“Dear PoPville,
I just received an email that our apartment building pool (near 17th and P) will be indefinitely shut down due to new laws. It’s ridiculous that our pool which is tiny, already has a fence, and is 5 feet deep max, needs a lifeguard and to be shut down for a larger fence. Email from building management [above.]”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr.TinDC
From DPR:
“The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has released the Outdoor Aquatic Facilities Closure Schedule for the 2017 summer season.
Outdoor Pools will close in waves beginning on Sunday, August 13, 2017. Pools will close for the season at 6 pm on their respective Sundays; with the exception of Banneker Pool, Francis Pool, Kenilworth Pool, Oxon Run Pool, Rosedale Pool and Upshur Pool, which will close on Labor Day, Monday September 4, 2017.
All Spray Parks will close for the season at 8:30 pm on Labor Day, Monday, September 4, 2017.
Below is the comprehensive closure schedule for the 2017 season. Pools are listed by date of closure. Please visit dpr.dc.gov should you have additional questions or need further assistance.
OUTDOOR POOLS CLOSURE SCHEDULE (more…)
Dane Smothers Jr. via @dcfireems
From the Mayor’s Office:
“Last night, on the 800 block of F Street, NE, Firefighter Dane Smothers, Jr., 28, of Engine Company 3, sustained very serious injuries while responding to a fire. He is currently in critical conditions. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services is conducting an investigation of the incident.
“This incident reminds us all of the bravery and dedication of our first responders. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude. Our thoughts and prayers are with Firefighter Smothers, his family, and his fellow Fire & EMS colleagues. We will do all we can to assist them during this very difficult time.”
F St NE update: heavy fire 1st flr & rear porch of 2 story row. Fire knocked down. Minimal extension to adjacent homes. 1 injured FF tx. pic.twitter.com/y5VCmJqULx
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) August 3, 2017
Photo by PoPville flickr user Miki J.
PoP-Ed. posts may be written about anything related to the District and submitted via email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail please include PoP-Ed. in the subject line. The following was written by Paul Williams, President of Historic Congressional Cemetery, and Kelly Carnes, cemetery staffer and yoga instructor.
Last weekend, Washingtonians missed out on one of the hottest yoga trends to date: goat yoga. Historic Congressional Cemetery, which has hosted eco-goats twice and a weekly yoga program, was denied the opportunity to bring goat yoga to the District by the DC Department of Health.
The event, previously schedule for July 22, would have featured three classes in which 10 baby goats joined the yogis on their mats to romp, play, crawl, and cuddle while the yogis practiced a gentle (mostly seated) sequence designed to educate them about the specific physiological traits that make goats unique like their incredible balance and fortified digestive system. Educational materials were integrated into the previous eco-goats visits too and each event brought hundreds of new visitors to the cemetery, raising awareness and funds to help preserve this iconic local landmark.
The DC Department of Health’s reasoning? Director LaQuandra Nesbitt claims that the yogis and goats pose a danger to each other, even though this style of practice has been embraced all over the country, including Louisville, Kentucky where she was the leading public health expert before taking her post in DC.
What does the goat’s farmer and caregiver, Mary Bowen, think of the excuse that yogis could potentially fall on and injure goats? In her own words the excuse is “ridiculous,” as is the notion that the cemetery would need to hire a wildlife expert to be on hand for any such event. News flash, DoH, goats are not wild animals! In fact the domestication of goats begins 10,000-11,000 years ago!
Supposedly there is also a “no touching” policy barring any interaction with livestock lest it lead to zoonotic disease transmission, and yet, when it was brought to the Department of Health’s attention that the Mount Vernon BID is hosting their annual petting zoo in Mt. Vernon square on July 29, they knew nothing about it. I guess we should all go into quarantine-mode for the impending goat-flu that is about to bring Washington to a screeching halt. (more…)
“Dear PoPville,
I was wondering if anyone else is having issues similar to mine. It’s an incredibly long story, but I’ll try and keep it short.
I filed my taxes, both DC and federal in mid-February. The feds wired me my refund about a week later. I was also owed a significant refund ($2k+) from DC due to a few recent changes in circumstance. After a month or so I called DC Office of Taxation and Revenue, sat on hold for an hour and spoke with a rep there. They claim to have mailed me a check, though I never received it. I have a service from USPS that scans each standard sized envelope at the sorting facility and emails me a copy each morning. It’s called ‘Informed Delivery’. Pretty cool service. I went back and looked at my records and a mailpiece from DC OTR never made it to the sorting facility.
The standard process from there (because this presumably happens a lot) is to fill out an affidavit indicating that I did not cash the check myself. (more…)
“Dear PoPville,
As a new resident of DC, I was thrilled to learn of the charging station on 14th, at U street, directly in front of the Municipal Building. It’s a pretty popular spot, so I always check my app to see when the charging unit is not in use before heading over to charge.
I went over this past Saturday morning at 6:45am, and saw this car parked in the clearly defined space.
Last time I checked, this model Ford was NOT an electric vehicle. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user Olaf Zerbock
See the full list of FY17 Grantee List Recipients here (PDF)
From a press release:
“Today, at the Second Annual Great Streets Conference, Mayor Bowser announced over $4.7 million in awards through the Great Streets Retail Small Business Grant. The Mayor was joined at the announcement by Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Brian Kenner. (more…)
via OrganizeFor
A reader passes on this petition about a disturbing allegation:
“The shirt displays a “sun cross” (replacing the letter “O” of “PowerShift”), a well-known and notorious white supremacist symbol adopted by the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist hate groups.
Immediately below is the image of the Grim Reaper, a personification of death in the form of a hooded skeleton, holding an assault rifle and a Metropolitan Police Department badge. Below, the shirt reads “Let me see that waistband jo,” referring to “jump outs” and the routine practice of demanding to see the waistbands of individuals, who are disproportionately young Black and Brown men, often for no legitimate reason. (more…)
Photo by Christian Freymeyer
Christian tweets us:
“Shame on @MayorBowser & city for this thinly veiled attempt to wipe homeless people away. A few tents been at this NoMa underpass for a while. Never bothered me, area always clean & orderly, which I imagine is tough when homeless. More likely reason? The new REI & their patrons might not like walking past realities of inequality as they go to buy hiking boots. Scariest part is sign threatens to confiscate property & place in “storage for 60 days. Property including tents eg this persons home.”
7th St NW: adult male removed from trash chute using a harness and haul method. Victim treated & released on scene. pic.twitter.com/0fABraLLAr
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) July 23, 2017
WTOP reported:
“In this case, D.C. Fire told WTOP that the man they rescued dropped his cellphone down the chute and fell in when he lost his balance trying to find it.”