Dear PoPville

“I’m disputing water/sewer charges with my landlord and would like some assistance.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Geoff Livingston

“Dear PoPville,

During my 10+ years living in DC, I have handled my monthly water and sewer usage a number of different ways: no charge (apartment pays it); directly billed with DC Water; and via a formula, referred to as RUBS where essentially the building receives a bill and divvys it out amongst residents via a formula. No matter how I’ve been billed, the cost was so nominal that I never cared to investigate how or why I was being charged the way that I was – on average, anywhere between $15-25 per person for both sewer and water.

All that has changed. (more…)

“what are the best and safest (best spacing between tables) outdoor eating/happy hour spots in DC right now?”

By Prince Of Petworth


3223 Grace Street, NW. Photo of Church Hall’s new set up by Caroline

Robert wanted to know: “what are the best and safest (best spacing between tables) outdoor eating/happy hour spots in DC right now?”

The early responses (add yours below):

“Grand Duchess, Lymans and Marx Cafe.”

“Nina May in Logan Circle was safe with great service and food.”

“@LauriolPlazaRes is doing an AMAZING job having taken over & tented their entire parking lot out back in addition to their usual outdoor seating. Wipes packets & disposable menus & ample space.”

“@TAonCapHill (Trattoria Alberto) has plexiglass between the tables. It feels so safe. The servers are awesome about masks and gloves.” (more…)

“Any idea which church that it’s coming from?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Eric P.

“Dear PoPville,

We just moved to Kingman Park and sometimes hear bells ringing over here. Just a couple minutes ago (Sunday morning, shortly before 10:30 am), we heard some hymn from somewhere northwest of us. Any idea which church that is coming from? Just heard them again over lunch. It reminds me of growing up right next to a church and during a time when I can’t visit home, hearing these bells makes me so happy.

Cheers from Kingman Park!”

“Attached rowhome is empty – How do I make sure there is no mold?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Ted Eytan

“Dear PoPville,

Might anyone know how to find out who owns a seemingly vacant property?

I just bought a semidetached rowhome about 2 months ago and no one seems to live in the house we are attached to. With all of the rain that came last week my house, along with others down the block, were impacted with flooding. I would like to make sure that there is no flooding (or potential mold issues) in the other house but have no idea who I would contact. Has anyone had experience with this?”

“Who is responsible? The city, developer, or us?”

By Prince Of Petworth

Ed. Note: We spoke about some basements getting battered in Edgewood here.

“Dear PoPville,

We moved into our brand new construction house in Brightwood/Manor Park 6 days ago and had some major flooding (2-3 feet of water in the basement). The alley and yard funneled directly down into our basement. The drain in our yard and at the bottom of the stairs leading into our basement did nothing and neither did the sump pump (that had a battery backup). (more…)

“The Chicken Bacon Ranch Guy: Five Years Later”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Question for you/popville: what’s chicken bacon ranch pizza guy up to? Hope he’s doing alright and eating all the CBR he has ever hoped for.”

Ask and ye shall receive:

“Hey, guys. It’s me — Chicken Bacon Ranch guy.

Surely you remember, five years ago, when hundreds of this blog’s commenters chewed me up and spat me out like a chicken ranch slice with no bacon on it. A few of you came to my aid, but most of you were hungry for my blood. I was hungry only for Chicken Bacon Ranch.

You called me a “dunce,” “an asshat,” and an “over-entitled d-bag.” You insulted my home state, saying I was a “typical mouthy New Yorker,” and that I should go back there (I didn’t). Thank god I’m anonymous.

I doubt anyone needs a recap of what happened, but if you moved here pre-Trump, you might not understand the regular, unending references made to me and my favorite pizza. For those of you not familiar with the events that led us here, I’ll sum it up more briefly than I did in 2015: (more…)

Some Basements Got Battered in Yesterday’s Storm. Anyway to Mitigate?

By Prince Of Petworth

It sounds like Edgewood got hit particularly badly.

A reader asks:

“We own a partial basement in Shaw. No issues for the first three years (2014-2017) but since then we’ve had flooding 2-3 times a year. We get the drains snaked regularly, and clean the outside drains of debris. It seems to happen when the pipes are overwhelmed by large storms. No one has been able to provide a fix – any suggestions or plumber/contractor recommendations? Just cleaning up the floods is getting old…thanks!”

More damage: (more…)

View More Stories