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

Save the Newel Post!: Park View D.C. ponders a single-family home renovation that has progressed quite oddly: “According to the permits on the front it still looks like the house is intended to be a single family home with a rental in the basement. I think this is good. On the other hand, I think it’s sad, but not unexpected, that the debris pile in the back yard contains the original hardwood pocket doors, newel post, and stair railing.” Commenters are also distressed by the stripping of the home’s original features. One says, “It is so sad to see that stuff thrown away. It seems like our neighborhood has extremes – really good renovations that incorporate the charm of our old houses and ones that just destroy it. You wonder if these flippers really know what people want in houses today. It seems like this has the potential to be a disaster. I’m also thinking of the house on Newton across from the school which had such promise and now is looking quite fugly and is now boarded up again,” while another ruminates, “I agree, that just hurts. I’ve seen so many houses in our neighborhood now with all the old baseboards, flooring, doors, walls, etc. removed and replaced with cheap junk materials. They don’t have the same craftsmanship or style. And you know that, one of these days, the whole “open floor plan” fad, where the entire downstairs has no walls, will go out of style…”

I Can Haz?: “Any suggestions/advise on what to do when you realize water is entering your basement from the bottom up? At this point its only a small puddle. I told a co-worker about this and all he said was, ‘Welcome to DC,'” writes a member of the Brookland email list. But the thread title takes on the parlance of the Internet: It’s entitled “Halp! Water in the basement.”

Bright Ideas: One member of the Adams Morgan email list asks, “Does anyone have a place they recommend for lamp repair? I have two fairly new lamps that need repairs to the electrical wiring. I called Annapolis Lighting and they said it takes a minimum of two weeks to have a lamp repaired, even if the repair is simple. I was hoping for something more like a few days or a week at longest.” But members of the list well-versed in the delicate business of soliciting a lamp repair shop offer other suggestions: “In all of DC, I think there are a total of two places. One is way up Connecticut Avenue. The other is right here in Adams Morgan, the Brass Knob. They charge an arm and a leg. They repaired a lamp of mine, and I’m fairly satisfied, except for the price which was over the top, but I needed it done. I think they are faster than Annapolis,” says one. Another adds, “I have had fast, polite, and effective service at Artisan Lamps in Cleveland Park. They’ve repaired electrical and structural issues for me and they re-wired a lamp to add an additional bulb and a new kind of switch.”

Cleveland Park, ISO: Under a thread titled “ISO Occasional Weekend Dog Walker,” one member of the Cleveland Park listserv requests, “We’re looking for an occasional weekend dog walker for our 70 lb black lab. Can be a neighborhood high schooler or professional. We need a visit this Saturday. Please contact me offlist.” There is no mention of what “occasional” might constitute.