The Georgetown Metropolitan

DC is currently in the process of re-drawing the eight ward boundaries as a result of the 2020 Census. GM had previously theorized about the possibility that Georgetown and/or Burleith could be returned to Ward Three, that result now appears extremely unlikely.

DC needs to redraw the ward boundaries every ten years. The law mandates that each of the wards’ populations must be within 5% of the city average. So, for example, if the city had 800,000 residents, the average for the wards would be 100,000. And the maps would have to be drawn to ensure that no ward had fewer than 95,000 or more than 105,000 residents.

Early estimates put Ward Two slightly above the average, although within the 5% buffer. If that were the case, there would not be any need to grow or reduce the physical size of Ward Two. But it might have lead to changes nonetheless since some wards definitely have to grow or shrink, and to make that possible Ward Two might have needed to change.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Julia Child’s house is for sale again.
• New jewelry store on M St.

A new restaurant in opening at 3206 O St. It is called Masala Street and it specializes in Indian food.

It is expected to be open this week. The menu featured a broad array of popular Indian food such as Chicken Tikka Masala and Saag Paneer, plus much more (including the always popular, but not particularly Indian, choices of wings and fried chicken).

The restaurant replaces Pica Taco, which served Mexican food at that location since 2018. Previous to that was the short lived Gtown Bites, and the much longer lasting Georgetown Dinette before that.

Georgetown always needs a good supply of cheapish eats, so GM’s glad to see that continue with Masala Street.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GU is planning on building a large new dorm near Union Station.
• The story behind the Cat Cafe.

A shop that sells rare and unusual snack items has just opened at 1432 Wisconsin Ave. The shop is called Fat Munchiez, and it is the second location for the shop.

GM honestly didn’t realize there is a market in such things as Japanese candy or Pepsi cream soda, but the store appears to already have fans:

Always nice to have some unique shops around the neighborhood, so welcome Fat Munchiez!

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Alarming shooting between an off-duty police officer and suspected robbers on 28th St. Tuesday night. One suspect taken into custody but the other fled.
• New jewelry store opened in Cady’s Alley.

The K St./Water St. protected bike has finally been extended to the entrance of the Capital Crescent Trail. This work, which has been long in the planning, took place over the last several weeks. It has transformed the western end of this stretch.

Heading from the east, the first notable addition you will likely notice is the new mini traffic circle at 34th St.:

The purpose of this circle is to facilitate cars turning around at this point, rather than heading all the way down to the Capital Crescent trailhead. To discourage going further, DDOT has removed almost all of the street parking west of this spot. Anyone who has been down this way on a weekend afternoon knows how dangerous it is as drivers scream down the street looking for free parking, only to then have to execute a dangerous three-point turn to head back once they realize no spots are open. It will be much safer with far fewer cars driving west of 34th St.

When GM walked by recently, the circle was not having its intended effect, at least not yet. For one, drivers went right through the circle. GM is informed that a raised surface in the center will soon be installed that will discourage this. Further, unfortunately not all the parking was removed, so people are still going to be driving past the circle despite the chances of finding a spot being basically zero.