Photo by PoPville flickr user JRoseC

“Dear PoPville,

I came across this blog post from Straight Outta Suburbia and thought you might want to bring this idea up to readers: would bikers be willing to pay a bike tax?

Basically, the thesis of the author is this: roads are paid for, at least theoretically, with state and federal gas taxes. These are intended to serve as “user fees.” The people who use the road the most pay for it the most. Bikers often complain about the poor condition of roads, lack of bike lanes, etc. But they also don’t pay the gas taxes needed to maintain those roads and create those bike lanes.

Would they be willing to pay some sort of bike tax to get those improvements? If they are, it would probably provide some cover from fiscal conservatives who oppose these improvements because of their costs.”

Very easy to walk by without noticing it but once you do, you’ll never be able to walk by again without marveling at it.

“Dear PoP,

I live on the tenth floor of a building in Silver Spring without a balcony. Two boxes on a table in a western facing window and some seeds I’d saved from some remarkable heirloom tomatoes I grew when I did have a balcony have created some out of control tomato plants. The wire stakes I’d purchased to keep them upright have long since lost any usefulness. They’re being held upright by a re-purposed Blackberry charging cord. I’ve had to pollinate the flowers myself with a paintbrush as they’re indoors, but it’s working well.

It’s not a great garden, but I’m doing what I can with what I have.”

That’s freaking awesome, nice work!

Another good example of a painted one – this one’s from 12th and S St, NW.

From an email:

“Join the Friends of the Petworth Library, your friends and neighbors for an evening

Of Books and Beer

At the Island Café
829 Upshur Street NW
Thursday, September 8, 2011
From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Live music by Brian Franke
$10 at the door.

Great silent auction items, including restaurant gift certificates, special party packages, hand-made pottery, private tours, IT consultation and much more.

The event is a fundraiser for the Friends of the Petworth Library, which provides support to our beautiful new community library, with emphasis on children’s reading programs.

For more information, contact Carol Herwig 202-722-4385″

Photo courtesy of Annie’s Hardware

Thanks to all who wrote about the Park View blog’s big news in this morning’s rant or revel post. Annie was kind enough to share some photos and her press release:

“Ace Hardware is coming to Petworth! Work has begun to open Annie’s Ace Hardware at 1240 Upshur St., NW.

Scheduled to open its doors in November, the store will bring its helpful customer service and quality home improvement products to area homeowners and DIYers in the rapidly developing neighborhood of Petworth in Northwest Washington, DC. Annie’s Ace Hardware will provide solutions to everyday home improvement needs through an extensive selection of products in categories including paint and lawn and garden. In addition, the on- staff “helpful hardware folks” will ease the shopping experience by offering one-on-one expert advice and
assistance.

This is the first Ace store opened by owner Anne Stom. The store will span 7,000 square-feet and stock 15,000 products and have access to more than 80,000 products from the Ace warehouse. Stom, a longtime Washington, DC, resident, has lived near the Petworth neighborhood for six years. “I am very excited to be part of the ongoing commercial development of this part of the District,” she said. “Our vision for Annie’s Ace Hardware includes being a strong supporter of our community.”

The new store will be near the newly renovated Petworth branch of the D.C. Public Library as well as the Yes! Natural Food store on Georgia Avenue. Annie’s Ace Hardware will be a half-mile from the Georgia Avenue/Petworth Metro on the Green and Yellow lines, and near the 60, 62, 63, 70, 71, and 79 Metrobus lines. Capital Bikeshare has also recently announced plans for a Bikeshare station at Georgia Avenue and Upshur Street, scheduled for installation this fall. Stom said there will also be two Zipcar spaces available at the store and bicycle racks.

“This isn’t a suburban store,” Stom said. “That means our model needs to be different in terms of transportation options, as well as our product mix.” For example, she explained, lawn equipment will be geared toward the smaller yards of the nearby row houses. “We will also look at home renovation products that are appropriate for houses built in the early 20th century.”

Annie’s Ace Hardware will carry the Benjamin Moore paint line, Craftsman tools, and will have a lawn and garden section. “We’ll have all the basic hardware products that people expect from an Ace hardware store, but we’ll also be revising and updating our merchandise as we get feedback from customers,” Stom said. The property, the former Rainbow Auto Body Shop, is being renovated to house Annie’s Ace Hardware. “We anticipate installing shelving and stocking products starting in October, and opening in early November.”

If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be taking the rest of the afternoon off to weep with joy.

Photo courtesy of Annie’s Hardware

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Photo by PoPville flickr user Obvy09

I just caught this unusual sight in the PoPville flickr pool. Obvy writes:

“Can anyone sell FIOS from their front yard?”

It’s a good question – anyone else ever sales like this before?

If you have any fun or interesting animal/pet photos please shoot me an email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail(dot)com with ‘Animal Fix’ in the title and say what neighborhood you’re from or upload to the PoPville flickr pool with your pets name and neighborhood. I can’t guarantee I’ll get them all posted but I’ll do my best.

“Mia enjoying her big ole bone in Adams Morgan!”

“Mona in Shaw does not like to be woken from her naps”

“Attached is a snapshot of Tasha, our Boston Terrier, from Brookland…”

This rental is located at 1773 Lanier Place, NW:

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The Craigslist ad says:

“Conveniently located 0.60 miles from Columbia Heights Metro and 0.66 miles from Woodly Park.
NO pets in this building
Laundry room in the building
Available immediately”

$1282 sound right for this studio?

“Dear PoPville,

We had some damage this past week to our front bay (it’s a square bay on a 1908 Victorian row home) with the earthquake/hurricane combo. We are looking for recommendations for a mason to do above ground masonry work, including some re-pointing to our bay. In addition, we need a recommendation for someone to help with interior drywall and light structural elements as well.

Any recommendations your readers can give will be much appreciated—we are curious if anyone has done any work on their front bays or even a full bay reconstruction!”

Every now and then I get some totally random emails. This flier came in one. Is this one of the best or worst ideas you’ve seen in a while?

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

Follow PoPville on twitter here on facebook here and google+ here.

Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80

“Dear PoPville,

My wife and I would like to try and sell our condo in Columbia Heights this Fall and are interested in doing it ourselves. We realize going outside the typical real estate agent arrangement entails some extra work and diligence on our part. Are there any local law firms that could assist us during the closing process with document preparation and other legal matters related to selling a condominium?”

and

“Dear PoPville,

1 – Can anyone recommend a home staging expert or company?

2 – There a few companies (ex. owners.com) that get your listing on the MLS, anyone have any good/bad experiences with them?”

This home is located at 19 2nd St, NE:

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The flier says:

“Gracious facade opens to an extraordinarily spacious interior. Truly one of a kind! A stones throw from the Capitol, House and Senate office bldgs and Supreme Court. High ceilinged light and airy spaces, tall windows, loads of built-in bookshelves. Double living room w/ 2 fireplaces, extra large enchanting garden, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. PARKING!! 3600 finished sq ft – tax record is incorrect!”

You can find more info here and photos here.

This 3 bed/2.5 bath is yours for $1,495,000.

District of Pi is located at 910 F St, NW. For those unfamiliar with St. Louis style pizza – you can see their menu here. We’ll be back for a proper judging after they’ve been open a bit.

A press release says:

“The brick and mortar restaurant, at 910 F Street NW, features seating for 200, 2 full bars, a mezzanine with seating for nearly 50, plus a lower level lounge for those awaiting seating or an after-dinner beverage. In a second phase of construction, District of Pi will add lower level “speakeasy” with a focus on classic cocktails.

“While we’re thrilled to have our full menu of eats, we’re equally excited about our 24 draft handles, with a focus on breweries in regions with high numbers of DC transplants. We have some fantastic beers from California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri and beyond” added Co-Founder Frank Uible. “Four of our handles are from St. Louis’ largest brewery, The Saint Louis Brewery, which brews the Schlafly beers, including our custom ‘Pi Common’ beer, a California Common, or Steam style beer, which is a first for the DC market.” The impressive cocktail list was designed by award-winning mixologist Adam Frager.

The District eatery, like its St. Louis siblings, focuses on sustainability and minimizing its carbon footprint. The buildout maximizes the use of reclaimed materials, both from the original space and others in the area. The entire wine list is also green, consisting of organic, bio-dynamical and other wines by sustainable wine-makers.

District of Pi will be open 7 days per week for lunch and dinner. The kitchen will stay open till midnight on Friday and Saturdays.”