Filling the basement of the Matthews Memorial Church on Martin Luther King Avenue on the evening of July 28 were around a hundred local residents, most wearing “Proud Resident of Ward 8” stickers, as well as interested parties both seeking and giving information on the proposed development at Poplar Point. Nestled between an elbow-curve of the Anacostia River just across from the new Nationals Park and the historic Anacostia neighborhood, the 110-acre mix of overgrown land and scattered federal buildings is planned to become a new waterfront destination both for the city and the world.

Before any real plans can be drawn or ground broken, the city must get legal ownership of the land, most of which is now under federal control. Hosted by the Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning and Economic Development and the District of Columbia Office of Planning, the meeting was an introduction to the Small Area Planning process and its purpose in completing the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) necessary for the federal-to-district land transfer to occur. Although the land-transfer was planned as part of the Federal and District of Columbia Government Real Property Act of 2006, the development must adhere to strict environmental standards before the transfer can take place and before any official land-use plans are drawn or shovels hit the ground. Eager to keep the momentum on Poplar Point strong, the planning agencies sought input on topics such as access and connections to Poplar Point, ways to make it a sustainable neighborhood, and how the required 70 acres of green space should be laid out on the site.

“Successful redevelopments have a story to tell,” remarked Bereket Selassie, development executive with Clark Realty Capital, after mentioning the successes of such places as the entertainment offered around the Penn Quarter neighborhood and the river focus of the new National Harbor in Prince George’s County. “We feel it is critical that Poplar Point has a clear story to tell as well.” One of the storylines offered by Selassie, which was also a part of his team’s winning bid for master development of the site, was the environment. Sweeping renderings show an avant-garde National Hall of the Environment, as well as office space for environmental research and organizations, and preliminary plans call for buildings that use less energy than those constructed using conventional methods.

Selassie continued, “We want Washington to be associated with the environmental movement, and this gives us a chance to differentiate ourselves from other neighborhoods around the city.” The green focus has won the support of Ward 8 residents, who are keen on seeing a new reputation for the river and the surrounding neighborhoods grow out of the Poplar Point development.

Following small group discussions on preferred ways to develop the site, the audience had a chance to stand up and voice their opinions. Some wanted hovercraft access to the Anacostia Metro station, others a pedestrian bridge from the point to the ballpark district, but most just wanted a world-class destination that will be enjoyed and admired world-round.

One presenter echoed the sentiment of Selassie and many others in the room when he said, “We want to develop Poplar Point for the future.”

Woodson Worries:
Athletics, Budget Concerns for Opening Day
by Virginia Avniel Spatz

Less than a month before the start of the new school year, uncertainties remain about playing fields, gymnasium facilities and the athletic budget for H.D. Woodson Senior High School.

During construction of the new Woodson building, ninth-graders will be housed at Ron Brown Middle School, and upper grades will use the former Fletcher-Johnson Educational Center, an open-space elementary facility. Summer renovations were scheduled at both Ron Brown and Fletcher-Johnson to accommodate Woodson students. As the Aug. 25 start of school approached, however, questions persisted about the temporary facilities.

“We don't know if Fletcher-Johnson will be equipped for high school basketball or where the football field will be,” Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander said in late July.

When asked whether the Fletcher-Johnson gym would be renovated to seat the usual high school basketball crowd of 200-250, Jennifer Calloway, assistant press secretary to DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee, e-mailed succinctly: “Yes.” The Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization could not elaborate, and the Fletcher-Johnson gym was not included in the March scope-of-work for receiving and swing school renovations.

Calloway also explained on July 30: “We are still finalizing the athletic schedule, but the majority of [Woodson football] games will be played `AWAY.' Woodson requested Eastern and Anacostia as optional home locations, and we are in the process of factoring this into the schedule.” No information about practice location was provided.

Citywide and Local Athletics Budgets
In his July 12 Youth Hearing testimony, Woodson student Robert Whisenton thanked the DC Council for providing an increase in DCPS athletic funding but expressed concern that increases might not reach the high schools. Whisenton outlined the need for a $2 million high school athletics budget. Council Chair Vincent Gray – along with Alexander and Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, who both attended much of the hearing – responded that DCPS would be expected to provide budget details and an explanation for allocations.

More than four months after the administration announced “increased funding for athletics and other programs like debate teams, chess clubs and yearbook,” Calloway reported details were unavailable. “We're currently finalizing the breakdown for the FY09 athletic budget,” she said. “We have a new head athletic director slated to start on Aug. 4 and will release the final details shortly after.”

Meanwhile, school-level budgets for fiscal year 2009 budgets showed Woodson and every other comprehensive (and restructuring) high school receiving less than $7,000 per student, while magnet schools – McKinley, School without Walls, Banneker and Ellington – were receiving, respectively, $8,376, $9,334, $10,057 and $12,126 per student. The administration says the school-level budgets published in May were preliminary. No updates were available as of the end of July, however.

“This is a great disparity,” Alexander says. “I need to know the explanation.” If the new staffing-based budget “allows each child to get the same resources,” she says, “then I'm in favor of it. If not, I think it has to be revisited. … General education should be uniformly funded. This is also an issue for the sports departments.

“Athletics are an important component in student success – sports keep many kids focused – and interrupting athletics affects school work,” Alexander adds. “I would hate to discourage our athletes.”

Sex and the Council Chamber:
Teens Testify to Need for Education, Services
by Virginia Avniel Spatz

School sex education is not graphic enough, several youth – including one teen mother – told DC councilmembers during the July 12 Youth Hearing. There are many causes for unprotected sexual activity, teens testified, but young people often “don't want to say that they don't know how” to protect themselves and their partners from pregnancy and infection. In addition, the hearing demonstrated confusion about a teen's right to confidential health services, with several young women testifying to a belief that minors cannot obtain such services without parental permission.

In fact, District law entitles a teen to confidential health care, but individual providers can offer services for different age groups. The DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and the DC Primary Care Association (DCPCA) jointly developed an “Adolescent Bill of Rights” to help teens and their families understand which services they can access confidentially on their own.

DC Council Chair Vincent Gray, who convenes the monthly hearings, referred the young witnesses to the DC Campaign, where information on rights, services and related topics is available. (Visit www.dccampaign.org or call 202-789-4666.) Gray also encouraged Ward 7 resident Vernice Puryear – who argued before the council that high schools need better support for teen parents and more direct access to birth control – to present current regulations and specific proposals at September's hearing.

Gray begins each session with follow up on previous issues and doles out “homework” to witnesses, inviting return testimony. Puryear, a peer educator with Metro TeenAIDS said after the hearing that she was motivated to testify by her experiences on the job and by a close friend's pregnancy at age 15. Puryear believes allowing distribution of condoms within schools would help change attitudes and lead to more direct conversations about health-protecting behaviors. Her supervisor at Metro TeenAIDS is helping her prepare for the September follow-up presentation.

“We want young people to see this as a place where they are not just heard but get a response and can be part of the solution,” Gray says.

Connecting Teens, Knowledge, Community
Gray wants the Youth Hearings to connect young people with their community resources, including one another. He cites as an example a July panel which serendipitously included both Kendra Lewis, speaking about her summer work experience with William C. Smith, and Kiandra Jackson, testifying about teen pregnancy prevention.

“I happen to be a teen mother,” Lewis offered, after panelists had completed their formal presentations, adding “this wasn't my assigned subject, but I hope to help as a youth advocate.” She spoke about responsibilities and motivations in learning to care for herself and her infant son; others on the panel spoke frankly about sex education and birth control. Gray noted at the time that cable viewers were responding to the panel's interaction via e-mail to the dais and that Internet viewers would undoubtedly watch later.

“I don't think you'll ever know what an impact you made here today,” Gray told Lewis and her fellow panelists.

The hearing video was shown at the closing of the William C. Smith summer program; watching another group of teens respond to the panel, Gray said later, he thought: “This is as good as it gets. … As long as I'm down here, we will continue these hearings every month to show these young people that what they say is important.”

Planned Anacostia Streetcar Line Brought Under New Scrutiny
by David Garber

A Streetcar line originating at the Anacostia Metro Station has been in the works for almost a decade. An experiment of sorts, the line will be the first of a series of new streetcars for District neighborhoods underserved by the existing Metro system. Originally planned for uninhibited movement along the abandoned CSX tracks through Anacostia to the 11th Street Bridges and eventually up Good Hope Road, the proposed line was moved to Martin Luther King Avenue when acquisition of the tracks proved too expensive. Ground was broken for the line on November 13, 2004, but fears of overcrowded streets delayed the project further, finally meeting with enough political will to move the line entirely. Now planned for service between the Metro station and Bolling Air Force Base, the demonstration line will have stops at Barry Farms along Firth Sterling Avenue and at the Navy Annex just across South Capitol Street.

But on July 14, Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham held a fact-finding hearing on the proposed line, seeking further proof that the line was worth the city’s investment. While the original line through the more populated and developable area of downtown Anacostia had potential to bring about new investment to the area, the line to Bolling Air Force Base is more single-purposed. In the hearing, outgoing DDOT Director Emeka Moneme argued that this demonstration line is less about capacity and more about getting the city’s streetcar system up and running. Although the hearing ended inconclusively, plans are still underway for ground to be re­-broken on the line sometime this year.           

Eight for Ward 8
Democratic Council Candidates Self-Promote at ANC-Sponsored Forum
by David Garber

It wasn’t long ago that Marion Barry was on top of his game. Always cracking a smile at eager constituents, always ready to kiss a cheek and tip a hat – to the right people, of course. But when he didn’t show up at the forum of candidates for the Ward 8 DC Council seat, not even the presence of his bright-green t-shirt fan club could do much to stir the crowd. This was a forum of candidates willing to take time out of their hectic schedules to verse the public on where they stand on important issues such as development in Ward 8, fixing the city’s school system, and the problem of unemployment. Although many were hoping that the aging incumbent would show up to express his views on these and other pressing matters that rarely see political action, five out of the eight vying for the seat did their best to impress on voters why they were the best fit for the job.

Impressive in his black business suit and with a fresh-out-of-political-science-class motivation to remake Ward 8 into an equal opportunity area, Darrell Gaston began the evening by admitting, “I have no experience.” Interestingly, Gaston has since dropped out of the race.

Charles Wilson, current president of the Historic Anacostia Block Association, whose dynamic red and black signs have blazed across the Ward 8 landscape in recent months, set the tone by suggesting that “the improvements and enhancements that we want for our ward start with us.”

Independent Democratic candidate Yavocka Young, current president of Main Street Anacostia, focused on job creation, citing recent statistics that show Ward 8 struggling with over 10 percent more unemployment than the rest of the city.

Also in attendance was Ahmad Braxton-Jones, who has since withdrawn from the race, and Sandra “S.S.” Seegars, the long-time “also ran” who showed up late for the forum and focused on bringing public restrooms to Ward 8’s main streets.

Ward 8 ANC Notes

ANC 8A: Despite a motion to approve W.C. Smith’s Sheridan Terrace redevelopment project, chairman Anthony Muhammad introduced an amendment to withdraw his ANC’s support until the development team had completed the full acquisition of the land.