe struggle between the two, which originally attle native, has lived in Washappeared as an article by Eli Saskow of The Washington his whole life and has ington Post, is fraught with mistrust and wariness written about his state for and is hard to watch at times, but is redeemed by over 30 years. He is probably the performances of the two leads who convincingbest known for his early novly take you down the rabbit-hole of drug craving el, “Snow Falling on Cedars” (The film runs 100 minutes and is rated “R” for (1998), a runaway best seller subject matter and language; it opened at area thewhich was also made into a aters on April 30). Hollywood film (2000). Deb is a masseuse in a casino hotel, married Tom Skerritt was wholto her bemused second husband Chris (Stephen ly involved with this picture, Root). She has spent 10 years trying to affect her serving as one of the execu30-something daughter’s addiction to heroin. Nothtive producers. Long resident ing she has done has worked. The film opens with in Seattle, he had come to Molly, showing up unexpectedly back home, havTom Skerritt and his dog Rex roam the Columbia Basin in “East of know Guterson and his work ing run out of options where to go. Deb, who barethe Mountains.” so theirs is a natural collaboration. Known in the 1970’s as a good-huEastern Washington state as naturally as the running mored, rugged sidekick in many major movies of a chilly stream. The pace is unhurried—even prolike “MASH,” “Alien,” “Top Gun,” etc., here he tracted—but with enough incident to keep the viewclearly identifies with this mature character and er intrigued and sympathetic (The film runs 93 minshows a debilitated, but decent man contemplatutes and is not rated). ing his end. In a way, his demeanor fits the script Ben is a retired heart surgeon and bereft widfor a classic Western hero, laconic but intelligent, ower who learns he has terminal cancer. Determined skeptical but kind. It’s fitting to see him domito close out his days on his own terms, he shares nate a film at this stage of his life. the news with no one—not even his daughter René (Mira Sorvino). He travels back to his boyhood Four Good Days home, accompanied only by his loyal dog Rex, to Addiction is a long-time Hollywood theme for hunt pigeons one more time. He also has flashback built-in drama: an agonizing (sometimes excrucireveries about his earlier life with his cherished wife. ating) trial by the addicted character desperate for But things don’t go as he’d like. On the road, a high then going through withdrawal witnessed his truck overheats, but a kind couple picks him up by family or friend as the audience, wrenched by and delivers him to a familiar hill. He is sleeping the depiction, is in suspense as to whether the outside in a shallow cave when his dog is attacked character will triumph or relapse. Such a set-up by a vicious hound. Hitching a ride to a nearby can be particularly touching when the action plays town with a veterinarian practice run by the congeFrom left, Glenn Close (Deb) and Mila Kunis (Molly) in out between parent and child. One prominent renial Anita (Annie Gonzalez), who lovingly treats his “Four Good Days.” Photo from Vertical Entertainment 80 H HILLRAG.COM

ly recognizes her, reluctantly lets her stay but urges her to get into a four-day program, after which, if she stays clean, she can qualify for a treatment which could totally inhibit her addiction. Those fraught days make up the core of the picture, with Deb having to watch and critique Molly’s every move. Mila Kunis, typically cast in sexy, slightly provocative roles, appropriately appears as a mess in this film, her big eyes enlarged by dark circles, her teeth gone, her frame wraith-like, her blond hair stringy (kudos to the makeup team). And her playing has a nice mix of languorous boredom and hair-trigger nervousness. Close’s Deb is meant to be sympathetic, yet she keeps you at a distance with her constant worry and sour memories, but she achieves the portrait of a woman who has a spine and can love even through constant disappointment. You want her to succeed with her daughter but are concerned she will only witness yet another dead end. “Four Good Days” was directed by Rodrigo Garcia, a Colombian-born filmmaker with a lengthy career in American television and movies. He is known for working with strong women actors, and he has long had an association with Glenn Close, with whom he has worked together since 2000. Their most prominent success was “Albert Nobbs” (2011), for which Close received an Oscar nomination. This film may be their best collaboration since. Film Critic and Capitol Hill resident Mike Canning has written on movies for 27 years and is a member of the Washington Area Film Critics Association. He is the author of “Hollywood on the Potomac: How the Movies View Washington, DC.” His reviews and essays can be found online at www. mikesflix.com. ◆

Since we aren’t spending spring in Paris...come join us at Mr Henry’s! Plenty of seating outdoors and inside! check out all of our happenings at www.Mrhenrysdc.com 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE Mon-Fri Noon – Midnight, Sat & Sun 10:30am – Midnight

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Kate Painting Tom photographing

THE 50 STATES ART PROJECT Part One: Seventeen States and a Global Pandemic by Phil Hutinet

Fleming, Alamogordo, NM

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ldous Huxley famously said “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” Arguably, the same can be said about traveling through the United States— to travel through this vast and diverse nation is to discover that everyone is wrong about other states! Artists Kate Fleming and Tom Woodruff are heirs to the North American propensity for continental wanderlust. Their “50 States Project” follows a long-standing tradition of wanting to roam from coast-to-coast, through forests and deserts, cities and towns, in search of America. Fleming, a painter, and Woodruff, a photographer, capture American life as it exists in the moment, exploring our commonalities and differences. In cataloging their experiences, the artist duo has created an empirical visual record of the United States during a critical moment in history preceding the 2020 elections and the global COVID-19 pandemic. After finishing a residency at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop in 2018, Fleming revisited an idea that had come to her and Woodruff a few years prior when traveling through Australia. They realized how little they had seen of their own country. Fleming approached CHAW’s Executive Director Amy Moore about their idea of traveling across the US as artists and creating work. With great enthusiasm and encouragement, Moore jumped at the idea of collaborating with Fleming and Woodruff on their crosscountry adventures. One of the ways in which the artistic duo and CHAW have collaborated was through remote learning. They remotely taught 8-10 year old students at CHAW an arts-based curriculum inspired by their trav-

Fleming, Hilo, HI

els. CHAW is also a fiscal agent for the project. Thanks to a 2000 Ford Econoline van that the artists bought on Craigslist, the duo was able to realize their dream of cross-country travel. With the help of Fleming’s father and some friends, including an electrical engineer and a friend with a knack for working on cars, the group turned the vehicle into a camper van that would have made host and rapper Xhibit from MTV’s “Pimp my Ride” proud! The van features a queen-sized bed that also folds into a couch. In addition, Fleming’s father and his carpenter friends mounted three solar panels atop the van to power light fixtures, a small fridge, and a charging station for cellphones and Woodruff ’s photography equipment. The only thing missing is a bathroom!

Woodruff, Walker Lake, NV

The Great American Road Trip

Contemporaneity Becomes Nostalgia So why repeat that which has been done before? Simply put, all renews in the moment and becomes important with the passage of time. The reason Georgia O’Keefe, Robert Frank or Ed Ruscha’s similar work has relevance today is that, in addition to being great art, the subject matter in their photographs benefit from the luxury of hindsight. Ed Ruscha’s “Twentysix Gasoline Stations,” a photographic series he took in 1962 during his trips between his native Oklahoma and adopted Los Angeles, have become American icons. When first taken, the black and white images of service stations probably seemed banal. So Fleming and Woodruff are in good company when it comes to their project. Just as their predecessors’ zeroed–in on a moment in American history, the duo has captured and created some remarkable images of contemporary America which can be seen in an online gallery (see link below).

The Pandemic Disrupts the Project After four-and-a-half months on the road and as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, the duo decided to quarantine at a farm house in Sperryville,

The Next 33 States in a Post-pandemic World As of this writing, half of all adults in the United States have received at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine. As restrictions ease on gatherings and travel, the duo plans to fly to Alaska and take the solar-paneled Econoline van to New England, the Great Lakes and all the way to Cascadia. After completing the second leg of their trip, the artists will exhibit their work in-person at CHAW later this year or by early 2022.

Woodruff, Mammoth Cave, KY

Woodruff, Volcanoes National Park, HI

In the early 21st century, the United States has a vast network of mostly toll-free Interstates and ubiquitous ATMs, gas stations, hotels and strip malls offering the traveler myriad creature comforts and conveniences along the way. Wi-Fi and cellular broadband keep today’s wanderers constantly connected and well-directed through GPS. Many of these conveniences, particularly ease-of-access to the Internet and GPS, did not exist even five or ten years ago. But the nation has also changed in other ways. American society is more divided then ever along political lines. Despite the growing rift between Americans, the artist duo has come to appreciate our differences and realize that we have actually have a lot more in common than we think. From the end of 2019 to early 2020, Fleming and Woodruff visited 17 states in the southern half the country. They crisscrossed the large and populous states of Florida, Texas and California. They also managed to squeeze in a flight to Hawaii and back. During their time on the road, the duo created hundreds of works, a sampling of which can be found on their website and online exhibition (see links below).

Virginia before returning to their family. “The project was interrupted and it gave us a lot of time to think about things and reflect on our experiences,” said Fleming. “There were lots of takeaways, but one in particular that stands out to me is how personal the project has become. We set out to learn more about the country as a whole—and we’ve learned lots of things about lots of places; this is a big and complex nation. But our project and our work itself has become documentation of not only this moment in time as a country, but also this moment in time for Tom and me as people. We’re reflecting back something bigger, and also something smaller and I think that’s a shared experience right now.” Woodruff added that “At the farm I was emotionally decompressing. I was thinking about the whole project through the lens of fear. I was thinking about how our country was on the brink of this very specific moment of change with the election coming up. We didn’t know about Corona but it was about to happen. There was this apprehension that I felt from the things we experienced and the stuff I felt. It was this calm before the storm and a kind of waiting.”

For more information about the 50 States Project visit: www.the50statesproject.com To view the online gallery go to: www.the50statesproject.com/wherewevebeen To support “The 50 States Project”, visit: www.the50statesproject.com/donate

Kate & Tom & Van. All images are courtesy of Kate Fleming and Tom Woodruff.

Phil Hutinet is the publisher of East City Art, DC’s alternative art source. For more information visit www.eastcityart.com. u

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. arts and dining .

ARTandtheCITY by Jim Magner

ARTIST PORTRAIT: CLIFFORD WHEELER

lifford Wheeler stands in the middle of a time and place, wrapping himself in the moment through a panoramic exposure. In “Long Pond” you are there with him and it folds around you–you are engulfed in the marvel of creation where practically every molecule has equal importance. Clifford has been taking pictures all his life– freezing moments in place. He captures a collective reality–the split-second in the evolution of life forms and the non-life forms. Usually a photographer stands back, apart from the scene as both observer and captor. Now, Clifford no longer stands back. In “The Fort,” you gain the same sensation of entering a frozen moment but with a realization that this is more than information, it’s art. The factual is elevated with emotion by beauty. It encompasses the elements of color and design that painters have developed over the centuries. “Popcorn” captures emotion in a different way: the public emptiness of the times. But getting beyond a certain sadness, all the elements of art are there and make it even more striking and emotional. Clifford began photographing the art of other students even before getting his BFA at the Corcoran

Fredericksburg

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in the late 70s. In the 80s, he became a member of the Multiple Exposures Gallery and installed the exhibitions. He became an installer of shows for galleries and museums all over the Metro area. For Clifford Wheeler, it is not just about catching the flash of the reflected light–the lasting image–it’s about “actu-

Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art Life is not a continuum. It is not one big sweeping expanse of time and experience. Life is a collection of moments held in trust somewhere inside you cranium. Not all moments are equal. Some are worth keeping like rare coins, but most are dribbled away in a rush to buy the next moment and the next and the next million.

Sand Beach

ally creating something tangible–something that can be held in the hand and shared between individuals.” You can see, and own, his work at the current Multiple Exposures Gallery exhibit. (See: “At the Galleries.”) www.artline.com/artists/dealers_artists/wheeler-clifford.php

Some moments are stubborn and won’t go away–you’re stuck with them. Others are worth wrapping your arms around, holding on for as long as you can. Maybe that is why God invented the camera. Some say it was Louis Daguerre (or his partner Joseph Niepce), but it is a God-like miracle of light–light beams gestated in little explosions of the Devine, traveling millions of miles to take root in a small box. We all have photographs. I have some taken long ago, back when photographs were special. They materialized from something called film. Moments were selectively captured and pasted on to pages in an album–to be taken out occasionally and applauded by captured friends and even strangers. From the very beginning, artists were intrigued by the possibilities. Long held qualities of painting– composition, color harmony, perspective and others elements of two-dimensional art–found their way into the pictorial conversation. Photographs were nurtured in the darkroom and hung on the wall. OK. Then came digital photography. For most,

The Fort

selecting a special moment has been drowned in a blitzkrieg of button holding–like the young lady rambling through the Louvre with an iPhone on a stick accumulating selfies with the masterpieces as props in her personal story. Clifford Wheeler (see Artist Profile) has been through it all: a journey from Kodak to iPhone. His whole life has been photography and the capture of special moments. He now uses the panoramic option that places him in the center of a panoramic idea. An idea you can hold in your hand and hang on a wall.

At the Galleries Multiple Exposures Gallery Torpedo Factory Art Center 105 N. Union St. #312, Alexandria, VA – May 15 This is a terrific all-member show. Each artist exhibits two signature pieces and all are for sale. Clifford Wheeler (see, Artist Profile) exhibits some great new work. www.multipleexposuresgallery.com Sheila Blake Foundry Gallery 2008 - 8th St., N.W. May 7 - 30 Gallery is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, 1 - 7 I profiled Sheila in my April column. Here is what I said: “Sheila Blake’s houses are painted with the precision of imagination. Insignificant matters are charged with meaning and are elevated to “strangeness,” a state of wonderment. Each work is a creation of color value and composition and the whole range of traditional art elements to achieve final denotation, the appearance of reality,

but it has built-in connotations as well–all sorts of meanings and inferences. That’s what real art is.” Sheila has a solo show this month and it is a perfect opportunity to see, and perhaps buy, her recent work. foundrygallery.org Patricia Underwood The Athenaeum 201 Prince St., Old Town, Alexandria – May 16 “Meet & Greets:” May 1 & 15; 2-4 “Trees/Humans: Life in the Balance” is the theme of Patricia Underwood’s solo exhibition. This is about “beauty, resilience and survival” of ancient trees from around the world. Patricia silkscreens photos onto wood veneers and creates a ‘magical realism’ by adding drawing, painting and printing. The show includes four “powerful” installation pieces up to 15 feet tall. There is also a zoom artist talk on May 2. www.nvfaa.org www.punderwood.com On a personal note: I am launching a historical fiction novel, The Dead Man on the Corner, at the Hill Rag’s own Literary Hill Bookfest. The date is May 2. You can get a preview of my very short (85 sec.) video. https://youtu.be/bQad2_Ck78Q The Bookfest will be virtual this year, so it can be accessed from around the world For more information: www.literaryhillbookfest.org. See my ad in this month’s publication. Also, you can access my books, and art, on my website. 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 . by Karen Lyon

No Girls Allowed

the LITERARY HILL

Back when female reporters were “usually confined to the women’s section [and] still wore white gloves to work,” a few courageous women forged a new path. The Vietnam war, because it was undeclared, gave them a way around the US ban on women reporting from the battlefield—and it became their crucible. In “You Don’t Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War,” journalist Elizabeth Becker highlights their remarkable careers. Catherine Leroy was a feisty French photographer who landed in Southeast Asia with meager prospects but a fierce drive. She endured the rigors of battle with the troops and, as an accredited parachutist, even jumped with them. She nonetheless remained “an interloper,” constantly having to prove herself “because she wasn’t a guy.” Frances FitzGerald had to overcome the stigma of being seen as an “overprivileged dilettante.” But, like Leroy, she immersed herself in the filth and stench of war, covering stories others did not. Her unique vision resulted in the prize-winning book, “Fire in the Lake,” which helped define the war for “generations of journalists and historians.” Australian Kate Webb was the first reporter on the scene when the American Embassy was overrun during the Tet Offensive, describing what she saw as “a butcher shop in Eden.” She was captured by the North Vietnamese, but having “survived nearly six years of war…still lobbied to return to cover the end.” Becker herself began her career as a war correspondent for the Washington Post in Cambodia in 1973. By retracing the steps of the groundbreaking women who came before her, she pays tribute to the “pioneers who changed how the story of war was told”

A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events

goin’ on,” the chief says, “and we’re always the ones with the blindfold?” Eventually, it falls to the ever-resourceful Sky Pirates to get to the bottom of things. Rich in atmosphere and period details, “The Dead Man on the Corner” is a terrific adventure that captures both the joyous freedom of kids let loose to explore their world and the potential dangers that lurk behind the chicken coop in even the most innocent back yard. A decorated Vietnam vet, Jim Magner is an award-winning author and artist who has written the Hill Rag’s popular art column, “Art and the City,” since 2002. www.jamesjohnmagner.com

Race as Wallpaper

In James Magner’s “The Dead Man on the Corner,” the appearance of a dead guy is only the first odd event in a Tucson neighborhood in 1953.

and ensured that “the term ‘woman war correspondent’ was no longer an oxymoron.’ An award-winning journalist, Elizabeth Becker was the senior foreign editor of the National Public Radio and a New York Times correspondent. www. elizabethbecker.com.

The Pirates of Tucson

“You can try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes,” writes Tamara Lucas Copeland, “[but] we never know what it’s like to be of another race.” She nonetheless does a remarkable job of showing what life was like in the segregated South in the 50s and 60s. In “Daughters of the Dream: Eight Girls from Richmond Who Grew Up in the Civil Rights Era,” Copeland relates the experience of a group of girls who became friends in elementary and high school, went their separate ways in college, and came together again 25 years later to form an even stronger bond. During her childhood, Copeland “lived in a segregated neighborhood and attended a segregated school,” but because her parents deflected the impact of those harsh realities, “I didn’t know I was being denied anything.” When she and some of her friends entered an integrated junior high school in 1963, the year of the March on Washington, they protested the school fight song of “Dixie” and worked to elect a Black homecoming queen. But, like all teenage girls,

Every neighborhood has its characters. And Tucson in 1953, the locus for James John Magner’s new novel, “The Dead Man on the Corner,” is no exception. First, there are the Sky Pirates, a gang of kids who swagger around in buccaneer gear, bury treasure in the desert, and gather in a scraggly vacant lot to fight epic battles with their rigged kites. Then there’s Tom Sullivan, an aging barber who entertains the kids with tales of the Old West; his friend Nino, an Apache who is the grandson of Cochise; and an assortment of gangsters, creepy photographers, eavesdropping old ladies, and veterans refighting WWI. “And right in the middle of it…the glue, so to speak, that held it all together, there was the mysterious dead man on the corner.” The guy found sprawled on the curb is only the beginning of the neighborhood’s sense that “there’s something funny going on.” The police are flummoxed. “You ever Author Tamara Lucas Copeland writes a collective memoir Award-winning journalist Elizabeth Becker pays tribute to about a group of friends who grew up together in Richmond three groundbreaking women war correspondents in “You feel like there’s a game of blind man’s bluff Don’t Belong Here.”

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in “Daughters of the Dream.”

they were more concerned with their hair, their clothes, and boys. “We had lived, perhaps obliviously, through a period of incredible change,” Copeland reflects, and as high school ended, “we were about to go into eight different directions.” The young women went off to college and careers, adulthood and parenthood, marriages and divorces. They mostly lost touch with each Cleaning out her mother’s house leads former columnist Jennifer Howard to a deeper understanding of why we other until they came back toaccumulate stuff in “Clutter.” gether in 1994 and gradually re-established their friendmore than 500 cookbooks. And it fell to her ship, which continues to this day. daughter to clean it up. In looking back through the eventful deBut Howard delves well beyond her cades they lived though, Copeland notes that charge, examining the dangers of hoarding race was “part of our day-to-day reality, like and of “a culture that creates a craving for wallpaper.” Despite the challenges, though, things we don’t need.” She traces the roots “those eight Negro girls who started elemenof excess consumerism back to the Victoritary school together became eight successful ans and follows it through the age of mailAfrican American women,” she writes. “It’s order catalogues to big-box stores and onsimple. We are family. We are the Daughters line retailers. of the Dream.” She also addresses the industry that has Tamara Copeland is the former presigrown up around decluttering, interviewing dent of the Washington Regional Association professionals who help people pare down of Grantmakers, and also led Voices for Amertheir stuff and junk haulers who tote it away. ica’s Children, the National Health & EducaAnd she notes that accumulating stuff is not tion Consortium, and the Infant Mortality merely an individual or family problem, but is Initiative of Southern Governors’ Association having an increasing impact on the environand Southern Legislative Conference. https:// ment, “cluttering up the planet in ways that daughtersofthedream.org humans have not yet reckoned with.” Yet still we buy, discard, repeat. As HowDrowning in Stuff ard writes, cleaning out our parents’ housJennifer Howard was faced with a formidable es has now become a “generational rite of task. So she did what any reasonable person passage for contemporary Americans.” But would do. She tackled it “in bits and pieces,” thanks to her, we at least have some good comspending more than a year dealing not only pany as we fill the trash bags, someone who with mountains of debris, but also with “emohas rooted beneath the surface and is able to tional snares.” Then she wrote a book about it. eloquently express the burdensome mix of reIn “Clutter: An Untidy History,” Howard sentment, forgiveness, and catharsis that go describes the mess that confronted her when with the job. she walked into the house that her mother had Jennifer Howard is a former contributoccupied for more than 50 years. A hoarder ing editor and columnist for The Washington who “trailed chaos in her wake,” Howard’s Post, a former senior reporter for The Chronmother had accumulated “heaps and stacks icle of Higher Education, and a contributor to and boxes and bags” of stuff—from festering numerous publications, including the Times takeout containers and “glasses with brown Literary Supplement and Slate. www.jennifersludge at the bottom” to designer shoes and howard.com u

THE POETIC HILL

by Karen Lyon

ancy Arbuthnot is a DC artist and writer who was formerly an English professor at the US Naval Academy and is now an occasional art and poetry workshop leader at CHAW and Calvary Women’s Services. She is looking forward to upcoming artist’s residencies at AnnMarie Gardens and Catoctin Mountain National Park. Her poem below is from her 2020 book, “Postcards from the Border: Poems and Watercolor Meditations,” and also appeared in an exhibit at the Capitol Hill Arts League.

city of my city of white monuments overheard on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial rising above the Potomac’s dark waters sometimes I just have to come here to take back my country remember our dreams

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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EUPHORIA HEALING AND WELLNESS: An Oasis in the Heart of the Hill by Pattie Cinelli

Euphoria Healing & Wellness Owner and Founder Scott Smith

any businesses that we loved had to shut down last year, so it’s great to see a wellness business open and survive. Euphoria, located at 611 ½ Pennsylvania Avenue SE, is a holistic personal training studio that offers energy sessions and body work. Their offerings are much needed by Hill residents, especially during the time of COVID. Owner Scott Smith has created a space where residents can go and leave their problems and worries outside the door. They can get a service that will help them feel better. “Even a half hour of self-care is so important,” said Smith. Euphoria is different from a spa or fitness studio. It offers both private workouts and spa-like treatments. It also hosts private events and will cater to couples. Smith’s services are centered in natural, holistic healing. Some are based in massage therapy, some sessions are breathing meditation sessions, and some are more energy work which aids in realigning body, mind imbalances. “All of our sessions are meant to heal and bring a greater sense of circulation and range of motion. The feeling you get from taking one of our services is being in a tranquil zone. Many don’t know how to get into that space. People feel comfortable in Euphoria. It is somewhere they can let go.” Most sessions are a half hour. “We wanted to open up our services to people who could take advantage during lunch. We want them to be able to fit it into their lifestyle and not just for a special occasion,” said Smith. Euphoria also sells products that are locally made in DC by a woman-owned organization. They have all-natural CBD and hemp products.

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not figure out the problem. The doctor who discovered the remedy for his leg was a NatuWhen Smith graduated college in 2004, he ropath who Smith said has given him his life decided to become a personal trainer. “I had back. “I was afraid I was never going to work chronic pain, two back surgeries and underout again or run again. I almost had exploratowent more than 16 epidural shots in my spine, ry surgery. I got depressed from the pain and all before the age of 21,” he said. So he was eager to help others avoid the pain he had endured. He taught clients how to relax, get fit and be pain-free. However, Smith was not following his own advice. “Though I looked like I worked out every day, I woke up one morning and everything fell apart,” he said. “My body was internalizing the stress. I didn’t even feel stressed. But I developed a tumor on my leg and had terrible back pain. I could barely walk.” He could no longer demonstrate the exercises he was teaching to his cliBrijon displaying our Holistic all Natural ents. He had gone to difCBD Healing Products. ferent doctors who could

“My emphasis is helping people get their power back. I don’t want them to feel helpless like I did and not know where to turn for help...” lack of answers or relief.” Smith decided to open a brickand-mortar facility to help others and prevent them from falling into the same painful situation that he had recovered from. “My emphasis is helping people get their power back. I don’t want them to feel helpless like I did and not know where to turn for help. Focusing on my energy flow and learning how not to stress is what really helped me get well.” Smith said what he learned in his journey is why he opened Euphoria. “We all have a million excuses for not practicing self-care and can find all kinds of things that come before taking care of ourselves, but you are doing a disservice to yourself and to everyone and everything around you [if you neglect your needs].”

COVID Clean Smith said that Euphoria is following all the COVID guidelines for a clean, healthy environment. It is an appointment-only establishment. The facility uses a UV disinfectant and disposable sheets and products. “We do temperature checks and contact tracing. We require masks. We are staying ahead of the curve through our cleanliness, sanitation and common sense.”

A Variety of Fitness, Energy and Body Sessions Available Smith created services at Euphoria that help a client rest, restore and repair. In addition to Smith, who has been a personal trainer for 17 years and is a massage therapist, Euphoria has on staff a trainer who ran the ex-

ercise program for the CDC. Another massage therapist on staff has more than 25 years’ experience as a natural healer and does Reiki and Chakra Realignment. Smith also has a trained Doula and a sound therapist. Euphoria has a Naturopath as well as a world champion boxer running its boxing program.

Why Capitol Hill? Smith does not live on the Hill, but he chose this area to open up a business. “I was intrigued by neighborhood aspect of it,” he said. “I looked at lots of neighborhoods but nothing had the sense of community like the Hill.” “We had an interesting launch during the time of the shutdown, he said. “We were boarded up three times during the past year. A lot of things have gotten in the way of opening a business, but we are still here and excited to here,” said Smith. Smith has found that the benefit to creating a business like Euphoria has given him a sense of calm and comfort. “Doing this kind of work in the tumultuous times we are living in makes me feel as if I am contributing a service that is truly needed.” For more information or to schedule an appointment log onto: www: euphoriadc.org. Pattie Cinelli is a health and fitness professional and journalist who has been writing her column for more than 20 years. She focuses on non-traditional ways to stay healthy and get well. Please email her with questions or column suggestions at: fitmiss44@aol.com. ◆

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. family life .

/ The District Vet /

CATS AND AGGRESSION

fter house-soiling, aggression is the second most common behavioral issue we see in cats. Aggression in cats is not taken as seriously as in dogs, probably because cats are smaller and people simply dismiss their behavior as being normal for a cat or that the cat is simply grumpy that day. This is a big mistake—cat bites and claws can inflict serious harm to their people and other cats, leading to infections and even hospitalization. Key to preventing aggression is understanding the types of feline aggression, their triggers, and some measures to prevent this unwanted behavior. First, what does cat aggression look like and how is it different than playing? It is not as easy to divine a cat’s intentions as a dog, but body posture and facial expressions are a good start. Aggression can either be offensive or defensive—with both being equally dangerous. An offensive posturing cat will usually have a direct stare, erect ears, straightlegged upright stance, directly face the opponent, and frequently growl. The pupils may also be small. Whereas defensive behavior includes eyes wide open, a crouched position with the head tucked in, ears flattened, hair raised on the back, turning sideways, hissing or spitting, and possibly striking with front paws, claws out. Why is the cat showing aggression in the first place? First is the cat healthy? Medical problems such as hyperthyroidism, dental pain, arthritis, painful areas and infectious diseases, including toxoplasmosis, can increase aggressive behavior. If given the medical all-clear, carefully observe your cat’s behavior. Can you figure out what made her upset in the first place? Who did s h e

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by Dan Teich, DVM attack? What happened for the thirty minutes before the incident? Where did it happen? These answers will help you prevent future incidents. Aggression usually does not happen out of the blue: your cat has a reason. There is a purpose to the effort. The most common type is cat-to-cat aggression. Unneutered male cats will have aggression toward others as they stake out their territory. But aggression between members of a household can be more complicated. The instigating cat will posture, while the other cat will make itself look smaller. The reasons for household members to have a dust-up can include size differences, territory claims, redirected aggression (see below), lack of feline socialization, resource guarding, and more. Cats will posture and display aggressive-type behaviors when they are frightened or threatened. This makes sense—they puff up and defend themselves. They usually assume a more defensive posture, but may become more aggressive should the cat not be able to avoid that which is making it fearful in the first place. Things which may make a cat fearful can include strange people, new objects, unusual smells, being startled, loud noises. If this behavior is seen, back away and give the cat space. If possible, eliminate the inciting cause. The cat should calm down. Rough play can lead to aggressive behaviors. Kittens and younger cats play in order to learn behaviors essential for survival. The cats learn to not hurt each other when playing, but this inhibition may not be present in cats weaned young or raised by themselves. Therefore when the cat plays with

its human, it may swat, chase, nip, and show predatory behaviors. Such behavior should not be encouraged, especially encouraging cats to chase peoples’ hands and feet. Cats also play rough when they have been inactive for long periods of time. We may think cats are solitary creatures and don’t mind being home for extended periods, but they too require social interaction to have healthy behaviors. A tired cat is usually a good cat. Redirected aggression can be the most dangerous form of cat aggression as the behavior is uninhibited and can result in serious bites and injuries. This behavior occurs when a cat is agitated or scared by another cat, animal or person, that it cannot reach. The cat will turn to the person or animal nearby and viciously attack them. The most common scenario is a cat watching another cat through a window or a screen door. It can also occur when the cat is frightened, smells another cat on a person, stalking another animal, or if a person tries to break up a cat fight. The time between the inciting cause and the incident can be hours, although it is frequently closely connected to the time of the cause. The attack usually occurs if the person approaches the cat—this cat does not seek out someone to attack. The behavior can be thought of as a reflex. This is why you should leave an agitated cat alone and also not break up cat fights. The last type we will address is petting-induced aggression. Some cats like to be stroked, others don’t. The cat may tolerate it for a while, but then they are quite suddenly irritated and will let you know. To them, it may become annoying, or static may build up in their fur. Whatever it is, your cat wants you to stop. And you should respect their wishes. Cats generally do not display aggression without a reason. Discerning the cause may help you and your cat live a more peaceable coexistence. Listen to your cat. Dan Teich, DVM is Medical Director at District Veterinary Hospital Eastern Market. ◆

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. family life .

kids&family

NOTEBOOK by Kathleen Donner

Smithsonian Summer Adventures Offer Learning Experiences for Kids Smithsonian Associates presents Smithsonian Summer Virtual Adventures, a series of week-long learning experiences introducing the world of the Smithsonian to children in kindergarten through eleventh grade. Over 50 live, interactive adventures will be held Monday, June 21, through Friday, Aug. 27. Kids can explore Smithsonian collections and themes during these specially designed sessions—live, facilitated activities with peers take place online along with additional challenges and projects to continue offline. Prices for weeklong Smithsonian Summer Adventures are $110 to $245 with discounts for members. Online registration has begun. smithsonianassociates.org/camp.

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Ford’s Theatre Oratory Students Release “Stand Up, Be Heard: The Podcast” Ford’s Theatre has announced that seven high school classrooms in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and Montana are developing a series of student podcasts for release on fords.org as part of their work with the Ford’s Theatre Oratory program. The initial projects for Stand Up, Be Heard: The Podcast in-

clude a three-episode series from each classroom. The first podcast episodes are now available for free streaming at fords.org.

Cameron Run Park is Open Cameron Run Regional Park, 4001 Eisenhower Ave. in Alexandria is open for the season. Spend a summer afternoon splashing and sliding at Great Waves Waterpark. Test your swing in the slowpitch and fastpitch batting cages.

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Imagination Stage’s Theatre for Change Debuts 10 Seconds 10 Seconds, written by Miriam Gonzales and directed by LeeAnét Noble, explores a world where deeply rooted biases and misperceptions easily take hold. Life can often feel unnerving--and can change for better or worse in the blink of an eye depending on how we see each other. Ray and Jimi are Washington, DC high school students who navigate their young adult worlds and what it means to be young Black men in the city. Ray tells the story of a day--and “ten seconds” inside that day--that he and Jimi will never forget, sharing not only their perspectives, but also the views of the police they encounter. Through audience engagement and interactive moments, the film provides opportunities for reflection and discussion. By “stopping time” the audience is asked to imagine what might happen if everyone makes the effort to pause, listen to one another, question our assumptions, and consider the possibilities for change. Interested in a viewing for your school community? Contact Rakeem Lawrence at rlawrence@ imaginationstage.org or 301-280-1645.

Book one of their picnic shelters for a family or community picnic or bring your friends for 18 holes of challenging miniature golf. Through June 23, hours are Monday to Thursday, 4 to 8 p.m.; Friday, 4 to 9 p.m.; weekends and holidays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. https:// www.novaparks.com/parks/cameronrun-regional-park

to look outside their communities and discover a world of wonder. New episodes premiere every other Saturday at 9:30 a.m. on Facebook Premiere. This free programming is best suited for children four to ten, but siblings and friends of other ages are always welcome to join the fun. thenationaldc.com.

Saturday Morning Live! At The National

Candlelight Open Air: Songs from Magical Movie Soundtracks

The Saturday Morning Live! At The National program is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and has delighted children for years with performances designed to engage and inspire the young mind. Virtual performances by nationally known educators and artists encourage children 96 H HILLRAG.COM

Tuesdays in June at 6:30 and 9 p.m., you can enjoy an intimate ambience in a venue bathed in candlelight; a talented, local string quartet performing your favorite songs from magical movie soundtracks; a stunning openair experience at St. Francis Hall; and

a safe, comfortable and socially-distanced event. Hear music from Frozen, The Lion King, Toy Story, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Beauty and The Beast, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio, The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, Tarzan, and Jungle Book. These performances are for age ten and older. $55. St. Francis Hall, 1340 Quincy St. NE. feverup.com.

DCJCC Pathways to Parenthood On Tuesday, May 25, 7 to 9 p.m., join a virtual informal discussion about different paths to family building. The panel will include a fertility doctor, representatives from an adoption agency and the DC foster care system, a lawyer who facilitates egg donor and gestational carrier agreements, and parents who have built families in a variety of ways. The program will consist of brief formal presentations from each of the panelists followed by lots of time in breakout rooms for more intimate conversations and questions. LGBTQ and straight, couples and single parents, Jewish and non-Jewish are all warmly welcomed. Come prepared to ask questions, get support, and connect with other people on the path to parenthood. edcjcc.org.

Live Music at Occoquan Music on Mill is a free summer concert series featuring family-friendly entertainment. Concerts are held one Saturday evening a month at River Mill Park, 458 Mill St. and run from 7 to 9 pm. Guests are invited to bring a blanket or lawn chairs and enjoy live entertainment as well as stunning views of the Occoquan River. Here’s the summer schedule: May 15, Mystery Machine (Rock); June 19, Monallo (Indie); July 17, Collective (Covers); August 6, Che-

TAE KWON DO WE HAVE RESTARTED! 10’ SOCIAL DISTANCING. FULLY MASKED. SPOTS AVAILABLE ON THE WAITING LIST.

6TH & EYE ST., NE. - PARKING • MASTERGUTMAN@GMAIL.COM

May 2021 H 97

ENTER THE ANNUAL

PET PHOTO CONTEST!

CATEGORIES: •Best Overall Photos •Darling Dogs •Finest Felines •Cleverest Caption

•Best Best Buddies •Human Human & Pet Best Buddies •Hill Hill Haunts •Pandemic Pandemic Pics

ley Tackett (Americana); August 21, Up All Night (Pop). Free. occoquanva.gov/summer-concert-series.

Send us your favorite pet photos for a chance at fame! Winning entries will be published in the July Hill Rag, our Special Pet Issue, and on our website at hillrag.com.

GBF Children’s Village Throughout the month of May, in the virtual Gaithersburg Book Festival Children’s Village, you will find a literary sea of activities, workshops and performances. They are designed to engage and stimulate your child’s book curiosity and interest in reading and writing. The festival kicks off on Saturday, May 1, and programming will run on both weekdays and weekends through May 28. Visit gaithersburgbookfestival.org regularly and subscribe to their e-newsletter for program schedule updates.

TO ENTER:

DEADLINE: 6/16/21

Capital Community News, Inc. Publishers of:

DC Sail Youth Programs

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DC Sail’s goal is to allow DC kids to interact with and experience the waterways that surround their city. Through Kids Set Sail and the High School Racing Program, DC Sail is able to provide fun and educational sailing programs to area children. Each of their youth programs follows the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) curriculum and use the exciting sport of sailing to develop self-respect and sportsmanship, foster teamwork, as well as cultivate sailing skills and an appreciation for maritime-related activities. Read more at dcsail. org/youth.

Kids’ Giveaways at Nat’s Park in May On Saturday, May 1 and Wednesday, May 5, the giveaway is a Daniel Hudson World Series Bobblehead; on Tuesday, May 11, a World Series Tote; on Sunday, May 23, a Nationals Kids Screech Travel Pillow. mlb. com/nationals.

Games for Young Scientists Did you know that scientists get to solve puzzles every day? Science and research involve finding solutions from the clues given. Help young scientists stay engaged in different topics like health and the environment with these fun, educational games from the National Institutes of Health. Games include brainteasers, puzzles, riddles and songs. kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/ index.htm.

Civil War to Civil Rights Trading Cards The National Park Service is offering more than 500 trading cards to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. These trading cards reveal more about the role that Frederick Douglass and his comrades played in helping to end slavery and expand civil rights. There are five available at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE: Frederick Douglass, Blanche K. Bruce, The North Star, Wendell Phillips, and The Planter. When the site reopens, ask a ranger about the cards. Visit flickr.com/ photos/tradingcardsnpsyahoocom/ collections/72157629789961004/.

DPR Summer Camp Registration is Open DC residents can now sign up for DPRs traditional summer camps, modified to include social distancing and safety guidelines. Sessions are June 28 to July 9; July 12 to 23; July 26 to Aug. 6; and Aug. 9 to 20. dprsummercamp.com.

Story Time Writing On Saturdays, May 15 and June 19, at 10 a.m., Anacostia Playhouse’s young artists will have an opportunity to interact with Melissa Victor, May 2021 H 99

. family life .

Photo: Jaclyn Nash for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

the creator of “Stoopkid Stories” a children’s story podcast. During these exciting sessions they will share ideas to create short stories or a play that will be performed by them. This is an opportunity for young artists to use their imaginations by exploring theme-based subjects or current events to develop their own new work. This series is recommended for kids eight to fourteen. $15 per session. anacostiaplayhouse.org. Talking About Race, Love & Truth On Thursday, May 13, 5 p.m., best-selling children’s authors Renée Watson and Adam Gidwitz, with editors and publishers Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson, will take questions from listeners. Live Q&A. Advanced registration is required at loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/ WN_5VpiRn2zRfCXR7khnE58uw.

Know Any Teen Activists? Students Opposing Slavery (SOS) is an initiative of President Lincoln’s Cottage. A cornerstone of the SOS program is the week-long Students Opposing Slavery International Summit, which President Lincoln’s Cottage first launched in 2013. At the Summit, dozens of teenagers from around the world come together to gain resources and training to take-action against human trafficking in their own communities. 100 H HILLRAG.COM

NMAAHC Weekly Kids’ Programs Inspired by its children’s book “A Is for All the Things You Are: A Joyful ABC Book”, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture recently launched a new activity booklet series designed for infants, toddlers and early learners. The Joyful ABC Activity Booklet series provides caregivers and educators with guides to support children’s positive identity development while also growing their language and literacy skills. Through July, four additional booklets will be made available for free download the first Monday of every month. Activity booklets for letters A–I are currently available to download for free on nmaahc. si.edu/learn/early-childhood/joyful-abc-activity-books. In addition, the new interactive activity booklet series will be explored every Friday at 11 a.m., through July during the museum’s free weekly children’s art program, Joyful Fridays. Designed for children ages four to eight, Joyful Fridays’ museum educators will discuss featured museum objects and lead an art project celebrating black joy, history and culture. Read more and register at nmaahc.si.edu/events/upcoming. Past programs can be found on video.ibm.com/channel/zCPF4U3hFPc. Started in 2012 by four teenagers who believed that they had a responsibility to do what they could to end slavery in their time, SOS has continued to flourish. Today, SOS is a growing network of young abolitionists from around Washington, DC, the nation, and the world who are working together to end slavery. The 2021 (virtual) Summit will take place June 27 to July 2. Applications from high school sophomores to college seniors are due Monday, May 10. This an opportunity for students who are looking for community service hours or volunteer opportunities this summer, or any blossoming activists looking to make a difference. Read more at lincolncottage.org/learn/students-opposing-slavery.

Pilot Pals Pilot Pals is an educational, interactive application for ages four to six. It introduces early learners to basic concepts about weather, gears, airplane parts and rockets through self-guided exploration of four animated activities based on the Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery at the Air and Space Museum. pioneersofflight.si.edu/content/pilot-pals.

DCSAA Issues Spring Sports Guidance The District of Columbia State Athletic Associa-

tion, in consultation with DC Health, has developed guidance so that low-risk high school sports can commence training and competition. A Public Health Emergency remains in place through May 20. This means that moderate- and high-risk sports such as football, wrestling, basketball, lacrosse and soccer may participate in conditioning and skill development but are prohibited from practicing and competing. Sports that are considered low-risk include baseball, cross-country, golf, softball, tennis and track and field. DCSAA has developed specific guidance for these sports to follow, including recommended mask wearing, social distancing and sanitizing. To learn more, visit dcsaasports.org. u

SUMMER CAMP 2021 In-person with COVID-19 Protocols and Virtual Camps

DC Prep campuses now accepting applications for the 21-22 school year in ward 5, 7 & 8. We’re the highest performing public charter schools serving PK3 – 8th grade.

Call 202-780-5126 for more information or visit:

dcprep.org

Nurturing life-long learners, courageous risk-takers, and joyous peacemakers. www.friendscommunityschool.org

June 14 – August 20

10 Weekly Sessions I Ages 3.5-14

Experience the Joy of EXTRAORDINARY SUMMER CAMPS! Archery & Wilderness I Cooking & Baking I Arts & Crafts Coding I Engineering I Ultimate Frisbee and more! Open to All! Registrations Open Now! Questions? Contact Van Nguyen vann@friendscommunityschool.org (On 17 acres in College Park, just 15-20 minutes from Capitol Hill)

friendscommunityschool.org FOLLOWING STRICT COVID-19 STATE REGULATIONS Our schools have been successfully operating during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Please refer to the website for the COVID-19 policies.

TEACHING WITH SUCCESS FOR 18 YEARS

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CHIROPRACTIC Living on & serving the Hill since 1986

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CONTRACTORS

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XWORD “I can’t figure it out” by Myles Mellor Across:

1. Arid region 7. Japanese massage 14. Horse relatives 19. Times to remember 20. Popular woman Indy car driver 21. Milan opera house, with “La” 22. In no way logical 25. Having taken food 26. Cries of regret 27. ___meter (measures distance travelled) 28. Not the usual spelling: Abbr. 29. Rap doctor 30. Phone no. add-on 32. Realities 34. Banded stone 39. Football gains, abbr. 41. Bright circle? 44. Good works ad 45. Wind instrument player 46. Part of a giggle 48. “___ fair in love and war” 50. Truck, in a way 52. Med school subj. 53. Isn’t adding up 58. Put to the test 59. Cod relations 60. Circulars to clients 62. Writer Hunter 63. Geom. point 64. Midback muscle, for short 65. Cavity treater’s deg. 66. Tanning lotion letters 69. Mideast capital 71. Remained in place 74. Plaintive cry 76. Detach 78. Blvds. 79. Hupmobile contemporary 81. When repeated, a dance 83. An entree, when prime 85. Poop 86. Bank box 90. Patronize, as a restaurant

91. Type of boat that tows 94. Bit of baloney 96. A ___ aardvark 98. Common Amer. paper size 99. They have mtgs. in schools 100. Approves 101. Domain of the lowest noble rank 103. Internet addresses 106. Geologic period 108. Mauna ___ 111. Artillery burst 112. Female fowl 114. Aegean island 116. ‘80s prime-time alien 118. Apt rhyme for ‘’pursue’’ 120. Go astray 121. CPO’s group 123. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Combs 125. Meaningless response 131. Capital of Vietnam 132. Everywhere 133. Banner 134. George Bernard and others 135. They hold your horses 136. Kitchen appliances

Down:

1. Tailored, in a way 2. Honey maker locale 3. Got more exciting 4. Dull pain 5. Wine region 6. Tempe campus, for short 7. Nimble 8. Cries of surprise 9. Van or san followers 10. Sir Lancelot’s battle garb 11. Busy 12. Gets cracking 13. Ukraine, for short 14. In a muddle 15. Egyptian beetle 16. Palindromic airline

Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com 17. Band with the album “All Over the World” 18. ___ Pedro 23. UK museum 24. Campers, for short 31. Marvel superheroes 32. Converses 33. Lacks, briefly 35. Territory of India 36. “If it ___ broke ...” 37. Russian leader before 1917 38. British painter, William 40. Singer Easton 42. Parents, usually 43. Creamy salad 45. Additional sound blended into a recording 47. Symbol on Superman’s chest 49. Convince

51. Worn 53. Crane 54. Sanctions 55. Blast maker 56. Ore deposit 57. Jazzy James 59. Towel embroidery 61. Taxpayer ID 63. At a great price 66. Casino machines, briefly 67. Not-quite-mature insects 68. People movers 70. Some Harvard grads: Abbr. 72. Kind of adapter 73. Old world ‘you’ 75. Melodic 77. Birthplace of Solidarity 80. “What ___?” 82. For one

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84. BBC rival 87. Spectral 88. Usually 89. Picture type--with shot 90. Startled cry 91. Keep ___ on (watch) 92. Insurance company for military personnel and their families 93. Lass 95. London or Manhattan locale 97. Fall month 102. “Calm down!” 104. Spanish dish 105. Piercing in tone 107. Movie 109. Aphid eater 110. Contend 112. ‘The Gold Bug’ writer 113. Grain disease 115. Legume family shrub 117. Kinds of plants 119. Elevator inventor 121. Global taxi middleman 122. Some cameras, for short 124. PGA part 125. Sounds of hesitation 126. “Nope” 127. Actress Balin 128. Note 129. Ending with rest or fest 130. Aviation prefix

DMV Our Motto has always been “To HILL with the Suburbs!”. Even though there are other neighborhoods, we always felt that the Hill was the best combination of private homes and public entertainments, of general affordability and specific location, of historic ambiance and modern amenity.

Licensed in DC & MD

thesmithteam.penfedrealty.com TO HILL WITH SUBURBS!

John Smith Aaron Smith Peter Grimm Kristine Jones Peter Davis Office

202.262.6037 202.498.6794 202.270.6368 202.415.4716 301.332.1634 202.608.1887

And that hasn’t changed a bit. The Hill has grown a lot, North, East, South. Where once there was one supermarket, now there are many, where there was once Eastern Market, now there is H Street, and Union Market. As the nation returns to normalcy, with luck and vaccinations, we will again have access to groceries, pharmacies, wine shops, delicatessens, cafes, coffee shops, diverse restaurants, pubs and bars are all within easy walking distance. For the Commuter, it provides easy access to everywhere via 6 Metro Stations, multiple local and national bus services, & the city’s only trolley! And, for long treks, there’s easy access to 4 Interstate access points, and two of the main eastern routes in and out of the city. There are other suburbs in the city; Few have the ambiance, the amenities or the attractiveness of Capitol Hill! And few have helped buy and sell as many homes as the Smith Team! To HILL with the Suburbs!

ACTIVE & COMING SOON! 616 7TH ST NE

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HILL

with the Suburbs! DECADES OF EXPERIENCE MORE THAN A THOUSAND HOMES SOLD!

BUY HERE, BUY NOW, BUY SMITH! THE SMITH TEAM

We’re LIST-LESS! We’ve SOLD almost All our LISTINGS! Put US to Work 4 U! (We may not know everything, but, we know a lot!)

LICENSED IN DC, MD & VA

KEEP IN TOUCH ABOUT HILL REAL ESTATE AT/ON: www.facebook.com/TheSmithTeam.DC | twitter.com/OneHillofaAgent | www.instagram.com/the_smith_team

705 North Carolina Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003

Hill Rag Magazine – May 2021

Articles inside

The District Vet: Cats and Aggression by Dan Teich

Art and The City by Jim Magner

Poetic Hill by Karen Lyon

Literary Hill by Karen Lyon

The 50 States Art Project, Part One: Seventeen States and a Global Pandemic by Phil Hutinet

At The Movies by Mike Canning

Get Help With DCRA Contractor Rating System: System Joins Permit Wizard to Help Residents Make Project Decisions by Elizabeth O’Gorek

Grubb’s Pharmacy’s Garden: A Gift To The Neighborhood

Commission Blasts DDOT on Safety Concerns: ANC 6D Report by Andrew Lightman

Dear Garden Problem Lady by Wendy Blair

Funds Exhausted for ANC Lawyer in Handle19 Protest: ANC 6B Report

Solar Options for DC Residents: ANC 6A Report by Nick L. Alberti

Opinion: The South Side of Gar eld Park Needs Fixing by Robert Krughoff

Unsafe Bike Lanes Need Addressing: ANC 6C Report by Sarah Payne