KaBOOM! Prep & Build Days at Friendship Public Charter School - Volunteers Needed

The children of the Woodridge community need a safe, clean, and fun place to play and enjoy with their families!

What: KaBOOM! - Prep & Build Days/Playground Initiative

When: Prep day - Monday, July 30th, 2007, 8am-4pm (breakfast & lunch will be served); Build day - August 1st, 2007

Where: Friendship Public Charter School, 2959 Carlton Avenue, NE

Etc.: In order to provide this wonderful space for our children we will need your involvement! We are planning two fun-filled days as we create this new community-build playground. There will be food, music and activities as we put the playground together. Volunteers will help with all aspects of the playground planning, prep and build. For more information call or email Crystal Clark, Woodridge Principal, at 202.635.6500 or cclark@friendshipschools.org.

KaBOOM! believes that, together, we can achieve it by pursuing smaller common goals: a playground, skatepark or field complex, toward collective causes − the well being of children, (that results in achievable wins) a one day build, all through the small, yet courageous act of volunteering. This is how KaBOOM! activates powerful citizenship.

Two Decade Fight Over Waste Transfer Station in Brentwood

For nearly two decades, Ruth J. Wilson and other activists in Brentwood have asked the District to close the trash transfer station at 1220 W Street, NE.

Opponents of the trash transfer station say it represents "environmental racism" against the mostly black, working-class neighborhood in which it is located.

» Express-Free Ride, 7/25/07
» WaPo, 7/25/07
» WaPo, 6/13/04
» CityPaper history on the deal that brought the Home Depot and Giant to Brentwood, and how the community thought the development would be an ally in the fight against the Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI) trash-transfer facility, 6/7/02

Man Shot and Killed on South Dakota Avenue

From MPD:

At approximately 4:14 this morning, Monday, July 23, 2007, police were called to the front of 3040 South Dakota Avenue, NE, for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival officers located 34-year-old Jonathan Silver, of the 1500 block of Madison Street in Hyattsville, Maryland, in the front seat of a Dodge Caravan, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the body. He was taken to the Washington Hospital Center’s MedStar Unit and pronounced dead at 5 am.

The case is under investigation by members of the department’s Violent Crimes Branch. Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099.

The department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for any homicide committed in the District of Columbia.

» Also on NBC4

Hands Across Ward 5 - Saturday, July 21st

What: Hands Across Ward 5 - Community Service Information Fair

When: Saturday, July 21st, 2007, 10am-4pm

Where: Trinidad Recreation Center, 1310 Childress Street, NE

Etc.: Sponsored by the DHS DC Fatherhood Initiative Network, this event is meant to connect DC services with the citizens. Also in attendance/available: DPR, DOES, health screenings, HIV testing, literacy and financial labs, and food and activities for the kids.

SMD 5A-11 Community Walk & Cleanup - Saturday, July 21st

What: Join Commissioner Janae Grant on a community walk to promote health, neighborhood cleanliness, and neighbor interaction in SMD 5A-11

When: Saturday, July 21st, 2007 at 8am (last on for the season)

Where: Meet outside 2900 Newton Street, NE and walk up Newton Street to Taft and back

Support the Chungs Fundraising Event - Tuesday, July 24th

Click here for more information.

Draft Final Plan Presentation for the Brookland/CUA Small Area Metro Plan - Thursday, July 19th

What: The DC Office of Planning invites the public to view and comment on the Draft Final Plan for the Brookland/CUA Metro Station Area Plan.

When: Thursday, July 19th, 2007 - Open House 6:00-6:30pm, Presentation 6:30-8:30pm

Where: Catholic University of America, Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center, Great Room C (view campus map here)

RSVP: 202.610.0005 or rsvp@jsallc.com

Questions and additional information: Deborah Crain, Ward 5 Planner, at 202.442.7615 or deborah.crain@dc.gov. Reports are available from the Office of Planning.

ANC-5C Monthly Meeting - Tuesday, July 17th

What: Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5C Monthly Meeting

When: Tuesday, July 17th, 2007, 7-9pm

Where: Edgewood Senior Building, Crawford Hall, 9th floor, 635 Edgewood Terrace, NE

Agenda Includes:
· Alice Thompson, Ward Coordinator, Community Relations and Services Office
· MPD-5D Public Safety Update
· Office of Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr.
· Councilmember Phil Mendelson, Public Safety and Judiciary Committee Chair
· RAP, Inc. Expansion Plan, Michael Pickering, Associate Director

* ANC-5C citizens are invited to bring to the meeting suggestions and recommendation on things/ways to improve the community. Items may include government services and actions needed, as well as private-sector resources, assistance and services. Information received will be factored into the neighborhood plan for ANC-5C to form the basis of service delivery planning for the Commission through 2007-08.

Douglas Street Artist Housing in Woodridge - Applications Now Available

From Cultural Development Corporation's (CuDC) projects in development:

CuDC has partnered with Manna, Inc., to develop approximately 40 affordable work/live housing units for artists and their families at 2414 Douglas Street, NE, in the Woodridge area of Washington, DC. The intent of this project is to create work/live artist housing — units designed primarily as functional studio space with basic living space as an ancillary use. The renovation of an existing warehouse plus new construction will provide units ranging from approximately 700 to 1,050 sq. ft., in addition to 1,390 sq. ft. of flexible space for communal arts activities. To maximize artist eligibility, units will be available at two price points suitable for a range of low- and moderate-income households as defined by DC’s Department of Housing and Community Development. CuDC and Manna anticipate that units for low-income households will be priced starting in the mid-$100Ks. Units for moderate-income households will be priced starting in the mid-$200Ks. Please see page two for income limits.

Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2008, with occupancy expected in 2009.

Applications are now available. To download the application instructions and form please click here [MS-Word file, 235 KB]. To download the preliminary façade and floorplans please click here [PDF file, 3.3 MB]. CuDC will start accepting applications on Monday, June 4, 2007 at 9 a.m. All applications are due to CuDC no later than 5 p.m., Thursday, August 9, 2007. Applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis. Applications may be hand-delivered or mailed. Mail is typically delivered to CuDC at 3:30 pm; all applications received in the mail will be date and time stamped at that point. We will be accepting applications until August 9, 2007 at 5 p.m. Subject to acceptance of the application and completion of the supporting documentation, eligible artists will have access to purchasing a work/live condominium in the Douglas Street project on a first-come/first-served basis.

PLEASE NOTE: For delivery after June 4th, CuDC’s office is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday 12 – 6 p.m.

Questions: contact housing@culturaldc.org
For more info:
CuDC
t: 202.315.1305 or http://www.culturaldc.org/

South Central Civic Association Annual Picnic - Saturday, July 14th

What: South Central Civic Association's Annual Picnic

When: Saturday, July 14th, 2007, 2-6pm

Where: The parking lot of Bob's Construction on Yost Place & Bladensburg Road, NE

REMINDER: Rhode Island Avenue Development Brunches - Last One Saturday, July 14th

Just a reminder that the last brunch is this Saturday! Have you been yet? If so, what info/updates/opinions can you share? Also, what would you say if I told you I'm planning on creating an organizational plan for a Community Development Corporation/CDC or Main Street Program for the Rhode Island Avenue NE commercial corridor in Woodridge, 18th Street to Eastern Avenue....Any interest in collectively working to revitalize the broader area to benefit the community?

- - -

Janice Lillian Booker is inviting residents of the Woodridge, Langdon, Gateway, and South Central neighborhoods to attend brunches in June and July to introduce her development projects planned for the 2000 block of Rhode Island Avenue, NE.

Please attend to learn and explore the roles these communities can play to make the revitalization of the Rhode Island Avenue commercial corridor an accomplishment for all of us.

The brunches will take place at 2008 Rhode Island Avenue, NE, from 11am-1pm on:

Saturday, June 2nd
Saturday, June 9th
Saturday, June 16th
Saturday, June 23rd
Saturday, July 14th

Each brunch will accommodate 40 community residents. Pre-registration and registration confirmation are required. Please call 202.529.3610 to reserve a place at the brunch you wish to attend.

Free parking will be available in the lot at 2027 Rhode Island Avenue, NE (the old National Bank of Washington building beside St. Francis De Sales Church - the sign of the last tenant, Educational Solutions Academy, is on the side of the building).

Brunch attendees will include Reena Racki and Associates (architects for Phase I of Ms. Booker's projects); staff from the DC Office of Planning; Eddie Harrison, Woodridge Civic Association; Leslie Bournes, Gateway Citizens Group; Frances Penn, South Central Community Association; Jhaz Phifer, ANC 5A-10 Commissioner; and Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr.

Ward 5 Family Night Out - Wednesday, July 11th

From Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr.:

Ward 5 Family Night Out

5-D vs. WPGC in Softball

BASKETBALL TOUR WITH COMMUNITY ALL STARS

FOOD/ DRINKS/ MUSIC

*BRING YOUR LAWN CHAIR*

KID FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES - MOON BOUNCE AND GAMES

INFORMATIONAL TABLES
Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs & Department of Employment Services


WEDNESDAY, JULY, 11, 2007
6 P.M. UNTIL 9 P.M.

TAFT RECREATION CENTER 18TH & PERRY STREET N.E.


SPONSORED BY THE WARD 5 COUNCIL OFFICE
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL (202) 724-7000

NE DC Historical Society Meeting: H Street and the History of the Uline Arena - Sunday, July 8th

What: Join the NE DC Historical Society as they continue to explore the history of our Northeast Washington communities - past, present, and in years to come. This month the community focus will be an encore presentation on H Street NE, including the "History of the Uline Arena" by Richard Layman.

When: Sunday, July 8th, 2007, 2-4pm

Where: Laboratory 1 of the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H Street, NE

Etc.: For those unable to attend this meeting, don't miss next month's meeting to be held from 2-4pm on Sunday, August 12th, 2007. Our meeting will include our ongoing study of the Rhode Island Avenue Corridor. Speakers will include Dr. Jean Pablo, president of the Tenleytown Historical Society, sharing with us how to do an analysis of the historical and architectural significance of the Rhode Island Avenue Corridor; and Bill Rice, community historian, sharing with us interesting facts of relevance to the history of our city. The meeting location will be the headquarters of the Premier Community Development Corporation at 1309 Rhode Island Avenue, NE, Suite B, in the Brentwood Shopping Plaza.

Our meetings take place the second Sunday of every month. Contact queenstowndc@yahoo.com for further information.

Big Bear Cafe is Open and Celebrating! (and don't forget the Bloomingdale Farmers Market)

From big bear's site:

This Saturday the 7th we’re going to invite all a y’all to come by and celebrate a month in business with us. In the morning [10am] Jessica — head pastry chef of Hawthorne — will come by to chat and maybe reveal the secrets behind the best blueberry muffin in town. In the afternoon [2:30pm] we’ll have a coffee tasting of 5 of Counter Culture’s single origins: La Golondrina, from Cauca, Colombia; Dolok Sanggul, Sumatra; Gayo, Aceh, Sumatra; Gitare, Kiambu, Kenya; and Finca nueva Armenia, Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

We will also debut our Big Bear t-shirts for men, women, children, and dogs. and we will begin selling our delicious coffee by the pound.

papa chapa, back from barcelona, may be dj-ing.

hope to see you here!

big bear cafe is located at 1700 1st Street, NW.

» Richard Layman's thoughts on big bear and how well it illustrates urban revitalization principles
» DCist giving the 'hood some love
» DC North hearts the big bear, too
» Sean's Bloomingdale blog has all the details for the weekly (Sundays through November) Bloomingdale Farmers Market, 10am-2pm

Ward 5 Survey from Councilmember Thomas

Dear Ward 5 Residents,

I value the input of Ward 5 residents, and want to identify the issues that concern you so that I can address them as your elected representative on the Council of the District of Columbia. With that in mind, I ask you to click on the link below and complete my brief survey.

You can view and complete the survey here.

The survey is completely anonymous - your responses will be compiled with responses received from other residents.

Sincerely,
Harry "Tommy" Thomas, Jr.
Ward 5 Councilmember

Armed Man Dies After Shootout with Police

Police aren't sure if 23-year-old Gregory Thomas was fatally wounded before or during the gun battle with police. From WUSA9:

MPD is investigating a shooting involving two of their officers that left one man dead.

Police tell 9NEWS NOW it all began around 12:30am, when an off duty officer was on his way home and noticed a man firing shots into a courtyard at 17th Street & Benning Road NE.

The off duty officer approached the suspect announced that he was a police officer, and exchanged gunfire.

The suspect then jumped into a green and white vehicle and fled the scene toward a laundromat near 1342 Florida Ave NE.

An on duty officer encountered the suspects as they got back on Benning Road and exchanged gunfire with the suspect while he was trying to flee the scene.

A vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle showed up at a firehouse in the 1100 block of Morse Street NE and left a man suffering from gunshots in the driveway then fled. [Frozen Tropics notes that there isn't a fire station on that block, so it must have been the station on Florida Avenue. There's also some confusion over whether the initial intersection was 17th and Benning or 17th and Bladensburg.]

The man was taken to a local hospital were he was pronounced dead a short time later.

D.C. Police chief Cathy Lanier says the two officers involved were not injured.

The man has not been identified and police are looking for the driver of the car who left the man at the firehouse.

If you have any information about this case, please call MPD at 202-727-9099.

More:
» WaPo
» ABC7
» NBC4

For the Ladies: Teasing Your Way to Fitness

Tuesday's Express had a fitness feature on what may be Ward 5's sexiest way to tone up: The P Spot.

Located at 210 Rhode Island Avenue, NW, The P Spot offers ladies a creative and invigorating way to stay fit:

Incorporating striptease moves into workouts is nothing new, but this offers more toning than any Carmen Electra DVD. "Before it's a pole class, before it's a strip class, it's a fitness class," says Michaela Brown, a 2003 Georgetown grad, who calls out moves throughout the hour-long session like the head cheerleader of sexy.

» PoleFit: 101 is offered Mondays through Thursdays and on Saturdays, and costs $21.15 per class. Five- and 10-class passes are available at discounted rates.
» More details at Express FreeRide
» The P Spot site

REMINDER: Tuesday Night Historic Brookland Farmers Market

4pm - 7 pm

10th and Otis Streets NE (adjacent to the Brookland subway station)

NOTE that we are tending to move the location to under the Michigan Avenue bridge, in case of inclement weather.

This week, Michigan Park neighbor Roxanne Carter joins the market with plants (grown locally) and baskets.

Tonight's market features peaches, apricots, more fruit and vegetables from Licking Bend Creek Farm in Pennsylvania and the Community Supported Agriculture/CSA producers Stoney Lonesome Farm from Gainesville, Virginia. Wonderful cookies and pastries come our way from Lynnette's Cakes and Catering (Virginia), and italian ices from Little Jimmy's Italian Ices (Woodridge DC).

From the Brookland CDC's Richard Layman:

Speaking of peaches, a great way to change your breakfast routine in the summer is to make fruit smoothies, with orange juice and ice, or with yogurt and ice (or both). This morning I had a peach banana smoothie, featuring "scratch and dent" peaches from D&S Farm (from the Sunday Market).

There will be plenty of peaches at the Tuesday Market, that you can use to perfect your own smoothie recipe.

This internet recipe for a ginger peach smoothie sounds pretty good too:

4 Peaches Peeled & sliced
8 oz. Vanilla Yogurt
1/2 Tsp. Grated fresh ginger
2 Tbsp. Honey
1/3 Cup Orange Juice

- - -

The SUNDAY MIDDAY MARKET is located on Newton Street NE, next to the CVS drug store. The hours are from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m, every Sunday through October 28th, 2007.

The TUESDAY TWILIGHT MARKET will remain at its location near the Brookland/CUA Metro Station for the convenience of commuters. It will be open each week from the hours of 4:00-7:00 p.m, every Tuesday through October 30th, 2007. The TUESDAY TWILIGHT MARKET is located on the grassy area on Otis Street NE, between 10th Street NE and the Brookland Metro station.

For more information, contact Richard Layman, Interim Program Manager
Historic Brookland Main Street Program
Brookland Community Development Corporation
Brookland Visitors Center
3420 9th Street NE ▪ Washington, DC 20017 ▪ phone 202-526-4848
BrooklandCDC@AOL.com ▪ www.HistoricBrookland.org

PG County Police Chase Ends in Gateway/Fort Lincoln Crash

From WaPo:

Two people were injured in a multi-vehicle crash yesterday after a man driving the wrong way on two roads led authorities on a high-speed chase from Prince George's County into the District.

The incident began about 4:30 p.m. near the 3200 block of Dodge Park Road in Landover when Prince George's County sheriff's deputies attempted to serve Leopold Nkang, 23, with an arrest warrant for stalking, said Lt. Joseph Aiello, sheriff's department spokesman. Deputies spotted Nkang driving an Audi sedan against traffic in an eastbound lane of Route 202. When deputies signaled for Nkang to pull over, he continued driving, turning westbound onto an eastbound lane of Route 50, Aiello said.

D.C. police officers picked up the pursuit after several Prince George's sheriff's cruisers following Nkang broke off the chase at South Dakota Avenue and Douglas Street near the District-Prince George's border.

The chase ended several minutes later when Nkang crashed into three cars at Douglas Street NE and 31st Street in the District, police said.

One person was injured in the crash and taken to a hospital.

Nkang, of no fixed address, was taken to a hospital and treated for minor injuries. He could face charges including fleeing and eluding, Aiello said.

» Also on ABC7