Neighborhood in the News: Coronavirus and the Van Ness Giant; Hillwood and Sidwell Friends get PPP loans

A Covid-19 case (or three?) at the Van Ness Giant: Grocery store workers are helping us keep our cupboards and fridges stocked at considerable risk to themselves. A WUSA9 report Tuesday suggested that three workers at the Giant at 4303 Connecticut Avenue have tested positive for Covid-19. Fox 5’s report, presumably using the same information from Giant Food, says three Giant employees have tested positive in the District, and the most recent was a Van Ness Giant worker who last reported to work on Friday, May 15th. We have asked Giant for clarification.

Pushback for one local PPP loan recipient: Sidwell Friends got a $5 million loan from the first round of the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The Washington Post and others have reported some alumni and other critics are disappointed that the school is accepting it. The City Paper reports the Hillwood Museum received a little more than $1 million, which it used to bring back all 18 furloughed staffers.

Comet Ping Pong back in the news: In April, the man who set a fire in the restaurant last year was sentenced to four years in prison. And while the “Pizzagate” harassment never really died down, Washingtonian reports Comet has received another wave of online messages, mostly from bots and mostly from Germany. And that’s in addition to the challenge of running a restaurant in the age of social distancing.

A love and lives forever changed: In March, The Washington Post’s photography blog featured what it calls a“uniquely intimate and personal” book on Max Hirshfeld’s parents, both Holocaust survivors. This is the first book from Hirshfeld, a renowned photographer and Forest Hills neighbor.

New management at Van Ness Gold’s Gym: In 2001, he started working at the front desk of the Van Ness Gold’s Gym. In early March, Matt Clifford and two business partners purchased the franchise rights to this location and 23 others in the area. By late March, when the Washington Business Journal spoke to Clifford, all of the gyms were closed.

Where’s Kojo? Not at the WAMU broadcast studio in Van Ness. Kojo Nnamdi is now one of the DC area radio reporters, anchors and hosts broadcasting from their homes. Washingtonian reports that Nnamdi, at least, has a room with a view.

We’re feeling extra knead-y these days: Bread Furst has been featured prominently in news reports about the amateur bread baking boom. Read about it in DCist, and watch the CBS News and CNN reports.