Well we’ve had a ton of good signs of spring. Now one of the worst has returned – mosquitos. Orkin has ranked us as third worst in the US. This I know. I get destroyed every year. You can some reader recommendations for how to battle the bastards here.
From the Cleveland Park Listserv:
“The long time flower thief is back, spotted at a home in Chevy Chase the other day where he was stealing peonies from a private garden. BEWARE! At this time of year, his flower of choice is peonies, then lilies, and later on hydrangeas. He has been known to sell his stolen bounty to local flower shops, and possibly restaurants.”
and
“It has been quite a while since our N.Y. Times has been missing from in from of our house. Apparently, however, the Paper Thief along with the Flower Thief has returned.
Is it too much to expect the Paper Thief to comprehend that our NY Times is not public property, free for the stooping and picking up? How could you stoop so low as to steal a neighbor’s paper?”
A reader writes:
“As I was walking home from work yesterday along Swann Street NW between 16th and 15th Streets, a cop car drove up slowly next me and yelled ‘Hey Neighbor!’ I looked at the car and there were 2 young-ish looking cops and I replied ‘Are you talking to me?’ and they said ‘Yeah, good looking’ well I continued to keep walking ignoring that idiot remark, shaking my head as I went and could hear them laughing. This was a little too creepy especially for cops (in uniform), and I definitely did not appreciate it. I took photos of their car (which is now parked on Swann Street NW) – see the attached, Kentucky license plates, and it says Richmond. Why are Richmond, Kentucky cops doing here? And why are they being obnoxious? Idiots…”
Ed. Note: This week is police week.”Currently, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the world converge on Washington, DC to participate in a number of planned events which honor those that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.”
OP has written the Richmond, KY police department about this incident as well.
“Dear PoPville,
Having been a regular shopper at the Park Road Giant for over four years, I thought I had seen it all. But today takes the cake. I was second in line on the self-service checkout line, with about twenty people behind me. A woman comes up, waves a wad of cash in the face of the guy in front of me, and tells him she is in the “worst hurry ever.” He takes the cash and she gets in front of him.
If he were the only one in line, that’s would be one thing. But what about the twenty-odd people behind him? Where’s their share?
I did nothing, as this is but a minor blip on the scale of world problems. But I’d appreciate the views of your sage readership as to whether I should have asked the manager to send this woman to the back of the line where she belonged.”
“Dear PoPville,
This morning, I witnessed a middle-aged male (white, medium build, dressed business casual) use a cell phone to take multiple pictures of the back of a young female, also dressed business casual and appearing to be in her 20s, who was walking a few strides ahead of him on K Street (downtown). The young woman was walking briskly, and he was making an effort to keep up. He was not very discrete with his photo-taking, though he did pocket the device when another pedestrian began walking very close to him. He eventually ditched into an office building on Vermont. It did not appear that he and the woman knew each other.
It’s possible that his intentions were harmless (though I doubt it), but such behavior and seeming lack of respect for the young woman is alarming. Keep an eye out, D.C., for this (likely) creeper with a camera.”
“Dear PoPville,
I live in the building directly behind the P Street Whole Foods, a store that prides itself on being a good neighbor. In the back of the store, 10 yards from my building, a truck called “Table Top Services,” has been parking. It’s a pop-up industrial shop where workers are making cutting boards for Whole Foods. Hour after hour they are sawing through thick plastic. Tuesday night they worked until 8pm. A gentleman from the building next door joined me because he is similarly fed up – saying they were out there working Sunday until 11pm. He also took photos and videos as documentation.
There are a significant number of young families with babies in the building as well as people who work at night, not to mention those just trying to hear each other over dinner at home. Surely an entity such as Whole Foods could find a commercial or industrial space to make their cutting boards that isn’t in an alley backing up to four large apartment buildings.
The police said that there is nothing they can do before 10pm. What other recourse is there? I of course understand when the occasional construction projects needs to be completed to update infrastructure, utilities, etc. But, a mega grocery store making cutting boards out of a pop-up truck? Come on.”
A previous frustration articulated nicely
“Dear PoPville,
Checking to see if anyone knows what can be done to stop a car alarm which keeps going off down the street from my house on 10th St in Shaw. It will beep for about ten min, stop for about a min and then start again. This has been going on for about an hour. Wondering if anyone has suggestions (anyone to call?) otherwise it’s going to be a long night!!”
Ed. Note: Previously folks have had success calling 311.
“Dear PoPville,
So Georgia Avenue not by some considered the most beautiful or esthetically pleasing part of Petworth but you know we love it.We love the community the hellos the fact that we live on a major thoroughfare in DC and we all make it work. Sadly last week we collected six bags of trash(im taking big black bags folks) from the sidewalk.Seriously who just throws trash out of a car these days? Well it turns out lots of people do and tonight I had the displeasure of meeting some of these trash fiends.
At about 8:45pm tonight we witnessed a car pull up, people threw a plate of food out and entered next car. We suggested that the street wasn’t a trash can. Not a suggestion that was taken or well received. Looks like someone had a nice birthday party from the plate of cake I then picked up. How do we stop this sort of thing from happening in our beautiful community?”
Sadly I’ve been wondering the same thing since 2003. I don’t think it can ever be completely stopped. What you did was the best – pick up trash when you see it (within reason of course). It’s frustrating but if folks see you picking up trash – perhaps some will think about it more. Others will not care but at least you made an effort. And know that your efforts are appreciated by many.
The original 11th street chicken when spotted back in 2008
“Dear PoPville,
I live in a row house within Ward 1 in Columbia Heights. We have a next door neighbor whom we share an adjacent wall/fence with who has recently (approximately sometime in the the last few months) been housing a very loud rooster and we think a few hens in the backyard. Notwithstanding the noise complaint, what are the regulations in this area permitting or prohibiting raising domestic fowl? Usually a running joke, the 5:30 am rooster wake up call has not always been equally as pleasant (not to mention the welfare of a rooster who seemingly survived the elements of this horrid winter!)
I know that their was a petition to amend the regulations sometime in the recent past but the coding is hard to decipher if you are new to the area and were never “officially” informed of your neighbor’s previous arrangements.”
Ed. Note: The bill stalled and it is still not legal to have chickens/roosters in your backyard in DC.
“Dear PoPville,
I just witnessed [Sunday] a mother of a 5-6 year old girl take her to a tree in Logan Circle park, drop her pants, and instruct her to urinate in public and plain view of all. Shocked, I politely spoke with the woman to let her know that it was in my opinion inappropriate. Let alone hypocritical as we forbid, by law, homeless people and drunk adults from public urination in our neighborhood — a constant challenge we all encounter. She turned the conversation to one of sexism and public health, stating that it would be okay if a little boy urinated in the park and commenting on how urination is different from defecation, as the later would be a public health issue and require that the human feces be picked up if she had needed to do that. Further, as someone who lives “a couple blocks away” she ranted on how there is a shortage of bathrooms in the area. Evidently she did not see a one block walk to her home, Starbucks, Whole Foods, or Chipotle as convenient as dropping her girls pants in public. Having approached her politely to offer my opinion and distaste, she started waving her hands in proclamation that “we are done here.” And the conversation ended.
Can we arrest adults for indecency and public urination while allowing parents to lazily teach their children it’s okay to pee in a park, 20 ft from people?”