There have been a couple of things I have been alerted to happening in the hood that has disappointed me. Up in the northern tip of the TC there was a rash of home robberies and in mid TC land bad apples have brought back flashbacks of a certain couple of blocks concentrating poverty and misbehavior. Then the annual question of ‘fireworks or gunfire?’ that pops up around this point in the year is actually a mixed bag, because the fireworks seem to have started later this year. The negatives put a damper on all the good that is going on, but in the bigger picture I know the TC is getting better.
Category: Uncategorized
DCRA Reminds Residents of Requirements for Fireworks Sales
From DCRAs Communications Team
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
DC’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
Reminds Residents of Requirements for Fireworks Sales
Washington, DC – July 4 and fireworks go hand-in-hand for many people.
While beautiful to behold, fireworks can be very dangerous.
The District of Columbia regulates fireworks sales and two agencies have
primary responsibility for making sure fireworks are sold and enjoyed in a
safe and legal manner – the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
(DCRA) and the D.C. Fire/EMS Department.
All businesses that store or sell fireworks – in a temporary or permanent
structure – must have posted a valid Basic Business License and
Certificate of Occupancy – both issued by DCRA. Consumers can report a
business or individual that is selling fireworks without this license by
calling 202-442-4400.
The agency requires any temporary structure that stores or retails
fireworks to be inspected by DCRA and that structure be taken down by
midnight, July 5.
It is illegal for a business or individual to sell fireworks on public
property.
In addition to DCRA regulations, in order to sell any legal fireworks in
the District of Columbia a business must get a permit from the D.C.
Fire/EMS Department’s Fire Prevention Division. This Web site also has
information about fireworks safety. You may also contact the DC Fire/EMS
Department Fire Prevention Division at 202-727-1600 or 202-727-1614.
For more information about DCRA fireworks requirements visit the Basic
Business License section at dcra.dc.gov or call 202-442-4400.
***
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.
BAA meeting
|—————————————–|
| Blagden Alley Association |
| Monthly Meeting |
| |
| THURSDAY, June 28, 2007 |
| 7:30-9:00 pm |
| Hal and Marthlu’s |
| 905 M Street Street, NW |
|—————————————–|
The newsletter is at
http://www.pro-messenger.com/Blagden/Monthly%20Pages/2007%20Monthly%20Pages/BAN_2007_06_P1.html
Topics:
1. O Street Market Update.
2. LT Smith: An upper management PowerPoint.
3. 917 M Street.
4. NIMA/1230 Ninth Street.
5. More.
Three who improved my Sunday
Let’s start with Peter. I made a 2nd run over to the Bloomingdale farmer’s market to pick up snacks for the weekend painting. While I was there I noticed some guy in front of the Big Bear playing guitar. His back was to the market, facing the R Street entrance of the Bear, but I knew who it was, it was Peter, a neighbor. He and his wife live a block from my house and it was great to see very local talent. The thing that made me feel good was, I asked Peter to play some blues to enhance my shopping experience, he did, and that made me happy.
Right after leaving the market with a bag of cherries, I ran into another neighbor and gave him a house tour. He validated some of my decisions about painting the brick and the new layout which made the place unique. If you count the kitchen that was done several years back, the renovations have been quite customized and geared towards pleasing me and not so much a future buyer. I don’t/won’t have the stainless steel, granite countertop, oak/maple floor, CAC, bricky exposed brick, standard tub, marble tile set up that has become quite common in many renovations. There is nothing wrong in liking and wanting those things, but they don’t reflect me and my desires. I like my counter tops to be forgiving with china and glass. I love my heated floors and I love my radiators. The living rm floors were recycled from what was under the carpet. The tub, a used and now repainted clawfoot, promises me some soaking enjoyment with showering utility. The house has character, now hopefully, the good kind.
Then later that day I met up with a colleague at a mixer (the American Library Association was in town, did you notice?). We were talking, and I mentioned this blog that I’m going to semi-retire and spin off something else that excites me, neighborhood history. Then he and I got to talking about historic districts and preservation and realized we were of the same mind. I can’t explain this joy that rushed over me, to encounter someone with a strong academic background in history and a true understanding that not every d*mn thing can be preserved. Then he mentioned that somewhere out there there is some data that recently shows that houses in historic districts do less well in the real estate market because of the restrictions. He also explained the difference between antiquarians and historians.
Renovation 2007: Brick
I painted the exposed brick white. It looks lovely when the light from the outside streams in and bounces off the semi-gloss white. The problem, or more so a problem because it is interior, is the brick gets dusty. The brick that makes up my house has a lot of small holes, gouges, and was not laid evenly. This makes it hard to paint the exposed surfaces and what doesn’t get painted sloughs off brick dust.
The big gouges mostly have gotten touched with some caulk. In some spots that has worked out okay. In other spots I see that so much caulk was squeezed into the cavity that it is beginning to shrink and separate from the brick.
It’s white paint on white primer so that wall has gotten 2-3 coats. I can’t tell because it is hard to see where I painted before. Yet the strong tell tale signs that I missed a spot is a thin layer of brick dust that shows up quite well on a white surface. The number of small holes in the brick is more than I can sanely fill with caulk, so I’m going to have to accept a layer of dust.
Today Shaw Community Day
NJ-O Park
11-3
Saturday June 23rd
more details:
http://anc2c02.com/public/index.php/2007/06/22/haute_dog
if you want to volunteer, come at 8am!
Renovation 2007: I have toilet!
On one side is a toilet, and I flushed it! On the other is a claw foot tub. The tub has a very generic shower head, which I will replace as soon as I am able to with something more fun.
The tub is dirty. So is the toilet, but I don’t care. Ooh! Look! The toilet sits on top of the tile this time. Not in the tile liek the crack heads who ‘renovated’ the house did.
Technically I could move back into my house, but the contractor probably wouldn’t be too happy if I did. I still have to paint the walls in the bathroom (that part above the tile), and paint the ceiling, because I was told, flat ceiling paint in the bathroom is a no.
The day when I can walk into LUSH and actually buy a bath bomb to throw in my bath is close at hand.
Renovation 2007: Light at the end of the tunnel
I’m writing this between trips to the Home Despot and I’m really tired of running around. But what I am happy about is the sign of plumbers hooking up the toilets. Yay! Also David, my contractor, had me show his guy what to paint. He said that he really needed something for one of his guys to do, but I think he really hates the paint job I and my friends did. And the guy painting is saying I didn’t have enough paint.
Speaking of paint, which I need to go grab after posting this. I still can’t decide on the color for the living room. I had a paint fiasco, sort of with the Community Forklift eco-paint. As it was explained, they had some trouble with the color mixer and it is alright now. Anyway I wound up with two different colors of pink. I sort of liked one, and hated the other and didn’t like the one I did like enough to go out of my way to match that color. So I’m looking at other pinkish reds. The goal is to have a red in the room, but not be overpowered with red. So I’m looking for a dark pink or a washed out red.
Anyway, the end is looking close. Once the toilets and bathtub are in, I just need to get carpet in and have the 1st floor sanded. Oh, and the heating needs to be hooked up. Then I get to save my pennies to get the AC hooked up next summer. And if I save a lot of pennies, maybe get that extra shower.
Scene at the Blomingdale Farmer’s Market
Bloomingdale Farmers Market
You know that feeling? That feeling you have when you look around and all is right with the world. That’s what I had sitting inside the Big Bear, sipping an ice tea, looking out the big open windows and watching business at the new farmer’s market buzz along.
When I got there it was midday and apparently there was a rush and some producers sold out. I heard tale of a big crowd of people waiting on the sidewalk, curving around the corner waiting for the market to open at 10. Then this crowd bought a bunch of stuff, leaving just flowers, lamb, plants and berries to the after church crowd. Really, at noon there wasn’t a lot to choose from, you early people bought everything!
I wound up buying strawberries, cherries, the last head of lettuce from one vendor, and some frozen lamb chops. The lamb was a bit pricey for me, so I probably won’t be buying it on a regular basis. But the cherries were just right and very sweet.
Sitting with some friends I noted how the market and the cafe fed off each other. The Big Bear was a bit crowded inside with every table taken lucky us a couch had just freed up. People wandered from the cafe to the market and from the market to the cafe. This was the best location for both.
Some of you may remember there was an attempt of a farmer’s market a few years ago that failed. It had several problems. I went maybe once and it was a hot dusty parking lot at Florida and North Capitol with a sprinkling of vendors. The produce was pitiful looking, Mary Ann Wilmner mentioned she bought strawberries from the failed market and the berries were rotten below the surface. The poor fellow who representing the non-profit running that market got reamed at the BACA meeting by the citizenry. This market is a far cry from that sad memory.
According to the fliers I have, there will be more vendors next week. Considering I wasn’t at the market during the rush, I guess Sunnyside Farms was there with the eggs and the veggies. I guess the people selling the cherries was Reid’s Orchard and the ones selling all the flowers Dragonfly farm. Next week Truck Patch Farms, producing salads, greens, and pasteurized pork. And at some date not mentioned there will be a cheese vendor and a baker. Another flier lists a laundry list of herbs, fruits, veggies, flowers and meats that will be at the market.
This market and this coffee shop seems to be just the thing that the area needed. It has been wonderful to run into friends and neighbors at the Bear over the past few days. Mary Ann said that it was nice for the community to come and meet at some place other than a BACA meeting. Where if you’ve been to a BACA meeting, much bitching takes place. Then she or someone else also threw around the idea of starting up a neighborhood knitting group. Beautiful.