However, Billy Bragg is fantastic.
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Author: Prince Of Petworth
A very reliable source from the Metropolitan Police Department has enlightened me to the new initiatives from Police Chief Lanier. The below is from a memo being distributed to police officers. Let me know if you feel safer. I believe these are positive initiatives although I don’t know how revolutionary they are. First reader to spot “an official on foot” patrol gets a free beer from me. Happy hunting.
Primary goals:
1) Increase engagement of officers with the community
2) Increase visibility within community
Initiatives:
1) “Adopt a block/park” – full court press effort for officers to become familiar with every resident on a block or area, to include distribution of officer contact information, working with them on issues with their block (to include issues like trash and abandoned car removal, street light repairs, etc.), and encouraging community invovlement in PSA meetings
2) Increase in focus mission units to prosecute warrants, and increase jump outs and other drug enforcement-related activities like buy-busts, etcl.
3) Officials on foot (Sgts and above)
4) Youth iniatives and a youth court
5) Increased use of reserve officres
And in this case what I want is my car back. At first I was quite pleased with the service of Autobody shop on Upshur between 12th and 13th but then I tried to get my car back. They called me at 8 am letting me know it was ready to be picked up at 10. Great wonderful news. I said I’d be in at noon on my lunch break. Sure no problem they said. Ha! So a good buddy drove me from downtown DC to pick up the car at noon. And guess what? They forgot to “wash” it so it wasn’t ready. Could I come back in a half an hour they ask? Sure. We go get some lunch and watch an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. So obviously after watching the genius of Larry David I was back in a good mood. And at 12:40 they give me my car back. Only, the locks don’t work. Ha! Are you kidding me? So then they tell me just wait 10 minutes and we’ll fix it right away. Sure 10 minutes, that’s not so bad. So 10 minutes becomes 20 minutes which quickly becomes 30 minutes. At this point I start cursing. So they say, nicely and apologetically at least, can I come back and get it at 4:30? Wonderful. Sure I’ve only wasted 2 hours so far. At last I return at 4:30 and they promptly set the alarm off whilst looking for my keys – which only took about five minutes to find. Although with an annoying horn blaring five minutes actually feels like fifty. At least they were quite nice about the whole thing.
Two lessons from this ordeal: Number One – Be careful which day you pick to quit sniffing glue; and Number Two – Don’t make a left hand turn from the right lane…
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I was on a walkabout today to see what trouble I could get into and trouble I found. But this is the good type. After walking the town a bit I decided to get on the metro at U Street to go to Pentagon City, when I notice that beautiful yellow stripe at the top of the metro sign. And sure enough the yellow line arrived in one minute! I couldn’t believe it. I have been dreaming of this. Well, I did my errands at the mall still flying high about the new yellow line stops when I head back into the metro assuming I can take the same yellow line back. But no, on the return trip the yellow line stopped at the usual Mt. Vernon Square. WTF? That is the biggest tease I have faced since Tania. But worse. I expect to ride the metro every day…wow, my mom reads this so I have to watch my analogies.
So what the hell? Is the yellow line going to stop at Petworth metro or not? I’m confused, somebody help me, please.
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Ah, it’s good to be back. I’m telling you, I spent the last week sitting on the coast of northern California listening to the waves crash on the rocky coast and all I can say is that I feel far more at peace sitting out on my porch drinking a cup of coffee. To me Petworth = Tranquility. Despite, the dogs, the trash and the car crashes! I am excited about this new year. I still have about a half a dozen Ward 4 candidates to interview and I have no doubt some interesting Petworth encounters. So a sincere Happy New Year to all. Stay tuned for the proper return of the Prince.
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The following took place a couple of weeks ago: I’m walking home from the metro listening to Amadou and Mariam, having an uneventful time of it. So I cruise by the all the nice houses decked out in Christmas lights, I favor the white lights for the record, and all is swell. So I make my turn off of New Hampshire Ave and all is good until I get to my house.
I’m really rocking out now doing my best to sing along in French with Amadou and Mariam (a really good African duo influenced by Manu Chao) when a guy jumps out from nowhere while my keys are literally in the door. So I turn around and, and… I froze. I was so stunned and oblivious, just totally taken by surprise. I mean it was ridiculous. I always thought I’d have a Robert DeNiro moment and say “are you talking to me?”. Suffice it to say I reacted in just about the exact opposite way – I just stood there with my mouth hanging open, thinking Oh God this is it.
(more…)
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To those concerned that I may have ulterior motives I wish to reassure you that I am doing these interviews on my own free time and as of yet I do not support any candidate. I simply saw an opportunity to help Petworth learn about the potential candidates. I have remained anonymous because I have not decided where I am taking this blog. I have however, recorded all the interviews so that if you have more questions please do not hesitate to contact me with your concerns. Many thanks.
P.O.P.
Last Thursday morning I was able to sit down with one of the front runners for Ward 4 City Council – Michael A. Brown. To many the name should sound familiar as he just ran unsuccessfully for mayor. Others may recall the name because Mr. Brown is the son of Ron Brown former Commerce Secretary in the Clinton Administration. The visit was quite convenient as Mr. Brown has set up his campaign (exploratory) headquarters right in the heart of lower Petworth. Mr. Brown was dressed impeccably in a pinstripe suit with bald head glistening.
Taking a look around his office you could tell we were not dealing with an amateur. There were maps all over the place with Ward 4 outlined in pencil with stick it notes all over it. I admit I don’t know a lot about campaign maps but since there was more than one I was impressed. Secondly, there was a white board and I glanced at number four since it was prominently displayed on the wall. Number four: call Oprah. Now I wonder if it is that Oprah or another Oprah. The beauty of a blog is the ability to speculate. The office was quite impressive if cluttered with campaign materials and papers, maps, and signs covering almost every inch of the working space. Later in the morning I saw his campaign staff crouching around laptop computers. Finally, you could tell Mr. Brown was a true Washingtonian as he compulsively checked his blackberry handheld device. Maybe something he picked up from the successful Ward 4 representative he is looking to replace. At any rate with the pleasantries out of the way we were able to talk turkey.
Mr. Brown is a third generation Washingtonian who grew up in Shepherd Park, attending Shepherd Elementary School. But he has also had an interesting background outside of DC. He attended college in Massachusetts where he said he played basketball. As we spoke of his college experience you could find a mischievous smile on his face, I think of this smile as a smile of privilege. It was a contagious smile though, not a pompous one. At any rate Mr. Brown has also worked for the campaign of Gov. Dukakis when he was the Democratic nominee for President. Additionally, Mr. Brown has spent time in many parts of Africa including South Africa, Ghana, Benin and Nigeria working as a lobbyist. Mr. Brown is married with twin children who attend school in Ward 4.
Education
As Mr. Brown spent a lot of time in Africa he noted that in Nairobi, the schools are often run down lacking many supplies but the children “read, write, and count better than all of us” because education is a priority to them. We need to make education a priority for our children. He does not believe that education is a priority to our youth. He suggests that our young people be exposed to culture: our museums, plays, and to accomplish this through mandatory class trips. We see folks coming in from all over the country looking at our museums, our children should have the same benefit according to Mr. Brown.
Mr. Brown also sees the need for careers and to jobs to be available to our youth upon graduation. As such he also advocates for the (re)establishment of vocational and technical schools. These are not for everyone but they should be an option and any stigma that is attached to them should be removed. Mr. Brown believes that this transition could be identified in Middle School when the young folks can be given a road map identifying all of their options. Mr. Brown explained the link between lack of education and crime and the remedy – Hope. Mr. Brown was adamant that we needed to show our youth hope to break the cycle of despair and crime.
Public Safety
Mr. Brown was proud to note he has been credited with spending time with young people in troubled neighborhoods. “We need to engage these youth” said Mr. Brown. We should set up apprentice programs, entrepreneurial programs and programs addressing the unemployed, said Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown often linked many of the issues facing Ward 4. We can not properly address public safety without addressing public education without addressing affordable housing without addressing public safety etc. “People need hope and opportunity to stop crime.” This resonated with me, as a student of the Middle East Peace Process, hope was often linked with stopping that cycle of violence as well.
However, community policing is important as well. The surveillance cameras alone will not solve the problem rather smart police deployments. Here Mr. Brown linked affordable housing with police deployment. The city should provide better affordable housing to our City’s police officers and firefighters so that they will live in the communities they serve and therefore have a greater stake.
Hope, hope, and more hope
This message was repeated over and over. When addressing pride in the community and gentrification Mr. Brown explained that the residents shouldn’t feel displaced. They need to feel hope for the future and everything else will follow.
Old Soldier’s Home
We should consider a dog park according to Mr. Brown. This goes to the issue of density and public space is extremely important. I’m not sure how strongly Mr. Brown feels about this issue as I really had to push for an answer on this, it was not the first thing that came to his mind when addressing Old Soldier’s home development. But the fact that he eventually said it does seem to be a good sign.
Property tax
We should eliminate property tax permanently for seniors said Mr. Brown. Mr. Brown explained that as residents are pushed out due to high property taxes we also lose out on the local economy because these are the people who are shopping at our stores. This will hopefully help us retain our residents. Also Mr. Brown supports capping property tax for the rest of us for 38-52 months to figure out a responsible rate.
Homeless Shelter in Ward 1 on Georgia Avenue
Mr. Brown is publicly opposed to moving the current homeless shelter on 14th and R to Ward 1 on Georgia Avenue. Every Ward should have to deal with special needs and Ward 4 currently has many group homes so the Shelter should not be moved especially without significant community input.
For Fun
Mr. Brown is reading $40 million slaves by William Rhoden.
Mr. Brown listens to an ipod and is not sure of the last songs his kids downloaded for him but he likes anything from hip hop to Frank Sinatra.
Mr. Brown last saw Casino Royale (he is more of a Roger Moore fan.)
In sum
I would not be surprised to see Mr. Brown representing Ward 4 in April. He has an established staff, many volunteers, and an unsinkable positive spirit. I may worry that he is only using this position as a springboard to future politics but I guess everyone does that. So in the short term, as evidenced by positioning his headquarters in Petworth, I believe as Councilman for Ward 4, Mr. Brown will keep Petworth at the front of his thoughts.
You can visit Mr. Brown’s website at www.brown2007exploratory.com
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“HIPSTERS WHO fled Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights to
take refuge in the Georgia Avenue corridor in recent years are being
followed up Park Road by construction equipment…” according to yesterday’s Washington Express.
Mmm, yeah I think I saw a hipster at the Hitching Post drinking a Pabst beer just the other night.
Are there hipsters (present company excluded) in Petworth?
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As Homer Simpson might say: Taco Bell – the cause and solution to all of life’s problems. With this in mind I thought I would treat myself to my standard T-bell fare – two meximelts and a nachos supreme. It is the small things in life that make it special. Alas the Taco Bell on 14th Street can sometimes be a less than ideal experience.
So I’m waiting on line to order the meal I would probably order as my last meal if I were on death row and I’m getting giddy with anticipation. Unfortunately, the cashier did not share my joy. Instead she is yelling at whom I can only assume must be the manager. She is adamant that she is not going to plunge the toilet. And I have to admit I sympathized with her. I can only imagine how horrid the toilet in Taco Bell on 14th Street must be.
So the manager leaves and the cashier and I have a heart to heart, we discuss all the reasons why she is not going to plunge the toilet. I admit that this is less than ideal banter before ordering dinner but I do believe the manager was being a jerk, so I fully supported her decision.
I finally ordered my dinner and I was already imagining that first bite when things seemed to have hit a snag. My comrade, the cashier, took my money, ordered my food and then promptly went on break. Unfortunately nobody was there to give me the order.
I saw the food sitting on the table just taunting me. But no, the woman who makes the food, very nicely by the by, does not give it to the customer. The cashier must also give the food to the customer. Well, it felt like a curb your enthusiasm episode. I’m standing there, staring at my food on the counter, listening to the cashier in the back talking about not plunging the toilet… So I’m thinking to myself – do I hop the counter and grab my food? I mean I already paid for it. No, I just sit and brew. And five minutes later I got my food and ran from the border.