Thank You Mayor Gray! The Commissioners of ANC 7A would like to thank Mayor Vincent C. Gray for attending its Second Annual Town Meeting on January 3, 2012. The Commissioners appreciate his decision to take time to meet and listen to the concerns of our constituents. We look forward to having a wonderful new year under your leadership. Regards, Commissioner’s for ANC7A
Commissioner for 7A01 Sheila Carson-Carr Commissioner for 7A02 Eboni Thompson Commissioner for 7A03 Shahidah Hamlett Commissioner for 7A04 Latese Gilbert Commissioner for 7A05 & Treasurer Martha Kent Commissioner for 7A06 Evie Washington Commissioner for 7A07 & Chair Villareal Johnson
ANC 7A Meetings are generally held on the first Tuesday of each month. For More Information on ANC 7A, please visit www.anc7a.com
EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | JANUARY 2012 | CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS 08 ............Go See Do 10 ............East of the River Calendar 16 ............The Bulletin Board 20 ............District Beat: Ethics Reform • by Martin Austermuhle 22 ............Numbers: Critical Needs • by Soumya Bhat and Kwame Boadi 24 ............In Our Opinion: Let’s Build A Multi-Purpose Youth Sports Complex at the RFK Stadium 26 ............DC Clean Rivers Project Digs... • by Gwyn Jones 28 ............Final Phase for H Street Streetcar • by Dana Bell 30 ............Mayor Gray addresses Ward 7... • by John Muller 32 ............Sheridan Station Update... • by John Muller 33 ............The MLK Jr. Parade is Back!... • by Charles Wilson
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EAST WASHINGTON LIFE
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34 ............Hair Spray • by Barbara Wells 36 ............Students invoke Frederick Douglass... • by John Muller 38 ............The Big C: Breast Cancer in DC • by Candace Y.A. Montague
KIDS & FAMILY 40 ............Kids and Family Notebook • by Kathleen Donner 45 ............AppleTree Takes Root in SE DC • by Stephen Lilienthal
HOMES & GARDENS 47 ............Changing Hands • compiled by Don Denton 48 ............The Classifieds
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50 ............The Nose • by Anonymous
DECEMBER COVER CORRECTION: Students from The Washington School of Ballet in The Washington Ballet’s The Nutcracker. Photo: Steve Vaccariello
ON THE COVER: “Artuaré Red, 2010” by Steven M. Cummings From installation “Artuaré” on view Dec 12- April 29, 2012 (NEW DATE) as part of the Community and Creativity exhibition initiative at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum.
CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 5
HILL RAG MID CITY DC EAST OF THE RIVER FAGON COMMUNITY GUIDES THE EDUCATION EDITION 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
The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Parade Committee Invites you to participate in the Annual
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. Holiday Parade Monday, January 16, 2012 Lineup will start at 8:30 a.m. Parade begins at 11:00 a.m. Grand Marshals Professional Boxers Lamont Peterson (WBA and IBF World Champion) and Anthony Peterson
Parade will begin at Friendship Public Charter School 645 Milwaukee Place SE Parade will end at Leckie Elementary School 4201 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SW For more information call (877) 576-5421 or visit www.MLKHolidayParadeDC.org
EDITORIAL STAFF
SOCIETY & EVENTS
MANAGING EDITOR: Andrew Lightman andrew@hillrag.com CFO & ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Maria Carolina Lopez carolina@hillrag.com SCHOOL NOTES EDITOR: SUSAN BRAUN JOHNSON SCHOOLS@HILLRAG.COM KIDS & FAMILY NOTEBOOK EDITOR: KATHLEEN DONNER KATHLEEN.DONNER@GMAIL.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
ANC6A, 6B, 6C, 6D:
ART: Jim Magner • jjmagner@aol.com DINING: Emily Clark - clapol47@gmail.com HIT THE CITY: Joylyn Hopkins • joylyn@joylynhopkins.com LITERATURE: Karen Lyon • klyon@folger.edu MOVIES: Mike Canning • mjcanning@verizon.net MUSIC: Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com RETAIL THERAPY: Scott Fazzini • scott.fazzini@gmail.com THEATER: Barbara Wells • barchardwells@aol.com TRAVEL: Maggie Hall • whitby@aol.com THE WINE GUYS: Jon Genderson • jon@cellar.com
CALENDAR & BULLETIN BOARD HILL RAG, MIDCITY DC & EAST OF THE RIVER: CALENDAR EDITOR: Kathleen Donner calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com
GENERAL ASSIGNMENT Michelle Phipps-Evans • invisiblecolours@yahoo.com Celeste McCall • celeste@hillrag.com Heather Schoell • hschoell@verizon.net Virginia Avniel Spatz • virginia@hillrag.com Peter Waldron • peter@hillrag.com Kathleen Donner • kathleen.donner@gmail.com Stephanie Deutsch • scd@his.com Alice Ollstein • alice.ollstein@gmail.com Roberta Weiner • rweiner_us@yahoo.com Gwyn Jones • gwynjones@aol.com John H. Muller • jmuller.washingtonsyndicate@gmail.com Amanda Wilson - amanda.mc.wilson@gmail.com Dana Bell - dana@hillrag.com
BEAUTY, HEALTH & FITNESS Patricia Cinelli • fitmiss44@aol.com Ronda Bresnick Hauss, LCSW • www.quietwaterscenter.com quiet_waters_center@yahoo.com
Roberta Weiner • rweiner_us@yahoo.com Emily Clark - clapol47@gmail.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: Ralph Brabham: Ralph • ralphbrabham@yahoo.com The Triangle: Amanda Wilson - amanda.mc.wilson@gmail.com ANC6B:
PRODUCTION/GRAPHIC DESIGN LEAD DESIGNER / WEB MASTER: Jason Nickens 202.543.8300 X17 • jason@hillrag.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Jason Yen 202.543.8300 X21 • jay@hillrag.com
ADVERTISING & SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Kira Means 202.543.8300 X16 • kira@hillrag.com ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE: Lucy Fagon 202.543.8300 X20 • lucy@hillrag.com CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: Maria Carolina Lopez 202.543.8300 X12 • carolina@hillrag.com MARKETING ASST.: Giancarlo Fagon
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
KIDS & FAMILY Kathleen Donner • kathleen.donner@gmail.com Susan Johnson • schools@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.
In partnership with the Office of Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry MEDIA SPONSOR
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PUBLISHER: JEAN-KEITH FAGON • fagon@hillrag.com @MLKDCParade
Copyright © 2010 by Capital Community News. All Rights Reserved.
capitalcommunitynews.com 6 ★ EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
| JANUARY 2012
Success starts
Enroll your 3 or 4 year old at AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School & prepare your child for success in school! (Free to DC residents!)
NOW.
AppleTree’s evidence-based program helps children develop the strong academic and social skills needed to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. AppleTree campuses offer: Lincoln Park 138 12th Street NE 202.621.6581
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CARING AND ENGAGED TEACHERS who receive extensive training on early childhood learning & development
Oklahoma Avenue 320 21st Street NE 202.525.7807
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Columbia Heights 2750 14th Street NW 202.667.9490
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Southeast - Douglas Knoll 2017 Savannah Ter. SE 202.630.6805 Southeast - Parklands 2011 Savannah St. SE 202.630.6805 Southwest – Amidon 410 I Street SW 202.646.0094
We are hosting Open Houses on the following dates: January 27, 2012, 11am-12pm February 16, 2012, 4pm-5pm March 6, 2012, 9am-10am March 22, 2012, 2pm-3pm
April 17, 2012, 9:30am-10:30am May 3, 2012, 4pm-5pm May 31, 2012, 11am-12pm June 12, 2012, 5pm-6pm
Southwest - Riverside 680 I Street SW 202.646.0500
RSVP for an open house by calling a campus or applying online at: AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School prohibits discrimination on the basis of a student’s race, color, religion, national origin, language spoken, intellectual or athletic ability, measures of achievement or aptitude, or status as a student with special needs.
www.AppleTreePCS.org/Enroll If required, a public lottery will be held on Thursday April 7, 2011 at all campuses.
Apply Today- Now enrolling for the 2012-2013 school year.
CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 7
GO.SEE.DO. First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets The Newseum’s popular exhibit “First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets,” showcases some of the top dogs who have resided at the nation’s most prestigious address. On display are images of dogs belonging to 23 presidents, including the newest addition: Bo--a gift to the Obamas from the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy. Some highlights include the fact that Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Scottish terrier, Fala, had his own press secretary; Warren G. Harding’s Airedale, Laddie Boy, had his own chair at Cabinet meetings and a book “written” by George H.W. Bush’s English Springer spaniel, Millie, sold more copies than Bush’s own book. Newseum admission is $21.95 plus tax; $17.95 for seniors, military and students; $12.95 for kids 7-18. Ages 6 and younger are free. 10% tickets ordered online. Tickets are good for two consecutive days. 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 888-639-7386. newseum.org
President Lyndon B. Johnson sits in a chair with his dog as they both lean back and howl, on January 6, 1968. Johnson’s grandson Patrick Lyndon Nugent looks up at the President from a child’s walker chair. Photo: Yoichi Okamoto/Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum
Mid-Winter Family Festival: Celebrate Africa! This is the first of a two-part collaborative celebration of the many arts and cultures of Africa at the third annual National Textile Museum’s mid-winter family festival. The Anacostia Community Museum joins in this collaboration that offers African dancing, music, and folktales. Try on African fashions and make an African textile to take home. Join them for ongoing performances and activities. Saturday. Jan. 21, noon-4:00 p.m. Suitable for all ages. Free; no reservations required. Part 2, “What’s in Your Closet?” will take place April 21, 2012, 10:30 a.m. Textile Museum, 2320 S St. NW. 202-667-0441. textilemuseum.org
Young crafter at last year’s festival Photo: Courtesy of Textile Museum
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Parade Hundreds of people will be marching in the 34th annual Ward 8 MLK Holiday Parade on Monday, January 16. Bands, community organizations, church groups, clubs and individuals are welcome to participate. The line-up will start at about 9:30 a.m. and the parade at 11:00 a.m. The parade starts at Friendship Southeast Technology Prep School, 645 Milwaukee Pl. SE and finishes at Leckie Elementary School, 4201 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SW. Anyone interested in marching, volunteering or donating, should go to the parade website. All are welcome. 202-236-8831. mlkholidayparadedc.org
Greensboro Lunch Counter at the National Museum of American History Photo: National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Join the Student Sit-Ins at the Greensboro Lunch Counter Meet a Civil Rights activist in 1960, just after the Greensboro student sit-in began. Take part in a training session based on an actual 1960s manual and prepare for your first sit-in. Would you have the courage to fight for justice during the Civil Rights movement? These 15-20-minute performances reveal the people behind the objects on view and the emotion in their stories. For all ages. Most Sundays at 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM, and 4:30 PM. No shows Jan. 15. Also Jan. 7 and 14 at 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM; Jan. 20, 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM and 4:30 PM. Free. Just walk in. National Museum of American History. 202-633-1000. americanhistory.si.edu
40 Free Events in 40 Days at CHAW At the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, art is community...community is art. They have learned this over the past 40 years and look forward to what the next 40 years will teach us. They invite the CHAW community to explore how art continually engages, inspires, informs, and excites as they celebrate this moment in their evolving story. From Jan. 4-Feb. 12, CHAW will host 40 free events including classes, workshops, concerts, and more! Be their guest at as many of these 40 free events as you are able. Pre-registration is required for some events. Register online at chaw.org or call 202-547-6839. Registrants will automatically be enrolled in a drawing for a $50 CHAW gift certificate. Find a comprehensive listing of CHAW’s January free events in this month’s calendar under Classes, Tours And Talks Around The Neighborhood.
Art instructor Ellen Cornett Photo: Courtesy of CHAW CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 9
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African Heritage Drummers. Photo: Donovan Marks, Courtesy of Washington National Cathedral.
King Across the Ages Concert at National Cathedral Jan. 16, 2:00 PM. Their annual event celebrates his legacy through service projects, interfaith dialogue, and performances of our city’s rich music and dance heritage. Featured groups are the Malcolm X Dancers & Drummers, St. Augustine Gospel Choir, poet Tony Keith, Urban Nation H.I.P.—H.O.P. Choir, Children of the Gospel Choir, and CityDance with singers from School Without Walls. No reservations required. Admission is a donation of either a non-perishable canned food item or a new children’s book. Washington National Cathedral (intersection of Massachusetts and Wisconsin aves. NW). 202-537-6200. nationalcathedral.org
MLK DAY RELATED EVENTS
$15. THEARC Theater, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org
NSO & NEWorks: A Mighty Stream. Jan 7, 5:00 PM. The National Symphony Orchestra and NEWorks Productions presents “A Mighty Stream,” a celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American Freedom Movement through music, video, and spoken word. Featured artists include the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rev. Nolan Williams, Jr., Voices of Inspiration (Washington-based choral aggregation), Shirley Murdock (R&B and Gospel recording artist), Byron Nichols (of Richard Smallwood & Vision), and Frédéric Yonnet (Urban Jazz Harmonicist). $10-
United Planning Organization to support higher education through Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast. Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Cheryl Sanders, Howard University Professor and Pastor of Third Street Church. The event will take place Saturday, January 14, 2012 at 7:45 A.M. at the JW Marriott Washington DC. Tickets for the event at $100 and can be purchased at www.mlkjrbreakfast.charityhappenings.org. To date UPO has raised more than $500K in scholarships to low-income DC high school
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students. King’s Dream: Has America Made Substantive Progress in the Age of Obama?. Jan. 9, noon. Washington Post Metro Columnist will discuss how African-Americans have fared under the Obama Presidency. Capitol View Neighborhood Library, 5001 Central Ave. SE. 202-645-0775. dclibrary.org/capitolview “I Have a Dream” Documentary Film. Jan. 10, 7:00 PM. Come watch this historic documentary about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dorothy I. Height/Benning Neighborhood
Library, 3935 Benning Rd. NE. 202-2812583. dclibrary.org/dorothy Mayor Vincent C. Gray “Dr. King: His Impact on My Life.” Jan. 11, 6:30 PM. Reared in the Northeast quadrant of the city, Mayor Gray will speak on how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy have impacted his life. Capitol View Neighborhood Library, 5001 Central Ave. SE. 202-645-0775. dclibrary.org/capitolview “Boycott” Screening. Jan. 11, 7:00 PM. In celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, the Francis A. Gregory Interim Li-
Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter High School Free To Excel! Small Classes / Individualized Instruction / AP & Honors Courses SAT Preparation / National Honor Society / Air Force JROTC MOS Certification Center School Highlights: •
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CALENDAR
brary will show the film “Boycott,” a movie about the Montgomery, Alabama, 1965 bus boycott. The boycott catapulted Rosa Parks and Dr. King onto the national stage and ignited a movement. The film features Jeffery Wright and Terrance Howard. Francis A. Gregory Interim Library, 2100 36th Pl. SE. 202-698-6373. dclibrary.org/francis Remembering Martin Luther King Jr Library Program. Jan. 12. Children, 1:00-3:00 PM; adults, 7:00-8:30 PM. Recorded speeches and group discussions on Dr. King’s life and legacy. Dorothy I. Height/Benning Neighborhood Library, 3935 Benning Rd. NE. 202-281-2583. dclibrary.org/dorothy 27th Annual Smithsonian Martin Luther King Jr. Program. Jan 13, 7:00 PM. Keynote speaks is Harry E. Johnson, Sr., President and CEO, Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. Free. Baird Auditorium, National Museum of Natural History, Constitution Ave. at 10th St. NW. MLK Film Festival at Frederick Douglass House. Jan. 14, 15 and 16, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM. The Eyes on the Prize film series will be screened over the course of the three days and end with a lecture by historian C.R. Gibbs concerning Dr. Kings’s interest in Africa. Free. 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE. 202426-5961. nps.gov/frdo To the Mountaintop-The Words of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 14, 15, and 16, 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM, 2:30 PM, and 4:00 PM. Experience a stirring and inspirational tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as actor Xavier Carnegie presents selections from some of Dr. King’s most powerful and compelling speeches and sermons in a combination of live performance, historic photographs, and audio recordings. Free. American History Museum, Flag Hall, 2nd Floor, Center, 14th St. and Constitution Ave. NW. americanhistory.si.edu
Be Careful Now, 2009 by Steven M. Cummings from installation “Artuaré” on view Dec. 12-April 29, 2012 (new date) as part of the Community and Creativity exhibition initiative at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. Photo: Steven M. Cummings
“Artuaré” at Anacostia Community Museum Through April 29. Two installations, “Artuaré” (AHR-tu-ahre) by Steven M. Cummings and “Conversations in the contemporary” by Creative Junkfood comprise the second Community and Creativity exhibition on view at the Anacostia Community Museum. Featuring a photographic essay about Cummings’ development as an artist, Artuaré also looks at his collaboration with sculptor BK Adams, who was featured in the first exhibition in the series. “Conversation” was created by the multimedia production firm, Creative Junkfood and features an examination of identity through art, animation and live footage. Curated by Portia James, this multipart exhibition is the second presentation in the museum’s “Call & Response: Community and Creativity Initiative” exhibition series that has focuses on traditional and nontraditional expressions of creativity found in everyday communities. Anacostia Community Museum is open daily 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4820. anacostia.si.edu 12 ★ EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Parade. Jan. 16, 11:00 AM. Bands, community organizations, church groups, clubs and individuals are welcome to participate. The parade starts at Friendship Southeast Technology Prep School, 645 Milwaukee Pl. SE and finishes at Leckie Elementary School, 4201 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SW. Anyone interested in marching, volunteering or donating, should go to the parade website. All are welcome. 202-236-8831. mlkholidayparadedc.org MLK Mitzvah Day. Jan. 16, morning shift, 10:00 AM-1:00 PM; afternoon shift, 1:004:00 PM. Grab your hammer and help make a difference. You’ll paint, plaster, and repair the home of Mrs. Smith, 77, a homeowner and beloved neighbor in Northeast DC for 23 years. Over the years, her family’s lowincome has left the house in disrepair. We will work side-by-side with her family to make her house a home again. The house is a 15-minute walk from the closest metro station, so volunteers will meet at Sixth & I (9:00 AM and noon) and taking a public bus
together. This project is fo Visit the MLK Memorial. On Jan. 16, 3:00 PM, interpretative talk “Born to the Arc of the Moral Universe” and at 5:00 PM, “Born MLK-A Portrait of Early Influences”. For both talks, meet at the bookstore. Dr. King championed a movement that draws fully from the deep well of America’s potential for freedom, opportunity, and justice. His vision of America is captured in his message of hope and possibility for a future anchored in dignity, sensitivity, and mutual respect; a message that challenges each of us to recognize that America’s true strength lies in its diversity of talents. 1964 Independence Ave. SW. mlkmemorial.org MLK Day of Service. Jan 16. 11:00 AM3:30 PM. G St. NW, between Nineth and 10th sts. 202-727-7925. serve.dc.gov Greater DC Cares Volunteer Opportunities. On Jan. 16, Greater DC Cares will continue the proud tradition of honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the role of community service by engaging nearly 2,000 corporate and community volunteers of all ages and backgrounds in service projects throughout Washington, DC, Maryland & Virginia. Join them as they remember his legacy and commitment to service by volunteering with Greater DC Cares! Call 202-777-4441 or register online at greaterdccares.org. Wreath-Laying at the Lincoln Memorial. Jan. 16, 1:00 PM. The National Park Service will place a wreath at the Lincoln Memorial, on the steps where Dr. King gave his 1963 speech. The recitation of the “I Have a Dream” speech will be presented by students of a Washington, DC school. 202-426-6895. nps.gov/linc MLK Day: Not Just Another Day Off. Jan. 16, 11:00-1:00 PM. Combining dramatic readings of speeches and poetry, Folger Shakespeare Library celebrates the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. with this free and family-friendly event. Folger Shakespeare Library, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. 202-5444600. folger.edu Kennedy Center “Let Freedom Ring” Concert. Jan 16, 6:00 PM. The Kennedy Center and Georgetown University present Let Freedom Ring, featuring Bobby McFerrin and the Let Freedom Ring Choir in a musical tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Free tickets available starting at 5:00 PM. kennedy-center.org Beyond the March on Washington, DC Library Program. Jan. 19, 6:30 PM. All ages are welcome. Dorothy I. Height/Benning Neighborhood Library, 3935 Benning Rd. NE. 202-281-2583. dclibrary.org/dorothy Necessary Sacrifices at Ford’s. Jan. 20Feb. In his fourth commission for Ford’s Theatre, playwright Richard Hellesen explores the two documented encounters between Frederick Douglass and Abraham
Lincoln during a period of national crisis. During the summers of 1863 and 1864, Douglass challenges Lincoln to use his power as president to bring truth to America’s founding ideal that “all men are created equal.” $27-$40. Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. 800-982-2787 (for tickets). fordstheatre.org NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom Online Exhibition. The NAACP: A Century in the Fight for Freedom exhibition presents a retrospective of the major personalities, events, and achievements that shaped the NAACP’s history during its first 100 years. myloc.gov/Exhibitions/ naacp
AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD MUSIC AND FILM Impossible Dream Concert Featuring Doreen Vail. Jan. 14, D.I.V.A. EnterpriZe, LLC. presents the “Impossible Dream” release party/concert, a celebration featuring recording artist & songbird, Doreen Vail and hosted by MMBC radio announcers, Glenn and Michele Shelton. Come experience a blend of inspirational, gospel and contemporary melodies that will keep you captivated! $25. THEARC Theater, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org. Mr. Dial Has Something to Say (57 min.). Jan. 22, 2:00 PM. This feature documentary explores the visual arts and focuses on the life of Thornton Dial. His improvisational style of painting mimics the spontaneity of jazz and reflects a tradition of creativity that dates from Africa through the period of slavery and continues to the present day. The terms “outsider,” “visionary,” “primitive,” “folk,” and “naïve” have all been applied to his style of painting. Related subjects include blues and gospel and a broader discussion about self-taught artists. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4844. anacostia.si.edu
LITERARY EVENTS Deanwood Nonfiction Book Group. Meets Wednesdays, every other week. Jan. 18; Feb. 1, 15 and 29, 6:30-7:00 PM, snacks and conversation. 7:00 PM book discussion. Upcoming titles are “Destined to Witness: Growing up Black in Nazi Germany” by Hans J. Massaquoi; “Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War: a Memoir” by Gbowee, Leymah; “Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America” by Melissa V. Harris-Perry. Deanwood Neighborhood Library, 1350 49th St. NE. 202-698-1175. dclibrary.org/deanwood Francis A. Gregory Adult Book Club. Jan. CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★
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25, 6:30 PM. The Francis A. Gregory Adult Book Club has selected “Shanghai Girls” by Lisa See for its January meeting. Francis A. Gregory Interim Library, 2100 36th Pl. SE. 202-698-6373. dclibrary.org/francis
EXHIBITIONS Visual Audio: Inquiries into Found Media Radio Transmission Ark + Vernacular Preservation Society. Jan. 13-Feb. 24. Opening reception, Jan. 13, 7:00 PM. Radio Transmission Ark: Rob Peterson and Lindsay Reynolds will be in residence at Honfleur Gallery collaborating and creating Radio Transmission Ark, an exploration at the crossroads of transmission art and community archiving. The result of this collaboration will be an installed portrait of the community surrounding Honfleur Gallery, combining found sounds, observational writings, and documentary drawings, using found and refused media. Honfleur Gallery, 1241 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-365-8392. honfleurgallery.com Second Look-selections from a print labs archives. Jan. 13-Mar. 30. Opening reception, Jan. 13, 6:00-8:00 PM. A grounp photography exhibit of images printed at Vivid Solutions DC Print Lab. The Gallery at Vivid Solutions, 2208 MLK Ave. SE. 202-365-8392. vividsolutionsdc.com Searching for Soulstice at Center for Green Urbanism. The Tubman-Mahan Gallery Advisory Committee’s Holiday Show. Tuesday-Friday 10:00 AM-5:00 PM; Saturday, 11:00 AM-4:00 PM. 3938 Benning Rd. NE. 202-506-3867. centerforgreenurbanism.org
CLASSES TALKS AND TOURS Free Legal Information Session-Wills. Jan. 10, 10:00 AM. Deanwood Neighborhood Library and Community Center Senior Program, in collaboration with Neighborhood Legal Services Program, presents a monthly series of Free Legal Information Sessions. Come hear about wills, advanced directives and where to find free help preparing your will. Deanwood Neighborhood Library, 1350 49th St. NE. 202-698-1175. dclibrary.org/ deanwood Digital Download Workshop. Jan. 23, 7:00 PM. Did you get a new digital gadget as a holiday gift? Would you like to learn how to download digital material from the District of Columbia Public Library catalog to your new device? Learn how to download electronic material to your computer, ereader and MP3 player. Francis A. Gregory Interim Library, 2100 36th Pl. SE. 202-698-6373. dclibrary.org/francis Scrapbooking your Memories. Jan. 29. 2:00-4:00 pm. Join artist Camilla Younger in a workshop on scrapbooking memories. Remember to bring in your favorite photographs to be photocopied. Also bring fabric, yarn, ribbons, or other favorite materials. For reservations, call 202-633-4844. Ana-
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costia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4844. anacostia.si.edu
Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. 202-397-SEAT. nba.com/wizards
Tour the Frederick Douglass House. Through Mar. 31, tours are at 9:00 AM, 12:15 PM, 1:15 PM, 3:00 PM and 3:30 PM. Ranger led tours are the only way to see the inside of the Frederick Douglass house. Tours are ticketed, and there are a limited number of tickets available for each tour. Tour tickets are available by reservation or on a first-come, first-served walk-in basis. Visitors are strongly encouraged to make a reservation to guarantee their place on the tour. Tours last approximately 30 minutes. Visitors are encouraged to arrive at least 20 minutes early to pick up tickets at the Visitor Center and use restrooms. 1411 W St. SE. 202-426-5960. nps.gov/frdo
Low Impact Aerobics Class. Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:30-8:00 PM. Join the free, low-impact aerobics class at Capitol View Neighborhood Library, 5001 Central Ave. SE. 202-645-0755. dclibrary.org/capitolview
Introductory Computer Class at Deanwood. Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00-10:00 AM. Drop-ins welcome. Deanwood Neighborhood Library, 1350 49th St. NE. 202-6981175. dclibrary.org/deanwood Tour Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens. Open daily, 7:00 AM-4:00 PM. Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens is about 700 acres and is part of Anacostia Park. The park includes the gardens, Kenilworth Marsh, ball fields and recreational facilities. It is the only National Park Service site devoted to the propagation and display of aquatic plants. Stop by the visitors center and ask if a ranger is free to show you around. You can also borrow a guidebook and binoculars if you leave a driver’s license. Free.1550 Anacostia Ave. NE. 202-426-6905. www.nps. gov/kepa A Self-Reliant People: Greater Deanwood Heritage Trail. Discover, or see with new eyes, this traditionally African American enclave in Far Northeast when you follow “A Self-Reliant People: Greater Deanwood Heritage Trail.” Fifteen poster-sized street signs combine storytelling with historic photographs and maps to transport you back to the days before Deanwood was Deanwood. To pick up the trail go to Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. and Division Ave. NE. Walk one block south to Foote Street, at the edge of Marvin Gaye Park. The 90-minute, self-guided tour will bring you along Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, up 49th St. and along Sheriff Rd. back to Minnesota Ave. and the Metro station. Walk the trail at your own pace and take time to enjoy this small town in the city. Don’t forget to pick up a free trail guide from businesses along the way. 202-661-7581. culturaltourismdc.org
SPORTS, DANCE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Washington Capitals Hockey. Jan. 11, 13, 15, 17 and 24; 7:00 PM. Verizon Center, 601 F St. NW. 202-266-2277. capitals.nhl.com Washington Wizards Basketball. Jan. 8, 10, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25 and 30; 7:00 PM.
| JANUARY 2012
Full Moon Hike at Arboretum. January 8, 9, & 10; 7:00-9:00 PM and February 6, 7, & 8; 7:00-9:00 PM. This four-mile-long, brisk walk is a magical trip through moonlit gardens, meadows and woods. Clear winter nights provide especially bright skies. Not recommended for children under 16. $22. Registration required online at usna.usda. gov or by calling 202-245-4521. There are two entrances: 3501 New York Ave. NE and 24th & R sts. NE, off of Bladensburg Rd. NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo. Jan. 1415; 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. More than 200 health care providers, businesses, and non-profit organizations will be on site at the Expo. They will provide free assessments, advice and information, and tests, screenings and services. Also, raffles and giveaways, blood drive, dancing, healthy cooking stage and a Winter Olympics pavilion. Free. Washington Convention Center. nbcwashington.com Free Yoga Class at Anacostia Neighborhood Library. Every Thursday, 7:00-8:00 PM. Yoga is a great way to relax, unwind and get grounded. Even if you’ve never done yoga before--this class is for you. Open to people of all abilities, ages and body types. All you need to bring is yourself, comfortable clothing and an open mind. Judgment free zone: having a great time is encouraged! Register in person at Anacostia Neighborhood Library, or call 202-715-7707. 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE. dclibrary.org/anacostia Da’Originalz featuring Beat Ya Feet. Jan. 14, 10:30 AM-noon. Learn how to create your own movements in the dance form of “Beat Ya Feet.” Based on an original D.C. dance form, this five-session workshop will provide demonstrations and group practice supervision by Da’Originalz. If self-expression through movement is your preference, then Beat Ya Feet is for you. For reservations, call 202.633.4844; group size is limited. Free. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4844. anacostia. si.edu Adult Dance Classes. Mondays, 7:00-8:15 PM, African dance; Tuesdays, 8:00-9:15 PM, Ballet; Saturdays, 9:00-10:00 AM, Zumba. The Washington Ballet @ THEARC offers three adult classes this year. Classes are $10 each or you may purchase a $100 class card for 12 classes. Classes are only $5 for residents who live in the 20020 or 20032 zip codes. (Valid ID required.) THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org Winter Public Skating at Fort Dupont. Fridays, noon-1:50 PM and Saturdays, 11:15 AM-12:15 PM. Dress for warmth and safety!
Clothes should be easy to move in, and pants must not fall below the heel of the skate (sweatpants or leggings are a good choice). Everyone needs to wear gloves or mittens, and one pair of thin, long socks or tights that fit snugly (no ankle socks). A helmet or knit hat is strongly recommended (loaner helmets are available). Skating is $4-$5. Skate rental is $3. Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Pl. SE. 202-584-5007. fdia. org East Potomac Tennis Center (indoor courts). Open daily. Indoor courts available year round at 70 degrees. 7:00 AM-10:00 PM. Winter indoor court fees are $17-$36/ hour depending on the time. 1090 Ohio Dr. SW (East Potomac Park). 202-554-5962. eastpotomactennis.com Southeast Tennis and Learning Center (indoor courts). Open daily; Monday through Saturday, 9:00 AM-9:00 PM; Sunday, 9:00 AM-6:00 PM. Four indoor courts. Six outdoor courts. Summer hourly fees at $6 to $10 for adults. Kids 17 and under play for free. 701 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-645-6242. dpr. dc.gov/dpr Deanwood (indoor) Pool. Mon-Fri 6:30 AM8:00 PM; Sat-Sun, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. Free for DC residents. 1350 49th St. NE. 202-6713078. dpr.dc.gov Ferebee Hope (indoor) Pool. Open weekdays, 10:00-6:00 PM. Closed weekends. Free for DC residents. 3999 Eighth St. SE. 202645-3916. dpr.dc.gov Learn to Swim in DC. Basic lessons are $10 for DC residents. More advanced classes are $30 for a 4 week session (2 lessons a week). For more information, 202-724-4495. dpr. dc.gov Tidal Basin 3K Monthly Run. Third Wednesday of each month, noon. This run is free and informal. West Potomac Park (meet on Ohio Drive at West Basin Drive, near the Tourmobile. stand). 703-505-3567. dcroadrunners.org East Potomac Driving Range. Open daily except Christmas, 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM. Tuesdays open 10:00 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 Dr. SW. 202-554-7660. golfdc.com Langston Driving Range. Open every day except Christmas, sun-up to sun-down. 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 and Benning Rd. NE. 202-397-8638. golfdc.com
CIVIC LIFE RFK Stadium Community Outreach Meeting. Jan. 9, 7:00 PM. During this meeting,
they will discuss upcoming RFK/Armory events, the 2012 quarterly stakeholders meeting schedule, opening of the RFK Skate Park, and other community matters. Please RSVP before noon on Jan. 4 by calling Patricia Wiseman at 202-608-1100. RFK Stadium Media Room. DC Government Homesaver Program Class. Jan. 11 and 18, noon; Jan. 25, 6:00 PM. DC now offers forgivable loans to homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgages because of unemployment. If you own a home in DC, are receiving or have received unemployment benefits at any time during the last 6 months, and are behind on your mortgage because you were laid off, you may be eligible for a loan to help bring your mortgage current. Call 202-667-7006 or attend a free foreclosure clinic to find out more about this program and other realistic options for avoiding foreclosure. Housing Counseling Services, 2410 17th St. NW, Suite #100. housingetc.org Big Chair Breakfast Bunch. Saturday, Jan. 14, 10:00 AM-noon. Big Chair Coffee n’ Grill (upstairs). All are welcome to attend and discuss what’s happening East of the River. 2122 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE. 202-525-4287. Hearing on the “District of Columbia Community Schools Incentive Amendment Act of 2011.” Jan. 31, 4:30 PM in Room 500, John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to testify are asked to call Priscilla McIver, Administrative Assistant to the Committee of the Whole, at 202-724-8196 e-mail at pford@dccouncil.us. Congresswoman Norton’s NW District Office. Open weekdays, 9:00 AM-6:00 PM. 529 14th St. NW. 202-783-5065. norton.house.gov Councilmember Alexander’s Constituent Services Office. Open weekdays, 10:00 AM-6:00 PM. 2524 Penn. Ave. SE. 202-581-1560. Councilmember Barry’s Constituent Services Office. Open weekdays, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. 2100 MLK Ave, SE, #307. 202-698-2185. Ward 7 Democrats Meeting. Fourth Saturday, noon-2:00 PM. Ward Memorial AME Church, 241 42nd St. NE. 202-584-8477 or info@ward7democrats. ward7democrats.org Anacostia Coordinating Council Meeting. Last Tuesday, noon-2:00 PM. Anacostia Museum, 1901 Fort St. SE. For further details, contact Philip Pannell, 202-889-4900. Capitol View Civic Association Meeting. Third Monday, 6:30 PM. Hughes Memorial United Methodist, 25 53rd St. NE. capitolviewcivicassoc.org Historical Anacostia Block Association. Second Thursday, 7:00-9:00 PM. UPO-Anacostia Service Center, 1649 Good Hope Rd. SE. For further details, contact Charles Wilson, 202834-0600. Anacostia High School School Improvement Team Meeting. Fourth Tuesday. 6:00 PM. Ana-
costia High School, 16th and R sts. SE. Deanwood Citizens Association General Body Meeting. Fourth Monday, except Aug. and Dec., 6:30 PM. 1350 49th St. NE. Eastland Gardens Civic Association Meeting. Third Tuesday. 6:30-8:30 PM. Kenilworth Elementary School (auditorium), 1300 44th St. NE. Greg Rhett jrhett3009@aol.com or 202388-1532.
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Fairlawn Citizens Association. Third Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Ora L. Glover Community Room at the Anacostia Public Library, 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE.
2412 Minnesota Ave. SE, Suite 101 Washington, DC 20020
202-678-REAL(7325)
6th District Citizens Advisory Council. Second Monday, except July and Aug. 7:00 PM. 6th District HQ, 100 42nd St. NE. MPD 7D Citizens Advisory Council Meeting. Third Wednesday, Oct. 19, 7:00-9:00 PM. 7D Police Station Community Room, 2455 Alabama Ave. SE. For details, contact Lendia Johnson at 202-698-1454.
www.AnacostiaRiverRealty.com Call John Corrigan today 202-306-1822 for instant Pre-Approval! WCS Lending proud to be ranked on Inc. 5000 for 2 Consecutive years!
PSA 703. Last Wednesday, Oct. 26, 6:30-8:00 PM. St. John CME Church, 2801 Stanton Rd. SE. For details, contact Lt. Edward Aragona at 202-698-1446. ANC 7-A. Third Tuesday, 7:30 PM. BenningStoddard Rec. Center, 100 Stoddard Pl. SE. 202-727-1000. 7A@anc.dc.gov. anc7a.org ANC 7-B. Third Thursday, 7:00 PM. Ryland Epworth United Methodist Church, 3200 S St. SE (Branch Ave and S St. SE). 202-584-3400. anc7b@pressroom.com. anc7b.us ANC 7-C. Second Thursday, 7:00 PM. Sargent Memorial Presbyterian Church, 5109 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. NE. 202-398-5100. anc7c@verizon.net ANC 7-D. Second Tuesday, 6:30 PM. Sixth District Police Station, 100 42nd St. NE. 202-3985258. 7D06@anc.dc.gov ANC 7-E. Second Tuesday, 7:00-8:30 PM. Jones Memorial Church, 4625 G St. SE. 202-582-6360. 7E@anc.dc.gov ANC 8-A. First Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Anacostia UPO Service Center, 1649 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-889-6600. anc8adc.org ANC 8-B. Third Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Seventh District Police Station Community Center, Alabama and McGee Sts. SE. 202-610-1818. anc8b.org ANC 8-C. First Wednesday (June meeting is on the nineth because of the holiday), 6:30 PM. 2907 MLK Jr Ave. SE. 202-388-2244.
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CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 15
BULLETIN BOARD
Work Started on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Safety Improvement Project
An eager crowd applauded the ribbon-cutting for phase one of Sheridan Station, a five-story, 114-unit apartment building in Ward 8. From left to right: Barry LeNoir, Chairman of DCHA’s Sheridan Station Steering Committee; Kwame Brown, DC Council Chairman; Adrianne Todman, DCHA Executive Director; Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton; Wendy Glover, resident of former Sheridan Terrace community and new homebuyer in Sheridan Station; Mayor Vincent Gray; W. Chris Smith, Chairman and DEO of developer William C. Smith + Company; Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry; and Harry Sewell, Executive Director of the DC Housing Finance Agency.
DC Housing Authority Opens Ward 8 Green Housing Development Phase I of Sheridan Station at 2516 Sheridan Rd. SE will provide 114 units of affordable rental housing. This is the first part of a larger HOPE VI redevelopment effort which involves the new construction of 344 mixed-income housing units on a vacant public housing site in the historic Anacostia neighborhood of Southeast Washington, DC. This redevelopment was spurred with a $20 million HOPE VI Grant DCHA received from HUD in 2007. In 2009, DCHA received an additional $5.8 million competitive grant funded by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which was specifically designated for the creation of energy efficient communities through substantial rehabilitation or new construction of public housing developments. Sheridan Terrace is registered with USGB for LEED Certified Platinum. “Phase I of the Sheridan Station development is the premier green, transit-oriented, mixed-income housing development in the District of Columbia,” said DCHA Executive Director Adrianne Todman. “The building includes a solar power array, vegetative green roof, bio-retention facilities, Energy Star© appliances and sustainable building materials.”
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced that work has begun on the Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Safety Improvement Project. This $1.4 million project is locally funded and will be constructed by a Ward 8 minority-owned firm, F&L Construction. The project will make key safety improvements on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue between Good Hope Rd. and Howard Rd. to improve mobility for pedestrians and motorists. Crosswalks will be reconstructed; wheelchair ramps will be upgraded to ensure ADA compliance; brick sidewalks, curbs, gutters, broken alley entrances will be repaired and/ or replaced; and the roadway surface will be milled and overlaid. Construction activities will take place 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and may include Saturday. The project is expected to take approximately four months. Lane closures will only occur between the morning and afternoon rush hours. At a minimum one traffic lane in each direction will be kept open while construction is taking place. Access to all properties will be kept open. Curbside parking restrictions will apply throughout the project area. No-parking notices will be posted 72 hours in advance. Questions may be directed to the DDOT Project Engineer Phillips Folayan at 202-741-8536 or phillips. folayan@dc.gov.
Ward 7 Saturday GED/SAT Tutoring Expands After two successful months of tutoring at the Deanwood Library, the Saturday tutoring program is looking to expand to another site in Ward 7. Client turnout has been overwhelming and the need for one-on-one help preparing for these important tests is spread across the ward. Starting at the beginning of 2012, clients will also have access to job search, resume and interview help during tutoring hours. To make all of this possible, they need your help. If you are interested in serving as a tutor on Saturday mornings at either Deanwood or Capitol View libraries, please contact Torey Hollingsworth at 202-777-4453. As they gear up to add a job search component to the GED and SAT tutoring clinic, they are looking for dedicated volunteers who can help clients further their job search by providing resume and interview tips. This volunteer would typically serve as a tutor, but would be on hand to help out with job-seekers if necessary.
Traffic Switch Planned for Benning Road, NE In mid-December, the District Department of Transportation began the final phase of work on the Benning Road Reconstruction Project. During this phase crews will
16 ★ EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
| JANUARY 2012
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be working behind concrete barriers in the middle of the roadway between 39th and 42nd sts. Eastbound and westbound traffic will be shifted to the outer limits of the roadway. Pedestrian and driveway access along this stretch will be kept open.Temporary traffic control signs will be in place to guide motorists through this area. Barring any major weather delays, this final phase of the work should be completed by mid February 2012.
Save the Date-Annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup The 24th Annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup is scheduled for Apr. 14, 9:00 a.m.-noon. Registration for site leaders is now open. Reach them at potomaccleanup@fergusonfoundation.org
Join Friends of Fort Dupont Park The Friends of Fort Dupont Park (FOFTDU) is a non-profit organization, located in Washington DC, and is interested to supporting the National Park Services’ Fort Dupont Park. The Friends Group is comprised of members and volunteers dedicated to helping to enhance Fort Dupont Park programming and services through increased volunteerism, awareness, and support of cultural, educational, and environmental programming. This programming includes: Feet in the Street, Fort Dupont Summer Theatre, Jazz Appreciation Month ( JAM), Hiker Biker Trails, and the Junior Ranger Program. The Friends of Fort Dupont invite you to join them in their mission. There are several ways in which you can help them help Fort Dupont Park. For more information visit foftdupont.org.
East River Family Strengthening Collaborative Gala On Thursday, Dec. 8, East River Family Strengthening Collaborative held their 15th Anniversary Awards Gala “Crystallizing Our Commitment to Ward 7.” The gala was held at the Washington Navy Yard Catering & Conference Center and attracted close to 200 celebrants. Entertainment was by DC’s own Let It Flow The Band and the silent auction featured over 20 items. Mayor Gray and Councilmembers Yvette Alexander and Kwame Brown attended. The highlight of the evening was the award presentations which were CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 17
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS made to some of the original founding members of ERFSC: Claudette Allen, Evelyn Brown, Robert Brown, Charles Perry, Karen Settles, Elizabeth Whitlow, Jean Wilks and Darlene Williams. Executive Director Mae Best presented the awards and stated that “ERFSC is truly a community effort and we were founded by many community members; some of whom are not here tonight to accept their award.” erfsc.org
Save the Date-Frederick Douglass Birthday Celebration Born a slave, Frederick Douglass selected his own February 14th birthday. The National Park Service at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Anacostia has moved the celebration to the closest Saturday so that more people can enjoy the day. The day will a keynote speaker, oratorical contest recitations, kids’ actitivies, face painting, live entertainment and food for purchase. It may be cold outside but the celebration will be in heated tents, the house itself and the auditorium. Saturday, Feb. 11, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. 1411 W St. SE. 202-426-5961. nps. gov/frdo
NPS Seeks Public Comment on the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail Section 3 The National Park Service announces the availability of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail Section 3 Realignment Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for public review and comment. They propose to construct Section 3 of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail through Kenilworth Park. The project site is located east of the Anacostia River in northeast Washington, and would extend into Maryland. As part of this proposal, a trail bridge that crosses the Anacostia River would be constructed that connects the proposed new trail alignment to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Arboretum. This section of trail would serve to link other sections of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, as well as other District trail tie-ins. To review and comment upon the Draft EA, the public is directed to go to the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) site at parkplanning.nps.gov/art_section_3. Public review copies of the Draft EA will also be available at the 18 ★ EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
Benning Branch Library, 3935 Benning Rd NE and at National Capital Parks-East Headquarters, 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE. Comments will be accepted through Jan. 31.
Pennsylvania Avenue Great Streets Project Update DDOT announced that all major roadwork on the Pennsylvania Avenue Great Streets Project, Pennsylvania Avenue, SE between 27th Street, SE and Alabama Avenue, SE is on schedule to have been completed by the end of December 2011. The last portion of roadway, between Alabama Ave. SE and Southern Ave. SE, the final surface asphalt, landscaping and “punch list” items will wrap up in spring 2012. While this stretch remains under construction one traffic lane per each direction will be kept open. Upon completion of the final segment of roadway, the new lanes will be opened to allow traffic to flow two lanes in each direction the entire length of the project and the Pennsylvania Avenue Great Streets Project will be complete. Please note that work hours are 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Please consider alternate routes and proceed with caution as you travel through the construction work area. Questions may be directed to DDOT Project Manager Robert Chrusciel at 202-497-8107.
Separate and Unequaled: Black Baseball in the District of Columbia Back by popular demand after a recent successful run at the Historical Society of Washington, DC, a condensed version of this exhibition is on view at the museum. From Reconstruction to the second half of the 20th century, baseball, the great American pastime, was played in Washington, DC, on segregated fields. “Separate and Unequaled” looks at the phenomenal popularity and community draw of this sport when played by African Americans. Featured are such personalities as Josh Gibson and “Buck” Leonard, star players of the Negro Leagues most celebrated team, the Washington Homestead Grays. On view indefinitely at the Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. Open daily 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. 202-633-4844. anacostia.si.edu
| JANUARY 2012
L-R: r.e.e.l. Vice President Troy Donte’ Prestwood, Philip Pannell, Brenda Jones, Irene Lee, r.e.e.l. President Charles Wilson, Kellie Armstead, Jackie Ward, Host Tracee Wilkins and Christina Henderson.
r.e.e.l. Awards East of the River Leaders Community leaders from Wards 7 and 8, a major funding foundation, and a legendary community icon with over 35 years of service were among the 2011 recipients of River East Emerging Leaders first-ever Distinguished Service Awards held in Anacostia last month. Sponsored by William C. Smith + Co, ARCH Community Development/Honfleur Gallery and hosted by NBC4’s Tracee Wilkins, the awards were given to individuals and organizations that have had significant impact East of the River through service and outreach endeavors. Christina Henderson received the Ward 7 Award for her work with local youth and the Southeast White House while Ward 8 had two award recipients: Jackie Ward for community outreach as a constituent services specialist in Councilmember Barry’s office and Brenda Jones and the Parklands Community Center for service to youth and families. The Annie E. Casey Foundation nabbed the East of the River Award for support of several local initiatives and non-profits and Bernard Suber received the group’s Volunteer of the Year Award for service to the organization. The Board of the Directors’ Award was given to one of its own--Kellie Armstread, chair of r.e.e.l.’s Leadership and Engagement Committee, for service to members and the greater community. And Philip Pannell received the Presidential Award for his nearly four decades of stalwart passion, dedication and service to the East of the River community. “These silent warriors embody the true meaning of service to our neighbors,” said r.e.e.l. Vice President Troy Donte’ Prestwood, who is the coordinator of the awards program. “Despite slashed budgets, fewer donations and staff shortages, they are making a measurable difference in the lives of youth, families and the community. It’s time others take notice.”
Register Now for Martin Luther King Day of Service On Monday, Jan. 16, 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m., HandsOn Greater DC Cares will unite nearly 2,000 community members in service to remember and honor Dr. King’s legacy of social justice. Register today to honor Dr. King AND support youth, education and economic recovery. When you register, you have the option to create a volun-
teer team--and you can volunteer with friends, family, your place of worship, your alumni association, coworkers or any other group. There is no minimum team size. There is a $25/person registration fee to participate in the MLK Day of Service, which helps share in programming costs, including paint, ladders, brushes, garbage bags, and everything else that makes service possible. This contribution helps support the free participation of youth volun-
teers throughout the region. It also includes your event t-shirt and snacks and water at the project. mlk2012.kintera.org
11th Street Bridge Project Milestone On Dec. 16, Mayor Gray and representatives from the Council of the District of Columbia, the District Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and the community marked a major milestone on the 11th Street Bridge Project--the completion of the two new freeway bridges. This construction project will provide a seamless connection across the Anacostia River for residents and commuters. Projected to serve almost 180,000 vehicles per day by 2030, the new bridges will provide connections to allow travel directly from southbound DC 295/Anacostia Freeway to the Southeast-Southwest Freeway or from the Southeast-Southwest Freeway to northbound DC 295. The third bridge will carry local traffic between city streets on both sides of the river and provide additional connections to both directions of DC 295. ddot. dc.gov/11thStreetBridge
America’s Sunday Supper Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service marks the beginning of the year of service as millions of Americans honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by contributing their time, voice and money to improve their communities. Join Points of Light and activists around in the country in meaningful dialogue, reflection and service projects to advance Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community through America’s Sunday Supper. On January 16, 2012 people from diverse backgrounds in towns across the nation will come together to watch a documentary film, share a meal, discuss issues such as hunger, poverty and homelessness that American families and veterans are facing today and take action. pointsoflight.org
Capital Bikeshare Launches Bank on DC Today, Capital Bikeshare, in conjunction with Bank on DC, United Bank and the District Government Employees Federal Credit Union (DGEFCU), announced the launch of its Bank on DC program, which will offer $50 annual memberships to unbanked individuals who sign up for a debit or credit account at United Bank or DGEFCU. In addition, existing Bank on DC members will also be offered the $50 annual membership rate. Signing up for a Capital Bikeshare membership in the Bank on DC program is easy and convenient. Individuals simply need to speak with a representative at any United Bank or DGEFCU location to open up their new debit or credit account and will then receive a $25 gift certificate good towards the cost of an annual Capital Bikeshare membership. You can either sign up online
at capitalbikeshare.com/signup and enter your code in the “Reedem a Gift Certificate” box or call Capital Bikeshare at 1-877-430-2453 and provide your gift certificate number to a customer service representative. Individuals will then be mailed an annual membership key.
Wacky & Whimsical Tea to Benefit THEARC The “Wacky & Whimsical Tea to Benefit THEARC” is a fun-filled Sunday afternoon that will include high tea, a silent auction and creative games for kids of all ages and their families, including magic tricks, hat decorating, exciting games, special entertainment and other surprises. All of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC). Sunday, Feb. 12, 2:00-4:00 p.m. $125, adults; $75, 13 and under. Four Seasons Hotel Georgetown, 2800 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org
Casey Trees plants 439 trees across DC Casey Trees staff and nearly 1,000 adult and youth volunteers planted 439 trees this fall at 30 Community Tree Planting events across the District. The season’s tree planting initiatives represent a financial investment in the nation’s capital totaling more than $182,000, including 2,300 hours of volunteer labor. Of note, the fall CTP season featured nine tree plantings at DC schools where more than 150 students from grades K-12 added 44 trees to and surrounding their campuses. Students also participated in Tree Rallies leading up to their planting date to learn about the many benefits trees provide and how to properly handle and plant trees. Additionally, Casey Trees expanded its fruit tree plantings, adding 39 trees to five sites including the U.S. National Arboretum’s Washington Youth Garden, Green SEED Community Garden, Capitol Hill Montessori School, Developing Families Center and the McLean Gardens neighborhood. Nearly 4,500 trees have been planted across the District through the CTP program since its inception. caseytrees.org
DC Arts Commission Arts Impact Grant Program The Arts Impact Grant (AIG) provides funding for projects, programming and general operating expenses to organizations that significantly impact District of Columbia residents through exhibitions, presentations, training and educational opportunities in the arts and humanities. Through AIG, organizations may request up to $30,000. This grant is only open to organizations and not individual artists. For more information, organizations may contact Moshe Adams, Director of Grants and Legislative Affairs at 202724-5613 or moshe.adams@dc.gov. ●
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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS District Beat
Closing the Book on Ethics Reform by Martin Austermuhle
it would take to get the bill passed before the close of 2011. When the bill was on the verge of floundering during a November committee markup, Brown – who can vote in any council committee – appeared to speak on its behalf, convincing a skeptical Councilmember Michael A. Brown (I-At Large) to set aside his doubts and vote to move the proposal forward. The victory for him isn’t forever, though. As much as Kwame Brown may have taken Bowser’s side, he likely did do so with an eye towards his own ethical troubles in 2011. He may have turned a page insofar as his colleagues are concerned, but he still faces an ongoing federal investigation into 2008 campaign irregularities. If the investigation leads to an indictment, he may well find himself at the mercy of the very provisions he worked so hard to pass.
Orange and Wells
Councilmember Tommy Wells voted against the recent ethics reform bill. Photo: Andrew Lightman
S
eemingly intent on having 2012 start better than 2011 ended, on December 20 the D.C. Council approved a comprehensive ethics bill that seeks to tamp down on the ethical and legal transgressions that dogged the city’s legislators and largely dominated the tail end of last year’s political discussions. At some point in the next few months, a new three-person D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability will take shape, elected officials will face stricter reporting requirements and conflict-of-interest standards, the D.C. Attorney General will gain new powers to prosecute scofflaws and legislators will be more easily censured or expelled for violating the public’s trust. This is all good news, right? Yes and no – it’s tough to weigh who won, who lost and where local politics will end up this year. But we’ll try.
Bowser and Brown For
Councilmember
Muriel
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Bowser (D-Ward 4), the bill looks like a win. After having been handed the chairmanship of the Committee on Government Operations in July, Bowser set out to craft a bill from up to 10 competing proposals in a charged political environment. Given that she largely got her way while receiving ample credit from her colleagues for individually approaching them for their insights, Bowser couldn’t be happier. Not only did she shepherd a significant piece of legislation through the council in a timeframe that she established, but she did so ahead of her own 2012 reelection bid. Of course, many good government advocates will argue that her victory is merely symbolic. Her bill may have tweaked a few laws for the better and created a new institution to better police compliance (cost: $1.5 million over the next four years), but it left untouched one of the more corrupting elements of any political system – money. Amendments to ban bundled campaign contributions and | JANUARY 2012
more aggressively attack pay-to-play politics were set aside, with only vague promises that the new board will consider them when it is up and running. And while a new amendment would allow 11 members to vote to expel one of its own, Bowser pulled back on making it easier to recall city officials. Initial versions of the bill knocked down the signature-gathering requirement to get a recall on the ballot from ten percent of registered voters to five percent, but in a last-minute move she backed off on the change. Then there’s the issue of timing. She moved quickly, leaving some of her colleagues to wonder whether speed was winning out over substance, and whether her own electoral hopes we’re getting in the way of effective ethics enforcement. For D.C. Council Chair Kwame Brown, it also looks like a win – if only temporarily. Brown faithfully stuck to Bowser’s side throughout the debate, going so far as to threaten his colleagues with additional pre-Christmas legislative sessions if that’s what
For both Councilmembers Vincent Orange (D-At Large) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), the picture is similarly complicated. Throughout the debate, Orange pushed back on Bowser, claiming that she was moving too quickly on a bad idea – namely, the creation of a new government agency to police ethics, when the existing Board of Elections and Ethics could well do fine with more resources. He floated his own competing proposals, including an emergency ethics taskforce, and made waves when he introduced legislation that would have introduced term limits and prohibited outside employment for his colleagues. But when it came time to vote, Orange cast his lot in with a bill that he had heavily criticized. Some said he was simply being pragmatic, seeing that the bill would pass anyhow. Others attribute larger and more cynical goals – in making himself a loud voice during the ethics debate, he gives himself a talking point for his 2012 re-election campaign, despite having raised over $30,000 in bundled corporate campaign contributions according to a December 2011 filing. (Shortly after the session ended, Orange’s office blasted out a press release titled
touting his efforts to “put teeth in ethics reform.”) As for Wells, he was the sole dissenting vote on the bill, tweeting after the session, “[F]rankly the changes to protect status quo on constituent services funds put me over the edge as much as the votes against transparency.” Wells was referring to an amendment sponsored by Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) that removed a prohibition on the use of money from Constituent Services Funds on sporting tickets (it passed on an 8-5 vote), along with a slate of proposals he put forth that would have eliminated the funds, scrapped bundled campaign contributions and prohibited contractors with business before the city from donating to political campaigns. (None made it into the final bill.) With his amendments and his vote, Wells became the principled idealist on the council. Gven the toxicity of DC politics in 2011, that’s certainly not a bad place to be – especially if he has ambitions for higher office in 2014. (Local pundits love to think he does, yours truly included.) But in more immediate practical terms, some have argued that he let the perfect be the enemy of the good. His proposals gained the support of many good government advocates, while his colleagues insisted that they deserved further discussion. Bowser promised to have the new board more fully investigate how to tamp down on bundled campaign contributions – shouldn’t Wells focus on energies on making sure that happens?
Evans and Barry It’s not often that Councilmembers Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) can be equated, but their actions during the ethics debate were similar enough to merit it. After spending much of the time dismissing ethics proposals floated by his colleagues – notably anything to do with a second job, which he has – Evans managed to convince enough colleagues that he should still be able to use his Constituent Services Fund for tickets to sporting events. It’s yet unclear which of his constituents benefit from the tickets, but he’s certainly spent lavishly
on them – $135,897 over a decade, according to The Washington Post, more than he put towards charitable causes. For his part, Barry spent as much time grousing about the local media as he did insisting that there really wasn’t any reason to be discussing ethics in the first place. That says enough about both him and where the council currently finds itself. For as different as they are, both Barry and Evans spent much of the debate acting like their combined longevity on the council and in District politics should grant them a distinct insight into what will work and what won’t. While there’s something to be said for institutional memory, it’s hard to see how arguing that “This is the way things have always been done” is a good thing.
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Thomas Maybe the oddest contributions came from Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. (D-Ward 5), who by any measure faces the most consequences from allegedly misappropriating $300,000 of public funds. Still under the weight of a federal investigation, Thomas cast a number of votes on the legislation and its amendments, voting “Present” on the latter while casting his lot in with the rest of colleagues on the former. Like Brown, it’s likely not lost on him that once the legislation goes into effect, he could well be its first victim.
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The Candidates Though they didn’t cast votes on the bill, challengers in the 2012 races made their presence felt, and will likely continue to harp on the issue as April approaches. Ward 4 contender Max Skolnik testified twice, once attacking Bowser for her own use of her Constituent Services Funds and acceptance of bundled campaign contributions. Peter Shapiro, vying for Orange’s seat, also expressed his disappointment with the bill, as did David Grosso, who is going after Michael Brown’s AtLarge chair. Martin Austermuhle is the Editorin-Chief of DCist.com and a freelance writer. He lives in Mt. Pleasant. ●
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21
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS The Numbers
Critical Needs Constituents Are Best Served By Ensuring That Critical Needs Are Met In the Budget by Soumya Bhat and Kwame Boadi
I
f you followed the DC ethics debate late last year, you probably heard members of the DC Council defend the use of constituent service funds as the safety net of last resort for those seeking emergency assistance. Some members told stories of families camped out in council offices with no place to go, but critics said the funds were not often used for these purposes. What was left out of the debate is that the District provides emergency services through its budget though many of these programs have been cut in recent years, and that you don’t need to know a councilmember or someone else at City Hall to get help. Constituent service funds, which are privately raised and not part of the city’s budget, have been used for a wide range of purposes such as helping a resident with rent or bills, paying for funeral services, and purchasing sports and theater tickets. In the end, the council decided to reduce the yearly limit on constituent service funds, from $80,000 to $40,000. By and large, the council rejected calls to eliminate constituent service funds, and part of the pushback against their elimination was based on the notion that these funds are important to meet critical emergency needs of constituents who have nowhere else to turn. Unfortunately however, these services that council members talked about as critical have been on the chopping block during the last few budget cycles, right at a time when residents have needed them the most due to the economic downturn. Take the DC Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), for example, which was reduced to $2.7 million, an almost 70 percent cut to the program since FY 2009. ERAP offers one-time assistance to eligible low-income District residents that need immediate help paying rent to avoid eviction. The pro-
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gram offers funds to help residents pay overdue rent, court/late fees, security deposits and first month’s rent for those who have recently moved. In 2008, DC ERAP issued $7.5 million in payments assisting over 3,700 households. Three out of four of these payments went to households with children, which included households that also had an elderly member or a member with a disability. In the same way, DC households unable to pay their utility costs may find it even more challenging to access emergency utility assistance in FY 2012, with Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) cut by 23 percent. LIHEAP, an energy program designed to help eligible low-income DC households with their heating and cooling costs, is operated by the District Department of the Environment’s Energy Office (DDOE) with a blend of local funds and federal funding from the US Department of Health and Human Services. In 2010, DC LIHEAP provided 36,607 vulnerable households with financial assistance, with about 70 percent of the beneficiaries either elderly or children under age five. Eligibility for assistance is based on an individual’s annual gross income (below 150 percent) and the size of their household. The amount of assistance provided is based on household size, total household income, heating source (gas, electricity, oil, coal, wood or propane), and type of residence. Another critical program utilized by DC residents is the Interim Disability Assistance (IDA) Program, which provides temporary financial assistance to individuals who cannot work due to a disability and are on the waiting list to receive federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. IDA payments are offered to approximately 1,500 eligible individuals a month until their SSI eligibility is approved or denied. With-
out this critical support, these individuals are likely to be homeless or destitute. The IDA program was in a particularly vulnerable position this past budget cycle when Mayor Gray proposed to stop all IDA benefits to current recipients as well as reject any future applications for the next year. Fortunately, the cut was not approved by the DC Council and the program is currently funded at $3 million, a significant decrease from FY 2008 funding of $5.6 million. Similar to the practice for other states, DC’s IDA Program receives reimbursement from the federal government for any funds distributed once IDA recipients are approved for SSI disability. For the past several budgets, programs that support low and moderateincome District residents have been on the chopping block due to projected deficits. But trimming the budgets of these programs does nothing to decrease the need for them in neighborhoods across the District. The benefit of programs such as LIHEAP, ERAP, and IDA over constituent services funds is that while the latter help a select few people who must first know that the funds exist and second use some sort of personal relationship to access them, the former are made widely available to any District resident that meets their eligibility requirements. Early indications are that the FY 2013 budget will face a deficit. As city leaders begin to determine what program will be funded next year and how, hopefully they will remember their statements about how important it is to have funds to meet the critical needs of residents. Soumya Bhat and Kwame Boadi are with the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (www. dcfpi) which conducts research on tax and budget issues that affect low and moderateincome Dc residents. ●
CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 23
IN OUR OPINION
Let’s Build A Multi-Purpose Youth Sports Complex at the RFK Stadium Imagine an 80-acre complex of green space, multiple sports fields and other facilities, biking/walking/running trails, a new covered pavilion area for the DC Farmer’s Market, an amphitheater space for outdoor performances, and Solar Community Gardens to promote green power -- easily accessible from three wards in Washington DC. A coalition of youth sports, environmental, and community organizations, from both sides of the Anacostia River, are proposing just such a concept. Currently called the Capitol Riverside Youth Sports Park (or CRYSP), the concept is to convert a large portion of the northern parking area at the RFK Stadium site to a youth sports park, including multi-use athletic fields and substantial green space. An initial vision for this concept can be found at www.capitolRFK Stadium. Photo by Andrew Lightman riverside.org; where community input is being solicited, and volunteers can sign up to help move this vision forward. CRYSP can provide a “coming together” point for three city wards – Wards 5, 6 and 7. Replacing the desolate wasteland of the RFK parking lot that currently serves as a DMZ that separates these wards, CRYSP could provide a true “gateway,” uniting young people (and their families) along the Anacostia River, perhaps even heading towards Mayor Gray’s “One City” goal. Converting a large portion of the RFK Stadium site to youth sports facilities will help meet a critical underserved need for DC youth sports programs. The number of DC children ages three through eighteen engaging in organized sports has exploded over the past decade, with the need for athletic fields that can accommodate the surging demand. Citywide, 5,700 kids are registered to play soccer; more than 3,400 are registered to play football; and thousands are playing baseball, softball, lacrosse, ultimate Frisbee, field hockey and other outdoor sports. As the number of younger players engaging in organized sports continues to grow, youth sports programs serving DC youth will continue to be challenged in providing safe, accessible, and high-quality outdoor spaces for DC youth to use for sports and recreation, along with helping in the fight against childhood obesity. This conversion also can create considerable environmental benefits to the Anacostia watershed. Over 52 percent of the RFK stadium site is covered with concrete and asphalt. Run-off from this area drains into the Anacostia River untreated, providing a major source of storm water runoff into the river. Replacing a large portion of this area by sports fields can dramatically reduce this run-off, while Solar Community Gardens can create jobs and promote renewable energy. Finally, the above-grade Metro line in this area is a major constraint to many redevelopment options in this area; however, its existence is not an impediment to a facility such as CYRSP. The concept is consistent with the 2006 National Capitol Planning Commission recommendations for the RFK stadium site. The CapitalSpace initiative (www.capitalspace.gov) identified a particular lack of ball fields, recreational facilities, and open space in the Northeast quadrant of the city, leading to its recommendation, among other things, that DC “…develop multi-use sports complexes that can accommodate a range of sports uses, but also include new athletic fields.” This situation provided the basis for a NCPC recommendation that the RFK Stadium site fill such pressing recreation needs. Moreover, the NCPC notes that permeable recreational surfaces such as athletic fields should be concentrated along the water’s edge to reduce environmental impacts. This conversion can take place relatively quickly, and provide such immediate benefits pending development, and eventual implementation, of a more comprehensive plan for redevelopment of the RFK stadium site. As currently envisioned, the concept is fully compatible with other potential future uses of the complex for professional sports teams, such as DC United or the Redskins. And combining this with incorporation of additional recreational space associated with the DC General/Reservation 13 redevelopment would further leverage these benefits. This concept was submitted as an idea under the Sustainable DC initiative run by the Mayor’s Office – and it received more votes than any other idea. We need to encourage the Mayor that this creates a win-win-win situation for DC Wards 5, 6, and 7, as well as the entire District. Alphonso Coles, Ward 7 Resident and Ward 6 Men’s/Fatherhood Program Dennis Chestnut, Executive Director, Groundwork Anacostia River DC Michael Godec, Vice President, Sports on the Hill 24 ★ EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
| JANUARY 2012
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
DC Clean Rivers Project Digs into a Dirty Problem by Gwyn Jones
new hires will come from the District. In other words, Ray said, “People that we’re hiring will need to come from the District first.” Ray suggested that those interested in being considered for jobs on the project contact their local labor unions. Both labor and operators’ unions have worker training programs in place, Ray said.
Clean Rivers Project Mitigates Antiquated System
The DC Water Clean Rivers Project. Photo: Pamela Mooring, DC Water
C has a plumbing problem – a big one. When it rains, underneath a third of the city, raw sewage mixes with storm water, overwhelming the antiquated combined sewer system and dumping about 3 billion gallons of highly polluted water into area waterways. About 2 billion goes into the Anacostia alone. Big problems require big solutions. So, at the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant in the far southwest corner of Washington, the largest infrastructure project since Metrorail is now underway. Starting with a modest groundbreaking in October, DC Water’s Clean Rivers Project (www. dcwater.com/cleanrivers) is ramping up its first phase at Blue Plains. Undaunted by the cold wind and rain that greeted attendees at the October 12 ceremony, DC Water General Manager George Hawkins described the $2.6 billion project with such enthusiasm, you would hardly have known he was talking about a sewage tunnel. “There can be no overestimating the scale of this project - it’s absolutely huge,” said Hawkins. “The machine our teams will use to build these tunnels is
D
the size of a football field, and needs to be assembled in pieces underground. And because of this work, no single institution is doing more than ours to improve the District’s waterways.” The Clean Rivers Project is necessitated by a 2005 federal consent decree that mandates DC to drastically reduce the amount of raw sewage that flows into the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, as well as Rock Creek, every year due to Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). The new infrastructure will allow virtually all of the wastewater and storm water to be captured and stored so that it can be cleaned at Blue Plains before being released into the Potomac. “[Blue Plains] is the original recycling facility,” Hawkins said. The first tunnel system, and the largest, will serve the Anacostia River. The Blue Plains Tunnel, the first part of that system, will run from Blue Plains in far Southwest to RFK Stadium. The 23-foot diameter tunnel is a large as a Metrorail tunnel, and at 100 feet deep, it will cross under both the Anacostia and the Metro Green Line. Tunnel segments south of RFK Stadium, together with their surface hydraulic facilities and a tunnel dewatering pump station, are scheduled to
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be operating by March 2018, providing relief to the Anacostia first. A second segment, which extends north of RFK Stadium, is required to be completed by 2025. For many residents along the tunnel’s path, the prospects of a Metro-sized undertaking in their neighborhood might raise fears of torn-up streets and disrupted lives for a decade. But Carlton Ray, Director of the Clean Rivers Project DC Water, noted that “One of the beauties of tunneling is that we’ll be underground most of the time. Most folks won’t know we’re building a $1.8 billion project for the Anacostia River system.” The only places where surface disruptions will occur, Ray said, is where the four shafts will be built along the route: two at Blue Plains, one at the Joint Base Anacostia (Bolling) base, one at Poplar Point and one near Nationals Ball Park. “And those disruptions will only be for several months, versus years-long tunneling,” Ray said. As an added benefit, the massive tunnel project will generate muchneeded jobs for District residents. Ray said that all DC Water’s contracts for the project require “first source agreement,” which means that 50% of all
Prior to the early 1900s, DC’s wastewater and storm water systems used the same pipes. These combined sewers still serve both sanitary (wastewater) flow and storm water drainage in the downtown area and in older portions of DC Water’s service area, largely on the eastern side of the city. Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) occur during storm “events” where rain runoff overwhelms the capacity of the combined sewer system, and it can’t convey the mixture of wastewater and storm water to the treatment plant. As Hawkins explained, “A lot of rain fills up the pipes and the overflow goes into the rivers – and people’s basements.” It doesn’t take much rain -more than a quarter of an inch is enough to send a filthy mixture of sewage and storm water from the combined sewer system into DC’s waterways through 53 outfalls on the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, and Rock Creek. CSOs contain material that contributes to high bacteria levels in the rivers, making the Anacostia in particular dangerous to human health. Not only is the river unswimmable; eating fish from the Anacostia is dangerous as well. The Potomac and Rock Creek are also affected and should be avoided after a rain. The organic material in CSOs can contribute to low dissolved oxygen levels, which can contribute to a potential for fish stress or fish kills, especially in summer months. During CSOs “floatables” such as plastic bottles and Styrofoam cups add tons of debris to the waterways, which looks bad and interferes with both wildlife and human activities on the rivers and along their banks. According to Ray, CSOs happen 78-80 times per year, releasing some 3 billion gallons of sewage directly into area waterways per year. Once this infrastructure project is completed, DC
Water estimates that CSOs will occur only 4 times per year on average.
Other Solutions DC Water is beginning discussions with the parties on reopening the 2005 agreement (??? Clean River agreement? Alluded to in earlier paragraph but this isn’t clear). The goal would be to explore green-development technologies that could reduce or eliminate future pieces of the project, create jobs, green the District and reduce rate increases for customers. Other cities, notably Philadelphia, have proposed CSO solutions that rely heavily on green techniques instead of tunnels. Brent Bolin, Director of Advocacy for the Anacostia Watershed Society, acknowledged that the Anacostia tunnel is necessary because the CSO problem is so great.”We need to make this river healthy,” he said. “But we are also supportive of ways to get to the same goal with green infrastructure. There is a concern about the energy needed to pump and hold and treat all that water, so that needs to be considered as well.” Bolin pointed out that as more storm water is captured on site through a variety of green infrastructure strategies, it will take less energy to capture and treat water throughout the city. In addition, the tunnel, although necessary, doesn’t provide any visible community benefits, while many green infrastructures do – creating green space, reducing urban heat island effect, etc. Like Hawkins, Bolin hopes that the District can eliminate the need for some of the later tunnels by incentivizing and implementing green infrastructure throughout the city. “Philadelphia is doing a good job,” Bolin said, noting that the city studied its CSO problem and concluded that they could meet the terms of its consent decree, save money, and green their neighborhoods by investing in green infrastructure instead of tunnels. “If [DC Water] took 5% of the tunnel costs and turned it into green infrastructure, I’m betting they would get more bang for their buck with the green infrastructure,” Bolin said.
DC Water Rate Payers Foot the Bill Most of the $2.6 billion to pay
for this massive undertaking is coming from DC Water rate payers in the form of an “impervious surface area charge.” Rather than an across-theboard rate hike, this kind of charge not only affects those who use water but also those whose properties generate large volumes of storm water runoff and contribute more to the District’s CSO problem. To illustrate how this works, DC Water’s Pamela Mooring explained that normally a large shopping center might not use a lot of water compared to an office building. However, a shopping center has a large parking lot and large roof area – impervious surfaces that catch rainwater and send it rushing into storm sewers. The impervious surface area charge is a way to make sure that properties that contribute more to the problem are also paying more toward the cost of fixing it. The District Department of the Environment is developing regulations that would create incentives for property owners to implement storm water capture strategies, such as rain gardens, green roofs, etc. Under the proposed regulations, property owners who capture more storm water on site would receive discounts off their impervious surface area charges. As proposed, the discounts would be retroactive to 2009, when the impervious surface area charge went into effect. DDOE has received the first round of comments and is expecting to have revised regulations out for public comment toward the end of the year or early 2012. Incentives do exist for homeowners to “go green,” Bolin said, pointing out that DC has an “amazing” program called Riversmart Communities. “Everyone who cares about the District should get involved with the Riversmart Homes program (http://ddoe.dc.gov/riversmarthomes),” he urged. The program provides government assistance to homeowners to install rain gardens and other green infrastructure, for which the homeowner has only a small copay. “Our dominant land use is residential,” Bolin said, “and if we don’t address runoff from residential properties, we’ll never reach our clean water goals.” ●
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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
Final Phase for H Street Streetcar by Dana Bell
I
n June of 2011, H Street was finally cleared of the cement blockades and Caterpillars that blanketed the street for the past four years. The streetcar tracks run down the road, passing by the newly constructed station stops that jut expectantly into the street. Phase 1 of the H Street-Benning Road Streetcar was completed with a ribbon cutting by Mayor Gray in late June, and Phase 2 has finally begun. It’s a slow, painstaking process. As DDOT holds meetings with residents and business owners, the details of the plan get hammered out. Where is the connection to Union Station? Where do the cars go at night? How will they turn around? Step by step, meeting by meeting, the first part of D.C.’s streetcar system starts to take shape.
This little leg of the streetcar system is just 2.2 miles out of a system that will eventually stretch 37 miles, serving all eight wards, and filling in the gaps left by Metro. The lines of track currently installed as part of the H Street/Benning Road Great
Streets program in 2007 stretch from Benning Road and 24th St. NE to H Street and 3rd Street NE. Future track work as part of Phase 2 will extend the line to its western destination at Union Station and an eastern destination at Benning Road and Oklahoma Avenue. One difficulty on the western end has been finding a suitable connection to Union Station. The connection with Metro, Circulator buses, MARC trains and Amtrak would connect the streetcar not just with residents of Washington, but with people arriving here from across the country. Up until early December, DDOT was considering several routes to the transit hub, either down 2nd or 3rd street. Technical considerations and community backlash towards the suggested routes prompted DDOT and the Mayor to make a final decision. “The right way is on the main thoroughfare,” Mayor Gray announced at the Quarterly Update Meeting on December 6th. “We will not be going through somebody’s neighborhood to get to Union Station.” Instead the interim western ter-
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The Route
minus (interim while the rest of the routes are being constructed) will be in the middle of the Hopscotch bridge next to Union Station. This was met with general approval from the residents. “They picked the route we all thought was best anyway,” said David Holmes, the Commissioner for ANC 6A03. It doesn’t lead directly to the Metro, but from the bridge it is a five-minute walk through the parking garage and down through the station. The turn-around at each end is not so much a turn as it is a switching of direction. The cars will go backwards along the bridge and cross on an X in the middle of the road, much like they were making a left-hand turn. They will then continue down the proper side of the road. On the eastern end of the line, the final destination will also host the Car Barn and Training Center for the cars. This will be where the cars are housed at night, as well as where repairs are made. The most recent choice for the CBTC is a lot next to Spingarn Senior High School. This choice, also announced in early December, is ex-
tremely preliminary, and has not yet been worked out with the administration of the school. “The only thing right now is working on the coordination with DCPS on proper acquisition of lands,” Hernandez said. The Car Barn at Spingarn has stirred up the newest back of controversies for various reasons—for bringing an industrial element next to a school, for congestion on the roads, for clashing with the residential character of the neighborhood— but DDOT has several practical reasons for picking the Spingarn site. “The location is conveniently located next to the street car,” explained Ronaldo “There are only two buildings to demolish, so construction can start soon.” The plans for the CBTC are ambitious. A LEED-certified building, the training center will ideally be a place for students and residents to learn about streetcar operations, skills that could be useful as streetcar systems catch on nationally. At the December 6 meeting, DDOT said that it “anticipates working with DCPS and UDC to develop a training program.”
Pain & Rehab Center The Car The streetcars that will be rolling down the tracks are not the trolleys of the olden days. DDOT has purchased three sleek red and yellow cars with the signature swoop of the beloved Circulator buses, and is acquiring more as a part of Phase 2. “Right now it matches the rest of the transit system,” Hernandez says, “But we’re still fine tuning the logo to make it visible, user friendly, and recognizable.” At 66 feet, the streetcar is about a third longer than the Circulator bus, but can carry 144 passengers, almost three times as many as the bus. The cars are similar in many ways to buses, with important differences that are meant to elevate the experience. Like buses, they will be driven, although the drivers are called conductors on streetcars. They will operate in mixed traffic, obeying regular traffic rules and signals. Of course, unlike a bus, they can never leave their lane. “We’re working to integrate SmarTrip so that we can really create as easy an experience as possible,” says Hernandez. The platforms of the streetcar set it apart from traditional bus boarding. Built on a “bulb dock,” the sidewalk swells out into the street to meet the streetcar. It is level with the floor of the car, eliminating the need to kneel down to the curb like buses. Instead it offers an ADA compliant system that allows for easier access for people with difficulties with mobility. “They take away two or three parking spaces, but they allow you to walk directly in or roll your wheelchair directly into the car,” Holmes says. “It’s a lot easier for people with canes and mobility enhancements.” In Portland, the ease of boarding has contributed greatly to the success of the city’s streetcar system. “We’ve had a positive response to streetcars which relates to a number of factors,” explained Rick Gustafson, the Executive Director of Portland Streetcar, Inc. “The quality of ride, the easy ability to get on it, and probably most important is the certainty of knowing where it’s going.”
Powering a Streetcar Of course, one of the other benefits of the streetcar is that it runs on electricity instead of on gas. The decreased pollution is one of the most appealing aspects of installing a streetcar, but it brings in a whole new set of infrastructure: wires and substations. The streetcars run on an Overhead Catenary System (OCS), which brings the power from a supply source to the car. The electricity runs a circuit through the streetcar, passing from the overhead “contact wire,”
through the outstretched arm reaching from the top of the car, the “pantograph.” The pantograph collects the electricity and passes it back through the steel rails, completing the circuit. The system is made up of two important parts: the cantilever holds the contact wires along most of the track, and the span wire, which is used when the streetcar turns. The cantilever refers to the beam perpendicular to the light poles that will go along H Street and Benning Road, holding up the wires that power the streetcar. Span wires are a collection of wires that connect to the pantograph when the car is turning, and will so far only be installed along the turn from H Street to Benning Road. While the wiring of the system has been a source of tension between the Capitol Hill Restoration Society and DDOT, David Vozollo attempted to dispel fears about the presence of the wires at the December 6 meeting, explaining that they will be about as thick as a pen. The electricity will be supplied to the cars through substations running along H Street. DDOT is planning for three substations. One will be at the end of the Hopscotch Bridge. The Mid-Line station will be on the south side of 12th and H St, about halfway down the line. The final substation will be located within the Car Barn Training Center.
Implementation Among the residents and business owners of H Street, the streetcar seems like it’s almost within reach. “Now we can see a fairly clear plan between now and starting with the cars,” says Holmes. “There’s some relief that we’re finally going to get this thing; we can see the end.” Nate Mines, the owner of Dynamic Wellness on Third and H, is looking forward to the bragging rights that will come with the streetcar. “How many cities do you know have a streetcar? And now we’re on the list… We’re on the cutting edge.” The City Council is certainly committed to pushing it through. The Mayor has allotted $99.3 million in the 6 Year Capital Budget for the streetcar, with $2 million in Federal funding for planning. The funding for the rest of the system—all 35 miles of it—will come from a mix of local, public-private partnership, and Federal money. This commitment assures that, despite the lengthy process, D.C. will soon get a streetcar. “The Mayor’s office is behind it, the councilmembers are behind it,” says ANC6A Chair Tony Richardson. “Once it’s rolling down H Street, people won’t even remember this.” ●
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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
Mayor Gray addresses Ward 7 Town Hall Meeting article by John Muller | photos by Andrew Lightman
Mayor Vincent Gray and City councilmember Yvette Alexander with a group of young athletes and their coach from Benning Stoddert Recreation Center in Northeast. The team received $3000 for new sports uniforms from ANC 7A.
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n a frigid third evening of the nascent year more than one hundred and twenty local youth, parents, community members, and civic leaders gathered to hear an address by Mayor Vince Gray as part of the second annual Advisory Neighborhood Commission 7A Town Hall. “Mayor Gray has always been supportive of ANCs in general and 7A in particular,” said 7A Chairman Villareal [VJ] Johnson (Single Member District 7A07) “We appreciate him addressing the city from our townhall meeting.” No stranger to community groups east of the river, Gray was received warmly as he gave a rundown of first year accomplishments (although the first two audience members to speak after his remarks showed little restraint in their hostility towards the Gray administration). With 2011 now over, Gray reiterated the fact that the city recorded the fewest homicides since the years of the administration of President John F. Kennedy. However for some
Mayor Gray gets worked up on the topic of voting rights.
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| JANUARY 2012
the recital of crime stats ignored the precarious reality people say they face daily on the street. “I live over here on Blaine Street and I’m just trying to get to work in the morning without someone putting a gun in my face,” said Mrs. Crockett, who closed her comments asking for aid in finding her son employment. Gray responded that data analysis and regression trends are no comfort to people who perceive their community to be dangerous. For the current fiscal year, Gray said, funds have been allocated for the graduation of the first Police Cadet Training Class in recent years. The city expects to hire 300 additional sworn police officers this year to replace the natural attrition rate of 180 officers per year. “This leaves the city with a net gain of 120 officers,” said Gray. Gray predicted that a forthcoming audit of the school system will confirm a continued increase in enrollment and a financial audit in early February will demonstrate the city’s continued fiscal responsibility. Gray cited fourteen consecutive years of a clean audit as a logical argument for statehood, an issue he passionately evoked. A presentation during the meeting unveiled ANC 7A’s recently launched website, intended to increase the
community’s connectivity with the commission as well as city services and agencies. The website was described at the meeting by its designer, Jonathan Gentry of Professional Technicians LLC, as having “a basic layout with not a lot of words with the majority of information being conveyed by pictures.” Icons are less prone to confuse, Gentry said. For example, information on the ANC’s Public Safety Committee is denoted with a picture of a police badge and information on the Education Committee is displayed with a picture of children. Other functions of the website allow users to apply for grants, access past meeting minutes, seek constituent services, view past press releases, and contact each commissioner of 7A. For many the highlight of the evening was the presentation a check for more than $3,000 to a group of young men and their athletic coach from Benning Stoddert Recreation Center in Southeast. Due to budget cutbacks the Department of Parks and Recreation was unable to cover the costs of uniforms. City law does not allow the ANC to allocate funds if there is a duplication of services, but because of the gap in the budget ANC 7A was able to cover the costs of uniforms for six separate teams for their upcoming sports seasons. The donation was advanced and voted on at the suggestion of Sheila Carson-Carr, Commissioner 7A01, who has grandsons that compete in city sponsored youth leagues. $20,000 has been set aside for community grants according to Chairman Johnson. A commissioner for the past decade, Carson-Carr said, “We’ve had a decline in [ANC 7A] participation. But with the current situation with our economy and housing, people have started to come back out to seek our assistance.” ANC 7A meets the first Tuesdays of every month at the Dorothy I. Height Benning Library located at 3925 Benning Rd. NE.
Community Grants Available Advisory Neighborhood Commission 7A offers Community Grants in the amount of $250 for programs and activities in the public interest within the Commission’s boundaries. ANC 7A grants can fund: • Community engagement programs • Youth development support activities The Grants Committee will review all grant applications. The Commission will vote on all grants that the Grants Committee determine meet its guidelines during the Commission public monthly meetings. There are two grant release periods: March and September Those interested in applying for a grant should submit a written application that: • States the purpose for which the funds are requested; • Clearly defines the grant’s public benefit; • Outlines total project costs; • Lists any other funding sources for the project. Within 60 days of the grant funds disbursement, the grant recipients are required to submit a report to the Commission showing the use of the funds. This use must be consistent with the grant that was approved by the Commission. Commissioners make final decision on all grant applications. ANC 7A’s grant policies have been established in accordance with the D.C. Code, Section 1-309.13(m), which authorizes ANCs to award grants to organizations for public purposes. Grants maybe applied for online at the ANC 7A website.
Visit www.ANC7A.com for more details
For more information visit www. anc7a.com. ●
CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 31
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
Sheridan Station, a model for new urbanism, welcomes former residents artcle and photo by John Muller
View of Sheridan Station from Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE.
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arlier this month a group of politicians, developers, civic leaders, housing officials, and public housing residents joined together to celebrate the opening of the first phase of the city’s newest mixed-income HOPE VI development, Sheridan Station on Sheridan Road SE. One of the attendees was Lessie Coleman, a former resident of Sheridan Terrace, who is now returning to Sheridan Station. Reached on the phone this past Monday, Coleman had moved into her new home with help from her grandson. “I’m very excited,” Coleman admitted. The enthusiasm of returning residents and city officials symbolize a renewed hope that an increase in residential development on the periphery of Anacostia, with the forthcoming Matthews Memorial Terrace on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE within eyeshot of the new apartments at Sheridan Station, will attract new businesses and commerce to the often overlooked area. When completed, in three phases, Sheridan Station will have 344 mixed-income housing units that range from apartments to condominiums to townhomes. The first phase brought online 114 units of affordable rental housing including 45 units for public housing residents. At the December opening officials said that 95% of the units set aside for public housing residents had been
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leased. Market units have attracted considerable attention from established residents and newcomers alike. An initial homebuyer was present at the December 7th ribbon cutting. A senior citizen, Coleman said she was thoroughly impressed with the screening process that was required for public housing residents, who pay 30% of their income towards rent, to return. “They’re not letting going to let people come up in here and cause any problems,” Coleman said.
DC Housing Authority’s Role Located a stone’s throw away from the Anacostia metro station makes Sheridan Station “the quintessential poster child for transit-oriented development,” according to DC Housing Authority Director Adrienne Todman. Sheridan represents a “new kind of affordable housing that more people are going to see and be proud of,” says Todman. Sheridan is, in fact, indicative of a larger vision for DCHA, Todman says, “There are other sites in the future we are going to look to tackle.” “Barry Farm has been at the top of our interest list,” says Todman who cited Barry Farm’s “hard wired connection” to Sheridan Station. While citing increased attention to the redevelopment of Highland Addition on Atlantic Street SE in the Washington Highlands neighborhood Todman added, “Woodland Terrace is long overdue.” | JANUARY 2012
The redevelopment of many public housing projects in Washington is attributable to winning competitive Hope VI grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. As a recipient of HOPE VI funds, DC is only behind Chicago according to Dena Michelson, DCHA’s Director of Public Affairs & Communications. According to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, HOPE VI has now been reprogrammed by HUD into the initiative “Choice Neighborhoods.” According to HUD’s website Choice Neighborhood grants, “build upon the successes of public housing transformation under HOPE VI to provide support for the preservation and rehabilitation of public and HUDassisted housing, within the context of a broader approach to concentrated poverty.” The redevelopment of Sheridan Terrace, once a notorious place of decay and vice that sat vacant for more than a decade, was kick-started with a $20 million competitive HOPE VI Grant DCHA received from HUD in 2007. Along with HOPE VI funds, in 2009, DCHA received an additional $5.8 million competitive grant funded by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that specifically designated the creation of energy efficient communities through substantial rehabilitation or new construction of public housing developments. Sheridan Terrace is registered
with U.S. Green Building Council for LEED Certified Platinum. In the down economy of recent years many projects have been delayed or abandoned altogether. “A lot of things didn’t get built for a couple of years, this did,” said Michelson citing DCHA’s close collaboration with William C. Smith & Company. Familiarity is often a predicator of success. Throughout the opening event officials recognized and praised local developer William C. Smith Company as an organization that has built not just successful buildings but trustworthy relationships. With an intimate knowledge of East Washington, William C. Smith Company is widely known for their work and construction of THEARC near the conflux of Mississippi Avenue and Southern Avenue.
Sheridan’s place in the community “What’s very important is making a sense of neighborhood work out of the typology of Sheridan Station; the multi-family urban apartment buildings, condominiums, and townhouses,” said Dr. Abed Benzina, a principal with SK&I Architectural Design Group, L.L.C. who designed Sheridan Station. “The idea was to craft an urban edge as you’re coming down Suitland Parkway,” says Benzina. “We wanted to keep the sidewalk continuous and to have the building shape the sidewalk on Sheridan Road.” A classic red brick exterior is one of the characteristics that gives Sheridan added curb appeal, according to Benzina. Located on a steep slope, Sheridan Station presented many challenges, said Benzina. But if the first phase is any indicator, the continued construction of Sheridan’s next two phases will continue to move smoothly as the development works its way up the hill that looms over Suitland Parkway. Along with Capitol Gateway on East Capitol Street, Sheridan Station becomes the second HOPE VI project that aligns an entryway into the city, according to Michelson. For more information go to www.sheridanstation.com. ●
...The Man from Anacostia
The MLK Jr. Parade is Back! article by Charles Wilson | photo by Andrew Lightman
2010 Parade
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love a good parade! In a couple of weeks the streets of Ward 8 will welcome back its very own – The Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade. A year ago, I wrote an article asking what happened to the MLK Jr. Parade. It had disappeared since the spring of 2008. But this year a dedicated team of community residents, business owners and others have been working for months to plan this event. Meeting after meeting, weekend after weekend they have been working to ensure that the parade will be a success. We will see the final outcome of all this hard work on Monday, January 16th, 2012 on the civil rights leader’s birthday. Along MLK Jr. Ave, District civic associations, community/political groups, local government officials, motorcycles, Corvette clubs and the great Ballou High School Marching
Band will participate. This will truly bring the community together. For those of you that enjoy a little history, the MLK Parade in Ward 8 began in 1979 from the vision of Calvin Rolark and his wife, then Councilmember Wilhelmina Rolark. There was a national effort to persuade Congress to designate King’s birthday, January 15, as a national holiday. There has always been a controversy about whether the event should be held on his birthday or in April when the weather is warmer. I think we can all agree that with the opening of the MLK Memorial on the National Mall, it is appropriate to have a parade that celebrates the beginning of life of this great man on his birthday. The last time I participated and helped organized the parade, I was a candidate for the Ward 8 Councilmember seat. To see the hundreds of
residents lining both sides of MLK Jr. Ave. as participants and spectators, you could not help but feel so much positive energy all around. The music from the marching bands, recognizable faces, engine noise from the Corvettes and the colorful banners was truly an overwhelming experience. We constantly hear of the struggles within our community. This is a day to highlight our community’s talent and accomplishments. I know the parade will be a success. It is an opportunity for Ward 8 residents to put down the cares of the world for a couple of hours and see the life, sights and sounds of the District’s strong and celebratory spirit. This day is also reserved to remind us of the importance of service to others. It calls for Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national
problems. As community leaders, we still have a long way to go in the improvement of the quality of life in our Ward. We must encourage and empower residents to aim higher and reach further to meet these goals. So hats off to the committee who has worked so hard in planning the parade this year. Whether it’s 80 degrees or 50 degrees, let us all come out on Monday, January 16, 2012 to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Be sure to bring a neighbor or a friend out to enjoy the parade! Charles Wilson is a neighborhood activist in Historic Anacostia located in Ward 8. He is also the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Single Member District 8A04. Be sure to check out his blog,The ART of WARd8 at http://artofward8.blogspot.com/. He can be reached at charleswilsonhu@gmail.com. ● CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 33
Tracy Turnblad (Carolyn Cole, center) and the cast of “Hairspray.”
Big Shows Come in Small Packages article by Barbara Wells | photos by Christopher Mueller
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ignature artistic director Eric Schaeffer brings “Hairspray” lots of heart and a little soul in a fresh production that feels up close and personal. On Broadway-style stages and movie screens, the show typically comes across as a caricature of something beyond our experience. The time—1962; the place—working-class, segregated Baltimore; the people—teens obsessed with a dance show they watch on one of just three TV channels; and not least of all an enormous transvestite playing Edna, mother of the show’s heroine. Not so at Signature. Schaeffer brings Hairspray an immediacy that lends more weight to the show’s serious undercurrents about prejudice against both blacks and heavy people—all to an intoxicating rock and roll beat. Scenic designer Daniel Conway gets a large share of the credit. He’s surrounded his audience with music and dancing and put them within spitting distance of vintage billboards, fire escapes and facades that evoke a tired urban neighborhood. Seated next to one of two ramps that carry exuberant, dancing cast members to the stage—itself
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not more than 20 feet away—I could feel the floor shake and wished I could get up and dance too. Leading this bouncing cast is Carolyn Cole as Tracy Turnblad, the earnest young fan of the Corny Collins show. Cole is all adolescent enthusiasm and breathless wonder—along with the signature chubbiness that bars her from becoming one of Corny’s “Nicest Kids in Town” who dance on his show. With little more than her inner moral compass driving her to protest racial segregation, her every reaction shows us why she can’t resist the impulse. She can’t even stand next to her idol, Elvis wannabe Link Larkin, without falling into a trance at the scent of his armpit. When she witnesses the dance moves of her black schoolmates during detention, her body unconsciously starts copying them before she even knows what she’s doing. She is simply a slave to her senses—and sensibility. Soon Tracy is captivated by the sweet and sexy Seaweed, the cool black teen played with equal parts danger and charm by James Hayden Rodriguez. He draws Tracy and her sidekick Penny Lou Pingleton (Lauren Williams) into rhythm and blues and then a forbidden black culture—one that might as well
| JANUARY 2012
be on the other side of the world as on the other side of Baltimore. He introduces Penny and Tracy to his mother, a TV personality called Motormouth Maybell—a jaw-dropping Nova Y. Payton who captures all the pain, frustration and infinite potential of African Americans and large women alike in two show-stopping songs, “Big, Blonde & Beautiful” and “I Know Where I’ve Been.” For the part of Edna, Tracy’s agoraphobic mother, there’s a certain genius to casting a man who is unaccustomed to appearing in drag. The part was originated by Divine—a transvestite with painted lips and famously arched eyebrows—and usually seems conceived as an ironic inside joke. Edna is shy, awkward, sheltered and clueless about fashion and glamour … Ha! Not. While Divine was Edna’s polar opposite, for once a director has chosen an actor who completely identifies with and humanizes this character. Robert Aubry Davis, the well-known radio personality and fan of all things classic, rarely acts, never dances and by all accounts wears a tuxedo when he dresses up. Something of a fish out of water in this show, Davis conveys all of Edna’s shy quirks and genuine astonishment and awe at the talents and nerve of the teens surrounding him— and ultimately the discovery that, yes, he is beautiful too. He also has a nice affinity for Baltimore and its accent; hovering over an ironing board in his first scene, Davis shoos his daughter away with a cry of “I’m tryin’ to AHRN in here!!”
James Hayden Rodriguez (as Seaweed) shows Lauren Williams (as Penny Lou Pingleton) some trendy new dance moves.
Davis made a special request for Harry A. Winter to play Edna’s husband Wilbur, saying “If I’m going to kiss a man on stage, I want to feel absolute comfort.” As a result, Winter up-ends one more Hairspray joke—that Wilbur could actually be hopelessly in love with a woman like Edna for 20 years. Exuding warmth, admiration and affection for his old friend Davis, Winter convinces us that not only can Wilbur find Edna completely adorable, but we can too. Beyond the leads, all of the show’s actors are spot on. I couldn’t take my eyes off Lauren Williams as Penny Lou. For two-thirds of the show she embodies the rigid, repressed, bespectacled geek—whose mother literally ties her to the bed when she steps out of line. But her jerky movements and tiny bursts of pent up energy hint she’s about to combust. When she finally does, her transformation is one of the most gratifying in the show. Other stand-outs include Patrick Thomas Cragin as the suave Link Larkin, who gives up shallow dreams of becoming the next Elvis to stand by Tracy in her crusade for integration; Sherri L. Edelen as the wicked TV producer Velma Von Tussle, who relegates black teens to her show’s “Negro Day” and plots to make her daughter Amber—played with sugar-coated venom by Erin Driscoll—the next Miss Baltimore; and Stephen Gregory Smith as Corny Collins himself, a TV star who plays along with racist management while seizing every chance to break the confines of their mold. What more can we ask from a musical? It’s like a great party—plenty of music, fun and laughter, with just enough authentic humanity to raise our consciousness along with our spirits. Barbara Wells is a writer and editor for Reingold, a social marketing communications firm. She and her husband live on Capitol Hill. ●
ing lines, Davis tackled a particularly grueling schedule: eight shows a week for 10 weeks, the longest run ever for a Signature production. “Actors work freakin’ HARD!” he exclaims. “I’ve been a construction worker. I’ve worked 100 hours a week for two radio programs. I’ve been a waiter…. This is among the top three or four hardest jobs I’ve had. I ask the cast, how do you go to the store? When do you pay your bills?” Davis credits the young cast with holding him up through the show, and in turn he’s given them a window on growing up in the fifties and sixties in Washington, less than an hour from Hairspray’s Baltimore. “I brought in books—what people were reading in ’62. Best sellers, books on women’s rights and a play production book from the fifties; album covers, civil rights music and also Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker. I tell them Metrecal was a real product—I drank it! Robert Aubry Davis (as Edna Turnblad) and Harry A. Winter And back then the civil rights leaders, like (as Wilbur Turnblad) sing “You’re Timeless to Me.” Jesse Jackson, were just kids—no older than the kids in this cast.” But Davis brings to the show something much deeper than memories: firsthand knowledge of living large. “I’m sorry, John Travolta, but no one who is not large can play this role,” he says. “It takes more than putting on a fat suit to understand what it’s like to be a fat person. People who are portly or homely are still treated fter watching Robert Aubry Davis as they’ve always been treated.” on WETA’s “Around Town,” listenSo maybe he has the big part down, but ing to him host the classical channels how does Davis relate to playing a woman? “I on Sirius XM, and seeing him in the audience am very fortunate. I have scores of wonderat dozens of Washington area theatre perforful women friends, and they are much more mances, it’s nothing short of a shock to see available emotionally and share more than him take on the role of Edna in Hairspray. men,” he explains. “A very close friend said What possessed him? ‘You have a daughter. Th e way you feel about According to Davis, director Eric Schaefher is very maternal. When you play Edna, fer plotted his musical debut for 18 months think about how you feel about your daughbefore asking him to play Edna in March ter.’ Th at was a hugely important piece for me. 2010. Davis’ reply: “No, no, no.” He’s perTh at turned the key.” formed a one-man show as Bach since 1985, “But I had no context for dressing up,” done some choral and glee club singing, and Davis says. “I don’t understand that feelwas even a “folkie tenor” in his “hippie days,” ing of excitement when you dress up. So but Davis never imagined putting on a dress my friends told me to think about what and dancing to “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” makes me happy. For me that’s making my Then his women friends told him what a women friends happy. When Edna appears perfect Edna he would be. By June, he says, in her beautiful dress, I want every one of “Something snapped.” the women in the audience to be glowing; I “At the very first rehearsal, when I went want to shine for them.” in and strapped on my 54 triple-E brassiere, I knew I was at the top of a roller coaster ride,” Davis recalls. “I told (choreographer) Karma “Hairspray” is at Signature Theatre through Camp, ‘I don’t dance.’ She said, ‘Honey, I January 29. As a show of Davis’ admiration for made Pat Carroll look like she can dance and women, he created a special treat just for them: When ordering tickets, women can ask for the she doesn’t have any knees!’” Beyond singing, dancing and memoriz- “RAD” discount and get 10 percent off the price.
A Chat with Robert Aubry Davis
A
CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 35
EAST WASHINGTON LIFE
LEFT: Kayla Crawford, 6th grade Nannie Helen Burroughs School. RIGHT: Park Ranger Braden Paynter chats with students at the Annual Oratorical Contest held at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site. Photo: National Park Service BELOW: Students from Nannie Helen Burroughs School in NE Washington.
Students invoke Frederick Douglass at Oratory Contest by John Muller uddled inside the small theater of the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Visitor’s Center last month, a group of nine students from the Nannie Helen Burroughs School in Northeast Washington sat nervously, awaiting their turn to recite an excerpt from their selected Frederick Douglass speech. For more than 25
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years, the Park Service has hosted a national oratory contest for students that has kept alive the spirit and words of one of the most notable men of 19th century American life. “Who tied your tie this morning? You did?” Park Ranger Braden Paynter asked a 6th grade student while adjusting and straightening the collar of another student. “That’s a nice bow tie,”
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| JANUARY 2012
Paynter said to a young man staring into his hands, making him look up. Kayla Crawford, a 6th grade student at Nannie Helen Burroughs, took to the undersized stage first. With second place in the February finals of last year’s contest, Kayla performed as though there was unfinished business to handle. This year she chose, “If he knows enough to be hanged, he knows enough to vote,” from a December 1863 speech Douglass made before the American Anti-Slavery Society in Philadelphia. “It’s all about learning history and where she came from,” said Raymond Crawford, Kayla’s father, who believes Douglass’ importance could be better studied and known by all Washingtonians. For Kayla, the act of personifying Douglass is empowering. “I get to put myself in the image of Frederick Douglass and how he went around the world speaking to people and how he got his point across by his words instead of violence.” “You can see the change when the words stop being something they are memorizing and become whole sentences and ideas that have meaning and relate to one another,” noted Ranger
Paynter discussing the maturation of the students’ performances. “If you listen to some of his speeches and what Douglass talked about, so much of it still exists today. It is very important that we uplift ourselves, that we still have to fight for freedom; we have to fight for our rights,” said Phyllis Lee, a retired elementary school teacher who organized the group from Nannie Helen Burroughs School. “About three years ago my sister was at the Martin Luther King Library and saw a flyer and brought it back and said, ‘I think you might be interested in this,’” said Lee, a resident of Fairfax Village in Ward 7. After seeing the flyer the principal embraced the idea. To prepare her students to face the tough judges at the Douglass home, Lee organizes an in-school oratory competition for interested students and shows videos of Douglass re-enactors. “We don’t just memorize his speeches, we learn about who Douglass was and all that he accomplished,” Lee said. “I studied in the car, I studied at night, I studied at school, because I really wanted to do this,” said Ashley Brown, a third grade student at Nannie Helen, after her second performance in as many days.
Memories of Cedar Hill In the 1970s, after the house atop Cedar Hall had recently opened as a National Park Service site, a young historian reveled in the surreal experience of leisurely reading through Frederick Douglass’ own Shakespeare collection. Known for his broad lectures on local and national historic issues and co-authorship of “Black Georgetown Remembered,” that young historian, C.R. Gibbs, was back onsite as a returning judge in this year’s oratory contest. “It’s extremely gratifying to see the skill, talent, and hard work that the children exhibit during the contest,” Gibbs said. “I believe that Douglass’ life, his trials and triumphs, still resonate even in the 21st century. They remind us that utter adversity can be overcome with arduous effort, that education is still critical to achieving your highest potential.” On September 1, 1877, while serving as US Marshal for the District of Columbia, by appointment of President Rutherford B. Hayes, Frederick Douglass bought the nine and three-fourths acre lot that was to become his home at Cedar Hill. The total cost of the home was $6,700 from the Freedman’s Savings and Trust Company who acquired the property after it served as the quarters of Uniontown developer John Van Hook. Douglass lived at Cedar Hill until his death on the evening of February 20, 1895. The property was subsequently maintained by Helen Pitts Douglass, second wife of Frederick Douglass, and several organizations including the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs over the next several decades. In 1962 the home and land become part of the National Park Service which after years of renovations opened the site to the public. The final oratorical competition is planned for February 11th at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site at 1411 W Street SE. For more information on the contest, home, and tours call 202-426-5961 or visit http:// www.nps.gov/frdo/. ●
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EAST WASHINGTON LIFE
The Big C Breast Cancer in DC article and photos by Candace Y.A. Montague
In this second of a three part series on cancer, we take a look at breast cancer and the impact it has on women’s lives in the District.
C
assandra Vessel is a lively, genuine, benevolent woman whose laugh can be heard blocks away. However, when it comes to discussing her experience with breast cancer she goes from jovial to frustrated. Cassandra was diagnosed in 2010 after discovering a lump in her breast. Her mother had breast cancer surgery two years prior so she had an inkling as to what it was. What she didn’t anticipate was the time she would have to stop working as a home health aide to go through four surgeries, eight weeks of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation. She had no sick leave, no health benefits, and no transportation. “It’s hell out here. I couldn’t get any help. Social Security denied me. The hospital wouldn’t operate on me until Medicaid stepped in. I called Yvette Alexander’s office and they kept putting me on hold. They told me I had to get an eviction notice. The only people that would help me were my son, my family and Kim Higgenbotham [a patient navigator at Howard University Hospital].” Thanks to Project WISH at Howard University and Medicaid, Cassandra, 52, was able to get assistance and now awaits a letter of clearance from her doctor to return to work. Breast cancer treatment in DC has made plenty of advances, but for some the hurdles continue.
Facts over Fiction
Cassandra Vessel
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| JANUARY 2012
There are seven types of breast cancer. The type of cancer that a patient will be diagnosed with depends on whether it begins in the ducts or lobules. There are five stages of cancer, depending on how far the cancer has
spread. Black women are particularly susceptible to an aggressive and difficult to treat cancer known as triple negative. Triple negative breast cancer (estrogen negative receptor, progesterone negative receptor, HER 2 negative receptor) doesn’t typically respond to hormonal therapy and is more likely to recur. Additionally, a recent study performed by Boston University found that black women who gave birth to two or more children without breast feeding had a 50 percent increase in the incidence of estrogen and progesterone receptor negative cancer. There are several breast cancer myths that may discourage women from making that appointment to get screened. Here are a few: • Myth--having a family history of breast cancer determines whether or not a patient will get it. Fact-According to the American Cancer Society, most cases of breast cancer are due to two things: lifestyle factors and genetic susceptibilities. It is still unclear what exactly causes breast cancer. • Myth-- a normal mammogram means patients don’t need to worry about cancer. Fact-- mammograms can miss breast cancers. They are far from perfect. But they are useful with early detection, thus the current guidelines suggest having them annually after age 40. • Myth- mammograms, deodorant, and/or birth control pills cause breast cancer. Fact-- Doctors are unsure of what exactly causes breast cancer. There hasn’t been enough evidence to prove that
any of the aforementioned causes breast cancer.
Age is just a number Aleathea Ince found a lump in her breast that didn’t go away. Her doctor dismissed it as fibroadenoma (a benign tumor commonly found in young women). Her instincts told her it was something more. Aleathea had a biopsy done. When she returned the following week (on her 29th birthday) for the results, she was told the lump was malignant. “When the doctor was giving me the rundown of what to do next I was totally glazed over. I was really trying to listen, but I just couldn’t focus on the conversation. I was just thinking about how I was going to tell my parents. And then I wandered around the city all day. I was really angry that all these other people get to be healthy. Everybody else was running around like nothing’s going on and today was very, very different for me.” Aleathea had a lumpectomy and had some lymph nodes removed and tested. The lymph nodes were cancerous as well. She spent the next four months in chemotherapy. She is now in radiation therapy for six weeks. The once ruggedly independent female had to have someone keep a close eye on her post-surgery, help her bathe, and remind her of medications. “I forgot my medication once and I was in agony for two days. It was bad. You don’t know what agony is like until you get there. It was horrible.” Many women under 40 tend to ignore signs of abnormalities in their breasts because they figure their age exempts them from cancer. The fact is women under 40 can indeed have breast cancer. Younger women tend to have denser breast, which makes it more difficult to detect a lump during a mammogram. Conducting self-breast exams can help a woman get an understanding of what her normal breast tissue feels like. She should look for signs such as a change in the shape of the breast, unusual discharge, and lumpy tissue. Younger women should also get a clinical breast exam every one to three years.
Is breast cancer a white woman’s disease? The fundraiser walks, billboards, and pamphlets seem to show the same thing. White females with crystal bald heads wearing pink and smiling proudly as they proclaim victory over breast
cancer. What about women of color? The fact is that women of color have a higher mortality rate of breast cancer than their white counterparts. According to the DC Cancer Consortium, the rate of breast cancer mortality in Ward 7 from 2004-2008 was 30.7 per 100,000 and 30.2 per 100,000 in Ward 8. The disparities are caused by many factors such as access to screening and treatment, transportation, and insurance coverage. But the disparities are not always racial. Dr. Lori Wilson, Assistant Professor of Oncology at Howard University, says the disparities can be behavioral. “Women, in general, can sometimes have a perception of what screening is. Screening can be painful. We can have different perceptions on what screening means and how often it should be done. There’s also a fear that having a breast cancer diagnosis is a death sentence which in actuality we know that’s not the case.” So how is the message about breast cancer being sent to women of color? Amari Pearson-Fields, Comprehensive Cancer Control Program Manager for the DC Department of Health says they are working hard to get the word out to all races and cultures. “We are committed to providing culturally sensitive health education materials and supporting culturally diverse community-based organizations throughout the city. For example, we have developed screening guideline cards that are tailored for African Americans, Hispanics, Ethiopians, Chinese, Africans (translated into French), and Koreans. These cards are available at various health care facilities and through the DC Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.” The DOH also launched the ASK ME program this past summer. The program works in collaboration with key organizations around the District that service uninsured and underinsured people to provide information about cancer awareness and the importance of screenings. A special thanks to Thelma Jones of the Smith Farm Center for Healing and Arts and Dr. Robert DeWitty, Oncologist at Howard University Hospital. For more information about breast cancer programs or to be connected to a patient navigator, contact the DC Cancer Consortium at 202-821-1920 or email info@ dccancerconsortium.org. Candace Y.A. Montague is a freelance writer in DC. ●
Althea Ince CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★ 39
KIDS & FAMILY
CW Harris Elementary School performs at the DC SCORES Poetry Slam! at HD Woodson High School. Photo: Courtesy of DC SCORES
The 14th annual DC SCORES Poetry Slam! The 14th annual DC SCORES Poetry Slam!, the largest youth slam in the District, showcased original poetry and songs written by over 800 students who participate in the after-school program and represent 27 schools in six of DC’s eight wards. This year’s two-night event was held at Columbia Heights Education Campus and the brand-new HD Woodson High School, the first large-scale performance event held since the building was remodeled last fall. Students used the spotlight on the large stage to wax poetic about their dreams; to pay tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. just months after his memorial was erected; and to entertain the audience with performances that were created during the three-month fall season. Elementary school winners of the second night of the Slam! were Arts and Technology Academy, Noyes Education Campus and Howard Road Academy while Nakyiah Nichols of HRA took home the individual Shine Award. Middle school winners were Kelly Miller Middle School, Cesar Chavez Public Charter Middle School for Public Policy - Parkside Campus and Jeffry Figueroa of Cesar Chavez, who was given the Shine Award. At the beginning of the event, Volkswagen Group of America, a longtime partner of the organization, presented DC SCORES with a check for $25,000. DC SCORES builds teams through after-school programs for over 800 low-income DC youth at 27 schools by instilling self-expression, physical fitness, and sense of community. To learn more, visit DCSCORES.org
Kids & Family Notebook by Kathleen Donner
Fighting for a New and Better Day African American Teens in the Civil Rights Movement On Thursday, Jan. 12, 10:30 a.m., learn about the teenagers who toiled in the trenches of the civil rights movement. Join in a lecture and discussion with historian Carroll Gibbs as he takes you on a journey into this country’s recent history. Recom40 ★ EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
mended for grade 5 to adult. For reservations, call 202-633-4844. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4820. anacostia.si.edu
Anacostia Neighborhood Library Kids’ Chess Club All kids (ages 6-18) at all levels of skill are welcome to join in the chess fun on Tuesdays and
| JANUARY 2012
Thursdays, 6:30-8:00 p.m. It’s free and the library staff tells us that it’s a very positive experience and assures us that you can just walk-in. Anacostia Neighborhood Library, 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-715-7707. dclibrary.org/anacostia
Ward 7-8 DC Scholars Public Charter School Opens in August
Put your child on the path to college! DC Scholars is a new public charter school opening in Aug., 2012. They are an academically rigorous college preparatory school serving students in preschool through third grade. Their enrollment period will extend through Mar. 12. DC Scholars is free and open to all students who are residents of the District of Columbia. To complete an application, visit dcscholars.org or call 202-559-6138.
“Our Friend Martin” at Dorothy I. Height/Benning Neighborhood Library This is the story of a black teenager named Miles, who has to go on a class field trip to the museum of learning what Martin Luther King Jr. did for humanity, he thinks that he’d rather play baseball. But the trip turns into an exciting adventure when he and his best friend, Randy, who’s white, are sent back in time meeting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr at several points during his life. All ages welcome. Jan. 12, 6:00 p.m. Dorothy I. Height/Benning Neighborhood Library, 3935 Benning Rd. NE. 202-281-2583. dclibrary.org/dorothy The mission of Richard Wright Public Charter School for Journalism and Media Arts is to transform students in grades 8-12 into well-versed media contributors by providing a student-centered environment that connects them to the classics and modern languages and a curriculum focused on strong writing skills and vocabulary.
Corcoran ArtReach Fall 2011 Exhibition Join Corcoran ArtReach students and their parents for the opening of Fall 2011 ArtReach exhibition. This fall, ArtReach students learned about the Corcoran’s exhibition, 30 Americans, which showcases works by many of the most important African American artists of the last three decades. Through class projects and a field trip to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, students explored the exhibition and how it relates to their own personal identity, producing paintings, self-portraits and sculpture through personal and found materials. On display through Jan. 20. Corcoran Gallery at THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org
Now Enrolling – 8th,9th and 10th Graders – SY 2012-2013 Apply Online • www.RichardWrightPCS.org or call 202.388.1011 For general information, admission process and online application, visit us on the web at www.RichardWrightPCS.org 100 41st Street, NE Washington, DC 20019
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Black History Month Play Sign-Ups Calling all young people of Anacostia! If you are between ages 6-18 and enjoy acting, sign up for “Journey to Freedom,” a play celebrating Black History Month. Written by a local community member, “Journey to Freedom” is a modern-day tale inspired by Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. The play will take place during Anacostia’s Black History Month Celebration at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23. Rehearsals will take place 5:30-7:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday evenings between Jan. 10-Feb. 21. Interested children and teens can register and pick up permission slips at any information desk at Anacostia Library. 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-715-7707. dclibrary. org/anacostia
Student Oratory Competition in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. SPEAK! MD Oratory League is challenging area students from VA, MD and DC in grades 2 through college levels to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by presenting excerpts from Dr. King’s speeches (grades 2-5) and original oratory based on grade appropriate preselected questions (grades 6-college). Orators will participate in the second annual Dr. MLK Oratory Competition on Monday, Jan. 16, 1:00 p.m. at the Publick Playhouse, 5445 Landover Rd., Cheverly, MD. 877-773-2530. mdoratoryleague.org
DPR Offers Cooperative Play at Deanwood The DC Department of Parks and Recreation will offer a cooperative play program at the Deanwood Recreation Center, 1350 49th St. NE. This will be the 10th co-op site within the District, and the first in Ward 7. The program is designed to promote individual growth through respect and understanding in a creative and rec42 ★ EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
| JANUARY 2012
Now Enrolling for 2011-2012 School Year Program Features: • Before Care and After School Care program. • Small classroom size and well trained staff. • Individual planning for each student. • Hands-on and project-based curriculum. Now accepting Applications for the 2012-2013 school year. Applications accepted January 1, 2012 – April 17, 2012. Applications received after April 17 will be placed on our waiting list. Applications are available at the school or on our website, www.bridgespcs.org. Current grades served preschool and pre-k. Age eligibility: • Preschool - 3 yrs. old by September 30th • Pre-k - 4 yrs. old by September 30th OPEN HOUSE / INFORMATION SESSIONS AT THE SCHOOL ON THE FOLLOWING THURSDAYS: • January 5 from 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. • February 2 from 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. • March 1 from 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. • April 12 from 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Bridges Public Charter School 1250 Taylor St. NW Washington, DC 20011
Young skater on the ice. Photo: Courtesy of Fort Dupont Ice Arenaof DC SCORES
p. 202 545-0515 f. 202 545-0517 www.bridgespcs.org
Bridges Public Charter School is free and open to all DC residents. Tuition paid by non-residents.
Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr Day at Fort Dupont Ice Arena The Fort Dupont Ice Arena invites beginners of all ages to learn to skate at this family-friendly event on Monday, January 16. The free classes start at 11:00 a.m. Skaters will be put in classes on a first come, first served basis and everyone is urged to dress warmly and bring along one pair of medium socks. Gloves and helmets are required (loaner helmets available). Rental skates are included free of charge. Then stay for the MLK public skate from noon-1:50 p.m. It’s $5 for adults and $4 for kids. Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Pl. SE. 202-584-5007. fdia.org
reational environment. DPR’s Cooperative Play Program is neither a preschool nor a daycare program. It is a partnership between parents and DPR staff that will provide guidance to help the children explore all of the experiences available through cooperative play. Days and hours of operation for the Deanwood Co-op will be Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-noon. Please note that the program will follow the DC Public School system calendar for scheduled holidays and closures. The program will begin on Monday, Jan. 30 and continue through Thursday, May 25. Registration will open on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 10:00 a.m. All registration is completed online. Space fills on a first-come, first-serve basis and enrollment is subject to availability. It is recommended that parents create an online DPR account for all members of their family in our registration system prior to the registration period in order to be best prepared. 202-425-2859. dpr.dc.gov
A Is for Anacostia From her book A Is for Anacostia, educator Courtney Davis discusses the importance of community in this illustrated outreach pre-
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sentation. The author shares important facts and reads from her book to explain why she loves Anacostia and why it is important to be involved in community affairs. To have the author visit your school, call 202-633-4844. Thursday, Jan. 19, 10:00 a.m. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-6334820. anacostia.si.edu
Children’s Health Project of DC at THEARC Serving children ages 0-23, the Children’s Health Project of DC operates a full-service medical clinic known as the Children’s Health Center @ THEARC. Care includes preventive health care, sick visits, immunizations, chronic illness management, and psychological, legal aid, referral management and social support services. Fully staffed by a professional medical team of doctors and nurses, the clinic provides 24-hour, seven-day a week on-call service to patients. Comprehensive dental services are available through Children’s Mobile Dental Unit. The Children’s Health Project of DC @ THEARC is also the medical home for all children in the DC Foster Care system. Dedicated to improving the health and
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quality of life of the children and families in the community, the Children’s Health Project of DC provides a medical home model that families deserve--insurance is accepted but no family is ever turned away. The Health Access Project (HAP) offered via the Children’s Health Center @ THEARC is a collaboration between The Children’s Law Center and Children’s National Medical Center designed to improve the health of children by adding legal services attorneys to the treatment team to address non-medical barriers that impact kids’ health. To contact HAP, call 202-467-4900, x 513. THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org
Fun Film Fridays at Capitol View Library Movies appropriate for kids, ages 5-12, are shown every Friday at 1:00 p.m. Call 202-645-0755 for film titles. Capitol View Library, 5001 Central Ave. SE. 202-645-0755. dclibrary.org/capitolview
Community Child Development Center “A Child’s World for Learning”
Open Year round 6:30am to 6:00pm Ages 2 to 4 plus School age Developmentally Appropriate Programs Toilet Training • Certified Educators Hot Balanced Meals • Educational Field Trips Tuition Based on Income Two Locations 4021 Minnesota Ave NE Washington DC 20019
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Children’s March for Dr. King On Sunday, Jan. 15 and Monday, Jan. 16, at 2:00 p.m. meet at the Lincoln Memorial (ask a Park Ranger for exact location) for a family march with National Park Service interpretative talk.to the MLK Memorial. The march lasts about 45 minutes. nps.gov
ING KiDS ROCK DC Marathon Participation On Friday evening, Mar. 16, kids can be part of Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon weekend excitement by participating in ING KiDS ROCK D.C. at RFK Stadium. ING KiDS ROCK, is a non-timed, non-competitive event for children in grades K-7. Kids can become marathon finishers on race day by completing a cumulative marathon training program in the weeks leading up to the race. Or, they can simply choose to run the 1-mile course on race day. Through Mar. 15, the fee is $15. There is no registration on race day. Kids can also run with their friends. School/Team registration for Team Captains is now open. There is no fee to be a team, however you need a minimum of 10 registered participants by sell out to be considered an official
team. Read more at ingkidsrock.competitor.com or call 800-311-1255.
The Healing Power of Art Works of art by Haitian children after the earthquake Kids can draw a picture and send a message of friendship and a brighter tomorrow. They can then send their picture online to Plas Timoun, Haiti. africa.si.edu/exhibits/haiti/art
School Transit Subsidy Application Students and parents may begin applying online for the school transit subsidy program at dconecard.dc.gov/ manage. Students and parents are advised not to wait until school resumes after the holidays to apply for the transit subsidy program as this may cause a delay in receiving the benefits. Beginning Jan. 1, eligible students at all DCPS high schools and middle schools will need a DC One Card to access transit subsidy passes. The school transit subsidy program provides reduced fares for District students who use Metrobus, Metrorail or the DC Circulator to travel to and from school. Additional information about obtaining the DC One Card can be found by visiting dconecard. dc.gov or by calling 202-671-2273.
Announcing BASIS DC STARS Program BASIS DC will offer scholarships through their STARS program for under-served and at-risk students interested in growing their foundational knowledge. The program will provide Washington, DC students with focused and intensive extra help after school and will run from Feb.-June. Students who enroll will get at least three hours of academic exploration each week, and the program will culminate in a celebratory project week, where students present what they’ve learned to the BASIS DC STARS community. BASIS schools are open enrollment schools which do not require entrance examinations and do not charge tuition. Any student can attend if there is space available; a registration lottery determines admission if there are more students interested than the school can accommodate. For more information go to basisdc.org or email mary.siddall@basiseducation.net. ●
AppleTree Takes Root In Southeast DC Is Pre-K education the key to erasing the achievement gap? by Stephen Lilienthal
O
n a sunny, chilly morning parents arrive with their small children in tow at AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School’s Parklands campus. Many kids like the school, but something more ambitious is occurring. If AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School’s newly opened Parklands and Douglas Knoll campuses succeed in raising the achievement gap bedeviling too many students living in southeast DC, they will help to fulfill the goal proclaimed by Board Chair and President Jack McCarthy “to close the achievement gap for the most underserved three- and four-year-old children before they enter kindergarten.” Little attention is paid to AppleTree’s work in DC by the news media, but the charter school’s potential to improve pre-K education helped it to win an i3 (Investing in Innovation) grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Why Place Precedence on Pre-K? McCarthy asserts, “We believe too much of early education is just child care. So much more can be done to change the trajectory of learning in DC to counter the legacy of failure.” McCarthy helped set up two charter schools in DC serving older students before establishing AppleTree’s pre-K schools. He views pre-K to be the perfect starting point to improve education, citing a landmark study by University of Kansas psychologists Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley that discovered many low-income parents use language sparingly in talking with their children, frequently commanding them to “stop” doing something or to not ask questions. Nor is such command language limited to parents. Some instructors in pre-K programs and staff at child care centers use it too. Educational experts believe many low-income children start elementary school with significant deficits in their vocabularies, rendering them unable to understand a teacher’s instructions. That deficit also puts children at a disadvantage in comprehending words they may encounter when attempting to read. Some parents fail to read regularly to their children, and therefore the children often fail to recognize the sizes and shapes of letters. Research by Hart and Risley’s study and Common Core curriculum proponent E.D. Hirsch helped to ignite McCarthy’s interest in pre-K education, creating the desire to “to develop a program that would build children’s early language and literacy skills as well as schoolready behaviors to reduce reading difficulties in the later grades.”
AppleTree In Action AppleTree established a Southwest DC pre-school in 2001 which operated as a tuition free public school (meaning anyone could attend) that drew many children from families living in nearby subsidized housing. The school became a full-fledged charter in 2005. AppleTree now operates seven charter school campuses which are located in or near subsidized housing because parents are more likely to choose preschool based on proximity than academic effectiveness. CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM ★
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KIDS & FAMILY severe problems receive individual help from specialists. All teachers hold bachelor’s degrees and each classroom has three instructors for children, an experienced lead teacher, less experienced teachers called “fellows,” and Teaching Assistants. Child to teacher ratios in classrooms vary from 5-1 to 7-1. As important are the “evidence-based” techniques teachers use to ensure their students behave and comprehend their lessons. Teachers receive constant feedback about their performance, but as precise as their teaching methods are expected to be, students find instructors to be warm and encouraging.
Looking Ahead
Students engaged in class at one of AppleTree’s schools in Southeast DC.
Once parents enroll their students at AppleTree, they often discover it is more demanding than expected. Walk into a classroom of older 3 year-olds and a few young 4-year olds at Douglas Knoll in mid-day and the observer will see children sitting at rapt attention and behaving. Some are more talkative, but nearly all appear interested. Teaching fellow Quanika Lewis is reading a book called “The Doorbell Rang” about a family that shares cookies with friends and family who keep ringing their doorbell. The teacher notes that Pat Hutchins is the author and asks her class what does an author do? Kayla responds, “Writes the words.” The teacher continues reading and asking questions. What is a doorbell? Do the homes of students have one? Do the children have cousins? How many cookies would be left as people come to eat them? Constant questioning tests what the students know and forces them to think about concepts such as sharing. A flyer and Youtube video produced by Parklands faculty members urges parents to reinforce AppleTree’s open-
ended (questioning) manner at home and the video demonstrates how. Students find learning is interesting. They may find themselves playing in a teepee, visiting a museum, or drawing pictures of their dreams. But there is a serious side to AppleTree’s methods. Every day students balance outdoor play with reading storybooks, learning about sounds, songs, and symbols, telling teachers what they want written in a journal, perhaps even drawing an entry. Children are constantly exposed to letters, words, and math. They learn to express themselves and to be civil. The result is that most students may not enter kindergarten being able to read, but they should have acquired the knowledge needed to start soon and to be proficient. At a meeting held at Parklands for parents, Collette Newby, mother of Heaven, 4, enthuses to Principal Shannon Anderson: “My child’s coming home. She’s talking about culture, things I never talked to her about.” In a later interview, Newby notes that Heaven did not know the complete alphabet or how to write her name
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when she started at AppleTree. “Now she does,” says Newby.
Every Child Ready Several factors differentiate AppleTree from many pre-K programs. AppleTree, in part due to the i3 grant, is instituting a specially developed instructional program called Every Child Ready (ECR) which includes a curriculum, tools, training, and measurement. Teachers are able to spend less time preparing lesson plans and more time on perfecting their teaching. ECR’s thematic units teach students about family and community, the Earth and its different peoples and cultures, astronomy, animals and dinosaurs, ancient civilizations, and anatomy, ensuring they enter elementary school ready to learn. ECR’s not only introduces children to vocabulary, letters and numbers but also provides guidance on social-emotional topics such as following instructions and managing emotions. Children exhibiting difficulties in grasping the curriculum will work in small groups on overcoming their problems. Children with more
AppleTree enters Southeast DC having succeeded in dramatically raising the knowledge of predominantly low-income students at its other campuses on tests measuring vocabulary, phonological awareness, and letter knowledge. If the Every Child Ready curriculum is proven successful over time, AppleTree hopes it will be widely adopted by other schools, including the District of Columbia Public Schools with large concentrations of students from low-income backgrounds. AppleTree plans workshops in the coming months to better acquaint educators and educational analysts with Every Child Ready. McCarthy estimates AppleTree’s per pupil cost is $18,000 per student but argues it is well worth it to ensure children enter school truly prepared to learn. Several Parklands mothers expressed hope that AppleTree would continue as a kindergarten and beyond. AppleTree maintains that its primary focus for now is to perfect pre-K education. Parents are advised on how to find effective schools postAppleTree. In the meantime, many young students in southeast DC are discovering that learning is more than “educational.” It can be fun. Stephen Lilienthal is a freelance wrter who lives in Washington, DC. ●
HOMES & GARDENS 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.
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$225,000 $200,000 $170,000 $70,000
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CONGRESS HEIGHTS 1105 ALABAMA AVE SE 534 LEBAUM ST SE 617 FORRESTER ST SE 169 ELMIRA ST SW 131 DANBURY ST SW 341 PARKLAND PL SE 629 ALABAMA AVE SE 1216 BARNABY TER SE 719 ATLANTIC ST SE 504 CHESAPEAKE ST SE 4047 1ST ST SW
FORT DUPONT PARK 4336 BARKER ST SE 3960 S ST SE 4419 C ST SE
$170,000 $108,000 $82,500 $74,250 $50,000
3 3 3 2 2
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HILL CREST 3365 DENVER ST SE 3327 M ST SE 3739 O ST SE 1412 34TH ST SE 3818 CARPENTER ST SE
MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5301 E ST SE 5204 E ST SE
RANDLE HEIGHTS 2887 HARTFORD ST SE 2402 24TH ST SE 2484 SKYLAND PL SE 3455 23RD ST SE 1904 17TH ST SE 1907 SAVANNAH PL SE
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DEANWOOD 520 60TH ST NE 516 EASTERN AVE NE 5715 EAST CAPITOL ST SE 4944 EAST CAPITOL ST NE 1117 51ST PL NE 4223 CLAY ST NE 406 DIVISION AVE NE 514 45TH ST NE 203 62ND ST NE 811 50TH PL NE 5334 EAST CAPITOL ST NE 4257 GAULT PL NE 5120 JAY ST NE
204 34TH ST SE 1107 46TH ST SE 3322 ELY PL SE 202 36TH ST SE 4419 A ST SE
1101 4th Street, SW
Across from the Safeway Grocery Store
430 RIDGE RD SE #203
HILL CREST 2760 NAYLOR RD SE #104 3924 SOUTHERN AVE SE #202 2137 SUITLAND TER SE #301 2008 FORT DAVIS ST SE #201
MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5206 F ST SE #1
RANDLE HEIGHTS 1310 CONGRESS ST SE #404 3103 NAYLOR RD SE #304 3070 30TH ST SE #103G 2311 ALTAMONT PL SE #201 3070 30TH ST SE #102 ●
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To place a classified in East of the River, please call Carolina at Capital Community News, Inc. 202.543.8300 x12 or email Carolina@hillrag.com
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THE NOSE
The Councilmember of La Mancha by Anonymous
R
ecently, The Nose was out drinking in the wilds of Outer Caucasia. Where might you ask is that, Dear Readers? Well, it is the region just behind the Capitol that never tiring of Fenty fell deeply in love with Mara. This once downon-its-heels neighborhood, known colloquially as “The Hill” now boasts, some of the most expensive Victorians in our fair metropolis. Yet, despite its steadily climbing rents, The Hill remains home to some of the best dive bars in the District. On a warm winter’s eve, The Nose had taken up residence at the bar of just such establishment; one distinguished by the installation of a doe’s hindquarters directly above the entrance to the gentlemen’s facilities. Now, Dear Readers, when The Nose decides to imbibe his choice of fine southern liquor, it is generally a solitary occupation. Yet, his lips had not even touched his glass before the local councilmember, a favorite son of Alabama, settled on to the adjacent stool. Was The Nose being stalked? Were his fedora and Groucho glasses insufficient camouflage? Was there no oasis in this fair metropolis safe from the twittering, blogging members of the politicati? Ordering a glass of wine, Tommy “Don Quixote” Wells turned to The Nose. Before the sainted councilmember could even begin to spin this poor scribbler’s barstool on the subject of his lone dissent on the ethics reform, The Nose interposed a question. “Why do you do these things?” asked The Nose. “What things?” Don Tommy said. “These ridiculous votes that you do!” “I hope to add some measure of grace to the world,” retorted the starry-eyed councilmember. “The world’s a dung heap and we are maggots that crawl on it!” observed The Nose staring into his bourbon.” “John Q. Public knows better in his heart.” “What’s in my heart will get me halfway to hell. And you, Don Tommy--you’re going to take such a beating!” The Nose retorted glumly. “Whether I win or lose does not matter.” “What does?”
50 ★ EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
| JANUARY 2012
“Only that I follow the quest.” The Nose spit on the bar floor emphatically. “Take that for your Quest!” The Nose got off of his barstool and began tottering towards the door. Then, curiosity piqued, he turned back suddenly asking, “What does do you mean...Quest?” “It is the mission of each true Councilmember... His duty... nay, his Destiny!” replied Don Tommy, launching into song: To dream the impossible dream, To fight the unbeatable foe, To bear with unbearable isolation To run where the corporate funded dare not go; To win the unwinnable race. To campaign, pure and chaste, on Twitter, To try, when your contributors are too small, To reach the unreachable Sixth Floor!* This is my Quest to go the Sixth Floor, No matter how hopeless, no matter how far, To fight for the bikes and the dogs Without question or pause, To be willing to march into hell For a walkable-livable cause! And I know, if I’ll only be true To this glorious Quest, That my heart will lie peaceful and calm When I’m laid to my rest. And the world will be better for this, That one candidate, scorned and covered with scars, Still strove, with his last ounce of courage, To reach the unreachable Sixth Floor! A bit befuddled by his bourbon, caught up in Don Tommy’s lofty rhetoric, The Nose thought, “Who says white men can’t jump?” (*For those of you who do not have the dubious pleasure of frequenting The Wilson Building, the Sixth Floor is the lair of our current Mayor.) The Nose loves to hear from his Dear Readers. Email him at thenose@ hillrag.com. ●