Two weeks ago, City Desk reported that the Wisconsin Avenue portion of the Georgetown Circulator was to be discontinued due to budget constraints and a lack of riders. In response to the cut, Georgetown residents complained that their transportation service had been halved in two years, and also argued that the schools along the line, in addition to the opening of a newly renovated Safeway, necessitated additional public transportation.

Looks like their pleas have been answered: the Georgetown Metropolitan reported this week that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has saved the Circulator from its Oct. 4 doomsday. Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, who met with Mayor Fenty to reverse the decision, said: “The great outpouring of support from the DC Circulator ridership has once again ensured the continued service of this vital transportation option along the Wisconsin Avenue corridor.”

More information on the nail-biting rescue can be found at the blog, the Georgetown Voice.

Yesterday City Desk reported on how the upper Wisconsin Avenue portion of the D.C. Circulator's bus route was on the chopping block. The Department of Transportation has since confirmed: It will in fact be chopped.

According to DDOT spokesman John Lisle, this “difficult decision” stems from budget constraints: Although the upper leg carries 2 percent of the Georgetown Circulator’s riders, it is responsible for 15 percent of the overall cost.

After the service is discontinued,  Lisle says, Georgetown residents should make use of Metrobus' “enhanced and improved” 30 lines, which have “eliminated the need to layer additional Circulator service.” The DDOT is also looking into extending the 31 route downtown. The bus currently runs down Wisconsin Avenue but stops short at Foggy Bottom.

The Citizens Association of Georgetown is having a hard time seeing any "enhancement" about it; the group's members have argued that eliminating the upper Wisconsin Circulator route will leave only two buses, the 32 and the 36—half the number available two years ago when the 34 and the Circulator were also running. CAG also says that the two schools now served by the route (Hardy Middle School and the British School) require a transportation link, and traffic will increase after the opening of the newly renovated Safeway supermarket at 1855 Wisconsin Ave. The market's renovations include abolishing the "congested" parking lot, likely increasing the need for public transportation.

More potholes ahead...

The Issue: The DC Circulator route up Wisconsin Avenue may soon be no more. The $1 red bus currently runs from Union Station through downtown to M Street, then eventually up Wisconsin. DDOT has proposed cutting the last leg of the service, leaving only two regular city buses to run to upper Georgetown. Despite a big Metrobus route overhaul last year, during which Mayor Adrian Fenty dubbed the Circulator a "great solution," it looks like the bus faces a bumpy ride.

Read More "Neighborhood Watch: How Far Should the Georgetown Circulator Circulate?" »

The Issue: The never-ending battle (read: 10 years) over construction of a new and improved Giant on Wisconsin Avenue seemed to have finally ended last summer when the Zoning Commission voted unanimously in favor of the project. Not so! There's another twist that has tied things up - potentially for a few more years.

Read More "Neighborhood Watch: The Cleveland Park Giant Grocery Controversy Lives On" »

My duties have lagged in regard to keeping City Desk readers up to date on the played-out drama regarding the proposed Giant grocery complex on Wisconsin Avenue. And do you know why? Because this NIMBY crap has gone on with this project for 10 YEARS and no one gives a shit anymore.

Please, for the love of God and decent produce, just build the damn thing.

So what's the news? Misery has company. According to a telling but very unscientific poll prompted by Bill Adler, co-founder of the Cleveland Park Listserv, 77 percent of online voters (or 205 people), agree with me. Also-rans include 16 percent (44 votes) who still want to build it, but with conditions; the ANC wants a whole host of those, including a demand that there be no deliveries between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., which seems rediculous for a) running a grocery store and b) running a grocery store in what is already a commercial corridor. Six percent (a whopping 16 votes) agreed with the poll's statement: "This isn't good for the neighborhood: I oppose the Giant's development proposal."

As for where the project stands, Greater Greater Washington has a good summary piece from a recent public meeting. Zoning hearings resume April 6 and could carry on for a night or two after that, so that every NIMBY who's had his say can continue to talk.

Photograph of the current Giant on Wisconsin Avenue by me