Some blogger got hit by some SUV. Nobody died but the pedestrian did wind up with a broken knee. However the disturbing factor, the struck pedestrian was charged with jaywalking and presented with a ticket in the hospital. From the pedestrian’s telling of it, he was not jogging and seemed to have the right of way as the countdown said he still had time to cross and was in the crosswalk. However the State Dept Security person driving the black SUV seems to have reported it differently saying the pedestrian was a jogger and not in the crosswalk.
As a pedestrian, I find it very disturbing, particularly because I walk in areas where black SUV filled with feds, zip around all the time. If there are any witnesses to this event who can challenge the State Dept’s PR Orwellian release please do.
Category: Uncategorized
Would shaming work?
Georgetown Metropolitian is encouraging neighbors to name names and forward photos of violators who don’t shovel their walks. The hope is that the owners will be shamed into shoveling their sidewalks and making pedestrian routes safer.
I don’t know. Some sidewalks I know are harder to shovel than others. Brick is a ^%#!!! pain to shovel. Yeah it’s pweurdy and “historic” looking, but 1/2 the time it is a pedestrian hazard. So I have some, some, sympathy for people with brick who can’t completely clear off their sidewalk. But they need to try because trudging in anything above 4 inches is a pain too.
This weekend about a foot (more or less) of snow is predicted. And you are more than welcomed to start a Flickr group highlighting violators, and tell me about it so I may blog about it. But I find it better for my soul to just put on some tunes, bundle up and shovel mine and my neighbors’ sidewalks. I mean if you’re feeling vindictive you could pile snow in front of a serial violator’s gate/door/ driveway.
Food and Friends
Are you looking for a fun way to help the DC community that involves food AND friends? Then look no further! The non-profit organization Food & Friends is looking for volunteers to help make the 14th Annual Dining Out for Life as entertaining and rewarding as possible. On Thursday, March 11th, more than 150 restaurants around the DC Metro Area will donate 25 to 100 percent of their profits to support Food & Friends’ mission of providing nutritious meals to those facing serious illnesses such as HIV/AIDS and cancer.
To make the day the resounding success it should be, Food & Friends is calling on volunteers to act as “ambassadors” to represent Food & Friends at each restaurant. Ambassadors will visit the diners’ tables, thank them for coming out to support such a great cause, sign the diners up for the free sweepstakes and receive any extra contribution the diner may wish to give. Without volunteers, Food & Friends would not be able to continue home-delivering life-sustaining meals to thousands of area residents. Becoming an ambassador is an excellent way to help the community while having a great time. For more information, contact Eliza Yoder, Special Events Assistant, at eyoderATfoodandfriends.org
To become a Food & Friends ambassador, please visit: http://www.foodandfriends.org/site/c.knKNKPOsHqE/b.5720913/k.F979/VOLUNTEER.htm
Celebrate Mardi Gras at Eatonville Restaurant
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3rd, 2010
Celebrate Mardi Gras at Eatonville Restaurant
WASHINGTON – If you can’t make it to New Orleans, come celebrate at Eatonville! Beginning Thursday February 11 through “Fat Tuesday,” February 16, we invite you to taste, see, and hear the extravagance and sensuality that embodies this unique and historic celebration.
Schedule of Events
· Thursday – Mardi Gras Happy Hour featuring special cajun appetizers and cocktails (5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m).
· Friday – Live New Orleans Jazz music starting at 7 p.m. and Hurricane drink specials
· Saturday – Live New Orleans Jazz music by New Orleans natives, Yamomanem
(7 p.m. – 10 p.m.)
· Sunday – VALENTINES DAY! Jazz brunch (11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.) with live music by Yamomanem (12 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.)
· Sunday Evening – A Valentine’s Day Mardi Gras Affair featuring New Orleans-inspired pre-fixe menu. Starting at 7 p.m.
· Monday – Lundi Gras Celebration starting at 7 p.m.
· Tuesday – “Fat Tuesday Food & Folklore” featuring John Franklin Jr. starting at 6:30 p.m. $45 PER/PERSON, reservations required.
FULL PRESS RELEASE ATTACHED
2010 Census- Count your roommate
At Monday’s BACA meeting there was someone from the Census trying to educate us about the census and census jobs. But a very telling question came from the citizenry, do you count the student/intern/ roommate on the same form. YES. This is not like taxes. If you’re all under the same roof, in the same unit, you are a household. So pick someone as the head, and the rest of you roommates (and couch surfers who have failed to chip in) get listed as “roommate”. You can go old school and call yourselves “boarders” or “roomers” as how you’re related to the head.
Also don’t worry about over counting, as there are a bunch that will be undercounted, so if your roommate’s boyfriend spent April 1 over at your pace, list him too.
Snow theory
I had a theory walking to the metro regarding snow shoveling and brick v concrete sidewalks. But several sidewalks, such as this one on 7th, disproved it. it was that the concrete sidewalks melted snow quickly and thus required little to no effort to keep clear, while brick sidewalks held the cold and did not melt snow. But then I started hitting sidewalks covered in ice and snow closer to the metro station.
Mine and my neighbors’ sidewalks are nice and clear. A couple of neighbors had gotten out and shoveled several doors worth of sidewalk while the snow was coming down. One, decided to make a game of it with her daughter and a large push broom. That was fun to watch, from the warm inside. Also I should thank E. for shoveling by my house, while jamming to something on his earphones. It’s great that he was doing his part as a good neighbor.
If you bothered, or if someone else bothered, to wipe most of the snow off the walk, it cleared up. If no one bothered, the snow stayed. That’s my new theory.
And for a millyeon dollas this can be yours
Fooling around on Redfin I spotted a few houses east of Logan Circle going for $1 million and up. What is this Southern California?
First is a penthouse condo on R Street near Logan for $1.05 mil. It comes with parking and a condo fee.
Next is, 1114 P St NW, going for 1.15 mil and on the market for over 200 days, plus a month. I gather the $71K gross rental income justifies the price, for the three unit property.
There are a few more million plus places hugging the Logan Circle, but priced above them is closer to me, is 1400 5th St NW, for S1.399 mil. I gather that the idea that one could turn the three unit building into 5 units is justification for the price. However, there is no parking, it isn’t next to any amenities and more work will have to go into it, as “potential” means “gut job”.
Lastly, topping off at 1.45 mil is 1120 Rhode Island Ave, NW. A single family home boasting of a lot of original features. The city thinks it’s worth 1.298 million, so the taxes are about $11K a year.
News from other blogs or Friday Misc.
Over in Bloomingdale The Yoga District is having a mommy & me, but with a more inclusive title of Family Yoga and Community Playtime.
The Great Scott Roberts also mentioned some tasty info he got from a Bloomingdale restaurant hopefully to come at NJ & R. According to WashBiz Journal, Beau Thai, a carry out, is due to open in March, hopefully, maybe, fingers crossed.
Speaking of restaurants on R, anyone know what’s going on with 6th and R for the proposed Toque Cafe? I’ve noticed a change of windows and the application of paper over the windows, so I hope there is something good going on behind the paper.
Over here in the TC, the BACA blog tells that there will be a grand opening of the Eckstine and Ellington Theatre at the Dorothy I Height Community Academy Public Charter Schools (CAPCS)school, also known as Armstrong, this weekend.
have a great weekend y’all.
Change in the corner of my eye
Last night I spent some quality time with the Help, the Help’s landlord, the landlords’ dogs, and another guest in Beltsville. The Help made some comment about the drug dealers on my corner, to which I responded that the dealers have cut back their hours and days of operation and laid off staff, and are hardly there [pause & sigh]”it’s the economy.” I got a chuckle from that. The friendly neighborhood drug dealers are less of a problem then in years past and that’s a change for the better, which only Spring can tell. Sadly they have been replaced by bored violent teens picking fights and robbing adults. Not sure which is worse.
I measure change by the situation I came into when I arrived on my block nearly 9 years ago. Drug dealers were at the corner or near the corner day, night, weekends, weekday, hot days, or cold weather, they were there. The Giant on O St was the best grocery option. There were quickie marts and liquor stores selling 40oz every 2 blocks and no decent wine.
But lately I have sensed another change, that is to come, and I see it out of the corner of my eye. Walking home I saw the Josephine (the recently built condos on Rhode Island Ave) off the side, in the background a tad, and I sensed a greater density has been added to my low density neighborhood. A density that the Monique, on the same block but on R St didn’t add on its own, but the two together seems to signal a change. Also, when peered at from the corner of my eye, off in the background the new Waltha Daniels/Shaw Library getting built. Now provided no bullets mar the shatterproof glass (that’s what I hear these modern architects are using for glass boxes these days) in the 1st 6 months, that will definitely signal a change provided that we see through the glass, a diverse library patronage that reflects the diversity of the neighborhood.
And the hope of change for the better is still alive and well. There is some excitement about a proposed bar near the Yoga District, and the SMD ANC/ businessman Stu Davenport is aware and seems positive. This is something new to think about while some still remain hopeful about Baraki (1st and T) and wonder what’s going with the old Bates Market, which seems to be chugging along. And speaking with the BAANC blog editor and Ray ‘o’ Sunshine, it seems I should keep an eye out this year for the O Street Market.
Charter Schools
I caught a ride with a neighbor/friend back home after running into her and her kids. We got onto the topic of Pre-K schools and a day-care co-opy thing at Kennedy Playground. Apparently, if you are going to raise kids in this city you gotta get plugged into the tribe of parents that live in your area. I was vaguely aware of some program at the Kennedy Rec center that some of the little (2-5 yrs)kids were involved in. Involvement requires one parent with a flexible schedule to volunteer and the great thing is the city (thank you city) provides a teacher or staff person.
Well someone will be graduating from the Rec Center co-op to 4 Pre-K, and so we started talking about schools. Yu Ying was mentioned and I said I knew a kid at Yu Ying, and mentioned how happy the parents of said kid seemed to be with the program. However, my ride’s concern was how would the language be re-enforced and wondered if Spanish would be a more useful language. So I mentioned another school that another kid (I know a few in the under 5 crowd) but wasn’t sure if the school had an actual Spanish language program. So I said I’d check with a parent that I figured would know.
Well I checked and I got a whole list of recommended charter schools and one out of boundary DCPS school. I do not have that list in front of me, but I do remember the name of the DCPS school, John Tyler, or as I found Tyler Elementary. They have a Spanish language program. For out of boundary DCPS there is only one lottery, good luck with that. Oh, and Oyster has a great program but you’d have a better chance at the mega millions lotto than that lottery.
I’ll take everyone’s word for it that the lottery system is frazzling and you hold your breath until your kid is in one of the schools of your choosing. As far as I know, the parents I know, who do the lottery, do manage to get their munchkins into a satisfactory school.