DC Government

Dear PoP – “Reeve’s Center Waste of Energy”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I thought some of your readers might be as enraged as I by the situation in the Reeve’s Center on 14th/U, documented in the attached photo. They have shut down the escalators, supposedly to save energy. Yet, it is not at all clear where the alternative, human-powered vertical circulation options are located. Every person I observed took the power-hungry elevators. I had to search for a stairwell, only to end up in the confusing bowels of the building.”

That is odd. Shouldn’t they just turn off the escalators and let people walk/up down them? Do you think turning off the escalators is a good way of conserving energy?

Dear PoP – “Had it with the election”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user DCBritannia

“Dear PoP,

This morning I hit my breaking point with the elections. I was walking my dogs, came around the corner or my street, and witnessed a man stealing my neighbor’s election sign from their yard. I stopped him and asked him “did you take that?” to which he replied “is that your yard?” I repeated the question and he had the gall to say “I asked you a question too.” I told him that was my neighbor’s house and he was stealing their sign. He then proceeded ask if I knew what gentrification was all while he tore up the sign. I flat out told him that was stealing, theft, and weak, and had to go inside because my dogs were freaking out and I was livid.

My freakin’ high school elections weren’t this petty and childish! Little does the man know that his actions have made my mind up for whom to vote.”

On a side note the woman accused of removing campaign signs from Capital City Diner has released her defense this morning. Full press release after the jump. (more…)

David Tumblin: Lots of Responsibility, Little Time (by Tony Lizza)

By Prince Of Petworth

PoP contributor Tony Lizza has taken on the mission of interviewing some Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) reps and this is the second in a small series. You can read the first installment ‘Oliver Tunda: The mayor of Mt. Pleasant’ here. If you know of a particularly interesting ANC member please email me.

David Tumblin is an incredibly busy man. Between his full-time job as a director with the Transportation Security Administration, his duties as an ANC member (4C), and his family, David barely had time for an interview. When we finally got time to sit down last week to talk, we didn’t get a chance to talk in person. We had a dilatory afternoon phone call, a testament to just how dedicated he is to all three of his roles.

David was raised in Tennessee, and attended the University of Tennessee, where among other things, he was a drummer in a rock band. Mercifully, he says, there are no pictures of his rock band years available on the Internet. After college, David moved to Washington to attend graduate school at Georgetown. He received his masters’ degree in Foreign Service and his government job took him from DC to San Francisco, and finally brought him back to DC. A note of regret in his voice suggests he might have liked, at least at the time, to remain in San Francisco. He now works for the Transportation Security Administration as the director of workforce analysis in the Office of Human Capital.

David first became interested in running for the ANC by reading Prince of Petworth. Ed. Note: I had no idea, sweet! After a heated discussion on the website, the chair of ANC 4C directly appealed to readers to get involved and run for seats on the ANC. David took the chairperson up on that request, ran for ANC, and will now have been serving for two years at the end of the year. He cites the example of a previous ANC member, Peron Williams, who he says, “knew everyone”, although he admits that he’s better at problem solving than community outreach.

Continues after the jump. (more…)

Campaign Signs Removed from Capital City Diner

By Prince Of Petworth

More dirty politics this Labor Day weekend? In the age of camera phones and camera surveillance this is really beyond stupid. Sunday evening, Capital City Diner owner’s, Matt Ashburn, sent the photos to me and a few other bloggers. He says that the removed signs were Kwame Brown and Harry Thomas and were replaced with Fenty signs without his permission. Frozen Tropics identifies the woman in the picture as a former ANC 5B10 commissioner. Capital City Diner is located at 1050 Bladensburg Road, NE.

Dear PoP – “Nasty un-attributed robo calls against Jim Graham”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user julianne’s

“Dear PoP,

I just received an odd, anonymous robocall. I picked up the phone and a woman’s recorded voice said, in harsh tones: “Jim Graham paid for the abortion of his companion/Chief of Staff’s girlfriend.” The nothing – just silence.

Is that the key issue in the Ward One councilmember race? Really?”

and

“Dear PoP,

Twice so far today I’ve received nasty robo calls against Jim Graham. The voice just starts talking about him paying for abortions and having an affair etc. but there is no attribution at all – no “this message brought to you by – ” Regardless of what one feels about Graham, and no matter how used one is to shady campaign tactics, this seems way out of bounds. (Calling the number that shows up on caller ID just gives a “the party is not available” message.) Any idea who is doing this? ”

I’ve been hearing this from lots of readers and on twitter. It, sadly, never surprises me how dirty things have gotten during campaigns. At the moment, it is still not clear who is behind these calls.

Dear PoP – A ticket without actually getting a ticket

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I wanted to know if this was a common and accepted practice, or if I should attempt to contest this:

Twice within the past few months, I have failed to move my car on street sweeping day but wasn’t actually ticketed. Woops. I’m usually pretty good about it, but every so often I take my bike to work or take a day off and don’t wake up in time. Anyway, I received a notice in the mail for failure to pay a parking ticket for the first offense. I never had a ticket on my car, so I figured I got lucky. I have no problem paying the fine, it was my fault, but to pay the late fee on a ticket I never knew existed seems ridiculous. Out of curiosity, after the second time I failed to move my car, I kept checking back on the DMV’s website to see if a new ticket appeared. Sure enough, about a week later, there it was. I’ll pay this one before it doubles, but I just feel like this is messed up!”

This is an interesting question that I’ve wondered about in the past. What happens if you get a ticket and the wind blows it off or it somehow disappears? Has this happened to anyone else? I assume you just gotta pay it when you get the notice in the mail, right?

Dear PoP – District Dept of the Env Closed the 11th and Monroe Park

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

Apparently on Friday (I was out of town Fri–Sun but hear this from a neighbor) there was demo work being done on the building one up from the northeast corner of 11th and Monroe NW. They failed to properly seal the building and some nasty dust flew out as a result, coating the alley running perpendicular to Monroe between 13th and 11th. Enough of this got into the park at 11th and Monroe that the District Department of the Environment closed it down for testing.

It’s lead that they’ve determined is in the area. Anyone who has visited the park or lives nearby can get tested at some place around 14th and Girard. I haven’t heard back from DDOE, but apparently they’ve had lots of folks at the site during the day. Hopefully other people have better info. I got back home late tonight so most of the folks who hang out in the park (and who are now displaced onto the sidewalk) had gone home and no one was sitting on the stoop with news.

I don’t know if you know anything about the building in question (one unit up on the east side of 13th, north of Monroe), but it’s been empty/boarded up since I moved into the area in November. I’d say the rumor is that it was the cause of the contamination, but I haven’t heard that from anyone 100% in the know.”

Crazy, I saw the testing truck driving away down 11th St, NW last night. Thanks to all who sent emails about this.

New Optional Environmental Restaurant sales tax in DC?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

A friend of mine has gone to the newly opened We the Pizza on Capitol Hill (305 Pennsylvania Ave SE) where a specialty slice of pizza is $4. When paying he was charged $4.44 instead of the $4.40 which is what is expected given the 10 per cent restaurant tax. The manager, when asked, said that the extra 1 per cent was “environmental” and that he didn’t have to pay it.

What gives here?”

Has anyone else heard of this tax? Is it really optional?

Update: Thanks to @Capital Spice for sending a link to Chowhound which explains:

“Far from it. Good Stuff Eatery, which promotes recycling and whose kitchen staff uses “bio-smart” towels, prides itself on “trying to be as green as we can,” says Catherine Mendelsohn, the restaurant’s director of operations and mother of chef Spike Mendelsohn, formerly of TV’s “Top Chef.”

The enviro charge is “around 1 percent” of the bill, she explains, and “if anyone disagrees with it, we’ll remove the charge.” (So far, she has had no takers.) Why not just add the cost to the price of a meal? “I like people to know what they’re paying for,” says Mendelsohn. — Tom Sietsema”

And since we’re talking about it, how’s the pizza here?

Dear PoP – Help a new bakery come to Columbia Heights

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoP,

I’d love to get your readers’ thoughts on a business my family is trying to open. It’s a French coffee shop and bakery, with authentic French pastries and several varieties of bread– including real baguettes!– baked on site. We’re thinking wi-fi, comfy chairs and good coffee. It’s the sort of Mom and Pop operation where the proprietors will get to know their regulars, and take special orders, and keep little treats on hand for your kids.

We’ve found what seems to be an ideal spot, in DC USA. However, the main office of the development company has been blowing us off for months. The good folks of the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights are excited about our proposal, but have also expressed frustration with the passive resistance of the head office. It’s true, we don’t come with the backing of a nationwide chain. This is, however, a local, woman-owned business, exactly the sort of thing that the developers claimed they would be seeking out. We’ve just about given up on this property, but Jim Graham’s office has indicated some willingness to facilitate between us and the landlord; it’s too early to know if anything will come of that.

So if you think this sounds like the sort of place you might patronize, let’s hear it! Maybe some support from the community, along with our solid business plan, long small-business experience, and singleminded determination, will encourage the landlord to talk to us. We’d also love to hear suggestions for elements that would make you love a bakery/coffee shop even more.”

This sounds amazing. I’d definitely support it! I’m really frustrated reading about your experience. I can’t believe some people would rather have these store fronts sit empty than have a promising business like this. Would you guys like to see a bakery like this go into the DC USA? If so, show your support and let’s help them make it happen.

Dear PoP – Great Experience with DC online services

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user a.w.miller

“Dear PoP,

I wanted to share surprisingly positive experience I had with DC’s online services request. After the last big storm we had there was a large tree limb that broke off and was hanging down over the sidewalk at the entrance to our back alley. If it had fallen on someone, it would have caused serious injury. I entered a request on the DC government site for Tree Removal. This was this past Friday morning. By Saturday morning, the limb was gone. I was shocked given that I have read some comments on your blog from people saying that DC’s services requests are a waste of time. I just experienced the opposite. They even sent me an e-mail confirmation that the request had been resolved.”

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