Take a deep breath, dear reader: You're almost to the finish line of 2023.
Maybe you clicked on this good news article because you want to keep the warm-and-fuzzy holiday vibes going. Or maybe you clicked it because you still miss precedented times, and this year was another rough one.
No matter why you're here, just remember that a brand-new year, 2024, is waiting patiently just days away, and ready to greet you with good things you can't imagine yet.
But before that, take a second to appreciate the good we saw this year, too.
We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
Plenty of good Samaritans were just waiting for a reason to help their fellow humans in need. More than a few baby animals were born, and a lot of D.C.-area residents celebrated triple-digit birthdays. Some iconic institutions celebrated big anniversaries, too.
Here's a look back at all the good things that happened around the DMV in 2023.
We saw some warm and fuzzy animal stories
Sometimes good Samaritans help animals, too. In Virginia, back in July, Jeffrey Simpson said he was driving into work when he came upon a troubled skunk trying to navigate the streets with a cup stuck on its head.
After a few minutes of coaxing, multiple harrowing near-misses from cars and several pleas from Simpson to the skunk not to spray him, the animal was freed, and the skunk and its rescuer parted ways.
In Woodley Park, 2023 saw an influx of new, adorable baby animals at the National Zoo. From two fluffy Andean bear cubs to a gorilla baby named over the summer, there was plenty to squeal over.
Though we're still nursing the heartache that came with wishing the giant pandas farewell, we made a new friend in the form of Basil, the one-eyed opossum. (As if his permanent wink wasn't enough, he's also a fan of fluffy blankets and eating pesky, disease-causing ticks.)
And how does the National Zoo keep all those animals warm even as temperatures drop in the District? News4 took a tour behind the scenes back in November to find out.
There was plenty of good news when it came to less exotic, less wild animals around the DMV. Many, many animals were adopted as part of the Clear the Shelters Campaign -- 157,000 nationwide in 2023 alone.
But months before that annual campaign kicked off, one whopper of a cat in Richmond, Virginia delighted his internet fans by getting adopted.
Patches, a 40.3 pound cat with white fur and gray spots, finally found an owner "to help regulate his "gloriously gluttonous body," as the Richmond Animal Care and Control shelter said on Facebook.
We also saw efforts to save the environment around the District
Love for nature wasn't limited to just your favorite fluffy creatures this year.
Metro invested millions of dollars into a greener transit system in 2023. A whopping $104 million was put toward quieter, more environmentally-friendly electric buses.
It's just a few pieces in the District's massive bus fleet, but it's the first step toward a lofty goal: to have the entire Metrobus fleet -- nearly 1,600 buses -- to zero emissions by 2042.
Over at Catholic University, officials unveiled plans to open D.C.'s largest-ever solar array. In March of the new year, a 25-acre series of solar panels will help power the university, with any extra energy generated going towards the city.
And down by the Tidal Basin, the National Park Service approved a plan to help mitigate flooding near the iconic walkway.
Rising sea levels have compounded with the sinking Tidal Basin seawall, causing walkways, trees roots and even benches to end up underwater. The most iconic example of the effects is Stumpy, a beloved-if-scraggly cherry tree that still blooms every spring.
The NPS rehabilitation project will raise the seawall by around 5 feet, along with other changes in a construction project expected to start next summer.
Good Samaritans helped others all year long
You never know when the universe will align to make good things happen.
News4 first met Dolly Turner in February, when she was on a mission to recover her late father's military memorabilia. She'd spent decades looking for the Tuskegee Airman's belongings, many of which went missing when Turner's family sold their house.
"We have a great, rich family history and that’s why it’s so important for us to get these items back," Dolly Turner said.
After News4's story aired, one viewer saw it all the way down in North Carolina.
"My heart almost stopped. When I saw a picture of the memorabilia that had been lost, it was exactly the photograph of what I had just purchased," she said. She asked to remain anonymous.
She said she’s an African American history collector and bought the items online. Once she realized Turner was looking for them, she sent it all back to her free of charge.
"There are good people in the world," Turner said.
Way back in March, Jelani Clayton pulled off Ohio Drive SW just south of the Lincoln Memorial to wait out some frustrating traffic and enjoy the view. Then, he saw something strange in the water.
“I did not realize it was a person,” Clayton said. “I thought it was an animal or some trash, and as I got closer, the person whimpered.”
It was a woman with a jacket zipped up over her face. He jumped into action without hesitation to pull the woman out, and called 911. She was just barely conscious -- but thanks to Clayton's quick action, she survived near-hypothermia.
“Humanity still exists. It could have been easy for me to walk away,” Clayton said. “Nobody was here; nobody was around. I could have left, but the humanity in me said that that’s a person in need, that’s a person who needs help.”
In June, an elderly man was also rescued after his car went into the Chesapeake Bay while he was still trapped inside.
Brent Mints, a retired Prince George’s County sheriff’s deputy, was riding his motorcycle near Kent Island when he saw a group gathered near the water. It didn't take him long to realize something was wrong.
So he jumped into the water to help guide the car back towards the shallows near the pier, just in time for first responders to arrive.
In September, when Noah Fowler was driving down I-66 on his motorcycle, a powerful thunderstorm descended upon him with little notice.
”I was, like, two miles from my house, so I was, like, ‘Ah, I can make it home; I know where I’m going,’” Fowler said. “And next thing I know, I wake up on the ground with like 20 people or so around me.”
Fowler had been struck by a lightning bolt that traveled through his helmet and down his body. It burned his silver necklace into his skin, set his bike on fire — and sent him flying.
Luckily, Erica Sutherland and her fiancé, who work in the medical field, were heading in the other direction on I-66 and passed by right as Fowler was hit.
The duo stopped by Fowler and began performing CPR. Four minutes and 12 seconds into the chest compressions, Fowler regained consciousness.
In late October, when firefighters arrived at Malcolm Hemphill's apartment in Southwest D.C., Hemphill was technically dead. He had stopped breathing and entered cardiac arrest, with his heart stopped for four minutes.
But that didn't deter the D.C. Fire and EMS crew that arrived to save his life.
"[It was] hectic, chaotic," William Steele, an EMS paramedic with the D.C. Fire Department, said of that day three weeks before. "Like everything else, we've found, in this city."
"We were okay though. We had a really good crew that day," Steele said.
It was the second time that the crew had saved Hemphill's life this year. When he had been in medical distress months earlier, D.C. firefighters from Engine 7 responded then, as well.
In late November, Hemphill reunited with the medics who brought him back -- and without any emergencies to be seen, everything was hugs and gratitude.
The work of first responders ranges from life-or-death to simple aid that makes a world of difference for people like Olivia Norman.
Norman is blind, and relies on her dog, Tofu, to get around in D.C.’s Cleveland Park neighborhood. Heavy rain and construction on Connecticut Avenue left her disoriented and unsure how to get home one night in September.
So she called 311, and was transferred to 911.
“I kept apologizing for bothering her,” she recalled. “I’m so sorry to be using city resources, but I don’t really know where I am. I’m lost. I just need to get home.”
Lamaya Wade, who had only been a 911 call taker for a few months, sent Officer Michael Jankowski to pick up Norman and Tofu, and safely drop them off at home.
Wade, Jankowski and Norman were reunited at the end of November, and shared their story.
And, good news for all those do-gooders out there: A study from earlier this year found that acts of kindness can ease symptoms of depression and anxiety. They also promote social connection and improve overall life satisfaction.
People made new connections and gave back to their communities
A Fairfax County teenager, Samantha Grayer, has always loved reading. To help increase child literacy and encourage other kids to grow their love of books, she started a nonprofit: Berries for Books.
Grayer has already collected thousands of books, and thanks those who donate to her mission with chocolate-covered strawberries.
In Montgomery County, back in February, 14-year-old Patrick Kaufmann delivered 20,000 Valentine’s Day cards to patients in local hospitals and nursing homes, hoping to reach those who may need some extra affection.
“Many people might not receive a card, and maybe they don’t have family that visit them a lot, or, you know, they’re kind of lonely on that day, so I think that one card, one simple card, can really just change the entire day or just make them feel special,” Patrick said.
It's the third year he's been delivering the cards, and he started with just 300.
Some area residents kept their community in mind even after they hit it big: Grammy nominees Michael and Tanya Trotter, better known as The War and Treaty, returned to the House of Ruth in D.C.
It's the same homeless shelter where Michael Trotter stayed with his mom in the 90s.
The duo hosted a holiday party for kids staying in the shelter, complete with toys and a meeting with a very musical Santa and Mrs. Claus.
And sometimes, Santa doesn't give the presents -- he gets them. One mom decided it was time to say thanks to old St. Nick after her kids stopped by the Tyson's Corner Center mall in Virginia for almost 20 years to greet him.
“This is my whole babies’ lives, and you were a major, major part of every Christmas, so I want to thank you for that,” said Elaina Ward, as she surprised Santa with photos from every visit.
We celebrated the places that make the DMV great
On U Street in D.C., iconic rock club The Black Cat celebrated its 30th anniversary at the beginning of September. A show full of hyperlocal Washington favorites let club regulars let loose for a weekend.
“Everybody who works here works here because they like music and like putting on shows, and so all the other stuff, it's neat and it's creative and it's fun to do, to change stuff, but mostly, we like putting on concerts and enjoying music and having a fun bar to hang out at,” club owner and founder Dante Ferrando said.
If you thought 30 years was impressive, the story of Mount Jezreel Baptist Church will blow you away: The historically Black church in Silver Spring, Maryland celebrated its 150th anniversary in October.
Though the milestone marks the survival of the church since 1883, the congregation has roots in D.C. that go back to the end of the Civil War.
Their current pastor, Dr. Jamison Hunter, said across all that time, one thing’s been constant: “There’s a community impact. We’re in the community at heart.”
Speaking of community impact, let's take a moment to appreciate all that Ben's Chili Bowl half-smokes have done for people around the District: The restaurant has been handing them out for more than 65 years, as of August 2023.
In 1958, NASA was created, the Hope Diamond was donated to the Smithsonian, and Ben and Virginia Ali opened Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street. The restaurant celebrated its big birthday with a block party, and Virginia Ali shared some of the most memorable moments along the way.
“It was always going to be Ben’s Chili Bowl, which included chili and half-smokes. Which was really a breakfast sausage but we thought it would be great on a hot dog bun,” Virginia Ali said. "A nice, steamed hot dog bun with mustard, onions and chili, and it turned out to be the number one seller."
"Still is today's. D.C.'s signature dish," she said.
We celebrated some long-standing community members
Just like her business, Virginia Ali has been around to see it all. The Ben's Chili Bowl founder turned 90 earlier this December, and celebrated with News4 in the studio.
"The glass is always half full, not half empty," Ali said. "And when you wake up in the mornings, and you know that you're gonna put that smile on your face and you're gonna meet people -- it just gives me happiness, being able to live to be 90 years old."
In Lincoln, Virginia, the entire town came together to celebrate Helen Cook's 100th birthday. Cook was the cafeteria manager for 50 years, helping make school lunches for three generations of students.
After working into her 80s, many of those former students remembered how she nourished body and soul with her kind words.
And she still has boundless energy after 100 years: Cook had recently renewed her driver's license before her birthday in June, and still mows her own yard. She credits her faith and her love of the Lincoln community for how long she's kept going.
In Silver Spring, Maryland, at the beginning of November, 107-year-old Katherine Gains was recognized by the Montgomery County Council for her courage and remarkable life.
Gains lived through the 1918 influenza pandemic, the Great Depression, the space race, the civil rights movement and the COVID-19 pandemic.
"All my life has been special," she said. "I have really been fortunate and blessed that I have been able to live this long and be in the condition I'm in."
And we applauded some long-lasting relationships
Way back on Valentine's Day in 2019, a couple that met in the Navy got married at the Prince William County courthouse -- with News4 there to cover the happy occasion.
Four years later, the Masons are still going strong. They celebrated their anniversary in February with their baby daughter, Octavia, and the family is now living in Laurel, Maryland.
Also in Prince George's County, a Landover couple celebrated a milestone that only .1% of married couples ever reach, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 69 years of marriage.
Lenard Harvey is 93 years old, and his bride Bernice Harvey is 98. They said the secret to their long marriage is faith and appreciation.
"I think it's a blessing," Lenard said. "God has blessed us, truly."
On the other end of the DMV, Dave and Vivian Smith celebrated an impressive 75 years together in Falls Church.
Their World War II era romance started in a pretty typical way: Vivian, then a student at the College of Wooster in Ohio, was out with some girlfriends. The young women spent a night chatting with some young men, stationed at the college for Navy Pilot training.
"My mom with out with some girlfriends and they met," said one of the couple's two daughters. "And she was with one guy, but she was like, 'But who's THAT guy?'"
But how did the couple stay together so long? A whopping seven-and-a-half decades that included the start and end of the Cold War, the moon landing, the dawn of the information age and a global pandemic?
"It just happens," said Dave Smith. "I mean, you're busy doing stuff, you know, all the time. And you're working and you're having children, and they're growing up. It's a very... It just... happens!"
