Community garden plots offered to Brookland residents

The Ward 5 Councilmember's Office reports that a community garden plots have been offered to the Brookland community at the Franciscan Monastery. The brothers of the Franciscan Monastery are offering 15-20 plots for a community garden for Brookland Residents. Each gardener is responsible for keeping his/her plot clean and uncluttered. Gardeners may park in the back, and Monastery will provide a reasonable water supply. Garden Entrance is located at 3999 Quincy St NE WDC 20017. For more information please contact Mr. Carlos Vazquez 202-269-5460.

Boring disclaimer: Best of Washington DC T-shirts and Gifts is not affiliated with the the monastery or the ward 5 councilmember's office. However, if you have a surplus of fruits and veggies from your garden plot, remember us.

Library book sale this Saturday

Woodridge Public Library (Ward 5)
1801 Hamlin Street NE
Washington, D.C., District of Columbia 20018
The Friends of the Woodridge Library is holding its Spring Book Sale Saturday, April 29 from 9:30 am to 4 pm. Find cooking, fiction, self-help, religion, history, romance, biography, children's, books on tape, videos, records, and much more. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the Woodridge Library.

For more information, please call the library at (202) 541-6226 or e-mail the Friends at woodridgefriends@yahoo.com.

Boring disclaimer: Best of Washington DC T-shirts and Gifts is not affiliated with the library.

Brookland gallery celebrates first anniversary

Roxanne's Artiques & Gallery
First Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, April 29th • 12–7 pm

Sculpture by George Nock, former Redskins & NY Jets Running Back
Artwork by George Smith-Shomari, Artist/Printmaker
Designer Jewelry by Various Artists
Wood Carvings by Local Artist, Ronald Edmunson

Roxanne's Artiques & Gallery
3426 9th Street, NE DC 202-526-7020

Trash day changes soon for some DC residents

From DC's Department of Public works:

Beginning next week, some residents will have a new trash ay. The change goes into effect next Monday, May 1, and affects only those homes with once-weekly collection service in small areas of Wards 1, 5, 6, and 7. The households will be notified of the change via printed door hangers, distributed on April 26. All other elements of the service remain the same. Only the day DPW crews pick up the trash and recyclables is changing. For more information about which blocks will have trash and recyclables collection switched to Wednesday, see map.

Legalese: Best of Washington DC T-shirts and Gifts has no relationship to DC Department of Public Works.

Reminder: Brookland Orange Hats walk twice a week

Brookland Orange Hats
Tuesdays and Thursdays
8:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Meeting place: 14th and Irving Sts. NE.
Brookland Orange Hats walk with police.

Disclaimer: Best of Washington DC T-shirts and Gifts is not affiliated with Brookland Orange Hats. We provide this information as a community service.

Household Hazardous Waste & Electronics Recycling

Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Recycling Collection
Carter Barron Amphitheatre parking lot
Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, 9 am - 3 pm.
For more information, visit the DPW website -http://www.dpw.dc.gov/dpw/

National Arboretum to sell surplus Koi

Surplus Koi Sale
April 22, 10:00 am-3:00 pm
National Arboretum Administration Building Terrace

Come to the first surplus Koi sale and choose a beautiful Koi to take home to your own pond. The Arboretum's pool has grown crowded and they need to make room for their growing population. A variety of sizes and colors will be available and priced accordingly. Grounds open at 8:00 a.m. for previewing. Bags and water provided for transporting your fish home. Free. No registration required.

Best of Washington DC T-shirts and Gifts is not affiliated in any way with the National Arboretum. (We just love the place.)

Nominate a Brooklander for Statuary Hall

Dan reported to the Brookland listserv:

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities will commemorate two prominent Washingtonians in sculpture in National Statuary Hall and is seeking nominations from the public. Nominees must have significantly distinguished themselves for their civic, military, or historic renown in the District of Columbia. The Arts Commission will select two Washingtonians from the nominations submitted for the honor. All nominations must be received by Friday, April 28, 2006. They have a list of candidates.

Brooklanders have an opportunity to honor one of our most distinguished neighbors. Sterling Brown lived in Brooklandfor the majority of his life. He was a poet and teacher at Howard University. Although he is often associated with the Harlem Renaissance, he actually lived in DC during that period. He was a cultural influence on so many people. BAWA (Brookland Area Writers and Artists) holds a Sterling Brown Invitational reading honoring Brown each September. His house on Kearney was honored by the city a few years back with a small plaque commemorating it as "The Poet's House." Brown was the city's first Poet Laureate. A very solid case can be made for Brown's inclusion to Statuary Hall. Unlike many of the well-known candidates (Langston Hughes & Duke Ellington for example) Brown not only was born in DC but spent the majority of his creative life in Washington, DC.

Vote today.

Zoning board says no to Jackson street parking lot

The community scored a victory today when the DC zoning board did not approve a parking lot for the 1400 block of Jackson Street. For those of you who haven't followed this on-going controversy, this parking lot was installed by the church without any permits. The church had sought retro-active approval, but were denied by the zoning board today. Keep watching this space for more details as they become available.

DC arts organization offers discounted classes

The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) is offering a 15% discount to blog readers on their new set of classes in the visual and performing arts.

CHAW is a nonprofit arts center near the Eastern Market Metro, and a short block from Barracks Row/Main Street. They've served Capitol Hill and the DC area for more than thirty years and offer a wide variety of arts opportunities in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

The Arts Workshop is a unique place in DC. It houses a brand new digital arts center and darkroom, ceramics, dance, and art studios, a gallery and a black box theater.

Here's a sample of available classes. Visit Capitol Hill Arts Workshop online for a full description of classes and bios of instructors.

• The Digital Photography Workshop
• Introduction to Black and White Photography
• Introduction to Digital Photography
• The Digital Photography Project
• Introduction to Drawing
• Life Drawing
• Introduction to Painting
• Creative Breakthroughs: Mixed Media Painting
• Beginning Knitting
• Ceramics
  

Is this the answer to DC's parking problems?

Washingtonians know that parking spaces are scarce in DC. Could SpotScout, a company that brokers parking spaces, be the answer to DC's parking problems? Maybe you'd like to bring this service to the DC area.

SpotScout claims to be the world’s first mobile exchange marketplace for parking spots, connecting parking spaces with drivers that are desperately seeking them.

Urban planners estimate that as much as 80 percent of traffic on some city streets comes from motorists aimlessly circling blocks in search of a place to park. Which is why a number of cities have launched online parking reservation services in recent years, making information available about available spots in parking lots and public garages.

SpotScout takes it one step further, by not only offering real-time availability information to spot-seekers, but also allowing private, home parking space owners to make their spot available to other motorists. These 'SpotCasters' set their asking price and the time they wish to make their space(s) available, and can instantly place the information on SpotScout's network for others to see. Both reservations and payment take place online or via web-enabled mobile phones.

Those of you who have read trendwatching.com's latest trend briefing will immediately recognize that SpotScout cleverly caters to infolust – consumers' insatiable desire for relevant information, wherever and whenever. SpotCasting could also be a nice side-business for minipreneurs, who can monetize sleeping assets by not only offering their own space, but coordinating availability of other private parking spaces on their block. With the owners' permission, of course.

SpotScout will launch in Boston and New York any day now. So if you'd like to jump in this space on a larger scale, send a message to bizdev@SpotScout.com and start up a partnership in a parking-starved city near you.

Source: Springwise.com

Poll Asks Best Place to Live in DC

Our current poll (over there, on the right side bar) asks you where is the best place to live in DC. Your choices are Brookland, Foggy Bottom, Logan Circle, Petworth, Shaw, Hillcrest, or Cleveland Park. If you choose none of these, tell us your pick in a comment.

ANC 2A to meet on April 19

FOGGY BOTTOM AND WEST END ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION
PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA
Wednesday, April 19, 2006 - 7:00 p.m.
State Plaza Hotel - 2116 F Street, NW

TENTATIVE AGENDA (sequence TBD)

Public Safety Issues

General Matters

- Presentation on the Juvenile Diabetes Walk, To Be held on May 7, 2006

- Presentation on the Army Ten Miler, To Be Held on October 8, 2006

Regulatory Matters

- Public Space Application for Benches, Trashcans, and Ashtrays, at a Public Park Located at 2025 E Street, NW (2A05)

- Resolution Regarding ANC Comment at Zoning Commission Set-Down Hearings.

Contest seeks solutions for DC's problems

DC Appleseed is hosting a contest to find solutions to DC's problems. The top 3 ideas will win cash prizes. Want to enter? Hurry, the deadline is May 5.

Rock Creek Park comes out on top (barely!)

Here are the results from our poll that asked you which DC park is your favorite.

1st place: Rock Creek - 36% of the vote
2nd place: National Mall - 27% of the vote
The other parks got nods, but none over 10%.

Thanks to all of you that voted. Come back next week and make yourself heard in our next poll.

Brookland Poetry Reading is Wednesday

BAWA Poetry Series
Wednesday April 5, 2006
7:00 pm - 8:15 pm
Event Location:
Brookland Visitors Center - 9th Street across from Col.
Brooks
3420 9th Street, NE
Washington, DC 20017

This is a FREE reading featuring local and invited poets and readers to
share wonderful poetry.