C A P I C O S T I A

By Mel Dyer Yes! Penn Branch has an urban legend.  That of the Big Bird or Hawkwoman, who haunts our wild, emerald hills... If you're over 35 and grew up in the Southeast D.C. neighborhood, known as the 'Hollywood Hills'  in the mid-1960s, you've probably seen or heard of this creature, at one time in your life. You probably thought you were imagining things ..or that it was just crazy-talk. You may have even heard that it had a woman's head and white, bulging eyes, ..or that it was a  witch. While I don't believe that part, I've seen the creature that might have inspired this urban legend, with my own disbelieving eyes, ..perched menacingly on a rooftop, at Carpenter Street and Highwood Drive. It was a turkey vulture ... Right here, in Penn Branch. Why not a hawk? Well, ..I have seen the kinds of hawks we have in this area, up close - like, walking around on a neighbor's lawn - and I don't think they are anywhere ...

MORE STATEHOOD FUN...   I am still wondering what will happen to our neighborhoods, if Washington, D.C. becomes a state. Will eight, new  counties be created from D.C.'s eight  wards? Will the Advisory Neighborhood Councils create exciting, new towns  from ANC districts, within those eight, distinct wards?   Exciting...   Imagine that our own historic ANC-7B, Naylor Dupont, is now an incorporated city in the new 51st state of New Columbia. What should our new, shining city on a hillcrest be called? 1. Davistown, New Columbia - taken from historic Fort Davis 2. Hillcrest City, New Columbia - named for historic first neighborhood of ANC-7B 3. Skyland, New Columbia - inspired by what might become Downtown ANC-7B 4. Naylorville, New Columbia - taken from ANC-7B designation, Naylor-Dupont 5. Randletown, New Columbia - named for the first developer of the Southeast hills ...

Union Square at 941 North Capitol Street, NE, currently hosts the Office of Tax and Revenue Customer Service Center (photo from Wikimedia Commons) Since the early 1960s, the once bright and modern shops of  Penn Branch Center - bank, drugstore, barber shop, liquor store - have sat at the corner of Pennsylvania and Branch Avenues, in the Capitol Hill area of Southeast Washington, DC. My once very strong desire to see them renovated into a small 'town center', with condos, has ..evolved. There was a time, when I could imagine a new shopping complex resembling newly renovated Fox Chase in Alexandria, Virginia, ..and I still can, truthfully. Though, I am not sure that would best serve Penn Branch and surrounding areas. I just do not think, with new developments on the horizon, like Capital Gateway (also in Ward Seven), promising to fatten the city's coffers with more annual revenue than Penn Branch can presently generate, that having a stable taxb...

Cheech and Chong can't seem to figure out morning coffee in the Southeast hills, ..and neither can I.   As I thought about where to procure a cup of java, this Sunday morning, after being up half the night, my River East prospects were pretty abysmal. Sure, I hate taking my money (or revenue) to people West of the river (Washington, D.C.), every time I want a cup of decent coffee or hot dinner, making their neighborhoods more influential, Downtown... But still doing it. Skyland Town Center coming to the edge of Hillcrest is fine, but doesn't change the need for something economically, socially or civically relevant in Southeast Hills neighborhoods, like Penn Branch and the Randle Highlands . What's needed along Pennsylvania Avenue, between the Anacostia River and the Southern Avenue border, are mixed-use business centers and important government buildings, ..commanding a strong Metropolitan Police presence and reliable public works commitment. I say '...

  Smoking marijuana and moderate possession is now officially legal in the District of Columbia, and, in spite of Republican opposition on Capitol Hill, Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) is standing by the change.   Legalization of marijuana in D.C., through Initiative 71, which was voted on in 2014, is about so much more than a lifestyle acceptance or liberal social engineering. Mayor Bowser's defense of decriminalization is also about refusing to allow thousands of D.C. area youth and African American citizens, who are grossly over-represented in arrests and prosecution for marijuana-related offenses - to continue to be victimized by unfair enforcement of anti-drug laws. As of 2014, African Americans in Washington, D.C. - most of whom live east of the Anacostia River - were eight times more likely to be arrested  for marijuana possession, than whites.   I am so PROUD of my mayor, today, ..and...

A rendering of Skyland Town Center from SkylandTownCenter.com   STATEHOOD FUN...   Ever wonder what would happen to our neighborhoods, if Washington, D.C. became a state? Will our eight wards become eight, new  counties? Will the Advisory Neighborhood Councils, within those eight wards, become distinct and exciting, new towns?   Imagine the possibilities!   Imagine that hilly, historic, pseudo-suburban ANC-7B, with Skyland   (above) as its downtown nerve center, is now an incorporated city in the new 51st state of New Columbia. Georgetown will surely be its capitol, ..but, what should our new, shining city on a hillcrest be called? 1. Davistown, New Columbia - taken from historic Fort Davis 2. Hillcrest City, New Columbia - named for historic first neighborhood of ANC-7B 3. Naylorville, New Columbia - taken from ANC-7B designation, Naylor-Dupont 4. Randall City, New Columbia ...

Penn Branch Center is getting another liquor store - Penn Branch Liquors. The old one went belly-up, and D.C. is popping another snugly into its place. Nothing new going on in these Southeast hills. We're getting another liquor store, when it needs a decent café/grill, where I can meet and chat with our neighbors - as does Fairfax Village Shopping Center, where I live. In spite of the sizeable number of African American families, who worked very hard and sacrificed much to buy houses in Penn Branch, the liquor store's owners appear to be Asian American and, like all local merchants, will be warmly welcomed and patronized. It looks very well put together, at the site, and I must remember to post some pictures of that, next time. Not making an issue of this, really. I think most of the small businesses that are leasing offices in PBC happen to be owned by African Americans. Just the same, an elegant or fashionable Soul food restaurant would be much welcome,...