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Next Tuesday is election day. And GM has already weighed in on one of the votes you’ll be asked to make (vote for Silverman!). But you’ll also be asked to vote for your next ANC commissioner. And if you’re interested in hearing GM’s thoughts on your choice (or lack thereof), read on.

ANC 2E 01: Burleith-Hillandale: Your Choice

This district is outside GM’s “jurisdiction”, which gives him a convenient excuse not to have to choose. Longtime commissioner Ed Solomon is facing a strong challenge from Kishan Putta. GM thinks highly of both candidates. Ed has served Burleith well since 2005. He has reliably displayed a collaborative and problem-solving attitude. And Kishan is a ball of energy who has already dived into community issues like the renovation of Jelleff with a laser focus. Also as a new father he would bring that perspective to the position.

The Georgetowner endorsed Kishan. But they premised their choice on Ed’s decision to back the K/Water St. reconfiguration. This is an enormously petty reason to criticize Ed and reflect’s the Georgetowner’s outdated obsession with parking. There are great reasons to chose to vote for Kishan, but don’t do it to punish Ed’s vote on making K/Water St. safer for all users.

Burleith/Hillandale, you have two great choices. You can’t make a mistake here.

ANC 2E 02: Upper West Georgetown: Joe Gibbons

Incumbent Joe Gibbons is seeking another term. GM adores Joe and considers him a fantastic neighbor. He is facing no opposition and will continue to serve the community well. Vote for him happily.

ANC 2E 03: Middle West Georgetown: Rick Murphy

Rick Murphy is also seeking another term without opposition. Rick has done a wonderful job in his first term and GM is happy he is returning for another. Pull the lever for him. Continue reading →

Photo by Ehpien.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Tree killer raises ire on N St. (GM covered this last year)
• Speaking of trees, here’s the debate over ginkgoes. (GM personally dislikes ginkgoes. The fruit is terrible, of course, but on top of that, they grow way too slowly and offer hardly any canopy. There are much better trees we can plant.)

1300 33rd St.

Bisnow reported yesterday that Chase bank closed on its purchase of the historic Neam’s market building. The banking behemoth bought the property for $8.2 million. This news crushed GM’s hopes that since Chase is opening yet another branch at 3140 M St., maybe they weren’t going to go forward with their terrible plans to destroy a historic market building. Goes to show you shouldn’t underestimate how awful mega banks can be!

But it could have been different. Back in 2013, the Citizens Association of Georgetown (including GM) put forward a proposal to ban any new banks in Georgetown. The Georgetown Business Association (a lobbying group of Georgetown businesses, which shouldn’t be confused with the Georgetown Business Improvement District) objected to the proposal and the idea died. Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The last ditch effort to block a condo by landmarking the Exorcist steps is getting national attention.
• Come be GM’s neighbor for under $800k.

3000 block of R St.

Today for Halloween, GM would like to reprint a Georgetown ghost story as told by Tim Krepp in his fantastic Ghosts of Georgetown:

Continue reading →

Photo by Bill Starrels.

Happy Halloween Georgetown! Here’s the latest:

• Book Hill’s Pillar and Post chosen as one of the most beautiful shops in the country.
• The Fresh Baguette bakery at Wisconsin and S St. opens tomorrow.

Montrose Park

Photo by Abbamouse.

If you’re like GM, you like to browse neighborhood real estate listings. And if you’re even more like him, you’ve come across the following and wondered, what the heck is this about?:

GM has always wondered what exactly “Urban Land-Sassafras-Chillum” means. So finally he did some digging (internet digging, not dirt digging). And it turns out these are classifications of soil.

GM was of the opinion that soil types boiled down to basic characteristics, like say “sandy” or “rocky” or maybe even “loamy”, whatever that meant. But apparently soils are classified by a system of incredible detail and particularity. According to this 1976 survey of the soils of DC, our little patch of land is composed of dozens of different soil types, with names such as “Brandywine gravelly loam” or “Beltsville-urban land complex”. Continue reading →