Tuesday, November 13, 2012
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place Saturday.
Residents and C&O Canal park employees on Saturday will celebrate the opening of the canal towpath at Old Angler's in Potomac, after a year-long repair project of storm damage that washed out part of the path. The $3.3 million project was completed nearly a month ahead of schedule, repairing a 125-foot breach of the towpath caused by Tropical Storm Hannah in 2008, according to a news release. Funds to finish the repair were secured last year and announced at Park After Dark, a fundraiser benefiting the C&O Canal, in fall of 2010. Guests attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony may park at the Great Falls Maryland Visitor Center parking lot at 11710 MacArthur Blvd. in Potomac. Free shuttles will operate from noon until 3:30 p.m. The event …
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
In a city obsessed with security, sandbags are only now being replaced as a first line of defense against disastrous Potomac River flooding
Grey clouds race over the National Mall, seemingly as fast as the airliners that would normally be making their approach to National. The airport is still closed. It is 2018. The city is reeling from a surge of floodwater sent up the Potomac by the fierce winds of a slow-moving hurricane, and is preparing for a second punch. Will the floodwaters gush over Washington DC’s levee? Will they cover Constitution Avenue and threaten the capital’s Maginot Line of bureaucratic fortresses? A touch of New Orleans When we think of levees, we think of New Orleans. But DC also has a levee. The problem is that our levee is not very good, says Gerry Galloway, engineering professor at the University of Maryland. I recently joined Galloway and members of …
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Tickets are still on sale for the second annual Park After Dark fundraiser benefiting the C&O Canal.
Our local national park hosts its largest fundraiser of the year Saturday, allowing visitors a chance to see the C&O Canal National Historical Park in a state few regular visitors have seen before. Tickets are still on sale for the C&O Canal Trust's Park After Dark, an evening benefit that will allowing event-goers to view the canal at twilight while supporting the C&O Park and the Canal Trust. Traditionally, the C&O Park closes at dusk. With nearly 250 guests in attendance, last year’s benefit was a sold out event. This year, event organizers have upped the attendance to allow for 300 guests. According to Matthew Logan, president of the Canal Trust, the 2011 Park After Dark benefit raised around $60,000 to support park programs including …
Friday, September 28, 2012
Visitors can enter a number of national parks for free Saturday.
In honor of National Public Lands Day a number of national parks are offering free admission—including the popular autumnal destination of Shenandoah National Park—according to the U.S. National Park Service. Add your photos of falls changing colors to our gallery by clicking "Upload photos and videos." On Sept. 29, visitors will have the $15 entrance fee waived at the park and can enjoy a hike along the waterfalls, a bike ride on the trails and even some photography of wildlife or the changing leaves. Some Maryland parks are also participating: For more information about activities at Shenandoah National Park, check out the park service's website.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The second annual Park After Dark fundraiser benefiting the C&O Canal is coming up.
Our local national park will again host its largest fundraiser of the year, allowing visitors a chance to see the C&O Canal National Historical Park in a state few regular visitors have seen before. On Saturday, Oct. 13, the C&O Canal Trust will host Park After Dark, an evening benefit that will allow those who purchase a ticket to enjoy the canal at twilight while supporting the C&O Park and the Canal Trust. Traditionally, the C&O Park closes at dusk. With nearly 250 guests in attendance, last year’s benefit was a sold out event. This year, event organizers have upped the attendance to allow for 300 guests. According to Matthew Logan, president of the Canal Trust, the 2011 Park After Dark benefit raised around $60,000 to support park …
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
A call button near the site of a July sexual assault has been out of order for months.
The emergency call boxes that line the C&O Canal trail from Cumberland, MD, through Georgetown in Washington, DC, will no longer be used or maintained by the National Park Service (NPS). Instead, NPS will post emergency contact information signs for people to call from their personal cell phones. The matter was first brought to Patch's attention by a reader who worried about a broken call box located very near to the site of sexual assault that occurred on the trail in July. In that incident, a female jogger told police she was attacked from behind and placed in a chokehold that caused her to pass out. The incident took place around 9 p.m. on a week night on the trail north of the Three Sisters rock formation, near the vicinity of Water …
A call button near the site of a July sexual assault has been out of order for months.
The emergency call boxes that line the C&O Canal trail from Cumberland, MD through Georgetown in D.C. will no longer be used or maintained by the National Park Service (NPS). Instead, NPS will post emergency contact information signs for people to call from their personal cell phones. The matter was first brought to Patch's attention by a reader who worried about a broken call box located very near to the site of sexual assault that occurred on the trail in July. In that incident a female jogger told police she was attacked from behind and placed in a chokehold that caused her to pass out. The incident took place around 9 p.m. on a week night on the trail north of the Three Sisters rock formation, near the vicinity of Water Street NW, …
Thursday, August 23, 2012
A 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Mineral, VA struck the DC region one year ago on Aug. 23.
Local and federal emergency management officials and geological experts offered advice and updates a year after a 5.8 magnitude earthquake caused extensive damage to buildings close to the epicenter in Mineral, VA as well as national landmarks like the Washington Monument and Washington National Cathedral. Though a 5.8 magnitude quake is small, compared to the incidents that shook Japan in 2011 and Haiti in 2010, "It doesn't take a big earthquake to cause big problems in the Eastern U.S.," said Bob Vogel, the superintendent for the National Mall and Memorials for the National Park Service. The message offered by all was that the region must plan and be prepared for future emergencies and increase awareness of what to do in the case of an…
Monday, March 26, 2012
New food vendor to debut after push to transfer authority for food service at Glen Echo Park from NPS to the county.
Visitors to Glen Echo Park will soon have a new dining option after a push to shift control for food vending there from the National Park Service to Montgomery County. The Brown Bag, which opened in Bethesda in 2002 and has quickly expanded throughout the Washington, D.C. region as demand grew for its fast-casual, healthy and gourmet food options, will begin operating the park’s Ballroom Café April 2. The previous concessions operator at Glen Echo contracted with the park service to run food operations at all National Park Service sites in the national capital area, according to Katey Boerner, Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture executive director. “We were just a small thing in this huge contract,” Boerner said. “We didn’t …
Friday, March 2, 2012
The C&O Canal National Historical Park's Canal Quarters Program has been honored by the state for its conservation efforts.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience the C&O Canal as it might have been in the 1800s with business at its prime? Time travel may be impossible, but you can get an experience that is pretty similar with the C&O Canal National Historical Park's Canal Quarters program, recently awarded one of 14 Maryland Preservation awards. The Outstanding Stewardship of Historical Properties by a Government Agency award, one of the highest honors for historic preservation projects in the state, recognizes a unique opportunity found in the Canal Quarters program. The following statement is from the Maryland Historic Trust on the award: "Since the National Park Service acquired the 184.5 mile-long Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in 1938, …
jag
2:03 pm on Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Bill, read the headlines from this year alone. Your head is in the sand if you can't think of 20 "once in a century" weather events that have happened lately. Even as you freakin type 2/3 of the country is STILL in a drought. more ›