C A P I C O S T I A

From Newsweek, on MSN.com "...Almost immediately, two large rats can be seen scurrying from one side of the kitchen floor to the other - but it gets worse. Two more are witnessed running across the floor while at least six can be seen climbing a cable on the restaurant kitchen's wall up into a visible cavity in the ceiling. At one point the man bangs his hand against the stainless steel work counter, prompting yet more rats to go dashing in every direction. The video then cuts back to the man, who asks viewers: "You still love that chicken from Pop..." Not all of us East o'the River types go to Popeyes, just for the chicken, ..apparently. I'm just saying. People tell me things. From the Capicostia Desk: We East o'the River folks have seen this movie, before. Eighth Street, from the Eastern Market Metrorail on Pennsylvania Avenue, all the way down to the Marine Barracks, ..is quite literally lined, with restaurants. Do you really think the bloody  Popeyes...

From MSN.com "...On a normal day, “The Awakening” statue depicts a giant struggling to break free from the earth.  The figure appeared to be fighting to escape the rising tides...If this ain’t a sign of the times, what is?... The statue, which includes 5 pieces that stand up to 17 feet tall, was first installed in the D.C. area in 1980, then moved to National Harbor in 2008, according to the Smithso..." What do you think the NEW reflecting pool, at National Harbor, is reflecting ..about us? Read the full story, here, ..on MSN.

From MSN.com "...The statement described some of the alleged murders in horrifying detail, saying Wanjala “squeezed dear life out of the innocent children.” In one case, where the victim was identified as 12-year-old Purity Maweu, police wrote: “The young girl was kidnapped from Kiima Kimwe in Machakos and her blood sucked by the killer, before being left for dead.” Authorities said that Wanjala’s victims, all aged between 12 and 13 years old, were “stupefied using a white substance in powder and liquid form, which [they] were either forced to drink or sprayed with before being executed.” The statement also claimed that Wanjala informed detectives that he “derived a lot of pleasure from..."  Jamie Ross for  The Daily Beast Read the full story, here, ..on MSN .

By Edgar Miraculous Dyer Capitol Hill + Anacostia = Capicostia?! In the past, I've described living here, in Southeast's Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor (region between historic Anacostia and Capitol Hill -  Penn Branch, Fairfax Village, Greenway, Westover, Twining, Hillcrest, the Randall Highlands, etc) , ..as feeling different, than living in other parts of Wards Seven and Eight - known here, as 'East o'the River'. The snootiest (most bougzey)  of us express feeling unfairly characterized, as less intellectually sophisticated and less cultured (appreciative of history and the arts), than our Capitol Hill neighbors. Others, less pretentious, like myself, understand that we have shared the same civic struggles, as have bordering neighborhoods, whose crime and drug problems regularly dominate local newcasts. However, ..we also feel that Downtown (DC Government) and the Media unfairly lumps us in, with those troubled communities. There is a  culture-angst  in the air, h...

by Edgar Miraculous Dyer Ward Seven and the Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor (region between Capitol Hill and Anacostia) needs an off-ramp, from 295 South onto East Capitol Street - East. Presently, folks travelling on 295 South, heading (or returning) to our Corridor neighborhoods, have TWO wasteful, environmentally destructive options. One: get off 295 and take pothole-ridden East Capitol, over the Anacostia River, a mile around RFK Stadium and  back over the river, to get to a tiny loop that spits you out, a block from Minnesota Avenue, ..in Fort Dupont. The other: stay on 295 South and ride it [God help you, in rush hour traffic!], all the way, nearly two, potholey miles,  ..down to Pennsylvania Ave. The resulting air pollution, clutter of traffic, wasted time, commuter stress and wear and tear on East Capitol Street (East and West) and that mile-plus on 295 South ..is utterly ridiculous. It's an environmentally wasteful, mile-plus haul on 295, from East Capitol Sou...

by Edgar Miraculous Dyer A woman was murdered, in front of  Planet Fitness, on the lower level of the Southeast Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor' s newly renovated Penn Branch Center. This happened, right here, in Seven Bee. It happened, right here, in what the people, Downtown, call our Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor. This happened, in our home. Shouldn't that mean something to us? Penn Branch...heart of Southeast's Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor. Nikeisha Thomas was killed, on the lower level. Someone looked at our calm, tree-lined streets - our newly, renovated Penn Branch Center - and felt safe, as we all have, ..for a while. Filled with hope for better health and new possibilities for herself, someone was inspired to join our Planet Fitness, on the lower level of Penn Branch Center. I think about that, about how safe and assured we all feel, here, in Penn Branch, most of the time, ..and I feel connected to her, in some small way... Like a neighbor. That doesn't make mu...