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

From: 3DSubstation@yahoogroups.com

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.

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/.

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.

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?

Another Great Reason to Head to The Heights

There are many reasons to love Logan @ The Heights: bloody marys on Saturdays, the steak salad, the ginger lime margarita, the patio, bloody marys on Sundays. And here is another reason to stop by: 15 percent of all proceeds on Tuesday night will benefit Columbia Heights Day (less than two weeks away).

Support the Columbia Heights Neighborhood 15% of Proceeds Donated to Columbia Heights Day  Logan @ The Heights is proud to support our neighborhood by donating 15% of Tuesday evenings proceeds to the Columbia Heights Association. Please join us for dinner tomorrow night to help this wonderful cause. ONE NIGHT ONLY... Tuesday, September 23rd, beginning at 5 PM Logan @ The Heights 3115 14th St. NW Washington, DC 20010 For Reservations, Call: 202-797-7227 Or Reserve online: www.theheightsdc.com

Columbia Heights Streetscape Project Update

Big news today on the Columbia Heights streetscape project as the Department of Transportation finally awarded a contract. Reports the Examiner:

The streets of Columbia Heights are about to receive a $15 million makeover, part of a District Department of Transportation project slated to begin in the next two months .... DDOT, which awarded the contract for the work to Civil Construction LLC last week, described the project as "an ambitious effort to implement consistent, practical and aesthetically pleasing urban landscape elements in what can best be described as the heart of the city."

Bike lanes for 14th Street are planned, too.

Oktoberfest Arrives in Columbia Heights

The Wonderland, Looking Glass Lounge, and Red Rocks are banding together on Saturday to celebrate Oktoberfest with, "Katch the Keg."

Promo flyer is courtesy of Prince of Petworth.

CommonWealth Reviewed

The Hill reviewed CommonWealth last week, and was pretty positive about it. The Washington Post was similarly generous in their review. I remain reserved and await Sake Club, Panda Express, and Dave's Tavern. Seems like it will be a fall full of openings in Columbia Heights.

Though one place that, despite continued rumblings, I am convinced will never open as it currently is Royal Blue, the Mediterranean joint on 14th. I peak through the tears in the paper covering the windows often and it's still just a hole. A prime location hole. Perhaps it's telling that their website isn't working right now...

SHOWDOWN! Starbucks v. Starbucks

That's right, it's time for a SHOWDOWN! among the Columbia Heights excess. One Starbucks, inevitable. But TWO Starbucks coffee shops... within about 100 yards of each other? A wee bit tragic. Thus, this SHOWDOWN! shall be a battle to the death! Or... maybe, given where the company is heading, one of those battles where they stab each other simultaneously and we end up with no Starbucks at all. Anyhow... let's get going.

Category 1: Location
One Starbucks is right on 14th, the other is nestled in Target. Clearly 14th is easier to access when you don't need something from Target. However... when don't you need something from Target? And aren't you better off shopping with a little caffeine kick? I know it SEEMS like 14th is best for us all, but I think the Target Starbies is onto something, because and only because I can always use a trip to Target. Winner: Starbucks (Target)

Category 2: Service
Recently, every Starbucks in the United States shut down to retrain their employees on how to make a proper latte. For a few weeks, I thought, 'Hey, things are better here!' But a few months have passed now, and for some reason every single time i order from the 14th street 'bucks, the barista spills crap down the side of my drink and I end up with two cups. I hate having two cups. However, despite the recent flaws, 14th 'bucks is about 1.3 million times faster than the Target 'bucks, even if the line is twice as long. Speed is king when coffee is on the line. Winner: Starbucks (14th)

Category 3: Ambiance
Our 14th street coffee haven has it. The latest production from a Starbucks artist (yuck, I know, but they try), plus chairs, tables, outside seating, and wireless. In Target, the Starbies space is shared with some soda fountains and Pizza Hut cafeteria style dining space. I think this category settles it. Winner: Starbucks (14th)

So if the company is going south and we only get to keep one, The Heights Life has declared the best Starbucks is the original 14th Street version. However, if we had it our way... two Sticky Fingers instead?

Save Now

Crime Crime Crime

Frequent listserv voice William Jordan made a good point yesterday. The last few days of the 3D Substation crime report look like they could be from the last few weeks.

Normally when school starts again, we see a bit of a decline in crime. I have no statistics, but that doesn't seem to be the case this year.

The Heights Life will be honest here and say we're particularly concerned because a couple of the muggings reported happened on our well-trafficked block, and not always during absurd hours.

How will we stumble home from the Wonderland at 2AM under these circumstances? The answer: probably the same as always, but with less confidence that we'll arrive chez nous with our purses.

Also, we'd like to suggest to the police that they get more Segway cops, and maybe the Segway cop can bring along an extra Segway in case I want a ride home. Just an idea.

RIP Mayorga

If you're a member of the CH listserv, you're already well aware that Mayorga is closed, or half-closed, and now it's all about Asian and not coffee, and then something about how Carvel/Cinnabon leased their coffee machines. I don't know. All I do know is that I hope Not-Mayorga-Anymore figures it out because for the last six months, maybe nine, I've considered that wasted space. Spud Lite does not like having her wifi taken away!

Anyhow - coming soon to the Tivoli theater space: sushi, Korean, maybe Chinese. How much Asian can one restaurant handle? I'd like to know.

SHOWDOWN! Potbelly v. Pete's

Hulk Hogan can have the celebrity feud of the week, because now 'The Heights Life' has SHOWDOWN! a new feature where we pit two embattled Columbia Heights "things" against each other and declare a winner. People, places, streets, pets, whatever it may be. But, since this is a blog for the community, I will welcome a vote in our Heights Life Poll to overturn any SHOWDOWN! decision I may make that you disagree with.

For our first edition, let's go with something obvious. They're neighbors. They both serve food. Their names start with the letter "P." And I can be seen at one or the other several times each week. It's time for...

SHOWDOWN! Potbelly v. Pete's Apizza

Category 1: Service
I'm quite certain Potbelly has a strict customer service regiment. It's why they shout your order down a line the same way every time. It's also why they seem to do this without a lot of fire in the potbelly... their service is a script, and while it keeps it consistent, I don't know if I FEEL it so much. Pete's, on the other hand, seems to be staffed by people who... well... like their jobs! Shocking, I know, but it's a family affair and they aren't stuck to a script. I even asked someone if something was good last week and you know what they said? They said, "I don't know. I haven't tried it yet." Honesty is good service. Victor: PETE'S APIZZA

Category 2: Price
Quality and quantity are always at play when considering pricing, but if we try to look at the straight up bang for the buck, everyone knows Potbelly is way cheaper than Pete's. Sure, a single slice at Pete's is less than a Potbelly sandwich, but the sandwich will fill you up far quicker. And... a $4 slice? Remember when you could get a burger for a quarter? Ok, me neither, but I still think $4 for a slice the size of a Pete's piece is a bit high. Throw in a salad and a drink and Pete's is a $10-$15 meal. At Potbelly its tough to break into the double digits. Victor: POTBELLY

Category 3: Deliciousness
It's one and one and it comes down to the final category... who is more DELICIOUS. Do I even need to explain myself here? Pete's is damn good. Their deliciousness quotient puts Potbelly to shame. The paninis are great, the pizza is gourmet, and the house salad is perhaps my favorite thing ever... it's just a salad, but it's so very good and organic and full of deliciousness! Potbelly is tasty, but come on - Pete's has gelato. Victor: PETE'S APIZZA

FINAL SHOWDOWN! TALLY:
Pete's Apizza: 2
Potbelly: 1
WINNER: Pete's Apizza

Congratulations Pete's! I will be by later for my house salad with chicken and a Diet Coke to go.