Got home last night after being away for a few days and found our front door handle off, and crowbar marks up and down our front door -- police report that they will now give 3000 block of Ordway special attention. Both Washington Post and NY Times delivered our papers despite getting stop orders, so the papers may have been a clue -- any suggestions about most effective way to protest this lapse, and more importantly, keep it from happening again? the second district police were quite helpful and rapid in responding, even though we found that no one had actually gotten into the house, and their report would be more or less pro forma -- police also suggested that we let neighbors know, and that we all keep outside lights on at night, as the street is quiet adn dark -- _____________________________________ Margaret A. Siegel Masiegel@... Phone: (202) 244-4636 Fax: (202) 244-9566

(This message has been sent to the Cleveland Park Web Site mailing list and also the Cleveland Park eGroup mailing list. Our apologies for any duplications. In order to reply to this message in the eGroups distribution, please make sure you are registered at http://www.clevelandpark.com/egroup/ responses may also be sent to staff@... or posted on the Cleveland Park Bulletin Board at http://www.clevelandpark.com/clevelandparkcgi/Ultimate.cgi) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Starwood Urban vs. Uptown Scoop: Ways to Get Heard ======================================= Dear Cleveland Park Residents, Many of you have seen the signs at Uptown Scoop, or seen the bright orange fliers distibuted throughout the neighborhood, or have followed the discussions in the Cleveland Park eGroup, or heard WAMU's piece, or talked with your neighbors. Pretty much everyone has, at least, heard about Starwood's entry into our neighborhood. This is suggested for people who have concerns about Starwood's plans in our community: Do not call Starwood! Please read on... One of the great things about our neighborhood is that the people and businesses that exist here are very concerned about activities that may disrupt our neighborhood character that we have all come to love. This is a wonderful thing! This quality of Cleveland Park-ers is exactly what has spawned our three extremely active and involved community groups: the Cleveland Park Historical Society, the Cleveland Park Citizens Association, and the new Cleveland Park Business and Professional Association. Our organizations have a combined history of many, many years in dealing with community concerns, proven track records in effecting change, and are well positioned to make an impact. Starwood has already met with the Historical Society and the Business Association. They are planning meetings with the Citizens Association and are planning to attend the next ANC 3-C meeting. These are, perhaps, better avenues for residents to express their concerns as well as unified voices to which Starwood may be more receptive. Starwood is not government. It is not a democracy. It is a business. Starwood is undergoing business negotiations with the current tenants. The current tenants are businesses and have to make business decisions. Residents that interfere with these negotiations may also jeopardize them. The associations are positioned to help insure that other considerations are made, which is also in the best interest of the businesses. Please contact the groups (info listed below) and share your concerns. The groups exist for just that and will welcome your input and will present it to Starwood. Gregory New, President Cleveland Park Citizens Association Home: 244-7384 Work: 707-6983 e-mail: citizens@... Judy Hubbard Saul, Executive Director, Outreach Coordinator (Steve Cohen, President) Cleveland Park Historical Society Phone: 966-1995 email: historical@... Frank Stovicek, President, Executive Director Cleveland Park Business and Professional Association Cleveland Park Web Site (www.clevelandpark.com) Phone: 237-9803 Fax: 237-9802 e-mail: bpa@... Ruthanne Miller, Chair ANC 3-C Phone for ANC 3-C: 232-2232 Email for Ruthanne: RGM55@... - Cleveland Park Staff staff@...

Hello, I moved here from Atlanta in October and absolutely love it here. Living across from the zoo is a dream come true! It didn't take me long to bang my car up, though. Can anyone recommend a reasonable and reputable body shop? Thanks in advance, Nancy __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com

Concerns about problems with the Washington Post not suspending home delivery and concern about that leading to any resulting break ins should be sent to Steve Reed who is director of home delivery for the Washington Post. (reeds@...) Lisa

Folks, The Cleveland Park Day Committee will be having it's first organizational meeting tomorrow morning where we will be discussing this year's slogan. '98 was "Be there." '99 was "Encore." If anyone has an idea of what our Y2K slogan should be, drop us an email at clevelandparkday@.... Regards, Frank Stovicek Cleveland Park Day Committee clevelandparkday@... Frank Stovicek, Owner Perspective Concepts TM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3333 Connecticut Ave, NW 2nd Floor Washington, DC 20008 Phone: (202) 237-9800 FAX: (202) 237-9802 sales@... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Quality. Design. Solutions." http://www.perspectiveweb.com

I read in the Northwest Current that Murrell's is closing. How sad. I am one of those people who believes in fixing broken things rather than replacing with new ones. Does anyone know where one can take a TV or VCR for repairs elsewhere in Northwest? If not, just elsewhere? Leila Afzal

The Jenkins-Szulgit Democracy Trial resumes Monday, Feb 28, at 11 am in courtroom JM14 (bottom floor) of DC Superior Court (Moultrie Building - 500 Indiana Ave, NW - Judiciary Square Metro). On Friday, the arresting officers were heard, and witnesses for the defense (Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Shadow Sen Paul Strauss, and ACT UP's Wayne Turner) also took the stand. Defendant Anise Jenkins began her testimony and will finish on Monday - then defendant Karen Szulgit will testify, and closing arguments will be made. The trial will probably go till 5 pm. For further updates on the trial, call (202) 547-3237. The Washington Post finally covered the trial in the "Crime & Justice" column of the Metro section (page B02) on Saturday, Feb 26, 2000. _____________________________ "THE DISTRICT Statehood Lobbyist, Norton Testify at Trial One of the District's elected statehood lobbyists joined the city's delegate to Congress yesterday in testifying in behalf of activists being tried for a noisy outburst from the House of Representatives gallery protesting federal control of D.C. affairs. Anise Jenkins, a member of Stand Up for Democracy, and Karen Szulgit, a member of the D.C. Statehood Green Party, face up to six months in jail or a $500 fine if convicted of disruption of Congress. They interrupted a House budget debate July 29 by chanting "Free D.C.!" and "The nation's capital is its last plantation!" Congress has strict rules of conduct for spectators. The pair were removed from the gallery by a doorman and arrested by police. Paul Strauss, who was elected to the unpaid position sometimes known as shadow senator to lobby for statehood, told jurors that the shouting was tame compared with conduct on the floor. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) testified earlier in the day. D.C.-rights groups are trying to use the misdemeanor trial in Superior Court to lobby for the District's autonomy. "This trial is really about the residents of the District, who are denied the rights other Americans have," said Wayne Turner, coordinator of ACT UP, one of many activists involved in the protest."

To those of you who are interested in democracy in DC and have been following the trial of Anise Jenkins and Karen Szulgit for the criminal misdemeanor of disruption of Congress. This is from Karen on the status of the trial which continues today at 11 a.m. Ann Loikow

Klingle Road Meeting on March 15th by DPW This is a reminder of the DPW open house on Klingle Road on Wednesday afternoon and evening, March 15th. Below is a copy of my original note.

This is Jean Milbauer and Bill Knapp. We live on Cleveland Avenue and have two children, Samantha age 3 and Bryan age 1. Invitation: I apologize for this last minute invitation, but I just learned of this wonderful resource. Information Gathering Meeting Tuesday, February 29th, 8:00 p.m. Light Dinner will be served Home of Jean Milbauer and Bill Knapp 3220 Cleveland Avenue Please RSVP: Tomorrow (Tuesday) at 202-337-2290 or jab1725@... The purpose of the meeting is to discuss all the various development going on in our neighborhood. Representatives from three of the many different projects (Woodley/Klingle, Cathedral grounds, Tregaron) going on around the neighborhood will give 10 minute presentations, and then there will be time for questions. The idea is that people want get involved but just don't have enough information to know where to focus their energy and/or resources, and others simply don't know what the issues are. If you are interested in coming to learn about these projects that could potentially affect our quality of life, please come to this meeting. Please let me know if you can make. Thank you. Jeanie (Milbauer)

bad day on the roads -- Reno is under construction with mega detours around Van Ness through Warren -- horrible accident on Connecticut Avenue at Jones Bridge and the Beltway was backed up!!! and this wasn't even during rush hour!!!! _____________________________________ Margaret A. Siegel Masiegel@... Phone: (202) 244-4636 Fax: (202) 244-9566

For those of you who still have cable-=--- are you experiencing shadows and bars on channels 7 and 9? I am going to call, but I think one gets better service if you can show the problem is area wide. Please email me privately so we don't clutter the email boxes of others. Thanks. Leila Afzal Leila.Afzal@...

FYI. Ann Loikow

Breakfast at Historic Alban Towers The D.C. Preservation League, the District's city-wide historic preservation organization, and the Charles E. Smith Companies are hosting a breakfast at Alban Towers, a long neglected DC historic landmark, that is being restored by the Charles E. Smith Company. This will be an opportunity to see how the exterior and interior public spaces will be renovated and the vacant land adjacent to the building will be developed. It will also be an opportunity to meet and speak with the developer and architects involved in the project. WHEN: Saturday, April 8 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. WHERE: Alban Towers, SW corner of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues, NW, Washington, DC COST: $25/person for DCPL members; $40/person for non-League members (includes a one-year membership in the League). RSVP: By April 4 to the League at 1815 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006. For more information, please call 202-955-5616 or email dcpreserv@.... Parking is limited, please use of public transportation. Metrobus stops in front of building. Please check www.wmata.com and use the Ride Guide to find the most convenient bus line.

Flea Market and Flower Market The John Eaton Elementary School Afterschool Program is sponsoring a Flea Market and Plant Mart on May 6 (May 13 rain date.) This is a wonderful opportunity for you artists, craftspersons, and entrepreneurs to set up a table and sell your wares. You can rent a space for $30 (bring your own table); or $35 and a table will be provided. For more information, please contact Consuelo Neuman at 202-745-3906 or consuelo/n@.... Leila Afzal

I would like information about the next meeting of the playground committee. I am an early care & education specialist, and would very much like to participate with the planning of this space. My CORRECT address is alabramson@... Thank you.

RE: [cleveland-park] Today's Cleveland Park Citizen's Assoc meeting I was at the Starwood meeting of the Cleveland Park Citizens Association on Saturday March 4th in the Cleveland Park Library for about one hour but had to leave at 11:30. Here are my notes for that hour. Others who were there may have different notes or remember questions I did not write down. I hope that they can expand, annotate or correct these. John Richmond (the CEO of Starwood) showed up and did all of the speaking. They did not bring their lawyer. John was causally dressed, a little over weight, had a full beard and projected an image of being forthright but unyielding, willing to listen but not to change, and a practical businessman. He started by describing Starwood Urban Investors as a DC business, run by four local partners. It was channeled money by Starwood in Connecticut, but claims that all of the decisions are made locally and it should not be confused with any of the myriad other Starwood investments. He described the company as investing in urban retail properties. Urban retail is where the parking is in the back of the buildings and not the front and they are pedestrian orientated. He stressed that each community is individual and what his company did in Chevy Chase is very different from what it did in Du Pont Circle and still different from Silver Spring and Woodly Park. They look to see who lives in the neighborhood and who visits the neighborhood now, since they can not generate new people coming in but must rely on who is already shopping there. This means that the mix of stores currently there will probably be the mix that will end up there - restaurants on the first floor and services (and perhaps some offices) on the second floor. One thing he will not do is try and compete with suburban shopping centers. He thinks shopping centers are very good at what they do and he needs a different mix of stores than the suburbs. He said that the property had a great deal of deferred maintenance that had to be done. It needs a new roof, the windows are mismatched and need to be replaced, the utilities have to be replaced and upgraded and the ceiling heights are all wrong for the commercial tenants. He also said that if he had only one building, his objective would be only to maximize rents. Because he has many buildings, he needs to consider the effect of each business on its neighbors and create a mix where each business benefits the others and draws mutual shoppers. Finally he said that he would not answer any questions about any individual tenant since it was unfair to a tenant if he said that he wanted or did not want them to stay and unfair to him since he was negotiating with many of them. He then answered many questions. The moderator from the Cleveland Park Citizens Association did not encourage follow-up questions and there were very few of them. Are the architects for the project the same as the ones used in Du Pont Circle? No, the projects are very different Is there any relationship with the Federal Investment Real Estate Trust? No. But three of the four partners used to be associated with that trust. Q. Will the tenants stay in place during the renovations? A. Probably not. There will be extensive disruption in redoing the utilities and Starwood would try and minimize the time businesses were closed but it seemed unavoidable. Q. Was any survey done of the community and its desires? A. They talked to some community organizations but did not take a real survey. Q. What about noise levels during construction (from a close neighbor)? A. The contractors have to follow city regulations. He did not know what they were but some people in the audience said that almost any level of noise was allowed 7-7 with later starting times on Sunday. Q. Do they have plans to change the sidewalks and sidewalk usage? A. They would like to improve the 'streetscape' but this has to be done with the City and the City just repaired the sidewalks and will be reluctant to do other things in the near future. Q. Which tenants want to stay and are negotiating

thanks for the updates -- did anyone stay for that rest of the meeting and give us the rest of the news, or nonnews fomr Starwood? does anyone know what the plans are for the block at Dupont Circle that Starwood bought? In particular, Sam Smith, did they give you the same time frame as the tenants here? And do you have any inside news, since you were a long time tenant in that building at Conn. and S? Maybe we can also form an alliance with the Dupont Circle folks, all of whom are also being " asked" to move out, as I understand it -- My thanks to everyone in the neighborhood who is pushing Starwood to give us real plans and specific information -- I hope they;'re beginning to understand that we don';t oppose change for change ask,e but are concerned about he tenor ofhte neighborhood and don't necessarily want ot be more upscale -- Margie Siegel

RE: [cleveland-park] Re: [cleveland-parkToday's Cleveland Park Citizen's Assoc meeti ng There was one major mistake in my report. I did not trust my spelling and reported name of the CEO of Starwood from the flyer. His name is Richman. This means that I also got the e-mail address wrong. His actual e0-mail address is jrichman@... You can also look at the Starwood web site at http://www.starwoodurban.com.

Hello everyone! I was really happy to find out there was a neighborhood e-group for Cleveland Park. My dog and I recently relocated to CP and are having a great time. I am very excited about the neighborhood and look forward to learning more about it in the future. I do have one question, does anyone have the name of a good "handyman" or interior house painter. I need to repaint my kitchen and bath and while I can do it myself, would like to get estimates. In addition it would great to have the name of a handyman in the area (I had an emergency one weekend and had to bring in someone from Upper Marlboro). Thanks a lot! I look forward to getting to know more about you all. Anne Pfrimmer -- Anne Pfrimmer apfrimmer@...