Good morning! Has your street gotten a hearty dose of “Hot Mix” yet? Hot Mix is the name for a beet juice and brine concoction that coats the streets and makes it harder for snow or ice to accumulate. Mm, tasty! Many of you had reactions to the name and its components on social media. Our favorite/least favorite had to be this, uh, “special” Shaw bar Ivy and Coney put forth:
Protests from several groups are going on right now in our area and majorly snarling traffic along Pennsylvania Avenue. This Tweet was particularly cute:
And this one is rather ironic– don’t you think?
Also, and in case you missed it, the Harris Teeter at 14th and Potomac SE will be gone by January 22. We broke the news here:
Today’s big story is redistricting. The Council of the District of Columbia votes on a map (click here to see) they’ve based off the one recommended by the redistricting committee, which you can see here. That new version keeps the 15th Street boundary between Wards 6 and 7, but the boundary does not stop at C Street NE any longer. The new boundary does not break up the Pennsylvania Avenue SE corridor and keeps Potomac Gardens and Hopkins within Ward 6. It also cedes Rosedale and Kingman Park completely to Ward 7, something that Rosedale ANC commissioner Sondra Philips-Gilbert has vocally opposed. She sent out an email stating the following:
Rosedale should Remain in Ward 6 to maintain the Racial Equity (Black Electoral Vote and Voice) as one of the largest Black Communities on Capitol Hill. Removing Rosedale to add to Ward 7 to make the numbers will Disenfranchise 69% of the black voting population in my SMD.
She also encouraged her constituents to email Chairman Phil Mendelson directly with their worries and concerns.
Both ANC 6A and 6B issued letters to the Council, right after holding special meetings open to the public. You can read those letters here and here. (Thank you to Commissioner Oldenburg’s for the link to the 6B letter.)
The Hill Rag has covered redistricting closely and they discussed some of the impacts of this new set of boundaries.
The Committee of the Whole meeting starts at noon and you can watch it by clicking here or here.
Finally, I asked you via Twitter how you felt about the map and here are the poll results so far. To vote, click here.
Former mayor and current Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray checked himself into the hospital for bronchitis and experienced a mild stroke over the weekend while in hospital. He is recovering well, but will not be attending today’s Committee of the Whole meeting. We wish him a speedy recovery and excellent health going forward. Office of Vincent Gray
Yes– leaf collection is about 10 days (or more) behind schedule. Keep doing what you’re doing and with some luck, the leaves will get sucked up by January. Every neighborhood in the District gets two passes. Be patient and check the DPW Leaf Collection portal for updates.
The Omicron variant of COVID-19 is here in the United States, and it’s a matter of days or even hours before we hear about hyperlocal reports. Here are two articles from USA Today and from the New York Times that may be interesting. The bottom line? The variant is not as powerful as others, but it spreads a lot more quickly. Get vaccinated, get boosted, wash your hands and –even if the District of Columbia government doesn’t think it’s a good idea to mandate it– wear a mask wherever you are indoors.
The Norwegian Christmas Tree at Union Station is up! If you want to see it lit up for the first time, be there tomorrow, December 8 at 5 p.m. Isn’t it lovely?
In case you missed it last week, two Eastern High School students were arrested on different charges. One was caught bringing a gun to school. The other one, for being a juvenile fugitive of justice. WUSA-9
You may remember Rumsey pool swim instructor Zaan Scott, and how his awful, untimely death in 2017 at the age of 25 saddened the whole community (Washington Post). Christopher Greene, 36, has been found guilty of Scott’s murder. DC USAO
Did you watch the Brickie Awards? The list of winners is here. The DC Line
Over the weekend, senator and presidential candidate and DC resident Bob Dole passed away at the age of 98. We’re sharing the obituary his home state paper, the Kansas City Star, wrote up on the occasion of his passing. What a remarkable man.