Sponsored

[sponsored_by action_blurb=”Sponsored By” name=”Casey Trees” url=”http://caseytrees.org/” logo=”https://www.popville.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/casey-trees-logo.png” byline=”Casey Trees is committed to restoring, enhancing and protecting the tree canopy of the nation’s capital for the long term.” attribution_action_blurb=”Created By” attribution_name=”BlankSlate” attribution_url=”http://www.blankslate.com/”][/sponsored_by]

Ever since the Washington Post ran an article about the steady decline of D.C.’s trees, Casey Trees has been dedicated to bringing them back. Casey Trees was established in 2002, its mission to “restore, enhance and protect the tree canopy of the Nation’s Capital.” With Casey Trees’ encouragement, the city set a 40% canopy goal by 2035.

In order to call attention to their mission, Casey Trees issues an annual Tree Report Card, the country’s only independent assessment of a city’s trees on both public and private lands. Following is the city’s 2013 report card, item by item. You can decide for yourself whether this report card is worthy of hanging on the refrigerator.

(more…)

[sponsored_by action_blurb=”Sponsored By” name=”The Wonderland Ballroom” url=”http://www.thewonderlandballroom.com/” logo=”https://www.popville.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/sundress-fest-logo.jpg” byline=”Men, women, and children in sundresses celebrating another groovy day. The Wonderland Ballroom’s 10th Annual Sundress Fest is May 4, 2014.” attribution_action_blurb=”Created By” attribution_name=”BlankSlate” attribution_url=”http://www.blankslate.com/”][/sponsored_by]

So you say you want to be a philanthropist?

Well, have we got a party for you — all you need is a sundress and a sense of humor. If special occasions call for putting on your best dress, then the 10th annual Sundress Fest at The Wonderland Ballroom is certainly one of them!

As we celebrate our first decade in the neighborhood, Wonderland invites D.C. to come out Sunday, May 4, to support a local charity by putting on a sundress and celebrating life. We’ll have an all-day happy hour for ANYONE in a sundress. We’ll have a pig roast (and veggie options!) in our Bohemian Beer Garden. And we’ll have our annual Champagne of Beers toast to the Wonderland mascot, the White Rabbit. You can bring your own sundress, or get one at Wonderland. We’ll have racks of sundresses, and everyone can find one that fits. It’s all for charity, so c’mon, show a little leg. (more…)

[sponsored_by action_blurb=”Sponsored By” name=”Casey Trees” url=”http://caseytrees.org/” logo=”https://www.popville.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/casey-trees-logo.png” byline=”Casey Trees is committed to restoring, enhancing and protecting the tree canopy of the nation’s capital for the long term.” attribution_action_blurb=”Created By” attribution_name=”BlankSlate” attribution_url=”http://www.blankslate.com/”][/sponsored_by]

Despite what you may have heard, George Washington loved trees.

Our first president wanted the new nation’s capital to have a lush canopy, extensive green spaces, and tree-lined boulevards. Thanks to his vision, and that of its designer Pierre L’Enfant, Washington, D.C., still boasts more green space per capita than any other city in the United States. The tens of thousands of trees planted here in the 1800s earned D.C. one of its nicknames, the “City of Trees.”

But the city’s trees are in jeopardy. DC’s tree canopy declined to just over 35% in 2011, down from 50% in 1950. A Washington Post article chronicling this decline encouraged Betty Brown Casey, a longtime area resident, to establish Casey Trees in 2002 with the mission “To restore, enhance and protect the tree canopy of the Nation’s Capital.” With Casey Trees’ encouragement, the city set a 40% canopy goal by 2035.

In order to call attention to their mission, Casey Trees issues an annual Tree Report Card, the only independent assessment of D.C.’s trees on both public and private lands. For 2013, the city received an overall grade of B minus. There were many positive advancements, including a reported 10,232 total trees being planted collectively by individuals and groups across the District. However, the overall grade was brought down due to the city’s inability to confirm that trees planted to replace removed Special Trees — those 55 inches or greater in circumference — actually survive to maturity. Only if trees live until maturity can the lost tree canopy be offset. (more…)

[sponsored_by action_blurb=”Sponsored By” name=”The Alden” url=”http://thealdendc.com/” logo=”https://www.popville.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/the-alden-logo.png” byline=”Aria Development Group. Historic real estate. Good times.” attribution_action_blurb=”Created By” attribution_name=”BlankSlate” attribution_url=”http://www.blankslate.com/”][/sponsored_by]

Hi there! We’re Aria Development Group, and we’ve been reading all of your comments and questions about The Alden, our new renovation of 2620 13th Street NW. There is clearly a lot of speculation about the information surrounding this project, from building history and ownership to affordability and rent. Well, we were inspired by your comments, and we’d like to offer the following oh-so-fun-and-entertaining Alden Quiz to test your knowledge of the salient facts of this deal. And we will offer you one free month of rent if you answer all of these questions correctly, or if you come visit and decide you’d like to live at The Alden before May 15th. If you so desire, you can study from the “CliffsNotes” here and here. Are you ready? Let’s begin!

Quiz after the jump. (more…)

[sponsored_by name=”DC Home Buzz” url=”http://www.dchomebuzz.com/full-service-flat-fee-listing-service/” logo=”https://www.popville.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1dc-home-buzz-on-transparent-background-copy-copy.jpg” byline=”DC Home Buzz is a real estate company in Columbia Heights.” attribution_name=”BlankSlate” attribution_url=”http://www.blankslate.com/advertisers/”]

As part of a series of profiles of women who own their own businesses, The New York Times profiled DC Home Buzz’s real estate broker Ati Williams, where she discussed how homeowners can save thousands through her newly introduced initiative, “Full Service, Flat Fee.”

Introduced last April, the program is open to all home sellers and developers in the DC metropolitan area (DC, Maryland and Virginia) who list with DC Home Buzz, regardless of home price.

“When brokers sell a house,” writes Colleen DeBaise of the Times, “they typically collect a commission of 3 percent of the purchase price [while] another 3 percent goes to the buyer’s broker. Brokers like this model, but consumers increasingly want lower fees, Ms. Williams said, particularly as the Internet has changed the way people market houses.”

Instead of collecting the standard 3-percent commission, DC Home Buzz collects a flat fee of $9,900 from the seller and 3% for the buyers only if the home sells. This fee includes tailored marketing (including photos, video, and social media advertisement), plus complimentary staging and an expert agent in charge of pricing, handling offers, and negotiations.

To get more information and a free, no-obligation estimate of your home’s value, you can get started here.

[sponsored_by name=”Zagat” url=”https://survey.zagat.com/LandingPage.aspx?surveyid=1067&utm_source=ZG10162&utm_medium=External_Marketing&utm_campaign=Local_Partners” logo=”https://www.popville.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/ZA_Logo_Red-1.jpg” byline=”Zagat helps users find the world’s most exceptional places by curating the opinions of avid consumers with real experiences.” attribution_name=”BlankSlate” attribution_url=”http://www.blankslate.com/”]

Do you know Washington, D.C., like the back of your hand? Does the back of your hand have faded stamps from the last three clubs you were at? Well then, it’s about time someone rewarded you for your expertise.

Zagat is looking for local experts to fill out its Washington, D.C. Nightlife Survey. Simply share your recent nightlife experiences and receive $25 off your next qualifying Zagat Wine purchase. Your comments may also be quoted as part of the next Zagat review.

Plus, if you submit one of the wittiest reviews–think “margaritas so good you might wake up married”– you’ll win a FREE Samsung Chromebook, perfect for planning your next night out on the town.

Now when someone asks why you stay out so late every night, you can say, “I’M WORKING.”

Photo courtesy of vmiramontes via Flickr

[sponsored_by name=”Little Acre Flowers” url=”http://www.littleacreflowers.com/” logo=”http://blog.blankslate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/12/Little-Acre-Logo-Final-120X60.jpg” byline=”Little Acre Flowers offers locally-sourced flowers for delivery throughout DC/MD/VA. A new way to order flowers.” attribution_name=”BlankSlate” attribution_url=”http://blankslate.com/advertisers/”]

Valentine’s Day is coming! Enter the giveaway at the bottom of this post for a chance to win an over-the-top floral arrangement valued at $300.

Where does our food come from? Recently, it’s a question more of us have been asking. The locally-sourced movement has created a culture in which people actively seek out food that comes from nearby sources, believing it is healthier, more environmentally sound, and that it supports the local economy.

So, if we’re conscientious about what we put in our bodies, it makes sense to be equally aware of what we put in our homes–the overarching thought behind the creation of Little Acre Flowers, first locally-sourced florist in the D.C. area.

Founder Tobie Whitman was inspired by the farm-to-table movement in grocery stores and restaurants. She had the idea to create a flower delivery service that she calls field-to-vase: with flowers directly sourced from local fields and arranged in a vase, without any unknowns or variables in-between.

Just as a locally sourced restaurant offers a seasonal menu based on the availability of fresh meats and produce from local farms, Little Acre offers a daily arrangement of its freshest flowers. You can have the flowers delivered to pretty much anywhere in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area.

(more…)

[sponsored_by name=”Make Your Money Matter” url=”http://makeyourmoneymatter.org/” logo=”http://blog.blankslate.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/11/make-your-money-better-logo.jpg” byline=”Make Your Money Matter  is a grassroots campaign that educates a new generation of consumers about the benefits credit unions provide over big banks.” attribution_name=”BlankSlate” attribution_url=”http://blankslate.com/advertisers/”]

These days, it can be hard to imagine that there are still alternatives to big corporate banks in DC. The architecture of our main thoroughfares speaks to the large presence of these giants. On Connecticut Avenue between Dupont Circle and K Street, there are 14 big bank locations. And it doesn’t count the large number of ATMs in pharmacies.

But when millions of people deposit their money into a big bank, do they actually know where it goes? Unlike banks, credit unions are not-for-profits where the members themselves own the credit unions. This means that the financial profits go back to members and the community, rather than to shareholders. With regular banks, 97% of the money you deposit can leave the community but credit unions last year distributed over $5.3 billion back to members. (more…)