From a reader:

“I am a volunteer with local charity Neediest Kids, an organization which helps provide tens of thousands of students in the Washington Metro Area, including Petworth, with the things they need to succeed. Last year, we were able to help more than 32,000 the 600,000 K-12 students in the area by supplying clothing, backpacks, eyeglasses, meals, healthcare, school supplies and more. Furthermore, Neediest Kids offers this assistance in a confidential manner with the student’s dignity and pride in mind.

This winter, we are working with the Washington Wizards to offer some amazing auction packages, the proceeds of which will directly help even more school children in the area. The online auction (at http://www.cmarket.com/auction/AuctionHome.action?auctionId=89736172) is live now through March 14, 2010. Some sample packages are:

Gimme Five:
Bid for Ten “High Five Kids” to line the tunnel and give a high five to Wizards as they enter court for Indiana vs. Wizards game. Also includes watching the game in a great suite for 18 fans; two Parking Passes; catered food; Wizards Swag and recognition on Jumbotron for your special event.

Rock n’ Roll in Cleveland:
Win 2 Round Trip AA tickets to Cleveland to enjoy an astounding Wizards vs. Cavaliers game with 2 club level seats. Have a smashing good time with this package that includes 2 nights at a Cleveland Marriott, dinner for 2 and 2 tickets to Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

Many of these packages are once-in-a-lifetime experiences, and the purchase of a single package could help hundreds of students.

For those unable to bid, but still interested in helping, Neediest Kids also has a text campaign for $5 donations directly through any major U.S. mobile carrier. To donate, text “NEED” to 90999, or use the widget on www.neediestkids.org. Also, Papa John’s is donating $1 for every pizza ordered online when you enter the promo code “NEED” before ordering at www.PapaJohns.com.

More information on the organization and these new campaigns can be found at www.neediestkids.org.”

I was surprised to learn that a few folks were unaware that Room and Board furniture store was coming to the corner of 14th and T (across from St. Ex). I recently saw a sign go up saying they’d be open in Spring of 2010 and that they are hiring now.

“Dear PoP,

I just wanted to give a shout-out for Kilroy’s Cleaners, in part because they’ve gone green. Apparently they’ve replaced their machines and are now one of the only dry cleaners in the District to use a non-toxic dry cleaning method.

I’ve lived in Petworth for many years now and finally tried Kilroy’s a couple of months ago. I hesitated because I read a negative post or two on PoP, and the storefront isn’t the most attractive in the world. Well, I’ve found them to be the perfect neighborhood cleaners. All their employees try to know my name and will do anything to make sure I’m happy. The prices are very reasonable, and they are flexible when you need a garment turned around right away. When I learned they went green, I mentioned that they should reach out to you. Turns out they still very much regret that they had an unfriendly employee at the time that you did a profile of them or something. I hope you’ll consider giving them an opportunity to shine. Everyone deserves a second chance, particularly those that are investing and creating jobs in our neighborhood.”

This is great news. I’ll be sure to try them out again (at 826 Upshur St NW) for my next batch of dry cleaning!

This is pretty cool. Thanks to a reader for sharing this great mission from the 3/50 Project. Their Facebook page says:

“The 3/50 Project supports independent, locally owned businesses by inspiring consumer loyalty to the storefronts that directly fund their communities.

Mission:
• To promote and strengthen brick and mortar businesses owned by people in the community

• To thank consumers for their patronage

• To expand local revenue streams by showing how a small dollar amount can translate into enormous financial stability

• To shine a light on the stark contrast between what a locally owned brick and mortar business contributes to the local economy and the paltry amount big boxes, franchises, chains, and internet purchases make

• To save the local economy…three stores at a time”

Sounds like a great idea.

Some more fantastic shots from *tinadelarosa this week!

Submit your photos via email or to the PoPville flickr pool here.

This condo is located at 1744 U Street, NW:

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The flier says:

“Great space for the $$$. nice unit with hdwd floors, a gorgeous updated kit w/ granite and stainless appliances – viking fridge! Fireplace, high ceilings, a balcony AND patio, 2 decent sized bedrooms & a huge private storage closet!!! low fee & walk to all dupont/adams morgan/u street have to offer!!!”

You can find more info here and a few photos here.

I’ve been dying to know what it looks like inside these unusual buildings on the 1700 block of U Street. I’ve always thought the top pointed part would make an awesome skylight… Anyway, at least we get a glimpse if only a few photos are listed. This 2 bed/1.5 bath is going for $425,000. Sound reasonable?

Photo by PoPville Flickr user julia.m

You can talk about whatever is on your mind – quality of life issues, a beautiful tree you spotted, scuttlebutt, or any random questions/thoughts you may have. I’ll open this thread every Monday and Friday. So anything good happen to you this weekend?

Thanks to a reader for sending this sweet video Current.com. They write:

“Thievery Corporation takes us inside their musical empire in Washington, DC, and it’s a completely different side of our Capitol than on your high school field trip. As we tour the DC underground, Thievery brings us inside their custom studio (aptly named the Thievery Consulate), as well as their bar and bistro, an homage to Marvin Gaye.”

Don’t forget to get your tickets to their upcoming concert in Jan. at 9:30 Club. I’m going Sat. which sold out. But you can still get tickets for Thurs., Jan. 21st here.

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“Dear PoP,

I live near the corner of Kansas Ave NW and Decatur St NW and there is some interesting police activity tonight that began around 11am Sunday the 22nd. A police helicopter was circulating above my house with its spotlight shining near Decatur. Near the intersection of Kansas and Decatur there was an abandoned pick up truck with some frontal damage. The police taped off the entrance to Decatur with police cruisers posted on each side of Kansas Ave. Around midnight an officer has been on his loud speaker addressing residents in 515 Decatur St NW to come out and talk. He has been repeatably saying someone needs to come out or make a signal with the lights to make sure someone is ok in the house (also referring to some altercation). As of yet no one has answered.”

Many readers have written in about this incident. So far this is all I’ve received from MPD:

“4-D units along with units of Special operations Division are on the scene of a barricaded suspect in the 500 block of Decatur Street NW. The suspect is wanted for Assault with a dangerous weapon. No injuries are reported at this time.”

As Tynan Coffee & Tea marks its first month in business, we want to take this opportunity to say thank you to our guests. We are grateful to receive so much input regarding our new shop.  From the outset, we have sought feedback to improve the customer experience and we appreciate the many thoughtful and constructive comments that we have received.  A number of important points were made in the recent Prince of Petworth posting and the corresponding comments and we would like to update you on our efforts:

Customer Service:  This is an extremely important issue for us and we feel strongly that we have an experienced and friendly staff.  As with any new endeavor our approach is evolving as we attempt to provide an enjoyable experience.  We will continue to work towards providing exceptional service to each and every one of our guests.

Customer Feedback: We encourage all of our guests to provide feedback to us at the feedback@tynancoffeeandtea.com email address that is posted throughout the shop and on our website (www.tynancoffeeandtea.com ).  We check this account daily and make every effort to respond to each person.  Your input is extremely beneficial to us and we ask that you continue sending your comments and suggestions.

WiFi Policy:  A number of questions have been raised about our internet policy and we apologize for any confusion.  We are very happy to offer free internet service.  In order to provide the strongest signal, we password protect access so that usage is available to only those in our shop.  While guests do need to request a second ticket from a barista when their initial hour expires, we do not require a second purchase.

Based in large measure on guest feedback, we have revised our WiFi policy as follows:

Monday through Friday:  Free service is available all day

Saturday and Sunday: Free service is available from 3pm to close

While we are gratified by how many people enjoy being in our space, we felt compelled and were urged by many of our guests to limit WiFi on the weekends in order to accommodate other customers looking for space to sit and eat.

Lighting: We agree with many of the comments that we received regarding the lighting.  Just last week we replaced all overhead lights with softer bulbs.  We hope the change provides a warmer environment.

We have truly enjoyed becoming a part of the Columbia Heights community and we look forward to continuing to grow and improve.  Our goal is to provide an outstanding customer experience, both through our offerings and the environment that we create in our space.  We sincerely hope that you will stop in for some coffee, tea or food and please do not hesitate to let us know what you think.

Jim & Brian Sullivan

Tynan Coffee & Tea
1400 Irving Street, NW
14th & Irving Streets at the Columbia Heights Metro

Corehaus will be opening up next week in the former Shaka King space located at 825 Upshur St (near Domku). The owner, James Kerns, was extremely nice and succinctly characterized the business as “taking old stuff and making it cool again”. While the finishing touches were still being completed I was able to take some photos and the items do indeed look pretty cool. This is Mr. Kerns first brick and mortar store, but you can see his Web site here.

This is a great addition to the block along with Bentley’s across the street.

More photos after the jump. (more…)

Back in October we learned that two crepes spots were coming to 14th Street. Make it one. On Saturday I noticed a sign went up saying that the space at 14th and S, formerly Garden District, is for lease. This is where crepes on the corner was supposed to be. I hope Point Chaud to be located at 1736 14th Street, NW still comes. I really think crepes will work in this location, though one spot is probably sufficient.

Photo by PoPville Flickr user Rukasu1

“Dear PoP,

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that there have apparently been a rash of robberies on the metro recently. I was just on the Yellow/Green line from L’Enfant at the Convention Center stop and was playing on my iPhone (not listening to music) when a kid snatched it from my hand and ran off the train. I’m not sure about this, but I think he was with a group of guys (based only on the fact that when I yelled “stop that guy” they just looked at me as he ran by). I had left my bag on the train so I couldn’t run after him, but did get the opportunity to call him a few choice names.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know because the station manager said that this has been happening a lot lately; as I was giving my report to the transit police another report came in about someone else who had their watch stolen in the same manner.”

Please be careful. I seem to recall these incident increase during the holiday season.

I can’t believe roses are still in bloom in late November. This one is from Petworth.

This is one of the very few totem poles I’ve spotted around town…