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THE CAPITOL HILL CURRENT

Fri, July 03, 2009

Washington, D.C.

Temp: 73°F

NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONS

Mayor Adrian Fenty inspects fruit at the refurbished Eastern Market minutes after it reopened last Friday.
(photo by Brett Davis)

D.C. NEWS

Memorial for Wherley, wife scheduled

Wells' Rosedale picnic goes off despite rain

Three Hill residents killed in Metro crash on Red Line

Locanda turned out to be recipe for disaster

H Street trolley power still under debate

Celebrated Hill actor dies

Artomatic celebrates 10th birthday

Eastern Branch saved; future still uncertain

Multiple meetings on Hine proposal planned

Seven bidders competing for 'Maples' house

Council rescues Eastern, Hopkins clubs

H Street Connection plans on the move

With help, H Street going green

'The Gym' uses Hill fitness center for backdrop

H Street mural takes shape

HILL CHATTER

Arena all Tony�d out; market volunteers needed

Kudos to the good folks at the Arena Stage, whose two productions, �Next to Normal� and �33 Variations,� won four Tony Awards this month. �Next to Normal� nabbed three: Best Original Score, Best Orchestration, and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for Alice Ripley.

Edge Advertising�s �Stars and Bars� design makes a racket

Capitol Hill�s own Edge Advertising won a citywide contest, sponsored in part by the District Department of Transportation, for a new bike rack, which will be stationed throughout the city. The winning �Stars and Bars� design was the brainchild of the firm�s senior graphic designer, Monika Gornikiewicz, who bikes every day to the Pennsylvania Avenue office.

Chateau-Animaux knows Bo

The District is all aflutter with its newest resident � Bo, the Obamas� new pup. And our own Chateaux-Animaux created a dolled-up gift basket for the first pooch on CBS� Early Show on April 15.

Goodbye, Innervision

We heard that Innervision, the wonderful art and office supply store on Barracks Row, is closing since owner JoAnn Rollings is retiring. One of the street�s longest merchants, the store opened in 1982. Make sure you stop by and wish Ms. Rollings a happy retirement. HillChatter will be sure to stop by and stock up on her favorite pens that she only finds there.

Commission declines to
endorse specific Hine project

Southeast Capitol Hill advisory neighborhood commissioners Tuesday night did not select a favorite among the four development proposals being considered by the city for the former Hine Middle School site. Instead, they unanimously voted to recommend criteria for the city to use when it asks some or all of those developers for what it calls their �best and final� proposals.

Neighbors irked by proposal
to reroute Pennsylvania

A group of Southeast neighbors is bracing for a confrontation on July 1, when a set of controversial proposals to remake the Eastern Market Metro plaza, and possibly reroute Pennsylvania Avenue, will be unveiled at St. Peter's Church.

Council member Wells suspects
Eastern Market fire was arson

As Eastern Market reopened more than two years after a devastating fire, Ward 6 D.C. Council member Tommy Wells for the first time said he believes the flames were intentionally set.

DIGEST

District offers green roof subsidy

Metropolitan Branch Trail construction begins at Union Station

Norton looking for congressional page

Garfield Park butterfly release planned

Capitol Visitor Center hits milestone

Plastic bag bill gains traction in council

11th Street Bridges project moves forward

IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Cupcakes, anyone?

Five o�clock is quitting time on a Sunday evening at Eastern Market, but folks are still stacked up three deep at The Fine Sweet Shoppe, hoping for one last delicacy to fill out their dinner table. It�s the end of a six-day week for Jenny Glasgow, plying the eager neighborhood with black-and-white cookies, artisanal breads, and especially cupcakes.

Back on the Hill

Barracks Row Main Street�s new executive director has a hands-on management style that fits well with the Hill�s burgeoning vitality. James Dalpee answers the doorbell at the group�s office at 733 1/2 8th St. with a laundry list of ongoing projects he�s overseeing, and a bag of trash to take to the Dumpster.

NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONS

Northeast Capitol Hill (ANC 6A)

At its June 11 meeting, the commission heard chair Joe Fengler announce that he has been trying to get Residential Permit Parking designated for 10th Street NE between F and G streets.

Southeast Capitol Hill (ANC 6B)

At its June 9 meeting, the commission heard representatives of the newly formed Eastern Market Community Residents Association, Thom and Barbara Riehle, ask whether a meeting has been scheduled to discuss programming for the upcoming Hill Center, to be housed at the Old Naval Hospital on Pennsylvania Avenue. Hill Center�s board president had promised to schedule the meeting in June.

Near Northeast Capitol Hill (ANC 6C)

At its June 10 meeting, the commission voted 4-2 not to support an Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration liquor-license renewal application from Kelly�s Liquors, 415 H St. NE, pending the negotiation of a voluntary agreement.

EDITORIAL

Losing Meads Row

The Historic Preservation Review Board frequently gets criticized for protecting properties that do not deserve protection. Unfortunately, however, it recently turned down a request to protect a series of nearly century-old buildings on H Street NE that should be preserved.

The 7th Street problem

The argument over whether to keep the 200 block of 7th Street SE closed on weekends is stoking big emotions in the community, as the market gears up to reopen next week

TOM SHERWOOD

Other people's Fourth of July ...

If we were an activist and not a fair and balanced reporter (love that phrase), we'd rail about the hollowness of the Fourth of July celebrations in the nation's capital.

Gangs, crews and you ...

What�s the difference between a gang and a crew? We�ve always thought that a crew was a neighborhood group that wasn�t large, organized or really criminal enough to be called a gang.

It's still my sandbox ...

Although Mayor Adrian Fenty has given up some of his "petty" and "infantile" fights with the D.C. Council -- The Washington Post's words -- that doesn't mean there's a ceasefire.

Ain't gonna fence me in ...

The New Beginnings Youth Center had a bad start.

ON THE MARKET

Row house puts traditional gloss on more recent build

Pedestrians strolling past the stretch of row houses that includes 650 Massachusetts Ave. NE would be hard-pressed to guess that the brick facades are well under a century old � that�s how successfully these circa-1989 homes blend with their historic neighbors.

Patience paid off with renovated 1880s home

Renovation fatigue is among the worst enemies of historic homes. Dwindling funds and bad decisions have certainly claimed casualties, but sheer exhaustion causes many well-begun projects to unravel into slapdash fiascos. The patience and focus needed to complete a careful restoration of a historic property are on display in the four-bedroom row house at 832 D St. SE. Owner Mark McIntosh gutted nearly the entire red-brick structure over the past few years but maintained as many original features as possible through painstaking effort.

NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSIONS

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