C A P I C O S T I A

It seems I'm always bummed about the abysmal retail options in Penn Branch and the rest of Capicostia. Is it just nostalgia for the Capicostia of yesteryear, ..a place with movie theatres [Yes...theatres!], restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, pet shops and hardware stores? Business improvement in neighborhoods, like Atlas, Near Southeast, No'Ma, Georgia-Petworth, Anacostia  and U Street seems to be the order of the day,  in D.C. The question our new poll asks is this: Why is commercial development or 'business improvement' so important to a neighborhood? 1. "Tax revenue from retail and leasing make communities more compettitive for city resources and services." It's the old game of keeping dollars in the neighborhood -shops, schools, restaurants. 2. "High retail/residential/leasing areas are safer, get better policing." Look at H Street or Barracks Row! Business owners demand competent policing for their communities ..and usually get it. 3. ...

"Artista. Intelecto. Periodista guerrero ..." I once used those words to describe Mr. Carlos Quiroz, publisher of Carlos In DC , who was the first blogger of Latin American (Peruvian and Italian) heritage to encourage my work, ..and I, a proud grandson of Mexican and Tejano migrant workers, was honored by that. His seemingly inexhaustible dedication to justice and truth and his in-depth investigative reporting on local issues -labor, immigration, racial discrimination, unemployment and gentrification- has shown all of us lesser bloggers (myself included) how consistently powerful this medium can be. Not so long ago, when I suspended publication of this blog for a time, I reached out to Carlos, who, with no concern of competition between us, encouraged me to keep the blog online and shared his news resources with me, that my work should be as well informed as his. It reminded me that, empowering the people with relevant information about the world around them, ..and NOT som...

If you missed the International Space Station hurdling over Penn Branch at 9:42 pm (EST), like a flying saucer from the movies, don't sweat it! You can catch it again, tonight at 12:00 am or whenever you like, by checking in with Penn Brancher (and my mother) Shirley Dyer 's Space News website, generally recognized by skywatchers and astronomy enthusiasts to be one of the most comprehensive space information portals (list of links) on the Worldwide Web. Look for the 'Daily ISS [International Space Station] Sightings for Fort Dupont Park/Penn Branch' and get ready for one helluva show! When you look up in the sky on a clear or near-clear night, you will see a scattering of stars and planets - stars blink or twinkle, while planets typically don't. When you notice that one of the planets you're looking at is moving across the open sky, quickly, but, not as fast as a shooting star (meteor), you will know you are probably looking at the ISS, which is roughly abo...