Photos on Flickr: Click on the image for photos of Thursday's Howard Theater groundbreaking ceremony. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Check out the photos on Flickr from the groundbreaking ceremony on September 2 at The Howard Theatre.

Thursday was another groundbreaking day for another project in Shaw. It was celebration time in Shaw at the doors of the the historic Howard Theatre. After years of delays, the celebratory crowd at 620 T Street NW included Mayor Adrian Fenty, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward) and At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown.

It will take an estimated $28 million to fully renovate and endow The Howard Theatre. The DC Government has already contributed $8 million. The developer of the project is Ellis Development Group.

A mixed-use entertainment venue is planned with the centerpiece being a 600-person hall used primarily for live music events. In its development plan, Ellis says that the restored theater will be “Symbiotic but not competitive with the other stars in the constellation of Washington theatres, venues such as its sister stage, The Lincoln Theatre” (1215 U Street NW). Ellis will also be developing the adjacent United Negro College Fund project at 7th and S, above the Shaw-Howard University Metro station.

Bookmark It

Kitty was found Thursday on the 1400 block of S Street NW.

A Borderstan reader found a young female cat yesterday on the 1400 block of S Street NW. She is gray and wearing a pink collar. The reader took the cat to City Paws and the vet believes she is about 1-year-old and spayed. Kitty was scanned for a microchip, but she does not have one.

According to the S Street resident:

The cat was hiding under the stairs in front of my home.It was scared and it was obviously thirsty. It is adorable and playful… very friendly… and it very much enjoys the company of humans.

If this is your cat or you know its owner, please send an email to borderstan@gmail.com.

Bookmark It

New Green Pets boutique at 1410 will be called "Planet Pets." (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Tom Hay

Pet owners in the Dupont and Logan Circle neighborhoods will be happy to know that while Green Pets / Dogs by Day has big expansion and moving plans in the works, they’re not going far.

The popular pet supply store and doggie daycare center at 1724 14th Street NW has plans to open a new location at 1711 Florida Avenue NW. They also plan to relocate the Logan Circle store to the former Mar De Plata location down the street at 1410 14th Street NW, between Rhode Island and P; it will be called Planet Pets.

Bookmark It

Two shows in the neighborhood: "Something You Did" at Theater J and Washington Improv's "Neutrino Video Project" at Source Theater. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Just two shows this weekend at theaters in the Dupont-Logan-U Street area:

• Catch the Washington Improv Theater’s The Neutrino Video Project at 8 pm Saturday at the Studio Theater on 14th Street.
• The other live performance in the  this weekend is Something You Did at Theater J at the DC Jewish Community Center at 16th and Q Streets NW.

Get full details below the fold for these two shows plus new shows opening this fall at area theaters.

Bookmark It

From left: Clark Ray, Phil Mendelson and Michael D. Brown are facing off in the September 14 Democratic Primary for an At-Large Council seat. (Brown photo from KCinDC WikimediaCommons)

In a city like Washington, DC, where everything seems to be about politics—at least of the national variety—it is surprising to learn how uninformed and immature we can be when it comes to voting at the local level.

The fact that many DC voters are confused by man’s middle initial and last name tells you that the body politic has not done its homework. The confusion around the candidates in the Democratic Primary for an At-Large Council seat has befuddled voters ready to hand Michael D. Brown a victory on September 14 (see The Washington Post poll numbers). Why? They think D. is actually Michael A. Brown, who is not even running for anything in this election cycle.

Michael A. Brown is, obviously, a very popular At-Large member of the DC Council; he will be up for re-election in 2012. And, of course, you should not confuse either of them with At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown who is favored to win the Democratic Primary for DC Council Chairman. This begs the question: Do some voters think they’re somehow supporting Kwame Brown when they say they are for D.?

D. is running against incumbent Phil Mendelson and Clark Ray. Until recently it was assumed that Ray was the main challenger to Mendelson, a three-term incumbent. Then, D. won a straw poll vote among Democrats in Ward 5 and coming very close in Ward 4. Remember that these are the party faithful, the committed and knowledgeable ones, who turn out to vote in straw polls.

Suddenly, the city—the ones paying attention, anyway—realized the level of confusion among voters between D. and A.

However, D. does hold an elected office, that of District “shadow senator,” an official position with no responsibilities beyond advocating for DC’s rights. According to Wikipedia, “Brown lobbies the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives on behalf of the citizens of the District in their attempt to gain full representation in Congress,^[9][10] self-determination,^[10] and eventually admittance to the union as a state.^[10][11] As shadow senator, Brown also works with the District’s delegate, mayor, and council to advance the interest of local residents on Federal issues. Brown is a member of the Democratic Party.^[11]”

How bad is our collective stupidity? The Washington Post ran the results of a poll that showed candidates Mendelson and Ray—who have worked hard to win votes—will likely lose to D. unless voters figure it out between now and September 14. The Post poll has D. at 38%, Mendelson at 21% and Ray at 7%. The numbers for D. are good citywide—he leads in all areas of DC except Wards 2 and 3 where he is still pulling 27% and trails Mendelson by only 5 points.

In the interest of full disclosure, the two editors here at Borderstan are supporting Ray (as we have noted before). We have known him for a number of years and believe he would be a better councilmember than Mendelson. Having said that, wouldn’t it be embarrassing for DC if D. were to defeat Mendelson due to nothing more than voter laziness? Of course, this would not be the first time DC has been the butt of jokes due to its local politics; the mention of Marion Barry still draws raucous laughter beyond the Beltway.

No disrespect to D.—he is probably a fine man—but winning on the basis of confusion is not a stellar way to make your way upward in politics. Of course, you have also have to hand it to D.; If he wins, he will have spent little money and effort to win a DC Council seat.

Shame on us—not on D.

Bookmark It

7th and O Streets NW: Site of the City Market at O Street. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Luis Gomez

Under a white tent—the thermometer said 95 degrees—with electric fans, water and food courtesy of Giant, residents, developers and politicians gathered Wednesday afternoon to break ground on the O Street Market project. After years of delay, the O Street Market project is finally underway.

The renovation of the historic market in Shaw at 7th and O Streets NW attracted a gaggle of politicians and political candidates—Mayor Adrian Fenty and his challenger, Council Chairman Vincent Gray, Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown (running for Council chairman) and  Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton included.

Shoveling: At far left in front row is Council Chairman Vincent Gray; Mayor Adrian Fenty is fourth from left; Councilmember Jack Evans is fifth from left. (Luis Gomez Photos)

The new City Market will be a one million square foot mixed-use development. A Giant Food supermarket will be the anchor store along with smaller retail stores. A 189-room hotel, affordable senior housing, and apartments and condominiums are on the drawing board for the market complex.

The project was design by architectural firm Shalom Baranes Associates. The scheduled completion date for the entire project is 2014.

Evans said the O Street Market project is a major win for the Shaw neighborhood and will provide construction jobs for residents. Shaw has undergone huge changes in the past decade with new residents and businesses, but still contains large pockets of poverty.

By the Numbers

The O Street Market will have:

• 80+ affordable senior rental units
• 395 market rate apartments
• 145 condos
• 189 hotel rooms
• 10,000 square feet of retail
• 6,000 square foot restaurant
• 500 parking spaces

Bookmark It

At the microphone: Carol Felix, lead branding coordinator for the arts district project, at Tuesday night's townhall meeting at Busboys and Poets on 14th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Tom Hay

Area residents, artists and business owners packed the Langston Room of Busboys and Poets Tuesday night for the first of three townhall discussions on branding and marketing the Arts District centered around the 14th and U Streets NW corridor. Andrea Doughty, project leader and Carol Felix, lead branding coordinator, opened the public dialogue with an overview of the project. (See PDF map with proposed boundaries.)

Last year ANC 2F-Logan conducted a study to examine the zoning and economic development needs of the 14th, U and 7th Street NW corridors, collectively called the Uptown Arts District. Among the noteworthy findings of the study was the desire for more daytime foot traffic, to help struggling arts and retail establishments, and the need for a strong, visual brand at street level.

Neighborhood Investment Fund Grant

The only economic development program that the area qualifies for comes from the the District of Columbia’s Neighborhood Investment Fund (NIF), administered by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development.

This year, $200,000 in grant money from NIF was awarded and pooled by four non-profits, Cultural Tourism DC, the Logan Circle Community Association, the Constance Maffin Memorial Fund, and the MidCity Residents Association. Approximately $75,000 is budgeted for street graphics, light pole banners, billboards and street tattoos.

Aggressive Timeline: Finish by December

The project has an aggressive timeline. Based on input received at the August 31, and upcoming September 7 and 13 townhall meetings, marketing experts will present three preliminary brand concepts to stakeholders at an October meeting. In November, a series of arts related events will promote the district and the brand that emerges from the meetings.

The culmination of the effort will be a weekend of events on December 3-5.

A panel discussion followed, which included Andy Shallal, owner of Busboys and Poets, and the Rev. Sandra Butler-Truesdale, owner of the Emma Mae Gallery and a U Street music historian. Common themes of the panelist’s comments were a vision for racial sensitivity and authenticity in the branding.

MidCity Business and Mid City Artists

Later in the evening many questions from the audience came from business owners who feel they have promoted the Mid City name successfully for a number of years and don’t identify with a larger Arts District which reaches over to the Washington Convention Center. The cit y has a detailed PDF map of the arts district and it is referred to as the Uptown Arts District.

The proposed boundaries of the arts district are Florida Avenue on the north, 7th Street on the east, Massachusetts Avenue on the south and 16th Street on the west.

And of course, the big question is what to call this arts district. The two names most commonly used are Mid City and Uptown. Mid City is a newer name used by most local businesses who identify with the 14th and U corridor.

For example, there is the MidCity Business Association and Mid City Artists. The business association just hosted the successful 11th Annual Dog Days Sidewalk Sale in early August. The artists has nearly 40 members and conducts semi-annual tours of galleries located in the area.

On the other hand, the Uptown name is the DC Governments official name for the arts district, and has historical roots going back to the days of Duke Ellington.

Next Meeting is September 7

The townhall meetings continue with a September 7 meeting from 6 to 8 pm at the Warehouse Theater, 645 New York Avenue NW.  You can find more information and updates at the Mid City Arts District blog.

Bookmark It

I do think you are more likely to get somewhat accurate information when you ask noncontroversial questions, such as, “What neighborhood do you live in?”

But when it comes to political races or controversial social and political issues, online political polls are, by nature, prone to “bombing.” By bombing, I mean that supporters of candidates and causes are likely to steer their people toward the poll.

We ran two reader polls on the DC mayoral race this year and we didn’t seem to see too much bombing by supporters of either Adrian Fenty or Vincent Gray. It will be interesting to see how local precincts end up voting on September 14 compared to what our readers told us. (We’re not counting on being particularly accurate.)

On Friday, August 20, we ran a reader poll on the landing page, Ward 1 Democrats: Who’s your choice for Council?, with an accompanying article. The poll choices were Jim Graham, Jeff Smith, Bryan Weaver, “Undecided even though I know the candidates,” and “Undecided: Who are these guys?”

What ended up being most interesting about our reader poll on the Ward 1 Council race wasn’t the poll results—it was the effective use of social media (Facebook and Twitter) by two scrappy campaigns fighting to get all the attention and publicity they can muster against a three-term incumbent. Yes, this type of thing is common. But this was an interesting example of how it’s done.

Through Tuesday the 23rd a total of 93 readers had voted. It was obvious that the Weaver campaign had found the poll: he got 77 of those first 93 votes. Incumbent Graham—who is heavily favored to win on September 14—had 9 votes and Smith had 2 votes. (The D.C. Wire at The Washington Post reported that Graham campaign did a July poll showing him getting 68%.)

Then on Wednesday the 25th, much larger numbers of Weaver supporters found the online poll and began voting for their guy. By Thursday the 26th Smith supporters were in the game and the number of people voting for these two candidates soared. Smith took the lead for a day but then Weaver got it back.

By the time we closed the poll Monday night, 861 readers (many of them undoubtedly not regular Borderstan readers) had voted in the Ward 1 Council poll. The results were Weaver 52%, Smith 43%, Graham 4%, and Undecided 1%.

What happened? First, local blogger Dave Stroup picked up the poll on Twitter and began commenting about it (Stroup writes about DC politics for We Love DC and Greater Greater Washington). Then, supporters of both Weaver and Smith began tweeting about the poll, posting on Facebook (and undoubtedly sending emails). My question at the time on Twitter and Facebook was, “Where are the Graham supporters?” For whatever reason, the Graham campaign decided not to drive local supporters to our reader poll. Of course, when you are the heavy favorite, you don’t feel the need to participate in online reader polls.

So, on September 14 we will be watching the results of the Democratic Primary in Ward 1 for the Council seat… to see how Graham, Smith and Weaver do. And we will keep running reader polls at Borderstan because they are often interesting and you snapshots of your readers—with varying degrees of accuracy.

Bookmark It

Granetta Coleman leads a hoopdance class in Dupont Circle. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Cecile Oreste at danceDC

Is the hooping life for you? If you’re not familiar with the latest fitness trend, hoopdance incorporates classic dance moves and hula hooping. In some versions of hoopdance, students use the hoop like a partner, dancing while the hoop circles various body parts. Local instructor Granetta Coleman also focuses on trick hooping which involves moving the hoop on or off the body.

Coleman of HooperNATURAL™ is bringing hoopdance classes to Dupont Circle Thursdays in September and October from 6:30 to 7:30pm—yes, right inside the Circle. According to Coleman—who used hoopdance to get in shape after her pregnancy—hoopdance is appealing because of the skill involved.

“I like that you need to practice in order to master moves,” Coleman said. “You can figure out how to do some things by watching YouTube videos, but it’s an endless challenge.” You can also go at your own pace. “People enjoy finding their own groove or flow,” she added.

In addition to increasing your strength and improving your balance, this total body workout has some less obvious benefits.

“There is a relaxation benefit to hoopdance because you need to focus on the moves. Creativity is also sparked by hooping. You start thinking about all the different moves you can learn,” said Coleman.

Coleman, a Silver Spring native, has been teaching group exercise classes in DC for years. Prior to founding HooperNATURAL, she taught urban funk, pilates and toning classes at several Results Gym locations in DC. She was also an instructor for D.A.R.E. Dance at local elementary schools in DC and northern Virginia.

Granetta Coleman (Luis Gomez Photos)

Coleman is also a member of the DC Hoop Collective, which is a group of local hooping instructors and hoopers. The DC Hoop Collective will host the screening of the feature-length documentary film, The Hooping Life, on World Hoop Day, which is on 10-10-10. In addition to the screening, the DC Hoop Collective is planning more hoopdance workshops with celebrity teachers, performances and a family hoop jam to celebrate World Hoop Day.

Bookmark It

Get information and listings for live music at 10 venues in Borderstan. (Luis Gomez Photos)

Decided not to sit in traffic on I-95 or the beach routes? It’s a good weekend to take in some live music at local clubs—chances are lots of people will be out town, making it easier to enjoy a show.

Check out the live music listings below for Thursday, September 2, through Sunday, September 5… always plenty to hear at clubs in the Dupont-Logan-U Street area.

Bookmark It