Do Something: The week of July 22, 2024

Weekly, Regional Policy Director Dan Reed and DC Policy Director Alex Baca will share with you an action you can take in the immediate future that has the potential, sometimes great and sometimes small, to increase the number of homes in our region, decrease the trips people take by car, make all of it safer, and not screw people over in the process. This week: the music scenes that made us; GGWash goes to high school; please fill out your ANC candidate questionnaires; making Georgia Avenue in Montgomery County less terrible; and still waiting for Arlington’s missing middle verdict.

If you have any questions, email dreed@ggwash.org about Maryland and Virginia Do Somethings, and abaca@ggwash.org about Washington, DC, Do Somethings—or, about whatever you want to talk about.

DC

One of my favorite bands right now is Drug Church, which plays grinding, yell-y stuff that peaks in massive hooks. I first saw them last year at Union Stage, and when I found out they were playing at Salty’s Beach Bar in Lake Como, NJ—a venue that genuinely bemuses me, because it seems like the provenance of Bob Marley cover bands, not New Jersey hardcore bookers—I immediately bought tickets.

GGWash is not a blog about the Jersey shore, or a music blog. I bring up Drug Church not because I saw them recently, or because I want to pontificate on Monmouth County, a place I’m fond of as it’s where we (literally, we—me and Dan) go to the beach in the summer, but because their shows are so good. And their shows are as good as they are because of the way Drug Church, especially their vocalist, works with their audience. Both times I’ve seen them, they talk very seriously about etiquette in the pit, and set their standard for crowd behavior: no gratuitous violence, look out for each other, be aware of the impact that your actions are having on the experience that others are having at the show.

At Union Stage, I was up front within seconds of hearing this, and that remains one of the most meaningful and most fun nights I’ve had in the past couple of years. I got to help a bunch of people up to stage-dive who weren’t the typical sort of person who would stage-dive! It made me so incredibly happy to see hardcore vets and people who very clearly thought they could never participate in a show like that and girls to the front. Of course I’d drive four hours to be in a space like that again.

I was pretty wiped on Sunday, and my brain was still twisting around the news that President Biden withdrew from the 2024 race, so I hung in the back with a couple of cans of Liquid Death and took it easy. But even if you’re not in the pit at a Drug Church show, you can feel how much better it is than shows where the band hasn’t laid out for the crowd a clear code of mutual respect, and set the expectation that they’ll follow said code. Hardcore scenes tend to emanate the sentiment that looking out for each other is a closely held tenet, but it’s rare, in my experience, that the people in those scenes actually hold themselves and their peers accountable to that.

So much of how I think about organizing and working with those of you who support GGWash is steeped in, and reflective of, my experience in local music scenes. Going to shows in DC, Baltimore, and sometimes the suburbs in between as a very young teen was one of the first things I recognized as totally a community that was totally my own discovery, and therefore mine. It was marvelous to have had that experience in a place with a legacy of a hardcore scene that was not incumbent upon being ridiculously and absurdly violent. It matters so, so much that someone who might want to get up close to the stage and scream their lungs out, but is rightfully discouraged from doing so by another person’s less-than-considerate, wanton windmilling, is not dismissed as less than by a collective sentiment. A lot happens in the pit, so ensuring that the noise and light and heat emanating from it is an invitation, not a repellent, is no small feat. I try to imbue my own version of that in my work here.

OK, anyway: If you’re running for an ANC seat, we want to read your questionnaire responses!, and I want to post them so that voters can read them, too. Responses are due on Sunday, August 11, 2024, at 5 pm. In the past week, we’ve received ANC candidate questionnaires from:

• Luke Chadwick, the incumbent in 2A05
• Kyle Gardiner, who’s running for 5E01 seat
• Nate Coffman, who’s running for 6E06 seat
• Betty Scippio, who’s running for the 8B02 seat

Here is my now-standard reminder that the most Something you can Do, at this time, in DC, especially if you agree that there should be more housing, more affordable housing, and fewer trips by car, is to run for an ANC seat. Find your single-member district, check the Board of Elections’ candidate list to see if anyone’s running for it yet, watch our training, and, perhaps, declare your candidacy by picking up a nominating petition. Return it to BOE by Wednesday, August 7, 2024, with at least 25 valid signatures from registered voters in your single-member district. Email me at abaca@ggwash.org if you have any questions, want to chat through your feelings about micro-local elections, or want to know if you should go for a particular seat.

And, of course, fill out our ANC candidate questionnaire. It’s required to be considered for our endorsement, and you get to broadcast your views on our issues to our audience—doesn’t matter if you’re fully aligned with our stances or not. —AB

Maryland

GGWash went back to high school this week, starting with the story of my first time testifying at a public hearing at 16 and an accompanying playlist of my favorite summer 2004 jams. I love seeing young people get into this stuff the way I did, and like Alex describes above, I think of our jobs as an invitation to a space that can be intimidating at best and openly hostile at worst. If you haven’t already, check out this must-listen podcast from Cody Finnegan, an Arlington high school student who attempted to beat the world record for riding the entire Metro in one day–while interviewing riders about the system’s budget issues. I also enjoyed this transit diary from our former intern Beckett Neustad, who shared his experiences biking across DC to school each day.

Today I’m at a graduation ceremony for our two Montgomery County Summer RISE interns, Brianna McLeggon and Cynthea Wang, both high school seniors who just wrapped up their time with us. This summer, they were tasked with finding a problem in their community to fix and advocating for it, and next week they’ll share their proposals–and their experiences in navigating local government. I am so proud of them!

Until then: Georgia Avenue is iconic, from the gates of Howard University to its Caribbean restaurants (including one owned by my late aunt), Wardman rowhouses (and Alex’s house ofc) on the side streets, the infamous 70 bus, and Georgia Avenue Day, where for years the city spilled out into miles of car-free street (which sort of lives on as DC Open Streets). Cross into Maryland, pass through downtown Silver Spring, and you can feel the life draining away as the street swells to seven lanes of car sewer as it approaches the Beltway. Instead of people, there are busted sidewalks, gas stations, parking lots, and a notorious car wash owned by a well-connected political family that backs up traffic. The intersection of Georgia Avenue and the Beltway carries hundreds of thousands of cars each day. It sucks.

In 2012, neighbors formed the Friends of Montgomery Hills hoping to revitalize this boulevard of broken dreams. After years of hard work, it’s finally happening. Four years ago, Montgomery County approved a vision to turn Georgia Avenue into a tree-lined, walkable urban street, and over time to replace the strip malls on either side with mid-rise buildings containing homes and shops.

Next week, Maryland state highway officials will present their almost-final designs for rebuilding Georgia Avenue and a portion of 16th Street. It looks a lot like what neighbors have asked for: wider sidewalks, more trees, replacing the reversible center lane with a landscaped median, redesigning the Beltway interchange to improve safety; and a two-way bike lane down Georgia Avenue and 16th Street, where it’ll continue to Spring Street and connect with protected bike lanes there. A high-speed ramp connecting Georgia to 16th will also go away, allowing the county to one day create a neighborhood park there. State highway officials plan to break ground in 2028.

You can see the new design, and offer your feedback, this Wednesday, July 31 from 6 to 8 pm at Grace Episcopal Church, 1607 Grace Church Road in Silver Spring.

This project is a testament to the tireless work of neighborhood advocates, and it’s already inspiring folks further north on Georgia Avenue, which is just as big, fast, and gnarly. With a blessing from Governor Wes Moore, County Councilmember Natali Fani-Gonzalez has pushed to rebuild the section between the Beltway and Layhill Road in Glenmont, and we’ve even sent a letter supporting their request for federal funding. One day, maybe Georgia Avenue in Maryland will feel as vibrant and alive as it does in DC.

Finally: So long to Carl “Cornbread” Anderton, delegate from the Eastern Shore and lover of loud suits, who’s stepping down from his seat to work in Governor Moore’s administration. He was one of three Republicans (two delegates and one senator) who voted for Moore Housing. While those votes didn’t make or break the legislation because the General Assembly has a Democratic supermajority, Anderton’s vote was a pleasant surprise after four years ago Alex and I watched him rail against Delegate Vaughn Stewart’s missing middle bill in a committee hearing. It’s better to see *some* support for zoning reform among otherwise skeptical rural and/or more conservative legislators than not.–DR

Virginia

To quote Sum 41, I’m still waiting for the missing middle verdict in Arlington. Hopefully before my vacation starts in August.–DR

Your support of GGWash enables us, Dan and Alex, to do our jobs. Our jobs are knowing how development and planning works in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. If it’s appropriate to take action to advance our goals, which we hope you share, we can let you know what will have the most impact, and how to do it well. You can make a financial contribution to GGWash here. And if you want to see Do Something in your inbox, scroll down and sign up for our daily emails.