Happy New Year! 2023 was a doozy, and we hope 2024 is less intense and divisive. But, obviously, we’re not holding our collective breath. Still trying to get back into blogging for the new year, so look for the To Do List starting next week.
On to things you might need to know about:
The Washington Post did a sobering round-up of our deadliest year since 1997. The loss of life, especially that of young people ––19 children and youth–– is simply devastating.
Unsurprisingly, and given the acerbic criticism directed at him and his tenure as Chair of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, Charles Allen is facing a recall effort, as first reported by Axios‘ Cuneyt Dil. However unsurprising, it’s also a rather sloppy effort, as Allen ran completely unopposed in last year’s elections. This effort puts us in mind of last year’s effort to recall ANC commissioner Amber Gove by neighbors in ANC 6A02. (THIH)
The Washington Examiner rounds up all the vehicular crime. And while we do not want to engage in victim blaming, it’s good to remember that your odds of getting your car stolen go down if you do not leave it idling and unattended.
Lululemon has shuttered their store in Navy Yard, and it’s probably linked to a terrifying robbery in broad daylight back in mid-December. (WUSA-9) Or, who knows? Maybe the store’s employees tried to unionize and people passed it off as crime, like it happened with the Starbucks at Union Station? (NBC-4)
A reminder that the District offers a rebate for installing a security camera in your home or business. For more information, click here.
Via our Instagram, two openings: First, SoleWash is now inside Eton’s Capitol Hill Shoe Repair, which is great! Get your shoes fixed and cleaned for the new year! (IG)
And on Tuesday, Raising Canes opened inside Union Station and they went all out. (IG)
Harry Dunn, a former US Capitol Police officer who helped defend democracy on January 6 and testified about his experiences on that awful day back in July of 2021, is running for Congress in Maryland. WaPo
And don’t forget: The person who left pipe bombs outside both the DNC and RNC has not been caught. The reward for information that leads to their capture stands at a cool $500,000. FBI
John Boyle, owner of Harry’s at the Harrington Hotel (which you may remember as COVID-rules averse and a proud HQ bar for the January 6 folks, per DCist), has acquired and is building out 527 8th Street SE, which was formerly Cava and formerly-ly Marty’s. It’ll be the perfect place for the folks who keep protesting outside the DC Jail to go and thaw out, we imagine (@joeflood on X).
Joel Castón’s nomination to the Sentencing Board is in limbo. Castón served as the first inmate to serve as ANC commissioner in 2020. He was released in 2021 after serving since 1994 for murder. (Informer, WaPo)
There is one Ward 7 candidate who is staunchly anti-stadium at RFK. Capitol Hill Corner
Ready to have your holiday tree picked up? Here are some guidelines to keep in mind. DPW
Before we somehow lose Nationals Park to neglect and poor maintenance, the DC Council has introduced legislation to get a maintenance fund going. WJLA-7
Dangerous drivers, beware: the DC Council has approved legislation to increase accountability for bad drivers in the area. Charles Allen
Looks like more housing may soon come to Reservation 13. It’s because now there’s Duffy’s and Sala Thai, huh? Washington Business Journal
If you’re a marijuana gifting shop that has not applied to be a medicinal marijuana provider, it’s about to become harder to share your gifts with the world. We have so many these days in the neighborhood– what are the odds they have all applied? (Probably high… jkjkjk) DCist
And Craft Beer Cellar closed on Tuesday– yet another closure in a time period where we’ve lost entirely too many businesses. (WTOP) Some say crime is almost entirely to blame for these closures; and while crime is comparable to 1997’s, we can’t help but notice that H Street’s rents are astronomically high but there is little to no support for commerce along the corridor, as H Street Main Street focuses most of its energies on the H Street Festival and seemingly little else. So be a neighbor and spend some money on an H Street business you love– it could make a difference for them.