I'm back. Here are some news and links that came down the pike during my respite:
* Tonight (June 18) the
Capitol Hill Restoration Society is having a community forum with DDOT director Emeka Moneme, at which DDOT staff will be "prepared to discuss all the various transportation initiatives that are being planned or implemented that affect Capitol Hill, including the Anacostia River and Reservation 13 areas, the 11th Street bridge expansion, H Street light rail, and other issues relating to streets, parking, commuter traffic, and mobility on Capitol Hill." The program will begin at 7:45 pm, after refreshments at 7:15 and CHRS business at 7:30. It's at St. Peter's Parish Hall at 2nd & C Streets, SE
*
The Post profiles Robert E. Boone, the founder of the
Anacostia Watershed Society, and looks at the strides that have been made in cleaning up the river over the past 20 years: "Boone did not make the Anacostia clean, but he made it visible again, reconnecting it with a city that had used the river and then forgotten it."
*
City Paper updates the status of
Positive Nature, the program for at-risk kids housed at 1017 New Jersey Ave., SE.
A few months ago, legislation was introduced that would have exempted the property from real estate taxes as long as Positive Nature was there; but the bill has never had a hearing. Apparently the city is still looking for a space to move the program to.
*
The DCMud blog interviews Capitol Riverfront BID executive director Michael Stevens about the changes happening in Near Southeast and the development planned for the area.
*
Voice of the Hill looks at the changes to the parking rules along Pennsylvania Avenue and Eighth Street. And also brings up the problem with credit card transactions often not working with the multispace kiosks. Cellular transmission interference of some kind, DDOT says, with the hope that it should be fixed within a few weeks. (Those of you who receive CIA broadcasts through the fillings in your teeth might notice the same issues.)
* This weekend's Nats homestand against the Texas Rangers includes "Thanksgiving in June," the third-annual food drive in partnership with the
Capitol Area Food Bank. Bring nonparishable food items (canned proteins, fruits and vegetables; pasta and sauces, soups, cereals, apple sauce, rice and flour) to Friday's, Saturday's, or Sunday's game, and drop them off outside the Center Field Gate. Heck, you don't even have to go to the game to donate.
* On the other hand, the planned Youth Jersey Giveaway at Sunday's game has been canceled due to circumstances beyond the Nats' control. But the first 10,000 children 12 and younger to attend the 1:35 pm game will receive a voucher for two tickets to any future 2008 regular season Nats game.