On Tuesday, the 16th Annual Blue Mass service, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, for all first responders in area kicked off Police Week 2010 when all of those in our nation's law enf community who lost their lives are remembered and honored.

One of DC's new streetcars on display at Center City.

10:45am, Wednesday, May 5
(The Mayor is often half an hour late, in case you try to schedule a break from work....)
City Center DC – Site of the Old Convention Center
9th and H Streets, NW

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Gabe Klein, Director of the District Department of Transportation will be officially unveiling the first modern streetcar to debut in the District. Fenty and Klein will kick off the DC Streetcar Showcase, present one of the District’s new modern streetcars and announce planned improvements to the city’s transit system.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Councilmember Tommy Wells will join business leaders, ANC Commissioners, neighbors and advocates for a special tour of one of the District’s streetcars bound for the H Street Corridor and currently on display to the public.

“Streetcars represent the next generation of public transportation,” stated Wells. “Our Metro system, as wonderful as it is, was designed to move people in and out of the city. Streetcars are about connecting neighborhoods. I’m excited to join neighbors and others to get on board the streetcar and get a feel for what soon will be riding the rails on H Street and Benning Road.”

Councilmember Wells is organizing an exciting evening to celebrate not only the unveiling of the streetcar, but also the H Street Corridor and its wonderful small businesses.

Agenda:
4pm – The Old Town Trolley will depart Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H Street, NE) for the site of the DDOT streetcar downtown display. The Trolley will make regular shuttle trips between the sites approximately every 30 minutes. The H Street Shuttle will complement the Trolley service when it begins its regular daily service at 5 pm.

5pm – Last Trolley departure from the Atlas before streetcar tour begins.

5:30 pm – Councilmember Wells will lead neighbors and leaders on a special tour of the District’s streetcar on display downtown at City Center DC (Lot B, 9th & H Street, NW).

6:30 pm – Councilmember Wells and neighbors will board the last trolley departing downtown for the return trip to the Atlas and a happy hour celebration at SOVA Espresso & Wine (1359 H Street NE).

7:00 pm – Councilmember Tommy Wells and other invited Councilmembers will address streetcar supporters. Other modes of transportation to the destinations: The Downtown Streetcar Exhibit will be located on Lot B of Center City DC. The public entrance is located at 9th and H Street, NW.

In addition to the Trolley and H Street Shuttle, the site is easily accessible from the Gallery Place Metro Station on the Green and Yellow lines. The Atlas Performing Arts Center and SOVA Espresso & Wine are both located on the 1300 block of H Street, NE – 1333 and 1359 H Street NE respectively. Take the X2 east or west bound on H Street. Take the 90 or 92 north or south bound to 8th and H Street, NE – either walk 4 blocks east or transfer to the X2.

Sunday, May 2, Fort McNair

Third District MPD officers were strong competitors in several of the competitions, but the day was more about just having a relaxing good time and recognizing and supporting the hard work MPD and Fire/EMS officers do every day. It was a great time for families and kids, with plenty of good food and music. The weather made for a great day at Fort McNair.

Aside from volunteers, several electeds came out to show their support. Mayor Fenty and Attorney General Peter Nickles enjoyed some barbeque and the running events. The Fastest Man in the MPD (aka Flash, is featured here.

Chairman Vince Gray came out to speak with officers and their families.

MPD Chief Cathy Lanier and Councilmember Yvette Alexander took part in the best barbeque contest.

Kids watched the MPD canine exhibition.

MPD Bike patrols showed just how skilled they are on two wheels.

Some dog owners don't follow the directions on posted signs. When this woman (photo attached) let me take a photo of her and her four legged friend on the Kennedy Playground today, she seemed as if she was just going about her normal daily routine. Although they occasionally get ripped down or graffiti'd over (probably the crack heads...), the "no dogs allowed" signs are pretty obvious to most.

City officials should show some leadership:

• Either enforce the current restrictions, or
• Take the signs down and allow all dog walkers a specific space on the Kennedy Recreation Center Playground to let their pets recreate officially. (But for goodness sake not on the baseball field lest young players get their uniforms messed up when catching a ball in the outfield; baseball is a productive activity we'd like to encourage youth to participate in, not shit on their game.), or
• Create a new dog park in the area. I recall Commissioner Sule promised months ago last year that she would be take on the assignment of finding a nearby dog park location, she must have found one by now. We should get an update at the next ANC meeting.

Update: Sunday, May 2, 2010
Anonymous Dogwalker 2 and her anonymous dog:

The northeast corner of the Kennedy Recreation Center is virtually unused. There is even a gate on the northeast corner already. Space for a regulation sized dog park could easily be cut out while still leaving plenty of space for other Recreation Center programming on the rest of the lawn fenced off from the baseball field.

12 noon, Saturday, May
Historical Society of Washington, DC
801 K Street, NW

It’s Preservation Month—Watch a performance by the Wong Chinese Lion Dancers, take a free pedicab tour of Shaw and win prizes at the Shaw Architectural Treasure Hunt! See where history makers lived, worked, played and prayed; and sample food and beverages from neighborhood businesses. Tour reservations required, so RSVP now! Treasure hunt forms available at the Historical Society of Washington, DC (www.historydc.org).

Wong Chinese Lion Dancers
The Chinese Lion is a mythological creature that represents strength, wisdom and good luck and has the ability to drive away evil spirits. Come watch a performance of the Wong Chinese Lion Dancers, where a procession of musicians playing gongs and cymbals will be accompanied by a feathered, four-legged, carnival-like puppet lion swirling, spinning, and rearing up on its hind legs.

This ancient ritual starts at 12:00 PM in front of the Historical Society of Washington, DC, 801 K Street, NW. Free.

Shaw Pedicab Tour
Ride in comfort with National Pedicabs for a tourguide-led tour of the neighborhood’s history, architecture, and upcoming development. See sites associated with Helen Hayes, ‘Duke’ Ellington, the Washington Senators baseball team, the labor movement, Black history and much more. Visit an art-filled bed and breakfast in a former mortuary (www.dcguesthouse.com), and sample wine (www.modernliquors.com), award-winning red velvet and lemon minicupcakes (www.chapmansbakeycafe.com), delicious coffee and sandwiches (www.aziscafe.com), and Ethiopian food (www.littlethiopiarestaurantdc.com).

Starts at 12:00 PM in front of the Historical Society of Washington, DC, 801 K Street, NW. Duration: 2 hours. Free. Reservations required.

Shaw Architectural Treasure Hunt
Walk along 7th and 9th Streets, NW around the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and look up to find architectural details on historic buildings in the area on the photo-illustrated treasure hunt form. Stop for free treats at neighborhood businesses along the way. Turn in completed forms and enter to win prizes from neighborhood businesses. Free. Starts at 12:00 PM at Historical Society of Washington, DC, 801 K Street, NW. Forms available at information desk in Great Hall. Completed forms must be returned to HSWDC by 4:00 PM in order to be entered in drawing for prizes. Must be present to win.

Sponsored by the DC Department of Small and Local Business Development www.dslbd.dc.gov

Alexander M. Padro, Executive Director
Shaw Main Streets, Inc.
1426 9th Strfeet, NW, Basement, Washington, DC 20001-3330
Phone: 202-265-SHAW, Fax: 202-265-7529
Email:shawmainstreets@aol.com,
www.ShawMainStreets.com

Shaw Main Streets is a designated DC Main Streets program and is funded in part by the Department of Small and Local Business Development

As reported here, Pennsylvania Avenue is getting bike lanes. What seemed like a far off dream just weeks ago, is now a reality. It's great to see and sets a remarkable example for the nation and the world. All those stock photo agencies with pics of PA Ave are going to need to update their images. The change will be very significant if the lanes eventually get painted green as indicated in DDOT's full downtown bike lane scheme.

Plans also call for dedicated bike lane traffic signals to be installed. Even with their own traffic signals, navigating the turn off Penn Ave onto its arteries are probably going to be tricky for motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and especially tourists to get accustomed to. But I was told that Chief Lanier has authorized that MPD, possibly joined by other law enforcement agencies in the area, will at least initially be giving extra attention to the area to enforce safety for all users.

One lest lane on each side of the median for cars, should not be a problem during non rush hour periods, but the commuters are probably going to express some initial push back if their travel times are extended as they try to enter and exit the city on weekdays.

Garden Fest 2010
10 am-4 pm, Saturday May 8
Enid A. Haupt Garden, behind the Smithsonian Castle

Entertainment will be provided throughout the day by the Richmond Indigenous Gourd Orchestra and Stilt Walker, Tim Marrone. Activities will include: beneficial insect release, Victorian photo booth, pot your own heirloom vegetables, weave an African basket, create your own bouquet and much much more! Demonstrations will be given on many different topics including: the language of flowers, the life cycle of trees, the importance of green roofs and botanical art. See the full schedule here.

The Metropolitan Police Department officers and their families will be taking part in a "Police and Fire Field Day" 11am-6pm, May 2, at Fort McNair (WaterFront Metro rail/Metro bus 70, 71 and Circulator). They are looking for citizens willing to serve as volunteers to manage tables and stations so the officers will be free to enjoy the day with their families and colleagues. This is a great way to say 'thank you' for the hard and dangerous work that officers do each day on behalf of citizens and and the sacrifices they and their families make for citizens when they put in those long hours in crime ridden communities like Shaw.

If you would like to volunteer to help make this a great event for officers and their families, please contact Lt. Morgan C. Kane at Morgan.Kane@dc.gov or Matt Bromeland at Matthew.Bromeland@dc.gov.

It should be a fun day to be a spectator and watch officers let loose some steam. The day will feature K-9 exhibitions, horse demonstrations, moon bounce slide, aerial
ladders, fireboats, games and other activities for your children to enjoy. Segway and mountain bike competitions, running, volleyball, basketball, flag football, bke rodeos, Segway demos, fireboats and more.

Late-blooming daffodils defy the odds in the The Peace Garden at Scott Montgomery, on the 1500 block of Fifth Street NW, which is filled with all sorts of color: maroon and lemony tulips, and budding magenta and orange roses make the nearby playground a nice place for children and families.

A second crop of duo-toned daffodils look more robust than many of the tulips that have already started to fade.

The $11(!) white Camellia, purchased at the Franciscan Monastery Garden's Plant Sale, won't bloom again until next spring, but it has a whole year to grow into a much larger shrub. After discovering the 8ft camellias in full bloom in the monastery gardens several weeks ago, I'm happy to have a new favorite plant. to disc Peonies nearby already have several buds on them. Asiatic and day- lilies will take a little longer to bloom. If some sunflowers started from seeds actually sprout, they will make a nice addition for the summer.

Another angle for the sake of posterity since these things only bloom once a year.

Sunday, April 25, 2010. 605 P Street NW. DCRA has been alerted and come out to inspect, Mayor Fenty's Ward 2 MOCRS have interceded, neighbors have complained and been told things that are not true (like "the permits are in the car"), no permits can be found on the outside of the property, yet construction continued as of Saturday and the nail guns could be heard at night several houses down the street.

Floor boards seem to indicate that the owner plans to change the widows to the property in some ridiculous fashion so that the original first floor windows will be partially sealed about a foot from the bottom. This looks like it is apparently to raise the first floor to accommodate a full basement with high ceilings. From the looks of it, the basement will have higher ceilings than the first floor. That's dumb.

First floor window with raised floor.

The new window frames seem to be much smaller than any of the those on the row houses facing P Street. This is already looking like a hot mess and they have not even begun to paint. It's that one time one wishes for historic district regulations to nip the problem in the bud.

The rumor is that the end product will be a "rooming house" something neighbors are already complaining about. The owner of 605 P St NW has already proven that s/he has no intention of being a good neighbor after brazenly continuing construction despite the absence of posted permits, despite repeated complaints to DCRA and Mayor Fenty's Office, and calls to MPD about the construction noise extending into the late evening. Can't wait to meet the new tenants. ...

Are you kidding me with the thin particle board joists? If those are up to code, I'd hate to be the person with the grand piano living in that house. The owner should be fined retroactively at least back to the date of the last valid construction permits.

-----Original Message-----
From: Kidwell, Christine (EOM)
Sent: Thu, Apr 15, 2010 3:44 pm

... According to the District of Columbia’s Property Information Verification System, 605 P Street, NW is owned by:

MOHAMMED YOUSEFI of
9200 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD 20910

All information regarding this property, including permits issued and current restrictions and holds, can be found using this site: http://PIVS.dcra.dc.gov

From what I can tell after just a quick look at this, Mr. Yousefi does not have any current permits to be performing any sort of construction on the land. The last permit he had was for plumbing purposes and the date of completion for that project was January 14, 2010. ...

Christine Noel Kidwell
Ward 2 Outreach & Service Specialist
Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services
Executive Office of the Mayor