Neighborhood in the News, Part 1: Rent lawsuit; Comet anniversary; ‘Fire and Fury’ fuss

We tried to take it easy over the holidays, but the news about neighbors and neighborhood spots has been coming in nonstop since our last roundup. This is going to be a two-parter, with more “Neighborhood in the News” links tomorrow.

DC sues over “rent concessions”: We’ve told you about the practice that has given several of our apartment-dwelling neighbors sticker shock when they receive their annual rent increase notice. Now, DC Attorney General Karl Racine is suing the real estate company that manages 3003 Van Ness, alleging “unlawful trade practices.”

They won’t let it go: It’s been a year since a gunman who bought into the internet conspiracies about Comet Ping Pong went to the restaurant. Owner James Alefantis tells WAMU about how the community rallied around Comet, his pride in his staff, and says that unfortunately, hateful conspiracies still circulate online.

The hills call to us: Five years after The Washington Post’s Where We Live feature last marveled on the leafy-ness of Forest Hills, it checks back again to talk to more locals about why they’ve chosen to make their home here.

“It feels like you’re separated from the city a little bit, but everything you need is walking distance. I never expected to be able to walk to a park,” a three-year resident tells the Post.

Only in Washington: Washingtonian describes a “J.K. Rowling-type scene” at the Connecticut Avenue Politics and Prose for the January 5th launch of Michael Wolff’s book on the Trump administration. People were waiting in sub-freezing temperatures for the store to open, and NBC4 says 84 copies of Fire and Fury sold out in the first 15 minutes.

P&P got more:

Get them while they’re hot! 🔥#fireandfury pic.twitter.com/IZbHVUCOLA

— Politics and Prose (@PoliticsProse) January 8, 2018

A case of not-so-mistaken identity: This would fall into the “fun fact” category if it were actually a fact.

In Washington DC, the Slovakian and Slovenian embassies meet once a month to exchange wrongly addressed mail.

— Quite Interesting (@qikipedia) November 21, 2017

WTOP got the real story from the embassies of Slovenia and Slovakia (that one’s on International Court, off Van Ness Street).