Dear PoPville

I’d love to ship to you, resident of Washington DC, Capital of the United States of America, BUT I do not ship outside of the continental United States…

By Prince Of Petworth

It’s been a minute since we had one of these…

Thanks to S. for sending this correspondence with Gamestop:

“I am trying to help someone place an order on your site, but the District of Columbia is not an option for the mailing address.”

Gamestop’s reply:

“Thank you for contacting GameStop!

I truly appreciate you bringing this to my attention. As much as I would love to help you place an order on your behalf, I sincerely apologize but we currently do not ship anywhere outside of the continental United States. The only thing we ship to AK & HI are preorders..

I understand that you want to help and to place the order for your someone but we only accept order from continental United States. (more…)

“Confusing DC Apartment Utility Fees”

By Prince Of Petworth

photo by Ryan Maxwell

“Dear PoPville,

Tricky billing systems have been used by large DC landlords to make tenants pay for the building’s overall operational costs for years. A new law from Charles Allen’s office completely bans those hidden, unpredictable fees. Landlords must now be completely honest about the total cost of your housing upfront.

The city rolled out protections in two separate parts to give landlords time to update their systems: (more…)

Non Private Equity Firm Owned Pest Control Services?

By Prince Of Petworth

photo by Lorie Shaull

“Dear PoPville,

I’ve been a loyal PestNow customer for about 6 years now and for most of that time we’ve had a very positive experience. They were responsive, effective, proactively communicative, and most services were already included under my quarterly payment. Over the last year or so, I’ve started noticing some changes – no longer giving specific time windows for treatments so that I can make arrangements to be home then, quoting exorbitant prices for things that used to be included or a small extra fee, the most helpful employee leaving, etc.

For the first time though, I went to pay my bill only to discover a new portal. Turns out they were bought by a private equity firm (Entomo Brands) a couple years ago and it seems those signature private equity changes have now been implemented.

All that to say…I’m now in the market for a new pest control company, not owned by PE if that’s still possible! Ideally they would do ~quarterly preventive services to keep bugs out and rats far away/dead. Bonus points if they have options for indoor treatment that’s kid-friendly and include treatments for additional services as they might arise.“

“Who thinks this way?”

By Prince Of Petworth

From the files of some people are the worst…

“Dear PoPville,

Just going to leave a bunch of toxic stuff on the side walk in case anyone wants it…”

PSA via Zero Waste DC: (more…)

Speaking of wild, “Remember DCUM (DC Urban Moms)? What happened?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

So, recently I had one of those “remember when…” situations and I went back to DCUM (DC Urban Moms), a free-for-all circus where you can discuss gender, school choice and real estate all under the joy of COMPLETE anonymity.

I admit i loved it in the 2010s when i was pregnant, at home and looking for TONS of local info about babies, activities and schools. Fine… I went back the other day and I was a bit shocked how crazy it has gotten. (It was always nutty…)

Is the website still active? (more…)

“Has DC given up on recycling?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I am wondering whether anyone else has noticed that it is often (but not always) true that the trash and recycling in DC are going into the same truck? Sometimes the trash and recycling are picked up separately, but often (more…)

“ISO The Elusive Metro Wand”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Hi Community! I am wondering if anyone has a spare or no longer used Metro Card Wand they’d like to part with – I believe this was a pop-up shop thing over the summer?” (more…)

“Help from the community – ask me anything”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I just bought a new house from an owner who hadn’t ever visited the property. There is a light pole in the middle of my driveway which makes it impossible (and frankly dangerous) to fully access the driveway with a car. I have put in a 311 ticket and DDOT claims it is on a public alley so there is nothing they can do about it except pay for it to be moved myself (despite it being clearly in my driveway). Even with that, I can’t find an electrician who is able to move it. Help!”

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