The robbery occurred in the Northwest neighborhood of Columbia Heights on the 3400 block of 14th Street NW, where the popular shopping district intersects Meridian Place. Suspects fled the scene before police arrived.

The DC Metropolitan Police Department tweeted about the incident earlier this evening. Police are now looking for four masked suspects — three males and one female — all wearing dark clothes.

ALERT: Armed robbery in the 3400 block of 14th Street NW,

LOOKOUT: Three males and one female, all masked, all wearing all dark clothing, one armed with a black handgun with an extended magazine.

DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911

— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept)

One of the suspects was armed with a handgun with an extended magazine attached to it, police said. The District that carry over 10 rounds.

Police first received the call around 4:04 P.M., according to MPD Public Information Officer Sean Hickman.

“This is an active and open investigation,” Hickman said in an email.

According to police on the scene, no persons involved were injured, and EMS was not called.

MPD seeks the public’s assistance in identifying suspects in reference to an Armed Robbery (Gun) of an Establishment offense that occurred on 12/9/21, in the 3400 block of 14th St., Northwest.

Have info? Call (202) 727-9099/text 50411

Release:

— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept)

The owner of Mobile X, Thomas, who asked only his first name be used, was the only employee inside of Mobile X at the time of the robbery.

Thomas told 91���� he’s feeling “not so great.” Of the merchandise stolen, he said the robbers took 1,000 dollars and some iPhones.

Violent crime in Columbia Heights: ‘Another night, another robbery’

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Thursday that the District would and intervention efforts within three communities across the District. In a press release, she said this involves distributing over�� $1.1 million in grants in response to the increase in gun violence and the number of homicides in the District, which hit an 18-year high this month.

Columbia Heights has experienced a slew of crimes involving firearms in the past month. On Monday evening, were fired on Fairmont Ave, according to WUSA9. 91���� reported bullets were fired towards a train at the Columbia Heights metro station on Tuesday.��

One passerby saw police outside the business and muttered to himself, “another night, another robbery” as he entered the door to his apartment, which sits adjacent to Mobile X.

Saul, who didn’t want to use his last name, runs an HVAC shop downstairs from Mobile X. Notified of the armed robbery at the phone store, he came to help inspect the security cameras of the premises, only to learn that one was ripped off of the front of the store.

To his dismay, Saul said he went looking for another camera for his place only yesterday, which he said he might install tomorrow. Still, he said he’s gone to great lengths to ensure his business’ security.

“Before they break into my place, it will take at least a half-hour with a power tool because I know what I have,” Saul said.

Saul arrived in D.C. in 1989 when he was 16. From his time living in the District, Saul said in D.C. it helps to have eyes on both sides of one’s head.

Next-door neighbors living in a renovated condo called Columbia Heights a “transitioning neighborhood” and said crimes like this come with the territory. They requested the Wash not use their names, and declined to have their first names used.

They said they were home at the time, but didn’t hear anything when the crime occurred. The neighbors added that Police looked at the neighbors’ security cameras, but were unable to catch the suspects on film.

“Still, we don’t regret living here,” one neighbor said.��

The post Armed robbery on 14th Street in Columbia Heights first appeared on 91����.

Omicron has now been , with three cases identified in the greater Washington area of Maryland. No positive cases of Omicron have yet been identified in the District.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser dropped the District’s mask mandate earlier in November — one week before the World Health Organization recognized Omicron as a variant of concern. This week, news of Omicron creeping closer to D.C., combined with an due to COVID-19 this past month, has now prompted the mayor’s office to re-issue an indoor mask ‘recommendation.’

According to the CDC, the COVID-19 Omicron variant than the orginial COVID-19 virus, although more research is needed to understand if Omicron will cause more severe illness. While vaccines are expected to protect people from high risk side effects, hospitalization, and death, are expected to occur.

In the wake of Omicron, restaurants enforce mask wearing

91���� spoke with representatives from Busboys and Poets, Alero, Ben’s Chili Bowl, and The Smith about how restaurants are grappling news of the new variant, and the new D.C. mask ‘recommendation’.��

As for the reason that D.C. doesn’t have a mask mandate right now — “I don’t really know why,” said Al Em, the manager of Busboys and Poets on 14th St. NW.��

In the wake of Omicron, Em said Busboys and Poets is taking mask-wearing seriously, regardless of whether there’s a mandate to wear a mask indoors. To get booked into the rota, all employees are required to wear a mask on their nose and mouth at all times and also receive complete dosages of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“W��’re just doing our part though,” said Em. For a company with more than 100 employees spread across its chain, “we are one of the few companies that does not have a lot of cases. As far as I know, there’s been no COVID exposed within Busboys and Poets.”

One block east of Busboys and Poets, upbeat music and colorful banners signal U St.’s popular Mexican restaurant Alero. Manager of Alero Julieta Hernandez said that the mayor’s mixed messaging as to whether or not masks should be worn places a safety stressor on restaurant staff.����

“Personally, I’m more worried because we don’t know what’s going to happen with Omicron, so it can be more difficult now,” said Hernandez.

With the inevitable first Omicron case awaiting D.C., Hernandez said decisive measures would put the Alero staff more at ease. “For me, I’d prefer it to be mandatory mask,” she said.��

Safety as a priority — ‘Thank you for your cooperation!’

Ruth Palacios, a hostess from U St. restaurant The Smith, reiterated this sentiment. Even though the D.C. law is not requiring patrons to wear a mask, The Smith is self-enforcing a mask mandate for all people who enter the restaurant.��

At The Smith, “W�� always are supposed to have safety as a priority — safety to our customers, because we don’t want any customer to get sick,” said Palacios.��

Outside of the District’s famous Ben’s Chili Bowl, a piece of paper triple-taped to the glass door reads: ‘Masks must be worn inside at all times unless you are seated dining. Thank you for your cooperation!”

Owner and Manager of Ben’s Chili Bowl Vida Ali said that while the pandemic was difficult for business, first and foremost, her priority was to protect the safety of the restaurant’s team members and their guests.��

“W�� definitely still ask the team to wear a mask, and we ask the guests to wear a mask,” Ali said.��

It’s no surprise that the mayor’s guidelines have changed over time correlating with varying incidence rates of COVID-19, said Ali. But, regardless of the COVID-19 status in the city and messaging from the D.C. Department of Health, the restaurants’ philosophy for Omicron has definitively stayed the same as before — masks required.��

“It’s just making everyone as comfortable and as safe as possible,” she said.��

The post How U Street restaurants are preparing for Omicron in DC first appeared on 91����.

Speaking with 91����, Ali explained the necessity for DC NAACP to defend Barry and Hopkinson, two vocal proponents of arts funding redistribution whose re-appointments to the DCCAH were initially blocked by the D.C. Council two weeks ago.

“It was important that we fought for them because we cannot set precedent of silencing strong voices who fight for resource equity,” Ali said.

In the midst of D.C. Council’s attempt to block Barry and Hopkinson from re-confirmation, Ali said the DC NAACP would continue advocating for strong Black voices.

“You need people at the table who are going to fight for resources because resources and money are really what impacts the economic foundation that changes the structure of our society and community, she said.

Council’s initial move to block Barry and Hopkinson generated disapproval

The controversial move to block the Commissioners sparked disapproval from councilmembers and activists alike. Shortly after the blockage, emergency legislation was introduced and passed by 11 councilmembers to approve the re-nominations of Hopkinson and Barry. D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson was the sole dissident of this emergency legislation.

Ali explained that Hopkinson’s and Barry’s advocacy upset larger organizations whose funding was diverted to local artists and smaller arts organizations. Subsequent against Barry’s integrity, and the Council Chair’s accusation that the pair are “controversial and polarizing” members of the commission, led to the blockage of their nominations — and that’s when the NAACP stepped in.

Let me tell you what I don’t want to see on my Monday morning (or any day for that matter) – Chairman Mendelson’s staff attacking an accomplished Black woman with a PhD, calling her a liar, and insulting her ability to do math.

— Alison Horn (@Alison6B09)

Ali emphasized the importance of the pair’s tenure on the DCCAH. Over the two years that the pair served on the commission, Barry and Hopkinson “were two of the most fierce and outspoken fighters for resource equity, and racial equity in the distribution of funds on the commission,” Ali explained.

The DCCAH currently allocates over to the District’s arts initiatives. Barry and Hopkinson identified considerable inequities in how the funding was distributed across D.C.’s eight wards, she said.

The commissioner’s advocacy work on the DCCAH helped to ignite the development of the Task Force on Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. In 2020, this committee identified that enhance how the DCCAH can equitably distribute resources across D.C.’s art community, whether by location, or the size of the organization.

Promoting equity and inclusion in the District’s art community

DCCAH Chief of Staff Jeffrey Scott described implementing one of the recommendations proposed by the equity task force.

The Commission is acting more intentionally to collect the demographic data on the communities and the populations that the organization serves, said Scott. Early in 2021, the Commissioners decided to behind the general operating grants to allocate smaller and midsize organizations a large proportion of funding.

This move allows the DCCAH to “have a better sense of where the dollars are going, and what sort of impact they’re having,” he said.

In response to the controversy, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson took to Facebook for weekly live broadcast to discuss the imbalance in arts funding in the District. Mendelson deflected responsibility to the DCCAH, which distributes grants among applicants.

“There was until repealed, a set aside for the large arts organizations, but other than that, decisions on grant-making are entirely with the arts commission, and still are with the arts commission.”

The post Arts controversy: DC NAACP says ‘we cannot set precedent of silencing strong voices who fight for resource equity.’ first appeared on 91����.

The U St. Corridor and 14th St. are home to Hamiltonian Artists, Transformer, and Foundry Gallery — modernist spaces that dissolve the barrier to entry for emerging artists. In comparison to the blue-chip galleries commonly found in New York, these organizations place a greater emphasis on promoting the work of local artists.����

The Hamiltonian’s core focus is to engage the D.C. community with artists based in the region, with lesser importance placed on the market and financials, said Hamiltonian��Administrator Jonathan Bella. While government support for local galleries certainly exists in D.C., barriers to financing are pervasive, he said.

“It’s strange because D.C. has some of the best museums in the world — the whole Smithsonian Institution the Hirshhorn Museum, the National Gallery of Art — all of these institutions in D.C., and then you have local spaces that are struggling.”

This past year, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (CAH) pledged to redistribute funds through its grant program to the District’s more intimate art spaces to promote inclusivity in the art world. In August, the CAH granted out of its $16.5 million budget to a greater proportion of smaller art groups in D.C., 91����ington Post reported.��

The Foundry Gallery has taken full advantage of CAH’s grant program. Foundry’s show Moment of Interrogation wrapped up on Sunday, and member Gregory O’Hanlon views CAH’s grants as a pivotal financial addition that enables the gallery to host experiential art in a post-pandemic environment.

O’Hanlon contends that the CAH has been supportive of Foundry and smaller gallery spaces in the District.��“The pandemic funding was more widespread and to a broader range of art spaces than prior,” he says.

During the height of the pandemic, exhibition space��Transformer took an innovative approach to assist local artists from the financial sticker shock that rippled across the art industry in 2020. The gallery held an auction to support local artists in D.C.; the funds collected were then released to artists in the form of $500 grants.

MichaelAngelo Rodriguez is a District-based multimedia artist and photographer who applied for the grant. Rodriguez’s first solo exhibition — Otro Tiempo — closed at Transformer last week. Produced over a four-year period, the show features a tranquil amalgam of photo and video work taken from the perspective of a car.��

Each piece in Otro Tiempo captures a unique depth of feeling experienced during a single moment in time. This nostalgia is particularly emphasized in��“The Sky Through the Trees,” a multimedia piece that glides through a continuous foreground of leaves and filtered sunlight.��Rodriguez views this work as the anchor piece of the exhibition because “there’s something so soothing and really meditative about passing through the trees.”

Group-show Empirical Evidence, housed at the Hamiltonian Gallery on U St., channels similar themes to Rodriguez’s work, except with a more climate-oriented angle. The exhibition calls for a communal response to the humans’ interaction with the environment, Bella said.��

The diverse perspectives brought to Empirical Evidence demonstrate how individual thought, in collective space, can challenge living systems. In the exhibition, post-pandemic human interaction and individual relationships with the environment are presented in painting, sculpture, video, illustration and screen printing. Ultimately, the show��points towards the artists’ conceptualization of nature, climate change, and life forms not typically perceptible in everyday lives.��

Moment of Interrogation is the pandemic brainchild of D.C. artist Courtney Adair Applequist, whose study of breath as a meditative and cathartic practice bore a collection of work that reflects her mulled contemplations with ��the ‘-isms’ of society ��— sexism, colonialism, and consumerism. Adair Applequist’s relationship with these constructs resulted in a series of paintings, illustrations, and prints that challenge her self-perceptions as an artist creating work in the age of COVID-19.

Collectively, the works presented in Otro Tiempo, Empirical Evidence, and Moment of Interrogation conceptualize what it means to live in a post-pandemic atmosphere, emphasize the ever-changing essence of human connection, and call for a moment to pause and reflect.��

91���� reached out to CAH to hear more about funding opportunities for local artists creating in the DMV, but never heard back. From their website, the CAH offered for individuals and not-for-profit organizations to apply to this year, all of which are currently filled.��

On a final note, Bella said that while the CAH funding programs are immensely useful to artists and non-profit organizations alike, the grants that the CAH offers are oftentimes correlated with wealth and education. In response to this problem, Hamiltonian Artists has begun offering workshops that aid local artists during the grant application processes, helping artists see their work to fruition.��

The post DC creatives celebrate the importance of presence, reflection, and human connection first appeared on 91����.

DC Water has instituted a new block-by-block approach to replace the lead pipes that currently serve several blocks of private residences in the District. This renovation will begin next month in Ward 6 as part of the DC Lead Free initiative, said Representative for DC Water John Lisle.

Using provided from DC Water, 91���� constructed a map of the U Street Corridor that illustrates the incidence of buildings that contain lead pipes. According to the map, 135 buildings with lead piping are concentrated at the intersections of three locations: Florida Ave. NW and V St. NW, 15th St. NW and S St., and 9th St. NW and T St. NW.��

Incidence of lead pipe routing on the U Street Corridor

Commissioner for ANC 6E Alex Lopez expressed his gratitude toward the DC Council for committing funds in the FY22 budget to accelerate the replacement of lead piping. At this time, he declined to comment on the progress of the lead pipe replacement initiative in Shaw.��

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, lead exposure to children and adults. Side effects for adults, including pregnant women, include reproductive ramifications, decreased function of kidneys, and cardiovascular difficulties such as hypertension and increased blood pressure.��

Of greater severity are the developmental threats that lead exposure pose to children. Children who record even minute lead levels in their blood such as stunted cognitive and physical growth, hyperactivity, anemia, and hearing ailments.

Bureaucratic urgency to “dwindle the number of unknowns out there”

Commissioner for ANC 3/4G Randy Speck said that if replacing lead piping in D.C. is a matter of urgency, “they sure aren’t acting like it.” Speck has previously engaged in cross-ANC initiatives to lobby DC Water for a greater delegation of funds for lead pipe replacement across the District.

Speck said the first step towards lead pipe removal is to complete a rigorous inventory of how much lead piping still exists, and where it is located. While DC Water has identified about in the District are made of lead, nearly the same number of pipes still remain unaccounted for.

Identification of unknown pipes should be made top priority, Speck said. Approximately half of the nearly 15,000 unidentified service lines in D.C. are expected to be lead-based, he said.��

After these remaining lines are identified, focus must shift to replacement, he said.��

Speck said the lag on lead pipe identification is problematic because “every day there are lead pipes out there, there are people and adults who continue to be exposed to lead.”

Speck also voiced frustration at the time estimates for pipe replacement. He drew comparison to Newark, N.J., which underwent a lead pipe replacement initiative that was completed in a two years. By contrast, DC Water expects all lead service pipes to be removed by 2030.

Since March 2019, Newark, N.J. has replaced over�� as part of its pipe replacement program.

��“Newark’s done it in two years; we don’t need 10 years to do it,” Speck said. “W�� have to do this as soon as we can.”��

DC Water Vice President of Marketing and Communications John Lisle challenged the assumption that DC Water doesn’t have its priorities straight.��

“Where we know we have lead, we want to remove that. It’s important for us,” he said.

Lisle said concerns about time estimates will dissolve after local officials and residents see the progress attained by the newly instituted block-by-block approach. This method requires DC Water to change all the lead pipes at once on a block. It is more efficient than sporadically identifying and changing lead pipes across the District, he said.��

According to DC Water, are made of unknown materials. Lisle acknowledges the importance of identifying these lines in combination with the block-by-block approach.����

Community outreach “to dwindle the number of unknowns out there” will accelerate the pace at which lead pipe identification can be accomplished, Lisle emphasized.��

DC Water leverages direct calls, canvassing, yard signs, and the neighborly ��‘I’m having mine changed, I hope you will too,’ to engage D.C residents in the initiative. The combination of these moving parts will boost the rate at which lead pipes will be replaced, he said.����

Local officials widen the financial accessibility of lead pipe replacement for underserved communities

Relaying financial inequities that exist across the District, Commissioner Speck said the difference between his own constituency, Ward 3, versus Ward 6, is that “a lot of people can afford to do this themselves. This is a different story in other wards.”

��“W�� are looking for a system to require for people don’t have to pay for them themselves. There needs to be an equitable and safe way to do it,” he said.

The Department of Energy and Environment works closely with DC Water to provide grants, ensuring all residents have affordable access to replacing lead pipes in their homes. “If money is the barrier for residents, hopefully this enables them to replace their service lines,” Lisle said.����

The DOEE’s Lead Pipe Replacement Assistance Program (LPRAP) supports DC Lead Free by widening the eligibility of grants for residents — as of Oct. 1, all residents in the District are eligible to of the cost to replace the hazardous piping.

DOEE Energy Program Specialist Cara Wattanodom��said a change in the program assistance level has also allowed residents who qualify for full financial assistance to receive lead pipe replacement free of charge.

On average, lead pipe replacement costed consumers an average of $3,219 in FY21, she��said.

Since the DOEE began supporting lead pipe replacement initiatives in D.C., 573 residents were approved as eligible for the grant, and 444 residents have had their quotes approved by DC Water, said Wattanodom.

As the bureaucratic wheel churns to widen the financial accessibility of lead pipe replacement for D.C.’s disadvantaged communities, local officials and D.C.’s environmental action organizations work against the clock to negotiate the best course of action to eliminate a hazardous public health crisis that continues to plague D.C. residents.

The post Hazardous lead pipes pose serious risks in 135 buildings along the U Street corridor first appeared on 91����.

The results of the 2021 Department of Energy and the Environment resident survey have reopened the debate on how community leaders can best mobilize residents to engage in sustainable habits.��

Most residents want to get paid to help the environment – 52% of D.C. residents expressed that monetary compensation will sufficiently motivate them to engage in sustainable habits. This begs the question that one survey respondent posed: “Who is paying for the electrification?”��

The DOEE currently houses – Solar for All, Solarize DC, and Solar Works DC – with the average cost of solar panel installation in the District landing at $16,550, according to Energy Sage, a corporation that the DOEE works close with to enable these local initiatives.��

The DOEE survey also revealed climate ambivalence remains a barrier for D.C. environmentalists. 12% of residents feel there is no one incentive that will encourage them to invest in sustainable energy.

Solving the incentive hurdle is a bit more complicated than knocking on residents’ door, said Shaw ANC Rep. Michael Eichler. While the Shaw community is generally receptive to clean energy, he said many residents “only want to be engaged when something goes wrong.”

Eichler said the best way to make clean energy a priority for the residents of Shaw, especially those who are ambivalent to change, is to reinforce existing touch-points including PEPCO bills and mailers.����

To mobilize the members of the D.C. community who feel hesitant making sustainable adjustments, Energy Program Specialist for the DOEE Jennifer Johnston said change can be achieved through the public sector – think solar deployment and streamlined air filtration systems in public spaces such as libraries or community centers.��

To accurately measure whether the city is on track to meet the 2021 DC Clean Energy goal, the DOEE will use Building Energy Performance Standard (BEPS), a metric used to compare the energy efficiency of all properties in D.C., she said.

Johnston echoed, “These next 10 years we are going to need to change at a record-setting pace.” She is clear that the BEPS will ensure the District stays on track for the yearly goal, and D.C.’s long-term mission – to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and consumption of energy by .

Johnston said usage of the BEPS will eventually extend across the private sector as well. However, in undertaking such a massive project, the DOEE must first concentrate on bringing solar to non-profit buildings and affordable housing.

��Equity cannot be added as an afterthought.

– Sandra Mattavous-Frye, D.C. People’s Counsel

So far, clean energy solar upgrades have been made at public schools, museums, and notably, the in Shaw. As for the District’s underserved areas, Johnston said communities that typically receive benefits last will be the first to acquire net-zero energy construction in their local facilities.

The importance of equity was reiterated by D.C. People’s Counsel Sandra Mattavous-Frye at Thursday’s DC Clean Energy Summit. Mattavous-Frye said the equitable distribution of clean energy resources is of utmost importance.��

In exercising this promise, the DC Clean Energy Plan 2.0 will target the city’s most vulnerable consumers. “Equity cannot be added as an afterthought,” Mattavous-Frye emphasized.

However, at the local level, one Shaw resident views D.C. bureaucracy as the real barrier for change.��

Mark Barnes is a maintenance worker employed by Howard University. While houseless, he has lived across many neighborhoods in D.C. and is currently residing in Shaw. When considering clean energy in Shaw and D.C. at large, Barnes draws comparisons to other metropolitan cities in the United States.

“It’s good compared to Chicago, New York, even Baltimore – D.C. is a clean city, and it’s 20 times better than it used to be,” he said.��

However, access to clean water is an important subset of sustainability that Barnes feels local council has not adequately addressed.��

�� The reason why our city is so progressive and successful truly comes from the community and any kind of feedback or new ideas we receive.

– Jennifer Johnston

Because one of the DOEE’s primary goals is to upgrade building performance standards, Barnes questions why the D.C. Council wouldn’t consider ameliorating the water issue first before it looks at tackling solar.��

“The water – I wouldn’t trust it,” said Barnes.��

“Some buildings are rusted with galvanized piping, and the slum lords aren’t going to fix it for them.” For the greater public health, “the city’s got to get on it,” he said.��

Regardless of the difficulty to mobilize residents behind a unitary environmental agenda, Johnston remains hopeful that the steps local officials in D.C. are undertaking to implement the DC Clean Energy Plan 2.0 will reap long-term benefits.��

“The storm, the flooding, the weather, the planet on fire – that’s already happening,” Johnston said. However, “the reason why our city is so progressive and successful is truly comes from the community and any kind of feedback or new ideas we receive.”

“W�� are positioned to absorb these ideas, take them into consideration, and turn them into action.”

The post Shaw: How local officials are encouraging residents to make the sustainable switch first appeared on 91����.