Month: March 2004

Neighbors,

The admission deadline for McKinley Technology High School is April 2,

2004.

Please share this information with friends and neighbors whose children

will

be entering the 9th or 10th grade this September. Additional

information

follows.

McKinley Technology High School will open in the fall of 2004 with 9th

and

10th grade students recruited from across Washington, DC. The school

will

offer a learning environment that is digitally enhanced to allow for

teachers and students to engage in a project based curriculum that has

the

rigor of a first class liberal arts education and the job skills of a

technical program.

McKinley Technology High School will provide students the opportunity

to

pursue an intense focus in bio/medical technology

, information technology

, and/or broadcast technology

.

Admission to McKinley Technology High School is by a competitive

application

process. The process ensures that students who enter McKinley Tech have

demonstrated sufficient academic success, social maturity and the

personal

discipline necessary to be successful. Students from throughout the

District

of Columbia are invited to apply. The deadline for applying for

admission is

April 2, 2004.

The application process will ask for the following information:

* A photocopy of an official grade report from the last two years

* Attendance record for the last two years

* Recommendation forms

* An essay written by the student

* A personal interview

* A writing sample

Admissions information and applications for McKinley Technology High

School

are available in PDF format by clicking on the links below:

MTHS 2004-2005 Application in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) version



MTHS 2004-2005 Application Information Packet

in Adobe Acrobat

(pdf)

version

Hardcopy applications are available at the school’s temporary offices

at

1709 3rd Street, NE. For more information, call 202-576-8058 or email

the

principal at daniel.gohl@k12.dc.us.

Best,

Jim Berry

ANC 5C

Neighbors,

On Thursday, April 1, 2004, the kick-off event for the Keep America

Beautiful Great American Cleanup will take place at 1st and O Streets,

N.W.,

commencing at 10:00 a.m. I know that this is a workday and a weekday;

hence, it is not terribly convenient for most. Nevertheless, I

encourage you

to attend and participate, if you can.

Best,

Jim Berry

ANC 5C

Neighbors,

Below please find important information concerning Hazardous Waste

Collection events scheduled to occur in April 2004.

Best,

Jim Berry

ANC 5C

HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION – 4/3 & 4/24

The DC Department of Public Works (DPW) will hold its bi-annual

household

hazardous waste event at two

locations on Saturday, April 3 from 9 AM to 3 PM.

Residents may bring household chemicals and other materials to the

Carter

Barron Amphitheatre parking lot at 16th and Kennedy Streets, NW or to

the

Penn

Branch Shopping Center parking lot at 3220 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.

This

drop-off service is free and open to all District residents.

DC residents can bring items including old cleaning and gardening

chemicals,

small quantities of gasoline,pesticides and poisons, acids, varnish,

oil-based paints, solvents, aerosols, wood preservatives, spent

batteries of

all kinds, roofing tar, chemistry sets, automotive fluids, even

asbestos

floor tiles to the collection site for environmentally safe disposal.

A professional hazardous waste contractor will remove materials

from residents’ vehicles. The materials will then be taken to an

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved facility for processing.

Electronics recycling, normally conducted in conjunction with the

household

hazardous waste collection, will instead take place at the Carter

Barron

parking lot on April 24, from 9 am – 3 pm.

Residents are asked to bring computers, cell phones,television sets,

office

equipment and other electronics to that special collection event.

Iems that will not be accepted during the Household Hazardous Waste

Collection Day include munitions, explosives, bulk trash, wooden TV

consoles, propane tanks, microwave ovens and other appliances, as well

as radioactive or biologically active wastes.

For more information on household hazardous waste,visit the DPW website

at

http://www.dpw.dc.gov/info/house_haz_waste.shtml

Here is the content of a recent fact sheet on nuisance vacant properties.

For a copy of the fact sheet, (electronic or via fax) reply to this email.

Who to contact regarding nuisance vacant or abandoned properties.

Report Vacant Homes:

1) Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs

Ø Neighborhood Stabilization Program – 442-4610

(Contacts the owner and enforces codes to ensure

that the house is brought up to standards. Also imposes fines for unkempt

homes.

http://www.dcra.dc.gov/about/index_hra.shtm

2) Office of Tax & Revenue fax# 442-6691

http://cfo.dc.gov/services/tax/forms/tax_forms/pdf/vacant_prop_reporting_for

m.xls

Higher tax fines for owners of abandoned/vacant homes- 5 times the normal

rate

3) United States Attorney’s Office/Fourth District

Report Nuisance Properties (for abatement action)

Ø Michelle McIver, 576-5255, Community Specialist

4) DC Office of Corporation Counsel (Neighborhood & Victims Services

Division)

Ø Nicholas Majett, 727-4171, Legal Counsel

5) Jose Sueiro, 671-2338, Ward One, Neighborhood Services Coordinator,

Office of the City Administrator

6) Office of the Fire Marshal (to have homes posted with unlawful entry

sticker), 727.1600

7) Report People in Vacant Homes: AUTOMATIC ARREST IF HOME IS POSTED BY FIRE

MARSHAL FOR NO ENTRY

Ø Metropolitan Police Department/Fourth District/ 3-1-1

8) Yvonne Smith, MPD Community Outreach & Ward One Mayor’s Core Team

ysmith@mpdc.org ? 202.576.8227 phone

9) Operation Crackdown- Bar Association of the District of Columbia

(Volunteer Lawyers)

http://www.badc.org/html/ylocd.htm

(202) 293-1348 opcrackdown@aol.com

In an effort to reduce crime and social disorder in the local Patrol Service

Areas (PSAs), officers of the Fourth District Substation have begun working

on the “Board Up and Lock Up” project. Vacant properties have long

contributed to quality of life issues in the District. Metropolitan Police

Department have partnered with its fellow members of the Ward One Mayor’s

Core Team to begin addressing the issues associated with vacant properties.

All vacant properties will be reported to the Department of Consumer and

Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Officers will make sure each site has been

reported to the Office of the Fire Marshal to determine if they are eligible

for posting. Once homes are posted (though postings may be illegally

removed), officers will make arrests. This means anyone caught inside,

without official permission from the owner (i.e. making repairs) will be

immediately arrested. A hotline will be provided to neighbors, surrounding

vacant homes to report any violations. We will not tolerate vacant nuisance

properties in our neighborhood! This effort is another way officers and

neighbors can do their part to help “Take a Bite Out of Crime.”

Yvonne Smith, Community Outreach

Metropolitan Police Department

750 Park Road, NW

Washington, DC 20010

202.576.8227 phone

MEETING NOTICE

The D.C.DEPT.of HEALTH’s VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ADVISORY BOARD MEETING

is

Friday April 16,2004 9:30 a.m. 825 North Capitol St.N.E. 4th Floor Room

4131.I chair the sub-committee on CHILD MALTREATMENT. pass the word.

Bishop

Imagene B.Stewart www.houseofimagene.org

Housing and Home Ownership

Tax Assessments Public Meeting: Sposored by Councilmember Phil Mendelson’s Office

Community Meeting on Property Tax Assessments, sponsored by At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson’s office.

Date: Thursday March 25, 2004

Time: 7:00 PM

RE: Tax Assessments & understanding the Appeals Process

Location: Watha T. Daniel Library, 1701 8th St. NW @ RI Avenue, for residents of Shaw, LeDroit Park, and Eckington.

Questions, contact the Councilmember’s office at: 202.727.8274.

Drugs

I would like the drug dealers in the neighborhood if they sold Codine instead of crack. I like codine.

Car

The abandoned car is gone. Not but a memory now.

SHAW ECO VILLAGE NEEDS SPACE

Hello!

Shaw EcoVillage (SEV), a 501©3 non-profit, operating in the Shaw

neighborhood, is looking for space and we need your help!

Shaw EcoVillage trains youth to be catalysts for sustainable change in

Washington, DC’s urban neighborhoods. We do this through two programs,

EcoDesign Corps and Chain Reaction. EcoDesign Corps empowers youth by

engaging them in hands-on community based projects and providing them with

the design and organizing skills necessary to create sustainable economic,

environmental, and social change in DC. Chain Reaction educates youth about

the role of the bicycle in sustainable communities, equips youth with job

skills, and provides residents of Washington, DC, with safe, affordable, and

pollution-free transportation.

If you know of any space available, within the boundaries of Shaw, meeting

the following specifications, please contact Noel Petrie at 202.265.2019, or

sev.noelpetrie@verizon.net.

1. Rent: SEV cannot afford more than $2,200 a month for any new property.

Our current rent is $1460 per month.

2. Retail Space: The new location must have at least 1500 square feet of

1st floor retail and storage space.

3. Program and Education Space: A new location must have adequate space for

onsite Chain Reaction Programs and School Year EDC Programming. This means

400 square feet for Chain Reaction classroom space and 400 square feet of

EDC classroom space. Totaling 800 square feet.

4. Office Space: 600 square feet of office space is needed.

5. Outdoor Space: 400 square feet of parking / outdoor work space is needed

6. Utilities to Code: All utilities must be to code and able to handle the

demands of the retail and office equipment.

If you have any questions, would like more information, or would like to

contribute to our efforts, please do not hesitate to call.

Thanks for your time, attention, and support!

Best,

Noel

Noel Petrie

Outreach and Development Coordinator

Shaw EcoVillage

202.265.2019

1701 6th St., NW

Washington, DC 20001

sev.noelpetrie@verizon.net

www.shawecovillage.com

Racist or being careful?

East of Easy Street (washingtonpost.com)

I really liked this article, of course it takes place in the cool section of Shaw but it tells the story of all Shaw. I especially liked “date me, date my hood.”

Yet the thing that got me thinking was the author’s (white) accusation of his friends’ racism towards the neighborhood, in their attitude and comments.

Quote:

As I related the story to friends, one said, “Well, at least he had the courtesy to look before shooting you.” If my friends were being racist, they didn’t think they were. In their view, they were simply being suitably cautious about where they lived and drove.

The rest of the article just talks about how, as a white guy, he assimilated into the neighborhood and the 7-11 at the corner of 7th and Rhode Island. I know that 7-11, I know of the Calvin of whom he speaks. I know it is where the cops hang out when they are ignoring things or taking a break.

But back to the main topic. I hear it all the time in little code words. “Safe neighborhood”, “good neighborhood” and other things. In a discussion group for swing dancers someone announced an event on U Street, towards 14th Street. Someone else, an upper-middle class girl from Mt. Vernon, VA, said the neighborhood wasn’t safe and you should watch out. It’s the frickin’ city. Yes, there is more crime, might have something to do with the higher concentration of people. But does it deserve to be written off as an unsafe neighborhood.

Then I got to thinking some more. Is there a safe, good black neighborhood? I’m sure there are places in Upper Marlboro, PG County that are, but they aren’t near a metro, so they don’t exist. Then that’s another factor, class. Upper Marlboro is/was a very upper and middle class black area. I know my own relatives (black, in case you didn’t know), living in Laurel and Riverdale dislike my neighborhood (which is why my will has a non-relative inheriting my house). In their case I call it classism. Lewisdale, is okay, working class, safe enough but it doesn’t scream safe from outward appearances. And is that what a lot of it is? Outward appearances?

My hood. Okay for me, bad for cars, really bad for people buying drugs (it increases your chance of getting shot), and crappy for quality of life issues, but it’s mine.