It’s all about the neighborhood
The businesses along lower Georgia Avenue and the 800 block of Upshur Street will be decked out with holiday lights from December 1st through December 31st. You’re invited to wander the corridor with neighbors and visitors to enjoy amazing holiday specials and activities throughout the month — and take part in voting for your favorite display and a virtual scavenger hunt.
Read More“Rainbow Families represents celebration.”
That’s according to Darren Paul-Vance, the executive director of the 30-year-old nonprofit Rainbow Families. Based in DC, Rainbow Families provides educational programs, professionally facilitated support groups, connections and empowerment for LGBTQ+ families and prospective parents. When the pandemic hit, the organization instantly pivoted to online events, working to keep the LGBTQ+ community connected and joyful during these isolating times. “It’s really important for our children to be around other families like theirs,” Paul-Vance says. “We have done the best we can do to provide those programs virtually.”
Read MoreDC Superior Courts just introduced a new jury summons notification called “eSummons.”
According to their press release, the court will send text and email messages to prospective jurors to remind them of upcoming jury service dates, confirm requests to reschedule/postpone jury duty, exchange information, and alert jurors when they do not need to report for jury duty the next day.
Read MoreIn colder temperatures, folks may increasingly have to choose between dining indoors, at higher risk to Covid, or give up restaurants altogether.
So Mayor Muriel Bowser and Shawn Townsend, the Director of the DC Office of Nightlife and Culture, came up with a plan: they opened a $4 million grant to provide funds to restaurants seeking to winterize their space. The Streatery Winter Ready Grant Program provides up to $6,000 per restaurant for sidewalk cafes, summer gardens, and streaterys, located in DC. The grants can be used for tents, heating, lighting, furniture, and marketing – all in hopes of sustaining outdoor dining during the chillier months.
Here’s what some local restaurants are doing.
Read MoreOn Friday, November 13th, Mayor Muriel Bowser held an opening ceremony for the new $1.5 million playground at Truesdell Elementary School at 800 Ingraham Street NW. The new playground replaced a nearly 40-year old playground that was too small and proved to be unsafe for multiple students, according to Fareha Ahmed with the Truesdell’s Family Teacher Organization.
Read MoreLeveling the Playing Field has been collecting new and gently-used sports and playground equipment to donate to underprivileged groups, community programs, and schools. They have been able to collect over $6.5 million in equipment to donate to youth organizations, after-school programs, schools, and sports leagues, and have impacted over 950 programs in the DMV helping to bridge the gap for the growing inequality between those that can afford to play sports and those that cannot. They are making sure no child is left on the sideline no matter what their family’s economic situation may be.
Read MoreDC Public Libraries released a new master plan on November 19th that proposes changes to the libraries in our area, including refreshing the existing Petworth library and replacing the existing Shepherd Park library with a new library in Brightwood Park. The plan, titled Next Libris, Latin for “from the books,” lays out its research over DC demographics, library usage trends, and its goals in the coming years.
Read MoreWhile COVID-19 has definitely thwarted schools’ ability to fundraise, local Petworth schools are still holding holiday fundraisers to benefit their students. Many local families have been hit hard by COVID-19 and are still in need of assistance. Donating to your neighborhood school if you are able is a great way to give back to your hyperlocal community. The schools thank you in advance!
Read MoreSince Community of Hope (COH) opened in Columbia Heights in September 1980, the District has experienced many demographic and economic changes, but the nonprofit healthcare and housing organization has not wavered in its commitment to the people of DC. Now based in Ward 8, Community of Hope has expanded its reach, with housing and health centers in Wards 1, 5 and 8, drawing patients and families from across the city.
Read MoreOn Wednesday, November 11th, the local Twitterverse and email listservs lit up about homes being in the dark. People from Park View up to Brightwood and over to Crestwood and 16th Street Heights all commented that their lights were flickering on and off. What was going on?
Read MoreThe fall colors in the neighborhood have been especially good this year. All the rain over the summer helped the trees hold onto their leaves longer than last year and the results have been spectacular.
If you’ve found yourself walking around our beautiful neighborhood admiring the flowers and wondering what you’re looking at, we’re here to help. Welcome to "Petworth Blooming,” a popular series featuring some of the most common plants and flowers seen around Petworth. Follow @petworthblooms on Instagram for additional photos of our neighborhood flora.
Read MoreMutual Aid groups have existed across time and cultures. Normally they develop within marginalized communities, harnessing collective power to provide basic needs for people failed by government systems. Mutual aids have operated within Wards 7 and 8 for years, but now there is one in every DC Ward.
As people began to lose their jobs during the pandemic, more local residents found themselves unable to purchase basic items for themselves or their families. Simultaneously, Washingtonians wanted to assist their neighbors. Volunteers from the already existing mutual aids worked across the city to support the creation of ward specific mutual aids.
Read MoreThe Park Morton Equity Plan is a resident-drafted series of recommendations to DC government authorities on how to address their public housing renovation needs, including enhancing residents’ employment opportunities, enacting a renovation plan in which the city builds replacement units before demolition, and increasing home ownership opportunities. ANC 1A approved the goals of the plan at a recent meeting, yet some residents remain unimpressed by the plan.
Read MoreNumbers for local Advisory Neighborhood Commission elections aren’t finalized, but they’re pretty final. Here are the winners for ANC 4C and 4D for 2020.
Read MorePetworth News, a neighborhood blog on local news, information & events about the Petworth area in Washington DC.
Petworth News is a news site about Petworth area neighborhoods in Washington DC, written by Drew Schneider and other amazing contributing writers. It features facts and objective reporting, as well as an occasional subjective point of view and opinion.
Volunteer with the Friends of the Soldier's Home!
