A regular summary of irregular news and notes from neighborhood blogs and email lists around the District.
Babealicious: The Ward3DC blog points out a flattering comment made on the Tenleytown email list about Doug Jemal‘s redevelopment of the former Babe’s Billiards site, following the release of a preliminary plan. “One commenter on the Tenleytown Yahoo Group has already weighed in: ‘That is an absolutely beautiful use of the site. It is nicely scaled and a well-proportioned urban building. It will be an asset to the neighborhood and a significant improvement to a derelict site.'” The forthcoming condo project has caused much consternation amongst the community, with residents railing against all possible facets of the building—such as whether it should or should not have many parking spaces, how tall it should rise, and so on. The blog adds, “Anyone want to break out the popcorn and follow the usual back and forth on the Yahoo Group?” Wait a minute—that’s what these roundups are for!
Palisades Problems: Last week’s never-ending deluge has moved on, but that doesn’t mean Palisades residents are free from the wiles of Pepco. On the neighborhood email list, several members report power outages: “Does anyone know why we have lost power 3 times today?? Sunny with clear skies….” writes one. “Does anyone know anything about these intermittent power outages today? It’s happen twice, but only for a few minutes each time. Thanks,” says another. “I just called PEPCO to find out and of course they couldn’t tell me anything,” a third reports. The first poster pops back in to say, “Well, our power is back AGAIN, but would still like to hear why this is happening on such a nice day. Also, I’m sure this has been discussed before… but is it possible to bury the lines in our area?”
You With the Umbrella: Should it start raining again, Borderstan has poured significant effort into a lengthy post on umbrella etiquette. Part rant and part advice for sidewalk negotiations, the blog states, “Speaking of staying dry, I’ve noticed that many of you have been carrying umbrellas to ensure that you don’t get drenched as you’re walking on the streets. Great idea, right? What’s not a great idea is carrying the umbrella that is the size of a small SUV and barreling through people like they’re pins on the lane at a bowling alley. Having suffered through more than one of those over the past few weeks, I’m getting tired of them. And judging from comments on previous posts, it seems like I’m not the only one.” Commenters on the present post seem to agree: “For the ultimate sidewalk pig, I nominate the yuppie parent riding a bike with one of those baby-trailers attached behind and and an umbrella mounted over the whole contraption. Riding up the sidewalk. I have actually seen this,” writes one.
Dirty Deeds Done Small: The city’s dirt economy doesn’t exist solely on an industrial scale: A member of the New Hill East email list is advertising “free dirt/fill (clean)” for pickup. “Hi, I have several pickup truck loads of dirt available for free. The dirt is clean and good quality. I had to excavate a bunch to re-grade my back yard and am looking to get rid of it as quickly as possible. The dirt is in a pile, easily accessible in the alley. Email if you are interested and I can give you specific instructions on where to pick it up. Thanks,” they write.