Spingarn High School 60th Class Reunion

April 20, 2012, at the Camelot in Upper Marlboro, MD.

For more information, please contact Margaret Pope at
mlpope@spingarnalum ni.org or 301 325-3489.

DC Metro Stations, Ranked

Washington Post detailing the paucity of dining options in DC east of the Anacostia River (I’ve written about this subject before).  The article includes this damning map.  The problem here is an old one: businesses tend to avoid the parts of DC east of the river, which are overwhelmingly black.  They also systemically prefer the suburbs of Northern Virginia and Montgomery County to majority-black Prince George’s County.  This got me thinking about the DC Metro, which I posted about last week.  Which stations attract the most business and overall amenities?  And could that possibly be ranked?

Don’t worry, this isn’t going to be one of those totally subjective online lists where I rank the DC area’s 86 metro stations (a quarter of which I’ve never been to) based on my own personal preferences.  This is scientific, I swear!  I used the simplest possible methodology: I plugged each of the station names into WalkScore, a wonderful website that uses a complicated algorithm to determine a particular location’s “walkability” on a 100-point scale.  The algorithm is, of course, imperfect, and so is the resulting list.  But at least it’s consistent, and it doesn’t take into account prejudicial factors like the demographics of the surrounding area.

The full list is after the jump, but here are some highlights:

Highest ranked station: Metro Center (100), in DC

Lowest ranked station: tie between Branch Ave and Morgan Blvd (18), in Prince George’s

Highest ranked suburban station: Bethesda (97), in Montgomery

Lowest ranked DC station: Fort Totten (43)

Highest ranked Virginia station: Clarendon (94)

Lowest ranked Virginia station: Arlington Cemetery (25), but you can’t really hold that against them

Highest ranked Prince George’s station: Prince George’s Plaza (88)

Lowest ranked Montgomery station: Grosvenor (34)

Most overrated station: of many possible nominees, I’m going with Judiciary Square (95)

Most underrated station: Woodley Park (78); I’m convinced it got screwed by Rock Creek Park, which most people would consider a major amenity!  Also, the stations I spend the most time around, Columbia Heights and Georgia Ave (both 86), are definitely underrated.

Happiest surprise: Wheaton (89), which I’ve always liked but which rarely gets any respect

Most shameful: College Park (48), because University of Maryland students deserve better

Average score for DC: 79

Average score for Montgomery: 71

Average score for Virginia: 69

Average score for Prince George’s: 43

Complete List:

Metro Center: 100
Farragut North: 98
Farragut West: 98
Foggy Bottom: 98
Bethesda: 97
Federal Triangle: 97
McPherson Square: 97
Tenleytown: 97
Gallery Place: 95
Judiciary Square: 95
Mt Vernon Square: 95
U Street: 95
Clarendon: 94
Archives: 92
Court House: 92
Dupont Circle: 92
Silver Spring: 92
Cleveland Park: 91
Crystal City: 91
Eastern Market: 91
Takoma: 91
Virginia Square: 91
Shaw: 89
Union Station: 89
Wheaton: 89
Ballston: 88
Brookland: 88
Prince George’s Plaza: 88
Capitol South: 86
Columbia Heights: 86
Georgia Ave: 86
King Street: 86
Rosslyn: 86
Rockville: 85
Friendship Heights: 83
Van Ness: 83
Waterfront: 83
Navy Yard: 82
Rhode Island Ave: 80
White Flint: 80
Braddock Rd: 78
New York Ave: 78
Pentagon City: 78
Woodley Park: 78
Smithsonian: 77
L’Enfant Plaza: 75
Potomac Ave: 75
Federal Center: 74
Twinbrook: 74
Van Dorn St: 74
Reagan National Airport: 72
Medical Center: 66
East Falls Church: 63
Minnesota Ave: 63
Anacostia: 62
Congress Heights: 60
Largo Town Center: 60
Southern Ave: 60
West Falls Church: 60
Benning Rd: 57
Dunn Loring: 57
Huntington: 57
Glenmont: 55
West Hyattsville: 55
Pentagon: 54
Deanwood: 52
Stadium Armory: 52
Forest Glen: 49
Shady Grove: 49
College Park: 48
Eisenhower Ave: 48
Vienna: 48
New Carrollton: 46
Capitol Heights: 45
Fort Totten: 43
Franconia: 43
Greenbelt: 38
Landover: 38
Suitland: 35
Addison Rd: 34
Grosvenor: 34
Naylor Rd: 34
Cheverly: 32
Arlington Cemetery: 25
Branch Ave: 18
Morgan Blvd: 18

Visit http://onecityonehire.org/  and click on “upcoming events”

Upcoming One City ∙ One Hire Registration Events

More events to be added soon!

Click HERE if you know a great DC location for a One City · One Hire registration event!

Articles from dcist.com and Greater Greater Washingtonblog about Reservation 13 and the Mayor’s Plan for the Redskins.

I will keep everyone posted about development on Reservation 13.

Best, Lisa White- ANC Commissioner SMD 7D01 Kingman Park

Article from dcist.com blog:

When Mayor Vince Gray and Councilmembers Michael Brown (I-At Large) and Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) visited Tampa late last year to take a look at the state-of-the-art training facility used by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it could have seemed like an ongoing exercise in wishful thinking to get the Redskins back to move their Ashburn-based training facility into the District. Maybe not.

On Monday, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor Hoskins met with a group of ANC commissioners from wards 6 and 7 to discuss stalled plans for Reservation 13, the 67-plot of land where RFK Stadium, the old D.C. General Hospital and the D.C. Jail are currently located. According to Lisa White, a Ward 7 ANC commissioner who attended the meeting, Hoskins told them that longstanding plans for the site’s redevelopment were on hold while Gray continues discussions with team officials over a possible Redskins training facility.

Jose Sousa, Hoskins’ spokesman, confirmed that the discussions were taking place. “There have been ongoing informal conversations between the Mayor and the team for some time,” wrote Sousa in an email.

Much to the chagrin of the commissioners who attended the meeting, though, Hoskins said he had no further information on any potential Redskins training facility or how it might impact existing plans for mixed-use development on the site. The most he could offer was that District would know whether a training facility is in the cards within 30 days.

Neil Glick, a Ward 6 ANC commissioner, said that while he wasn’t averse to the idea of a training facility, he and fellow neighborhood leaders were frustrated with the lack of communication or clarity from the city on how it planned to move forward — training facility or not.

“Reservation 13 is always on hold,” he said. “They just don’t have a plan. What’s something like this going to do for us?”, he asked of the training facility. (Glick’s colleague Brian Flahaven sounded a similarly frustrated tone in a blog post on the meeting.)

Gray’s overtures to Snyder haven’t gone unnoticed by officials in Loudoun County, who in January repeated an offer to build the team a Hall of Fame at the existing training facility. The potential for a bidding war between various jurisdictions over the Redskins’ training facility makes Glick nervous, he admitted.

“D.C. has a really bad history of doing nothing to help small business owners while offering oodles of tax breaks to corporations,” he said. Glick, who’s a realtor and real estate investor, also seemed miffed that the city would be stalling on building housing on a site that’s next to a Metro station and bordering the Anacostia River.

According to Sousa, Hoskins’ staff will be meeting with members of the community “in the next month” to discuss standing plans for Reservation 13, and Gray will follow up with a late-March meeting on whether or not a training facility will be coming to Capitol Hill.

Article from Greater Greater Washington:

Mayor Gray’s office is stalling any progress on a plan to build a new mixed-use neighborhood that has widespread community support, because they’d rather turn over the land to the Washington Redskins for a practice facility that won’t do anything for the community or DC.

7 ANC commissioners met last night with Victor Hoskins, DC’s Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development to discuss “Hill East,” also known as Reservation 13. After a long process with thorough public participation, DC created a plan to build a “vibrant, mixed-use urban waterfront community” on 50 acres of the site.

Based on reports from ANC commissioner Brian Flahaven, it appears that vibrancy and tree-lined public streets are taking a back seat to large empty football field-sized spaces closed to the public:

The Mayor’s Office is continuing to negotiate with Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins to build a training facility at Reservation 13. Until the outcome of the negotiations is determined, any development plans for Reservation 13 remain on hold.

Commissioners strongly pushed back that the community must be involved in the decision about a training facility on the site and expressed frustration that the Mayor is not seeking feedback from residents. Deputy Mayor Hoskins said that his office is not involved in the negotiations. …

The Deputy Mayor said his office should know whether the city will pursue a training facility or continue with the current development plans in 30 days. If plans for a training facility do not move forward, he said that the city would return to development plans approved by the community. … The Deputy Mayor also said that any training facility proposal would have to be consistent with the zoning for the site. …

All 9 Commissioners, representing Wards 6 & 7, agreed that Mayor Gray needs to come out to the community and explain how a potential training facility fits into the master development plan agreed to by residents.

It’s possible to vaguely imagine a way that a practice facility could be part of a mixed-use neighborhood. For example, the Redskins could build practice fields and any necessary parking entirely underground, then put surface streets, parks, and buildings on top of them. Their offices could occupy a building with ground-floor retail that’s open to the public.

Dan Snyder could build all of this entirely with his own money, in this very urban way. But does anyone seriously believe that is possible? This is the guy who tried to charge people just to walk into his stadium instead of paying huge parking fees. Would he actually want to design practice fields that fit into a good neighborhood landscape when he has a perfectly good, entirely private facility in Ashburn?

Maybe if the District built the whole thing and gave it to him for free, he’d accept the deal, but it would be a terrible bargain for taxpayers. If he paid money for it, why would he want to spend extra money just to essentially make the facility invisible and unobtrusive?

Certain city leaders seem to believe that bringing the Redskins to DC is worth virtually any cost simply for the civic pride involved in having an NFL team inside one’s borders. We know Jack Evans has a massive blind spot for organized sports. He abhors spending government money on anything except sports facilities, where the sky’s the limit. We know that Michael Brown doesn’t know any better. We should expect better from Mayor Gray.

 On

 Thursday, February 16, 2012

7pm-8:45pm

Langston Golf Course Club House

 2600 Benning Road NE

UPDATED!!!!

Confirmed Attendees:

 CM Yvette Alexander

Tom Brown

 Don Folden

 Monica Johnson

Kevin Chavous

Ron Moten

Bill Bennett

Dorothy Douglas

The Friends of Kingman wants area residents to become better informed before they enter the voting booth. Please attend this important Candidate Forum. The April 3, 2012 primary is approaching fast. A civil discussion about local issues from all candidates and attendees is expected. The forum is a non-partisan and is not intended to promote a party politics.

 We hope to see you there!

Lisa White ANC Commissioner SMD 7D01 Kingman Park

Friends of Kingman Park Member

DPW To Observe Presidents Day

Sanitation And Parking Enforcement Services To Be Suspended

The DC Department of Public Works announced today how services will be affected Presidents Day, Monday, February 20, 2012, when the District observes the holiday.  Trash and recycling collections and parking enforcement will be suspended. All services will resume Tuesday, February 21, 2012. 

Trash/recycling collections:  Trash and recycling collections in once-a-week collection neighborhoods will “slide” to the next day for the remainder of the week.  In neighborhoods with twice-weekly trash collections, Monday and Thursday collections will be made Tuesday and Friday, and Tuesday and Friday collections will be made Wednesday and Saturday.

Ft. Totten: Ft. Totten Transfer Station, located at 4900 John F. McCormack Road, NE, will be closed to the public February 20.  It will reopen Tuesday, February 21.  Residents may bring trash and bulk items between 1 pm and 5 pm.  The next Saturday household hazardous waste/e-cycling/document shredding drop-off day is March 3, 8 am to 3 pm, (these services are available the first Saturday of the month, except holidays). 

To accommodate residents whose religious beliefs prohibit them from using the Saturday drop-off, DPW is accepting only household hazardous waste and e-cyclables the Thursday before the first Saturday of the month (March 1, from 1 pm to 5 pm).  DPW will not accept personal documents for shredding on Thursdays because they cannot be secured until the contractor arrives on Saturday.

Lisa White, ANC Commissioner SMD 7D01 Kingman Park

Last night, 9 ANC commissioners met with Victor Hoskins, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, to discuss the status of development plans for Reservation 13, the 67-acre site of the former DC General Hospital. Here is what we learned:

• The Mayor’s Office is continuing to negotiate with Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins to build a training facility at Reservation 13. Until the outcome of the negotiations is determined, any development plans for Reservation 13 remain on hold. Commissioners strongly pushed back that the community must be involved in the decision about a training facility on the site and expressed frustration that the Mayor is not seeking feedback from residents. Deputy Mayor Hoskins said that his office is not involved in the negotiations.

• Commissioners voiced concern about what a training facility would do to the master plan for the site approved by the DC Council and the community. We also asked where the facility would be located on the site. Deputy Mayor Hoskins said he did not have specific information on where the facility would be located, but said that the community would be involved in the discussion if the city moves forward on the facility. We pushed back that residents should be involved in the discussion now…before a decision is made.

• The Deputy Mayor said his office should know whether the city will pursue a training facility or continue with the current development plans in 30 days. If plans for a training facility do not move forward, he said that the city would return to development plans approved by the community, beginning with parcels located next to the Stadium-Armory Metro station at 19th and C Streets SE. The Deputy Mayor also said that any training facility proposal would have to be consistent with the zoning for the site.

• Commissioners expressed frustration that the Mayor has not made Reservation 13 a priority, particularly given its access to Metro and waterfront location. Deputy Mayor Hoskins responded that his office’s involvement demonstrated that Mayor Gray is still committed to developing the site.

• All 9 Commissioners, representing Wards 6 & 7, agreed that Mayor Gray needs to come out to the community and explain how a potential training facility fits into the master development plan agreed to by residents. We asked Deputy Mayor Hoskins to relay this message directly to the Mayor. The Deputy Mayor reiterated his commitment to participate in a community meeting with or on behalf of the Mayor.

9 Commissioners: Nick Alberti (6A05), Francis Campbell (6B10), Sheila Carson-Carr (7A01), Jared Critchfield (6B06), Neil Glick (6B08), David Holmes (6A03), Villareal Johnson (7A07), and Lisa White (7D01).

Rock ‘n’Roll USA RoadClosures

Please save the date for the SunTrust Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon & CareFirst Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon on Saturday, March 17. 

The race will start near RFK Stadium at C and 19^th Streets NE and complete a tour of many of our Capital’s most majestic sights before returning to finish on East Capitol Street at Armory Mall. Visit our website to view the course map, download road closure times, and explore the course with our interactive road closure map.  More information on access lanes, alternate routes and no parking zones will be available in the coming weeks.

If you are affiliated with a community group or business near the course, please share this information with your neighbors and/or employees.

You’re invited to get involved with this exciting event!  Spectators are encouraged to line the route to cheer thousands of runners and walkers towards the finish line. Volunteer opportunities are available at the pre-race Expo, Thursday-Friday, March 15-16 at the DC Armory, and on race day, Saturday, March 17, along the course and in the start and finish line areas.  Please sign up online.

Thank you,

Community Relations Department
SunTrust Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Marathon & CareFirst Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon
Saturday, March 17, 2012
http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/usa/road-closures