Have you made plans to join CHAMPS Friday night for the 1st Annual HILLY Awards?

During August and September, the Capitol Hill community at-large nominated businesses for 4 of the 9 total awards for the event: Best Restaurant/Café, Best Retailer, Best Service Provider, and Best New Business.

The other 5 HILLY Award categories (nominated and voted on by the CHAMPS Board of Directors) are Community Service Award, CHAMPS Individual Volunteer of the Year, CHAMPS Business Volunteer of the Year, Libby Sangster Award for CHAMPS Member of the Year, and the President’s Award.

Over 1,500 neighbors voted and the awards will be revealed Friday evening in the North Hall of Eastern Market. Make sure you stop by, starting at 8 pm.

Click here for more information, or to buy your last minute tickets!

Guess what’s making its way to DC…

The District’s streetcars can no longer call Prague their home. DDOT shared pictures with us from the loading yard in Hamburg, Germany where the light rail cars are making their journey to DC. We can expect to see them here sometime in mid-December.

Of course, there’s still a lot of work left before they are running up and down H Street and Benning Road, but bringing them to DC helps keep the pressure up to deliver on a light rail system for our city!

On Facebook? You can follow the streetcar’s return trip by becoming a fan of DDOT.

Buzzards Point Community Meetings and Walking Tour Planned November 18-21

WHAT: 
Opportunities to meet and interview a nationally recognized Planning Assistance Team (PAT) organized by the American Planning Association (APA) at the request of your own Councilmember Tommy Wells. The PAT is working with the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District, the D.C. Department of Transportation, D.C. Office of Planning, stakeholders, and residents to develop a strategic vision for the Buzzard Point area.

The pro bono team will gather stakeholder and resident input to help guide recommendations for making the largely industrial Buzzard Point area a part of the DC waterfront, and ensuring that there are connections to the waterfront for the neighborhoods to the north and that the Point is connected to the proposed light rail system on M Street S.E. The team also will consider the appropriate mix of land uses and how affordable housing is preserved and is part of the future mix of uses.

WHEN:
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.  (Initial community meeting)
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009, 8 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. (Neighborhood walking tour)
Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.  (Meeting announcing initial findings)

WHO:
Alan Mallach, FAICP, is the Team Leader, author of A Decent Home: Planning, Building and Preserving Affordable Housing, and a Brookings Institution senior fellow.

Other team members: Jeff Frank, Ph.D., AICP, has 30-plus years experience in planning, consulting engineering and surveying, and most recently was president of PHR+A.

John Gosling, AICP, is director of RTKL’s residential sector. He has 25-plus years of planning and urban design experience and studied architecture in London.

Jeff Lee, FASLA, is a founding principal of lee+papa, with worldwide credits including the Pentagon 9-11 Memorial and Ronald Reagan International Trade Center. 

Nicole White, P.E., PTOE, is the founding principal of Symmetra Design. She specializes in revitalization studies and has 10 years experience in transportation planning.

WHERE:
- MPD 1st District Station, 101 M St, SW (Community meeting Wed. Nov. 18 & Sat. Nov. 21
- Greenleaf Recreation Center, 201 N St, SW (Neighborhood walking tour start)

For more information please contact Daniel Conner at 202-724-8063 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Ready Schools Project Town Hall Series is underway, with the first round of data to be released at the Ward 6 town hall meeting at Stuart Hobson MS, 410 E St., NE from 6:30 to 8:00pm with Councilmember Tommy Wells and State Board President Lisa Raymond scheduled to co-host the event.
 
These events are free and open to the public, and dinner (the food is free as well) will be provided. 
 
DC Voice is coordinating this, and other town halls, to bring students, parents, educators, faith based leaders, government officials, and other together to discuss this year's Ready Schools Project data that was collected by community members through interviews with over 100 school principals.

Please join us!