The 2026 milling season at Peirce Mill in Rock Creek Park typically begins in April. But this month, the grinding stones remain idled while devices critical to the mill’s operation are in the shop. Two water recirculating pumps were installed during the major restoration project that allowed the historic mill to reopen to the public […]
Main Street updates: Retail studies, ‘Taste of Van Ness Main Street,’ playground cleanups, spring pop-up market
Outside experts gave the business corridors in Van Ness and the 5000 block of Connecticut Avenue a closer look last year. Van Ness Main Street released the results of the two studies early this year. As we’ve reported previously, both studies had a lot to say about the former Intelsat campus and its impact on […]
Business in Brief: New Van Ness businesses; Intelsat auction canceled; Whale Tea rebrands; I’m Eddie Cano bankruptcy update
Some Forest Hills Connection reporting involves poking our heads through open doors. Doing so recently yielded the news that the last remaining vacant retail space at Park Van Ness (4455 Connecticut Avenue) has been leased to an IV hydration spa. A contractor getting the space ready told us Hydralive Therapy is moving in. Similarly, we […]
Backyard Nature: The beauty of trees in winter
We’re ready to see some flowers. Or really, any signs that spring is on its way. But we’re also mindful of the need to appreciate the here and now. As the late, great Marjorie Rachlin wrote in January 2020: “Winter is a great time to take a good look at our trees. With no leaves […]
A salute to a snow-clearing hero: “It just felt easier to grab a shovel and do something”
The District has been sending out crews with big equipment to clear the heavy and hardened snowcrete from Connecticut Avenue intersections. But neighbor Stefanie Sprow was out there first, armed only with a shovel. Connecticut Avenue and Albemarle Street was the first intersection she dug out. It was January 29th, four days after the region’s […]
Business in Brief: Dog Haus opens Feb. 16; business anniversaries include the car that crashed into Giant’s dairy section
More neighborhood business news has landed on our plate since our February 9th update, so we’re offering you another serving. The Dog Haus Biergarten announces its Van Ness opening date: Presidents Day, and the February 18th grand opening celebration at 4340 Connecticut Avenue will be an all-day affair, with specials starting with its 8 a.m. […]
In appreciation: Erica Carlsson, formerly of DPR and DOEE, for her environmental stewardship and community-supporting work
We like to periodically express our appreciation for DC and federal government workers who have done so much to make our lives easier and better. They include the Ward 3 mayor’s office liaisons, a former MPD commmander, and the National Park Service crew who quickly clears fallen and unsafe trees from roads and trails. Now, […]
Neighborhood in the News: Owl’s Nest sale; Burger King redevelopment; Malabar opens
The Owl’s Nest has been sold. Listed for sale a little more than a year ago at $10.5 million dollars, the historic home at 3031 Gates Road has been sold for substantially less: $6.86 million. The TTR Sotheby’s listing agent had said the Owl’s Nest would be the perfect home for a diplomat, an ambassador, […]
These plants are climbing and destroying our trees. Winter is a good time to stop them.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… to free some trees from nonnative invasive vines. Winter is a great time to this work, says National Park Service-certified Weed Warrior Kathy Sykes. At one chilly invasive removal event at Reservation 630, she explained to the volunteers that the winter dieback makes it easier to spot […]
Forest Hills Park has a 90-year history of parent advocacy, DIY, and many do-overs
Forest Hills Park and Playground have taken many forms over the years. And it exists today because of the efforts of neighborhood parents and grandparents going back 90 years. Acquiring the property at 32nd and Chesapeake Streets took a federal lobbying effort. Leslie Boudinot Flenner Wright, a neighborhood activist and mother of four, had succeeded […]