HILLRAG_0610

capitalcommunitynews.com • June 2010

Est. 1981

MICHIGAN PARK – 4BR/2BA remodeled home w/ new CAC, finished bsmt, & Pkg! $459,500 www.chriszimmer.com/1934quincyne

1934 Quincy Street, NE Fern Pannill 240-508-4856

CAPITOL HILL – Detached 3BR/2.5BA w/ double decks & parking! $564,500

1159 4th Street, NE

Fern Pannill 240-508-4856

GLOVER PARK – Absolutely perfect 3BR/3BA Glover Park Tudor! $799,000

www.homevisit.com/DC7332222

2416 39th Place, NW

Pete Frias 202-744-8973

LEDROIT PARK – Exceptionally well designed & expanded 4BR/3.5BA w/ legal 1BR apartment!! $648,500 www.chriszimmer.com/155adamsnw

155 Adams Street, NW

Todd Bissey 202-841-SOLD THE BISSEY TEAM

CAPITOL HILL – 1BR Condo w/ patio, parking, fireplace & 12 foot ceilings! $309,000

614 Elliott Street, NE #1C

Genie Hutinet 202-413-7661

HAVE IT ALL ON THE HILL! 1718 Bay Street, SE …3BR/2.5BA, parking, double decks, yard, patio, renovated & 1 block to METRO! www.chriszimmer.com/1718bay

16th St. HEIGHTS – 4BR/2BA charmer w/ finished bsmt, deck & fabulous yard! $569,000 www.chriszimmer.com/4617arkansas

4617 Arkansas Avenue, NW Todd Bissey 202-841-SOLD THE BISSEY TEAM

www.MouseOnHouse.com/10809

Stan Bissey 202-841-1433 THE BISSEY TEAM

$629,500

CAPITOL HILL – New 1BR w/ extra storage & fitness room!

FHA OK! $225,000

410 15th Street, NE #27

Fern Pannill 240-508-4856

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS – New renovation w/ legal 2BR rental, deep yard & 2-car PKG! $719,500

CAPITOL HILL – Two superb 750’ offices just steps to Barrack’s Row & METRO!

715 G Street, SE

Todd Bissey Stan Bissey 202-841-7653 202-841-1433

1362 Taylor Street, NW

Todd Bissey 202-841-SOLD THE BISSEY TEAM

SHEPHERD PARK – Rarely Available RENOVATED Home in Shepherd Park! $849,500

www.MouseOnHouse.com/11435

1508 Portal Drive, NW Pete Frias 202-744-8973

16th St. HEIGHTS – New renovation w/ legal 2BR rental, deep yard & 2-car PKG! $719,500

www.MouseOnHouse.com/10811

1366 Taylor Street, NW Stan Bissey 202-841-1433 THE BISSEY TEAM

16th St. HEIGHTS – 4BR/2.5BA w/ In-Law Suite & 3-Car Carriage House! $486,500 www.MouseOnHouse.com/9984

4507 Arkansas Ave., NW

Todd Bissey 202-841-SOLD

“WHERE WASHINGTON SHOPS FOR A NEW ADDRESS!”® 225 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003

Tel: 202-544-3900 www.johncformant.com

Sales • Rentals • Commercial Leasing • Property Management • Investments

SO LD !

SO LD !

Sundays in Lincoln Park!

1308 N Carolina Avenue, NE

Stately Sensation!

912 East Capitol Street Co-listed with Frank Snellings

Heavenly House Side Haven 431 First Street, SE

Buried Treasure in the Heart of the Hill!

218 6th Street, SE

33 Windows & Oh! The Views!

801 Independence Ave SE

Capitol Hill Castle!

209 8th Street, SE

5217 Westpath Way Ft. Sumner — Bethesda Presented by Wm. C Murphy

Phyllis Jane Young COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE LICENSED BROKER IN DC, MD, AND VA

Supreme Condo at the Court!

11 2nd Street, NE

Opportunity for Sale!

705 N. Carolina Avenue, SE Spectacular Eastern Market Location + C2A Zoning + Parking!

202-544-4236

Visit my listings at cbmove.com, realtor.com, oodle, trulia, cyberhomes, zillow, google, yahoo, aol, craigslist, washingtonpost, nytimes, AND OF COURSE...

WWW.PHYLLISJANEYOUNG.COM capitalcommunitynews.com H

H HillRag | June 2010

Building Sand Castles Is Fun!! But Less Fleeting Is Building Equity Through Home Ownership!!!

Waterfront 4002 17th Street Chesapeake Beach, Md. 20732 Vacation All Year!

You won’t believe the amazing views of the chesapeake bay from almost every room of this beautiful, spacious townhome in the much sought after community of Chesapeake Station! Steps to the beach, boardwalk, resaturants, shopping center, public library, railway musuem, water park and marinas! This home is in “move in” condition and features three bedrooms, three and one half baths, two sided fireplace in master bedroom and master bath.

Fireplace in living room, chef’s kitchen, finished lower level with large recreation room, one bedroom and full bath. Mulitple decks, hot tub and much more! $469,000

The Old Bowen Farm At Sandy Bottom 1525 Old Plum Point Road Huntingtown, Md. 20639 Fully Restored Historic Home Circa 1832 Lovingly restored three bedroom, one and one half bath farm house with wood floors throughout, formal living room, separate dining room, country kitchen, guest cottage/office/artist studio with running water, garage/barn with electric, water and wood stove. A large parking area surrounded by granite curbs and walkways.

This home boasts two center halls with formal staircases, nine and ten foot ceilings surrounded by 92 feet of porch. Historic zoning allows for a bed and breakfast, antique or craft shop. The main house has the original woodwork, doors, wood floors and plaster walls. Property is surrounded by rolling farmland and is an easy commute to DC, Annapolis or Baltimore. $575,000

First Open Sunday June 6th 1-4pm

Huge Price Reduction!

Capitol Hill 127 6th Street, NE Beautiful Semi-Detached Victorian!

Perfectly sited in the shadow of the US Capitol—this charming Victorian has been lovingly maintained by it’s current owners and features three bedrooms, one and one half baths. A beautiful living room and separate dining room plus a large open kitchen overlooking the beautifully landscaped rear garden and courtyard. Wonderfully tall ceilings with extraordinarily deep original moldings welcome you into this lovely home boasting wood floors, decorative fireplaces, two zone heating/AC and a whole house water filtration system. The finished lower level would be perfect for a family/media room with connecting stairs and front access. $744,999

Forest Hills 3883 Connecticut Avenue, NW #110, The Connecticut Almost new contemporary condo building perfectly positioned within walking distance of shopping, restaurants and the Metro at Cleveland Park! This pristine one bedroom/one bath boasts hardwood floors, granite and stainless in the kitchen, and a nicely proportioned bedroom with dual access bath. Complete with lovely parkland views, washer/dryer in the unit and parking!! This luxurious building offers 24 hour concierge, a business center, state of the art gym, and a pool with a large sun deck!! $355,000 or for rent $2,700/mo.

Price Reduced!

2216 North Capitol Street, NW DROP DEAD GORGEOUS PORCH FRONT! High end renovation features an open floor plan with gourmet kitchen - stainless steel appliances, granite counters and recessed lights. French doors lead out to large deck which is perfect for entertaining. Second floor Master bedroom with en suite bath and a separate loft, two other bedrooms and hall bath completes this level. Copious closet/storage space, hardwood floors, ceiling fans, alarm system washer/dryer, high ceilings throughout. Lower level is a legal one bedroom unit with open floor plan, upgraded stainless steel appliances, washer/dryer and outdoor space.

Off street parking for at least two cars. Easy access to downtown, Capitol Hill. $605,000

Steal A Deal 3537 14th Street, NW Prime Commercial Space!

Fabulous opportunity to purchase a prime commercial property located close to the Tivoli Theatre, the new Giant and the Target shopping complex.

The 14th Street corridor is booming with new restaurants, shops and condominiums. This property has been renovated and consists of four office suites, a kitchenette and an unfinished storage basement. $464,000 or for rent $2,700/mo.

Capitol Hill 637 3rd Street, NE B3 Capitol Mansion A wonderful boutique condo building in a superb location within moments of Union Station, restaurants and shops! This terrace level one bedroom/ one bath features an open living/dining/kitchen floor plan. The updated kitchen shines with granite and tile floors. While the bedroom is spacious with a large closet. This unit has been nicely maintained with the installation of a new wall unit A/C. Plus—PARKING- not a typo—one surface parking spot conveys with this unit!! Absolutely the best value on Capitol Hill! $219,000

Finding Folks Their Perfect Capitol Hill Home Since 1988 Proud Sponsor of Hilloween

202-547-5088

www.jackiev.com Allegiance

Licensed in DC, MD, VA & FL capitalcommunitynews.com H

H HillRag | June 2010

W

elcome to The Chesapeake Room where our mission is simple‌ To bring our guests an organic, sustainable, and free range dining experience while bringing to life the natural and fresh taste of each season. We have a passion for all that our beautiful Mid-Atlatic waters and farms have to offer and hope you will, too. Feel free to stick your head in our intimate open kitchen for a chat with Chef Wood about our menu. His love of fresh regional cooking is contagious.

In addition, our spirits program includes houseinfused vodkas and a variety of homemade bitters, concoctions and regional wines and beers that our staff truly enjoys sharing with our guests.

Thank you for coming, and we hope you enjoy!

Available for private events

Now Open: Serving Lunch and Dinner Daily 11am-10pm Brunch Saturday and Sunday 10am-3pm Late Night Menu till 1am Daily

The Chesapeake Room 501 8th Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 (p) 202-543-1445 (f) 202-543-1447

thechesapeakeroom.com

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06.10

What’s Inside

ineveryissue 14 16 34 44 46 58 80 130 138 142

Go ... See ... Do Washington’s Best Calendar The Bulletin Board The District Beat / by Mark Segraves The Numbers / by Ed Lazere Spotted on the Hill / by Peter Vankevich Dining Coupons Classified Ads Last Word The Nose Knows

capitolstreets

60

31 44 46 48 49 50 52 55

Hill Buzz / by Celeste McCall The District Beat: Yes He Can / by Mark Segraves The Numbers: The Recession Hits Home / by Ed Lazere ANC 6A News / by Hunter Gorinson ANC 6B News / by Hunter Gorinson ANC 6C News / by Hunter Gorinson ANC 6D News / by Roberta Weiner Eyes on Eastern: Transforming Our Schools /

by Heather Schoell

communitylife 57 58

60 62

64 65 66

Summer Fun and Learning at CHAW / by Megan Cheek Spotted on the Hill: 50 Species of Birds /

by Peter Vankevich H Street Life / by Elise Bernard South by West: Will M Street Become a “Complete Street”? / by William Rich Barracks Row: Volunteer Here! / by Sharon Bosworth Documentary Take on Market / by Maggie Hall The New CVS / by Roberta Weiner

realestate 67 68

History for Sale / by Robert Pohl Changing Hands: Residential Home Sales / compiled by Don Denton

arts & dining 75 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94

Liberty Tree / by Celeste McCall Ulah Bistro Sizzles on U Street / by Celeste McCall Dining Notes / by Celeste McCall Wedding Wines / by Jon Genderson Zest / by Celeste McCall Theater: Small Casts Can Cast Spells / by Brad Hathaway Art and the City: Ahmed Alkarkhi / by Jim J. Magner The Literary Hill / by Karen Lyon Travel: Turn the Caribbean Clock Back / by Maggie Hall At the Movies / by Mike Canning The Jazz Project / by Jean-Keith Fagon

kidsandfamily 95 100 108

Kids & Family Notebook / by Mary-Frances Daly School Notes / compiled by Susan Braun Johnson Celebrating Young Poets in an Old Tradition / by Amy Arden

beautyhealthfitness 109 112 114

Adaptive Rowing / by Pattie Cinelli When Cats Get Old / by Janet Rosen Finding Flow / by Ronda Bresnick Haus

homesgardens 117

120 124 128

Hill Gardener: Marine Expansion Plans Threaten Community Garden /

by Rindy O’Brien Ask Judith: Spring, Bicycles, Basements / by Judith Capen Garden Spot: Private Garden, Public Spaces / by Derek Thomas Dear Garden Lady / Anonymous

130 138 142

Classifieds Last Word The Nose Knows

COVER: James Marshall (Dalek) Untitled 2008.2, 2008. Acrylic on panel. 20 X 20 inches.

Courtesy Irvine Contemporary 1412 14th Street NW, WDC 20005. 202.332.8767 info@irvinecontemporary.com http://irvinecontemporary.com

90 117

Hill Rag Dc North East Of The River Fagon Community Guides Capital Community News, Inc. 224 7th Street, SE, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20003 202.543.8300 • www.capitalcommunitynews.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Melissa Ashabranner melissaashabranner@hillrag.com Editorial Staff

100 Miles

By Dr. David Walls-Kaufman

T

wo practice members of mine today asked a similar question about their progress. Essentially, the question was, “Why am I still experiencing a symptom now and then even after I am better and have started treatment with you?”

I came up with this analogy: I told them that they should think of their spinal and nervous system problem as their body being a distance of 100 miles from Normal. “When I adjust you,” I said, “you tend to think that I have moved the bone or improved your body situation by the complete 100 miles.” In their minds, they have been restored to normal, or near normal, in one fell swoop!

But, really, the problems has only improved a distance of 8 miles. And then, after their visit, they go back to their lives and encounter more psychological, chemical and physical stresses that pile up on top of the junk that got them to see me in the first place. These new stresses push them 2 miles from the improved place I put them, 2 miles farther from Normal.

Now, they stand at milepost 6, not milepost 0.

When they come in again for the next treatment at milepost 6, I advance them 9 miles to milepost 15. Now, they are 15 miles closer to Normal, but they are still quite vulnerable to wear and tear stresses and new stresses. And as they go about their lives they still encounter stresses that knock them back farther away from Normal yet again.

It is a process! It may take us some patience, but at least we have a process and it is an extremely powerful and effective one at that.

And so, what is in our minds a linear progression toward improvement is, in fact, the serrated edge of a saw blade of ups and downs, or forwards and reversals, that in time add up to a significant improvement.

This improvement allows the body to organize itself better and better resist new problems and heal from both new and old problems faster and more competently.

If we want, we can even go beyond the level of health and well-being that we experienced before we “hurt” ourselves and sought chiropractic care.

For the better health and life experience of you and your family Capitol Hill Chiropractic Center 411 East Capitol St., SE | 202.544.6035 Serving Capitol Hill since 1985.

ADVERTISEMENT

Society & Events

Managing Editor: Andrew Lightman andrew@hillrag.com CFO & Associate Editor: Maria Carolina Lopez carolina@hillrag.com Kids & Family Editor: Susan Braun Johnson schools@hillrag.com Associate Editor: Mary-Frances Daly maryfrances@hillrag.com

Mickey Thompson • socialsightings@aol.com

Homes & Gardens

Rindy O’Brien - Hill Gardener • rindyob@mac.com Derek Thomas • derek@thomaslandscapes.com Judith Capen • judith.capen@architravepc.com HomeStyle: Mark Johnson • mark@hillrag.com

News & Neighborhood Reports

Arts, Dining & Entertainment

Art: Jim Magner • jjmagner@aol.com Dining: Celeste McCall • celeste@hillrag.com Hit the City: Hunter Gorinson • hunter.gorinson@gmail.com Literature: Karen Lyon • klyon@folger.edu Movies: Mike Canning • mjcanning@verizon.net Music: Stephen Monroe • samonroe2004@yahoo.com Retail Therapy: Hunter Gorinson • hunter.gorinson@gmail.com Theater: Brad Hathaway • brad@potomacstages.com Travel: Maggie Hall • whitby@aol.com The Wine Guys: Jon Genderson • jon@cellar.com

Calendar & Bulletin Board

Hill Rag, DC North & East of the River: Calendar Editor: Kathleen Donner calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com

General Assignment

Michelle Evans • invisiblecolours@yahoo.com Celeste McCall • celeste@hillrag.com Heather Schoell • hschoell@verizon.net Tanya Synder • tanya.c.snyder@gmail.com Virginia Avniel Spatz • virginia@hillrag.com Peter Waldron • peter@hillrag.com Hunter Gorinson • hunter.gorinson@gmail.com Stephanie Deutsch • scd@his.com Paul D. Shinkman - pdshinkman@gmail.com Melanie Sunukjian - melsunuk@gmail.com Shannon Holloway - holloway.shannon@gmail.com

BEAUTY, Health­­ & Fitness

Patricia Cinelli • fitmiss44@aol.com Ronda Bresnick Hauss, LCSW • www.quietwaterscenter.com quiet_waters_center@yahoo.com Peter Sherer • Peter@expmatters.com

KIDS & FAMILY

Mary-Frances Daily • kidsnotebook@hillrag.com Susan Johnson • schools@hillrag.com

anc6a:

Tanya Snyder • tanya.c.snyder@gmail.com Hunter Gorinson • hunter.gorinson@gmail.com anc6c: Hunter Gorinson • hunter.gorinson@gmail.com anc6d: Roberta Weiner • rweiner_us@yahoo.com Barracks Row: sharon@barracksrow.org H Street Life: Elise Bernard • inked78@hotmail.com the Nose: thenose@hillrag.com Logan Circle • mark@hillrag.com Shaw • shaw@hillrag.com Mount Vernon Triangle • triangle@hillrag.com Bloomingdale • bloomingdale@hillrag.com 14th & U • 14thandU@hillrag.com anc6b:

Production/Graphic Design

Associate Art Director: Jason Yen 202.543.8300 X21 • jay@hillrag.com Graphic Designer/ Web Master: Jason Nickens 202.543.8300 X17 • jason@hillrag.com

Advertising & Sales

Senior Account Executive: Deborah Bandzerewicz 202.543.8300 X13 • deb@hillrag.com Account Executive: Kira Means 202.543.8300 X16 • kira@hillrag.com Classified Advertising: Maria Carolina Lopez 202.543.8300 X12 • carolina@hillrag.com

Distribution

Distribution Manager: Andrew Lightman Distributors: Southwest Distribution Distribution Information: distribution@hillrag.com

Deadlines & CONTACTS

Advertising: sales@hillrag.com Display Ads: 15th of each month Classified Ads: 10th of each month Editorial: 15th of each month; submissions@hillrag.com Bulletin Board & Calendar: 15th of each month; calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com

We welcome suggestions for stories. Send queries to andrew@hillrag.com.

We are also interested in your views on community issues which are published in the Last Word.

Please limit your comments to 250 words. Letters may be edited for space. Please include your name, address and phone number. Send Last Word submissions to lastword@hillrag.com.

For employment opportunities email jobs@hillrag.com.

Publisher: Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Copyright © 2010 by Capital Community News. All Rights Reserved.

capitalcommunitynews.com 10 H HillRag | June 2010

Capitol Hill, We Truly Appreciate Your Business.

As a leader in the home remodeling industry, P&P is just the company you need for your kitchen and bathroom remodel, handyman service, garage, sunroom, and new room additions! Call us today to schedule your complimentary consultation and learn about our home expansion options. You can also view more of our award winning work online.

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12 H HillRag | June 2010

Marvelous Market 303 7th Street SE (202) 544-7127

*Your Neighborhood Realtors* FOR SALE:

BAKERY CAFÉ BISTRO DELI BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER SNACKS ENTERTAINING CATERING TGI MARVELOUS: Through October. Live

entertainment EVERY Friday from 5-7 on the patio featuring Redwood Classical Guitar Duo and Dave Mosick & Friends.

1st Friday of each month:

1307 South Carolina,SE $1,100,000 | 6 bds, 3 1/2 bath Grand Lady, with 4 parking spaces and 2 bedroom rental unit

1238 D Street, SE $699,999 | Oversized 2BR, 1.5 BA with VAST deep back yard with garage

5016 9th St, NW $564,000 | 3BR, 3BA, Basement

1311 Delaware Ave, SW Unit S445 | $114,900

studio apt, 4 car pkg

Studio, 1BA

UNDER CONTRACT: 1323 Corbin Place, NE ...................................................... $569,000 342 14th St, SE.................................................................. $609,000 736 7th St, SE ................................................................... $599,000 509 D St, NE .................................................................... $420,000

Kids music with MR. SKIP

Megan Shapiro (Cell) 202-329-4068

Last Friday of each month: Wine Tasting

meg@megandgeorge.com

*Time for Ballgames and Summer picnics. Fresh baked bread and cheese, sandwiches and treats.*Crisp summer wines & sparkling soda.* WWW.MARVELOUSMARKET.COM

Hours: 7am-9pm Monday-Saturday 8am-7pm Sundays

George Olson (Cell) 202-203-0339

george@megandgeorge.com

www.megandgeorge.com PROUD SPONSORS OF THE MOTH (Moms on the Hill) FAMILY FEST June 6, Garfield Park, 3:30 - 7!

Allegiance

The Norris Group capitalcommunitynews.com H 1

GO.SEE.DO. Elvis!

His Groundbreaking, Hip-Shaking, Newsmaking Story. Daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, through Feb. 14, 9 AM-5 PM. Newseum. Experience the power of Elvis Presley and the explosive impact he had on music and popular culture. The exhibit opens in what would have been Presley’s 75th birthday year. It tells the story of Presley as he was portrayed in the news media and explores how his music and physicality pushed the boundaries of mainstream taste and free expression. $19.95 plus tax (10 percent discount with online ticket purchase). 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 888-639-7386, www.newseum.org.

Washington Folk Festival.

June 5, 10 AM-6 PM; June 6, Noon-6 PM. Glen Echo Park. This festival presents the public with the many folk music, dance and craft traditions that are part of the greater Washington area. The festival presents over 400 performers on seven stages, including a participatory dance program in the Spanish Ballroom, a storytelling stage and music for family audiences.

Local artisans will demonstrate and exhibit their crafts. Free.

7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, Md. www.fsgw.org.

14 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Discovering the Civil War “Beginnings”.

Daily through Sept. 6, 10 AM-7 PM (summer hours). National Archives. Unlock secrets, solve mysteries, and unearth stories in this exciting new exhibit. Discovering the Civil War features the most extensive display ever assembled from the National Archives’ incomparable Civil War holdings. Through unusual perspectives, seldom-seen documents, and engaging interactives, everyone from the Civil War buff to the novice can “discover” the Civil War. The second half of this exhibit, Discovering the Civil War “Consequences,” opens in November and closes in April 2011. Free. Constitution Avenue and Seventh Street NW. 1866-272-6272, www.archives.gov.

DanceAfrica DC. June 5 and 6, 12:30 PM to sundown. Dance Place. This annual festival, celebrating the dances and music of the African Diaspora, honors traditional heritage and its transformation into contemporary forms. The vitality and richness of African culture is experienced through dance, music, visual arts, food, clothing and crafts. Through master classes, outreach to school children, a series of performances and an African Marketplace, Dance Africa DC promotes a greater understanding of African culture and illuminates its importance to this city and the nation. Free outdoor performances and marketplace. 3225 Eighth St. NE. 202-269-1600, www.danceplace.org.

Discovering the Civil War “Beginnings”. Photo: image by Earl McDonald for the National Archives.

“Gretty Good Time” by John Belluso.

June 3 through July 3. H Street Playhouse. Set in 1955, Gretty Good Time is a dark comedy that tells the story of Gretty, who has been forced to live her life in a nursing home after a childhood bout with polio left her paralyzed. Gretty is visited in her dreams by Hideko, a young Japanese woman whose face was disfigured in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. They climb onboard Gretty’s flying wheelchair and soar backwards through time to confront the painful memories that haunt them. Mixing historical fact, poetic flights of fancy, and an Epic Theatre sensibility, Gretty Good Time explores contemporary issues through the framework of a strong character journey. $30 ($20 for seniors and students). Pay-what-you-can, June 3, 8 PM and June 4, 8 PM. at 1365 H St. NE. 202-399-7993, www.theateralliance.com.

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★ ★ ★

JUNE

HillRag CALENDAR

AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

NoMa Summer Screen Wednesdays, through July 28, 9 PM. June 2, “Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn”; June 9, “Donnie Darko”; June 16, “Back to the Future”; June 23, “The Fifth Element”; June 30, “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial”; July 7, “Sleeper”; July 14, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”; July 21, “Logan’s Run”; July 28, “Groundhog Day.” Each film preceded by live DJs, barbecue, special guests and more. Free.

L Street between Second and Third streets NE. 202-289-0111, www.nomasummerscreen.com.

16 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Barracks Row, Second Saturday.

Second Saturday of every month.

5:30-9:30 PM. Stroll Barracks Row and enjoy promotional samples from restaurants, discounts at retailers. Eighth Street SE from Pennsylvania Avenue to the Navy Yard. 202-544-3188. www.barracksrow.org St. Augustine’s Game Night. Friday, June 4, 7 PM. St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church. This event includes a potluck supper. Community members and families are invited to bring their favorite games and enjoy a fun evening of fellow-

ship. Free. 600 M St. SW. 202-5543222 or rector@staugustinesdc.org.

Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony. Sundays, 2 PM. Sidamo Coffee and Tea. Visit Sidamo on Sundays and take part in a centuries-old ceremony led by storeowner Yalemzwed “Mimi” Desta. 417 H St. NE. 202-548-0081. www.sidamocoffeeandtea.com.

BECOME A POOL MEMBER AND HAVE ACCESS TO:

• A sparkling competition-sized pool surrounded by a 15,000 square foot pool deck.

• Pool usage 7 days a week. M-F 11 am. - 9 pm. Sat & Sun 10 am- 9pm. Memorial-Labor Day. • 10% off at Lapidus Restaurant and 20% off catered events.

Community Office Hours with Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells. Second Thursday of the month in Southwest and fourth Thursday of the month on H Street NE; both are 8-9:30 AM. All Ward 6 residents encouraged to come out and meet with Wells and members of his staff. Call Wells’ office for meeting location, 202-724-8072, or check online, www.tommywells.org.

Receive $15 Coupon For The District Lounge & Pool Patio When You Sign Up CONTACT US NOW!! Poolmembers@capitolskyline.com . 202-488-7500. Ask for Pool Memberships.

Annual Animal Blessing. June 5, 10 AM-Noon. Calvary Episcopal Church.

Sixth & I streets NE. 202-546-8011.

Fort Dupont Ice Arena Community Day. June 5, 11 AM-3 PM. Join Fort Dupont Ice Arena for a day of family fun in and out of the rink! Events include games, food, skating demonstrations, skating lesson information, and activities with the Washington Capitals Fan Club. Free. 3779 Ely Place SE. 202-584-5007. www.fdia.org.

The Corner Store Game Night. June 8.

7:30-9 PM. Calling all Wordsmiths for Bananagrams. Four players per table.

Open to first 24 to sign up. $5 donation. 900 South Carolina Ave. SE 202544-5807. www.cornerstorearts.org

WEDDING PACKAGES AVAILABLE Our luxurious hotel features 7,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space divided into six versatile rooms and halls that can accommodate up to 500 guests. See our website for the banquet facilities and menus. www.capitolskyline.com

Capitol Skyline Hotel • 10 I Street, S.W. • Washington, DC 20024

202.488.7500 • www.capitolskyline.com

Family Community Day. June 12, 10 AM-3 PM. Calvary Episcopal Church.

There will a flea market, white sale, food and games for the kids. Sixth & I streets NE. 202-812-4175.

Eastern Market Pottery Classes.

Monday through Thursday., 7-10 PM. $268 for eight weeks including materials, firing and Saturday practice time. Seventh and C streets SE (use the outside stairs to the basement under the market). 202-544-6669. www. easternmarketpottery.com.

Trees 101: An Introduction to Trees.

June 12, 9 AM-Noon. Casey Trees Headquarters. Do you want to learn more about the benefits of trees? Would you like to be able to identify an oak from a maple tree? Then Trees 101 is the class for you. Trees 101 introduces students to the District’s urban forest and teaches basic tree identification and care and ways to help add trees across the City. Free but pre-registration required. 1123 11th St. NW. 202833-4010, www.caseytrees.org.

Family Carnival and Enrollment Fair.

June 12, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM. Friendship Public Charter School, Friendship

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Gertie's, Planet, Andria Lieu, Mycra Pac, Samuel Dong, Tianello, & so much more!

10TH STREET 1 AUTO REPAIRS Serving Capitol Hill for over 25 years

Family-owned & Operated Certified Mechanics Foreign & Domestic 518 10th St., NE (MD & 10th St., NE) Monday-Friday: 8 am – 6 pm •

544-1110

“Picture Planes” Robert Mellor and Alexa Meade. June 19-July 24. Opening reception with the artists: June 19, 6-8 PM. Irvine Contemporary Gallery. “Picture Planes” is an exhibition of paintings, photographs and installations by Robert Mellor and Alexa Meade, two artists who disrupt established genres by playing on the expectations of the picture plane in both painting and photography. 1412 14th St. NW. 202-332-8767, www.irvinecontemporary.com.

JOIN US CHRIST CHURCH + WASHINGTON PARISH A Welcoming Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill

Holy Eucharist: Sunday: 8:15 and 11:00 am, Wednesday: 7:30 am Adult Education 9:45 am on Sundays and Monday at 7:00 pm Childcare and Sunday School offered at Sunday services

Blow Pierce Campus. This event features children’s games, rides, entertainment and refreshments. Raffles will be held for Prizes and Gift Cards. Free. 725 19th St. NE (off Benning Rd.). 202-572-1070. www.friendshipschools.org

SIGHTSEEING ON THE HILL

Come as you are and join a welcoming community of faith, spiritual growth, fellowship and service.

Marine Barracks Washington Tour. Every Wednesday (except holidays), 10 AM. Marine Barracks. Marine Barracks Washington, also known as “8th & I,” is the oldest active post in the Marine Corps. The Barracks supports both ceremonial and security missions in the nation’s capital. Free. Eighth and I streets SE. 202-433-4173, www.mbw.usmc.mil.

620 G Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 202-547-9300 Visit our website: www.washingtonparish.org

Elizabethan Garden Tour. June 19, 10 & 11 AM. Folger Elizabethan Garden. Folger docents lead a tour of this garden, which is inspired by herbal references in Shakespeare’s plays and incorporates plants popular in his time, including lavender, creeping thyme, and English ivy; a knot garden; and Shakespearean statues by American sculptor Greg Wyatt. Free. 201 East Capitol St. SE. 202-544-4600, www.folger.edu.

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Historic Congressional Cemetery Tour. Saturdays, through mid-November (weather permitting), 11 AM. General tours of the cemetery are conducted by knowledgeable volunteer docents. There are 19 senators and 71 representatives interred at Congressional Cemetery and monuments to honor 120 other members of congress who died in office. 150 of the sites are marked by these monuments which were designed by Benjamin Latrobe. The remaining sites are marked by private monuments. Free. 18th and E streets SE. 202-543-0539, www.congressionalcemetery.org.

Tour Nationals Baseball Park. Daily, June through September. Non-game days; 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM and 2:30 PM. Game days, 10:30 AM. The Nationals are offering a behind-the-scenes look at the ballpark through an hour-and-fifteen-minute tour encompassing many areas of the ballpark the public cannot usually access, including the premium club areas and suites, the Shirley Povich Media Center and the Nationals dugout, batting cages and bullpen. $15 for adults and $12 for seniors, military and children under 12. South Capitol and N streets SE. 202-675-NATS (6287), www.nationals.com.

Library of Congress Tour. Monday through Saturday (except holidays), 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM, 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM. The Library of Congress offers hour-

long, fully accessible docent-led tours of the historic Thomas Jefferson Building. Visitors learn about the building’s symbolic art and architecture and view the grandeur of the Main Reading Room.

Free. Thomas Jefferson Building (First Street between East Capitol Street and Independence Avenue SE). 202-7079779, www.loc.gov/visit/tours.

Tour the US Capitol. US Capitol Visitors’ Center is open daily 8:30 AM- 4:30 PM. The US Capitol Visitor Center is the newest addition to this historic complex. At nearly 580,000 square feet, the Visitor Center is the largest project in the Capitol’s more than two-century history and is approximately three quarters the size of the Capitol itself. The entire facility is located underground on the east side of the Capitol so as not to detract from the appearance of the Capitol and the grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1874. Free. 202-2268000, www.visitthecapitol.gov.

Evening Tour of the National Garden.

Mondays in summer (weather permitting), 5:30-6:30 PM. US Botanic Garden National Garden. Stroll through the National Garden to see native plants of the Mid-Atlantic region. Hear the folktales and stories that surround these plants. Free. 245 First St. SW (lawn terrace, adjacent to the conservatory).

202-225-8333, www.usbg.gov.

Tour the Supreme Court. Weekdays except federal holidays, 9 AM-4:30 PM (every hour on the half-hour). The Supreme Court is the highest tribunal in the nation for all cases and controversies arising under the Constitution of the United States. Free. One First St. NE. 202-479-3211, supremecourtus. gov.

ATrue Taste of Tuscany.

Open for Dinner 7 Days a Week 212 7th St SE, Wash DC 20003 • 202 525 4375 www.acquaal2dc.com

Tour Folger Shakespeare Library.

Weekdays, 11 AM and 3 PM. Saturdays, 11 AM and 1 PM. It is devoted to the life and times of Shakespeare and is home to the world’s largest collection of the Bard’s printed works. Don’t miss the replica “Globe” theater. Free. 201 East Capitol St. SE. 202-544-4600, www.folger.edu.

Lunchtime Tour of the US Botanic Garden. June 7, 14, 21 and 28, Noon1 PM. This is a lunchtime tour with a knowledgeable guide who will connect the exotic plant world to your everyday life. You might see bananas and coffee ripening on the tree or learn about the next big breakthrough in medicinal plant research. Free. 100 Maryland Ave. SW. 202-225-8333. www.usbg.gov.

FESTIVALS Post-Game Fireworks at Washington National’s Stadium. June 4 and 18, (about) 10 PM. The fireworks take place immediately after all Friday night home games. You don’t have to

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be at the game to enjoy the fireworks.

Free. South Capitol and N streets SE. 202-675-NATS (6287), www.nationals. com.

Capital Pride Parade and Festival.

Parade, June 12, 6 PM, 24th and N streets NW. Festival, June 13, Noon-6 PM, Pennsylvania Avenue NW between Third and Seventh streets. The Capital Pride Festival and Parade is a community event that remains focused on diversity, cultural achievement, civil rights issues and entertainment by and for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals, families and friends. Free. 202-797-3510, www. capitalpride.org.

Thrive, Fresh Ideas Festival. June 19, 10 AM-3 PM. US Botanic Garden. Experience all the amazing ways plants can impact for world in food, health and life. Free. 100 Maryland Ave. SW. 202-225-8333. www.usbg.gov.

Festa Italiana. June 20, 11:30 AM5:30 PM. Third and F streets NW. Join the Festa Italiana Foundation for a true celebration of Italian – and Italian-American – culture and tradition at the area’s largest Italian festival.

Raffle, silent auction and entertainment. Free. www.festaitalianadc.com.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival. June 24-28 and July 1-5. 11 AM-5:30 PM. Evening events at 6 PM. 2010 themes are Mexico, Asian Pacific Americans and Smithsonian Inside Out. Free entrance (food is extra). National Mall between Seventh and 14th streets.

202-633-6440, www.folklife.si.edu.

DC Caribbean Carnival. June 26 and 27, Noon to 6 PM. Parade on Saturday and Caribbean style arts, crafts, food and music both days. Free entrance (food is extra). Banneker Recreation Center, 2500 Georgia Ave. NW. 301346-9635, www.dccaribbeancarnival. org.

MUSIC Jazz Night (and fishfry) in Southwest. Fridays, 6-9 PM. Westminster Presbyterian Church. Local musicians perform, and the Southwest Catering Company provides a fish fry 5:30-8:30 PM. $5/general; free/children under 16. Modestly priced food. 400 I St. SW. 202-484-7700, www.westminsterdc. org/jazz.htm.

Blue Monday Blues. Mondays, 6-9 PM. Westminster Presbyterian Church.

Local musicians perform, and the Southwest Catering Company provides a fish fry from 5:30-8:30 PM. $5/general; free/children under 16. Modestly priced food. 400 I St. SW. 202-4847700, www.westminsterdc.org/blues. htm.

20 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Look at Our Results!

Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. June 113. This festival will feature popular, signature events including the all-day extravaganza “Jazz on the National Mall” concert, the popular “Jazz ‘n Families Fun Day,” the classic “Celebrating NEA Jazz Masters Concert” at the historic Lincoln Theatre, the “DEJF Educational Series” and, the free “International Jazz Showcase” at the Kennedy Center. 202-232-3611, www. dejazzfest.org.

“New Music for a New Age” Concert.

June 3, 8 PM. Atlas Performing Arts Center. The program is comprised of seven Muhly pieces, including two a cappella choral works; a chamber work for harp, cello and celesta called “Clear Music; Expecting the Main Things from You.” $25. 1333 H St. NE. 202-3997993, www.atlasarts.org.

Capitol Hill Choral. June 5, 7 PM; June 6, 4 PM. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church. The Capitol Hill Chorale uncovers an unknown masterpiece combining the power of Orthodox liturgy and the haunting harmonies of Georgian sacred chant. This new edition of Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

by Zakharia Paliashvili (1871-1933) has been specially prepared for these premiere performances. $25 preferred/$20 general/12 and under free.

201 Fourth St. SE. 202-547-1444, www.capitolhillchorale.org.

“Tempest” at the Church of the Reformation. June 10, 8 PM. Concert features a baroque orchestra and vocalists David Daniels and Robert McDonald performing music inspired by Shakespeare’s play and readings by Sir Derek Jacobi and Richard Clifford. $65-$75. 212 East Capitol St. NE. 202544-7077, www.folger.edu/consort.

Concert at Christ Church. June 19, 7 PM. The 75-member Girls’ Choir of Wilmington performs a concert titled “I’m Going to Sing.” Free-will donations to benefit the church’s organ fund. 620 G St. SE. 202-547-9300, www.girlschoirofwilmington.org.

The Lesbian and Gay Chorus of Washington, DC (farewell) Concert. June 20, 4 PM. Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church. The concert will feature music that celebrates the many experiences of love, especially the love that the chorus feels for its supporters and audience. After 26 years as a grassroots community chorus, the LGCW chorus will be taking an indefinite break from rehearsing and performing. $20 in advance ($25 at door). 201 Fourth St. SE. 202-546-1549, www.lgcw.org.

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“Homegrown: The Music of America” Concert at the Library of Congress.

June 23, Noon. Marce Lacouture and friends (Cajun music from Louisiana).

Free. Coolidge Auditorium in Jefferson Building (First St. between East Capitol St. and Independence Ave. SE).

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 21

202-707-5510, www.loc.gov.

Rhythm in NoMa Concerts. Thursdays, through July 22, 11:30 AM-1:30 PM. Au Bon Plaza (off Florida Ave NE, north entrance of the New York Avenue Metro Station). June 3, Monster Band (funk/dance); June 10, Liz Briones (blues); June 17, Whop Frazier (blues); June 24, Cazhmiere (top 40); July 1, Jimi Smooth & the Hittime (Motown); July 8, 40 Thieves (Celtic); July 15, Monster Band (funk/dance); July 22, Karl Stoll & the Danger Zone (blues). Free. 202-289-0111, www.nomabid.org.

Capitol Riverfront Concerts. Wednesdays, through Aug. 25, Noon-2 PM. New Jersey Avenue and Tingey Street Plaza. Capitol Riverfront Concerts is a 10-week summer concert series with lively and diverse musical artists, performing everything from original pop to Latin Jazz, R&B, bluegrass, Caribbean and more. Free. 202-4657093, www.capitolriverfront.org.

Jazz in the Sculpture Garden. Fridays through Sept. 10 (rain or shine), 5-8 PM. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Live jazz performed by an eclectic mix of top artists from the Washington area entertains visitors outdoors in front of the fountain or in the Pavilion Cafe (if it’s raining). The Pavilion Cafe features a seasonal tapas-style menu and bar service during the concerts. Everyone can enjoy these concerts.

You do not have to order food or drinks. Free.

202- 289-3360, www.nga.gov.

PATRIOTIC Marine Barracks Evening Parade. Fridays through Aug. 27. Guests admitted at 7 PM. Program begins at 8:45 PM. Marine Barracks (front gate). The Evening Parade has become a universal symbol of the professionalism, discipline and Esprit de Corps of the United States Marines.

Free. Eighth and I streets SE. 202-433-4073. www.mbw.usmc.mil.

2010 Twilight Tattoo at Fort McNair. Wednesdays, June 2, 9, 23 and 30 (weather permitting), 7 PM. Members of the 3rd US Infantry (The Old Guard), the US Army Band “Pershings Own,” Fife and Drum Corps and the US Army Drill Team will perform an hour-long sunset military Pageant.

Over 100 Old Guard soldiers dressed in period uniforms will provide a glimpse of Army history from colonial times to the soldier of the future.

Free. Fourth and P streets SW. 202-685-2888, www.usarmyband.com.

Tai Chi Class Saturday mornings (except for very inclement weather), 8 AM. Lincoln Park.

Dr. David Walls-Kaufman, a Capitol Hill chiropractor, conducts this class.

Please dress comfortably. Free. East Capitol Street between 11th and 13th streets. 202-544-6035.

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Military Band Concerts at the US Capitol.

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays in summer (weather permitting). 8 PM. Mondays, US Navy Band; Tuesdays, US Air Force Band; Wednesdays, US Marine Band; Fridays, US Army Band. Free. West Terrace US Capitol Building.

Navy Band (outdoor) “Concerts on the Avenue.” Tuesdays in summer, 8 PM. US Navy Memorial. The United States Navy Band and its specialty groups will perform. Free. Seventh Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. 202-737-2300, www.navymemorial.org.

US Marine Band Concerts at the Sylvan Theater. Thursdays in summer (weather permitting), 8 PM. You are welcome to bring folding chairs,

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 23

blankets and refreshments to the concert.

Free. 15th Street and Independence Avenue SW (on Washington Monument grounds).

202-433-5717, www.mbw.usmc.mil.

Air Force Band Concerts. Wednesdays and Fridays in June, July and August 8 PM. Air Force Memorial at One Air Force Memorial Drive in Arlington, Virginia. (14th Street Bridge into Virginia, merge onto Washington Blvd. and then Columbia Pike in the direction of the Navy Annex. Then just follow signs.) Expect a pleasing mix of contemporary and patriotic tunes and spectacular views of the nighttime Washington, DC skyline. Free. 703-979-0674, www.airforcememorial.org.

MOVIES Capitol Riverfront Movies. Thursdays, June 3 through Aug. 5, 8:45 PM. Canal Park. June 3, “Hoosiers”; June 10, “Forrest Gump”; June 17, “Finding Nemo”; June 24, “The Karate Kid”; July 8, “Star Wars”; July 15, “Slumdog Millionaire”; July 29, “Happy Gilmore”; Aug. 5, “Rocky.” Free. Second and M streets SE. 202-465-7093, www.capitolriverfront.org/calendar.

Summer Film Series @ the Atlas. The Atlas Performing Arts Center will be screening three different film series this summer.

Every week will feature different films in all three of the series. 70’s Family Series aka the Gen X Nostalgia Series: June 19, “The Muppet Movie” and June 26, “Pippi in the South Seas,” both at 5 PM. Cinema al Fresco aka Staycation Series: June 19, “Cinema Paradiso” and June 26 “The Godfather II,” both at 8 PM. Gay 101: June 9, “A Star is Born,” June 17, “The Women” and June 24, “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” all at 8 PM. 1333 H St. NE. $6. 202-399-7993, www.atlasarts.org.

“Gettysburg” at National Archives. June 19, Noon. William G. McGowan Theater.

Based on Michael Shaara’s Pulitzer Prizewinning novel The Killer Angels, Gettysburg dramatically depicts three momentous days in American history as experienced by the leaders of the Confederate and Union armies. Filmed at the actual battlefield locations, this epic film displays painstaking attention to detail. Free. Pennsylvania Avenue at Seventh Street NW (enter on Constitution Avenue). 202-501-5400, www. archives.gov.

MARKETS Eastern Market. Daily except Mondays and important holidays. Weekdays, 7 AM-7 PM; Saturdays, 7 AM-6 PM; Sundays, 9 AM-5 PM. Flea market and arts and crafts market open Saturdays and Sundays, 9 AM-6 PM. Eastern Market is Washington’s last continually operated “old world” market. On weekends the market area comes alive with farmers bringing in fresh produce, craft and flower vendors, artists, a flea market and street musicians. 200 block of Seventh St. SE.

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202-544-0083, www.easternmarketdc.com.

H Street Farmers’ Market. Saturdays, 9 AM-Noon, through Nov. 20. Parking lot in the 600 block of H Street NE. The market is a producers-only outdoor market offering fruit, vegetables, meats, baked goods, cheese, flowers and more for sale. 202-3628889, www.freshfarmmarket.org.

Capitol Riverfront Farmers’ Market. Thursdays through November, 3-7 PM. New Jersey Avenue and M Street SE, (adjacent to the Navy Yard Metro, New Jersey Avenue exit).

Farm-fresh produce, baked goods and more.

202-465-7079, www.capitolriverfront.org/ calendar/do/riverfront-farmers-market.

Friends in the Market “Funky Flea Market” with a DJ. Saturdays and Sundays, 8 AM-5 PM. New and used clothing, tools, furniture, jewelry, plants, soaps, art, CD’s, videos and electronics. Sixth Street NE (north of Florida Avenue by the DC Farmers Market). 202-399-6040.

Huge Yard Sale with 35 vendors. June 12, 9 AM-4 PM. Town Square Towers, 700 Seventh St. SW (near L’Enfant or Waterside Metro).

SPORTS AND PHYSCIAL FITNESS Rumsey Pool. Weekdays public swimming, 6:30-10 AM; Noon-5 PM; 6:30-7:30 PM (adult lap swimming only); 7:30-9 PM. Saturdays, 1-5 PM. Sundays, 10 AM-5 PM. May be open on July 4. Please call to confirm.

Free for DC residents (have ID). 635 North Carolina Ave. SE. 202-724-4495, www.dpr. dc.gov/dpr.

East Potomac (outdoor) Pool. Open daily except Wednesdays; weekdays, 1-8 PM; Saturdays and Sundays, Noon-6 PM. Free for DC residents (have ID). 972 Ohio Dr. SW. 202727-6523, www.dpr.dc.gov/dpr.

Randall (outdoor) Pool. Open daily except Mondays; weekdays, 1-8 PM; Saturdays and Sundays, Noon-6 PM. Free for DC residents (have ID). South Capitol and I streets SW. 202-727-1420, www.dpr.dc.gov/dpr.

Water Aerobics. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 9-10 AM. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:30-7:30 PM. Saturday, 8-9 AM. Rumsey Pool. $25 for 16 sessions. 635 North Carolina Ave. SE. 202-724-4495.

Washington Nationals Baseball Home Games. June 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23. 7:05 PM (Sunday games at 1:35 PM). $5 and up. South Capitol and N streets SE. 202-675-NATS (6287), www.nationals.com.

Roller Skating at Anacostia Park. Skate any time. This is a covered, outdoor skating pavilion. Free. One-hour skate “rental” in summer months is free, but sizes and supplies are quite limited. Go east on Pennsylvania Avenue across Anacostia River and

make the first right turn onto Fairlawn Avenue and another right onto Nicholson and then into the park. 202-4723873.

East Potomac Mini Golf. Open daily in summer, weekdays, 11AM-7 PM and weekends, 10 AM-8 PM. East Potomac Park. Built in the 1920s with stone bumpers and obstacles. $6 for adults and $5 for kids under 18. 972 Ohio Drive SW. 202-488-8087, www.golfdc. com.

East Potomac Driving Range. Open daily except Christmas, 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM. Tuesdays open 10 AM to 9:30 PM. The East Potomac Driving Range features 50 covered and 50 uncovered stalls for year-round golf practice. $6 for 51 balls. East Potomac Golf Course, 972 Ohio Drive SW. 202-554-7660, www.golfdc.com.

Langston Driving Range. Open every day except Christmas, sun-up to sundown. In addition to the driving range, Langston has an 18-hole course, snack bar, pro shop and offers golf lessons.

45 balls, $4.75. 180 balls, $14.25. $2, golf club rental. 26th Street and Benning Road NE. 202-397-8638, www. golfdc.com.

We are the District’s Kitchen Experts Like you, we love living and working right here in the District. That’s why we specialize in designing and remodeling kitchens in the historic homes of DC.

Yoga in the National Garden. June 9, 16, 23, 30 and July 7 and 14, 8-9 AM. US Botanic Garden National Garden. $90. 100 Maryland Ave. SW. 202-2251116, www.usbg.gov.

Moving Bodies, Moving Stories (moving classes). June 7, 14 and 21, 6:30-8:30 PM. Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts. This program is designed for people living with illness and caregivers. When we move, we call forth the wisdom and creativity that reside in us. We’ll take inspiration from the body, language, and visual images as we express our curiosity and honesty in a process that honors our bodies as our allies. Dress comfortably for gentle movement. All levels welcome. No dance experience necessary. $35. 1632 U St. NW. 202-483-8600, www.smithfarm.com.

EXHIBITIONS

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Art Blooms: Satsuki Azalea Bonsai.

Through June 13, 10 AM-4 PM. US National Arboretum. National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. Breathtaking blossoms cover these late-blooming azaleas, miniature in form, but covered with full-sized flowers. This annual spring exhibit showcases the most spectacular examples. Free. 3501 New York Ave. NE. 202-245-2726, www. usna.usda.gov.

Lost at Sea: The Ocean in the English Imagination, 1550–1750. June 10-Sept. 4. Folger Shakespeare Library. On display are the tools early

CREATIVE DESIGN SOLUTIONS Jason Nickens.com 202.321.0793 | www.jasonnickens.com capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 25

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26 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Free Tours of Congressional Cemetery Docent Led History Tours Every Saturday 11 am Special tours in June: Uppity Women: Women’s Suffrage tour Saturday June 5, 1:00 pm History of Congressional Cemetery Guest Lecturer- Julia Sienkewicz Saturday June 12, 6 pm (with wine and cheese) Docent Led Civil War Tour Saturday June 19 1:00 pm All events begin at the Cemetery Chapel 1801 E Street SE Washington DC 20003 202-543-0539 www.congressionalcemetery.org

modern mariners used – from maps, astrolabes and compasses, to books, symbols and stories – to plot locations and understand their place in the world, both literally and figuratively. Free. 201 East Capitol St. SE. 202-544-4600, www. folger.edu.

How to Get Off a Well-Traveled Road.

Through June 19, Wednesday through Friday 11-5 PM, Saturday 11-3 PM. Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Farm Center. Featuring the works of Alex Todorovich. Alex Todorovich (19502009) was an untrained, or naïve, artist, who first turned to art when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 54. Her diverse body of work – collage drawings, assemblage sculptures and beaded jewelry – integrates years of experience in folk art, decorative arts and ornamentation. Free. 1632 U St. NW. 202-483-8600, www.smithfarm. com/gallery.

COMMUNITY MEETINGS Capitol Hill Energy Coop Community Meeting. June 15, 7-9 PM. Capitol Hill United Methodist Church. Topic: Mayor Fenty’s FY 2011 Budget for Environmental Programs. 421 Seward Square SE. sites.google.com/site/capitolhillenergycoop.

Lonestar Toastmasters. Every Tuesday, 7-8 PM. Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 Seventh St. SE. 240-604-3575.

Champs Links Lunch. June 17, 11:30 AM-1 PM. (Third Thursday of every month except August) Location TBA. Goals, Strategies and Setting Benchmarks for Accomplishment. $20. RSVP to Champs @capitolhill.org or 202-5477788. www.champsdc.org.

Sidamo Coffee and Tea

ANC 6A Meeting. Second Thursday, 7 PM. Miner Elementary School, 601 15th St. NE. 202-423-8868. anc6a.org.

ANC 6B Meeting. Second Tuesday, 7 PM. 535 8th St. SE (The Peoples Church).

202-543-3344. anc6b.org.

ANC 6C Meeting. Second Wednesdays, 7 PM. Call 202-547-7168 for meeting location. anc6c.org.

Organic, Fair Trade Coffee 25 Types of Loose Teas

ANC 6D Meeting. Second Monday, 7 PM. Call 202-554-1795 for meeting location. anc6d.org.

Specializing in East African Coffees Freshly Roasted on Site!

Holiday Gourmet Gift Baskets and Gift Cards • Breakfast & Lunch: Bagels, Salads, Sandwiches & Desserts • Daily Grind • Fresh Roasted Coffee Beans • Ethiopian Coffee Ritual Sundays @ 2pm

MORE SUMMER MUSIC Golden Triangle Summer Concerts at Farragut Square. June 3, 10, 17 and 24, 5:30-7:30 PM. Farragut Square Park (Connecticut Avenue and K Street NW).

June 3, Kelly Bell (blues & funk); June 10, Jah Works (reggae); June 17, Lloyd

FREE

202-548-0081 Mon.-Fri. 7-7 • Sat. 8-6, Sun. 8-5 www.sidamocoffeeandtea.com 417 H Street, NE

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Dobler Effect (rock); June 24, Road Soda (variety rock covers). Free. 202-463-3400, www.gtbid.com.

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Summer Organ Concerts at the National Shrine. Sunday evenings, June, July and August; 6 PM (5:30 PM performance of the Knight’s Tower Carillon). Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. All are welcome to come and hear music from the majestic pipe organ of the Great Upper Church. Free. 400 Michigan Ave. NE. 202-526-8300, www.nationalshirne.com.

236 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Suite 210 Washington, DC 20002 Two blocks from Union Station

Steinway Series of classical music concerts at American Art Museum. Second Sunday of every month, 3 PM. The Steinway Series is a classical music concert that features the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s refurbished Steinway Concert Grand piano. Free. McEvoy Auditorium, Lower Level American Art Museum (between Seventh and Ninth and F and G streets NW. 202-633-1000, www.americanart.si.edu.

202-547-1777

Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Daily (including all holidays), 6 PM. The Kennedy Center Grand Foyer. “Performing Arts for Everyone” at the Millennium Stage was instituted to introduce the Kennedy Center to wider audiences by offering free performances, 365 days a year. Free. 202444-1324 or 202-467-4600, www.kennedycenter.org.

ELECTRONIC FILING AND RAPID REFUND AVAILABLE 1324 G Street, SE

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Adams Morgan Summer Concert Series.

Saturdays June 5 through July 10 (cancelled in the event of rain – no rain date), 5-7 PM. June 5, Kid Goat; June 12, Lucky Dub; June 19, The Virginia Woodpickers; June 26, The Public Good; July 3, DownTyme; July 10, Pablo Grabiel. There will be a limited number of chairs for audience members. Please feel free to bring your own beach chair. Free. Columbia Road, Adams Mill Road and 18th Street NW (new public plaza in front of BB&T Bank). 202997-0783.

Carillon and Peel Bell Recitals. Carillon Recitals on Saturdays, 12:30-1:15 PM. Peel Bell Rehearsals on Tuesdays. 7:308:30 PM. Peel bells ring every Sunday at approximately 12:30 PM after the 11 AM service. Washington National Cathedral.

Manufactured by the John Bellfoundry of Loughborough, England, the smallest bell weighs 17 pounds; the largest 12 tons. The carillon is played via a keyboard and pedals, situated high in the cathedral’s central tower (150 feet above the nave floor) and directly amid the bells. The carillon recital and peel bells are best heard from the Bishop’s Garden. Look for signs as you enter the cathedral grounds. 202-537-6200, www.nationalcathedral.org.

Fort Dupont Summer Concerts. Fort Dupont Park. Concerts begin on July 17. See next month’s “Hill Rag” for details and performance lineup.

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Capitol Streets HillBuzz

By Celeste McCall

Matchmaker, Matchmaker We’ve been humming that lively number from the National Theatre’s revival of “Fiddler on the Roof.” But we never dreamed that Capitol Hill has its own matchmaker: Hattie Elliot, CEO and founder of Save the Date(ing).

Twenty-eight-year-old Elliot, blond and svelte, does not resemble Fiddler’s rather zaftig yenta. A native New Yorker, Elliot divides her time between the West Village and her Capitol Hill apartment. She also spends time in South Africa, where she received a scholarship to study the AIDS pandemic and attended the University of Capetown. There, she majored in politics, philosophy and economics. A fan of

South Africa’s excellent wines, Elliot also studied viticulture. Upon returning to New York after 11 years in Capetown, she worked in a wine auction house and had a stint in advertising before starting her own consulting company.

Elliot launched her social networking service a year and a half ago. The~grace~list has chapters in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. Washington’s branch opened April 21. “I’ve always loved DC,” Hattie said over tea at Peregrine Espresso coffee bar. “When my business took off, I found similarities between New York and DC, and thought my service would be successful here.”

Membership is based on referrals and word-of-mouth.

Prospective members apply through the website, submit a photo and fill out a brief questionnaire.

Then Elliot (or one of her two local employees) meets with candidates to see if they would be a good fit. “In an ideal world, the way to meet someone is through friends or at an event,” Elliot explained. “But in today’s competitive environment--where people often work 18-hour days--it’s difficult to allocate time to your personal life.”

Thanks to the careful vetting process, the~grace~list has a 40 percent acceptance rate.

“We look for diversity–government professionals, lawyers, architects, artists, doctors, business owners,” Elliot said. About 30 percent of Washington’s 2,800 members live on Capitol Hill. For now, members are on average in the mid 20s to 30s, but eventually Elliot plans to include older singles and perhaps gay clientele.

When she’s not running her company, Elliot, who is single, enjoys relaxing over a beer with friends at Tunnicliff ’s or sampling wine at Sonoma. She occasionally dines at Johnny’s Half Shell. “I love the neighborhood,” she said.

“Capitol Hill has a warmth and character similar to the West Village.”

The~grace~list membership costs $250 per quarter, plus the price of activities. Events (two or three a month) might be trapeze or sailing lessons, bocce ball (teams play at Garfield Park), wine tastings, pumpkin carving. “Learning and having fun take away social pressure,” said Elliot. For more information on the~grace~list, visit www.thegracelist.com.

Hattie Elliot -- Photo: Andrew Lightman capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 31

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View on www.kittykaupp.com 32 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Ladies night T’was Friday night at the American Legion Post #8 on Capitol Hill. A group of women were practicing--arm wrestling.

Their adventure began with a feature story in the Feb. 28 Washington Post. The story described how some Charlottesville women were searching for alternatives to boring exercises like curls and weightlifting. They decided on arm wrestling and hatched a fantasy league “Charlottesville Ladies Arm Wrestling. Besides providing fitness, CLAW would raise money for women and children’s charities.

The novel idea caught on, and similar teams have sprung up in nine cities including New Orleans, Taos, and finally, Washington DC. Our team name is DCLAW. At the Legion, we met Ann Marie Allison, Holly Rothrick, and Kelly Woods (all from Silver Spring) and Susan Whitney (College Park). The only District resident was Andrea Cavanaugh, who Ladies arm wrestling night at the American Legion Post #8. Photo: Patlives in Adams Morgan. After rick McClintock reading the Post article, the women got together via FaceBook and planned their arm wrestling tourto Hayden’s liquor store, where the home’s nament for June 5 at 7:30 p.m. At the compefront yard soirees are a neighborhood fixture. tition, eight contestants will be joined by four Reportedly caused by faulty electrical wiralternates. Melinda Tomaino of the American ing, the blaze destroyed the kitchen and part Legion Women’s auxiliary is co-sponsoring the of upstairs. Kim Scott, who lived there, told event.

HillBuzz it would probably be another three But tonight was about practicing. After ormonths before she could return. She is stayganizer Patrick McClintock treated the group ing with friends on the Hill, and her dog Jia to pizza and wings, the gals got to work. In the is fine. Kim’s grey and white tabby, Lou, went Legion’s party room, they set up a table salvaged missing during the fire, but was found almost from the Palace of Wonders nightclub. Two two weeks later. wrestlers sat across from each other. Grasping Kim is a Democratic political consultant. each other’s hands, they held newel posts with Neighbor and colleague, Aristotle Industries their other hands. Yes, arm wrestling has rules; on Pennsylvania Ave. SE, is providing her contestants must remain seated with both feet with temporary office space. Added Kim: “I on the floor. The referee was Phil Yunger. am incredibly touched by the outpouring of For the DCLAW tournament (winning support from neighbors, friends, merchants two out of three matches), the women will (who sent over food from the Market the day dress in zany costumes and assume names like of the fire) and complete strangers, just an“Amy Smackdown,” “Bridezilla” and “Jackie other testimony to the exceptional community O’Nasty.” Admission will be $5, and fans may and family we call Capitol Hill.” “bet” on their favorites. All “winnings” go to the House of Ruth. The American Legion Nash Post #8 is located at 224 D St. SE. Call Good Luck, Julie Best wishes to Julie Westfall, former 202-543-9163. hattie@savethedateing.com managing editor of the Voice of the Hill. Julie recently left the now-closed community Fire and Found Cat newspaper to join Politico’s new venture, to be On May 8, a fire swept through the “Blue unveiled in a month or so. ★ House,” 702 North Carolina Ave. SE, next

NOTICE All are invited to attend the 2010 Annual Board Meeting of Neighbors United, Inc. Date: Time: Place:

Friday, June 25th 6:30 p.m.

Neighbors United Activity Center 1500 D Street, SE, Washington, DC

An Agenda for this meeting will be posted at the Neighbors United Activity Center and on the Neighbors United website (www.neighborsuniteddc.org two weeks prior to the Annual Meeting. For more information, please contact the Board Secretary, Dana Wyckoff, at wyckoffdana@gmail.com.

Neighbors United, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) serving the community of Eastern Capitol Hill. Neighbors United offers academic enrichment and recreation programs at Payne Elementary School through partnerships with DC Public Schools and the DC Department of Parks and Recreation. We also offer programs for the community at the Neighbors United Activity Center at 1500 D Street, SE.

Neighbors United, Inc. P.O. Box 15479, Washington, DC 20003 202-441-2755

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 33

Representatives of the Capitol Hill Community Foundation’s Spring 2010 grant recipients gather to accept their grants. Photo: Andrew

bulletin board Hine Site Public Hearing.

The District will conduct a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed redevelopment of Hine Junior High School on Wednesday, June 9, 6:00 PM at Tyler Elementary School, 1001 G Street, SE.

“Results for Haiti” Results Gym, a locally-owned health and fitness club, and STROGA, Adams Morgan’s newest Yoga and group training studio, are teaming with Global Volunteer Network (GVN) to assist with relief efforts in Port-au-Prince and Jacmel, Haiti. Members, friends and staff of Results will make up the three team(s) of volunteers who will travel on two-week trips this summer. Projects will include: running education classes for children; assisting research units to help people overseas to get news of their families in Haiti; working in the construction area, helping families return to their homes; and, if qualified, as34 ★ HillRag | June 2010

sisting in the health, counseling and rehabilitation field.

A silent auction fundraiser is being held to help support the efforts of the volunteers going to Haiti and the Global Volunteer Program. Items include, vacation getaways, artwork, event tickets and much more!

All are welcome and encouraged to attend!

Event takes place on Sunday, June 6, 11:00 AM-2:00 PM at STROGA,1808 Adams Mill Road, NW. Please RSVP

by June 1st to ResultsForHaiti@gmail.com Donations are also being accepted at ResultsforHaiti@gmail.com

The Hill Center to Break Ground For Capitol Hill residents who have long wondered what would happen to the Old Naval Hospital at the heart of the neighborhood, the answer comes this month, with a celebratory ground-breaking for the new “Hill Center” on Sunday, June 13, from 2-4:30 PM. The Hill Center event will take the form of an “Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social” with free ice cream for families and friends, and a guest appearance by “Abraham Lincoln,” who will stroll the grounds and greet visitors. The United States Navy Band will perform, and the US Navy Ceremonial Guard will present the colors. City authorities and local dignitaries are scheduled to participate in a ground-breaking ceremony, which will inaugurate a construction phase expected to take about one year. People should come to the E Street entrance between 9th and 10th Sts, SE. The Hill Center project aims to restore the hospital building and to rejuvenate it as an educational focal point in the heart of the Hill. After restoration, the Center will house

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capitolstreets bulletin board a vibrant community center with spaces for education and the arts, meeting rooms for both Hill and citywide functions, and offices for local non-profit groups. The Old Naval Hospital opened in 1866 as a facility for seamen of the Potomac. It later housed a Navy hospital training facility, a home for old soldiers and sailors, and several DC organizations but has been vacant for a decade.

The Hill Center’s genesis began in 2002 with the formation of the Old Naval Hospital Foundation, a coalition of Capitol Hill residents committed to restoring the deteriorating building. The Foundation is responsible for the renovation and eventual programming. Creating the Hill Center is an ambitious enterprise, one costing up to $10 million. Over $7 million has already been committed by the DC and the federal governments, as well as grants from the “Save America’s Treasures” program of the National Park Service of the Department of Interior and the Capitol Hill Community Foundation, leaving $3 million needed to launch the Hill Center as an historically accurate, state-of-theart building. The Foundation has mounted a major fundraising campaign to bridge that funding gap. To learn more about the Hill Center and its program plans, visit http://HillCenterONH.org.

Peter Bug Day Parade and Festival

by Shannon Holloway

A

s a member of the group Friends of Watkins and Buchanan Parks, John “Peter Bug” Matthews along with Chuck Kaufman, Martha Loomis and Ann Quarzo organized the Second Annual Peter Bug Day Parade on May 22. Although it was only the second year for the parade, the festival itself has been taking place for the past 33 years.

“Unity in the Community” was this year’s theme. The concept “is to bring neighbors of all races, creeds and class together so that young people can see we don’t have to live separate from each other,” said Peter Bug. Peter, whose mission is to build an active and social community, always encourages neighbors to come out to participate in social events. “He is a staple in the community,” stated fellow Friends member Ann Quarzo. “He started out as a shop teacher (VW Bug is where his nickname was derived), then a high school football coach who worked in recreational organizations to form a football team with disadvantaged kids.”

According to his own words, Peter helps direct the energies of the kids in Ward 6 towards a positive end. However, Peter’s wonderful ideas do more than provide simple entertainment – they are a valuable contribution to the ward as opportunities for getting people out of their homes and interacting with their neighbors. When people come out to his events, they begin to understand that participation and social interaction is “allowing the community to see that we all belong to each other, and we are all responsible for the actions we partake in and for the roles we play,” said Peter Bug. “Peter has been around forever, everyone knows him,” said one parade watcher. Most days you can find Peter at the Peter Bug’s Shoe Repair Academy at the corner of 13th and E streets SE with his friends, the Shoe Shop Boyz.

36 ★ HillRag | June 2010

From top right: The Golden Gem Dancers followed by the Spingarn band.

Watkins Hornets football team watches the parade.

Peter Bug with McGruff the Crime Dog

Capitol Hill Restoration Society Membership Meeting Thursday, June 17, 7:30 PM (reception at 7:00 PM) at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, 313 2nd St. SE. Architect of the Capitol Stephen T. Ayers is the speaker. You do not have to be a member to attend. 202-543-0425. www. chrs.org.

Adult Student and Faculty Exhibit at CHAW The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) will open its annual Student/Faculty Art Exhibit with a reception on Saturday, June 12, 2010, 5:00-7:00 PM. The Exhibit showcases work in the fields of watercolor, painting, drawing, photography, ceramics, and sculpture. Prizes will be awarded in these various fields. CHAW is located at 545 7th Street SE, a short distance from Eastern Market metro.

Admission is free for the opening reception and the exhibit which closes on June 26th. Gallery hours are: 9:30AM-9:00 PM (M-Th), 9:30AM-6:00 PM (F), and 9:00AM-2:00 PM (Sat).

CHAW’s adult visual arts classes provide the opportunity for adults of all ages to pursue their interests in the arts and to expand their own abilities.

Longtime teaching artist Gina Clapp says: “Along the way, they make friends and share their lives with others that they might not normally meet.”

Teaching artist Ellen Cornett agrees: “The two high points of each week are my adult classes at CHAW. I find it exhilarating to share my thoughts about paint and figure with others.”

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) is a non-profit multi-disciplinary arts education facility, located on the corner of 7th and G Streets, SE (just two blocks south of Eastern Market). For more information about classes, performances, exhibitions, and programs, visit www.chaw.org.

CHAW offers a tuition assistance program. CHAW’s mission is building community through the arts. CHAW was recognized as a featured charity in the 2006-2007 Catalogue for Philanthropy.

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Woody whips up his signature shrimp at Capitol Hill Exxon’s customer appreciation day.

Photo: Andrew Lightman

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Friendship House Becoming (again) The Maples

What other weekend can you tour ten museums, see artist demonstrations, hear live music (jazz, 18th-century period music or bluegrass!) and participate in hands-on activities all for free? An annual favorite, Museum Walk Weekend returns this year on Saturday, June 5 (10 a.m.-4 p.m.) and Sunday, June 6, (1-5 p.m). Representing ten of Washington D.C.’s most unique and varied museums, with subject matter encompassing United States history, modern and contemporary art, the cultural heritage of the

ANC6B commissioner Norman Metzger and Nancy Metzger, member of Capitol Hill Restoration Society met on May 20th with Terry Hindermann, principal at Altus Realty, which purchased Friendship House. Hindermann expects that their plans will be sufficiently along in several weeks that a community meeting would make sense, perhaps late July. The architectural firm is Cunningham & Quill, which has 38 ★ HillRag | June 2010

A Free Celebration of Ten D.C. Museums

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Americas and more, Walk Weekend is a once-in-a-year chance to explore these neighborhood treasures with ease and for free. This event also features free shuttle service and safe bike routes.

Museum Walk Weekend offers free access to all DKMC (Dupont Kalorama Museums Consortium) sites including: * Anderson House-The Society of the Cincinnati: Once in Every Three Years: The Triennial Meetings of the Society of the Cincinnati, 1784-2010 on view through October 30, 2010. * Dumbarton House: Fran, Have You Supplied the Table? Foods, Service & Etiquette in the Federal Era on view through June 12, 2010.

Fondo del Sol Visual Arts Center: Issues for Freedom; Dino Aranda (Nicaragua), Juan Downey (Chile), Juan Boza (Afro-Cubano), Latina-USA, Mexico (video) and Alexis Landa (Cuba). * General Federation of Women’s Clubs: A National Historic Landmark, the GWFC Headquarters showcases unique architecture, gardens and fine and decorative art. * Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: Tour the first headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and the home of educator, presidential advisor and political activist Mary McLeod Bethune.

Meridian International Center: The Wild Swans: Original Artworks

by Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark on view June 4 through July 3, 2010.

The National Museum of American Jewish Military History: View the continuing exhibitions Jewish War Veterans’ Protest March Against Nazi Germany – 75th Anniversary, Hidden Treasures, Women in the Military: A Jewish Perspective and more.

The Phillips Collection: In addition to the permanent collection, the special exhibitions Pousette-Dart: Predominantly White Paintings and Robert Ryman: Variations and Improvisations are on view June 5 through September 12, 2010.

The Textile Museum: Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain on view May 15 through September 12, 2010 and The Art of Living: Textile Furnishings from the Permanent Collection on view through January 9, 2011.

Woodrow Wilson House: “My Third Leg”: Woodrow Wilson’s Walking Sticks on view through Thursday, February 11, 2010. capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 39

This award-winning watercolor by Wan Lee and works by many other artists can be seen at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop’s Spring Adult Student Show. Photo: Courtsey CHAW.

25th Annual Law Enforcement Torch Run, June 4

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The 25th Annual Law Enforcement Torch Run will be Friday, June 4, 2010. Torch Run participants will assemble at the U.S. Capitol Building (West Terrace steps) for opening ceremonies, then proceed to run or walk a 2-mile course to Ft. McNair for a barbeque picnic with games, music and the satisfaction of a job well done.

In twenty-four years, tens of thousands of Law Enforcement personnel have come together to support these incredible athletes, raising more than $1,000,000. The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics DC is organized and conducted by federal, military and metropolitan Law Enforcement agencies. This annual event showcases the loyalty and commitment to the athletes of Special Olympics DC by the Law Enforcement community.

New Executive Director for Neighbors United Neighbors United welcomes Betsy Calloway as the new Executive Director of the Capital Hill based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Betsy Calloway, the founder and Executive Director of Kidney Kare 4 Youth & Adolescents, Inc. (KK4YA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or40 ★ HillRag | June 2010

ganization formed in 2008, joined Neighbors United on May 10, 2010 as Executive Director taking the place of Jerry May, the organization’s director for the past three years. Neighbors United, which serves the hill East community, currently offers academic enrichment and recreational programs at Payne Elementary School including basketball, soccer, dance and a hip-hop learning program through partnerships with DC Public Schools and the DC Department of Parks and Recreation. KK4YA is a nonprofit organization serving people ages 521, which is dedicated to promoting kidney disease awareness, through education and prevention strategies, emphasizing health and nutrition.

Neighbors United and KK4YA will form a collaborative in 2010, merging the two nonprofits programming to create a DCPS-approved after-school program.

KK4YA currently runs Healthy Kidz Afterschool Program out of Payne Elementary which is composed of four major components: tutoring/ homework assistance, health and nutrition education, physical fitness/recreation, and healthy snack.

Ms. Calloway will focus on increasing the organization’s financial viability through new funding sources, and developing new programming that will operate from the Neighbors United headquarters as well as Payne Elementary. For more infor-

mation about Neighbors United, call 202-546-3131.

DC Access Now Provides Rooftop Antennas And HDTV Setup The technicians at DC Access are experts in installing rooftop antennas and equipment to provide Wireless Internet (WiFi) to their customers. Now they are using that expertise to offer a new service, Free TV DC, that gives residents on Capitol Hill access to over-the-air digital television.

Free TV DC gives households that are paying for basic cable the option to save money over the long run by switching from cable to free digital broadcast TV. “Residents who have basic cable are paying about $220 a year for fewer channels than they could get with free broadcast TV,” says Martha Huizenga, partner at DC Access. “For a one-time fee, Free TV DC gives these consumers more channels, great picture quality, and no more cable bill.” www. freetvdc.com.

A Montessori Night’s Dream Benefit Auction, June 18 The Capitol Hill Cluster School Montessori program at Watkins Elementary celebrates 20 years as a part of the Cluster School on Saturday, June 18th at Eastern Market’s North Hall from 6:00-9:00 PM. Auction items include lunch with Chancellor Michelle Rhee, 4 tickets to join Councilman Tommy Wells in the city council box at a Nationals game, weekend getaways, and gift certificates to the Hill’s finest eating and shopping establishments. Entertainment will be provided

by DC’s best jazz--featuring Janelle Gill, piano; Kris Funn, bass; and John Lamkin, drums.

Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at Frager’s or online at www.watkinsmontessori.org.

For more information, call Amy Jones, 202-842-2345.

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Volunteers needed for Capitol Hill July 4th Parade Help is needed in many capacities to ensure the success of this wonderful community event. Anyone interested should contact Sharon Boesen at sharonboesen@gmail.com or 202-230-4588.

Community College of DC Joins “Achieving the Dream�

The Community College of the District of Columbia (CCDC) has joined Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count. This landmark initiative aims to increase student success at community colleges.

As part of this nationwide initiative, CCDC will identify new strategies to increase student success, close achievement gaps, and improve retention, persistence, and completion rates.

Since its creation in 2004 by Lumina Foundation for Education and seven national partner organizations, Achieving the Dream has focused on creating a “culture of evidence,â€? collecting and analyzing data from community colleges to identify barriers to success—particularly for low-income students and students of color. The results drive the development of programs to help students stay in school and earn a certiďŹ cate or diploma. Achieving the Dream’s network now includes more than 130 institutions in 24 states and the District of Columbia, reaching more than 1 million students. For more information, go to http://ccdc. usdc.edu, 202-274-5800.

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these benefits, Casey Trees and the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) have partnered to offer a rebate of up to $50 per tree to individuals who plant trees on residential property in the District.

To qualify for the $50 tree rebate you must purchase and plant a non-invasive tree on a residential property in the District, complete a tree rebate voucher pledging to water and care for the tree for a minimum of two years. Find the form and more details online at www. caseytrees.org, call 202-8334092 or email jwoodworth@ caseytrees.org.

HIV and Aging Conference at Howard University The D.C. Office on Aging along with RIGHT INC and Howard University School of Social Work will be convening a one day free conference on Thursday, June 3 that will provide increased awareness of the unique issues that challenge those living with HIV/AIDS over 50.

By 2015, over half of those living with HIV/AIDS will be 50 years and older. Are we prepared?

What are the special challenges?

What is contributing to rising number of new infections over 50? Who is providing the care?

Topics such as educating seniors, research, best practices, service delivery, case management, co-morbidities, substance abuse, health literacy and targeted HIV prevention strategies for older adults will be addressed. The targeted audience includes seniors, case managers, social workers, medical service, aging service providers, geriatric and medical policy makers, and senior advocates looking to educate others.

There will a specific workshops geared towards seniors educating seniors about HIV as well as workshops for HIV and Aging Service Providers to understand each other system of care. Howard University School of Social Work. 601 Howard Place, NE (1st floor). 202-806-6100. ★ capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 43

Yes He Can

by Mark Segraves

A

lot of people think DC Council Chairman Vince Gray doesn’t have a chance in his quest to unseat Mayor Adrian Fenty. The smart money ($4 million and counting) is on the incumbent.

And it’s easy to see why. Fenty is running on a pretty good track record of significant accomplishments.

Crime is down, that’s a fact. I could use an entire column to make the case for how the DC police crime statistics are skewed, but that’s for another time. But no matter how you look at the numbers, crime is down.

And like her or not, Chancellor Michele Rhee has made things better in the public schools. Not perfect and not nearly adequate, but Rhee has brought about change, and test scores are up. People have a sense that change is afoot.

For many voters that’s enough to

give Fenty another four years.

But Fenty has a problem. He’s not the same guy who won 142 out of 142 precincts four years ago, and many people who once loved the guy, now can’t stand him. The erosion of his popularity started in the AfricanAmerican community and has been spreading.

It wasn’t a shock that at a recent Ward 8 Democrats straw poll the mayor was booed. Recent polls have shown his East of the River approval numbers are bad. But just last month, Fenty was booed in Ward 6. It was the 33rd annual Peter Bug day. It was a candidates dream, a beautiful day, hundreds of happy voters all in one place. Let the glad-handing begin.

Several candidates made the rounds, Doug Sloan who wants Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton’s job was there, mayoral candidate Leo Al-

Fenty campaigns hemmed in by the Green Team. Photo: Mark Segraves

44 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Gray works the crowd assisted by neighborhood activist Chuck Burger. Photo: Mark Segraves

exander worked the crowd, of course Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells was present and accounted for, and the top two contenders for mayor were there. But in very different ways.

Both Fenty and Gray showed up about the same time. Watching them work the crowd was very much like watching how they govern. Both had advance staff at the festival well before the candidates arrived. Fenty’s team was just that – a team. All of them decked out in the Fenty green jackets and hats, all armed with rolls of Fenty stickers and petitions for getting on the ballot.

Fenty, surrounded by a sea of green clad volunteers, dove into the crowd shaking hands with everyone, posing for pictures and listening to individuals for a few minutes and then off to the next group. Never standing still, never allowing for any real conversations or dialog. The proverbial “meet and greet.” Before walking away from anyone, Fenty or a team member would slap a big green sticker on your chest. Including Herb Feester, of Peaches and Herb, and Congressional Candidate Sloan

got one too. Both did what many of those whom Fenty tagged did – as soon as the mayor turned his back, they tore off the sticker.

By contrast, Team Gray operated in a more stealthlike and deliberative process. Much like the way Gray governs. Gray’s advance team had the advantage of being neighborhood residents who people recognized and who knew who was who in the crowd.

But they were otherwise unidentifiable. No Gray hats or shirts, no rolls of Gray stickers, very low key. When Gray arrived he too worked the crowd, but unlike Fenty who darted from person to person, Gray would engage in deep, long conversations with people, listening and responding in an informed way. Where Fenty took two minutes to make a contact, Gray took 20 minutes. Not an efficient way to campaign.

And that’s what Gray is going to need to work on if he is going to win.

And yes, he can win.

The election will likely break down along racial lines. Gray has a lock on the African-American vote, and Fenty would seem to own the white vote. At a glance that would

seem to give Fenty an advantage.

But no matter how many press events Fenty has in black neighborhoods, and that’s where most of his press events are held since his poll numbers began to drop, he won’t be able to win back the black vote.

On the other hand, Gray can chew into the white vote. While the majority of white voters still lean toward Fenty, they’re just leaning. It won’t take much to push them into the arms of someone else. Another DYRS juvenile escapee killing a popular school principal, another frat brother caught with his hand in the taxpayers cookie jar, another secret trip to Dubai or China.

Gray only needs about 20 percent of the white vote to give Fenty a run for his money. The problem is that Gray is slow out of the gate.

He’s been bogged down with the budget, and his internal campaign bureaucracy is much like the budget process. Slow and deliberate.

Don’t Believe Everything You Read If you read the Washington Post and the Washington City Paper you’re probably laboring under the misconception that the DC Council under the leadership of Chairman Vince Gray recently took a giant step forward in advancing open government.

The headline in City Paper was “Power To The Peephole.” The Post wrote “Gray, a Democratic candidate for mayor, has gone even further to let more sunshine into the budget negotiations this year.”

Allow me to set the record straight. What Gray did was a blow to open government and a slap in the face to the public. The last year when the council decided to meet behind closed doors to hash out the budget several reporters, including myself, complained and threatened to force Gray to throw us out of the meetings. Gray conceded and allowed reporters into the meetings.

Gray kept the public out.

This year as Gray and his colleagues were preparing to meet about the budget Ed Lazere of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute complained of the lack of transparency

just as he had done the previous year. But this is an election year, and Lazere knows how to work politicians. He penned a letter demanding the public be allowed in this time. Lazere got about 40 other groups to sign on, and he sent it to the councilmembers and the press.

Gray took the bait and decided to make a change. Doing so without consulting the public, the press or any councilmembers, Gray came up with a solution. He installed a government-controlled camera and four microphones in the small room and broadcast the deliberations on the government TV channel.

To make room for the government-controlled camera, Gray kicked the press out of the meetings. So, one small step forward and one giant step backward. While having a camera in the room gives the public a view they have never had, taking reporters who cover the day-to-day activities of the council and the budget out of the room made for less accountability.

Watching an event on a government-controlled camera where you have only one angle and poor audio is no substitute for having the press in the room watching and recording the arm-twisting and deal making that goes on in the corner. And if anyone thinks this was anything other than a way for candidate Gray to broadcast himself as a leader, you’re fooling yourself.

And proof of that is the other little reported step taken to ensure the public wouldn’t see what was actually going on. Security guards set up a perimeter outside the meeting room and would not let the public gather in the hallway. A hallway that is filled with citizens on a daily basis.

Gray tells me he was unaware of the hallway closure and thought his compromise with the camera as fair.

He’s says he’s open to allowing reporters back into the next round of budget meetings. An easy promise to make for someone who won’t be the council chair next year.

Mark Segraves can be reached at msegraves@wtop.com. Watch NewsPlus with Mark Segraves on DC 50 TV and listen on WTOP. ★ capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 45

capitolstreets news the N U M B 3 R S

2764906

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The Recession Hits Home Hardship is on the Rise in DC

by Ed Lazere

W

hat has the Great Recession done to you? Nearly everyone has been affected one way or another — whether you or someone you know has lost a job, the value of your home or retirement savings has tanked, or your business has struggled to keep customers.

Yet the reality is that the impact of the downturn has been uneven. Even with record 12 percent unemployment – and 40,000 jobless residents looking for work – there are 280,000 DC residents who are still working. Most of us have maintained most of our incomes even if our assets on paper have fallen. For me, other than being worried about the drop in our college savings fund, my family has not suffered.

Yet I know many residents have. There are increasing signs that the recession is pushing more vulnerable DC families and individuals over the edge, with many facing trouble with the basic tasks of feeding their families and paying housing bills. We’ve all heard about foreclosures, but there’s more. Thousands of households have had their utilities cut off. Family homelessness has skyrocketed, as have reports of child abuse and neglect.

The District’s response to the recession also has been uneven. While support for programs, such as health care, has been maintained, several programs that are vital in a recession, including emergency rent or utility assistance, have been cut. The city’s budget crisis has led to lots of service cuts, but scaling back help for residents in crisis at a time

A GROWING NUMBER OF DC HOUSEHOLDS ARE FACING UTILITY SHUT-OFF Electricity Shut-offs for Non-payment Natural Gas Shut-offs for Non-Payment

2007

2009

Change

5,812

8,359

44%

6,875

8,849

29%

Source: Data provided by DC Public Service Commission.

46 ★ HillRag | June 2010

when more and more people are in need makes little sense.

It’s like finding out your child is failing math — and then pulling him out of tutoring. It shows a stunning lack of vision over how the city’s resources should be used, and it will hurt the city in the long-term as we will deal for years with the aftereffects of families in crisis.

DC Recession-Proof? No More There was a time when DC used to be called “recessionproof.” Our unique situation seemed to make us immune from what states would go through when the national economy nosedived. But if that was ever true, it certainly isn’t now.

As unemployment soared to the highest level in more than 30 years last year, some 11,000 residents fell into poverty in 2009 (less than $22,000 for a family of four). That’s the biggest one-year jump in at least 15 years.

Unemployment affects families, of course, but entire communities also suffer. The jobless rate has reached nearly 10 percent or higher in every part of the city except Wards 2 and 3. Neighborhood businesses are hurt when residents have less money in their pocket. Schools face challenges when children of the unemployed bring the stresses of home to their classroom.

The signs of financial stress on DC residents are abundant.

Struggling to Paying Housing Bills: Housing is outrageously expensive in DC – it is the single largest budget item for many of us. So when incomes fall, the biggest impact is on the ability of families to keep paying mortgage, rent and utility bills.

The number of DC families falling behind on housing bills has jumped in the recession. One sign: 8,400 households had their electricity shut off in 2009, an increase of 44 percent since 2007.

Another sign: There are more than 2,500 people in homeless families with children. That’s 37 percent more than in 2008.

Hunger on the Rise: Two of five DC households with children said that they had difficulty affording enough food in 2009. More residents are turning to school lunches, and the number of food stamp recipients has grown 30 percent since the start of 2008. Demand for emergency food assistance has jumped, too. The Capital Area Food Bank reports that 88,400 people in the DC region now receive emergency food assistance each week

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Arlington N. Storybook Charm & Modern Amenities from a food pantry, or soup kitchen – 19,000 more than four years ago.

Some soup kitchens, like SOME, have seen a 20 percent increase in visitors in recent years Child abuse and neglect: The stresses associated with poverty are among the most serious contributing factors to child neglect. So when the economy suffers, children suffer, too. There were 6,112 reports of child abuse and neglect in 2009, an increase of one-third over the past two years, according to District figures.

DC Budget Cuts Have Made Matter Worse The District has faced challenges responding to this rising need, because the recession also has left the city with fewer resources, as tax collections have fallen.

But budgets are about choices.

And the choices made by DC’s leaders over how to respond to the recession have in many cases put the victims of the recession squarely on the budget chopping block.

The District closed two social service intake centers in the past year, even though there has been a huge increase in demand, and homeless shelters were overcapacity all winter.

Yet the budget for 2011 includes no increases in homeless services.

The budget proposed by Mayor Adrian Fenty and just approved by the DC Council provides less money for emergency energy and rental assistance than the city provided in 2008 — when there wasn’t even a recession. The child welfare agency has fired 100 workers.

Not only does it reflect a lack of compassion, it also is dangerous for the city. The federal government understands that expanding assistance in a recession — like unemployment insurance and food stamps — is critical to stabilizing families and keeping the economy from spiraling down even more.

If residents in crisis don’t get help, their problems can spiral, too, which can end up costing the city more and make it harder for communities to take advantage of the economic recovery whenever it comes.

That lesson apparently has not been learned here. Maybe the mayor and council need some tutoring.

Ed Lazere is the director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (www.dcfpi. org), which conducts research on tax and budget issues that affect low- and moderate-income DC residents. ★

Beautifully remodeled, circa 1935 Tudor w/ garage on spectacular lot on a quiet non-thru street in the “Walk to Metro” Willet Heights neighborhood. Enjoy 3 BR’S, 2 BA’S, LR w/FP & built-ins, an elegant dining room, charming archways, new granite & SS kitchen, 2 “high-end” renovated baths, playful dormered roof lines, huge master BR, handy main level guest BR, sun-room/ den addition, new central A/C, and a fenced backyard chock full of established Boxwoods, Azalea’s, towering Oaks & relaxing brick patio. TOTALLY TURNKEY!

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6142 Lee Hwy. Arlington, VA • $625,000

The Carbarn 1479 A Street. NE Just Sold for $489,900

Enthusiastically serving clients on both sides of the river. capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 47

capitolstreets ANC reports

NEWS ANC 6A DDOT Stirs Two-Way Debate

by Hunter L. Gorinson

T

he District Department of Transportation (DDOT) found itself on the receiving end of some stern criticism from Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6A at the panel’s May meeting.

The agency’s planned conversion of 17th and 19th streets NE from oneway to two-way corridors kicked up vociferous community objections after its employees sponsored two public meetings last month with very different outcomes.

After their stating that they would be plowing ahead with the conversion based on a 2006 transportation study that failed to incorporate the growth of H Street NE and Benning Road NE traffic to the new Rosedale Recreation Center and the impact of the streetcar system, DDOT pulled an about face weeks later. Completely reversing their initial decision, they pledged to complete a new round of community input and updated study before proceeding further. And while that was good news in some respects, it also caused some in-house disagreement amongst the ANC itself.

Chairman Kelvin Robinson called on the commission to act to rescind a letter of support for the conversion previously issued by the ANC due to the agency’s problematic community interactions.

“There has been, in my opinion, a breakdown between the District government and this community,” said Robinson. This, he followed, was just 48 ★ HillRag | June 2010

the latest – and perhaps most egregious – example.

Commissioners Nick Alberti and David Holmes, however, disagreed and felt that the matter needed to be forwarded back to the ANC’s Transportation Committee – where it had been considered previously – in light of new information. Holmes, for one, stated that he was “not equipped to understand” the impact the conversion could have without the expert opinion of the committee and that it would not be prudent to rescind the letter “without doing … due diligence.”

However, community stakeholders in attendance – Sandra Phillips Gilbert of the Rosedale Grassroots Organization, in particular – took offense at Alberti and Holmes’ attempt to delay ANC action.

“The issue here is not allowing a community that’s less affluent to have an opportunity to determine what they want in their community. … If I was in your community, you’d beat me down,” she said.

Holmes countered that the commission represented “one community” as a whole, and stated that “they were all in this together.” Nevertheless, the motion to refer the matter back to Transportation Committee failed 34 and the motion to rescind passed along the exact same lines.

Pawnshops Under Scrutiny Sara Green of ANC 4B stopped by to seek the support of her fellow advisory neighborhood commissioners in passing the Predatory Pawnbroker Regulation and Community Notification Act of 2010 – a piece of legislation with the potential to greatly change the way pawnshops in the District operate if approved by the

DC Council later this year.

Of the 10 pawnbrokers currently in place in the city, none are subject to any sort of regulation. As worded, the bill – drafted by Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser – affords all ANCs “great weight” regarding the issuance of pawn licenses within their respective jurisdictions and would cap the annual pawn interest rate at 24 percent – the very same cap already in place for payday lenders. Green said that she has visited the majority of DC pawnshops and found rates ranging from 60 to 240 percent.

Lastly, the bill puts enforcement power for the new regulatory measures in the hands of the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, who would be capable of levying fines against or removing licenses from those in non-compliance.

“We’re not out to ban pawnshops or prevent them from doing business.

We just want to them to operate in accordance with ‘great weight’ and as responsible, non-predatory lenders,” said Green.

The motion to draft a letter to Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells in support of the act was introduced by Chairman Kelvin Robinson,

seconded by Commissioner Drew Ronneberg and adopted without objection. A final council vote on the measure is scheduled for May 26.

Drawing the Line between Blighted and Vacant Updates from the ANC’s Economic Development and Zoning Committee took on two tangentially related items – the first being the definition of “blighted” property as codified by the District Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Committee Chair Drew Ronneberg, described the current language on the books as “very permissible” and suggested that a property’s habitability – or in most instances, inhabitability – be a leading criterion in broadening the application of the “blighted” criterion.

Ronneberg cited the fact that within 6A alone there are some 140 vacant properties, only seven of which have been designated as “blighted.”

With a new “catch-all provision,” DCRA would be allowed greater leeway in classifying buildings as such and spurring their property owners to action. The recommendation to amend

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 6A Kelvin Robinson, Chair, 744-0379

the language was adopted without objection and will be forwarded to the DC Council for consideration as part of upcoming legislation.

The second matter of note also addressed DCRA and a perceived lack of transparency in their designation of vacant properties citywide.

Again noting DCRA’s seemingly illogical methodology, the committee report before the ANC stated that citizens are often unaware of which properties are on the vacant list, when they’ve been removed and when others have been exempted.

Worse still, some who find themselves on the list find it incredibly hard to be removed.

“I have tried to help some of my neighbors to say that [their properties] are not vacant, even though their light bills and water bills say they’re vacant,” said Commissioner Gladys Mack. “I have noticed other people putting real estate signs in front of houses that have been vacant for awhile, but no one lives in them. How does that work?”

The ANC called for DCRA to notify them with any and all additions or deletions from the vacant list and unanimously adopted a committee recommendation to notify both DCRA and the District’s Chief Information Officer of their request in writing.

ANC 6A meets the second Thursday of the month at 7 p.m., at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th St. NE. Visit www.anc6a.org for more information.

ANC 6B E Street Parking Relief Coming Soon

by Hunter L. Gorinson

A

fter years of double parking and voluminous commercial traffic on the 1300 block of E Street SE, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B considered a recommendation from their Plan-

ning and Zoning Committee to amend a proposed District Department of Transportation (DDOT) measure intended to ease traffic woes for area residents.

An April letter from DDOT to the ANC announced the agency’s plan to install commercial parking signs with two-hour time limits on the block’s north side – a stretch currently unrestricted by any type of regulation. However, after undertaking a “field trip” to the site with a DDOT representative, the commissioners voted unanimously on a request to make the spaces “Zone 6 Excepted,” opening spaces frequently clogged by commuter cars for neighborhood use. For commercial parking, they suggested that the south side of E Street – also currently unsigned – be made into a strictly commercial zone.

The parking vote, however, was mere prologue to a bigger concern plaguing the block and one that has been the source of much of E Street’s workweek congestion.

Charles Pipkin, owner of Signature Collision, was on hand for a vote in support of a new curb cut in front of his business at 1353 E St. SE. For the past three years, Pipkin has been maneuvering cars from the front of his shop into an adjoining parking lot via the sidewalk. Pipkin stated he only became aware that this was an issue after being sanctioned by an inspector from the District Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) – the very same agency that authorized the site to be a parking lot without a curb cut.

As a result of this arrangement, cars awaiting repair are frequently double-parked in the street, creating what one resident called “a zoo” and safety issues for pedestrians, especially children on their way home from school. The commission expressed befuddlement that DCRA had even allowed the parking lot to operate without a proper entrance in the first place, but, as Commissioner Will Hill conceded, there would just be “more congestion if they don’t get the curb cut.”

Commissioner Norman Metzger disagreed on principle, stating that a

Serving the Kingman Park, Linden, Near Northeast, North Lincoln Park, Rosedale, and Stanton Park communities

★ ★ ★

ANC 6A meets the second Thursday (June 10), 7 pm, at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th Street, NE.

www.anc6a.org Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee 3rd Tuesday, June15, 7pm Sherwood Recreation Center Corner of 10th & G Streets, NE Chair, Mary Beatty, 546-4196 Transportation & Public Space Committee 3rd Monday, June 21, 7pm Community Room of the Capitol Hill Towers 900 G St. NE Chair, Omar Mahmud, 546-1520

Community Outreach Committee 3rd Monday, June 21, 7:30pm Church of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith Annex 1235 C Street, NE Chair, Elizabeth Nelson, 543-3512 Public Safety Committee 3rd Thursday, June 17, 7pm Sherwood Recreation Center Corner of 10th & G Streets, NE Chair, Rebecca Sibilia, 386-2089

Economic Development & Zoning Committee 3rd Wednesday, June 16, 7pm Sherwood Recreation Center Corner of 10th & G Streets, NE Chair, Drew Ronneberg, 431-4305

Please check the Community Calendar on the website for cancellations and changes of venue.

Attend a meeting! Volunteer for a committee! It’s your ANC!

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 49

capitolstreets ANC reports vote for the new curb cut was tantamount to an endorsement of “a mistake made by DCRA.” In the end, the curb cut passed with Metzger casting the sole dissenting vote and Commissioner Kenan Jarboe abstaining.

“DDOT’s going to give them the curb cut. Even if we do nothing, DDOT will do it. … I won’t oppose this, but I don’t want to send a message that I’m happy about it,” said Jarboe.

it would take “a fair amount of homework” to figure which establishment on the bar-laden strip was truly responsible for the noise. Commissioner Kirsten Oldenburg also pointed that any residents with complaints about noise or other issues can always contact ABRA directly.

The Great Liquor License Renewal Round Up

During the ANC’s monthly “Community Speakout” session, Erik Holzherr – owner of Wisdom at 1432 Pennsylvania Ave. SE – raised “issues with crime, graffiti and defecation” occurring on the vacant lot next to his establishment. Holzherr, who also lives above his business, stated that the former KFC site adjoining his property has been host to multiple and “not sporadic” incidents of unsavory and dangerous behavior since the fast food restaurant closed.

“It’s the perfect seedy spot to get away with anything,” he said, noting that security cameras and attempts to contact the property’s listing agents have done little to curb the problems.

Following Holzherr’s account of frightened customers, Belga Café owner Bart Vandaele informed the commission that someone had recently “almost” thrown a brick through the window of his personal residence, directly around the corner from Wisdom on 15th Street SE. Moreover, he said his Eighth Street restaurant had been robbed “in broad daylight” at 9:30 a.m. a week prior.

The ANC considered support of liquor license renewals for 15 bars and restaurants along Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE set to soon go before the District’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration for approval. While 10 passed without significant objection, the commissioners were unable to provide recommendations for renewal to four establishments – La Plaza, Tortilla Coast, La Lomita and Cosi – who neither appeared before the ANC’s Alcohol Beverage Commission Committee meeting on May 6, nor sent representatives to speak out before the vote.

Barracks Row pub The Ugly Mug was the sole recipient of negative vote, as one neighbor of the bar at 723 Eighth St. SE was on hand to complain of weekend noise emanating from the patio of the bar and its adjoining establishment, Molly Malone’s.

While Molly Malone’s manager was in attendance to defend against the claims, The Ugly Mug failed to send a representative to the meeting, leading the ANC to feel that some sort of action must be taken.

“If we don’t protest this, we’re basically sending a signal that you don’t have to come to the ANC, that you don’t have to respond to complaints, you don’t have to do anything. We’ll just let you slide,” said Jarboe.

Commissioner Carol Green agreed, calling a protest vote the best “way to get their attention” with regards to the bar’s involvement in the renewal process. The ANC voted to protest the Ugly Mug’s license, although Chairman David Garrison voted in favor of the bar, stating that 50 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Crime on the Rise at 15th and Penn?

University High No More Wrapping up what had been several months of staunch community opposition and ANC involvement, Oldenburg announced that the DC Charter School Board had denied University High’s controversial pitch for a new charter school at the current site of the International Graduate University. Oldenberg – who testified in opposition to the school at a March school board hearing – chalked the April 19 denial up to a “remarkable team effort by the community” and reiterated the ANC’s opinion

that plans presented to the panel were “very poor.”

ANC 6B regularly meets at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at The People’s Church, 535 Eighth St. SE. Call 202-543-3344 or visit www.anc6b.org for more information.

ANC 6C Proposed Downtown ‘Museum’ Fights Its Own History

by Hunter L. Gorinson

A

n appearance from the applicants behind the planned Museum of Science and Arts at 915 F St. NW stirred up a considerable amount of controversy at Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C’s May meeting. As the first establishment to seek an X class, multipurpose license within the 6C’s jurisdiction in more than four years, the commission chided owner Peter Andrulis III for failing to provide floor plans or any of the other documentation he had promised the panel a week prior at a meeting of the ANC’s Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee.

“The concerns raised by residents … were music, design layout, security disbursement, soundproofing, outdoor management like the rope line, cover charges. All of those things, there were no concrete plans presented at our committee meeting. It would be helpful to know what they are,” said Commissioner Anne Phelps.

The site itself has a checkered past with both the ANC and local residents as the former location of multiple nightclubs, including Platinum, which was forcibly closed by the city after a shooting in 2008. General Manager Joshua Craig definitively told the ANC that the new, 1,300occupancy operation would “not be a nightclub” – but that it also wouldn’t strictly be a museum either. He called it a “new concept” – a three story-bar

with dance floors and art on display – that would cater to a demographic aged 25-35 and earning upwards of $50,000.

With Andrulis seeking hours of 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. without serving food, four neighborhood residents reiterated their skepticism towards the Museum’s credentials. David Bernstein, speaking on behalf of the occupants of the adjoining Ventana residential building, called the project’s plan “essentially an illusion” and said it would merely restore the overcrowding, traffic and violence that plagued the buildings for occupants.

With word coming down midway through the hearing that the ANC 2C had also moved to draft a letter of protest to the DC Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration against the operation, the commission unanimously voted in opposition as well.

“Maybe we can figure out how you present this stuff to us, but you’ve got to put it in writing. We’ve heard entirely too much general talk and nothing that really makes sense,” said Commissioner Charley Docter.

It wasn’t just high-roller establishments that led to heated debate, however. Camie Park of Armand’s Pizza at 226 Massachusetts Ave. NE was on hand to seek approval for the renewal of her liquor license. Although there were no liquor related issues with the establishment, ANC 6C Chair Karen Wirt raised objection to the tour buses that frequently double park in front of Armand’s during the summer months.

Park acknowledged that the tour buses continued to be an issue, but contended that her requests for help from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) have gone unanswered and that the drivers themselves ignore her when told to move.

“They say, ‘You can’t give me a ticket,’” said Park.

Wirt felt that was no excuse, as Park continued to serve bus passengers, but Commissioner Tom Hamilton said it was “not fair to hold Armand’s responsible” for the activity of tour bus drivers. Even so, the ANC voted in opposition to Armand’s 4-1 with Hamilton casting the sole dissenting

vote. Wirt, however, pledged to work with the establishment, and other commissioners suggested getting the Metropolitan Police Department involved in stricter enforcement.

Botched Renovation Spurs Last Minute ‘Rescue’ Rob Amos, chair of the ANC’s Planning, Zoning and Environment Committee, came forward with a last minute addendum to the 6C’s agenda – and one with fairly immediate consequences. A construction accident earlier in the month at 216 St. NW resulted in both the under-renovation home and its immediate neighbor at 218 Morgan being deemed uninhabitable by DCRA and tagged for immediate demolition. While powerless to stop the razes from proceeding, Amos called on the commission to at least ensure DCRA preserved the two homes’ historic and architecturally unique facades.

“Monday the wrecking balls come in unless we take action,” he said.

According to Amos, the cost of the preservation would come in around $150,000, all which would be absorbed by the consumer regulatory agency. An investigation into the collapse of a common wall between the structures is ongoing, but a subcontractor at 216 Morgan is already being faulted for improper underpinning of the structure during a basement excavation.

No one was hurt during the midday collapse, although the family living next door would be unable to retrieve their possessions before the demolition due to safety issues.

A motion based on Amos’s recommendation passed with four commissioners in support with Hamilton voting in opposition and Docter abstaining. capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 51

capitolstreets ANC reports “It’s really scary that someone could go out and get some shoddy construction contractor,” said Commissioner Ryan Velasco, echoing the panel’s concerns about the broader implications of the incident.

New Grants Committee Shares the Wealth With a bank balance just shy of $100,000 and perceived ignorance of the grants system among 6C residents, the ANC has spent months weighing ways to get more money in community coffers and benefit-worthy causes. That discussion has now come to a close, as Wirt announced a new eight-point plan that establishes newly refined grant guidelines and a soon-to-be appointed, citizen-led Grants Committee.

Per the ANC announcement, the committee will be overseen by – but not chaired by – Commissioner Lena Brown. Brown is tasked with making sure all grants remain in compliance with the new standards and appointing a new citizen chair to lead the new panel. A regular meeting time, date and venue will be established once the membership is in place.

Along with headhunting within the community, the ANC is also calling for regular postings on church bulletin boards and in local newspapers to raise awareness of the Grants Committee and the process required to obtain funds. Under the new guidelines, all proposals will be subject to a “suggested,” but flexible, $1,500 maximum. Another new addendum calls for all grants applications to be submitted at least two weeks in advance “to allow sufficient time for the Grants Committee and the commissioners to review [them], as well as…the DC Auditor.”

Capping off the plan is a final suggestion that the new committee work towards funding “proactive efforts,” such as neighborhood cleanups and the beautification of the Hill’s historic call boxes by local artists.

ANC 6C meets the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Call 202-547-7168 or visit www.anc6c.org for more information and meeting agenda.

52 ★ HillRag | June 2010

ANC 6D Commission Discusses Community Gardening, Dining and Entertainment

by Roberta Weiner

A

discussion during the April Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D meeting on the need for a children’s playground and other outdoor amenities in Southwest led the commission to unanimously approve a resolution presented by Commissioner Andy Litsky that asks for the temporary adaptive reuse of the parcel of vacant land at the northeast quadrant of Waterfront Station.

This parcel is currently in the portfolio of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development (DMED) and is slated for residential housing and retail development as part of Phase 2 of the Waterfront Station project, now delayed for several years.

The resolution asks that DMED, working with the community and Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells’ office, develop a plan for the use of the land for, among other possibilities, a children’s playground, a dog park and a community garden. It also asks that the land in the northwest quadrant, until it is built on, be left as open space for picnicking and community special events.

Uncle Sam’s Jam If the management of Christina’s Hogates and Zanzibar, the waterfront establishments, meet stringent conditions set by the ANC, a new addition to the District’s pre-fireworks celebrations will be added to the Southwest waterfront with the ANC’s support.

Uncle Sam’s Jam, an outdoor party, will be held in the parking lots on either side of the adjoining establishments, as well as indoors, and will feature recorded music and outdoor bars for up to 5,000 celebrants. According to the promoter and representatives of both Hogates and Zanzibar, Water Street will not be closed, and there will still be available parking in the underground lots across the street from the water.

The conditions that must be met include: • Having the proper permits – a one-day substantial liquor license change from the District’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) and a special event permit from the District’s

Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA).

• Approval from Metropolitan Police Department First District Commander David Kamperin, who has already met with the event’s organizers and who has said that they will need 16-20 off-duty police for security in addition to their own planned security force.

• Notification of, and support from, the event’s neighbors, particularly residents of the Gangplank Marina.

• A Community Cooperative Agreement, which is currently being negotiated with the ANC. The commission voted to support Uncle Sam’s Jam 5-1-1, with Commissioner Sobelsohn in opposition.

The Capitol Hill Restoration Society Community Forum All Are Welcome* Speaker Stephen T. Ayers Architect of the Capitol Thursday, June 17, 2010 St. Peter’s Catholic Church 313 2nd St., SE Washington, DC Reception: 7:00 p.m. • Remarks: 7:30 p.m. *You do not have to be a member to attend.

Nationals in the Community Gregory McCarthy, vice president for Government and Municipal Affairs of the Nationals, updated the ANC on Nats activities in Southwest. He spoke about the team’s project of renovating the playing field at the King-Greenleaf Recreation Center and is hopeful of finding city funding for an irrigation system to keep it green.

The team, he said, is proving four scholarships for local children to attend their four-day Home Run Camp, which includes two days at the ballpark and a two-day sleep-away camp at Georgetown.

He reported that 55 percent of game-goers are now using Metro and the Circulator to get to the game, but he agreed with the community that more vigilance is needed in the neighborhood when the stadium is full and there’s both people and traffic congestion, and people are still using local streets that are off limits to drive through and park.

He said he wants to work on upping enforcement. He also noted that the RFK buses are no longer

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running, but the parking lot under the freeway at South Capitol Street has been opened at cheaper rates.

Finally, he recapped the successful April Southeast/Southwest Neighborhood Day at the stadium, and presented the ANC with a bat autographed by slugger Adam Dunn.

In a related item, Naomi Mitchell of Councilmember Wells’ office reported on an erstwhile meeting at which the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) was supposed to discuss the Traffic Operations and Parking Plan (TOPP) for Nationals Stadium events in 2010.

Agency representatives came without any parking or enforcement specialist, leaving the 75 people in attendance unhappy. As a result, according to Mitchell, there was “a lot of internal discussion at DDOT” and the meeting was rescheduled for May 27, with a full complement of DDOT experts, including agency director Gabe Klein.

late night noise at the establishment.

They agreed to take no action on four establishments with which the ANC has voluntary agreements and about which there have been no complaints: Vie de France, Capitol Yacht Club, Cantina Marina and Jenny’s. The remaining 11 licensees—primarily hotels—do not have voluntary agreements with the ANC, but also have no reported problems, and the ANC took no action on the renewals. Finally, the commission voted to support a new liquor license for a new cruise boat, the Patriot II with Commissioner David Sobelson voting in opposition.

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It was a busy meeting with 16 liquor licenses up for renewal. To add another element to the mix, by coincidence, Southwest resident Diane Schultz reported earlier in the evening about the number of tour buses parking illegally and idling on Water and Fifth streets SW, as their occupants cruise on the boats berthed at the marina. Schultz detailed her efforts to talk with the boat operators, MPD, and parking enforcement about letting the bus operators know they were parking illegally and were subject to fines for idling ($500 for more than 10 minutes), and had received no positive response.

As a result, the ANC voted unanimously to protest the license renewals of Capitol Elite Spirit Cruises, the Spirit of Mount Vernon, the Spirit of Washington, and Odyssey Cruises, on the grounds of problems with “peace, order and quiet, and parking” with the intention of working out a positive solution to the problem.

The commission voted 6-0-1, with Chairman Ron McBee abstaining, to protest the license renewal for Christina’s Hogates because of repetitive complaints about

•

•

•

In other actions, the ANC: Heard from MPD Lt. Nick Gallucci that the overall crime rate in Police Service Areas 104 and 105 is down close to 30 percent from the same period last year. Naomi Mitchell added that she had looked at citywide statistics, and those PSAs are the lowest in the city.

Heard a presentation on the planning for the renovation of the 14th Street NW Bridge, a project of the Federal Highway Administration. Although funding is still being sought for the construction, an Environmental Impact Study is now underway, and community meetings will be held to discuss the various options under consideration.

Was told that, for the second summer, there will be programs at Amidon School, including Kid Power and Heads up. Jefferson Middle School may also be open.

Voted to have, with other local organizations, an August forum for citywide candidates.

New Meeting Site The next meeting of ANC 6D will be June 14, 7 p.m., in the building housing its new office, 1101 Fourth St. SW, second floor. Visit www.anc6d.org for more information. ★

capitolstreets news Eyes on Eastern

Transforming Our Schools article and photo by Heather Schoell

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riends, there is a revolution afoot – not the destructive sort that will result in civil unrest and strewn casualties, but the good kind, the kind that will leave in its wake an opportunity for all students to receive a top-notch education starting in elementary school, continuing through middle school, and ending with graduation from Eastern High.

As It Stands Elementary schools on Capitol Hill are looking good – many have a long waitlist, and the others are on an upswing in performance and enrollment. Eastern High has $75 million into it and a base of community members committed to mapping out how Eastern will look physically and academically.

Next stop: middle schools. Representatives from the Capitol Hill Public School Parents Organization (CHPSPO) have been quietly toiling to construct a plan that will lift the level of success of Hill middle school students who all feed into Eastern, and ultimately will set the course for Eastern’s shining success or dismal failure.

The former title of this column was Eyes on Eastern, but we’re going to broaden the scope and have our eyes glued to what’s going on with education of the whole of Capitol Hill. This is Transforming Our Schools.

Eastern’s Principal Selection(s) In April, DCPS held a principal selection forum, at which two candidates (three dropped out) were interviewed by a panel of interested participants. Anyone who wanted to be on the panel could join, so long as

they attended the preparatory session two days prior.

Kevin Reed, Coast Guard lieutenant commander, Capitol Hill parent of four, and Maury Local School Restructuring Team (LSRT) member, was on the panel.

“It was similar to Maury’s principal selection process,” he said. “The candidates were both good, but one was over-the-top great. … The difference in the process was that the body asked questions but didn’t come together as a group.”

James Preston Sr., class of 1965 and interim chairman of the Eastern High School Alumni Association, agreed with Reed’s assessment of the candidates and his disappointment in the absence of group discussion. Preston spoke candidly of his take on a principal being female versus male, white versus black. “The future of Eastern – it’s going to be a community high school – I think it’s going to be a model for the entire city. Ralph Neal (Eastern’s principal in the 1980s and then DCPS assistant superintendent for high schools], an award-winning and well-respected principal, said to me, ‘James, we’ve had a succession of African-American principals. Why not give her a shot?’ Race always seems to leak into discussions. I think anyone the chancellor selects, the alumni association will get behind, and I think the community will get behind.”

Unfortunately, the process is not over. Peggy O’Brien, chief of the Office of Family and Public Engagement, announced in a May 7 e-mail that DCPS offered the principalship to Suzanne Maxey, but she chose to take a position in Alexandria.

Eastern’s Kenneth Clayton, Principal Chiselom and Stephanie Robinson. capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 55

DCPS has reopened the nationwide search for a principal. The next prep session and forum will be June 15 and 17, but only panelists from April may participate. Applicants or community members with a recommendation should e-mail Hilary Darilek, director of Principal Human Capital at hilary.darilek@ dc.gov.

Eastern High Today “Learning cannot take place where chaos exists. That’s my motto,” said Principal William Chiselom, who has broken the one-principalper-year cycle that has been the case at Eastern. “After Ralph Neal left, a lot of the traditions and programs got lost in the shuffle, and I’m restoring them. ‘Restoring the Pride’ was the theme last year, and this year it’s ‘Going to the Next Level.’ I’m working on next year’s,” he said. “It’s been fun, putting things back into place, making it feel like a school again, not a war zone. We’re educators, not wardens.” Walking the outdoor halls, which seems more like a nice deck, Chiselom greets students and staff and receives apologies from students he takes to task for talking too loudly or wearing hats.

When Chiselom came to Eastern in 1998 as an assistant principal, there were 2,350 students, and he described how the health academy had between 600 and 700 students.

There were gifted and talented and pre-law programs, but as the school fell apart, the population dwindled, and the school became low in attendance and offerings. Last year’s population was 542, and because freshman and sophomore classes were not added, the population has gone down to 357.

The culture and tone, however, is on a serious upswing. “In 07/08, there were 88 lockdowns, five last year, zero this year,” said Chiselom.

“Fights: over 100 in 07/08, 17 last year and five this year. Last year, with more students, we only had 47 on the honor roll. This year, with fewer students, we have 93.” What is going on? “I’m changing the energy, getting students more involved this year, giving students the total high school experience.”

Part of the experience is sports.

56 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Last year, Eastern did not have a basketball team, and this year they came in second in the championship. There is now a football team and girls softball. Chiselom, who used to be a coach, brought his team leadership to the staff and students. In fact, he credits the students with “making it work” – the changes, the leadership, his implementation of uniforms and the adaptation to the new environment of learning pods (trailers) instead of their regular building.

“The mod pods? I love them to death,” said Stephanie Robinson, senior class president, AP student, health academy student, and flag girl for the marching band, who was on hand to flesh out life at Eastern.

“I used to get lost in the building, trying to find my classes. The mod pods are just like being at home.”

She began there as a freshman and has witnessed the transformation of the school from a succession of principals to Chiselom’s second year. “It has been wonderful, overwhelming,” she said. In March, Stephanie was one of a small group of Eastern girls to meet the first lady to honor Women’s History Month; in August, she is heading to Virginia State University to study psychology.

One of the students who shouldn’t have been wearing his hat is Kenneth Clayton, a Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship participant who received the Kiwanis Club Joe Riley Youth Leadership Award of $10,000, which will go toward his education at Iowa University where he will start this fall in pursuit of an aerospace engineering and political science double major.

Rickey Rigby and Ashley Ford were recently presented $5,000 grants from Mayor Adrian Fenty at the Economic Club of DC’s Annual Scholarship Dinner.

Eastern needs time to grow better and stronger, but this is the current climate – safer and more secure with more opportunities. And without the chaos, there is learning.

Middle Schools At the beginning of 2009, CHPSPO – the group that worked with the Capitol Hill Community

Foundation on the School Libraries Project – set their sites on improving middle schools on the Hill and met monthly to share information gathered. In December 2009, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells said that middle schools were his top priority and charged CHPSPO with coming up with a plan to present to DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee by April. CHPSPO stepped up the meeting frequency, including weeknights until 10:30 p.m. and a Sunday afternoon, hammering out details until there was a solid proposal. Late March, the chancellor looked it over and commented that it was well-thought out, and asked CHPSPO to work along with her own middle school team to come up with a plan to encompass all of Ward 6 schools.

On May 19, the chancellor presented a Ward 6 plan based on CHPSPO’s proposal that calls for: • Eliot-Hine with an International Baccalaureate (IB) program, along with all the extras it will need to vertically align with its feeder elementary schools (Maury, Miner, Payne and Tyler).

This means programs dedicated to the hearing impaired and autistic students, advanced Spanish for Tyler’s immersion students, classes that offer continuum from Payne’s World Cultures catalyst studies, and higher learning opportunities for advanced students.

It also calls for access to the DC Youth Orchestra Program and other choice offerings at Eastern.

• Stuart-Hobson (the Cluster’s middle school) with restoration of a museum studies partnership, changes to the building (e.g. consolidating the two small gyms into a large one), and changes in feeder patterns to accommodate J.O. Wilson, Ludlow-Taylor (previously feeding to Eliot-Hine) and Watkins. Fifth grade returns to Watkins to add space.

• Montessori will move out of Watkins to its own building where it can expand to eighth grade. Yet to be determined is its location and Cluster status – if it will or will not remain as part of the Peabody/Watkins/StuartHobson Cluster.

•

Jefferson, Brent’s feeder school, will have an IB program with Chinese as its world language and a museum studies partnership to vertically align with Brent’s museum studies. DCPS will launch a citywide recruitment effort to make Jefferson a school of choice.

The most radical change from the current state of schools is that Jefferson would have what is termed a “sixth grade academy” that would effectively insulate the incoming sixth graders from the seventh and eighth grade, in its own physical space and with its own leadership.

“Strengthening secondary schools in Ward 6 is essential in order to maintain the progress we see at the elementary level,” said Daniel Holt, Brent’s PTA president. “The working draft of a plan that DCPS has presented is a good first step and signals a focus on the problems we see system-wide at the middle school level.”

“I’m so glad DCPS is being responsive to parent concerns,” said Capitol Hill parent Rachel Klein.

“Stuart-Hobson is three blocks from Ludlow-Taylor; it just makes sense for all of Ludlow-Taylor’s students to be able to go there together. It’s really important to me that my kids will be able to go to our neighborhood school.”

The plan is not set in stone, but rather a place to work from. “The DCPS proposal is responsive to what parents say they are looking for in a middle school. The proposal will strengthen our already good middle schools on the Hill,” said CHPSPO president and Tyler parent Suzanne Wells (no relation to Councilmember Wells).

Please look for DCPS’ announcements of opportunities for discussion about Ward 6 middle schools. To learn more about plans for secondary schools on the Hill, got to www.dcps.dc.gov and under Parents and Community, find Community Initiatives and The Future of Eastern. To learn more about CHPSPO, find them on Facebook.

Heather Schoell is a regular contributor to Capital Community News and can be reached at hschoell@verizon.net. ★

Community Life Summer Fun and Learning at CHAW Finding New Opportunities for Artistic Expression

by Megan Cheek

S

ummer is just around the corner and you can feel the anticipation building as kids dream about time off from school, summer camps, and vacations. But who says the kiddies get to have all the fun? This summer, the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop’s classes, programs, exhibits, and performances allow folks of all ages to reconnect with the excitement of new opportunities and new adventures. So even the big kids can learn something new and have fun doing it.

CHAW’s eight week summer adult session will continue to offer tried and true favorites including classes in Painting, Fitness, Dance, Photography, Ceramics, and more.

New summer adult classes feature Digital Media, Couture Sewing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and a Public Speaking workshop. “We’ve worked hard this summer to think outside the box,” says Amy Moore, CHAW’s Director of Education and Programs. “We wanted to expand our definition of the arts and how they play a part in everyday life.”

CHAW’s newest classes focus on the more practical applications of art.

Phil Hutinet, Director of H Street, NE’s City Gallery and Studio H and Editor-in-Chief of East City Art, introduces the new Tuesday night class Leveraging Online Media. Hutinet’s students will learn how to promote their business by using basic social media tools including Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and more. “Social media is the direction the web is taking right now and it’s all free which is great for those on a budget,” says Hutinet.

For those who want to give Project Runway a run for their money, this summer’s Tuesday night class Demi Couture Sewing boasts high fashion.

Led by Paris-trained sewing expert

Nora Elias, students will create their own garment, learn fitting techniques, and discover ways to work with difficult fabrics. “I am grateful to teach couture craft to our capital’s emerging designers to ensure that the best tradition of dressmaking continues,” Elias added.

Women who want to improve selfawareness and develop critical defensive techniques should try the new Thursday night Brazilian Jiu Jutsu for Women class taught by Nyjah Easton. Students will learn to improve flexibility, speed, and balance through basic movement and submission holds. “We are excited to welcome women who want to learn martial arts, get in shape, and meet new friends,” says Easton who is opening up her own studio Capitol Hill Jiu Jitsu on H Street, NE this summer.

If you can’t commit to an eightweek class this summer, CHAW offers the four-session workshop The Holistic Professional: Voice and Movement Arts for Public Speaking led by Lessac practitioner Melissa Hurt. “This class goes beyond public speaking and expression in the work place, offering

tools for healthy and relaxed expression for everyday life,” says Hurt.

And if your summer is just too busy for a class, join CHAW and the GLBT Arts Consortium as they present their special take on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado August 5-7 and 12-14, 2010. Tickets are $20/$10 for the Saturday matinees and can be purchased at (202) 547-6839 or at victor@chaw.org.

For the kids, CHAW’s popular Summer Arts Adventure camps, Junior Arts camps, and Music Together classes continue to delight. This summer’s sessions focus on the arts and culture of New Mexico, Madgascar, Spain, and Australia. In addition, students can register for an afternoon specialty camp including Recreation camp, Musical Theater camp, Ceramics camp, Photography camp, and Rock n’ Roll camp.

Classes begin June 14, 2010 and run until August 13, 2010. For more information on classes and camps or to register, visit www.chaw.org or call (202) 547-6839. ★ capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 57

communitylife

Spotted on the Hill

Taxonomic order and issue date in the Hill Rag

50 Species of Birds

Canada Goose (Nov 2007) Hooded Merganser (Jan 2010)

Text and photo by Peter Vankevich

Common Merganser (April 2007)

W

58 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Double-crested Cormorant (Nov 2008) Great Blue Heron (Dec 2007) Great Egret (Oct 2006) Green Heron (May 2010) Osprey (July 2008) Bald Eagle (July 2007) Cooper’s Hawk (March 2009) Red-tailed Hawk (June 2009) Peregrine Falcon (March 2007) Photo: Andrew Lightman

hat kind of birds can be seen on Capitol Hill? Back in March of 2006, I wrote a short article for the Hill Rag with a photograph on the Northern Mockingbird – thus beginning a regular column that has spanned more than four years, and, I’m proud to say, never missing a month. Even back then I wanted to emphasize how birds are part of our culture and used as an example Harper Lee’s 1960 Southern Gothic novel “To Kill a Mockingbird.” With the American Robin I even managed to work in one of my favorite songs, the Joan Baez masterpiece, “Diamonds and Rust,” where she sings (allegedly) of Bob Dylan, “If I recall your eyes were bluer than robin’s eggs...” Then, of course, there are the hawk and doves themes.

So 50 months later, with deep gratitude to the Hill Rag, I’m still writing about the birds I spot in areas from along the Anacostia, and across the Hill to the Mall. I’ve written this column with the intention that both the general reader and the fairly knowledgeable birder would learn something. For example, I found a study that revealed that urban robins are far more likely to sing in the night due to artificial lighting than birds in rural areas—a note of interest to us insomniacs who on a warm open-window April night may hear one singing loudly and incessantly in a nearby tree at 2:00 a.m.

Having the Library of Congress in our neighborhood provides a wonderful opportunity to find and resurrect old observations that may help us improve our knowledge of bird life on Capitol Hill. One of the books I still consult is a reflective nature journal called “Spring in Washington” by Louis Halle.

He was a State Department official and during World War II, would start his mornings on his bike visiting Rock Creek and spots along the Potomac before heading off to work —kind of his “separate peace” before dealing with war.

When researching the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, I came across a fascinating DC big day bird report by ornithologist Harry C. Oberholser that took place on May 13, 1907 when he tallied 103 species and 1846 individual birds.

What was equally interesting was how he covered 32 miles: 9 by electric car (trolley), 16 by boat and 7 on foot. I think I still have the list if anyone is interested in seeing it.

Killdeer (Aug 2006) Spotted Sandpiper (June 2007) Least Sandpiper (Aug 2008) Laughing Gull (Sept 2006) Black-headed Gull (Nov 2009) Ring-billed Gull (Jan 2007) Great Black-backed Gull (Feb 2009) Forster’s Tern (Sept 2009) Rock Pigeon (Jan 2008) Mourning Dove (Jan 2009) Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Feb 2007) Eastern Phoebe (May 2007) Blue Jay (Feb 2010) Fish Crow (July 2009) Barn Swallow (Sept 2007) Carolina Chickadee (Dec 2009) Carolina Wren (Oct 2009) Golden-crowned Kinglet (Dec 2006) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Dec 2008) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (June 2008) American Robin (May 2006) Gray Catbird (July 2006) Northern Mockingbird (March 2006) Brown Thrasher (May 2008) European Starling (Nov 2006) Cedar Waxwing (April 2006) Magnolia Warbler (Oct 2007) Yellow Warbler (May 2009) Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler (June 2006) Chipping Sparrow (Aug 2007) White-throated Sparrow (Oct 2008) Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco (Feb 2007) Northern Cardinal (Sept 2009) Red-winged Blackbird (April 2009) Common Grackle (April 2008) Brown-headed Cowbird (April 2010) House Finch (March 2008) American Goldfinch (Aug 2008)

Additions & Basement Experts I’ve also tried to include a little humor when the opportunity presents. After many attempts to photograph a Barn Swallow, out of frustration this old Red Sox fan observed: They have been clocked at flying more than 45 mph; though to me, trying to photograph one in flight is like hitting a pitch with the speed of Roger Clemens and the predictability of a Tim Wakefield knuckleball in 90 degree weather.

One of the more pleasant benefits of this column has been meeting and/or corresponding with the readers.

It’s nice to have someone come along in the hour or so weekend walks around the Hill. I’ve also enjoyed getting to know so many of the dog walkers (and their pets) at the Congressional Cemetery, one of my hot spots for finding birds on the Hill. If you haven’t visited it, I would encourage you to do so.

I’ll end with something I’ve learned about helping birds and it’s not from some big name ornithologist but from an entomologist – yes, a bug person. I’m still reflecting on the Capitol Hill Garden Club’s recent lecture by Professor Doug Tallamy on the importance of individual efforts at restoring our fragile and fragmented environment by getting rid of exotic ornamental shrubs and trees, cutting back on lawns and adding lots of native plants.

Not only will birds benefit, but so will all of nature and as a result, so will we.

Over the past two mornings of mid-May, I photographed three migrant species I haven’t covered. So I hope to keep writing for the foreseeable future. But if you see me featurin the House Sparrow, that may be my coda.

Feel free to send comments to Petevankevich@gmail.com. ★

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communitylife

h street streetlife life

First Saturday Events, Vegetarian Options and More! articles and photos by Elise Bernard

I

t’s that magical season in DC again: summer. Children get a break from school, and the District is inundated with interns. This summer promises to be the best one yet for the H Street NE Corridor. With a ton of new businesses, the street should be booming.

First Saturday Events Get ready for the second First Saturday ( June 5). First Saturday is a day-long celebration with events stretching all down the corridor. As with last month, there will be special vendors at the FreshFarm Market (625 H St. NE, www.freshfarmmarket.org/markets/h_street.html).

Red Apron Butchery (www.redapronbutchery.com , a vendor of gourmet house-cured meats, is among the special vendors. Last month I sampled a few different products, and all were outstanding. Other guest vendors are Dangerously Delicious Pies (1339 H St. NE, www.dangerouspiesdc.com) and Dolcezza Gelato (dolcezzagelato.com). From 9 a.m. to noon a saxophonist will play live jazz at the market. Taste of Jamaica (528 H St. NE,) will again celebrate with a fish fry.

Dance the night away at XII (1123 H St. NE, www.twelvedc.com) while a dj spins. No cover.

Or head over to the Rock and Roll Hotel (1353 H Street NE, www.rockandrollhoteldc.com) and

Sidamo’s veggie sandwich will thrill you.

catch Exit Clov, Middle Distance Runner, and Savoir Adore for $10 (doors 8:30 p.m., show 9:30 p.m.). Or spend your $10 dollars on the Skullduggery and Skin and Skin Show (doors 7 p.m., show 10 p.m.) at Palace of Wonders (1210 H St. NE, www.palaceofwonders.com). It’s a night of burlesque, circus acts, sideshow fare and magic.

Summer Film Series at the Atlas

First Saturdays start with jazz at the FreshFarm Market.

60 ★ HillRag | June 2010

The Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St. NE, www. atlasarts.org) embraces its movie theater past this summer, with three different film series running from June 17 to Sept.

4. The topics are ‘70s Family Films, Cinema Al Fresco (Italian films), and Gay 101 (classic films popular with gay men). Films will be shown in the Sprenger Theater. Cabaret style seating will be provided, but you can also bring a lawn chair, blanket or a stroller and pretend you’re watching under the stars.

Vegan and Vegetarian Options So you want to try out a new place in the H Street Corridor, but you aren’t sure if you or your friend can find options on the menu. This is by no means an exhaustive list of places with a vegan or vegetarian menu item, but just a handy guide to some safe bets. An obvious good starting point is Ethiopic (401 H St. NE, www.ethiopicrestaurant. com). Vegetarians and vegans alike will find many tasty options available at this new Ethiopian restaurant. The lentil salad is a true standout for me.

Pair your chosen entrée with a dark EthiopiMusic lovers who get the munchies midan beer, and it’s a sure success. All vegetarian show can grab a bite at the Rock and Roll selections are also vegan. As at most Ethio- Hotel (1353 H St. NE, www.rockandrollhopian restaurants, you can order a vegetarian teldc.com). The short menu features a grilled sampler platter. veggie and pasta salad, as well as a few other Just down the street, you’ll encoun- meat-free options. ter Sidamo (417 H St. NE, www.sidamoOn a related note, work continues on the coffeeandtea.com) an Ethiopian tea and health food store moving in at the corner of coffeehouse. Sidamo also has some great Florida and Trinidad Avenue. soups, salads and sandwiches. I recently sampled the veggie sandwich, and I’ll be The Atlas Room back for another one soon. The sandwich The closing of Napa 1015 left a gap in consists of cucumber, tomato, avocado, len- the H Street dining scene. Now comes the tils, lettuce, cheese and pesto, on your choice Atlas room to, literally, takes Napa’s place. of honey oat bread, or the bread they use Yes, the Atlas room will occupy Napa’s old for the panini. Vegans can order the vegan space at 1015 H St. NE. It will serve modern breakfast, which includes hummus, tomato American cuisine. and avocado.

Taste of Jamaica (528 H St. NE) is the next stop. Two tofu dishes and a variety of Tru Orleans Fans of Cajun/Creole cuisine may finally meat-free sides make this a great choice. get their prayers answered. A new restaurant Fried plantains anyone? Vegetarians dining called Tru Orleans hopes to open up at 400 at Taylor Gourmet (1116 H St. NE, www.

H St. NE. The man behind the effort is taylorgourmet.com) can choose from a short James T. “Tru” Redding, a construction molist of sandwiches and salads, but vegans will gul who is involved with several clubs and need to ask them to hold the cheese, please. restaurants that have either recently opened The Philly-style Italian sandwich maker also or are currently in development. cooks up some tasty fried risotto balls.

Down the street at Souk (1208 H St. NE, souk-dc.com) the options for both veg- Wylie Street Power Scuffle etarians and vegans are far broader. Middle A hot topic for residents of Wylie Street Eastern fare is full of flavorful dishes free of right now is the recently revealed plan to meat and dairy, and Souk has a nice lineup stick a power substation for the trolley on on the menu. They also recently acquired a a vacant lot at 1215 Wylie St. NE. Wylie liquor license, so your table can indulge in a Streeters have started gearing up for a fight. bottle of wine next time you visit. The falafel The substation is one of three currently served here is more Moroccan style, and the planned for the H Street streetcar line. stuffed grape leaves are awesome.

Pan-Asian sushi house Sticky Rice (1224 H St. NE, www.stickyricedc.com) also offers a variety of vegan and vegetarian choices. I love the vegan Korean pancakes they serve at brunch. Aside from their noodle and rice dishes, the menu also features a wide variety of funky vegan and vegetarian sushi rolls.

Dangerously Delicious Pies (1339 H Street NE, www.dangerouspiesdc.com) serves up the vegan chili pie (think beans and rice in pie form, and all of their crusts are veg- Some Wylie Street residents are fighting a proposed power substation on their block. an. Sometimes they use a non-vegan glaze on the fruit pies, so be sure to ask (they intentionally omit the glaze on For more on what’s abuzz on and around H some pies, so they can remain vegan). Plans Street, you can visit my blog http://frozenare in the works to offer a vegan quiche in tropics.blogspot.com. Send tips or questions to the future. inked78@hotmail.com. ★ capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 61

communitylife

BYwest

SOUTH Will M Street Become a “Complete Street”? article & photo by William Rich

O

n March 9, Ward 6 D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells hosted a community meeting at MPD’s First District headquarters that discussed proposed changes for M Street SE/SW using the “Complete Streets” concept, defined as a street that is safe, comfortable, and convenient for travel by automobile, foot, bicycle, and transit regardless of age or ability. Wells is interested in improving sidewalks and placing concrete-like cycle tracks along M Street from 11th Street, SE to Maine Avenue, SW, which would remove one lane of vehicle traffic in each direction and serve as a traffic calming measure along this busy stretch of road. These changes would get commuters used to less traffic lanes for when streetcars eventually make their way to M Street (the proposed 37-mile streetcar network planned for the city includes two lines running along M Street SE/SW) and gives bicyclists refuge from cars.

Recently, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has been adding bike lanes throughout the city, including protected bike lanes on 15th Street, NW and cycle tracks on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW. Currently, M Street is a six-lane road that serves as a connection between the 14th Street Bridge (I-395) via Maine Avenue and the 11th Street Bridge (I-295). Traffic counters at DDOT estimate about 10,000 vehicles per day use the road on the east side of South Capitol Street and 20,000 vehicles on the west side of South Capitol Street. Neighborhoods that M Street SE/SW serves include the Southwest Waterfront and the Capitol Riverfront, both of which are experiencing tremendous growth. With approximately 62 ★ HillRag | June 2010

10,000 residential units planned and 25,000 employees projected to make their way to the M Street SE/SW corridor upon full build-out (a mid-sized city as Wells put it), a holistic approach needs to be taken to address design inadequacies along M Street.

In order to pay for the road improvements, money will be used from the Ward 6 Performance Parking Pilot program that was implemented in the area when Nationals Park opened in 2008. Pricing for parking meters in the vicinity of the ballpark have been increased and adjustments are made according to market conditions in order to facilitate street parking turnover.

Under the program, 75% of revenue generated from parking meters in the area (it was 20%, but since the parking meters have been paid off the share has increased to 75%) can be used for “nonautomobile improvements” such as the cycle tracks and sidewalk widening envisioned for M Street.

There was trepidation from some Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners and other members of the audience about losing a lane of traffic in each direction, but there were others who were excited about the changes, including those who regularly ride bicycles. Another proponent of “complete streets” is Adam Goldberg of AARP, who also presented at the meeting. As the Baby Boomer generation gets older, AARP has taken a more active role in advocating pedestrian safety for seniors.

The notion that M Street is dangerous for bicyclists and pedestrians was reinforced on the morning of April 29, when Amy Ellen Polk, a contractor from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which is located on M Street, SE, was struck and killed by a motor-

Bikers share the road with vehicles on the 400 block of M Street, SW.

ist traveling eastbound on M between Half Street and 1st Street, SE. While the investigation is still underway by the Metropolitan Police Department, it appears that the victim was standing in the roadway, but not in a crosswalk when she was struck.

Funding for road improvements along M Street SE/SW is already in place, so the project could theoretically be completed by the end of 2010.

However, there is some doubt whether the “Complete Streets” concept will make its way to the M Street corridor anytime soon, since Councilmember Wells would like buy-in from the community before proceeding with DDOT and judging from the commentary at the March public meeting, some more convincing needs to be done.

Farmers Markets Take Root Farmers markets have become more popular in the District in the past few years and the concept has made its way to the Southwest/Capitol Riverfront area. Two new farmers markets will open this season, which will join the USDA Farmers Market in offering an alternative for local residents to the grocery store to purchase produce and other mar-

ket items. Following is a list of local farmers markets.

Name of Farmers Market: FRESHFARM Market Location: 200 Independence Avenue, SW Schedule: Wednesdays from 2:30pm – 6:30pm ( June 2 – October 27) Website: www.freshfarmmarket.org Starting on June 2, a FRESHFARM Market will arrive in front of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) building, the first FRESHFARM Market to open in Southwest. Other FRESHFARM Markets in the District are located in Dupont Circle, H Street NE, Penn Quarter, Foggy Bottom, and near the White House. The tagline for FRESHFARM Market is Promoting food with a face, a place, and a taste in the Chesapeake Bay region. The HHS FRESHFARM Market will be run in collaboration with FedStrive, a new comprehensive health & wellness program initiated by the Department of Federal Occupational Health (FOH) that’s being tested on HHS employees, with a goal of bringing a take charge approach to health, wellness, and work/life balance.

WIDE SHOE OUTLET Men’s and Women’s sizes up to 15 EE Name of Farmers Market: Capitol Riverfront Market Location: New Jersey Avenue & M Street, SE Schedule: Thursdays from 3pm – 7pm (May 6 – November 18) Website: www.diversemarkets.net In addition, the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood welcomed a new market on May 6th when the Capitol Riverfront Market opened next to the Navy Yard Metro. The new market will offer fresh produce, specialty products, and locally prepared food.

In prior years, a farmers market was held behind the new U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters building and before that in the courtyard of the old Nassif Building, when DOT headquarters was located in Southwest. However, the Capitol Riverfront BID entered into an agreement with Diverse Markets Management and local developer Donohoe to open a market in a lot where Donohoe plans to eventually construct an office building.

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Name of Farmers Market: USDA Farmers Market Location: USDA parking lot at 12th Street & Independence Avenue, SW Schedule: Fridays from 10am – 2pm ( June 4 – October 29) Website: www.ams.usda.gov The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been holding a farmers market at their headquarters just south of the National Mall since 1996.

Since that time, the market offerings and duration of the season has increased, with vendors now coming from Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania.

Items for purchase include locally-grown fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, maple products, and baked goods.

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William Rich is a blogger at Southwest…The Little Quadrant that Could (www.southwestquadrant.blogspot.com) ★ capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 63

communitylife

Volunteer Here! article and photos by Sharon Bosworth

S

Join the BRMS Planning Team for fall events.

64 ★ HillRag | June 2010

hopping for many of us on Capitol Hill is done on Eighth Street. It’s easy to spend time on Barracks Row and simply have a blast – sunshine, baseball and blocks of outdoor cafes open from breakfast to nightcaps. The Row’s boutiques – offering the best for home, pets and kids – and service-oriented businesses – two dry cleaners, shoe repair, dentists and insurance agents – are owned by local entrepreneurs who really want to know your name and sell you exactly what you want to buy.

How could volunteers make it any better? Let’s count the ways!

Remember the ghosts from last month’s column? Our Ghost Mural Project alone is multi-faceted and demanding. Each step in the historic renovation of these legendary wall ads requires contacts and follow-ups – spread sheets, phone calls and e-mails. It takes work to save the ghosts from fading away forever. Want to help? Call 202544-3188.

Then there’s the momentous news that finally there will be parking under the freeway available to Barracks Row patrons. With the solar meter installed and the lighting and striping of the parking lot complete, now we are only waiting for the District Department of Transportation to put up the big green signs that say “Parking.” Heavy lifting done? Not quite! There’s the press release, ribbon cutting and festivities … hey, it’s big stuff for any urban area on the planet to ac-

quire 54 new parking places! Want to take part in planning the celebration? This project is perfect for you!

Help the Place You Love On her day off, Rosanne Ferruggia is at our Barracks Row Main Street office creating a spreadsheet.

She is a volunteer who found us, likes us, and keeps coming back to help us accomplish our mission to bring prosperity to all five blocks of Eighth Street SE. Not long ago I heard Richard Moe, president of The National Trust for Historic Preservation, characterize its Main Street Program as “the best idea the National Trust ever had.” The Main Street concept is simple, and it works. Writ large it’s a public private partnership; but writ small, it’s about each one of us making a difference in the neighborhood we call home.

Rosanne discovered us almost by accident. Originally recruited by a friend in 2008 as a day-of-theevent volunteer at our popular Taste of Eighth restaurant sampling promotion, she discovered something here she believes in: community with heart and soul and an organization that appreciates her marketing skills. “I lived near here and worked at the time for the American Architectural Foundation, so I was aware of the Main Street program and its mission. I love the neighborhood – the strong bond between the retailers, the restaurants and the Main Street office – everybody knows everybody else! Even though

Documentary Take on Market

By Maggie Hall

BRMS volunteers and DCFD help Santa visit Eighth Street.

I’ve since moved farther away from Barracks Row, I will always be loyal to Eighth Street.”

No Place Like this Place Anyplace Our large scope of activities makes a wide array of projects available for anyone who enjoys the feeling of community and wants to help their neighborhood thrive. Rosanne continued her work with Taste of Eighth but went on to join a band of 10 other volunteers who plan the annual Barracks Row Fall Festival. The festival is an unlikely combination: a performance by the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team Platoon, a chef ’s cookoff, a wide assortment of artists’ booths, a petting zoo, Oktoberfest beer gardens, music and the not-to-be-missed annual visit by the Redskin’s cheerleaders.

Always held on the first weekend of fall, this festival truly underscores that there’s no place like this place any place. But the organization to pull it off is unbelievable. The six months of preparations are led by Debra Keats, vice president of National

Capital Bank and board member of Barracks Row Main Street.

She could use your help in planning or on the day of the event or both. Contact: martin@barracksrow.org or sharon@barracksrow. org. We’ll make sure you meet Debra and her talented committee and join in for the earliest stages of planning.

An even higher level of participation is also available. Our Main Street committees meet regularly: Economic Development, Promotions, Design, Building and Business Owners, Fundraising. Within each of these are subcommittees and task forces. Chances are excellent we are working on a project now that meshes perfectly with your expertise! Join a committee and explore the possibilities.

Finally there is the board of directors of Barracks Row Main Street. These individuals are deeply committed to creating the brightest long term future for Eighth Street. Board member elections are held in June, and there could be a seat waiting for you! You know how to reach us. ★

Meg Beasley, a student at George Washington University, has grown to love a place clear across town—Eastern Market. Nearly every weekend she jumps on the Metro to visit. For just-picked salad-makings, to browse the hand-crafted jewelry, swoon over the art and soak up the atmosphere over a latte.

Now the Market has helped her towards gaining her degree in Media and Public Affairs. As a journalism student, 23-year-old Meg, whose hometown is Virginia Beach, had to create a mini-documentary on a subject of her choice. She had no problem deciding. She turned her video-camera and microphone on the community of Eastern Market. And in doing so, she was able to graphically explain to her fellow students and friends, why Eastern Market has such a pull on her affections.

Meg Beasley. Photo: Maggie Hall “Hands down, Eastern Market at the weekends is one of my favorite DC things to do,” she said. “But I can’t tell you how many have asked: ‘Why do you go all that way?’ I guess people get so comfortable in their neighborhoods that they don’t think to see what other areas of the city have to offer. So it just made sense to me to use the opportunity of the mini-doc to explain why I’m so hooked on Eastern Market.”

But unknowingly Meg picked a tough subject, at least as far as her professor was concerned. As it turned out, the professor was also a huge fan of Eastern Market, so would know instinctively if Meg had nailed it. But all fears were banished when the professor told the rest of the class that Meg had beautifully captured and conveyed the energy of the market.

Meg said that was easy to do—because of the openness and friendliness of those who make up the market community. “The people at Eastern Market are so welcoming and easy to talk to. No one minded being filmed and several people noticed my camera and approached me, asking to be interviewed! To me, that captures Eastern Market—everyone was so friendly, open and helpful. They were excited about the market, the neighborhood.

What I anticipated as a rather awkward day of filming ended up being the highlight of my semester. Maybe even my time in DC.” Her only regret was her off-timing. Because she filmed on Easter Sunday the indoor market was closed. She returned the next day, only to find it closed again. So, no inside shots!

To see Meg’s take on Eastern Market, on your computer, go to: http://vimeo.com/11327585 ★

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 65

communitylife

The ‘New’ CVS A Pharmadeligrocery Near Eastern Market

by Roberta Weiner

W

ell, it’s still at Seventh Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE, and it still says CVS Pharmacy on the awning.

And if you study the replacements for those familiar historic photos in the window, you will notice that they too have a “neighborhood” theme – it’s the Capitol in abstract photomurals! Except, of course, for the two open panels that highlight the self-service checkouts (but more on that later).

But what is this renovated, updated version of our local drug store? To call it a pharmacy, as the CVS folks do, is, I think, a stretch, and certainly a familiarization tour is necessary to begin making friends with this hybrid establishment.

The first time I went into the completely renovated “new” CVS, I almost got lost looking for some Sudafed. Aha, I found it – in the overthe-counter drug aisle. Yes, aisle, or to give it its due, two sides of an aisle.

That aisle, and the vaunted pharmacy counter in the back, with its displays of vitamins and contraceptives was as close as it comes to being a drug store, but it gave me my light-bulb moment about why they’ think they can continue calling it a pharmacy. But what else is it?

It’s a carry-out. Right inside the door is a brand new selection – catered appropriately enough by an outfit called Panache – of sandwiches, surprisingly fresh-looking salads, fruit and drinks (actually the Simply Lemonade is terrific), so you can grab a meal and go. That’s followed by many refrigerator cases of sodas and other drinks, and shelves of chips and other snacks, the basics of a non-diet conscious existence. (I’ve always found it ironic that these items are a major sales point for drug stores). But what 66 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Puzzling through self service. Photo: Andrew Lightman

about the newspapers and magazines we always stopped to read – don’t they belong just inside the door? They’re now sort of hidden away in the back where you have to walk through the store to get to them, It’s a grocery store. Detergent? Cereal? Soup? More variety, more sizes. You want it, you’ve

got it! And of course, it’s a cosmetic store and a shampoo store – doesn’t everyone need a shampoo and conditioner selection that fills three-quarters of an aisle? Particularly when it means cutting the choices of hair colorings down to bare bones.

Perhaps I’m being a little harsh

and just suffering from a newbie’s frustration at not finding everything where it belongs – at least where it’s belonged for many years (for those who need them, the ballpoint pens and notebooks are hidden in an alcove next to the pharmacy). Perhaps this is a 21st-century version of what we called a variety store. It has something for everyone. I just want it to be my somethings.

And when you have, at last, found everything you were looking for, you can stand on the self-service checkout line and smile while the people in front of you cope with the supposedly convenient, quicker-than-aperson machines. But then it’s your turn to make a go of it. The machines are basically simple – if you learn to read the menus and just follow orders. But if you have the temerity not to, the machine will tell you in no uncertain terms to “place your item in the bag.” This is, of course, after you’ve tapped the No Bag button on the menu. Or it will tell you to “scan your item” after you’ve already done so.

In those cases, however, help is on the way, and there is a live person assigned to help the poor customer complete the job. Finally, it all gets done, and you’re on your way, hoping next time will be a little easier and that familiarity will breed less difficulty.

It’s tempting to think, too, that once we learn the new CVS we will be able to negotiate all CVS stores – a good skill to have. Wrong. As I am finding out, each store is laid out differently and has different things in different places. It’s a new adventure every time!

This CVS is located at 661 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Call 202-543-3305 or visit www.cvs.com for more information. ★

RealEstate & Finance History for Sale The Epworth Church on Capitol Hill

By Robert Pohl

T

he repurposing of old buildings is the kind of project that makes architects’ eyes light up.

Reusing old structures represents a real challenge, and can produce surprising results. Of particular interest is the reuse of deconsecrated churches. These magnificent old structures have been turned into bookstores, bars, homes, and, of course, condos, such as Grace Baptist Church at 9th and South Carolina Ave. SE. One church on the Hill is currently awaiting new owner, who will be buying not only a beautiful brick building in the heart of Capitol Hill, but also a fascinating history.

The building in question, at 7th and A Streets NE, was originally built by the Epworth Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1895. The congregation had incorporated a year earlier, but had been around--under the name Grace Mission--since 1886. The Methodist Episcopal church, to which the Epworth church belonged, had been founded 110 years earlier in Baltimore, and came from the Anglican tradition. The name Epworth comes from the birthplace of the brothers James and Charles Wesley, who founded Methodism.

The permit was for the new church was filed on July 6, 1895 and called for a 52 by 56 foot brick building that was to cost $12,000. The builder was Isaac B. Bursey while the architect was Edward Woltz.

Of Woltz, the Columbia Historical Society, in their 1988 book Washington at Home, wrote that he was a “prolific but uncelebrated architect.” Woltz was born in 1858, the son of a carpenter employed by the Smithsonian, and by the time he was 21, was listing himself as an architect. He designed numerous buildings around DC, the most interesting being the round house at 1001 Irving St NW. Woltz, who was a captain of the Washington Light Infantry, as well as a longtime member of various secret societies, died in 1903.

Even less is known about Bursey, whose name crops up frequently in newspapers of the time as a builder as well as buyer and seller of houses. He died in 1923 at age 69.

The combined effort of these two quiet gentlemen did not overwhelm the reporter for the Washington Post sent to cover the dedication of the new church, who wasted none of the precious column inches allotted to him in describing the church itself. Only when

The Reverend John Wesley Boteler (1829-1896) founding member and driving force behind Epworth Church. From the Washington Times, January 15, 1906 (Library of Congress).

The church today at the corner of 7th and A Strrets, NE.

it came to the windows did he make an effort: “the auditorium was rendered almost brilliant by the sun which poured through its stained-glass windows,” and later, “there are none more beautiful in East Washington” and “[o]ver the altar [...] is the most beautiful window of all, including in its design an open Bible, a dove descending, and a floral sheaf.” What did seem to gladden the reporter’s heart were the mechanicals: “the heating arrangements are excellent, a fan forcing the warm air into the church through steam coils, and a change of air taking place every few minutes.

Electric igniters are used in the manipulation of the gas.”

In 1919, the church burned.

Although certainly a tragedy for the members of the congregation, it was also an opportunity to expand. After a short and successful fundraising drive, the Epworth Church built a new structure at the corner of Lincoln Park and 13th Street NE.

The Epworth Church merged with the Ryland Methodist Episcopal church in 1973; their former home on 13th Street is today the Lincoln Park United Methodist church.

Meanwhile, the Church of the Nazarene was looking to expand, and they bought the shell at the corner of 7th and A and rebuilt it to suit their purposes.

The Nazarenes as a national body had existed since 1907, and the local parish had been meeting in a building at the corner of 4th and East Capitol – coincidentally the same corner on which the Grace Mission had been located before building their own building.

Over the next 20 years, the Nazarene Church experienced explosive growth – from 1916 until 1954, the denomination increased by 653%. The local church went through a similar increase, and by the early 50s, it was clear that a larger home was required to embrace all those wishing to come to their Continued on page 72 capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 67

real estate changing hands Changing hands is a list of most residential sales in the District of Columbia from the previous month. A feature of every issue, this list, based on the MRIS, is provided courtesy of Don Denton, manager of the Coldwell Banker office on Capitol Hill. The list includes address, sales price and number of bedrooms.

BRENTWOOD 1376 W ST NE 2312 13TH PL NE

$235,000 $190,000

3 3

$499,000 $425,000 $419,000 $375,000 $329,000 $319,000 $284,210 $275,000 $268,000 $199,900 $110,000

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2

BRIGHTWOOD 1379 SHERIDAN ST NW 5714 3RD PL NW 1365 RITTENHOUSE ST NW 1503 UNDERWOOD ST NW 512 RITTENHOUSE ST NW 1234 ASPEN ST NW 6012 7TH ST NW 727 SHERIDAN ST NW 1381 RITTENHOUSE ST NW 524 SOMERSET PL NW 609 SOMERSET PL NW

BROOKLAND 1414 HAMLIN ST NE 1334 HAMLIN ST NE 1005 OTIS ST NE 516 AVA WAY NE 3208 14TH ST NE 724 CRITTENDEN ST NE 4713 7TH ST NE 2803 NORTH CAPITOL ST NE 4036 7TH ST NE 112 WEBSTER ST NE 4713 6TH ST NE 323 BRYANT ST NE

$430,000 $408,000 $399,999 $387,000 $325,000 $270,000 $250,000 $244,000 $226,000 $190,000 $165,000 $155,000

4 5 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3

$2,625,000 $1,800,000 $1,130,000 $932,500 $800,000 $724,900 $720,000 $715,000 $700,000 $695,000 $679,000 $679,000 $678,000 $657,000 $635,000 $630,000 $619,000 $592,500 $575,000 $560,000 $555,000 $549,955 $549,000 $548,000 $544,500 $518,000 $514,000 $509,000 $506,000 $460,000 $399,000 $265,000 $135,000

6 4 5 3 3 3 3 4 3 2 3 3 2 3 2 4 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 2 0

$650,000

3

$1,251,000 $1,075,000 $1,035,000 $1,025,000 $935,000 $925,250 $899,000 $870,700 $860,000 $842,000 $840,000 $831,000 $828,000

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

CAPITOL HILL Neighborhood

Price

BR

FEE SIMPLE 16TH HEIGHTS 5706 GEORGIA AVE N 4322 15TH ST NW 1409 DECATUR ST NW 1224 CRITTENDEN ST NW

$249,300 $509,000 $401,000 $323,875

3 3 6 6

$855,000

6

ADAMS MORGAN 1849 ONTARIO PL NW

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK 4337 ELLICOTT ST NW 4429 YUMA ST NW 4432 BRANDYWINE ST NW 4428 YUMA ST NW 4211 ALTON PL NW 4425 RIVER RD NW 4711 WESTERN AVE NW

$1,050,000 $884,179 $743,000 $736,450 $720,000 $683,000 $625,000

5 4 2 3 3 3 2

ANACOSTIA 1612 18TH ST SE 1220 PLEASANT ST SE 1621 R ST SE 2302 NICHOLSON ST SE 1603 FAIRLAWN AVE SE 1817 GOOD HOPE RD SE 1356 VALLEY PL SE

$275,000 $229,000 $185,000 $133,000 $80,500 $76,000 $50,000

4 5 2 4 3 4 4

AU/TENLEYTOWN 4551 GRANT RD NW

$681,000

2

BARRY FARMS 2332 14TH PL SE 1488 MORRIS RD SE 1253 SUMNER RD SE

$195,000 $60,000 $72,000

2 2 4

$1,515,000 $1,360,000 $1,030,000

7 6 3

BERKLEY 4901 MACARTHUR NW 2225 46TH ST NW 2242 48TH ST NW

BLOOMINGDALE 37 SEATON PL NW 60 FLORIDA AVE NW

68 ★ HillRag | June 2010

$540,000 $175,000

4 3

900 EAST CAPITOL STREET NE NE 804 EAST CAPITOL ST NE 417 A ST SE 1314 MASSACHUSETTS AVE SE 921 SOUTH CAROLINA AVE SE 512 F STREET NE 431 11TH ST NE 626 13TH ST NE 816 D ST NE 522 SEWARD SQ SE 1010 CONSTITUTION AVE NE 121 13TH ST SE 211 5TH ST SE 807 C ST NE 333 E ST SE 1428REAR G ST SE 716 K ST NE 2 14TH ST SE 1230 D ST NE 244 14TH ST SE 1825 BURKE ST SE 103 15TH ST SE 328 10TH ST NE 449 TENNESSEE AVE NE 709 E ST NE 1833 BURKE ST SE 253 15TH ST SE 1107 4TH ST NE 1724 POTOMAC AVE SE 251 16TH ST SE 717 L ST NE 1128 K ST SE 2 F STREET TERRACE 2 GARAGES ST SE

CENTRAL 2130 O ST NW

CHEVY CHASE 3917 LIVINGSTON ST NW 3617 PATTERSON ST NW 3735 MILITARY RD NW 6311 33RD ST NW 6360 31ST PL NW 2927 NORTHAMPTON ST NW 6509 UTAH AVE NW 5620 33RD ST NW 4201 MILITARY RD NW 3316 LEGATION ST NW 2955 MCKINLEY ST NW 3032 OLIVER ST NW 6310 33RD ST NW

6229 UTAH AVE NW 5513 30TH ST NW 3713 JENIFER ST NW 5464 30TH PL NW 3709 JOCELYN ST NW 3708 INGOMAR ST NW 6660 32ND ST NW 3717 JENIFER ST NW 5361 BROAD BRANCH RD NW 3623 CHESAPEAKE ST NW

$828,000 $799,000 $780,000 $775,000 $767,000 $765,000 $755,000 $635,000 $600,000 $930,000

4 4 3 4 3 3 4 4 3 6

$290,000 $289,000 $190,000

3 3 3

$1,249,900 $950,000 $950,000

4 3 4

$760,000 $637,000 $625,000 $580,000 $575,000 $510,000 $504,680 $486,000 $480,000 $465,000 $465,000 $465,000 $454,900 $442,000 $430,000 $422,400 $415,000 $399,999 $389,900 $354,900 $302,827 $235,000 $211,340 $155,000 $120,000 $279,000 $215,000 $164,955 $132,000 $115,000 $84,000 $77,000 $75,000 $72,500

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

$895,000

4

$231,500 $216,000 $199,900 $189,500 $180,000 $95,000 $83,900 $78,000 $76,700 $67,500 $61,500 $60,000 $50,000 $45,000 $37,900 $32,000 $21,000

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

$1,075,000 $979,000 $955,000

4 3 3

CHILLUM 5510 KANSAS AVE NW 5514 BLAIR RD NE 131 LONGFELLOW ST NW

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 1019 OTIS PL NW 1518 NEWTON ST NW 3311 13TH ST NW 3549 HOLMEAD PL NW 1200 SHEPHERD ST NW 928 QUINCY ST NW 1329 QUINCY ST NW 1445 MONROE ST NW 1000 MONROE ST NW 1034 QUEBEC PL NW 1031 QUEBEC PL NW 641 KENYON ST NW 4014 14TH ST NW 609 KENYON ST NW 3106 PARK PL NW 602 COLUMBIA RD NW 1413 MERIDIAN PL NW 1009 IRVING ST NW 438 MANOR PL NW 3551 HERTFORD PL NW 609 HARVARD ST NW 701 HARVARD ST NW 3117 WARDER ST NW 763 FAIRMONT ST NW 649 MORTON ST NW 3816 1ST ST SE 1125 VARNEY ST SE 4041 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE SW 4249 6TH ST SE 629 MELLON ST SE 728 MISSISSIPPI AVE SE 38 ELMIRA ST SW 872 YUMA ST SE 230 MALCOLM X AVE SE

CRESTWOOD 2000 TRUMBULL TER NW

DEANWOOD 724 50TH ST NE 861 52ND ST NE 4032 GRANT ST NE 5348 GAY ST NE 4001 CLAY PL NE 5114 SHERIFF RD NE 4224 GRANT ST NE 34 46TH ST NE 819 51ST ST NE 82 57TH PL SE 116 SYCAMORE RD NE 221 56TH ST NE 1011 47TH PL NE 4230 DIX ST NE 5429 HUNT PL NE 1053 44TH ST NE 321 56TH ST NE

DUPONT 1840 15TH ST NW 1756 T ST NW 1453 SWANN ST NW

$917,500 $760,000 $577,500 $1,055,000

3 3 4 5

$550,000 $399,900 $390,000 $307,000

5 4 5 3

$1,000,000 $940,000

7 4

$300,000 $260,000 $241,500 $110,000 $86,000

4 3 4 3 2

$230,000

3

$875,000 $727,500 $675,000 $710,000

5 4 3 4

$2,225,000 $1,412,500 $1,400,000 $1,335,000 $1,290,000 $1,045,000 $760,000

5 3 3 4 6 3 2

$740,000 $725,000

2 4

$650,000

3

$360,000 $352,500 $317,500 $260,000 $220,000

3 3 3 3 3

ECKINGTON 1731 1ST ST NW 148 TODD PL NE 20 S ST NW 33 FLORIDA AVE NW

FOREST HILLS 2924 UPTON ST NW 2744 BRANDYWINE ST NW

FORT DUPONT PARK

CLEVELAND PARK 3227 33RD PL NW 3418 PORTER ST NW 3508 36TH ST NW

1826 15TH ST NW 2121 15TH ST NW 1610 V ST NW 1707 T ST NW

1301 45 PL SE 1521 41ST ST SE 1331 44TH PL SE 1736 40TH ST SE 4429 TEXAS AVE SE

FORT LINCOLN 3197 APPLE RD NE #9

FOXHALL 4428 GREENWICH PKWY NW 1531 44TH ST NW 1520 44TH ST NW 4455 Q ST NW

GEORGETOWN 3106 Q ST NW 3406 N ST NW 1319 34TH ST NW 3004 P ST NW 3327 RESERVOIR RD NW 1685 32ND ST NW 3410 O ST NW

GLOVER PARK 3754 BENTON ST NW 2307 HUIDEKOPER PL NW

HAWTHORNE 6880 OREGON AVE NW

HILL CREST 2921 W ST SE 3556 TEXAS AVE SE 3412 TEXAS AVE SE 3409 CARPENTER ST SE 3116 M PL SE

KALORAMA 2425 KALORAMA RD NW 2458 WYOMING AVE NW 2137 R ST NW 1860 MINTWOOD PL NW 2359 ASHMEAD NW 1854 MINTWOOD PL NW 1852 MINTWOOD PL NW

$3,800,000 $3,150,000 $2,825,000 $1,280,000 $950,000 $850,000 $850,000

6 7 4 5 5 7 10

$1,630,000

6

$680,000 $575,000 $555,000 $400,000 $399,999 $385,000 $355,000 $270,000

4 3 4 3 3 3 2 2

$211,000

3

$495,000 $1,200,000

0 5

KENT 3106 CHAIN BRIDGE RD NW

LEDROIT PARK 516 T ST NW 1934 4TH ST NW 541 FLORIDA AVE NW 2111 2ND ST NW 45 ADAMS ST NW 9 W ST NW 2011 4TH ST NW 330 OAKDALE PL NW

LILY PONDS 4426 ORD ST NE

LOGAN 1305 WALLACH PL NW 1326 CORCORAN ST NW

SCHOOL’S NOT OUT FOR STUDENTS OF THE MARKET!

NEW LISTING!

CONTRACT – 4 DAYS!

COMING SOON!

COMING SOON!

1915 C St, NE

431 15th St, SE

1259 F St, NE

1823 Mass Ave, SE

317 15th St, NE

Victorian bay-front just 2 blocks to Metro. Stunning new kitchen and smart layout including a large den. Gated parking! (2BR/1.5BA)

Twice as nice! Conversion of a rowhouse and corner store with huge room sizes and a beautifully landscaped garden retreat.

(3BR/2.5BA)

Another Quest classic! Total renovation! 1st rate construction and a modern, floor plan, just 50 yards to Metro! (4BR/3.5FB)

Wide porch-front with new kitchen and baths, huge master closet, deep fenced yard, and parking! Dualzoned systems.(4BR/2.5FB) $559,000

$575,000

$599,000

COMING SOON!

Amazing value for wide profile, classic details, stylish new kitchen and lower level rental suite revenue!

(3BR/3BA) $435,000

$725,000

joel@joelnelsongroup.com

202.243.7707

CALL US TO SELL YOUR CAPITOL HILL HOME! CT 1 TRA CON

DAY

CT 1 TRA CON

DAY

CT 1 TRA CON

DAY

D SOL

E SAL FOR

202-641-0299 319 14TH St NE

303 11th ST NE

5109 13th NW

639 Massachusetts Ave, NE

1826 Burke St SE

3BR/2.5 BA Upper Unit. Lower Legal 1Br/1BA Exposed Brick, Great Details, Renovations Are Done! $709,000

3BR/2.5 BA Updated kitchen and bath, Exposed brick and private patio. $599,000

3BR/3.5 BA Big Yard, OS parking, Totally Renovated Just Finished! $569,000

3BR/2.5BA Updated kitchen/ windows, flex space sep. metered. Walk to Eastern Market and Union Station. $769,000

3BR/2BA Renovated and ready to move in. Steps from Metro.

Open floor plan $549,000

www.jasonmartingroup.com

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 69

KITCHENS, BATHS & MORE As a design & build firm, we will create to your needs and budget well designed & beautiful spaces: from cabinets by Kraftmaid or Merillat (They have 3 cost levels.) or made in our shop, counter tops, floors, appliances, lights, plumbing fixtures to tile and whatever is needed. We buy wholesale and pass on the savings.

Windows & Doors replaced or restored -- historic ones made in our shop, refinishing and painting.

946 T ST NW 2100 12TH ST NW 1342 WALLACH PL NW

$630,000 $950,000 $839,000

5 3 3

$179,900 $50,000

4 4

MARSHALL HEIGHTS 722 51ST ST SE 4943 A ST SE

MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE HEI 2850 WOODLAND DR NW

$8,200,000

7

$320,000

3

$830,000 $695,000 $670,000 $658,000

4 6 4 3

$799,000

5

$2,262,500 $1,200,000

5 5

$769,000 $639,000 $633,000 $599,000 $585,000 $530,000 $476,000 $475,000 $460,000 $455,000 $449,000 $430,000 $428,480 $375,000 $364,000 $353,500 $330,000 $320,000 $315,000 $269,000 $257,500 $244,900 $235,000

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

$527,900 $435,000 $425,000 $420,000 $375,000 $365,000 $360,000 $340,000 $290,000 $289,000 $275,000 $271,400 $269,900 $240,000 $236,501 $235,000 $220,000 $217,200 $215,000 $212,000 $200,000 $162,500

4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3

$227,000 $183,608 $151,725

3 2 3

$630,000

3

$625,000 $442,000

3 3

MICHIGAN PARK Additions and porches: third floors, side or rear additions and basements.

Visit our office / show room.

10% Discount to Village members

4806 EASTERN AVE NE

MOUNT PLEASANT 1805 IRVING ST NW 1929 PARK RD NW 1874 INGLESIDE TER NW 1761 HARVARD ST NW

NORTH CLEVELAND PARK 4116 38TH ST NW

Joel Truitt Builders, Inc. 734 7th Street, SE 202-547-2707 Quality since 1972 Signature Properties...Signature Service. SM

Karen Voellm

Wes Grooms

(202) 262 - 5242

(202) 549 - 1779

kvoellm@cbmove.com www.kvrealtyteam.com

wgrooms@cbmove.com www.pennqtr.com

OBSERVATORY CIRCLE 2708 36TH ST NW 3530 EDMUNDS ST NW

OLD CITY #1 19 15TH ST SE 1116 PARK ST NE 1534 E ST SE 412 16TH ST SE 1386 E ST NE 551 14TH ST SE 600 14TH ST NE 114 14TH ST SE 630 15TH ST NE 241 WARREN ST NE 722 7TH ST NE 1333 EMERALD ST NE 1152 5TH ST NE 310 13TH ST NE 1121 4TH ST NE 1226 HALF ST SW 1219 DUNCAN PL NE 627 11TH ST NE 211 K ST NE 2007 GALES ST NE 218 17TH ST NE 1008 15TH ST SE 552 24TH ST NE

PETWORTH

www.capitalcommunitynews.com

Baking & Catering on the Hill • Specialty dinner parties catered at your home or at a private space.

• We can also entertain your guests at our private residence here on the Hill.

• Homemade style cream cakes, fruit pies, cakes made with the finest ingredients.

• Freshly baked breads

527 BUCHANAN ST NW 4306 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW 4723 9TH ST NW 315 INGRAHAM ST NW 908 FARRAGUT ST NW 318 ALLISON ST NW 616 MADISON ST NW 5409 5TH ST NW 5330 5TH ST NW 5122 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW 5521 7TH ST NW 5241 5TH ST NW 5215 2ND ST NW 4011 4TH ST NW 212 EMERSON ST NW 520 JEFFERSON ST NW 326 EMERSON ST NW 817 INGRAHAM ST NW 5232 ILLINOIS AVE NW 5130 KANSAS AVE NW 5416 8TH ST NW 4017 4TH ST NW

RANDLE HEIGHTS 1841 TOBIAS DR SE 1920 21ST PL SE 3415 21ST ST SE

SHAW 1612 8TH ST NW

HILL Dinners & Sweets www.hilldinnersandsweets.com 202.397.7132 • We will deliver on the Hill 70 ★ HillRag | June 2010

SHEPHERD PARK 1315 GERANIUM ST NW 1456 PRIMROSE RD NW

SPRING VALLEY

Looking For Your New Home?

4840 GLENBROOK RD NW 4117 48TH ST NW 4818 WOODWAY LN NW

$1,675,000 $1,399,900 $1,282,500

6 6 3

$312,000 $230,000 $189,000 $180,000 $175,000 $168,000 $155,000 $146,000 $125,000 $90,000 $80,000

4 3 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 2

$629,000 $452,000 $920,000

2 2 3

$3,205,000 $1,300,000 $900,000 $875,000

7 5 3 3

$1,255,000

5

$595,000 $549,500 $449,500 $324,000 $265,000 $245,000 $135,000 $130,000 $121,000 $93,177

6 4 3 3 3 3 2 4 4 3

$204,000

2

$810,000 $638,000 $590,000 $585,000 $575,000 $559,000 $445,000 $422,500 $210,000

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1

Search at www.LeeMurphy.net

TRINIDAD 1215 STAPLES ST NE 1110 OWEN PL NE 1634 LANG PL NE 1724 L ST NE 1705 LANG PL NE 1278 MORSE ST NE 1631 11TH PL NE 1415 TRINIDAD AVE NE 1217 STAPLES ST NE 1607 LEVIS ST NE ##1 AND #2 1832 L ST NE

JUST LISTED!: 1437 Rhode Island Ave NW Unit 407 DRAMATIC LOGAN CIRCLE 2LVL + 2BR + 2BA = WHAT’S NOT 2 LUV!? Light & Airy. Renovated BAs w/fine Calacata, art glass tiles, Kohler & Jado, recycled glass vanity. Kit w/ Blue Pearl granite. Low fee 4 aprox. 940 sq. ft. $549,900 MLS: DC7336856

COMING SOON! 410 5th Street NE Unit #3

UNDER CONTRACT! 635 C Street NE

CAPITAL CORNER CONDO at the CARBERRY! Steps to the Dome, Union Station & Stanton- PRIVATE OUTDOOR SPACE plus PARKING! Flooded with light from two sides, working fireplace, low fees!

Wonderful 4-LVL Victorian featuring garage, four large bedrooms, 2 full baths+ pwd rm. Kit. with granite, SS, pantry. Lovely fountain - next to Stanton Park! $849,900.

U STREET CORRIDOR 1333 V ST NW 1909 12TH ST NW 1235 W ST NW

WESLEY HEIGHTS 4635 DEXTER ST NW 3100 FOXHALL RD NW 2927 44TH PLACE PL NW 4408 WESTOVER PL NW

202.277.7477 lmurphy@cbmove.com

WOODLEY 2924 GARFIELD TER NW

REALTOR, licensed in DC, MD & VA Coldwell Banker Residential Brogerage 2.547.3525

LEE MURPHY Distinctive Homes. Distinctive Style.

WOODRIDGE 3314 20TH ST NE 1847 MONROE ST NE 1923 RHODE ISLAND AVE NE 2727 28TH ST NE 3604 24TH ST NE 1815 JACKSON NE 2205 NEWTON STREET NE 3515 26TH ST NE 2203 EVARTS ST NE 2832 FRANKLIN ST NE

CONDO 16TH ST.REET HEIGHTS 4620 IOWA AVE NW #B-2

ADAMS MORGAN 2351 CHAMPLAIN ST NW #C2 2456 ONTARIO RD NW #4 1634 BEEKMAN PL NW #C 2456 ONTARIO RD NW #3 1616 BELMONT ST NW #D 2456 ONTARIO RD NW #1 2301 CHAMPLAIN ST NW #310 2440 16TH ST NW #522 2305 18TH ST NW #301

“We are part of Capitol Hill, We don’t just work here... We live here, too.

Let our neighborhood experience work for you...”

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK 4101 ALBEMARLE ST NW #525

$414,000

1

$290,000

2

$9,500

1

$205,000 $198,000 $194,500

2 2 2

$279,000

1

$275,000

2

$893,000 $502,000 $485,000 $439,900 $395,000 $379,000 $375,000 $362,800 $330,000

2 2 2 2 2 1 1 2 1

ATLAS DISTRICT 803 7TH ST NE #2

BARRY FARMS 2610 WADE RD SE #205

BRENTWOOD 1386 BRYANT ST NE #302 1386 BRYANT ST NE #203 1386 BRYANT ST NE #103

BRIGHTWOOD 422 BUTTERNUT ST NW #203

BROOKLAND 56 HAWTHORNE CT NE #56

CAPITOL HILL 1315 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE #LOFT 23 410 5TH ST NE #12 308 EAST CAPITOL ST NE #4 222 4TH ST SE #3 301 14TH ST SE #2 AND 3 642 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE #D 301 G ST NE #15 520 E ST NE #11 84 15TH ST NE #84

202.546.3100 210 7th Street, SE. #100. WDC 20003 www.monarchtitle.net

Specializing in all aspects of Real Estate Settlements We Guarnatee Attention to Detail & Personalized Service 650 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Suite 170 Washington, DC 20003-4318 202-544-0800 capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 71

realestate 401 13TH ST NE #110 1391 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #402 70 15TH ST NE #70 317 10TH ST NE #17 101 NORTH CAROLINA AVE SE #A-200 649 C ST SE #103 101 NORTH CAROLINA AVE SE #302 2 17TH ST SE #101 2 17TH ST SE #203 2 17TH ST SE #103 2 17TH ST SE #207 1018 FLORIDA AVE NE #102

$327,500 $315,000 $310,000 $299,000 $290,000 $290,000 $230,000 $209,900 $194,900 $189,900 $189,900 $199,999

1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1

$399,500

3

$1,150,000 $651,000 $485,000 $470,000 $449,000 $430,500 $429,000 $345,000 $259,050 $250,000 $232,500

3 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 0

CAPITOL PARK 275 G ST SW

CENTRAL 912 F ST NW #505 2501 M ST NW #702 1099 22ND ST NW #304 912 F ST NW #901 1416 21ST ST NW #201 1140 23RD ST NW #101 400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1118 801 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW #1204 1133 14TH ST NW #403 777 7TH ST NW #915 400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #504

919 FLORIDA AVE NW NW #206

2719 13TH ST NW #2 $899,000 1451 BELMONT ST NW #117 $569,000 1417 CHAPIN ST NW #507 $449,800 2541 13TH ST NW #1 $415,000 1451 BELMNT ST NW #PENTHOUSE # 415 $410,000 1417 CHAPIN ST NW #308 $389,000 1495 NEWTON ST NW #301 $342,000 1421 COLUMBIA RD NW #103 $305,000 4010 KANSAS AVE NW #1 $298,000 3602 ROCK CREEK CHURCH RD NW #5 $289,000 760 GIRARD ST NW #201 $285,000 1106 COLUMBIA RD NW #304 $260,000 1106 COLUMBIA RD NW #206 $250,000 3902 14TH ST NW #319 $217,500 3900NW 14TH ST NW #505 $195,000 4120 14TH ST NW #B3 $145,000

4 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2

3883 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #603 2711 ORDWAY ST NW #309 3701 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #908

$32,000 $26,900

1 1

$24,762

2

$625,000 $570,000 $515,000 $453,000 $430,000 $425,000 $381,500 $375,000 $369,900 $369,900 $349,900 $342,000 $268,000 $195,000 $185,000 $775,000 $735,000 $499,000 $480,000 $437,500 $400,000 $392,500 $295,000 $353,000 $337,000

2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 1 1

DEANWOOD 601 58TH ST NE #3

DUPONT 1735 JOHNSON AVE NW #D 1832 SWANN ST NW #C 1750 16TH ST NW #22 1815 18TH ST NW #303 1401 17TH ST NW #601 1330 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #925 1815 18TH ST NW #302 1916 17TH ST NW #401 1930 18TH ST NW #41 2440 16TH ST NW #215 1816 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #808 1545 18TH ST NW #620 1711 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #211 1901 16TH ST NW #305 1727 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #215 1830 18TH ST NW #A 1830 18TH ST NW #B 1741 T ST NW #201 1755 Q ST NW #B 1726 S ST NW #4 1619 R ST NW #105 1616 Q ST NW #9 1833 S ST NW #B1 1316 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #109 1926-1930 N HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #27

ECKINGTON 1952 3RD ST NE #201 30 T ST NE #1 219 T ST NE #401

FLORIDIAN

72 ★ HillRag | June 2010

$384,500 $352,000 $310,000

1 1 1

$210,000

3

$510,035

2

$4,500,000 $2,350,000 $1,036,000 $567,500 $550,000 $540,000 $510,000 $500,000 $399,000

5 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2

$365,000

2

$109,900

3

$1,345,000 $760,000 $730,000 $700,000 $630,000 $610,000 $595,000 $575,000 $499,000 $488,000 $379,000 $338,000 $300,000 $270,000 $263,000

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1

$259,850

2

$675,000 $640,000 $639,000 $610,000 $541,500 $532,000 $499,000 $470,000 $381,250 $365,000 $760,000 $633,000 $552,500 $527,770 $527,000 $520,000 $492,500 $489,000 $329,000 $319,000 $304,000 $240,000 $414,900 $339,900

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

FORT LINCOLN 2853 31ST PL NE

GARFIELD 2725 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #208

GEORGETOWN 2900 K ST NW #607 3329 PROSPECT ST NW #4 2516 Q ST NW #Q305 3030 K ST NW #201 1077 30TH ST NW #403 3251 PROSPECT ST NW #R-320 1025 PAPER MILL CT NW #1025 2500 Q ST NW #414 1218 ETON CT NW

H ST CORRIDOR 730 11TH ST NE #202

HILL CREST KALORAMA 2230 CALIFORNIA ST NW #6B 1882 COLUMBIA RD NW #104 2001 19TH ST NW #5 2029 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #4 - 6 2123 CALIFORNIA ST NW #2 1823 BILTMORE ST NW #B AKA 16 1839 KALORAMA RD NW #4 2038 18TH ST NW #201 2011 COLUMBIA RD NW #4 2012 WYOMING AVE NW #401 2009 BELMONT RD NW #101 1938 BILTMORE ST NW #D 2123 CALIFORNIA ST NW #A2 1901 COLUMBIA RD NW #304 2032 BELMONT RD NW #232

LEDROIT PARK

CONGRESS HEIGHTS 4330 HALLEY TER SE #202 120 DANBURY ST SW #E

1

FOREST HILLS

2032 FORT DAVIS ST SE #A

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS

$379,200

$277,000 $265,000 $217,500

2 3 1

6 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #5

LOGAN 933 M ST NW #3 1322 S ST NW #B 1408 Q ST NW #23 1441 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #MO1 1010 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #513 1117 10TH ST NW #1001 1102 R ST NW #302 1313 VERMONT AVE NW #19 1314 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #405 1201 Q ST NW #103 1529 14TH ST NW #407 1300 13TH ST NW #706 1312 P ST NW 1515 15TH ST NW #609 1618 11TH ST NW #202 1210 R ST NW #113 1300 13TH ST NW #703 1205 N ST NW #C 1300 N ST NW #4 1211 13TH ST NW #T-3 1245 13TH ST NW #310 1420 N ST NW #707 1626 5TH ST NW #2 1312 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #305

MADRIGAL LOFTS CONDOMINIUM 811 4TH ST NW #320

2906 18TH ST NW #1 1618 BEEKMAN PL NW #E 1651 LAMONT ST NW #2B 3426 16TH ST NW #606 3155 MOUNT PLEASANT ST NW #304

444 M ST NW #9 440 L ST NW #213 444 M ST NW #2

0

$387,000 $385,000 $350,000

1 1 1

$382,500

2

555 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1315

$705,000 $690,000 $515,000 $500,000 $250,000

3 2 1 1 11

OBSERVATORY CIRCLE 2828 WISCONSIN AVE NW #308 2501 WISCONSIN AVE NW #307 2801 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #321 2801 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #1216 4100 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #819

PENN QTR/CITY VISTA/C-TOWN 440 L ST NW #902

$650,000

2

WESLEY HEIGHTS

$599,500 $440,000 $399,999 $319,000 $274,500

2 1 2 1 1

4200 MASS NW #121-122 3201 SUTTON PL NW #3201 B 3101 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #833 3213 SUTTON PL NW #A 3217 SUTTON PL NW #A 4200 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #413 3275C SUTTON PL NW

0 2

$142,800

2

$35,000

1

$399,000 $332,000 $300,000 $279,000 $260,000 $112,500

2 3 2 1 1 0

$500,000 $429,900 $427,000 $399,999 $280,000

2 2 2 2 2

$195,000 $179,900 $160,000

1 1 1

$175,900

2

$387,000 $792,500 $777,000 $535,000 $435,000 $331,000 $499,000 $735,000 $685,000 $283,250

1 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 1

$230,000

1

$399,000 $255,000 $212,500 $155,000

2 1 1 1

$1,140,000 $607,700 $585,000 $573,000 $558,000 $525,000 $515,000

3 2 2 2 2 2 2

services. In 1951, the local congregation was given permission to build a new place of worship on the corner of 16th and Webster Streets NW. This is today the Nazarene National Church.

Back at 7th and A, a group variously described as the “Cole Baptist Church” or “Coles Memorial Baptist Church” used the building for a number of years, before they, too, moved on and gave way to Unity Church of Washington DC. Unity, in 2004, agreed to buy the Metropolitan Baptist Church’s building at 13th and R Street, NW, and a few years later, they moved, leaving the church building vacant and ready for a new tenant and a new life.

Robert Pohl is a stayat-home dad, tour guide, and history blogger for T h e H i l l i s H o m e. c o m .

He has written books on Capitol Hill history, as well as the story of emancipation in the District of Columbia. ★

WAKEFIELD 4600 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #314 WATERFRONT 356 M ST SW 700 7TH ST SW #809 700 7TH ST SW #422 1425 4TH ST SW #M1

$130,000 $432,000

Continued from page 67

U STREET 2029 13TH ST NW #2 2125 14TH ST NW #327-W 1937 12TH ST NW #UNIT 1 902 T ST NW #A 1390 V ST NW #120 2004 11TH ST NW #140 1323 CLIFTON ST NW #21 2121 11TH ST NW #4 2100 11TH ST NW #307 907 EUCLID ST NW #103

115 2ND ST NE #16 1000 NEW JERSEY AVE SE #717 1000 NEW JERSEY AVE SE #908

0

TRINIDAD 1246 QUEEN ST NE #4

0 1 1

CAPITOL HILL

$155,000

THE NORTH END 5040 1ST ST NW #203 5611 5TH ST NW #25 5611 5TH ST NW #13

$180,000 $266,500 $272,400

COOP

1 1

SHAW 1742 6TH ST NW #2 440 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #202 440 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #302 440 RHODE ISLAND AVE NW #102 125 T ST NW #EB

2 2 2

$210,000 $119,900

RLA (SW) 350 G ST SW #N-301 361 N ST SW #361 327 N ST SW #327 350 G ST SW #N-620 240 M ST SW #E705 240 M ST SW #E704

$815,000 $705,000 $595,000

2 2 1 1 1

RANDLE HEIGHTS 2472 ALABAMA AVE SE #B-203

2425 L ST NW #401 1155 23RD ST NW #4M 2501 M ST NW #709

$1,200,000 $520,000 $498,000 $405,000 $339,900

POTOMAC PLACE TOWER 800 4TH ST SW #N-723

2 2 2 1 1 0

1

PETWORTH 5401-5407 9TH ST NW #105 700 JEFFERSON ST NW #404

$440,000 $439,000 $313,000 $306,500 $265,000 $204,000

$377,000

PENN QUARTER 912 F ST NW #905 631 D ST NW #845 631 D ST NW #633 400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #701 400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #203

4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #1223E 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #904W 4301 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #A114 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #420E 3033 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #204 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #911E

WEST END

MT VERNON TRIANGLE

2

MOUNT PLEASANT

$206,900

MOUNT VERNON

$444,000

METROPOLE 1515 15TH ST NW #226

1613 HARVARD ST NW #304

HARBOUR SQUARE 510 N ST SW #N-31 560 N ST SW #N-601

RIVER PARK 1301 DELAWARE AVE SW #N201 ★

Capitol Gem! Distinctive, Elegant and Classic Offered at $1,599,000 Featured on the Annual House and Garden tour, this stunning, historic residence exudes Southern charm and old world craftsmanship. Originally built in 1867 and extensively restored by current owner, this distinctive 5 bedroom and 4.5 bath residence offers three levels of gracious living.

Virtual Tour: www.cbmove.com/dc7303378

For More Information Call John Parker (202) 413-5377 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage 605 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Washington, DC 20003

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 73

74 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Arts & Dining The Liberty Tree Yankee Power On H

By Celeste McCall

T

Scott Hamilton and Chef Craig Gluffing. Photo: Andrew Lightman The signature lobster roll. Photo: Andrew Lightman

he Atlas District’s restaurant family just keeps on growing.

A recent arrival is The Liberty Tree, an appealing New England-style bistro which opened March 1, replacing Tropicana Eatery at 10th and H Streets NE. The newcomer is the creation of Jose Cunha, Scott Hamilton, and chef Graig Glufling (Hamilton and Glufling are Massachusetts natives). The partners also operate Hamilton’s Bar & Grill on Second Street, NW, near the US Department of Labor.

“Business is pretty good,” said Hamilton. “The neighborhood has been very supportive, in spite of all the construction on the street.”

The name of the restaurant comes from the meeting place of Revolutionary War patriots, an American elm growing on the Boston Common. Under this massive tree, the Sons of Liberty gathered in 1765 to protest Britain’s Stamp Act. Few elm trees are in evidence on H street these days; customers have to navigate torn-up sidewalks due to streetcar track construction. But Liberty Tree is well worth the slight inconvenience. In a fun, historical atmosphere, Glufling, a Johnson & Wales (Rhode Island campus) grad, dishes up tasty, New England victuals: clam chowder; lobster and scallop pot pie; fried Chatham cod sandwiches; zesty clam-topped pizzas baked in a brick oven; seared scallops; pigs-in-the blanket (made with linguica sausage, reflecting New England’s strong Portuguese influence). Desserts, if you can leave space, include chocolate chip bread pudding, hot fudge sundaes, and seasonal fruit crisp.

Glufling’s top sellers are his lobster roll, which compares favorably with versions we had in Maine a few years back, and the afore-mentioned Cape Cod Casino pizza, crowned with clams,

bacon, herbed butter, roasted garlic and spinach. (Glufling has presided over the kitchens of Chinatown’s Matchbox, downtown’s long-gone Red Sage and other Washington restaurants.)

Liberty Tree’s cozy interior follows the historical Yankee theme with darkwood wainscoting, cream-hued walls and white tablecloths. At lunch shortly after the restaurant’s debut, we were impressed by the genuine, 18th-century memorabilia: A circa-1769 map of Boston; a copy of the Declaration of Independence; framed, genuine 200year-old newspapers. Many of these fascinating items were found on eBay

and by browsing yard sales.“You would be amazed at what people sell on eBay,” said Hamilton. “Items from the 18th century....we learned a lot about history doing this.”

On that early visit, Peter and I were seated near a sunny window overlooking the outdoor seating area which will be ready later this summer when the patio is finished. Sipping made-fromscratch Bloody Marys, we tucked into Chef Glufling’s white bean/shrimp salad; brussels sprout/bacon salad; a small lobster roll and roasted littleneck clams swimming in a savory broth. “I love the pizza here,” declared a fellow customer as she departed with a carryout mushroom-capped pie. “Especially the crisp, thin crust.”

Prices are reasonable, entrees hover in the low teens; pizzas cost $9 and $10.

Lobster items are market price. Open daily for lunch and dinner, Liberty Tree is located at 1016 H St. NE; call 202396-8733 or visit www.libertytreedc. com. ★ capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 75

Ulah Bistro Sizzles on U Street

The sesame seed tuna entrée practically swims off the plate. Photo: Andrew Lightman

By Celeste McCall

I

t’s no longer news that U Street is a happening place, as snazzy restaurants and night clubs just keep coming. One of these culinary sizzlers is Ulah Bistro Bar & Lounge, which has been on the scene for about two years.

Situated across the street from Ben’s Chili Bowl and Next Door Ulah is definitely a happening place. The eye-catching two-level space–with

Fresh foie gras served with a goat cheese ravioli and blackberry sauce. Photo: Andrew Lightman 76 ★ HillRag | June 2010

exposed brick walls, black granite bar and glossy wooden flooring–seats 150, plus extra space in the patio. Upstairs is a cozy lounge, open in the evening. There, comfy sofas invite diners to linger under the glow of red pendant light fixtures.

Colorful paintings punctuate the walls.

“We’re a neighborhood bistro serving American cuisine,” states manager Maryna Paradnin, who comes from Belarus. A sister restaurant to Capitol Hill’s Tunnicliff ’s Tavern and Logan Circle’s Stoney’s, Ulah’s kitchen is presided over executive chef Edward Policarpio, whom Capitol Hill residents might remember from his long cooking stint at Tunnicliff ’s. The name “Ulah” is derived from U Street and the first three letters of owner Med Lahlou’s last name. (His partner is Tony Harrison.) And sometime this fall, their growing culinary family will get a pair of yetto-be-named siblings. A “white tablecloth restaurant” is slated for the Southwest waterfront.

Near the U.S. Capitol, the partners have purchased the venerable Bullfeathers watering hole, which will become another spinoff.

But back to Ulah Bistro. On a pleasant

Chef Mehdi Lahlou. Photo: Andrew Lightman

Ulah Bistro 1214 U St. NW 202-234-0123 www.ulahbistro.com Open: Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Saturday: 10 a.m. to 3 a.m.

Sunday: 10 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Saturday and Sunday brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ★

l rtin 750 m Remy Ma$29.99 0 ml rtin XO 75 Remy Ma $99.99 • Great Wine selection with excellent choices in both Domestic and Imported Wines • Wine ratings of 96 Points • High End Bourbons and Single Malts... Scotch Whiskies, excellent prices...

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• Fine Cigars • 15% off on a case of Wine, also mix and match... No limit...

(EXCLUDES WINES ALREADY ON SALE) • For your convenience we also provide Money Ordes and Western Union services • We deliver in the Southwest and Capitol Hill neighborhood

Capitol Hill Wine &Spirits Spirits Your Neighborhood Store 323 Pennsylvania Ave, SE • 202.546.7070 www.chillwines.com (Located between 3rd & 4th Streets)

C

raisin-studded bread pudding with creme Anglaise and chocolate sauce.

For another outing–this time a Friday lunch–we parked ourselves in Ulah’s lively downstairs dining area. Youthful patrons perched at the bar were getting a head start on weekend partying, which made for a rather loud (but not deafening) decibel level. But we were here to eat.

A Mediterranean salad was a healthful melange of assorted lettuces, grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts, black olives, cucumbers and nicely grilled chicken strips. The whole shebang was napped with balsamic vinaigrette. I ordered the salmon BLT, a nice combo of grilled salmon and smoky bacon strips snuggled in toasted brioche.

Ulah Bistro also serves Saturday and Sunday brunch, with assorted omelettes, eggs Benedict (with crabmeat), eggs Chesapeake and smoked Gouda mac-and-cheese.

There’s also a late night menu of crab-andartichoke dip, burgers, quesadillas, fried calamari, bistro wings and yes, that popular pizza. Besides the eclectic wine list with moderately priced offerings by the glass, Ulah dispenses a wide range of foreign and domestic beers (draft and bottled), and fancy cocktails like fruit-flavored mojitos and margaritas, caipirinhas (heady Braziilian potables made with cachaca liquor, lime juice and sugar) and boozy milkshakes. (“Adult” milkshakes appear to be a growing trend.)

Business is brisk, to say the least, and Ulah is usually packed. Paradnin attributes Ulah Bistro’s continued success to “good luck of the owner, as well as hard work and excellent food and service.” We agree.

Ulah prices are sensible if not rock-bottom budget. Pizzas are around $12 to $14, with entrees keeping to the mid-teens to low $20s. Dinner for four with a round of drinks came to $158, including tax and tip.

Since parking can be difficult if not impossible (don’t even THINK about it on weekends), we strongly suggest taking Metro. The African-American Memorial/Cardozo stop (Green/Yellow Line) is practically around the corner from Ulah.

E R B LI é f a

N

spring evening, two friends, Peter and I settled into Ulah’s garden patio adjacent to the restaurant. We did not realize we were sitting smack in front of a bank until a customer walked directly behind my chair to access the ATM. After bringing our glasses of Malbec and Sauvigon Blanc, our attentive server Margo announced the evening specials: Among temptations was a steak tartare appetizer, hard to find on Washington menus these days. Tagged at $14, the tartare was presented in a pair of crisp flaky pastry cups, traditionally seasoned with Worcestershire sauce and mustard, crowned with tiny capers. Fourteen dollars might seem steep for a starter dish, but the freshly ground beef was top-quality and other ingredients impeccable.

A soup du jour was cold cucumber (another option was corn chowder). Light and tangy, the cuke potage tasted of yogurt, spices and spring. Ulah is known for its crispy-crusted pizzas, snatched from the wood-fired oven. Toppings run the culinary gamut of “buffalo chicken,” “chicken Alfredo,” “Mediterranean,” and “make your own.” (Base price is $10 and each additional topping is $1.) But the house favorite is probably the signature Ulah pizza.

Big enough to share, the pie is generously heaped with crabmeat, cherry tomatoes, garlic, drizzled with olive oil and capped with shavings of Parmesan.

I had been eyeing the roasted half chicken for my entree, believing that sometimes simple is best, and I do love chicken. But I could not resist another special: chicken pastilla. The Moroccan-style bird was dusted with cinnamon, powdered sugar and sprinkled with walnuts. The tender white meat was enveloped with flaky phyllo dough, a winner all around. We’ve had this exotic dish in Moroccan restaurants where we consumed it in the traditional manner, with our hands. At Ulah, we opted for forks.

From Policarpio’s regular menu, Peter reluctantly passed up the double-rib, centercut pork chop and seared, sesame-crusted tuna, and ordered jumbo blue crabcakes escorted by roasted chipolte corn salad, bisected by a few green asparagus spears–another salute to spring. They tasted fresh and light with virtually no filling. A guest’s jambalaya was replete with tongue-tingling andouille sausage, chunks of white meat chicken and smoked ham, and dribbled with what tasted like creme fraiche. Forks flew as we passed the spicy dish around our table.

After such a generous repast, no one was up for dessert. But we could have been tempted by the vanilla creme brulee or the

Fine German Cuisine Now Open for Brunch – Sundays, 10 AM to 3 PM Special Menu Sunday Dinner – 3 to10 PM Summer Menu Coming Soon

Visit www.cafeberlindc.com Proud Participants in DC's Restaurant Week

202-543-7656 322-B Massachusetts Ave., NE • Washington, DC 20002

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 77

ARTS& Dining

Dining Notes

By Celeste McCall Coming soon

More from H

Simply Marvelous

Ted’s Bulletin on Barracks Row

Restaurateurs Med “Mo” Lahlou and Anthony Harris are busy these days. Besides operating Tunnicliff ’s across from Eastern Market, the partners own Stoney’s (Logan Circle) and Ulah Bistro on U St. NW. Now they’ve purchased Bullfeathers, the venerable watering hole at 410 First St. SE. Frequented by Congressional staff members since 1980, Bullfeathers will get a major facelift. They also plan a “white tablecloth” restaurant in Southwest, “Our Southwest waterfront project will take a while, since we have to totally build it out,” said co-owner Harris. Due to open this fall, the restaurant will be similar to Ulah.

Ireland meets Israel at the Star and Shamrock, 1341 H St. NE. It’s now open weekends. The handsome interior is rich with carved wood trim, handsome bar and comfy seating. The trans-cultural menu is created by Teddy Folkman, who also turns out prizewinning mussels down the street at Granville Moore’s. At the Star and Shamrock, you may sip a He’Brew ale with a Reuben sandwich and a side of latkes. Or how about pan-fried matzo balls with your shepherd’s pie? Don’t

Much is happening at Marvelous Market. Proprietor Seth Shapiro has expanded MM’s menu of prepared foods with an array of Middle Eastern-style vegetarian items. The vegan foods (sans animal products) come from Asmar’s Mediterranean Food Inc. a gourmet wholesaler in Alexandria. We’ve tried the rice-stuffed grape leaves (good and lemony), tabouleh (more lemon, lots of parsley), felafel (with tangy tahini dressing). We are usually leery of so-called meat sub-

Last month, Ted’s Bulletin arrived at 505 Eighth St. SE, Barracks Row. Much of the art deco-accented interior, including the vintage bar and leather-lined booths, was salvaged from the circa 1928 Philadelphia Civic Center.

Food is basic American: herb-roasted chicken, meatloaf, ribs, grilled cheese with tomato soup, “anytime” breakfast. Besides cocktails, wine and beer, the bar dispenses boozy “adult” milk shakes. Pastries are baked right on the premises. Call 202-544-8337.

Farmers Markets Last month, the Capitol Riverfront Farmers Market launched its 2010 season. Sponsored by the Capitol Riverfront BID and Diverse Markets Management, the market’s 10 vendors hawk fresh produce, baked goods, herbs and spices, olive oil, desserts, flowers, and more. Located at New Jersey Ave. and M streets, SE, the market operates every Thursday through October from 3 to 7 p.m. It’s adjacent to the Navy Yard Metro’s New JerA sample of the new menu at Starfish. Photo: Andrew Lightman sey Ave exit.

In the Atlas District, FreshFarm Market, 625 H St, NE operates tell your cardiologist about the two- stitutes, but Asmar’s vegan “chicken each Saturday through October. Time: fisted sandwich of pastrami, corned salad” was quite tasty, with a meaty 9 a.m. to noon. We’ve purchased beef, chicken livers, and Swiss slath- texture provided by “textured vegetabeautiful asparagus from Richfield ered with Russian dressing. Call 202- ble protein.” There’s also vegan “tuna” salad. The $6.99 Mediterranean platter Farms, herbed cheese spread from 388-3833.

We fi nally have an Ethiopian rescontains a sampling of several foods.

Keswick Creamery. We also sampled taurant–Ethiopic--at 401 H St. NE. On the last Friday of each month, Dangerously Delicious Pies, baked So far, it has received positive reviews.

MM hosts wine tastings from 5 to 7 down the street at 1339 H St. NE and Open Tuesday-Th ursday from 5 to 10 p.m...and every Friday brings live muavailable at FreshFarm. We chose the p.m.; Friday through Sunday from sic from 5 to 7 p.m on the patio. Open “SMOG,” a steak, mushroom, onion noon to 10 p.m.

Closed Monday.

Call daily, Marvelous Market is at 303 and Gruyere pie, and the quiche, a 202-675-2066.

Seventh St. SE. Call 202-544-7147 or mushroom/ham combo. visit www.marvelousmarket.com.

78 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Acqua Al 2 Opens on 7th Street Across from Eastern Market, Acqua Al 2 debuted at 212 Seventh St. SE. The handsomely appointed newcomer is the first East Coast spinoff of the Florence-based enterprise, with another location in San Diego.

An early visit produced steaks, chicken, pastas and lots of tomato sauce. Sefood will be added to the menu soon, according to the manager. Call 202-525-4375 or visit www.acquaal2dc.com.

New at Starfish An old favorite of ours, Starfish, 539 Eighth St. SE, has something new. Chef/coowner Miguel Rodriguez and partner Jorge Zamorano have added new dishes to the Louisianathemed menu: the “wedge” salad of iceberg, bleu cheese, red onion and bacon; crab Louis (lump crab with cukes, avocado, eggs and dressing); shrimp and grits; Cajun-fried mini crabcakes, “Big Easy” red beans and rice. The kitchen has also brought back an old favorite—lobster mac-and-cheese. We’re also pleased to note that many dishes are available in entree or half portions.

Starfish is open daily, call 202-546-

5006 or visit www.starfishcafedc.com.

Brunch Bunch Café Berlin, 322 Massachusetts Ave. NE now offers Sunday brunch from 10:00 a.m. until 3 p.m. Among the hearty dishes are eggs Benedict; farmer’s omelette (potatoes, ham, onions, cheese); Groesstle (Bavarian-style breakfast with potatoes, dumplings, bacon, cheese and fried egg topped with gravy); stuffed crepes.

Brunch cocktails: Café Berlin Belini (Champagne and apple schnapps); mimosas; kir royale (creme de cassis with Champagne). Call 202-543-7656 or visit www.cafeberlindc.com.

Dog Days At Art and Soul, in the Liaison Hotel, the “Pooch Patio Menu” is back. Served daily, the pet-friendly lineup includes Wagtime (a beverage) and unlimited bowls of water, frozen raw bones, “Happy Puppy” grilled steaks, Gravy Train beef tips, homemade granola and biscuits. Art and Soul is located at 415 New Jersey Ave. NW; call 202-393-7777 or visit www.artandsouldc.com.

Al Fresco As the weather gets nicer, restaurant patios are jammed.

One of the Hill’s larger outdoor spaces belongs to White Tiger, 301 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Seating about 40, the attractive garden area is especially popular on Fridays, when Senate staffers and neighbors queue up for the $11.95 luncheon buffet. Open daily; call 202-546-5900 or www.whitetigerdc.com On the “Avenue,” the everpopular Mr. Henry’s, 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE has a spacious patio, where 55 to 60 guests munch burgers, crab cakes, meatloaf and (my favorite) spinach quiche. Open daily; call 202-546-8412 or www.mrhenrysrestaurant.com. ★ capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 79

Wedding Wines

by Jon Genderson

I

The City’s Finest Pakistani Restaurant Tandori Charcoal Cuisine Buy One Entree, “The Master of Tandori on Capitol Hill” Washingtonian “Excellent Pakistani Food” Washington Post “A wonderful dinner...” Hill Rag “Great value, great food” City Paper “Best Tandori Trip” Shuttle Sheet, Delta Airlines

Get the Second One HALF OFF *of equal or lesser value dine-in only

JUMBO LUNCH BUFFET $9.95, 11:30AM-2:30PM (Valid thru 05/31/10)

10% OFF Carry Out

Lunch: 11:30am-2:30pm daily • Dinner: Su-Th 5-10pm • Fr-Sa 5-10:30

609 Pennsylvania Ave. SE • 544-0931 www.aatishonhill.com

(Equal or lesser value)

Buy 1 Burrito Get 2nd at 1/2 Price

BURRITO BROTHERS

205 Pennsylvania. Ave., SE

(202) 543-6835

Now Open on Sundays 11-7pm

Try any of our protien smoothies or shakes, and get 50¢ off (Valid only at Pennsylvania location. Not good with any other offer) • Offer good thru 05/31/10

LAS PLACITAS RESTAURANT Home-style Salvadorian/Mexican Cuisine

NEW: Mexican Happy Hour: Drink Specials with Free Tapas!

3 pm -6 pm 517 8th St. SE Open 7 days a week - 11:30 am - 10:30 pm Carry Out & Catering Available 202.543.3700 • www.lasplacitas.com

Buy One Entree Get 2nd at 1/2 Price with coupon.

Valid Mon-Thurs

Sunday Nights – 5 to 11 PM; Buy 2 Entrees, Get Second Entrée Half Price*

Monday Nights – 5 to 11 PM; Buy 2 Entrees, Get Bottle of Wine at Half Price

TUNNICLIFF’S TAVERN The Gathering Place On The Hill…

Right next to Eastern Market Metro across from Eastern Market

1/2 Price Late Night Menu from 11-1 AM; Bar open until 2 AM *Not valid with other discounts. 2nd entrée must be of equal or lesser value.

Sunday Nights – 5 to 11 PM; Buy 2 Entrees, Get Second Entrée Half Price* Monday Nights – 5 to 11 PM; Buy 2 Entrees, Get Bottle of Wine at Half Price

222 7th Street, SE

202.544.5680

had decided to write about wedding wines for my June column and happened to see two recent articles on the same subject. The first was written by my dear friend Scott Greenberg for the Examiner and WTOP radio and the second

by Lettie Teague for the Wall Street Journal. They both put forth the notion that people think wedding wine needs to be inexpensive. Greenberg tried to convince his readers to splurge and drink really good wine; Teague suggested finding good yet reasonably priced wine. My advice falls somewhere in the middle but aligns more with Teague’s.

The vast majority of weddings feature the house wines of hotels or caterers; usually a mass-produced California label with roots in Napa but grapes grown in the Central Valley. As much as I hate to say it, these tend to be the worst wines on the market. Many of you know my distaste for mass production in wines.

Without naming names, these once proud producers now owned by large conglomerates have come up with a “second line” labeled “California” that has no resemblance to their Napa wines produced a decade or more ago. They have no character or structure. These wines tend to retail in the $10 to $15 range.

Herein lies the other problem with wines from hotels and caterers.

These $15 retail wines often cost you $40 to $50. Imagine what you could get at retail for this price. At almost all venues in DC – hotels, restaurants and with caterers – you can bring your own wine. Now you can really search out some exceptional values that will be remembered long after the ceremony. Listed below (in alphabetical order) are some of my top suggestions in affordable yet memorable wines for that very special occasion.

mas, very good body and mouthfeel with no oak, and fresh, lively acidity. This lovely wine is perfect for sipping and with food.

Whites

Green apple, passion fruit and mango can be discerned from the delicious 2008 La Noble. It has character and elegance at a price range where you would expect neither. Excellent!

Alma de Blanco Godello 2008, Monterei, Spain ($14) Here is a white wine with character and flavor. It is quite fruit forward with peach and apricot aro80 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Alto 3 Reserva Torrontes 2008, Catamarca, Argentina ($14) This beauty is 100 percent estate grown from 70 year old vines. It has tropical fruit in the nose with good body and complex flavors of fruit and spice.

Chilensis Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Casablanca Valley, Chile ($11) This is a classic sauvignon blanc with herbal grapefruit in the nose, light, crisp flavors and a clean finish. It is bright, refreshing and eminently drinkable.

Croney Three Ton Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough, New Zealand ($14) The 2009 Croney Three Ton is a slight departure from previous vintages with a less tropical and more classic approach. The nose has bright citrus and herbaceous notes leading to full bodied citrus flavors, balanced acidity and a long finish. A great value!

Cuatro Rayas Verdejo 2008, Rieuda, Spain ($14) This is a longtime favorite of mine with intense lime and mineral aromas lifted by white flowers. It possesses excellent balance with citrus and apple flavors leading to the crisp finish.

La Noble Chardonnay 2008, Languedoc, France ($10)

La Playa Block Selection Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Limari Valley, Chile ($15) On the nose, it has fresh notes of lychee and lemon zest with hints of grass and tropical fruits.

In the mouth it shows lovely acidity, appealing brightness and good volume with a long and enjoyable finish.

Rodet Bourgogne Chardonnay 2007, Rully, France ($15) Produced primarily from declassified Rully and Meursault, this rich and flavorful Burgundy has Chardonnay fruit, full, fleshy flavors and a substantial finish. It is a truly amazing value.

Reds Alma de Tinto Mencia 2007, Monterei, Spain ($14) This is a light, refreshing red with excellent acidity beautifully balanced by cherry and wild strawberry fruit that is remarkably refreshing. Racy and graceful, its lingering minerality makes it perfect for warm weather sipping.

Aymara Malbec Reserva 2006, Mendoza, Argentina ($13) This is an inky black malbec made in an old world style with bold dark fruit flavors and earth.

Full and rich, it is an amazing value for the price.

Chilensis Reserva Pinot Noir 2008, Maule Valley, Chile ($11)

and plum, with hints of espresso and bitter chocolate. It is soft and rich with balance, body and flavor and length. This is an amazing value.

Llama Malbec 2006, Mendoza, Argentina ($14) The dark purple-colored 2006 Llama Malbec was aged for six months in French oak. It exhibits a lovely nose of cedar, tobacco, spice box and black cherry. It is smooth with plenty of spicy dark fruits, excellent depth and concentration, and a fruit-filled finish.

“Best Website Award”, 2008 by the Wine Spectator’s Market Watch Voted “Best Liquor Store” and “Best Wine Selection” two years in a row by the City Paper

JUNE SPECIALS! Tequila Sale!

Fox Tequila Reposado 750ml . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reg:$39.99/Sale:$14.99 Reds for Warm Weather:

This lovely native Sicilian variety starts off with lots of bright, dark fruit aromas, very soft, balanced black fruit flavors and finishes with sweet blackberry and black raspberry with supple tannins. Delicious by itself, it will pair wonderfully with an array of foods.

Primo Estate Il Briccone Shiraz Sangiovese 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . Reg:$24.99/Sale:$11.99

QUO Old Vine Grenache 2008, Campo de Borja, Spain ($15) The fruit in this spectacular grenache seems to jump from the glass.

It is big and rich with black cherry and wild strawberry flavors, beautifully integrated oak, lush mouthfeel and a smooth finish. This is a wine everyone should love!

Sparkling Wines Fleuraison, France ($10)

Gran Gesta Cava, Spain ($14) This classic cava has light, crisp toasty flavors with a hint of Champagne’s yeastiness. It is clean, elegant and very well balanced. At this price, you cannot do better!

Jon Genderson, co-owner of Schneider’s on Capitol Hill, writes the monthly “Wine Guys” column for the Hill Rag. He can be reached at 202-543-9300.

Schneider’s is located at 300 Massachusetts Ave. NE, or visit the store online at www.cellar.com. ★

“One of the Best Wine Stores in the Country is Right Here on Capitol Hill”

Dos Manos Tequila Anejo 75L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reg:$69.99/Sale:$39.99

Montaude Minervois 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reg:$11.99/Sale:$7.99 Vika Syrah/Malbec 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reg:$11.99/Sale:$7.99

Chateau Lamy Corbieres 2006, Languedoc, France ($10)

The Creanza sees one year in oak and has gorgeous aromas of cherry

Listed in the Wall Street journal as one of the most enjoyable places to shop for wines nationwide.

Moziese Nero d’Avalo Consensi 2007, Sicily, Italy ($15)

This may well be the finest $11 pinot noir on the market. Real pinot flavors with cherry and raspberry fruit, good body and a flavorful finish. Delicious!

Legado Munoz Crianza Tempranillo/Merlot 2006, Castila, Spain ($13)

by Washingtonian Magazine July “Best & Worst” Issue

Alfredo Roca Pinot Noir 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Reg:$11.99/Sale:$7.99

This delicious sparkling wine form Burgundy has become Schneider’s largest seller. It is quite effervescent, very lively, smooth and balanced with bright fruit and a clean finish. What more could you ask for at this price?

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ARTS& Dining

Z E S T

Food And Fun For Families...And Everyone Else

By Celeste McCall

Z

Roasted Beet and Squash Salad - golden beets, caramelized onions, butternut squash, and zucchini all oven roasted until golden brown tossed lightly in cider vinegar and maple. Garnished with diced mixed greens, olive oil, and balsamic reduction. Photo: Andrew Lightman Executive Chef - Dorothy Steck. Photo: Andrew Lightman

82 ★ HillRag | June 2010

est An American Bistro opened its doors late last year on Barracks Row. “Hip yet family friendly” was the goal of proprietors Amanda and Stephen Briggs, who live in Capitol Hill East.

The parents of Brady (5) and Benjamin (3), the couple saw a real opportunity to open a bistro for families, while attracting other neighbors, business people and yes, politicians. “It was a dream of ours to open our own restaurant,” said Amanda Briggs as we talked on a warm spring afternoon after the lunchtime rush.

The Briggs have certainly succeeded. Zest is pretty to look at. The lofty, cheery interior was designed by Barbara Hawthorne Interiors of McLean.

Master craftsman Peter Kerschbamer helped fashion the space from materials recycled from the building, which used to be Miller’s Reporting Service. Glossy blond wooden tables are crafted from spruce inlaid with oaken insets; brick walls are festooned with

large photos over-painted with oils. “We wanted to go ‘green,’” Briggs emphasized, pointing out the bamboo flooring and resin panels crisscrossed with natural fibers. Paint applied on walls and elsewhere is non-toxic. Zest accommodates 74 patrons inside, with an additional eight sidewalk seats.

Emerging from the display kitchen of new chef Dorothy Steck and sous chef Lance Hannan are American dishes with Mediterranean flourishes.

Shortly after Zest’s debut, we lunched on caramelized beet salad, spicy jerk chicken pockets with mango dipping sauce; roast lamb on grilled flatbread with caramelized onions and feta. That last lamb dish, by the way, is one of Zest’s top sellers, along with a dinner entree, confit of lamb shanks. We’ve also enjoyed the salt-and-spice-roasted salmon with spinach risotto; olive oil poached cod and spinach fettuccine topped with grilled asparagus; roasted eggplant and grilled

Souk

shrimp napped with orange butter sauce. “With just a few tweaks (and some new specials), we’ve kept the same menu we had at the opening,” Briggs said.

Secret of Zest’s success?

Briggs points out her own culinary and business background (she came from Deluxe Restaurant Group, which has three area locations). “We stay focused, and we’ve hired the right people.”

Among Zest’s 25 employees is general manager Liz Goldstein who worked with Briggs at Deluxe. “We also provide good customers service and, of course, good food,” Amanda added.

Management also pays close attention to details. Cocktails are custom-made with fresh fruit and other ingredients; bartenders concoct Bloody Marys from scratch. Even the horseradish is hand-muddled. Not surprisingly, Zest has an appealing kids menu, with bow-tie pasta with meat sauce; grilled or fried chicken tenders (both are $4.95); fruit drinks and a childsized sundae.

Besides serving lunch and dinner daily, Zest also offers Saturday and Sunday brunch, with banana-stuffed French toast, eggs Benedict, steak-and-eggs.

Prices are reasonable, with most appetizers in the $5 to $9 range. Entrees tags hover around $15 to $20. On Sundays through Thursday after 9 p.m., bottles of wine are discounted 25 percent. Happy hour goes from 4 to 7 p.m. weeknights, with bargain-priced drinks and bar food.

Zest: An American Bistro 735 Eighth St. SE (Barracks Row) 202-544-7171 www.zestbistro.com Hours: Sunday-Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Zest is just a few blocks from the Eastern Market Metro (Blue/Orange Line). ★

a Capitol Hill landmark since 1967

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capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 83

ARTS& Dining

TH E ATE R Small Casts Can Cast Spells Two New Shows Cover Friendship and History

by Brad Hathaway

T

his month brings intriguing examples of a truism in theater: you don’t need a massive cast to cast a magic spell. Oh, sure, it takes many more than two to do Shakespeare’s “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” (at least 16, to be precise), and you can’t do “Love!

Valour! Compassion!” with fewer than seven actors, but there are times when one or two is all you need, thank you very much!

The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company proves that with their latest, a play that is what is known in the trade as “a two hander.” Ah, but what a play – and what two! Don’t let the title “Gruesome Playground Injuries” fool you into thinking that the one-act piece is at all gruesome or grisly. No, it is a touching comic drama (or dramatic comedy: take your pick) that delivers great gobs of laughter, chokes back a few tears and gets the audience to really understand and care for two sharply defined characters.

It is the story of a lifelong friendship that begins on an elementary school playground and lasts at least intermittently into adulthood.

The boy is accident prone – hence the title – and uses his injuries to attract the attention of the girl.

Their evolving sense of friendship is lovely to see, even as the ever-escalating injury rate provides opportunities for reunions in places like hospital rooms.

“Gruesome Playground Injuries” is tightly written in scenes that jump out of chronological order starting when the boy and girl are 8 years old and jumping forward by 15 years then back by 10 and so forth until you get to 38. In each scene, the language is an entirely convincing amalgam of the age-specific vocabulary and character-revealing verbal 84 ★ HillRag | June 2010

habits of each. After all, no 8-yearold sounds like a college kid, and no adult sounds like a teenager.

The script is by an incredibly prolific young writer whose work is being produced all around the country, Rajiv Joseph. The 30-something native of middle-America (born and raised in Cleveland) and Peace Corps graduate (three years in Senegal) is the author of “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,” which was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – a prize that eventually was awarded to the musical “Next to Normal,” which Washington’s own Arena Stage nurtured before it made it to Broadway.

Woolly Mammoth’s production is under the direction of John Vreeke, one of our resident directors of note. His touch for creating tight ensemble works from smaller casts is evidenced by this year’s Helen Hayes Award for outstanding ensemble in a play which went to “Heroes” which he directed at MetroStage with a superb cast of three.

For “Gruesome” he has two marvelous young performers.

Tim Getman, a reliable and frequently impressive regular on Washington-area stages reaches a new level of characterization, humor and pure energy, capturing the same age-specific nuances in body language that the playwright included in the spoken language. He’s matched point for point by Gabriela Fernandez-Coffee who splits her time between our theater community and Los Angeles (with a few side trips to New York).

Both are on stage nearly every one of the 90 minutes of the piece, and together, they form an ensemble, each contributing to the success of the other’s moments and creating a portrait of an ever-deepening bond between the two friends.

Inventive staging helps the evening spin from delight to delight.

The edgy, industrial feeling interior of Woolly Mammoth’s D Street home has been set up as a theater in the round with the playing space taking the form of a dilapidated hockey rink with a suspended structure above, somewhat like the electric

Laurence Fishburne in the solo-show “Thurgood” at the Kennedy Center. Photo by Carol Rosegg

scoreboard suspended over professional rinks but torn and battered like the rink itself. Getman and Fernandez-Coffee circle the outside of the rink to change shirts or skirts and, in Getman’s case, don the makeup of assorted cuts, bruises and various bandages.

While the pair is on stage at Woolly, the Kennedy Center gives us all a chance to spend an evening with just one actor, but he is bringing to life one of the towering figures of our past – a man who made history on both sides of the divide between the bench of United States Supreme Court and the lectern where cases are argued before it.

Thurgood Marshall was the man who argued the historic desegregation case of Brown v. Board of Education and who went on to become the first African-American associate justice of that court. Laurence Fishburne, the new principal investigator on TV’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” earned a Tony Award nomination playing Marshall on Broadway in 2008 in a solo performance piece titled “Thurgood” by George Stevens Jr. He will recreate that performance under the same director and with the same design team who handled the show two years ago.

That director is Leonard Foglia who Kennedy Center audiences remember fondly for his gentle production of “On Golden Pond” with Leslie Uggams and James Earl Jones.

Marshall was the great-grandson of a slave, the son of a railroad dining car waiter who grew up in Balti-

Gabriela Fernandez-Coffee and Tim Getman in “Gruesome Playground Injuries” at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. Photos by Stan Barouh

more and attended Howard University Law School here in Washington – some say because he had been told he couldn’t get into the segregated University of Maryland’s Law School. If so, he got the better of the situation. He graduated first in his class in 1933, and once in practice as a lawyer, his first major case was a challenge to that very policy at the University of Maryland. He won his case.

Marshall became the chief counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (the NAACP).

In 1954, he argued his most famous case - Brown v. Board of Education, which resulted in the declaration that the “separate but equal” doctrine could not apply to public education since separate could not be equal.

Brown v. Board of Education was no fluke. Marshall argued 32 cases before the highest court in the land and won 29 of them – an incredible 90 percent! President Kennedy appointed Marshall to the US Court of Appeals in 1961, and in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson appointed him to the Supreme Court where he served for over two decades.

The evening at the Kennedy Center is a 90-minute piece that takes the form of

a rambling set of reminiscences as Marshall, late in life, addresses the commencement audience at his alma matter, Howard University Law School. He shares not only his memories of a long and distinguished career but lets loose with examples of the intensity of his feeling for justice and the American Constitution. Reviews of the original production on Broadway spoke glowingly about how Fishburne captivates the audience and carries them into Marshall’s world.

Brad Hathaway operated Potomac Stages, a website and e-mail service covering theater in Washington, Maryland and Virginia and has written about theater for Theatre.Com, Musical Stages Online, The Connection Newspapers and such magazines as American Theatre, Show Music, the Sondheim Review and Live Design. He and his wife live on Capitol Hill.

He can be reached by e-mail at Brad@PotomacStages.com. ★

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“Gruesome Playground Injuries” plays through June 13 at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St. NW. Tickets are $40-$62. Call 202-393-3939 or log on to www. woollymammoth.net. “Thurgood” will play in the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater for just 24 performances through June 20 before the production transfers to the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles for the summer. Tickets are priced $25-$90 and can be purchased by calling 202-467-4600. capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 85

Artist Portrait: Ahmed Alkarkhi

A Capitol Hill artist and writer, Jim can be reached at ArtandtheCity05@aol.com

H

is work is about the ancient and recent pasts, the pasts that have lead circuitously into the future. Just as civilization was born in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley, so has that ever-expanding heritage continuously swept back over the region—often painfully—but ultimately enriching. The legacy of art is also inclusive—it reaches out to the future with the collective power of past ideas, styles and purposes that provide endless choices. Ahmed Alkarkhi understands this.

As a child he saw an Impressionistic painting of the Blessed Virgin in his uncle’s Muslim home and realized that the image was different from

“realistic” pictures…and he became aware of the wonder of painting. He was hooked. His talent was recognized early and encouraged through all levels of his education.

His personal story is a marvel of surviving the trials and tragedies of Iraq over the last 30 years. Only his obsession to make art—and the passion to endure both the sanctions of the Saddam years and the subsequent religious and political imperatives of the warring militias, allowed Ahmed Alkarkhi to survive and grow as an artist.

His early influences were from the teachers who studied in France, Italy and the US, and who brought back their ex86 ★ HillRag | June 2010

periences and knowledge of western art—from Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism.

Impressionism gave him the freedom to apply the light and feel of the Iraq countryside. His landscapes are appropriately timeless. They are not about conflict, or political and religious indoctrination. They stem from a deep understanding of the land as it survives the civilizations of man and waits for the next cycle of civility.

His portraits reach into the eyes of the subject to find the mind and essential oneness of the individual. His strong and deliberate abstracts sing with the movement of color and his command of the elements of pure painting.

Ahmed Alkarkhi’s work can be seen this month at the Foundry Gallery (see, At the Galleries) and at www.Alkarkhi.com.

Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art On a very pleasant day in April, I took a stroll through

artandthecity

BY JIM MAGNER

the National Gallery. It became an observation of how art does or doesn’t connect with people—The People. Us. You don’t have to read art history books or listen to critics to make your own discovery, just follow the crowds.

The exhibit of Spanish religious painting and painted sculpture was mobbed— you could barely turn around. Folks lingered long to examine the gory glory of it all.

Right next door was the grandly heralded Robert and Jane Myerhoff collection of the biggest names of the late 20th century “post-war,” era: Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Robert Rauschenberg, Frank Stella, etc. The cavernous, yawning, echoing rooms were near empty as the few and furtive wandered past the big, big canvases…and headed for the…

Chester Dale Collection: “From Impressionism to Modernism.” The rooms were again mobbed with happy people and a half-million foreign visitors snapping pictures of the storied painters and paintings from the 1860’s to the 1920’s: Corot, Renoir Cassatt, Manet, Degas, van Gogh, Monet, Picasso … It was like a party.

It is not about being famous. Even the exhibit of the 17th century icescapes by the obscure Dutch painter, Hendrick Avercamp, was elbow to elbow.

So what is Good Art—or not so good?

That’s anybody’s call these days. But, what connects? Just follow the crowds.

At the Galleries “Baghdad Revisited” Foundry Gallery, 1314 18th St, NW June 2 - June 19 You don’t want to miss these recent paintings by Iraqi artist Ahmad Alkarkhi (see Artist Profile). His personal chronicle of growing up in Baghdad, his flight to Syria and finally the US is dramatic, but the even more compelling story is in the passion found in his painting. His landscapes, portraits and abstracts reveal a range of expression that extends from a love of country and a fascination with the art and cultures of the world. Reception with the artist: Fri., June 4, 6 to 8. www.foundrygallery.org.

Student / Faculty Exhibit CHAW 545 7th St. SE June 12 - 26 The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop will open its annual Student/Faculty Art Ex-

hibit with a reception on Sat., June 12, 5 - 7. It showcases work in the fields of watercolor, painting, drawing, photography, ceramics, and sculpture. Prizes will be awarded. While you’re there, check out their complete range of adult art classes.

They have very good teachers and do a great job. www.chaw.org.

“Out at Night” City Gallery 804 H St. NE #1 June 5-27 Hill photographer Gayle Krughoff ’s “Out at Night” basks in the still light of midnight, the soft flame of early morning, and the fading emanations of dusk… “when the absence of light can add mystery to what is already beautiful.” Gayle has been a professional photographer for 30 years and is a long-time member of the Capitol Hill Art League. Recep: June 5, 6-9. www. citygallerydc.com.

• • • • • • •

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The best weekly wine tastings on “The Hill”- Sat (3-6pm)

“Nature Transforms” Evolve Urban Arts Project Pierce School Lofts 1375 Maryland Ave. NE June 5 - July 22 Painter Jessica van Brakle, photographer Wess Brown and a site-specific installation by mixed-media artist Alex Zealand transform the Project space into a dissection of the struggle for human dominance over nature. It becomes the intersection of the visual arts, architecture and nature. More than a “what-if,” it brings a look and feel of the natural forces already at play with the things we build to last. Reception: Sat. June 5, 4-8. www.evolvedc.com.

“A Washington, DC Vacation” American Painting Fine Art 5118 MacArthur Blvd. NW June 5 – Sept. 11 The Washington Society of Landscape Painters find those nooks and crannies in the DC area that tour guides love to show off…and paint them in ways that add those intangibles that make them unique.

Nobody does it better than the WSLP. Recep: Sat. June 5, 5-7. www.classicamericanpainting.com. ★

Offering whole bean coffee delivered to your home or office.

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7th St and Pennsylvania Ave, SE www.peregrineespresso.com capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 87

the JUNE CALENDAR ★ ★ ★LITERARY HILL A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events

by Karen Lyon small yards on Capitol Hill, and tells her young readers how most people walk to the markets, coffee shops, work and school. “But beware,” she warns them, “when people live this close together, all the adults know each other. If you do something Melonheaded, your parents will know by the time you get home.”

Happily, Adam’s parents are forgiving sorts, and the kids’ good intentions usually outweigh their Melonheaded misdeeds. Along the way, they learn some important lessons about helping neighbors, keeping (and sometimes having to break) promises, and finding friends in the unlikeliest people. In the end, of course, it turns out to be a very satisfactory summer after all.

Melonhead and the List of Doom Fourth grade has just let out for the year, and Adam Melon (a k a Melonhead) and his friend Sam are looking forward to a summer of walking over roofs, climbing trees, and messing around with snakes and rodents.

In short, they’re ready for some serious boy-fun.

Adam’s mother, however, has other ideas. She presents him with an index card she calls the Remind-o-Rama.

“Whenever you get an idea, just check the Remind-o,” she tells him. “If you see it, don’t do it.” The first two items on the list are walking on roofs and climbing trees. Snakes and rodents come in at four and five, with putting things up your nose a solid three.

Melonhead dubs it the List of Doom.

Some summer this is going to be.

“Melonhead and the Big Stink” is Katy Kelly’s second book featuring Adam and his Capitol Hill friends.

This time around, Melonhead and Sam are trying hard to be good so they can fulfill their summer dream of going to the New York Botanical Garden to witness the blooming of the titan arum.

“I’ll do anything to see a onehundred-pound, twelve-foot flower that smells like dead mammals,” says Melonhead.

“Ditto for me,” says Sam, who declares the plant “the Big Stink of a Lifetime.”

Unfortunately, each new adventure in “Melonhead and the Big Stink” seems to chalk up another item for the Remind-o-Rama. In short order, “NO harpoons” has launched into slot number 9, and “NO letting babies near paint” makes its mark as rule 14.

Kelly claims as her inspiration her late brother Michael and her five nephews, whose mischief-making has provided a bottomless well of high jinks.

She has clearly kept an ear cocked as well, for the linguistic gymnastics add the perfect fourth-grade flavor to the proceedings. Take, for example, 88 ★ HillRag | May June2009 2010

Meet Katy Kelly

Adam Melon and his friends try to stay out of trouble (but don’t always succeed) in “Melonhead and the Big Stink.”

Melonhead’s well-intentioned “Boys’ Improvement Guide for Acting Responsible Till Stink Sunday” – which, naturally, spells B.I.G. F.A.R.T.S.S. Kelly is also the author of the slightly more demure but equally entertaining Lucy Rose books. Both series are charmingly illustrated by Gillian Johnson. A local kid herself, Kelly grew up on Constitution Avenue with

parents Tom and Marguerite Kelly and her three siblings, so she knows whereof she writes. Whether she’s setting the scene at Jimmy T’s, Eastern Market or in one of our condensed backyard gardens, she deftly conveys the spirit and the style of the neighborhood. On her new kid-friendly website (http://katykellyauthor.com), Kelly describes the row houses and

Friends of Southeast Library will celebrate the third anniversary of the library’s makeover and the opening of its garden with a party in honor of author Katy Kelly. “This is an opportunity for those who haven’t been to the library lately to see the changes, to experience the garden, and to meet this outstanding author,” says Neal Gregory, president of FoSEL. “More than any other writer, Katy Kelly sends out the message that the Hill is a great neighborhood and a wonderful place for kids to grow up.”

The garden, which now includes seating on two patios, has quickly become a popular spot for laptop users to access the library’s wi-fi service and for children to gather for story hours and other library programs. Created in conjunction with the refurbishing of the library’s interior in 2007, the garden was a joint venture of FoSEL and the local Girl Scouts, with design and services donated by Mark Holler of Gingko Gardens. The interior makeover, which included new lighting, carpeting, furnishings and artwork, was completed courtesy of advertisers of the “Library Journal.”

Meet author Katy Kelly at a Friends of Southeast Library garden party on June 26. Photo: Matt Mendelsohn

tions tell the rest of the tale.

Capitol Hill’s original contribution was written by local historian Ruth Ann Overbeck, whose essay still forms the basis of the revised section. According to writer Nancy Metzger, who penned the revision, “it’s very hard to compress over 200 years of history, development, architecture and social changes in a 16-page essay.” She nonetheless took on the task, shortening some of the early history to make room for the period between the Civil War to the 1920s when, she says, the Hill changed radically. She also took a more expansive view of the Hill, broadening her reach to include Stanton Park, Barney Circle, North Lincoln Park, Hill East, Rosedale and Kingman Park.

Metzger notes that one of the recurring themes of the essay is the civic activism of

The Katy Kelly salute and garden party for parents and children will be held at the Southeast Library, Seventh and D streets SE, across from the Eastern Market Metro, on June 26 at 3:30 p.m.

Welcome Home After two decades out of print, the long-awaited revised and updated edition of “Washington at Home: An Illustrated History of Neighborhoods in the Nation’s Capital” will be released in early June.

Originally published in 1988, this authoritative compendium of DC neighborhoods is once again edited by historian and writer Kathryn Schneider Smith, founding director of Cultural Tourism DC. She was assisted by a team of historians, journalists, folklorists, museum professionals and others who offer informed perspectives on 26 diverse neighborhoods.

The essays capture the distinctive flavor of each neighborhood through a discussion of its political, economic and social history, as well as its geography, physical development and significant events that took place there. Stories of individuals within the communities put a unique human face on each area, and notes and copious illustra-

An updated new edition of “Washington at Home” revisits Capitol Hill and 25 other D.C. neighborhoods.

the community from the earliest decades of the 19th century to the present day.

“Early residents started schools, a lending library, a volunteer fire company and lobbied for the first Eastern Market,” she says. Copies of “Washington at Home” may be purchased at Riverby Books or through online vendors or at www.culturaltourismdc.org. ★

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 89

Turn the Caribbean Clock Back Utila is the Way to Go Story and Photos by Maggie Hall

A

n hour’s ferry ride off Honduras takes you to a unique tropical island. It’s an English-speaking Central American enclave that has shunned “upscale” development and revels in an eccentric charm.

It’s Utila, a throw-back to the Caribbean 30 years ago. Only seven miles by three, with a ‘mountain’ from which to survey the rocky, cove-tangled coastline, there’s just one town. The island boasts a traffic-free environment. To get around you can hire a bike, a golfcart, a boat — but not a car.

As soon as we saw the ferry, which leaves the mainland port of La Ceiba twice a day, we knew we were on a winner. Compared to the slick vessel that runs to Roatan, Utila’s highly-developed, hotel-resort, neighbor, it was shabby. Translation: don’t expect anything fancy on Utila.

We’d reserved a ‘hotel’ room, to give us time to look around for a rental, through Jim and Vicki Frazier’s agency. A couple of years ago they quit high-powered US business careers, which tells you something about the lure of Utila. Jim met us at the wooden dock and drove us, in his golf-cart, along the narrow and only paved road in town. We gaped in delight. No high-rises, no familiar high-street names. Just pretty houses, bodegas and hand-crafted signs that looked like they’d been plucked from some 90 ★ HillRag | June 2010

vintage Hollywood back-lot.

For our stay, The Boat House caught our eye, despite being over our budget. Happily it was empty, and it was ours at a discount. From then on our time was little short of perfect, though we do have a couple of warnings and a gripe. Utila—with some broken-down homes, abandoned halfbuilt properties and strewn garbage— is not totally picture-postcard pretty.

But its overlying, unconventional style compensates. Also, if lazing on a beach is your idea of heaven, Utila is not for you. The sand-flies are a curse. So is the way many of those who do own a vehicle, a motor-bike or ATV, speed up and down the narrow street. Pedestrians have to constantly jump out of harm’s way.

None of the above will ever put off the main group of visitors: the divers.

Utila is Mecca. It has a barrier-reef that offers dramatic scuba exploration.

And it’s cheap! As a result there’s an ever-changing international population of young people, travelers who leave the backpackers’ trail for timeout at one of the dozen dive-schools.

They’re met off the ferry by Capitol Hill’s own asset to Utila, Matt Green.

Matt, 27, whose family lives close to Eastern Market, is a dive instructor.

Like many who stumble on Utila, he has no plans to leave. “Utila kept me — like it does so many,” he says. “I love the small island atmosphere. And

one of the best aspects of life on Utila is that it has an international life. I’ve met people from all over the world.”

We were a rarity—visitors who didn’t dive. Repeatedly we were asked by those exclaiming that Utila was their best ever diving—what we did with our time? We were happy to make them envious!

We boated the cross-island canal which penetrates deep into the wildlife-rich mangrove swamp that makes up so much of the island. It opens up onto a scenic rocky beach, which is only accessible via the canal or the sea.

We toured the island with the gregarious Shelby McNab. He took us to “secret” spots that he says support his belief that Utila is the true Robinson Crusoe island. Shelby spins a wonderfully entertaining story to back the claim that Daniel Defoe’s 1719 classic is based on a buccaneer marooned on Utila.

Going up Pumpkin Hill (270 feet, with panoramic views) is compulsory. Do it on horse-back, led by Sterlin Whitefield, a member of one of Utila’s oldest families. He is passionate about his island. He pointed out exotic plants, foliage and tree bark, that islanders still rely on for common ailments.

We took advantage of the services of his father and uncle, the boat captain brothers, Jake and Hal Whitefield.

With them we explored the string of 11 cays off Utila and circumnavigated the island. Some of the cays are wildlife sanctuaries, others are privately owned, but can be rented. Water Cay, is deserted but for a $2 fee you can picnic on its sand-fly-free beaches and enjoy its tremendous snorkeling. The twin cays, Pigeon and Jewel, joined by a narrow bridge, are home to 100 or so fishing-families and make for a fascinating visit.

Utila has exceptional wildlife. And not just the human sort to be found in the boom-boom music, late-night bars. Apart from diving, a huge draw is the chance to see, and swim, with whale sharks. The Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center attracts scientists and visitors, keen to learn about the world’s biggest fish. The Iguana Research and Breeding Station, allows a chance to get close to the “swamper,” the spiny-tailed iguana that’s unique to Utila. The Bay Islands Conservation Association is all-embracing with its educational programs to protect the island’s fragile eco-systems and indigenous animals, which also includes three endangered species of sea-turtles. The Association leads hikes into areas that a visitor is never going to find without help, such as the bat caves, where the ‘vampire’ with its one-meter wing-span lives; the freshwater swimming caves and Ironbound Beach, which with its gnarled black

coral formations, is a sight to behold. All three groups run programs that attract volunteers from around the world.

For us the day started with a stroll to the bakery, for coffee on the deck, from which to survey Utila waking up. A chat with Danish-transplant owner Camilla, as she and her helper Marta kneaded out the various breads, was a good jump-start to the morning. Then the difficult choice: was it going to be a giant-sized bagel right out of the oven for breakfast, or a sticky, gooey, totally addictive cinnamon bun?

Back home, we would work off the bakery visit by diving off our dock for a swim.

If it was a “do nothing” day, there was still a lot to keep us amused. There was the library, tucked-away underneath the cinema with its upholstered Adirondack seating. In how many remote places can you say you found a copy of “War and Peace” and saw every Oscar nominated film? All thanks to American owner Chris Howard who, after 15 years on Utila, is an “encyclopedia” to be consulted!

For such a tiny island, there is an amazing variety of places to eat and hang-out. In our opinion, the “musts” are: Big Mama’s, the place for true local food; RJ’s, where locals and expats meet over barbeque; Babalu, for the sunset; and Mariposa, which serves morning beignets and evening tapas on its delightful harbor-side deck.

There are plenty of dive-bars. Every school has one. A favorite was Underwater Vision, where Matt is an instructor. It’s hard to beat sinking a $1.50 beer at a roughly hewn bar, while waiting for a pizza, or a pile of chickenwings. Not exactly the sort of cuisine you ex-

pect on a Honduran island. But as its first language is English (think Elizabethan-Creole), so its basic cuisine is anything but Hispanic.

Family names follow suit. Common are Morgan, Cooper, Jackson, Thompson. The history is compelling, all to do with the British roaming the Spanish Main in its bid to conquer Central America. They settled Utila, but were kept at bay by the Spanish. In 1859 they ceded the island to Honduras, leaving behind a small Anglo-population.

Listening to the descendants of those families, that still make up the bulk of the 2,500 population, you’d never know the Brits had quit. But their number is being bolstered by “real” Hondurans from the mainland (so there is a chance to practice your Spanish) and “settlers” from around the world—Americans, Canadians, Europeans, who find a bolt-hole here. Many come on vacation and never leave.

No surprise there! ★

LEFT TO RIGHT and DOWN: The first view of Utila.

The Boat House - it could be your vacation home.

Dive instructor Matt Green, far from his Capitol Hill home.

Discover one of the lores of Utila.

Breakfast at the bakery.

Typical sell-everything bodega.

IF YOU GO: Detailed info, including accommodation ($5 a night dorm-space to $150 rooms; boat-only accessible properties and dive resort hotels): www.aboututila.com Rental properties: www.destinationutila.com Getting there: most economic is TACA from Dulles to La Ceiba, then the twice a day ferry to the island. There is an occasional flight to Utila, from San Pedro Sula.

Overnight stay en-route: Rainbow Village in La Ceiba. Pick-up and drop-off, at airport and ferry, is part of the deal: www.hotel-rainbow-village.com Read: “And the Sea Shall Hide Them”, by William Jackson. It is the fictionalized account of the true 1905 horror story, when 10 crew and passengers aboard the schooner Olympia were murdered as they sailed out of Utila. Provides tremendous insight into how life was on Utila. capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 91

ARTS& Dining

ATTHE MOVIES

A Trenchant Documentary and a Revealing Woman’s Picture

by Mike Canning

T

hough ‘tis now the season of the summer blockbuster movie, I hasten to recommend a couple of more modest films now in, or coming to, cinemas, which might be more rewarding for discerning filmgoers.

Living in Emergency A new motion picture shows what a fine documentary can do: present a vivid portrayal of a large, complex organization by focusing on a few, wellchosen exemplars and showing them in action, up close and on the ground.

The film is “Living in Emergency,” and the organization is the internationally-known Doctors Without Borders, known universally also as MSF, the French acronym for “Médecins Sans Frontieres,” the international medical humanitarian organization created in France in 1971.

Followers of international news may have some sense of MSF from occasional coverage of the world disasters wherein it works, and they may know, too, that the organization won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for its humanitarian activities. But “Living in Emergency” brings an all-too-human face to this disparate cadre, counting some 27,000 individuals working worldwide at any one moment.

The MSF is not in the development business; it is in the rescue business, trying to save one person at a time in times of chaos and disorder. It is not political, aiming to change the sources of human trauma; it is personal, dealing with the personal trauma directly in front of its operatives’ eyes. Most of its personnel are based in the afflicted countries themselves.

An international cadre of doctors – about 10 percent of staffers – takes on tours of six months to several years.

(The film is predominantly in English, with some subtitled sequences in 92 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Dr. Chris Brasher with one of his patients in the Congo; from “Living in Emergency.”

French and local African languages.)

Director Mark Hopkins and his team bring the MSF focus down to four people in two troubled African countries during 2005-2006. In war-torn Liberia, Italian team leader Chiara Lepora struggles to manage a massively overburdened free city hospital in Monrovia, where American surgeon Tom Krueger also works, feeling overwhelmed in his first mission.

Elsewhere, in a provincial Liberian village, first-time MSF-er Australian Davinder Gill finds himself profoundly isolated and lacking support. Then, in an up-country town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an MSF veteran, Aussie Chris Brasher, engages in a constant triage among his patients, thankful for the small miracles that occasion his rough practice in the town of Kanya.

We learn little or nothing about the back-stories of these committed people, a conscious decision on the part of Hopkins to “keep the focus on the challenge of being a humanitarian doctor in the field,” though we do get a sense of them leaving behind a life that was unrewarding or unchallenging, perhaps even a chance to escape

something personal. Some devil-maycare attitude is also in the air; one can’t help noticing that several of these doctors smoke steadily! The doctors also note, as many committed volunteers do, that they are gaining more through the rewards of their service than their patients are. They seem a paradox: egoists in joining the MSF yet selfless in its service.

What makes these personal stories the more compelling is that their narrators do not talk of easy “heroics” but rather in frank terms of their difficulties and shortcomings. For example, there is one lengthy and testy exchange between Lepora and Gill about the latter’s troubled psychological state, which the Italian tries to mitigate. This is not triumphal work, radiant with hope; it is tough slogging in miserable conditions. We do not see their patients express gratitude; there are no Kumbaya moments accompanied by soaring music. This is emergency medicine from the doctors’ own raw perspective, and though it may not be pretty, it is still finally uplifting.

And speaking of being not pretty, viewers should be forewarned that the movie does not flinch from the

harshness of real medical practices.

There are scenes of amputation, operational drilling, gross infections (all are brisk sequences, not lingered on) – scenes the director insisted on “to see the field (operations) through the eyes of the doctor” – and the filmgoer becomes a witness. (The film, which runs 93 minutes, is not rated, but deserves an “R” for language and its unflinching scenes. It opens June 4.)

“Living in Emergency” does, thus, not offer the balm of a “feel good” humanitarian film, but it definitely proffers a humane and passionate spirit.

Director Hopkins said in an interview that one line that could summarize his film would be “a journey that explores the limits of idealism.” A worthy line and a journey worth taking.

Mother and Child This is the third feature film from director Rodrigo Garcia, who specializes in complex melodramas of contemporary life in Los Angeles, almost all of them from a woman’s perspective, and who has a particular touch with female actors. His newest film, “Mother and Child,” spins together at least three different skeins of motherdaughter relationships into an effective filmic tapestry.

Karen (Annette Bening) is a 50year-old physical therapist weighed down by her long-ago decision to give up a baby as a teenager and burdened with the care of her own cantankerous mother (Eileen Ryan). Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is Karen’s abandoned baby all grown up who knows nothing of her mother and has become a coldly ambitious lawyer. Lucy (Kerry Washington) is a married baker who is barren and desperate to adopt a baby despite doubts from her mother (S. Epatha Merkerson) and husband. Yes, men figure in this mix too (stalwart players like Samuel L. Jackson and

Jimmy Smits, for two), but it is the mothers and daughters who drive this picture.

Garcia has an intriguing history. Born in Colombia in 1959 and the son of Colombian Nobel Prize novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, he has long worked in the States. His first feature film was “Things You Can Tell Just

by Looking at Her” (2000), a loosely-connected anthology of five women’s stories. His next, “Nine Lives,” (2005) pulled off nine touching 10-minute vignettes about a variety of women in LA. Both films (Netflix alert!), though sensitive and laden with good actresses, did little business. Garcia thus pays the bills by directing regularly for television, especially for HBO (in series like “Six Feet Under” and “In Treatment”).

In “Mother and Child,” the director, who also writes his own screenplays, combines his narratives efficiently as they all wind down to a quiet but affecting linkage between three generations of these women.

The cleverly wrapped-up finale might seem too neat and even mawkish to some, but this reviewer felt that it was mostly earned, principally because of the lovely, natural performances of a bevy of fine actresses.

Standouts among the actresses are Bening, a wholly believable prickly pear of an old maid who softens beautifully when she finds a man (Smits) who is her utter opposite, and Washington, a sweet and loving wife who threatens to upend her marriage with her single-minded desire for a child. There is also a striking and unexpected turn by Shareeka Epps as Ray, the pugnacious young pregnant woman who is tersely demanding in seeking adoptive parents. The fact is that distaff talent abounds in “Mother and Child,” where talented actresses like Cherry Jones, Amy Brenneman and Elizabeth Peña can burnish minor roles. (Rated “R” for mature themes, sexuality and language, the film runs 126 minutes.) ★

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A critic’s choice of new CDs. Check them out online to choose the ones that speak to you.

“My Foolish Heart,” “The Island,” “Moonlight in Vermont,” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”

Alameda ••• Aruan Ortiz Quartet, Fresh Sound Here is an album highlighting some fresh talents with a lot of verve and panache on pieces like “Alameda,” “Gregorio’s Mood” and “Green City.”

Musicians include Aruan Ortiz (piano), Abraham Burton (sax), Antoine Roney (sax), Peter Slavov (bass), and Eric McPherson (drums).

Seize The Night ••• Eric Felten, Melotone

Jasmine ••• Keith Jarrett/Charlie Haden, ECM 2165 Two great musicians and one great album of impeccable quality. Pianist Keith Jarrett and bassist Charlie Haden are in excellent form with highlights that include “For All We Know,” “One Day I’ll Fly Away,” “I Gonna Laugh You Right Out Of My Life,” “Body And Soul” and “Goodbye.”

Invitation ••• Beat Kaestli, Chesky Records A surprising and mesmerizing album that resonates from its vocal purity and its unerring aliveness. How did Beat Kaestli (vocals) and his musical pals accomplish this wonderful sound? Simply by applying commonsense to the world of technology.

Chesky Records promise to give you “the purest, most natural recordings made today captured with a single point microphone, using the world’s finest made electronics. No overdubs, no compressors in the signal path, no multitracking, and no large mixing consoles.” The result is an album you can live with, literally. Appearing on this album are Billy Drummond (drums), Jay Leonhart (bass), Paul Myers (guitar), Joel Frahn (sax), and Kenny Rampton (trumpet). Highlights include “Invitation,” 94 ★ HillRag | June 2010

The music is very spirited and free-flowing with a kind nightclub sensibility that is relaxing and comforting. Highlights include “Dancing In The Dark,” “Too Smart To Fall,” “Seize The Nihgt,” and “Three-Martini Lunch,” and “I’ve Got News For You.” Eric Felten sings and plays the trombone with Kenny Barron (piano), Dennis Irvin (bass), Jimmy Cobb (drums), and Don Braden (tenor sax).

Following Signs ••• Justin Janer, Janer Music The lovely and scintillating title track “Following Signs” should have set the whole tone of this album but it did not, and the result is a mixed-bag of exploratory jazz music. Nevertheless, the album is still worth listening to, especially “Fidelity” “Loss,” “California Sky,” and “Song For Suji.” Performers include Justin Janer (sax), Ambrose Akinmusire (trumpet), Fabian Almazan (piano), Sebastian Cruz (guitar), Ruben Samama (bass), Michael W. Davis (drums), and Will Clark (drums).

Clovis People Vol 3 ••• Otis Taylor, Telarc Otis Taylor is a masterful blues singer and is fine form here on “Rain So Hard,” “It’s Done Happened Again,” “Past Times” and “Coffee Woman.”

Joined At The Hip ••• Pinetop Perkins & Willie “Big Eyes” Smith,Telarc There is one song on this album that makes me just adore the blues and that song is “Eyesight To

The Blind.” It’s delightful song and warrants a little bit of nostalgia. Those of us who saw the movie, “Cadillac Records”, understood why the blues was so important to the American culture. It can be a tough world in its ups and downs and the blues is always there as part of our memories. Sometimes we cry; sometimes we laugh; sometimes we love and sometimes we lose love — and sometimes we get the blues. The blues are simply the stories of life’s experiences. ‘Joined At The Hip” offers us a glimpse of some good memories on “Grown Up To Be A Man,” “Gambling Blues,” “I Feel So Good” and “Lord, Lord, Lord.”

World Music Sentimento •••• Cesaria Evora, Lusafrica This is vintage Cesaria Evora with all of her innate passion and the breathtaking beauty her songs evoke. No other singer dispenses such a captivating aroma of her Cape Verdian culture with such majesty and love. Her voice leaves one in a swirl of exotic dance set against sun-drenched landscapes and endless blue skies. Newcomers should find this album a welcome introduction to the world of Ms. Evora, and it is a must-buy for her fans. Best offers: get all the songs on this outstanding album. On second thought try “Verde Cabo di Nhas Odjos,” “Zinha,” “Semtimento,” and “Noiva de Ceu.”

Protegid ••• Carmen Sousa, Galileo Music The songs maybe in Portuguese but the feelings are universal and it is all there for all of us to enjoy and reminisce. Such is the beauty of this gem from Carmen Sousa, an album with standouts like “Afr Ka,” “Protegid,” “Sodade,” “Song For my Father” and “Magia ca tem” All CDs and DVDS reviewed in this article are heard through Bowers & Wilkens 802D Speakers and ASW 4000 subwoofer, and Rotel Preamp 1070, amplif ier 1092 and CD player 1072. CDs are available for purchase through amazon.com For more information about this column, please email your questions to fagon@hillrag.com. ★

Kids & Family Kids & Family Notebook

by Mary-Frances Daly

Megan Shapiro (left) and Jennifer DeMayo (center) accept an award from CHGM on behalf of MOTH.

MoTH Honored for Support of Local Families The Capitol Hill Group Ministry held its annual “Mother’s Day Luncheon” on May 7, at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Southwest DC. The luncheon honors local mothers, and Megan Shapiro and Jennifer DeMayo from Moms on the Hill (MoTH) accepted the CHGM award, honoring their organization for making a difference in the lives of mothers and families in need on the Hill. MOTH has contributed many volunteer hours in purchasing and assembling gifts for homeless women, coordinating food drives, and distributing toys and clothing for children at Christmas. As Nicole Lawrence, a director of social services at CHGM, noted at the luncheon, “MOTH always comes to help us serve the community with such spirit and enthusiasm. We certainly could not provide the quality care we do without their loyal support.” For more information on MOTH, visit groups.yahoo.com/group/momsonthehill; for CHGM, visit chgm.net.

– submitted by Rindy O’Brien

Secretary of Education Visits Tyler On May 11, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited Tyler Elementary School (1001 G St. SE) in conjunction with the Childhood Obesity Task Force’s release of an action plan to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. Secretary Duncan chose Tyler because of the school’s focus on health and physical education. Duncan visited the Tyler Outdoor Classroom, watched a yoga class taught by Omar Kush, visited an art therapy class, and took part in a buckwheat pancake cooking demonstration by after school coordinator Thomasin Franken. A video of Secretary Duncan’s visit is available at http://www. ed.gov/blog/2010/05/Childhoodobesity-task-force-report/.

Art Gala Helps Fund DC SCORES After-School Program On May 19, DC SCORES hosted its first Inspired Art Gala. All of the proceeds from the charity event benefited DC SCORES, a nonprofit after-school program that uses soccer,

poetry and service-learning to inspire over 700 public elementary and middle school District youth.

Held at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the event was unique in several ways. A silent auction featured 70 pieces of art created mostly by local professionals that were inspired by the poems of DC SCORES students. The evening also featured performances by talented poets and spoken-word artists – of all levels.

Eight DC SCORES poets – Saba Amare (MacFarland MS), Henry Lozano (Tubman ES), Ingrid Melendez and Ingrid Villacorta (Columbia Heights Education Campus), James Peters (Raymond Education Center), Daniela Shia-Sevilla (H.D. Cooke ES), Jasia Smith (Burrville ES), and A’dora Willis (Arts and Technology Academy) – and four professionals took the stage to wow guests with spoken-word performances.

The professionals were: Gabriel “Asheru” Benn, a hip hop artist, educator and youth advocate who has won a Peabody award; Ayanna Gregory, a soul singer, songwriter and agent of change who has performed at major rallies with the likes of Stevie Wonder; David James, lead vocalist for Ndelible, an alternative/soul/hip hop band that has traveled to play shows with Common and others; and Christylez Bacon, who produces an eclectic blend of classical, jazz, hip-hop arrangements and lyricism.

In between performances, DC SCORES Executive Director Amy Nakamoto awarded Allen Y. Lew, executive director of the mayor’s Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, with the DC SCORES Inspiration Award.

Approximately 200 guests attended the gala, including about 30 of the artists who donated their works.

For more information on DC capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 95

202-633-1000, www.mnh.si.edu.

A-B-C’s of Stamp Collecting Workshop

Arne Duncan visits Tyler ES

SCORES, call 202-393-6999.

Seventh Annual MoTH Family Fest & Potluck Picnic The annual Moms on the Hill (MoTH) picnic will take place June 6, 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at Garfield Park (Third and G streets SE). This year’s event features two Hill bands: Free Lobster Buffet and Crash Chord (formerly Snap!) and DJ Adolphe. Hill restaurants will provide food (Belga, Café 8, Good Stuff Eatery, Granville Moore’s, Le Pain Quotidien, Matchbox, Montmarte, SouperGirl and Whipped Bakery), and many local businesses have donated items to the raffle – Metro Mutts, Monkeys’ Uncle, Groovyland, Zest, and Spa on the Hill, just to name a few. There will also be a dessert contest judged by celebrity judges Spike Mendelsohn of Good Stuff Eatery and Leah Daniels of Hill’s Kitchen. Buy T-shirts ($15) and raffle tickets and sign up to volunteer and contribute to the potluck on June 5, beginning at 8:30 a.m., outside Port City Java (corner of Seventh Street and North Carolina Avenue SE). Visit www.mothfamilyfest.com for more information.

A Montessori Night’s Dream Auction for Watkins’ Montessori Program The Capitol Hill Cluster School Montessori program at Watkins Elementary celebrates 20 years as a part of the Cluster School on June 18 at Eastern Market’s North Hall from 6 to 9 p.m. Auction items include lunch with DC Public 96 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, four tickets to join Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells in the city council box at a Nationals game, weekend getaways, and gift certificates to the Hill’s finest eating and shopping establishments. Entertainment will be provided by DC’s best jazz: featuring Janelle Gill, piano; Kris Funn, bass; and John Lamkin, drums. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at Frager’s or online at www.watkinsmontessori.org.

Register Now for Hill Havurah’s Co-op Preschool on the Hill Hill Havurah is launching a twoto three-morning-a-week Jewish cooperative pre-school on Capitol Hill starting this fall and has openings available. This teacher-led program with parental involvement will offer a warm and loving environment to help socialize children and expose them to Jewish culture, including holidays, Jewish music and rudimentary Hebrew while preparing them for a life of learning. Learn more at the Hill Havurah website (www.hillhavurah.org) and click on “Hill Jewish preschool.” There is no birthday cut-off, and a $75 deposit holds a spot.

Join Janet Klug on June 6, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the National Postal Museum, for a stamp collecting workshop. Klug (immediate past president of the American Philatelic Society and member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee) guides participants through topical stamp collecting, using mounts and hinges and discovering more about their stamps. This workshop is popular with adults and kids alike. Free, but pre-registration encouraged. 2 Massachusetts Ave. NE. 202-633-5533, www.postalmuseum.si.edu.

•

Flag Day Family Festival Head over to the National Museum of American History June 12, for an all-day family festival in honor of Flag Day. The celebration includes a children’s citizenship ceremony, performances from the Fifes and Drums of New York, and a flag-folding activity. Free. 202-633-1000, americanhistory.si.edu.

•

Urban Animals Workshop The National Building Museum hosts an “Urban Animals” workshop June 20, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Children ages 6 to 18 can explore wild Washington as they walk around the museum’s neighborhood searching for animals in the architecture.

The fun-filled family activity is led by children’s book author Isabel Hill and concludes with a hands-on craft project. $10-$15. Advance registration is required. 401 F St. NW. 202272-2448, www.nbm.org.

•

Performances at Discovery Theater •

World Ocean Day Family Festival Celebrate World Ocean Day June 5, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the National Museum of Natural History, with activities for the whole family. Learn about our connection to and impact on the world ocean and how science makes our understanding of the world ocean possible. Free. Constitution Avenue and 10th Street NW.

•

troit Percussion Ensemble playing a variety of instruments. $4$6.

All Aboard! Songs and Stories from America’s Railroads. June 9, 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Ripley Center. Through songs and stories of the American frontier, Iowan Frank Strong Jr. (aka “Freight Train” Frank) delights young audiences with the melodies and memories of America’s collective past. $4-$6.

The Magic Seeds, with Uganda Deaf Silent Theatre. June 10, 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Ripley Center. Using a sublime mixture of dancing, gesture, and sign language, Uganda Deaf Silent Theatre tells the story of a young man who is tricked into selling his pumpkins for a handful of seeds and ends up a hero. $4-$6.

Dynamo Day of Dance. June 11, 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Ripley Center. Bringing together artists from Central America and the nation’s capital, VSA Guatemala’s Youth Dance Company and Maryland’s Wild Zappers contrast the flash and spirit of traditional flamenco with the contemporary jazz/funk/hip-hop of the United States. $4-$6.

Giggles: “The Girl Who Made the Whole World Laugh.”June 12, 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

Ripley Center. Giggles, the 10-

•

Rocknoceros. June 4, 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Ripley Center.

The trio known as Rocknoceros covers a dizzying range of musical styles in each set, from Tin Pan Alley to the shores of Jamaica. $3-$6.

AfroBEATS. June 8, 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Ripley Center.

This percussion-focused jam features young performers from VSA Michigan’s artsJAM! De-

MacFarland Middle School’s Saba Amare with the piece of artwork inspired by her poem, “My Time of Sorrow.”

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 97

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year-old star of McDuffle’s Circus, takes center ring every night to share her contagious giggle with the audience. Born without a voice, but with the ability to giggle, Giggles was raised by the circus when her parents left to find a cure for Giggle’s giggles. $4-$6.

• Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. June 18, 10:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., Ripley Center. Everyone will groove to the positive beats, with an awesome balance of education and entertainment, this unique artist will have everyone on their feet, dancing, and shouting for joy. $4-$6.

The theater is located at 1100 Jefferson Drive SW. For more information and tickets, call 202-633-8700 or visit discoverytheater. org.

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Each year, VSA issues a nationwide call for art through VSA state affiliates that encourages children and youth to share their creativity. This year’s theme, “State of the Art,” asked children to consider the roles they play within their communities. The resulting exhibition, which runs through June 12, at Union Station, features one piece of artwork from every state and the District of Columbia. All submissions are included in an online gallery. The exhibition debuts in Washington, DC, and will tour nationally for two years. This exhibit is free. For more information, call 202-6282800 or visit www.vsarts.org.

Teach the Beat: Go-Go Music from West Africa to Washington, DC Did you know that the beat that makes Go-Go music go can be traced to the beats that were developed in parts of Africa many years ago? Go-Go music co-authors of “The Beat! Go-Go Music From Washington, DC”, Charles Stephenson and Kip Lornell, will lead a discussion and demonstration on how Go-Go music emerged in Washington, DC, on June 5, 1 p.m., at the Anacostia Community Museum. Other guests include: Shuaib Mitchell, the director of the Straight Up Go-Go DVD; choreographer/dancer Melvin Deal; and musicians Thirtytwo of the Northeast Groovers and Go-Go Mickey of Rare Essence. Books and DVDs are available for purchase. Free. 1901 Fort Place SE. 202633-4844, anacostia.si.edu.

Family Fiesta: Viva México Bring the family to spend a day at the 98 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Anacostia Community Museum, June 26, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and celebrate Mexico in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibition, “The African Presence in México: From Yanga to the Present.” Experience the sound, look, arts and culture of Mexico through dance performances, live music, costumes, storytelling, arts and crafts, and more.

This day promises to be full of activities for all ages. Funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Free. 1901 Fort Place SE. 202-633-4875, anacostia.si.edu.

Girls Make History Day at the US Navy Museum Children (and their dolls) are invited to spend June 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., discovering naval history through the eyes of their favorite American Girl characters. Authors Valerie Tripp and Jacqueline Dembar Greene sign books, plus there are hands-on activities that explore the eras of Felicity, Addy, Samantha, Kit, Kirsten, Rebecca and Molly. Free, but advance registration is required. The museum is located at 805 Kidder Breese St. SE. 202433-6826, www.history.navy.mil.

DC Neighborhood Library Schedule Northeast Library Story time, ages 3-7, June 1 & 3, 10 a.m.; June 7 & 14, 4 p.m. Book club, ages 8-12, June 3, 4 p.m. Music and Movement, June 5, 10:30 a.m. Tween club, June 5, 4 p.m.

Summer reading programs, June 2 (ages 6+), June 9 (ages 12+), June 16 (ages 6+) & June 23 (ages 12+), 4 p.m. Teen movie night, ages 12-19, June 9, 5:30-7:30 p.m. French story time and craft, June 19, 10:30 a.m. Teen gaming night, ages 12-19, June 16, 5:307:30 p.m. Origami club, ages 12-19, June 24, 4-5 p.m. 330 Seventh St. NE. 202-6983320, www.dclibrary.org.

Northwest One Library Get Crafty, arts and crafts for ages 8-18, June 19, 1 p.m. Game night for all ages, every Tuesday, 5 p.m. Story times for children on Wednesday mornings: baby/toddler lap time, 10 a.m.; tales for 2’s and 3’s, 10:30 a.m. 155 L St. NW. 202-939-5946, www.dclibrary. org/northwest.

Southeast Library Preschool story time, ages 3-5, Wednesdays, 10-10:30 a.m. Baby/toddler story time, ages 3 and under, Wednesdays, 11-11:30 a.m.

Tales for 2’s and 3’s Fridays, 10-10:30 a.m.

403 Seventh St. SE. 202-698-3377, www. dclibrary.org/southeast.

Southwest Library Juneteenth, an all-ages celebration commemorating the end of slavery in Texas and throughout the US with music, storytelling, poetry and dance, June 19, 2 p.m. Preschool story time, ages 2-5, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. 900 Wesley Place SW. 202-7244752, www.dclibrary.org/southwest.

The Family Room Schedule for June The Family Room, located at 411 Eighth St. SE, has the following schedule for June.

The calendar is subject to change, so please call to confirm dates. Visit the website for detailed class descriptions.

• Kindermusik Our Time, Thursdays, 1010:45 a.m., for ages 1 ½ to 3. Eight-week session began May 13, but inquire about joining and paying pro-rated fees.

• Kindermusik Village, Fridays, noon12:45 p.m., for ages newborn to 1 ½.

Eight-week session began May 21, but inquire about joining and paying prorated fees.

• Spanish story time, Tuesdays, 1:30-1:45 p.m.; French story time, Thursdays, 12:30-12:45 p.m.

• Music for infants, Tuesdays, noon-12:30 p.m.; Music and movement story time, Wednesday, 9:15-9:30 a.m.; Music for 1’s and 2’s, Wednesdays, 10-10:30 a.m., Fridays, 11-11:30 a.m.

• Activity time, Wednesdays, 2-2:15 p.m.

Please call 202-640-2855 for the most up-to-date information. Check out www. thefamilyroomdc.com for pricing and more details.

Children’s Programs at NCM The National Children’s Museum will host the following activities for children in June at the National Harbor’s Launch Zone: • Firefly Kickoff. June 5, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Kick off a day of special firefly activities to celebrate the launch of a new game on the Ready, Set, Glow! website called, “Help Flicker Find His Mate.” Visitors can make their own firefly flashlight, and see a “glowing” firefly show. Visit the website at www.ReadySetGlow.org!

Free.

• Wee Wonders: The People in Your Neighborhood. June 8 & 15, 10-11:15 a.m. Learn about firefighters, policemen and women, mail carriers, and other community heroes and the jobs they do

alongside your young child in this fun, fast-paced program. For ages 2-3 with a parent/caregiver. Limit two children per adult, $10 per child. Pre-registration and advance payment is required. Please call 301-686-0225 or e-mail RSVP@ncm. museum to register.

• Firefly Frenzy. June 12, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Learn more about fireflies and celebrate the new game on the Ready, Set, Glow! website, www.ReadySetGlow.org, with firefly crafts and a special firefly story time. Free.

• Shake, Rattle and Drum Roll. June 19, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Explore various musical instruments from around the world. Try your hand at the cow bell, guiro, maracas, claves, rain stick, finger cymbals, and seed rattle. Make your own instrument to take home and be part of impromptu musical parades. Free.

• Once Upon a Time. June 21, 23, 25 and 26, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Explore the fairytale worlds of elves, fairies, goblins, trolls, giants, gnomes and magic during a story time followed by a craft. Free.

• Fireworks and Patriotic Fun. June 28, 30, July 2 and 3. 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Celebrate Independence Day with astonishing firework art. Free.

NCM is located at 112 Waterfront St., National Harbor, Md. 301-686-0225, www. ncm.museum.

Capitol Hill’s Eighth Annual Fourth of July Parade and Family Picnic Needs YOU! The Capitol Hill Community Fourth of July Parade returns on July Fourth, and once again features the Commandant’s Own Drum and Bugle Corps and families throughout the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

The parade begins at Eighth and I Streets SE, heads north on Eighth Street, left on D Street and ends at the Eastern Market Metro Plaza where everyone is invited to attend the Fourth of July Family Festival.

Parade coordinator Sharon Boesen is now recruiting volunteers. Call 202-230-4588 or e-mail sharonboesen@gmail.com to volunteer or for more information.

Have a listing for the Kids & Family Notebook? E-mail kidsnotebook@hillrag.com by the 20th of the month prior to publication.

Submissions may be edited. Publication is not guaranteed. ★

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kidsfamily school notes

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Capitol Hill Day School News CHDS Student Wins Young Playwrights Award

Washington Yu Ying News

This year, over 500 students from the Washington area submitted 10 minute plays to Arena Stage Young Playwrights contest. A 13-year old Capitol Hill Resident, Eleanor Tolf, was the only 8th grader to win in this city-wide contest. Eleanor, who attends Capitol Hill Day School, won with her submission of “A Skipped Breakfast,” a story about a troubled young man who has a high IQ and has difficulty coping with life and romance.

Dragon Festival Gala and Auction on June 6

Muchísimas Gracias y Viva Capitol Hill Day School!

CHDS parents display 5th grade art project during the live auction.

[Credit: David MacLeod]

Every spring at Capitol Hill Day School’s auction, parents, alumni, teachers, staff, and community friends gather to enjoy each other’s company, good food and drink, and raise funds to support the programs and teachers of the School. This year’s auction theme was “Havana Nights,” and Eastern Market’s North Hall was transformed into a Caribbean paradise, complete with mojitos and island music.

Planning for the auction begins in the fall, with parent co-chairs working with the Development Office to choose a theme and location, and begin organizing over 60 parent volunteers whose hard work is vital to the auction’s success each year. In addition to donating their time and talent, CHDS parents donated vacation homes, catered dinners, and live tapings of The Daily Show and Face the Nation. Businesses throughout the DC area are also generous donors, contributing art, clothing, jewelry, books, toys, and gift certificates for restaurants and sports events. Items donated by CHDS faculty are especially popular – lunch with a PreK teacher, a Billy Goat Trail hike with fourth grade teachers, a Nats game, a visit to the Spy Museum, and a tour of the Organization of American States, plus a cooking lesson, dinner and a movie from the Spanish teachers!

The most sought after items, however, are the class art projects. Each item is made by the stu-

dents during Art class and relates to an aspect of their curriculum. Second graders made floor cloths using Navajo Indian tribal symbols. As part of their study of China, fifth-graders made two mosaic wall hangings, influenced by the dragon wall in China.

Kindergarteners made a one-of-a-kind quilt with individually-designed squares that they prepared and assembled with the help of a quilter who is also a class parent. Seventh graders painted an end table in the style of the Impressionists, using themes from their science study of Chesapeake Bay ecosystems.

Thanks to the willing and generous support of the school’s extended community, Capitol Hill Day School is a regional education leader, with its integrated curriculum, community focus, and the finest field education program in the area.

100 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Congratulations to Capitol Hill Day School’s Class of 2010!

Twenty-two eighth graders have enrolled in 12 different high schools for next fall. They received acceptance letters from Archbishop Carroll, Banneker, Duke Ellington, Edmund Burke, Elizabeth Seton, Field, Georgetown Day, Holton Arms, Landon, Maret, Nora, Potomac, St. Andrew’s, St. John’s, St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes, School Without Walls, Sidwell Friends, South River, Washington Interna-

Washington Yu Ying PCS will hold its first Gala and Auction on June 6, 2010 at the Meridian International Center. This event will include an exciting Lion Dance performance by the Wong People, music and brunch hors’d oeuvres. Auction items include a canoe trip on the Potomac, trapeze lessons, and pie making classes as well as getaways, dining experiences, apparel and jewelry. Babysitting is available at the DCJCC. All proceeds will go to supporting the International Baccalaureate and Chinese Immersion programs at Washington Yu Ying. To purchase tickets, go to http://events. washingtonyuying.org/ or email YuYingGala@ washingtonyuying.org for more information. The Meridian International Center is located at 1630 Crescent Place, NW. Washington Yu Ying PCS is at 4401 8th St. NE, www.washingtonyuying.org

St. Anselm’s School News St. Anselm’s Eagle Scout Help Maury In April, Boy Scouts from Troop 100 met at Maury Elementary School to participate in an Eagle Scout service project. In five hours, the group of about 25 young people cleared a portion of the yard on Maury’s 13th St. side and installed five large benches. The benches are arranged in a circle so that they might serve as an outdoor classroom for the students and teachers of Maury.

The troop’s Senior Patrol Leader, Matthew Bond, led the Eagle Scout project. He had been preparing the benches for several weeks, meeting with friends to sand and weather-proof the wood.

Matthew Bond is a senior at St. Anselm’s Abbey School which is located about 15 minutes from the Hill in North Michigan Park. Matthew got the idea to complete his Eagle Scout project while serving as a volunteer tutor at Maury during this past school year. Upon completing the project and other

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 101

kidsfamily school notes Cluster School News Cluster Students Get Fit

Boy Scout Troup 100, accompanied by parents and Maury Principal Carolyne Albert-Garvey, with the new benches

requirements, he will become an Eagle Scout, thus achieving the highest possible rank in the Boy Scouts.

Matthew will be attending Washington University in St. Louis next year.

St. Anselm’s is an independent, Roman Catholic school for academically gifted boys in grades 6 – 12.

Limited spaces are still available for fall 2010. For more information, contact E.V. Downey, Director of Admissions, at admissions@saintanselms.org.- by Matthew Bond, St. Anselm’s Abbey School, 4501 South Dakota Avenue, NE.

Tyler Elementary News US Education Secretary Arne Duncan Visits Tyler US Education Secretary Arne Duncan visited Tyler Elementary School’s After Care program on May 11. Here is what he observed: “Today, Washington, D.C. the parents and teachers [at Tyler Elementary School] demonstrated that a focus on health and physical education can have a powerful impact on children’s well-being and achievement. Recognizing that children had no access to a safe park or playground, parents applied for and recently received grants to build an outdoor classroom on the school’s grounds.

Parents and teachers also are working with local organizations to incorporate a yoga and fitness component into Tyler’s after-school program.

Also in the after-school program, 102 ★ HillRag | June 2010

US Secretary Arne Duncan Visits Tyler Elementary School

coordinators offer cooking classes that educate children on the importance of nutrition. On the horizon are partnerships with farm-to-school networks that will incorporate locally grown produce into the school’s lunch program.

“Results at Tyler are promising.

Children and families have a better understanding of how to make healthier choices. Test scores are up, and the teachers and parents notice that the children are more engaged in their learning. Through the First Lady’s leadership and by learning from examples such as the healthful programming and partnerships at Tyler Elementary School, our goal of ending childhood obesity can be achieved.”

For more information on Tyler Elementary School, visit http://tylerelementary.net/.

First Lady Michelle Obama has made getting America’s kids off the couch and out exercising her signature initiative, hosting “Let’s Move” events at the White House and across the country. Cluster parent Elizabeth Brooks has been singing from the same songbook for several years, and says she’s been gratified to see an uptick in interest this year. Brooks, who has her own personal training business and is a popular group fitness teacher at Results the Gym, has been running a training program to help Cluster School teachers, staff, students and parents train for the schools annual Capitol Hill Classic 10K race for the past few years. She’s had an increase in the number of kids participating in her Cluster 10K Challenge Training Group from a handful last year to fully one-third of her group of thirtyfive this year.

Brooks says she’s really excited at how eager the kids are to train, and thinks the First Lady’s campaign is having a positive impact. She notes though that parents are the best messengers to spread the word about the importance of fitness to kids, so she encourages them set a good example for their children when it comes to regular exercise. The 31st Annual Capitol Hill Classic, a fundraiser that supports a variety of educational pro-

grams, facility improvements and other initiatives at the Cluster, was run on May 16. For more information about Ms. Brooks’ program, check out www. thinkingcorrectly.com. For information on the race, go to www.capitolhillclassic.com.

Edible Schoolyard, Healthier Meals at Peabody Peabody students will be met by two big changes at the beginning of the new school year: an “Edible Schoolyard” modeled after the one built at the Watkins campus two years ago, and a new healthier meals program, courtesy of the District’s newly enacted “Health Schools Act” and a DCPS pilot program that will bring healthy meals made with locallygrown foods to a number of schools beginning in August.

Peabody is one of seven schools selected for the Portable Meals pilot program, which will provide nutritional meals using a significant percentage of locally-grown ingredients to schools with small kitchen facilities (another seven will get “from scratch” meals meeting the same standards). Peabody parent Laura Marks, who helped organize the Edible Schoolyard project and is a member of the DC Farm-toSchool Network’s parent committee, says the new meals should provide “a significant improvement in the quality of the food,” by implementing

CHCS students, parents and teachers train for Capitol Hill Classic 10K.

strict new nutritional standards that “would eliminate trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, fried foods, and artificial flavors and sweeteners” from student meals.

In addition, she says, the DCPS RFP mandates substantial local sourcing of ingredients and requires that meal packaging be designed to reduce waste.

At the same time, Peabody students will be growing their own produce in the school’s new Edible Schoolyard, which was recently constructed with help from Hands on DC volunteers, parents, and teachers.

Stuart-Hobson Students Visit Supreme Court Eight Stuart-Hobson sixth graders were honored at a May 7th Supreme Court ceremony for essays they wrote about how they would use the law the make a difference in their community.

As winners of the 2010 Law

Stuart-Hobson Students Visit Supreme Court

Day Essay Competition, which is sponsored by the National Capital Lawyers Auxiliary, they had written persuasively about what the law means to them and how they saw it as a potential tool for addressing problems or issues faced by our city or nation. Each student got to meet Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who spoke briefly at the award ceremony but said she wanted to reserve most of the time to hear from the students who were being honored. Every student read an excerpt from his or her essay, with topics ranging from DC voting rights to immigration policy. capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 103

kidsfamily school notes

Moms On The Hill

Stuart-Hobson language arts teacher Nzingha Tingling-Clemmons, who accompanied her students to the Supreme Court, said she was impressed by the depth of analysis reflected in their essays, noting that one student examined the relationship between the law and other moral codes – including rules set by family, school, and her peers – before discussing her central theme. Ms. TinglingClemmons also said the contest was a useful tool for building citizenship skills in all of her students, which she believes is an important part of the educational process for students at this age. Congratulations to the essay contest winners!

The Capitol Hill Cluster School has three campuses: the Peabody Early Childhood Center, at 425 C Street, NE (698-3277), Watkins Elementary, at 420 12th Street, SE (698-3355), and Stuart-Hobson Middle School , at 410 E Street, NE (6716010).

Mulan Under the direction of music director Mrs. Towson-Williams, St. Peter School brought to life the Disney favorite, Mulan. Forty students in grades two through eight brought down the house in a rousing rendition centered on a young girl who disguises herself as a man to help her family and her country. Full of daring action and hilarious characters, the funfilled performance celebrated honor, courage, and the importance of family. Three months of rehearsals, fundraising and costume design resulted in a sold out evening performance capped off by a fantastic cast party the follow-

2010 MoTH Family Fest Sunday June 6, 2010 From 3:30-7:00 pm at Garfield Park A Very Big Thank You to all our top sponsors:

Gypsy MoTH ($1,000+) Rob Bergman RE/MAX 202.262.3848 • www.robbergman.com Chris Cox Acacia Mortgage Acacia Mortgage • 202.543.6830 Grubb’s Care Pharmacy 202.543.4400 • www.grubbscare.com The National Capital Bank of Washington 202.546.8000 • www.nationalcapitalbank.com P&P Construction 202.548.0404 • www.pandpbuilders.com

MoTH ($750 - $999) Meg Shapiro & George Olson, REMAX Allegiance Meg 202.329.4068 • George 202.203.0339 The Norris Team • www.megandgeorge.com

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Bed and Breakfast DC 877.893.3233 • www.bedandbreakfastdc.com Real Plumbers 301.567.2001 • www.realplumbers.net Keil Construction 202.544.5345 • www.keilconstruction.com And a special thank you to all our other generous sponsors, volunteers, and MoTH Families that helped to make this the biggest and best year ever!

104 ★ HillRag | June 2010

St. Peter’s School News Talent, Talent Everywhere!

The Comedy of Errors The St. Peter School Shakespeare Club, founded in 2001 by then-fifth-grade student Michael Woodhull, once again hit the Folger Theatre stage. This spring, the group of interested students in grades five and six met after school for nine weeks to rehearse a Shakespearean scene Members of the St. Peter School Shakespeare Club. Phot by Gregg Porter in preparation for the annual Folger Children’s Shakespeare Festival. This year marks the club’s seventh ap- ing afternoon. Congratulations to Mrs. Towpearance at the Festival. The club performed a son-Williams for producing another wondershortened version of The Comedy of Errors, ful production! a story of two sets of identical twins tragically separated at birth who suddenly (and Student Talent Night unknowingly) find themselves as adults in the Student Talent Night is an evening desame town on the same day. Needless to say, signed to showcase and celebrate St. Peter mix-ups abound! Couple nonstop confusion School students’ talents. The evening began with colorful 70’s costumes (including amazwith a performance by the school band, which ing acid green snakeskin pants) and you get placed in this year’s Archdiocesan music coman idea of this truly unique performance. A petition, and was followed by a showcase of special thank you to school librarian Barbara talent including vocals, piano, guitar, dancing, Ochmanek for sharing her time and talent to poetry reading and magic. St. Peter’s Church direct the fantastic performance!

The third grade classes at Payne Elementary impressed celebrity chef Rachael Ray and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York with their knowledge of healthy eating.

hall was packed with proud families and friends on hand to cheer on the St. Peter School stars! –Sally Aman.

422 Third Street, SE; 202-544-1618, www.stpetersinterparish.org.

Payne Elementary News Rachael Ray Comes to Payne Payne Elementary School was honored to host Rachael Ray and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on May 11, 2010. Ms. Gillibrand and Ms. Ray are combining efforts with our First Lady, Michelle Obama, to fight childhood obesity by advocating for an increase in the amount of money the federal government spends on school breakfast and lunch programs.

While at Payne, Ms. Gillibrand and Ms. Ray engaged the third grade students in games about the food we eat and asked the students to share their personal knowledge of healthy eating. The student’s enthusiasm and knowledge about being healthy and cooking healthy food thrilled the guests. Clips of the visit are available on Payne‘s Facebook page and You Tube. – by Vielka I. Scott-Marcus, Principal, Kyle Evans, World Cultures Catalyst Coordinator, Juanita Stokes, Preschool Teacher.

Learning from the Animal Safari Payne Elementary School stu-

dents fed camels, played with baby pigs and birds, and observed many other animals when the animal safari visited in early May. At Payne Elementary students are exposed to the world beyond the walls of the classroom. The early childhood students concluded their study of animals with an opportunity to see and touch many of the animals they had studied when a real life safari appeared in the schoolyard! Students made connections to stories they had read and discussed how to care for and respect wildlife. Especially exciting to the students were the Patagonian cavy, the third largest rodent in the world, the camel, and the ultra soft chinchilla.

Brent Elementary News Brent’s Receives Prestigious Grant for the School’s Chinese Program Robert Brent Elementary School, which is a DCPS museum magnet school, recently received a prestigious grant for the continuation of the school’s Chinese language program.

When students return to school after summer break, Brent students will welcome a new exchange teacher from China thanks to the Teachers of Critical Languages Program. capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 105

Brents students in their Chinese class.

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The program is funded by the State Department and administered by the American Councils for International Education.

Only 17 schools across the United States were chosen from a highly competitive process to host a teacher for 2010-2011.

“We are extremely grateful to the American Councils for their generous support,” said Brent PTA president Daniel Holt. “Over the past three years, Brent has hosted Chinese teachers and our program is getting stronger every year. We have some really exciting things planned for upcoming school year, including an enhanced Chinese aftercare program for our students.”

“When the school year comes to a close, the Brent community will sadly say good bye to this year’s exchange teacher, Ms. Yifang Yu,” said Tobie Meyer-Fong, Brent parent and liaison for school’s Chinese program. “The entire Brent community will greatly miss Ms. Yu. But we are so grateful for everything she has shared with all of us, everything she has taught our children about the Chinese language, and Chinese arts and culture. She has given our students a better understanding of the Chinese language and culture.”

Brent’s students and families will honor the school’s two Chinese teachers. Ms. Joanna Lijuan Xu, who teaches pre-k and K Chinese and Ms. Yu, with a “Brick for Brent” that will be part of the school sidewalk for years to come.

Ending the School Year At Brent Brent students will celebrate the end a great school year with two June events: an end-of-the-year schoolwide picnic at Garfield Park and Brent families will take in a Nationals baseball game. –Angie Lundberg.

Robert Brent Elementary School Brent is located at 301 North Carolina Avenue, SE, serves students in grades PK-3 through 5th grade. For more information about Brent, visit www.brentelementary.org or call 202-698-3363.

Ludlow-Taylor News Ludlow-Taylor is Busy May has been a busy month at Ludlow-Taylor. They welcomed the month with a Mother’s Day Tea, honoring the community’s mothers, grandmothers, and all maternal figures. The celebration opened with a Latin flavored processional choreographed by Ms. Bonilla. A youth fashion show coordinated by Ms. Olivis followed, with students proudly strutting by in their Sunday best. The LTES Pom Pom Cheerleaders and Band, under the direction of Ms. Clark, raised spirits with their acrobatics and growing repertoire. After a brief intermission, all students came to the stage and sang Boyz II Men’s “A Song for Mama.”

The evening concluded with a buffet of light fare and desserts. In addition to those mentioned above, special thanks goes out to music con-

– a program put on by the Washington Bach Consort in which students interact with a ‘tween’-aged Johan Sebastian Bach. Students learn about music theory and instruments used

by Bach, and teachers are given resources to follow up at school. “It was cool how they put together going back in time with Bach and learning about music,” said. Bashira McCallister. “The show was very detailed about Bach. It went back in time when Bach was young and old. It was hilarious and cool,” said Destyni Tyree.

Making North Lincoln Park Safer

Maury 5th graders pose with young Bach. [credit: Brittany May.]

ductor Mr. Crawford and the entire aftercare crew for bringing the event together.

The PTA recognized the heroic efforts of LTES teachers and staff with a luncheon catered by Bistro Italiano during Teacher Appreciation Week.

Students have also begun to embark on an array of off campus adventures, visiting the Postal Museum, Botanical Gardens, Zoo, Discovery Theater, and a local farm for strawberry picking. The fifth-graders are slated to visit Elliot Hine Middle School to get a glimpse of what they have to look forward to next year.

Much progress has been made on the effort to update the courtyard, transforming it into a green, outdoor learning space. The plan calls for dividing the planting area around the perimeter of the courtyard into three distinct sections. One section will highlight native plants, one will feature butterfly attracting plants, and one will focus on vegetables and herbs. Two new rain barrels will be added, and those that are currently present will remain for overflow. Arts Coordinator, Ms. Derrick, will work with students to create large murals and mosaics and signage for the new plants. In addition, a storage shed will be installed to house child-friendly tools and lap desks. The school is also contracting with local organizations to provide professional development for teachers to maximize the space’s potential. The facelift is made possible by funds generously donated by the Jordanian Embassy.

– Daniel Kirsch. 659 G St. NE; 202-698-3244.

Maury Elementary News Maury Goes Bach in Time Mrs. Cooper’s 5th grade went “Bach in Time”

Maury is in The Safe Routes to School Program, part of which is “Walking Wednesday.” Maury parents and children are asked to walk

for a chess tournament. After a total of 70 games, Maury won 39-37. Jonnie Kennebrew, Destiny Tyree, Bryony Arline, and Sheldon McCloud received trophies for the best individual results. Asya Williams and Zyrie Palmer were undefeated. The match was organized by the US Chess Center, in cooperation with Tyler ES and Maury ES. Congratulations to all participants!

- Heather Schoell. Maury Elementary, 1250 Constitution Ave., NE. Carolyne Albert-Garvey, Principal. www.mauryelementary.com (202) 6983838. Check us out on Facebook!

River Park Nursery News End of the Year River Park Nursery School is ending a memorable year with a few exciting events. The children are looking forward to a special trip on the Metro

River Park Nursery school students celebrate Mother’s Day with their families and teachers, Miss Bernadette and Miss Natalie

or bike to school every Wednesday leading up to our May 19 “Bike and Walk to School Day” from Lincoln Park. Safe Routes is a federal program, implemented through DDOT that will implement changes to improve pedestrian safety on the streets that lead to school, while promoting an active lifestyle for families.

to the National Mall and a ride on the carousel. The children also performed in a “Mother’s Day Soiree” with songs and poems for family and friends. All the RPNS families would like to give a big ‘thank you’ to Miss Bernadette and Miss Natalie for their guidance and love throughout the past year. -Suzanne Nelson. suzcnn@yahoo.com; 212 East Capitol St. 202-546-7767. ★

Maury/Tyler Chess Event On March 26, 20 kids from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades at Maury walked to Tyler Elementary capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 107

kidsfamily

Celebrating Young Poets in an Old Tradition Winners of Folger Shakespeare Library’s 2010 Sonnet Contest

By Amy Arden

S

onnets started kicking around the Western literary canon almost 700 years ago, when Petrarch penned words of unrequited love to the beautiful and aloof Laura. On April 25, the sonnet tradition struck a much more local and contemporary vibe as Clay Tamburri, Nina Moiseiwitsch, and Nora Sandler were honored as winners of the during the annual Shakespeare’s Birthday Open House festivities.

Under the inscrutable gaze of a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I, a small crowd of family and fans gathered in the Folger’s Founders’ Room to hear the winning poems, topics of which ranged from a chess match to nascent relationships.

“The winning poems are exemplary work, you

took top honors in the 10th through 12th grade category, was inspired by the Queen hit “She Makes Him” and Sandler’s participation in Shakespeare’s Sisters, a student poetry program at the Folger that explores works by and about women.

“I’ve started writing more poetry because of that. It was a lot of fun,” said Sandler, 17, a senior at Richard Montgomery High School. Sandler is also the Maryland state champion for Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation contest for high school students, and won third place in the national competition held in Washington, DC on April 27.

“The Sweater,” the winning poem in the 7th through 9th grade category, was written by poetry newcomer Nina Moiseiwitsch,15, a freshman at Sidwell Friends School.

“I’ve written, like, one poem before. This is the first time I’ve done this,” she said.

Clay Tamburri, 9, won for “Untitled” in the 4th through 6th grade category.

Winners each received a complete set of the Folger Editions of Shakespeare’s plays as well as his sonnets.

The winning poems are also published on the Folger Shakespeare Library website.

2010 Sonnet Contest winners Nina Moiseiwitsch and Nora Sandler, with Teri Cross Davis (center), Other happenings Folger Poetry and Lectures Coordinator. Photo by Tim Swoape. at the Bard-themed bash included an open really stood out above the crowd,” said Teri rehearsal of Folger Theatre’s spring production Cross Davis, Poetry and Lectures Coordinator Hamlet, craft and activity stations where visitors at the Folger. The winners were selected from over could blend potpourri, watch a Renaissance print70 entries, with prizes awarded in each of three cat- ing press in action, or try on Elizabethan clothegories based on grade level: 4th through 6th, 7th ing, and entertainment by musicians, jugglers, and through 9th, and 10th through 12th.

Shakespeare improv performers the Nickel ShakeNora Sandler’s sonnet “She Makes Him,” which speare Girls. ★

Untitled

By Clay Tamburri At first you were bragging about your skill And I just smirked and focused on the board.

Everything was good in the game until You captured my queen with your claymore sword.

You laughed and said, “I’m really good at chess,” But I didn’t care, I just stared at the squares, And said quietly, “I couldn’t care less.”

Just then, I had a plan to get your mares.

I captured your horses and laughed out loud, And you started losing your tame temper.

Right after you got over your mad cloud of anger, you saw your king in danger.

At first you thought that you were really great, But I had the pleasure to say “Checkmate!”

The Sweater

By Nina Moiseiwitsch The sweater only meant to keep me warm On chilly April days when words became Ice crystals shining through the thin air torn By whipping wind; despite your obvious claim, I rightly took it to mean more when you With eager hands told me it was my own.

Desire placed seeds of hope it might be true A sweater could keep you here as you roam Where I may always feel your memory.

So even when you’re far away up North Where winds howl loud, I’ll know in every day I’ve got a piece of you left henceforth With me to warm my back -- and soul -- in cold So blossoms grow anew there and unfold She Makes Him

By Nora Sandler She knows her place: in the acknowledgements, On the back page. Or, more cryptically, The dedication, measured to make sense To her alone, addressed elliptically.

He sees her shadow lean against the wall And pins it there, so he can better note These lines: a curling finger and the small Curve of her back, the neat edge of her throat.

She knows her job: to smile and lightly touch With fingertips, to break up into neat Straight lines, and not to hang around too much.

He is her one great work, almost complete.

She lets him trace those lines a while more, Then leaves the house, and softly shuts the door.

108 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Health & Fitness Adaptive Rowing Fostering Independence, Strength and Confidence in Two Disabled Men

By Pattie Cinelli

J

ason Beagle, 35, and Laurent Piereth, 25, each have a disability.

Jason was able bodied until the age of 19 when his spinal cord was injured in a car accident. Laurent was born with cerebral palsy. Neither had ever rowed nor did they think they would be able to participate in a sport that required the use of two good legs. Now, through the establishment of the Capital Adaptive Rowing Program (CARP) both men aspire to row in the 2010 Paralympics in London.

Jason “Will, desire and motivation are the keys,” said Jason who learned soon after his accident how important exercise, stretching and moving is to his well-being. When he began physical therapy after his accident, he noticed

how different he felt on the days he did therapy compared to those days he did not. He also noticed how differently people he knew all his life looked at him in a body brace. “They were uncomfortable about my being in a wheelchair.”

Jason long ago abandoned the wheel chair and the leg brace, which he keeps as a reminder of how far he has come. He’s had to persevere. “I want my body back. I push my physical therapist more than he pushes me sometimes. I choose daily to focus on the positive.”

Jason daily workouts at the gym are a daily battle. “As much as I love it, it’s still an annoyance, but if I don’t do it my aches and pains are much worse.”

When Jason moved to DC in 2003, he saw crews rowing on the riv-

er. “My father loved the water and as a kid we had canoes and sailboats and spent every summer on the water, so rowing piqued my interest.”

Jason, who is a stage director for the American Center Theater in VA and coordinates legal projects to pay the rent, joined the program in 2007 and a year later rowed competitively with DC Strokes Rowing Club, for which he currently serves as president. He laughs, “My abilities are a little different from the other rowers, but I do pretty well.” Then DC Adaptive was formed, he also joined the team. “I want to compete in London – that’s whats motivating me. I also want people to know you don’t have to be perfect to be normal, or be an athlete to represent your country in an athletic event.”

Jason Beagle, in training on the Anacostia River, is eyeing a bid for the U.S. Paralympic squad. The white buildings in the background will be the new home of the Anacostia Community Boathouse Association and its member organizations beginning in early June. Photo: Rachel Freedman capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 109

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ABOVE: Coaching intern Trey Dudley (in hat) serves as a training partner for CARP athletes like Laurent Piereth.

Piereth won a silver medal at the prestigious CRASH-B world indoor rowing chapmionship in February, just 1.2 seconds behind 2009 paralympic gold medalist Augusto Perez. Photo: Rachel Freedman LEFT: Patrick Johnson, director of coaching for Capital Rowing Club’s adaptive rowing program, at the Anacostia Community Boathouse on the banks of the Anacostia River. Photo: Rachel Freedman

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ple. It also gave me a way to prove there was something else I could do.”

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Laurent Laurent, who is a development coordinator with the US Capitol Historical Society, was born with cerebral palsy. He has always loved to swim. “I used my legs a little but mostly my upper body,” he said.

He has had physical therapy most of his life, but told his mom at age 16 he didn’t want it anymore. “I felt like an invalid. It became too routine. They focused on my legs. I wanted to focus on my upper body. That was my strength that would help me when my lower body failed me.” He asked his mother to buy him exercise equipment and began working out on his own. When Patrick Johnson, DC Adaptive coach, asked Laurent last year if he wanted to row, Laurent laughed and said, “I thought you needed your legs for that!” “That’s true but we can get around it,” Patrick said.

Laurent was curious. “Rowing gave me an opportunity to build strength in a different capacity. It gave me a way to be on the water and meet a whole new group of peo-

Both Jason and Laurent love proving the medical professionals wrong. Doctors told Laurent he wouldn’t walk until 19. He did at 8. He was told he would never walk without braces. Just this year one broke, and he says, as a result of rowing, he hasn’t put them back on.

“I keep them as a reminder of where I was and where I don’t want to go back to.” Jason’s doctor told him not to row and not to ski, which Jason did this year for the first time since his accident 20 years ago.

Both men are able to leave their disability on the dock every time they get into a boat and row along the Anacostia River. Because of CARP they can expand their horizons – physically, mentally and socially – in ways few thought were possible.

CARP is Capital Rowing Club’s newest rowing program that was started last year by a group of rowers who noticed an increase in the number of soldiers and veterans returning to the Washington, DC area with amputations, paralysis or cognitive injuries.The group wanted to provide disabled soldiers and veterans with an opportunity for rehabilitation and therapy, as well as introducing new athletes to the sport.

“We heard about successful programs started in other parts of the U.S. and we wanted to see

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what we could do,” said Meredith Miller, CARP executive director.

“We dedicated ourselves to learning about adaptive rowing and the equipment needed.”

Meredith’s team includes Kirstin Powell, a speech pathologist who consults with Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and Patrick Johnson, an active duty military member and certified US Rowing coach who rows with DC Strokes. (DC Strokes team shares the Anacostia Community Boathouse with Capital). Dana Hinesly, a Capital recreational rower who volunteers at Walter Reed and Molly McCoy who recruits volunteers also were team members. “Once we had a handle on the mechanics of adaptive rowing, we sought funding sources, we made connections with DC’s military and medical centers and worked with the Capital Rowing Club’s Board of directors to build a program,” said Meredith.

Through the team’s military connections, relationships have been established with personnel at several military and veteran facilities. “Once we began working with the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Paralympic coordinator at Walter Reed our program really took off.”

The group received donations and purchased equipment. CARP now has about 10 rowers including a woman who is a blind rower.

Laurent and Jason talk about the serenity and focus they feel on the water when they row. It’s also a place where they can push themselves, enjoy the scenery and go beyond barriers. Jason smiles as he said, “You haven’t seen DC until you’ve seen it from the river.”

For more information about CARP, log onto www.capitalrowing.org., email capitaladaptive@gmail.com or call Meredith @ 202-320-5094.

Jason and Laurent are competing in the Stonewall Regatta at Thompson’s Boat Center on the Potomac on Sunday, June 6 – the first adaptive rowing competitive event held in DC. For event information log onto: www. stonewallregatta.org. ★

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capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 111

healthfitness

When Cats Get Old

by Janet Rosen

Tasha at 18. She died one year later after a short illness. Photo: Melissa Ashabranner

C

ats generally live a lot longer than dogs. With the right genes, a nurturing home and good health care, many cats live into their 20s these days. A few rare individuals can even live into their 30s.

Because of decreased exposure to disease and lowered risk of injury or getting lost, indoor cats tend to live longer than those that go outside.

Even with well-kept cats, age can – and generally does – bring on health problems in the form of infirmities and disease. Many illnesses old cats experience can be slowed, managed or even cured, so it pays to observe your cat’s habits closely and get regular veterinary examinations. These trips to the veterinarian are especially important for elderly cats because there are things like heart murmurs, changes in the eyes and subtle physical changes that only a professional will detect.

112 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Your veterinarian may recommend having tests run – blood work, urinalysis, x-rays, blood pressure, etc. – to detect additional problems. But be prepared for a lot of questions.

Since our patients can’t talk, an observant pet owner is able to give us a wealth of information we could not get otherwise, and that information is extremely valuable. Some of the things we are likely to ask you about your cat are: Is she drinking or urinating more than she used to? Is his appetite changed? How’s his energy level? Any diarrhea or vomiting?

Coughing or sneezing? Limping or falling down? Changes in behavior?

And what about the cat’s mood? Is she purring? Playing? Affectionate?

Fearful? Avoiding people?

Weight change can be significant.

If you have a scale, periodically stand on it holding your cat, subtract your

weight (this is the painful part), and write his weight on your calendar.

If you notice a change in your cat’s behavior or condition, make a note of when it started. Duration is a very important piece of information for a veterinarian. Did the change come on a year ago? A week ago?

What sorts of diseases are we looking for?

The most common cause of death in old cats is kidney failure. This can result from infection or toxins, but more often the cause is unknown and may simply be an unavoidable consequence of aging. The signs of kidney failure that an owner might notice include a marked increase in thirst and urination, weakness, decreased appetite and weight loss. Routine blood work and urinalysis will usually be enough to indicate kidney disease. In fact, they may identify

the disease before the signs are obvious, and early diagnosis of kidney disease is important. If the onset is recent, acute kidney failure may be reversible. Even if the disease isn’t curable, something as simple as a diet change may make the cat feel much better and slow down the progression of the disease.

But it’s not always about kidney disease. The same symptoms can also be a sign of diabetes mellitus (“sugar diabetes”), which is also fairly common in older cats. In this disease, the body is unable to make or respond to insulin appropriately. Diabetes in cats can usually be managed with insulin injections and will sometimes even go away after a short course of insulin.

The correct diet can also be crucial.

A cat with a ravenous appetite that is still losing weight may have hyperthyroidism (an overproduction of thyroid hormone). It, too, is fairly common among older cats. Sometimes a cat in the early stages of hyperthyroidism can be somewhat hyperactive. Hyperthyroidism can usually be managed with medications or, better yet, can be treated with radioactive iodine injections.

Again, early detection is important, as the high thyroid levels take a toll on the cat’s body and can damage the heart over time.

Heart disease, another cause of illness in older cats, may be more difficult to diagnose; its detection generally requires an ultrasound (echocardiogram) by a veterinary cardiologist.

A trip to a specialist may be well worth it, however, as many cats with heart disease respond well to once-aday medications, and their life spans can be significantly increased.

Cancer in cats can take as many forms as there are parts of the body.

A highly variable disease, it can be as obvious as a visible lump, or it can be exceedingly difficult to detect. Nor is it easy to treat. As a rule, veterinary specialists, such as radiologists and oncologists, may be needed to diagnose and

Our Clinic at 520 8th Street, SE will have to close it's doors mid summer. – We hope to be in a new location by this time.

Thank you to all our family, friends and clients who are helping us and who have shown concern and support.

treat cancer in a cat.

On a more mundane note, because the procedure requires anesthesia, pet owners are often reluctant to have their old cats’ teeth cleaned. Virtually all veterinary specialists (in the fields of geriatrics, internal medicine, and kidney disease, for example) agree that the risk of untreated dental disease is greater than the risk of anesthesia. Dental disease can cause bacteria to travel to the kidneys, lungs, liver and heart and overwhelm the immune system, so they recommend a good cleaning whenever possible.

Lastly, stress management is a key to longevity. You may not think your cats have any stress in their lives. With no work, no responsibilities, no worries about the economy or global warming, how bad can it be? Well, imagine being cooped up inside one house your entire life with the same limited number of people, dogs or, worse yet, other cats (most cats are not social and like to have their space and their people to themselves).

You’re all your cat has for entertainment! So play with them, massage them, give them places to climb and hide and explore.

Put out boxes and paper bags to hide in, and buy cat toys for them (fishing-pole type toys work well). Give them space from each other and plenty of people-time.

The happier you make them, the longer you’ll have them.

A cat is a lifelong companion, and for most of us, the older our cats are, the more precious they become.

Dr. Janet Rosen is the medical director for the Washington Animal Rescue League, which runs a fullservice medical center for shelter animals and the pets of our lowincome community. For more information about the League, visit warl.org. Dr. Rosen can be reached at janet.rosen@warl.org. ★

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healthfitness

Finding Flow The Nature of the Good Life

by Ronda Bresnick Hauss, LCSW looking for more of a challenge. If you find yourself anxious about the work - you may want to be looking at either strengthening your skills or finding a better match for your skills.

Approaching work with the intention of making it personally meaningful is also key to finding flow.

A clerk who pays genuine attention to customers or a doctor who focuses on the well being of his patients are examples of ways that can transform a routine job into one that makes a difference, notes Csikszentmihaly.

Flow at Play

“Y

ou’re right in the work, you lose your sense of time, you’re completely enraptured, you’re completely caught up in what you’re doing.... there’s no future or past, it’s just an extended present in which you’re making meaning...”

- The poet Mark Strand as quoted

by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Entering Flow Have you ever had the experience of being completely absorbed in what you were doing—ignoring hunger, fatigue and the passing of time? It could be doing what you love—rock climbing, playing chess, dancing or perhaps doing work that you love. It is in these moments that perhaps we are most fully alive and at our most creative. Research on this state—which is called flow—has been done by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (MEE-hye CHEEK-sent-me-HYE-ee).

He proposes that the good life is one in which we are fully involved in the 114 ★ HillRag | June 2010

present moment—completely absorbed or in flow.

How do you get there?

So how do we get to this state of flow, one in which we are both passionate about what we are doing and highly creative? Csikszentmihalyi’s research shows that entering the flow involves finding the right balance between your own level of skill or capabilities and the opportunities or challenges that you are facing. So, if you have a high level of skill at something but a low level of challenge, you are likely to get bored with an activity but if you have a low level of skill and a high level of challenge you may become anxious about it. When you find the balance between your skill and the challenges you face you can experience a state of flow. Flow also requires that a person has a clear set of goals that provide immediate feedback—playing music, writing a computer program, weaving a rug are all examples of flow activities.

One key step to finding a state of flow is to begin to identify those activities that you love and then to be willing to invest your time and attention to these activities. The research shows that flow generally occurs when a person is doing his or her favorite activity - and surprisingly it can be as simple as gardening, listening to music or cooking a good meal. Interestingly, people rarely report experiencing flow from passive leisure activities like watching television or relaxing, although we tend to spend a great deal of our time doing those activities.

Flow at Work The research also shows that there are more occasions for flow on the job than in free time. That is because work has clear goals and rules of performance and it usually provides feedback. Finding flow at work means looking for those challenges at your job that are a good match for your skills. If you find that you are bored at work you may want to be

Finding a hobby or interest that uses your best skills is the key to finding flow at play. To make the best use of your free time you also want to devote as much attention and creativity to it as you would at your job. Look for activities that help you grow and that have the right match of your skill and challenge. It might be a sport that engages you—bike racing, mountain climbing, tennis—or it could be a creative interest.

Csikszentmihalyi notes that before science and the arts became professionalized, a lot of scientific research, poetry, painting and music was done by people in their free time.

For leisure time to improve the quality of our lives we need to use the time well, becoming involved in something that engages us and gives us an ongoing challenge. Much of what we do in our free time is not satisfying to us, although we may find that we do a lot of it. Csikszentmihalyi notes that U.S. teenagers experience flow about 13 percent of the time they are watching TV, 34 percent of the time they are involved with their hobbies and 44 percent of the time they participate in sports and games. Yet, teenagers actually spend at least four times more of their free time watching TV than doing hobbies or sports.

Similar statistics are true for adults.

HEADLINES SALON Waterside Fitness & Swim Social Flow Being social is key to our mental health. Investing energy in our relationships is a good way to improve life. Finding compatibility between our goals and those of others is one way to promote social flow. Also, being willing to invest our attention in another person’s goals, engaging with that person and sharing our own experiences can create flow. A good conversation, Csikszentmihalyi says is like a jam session in jazz, where one starts with conventional elements and then introduces spontaneous variations that can create a new composition.

Vitality and Aliveness Flow is a source of energy that focuses our attention and motivates us to action. Discovering goals that give us joy and also make a contribution to others is worth our efforts.

As Csikszentmihalyi points out, Buddhists advise us to “act as if the future of the universe depended on what you did, while laughing at yourself for thinking that whatever you do makes any difference.” This kind of serious playfulness makes it possible, he says, to be both engaged and carefree at the same time. It also may be one of the foundations for building a good life.

Ronda Bresnick Hauss is a licensed clinical social worker and the founder of the Quiet Waters Center for Trauma, Stress and Resilience, on Capitol Hill. She uses an integrative & holistic approach to psychotherapy – addressing the connection between the mind, body and spirit through the use of traditional talk therapy, meditation, visualization, and creative, non-verbal techniques. She can be reached at: 202-544-5050 and is on the web at: “http://www. quietwaterscenter.com” ★

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116 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Homes & Gardens Marine Expansion Plans Threaten Community Garden Battle Heats Up Over Virginia Avenue Community Garden Article and Photographs by Rindy O’Brien

O

n a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning, a dozen Capitol Hill adults and children are happily shoveling compost into wheelbarrows while catching up on news about their neighborhood and each other’s families. Children of all ages are running from garden plot to garden plot checking out what is ripe and ready to snack on. Lessons on bugs, soil and art are being taught around the compost pile with veteran gardeners sharing their stories with younger ones as they layer new and old compost.

It is exactly what first lady Michelle Obama envisioned for American cities and communities when she released her May 11 White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity report. So, the irony isn’t lost on many at the garden that another government agency, the Marine Corps, is thinking of ending the garden’s existence by claiming the space as the site for their barracks expansion plan.

“There just seems to be a disconnect,” says Jenni Lancaster, a Virginia Avenue gardener of five years, “that the White House is advocating for us to start community gardens, but another government entity, the Marine Corps, is thinking about taking ours away.”

Another member of the garden, Sam Fromartz, also noted the seeming incongruity of the US military expressing concern that the childhood obesity trend is threatening future military recruitment, while the Marines are suggesting that a well-established garden that teaches young people about healthy eating should be uprooted.

Noriko Bell, one of the original organizers of the garden, which borders Ninth Street and L Street SE, says that the success of the garden has gone beyond her expectations, and she is deeply concerned about the garden’s future. “Many people have put a lot of time and their own money for the betterment of the neighborhood,” she says. “So I don’t understand why now they are considering tearing it down.”

Noriko Bell and her late husband were part of the original group of Capitol Hill residents that started the garden in 2006.

Stuart Lundberg and Ava Lancaster (both 6 years old) go to Brent School and are best friends at the garden. capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 117

homesgardens

The gardeners, like Ken Lundberg, are already picking radishes, kale and lettuce.

Marines Seeking Community Input

★ ★ ★

the district BEAT

by Gabriel Pacyniak

every month. read it. be informed.

“No one disagrees that the Marines need more places to live,” says Tom Dougan, a two-year community gardener, “but we also need places to spend time outdoors with our children and families. The Marines have been good neighbors, but their facilities are big and behind fences and not really accessible to those of us living on the Hill.” Tom hopes that during the community input process they have underway, the Marine Corps will listen closely to its neighbors and consider the efforts that he and others have made to rebuild this part of the neighborhood through their community garden.

This spring, the Marine Corps announced their plans to expand beyond their historic boundaries at Eighth and I streets SE. They pointed to a need to develop 173,000 square feet to replace their aging (1970) barracks and add facilities for both single enlisted men and those with families. The master plan also calls for adding a fire station, child development center, gym, pool, parking, meeting spaces, basketball and tennis courts, and an indoor parade field. The Marine Corps’ representatives have stated during their community meetings that the current barracks do not meet military regulations, which requires that they be 82 feet from the street.

The master plan has identified several different properties to be considered, including the Virginia Avenue Community Garden and park, and the Potomac Gardens public housing project at 12th and G streets. The interim executive director of the DC Housing Authority has said that there are no current plans to sell the Potomac Gardens property.

Preserving Green Space and Quality of Life For the past six years, the Virginia Avenue 118 ★ HillRag | June 2010

Community Garden has been transforming the community from a broken playground to a beautiful green oasis. This past year, the garden expanded and planted new fruit trees around the edges of the fence. The expansion allowed the garden to accommodate more people on their waiting list.

The community gardening movement has exploded in the past few years, and Hill residents are finding that they must wait two to five years to get offered a plot to garden. Currently, there are 50 people on the waiting list.

Tom says his family eats year round from the produce they grow at the Virginia Avenue garden. They dry, can and freeze everything they grow, including tomatoes, beans and onions. “My family’s life would be very different,” says Tom, “without the garden.”

Sam says there is a growing demand for green space due to the influx of new residents in the neighborhood from the new apartments and townhouses around the baseball stadium.

He believes that the garden and park need to be recognized for the value they contribute to the Hill’s healthy quality of life.

“If we lose the garden and park, it will put even more pressure on Garfield Park, that is already crowded,” Sam says. “To me, the issue is more than preserving the community garden; it is really about preserving green and open space.”

Jenni agrees that the garden and park belong to everyone, and something very important will be lost if the expansion closes the community garden. “I am really sad and frustrated when I think of all the time, money and effort that so many of us have put into this garden,” Jenni lamented. “We feel like we have been an integral part of the neighborhood’s revival.”

Over 60 families garden in this community space and have spent thousands of dollars to bring in topsoil, compost and building ma-

terials for their plots. Grants have been given to the garden to help pay for trees, fencing, a pergola, and other amenities.

“There is simply no way,” says Angie Lundberg, “that we could just pick up and move our garden plots.”

Still Time to Share Your Opinion The gardeners are asking Hill residents interested in preserving the green space and community gardens in the neighborhood to take a few minutes and file a comment with the Marine Corps. The last of the public presentations by the Marine Corps was held May 22, but there is still time to register your comments with the Marine Corps. Comments can be posted online at http://sedistrictcimp. com/comments.aspx, Or you can write to the Public Affairs Officer, Marine Barracks Washington, Eighth and I streets SE, Washington, DC 20390. To reach the VACG Leadership Committee, email commgarden@yahoo.com.

Residents are also encouraged to write to DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes-Norton, Mayor Adrian Fenty, and Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells.

Leaders at the Virginia Avenue Community Garden have recently been promised that they will now be included in the meetings over the summer. The Marine Corps’ Integrated Master Plan process calls for presentation of their consensus document in September.

In the meantime, the gardeners are busy pulling up radishes, carrots, kale and chives. They are planting their basil and herbs and dreaming of zucchini, tomatoes and watermelons. And, they are praying that there will be many more seasons to come.

Rindy O’Brien is a longtime Hill resident and has been on a community garden list for three years. She encourages all to get involved in preserving the hill’s green spaces. Contact her at rindyob@mac.com. ★ capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 119

homesgardens

?

Ask Judith

Spring, Bicycles, Basements article and photos by Judith Capen

D

uring a glorious recent day in our bait-and-switch spring, I went to Eastern Market to pick up a bison hot dog at Union Meat and noticed, AGAIN, that Eastern Market is woefully short on bike racks for a “walkable” community. (Tommy, are you listening?)

While I was locking up my bike across the street from the Market I saw four identical, neatly aligned, and unsecured bicycles with four uniformed cops coming out of Tunnicliffs, and heading toward the bikes. Possessed by middle-aged chattiness, I approached and interviewed.

“Is this your regular assignment? Bikes?”

“Yes.” “All year, all weather?”

One of them gestured at my (adored) bike and said, “You ride…”

I said, “Yeah, but not 8 hours a day...”

They conceded, “We’re not on them when it’s icy...”

Then my real agenda, “So, you don’t lock them up?”

A hitherto silent, and big, guy deadpanned, “If someone takes one, we shoot him.”

A more PR-minded, less whimsical police-person interjected quickly, “Not really.”

I laughed.

Another opined, “It’s a safe neighborhood.”

As I walked across the street to the Market, the first to saddle up, already on his bike, said “Have a nice day, ma’am.”

I said, “You too. Nice weather for bikes.”

We need a LOT MORE of these!

things from the Black Walnut tree, the grass you are pulling up…

My advice for this year is to find a corner on the back forty to establish a passive compost pile.

Forego putting all your garden waste into plastic bags to go to the landfill, encapsulating organic material in plastic trash bags for hundreds of years until the plastic degrades, if indeed it ever does. (Surprisingly little bio-degrading happens in landfills as garbologists of the Garbage Project at the University of Arizona have found.) Snipping trimmings into smallish pieces helps them break down faster.

Composting Speaking of nice weather: spring suggests different things to different people but in many of us it stirs the need for gardening.

And gardening generates bio-mass.

Clippings, leaves from the fall that spent the winter among the ground cover, the green caterpillar-like Compost in the back yard.

120 ★ HillRag | June 2010

“What about rats?” the worry warts ask. In our 20 years of backyard passive composting, no rats. Rats are more interested in McDonald’s hamburgers than ivy stems.

Refinishing Concrete Floors Q. As you’ve advised over the years, we are minimally “renovating” our basement. As in, when it’s done, it still will not be considered a “finished” basement by many, but will be a drastic improvement over the dirty, junkfilled space it was.

Most of the walls are painted, but the ones that have been damp will stay unpainted until they dry out (and now that the windows have been fixed, that might happen!).

We have no intention of putting a finished floor in the basement because it will just provide cover for pests, but the unfinished concrete slab is so dirty that mopping is useless. We’ve decided to rent a floor cleaner and get it clean, once and for all. A Fine Homebuilding article described staining and sealing concrete floors and that seems like a good plan—minus the staining.

My question: will waxing the clean concrete severely retard drying of the moist spots we get after heavy rains? These spots are never actually wet to the touch and go away after a day or two. I thought it would be better to wax (a temporary finish) than polyurethane, but if it would be much, much better to leave it completely unsealed, I’ll rethink.

- Floored A. How wise of you to take my advice! Our professional terrorism, oops I mean liability insurance, companies tell us that some incredible percentage of claims, like 90%, are about water. This does NOT indicate near-universal incompetence, but reflects the relentlessness of water. Every basement will flood sooner or later. And between floods it will break out in moisture.

Not putting layers of matecapitalcommunitynews.com ★ 121

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rials on walls and floor eliminates places for moisture to hang out long enough for mold to colonize.

I totally applaud your calm acceptance of inevitable moisture. Sometimes it arrives, uninvited, but doesn’t stay long enough to make you crazy. A dehumidifier should be an essential part of this strategy: with a tube to drain the water to the outside or to a drain.

(Human nature being what it is, the little catchment tubs just do not get emptied.)

About the floor: I concur with the plan to rent a floor cleaner and really clean the concrete. After that, what to do is less clear.

I suggest test patches, trying some possible sealers.

Don’t put anything down until the concrete is really dry after you clean it. To verify the dryness of the concrete you can put a piece of clear plastic on a section of floor, taping tightly on all four sides. Then keep an eye on the plastic for condensation on the underside. When you have no moisture after a couple of days, consider it dry.

Good locations for test patches would be your moist areas.

Check product literature and descriptions for a breathable product, whether wax or polyurethane. You want breathable so your moist patches can dry. As always on Capitol Hill, begin at Fragers and see what they have.

The test patches are to verify that the product will work satisfactorily, on your floor, with your conditions. Sometimes, moisture can make coatings cloudy and I doubt you want hazy patches on your floor. The test spots will also allow you to see if the products do what you want in providing a cleanable surface.

Not sure why you’re opposed to staining the floors, although some staining processes can be toxic. The historic solution to making concrete easier to clean was paint and there are

paints formulated for concrete.

Best of all, since you’re not going for conventionally finished, you could think Jackson Pollock and have some fun with your floor.

Q. We read your column each month with interest, especially your recent piece on cracks.

We have a fracture in a common wall, present for many years. But it now appears to be getting bigger faster and we’re seeing subsidence of the basement floor and what appear to be cracks associated with this settlement now appearing on interior plaster walls.

Can you pass on recommendations for a qualified structural engineer?

– Going, Going…

A. This does sound like an alarming amount of movement.

Has anything changed that might have accelerated historic cracks? Are you sure your neighbors aren’t digging out their basements in the middle of the night without benefit of either engineer or permit? Or is the new fuchsia Metro line running under your house?

It’s hard to get structural engineers interested in tiny assessments, but contact me at the office and I’ll give you the name of a structural engineer with a lot of old building experience who does house calls for small projects.

I still recommend a crack monitor: the sooner it is installed the sooner you will be able to quantify movement, both amount and how fast.

And Rick, the structural engineer, will welcome the information.

Good luck and keep me posted.

This column is written by Judith Capen, who can be reached with questions at Judith.capen@architravepc.com. ★

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homesgardens gardenspot

Private Garden, Public Spaces Article and photos by Derek Thomas

F

or the past several years this column has given me the opportunity to rave about the truly beautiful gardens that we see all over Capitol Hill. The Hill Rag showcases five or six gardens each year in its annual “Best of the Hill” contest each September.

The inventory on the Hill is tremendous and I see dozens of worthy candidates as I drive or walk around in my quest for the next “it” garden. Gardeners on the Hill mean business and their gardens are their business card.

The Space

ABOVE: Alex in his beautiful garden.

RIGHT: The lush garden.

124 ★ HillRag | June 2010

This month’s garden is truly a “must see space”. It rests quietly and unassumingly in the 500 block of 13th Street, SE and takes up most of the east side of the block. It lies in the footprint of the new condo “The Escalade,” yet this garden has been transformed miles away from the predictable developer’s plant palate. This is due to the triumphant efforts of Alex Belano. Alex has taken a space that was most likely destined to become a predictable commercial condo garden designed for urban dwellers and transformed it into perhaps the best private garden I have seen that is in a shared public space. The garden is one of unimposing elegance with surprises tucked away behind every plant.

The space is flat, very square and extremely public. Yet Alex has masterfully interwoven the best techniques of great landscape design to create a garden that is lush, inviting and feels like a garden room in a private garden, not one that is in the shadows of Pennsylvania Ave. When talking with Alex about his garden it becomes quite apparent that his thought process and design aesthetics are soft yet firm with years of practice and perseverance—the stuff great gardens are made of. He has been in the garden all his life and fondly recalls his grandmother’s garden and his time spent helping her tend it.

Of his Grandmother he says, “Her gardens were great and as a result of her influence I have always been in gardens.”

START HAVING THE YARD OF YOUR DREAMS The Garden He has been working on his condo garden for the past five years and is currently completing course work for his masters in landscape design at George Washington University. His garden reads like a wondrous thesis with lush plants interwoven in a delicate urban tapestry. This garden works because it has not been over-worked.

There is a flow that is unexpectedly welcome, and which softens the buildings’ strong lines and the fence that contains its overflow to the sidewalk.

During the early days of the condo association meetings, owners discussed what to do about the garden. Alex says “many owners were considering lawns for their ease of maintenance. However I saw real potential in the garden, and it was easy to convince them that I could take on the task.”

Take it on he has. His inspiration for the garden was the National Arboretum’s Asian collection. And the garden reads like a lush hillside garden tucked into the pocket of an Asian estate. He has used texture and contrast to convey the eastern influence and steered clear of the trappings of fountains and pagodas, dry riverbeds and large stones. Crape Myrtles and uniquely pruned Cherry Laurels are the sentinels in the garden. Their height and repetition is perhaps the only rigid aspect of this garden. They are great anchors to the bounty of plantings they serve. The Giant Hostas are punctuation marks and add soft strength to the bed lines. Their flanking of the Crapes is not accidental. These three elements are the closest this garden comes to being contrived or predictable, and they demonstrate the makings of a truly great design where the designer knows the rules yet departs from them most eloquently.

Alex likes creating pockets and has placed many throughout the garden. In fact he says,

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homesgardens “The little pockets are my favorites where you can see different shapes and textures in miniature.” He loves winter and spring gardens and his is at its riotous best in the first half of the year. There are over six types of Junipers that add form and function to the winter garden. The early spring is an explosive tribute to the color that well placed bulbs can provide. The months of April through June are about the lush textures and gentle flowering accents that Wild Ginger, Sedum, Hostas, Yucca, and a multitude of other great plants, when playing well together, can give to create a show-stopping garden.

Alex plans to add roses to the garden but admits, “I am not into summer gardens, so we will see how well it works.” I think he will pull it off, since what he has done is something miraculously tasteful with a very difficult space. Very well done.

Derek Thomas is principal of Thomas Landscapes. His garden designs have been featured on HGTV’s Curb Appeal.

His weekly garden segment can be seen on WTTG/Fox 5 in Washington. He can be reached at www.thomaslandscapes. com or 301.642.5182. ★

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Attention has been paid to a natural flow and contrast with punctuation of color Little pockets are Alex’s favorite.

The unique details like this row of Sedum are what make this garden truly special.

126 ★ HillRag | June 2010

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Dear Garden Problem Lady, During an April cool spell, I planted some perennial poppy seeds in MiracleGro potting mix.

They took a good three weeks to germinate. Now in late May, the seedlings are still too small to transplant. I am wondering what kind of soil these oriental poppies prefer?

These large, brilliantly colored poppies take 10-15 days to germinate, so yours are only a bit later. Seedlings do not transplant well, so it is best to sow the seeds where you want the flowers to grow. Wet, cool weather is ideal until roots are established.

Then poppies prefer hot, dry weather. Oriental poppy thrives in light, fast-draining warm soil that is not strongly acidic. Your potting mix is ideal. Be careful with watering – over-watering will kill the plants. Try transplanting now to a sunny place and apply hope.

The very large number of daylily roots we bought from a reputable supplier and planted last fall did not survive – a huge disappointment. The supplier commented that perhaps they had not received sufficient protection during the cold and snows this past winter, but agreed to replace them. What protection should we have provided? We mulched.

Mulching should be adequate protection. Perhaps the roots were planted too late to get established. Perhaps too much water or inadequate drainage caused the roots to rot in the ground. Daylilies will tolerate some shade and good moisture – they do not like drought. In

general, it is hard to know what went wrong here. Even when they do sprout, daylilies sometimes take a year to get started.

Then they are indestructible.

Why are impatiens frowned upon by gardening experts? They are sold everywhere, and they come in gorgeous colors.

Those colors are what impatiens have going for them – a big plus. However, they do not conserve the precious resource of water, and they do not conserve the energy of persons who must labor to water them frequently. Not a native plant, impatiens do not support insects that birds and other insects need. There are many attractive shade-loving native plant alternatives for shade. They will not knock your eyes out the way impatiens can. They possess the charm of subtlety! For dry shade: barrenwort, bloodroot, Christmas fern, hellebore, trillium. For moist shade: astilbe, calla lily, canna, elephant ears, monkshood. And then there are hundreds of hosta, whose leaves vary in color and size.

What happens to beautiful hellebores after their bloom period (from January until May) finally ends?

Their large, lovely green leaves cool your garden space.

In autumn, you can remove any dead leaves. New leaves will be sprouting in their place.

Feeling beset by gardening problems? Send them to the Problem Lady c/o Capitol Hill Garden Club at andrew@hillrag.com.

Your problems might even prove instructive to others, and help them feel superior to you. Complete anonymity is assured. The Capitol Hill Garden Club next meets on Sept. 14, at the Church of the Brethren, corner North Carolina Avenue at Fourth Street SE. Membership information: 202-543-7539. ★

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* customized services to fit your cleaning needs * complete residential services, including laundry & ironing * commercial & janitorial special rates * major credit cards accepted * licensed, bonded & insured

PATRICK'S

HOME IMPROVEMENT Complete Home Improvement Services Kitchens & Bathrooms Basements & Additions

H0kilian@aol.com Distinctive Kitchens | Historic Restoration Additions | Master Suites

301.943.8186 • 301.515.5987 www.patrickshomeimprovement.com NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON!

703.892.8648 www.acleaningserviceinc.com satisfaction guaranteed serving DC, MD & VA since 1985

Painting, Carpentry & Renovations

Licensed, Bonded & Insured

RENDEROS

ELECTRICIAN

REMODELING Kitchens & Basements Panting & Drywall Ceramic & General repair

THE HILL’S ELECTRICIAN Since 1990

www.wilcox-electric.com

202-546-1010

Free estimates • • • • • • • •

Home Improvement Kitchens & Baths Flooring & Tile Plumbing • Electrical Carpentry • Renovations Landscaping • Painting Windows & Doors And Much More

Licensed, Bonded & Insured Residential & Commercial

240-281-0900 301-942-1548

New Work • Rewiring • Repairs • Interior/Exterior Lighting

Awarded the Super Service Award from Angie's List in 2007, 2008, and 2009.

Stephen D. Wilcox Master Electrician References Available Licensed - Insured - Bonded

SMALL JOBS SPECIALISTS We use the latest line of green products and applications • • •

Scheduled or last minute move-in/move-out We do it all, big or small, from the routine to specialized cleaning Available weekends! Residential and Commercial

• Kitchens, Baths & Basement • All Home Repairs • Interior/Exterior Painting • Fixer Uppers

Ask for Kelvit

202-388-9141 licensed, bonded, insured

~ All Carpentry & Remodeling ~ All Masonry & Brick Pointing ~ Interior & Exterior Custom Painting ~ All Roofing & Rubber Roofs ~ Concrete Driveway ~ Kitchens ~ Bathrooms ~ Chimney Services

ELECTRICWORKS

Call

202-674-0300 • 301-929-0664 TDR Group, LLC Kitchen & Bath Specialists Design and Remodeling Services Call Us Today!

202-725-4050 www.tdrgdesign.com

Rapid Response & Expert Assistance * Residential - Commercial * New ConstructionAdditions * Rewiring, Repairs, Troubleshooting * Interior and Exterior Lighting

Licensed - Bonded - Insured

703.486.1234 www.domesticall.com Bonded, licensed and insured Celebrating our 25th year!

SERVING CAPITOL HILL SINCE 1985

Free Estimates • No Job Too Small Licensed & Insured

301-254-0153 electricworks1@aol.com

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 131

FLOORS

Jim's Handyman Service, LLC Too busy to do it yourself?

Installation of Electrical Fixtures and Appliances • Window Treatments & Furniture Assembling • Fix Plumbing & Change Locks • Hang Pictures & Repair Cabinets • Painting

202-370-7902 www.jimzinn.com

Heritage Wood Floors, Inc. Installation • Sanding • Refinishing • Hardwood Mouldings

• Free estimates • No job is too small Affordable rates • Licensed, insured and bonded

Free Estimates • MHIC #120190

NWM COMPANY

301-855-3006 888-227-2882

GENERAL CONTRACTORS & HANDYMEN

Residential Floors Dedicated to Perfection • Sanding and Refinishing • Installation • Repairs • Cleaning & Waxing

7 days a week - Free Estimates Reasonable Rates Residential & Commercial

Property Management’s General Contractor Since 1971 Kitchen Cabinetry and CounterTops Flooring: ceramic, vinyl tile, linoleum, marble and quarry tile Door and Window Repair and Replacement Locks and Emergency Repairs Plaster, Drywall and Painting

Please call to discuss your needs

301-277-9292 Fax 301-209-8248

(301) 990-7775 Family owned and operated 3 Generations of Experience

HANDYMAN Capitol Hill Specialists Renovations & Remodeling Painting Interior/Exterior Drywall & Tile Harwood Floors Carpentry & Cabinets - No Job too Small Great Rates Warranty on all work - References Available - Insured

E V G CONTRACTORS Contracting & Handyman Services

301-237-1748

EVGcontractorsLLC@msn.com

F&C Home Improvement, LLC Kitchens & Bath Experts Renovations and Remodeling including Plumbing & Electrical

202.

492.9513 No Job too Small!

12 years experience licensed • bonded insured • References

Suburban Welding Company

®

Welding & Ornamental Iron Work

Handyman Masters 20 years experience working in fine homes like yours

Bathrooms • Kitchens Masonry • Handyman • Roofing

• • • • •

Repairs of Original Cast Iron Staircases Window bars and door security gates Handrailings & Stair Railings Fences, Sidewalk Gates, Tree Box Fences DC code approved bedroom window security bars • Excavating, back hoe services and tree stump grinding • Certified welding

A+ Rating

“I have worked with Masters over the years and have been extremely happy with the workmanship. They are very professional”.

- Georgetown Resident

24-hours, 7-day service Free estimates

703-765-9344 www.suburbanweldingcompany.com

RENOVATION & HANDYMAN Renovate bathroom, kitchen, recreation room, painting, drywall, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, decks, concrete driveways, patio, steps, wood steps, bath tub reglazing and hauling. Call 301-437-6613 seven days a week.

HandymanMastersllc.com

RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL

INTERIOR DESIGN

202.528.0621 Licensed • Bonded • Insured

Moving, Hauling, Landscaping, Painting, Cleaning, Plumbing, Electrical, Cooling, Heating, Masonry, Carpentry, Roof, Floor, Wall. Call 202.368.2628, 240.281.5513 or 703.789.4445. Email GCMANAGERS@aol.com

Our website just got a whole lot better!! capitalcommunitynews.com

E D D I E Home Improvement

· Painting Interior & Exterior · Carpentry · Drywall · Moulding · Floors · Hardwood · Kitchen & Bath Remodel · Plumbing · Doors & Windows · Brick Pointing · Patios

Free Estimates

Open a Window of Possibilities Create a home that nurtures you With the assistance of

Cell

202-247-0104

Kathleen Soloway

15% off all jobs over $1000

Interior Designer/Psychotherapist

GET RESULTS!

Design for Change 202 543-7040 ksoloway@designforchange.net www.designforchange.net

Place a classifed today!

132 ★ HillRag | April 2010

IRON WORK

JACKS

KITCHEN

START HAVING THE YARD OF YOUR DREAMS

Your first step to preservation 20 years of experience in the District

· Comprehensive Design and Maintenance Services · Installation, arbors, retaining walls, walkways, lighting, water features · Patios, roof top gardens, townhomes, single family homes • Trees & shrubs, formal & informal gardens • Custom Masonry, Fencing and Iron work · Restoration and Enhancement

Redefining Beauty One Client at a Time

• Re-pointing with historical method mortar • Strip painting (remove paint) • Rebuilding arches and historical architecture • Restoration cleaning on historical brick and stone • Stone Masonry

P. Mullins Contracting Specializing in Masonry & Concrete • Flagstones, Pavers & Patios • Driveways & Walkways • Basement Excavation • Retaining Walls • Interior & Exterior Demolition • Tuck & Brick Pointing • Historical Restoration Specialists • Power Washing

202-544-9301

202-270-8973

bricklands@msn.com www.bricklandsandsons.com

Bonded, Licensed & Insured

301.642.5182

MOVING & HAULING

www.thomaslandscapes.com

THOMAS LANDSCAPES

Specializing in urban landscapes since 1989

LANDSCAPING

Derek Thomas / Principal - Certified Professional Horticulturist, Master Gardener. Member of the MD Nursery and Landscape Association & the Association of Professional Landscape Designers

When Trust Matters Most

REGINALD’S LANDSCAPING Specializing in perennial gardens, landscape design, yard maintenance, seasonal contracts-free estimates for major cleanups, spring/fall cleanups, mulching, pruning, trimming, weeding, debris removal, leaf removal, light hauling, planting and much, Call today! 301-420-7027, 301-908-8331.

Why Pay a Lot for a Beautiful Yard?

Residential, Office, Commercial

W.F. Bowman Landscaping

SHORT NOTICE MOVES

202-234-6282

Local & Up to 300-mile Radius Expert Packing & Unpacking Temporary Storage by the Day Packing Materials Available

Yard Clean Up • Sodding Mulching • Trimming Shrubs Aeration • Dethatching Planting Leaf Removal Mowing Seeding & Fertilizing Hauling

LRS, INC. (since 1988)

Licensed & Insured Hourly Rates

JHI

$50 OFF Spring Clean Up Package Edge & Mulch Existing Beds, Pruning & Leaf Removal

202.368.7492

CONTRACTING

GET RESULTS! Place a classifed today!

202.543.2004 • 202.345.7523 Lawn Maintenance Contracts Available Powerwashing • WE DO IT ALL

MASONRY

E V G CONTRACTORS Masonry & Brickpointing

Masonry & Concrete Contractor LOWEST RATES ON THE HILL GUARANTEED! • Tuckpointing - Historical Restoration • Pavers & Patios • Driveways • Basement Excavation • Garages & Waterproofing • Retaining Walls • Paint Removal

- No Job too Small

5% TO 10% OFF EVERYDAY PICKUP • •

New & Restoration Historic Pointing

• •

Great Rates Warranty on all work References Available Insured

202-362-1700

20% TO 40% OFF SCHEDULED SATURDAY PICK UPS

All Masonry Work

EVGcontractorsLLC@msn.com

JUNK / BULK TRASH REMOVAL

Speak Directly to Owner, John

Over 30 years of Experience Free Estimates • Work Guaranteed Licensed • Bonded • Insured

301-237-1748

license # 1948

Free estimates with picture portfolio

T.R. Sellheim Construction, Inc. All Brick Works Paint Removal Patios, Sidewalks & Driveways Retaining Walls & Garages

202.396.0105

Licensed • Bonded • Insured

202-528-2877 • 202-544-1813

Capitol Hill Specialists

MOVING & HAULING COMPANY • Bulk Trash • Appliances • Basement Furniture • Yard Cleanup • Weekly Trash Pickups • Evictions • Demolition • Local or Long Distance • Residential or Commercial MD DC VA • 24 Hour Same Day Service “No job too small or big”

Same Day Service Available We demo, load and haul concrete, brick, dirt, and trash.

Handyman Services Bobcat Loader for Hire

WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS

BOYD F. GRAY 202-561-0498 202-210-7439 (cell) capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 133

FOR A STRESS FREE MOVE

Ricardo Ramos

Excellent References

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER

Every Single Job is Supervised • Local & Long Distance • Packing Service

Our Prices Won’t be Beat!

• Pianos and Big Objects

DANIEL PARKS

• Affordable

Roofing & Gutters

Free Estimates Insured • Licensed 15 years of experience

CONTINENTAL MOVERS

www.continentalmovers.net • Cmora53607@msn.com

202-438-1489

301-340-0602

NO JOB TOO SMALL!!!

Remodeling • Painting General Repairs

“Stopping Leaks is Our Specialty”

EMERGENCY REPAIRS

Inquire about our cleaning company

WE DO IT ALL

RamosPainting1956@live.com

301-661-3515 301-680-2065

WHS PLUMBING & HEATING Superior Service and Quick Response

Tenly Bulk Trash Removal & Moving DC

MD

We are Repiping & Drain Cleaning Specialists · Competitive On The Spot Pricing · Same Day, Nights, Weekends & Emergency Service · Licensed Plumbers and Gasfitters · Underground Domestic Water and Sewer Line Leak Detection · Underground Pipe Locator

VA

Junk Removal – House *Office *Apt Yard Contract Service – Demolition & Construction Estate Clean Out

(202)437-4413 24 hours • license #2106

Hill Family Owned & Operated

HAULING

Call William at

Do you need pickup truck service and a strong driver?

Call Norris Wilkins. Phone 202-544-1581. Cell 202.-2710450. (tf).

(202) 255-9231 20 years of experience Licensed, Bonded and Insured LSDBE Certified

www.whsplumbingandheating.com

PAINTING

PEST CONTROL

DISCOUNT PAINTINGS & POWER WASH

FLK Termite, Pest & Rodent Control

Residential Only – Free Estimates 30 Years Experience!

Tony: 202-427-6204 References Available

More than just killing bugs, we take care of your home • Babies, children, pets, no worries, customized treatments • Latest environmentally sound methods and products • One time, monthly, bimonthly, quarterly, yearly

Serving Capitol Hill for 50 Years

OSEPH C. BAUER, INC. Plumbing and Heating Licensed and Insured

DC 202.547.3477 MD 301.420.3200

ROOFING/WATER PROOFING ALL TYPES OF ROOFING REPAIRS

LICENSED & INSURED

Free Estimates • Residential • Commercial • Insured • DC LIC 4748 • Established 1974 Interior & Exterior Custom Painting Restoration & Repair Services

202-965-1600 www.jfmeyer.com

134 ★ HillRag | April 2010

301.273.5740 301.576.3286

PLUMBING WAIT NO MORE PLUMBING 24 hour plumbing service. Master plumber. No job too small. DC license # 1164. Darrell White. 202-575-1885 or 202-812-7115 (tf)

Star Roofing Company RELIABLE Specializing in Residential & Commercial Flat Roof Systems

RUBBER & FLAT ROOFS WATER PROOFING SLATE ROOFS LEAK REPAIRS METAL ROOFS GUTTER REPAIRS SHINGLE ROOFING CHIMNEY REPAIRS FACIAL/SOFFITS ALUMINUM ROOF COATING

202-489-1728 Licensed, Bonded & Insured Free Estimates Senior and Government Discount 10% SPECIALIZING IN SEAMLESS GUTTERS

Keith Roofing EXPERT WORKMANSHIP AT REASONABLE PRICES! Residential/Commercial Over 40 years in Business Chimney Repairs Storm & Wind Damage Repair

• New or Re-Roofing • Tear-Off & Replacement • Flat Roof Specialist • Copper, Tin, Sheet Metal & Rolled • Seamless & Flat Roofs • Re-Sealing • Tar, Asphalt, Gravel, Hot Coats • Modified Bitumen • Ask about our gutter specials Insurance Claims • Free Estimates • 24Hr. Service

Fully Insured • Licensed • Bonded “No Job Too Large or Small” Senior & Military Discounts Available!

202-543-6383

202-486-7359

All work done by owner • Free Estimates Insured • Licensed • Bonded

All Work Inspected by Owner...Deals Directly with Customers!

All Work Fully Guaranteed

FLAT ROOF SPECIALIST

ROOF PROBLEMS?

ABC ROOFING AND WATERPROOFING

WE STOP LEAKS! • Roof Repairs • Roof Coatings • Rubber • Metal • Slate

• Tiles • Chimneys • Gutters • Waterproofing • Roof Certifications

We Do Everything!

75

BOYD CONSTRUCTION INC.

years in service

DC Lic. 6012

BBB Member

Seamless Gutters • Box Gutters

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. LIC.

&

• Gutter Cleaning

INSURED.

• Flat Roof Repairs

202.486.7184 15% off with Ad

ALL WORK GUARANTEED

JHI CONTRACTING Speak Directly to Owner, John

Free Estimates

LICENSED, BONDED & INSURED

202-528-2877

R. THOMAS DANIEL ROOFING

WELDING

“Great Roofing is our # 1 Priority” • • • • •

$100 OFF ANY NEW ROOF 736-8987

(301)

aaroofingco@aol.com

202

271

4377

443.968.0311 Member Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professional Services (CHAMPS)

For All your Roofing Needs

Johnston & Johnston Roofing

40 years of experience

WOOD & WHITACRE HISTORIC RENOVATIONS

with this ad

20 years on the Hill Slate - Tile - Copper Specializing in all Flat Roof Systems and Leaks Free Estimates • Work Guaranteed

24 hr emergency service Free estimates licensed, bonded & insured

202-746-8051

Recommended roofer of Capitol Hill Village Licensed-Insured-Bonded

Family owned and operated for nearly 90 years.

Call for now a FREE ROOF INSPECTION

JL August & Sons

10% off

Experts in roof repair Roof coating Roof replacements Gutters Spouts

Suburban Welding Company

®

Welding & Ornamental Iron Work

FREE ESTIMATES • ESTABLISHED 1971

All Types of Roofing Gutters Water Proofing Family Owned and Operated

• Repairs • Roof Coatings • Gutters • Chimney Repair • Water Proofing

Licensed • Bonded • Insured

Prices too high?

Give AA a try!

Senior & Government Discount

• Rubber • Metal • Slate • Slag • Shingles • Tile

(202) 256 6981 (301) 858 6990

GUTTER REPAIR & REPLACEMENT Aluminum • Copper Galvanized

· · · ·

LOWEST RATES ON THE HILL!

• Water Proofing

ROOFING CO. ROOFING Shingles • Metal • Slate Slag • Rubber

SPECIALISTS

• Gutter Repairs

Lic. #9360

Est. 1974

FLAT ROOF

• Gutter Guards

24 Hour Emergency.

202-223-ROOF (7663)

A.A.

Alex Williams

Flat Roof specialist, New Roofs, Slate, Shingle, Tin, Seamless Gutters, Copper, Waterproofing, Chimney, Brick Pointing.

OVER 30

LIC. BONDED. INS

R.W. ROOFING We offer the most competitive price in town. All Roofing & Rubber Roofs. We do everything: replacements, repairs, maintenance and coatings. See our ad under general contracting. 202-674-0300 or 301-929-0664.

Licensed Bonded Insured

JEFFREY WOOD cell

301-674-1991 202-828-0713

www.wood-whitacre.com

• • • • •

Repairs of Original Cast Iron Staircases Window bars and door security gates Handrailings & Stair Railings Fences, Sidewalk Gates, Tree Box Fences DC code approved bedroom window security bars • Excavating, back hoe services and tree stump grinding • Certified welding

24-hours, 7-day service Free estimates

703-765-9344 www.suburbanweldingcompany.com

“Try a new coating vs. a roof replacement.”

• FLAT ROOF SPECIALIST • WATERPROOFING • BASEMENT LEAKS • ALUMINUM ASPHALT COATING • SLATE REPAIRS • SHINGLE REPAIRS

• CHIMNEY REPAIR • BRICK POINTING • GUTTER REPAIR/GUTTER REPLACEMENT • INQUIRE ABOUT OUR SPECIALS • FREE ESTIMATES

FREE MAINTENANCE! Licensed • Bonded • Insured Family owned & operated 40 Years Experience

202-607-4038

www.JohnstonandJohnstonRoofing.com

WINDOWS 2010 ON THE INSIDE Replacement Window & Door Installation Group Historically Accurate Replacement of Exterior Window Casings The Best Installation Crew Wood, Fiberglass Framed & Vinyl Windows, Replacement & Full Tear Out Installation, Wide Range of Custom Moldings

Windows Craft, Inc. Specializing in historic buildings

202-288-6660 alex@windowscraft.com www.windowscraft.com

HIRE LOCALLY! FIND BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS IN THE HILL RAG CLASSIFIEDS EACH MONTH

19 D Street, SE

1880 ON THE OUTSIDE

Licensed, Insured and Bonded DC Home Improvement License # 69006200

GET RESULTS! Place a classifed today! capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 135

OTHER SERVICES

JILL-OF-ALL-TRADES

COMPUTERS/SOFTWARE

BEAUTY/HEALTH/FITNESS

PERSONAL FITNESS TRAINING

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER

INSTRUCTION Professional Tennis Instruction

202-638-1708 WhelanStrengthTraining.com Living on & serving the Hill since 1986

Dr. David Walls-Kaufman

Bailo Ba Davis Cup Veteran

Chiropractor

202-415-2807

411 East Capitol St., SE

bailoba@verizon.net

All are welcome to Dr. Walls-Kaufman's free Saturday morning Tai Chi class at 8 am in Lincoln Park

202-544-6035 Because Optimal Health is Impossible Without Optimal Posture!

Burn Over 700 Calories in one class

LOGOS COMPUTER SERVICE Computer Set-up • Computer Tune-up Email • Back Up Software Installation • Hardware Installation Technology Consultation Virus and Spyware Removal Security and Performance

All Skill Levels $62 private $35 semi-private $26 group lesson

H IS FOR HOT YOGA ON H STREET! Introduction Offer $29 for 7 days of unlimited yoga!

Professional Tennis Registry

ALL LEVELS WELCOME! No reservations required!

• Melt Off Pounds • Reduce stress • Increase Strength + Flexibility

Bikram Yoga Capitol Hill 410 H ST. NE 202-547-1208 www.BikramYogaCapitolHill.com Look better, feel better and change your body!

GET RESULTS! Place a classifed today!

136 ★ HillRag | April 2010

Computer Weenies On-site Service for Homes and Businesses

 MAC ONLY  Take the puzzle out of operating your computer  Software Installation  Troubleshooting  Upgrades  Reasonable Rates

fagon@hillrag.com 202-250-1217

SHOE REPAIR

Eastern Market Shoe Repair • Shoes • Boots • Purses • Luggage 645 Penn Ave., SE upstairs M-F 8:30-7 • Sat 9-6

202-543-5632

Lessons on Capitol Hill

On-site Service • Reasonable Rates

logos.comtech@gmail.com • 202-250-1215

Are you tired of leading a Clutter-centric Life -- That clutter hides crucial things from you making you late for work and appointments; it prevents you from socializing at home with friends or family because there’s no room at the dining table to entertain; it pushes you to take expensive trips just to escape the stress of the mess. If you’re interested in getting organizing help but have some trepidation about the process, check out www.jillofalltradesdc.com and go to the Q & A section and look at the Photo Diary in About Jill. Then call Jill-of-all-Trades at 202-544-JILL (5455) to get started making over your life to match your vision!

Larry Elpiner

• Troubleshooting, Repairs & Upgrades • Virus and Spyware Removal • New and Existing Computer Setup • Network and Wireless Installation • Data Recovery, Transfer and Back-up • Webpage Development

301.767.3355

202.543.7055

www.computerweenies.com

ORGANIZING

PET SERVICES

zoolatry

MISCELLANEOUS

HELP WANTED

FOR RENT

Food- Truck Operator needed. More information call (202) 299-8688 or (202) 558-9060.

(zoo-ahl’-uh-tree)

FOOD- TRUCK OPERATOR

the worship of animals – especially a pet

Mid-Day Dog Walking Service

Pet Sitting & Dog Walking • Mid-day dog walks • AM/PM/Weekend Walks • House visits for kitties Insured and Bonded Pet first aid certified

dogdotcatdc@yahoo.com www.dogdotcat.com

202-388-8111

dot

ENGLISH BASEMENT Pet sitting – Medications Administered Crate Training Insured – Bonded Member of National Association of Professional Petsitters

(202) 547-WALK (9255) Meet Our Walkers Online at

www.zoolatry.com

Big dogs, puppies, hard to handle and older dogs.

I love them all ….and I also love kitties.

Phillip DuBasky Dog Walking, Kitty Care & Pet Sitting

Serving Capitol Hill Since 1995 Never missed a walk in 10 years Experienced and Reliable Outstanding Hill References • Insured by PSA

202.889.0996

1 BR apartment with large spaces (approx. 700 sq, ft. total). Generous table space kitchen with washer & dryer in unit. Large brick patio at front and a smaller patio at rear provide ample outdoor space. $1600 per month plus utilities. 10-15 minute walk to Eastern Market and Union Station. Contact Dru at 202-543-8773 or dtallant@aol.com.

STOP PAYING PARKING TICKETS GARAGES FOR RENT $175-$225 a month 1 Block from Lincoln Park & 1/2 Block from East Capitol Street.

Vehicles only.

TOTAL WELL BEING FOR YOUR PET

Vacation Dog Sitting In-home and Overnights Cat Sitting

202-546-7387

www.pawticulars.com Licensed, Bonded & Insured

PET ADOPTION Personally Serving our Neighbors since 1999

pets on the hill Support your local Hill business "We live, work and play on the Hill"

Mid-day Dog Walking AM & PM, Weekend Walks, Petsitting • Women Owned and Operated • Expert Cat Care - All Areas of the Hill • Medications, Plant Watering, Mail and Paper • Trustworthy and Reliable

Kerith Grandelli bonded & insured

202.546.6785 H I L L P E T S @ YA H O O . C O M

CAPITAL CATS

Adoption Event at Chateau-Animaux

Sundays Noon to 3 PM 524 8th Street, S.E. a five-minute walk from Eastern Market Metro.

Visit our Web site to view pictures and their engaging personalities at www.capitalcats.petfinder.com or www.homealone.petfinder.com Capital Cats is a non-profit cat rescue organization on the Hill that has many wonderful, personable cats and kittens available for adoption to good homes.

HUGE YARD SALE Sat., June 12, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 35 vendors - antiques, collectibles, jewelry, clothing, household items, etc.

Town Square Towers, 700 7th Street, SW. (near L’Enfant or Waterside Metro). Rain or shine.

1BR ENGLISH BASEMENT Capitol Hill Jr. 1 Bedroom Available Immediately. Newly renovated junior 1 bedroom English basement features stainless steel appliances and washer/dryer. Walk to everything! Available immediately. Come see today and move tomorrow. 9th & C Street, NE. Email asha_weithers@yahoo.com or call (202) 486-4476.

1-800-310-9980 Dog Walking - Midday, A.M & P.M, Weekdays & Weekends

YARD SALE

FOR SALE

SEVEN GARAGES 7 Garages for Sale, $99,800. near East Capitol and 14th, FSBO. call 1.800.310.9980

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS PAPER

HIRE LOCALLY! FIND BUSINESSES FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS IN THE HILL RAG CLASSIFIEDS EACH MONTH

HILL RAG CLASSIFIED RATES LINE CLASSIFIEDS: $25 for the first 15 words; 25 cents for each additional word BOX CLASSIFIEDS: $25 per column inch, two inch minimum; $25 each additional inch; 3 month minimum Multiple paper discounts available.

Paid in advance and billed quarterly FREE CATEGORIES: Lost and Found, Items to Give Away, Club Meeting Notices E-mail your ad with credit card information to carolina@hillrag.com or call 202.543.8300 x12 capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 137

thelastword Peggy Reed Retires from Cafe Berlin

It is with mixed emotions that I’m announcing my retirement as one of the owners of Cafe Berlin (322 Massachusetts Ave. NE).

I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life that will include the warmth of Florida, summer fun at Rehoboth Beach, visits to Germany and long walks with Miss Gracie, my pampered pooch.

The sad part is saying goodbye to all the wonderful customers I have met over the past 25 years at Cafe Berlin.

Many have become good friends and an extended family to me. I thank you for Peggy Reed of Cafe Berlin. Photo: by Andrew Lightman. your support of the restaurant and your friendship. You have made it a pleasure to come to work and I will miss you.

Also, I would like to thank the great staff at Cafe Berlin for all their hard work and dedication over the years. The chefs, kitchen and restaurant staff will continue to be as always.

I leave all my friends and customers in the good hands of Irene Khashan, my business partner. We had a vision for our restaurant when we started in 1986 and are proud of our results. Irene, may you have many more years of continued success, I wish you the best.

Thank you – Peggy

The Death of a Newspaper

Fine dinging at Cafe Berlin. Photo by Andrew Lightman 138 H HillRag | June 2010

The death of any newspaper is sad. But when it’s close to home, the impact is even more significant and poignant. So, let’s pause a moment to mourn and pay tribute to The Voice of the Hill.

When it hit our doorsteps – every household in our community got one delivered – in 1999, it was a breath, no a gale-force, of fresh-air. It was lively, topical, punchy.

Under the skillful stewardship of it first editor, and co-founder, Stephanie Cavanaugh, it captured life on the Hill like no other. And as it brightened and informed our lives,

capitalcommunitynews.com H 139

it also changed The Hill Rag. Few would argue that the Rag is not a better publication because of the challenge from the Voice.

The launch of a rival to The Rag, came about through the combined talents and resources of Stephanie and the other founder, graphic-designer Adele Robey. They were later joined by Adele’s late husband Bruce, who became the Voice webmaster.

After Stephanie left – to pursue even bigger and better journalistic pastures – so did others she’d recruited. Including myself. Many of us found a writing haven with The Rag. As so often happens in any industry, the writing was on the wall for the Voice when, in 2006, the Robeys sold it to one of the “big-boys.” In this case, The Current, which has free-papers in Georgetown and Dupont. In its brief closure announcement, it blamed lack of revenue, because of the recession.

But whatever the reasons, I would like to record a fond farewell to the opposition: was good to know you!

Maggie Hall, 10th Street SE

The Changing Face of Eighth Street

For many residents, the development along Eighth Street is nothing short of amazing. When I first moved to this neighborhood, the only restaurants/bar between Pennsylvania Avenue and G Street were Mickey’s Pub, Alberto’s Trattoria and Las Placitas.

One of the first to see the potential and invest in this neighborhood was Jorge, who opened the Banana Café in a building that had been a merry-go-round of dismal establishments. The Café brought new life to Eighth Street.

Jorge has been a strong supporter of this neighborhood and larger community. He’s a friend to many of us.

Following his request to enlarge the outdoor patio, many E Street neighbors were incensed. He met with several to discuss his plans and the rea140 H HillRag | June 2010

soning behind it. I did not attend but understand the opposition was strong – and unfortunately nasty.

The after-hours problems for those of us on E Street are not attributable to Banana Café alone.

Many of the more boisterous patrons come from the other establishments open late and serving alcohol.

To hold Jorge accountable for loud noise and garbage is unfair to someone who’s been a good neighbor for so many years.

Noris noris.malvey@verizon.net

There are Ways to Justify Reducing C Street NE Lanes

Commuter and commercial traffic, it is the why C Street NE currently functions like a freeway.

So, why do six blocks of residential street look and act as a pass-through freeway?

There are two probable reasons: 1. Automobile Thoroughfare – 50+ years ago, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) probably planned to move vast amounts of regional traffic through the heart of the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

2. RFK Memorial Stadium – when it was built back in 1961, attendees’ primary mode of transportation was the automobile. (The Stadium-Armory Metrorail Station did not open until 1977) These antiquated policies and practices jeopardize residents’ health and safety and eroded the neighborhood fabric and connectivity.

The C Street Project is at a critical cross-road in how we as a community and government envision the future role of C Street NE. With major infrastructure investments, like the 11th Street Bridge and Benning Road/H Street Streetcar debuting around 2012, the Capitol Hill community has a unique opportunity to regain lost ground in-

advertently given to regional commuter and commercial vehicle traffic over the last 50+ years.

The problem is twofold: 1) southbound Interstate-295 traffic exits onto East Capitol Street; and 2) westbound East Capitol St (east of the Anacostia River) traffic heading west can only continue westbound (no option to exit onto I295) and both then flow through Capitol Hill using either East Capitol Street or C Street.

DDOT’s antiquated policies and practices appear to “have to still apply” to C Street. However, in other parts of the city, DDOT has embraced and employed innovative designs and technologies to reprioritize street access for residents and non-motorized users with much support and success.

Great! But, what do we do with all those vehicles using C Street, East Capitol Street and the subsequent Capitol Hill street grid?

Potential solutions - We should think of low cost, easily implemented alternatives using existing infrastructure to alleviate the community burden, for instance: 1. Provide an alternative route from East Capitol Street (Whitney-Young Memorial Bridge) via new 11th Street Bridge connection; 2. Provide wayfinding signs to guide motorists to use principal arterials and freeways to directly access downtown and points south of the city; 3. Provide commuter parking, using vacant RFK Stadium lots, for Stadium-Armory Metrorail and Metrobus users, streetcar users and cyclists.

Note: parking is currently available for $7/daily at RFK’s Lot 3.

Please visit cstreetne.blogspot.com for more information and to further discuss these issues and ideas.

Ken space-creator@hotmail.com H

Annual Pet Issue and Photo Contest!

Make your animal friend a star. Send us your most adorable, funniest, most outrageous pet photos for a chance at fame and prizes!

The ca tegories:

2009 Winner

Best Overall Photo Best Cat Photo Best Dog Photo Loveliest Cutest Funniest Cleverest Caption Best Buddies (human and pet) Best Buddies (pets) Most Laid Back Most Unusual

Winning entries will be published in the July 2010 issue and will appear our website at www.capitalcommunitynews.com To Enter: Send photos to 224 7th St., SE, Washington, DC (Attention Pet Contest 2010) or e-mail to pets@hillrag.com (300 dpi). Maximum of two photos per entry.

Include your name, a phone number, the name of your pet, a caption for the photo and/or category.

Photos cannot be returned.

DEADLINE: JUNE 16 capitalcommunitynews.com H 141

by Anonymous

R

ecently, The Nose watched a reality TV show in which a random and somewhat bizarre group of people tried to navigate through a crisis. One of the main characters was a guy named Jack, and there was a smoky monster looming over the group called the Financial Control Board.

This was the fiscal version of Lost, otherwise known as the twoday broadcast of DC Council budget deliberations last month. Dear Readers, forget the candidate propaganda and Colbert I. King rants and certainly The Washington Post election editorials. If you really want to learn about the candidates on the ballot this fall, invest an hour or two in watching this municipal mini-series. Be warned: At times it is a bit raw, and it can be scary. The camera actually shows how our elected officials think.

The 13-member tribe led by DC Council Chairman Vince “The Undertaker” Gray congregated outside the council chambers to rescue the city from Mayor BlackBerry’s proposed budget that The Undertaker said would leave DC residents “nickel and dimed.” A quick spoiler: Did the council replace the more than 70 traffic tickets and fees the mayor proposed?

No. In the grainy, dimly lighted room sat our DC Council: There was David “Can’tStandya” Catania, armed with his calculator and spreadsheets and highlighter pens.

Directly across the table from him was Tommy “In the Name of the Father” Thomas, behind a fort of Gatorade and Muscle Milk, ready for battle over the so-called soda tax. He was flanked on both sides by Team At-Large Brown—Kwame and Michael —who didn’t seem to come with much of anything. Given the single-lens view of the chairman’s conference room, the screen looked like a cross between HBO’s The Wire and a televised school board meeting in Lake Wobegon.

What about our self-proclaimed financial wizard? Mayor for Life Marion S. Barry Jr. made a cameo 142 H HillRag | June 2010

appearance. In the middle of the table sat The Undertaker. It was not The Undertaker’s choice to broadcast the proceedings—he brought in the cameras at the last minute only after a group of good government types threatened the council chairman with betrayal for meeting behind closed doors. But the camera presented a perfect opportunity for The Undertaker to showcase his brand of leadership and present a stark contrast to his mayoral nemesis, Mayor BlackBerry.

The Nose will sum up that style here: Snoooozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzeeee.

Sure, The Undertaker kept under control the diabolical rants of Jack “For Rent ” Evans, the grandstanding of Jim “Grahamstander” Graham, and the complete nerddom of Phil “Mendo” Mendelson. He also prevented Can’tStandya from putting Tommy “Bleeding Heart” Wells in a chokehold when Wells stumbled on questions about squeezing more money out of the human services agencies he oversees.

And The Undertaker certainly can complain: He complained about BlackBerry’s “nickel-anddime” approach. He complained about the ballooning schools budget, and Chancellor Michelle “Red Queen” Rhee. He complained for many hours about how the mayor was draining the city’s bank account, called the fund balance.

But where was the leadership?

What solution or alternative did The Undertaker offer?

Nickel-and-diming still in there? Yup. Schools budget still growing and seemingly untouchable? Yep. Fund balance still raided? Most definitely.

Let’s look at how The Undertaker took on the thorny, controversial issues. First, the millionaire’s tax.

The Undertaker built a career on fighting for the city’s most vulnerable, and what did he say to those allies when they proposed raising taxes on the top 5 percent of taxpayers to pay for critical programs that try to keep families off the street and healthy?

When advocates finally cor-

nered him, he said it was an election year. He didn’t think there were many votes in securing the city’s safety net.

And even though he happily posed for pictures with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack promoting Mary “Angry Woman” Cheh’s healthy schools initiative, he was mum about her soda tax proposal to fund it. He talked a lot about the “consensus in the room.”

In these meetings, Gray said he was supportive of funding for the city’s $1.5 billion plus streetcar program. Yet funding for the program was mysteriously missing when the council met to vote on the budget, a surprise to Bleeding Heart and the Grahamstander, who have championed the project. Then the streetcars evangelicals pounded the blogosphere and e-mail and phone lines. A few hours later, Gray found new streetcar money in the form of a high interest payday loan.

Hardly a profile in courage.

So who was the real star of the show? Can’tStandya.

Can’tStandya has always been a bit of a drama queen at these sessions, and was about one fist length away from coming to blows with former At-Large Councilmember Harold Brazil in a closed-door budget meeting years ago. But he stood out for a different reason this time.

He was the only member who came to the table with a thorough knowledge of his budgets, the budgets of his colleagues, and the general fiscal outlook of other states and cities.

When For Rent ranted on about cutting $165 million from the budget, Can’tStandya called that “reckless.” When the Grahamstander snuck in his pet programs, Can’tStandya pulled out his calculator. When Bleeding Heart clearly didn’t have a grasp on his critical human services programs, Can’tStandya talked about recession-related pressures and the need to challenge Dr. Natwar “Not a Beancounter” Gandhi’s assumptions.

The Nose will say it now: Can’tStandya for Mayor in 2014.

Have a tip for The Nose? E-mail thenose@hillrag.com. H

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Toy Land Bar and Restaurant 421 H ST NE 202-450-4075 A stylish bar and lounge with wonderful retro accents. The perfect hipster hangout.

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