August 18, 2015

Grant Circle Social is Wednesday, 8/19

August 18, 2015/ Drew

The next (and 8th!) Grant Circle Social is Wednesday, August 19th from 6-7pm at the Grant Circle, appropriately enough.

Stop by on your way home from work, on your way to the grocery store, before grabbing a bite to eat, or while walking your dog. Stop by with friends, neighbors, and/or kids for 5 minutes or the full hour! And please, invite your neighbors who may not be online and drag them along!

To help beat the heat, this week will feature refreshing ice pops courtesy of neighbor (and Petworth News sponsor) Eddie Suarez!

Hope to see you out there. And if you are interested in co-hosting a future Grant Circle Social please contact Rob Mandle.

August Grant Circle Social
Wednesday, August 19th (Every 3rd Wednesday)
6pm to 7 pm

About Grant Circle Socials
The Grant Circle Social series is a casual, no-agenda gathering of neighbors in Petworth's signature green space with an underlying goal of building social capital and fostering a sense of community. Grant Circle Socials are held from 6pm to 7pm the Third Wednesday of the month.

August 17, 2015

ANC 4D draft agenda for August meeting

August 17, 2015/ Drew

ANC 4D's August meeting is Tuesday, 8/18 at Truesdell Education Center (800 Ingraham St NW) at 7pm. See the full draft agenda for their August meeting after the break...

August 14, 2015

Renovation Tips: Chill out before you bling out

August 14, 2015/ Drew

Over the past few years, many Petworth neighbors have asked real estate agent and Petworth resident Ryan DaSilva questions about what are the best updates to do to their homes. In a conversation over coffee the other day, Ryan and I thought it would be a good idea to write a few articles on home improvement tips and some things to think about when renovating your home. Read more after the break...

August 12, 2015

Take part in the AJ Cooper Day of Service

August 12, 2015/ Drew

I met AJ Cooper last summer at an ANC 4C meeting, when Joe Martin pointed him out to me across the room. "See him? That's AJ Cooper. He's going to run for council," Joe said. "Watch, he'll probably win." I looked over at Cooper and wondered who he was.

Monday is the AJ Cooper Day of Service in remembrance of a powerful DC activist. Read more after the break:

August 10, 2015

Car ends up in Grant Circle

August 10, 2015/ Drew

A car crashed into the middle of Grant Circle last night. This isn't the first time this has happened... at least once a year there's a story about a car driving into the circle park, running over bushes and even taking out the lights.

August 09, 2015

5K run for freedom with President Lincoln's Cottage

August 09, 2015/ Drew

If you're a runner or someone who loves freedom AND running, then President Lincoln's Cottage has the race for you. The Annual President Lincoln’s Cottage Freedom 5K is set for Saturday, September 26th, and early, discounted registration is open now. There's even a "tot dash" for kids! Olympic champion and running icon Joan Benoit Samuelson will participate in the race for a second year.

Details about the race and a link for early bird registration after the break:

August 06, 2015

A plan for Sweet Mango's Chuck Brown mural?

August 06, 2015/ Drew

Rooney Properties, who purchased the former Sweet Mango Cafe's foreclosed building at 3701 New Hampshire Avenue NW this past April, told the Washington Post that they are looking at options to save the Chuck Brown mural painted on the side of the building.

The developer's current plans call for construction to begin on the new building next summer and to find ways to preserve the mural. (See my previous article on the 21-unit building to replace Sweet Mango Cafe.) None of the plans seem to involve saving the actual wall where it now stands, but involve pictures or perhaps moving it someplace else.

“I love the mural,” said Lex Lefebvre, director of development for Rooney Properties, to the Washington Post this week. “We obviously know the mural has a lot of significance in the neighborhood and so we talked about a couple of ways we can incorporate it into the new project.”

Current design for the new 21-unit apartment building to replace the Sweet Mango Cafe building.

While the mural is relatively recent, having been painted in 2012, it's a local favorite. There has been a fair amount of unhappiness at the potential loss of the mural (as well as Sweet Mango Cafe).

Apparently one of the ideas the developer has to preserve the mural is to take high-resolution photographs of the mural and hang photos in the lobby of the new building.

Another idea, according to Lefebvre, is that the wall facing north on New Hampshire Ave will be blank in the current design (as opposed to the southern facing wall the mural is now), and that perhaps that northern wall space can be used for a new mural.

The Post article states that: "But Lefebvre noted that the building’s neighbor is allowed to build against that wall, so the spot is not ideal. The mural could also be placed in the lobby of the apartment building or in one of the retail spaces. 'We are certainly looking at all options,' Lefebvre said."

There is a new restaurant, "3701 Jerk Station," temporarily in the building. They're hoping to reopen in the same location after the current building is torn down and the new building is completed.

Source: Washington Post

August 06, 2015

Petworth Dance Project this Saturday

August 06, 2015/ Drew

The fourth Petworth Dance Project is set for this Saturday, August 8th at the Petworth Park (8th & Taylor St NW). There's a special kids' dance class at 6:30, and then the first dance starts after that.

Saturday's dance project should be special, as one of the companies performing is Aras Dance, led by Sara Herrera-Kopetchny, who runs the Petworth Dance Project. Also performing is Coyaba Dance Theater.

Timber Pizza Co. will have their mobile brick oven on-site for fresh pizza -- 10% of the proceeds go to support the Petworth Dance Project, so come hungry for culture and mozzarella and basil!

In an effort to continue to help raise funds for the Petworth Dance Project, Sara Herrera-Kopetchny will be teaching a dance class on Friday night. If you have ever wanted to try contemporary dance, here's your chance to learn. More info.

Friday August 7th from 7pm-8:30pm at Dance Loft on 14th, All levels, 18 and up, $10 cash only at the door.

August 05, 2015

ANC 4C draft agenda with summaries

August 05, 2015/ Drew

In a useful first for ANC 4C, the draft agenda sent out for next week's August meeting includes some short summations of the agenda items. The intention is to give residents an opportunity to understand what will be discussed and contact their commissioners with questions. They will also be voting on a new Vice Chair, as the prior Vice Chair, Joe Maloney, has resigned from the commission. (Seat's open if you're interested.)

After the break is the agenda with summations, as sent out by both ANC 4C Secretary Taalib-Din Uqdah and Commissioner Zach Teutsch...

August 03, 2015

Southeast-Asian restaurant coming to Upshur St in Petworth

August 03, 2015/ Drew

Local DC chef and Food Network Star finalist Alex McCoy is opening up a Southeast Asian-themed restaurant with business partners Hunter Campbell (who owns Mason Inn restaurant in Glover Park) and local real estate agent Marc Dosik from Help-U-Sell.

August 02, 2015

Come hear seven stories of DC with Nicholson

August 02, 2015/ Drew

It’s great when a DC writer celebrates the culture and life of the city through fiction. Local DC author and former editor and book reviewer for The Washington Post Book World, David Nicholson does that with his latest book, “Flying Home, Seven Stories of the Secret City.”

His latest book takes a deeper look at DC, told through seven stories. “All too often, writing about black Washington focuses on pathology like drug use and crime,” David told me. “I didn't want to add to that body of work. Instead, I wanted to celebrate the extraordinary in the ordinary, to give glimpses into the heroic lives of ordinary men and women dealing with issues that are universal."

Read more and see dates of two local book readings by Nicholson:

August 02, 2015

About that house...

August 02, 2015/ Drew

Let's talk a bit more about that yellow and green house. I've received about a few concerns about the yellow house survey article, so wanted to address those concerns. (Update: I've unpublished the first article as I felt it wasn't adding to any conversation to leave it live.)

First and foremost, the article is not intended to mock anyone -- it's asking why a house is super bright canary yellow and with dark forest green accents, and asking what neighbors think. It's obviously an "over the top" and very unusual color scheme. That said, the survey and article were meant to be facetious. About 5 of you wrote to me to say you thought the article was mean, and that wasn't the intention. If you thought so, I apologize.

In order to get more information, I stopped by the house this morning to talk to the owners... Read more

August 01, 2015

Reptiles at the Petworth Library

August 01, 2015/ Drew

The magic of the Petworth Library isn't just about books... on Tuesday, it's also reptiles!

On Tuesday, August 4 at 4:00, meet reptiles from all over the world in this wild, educational show featuring a giant snake, alligator, tortoise, monitor lizard and other amazing reptiles. This program is for ages 5 and up.

Petworth Neighborhood Library
4200 Kansas Ave NW