Anyone else get this scam?
At last night's BACA meeting a few of us were talking and discovered that many of us were contacted by some very possible scammer.
The way it goes is you get a phone call or phone message on your land line supposedly from some Federal Credit Union. I've gotten two phone calls and it was never clear what the exact name of the credit union was. The first time I just hung up on it because it clearly wasn't my credit union so why bother, wrong number. The second time, I had time to kill and was curious, so I pressed one. Then it asked me for my 16 digit account number. Oh heck naw. I hung up.
Apparently no one else picks up their phone so the Phishing Credit Union has been leaving messages for people to call a 1-800 number. Neighbors who have called the fake credit union fearful that their real credit union accounts (the message is a bit garbled on the name) would be frozen have been prompted to put in their account information. Luckily, we're all bright people and this raises red flags.
I'm sure there is some governmental agency you can contact regarding this scam. Maybe DCRA. Maybe Harry Thomas Jr. Maybe call up your real credit union, warn them too.
Labels: crime
Inaugural Musings- HORDE THE TOILET PAPER!!!!
There was a little bit of chit chat before the BACA meeting got rolling. For my crappy notes
on the meeting click here (after one year hiatus- and the username is thismeeting password- neverhappened).
Anyway, as you know streets are getting closed? One of the attendees mentioned how the
Secret Service closed off some streets today without giving the District government much notice. 48 hours notice would have been nice. If the SS wants to close any other streets they'll probably do the same with as much notice as they've given already (none). This has made the business community concerned. Specifically, the grocers, the restaurants, and the hotels. 'Cause if the SS is going to be closing off streets downtown off willy-nilly during the week, not the day, the week or weeks before inauguration, how can you be sure you're going to get deliveries?
Off handily he (the attendee with ties to DC businesses of concern) mentioned the idea some businesses have of bringing in extra freezers so they can stockpile supplies.
People you know the P Street Giant is going to run out of stuff and you know how close it is to the Convention Center,
where one big aszed inaugural ball will be held. You all in Mt. Vernon Square, I pity you.
The suggestion was to treat inaugural weekend like a 4 day snow day. Stock up the weekend before and shelter in place. I've been slowly stocking up food and supplies (not because of the inauguration, but for other reasons), so I have enough TP to last me until the Second Coming. However, I'm running low on certain kinds of booze, also known as dangerous flammable liquids, so I may need to beef up those supplies.
Or I can just wander out to Maryland for stuff.
Labels: inauguration
BACA meeting TONIGHT 1/5/09
It is the first Monday of the month, which means it's BACA (Bates Area Civic Association) time. BACA is the civic association for the northern half of Truxton Circle, but is open to anyone who wants to pop by. Hanover Civic Association is for the southern half and I have no idea when they meet. We do see some Hanover area people in attendance occasssionally.
And as usual the BACA meeting is at 7pm in the basement area of the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church at 3rd and Q. The way to get in is either through the brown door on the 3rd St side, near the bottom of the big stairs or the door on the ground level near the double glass doors also on the 3rd St side.
I got a flier this morning from BACA (as well as several of my neighbors judging from their mailboxes) and the agenda items are crime, neighborhood beautification, residential parking, charter schools, traffic calming (aka bumps) and economic development.
Labels: BACA
Open House at the Mosque
You've heard the call to prayer, or some guy singing over the loudspeakers, well Saturday will be your chance to see it live.
Sometime ago I and my neighbors got a flier for an open house at the Masjid Muhammad, that mosque over on 4th St or '1519 Islamic Way NW'. They will open their doors to neighbors on January 10 from 11:30am-1pm. As part of the flier there was a whole thing about proper dress and etiquette for entering the musalla (prayer area) and the masjid. Call the office at 202 483 8832 for more information.
I've been to a previous open house and was able to get an answer to my most pressing question answered. I wanted to know how early the call to prayer was done, because it has woken me up.
Another thing I want to note that I noticed from the flier, was that Cub, Boy & Girl Scout troops meet there on Sundays. Good thing to know because I'm always trying to score me some Thin Mints.
Labels: churches
Need inspiration
I has occurred to me that if my friendly neighborhood drug dealers are gone from my sight, why bother blogging? What will be my inspiration? The liquor stores aren't as much of an issue these days as in years past. Most of them now carry wine I can cook with. The number of problem houses are down, but then again it is winter and the problems associated with them are less visible. Complaining about the neighborhood was the greatest inspiration to my writing.
I was looking back at some old posts, as this blog does go back to 2003, to add tags, so I can find stuff, and see how I and the neighborhood changed. I see that I'm getting closer to the neighborhood I wanted. If I could say anything to the 2003 or the 2000 (when I moved to Shaw) me, it would be, 'it's going to be okay.'
Labels: blog
A few useful things
MPD has a
crime mapping thing, that as of this morning the map feature does not like Firefox or Macs. You too can get the same thrill the police get when looking at statistics that say that crime is down. However, you are tempered by the fact that the latest victim of the theft from auto was your neighbor and the fact that there are fewer thefts from autos is of little comfort. I went down to the level of my block and discovered crime is down in almost everything, except one thing where it is up by several hundred percent.
If you didn't notice it on the right hand side of the blog I have links to find when the next 96, or G2 is coming, which sometimes is operational. There is a NextBus for the 96, the 90, the G8, the G2, the P2, and others. Poking around I found
Nextbus for PG Co.Labels: crime, transportation
2008 InShaw Year in Review
Looking back at the 2008 posts so far there are a few themes that stand out, and some that don't but I'm bringing them forward anyways.
First are houses, houses for sale, houses that are abandoned and vacant, houses that are just plain ugly. Before the Wall Street apocalypse Shaw was experiencing the rise of foreclosures. We had attracted many investors who discovered the limits of HGTV and easy financing, that limit being psycho high prices that no one in their right mind would buy at and mortgages that no rent would cover. Then there were houses that weren't even fixed up that were placed on the block and we hoped, and are still hoping, that some one will fix them and get people living in them. Then there are the ugly re-dos, the pop-ups or pop-tops. The still horribly ugly pop-up at 26 P St NE that I blogged about in February is still there, still unoccupied and still ugly. I also took a look at vacant properties around the TC, which also had me looking at tax rates to see if those vacant houses were being taxed higher. Looking at taxes, I discovered dead people pay real estate tax at the senior citizen rate.
History has fallen as a topic over the year, I can't say that I'll get better. Earlier in 2008 I blogged about older photos of Shaw found, Bates Street, and the Shaw School Urban Renewal Area. A particular highlight was locating the language of the Redevelopment Act which laid out the borders of the Shaw neighborhood, which includes Logan Circle, U Street, and Truxton Circle. Speaking of the TC, the argument over the name died down (a bit) after the banners appeared on street signs in July.
In the area of commerce we saw several wonderful things opening and changing in Bloomingdale, which is just next door to the TC. Timor opened up with a few shelves and the milk that we all love. Big Bear got even more popular. The Bloomingdale Farmers Market just kept getting better and better, adding more vendors and remaining neighborly. The historic KFC also known as the bulletproof KFC closed. Luciana Cafe opened along North Cap in the TC, but the TC being the TC doesn't have a lot of businesses opening, so we got excited.
Crime was still doing a cha-cha of two steps forward one big step back. Earlier in the year I didn't write too much about crime. Also the long standing problems and nuisances of young men hanging out (possibly selling drugs) were slowly getting better. I noticed that the crowds of hanger-outers were getting smaller and less frequent. Gunshots were getting less frequent as well. Fireworks started later, and ended closer to the end of July. However, starting in Fall muggings and street beatings seemed to go up. Then there was the fatal stabbing at 3rd and R and the murder at 11th and Q. Also in the fall/winter period I posted the faces of two wanted men, who thankfully were captured.
Quickly skimming over politics, Mayor Fenty had been spotted at a BACA meeting and at Big Bear. I and other bloggers interviewed Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton. Jessica Lanza challenged Doris Brooks, but sadly did not win. But the 2C stalemate ended with the win of Theresa Sule. Michael A$$hat Brown got elected as a wink-wink independent on the city council.
There was a bunch of other things. I got central air. People started giving me booze and I was glad. KIPP looking at JF Cook. Lots more. But this is long enough.
Happy New Year.
Labels: blog
Inauguration Musings- More Obama Stuff Than U Can Shake A Stick At
Over the weekend I wandered over to the Capitol City Market area near Florida Avenue and discovered where your local street vendor gets his Obama stuff. Obama t-shirts, Obama calenders, Obama umbrellas, Obama hats, Obama watches, Obama posters, Obama buttons, and I'm sure if there is something else the president-elect's face and his family's faces can be plastered on..... it is there.
There were also little 8x11 notices of protest around. It seems that the city's deadline for a vendor permit to do the Inauguration is too soon and the process is unfair, according to the notice writer.
Labels: inauguration
Morning Coat of Paint
This morning coming back from Catania's I came across an interesting happenstance. I was passing by 214 P Street, a vacant property
I just recently blogged about on the 15th. Anyway, there were about 3 guys painting the top of it brown and gray and the windows were fixed.
Labels: house
How much is cable?
I haven't paid for cable since I was in college in the late 80s. So honestly I have no idea how much basic cable is. So those of you with cable, how much is it? With all the taxes and sundry fees, what does it wind up being?
Labels: misc
