The NorThwesT CurreNT
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Vol. L, No. 9
Serving Chevy Chase, Colonial Village, Shepherd Park, Brightwood, Crestwood, Petworth & 16th Street Heights
Ward 3 crowding prompts review
CHAMPIONSHIP CADETS
■ Schools: Lack of capacity
needs addressing, officials say By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
D.C.’s population has risen significantly over the past decade, and most observers agree that the city’s school system has improved overall. But with the confluence of these two factors, many schools
now face a conundrum: finding room for an influx of new students in buildings with limited space. The challenge is particularly acute in Ward 3. According to new data from D.C. Public Schools, projected enrollment will exceed building capacity this fall in all of the ward’s public elementary, middle and high schools except for Hearst Elementary, which will be overfilled no later than fall 2020. Lafayette and Hardy weren’t
included in the data because they’re located outside the ward, although their districts include sections of Ward 3. School communities are already feeling the impacts of overcrowding, and at a meeting of the Ward 3-Wilson Feeder Education Network last Thursday, Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh vowed to team up with parents and Ward 3 State Board of See Schools/Page 5
Divided ANC opposes height of shelter By KATHERINE SALTZMAN Current Correspondent
Brian Kapur/The Current
With a 58-52 victory Monday night, the St. John’s girls basketball team toppled Paul VI, which had won the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference crown the past three years. The Cadets were led by senior guard Aisha Sheppard, center, who scored 24 points. See story, page 11.
The city’s proposed Ward 3 emergency family shelter received mixed feedback from the local advisory neighborhood commission last week, as a divided ANC 3C (Cleveland Park, Massachusetts Avenue Heights, Woodley Park) voted to support the shelter location while requesting a lower height. The facility is planned as a six-story, 50-unit building located on the Metropolitan Police Department’s 2nd District Headquarters property, 3320 Idaho Ave. NW. It’s one of seven proposed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to replace D.C. General — a deteriorating and overcrowded family shelter in Southeast — with smaller community-based short-term housing facilities across the city. Various aspects of the project have sparked grave concerns among community members, though sevSee Homeless/Page 7
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
The proposed short-term family housing would displace parking next to the 2nd District Police Headquarters, prompting plans for a parking deck.
Debate continues over 39th, Reno solutions
Agency vows to investigate Soapstone Creek pollution
By BRADY HOLT
■ Environment: Neighbors’
Current Staff Writer
Community division over Reno Road’s intersection with 39th and Ingomar streets NW continued Monday even as Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3/4G unanimously opposed the D.C. Department of Transportation’s proposed fixes for the accidentprone location. The Transportation Department is looking to make various changes at the complicated intersection, including designating small stretches of 39th and Ingomar as one-way streets near Reno. The proposal — intended to eliminate the most hazardous interactions at these cross streets — recently won support from ANC 3E (Friendship Heights, Tenleytown), which represents the west side of the intersection. But on the east side, ANC 3/4G (Chevy Chase)
complaints prompt inquiry
Brian Kapur/The Current
Residents calling for a four-way stop at 39th Street and Reno Road NW say it would allow safer travel across Reno, where cars now don’t have to stop.
instead requested a four-way stop at the intersection of 39th and Reno. Commissioners contend this solution would better address the underlying problem at the intersection: Reno Road traffic moving too fast for the street’s poor sightlines, endangering not only motorists but also pedestrians and cyclists. The oneway streets would merely divert traffic to similarly See Reno/Page 18
By CUNEYT DIL
Current Correspondent
Responding to neighbors’ requests, the District is taking new steps to monitor pollution and water quality levels at Soapstone Valley Creek in Forest Hills, which has a history of E. coli contamination and frequent troubles from stormwater overflows. The D.C. Department of Energy & Environment will search for sources of pollution in the 400-
acre watershed that flows into Soapstone Creek, which in turn flows into Rock Creek. Joshua Rodriguez, from the agency’s Inspection and Enforcement Division, said at Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3F’s meeting last Tuesday that the goal is to eliminate pollution and take steps to restore the stream’s health. The source of Soapstone Creek is mainly rainfall that collects into stormwater pipes, then empties into the stream. Pollution becomes a problem when this stormwater gathers debris and chemicals from the street. And with stormwater See Soapstone/Page 2
PASSAGES
SPORTS
SHOPPING & DINING
INDEX
‘Good at Heart’
Northwest knockouts
Spreading its wings
Calendar/20 Classifieds/29 District Digest/4 In Your Neighborhood/16 Northwest Passages/13 Opinion/8
Chevy Chase author’s debut novel reflects on her family’s Nazi ancestry / Page 13
Wilson High, four other local teams bring home basketball trophies in title games / Page 11
Longtime family-owned boutique Phoenix reopens after renovation, expansion / Page 19
Police Report/6 Real Estate/15 School Dispatches/13 Service Directory/27 Shopping & Dining/19 Sports/11
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