Friday, October 31, 2008

Listserv Post of the Day

Scratch that, make it Listserv Post of the Year.

Some backgroud, first. The local listservs are abuzz with messages about the homicide at 11th and Harvard earlier this week. As usual, William Jordan is a frequent poster. But the biggest surprise was MPD's response to one of Mr. Jordan's e-mails about how to deal with crime in the neighborhood. The exchange is below:

Re: [columbia_heights] Murder at 11th and Harvard

On Behalf Of William Jordan
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 9:31 AM

Neighbors are the key to building a safe community. This community is
filled with good potentially good neighbors. Good neighbors of all
persuasions we have to find ways to build on this base. It will take
hard work because we are such a complex community and its easy to get
lazy and stay in our little cliques. But we have to focus on building a
network of neighbors who will look out for each other. Feeling safe is
going to come with neighbors and gaining a better knowledge for the
neighborhood. You will be OK, but be wise and alert.

In 3D, MPD's hands are tied by politics. The current Ward political
order fears the very independent diverse network of neighbors which is
the prerequisite we need for a stronger neighborhood and therefore safer
streets and homes. The political order wants to be the buffer for all
actions and this approach is not adequate for this community. MPD is
being asked to be substitute neighbors, bell hops, props in a political
show and when necessary scapegoats. As long as this continues MPD will
not be as effective as they could and this community will not get
significantly stronger and safer.

When we as neighbors start meeting and working together and taking the
lead in the effort to make this community safe, we will see real
progress and MPD and the political order will become more effective for
us. And when 302 is safer all other the surrounding PSA will be safer.
But as long as we look to MPD and the political order for leadership
this is sadly the best we can get.

Until you are and feel safe, my 21 year old daugther, college senior,
is not safe and therefore, I am not safe. As long as 3D puts politics
ahead of working creatively with all in this community to make you all
safer they are going to have a problem with me. In fact, I am pretty
sure substation leadership has been politically ordered not to work with
me because I refuse to go along with a dog and pony show as a plan for
ensuring your safety and the safety of my family.

Look to your neighbors first. There a good officers out there, but
petty politics is underminding their effectiveness.

William
______________________________

Re: [columbia_heights] Murder at 11th and Harvard

Posted by: "Delgado, Edward (MPD)"
Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:43 am (PDT)

Mr. Jordan

I applaud your tenacity in this endeavor and I commend you for your
efforts in the community. I would be happy to meet you to discuss what
crime strategies you think we should have in your neighborhood. I must
tell you that you make sense and in many ways and I think that it is
about time that you and I get together to talk about this.

Edward Delgado
Inspector
Third District Sub Station

Breaking news, MPD official says William Jordan is right.


Panda Express Now Open

Panda Express, the latest food option in Columbia Heights is now open. Did anyone stop by? Or will you go elsewhere for your Chinese takeout? My choice is still Mr. Chen's.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Where to Vote in Columbia Heights

Election Day is November 4. Here is a handy map of where Columbia Heights residents can find their local polling place.


View Larger Map

Also, Tuesday, October 28 is the last day registered DC voters can request an absentee ballot. You can also absentee vote in-person through November 3 (except Sunday, Nov. 2) at the Board of Elections and Ethics. The BOEE is located at One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 205-North. Hours are 8:30 am to 4:45 pm.

For more information, including how to check your voting status and how to find your polling place, visit http://www.dcboee.org/voter_info/.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Target Prepares for Sale of Beer and Wine




A Sunday evening trip to Target brought about a welcomed surprise: beer and wine is finally on its way. An aisle in the grocery section of the store may have empty shelves for now, but prices are already posted. Target is advertising American lagers, domestic brews, and international drafts and prices look comparable to Giant and the like. Wine takes up the other half of the aisle, including picks for less than $12 and the awesome Wine Cube.

Based on space alone, the selection is smaller than that at Giant. And you miss the great recommendations and conversations that you get at d'vines. But the addition of beer and wine at Target adds another level of convenience to the store.

Mayorga Becomes Nori - For Now

The other day, I noticed Mayorga had officially become Nori - an Asian bistro. After checking out some reviews on Yelp - mixed to positive - The Heights Life ventured over to decide for ourselves.

The decor hasn't change, but a slightly fishy smell now permeates the place. We were seated in the dining area with the long bench below the bar. You can also sit at the sushi bar where they used to pour coffee. It was clean and cozy inside with a decent crowd for a Sunday night.

Everyone was friendly, but the servers seemed inordinately stressed. They had two people covering the dining room, and apparently that's not enough. It wasn't that the service was slow, it was that several things just never showed up until we asked - then they appeared right away.

As for the for the food - standard rolls were around $5, special rolls were $7 to $10, soup was $3, sushi combos ranged from about $15 to $20, and entrees centered around $12.

Our review will have to fall into the "mixed" category. The gyoza appetizer tasted homemade and delicious. The miso soup was good. The salad was standard, but probably not even worth $3.

The rolls, however, confused us. We ordered one spicy tuna, and one spicy tuna without the roe it normally comes with. The roe-laden roll was overwhelmingly fishy and in a very bad way. After one bite neither of us wanted to finish it. The tuna sans roe was fine - not great, but decidedly better than the roe roll. We also tried one of their twists on classic (American) sushi - a baked California cream roll, which was good.

ArtBart attempted to order inari - normally a bean curd pocket with rice. What they brought out was a seaweed wrapped six piece roll with rice and a tiny bit of bean curd in the middle. It was not good.

We might go to Nori again if sushi desperation hits and we can't get U Sushi to deliver... but I think I am more likely to hold out until Sake Club opens - even if it will cost more.

Our guess - Nori will be just another rotation in what should be a great space for something.

PS - ArtBart wants me to add that the noodle dishes that came out of the kitchen looked great. We didn't try those - so maybe we'll have to go back. Anyone else dined at Nori? Leave a note in the comments section.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Ellwood Thompson's Now Just a Year Away

Washington Business Journal reports that Ellwood Thompson's Local Market is finally coming to DC USA ... in about a year: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/10/06/daily38.html

This is great news, but now what new stores will residents petition for at DC USA?