Today, the DCist has a posting about the 11th Street Bridge renovations. Thankfully, many folks commented on the need to save the Anacostia Community Boathouse. Three of the four designs for the new 11th Street Bridge would destroy the boathouse, just as the second building is being realized.

As I mentioned, I’ve been rowing this summer. The Anacostia Community Boathouse is where we row. As the name implies, the boathouse is run and maintained by the community. Member organizations volunteer their time and dollars to keep this resource on the Anacostia River running day to day. The boathouse in return has given back to DC’s residents, through rowing camps and learn to row programs aimed towards those who might not otherwise have the opportunity.

Many clubs and schools call the Anacostia Community Boathouse home (notice, lots of schools and lots of dot-orgs):

• American University
• Bishop Ireton High School
• Capital Rowing Club
• DC Strokes
• Gonzaga High School
• Holy Cross High School
• National Capital Area Women’s Paddling Association
• Wakefield High School

So, you may ask, why not just move it? Ummm… where? With what money? And who is responsible to create a facility as well realized as what has taken almost 2 decades? A quick visit to the boathouse any morning or evening during the week will show how irreplaceable it is. In the short time I’ve been hanging around the boathouse, I’ve seen how central “Community” is to the Anacostia Community Boathouse, both literally and figuratively.

It is important that the Anacostia Community Boathouse survive, not just for my purely selfish benefit (though that should be enough), but for the benefit of all residents of Washington. More information is available at the ACBA’s website, and at Save the ACBA. In addition there is an online petition. The deadline for public comments is August 28th.

Once again, I’ve been absent way too long. It’s not that I don’t enjoy blogging… I’ve just had a lot going on.

First and foremost, I’ve been rowing with DC Strokes this summer. I LOVE it, but rowing two nights a week, plus Saturday mornings has required that I be more efficient at work (since I need to leave on time, and thus arrive on time and not piss my day away).

A death in the family, some time in P-Town, a pet project that may or may not appears on these pages plus other miscellaneous family obligations have distracted me for the past several weeks. But I’m renewing my commitment to bore the blogsphere with my ramblings… at least until the next shiny thing catches my glance.

Good news is that July and August have been relatively eventless in the automotive world, at least in the areas which I feel the need to comment on. It shouldn’t take long for me to catch up.