Photo by PoPville flickr user philliefan99

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 morning at 10am.

A reader writes: “Look what opened on GA Ave in near LGL… Sneaker store!”

CityBeats just opened up on Saturday at 3551 Georgia Ave, NW (at the corner of Georgia and Otis St, NW.)  I stopped in on Thursday and the owner was super nice.  Like the reader who sent in the tip – I was genuinely excited about this place.  So given the recent talks we’ve had on liquor license moratoriums (though I’m not necessarily saying they are a good idea) and given the excitement many had when we learned about a new hardware store coming soon – for the Friday Question of the Day – I’m curious what other non bar/restaurant retail you’d like to see in your neighborhoods?

Photo by PoPville flickr user caroline.angelo

Congrats to Capital Helmetshare with:

“Flash mob moved to 12:30.”

Runner up to Josh with:

“Today, Chief Kathy Lanier unveiled MPD’s new anti-jaywalking initiative.”

Honorable mention to GloverGuy with:

“So I’m looking for a grouphouse on U street and I went to this guy’s open house but he totally dissed me. Something about ‘not a good fit for our vegetarian kitchen’.”

Winners please email me directly for your shirts.

I couldn’t find this album – but I think you’ll agree the music below is phenomenal:

The reader writes:

“One weekend when we were out of town, a friend of ours “yard crashed” our house in Brookland and built this beautiful garden for us as a wedding present! We decorated it with our gnome and Buddha, but are really enjoying this awesome surprise gift.”

That is a very cool wedding present!

I’m fairly certain I would trade a floor in my house for a roof deck.

Photo by PoPville flickr user C. Michael Poole

From emails:

“Join your neighbors for a Petworth neighborhood street cleanup as part of National Public Lands Day, this Saturday, Sept. 24, 9 am – Noon.

Meet up at the Georgia Avenue/Rock Creek East Collaborative at 1104 Allison Street NW–corner Georgia Avenue. Trash bags & gloves provided. Free coffee & donuts to get you started!

Street litter washes into storm drains which empty into Piney Branch, a tributary of Rock Creek. Let’s beautify the neighborhood and help protect our local waters and parklands!

Sign up online here.

Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors – thanks!”

and

“Dear friends, residents of Columbia Heights, and residents of the greater PoPville Area,

You are invited to the first no-obligation Columbia Heights Community Litter Clean Up Day! This will be a day to meet your neighbors, make friends, make our neighborhood prettier for at least a day, raise awareness about the litter problem in Columbia Heights, and maybe even alert area businesses of the extreme need and desire for a Columbia Heights BID.

When: Sunday September 25th at Noon
(Should last no more than an hour, so you’re all free to attend the National Book Festival activities beginning at 1pm! Clean up as much or as little as you want. I’m a happy camper if you come to say hi and pick up just one candy wrapper.)

Where: Meet at the Civic Plaza right in front of the Columbia Heights Metro Station, at the corner of 14th and Irving.

What: Picking up trash. My goal is to clean up the entire Irving civic plaza and the block south to the 7-11, where the litter is worst, with particular emphasis on the poor rosebeds-turned-trash-dumps. I have no idea how many people will show up, so if it’s more than I think, the area can be expanded however much people want.

What You Should Bring: A pair of gloves and your own large trash bag. I will try to provide a box of surgical gloves for those who don’t already have some, but I personally prefer to wear kitchen dish gloves because I find them more comfortable. I will also bring a box of trash bags, but I can’t guarantee to supply everyone with a bag. (Just grab one from your kitchen!)

Disposal: I have had no problem in the past picking up trash and then putting the entire collected trash bag of litter into one of the emptier sidewalk trash cans up and down the street for city pickup later. (This is where the trash should have been in the first place, right?) We’ll make an effort to spread out where we place our trashbags, while leaving room for people who are actually using the sidewalk trashcans to put their trash in too. We don’t want to cause an overflow which results in more litter. Worst case scenario I can take a couple bags back to the dumpster at my place. I don’t anticipate having a completely unmanageable amount collected.

Fun: For people who feel social, lunch at Potbelly/Five Guys/etc. afterward isn’t out of the question!

Rain Notice: Currently, there is a 30% chance of isolated showers on Sunday. Look out your window at 11:30 am. If it’s raining, it’s cancelled!”

Back in Feb. ’11 we learned that Fuel Pizza was coming to DC. The location above is at the corner of 6th and F St, NW. Another location is slated to come to the former Burger King at 16th and K St, NW – anyone notice coming soon signs at that location as well?

From a press release:

“The 182-room Cambria Suites hotel will be part of CityMarket at O, a $300 million mixed-use development, located by the D.C. Convention Center in downtown Washington, D.C. near Gallery Place, the hub of the city’s entertainment district. CityMarket at O is a one million-square foot urban infill project being developed by Roadside Development. Major construction on the over 87,000 square feet of retail, 629 residential units, 500 parking spaces and Cambria Suites hotel is set to commence in the fall of 2011.

This Cambria Suites hotel will offer all-suite guestrooms, an expanded food and beverage area and a rooftop featuring a pool, fitness center and an outdoor patio with views of the U.S. Capitol and the National Monuments. Designed as a lifestyle hotel brand, Cambria Suites offers more than just a place to sleep at night. It features a larger lobby to give guests a more social atmosphere, all-suite rooms that are larger than standard hotel rooms and include separate living, working and sleeping space, providing business and leisure travelers a haven to relax, socialize and network. There are currently 19 properties open across the country.

Like all Cambria Suites hotels, the D.C. property will feature: Reflect, a casual dining and gathering area serving a dinner menu, liquor, wine, beer, freshly prepared grab-and-go gourmet salads and sandwiches, a barista bar featuring Wolfgang Puck® coffee, Cheesecake Factory® desserts and a hot breakfast buffet; Refresh, a state-of-the-art fitness center with an elegant pool and hot tub/spa area; and Refill, a 24-7 convenience store that offers energy drinks, snacks and sundries.“

We previously spoke about CityMarket at O’s new Giant grocery store here.

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.

“This is Ralphie, who has a part-time residence in Mt. Vernon Square. His hobbies include rummaging through underwear and hiding under beds.”

“Colby in Columbia Heights plots his escape.”

“Max in Mt. Pleasant”

This rental is located at 1701-A Hobart Street, NW:

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The Craigslist ad says:

“Clean, cozy light filled one bedroom basement apartment available on tree lined street in Mt Pleasant. Recently updated kitchen and bathroom, with new carpet, blinds and paint. Ready to move in October 1, or thereabouts. Tenant has own washer/dryer— street level entrance, convenient walking distance to Mt Pleasant, Adams Morgan and Colombia Heights. No pets and non-smokers only. One year lease required. $1,100/month.”

$1,100/month sound right?

Photo by PoPville flickr user caroline.angelo

“Dear PoPville,

I live in a recently-renovated rowhouse (2006), which was divided into two units, first being the upper two floors (where I live) and the other being a English basement, which is leased to another tenant. My roommates and I have been having problems with sharing a floor/ceiling with our downstairs neighbors since moving-in. Despite our best efforts at maintaining peace with them, they hate our guts. Apparently, the floors are paper-thin and they can hear every word we say when we’re home. Their bedroom is directly below our living room. We’re not ridiculous with the noise – just watch TV, chat with friends, occasionally have people over for drinks and that’s about it. They’ve even complained to our landlord, who’s sent us an email to keep it down, even though I feel like we’re not being unreasonable with the noise levels.

I should also mention that we’ve made a good faith effort at controlling the noise. We have a no-shoes policy on the first floor, laid down pretty much wall-to-wall carpets and limit gatherings after 10 PM on every night of the week. It’s also worth mentioning that the landlord didn’t mention that there was a separate basement apartment until we were deep into the leasing process (aka, about to sign the lease and it was not visible on the outside during the tour) and there was no mentioning of noise issues between the units until the neighbor told me about it.

Is this issue common with renovated rowhouses? If not, is there anything the landlord can do, like install soundproofing insulation? I’m paying good money to live in this house and would like to enjoy living here instead of worrying about walking on eggshells with the neighbors. We haven’t even held our housewarming because we’re afraid of having the neighbors complain to the landlord again. Are we just supposed to not use the living room?”

Photo by PoPville flickr user pablo.raw

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Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour

For a hot second it looked like a UPS store would be opening in the former Maggie Moo’s space which closed back in June ’10 at 2324 18th Street, NW. I now hear that Enchanted Salon and Spa has signed a lease and will be opening up around the end of November.

This home is located at 646 South Carolina Ave, SE:

View Larger Map

The flier says:

“Wide, sunny 3 level Victorian w/ 3-4BRs, 2 spa-style BAs, Gran/SS kit, new CAC, warm wood flrs and lots of great storage! You’ll love the flexible finished lower level for guests/family room. 2 outdoor “rooms” & mature gardens offer extra sanctuary! A terrific blend of historic charm & modern convenience –in a stellar location just half-block from Eastern Market & Metro!”

You can find more info here and photos here.

This 4 bed/2 bath is going for $859,000. The reader thinks this’ll start a bidding war – do you agree? If so – what do you think it’ll really sell for?