Dear PoPville

“A plea for decent delivery options!”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Ryan Maxwell

“Dear PoPville,

I was wondering if you can throw out a question about what restaurants in Takoma Park / Silver Spring / very NE DC have their own delivery? I read a horrible thread about doordash/uber eat’s practices and want to quit delivery apps. Realistically I don’t think I’d go pick up food, as when I use the apps it’s for convenience. So, would love any recommendations of restaurants that manage it themselves. I’ll throw one that I recently found out that does it themselves, la casita pupusería!”

Recommendation from a reader: “Cocineros (near Home Depot on East West Highway) and its sibling restaurant San Alejo (New Hampshire Ave) both offer their own delivery. “

“Parking Garage Scam?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

My partner, a very meticulous person, had an odd thing happen over the holidays and it sounds like a scam. He parked in the parking garage under the Columbia Heights Target. When he went to exit the garage a short time later he put his ticket in the machine and it said the ticket was unable to be read. The staff person at the exit took the ticket and later came back to say the plate number on the ticket didn’t match the license plate of our car and she asked my partner to follow her to the parking office. (more…)

“What to do with Kennedy Center gift certificates?”

By Prince Of Petworth


photo by Victoria Pickering

“Dear PoPville,

I’ve got a question that I was hoping to get some help on, and might benefit others as well. We’ve always enjoyed going to see the NSO at the Kennedy Center, but since March we haven’t gone back. This Christmas we received some gift certificates from well meaning family members that we don’t know what to do with now. I understand that the money is already spent, but (more…)

“What’s Up w/ Volta Park: Human Remains Left Out in the Open”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I wanted to share a concern about the park across the street, which many of us in the neighborhood love and use regularly. Renovation work started around July 2025 and then stopped pretty abruptly around August. For a while, there was no information about why the work paused, and eventually a rumor started circulating that human remains had been found. Later, the park’s newsletter confirmed that this was true.

Recently, on a day when the park was unexpectedly open and the construction barriers were down, my partner and I walked over to take a look. Near the areas where digging had been happening, we saw piles of dirt with visible human bone fragments mixed in. (more…)

“it effectively marked hundreds of homes as potential targets for theft or vandalism.”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

A local cleaning company went door to door hanging advertisements on front doors throughout the neighborhood. Because this was done on Christmas Eve, many of those flyers have been left untouched for hours or longer, making it very obvious which homes were unoccupied during the holiday.

Several neighbors were alarmed, not just because it was intrusive, but because it effectively marked hundreds of homes as potential targets for theft or vandalism. It felt careless and, frankly, unsafe. At a minimum, (more…)

Speaking of.. “DC rat problems”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Are you aware of anyone who has approached the Mayor’s office or their councilmember to request their plans for addressing DC’s pervasive, city-wide rat problem? Have condo associations or neighborhoods found successful ways to minimize the public health, property damage, and nuisance caused by these rats? It was disappointing to see (more…)

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