ARMED ROBBERIES AROUND METRO STATIONS IN 'HOOD

Two weeks ago I put out an alert about two guys who robbed a couple on
Brandywine Street on their way home from the theater. Apparently these two
have pulled about 8 armed robberies, usually following people from the Metro.
Be really conscious of those around you on the street. They are two black
males about 5'7" ish, but muscular. They tend to wear dark clothes, including
knit hats.  Sgt. Ladson put out this warning at last night's ANC3E meeting.
He came in to make a brief report and answer some questions, then zipped out
again. There had been a carjacking in the 'Hood, and a woman had jumped from
a window. It was a busy night for him and we appreciated that he needed to be
out on the street.

He also clarified the rape report in the latest two Communit-E's. It was not
a rape but rather a fondling/kissing kind of sexual assault, a 4th degree
sexual offense. It happened in or around the Tenleytown Metro.

There were recently two lockups for theft from auto. Given the large number
of thefts from auto in the 'Hood, these are very important arrests. I have a
call in to John Irving of the US Atty's office to let him know we are very
interested in them.
 
 

SOME OTHER ITEMS FROM ANC MEETING

These are just a few highlights and I left the meeting before it was over, so
check out their web site for possible additional information, including an
update on Fort Bayard Park.

Sandra Hill, the City's Tree Czar (not her real title), gave an enthusiastic
description of her plans for trees and tree care in the city, now that she
has money and some staff. She is planning a fairly massive planting,
trimming, cutting down dead, and stump removal this year.  If you have any
trees or stumps to add to her list, call her at 727-5559 and put in your
request.

For DPW emergencies, such as trees falling into the road, call 727-6161.

Art Lawson, Deputy Director of Public Works, talked trash, recycling, street
repair, street light repair and other DPW related topics. One resident who
lives near 43rd and Fessenden told him about a problem with lights burnt out
in her alley. She found footprints in the snow that came from the alley,
through her yard and onto her porch.  Street lights, especially those in
alleys, are very important public safety devices.  For help in getting
DPW-related problems solved, Art Lawson's phone number is 673-7085.

He seemed very impressed with the ANC punch list and said that list was
helpful to him in keeping track of the tasks that needed to be done

In addition to burnt out street and alley lights, another often ignored but
important item is graffiti removal. There is now a Rapid Response Team for
graffiti removal under Michael Carter. The number to call is 939-8764. When
you starting looking you realize that there sure is a lot of graffiti around,
especially on stop signs and other street signs.

------------

Planning Czar (not his real title either) Andrew Altman and other planning
and development folks will be at the Chevy Chase Community Center on Tuesday,
 February 15 at 7:30 pm.
 
 

REQUEST FOR SIDEWALK

From:   rkhk@compuserve.com (Bob and Hazel Keimowitz)

Could the neighborhood band together and request a sidewalk on the east side
of Nebraska Avenue?  We, and many others, walk between Chesapeake and the
Metro at Albemarle regularly.  There is no sidewalk on Nebraska as you
approach Chesapeake.  That and some better lighting would improve
walking/safety, and comfort, and improve our environs.

The reason we urge the walkway on the eastern side is to avoid the sometime
impossible traffic at Nebraska and Chesapeake.   That intersection is
getting much worse.  About a month ago there was a serious 4 car accident at
noon on that corner .  I believe an attempt was made to get a light there
some time ago.  Some neighbors, if I recall correctly, thought a light would
increase traffic on Chesapeake.  There already is a fair amount and that
intersection (Nebraska, Chesapeake and 38th Street) is increasingly
dangerous.  We believe a light is necessary and almost essential there.  How
do we mobilize to get those two walking/life enhancers done??

PS:  after I wrote this I spotted the website for our ANC and forwarded the
suggestion to them as well!
 
 

MORE TV RECEPTION

From: fabullock@erols.com (Fred Bullock)

We are in the AU Park area on 49th Street. We, too, changed from DC cable
to Starpower, because of poor reception, especially on channels 4 and 9 and
because we got more channels and hopefully at lower cost.

The interesting and maybe helpful thing is that when the Starpower technician
hooked up our new cable, and tested it out, the reception on Channels 4 and
9 was terrible. But, said he, all you need to do to get good reception  on
all the network channels is to select channel 90 for 4, 91 for 5, 92 for 7
and 93 for 9. This is not mentioned in the channel selection chart supplied
by Starpower, and may not be readily  known, but it works for us (we were
lucky to have an unusually talkative and helpful technician).

---------------

From:   pboyce@aas.org (Peter B. Boyce)

Starpower has solved our ghost problems. If problems persist, try channels
90-93 which duplicate the local channels in a ghost-free environment..

I have had their service for two months, and that has cleared up all our
problems with ghosts on the local channels. First, their wiring is superior
to District Cablevision. Second, their technicians are very knowledgeable,
and can really fix things. District Cablevision techs just replaced the
cable connectors using poor technique (if you can pull off the connector,
it was not installed right. Third, the signal level delivered by Starpower
(to my house) is significantly higher than we were getting from District
Cablevision. We live between channels 9 and 5 near Wisconsin and Fessenden,
so really had terrible problems.

Now, on our good TV sets, we have no trouble with ghosts. However, on a
couple of less expensive sets, we still have trouble which originates from
the set itself not being shielded and grounded sufficiently.  In this case,
Starpower has risen to the challenge by adding second copies of the local
channels on channels 90-93, where there is no ghosting problems.

Starpower is, indeed, cheaper if you get the phone service, too. Phone
service has been great. (I also have cable modem which works well for me).

My complaints: Some channels missing from their lineup (MSNBC, News Channel
8 are not available).  Also, their customer service is very hard to reach,
and the sales and installation was handled by several different people who
seemed not to communicate with each other. I think they are still learning
how to operate, but they did persist in solving problems, and once
installed the signal is excellent.

---------------

From:   Viking1101 (Steve Kopperud)

We've had satellite television (DirectTV,  now merged with USSB) for a few
years now and have had absolutely no problems with reception --- save for the
few times the weather is sufficiently ugly to interfere with the satellite
system. If that happens you can go off-dish and tune in your locals.  Now you
can get the major local network affiliates as part of a subscription package.
We're on 46th & Warren, kind of cross-hatched between Chs. 4, 7 and AU's
tower. The rates, depending on the package of channels you choose, are
competitive with cable or other satellite systems.  No, I don't own stock in
DirectTV. Anyone want to talk about the pros and cons of satellite, tell them
to zap me.  Keep up the good work.
 
 

DON'T LIE TO MOM

John invited his mother over for dinner. His mom had long been suspicious
that John was sleeping with his roommate. Over the course of the evening,
while
watching the two interact, she  became even more suspicious. Reading his
mom's
thoughts, John volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure
you,
Julie and I are just roommates."

About a week later, Julie came to John and said, "Ever since your mother
came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle.
You don't suppose she took it, do you?" John said, "Well, I doubt it, but
I'll write her a letter just to be sure."

So he sat down and wrote: "Dear Mother, I'm not saying you 'did' take a
gravy ladle from my house, and I'm not saying you 'did not' take a gravy
ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were
here for dinner."

Several days later, John received a letter from his mother which read:
"Dear Son, I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Julie, and I'm not saying
that you 'do not' sleep with Julie. But the fact remains that if  she were
sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by  now.
Love, Mom"