From a recent post to Takoma’s Yahoo! group:

I just saw a young deer in the yard next door (on Piney Branch between Dahlia and Blair), but he’s gone now. I imagine he came in from the alley off 7th Street. Looked like a young male (small, with antlers). Does one call somebody about a wandering deer after he has gone off?

I say let it slide. But what do you think? Anyone know what the protocol is on this one?

Raccoon problems, which we’ve reported on before, apparently persist in Shepherd Park. Discussion on a neighborhood list has recently explored how to keep the critters from feasting on garbage:

Writes one poster:

Currently, a racoon is having his dinner out of my neighbors trash can. It is seldom with a lid and often trash is placed beside it, rather than in it.

If we keep feeding these animals, they will continue to come back. The family will come to feed also and we will suddenly wake up and be surprised that we are overrun with raccoons, rats and the like.

It is really not that hard to put the trash in the container and shut the lid!

This has been going on for over a year and nothing changes, why?

Among the responses:

Rocks can help. So can finking out your neighbor:

Even with the lid on the can a raccoon is still able to get inside. My husband found that out the hard way when he took trash out one night. When he opened the lid, a raccoon looked up at him and then jumped out and ran away. What we have started doing is to put a heavy rock on top so that they can’t open it. But if your neighbor’s trash can is in the alley with the trash beside it you can call 202-727-1000 and say that you want to make a complaint regarding loose trash. But you would have to make sure that the government can get there before it is picked up so that they can see it and give your neighbor a ticket. Enough tickets might get them to keep their area cleaner.

There’s a great future in plastics. And elastics. And Lysol:

Any future upgrade of the Supercans in D.C. needs to incorporate a heavier grade of plastic & a quick-release latch on the front of the cans.

Another short-term solution is to purchase the appropriate length elastic tie-down strap. Stretch the strap from the handle on the rear of the can across the top & secure it to the aluminum upload bar on the front of the can.

Keep the contents sprayed with Lysol aerosol to cover the smell of food products.

More dispatches on the Shepherd Park message board about life with raccoons.

My neighbor and I captured 3 raccoons in a trap and released them about 5 miles or so in Rock Creek park.. There was a set of five that was noticed. We live on 1600 block of Roxanna Rd

And:

I had a party Saturday evening (7900 block 13th St). We had lots of people talking, music, etc. in the house and backyard. My front door was open and glass screen door closed. I was at the front door talking with 3 other people when I saw a very large raccoon, on my front porch, looking into the house through the glass. I screamed and it ran. Not sure if it was rabid but it did not have a problem coming that close to humans that were making a lot of noise.

A hapless cat isn’t the only animal to pop up on Shepherd Park’s message board.

Reports one poster:

I came face to face (fact to snout?) with a raccoon in my back yard last evening. A neighbor with whom I spoke moments later said she had already called animal control, though she’s clearly too young to be the senior mentioned to Sharon. The creature eventually scurried away. Is there anything else one should do if in the presence of a raccoon?

Among the responses:

My friend scared off a raccoon in her attic using rags soaked in ammonia and dog urine.? I have seen a raccoon in my driveway twice in the past few months, so I’m going to try it.? I’ll tell you if it works outside.

And:

We put moth crystals in the eaves or our attic in the fall to deter raccoons. Moth balls do not work as well as cyrstals since raccoons can manipulate the balls. But better moth balls than nothing.

The first poster responds:

will have to try that as the little bugger nipped at my ankle tonight on my deck. no broken skin or anything, but not a good sign. be on the lookout, folks.

The one constant on the neighborhood message boards—besides bickering—is cat sightings. There are so many missing cats!

But this one—from Shepherd Park’s board today—just rises above:

Please be on the lookout for a cat with a can stuck on his head! My husband saw him this morning around 7AM on Geranium Street near 14th Street. He wasn’t able to remove the can. I went looking for the cat but couldn’t find him. Animal Control has been notified and is sending a crew out.

I wonder how Animal Control will get the can off the cat’s head.

UPDATE
From the message board:

The can has been removed.

It appears that the cat was trying to eat some leftover pet food that was in the can. The folks at Animal Control were very responsive to the several calls I made, but they were trying to remove a raccoon from a senior’s home. When I got close I could see the cat’s ear so I figure a firm tug would do the trick and it did. I don’t know if the kitty has a home, but he is free now.

From a Saturday post to the newhilleast discussion group:

Subject: [newhilleast] encounter with the driving onanist

This morning, my girlfriend was out for a run on East Capitol Street when a man in a white sedan—not an SUV, but a sedan—pulled over and asked her for directions. Yes, you guessed it—he was masturbating. African American, looking more than a little bit stoned. When she called 311, they told her he’d been spotted already once this morning, though over on North Capitol Street, doing the same thing.

Keep your eyes open, folks, and be careful when somebody asks you for directions.

Every Tuesday and Thursday weekday, we run down what’s going on in local Internet discussion groups.

TakomaDC
Are message boards bad for gentrification? On Tuesday, Jan. 9, poster Rich reported that at the evening’s community meeting there was some concern that the message board “may frighten off potential neighbors.” Rich went on to write: “It was not suggested that we stop letting each other know what’s happening, but that perhaps we could do more to put the reports in context.”

We suggest that all muggings must now be referred to as “culture exchanges,” that all smash-and-grabs be described as “car-stereo recycling,” and that all missing-cat postings be labeled as “Free-Range Kitten Policy In Effect.”

To help things along, we’ve taken a recent posting on TakomaDC regarding some graffiti found at the Takoma Rec Center and translated it.

On Monday, Jan. 8, Lars wrote:

Note that a local crew/gang/group of kids calling themselves the Rittenhouse Crew (RHC) have their tags in several places on Takoma Rec Center grounds and trees, not to mention much of the surrounding streets. There is also profanity spray painted on one of the rear-outside stairwell of the pool building that has been there for at least a year, and some other graffiti on the main building area. I reported this a couple times last year and reported the RHC tags earlier this year to MPD and DPW. My guess is that RHC may be connected to the recent muggings near the rec center, but that is just a guess.

And here’s our new toned-down version:

Note that a local club, the Rittenhouse Crew, has been working on an expansive art project at the Takoma Rec Center grounds. Its creative renderings have stood the test of time and can be found on the main building area and assorted other spots. Reports of their work have drawn the attention of the community and even various government agencies. The crew’s artistic output may have spread to more immediate cultural exchanges between its members and area residents. But that’s just speculation.

After reading our translation, who wouldn’t want to live in Takoma Park?

shepherdpark
An internet debate on political signs continues continues as Terri, who complained earlier about an unwanted sign that materialized in her yard, reconsiders: “I guess I was too hasty,” she writes. “It was probably an innocent error. It’s just that I have never wanted to have a sign of any sort in my yard.”

“No, I don’t think you were hasty,” gg6409 counters. “Yours was not the only yard. It happened to my neighbor and a couple other folks I heard from. My neighbor is an elderly woman and was not happy about it.”

Every Tuesday and Thursday weekday, we run down what’s going on in local Internet discussion groups.

shepherdpark
Fourth District Commander Hilton B. Burton recently announced on his message board that during the next three weeks, each PSA (Police Service Area) will be conducting regular meetings. At the meetings, his officers hope to gather intel and feedback on how best to implement a 100-day plan to combat crime. Burton went on to ask: “If you or any of your neighbors have any suggestions they would like to see included in the final plan please let your PSA official or me know.” Poster S. Miller took the opportunity to offer up the following: Officers should get out of their cruisers “once a day for a few minutes” and talk to residents to “ask about community public safety matters.”

Since this may be a new concept, we offer up some conversation starters for cops looking to make that ground-level connection with their constituents:

• “Boy, those Skins could sure use some help in the offseason, huh?”
• “Man, doesn’t feel much like winter around here, huh?”
• “I’ll tell you—rents aren’t getting any lower in this city, huh?”
• With all the [murders, robberies, burglaries, loitering] in this area lately, you could use a substation, huh?”
• “You grow up around here?”

Every Tuesday Monday and Thursday, we run down what’s going on in local Internet discussion groups.

shepherdpark

“I don’t know who Muriel Bowser is,” Terri writes, “but she has just lost my vote.” Terri’s beef’s got nothing to do with stadiums, safety, or schools: She returned home from a shopping trip to find that a sign for Bowser (reportedly a potential candidate for Mayor Adrian Fenty’s vacated Council seat) had taken root in her yard. “The sign is going in the trash,” the irate Terri says, “and I will vote for anyone but her.” But Dodie defends the “considerate and savvy” Bowser, posting an apologetic note Bowser had left on a Takoma list after the same thing happened there—which suggests that unwanted campaign signs may simply be part of the District’s streetscape.

Every Tuesday and Thursday Friday, we run down what’s going on in local Internet discussion groups.

ustreetnews
bgsmith122 is fed up with gang shootings, and he is almost as fed up with superficial police work. Despite a pair of homicides in the neighborhood, he writes, the cops aren’t doing much to make the neighborhood safe. They haven’t checked out a tip on a car that drug dealers were using, and they haven’t come near to ending “this little ‘gang war.’” They have, however, put up spotlights. “The lights do NOTHING but push the crime one one block away in every direction,” he writes. One went up 7th and Q Streets NW, but three drug deals happened nearby without interference, the poster reports.

TakomaDC
The Lamond Recreation Center has been open for only four months, but shawn_mc_carthy dropped by and found the doors locked. A sign read, “Closed Until Further Notice.” “This does not sound like a small thing,” he writes. “’Until further notice’ has a certain permanence to it.…Also, I’ve noticed that the fitness room has had a broken, out-of-order weight machine since October, and I’ve watched dirt pile up under and around the Cardio equipment without a thorough cleaning for many weeks.” ginadouglas replies that she heard something was wrong with the gym floor. Alonzo Patterson of the Department of Parks and Recreation confirms the rumor. He doesn’t say when the center will reopen.

HillcrestDC
Thieves are into remodeling: hbv25_kathy hired workers to fix up her house. When they began carrying in their tools, a chop saw and two hammers vanished from the truck.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we run down what’s going on in local Internet discussion groups.

AdamsMorgan
jwilcox23 reports that an unidentified vandal took on several parked cars and beat them soundly. It isn’t clear whether the car-smasher was male, female, alien, or cyborg. The poster guesses that this car-basher did not come from the sky, but from the suburbs: “If it turns out that Mr. Incredible wasn’t from Maryland or Virginia, I extend my sincere apologies to any suburbanites who may be offended by my assumption that this was a commuter drunk.”

Brookland
Things we want: jlw122364, mourning his son, seeks a support group for the families of murder victims. gregounours, throwing a party, seeks a disco ball.

tenleytown
Wilderness-in-the-city edition. Says carolynsherman2: “The other night a possum came in through our dog door and curled up and fell asleep in the corner of our sofa. He may have been asleep for hours when I saw him ? Our two dogs didn’t even notice him. I called animal control and they came in about half an hour with a cage, picked him up by the tail, put him in, and said they were going to release him in Rock Creek Park.” From faniafleissig: “Just a few minutes ago I saw a red fox trot across Belt Road in broad daylight. He was quite at ease and seemed to know where he was going. It was quite fascinating.” And pretzel102270 says, “I’ve seen a raccoon in my back alley a few times, including in my trash can. It lunged at me.”

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we run down what’s going on in local Internet discussion groups.

shepherdpark
When Shepherd Park resident Mari’s van was stolen from in front of her home last Thursday, she was worried that she may never see the candy-apple-red Dodge Caravan with the soccer ball and “terrific kid” bumper stickers ever again. Although frustrated by the police’s handling of her stolen vehicle, a couple of days after the van was taken, she and her husband received a couple of good tips. First: a sighting. “Neighbors spotted our van tearing through the neighborhood,” Mari writes. “It was parked in one neighbor’s yard for part of the day, then disappeared - either the thieves came back, or a new set of thieves took it.” Even with that information, the police still couldn’t recover the van. “These sightings were reported to the police as early as 11:30, only minutes after the van was stolen, but as far as I know no one was sent to follow up at that time - when the thieves were apparantly hanging out enjoying Shepherd Park.” Maybe the second lead will be more helpful: “Two casette tapes of ours were found in a neighbor’s yard. These thieves do not like Old School.”

AdamsMorgan
In trying to figure out the mystery of a black sootlike material that covered Adams Morgan last week, one neighborhood resident suggests that perhaps the dark dust on Ellington Bridge could be the result of a recent sandblasting to remove dirt and graffiti from the structure. Naturally, this post, devolves into a free-for-all on private school kids. Martymoo comments that a little grime is a small price to pay for the removal of a tag on the bridge that read “Grand Old Pedophiles.” He says the graffito “made me want to puke” and he blames the nauseating bit of vandalization on kids from “Maret/Sidwell/GDS” who “are taught that ‘self-expression trumps civility.’” Rich responds, “You mean it took kids from three different schools to paint that slogan? Man, the kids these days are slacking.” But Kiltumper says private schools and thinky grafitti that uses big words simply go hand-in-hand. “Yeah, exclusive ($$$) upper-NW prep schools are known breeding grounds for strong anti-establishment/anti-conservative sentiment.…I wonder if any St. Albans kids were involved too.….”

columbia_heights
A holiday greeting from Columbia Heights resident Halya:

Mary Krismas every 1
Mary Krismas to the boys and girls
To the people of the world
To the saints and the sinners
the people who take blood thinners
The sick and the healthy
the poor and the wealthy
The prosperous and the weak
The tender and the meek
We been through a lot this year
But we still got good cheer
How about a beer
Just don’t drive
You might hit a deer

I think the funnest part about Krismas is getting new tunes
Jamming and whamming and banging and clanging
slipping and sliding and gripping and gliding
that’s the roll in the rock
when your ship hits the dock
when your goose leaves his flock
You say tick tock
what time is it?
It’s Krisma yo
time to go
and rest a spell - take the time to smell

don’t worry about the world
the world will take care of itself
It always has
It always will
You sipping on egg nog with rum, or rum with coke
won’t make a difference - that ain’t no joke
The world won’t end—we’ll all be here
next year
It’s what I’ve been trying to tell ya
Being that I’m Halya.
Think of Mary.

Mary Krismas.
What would she say if she were here?
Merry Christmas to ya’ll
Have a happy next year.

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we run down what’s going on in local Internet discussion groups.

AdamsMorgan
December is the season of giving. And taking. Lately, posts about thefts in Adams Morgan have been flying like the first snowballs of winter. One resident reports a stolen Mercedes. Another reports five thefts-from-auto. This prompts a third resident to remind everyone that it’s not just carolers belting out off-key tunes: “When you hear a car alarm, it could be yours!” And Josh chimes in that even well-sheltered belongings aren’t protected. “The basement of our building (1791 Lanier) has been broken into three times in the past month,” he writes. The thieves made off with bikes the first two times, then returned with bolt cutters to break into storage cages. And police seem to be more interested in making their lists than checking them twice. Chris had some jewelry stolen from her home and trying to get recover the cherished items has been nothing but frustration. “We know who stole the items and where they were pawned, and then just NOTHING from the police,” she writes. The whole experience has turned her into a bit of a Grinch. “I don’t mean to be cynical,” she concludes, “but I wish you luck on finding the person who stole the property on Lanier Place.”

concerned4DCPS
Congress’ recent decision to increase the income limit for school vouchers sparks a lively discussion in this education forum. Bonnie wonders if the schools participating in the voucher program are performing any better than the public ones. That’s a difficult question to answer, but one member doesn’t care to make the distinction. “If anyone can name another federally funded program wherein $60k is the bar for ‘low income’ I will eat my hat!!” writes the member. “Once again your tax dollars and this city’s children are being used to carry out an agenda that has nothing to do with the welfare of the children involved in this scheme.” Helen says not to blame the Man. “Anyone who cares for children should look to the cure instead of pointing fingers at ‘the man’ (read Republicans) who is behind this nefarious plot to hurt public schools,” she writes. “Public schools have done a darn fine job of hurting themselves. They don’t need any help from ‘the man.’” Jedxn blames the system, and in a roundabout way ends up blaming the Man. “Ones education determines class,” writes Jedxn. “You can buy your way up through private school. How do you think that numbskull in the White House got his job? Phillips Academy and Yale! Not DCPS and UDC.”

tenleytown
One resident suffering from a case of buyer’s remorse solicits advice. “Help!” she writes. “I’ve signed on for a wonderful trip with an old friend—but now remember she snores loud enough to wake the dead. By the end of the last trip we took together I was contemplating murder most foul. Anyone know of REALLY good earplugs I can buy?” “Try a sports store where they have items for fishing and hunting,” writes Amy. “Target shooters wear earplugs.” Lorrie says a travel-sized white-noise machine might augment her defenses while Fred suggests asking her friend to wear Breathe Right strips. “My wife says they really help,” he writes. Doris says that if poster is truly a good friend, she’ll take the snorer to get checked for sleep apnea. “No ear plugs or device can block out the sound of intensely loud snoring,” she writes. “I know. I now use a breathing machine and travel with it. My husband sleeps soundly and my blood pressure has returned to the normal range. Also, I no longer feel drowsy. Good luck.”

Every Tuesday and Thursday, we run down what’s going on in local Internet discussion groups.

MPD-1D
Have the birds near Gallaudet University looked especially dirty lately? John explains: “I have not had a chance to call in a report but last night in the 700 Block of L Street NE…an individual entered our gate and stole a birdbath. When I looked out the window he was running down L Street and turning right on 7th heading toward Florida Avenue. He was pushing a grocery cart.”

WardOneDC
As U Streeters all but demand that Trader Joe’s come to the ’hood and serve them (subject: “FWD: Trader Joe’s: They Just Aren’t Getting It!!”), Jamietre tells chatters they shouldn’t blame TJ for wanting to take a pass on the neighborhood: “I have followed this discourse with a little bit of amusement. It seems that business can never win with the residents of Ward One. The new Giant suffered a picket line on it’s first day for the atrocious crime of having a pickup and dropoff area. Target was controversial because people feel it will bring too much traffic to the area among other reasons. Now, I see the same sort of venom and tactics used against TJ’s…except it’s because they DON’T want to open here! Hmm, I wonder why anyone might think twice about opening a store in this can of worms that is Columbia Heights.”

MPD-7D
Chatters revolt against police officers and parking attendants who ticket car owners for temp-tag-related infractions. “You would think an officer?in this percent/District would understand that residents that have temporary tags in their car windows it is for a reason,” writes Ancostia_rebel, who decided to display his tag inside the car after a previous one was stolen from the outside, thus inviting a ticket. “The same thing happened to my neighbor,” chips in ladieree. And Gloria got whammied as she was at the DMV buying temp tags for the car she just bought at police auction. “I returned from DMV with the paper tags by 10:00 and there were two $100.00 tickets written at 9:43am for not displaying front and rear tags,” she writes. “The area I live in (behind Wingate) is riddled with drugs and prostitution but that just goes on non-stop and the decent citizens are ticketed repeatedly. We are on the losing end non-stop.”