Dear PoPville

“The homeless man’s name is Charles”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Diane Krauthamer

“Dear PoPville,

I just found out my neighbor, a homeless man named Charles, [was shot] at the hand of a wanted serial killer. Ed. Note: The police report says: “On Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at approximately 1:21 am, members of the Fifth District responded to the 1700 block of H Street, Northeast for the report of a shooting. Upon arrival, members located an adult male victim suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.” It’s so easy to ignore and walk past the homeless, but I wanted to take a moment to share the little things I knew about him.

Charles lived on the corner of 17th and H Street NE–or within a radius of a few blocks–for the past three years. He would often stop me while I was walking my dog (Coco), so he could give Coco pets and left over chicken as a treat. Charles noticed little things about you–like if your eyes were bloodshot from crying or your gray hair was peaking through–and would inquire. (more…)

“Nanny / Childcare in DC?”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Tim Brown

“Dear PoPville,

We recently had a baby and are looking for a nanny to help care for our baby girl. Would love get feedback about any good referrals, or agencies to help find a good nanny. We live in the West End.”

“Lead Pipe Replacement Program?”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Tim Brown

“Dear PoPville,

As an FYI, I’ve been repeatedly contacting DC Water and DOEEE about what the timeline for lead replacement of the main (and private) water lines are like in DC.

I’ve been contacted by contractors asking us to pay them >$15K to replace our private lead lines that come up to the house from the street. After some digging, I found that all public lead water lines are promised to be replaced by 2030 (and potentially many private lines), but the funding falls far short of getting it done anytime close to then. (more…)

“Using Capital Bikeshare with a dead phone?”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Eric P.

“Dear PoPville,

I was taking a Capital Bikeshare last night when my phone died. When I got to the dock I noticed that the light didn’t turn green, but flashed red, yellow, green. I left it anyway because I feel like the dock sometimes doesn’t accept a bike for any number of reasons and I couldn’t get it back out.

On my way home I went to take a bike again with my bike key, but couldn’t unlock any bikes. (more…)

“Incessant honking? I want to sit a bucket of water balloons by the window for every time this happens but I’m sure that wouldn’t end well”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I live on a narrow one way street. It’s just wide enough that two cars can slip by, but what often happens is some oblivious person or large truck idles in the street without pulling over far enough to let the cars behind around. This leads to everyone in the back incessantly honking their horns, (more…)

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