Not a bad place to read the newspaper either… (From Mt. Vernon Square.)
quality of life
“Dear PoP,
This is frequent occurrence – buses lined up on T street NW between Connecticut and Florida by the Washington Hilton Hotel blocking one side of the street. Cars and bikes are forced to cross the double yellow lines and drive on the wrong side of the street. Is this legal or do police look the other way?”
I think I’ve actually seen this issue come up on an MPD listserv from time to time. Anyone know the best way to deal with this situation? Call the police? Are there designated bus loading/unloading zones?
I just hope the buses aren’t idling…
Photo by PoPville flickr user rockcreek
“Dear PoP,
We moved into our DC row house about a year ago. Within three months, my wife started getting bitten by some kind of insect at night that caused painful allergic reactions that swelled, itched, and literally keep her from sleeping. It’s a nightmare.
We contracted a pest control company, who quickly discovered we had bed bugs. After 5 or 6 home treatments with heavy chemicals (it normally only takes two)…the bed bugs are a bad as ever.
We finally hired a pest control company with a bed bug-sniffing dog to come and try and identify the source of the bugs, and during the course of the inspection the pest inspector became increasing convinced the bed bugs were coming from our next-door neighbor’s row house, with whom we share a brick wall.
He knocked on their door, and they actually let him bring the bug-sniffing dog inside, who immediately signaled they had bed bugs too. In reality, he didn’t need the dog because he said he could literally see bugs crawling on their walls. They also told him that they “get bitten all the time”, yet have done nothing about it.
I am guessing that part of the reason why they’ve done nothing is because that bed bug treatment of a typical DC row house can range from $1K-$3K…and our neighbors are a low-income household.
But the following realization hit us like a ton of bricks. No matter what we do…as long as our neighbor has bed bugs…we will too. Which brings me to my question.
Does anyone know if there are any DC government programs that provide bed bug treatment services to low-income households? Is there anyway to “seal off” the porous brick walls of a DC row house to keep bugs from coming through? Has anyone been in a similar situation…and how did they successfully deal with it?”
This is a terrifying scenario. I know bed bugs have also hit New York City pretty badly. Any advice or suggestions for this particular situation besides moving?
“Dear PoP,
I was wondering if you’ve seen the tent city that has popped up on the vacant plot at R and 7th, right across the street from the Shaw-Howard U Metro. It appears to be a fairly organized movement of squatters, and judging by the signs, they are protesting some aspect of land rights/affordable housing. It must have developed sometime in between Friday morning and Monday morning (judging by my walks to work). I recommend you check it out.”
I was emailed some info (including the youtube video above) and a Web site called Tent City DC that says:
“On July 10th, ONE DC members and supporters began a stand for equity in constructing a TENT CITY on Parcel 42 at 7th St NW & Rhode Island Ave NW, to to begin building an intentional community on the city-owned lot so that there can be housing and shelter in the neighborhood affordable for families making under $50,000.
ONE DC has organized for over four years to ensure that the housing development planned for Parcel 42 addressed the housing crisis faced by no-to-low-income households. Two years ago, ONE DC members believed that they had a victory with Parcel 42 – Fenty’s administration agreed to build affordable housing development, which would include 94 units with a promised $7.8 million city subsidy.”
You can find more info about the group here and here.
Do you think setting up a tent city is an appropriate way for this group to achieve their goals?
“Dear PoP,
I was jogging by Sherman Circle at 10:30 on Monday the 5th and came across no less than three piles of firework boxes – all stacked very neatly by garbage cans. I’m pretty impressed at the clean up – Petworth knows how to party but also how to clean up, fireworks at least!”
I had noticed a few folks who were just as fastidious about their cleanups as well. I have a neighbor who for years has cleaned up the street immediately after the fireworks were completed. Props definitely warranted for those who did a great job cleaning up.
Photo by PoPville flickr user dullshick
On the MPD-4D listserv a resident writes about a situation at 7th and Kennedy Streets, NW:
“I wanted to let you know that this activity is only getting worse. 7 people basically sitting on my lawn distributing money at the end of a hard day’s work dealing all around the street and neighborhood.
I call 911, but all the police ever really do is drive my them slowly. These people aren’t intimidated by that and they wont’ move. Basically the front of my house is a drug dealer office from about 7:30 pm to well past midnight – unless MPD cars are literally parked on the street. I can’t do anything about this without risking the safety of myself or my family.
Getting pretty frustrated.”
After a few more messages back and forth from residents and Captain Anderson, Capt. Anderson writes:
“We do have a system that also documents by officers run log for assignments. So our patrol officers are out of the scout car walking as well, from time to time during their tour in this area. This is along with the assigned foot patrol officers. So every level is performing policing as was noted by some citizens. They see the officers and acknowledge that we are locking lots of these guys back out there. So let’s be clear we are out with a presence and lock up perpetrators of crimes. The cat and mouse game is what I’m told frustrates citizens NOT the lack of policing at any level.
Last, I will ensure this presence continues after 730pm . Thanks to all who commented.”
I think this is a great example of how difficult this problem is in many of our neighborhoods. While I am a huge supporter of more visible foot patrols by MPD, it does make me realize that it looks like policing alone will not solve this problem. I feel bad for the resident and the Captain. You can’t blame either of them for feeling frustrated.
At the suggestion of a reader I have the opportunity to gather some reader submitted questions to pose to the mayoral candidates (via email) – current Council Chairman Vince Gray and current Mayor Adrian Fenty. So if you’d like to know what the candidates would recommend to resolve this situation or any other questions please place them in the comments and I will select five to be answered by the candidates.
Photo by PoPville flickr user Rukasu1
When I cried from the heat a couple weeks ago I stopped, splashed some water on myself and looked at myself in the mirror and said, “I will not cry from the heat again”. Today, I cried from the heat again. Damn you worthless ceiling fans…
But it’s not just me who’s crying. WMATA reports:
The excessive heat, forecast to reach record-setting temperatures in the region the remainder of this week, is impacting Metrorail service. A kink in the rail on the Red Line has resulted in speed restrictions through one stretch of track between the New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U and Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood Metrorail stations.
Excessive heat sometimes forces Metro to take a precautionary safety measure to reduce speeds on the above-ground portions of the rail system. High temperatures can sometimes cause “heat kinks” on the rails. Heat kinks form when overheated tracks expand and cannot be constrained by the cross ties and ballast support the track. Metro track inspectors are closely monitoring rail conditions throughout the heat wave. If heat kinks are discovered, Metro will need to slow train speeds through the area to ensure safety.
Officials will continue to monitor conditions should other areas of track become impacted by the heat.
The record-breaking heat also may make rail stations and trains uncomfortable for passengers. Rail cars may feel overly warm due to more passengers on trains and the regular opening of doors at each station stop. When the doors open to let passengers in and out of the rail cars, cool air goes out the door and warm air enters the car. However, if riders find themselves on a rail car with no air conditioning, they should note the rail car number found on the exterior of the cars or on the bulkhead doors at either end of the car, and report the condition to Metro’s customer complaint phone line at 202-637-1328.
Underground rail stations also may seem warmer than usual during the heat wave. Warm air flows in through the open-air, street-level station entrances. In addition, trains entering underground stations from above ground stations pull in hot air from the outside as well. There is a misperception that Metrorail stations are air conditioned. Underground stations have chilled water air handling units, or chillers, not air conditioners, to cool the air. The Metrorail cooling system was developed in the 1970s to reflect energy conservation standards of the time. Temperatures in stations were designed to be up to 20 degrees cooler than outside temperatures.
At least we get more pool hours:
“All Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) outdoor pools are opening two hours early at 11 am and closing one hour later, by 9 pm. The following pools are operating on extended hours:
* Anacostia, 1800 Anacostia Drive, SE, (202) 724-1441
* Banneker, 2500 Georgia Avenue, NW, (202) 673-2121
* Benning Park, Southern Avenue and Fable Street, SE, (202) 645- 5044
* Douglass, Frederick Douglass Court and Stanton Terrace, SE, (202) 645- 5045
* Fort Dupont, Ridge Road and Burns Street, SE, (202) 645-5046
* Fort Stanton, 1800 Erie Street, SE, (202) 645- 5047
* Harry Thomas Sr., 1743 Lincoln Road, NE, (202) 541-7499
* Oxon Run, 4th Street and Mississippi Avenue, SE, (202) 645-5042
* Theodore R. Hagans Jr., 3201 Fort Lincoln Drive, NE, (202) 576-6389
* Volta Park (formerly Georgetown), 3400 Volta Place, NW, (202) 282-0381”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Wake Up The Giant
“Dear PoP,
Since many of your readers live in areas where graffiti continues to be a problem, just wanted to send you a quick note about my experience with using 311 to get it removed. Our wooden fence got tagged last week, so I put in a request for removal online to the mayor’s 311 center. To be honest I didn’t really have high hopes that anything would come of it. However, two days later a ‘homeowner waiver’ appeared in our mailbox, I guess to release the city from liability since they would be removing the graffiti from our private property? At any rate, I filled it out and faxed it back the next day. Two days after that (today!) the city showed up and started powerwashing my fence! It took them all of 10 minutes, and it got almost everything off except for the vague trace of an outline that I’m hoping will fade with time.
Anyway, isn’t it nice when something actually works like it is supposed to in DC? Just thought I’d let folks know how quick and easy this all was.”
I would’ve killed for one of these on Sunday…
There are a few constants every Summer: it’ll be hot and there’ll be lots of fireworks. You can see a map of licensed stands here. Licensed or unlicensed there are always tons of fireworks starting around this week and lasting a week or so after the 4th. Some people love ’em, some people hate ’em. All I’m saying is get ready for ’em…