Month: January 2006

I’m going to go on what is still left in my head as I didn’t write notes (it would have helped to have brought a pen).
Jim, our fearless leader, showed up late so Art Slater led the meeting for the most part. Yay Art! The topic of the day BACA committees. Thinking of it now as I sit in front of this computer I wonder if you can be on a committee without having to show up at the main BACA meetings? We do that for our alumni chapter and professional committee, it makes it easy to grab folks for projects. But anyway, talked about the various committees.
First Public Safety. We had two police officers, who were not really prepared to say anything. The female officer said she got notice at 6pm to be there at 7pm. But they did participate in the discussion regarding strategies to deal with crime. Suggestions were to make sure there is more lighting in the streets and alleys, such as having motion sensing lights. A Neighborhood Watch as was the orange hats were mentioned but I can’t remember if then problem with that is lack of volunteers. Block captains got another mention. Other things were said.
Second, Youth Services. Many things were said. Some things I remember, many things I don’t, and some things remembered that I don’t care to write down. A few things that I do care to write down include the idea of trying to get some of clearinghouse to match kids up with small odd jobs in the neighborhood. I’ll admit I tend to do a lot of my own yard work but if I could schedule it, I’d be willing to pay $5 -$10 for jobs for kids within the borders of Truxton. It was mentioned that we need something like a Craigslist just for the neighborhood. At this point I wished TruxtonCircle.Org’s Scott & Matt were there. BACA might want it’s own website but anyway… Yeah, I’d do classifieds here if I could figure out how to do it. Anywho, also mentioned during this portion of the meeting a fellow who manages/d Cada Vez is interested in opening a dinner theater on the 1400 block of North Cap talked about his work with hiring young people. Talking a little bit about his plans he said wants to have a dinner theater with ‘female illusionists’. Okay that’s a new one. Is drag queen a bad word now? I don’t know. I don’t keep up with those things. After that little exchange I couldn’t get out of my head a restaurant in Capitol Hill I went to one night with friends where there were (as hinted) a fair number of transgendered youth working as wait staff. Anyway, moving right along.
Was next transportation. Can’t remember much something about where permit parking was and something about people parking in the hood because of the new metro station (NYAFAGU) on Florida Ave. Also folks wanted to be able to make left handed turns on North Cap and New York to get into the neighborhood.
Then Land Use. A bright new resident has taken on the task of surveying the green spaces in Truxton. Something about Clear Channel and those billboards. And I asked about the firehouse on North Cap. Answer was with Brown and Benson.
Membership. Mary Ann would like more dues paying members. Memembership is $20. Was the garden club talked about? Yes. The wreath project was mentioned. It would be nice if someone could store all or some of the wreaths used to decorate the hood this Christmas.
Yeah, that was the meeting as I remember it.

|—————————————-|
| Pre-Monthly Meeting |
| Announcement |
| For |
| THURSDAY, January 26, 2006 |
| 7:30-9:00 pm |
| 905 M Street, NW |
| |
| 7:00-10:00 pm |
|—————————————-|
| No “Street Cleaning” |
| Tickets till St. Paddy’s Day |
|—————————————-|
|—————————————-|
| Stoney’s Last Day |
| Saturday, January 14, 2006 |
|—————————————-|

Reminder of the annual suspension of street parking tickets.

The semi-newsletter is at

http://www.pro-messenger.com/Blagden/Monthly%20Pages/2006%20Monthly%20Pages/BAN_
2006_01_P1.html

Probable topic of meeting:
The redevelopment of another major piece of the 1200 block of Ninth Street.
(Yes, that’s NW)

Do hope to see you there.

GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Linda Argo

January 5, 2006 Phone: (202) 442-8947
linda.argo@dc.gov

BUILDING PERMITS MADE EASY FOR DC HOMEOWNERS

Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Launches Center that will Ease Residents through Home Permit Process
WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has developed an exciting new resource to help homeowners get building permits more easily in Washington, DC. The Homeowners Center will provide prompt and expert assistance to DC homeowners who are seeking building permits for home improvement projects.

The expert staff is ready to provide clear information about permitting regulations and the permitting process, inform homeowners about permit requirements for their specific projects, conduct plan reviews, and issue permits. All this is designed to make getting a permit as convenient as possible. On-site kiosks will help make the permit process easier for homeowners.

“Our new Homeowners Center is a great new addition to our city,” said DC Mayor Anthony A. Williams. “It’s a one-stop shop for residents who need help simplifying the permit process. The center is yet another example of making city government work better and more efficiently for District residents.”

The Homeowners Center will serve District residents by appointment and by walk-in. In addition, the Homeowners Center offers the Permit Wizard, a user-friendly computer program that will make paperwork a snap.

“DCRA has put a great deal of thought and care into developing the new Homeowners Center,” said DCRA Director Patrick Canavan. “We are committed to making the building permit process of District homeowners both smoother and easier. We have created a resource that will set the standard for helping homeowners.”

All home renovations, whether done by contractors or by the homeowner, must follow strict building codes to assure that the work is safe and that there are no fines for illegal construction. DCRA is dedicated to helping District homeowners who are seeking permits for their home improvement projects. The Homeowners Center is a one-stop-shop for owners to learn about the laws related to renovations.

DCRA’s Homeowners Center is located in Suite 2102 at 941 North Capitol Street Northeast. It is open to the public 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Homeowners Center will serve homeowners by appointment and by walk-in.

The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs opened the Homeowners Center on January 5, 2006. Mayor Anthony Williams was on hand for the launch, and was joined by representatives from Citibank, the DC Building Industry Association, the International Code Council, the Fannie Mae Foundation, and other community partners and supporters.

◊

The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs protects the health, safety, economic interests, and quality of life of residents, businesses, and visitors in the District of Columbia by issuing licenses and permits, conducting inspections, enforcing building, housing, and safety codes, regulating land use and development, and providing consumer education and advocacy services.

From Jim
Agenda for the Evening Includes a Discussion of Goals relating to the Following Committees:

Public Safety

Youth Services

Transportation

Land Use, Planning and Economic Development

Membership

Monday, January 9, 2006

Mount Sinai Baptist Church

3rd and Q Streets, N.W.

Rooms 1 and 2

7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

Community Update

Happy New Year: As we enter into 2006, please know that the Bates Area Civic Association, Inc. sincerely appreciates the contribution of each and every resident to make the community a clean, safe and productive place in which to live, work, worship and raise our children. Indeed, it is our hope that this is YOUR best year ever!!!

Christmas Tree Collection Reminder: January 3 – 14, 2006

Residents who have not disposed of their trees yet are encouraged to put them – without ornaments or tinsel – in curbside tree boxes. Trees are being picked up during a special two-week collection from January 3 – 14. Residents who wish to keep their trees longer should put them out at their normal point of trash collection (curbside or alley) after January 14. DPW will then collect the trees along with the regular trash, as truck space permits over the following weeks.

Mechanical Street Sweeping Services Suspended for the Winter: January 9 – March 17, 2006

Routine residential street cleaning will be suspended from January 9 to Marcy 17, 2006. During this time, “No Parking/Street Cleaning” restrictions will be lifted. Residents and visitors who park along posted, alternate-side, daytime street sweeping routes will not be required to move their cars on street-sweeping days during this period. Residential street cleaning will resume on Monday, March 20, 2006.

Community Garden Grants Available: Community Greening Mini-grants up to $1,000 are available from Garden Resources of Washington for community & youth gardening projects located in the District of Columbia.

WHO CAN APPLY? Neighborhood & youth groups, schools, after-school programs, civic associations, churches, nursing homes, shelters, transitional housing, community gardens, etc.

FOR WHAT KIND OF PROJECT? Learning gardens, healing gardens, neighborhood beautification, community gardens, tree box beautification, butterfly gardens, food gardens, habitat gardens, rain gardens, etc.

HOW CAN FUNDS BE USED? For plants, seeds, tools, soil amendments, mulch and other gardening supplies, educational materials, community outreach. Funds cannot be used for stipends, salaries, or contractors¹¹ fees.

SELECTION CRITERIA INCLUDES: Project leadership team; detailed project plan; practical time line; realistic budget; long-term upkeep plan; and for youth projects learning goals. Special consideration will be given to groups that attend an information meeting as well as projects involving low-income DC residents and those living in poverty. For one-on-one advice about your project idea or for more information on this funding opportunity, contact GROW at grow19@aol.com, or 202-234-0591. Garden Resources of Washington, 1419 V Street NW, Washington, DC 20009,

APPLICATION DEADLINE – FEBRUARY 17, 2006 Potential applicants are urged to attend an information meeting: Bring 2-3 leaders of your project. Learn about the grant program, pick up and get tips on successful applications.

*Mon Jan 9th, 6:30 pm, Woodridge Library, 18th & Rhode Island NE

* Tues Jan 10th, 6:30 pm, Lamond-Riggs Library, 5401 South Dakota NE, at Kennedy (M-Ft.Totten)

*Wed Jan 11th, 6:30 pm, Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Library, 7420 Georgia NW, at Geranium

*Thurs Jan 12th, 6:30 pm, Takoma Library, 5th & Cedar NW (M-Takoma)

*Sat Jan 14th, 10:00 am, Washington Highlands Library, 115 Atlantic SW, at South Capitol

*Sat Jan 14th, 1:00 pm, Capitol View Library, 50th & Central Ave SE (M-Benning Road)

*Tues Jan 17th, 6:30 pm, Mt. Pleasant Library, 3160 16th NW, at Lamont

*Wed Jan 18th, 6:30 pm, Woodridge Library, 18th & Rhode Island NE

*Thurs Jan 19th, 6:30 pm, Lamond-Riggs Library, 5401 South Dakota NE, at Kennedy (M-Ft.Totten)

*Sat Jan 21st, 10:00 am, Capitol View Library, 50th & Central Ave SE (M-Benning Road)

*Sat Jan 21st, 1:00 pm, Washington Highlands Library, 115 Atlantic SW, at South Capitol

*Sun Jan 22nd, 2:00 pm, Martin Luther King Jr Library, 901 G NW (M-Gallery Place)

For detailed driving or bus/metro transportation directions, see www.dclibrary.org or call the library.

GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 5C

POST OFFICE BOX 77761

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20013

TELEPHONE: (202) 832-1965/1966

www.anc5c.org

PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE

Monthly Meeting

The agenda for the evening will include:

Election of Officers for 2006

Metropolitan Police Department

re. a public safety report.

Office of Ward 5 C/M Vincent B. Orange

re. a Ward Five Community Update

Application before the Board of Zoning Adjustment

re. Richardson Place, N.W.

Where: St. George’s Episcopal Church
150 U Street, N.W.
When: Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Time: 7:00 P.M. until 9:00 P.M.

Normally I avoid national politics like the plague. Today I’m in a good mood and posting here like crazy and got this today. Disclaimer- I am a ModCon.

“SupremelyScrewed.com” Gives DC Citizens Chance to Question Alito;
New Grassroots Effort Aims to Overcome Lack of Representation in U.S. Senate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mike Panetta
(202) 253-6534
mike@mikepanetta.com

Washington, DC (January 9, 2006) — In an effort to highlight the
lack of voting representation in the United States Senate for citizens
of our nation’s capital, Mike Panetta, a DC-based professional
political consultant and grassroots activist, today launched
SupremelyScrewed.com, an online campaign that empowers District
citizens to submit their own questions to the Senate Judiciary
Committee for Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito.

“The Supreme Court hands down decisions that affect the lives of
everyone in this city, yet we have absolutely no say in who gets to
sit on the bench,” said Panetta. “Every other American citizen has two
Senators to represent and vote a nominee up or down. Those of us in
the District are supremely screwed when it comes to sitting a new
justice.”

Questions collected on the web site (http://www.supremelyscrewed.com)
will be delivered to the Senate Judiciary Committee during nomination
hearings and all attempts will be made to have them introduced into
the hearing’s official record. “I got tired of complaining and decided
to do something about it. Hopefully this web site will get some
official degree of representation in this nomination process for
District citizens.”

Panetta is a professional political consultant with the firm
Grassroots Enterprise (www.grassroots.com), and has long specialized
in high-impact grassroots movements. His previous campaigns have
included DropCropp.com, which sent over 1,000 letters from DC
residents in less than 24 hours to DC Council Chair Linda Cropp after
she withdrew her support of the Washington Nationals in December 2004.
(The site was later changed to “Thank Cropp” once she changed her
vote.) Panetta was also a founder of
TaxationWithoutRepresenationStadium.com, a campaign that raided almost
$100,000 in pledges to brand the Nationals’ home turf “Taxation
Without Representation Field at RFK”.

Panetta is 34 years old and lives in Woodley Park.

FYI Tuesday (January 10) is the start of Eid al-Adha which is a significant enough Islamic holy day that kids stay out of school and folks head to the mosque. Lucky us, the mosque on 4th St (or Islamic Way depending on how you look at it…) has it’s own parking lot, which gives it points over a lot of churches around here that don’t. Yet, there may or may not be parking issues around there.
I expect that during this 3 day period that there will be 5 calls to prayer over the loud speakers. Currently, they don’t seem to blast the calls on a regular basis and I am very thankful that the first call, around 5 or 6AM is rarely broadcasted.

Thanks for the heads up Mollie.

This weekend I called 311 and it all worked out well. The problem, at the house across the alley from me where the guy has been working off and on was shoveling something on concrete with a metal shovel around midnight. Ya know how loud that is? Legally he isn’t supposed to work after 7pm. Sometimes he’s been working out there till 9pm or so and I’ve let it go. But midnight is silliness. So I called 3-1-1 the DC non-Emergency number. As this wasn’t the first time I’ve had problems with this guy I knew what his address was and gave that to the dispatcher. He told me that they’d send someone out. Uh, yeah. Experience has taught me that these things are hit or miss. Sometimes you see the police come out, sometimes you don’t. At least I didn’t get any flak from the dispatcher like I did once who supposed that maybe he had a permit to work after 7 when I called to complain about some 11pm hammering.
About 10 minutes later I get a call back from 311 (I had left my name and number). They were confused. The cops were out at the address I’d given. They thought I lived at the given address. No. So later two officers came over to my house and told me that the guys over at the offending address were “just finishing up.” I bet they were.
All in all I’m happy with my 311 call. Hopefully this posting will balance out those other postings when 311 has been a major let down.

Walking down Florida Ave yesterday I noticed the Popeye’s Fried Chicken place on the corner of 7th and FL has closed up and is empty. The sign is gone, there is nothing inside. Did this happen recently?
No worry. We can always get mass produced chicken at the Bulletproof KFC on Florida and North Cap.

Ran into Justin, a fellow Truxtonite heading to work on the Green Line and we got to talking houses. We, I’m saying “we” because I don’t remember exactly who said what (it was early in the morning, I’m not awake), came to a conclusion that the tale we tell ourselves that these old houses have solid bones is bunk. Well, unless you’ve actually seen those bones, Justin pointed out. It’s amazing what you find behind the walls of old houses.
Don’t forget that after the riots portions of Shaw were slummy. Slumlords, the owners of slum housing, are not well known for their maintenance and desire to fix things right. Over time, bricks don’t get repointed, problems are painted over, and burn damage is covered up with drywall. When I discovered my house had mainly been rental housing for 100 years my heart sank. I have very little faith that in those 100 years the landlords did anything to bolster the building structure.