HillNow.com—-a Capitol Hill offshoot of ARLNow.com—-made its official debut in the blogosphere today.
The website will serve as a hyperlocal news site for Capitol Hill and other neighborhoods in Ward 6, including H Street NE and Navy Yard. Local News Now, the publisher of the site, is also behind BethesdaNow.com, ARLNow.com, and RestonNow.com.
Andrea Swalec, who formerly worked for New York City’s hyperlocal DNAinfo, is running the site. She also wrote for Voice of the Hill, the now-shuttered monthly paper that covered Capitol Hill. Freelancers will also contribute to the site.
Although HillNow.com makes its official debut today, it has already posted a number of articles this month, including news stories on crime, a Q&A with a Council staffer who lives in Capitol Hill, and an ANC vote to protest the expansion of the Ugly Mug.
Scott Brodbeck, the founder of Local News Now who is also contributing articles to the new operation, told City Desk in June that there’s a hunger for this type of fast, local coverage in these Ward 6 neighborhoods.
“What I have been hearing from people in the area is that there is a void—there’s not a daily news source that covers that area and it’s a very dynamic and civically engaged neighborhood,” Brodbeck told City Desk.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery