The Georgetown Metropolitan

As part of an effort to build a sort of panopticon, DC will give you a rather generous rebate if you purchase and install security cameras on the outside of your house. GM recently took advantage of the program and is due to receive a cool $500 from the city.

The basics are this: You can receive up to $200 per camera for a total of no more than $500. The cameras have to be installed on the exterior of your house. And you have to have installed the cameras after September 22, 2015.

And you have to register the cameras with MPD. This doesn’t mean the police will be granted open access to your cameras. But it does mean they will likely reach out to you if they think you might have footage relevant to an investigation. GM used Nest, which works online and stores the data in the cloud. For that reason it will be easy to share the footage. (GM used to have an older system which had none of that functionality and on multiple occasions had to send MPD cell phone videos taken of his television screen.) Continue reading →

Photo by Bill Starrels.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Jack Evans has a third challenger, which is probably great news for Jack Evans. At this point, barring a federal indictment of a quick winnowing of the candidates, his opponents will split the anti-Jack vote.
• GM agrees, Dumbarton House is a great wedding venue.

Georgetown Waterfront Park

The Trader Joe’s that is coming to the new development just over the line in Glover Park is showing progress. You can already see the grocery store’s fixtures, like chest freezers, getting installed.

GM had heard some residents express fears that perhaps it was not still coming, particularly because there’s still no sign announcing the store’s coming. But indeed it is still coming with a target open date of late summer. Continue reading →

Photo by Adam Jones.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Anna Landre is an impressive Georgetown student who was elected to the ANC last year. But due to an insurance company’s callous decision she may have to drop out due to her disability.
• How to sell your house fast, like if you’re a billionaire with a $15 million Georgetown home.

3200 block of P St.

GM came across an amusing scene on his tree tour last weekend. It was a safe sitting on the sidewalk with its electronics busted up. It had all the looks of a cat burglar’s heist!

If the safe held anything valuable, it was long gone by Saturday:

Or maybe somebody just dumped a safe? Anybody recognize it?

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Turns out Bob Mueller lives in Hillandale, not Georgetown.
• Honestly, that’s all the news GM could find for today. Some days are slow!

1500 block of Wisconsin Ave.

Well it’s been nice while it lasted, but the free Circulator rides will come to an end for the next DC fiscal year. That’s not until October, so we’ve still got four months of free rides to enjoy.

The end of the freebie came as a result of the Council adopting a 2020 budget. The mayor had requested the funding continue, but the idea was not well received. The problem is basically this: yeah, free bus rides are great for people that can use the free routes, but it doesn’t help all the other riders. Since the Circulator routes by-and-large go through some well off neighborhoods (e.g., Georgetown) the idea of continuing the free ride was viewed as inequitable. In other words: there are better ways to spend that money than to give Georgetowners a free ride to work.

Oh well. It’s probably the right decision, but a bummer none the less.