by Marlene Berlin DDOT’s street tree planting season has ended. Now, tree caring season begins. Munevver Ertem, an arborist with DDOT’s Urban Forestry Administration, tells me the agency planted more than 8,000 trees in the District from October through April. About 170 of these trees are in ANC 3F, and they include replacements for trees […]
Advertisement
UDC gets a new president – and its $3.5 million budget hole gets filled
To say yesterday was big for the University of the District of Columbia seems an understatement. UDC’s Board of Trustees named Ronald Mason, Junior, the university’s new president. And shortly thereafter, Mayor Muriel Bowser revealed her decision to reverse UDC’s FY 2016 budget cuts. Her initial spending plan had slashed $3.5 million from UDC’s budget. […]
Planners mull upgrades for Van Ness commercial strip
by Katie Pearce Current Newspapers staff writer Reprinted, with permission, from the May 6th edition of the Northwest Current. Download the newspaper here. The effort to improve the look and feel of Van Ness is becoming more than a fuzzy aspiration, with gears in motion for an official “Main Street” group and the District’s Office […]
The Scientists and the Spy: A Forest Hills Mystery – Chapter 1
Introducing… the first novel set in World War Two-era Forest Hills, DC. Assisted by local historians, Forest Hills-based writer Anthony Dobranski is writing a historical thriller based on real people and real events. You’ll find links to every chapter here as we publish them. And for binge-reading on the go, you can download an e-book […]
Get ready for traffic backups along Rock Creek… for the fish
Think the traffic is bad on Connecticut Avenue at rush hour? Try being a herring in Rock Creek during spawning season. If the creek’s water levels are high enough this spring, thousands of herring will make their way north from the Potomac River’s Tidal Basin, swimming against the Rock Creek current to the spots where […]
More than cherry blossoms: A guide to the other blooming trees
by Marjorie Rachlin Spring burst out with a “Wow” over Passover/Easter weekend. Forsythia and daffodils in yellow, cherry trees in pink, magnolias in white – Forest Hills is beautiful. I knew spring was coming when, on April 1st, my neighbor called to say that the spring peepers were trilling in her pond. (Last year they […]
Meet your neighbors: Robin Rose, artist and ‘frustrated curator’
by Marlene Berlin When Robin Rose met me at the door to his home, he seemed to me like a kind of St. Nicholas, albeit one with a neatly cropped beard, a southern twang, and a blue plaid flannel shirt and jeans in place of Santa’s signature red suit. And like that magical character, Rose […]
Neighborhood schools start new ‘Common Core’ tests
by Nora Pehrson Hearst, Murch and Wilson students start taking new standardized assessment tests this week, and Deal students will begin testing next week. No number 2 pencils are required. Called the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, the tests are computer-based and assess math, reading, and writing skills taught […]
The research farm high above Van Ness Street
by David Jonas Bardin Seeking information on a green roof construction project at the University of the District of Columbia, I discovered something much more exciting: A nearly complete research station for urban farming. High above Van Ness Street, on the roof and penthouse of the university’s Building 44, UDC is installing a teaching, research […]
The crash that temporarily closed the Van Ness Giant
The Van Ness Giant was closed for a time on Friday. #BREAKING Giant at Van Ness evacuated. — Donna Leinwand Leger (@DonnaLeinwand) February 13, 2015 Because this happened: PHOTO 2 txptd after car smashes into Giant store in parking garage. @nbcwashington #BREAKING pic.twitter.com/3e2RMOylEq — Darcy Spencer (@darcyspencer) February 13, 2015 Another pic of the car […]