In case you missed the last report, there’s a fresh animal sighting in Takoma:

From a post last night:

earlier today, i walked out to the vacant lot behind my house, and to my surprise, saw a deer there - a buck in fact. first time in takoma! the animal looked frightened and not quite sure what to do. i can imagine it wandering around the streets, not sure how to get back to the park from which it no doubt came.

But it wasn’t the first time in Takoma, according to a response this morning:

If he was a fairly small buck, three to four feet high, he’s probably the one I saw a while ago in the yard next door, about ten feet from my window. That would mean he passed by the houses of lots of folks on this list, possibly strolling down 5th from Dahlia to Van Buren, or more likely through yards and alleys.

Anyway, drive carefully, a Montgomery County Council member was seriously injured when his car and a deer collided and the deer came through the window.

It’s true.

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?

A poster to Yahoo’s TakomaDC group generated some traffic yesterday when she asked people how they get old DMV registration stickers off their windshields. “Is it just a matter of huge quantities of patience with a utility knife?” she wondered. “These things are a bear!”

Another poster forwarded the following tip, which someone else had sent her a few years back when she’d faced the same problem:

I have had some success with this method. I use a product called Goo Gone (you can get it at CVS or a supermarket). It’s an oily liquid that smells like citrus. I make a pad out of a couple of paper towels and saturate it with the stuff. Then I squirt a lot of the liquid on the sticker itself. I tape the pad to the sticker, so the sticker is soaking in the stuff. I leave it overnight, then leave the car in the sun for about an hour so the sticker warms up. You still have to scrape, but at least it comes off.

I think the DC DMV needs to consult with NASA. If they used the same glue on the tiles on the space shuttle, they wouldn’t have any problems. It’s almost indestructable.

That didn’t keep more advice from pouring in yesterday. Try outsourcing, suggests another poster:

I normally go to a gas station where they have great scrapers for taking off such stickers. It usually takes one of the mechanics less than 2 minutes to get the entire sticker off - I tip them a few bucks and I’m on my way!

Recommends another poster:

You can also try rubber cement thinner. The major brand name is “Bestine” and can be found in any art or arts & crafts store. Essentially you soak the sticker in Bestine and then scape it off. The process takes several minutes, versus the overnight soaking with Goo Be Gone.

I don’t own a car, so I don’t get what the big deal is. Can any drivers out there shed light on this? Just how stubborn are those stickers?

For years, residents of D.C.’s tonier neighborhoods have traded tips on how to get the Washington Examiner to stop throwing its free papers on their front yards—often with spotty results. Now an upper Northwest man is actually inviting the paper into his environs—again, with spotty results.

Shepherd Park resident Ralph Blessing wants the Examiner to put copies of its D.C. edition at the Takoma Metro stop, a request he made in early June. The paper’s Maryland edition has long been available at the station, but Blessing wants news on his town. “Let me see if I can have a few copies of the D.C. edition there for our loyal readers such as you,” Thomas F. DeSimone, the paper’s vice president for circulation, responded two weeks later. “I will get them there.”

District editions have yet to show up at the station. The problem is all about boundaries: The publisher and distribution contractor may have crossed signals on whether the Takoma Metro was in D.C. (correct) or Maryland (incorrect). John Cannady, a delivery contractor, says he’s received no request for the D.C. edition at Takoma. “We all have bosses. I take my marching orders from them.”

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?

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

Brookland
Brookland resident Courtney knows that it’s hard to find a cat-sitter—and it’s even harder to find a cat-sitter who is willing and able to wield little teeny-tiny insulin needles and inject them into a squirming kitty twice a day. “We are going away soon and though we have someone coming to stay with our cats, we need someone who knows how to give a shot two times a day to our diabetic cat—every 12 hours to be exact.” Courtney writes. “I was wondering if anyone out there is a vet or vet tech and would be up to doing shots, as shots freak out the person staying with them…Thanks!!”

shepherdpark
So much for diggin’ the scene with a gangster lean. It seems one man’s leisurely cruise through Shepherd Park is apparently another man’s menacing case of the neighborhood. Aja posts “Burgundy Cadillac with Tinted Windows is prowling the neighborhood.311 contacted.”

TakomaDC
In the annals of Takoma diversity: For a personal project, neighbor Judy enlists the help of some of Takoma Park’s finest amateur translators. “Any linguistics in the neighborhood?” she asks. “[I]‘m looking for the translation of:
* gift
* clarity
* freedom
in as many languages as possible, including sanskrit, but not french and spanish.” Rich tells Judy to look online, as he did, to find out that “freedom” in Sanskrit is svatantra. Yet Seth cautions against using the Web for accurate translations. “In Hebrew, freedom = he-rut ????, gift = ma-ta-na ????, clarity = be-hee-rut ?????? You have to be careful with dictionaries and machine translation. You might get word senses and cases or declensions other than what you want.” Pamela steps up with Swahili: “gift is zawadi; clarity is ubayana (my dictionary says clarification); freedom is uhuru.” Steve chimes in with the Italian translations, another Steve offers up German and Latin, Simone provides Portuguese translation, and Rich comes through, again, with Arabic, Catalan, Czech, Russian, and Yiddish.

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

TakomaDC
Those turning leaves look real pretty this time of year, but once they start to pile up on the ground, they send residents into a discussion on proper leaf disposal. Alice reminds that “it is not legal to sweep leaves from your property onto the street. When it rains they end up clogging the gutters, then the city has to send a separate crew out to clean the gutters. Put them on the tree lawn.” But not everyone gets the memo. “today as I was strolling my son to Safeway, I saw some guys cleaning the leaves from someone’s yard (I think it was 7th & Van Buren) and actually raking the leaves into the gutter,” one resident reports. “Didn’t seem right, but wasn’t 100% sure, so I didn’t say anything.” Pam on Underwood writes, “Someone should tell the people across the park…I travel over there every day to pick up my granddaughter from school, and there are huge piles of leaves in the streets!” Another resident worries that she might not be doing enough: “In front of my home, we have a ton of leaves in the street because, well, that’s where they fell. Should I plan to rake those up into the tree box, too?”

concerned4DCPS
LeRoy has had enough of school-board hearings and the accompanying lip service about fixing the litany of problems with the city’s schools. “I get the feeling I’m watching a meeting of robots,” he writes. “Dull proceedings designed to lull us to sleep. My impression from watching them is there is no real problem in the school system. No emergency, no urgency, nothing to get excited about, no problem. Watching this absolutely dysfunctional school board operate on cable TV, you would not know that most of the children and teachers are in seriously deteriorating conditions. Maybe the board members have a different meaning for words.”

So he decides to create a list of those definitions. A sampling:

Drop-out means smaller class size.
Co-location means boys and girls in the same classroom.
Excess space: Developement opportunity.
Parents: 3 minutes of irritation for school bd. that members put up with at hearings. Children: Something to talk about when running for public office.
Charter Schools: Education Condo Conversions for future Yuppies who may have children
Board of Education: Entry level for City Council
Developers: Bribe Givers
City Council: Bribe Takers

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

columbia_heights
Listserv slam poet Halyadoing wants your vote. “Dear Voter-peoples, Please don’t settle for the same status quotes. Give me your votes. Write on your ballots: Halyadoing? Just Fine! That will ease your mind. We will have four fun years. Picking cotton out our ears. Doing the hand jive for our peers. Raising our glasses and yellin ‘cheers.’ Debating marriage for the—oops—don’t want to lose the gay vote. Just kidden Miss Thang. You aw-ite with me! Halyadoing loves the ladies and you ain’t no competition. So put down your petition. I give you permission to stroll down to the Mission and get yo freak on like nuclear fission.…I’m Halyadoing. And I approve this massage.” And with that post, Halyadoing apparently lost the Dave vote: “I don’t think he’s old enough to run for office,” he sneers.

FriendsOfSligoCreek
A real friend of Sligo Creek resurfaces after a long absence. “15 or 20 years ago, a guy used to hang around Sligo Creek Park in back [of] my house on Dublin Drive, 1/4 mile north of Forest Glen,” writes Joe. “He wore a ragged dress and looked really weird. He spooked our kids, who were small at the time, so much they would not go into the park. One neighbor claimed to have seen him behind her house naked, but other than that we had no indication that he was doing anything illegal.” He disappeared, but then, last week, “we saw him again in the same place, wearing a ragged dress with his slip showing. Does anyone know anything about him?”

DC-Area-Cacophony
Goddess Santa is upset at the Santarchists behind Santa Crawl. Specifically, on the Crawl’s Web site, the rules on “Women” state: “Not allowed, unless you meet them on the crawl, and then you have to share them with the other Single Santas. Don’t bring your wife, girlfriend, a girl that your thinking about seeing, a girl that’s a friend, a girl that’s a friend that happens to live in Baltimore or Maryland, don’t bring or invite anyone that’s not a dude. Oh and don’t assume that it’s cool to have your wife/girlfriend show-up late in the evening, or at the last bar.” Goddess Santa thinks this blanket ban warrants action: “We could get a group of counter-santas and meet up around 8:00 pm and track down the sexist santas—then PICKET THEM!” However, after some discussion, the wild-’n’-wacky cacophonists decide that picketing isn’t really their style. So alternatives are posted, ranging from “chase them with lots of dildos” to showing up as “topless women Santas,” because that “would confuse them.” To which Louis responds: “Yep!…Ain’t nothing a misogynist hates as much as getting to see boobs without putting any actual effort into it.”

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

shepherdpark
In the days following Halloween, Shepherd Parksters decide to swap some stories of tricking and treating around the neighborhood. TPJohnson, who cites giving candy to some Walter Reed staffers as a highlight of the night, repeats a common complaint of candy-givers: too many kids in street clothes. “I asked one little guy where was his costume, and what he was supposed to be, and he told me “a grownup!” Mark reports that he had 51 kids, and one adult, come by for candy­-a 21 percent increase over the previous year. Christine cops to being that one big person asking for sweets at Mark’s house. The sole tricking incident is reported by Caryn. “Only one bit of ‘weirdness’—I had my boombox playing on the front porch with scary sounds and music. It was outside, but plugged in indoors with cord running under the door. I heard some commotion and noticed the cord was pulled taut. I opened the door to see some young boys sprinting across Jonquil toward Shepherd Elementary and the boombox was out of place.” But, she says, there was “[n]o harm done.”

TakomaDC
Why bother Verizon with a request for a couple of phone books when you can just bug your neighbors for ’em? “Help! I am desperately searching for 2 copies of the White Pages for DC. Does anyone have a copy (or two!) they’d be willing to let me have or at least borrow for about 2 weeks?” asks Wendy, presuming that Takoma residents are a more reliable and speedy source of the books than our region’s premier supplier of communications services. Or maybe she’s just thinks that her fellow neighbors would be less likely to brand her as a weirdo when she explains her intentions. “I need them for a magic trick and can return them to you!”

Brookland
In an epic thread about veterinarians, Brookland residents debate the merits of various veterinarians—particularly the head pet docs at Hyattsville Animal Hospital versus those at the Brentwood Animal Hospital. The vet at Hyatsville is praised as “caring” and “compassionate” but also way too slow and old-fashioned. The doc at Brentwood, based on animal owners’ experiences, is technologically advanced and prompt, but has a lesser bedside manner. Amid the kudos and complaints, Lorie says she typically felt rushed at Brentwood and thought the doc didn’t listen to her. And, while the staff was likeable and informed about animals, their knowledge of world geography left much to be desired. “[W]e did really like [the] staff (although one of his vet techs was sure our Norwegian Elkhounds were from ‘Norwegia’).”

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

CSNA U Street
CCDogpark suggests that, rather than letting kiddies have the final dip in municipal pools, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation should close out the pool season with a dog swim. “Other towns are generating large sums of money every fall with season ending canine swim events on the weekend before the pools are closed and drained for the season,” the dog lover writes. “You need to have an outdoor, municipal, fenced, pool with a zero-depth end and/or a baby pool for small breeds.” CCDogPark says the event should be a fundraiser to benefit a cause important to the city and dog owners alike—which automatically excludes anything benefiting children, right?

TakomaDC
For almost a week, Takoma DC residents have been trying to help Carolivia figure out how to crack open the delicious black walnuts that are apparently plentiful up near the D.C./MD line. Suggestions have ranged from expensive, specialized crackers to a vise. On Sunday, Carolivia thanked her neighbors for their suggestions and announced that she was attempting to do some online shopping for a nutcracker designed specifically to smash tough nuts. But she hadn’t yet heard the simple solution offered up by Lea. “I don’t know if this alternative has been mentioned: placing the black walnuts in the street or your driveway and running over them with the tires of your car. I was told about this option when I was living in the mountains of Virginia.”

Shepherd Park
Instead of using a cutesy pseudonym, Washington Post reporter Henri Cauvin adds his byline to a listserv post that reveals he is looking for a framer to fancy up a very special piece of work. For, um, a friend, maybe? “Looking for suggestions for reasonably priced places in the area to re-frame a couple of posters and to do a commemorative engraving of newspaper article,” Cauvin writes.

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

TakomaDC
The Takoma Park neighborhood is atwitter over a slew of slashed “Fenty for Mayor” signs. After several residents report that their signs appear to have been cut, Lars suggests that perhaps the posters weren’t ruined intentionally. “I began to get suspicious as some of the slashed ones were in the midst of delicate flower arrangements, some behind fences with dogs, etc. And all the slashes always seemed the same, a diagonal cut that was very clean in most cases,” he notes. “So I wonder if the material the signs are made of simply splits at certain temperatures? I doubt vandals would be so careful as to spare flowers etc, or so dedicated to hit so many signs. Anyone want to toss one in their oven and see?” Sanyin also has noted the vandalized signs, but very subtly hints that neither nature nor rowdy neighborhood kids are to blame. “It looked to me that many Fenty signs are undisturbed, while others were slashed (or perhaps just split?). Some had damage only near the center. But I must say that there were several which appeared to have been cropped.”

shepherdpark
No one wants bus shelters and seating anymore—residents in Shepherd Park would rather stand in the rain than have some poor, weary homeless person dare to stretch out and get a nap on a bench or have to look at the occasional graffito on the side of a shelter. In discussing a bus stop on Alaska Avenue, Shepherd Park resident Jason says bus shelters are crime magnets, and he does not support them. StephB doesn’t mention the shelters but says she’s opposed to installing a bench at the site. Only Rosemary believes that residents shouldn’t let their fear of crime get in the way of comfort, and that having a bunch of people standing around waiting for Metrobuses, exposed to the elements, is barbaric. “I support a bench..shelter is 2nd..but to sit is civil,” she writes.

BannekerSchoolCouncil
The beginning of a new school year means, among other things, that it’s time to clean house on various school-related listservs. In the BannekerSchoolCouncil group, several parents of students who graduated in June are just getting around to asking to be removed from the list. The parents/grandparents/legal guardians of recent Banneker grads explain that their kids have left the school and also politely wish the other parents good luck with their new principal, Anita Berger——except for one. “My daughter graduated this past spring, so please take my e-mail address off of your list,” asks R. “I feel sorry for the current parents having to deal with this principal for the next several years. Nice lady, but definitely not up to the job and has no clout with central office except to get the job for herself. A self serving situation for both sides.”

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

DC_MD_VA_Rap_list
One man’s fatal impaling by sea creature is, of course, another man’s marketing opportunity. On the always lively DC/MD/VA Rap List, rapper Whitefolkz sends out a message with the subject line: “R.I.P Steve Irwin ‘Crocodile Hunter,’” which turns out to be more a plug for his new album than a tribute to the fallen Aussie naturalist. “THIS IS JUST ANOTHER REASON WHY YOU SHOULD 6UY THE NEW WHITEFOLKZ AL6UM, THE WAY THAT I LIVE, INSTEAD OF PLAYING WITH STINGRAYS,” the rapper writes. “THE WHITEFOLKZ CD HAS SHARP AND ON POINT LYRICS 6UT THE CD IS NOT POISONOUS. SAVE AN AUSTRALIAN, 6UY THE WHITEFOLKZ CD.”

MountPleasantDC
When Eric posts to the list wondering if there’s any chance of recovering a laptop stolen from his apartment, neighborhood resident Karen responds that she has seen Eric’s computer—thinking it was hers, a few cops tried to give it to her a few nights ago after someone tried to rob her. She adds that the thief was apprehended by her neighbors, but she decided not to press charges because “he said he was MS-13 and I don’t want a gang pissed at me.” Turns out, the laptop is indeed Eric’s—he finds it down at the 3rd District station, but Mt. P residents were less interested in Karen’s good Samaritan lost-and-found services than her complete wuss-out. Says neighbor Marty: “I represent the Harvard Street Hellraisers, an affiliation without the PR machine that makes MS so well known, but we are pretty tough in our own right. We’d like take a look around your place and see if there’s anything we’d like, hopefully you will grant us the same immunity from prosecution that you’ve extended to MS-13. After all, I’m sure you don’t want us to be mad at you either,” he writes, with this addendum: “please note there is no such group as the Harvard street hellraisers and that this is sarcasm and not a threat.”

TakomaDC
Everything in moderation—including e-list moderation. Sharon, who calls herself the “TakomaDC List Mum,” announced she’s taking a break from such draining tasks as deleting spam and reminding posters to trim their tails. She’s passing duties off to Rich for a few weeks, she says, adding “I hope for a few weeks—we’ll see how long everyone lasts!” Why the break? Heated conversation over the upcoming elections have sapped her energy—and patience. “I was short with a couple of people last week and realized that I need a break from making decisions. My anxiety was less the result of the specific messages involved than anticipation of more to come as the election nears. The upcoming primary was turning the joy of this political season into something less like a freedom and more like a bull fight,” Sharon writes. “So, have fun everyone, and listen to Rich if he has to remind people to play nice.”

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

AdamsMorgan
Ward 1 Council candidate and Listserv troll Chad Williams writes an open letter to his community in which he touts his ability to…chat with gang members. “We need a councilmember who truly understands how to reduce the criminal activities of gangs in Ward 1. We need a councilmember who is comfortable speaking to members of 640 (Park Morton Apartments), 35 Double O (3500 block of 14th Street), MS-13, Pussy Pound and others. That Councilmember must have the resolve to persuade gangs and enlighten these adolescents to ways of better economic opportunities than a life in crime.” One resident calls bullshit. “Okay, so you have ‘spoken with’ the various gangs,” she writes. “When? How many times? How did your speaking with them reduce crime in our neighborhood?…Do you have any empirical evidence to support your assumptions? Did you come to these conclusions after ‘speaking with’ the various gangs? Please tell us how you have persuaded the gangs in the past; and why you think the gang members will opt for a different lifestyle once they are enlightened about ‘better economic opportunities than a life in crime.’”

LDSAbstractSingles
This week, local Mormons tackle illegal immigration. Xenophobic rants ensue: “Really, its becoming more and more clear that the U.S. is getting lost in the cultures of all the other countries out there,” JC writes. “Nobody even knows what the United States stands for anymore unless they are talking about high divorce rate, lots of fat people, and increasingly less morals (Pres. Clinton).…I can’t walk down the street without being bombarded by some other language on a sign or billboard.” Blake responds: “Yes we should be in better control of immigration, but the fear of losing ‘our culture’ is silly. And try not to forget that these 10 million illegals are not sitting around asking for a handout.” JC, however, is not to be talked down to—and he also remains oblivious to the fact that his command of written English would barely pass TOEFL requirements. “I’m really somewhat surprised to see how liberal some people in the church have become,” he grumbles.

TakomaDC
The battle over the Piney Branch Road Safeway’s alcohol license continues. “I am a fan of being able to do one-stop-shopping at Safeway for a meal snd beverage (including alcohol),” writes Evelyn. “I also understand the concerns of not wanting to be a 24 hour liquor store. What I am concerned about is that we don’t make alcohol purchase an option of only the wealthy and well-to-do.” But Judy finds the discussion tangential. “I don’t think I care if the Safeway sells alcohol,” writes Judy, “but I wish they would care more about the shoppers’ experience in the store.” Hence her calls for Safeway to “stop selling farm-raised fish” and “stop their Sunday hot dog grilling, which can only be wasting more $ than it is raising”