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A number of readers have written in about this incident. Here’s the official word from MPD:

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch are currently investigating a homicide that occurred in the 3500 block of 14th Street, NW.

At approximately 2:36 a.m. on Tuesday, March 9, 2010, officers from the Third District responded to the 3500 block of 14th Street, NW, to investigate the possible report of trouble at that location. Upon arrival, officers discovered an unidentified male believed to be an adult, suffering from apparent multiple stab wounds. The victim was transported by personnel from the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department to an area hospital where he was subsequently pronounced dead.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call police at (202) 727-9099 or 1-888-919-CRIM [E] (1-888-919-2746).

Council Member Jim Graham adds:

“Dear Friends, around 3 AM this morning, an as yet to be identified Latino male was fatally stabbed in the 3500 block of 14th St NW…at a location just north of the gas station.

MPD does not have an identification on the victim at this point, nor have any arrests been made.

All I have been told is that the victim was walking on 14th St and some kind of argument occurred on the sidewalk, with the stabbing resulting.”

And in other crime news there was also a shooting at 8th and N Streets, NW last night:

“Residents of PSA 308 need to be aware that around 8:30pm tonight, there was a shooting at the intersection of 8th and N Street, NW. As a result 1 adult male was transported to a local hospital. The suspect vehicle is described as a silver, four door, late-model vehicle.”

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Awesome find by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC:

Postcard of Central (now Cardozo) High School, in Columbia Heights in Washington, DC. Reverse is dated 1926, and reads:

“The Central High School is one of the largest and most modern institutions of its kind in the United States. It contains a large swimming pool where the pupils are taught swimming and lifesaving. The Stadium is used by all the high schools for football games and athletic track meets. The large auditorium is used for public functions and Community Center activities. The stage is the largest in the city and the proscenium arch is one of the largest in the world.”

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For the longest time I thought the Dry Cleaners coming soon sign was only a myth. Well it looks like Thai Tanic II is now going to have some company in the retail space of the Allegro building located at 3462 14th Street, NW. Work has progressed on the space and there are proper permits for a dry cleaners in the window.

And just up 14th Street, NW Social has applied to open up its third floor space. I liked how they wrote a personal letter to the community in addition to the license:

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Thanks to all the readers for sending the word about tonight’s second meeting.

Please join DPR
Wednesday, March 3rd at 7:00 p.m. to discuss improvement for the 11th and Monroe Streets Park
Metropolitan Police Department Substation
750 Park Road, NW

After the jump you can see the meeting notes from the previous meeting in Feb. Read Full Post

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This apartment is located at 2633 16th Street, NW:

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You can see the Craigslist ad here.

We actually judged this building back in July ‘08. Do you think $1400 sounds reasonable for a 1 bedroom in a former mansion?

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From the CH listserv and DC Food For All:

“The excitement begins on Saturday, June 5, 2010, the first day of the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace – to be located at the Civic Plaza at the intersection of 14th and Kenyon streets and Park Road, NW. It will run every Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., from June 5 through October 30, 2010.”

Are you glad that Sat. was selected?

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Simply Soles was located at 1438 Park Road, NW. I always thought this was a tough location for a women’s shoe store. In March they will be opening up in a new location at 3222 M Street, NW in Georgetown. Owner Kassie Kempel writes:

“With retail being what it was in 2009 a lot of opportunities came up that I couldn’t ignore. I hated leaving Columbia Heights but I also couldn’t justify staying there and paying the same rent that I could get in G-town. Hopefully a great place will take over the CH location.”

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This rental is located at 1375 Fairmont Street, NW:

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The Craigslist ad says:

”
New Amsterdam Apartments is in the heart of DC, close to shopping, schools and the Adams Morgan area.

Electronic Controlled accces, On-site parking , on Bus and Metro lines, Modern kitchens,dishwasher/disposal/frost-free refrigerator.

Laundry Faclities on -site,Wall to Wall carpet, Spacious floorplans, and SOOOO MUCH MORE!”

Does $1400 sound reasonable for this 1 bedroom?

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Photo from PoPville flickr user Rukasu1

“Dear PoP,

Around 11pm on valentines day I was driving down 14th street south of Columbia Heights metro and saw what I am guessing to be the 7 eleven clerk run out of 7 eleven angrily waving a baseball bat at a guy. The guy was on his cellphone (i think he was calling 911) he walked back to the 7 eleven and the guy came out again and threatened to beat him with the baseball bat. At this point traffic had moved and I stared back trying to figure out what happened. We turned around and when we came back the police were there and the guy who had been chased was standing behind them and they were staring at a video on someone’s phone (my guess they videotaped the incident and were showing the police that the man was a victim??) So my question is what happened???”

Yikes. Anyone else happen to witness this?

MPD reports that it was an “Employee dispute between to 7 11 employees.”

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Thanks to MSNBC for sending the word:

“Due to late breaking news on Clinton this didn’t run on the broadcast last night but it was posted online… We were out shooting on park road all day…thought the neighborhood might like to see it. Everyone was really friendly even in the midst of sno-verload. Thanks Park Road!”

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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From an email:

“Are you enjoying the snow but starting to feel cabin fever?
Do you love the beauty of our winter wonderland but hate being stuck at home?

GALA Hispanic Theatre is pleased to offer you several great discounts for Beauty of the Father by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz to help you escape from the winter blues!

THURSDAY, FEB 11 at 8 pm: Zip Tickets – $10 tickets for anyone whose zip code is 20009, 20010, or 20011
FRIDAY FEB 12 and SATURDAY FEB 13 at 8 pm; SUNDAY FEB 14 at 3 pm: Valentine’s Weekend Offer – Buy one ticket, get one free, plus a glass of wine!

Don’t let the snow keep you in… call today!
Visit www.galatheatre.org for more information or call (202) 234-7174
3333 14th St. NW”

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Photo from PoPville flickr user Jess J

A few readers have sent in reports about this incident. Anyone else hear about this/see this? Following is the first report I received:

“A young woman was arrested at about 2am outside of the Wonderland Ballroom in connection with a spontaneous snowball fight involving about 50 people that took place outside the bar. The woman was not seen throwing snowballs at passing vehicles or police by either myself or multiple people I spoke to. As best as I can tell, she was grabbed randomly out of the crowd as she was attempting to walk home.

The woman, identified as Maria Louis after observers called to her, was originally detained alongside a man who was initially accused of throwing snowballs at police but let go without explanation.

The snowball fight began shortly after the Wonderland closed and people began filing outside. For about 20 minutes, people stood on either side of 11th Street at Irving, throwing snowballs at each other but pausing whenever a vehicle passed. A police car drove up, stopped, an officer stepped out, and shortly thereafter Louis was detained and put up against the side of the police car.

A few minutes later, nine police cars were blocking almost an entire block of 11th street. After I tried to inquire about Louis, I was threatened with arrest on charges of disorderly conduct. This threat was repeated by several officers towards several people standing on the sidewalk, some of them asking questions, some not. At one point, someone screamed “Hey Detective Baylor!” and one police car immediately drove up, turned on its spotlight, and officers from inside the car were heard saying “Yeah, turn the light on that motherfucker.”

The 3rd District Police Station was called 2:30am about the status of Louis and I was told she was being charged with “throwing a snowball or something” and I was told to call back. After a second call at 3:15am, I was told she was being charged with a “crime”.”

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Photo by PoPville flickr user JustBurk

Thanks to all the readers who sent this from Craigslist:

So, the title of the post alone should indicate that I am a HUGE fan of 2 things — (1) Having a FUN time in whatever I am doing and (2) the SNOW!

Well, this weekend those two things come together and I am consequently trying to organize a giant friendly snowball fight in Meridian Hill Park.

For those who participated in the giant snow ball fight on U Street earlier this Winter, you know well how much fun was had — and I envision the same thing, minus people throwing snowballs at car and the subsequent scare that occurred when the cop pulled out his gun!

No, this will be different, 2 teams — across the field from each other just pelting away with snowballs. The layout of the park will make this perfect. There are wooded areas, hills, and completely enough room for everyone to have a blast.

Feel free to bring your pets as well as I know last time we did this there were a bunch of doggies there as well!

Saturday at 2:00 PM EST!! Don’t miss it!!!

The fun will start at 2:00 PM EST!!!

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Props go out to MPD for a gun recovery:

“This evening (Wed.) around 9:30 pm the Third District Robbery Tac Unit observed an armed gunman in the 1400 block of Fairmont St., NW.

After a brief foot pursuit the officers apprehended the gunman and recovered was a high powered weapon with several rounds of ammunition.”

Sadly there was also a homicide a few blocks away. From CM Jim Graham:

“Last night a domestic confrontation tragically led to a death within an apartment at Columbia Heights Village on the 2800 block of 14th St. It was a fight between two adult males reportedly within the apt. No gunshots were fired, and I am told no firearms were involved. MPD is not prepared at this moment to release the cause of death. The incident is now under active investigation.”

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A recent Rental Option post provoked a lot of discussion about the Woodner, located at 3636 16th St, NW. A resident wrote in asking to share his experiences (both good and bad). The history is quite interesting. Tony writes:

“I hear people get raped and mugged in that building all the time.”

“I hear the entire place has bedbugs.”

“Aren’t you afraid for your safety there?”

I’ve heard all of the above when I talk about life in the Woodner, a massive apartment complex with its own bar, grocery store, dry cleaner, and hair salon. People look at me with a strange mix of pity and bemusement. They usually following those questions with this one: How did you end up there?

I was in the process of moving back to the District from the suburbs and had seen at least fifteen apartments already. I was short on time. One of the sales consultants at the Woodner, a fresh faced kid with Dixie in his voice, must have sensed this and after viewing a few units, I settled on a carpeted unit on the 12th floor. One of the other sales associates later told me over a drink at the downstairs bar that he (along with the entire sales staff) got shuttled in and out of town in six week intervals. Oh, the things I learn in that bar.

The Woodner was built as an apartment and hotel in 1952. The sales staff here is fond of saying that it was the largest air conditioned building in the world when it was constructed. The lobby looks like it hasn’t been renovated since. Cracked marble floors spread out in odd curves and patterns. The first floor has pictures of this place in all of its former splendor. Black and white photos of Bob Hope and Duke Ellington and Jayne Mansfield. My favorite one is that of a guy with a pervy smile on his face getting shot with fake pistols by a gaggle of women crowded around him dressed as cowboys. I swear to God, when I move from here, that picture’s coming with me. Everything, the hall of pictures, the cracked marble, the spiral staircases, the swirls of spackle on the ceiling, it all imparts a sense of deep history to the place. Makes you wonder about your surroundings. Who stayed in my apartment? Was it ever anybody famous? What were their lives like? Did they have kids? What were their hopes and dreams and fears as they slept under the same roof that I sleep now?

Odd sirens and alarms wake you out of your reverie. It’s common to come home and see multiple police cars parked in front of the building. We never find out why, except under the most grave of circumstances, like when Nori Amaya, co-owner of Coppi’s Organic Restaurant was strangled to death last November. Management informed everyone with a flyer near the elevator banks on each floor. The crime is still unsolved. It’s a bizarre thought, to think that you could be sharing an elevator with a murderer.

And yet, the residents here are resilient. Given the building’s reputation, you’d expect the residents here to be hard-edged but the thing that amazed and continues to amaze me is how much nicer the people are here than they ever were out in the suburbs. When I first moved in, one of my neighbors helped me move my mattress. We talked for a bit about her job and my job and how long she’d been living in the building. Our conversation lasted three minutes and yet that was two minutes longer than the sum of all of my conversations with all of my neighbors in Fairfax.

Because of the kindness of so many of the residents, It’s hard not to feel a kinship with every resident of the building, one borne out of the sheer exhilaration of so many lives pressed up close to one another. Some of us have just arrived, some of us have been here for years. One night coming home from work, I met a woman on the elevator who’d been living in the building for fifty years now. “This was a nice building back then,” she said, shaking her head. “It still is,” she continued quietly. “But not as nice as it used to be.”

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