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Okay, this is not an actual category in our annual Best of D.C. issue. But today, everything else seems to pale in comparison to “The Best” and “The Second Best.” So this was my attempt at gravitas.
Anyway, tomorrow, the Norwood Tenant Association and the District of Columbia Department of Health are hosting “a summit to address the problem of bedbugs in Washington, DC,” according to a press release sent out by the former group.
The Norwood Tenant Association’s longstanding problem with these mini critters was chronicled in the Washington City Paper a few months back.(“For three years, the Norwood Tenants Association complained to various D.C. agencies and the D.C. Council, filed a lawsuit, purchased bedbug extermination chemicals from the Internet, and finally agreed at the end of last year to buy the building, which the D.C. tax and revenue office values at more than $7 million. It is now seeing quicker responses to bedbug infestations from building management and the landlord, according to tenants association co-president Silvia Salazar.”)
Here’s more information:
“The goal of the summit is to learn about bedbug biology, bedbug control, and to establish a DC wide task force that will address enforcement, education, data collection, and legislative approaches. Presenters will include Dr. Dini M. Miller, Associate Professor, Dodson Urban Pest Management Laboratory at Virginia Tech, Ray Lopez, the 2008 recipient of the20Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leader Award for his innovative approaches on controlling bedbugs without using pesticides, as well as representatives from the pest management industry who will share the latest industry approaches. The summit will take place on Friday, March 27, 2009, at 441 4th Street NW, Room 1107 from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM.”
Image by Alex Eben Meyer