by Kathy Sykes Fall is a great time to enjoy Rock Creek Park – and to save it. The park recently celebrated its 150th birthday, and its birthday wish was for volunteers to come join in the fun of removing harmful invasive plants and vines. These plants can take down trees and crowd out native […]
Leaf collection has begun, but you don’t have to rake. Put the leaves to work in your yard and garden instead.
by Kathy Sykes Fall provides a great opportunity to suppress weeds and provide essential nutrients for next year’s yard and garden. But there is no need to spend money on mulch and fertilizer. Mother Nature is providing both. Fallen leaves are a free resource with many benefits. They create an organic layer, providing not only […]
Opinion: The Albemarle Street closure brought neighbors together. Let’s recreate the sense of safety and community on more streets.
by Joan Merle Schaefer My block of Albemarle Street has been closed to vehicle traffic for the past 14 months. The closure has created traffic challenges for others in the neighborhood, but those of us on Albemarle have experienced a wonderful new way of living, and we don’t want to keep this to ourselves. I’m […]
November in the Neighborhood: Fight hunger with NW Community Food; Hillwood is free for federal workers
Volunteer or give to fight hunger. Judith Ingram of NW Community Food writes: “Every weekend, our neighborhood pantry… serves up to 380 families from our quarters at the back of 4340 Connecticut Avenue (UDC’s David A. Clarke Law School building), and we expect that number to swell.” The pantry is open 10 a.m. to 3 […]
DC Water’s next project in the neighborhood: water main and lead pipe replacement
by Marlene Berlin DC Water, still wrapping up its long-running Soapstone Valley sewer rehabilitation project, is about to start another project in the neighborhood. Beginning in November, the agency will replace small water mains and lead service lines on Brandywine, Cumberland, Chesapeake and Davenport Streets west of Connecticut Avenue. “We’re replacing and updating the existing […]
Meet Your Neighbors: ‘People-Centered Architecture’ and pedestrian-centered railroad infrastructure
There is art in architecture. There’s also human psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology. Long-time architect and neighbor Milton Shinberg writes about how they intersect in his new book: People-Centered Architecture: Design, Practice, Education. “‘People-Centered,’” Shinberg says, “means leveraging fresh insights from science about how real people interact with architecture to inform and transform design thinking, making […]
Neighbors are organizing an Oct. 18 No Kings II demonstration along Connecticut Avenue
Much as they did during the national “Hands Off” demonstration in April, and the “No Kings” march in June, neighbors are organizing a hyperlocal version of the second No Kings event on October 18th. Mady Schichor writes: Many Forest Hills residents are feeling increasingly alarmed by multiple threats to our democracy. One of the ways […]
Updated! Events and vendors lineup for Saturday’s ‘Celebrate Van Ness Main Street’
This Saturday, everyone’s invited to “Celebrate Van Ness Main Street.” From noon to 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 11th, VNMS and its partners and sponsors are organizing activities and entertainment up and down the Main Street’s Connecticut Avenue corridor (with pedicabs so attendees can easily reach points north and south). And there will be food, […]
The government shutdown and the national park next door
In case you did not know, many Rock Creek Park facilities are closed, and services such as trash pickup are suspended for the shutdown’s duration. That means the Rock Creek Nature Center and Peirce Mill are not welcoming visitors, and Friends of Peirce Mill does not yet know whether its Mid-Atlantic Grain Fair will be […]
October in the Neighborhood: Spooky Movie Nights, ‘Celebrate VNMS,’ pollinator plantings, Halloween events
Friday nights are a little spooky this month. Van Ness Main Street and several local sponsors are hosting three Spooky Movie Nights at the UDC amphitheater (next to the Theater of the Arts and the UDC tennis courts). Tickets are free (and linked below) and carryout picnics are encouraged. October 3: Beetlejuice October 10: E.T. […]