East of the River Magazine October 2014

Maurice Jones as Mark Antony in Folger Theatre’s production of Julius Caesar.

Photo: James Kegley

How to Open a Small Business in DC Interested in opening a small business in the District of Columbia? Then make sure you attend this training session! At this training session, DCRA staff will walk you through everything you need to do to open a new business: • Benefits of incorporating or creating an LLC • Types of business licenses and how much they cost • How to apply for a business license • Zoning requirements for types of businesses • Obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy • What building permits are needed to do renovations • How to apply for a building permit Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2014 Time: 9:00 am – 10:30 am Location: Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Small Business Resource Center 1100 4th Street SW, 2nd Floor (Room E-200), Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://bizdc.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=39081

Small Business Brief Advice Legal Clinic: Meet One-on-One with a Lawyer for Free!

If you are an existing or an aspiring small business owner, come and meet one-on-one with attorneys at this brief advice clinic. You can get information on business formation, contracts, leases, taxes or any other questions you may have related to small business legal issues. Or, if you do not have specific questions, come and tell the attorneys about your business—they can help you spot legal issues or give you general advice.

Date: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 Time: 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm Location: Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Small Business Resource Center 1100 4th Street SW, 2nd Floor (Room E-200), Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://bizdc.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=38417

Africa’s Markets of Opportunity: Small Business Training Workshops on Exporting to Africa In the wake of the African Leaders Summit in August, which focused, among other topics, on greater trade between the US and Africa, the Small Business Development Center Network of Washington DC, an outreach program of Howard University, working in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, will hold a training workshop for small businesses and entrepreneurs focused on African markets. Specifically, businesses and entrepreneurs who are currently exporting or are considering selling their products and services to African markets will have the opportunity to learn from experts in international trade and Africa some of the successful strategies, top industries and markets, and best practices.

Exporting can offer your company major growth opportunities in markets outside the United States. Today it’s easier than ever for a company, regardless of size, to sell goods and services across the globe. Africa offers dozens of diverse markets and a favorable trading climate for U.S. products and services.

• Hear from companies successfully exporting products and services to Africa • Meet with representatives from U.S. government trade agencies • Network with like-minded small businesses and entrepreneurs active in or considering African markets.

Inquiries: Ian Oliver, ian.oliver@verizon.net Date: Thursday, November 13, 2014 Time: 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Location: Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Small Business Resource Center 1100 4th Street SW, 4th Floor (Room E-4302), Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://bizdc.ecenterdirect.com/ConferenceDetail.action?ID=39080

SBRC One-on-One Session: Basic Steps to Obtaining a Business License Date: Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays Time: By appointment only between 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Location: Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Small Business Resource Center 1100 4th Street SW, 2nd Floor (Room E-268), Washington, D.C. 20024 To Register: http://bizdc.ecenterdirect.com

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 3

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2014 | CAPITALCOMMUNITYNEWS.COM

CALENDAR

08......... What’s on Washington 10......... East of the River Calendar

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AUTUMN ARTS & DINING SPECIAL 15......... Autumn In Washington, D.C.

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS 26......... The District Beat • by Andrew Lightman 30......... The Numbers • by Ed Lazere and Wes Rivers 32......... Ward 7 ANC Election Guide • by Charnice A. Milton 36......... Ward 8 ANC Election Guide • by Charnice A. Milton 39......... Do We Need a Reeves Center in Ward 8?

26

by Charles Wilson

40......... Bulletin Board 46......... The Benning Road Pepco Plant Gone But Not Forgotten • by Bill Matuszeski 48......... Shepherd Parkway Cleanup Enters Next Phase

by Charnice A. Milton

50......... US Coast Guard Increases Neighborhood Presence

by John Muller

52......... I Was an Abuser • by Candace Y.A. Montague 54......... DCAYA Celebrates 10th Anniversary • by Charnice A. Milton

EAST WASHINGTON LIFE

56......... In the Chef’s Kitchen • by Annette Nielsen 58......... Malolo Bed and Breakfast • by Michelle Phipps-Evans 60......... Juanita Britton • by Phil Hutinet 62......... Jazz Avenues • by Steve Monroe

REAL ESTATE

63......... Changing Hands • compiled by Don Denton

KIDS & FAMILY

64......... Kids & Family Notebook • by Kathleen Donner 70......... Chess Girls DC • by Monica Z. Utsey

THE CLASSIFIEDS 72......... The Classifieds

CROSSWORD 74 ........ The Crossword

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ON THE COVER:

Maurice Jones as Mark Antony in Folger Theatre’s production of Julius Caesar.

Photo: James Kegley. Julius Caesar from Oct 28-Dec 7. In the shadow of the nearby Capitol building, Shakespeare’s searing commentary on power, ambition, and democratic responsibility smolders just in time for midterm elections. Folger Shakespeare Theater, 201 E. Capitol St. SE. 202-544-7077. folger. See story on page 22.

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EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 5

Hill Rag • Mid City DC • East Of The River • Fagon Community Guides Capital Community News, Inc. 224 7th Street, SE, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20003 202.543.8300 capitalcommunitynews.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Melissa Ashabranner • melissaashabranner@hillrag.com

Publisher: Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Copyright © 2013 by Capital Community News. All Rights Reserved.

Look for Next Issue of East of the River on November 8 Online Daily, Printed Monthly | www.eastoftheriverdcnews.com

Editorial Staff Managing Editor: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com CFO & Associate Editor: Maria Carolina Lopez • carolina@hillrag.com School Notes Editor: Susan Braun Johnson • schools@hillrag.com Kids & Family Notebook Editor: Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com Arts, Dining & Entertainment Art: Jim Magner • jjmagner@aol.com Dining: Emily Clark • clapol47@gmail.com Celeste McCall • celeste@us.net Hit the City: Joylyn Hopkins • joylyn@joylynhopkins.com Literature: Karen Lyon • klyon@folger.edu Movies: Mike Canning • mjcanning@verizon.net Music: Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Stephen Monroe • samonroe2004@yahoo.com Retail Therapy: Scott Fazzini • scott.fazzini@gmail.com Theater: Barbara Wells • barchardwells@aol.com The Wine Guys: Jon Genderson • jon@cellar.com Calendar & Bulletin Board Calendar Editor: Kathleen Donner • calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com General Assignment Maggie Hall • whitby@aol.com Martin Austermuhle • martin.austermuhle@gmail.com Maggy Baccinelli • mbaccinelli@gmail.com Elise Bernard • elise.bernard@gmail.com Stephanie Deutsch • scd@his.com Michelle Phipps-Evans • invisiblecolours@yahoo.com Gwyn Jones • gwynjones@aol.com Stephen Lilienthal - stephen_lilienthal@yahoo.com Charnice Milton • charnicem@hotmail.com John H. Muller • jmuller.washingtonsyndicate@gmail.com Alice Ollstein • alice.ollstein@gmail.com Will Rich • will.janks@gmail.com Heather Schoell • schoell@verizon.net Virginia Avniel Spatz • virginia@hillrag.com Michael G. Stevens • michael@capitolriverfront.org Peter J. Waldron • peter@hillrag.com Roberta Weiner • rweiner_us@yahoo.com Jazzy Wright • wright.jazzy@gmail.com Pleasant Mann • pmann1995@gmail.com Meghan Markey • meghanmarkey@gmail.com Ellen Boomer • emboomer@gmail.com Elena Burger • elena96b@gmail.com Jonathan Neeley • neeley87@gmail.com

BEAUTY, Health­­& Fitness Patricia Cinelli • fitmiss44@aol.com Ronda Bresnick Hauss, LCSW • www.quietwaterscenter.com quiet_waters_center@yahoo.com Mariessa Terrell • mterrell@sbclawgroup.com Candace Y.A. Montague • writeoncm@gmail.com Jazelle Hunt • jazelle.hunt@gmail.com KIDS & FAMILY Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com Susan Johnson • schools@hillrag.com Society & Events Mickey Thompson • socialsightings@aol.com Homes & Gardens Rindy O’Brien • rindyob@mac.com Derek Thomas • derek@thomaslandscapes.com Judith Capen • judith.capen@architravepc.com HomeStyle: Mark Johnson • mark@hillrag.com Catherine Plume • caplume@yahoo.com COMMENTARY Ethelbert Miller • emiller698@aol.com The Nose • thenose@hillrag.com Production/Graphic/web Design Art Director: Jason Yen • jay@hillrag.com Graphic Designer: Kyungmin Lee • lee@hillrag.com Web Master: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com Advertising & Sales Account Executive: Kira Means, 202.543.8300 X16 • kira@hillrag.com Classified Advertising: Maria Carolina Lopez, 202.543.8300 X12 • carolina@hillrag.com Billing: Sara Walder, 202.400.3511 • Sara@hillrag.com Distribution Distribution Manager: Andrew Lightman Distributors: MediaPoint, LLC Distribution Information: distribution@hillrag.com Deadlines & CONTACTS Advertising: sales@hillrag.com Display Ads: 15th of each month Classified Ads: 10th of each month Editorial: 15th of each month; submissions@hillrag.com Bulletin Board & Calendar: 15th of each month; calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com

We welcome suggestions for stories. Send queries to andrew@hillrag.com. We are also interested in your views on community issues which are published in the Last Word. Please limit your comments to 250 words. Letters may be edited for space. Please include your name, address and phone number. Send Last Word submissions to editorial@hilllrag.com. For employment opportunities email jobs@hillrag.com.

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Tim Krepp is a former Naval officer and author who is intimately familiar with the District and our history.

As a parent of two children in our public schools, he is well prepared to bring his firsthand experience to Congress to improve our schools, and fight for DC statehood. He lives with his family on the east end of Capitol Hill and has been a DC resident since 1993.

? y l s u o i r Se

. y l s u o i Ser

F

or twelve elections, we’ve sent the same person to Congress

with the same results. What makes us think the thirteenth time will be any different?

From our push for Statehood to projects like the redevelopment of St. Elizabeths to working with the federal government on housing, jobs, and education, we need a Delegate who does more than just hold meetings and hope for improvement. We need sustained engagement and creative problem solving.

The District is growing rapidly. Without immediate attention, long term residents will be priced out. We need the federal government to partner with the District in protecting neighbors – we do not need an absentee landlord. We look to our Delegate to make that happen.

Our current Delegate has taken us as far as she can. It’s time for new leadership. Seriously.

Krepp2014.com Paid for by the Krepp for Congress Committee.

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OctOber 2014 H 7

Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park

Skyline Drive runs 105 miles north and south along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park and is the only public road through the park. You can enter Shenandoah at four places: Front Royal near Rt. 66 and 340, Thornton Gap at Rt. 211, Swift Run Gap at Rt. 33, and Rockfish Gap at Rt. 64 and Rt. 250 (also the northern entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway). It takes about three hours to travel the entire length of the park--the speed limit is 35 mph. There are 75 overlooks that offer stunning views of the Shenandoah Valley to the west or the rolling Piedmont to the east. nps.gov/shen

Photo: National Park Service

The East of the River Photography Project

On Saturday, Oct. 25, 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., you can be part of an eco-friendly art project when local artist Bruce McNeil leads program participants in a photography shoot along the Northeast Branch of the Anacostia River. Photos taken will be included in a documentary project about the Anacostia watershed. Bring your digital camera and don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes. Transportation will be provided by the Anacostia Community Museum. Register at anacostia.si.edu. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4844. anacostia.si.edu

Photo: Bruce McNeil

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Emilie Brzezinski: The Lure of the Forest

Through Dec. 27, the Kreeger Museum presents an exhibition of monumental wood sculptures by Emilie Brzezinski. The Lure of the Forest expresses Brzezinski’s fascination with trees and her love and respect for the environment.

The Museum pays homage to this masterful sculptor, who for over thirty years has chain sawed and hand-chiseled tree trunks into majestic forms.

Each work exhibits beauty, grace, sensuousness, and strength. Her imposing installations are awe-inspiring and express the passion Brzezinski has for her trees. The Kreeger Museum is at 2401 Foxhall Rd. NW. 202-337-3050. kreegermuseum.org

Lament, 2013, Red Oak. Photo: Helen Wilson Chason

New York Avenue Sculpture Project

The larger-than-life sculptures by artist Magdalena Abakanowicz are on view through Sept. 27, 2015 in the median of New York Ave. NW between 12th and 13th Sts. They are part of the New York Avenue Sculpture Project, the only public art space featuring changing installations of contemporary works by women artists in Washington, DC. Abakanowicz’s monumentally-scaled sculptures of grouped human figures and birds in flight exemplify issues universal to humankind: the power of nature, the force of destruction and the resiliency of hope. Her art is often inspired by her experiences and observations during World War II and its repressive postwar climate. nmwa.org

Magdalena Abakanowicz, Walking Figures (group of 10), 2009; Bronze, each approximately 106 1⁄4 x 35 3⁄8 x 55 1⁄8 in.; All images © Magdalena Abakanowicz, Courtesy of Marlborough Gallery, New York.

Washington Craft Show

The Washington Craft Show at the Convention Center presents 185 of the nation’s top contemporary craft artists in a premier showcase that is nationally recognized for presenting masterful work. The artists invited to participate must first submit their work to a professional panel of jurors and all work is required to be designed and made in artists’ studios across America. Show hours are Friday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 1, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 2, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Admission is $15 ($14, seniors). craftsamericashows.com

“A Glory of Feathers,” brooch by Marianne Hunter, Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif. One-of-a-kind.

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 9

CALENDAR

HALLOWEEN Fort Davis Community Center “House of Horrors”. Oct 30, 6:00-8:30 PM. For more information, email elijah.fagan@dc.gov. Fort Davis Community Center is at 1400 41st St. SE. dpr.dc.gov Boo House at the Therapeutic Recreation Center. Oct 31, 6:00-9:00 PM. Small kids will need to be escorted by adults 18 and older.

For more information, email victoria.cole-rolon@dc.gov. Therapeutic Recreation Center is at 3030 G St. SE. dpr.dc.gov Boo-Bash Halloween Party at the Ferebee-Hope Recreation Center. Oct 31, 5:00-8:30 PM. Join Ferebee Hope Recreation Center for an evening of chills and thrills, food, music and fun. For more information, email wendya.glenn@dc.gov.

Ferebee-Hope Recreation Center is at 3999 8th St. SE. dpr.dc.gov Hallow Haunted House/Care Trail & Party at the Bald Eagle Recreation Center. Oct 31, 6:00-8:30 PM. Join them for a scary night that will leave you frightened once you find ghost and goblins behind the walls. For more information, email marcs.willims@dc.gov.

Bald Eagle Recreation Center is at 100 Joliet St. SW. dpr.dc.gov The Ghost Story Tour of Washington. Fridays and Saturdays in Oct, 8:00 PM. Tour meets at 16th and H Sts., NW. $12, $6 for those under 16 (babes in strollers or carriers, free). Military ID holders are half price on all tours. 301588-9255. historicstrolls.com Boo at the Zoo. Oct 24, 25 and 26, 5:308:30 PM. Enjoy tasty candy, delicious snack foods, and other special treats from more than 40 treat stations. This family-friendly event offers animal encounters, keeper talks, and festive decorations. Proceeds support animal care, conservation science, education, and sustainability of the zoo. $30. nationalzoo.si.edu Annual Del Ray Halloween Parade. Oct 26, 2:00 PM. Participants meet on Mount Vernon Ave. south of Bellefonte Ave. prior to 2:00 PM. Adults, children and dogs are all welcome to join. visitdelray.com Halloween Changes Its Disguise-Has the Witching Season Grown Up? Oct 27, 6:458:15 PM. Holiday scholar Daniel Gifford transports us back 100 years to reveal a surprisingly tricky side to Halloween. Drawing on a variety of images, including now-forgotten Halloween postcards, he conjures up a picture of a very different holiday. $25. S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Dr. SW. 202-633-3030. smithsonianassociates.org Ghost & Graveyard Special Halloween Tour.

Oct 24, 7:00-9:00 PM. Tours begin at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal St., Alexandria, VA. Weave your way through some of Alexandria’s most haunted locations hearing tales of this historic city’s past and end in the bedroom of the “Female

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Last year’s Fall Harvest Festival crowds. Photo: Courtesy of THEARC

Fall Harvest Festival at THEARC.

Oct 15, 3:30-6:30 PM. There will be pony rides, face painting, arts & crafts, book & prize giveaways and free treats. Learn about THEARC’s partners: ArtReach at THEARC, FBR Branch BGCGW at THEARC, Children’s Health Project of DC, Covenant House Washington, Levine Music, LIFT DC Parklands Community Center, Trinity University, The Washington Ballet, The Washington School for Girls. Great for ages 4+. THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org

Stranger” at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum. $15, adults; $7, kids, 7-17. alexcolonialtours.com Bark or Treat Halloween Canine Cruise. Oct 30, 7:00 PM. The Potomac Riverboat Company invites guests with costumed-pup in tow to cruise around the Potomac River on this 40-minute ride to Halloween tunes. Halloween doggie treats will be provided, as well as a photographer to capture the morning’s festivities. Alexandria City Marina, 1 Cameron St., Alexandria, VA. 703-684-0580. potomacriverboatco.com

around the outdoor firepit; music and dance performances. National Museum of the American Indian, on the National Mall between Air & Space and US Capitol. nmai.si.edu Find a Nearby Pumpkin Patch. pumpkinpatchesandmore.org

SPECIAL EVENTS

Night of the Living Zoo. Oct 30, 6:30-10:00 PM. It’s Baaaaack. With a live band, costume contest, and mind-boggling performance art, fortune tellers, fire eaters, and illusionists. $50-$110. nationalzoo.si.edu

Memorial Tribute to DC Jazz Pianist Dick Morgan. Oct 15, 6:00 PM. Washington Performing Arts and the Kennedy Center present a Memorial Concert to honor the life and musical legacy of renowned DC-based jazz pianist Richard Lewis (Dick) Morgan, who passed away on Oct. 20, 2013. Free. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. washingtonperformingarts.org

Dia de los Muertos. Nov 1 and 2, 10:30 AM4:30 PM. View several ofrendas (altars), and special programming that includes food demonstrations of traditional foods for the dead

Grass Roots Grand Opening at the Arboretum. Oct 18 and 19, noon-4:00 PM (both days). Enjoy outdoor activities for all ages including kids’ games, putting practice on

the new green, meeting with turf experts including golf course managers, guided tours of the exhibit, and more. Located adjacent to the R St. parking lot and the Visitor Center, near the National Herb Garden. There are two entrances: 3501 New York Ave. NE, and 24th and R Sts. NE, off of Bladensburg Road. usna. usda.gov National Capital Area Flower Show. Oct 18, 1:00-4:00 PM and Oct 19, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM. Attend free educational talks and browse creative exhibits on horticulture, photography, art, and design presented by members of District Garden Clubs and National Arboretum staff. There are two entrances: 3501 New York Ave. NE, and 24th and R Sts. NE, off of Bladensburg Road. usna.usda.gov Washington International Horse Show. Oct 21-26. This event hosts leading horses and riders from around the nation and the world and is a highlight of the equestrian calendar.

Verizon Center. wihs.org

AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD Pond Tour of Kenilworth Park. Oct 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26, 10:00 AM. You will look at all aspects of pond life including varieties of plants, turtles, frogs, dragonflies and birds. Free. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, 1550 Anacostia Ave. NE. 202-692-6080. nps. gov/keaq Film at the Anacostia Community Museum. Oct 12, 2:00-4:00 PM, New Muslim Cool (2009; 83 min); Oct 14, 1:00-3:00 PM, Freedom Summer (2014; 113 min); Nov 2, 2:00-4:00 PM, Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley (2014; 89 min); Nov 6, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM, Civil War 360 (2014; 60 min); Nov 9, 2:00-4:00 PM, Miss Navajo (2007; 60 min). Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4820. anacostia.si.edu Rhythm Cafe: The Cultural World of Oscar Brown Jr. Oct 18, 2:00-4:00 PM. Enjoy an afternoon of live jazz featuring the music of Oscar Brown Jr. Brown was not only a respected musician, but was also a singer, songwriter, playwright, poet, and civil rights activist.

Jazz scholar Wayne Wilentz will present a talk prior to the performance and show the documentary Music is My Life, Politics My Mistress. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202633-4820. anacostia.si.edu Choraleers of the Washington Seniors Wellness Center Concert. Oct 26, 3:00 PM. Garden Memorial Presbyterian Church, 1720 Minnesota Ave. SE. Praise Mime African Dancer presents: “No Specific Way to Worship”.

Oct 26, 7:00 PM. Event features Trina Adams, Gospel Melo, Hephzibah Sacred Arts Ministry, Nakyiah Nichols, Queen Brit, Women of Faith Praise Dancers, Keur Khaley I African Dance Co., Carrie El-Santos, and the Praise Mime Afrcian Dancers and Friends. $20. THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. thearcdc.org Arena-Selin Balci at Honfleur Gallery.

Through Oct 31. Artist Talk on Oct. 18, 2:30 PM. Selin Balci’s concepts are explored by using living entities to recreate observable interactions and conflicts across the picture surface, where the outcomes reveal boundaries, edges and distinctive forms. Honfleur Gallery, 1241 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202365-8392. honfleurgallery.com

SPORTS AND FITNESS Washington Capitals Ice Hockey. Oct 14, 18 and 25. Verizon Center. capitals. nhl.com Washington Capitals Practice Schedule. Non-game day, 10:30 AM; game day, 10:00 AM; and day after game, EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 11

11:00 AM. Capitals practices are at Kettler Capitals Iceplex, 627 No. Glebe Rd., Suite 800, Arlington, VA. They are free and open to the public. kettlercapitalsiceplex.com Washington Wizards Basketball. Oct 12, 15, 17, 20; Nov 1. Verizon Center. nba.com/wizards Adult Dance and Fitness Classes at THEARC. Mondays, 7:15 PM, Yoga; Tuesdays, 7:30 PM, Zumba; Thursdays, 7:45 PM, Ballet; Saturdays, 9:00 AM, Zumba. Drop-in rates are $12. If you are a resident of 20020 or 20032 (with a valid ID), drop-in rates are $6. Class card which covers 12 classes and are good for up to 4 months are $100. If you are a resident of 20020 or 20032 (with a valid ID), class cards are $60.

THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-889-5901. thearcdc.org Deanwood (indoor) Pool. MonFri 6:30 AM-8:00 PM; Sat-Sun, 9:00 AM5:00 PM. Free for DC residents. 1350 49th St. NE. 202-671-3078. dpr.dc.gov Ferebee Hope (indoor) Pool. Open weekdays, 10:00 AM-6:00 PM. Closed weekends. Free for DC residents. 3999 8th St. SE. 202-645-3916. dpr.dc.gov Ranger Fit Challenge at Anacostia Park. Thursdays, 6:00-7:00 PM at the Anacostia Park-Skating Pavilion.

Challenge fitness course along the river trail with Rangers available to advise, encourage and promote healthy lifestyles. Free. For all ages.

202-472-3884.

Free public tennis courts in Wards 7 and 8. Fort Davis Community Center, 1400 41st St. SE; Hillcrest Recreation Center, 3100 Denver St. SE; KenilworthParkside Recreation Center, 4300 Anacostia Ave. NE; Randle Highlands Tennis Courts, 31st St. and Pennsylvania Ave. SE; Anacostia Park, 1900 Anacostia Dr. SE; Bald Eagle Recreation Center, Martin Luther King, Jr Ave. and Joliet St. SW; Congress Heights Recreation Center, Alabama Ave. and Randle Pl.SE; Fort Stanton Community Center, 1812 Erie St. SE. All courts are open daily, dawn to dusk. Some are lighted for extended evening play. Courts are available on a firstcome, firstserved basis for onehour intervals; extended use of tennis courts requires a permit. Proper shoes and attire is required. 202-671-0314. dpr.dc.gov Yoga @ the Library. Every Saturday, 10:00 AM. Wear some comfortable clothing and bring a mat, but if you don’t have one, yoga mats are available for use during the class. The classes are taught by Yoga Activist and are held on the lower level of the library in the Larger Meeting Room. This class is free and open to the public. Dorothy I. Height/Benning Neighborhood Library, 3935 Benning Rd. NE. 202-281-2583. dclibrary.org/benning

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MARKETS Ward 8 Farmers’ Market. Saturdays, 9:00 AM-2:00 PM. The market is at THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. ward8farmersmarket.com Aya Community Markets @ Minnesota Avenue. Thursdays, through Nov 20, 3:00-7:00 PM at 3924 Minnesota Ave. NE in the parking lot of Unity Health Care. dreamingoutloud.net MidWeek Market Stand at THEARC. Tuesdays, through Oct 28, 4:00-7:00 PM. THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. dcgreens.org Grant Avenue (flea) Market in Takoma Park. Oct 12, 10:00 AM-3:00 PM. The market is at the intersection of Grant Ave. and Carroll Ave. in Takoma Park, MD with antiques, collectibles and funky finds. grantavenuemarket. com Union Market. Tuesday-Friday, 11:00 AM-8:00 PM; Saturday-Sunday, 8:00 AM-8:00 PM. Union Market is an artisanal, curated, yearround food market featuring over 40 local vendors. 1309 5th St. NE. 301-652-7400. unionmarketdc.com Eastern Market. Daily except Mondays and important holidays. Weekdays, 7:00 AM-7:00 PM; Saturdays, 7:00 AM5:00 PM; Sundays, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. Flea market and arts and crafts market open Saturdays and Sundays, 9:00 AM-6:00 PM. Eastern Market is Washington’s last continually operated “old world” market. On weekends the market area comes alive with farmers bringing in fresh produce, craft and flower vendors, artists, a flea market and street musicians. 200 block of 7th St. SE. 202-698-5253. easternmarketdc.com Dupont Circle Farmers Market. Sundays year round (rain or shine), 9:00 AM-1:00 PM. During the peak season, there are more than 30 farmers offering fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruit pies, breads, fresh pasta, cut flowers, potted plants, soaps and herbal products. 20th St. and Mass.

Ave. NW, 1500 block of 20th St. NW (between Mass. Ave. and Q St. in the adjacent parking lot of PNC Bank).

202-362-8889. freshfarmmarket.org Georgetown Flea Market. Sundays year around (except in the case of very inclement weather), 8:00 AM-4:00 PM. Antiques, collectibles, art, furniture, rugs, pottery, china, jewelry, silver, stained glass, books and photographs are examples of the available items.

1819 35th St. NW. georgetownfleamarket.com Maine Avenue Fish Market. Open 365 days a year. 7:00 AM-9:00 PM. 1100 Maine Ave. SW. 202-484-2722.

U Street Flea. Saturdays and Sundays,

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CALENDAR Anacostia Coordinating Council Meeting.

Last Tuesday, noon-2:00 PM. Anacostia Museum, 1901 Fort St. SE. For further details, contact Philip Pannell, 202-889-4900.

Capitol View Civic Association Meeting.

Third Monday, 6:30 PM. Hughes Memorial United Methodist, 25 53rd St. NE. capitolviewcivicassoc.org Historical Anacostia Block Association.

Second Thursday, 7:00-9:00 PM. UPO Anacostia Service Center, 1649 Good Hope Rd. SE. For further details, contact Charles Wilson, 202-834-0600.

Anacostia High School School Improvement Team Meeting. Fourth Tuesday. 6:00 PM. Anacostia High School, 16th and R sts. SE. Deanwood Citizens Association General Body Meeting. Fourth Monday, except Aug. and Dec., 6:30 PM. 1350 49th St. NE. Fairlawn Citizens Association. Third Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Ora L. Glover Community Room at the Anacostia Public Library, 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE.

ANC MONTHLY MEETINGS ANC 7B. Third Thursday, 7:00 PM. Ryland Epworth United Methodist Church, 3200 S St. SE (Branch Ave and S St. SE). 202-584-3400. anc7b@pressroom.com. anc7b.us

Public Ice Skating at Fort Dupont Ice Arena.

Fridays, noon-1:50 PM and Saturdays, noon-1:00 PM. $5, adults; kids 2-12 and seniors, $4. Skate Rental, $3. Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Pl. NE. 202-584-5007. fdia.org Courtesy of the Fort Dupont Ice Arena

10:00 AM-5:00 PM. The U Street Flea features a diverse mix of art, crafts, fashion, jewelry, imports, antiques, collectibles, furniture, and more. The market is in the parking lot, next to Nellie’s Sports Bar (three blocks east of U Street Metro), at 912 U St. NW. ustreetflea. com Clarendon Night Market. Alternate Saturdays, May 17-Oct 25, 3:00-9:00 PM. It features a diverse mix of art, crafts, fashion, jewelry, imports, antiques, collectibles, furniture, and more. Bistro lights will be strung among the tents creating a festive evening shopping bazaar. It is in the Wells Fargo Bank parking lot, 3140 N. Washington Blvd. at the intersection of Washington, Wilson and Clarendon Blvds in North Arlington, VA. ClarendonMarket.com RFK Stadium Farmers’ Market. Open Saturdays, year round (weather permitting), 8:00

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AM-3:00 PM. The market also has merchandise vendors. It can be seen in the RFK parking lot from the interestion of Benning Rd. and Oklahoma Ave. NE. Branch Avenue Pawn Parking Lot Flea Market. Saturdays. Set up (depending on the weather) after 10:00 AM. 3128 Branch Ave., Temple Hills, MD

CIVIC LIFE Ward 8 Collaborat​ive Candidate Forum and Straw Poll. Oct 16, 6:30 PM. Forum is at Academies at Anacostia High School, 1601 16 St. SE. Ward Eight Council Against Domestic Violence Dance. Oct 18, 5:00-8:00 PM at the Merrick Center, 4275 4th St. SE. Admission is

$18 ($5 for ages 13-18 and under 13, free).

Casual dress. Chance to win door prizes/ raffle.

Councilmember Alexander’s Constituent Services Office. Open weekdays, 10:00 AM6:00 PM. 2524 Penn. Ave. SE. 202-581-1560.

Councilmember Barry’s Constituent Services Office. Open weekdays, 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. 2100 MLK Ave, SE, #307. 202-698-2185.

Congresswoman Norton’s SE District Office.

Open weekdays, 9:00 AM-6:00 PM. 2041 MLK Ave. SE, #238. 202-678-8900. norton.house.gov Eastland Gardens Civic Association Meeting. Third Tuesday, 6:30-8:00 PM at Kenilworth Elementary School Auditorium, 1300 44th St. NE. Contact Javier Barker, j58barker@yahoo.com or 202-450-3155.

ANC 7C. Second Thursday, 7:00 PM. Sargent Memorial Presbyterian Church, 5109 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. NE. 202-398-5100. anc7c@verizon.net ANC 7D. Second Tuesday, 6:30 PM. Sixth District Police Station, 100 42nd St. NE. 202398-5258. 7D06@anc.dc.gov ANC 7E. Second Tuesday, 7:008:30 PM. Jones Memorial Church, 4625 G St. SE. 202-5826360. 7E@anc.dc.gov ANC 7F. Third Tuesday, 6:30 PM. Washington Tennis and Education Foundation, 200 Stoddert Place, SE ANC 8A. First Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Anacostia UPO Service Center, 1649 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-889-6600. anc8adc.org ANC 8B. Third Tuesday, 7:00 PM. Seventh District Police Station Community Center, Alabama and McGee Sts. SE. 202-610-1818. anc8b.org ANC 8C. First Wednesday, 7:00 PM. 2907 MLK Jr Ave. SE. 202-388-2244.

ANC 8D. Fourth Thursday, 7:00 PM. Specialty Hospital of Washington, 4601 MLK Jr. Ave. SW. 202-561-0774. u

ARTS& DINING AUTUMN IN WASHINGTON, DC

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n 1956, when Jacob Javits was elected to the U.S. Senate from New York, his wife didn’t move with him to Washington, DC which she considered a backwater and she wasn’t shy about telling anybody who’d listen. She may have had a point. DC really was men in gray suits and women in sensible shoes shuffling in and out of government buildings to a time-clock.

Have things ever changed! The U District, Adams Morgan and the H Street corridor are now on everyone’s list of the hippest places in the country. We’ve also got art in alleys, music in courtyards, in-town major league sports, a thriving theater scene, restaurants popping up everywhere, trolleys and Barack and Michelle (not Ike and Mamie).

As the days grow shorter and the evenings longer, here are some suggestions to help you enjoy autumn and the approaching winter months with style. u

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTObER 2014 H 15

Dance !

Dance! ! e c n a !

D e c n a D

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olf Trap isn’t just for summer outdoor concerts. You’d be surprised at the variety and sophistication of the entertainment offered at the Barns year-round. On Saturday, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m., you can enjoy An Evening of Indian Dance at the Barns a rich cultural experience of beautiful and emotionally-engaging classical and folk Indian dance and music. Vibrant costumes, lively music, and elaborate choreography will adorn the stage when the professional dancers from IDEA (Indian Dance Educators Association) perform. This performance will feature six popular, classical dance styles— Bharathanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Mohiniattam and Manipuri, representing var-

ious regions of India. $20-$25. wolftrap.org/barns The Washington Ballet presents The Nutcracker at the Warner Theater every holiday season--this year, Dec. 4-28. The audience will be full of families, but the ballet itself is thoroughly appropriate for an entirely adult audience. Set in Georgetown and replete with swirling snowflakes, cherry blossoms and historical characters, including George Washington as the heroic nutcracker, The Nutcracker has become a tradition for generations of family and friends to celebrate the holidays.

On Nov. 29 and 30, there are also performances of The Nutcracker at THEARC, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE with discounted tickets for east of the river patrons. thearcdc.org

Courtesy of Wolf Trap

On Saturday, Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m., East Meets West at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street. This special evening will premier the Gin Dance Company Artistic Director Shu-Chen Cuff’s newest works “Face to Face”, which explores how technology has changed the way we all interact and connect with each other in and “That’s Mozart,” a fun and light hearted piece in which Shu-Chen creates and shapes the movements into Mozart’s humorous and playful music notes. This work delivers an awakening message for people to take charge and tell their own story.

The Atlas is becoming the performing arts venue for new music, experimental dance, off-beat humor and performance art. Tickets are $28. East Meets West is performed by the Gin Dance Company of Northern Virginia. Read more at gindance.org.

Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art

Courtesy of The Washington Ballet

Photo: Laine Shakerdge.

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Part fact, part fiction, and set in the harsh backstage world of the Paris Opera Ballet, Little Dancer at the Kennedy Center is Courtesy of the Gin Dance Company a musical inspired by the story of Marie van Goethem, a young ballerina who posed for Edgar Degas and became, inadvertently, the most famous dancer in the world. Torn by her family’s poverty, her debt to the artist, and the lure of wealthy men, she struggles to keep her place in the corps de ballet--a girl on the verge of womanhood, caught between the conflicting demands of life and art. Little Dancer is at the Kennedy Center, Oct. 25-Nov. 30. In conjuncation with Little Dancer, the National Gallery of art presents Degas’s Little Dancer, Oct. 5-Jan. 11. One of the Gallery’s most popular works of art, Little Dancer Aged Fourteen will be presented with 14 additional works from the Gallery’s collection. nga.gov The Cuban Dance Social with DC Casineros at Dance Place in Brookland is an opportunity to dance--not just watch other people. On Friday nights Oct. 17, Nov. 7, Dec. 19 and Jan. 16, 8 p.m.-midnight, enjoy all levels of Latin dancing. This is Brookland’s great new chance to dance, meet new people and appreciate the richness of Cuban dance and art. Join the DC Casineros’ company of community DJs and dancers for an evening of Son, Songo, Timba, Guaguanco, Salsa, Cha Cha Cha, Guaracha, and Rumba. The dance lesson is 8-8:30 p.m. and the remainder of the evening is open dancing. $12 includes appetizers and beverages. Book online at danceplace.org, call 202-269-1600 or pay at the door.

Dance Place is at 3225 8th St. NE. dccasineros.org u

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Music!

Music! ! c i s u !

M c i s u M

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he Howard Theatre at 620 T St. NW first opened in 1910 in the area known as “Black Broadway.” It provided a place where color barriers blurred and music unified. From 1980 to 2012, the theater sat vacant in what we now call the U Street District. After a $29 million renovation and a 32-year hiatus, the Howard Theatre is once again a hub of creativity and artistic expression in the modern world. It offers a dizzying array of performers, celebrations, gospel and comedy. They have become famous for their Sunday Gospel Brunch with a southern buffet and live music ($35, $45, day-of). thehowardtheatre.com Every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. the National Cathedral’s peal bells are rung for about a half hour by musicians pulling ropes attached to the bells. They are best appreciated from the Bishop’s Garden just to the right of the Cathedral. Peal bell rehearsals are Tuesday evenings, 7-9 p.m. The 10bell peal set was cast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry of London in the 1960s and installed in 1963.

The bells vary in weight from 608 to 3,588 pounds. Peal bells play mathematical patterns, not melodic music, because peal bells cannot play a rhythm. nationalcathedral.org

Robin Trower appears at the Howard on Nov. 11. Photo: Courtesy of the Howard Theatre

Here are some of the performers and performance groups coming up at the Birchmere a legendary venue in the music world: Judy Collins, Three Dog Night, Herb Alpert, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Herman’s Hermits and Paula Poundstone. The Birchmere schedules a mix of old timers, country, jazz, folk and rock. It’s just across the river in Alexandria. Your ticket pays for your seat and parking, but not your food and beverage. Go to their website, birchmere.com for featured artists over the fall season.

The Kennedy Center Millennium Stage was created to make the performing arts accessible to everyone in fulfillment of the Kennedy Center’s mission to the community and the nation. It is a free, live performance every night of the year at 6 p.m. in the Grand Hall, Concert Hall or Theater Lab. In the past 16 years, more than 3 million visitors have seen 6,000 groups perform jazz, ballet, storytelling, popular music, contemporary dance, opera, choral music, tap dance, theater, chamber music, symphonic music, puppetry, stand-up comedy, and cabaret. No tickets are required. Just show up. There’s a free shuttle service from the Foggy Bottom Metro Station to the Kennedy Center every 15 minutes. Enjoy. kennedy-center.org

Photo: Kathleen Donner

This season the Library of Congress presents five new works commissioned by the Library. Thursday, Oct. 30, George Lewis performed by Ensemble Dal Niente; Friday, Dec. 5, Jefferson Friedman/ Chiara Quartet with Simone Dinnerstein; Friday, Jan. 23, John Adams/St. Lawrence String Quartet; Saturday, Mar. 7, Jennifer Higdon/Roberto Díaz and the Curtis Chamber Orchestra; and Friday, May 22, Kaija Saariaho/Jennifer Koh, Anssi Karttunen & Benjamin Hochman. All concerts are free but require tickets available from TicketMaster (there is a small service charge associated with each ticket order). There is a limit of two tickets per patron. 8 p.m. in the Coolidge Auditorium, Thomas Jefferson Building. loc.gov u Ensemble Dal Niente performs on Oct. 30.

Photo: Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Robert Earl Keen. Courtesy of the Birchmere

Gerdan – Courtesy of the Kennedy Center.

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FA R M - T O - TA B L E A M E R I C A N D I N I N G

Mon-Thu. 5:30 pm - 11 pm | Fri-Sat. 5:30 pm - 12 am | Sun. 5:30 pm - 10 pm Brunch Sat. - Sun. 11 am - 2:30 pm | Happy Hour Mon. - Fri. 4 pm- 6pm

www.beuchertssaloon.com 623 Pennsylvania Ave, SE 202-733-1384

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTObER 2014 H 19

Museu m Museum s! s ! s m u ! e s s u m u m s e mu

A

t over 50’ long, 20’ high and weighing 6 tons, Spinosaurus is the largest discovered predatory dinosaur to roam the Earth.

This dino’s extraordinary features include a crocodile-shaped skull and 7’ spines forming a sail along its back. Through Apr. 12, 2015, encounter this bizarre predator for the first time at “Spinosaurus: Lost Giant of the Cretaceous” at the National Georgraphic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. In this exhibition, you explore a full-sized skeletal model as well as genuine dinosaur fossils and learn about the latest technologies modern paleontologists use. $7-$11. nationalgeographic.com The Hirshhorn has to be the most under-appreciated art museum in the city. But inside it is one of the most contemplative places you’ll ever encounter. In a world conditioned by the frantic, 24/7 flow of information and the ephemerality of digital media, many moving-image artists are countering these tendencies with works that emphasize slower, more meditative forms of perception. Days of Endless Time, Oct. 12-Apr 14, 2015, presents fourteen installations that offer prismatic vantage points into the suspension and attenuation of time or that create a sense of timelessness. Themes include escape, solitude, enchantment, and the thrall of nature. hirshhorn.si.edu

Photo: Mark Thiessen, National Geographic

Courtesy: Widener Collection

photo: Kathleen Donner

Image courtesy and © Sigalit Landau

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The John Paul II National Shrine has undergone a renovation. It officially reopens on Oct. 22 and features an array of documents, relics and bits and pieces from the life of this extraordinary man. It is a glimpse into the life of a man who, along with Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbechev, and Lech Walesa, is most responsible for the end of the Soviet Empire and, therefore, the end the cold war. Admission is free and visiting hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 3900 Harewood Rd. NE. Harewood Road is between the National Shrine and the parking lot. 202635-5400. jp2shrine.org On the 400th anniversary of El Greco’s death, the National Gallery of Art presents an exhibition of his paintings, Nov. 2-Feb. 16. The exhibition includes 11 paintings from the Gallery and other Washington area collections. A selection of devotional works illustrates El Greco’s role as artist of the Counter-Reformation. El Greco was born in Crete and any visit to that island will have locals urging you to view the remains of his stone and brick home after which you can peruse El Greco relics and then order a moussaka lunch with a glass of retsina. nga.gov “Face Value: Portraiture in the Age of Abstraction” features 50 paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture from approximately 1945 to 1975, by artists who were reinventing portraiture at a moment when most agreed that figuration was dead as a progressive art form. Artists such as Alice Neel, Elaine de Kooning, Robert Rauschenberg, Beauford Delaney, Alex Katz, Romare Bearden, Fairfield Porter, Jamie Wyeth and Andy Warhol, along with lesser-known artists, pushed the boundaries of portrait traditions, reinterpreting human portrayal, reinventing portraiture for the next generation. On view through Jan. 11, 2015 at the National Portrait Gallery, 8th and F Sts. NW. npg.si.edu u

The Best of Capitol Hill Eating From Second Hand Rose October 10

to

The Dickens Campaign and Ryan Keberle’s Catharsis October 11 Wake Up, Brother Bear October 9-13. Ages 1-5 Capital City Symphony October 12 Library of Congress: Intelligence in the Human-Machine October 16

Lunch and Dinner Daily Happy Hour 3:30 pm - 7 pm Weekend Brunch 10:30 - 3 pm

Join us for brunch on Saturday & Sunday from 10:30a-3p

Join us for Game day specials before and after the game

Happy hour daily 3-7p, 9close Tue. night 1/2 price Wine Night Wed. night 16.95 1 1/4 lb Lobster!

301 Water Street, SE Yards Park 202-484-0301 • www.agua301.com

735 8th Street, SE Washington, DC 202.544.7171 • www.zestbistro.com

Second Hand Rose

Rorschach Theatre Klecksography: Monsters & Mayhem October 24 Gin Dance Company: East Meets West October 25 The Welders: Not Enuf Lifetimes October 29–November 16

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTObER 2014 H 21

Theat e r !

Theater ! ! r e t a e ! r h e T t a e Th

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he DC premier of “Sex With Strangers” is at Signature Theater from Oct 14-Dec 7. A raging snowstorm traps strangers Olivia, an unsuccessful, yet gifted, thirty-nine-year-old writer, and Ethan, a tech-addicted and wildly successful young blogger, in a secluded cabin. Opposites instantly attract, undeniable chemistry ignites and sex is imminent. As the dawn rises, however, what could have just been a one-night-stand transforms into something more complicated when online exploits interfere with their real-life connection. In this two actor drama, Holly Twyford plays Olivia and Luigi Sottile, Ethan.

Three-time Helen Hayes Award winner Aaron Posner directs. Pride Night is Nov. 7 and 21. signature-theatre.org

Holly Twyford in Sex with Strangers at Signature Theatre. Photo: Christopher Mueller

Image Courtesy of Arena Stage

Maurice Jones as Mark Antony.

Photo: James Kegley

“Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare is at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre from Oct. 28-Dec. 7. Julius Caesar returns home victorious, securing both unparalleled power and popularity. Fearful for the Republic and driven by their own ambition, several senators conspire to assassinate the Roman dictator in the Capitol.

Michael Sharon plays Julius Caesar, Maurice Jones plays Mark Antony and Brutus and Cassius are played by Anthony Cochrane and Louis Butelli. Robert Richmond directs. In the shadow of the nearby Capitol building, Shakespeare’s commentary on power, ambition, and democratic responsibility smolders just in time for midterm elections. The Folger Shakespear Library is at 201 E. Capitol St. SE. folger.edu Every year during the long holiday season, Arena Stage comes up with a family-friendly production for their theater in the round. This year it’s the Molly Smith directed “Fiddler on the Roof” which runs from Oct. 31 to Jan. 4. Tony nominee Jonathan Hadary plays Tevye, a humble Jewish father who finds his devotion to God severely tested by his headstrong daughters, who want to be their own matchmakers, and the increasingly ruthless government forcing him from his land. Everyone will know “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker” and “Tradition.” Arena Stage offers a family fun pack--four tickets for $125. Arena is at 1101 6th St., SW. arenastage.org

Photo: Joseph Stand Photography

By popular demand, the Theater Alliance at the Anacostia Playhouse is bringing back the “Black Nativity” after a two year hiaCourtesy of C. Stanley Photography tus from Dec. 8-Jan. 4. “Black Nativity” is the retelling of the Christmas story from an Afro-centric perspective, infused with rich gospel, blues, funk, jazz music and dance with griot-style storytelling from an ensemble cast. Originally written

by Langston Hughes, the show was first performed Off-Broadway on December 1961, and was one of the first plays written by an African-American to be staged there. Eric Ruffin directs. The Anacostia Playhouse is located in the heart of Historical Anacostia at 2020 Shannon Pl. SE. Street parking is available on Shannon Place. theateralliance.com

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“Famous Puppet Death Scenes” is at Woolley Mammoth, Dec. 9-Jan 4. It was created and is performed by the Canadian Old Trout Puppet Workshop. The Old Trouts promise to cure your fear of death; no more anxiety about difficult choices, no more dreading birthdays, no more desperate pleas for immortality through fame, art, or progeny. Curated and narrated by puppet Nathan Tweak, it is a collection of twenty-two infamous and theatrical end-of-life sequences, spanning a vast array of styles and genres.

Woolly Mammoth is always ready to take a chance. They flop and they succeed, they’re fresh and they’re ridiculous, but you always come away with something. Watch for their pay-what-you-can previews. Woolly is at 641 D St. NW. woollymammoth.net u

W

! g n i n i D Dinin g! Dinin Dining!

ashington DC has become quite the theater town, and thankfully many restaurants have stepped up with pre-theater (or pre-event, as some now call it) menus that offer three courses for a discounted price, along with a guarantee to get you out the door in time for the show. Here are some choices grouped by area of the city.

Penn Quarter: Theaters: Shakespeare Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth, Ford’s, Warner, National This upscale restaurant has a $32 701 – 701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 202-393-0701. pre-theater menu with such selections as beef carpaccio or red pepper risotto to start, flatiron steak or sake-miso glazed salmon as an entrée and dessert. The menu is available Monday-Saturday 5:30 - 6:45 p.m., Sunday 5:00- 9:30 p.m. Valet park for $8/car at 701 until after the show! Rasika – 633 D St. NW, 202-637-1222. Going early for a pre-event dinner may be your best chance of snagging a meal at this ultra-popular Indian-influenced eatery.

Named among the top 20 restaurants across America in Zagat’s 2014 America’s Top Restaurants Survey, you need to make reservations weeks in advance. Rasika offers a $35 three-course menu until 6:30. Closed on Sunday. Valet parking available.

14th Street / Logan Circle: Theaters: Studio Theatre, Source Theatre, Theater J, Howard Theater In a fun, eclectic space, celebrity chef Bart VanB Too – 1324 14th Street NW, 202-627-2800. daele showcases the cooking of Belgium. Yes, the mussels are delicious, but there is so much more.

And they offer a Belgian vanilla waffle for the table when you present your Studio Theatre ticket.

Posto – 1515 14th Street NW, 202-332-8613. Posto serves both classic and modern Italian dishes. The kitchen works with local farms for organic vegetables and imports only the finest Italian ingredients. There is a three-course pre-theater menu available nightly from opening to 6:30 for $29.

SW Waterfront: Theater: Arena Stage American, bistro-style restaurant gets excellent Station Four – 1104 4th St. SW, 202-488-0987. reviews and is the most convenient place to eat if you are going to the Arena Stage. They offer a $35 three-course dinner which includes valet parking on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Or take 10% off the bill from regular menu with tickets.

Capitol Hill: Theaters: Folger Theater, Atlas Performing Arts This charmBistro Cacao – 320 Mass. Ave, NE, 202-546-4737. ing French restaurant offers a three course pre-theater menu for $29.95 per person. Every day from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. There are classics such as Coquilles St. Jacques, bouillabaisse, Onglet de Boeuf aux Echalottes. If you come at 5:30 you should have time for a relaxing dinner in this romantic, European-style setting before strolling through historic Capitol Hill on the way to the theater. Cafe Berlin – 322 Massachusetts Ave NE, 202-543-7656. Located a few blocks from Union Station, this Capitol Hill mainstay of almost 30 years serves classic and modern German cuisine. Though there is no pretheater menu, it is close to the Folger. The restaurant feels authentically German and the food backs that up. You could make a meal off the small plates with home-made pork terrine, sausages, pickles and the like. The entrees include sauerbraten and cordon bleu. Desserts are strudels, Black Forest cake and cream tortes.

Red Rocks – 1348 H St NE, 202-621-7300. Red Rocks is an upscale neighborhood pizzeria with four locations in the DC area. Thin Crust Neopolitan pizzas, pastas and more. Craft beer and designer cocktails. No pre-theater special but close to the Atlas Performing Arts Center. u

Photos: Andrew Lightman

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTObER 2014 H 23

potter y ! pottery! ! y r e t t o p tery! on the hill

I

TOP: Mark Shapiro “salting” during the firing process. Photo courtesy of the artist.

BELOW: Mark Shapiro. Rope Bowl. Detail. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Bob Briscoe

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Matthew Metz

n what has grown into an annual fall tradition, Hill Center will host the third annual Pottery on the Hill October 31 through November 2 with a “Pottery Jam” at District Clay on October 30.

This year, sixteen nationally recognized ceramic artists will display and sell a wide array of work to the public. Participating potters are: Bob Briscoe, Kevin Crowe, Naomi Dalglish, Dan Finnegan, Warren Frederick, Ryan Greenheck, Michael Hunt, Michael Kline, Jenny Mendes, Matthew Metz, Donna Polseno, Ken Sedberry, Mark Shapiro, Stacy Snyder, Sam Taylor and Julie Wiggins.

While visitors to the last two expos will recognize the work of several returning potters, this year’s roster includes many first-timers who have travelled as far away as California to display their wares. Unlike traditional craft fairs, Pottery on the Hill organizers carefully hand-pick critically acclaimed artists and professionally curate the exhibition setting in an indoor expo-like setting. Potter Mark Shapiro compares Pottery on the Hill to the “farm to table movement” since people will have direct access to the potters’ finished products as well as the artists themselves. In addition, Pottery on the Hill puts the ceramic art in context. Last year, the expo had a florist make arrangements in the artists’ vases to demonstrate the utilitarian nature of the artwork sold.

This year, Pottery on the Hill will partner with recently opened District Clay in the Brookland-Woodridge neighborhood to provide interactive demonstrations of how potters practice their craft. “Pottery Slam,” which will take place on October 30 at District Clay, promises more than interactivity between the audience members, the pottery wheel and the clay; participants will also have the opportunity to work directly with several professional ceramic artists from Pottery on the Hill. Who knows where the improvisational format will lead and what both novice and seasoned potter alike will create jointly or individually in this novel format!

Potter Mark Shapiro has participat-

ed in all three Pottery on the Hill events.

He will also participate in the first Pottery Slam and eagerly looks forward to seeing what both his peers and the audience will create during this first of its kind improvisational session. He hopes that this format will encourage a younger generation to engage with the age old craft of throwing clay and creating pottery.

Shapiro recalls making pots as early as 11 but stopping around the age of 16. With an affinity for the feel of materials such as metal and wood, Shapiro shifted away from throwing clay, spending most of his twenties working as a fine arts sculptor in lower Manhattan. However by age 28, he grew dissatisfied with his practice as a sculptor, finding the end product limited and ultimately undemocratic.

“I was interested in making something accessible to everyone,” Shapiro explains.

“Pottery is more complex than sculpture. It has to be able to sit on a gallery shelf. It can’t chip. It has to feel good on people’s lips.”

Unlike sculpture which ends up in a museum or in a wealthy person’s private collection, Shapiro appreciates pottery’s utilitarian nature. So, for three decades, Shapiro has created thousands of vessels that have found a use in countless homes fulfilling his desire to create something new every day.

Shapiro left the bustle of lower Manhattan and relocated to a sylvan setting in Western Massachusetts between the Berkshire Mountains and Pioneer Valley. In this rural setting, he founded Stonepool Pottery where he still practices his craft today. Over the years, Stonepool has partnered with a large number of artists and has trained several generations of practicing potters. Visitors can tour the working studio and browse the retail gallery.

On the grounds of Stonepool’s estate stands a large wood burning kiln which Shapiro uses twice a year to fire his ceramic creations. The two-chambered kiln uses approximately 1,000 pieces of scrap wood, mostly pine, purchased from local mills.

The meticulous process of loading the kiln takes three full days, with help from a crew of five people, which Shapiro likens to put-

ting together “parts of a puzzle.”

As part of the firing process, Shapiro introduces salt into the kiln on boards. The salting process takes place five times at 20 minute intervals. With its alkaline properties, salt creates the patina one finds on Shapiro’s work generating pleasing variations in the ceramic’s surface patterns. German potters first discovered this technique in the fifteenth century and its effects still please ceramic artists and users five hundred years later!

Despite the skill needed to create earthenware and the laborious process required to fire it, for Shapiro, a ceramic piece remains unfinished until it falls into the hands of a user. The cup, plate, bowl or pitcher comes alive once it is used and washed in the sink. Shapiro describes this final process as the “intimacy” which develops between the end user and the object which takes place the moment a user connects with the ceramic object transcending its aesthetic and functional roles.

At Pottery on the Hill, the 16 invited artists belong to a close knit-artistic community. Shapiro speaks highly of this community praising its openness and generosity, lauding the artists’ “big tent” philosophy not often found in other crafts or Donna Polseno Naomi Dalglish & Michael Hunt art forms. To illustrate his point, Shapiro Jenny Mendes discusses how potters make glaze formulas openly available to all and in fact, few keep skilled information proprietary.

In this same spirit of inclusiveness, Shapiro sees Pottery on the Hill as a coming together and celebration of the ceramics community as a whole with laymen, students and industry professionals convening, interacting and learning from one another. What brings Shapiro back to the expo for a third year in a row is both the quality of the experience and more importantly that “Pottery on the Hill expresses the values that we [as an artistic community] embody.”

Stonepool pottery is located Pottery on the Hill’s Events are as follows: at 42 Conwell Road Worthing• Pottery Slam at District Clay-- Thursday, October 30. ton, MA or visit them online at Time TBD. District Clay is Located at 2414 Douglas www.stonepoolpottery.com Michael Kline

Avenue NE • Preview Reception-- Friday, October 31 at 6:30 pm.

The cost is $30 • Show and Sale-- Saturday November 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. & Sunday, November. 2 from noon to 5 p.m. The Show and Sale is free of charge. Hill Center is located at 921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE

Phil Hutinet is the publisher of East City Art, a publication dedicated to DC’s visual arts. He has been covering Pottery on the Hill since its inception in 2011.

For more information visit www. eastcityart.com u

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTObER 2014 H 25

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

Revolution, Continuity, or Nostalgia?

That Is the Election

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by Andrew Lightman

alking to the polling station on Nov. 4, District voters face a clear choice in casting their ballots. On one side of the equation is a candidate who stands ready to continue down the city’s current path chartered by Mayors Anthony A. Williams and Adrian M. Fenty with minor course corrections. Alternatively, the electorate can choose a politician known for seeking innovation. Lastly, voters may decide to pay homage to the city’s storied past with a vote for a much beloved political icon.

“Continuity, Revolution, or Nostalgia?” is the real question on November’s ballot.

The electorate is generally happy with the city’s situation. In the recent Marist Poll conducted by NBC 4 and The Washington Post, 62 percent of registered voters believed the “things in the District of Columbia are going in the right direction.” This is a substantial turnaround from the 11 percent who thought so in 1993. Many of these voters may be seeking continuity. If so, Muriel Bowser, the 26 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

Democratic nominee for mayor, may be their choice.

Stay the Course with Bowser

Bowser is the candidate of the Democratic establishment. She has been endorsed by everyone from former mayors Williams and Marion S. Barry Jr. (D-Ward 8) to Tommy “Mr. Clean” Wells (DWard 6). Former At-Large Councilmember William P. Lightfoot and real estate developer Benjamin N. Soto, who put Adrian F. Fenty in office, are piloting her campaign as chair and treasurer. She has been endorsed by colleagues Anita Bonds (At-Large D), Vincent B. Orange Sr. (At-Large D), Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), Kenyon R. McDuffie (D-Ward 5), and Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7).

Many prominent Democratic lobbyists such as David W. Wilmot number among Bowser’s contributors. She has been endorsed by most major labor unions.

During last winter’s primary Bowser focused squarely on the scandals surrounding Mayor Vin-

Organizers of the recent Southwest Mayoral Debate leave a chair empty for Democratic Nominee Muriel Bowser, who has refused to attend any more than four debates. Photo Andrew Lightman

cent C. Gray. Promising a “fresh start,” she convinced a plurality of Democratic voters that a vote for her was a vote to remove Gray.

After unseating the incumbent, Bowser pivoted her message to one of inclusiveness. #All8Wards was her Twitter hashtag.

She pointedly reached out to voters in Wards 7 and 8, holding town halls and meet-and-greets.

Echoing Williams and Barry, she promised to expand opportunity and economic development to the city’s peripheries.

Yet Bowser remains a careful and conservative politician.

The ethics reforms that she shepherded into law are a case in point.

The legislation did create a watchdog to prevent the type of lapses committed by both Barry and Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) while in office. However, it ignored the campaign finance issues at the heart of Ronald C. Machen’s federal investigation.

A supporter of Fenty’s school reforms and modernization programs from their inception, Bowser is committed to keeping the public education system moving along its reform trajectory, while tweaking around the edges.

mother’s milk of District politics.

Echoing a younger Barry, Bowser seeks to employ city contracts to drive the expansion of District businesses by recasting the role of the agency responsible for minority contracting. A cabinet-level appointment position, she also believes, is necessary to facilitate economic development east of the Anacostia. None of these measures would significantly alter the course charted

by Williams.

A vote for Bowser is one cast for continuity.

Up the Revolution with Catania

Bowser has publicly promised to keep DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson. She supports increased support for, and a limited expansion of, the city’s middle schools. She hopes to use increased resources to push schools on the edge of success over the brink. Questioning the public process that resulted in the mayor’s reformulated school boundaries, she has promised to freeze or reverse Gray’s plan.

Bowser steers an equally deliberate path with city finances. Opposed to general income tax increases, she favors removing the homes of lower income seniors from the city’s property tax rolls to preserve affordability. She has promised increased funds for affordable housing, the

While Bowser treads well-worn highways, Catania often takes the road less traveled.

His campaign is managed by distinguished ex-Councilmember Sharon Ambrose and endorsed by the DC Chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police. He is a candidate of ideas, in other words, a wonk. Catania’s penchant for innovation is best assessed on the basis of his stewardship of the Council’s committees and his shepherding of marriage equality legislation.

During his seven-year chairmanship of the Committee on Health, Catania authored bills that expanded medical insurance for the working poor in the wake of the closing of DC General, the city’s public hospital. Despite the skeptics, he found funds to preserve United Medical Center, the only hospital east of the Anacostia River. Using sharp elbows, he monitored the hospital’s unsuccessful sale to a private entity, subsequent bankruptcy, and return to city control. In all these situations Catania employed a combination of new ideas and relentless oversight to achieve his aims.

Marriage equality was another of Catania’s defining moments. Here, he worked with then Chairman Gray to forge a consensus among his colleagues which resulted in its near unanimous passage (11 to 2).

Despite heated sparring during the vote, Catania later managed to repair a damaged relationship with Barry.

In 2013 Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D) appointed Catania to the chairmanship of the Committee on Education.

Over the next year Catania personally visEAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 27

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

I WILL WORK FOR YOU WARD 1 WARD 2 WARD 3 WARD 4 WARD 5 WARD 6 WARD 7 WARD 8

JOHN CHEEKS CHAIRMAN FOR D.C. COUNCIL See 15 point agenda on www.electcheeks.com

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INDEPENDENT

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Report on file with the Office of Campaign Finance. Paid for by: Elect Cheeks for Chairman, Ron Bonifilo Treasurer

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David Catania engages a potential voter during his campaign. Photo: Andrew Lightman

ited more than 144 of the city’s 200-plus schools. As important, he authored a set of bills known collectively as “School Reform 2.0,” designed to significantly adjust the system’s trajectory that had been piloted by Fenty and former Chancellor Michele A. Rhee.

Not all were successful.

However, Catania did secure passage of changes in the student funding formula that increased support for schools educating disproportionate numbers of atrisk students. Another bill ended social promotion. A third overhauled school attendance laws by reducing the number of absences triggering government intervention and increasing interagency coordination.

Despite his relentless push for changes in health and education, Catania has been very conservative on issues related to taxation and government spending. A

dogged foe of public funding for Nationals’ Stadium, he has yet to attend a game. He has consistently opposed tax increases and is usually a favorite of the business community.

A vote for Catania is one cast for revolution.

Back to the Future with Schwartz

While Bowser represents continuity and Catania embodies change, the campaign of former Councilmember Carol Schwartz is largely a nod to the past. Schwartz, out of office since 2008, has had to reintroduce herself to the gentrified District electorate.

The reforms of Williams and Fenty significantly cut government waste and lowered city taxes, two of Schwartz’s go-to electoral hobby horses. Seeking to preserve the DC Board of Education, she

voted against Fenty’s educational reforms while on the dais.

Schwartz points to the Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act of 2008 as her finest legislation. The bill guaranteed workers the right to paid sick days. Yet her work, while costing her the support of the District’s business community, did not earn her the endorsement of labor.

In a recent debate, Schwartz, raising the issue of gentrification, expressed her concern that the District was losing its “Glorious Diversity.” Burnishing her Chocolate City credentials, she proposed the creation of a tax incentive to lure former city residents back from their homes in ‘Ward 9,’ Prince George’s County.

Schwartz, retains much affection among older city residents.

Those unwilling to vote for “Fenty in a Skirt” or a white gay councilmember may well cast their bal-

lots for her.

A vote for Schwartz is one cast for nostalgia.

Continuity, Revolution, or Nostalgia?

In a boom town whose skyline is dotted with cranes and blessed with an expanding population, many may question the wisdom of rocking the boat. Bowser can be depended on to stay the course.

To those frustrated with the existing system, Catania offers innovation. Voters looking to the past for comfort may well back Schwartz.

November’s ballot, therefore, offers a clear choice among continuity, revolution, and nostalgia. u

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 29

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

theNUMB3RS 3.327.649.10

Questions for the Candidates

T

he District will soon have a new Mayor-elect. She or he won’t take office until January, but will need to start setting priorities very soon. The District’s finances are strong, which is a great starting point, but the challenges facing the city are large.

• School reform, after two mayoral terms, is not showing notable gains in high-poverty schools.

• Housing costs reach new eyepopping levels every time we look around, contributing to a rise in homelessness but also creating challenges for middle-income families.

• Unemployment among DC residents without a college degree – about half of all adults – has not recovered from a recession that technically ended four years ago.

• The federal government is shrinking and DC needs a new economic development strategy.

These issues are important to the whole city. While there are reasons to be excited about development bringing new vibrancy and retail options to many neighborhoods, there is widespread concern that rising costs of living are pushing residents out. Beyond that, businesses need workers to fill jobs at a range of skill and pay levels, and if workers have to live further and further out, that will make it harder for businesses to find the 30 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

by Ed Lazere and Wes Rivers

workers they need.

The mayoral candidates all say these issues are important, and soon one of them will have to develop policies and shape budgets to make their campaign promises a reality.

But wouldn’t it be great to know now what the candidates will do? Here are some questions you could pose to mayoral or council candidates to see what they really will do if they win.

Education

After years of re-building school facilities and working to improve teacher quality and pay, many schools still struggle with lagging test scores, especially among lowincome students. The District’s approach to boosting student achievement needs to go beyond improving the quality of classroom instruction to also address the challenges that poor children bring with them to school.

Will you help low-income students attend high-quality schools outside their neighborhood? The recent school boundary and admissions taskforce recommended that every low-poverty school (under one in four students) create a preference for low-income students in the lottery process. DCPS would have to change its out-of-boundary policies, and new legislation governing charter school admissions would be needed.

Will you fund more afterschool and summer programs? One of the

clearest differences between poor children and higher-income children is their uneven access to enriching activities after school and in the summer, and research confirms that this contributes to the achievement gap. Yet DCPS puts only modest funding into afterschool programs, and the budget for the Children and Youth Investment Trust, which supports non-profits serving youth, was cut sharply after recent DC Council scandals.

Will you make sure every school has sufficient resources to meet students’ mental health needs?

The District is well behind its goal to have school mental health programs in all schools by 2016.

What will you do to promote better collaboration between DCPS and charter schools? DC does little to help charter schools find a home, and this at times results in instability or in schools ending up in locations that may not be ideal from citywide perspective. What will candidates do to help charter schools get the sites they need but also guide where they locate?

Housing

As million-dollar homes and $3,000 rents become the norm, it is clear the city cannot maintain an economically diverse population and workforce without more public investment to make housing accessible. Not surprisingly, the working poor and those living on fixed incomes from social security or other

public assistance face the greatest challenges.

Will you commit to creating 25,000 new apartments that are affordable to the low-income working or fixed-income households over the next four years? That is the about number of new low-cost units needed to meet this need, according to a study released this year by the Community Foundation.

Will you commit $100 million to DC’s Housing Trust Fund each year? One of the key tools to build or preserve low-cost housing is DC’s Housing Production Trust Fund. Every $1 of DC money from the Trust Fund generates $2.50 of other funds. Yet the Trust Fund is tied to a tax source that is volatile and it has never been enough to meet the full demand. $100 million every year would help get to the goal of 25,000 new affordable units.

Will you truly address family homelessness? In the winter, homeless families languish in the dilapidated DC General shelter or in motels. And in the summer it is even worse: families seeking shelter are just turned away. Every candidate should be asked if they will allow families in need to seek shelter and services year-round, and what they will do to move families out of shelter and into stable housing.

Jobs

The other key to helping more residents afford to live in the city is better wages. Yet nearly one in nine DC adults lacks basic literacy skills,

and most are not getting services to address their educational or job skill needs. Meanwhile, wages for DC’s lowest paid workers fell $1 an hour over the past four years.

Will you raise wages for waiters and other tipped workers?

DC’s minimum wage for waiters and other tipped workers is just $2.77 an hour, and will not go up as DC’s minimum wage rises to $11.50. Some states set the minimum wage for tipped workers at the same rate as for everyone else, while many others are higher than DC even though their minimum wage for tipped workers is lower than for other workers.

Will you support better child care? For many parents, child care is nearly as expensive as their home. DC subsidizes child care for working families, but the rates are so low that many child care centers cannot thrive on it, and others are not able to provide a high-quality educational environment.

Will you improve literacy services and training? The number of adults needing literacy services is 8 times higher than the number that get help each year. And the District spends relatively little in direct support of job training, even at successful programs like DC Central Kitchen. Will candidates commit to spending more on literacy and skills training?

Economic Development

If the District is going to grow in a way that doesn’t squeeze everyone else out, new economic development strategies will be needed that create opportunity for all District residents. It also is likely that it will be a new mayor who completes a soccer stadium deal.

Will you make smart investments in economic development? The best way to support new industries and job growth is to connect entrepreneurs with a highly-skilled and appropriately

trained workforce, to nurture industry clusters where businesses can grow together, provide affordable workspace for emerging businesses, and support research and development.

Will you avoid the ineffective tax subsidy approach? Tax incentives are costly but rarely produce much, if anything, in terms of new jobs and economic growth. Cutting capital gains taxes is good for wealthy investors but doesn’t change their minds about where or how much to invest. These and other tax incentives, such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF), divert revenue from education or infrastructure that are needed to promote economic growth.

Will you ask DC United to pay its fair share for the stadium?

The District should offer to pay no more than half of the total stadium cost. The team stands to benefit most from a stadium and should ultimately foot most of the bill.

DC United should not get costly sales and property tax breaks.

Will you kill the Reeves Center “swap?” If the District sells the Reeves Center to pay for its share of the stadium costs, it should do so in a way that is transparent, gets the best value for the property, and sets conditions on its future use.

Will you take the needs of SW residents into account? The District and DC United should commit to preserving affordable housing in neighborhoods adjacent to the stadium site at Buzzard Point, and provide training and job opportunities for residents in those communities.

What are you waiting for? Get yourself to a forum and ask some questions!

...because I keep my prenatal appointments.

My name is Brittney and I’m 6 months pregnant. I keep all my prenatal appointments to help make sure I have a healthy pregnancy.

When I’m healthy, my baby is healthy!

To see the I am healthySM series and get tips on ways to stay healthy, visit www.amerihealthdc.com/iamhealthy.

Lazere and Rivers work at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (www.dcfpi. org), which conducts research on tax and budget issues that affect lowand moderate-income DC residents. u EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTObER 2014 H 31

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

Ward 7 ANC Election Guide

by Charnice A. Milton

ANC 7B 7B06 Donovan Anderson – A 28year Hillcrest resident, Anderson is a lawyer who specializes in cases involving children with special education needs. “I have been working in the area of education for the past 20 years as an advocate for special education students,” he said. “I am very much concerned about the quality of educational programs made available to this population in both the DCPS and Charter Schools systems.” In addition to education, Donovan’s platform focuses on economic development and crime.

“Unfortunately crime is an issue that concerns all my neighbors,” he said. “We need to foster better opportunities through education and job training for our citizens, especially our youths, to deter them from a life of crime.”

Mark Chisholm – Chisholm works as Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander’s deputy director of constituent services.

7B07 D. Lynnell Humphrey – Humphrey serves the Ward 7 community as Dupont Circle Park Civic Association’s sergeant-atarms and Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander’s assistant director of constituent services.

Marcus Turner – Although Turner has no political experience, he was inspired to run after learning that his SMD may not have representation. A 7B07 32 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

resident since 2007, Turner serves as a board member on his 30-unit condo association and manages contracts in the private sector. “These roles have taught me how to appreciate varying opinions and work to ensure all stakeholders have a voice in reaching solutions,” he said. If elected Turner will focus on reducing poverty and improving health.

ANC 7C 7C01 Nyasha Jayei Harley – For over a decade Harley’s career has been dedicated to serving the disabled, at-risk youth, and the elderly. She is the events coordinator for the Just 4 Us Foundation, a nonprofit that provides free and affordable specialized programs and services for children with special needs, at-risk youth, and their families. Having a brother with special needs, Harley does her job with an experiential and sympathetic ear. If elected she plans to work with her constituents and fellow commissioners to bring about positive community change.

Patricia Malloy – Malloy is a well-known figure in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood. In addition to serving as the incumbent for SMD 7C01, she has also served as an advocate for redevelopment.

7C03 Rich Parker – As a government affairs consultant Parker

is used to working with legislators, military personnel, and business leaders. The Benning Heights resident is dedicated to his community as a member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and a tutor and mentor at Kelly Miller Middle School’s Higher Achievement program. “As the son of a teacher, Rich knows the value of education and the importance of nurturing children so they can succeed,” stated his official bio. If elected Parker promises to bring, “fresh thinking, new ideas and improved communication to the community.”

Catherine A. Woods – Incumbent and lifelong Ward 7 resident Woods has served as commissioner since 2002. In 2013 the Ward 7 Democrats named her “Democrat of the Year.”

7C05 Mary L. Gaffney – Incumbent Gaffney has been serving her community as commissioner since 1992; she has also served in the Northeast Boundary Civic Association and the DC Federation of Civic Associations.

Joseph C. Thomas – At age 6, Thomas began serving his community as a campaign worker for the Hon. Vincent Orange Sr. Since then Thomas has served as a medical assistant, minister, and a member of the Commission for Reentry and Returning Citizens Affairs. “Ward 7 is an extraordinary part of the city, still with room for improvement,”

he stated on his campaign website. “You and I deserve more of a voice in city affairs.” As a commissioner Thomas plans to increase awareness of economic development initiatives and community-centered retail, and to be an advocate for better police and fire protection, better education opportunities, affordable housing, and a social safety net.

7C06 This began as a two-person race between incumbent Jennifer Cosby and India Hay. However, Hay announced in August that she was dropping out. Deanwood resident Cosby has served as a commissioner since June, replacing Sherrie Lawson. According to her bio, Commissioner Cosby “is passionate about protecting the assets of elderly and income-restricted property owners, providing exceptional and convenient educational and extracurricular opportunities for persons of all ages, offering safe, welcoming parks and public areas, maintaining or installing accessible streets, alleys, and sidewalks, and demonstrating pride for our charming section of the city with a small town-feel.”

7C07 Antawan Holmes – When incumbent Holmes first ran as ANC Commissioner in 2012 he did so under three principles: commitment, collaboration, and communication. Since then, as the commission’s trea-

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 33

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS surer, he has decreased monthly expenses, reintroduced community grants for the 2014 fiscal year budget, and addressed the previous administration’s tax issues. He also improved neighborhood communication by utilizing Twitter, creating an email distribution list (including local churches), and sharing ANC news during Deanwood Citizens Association (DCA) meetings. He also boasts collaborations with DCPS (on reopening Ron Brown Middle School and enhancing Houston Elementary School programming), DDOT (on addressing roadway and alleyway issues), and DCRA (on addressing the vacant homes issue), among others.

Darlene Williams – Known as “Mama D,” Williams has provided community service, cohosting block parties for drug and HIV awareness programs and donating to and participating in the annual DC Walk to End Lupus Now, among other activities. Williams won awards for her service including the Ward 7 Service Award and the Dedication and Commitment Award from the Grandparents Support Group of the Children’s Health Project. As ANC commissioner she hopes to continue helping her communities and its members.

ANC 7D 7D03 Dorothy Douglas – A Ward 7 resident of over 30 years, Douglas has always been active in her community. As an education and youth advocate, the former DCPS teacher was the first African-American woman to become the Ward 7 representative on the DC Board of Education, and she has worked on efforts including the Summer Youth Program and Deanwood Youth Services. Douglas is also a former commissioner, serving as chair in ANC 7C and 7D and treasurer for ANC 7D. 34 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

Matinah Muhammad – Muhammad, who earlier this year was elected member state committeewoman for Ward 7, was not available for comment.

7D04 Claude McKay – A teacher at Mary McLeod Bethune Day Academy Public Charter School, McKay has shown passion as the River Terrace Community Organization’s Education Committee chair; he worked to keep River Terrace Elementary School open after it was slated for closure in 2012. As commissioner McKay plans to hold single-member district (SMD) meetings to keep constituents informed, ensure that the city provides reliable services, hold the city accountable for new development, and strengthen relationships among the commission, community, and city government.

Jo-Anne Prue – The incumbent, who has served as commissioner since 2008, was not available for comment.

ANC 7E 7E04 Mary Jackson – Before she was elected as commissioner in 1988, current Commission Chairperson Jackson was an advocate for Ward 7. Beginning at age 10, when she joined the Junior Police and the Citizen’s Corp of Far Northeast/Southeast DC, Jackson has been active in her community, serving on the DC Drug and Alcohol Abuse Committee (under two mayors), as community representative for Ward 7, and as chairperson of the DC Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Communities.

Myron Smith – A DC resident since 2002, Smith is active in his SMD, regularly attending ANC meetings and serving as vice-president of the Capitol View Civic Association. When not working at the US Department of Commerce as a stat-

istician, he mentors teens in foster care, teaches at Bowie State, and works on projects around the house. According to his bio, as a commissioner Smith plans to “build a strong and safe community through leadership that is inclusive and respectful.”

7E05 Rochelle Bent – Bent was not available for comment.

Lesil Farrakhan – “I loved DC since I visited here during the 70s,” said St. Louis native Farrakhan. “I promised myself that one day, I’ll live here.” In 2007 she fulfilled that promise. Since then she began attending Howard University to study political science. Farrakhan also does community outreach with the Nation of Islam. “I teach children, teens, and adults to take care of themselves through nutrition,” she said. Nutrition education will be one of the issues Farrakhan hopes to address as a commissioner, as well as improving building standards, economic development, and more recreational facilities in the area.

Jean McVea – SMD 7E05’s incumbent was not available for comment.

7E06 David Alaga – Co-owner of the first Polynesian-style bed and breakfast east of the Anacostia River, David Alaga is a native of American Samoa who moved to the city in 2009. “As a homeowner and entrepreneur in the community, I have noticed that not too many people know of the role of an ANC,” he wrote in his bio. “I plan to assist my neighbors and help work out a variety of issues that come up in our community.” Some of those issues include increased safety and police protection, community awareness, and trash and sanitation issues.

Maxine Nightingale – Night-

ingale, former SMD 7E07 representative, was not available for comment.

ANC 7F 7F01 Stephanie Perry – Thanks to a career in DC government, Deanwood resident Perry boasts “a vast knowledge of programs and information that the city has for residents and constituents.”

She works as a budget analyst at the Department of Transportation, and before then she was in the DC Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Perry has volunteered in the Ward 7 Council offices as well as several nonprofits throughout the city. “I would like to bring a focus to Ward Seven,” she wrote in her bio.

“This seems to be the forgotten Ward.” If elected Perry will focus on bringing more youth- and elderly-focused programs, as well as demand accountability from vendors, companies, and property owners who conduct businesses Ward 7.

Edward Rhodes – Rhodes was not available for comment.

Evie Washington – Incumbent Washington, a commissioner since 2011, has been serving the Ward 7 community since 1970.

Previously a high-level manager in the federal government, Washington left to start a business. She owns All N’1 Medical Supplies & Treasures LLC, a company that sells medical supplies and equipment to people with physical disabilities, and previously ran an assisted-living home for six years.

7F04 Yolanda Armstrong – “I was trained to serve and have compassion for people,” Armstrong wrote in her bio. After graduating from Anacostia High School she worked in the nonprofit, customer service, and administrative sectors. She also worked in politics during Tom Brown’s Ward 7

councilmember campaign in 2012. As a result Armstrong was invited to work with several groups for the Obama presidential campaign and attended the DNC Results Party on election night. As commissioner she hopes to implement more programs, like job training for young adults, more activities and assistance for the elderly, and activities for children.

Charlene Exum – The incumbent, who was elected in 2012, was not available for comment.

7F05 Karen Settles – Incumbent Settles, who has served as commissioner since 2012, was not available for comment.

Steven Wilson – A longtime volunteer for nonprofits, including stints as a member on the Boys and Girls Club and YMCA Unit Boards, Wilson is running under the idea that a “united neighborhood is a strong community ... block by block.” His platform has four main priorities. First Wilson plans to collaborate with the Metropolitan Police Department to ensure clean and safe communities.

Second he will work to develop programs that encourage more affordable housing.

Third he plans to meet with zoning and planning officials to discuss ways to attract better commercial development projects. Finally he will advocate for more affordable transportation. u

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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

Ward 8 ANC Election Guide

by Charnice A. Milton

ANC 8A 8A01 P. Irene Jones – A 35-year Anacostia resident, Jones stands on a platform of three goals: empower seniors, inspire youth, and engage the community. As an entrepreneur, author, and advocate for issues such as foster-care improvement, an “age-friendly” city, and education, she is doing just that. A former teacher, Jones is the president, founder, and CEO of Inspired Vocabulary Literacy Revolution LLC and Foster Care Shines, Inc. She is also a parent and former community liaison for a local school. “The important thing is connecting with the community,” she said.

“They need to know who their commissioner is.”

Holly Muhammad – The incumbent for Single-member District (SMD) 8A01 was not available for comment.

8A04 While this began as a threeperson race, two candidates, Carole Matthews and incumbent Moses Smith, have since dropped out. The remaining candidate, Troy Prestwood, is founder and CEO of PrestwoodPR, a full-service communications company. He is also active in the community

36 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

as co-founder of the District Chronicles, a newspaper focusing on African-American issues in the city. Prestwood co-founded River East Emerging Leaders (r.e.e.l.) and was elected as the first president of an Anacostia-based condominium association. Running under the slogan “Neighborhood FIRST!” Prestwood will focus on “creating new connections and opportunities for residents in the community.”

8A05 Mike Jones – During his initial run as commissioner, Jones helped secure funds for Anacostia High School’s renovation and approved renovations for the W Street Apartments.

While his term ran out in 2011, he is running again because he believes that “the neighborhood needs more representation. They need someone to help them move forward.”

Among the issues he would like to address are affordable housing, education, job creation, and transportation safety issues.

Charles E. Wilson – Singlemember district (SMD) 8A05 representative Wilson is wellknown for his community service. For instance, he serves as president of r.e.e.l’s board of directors and on the Historic Anacostia Block Association

and is a citizen member of the Historic Preservation Review Board. “Volunteerism and community engagement are important to me because I am a true believer that neighborhood enhancement comes by neighbors sharing ideas and working together to improve the quality of life and services available within community,” he told the r.e.e.l. website.

“When people ask me where I live, I say I am a proud resident of Ward 8, residing in Historic Anacostia ... We have the best neighbors, the most beautiful homes and the most active organizations in all of Washington, DC.”

8A06 Tina Fletcher – When she moved to DC after completing teacher training, Fletcher aspired to work at Anacostia High School. During her time there she coached the cheerleading team, advised the Student Government Association, and was named the 2010 Teacher of the Year. Fletcher says that she has “contagious passion for educating and empowering youth through leadership development.” Currently a fund-raising consultant, Fletcher plans to focus on creating more effective job training programs by collaborating

with developers, business owners, and school leaders.

Greta J. Fuller – Incumbent Fuller has over seven years’ experience as commissioner for SMD 8A06. “As a Commissioner I am involved in a wide range of policies and programs affecting the Single Member District (SMD) I represent,” she explained. “On a daily basis I work and interact with several government agencies such as ABRA, DDOT, MPD, DHCD and DCRA addressing community concerns.” One example of this is when Fletcher worked with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) to address issues with blighted property, which resulted in a blighted property tax for absentee property owners and the sale of property that the owners did not address. Fuller plans to focus on maintaining Anacostia’s historic character and attracting merchants offering basic services.

ANC 8B 8B02 Darrell Danny Gaston – Incumbent Gaston is seeking his third term. His accomplishments include bringing over $80 million in economic and community development, over-

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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

seeing renovations at Staton, Moten, and other schools, and collaborating with the nonprofit, government, and private sectors to bring over 200 affordable housing units. A third-generation Ward 8 resident, Gaston will continue to focus on issues like education, infrastructure, and health care.

Paul Trantham – “I’m running my campaign on visibility, dependability, and accountability,” said Trantham, a former United Planning Organization (UPO) board member. “I’ve knocked on so many doors and I asked the potential constituents in my Ward, ‘Do you know who your current ANC Commissioner is?’ and the answer is ‘No.’” He is a visible presence as a founder of the Skyland Apartments Tenants’ Association and a member of Allen AME Church. If elected Trantham plans to be more visible in order to better address issues such as police presence, transportation, affordable housing, and homelessness.

ANC 8C 8C04 Markus Batchelor – Once hailed as “the future mayor” of DC by NBC 4, Batchelor has been involved in politics since he was 15 years old. He served as Youth Mayor of DC from 2009 to 2010. Today he is the Youth City Council Chairman, an online radio show host, and a political science major at George Washington University.

As commissioner he will focus on issues including supporting development on Martin Luther King Jr. and Alabama avenues, providing safe spaces (like a new Congress Heights Recreation Center) for youth, advocating for affordable housing in a mixed-income community, 38 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

and improving communication with the community.

Derrick Colbert – Before he was elected as commissioner for SMD 8C04, incumbent Colbert spent 15 years working in community-based organizations around Ward 8, including Covenant House and the Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative. A year later he is now serving as vice-chair and secretary for the commission, as well as a member of the Ballou High School Improvement Team, and helped select a new principal for the school.

Colbert’s accomplishments include collaborating with the Congress Heights Civic Association and MedStar Family Choice to provide health coverage, uniforms, and supplies for 275 families, and working with residents and SWEEP to clean rodent-infested areas.

Working from a community development platform, he plans to establish a Safe Passage Program, assist the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) to enforce housing code violations, and work to incorporate the Community Benefits Package Model for future development projects.

8C05 Brenda Shields – Founder of BES Business Services, a consultant firm, Shields has made a career of teaching and supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs. According to her bio, she helped open and operate over 20 businesses and developed training programs and curricula for entrepreneurship, business development, and administration. Shields is also executive director of the Temple of Praise Food Pantry and leader of the church’s health and business ministries.

Her platform focuses on small businesses, education, employment, and the lack of amenities in Ward 8.

W. Cardell Shelton – Former Commissioner Shelton could not be reached for comment,

8C06 Rhonda Edwards-Hines – “My neighbors asked me to run,” said Edwards-Hines, a 26-year Barry Farm resident.

“I don’t need a title to do what I do, but they were adamant.”

As treasurer of the Barry Farm Resident Council, EdwardsHines is known for speaking up for her community. For instance, she worked as chairperson of the Human Capital Committee for the Barry Farm New Communities Initiative; as a result she has helped fellow residents become more selfsufficient through case management services. She has also voiced her neighbors’ concerns about the project, including the fear that they may not be able to return when the development is finished. As a commissioner Edwards-Hines plans to continue speaking up for her neighbors.

Nella Peterson – Peterson, who serves president of the Barry Farm Resident Council, could not be reached for comment.

ANC 8E 8E01 Joseph Johnson – In 2012 Johnson launched a write-in campaign to become the representative for SMD 8E01.

Although he lost to Holly Muhammad, he learned from the experience. “I know the process.

I know my constituents and I have the experience to provide

leadership with a broader perspective of the community,” he said. With the slogan “Let’s put the ‘unity’ back into our community” Johnson wants to focus on economic empowerment, education, and the environment.

Marvin Lee – Director of the children’s nonprofit the Lead the Way Foundation, Lee bases his platform on the idea of “planting seeds and building bridges.” If elected he will focus on creating pathways for returning citizens, empowering communities through jobs and health, affordable housing, a community-friendly police force, and increasing education engagement.

8E02 Maurice Dickens – A lifelong Ward 8 resident, Dickens feels that the biggest issue the ward is facing is a lack of leadership, unity, and integrity. As a child growing up in the Congress Heights and Douglass areas, he was the first in his family to graduate high school and attend college. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in political science from Texas Southern University, he kept in contact with his fellow residents. As a commissioner he would like to address issues such as the lack of homeownership, cleaner parks and recreation centers, more resources for at-risk teens, and senior-citizen issues.

Anthony Muhammad – In a 2012 interview for the Civic Voices International Democracy Memory Bank Project, Commission Chair Muhammad said that he became politically aware when he began seeing a liquor store and churches on every corner. “I began to wonder could we do something about the negative things I see

in the community.” He began his career in activism at the age of 26 after joining the Congress Heights Civic Association and Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign.

Since then he has served in organizations like the DC Taxicab Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Prison Reform Ministry.

Muhammad said that the most rewarding thing about the position was “encouraging others to get involved, and I encourage others and they get involved.”

8E03 Anthony Dailey – Originally from Norfolk, Va., Dailey is a graduate of Dunbar High School. He was introduced to politics as an intern for Congressman Walter Fauntroy.

Jeffrey Toney – A fourth-generation Washingtonian, Buena Vista resident Toney is the adjustment unit manager at the DC Office of Tax and Revenue. As a former youth basketball coach he supports access to safe recreational spaces and activities for Ward 8 youth. If elected Toney will also focus on creating safe and wellmaintained streets, cleaning up dilapidated and vacant housing, and connecting the community with essential government services. In his bio Toney stated, “I’m running to ensure that the residents of Ward 8E03 are better informed about changes that are coming to our community and to be an effective liaison between my neighbors and District government.”

8E07 Stephen Slaughter – The former commission treasurer is running for his third term.

Sandra V. Williams – Incumbent Williams served SMD 8E07 from 2004 to 2007 and was reelected in 2012. As a licensed professional counselor who worked with children in Ward 8, she sees education as important. When she ran for Ward 8 representative for the DC State Board of Education, Williams stated, “My direct work experience gives me insight to the type of support programs that are advantageous in addressing the needs of students.” u

Do We Need a Reeves Center in Ward 8?

T

by Charles Wilson

he Reeves Center is a symbol of neighborhood revitalization.

Then Mayor Marion S. Barry’s decision to relocate government offices to the corner of a blighted neighborhood suffering the aftereffects of the riots of the Sixties is credited with sparking the revival of the booming U Street corridor. Now there is talk of the Reeves Center coming to downtown Anacostia.

The conversation assumes that a similar strategy will have a similar impact.

Anacostia and other neighborhoods in Ward 8 need more than just another government office building. Rather than pursue this ‘copycat’ approach to economic revitalization, the city should focus instead on how it can make neighborhoods special in their own right.

What is needed is a shared vision and a well-thought-out plan.

A plan, a shared vision? Is that possible? In emerging communities, stakeholders often have different ideas.

Through conversations led by the people who live in the neighborhood, all can get on the same page. After all, the people who live there should know what is best for their own community, right? Yet where is the dialogue?

In Wards 1 and 6, the city held public hearings to discuss the soccer stadium and the replacement of the current Reeves Center. Why were there no such meetings in Ward 8? Residents should be asked to weigh in on whether location of a major government facility in their midst is a good idea. They should be consulted on its location. After all, they live here! With all attention on the mechanics of the soccer deal, maximizing the potential of redeveloping governmental infrastructure to Anacostia

remains an afterthought.

Actually, I think a Reeves Center type facility will have a positive impact on Ward 8. Daytime foot traffic generated by its office dwellers should attract needed retail. However, the proposed location on Good Hope Rd. SE is not in the best interest of the community. Moving the project closer to the Anacostia Metro Station is preferable. Downtown Anacostia has very few thoroughfares. A location next to Metro ensures government workers can use public transportation for their commutes.

Moreover, there has been no discussion about how the design of a new Reeves Center will relate to historic fabric of Downtown Anacostia. Will it look like the ugly DC Lottery buildings fronted by massive parking lots? Will it resemble the sterile architecture of the DC Dept. of Housing and Economic Development? Large buildings of this caliber that have no reference to the architectural fabric of the surrounding historic neighborhood threaten to undermine its integrity and beauty.

I and many of my neighbors choose to live in Anacostia precisely because of the beauty and charm of its built environment as well as its history. Any new development should be respectful of our choice.

Charles E. Wilson is a former candidate for the Ward 8 City Council seat.

He is currently the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for 8A05 as well as president and co-founder of the Historic Anacostia Block Association and River East Emerging Leaders. You can read his blog: The Art of WARd8 at www. artofward8.blogspot.com u

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 39

BULLETIN BOARD

Winterizing Volunteer Event at Kenilworth Park

Now that fall has arrived however, it is time to begin putting the Kenilworth Parks gardens to bed for the winter. On Saturday, Oct. 25, 9 a.m.-noon, volunteers will help the gardens’ staff winterize the plants and grounds or take a last swipe at litter and invasives. An RSVP is recommended but not necessary.

Please contact Tina O’Connell at tina@friendsofkenilworthgardens. org. Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens is at 1550 Anacostia Ave. NE. The park has ample free, off-street parking and is metro accessible (Deanwood). friendsofkenilworthgardens.org

East of the River Artist Exhibition Panel

On Thursday, Oct. 16, 6:30-8:30 40 H eAStOFtHerIVerDcNeWS.cOM

p.m., artists who were part of the annual exhibition at the Honfleur Gallery talk about their work and inspirations. Panel moderator is photographer Susana Raab, who had a solo exhibition at The Gallery at Vivid Solutions in July. Honfleur Gallery in Anacostia, 1241 Good Hope Rd. SE.

Anacostia Big Chair Flea Market Closes

Because new parking managemernt has taken over their space, the Big Chair Flea Market, 2215 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, has closed. bigchairmarket.com

REEL Honors Unsung Leaders with Service Awards

River East Emerging Leaders (r.e.e.l.) has announced the recipients of the 2014 REEL Distin-

guished Service Awards for outstanding service and dedication to the East of the River community.

The annual awards are given to individuals or organizations that have impacted East of the River communities through service and outreach endeavors.

The Ward 7 Individual Award recipient is Phillip Hammond for his dedication and commitment to civic and grassroots leadership in Ward 7. The Ward 7 Organization Award recipient is Beautiful You--Yes U for their dedication to raising the hopes and dreams of young people in Ward 7 and throughout the city. The Ward 8 Individual Award recipient is Salim Adofo for his dedicated service and outreach efforts to residents and youth in Ward 8.

The Ward 8 Organization Award recipient is Ward 8 Workforce Development Council for their

efforts in training and preparing qualified Ward 8 residents for family-sustaining jobs and careers. reeldc.org

Shepherd Parkway Petition Needs Signatures

The Shepherd Parkway Call to Action needs at least two hundred signatures by mid-October.

If you’ve ever been to Shepherd Parkway, if you’re a lover of Civil War history, a lover of bald eagles, a lover of big trees, or just a believer in environmental justice, go to petitions.moveon.org/ sign/shepherd-parkway-call?r_ by=11134925. After you have signed, be sure to tweet it and post it to your Facebook wall.

Shepherd Parkway is a 205-acre unit of the National Park Service which covers the hillside between I-295 and the neighborhoods of

Connect.DC Community Scavenger Hunt

O

n Saturday, Aug. 16, the Connect.DC program at the DC Office of the Chief Technology Officer hosted a Technology Scavenger Hunt, an “Amazing Race”-style dash through the Benning/Marshall Heights and Anacostia/Hillsdale/ Barry Farm areas. The Scavenger Hunt was designed to familiarize District individuals and families with technology resources, including public Internet access locations, digital learning activities, social media platforms and Connect.DC digital citizenship tools. The event featured a Community Day in The Yards Park neighborhood with remarks from CTO Rob Mancini, a local vendor area, entertainment, music, food, face painting and great resources for the whole family.

Congress Heights and Bellevue. The park is home to two bald eagle nests, two Civil War forts, dramatic views of the city, rare plant species, and some of the oldest and largest trees in DC. Unfortunately, the park has been polluted and neglected for decades. It is time to make it right.

Karsonya Wise Whitehead Anacostia Community Museum

On Saturday, Nov. 8, 2-4 p.m., Dr. Karsonya Whitehead talks about her book “Notes From a Colored Girl: The Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis” which examines the life and experiences of a free-born twenty-one-year-old mulatto woman between 1863 and

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BULLETIN BOARD 1865. Davis’ three pocket diaries are fascinating insights into her world views and politics, perceptions of both public and private events, her personal relationships, and her place in Philadelphia’s free black community. Dr. Whitehead is assistant professor of Communication and African and African American Studies at Loyola University Maryland, and the founding Executive Director, Emilie Frances Davis Center for Education, Research, and Culture. The book will be available for purchase. Anacostia Community Museum is at 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4820. anacostia.si.edu

Guided Pontoon Boat Tour of the Anacostia

Wednesdays in October, 9:45 a.m.-noon, take a guided pontoon

boat tour of the Anacostia River.

Water Quality Specialist Masaya Maeda takes water samples every Wednesday from June through October. During the tour he will demonstrate their sampling methodology, discuss water quality issues, and explain the river.

The tour leaves from the Bladensburg Waterfront Park, 4601 Annapolis Rd., Bladensburg, MD. Meet near the gazebo near the fishing pier. There is a suggested donation of $20 per person, $30 per couple or parent and child.

Registration is required at anacostiaws.org.

Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program Opens

DC’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) opened on Oct. 1, with the fol-

lowing schedules: Oct. 1-13, for electricity disconnection only; Oct. 14-28, for gas disconnection only; Oct. 29, for electric, gas, and heating oil disconnection.

All residents whose utilities have been disconnected must apply for assistance at either one of the city’s two energy centers, 1207 Taylor St. NW, Suite 101 or 2100 Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE, Suite 404. Residents in Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 should go to the Taylor St. location and residents in Wards 6, 7, and 8 should go to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. location. Appointments are not required to apply for emergency assistance. Residents who are not currently disconnected but are in need of help, must make an appointment. These appointments will begin on Nov. 13.

All residents must bring the

following documents with them: disconnection notice, recent utility bills, government issued ID, proof of income for all household members, Social Security card or official document containing Social Security number for all household members. For more information on LIHEAP, visit ddoe.dc.gov.

Cherry Blossom Festival Seeks Local Talent

The National Cherry Blossom Festival is accepting submissions for the second annual National Cherry Blossom Festival Sing Into Spring competition, a call for local talent that will highlight the region’s outstanding vocalists in the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade on Saturday, Apr. 11, 2015. Up to four winning soloists and/or vocal groups will perform

Nonhlakanipho Mndiyatha “Fantasy”, 2007, Glass beads sewn onto fabric, The Ubuhle Private Collection. Photo: Susana Raab, Anacostia Community Museum

Exhibitions Featuring South African and U.S. Women Artists Extended

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he exhibitions, “Ubuhle Women: Beadwork and the Art of Independence” and “Home Sewn: Quilts from the Lower Mississippi Valley” have been extended to Jan. 4, 2015 at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. The two shows, exploring the intersection of artistic ingenuity and women’s empowerment, have been met with popular acclaim since opening. Anacostia Community Museum is at 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202-633-4820. anacostia.si.edu

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Artists should submit a 30 second YouTube video for consideration through Friday, Nov. 14, 2014. The competition is open to all residents of DC, Maryland, and Virginia, age 8 and up (those under 18 require parental consent). Submissions will be accepted online only at nationalcherryblossomfestival.org/sing-intospring-vocal-competition. Only vocalists are eligible.

here to treatment.

More than 1.1 million people are living with HIV in the United States while in DC’s Wards 7 and 8, approximately 3.4 percent of the residents have HIV. There are approximately 50,000 new HIV infections each year across the nation. Ensuring that all those living with HIV are successfully treated is critical to improve their overall health and reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to their partners. unitedmedicalcenter.com

New Ridge Road Recreation Center Breaks Ground

Tackling the Polluted Anacostia River

On Monday, Sept. 29, Mayor Gray joined community leaders and members in breaking ground on the New Ridge Road Recreation Center at 800 Ridge Rd. SE. Currently, the Ridge Road Recreation Center is a small field house. However, once the modernization is completed there will be a state-of-the-art, 18,000-square-foot facility. The Ridge Road community has played a key role in shaping the new recreation center. It will include an indoor gymnasium, dedicated lounges for seniors and teens, an arts and crafts room, a computer room, a full-size commercial teaching kitchen, a fitness center, a new playground, and new basketball courts.

Newly Renovated DHS Fort Davis Service Center Opens

The Fort Davis Service Center at 3851 Alabama Ave. SE has been renovated and now features integration of services, including determination of eligibility for benefits as well as employment assistance. DHS redesigned the District’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program to provide families with the support needed to find work or increase work-readiness skills. Fort Davis is the first DHS service center to provide these services.

“HIV Treatment Works” Campaign at United Medical Center

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Members of the newly-formed Leadership Council for a Cleaner Anacostia River met for the first time in September to discuss efforts to restore the Anacostia River. The meeting, chaired by former Mayor Anthony Williams, was held at the John A. Wilson Building. The District Department of the Environment gave an overview of the city’s ongoing Remedial Investigation of toxics in the Anacostia River. Representatives from the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, and the State of Maryland also discussed their past efforts and future plans to help clean up the river.

The investigation will help identify where toxics are located in the river, who is responsible, the potential clean-up strategies, and projected costs. The Leadership Council is made up of 22 high-level local, state, and federal government officials and environmental leaders. The group plans to meet quarterly to help ensure that the For a Cleaner Anacostia River initiative receives the necessary guidance and community support to succeed.

Disposing of HHW, and Documents for Shredding

The DC Department of Public Works schedule for disposing of household hazard waste, e-cycling and personal documents at the Ft. Totten Transfer Station is Saturday HHW and e-cycling drop-off schedule: Oct. 11, 18 and 25, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

District residents may bring HHW items such as pesticides, batteries and cleaning fluids to Ft. Totten, along with e-cycling items such as computers, televisions and other unwanted electronic equipment. For a list of all household hazardous waste and e-cyclables accepted by DPW, click on the HHW link at dpw.dc.gov. u

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 45

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

The Benning Road Pepco Plant Gone But Not Forgotten Plant’s Toxic Effects Will Take Years to Ameliorate

H

ere in the city, we are used to seeing additions to our skyline, but seldom do we watch a piece of it being removed.

Yet that is what is underway along our Anacostia River at Benning Road, where the old (1906) Benning Power Plant is being demolished. The best views of this major undertaking are from the River or the Metro Orange Line between Stadium/Armory and Minnesota Avenue Stations.

PEPCO Energy Services closed the plant’s two remaining oil-fired generators in 2012 and recently decided that demolishing the plant,

by Bill Matuszeski which covers a quarter of the 77 acres that make up the Benning Service Center, would be in everyone’s best interest. PEPCO plans to use the land to expand its Service Center activities, which include electric distribution and transmission reliability.

For most us who like to use the River, ridding the landscape of the grim facades and stacks of the old plant will mark an improvement. It will also reward hikers and bikers with more views of nature along the new section of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail now under construction between Benning Road and the

Mist gun used to control dust from the plant demolition Courtesy of Pepco Holdings, Inc.

Demolition Underway at the Benning Road PEPCO Plant.

Photos: Rick Giammaria. Courtesy of Pepco Holdings, Inc.

Bladensburg Marina in Maryland.

This long-awaited trail will link the trails along the tidal river with the system of streamside trails in Montgomery and Prince Georges County, giving us one of the longest systems of interconnected urban trails in America. And it will pass right in front of the site of the old power plant.

GONE (almost)

The demolition is well underway.

Before anything else, all asbestos and other potentially hazardous building materials were carefully removed and disposed of. Then the two cooling towers were dismantled and removed; they included lots of plastic, fiberglass and wood. Conventional demolition of the main structures is now underway. The next phase, scheduled for December, 46 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

Area in blue underway; area in red to be imploded in December. Courtesy of Pepco Holdings, Inc.

will be implosion of the stacks and remaining heavy steel structures.

This will be, according to PEPCO, “a one-time event lasting up to five minutes with public notifications and considerable planning, monitoring, safety measures and dust containment.” There will be plenty of public notice and engagement of DC police and fire officials.

The final phase of the demolition will be to grade, level and restore the site for use by the expanded Service Center.

Further details about the demolition, including public meetings, fact sheets and frequently asked questions can be found online at www.benningservicecenter. com and at the following libraries: Anacostia, Deanwood, Dorothy Height/Benning, Francis A. Gregory and Rosedale.

But Not Forgotten

While the plant may disappear, its legacy of toxic contamination to the land, the stream banks and the river will be with us for many more years. This is a much more complex set of issues and, while the solution is coming, it will take more time to clean it all up for the benefit of the Anacostia and all of us.

First of all, the power plant is just one of several potential sites

for toxics in the immediate area; for years the District dumped and burned trash along the river just upstream of the power plant. So the toxics analysis of the PEPCO plant will include the current DC solid waste transfer station and the National Park Service Kenilworth Maintenance Yard.

Second the power plant is one of six major facilities along the river where toxic pollution is said to have occurred in the past; these include the Navy Yard, a Washington Gas facility near Capitol Hill and the CSX rail yard in Anacostia. All of these are in various stages of investigations that will lead to clean-ups under Superfund. The PEPCO plant is not formally a Superfund site, but is the subject of a judicial consent decree that treats it virtually the same.

Third, there is a large reservoir of toxic sediments in the bottom of the river as a result of all this and other contamination over the years. The DC government has undertaken a major effort with EPA to carry out the studies to develop a plan to clean these up. The City Council recently set a date of 2018 to complete the planning and begin the cleanup.

So the PEPCO plant is part of a larger history of contamination along the river, and there is under

way a program and a plan to deal with all the sources. According to the DC Government, the Benning Road power plant was the source of six documented releases of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s), a known cancer-causing toxic, into the environment between 1985 and 2003. A 2008 EPA study linked PCB’s and other toxics in Anacostia sediments to discharges from the site.

All this led to the consent decree under which DC and PEPCO Energy Services are carrying out a multi-year study and clean-up for toxics that may be on the site, in the soils along the river, and in the river sediments and surface water. The effort has four parts.

The names given the first two parts are Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study, sometimes referred to as an “RI/FS.” The Remedial Investigation is to determine historic toxic releases from the site to the River water or sediments and any ongoing pollution. The Feasibility Study determines what clean-up actions are needed and how they should be done. PEPCO is then responsible to pay the cost of any clean-up related to the power plant site.

Field work related to the RI/ FS is to be completed this year. The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) expects to ap-

prove the final RI/FS by late 2015 or early 2016. A Proposed Plan of actions is scheduled for early 2017 and the final Record of Decision setting out what must be done should be ready by 2018. Then the actual clean-up of what the plant left behind will begin. While this seems to be a very lengthy schedule, the issues are complex and the remedies are not self-evident. More information about all this is available on the Benning Service Center website.

So the good news is that the power plant will be out of our sight very soon! And the new trail will be opened in a year or so. But despite the best efforts of EPA, the DCDOE and Pepco Energy Services, the legacy of the Benning Road Power Plant’s toxics will be with us for a while. 2018 seems a long way off and 2025, the goal for a swimmable Anacostia, even further. But when we consider they are only as far ahead as 2010 and 2003 are behind us, it gives us some hope we may see the day!

Bill Matuszeski writes about the environment, with a focus on the Anacostia. He was Director of the Chesapeake Bay Program from 1991 to 2001, and currently serves as Chair of the Anacostia Watershed Citizens Advisory Committee. u

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 47

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

Shepherd Parkway Cleanup Enters Next Phase

“D

C is blessed to have a huge amount of green space,” said Nathan Harrington, Congress Heights resident and former president of the Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway (formerly the Shepherd Parkway Committee), “and Shepherd Parkway is one of the largest.” Located in Ward 8, Shepherd Parkway has 205 acres of federal parkland. However, it is also one of the most neglected areas. Polluted and overrun with invasive species, it has no trails, few picnic tables and trash receptacles, and limited signage. While the Shepherd Parkway Cleanup allows residents and outside groups to help once a month, Harrington and others believe that more can be done. As a result the committee created and distributed a petition as a call to action for DC government and National Capital Parks-East, the branch of the National Park Services (NPS) that oversees Shepherd Parkway.

Shepherd Parkway

According to the official page of National Capital Parks-East, Shepherd Parkway was a Civil War defense site that included two forts, Greble and Carroll. In 1927 the National Capital Park and Planning Commission acquired the area in an attempt to create Fort Drive, which would have highlighted all the city’s Civil War forts.

When the idea was abandoned, the site became part of NPS in 1933. Today the area holds two bald eagle nests and some of the city’s oldest trees. According to a report from the Maryland Native Plant Society, species include black walnut, white ash, and red oak. It has also become home to invasive species like kudzu and English ivy.

Shepherd Parkway has been a popular dumping ground for trash.

48 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

by Charnice A. Milton

For instance, the Restore Shepherd Parkway blog reported that 150 volunteers picked up 4,250 pounds of trash during the committee’s June 14 clean-up, making it one of the largest efforts of the year. Trash included 41 tires, 8 hypodermic needles, a DPW vehicle boot, 13 paint buckets, 15 plywood sheets, and 1 sofa. “I was amazed at how much junk was dumped in the park,” said Monica Ray, the committee’s president. “It’s definitely a learning experience.”

Recent NPS budget cuts are part of the reason for Shepherd Parkway’s current condition. The underfunded National Capital Parks-East has limited resources for upkeep, programming, or signage.

The Petition

Seeing Shepherd Parkway as an integral part of the Ward 8 community, Ray and the committee are trying to raise awareness about the park, but while they have met some success much remains to be done. “Just because it happens to be in Southeast doesn’t mean that it doesn’t deserve respect,” Ray said.

Harrington noted that “the first step has been mobilizing volunteers and raising the profile of Shepherd Parkway over the past three years.”

He went on to say that “the steps we are taking now involve lobbying the government to do its part better.” Launched on July 18 through MoveOn.org, the “Shepherd Parkway Call to Action” petition is addressed to Mayor Vincent Gray, National Capital Parks-East Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail, Acting Regional Director for NPS, National Capital Region, Lisa Mendelson-Ielmini, DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, and

Two volunteer participants during the March Shepherd Parkway Cleanup. Photo: Charnice A. Milton

DC Department of the Environment Director Keith Anderson.

The petition has gained 84 signatures from Ward 8 residents and out-of-state supporters. “We the undersigned residents and friends of Ward 8 in the District of Columbia join together to assert our pride and ownership in Shepherd Parkway,” states the petition. Signers pledge to continue cleaning the park, removing and controlling invasive species, and prevent littering and dumping. The petition asks for “equity in the form of a park that is as clean, accessible, and well-cared for as other parks in the Nation’s Capital.” It asks NPS to increase maintenance staff and the US Park Police and Metropolitan Police Department to increase patrols in the picnic area located at the corner of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. avenues. Also, the petition supports new signage and trash cans, more programming, and creating “a scenic

overlook to showcase the park’s premier attractions.”

The Next Steps

Although the petition is only available online, the committee plans to canvass throughout the Bellevue and Congress Heights areas. Harrington and two committee members met with Superintendent Noojibail and other upper-level managers at National Capital Parks-East on Sept. 16. “We hope that this is a new, fruitful chapter in our collaboration for the Park Service,” he said in an email. They will also meet with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton’s staff and plan to meet with other city agencies to address the issues. Norton will host a town hall meeting on Oct. 16 to discuss Shepherd Parkway’s future. The committee will hold cleanup events through the winter and continue to raise awareness. u

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For more distribution locations, contact 202.543.8300 x.19 EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 49

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

US Coast Guard Increases Neighborhood Presence

by John Muller

S

ince completing its relocation to the West Campus of St. Elizabeths in December 2013, the US Coast Guard Headquarters’ workforce has been much talked about throughout community circles, and its economic and service potential for the surrounding area has been eagerly anticipated. With the fate of the Department of Homeland Security’s transition to the West Campus uncertain, and development of the city-owned East Campus years away, the Coast Guard has not waited to engage with its urban environment.

Before the first wave of nearly 4,000 civilians, contractors, and Department of Homeland Security personnel began filling their offices at the Coast Guard Headquarters, Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown, a DC native, was an omnipresent, albeit symbolic, presence at a series of neighborhood meetings and ribbon-cuttings throughout Ward 8.

This past May, after 36 years of service, Brown retired. Rather than let the goodwill Brown had built with local civic groups and city officials fade away, the Coast Guard created a new position to further its engagement with neighborhood stakeholders from school principals to poverty workers to Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners.

On a recent visit to the Coast Guard I spoke with Lt. Commander Jonathan Schafler, who in just four months has established networks with the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys on the outskirts of Congress Heights, Children of Mine Youth Center, run by the incomparable Hannah Hawkins in Anacostia, and an array of advocates who care for the half-dozen cemeteries within or adjacent to the St. Elizabeths campuses.

“I want to make sure they keep coming back,” said Hawkins, who through force 50 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

of personality, conviction, and dedication has run Children of Mine at 2263 Mount View Place for more than two decades without public funding. Members of the Coast Guard, in partnership with Helmets to Hardhats, a national nonprofit program, have power-washed the bustling community center and plan to work with other partners to secure a

Members of the Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway clear debris and garbage on a recent clean-up effort.

U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Commander Jonathan Schafler on a recent meeting with students at the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys.

new entryway sign which will read, “The cost of real love is no charge.”

Darrell Roberts, executive director of Helmets to Hardhats, which connects National Guard, Reserve, retired, and transitioning active-duty military service members with skilled training and quality career opportunities in the construction industry, visited Children of Mine and immediately recognized that the lasting difference Hawkins makes in the neighborhood parallels the service that veterans make to their country. “Being able to contribute both

with organizing skilled labor and physically working on a structure that houses such a noble effort is very rewarding,” Roberts wrote in an email. “The relationship we build with the Coast Guard and with Ward 8 will help to spread the word of Helmets to Hardhats. This will, in turn, hopefully help the residents and veterans at the local level.”

Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway

“Our role is to share in the area’s heri-

tage and legacy and be a good neighbor,” Schafler said during our interview. In less than six months more than 80 USCG personnel have volunteered more than 1,000 combined service hours. Schafler is currently recruiting Community Ambassadors to attend civic functions, monthly meetings, give tours, and participate in environmental clean-ups. Training is provided upon a minimum commitment of two hours a month.

Nathan Harrington, a resident of Congress Heights who has organized clean-ups of the 205-acre Shepherd Parkway, met Schafler in June. “In the short time since becoming head of community outreach for the new Coast Guard headquarters at St. Elizabeths, Schafler has become a major champion for Ward 8,” remarked Harrington.

“He’s attended more community meetings than practically anyone and is involved in a host of projects including Shepherd Parkway and the Ward 8 Cemeteries Working Group.”

Harrington praised Schafler as a key member of the Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway, not only “because of his affiliation with the Coast Guard, but also his decades of experience with the National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service. He knows how a national park ought to be run and maintained and what it takes to

get this done in the bureaucracy.”

Harrington added, “Longtime residents will tell you that, in the past, Bolling Air Force Base was an integral part of the Congress Heights and Ward 8 communities. This is much less so now, and many residents are wondering whether the Homeland Security headquarters and those who work there are going to engage with their surroundings or not. Mr. Schafler is working to get the Coast Guard off to a good start.”

Restore Shepherd Parkway is organizing community clean-ups from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, and Saturday, Nov. 8. Meet at the picnic tables near the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X avenues. For more information visit www.shepherdparkway.blogspot.com.

Congress Heights Cemetery Committee

“I’ve been dealing with cemeteries for 50 years,” commented Harley Felstein.

“Upon my observation of the cemetery I felt there was an urgency and need to properly respect our veterans. Especially since we are in the nation’s capital and very few citizens even know this cemetery exists.” The hallowed ground Felstein spoke of is the John Howard Cemetery, nestled behind the grounds of the St. Elizabeths East Campus, buttressed by Robinson Place SE. Interred at John Howard are nearly 3,000 known persons, mostly former patients of St. Elizabeths but including two Medal of Honor recipients and a “Seminole-Negro Indian Scout.”

This past May Felstein met with Schafler and expressed frustration with the condition of the cemetery. “I asked, how can we clean up the fallen trees, make the monuments legible, consistently maintain the cemetery, and eventually make it publicly accessible?” A coalition was formed with representatives from the DC Preservation League, Anacostia Coordinating Council, Congress Heights Community Association, St. Elizabeths Hospital, and others including the Coast Guard. The relationships of the various organizations coalesced after a series of clean-ups this fall, to culminate in a Veterans Remembrance on Wednesday, Nov. 12, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. An honor guard will be present along with keynote speakers and Civil War reenactors. The event is open to the public.

For more information on how to partner with the USCG contact Community Affairs Officer Lt. Commander Jonathan Schafler at jonathan.i.schafler@uscg.mil. u

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NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

I Was an Abuser

A Look at Domestic Violence from the Perspective of a Former Aggressor

R

ecent news feeds have been flooded with videos and social media discussions about Baltimore Ravens football player Ray Rice and the incident involving him punching his fiancée, Janay, twice in an elevator. But as many people know, domestic violence is not solely a problem of the rich and famous.

It is a disturbing reality for many couples and families across races and socioeconomic classes.

When assault incidents occur between couples, first responders appropriately rush to the aid of the victim. Hopefully he or she will receive help to escape the relationship permanently. But what about the abuser?

What happens when he or she abuses another partner? Can anger management classes really stop the cycle of violence? One former abuser tells his story and explains how he overcame his struggles with being an abuser.

Chris’ Story

Christopher Barnes, 39, grew up in Ward 7 in a single-parent home that never witnessed partner abuse.

H e

by Candace Y.A. Montague admits to having been spanked from time to time but that was the most violence he’d ever witnessed as a child. He learned about hitting women as a teen and young adult who hung around older men. “As a teenager I hung out with older guys.

Abuse was the way they handled their business. So I saw that as a way to handle my business. In high school I would push a girl when we argued. It escalated to beating girls up.” Barnes admits that he has been abusive to nearly every woman he dated. Degrading girlfriends, keeping them isolated, controlling the money in the relationship, destroying her property – he has done it all.

He married his first wife in 1998, without fully understanding what it meant to be a husband.

“When I got married to my first wife I had older friends and they would always talk about the things they did with their wives. It sounded cool. But I didn’t grow up seeing how a functional marriage worked so me and my wife fought.”

His first marriage ended in divorce and Barnes quickly married again. However, since he never addressed his offending behaviors with counseling, the abusive cycle continued. His worst fight came during this relationship. “She was trying to break up with me and I wasn’t about to be left. So one night I locked her in the bathroom with me and called my friends on the phone so they could hear me yelling at her and degrading her. Whenever she would try to escape I would push her back into the bathroom with me. This lasted about 30 minutes. When I woke up the next day, Chris Barnes, former abuser, now counsels other aggressors about how they can stop the cycle of abuse. Photo: Terrance Ragland

52 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

she had separated her stuff from mine. That night she didn’t come home. The next day she came back with the police and they told me that I had to leave.” Barnes was arrested five times in a 1999 for domestic violence.

Facts about Abuse

Domestic abuse, also known as intimate partner abuse, takes many forms. Five broad forms can be displayed at any given time in a relationship: psychological, emotional (sometimes done with abusive language), sexual, physical, and economic. When addressing abuse from the aggressor’s point of view. counseling, support groups and/or anger management classes are traditional routes.

The first step is getting him or her to admit that this is an issue.

Many programs are available to help victims of domestic abuse, but fewer when it comes to the abuser.

According to the DC Metropolitan Police, in 2013 it received 32,794 domestic violence related calls, approximately one every 16 minutes.

Two domestic violence intake centers are in the District, where victims can be evaluated, assisted with making escape plans, and provided with emotional and legal counseling. Both locations, Superior Court in Northwest and the satellite office at United Medical Center (UMC) in Ward 8, saw a 7 percent increase in people being served in 2013. The UMC location served 2,422 people, an increase of 20 percent from 2012. Shelter space is limited in the District, and women and children often find themselves back with their abuser because they lack the resources to develop and execute an effective escape plan.

Queen Afi Gaston, founder of Domestic Violence Wears Many Tags, provides programs to help victims of abuse and the abusers. Photo: Queen Afi Gaston

Breaking Point

After his fifth arrest Barnes was mandated to attend anger management classes. That was his breaking point. “I had to sit through that and I hated it. I hated the class because the people running it weren’t former abusers or former victims. They were PhDs who knew the textbook side of abuse but they don’t know abuse from experience. I thought the person should be someone with real life experience. Not somebody who went to school and got some random facts or random knowledge.”

Barnes sought private counseling after his anger management program ended. In time he learned to control his emotions and work toward having a more healthy relationship with women. “I go to support groups and the things I learn there I apply to my relationships. Now if my lady and I disagree, we talk it out. If she needs some time, I give her time. When I’m feeling frustrated I got a friend that I talk to who allows me to vent. He understands where I’m coming from,

so that helps.” Barnes says he no longer feels the urge to be violent toward women.

Queen Afi Gaston, a former abuser and founder of local nonprofit group Domestic Violence Wears Many Tags (DVWMT), echoes Barnes’ sentiments about anger management. A former abuser who was arrested multiple times for domestic abuse, she felt that anger management wasn’t enough. “As a former abuser myself I wasn’t fazed by getting locked up. I didn’t care. Anger management wasn’t enough. I had to do some soul-searching and ask myself, why am I so mad? Why am I always trying to control someone else’s behavior? That’s impossible to do.”

DVWMT has been counseling victims and abusers for four years. They work on finding root causes of anger, identifying the types of abuse displayed, and developing a treatment plan.

Is it possible to reform an abuser? The answer is yes if it’s done correctly and relentlessly.

If the cycle of abuse is ever going to end, we must stop the abuser. Treatment must go beyond court-ordered classes. It involves personalized reflection with an honest approach. And it all starts with a desire to change.

Queen Afi Gaston says abusers can move to the reformed side when they accept that what they did was wrong and continuously work toward a transformation. “How can we stop domestic violence if we’re only advocating for one part of it? There’s another part missing.

We need more former abusers to step up to the plate and tell people that they were helped too. Change can be at the end of the road if you really want it.”

For more information about Domestic Violence Wears Many Tags visit www.facebook. com/dvwmts.

Candace Y.A. Montague is the health reporter for Capital Community News. u

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202.543.8300 X16 EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 53

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS

DCAYA Celebrates 10th Anniversary

W

by Charnice A. Milton

hen Charmia Carolina was 14 years old she had her first child, Jada. Within a year she was out of a home. “I had a lot of struggles, being homeless after having my first child. I was homeless when I had my second child,” she said in a 2013 interview for the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates’ (DCAYA) “Youth Voices” series. “Trying to go back to school, but always getting put out because I was homeless, so it wasn’t guaranteed every day that I’ll be able to make it there or make it back.” Since then, Carolina was accepted into and later graduated from the Sasha Bruce Youth Build program and is currently working as part of its maintenance crew.

She credits programs like Sasha Bruce, one of DCAYA’s many partners, for helping her. “I felt like no one cared for me until I came to Youth Build,” she said. “That’s when I started feeling that love that I always wanted.”

rector. “And then on the flip side, what we can provide for them is the opportunity to participate in that coalition and the strength of that voice of 130 organizations to get that change to happen, as well as a lot of capacity-building, networking, and essentially community-building opportunities for nonprofit organizations and their staff.”

“I think people are beginning to realize the strength of the coalition,” said Angela Massino, DCAYA’s multimedia and communications manager, “and I think that has been seen this year as an election year.” For instance, the organization distributed surveys to all the candidates and received a 100 percent response rate. DCAYA also regularly engages the DC Council. “When we’re quoted in their opening statements, that in and of itself shows a power beyond just being able to pass legislation and inform legislation. It shows that we’re actually being heard and have a strong influence within local policy.”

Background

According to Eshauna Smith, CEO of Urban Alliance, the idea for DCAYA came from people like Rubie Coles, associate director of the Moriah Fund. “The programs she was investing in served youth in DC,” Smith explained. “While she was funding them for housing, job training, and other direct services, she thought it was equally important to bring them together.” In 2003 more than 20 youth-engaged organizations laid the groundwork of what became DCAYA. As a junior program assistant with the Moriah Fund, Smith had a chance to meet many of DCAYA’s early members, and in 2006 she became the organization’s first executive director, serving until 2010.

DCAYA’s goal was to facilitate systemic change within DC government when it came to dealing with youth issues. “There has been easy access for child advocacy, but not for older youth,” said Smith. “Children are still important, but there wasn’t a contingent of advocates for the youth.” Direct services help, Smith explained, but systemic change is the only way to make a long-lasting impact. “The reality is, the only way to build that systemic change is for everyone to 54 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

A Recent Success Charmia Carolina, homeless as a teenager, is interviewed by Angela Massino, DCAYA’s communications manager. Carolina, a graduate of the Sasha Bruce Youth Build Program, was profiled in the “Youth Voices” series in 2013. Photo: DCAYA

come together and to fight as one,” Smith said in an interview for DCAYA’s official blog. “Then, if you have a hundred groups saying, ‘look you guys, disconnected youth needs to be a priority,’ eventually that makes a difference.”

The Organization Today

DCAYA has over 130 member organizations, not counting government agencies and partner foundations. “Our membership model is a good give-and-take, in that we are able to talk to our membership and the young people that they work with to really understand what’s happening on the ground and to come up with solutions that realistically meet those barriers, or enhance the opportunities that the young people of those organizations might see in their communities,” explained Maggie Riden, DCAYA’s current executive di-

One of DCAYA’s recent successes is its involvement with the End Youth Homelessness Amendment Act of 2014, which was introduced on March 18. The organization’s 2013 “Bold Strategy to End Homelessness in the District of Columbia” was the conceptual basis for the bill. DCAYA’s plan calls for a databased intake system, an investment in homeless prevention projects, increasing emergency and transitional housing, and longterm support for at-risk youth. It also calls for $10 million to implement a “Year One” strategy. The bill requires the Interagency Council, along with homeless or formerly homeless youth, their advocates, and organizations within the Continuum of Care, to prepare, publish, and submit a comprehensive plan to end youth homelessness by 2020.

During a hearing of the Committee on Human Services on May 7, Riden and other youth advocates testified in favor of the new legislation.

“As a community we need to recognize that youth homelessness is not the result of any single family or systems failure, but instead the consequence of persistent and repeated failures of the family,

Children participate in DC’s “Pep Rally for Good” on Aug. 22. The event, a collaboration between DCAYA and the #BEYGOODxSTATE GIVEBACKPACK Program, brought school supplies and backpacks to 250 children. Photo: DCAYA

community and government level,” she testified. “As such, the solutions must be equally diverse, leveraging the expertise and resources of all agencies, community partners, communities themselves, and families.” Formerly homeless youth like Carolina also shared their experiences. “I see so many homeless youth today, it drives me crazy,” she said. “I see youth trying to make a change, but there are no spots or chances for them to.”

In June the DC Council approved $1.3 million to implement the bill in the 2015 fiscal year budget; by 2018 the total will come to $5.2 million. The money will fund a youth drop-in center, establish a grant program for street outreach, conduct an annual youth census, and provide 15 youth beds at shelters. While the amount is lower than DCAYA’s proposal, it marks a 15 percent increase from the previous fiscal year.

Looking to the Future

“Ten years is a short amount of time when it comes to systematic change,” said Smith. “This is only the beginning.” Despite leaving the organization, she is still involved with DCAYA, as Urban Alliance is a member. While she is happy that the organization built on the foundation she helped create, Smith

hopes that DCAYA continues to escalate its advocacy efforts. “I hope that DCAYA stays bold and courageous in its work,” she said. “It is never afraid to push.” Among the things the organization will continue to push for: perception changes among gentrified communities. Massino explained that when new populations move into an area, some bring an unflattering stereotype of youth. “We’re dealing with this new community that’s building,” she said. “I would like to see in the next 10 years, a community that’s really supportive of everyone.”

DCAYA is also interested in seeing youth like Carolina wanting to become advocates. “Every single young person that I’ve talked to who has been touched by services said they have been affected to the extent that they want to give back,” said Massino. “The more people that our members are able to touch, the more those young people become contributing community members who will pay it forward.”

She believes that DCAYA will be a “sustainable community of giving” as a result. “If we are really willing to put those resources in to help young people who are struggling due to their circumstances, then those young people won’t just help themselves, but they will pay it forward and help their peers.” u

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EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 55

EAST WASHINGTON LIFE

In the Chef’s Kitchen: Toyin

Alli

article by Annette Nielsen, photos Andrew Lightman

Y

ou’ll probably see the long line before you see the proprietor and chef, Toyin Alli, through the window of her food truck. While she’s parked in different places each day, people search her out for the Southern food offerings like gumbo, shrimp and grits, po’ boys or her legendary brown butter bourbon bread pudding.

While there are a number of restaurants in the DC area serving Southern fare, there aren’t too many food trucks in the District that specialize in Southern comfort food. The DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, has licensed 305 food trucks since October 2013 (licenses are for two years) and they estimate that the number of food trucks currently operating is somewhere between 175 and 200, as some go out of business or are sold.

Alli didn’t start in the food business with a truck, though.

“I began selling as one of the food vendors at Eastern Market back in 2005, and I gave away lots of samples of bread pudding.”

It was slow going almost a decade ago. Alli decided to take a break and pursue a graduate degree at New York University’s Wagner School. In 2010 she returned to DC and went for a job as a financial auditor at Amtrak while simultaneously applying to be a vendor at Eastern Market. She received a ‘yes’ to both.

“I loved my job in the Inspector General office (at Amtrak), and I also needed to make sure I covered my student loans – so I was working both jobs,” she says. “Finally, I made the decision to take this opportunity and follow my passion.”

Around the same time that she left her position at Amtrak in 2010, the farmers’ market scene was really picking up, from Eastern Market to the FreshFarm markets, to Georgetown.

Alli purchased a used truck in 2011, but didn’t 56 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

Always with an easy smile, Toyin Alli shares the Wild Blue Catfish Po’ Boy with the author before the lunchtime rush begins.

Here, she’s parked at 400 12th St SW, about a block from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

want to incur any further debt, so she bought the necessary equipment to assemble the interior components, piece by piece. Finally, in early 2014 she had the truck on the road.

“I was so happy to be out in it, even in the winter weather!”

Like a number of top chefs, Alli cooks to order and pays attention to sustainability in the products she sources. Whether purchasing fresh produce from farmers and producers or using wild blue catfish for her fried fish po’ boys and fried fish and grits, she is aware of the benefits to the environment, as well as giving a

superior product.

“The wild blue catfish is a great option for the fish – it’s not a bottom feeder, so the flavor is light, the texture is firm and it’s easy to cook with.”

The wild blue catfish has been an invasive species in the 1980s that spread into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Through programs from agencies and organizations like the Chesapeake Bay office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Sustainable Fisheries, and the Wide Net Project, the fish has gained

Annette Nielsen has been engaged in food, farming and sustainability issues for nearly two decades. The food editor of the Hill Rag, Nielsen’s experience includes coordinating artisanal and farmbased food events and teaching cooking classes. She’s the editor of two Adirondack Life cookbooks, and is at work on an Eastern Market cookbook. Nielsen heads up Kitchen Cabinet Events, a culinary, farm-to-fork inspired event business. annette@hillrag.com. u

Toyin Alli’s Wild Blue Catfish Po’ Boy, made from a locally sourced fish. The Wild Blue Catfish has been an invasive species since the 1980s, spreading into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. It has now been adopted as a sustainable option for many chefs and institutions throughout the region.

popularity among area chefs and institutions like George Washington University, where it’s used in the cafeteria.

Alli has had a great response to the fish, and says that she typically uses between 250 and 300 pounds of it a week.

While she didn’t pursue a formal culinary education, Alli says her mother has always encouraged her – and she works hard to develop her recipes, testing and retesting until they become part of her regular menu.

“When I was a teen, I moved from California to Michigan with my family. It was around the time the Food Network came out. I didn’t know many people, so I would watch cooking shows and try things out on my mom – she was so supportive and really nurtured my interest in food. I learned so much from her – our family always gathers and cooks together, too.”

In terms of having a permanent location, Alli says, “I know the brick and mortar will happen at some point – the demand

is there, I just want to make sure everything’s ready to go.”

Alli claims she’s been really lucky, “I have family here, and some really dedicated staff, and my mom helps out a lot. I’ve also had some great mentors, like Dan Donohue who sells at Eastern Market – who has been a great coach. At the markets where I sell – whether it’s Eastern Market or Greenbelt – it’s like a family, and you have a real sense of community.”

Here’s a seasonal variation of Toyin Alli’s very popular Brown Butter Bourbon Pumpkin Bread Puddin’ – you can use canned pumpkin as a substitute for the cooked, but your local farmer will have a number of great varieties that can be used here, too.

DC Puddin’ can be found most weekends (Saturday and Sunday) at Eastern Market, and at other locations throughout the district during the week.

To f ind Toyin Alli in her food truck, call 202.725.1030, follow on Facebook and Twitter; or visit dcpuddin.com.

Brown Butter Bourbon Pumpkin Bread Puddin’

by Toyin Alli

For bread puddin: • 15 ounces of mashed (cooked) pumpkin preferably fresh • 2 cups half and half • 1 cup light brown sugar • 2 eggs • 1/4 teaspoon mace • 1/4 teaspoon allspice • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg • 1 teaspoon cinnamon • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1 tablespoon vanilla • 10 cups cubed day old French bread Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, spices and salt until fully incorporated. Combine pumpkin and half and half into egg mixture. Gently fold the bread into the batter and pour into a greased shallow baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes.

For bourbon sauce: • 1 stick of butter • 1 cup brown sugar, packed • 2 cups of bourbon • 1 tablespoon vanilla • 1 teaspoon salt Over medium heat, melt butter and keep heating until it is light brown. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Return to medium high heat until sauce begins to gently boil and then reduce to low heat for 5 minutes.

Pour the hot bourbon sauce on top of the puddin’ and serve with a dollop of fresh cream.

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 57

EAST WASHINGTON LIFE

Malolo Bed and Breakfast A B&B in the Heart of Ward 7

by Michelle Phipps-Evans

N

estled in the quiet community of Marshall Heights in Ward 7 – among homes, churches, and well-manicured lawns – is a quaint building that seems a little out of the ordinary. Malolo Bed and Breakfast is the city’s first B&B facility east of the river. The business, which has been at the location for more than a year, brings an authentic South Pacific experience, said co-owners David Alaga and George Lopez.

From top to bottom, from the cuisine to the bedspreads, guests are immersed in Polynesian culture. The South Pacific’s 20,000 to 30,000 islands are traditionally grouped into Melanesia (Fiji, New Guinea, and others), Micronesia (Guam, Palau, and others), and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, among others). “Malolo means ‘to rest’ in the Samoan

Co-owners David Alaga (left) and George Lopez pose in front their vehicle, used to pick up or drop off guests upon request.

David Alaga shows some of the spaces around the property.

58 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

language,” said Alaga, 47, a former US Marine, who was born in Hawaii and raised in American Samoa before moving permanently to the United States in 2008 as an information technology contractor. He moved to the District in 2009.

Like its nontraditional name, Malolo is not your traditional bed and breakfast inn. According to the website, the owners styled their services to highlight the hospitality of the South Pacific: “So we say ‘talofa’ (hello) and ‘afio mai’ (welcome) and make Malolo Bed & Breakfast your home and ‘aiga’ (family) while you visit the D.C. metro area.” Guests have the option to be picked up or dropped off at DC-area airports or Union Station.

True to form, each of the four guest bedrooms features Polynesian

symbols and photographs, while the two larger rooms with private bathrooms refer to leadership roles in Polynesian culture. The bedrooms are on the second floor of the threestory colonial home. The first is the Ali’i Room, a deluxe room with private bathroom. Chiefs variously known throughout Polynesia as Ariki or Ali’i were thought to possess power and authority and had obligations to their people. The Matai Room contains a standard king bed with private bathroom. “Matai” means chief and it’s an honor bestowed upon someone because the matai’s civic, political, familial, and religious roles are interwoven deeply into Samoan culture and history. The Tatau Room shares a bathroom in the hall with the Malu

Room. “Tatau” refers to the tattoo markings of the male Samoan, with origins going back thousands of years. “Malu” means protection, shelter, and security. The Samoan female is the protector of the children, family, and village.

The malu symbols etched on the woman reflect her myriad roles.

Reminders and mementos of South Pacific culture placed throughout the house transport guests to another “country” in Southeast DC. “We are the only Polynesian-themed and -owned bed and breakfast in the DC area,” Alaga said. “It is the hospitality and customer service that we excel at to make this one of the top B&Bs in the area.”

Known for its hospitality, Malolo brings island warmth into the District of Columbia. This immersion goes beyond the physical environment to the food that Chef George prepares for breakfast and, by request, for dinner. A certified trained chef and a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu with more than 20 years’ experience, Lopez said he understands the dietary needs guests may have, and he enjoys satisfying the palate. “My cuisine is a type of Polynesian fusion,” said Lopez, 40, who was born in Mexico and grew up in Chicago. The dinner, when served, is a seven-course meal, which takes about two hours. Lopez presents the plate to guests. Even when he’s serving breakfast, each order is a production.

The bed and breakfast idea evolved from a desire to own a restaurant, when the two were seeking a place to live and found the quaint house on B Street in Southeast. “When we saw this home, the bed and breakfast idea came about because here it allows us to have a restaurant without being a restaurant,” said Alaga. “The business is both our home and our business.” Although the business is usually at 80 percent occupancy, it’s not enough for Alaga and Lopez. The B&B will be two years old in March 2015, and the owners see it as a steppingstone toward owning a restaurant, more than likely in Ward 7. “The banks will see that we’ve been in this community for a length of time and have a positive track record,” Alaga added. “The restaurant will be here in a few years.”

Trip Advisor, a travel website providing reviews of travel-related content, named Malolo number one out of 49 B&Bs and inns in

Malolo’s common area in the living room.

the District. Malolo received a 9.6 review on booking.com, based on 110 reviews.

Malolo’s website also features positive reviews. “Our experience at the Malolo B&B rates as one of the top B&B’s we have visited, which has been many,” wrote Lori and Di. “Everything from the price, services, hospitality, food, rooms and location make this a gem and one of a kind B&B experience all people should have.” Visitors come from Norway, China, New Zealand, South America, South Africa, and the United States, to name a few.

Gifts from grateful guests include German chocolates and Belgian beer.

From the time Alaga and Lopez bought the home in July 2012 to the opening in March 2013, they persevered through various challenges, financial and otherwise. They provided all the funding for Malolo, and it was their hard work that resulted in the design features, the landscaping, and the marketing. While Lopez focuses on the development of the menu and management of the kitchen, Alaga does general operations, including basic janitorial duties.

“As a project manager, I treated this business as a project,” said Alaga, who has a degree in electronics engineering.

Lopez was excited to share their vision board, a pictography of all their dreams and visions. “We believe in the power of attraction,” he said, adding that everything they placed on their vision board has come true. They have a new vision that includes a few key elements they need at their home-based business for continued success. But the focus of the board is the restaurant they hope to have one day, which will serve the communities east of the river. They believe it will become a reality. u EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 59

EAST WASHINGTON LIFE

A

nyone who has ever visited the Anacostia Art Gallery and Boutique will tell you that no other Washington, DC, art space can compare. The gallery buzzes with frenetic energy, an eclectic art collection, and that warm welcome you feel upon entering the home of a good friend. Occupying center stage, owner Juanita Britton, or Busy Bee as she is known to her friends, shines larger than life, welcoming every visitor individually, praising them for their chosen purchases, and sharing tales of faraway travels through which she acquired various collections of antiques, jewelry, and artwork. This dynamic lived on just a little while longer on the eve of the gallery’s closure, which will finalize in December 2014.

On a pleasantly warm and sunny Saturday afternoon in September, long-time Anacostia Art Gallery and Boutique curator and manager Barry Blackman shuffled back and forth between customers, helping two women with a jewelry purchase, another with questions about a sculpture, all the while assisting a group of artists getting ready to show work in the tented portion of the gallery’s massive backyard. The gallery has provided an excellent balance between showing the work of local and international artists.

Ultimately though, “we have always focused our collection on the African diaspora,” explains Blackman.

Wherever people of African descent live, the gallery has represented artists from their homeland. Years ago, when the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, located across the street from the gallery, held an 60 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

Juanita Britton

Anacostia Art Gallery and Boutique Pioneer Shifts Her Neighborhood Focus

by Phil Hutinet exhibition of Afro-Mexican work, the Anacostia Art Gallery concurrently showed work by Afro-Mexican artists.

The gallery’s extensive collections includes work from AfroLatino, Caribbean, American, and, naturally, African artists. “We would go to Ghana and purchase $800 worth of goods. This represents four years of income for the average Ghanaian,” says Blackman.

His and owner Juanita Britton’s extensive travels provided economic benefits both at home and abroad through the gallery’s retail sales. At home, every weekend local artists and craftsmen set up shop at the gallery and sold everything from jewelry to purses, leather goods, paintings, and woodcarvings. This activity provided an outlet for local artists and craftsmen and also attracted people to the neighborhood.

Despite her success Britton did not seek out the role. “I never wanted to run an art gallery” she explains. The building that once housed Britton’s private residence when she came to DC quickly morphed into a gathering place of people she would invite to purchase items she brought from trips. For instance, several years ago she and a group of investors purchased a tusk responsibly harvested from a dead elephant at a nature preserve in the Ivory Coast. Britton then had craftsmen fashion bracelets out of her share of the ivory. “I didn’t need three bracelets” she says, “but I knew someone else might.” On the afternoon of my visit a long-time customer purchased one of the re-

maining bracelets from the series.

In 2006 Britton opened her art gallery, in Anacostia, filling her former residence with original artwork from the United States and abroad. Her offerings grew from a few items to showcasing one-of-akind collections of ceramics, sculptures, paintings, and photographs.

She opened the gallery not out of reluctant serendipity but rather from a pioneering spirit coupled with many years of success as a seasoned businesswoman and retailer.

She has remained fiercely committed to connecting with the immediate community, employing adults from the Woodland Terrace public housing project, located one house down from the gallery, to work in her retail concessions at area airports. Her involvement with the local community engendered the respect and trust of her neighbors.

Britton’s neighborhood outreach and the innumerable events hosted by the gallery over the years inevitably turned the space into a community meeting place. In addition to the gallery’s regular collection and outdoor market, the backyard’s stage provided the perfect venue for concerts and other well-attended performances. Programming also included children’s art workshops, ethnic home décor shows, garden art sales, lectures, and panel discussions.

On Sept. 14, in an event to end all events, a ceremony took place to close the gallery’s cherished Ancestral Garden, located toward the rear of the property. Following an ancient African tradition, people have created ancestral gar-

dens to commemorate the death of loved ones and to venerate ancestors. Over the gallery’s eight-year history, area residents placed 115 rocks for loved ones who died and to mark the recent passing of public figures like Maya Angelou and Nelson Mandela. In keeping with Britton’s penchant for planning grand events, the gallery closed the Ancestral Garden with a massive community procession which meandered through the neighborhood. Participants, including Britton, wore ceremonial clothing, some in all white while others wore white with traditional African patterns. Akan priestesses oversaw the procession as loved ones collected the stones that represented the lives of their dearly departed. The garden’s permanent closure made way for coming changes to the property.

Britton did not make the decision to sell her gallery and the surrounding property lightly. Jerry Waldman, a DC-area developer, had purchased land adjacent to the gallery including a parcel once owned by Britton. Over time, the two grew friendly and began to exchange ideas. Waldman proposed purchasing the gallery to use part of the land, specifically the area where the Ancestral Garden resided, to build a school. Britton researched the proposed Rocketship Charter School and saw it as a good fit for the neighborhood. After a “powwow” with family, Britton decided to sell her property to Waldman.

However, Britton has no intention of going anywhere. “I live east of the river and I still own other property here.” She intends to continue

her commitment to the neighborhood by serving on the board of the local Rocketship Charter School and keeping the lines of communication open between the institution and the Woodley Terrace residents, who she believes will benefit from the new school when it opens in 2016-17.

Those who take news of the closure to heart should know that the gallery may not become a distant memory after all. While the school will absorb part of the property, the building that houses the gallery, as well as the stage and tented area, will remain. If Jessica Smith, one of Britton’s protégées, has her way she will continue to build on the gallery’s legacy. Smith believes that the “creative energy” from the Anacostia Art Gallery will live on, and would like to harness it to operate her business, Culture Kingdom Kids, currently a mobile art workshop programs for children. Should Smith succeed in making her plan a reality, the gallery, which Smith calls “a neighborhood jewel,” will continue to provide an arts venue east of the river.

The Anacostia Art Gallery and Boutique is located at 2806 Bruce Pl. SE, Washington, DC 20020.

The gallery’s phone number is 202610-4188 and the website is www. bzbinternational.com. All items in the gallery are deeply discounted.

Phil Hutinet is the publisher of East City Art, dedicated to DC’s visual arts. For more information visit www.eastcityart.com. u

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTObER 2014 H 61

EAST WASHINGTON LIFE

jazzAvenues

by Steve Monroe

Jazz Alive and Well at UDC

One of our music resources always deserving greater attention and publicity is JazzAlive at the University of the District of Columbia, which features shows such as the annual Calvin Jones Big Band concert and Allyn Johnson’s UDC jazz ensembles, and also the Felix E. Grant Jazz Archives. Currently on exhibit at the archives is “Bringing Bossa Nova to the United States” by curator Prof.

Judith A. Korey, through December 12, in Building 41/Level A. For nearly 50 years radio broadcaster Felix Grant was a familiar voice to area jazz lovers, and he had a keen interest in Brazilian culture and music, helping to introduce bossa nova to US music fans. The exhibit includes photographs, concert programs, correspondence, awards, and interviews of prominent artists such as Joao Gilbert, Leny Andrade, Sergio Mendes, and Dorival Caymmi.

A digital collection, the “Bossa Nova Project,” can be accessed online.

On Oct. 22 the Jazzforum at UDC features “Sun Ra in Century 21,” at 7:00 p.m., a program with George Mason University faculty member Thomas Stanley talking about his study, “The Execution of Sun Ra.” Stanley will explore the late avant-garde bandleader’s ideas about history and human development. The program is in the Recital Hall/Performing Arts Building 46-West.

See www.lrdudc.wrlc.org/jazz/ events.php for complete information on the university’s concerts and programs.

Carr’s B3 Sessions Tour Highlights New CD

All business, with a shaven head, glasses, and stylish dark suit, Paul Carr raised his tenor sax and started 62 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

blowing serious riffs on the opening tune, “So Do It,” that night last month at Blues Alley, and was joined by band mates Paul Bollenback on guitar, Pat Bianchi, organ, Sam Turner percussion and Lewis Nash, drums.

The occasion was a stop on Carr’s B3 Sessions Tour promoting his new CD, “B3 Sessions (DC/ NY),” a solid exploration of the soulful heritage of organ combos, with Carr heading groups that recorded in New York City and the DC area.

Carr’s stop at Blues Alley, with his next CD release party here Oct. 17 Songstress Lena Seikaly is to perform on Oct. 15 at the Strathmore Mansion in North Bethesda and on Oct. 18 at the Loew’s at Westminster Presby- Madison Hotel in DC. terian Church, featured his always biting and has him honking and squawking with ever more inventive sax sounds, and verve, before Bollenback digs deep also Bollenback and Nash along with into some Grant Green-like blues organist Bianchi. Bollenback’s gritty licks. “Dorothy,” one of the tunes that guitar work was a highlight on sev- night at the Alley and on the CD, has eral tunes, including the opener, and Carr spurting flowing riffs to the lilton “Dorothy” and Branford Marsalis’ ing melody, and on “But Beautiful” “Random Harvest.” Nash whipped Carr shows his own distinctive touch things along impressively on drums on ballads with a big golden melanwith startling, splashy rolls. choly sound.

The CD has Bianchi on organ for the New York sessions, along with Bollenback and Nash. The DC InPerson… session tunes have Bobby Floyd on Sankofa Jazz/Pete Muldoon organ with Bobby Broom, guitar, Keep up with the calendar at Sankofa Byron Landham, drums, and Turner, Café (www.sankofa.com) on Georpercussion. “So Do It” is one high- gia Avenue in DC, where one night light of the CD, along with “Fall,” a last month featured guitarist Pete Wayne Shorter tune, that has Carr Muldoon laying down some incisive playing the gentle, insistent melody Grant Green-inspired licks of his leading into Bianchi’s organ grooves, own during some hot jams with Allyn over Nash’s popping work on cym- Johnson on piano, Eliot Sepa, bass, bals and drums and Bollenback’s gui- and Dante Pope, drums, on tunes like tar licks. The title tune, Carr’s “B3,” “Nomad” and “Along Came Betty.”

October Highlights: … Fred Foss, Oct. 13, 20, 27, Bohemian Caverns ... Cassandra Wilson, Oct. 12, Howard Theatre … Carl Grubbs, Blake Meister/Free Fall Baltimore, Oct, 14, Enoch Pratt Library/Baltimore ... Gregory Porter, Oct. 16, Weinberg Center for the Arts/ Frederick ... Joshua Redman, Oct. 16-19, Blues Alley … Paul Carr/ B3 Sessions, Oct. 17, Westminster Presbyterian Church … SF Jazz Collective, Oct. 17, Kennedy Center … Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith, Oct. 18, Kennedy Center … Christian McBride, Oct. 18-19, Bohemian Caverns … Gregory Porter, Oct. 19-20, Howard Theatre …

Louis Hayes Jazz Communicators, Oct. 24, Kennedy Center … Ladies of Jazz/Shirley Horn Tribute, Oct. 24, Westminster Presbyterian Church … Thinking about Jazz/ Shirley Horn, Oct. 25, Westminster Presbyterian Church … Roberto Fonseca, Oct. 28, Blues Alley …

October Birthdays: Walter Bishop Jr. 4; Jo Jones 7, Larry Young 7; Pepper Adams 8; Abdullah Ibrahim, Kenny Garrett 9; Thelonius Monk 10; Junior Mance, Harry Edison, Art Blakey 11; Mel Rhyne 12; Art Tatum, Ray Brown, Von Freeman, Lee Konitz, Pharoah Sanders, Johnny Lytle 13; Fela Anikulapo-Kuti 15; Roy Hargrove 16; Cozy Cole 17; Wynton Marsalis 18; Jelly Roll Morton 20; Dizzy Gillespie, Don Byas 21; Ernie Watts 23; Jimmy Heath 25; Milton Nascimento 26; Zoot Sims 27; Clifford Brown 30; Illinois Jacquet, Booker Irvin 31.

Steve Monroe is a Washington, DC, writer who can be reached at steve@jazzavenues.com and followed at www. twitter.com/jazzavenues. u

CHANGING HANDS

Changing hands is a list of most residential sales in the District of Columbia from the previous month.

A feature of every issue, this list, based on the MRIs, is provided courtesy of Don Denton, manager of the Coldwell Banker office on Capitol Hill. The list includes address, sales price and number of bedrooms.

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Neighborhood

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BR

FEE SIMPLE ANACOSTIA

2010 14TH ST SE 1408 RIDGE PL SE 1228 U ST SE 2020 14TH ST SE 1431 19TH ST SE 1533 U ST SE

CHILLUM

22 NICHOLSON ST NW 221 PEABODY ST NW

DEANWOOD

4939 NASH ST NE 5578 JAY ST NE 5580 JAY ST NE 1016 48TH ST NE 549 47TH ST NE 4903 FITCH PL NE 4531 DIX ST NE 203 63RD ST NE 4931 FITCH PL NE 3912 EAST CAPITOL ST NE 821 49TH ST NE 5533 JAY ST NE

FORT DUPONT PARK 3908 Q ST SE 1647 FORT DAVIS PL SE 1830 41ST PL SE 829 HILLTOP TER SE 1536 FORT DAVIS ST SE 4316 E ST SE 4355 F ST SE 737 HILLTOP TER SE

HILL CREST

1408 30TH ST SE 3317 GAINESVILLE ST SE

3301 ALABAMA AVE SE 3653 ALABAMA AVE SE

KINGMAN PARK 320 16TH ST NE $377,000 $290,000 $200,000 $184,250 $150,000 $149,500

3 3 3 4 2 3

$607,000 $428,500

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$332,500 $325,000 $325,000 $285,000 $263,000 $235,000 $229,000 $224,888 $195,000 $192,100 $133,200 $120,000

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$313,735 $250,000 $230,000 $175,000 $174,000 $159,999 $152,500 $140,000

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MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5201 C ST SE 5131 D ST SE

RANDLE HEIGHTS 2419 MINNESOTA AVE SE 1816 U PL SE 3487 23RD ST SE 1915 TRENTON PL SE 1917 T PL SE 1516 23RD ST SE

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$782,000

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$316,000 $305,000

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$400,000 $310,000 $280,000 $265,000 $171,500 $110,000

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$370,000

3

$45,000

1

$60,000

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$75,000

2

$55,500

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$60,000

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1332 TALBERT CT SE #A

CONGRESS HEIGHTS 3423 5TH ST SE #44

DEANWOOD

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HILL CREST

2143 SUITLAND TER SE #301

MARSHALL HEIGHTS 4810 C ST SE #102

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EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTObER 2014 H 63

KIDS & FAMILY

Kids & Family Notebook

by Kathleen Donner

Courtesy of the National Park Service

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Family Festival On Sunday, Oct. 19, noon- 4 p.m., explore 19th Century life at the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, 1411 W St. SE. There will be live music, crafts, face painting, ice cream churning and house tours. 202-426-5961. nps.gov/frdo 64 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

Rashin Kheiriyeh at the Anacostia Community Museum

On Saturday, Oct. 25, 3-4:30 p.m., the Anacostia Community Museum celebrates National Book Month with this family program featuring prize-winning children’s author and artist Rashin Kheiriyeh. Kheiriyeh talks about how she became an author and reads her book “Two Par-

rots,” a children’s story inspired by Rumi, the great 13th century Iranian poet. The book will be available for purchase. Anacostia Community Museum, 1901 Fort Pl. SE. 202633-4820. anacostia.si.edu

Community Leaders are Readers

This popular ongoing program, a joint Anacostia Community Mu-

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 65

KIDS & FAMILY

Parents and Teachers are invited to Dr. William Stixrud’s Lecture and Q & A Executive Functioning:

Understanding and Developing the Brain’s Command and Control System Wednesday, November 5th • 7:00pm–9:00pm. @ the Hill Center / 921 Pennsylvania Ave.SE

This event is FREE of charge, but space is limited.

RSVP at LearningSpecialistOnTheHill@gmail.com Learn: • Why Executive Functions contribute more strongly to academic success than IQ and play an even stronger role in life success.

• How parents and teachers can work to foster the development of these important skills.

• Strategies for accommodating students with executive dysfunction at home and in school.

• Useful insights from brain research for understanding and promoting the development of executive functions in children and teens.

Sponsored by the HillRag

*Dr. William Stixrud is a clinical neuropsychologist and popular speaker, with 35 years’ experience helping children maximize talents.

MAURY ELEMENTARY NEEDS YOU! Our 5th graders are working to go to Space Camp!

seum and DC Public Library collaboration, is open to parents and their children up to seven years old to enjoy books and reading with local leaders in the community.

Children participate in a handson activity led by a professional artist and create an art take-away.

Community Leaders are Readers is on Nov. 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Anacostia Neighborhood Library, 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE. dclibrary.org/anacostia

FBR Boys & Girls Club Open Gym at THEARC

The FBR Boys & Girls Club gym is open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7-9 p.m.

Boys & Girls Club membership is $50 per school year per child.

Call 202-610-9707 or email ljones@bgcgw.org for more information. THEARC is at 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-8895901. thearcdc.org

Sunday Movies at Anacostia Library

Every Sunday at 2 p.m., join them in the children’s room for a movie. The library will be showing new family-friendly films and old favorites in the children’s room every Sunday. These movies are recommended for families and children ages 4 and older. Anacostia Neighborhood Library, 1800 Good Hope Rd. SE. 202-7157707. dclibrary.org/anacostia

Stories Untold

Learn more about our effort as well as watch the student created newscast about why this is important to us at: http://mauryelementary.com/spacecamp

Questions?

Contact Think Tank teacher Vanessa Ford at: Vanessa.ford@dc.gov Individuals, companies and/or organizations are welcome to become sponsors.

All donations are tax-deductible.

66 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

Stacey Price Brown, Ph.D., author of the nonfiction book “Stories Untold,” helps students and families prepare for college by lifting the voices of high-achieving, middle-class, African American students who have leveraged supportive school, community, and family networks to be admitted into the college of their choice. An ultimate goal of the book profits is to begin a scholarship to off set college costs for high achieving students.

Dr. Brown became passionate about helping others to plan for college after graduating debt-

free from her undergraduate and graduate institutions as a first generation college student and working over 18 years in the field. Her book is based on college students reflecting on how they prepared for college during the early elementary years through their high school years. Read more and order copies at lulu.com. Dr. Brown resides in Ward 7.

Neval Thomas Elementary School to Host Community Block Party

On Saturday, Nov. 15, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., the CityYear team at Neval Thomas Elementary School is hosting a community block party on the streets in between Thomas Elementary and Cesar Chavez Public Charter School.

New Paid Family Leave Program in DC

Mayor Gray has announced that the District government will begin offering its employees paid family leave. Effective Oct. 1, employees can receive up to eight weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child or to care for a family member with a serious health condition.

Innovation Festival at Air and Space

On Saturday, Nov. 1 and Sunday, Nov. 2, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. join them for a festival for the whole family that celebrates the accomplishments of American inventors and the spirit of innovation that has led to so many of today’s technologies. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Independence Ave at 6th St. SW. airandspace.si.edu

Kids’ Day at the Washington International Horse Show

WIHS Kids’ Day is a free, familyfriendly event created to introduce and share horses with the local community and give children and their families a chance to learn about horses and equestrian sport.

Kids’ Day will take place on Satur-

day, Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. both inside Verizon Center and on a closed city street just outside the arena. Rain or shine. wihs.org

My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge

The White House has announced the MBK Community Challenge, an effort to encourage communities to implement a coherent cradle-to-college and career strategy aimed at improving life outcomes for all young people. The Challenge is not a new federal program, but rather a call to action for leaders of communities across the nation. MBKChallenge.org

The House DC Shares in Ian Desmond’s Roberto Clemente Award

Washington National’s Ian Desmond has designated an Anacostia afterschool safe house, The House DC, Inc., to share in his Roberto Clemente award during a pre-game ceremony on Sept. 23, at National’s Stadium. Desmond’s designation of The House DC, Inc. as his charity of choice kicks off the organization’s celebration of 15 years of transforming the lives of students in Wards 7 and 8. The House DC has provided thousands of high school students from Wards 7 and 8 a safe place to “hang” after school while learning to prepare and enjoy a hot balanced meal, in addition to providing them with academic/ college entry support and strategic opportunities for healthy relationships and life-changing experiences. thehousedc.org

Saturday Morning at the National Free Performances for Children

On Saturdays at 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. there are free live performances for children in the Helen Hayes Gallery. Tickets are required and distributed first come-first seated. Tickets are distributed 1/2 hour prior to performance. One ticket per person in line. The National Theatre,

1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. 202-783-3372. Here’s the line-up.

Oct. 18, Molly Moores’ Midsummer Nights Dream; Oct. 25, Tom Doughtery--Classic Clowning; Nov. 1, Paul Hadfield--Spats the Lost Vaudevillian; Nov. 8, Lesole’s Dance Project; Nov, 15, Michael Shwedick--Reptile World; Nov. 22, Mary Ann Jung--Feasting with the Queen; Dec. 6, Virginia Ballet Company and School Selections from The Nutcracker; Dec. 13, Bright Theater--Christmas with Santa. Read more at thenationaldc.org.

Air and Scare Family Day at Udvar-Hazy

On Saturday, Oct. 25, 2-7 p.m., see the spooky side of air and space at their annual Halloween event.

Arrive in costume for safe indoor trick-or-treating, creepy crafts, spooky science experiments, and other Halloween-themed activities. The tiniest visitors can check out the Tot Zone to play dress-up and hear a story. Pose for a photo with your favorite Star Wars or Ghostbusters character. Free admission but parking until 4 p.m. is $15. Event takes place throughout the Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA. airandspace.si.edu

New Planetarium Show “To Space & Back” at Air and Space

“To Space & Back” takes you on an incredible journey from the far reaches of the known universe to our own planet. The technology that transports us through space is paving the way for the devices and apps we use every day. To Space & Back helps viewers understand how space exploration is shaping our world. It was produced in 8K, which showcases the planetarium’s new full dome digital capabilities.

8K refers to the ultra-high image quality, which is 16 times the resolution of HD, providing an exceptional level of detail, clarity, contrast, brightness, and color saturation. National Air and Space Museum, Independence Ave. at 6th St. SW. airandspace.si.edu

Friends Community School Progressive Quaker Education Kindergarten - Grade 8 Experience the Joy of an Extraordinary Education!

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EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 67

SHINING

KIDS & FAMILY

STARS

of the European Union and over 20 American cultural institutions, such as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Millennium Stage, DC Public Library, Strathmore, Smithsonian’s Discovery Theatre, PG County Center for the Visual and Performing Arts and AFI Silver Theatre.

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US Youth Soccer is taking a stand against childhood obesity with Coaching Healthy Habits, a new training to help coaches teach youth players to make healthier decisions on Every third Monday of the month, 9:30-10:30 a.m., and off the field. Sugary come listen to stories, sing songs, and enjoy other drinks and calorie-dense activities at Oxon Cove Park. This month (Oct. 20), snacks are commonly served to young athletes, find out about the contributions of the first Amerioften due to mistaken cans. Did you know that the Piscataway People were assumptions about how expert farmers as well as hunters? This free program many calories kids burn is for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Meet Ranger during practice. Studies show that in a typiSteph in the Visitor Barn. For more information, call cal youth sport training 301-839-1176. Oxon Cove Park is at 6411 Oxon Hill session, children may be Rd., Oxon Hill, MD. active less than half of Stephanie Marrone “Ranger Steph” reads and tells stories to young kids at the time. The Coaching Oxon Hill Park. Photo: Courtesy of the National Park Service Healthy Habits training module is the first of its kind to equip youth socKids Euro Festival cer coaches to target these risk factors for Kids Euro Festival, the highly popular anchildhood obesity with three simple prinnual children’s performing arts festival, ciples: Drink Right (hydrate with water returns to the Washington area Oct. 24instead of sugary beverages); Snack Smart Nov. 9, with over 100 free, family-friendly, (snack on fruits and vegetables); and Move European-themed events.

More (increase physical activity during Designed for children, ages 2-12, and practice). u their families, Kids Euro Festival, now in its seventh year, unites the 28 embassies

Reading Stories with Ranger Steph: Our Native American Indian Heritage

READ ALL ABOUT IT! EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTObER 2014 H 69

KIDS & FAMILY

Chess Girls DC Not Just a Boy’s Game

I

f you stop by the B-Café for a bite to eat on Saturdays around three in the afternoon, you will see a trail of young girls making their way to Chess Girls DC, a nonprofit founded by Robin Ramson to get more girls interested in the game. Her daughter Sarah, age 4, has been playing for more than a year. Ramson sought to create a community for her daughter, while also increasing the participation of girls in STEM-related endeavors –science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

“Chess incorporates right- and left-side brain function among many things. Children learn the immediate consequences of their actions,” says Ramson. “Children learn the benefits of carefully observing and concentration and to imagine a sequence of actions before it happens. Chess strengthens the ability to visualize by training the children to mentally rotate the chess board and pieces. Chess trains the children to think abstractly. Although they see the immediate facts, they must consider the bigger picture.”

In an intellectual sport usually male-dominated, Chess Girls DC brings out all things frilly. From the pink chess boards and chess pieces to the tiaras and doll babies, Chess Girls DC clearly communicates that this program belongs uniquely to the girls.

Jennifer Muhammad, a busy mom with three sons and active sports schedules, carves out time each Saturday to drive from Southeast DC so that her daughter Nailah can participate. “I was looking for a positive activity that centered around girls and cultivating them to meet their full potential,” says Mu-

70 H EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

article and photos by Monica Z. Utsey Chess Girls DC younger girls’ game.

hammad. “Nailah has three brothers and I’m always looking for anything girl-oriented. Chess Girls DC is very structured and gives her an opportunity to participate in an almost academic program that is more like a game. I also like that Chess Girls DC cultivates the feminine side.”

Parents of DC Chess note that chess has an immediate impact on their children. Muhammad says her daughter feels she is a part of some-

thing positive and looks forward to it each week. “There is actually a place for her at the table and it is not just for her brothers. There is also a positive association between chess and math. She started learning the coordinates. Her brothers would tell her about them, but attending Chess Girls DC helped it take on a new meaning. She wants to do her best. I got this book from the library and handed it to her and

she sat at the table, pulled out the chess pieces, set up the board, and was mimicking what she saw in the book and had a game with herself.”

Muhammad says her daughter “has grown leaps and bounds. She used to be a tag-along, but Nailah has come a long way. She knows how to checkmate people, and this would not have happened without Chess Girls DC. She did not have a real interest before. She would do it be-

Chess Girls DC older girls’ game.

cause everyone else is doing it. Now she takes ownership.”

Carolyn Solaru also drives from Southeast DC to participate. Her 7-year-old daughter Kennedy, who plays chess with her male cousins, couldn’t find any girls to play chess with until she joined Chess Girls DC. “We started playing last summer and within a week or so she had picked up the game very well.

Chess Girls DC has an awesome tutor,” says Solaru. Recently Solaru installed the chess app on her IPad and now her daughter plays daily.

Solaru says that chess has also affected Kennedy’s behavior. “Her thinking skills improved, as well as logic. So she thinks about the impact of her behavior before she does something.”

Chess Girls DC started out at Woodridge Library in the spring of 2013. At that time girls were less than 5 percent of the participants in the free chess programs offered through the library. Ramson approached the public library to partner with the chess instructor to designate a special hour for girls.

Chess Girls DC transformed the atmosphere of the room with splashes of color, colorful chess equipment, and refreshments. Girls’ attendance skyrocketed. After the transformation the gender ratio in class rose to 50-50. Chess Girls DC was asked to continue the program during the summer of 2013 and through the winter months. Surprisingly, attendance for girls remained higher than

Chess Girls DC participant Nailiah Muhammad learns about spatial awareness through the jump-rope game of double-dutch.

normal during the winter, when attendance drops off for most programming because of the weather.

Closing of the Woodridge Library for renovation led the program to move to space next door to the BCafé. Though the aim is fun and to generate interest in chess, the larger goal is to improve STEM outcomes for girls. According to a 2012 study from the Department of Education, in 2009-10 females made up less than 25 percent of participants in science, technology, engineering, and math programs. Ramson says Chess Girls DC serves to create a support system for girls K-12 by using chess as a tool to improve STEM learning.

“Understanding spatial relationships

between pieces is critical for winning at chess. Spatial visualization is a factor that is important to thinking in many disciplines of science, engineering, technology, mathematics, medicine, and geology to name a few,” says Ramson. Chess Girls DC hopes to include chess tutors for girls who want to compete at the scholastic level. Long-term goals include creating scholarships for high school girls who want to apply to colleges with strong chess teams.

Ramson keeps things lively at Chess Girls DC with field trips and special guests. Participants recently visited the Martin Luther King Jr. Library to learn about 3-D printers. There they also explored spatial

relationships through an old-fashioned game of double-dutch. Master jump-ropers from DC Retro Jumpers demonstrated how spatial awareness translates into maneuvering between two ropes in order to jump, double-dutch style.

Classes meet Saturdays, 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., next to B-Café, 3744 12th St. NE. For more information email chessgirlsdc@gmail. com or visit the website, www.chessgirlsdc.org.

Monica Z. Utsey, a freelance writer and editor, is president of the Southern DC Chapter of Mocha Moms Inc. and co-founder of the Sankofa Homeschool Community. u

EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | October 2014 H 71

To place a classified in East of the River, please call Carolina at Capital Community News, Inc. 202.543.3503 or email Carolina@hillrag.com

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EAST OF THE RIVER MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 2014 ★ 73

To blunder or not to blunder?

Crossword Author: Myles Mellor • www.themecrosswords.com • www.mylesmellorconcepts.com

by Myles Mellor and Sally York Across:

1. Theorem 5. Discretion 10. Cathedral recess 14. Protozoan 19. Waxy 21. Odor masker 23. Not on the right course 25. ___ Robinson 26. Swami 27. Expire 28. VIPs 29. Hood 30. Change states, in a way 31. Johns 32. Scarf 35. Wrap up 36. Run off to wed 38. U.N. Day mo.

41. Hunch 45. Celebes buffalo 46. D-Day beach 47. “___ divine.”

52. City in Texas 53. Abstractionism 54. God of fire 55. Disencumber 56. “Get it?”

57. Hindu widow’s suicide 58. Singer DiFranco 59. Freshness 61. Deuces 63. Drove 65. Nine inches 69. Bear a penalty 72. High points 74. Samovar 77. “___ to a Nightingale” 78. Lean 81. Rhubarb 82. Motorboats 84. Is definitely correct 87. Old railroad name 88. In case 89. Occurring every eight years 90. Cyst 91. Bat an eye?

93. Some bent pipes 95. Retin-A treats it 96. Madison Avenue award 97. Locality 98. Be-boppers 101. Acquire 104. Gamut

106. Like some hair 107. “___ do you do?”

110. ___ conduct, banned under consumer protection law in Australia 114. Means of access 115. Wrapped 116. Grooves 117. Gingrich 118. Takes out 119. Uncle ___

Down:

1. SALT concern 2. ___ John 3. Blunders 4. Diving bird 5. Strength 6. Broadway backer 7. One’s 8. Swallow 9. Stable worker 10. Masterful 11. Seats with kneelers 12. Irritated 13. Shogun’s capital 14. Relating to Greece 15. Hands, in slang 16. Book after II Chronicles 17. Existed 18. Aphrodite’s lover 20. Japanese soup 22. Like draft beer 24. Robust 29. Grasshopper sound 30. Remote control button 31. Baker’s unit 32. Shankar’s instruments 33. Bivalve shells 34. Positions 35. Small salmon 36. Main dishes 37. One who takes spoils 38. Auditory 39. A sparkling wine 40. Consequently 42. Rainbow goddess 43. Scrabble piece 44. Cay 45. Curse 46. Hybrid fruit 48. Most plain 49. On target

74 ★ EASTOFTHERIVERDCNEWS.COM

Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com 50. Fertility clinic stock 51. Seek a seat 57. Casuist 60. Bender 62. Closer, in a way 64. Old gold coin 66. Kind of license 67. Adoptive son of Trajan 68. Get cozy 70. Dunderhead 71. Desire 73. Director’s cry 75. After-bath wear 76. Palindromic time 78. Old World duck 79. Peel 80. Comparable 82. Moments

83. Bluefins 85. This and that 86. Kind of nut 91. Broadsheets 92. Physics lab device, for short 93. As a result 94. Stared rudely 96. Muslim leader 97. Apprehensive feeling 98. Secret store 99. Certifies 100. Proof goof 101. Trans-Siberian Railroad city 102. Dentist’s request 103. Boris Godunov, for one 104. Greet the day 105. Freshly 106. ___ Bank

107. Screen 108. Baker 109. Makes one 111. One of Alcott’s “Little Men” 112. ___ lab 113. Old cargo boat