In this issue: CCCA NNV Adult Development Study, A Pandemic Survival Guide, Helping Those Who Serve Us, Ward 4 Democratic Candidates Make Their Cases, NNV Virtual Speaker Series, Help Ch/Art Artists Support Circle Yoga, Likely Delay to Community Center Plan, How To Discover Your House's History, Chevy Chase Circle Lighting Design, and Keeping Busy During Quarantine with the CCCA

May 2020

CCCA, Northwest Neighbors Village to Host Discussion on Adult Development Study

On Thursday, June 4 our association and Northwest Neighbors Village (NNV) will hold a ZOOM session with NNV volunteer David Cohen to discuss the Harvard Study of Adult Development. The session originally was scheduled for March but was postponed because of the pandemic. The study began in 1938 with 268 healthy college sophomores and followed them through their lives. It continues today with their descendants.

What does the study tell us about health, longevity, life satisfaction, and our roles for our families? Cohen is working on a book about the study. CCCA and NNV members will get information by email about how to join the meeting. See information about a NNV virtual speaker series below.

Interested in volunteering with the CCCA? Send us an email at president@chevychasecitizens.org. We are looking people that have writing, reporting, and photography skills to prepare articles for our newsletter and website. We also urgently need volunteers to help us with our database and technical solutions for the website.  Additionally, we are looking for people who are interested in playing leadership roles in the CCCA, the oldest non-profit serving our neighborhood.

A Pandemic Survival Guide for Chevy Chase, D.C.

Chevy Chase, D.C. is surviving as well as can be expected during the coronavirus pandemic. Residents are walking for exercise more than usual and are making occasional shopping trips to groceries, pharmacies and liquor stores that remain open.

Several local restaurants were offering take-out and/or delivery services as of early May. Schools and the Chevy Chase Community Center were closed but much of Lafayette Park remained open with the exception of its padlocked tennis courts.

Here is a brief rundown on the association’s area:

Restaurants selling food and/or beverages include Bread and Chocolate, The Avenue/Capital Crab & Seafood, Jetties, Little Beast, Parthenon, Starbucks, and Subway. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Jerry Malitz has posted details and links on his website, JerryMalitz.com.  Blue44 and Macon were closed as of early May. Malitz also lists several other local businesses offering products through online ordering.

Grocers open in our neighborhood are Safeway and Magruder’s, with masks required for customers. Broad Branch Market offers pick-up and delivery and the Lafayette Farmers Market is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

Broad Branch Market Delivers Groceries with Starship Delivery Robots

Broad Branch Market Delivers Groceries with Starship Delivery Robots

For more info go to www.broadbranchmarket.com

Photo by Nancy Wilson

Lafayette Elementary School, like other D.C. public schools,  is teaching via distance learning for the rest of the school year, which has been shortened and will end May 29. There is more information and resources available at lafayettehsa.org including information about enrollment for next year. If you are a new family considering or planning to enroll your child at Lafayette in the fall--we want to get to know you! Please fill out this form so we can keep you up to date on enrollment news, a coming virtual tour, plans for the start of next year and ways to start to connect to Lafayette families. 

Lafayette parent Sophie Hanrahan adds that if you hear some honking and hollering in the neighborhood, it might be an emerging quarantine tradition: the drive-by birthday party. Kids and adults who can't get together to celebrate their big day have received a parade of cars, bicycles and pedestrians who honk and cheer their best wishes at the home of the birthday boy or girl. When you can't blow out candles with your friends, seeing a parade of smiling faces can be the next best thing.

Here is a list of organizations compiled by Lafayette families, including places to give help, get help or just get info locally.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/1/d/1xLYNj9Fd5VcLWnJj1w9tsq8v7Zbln0m-b_a2USabSH8/edit?usp=sharing

Lafayette Park is open, although D.C. parks and recreation facilities are formally closed in terms of offering services. Judith Goodman has been working with Merrill Hare for many years to maintain gardens on the park’s perimeter, and that continues, with support of the group Friends of Lafayette Park. Construction work is proceeding on the replacement for the Lafayette recreation facility off of Thirty Third Street.

Photo by Nancy Wilson

Helping Those Who Serve Us

Aviva Kempner, a prominent film maker in our association’s area, has suggested an excellent idea to our Vice President, Robert Gordon. She wants to thank in a practical way the people who directly address the needs of the public every day,  including check-out clerks, shelf stockers and  managers who work for Safeway, Magruder’s, Broad Branch Market, CVS and other local stores. They are at increased risk for coronavirus but obviously cannot work from home. We think of them as “unsung heroes.”

The association is asking our members, both individuals and businesses, to think of actions we could take to be helpful. Kempner suggests buying certificates from local restaurants and dedicating them to local employees For example, you can call Pete Gouskos at Parthenon, 966-7600, or the on-duty manager at Little Beast, 741-4599, and buy a certificate earmarked for Safeway manager Tom Weaver. One local restaurant is providing certificates for free pizzas to local front-line workers. Let us know what you would be willing to do with a message to president@chevychasecitizens.org. We will publicize acts of generosity in future newsletters. Much more can be done.

It's time to renew your membership! Please renew or join today.

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Ward 4 Democratic Candidates Make Their Cases

The three Democratic candidates for the Ward 4 seat on the D.C. Council told potential voters why they should be elected in a virtual forum on April 28. Candidates Marlena Edwards, Janeese Lewis George, and incumbent Brandon Todd took part in the event sponsored by our association, the Ward 4 Democrats and ANC 3/4G. Past CCCA president Samantha Nolan and Ward 4 Democrats president Candace Nelson were moderators, and ANC chair Randy Speck was the host.

Clockwise from top left: Candace Nelson, Samantha Nolan, Brandon Todd, Marlena Edwards, and Janeese Lewis George

Photo by Jerry Malitz

Noting that the D.C. government budget will suffer large deficits because of the coronavirus pandemic, Lewis George is making family protection, affordable housing, child care, and education high priorities. Edwards, who calls herself a passionate community activist, highlighted health, education, and economic development. Todd wants to protect affordable housing, school modernization plans, and the planned renovation of the Chevy Chase Community Center. All three candidates emphasized the importance of having strong neighborhood schools in Ward 4, equitable funding, and retaining and recruiting the best teachers and administrators.

Lewis George and Edwards believe that current District efforts to increase affordable housing are not adequate and take too long to implement. Lewis George wants to expand rent controlled apartments. Edwards discussed her experience with the Emory Beacon of Light non-profit to build low income units. Todd highlighted his work to build new affordable housing on the Walter Reed hospital site and in Brightwood.

Todd was criticized by Lewis George for not supporting legislation that would support families, such as a bill to require employers to offer paid family leave and Initiative 77, designed to help tipped workers. The initiative was repealed by the council. Todd supports the family leave act because it is now law. He opposed it because benefits also went to Maryland and Virginia residents. He also said that workers who receive tips opposed Initiative 77. Todd spoke of his pride in establishing and funding the Senior Dental Services Program Act grant program. 

Todd called it a humbling experience to talk to residents of the city every day, and he wants to continue the progress he has made for senior citizens and young people. Lewis George spoke about the need for leadership that fights for working families and innovative thinking that puts people first. Edwards said she has the best experience to bridge the interests of the east and west sides of Ward 4.

100 residents viewed this forum held using Zoom. The primary election will be held on June 2, but absentee voting is being encouraged during the pandemic.

The Board  of Elections now is sending absentee ballots to voters who request them. The final day to request a mail-in ballot is May 26.  Ballots must be postmarked by June 2, and the board must receive them by June 9 in order to be counted. To request a ballot, go to https://www.vote4dc.com/ApplyInstructions/Absentee

Northwest Neighbors Village Virtual Speaker Series

The Northwest Neighbors Village group has started a virtual speaker series that is open to the public. For details on how to join each session, visit https://nwnv.helpfulvillage.com/editable_pages/10026-virtual-speakers-series.

Currently scheduled speakers are:

Author Esther Safran Foer discussing her memoir, 1 p.m., Tues. May 5; 

Lawyer Thomas Bondy, discussing the Supreme Court, 1 p.m., Thurs., May 7;

Randy Speck, chair, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3/4G, on the role of the ANC during COVID-19, 11 a.m. Tues., May 12;

Author and columnist Eleanor Clift, on election 2020, 2:30 p.m., Tues., May 19;

Samantha Nolan, founder, Neighborhood Watch, on a new program for older adults, time to be announced, Thurs., May 28; and

Shelley Tomkin, former chair, Ward 3 Democrats and retired political science professor, on D.C.'s budget crisis, 1 p.m., Thurs., June 4.

Other programs will be announced. If you or someone you know would like to be a speaker, message Judie Fien-Helfman at dckids50@yahoo.com.

Help Ch/Art Artists Support Circle Yoga

Just as Circle Yoga was planning a party to celebrate 17 years in business, it had to close because of Covid-19. Ch/Art, our neighborhood arts organization, is looking for ways to celebrate and support our community. Circle Yoga was one of the first sponsors for Ch/Art’s Art Walk 2019 . Several artists are offering 25% to 50% of the sale of their artwork to Circle Yoga. This money makes it possible to provide the many yoga Zoom classes available online. (For information, message info@circleyoga.com). The project will continue until May 25.

Artwork by Sara Bardin

The eight artists are offering a variety of art work from paintings, sculpture, and jewelry. See each website for contact information for individual artists.

Sara Bardin: www.artbysarabardin.com 

Beth Cartland: www.BethCartland.com

Patricia Dubroof:  www.pdubroof.com

Merrilee Harrigan:  www.JoyofGlass.com

Leslie Harris:  www.leslieharris.art 

Kirsty Little: www.kirstyLittle.com 

Heather Urban:  www.HeatherUrbanArt.com

Ellen Yahuda:  www.ejy-artist.com

D.C. Budget Deficit Likely to Delay Community Center Plan

The District's expected budget deficit of more than $700 million due to the coronavirus pandemic is likely to set back plans to rebuild the Chevy Chase Community Center. The project is "dead for at least this year," Vice Chairman Chris Fromboluti of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3/4G told a commission meeting in late April. The project initially had a budget of $19 million, but D.C. officials said before the pandemic hit that the estimated cost had risen to $31 million.

Given the unexpected deficit, new projects are not likely to get any additional funding. The ANC has scheduled its next meeting for 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, in part to consider its response to Mayor Muriel Bowser's fiscal 2021 budget, to be released on May 12. The ANC will post a link to its Zoom meeting so that local residents may attend.

How to Discover Your House's History

Historic Chevy Chase DC will hold a virtual event from 7:30 to 8:30 pm on Tuesday, May 12, "The History of Your House." This ZOOM event will Dr. Carl Lankowski, HCCDC president, addressing questions including What is a house history? Why should you want to know about your house's history? What are the dimensions of an interestinginsightful house history? Where do you look for information about your house? He will address these questions and others, using the example of his own house at 3506 McKinley St., N.W. A discussion will follow his presentation. You must RSVP to hccdc@comcast.net to receive a link for participation, which will be sent by e-mail on May 12.

Lighting Design OK'd For Chevy Chase Circle

The Commission of Fine Arts has approved a design for lighting the fountain at Chevy Chase Circle. Friends of Chevy Chase Circle says the fountain's interior lights will not be installed until the fountain is rehabbed in the future. Planning for that is under way. The fountain was not running as of early May because no waterworks under the National Park Service's jurisdiction will operate during the period of stay-at home orders. We thank the Friends group and the Park Service for planting tulips and tending the azaleas on the circle For more information, visit FriendsofChevyChaseCircle.org

Keeping Busy During Quarantine with the CCCA

Samantha Nolan, past CCCA president, has been doing puzzles during more than six weeks of social distancing.

Samantha Nolan Puzzling

Photo by Samantha Nolan

CCCA Vice President Robert Gordon took advantage of a Safeway bargain on corned beef and made it into pastrami, a four-day process.

Robert Gordon shows off the results of four days of work

Photo by Robert Gordon

Members should tell us interesting things they've been doing during the pandemic in messages to president@chevychasecitizens.org

It's time to renew your membership!

Please renew or join today.

Join Now