Neighborhood in the news: Hillary Clinton #StandsWithComet; a “shelter-in-place” at Murch

She supported Comet during Pizzagate: Last year, neighbors and friends of Comet Ping Pong showed up in force to support the restaurant and other businesses on the block as they endured a barrage of threats from conspiracy theorists. And we’re just now learning that Hillary Clinton was one of those friends. During Clinton’s September 18th book talk at the Warner Theater, Politics and Prose co-owner Lissa Muscatine revealed that Clinton had been in touch throughout the ordeal, and even called on December 4th, the day a gunman walked into Comet Ping Pong and fired a few shots.

Muscatine says Clinton and former President Bill Clinton also “bought a lot of pizzas” from Comet. Those were sent to an after-school literacy program. Read more at DCist.com.

Lockdown at Murch@UDC: Murch Elementary’s temporary spot across the street from the embassies on Van Ness Street has been an advantage in many ways. During the 2016-2017 school year, Murch student reporters got to interview one of China’s top diplomats, and the Embassy of Israel “adopted” Murch.

The downside is that when the embassies go on security alert, so does the school. A white powder discovered outside the Israeli embassy on Thursday, September 28th triggered a lockdown. Students preparing for dismissal were sent back to their classrooms to shelter in place until the all-clear, which arrived about 1.5 hours later. Here’s a more detailed account from Murch’s principal.

AARP awards grant for Van Ness revitalization: We wouldn’t have used the word “blighted” to describe the plaza at 4250 Connecticut outside the Van Ness Metro’s western entrance. Plain, perhaps. Neither word will fit after Van Ness Main Street puts an AARP grant to work. The Northwest Current writes about this and another revitalization project in the works.

Tour the “floating” home of a renowned architect: Curbed DC says Travis Price’s Forest Hills home is a “notable inclusion” on the D.C. Metro Area Modern Home Tour on Saturday, October 7th.

Another Forest Hills home designed by Price is one of the D.C.-area’s most expensive homes for sale. 2807 Chesterfield Place listed for $4.95 million. It was previously the home of the Georgian ambassador.

Still one of the best: Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema named Sfoglina one of DC’s best new restaurants of 2016. Now it’s tenth on his list of best overall this fall.