A regular summary of irregular news and notes from neighborhood blogs and email lists around the District.
Eight Years and Counting: In a message titled “Poop & alcohol,” a member of the New Hill East email list attaches a photo and writes, “This brown area is a huge defecation by the drinkers who also left behind their empties—at least those were put back into the bags. It has been ongoing for eight years to have a gate close off this alley behind the S&J Liquor store. When will this happen?”
The Scales of Evil and Pepco: “I find it more than ironic that on the very day Pepco butches the trees to ‘protect their power lines’ from weather the power goes out anyway. What Pepco did to the trees on Fifth Street today is criminal,” writes a member of the TakomaDC email list in a thread titled “Evil Pepco.” Another member, amongst a bevy of links to articles detailing Pepco’s status as one of the most hated companies in America, writes, “If the Office of People’s Counsel and the Public Service Commission were tougher they would put pressure on PEPCO to start burying power lines incrementally throughout the City. And a third member merely links to and copies and pastes the full text from a 2007 press release from the utility company announcing its naming of Vincent Orange as the D.C. region vice president.
These Modern Bath-Salts Times: In response to one member’s announcement that the maybe-forthcoming Adams Morgan hotel that will replace the Church of Christ Scientist (and City Paper’s building) is no longer affiliated with Marriott, another member of the neighborhood email list writes, “The Marriott has a pretty good reputation as an employer. At least a competent labor union represents Marriott employees. But Marriott is out of the picture for the church hotel. If the developers go with an ‘independent operator’ instead of Marriott, how can we be confident that this operator will treat the hotel employees fairly?” But a third poster has a different concern: “I walked by the current abandoned church last week on my way to city bikes to get a new tube for my bike. I was offered crack, coke AND bath salts. Not my style, but if I was into those I would be very mad of that development was completed, so much longer of a walk to get my fix.”
Cleveland Park Problems: “I have a large ornate wooden picture frame that used to contain a poster-sized marriage contract, approximately 3 feet x 2 feet. The frame was hand made by wood workers in Italy. The framing was done four years ago,” writes a member of the Cleveland Park email list. She asks, “I would like to sell the frame. How do I go about this? Is there a frame shop that would buy back a large ornate wooden frame? I’d appreciate your advice, please.”