Due to the forecasted heavy snow event, the City's Monday yard waste collection program will be canceled. Collection will resume the following Monday, January 13, 2025. Stay tuned for more Winter Weather Updates.
The Emergency Preparedness Committee for the City of Takoma Park is offering a one-hour course on how you can control severe bleeding due to an accident or intentional harm. The techniques taught will show various ways to control severe bleeding on someone using just your two hands, to someone that has access to a full trauma kit.
Uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death from trauma. The sooner the severe bleeding is controlled the greater the chance someone has surviving.
To reserve a seat at the training, complete the application. Classes are open to Takoma Park area residents and you must be 16 years of age or older.
Classes location: Azalea Room of the Community Center 7500 Maple Avenue Takoma Park, MD 20912
Dates Times March 20 7:30 to 9:00 pm April 13 2:00 to 3:30 pm April 17 7:30 to 9:00 pm
What are the best ways to connect with and empower members of our community who continue to face barriers and challenges to engagement? How can we bring more people to the table to work to build a stronger community and make our government more equitable, effective, and responsive to the needs of residents?
Mayor, Kate Stewart
In the last few years, we undertook new efforts to address these questions, most notably through our work on racial equity and increased engagement efforts.
We know more needs to be done. And, we know Takoma Park is not the only city looking at these issues. When I meet colleagues across Maryland and the country, I hear them asking the same questions and talking about the same challenges in their communities. It was at one of these recent meetings that I sat through a presentation on participatory budgeting. I had been introduced to this idea a couple of years ago. More recently, in the last few months, a resident reached out and sent me some materials to read. At this time, I started to see the potential of participatory budgeting to help us begin to create a more equitable budget, increase civic engagement, and build stronger relationships among residents and government.
Never heard of participatory budgeting? Most folks haven’t so you are in good company. Think about putting in place a system through which residents in the community get to decide how to spend a portion of the City budget.
“Participatory budgeting is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a public budget. It gives people real power over real money.” Participatory Budgeting Project
How does it work?
Generally, here are the basic steps and a proposal for starting to put participatory budgeting to work in Takoma Park that I would like the City Council to consider:
Step 1: Decide on the topic and allocate a portion of the budget. First, the City Council would need to decide on the portion of the budget and an area to focus on. Funds for participatory budgeting usually come from the existing budget and is a change in how we decide to use the budgeted funds.
Proposal for TkPk: We build on the Council priority to: “Ensure we have a range of safe, quality, and stable housing options that are affordable for residents of varying incomes and all races and ethnicities” and focus on projects to improve living conditions for renters in the community.
The Council would work with staff to identify funds either in Department budgets and/or we can allocate funds from the Housing Reserve Fund to focus on projects to improve living conditions for renters in our community.
Step 2:Designing the process. After selecting the topic and identifying the source of funds, we would form a Participatory Budget Committee with representatives from the City staff, residents, and possibly outside experts to design the process for soliciting ideas, developing proposals, and voting on how to spend the allocated dollars.
For example, if we have a project focused on improving living conditions for renters in our community, the Committee would be comprised of renters who would then design the process. Through designing the process, residents work closely with representatives from Council and City staff, resulting in more resident engagement and collaboration between people and government.
Step 3: Brainstorming ideas and developing proposals. Based on the process designed by the Committee, there would be a phase of brainstorming of ideas and identifying needs.
Using the examples of programs for renters, the Committee—with support from the City—would set up and hold meetings with renters to generate ideas, identify needs, and support the formation of groups of renters to take those ideas and turn them into feasible proposals.
Step 4: Proposals would be submitted to the Committee and to the City Council which would narrow them down based on criteria set out by the Committee to a manageable number for people to vote on.
Through this process, we would receive innovative ideas that are developed by and responsive to the needs of renters in our community.
Step 5: Vote, and then the winning project is funded!
Participatory budgeting has been shown to assist in increasing community engagement as people see tangible results and investments made in programs and projects they themselves identify to address their needs.
The overall process will take over a year and perhaps more the first time we undertake this effort. In addition to having one project that is voted on for funding, this process provides the City Council and staff with a range of new ideas on programs that we can decide to put in place.
Participatory budgeting is not meant to replace other funding programs, such as the Community Grants program.
In the end, participatory budgeting will increase engagement in the community, create stronger and more collaborative relationships among residents and government, and lead to projects designed by and addressing the needs of residents. Our goal is to create a process and space for people who traditionally have not participated in local government to have a say in local decision-making that impacts their lives.
I look forward to continuing the conversation about participatory budgeting and starting to put this into action soon. I welcome your thoughts and input.
For more information about participatory budgeting check out this website.
Trees are a great resource for a community. The environmental and social benefits trees provide are significant. However, trees need to be maintained to provide those benefits in a safe manner. Large trees located near, for example, buildings, roads and playgrounds need to be monitored regularly to ensure any dying branches, structural problems or insect/disease issues get identified and addressed. Tree hazards can be easily overlooked by the untrained eye. In our busy lives, few of us spend much time looking up into the tree canopy of the trees in our yard. A large tree branch can weigh several hundred pounds, and if it fails, can cause extensive property damage and severe injury or even death.
Preventing Tree (limb) Failure
Tree or tree limb failure is usually preventable. It is recommended that trees, especially large trees, be inspected by a Licensed Tree Expert (LTE) every two to three years. These regular inspections by a trained professional can identify structural issues, dead or dying branches or tree illness and disease. Typically, it does not cost anything to have a LTE visit a property and inspect trees.
If a more detailed inspection is recommended, a tree care company will provide an estimate of the cost for those services. It is recommended that you contact several tree care companies and have their LTEs visit the property and provide recommendations and quotes for any needed tree work. Be sure that the tree care company you hire is licensed by the State of Maryland and insured. It is also beneficial to develop a long-term relationship with an LTE who will become familiar with your trees and their health over time.
Determining the likelihood of tree failure requires a significant level of experience and knowledge about how trees grow, how they fail and what characteristics make a tree “risky.” Assessing tree risk requires special training and experience, and LTEs are specifically knowledgeable in determining the structural integrity of a tree and the risk it may present. While there are self-surveys of trees that property owners can conduct to determine obvious issues, there is no substitute for a professional assessment of the health of a tree.
Following City and State Regulations
When you have any tree work done on your property make sure you adhere to the City’s tree regulations, which can be found on the City’s website at takomaparkmd.gov/services/permits/treepermits. The removal of any tree 7’ 5/8” in diameter or greater requires a tree removal permit or waiver. The pruning of more than 5 percent of the live canopy of a tree 7 5/8” in diameter or greater requires the submission of a tree impact assessment. An emergency tree removal waiver will be issued to a property owner if a tree is highly hazardous, poses an immediate threat to people and property and the hazard cannot be mitigated through pruning or other tree maintenance.
What about my neighbor’s trees? Maryland has adopted the “Massachusetts Self-Help Rule” that says you must assume responsibility for the care and preservation of your own property. This means that you can cut branches from a tree on your neighbor’s property that extend into your property. Always notify the tree owner first. However, you may not destroy the tree in the process, nor can you cut the tree down. Also, you must stop at the property line unless the neighbor has given you permission to do otherwise, and it is best to have that permission in writing.
When a tree or its branches fall, it is considered an “Act of God” unless the tree was known to be dead or hazardous. This means the portion of the tree and the damage from it that is on your property is your responsibility to clean up. The portion of the tree that ends up on a neighbor’s property, and any damage to the neighbor’s property, is his/her responsibility. Such accidents are normally covered by the affected owner’s home owner’s insurance and are usually resolved by reporting a claim. The exception to this general rule is that the owner of the property where the tree originated may be responsible for damage to a neighbor’s property if the owner knew, or had good reason to know, that the tree presented a danger. A tree whose trunk (even a small portion of the trunk) straddles the property line may be a shared tree, and therefore, any cost for pruning, maintenance or removal would be a shared cost.
Working Together on Safety
The City of Takoma Park encourages neighbors to discuss tree issues long before tree failure becomes a problem, and responsibility for any damage becomes part of the discussion. If your neighbor’s tree is hazardous, you have communicated that to your neighbor and your neighbor is not addressing the issue, then the City may step in and require the neighbor to have the hazard mitigated.
As the City’s Urban Forest Manager (UFM), my focus is primarily on City trees and inspecting trees on private property related to review of permit applications for tree removal or tree protection. However, when a tree on private property is hazardous and I become aware of it either by noticing it myself or being notified by someone else, then I notify the property owner of the hazard and their responsibility. The City Code allows for the issuance of a notice of violation to the property owner requiring that the hazardous tree issue be addressed within a certain time frame.
For those property owners who have limited income, the City has established an Emergency Tree Fund to assist with the costs of removal of a hazardous tree. Residents can apply for those funds through the UFM.
In closing, I hope you will be able to join us for the Tree Canopy Assessment Seminar taking place on March 23.
Tree Canopy Assessment Seminar:
Takoma Park Tree Canopy Assessment Seminar Presented by Noah Ahles, University of Vermont
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Morning Session 10 am – 12 pm, Community Center Auditorium
Morning session will present findings on the current status of the City’s treecanopy using 2018 LiDAR data.
The morning session will be a general overview, the afternoon session will be a focused discussion with members of the Tree Commission and Committee on The Environment
Afternoon Session 1 pm – 3 pm, Community Center Auditorium
Afternoon session will be a planning discussion about establishing a Citywide treecanopy goal and implementation plan.
People frequently ask library staff about the status of the library’s plans for renovation and expansion. While there has not yet been any construction, the reality is that in the past two years, we have made considerable progress. We have a signed contract with our architect. We were successful in acquiring Capital Grant Funding through the State. The City Council also approved borrowing to complete the project through the State Infrastructure Loan Program. Schematic design is in progress, and a site survey and an engineering study were completed in 2018.
Library staff have worked hard to weed collections and prepare for moving materials out of our 64 year-old building. And library patrons continue to express enthusiasm for the Library project.
Inevitably, development and engineering questions come to light in the examination of a built environment, and indeed light was shed by the 2018 engineering report. The engineers concluded that the City needed a new flood plain delineation study to determine if the current flood wall (which was planned to be incorporated into the expanded library building) was adequate. While a flood plain study was done in 2002, hydrology improved significantly in the ensuing 16 years, and it made sense to conduct the new study.
As the saying goes, measure twice and cut once. A preliminary report was concluded in August of 2018 and submitted to the County’s Department of Permitting Services for review. Based on the conclusions of the new flood plain study, it was determined that a higher elevation for the Library would be required. The architect has submitted design options for a library building that would meet the elevation criteria based on the new information, but would preserve the same footprint. The new design options are all predicated on constructing a new library building on the existing site, as an alternative to changing the parking lot elevation relative to the Library, which we understand would be a significantly costlier option.
The flood plain study is important in advancing the City’s goals in other ways. The effect of climate change on the water table, as well as the flood plain, makes the recent delineation study a foresighted and practical necessity as the City plans the future purposes and locations of its facilities.
Immediate next steps for the library renovation project include consideration of the new concept designs. Because they don’t depend on modification of antiquated systems or constraints in the deployment of existing resources they offer new opportunities to imaginatively recreate and enliven existing space.
We are eager for things to progress now that we know what we need to do in response to the flood plain study. We look forward to sharing new information as it becomes available and to continued public discussion as the library project continues.
The architect will make a presentation to the City Council on March 20.
Bob Mondello, NPR senior arts critic, will be the featured speaker at the Friends of Takoma Park Maryland Library annual meeting on Monday evening, March 25 at the library.
He has been reviewing movies and covering the arts at NPR News for more than three decades. By his count, he watches at least 300 films annually and critiques the most interesting for All Things Considered, the network’s award-winning news program. He also was a theater critic for Washington City Paper for many years. Among his many other notable accomplishments: “American Stages,” an eight-part series on the regional theater movement that he conceived and co-produced at NPR.
Mondello grew up in Bethesda, attended Walt Whitman High School and went to the University of Maryland. He now lives in Takoma, DC with his husband, poet and teacher Carlos Schroder.
Everyone is welcome at the free event, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.
There will be a brief FTPML membership meeting and board elections afterward. Seven seats on the Friends’ board of directors are up for election. Five are for two-year terms, and two are for one-year terms. Three incumbents are running for two-year terms: Anand Parikh, Claudine Schweber and Walter Mulbry. Mulbry also is running for reelection as treasurer.
Any FTPML members interested in running for the board should contact the FTPML nominating committee at ftpmlnominatingcommittee@gmail.com. Nominations also will be taken from the floor. Not a member? You can join by visiting the Friends’ website at ftpml.org.
From lost dogs and advice on handymen to tips on composting and local political debate, the Between the Creeks Listserv has been trying to connect communities’ in Takoma Park.
The Listserv — an electronic mailing system in which subscribers can post topics of their choosing and spark discussions with other members — mostly serves members of Ward 5 between Takoma Park and Silver Spring (between Sligo and Long Branch creeks) and is looking to bolster its numbers to fuel further discussion and a sense of community.
Keith Berner, who works in tech support and strategy, moderates the Between the Creeks Listserv, which began as an active neighborhood association.
“At the time [in the early 2000s] we held one meeting and a bunch of us showed up and really nothing else happened except I took over the Listserv,” Berner said.
After a few years, the Listserv began to shrink until only a few users in Silver Spring were active on it. “Over a period of time, I felt we needed greater geographic area and diversity,” Berner said.
So Berner merged another existing Listserv with Between the Creeks to create a larger online community in the area. The Listserv now has around 75 active members, making several posts a week. That’s far fewer than the Takoma Listserv, which has nearly 3,000 users but focuses on a much larger portion of the region.
“What I simply would like to do is get more people to join, so there can be a variety of conversations,” Berner said. There are around 1,000 people in the Between the Creeks area, so Berner says there is plenty of room to grow.
Berner also likes to keep discussions open to a variety of topics, not just the hyper-local ones other Listservs may have. “I found most Listervs to be too limiting,” Berner said.
“Most were trying to find a handyman or borrow sugar, but I wanted one to be able to talk about the issues of the day.” Berner said Between the Creeks is a safe and open space for larger national conversations, as long as there are no ad hominem or other personal attacks on users.
Still, topics tend to trend light, with the most active user — a Silver Spring resident — posting most frequently about bluegrass and other concerts.
Berner now hopes to grow the Listserv to get more people in undeserved communities involved. “I’ve seen that poorer communities are less likely to engage than more affluent white members,” Berner said. “And renters are also less likely to participate than those that own homes.”
If you’re interested in becoming a member of the Between the Creeks Listserv, send an email with your name and address to TKPK@KBerner.us. You can join even without living in the designated area that it serves.
Women of the World Opening Reception March 14, 7 p.m. Takoma Park Community Center 7500 Maple Avenue
Free event
Across the centuries in countries spanning the globe, women often have been denigrated and at home. They also are embroiled in political battles over control of their own bodies, but progress is happening as more women are elected to political office and sexual harassment is confronted by the #MeToo movement.
Women of the World, a new group exhibition at the Takoma Park Community Center, explores the inspiring power and ongoing struggles of women around the world. The exhibition, which celebrates Women’s History Month, features artwork by Sobia Ahmad, Maysoon al Gburi, Olivia Tripp Morrow, Elayna Speight and Evans Thorne. The show will be on view until May 8. Born and raised in Pakistan, Ahmad moved to the United States when she was 14 years old, becoming an immigrant straddling two vastly different cultures on opposite sides of the world. Her video installations and mixed-media work grapple with the nuances and complexities of national identity, notions of home, cultural memory and gender issues.
Gburi was born in Iraq and lived through the hardships of multiple wars before moving to the DC area where she is the associate director at Dara Global Arts Gallery. The richness of Mesopotamian history coupled with the dire outcomes of war influence her work. She seeks to reflect compassion for women who struggle to survive the barbarian acts of war, which men often inflict upon women.
Morrow will create a site-specific installation suspended 30 feet in the air from cables in the Takoma Park Community Center atrium. The installation titled Stretch is comprised of clothing and undergarments donated by women, which have been deconstructed into strips of fabric that are intricately woven, wrapped, stretched and layered over armatures of chicken wire. By re-contextualizing the personal histories associated with the clothing, Morrow hopes viewers will be inspired to reflect upon the legacy of the women in their lives and past generations.
As an artist and graphic designer born and raised in Maryland, Speight’s watercolor and metallic ink work is inspired by the strength, vulnerability, royalty, joy and magic of black women. Her recent series titled Her Crown and Glory shows positive images of black women, featuring their various skin tones and natural hair styles (their crowning glory). She wants to instill confidence and self-respect for black women, who often are oppressed or misunderstood.
After growing up in Trinidad, Thorne moved to the DC area to study art. His paintings explore his cultural roots in the Caribbean with scenes of folk dances and portraits of multiple generations of women in families.
The City of Takoma Park offers a myriad of opportunities to volunteer. Whether it is for a special event (Monster Bash, Celebrate Takoma, etc.), sports (Winter Basketball, Futsal, etc.), senior programs (Fitness, Art, etc.), or for SSL hours, the City of Takoma Park is the place to be for volunteering. Volunteering makes a difference in the lives of others, and you will also benefit in a number of ways. From lowering stress to boosting self-confidence, volunteering offers many health benefits—especially for retirees. Some of the benefits of volunteering are:
Decreasing the risk of depression. Volunteering increases social interaction and helps build a support system based on common commitment and interests—both of which have been shown to decrease depression.
Enjoying a sense of purpose and fulfillment—and increase your self-confidence while you’re at it!
Staying physically and mentally active. Volunteer activities get you moving and thinking at the same time.
Reducing stress levels. By savoring your time spent in service to others, you’ll feel a sense of meaning and appreciation—both given and received—which can be calming.
Experiencing “The Happiness Effect.” The feeling you get after a vigorous workout is the same feeling you get after volunteering. Helping others has that exact same effect—so the more you volunteer, the happier you become!
An example of this is Alice Sims, who teaches art classes for the City of Takoma Park Recreation Department. Alice volunteers her time with the 55+ program. She is an enthusiastic supporter of the 55+ program and dedicated to providing opportunities for seniors to be creative in the arts. Alice makes it possible for seniors to participate in a variety of free arts and crafts workshops, such as basket weaving and painting silk scarves at the Takoma Park Community Center.
Her latest endeavor was the “Empty Bowls” project. Alice worked with the youth in the after care programs at both the Community Center and the Recreation Center locations, as well as the teen program, to make bowls to help bring awareness of hunger in our society. Alice helped the youth paint and glaze the bowls and talked to them about the importance of giving back. Alice said, “I find working on these volunteer opportunities rewarding. After the completion of a project, I feel so overcome with joy.”
Get ready to start experiencing the joys and health benefits of volunteering for yourself. Try volunteering at summer camps, coaching a sport or exploring other ideas. Get active now! Come to Takoma Park and enjoy the opportunities to volunteer. Contact us at 301-891-7290 or search for an activity at www.montgomeryserves.org
By Claudine Schweber, co-chair, Emergency Preparedness Committee
Don’t wait until April to pay attention to your financial situation. The people trying to separate you from your money are ready to act now—by phone, text, or email (online). While many financial preparedness advice columns and websites focus on the elderly, millennials have joined the “seriously at risk” group for being scammed. Indeed, “millennials lose more money to financial scams than seniors” according to a Federal Trade Commission Report issued in March 2018 (See Zach Friedman’s March 9, 2018 article online at Forbes.com.).
Are you prepared to avoid the traps? Last March I wrote about the need for basic Financial Preparedness. A year later, being prepared also means being aware of and prepared to avoid scams and other thefts.
Step 1: Awareness
Identity theft: This may involve bills for items you didn’t buy, debt collection for accounts you didn’t open, use of your social security number, medical theft of health insurance information, and stealing your ID for social media purposes (See www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/identity-theft). In a 2018 report, Maryland was one of five states with the highest rate of identity theft.
Scams and fraud: This is the category where 40 percent of millennial’s and 18 percent of those 70 and older reported financial losses in 2018. Imposter scams include someone pretending to represent the government. For example, there’s the tax collection scam where callers have claimed to be from the IRS demanding that you pay towed taxes immediately with a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. You may even be threatened with arrest if you don’t pay. This has also been done via email and text. Another scam is verification, an email or text message requiring that you verify your personal information. The message often includes a hyperlink phrase “click here” or a button to a fraudulent form or website. The IRS will always contact you by mail first.
Call the IRS immediately 1-800-366-4484; for email contact, report to phishing@irs.gov.
There are also charity scams, tickets scams, housing scams, lottery and sweepstakes scams, banking scams and many more. See www.usa.gov/common-scams-frauds for more schemes and what to do if you encounter them.
Step 2: Action
Do you know exactly what your assets and expenses are? Is there a list with specifics? If you are ill, is there a back-up person/s? Do they know how to contact key persons? Create a financial checklist that identifies the income, asset and expenses and medical information, etc. Give one copy to a trusted person/s and save one for yourself (paper or electronic).
Documentation
For each item, list its name, the supporting documents, and reminders, such as renewals, contact persons and account numbers.
Income, assets, financial accounts, such as checking, savings, retirement, investments
Checking accounts, savings accounts with name, numbers
Bank/Credit union: name, account number
Retirement accounts: IRA, 401K, other
Gov’t benefits: social security, Medicare/Medicaid, veteran’s benefits, etc.
Investment: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, other
Insurance company
Alimony or child support income
Expenses (housing, medical (+ insurance info), varied monthly bills and other expenses)
Education
Prepare students in high school (or earlier) to be financially responsible and aware. For example, see “Personal Finance in High School—When I’m 65” (4:30 min) at vimeo.com/227765856.
Teach young children some financial basics, such as spending some, but not all of http://imeo.com/227765856 their money, giving some away and keeping track of their money.
Thank you Dr. Kathleen Sindell, certified financial planner (www.fpedec.org); Kathleen Quinn EPC Committee and JumpStart Clearing House (www.jumpstart.org) for your assistance with this article.
Contact us at tpepc@takomaparkmd.gov or 301-891-7126. Listen to Bea(trice) Prepared the first Sunday of the month on WOWD/ Talk of Takoma.
When launching a new restaurant there are many – perhaps too many – factors to consider. Demographics, building availability, and market saturation are among the criteria owners take into account in deciding whether to open in a particular city or location.
However, for Carolina McCandless and David Perez, family and fate were the ultimate deciding factors that led them to open their restaurant, Cielo Rojo (Red Sky), at 7056 Carroll Avenue in Takoma Park.
It was family that drew the couple to Takoma Park, or in McCandless’ case, back to Takoma Park. She grew up in the area, and her parents have owned and operated the clothing store Amano on Carroll Avenue for more than 20 years.
But she had been living in San Francisco for the past 12 years, and in 2012 she met Perez at an organic vegan Mexican restaurant. They became a couple and then worked together at a catering company. After giving birth to daughter in 2017, the couple decided they could no longer afford to live in San Francisco and elected to move back to the area and open their own restaurant. The question was “where?”
That’s when fate took over. “We had just decided to move back east, and two days later, my father told me that the Subway sandwich shop (down the street from his store) was up for lease,” said McCandless. “He said, ‘I know this is a crazy idea, but the location couldn’t be more perfect for your idea of a Mexican restaurant.’”
Intrigued by the idea, but not willing to commit to that location immediately, the couple checked some other open spots in the area, but ultimately decided that that location and size was perfect for a first restaurant.
“I knew the Takoma Park community very well from growing up working at Amano, and I felt it would be a great fit for our concept,” McCandless said. From that moment of decision last June, it was a quick sprint to the restaurant’s grand opening in late January. Here again, family comes into play. “My father helped build the restaurant and helped with my concept,” McCandless said. “For instance, I bought tiles from Mexico and designed the look of the tables in the restaurant, and he actually built the tile tabletops.”
Equally important to McCandless was her mother caring for the couple’s daughter during the long hours of prep for the opening. And as long-term Takoma Park business owners, the parents provided invaluable advice. “The guidance they gave was to keep prices reasonable so that it could be tailored to the diversity of people living in Takoma Park,” McCandless said.
That advice seems to have worked well so far, as the restaurant has been busy since its opening, drawing enthusiastic patrons, such as Carissa Marks and Jessica Carter. The pair, who work nearby, are frequent lunchtime customers and big fans. When asked how many times they have eaten at Cielo Rojo, Marks laughed and simply said, “Lots.” “We are both vegan, and the food is so flavorful. You don’t feel that you are missing out on anything at all,” said Carter, citing her favorite dishes, gorditas (organic potato and corn masa patties) and drunken mushroom tacos.
While it serves an array of vegan entrees that satisfy Marks and Carter, Cielo Rojo offers a full menu of meat, pork, chicken and fish entrees as well. Options include small plates of tacos or quesilladas to larger more ambitious full entrees of rockfish, enchiladas and posole (hominy stew).
The unifying thread is a commitment to sourcing as much local and organic food as possible, (100% organic non-GMO corn tortillas and hormone-free and humanely raised meats, for example) and the well-honed skills of chef Perez, a native of Mexico City, who has been cooking in the United States since he immigrated at age 17.
McCandless said that the restaurant has enjoyed a great response so far, even if it has tested the staff and the restaurant’s capacity. “We did not anticipate being so busy when we first opened, and it’s taken a lot of work to keep up with demand,” she said. “We are learning a lot as we go.”
For menu and hours of operation, visit www.cielo-rojo.com.
