Thursday, November 6, 2008

Those Who Plant Trees To Harvest $50 Rebates

The D.C. Department of the Environment and Casey Trees are offering $50 rebates to District residents who plant trees on their property. The program also includes a free Ooze Tube watering bag to help care for the tree. For information and to download a rebate coupon, go to http://www.caseytrees.org/programs/rebate2008-2009.html.

Rebates will be available until May 31. The rebate covers most tree species, except for some that are considered invasive or susceptible to pests. Participants must pledge to water and care for the tree for at least two years. Casey Trees, a nonprofit group that promotes trees in the District, will offer guidance on how and where to plant trees for maximum environmental benefits.

Poetry from students at 12 D.C. public high schools will be on display in buses and at Metro stops under a program unveiled last week by Metro and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The Write On! Initiative is producing posters featuring 38 award-winning poems from the Poet Laureate Poetry Awards Program. The initiative is part of the Metro Arts in Transit Program, which features various artistic forms throughout the Metro system.

The poems were selected by D.C. Poet Laureate Delores Kendrick, who appears on the posters promoting Write On! Kendrick's image will also be on bus ads publicizing the project.

The D.C. Office of Property Management is soliciting leased office space for two agencies, the Office of the Chief Technology Officer and the Recorder of Deeds. The current Recorder of Deeds office, a historically recognized building at 515 D St. NW, is about to be renovated. The deadline for the space offers are noon Nov. 21 for the Recorder of Deeds and noon Nov. 24 for the technology office. A pre-submission meeting will be at 10 a.m. Nov. 14 in the second-floor community room at the Reeves Center, 2000 14th St. NW.

For both solicitations, interested parties should read and follow the requirements posted at http://www.opm.dc.gov under Solicitations for Space. For information on the Recorder of Deeds solicitation, e-mail Chafula Abdullah at chafula.abdullah@dc.gov. For the technology office space, e-mail Todd Douglas at todd.douglas@dc.gov.

The Jewish Social Service Agency seeks volunteers for the Bombé Chest, its consignment and resale shop at 2629 Connecticut Ave. NW. The shop is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. If additional volunteers are available, the store might also open on Saturdays.

For information or to volunteer, call Diane Hays-Earp at 301-816-2639. Proceeds go to support services from the JSSA, a nonprofit organization serving children, families and the elderly on a nonsectarian basis. JSSA's services include in-home hospice care, counseling, employment services, home care and Meals on Wheels.

The Department of Housing and Community Development will host hearings this month for residents to comment on affordable housing, homeownership and special-needs housing issues. Residents who want to testify can register in advance by contacting Pamela Hillsman at 202-442-7251 or pamela.hillsman@dc.gov.

The hearings start at 6:30 p.m. The first is Nov. 13 at the department's offices, 801 North Capitol St. NE, in the ninth-floor board room. It will focus on special-needs housing, including housing for the homeless, the disabled and people with AIDS. Other hearings are Nov. 20 at the Greater Washington Urban League, 2901 14th St. NW, and Nov. 25 at Matthews Memorial Baptist Church, 2616 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE.

-- Compiled by TERENCE MCARDLE