Running and screaming into PG County or visa versa

According to the IRS migration data for 2005-2006 (if the link doesn’t work go to the Missouri Census Data Center Single County Migration File & pick District of Columbia) of the 23,432 taxfilers (households/ returns/ whatever) 5,703 of them escaped, ran, bolted, slinked over, or just got the F outta Dodge City, making PG County the place receiving the most DC migrants. Montgomery was a second with 2,865.
I’m not sure how to read the data, when looking at the average adjusted gross income of the migrants into and out of DC. On average it looks like people leave out of here better off than they came, except for some city migrants.
I found my data sheet about where people come from, also pulled from the Missouri Census Data Center, from the Census 2000, Summary File 3, DC native whites are about 13.52% of native US born citizens; DC native blacks 58.48%; Native Americans 39.16%; and Asians 21.41% of those born in the US.

Broken Window Practice

as opposed to theory.
Be on the lookout for pre-teen boys on bicycles. One is wearing a red shirt with white writing. The lil’ bastards are throwing rocks and breaking windows in alleys. I screamed at the hellions when I realized rocks were hitting my house. They weren’t aiming for my house, they were aiming for the house next door with the new windows. Rocks and bits of concrete were landing in my yard, damaging my plants, hitting my walls.
I mentioned this to a neighbor walking by and apparently there is a band of bicycling young hoodlums looking for vacant properties and trying to bust out all the windows. They failed with the house next to me, they only got one. I’m sure they would have knocked out more if I didn’t come out screaming like a loud crazy woman.
I called the owner of the house next door, told him what just happened. I’ll let him do a police report if he wants to, as it is his property and his loss.
Oh and a word of advice, get those Pella, and Anderson and [name of brand of windows] off the windows asap, they are attracting an element.

Keep chipping away, ’cause I think I see a dent

Watching the 400 block of Q, on the Ward 2 side has been interesting for the past year or so. More so in the past couple of months. As some of you know that block has been the domain of some fellows keeping court on the sidewalk. Drug dealing has been suspected and then there was that shooting incident.
Since the shooting the police presence has been noticeable. At least a few times a week I see a cruiser being all flashy in the area where the guys hang. Sometimes it’s one cop car, sometimes two. And on really special occasions they bring out the guys in the fancy bulletproof vests. There was a cruiser flashing yesterday afternoon, and some of the regulars & friends decided to go to the store and watch the excitement of the 3rd District, from the 5th.
Even when I don’t see the police there is a change on that block, however it isn’t a done deal. Police and residents will need to keep working on that block to make sure that trees that grow shoes and a sidewalk blocking crowd is a thing of the past. So keep chipping away friends.

That ringing

I’ve figured out where the bells that ring the hours come from. I was walking near Immaculate Conception on 8th and N one evening and heard the bells there, sounding like they were coming from the church. All this while I was guessing it was coming from LeDroit or over by Howard.
Si (of MVSQ) mentioned that sound bounces around on the buildings, which could explain my confusion.

Nobody’s from here, depends

This would be a better referenced post if I knew where the heck my Census table was, but alas, I don’t have it. But when I find it, I’ll correct the data and cite it and all that good academic stuff.
One day I had a question, a question that fun Census data could answer. Who’s actually from here? There are DC natives, they proudly mention that they are from here. But so many people I meet around Shaw are not. Heck DC has only had two elected mayors born DC, Sharon Pratt-Kelly and Adrian Fenty. Marion Barry was from Mississippi.
Broken down by race, a little over half of DC black population is DC born. It’s something like 55% or 58% depending on how I factor in foreign born Blacks. The majority of non-DC native blacks come from Southern states. I’m from Florida, so I’d be part of that. Of the white population only something-teen percent of y’all are from here. Over 80% of you are not from here. Which s probably why, if most of your contacts, associates and friends are also white you’d probably be under the impression that no one is really from here. White non-natives, tend to be from all over, with a slight majority coming from the northeast. Of other racial groups, a majority are not from here either.
Going by the data it can explain some different dynamics at play as a more transient population moves into areas with a lot of native oldtimers. A population of people, black (that 40%), white, Latino & other from diverse areas having their own culture, ways, and reasons for coming to DC may from time to time conflict with the indigenous culture and ways.

Things I’m so disliking

Archives-Navy Memorial Metro Station. The escalator to get on the platform is out. This wouldn’t be so bad if there were low carbon emitting stairs. But there aren’t. No stairs, so with one escalator out, the rush hour crowd gets to walk down one skinny escalator. Woe to you if you’re going against traffic. Your best bet sometimes is the elevator.

DC Public Library
– I rarely check out books from the DC Public Library. I buy most of my reads, used books mainly. I wasn’t always like this. I loved libraries. I studied to become a librarian. But the lack of finding the books I want just encourages me to head for the internet or my own agency library. For example, I wanted Sudhir Venkatesh’s Gang Leader for a Day. DC Library did not have it, and does not have it. My old library, the Arlington Public Library has it. So does Alexandria’s Public Library. And Montgomery County. Heck, even PG County has it. When I was living in Arlington, I’d give the library a chance and see if they had the book I wanted. Here I don’t even bother most of the time. Well, at least the Washingtonia collection is good. Can’t check out anything from there though. But for books, to check out, no.
Because of that (and some thoughts I have about government in general) I am in no rush to get the DC One Card. I’ve already got a Smartcard, and there is another one in the house somewhere. I rarely use the rec facilities, and I just told you about my relationship with the library. I’m not school aged so I won’t be need it for DCPS. And I’ve only walked into an unemployment office once in my life, in Florida, and it was a most unhelpful experience.

East of NJ Ave Challenge: Bananna Liqueur

I had an idea to share some recipes as well as promote some Bloomingdale businesses and the Capital City Market, and that idea is the East of NJ Ave challenge. The challenge is to create a few yummy things from items east of New Jersey Avenue and west of…. oh face it I don’t bike past the Capital City/Florida Market. The borders are fuzzy. I don’t know how much of a challenge it would be when there is a great farmers market in Bloomingdale, Timor, a big honking chaotic warehouse district, and whatever I or my neighbors grow in their gardens. Yes, a big cheat is the stuff I grow in my yard. Not much of a challenge and it’s an excuse to talk about food.

So Banana Liqueur
Recipe from Homemade Liqueurs by Dona Z. Meilach & Mel Meilach (1979).

2 Ripe Bananas (Mexican Fruit -Capital City Market)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (Don Pepe’s – Capital City Market) or 2″ vanilla bean
1 cup of sugar syrup (see below)
3 cups of vodka (Bloomingdale Liquor)

Take the bananas, peel them, squish them and place in jar. Add the rest of the ingredients to jar. Tightly screw on jar top, and leave in the back of a cool/dark closet for 1 week. After a week strain and filter to capture liquid. You can drink it but let it mature if you can, for 2-3 months.

Simple Syrup
1 cup of water (WASA)
1 cup of sugar (G&S Grocery on 1500 blk of NJ Ave)

Combine the two in a saucepan. Heat and stir contents until mixture is somewhat clear. Cool and refrigerate. Add a smidge of vodka as preservative.

Supporting Jessica Lanza

After some thought I have decided to have InShaw endorse the ANC candidacy of Ms. Jessica Lanza. Though I don’t live in Ward 2, I work in Ward 2, ANC2C03 exactly. Having someone who is both interested in the Penn Quarter/ Gallery Place area as a developing and residential place is a good thing. Downtown is a little different, but the residents of that area and Shaw share some similarities. And due to its proximity to Shaw, the ups and downs of Downtown can impact Shaw and Mount Vernon Sq.
Another reason why I support Ms. Lanza is that the current ANC2C03 leader is lacking and is holding back ANC2C as a whole. A change will hopefully shift things in ANC2C and move away from the unaccountability and ineffectiveness.

Check out Jessica’s website, see her informative blog.

Republican Press Release RE: Family Services Head

Press Release

For Immediate Release
July 23, 2008

Contact: Paul D. Craney
Email: press@dcgop.com

DC’s Child & Family Services Agency Deserve Better

Washington, DC: Yesterday, DC’s Attorney General Peter Nickles defended the appointment of Mr. Roque Gerald as interim director of DC’s Child & Family Services Agency. Mr. Gerald comes with baggage as recent revelations point that in 1989 Mr. Gerald who is a psychologist had sex with a suicidal and depressed patient in his office, who later sued him for damages. Mayor Fenty directed media questions to Mr. Nickes.

“Would a bank hire a bank robber, no. Why is Mr. Gerald being appointed for a position in which he is disqualified for?,” stated Robert J. Kabel, Chairman of the District of Columbia Republican Committee.

“Having the Attorney General answer calls to the press about a questionable political appointee instead of helping to prosecute the criminals in the Trinidad neighborhood is waste of valuable resources,” concluded Kabel.

Fundraiser at the Space

Happy Hour to Benefit Nonprofit

Working to Increase Access to Medicine in Low-Income Countries.

Wednesday, July 30, 6-9:30pm, at The Space (903 N St. NW)

with live music, free appetizers, and drink specials.

Details:

On Wednesday July 30th, Peter Maybarduk, a talented songwriter and performer, will play at DC’s cool new venue — The Space, 903 N Street NW — a loft-style lounge with outdoor patios.

The event — a happy hour reception from 6pm to 9:30pm with live music, free appetizers, and drink specials — will benefit Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), a nationally-recognized nonprofit that works to increase access to life-saving medicines in developing countries.

The cause is unquestionably a worthy one: 10 million people die each year from diseases with available treatments — often because the cost of the drugs makes them inaccessible.

Sadly and ironically, many of those unaffordable medicines are the product of publicly funded research carried out at universities. UAEM is a coalition of students at over 40 top research universities in the US, Canada, and the UK, who are committed to increasing access to medicines in low-income countries — particularly those medicines that are the result of discoveries in university labs.

(The organization does this by increasing universities’ awareness of the impact of their technology transfer policies on access to medicines in developing countries and working with universities to implement improved policies and practices. For your information, I am attaching a fact sheet that details a number of the organization’s accomplishments.)

Donations will be collected at the door, and all monies will go directly to UAEM, which is a 501(c)(3) organization.

For more information on UAEM, check out www.essentialmedicine.org.

To get a visual and description of The Space, go to www.thespace-dc.com.

To learn more about Peter and hear some of his work, visit www.petermaybarduk.com.

The invite notes, the suggested donation is $35, but no amount is too small. $5 or $10 donations are welcomed and appreciated!