from Bloomingdale resident & CFP Chuck Donalies: "The Frugal Planner's Weekly Dispatch, Issue 7"

From: Chuck Donalies, CFP®
Sent: Friday, November 6, 2015 10:00 AM
Subject: The Frugal Planner's Weekly Dispatch, Issue 7

The Frugal Planner's Weekly Dispatch Personal Finance, News, Ideas, & Things I Find Interesting Issue 7 October 6, 2015 Like what you see? If so, please share with your friends & family! Want to be a Better Investor? Stop Checking Your Finance Apps! Do you own an iPhone? If so, you already know Apple pre-loads the phone with several apps that cannot be deleted. One of the undeleteable apps, called "Stocks", enables you to build a portfolio of stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and market indexes, allowing you to view performance, price, and news about the investment. The app can be helpful: I use it to check the status of the S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ markets whenever I'm out of the office. Unfortunately, the app and others like it may also cause investors to make poor decisions about their investments. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal highlights something behavioral economists call myopic loss aversion, which sounds like a degenerative disease of the eye (it's not). The behavior is triggered by frequent feedback, such as checking the price of a stock many times throughout the day. In situations like that, investors are likely to see a loss nearly 50% of the time and thus more likely to sell the investment, often at the wrong time. The takeaways: Stick to your long-term investment plan. Avoid checking financial apps or sites too often. Now You Can Invest in a Startup (But You Probably Shouldn't). I'm often asked if it's a good idea to buy gold (no) or invest in the latest hot IPO (also no). Soon I expect to receive questions about another type of investment: Startups. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently voted to allow equity crowdfunding (read more about this in Wired). In the past, only accredited investors (people with a lot of money) could invest in startups. Now, pretty much anyone can invest in the next Facebook or Twitter. In general, I believe this is good news. Equity crowdfunding will make it easier for entrepreneurs to raise the money necessary to get their businesses off the ground. The downside is that investing in startups will be another avenue for people to commit fraud. My advice on investing in startups is the same as for other investments: Make sure you understand the business as well as the risks involved, review the financials, and don't invest more than you can afford to lose. Or just stick to traditional investments. Having Problems With Your Financial Software? This is Why. I depend on several different software aggregation tools to manage my business and personal finances. My clients often use the same tools. For example, sites like Mint.com are wonderful for aggregating financial account information and creating budgets. Unfortunately, over the past few weeks I've experienced problems with accounts updating properly or not at all. I know I'm not alone because many clients have had the same problem. Now there may be an explanation for the problem: Big banks have started throttling the flow of financial data. J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo are named in The Wall Street Journal, but I wouldn't be surprised if other banks are doing the same. Their stated reasons for throttling data are overloaded servers and the potential for theft or fraud. Data theft is a legitimate concern. Millions of people would be affected by a data breach at Mint.com. However, I can't help but think banks have other reasons for withholding data. Financial technology (FinTech) has become a big business and there are many startups ready to take customers away from traditional banks. I'm positive we'll be hearing more about this issue in the coming months. I'l be sure to provide you with updates. Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2015 Donalies Financial Planning, LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are special. You're a beautiful and unique snowflake. That makes you a client, friend, family member, colleague, prospective client, or some combination of these things. Don't like what you see? Feel free to unsubscribe at any time. Our mailing address is: Donalies Financial Planning, LLC 52 R Street NW Washington, Dc 20001 Add us to your address book

DC Preservation League's Rebecca Miller: "Past is present: Of historic importance"

Because this is subscriber content, I cannot post the entire Washington Business Journal guest post by Rebecca Miller of the DC Preservation League.

But you should get the idea.

Real Estate Inc. Extra

Past is present: Of historic importance

SUBSCRIBER CONTENT: Nov 6, 2015, 6:00am EST

Rebecca Miller

This month, the National Trust for Historic Preservation is hosting its annual conference in D.C. This is the first time that Washington has hosted the conference in the 12 years I’ve been with the D.C. Preservation League.
Meeting with preservationists from across the country on my home turf has provided me the opportunity to think of my city from not only a visitor’s perspective, but also from the perspective of someone who may engage in similar efforts in a radically different regulatory environment.

...
So maybe preservation is a little challenging at times. Anything worth fighting for usually is.


Rebecca Miller is executive director of the D.C. Preservation League and writes the Past is Present column for Real Estate Inc. Extra.

S Street Rising author Ruben Castaneda book signing and Q&A -- at St. George's Episcopal Church -- Sunday, 11-08-2015

See this message from S Street Rising author Ruben Castaneda:
 

I will be doing a reading/discussion/Q and A of S Street Rising at St. George's Episcopal Church on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 12:30 pm, after the church service.

      

I really appreciated your help getting the word out for my previous event in Bloomingdale, and I hope you can do the same here.. I am attaching a flier -- by all means, feel free to share it far and wide. 

       

I will donate half the proceeds of book sales to church charities.

benefitting Bread for the City: Jack On Fire chili cookbook & mixtape for sale at Showtime Lounge -- Sunday, 11-08-2015

See this 10-27-2015 message from Jack On Fire, who will be at Showtime Lounge on Sunday, 11-08-2015:

From: Jack on Fire
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2015 9:35 AM
Subject: Chili, Chrissy's last show, and other final bits of 2015 business.

  

Hey guys -

  

We've been busy busy busy and have a couple of events left in 2015. Save the dates:

• Sunday, November 8: Chili party at Showtime Bar. The chili cookbook and mixtape to benefit Bread for the City is done! From 4-7 pm, you can come eat Brendan Polmer's NOLA-style red beans and rice, Amanda Huron's cheesy biscuits, half smoke chili by yours truly, and other goodies. And buy the book and tape, of course. 

Tuesday, November 10: We're going on Radio CPR! We're gonna drop some tunes on the Dissonance show, 0% of which will be by straight white dudes.

Saturday, November 14: Black Cat Backstage + Chrissy's goodbye party. As you've probably heard, Chrissy got a superhero job in New York and starts November 16, so this will be her last show with Jack on Fire. Come watch us play the old hits, some new ones, and the Julie Ruin's "Oh Come On" one last time. It'll be emotional. Also I'm bringing some trays of Noodles & Company, so there's that.

Friday, December 4: The new album, We Sass You Shake Yr Ass, drops. I'll probably spam you again when this happens but slutever.

And at that point, I'll probably take a nap for a month or two.

  

See you soon! 

J

GetStrong Fitness Sweat Club founder Tyler Brown now a Certified Personal Trainer

Have you yet participated in the free community workout at the 1st & Florida Avenue NW on Saturdays from 12 noon to 1 pm, put on by the GetStrong Fitness Sweat Club?

See Sweat Club's founder Tyler Brown Instagram message below:

at Showtime Lounge, 113 Rhode Island Avenue NW, this Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm: Cafe Los Suenos Roasting Co. pop-up

Stop by the Cafe Los Suenos Roasting Co. pop-up at Showtime Lounge on Sundays from 9 am to 1 pm.

lasagna for sale -- pick up Saturday, 11-07-2015, at Grassroots Gourmet

See this message from Bloomingdale resident and Capital Candy Jar business owner David Burton:

We recently hired a new market manager at The Capital Candy jar named Colby.  He moved to DC from the west coast to take the job.  It turns out that in addition to being a great confectioner he’s an amazing Italian cook.  Colby lived in Italy for a few years where he perfected his recipes.  Unfortunately, being a small startup business we couldn’t afford to help cover his moving expenses.  Instead, we’re letting him use our kitchen this weekend to make and sell pans of his signature lasagna.  Anyone in the neighborhood who would like to try one of these AMAZING lasagnas can order them on a special page on our website and pick them up at Grassroots Gourmet on Saturday.  Can you share this with folks on the Bloomingdale blog?  The link to order a lasagna is http://www.thecapitalcandyjar.com/new-products/lasagna

wedding band found in front of 150 V Street NW

See this 11-05-2015 message: 

I found the attached wedding band in front of 150 v st nw tonight.

Maybe you could post a blog post asking if anyone lost a [wedding band?] with a request for description from anyone wanting to claim it?  

Friends of McMillan Park: "Silverman, Mendelson clash over McMillan"

Friends of McMillan Park

For Release:     November 5, 2015

Contact:            Erin Fairbanks, erinwhite@yahoo.com, @czarinamaude

    

Silverman, Mendelson Clash over McMillan

Freshman Councilmember Elissa Silverman on Tuesday sharply disagreed with Chairman Phil Mendelson and her colleagues over the absence of competition in the selection of the developer for McMillan Sand Filtration Plant and Park. The exchange took place as the Council considered approval of a five-year extension for the city to transfer ownership of the 25-acre site to Vision McMillan Partners (VMP).

       

At a Committee of the Whole meeting prior to the legislative session, Silverman cited the recent letter from DC Auditor Kathy Patterson to Chair Mendelson.  After examining records from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Patterson found that VMP won the job of “master project planner,” but subsequently was designated, without competition, as the project’s developer and owner, including responsibility for financing and vertical construction. Friends of McMillan Park (FOMP) have repeatedly pointed this out to the DC Council. Patterson effectively agreed with FOMP and concluded that “a new competitive process” should be undertaken.

  

“The master project planner should not be the developer,” Silverman said. "That's Planning 101."  

  

Silverman’s objections were rebutted by Council Chair Phil Mendelson. He said it was “too late to unwind” the deal and that there had been a lot of local input and approvals, although a key local organization cited by the Chairman -- the McMillan Advisory Group (MAG) -- did not support the VMP plan, contrary to the year-old report from the Mayor’s Office from which Mendelson quoted. 

  

"Elissa is unbought," said Robin Diener, director of the Library Renaissance Project.  “Forthright questioning is the voters’ return on investment in a corporate-free candidate." Silverman campaigned on the pledge of no corporate contributions. Diener opposes the current VMP plan because, among other things, it doesn’t honor the community's decades-old request for a library.

  

In addition to the lack of competition, McMillan opponents cite a long list of other problems with the VMP plan including:  hiring public relations firm Fontaine & Co. to “discredit the opposition” and “generate political cover for elected officials;” taxpayers paying $78 million in predevelopment costs (including over half a million to lawyers and $68 million to tear down the underground caverns of the sand filtration plant – a designated national landmark); greatly increased traffic for a transit-deficient community; and overwhelming public sentiment against the current approach as demonstrated at the committee hearing on the five-year extension where 20 witnesses testified against and only two in favor of  granting the extension to VMP. These deficiencies were the subject of two recent Washington Post pieces.

###

Casey Trees asks: come help us ID trees in Crispus Attucks Park on Friday, 11-11-2015

See this tweet from Casey Trees:

Casey Trees ‏@CaseyTrees

Consider yourself a #treedetective? Come help us ID trees @ Crispus Attucks park on 11/11 http://bit.ly/1LZOSbS  pic.twitter.com/KN1aZU2vjc 

4:00 PM - 5 Nov 2015
                               

WCP Y&H: "ANXO Cidery Team Signs Lease For Production, Restaurant, and Bar Space in Brightwood Park"

Click on the link to read the entire Washington City Paper Young & Hungry post:

ANXO Cidery Team Signs Lease For Production, Restaurant, and Bar Space inBrightwood Park

Posted by Jessica Sidman on November 5, 2015 at 4:39 pm

It turns out D.C.'s first cider producer will have not one, but two locations in the city. The team behind ANXO Cidery & Pintxos Bar realized their Truxton Circle space wouldn't be big enough to produce the volume of cider they wanted, so now they've signed a lease for a second, larger property at 711 Kennedy St. NW.
                                                                                               
The Brightwood Park outpost will not only be a hub for the bulk of cider production—it will also eventually have its own restaurant and bar. The locale will have a new name and concept, although it may also be a Basque-influenced. An ANXO catering operation will also work out of the space.

ANXO recently hired Barcelona native Alex Vallcorba, who has cooked in Basque country, as its chef de cuisine. He'll work under executive chef and partner Brad Walker (formerly of Boundary Road), who will oversee ANXO and develop the concept in Brightwood Park. The business' other partners include bar veterans Sam Fitz, Rachel Fitz, Tim Prendergast, and Cooper Sheehan.
,,,

Sam Fitz

found items in Bloomingdale today

See this 11-05-2015 message from a Bloomingdale household:

I found the following items today and am willing to return to rightful owner.  It is a Pepperdine University card, a library card, SMARTrip card and supermarket card. Please post asking the person to contact me a traceyah05 at sign gmail.com to recover.  

WaPo Where We Live: "LeDroitPark is valuing the past and the present in Northwest D.C."

Click on the link to read the entire Washington Post Where We Live article by Truxton Circle resident Amanda Abrams:

Real Estate

LeDroitPark is valuing the past and the present in Northwest D.C.

By Amanda Abrams November 5 at 10:40 AM


It’s one of Washington’s most distinctive neighborhoods. Dotted with quirky freestanding homes in a variety of styles, originally designed as a gated suburb and later the place to be for the District’s African American intelligentsia, LeDroit Park has always been unusual.
And now the Northwest neighborhood is finally getting its due — in more ways than one. Most obviously, the community (together with Bloomingdale next door) is the subject of a new Heritage Trail, one of the city’s self-guided walking tours developed by Cultural Tourism DC. History buffs can now wander the area’s streets and learn about its rich past from recently erected signs.

But in a broader sense, LeDroit Park is prominent these days in a way that it wasn’t even five years ago. After years of crime and stagnation, homes have been renovated, businesses have sprung up along the neighborhood’s edges and crime seems to have diminished. 
,,,

Historic District designation panel discussion -- tonight, Thursday, 11-05-2015, at 6:30 pm

See this tweet about a panel discussion slated for Thursday, 11-05-2015.

Thanks to the Bloomingdale Civic Association Historic Preservation Committee for coordinating this 2nd public session.

Come out to tonight's panel discussion to learn more about what it means to be in a designated Historic District in the District of Columbia.
                                                                                  

B'Dale Civic Assn ‏@BloomingdaleCA 

Join us for the next @BCAHistoric Preservation Committee Meeting this Thursday @StGeorgesDC http://www.bloomingdalecivicassociation.org/meetings/hpcnov15/ …\

3:49 PM - 2 Nov 2015 ·

Bloomingdale resident Saranah Holmes: Give Good! Holiday Bazaar at We Work Wonder Bread Factory -- Wednesday, 12-02-2015

See this 11-04-2015 message from Bloomingdale resident Saranah Holmes:

From: Saranah Holmes
Sent: Wednesday, November 4, 2015 4:56 PM
Subject: Give Good! Holiday Bazaar

  

Hi Scott,

            

I am hosting a Give Good! Holiday Bazaar at We Work Wonder bread factory on December 2nd. I would love to invite my neighbors to attend as well as see if anyone who has a business selling items that would make good holiday gifts would like to be a vendor.  We are also accepting food and drink donations in exchange for publicity so caterers or restaurants are welcome to.  

The flyer for people to attend is attached and below and if anyone is interested in being a vendor they can email me at saranahholmes@gmail.com.  

This is a great way to support nonprofits and small/socially responsible businesses this holiday season!

  

Thanks! 

SOMEBODY please purchase the vacant Joe Mamo lot on the northwest corner of North Capitol Street NW and Florida Avenue NW!

JBG -- are you listening?

This image is from Google Maps