After engaging the mayor’s citywide call center twice, I forwarded the pothole problem to Councilman Tommy Wells. Mr. Wells promptly emailed me back, agreeing that the potholes were dangerous and causing drivers to swerve into oncoming traffic. He mentioned that his office has also been trying to get the issue addressed. He was kind enough to forward my email to a couple of people at DDOT, who tracked my call center request down and emailed back that the potholes would be addressed “by Tuesday next week” (being Tuesday August 31).
Tuesday has come and gone, and the potholes are still there. I’ve received word from DDOT that the sent out a crew on Tuesday but the potholes cannot be filled. Instead the ruts require a more in-depth paving treatment called a deep patch or overlay. DDOT is “in the process of scheduling the work.” Counting the initial call center operator, these potholes have taken at least seven city employees to fix so far, and they haven’t been fixed yet. Our tax dollars at work, apparently.
Perhaps THIH should take up a collection for some asphalt.
September 2nd, 2010 by Claudia Holwill · Capitol Hill
Photo by Claudia Holwill
At last week’s candidates forum at the Southeast Library, a few questions drew a bit more reaction with the audience than others, one of which was regarding whether or not Kelvin Robinson would have supported the same-sex marriage bill had he been a Councilmember at the time it was voted on. There was a spirited exchange, of which you can read below — it has been taken from the transcript I was provided with by the organizers. Robinson wanted to clarify his position on this topic, since he feels that there is still some confusion regarding his position on the issue, and issued the following press release: [Read more →]
September 2nd, 2010 by Kyra Deblaker-Gebhard · Capitol Hill
Originally uploaded to flickr by Madame Meow
There is a certain amount of excitement I feel when I see a for sale sign standing proudly in front of a house I have admired for years. I think about, dream about, calling an agent and telling her that I’m in the market for a new home, only to see the “Open Sunday” sign appear days later.
While I have always been saved from making the call that begins with an elaborate lie and ends with a real estate agent wasting her time, there are the few rare homes that don’t change hands as quickly as I’d like them to, making it nearly impossible to even get through the front door–until now. Welcome to Hill Homes: Behind the Iron Gate. [Read more →]
Woohoo! Long weekend! I mean, let’s stop for a moment and be thankful for labor. And what better way to honor hard work and long hours than by stretching a two-day break into three? Lots of people will be heading out of town for one more dip at the shore, but if you’re hanging on the Hill here are a few events to keep you occupied. [Read more →]
Image courtesy of the Old Naval Hospital Foundation
Things are well underway at the Hill Center, especially underground. The restored Old Naval Hospital, scheduled to open next June and offer cultural, educational and civic programs to the community, will be heated and cooled by a geothermal system, and this week there’s a drilling rig on site digging 30 wells that are 350 feet deep.
Nicky Cymrot, president of the Old Naval Hospital Foundation, said the decision to install a geothermal system, to the tune of $875,000, was an expensive one, but just one of many steps that are being taken to ensure costs to maintain and run the center’s building and programs are as low as possible for the generations to come. The foundation has a long-term lease from the city for the building and they’re planning for the long haul. “Also, since we’re only 9 blocks from the Capitol, we wanted to set an example with use of resources,” she said. [Read more →]
Whenever I go home to New Jersey I regularly see bikes left unlocked outside of homes and even busy stores. I’m jealous and also inclined to steal these bikes just to teach the owners a lesson. See, I’ve had some bad luck with bikes in the District (and I know I’m not the only one).
In 2005, a thief stole my locked bike in the middle of the night from my front yard. One week to the day later, my husband took his bike out of the basement—we learned our lesson about locking up our bikes outside—so I could ride it to work. Locked to the fence for no more than 15 minutes, a thief broke the lock and rode my bike down the street and out of my reach. Despite my best efforts to chase down the thief, he got away and I never saw the bike again.
Since the thefts, I’ve been extra protective of my bikes. I’m especially nervous when it comes time to park my bike somewhere other than in my basement. Will my headlight still be attached? Will I have all of my tires? What about my fancy leather bike seat, will it be there? I’m filled with worry any time I park my bike outside, except when I go to Nationals Park. Why is that? Because I use the amazing bike valet service sponsored by CycleLife USA. [Read more →]
September 1st, 2010 by Claudia Holwill · Capitol Hill
image uploaded by wallyg on Flickr
Early voting may have started, but the Democratic primary is still two weeks away. So it’s time to ask the candidates questions about what matters to you most in our neighborhood. You have your next chance tonight at7:30 pm at Christ Our Shepherd Church, 801 North Carolina Avenue, SE. All three candidates — Tommy Wells (D-Incumbent), Kelvin Robinson (D), and Jim DeMartino (R) – will be there and ready to discuss the issues.
The forum will be moderated by Mark Segraves of WTOP and Channel 50 and sponsored by DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, DC Jobs Council, DC Jobs with Justice, Defeat Poverty DC, District Alliance for Safe Housing, Empower DC, Fair Budget Coalition, Latino Economic Development Corporation, Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, Wider Opportunities for Women, Ward 6 Democrats and Ward 6 Republicans.
To submit questions for inclusion in the forum, email questions to dcjobswithjustice@yahoo.com.
Do you check your email from the bathroom? What about while dining at fancy restaurants?
If you answered yes, you’re not alone. Three years ago, an AOL survey found that Washington DC is the most email-addicted city in the country. About three in four Washingtonians admitted to checking their email from a restaurant. A full 65 percent admitted to reading their email in the bathroom. [Read more →]
Image courtesy of the Old Naval Hospital Foundation
Your typical good Samaritan may pick up an abandoned purse or wallet tossed after a mugging or even a child’s sippy cup or toy that’s been catapulted from a stroller, in hope of returning them, but it really takes an upstanding citizen to haul home a hundred pound urn and locate its proper owner years later. The volunteers in charge of restoring the Old Naval Hospital and transforming it into the historically-accurate Hill Center are hoping angels like that really do exist, and that urns will start coming out of the woodwork at any moment.
During the years the building sat mostly empty, and the grounds and the property looked like something out of a Edgar Allen Poe novel, pieces of the iron fence went missing. A number of the finials and flourishes that fell off were collected by concerned neighbors and have been recently returned to the Old Naval Hospital Foundation. It’s hoped the same sense of civic pride and concern motivated whomever made off with the large urns that graced the top of the fence posts. The decorative cast-iron pieces were several feet high and a foot and half wide, not the kind of thing one makes off with lightly, right? It’s time for those urns to come home, so should you have one in your garden or garage, save your back and contact the Foundation – they’ll be happy to pick them up.
The Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC) has proposed plans to cut a large hole in the center of Union Station’s Great Hall for a redesign project that will add two large spiral staircases and elevators, which will open the main hall up to the food court below. Something similar was attempted in the 70s, but was a massive failure.
For those who are newer to the area, Union Station was not always what it is today, and there was talk about demolishing it all together. The project in the 70s, timed with the opening of the DC Metro system, was an attempt to turn Union Station into a visitors center, and included a recessed pit to display a slide show presentation (and why you will hear this new proposal referred to as another version of “The Pit”). However, it failed to bring the revitalization as hoped, and after just two years, the Great Hall was closed and fell into terrible disrepair. The Union Station we know today was re-opened in 1988, after a $70 million rehabilitation project.
Greater Greater Washington has some of the renderings as well as posts looking at arguments for and against the plan, as does Beyond DC and the City Paper’s Housing Complex blog.. Take a look at the plans (PDF), read the arguments, and let us know — do you support the new design?
