C A P I C O S T I A

There's nothing worse than having a sick animal friend or pet in your home, who is ill and cannot speak for itself. It's a helpless feeling, and you want to get your pet to someone, who can help them, as quickly and easily as you can. For Capicostia, that doesn't mean popping over to Capitol Hill, Old Anacostia or Northwest D.C., where you know there'll be no parking. It probably means hauling your pets out to Maryland's P.G. County, where parking and lots of space for it is practically guaranteed. That's how I found the Forestville Vetinary and Bird Hospital . It is located on Marboro Pike, right around the corner from the Penn Mar Shopping Center on Donnell Drive, in District Heights, Maryland, ..and it's got more than just convenient parking. FVBH is headed up by Ukraine-educated vetinarian and animal friend-spirit, Dr. Abdoul Diarra , and a caring staff of vetinary students, pet grooming and kennel professionals and vetinary technicians. Rest assu...

AOL News' prodigious 2009 upstart (and a GREAT e-read), Politics Daily, takes a smarting and timely little swing at the latest efforts to shame Congress into moving on D.C. statehood--namely, the re-branding of Pennsylvania Avenue as 'Statehood Way' or 'Voteless' some-such. The short article is written competently by author/columnist, Tom Deimer . It'll never happen, by the way, for one very simple reason. If shame , and heaping lots of it, is the requisite element in lighting the D.C. Statehood fire, the forces in Congress, who ritually oppose it (like Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell), have none on the matter. As there are sound arguments on both sides, whether they should or shouldn't be ashamed is a matter to be settled in the court of local public opinion. Not, typically, very forgiving on this issue. Have a look, here . Then, take the poll to give the State Formerly Known As D.C. a name: Washingtonia would add an 'i' and 'a' to ...

Get ready for a ground-breaking, NEW blog, called And The Autism Thing, written by my brilliant and dynamic hermanita, Shielda Dyer! Shielda is a grown woman living and thriving with autism, who has been keeping daily journals for nearly an entire year, ..only recently sharing her experiences online. Sometimes surprisingly insightful and always brutally honest, she is very committed to continuing her work and bettering our understanding of what living with autism is like. And we, her family, are all very proud of her and couldn't be more excited. If you have not followed Shielda's blog before, you can find it at its new location here, right here . Mel Dyer

Landon Donovan at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. (Photo from Wikipedia ) Ending a second valiant effort to establish American supremacy at the FIFA World Cup, with unbelievably skilled playing by Clint Dempsey (the first American to appear in a European final) and Landon Donovan, Ghana's Black Stars run off with a 2-1 victory over the U.S. Soccer Team. After a 1-0 win over Algeria, American soccer fans were celebrating what many of us hoped would be the conquest of the 'other football', but, it seems Ghana's renowned toughness may have put that dream on ice, at least for a while, with today's match . This is the Yanks' second trip to the FIFA Cup. We will be back. Mel Dyer

It really bugs me that I missed Blogging While Brown , and, if you missed it, you are probably as bummed as I am. The time to start preparing for the next one is right now, and the following link will tell you what to expect... Ping. That's the sound of relevance hitting your brain. Mel Dyer

[ Reprinted from April 5, 2010] This week, the CARLOS IN DC blog features a superb accounting of the gentrification issues troubling the Anacostia area of River East, written with refreshing authenticity by journalist, Northwest DC resident and self-affirmed Peruanista (and Facebook pal), Mr. Carlos A. Quiroz. At the time the Anacostia area was incorporated as 'Uniontown' in 1854, people of white Irish [True!] or African descent were outlawed from owning or renting anywhere in that part of town. This ugly historical truth is an example of how stupid and arbitrary the demonization of any ethnic group can really be--one day, Mexicans, and tomorrow, it's Arabs! It forces the more sensible of us to scratch the surface of the classist tribalism 'crab barrel', to understand one another better and find effective solutions to problems that have been with us since before the American Civil War. Quiroz's article does all of that and more, and as an occasionally les...

"I feel safe in Penn Branch because..." When a Penn Brangler poll asked postors why they feel safe in Penn Branch, fifty-four percent said it was because it is "surrounded by well-kept, working-middle class neighborhoods", while forty-five percent expressed that the neighborhood's "strong police presence" gave them a feeling of security. Penn Branch's wholesome, small town charm did not go unappreciated in the poll; seventy-two percent said they felt safe, because "Branglers look out for each other", and two percent said it was because "nothing ever happens here". Right on both counts, you ask me, and God bless the folks (in uniform and out), who keep it that way! For the record, ONE perecent of you admitted feeling safe, because you've "got a gun and...can fight". Only ONE percent?! I thought Branglers'd be a little more candid than that--not going to press the issue here, because I don't want any o...