Martha writes: “Hey PoPville, Does anyone know what’s going on over by the State Department? 23rd St. has been closed down for the last hour – and that’s an important artery, coming into the city.”

I believe this is a convening of Trump’s “Board of Peace meeting.

Yesterday MPD issued the following traffic advisory:

“On Thursday, February 19, 2026, a special event will be hosted at the United States Institute of Peace in the District of Columbia. In conjunction with this event, there will be parking restrictions and street closures that motorists should take into consideration:

On Thursday, February 19, 2026, beginning at 12:01 a.m. until 1:00 p.m., the following street will be posted as Emergency No Parking: (more…)



“Snowdrops in the Snow in Takoma DC” photo by Lance

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6031 Kansas Ave, NW

From a press release:

“Chacho Spirits announced today that it will permanently close its tasting room in late March 2026. While this marks the end of an important chapter for the brand, Chacho will continue to be locally produced and available at all your favorite bars and liquor stores.
Since opening, the Chacho Spirits tasting room has served as a gathering place for not only tours and tastings, but so many birthdays, wedding celebrations, concerts, baby showers and countless other get-togethers. Our guests made this a special place over the years, which made it such a tough decision to close. (more…)


Ed. Note: ICYMI we first posted about “Pepco billing anomalies”, this season, back on December 11th, 2025.

From Pepco:

“Following one of the coldest starts to winter the region has experienced in years, Pepco customers across the District of Columbia and Maryland used significantly more energy as prolonged extreme cold drove higher heating demand.

December 2025 and January 2026 ranked among the coldest winter months of the past decade, (more…)



photo by Rey Lopez

“Chefs Carlos Delgado & Simon Lam welcome you to Maru San the Handroll bar. Fresh rice in constant rotation. Fish worth building the roll around. Nori wrapped at the last second. Walk in for the counter, or book The Experience.”

From an email:

About Maru San (325 7th Street, SE):

Maru San is the first solo venture from award-winning MICHELIN & James Beard award-winning chef, Carlos Delgado (MICHELIN-starred Causa, Amazonia), located in DC’s Eastern Market neighborhood. Maru San gets its name from the “Sakura Maru” boat which brought the first Japanese immigrants to Peru in 1899, fighting the common misconception that Nikkei is simply a fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine instead of its own unique culinary category. Delgado, who is often credited as one of the modern leaders of nikkei-style cooking in the US, is excited to open DC’s first and only nikkei-style handroll concept in early 2026. The 25-seat counter space-only concept focuses on thoughtful, quick service offerings for guests to enjoy including nikkei-style handrolls, a la carte dishes, and a selection of beers and sake for lunch and dinner, seven days a week. Delgado, alongside Chef Simon Lam, will additionally offer a fine-dining, pre-booked tasting “Maru Experience” for four guests every night. (more…)


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