POST-INDEPENDENCE DAY NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN-UP
Sunday, July 5, 2009
From
10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.
Let’s maintain our beautiful streets by volunteering to clean-up the debris from Independence Day celebrations.
Assembly Point: 1st & P St., N.W. —9:30 a.m.
(PLEASE BRING YOUR GLOVES AND PLASTIC BAGS?)
TO VOLUNTEER OR FOR MORE INFORMATION,
CONTACT PETE AT pbalas312 at gmail.com
I don’t often post about lost pets and got this plea.
Hello. I, too, am anticipating the fourth here in our neighborhood: my cat is missing and the 4th is not a good time for a lost cat (cats are abused/hurt with firecrackers, loud noises make them run even further from their home location, etc.). Can everyone here on these blogs, Mari, please post info about my cat on other blogs and websites you know of, in addition to telling/emailing your friends, neighbors, community groups, churches, libraries, park area, etc., in order to spread the awareness of my missing cat, and be on the lookout in our neighborhoods–especially on the 4th with all the celebrations going on (and the shenanigans that could involve abusing cats). btw, my cat is VERY friendly, so he could easily be grabbed and abused. 8(. fyi, I live at 12th and Q; I can be reached ANYTIME (any sightings) at 2/ 683-0130 cell (email mariannalafollette at yahoo com). You can find more info and pictures on www.thumpercat.webs.com; also, there’s a dc craigslist notice, http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/laf/1244678823.html. You can tell people about my site and refer them to the craigslist notice, btw, for easy, quick posts, and email headsup–and verbally tell people, too. ALSO, there is a reward, btw. Thanks for your comments about the 4th this weekend, Mari. Cheers, Marianna
(edited to deal with spambots)
Also considering the insensitive & cruel comments I saw on DCist regarding Molly the dog (plus the fact it’s a holiday weekend and I don’t want to spend too much time filtering) comments are closed.
I feel the need to warn the new people on the block about the 4th. But then so far all signs seem to say it isn’t worth saying anything. In the past week I’ve heard only a few instances of fireworks going off. Before that maybe the odd explosion, but nothing worth blogging about.
So it is entirely possible that this July Fourth the DIY fireworks in the hood may be fairly tame and less war-zone like. But I’m not entirely sure as there are still vacant lots and other things that attract people with boxes of illegal fireworks. So we’ll see.
Also I’m available should anyone want to invite me to their rooftop gathering. Watching and comparing the fireworks from the Mall, with the various displays popping out of Columbia Heights, Brookland, Capitol Hill, and Dupont/ Foggy Bottom/Georgetown (can’t really tell) is quite enjoyable. However when stuck on the ground it’s a bunch of noise & smoke.
I went to Thai X-ing, and it has been a while for me as I’ve been making more of my own meals and cooking up ingredients from the Bloomingdale Farmers Market. Since opening back in 2005 getting your food isn’t measured in hours any more. Taw has gotten help, made some changes, and if I order early enough, I get my food around the estimated time. In time some of us have learned to tolerate/love Thai X-ing’s quirks. With those quirks, others, have managed to work with Taw’s flexible, if not super easygoing nature, to transform the little hole in the wall eatery. It isn’t like your average Thai restaurant or carryout. I’ve been in it at times when the best description is ‘your friend’s friend’s basement apartment living room that happens to have a guy cooking Thai food in the back.’
Timor Bodega is another quirky business, and it’s been open for about a year and a half and is still figuring itself out. It’s not like your usual quickie mart, in that it lacks cigarettes, Lotto, and 5 kinds of MD 20/20, the big money makers. Nor is it a chi-chi wine and cheese shop, mainly because of the minimal amount of cheese, which may or may not change. I hung out with the owner this past weekend and learned a bit about the Timor and its quirks. Kim, the owner, does some small scale coffee roasting for customers, but doesn’t heavily promote this service. The store does experiment with various new products, like the duck eggs (good for when you’re aiming for thickness). I guess I can’t avoid mentioning the least popular quirk, the post-robbery closed gate during business hours thing. Kim’s reasoning on doing this has less to do with the crime (where they only got $50, and sadly there was another sort-of attempt by some 15 yr olds) and more to do with business being slow on beautiful days. Besides he’s usually 15-20 seconds away. But there are things about Timor that make it a neighborhood jewel. For me it is and always has been the milk and the rich cream. It is also the local eggs, the granola, and the wines, of which Kim can talk about, if you ask him. It will be interesting to see what Timor will look like in a year and what it will be carrying. Maybe more cheese and cured meats?
Today around noon the DC Council is looking at the “Human Rights for Ex-Offenders Amendment Act of 2009”, Bill 18-0136. According to the Council’s agenda it is:
To amend the Human Rights Act of 1977 to prohibit employment, housing, and educational discrimination based upon arrest record, or conviction record, with certain exceptions based on the relationship of the arrest or conviction to the position sought, lack of knowledge of the conviction, reliance upon an authorized certification, a record of violent crimes, or positions specifically exempt.
The DCGOP is looking at it from an employer standpoint. I’m comcerned about it from a residential and landlord standpoint, as I know several people who rent out their basement apartments, and when they bother to do a background check past criminal activity is one of those things. I believe it should be at the owners descretion.
