Jacob Wallace - 最新蜜桃影像 DC Neighborhood Stories from American University Mon, 28 Sep 2020 19:42:21 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cropped-The_Wash_4_Circle-1-32x32.png Jacob Wallace - 最新蜜桃影像 32 32 After a rough start, Ward 5’s only middle school is ‘crushing it’ /2019/12/10/once-called-a-zoo-brookland-middle-school-becomes-a-model-in-dcps/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=once-called-a-zoo-brookland-middle-school-becomes-a-model-in-dcps /2019/12/10/once-called-a-zoo-brookland-middle-school-becomes-a-model-in-dcps/#respond Tue, 10 Dec 2019 19:50:18 +0000 /?p=6554 After getting a bad rap for years, Brookland Middle School saw the highest enrollment increase of all Washington middle schools after administrators and parents turned its reputation around.

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Sarah Graham is nervous about high school. An eighth grader at Brookland Middle School, she鈥檚 been involved in the arts for the past three years, and wants to find a way to pursue her interests her freshman year.

鈥淚鈥檝e visited Duke Ellington, Banneker,鈥 Graham said. 鈥淚鈥檓 still seeing what鈥檚 there.鈥

On Dec. 3, Graham went to an after-school high school application fair at Brookland Middle School with her aunt, Janette Byrd, where she got to hear from eight different high schools about what they have to offer. Byrd said she was happy that high schools were coming to Brookland Middle School and recruiting students just a short walk from her home.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a wonderful opportunity for the kids and the parents to be a part of,鈥 Byrd, manager of the nearby Woodridge Library, said.

Teresa Scott, a special education teacher at Brookland Middle School, leads Sarah Graham in a practice interview, where she encourages good posture, a firm handshake and eye contact. (Jacob Wallace / 最新蜜桃影像)

Brookland Middle School hasn鈥檛 always been this engaged with the community. When the school opened in 2015, it drew parents and their children from across the city as the only standalone middle school in Ward 5. The resulting crush of new students in the school stretched the faculty to their limits, giving the school a bad rap in its own neighborhood.

Five years later, Brookland Middle School now has the second highest enrollment increase in all of D.C. Public Schools, and the highest of standalone middle schools. How it got there is a testament to the power of changing the narrative around a school and its students.

Wendy Hamilton began working at Brookland Middle School as a long-term substitute teacher in its first year. When the middle school opened, DCPS was expecting about 250 students, but by the time the year began 350 had enrolled.

鈥淭he first year was rough as any school would be,鈥 Hamilton said. 鈥淏y the end of that year they had nicknamed us 鈥榯he Brookland Zoo.鈥欌

From its first year to its second, Brookland Middle School lost about 100 students. Hamilton, a part-time pastor at Open Door Metropolitan Community Church in Montgomery County, was hired full-time as an enrollment counselor to help bring back students. She said initially she had a tough time convincing parents to re-enroll their kids at Brookland Middle School.

鈥淭his is just as much ministry as going into church.鈥 Hamilton said. 鈥淚t took us a year or two to regain the confidence, to shift the narrative around Brookland.鈥

“They had nicknamed us ‘the Brookland Zoo.’ That was discouraging because it felt like something that we could not control.” – Wendy Hamilton

The school鈥檚 improvement began in earnest in 2017, when Principal Kerry Richardson came to Brookland from Kelly Miller Middle School in Ward 7. Richardson said he immediately set to work getting to know his new neighborhood, even changing his dry cleaners to one not far from the middle school. When he began reaching out to the community, Richardson was troubled by the school鈥檚 poor reputation.

鈥淚 kept saying, 鈥楳y students aren鈥檛 like that at all.鈥 So one of the first things I did was a changing of the narrative,鈥欌 Richardson said.

Richardson scaled back on some of the elective courses at Brookland, first billed as an arts-centered middle school, and decided to focus on the fundamentals.

鈥淚 really wanted to strengthen the core classes and have honor classes and pre-AP classes,鈥 Richardson said.

At the same time, Richardson has also made himself accessible to parents. He describes himself as a 鈥渧ery visible鈥 principal, keeping his door open to parents visiting the school and even taking them to tour a classroom during the school day, allowing parents a rare glimpse into what a middle school classroom is actually like.

Hamilton, the enrollment counselor normally in charge of recruiting new students from elementary schools, said Richardson has attended as many outreach events at D.C. elementary schools as he could.

鈥淎ll I can say is, last year Mr. Richardson was like, 鈥楪ive me the calendar of what events are going on and I will go with you,鈥欌 Hamilton said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 very active and hands on in a way that I think also reassures parents.鈥

“That’s really what is was: telling our story.” – Kerry Richardson

Enrollment numbers rose after Richardson鈥檚 first year, and he continued to hire more staff to support students, including social/emotional support staff members for each grade level. Richardson said he wanted to bury the 鈥淏rookland Zoo鈥 narrative that had plagued the school鈥檚 first early years.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 really what it was: telling our story and our staff telling our story,鈥 Richardson said. 鈥淲e had to rebound from that and really rebrand ourselves.鈥

Last summer, everything changed. The middle school enrolled a record 365 students, far surpassing its projection of 311 students. With that increase came challenges, but it鈥檚 also brought its own form of success.

鈥淚 think for the students it鈥檚 exciting. It鈥檚 an opportunity to meet new people,鈥 said Dakari Taylor-Watson, a counselor at the middle school. 鈥淔or them, it鈥檚 excitement, it鈥檚 a method for them to expand and see who else is in the school.鈥

Dakari Taylor-Watson directs students to activities at a high school application fair, where eighth graders prepare for the essays and interviews required by elite schools. (Jacob Wallace / 最新蜜桃影像)

At the same time as the enrollment increase, Brookland Middle School has also implemented a new Structured Enrichment Model, or SEM, where teachers start clubs like woodworking and yoga that students participate in every other morning. The program is meant to give students an incentive to show up to school on time and also stretch their creativity and explore new interests.

鈥淏ecause we鈥檝e had an influx of students it鈥檚 caused the staff to be creative, structured but creative,鈥 Taylor-Watson said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking more outside the box.鈥

Hamilton鈥檚 job has changed as the school once again reaches its upper limits of attendance. She now anticipates that the middle school will have to turn some kids from non-feeder schools away as the parents of elementary school students in Brookland increasingly choose their local middle school. But Hamilton said she鈥檚 happy to have that problem.

鈥淚 went from cold-calling to turning people away,鈥 Hamilton said. 鈥淚 have been shooting for that for three years.鈥

Richardson said the success has had a notable effect on the student body too. From last school year to now, Brookland Middle School saw a re-enrollment number of 92%, its highest since the school opened. These days, the principal is confident that the school is on track for a successful future.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been just a lot of phenomenal gains,鈥 Richardson said. 鈥淚 walk around and see the students, and it鈥檚 as they say, 鈥榃e鈥檙e crushing it, Mr. Richardson.鈥欌

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Kerry Richardson.

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In Brookland, a community stands behind its public schools /2019/12/05/in-brookland-a-community-stands-behind-its-public-schools/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=in-brookland-a-community-stands-behind-its-public-schools /2019/12/05/in-brookland-a-community-stands-behind-its-public-schools/#respond Thu, 05 Dec 2019 21:02:27 +0000 /?p=6404 Brookland parents and community organizers are joining together to support the neighborhood's public schools.

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Tensions in Brookland were running high this spring. Newer residents had started calling the police on children and teenagers after school as they were walking home and stopping by convenience stores 鈥 something most kids are prone to do.

So community members decided to confront the issue. On March 26, members of the Brookland Middle School parent-teacher organization held a meeting where parents provided statements from students who confessed to feeling unsafe in their own neighborhoods.

鈥淭hey were calling the cops on kids because they were laughing in the alleyway, I mean are you kidding me? That鈥檚 silly,鈥 said Jhonna Turner, parent engagement program coordinator for the Washington Lawyers’ Committee.

After the meeting, Turner realized there was an opportunity to do something more. With support from the Washington Lawyers鈥 Committee, where her job is specifically designed to facilitate community organizing, she brought together local pastors, parents and other professionals to create the Village of Brookland organization.

Though the nonprofit is still in its early stages, the Village of Brookland will grow in the next year to support not just Brookland Middle School but every public school in the Brookland neighborhood. In a neighborhood where wealthy white residents are sending their kids to private or charter schools, Village of Brookland plans to provide resources to Brookland鈥檚 public schools and change narratives around the public school system in the neighborhood.

鈥淲e have older people, younger people, Brooklanders who鈥檝e lived there their whole lives, people who have just moved in,鈥 Turner said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to make sure that all kids have equal resources and opportunities.鈥

鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to make sure that all kids have equal resources and opportunities.鈥

In Philadelphia, a coalition of parent-teacher organizations has worked since 2012 to spread organizing ideas for school support and revitalize public schools in underserved neighborhoods in a manner similar to the Village of Brookland. In his role as education committee chair in Philadelphia鈥檚 Crosstown Coalition, Jeff Hornstein runs the Friends of Neighborhood Education group (FONE), where he has found ways to facilitate city-wide support for the public school system.

鈥淭here鈥檚 always power in networks,鈥 Hornstein said. 鈥淲hen you鈥檝e got schools, contiguous schools working together, you start to build more of a buzz.鈥

Philadelphia is different from Washington in that it鈥檚 still in the early stages of gentrification following its near-bankruptcy in the 鈥80s. Even so, Hornstein acknowledges that there’s a fine line between getting newer, whiter residents to contribute to their local schools and gentrifying established communities out of their neighborhoods. He said he鈥檚 found that part of building equitable support for public schools meant getting well-meaning white people in Philadelphia neighborhoods to put their money, and kids, where their mouths were.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really about a narrative change. More resources, and change the narratives,鈥 Hornstein said. 鈥淚f you are truly a person who espouses equity and equal opportunity, does that argument stop at the schoolhouse door?鈥

In Brookland, Turner is up-front about the fact that the issue of support for public schools has a racial component. The students who were getting the police called on them were not white, while the people who were calling the police often were, Turner said. In a one-page flyer the Village of Brookland shares with community members, the organization describes its goal as putting 鈥渁n end to separate and unequal schools in Brookland.鈥

The numbers appear to support the organization鈥檚 allegation of 鈥渟eparate and unequal鈥 schools. Brookland Middle School is 94% black, while the neighborhood is only 64% black, according to U.S. Census data. Nearby Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School is 39% black, and Washington Yu Ying Academy, a charter school by Catholic University is 33% black.

鈥淵ou have parents that chime in saying they鈥檝e been living in the neighborhood their whole lives and they don鈥檛 feel comfortable in their neighborhood anymore,鈥 Turner said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more than just providing resources in their school, it鈥檚 about the kids feeling more comfortable and more confident.鈥

“They鈥檝e been living in the neighborhood their whole lives and they don鈥檛 feel comfortable in their neighborhood anymore.”

Ebony Lea is the CEO of A Fresh Start Therapy and lives in the Brookland area. Though she doesn鈥檛 have children, Lea began attending Village of Brookland meetings to get involved in supporting the neighborhood鈥檚 schools. She said \that as a resident and as someone who attended public schools in Washington, she understands the importance of supporting the next generation of students.

鈥淐hildren grow up to be adults,鈥 Lea said. 鈥淚 think something we forget is that children need [positive] experiences in their schools.鈥

Lea feels it鈥檚 important for communities to provide extra support for their public schools when competing charter schools are frequently well-funded and well-supported by high-income parents. She said having a long-term public middle school is a major ingredient for families to maintain a generational connection to their neighborhood.

鈥淭he school鈥檚 really doing some positive things and we want to support them,鈥 Lea said. 鈥淲e want families to get to a point where after 20 years they can say, 鈥楳y kids are going to Brookland Middle School.鈥欌

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Boil Water Advisory Shuts Down Business in Tenleytown /2019/11/09/boil-water-advisory-shuts-down-business-in-tenleytown/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=boil-water-advisory-shuts-down-business-in-tenleytown /2019/11/09/boil-water-advisory-shuts-down-business-in-tenleytown/#respond Sat, 09 Nov 2019 20:55:00 +0000 /?p=5694 Some Tenleytown businesses are closed this weekend after a water main burst in Arlington led to a boil water advisory for areas along Wisconsin Avenue.

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Some Tenleytown businesses are closed this weekend after a water main burst in Arlington led to a boil water advisory.

Ryan Barker, operating manager of Bourbon Coffee on Wisconsin Avenue, said there was only so much his store could do.

“When you can’t wash dishes and your hands that’s not good for food safety,” Barker said.

This is the second boil water advisory the area has endured in recent years. Last summer, a boil water advisory affected large portions of the city, including Tenleytown.

“We usually just play it by ear and open when we can,” Barker said.

On Friday, Bourbon Coffee, Starbucks and other local shops sold food and drinks that didn’t require water. Bourbon Coffee will remain closed until the advisory is lifted.


Current area under boil water advisory (Courtesy of DC Water)

Current area under boil water advisory (Courtesy of DC Water)

Meanwhile, business is booming for stores selling water bottles. A store manager for Whole Foods declined to speak to this reporter Saturday, saying “This place is crazy town.”

At CVS, store manager Beth Johnson said the store had run out of gallon water jugs until Tuesday.

“We brought out everything we have there’s just no more gallons left,” Johnson said.

Many other beverages are still for sale at Whole Foods and CVS.

Ismael Alvarado, a manager at Cava in Tenleytown, said the store had to buy water bottles from nearby grocery stores to meet their needs. The store’s specialty drinks were made with bottled water, but the soda fountain was shut down until water returned.

Cava employees used bottled water to make their specialty drinks this morning. (Jacob Wallace / 最新蜜桃影像)

Alvarado said the store sold out of its own water bottles by 11:45 Saturday morning. He said he’s concerned because the store won’t get a new shipment of bottles in until Monday, and the grocery stores are rapidly running out.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do for tomorrow,” Alvarado said.

The boil water advisory will likely be in effect at least through Sunday. Residents impacted should boil their water at home for at least three minutes before drinking it or cooking with it. The water is safe for laundry, showering or just washing your hands.

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The Nats have the Homestead Grays to thank for creating a baseball town /2019/10/29/the-nats-have-the-homestead-grays-to-thank-for-creating-a-baseball-town/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-nats-have-the-homestead-grays-to-thank-for-creating-a-baseball-town /2019/10/29/the-nats-have-the-homestead-grays-to-thank-for-creating-a-baseball-town/#respond Tue, 29 Oct 2019 16:03:31 +0000 /?p=5293 As writers look back to remember the last time Washington fielded a great baseball team, their eyes are turning to the under-studied history of baseball鈥檚 Negro Leagues.

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The Nationals have been making history on their first-ever World Series run, but just as importantly, they鈥檝e been reviving the history of this city that鈥檚 already been made. As writers look backward to remember the last time Washington fielded a great baseball team, their eyes are turning to the under-studied history of baseball鈥檚 Negro Leagues.

鈥淭his is good for us, it鈥檚 good for the foundation, it鈥檚 good for major league baseball,鈥 said Sean L. Gibson, executive director of the Josh Gibson Foundation.

Gibson is the great-grandson of his foundation鈥檚 namesake, who is widely considered one of the best sluggers of all time. Josh Gibson played for the Homestead Grays, a team based outside Pittsburgh before financial reasons in the 1930s brought their success to D.C., where they were renamed the Washington Homestead Grays.

Today, his great-grandon continues to honor the family legacy by serving 鈥渋nner-city kids through the name of the great Negro League baseball player.鈥 This work has occasionally brought him to Washington, where as recently as last summer two Little League teams played the first Pittsburgh Homestead Grays versus Washington Homestead Grays game at the Nationals Academy.

Little League players take a knee during the first ever Pittsburgh Homestead Grays vs. Washington Homestead Grays game, organized by the Josh Gibson Foundation.聽Courtesy of Josh Gibson Foundation

鈥淚 think our foundation has definitely brought a lot of awareness to the Homestead Grays,鈥 GIbson said. 鈥淒.C. was our second home, so we would love to be a part of that D.C. tradition.鈥

In fact, Gibson credits the World Series with bringing greater attention to his work and the history of the Negro Leagues right before the centennial of the Leagues鈥 founding on Feb. 13, 2020.

鈥淭his would not be happening if the Nationals didn鈥檛 win a championship,鈥 Gibson said. 鈥淪ometimes it takes something like this to bring the Negro Leagues back into the forefront.鈥

Roy Doswell, curator of the Negro Leagues Historical Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, said the importance of the Washington-Baltimore corridor for black baseball cannot be understated.

鈥淚 think it is important for Washington to recognize the Grays and not forget them because they were really good,鈥 Doswell said.

In fact, Doswell calls the Grays the 鈥済old standard of black baseball.鈥 During their time playing in Griffith Stadium alone, the ballpark that also hosted the beleaguered Senators, the Grays won the 1940, 1943 and 1948 Negro Leagues World Series.

But Washington sports fans at home never got to see the World Series games. As Jackie Robinson and others lead the way on integration in the Major Leagues, interest in black baseball teams dwindled.

Doswell said 鈥渢he success of these teams in the 鈥40s鈥 helped white MLB owners and fans realize just how good black players really were. And with that recognition came increased poaching of black players from the Negro Leagues into Major League baseball.

Rick Bush co-edited 鈥淏ittersweet Goodbye,鈥 a book about the 1948 World Series that would ultimately be the last one played by the Negro Leagues. He said the interest he鈥檚 seen in his book, and the history of black baseball generally, has grown considerably as Washington residents wake up to the history of the sport in their own city.

鈥淢ost casual fans don鈥檛 even know that they existed, a die-hard fan might but most casual fans never really paid attention,鈥 Bush said.

After the interest in his first book, Bush said he鈥檚 working on two more about the 1946 Newark Eagles and the 1935 Pittsburgh Crawfords, two other outstanding black teams.

Meanwhile, Sean Gibson hopes that more recognition is coming for the early heroes of black baseball, and with it, more support for the programs that he funds today. On Feb. 13, 2020, his organization and others hope to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Negro Leagues.

鈥淲e would like to hopefully hear from the Nats,鈥 Gibson said, 鈥渁nd we can maybe do something in D.C. next year for our centennial.鈥

For more information about the Josh Gibson Foundation and the work that they do, .

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After decades of sleepiness, Brookland appears ready for a BID /2019/10/15/after-decades-of-sleepiness-brookland-appears-ready-for-a-bid/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=after-decades-of-sleepiness-brookland-appears-ready-for-a-bid /2019/10/15/after-decades-of-sleepiness-brookland-appears-ready-for-a-bid/#respond Tue, 15 Oct 2019 17:36:52 +0000 /?p=4974 Community leaders say there's enough business in Brookland to create their version of a friendly, neighborhood BID.

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Brookland business owners think the community has finally reached the critical mass of support necessary to start a Business Improvement District. The organization would pool money to fund projects like street revitalization and community festivals.

Kyle Todd, the executive director of Rhode Island Avenue Main Street and a leader in the latest push for a Brookland BID, said he is excited about the opportunity laying dormant in the community.

鈥淚 feel pretty good that I get a chance to start getting out and start talking to people that could be a part of the BID,鈥 Todd said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檒l see enthusiasm.鈥

A BID is an area legally designated by the D.C. Council that assesses a fee on businesses in the neighborhood to do additional cleaning, safety and promotional work beyond what the city can typically provide. NoMa, Georgetown and Adams Morgan all have their own BIDs that promote events like PorchFest and Taste of Georgetown.

Boundaries of proposed BID (Courtesy of BrooklandBID.org)

The BID could be the culmination of an almost decade-long shift in the level of business activity seen in the Brookland neighborhood.

When Lavinia Wohlfarth was growing up in Brookland in the 鈥60s, it was still a quiet parish under the shadow of institutions like Catholic University of America.

鈥淚t was sleepy, but still solidly middle-class,鈥 Wohlfarth said.

Today the neighborhood鈥檚 movie theater is a CVS, and the bowling alley that served Brookland until a fire in 1950 is Atlantic Electric Supply Company, but Wohlfarth has spent the past 20 years preserving those buildings and promoting commerce on 12th Street, where the former theater is located.

As President of the Brookland Community Development Corporation, former vice chairwoman for Ward 5 of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and a gallerist on 9th Street for 30 years, Wohlfarth is experienced at organizing business owners in the area.

Wohlfarth鈥檚 work in the community has brought about important changes. She received a main street designation for 12th Street when the program was inaugurated in 2002. The designation helped clean up the area and attract more business.

It seems a bit like herding cats. We鈥檙e not very organized, generally.

Wohlfarth said a Brookland BID would look a little different than big-money downtown BIDs because of the uniquely residential character of the neighborhood.

鈥淟isten I love rowhouses but that鈥檚 not what鈥檚 here,鈥 Wohlfarth said. 鈥淓ach one of them [the BIDs] can be different.鈥

Recently, she said volunteer trash-cleaning services spearheaded by Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie鈥檚 office have further contributed to community pride in Brookland.

鈥淏rookland is like a small town in town,鈥 Wohlfarth said. 鈥淚t really is the case that the neighborhood is going upscale.鈥

These improvements brought change to the neighborhood incrementally, but it wasn鈥檛 until big developers like Jim Abdo brought in Bozzuto that the cash to run a BID really became available in the neighborhood.

鈥淐ommunities have to be ready for a bid financially,鈥 Wohlfarth said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not totally supported by the merchants but predominantly you have to have everybody on board.鈥

Lavinia Wohlfarth has promoted arts and culture in Brookland since she founded her gallery 30 years ago. She said she’s worked with Bozzuto since they arrived to try and connect Monroe Street Market’s studios with 12th Street.聽(Jacob Wallace / 最新蜜桃影像)

Some of the smaller business owners are waiting to see more clearly what benefits a BID will bring to them. Thomas Vedrody, general manager of Annie鈥檚 Ace Hardware in Brookland since the location opened in 2012, said he鈥檚 inherently skeptical of big changes to the neighborhood.

鈥淚t seems a bit like herding cats,鈥 Vedrody said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not very organized, generally.鈥

Vedrody said the community could benefit from increased cooperation, but only if the BID included small businesses and not just bigger developers.

鈥淭he vibrancy is brought by the people,鈥 Vedrody said.

Wohlfarth, though, said a BID could help immediately with amenities like a 鈥淪afe Walk,鈥 a well-lit path from Monroe Street Market to nearby 12th Street that would connect the two centers of commerce.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what a BID can do because they can go to the city and say we鈥檙e going to change the sidewalk and we鈥檙e going to make it better,鈥 Wohlfarth said.

After years of living in a quiet bedroom community, Wohlfarth thinks there鈥檚 finally enough willpower from the businesses she鈥檚 talked to for a BID to come to the neighborhood she calls home.

鈥淭here鈥檚 always going to be opposition but I think we鈥檝e reached a point where we can get this thing done,鈥 Wolfarth said.

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Can impeachment pacify political tensions? /2019/10/02/can-impeachment-pacify-political-tensions/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=can-impeachment-pacify-political-tensions /2019/10/02/can-impeachment-pacify-political-tensions/#respond Wed, 02 Oct 2019 18:50:16 +0000 /?p=4572 Professor who predicts presidential elections says impeachment would stabilize political disruption

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The successful impeachment of President Donald Trump would likely have a stabilizing effect on a deeply divided U.S. political landscape, according to a professor and expert in presidential politics at American University.

Allan Lichtman, a distinguished professor of history at AU鈥檚 College of Arts & Sciences, is widely known for accurately predicting the outcome of eight of the last nine U.S. presidential elections. He and a colleague developed a model that uses 13 simple 鈥渒eys,鈥 or predictors, to determine how likely an incumbent party will fare with the electorate.聽

In May, Lichtman used that model to , but with a caveat 鈥 that a realistic impeachment inquiry against the president could unleash scandal and give Trump鈥檚 Democratic challenger an edge in the 2020 campaign.

Now that an , a successful impeachment 鈥 which only acts as an indictment by the House 鈥 would most likely serve to calm political tensions, even if it did not result in a conviction by the Senate, Lichtman told 最新蜜桃影像 on Tuesday.

鈥淎n impeachment of Donald Trump, if successful, [could] remove this incredibly polarizing figure 鈥 perhaps the most polarizing figure in all of U.S. history,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd even if he was acquitted, he would still be very much of a weakened figure.鈥

The same happened with America鈥檚 first impeached president, Andrew Johnson, Lichtman noted.聽

Johnson faced the impeachment gauntlet in 1868, largely at the hands of a political caucus dubbed the 鈥淩adical Republicans,鈥 according to Kendra Hinkle, a museum specialist at the in Greenville, Tennessee.

Hinkle said the country was in perhaps its most politically divisive state then, reeling from civil conflict and a presidential assasination. As the Johnson administration tried to implement its own agenda, it clashed with the Republican-controlled Congress, intensifying partisan discord. At the heart of that conflict, she said, was a power struggle between the executive and legislative branches of government.

鈥淔ear was rampant, and each branch lived with uncertainty as to whether the other was trying to usurp the power of the other,鈥 she said. 鈥淭here needed to be a way to prove the balance of powers was still intact. In an odd way, the constitutional caveat of impeachment was a way for that to happen.鈥

Former President
Andrew Johnson

Impeachment, even though it resulted in an acquittal by the Senate, had a dampening effect on Johnson鈥檚 political clout, she said. It rebalanced the powers and settled an ongoing debate.

The same could be said of the ongoing House investigation into Trump鈥檚 dealings with foreign heads of state, but only if the inquiry returns articles of impeachment, Lichtman said.

It is an essential step in triggering a scandal, which could unlock other keys to Democratic control of the White House, he added. Without it, his original prediction that Trump will remain in power likely stands.

鈥淚f Donald Trump is only the third president in U.S. history to be formally impeached by the U.S. House 鈥 remember, Nixon resigned before he got impeached 鈥 then that would nail down the scandal key,鈥 Licthman said. 鈥淲ithout the scandal key, it鈥檚 very difficult to see enough keys turning against the Republicans to predict their defeat.鈥

But the professor had other suggestions for the four Democratic committees investigating Trump: Don鈥檛 narrow the focus and don鈥檛 move too fast.

Reports that lawmakers are between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are troubling, he said

Similarly, he said, American history should be a guiding factor.

鈥淭he Watergate scandal blossomed into what, to that point in our history, was the worst scandal in American history,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 know where the evidence may lead us this time. There may be much worse stuff, if Congress can get our hands on those conversations.鈥

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Tenants worry Brookland Arts Walk is 鈥渄ead鈥 for retailers /2019/10/01/tenants-worry-brookland-arts-walk-is-dead-for-retailers/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tenants-worry-brookland-arts-walk-is-dead-for-retailers /2019/10/01/tenants-worry-brookland-arts-walk-is-dead-for-retailers/#respond Tue, 01 Oct 2019 17:59:42 +0000 /?p=4409 The owner of Bike Rack DC claims Bozzuto, owner of Brookland development Monroe Street Market, falsely represented his potential to earn a profit in their development

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A pair of businesses in Brookland claim Monroe Street Market developer Bozzuto misrepresented their potential to turn a profit at its Arts Walk development.

Chuck Harney, owner of Bike Rack DC, claims Bozzuto cost him thousands of dollars in operating expenses and lost sales. He claims if Bozzuto had been honest with him about the foot traffic he鈥檇 be seeing, he never would have opened a new location on their property.

鈥淚t really damaged us because we went into a lot of debt,鈥 owner Chuck Harney said. 鈥淭he area is dead.鈥

Bike Rack is one of two retail storefronts that closed this summer after years of poor business. The other, Fox Loves Tacos, closed just weeks before Bike Rack.

While Fox Loves Tacos owners Matt and Jenna Carr declined an interview, a response sent from the Little Red Fox email address, also owned by the Carrs, confirmed that the business is in an 鈥渦nsettled dispute鈥 with Bozzuto.

Bozzuto has not yet returned a request for comment.

Harney鈥檚 claims, and the obvious lack of pedestrians in this six-year-old development, raise questions about the efficacy of setting down an urbanized mixed-use development in what鈥檚 long been a sleepy, bedroom neighborhood.

Harney said the biggest reason he came to the development in the first place was because the developer promised a large grocery store in one of their planned phases. He claims marketing materials promised plenty of reason to believe there would be regular foot traffic in the building known as the Arts Walk across from the Brookland Metro station.

鈥淭hey strung us along,鈥 Harney said. 鈥淢y hopes were with what they were going to put in that development.鈥

After two years of empty promises, Harney said Bozzuto finally admitted to him that no grocery store was going to come to the area.

Many of the other residents in the development acknowledge the lack of foot traffic, but they鈥檙e less concerned about it being an issue.

Most of the ground floor lots in the Arts Walk are small artist studios where artisans can work and sell a selection of their goods.

Katie Stack is one of the artisans who has been at Arts Walk the longest. Visitors to the Saturday farmer鈥檚 markets in the area have been purchasing Stack鈥檚 leather goods since 2013, and since she started at Arts Walk she鈥檚 already had to move studios once to give herself more space.

鈥淚t has done what I needed to do, which is get my business out of my dining room,鈥 Stack said.

Stack says the pedestrian flow is definitely slow most days, but it works out for an artist who does most of her sales online and just needs a space to create.

鈥淚t has worked out fine for me,鈥 Stack said, but 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it would work well as primarily retail.鈥

Topaz M. Terry, proprietor of BicycleWorks, moved into a studio on Arts Walk this summer. She says she鈥檚 mostly just glad to have a workspace that鈥檚 also accessible to the public, so she can build a customer base. Still, Terry is worried that Bozzuto isn鈥檛 doing enough to promote the Arts Walk development.

鈥淭he management company is not made up of artists so they鈥檙e not advertising in the way we would advertise,鈥 Terry said. 鈥淕etting people to know it is here, that has to be someone who has that eagle eye view, balcony view of what鈥檚 happening, and we鈥檙e just on the ground.鈥

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