Columbia Heights Insider (formerly New Columbia Heights) is your #1 source of news for the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. Proudly run by local real estate team Viva the Life Properties.

Topics covered include restaurants, bars, retail, real estate, neighborhood events, local government news (ANC 1A and City Council), and stories from community residents. 

Looking to get in touch? Contact us – we'd love to hear from you!

How We Got Started

Local resident Andrew Wiseman started this blog, formerly called New Columbia Heights, in 2010. When he moved to the Columbia Heights neighborhood in 2007, he was looking for a good neighborhood news source and couldn't find one—so he decided to start one himself.

In 2019, ownership of the blog transferred to local DC resident Lou Vivas—real estate agent and owner of Viva the Life Properties. In summer 2020, it was renamed Columbia Heights Insider to more clearly reflect its mission to provide quality, hyper local news to the residents of Columbia Heights.

Meet The Team

Lou Vivas
CEO

Lou is the CEO of Columbia Heights Insider, leader of the Viva the Life team, and a passionate advocate for the community through his various leadership positions in the neighborhood.

Lou strives to improve the community and steward growth through his roles on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) Subcommittee for Zoning as well as his position as the Co-Chair of the District Bridges Commercial Property Vacancy Action Team for Columbia Heights Main Street. He also serves on the We Are Family Board of Directors, a group that organizes volunteers to assist and deliver groceries and other services to elderly neighbors in the community.

Lauren Levenstein
Contributor

Lauren Levenstein is a freelance writer, communications manager, and project manager. She has more than a decade of experience supporting progressive, mission-focused organizations and firms. When she is not creating meaningful content or managing teams to get the job done, Lauren enjoys being active outside, participating in online fitness classes, cooking, and spending time with family and friends (socially distant of course!) She lives in Washington D.C. with her cat, the one and only, Mr. Louis.

Sarah Welch
Contributor

Sarah is an investigative journalism graduate student at American University. She covers the Columbia Heights neighborhood for this publication and The Wash. Her interest in foreign affairs and politics drew her to DC, but it has been the local communities in the city that have charmed her. Sarah is a Boston native who has also called Los Angeles, London and Madrid home. When she's not chasing down local and national stories, Sarah enjoys a good book, a strong drink (coffee or otherwise) and cheering on Real Madrid (sorry Barca fans).