Word of Domku closing has loosened a few memories for me. I’m gonna have to put on my old man hat and remind some folks what Petworth was like it 2005 when they first opened. Petworth was spectacular in 2005, thank you very much. It was spectacular because it was “real” and the people were the best. No nonsense, no bullshit, no pretension. Now despite the fact that Petworth was the most underrated neighborhood in the District, it was far from perfect. There were not many sit down restaurants on Upshur Street (RIP old school Hitching Post) and there certainly weren’t any that served borscht. In came Kera Carpenter with W. Domku. Domku was a game changer. It was cool as shit and despite it’s originality it was most definitely not pretentious. It was what so many of us had been pining for – simply a cool spot to eat, drink and meet folks from the neighborhood (and beyond.)

Now having said that Domku was far from perfect. I actually always enjoyed the food but as others have noted the service was, at times, uh, inconsistent. And the owner was at times, uh, no nonsense. But let’s again go back to 2005 for a minute. Opening a new restaurant on Upshur street was not roses, rainbows and celebrations like it is today. You had to be tough as nails. Read More

Photo by PoPville flickr user Ian Livingston

In Response to “Harassment Outside Union Station”

By Korrin L. Bishop, Communications Fellow on behalf of Capitol Hill Group Ministry

No. We’re not all social workers. We’re not all extroverts, we don’t always feel safe, and we don’t always know what to do. However, when most of us see someone in need, we want to help.

So, rightly, a PoPville reader recently posed the question, “What can be done?” What can we do to help the men and women experiencing homelessness at and around Union Station?

There are many changes happening in D.C. lately that unfortunately leave too many of our vulnerable neighbors living on the streets with nowhere to go. When this happens, we see that suffering on our daily commutes. And, we may not all be social workers, but there is always something we can do to help.

Depending on how you want to make an impact, some ways to be involved include: Read More

Photo by PoPville flickr user DoctorJ.Bass

Elizabeth Nicoletti is a 12th and V Street homeowner and Garrison parent.

Why is it so hard to commit to DC schools?

The green text bubble lit up on my iPhone, and I could see the words from across my kitchen counter, “Exciting news! We bought a new house!” The text came from close friends who live on our block. Our kids are similar ages, we all go to the local park regularly, and twice a year we co-organize neighborhood events. However, their oldest is entering Pre-K, and they cannot commit to the local school.

The local school is Garrison Elementary School. I decided to send my son to Garrison for numerous reasons – its high-quality teachers, vicinity, curriculum and diversity. Watching my son thrive in Garrison’s rich cultural bastion confirms our decision. At three years old, he is writing, reading and dancing ballet and hip-hop alongside his bright and eager classmates. However I am constantly confronting shortcomings with the school’s structure. A reoccurring mouse infestation, a faulty heating and cooling system and acres of unusable athletic fields are distracting students and teachers from reaching their full potential. And they continue to weigh on parents’ conscience about whether or not this is the best setting for long-term success. Read More

Weighting Historic Designation: Problems in Democracy Town

“Dear PoPville,

Eckington is one of many rapidly changing communities in Washington DC, with over 4120 residents [1], a number of which are low-income or elderly and/or disabled. Rapid changes in both the economic and racial composition of the neighborhood has stoked fears of gentrification as well as unbridled development, with its rushed and often ugly buildings. Historic Designation seems like a sensible response to the rapid pace of change.

Historic Designation, aiming to preserve the historic and cultural resources of the community, is in many ways a very appealing concept. But its implications are far-reaching and often unconditional. With greater oversight over developers and preservation of character, comes strict limits on homeowner rights and financial burdens on low-income households.

There is a broad set of pros and cons worthy of community discussion, including:

DC’s procedures for setting neighborhood Historic Designation status are at best lacking. Requiring only that a community group research neighborhood history, perform outreach, apply for designation, and defend its position in front of a seven- to nine-person Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). How the community group and the HPRB determine whether or not to proceed is up to them.

This process is rapidly creating new divisions in an otherwise tight-knit neighborhood. Read More

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr.TinDC

From Denise Krepp, ANC6B10 Commissioner:

“Yesterday, I testified before the DC Council Committee on Judiciary about the inconsistency of criminal data. Three different entities collect arrest, prosecution, and sentencing data. They then compile it into annual reports which are shared with Congress and the DC Council. Unfortunately, the information is inconsistent leading one to question why tens of thousands of dollars are being wasted every year in a fruitless exercise.

The DC Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission compiles sentencing data. This data is then shared with the DC Council. Per the Commission’s 2014 Annual Report, the D.C. Superior Court sentenced 1,773 offenders in 1,921 felony cases that consisted of 2,844 individual felony counts. (Page iii, here) So far everything looks good, but read on. Read More

Photo by PoPville flickr user Nathan Castellanos

Ed. Note: (Ironically) I’m closing the comments section here. So please just take a minute, if you wish, to read the post and read it again – then take a couple more minutes to just think about what was written. And if you just can’t contain yourself, as always you can go to Reddit and call me a fascist there. Thanks. And thanks to OP for sharing her perspective.

“Dear PoPville,

I am Black. I am a native New Yorker from non-college educated parents born in the segregated south during the early 40s. One from a family that were land owners and another from a family of share croppers. I was raised in an entirely Black and Latino neighborhood but my family believed in education and trying to achieve generational wealth without accumulating unnecessary debt. I graduated from an Ivy League college and went on to get my JD. I guess I’m mid to upper middle class. My parents provided an excellent moral compass and I learned to hang around others who had the same goals as me. That doesn’t mean I never walked around in a group of loud talking boisterous youth when I was young. I just had no desire to participate in criminal things and avoided those who did. There are people like me everywhere even in DC’s current youth population. Read More

Photo by PoPville flickr user Erin

Ed. Note: Better late than never. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to post before Halloween but I still think it’s an interesting message. If you have a PoP-Ed. about a subject of particular import to you please send an email to [email protected] for consideration.

“Dear PoPville,

As Halloween approaches, I implore readers to think about the minority faiths and practices that keep the old spirit of the day alive; the witches.

As one who has been practicing modern day pagan witchcraft for 16 years, I can tell you that Washington DC is home to thousands of us. We look just like you, have families we love, and work in all areas of the District and its suburbs. There are witches who work in our museums, on Capitol Hill, in a plethora of non-profit organizations, and even in the White House. For the witches of Washington DC, there’s no doubt that this place is home.

While most Americans on October 31 are out attending Halloween parties or taking their kids trick-or-treating, the witches of DC gather in parks, fields, and in private homes to celebrate Samhain. Samhain, from a Celtic word meaning “Summer’s End”, is our day to honor our ancestors and all those who have gone before. On Samhain night, my coven of 25 will hold a special Dumb Supper, a tradition where we eat a meal together in silence and memory of the beloved dead. While some might think that modern witches are up to nefarious and frightful deeds on this night, it is truly a holy time that connects us to the ancient ways of the tribal nations of the British Isles.

We ask that while some individuals spread the myth that modern witches hold ill intent, you think about the small but growing religious community that harmful stereotypes affect. We are your family, friends, colleagues, and neighbors. While our ways might seem strange, we bring a valuable and important layer to the diversity of America and to our nation’s capital: individuality and a reverence for the communities we share our lives with.

Happy Samhain and happy Halloween!

David Salisbury
High Priest, Coven of the Spiral Moon”

Photo by PoPville flickr user jacquesofalltrades

Justin lives in the H Street, NE neighborhood. PoP-Ed. posts may be written about anything related to the District and submitted via email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail please include PoP-Ed. in the subject line.

“Recent events have made it perfectly clear that the United States Congress shouldn’t play any role in the day-to-day operations of the District of Columbia. For years, D.C. has been an unfortunate pawn in the partisan warfare that consumes the United States Congress, and it’s wrong.

Just last week, Congressman Andrew Harris, MD (R-MD) decided to turn D.C. into his own cheap prop during an appropriations meeting by filing and ultimately passing an amendment to kill the “The Simple Possession of Small Quantities of Marijuana Decriminalization Amendment Act of 2013”.

This decriminalization act was passed by the democratically elected D.C. Council with overwhelming support. It was signed into law by the District’s elected executive, Mayor Vincent Gray. I don’t know why Congressman Harris believes that his role as a representative of Maryland – where decriminalization is the law, by the way – entitles him to overrule the democratically-enacted statutes of our city.

Small amounts of recreational marijuana in the hands of non-violent offenders shouldn’t ruin lives. As D.C. struggles to increase high school graduation rates and decrease violent crime, we should focus on removing barriers to education and employment by encouraging treatment and rehabilitation in lieu of imprisonment. Decriminalization makes good fiscal sense as well: we should not be paying to house non-violent marijuana users in a Department of Corrections facility.

But unfortunately the merits of the policy have been overwhelmed by the crusading ego of Congressman Harris. This is simply unacceptable.

While we may not have direct representation in Congress, we need to band together and rally for a united and fully independent Washington, D.C.”

Catalina Talero is a career educator and Fulbright Scholar residing in Washington, D.C. PoP-Ed. posts may be submitted via email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail please include PoP-Ed. in the subject line.

If you passed through Connecticut Avenue, particularly around K St., at any time during the day or night of June 28th it is likely that you were overcome by waves or, at times, a small sea of yellow . Colombia will play Brazil over the July 4th weekend and when that happens that #seaofyellowjersies promises to swell into a giant, golden ocean of fans rooting for Colombia.

Last Sunday (the day after Colombia vs. Uruguay: 2-0), a highly regarded friend energetically expressed her happiness that Colombia seemed to have left its World Cup brutality in the past. She brought up the fact that Colombia used to assassinate its own team members if they missed crucial goals, especially penalty shots, giving new meaning to the term “sudden death overtime”. The authenticity of her congratulation was clarion. What could I say? She was right.

And it could also be said of Colombia’s 2014 World Cup run that, regardless of outcome, thus far it is ineffably swathed in beauty. One might even venture to suggest that this is so precisely because our collective past is marked by national tragedy.

Some of the most creative human rights abuses in recorded history have indeed taken place on Colombian soil. Colombian-Americans, however, are ambassadors of so very much more than war and its spoils. Our ability, education, resilience and Nobel-prize winning contributions to literature far exceed even the fecundity of our exquisite biological diversity, our sublime flora and fauna.

Copa do Mondo Brasil marks our first participation in the event with formal peace negotiations underway in Colombia. Irrespective of how an individual Colombian-American may identify politically we are focused –as a group- on peace, prosperity and sustainability. Ask any DC Colombiano: he or she will gladly testify. One of our favorite chants as soccer fans is ¡Amen!

Another thing we do seem to be enjoying, at present, is making euphoric World Cup goals. Our nation’s capital has not only tolerated our raucous revelry, it has received it remarkably generously. I close with my Facebook status, posted after the game on June 28th:

Please understand: this is historic. We lived through the War on Drugs. I remember times when people in Bogotá would ask: “has there been a bomb yet today”? Mañana is now. And today the police in Washington, D.C. beeped in time to the rhythm of our Colombian drums and kindly shut down a portion of Connecticut Avenue as we danced and cheered together. Colombianos: we all know the cost. We all paid our own version of the price. Every time we win, what we express is our joy and gratitude at the opportunity to be here, alive and safe, joyful with you.  #gracias

SPN:
Cierro con mi estatus de Facebook, posteado después del partido el 28 de junio
Favor entender que esto es histórico. Nosotros sobrevivimos la guerra contra las drogas. Recuerdo días en que la gente en Bogotá preguntaba si hoy día había explotado bomba. “Tomorrow” es ahora. Y hoy la policía en Washington, D.C. pitaba al ritmo de nuestros tambores colombianos, muy amablemente cerrando una porción de Connecticut Avenue mientras bailábamos y aclamábamos juntos. Colombianos: todos sabemos el verdadero costo. Todos pagamos nuestras propias versiones del precio. Cada vez que ganamos, lo que expresamos es nuestra alegría y gratitud por la oportunidad de estar aquí, vivos y seguros, jubilosos con ustedes. #thankyou