Washington, D.C
Urban beekeeping project works to restore honey bee populations with hives all over Washington, D.C.
From rooftops to government gardens, embassies to office buildings, if you know where to look, you’ll find honey bees buzzing all over Washington, D.C.
The cityscape has become a hospitable home to the pollinators. About 15 years ago, honey bee populations hit an all-time low, so in 2014, former President Barack Obama launched a national strategy to protect and promote the insects. Bees and other pollinators are critical to the global food supply, pollinating about a third of the world’s crops and three-fourths of all flowering plants.
Soon after Obama’s strategy was launched, hives were humming at government facilities across the country.
Some live in unassuming boxes at a secure compound near the U.S. State Department. They’re team-oriented, mission-focused drones, making them the perfect federal employees. The sweet honey they produce is just a bonus.
“We try to keep them apolitical,” joked Keith Hanigan, the State Department’s deputy assistant secretary in charge of operations. He’s also in charge of the building’s bees.
“Bees is really one of the most important things I do here for the State Department,” Hanigan said. “We wanted to do our part, and we (knew) that other agencies were getting involved as well. So it seemed like something small and simple that we could do.”
Thanks to the diligent efforts of beekeepers, the honey bee population has largely rebounded and stabilized over the past few years, even as pesticides, mites and habitat loss still pose a threat.
While bees historically haven’t gotten very good buzz, the project is helping rehabilitate their image.
“I think now you see them and you want to nurture them, you want to take care of them,” Hanigan said. “I think it’s really raised the awareness, certainly for me, but I think for a lot of our staff.”
Urban beekeepers like Solomon Jeong say that education efforts are also helping to win over hearts and minds.
“A lot more people are more aware of like, how important (bees) are, as well as how cute they are,” Jeong said. “If you see a photo, they’re fuzzy and round. It’s almost like a teddy bear or something.”
Teaching people about bee habits also helps, Jeong said.
“(Honey bees are) not going to be interested in you or your food. They’re not going to be like ‘Oh, there’s a human, let’s go sting them,’” Jeong said.
The bees aren’t just on U.S. government buildings. On the rooftop of the Canadian embassy, there are tens of thousands of bees, led by queen bees nicknamed “Bee-Once” and “Celine Bee-on.”
Sean Robertson, who manages the facility for the Canadian government, said the bees churn out about 100 jars of honey each year.
“I often say it’s one of my favorite parts of my job, actually coming up here and getting to work with the bees,” Robertson said.
Washington, D.C
Starting XI: How the Orlando Pride will line up ahead of the NWSL Championship match against the Washington Spirit | Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride lineup: Anna Moorhouse, Cori Dyke, Emily Sams, Kylie Strom, Kerry Abello, Angelina, Haley McCutcheon, Adriana, Marta (C), Ally Watt, Barbra Banda
Substitutions: McKinley Crone, Celia, Summer Yates, Carrie Lawrence, Morgan Gautrat, Ally Lemos, Viviana Villacorta, Julie Doyle, Carson Pickett
Barbra Banda scored in the 37th minute to give the Orlando Pride their first National Women’s Soccer League championship with a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit on Saturday night.
Banda dribbled into the right side of the box and made a move past a defender before kicking the ball on the ground with her left foot and past the goalkeeper. She became the first player in the NWSL to score in each round of the playoffs.
The Pride’s Angelina was nearly called for a push before passing it to Banda, but the VAR determined that the play was fair.
The Spirit (20-7-2) controlled the game and outshot the Pride 25-9, had two more shots on goal and held onto possession 58% of the time. Rosemonde Kouassi had Washington’s best chance in the 47 minute when she headed a ball from about 10 yards away.
Orlando’s win gave Brazilian star Marta her first NWSL title. The 38-year-old Marta, considered arguably the greatest female soccer player of all time, joined the Orlando Pride in 2017 but had never reached an NWSL championship game until this year.
“(It’s a) magic moment for me because I’ve been in this club for so long and (to) wait for this moment, you know, so it’s… I’m just enjoy every single moment,” she told CBS News Friday ahead of the game. “…This year become like the best year in my club life.”
Top-seed Orlando (21-6-2) went unbeaten in its first 23 matches, a league record. They beat the Kansas City Current in the semifinals before hoisting the trophy at CPKC Stadium, their home field.
Orlando is the first team since 2019 to win the Shield and the title in the same year.
Washington had won its last five playoff games when trailing at the half, but that streak was broken with this loss.
Washington, D.C
New mural dedicated to DC’s ‘Mayor for Life’ honors career, contributions of Marion Barry – WTOP News
Ten years to the day after his death, D.C. leaders honored the life of the late Mayor Marion Barry with a new mural hanging in his namesake building.
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
(WTOP/Luke Lukert)
WTOP/Luke Lukert
Ten years to the day after his death, D.C. leaders honored the life of the late Mayor Marion Barry with a new mural hanging in his namesake building.
Mayor Muriel Bowser joined the former D.C. First Lady at the Marion S. Barry, Jr. Building in Judiciary Square on Saturday to pull the curtain down, revealing the new mural dedicated to the “Mayor for Life.”
“My husband really loved Washington, DC and its residents. The mural captures some of the major contributions he made to the City, and some of the people who worked with him to help build the City and empower its residents,” said Cora Masters Barry, Barry’s widow, in a statement.
“I was thrilled that so many residents and visitors were able to join us on this inspirational, entertaining, educational, and historical day, as we honored a man, Marion Barry Jr., whose legacy and love of this city was so deep and strong.”
The mural is broken into three parts, each with a different title and focusing on a different aspect of Barry’s life.
The first panel, titled “Big Vision,” displays Barry’s early years as a civil rights activist and his transition into politics.
The center panel, “Big Impact,” then focuses on his time in office as a Councilmember and four term mayor.
These sections emphasize Barry’s support for Black-owned businesses, summer jobs for youth, programs for seniors and leadership opportunities for women.
The last section of the mural is titled ”Big Legacy.” It highlights the influence Barry still has on the city — showcasing advocacy against apartheid, support for the Million Man March, contributions to the development of the MCI Center, and his work with the DC Control Board.
The many pictures show Barry beside the likes of President Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.
Another focus of this panel is Barry’s political comeback after a high-profile arrest and conviction on crack cocaine possession charges in 1990. Four years later, he returned to the Mayor’s office after a commanding primary run.
“He told me a lot of things, and he taught us a lot of things, but one of the biggest ones was if you get knocked down, you get back up,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser at the unveiling.
Nabeeh Bilal, an artist based in Ward 8, created the mural.
“You’ll notice that there is not a single solo image of Marion Barry, and that’s because, with his accomplishments and achievements, it was always about others,” Bilal said.
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