hahaha thanks to Mathew for sending from H Street, NE!
“Don’t gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver and gold” – Bob Marley
Photo by PoPville flickr user angela n.
You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. But please no personal attacks and no need to correct people’s grammar. This is a place to vent and/or celebrate things about daily life in D.C.
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Thanks to Jason for sending: “Power substation at the Amtrak yard in NE just let go.”
@IAFF36 also reported: “A Box Alarm for a reported fire has been sounded at 1401 New York Ave NE. Please use caution in the area to allow our members to work safely.”
The reality
You’ve probably never read your building’s property management contract all the way through. Most board members haven’t either. If you did, you’d find a carefully defined scope of work — vendors coordinated, maintenance dispatched, assessments collected, reports generated.
What you wouldn’t find: anything about fiduciary duties. Reserve funding strategy. Compliance tracking. Case documentation. Institutional memory. The legal obligations that make your board personally accountable to unit owners.
That’s not an oversight in the contract. It’s the contract. Property management was never designed to cover governance. And yet most boards — paying $10,000 to $18,000 a year for the service — assume it does.
Operations and governance are different jobs. One has a contract. The other has a fiduciary duty.
What your building is paying — and what it’s getting.
What the contract covers. What it doesn’t.
The markup problem most boards don’t know about.
Beyond the management fee, most property management companies mark up vendor invoices — the plumber, the landscaper, the elevator contractor — by 10 to 15 percent before passing the bill to the association. It’s legal. It’s common. And boards have almost no visibility into it. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user Miki Jourdan
From the Mayor’s Office:
Ed. Note: “Number of People who have Recovered: 21”
“The DC Department of Health announces a third death in the District due to coronavirus (COVID-19). The patient, a 75-year-old female, was admitted to a hospital with underlying health conditions and passed away on March 25. She tested positive for COVID-19 and was included among the District’s reporting data.
“Each of these deaths is tragic, and we continue to pray for all the families who have lost a loved one as well as all the people in our community who have been sickened or affected by COVID-19,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser. “As we continue working to blunt the curve, my message to the community is simple: Be a good neighbor, stay at home.”
As of 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, the District’s coronavirus (COVID-19) data includes 48 new positive cases, bringing the District’s overall positive case total to 231 individuals.
8-week-old male
18-year-old male
24-year-old male
26-year-old female
27-year-old male
28-year-old male
30-year-old male
30-year-old male
30-year-old male
30-year-old female
31-year-old male
31-year-old male
32-year-old female
32-year-old male
34-year-old male
35-year-old female
35-year-old female (more…)
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Photo by Cassie Kobrin
Cassie writes: “person being taken away in an ambulance and 7+ cop cars outside of Waterfront metro in SW. Any idea what happened?”
Alan Henney reported:
“PROBABLE FATAL SHOOTING— 4th St at M St SW-DC near the Safeway grocery store and Waterfront Metro. Search in progress for a suspect.”
Update from MPD:
“Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are investigating a homicide that occurred on Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in the 1100 block of 4th Street, Southwest.
At approximately 5:23 pm, members of the First District responded to the listed location for the report of a shooting. (more…)
Profs and Pints DC presents: “Artemis II and Beyond,” on how the recent space mission fits into long-term plans for the Moon, with Michael J. Neufeld, retired senior curator for the Space History Department of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
NASA’s recent, spectacular Artemis II mission is a sign that the United States is serious about sending humans to the Moon again.
From DDOT:
“The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will offer a temporary permit for Restaurant Pick Up Drop-Off (PUDO) Zones to allow residents and commercial drivers easy access to restaurants and eateries that are still offering delivery or carry out service during Mayor Bowser’s declared public health emergency. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user random lady
From The DC Brau team:
“First & foremost, we’d like to thank everyone for being so supportive of DC Brau & the craft beer community over the past several weeks. We have tried a number of ways to find a “new normal” in the tasting room while maintaining a safe environment for our guests and staff, but have come to the tough decision to close the tasting room for the time being. We will continue to brew our award-winning beers for distribution to our retail partners as long as we are permitted.
So, instead of making a special trip to the brewery during these uncertain times, we would be grateful if you would support us and other local breweries by visiting the beer aisle the next time you go to the grocery store for essentials or order a couple of six-packs & variety packs from your liquor store to enjoy at home. We are also selling gift certificates on our online shop if you’d like to go a step further to show your support.
We look forward to coming out on the other side of this with more great beer and hard seltzer for your drinking enjoyment. In the meantime, stay safe & drink local.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user DCbmyers
From the DC Office of the Attorney General:
“Attorney General Karl A. Racine today joined with 33 fellow Attorneys General to urge Amazon, Craigslist, eBay, Facebook, and Walmart to crack down on online price gouging on their platforms. In their letters to these major online platforms, the Attorneys General pushed the companies “to do more at a time that requires national unity.” Specifically, the bipartisan group recommends that these companies craft policies to restrict price gouging during emergencies, build tools to detect price spikes and anticipate conditions that lead to price gouging, and create pages that allow users to report suspected price gouging directly. (more…)
I’ve been getting lots of questions like this one from Rodrigo: “Are developers/construction companies considered essential business?”
You can read guidance for construction sites from DC Health here.
If you have any animal/pet photos you’d like to share please send an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com with ‘Animal Fix’ in the title and say the name of your pet and your neighborhood. If you love the animal fix and want to ensure PoPville’s long term viability please consider donating to our Patreon here.
“Kina from Woodridge”
“Roxy from Bloomingdale”
Ed. Note: Obviously before the arboretum’s closure yesterday.