via google maps

“Dear PoPville,

We recently moved to Hill East and while it’s a generally great area, there is one issue we are wrestling with. Hopkins Public Housing essentially hosts outdoor concerts every Sunday morning with various singers. Following this they hook up the ipod and play music till 8 PM. The music is very loud, and we can clearly hear it inside our brick home. The music can be heard for blocks. On Memorial day, they sang and played music all day after they had their ‘concert’ on Sunday. We’re not objecting to playing music, we just don’t want to hear it in our homes.

Despite numerous neighbors’ efforts to contact 311, the police, council members, and asking them to turn down their music, it never stops. No one seems to care about our complaints. We honestly don’t know what to do at this point. Allowable residential noise levels are 60 decibels which is equivalent to normal conversation, and they are obviously disturbing the peace. (See pdf link on bylaws here.)

Thoughts on next steps?”

Ed. Note: To preempt the comments real quick- Say what you gotta say, but please try to say it nicely. Advice, however arguably warranted, will likely not be received well if delivered only with vitriol/derision.



Photo by PoPville flickr user Jim Havard

“Dear PoPville,

We recently moved into a house with a yard and have quickly realized we have a pretty big sand fly/”No See Ums” problem.

I was outside talking to the neighbor for about 20 minutes, when I looked down and saw that my leg was covered in tiny, dark black, mosquito like flies. The next day I had over 50 red bites on each leg. Obviously it prevents us from enjoying the yard, and I noticed our dog was covered in them when we came in from doing his business too.

We don’t have any standing water, and neither do our neighbors. Any suggestions for getting rid of them? Particularly looking for a dog-friendly solution.”



Photo by Eric P.

From a press release:

“Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), co-chair of the Quiet Skies Caucus, will host a community meeting on reducing helicopter noise with District of Columbia residents and representatives of local and federal agencies that operate helicopters in D.C. on Wednesday, May 30, 2018, at 6:00 p.m., at the West End Library (1121 24th St. NW). Officials from the Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Park Police and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will participate. Norton has also invited the Metropolitan Police Department to participate. (more…)


WPGC reported:

“Washingtonian Magazine recently released a line of T-shirts which say a “I’m Not A Tourist. I Live Here” across the chest. There was a major issue with their Instagram rollout, though. There wasn’t one single black subject in the series of photos.”

Tony Lewis Jr. website says:

“Tony Lewis Jr. is a community leader, work force development specialist, re-entry expert, and champion for children with incarcerated parents. Mr.Lewis has fought relentlessly over the past 16 years to uplift and empower men, women, and children impacted by mass incarceration. His work and advocacy has been featured on CNN, BET, Elite Daily, and in the Washington Post. He is the winner of many awards including the Steve Harvey/Ford Motor Company “Best Community Leader” award and the Presidential Call to Service award.”

Update from Washingtonian:



Photo by PoPville flickr user angela n.

“Dear PoPville,

I live at 14th and N, NW. Right now 14th street is undergoing its seemingly annual construction. I have to walk down 14th St in those 2 blocks between N and P several times a day. The harassment is driving me out of my mind. It seems especially bad this year. Yesterday I was on my way to teach a yoga class and three workers had a conversation around me, “Ooooooh, here’s a skinny bitch.” “Yeah but she got a fat ass.” “I’d f**k her.” Imagine hearing something like that around 4 times a day, if not more.

It’s a gauntlet. Add to that the drunken tourists in the evenings screaming ridiculousness and it wears a woman down. There’s not really another route to take without going a few blocks out of the way, and I still have to walk through their line of comments to get where I’m going or get home.

I know this is the song as old as time, but it’s gotta stop. Is there anyone at the city to report this to? What action is there to take? Or do readers at least have clever lines to shut them down cold?



Photo by PoPville flickr user angela n.

From the Funkiest:

The DC Department of Funk is excited to announce the updated Funk Parade app for iOS and Android!

Check schedules, navigate the event, discover bands and more using the free downloadable app, developed and by the #funkpowered creative minds at Deloitte Digital.

Now festival goers have a simple way to figure out who is playing where and when, while also discovering new and talented up and coming local artists at the same time.

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/funk-parade/id1227759583?mt=8

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.deloittedigital.funkparade2018

APP FEATURES INCLUDE:

• Schedule of Events–see who’s playing and when

• Map–follow the parade route and locate stages

• Explore Artists–get to know and connect with artists

• Featured Playlist–listen and discover over 60 tracks from the performing artists”


Photo by PoPville flickr user Lydia Polimeni

From DPW:

“It’s not always easy remembering which items are recyclable, which items require scheduling a bulk pick-up, and which items are considered household hazardous waste. To take the guesswork out of waste disposal and recycling, the Department of Public Works (DPW) has created a new web app that allows residents to type in almost any item they can think of, after which they will be provided with information on how that item should be properly disposed of, recycled, reused or composted in the District.

“Since the web app first launched on April 10, more than 3,400 items have been searched,” said DPW Director Chris Shorter. “We recognize that people lead busy lives and that remembering what goes where may not be top of mind. That’s the beauty of this app–when you’re unsure, just ask the app.”

If an item isn’t available in the app, residents may suggest new items through the online tool. At the suggestion of residents, DPW has already added several items, including wine corks, electric toothbrushes, and frozen food bags. Of the items that have been searched, here are the top 5: (more…)



Photo by PoPville flickr user Nathan Stewart

From DDOT:

“The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will begin the annual spraying of the female ginkgo street trees, Wednesday, May 2. The spraying will occur overnight from 9 pm through 6 am, weather permitting.

The annual spraying serves to reduce the formation of mature ginkgo fruit, which emits an offensive smell when it falls on sidewalks and roadways. DDOT will use the same spray it has used for the past 20 years, Shield-3EC 24(C). (more…)



Photo by PoPville flickr user angela n.

Right? Right. Anyway, I had my sources deep in the Capitol Hill listserves do some digging and they found from Moms on the Hill (MOTH):

“We seem to have a mentally unstable man in our neighborhood who is defecating and leaving dead rats near his dumps. He seems to be doing this for show too – like where people will see. He has been seen defecating in the west alley, on Elliott St NE on a Saturday at noon (behind the firehouse apartments). He sometimes leaves rats (perfectly laid out) near his poop. (more…)



Photo by PoPville flickr user Chris Williams

“Dear PoPville,

Need some suggestions from your readership. I live on the first floor of a 4 unit condo building, and my upstairs neighbor frequently enjoys playing his piano. He does have the ability to use headphones, so I don’t always hear the piano itself, but I do get the incessant pounding from him working the pedals. I believe that it already sits on a rug of some sort.

Two questions: does anybody have any particularly effective mitigation strategies? And what’s the best way to politely bring this up?”


View More Stories