鈥淲e thought our house was going to go on fire and we had to get out,鈥� Elliott said.

Elliott had been in his living room shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday when he noticed smoke emanating through the walls of his house. He quickly dialed 911 and then ran outside into the cold November air. When he looked up, he was startled to find smoke pluming out of his neighbor鈥檚 windows and roof.听

The fire broke out at 2016 First Street NW in the Bloomingdale neighborhood and quickly spread throughout the structure. The house is just one of many in a row of dwellings that line the street. However, due to a prompt response from the fire department, the fire did not spread to the other houses within the row.

鈥淲e had a lot of smoke,鈥� said Elliott. 鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 know what the damage is yet, so we鈥檙e going to wait and see.鈥�

The entire 2000 block of First Street NW was closed to traffic as droves of firefighters swarmed the area and numerous fire and EMS trucks flanked the street.

DC Fire and EMS Public Information Officer Vito Maggiolo was proud of the department’s quick response. He said the department received a phone call at 1:19 p.m for a report of a structure fire. Smoke was billowing out of the building when the department first arrived. A team of firefighters attached hoses to hydrants and extended ladders to the building鈥檚 second and third floors. A department lift carried a firefighter to the roof.听 Windows were smashed on the third floor to accommodate the hoses as firefighters worked swiftly to extinguish the fire within.

鈥淲e found fire in the walls between the second and third floors, so we engaged in what we call an interior attack, where we go inside and attack the fire from the inside, opening the walls and ceilings, exposing and extinguishing the hidden fire,鈥� Maggiolo said.听

The department successfully executed a working fire dispatch, which included 12 pieces of equipment and 60 firefighters.

No injuries occurred as a result of the fire, but six adults have been displaced. Maggiolo said the displaced persons are being assisted by the American Red Cross and the District of Coliumbia Department of Homeland Security.听

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but Maggiolo said a thorough investigation is currently underway.听

Update Working Fire 2000 block 1st NW. located fire in walls 2nd & 3rd floor 3 story occupied row house. All visible fire extinguished. Opening up & checking for hotspots. No injuries reported.

鈥� DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems)

Just down the street, Bloomingdale resident Daniel Donavan was pacing in front of his apartment building located on First and U Street NW. He hoped to get into his car and leave, but the barricade of fire trucks blocked him in.

鈥淚 just have no idea why they need this many trucks,鈥� Donovan said. 鈥淢y car is like, right there, and there鈥檚 no shot I can move it even an inch.鈥�

Donovan was preparing to leave his first-floor apartment when he noticed the massive number of fire trucks driving down the street.听

鈥淚 had the door open actually, just trying to get fresh air and saw the lights. I didn鈥檛 think much of it, but then I did smell a hint of smoke and that鈥檚 when I came out and all the trucks were here,鈥澨� Donovan said.

Donovan said the neighborhood had seen its fair share of ambulance activity in the past, but he has never seen this level of fire and EMS response before. He was pleased to learn that none of his neighbors had been injured as a result of the fire.听

The post Bloomingdale house fire leaves six displaced first appeared on 最新蜜桃影像.

But what should be a pleasant 鈥斕齛nd safe 鈥� walk to school often leaves her feeling anxious all because of dangerous intersections and speeding cars along the residential road.听听

The mile-long stretch is dotted with five schools and a host of playgrounds and recreation centers. Thomas and some of her neighbors have complained about the stretch of road for years. But after so much inaction 鈥斕齠rom city agencies, countless studies and slow-moving bureaucracy 鈥� they鈥檝e decided to take action on their own.听

听鈥淲ith the recent tragedies around the city with young children being struck by vehicles, the urgency has become so much more apparent and we’ve really stepped up our efforts,鈥� she said.听

Last month, Thomas and other Eckington residents banded together to form to improve safety in the area. The safety project aims to make Lincoln a less dangerous thoroughfare by creating cost-effective solutions. Thomas said implementing all-way stops and raised crosswalks would alleviate some of the danger for pedestrians. Though Lincoln is the project鈥檚 main priority, Thomas said fixing is also necessary.听

Lincoln residents say road safety has been an issue for a long time听

Pedestrian accidents aren鈥檛 new along Lincoln.听

According to , there have been seven car crashes on the road since January. One of the crashes included a pedestrian just last month.听

Thomas said at a recent community meeting, one neighbor said her mother was struck by a car on Lincoln years ago.听

鈥淢aking our streets safer for all of us while we walk around and enjoy the city just makes good sense to everyone,鈥� Thomas said.听

Proponents of the new project say excessive speeding, blind spots and inconsistent traffic patterns in major intersections are the main issues. Last week, the project sent over 90 individual requests to DDOT and ANC 5E members for raised crosswalks, all-way stop signs and other safety measures.听

Thomas said many drivers use Lincoln Road NE as a shortcut to avoid the intersection of North Capitol Street and Rhode Island Avenue. She said Lincoln鈥檚 wide roadway design allows cars to speed through neighborhoods, putting pedestrians at risk.

鈥淎nd while most of us are mainly pedestrians, we are drivers too. We want drivers to be safe and we want to be safe while we are driving our families around our neighborhoods too,鈥� she said.听

Over 1,800 students commute to the schools on and adjacent to Lincoln each day. When kids are in the area, the speed limit on Lincoln is 15 mph. But the project hosted a community walkthrough last week, and cars were clocked going well over the speed limit, even with kids around.

30 mph on Lincoln rd. In theory it鈥檚 posted for 15 mph when kids are present (and they were).

鈥� Fix Dave Thomas Circle (@FixCircle)

DDOT has mentioned Lincoln Road in , a long-range transportation plan in the city. But Thomas and other project members fear the safety issues on Lincoln won鈥檛 be resolved for years.听

鈥淚f DDOT would make this their first priority and actually follow through on it, that would go a long way to making us safer and restoring community trust in the department,鈥� Thomas said.

The project鈥檚 emergency plan includes adding two radar speed displays on Lincoln, trimming or cutting down foliage and adding crossing guards during school commuting hours. For main intersections like where Lincoln Road crosses Rhode Island Avenue Northeast, the plan suggests adding speed cameras and raised, brightly painted crosswalks.

鈥淭hese roads are designed to get traffic moving as quickly as possible through our neighborhoods, with little or no regard for pedestrians,鈥� Thomas said.

Danger for North Capitol Street pedestrians and drivers

Like Lincoln Road Northeast, North Capitol Street runs through Eckington. The street has been a hotspot for accidents 鈥� from fender benders to fatal wrecks. Since 2017, eight people have been killed in car accidents in the Eckington and Bloomingdale area of the corridor, including five pedestrians.听

Another in a long list of reasons why this project is imperative for the safety and reunification of our neighborhoods

鈥� Joseph Smallwood (@j_smallwood)

Although countless studies have already been done on North Capitol, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently approved another $1 million study on North Capitol Street to make it a safer thoroughfare.听

The new study will test the feasibility of the , a plan that focuses on leveling the highway underpasses and transforming them into a green space. The project would fill in the underpasses of North Capitol between V Street and Seaton Place.听

Proponents of the project like the Bloomingdale Civic Association support the project, as it would reconnect neighborhoods like Bloomingdale, Eckington, Truxton Circle and Edgewood, since North Capitol divides them. Though the underpass would be filled in, drivers will still be able to drive along at-grade lanes along North Capitol听

, Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie said he requested and received $1 million for the study in the 2022 fiscal year budget.

鈥淭his analysis will help determine the best way to connect Ward 5 neighborhoods, address traffic and safety concerns and improve the quality of life for residents,鈥� he said.听

Eckington Civic Association President Connor Shaw and Ward 5 activist Nick Sementelli have a different vision for North Capitol Street. They are advocating instead to bring the entire corridor up to street level, filling in all the underpasses which would reduce speed and traffic. Filling in the underpasses would also restore east-west access along the corridor. Their plan also prioritizes pedestrian accessibility and dedicated bus lanes.听

Shaw and Sementelli said the deck over project鈥檚 vision for a park is too narrow of a plan for the corridor and limits options for the future. The deck over would only cover a block of North Capitol, while Shaw and Sementelli鈥檚 idea covers the entire North Capitol Street corridor.听

鈥淚鈥檝e been in and around that street for a very long time,鈥� Sementelli said. 鈥淚 had always been aware of the incredible danger of the street, certainly hearing cars speeding through the underpasses there, seeing wrecks and crashes on the regular.鈥�

Sementelli took interest in the efforts to make North Capitol Street less dangerous when he and a few neighbors dug up previous studies done on the street. He said the studies never came to anything. Sementelli said DDOT and the NoMa BID outlined nearly 60 recommendations in a that would make the street safer. He noticed only around 12 of the recommendations had been done, nearly a year after the NoMa BID and DDOT study came out.听

Both Sementelli and Shaw said the current highway-like design of North Capitol is responsible for high speed and accidents.

鈥淥ur focus is turning this street from what is and is intended to be a highway for commuters,鈥� Shaw said. We want to turn it into a street that serves the neighbors that live here, has slower speeds, and has more sidewalk space.鈥�

Both the deck over and community boulevard projects seek to ameliorate the danger of North Capitol鈥檚 intersections and underpasses. But Sementelli is confident in his proposal.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have this once in a generation opportunity to transform North Capitol Street and really look holistically at how to improve safety and how we can deliver a more sustainable future for residents,鈥� he said.听

For Thomas, she wants to see continued support for neighborhood safety.听

鈥淲e have grandparents who want their grandkids safe when they visit, and our neighbors who aren’t parents want their friends, families and neighbors safe too,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e’ve had nothing but support from all of our neighbors.”

The post Eckington, North Capitol residents fight for safer streets first appeared on 最新蜜桃影像.

鈥淓vents like this are starting to come back in the park,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淥f course, we鈥檙e still in a pandemic, but it鈥檚 nice to just walk out my backdoor and enjoy a movie with all my neighbors while still being socially distanced.鈥�

The Bloomingdale neighborhood considers Crispus Attucks Park the hidden gem of the area. It鈥檚 a 1.4 acre pop of green tucked inside a city block framed by gray concrete sidewalks and brick row houses. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the park was an epicenter for community events like movie nights, beautification days and celebrations. But COVID-19 forced the community to put a pause on bigger events in the park, like the annual Bloomingdale Community Day and the park鈥檚 film festival, both usually attracting hundreds of people.

Though people were advised to stay home in the early months of the pandemic, community members still retreated to the park. They hosted socially-distanced picnics, art classes and smaller celebrations.

Kiko Bourne, president of the , says foot traffic increased during the pandemic. The CADC is a nonprofit that oversees the park鈥檚 preservation.

“We think that many Washingtonians discovered the park for the first time last year, as it was one of the safe places to gather,” she said.

Bloomingdale resident Vicky Chao, who鈥檚 lived in the neighborhood for eight years, says she found the park to be a sanctuary.

鈥淚t was definitely a safe-haven for me and other people during the pandemic, especially at the beginning,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think it bettered people鈥檚 mental health because you could come out here, enjoy the fresh air and stretch your legs when we were all stuck in our homes.”

Unlike other parks in the city, Crispus Attucks Park is not managed by the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation. It relies heavily on donations and volunteers to maintain it. The annual upkeep costs thousands of dollars, according to the CADC. Bourne says there are both positives and negatives of the park being community owned.

“One positive is that we have a nonprofit board composed of diverse neighbors, some who have lived near the park for decades and others who are newer to the neighborhood, who contribute a diversity of opinions about the park’s priorities,” she says. “On the negative side, keeping the park safe and beautiful for all requires a lot of work from people who volunteer their time.”

But, Bourne says the pros outweigh the cons.

“We were able to transform an abandoned telephone company cable yard into a park specifically because we are community organized and community driven,” she said. “There would be no park if there was no community.”

Events like the park鈥檚 annual summer film festival costs hundreds of dollars to put on. Without donations, community events like this wouldn鈥檛 happen.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important for people to continue to volunteer and donate now and in the future, because this park completely relies on the community,鈥� said Bloomingdale resident Valerie Yurk. 鈥淚f we want to keep on having events like this, donations are essential.鈥�

The park鈥檚 annual film festival, which aired a sing-along version of Hamilton for its final night, was postponed in 2020. With vaccinations available and cooler weather fast-approaching, community members and the CADC said it was time to bring neighborhood events back to the park.

“It’s clear that neighbors are ready to be together again and we are fortunate to have this space to bring them together,” Bourne said.

The post At Crispus Attucks Park, return of outdoor events creates sense of normalcy during pandemic first appeared on 最新蜜桃影像.

鈥淭here鈥檚 plenty of space to build in D.C.,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to take one of the last greenspaces here that鈥檚 of historic value to the city, historians and definitely the community.鈥�

Supporters of preserving McMillan suffered a recent loss as the D.C. Court of Appeals is allowing demolition to begin. Despite the Sept. 29 ruling, community members and organizations, like , have filed lawsuits challenging the city鈥檚 demolition permits.

The 25-acre park has been the center of other court battles since ideas of redevelopment started, including

consisting of EYA Inc., Trammell Crow Co. and Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners designed a 2.1 million-square-foot plan that will include office spaces, housing, condos, a grocery store, a park and a community center.听

Carson said the development plans are too much. She wants to see a more effective development to preserve the greenspace like building an amphitheater or a park that would be open to the public.听

鈥淲e just need smart development and we don’t have smart leaders,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think the mayor and her entire team lack vision and I think they鈥檙e going to be sorry if they develop this place to the extent that they want to develop it.鈥�

Renowned architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. designed the grounds of the park, which became open to the public in 1912. The park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and

In 2016, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ward 5 Councilman Kenyan McDuffie and others broke ground on the site. The groundbreaking was solely ceremonial, as demolition was not legally allowed.听

Shovels break McMillan ground

鈥� bill rice (@ricebilldc)

The recent court ruling has made people wanting to save and protect the site furious. At a rally in support of preserving the park, community member Maurice Cook said the development will be unaffordable for the people who have lived in the area for generations. 20% of the plan鈥檚 housing will be affordable to those earning 50-80% of the area median income.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 just another symbol of what has occurred throughout the city,鈥� Cook said.

Others are ready for the redevelopment, like Bloomingdale resident Amy Zhou.

鈥淚t would just infuse life into what is otherwise a barbed wire, fenced-off plot of land,鈥� she said.

Zhou and other neighbors counter-protested the rally.听

鈥淚t鈥檚 not that I’m against these counter proposals, it鈥檚 just that none of them are real, none of them are material,鈥� she said. 鈥淧eople want to see something versus nothing.鈥�

Park supporters argued the new development will cause even more traffic headaches. Kirby Vining, treasurer of Friends of McMillan Park, said in hearings before the Zoning Commission, the .听

Vining said Friends of McMillan Park hired an engineer from WMATA to look at traffic data of the North Capitol Street and Michigan Avenue intersection. Vining said the engineer projected that car trips would be around double the given estimate.

鈥淚 don’t want to live in a neighborhood where there鈥檚 going to be thousands of additional cars,鈥� Carson said.

Protestors are also worried about airborne asbestos if demolition begins. Carson wants to see the 20 filtration sites tested appropriately. Even at low levels, the CDC says

鈥淲e want to test it, I don’t know why anyone would be against testing it,鈥� she said.

Despite the possibility of the underground structures containing asbestos, demolition permits were approved as part of the D.C. Court of Appeals鈥� ruling. Supporters of the park will continue to fight for McMillan during their court hearing on Oct. 26.

鈥淧eople have been in this neighborhood for generations,鈥� Carson said. 鈥滱nd we don鈥檛 want new unaffordable apartments and condos to take up the space.鈥�

The post Bloomingdale鈥檚 historic McMillan Park inches toward redevelopment first appeared on 最新蜜桃影像.

“Have you ever heard of 鈥楰ing Henry Doesn鈥檛 Usually Drink Chocolate Milk?鈥欌�� he asked.

It鈥檚 a mnemonic device Malik, 10, had just learned to help him remember metric system measurements 鈥� kilo, hecto, deca, base unit, deci, centi, mili. He鈥檚 a student at Langley Elementary School in Eckington. His mother, Annie Wright, is the Langley Parent Teacher Organization president.

Wright has frequent conversations with parents and school administrators about if and how Langley Elementary would reopen. Langley is a Title 1 school. It was one of several facilities to undergo HVAC renovations, not to mention an ongoing bathroom renovation project. Wright doesn鈥檛 point out those projects to criticize Langley Elementary administration. She said they are working hard to eventually open classrooms.

But it鈥檚 still unclear when Langley students, along with other D.C. students, will return to their classrooms. After announcing that 7,000 of D.C.鈥檚 roughly 30,000 elementary school students would return to classes on Nov. 9, the District was forced to keep classrooms closed after members of the Washington Teachers鈥� Union organized a sick-in.

According to reporting , enough teachers called in sick Nov. 2 to necessitate the cancellation of online classes. The District abandoned plans to reopen some schools the same day.

DCPS will not open elementary schools on November 9 as planned. We have heard feedback from many in our community about plans, and we will use this moment to adjust our timeline and staffing plans for reopening. Read more:

鈥� Chancellor Ferebee (@DCPSChancellor)

Washington Teachers鈥� Union Spokesman Joe Weedon said his organization wants to see more transparent data on building repairs and student interest in in-person classes in addition to more earnest engagement with parents and teachers before schools reopen their doors.

鈥淭here has been a lack of data,鈥� Weedon said. 鈥淭here is a lot of frustration on both sides but especially from the teachers at this point.鈥�

opened on Nov. 18. CARES classrooms allow students to continue virtual classes onsite and under the supervision of school staff. Wright said she understands the importance of the CARES classrooms. She is able to work from home and her sister often comes over to help Malik with technical issues. Wright said she knows not everyone鈥檚 situation is like hers. But Langley hasn鈥檛 opened a CARES class, yet.

鈥淟angley still needs work,鈥� Wright said. She was among the parents able to tour the building鈥檚 recent projects. 鈥淚 feel like the administration is working to at least prepare for CARES classes.鈥�

Malik is somewhat aware of the tensions and hurdles associated with reopening classrooms. His mother is the PTO president, after all, so he hears the discussions about facility upgrades and teacher safety.

But on a daily basis, he just busies himself with the business of learning, like trying to remember what 鈥淜ing Henry Doesn鈥檛 Usually Drink Chocolate Milk鈥� stands for.

Settled in

I wanted to talk to Malik because after covering the possibility of a limited reopening at Langley in late October, I realized I hadn鈥檛 asked any Langley students about how they would feel going back to school.

Malik is not representative of all students. He鈥檚 just one fifth grader who wakes up, eats the breakfast his mom makes for him, usually breakfast sausage and muffins. He might watch a couple videos on YouTube and then logs onto his Microsoft Teams account at 8:45 a.m. for class.

His mother is able to work from home and his aunt is able to come over frequently and help with virtual learning. Malik said he knows not all students are in the same situation he is. Some have parents who work a lot, he said or at higher risk. It鈥檚 why, he said, he knew he wouldn鈥檛 be going back to school even before the District abandoned the plan.

But, even then, he didn鈥檛 mind the prospect of learning from his room for the rest of the school year if necessary. He still doesn鈥檛 mind that possibility.

鈥淚t feels safe,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t feels awesome, because you get to stay in your pajamas all day and be like 鈥楾his is me. You got me.鈥欌��

Malik wasn鈥檛 always this comfortable with online learning. When schools first closed in March, he struggled to adjust.

鈥淚 feel like with my son, it (was) a lot of hand holding with him being at home,鈥� Wright said in an earlier interview. 鈥淚n the beginning I always plead the case that if you were in school, I would not be here holding your hand.鈥�

But he hit his stride. Now, he said, he feels independent in his learn-from-home environment.

鈥淚 do feel more mature,鈥� Malik said. 鈥淚 have to stay here. I have no supervision. I have to make sure I have tunnel vision.鈥�

That鈥檚 not to say that Malik doesn鈥檛 miss his friends. He misses recess and lunch hours 鈥� times that used to be social, but now he spends alone. At Langley, he said he and his friends made a Ghost Keepers group based on a mystery book they all liked called The Ghostkeepers Journal and Field Guide.

He also said he gets stressed sometimes. The long hours staring at a screen are hard for him, but when he does get stressed, he said he draws. He鈥檚 gotten better at drawing faces since the pandemic started. Noses used to be hard for him, but he鈥檚 starting to get the hang of drawing them.

I would love for him to go back, but I really don鈥檛 think that he is going to make it back in that building anymore.

In the weeks since D.C. Public Schools abandoned its plan to return some students to school, Wright is considering what the second half of the school year will look like for her son. She said she thinks Malik will finish out the school year learning from home, which is emotional to consider. Malik is a fifth grader, meaning this is his last year at Langley. Usually there is a graduation ceremony, but that, like so many other milestones, may be virtual this year.

鈥淚 think Antonio鈥檚 last day at Langley was March 15, 2020,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淚 would love for him to go back, but I really don鈥檛 think that he is going to make it back in that building anymore.鈥�

It鈥檚 a reality many D.C. parents are considering as another round of end-of-school milestones inch nearer. DCPS is floating another plan to reopen during the January 2021 semester, but Weedon said there still needs to be more meaningful parent and teacher engagement before the Washington Teachers鈥� Union will sign off on any in-person learning plan.

鈥淲hether it鈥檚 continuing to roll out the plan [DCPS] had previously developed is unclear,鈥� Weedon said. 鈥淭hey are trying to engage a new school based committee 鈥� but there are no details in what they are looking for.鈥�

There is still no knowing how and if a new plan to reopen schools will manifest. When asked how he feels about the possibility of finishing the school year virtually, or even beginning the next one from home, Malik was direct.

鈥淪hoot, I wouldn鈥檛 mind,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 would keep in my real comfy clothes.鈥�

The post In Eckington, pajamas are the school uniform for the foreseeable future first appeared on 最新蜜桃影像.

Her son, Theodore, attends preschool at Langley Elementary School in Eckington. Each day he鈥檚 joined by another Langley Elementary preschooler. The same goes for Robbins鈥� daughter, Elena, a first grader, who is joined by two of her classmates.

Together, their five-student learning pod has fallen into a rhythm. The preschoolers finish around 11 a.m. and then do asynchronous activities while the three first graders continue until about 2 p.m. with a break for lunch and exercise.

鈥淭hey have to wear masks all day,鈥� Robbins said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good for them to practice those skills for when we do go back.鈥�
Langley Elementary School, like all D.C. elementary schools, will welcome some students back Nov. 9.

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Oct.5 that D.C. Public Schools would begin a phased reopening plan, beginning with the elementary schools, at the beginning of the second term.

Classrooms will be limited to 11 students and only one class will open per grade. Students will be given the option to return to the classroom on a lottery basis. If their child is chosen, parents have the option to stick with online learning or transition to in person. Classrooms for special education and supervised online learning are also slated to open.

Langley Elementary is also one of several D.C. schools undergoing an HVAC system upgrade. According to minutes from the Sept. 23 parent teacher organization meeting , there is also an ongoing bathroom project.

But, for Robbins and other Langley parents, the specifics are still murky.

Although Mayor Bowser tweeted an explainer video showing some details of the air filtration updates, Robbins also hasn鈥檛 heard any updates on what that looks like at Langley.

鈥淵ou are kind of in this limbo,鈥� Robbins said.

She doesn鈥檛 know if the projects will be complete in time for students to return, or if her children will be among the first to resume in-person classes.

A new, new normal

Robbins doesn鈥檛 think her children will be included in the first wave of students to return back to school. She鈥檚 paid for another month of pod learning and said she鈥檚 keeping an open mind about what comes next.

鈥淚鈥檓 thankful that we鈥檙e able to navigate it,鈥� Robbins said. Both she and her husband are able to work from home. 鈥淪o, we are really lucky in that regard, but I can鈥檛 imagine the stress for people who aren鈥檛.鈥�

Robbins said she realizes the choice to go back to school isn鈥檛 really a choice for everyone. Parents whose jobs don鈥檛 allow for teleworking need their children in a safe learning environment. Meanwhile, other children 鈥� those who have or live with others who have pre-existing conditions 鈥� can鈥檛 return to school.

For those reasons Parent Teacher Organization president Annie Wright is glad DCPS is making returning to in-person learning optional.

Like Robbins, Wright counts herself lucky. Her sister has been able to help her fifth-grade son with technical issues while Wright works from home. But the transition to virtual learning wasn鈥檛 easy. It took a lot of hand holding, Wright said.

鈥淪o now that he is finally comfortable and there is rhythm it鈥檚 going to be difficult 鈥� to get him back into the school,鈥� Wright said.

Wright said her son will likely stay with the virtual format. But even if students don鈥檛 return to the classroom, a transition is coming for many of the District鈥檚 elementary students. The smaller class sizes will mean reassigning teachers.

Right now, Wright鈥檚 son has four teachers he works with regularly. But two of those teachers will go back to onsite roles, leaving two online.

She said some parents are worried that since the children have become accustomed to their teachers, it will be difficult to transition to a new teacher

Joe Weedon, spokesman of the Washington Teachers鈥� Union, said the organization is also concerned about the effect that the transition from entirely virtually to partially in person will have on D.C. students.

鈥淭here is a huge concern on our part that we are going to disrupt the learning that is taking place and damage the social and emotional health of our students,鈥� Weedon said.

Robbins said she鈥檚 taking deep breaths, but she has given some thought to what a partial transition looks like and how it will affect the learning routine.

鈥淚 think every transition for a child is a little bit traumatic.鈥�

鈥淚 think every transition for a child is a little bit traumatic,鈥� Robbins said. 鈥淗ow do you keep that education moving forward? That structure helps them learn.鈥�

The next Langley PTO meeting is Oct. 21. Robbins and Wright said they are expecting more information not just about which students will be returning to the building, but the building itself.

Wait and see

Langley Elementary School is one of several facilities undergoing an HVAC system update.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is primarily spread through close contact with someone who is carrying the live virus. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its information on COVID-19 spread Oct. 5 to also account for airborne transmission.

Although it is much more likely to catch the virus due to close contact, there have been some documented cases where small particles became trapped in the air and infected people more than six feet away from the person positive for the virus. , this is more likely to occur in small, enclosed spaces.

Which is why Weedon said his organization is particularly interested in the HVAC project.

鈥淪ocial distancing alone isn鈥檛 enough to protect our teachers and students if the air is stagnant, the aerosols, the particulates will linger,鈥� Weedon said.

He said that by making sure there is circulating fresh air, it is less likely that there will be a risk of infection due to aerosolized particles.

Mayor Bowser tweeted a video Monday showing the types of air filters that are being installed in DCPS classrooms. But Robbins said she鈥檚 anxious to see what that looks like at Langley specifically.

Along with safety protocols, air cleaners and HVAC filters can help reduce airborne contaminants including viruses. has invested in new HVAC enhancements and medical-grade air filters in our school buildings.

To learn more:

鈥� Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser)

She said the school doesn鈥檛 have a pushed air system. According to the Sept. 23 PTO meeting minutes, administration had found problems with some of the air conditioning units within the building.

鈥淪o, my question is are they changing all the filters, are they putting in HEPA filters?鈥� Robbins said.

Despite their concerns, both Robbins and Wright applaud Langley Elementary administrators and teachers for their work in the last months.

Robbins said her children are incredibly engaged during their lessons despite the virtual format. As for Wright, even though it can be slow, she鈥檚 grateful for Principal Kristina Kellogg鈥檚 communication throughout the transition.

鈥淚鈥檓 very understanding of her position and not wanting to give too much information,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淪he just wants to make sure it鈥檚 truthful information and concrete information.鈥�

The only thing to do now, the pair said, is wait for more of that information.

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Mayor Muriel Bowser signed that would allow George Washington University to create a east of the Anacostia River on St. Elizabeth鈥檚 campus in Ward 8. And in September, the D.C. Council passed legislation that would give Howard University to build a new, 225-bed hospital on its Georgia Avenue campus in Ward 1.

Both hospitals are 鈥渟orely needed,鈥� Councilmember for Ward 5 Kenyan McDuffie said during a recent . There is currently one hospital east of the Anacostia River, which is predominantly Black and low-income.

Howard University Hospital is both one of the country鈥檚 few historically Black teaching hospitals and a trusted source of health care for residents who live near it.

The two projects were planned long before the coronavirus pandemic began, but has highlighted the need for a more robust health infrastructure.

More than 600 D.C. residents have died during the coronavirus pandemic, and around 75% of those people were Black. That鈥檚 because many Black people are front-line workers. Many minority communities have long lacked access to quality health care, making members of these communities more likely to have a preventable illness, .

鈥淚f you have more than one or two chronic conditions, this virus gets a hold of you and immediately attacks and exacerbates the conditions you already have,鈥� Calvin Smith, the chair of the Ward 8 Health Alliance, said.

Trusted access

Anita Norman, the ANC commissioner for LeDroit Park, has lived in that neighborhood for 27 years. She is within walking distance of Howard University Hospital and Medstar Washington Hospital. But she primarily walks to Howard University Hospital for her care.

鈥淚t鈥檚 good when hospitals serve communities where the people look like them,鈥� said Norman, who attended Howard University and worked as a nurse for the hospital for 10 years.

She said it’s important for doctors, nurses and other health care providers to understand the background from which people are coming. Howard University, and the surrounding areas of LeDroit Park and Bloomingdale, are historically Black neighborhoods.

Washington D.C. has 13 hospitals, but only one full-service hospital (marked in blue) east of the Anacostia River. It will close when the new hospital (marked in green), opens in 2024. Howard University Hospital will also open a new facility (marked in green) in 2026.

The cultural competence of staff, the ability for uninsured people to receive care and the ability for adults to receive preventative care all contribute to whether a person has adequate access to care, .

Although just one person, Norman鈥檚 specific situation is an example of health access gone right. She has physicians she trusts within walking distance of her home. She鈥檚 accessed both primary and emergency care at Howard University Hospital. And she鈥檚 had insurance to defray the costs.

It鈥檚 an example of why councilmembers want to maintain and strengthen Howard University Hospital鈥檚 capabilities. It鈥檚 also why leaders applaud the decision to build a new hospital East of the Anacostia River.

Access within reach

United Medical Center is the only full-service hospital east of the Anacostia River. It is also the district鈥檚 only public hospital.

The new hospital will be a partnership between the District, George Washington University and a private management company. But a hospital alone won鈥檛 necessarily address health access issues.

Part of the reason United Medical Center struggled to stay afloat is because many residents access health care via the emergency room, which, for a patient, is the most expensive place to receive care, said Calvin Smith, the chair for the Ward 8 Health Alliance.

That wouldn鈥檛 be the case if more residents had access to primary care doctors in Ward 8, Smith said.
With the Ward 8 Health Alliance, Smith is primarily focused on connecting Ward 8 residents with primary care physicians.

鈥淥ne of the challenges you have on the east end of the District is the lack of doctors who live where they work,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭he doctor鈥檚 offices on the west end of the city so it makes a challenge to get to and from.鈥�

In that sense, it鈥檚 not just a new hospital in Ward 8 that will improve health access 鈥� it鈥檚 the primary and urgent care facilities, the pharmacies and overall health infrastructure that will come with it.

Norman, too, realizes the need for these kinds of services east of the river. It鈥檚 why she says that when people think of health care, they shouldn鈥檛 think of long sterile hallways and bustling hospitals. They should think of doctors鈥� offices where people can receive preventative care.

鈥淭here should be a push to get every citizen who doesn鈥檛 have health care to get them in some sort of managed health care where they have a primary doctor,鈥� Norman said.

Which is exactly what Smith will be doing until Ward 8鈥檚 new hospital opens in the coming years.

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But the neighborhood is still teaching her things, she said.

She was recently walking along North Capitol Street when she stopped in front of the Metropolitan Wesley AME Zion Church.

鈥淚 was last week years old [when] I learned that was the end stop in the underground railroad,鈥� Hopkinson said. 鈥淲hy don鈥檛 we know?鈥�

The Bloomingdale Civic Association is coming to the end of a years-long project to help Bloomingdale students do just that 涓� know about Bloomingdale and its history. The project is called Taking Village History to Our Youth and is spearheaded by Bertha Holliday, the vice president of Bloomingdale Civic Association.

鈥淭here was a need to really start grooming a future leadership cadre of folks who were going to be leaders in the community,鈥� Holliday said.

So, she created a curriculum that addresses history, leadership and civic participation. Holliday originally envisioned the curriculum would be administered in schools and community organizations.

But with those venues now operating online, Holliday must recruit teachers and organizations to implement the curriculum while simultaneously making it compatible with online learning 鈥� all with mere weeks left in the project鈥檚 grant funding.

A shared space

It took Holliday and the Bloomingdale Civic Association (BCA) a year of grant applications before it won a grant from Humanities D.C. to fund the curriculum project. That was in May 2019.

The curriculum has 10 lessons that can be taught in a classroom or community setting, like Sunday schools. It also has 10 field trips. Some of the assignments ask the students to go on walks around their neighborhood, identify landmarks and street names, look them up and present their findings to their class. It also incorporates Bloomingdale Civic Association’s .

Maybe, like Hopkinson, they鈥檒l pass a landmark they had passed dozens of times before, but suddenly learn its significance. Or maybe they will learn the ways racism has shaped the neighborhood.

But long before BCA completed its first grant application, Holliday had been considering how to create a shared space for the next generation of Bloomingdale leaders long before BCA鈥檚 first grant application. She had noticed there weren鈥檛 many children playing together on streets and sidewalks.

She asked her friend Gwenn Bush-Hodge if she鈥檇 noticed the same thing. Bush-Hodge had young children at the time. She doesn鈥檛 remember the conversation with Holliday, but she does remember the neighborhood dynamic Holliday was wondering about.

Students in Bloomingdale often go to school outside Bloomingdale, Bush-Hodge said. They are driven to school and their extracurricular activities.

鈥淐hildren do not see one another!鈥� Bush-Hodge said in an email. 鈥淗owever, if the neighborhood schools were better, children would walk to school and get to know one another.鈥�

This pointed Holliday toward making a curriculum on neighborhood history.

鈥淭hat was the kind of common denominator,鈥� Holliday said. 鈥淏ut it would also provide skill development to encourage the neighborhood kids to really have a sense of their having some real expertise.鈥�

Bush-Hodge鈥檚 children are now 21 and 18 years old. Bush-Hodge isn鈥檛 sure that a curriculum on neighborhood history taught in different schools would facilitate the kind of collective identity Holliday hopes.

鈥淚n order for children in a neighborhood to know one another beyond a simple hello, they must have a shared learning environment,鈥� Bush-Hodge said.

The curriculum as Holliday imagines it does culminate in a neighborhood showcase that would bring students and parents together.

Hopkinson has children about the same age as Bush-Hodge and said she encountered a similar dynamic when her children were younger. Hopkinson, however, is more optimistic about the possible outcomes of the project.

鈥淭he schooling piece is a lot,鈥� Hopkinson said. 鈥淭his [curriculum] could be something really powerful for Bloomingdale kids how they could bond around 鈥� tell the stories about the places around here.鈥�

Hopkinson said one of the most surprising things she learned while working on the project was that there used to be tennis courts between Bryant and Second streets. When the neighborhood was desegregated, the white residents of that parcel dug up the tennis courts and built a structure between themselves and their Black neighbors.

鈥淭hat is the sort of context that you really need to understand the new changes that are happening right now,鈥� Hopkinson said. 鈥淭he fears from the Black community are not invented. They are really rooted in historical truth 鈥� the way that white people have shared space with Black people.鈥�

In one way, Holliday鈥檚 project is having to pivot in order to be compatible with the needs of the moment. But in another way, the completion of the Taking Village History to Our Youth curriculum comes at the perfect time.

A shared story

Holliday had originally planned to recruit schools and community organizations in spring 2020. But then the coronavirus pandemic delayed those efforts.

Uncertainty about how District students would return to school further delayed the project, but Holliday and her team are now back at work, digitizing the curriculum before the project鈥檚 funding expires at the end of the month. They will likely apply for more funding, as well.

They are also redoubling their efforts to recruit schools and community organizations. Their goal is to implement the project in January.

鈥淚 think the most challenging part is going to be really kind of this small group work,鈥� Holliday said. 鈥淵ou can do that virtually, but can the kids really connect?鈥�

But Holliday said the project does have one thing going for it that it didn鈥檛 in the spring 鈥� administrative interest.

Even before the protests following George Floyd鈥檚 death reinvigorated national conversations on the lack of Black stories in social studies curriculums, Ward 5 D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie introduced within D.C. public high schools.

The bill is still Holliday said she鈥檚 spoken with Councilmember McDuffie about Bloomingdale鈥檚 efforts to find a place for its local histories in its classrooms.

Digital hurdles aside, however, Hopkinson said she still thinks there is room for a curriculum like Holliday鈥檚. It gets students out in the neighborhood and away from their computers. The curriculum, Hopkinson said, gives students a sense of place.

鈥淚 know my chest puffed out a bit when I found out one of the endings of the underground railroad is like a block from my house,鈥� Hopkinson said. 鈥淚t gives a lot more meaning to the Sunday run. So, I think it鈥檚 great.鈥�

This article was changed Sept. 23 at 1:30 p.m. to reflect the correct name of Natalie Hopkinson听

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A local farm and herbalist group in Washington, D.C. will teach the uninitiated how to make the non-alcoholic, medicinal tonic, which herbalists say is good to clear out the sinuses or warm you up on a winter day. Common Good City Farm in LeDroit Park and the D.C. chapter of the American Herbalist Guild recently for an event to taste and make fire cider at the farm on January 25.听

If that all sounds warm and cozy, you may have missed the seven year legal battle and boycott over what fire cider is and who gets to use the name. The legal dispute鈥檚 conclusion is the occasion for the D.C. event and the reason why the ad for it hawks the otherwise cryptic slogan 鈥渇ire cider is FREE!鈥�

The dispute started in 2012 when a Massachusetts-based company Shire City, now known as Fire Cider on , trademarked the name 鈥渇ire cider鈥� to refer to their recipe for the tonic. Shortly thereafter, the company started contacting herbalists on Etsy and told them to change the name of their products or stop selling.听

Herbalists told the Wash that it is traditional to share recipes in the medicinal plant community and that the recipe and name for fire cider dates back to the 1970鈥檚.听

鈥淓verybody shares everything, so when this happened it freaked people out,鈥� said Claudia Joy Wingo, who leads the health promotion department at the Maryland University for Integrative Health (MUIH), a school for alternative medicine that has no affiliation with the state鈥檚 University of Maryland.

The dispute heated up. Herbalists called for a boycott. In 2015, Shire City Herbals sued three herbalists for trademark infringement and economic damages from the boycott. The case ended up in a Massachusetts district court.

On September 30 the judge to the herbalists, declaring fire cider a generic term.听

While the trial itself centered in Massachusetts, local herbalists said that it was a big topic in the D.C. metro area, which was the site of the American Herbalist Guild鈥檚 in October. The guild is a nonprofit organization for herbal practitioners.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 trademark tradition,鈥� said Betsy Miller, an herbalist who also teaches at MUIH. While she wasn鈥檛 party to the case, she said that everyone in D.C. watched it closely.听

The idea for the D.C. event came when Elizabeth Gilhuly, President of the D.C. chapter of the American Herbalists Guild, the idea for a party 鈥渋n honor of the Free Fire Cider win.鈥� An organizer at Common Good City Farm quickly responded offering to host.

“It鈥檚 a folk thing like chicken soup,鈥� said Gilhuly. “There is no official way to make chicken soup.”

The invite for the fire cider event in LeDroit Park advertises a tasting, workshops on brewing and cooking with the tonic, and a lunch with dumplings.

Common Good City Farms has a small medicinal garden where it grows passion flowers, echinacea, and mullein, among other herbs, according to Josephine Chu, program and outreach manager at the farm. She said that the farm has regular programming on medicinal plants and herbs.

There is no clinical, peer-reviewed evidence for the medicinal benefits of fire cider, and caution that herbal supplements aren鈥檛 always held to the same scientific scrutiny and can carry risks as well as benefits.

When it comes to fire cider, most of the ingredients are common kitchen ingredients, although Gilhuly cautioned against consuming too much at once. “You don’t drink a glass of vinegar,” she said.

Shire City Herbals did not respond to a request for comment about the trademark dispute.

A statement on of its website acknowledged the loss it court. 鈥淭he Judge thought the term should be generic, and now it is! We will continue to make our Fire Cider in the same small batch, hand-made process our customers have come to know and love.鈥�

The website for the Massachusetts-based company lists ten stores in Washington D.C. that stock its fire cider tonic, although at least one store told the Wash that they were no longer stocking it.听

最新蜜桃影像 picked up a bottle at Glen鈥檚 Garden Market near Dupont Circle. The tonic opened with a sharp sour bite and ended with a slightly spicy taste of garlic. We were unable to sample a fire cider batch home-brewed in the District before publication. Miller, of the Maryland herbalism academy,听 said that she had a batch brewing, but it wouldn鈥檛 be ready for another week or two.

鈥淓very herbalist has their own recipe,鈥� said Miller, who adds an unconventional elderflower to her tonic. 鈥淚鈥檇 encourage people to learn how to make it themselves.鈥�

For now, herbalists are celebrating their win.

鈥淭he trial started in the Spring Equinox with the moon in Libra and ended with the Fall Equinox with the Sun in Libra,鈥� proclaimed the website Free Fire Cider, which was started by a group of herbalists to fight the Shire City Herbals trademark. 鈥淟IBRA is JUSTICE!鈥�

Details on the event:

When: Saturday, January 25, 2020, 11am-1pm

Where: Common Good City Farm, V St NW between 2nd and 4th

What: Taste fire cider and learn to make it

The post 鈥淔ire cider is free!鈥� and D.C. celebrates first appeared on 最新蜜桃影像.

All of this progress happened in the heart of D.C., but it was funded in large part by a government in the Middle East.

The Children鈥檚 National Medical Center, a leading pediatric hospital headquartered near the Columbia Heights neighborhood, has received more than $180 million from the United Arab Emirates and its ambassador, Yousef Al Otaiba, over the past decade, according to .

The latest pledge of $30 million this year is set to revamp a part of the former Walter Reed Medical Center, into a cutting-edge pediatric research institute. Plans for the 12-acre lot, located in Bethesda, Maryland, include a new research lab and an outpatient center for children with rare genetic and metabolic diseases.

But it comes in a context of greater scrutiny towards charitable donations in general and towards the United Arab Emirates in particular, as lawmakers in Congress have increasingly called for an end to a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen that was backed by the UAE. A U.N. last year found that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had committed war crimes, including the bombing of medical centers in Yemen.

The oil rich gulf nation 鈥� with a population less than Michigan 鈥� is the 6^th biggest spender on foreign lobbying, according to the transparency organization, Open Secrets, but this tally doesn鈥檛 count donations to think tanks or charities, which don鈥檛 have to register as foreign agents.

Experts say that these gifts are often just as much about exerting influence as the lobbying.

鈥淲hen you give a lot of money to a giant hospital, you get invited to the board dinners, the wine tastings,鈥� said Daniel Schuman, the policy director for Demand Progress, a government reform advocacy organization. 鈥淵ou network with the people who are well networked.鈥�

Ben Freeman, the Director of the Foreign Influence Transparency Initiative at the Center for International Policy, said that he didn鈥檛 see anything wrong with donating to a hospital but that it was a way of exerting soft power. He called the UAE 鈥渙ne of the savviest鈥� foreign governments in terms of its outreach in the United States. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just about lobbyists. They know it鈥檚 very beneficial to your cause if you make these charitable commitments,鈥� he said.

It鈥檚 this savvy that may have helped the UAE keep its insider status, even after several legal firms, academic institutions, and think tanks dropped accounts with Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Khashoggi murder, according to a report by the . In fact, Otaiba has cultivated a close with the Trump administration through the president’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The UAE Embassy did not respond to a request for comment before publication. Otaiba told the Washington Post in April that the donation to the hospital was not motivated by tactical political reasons.

But hospital fundraising has put the UAE ambassador in contact with some of the biggest movers and shakers in the city.

In 2014 Ambassador Otaiba and his wife, Abeer Al Otaiba, a trained civil engineer who directs a high-end fashion-line, raised nearly $10 million hosting the annual fundraising gala for the children鈥檚 hospital alongside Brett Baier, Fox News鈥檚 chief political anchor. Lawmakers and think tank heads also attend the annual galas.

The Otaibas have a personal connection at the hospital as well. Their infant daughter underwent lung surgery in 2013. (At that time, the UAE had already directed $150 million to the hospital).

The donation to the hospital may also be part of a broader plan to build links between U.S. hospitals and the gulf state to improve care for Emirati citizens. The UAE has signed with at least seven hospitals to ensure that Emirati citizens receive quick care with the help of translators, according to a press release from the UAE embassy. More than 100 Emirati patients receive care at Children鈥檚 National every year, largely paid for by the government.

Many U.S. hospitals, for their part, have begun aggressively recruiting international patients, who are often willing to pay full price, and some, such as the Cleveland Clinic, have even opened up branches in the UAE, which is rapidly becoming a destination for medical tourism of its own and has identified healthcare services as a key element in diversifying it economy.

So far, hospitals have not received much pushback for accepting donations from foreign governments.

Recent scandals over charitable donations have tended to focus on particular individuals, like Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted pedophile who committed suicide in a New York prison in August, and serial rapist Harvey Weinstein.

When criticism has touched on foreign governments, Saudi Arabia, has been the main target. In the wake of the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation cut ties with a charity chaired by the Saudi crown prince, and New York art museums that they would not use money from the Saudi prince鈥檚 foundation for a programs on Middle Eastern art.

But it can be challenging to figure out what to do with government money. Many governments around the world have some policies that could contradict with the reported aims of their foreign charity. Doctors Without Borders has rejected funding in the past from the European Union over their asylum policy, for example.

Ethicists say that one test of whether to accept potentially controversial charity donations has to do with how close they are to the programmatic work, and concern from open government advocates in D.C. has tended to focus on donations to think tanks rather than donations to hospitals or disaster relief.

Schuman argues that it makes a difference whether the aid comes from a pluralistic democracy鈥攚here power is more diffuse and there may be some distance between the aid agency and the national leadership鈥攙ersus a monarchy or oligarchy with almost 鈥渘o difference between the country and its rulers.鈥�

鈥淚 guess you have to do a moral calculus: how many people burned to death is worth a new burn unit,鈥� said Schuman, who argued that it would be better to live in a system where hospitals and universities are funded by the public system, not wealthy donors or foreign governments. 鈥淗ow much can you buy expiation for their sins?鈥�

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