EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | JULY 2012 | CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS 08.............Go See Do
10.............East of the River Calendar • by Kathleen Donner 29.............In Memorium - Albert “Butch” Hopkins Jr. 30.............Bulletin Board • by Kathleen Donner 34.............District Beat • by Martin Austermuhle 36.............The Numbers • by Soumya Bhat 38.............Te Day My Life Changed • by Alexander Hamilton 39.............More Transportation East of the River • by Terry Bellamy 40.............The Man from Anacostia • by Charles Wilson 42.............Benning Terrace Garden • by Virginia Avniel Spatz 44.............ANC Reports • by Mariessa Terrell
AFRICAN AMERICAN HEALTH 2012 18.............Back Away from the Pizza, Sir • by Jonathan Bardzik 20.............Metro Teen AIDS • by Candace Y.A. Montague 24.............Colorectal Cancer in DC • by Candace Y.A. Montague
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26.............2012 AIDS Conference • by Candace Y.A. Montague 28.............Health Resources
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EAST WASHINGTON LIFE
46.............Annual Hilcrest Garden Tour • by Michelle Phipps-Evans 48.............New Words From Malcolm X • by Virginia Avniel Spatz 50.............Life and Times of Boundary Stone #6 • by John Muller
KIDS & FAMILY
52.............Kids and Family Notebook • by Kathleen Donner 56.............Kipp DC & KABOOM Meet • by Stephen Lilienthal 57.............DCPS: Community Conversation • by Virginia Avniel Spatz
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HOMES & GARDENS
59.............Changing Hands • compiled by Don Denton 60.............The Classifieds 62.............The Nose • by Anonymous ON THE COVER:
Chefs Jonathan Bardzik and Juliette Tahar shop at a Ward 7 corner store for essential ingredients to prepare a healthy, gourmet meal. Photo: Andrew Lightman
Join The Fight for Educational Reform
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dvisory Neighborhood Commission 7A (ANC 7A) is joining in the fight for education reform in DC. During the June 5th monthly meeting ANC 7A was asked by the Deputy Mayor for Education’s (DME) office to be one of the lead organizations for the Community Engagement Initiative in Ward 7. ANC 7A is excited to be a part of this effort which presents a unique opportunity to ensure education reform positively affects Ward 7 students.
What is the Deputy Mayor for Education’s Community Engagement Initiative? This initiative will provide a thoughtful community input process to help provide information that will inform the improvement and legitimacy of new measures to ensure that all DC Public School and DC public charter school students have access to quality education opportunities. The initiative will include community-wide conversations, “Community Conversations”, in five different wards of DC that will bring together a diverse representation of parents, teachers, school administrators, community residents, elected and appointed officials, and various organizations to identify, discuss and move to action around ways that will improve access and quality of education for DC students. To carry out this initiative, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education is partnering with Public Agenda, a national non-profit, non-partisan research and public engagement organization. Conversations will be held in Wards 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8 throughout the months of July and August. These Wards are home to the ten neighborhood clusters identified as having a high-need for additional quality-seats in grades K-12. Community-based organizations in each Ward have agreed to organize and host each individual Conversation. These lead organizations are recruiting a diverse set of stakeholders to assist in planning and facilitating the engagement events which will each include between 80-100 participants. Current dates for Community Conversations are as follows: Clusters 31, 33, & 34/Ward 7 - Lead Organization: Advisory Neighborhood Commission 7A Community Conversation – Saturday, August 11th (Tentative) Visit www.anc7a.com for the location of the meeting. What are Community Conversations? Community Conversations are carefully constructed problem-solving dialogues that bring diverse stakeholders and community members together to discuss an important public issue. Such conversations are frequently a first step in a larger process of community engagement, collaboration and action and have been put to good use in hundreds of communities nationwide. The Community Conversations in the District will focus on how parents, schools, communities and the city can work together to ensure access to high-quality education opportunities for all children in Washington DC. What are the Results of Community Conversations? For Washington DC, a Community Conversation can have a range of concrete impacts, including: • • • •
identifying the top community priorities for programs that support quality education options building community awareness of and support for new or existing programs informing current or newly developed district and government policies and practices strengthening or building community relationships and partnerships
Following the Community Conversations, the Deputy Mayor for Education will release a brief report that includes summary notes from each Conversation. The Deputy Mayor will use these community suggestions to inform a list of recommendations to DCPS, the Public Charter School Board, and charter LEAs as to how they can increase the number of quality-seats in high-needs neighborhood clusters. This report will be released in Fall of 2012. How can you get involved? ANC 7A welcomes anyone interested in being a participant, co-organizer, or co-host in the Community Conversation scheduled for August 11.
Next Planning Workshop July 9th @5:30 PM Capitol View Library – 5001 Central Ave SE Please contact Kellie Broussard at 202.534.6673 or via email at kelliecass@gmail.com or Lorelle Langhorne at 7a@anc.dc.gov or Villareal Johnson at 7a07@anc.dc.gov or 202.304.3450. More information on the Community Conversation is available in the Initiatives section of the ANC 7A website at www.anc7a.com.
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| JULY 2012
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GO.SEE.DO. World Aids Day
Attend the 2012 International AIDS Conference, July 2327, at the Global Village Walter Washington Convention Center. It is an open space for advocates and individuals alike to gather, exchange ideas, and make presentations. Here is where you will see the theme “Turning the Tide Together” in action. The Village will have panel discussions, opportunities for Q & A, networking zones, a main stage for presentations and a youth pavilion. The Global Village is free and open to the public. No registration required. The International AIDS Conference is the premier gathering for those working in the field of HIV, as well as policy makers, persons living with HIV and other individuals committed to ending the pandemic. It is a chance to assess where we are, evaluate recent scientific developments and lessons learnt, and collectively chart a course forward. For more information, visit aids2012.org.
Fort Dupont Summer Concerts
For forty years Fort Dupont Park has offered free first-class entertainment at their “Summer Theatre” concerts. This year on Saturdays, July 14-Aug 18 (rain or shine) at 8:00 p.m. enjoy rhythm and blues under the stars. Bring a blanket, picnic, lawn chair, kids and dogs on leashes. No alcohol, please. The schedule will be available shortly on the park website at nps.gov/fodu or by calling 202-4267723. The grounds open at 5:00 p.m. Fort Dupont Park is bounded by Minnesota Ave. to the west; Ely Pl. and Ridge Rd. to the north; Alabama Ave. to the east; and Massachusetts Ave. to the south. The crowd at one of last year’s concerts enjoys the lawn seating and the blues. Photo: Courtesy of the National Park Service
Lotus and Water Lily Festival 2012 at Kenilworth Park
On July 21, 11:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., come for the exhibits, traditional African food for sale, face painters, African music and dance, Asian performers and drummers, kids drawing contest with prizes, junior ranger activities, guest artist art workshops, Asian and African crafts and special tours that have an Asian/African theme this year. All celebrate water flowers. There will also be a photo contest and display for amateur photographers with prizes. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens is an exciting place to explore and photograph. This hidden jewel is full of beauty and mystery. Share your photos of Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens with others and enter the contest! Call the park for more information on photo contest at 202-426-6905. Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens, 1550 Anacostia Ave. NW. nps.gov/keaq Photo: Courtesy of Friends of Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens
Saturday Star Parties at Sky Meadows State Park
Join star party host Sean O’Brien of the Museum’s Albert Einstein Planetarium and amateur astronomers for telescopic observing under dark, star-filled skies, away from city lights. The program begins with a half-hour Junior Astronomer program for kids ages 5-12. Next is a presentation by a Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Ambassador followed by night sky orientation. One of the telescopes available is a National Air and Space Museum Celestar-8, a typical “backyard” telescope available to amateur astronomers. If weather allows, there will also be telescopic observing of astronomical objects. Sky Meadows State Park is west of DC on US Route 17 North, 1 mile south of US Route 50, or 7 miles north of Interstate 66, Exit 23. The park phone number is 540-592-3556. This is a free event but parking is $5. Remaining 2012 dates are July 21, 8:00-11:00 p.m.; Aug 18, 7:30-10:30 p.m.; Sept 15, 7:00-10:00 p.m.; Oct 13, 6:00-8:30 p.m. and Nov. 10, 4:30-7:30 p.m. If the sky is cloudy, only the Junior Astronomer and multi-media programs will be presented and the park will close at 9:00 p.m. airandspace.si.edu. Join Sean O’Brien, staff astronomer of the Albert Einstein Planetarium, and other local amateur astronomers, for public telescopic observing under dark, star-filled skies, away from city lights. Photo: Eric Long, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
MidCity Dog Days
MidCity DC is filled with independent arts and music venues, fantastic places to dine and cutting edge shops and boutiques. Every year on the first weekend of August (the hottest of the hot here in DC, hence the name) MidCity businesses come together to hold a neighborhood wide event called the Dog Days Sidewalk Festival. Founded in 2000 by Home Rule this event has grown from a sidewalk festival including just 6 businesses to now over 70! It truly is the best time to come explore this amazing neighborhood’s history, culture, food, shops, services, and people. Aug 4-5. 14th St., between P St. and Florida Ave., and U St., between 9th and 17th sts. NW. midcitydogdays.com Last summer, residents along the MidCity Corridor spilled out into the streets (with their dogs) to browse sales and sample food from the area’s retailers during the Annual Dog Days Sidewalk Sale & Celebration. Photo: Luiz Gomez CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 9
CALENDAR
“One of my worst nightmares was that my mother would die [while in prison], especially after my father, my grandmother and my grandfather died too. I was not allowed to go to any of their funerals. It did not make sense–especially for a drug charge-family was willing to pay so I can come, but I could never make it to any funeral. They were the most dearest people to me-I am not sure how I would have made it if something was to happen to my mother also. That was very challenging for me. No one ever need to go through something like that.”– Herman Wooden, Returning Citizen, Washington, DC. Image: Gabriela Bulisova, exhibit INSIDE OUTSIDE, 2011, DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPH
The Gallery at Vivid Solutions-Inside Outside by Gabriela Bulisova
July 13-Sept 28. Opening reception July 13, 6:00-8:00 PM. This project offers the first-person accounts and insights of formerly incarcerated men on the process of reentry. It casts light on their plight in the hope that we will do more to help these men succeed in becoming productive members of society and caring family members. The Gallery at Vivid Solutions, 2208 MLK Ave. SE. 202-365-8392. vividsolutionsdc.com SPECIAL EVENTS Smithsonian Folklife Festival. July 7-8. 11:00 AM-5:30 PM. Evening events at 6:00 PM. Festival features programs on Campus and Community, Citified, and Creativity and Crisis. Free entrance. National Mall between 7th and 14th sts. folklife.si.edu/center/festival 2012 Twilight Tattoo at Fort Myer. Wednesdays, July 11, 18 and 25, Aug 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29. 7:00 PM with pre-ceremony pageantry starting at 6:45 PM. The 2012 Twilight Tattoo season has been extended and will run through the entire summer. Members of the 3rd US Infantry (The Old Guard), the US Army Band “Pershings Own,” Fife and Drum Corps and the US Army Drill Team will perform an hour-long sunset military Pageant. Over 100 Old Guard soldiers dressed in period uniforms will provide a glimpse of Army history from colonial times to the soldier of the future. Summerall Field on historic Fort Myer in Arlington, VA. usarmyband.com Capital Fringe Festival. July 12-29. Capital Fringe Festival is the only major unjuried,
10 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
self-producing, open-access Festival in the Washington, DC area and occurs in July each year. The Fringe Festival provides all artists, whether new or established, a venue to express and develop their talents and artistic visions in total freedom. For the complete schedule, visit capfringe.org. Truckeroo Food Truck Festival. July 13, Aug 10, Sept 28, 11:00 AM-11:00 PM. Truckeroo is a monthly festival held June-Oct at the corner of Half St. and M St. SE showcasing food trucks from the DC. area. It features 20 food trucks, live music all day, picnic tables, cornhole and other games. truckeroodc.com Living Earth Festival. July 21-22. 10:30 AM-4:30 PM. This festival celebrates indigenous contributions to environmental sustainability, knowledge, and activism. Tribally owned food cooperatives discuss sustainability and local farmers offer produce, meat, and traditional American Indian foods in an outdoor farmers market, while local and Native chefs compete in an Iron Chef-style cook-off. Hands-on family activities are offered for young and old alike. The festival also includes a live outdoor concert featuring the talents of Wes Studi, Stevie | JULY 2012
Salas, Jack Gladstone, Kinnie Starr, and Brule! American Indian Museum, 4th St. and Independence Ave. SW. 202-633-1000. nmai.si.edu Marine Barracks Evening Parade. Friday evenings through Aug 31. Guests admitted starting at 7:00 PM. Guests should be seated by 8:00 PM. Program begins at 8:45 PM. The Evening Parade has become a universal symbol of the professionalism, discipline and Esprit de Corps of the United States Marines. The story of the ceremony reflects the story of Marines around the world. The ceremony begins with a concert by the United States Marine Band. Free. It is wise to have reservations that can be made online at mbw.usmc.mil. Marine Barracks (front gate), Eighth and I sts. SE. 202-433-4073. mbw. usmc.mil Free Summer Saturdays at the Corcoran. This summer, from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend, enjoy special exhibitions and programming free of charge in addition to Gallery tours, select workshops, demonstrations, and performances for all ages. Corcoran Gallery of Art, 500 17th St. NW. 202-639-1700. corcoran.org
SUMMER MUSIC Fort Dupont Summer Concerts. Saturdays, July 14-Aug 18. The National Park Service offers 6 Rhythm and Blues performances in July and August as part of Fort Dupont Park’s “Summer Theatre” concert series. The concerts’ are sponsored solely by the National Park Service and free to the public. There is a Jr. Ranger tent offering programs for children and general information about Fort Dupont Park. nps.gov/fodu South on South Capitol Southern Rock Concert Series. July 27 and Aug 24; 11:30, on. Bands all day, mechanical bull, picnic tables. Half and M sts, SE at the Navy Yard Metro. fairgroundsdc.com Yards Park Friday Evening Concert Series. Through Sept 14, 6:30-8:30 PM. Spend your Friday evenings on the river, relaxing on the terraced lawn steps with family and friends and listening to live music from the Yards Park’s boardwalk stage. Friday evening concerts will feature a wide range of live musical performances including jazz, salsa, reggae, and more. capitolriverfront.org Military Band Concerts at the US Capitol.
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays in summer (weather permitting). 8:00 PM. Mondays, US Navy Band; Tuesdays, US Air Force Band; Wednesdays, US Marine Band; Fridays, US Army Band. Free. West Terrace US Capitol Building. US Marine Band Concerts at the Sylvan Theater. Thursdays in summer (weather permitting), 8:00 PM. You are welcome to bring folding chairs, blankets and refreshments to the concert. Free. 15th St. and Independence Ave. SW (on Washington Monument grounds). 202-433-5717. mbw.usmc.mil National Shrine Summer Organ Recital Series. Sundays in July and Aug, 6:00 PM. Free. Free will offering accepted. All welcome. 400 Michigan Ave. NE. 202-5268300. nationalshrine.com Navy Memorial Concerts on the Avenue. Tuesdays, through Aug 28, 8:00 PM. Come out to the US Navy Memorial for an evening of relaxing music by the United States Navy Band and its specialty groups. Free. US Navy Memorial, 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202737-2300. navyband.navy.mil Air Force Band Concerts. Wednesdays and Fridays in summer. 8:00 PM. Air Force Memorial at One Air Force Memorial Drive in Arlington, Virginia. (14th St. Bridge into Virginia, merge onto Washington Blvd. and then Columbia Pike in the direction of the Navy Annex. Then follow signs.) Expect a pleasing mix of contemporary and patriotic tunes and spectacular views of the nighttime Washington, DC skyline. Free. airforcememorial.org Jazz in the Sculpture Garden. Fridays in summer (rain or shine), 5:00-8:00 PM. National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden. Live jazz performed by an eclectic mix of top artists from the Washington area entertains visitors outdoors in front of the fountain or in the Pavilion Cafe (if it’s raining). The Pavilion Cafe features a seasonal tapas-style menu and bar service during the concerts. Everyone can enjoy these concerts. You do not have to order food or drinks. Free. 202- 289-3360. nga.gov Fort Reno Summer Concerts. Mondays and Thursdays through July 26, 7:00-9:30 PM. Fort Reno is across from Wilson High School, 3950 Chesapeake St. NW. 202-355-6356. fortreno.com Live! on Woodrow Wilson Plaza. Weekdays through Aug 2 (weather permitting), noon-1:30 PM. Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. LIVE!’s lunchtime performances feature world-renowned entertainers in a variety of flavors, such as African dance, legendary R&B, Motown sounds, hip hop, Latin swing and pop rock. Free.1300 Penn. Ave. NW. 202-312-1300. itcdc.com
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Strathmore Free Outdoor Summer Concerts. Wednesdays, 7:00 PM, through Aug 1. This series goes back to local with season celebrating emerging artists living in and from DC. The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD. 301-581-5100. strathmore.org
*This coupon cannot be combined with any other offer. One coupon per person per visit. Past purchases are not eligible. Some other restrictions apply. Ask at the store for details.
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CALENDAR 14-Aug 18. The National Park Service offers 6 Rhythm and Blues performances in July and August as part of Fort Dupont Park’s “Summer Theatre” concert series. The concerts’ are sponsored solely by the National Park Service and free to the public. There is a Jr. Ranger tent offering programs for children and general information about Fort Dupont Park. nps.gov/fodu Tamar’s Class of Soul CD Release Party. July 28, 6:00 PM. Creative Sound Productions presents a release party for Tamar’s Class of Soul new CD, Textures of Emotion. $25. THEARC Theater, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org
TOURS AND CLASSES Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens Tours. July 7, 8, 14, 22, 28 and 29; Aug 4 and 5; 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM. Awaken your senses and sense of discovery with a ranger led tour of the ponds and wetland area that borders them. Find out who was out during the night eating water lilies and which plants are in bloom. 9:00 a.m. tour is best for night blooming water lilies. 1550 Anacostia Ave. NE. 202-426-6905. nps.gov/keaq Monday Night Knitting Club. July 9 and 23, 6:30 PM. Do you enjoy fiber arts? Are you just curious? If so, join them every other Monday evening for a two-hour program. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Deanwood Library, 1350 49th. St. NE. 202-698-1175. dclibrary.org
Family Day Ranger with kids. Photo: Courtesy of the National Park Service
Frederick Douglass Family Day
Aug 5, 1:00-4:00 PM. This annual event features free ice cream and popcorn, historic house tours, live music, face painting, games, ice cream churning, food trucks and the Massachusetts 54th historic reenactors. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, 1411 W St. SE. 202-426-5961. nps.gov/frdo
OUTDOOR SUMMER MOVIES
nonthegreen.org
Front Flicks Movies. Thursdays, July 12, O Brother, Where Art Thou; July 19, The Da Vinci Code; July 26, Muppet Treasure Island. Movies are held at Tingey Plaza just one block from the Navy Yard Metro (New Jersey Ave. exit) behind the US Department of Transportation building. capitolriverfront.org
Bethesda Outdoor Movies. July 24-28, 9:00 PM. Five evenings of major motion pictures in a variety of genres will be showcased, including new releases, action, comedy, musical and classic films. July 24-Stand By Me, July 25-Vertigo, July 26-The Muppets, July 27-Crazy, Stupid Love, July 28-Hugo. Free. Corner of Norfolk and Auburn aves. in Bethesda’s Woodmont Triangle.
NoMa Summer Screen. Wednesdays, July 11: Red Dawn; July 18: War Games; July 25: The Incredibles; Aug 1: Jurassic Park: The Lost World; Aug 8: Deep Impact. Food and music at 7:00 PM. Screening at 9:00 PM. Each film preceded by live DJs, barbecue, special guests and more. Free. Children and friendly dogs are welcome. Loree Grand Field at 2nd and L sts. NE. nomasummerscreen.com
U Street Movies. July 25 (rain date Aug 1), Protocol with Goldie Hawn. Showtime at sundown. Gates open at 7:00 PM. Movie shown at the Harrison Recreation Center field, V St. between 13th and 14th sts. NW. Free admission. Attendees are encouraged to come early to picnic in the park and listen to music spun by local DJs. movies. ustreet-dc.org
Screen on the Green. July 16, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; July 25, It Happened One Night; July 30, From Here to Eternity; Aug 6, Psycho. Movies are shown at sunset between 7th and 12th sts. on the national Mall. Screen on the Green Hotline, 1-877-262-5866. friendsofscree-
12 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
MUSIC AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD Fort Dupont Summer Concerts. Saturdays, July | JULY 2012
Public Art East of the River. July 10, 10:00 AM-12:30 PM. Some of the most exciting public art in the District of Columbia is on view east of the Anacostia River. The artworks make bold statements and reflect the diversity and craftsmanship of artists through mosaics, paint, and a variety of sculptural materials. Meet at the museum no later than 1:50 p.m. to join them on this exciting tour as they travel to select sites and view art by Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Roderick Turner, Uzikee Nelson, and others. Mixed-media artist Deidra Bell will serve as your guide. For registration, call 202-633-4844. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. anacostia. si.edu Discovering Community-Behind the Scenes at the Anacostia Community Museum. July 13, 20 and 27; Aug 3; 10:00 AM. Join the Collections staff for a behind-the-scenes tour of some of the holdings used in expanding the museum’s role as a “community museum.” The tour will explore art that provides daily inspiration, observe some of the museum’s ongoing preservation projects, and possibly preview some of the objects being assembled for future exhibitions. Participants must meet at the museum’s staff entrance no later than 9:55 a.m. Space is limited. Call 202633-4844 for more information and to make reservations. 1901 Fort Pl. SE. anacostia.si.edu Verbal Gymnastics. July 20, 10:00-11:30 AM. Participate in an interactive workshop that incorporates poetry and storytelling led by poet and playwright John Johnson. This workshop allows individuals the opportunity to use observation of their community and personal experience to create a unique and original piece that will unlock the poet and wordsmith in everyone. John Johnson will also share some of his poetry and tips that will highlight the creative spirit of the spoken word. For reservations, call 202-6334844. Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center,
3500 MLK Ave. SE. anacostia.si.edu Tub Gardening for Small Spaces. July 22, 2:003:00 PM. It only takes a little water in a container to have some fun with aquatic plants. You don’t need to have a pond, a dish will do. Come get pointers and see different kinds of container gardens for a patio or inside your home. Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, 1550 Anacostia Ave. NE. 202-426-6905. nps.gov/keaq Collage Workshop. Aug 4, 10:00-11:30 AM. Jay Coleman will lead a workshop on collage design. Learn how the printed image can be repurposed into an exciting and colorful work of art. For reservations, call 202-633-4844. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. anacostia. si.edu
SPORTS, DANCE AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Nats Baseball. July 7, 8, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 and 31; Aug 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. $5, up. Nationals Park. 202-675-6287. washington.nationals.mlb. com National’s Ballpark Tours. Wednesday-Sunday (non-game days), 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM. On day of night-time home games, tours at 10:30 AM. Take the Nationals Park Ballpark Tour for a behind-the-scenes look at Nationals Park. Over the course of an hour and fifteen minutes you will visit the PNC Diamond Club, the Lexus Presidents Club, the Stars & Stripes Club, luxury suites, the Shirley Povich Media Center, Nationals dugout and Nationals clubhouse. Throw a pitch in the Nationals bullpen. $12-$15. All proceeds from Nationals Park Tours will be donated to the Nationals Dream Foundation. washington. nationals.mlb.com Fort Dupont Ice Arena Public Skating. July 28-29, 2:00-4:00 PM. After extensive renovations and repairs, the Fort Dupont Ice Arena has reopened. Costs are $4 for kids 12 and under; $5 for adults 13 and older; $4 for seniors 65 and older. Skate rental is $3. Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Pl. NE. 202-584-5007. fdia.org DC United Soccer Home Match. July 28, 6:00 PM. vs. Juventus. $23-$52. RFK Stadium. 202587-5000. dcunited.com 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. 202-8895901. thearcdc.org Free Yoga Classes 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
Roller Skating at Anacostia Park. Skate sunrise to sunset. This is a covered, outdoor skating pavilion. Free. One-hour free skate “rental� has started but sizes and supplies are limited. During summer months, open daily. Go east on Penn. Ave. across Anacostia River and make the first right turn onto Fairlawn Ave. and another right onto Nicholson and then into the park. 202-472-3873. Free public tennis courts in Wards 7 and 8. Fort Davis Community Center, 1400 41st St. SE; Hillcrest Recreation Center, 3100 Denver St. SE; Kenilworth-Parkside Recreation Center, 4300 Anacostia Ave. NE; Randle Highlands Tennis Courts, 31st St. and Pennsylvania Ave. SE; Anacostia Park, 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE; Bald Eagle Recreation Center, Martin Luther King, Jr Ave. and Joliet St. SW; Congress Heights Recreation Center, Alabama Ave. and Randle Pl.SE; Fort Stanton Community Center, 1812 Erie St. SE. All courts are open daily, dawn to dusk. Some are lighted for extended evening play. Courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis for one-hour intervals; extended use of tennis courts requires a permit. Proper shoes and attire is required. 202-671-0314. dpr.dc.gov Southeast Tennis and Learning Center. 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. 202-6456242. dpr.dc.gov Anacostia Pool. 1800 Anacostia Dr. SE. 202-724-1441. dpr.dc.gov Barry Farms Pool. 1230 Sumner Rd. SE 202645-5040. dpr.dc.gov Benning Park Pool. Southern Ave. and Fable St.SE. 202-645-5044. dpr.dc.gov Douglass Pool. Frederick Douglass Ct. and Stanton Ter. SE. 202-645-5045. dpr.dc.gov Fort Dupont Pool. Ridge Rd. and Burns St. SE. 202-645-5046. dpr.dc.gov Fort Stanton Pool. 1800 Erie St. SE. 202678-1798. dpr.dc.gov Kelly Miller Pool. 4900 Brooks St. NE. 202724-5056. dpr.dc.gov Oxon Run Pool. Fourth St. and Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-645-5042. dpr.dc.gov NOTE: All outdoor pools are open weekends, noon-6:00 PM. Weekday hours are 1:00-8:00 PM. Every pool is closed one day a week for cleaning and maintenance. All pools are free for DC residents. Have picture ID.
MARKETS Ward 8 Farmers Market. Saturdays, through Thanksgiving, 9:00 AM-2:00 PM. Fresh Fruit, Vegetables, Bread and Meat. Market now will double the value of your SNAP, EBT, WIC or CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 13
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senior food vouchers for produce. THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. ward8farmersmarket.com H Street FRESHFARM Market at New Location. Saturdays, 9 AM-noon. 1300 H St. NE. The market is a producers-only outdoor market offering fruit, vegetables, meats, baked goods, cheese, flowers and more for sale. freshfarmmarket.org Eastern Market. Daily except Mondays and important holidays. Weekdays, 7:00 AM-7:00 PM; Saturdays, 7:00 AM-5:00 PM; Sundays, 9:00 AM5:00 PM. Flea market and arts and crafts market open Saturdays and Sundays, 9:00 AM-6:00 PM. Eastern Market is Washington’s last continually operated “old world” market. On weekends the market area comes alive with farmers bringing in fresh produce, craft and flower vendors, artists, a flea market and street musicians. 200 block of 7th St. SE. 202-698-5253. easternmarket-dc.com 9th and U Flea Market. Saturdays and Sundays, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. 9th and U sts. NW. Dupont Circle Farmers Market. Sundays year round (rain or shine), 9:00 AM-1:00 PM. The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times of London named the market one of the top farmers’ markets in the country. During the peak season, there are more than 30 farmers offering fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruit pies, breads, fresh pasta, cut flowers, potted plants, soaps and herbal products. 20th St. and Mass. Ave. NW, 1500 block of 20th St. NW (between Mass. Ave. and Q St. in the adjacent parking lot of PNC Bank). 202-3628889. freshfarmmarket.org
Small Business Brief Advice Legal Clinic. July 17, 5:00-7:30 PM. This clinic is for aspiring or existing small business owners. Attendees will meet one-on-one with attorneys for brief advice on any legal issues their businesses may be facing. The Center for Urban Progress and the DC Bar Pro Bono Program are working together to offer this free legal clinic. Howard University Center for Urban Progress, Reeves Municipal Building, 2000 14th St. NW. 202-737-4700 ext. 3369. dcbar.org/ced 2012 International AIDS Conference. July 23-27 at the Global Village Walter Washington Convention Center. It is an open space for advocates and individuals alike to gather, exchange ideas, and make presentations. Here is where you will see the theme “Turning the Tide Together” in action. The Village will have panel discussions, opportunities for Q &A, networking zones, a main stage for presentations, and a youth pavilion. The Global Village is free and open to the public. No registration required. For more information, visit aids2012.org. Return to Lisner HIV/AIDS Forum. July 24, 7:00 PM. Whitman-Walker Health will host a forum on the current state of HIV/AIDS. “Return to Lisner” will be held in the same venue as DC’s first HIV/AIDS forum on April 4, 1983. The forum is free admission, but registration is required at whitman-walker.org/returntolisner. Lisner Auditorium, 730 21st St. NW.
Mi Tierra (Latino) Market at Unity Park. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (weather permitting). 9:00 AM-7:00 PM. Unity Park at Champlain St. Euclid St. and Columbia Rd. NW. Mi Tierra market has 18 approved vendors that sell foods and crafts from their native countries in the heart of Adams Morgan.
Board of Library Trustees Meeting. July 25, 6:00 PM. Meetings of the Board of Library Trustees are generally held on the fourth Wednesday, every other month at various library locations throughout the system. The public is welcome. Francis A. Gregory Library, 3660 Alabama Ave. SE. 202-698-6373. dclibrary.org/francis .
CIVIC LIFE Tenant Rights Workshop. July 11, 6:00 PM. Are you a tenant living in a house or apartment that has been foreclosed? In DC you do not have to leave your home just because your landlord has lost his or her property to foreclosure. Attend a free tenant rights workshop at Housing Counseling Services to learn about your rights and options as a tenant living in a foreclosed property. 2410 17th St. NW, Suite #100. 202-667-7006. housingetc.org Job Seekers Clinic. July 14, 11:00 AM. Need advice on looking for a job? Do you have a felony that makes your employment search more difficult? Volunteers from HandsOn Greater DC | JULY 2012
Big Chair Breakfast Bunch. July 14, 10:00 AMnoon. 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.
Georgetown Flea Market. Sundays year around (except in the case of very inclement weather), 8:00 AM- 4:00 PM. The crowd is as diverse as the items for sale! Antiques, collectibles, art, furniture, rugs, pottery, china, jewelry, silver, stained glass, books and photographs are an example of the available items. 1819 35th St. NW. 202-775-3532. or georgetownfleamarket.com
Maine Avenue Fish Market. Open 365 days a year. 7:00 AM-9:00 PM. 1100 Maine Ave. SW. 202-484-2722.
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CARES, the largest coordinator of volunteerism in the region, can help. This workshop is the first in a series that will help job seekers with writing resumes and cover letters, internet job searching, interviews and more. Capitol View Library, 5001 Central Ave. SE. 202-645-0755. dclibrary.org/capitolview
Congresswoman Norton’s SE District Office. Open weekdays, 9:00 AM-6:00 PM. 2041 MLK Ave. SE, #238. 202-678-8900. 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. 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, 202-834-0600. Anacostia High School School Improvement Team Meeting. Fourth Tuesday. 6:00 PM. Anacostia 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. 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 202-388-1532. Fairlawn Citizens Association. Third Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Ora L. Glover Community Room at the Anacostia Public Library, 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE. ANC 7A. Second Tuesday, 7:30 PM. Benning-Stoddard Rec. Center, 100 Stoddard Pl. SE. 202-727-1000. 7A@anc.dc.gov. anc7a. org ANC 7B. Third Thursday, 7:00 PM. Ryland Epworth United Methodist Church, 3200 S St. SE (Branch Ave and S St. SE). 202-5843400. anc7b@pressroom.com. anc7b.us ANC 7C. Second Thursday, 7:00 PM. Sargent Memorial Presbyterian Church, 5109 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. NE. 202-398-5100. anc7c@verizon.net ANC 7D. Second Tuesday, 6:30 PM. Sixth District Police Station, 100 42nd St. NE. 202-398-5258. 7D06@anc.dc.gov ANC 7E. Second Tuesday, 7:00-8:30 PM. Jones Memorial Church, 4625 G St. SE. 202582-6360. 7E@anc.dc.gov ANC 8A. First Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Anacostia UPO Service Center, 1649 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-889-6600. anc8adc.org ANC 8B. Third Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Seventh District Police Station Community Center, Alabama and McGee Sts. SE. 202-610-1818. anc8b.org ANC 8C. First Wednesday (June meeting is on the nineth because of the holiday), 6:30 PM. 2907 MLK Jr Ave. SE. 202-388-2244. ANC 8D. Fourth Thursday, 7:00 PM. Specialty Hospital of Washington, 4601 MLK Jr. Ave. SW. 202 561-0774 ANC 8E. Third Tuesday, 7:00 PM. SE Tennis and Learning Center, 701 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-561-6616. 8e02@anc.dc.gov l
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16 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
| JULY 2012
“Back Away From The Pizza Sir” Healthy Eating Can Be Fun
Metro Teen AIDS
The Little Engine That Could And Will
Guide to International AIDS Conference Colon Cancer
A War That Can Be Won
CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 17
African American Health Special 2012
“Back Away From The Pizza, Sir.” Healthy Eating Can Be Fun
article by Jonathan Bardzik | photos by Andrew Lightman
TOP to BOTTOM Anita Burrell prepares fresh salsa while Jennifer Ware shares the easy-tomake recipe.
I
’m standing in front of a refrigerator full of fresh vegetables and what I really want to do is order a pizza. Apparently, I’m not alone. You may have heard of Healthy Corners, a partnership between DC Central Kitchen and the DC Department of Health, built to help make fresh produce available in corner markets in neighborhoods without large grocery stores. However, just like me, you may feel more inspired by the rack of Hostess cupcakes and iced honey buns than the fresh cucumbers, tomatoes, apples and oranges. That’s where Juliette Tahar comes in. Juliette is the founder and Executive Director of Healthy Living Inc., a DC non-profit working to get all of us eating better. Juliette has been hired by the Healthy Corners program to deliver more than 120 cooking demonstrations this summer, most of them right
18 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
1. Jennifer Ware serves up a delicious honey-sweetened, blueberry smoothie. 2. Juliette Tahar shows Jonathan Bardzik some of the healthy options available at many corner stores.
in front of the stores that are now stocking fresh produce. I joined her on June 21 in front of A-1 Grocery on Division Avenue in Northeast. During our walk over I asked whether it was only the wealthy who could afford to eat healthy food. Juliette, in her French accent, said earnestly, “No, it’s not just about cost. I grew up in France and Africa, where there was always an abundance of fresh food and access to farmers, but when I arrived in the US in 1969 I found supermarkets bereft of fresh produce.” Unhealthy eating is responsible for an epidemic of heart problems, obesity and diabetes in the United States, most significantly in lower income neighborhoods. If that’s not due to the cost of food, then I thought it must be a lack of access to healthy choices, the socalled “food deserts” in lower income neighborhoods where grocery stores | JULY 2012
are harder to get to. “The choices are certainly more limited,” said Juliette, “but people can find healthy foods in the small corner markets that dot Washington, DC. Many people will take metro or car-share and head to the Harris Teeter at Potomac Avenue or out into Maryland for their fresh produce and meats.” When we arrived at A-1 Grocery Juliette’s team set up for the cooking demo, while she walked me inside to meet owners Frank and Insook Han, who welcomed us graciously. At the front of the store Juliette pointed out a small rack of four shelves containing a few tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, apples and oranges behind a large display of plastic-wrapped pastries. “This is the challenge,” said Juliette. “The pastries are in front because that’s what customers want and are buying, but they have other choices.” We
walked past chips and salsa and boxes of mac and cheese. She picked up a bright box of sugary cereal. “Look at the ingredients. The first one is sugar.” Taking the canister of oatmeal next to it she pointed out, “There’s nothing in here but oats. Much healthier.” In the back of the store we found rice and beans, both dry and canned. “The canned beans are full of salt, but it’s a place to start. Once you get comfortable with them you can learn to soak dry beans and cook them quickly in a pressure cooker.” Gesturing back to the pastries at the front she said passionately, “If we started making different choices, the stores would start offering us different foods.” Now I was confused. If it wasn’t cost or availability that was keeping people from eating better, then why weren’t they -- or we, says the guy who’s about to dial out for a 14” pepperoni pizza -- making healthier decisions at the dining table? Maybe we don’t know how to cook. Is it only the Georgetown and Capitol Hill crowds who know how to prepare the fresh produce they bring home from farm markets each weekend? Wrong again. “Many of the clients I work with in wealthier neighborhoods have no idea how to cook. Some can’t even boil water. But many of the women I talk to during these demonstrations are great cooks, and often the ones responsible for putting meals on the table each day for their grandchildren.” Juliette told me that younger people haven’t learned the same skills from their mothers, aunts and grandmothers. “There’s been a cultural shift away from the stove to store-bought prepared food, a shift that transcends race and economic strata.” Juliette and I walked back out front where her team was chopping the same onions, tomatoes peppers and cucumbers we had seen in the store, adding cilantro and lime juice, and serving up fresh salsa with chips to people walking by. Amidst “That’s good!” and requests for seconds, Juliette said to me, “We’re here because many people don’t
know what to do with these ingredients. They don’t realize how easy it is to make food that is fresh, healthy and tastes good.” Taking a bite of the salsa I had to agree with her. It tasted great! “We have grandfathers and grandmothers saying, “I could definitely do this at home with my grandkids.” “If they know that,” says Juliette, “maybe we can get them to stop buying jars of salsa, or at least start buying it less often.” Juliette says she is not pushing for absolutes. “People don’t need to suddenly become vegetarian or eat only fresh produce, beans and rice. Last week at a demo, a man went to the restaurant next door and came back with a fried fish sandwich. He held it out and asked for a spoonful of fresh salsa on top. That’s a good start; now his lunch has some fresh vegetables in it.” I’m still standing in front of the fridge. I’m eye-balling some fresh tomatoes thinking about that delicious salsa. I’m looking at fresh blueberries thinking about the honey-sweetened smoothie that Juliette’s assistants, Anita and Jennifer, were serving up out there on the sidewalk. I realize it’s not just about access to food; I’ve got plenty right here. It’s not just about knowing how to cook; I know plenty of great vegetable dishes that I’ve created for my weekly cooking demonstrations at Eastern Market. As Juliette said, it’s about making different choices, healthier choices. I put down my cell phone and grab a few zucchini from the fridge. I’ll sauté them and top them with a few spoonfuls of Juliette’s salsa - and a tablespoon of butter. After all, it’s about being better, not perfect.
Scrumptious Summer Salsa • • • • • • •
1 large ripe tomato 1 cucumber 1 pepper 1 small red onion 1/2 bunch cilantro, minced pinch of salt 1 tablespoon lime juice
Directions:
1. Wash tomato and pepper. Cut into thin slices and dice. 2. Peel cucumber. Cut in half to remove seeds. Cut in thin strips and dice. 3. Peel onion, cut in thin slices and dice. 4. Mix all vegetables in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and lime juice to taste. 5. Rinse cilantro, pat it dry and mince. Toss in the salsa bowl. 6. Adjust flavor and serve.
Super Simple Smoothie • • • •
2 cups frozen fruit, or 1 cup frozen fruit and 1 cup fresh fruit 2 cups fruit juice, like apple or cranberry 1-2 tablespoons honey (optional)
Directions:
1. Place frozen and fresh fruit in a blender 2. Cover with juice. For a little extra sweetness, add honey to taste. 3. Blend. If too thick, add a little more juice.
Mexican Rice • • • • • • • • •
3 cups cooked rice 1 small onion, peeled and diced 1 small green or red pepper 1 or 2 vine or plum tomatoes, seeded and diced 1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced fresh cilantro 1/2 tsp. each cumin, chili powder, paprika vegetable oil salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Wash peppers, cut in thin strips and dice small. Set aside. 2. Slowly heat oil in a skillet. Add onion and garlic. Cook until the onions have softened. 3. Stir in cumin, chili powder and paprika. 4. Add diced pepper and tomato and cook until tender. 5. Lay the rice over the vegetables, cover and cook until steam comes through the rice. 6. Stir together in a serving bowl and sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves. Juliette Tahar is the Founder and Executive Director of Healthy Living, Inc., a DC-based, non-profit. Their mission is to educate people of all backgrounds, regardless of income, how to plan and prepare simple, delicious, healthy meals in an environment that is supportive and safe, and which fosters community spirit. Healthy Living’s work includes education for students with cognitive disabilities, in women’s shelters, in public classes and private homes. For more information visit: http://healthylivinginc.org/ Healthy Corners is a collaborative effort between the Washington, DC Department of Health and DC Central Kitchen. This pilot program has helped corner markets throughout Wards 5,7 and 8 affordably stock fresh produce, making it more readily available in neighborhoods without easy access to grocery stores. For more information, including a map of store locations, visit: http://www.dccentralkitchen. org/healthycorners/. Jonathan Bardzik grew up eating his mom’s garden-fresh vegetables. He shares those recipes, and his experience from spending 2-3 hours each night in the kitchen, every Saturday morning at Eastern Market, where he gives free cooking demonstrations, complete with tastings and recipe cards. For more information, and to see what Jonathan is cooking in his kitchen right now, visit www.whatihaventcookedyet.com. l
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African American Health Special 2012 R& B Singer Raheem Devaughn supports youth at Metro TeenAIDS’ Golden Ticket Party last December Credit is on the photo
Metro Teen AIDS
The Little Engine that Could and Will
A
by Candace Y.A. Montague
community health organization based in Southeast DC combines science with youth-driven strategies to reach their target audience. In the District, the HIV/ AIDS epidemic is widespread and no community has gone untouched by this virus. This includes our youth. One small organization located at 651 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE strives to make a huge difference in the lives of youth who have been infected and affected by HIV through education and support.
The Evolution of Peer Education
In the early 1980s the Human Immunodeficiency Virus surfaced among gay men on the West Coast. During that decade, it spread not only across the country but also across sexual preferences. Once researchers knew how the disease was contracted, there was a major education push to make people aware of how the virus is spread. The Washington Area Consortium on HIV Infection in Youth (WACHIVIY ) was founded in 1988 to educate youth on HIV. Shortly afterward, WACHIVIY was renamed Metro TeenAIDS. Its mission was and still is to support youth in the fight against HIV through education and advocacy. Metro TeenAIDS currently has 38 staff members and 38 peer educators, a group of young people ages 18-24 years old. It sponsors more than 15 different programs and outreach services from HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection testing to parent workshops and training for DC Public schoolteachers and counselors.
Keeping up with youth in 2012
How does Metro TeenAIDS reach
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| JULY 2012
out to the younger generation in such an engaging way? According to executive director Adam Tenner it’s because the young people are allowed to be involved in every part of the process from planning to delivery. “There is something about having youth on staff to create programs and deliver messages that makes something ordinary become so extraordinary. It is amazing to see the youth that we train come in on Thursdays to our Freestyle, [and leave] excited about the upcoming weekend because they want to go out and spread the word to their friends. They say they can’t turn it off anymore.” Youth driven workshops
HEALTHY FOOD, HEALTHY COMMUNITY Fresh produce from local farmers, plants, art, food-preparation workshops, children activities, nutrition, NEW Homestyle Barbeque!, music and more...
Starting Saturday, June 2th! Fresh Fruit, Vegetables, Bread and Meat.
We DOUBLE your EBT,WIC and Seniors Coupon dollars!! (as long as funds last) “Look for our Ward 8 Shuttle Bus Circulator this season! Check our website for route and dates. Ward8FarmersMarket.com” Saturdays: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm At THEARC!! 1901 Mississippi Ave., SE - Front parking lot Ward8FM@gmail.com • www.Ward8FarmersMarket.com
ANNOUNCING Ward 8 Farmers’ Market Circulator Shuttle Bus FREE TO THE PUBLIC!! Youth compete in rap contest at Golden Ticket Party sponsored by Metro TeenAIDS. Photo Credit: Metro TeenAIDS
Runs on Saturdays 9:30 am – 1:30 pm. Every 30 minutes
STARTS ON JUNE 16 and projects make them feel a part of the community and thus keeps them engaged longer Metro TeenAIDS hosts two signature events every year. In June, they host The Hoop N 4 HIV Basketball Tournament at Turkey Thicket on Michigan Avenue in Northeast for National HIV Testing Day. Teams compete to win prizes. There is also music, food, free HIV information and testing available. In December, they host The Golden Ticket Party at the K Street Lounge in Northwest for World AIDS Day. The kids enjoy music, dancing, and celebrity guests such as R&B singer Raheem Devaughn. Both events are designed to make HIV and STI education more fun and interactive. In between the two signature events, Metro TeenAIDS hosts numerous events on a smaller scale including Floetic Fridays (poetry reading), community plays, panel discussions and block parties. Another way Metro Teen AIDS has kept the youth coming back for more is to use social media to reach out. Metro TeenAIDS uses Facebook, Twitter,
Ward 8 Farmers’ Market / THEARC (1901 Mississippi) Salvation Army / Spirit Health Center (2300 MLK Ave.) Big Chair (stop in front of Chair) Friendship Academy (645 Milwaukee Pl. SE) (Stop on MLK across from St. E’s Chapel Gate) Washington Gas Bldg. (3101 MLK) - across from Historic Old Congress Heights School Secrets of Nature (3923 South Capitol St. SE) Southeast Tennis Center (701 Mississippi Ave. SE) Alabama Ave & 11th Place (1100 Alabama Ave. SE) IHOP / Giant (1523 Alabama Ave. SE) (stop in front of IHOP) Ward 8 Farmers’ Market [REPEAT LOOP] – every 30 minutes Thank you to our Ward 8 Circulator Sponsors: Anacostia Coordinating Council • Congress Heights Citizens Association Secrets of Nature – Natural Foods Store • Georgetown University • SHIRE CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H
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CAN’T LOSE WEIGHT?
You Tube and You Stream to advertise events, disseminate information, and to show off the talent of their clients. Community Outreach Coordinator Dwayne Lawson-Brown explains that getting youth involved requires using social media tools to work with them. Metro TeenAIDS tweets about trending topics and provides live updates about events while they’re occurring. They share photographs and information about their events on Facebook. Metro TeenAIDS also established a hotline to
We can help! • $40 per Week to Lose 11-13 lbs. per month. • Losing Weight Does NOT have to be Expensive.
Champion Team at the Hoopin 4 HIV Basketball Tournament in June 2011. Photo Credit: Metro TeenAIDS
• 1-on-1 Counseling.
text message in order to find out the nearest place to get tested for HIV or to acquire condoms.
• Personalized Eating Plans.
Why reaching youth matters
• All Medications & B12 Injections Included.
• No Contracts, No Hidden Costs, No Extra Charges. DC’s Oldest Most Successful Medical Weight Loss Program Est. 1974
Dr. Beale’s Medical Weight Loss Program
202-463-7872
www.docbeale.com
Downtown - 1712 Eye St., NW Anacostia - 2041 MLK Ave., SE
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The Center for Disease Control published the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) for 2011. This survey monitors six types of health-risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth in grades 9-12 including sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection. Among the youth in the District who participated in the survey, 49 percent of females and 61 percent of males reported having already become sexually active. Also among the surveyed group, 32 percent of females and 18 percent of males did not use condoms during their last sexual intercourse. Additionally, 14 percent of females and 17 percent of males say they were never taught
about HIV/AIDS. DC Public Schools has a curriculum called Making Proud Choices which includes information about delaying sex and using condoms. However the curriculum is not consistently taught. That’s where Metro TeenAIDS comes in. Using a peer-topeer approach, teens can learn about safe sex practices in a non-judgemental environment where they can feel free to ask questions and get more information. They even have access to condoms. Metro TeenAIDS also provides training to DCPS teachers and counselors to help them start the discussion at school about sex education. “We really want to improve sex education in DCPS. Right now they are not where they should be. It is not about Metro TeenAIDS providing all the training. It’s about holding the school system accountable. High quality HIV education for all youth in the District is critical. We need to make sure we get the word out to the school system because we want them to succeed, ”says Tenner. Youth outreach has never been simple. It takes creativity, talent, resources, and most of all patience. In order to address an epidemic as large as HIV/AIDS in DC, all populations must be in the know. Metro TeenAIDS has worked hard over the past 24 years to become a community staple and safe haven for youth to learn about making good choices, grow personally, and give back to their community. For more information about Metro TeenAIDS visit www.realtalk.org, or call 202543-8246. Candace Y.A. Montague is a freelance health writer in DC. l
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African American Health Special 2012
Colorectal Cancer in DC A war that can be won by Candace Y.A. Montague
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n order to combat the rising colorectal cancer rates, the community must take a deeper look within and fund life-saving programs. Let’s face it. Some conversations are just off limits. And bathroom events are one of those conversations. Bowel habits are one of those taboo subjects that people just don’t discuss. However, when those ‘private’ events present signs of trouble, it is not wise to stay so silent. In March 2010, Dominique House, 34 year-old resident of Congress Heights, had already lost her mother, sister, and grandmother and was caring for seven children (three were her own). For a year, she had been experiencing abdominal pain, which she attributed to lactose intolerance. One day while sitting at the kitchen table with her two sons, she felt the urge to pass gas but it came out as bloody stool. She got nervous. “I went to my doctor. He told me that I had hemorrhoids and gave me some suppositories. I told my best friend ‘I’m not taking these. There’s something else wrong with me.’ ” She sought consultation from a gastrointestinal doctor. When he found a very large polyp in her colon, the ball started rolling from there. “I started crying. I thought my life was over. I thought ‘Oh God I’m going to die.’ It was devastating. But he had already spoken to a surgeon and oncologist. A week later I was having a 10-hour surgery to remove some of my colon.” She survived that battle but a second one was just around the corner. Dominique was diagnosed for the second time with colon cancer in December 2010, just two months after she finished treatment for the first bout. She had additional surgery to remove more of her colon. She
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Dominique House, seated on the steps, surrounded by her family also known as her support system.
has had several colonoscopies since her last surgery and so far everything looks good. She credits her intuition for saving her life. “I’m glad I listened to my body. I was supposed to wait until 50 for screening. But if I had waited I would have never seen 50. I would have been dead.” Dominique is a cancer survivor, but but so many others will not be.
Definition and incidence rates
The third most common type of cancer for males and females alike is colorectal cancer. The digestive system uses the colon to change liquid waste in to solid waste, which in turn, is expelled from the system | JULY 2012
via the rectum and anus. Colorectal cancer begins as pre-cancerous polyps that form along the colon wall. Over the years these polyps can become tumors. Some signs of colon cancer are: • Bleeding from the rectum • Blood in the stool after a movement • Cramping in the abdomen • Feeling the need to have a bowel movement when you actually don’t have to. If a person is diagnosed with cancer, the treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and targeted therapy. According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2007 DC re-
ported the highest rate of colorectal cancer deaths per 100,000 (21.1). African-Americans are in the District have the highest incidence and mortality rates of colorectal cancer. Why? Dr. Oscar Streeter, professor chair of oncology at Howard University, says to look at the foods we eat. “We need to change our diet. Obesity is a major problem and that’s related to a lot of cancers. We’re seeing more diverticulitis and pockets in the colon in AfricanAmericans. How we eat affects a lot of that.” Andrew Spiegel, CEO of the Colon Cancer Alliance, adds that getting screened in time presents another obstacle. “AfricanAmericans are also diagnosed at
later stages of the disease. They don’t screen often enough for the disease. It’s matter of access, awareness and following through with doctor recommended guidelines.”
‘You never think it could be cancer’
In December 2010, Valeta Smith, a resident of Ward 7, experienced rectal bleeding which she attributed to hemorrhoids. The single mother of three school-aged children consulted with her sister who suggested getting a colonoscopy. “I said, ‘OK ‘I’ll get one over the summer’. The oncologist told me that the bleeding could be cancer especially since I wasn’t feeling any pain. I didn’t have any insurance. I called Howard University and they had an opening that day to get the screening. I went in that day. I still wasn’t thinking that it was cancer. You never think it could be cancer. “ Valeta was diagnosed with colon cancer and had surgery to remove bleeding polyps from her colon. She credits the DC Screen for Life Program for saving her life. “DC Screen for Life talked to me and helped me. They made me feel like I was the only client they had. The navigators informed me about what to expect. They took me to the doctor. They signed me up for my appointments. Inside and outside of the hospital they helped me so much.” The DC Screen For Life Program is a program that helps cut down the staggering colorectal cancer rates through screenings. Residents, ages 50-64, who have no medical insurance or are underinsured, may get free screenings for colorectal cancer. These screenings include prep and transportation. The average cost of screening and treatment of a colorectal cancer patient can average between $10,000 and $15,000 or more in some cases. The Affordable Care Act will eventually assist in reducing financial barriers to screening by expanding insurance coverage and eliminating
co-payments and deductibles. But that won’t be fully implemented until 2014. Medicaid and Medicare do supplement the costs for cancer treatment for those who qualify. DCSFL bridges the gap between poverty and treatment. According to the DC Cancer Consortium, DCSFL has performed more than has performed 350 colonoscopies and 35 fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) procedures on qualified residents. It has educated over 2,000 people about the life-saving benefit of screening for colon cancer at the age of 50 or earlier. Nearly one out of every three patients who received a colonoscopy had a precancerous polyp removed. But with limited funding, this successful program is in peril. YaVonne Vaughn, executive director of the DC Cancer Consortium, says evidently this program deserves more funding. “Colon cancer is among the most preventable cancers that affect our most vulnerable communities. The DC Screen for Life program is clearly making a difference for people who do not have the means to get screened. DC Cancer Consortium’s ability to sustain funding, however, is very limited and we need the city’s help in creating-- and funding— a dedicated DC Cancer Control Fund. When a program like DC Screen for Life is saving lives, we are hopeful that political allies will exists to accomplish what is needed to reduce the burden of colon cancer for District residents.” Like so many other illnesses, there is no one answer that will prevent colorectal cancer. The testimonies from patients, doctors, and advocates prove that a coalescence of a healthy diet, exercise, family discussions about health history, and timely screenings is the best approach to defeating colorectal cancer. For more information about colorectal cancer, visit the DC Cancer Consortium website www.dccanceranswers.org or call 202-821-1920. l
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African American Health Special 2012
The Guide to the 2012 International AIDS Conference on a Budget by Candace Y.A. Montague
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he International AIDS Conference will be in the District this month. The Washington Business Journal predicts it will generate about $33 million. But you don’t need millions of dollars to attend. This conference is being planned to include every budget so that you can get involved and stay there. Here’s a list of some free and low cost events in and around the IAC 2012. • The Global Village Walter Washington Convention Center. July 23rd-27th- an open space for advocates and individuals alike to gather, exchange ideas, and make presentations. Here is where you will see the theme “Turning the Tide Together” in action. The Village will have panel discussions, opportunities for Q &A, networking zones, a main stage for presentations, and a youth pavilion. The Global Village is free and open to the public. No registration required. For more information, visit www.aids2012.org.
Keep the Promise March- Sunday, July 22nd at 2 pm at the Washington Monument. Free. AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Lifebeat, IMPACT and The Washington Blade are sponsoring this march demanding that world leaders keep AIDS fight for treatment, access to care, and prevention efforts. For more information visit www.keepthepromise2012.org or call Omonigho Ufomata Director, Global Advocacy & Policy AIDS Healthcare Foundation Mobile: (202) 507 5850. Email: Omonigho.ufomata@ aidshealth.org • We Can End AIDS Human Rights and Harm Reduction Rally. Tuesday, July 24th at 12 noon. Five marches (Yes five. That’s not a typo) will be-
gin during the conference lunch break and will converge on Lafayette Park (across the street from the White House). This intense march will focus on pushing policy makers to finally use the science, resources, and tools that are available to end the epidemic. For more information, visit http:// www.countdownaids2012. org/mobilization-for2012-hivaids-economicjustice-human-rights/ • Return to Lisner: A Forum on HIV/AIDS. Tuesday, July 24th at 7 pm. Lisner Auditorium 730 21st street, NW. Whitman-Walker Health presents this forum nearly 30 years after the first forum on AIDS was held in DC at the very same location. Guest speakers include Jeanne White Ginder (mother of Ryan White), Cornelius Baker (PACHA), and Regan Hoffman (Editorin-chief POZ Magazine). This event is free but you must register and bring a print out of your registration. For more information, visit http://www.whitmanwalker.org/returntolisner or call 202.745.7000. • Latino/Hispanic HIV Community Research Forum: Creando Una Red Para Un Futuro Sin VIH/SIDA. Sunday, July 22nd from 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Renaissance Hotel, Washington D.C. Free. A forum will feature presentations by top U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS researchers, panel sessions, and roundtable discussions. Online registration is required. Visit http://nlaan.org/ aids2012/latinohispanic-hivcommunity-research-forum/ • Latino Caribbean Diaspora Collaborative (LCDC) Community in the Global Village.
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Sunday, July 22nd – Friday, July 27th Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Free. The LCDC will present a program filled with educational, cultural, social, scientific, and networking opportunities in the form of panels, posters, speaker presentations, films, special performances, and interactive displays—all of which are important to our communities. No registration is necessary. • The AIDS Memorial Quilt is coming back to DC. July 21st -25th. Cost: Free. The NAMES Project will bring the quilt back to the National Mall in full for five days to remember the loved ones who have passed away due to complications from AIDS. The quilt will be between 8th and 14th streets. Other panels will be on display in 55 other locations around the city. For more information visit www. aidsquilt.org • Voices of DC Choir is seeking volunteers for a choir that will perform during the IAC. They will perform on July 24th and 26th during the lunch break.
Rehearsals will be June 18th, June 25th, July 9th, July 16th and dress rehearsal on July 21st. If you want more information, contact Regina Jefferson at (202) 671-5063. • The Normal Heart. Now through July 29th. Kreeger Theter at Arena Stage 1101 Sixth St., SW. Cost: $40 and up. Larry Kramer’s Tony-Award winning stage production about a “mysterious disease” ravaging New York’s gay community in the early 1980’s. For tickets, go to www.arenastage.com/normalheart • Gay Men’s Health Summit. July 20th and 21st. George Washington University. $85. Join The DC Center, National Coalition for LGBT Health, Us Helping Us, and Whitman-Walker Health for two days packed with information about health and social issues. For more information, visit http://www. gmhs2012.org/ Don’t let history in your own backyard pass you by. Candace Y.A. Montague is a freelance health writer in DC. l
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African American Health Special 2012
Health Resources AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly
AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly, Senior Medicare Patrol’s mission is to empower Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries to protect, detect, and report health care fraud. Our primary goal is to teach Medicare beneficiaries how to protect their personal identity, identify and report errors on their health care statements, and identify deceptive health care practices, such as illegal marketing, providing unnecessary or inappropriate services and charging for services that were never provided. When Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries are unable to act on their own behalf to address these problems, we work with families, caregivers and other to address the problems. www. smpresource.org, 202-434-2099.
Ascensions Psychological and Community Services
Ascensions Community Services, Inc. provides psychological interventions to women and men living in Wards 7 and 8. Our mission is to help individuals rise above past and current difficulties to a place of renewed wellness, competency, and stability. Ascensions’ caring and skilled therapists offer individual therapy and take special pride in our women’s groups. We address a variety of issues including relationship difficulties, depression, trauma, anxiety, grief/loss, anxiety, poor self-esteem, and parenting concerns. At Ascensions, no one is ever turned away because of the inability to pay and we are usually able to schedule clients within 24 hours of referral. Now offering Skype sessions for your convenience. 202-889-4344. www.2ascend.org
Dr. Beale’s Medical Weight Loss
Dr. Beale’s Medical Weight Loss, established in 1974, is DC’s oldest and most successful medical weight loss program. For $40 per week, you get one-on-one weight loss counseling, vitamin b12 / fat burner injection and appetite suppressants. You will lose 11 – 13 pounds per month and we teach you how to maintain your weight after you reach your goal. Once you receive your complete physical exam by one of our physicians, it is just $40 per week, there are no contracts, hidden fees or extra charges. Call today 202-4637872.
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Kids Smiles of DC
Did you know that tooth decay is the most common childhood disease? If not treated, it can give your child pain, missed school days, and other health issues that can be carried into adulthood. Fortunately, tooth decay is preventable with proper brushing and regular dentist visits. Kids Smiles nonprofit children’s dental center will help your child keep a bright and healthy smile from the time that they get their first tooth through age 18. Through quality care, waiting room education, and free community services, Kids Smiles is helping to make Bright Smiles, Bright Kids, and Bright Futures in Washington, DC. Kids Smiles of DC is located at 4837 Benning Rd., SE. Washington, DC 20019. For more information call 202-650-5238 or go to www.KidsSmiles.org.
The Mautner Project
Mautner Project is a non-profit community organization that works to improve the health of lesbian and bisexual women and transgender people in Washington DC. Mautner Project serves women with cancer – everything from helping women find the right medical care or no-cost mammograms to driving to chemo and doctor appointments or picking up groceries. Mautner Project provides referrals to lesbianfriendly doctors, and offers support to quit smoking, get exercise, lose weight. There are support groups for women with cancer, their partners, and the bereaved. All services are free! 202-332-0662; directservices@mautnerproject.org
Victory Square
As rents soar in the Washington, D.C. area, those on fixed incomes can all too easily be displaced. That’s why Victory Housing targets attractive neighborhoods and offers affordable, comfortable housing for fixed income seniors. Our goal is to keep people close to their families and connected to their communities. Nestled in the reviving Parkside community near Benning Road NE and Interstate 295, Victory Square is
only minutes from the DC Metro, great dining, shopping and entertainment. Thoughtfully designed with all today’s comforts and features, everyday living is made easy. Enjoy our Fitness and Wellness Center, Community Room, Library and Beauty Salon. 202-388-3288. www.victoryhousing.org
Washington Home & Community Hospices
It’s not easy to find peace of mind when a family member is facing ad¬vanced illness or impending end-of-life. But for Washingtonians there is hospice where patients receive ho¬listic comfort care and families enjoy emotional support. For 122 years, the Washington Home & Community Hospices has provided compassionate care in a patient’s own home, assist¬ed living or wherever you call home. Hospice care is fully covered by Medi¬care, Medicaid and private insurance. Call 866-234-7742 for complimen¬tary consultation. www.thewashingtonhome.org l
In Memorium
ALBERT R. “BUTCH” HOPKINS, JR. April 26, 1941 - June 28, 2012
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lbert R. Hopkins, Jr., known to all as “Butch,” was a longtime activist and advocate for commercial and economicl development in Anacostia and Ward 8. As the President/CEO of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation (AEDC), he was involved in all the major developments in this part of the city for over 35 years. Through his leadership he, along with his associates and staff, helped to make substantial and continuing progress to the area. He was a driving force in the development of the Good Hope Market Place, the 113-unit Know Hill Village townhouses and the Anacostia Gateway Project among many other successful ventures that benefited the community and city as a whole. Hopkins was one of the founders of the New School for Enterprise and Development Public Charter School (NSED), the Anacostia Business Improvement District (ABID) and the AEDC Scholarship Foundation which provided four year college scholarships to deserving graduates of Anacostia and Ballou Senior High Schools. “Butch Hopkins was known for his relentless efforts to bring parity and equality to citizens east of the River,” said his longtime friend, Lance Gardner. “He was a stalwart defender of the residents of an area of the city who might otherwise have gone without ordinary services that others take for granted.” Albert R. “Butch” Hopkins, Jr., was born on April 26, 1941 in Washington, DC. He was the second of two children born to Albert R. Hopkins and Thelma Marzett Johnson Hopkins. He was educated in the District of Columbia as a graduate of
St. Augustine Catholic Elementary School in 1955, a graduate of Mackin Catholic High School in 1959, a graduate of Howard University with a BS in Mathematics in 1965, and a JD from Howard University Law School in 1969. He was a member of the omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Butch joined the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation in 1969, initially as a Business Development Counselor, then Deputy Direc-
tor, then Executive Director and in 1974 to present, as President & CEO. Butch was a member of the Bar of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the United States Court of Appeals, US Court of Military Appeals, the United States Tax Court, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the National Bar Association and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
Butch was married on August 13, 1967 to Sheila A. Watson of Washingtonville, New York. They had two children, Michelle Lynn Hopkins and Mark Lyle Hopkins. Sheila and Butch were divorced in 1979, but remained close friends. Butch is survived by six grand-children: Brittany, Dominick, Donovan, Dillon, Aaron and Lillian Rose. Butch is also survived by his sisters Mary Althea Holland and Barbara Ann Hopkins along with many loving nieces and nephews. He looked forward to his weekly tennis matches and loved his yearly scuba diving adventures to different Caribbean Islands with his Sea Venture Dive Club, and loved his annual European excursions with close friends to many interesting and exotic locations. He was a founding member of Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association, Anacostia Business Improvement District Corporation, Eastcoast Development Corporation, DC Marketing Center, subsequently known today as the Washington DC Economic Partnership, Friends of Fort DuPont Ice Arena, Anacostia Coordinating Council, Main Street Anacostia, Double Nickels Theatre Company, The New School for Enterprise and Economic Development Public Charter School, and The AEDC Scholarship Foundation. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to the Butch Hopkins Memorial AEDC Scholarship Fund. The AEDC Scholarship Fund was established by Hopkins in 1999 and has been renamed in his honor. l CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 29
BULLETIN BOARD Sixth Annual East of the River Exhibition
This exhibition showcases the work of artists with connections to communities east of the Anacostia River. July 13-Sept 8. Opening reception is July 13, 7:00 p.m. Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, noon-5:00 p.m. and Saturday, 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Honfleur Gallery, 1241 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-365-8392. honfleurgallery.com The artworks in this year’s show represent a broad range of practices by artists with connections to communities in Wards 7 and 8, east of the Anacostia River. More than half of the artists in this 2012 EofR exhibit are firsttime participants. They include: Tommie Adams, photography; Melani Douglass, mixed media installation; Jonathan Edwards, drawings; Rik Freeman, oil on canvas; Jonathan French, paintings; Lawrence Green; David Allen Harris, photography; Khanh H. Le & Thanh T. La, mixed-media; Bruce McNeil, photography; Terence Nicholson, music video; Luis Peralta, abstract painting; Tim Rodgers Jr., mural and skateboard decks; Earl Rodrigues, multi-media sculptures; Danielle Scruggs, ink on paper; Deborah Terry, photography; Sidney Thomas offers a view of youth music culture that brings the exhibit squarely home.
Zipcar Brings Car Sharing to Public Housing Developments in Ward 7 and 8
The DC Housing Authority (DCHA) and Zipcar have announced that Zipcar, the world’s leading car sharing network, is expanding the availability of car sharing to DCHA public housing sites across the District to provide alternative transportation options for local residents. As part of the new program, Zipcar will place nine new car-sharing vehicles at DCHA locations in Wards three, six, seven and eight for use by local residents. DCHA and Zipcar collaborated to determine the best locations for the new vehicles in areas with high foot traffic and access to public transportation. In Ward 7, cars will be placed at Stoddert Terrace on 155 Ridge Rd. SE. In Ward 8, cars will be placed at Elvans Rd. at 2440 Elvans Rd. SE and Knox Hill on 2700 Jasper St. SE. zipcar.com
Water Lily Festival Needs Volunteers
On July 21, the park staff will begin setting up for this major event on at 7:00 a.m. and go until 3:00 p.m. Volunteer an hour or more during the day and enjoy the color and pagentry of the Asian crafts and dance, water lilies, lotus, and garden workshops. Call Doug Rowley 202-426-6906 for information or to confirm your schedule. 30 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, 1550 Anacostia Ave. NE. nps.gov/keaq
DDOT Selects Design-Build Team to Complete H Street/Benning Road Streetcar Line
DDOT has selected the team of Dean-Facchina LLC to complete the design and construction of the District’s first modern streetcar line along H St. and Benning Rd. NE. The proposed contract has been sent to the Council for review and approval. Dean-Facchina will be responsible for the design and construction of the western and eastern termini of the streetcar line, the overhead catenary power system, and the Car Barn/Training Center at Benning Rd. and 26th St. NE. dcstreetcar. com
Anacostia Community Museum Reopens
Anacostia Community Museum reopens its public spaces to the public and on-site programming resumes on July 30. 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-6334820. anacostia.si.edu
New Francis A. Gregory Library Opens
Just as students are getting out of school for the summer and the DC Public Library’s summer reading pro| JULY 2012
gram swings into full gear, Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper and world-renowned British architect David Adjaye have opened the brand-new Francis A. Gregory Neighborhood Library. The library is the second in North America to be designed by Adjaye, who also designed the new William O. Lockridge/Bellevue library. Both library designs challenge the traditional idea of libraries by arranging the space to encourage social interaction and to maximize natural light. The Francis A. Gregory Library has many unique elements, including hand-woven lamp shades from Senegal in the teen area. Located at 3660 Alabama Ave. SE, the new library opens with 40,000 books, CDs, DVDs and other library materials and with space to hold 80,000 total items; 36 publicaccess computers and free Wi-Fi Internet access; a large meeting room for up to 100 people; and two conference rooms for up to 14 people. The library cost $13.5 million to design and build. Like all other DCPL buildings under construction, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification is expected and the building complies with the District’s Green Building Act.
Jewelry Making Workshop at Honfleur Gallery
Jewelry Workshop Art instructor,
author, and jewelry designer Kathleen Manning of Beadazzled will lead this first of three workshops. The focus will be on multi-strand necklaces using semi-precious stones. A minimum of 8 participants is needed for the class to be held. Registration fee is $75 with your own tools. Registration fee, including tools is $100. Send your check to the Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE, Washington, DC 20020 Attn: Jewelry Workshop. For more information and for reservations, call 202-633-4866. This program is held in collaboration with the Honfleur Gallery, 1241 Good Hope Rd. SE. anacostia.si.edu
Listen to the Music at Kenilworth Park
Listen to the sounds of nature, try some meditation, and some yoga for a half hour to heal and relax the spirit. Call Kate at 202-426-6905 for more information. July 8 and Aug 4, 1:001:30 p.m. Call Kate at 202-426-6905 for more information. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, 1550 Anacostia Ave. NE. nps.gov/keaq
William O. Lockridge/Bellevue Library Opens
On June 23, the William O. Lockridge/Bellevue Library officially opened to the public. The library, lo-
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR External Auditing Services Solicitation No: 0017-2012 THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORIY (DCHA), and its wholly-owned subsidiary, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA HOUSING ENTERPRISES (DCHE) a public housing authority responsible for administering federal assistance programs for low and moderate income families hereby request proposals from qualified firms of Certified Public Accountants to audit its annual financial statements. SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS will be available at 1133 North Capitol Street, N.E., Room 300, Contracts and Procurement Administration, Washington, DC. 20002 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday beginning Monday, June 25, 2012 PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE will be held on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 10:00 am at 1133 North Capitol Street, NE., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20002-7599. PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS are due to the Issuing Office by 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, July 25, 2012. Contact the Issuing Office on (202) 535-1212 or email Darcelle Beaty at dbeaty@dchousing.org for additional information. CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 31
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS catching blue fish, rockfish, bait fish, clams and oysters. There are regulations and fishing zones, limited fishing licenses and declining populations of catch. Pollution and overfishing increasingly encroaches on their livelihood. Each year is a struggle. But watermen stay out there. It is more than a job; it is a way of life. This photo essay by Maria Bryk at the Center for Green Urbanism ends on July 19. 3938 Benning Rd. NE. 202-5063867. centerforgreenurbanism. org
Courtesy of Fort Dupont Ice Arena
Fort Dupont Ice Arena Reopens
After extensive renovations and repairs, the Fort Dupont Ice Arena reopens on July 9 for summer camps. The first scheduled public skating opportunities are on Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29 at 2:00-4:00 p.m. Costs are $4 for kids 12 and under; $5 for adults 13 and older; $4 for seniors 65 and older. Skate rental is $3. Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Pl. NE. 202-584-5007. fdia.org 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).
cated at 115 Atlantic Street SW, is the first library in North America by World-Renowned Architect David Adjaye. The library, which has comfortable seating for 200 visitors, comes equipped with 40,000 books, CDs, DVDs; 36 public-access computers and free Wi-Fi Internet access; a large meeting room for up to 100 people and two conference rooms for up to 14 people. The library cost $13.5 million dollars to build and design. It is open six days a week, Monday-Saturday. For more information, visit dclibrary.org. To view more photos, please visit www. WilliamLockridgeCommunityFoundation.org.
AfterDark@THEARC
AfterDark@THEARC is one of Washington DC’s most chic galas benefitting the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) while taking place at the campus itself. For the past two years, AfterDark@ THEARC has welcomed Washington’s elite for a night of entertainment, dancing, and presentations by some 32 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
of our city’s leaders. Past performers include Eric “Elew” Lewis, Frederic Yonnet and the late Chuck Brown. This year, Mayor Vincent Gray, various DC Council members and members of Washington, DC’s philanthropic community are expected to be in attendance. Gina Adams, Senior Vice President of FEDEX Corporation will also be honored with the 2012 Bridge Builder Award. Saturday, Sept 15, 6:30 p.m. $250. Tables, $5,000-$25,000. For more information, contact Janet Stone at jstone@thearcdc.org. Tickets may also be purchased online at thearcdc. org.
Chesapeake Bay Watermen: The Art of the Catch Photo Essay
The images were shot over a two year span and in no way capture all of the intricacies and skill that go in to a waterman’s workday. The show captures a glimpse at how these men catch food from the bay; their dedication, knowledge, and skill, and some of what happens after the catch comes to shore. There are seasons and techniques for | JULY 2012
Feet in the Street at Fort Dupont-Save the Date
The National Park Service, in collaboration with its partners, will host the fourth annual Feet in the Street celebration at Fort Dupont Park on Oct 13. The event features a climbing wall, farmers market, exercise classes, biking, hiking and live entertainment. Fort Dupont Park has been actively working alongside the National Park Service’s River, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program and the “Let’s Move, Outside” initiative from the Office of the First Lady to help promote a healthy and active next generation. nps.gov/fodu
DPR’s Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson Inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame
The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is often synonymous with youth athletics, Pop Warner, summer pools, picnics in the park and great weekend events. However what many may not know, is that some of DC’s best and brightest boxers have trained in DPR sponsored boxing programs; a few nationally ranked fighters, such as Lamont Peterson, Seth Mitchell and Tiara Brown, currently work out/ train from time to time in DPR boxing facilities and gyms; and that Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson, the first AfricanAmerican to capture a World Flyweight title and the newest member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, is a Roving Leader, working at the DC Department of Parks and Recreation-
where he shares his wisdom, his talents and his time with the inner city youth of Washington, DC. On June 10, Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, NY. Johnson is the first boxer from the District of Columbia, and the youngest boxer ever, to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Roving Leader Mark “Too Sharp” Johnson has worked at DPR for the past 8 years and he has influenced hundreds of kids over the years with his work at DPR and on his own, in the community. When asked what advice Johnson had to share with kids, he said, “Never stop dreaming, always obey your mother and father, as well as your elders. Never be a follower, be a leader, stay off the corners, and go to the recreation centers. Get in one of the great DPR programs.” DPR has a host of boxing programs and facilities throughout the District at recreation centers that include Harry Thomas Sr., Langdon Park, Benning Park, Deanwood and Joy Evans. And re-opening very soon, will be the Bald Eagle Boxing Annex, which will be DPR’s premiere, state-of-the-art boxing facility. DPR’s primary boxing facility is currently located at Joy Evans Recreation Center at 555 L Street, SE. dpr.dc.gov
Volunteers Needed for Fort Dupont Concert Series
The National Park Service’s (NPS), Fort Dupont Park is recruiting volunteers to help staff the very popular annual summer concerts. If you love music, like to spend time outdoors, and want to meet new people then look no further than Fort Dupont Park. Volunteers are needed to usher, set-up and clean-up, assist with parking vehicles, answer questions, and provide general assistance so concert guests have an enjoyable experience. All shows are on Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. beginning July 14 and running through August 18. Volunteers will be asked to commit to working at least three of the six concerts and willrequired to attend safety training prior to becoming a volunteer. Volunteers will be provided with a tshirt which must be worn when volunteering at the concerts. Volunteers will have opportunities to earn rewards for their services. To sign up or for more
information about Fort Dupont’s Volunteer program, email Kenya_Finely@ nps.gov or call the park at 202-4267723.
Anacostia Riverwalk Trail Awarded $10 Million Grant for Construction
Linkage of an almost 60 mile-network of bicycle and pedestrian trails between the District of Columbia and Maryland is another step closer to reality, as Mayor Vincent C. Gray and Governor Martin O’Malley announced the receipt of a $10 million federal grant to construct a missing link in the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail. Trail design is to be complete at the end of Summer 2012 with construction starting by the end of the year. Completing construction by 2014 will involve building five bridges, raised pathways, and multi-use paths. The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail is one of a series of transportation, environmental, economic, community and recreation projects included in the District of Columbia’s larger Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, or AWI Program. From the Tidal Basin to the city’s northeast border with Maryland, the 30-year, $10 billion AWI is transforming the shores of the Anacostia River into a world-class waterfront. For more information and to follow Riverwalk Trail’s progress, visit anacostiawaterfront.org/AnacostiaRiverwalk. To join the project’s community contact list or ask questions, email ddot. awi@dc.gov or call 202-741-8528.
11th Street Local Bridge Now Open
The new 11th Street Local Bridge has opened in an interim condition to provide a direct connection between Historic Anacostia and the Capitol Hill/ Navy Yard area. With the opening of the new local bridge and the additional new ramps that are scheduled to open over the next several weeks, there are significant changes for local and commuter traffic crossing the Anacostia River. In the local bridge’s interim condition, there will be 2 lanes for inbound traffic and 1 lane for outbound traffic towards Anacostia. There will also be a temporary 6-foot separated walkway for pedestrians and cyclists. The existing 13th Street ramp, which currently provides access from Good Hope Rd. to the inbound 11th Street Freeway Bridge (I-695 WB), will close permanently. All inbound traffic from Anacostia will be directed to the intersection of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ave. and Good Hope Rd. SE where motorists will access the new inbound 11th St. corridor. For more information about this Project, contact DDOT Deputy Chief Engineer Ravindra Ganvir at 202-359-6948 or visit AnacostiaWaterfront.org/11thStreetBridge.
Fort Dupont Park Ranger-led Bike Tours
Join the Fort Dupont Staff for a Ranger-led 2-3 hour bike tour on the last Saturday of every month. Each tour is different and just because you’ve been to one that does not mean won’t see something new! They generally start out at the Activity Center and bike 4-8 miles along the Hiker/Biker trail. They discuss the Park’s history from the Civil War through the Great Depression and up to present time. Some bikes and equipment are available upon advance notice. Please RSVP so that they can gauge each program’s size and participates personal gear. Tours start at 10:00 a.m. For more information please contact the Activity Center at 202-426-7723. nps.gov/fodu
Ward 8 Farmers Market Circulator Shuttle Bus Every Saturday
From 9:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in Saturdays, Ward 8 Farmers Market will have a free shuttle bus circulating throughout the Ward. Hop on and off as many times as you like. For the schedule, visit thearcdc.org. Ward 8 farmers and vendors will be selling their fresh locally grown items in THEARC’s parking lot every Saturday. There will also be free food samples and expert advice from a UDC Nutritionist. The value of EBT, SNAP, Food Stamps, WIC or Senior vouchers will be doubled when you buy produce from their farmers. Doubling program is now valid for DC and Maryland residents. Here is a sample list of goods you can expect: fruits and jam from an orchard in Pennsylvania, greens, lettuce, onions and more from Virginia, Amish-raised beef, pork and poultry and produce from THEARC’s garden.
New Survey Finds Capital Bikeshare Members Drive Less and Save Big
Capital Bikeshare members save an average of $891 per year and collectively reduce their driving miles by 5 million per year. These are just some of the findings from an extensive report released
today regarding the annual survey of members of the regional bikesharing program. The report contains detailed insight on how people are using Capital Bikeshare to get around in the District and Arlington, the impact of the program and the satisfaction of users. The survey was administered in November and December of 2011 and received over 5,000 responses. As the largest bikesharing program in the nation, and one of the few to be in operation for longer than one year, this represents a wealth of useful information to anyone interested in urban transportation.
Summer Activities at the National Arboretum
Here are some interesting thingsto-do at the Arboretum this summer. (1) Feed the koi: bring quarters to buy the special food, while supplies last, weekends only. (2) Picnic on the terrace by the koi pool. Food vendor available weekends only. (3) Bring your bicycles to ride on their 9 miles of roads. (4) Pick up the new booklet, Explore the World of Bonsai, and learn about bonsai and the museum. (5) Walk through the shady natural woodland in Fern Valley. (6) Check out the following plants in bloom in July and Aug. In July see butterfly weed, water lilies, annuals, hydrangeas, hibiscus, crape myrtles, daylilies, boxwood, herbs, sweet pepperbush, pepper collection, meadow wildflowers, hostas, and container gardens. There are two entrances to the Arboretum-one at 3501 New York Ave. NE, and the other at 24th and R sts. NE, off of Bladensburg Rd. The Arboretum grounds are open every day except Dec 25 from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Admission is free. 202245-2726. usna.usda.gov
Stay Healthy and Cool in the Heat
Drink plenty of water. Stay out of the sun. Avoid drinks with caffeine, alcohol, and large amounts of sugar. Wear clothing that is loose-fitting, light colored and breathable, such as cotton. Dress infants and children in cool, loose clothing and shade their heads and faces with hats or an umbrella. Limit sun exposure during mid-day hours and in places of potential severe exposure such as beaches. Wear sunscreen. Schedule outdoor activities carefully. Do not leave infants, children, or pets in a parked car. Provide plenty of fresh water for your pets, and leave the water in a shady area. If you do not
have access to a cool-temperature location, visit the District recreation center, library, or senior center closest to you. During any heat wave, it is important to recognize the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and stroke, as well as be aware of the various ways to avoid these heat-related illnesses. Heat stroke is a serious illness characterized by a body temperature greater than 105 degrees. Symptoms may include dry red skin, convulsions, throbbing headaches, disorientation, chills, delirium and coma. Onset of heatstroke can be rapid: a person can go from feeling apparently well to a seriously ill condition within minutes. Treatment of heatstroke involves the rapid lowering of body temperature, using a cool bath or wet towels. This is a true medical emergency, call 911. Groups at greatest risk for heatrelated illness are infants, children up to 4 years of age, people over 65, people who are overwright and people who are ill or on certain medications. The CDC recommends that adults at greatest risk be closely monitored and visited at least twice a day to view for possible signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Infants and young children should also be closely monitored. If you suspect that you or someone you know is experiencing a heat related illness, please call 911. bt.cdc.gov
Providence Hospital Partners with Joslin Diabetes Center
Providence Hospital is now a part of a community-based partnership with Joslin Diabetes Center, Inc. of Boston, MA which was awarded a $4.9 million, 3-year Health Care Innovation grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Providence is one of only two hospitals in the District of Columbia to receive this award. This grant is designed to support innovative projects nationwide that will save money, deliver high quality medical care, and enhance the healthcare workforce. CMS received more than 3,000 applications and approved only 26 projects representing unique and innovative solutions to health care challenges. The program will send trained health workers out to help approximately 3,000 Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and low income/uninsured populations understand their risks and improve health habits for the prevention and management of diabetes. l CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 33
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
Brown’s Down, Who’s Next? by Martin Austermuhle
The “Head Shot” That Got Brown
Kwame Brown at the opening of Phelps Vocational High School, one of the projects he championed in happier times. Photo: Ron Thomas
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Kwame Brown, the one-time rising star in D.C. politics, saw a spectacular fall in early June, when in the span of one day he went from being Chair of the D.C. City Council, the second-most powerful elected official in the city, to just a normal resident—albeit one facing federal charges. Two days after resigning his post, he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of bank fraud and misdemeanor counts of campaign finance violations. A week later, the post-Brown era began as Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) was elevated to Brown’s former post, taking his infamous attention for detail and legendary attendance record at community meetings to the top of the D.C. Council. While many political gossips predicted that Brown would eventually fall, they were also surprised as to how it actually happened. Brown’s 2008 campaign spending habits, which became the focus of the investigation against him, wasn’t what ultimately did him in—it was his personal financial irresponsibility. Brown was accused of and admitted to falsifying income documents in order to get two loans, one a home equity loan for $166,000 and a second—used to purchase a boat—for $55,000. In the latter case, Brown changed a “3” to an “8” on a 1099 to make it look like he was making more than he did. (It remains unclear how the bank in question, Industrial Bank, didn’t do a further check to confirm that
Brown was making what he said he did.) “Wait, is that it?” was a question I heard often on the day Brown was charged. None of this was to say that bank fraud isn’t a serious charge, but was it a charge that would merit resignation? In the grand scheme of what many people assumed of Brown and his 2008 campaign—hundreds of thousands of dollars were steered to a company controlled by his brother, with little accounting as to how it was spent—bank fraud seemed, well, a little light. As for the campaign finance violations, those were misdemeanor charges of spending above legal cash limits for payments to campaign workers. Objectionable as those charges may have been, they would merit a fine at worst. After Brown’s guilty plea, Machen argued that bank fraud can threaten the integrity of the financial system. That’s true. But Brown had paid off one loan and was current on the other—and the bank that gave him both said it had suffered no losses from the loans to him. (Ironically, now that Brown is a felon and out of work, he’s more likely to default on his obligations.) Machen wouldn’t say much else, but the implication seemed clear—there wasn’t enough of a case to make against Brown from the worst of what happened during his 2008 campaign, so the U.S. Attorney made due with what he had. Brown, seeing that this was a way to step aside gingerly and avoid a trial or further investigation that could include his family as targets,
acquiesced. In comments outside the courtroom, though, Brown tried to draw out the silver lining of the situation, saying that he had never used his public office for private gain, like former Ward 5 councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. had. He seemed to be telegraphing a message to his few remaining supporters: they got me, but it’s only because I was living beyond my means. In the wake of Brown’s resignation and guilty plea, some surprising context came from a strange place. David Simon, a former Baltimore Sun journalist and creator of HBO’s acclaimed series “The Wire,” called Machen’s charge against Brown a “head shot.” “If the rest of your case was insubstantial, if you couldn’t make the case you wanted to make, but you were on the spot for investigating a high profile target, then check the loan documents on that sucker’s house first. See if he made a false claim. Even if he was paying off the bank loan, or had paid the loan, even if there was no actual monetary loss, check the loan documents. It’s amazing how many Americans put more than their best foot forward when they are trying to convince a bank to back their mortgage,” explained Simon, noting that he even wrote the practice into the show, when prosecutors went after notoriously corrupt Maryland State Senator Clay Davis for fudging his mortgage documents. Is that wrong? Should Brown have been forced to resign (and he was; it was part of his plea deal) for charges unrelated to his public duties? And if Machen had more information on him but not enough to take to trial, is using secondary charges fair? What about Brown’s family? If they were in on any of
this, should they be able to glide by merely because the council chair fell? Simon wondered the same thing. “The point is not which politician we want to see get got,” he wrote. “The point is process.” If you’re still skeptical, consider that prosecutors have to think legally as well as strategically. Machen is certainly a strategic thinker—he waited until the day after the council had voted on the 2013 budget before bringing the hammer down on Brown, after all. Now that Brown has been felled, of course, Mayor Vince Gray must be worrying that they’ll get him next. Two of his campaign associates have been charged and have plead guilty, and just like Brown, it wasn’t so much the underlying crime that was the problem. In their case, it’s that they lied about it. Could Machen leverage a few fibs by Gray’s associates to make a case against mayor? Stay tuned.
A Council Realigned
With Brown’s political career seemingly over and Mendelson lording over the council, the dynamics of local politics have certainly changed. Mendelson is now a step away from Gray’s seat, should the mayor be next to be charged and resign. If Mendelson wins the November 6 special election to complete Brown’s term, his own At-Large seat will open up, requiring a special election in March 2013. The rumored mayoral contenders—Jack Evans, Muriel Bowser and Tommy Wells—have to be concerned too, knowing that an election for the city’s top office may well come before 2014. Martin Austermuhle is the Editorin-Chief of DCist.com and a freelance writer. He lives in Petworth. l CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H
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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS theNUMB3RS 3.327.649.10
What to Watch The Latest in DC Education News
S
by Soumya Bhat
chool is out, and thoughts are probably turning to swimming and summer camp. But don’t be fooled into thinking that nothing is happening in DC education. There are many changes underway in DCPS and public charter schools that will affect the next school year, starting with the many DC public schools losing librarians and increasing class sizes due to pressures created by the recently adopted fiscal year 2013 budget. There is also new funding for innovations intended to boost the outcomes of DC’s lowest performing schools. Also on the schedule this summer will be discussions of creating neighborhood admissions preferences for the first time in DC public charter schools. Here is a breakdown of the some major education initiatives, along with some issues for your consideration.
school programs will be scaled back, and middle and high schools will see larger class sizes. In addition, DCPS expects a big increase in special education students as part of aggressive efforts to return students from placements in private schools. However, the budget shows reductions in special education staffing, leaving it uncertain whether schools will have adequate capacity to handle the larger special education population next year. – Issues You Should Consider: How will these funding cuts impact the schools in your neighborhood? Parents and community stakeholders are encouraged to get involved and ask their school leaders about how staffing and funding changes will affect the quality of education for students next school year.
Will School Funding Pressures Affect the Quality of Education Next Year?
The fiscal year 2013 budget boosted per-pupil funding two percent for DC Public Schools and Public Charter Schools. Yet this will not be enough for DCPS to keep pace with rising costs of core school functions. Specifically, the staffing costs for teachers, counselors, and instructional coaches will rise 5.4 percent, partly because the private funding used to implement DC’s new teacher evaluation and bonus system has run out. As a result, many schools will have to scale back services. Smaller schools lost funding for librarians, summer
In June, DCPS announced grants to 59 schools, ranging from $10,000 to $490,000 to implement innovative programming next year. About 85 percent of the $10 million is going to the 40 lowest-performing schools. Applicants for the grant competition were encouraged to focus their proposals on improving academic achievement through changes such as extending the school day, using technology in innovative ways, and increasing the capacity of their staff. Thirteen schools are planning to extend the school day with their grant dollars. – Issues You Should Consider: Will the impact of school funding cuts limit the success of these
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“Proving What’s Possible” Grants
new efforts? If so, do the winning schools have time to prepare for the school year with their new innovative programming? In any case, it will be important to watch how the proficiency rates change at schools getting these funds.
Will Kwame Brown’s Pet Projects Survive?
DC’s budget for next year includes funding for four new pilot initiatives championed by former DC Council Chairman Kwame Brown under the “Raising the Expectations for Education Outcomes Omnibus Act of 2012.” • Early Warning and Support: Students in grades four through nine in four different feeder school groups will be tracked to identify students who are at risk of dropping out of school and to provide them with more individual attention and assistance to get them back on track for high school graduation. • Post-Secondary Preparation: All high school students in DC public schools and DC public charter schools will berequired to take the SAT or ACT and apply to at least one college or other postsecondary institution before graduating. • Highly-Effective Teacher Incentive: This pilot program will offer incentives for highly effective teachers that are willing to serve in high-need DC schools for a minimum of three years: annual bonuses of $10,000, access to housing assistance programs, tuition assistance, and income tax cred-
its. Up to five teachers at four high schools will participate in the pilot. • Community Schools: The legislation will support public-private partnerships between public or public charter schools and non-profit and community organizations to provide a wide range of services to the entire school community, including health care, academic enrichment activities, early childhood education, and job training programs. The Office of the State Superintendent for Education will administer grants of up to $200,000 to each of the five pilot schools selected for participation. But schools will be expected to seek federal and private sources to keep these initiatives going in future years. – Issues You Should Consider: With the change in leadership at the Council, these pilot programs may not be sustained over time, which in some cases may not be a problem. It is not clear that all of these approaches — especially making all students apply to college — will have much effect on educational outcomes. But if the more promising approaches are not sustained, there will not be adequate time to see any impacts. In addition, the Community Schools Incentive and Teacher Incentive initiatives won’t be sustained long-term without securing private and federal funding. These initiatives will require political will and community support if they are seen as valuable for DC’s education system.
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Should Charter Schools Be Required to Offer Neighborhood Admission Preferences?
New legislation called for creating a task force this summer to study the idea of a neighborhood admissions preference for DC public charter schools. The task force stems from complaints of some parents that they live near a public charter school they would like to attend, but get no special consideration in the school’s admissions process. The meetings, which should be open to the public, will take place this summer to complete the final report with recommendations by Sept. 1, 2012. – Issues You Should Consider: The task force will be led by the board chair of the DC Public Charter School Board. Other members now being selected will include representatives from government agencies, charter schools, researchers, and charter school advocates. Some are concerned that having a neighborhood admissions preference could lead to more confusion for parents already navigating two competing sectors (DCPS and Charter Schools) or possibly harm under-enrolled DCPS neighborhood schools that may lose students to charter schools. It will be important to keep an eye on the task force to make sure they account for the interests of all children in DC, regardless of what type of school they choose or what neighborhood they live in.
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Bhat is an education policy analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (www.dcfpi.org), which conducts research on tax and budget issues that affect low- and moderate-income DC residents. l CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 37
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
The Day My Life Changed by Alexander Hamilton
M
y name is Alexander Hamilton. I was born May 24, 1994. I am 17 years old. I am going to tell you about my life and the relationship with my father. I’m also going to tell you some things that I have done and kept a secret until this essay. After you read this essay you will understand why I am the man I am today.
There was at one point of time when my father was in my life. While he was alive he had to take care of seven boys and one girl. He was only the father of four out of the eight kids, me and my 3 little brothers. He was a good man from what I remember but he did used to make mistakes when he used to lay hands on my mother, but me being young and smaller than him there wasn’t much I could do but
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listen from my closet door. My father used to watch me and my brothers while my mother was at work and leave out of the house on us. Reminding you that I am 12 years old at the time so I didn’t know what to do, because I didn’t know how to cook and I couldn’t even watch myself so how would I watch my little brothers. At the age of 12 the same things have been happening repeatedly so I
didn’t know what to do besides tells my mother. As these things are going on, about a year later my father started to tell us stories about him being locked up and things his parents did to him and how they treated him. Me and my brothers tried to convince him that the way he was treated does not mean treat us that way but it went through one ear and out the other. After that day he was arrested again because of old charges he had but him or my mother wouldn’t tell me or my brothers. He was in and out of jail since I was 6 all the way until I was 13 years old. After my father came home from prison I remember him being sick and two weeks later he passed away having a heart attack. That’s when my life changed. I didn’t know what to do now and I had just lost my aunt 3 of 4 months before his death. I was afraid that I was going to die as well. I started seeing my mother cry and my mother is a strong lady. When her and my father had problems she would never cry, or at least she wouldn’t let me or my brothers see her cry. So me seeing her cry I knew that she was going through a lot and I also knew that she needed help with things around the house and also getting clothes and feeding us. My seeing all of these things made me step up to the plate and try to get a job but I could not because everybody said I was too young. I started to hear my mother say if she dies she only wanted us to get our education but that wasn’t getting money and paying the bills. I took it to another level. I got a gun from a friend of mine and I felt like the man in the house. I was 14 years old and nobody knew I had it. I started robbing people so that I could help my mother out with some money, also to put shoes on my brothers feet and clothes on their body. I started to get too excited about it and ended up in jail. Me being incarcerated made me think back like maybe these are the things my father was doing and I should stop before it gets worse. I was incarcerated for only three weeks because of the good job I was doing at school and they felt that I should have another chance. When I say they I mean the Judge and the prosecutors.
I was released from prison and into a shelter house. I had good behaviour in the shelter house so I was out of there in a week. Now I’m back at home hearing my mother’s mouth about what was I thinking and what was I doing. So I lied to her and told her nothing. I found the gun and the police arrest me for it. Now I have been home for a month and felt like I needed to finish what I started so I went out and sold drugs so that I can get me another gun. Me having the gun always made me think was this the same thing that had my father in and out of jail and should I forgive him. Also I start feeling like the man again and start doing all the things that had incarcerated me the first time. This went on about two months and I ended up being incarcerated again. Same charge in less than three -months from the last time. I was incarcerated the whole summer and was released back home with my mother. Me going through all of these things made me realize that having guns and drugs wasn’t me, that was my father. Me seeing that things in the house have changed and gotten better, I chose to keep my head into school and I made it all the way to 12th grade. If it wasn’t for my father I would never been the young man I am today. Now when I see men I show them respect because you never know what somebody has been through unless you take the time to talk to them. Now some men are my role models such as my stepfather, Office Buck and Barack Obama, because these are men that want me to do positive things in my life and want me to be something in my life. Also gave me my heart to share stories like this with people I have never met before. After I graduate from Ballou Senior High School I am going to join the Air Force and start my life from there. Thanks for reading my essay. l
More Transportation East of the River
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An Update from DDOT Director Terry Bellamy
he District has seen major improvements in transportation in the last few years, including the expansion of the DC Circulator bus system, and the launch of Capital Bikeshare. In keeping with the ‘one city’ theme of Mayor Gray’s administration, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has been working to ensure that our neighborhoods east of the river get their share of that transportation expansion. Here’s an update about exciting new and still expanding transportation options that are available for our residents east of the river. The DC Circulator, DC’s local bus service connecting neighborhoods within the District, crossed the river in October of last year with a new route that runs from the Potomac Avenue Metro Station to Skyland and the Good Hope Marketplace Shopping Center via Barracks Row. The Circulator is a clean, comfortable ride and costs just $1 (or 50 cents for seniors/disabled)! You can ride anywhere throughout the Circulator’s network of five routes and transfers to other Circulator buses and Metrobus are free within 2 hours if you use a SmarTrip card. If you are transferring to or from Metrorail, you’ll get a 50 cent discount with your SmarTrip card. Children under the age of 5 always ride free of charge, as do DC public school students with the DCStudent Travel Card. For more information about the DCStudent Travel Card, call the School Transit Subsidy Program at DDOT at (202) 673-1740.The Potomac AveSkyland via Barracks Row Circulator route is currently running its summer hours, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays . For more information about the DC Circulator’s routes, fares and hours of operation, visit www.dccirculator.com or check out the map located at bus stations along the routes. In addition to making stops at the Anacostia, Eastern Market and Potomac Avenue Metro stations, the new route also connects to six Capital Bikeshare stations. Bikesharing is the newest
form of public transportation to hit the District. There are 15 stations located east of the river with more on the way. Over 165 Capital Bikeshare stations are located across DC and Arlington County and bikes are available 24/7. The bikes are easy to use and membership costs just $75 a year. With membership, every trip under 30-minute is free – simply pick up a bike at one station and drop it off at any other station in the system. Monthly ($25), three-day ($15) and one-day ($7) memberships are also available. I know that $75 can seem like a big cost when you pay it upfront, so a few months ago the Capital Bikeshare program launched a new monthly installment plan, allowing members to pay just $7 a month when they commit to an annual membership. A credit or debit card is required to purchase membership, but we understand that not everyone has one. A new partnership with Bank on DC is making it easier for anyone to become a Capital Bikeshare member. Everyone is welcome at Bank on DC, even if you have never opened an account before or have had problems with an account in the past. Both new and existing Bank on DC members are welcome to a $50 annual membership rate for Capital Bikeshare. For more information about Capital Bikeshare, including membership rates and a station map, visit www. capitalbikeshare.com or call 1-877-430BIKE (2453). For information about the Bank on DC program, visit www. capitalbikeshare.com/bankondc. Most readers are probably already familiar with Metro’s rail and bus systems – and for many, these may still be the best bets for getting around – but additional options like the DC Circulator and Capital Bikeshare give you the freedom to choose what works best for you. Here at DDOT, we are always looking for better ways to serve the transportation needs of our residents. For any questions, comments or concerns, please contact us at (202) 6736813 or by email at ddot@dc.gov. We’re also always accessible on Facebook and Twitter. l CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 39
NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
...The Man from Anacostia
Summer Olympics in Ward 8
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by Charles Wilson
have written several articles published in East of the River newspaper about the importance of training the next generation of leaders in Ward 8. With all the economic development changes coming to our community, it is more important than ever that we do this. As the Olympics approaches, one sport in particular reminds me of what it takes to mentor our young leaders -- the 4x100 relay race. In the relay race, each country takes its four fastest runners and places them in quarter distances around the track. When the gun sounds to begin the race, the first runner needs to run as fast as he or she can to the next runner and pass a cylinder tube called a baton. Once the baton is passed, the next runner can then proceed to the third runner and perform the same task of passing the baton. Then finally, the last runner is responsible for crossing the finish line. Even though each country picks its four fastest runners, speed is not the most important factor in winning the race. Winning the race really depends on how effectively each runner can pass the baton off to the next runner. Each runner only has a split second to make this exchange. Missing the exchange or dropping the baton automatically disqualifies the team. Ironically, even though the U.S. is known for having the fastest runners each Olympics, we have not always won the race. In fact, the last two Olympic games the US team has been disqualified by dropping the baton. Why is that? Some analysts have explained it that athletes seldom dedicate the needed training as a team to practice for the event. Track athletes are trained to race against and beat each other for the four years in between each Olympics. Working together to win a race really does not happen until after their individual race competitions are complete. I look at each Ward in the District as its own relay team. How well have we done
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as a relay team? Not well in my estimation. Often times I hear complaints in Ward 8 that our seniors are not willing to pass the baton when it comes to providing leadership positions for our young adults. In some cases this is true. Some of these longtime leaders should ask themselves, “If I as a leader of an organization were to wake up one day and decide I no longer want to plan meetings, lead protests, etc, is there someone out there under the age of 40 who is ready and willing to step in my place.� If not, you are not passing the baton. And then to our Ward 8 young adults. Are you taking an active role in the development of your community? Or are you just waking up in the morning, going to work, coming home and closing the door till the next morning. Are you being a part of the process or are you just complaining about others are doing. If this is you, you are not reaching forward to receive the baton of leadership. What I have learned over the years is that I alone can only do so much to improve the quality of life in my community. I can burn myself out quick. But with a team of people we can accomplish so much more. What I love most about the 4x100 relay races is that if your team comes in first, second or third place, each runner on the team will get the same quality medal of gold, silver or bronze. Additionally, each team member will be able to stand upon the podium to receive their medal together. However, it is only the gold medal winning team will be able to stand upon the podium together to listen to their national anthem. So which team will Ward 8 become – much of it depends on how willing we are to mentor the next generation to step into leadership position. Are you prepared to pass the baton or are you trying to keep running until you are out of breath while the other teams pass you to the finish line? l
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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
Seeds of Fatherhood and Community Daddy’s Corner and Friends Plant at Benning Terrace by Virginia Avniel Spatz
Volunteers prepare fencing for the new vegetable garden at Benning Terrace.
“I
’ve never really eaten anything I grew myself,” says Rashad, a 13-yearold resident of Benning Terrace helping to establish a new community garden. With a little instruction, he was handling a posthole digger on the grounds of the DCHA property along 46th Place SE. Rashad joined a diverse gathering of experienced and apprentice gardeners for “Greening the Hood,” a pre-Fathers Day event intended to “plant and nurture the seeds of fatherhood.” The June 15 event was organized by Daddy’s Corner, a non-profit dedicated to “changing the lives of low-income and
disadvantaged youth by focusing on strengthening community and creating programs that encourage and aid the involvement of youth fathers in their children’s lives.” Yolanda Hawthorne of Zenful Bites demonstrated food-preparations. Discovery Communications, headquartered in Silver Spring, MD, provided a work crew through HandsOn Greater DC Cares. Additional volunteers from the community participated throughout the day. “I was just taking out the trash,” Rashad explains. “And they called, ‘come help the family.’ So here I am.”
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Food Access and Education
Rashad and a number of others who stopped by on June 15 are unfamiliar with the process of planting, tending and harvesting food. “I help my mom grow mint, but she doesn’t grow vegetables or anything. I’m interested to see how they do it.” Adult mother and daughter, Sherri and Sharmalitta Riley, were excited to find the project beginning just as they were finalizing plans to move to Benning Terrace. Both said they were not gardeners but will learn. Cynthia Jenkins, on the other hand, says she gardens at Fort Dupont and “eats all kinds of veggies.”
Previously unaware of Daddy’s Corner, she was happy to learn that of the group’s presence, adding. “If the guys are not around, I’ll see that no one bothers the garden.” People unused to a variety of fresh foods sometimes have “initial phobias about healthy eating,” Hawthorne says, and both Daddy’s Corner and Zenful Bites are dedicated to addressing those fears. Case in point: An oddlycolored juice, a concoction of healthful elements whipped up in Zenful Bites’ blender, at first elicited expressions of skepticism; but taste-testers were soon smiling and requesting more. “A lot of times I prepare something and people are frowning at first, but then I run out.” “I grew up with people from the South. Even though we lived in Detroit, we gardened,” Hawthorne continues. “People shared – maybe we’d swap our collard greens for your tomatoes... but now there’s a disconnect between people and their food.” Moreover, Benning Terrace is a long way on foot or bus – especially with loaded shopping bags – from the nearest grocery store or farmer’s market. “A garden gives you access to food that might otherwise be hard to find.”
Seeds of Community
“A community that plants, harvests and eats together, stays together,” says Cynthia Carr of Daddy’s Corner, Inc., organizers of the pre-Fathers Day event. “Our goal is to build a tight community bond with the residents of Benning Terrace focusing on overall nourishment....We integrate food and nutrition through healthy lifestyles initiatives, service learning opportunities, education and training events, community and capacity building endeavors, and youth, elderly, and family programming.”
Residents and volunteers gather for a pre-Fathers Day cook-out sponsored by Daddy’s Corner.
Assisting Daddy’s Corner with the garden were participants in Discovery Communications’ third annual “Impact Day.” Employees have a choice of projects, but all – thousands of employees worldwide – leave their regular jobs for the day, says Josh Weinberg, who works in the company’s Silver Spring headquarters. Impact Day offers a chance to “connect with folks you don’t know” – inside the company, as people with disparate jobs join together in digging and planting, e.g. – and to “meet others who are doing great work we might not otherwise know about....Discover Communications is all about broadening people’s worlds. So it’s nice to be able to do that in person.” A variety of volunteers find their way to Daddy’s Corner through HandsOn Greater DC Cares. For this year’s Impact Day, DC Cares found 900 volunteer projects for which substantial work could be accomplished on a single day, placing 1200 Discovery Communications employees on June 15. Throughout the year, DC Cares matches volunteers to needs in any non-profit or school that serves DC residents. Daddy’s Corner and its garden are “unique and needed,” Weinberg explains. Now that he and his coworkers know about it and have gotten to know some of the Benning Terrace neighbors, “Hopefully a lot of us will be back.” Daddy’s Corner: contact Cynthia Carr, 443603-7369, www.DaddysCornerInc.com Zenful Bites: Yolanda Hawthorne, 202-2620921, http://zenfulbites.com/ Hands-On Greater DC Cares: 202-777-4462, http://www.greaterdccares.org/ l
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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
ANC 7A Report by Mariessa Terrell
summer. The Commission budgeted $1000 for snacks, prizes, reading list, closing ceremony and stipend for program coordinator.
Block Party and Back to School Event
Commissioner Kent will coordinate the 7A Back to School event and requests that a committee be formed to plan the event and find sponsorship for uniforms, book bags and school supplies for students attending the event.
Laptops for ANC 7A
The Commission agreed to spend $1500 to purchase two laptops for 7A staffers. After a brief discussion on how to track and safeguard the laptops, the Commissioners approved the purchase.
Special Presentations
O
n June 5, 2012 ANC 7A Commission Chairman Villareal “VJ” Johnson along with Commissioners Sheila Carson-Carr, Latese Gilbert, Shahidah Hamplett, Martha Kent, Ebony Thompson, Evie Washington navigated a dense agenda. After the minutes from the May meeting and the Treasurer report were approved, the Commission tackled new business including whether to hold a public meeting in July. Typically ANC meetings are held September through June. However on the recommendation of Chairman Johnson and in order to better coordinate the ANC sponsored 7A READS program and Block Party
Event, the Commissioners agreed to schedule a meeting on July 10, 2012. In addition to summer activities, the July meeting will include a discussion of the Reservation 13 issue as well as project development concerns related to the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation, a $9 million construction project adjacent to the Benning Stoddard Recreation Center.
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7A Reads Project
7A READS summer project spearheaded by Chairman Johnson encourages children attending Georgia W. Kimball Elementary, Plummer Elementary, and John Phillip Sousa Middle Schools to read on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday during the
Jessica Sutter, Department of Education: The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) asked ANC 7A to take the lead in organizing a Community Conversation around accessing quality education to be held on August 11, 2012, location TBA. ANC 7A will partner with Public Agenda to identify stakeholders to participate in a series of planning sessions. Many like Ms. May, President of Dupont Commons Neighborhood Association, are weary of participating in discussions on school reform. May commented, “it is a waste of time to discuss the same issues.” Chairman Johnson, re-emphasizing the need for the initiative, stated, “This is the first time that an ANC along with other stakeholders and community-based entities have organized a Community Conversation to produce solutions for parents to access quality education [for their children].” Richard Hanks, The Community Builders, Inc.: Hanks is a project manager for the Fairlawn Marshal Phase 1 Project (1521-1529 28th
Street, SE) and seeks a letter of recommendation from 7A to begin development of the property. The tenants association, representing 28 of the 47 tenants living in the property actively selected Community Builders because they were pleased with management of the property directly adjacent to the Fairlawn property. The tenants association, formed in 2006, will work with Community Builders to determine which tenants will be allowed to return to the property after renovation. Ian Leahy, District Department of Transportation (DDOT): DDOT Trees is responsible for maintaining 4000 street trees (planted between sidewalks and curbs) and the trail network. DDOT recently launched a d.trees program to encourage residents to adopt a tree. DDOT will provide up to 10 gallons of free water to help residents with tree care. www.ddot.dc.gov/trees Unfortunately for many residents the d.trees program does not provide assistance with the removal of dead trees in 7A. Commissioner Carson Carr noted that these “butchered” trees have been severely cut back by Pepco and present a hazard. Residents are encouraged to contact DDOT Lead Urban Forrester, Michael Chuko for additional assistance. (202-671-1490 or michael. chuko@dc.gov. ) Kamina Newson, DC Sustainable Energy (DSE): Pursuant to the 2008 Clean Affordable Energy Act, businesses, including churches and charter schools that install energy efficient equipment will receive a rebate for any energy related purchase. Alternatively, residents are eligible for a loan up to $12,000 for use in improving home energy efficiency. The DC Sustainable Energy project is funded by fees paid to Pepco (see the Sustainable Trust Fund line item on resident Pepco bills). Low income residents may be eligible for additional programs sponsored by the low income multi-family division of DSE. Julie Cuthrop, National Park Service Fort Dupont Park (NPS): 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the Fort Dupont Summer Theater! The anniversary coincides with a $900,000 allocation made to Fort Dupont Park for the improvement
of hike and biker trails and the replacement of signage. Ward 7 and 8 residents are asked to submit photos of Fort Dupont activities from 1972-2012 along with any additional ideas for Fort Dupont park improvements to the NPS. From June 14, 2012 to August 18, 2012, the NPS will present its annual Summer Concert series at Fort Dupont. In an effort to make the park safe for all patrons, the NPS is once again requiring alcohol check points. Commissioner Carson Carr worries that the additional rules without additional community outreach may cause residents to view Fort Dupont as a “police state.” Cuthrop reminded residents that the additional check points have resulted in less litter in the neighborhoods surrounding Fort Dupont and a reduction in alcohol related medical emergencies. Additional funding from the Friends Group, a preferred seating program that charges $35 for seats during Park events, will also help the Park to provide a safe environment for visitors. The next ANC 7A meeting will be held on July 10, 2012 from 6:30 until 8:30 at the Ophelia Egypt Center (inside the Safeway Shopping Center) 3933 Minnesota Avenue, NE, Washington, DC. l
ANC 7E Report by Mariessa Terrell
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n June 12, 2012, ANC 7E under the leadership of Chairperson Mary D. Jackson provided resident attendees with updates on existing projects. Specifically, the Ridge Road Recreation Center finally received an allotment of $12.8 million to begin construction. ANC 7E has signed a letter of commitment to support a timely construction process. CW Harris School has erected a fence around the parking lot in an attempt to
deter robberies that have targeted school teachers. Benco Shopping Center altercations between shoppers and loiterers continue. As a result the Liquor Store located in the shopping center will close one hour earlier. JC Knolls School is in need of assistance pruning severely overgrown bushes and weeds that present a hazard to students. Sandra Lee, Community Outreach Coordinator from Mayor’s Office will be contacted. H.D. Woodson Senior High School does not have a Principal. Chairperson Jackson has been appointed to sit on a panel tasked with selecting a replacement for Principal Thomas Whittle. “It’s time to speak up! We should not have a new Principal every year,” Jackson stated at the meeting. HD Woodson is currently over capacity. According to Chair Jackson, last year 200 special education students were transferred to Woodson but only 14 teachers were assigned to assist. At present, Woodson has close to 900 students enrolled. There are an additional 980 students on the waiting list. Jackson stressed that many of these students are out-ofboundary students; some of which have disciplinary issues. It was also discussed that perhaps a rule should be instituted that would prevent any out-of-boundary student with disciplinary issues from enrolling at HD Woodson. Mr. Thomson, a resident of 7E made a special presentation regarding property taxes. He has made several inquiries to DC Council members, government officials and ANC representatives to ascertain why the value of his home has decreased while his property tax bills have increased. According to Thompson, over 3240 District resident complaints have been filed.
Other Announcements
Fletcher Johnson Education Center is having an alumni Family Reunion on July 14, 2012 from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Annika Mohammed is helping to coordinate the effort and is seeking in kind donations of food and beverage, etc. The coordinators endeavor to use the event to promote local independent businesses. l CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H
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1.. INSET: Before: Maria Pantalina’s front yard had a dead tree stump; shrubs that needed trimming; weeds, poison ivy and English ivy that were taking over; a rusty white bench; and liriope grasses randomly placed. 2. After: The stump was removed and replaced by a flower garden. Shrubs were masterfully sculpted, and weeds and ivy removed from underneath. Iris garden was weeded, edged, and irises consolidated to one side. The bench was painted, and a rose bush planted next to it.
1. INSET: Before: Esther Fletcher’s garden had weedy garden beds on both sides of the front steps, with a row of sedum plants around each bed. 2. After: The sedum plants were moved to one end of the garden for a more dramatic effect and to make the garden beds more visible. Garden beds were weeded, enriched with compost, then planted with a variety of low-maintenance perennials
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The 19th Annual Hillcrest Garden Tour The HCCA Gives Back to the Community
T
by Michelle Phipps-Evans
he 19th annual garden tour by the Hillcrest Community Civic Association (HCCA) was focused on giving back, according to a member of the Hillcrest Garden Tour Committee. “This year, we wanted to give back,” said Kathy Chamberlain, who is also an HCCA board member. “We earn a lot from the garden tour and we wanted to give something special to the community.” So, for this year’s 19th annual tour on June 23, the committee created a different experience by making over the front gardens of two senior residents of Hillcrest rather than exploring the traditional 10 to 12 homes and garden tour. This year, there were two small tours, one at 10 a.m. and the other at noon. Both seniors, Esther Fletcher and Maria Pantalina, were delighted by the prospects of having their gardens renovated. The HCCA Garden Tour Committee developed designs for the projects, and set to work digging up tree stumps, trimming hedges, removing weeds and poison ivy, prepping the garden beds, and planting the flowers. These seniors were suggested to the committee by other residents in the neighborhood. According to the committee’s write up in its garden tour booklet, each front garden “had its challenges.” Fletcher’s had two empty beds in front the house, which were rather bare, except for a border of healthy Arthur Joy Sedum, which was used as the foundation to provide multi-season plants with low maintenance color and texture. As a result of its focus, the committee created a mass planning of Sedum by transplanting all of it to the right side of one bed. After weeding both beds, they trimmed the day lilies, removed the invasive ground cover, and killed poison ivy creeping over from a neighbor’s yard. They replaced the black mulch with natural pine bark mulch, trimmed the huge bush. Eventually, they planted several perennials such as Dianthus, Lilies, Echinacea, Summer
Phlox, Variegated Irises, black-eyed Susans and Blue Salvia. For Pantalina’s garden, the challenge was that the mature hedges were overgrown and choked with ivy. “A dead tree left a declivity in the front lawn,” the committee wrote. The focus was on reinvigorating the
shrubs and replacing the stump with a new bed. Therefore, the committee trimmed all the shrubs to a sculpted look, removed the weeks, grass and poison ivy under the shrubs, weeded the lawn, and trimmed all liriope. Then, they installed cinderblocks at the sidewalk/fence border to prevent erosion of the garden bed, amended the soil with compost and installed plastic lawn edging around the bed. The perennials chosen for this garden included Creeping Phlox, Creeping Sedum, Blue Salvia, Coreopsis Daisy and Echinacea. The HCCA’s Home and Garden Tour Committee comprised Kathy Chamberlain, the HCCA first vice president; Marvin Bowser, a former board member and longtime garden tour committee organizer and this year’s chair; and volunteers John Johnson and Tom Beach. The HCCA, a Ward 7 civic association established in 1989, focuses on promoting the welfare of the neighborhood, voices its concerns and works in tandem with agencies and organizations to create a better quality of life in the city. According to the garden tour com-
CLOCKWISE from TOP 1. Home and Garden Tour Committee Members (L-R): John Johnson, Marvin Bowser and Tom Beach. Missing from the photo is Kathy Chamberlain. 2. Marvin Bowser works in the Fletcher garden. 3. Tom Beach pulls weeds from the Pantalina garden. 4. John Johnson prunes the Pantalina shrubs. Before and In Progress Photos by Kathy Chamberlain. After Photos by Michelle Phipps-Evans
mittee, the entire project—which included shopping and all the legwork— took about five days to complete; and the HCCA funded the entire project. Although the seniors did not come out to talk with all the visitors, according to Bowser, Fletcher appreciated “what we’re doing but did not just turn over the keys.” The 92-year-old, a cousin to native Washingtonian and the father of the blood bank, Dr. Charles Drew, was quite involved in the process. As the summer continues, it is expected that more flowers will be in bloom in the reinvigorated gardens. The committee mentioned that the 20th annual garden, which will be a special occasion, will return to its original home and garden tour format. It
will probably feature the Fletcher and Pantalina gardens to see how well they have thrived in 2013. The HCCA’s 19th annual home and garden tour kicked off a day of activity that featured the central theme of “giving back” to the community. June 23 also marked the community’s first Hillcrest Day, a day that highlighted free food, fun for children such as a moon bounce, a clown, face painting, arts and craft, and fun for the adults such as the putting green and an opportunity to mix with neighbors and visitors. For more information or to see more photos of the tour, visit Hillcrest’s Web site at www.hillcrestdc.com/gtour2012.htm. l CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 47
EAST WASHINGTON LIFE “We are delighted this is happening here,” said Albert Sabir, Masjid Muhammad executive assistant, at the June 10 event. “This is the nation’s masjid, or mosque, if you prefer. And this is historic.” Amir Muhammad, who directs the AIH Museum, said the documents will be an important addition to the collection. He added that DC has its own connections with Malcolm X, noting in particular the six months he spent teaching in the District. “This is historic for me, too” alHibri said on June 10, noting that she had kept the correspondence private for more than 40 years, at Malcolm’s request. She recently decided to release part of it, she says, to help ensure that Muslims are “proud” and “happy” about connections with the slain leader and to forge bonds between the African American Muslim community, with historical connections to the Nation of Islam, and what many call the “immigrant” Muslim community, with different historical roots.
Fiery Speech and Ice Cream
Dr. Azizah al-Hibri, founder of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights, is donating her correspondence with Malcolm X to two local institutions.
New Words from Malcolm X
Previously Unreleased Correspondence Donated to Local Museum by Virginia Avniel Spatz
“I
In the spring of 1964, Malcolm X traveled through the Middle East and Africa. One stop was Lebanon, where al-Hibri was then a student at the American University of Beirut. As president of the debating society, she arranged for Malcolm X to speak on campus.
Al-Hibri had only recently learned of the African American leader, she explains, when the European American Rev. Malcolm Boyd, an earlier speaker at her college, joked about being known in the U.S. Civil Rights movement as “Malcolm Y.” Knowing little about Malcolm X, she was surprised when administrators objected that he was “airing U.S. dirty laundry abroad” and denied permission for the speech. Urged by American students to stress “freedom of speech” in re-approaching the dean, however, she was able to overcome resistance. Thinking strategically, al-Hibri had flyers printed and ready to distribute. When permission – which came only an hour before noon, the only time Malcolm X could speak on his short stopover in Lebanon – was granted, the debating society was prepared. The speaker arrived to a standing-room only crowd and gave what she calls a “fiery, visionary” speech. Afterward, al-Hibri and the guest speaker lunched at the U.S. Embassy cafeteria, enjoying a farreaching conversation. (A tape of the speech disappeared while they were eating, short-changing history as well as the debating society archives.) Malcolm X’s half-day in Lebanon was coming to a close, so al-Hibri accompanied him to the airport. There, he realized he had a Lebanese coins remaining in his pocket and offered them to her, saying he couldn’t possibly use them. But women in her culture didn’t accept money, even a few coins, from a man, she explains. So, he used the coins to buy ice cream and the two continued their conversation. And it was that ice cream that sparked a correspondence which continued until Malcolm’s death in February 1965.
ce cream” is not usually the first image associated with the name “Malcolm X.” But ice cream is just what Dr. Azizah al-Hibri thinks of when recalling her meeting and correspondence with “Brother Malcolm,” she recently told a crowd at Masjid Muhammad. Al-Hibri, founder and chair of KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights, just released some of her decades-old cor-
respondence with El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, or Malcolm X. Some material, including his fond recollections of ice cream shared at the Beirut airport in 1964, was read to participants in a June 10 event at the mosque, 1519 4th St NW. Some will be made available to Masjid Muhammad, to Schomburg Center in Harlem (NYC), and to America’s Islamic Heritage Museum in Anacostia. Some will be kept private for the re- Book inscribed in 1964 by Malcolm X to Azizah al-Hibri, then a college student in Beirut. mainder of al-Hibri’s lifetime.
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Fame’s Prison and Global Vision
“I was a kid in his eyes,” al-Hibri says of her meeting
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“Greetings from your brothers and sisters here in Harlem, New York,” with a 1964 Worlds Fair postmark.
with Malcolm X. “He was a grown man, a seasoned statesman and Civil Rights leader. I was a college student.” Moreover, she had little knowledge of U.S. racial politics and few pre-conceived ideas about the speaker she was hosting. Later, she had a hard time reconciling the media’s portrait with the handsome, friendly, intelligent man she’d met. But on that day in Lebanon, alHibri offered a rare opportunity for Malcolm X: a chance to connect on a human and intellectual level, not a political one. “The fame we get from fighting for the freedom of others creates a prison for us,” Malcolm wrote to al-Hibri after their meeting. From his correspondence it is clear that he already suspected that his life and work were coming to an end. But he knew, even though al-Hibri didn’t yet, that her future as a leader was ahead of her. It was unusual in 1964 for a woman to be president of an organization like the college debating society, al-Hibri notes. And she, like many women of that decade, had not yet envisioned for herself anything like her role today as professor of U.S. law and international human rights advocate. It was similarly odd to consider that women might be leaders of Islam. But Malcolm X saw beyond the confines of his time, says al-Hibri, pointing to the words of encouragement he included in a book inscription: “You have and are everything it takes to create a new world – leadership is needed among women as well as among men...” In their brief time together and in subsequent correspondence,
Malcolm X shared his vision for a global community and his ideas about the role of media in changing perspectives. Today, nearly 50 years after his assassination, Muslims and non-Muslims are still working to realize some of that vision.
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“Islam does not condone racism,” al-Hibri said in response to an audience comment on June 10. Any evidence to the contrary, she continues, “is testament to the weakness of religious understanding or the strength of cultural racism in many places around the world.” As in other religious and cultural groups in the U.S., there has been some fragmentation of different Muslim communities: recent immigrants, more assimilated American Muslims of foreign descent, and African American Muslims. The usual issues of language and custom have played a role. The Muslim community has been also fragmented by anti-terrorism laws, especially the “material support” provision. These laws, al-Hibri explains, have had a chilling effect on Muslims who became hesitant to contact Muslim institutions or donate to Muslim charities, at home or abroad. Al-Hibri’s correspondence with “Brother Malcolm” bridged worlds in 1964, and she hopes donating it today will help build more bridges across Muslim communities and beyond. KARAMAH: 202-234-7302, karamah@karamah.org. America’s Islamic Heritage Museum: 2315 Martin Luther King Ave SE, http://www.muslimsinamerica.org/ l
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1250 Taylor St. NW Washington, DC 20011 p. 202 545-0515 f. 202 545-0517 www.bridgespcs.org
EXPANDING INTO AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAM
Come Grow with Us!
Serving Preschool - Kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year. A new grade will be added each year through 5th grade.
SpaceS currently available in our Kindergarten claSSroomS. Apply for admissions at www.bridgespcs.org or by coming to the school. We are building on our strong foundation as an early childhood program. Come be a founding member of the elementary school!
Program Features: before care starting at 7:30 am and after care until 6:00 pm. Small classroom size and well trained staff. individual planning for each student. Hands-on and project-based curriculum. Bridges Public Charter School is free and open to all DC residents. Tuition paid by non-residents.
CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H
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EAST WASHINGTON LIFE
Life and Times of Boundary Stone, SE #6 by John Muller
I
n the late night hours of April 2008, the Metropolitan Police Department gave chase to a vehicle speeding up Wheeler Road towards the DC-Maryland line. The pursued bucked a sharp right at Southern Avenue and lost control of his vehicle which hopped the left curb, smashing a historic gas streetlight from Baltimore Harbor in front of The Master’s Touch Praise Ministries and continuing to barrel through a wrought-iron fence that for nearly a century had safeguarded one of the oldest monuments in Washington, DC. Boundary Stone SE #6 broke in two, separated at its base. Stephen Powers, who for the past seven years has painstakingly documented the condition of all forty Boundary Stones that demarcated the original city limits, says SE #6, elevated and on a grassy plane, was in the best condition of any of the stones prior to the 2008 accident. In the early 20th century journals of Fred Woodward, for decades a chronicler and advocate of the Boundary Stones, the pristine condition of SE #6 is detailed. “No other stone compares favorably with this one. It is in a beautiful state,” Woodward writes. He notes, “Near Wheeler Road” and “[i]n a cultivated field. Condition – excellent. On land of W.H. Burr.” For the next four years following the traffic accident the stone sat untethered at 901 Southern Avenue on the Maryland side of Southern Avenue, continuing to historically delineate the DC-MD boundary, but without the encasement, making it susceptible to any enterprising vandals bold enough to attempt to heist a broken off 150-pound piece of American history. As time would tell the stone is now gone. Early last month, at a meeting of the National Capital Boundary Stones Committee (NACABOSTCO), a representative of the DC Surveyor’s Office was notified of the condition of SE #6. The Surveyor’s Office than contacted the District’s Department of Transportation (DDOT) who legally own a three foot easement around each of the 26 stones that form the current DCMD boundary from Western Avenue to Eastern Avenue to Southern Avenue. DDOT removed the stone and then with great fanfare delivered it to the DC Surveyor. “We’re excited to be able to provide a safe location for the Boundary Stone and to allow the public to view it and enjoy the direct historic link from our office to the District’s original surveyors Pierre L’Enfant, Andrew Ellicott, and Benjamin Banneker,” says Roland Dreist, the District’s Surveyor.
History of the Boundary Stones
Keeping with the finite accuracy that marked the placement of the Boundary Stones, L’Enfant and Banneker were not actual surveyors. After the passage of the Residence Act in July 1790, “that 50 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
| JULY 2012
Boundary stone SE #6 at its location before it was removed by the DC Surveyor’s Office. Photo: John Muller
termine the location of the southernmost boundary and the “four lines of experiment,”, the apex of the ten miles square was placed at Jones Point. According to historian Silvio A. Bedini, writing in a 1991 article in Washington History: Later, after the boundary lines had been established, they were cleared to make a lane 40 feet in width through the woods for the entire ten-mile distance. The original milestones were also replaced by more formal boundary markers; each of those on the Virginia line bore the date 1791 and those on the Maryland side were marked 1792, reflecting the different completion dates. Also inscribed was the exact distance from the preceding corner. The city’s newfound interest in the stones is a long time coming. Before a member of NACABOSTCO spoke up for the caretaking of SE #6 neither the Surveyor’s Office, DDOT, or the Historic Preservation Office had performed an annual or bi-annual inventory and condition report on the stones. “It is important for the DC Surveyor’s office to be involved with all the stones, A page from the early 20th century journals of Fred Woodward, a chronicler and advocate of the Boundary Stones, not just this one,” says Powers, who with setialing the pristine condition of SE #6. the assistance of the American Society of Civil Engineers- National Capital Seca district of territory, not exceeding ten miles tion (ASCE-NCS) has organized fence square” be located on the Potomac between the restoration service projects at twenty of the Eastern Branch (now the Anacostia River) and fences in Virginia and on the DC-MD borConnogochegue (a tributary of the Potomac in der over the past two years. “And it is just as Western Maryland), the clock began ticking to important to get that stone back to its original meet the December 1800 deadline to have the location listed on the National Historic Regiscapital city planned and ready to inhabit. ter as a protected site” Before the city could be built, it had to Powers, Co-chairman of NACABOSTbe surveyed. Returning to his home in Phila- CO, suggests, “There are several ways to repair delphia to rest after surveying the western and replace this stone to the site which involve boundary of New York, Major Andrew Elli- reinforcement and the correct mortar product. cott received a letter from Secretary of State Historical stone companies and archeological Thomas Jefferson. Dated February 2, 1791, architectural firms abound.” the letter told Ellicott he was to “proceed by SE #6 could be protected from any future the first stage to the Federal territory on the vehicular accidents utilizing protective bollards Potomac, for the purpose of making a survey such are at place at SW #3 or installing a surof it.” rounding stone wall as are in place at SE #5 With his younger brothers still in New and SE #7 which could easily be erected acYork, Ellicott moved post-haste to find an cording to Powers. assistant with the necessary technical mathAccording to DCRA Public Affairs Ofematic and astronomic skills to undertake ficer Helder Gil, for now, until the various the assignment. Through the recommenda- agencies that have a stake in the Boundtion of his younger cousin, Ellicott learned ary Stones including DDOT, National of Benjamin Banneker, a sixty year old free Park Service, Historic Preservation Review black tobacco planter and largely self-taught Board, Daughters of the American Revoastronomer. lution (who erected the fence around the After a visit to Banneker’s farm in present- stone) and NACABOSTCO can deterday Baltimore County, Ellicott hired him. They mine how to place the stone back in the arrived at Alexandria on the evening of Febru- ground, SE #6 will be on display at the DC ary 7, 1791 to begin the project. On April 15, Surveyor’s Office at 1100 4th Street SW, 1791, after taking diligent calculations to de- Room 3174. l CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 51
KIDS & FAMILY
Taking a break from golf at Langston Golf Course. Photo: Dolly Davis
“The First Tee” Free Golf Lessons for Kids
The First Tee of Washington, DC is a youth leadership skills program offering life skills to kids ages 7-18 through the game of golf. Kids enjoy free lessons from golf coaches at both Langston and East Potomac Park golf courses weekday evenings; 5:00-6:30 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m.-noon this summer and fall. Parents can download a copy of the registration form at thefirstteedc.org. For more information, call Dolly Davis, Program Coordinator at 202-479-2588 or 202-388-4141.
Kids & Family Notebook by Kathleen Donner
Showtime Tuesdays at THEARC
THEARC Theater presents Showtime Tuesdays, a showing of free movies each Tuesday starting in July 10-Aug 14. This year, there will be a special story time with Cola Lewis before each showing. There will also be a healthy snack provided courtesy of Walmart. July 10, Kung Fu Panda 2; July 17, Dr. Seuss’ Cat In The Hat; July 24, How To Train Your Dragon; July 31, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax; Aug 7, Puss In Boots; Aug 14, The Adventures of TinTin. These events are free and open to the public. THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org
Dance With Ohana of Polynesia at Anacostia Neighborhood Library
Travel to the islands of Tahiti, Hawaii, Samoa,
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Fiji and New Zealand through an interactive dance presentation and workshop with a variety of authentic dances, music and costumes. For children 12 years old and younger. July 13, 10:30 a.m. Anacostia Neighborhood Library, 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE. dclibrary.org/anacostia
DC Action for Children and National Black Child Development Institute Launch Parent Engagement Project in Wards 7 and 8
DC Action for Children, in partnership with the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), is expanding its support for parents of young children in the District of Columbia through the implementation of a culturally-based parent education program that has a strong policy and advocacy
focus. With a $500,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, this initiative will enhance and strengthen the current work of families, centers and schools in Wards 7 and 8. According to DC KIDS COUNT data, DC has over 100,000 children under 18, too many of whom live in poverty. Among all children in DC, about one in three lives below the federal poverty line. In Wards 7 and 8, that rate is 40-48%, respectively. In addition, while 66% of the District’s children are black, too many programs have met with limited success because they have failed to take cultural and racial perceptions of parenting into account. To implement this initiative, NBCDI will draw upon its culturally-relevant Parent Empowerment Program to train directors, teachers and parents, while DC Action will support the same participants by building their skills in advocacy, with the goal of helping parents engage fully in policy conversations
with elected leaders. The advocacy effort in particular will deeply integrate information and themes from the DC KIDS COUNT project, which will provide key data to serve as rallying points for ensuring that the District’s young children are getting what they need to succeed. dckids.org
The Sanchez siblings, grades 2, 7 and 8, attend Perry Street Prep together
Science in the Summer at Anacostia Neighborhood Library
Science in the Summer, Level 1 is a fun and free science education program sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline. This fun science program helps elementary-school children “grow into science.” Classes are small, with 15 students each, so be sure to register early! Level 1 classes are for children entering grades 2-3. The class meets in two sessions: Fridays, July 13 and 20, 10:00 a.m.-noon. Need information? Call the library at 202-715-7707. Anacostia Neighborhood Library, 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE. dclibrary.org/anacostia
Steel Pan East of the River
Enjoy an afternoon of festive music played by members of the East of the River Boys & Girls Steelband. Founded by Gladys Bray and directed by Roger Greenidge, the group has appeared at the 1996 Olympic Soccer Games, Wolf Trap Park for the Performing Arts and the Apollo Theater. Sunday, Aug 5, 2:00 p.m. For reservations, call 202633-4844. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4820. anacostia.si.edu
Free Kids T-Shirts at Nats Game
At Nats v. Atlanta Braves on July 22, 1:35 p.m., the first 10,000 fans 12 and under get a free Potomac Nationals t-shirt. washington.nationals.mlb.com
CALL US FOR A TOUR: 202.551.0832 or ATTEND AN ORIENTATION: Saturdays at 9:00 a.m.
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KIDS & FAMILY 202-442-9018 or email at autumn. saxton-ross@dc.gov.
Play Mini-Golf Inside the National Building Museum
Candy Season. Photo: Courtesy of THEARC
Malek Malik: Candy Season Exhibit Through July 13, Corcoran ArtReach student Malek Malik presents his first solo exhibit, Candy Season. THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org
More than 100 Years of Kids at Cedar Hill
During Frederick Douglass’ life Cedar Hill was awash in grandchildren. Much of Douglass’ family lived in Washington, DC and his grandkids loved visiting their grandpa. Douglass would give them piggyback rides, let them braid his hair, and play outdoor games with them. They still have 8 acres of land, so come ready to explore both the house and its hill. Download our Junior Ranger book at nps.gov/frdo/forkids. Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, 1411 W St. SE. 202- 426-5961. nps.gov/frdo
Youth Open Mic at Busboys and Poets
Come and be captivated by young poets speaking about their experiences, heart, and minds. Join this collaboration of the Anacostia Community Museum, poet Kenny Carroll and Bus Boys & Poets Restaurant for an evening of spoken word. $5. July 21, 54 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
5:00-7:00 p.m. For reservations, call 202-633-4866. Busboys and Poets, 5th and K sts. NW. anacostia.si.edu
Healthy Corners Partners with DPR Summer Camps
The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has collaborated with DC Department of Health’s (DOH) Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-Ed) to promote the Healthy Corner Store Initiative. The Healthy Corner Store Initiative, a partnership between DC Central Kitchen and the DC Department of Health, funded by Kaiser is intended to address the lack of access to healthful foods in communities within the District by providing corner stores in Wards 5, 7 and 8 with fresh fruits, vegetables and healthy snacks. The DPR and SNAP-Ed collaboration provides the perfect opportunity to promote the Healthy Corner Store initiative to children attending summer | JULY 2012
camps (their parents) close to participating Healthy Corners stores. This summer, SNAP-ed will hold interactive and fun nutrition education lessons in DPR camps, will include snacks sold at participating stores and promotional materials that the children can take home and share with their parents. This partnership plays an integral role in the sustainability of Healthy Corners, as it teaches children what foods they should eat to stay healthy, their health benefits, what healthy foods are available in their neighborhoods and where the stores are located so that they can make smart decisions when they visit a local corner store. For more information about how you can get SNAP-ed classes for your camp, school or church group, contact Nazneen Ahmad at nazneed.ahmad@dc.gov. For more information about Healthy Corners visit dccentralkitchen.org/healthycorners or contact Autumn Saxton-Ross at
Don’t let your summer get stuck in the rough-combine your love for the building arts with a putter, ball, and one-of-a-kind mini-golf course designed by some of the region’s top architects, construction firms, urban planners, and designers. For two glorious months at the National Building Museum, play holes inspired by the world that people design and build. Challenge your friends and family to a round of mini-golf in air-conditioned comfort, packed with enough fun to make Augusta National Golf Club green with envy! Tee off when the course opens on July 4 and play every day through Labor Day during Museum hours. The Museum will have two late nights until 9:00 pm: Thursday, July 26 and Thursday, August 23. $5 per round per person. With purchase of full-price Museum exhibition admission ticket, the price per round is reduced to $3. Museum members play for $3. Those who want to see the course without playing can do so as long as they have exhibition admission tickets. Every Day, July 4-Labor Day. National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. 202-2722448. nbm.org
Mars Day! at Air and Space
Mars Day! is an annual National Air and Space Museum event that celebrates the Red Planet with a variety of educational and fun family activities. Visitors can also talk to scientists active in Mars research and learn about current and future missions. Interact one-on-one with Museum scientists, as well as scientists from the National Museum of Natural History and NASA, who are active in Mars research and mission planning. See a real meteorite from Mars. Learn about the Curiosity rover that will soon land on the Red Planet. See amazingly detailed images from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and view the surface of the planet in 3-D. Learn about the geology of Mars. Enjoy hands-
on educational activities. Friday, July 13, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. National Air and Space Museum, Independence Ave. at 6th St. SW. 202-633-1000. airandspace.si.edu
10K Dash Kid’s Fun Run
Kids run along the C&O Canal Towpath at 1015 33rd St. NW on July 29, 8:00 a.m. $15. The runs benefits Back on My Feet. Back on My Feet is a nonprofit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of homeless populations by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. capitalsprints.com
The Excellent Adventures of Max and Madison
Albert Einstein said, “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales.” Bette Martin’s new book, The Excellent Adventures of Max and Madison, is a place to start. This 35 story children’s book follows a brother-sister duo on their neighborhood adventures in Australia. Max & Madison will simultaneously learn and teach other kids about important life lessons including courtesy, respect and problemsolving, Australian animals and good, oldfashioned fun. Each story has a problem to be solved by Max, Madison or their friends, without focusing on villains. American children will get a taste of life down under and the fun that can be had without watching television or playing video games. The book also provides some quality time together and a night time routine, which parents can agree is important. Originally written for her grandchildren, Bette hopes that they will be enjoyed by more kids, and parents, looking for a good bed time tale. The Excellent Adventures of Max and Madison is by Bette Miller. $42.99. ISBN: 9781452504322. l
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
1105 50th St., NE Washington DC 20019
202-397-1170
202-397-8754 CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H 55
KIDS & FAMILY only 1.7 playgrounds per 10,000 residents. Boston, for instance, has twice more. And playgrounds are important.
Playgrounds: Not Just About Fun
KIPP DC students watch the building of their new playground.
When Kipp Dc And Kaboom! Meet
KIPP DC Kids Get A New Playground And Lots More by Stephen Lilienthal
M
new playground. Someday, the kids at this East of the River (EOTR) school will come to fully realize reasons why the new playground’s importance extends beyond swings and slides.
etropolitan Police Officer Ronald Palmer towers over people on their knees. He’s got a gun and handcuffs. But no bust is taking place. Not on this beautiful day at the KIPP DC Douglass Campus in SE DC. The people on their knees are constructing a rock wall. Officer Palmer is assigned to the school and likes working there. But on this day, “I just try to lend a helping hand wherever I can.” Indeed, Friday, May 18 is a special day for the kids in the first grade class at the KIPP DC Heights Academy. It’s Build Day. This day, the KIPP kids get a
Two weeks later, Cherese Brauer, KIPP DC Heights Academy’s hands-on principal, sits outside her office, fielding constant questions from parents and staff, talking to students leaving for recess, and doing paperwork on her laptop. She also manages to explain the importance of the new playground. This is the elementary school’s
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Too Big For A Small Kids Playground
first year operating and the school is currently composed only of first graders, (the school will eventually expand to include grades 1-4). Many kids had used the old playground as students at Douglass Campus’ KIPP DC Discover Academy, the preschool/kindergarten. Ms. Brauer says. “When I first got here [to the Douglass Campus], it quickly became apparent that the kids would quickly outgrow the playground for little kids.” Plus, playgrounds aren’t always easy to find in DC. A 2011 study by the Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence credits DC for having lots of green space. But DC has
“Everything is a teachable moment,”emphasizes Ms. Brauer, and, besides academics, KIPP places emphasis on building social skills and character. Kids using a playground certainly learn to use their muscles. But they can also use their imagination, learn how to share, delay gratification, collaborate, and care for others. When a student can’t grab hold of a playground bar, Ms. Brauer tells him about the importance of perseverance. Burning off energy at recess enables students to resume class more willing to listen and learn. At Douglass, space for a garden was made with help from celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn on Build Day so kids can learn about growing plants and flowers. When Ms. Brauer asked KIPP DC’s development team to secure funding for a playground, they turned to the Bender Foundation, a DCarea based foundation to secure funding for construction and KaBOOM!, a national non-profit specializing in playground construction, to guide the construction process.
KaBOOM: Play Isn’t Just About Fun
KaBOOM! has built 28 playgrounds east of the River since 1995, and southeast DC holds a special place in the KaBOOM! story because the first playground to be built by CEO and founder Darell Hammond, just before the organization’s creation, was at Livingston Manor in SE DC. Over 2,000 playground have been built nationally by KaBOOM!, which maintains the benefits extend beyond play. Carrie Ellis, Director of Project Management, asserts, “I think of KaBOOM! as a community build-
ing organization. Playgrounds are catalysts for community participation.” Parents and volunteers see what can be accomplished working together and hopefully will continue to do so. Indeed, KaBOOM!’s process emphasizes collaboration. At KIPP DC, Design Day was held in March so Heights parents and kids could design their ideal playground. “We noticed that the kids wanted swings and slides,” says Ms., Brauer, equipment the old playground fails to offer and the new one does. Not every wish could be granted, Ms. Brauer adds, citing a rocket ship desired by the kids. Three designs were voted on and it came down to the one “that looked the most fun” and had support from the kids. Added for Ms. Brauer were a garden, shading structure, and an outdoor classroom.
Reaching Out
Building Douglass’ playground is comparable to an Amish barnraising. Parents became involved, so did volunteers. Food and drink were provided and there was even a DJ. KaBOOM! project manager Evan Mynatt spent a good part of the eight weeks before the build collaborating with KIPP DC, making sure materials and equipment were secured, assuring safety and budget guidelines were met, and enough volunteers were recruited and trained. “It’s [KIPP DC’s] build. We have the experience to guide the community and to make sure all benchmarks are met,” says Ms. Ellis. Lynn Banks, a parent who served on the planning committee, thinks the process succeeded in getting everybody involved. If someone couldn’t make Build Day, they donated a case of water or came a few days earlier to help unload boxes from trucks.
Build Day
The day before Build Day is Prep Day when parents, mostly dads, showed up to dig holes and move things to prepare for the
construction. Grateful sons and daughters placed Popsicles and thank you cards in the hands of their dads. Two hundred people showed up to volunteer on Build Day. There was a definite sense of energy and excitement. Alicia Renix, Director for the Douglass Campus recalls, “You had different people from different walks of life.” Different ages. Different races. Wealthy and poor. Suburbanites working hand in hand with DC natives “all working to accomplish a meaningful goal.” Participants found the event to be meaningful. Ms. Banks says, “Initially, I thought it would take a couple of weeks to build the playground. When you get there [on Build Day] it looks like a giant jigsaw puzzle with the pieces laid out all across the field.” Adds Averi Kimpson, Howard doctoral student in educational adminsration and policy, “But we made it come together” on May 18th. “It was like an Extreme Makeover Home Edition in one day.” Jacqueline Kelly, YMCA afterschool child care leader at KIPP, says, “The kids were just as fascinated as we were to see it built from the ground up.” Within six hours, a large hole in the ground where the playground will be is filled in, the surface laid down, mulch spread, concrete poured, the equipment assembled and securely placed into the ground. The result: a new playground!
Two weeks after Build Day, the kids are at recess.
Lavonte says he “used to” like the old playground but now “I like the basketball hoop and swings and the rock climbing.” Roniyah likes the “wriggly things” called lilypads that are raised surfaces that help to develop a child’s balance and coordination. And Mekhi likes “the bridge you can cross.” Jamiya’s critique is simply: “It’s fun!” Take it from the experts. Steve Lilienthal is a freelance writer who lives in Washington, DC. l
Deputy Mayor Announces Community Conversations “Education Options” Include Closing Dozens of Schools
F
by Virginia Avniel Spatz
or months, District residents have been awaiting official engagement on the proposal to close or “turnaround” dozens of DCPS schools – 15 east of the river – and ten charters. Deputy Mayor for Education De’Shawn Wright promised a “thorough conversation” when he released the study calling for possible closures. The Illinois Facilities Fund, a nonprofit lender and real estate consultant, was commissioned by the District to analyze DC school needs. The IFF report, entitled “Quality Schools: Every Child, Every School, Every Neighborhood” AKA “The Illinois Facilities Fund Needs Assessment Report,” was funded by the Walton Family Foundation and released on Jan 26. “This is just the first step in the process,” Wright said at the time. “No final decisions will be made until my office, DCPS, [Public Charter School Board] and other school representatives have had a thorough conversation with the community and conducted a comprehensive review of the solutions available to us.” The academic year for 45,000 DC Public School students ended on June 14. The school year for another 30,000 DC Public Charter students ended on a similar schedule. It was then that the DME launched planning sessions for “Community Conversations.” The scheduling, according to senior advisor Jessica Sutter, reflects the fact that “such coordination takes time.”
Community Conversations
Five “lead organizations” – including ANC 7A and the Ward Eight Education Council – are “recruiting a diverse set of stakeholders to assist in planning and facilitating the engagement events which will each include between 80-100 participants,” according to a DME statement. “Such conversations are frequently a first step in a larger process of community engagement, collaboration and action and have been put to good use in hundreds of communities nationwide,” DME says. No larger process has been outlined, however. Instead, the statement continues: “[DME] will release a brief report [in fall 2012] that includes summary notes from each Conversation. The Deputy Mayor will use these community suggestions to inform a list of recommendations to DCPS, the Public Charter School Board, and charter LEAs as CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM H
57
1250 Taylor St. NW Washington, DC 20011 p. 202 545-0515 f. 202 545-0517 www.bridgespcs.org
EXPANDING INTO AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PROGRAM
Come Grow with Us!
Serving Preschool - Kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year. A new grade will be added each year through 5th grade.
SpaceS currently available in our Kindergarten claSSroomS. Apply for admissions at www.bridgespcs.org or by coming to the school. We are building on our strong foundation as an early childhood program. Come be a founding member of the elementary school!
Program Features: before care starting at 7:30 am and after care until 6:00 pm. Small classroom size and well trained staff. individual planning for each student. Hands-on and project-based curriculum. Bridges Public Charter School is free and open to all DC residents. Tuition paid by non-residents.
to how they can increase the number of quality seats in high-need For months, a variety of stakeholders unsuccessfully requested engagement on the methods and conclusions of the IFF Report. Sutter says DME has met with some groups at their invitation. “Data Discussions” have been held with 60 teachers and with “parents who had worked with DC School Reform Now throughout the 2011-12 school year” (also “open to the public”). In addition, DME met with school and government leaders and “select representatives chosen by Council members and the Mayor.” The Community Conversations initiative is funded by CityBridge Foundation, which partners with charter schools and supporting organizations: Among “thought partners” are the Walton Family Foundation, Stand for Children, and the New Schools Venture Fund, e.g. Among “current partners” is FOCUS (Friends of Choice in Urban Schools) and several individual charter organizations. The initiative, Sutter says, will discuss ways to “improve the quality of education options for children in their communities.” As noted above, it is designed to include 160-200 stakeholders east of the river. No further engagement – and no discussion specific to school closings – has yet been announced.
Right-Sizing Schools
DME outreach materials inconsistently reference “right-sizing” as a key goal of the Community Conversations. “Moreover, the effort will allow ‘right-sizing’ for DC schools, which means having the right number of effective schools for the right number of students,” says a “DC Quality Schools Engagement Initiative 2012” document on the website of lead organization ANC 7A. But information shared with the press and with Ward 7 stakeholders leaves off the “right-sizing” sentence. “These meetings will not be used to announcc planned closures of schools,” Sutter says. She refers questions about school closures to DCPS. As late as May’s Ward 8 Education Town Hall, DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson was still telling constituents who inquired that “Quality Schools” was “just a report, not a plan” and promising plenty of engagement on any possible closings. The Ward 7 Community Conversation is set for August 11 (time and place TBD). The Ward 8 Education Council has not yet announced date, time or place for the August Ward 8 meeting. July meetings are scheduled in Wards 1, 4 and 5. Citizens in Wards 2, 3 and 6 – where no closings are proposed – are not invited to participate in any way in the conversation about the future of DCPS and DCPCS in the District. See Ward7.wordpress.com for updates and additional information about the Engagement Initiative. l 58 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
| JULY 2012
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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Neighborhood
1100 46TH PL SE Close Price BR 4242 SOUTHERN AVE SE
HILL CREST
FEE SIMPLE ANACOSTIA 1514 23RD ST SE 1325 RIDGE PL SE 2325 CHESTER ST SE 1514 16TH ST SE 1922 15TH ST SE
$289,900 $200,000 $175,000 $109,000 $63,000
BARRY FARMS 2327 15TH PL SE
$55,000
3 3 4 4 3 2
CHILLUM 22 JEFFERSON ST NE 6516 BLAIR RD NW 6128 BLAIR RD NW
$285,000 $280,000 $261,400
3 3 3
CONGRESS HEIGHTS
823 CHESAPEAKE ST SE $205,000 3 1200 BARNABY TER SE $189,000 3 504 CHESAPEAKE ST SE $184,500 3 29 DANBURY ST SW $160,000 2 87 DANBURY ST SW $160,000 2 CRESTWOOD 4811 BLAGDEN AVE NW $839,000 6
DEANWOOD 29 53RD ST SE 5328 AMES ST NE 102 36TH ST NE 27 55TH ST SE 5212 EAST CAPITOL ST NE 800 DIVISION AVE NE 4925 LEE ST NE 1047 48TH ST NE
$379,000 $238,000 $218,000 $216,000 $130,000 $68,000 $65,000 $42,500
FORT DUPONT PARK 4419 A ST SE 4314 GORMAN TER SE 4250 HILDRETH ST SE
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HOMES & GARDENS
the NOSE by Anonymous
T
he Nose, Dear Readers, has had the distinct pleasure of your intimate acquaintance for several years now. However, nothing in this extended dalliance, even the 2010 dethronement of King Blackberry, rivals the Machiavellian imbroglio of the past two months. From the ingenious incompetencies of the 2010 Gray campaign (the term which led to the coining of ‘Sulaimania’), to the mundane mechanics of mortgage fraud, the District’s politicians have plumbed the depths of depravity to dally with their doom. Struck by the ubiquitous, unique unseemliness of the District’s lawmakers, ‘ex-felon’ will be established as a synonym for ‘ex-councilmember’ in the American Lexicon. Yes, despite an absence of home rule, the District has managed to join the ranks of famously fraudulent states. Rhode Island, Nevada and Michigan! You can’t touch us! Meanwhile, our fair Gotham continues to await the fate of its erstwhile Mayor (aka The Undertaker). Forced by an intrepid fellow scribbler to deny imminent resignation, a claim rendered hollow by antics of a colleague’s recent public reversal of fortune, The Undertaker chose to fly off to China. Undoubtedly the task of pitching street cars to eastern investors in the baleful hope of repatriating a few pennies of the enormous wealth siphoned off by America’s large oriental trade imbalance is vastly preferable to fleeing down the corridors of the Wilson Building pursued by slavering reporters who are not even respectful of a quickly slammed door. Yes, Dear Readers, We’re not in The District anymore. Rather, The Nose believes that the entire Wilson Building has been physically uprooted and transported into an alternate reality that more closely approximates Oz sans Toto. How else does one explain ex-prisoner Marion Barry calling out a colleague on the subject of tax liens and a misdemeanor conviction? Perhaps, they both share the same accountants or have retained the firm of Cooke, Wilmot & Bolden? Could the District’s ongoing legislative bur62 H EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE
| JULY 2012
lesque become even more gelastic? Join The Nose, Dear Readers, in putting on your Imagination Caps. A long time ago in a galaxy not so far, far away... Just imagine a completely crushed Fully Loaded Navigator lying on the street in front of the steps of the Wilson Building, two sartorially trousered appendages extending beneath the heavily dented frame. Councilmember Tommy ‘Goody-Two-Shoes’ Wells and The Nose stand surveying the wreck. “Well, I’m a little muddled. The Reporters tweeted me because a certain columnist had just dropped a fully Loaded Navigator on Pennsylvania Avenue on our Chair. And there’s the car, and here you are, and that’s all that’s left of the Chair himself,” Goody-2-Shoes observes. The Nose appears a bit perplexed. “And so what the Reporters want to know,” Wells says looking deep in The Nose eyes, “is, are you a good pol, or a bad pol?” “Oh, but I’ve already told you, I’m not a politician at all -- lawmakers are well-dressed, corrupt, tax cheats,” The Nose observes demurely. “What was that?” Wells looks around and guffaws. “I am laughing because I am a politician. I’m Tommy, The Saint of Ward 6.” The Nose looks to the right and left, and then curtseys gracefully. “You are? I beg your pardon, but I’ve never heard of an honest pol, much less one possessed of a halo.” “Only bad politicians take bribes and park such elaborate rides in front of the Wilson Building,” observes Wells. “I myself peddle to work on a lowly two-wheeled bicycle.” A gaggle of Reporters swarms the two from either side of the Wilson Building. “The Reporters are happy because you have decisively ended the rumors about the Chairman,” wryly states St. Tommy. “Oh. But, if you please -- what are Reporters,” queries The Nose? “The little people who live in the Wilson Building and you are now their national hero, my dear. It’s all right -- you may all come out and thank him. It’s all right now - you may all come out.”
St. Wells breaks out his iPhone and begins tweeting furiously, Come out, come out wherever you are. And meet the grizzled columnist who fell from a star. He fell from the sky, He fell very far. And Columbia he says is the name of the star. He brings you good news. Or haven’t you heard? When he fell out of Columbia, a miracle occurred. The Reporters singing in reply: We thank you very sweetly For doing it so neatly. You’ve eviscerated The Chair so completely St. Wells, typing madly: Let the joyous news be spread The convicted Chair at last is dead! Reporters serenading: Ding Dong! The Chair is dead. Which old Politician? The one killed by his own ambition! Ding Dong! The cheating Chair is dead. Wake up, you sleepy head. Rub your eyes Forget your meds. Wake up, the .chastened Chair is dead. He’s gone where felons go To Club Fed near Mexico Yo -- ho, let’s open up and sing And break out the whiskey. Ding Dong! The merry-oh! Sing it high Sing it low The convicted Chair is dead. Remember, Dear Readers, there is still one more Navigator remaining in the city’s fleet. l
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