“Dear PoPville,

I live in Woodridge and our street was slated for leaf collection last week. We used the ‘new’ DPW app and got the notification on Fri. Nov. 22 that leaf collection would happen the week of 11/25-30. I and many neighbors followed the protocols and had leaves ready for pickup on 11/25. It was the holiday week and the crew showed up on 11/30 with their blowers and rakes and prepped the piles for vacuuming up by the truck. We saw the truck around the corner vacuuming up another nearby block around RI Ave and Monroe NE so had faith that they would turn the corner and finish the job on our street. They never showed up and it’s apparent that many other streets around the block weren’t collected either; Read More

Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans

Council Member Cheh not mincing words: Read More

Connecticut and Cathedral Ave, NW

“Dear PoPville,

Saturday night’s shooting happened right in front of our building in Woodley Park. Our coop sent Mary Cheh, Jimmy DuBois (our ANC), and MPD District 2 Commander Duncan Bedlion the following letter. This is the most serious incident in recent memory, but it’s not the only problem we’ve seen with the District’s inexplicable lack of preparation for Zoolights year after year.” Read More

Thanks to ANC rep Michael Wray for sharing:

“This could be a PoPville caption contest – but in the ongoing Call Your Mother BZA case, the applicant posted photos of how the line can be easily accommodated at their new location. As their current ANC Commissioner – folks it’s no big deal. Best of luck.” Read More

From a press release:

“Mayor Muriel Bowser was joined by Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Kevin Donahue, DC Police Chief Peter Newsham, and public safety officials to announce a $5 million investment to expand the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) crime cameras program. The investment will fund a 70% expansion of the existing citywide crime camera network, adding at least 140 cameras to the network. Read More

“Dear PoPville,

Bed bugs are creatures from nightmares. Thousands of them can hide in cracks around your home, and feed on you while you sleep. According to the CDC they are a public health hazard that causes enormous psychological and physical harm. I know – I suffered from a four-year long bed bug infestation. I own a row-home in Northwest DC. My neighbors harbored a gigantic infestation. For four years, bed bugs crawled from that neighboring property into my home through the wall we share. I repeatedly offered to pay the full cost to exterminate the infestation. My neighbors repeatedly refused. The infestation spread to five houses down our block. My ANC representative, DCRA and DOH wanted to help, but lacked the authority to step in. It took, multiple appearances in Superior Court, 4 professional exterminator companies, several community mediators, and over 30 treatments to end this nightmare. I took a second job just to pay the extermination fees. I still wake up at night when I feel a hair on my arm move because I think the bugs are back again.

My story is surprisingly common. Americans spent $611 million in 2016 combating bed bugs. Washington DC is the second most infested city in the country. Those treatment costs are so high because of multi-dwelling infestations–infestations that cover several adjoining apartments or row-homes. In one case, an infestation that began in one unit spread to 68 others costing more than $200,000 over 3 years. Multi-dwelling infestations persist because a few occupants refuse to get treatment.

Tragically, tenants and low-income residents in DC are the most at risk. Read More

From a press release:

“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced a lawsuit against JUUL Labs, Inc., a major e-cigarette manufacturer, and its original parent company, for purposely marketing nicotine products to teenagers and misleading consumers about their highly-addictive quality. In its lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that JUUL deliberately targeted underage consumers; failed to verify ages of purchasers; and deceived consumers about the content, strength, and safety of its products. As a result of JUUL’s conduct, roughly one-third of all e-cigarette users nationwide are middle and high school-aged kids–including thousands in the District. OAG is seeking to stop JUUL from engaging in these dangerous practices, and to impose civil penalties. Additionally, OAG is issuing subpoenas to eight other e-cigarette companies to investigate whether these companies engaged in similar practices, and to further prevent District kids from using these products. Read More

“Dear PoPville,

I swear the intersection of H and New York NW (between 13th and 14th) has to be the most dangerous intersection in DC. Pedestrians are given a walk light for just half of the road, then expected to wait in the middle of the road to get a different walk light for the second half of the crossing. Because this is such an unusual way to cross the street, I think it doesn’t even occur to people that they have to wait for the second light; they then charge across, thinking they have a walk light, while oncoming traffic has a green light to go. It doesn’t help that this is in the heart of downtown where tons of people need to cross the road! Read More

Photo by PoPville flickr user Lorie Shaull

From the Office of the Attorney General:

“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today announced a lawsuit against DoorDash, Inc., a food delivery service, for its practice of encouraging consumers to tip for food deliveries and then pocketing those tips instead of passing them along to workers. In its lawsuit, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) alleges that DoorDash led consumers to believe that any tips would go directly to food delivery workers, while instead effectively treating this money as extra profit for the company. OAG is seeking to recover from DoorDash millions of dollars in tip money that consumers thought they were paying to workers, and to impose civil penalties. Read More

Hopefully just a little glitch, because I’m eager to try this out!

A reader reported on Saturday:

“Mayor Bowser issued a press release announcing the grand opening of the kiosk. Tried to use it today and it said it couldn’t upload our data. Tried a second time and it said the same thing, then that the machine was out of order.”