Happy Tuesday! Hope you’re staying warm and keeping the hope alive in your heart, because this year’s peak blossom dates were announced this morning! There will be peak blossoms –that is, 70% of the flower canopy open and begging for photos– between March 22-25 this year. The festival will be in person again, and it promises to be truly great. The best part? Okay, there are actually two: For one, you can catch most of the action via livestream, so if you still want to see the Sakura Matsuri but don’t want to deal with the crowds, you can still be part of the fun!
The second bit is that the beloved/behated brand of sparkling water goodness, La Croix, has announced the release of their Cherry Blossom water flavor. We are intrigued, confused and titillated. Take our money– INNOCENT! More details on the Cherry Blossom Festival over on Twitter and on Threadreader.
What else is going on?
Well, as it turns out, there doesn’t seem to be much of a trucker convoy coming to DC. As security tightens and Humvees become the “it” surveillance accessory for seemingly every corner of the Hill, The Daily Beast reporter Zachary Petrizzo sent dispatches from he trucker convoy pulling into the Washington Monument and, uh, let’s just say that organizer Kyle Sefcik was not pleased. According to Petrizzo, Sefcik says he “lost money” organizing today’s nearly no-show event.
Speaking of all the heavy artillery dotting our streets, the State of the Union address is happening tonight. Yes, all that beefed-up security and the Capitol Fence are all in place so that it can be the usual boring affair. Boring is good. Here are the street closures for tonight:
If you’re not totally into watching the SOTU, why not tune in to the MPD First District meeting? The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and you can tune in here.
By the way, DC Public Schools quietly announced today that masks will no longer be required in outdoor spaces– something that makes entirely too much sense: a good policy, and long overdue.
Chef Erik Bruner-Yang announced that he will be joining Chef José Andrés in Poland to help with his and World Central Kitchen’s relief efforts for Ukrainian refugees. If you wish to support Bruner-Yang’s fundraising efforts for World Central Kitchen, visit his Instagram page.
If you live in the area that will soon be part of Ward 7, there will be a redistricting meeting hosted by Vince gray on Thursday, March 3. To register, click this link (thank you to Sondra Philips-Gilbert for sending it along):
Today is also Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. Whether you celebrate with pancakes or king’s cake, we hope you have a good one. If you’re looking for a last-minute cake, both Eastern Market and Sweet Crimes bakery have them for you! But if you’re looking for a Hurricane, Eater has you covered. Ooh, Crazy Aunt Helen’s is on their list! If their hurricanes are as good as their breakfast, you’re in trouble. And Solace Brewing? That’s a new one!
And speaking of breakfast, it seems Smoke and Mirrors doesn’t just do good cocktails but their breakfast is also on point. Washingtonian
Do you have rising middle schoolers? The Ward 6 Public School Parents Organization (W6PSPO) will host a special middle school principals panel discussion on Wednesday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. Register through this link.
Andrew Feeney holds signs outside the Dirksen SOB. Photos by Maria Helena Carey 
Andrew Feeney holds signs outside the Dirksen SOB. Photos by Maria Helena Carey
Recently, we saw Andrew Feeney holding homemade signs to increase climate change awareness over around the Senate side. DCist interviewed him when he was over on the House side. Keep on fighting the good fight, Andrew Feeny!
In disturbing citywide news, the Office of Unified Communications, also known as the agency that oversees DC’s 911 system, will have Karima Holmes as acting director once again, as announced by Mayor Bowser. During Ms. Holmes’ tenure, from which she resigned in January of 2021, the District’s 911 system was found to be grossly below national standards. WTOP
Finally, it may no longer be Black History Month, but it feels nice to know that Washington, D.C. s the best city for Black professionals in the whole nation, according to Apartment List. Is it the HBCUs? Is it that almost a quarter of all businesses in the District are Black-owned? It’s probably the Go Go. But we kinda call BS on the housing opportunity ranking 3rd. How much worse is it to find housing elsewhere that we’re third?!