Good lookin' out...

• 
  
  And Now Anacostia reports the demolition of the gas station at Good Hope Road and 13th St. SE. An eyesore if ever there was one.  Maybe this demolition can help neighbors keep hope alive for an enlivened retail and office corridor since DDOT HQ won't be there.

• Mayor Fenty will give his State of the District Address at the Deanwood Community Center and Library (hopefully no changes).  The DCCL is the manifestation of a decades old battle neighbors fought to see come to fruition.  The opening is expected in June--just in time for summer swimming and lounging outdoors.  UPDATE: Washington Post's write-up of the SODA

• A real "white linen tablecloth" restaurant is bursting open--Ray's the Steaks ribbon cutting is happening!  Politicos and local Joes will click glasses and forks over quality foods.  UPDATE: Check fellow Ward 7 blogger, Life in the Village's, coverage!

WMATA SERVICE CUTS IMPACT DEANWOOD: ALL HANDS ON DECK

Deanwood Friend and Supporter, as a part of its budget balancing efforts the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has proposed closing the Deanwood Metro Station.  The Deanwood station is in Ward 7 and is the only station in the District proposed to be closed.  We need as many people as possible to email public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 with the following message.

Office of the Secretary
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
600 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
ATTN: Docket B10-2
public-hearing-testimony@wmata.com
F: 202-962-1133
www.wmata.com/survey.cfm
cc: mbrown@dccouncil.us, jim@grahamwone.com, yalexander@dccouncil.us, neil.albert@dc.gov

I oppose the WMATA proposal to close the Deanwood Metro Station, the ONLY station in Ward 7 and the District slated for closing. This shortsighted move will harm the neighborhood and the neighborhood's riders who rely on the station to get to jobs in downtown DC and in outer Maryland.

As WMATA searches for new revenue, I urge WMATA’s new joint development director Steve Goldin to move aggressively to implement the Deanwood Metro Station's transit-oriented development as proposed in the Deanwood Strategic Development Plan.  Please contact Gizachew Andargeh, Ward 7 Neighborhood Planner in the District Office of Planning, at (202) 442-7600 or email gizachew.andargeh@dc.gov.


My neighbors and I stand ready to work with Mr. Goldin and the Board to move the Deanwood Metro Station's transit-oriented development forward. Thank you.

Signature
Address
(Ward/Neighborhood)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is my hope that this proposed closing will spur WMATA, Valerie Santos, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, and Harriet Tregoning, the Director of the Office of Planning, to move AGGRESSIVELY with the transit-oriented development proposed in the Deanwood Strategic Development Plan.

UPDATE:  WASHINGTON CITY PAPER WROTE UP A QUICKIE ON THE "COST-SAVING" (hmmm) PROPOSAL.  WMATA's board meeting on the proposals will be Thurs., April 22.

HAPPY EASTER!  BE BLESSED & ENJOY!

Ludacris Lends Help to the U.S. Census :: Music :: News :: Paste

Ludacris Lends Help to the U.S. Census :: Music :: News :: Paste

Census 2010: It's in our hands!

Take a look at DC's Census 2010 "Hard-to-Count" (HTC) census tracts.  The Census Bureau has developed a list of HTC's based on underlying demographic and socio-economic indicators. These are the areas where community-based "get out the count" efforts should be focused. The higher the score the more difficult the region.  We've got 3 days to get forms in!

How are you actually "counted?"

Marvin Gaye Park Music Festival on Census Day, April 1, 4pm-8pm for music, healthy cooking demo's, football, basketball, live art and more!

Food desert or Economic Oasis

In the last few weeks a study has been released by DC Hunger Solutions detailing Deanwood as a food desert. Food desert, you ask? Yes, food desert. Just as it sounds Deanwood, along with all of Ward 7, Ward 8, Ward 5, and Ward 4, have few full-service grocery stores and even less healthy food options. Dominated by "mom-and-pop" convenience/liquor stores, carry-outs, and fast food joints we are sorely under-served. Contrast our neighborhood with Wards 2 and 3 which have "one grocery store for every 7,300 people" not to mention a new eatery serving cereal (?!).

The grocery gap and food desert are astounding social policy topics that fall under food justice, which deserves attention and a solution. At the same time food justice intersects quite well with economic growth and development. In the world of bottom-line retail development the trite slogan "rooftops drive demand" before amenities like a full-service grocery (i.e., 60,000+ sq. ft.) rules the decision-making process. (Read between the lines "rooftops" = a high income demographic.) Because of this erroneous perception chains and the mom-and-pop stores are missing out on dominating the market and building brand loyalty.

Deanwood has an opportunity, though, during this economic downturn. Making an opportunity out of a crisis gives us a chance to strategize, engaging our neighbors join an advocacy campaign that gets the City to implement the Deanwood Strategic Plan, the Nannie Helen Burroughs and Minnesota Great Streets, and the street cars plan, marketing our neighborhood.

We're at a crossroads; a crossroads that I think we're ready to march through to make things happen for us!

Verbosity vs. Brevity

Just decided to link my tweets to my blog. I'm not a verbose speaker and was kidding myself to think I'd be a verbose writer. Recently, I began to think "prolific bloggers just like to "hear" themselves talk." To get at the purpose of my blog, expounding on my tweets, the wonderful techie community has answered my aim. With the TwitterFeed api, I'll be able to come back later and provide additional thoughts and comments.