Results tagged “neighborhoods”

A total of 15 people have been displaced by a house fire that broke out just before noon today at 1408 30th Street SE, according to D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer. The nine adults, six children and various pets who lived in the detached single-family home in the Fort Dupont neighborhood of Southeast D.C. are unable to return home due to significant smoke and fire damage. Firefighters believe the blaze started in the basement, but the cause of the fire is under investigation, Piringer said. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported.

A house fire in the 3000 block of O Street NW claimed the life of an elderly woman on Friday evening, as the Post reports. Former Nathan's proprietor Carol Joynt has photos and a remembrance up on her web site, noting that few neighbors knew the woman's name even though she had lived on the block for so many years. "It struck us dumb that her home was in the middle of our block, we saw her occasionally, we knew she was elderly, virtually a shut in, seemingly eccentric, but we didn’t know her name, or of her family or anything about her that could help the investigators. It was the saddest component of a catastrophically sad day."

We've written about the sizzling drama inside the Cleveland Park Citizens Association before, and now the Ward3DC blog reports that the "UNITY" slate, headed by longtime resident John Chelen, has been declared the winner of Tuesday's election. Chelen replaces long-serving president George Idelson, the man who was ridiculed by local media earlier this year for accusing new members of CPCA, drawn to join due to the endless bickering over the Wisconsin Ave. Giant grocery store plans, among other development issues, of attempting a coup. Idelson eventually chose not to run again, leaving Jeff Davis and his "Reform" slate to oppose Chelen.

It feels like it was only a couple weeks ago that the District Department of Transportation confirmed that they would be altering the Georgetown Circulator bus route so that it no longer traveled north on Wisconsin Ave. And the official announcement of the change, wasn't that just last week? Yes, and, oh yeah, that's right. But this morning, city officials announced that they have changed their minds, and the current Circulator route will stay intact.

The fountain water flowed as District officials gathered this morning to formally dedicate the completion of the first phase of the new Columbia Heights Plaza, located at the intersection of 14th Street, Park Road and Kenyon Street NW.

There have been three trash receptacle fires in the last four weeks in the same alley behind a section of 3rd Street SE, WJLA reports. A string of fires like that in the same location makes it tough to speculate that a carelessly tossed cigarette butt might be to blame; odds are some pyro is setting the bins ablaze. So far, no buildings have become victims of the flames, but residents over there are understandably a bit freaked that eventually, one of these fires can and will spread. Fire officials are investigating, and asking the public to keep an eye out. Trash can and dumpster fires are no joke, folks.

Some time ago I asked the DCist writing staff to avoid using the term "hipster" whenever possible. It's a word we all hear and say plenty, but I'm never quite sure what different people really mean by it. Is it just someone who wears skinny jeans and Chuck Taylors? Is it people who compost and keep chickens in their urban gardens? Is any man under 35 who has unusual facial hair a hipster? What's the difference between a scenester and hipster? Are you talking about these people? Or these people? Until I figure out some satisfactory answers, I prefer our writers be more specific about what they really mean. Using "hipster" just seems lazy and vague.

After decades of promises but little action, Shiloh Baptist Church in Shaw has decided to sell two of its controversial vacant buildings and use the proceeds to fund a major redevelopment of its remaining properties.

WTOP's Mark Segraves gets the scoop every local reporter has been angling for: exactly where in D.C. does Attorney General Peter Nickles now live? Segraves says it's Chinatown, in an apartment on 7th Street NW. Nickles, a longtime Virginia resident, took his time about complying with District law that states that senior government officials must reside inside the city limits. The attorney general has said that he moved into his new digs on May 5, but refused to disclose where in the city his residence is located. So, Chinatown/Penn Quarter residents, say hello to your new neighbor!

So D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles says he's finally moved into the District from Virginia, as he was required to do under D.C. law after he was confirmed as Fenty's replacement AG. "I have moved. I have a D.C. license plate. I have my picture on a D.C. license. I'm paying D.C. taxes," Nickles said. But he won't say where, exactly, he's living, and it sure sounds like his wife is not really living there, so we're guessing he won't actually be sleeping there all that often. It's not as though we think we ought have the man's home address, but it would at least be nice if he could say which neighborhood, or which ward even, he's moved into. So, DCist readers, if you see Nickles at the grocery store or parking his car in your neck of the woods, be sure to send in word of the sighting to tips@dcist.com.

We mentioned this briefly over the weekend, but it's worth looking into -- there have been various reports and rumors that portions of Columbia Heights were going to be renamed Tivoli North (or sometimes Tivoli Heights) after the theater located at 14th and Park Road. The name change (or invention) infuriated many, but then it turns out to have been blown out of proportion.

We've noticed in recent days that there are many more teens running around Dupont Circle than you'd normally expect. Local eateries have been extra crowded, pretty much every Starbucks is a no-go zone and the usual resident-enforced rules of Metro are violated at will. What gives?

Bloomingdale residents have long relied on Scott Roberts's excellent neighborhood news and information email list (email scott (at) scott-roberts.net or apply to the Google Group to get it). Today's email was no exception, even if it revealed an alarming trend. Behold these two separate, and hopefully unrelated postings:

Here's a message recently sent out to the Columbia Heights email list:

A week or so ago, I posted about how vandals came into our front yard and stole our Gargoyles. It looks like they pried them off in one piece, so I expect they are somewhere nearby or have been resold.

Continue reading "Have You Seen These Gargoyles?"

Remember 2020 Martini, the three-story, 10,000-square-foot brick oven pizza/pasta/sushi/martini restaurant and bar planned for Old Engine Co. 12, the 112-year-old firehouse at 1626 North Capitol Street? We were deeply skeptical of the concept when NextGen Development first announced its deal with Twyla Garrett of Cleveland-based Garrett Entertainment Corp. last year, and now it seems with good reason. The Bloomingdale blog reported recently that the deal has long since fallen through (hat tip to Arts & Real Estate), and the building is now on the market, listed at $1.5 million.

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Police Third District Inspector Edward Delgado sent this message out to Columbia Heights residents this morning via the 3D email list:

I find it to be my responsibility to alert you of a new trend (Home Invasion) within the Washington region that could pose a threat to the Columbia Heights Neighborhood. The common method of operation is that someone unexpectedly either knocks or bangs on your door. Upon opening the door to ascertain what the emergency is, they rush in and announce a robbery. I ask that if your front door is not equipped with a peep hole or similar device that you have one installed. If you feel uncomfortable with a person at your door please call 911 and advise them you have someone at your door and that they are trying to get in.

Continue reading "Police Warn of Home Invasion Burglaries in Columbia Heights"

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You already knew about the new Ciculator route planned for Adams Morgan, which looks set to replace the 25 cent 98 "link" route as early as March. The Examiner reports today that another new Circulator route, this time running from Union Station to the brand new Capitol Visitor Center to Nationals Park, is also in the works. This Circulator route would replace the N22 Metrobus route. Metro's board meets on Thursday, and plans to discuss the proposed routes then. Both new lines, if approved, would begin March 30.

DCist was the first to report on the completion of the city's first off-leash dog park in the Logan Circle/Shaw area, and now we bring word of a free dog vaccination clinic and licensing event planned at the park this weekend.

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So sayeth The Examiner, which has Ward 1 Council member and Metro board member Jim Graham confirming that the buses have already been ordered and are scheduled to arrive in March. The new Circulator route is intended to replace the 98 bus, the 25 cent shortbus link that connects U Street to 18th Street. The $1 Circulator will go much farther than the 98, and will include parts of K Street, U Street, up through Adams Morgan and Woodley Park as well as Columbia Heights - we'll be excited to check out an exact route map when it's ready. There's a public hearing set for Wednesday, Nov. 19 about canceling the 98 bus, at 600 5th Street NW at 6:30 p.m.

Paul Ruppert, via his kickass arts-focused real estate blog, says Kokopooli's is for sale:

Commercial condos in the heart of Adams Morgan that are currently operating as the Kokopoolis Nightclub. Units 1 and 2 have been combined totaling 2,931 square feet. The auction includes the business and all the contents: 10 televisions, 1 projector, 3 commercial refrigerators, commercial deep fryer, 8 regulation sized pool tables, furniture, 2 refrigerators with 8 keg capacity, surround sound stereo, full inventory of liquor plus many other items in the nightclub. The ABC license is a “Retailer CR 01” and is within the Adams Morgan Moratorium Zone. The unit has exposed brick, open floor plan, 2 entrance doors, 2 bathrooms, office, commercial kitchen, popcorn machine and full complement of glasses and plates. All liquor and food licenses are active and also convey with the sale.

Back in May, we learned about the National Zoo's desire to install an aerial tram, similar to the one at the San Diego Zoo (pictured left). Today, the Examiner and AP are reporting that massive, 20-year long $1 billion master plan to renovate the Zoo has been approved, and it includes installing the aerial tram.

     

Slipping through the cracks of this exciting election news cycle is this critical item out of the Shaw/Logan Circle neighborhoods: your dog park is complete! Check out before and after photos above of the new dog park at Shaw Recreation Field, on 11th Street NW just above Rhode Island Ave. The new park only broke ground a little over three weeks ago -- that's some fast doggy run construction. The fenced in dog area replaced a concrete fútbol rápido field. Neighbors had been petitioning for the dog park since last spring.

Yesterday's Ask DCist feature addressed a weird, metallic, pulsating noise that appeared to be emanating from the HUD building in Southwest Washington, and could be heard clearly as far away as Eastern Market. All signs pointed to a busted steam pipe on the HUD roof, and indeed, U.S. General Services Administration spokesperson Michael McGill has since confirmed for us that at 3:30 a.m. on Monday, GSA received a call that a valve malfunction at the HUD building was causing built up pressurized steam to escape from the steam system, resulting in the loud noise. A repair crew was dispatched to make an adjustment to the valve, and the HUD building was open for business at its regular 8 a.m. start time on Monday.

Anne, who lives at 11th and Pennsylvania SE, writes in:

Gawker points out this new online tool from Homethinking that allows you to compare the neighborhoods of different U.S. cities. It's a fine time-waster and a natural source of argument as to how accurate the comparisons are. Check out the D.C. to Brooklyn comparisons above -- is Ledroit Park really more like Williamsburg than Shaw is? Probably not. It's also not quite finished, it seems, since comparisons to Philadelphia yield entirely unhelpful results. Still, some of the comparisons are fun to sort through (the L.A. to Manhattan one is pretty good), even if some of them are just plain preposterous (Akron to St. Petersburg?).