“Residents and visitors should take extra steps to beat the heat by staying in the shade or air-conditioning, drinking plenty of��water and visiting a cooling center,” said a statement from the city’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.

(7/10) A Heat Emergency has been issued for the District of Columbia. Heat index of 93 degrees is expected. Visit to find a cooling center near you. Find tips to beat the heat at .

— DC Homeland Security & EMA #StayHomeDC (@DC_HSEMA)

D.C. triggers its Heat Emergency Plan when either the temperature or heat index surpasses 92 degrees, the city’s benchmark for extreme heat. To date, the city has issued 16 heat emergencies this summer.

These emergencies are standard procedure during in the city, according to Christopher White, deputy director of the DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA). The city projects that the heat index will reach at least 93 degrees during the current heat emergency.

Heat emergencies prompt the District to open its cooling centers, where residents can find air conditioning and water to help ward off heat exhaustion. Shelters, recreation buildings, and schools all over the city transform into spaces for the needy as soon as a heatwave strikes.

This year, because of the ongoing pandemic, these cooling centers feel a little different.

“It’s definitely not business as usual because the District is in an ongoing public health emergency,” said Lauren Kinard, a spokesperson for the DC Department of Human Services.

Some cooling centers remain closed due to the threat of COVID-19, like public libraries. Even still, 19 cooling centers are scattered across the city.

HSEMA targets the city’s homeless population specifically through its efforts to prevent heat exhaustion. Those experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat.

In partnership with the United Planning Organization, or UPO, a group dedicated to serving low-income DC residents, the city also preforms welfare checks for those experiencing extreme heat outside. UPO manages the city’s shelter hotline and is authorized to transport people experiencing homelessness to and from shelters.

Longtime exposure to high heat can cause medical complications such as heat exhaustion and stroke. Symptoms include a fast pulse, confusion, nausea, and vomiting.

Vulnerable residents are encouraged to call the D.C. shelter or hypothermia hotlines at 202-399-7093 for transportation to a cooling center. Those experiencing more severe symptoms should call 911.

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When Katie Payne does reading activities with her kids, she often thinks and imagines herself on a cruise ship playing with her kids and enjoying the sun and food. That moment is the only time during the day she gets a mental break. The 36-year-old interior designer and a mother of two children who lives in Falls Church, VA,��works almost fifty hours per week.

She, like many others, is trying to pay off her house mortgage. Her husband works as a sales representative. They both work hard to provide a better lifestyle for their family.

“It is extremely hard to take off from work and stay home with the kids,” said Payne.

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus and mass school closures in the United States has left many parents uncertain, confused, and��concerned about their future.

Everything has changed. Kids are staying indoors all day. In light of the new social distancing guidelines, parents are doing their best to keep��their kids active, busy, and happy.

Most��parents have been taking matters��seriously and support the decision to keep their children at home instead of sending them to school, daycare, or any other group activities.

After the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed all fifty states and Washington, D.C., have affected by coronavirus cases and more schools, and childcare facilities are announcing closures across America to prevent and stop the spread of the COVID-19.

These school closures, some of which are prognosticated to last until the end of the year,��are estimated to affect more than 30 million children.

In response to what likely will be extended periods of school closures, some schools have shifted their��entire��classes��to online��courses��and are allowing students to study��remotely.

Zereen��Abdullah, a stay-at-home mother who lives��in Bettendorf, Iowa,��and who has two children ages��3��and��7,��supports��that choice��of closing the school.

“I understand that it’s easier for some��families like my own, being a stay at home mom, but the hardship endured by all families will benefit the greater good in the long run,” said��Abdullah.

Keeping��children��home is easier for��families��who��have at least one parent who��doesn’t work or a parent who can work from home. It’s��extremely��hard and��nearly��impossible��for some��families��with both parents working full-time��to stay home and be with the kids.

Not all jobs can be done remotely, and��staying home for some parents might require using vacation days or unpaid leave. Others could be at risk of losing their jobs

Another emerging issue that we may see is a shortage of healthcare professionals.��The current workforce of healthcare professionals��may also not be able to handle the rapidly increasing sick patients.

“We are home-bound.��We are active gym rats and a not able to do that,” said Amber Henley, a resident of Auburn, WA,��and a mother of two teenage boys. “We are also having to cancel many work events and vacations. Both of us being in healthcare are working many hours,��and luckily for us, much of it can be done remotely.”

Their kids are old enough to take care of themselves, so school closures have not affected��Henley’s��family as��severely��as others with younger children.

The��consensus among most parents, who spoke with 91����, is that they are supportive of the idea��of keeping��kids away from school. Most parents seem to agree with public health authorities that school closures will be helpful to slow down the spread of infection between families and within the community.

This catastrophe is prompting many like��Vian Taha, a mother of two elementary school-aged girls in Chantilly, VA, to reassess her priorities.

“The coronavirus has opened my eyes to what is important in life. Sometimes it seems that we take the little things in life, such as good health for granted,” said Taha.

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“We’re not using the word canceled,” said Shaffer.

The Japan-America Society hosts the popular street festival as well as the National Japan Bowl, which it is reimagining as a virtual competition, as part of Washington, D.C.’s National Cherry Blossom Festival.��

Diana Mayhew, president and CEO of the National Cherry Blossom Festival, said, “It is a difficult decision and one that we do not take lightly,” in a news release about the cancelation of the festival.��

After four months of planning for the events, both of the Japan-America Society’s events will be postponed until May, if circumstances allow, said Shaffer. The organization has definitely been financially set back, he said. But if the events end up happening in May, “no harm, no foul,” said Shaffer, it will merely have to plan to devote more money to salaries.��

“The question is: will people attend?” said Shaffer.��

There is a concern for an Asian event, said Shaffer. Although most people involved in the events are friends and neighbors from the D.C. area, some of the performers do travel from Japan. “Who would want to go to an Asian-flavored event at the moment that the coronavirus is breaking out in Asia?” said Shaffer.��

The virus, which started in China and spread from Eastern Asia throughout the entire world, .��

 

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A post shared by (@hichaweon) on Mar 18, 2020 at 10:44pm PDT

Shaffer, who is not Asian-American, said that he had not seen or experienced this kind of racism firsthand. “The racism that I’ve seen involves people not able to understand the difference between a Chinese person and a Japanese person and having that bleed over.”

Allie Santiago, a Phillipino-American student living in D.C., said that she has not personally experienced this sort of racism, “But I’m not coded as Asian.” She said most of the time, people regard her as Latinx and she ends up facing biases connected to that. “I definitely think it’s a visual assumption that people make.”

“Also, I haven’t really been out much,” she added.

Shaffer was in Japan a few weeks ago, before the quarantines in the United States were issued. He had to self-quarantine upon his return. At that time there were more cases in New York than in Tokyo. “The notion that someone should have to quarantine just because they’re coming from that area was absurd,” he said.

Right now, there are more in the United States than in Japan.

“I don’t know if it’s racism or the instinct that a problem that exists overseas is more acute and scary than a problem that exists here,” said Shaffer of people’s feelings toward Eastern Asia right now. But it’s “irrational,” he said. “The risk of contracting the virus has nothing to do with Asia,” said Shaffer. “A disease is a disease. It doesn’t care.”

Not only is the Cherry Blossom Festival a showcase of the beginning of the spring blossoms, but it’s also a celebration of the rich Japanese culture from which these trees came.

The cherry blossoms were a gift of friendship from Japan to the United States in 1912, according to the National Park Service. Today, the city observes a four-week festival during peak bloom to celebrate these 3,000 trees, art, and diverse cultures.

“The National Cherry Blossom Festival has for the past 93 years, and will continue to do so, celebrate, promote, and preserve the U.S.-Japan friendship,” a spokesperson from the festival wrote in an email.

In planning for the postponed events, the Japan-America Society faces a host of new challenges brought on by the virus, said Shaffer. “The question [about racial violence] you’re asking presents a new one that I hadn’t considered yet.”

Need to report an incident? Click .

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The building company Gilbane is carrying out construction, which started mid-November and is currently focused on internal demolition, according to two Gilbane workers at the scene.��

After announcing the plan for acquisition over a year ago, WMATA representative Nina Albert introduced the incoming development during a Southwest Neighborhood Assembly meeting in late October.��

The new location will be 300 7th Street SW, and is being developed by Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners.��

The move, according to a , will solve the current headquarters’ outdated safety conditions and save millions of dollars.��

“The selection of Metro’s new DC headquarters is the first major step in a broader office consolidation strategy that will save the transit authority $130 million over the next 20 years,” Metro said in the press release.��

Metro will downsize from the three buildings they currently own —��a process that will largely contribute to the savings.

But the move also means a smaller headquarters, as employees relocate from the current building at 270,000 square feet to the new building with 200,000 square feet.��

The move has Southwest resident Emily Crowe nervous for what more development would mean for residents. Especially, Crowe notes, following the boom of the Southwest waterfront development in recent years.��

“That is definitely going to cause some problems. There’s already so much construction that I don’t really like the thought of any more. It’s already a busy, crowded part of town and this will not help with that,” Crowe said.��

Currently, the WMATA headquarters is located on 5th Street in Chinatown, and is home to over 1,000 employees. The move would mean a redirection of those thousand employees commuting into Southwest.��

Efforts to relocate were solidified in April when WMATA announced it had officially put the Chinatown office space on the market.

The sale, according to WMATA, is also beneficial to the District’s residents because the redevelopment would be under a lease that allows Metro to retain ownership.��

“Any development would have the potential to generate sustained revenue for Metro to support bus and rail operations, help keep fares affordable, and contribute to the transit agency’s long-term financial stability,” Metro said in their press release.��

The convenient location and proximity to Capital One Arena makes grabs for the space more competitive, according to WMATA, and the square feet opens the opportunity for a mixed-use development or hotel.

Although WMATA will relocate the existing headquarters into an existing office space, construction comes from a renovation that plans to “re-skin” the exterior and potentially add up to three floors to the building.��

Metro GM/CEO Paul J. Wiedefeld is quoted in a press release speaking on the Southwest location’s development.

“Moving our headquarters to L’Enfant Plaza will make us even more accessible to our customers, create a modern and vibrant office space that allows us to attract and retain top-flight talent, and generate revenue to support transit service,” Wiedefeld said.

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The fire, at a small apartment building on 1525 Church Street NW, left nine residents displaced. According to the District Fire Department, there was significant damage to the top floor of the apartment building and the roof, as well as substantial water damage to the lower floors.

District Fire dispatched at around 10:30, and reported that the fire was under control within a half hour.

No residents were harmed during the fire, but District Fire confirmed that one firefighter was injured and was transported to a hospital with minor injuries. The circumstances of the injuries are unknown at this time.

One resident described hearing smoke alarms blaring, but chalked it up to someone overcooking something. He heard a loud boom, and then encountered “flames as tall as I was” and proceeded to start banging on the doors of different apartments. The resident said he wasn’t sure who called 911.

He said that he had “no idea” what the first boom was.

The resident felt fortunate, as he told 91���� that there was very little damage to his own apartment, but would likely still have to move due to damage to the building.

After heading outside at the direction of emergency services, he said he heard a second boom. He told 91���� that he was told it was a propane tank that blew up. District Fire confirmed this.��

As the fire spread to the roof, it reached a propane cooking grill, causing it to explode. This was secondary to the original fire.��

District Fire says that the original cause of the fire is still “undetermined.” The Red Cross and other agencies assisted residents after the fire.

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Rays of sun beam down warming the dozen of dog owners that smile and laugh as they watch their pets play tag with their furry friends. What many of these owners may tend to forget is that the place they unleash their dog to finally run and play after being cooped up in the apartment all day requires maintenance.

The repairs needed at the dog park on S Street are a huge ongoing concern for Dupont’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. In their latest ANC meeting, a 7-0 vote was taken to send a letter to the Department of Parks and Recreation to urge them to replace the park’s turf. In the sent document, they directly indicated the reasons for why they are desperately pursuing repair: “There are dozens of holes in the turf and it is beginning to completely degrade in places.”

Mike Silverstein, the advisory commissioner who has been leading the effort, said that the park is more heavily used than ever anticipated. Originally designed for up to 20 dogs, Silverstein told 91���� that especially around five p.m. when everyone is off of work, the park is packed. Over time, this high-traffic use has led to the turfs degradation.

The S Street Dog Park was built in 2009. Aware that the park would be a popular place for dog owners to set up their pet play dates, developers utilized a dog friendly K-9 synthetic turf. This artificial grass replaced natural grass that would gradually turn brown, patchy and muddy. While it may have been the perfect solution at the time, 91���� after some investigation discovered that the turf that was installed over ten years ago, only had a seven-year warrantee. The current tears are evidence that the artificial grass has outlived its lifespan.

For Shamitz Bounds, the holes are the least of her worries. As a self-pronounced germaphobe she finds herself more focused on wondering about all the years of pee and feces she and her chocolate lab, Mocha, are walking on.

“All I keep thinking is, thank goodness for the downpour of rain we just had from that tornado watch this past week. That’s really the only reason you even see me here right now today,” Bounds said. “It finally got a good cleaning! A lot of times I’d walk all the way over here and then think, nope, can’t do it, and we turn right back around because there are days that you can actually smell the pee. You should not be able to do that. ”

While a hose is provided for park users to be able to hose down the area where their dog uses the bathroom, Bounds says that she never sees anyone utilizing it. Because of this, she says that she keeps paw wipes handy so that whenever they return from the park, she can wipe off Mocha’s feet before going inside. Bounds says that while she is more than grateful for the park, she simply wishes there was a cleaning and maintenance schedule in place to ensure everything is being sanitized of regularly.

Commissioner Silverstein reassures 91����, the dog park is not a health concern. Along with free doggie poop bags being supplied by D.C.’s Friendship Hospital for Animals year round, he adds that even in the winter months when the hose has to be shut off, owners will bring their own water jugs to rinse the area their dog uses the bathroom. He said the park was specifically built in its current location because of the area’s topography. Slightly on a slant, the landscape along with the infill underneath the artificial grass, allows for easy and sufficient waste drainage.

91���� emailed the Capital Project Manager to find out which specific company installed the synthetic turf and get specifics on its warrantee, but never heard back. Larry Phillips is a representative from ForeverLawn. While this company is not the one who installed the park’s turf, 91���� contacted him to get his take on this K-9 grass situation. According to Phillips, infill such as sand or mulch can hinder drainage entrapping the liquid and smell underneath the turf and cause it to accumulate. ForeverLawn says the best maintenance plans are set up dependent on how many dogs go there everyday. Phillips said some places need weekly sanitation.

In response to ANC’s letter complaining about the maintenance conditions of the dog park, the Department of Parks and Recreation sent a letter back promising to review the complaint and have a member of the Capital Projects team reach out. That was October 25, and now almost two weeks later Silverstein said that they have yet to hear from someone.

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Trendy, luxurious buildings popping up in the historic neighborhood of Dupont Circle are an eyesore to some residents. The latest cause for irritation is the new development to take place near the Masonic Temple. Signs in residents’ yards directly across the street from the site illustrate their adamant opposition, reading: “Say No to Luxury Apartments on Masonic Temple Grounds.”

The project emerged due to the temple’s falling revenue, membership decline, and need for 80 million dollars in renovations and repairs. As a result, the owners of the land, the Scottish Rite Masons, partnered with Perseus TDC developers to lease their land to them. Through this contract, the Masons will have a new source of income to help cover their dues.

The revenue-generating apartment buildings have been met with skepticism ever since the Masons first presented the proposed development.

But, since the Masons own the land, and it was their idea to build on it, the construction is what they call “by-right.” This means that the developers don’t need any type of approval from anyone except the Historic Preservation Review Board, as the site is located in a historic district.

Still, aware of public concerns, Perseus developers took it upon themselves to alleviate the communities’ fears despite having no legal obligation.

Elegant row homes line 16^thstreet adding a nostalgic European flare to the quaint neighborhood. Opponents fear the apartment buildings, coming this March, could take away from the residential character of the lane turning it more commercial.

Perseus’ Executive Vice President, Adam Peters told 91���� the company engaged the public in over a dozen community meetings. Before even lifting a pencil to begin sketching up a design, the designers for the building, Hickok Cole Architects, sought to hear any suggestions residents had for the project.

“They took input from the D.C. historic preservation office, from the meetings with the community and designed a building really in a collaborative process that was meant to look like a series of row houses put together into one apartment building,” said Peters.

Even noticing how the surrounding neighborhood had layered plants in front of their homes enclosed by an ornamental iron gate, the developers modified their design to do the same in front of their unit entrances to match.

Despite all of Perseus’ attempts to try and please everyone, residents are still finding a way to complain. Some now say that the building should have a more muted color tone even though the designers tried to follow the same shade of red from the neighboring homes’ bricks.

Resident, Marcy Logan, remains unhappy with the project as a whole.

“The mayor approves of increased development. So if there is any question about a project, the developer wins. We fear for the livability of DuPont Circle,” Logan told 91����.

As for how Perseus feels about some of the public’s never-ending discontent: “Not everybody likes it, but a good number of folks do,” Peters said.

The community worries that the new housing will be expensive raising D.C.’s already problematic living affordability. Conscious of these apprehensions, Peters assures that the building will entail several affordable components.

He noted that the project is contingent to the D.C. Inclusionary Zoning rules. This calls for eight-percent of the bottom floor to be specifically designated as Affordable Housing. In this complex, that’s 12 of the 141 planned units. Additionally, Peters added the lower level apartments will lease at a much lower rate than the upper units.

“These two factors together result in a building that has more affordable housing than any typical new apartment building in the area,” Peters emphasized.

Having recently received approval for construction by the review board,��development is to begin in the middle of next year.

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