Arlington is about to unveil the plans for its new Cultural Center. A special preview will be held on Saturday, October 10, from 8-11 pm, and it is FREE! It will be an evening of short performances by Synetic Theatre, Washington Shakespeare Company, Rapper Remy Munasifi, videos, music by Anthology of Booty, Los Quetzales Mexican Dance, and much more. Read the rest of this entry »
Mayor Fenty announced recently that Stanton-EastBanc has been chosen to redevelop the former Hine Junior High School in Washington DC in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, the school was closed in 2007. In 2006 discussion started to close Hine due to declining student body population, and merge its students with another local DC school, Eliot Junior High School which is located a mile away at 1830 Constitution Avenue, NE. Hine's enrollment had declined to 379 from 546 in 2005 and Eliot's to 274 from 307. In 2006 education activists criticized the proposal to close Hine Junior High School on Capitol Hill, saying they feared it could exacerbate an already sizable exodus of middle grade students from the school system into charter schools. Read the rest of this entry »
In 2008, a group of homeowners in Mount Pleasant launched a solar rebate program in their neighborhood. By the end of next month, 48 homes will have had solar panels installed on their rooftops. Most of them will receive an approximate $7,000 rebate and a 30% tax credit. In addition, they will be able to sell their unused energy to Pepco. They were able to accomplish all this by coming together and forming the Mount Pleasant Solar Co-Op. Read the rest of this entry »
New Development Proposed in Prince George’s County
Earlier this month, over opposition from some residents, the Prince George's County Council approved legislation, called the Subregion 5 Master Plan, which would allow more land development in some rural areas in the southern part of the county.
The proposal includes a plan to rezone the Hyde Field airport in Clinton and replace it with about 300,000 square feet of retail space and 2,100 housing units, to include 1200 single family homes and 900 townhouses and apartments.
Developer and owner, Nabil Asterbadi, a Washington-based doctor who has owned Hyde Field since 1995 says the airport has not done well since the attacks of 9/11. Since then, there have been severe restrictions on the flights of private aircraft and business at the airport is down to 15% of what it was before 9/11.
The plan, which would impact residents of Accokeek and Clinton, is not without opposition. Area residents objecting to the new plan cite potential traffic nightmares and negative impact on a rural way of life.
Don't locals always want to stop land development, once they buy in an area? And don't developers just want to develop and pave over the whole country? I am sure there must be a way to provide for a happy medium. It seems to me the questions is how much density can a certain area sustain, as well as, should some areas be restricted from further growth to maintain the green space or the scenic beauty of the raw land. Whatever the answers, I think we can all agree the answers are found at a local level, and its best to let the locals, the town councils, and the developers, battle it out.