C A P I C O S T I A

  "...She was about two years old before she really started understanding and comprehending me,” she continued. Maybe it was because she was home alone with her father at seven-weeks-old when I went back to work and they bonded. He would talk to her only in Spanish and when I would come home, she did not quite understand me,” said Graham interviewed at her Penn Branch home on P Street SE that she shares with Anna Elizabeth’s father Efren Martinez Montero. In Ann Elizabeth’s case, her crayon became a life line, earning her a national art award..." A Penn Branch girl, living with autism, who is an artist...and Afro-Latina? Though I am not, myself, autistic, ..my sister is. My family is Cameroonian, Ghanaian, Mexican AND American. We are also artists and proud  Branchers, since 1965 [I was born in 1969]. So, we check ALL of those above boxes, and we are so proud. Congratulations, Anna. Read more in East Of The River magazine... https...

  by Mel Dyer   In case you haven't been paying attention, CHARACTERS and panhandlers are hanging around our Shops At Penn Branch, now.   As they gather in number - I saw TWO pretty obnoxious ones, out there, tonight - they will create an environment that attracts criminal opportunists. Soon, the word will get out that it's OPEN SEASON on Branchers, ..as we stop to dig in our pockets, open purses, etc. They will create opportunities for intimidation, purse-snatchings, slightly more violent smash-n-grabs and straight-up ARMED ROBBERY, ..and right in the parking lot! It all starts with a few harmless regulars ( characters, we used to call them) hanging out front and in the lot, hustling a little change, harassing passersby, ogling women, dancing [I've seen it!], prostituting themselves, dealing or consuming drugs and, most importantly, ..distracting Branchers from paying attention to their personal safety.   Popping into the...

[Third Edition] This is a NAYLOR DUPONT EXCLUSIVE... A corporate website, listing local stores, presently available for franchise, solidly confirm that SEVEN ELEVEN will be opening a new store, between Penn Branch Center’s old, broken down escalators and the H&R Block, in a space that will soon be vacated, by Beltway Beauty and Barber Supply - that's just four doors down from the CVS Pharmacy. Several Penn Branch Center merchants have confirmed the same. The new store will be a corporate store, meaning that it is owned by the 7-Eleven corporation - not a family or individual - and is listed as "UC" (under construction), at, "3218 Pennsylvania Ave SE...Washington DC...20020". Everyone in Penn Branch is talking about this, but, no one is reporting it. No one. Furthermore, there's nothing posted at the address, in the window of 3218 Pennsylvania Avenue, announcing the new tenant. Not sure why that is, ..but, this isn't a rumor, anymore. Th...

  Sprawling, spectacular view of new urbanism in 'Near Southeast'. [Wikipedia.org]   Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Riverfront neighborhood - more specifically, the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District or (BID) - truly has a great deal to be proud of. Having taken what was most surely one of the bleakest corridors of the Nation's Capital, one historically blighted by drugs, crime and unemployment, it has created an inspiring example of urban renewal, strategic investment and civic relevance for neighboring areas to follow... And I applaud them for that. However, for D.C.'s W-JLA Channel 7  to present Capitol Riverfront as an example of a development boom in 'Southeast' is more than a little dishonest, intellectually speaking. When W-JLA refers to 'Southeast Washington' in its numerous, exploitative crime stories, it is almost always referring to some troubled cluster of streets - not even an entire neighborhood - th...

[Second Edition] If you're like me, and you've lived on a side street in the burbs, your entire life, this JEWEL in Fairfax Village will be a refreshing change for you. As this condo is right on a major thoroughfare, Alabama Avenue, there'll be no more braving snow, thunderstorms and dark of night to get back and forth from your car to your front door, anymore. There's enough on-street parking, here, to put you a short walk from your door, at any hour of the day or night, ..and (for River East) there's an uncommonly present police presence. Since this is a major thoroughfare that police and EMS services need to use in a crisis, you can also expect an equally reliable public works commitment - means you'll never be waiting very long for snow plows, salt trucks and power restoration, after violent storms. Location amenities? In Fairfax Village, whether you're renting a townhouse or flat, you're surrounded by private homes, ..which only reinforces...

[Second Edition] NAY-LOR...DU-PONT. This is where we are, ..and it's not Anacostia. It's just Southeast for most of us... Juzz Sowfeest for some of us. It's Seven Bee for the politicos, ..as in ANC-7B. It's still Capicostia, ..somewhere in the blogosphere. It's A'not-costia, ..if that helps. I just pulled that out of my...desperation? Stay with me. It's Naylor Dupont, ..and it's always been Naylor Dupont, ..though I doubt that you'll remember all of that, because we wouldn't be having this one-sided conversation, if that worked for you. ANC-7B and Anacostia (or ANC-8A) really are two totally different places, ..culturally, politically and socially, and have been for a very, very long time. It's like those realtors, who refer to the Atlas area of Eighth Street, as Capitol Hill. It's just plain wrong, whether you're doing that intentionally or unintentionally, and if you try telling any Penn Brancher of long-stand...

Must say...I am sorry that the biggest 'Whole Paychecks' (what we resentful peasants call 'Whole Foods Market') won't be going to our future Skyland Town Center, right here in Naylor Dupont. Just the same, I suppose that Tyson's Corner, being so well planned, ..had this coming. Love that bit about it being 'half a Costco'. Read more in the Washington Business Journal.

Whatever you do, don't miss this upcoming event in ANC-7B. Everyone, who's doing anything relevant in our district, will be at the  Hillcrest Bicentennial Celebration Gala!

[Second Edition] I know this street, very well. Right at the edge of the woods and surrounded by the serenity of nature...and look at that pale, sleepy blue! Just imagine the mornings. Literally minutes from shopping and café life on Capitol Hill, ..and it's all yours. You're welcome. 2937 Fort Baker Drive Southeast, Washington, DC For Sale | Trulia.com

So, SHARKS are being fished out of the waters of St. Mary's County. Let's not pretend that we didn't see this coming. Their ancestral cousin, the bullzjit shark has been sighted, as far inland as Capitol Hill, passing bad legislation... And knocking back cocktails at Sonoma. Read about it, anyway. Seriously...like what else have you got to do, in this neighborhood? An Eight-Foot Bull Shark Was Caught In The Potomac River: DCist

[Second Edition] This is a CAPICOSTIA EXCLUSIVE... A corporate website, listing local stores, presently available for franchise, solidly confirm that SEVEN ELEVEN will be opening a new store, between PB Center’s old, broken down escalators and the H&R Block, in a space that will soon be vacated, by Beltway Beauty and Barber Supply - that's just four doors down from the CVS Pharmacy. Several Penn Branch Center merchants have confirmed the same. Furthermore, SEATTLE'S BEST COFFEE will not be moving into that space, as previously scribbled on this blog. In fact, the opening of a Seven Eleven almost guarantees that PBC will NOT be getting a Seattle's Best, Starbucks, Cosi, Peet's or any other proper coffeeshop, in the immediately forseeable future. The new store will be a corporate store, meaning that it is owned by the 7-Eleven corporation - not a family or individual - and is listed as "UC" (under construction), at, "3218 Pennsylvania Av...

Penn Branch has some problems that won't wait, until 2012 [Movie poster for '2012', above]. I predicted trouble on the horizon for Penn Branch, just a few months back. In spite of the fact that the good folk of Penn Branch are working very hard to feed their families and struggling to keep a roof over their heads, I fear a greater struggle may be ahead for us. As Washington, D.C. descends further and further into the dark future of revenue-creating gateway communities rising, east of Anacostia, ..and the emergence of 'Business Improvement Districts' (or BID s), west-of-River, I fear stable-but-static neighborhoods, like Penn Branch, will see the quality of their services (power, police, EMS) go down. Unlike Penn Branch, the BIDs, according to DC.gov 's Business Resources page, "collect a 'self tax' from property owners to provide services and programs to the entire BID...cleanliness, maintenance, safety, promotion, economic development, an...

A picture of the Old West we're not used to seeing (photo from Face2FaceAfrica.com) Pride. This Mexican American of African descent - fourth generation in the U.S. - who has never even been to L.A., has nothing, but, pride,  over here...

(NYTimes.com) As the four of us headed toward the eastern gate of Ajdabiya, the front line of a desperate rebel stand against the advancing forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, a car pulled up alongside. “They’re in the city!” the driver shouted at us. “They’re in the city!” Lynsey and Steve had worried that government soldiers might encircle the town, trapping us, but Tyler and Anthony discounted it. We had covered the fall of two other rebel-held towns — Ras Lanuf and Brega — and each time, the government had bombed and shelled the towns for days before making a frontal, methodical assault. When they did, rebels and journalists fled in a headlong retreat. If Ajdabiya fell, Colonel Qaddafi’s forces would be on the doorstep of Benghazi, the opposition capital, and perched on a highway to the Egyptian border, from... Read full story here

(MinorityNews.net) "WASHINGTON -- On March 16th, the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GWHCC) will host its second annual business expo. The expo will once again bring together business leaders and decision makers from dynamic companies, corporations, embassies and prime contractors as well as federal and local government agencies in the Washington, D.C. metro area..." Read the full story here.