by Marlene Berlin One Saturday morning in early June, I was hiking the Western Ridge Trail in Rock Creek Park, heading north. After I crossed Grant Road, I heard what sounded like a live strings performance. I followed the music up the trail to Picnic Grove 13 near the Rock Creek Nature Center, to find […]
Neighborhood in the News: Mayor’s new DC Archives plan; New management at the Rock Creek Horse Center
Mayor Bowser’s DC Archives and UDC housing pivot: After years of planning, and with millions of dollars already spent on the DC Archives project on the UDC campus, Mayor Muriel Bowser now wants to build student housing at the site instead. Bowser, in her May 27th budget reveal, billed the changes as cost-saving measures. But […]
NW Community Food, a food pantry for neighbors in need, is moving to a new UDC-donated space
The NW Community Food will be staying in Van Ness. Every Sunday for the past four years, the volunteer-run pantry has distributed free food and cleaning supplies from the former Walgreens (4225 Connecticut Avenue) in partnership with UDC, which holds the master lease on the property. At the March ANC 3F meeting, NW Community Food’s […]
Backyard Nature: With the flip of a switch, we can help migrating birds find their way
by Julia K. Stevenson The biannual migration of birds has begun. Washington, DC is on the path of the Atlantic Flyway, a major route for birds traveling north in the spring and south in the fall. The spring migration actually began earlier in April and is expected to last through May. This is an event […]
ANC 3F April 22 agenda: Van Ness food pantry, Murch “Safe Routes,” another medical cannabis license request
In February, the director of the volunteer-run NW Community Food pantry told ANC 3F that it was in search of a new home because its UDC-donated space at 4225 Connecticut Avenue will be put to another use. ANC 3F’s April agenda (below) includes an update during the community forum portion of the meeting. Among the […]
NW Community Food pantry is in search of a new home
Ward 3’s only food pantry is a grassroots effort that sprang up during the pandemic. NW Community Food now serves 300 households every week, and the pantry’s director told ANC 3F’s February meeting that she expected the federal government job cuts would increase the need. NW Community Food is itself in need… of a new […]
Opinion: Election got you down? Focus on what you can do close to home
by Forest Hills Connection We’re not going out on a limb here: Odds are you voted for Kamala Harris on November 5th. Ninety percent of DC voters did so. And perhaps, you’ve been in a funk ever since. What can you do? Here’s one answer: Find local ways to be a force for good. The […]
A surprise water outage, and what it revealed
by Marlene Berlin Late on Monday, September 30th, several neighbors temporarily lost water service. It was a planned shutoff, and a test for DC Water’s Soapstone sewer relining project. For many of those affected, it was also a surprise. Unpredictability is a given; DC Water is tasked with maintaining aging infrastructure. The sewer lines it […]
Water is gushing down the street. Here’s who you call.
by Marlene Berlin This is the scene that greeted me on Tuesday as I was walking up Davenport Street from Broad Branch Road. It had been rainy, but the amount of water flowing down Davenport was excessive. My first thought was that I would find that a fire hydrant just beyond the curve had burst. […]
It’s time to start giving your young trees some extra TLC
by Marlene Berlin Summer, officially, is still a couple of months away. Summer temperatures, on the other hand, will be here soon. Hot and dry are not a good combination for young trees, especially street trees. So it’s time to get into the habit of giving them some extra care. Casey Trees, from April through […]