Dear PoPville

“A question: anyone had any experience with ADUs? and a compliment to DC Water”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by genghizKen

“Dear PoPville,

1) My husband and I live in a single family home in Brookland. Our house is a classic early 1900s bungalow. We looked at adding a dormer to the back of the top floor of the house to add room for an extra bedroom and bathroom. Long story short it was a little outside of our current budget. Now we have started toying around with the idea of an ADU (“accessory dwelling unit” aka tiny house) or even revamping an Airstream to park in our driveway with the hope that my husband can use it as an office thus freeing up an extra bedroom. I know the city changed the regulations regarding ADUs back in 2016, has anyone had any experience with ADUs? Curious to hear if this is even feasible.

2) We had a very unpleasant surprise last week (more…)

“anyone else is having issues with unemployment back pay?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Andrew Pasko-Reader

“Dear PoPville,

I’m wondering if anyone else is having issues with unemployment back pay? I haven’t received any payments since early July. I’ve emailed and called DOES with no answers. Any ideas?
Can I get Mayor Bowser to help? Or can I force Wmata to give me the $400 on my metro card because I a) don’t have a job to travel to, and b) need the money.

Any advice would be appreciated!”

Looking for online workout classes

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Phil

Reana asks: “and I am definitely not going back in person yet. Anyone have recommendations?? Is there a PoPville hive mind list out there maybe? (bonus if the classes are also offered via ClassPass)”

Here are the initial replies: (more…)

“Does anyone have any insights on what this could mean, what to expect, and how to prepare for any worst case scenarios?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I live in a historic, rent-controlled apartment building in Adams Morgan. Yesterday, my landlord emailed all the tenants in the building to let us know he would be doing a walk through of each unit. Today, I got a knock on the door and was met with 5 strangers, 2 of whom were wearing masks with the logo of a real estate development firm on it. (more…)

Any Places To Donate All The Extra Take Out Utensils?

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Lorie Shaull

“Dear PoPville,

I have a question for the community! We’ve accumulated a large number of plastic utensils from all the takeout/delivery ordered over the last few months (we seem to always get it whether we request it or not). It’s all still packaged and I was wondering if there’s a charity or group that might find it useful?”

“If you’re using a drop box for your mail ballot, don’t misinterpret the padlock on the front of the box.” Also, has everyone received their ballots?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I am not sure if this is common. I went passed the ballot drop box and a person who wanted to drop off their ballot thought it was locked. It does look locked, but there is a darken piece is plastic that covers the entry point seamlessly, given the impression of a locked ballot box.”

Ed. Note: See all the drop box locations here. UPDATE: All boxes now open.

Michael writes:

“DC voters: If you’re using a drop box for your mail ballot, don’t misinterpret the padlock on the front of the box. The ballot slot (above the padlock) is indeed OPEN. I saw several people start to turn away, thinking the drop box wasn’t accepting ballots.”

Ed. Note: You can “Track the status of your mail-in ballot, from printed to accepted” here.

“Dear PoPville,

Despite receiving all of the lead-up mailings from the DC Board of Elections (so I know my address is correct), I haven’t yet received my ballot. The same is true for a few people in my building.

I can’t seem to find anything online. Should we have received them by now? Are they sending them out in batches? If so, it doesn’t seem to be by last name.

If anyone in the community may know, that would be great. Thanks!”

“Any idea what purpose they serve?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I received my absentee ballot from DCBOE the other day, and I’m curious about the holes punched through both the return ballot envelope and secrecy sleeve. These holes appear to be a deliberate feature, but they seem odd nevertheless. Any idea what purpose they serve? It didn’t seem quite worth bothering the DCBOE hotline over, given other more critical priorities around running the election.”

Missed Connection – Musician at the Park

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I’m looking for the musician at Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park!

I was going up the middle, main stairs at the park and all the way at the top as you make a right, there was a handsome guy sitting on a bench putting away his music gear. He had a guitar and a small speaker next to him so I think he had been playing earlier. There was eye contact and a smile, but I’m not good in these situations so my smile back was likely lame. About 10 minutes later I had another opportunity as he walked past me again with his gear all packed up, but I panicked, looked away and down at my phone. (more…)

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