October 18, 2015

Thoughts on ANC 4C issues; facts & opinions

October 18, 2015/ Drew

I've heard from many readers about the events from the October 14th ANC 4C meeting, detailed in the article "This is what dysfunction looks like: Notes from ANC 4C October meeting." The article has been read by more than 2,000 people so far, and there are over 20 comments on the Petworth News Facebook page, and a few here on the blog article. (I always get more comments on FB than on the blog.)

The level of concern among residents is pretty high. People are concerned about belligerence, about arrogance, and about a lack of attention to the issues residents care about. There's confusion as to why there was so much anger at the meeting, and what it means for the effectiveness of the commission.

I thought I'd take some time to go over what happened and why (as best as I can tell), and give the commissioners a chance to weigh in, officially and off the record.

Read more about the events >

October 18, 2015

Quick update on plans for Ruta del Vino

October 18, 2015/ Drew

The Riyad is set to close in a month, and coming up is a wine bar to replace it. I sat down with Justin Logan for coffee the other day to chat about Ruta del Vino, the wine bar coming to 800 Upshur St NW.

Read more about the new restaurant >

October 16, 2015

This is what dysfunction looks like: Notes from ANC 4C October meeting

October 16, 2015/ Drew

When I attend an ANC meeting and write up my notes, I try to be objective and capture what I can from the night. As this is my blog, I might throw some opinion in here or there, add a useful link or two and offer photos of those who spoke so readers can get a clearer idea of the meeting. After all, if you live in the ANC, you should care about what happens.

I’ve been watching ANC 4C slowly deteriorate over the past 10 months under the chairmanship of Vann-Di Galloway. Wednesday night was just a culmination of all the problems hitting at once.

Read the notes. They're long but there's a lot to say...

October 15, 2015

Holiday crime prevention advice from MPD

October 15, 2015/ Drew

I told MPD that I would help get the word out about crime tips where possible either here on the blog or on the Petworth News Facebook page (you do follow the Facebook page, right?) So without further ado, crime prevention tips for the holiday season from the Metropolitan Police Department (h/t Lt. DK Augustine, PSA 409).

As the holidays are coming up MPD anticipates more valuables being left in cars, more packages being delivered and sitting on porches and people traveling. Read MPD's tips...

October 11, 2015

Guest post: "Clean to the curb" can keep Petworth beautiful

October 11, 2015/ Drew

Local Petworth neighbor Carrie Johnson-Clark contacted me recently about “Clean to the Curb,” an initiative that encourages people to keep the area around their houses clean. Carrie asked if I’d publish something to get the word out. I offered one better — I offered to publish an article that she wrote. And here it is. I’m happy to offer an article from a Petworth neighbor who cares about how we can all do our part, even a little bit, to help keep the community looking beautiful.

October 09, 2015

Fighting to clean up vacant properties, one house at a time

October 09, 2015/ Drew

Walk around Petworth and you'll see houses being renovated on block after block, dumpsters parked on the street with duct-taped "no parking" signs on the trees. Inside you'll hear tools and men's voices as walls go up, floors are redone, new landscaping put in.

Walk around Petworth, and you'll see many examples of houses that are sitting untouched and empty, slowly falling apart with trash strewn yards and a construction permit on the window -- with no signs of construction.

Neighbors are fed up with developers buying properties and leaving them to rot while waiting for housing prices to rise. The city loses out on taxes, and everyone loses out when those properties attract rats and illegal activity.

But KSDA and ANC 4D Commissioner David Sheon are working to fix it.

October 07, 2015

Draft agenda for ANC 4C October meeting

October 07, 2015/ Drew

The agenda for the October meeting of ANC 4C is below. It looks like a rather short meeting, compared to previous. Of interesting note, the ANC is hoping to establish a committee of residents and commissioners to address zoning variance issues in 4C.

See full agenda after the break:

October 06, 2015

Slim's Diner getting closer to opening

October 06, 2015/ Drew

You'd think there wasn't a plethora of restaurants on the west end of Upshur Street (there is a plethora), nevertheless, I'm stoked about the upcoming opening of Slim's Diner in the Murrell Building.

Read more to see pics of the new booths...

October 04, 2015

Petworth residents find success with sardonic JadedAid card game

October 04, 2015/ Drew

Petworth resident Wayan Vota, a fan of Cards Against Humanity, teamed up with friends Jessica Heinzelman and Teddy Ruge to create a new card game specific to their careers in international aid and development. They brainstormed on ideas and partnered with another Petworth resident, Maria Mandle, who runs CreativeCouch Designs, to create the card deck and branding. They then reached out to aid workers around the world for ideas. The result is JadedAid, a card game to save humanitarians… from themselves. Read more about JadedAid and see the HuffPost interview, after the break:

October 03, 2015

Meet ioby, a non-profit that wants to kickstart DC community projects

October 03, 2015/ Drew

Neighborhood change comes from active neighbors — clean ups, community gardens, block parties and socials. Some of these events are easy to do and don’t cost much, if anything. However, other projects do have a cost, and often the question is how best to organize and fund them?

Enter ioby. ioby is a non-profit organization that helps communities crowd-source money to fund local-based projects...

Read more about ioby, their upcoming fundraiser on October 8th and see a video:

October 02, 2015

Rain spoils Oktoberfest at AFRH, event canceled

October 02, 2015/ Drew

Regen, Regen, geh weg! Komm an einem anderen Tag zurück!

Thanks to Hurricane Joaquin and lots of rain, Oktoberfest at the Armed Forces Retirement Home has been canceled. Feel free to wear your lederhosen at home though (if you do, send pics!).

Read the full article after the break:

September 30, 2015

Grant Circle gets its stripes

September 30, 2015/ Drew

I spent way too much time sitting at Grant Circle in the past two weeks watching cars navigate the new traffic patterns set up by the new painted lines. But apparently, it was to good effect...

Read more about the latest efforts at increasing safety at Grant Circle:

September 27, 2015

Photo gallery: Season finale of Petworth Jazz & Dance Projects (huge)

September 27, 2015/ Drew

The final Petworth Jazz Project of the 2015 season was Saturday, September 26th. This time it was a combo event with the Petworth Dance Project, giving Petworth's newest cultural program some much needed exposure.

As I've said before, these two shows are really stand-out events that help make Petworth a wonderful neighborhood. See the full (and quite large) photo gallery, after the break.

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September 26, 2015

Photo Gallery: Clean up at the park with Friends of Grant Circle

September 26, 2015/ Drew

This morning twelve residents and members of the National Park Service worked at Grant Circle to clean up the park, pick up litter, pull weeds and ivy and even pull out a small honeysuckle tree that was quickly taking over its little corner. (I totally dug up that tree... with the expert help of Doug Rowley from NPS. For every shovel full of dirt I "dug up," he had twice as much ground moved and the tree ready to come out. Experience matters!) See a photo gallery from the clean up after the break >