A regular summary of irregular news and notes from neighborhood blogs and email lists around the District.

Park It: A member of the Columbia Heights email list sends this complaint: “A couple of months ago, I inquired here about why there was no work being done at 11th and Monroe Park for several sunny days in a row. Councilmember Graham queried DPR’s Jesus Aguirre, who replied that work was halted while a permit was being sought. I asked him why the necessary permits had not been secured before work commenced, and he never replied. Perhaps he thought it was a rhetorical question. In any event, he assured me that work was on track to be completed by autumn. Well, autumn ends tomorrow, and the park is nowhere near finished. One City—where nothing works!” But another member begs to differ. “Director Aquirre is not at fault, at least in the way you think. The start of demolition had little to do with the construction schedule. This park was added to DPR’s construction schedule and budget during last years election period in what had the opportunity to be a real competitive contest for the Ward 1 Council seat. DPR already had a full schedule, plus dealing with the fallout of the Park’s contract political back and forth….There are times when DPR is at fault, like that useless park at 14th/Oak/Ogden, but they really should not be made the escape goat for the dynamics of Ward 1 politics,” they write. A third member says merely, “‘escape goat.’ priceless.”

Boiled: A member of the TakomaDC email list in search of good bagels near the neighborhood is met with a bevy of responses: “Snider’s Market in Silver Spring, up GA before the Beltway”; “I really like Panera Bread. Brubaker’s is pretty good too”; ” Goldberg’s New York Bagels just above 16th St on Georgia Ave. In the same shopping center as York Castle Tropical Ice Cream. Good bagels and whitefish salad. They may close early to observe the first night of Chanukah”; “Washington Deli (5830 Georgia Avenue, just south of Missouri Ave.) started baking its own bagels a few months ago. They’re very good (and I’m a New Yorker, so I know)…I meant to add a line about supporting local businesses to my plug for Washington Deli. Most (all?) of the other recommendations here have been for places outside DC.”; “Goldbergs Black Russian bagels are a gift from god. Delish.”

No Love in This Club: Last week, a member of the ANC-6A email list posted this open letter to “To:  Management and Owners of Love the Club”: “Last night, I found more of your posters stapled to trees on the streets around the Waterfront Metro Station on the green line.  Those posters were also STAPLED to trees. I understand that there is a city law against stapling items to trees. This includes any method that penetrates the bark of the tree. I have heard that the fine is $25. I will report these new incidents to the Urban Forestry Administration at DDOT. You may have already heard from the DDOT about the previous incident in our neighborhood earlier this week. How much in fines will it take before you stop STAPLING your posters to our trees? And when will you have the guts to respond to my emails and apologize to my community – and any others – for damaging our trees?” Though an Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration staffer wrote, “Are they still up? I contacted LOVE’s GM last Friday and she said she would take care of the matter. Let me know. Thank you,” the original poster responds, “I tore them down on 12/12 after I photographed them. However, on the evening of 12/15, I tore down another batch that I found illegally posted around the Waterfront Metro station. Another person on a local listserv mentioned that the Brookland Metro was similarly plastered with the same posters. I would like LOVE’s General Manager to respond to my emails.  I want a direct apology and her assurance that LOVE will never do this again.  What is her direct phone number and email?”

Treed’ Off II: As the Chevy Chase email list continues to debate a city regulation that one member describes as “basically to keep people from arbitrarily taking down large healthy trees because they don’t like them or they drop acorns on their car, for example,” another member offers this anecdote: “Although I have no knowledge of the trees that were posted, I do know that DC had the Chevy Chase Community Center dug up to position new gas lines. As a result, one of the oldest oaks in our neighborhood at the Community Center on the corner of McKinley and Conn. has been effectively killed, its dying branches evident to all. At the time of the gas line repairs, Commissioner Beach and I tried to intercede to get them to dig well away from the tree but to no avail. Now we are losing one of our finest oaks.”