Last Sunday, a Burleith resident put up the sign pictured to the right in this post on the intersection of 36th and S st. The sign is a notification that a bus service led by the Student Neighborhood Assistance Program has now moved to another stop on Reservoir and 37th Street.
Later that evening, a S.N.A.P. employee confirmed that the sign was in fact not affiliated with the program and immediately went to investigate. He added that the sign presented a potential safety concern for students who may confuse it with the Safe Rides shuttle that escorts students in West Georgetown and Burleith at late hours of the night.
In an email to Vox,Stacy Kerr, Assistant Vice President for Communications, confirmed today that the sign was not put up or authorized by the University. She also echoed a similar sentiment that is troubling all parties involved (except for, apparently, this neighbor): what is a S.N.A.P. “bus”? Well, to our knowledge, it doesn’t exist.
Vox suspects this is where Stan Shunpike picks up passengers of the Knight Bus. We’ll probably be standing there around midnight, wands in hand, expecting a triple decker, purple public transportation bus to come hurtling at us stranded members of the wizarding community.
Update, 3:28 p.m.: In a public safety alert issued this afternoon, the Department of Public Safety offered a few details about the event. The alert also notes, “additional arrests related to this case are expected.”
Original post, 12:14 p.m. In a flurry of police activity that included multiple Department of Public Safety and Metropolitan Police Department squad cars, undercover DPS officers, and one MPD helicopter providing aerial support, two individuals suspected of burglarizing St. Mary’s were arrested in Burleith late last night.
The successful night for DPS and MPD comes after a spate of burglariesandothercrimes in the area. According to University spokesperson Stacy Kerr, last night’s incident began when members of DPS’s Community Action Team, who were a part of increased security measures after multipleburglaries at the Medical Center, witnessed unknown individuals leaving St. Mary’s carrying computer equipment and boxes. The DPS officers were plain-clothed and monitoring the north end of campus in unmarked vehicles.
At this point, the undercover officers contacted MPD and followed the suspects to a large SUV parked on 37th Street, just north of Reservoir Road. One suspect was arrested there at 11:07 p.m.
DPS and MPD worked together to canvas the neighborhood to locate other suspects. One resident of Burleith tweeted shortly after the first suspect was arrested that DPS was looking for two men suspected of burglarizing St. Mary’s. Around this time, MPD also dispatched a helicopter with a searchlight to assist the search for suspects.
Within the next hour, at 38th and T Streets NW, another suspect (pictured above) was apprehended by reimbursable detail officers from MPD that the University pays to assist neighborhood patrols. According to an undergraduate who lives nearby, the apprehending officer tackled the suspect to the ground. This suspect was held on the curb on T Street for over an hour, during which time police searched a bag they found with the suspect and discovered a large roll of duct tape among other items.
DPS continues to work with MPD on this ongoing investigation. Several computers and other equipment were recovered by police during the incident.
On Sunday, December 11 at 8 p.m., a Georgetown graduate student was the victim of an attempted robbery at R and 37th Streets NW in Burleith, according to the Department of Public Safety.
The student was walking south on 37th when an unknown male approached her, grabbing her in an attempt to steal her backpack. Yelling, the student ran south on 37th toward Reservoir Road. MPD was notified, and its detectives are handling the case.
The grad student informed DPS of the incident at approximately 1:30 p.m. today.
The DPS public safety alert describes the suspect as a thin 25-year-old, 6’5” Black male with light skin and a thin, scruffy beard, wearing an olive green hooded jacket and baggy light light jeans.
DPS requests that anyone who has information regarding this incident or who noticed any suspects before or after the incident, to contact them immediately at (202) 687-4343.
Last night at approximately 9:10 p.m., a Georgetown student was robbed by two men, one of whom displayed a knife, on the 1800 block of 38th Street NW in Burleith, between S and T Streets. According to a public safety alert, the two suspects emerged from bushes and approached the victim, one suspect grabbing him from behind while the other brandished a knife. The suspects took the victim’s wallet and fled the scene. MPD responded to the scene in vain.
One suspect is described in the Department of Public Safety alert as a 5’10” black male weighing 175 pounds, while the other suspect is an approximately 5’9” black male weighing 190-200 pounds and armed with a knife. Both suspects were wearing bandannas to cover their faces and dark clothing.
DPS is requesting that anyone who has information about this incident, or who noticed any suspects before or after the incident, to contact them immediately at (202) 687-4343.
It’s no news that Georgetown University students have a somewhat contentious relationship with our neighbors to the North. Read: Burleithers hate us.
So it’s no wonder that most of us probably didn’t receive invites to the Burleith Annual Summer Picnic in the Park, which takes place this Saturday, June 11, from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Green Lot on Whitehaven Parkway and 37th Street. The picnic looks like loads of fun: Activities on the website include a nature walk (you know, through all the wilderness there is out there on R Street) and the mysteriously labeled “new and fun kids’ activities.”
But get this—nobody ever said this was an invite-only picnic. So we here at Vox are encouraging any and every one of our dear, loyal readers who are still in D.C. (particularly those of you who are both students and Burleith residents), to turn this picnic into a Georgetown affair. Show up, introduce yourselves to Lenore Rubino, snap a picture with resident photographer Stephen Brown, and maybe you’ll even get a chance to throw this guy’s lawn sign on the barbecue.
Basically, make Burleithers realize just how bored they’d be without us in their communities to complain about.
The segment, which is below, features numerous neighbors making some fairly absurd complaints, with one woman saying that single women living alone in Burleith “are afraid” of the debauchery that Georgetown students are causing. Another neighbor holds up his destroyed “Our Homes Not GU’s Dorms” sign like the corpse of a civilian war casualty.
One thing to note when watching the video: Their footage of student “destruction” consists of shots of two—yes, two—empty beer containers outside. They try to mix it up with different angles, but it’s pretty obvious.
Earth Day may not be until April 22nd, but many organizations are celebrating all month. Here is a rundown of upcoming Earth events:
Volunteer: Restore a trail with FORCE, the Rock Creek rangers, and the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. On Saturday, April 16 from 9 a.m. to noon, in Dumbarton Oaks Park.
For those in the Burleith neighborhood, a spring clean up will take place on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. Volunteers can meet at Ellington Field, located at 38th and R Streets.
Celebrate: This weekend (16-17th) celebrate on the National Mall with the EPA where you can “Bash the Trash” and make your own “Eco Art.”
On April 17, the Environmental Film Festival will hold a free bonus screening (films and times here).
No Stephen R. Brown blog is complete without his camera skillz
How does Burleith resident Stephen R. Brown follow up his instant hit of a blog “Drunken Georgetown Students“? By calling for the removal of Georgetown President Jack DeGioia and Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans on of course!
Blogging at RemoveJack.com and RemoveJackEvans.com, two blogs largely dedicated to 2010 Campus Plan news/bashing, Brown demands that Evans “give up his post as Councilman and either teach at the University or return full-time to law” and that DeGioia to “GO BACK TO TEACHING.”
“We just gave you the ability to raise 211 million dollars at very favorable interest rates and you spent it on a science center and not dormitories. And yes… we have tried negotiating with you for a year. You haven’t changed your demands a bit. If you can’t moderate your business practices, I suspect that your reputation as a first class University which produces world leaders, scholars and diplomats will soon be on par with the likes of Kaplan, DeVry and the University of Phoenix.”
The Georgetown Dish is reporting that Burleith residents’ anti-Campus Plan lawn signs were burned and left on one resident’s front steps during the three-day weekend.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the signs were removed from the front lawns of at least two houses and burned between 11 p.m. on Sunday and 8 a.m. on Monday. Despite an open investigation, no witnesses have been identified.
“We’ve had signs disappear and vandalized, but we’ve never had signs that were burned,” Burleith Citizens’ Association President Lenore Rubino told the Dish. “There are legitimate ways for people to express their opinions, but when you have burning of the signs it takes it to another level.”
Since last June, Burleith and Georgetown residents have displayed the signs, which read “OPPOSE GU’s Campus Plan” and “Our Homes Not GU’s Dorm” to express their frustration with the University’s 2010 Campus Plan.
“The symbolism of burning something on someone’s front lawn is not to be lost,” Rubino told the Dish. “It’s intimidation and it’s meant to incite fear.”
Not much has changed since the University filed its plan in late December. While the Georgetown-area Advisory Neighborhood Commission will present its recommendations next Monday, the D.C. Board of Planning has yet to file its report with the D.C. Zoning Commission, which will ultimately approve or deny the plan.
At this morning’s preliminary hearing, charges were dropped without prejudice against Howard Arenstein and Orly Katz, the married pair of journalists caught growing marijuana in Burleith.
According to Washington City Paper, the charges were dropped without prejudice at this morning’s preliminary hearing because prosecutors could not locate their only witness. The charge—possession with intent to sell—may be reinstated after prosecutors track down the witness.
Arenstein, a CBS Radio News correspondent, and Katz were arrested in October after a neighbor’s tip led to the discovery of 11 fully-mature marijuana plants in the backyard of their Burleith home. A single mature plant can produce up to a pound of marijuana. Although the charges implied drug dealing, a source close to the case told City Paper last month that the stash was likely used for medicinal purposes, not sold.
Vox Populi is the staff blog of the Georgetown Voice, Georgetown University's weekly newsmagazine. Opinions expressed in posts are those of their author alone unless otherwise stated.
Last Sunday, a Burleith resident put up the sign pictured to the right in this post on the intersection of 36th and S st. The sign is a notification that a bus service led by the Student Neighborhood Assistance Program has now moved to another stop on Reservoir and 37th Street.
No Stephen R. Brown blog is complete without his 
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