Thanks to Nathan for sending the awesomeness above from Maydan (1346 Florida Avenue NW).
Now where are the other awesome cocktails to be had?!?
Photo by PoPville flickr user angela n.
From the Mayor’s Office:
“Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that she has extended the District of Columbia Government’s modified operating status until April 27, including the adjusted DC Government operating posture and distance learning at the District’s public schools.
DC Government will operate under an agency-specific telework schedule, continuing to deliver essential services and keep critical systems and services operating. Some government operations will be performed fully remotely, while other services will continue to be performed at public buildings, but under modified operations.
The Mayor also extended the prohibition on mass gatherings during a public health emergency until April 25, 2020.
Updates to schools and parks below.
DC Public Schools (DCPS)
DCPS facilities will remain closed and distance learning will take place through Friday, April 24. At this time, classes are scheduled to resume on Monday, April 27. (more…)
If you have any animal/pet photos you’d like to share for the regular fix 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. AdoPtville is run by two volunteers who compile these pets weekly from local shelters.
Friends and Neighbors,
We are only beginning to see the effects that COVID-19 is having on our community, including our animal friends and those working on their behalf. Local rescue organizations and shelters may easily become overwhelmed in the coming weeks, as adoption events are reduced or even stopped, and owner surrenders continue or increase due to economic adversity. Rather than feature specific animals on AdoPtville this week, we are providing here some resources to help you keep your pet, as well as asking anyone in the position to do so to consider adopting, fostering, and / or donating, to help these amazing and hardworking organizations.
Local Pet Pantries (please contact organizations directly to confirm hours / availability): (more…)
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…)
Outside Costco by Kam Quarles
“Dear PoPville,
Have you heard or seen anything about which grocery stores in the area may be enforcing social distancing (letting only a certain number of people in, telling people to stay 6′ apart in line)? We were at Target in Columbia Heights last weekend and the folks in the self-serve line were right on top of each other. Even though we live in the city, we are also debating driving out to the burbs to go to a store just because we’re thinking they’ll be bigger and have more room to space people apart and more shelf space to hold more things (we’re not going to hoard, just get a few things). Have you heard anything on this perspective?”
Photo by PoPville flickr user DCbmyers
“Dear PoPville,
I started pulling together a list of resources I am crowdsourcing in a google doc for cool virtual happenings and ways to stay sane in social isolation mode.”
Ed. Note: In other diversions, one of my neighbors who has never played in his life just bought a guitar! If not now?
“Just a note to say that you can still sign up for online lessons through Middle C Music. Give us a call at 202-244-7326. Surprisingly, many people have come in to the store to buy or rent instruments, taking advantage of the social distancing to learn to play.”
The DC Chamber Musicians close out the 25-26 season with popular works by Brahms and Dohnanyi, and three selections of newer works that are sure to delight. All set in the lovely St. Thomas’ Parish Episcopal Church in the Dupont Circle neighborhood. Join us afterward for a reception featuring light refreshments (including beer and wine) and an opportunity to chat with the musicians.
On the Program
Thanks to Soozles for sending from Mount Pleasant around 9am.
Photo by PoPville flickr user Katie Yaeger Rotramel
From the Mayor’s Office:
“The DC Department of Health announces the first death in the District due to coronavirus (COVID-19). The patient, a 59-year-old male, was admitted to a local hospital last week, presenting with symptoms of fever and cough as well as other underlying medical conditions. He later tested positive and was included among the District’s reporting data. (more…)
Photo by PoPville flickr user Clif Burns
AL asks:
“Being cooped up in my apartment is making my realize how barren my walls are. Any local artists in DC taking commissions right now?”
Photo by PoPville flickr user John Sonderman
“Dear PoPville,
Just wanted to share an experience I had this morning as a reminder to be kind to strangers, since we’re all struggling with mental health right now.
I was on a long bike ride for the first time in a week, heading down to see the cherry blossoms for sunrise. Around 6:30am, I was biking through the mall on the path parallel to 15th Street, following my partner who was on a bikeshare. When we peeled off the road onto the path, I pointed my headlight toward the ground so I wouldn’t bother the couple of people we passed and slowed way down as I generally do on mixed-use paths. (more…)
Thanks to Frank for sending from Columbia Heights:
“not sure if anyone has noticed but up here in Columbia Heights the police have moved to in front of the middle school rather than congregating inside the precinct.”
Related: A few other folks have asked, “Over the last three days, I have seen individual cop cars with their lights flashing posted at different intersections between Shaw and Logan Circle. I know this happens sometimes but when I take my dog back out three hours later I see the same cop cars with their lights flashing at separate intersections. Any idea what’s up with that?”