nwc -- 08/03/2011

The NorThwesT CurreNTWednesday, August 3, 2011 Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967 Vol. XLIV, No. 31

■ St. John’s alum L.J. Hoes now thrives playing professionally for his hometown team, the Bowie Baysox. 1.

■ Legal questions remain for Mount Pleasant library. Page 3. ■ City prepares for medical marijuana applications. Page 8.

NEWS SPORTS■ Northwest teenagers help propel solar-power movement in Mount Pleasant, energy legislation in D.C. Council. Page 15.

PASSAGES INDEXBusiness/7Calendar/20Classifieds/29 District Digest/4Exhibits/23In Your Neighborhood/16Opinion/10

Passages/15Police Report/6Real Estate/17Service Directory/25Sports/13Theater/23Week Ahead/3

By BORIS TSALYUKCurrent Staff Writer

When he helped launch an Irish bar in Cleveland Park in 1976, Frank Hughes introduced the neighbor-hood to a pub built in his homeland’s tradition, where locals could gather for drinks and conversation to escape the troubles of the outside world. More than three decades and many memories later, Hughes is regretfully closing the doors at Ireland’s Four Fields. Due to a “major rent increase,” Hughes will not be able to renew the lease at 3412 Connecticut Ave. when it expires Nov. 1, and the pub — known as “The Four P’s” to many — will shut down Nov. 5, he said. According to Hughes and other sources familiar with the situation, McFadden’s Restaurant & Saloon will be introducing a second D.C. location at the site.

East Coast Saloons, the parent company to McFadden’s, did not return a call seeking comment. Hughes, who will turn 59 this month, was a man-ager at the bar when it first opened, and he returned seven years ago to take over ownership from his

See Pub/Page 14

Cleveland Park to lose long-running Irish pub

Bill Petros/The CurrentThe prospect of a major rent increase has the owner of Ireland’s Four Fields planning to close the pub after more than three decades.

By KATIE PEARCECurrent Staff Writer

Following the unusual game of musical chairs that shook up the D.C. Council’s structure last month, several legislators are now adjusting to new committee responsibilities. The council members who took on new assignments — Ward 3’s Mary Cheh, Ward 6’s Tommy Wells, Ward 4’s Muriel Bowser and at-large member Vincent Orange —

said in recent interviews that they’re working with their staff members and each other as they shift focus. “It’s always a steep learning curve when you’re moving to a new area,” said Cheh, who last month absorbed Wells’ former public works and transportation responsi-bilities. “We’re trying to get the lay of the land, so to speak,” she said. “It’s interesting, I don’t think anyone ever worried about the tran-sition as much before,” Wells said of the level of communication and attention surrounding the new com-mittee assignments, which are typi-

See Council/Page 14

Legislators adapt to altered committee leadership roles

By DEIRDRE BANNONCurrent Correspondent

Plans to connect Alice Deal Middle School and the long-shut-tered Jesse Reno School building are moving forward as the D.C. Historic Preservation Office consid-ers an addition to link the two struc-

tures. The D.C. Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization has hired local architectural firm R. McGhee & Associates to design renovation plans for the historic eight-room schoolhouse, including a connection to the neighboring middle school. Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh, who spent years fight-ing to restore the historic Reno School, said the residential commu-

nity, school leadership and students, and Tenleytown Historical Society all support this project. “It’s important to the city and for Alice Deal because the school is pretty much at capacity,” said Cheh. “It’s not to get more students at Alice Deal; it’s to provide additional benefit. It will give us additional classrooms. There will be space for artwork. “It’s also going to provide an

See Reno/Page 18

Plan to link Reno to Deal advances

Bill Petros/The CurrentThe Kidsave Summer Miracles Program held a pizza party at the Lab School of Washington on Saturday for Colombian orphans who have come to the United States with the hope of finding permanent homes.

P I z z A P A R T Y

By JESSICA GOULDCurrent Staff Writer

Every week for the past year, principal Pete Cahall has stopped by the construction site at Tenleytown’s Wilson High School. And every week, he said, he has gotten goose bumps. “It’s great,” he said of the project. “It says to stu-dents, ‘We respect you.’” After decades of chipped paint, dim lights and poor acoustics, the sun is shining through the school’s new glass-enclosed atrium. The once-dingy basement cafe-teria has been elevated to the first floor — with a brand-new kitchen full of sparkling culinary equipment. Promethean boards line classroom walls. A media cen-ter with a TV studio overlooks the library, and the cur-tain is ready to rise on a new black-box theater. Outside, the eyes of Wilson’s tiger mascot gaze out over a bright new gym. The coaches’ office doubles as

See Wilson/Page 30

Wilson preps to reopen after renovation

■ Preservation: Project will restore vestige of Reno City

Bill Petros/The CurrentAfter a yearlong, $105 million renovation, Wilson High School in Tenleytown is scheduled to reopen for classes on Aug. 22.

■ D.C. Council: Recreation, transportation changed hands

2 Wednesday, august 3, 2011 the Current

RepoRt fRom The Field: Reliability Improvement Progress Report

July 2011 – District of Columbia

247 Miles of Trees TriMMeDFallen trees and limbs cause most power outages. To improve reliability, Pepco has trimmed more than 250 miles of power

lines in D.C. since September 2010. We’re on target to trim 416 miles in the District by the end of the year. Staffing for tree

trimming has been increased to four times the normal complement of workers to meet the project’s demands.

29 Power line UPgraDe ProJeCTs CoMPleTeDThis year, Pepco has completed seven projects to upgrade distribution feeders – power lines that serve large numbers of

customers – to improve reliability in areas that have experienced more frequent outages. Upgrades were completed in

June in Shepherd Park, Benning and two locations in Anacostia. Work has begun on two new projects, in Brookland near

Catholic University and Deanwood, and another project in Friendship Heights. Our crews continue to work on distribution-

level power lines in Anacostia, Benning, Chevy Chase, Crestwood, Capitol Hill and on Georgia Avenue. We will start an

additional seven projects in the next two months.

18 sysTeM growTh ProJeCTs CoMPleTeDTo serve the growing demand for electricity, Pepco is upgrading power lines and adding circuits throughout the District.

In June, Pepco completed upgrades in the Anacostia and Chevy Chase areas and continued work in the H Street, NE

Corridor, which is coordinated with the ongoing street improvement project. Pepco has completed 18 of 19 projects since

September 2010, with the final project on Minnesota Avenue planned for completion this December.

15 aDvanCeD ConTrol sysTeMs are Being insTalleDWe are installing advanced control systems that allow the electric system to identify problems and, in some cases,

automatically restore power to most affected customers within minutes. We continue making progress on the 15 projects

planned for completion this year in the Benning, Deanwood, River Terrace, Palisades and Van Ness areas.

assessMenT of UnDergroUnD ProJeCTs UnDerway In areas where traditional modifications to the overhead system have not produced the desired results, Pepco will selectively

replace the overhead system with an underground system. Two feeders in the District meet this criteria and an engineering

evaluation has begun on both.

ADDITIONAL PROGRESS AT PEPCOYou’ll also see improvements in our customer service. We have hired additional staff to answer your calls and are using

smartphone apps and our website to provide more convenient, efficient ways for you to report outages and find information

about your electric service. If you have comments or suggestions, reach us on Twitter (@PepcoConnect) or at pepco.com.

Pepco is committed to improving our customers’

experience through a comprehensive plan to upgrade the

system, announced last year.

We are making progress and our work continues to

reduce both the frequency and the duration of power

outages that cause our customers inconvenience

and frustration.

Our work on this plan will continue over the next three

and a half years, but it won’t stop there. We will always

work hard to more effectively provide safe, reliable electric

service to our customers.

Below is an update on our work in the District of Columbia.

For information about Montgomery and Prince George’s

counties, we invite you to visit us at pepco.com.

We’Re WoRking foR you. pepco.com

The CurreNT wedNesday, augusT 3, 2011 3

By ELIzABETH WIENERCurrent Staff Writer

Construction will continue on an addition and renovation to the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library, even as the legality of those plans remains in question. The D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment is weighing whether to grant a variance that would make the much-disputed building plan legal. After a six-hour hearing last month, the board plans to vote Sept. 13 on the D.C. Public Library agen-cy’s request for the variance. Approval would authorize con-struction of a rear addition — already about 75 percent complete — that would extend right up to the property line, and close to the backs of several aging apartment build-ings whose residents fear obstruc-tions to their access to emergency vehicles, light and air. The same five-member board voted 3-2 on June 21 that the city’s zoning administrator had erred when he approved the plans, a move that placed the project in bureaucratic limbo. Library offi-cials had already filed for a vari-ance to legalize the plans, and the board held a contentious hearing July 19 on this separate case. “We’ll keep building as long as we have a valid building permit,” said Jeff Bonvecchio, the library system’s director of capital projects. Legally, work can continue — at the city’s risk — until the board issues a written order on the first case and the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs decides to pull the permit. Neither is likely to happen until the board

votes on the second case, which could retroactively OK the work that’s already been done. Other renovations to the 1925 Italian Renaissance library at 16th and Lamont streets are about half complete, though work on a contro-versial handicapped ramp that would wrap around the building has not yet begun, Bonvecchio said. “Construction remains in question, so the interest of justice is served by moving forward,” Kinley Bray, the library’s zoning attorney, told the board. D.C. Public Library officials have been engaged in an aggressive effort to modernize and expand dingy and outdated branches around the city, and 10 new or renovated libraries have opened since 2007. At the heart of the Mount Pleasant dispute, it became clear during the latest hearing, is the list of specifi-cations library officials deem nec-essary for all neighborhood branch-es. Bonvecchio listed “program-matic requirements” that he said were developed by consultants and nationally known library experts: total space of about 22,500 square feet, seating for 200, room for 800,000 books, accessibility for disabled patrons, a meeting room able to accommodate 100 people, and a single entrance for security reasons. The historic Mount Pleasant library comprises only 15,000 square feet, and only 65 percent of that is usable because of its awk-ward design. The grand front stair-case is inaccessible to those in wheelchairs.

As construction continues, board mulls library project

Wednesday, Aug. 3 The D.C. Blue Ribbon Task Force on Pepco Service Reliability will hold a town-hall meeting for Ward 4 residents. Discussion will focus on power outages, priorities for service restoration and the company’s communication with customers. The meeting will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Nativity Catholic Church, 6001 13th St. NW. For details, contact Claude E. Bailey at 202-344-8057 or [email protected].

Thursday, Aug. 4 The D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board will meet at 9 a.m. in Room 220 South, One Judiciary Square, 441 4th St. NW. Agenda items include consideration of proposed construction of an eight-story apartment building at 1427-29 Rhode Island Ave.; and consideration of a 6-foot-tall front-yard fence at 3414 29th St.■ Palisades residents will meet with the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department’s lead arson investigator about recent incidents in the neigh-borhood, including two vehicle fires on Potomac Avenue on July 6. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Palisades Recreation Center, Dana and Sherier plac-es NW.

Tuesday, Aug. 9 The Ward 3 Advisory Neighborhood Commission Redistricting Task Force will meet at 7:30 p.m. in Room 103 of the Dunblane Building at American University’s Tenley Campus, Nebraska and Wisconsin avenues NW.

Wednesday, Aug. 10 The State Health Planning and Development Agency will hold a public hearing on an application by Aquila Recovery, Chartered, for the establishment of outpa-tient substance-abuse treatment services at 4455 Connecticut Ave. NW. The meeting will begin at 11 a.m. in Room 407 of 899 North Capitol St. NE. To testify, contact 202-442-5875 by Aug. 9.

The week ahead

By BRADY HOLTCurrent Staff Writer

As Shelley Tomkin was preparing for the June meeting of the Ward 3 Democratic Committee, news was breaking daily of allegations against dif-ferent elected officials. Ward 5 D.C. Council member Harry Thomas was accused of spending public money on personal expenses. Sulaimon Brown testified that he had received a government job in exchange for bad-mouthing former Mayor Adrian Fenty during last year’s primary campaign. Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham acknowledged receiving — though returning — a cash-stuffed envelope without report-ing the incident to authorities. “People read this and it’s just disheartening,” said Tomkin, who chairs the Democrats group. “Something has to be done. As a citizens group, as a grass-roots organization, we have to ... get

informed, and then provide input strongly.” The Ward 3 Democrats’ input will come through an ethics task force, formed at that June meeting, which Tomkin said will spend the summer prepar-ing recommendations for the D.C. Council on how it can strengthen provisions against untoward con-duct. “We feel very strongly that there has to be a lot of citizen action if we’re really going to send a mes-sage to public officials that some of the behavior that is alleged is just not acceptable ... and start the process of preventing that in the future,” said Tomkin, who is serving as the task force’s co-chair. Tomkin and other task force members said they’re still in the research phase, looking to other jurisdictions for examples of best practices and soliciting community recommendations. Adam Tope, a North Cleveland Park advisory neighborhood commissioner who also serves on the

Democrats group to push for ethics reform

See Ethics/0

See Library/Page 30

4 wedNesday, augusT 3, 2011 The CurreNT

Amnesty removes tickets’ late fees D.C. officials expect that a new amnesty program for parking and traffic tickets will encourage motor-ists to pay off more than $6 million in outstanding citations, according to a news release. Under the program, tickets issued before Jan. 1, 2010, can be paid through Jan. 27, 2012 without

the typical late fees. Payment plans are available. Tickets can be paid online at dmv.dc.gov; by calling 866-893-5023; or by visiting 301 C St. NW between 8:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Motorists collectively owe $245.7 million for more than 4 mil-lion tickets, according to the release, but only a fraction of those drivers are expected to take advan-tage of the six-month amnesty pro-gram.

Pay-by-phone meters spread Districtwide D.C. motorists can now register online to feed parking meters by phone or Internet using the District’s new contract with Parkmobile USA, according to a government news release. The Parkmobile system covers all 17,000 metered spaces citywide, the release says, but it notes that physical meters will remain in place “for others who prefer to pay the old-fashioned way.” Once registered at parkmobile.com, drivers can pay by calling 877-727-5758, visiting the website, or using a smartphone application. A 32-cent fee is charged for each pay-by-phone transaction, accord-ing to the release.

Cheh seeks inquiry on local pharmacy Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh has asked the city’s

attorney general to investigate whether a recent action by CVS Caremark against Cathedral Pharmacy violated District antitrust laws. CVS Caremark recently termi-nated its contract with the indepen-dent pharmacy at 3000 Connecticut Ave., raising concerns that the cor-poration was using its Caremark prescription management wing to drive business to CVS Pharmacy stores. A CVS Caremark spokesperson said the company uncovered proce-dural violations at Cathedral during a routine audit, but Cheh expressed doubt about that explanation. “There is substantial concern that CVS is using its audit process as a means to eliminate small, local pharmacies,” Cheh wrote to Attorney General Irvin Nathan late last month. Cheh’s request follows a July 18 resolution from the Cleveland Park/Woodley Park advisory neighbor-hood commission, which called on the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking and all applicable local and federal agen-cies to investigate the issue.

Park Service may review D.C. policies D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton has drawn informal support for a proposed requirement that the National Park Service review its practice of applying the same regu-lations to all its property nation-wide, which has stymied reform

efforts at some federally owned D.C. parkland, according to a news release from Norton’s office. Both the Republican chair and the ranking Democratic member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies have committed to supporting a study, according to the release. The Park Service owns much of the District’s public open space, from traditional parks to golf cours-es to traffic circles — which “serve a very different function than Yellowstone National Park, for example,” the release states. “Uniformity, that rigidly applied, can undermine NPS’s mis-sion,” Norton says in the release.

Redistricting forces precinct revisions Some D.C. voters will cast their ballots at different polling places in the future, with the Board of Elections and Ethics scheduled to vote today on a plan to align pre-cincts with new ward boundaries. The D.C. Council recently reshaped some of the District’s wards to account for new popula-tion data from the 2010 Census, which left some precincts in multi-ple wards. The elections board last month released proposals to address those splits. In Northwest, the bulk of the changes come at the eastern edge of Ward 2 — to precincts 16, 129 and 143. Precinct 136 moves from Ward 1 to Ward 3 with no bound-ary changes. The modified precincts, to be discussed at this morning’s monthly meeting of the elections board, will be subject to council approval.

Agencies to set D.C. sustainability goals The District government is working to create a “Sustainability Strategy” that will set timelines for reaching various environmental protection goals, according to a news release. Two D.C. agencies, the Office of Planning and the Department of the Environment, are leading the effort to set the goals and seek pub-lic input on which initiatives to pursue. According to the release, a project website and other outreach efforts are in the works. “The Sustainability Strategy will be a collaborative project that builds off our city’s environmental leadership, where we will work with our neighbors and partners across the city,” Environment Department director Christophe Tulou says in the release.

New chair appointed for taxi commission The D.C. Taxicab Commission has a new permanent chair, as Mayor Vincent Gray last week named former D.C. Water and Sewer Authority and Metropolitan

Washington Airports Authority chair Ron Linton to the post. Linton replaces interim chair Dena Reed, who faced criticism for barring journalists from a public meeting of the commission in June. In a news release from Gray’s office, Gray states that Linton “brings the special brand of well-seasoned knowledge, communica-tion skill and leadership that the Taxicab Commission so desperate-ly needs at this time.”

National zoo to hold concert fundraiser The National Zoo will hold its first-ever outdoor concert fundrais-er next week, according to a news release. The B-52s — the party band behind the 1970s and ’80s hits “Rock Lobster” and “Love Shack” — will headline the “Rock ’n’ Roar” event, presented by the Friends of the National Zoo and sponsored by Capital One Bank. The Aug. 10 concert will take place at the Zoo’s Lion/Tiger Hill, with the B-52s scheduled to take the stage at 7 p.m., according to the release. General-admission tickets cost $50 for Friends of the National Zoo members and $65 for nonmembers. Proceeds from the event will sup-port animal care, conservation, sci-ence, education and sustainability programs at the Zoo. For details, visit nationalzoo.si.edu.

Music theme planned for March marathon The National Marathon will offer live music for competitors and spectators as it becomes part of the Rock ’n’ Roll USA Marathon Series next year, D.C. officials said Monday. Registration is now open for the March 17, 2012, races, which will now be called the SunTrust Rock ’n’ Roll USA Marathon and CareFirst Rock ’n’ Roll USA Half Marathon, according to a news release from Mayor Vincent Gray’s office. The Greater Washington Sports Alliance, which previously ran the event, has partnered with Competitor Group Inc. for the re-branded marathons, the release says. According to the release, there will be live entertainment at every mile along the course and a concert after the race is complete. Runners are charged $80 for the half marathon and $95 for the full marathon, which will include admission to the concert.

Correction In the July 27 issue, a photo of Christopher Sten was improperly credited. Lee B. Ewing took the picture. As a matter of policy, The Current corrects all errors of sub-stance. To report an error, please call the managing editor at 202-244-7223.

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The District’s Capital Bikeshare program is slated to grow by 32 sta-tions this fall, with the expansion targeting a mix of new neighbor-hoods and areas where the service is already popular. Adams Morgan, Dupont Circle, Foggy Bottom, Georgetown, Glover Park, Petworth and Woodley Park are among the neighborhoods citywide slated to receive new sta-tions. This growth serves both to expand the range of the bike-shar-ing network and to add “infill sta-tions” in neighborhoods that already have a Capital Bikeshare presence, Chris Holben, the Transportation Department’s bike-sharing program manager, said in an interview. “All along we’ve been saying that we wanted to expand from our initial 100 stations, and this is sort

of our first stab at that,” Holben said. “Hopefully this continues over the years until we’re saturated.” The new locations in Northwest include 18th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue; 19th Street and New Hampshire Avenue; Connecticut Avenue in front of the National Zoo; Florida Avenue and California Street; M Street and Pennsylvania Avenue; Thomas Circle at 14th Street; and Upshur Street at Georgia Avenue. In addition to the new stations, 18 popular existing Capital Bikeshare locations are scheduled to be expanded this fall, including 16th and U streets; 21st and I streets; Calvert Street and Woodley Place; Massachusetts Avenue and Dupont Circle; and Wisconsin Avenue at the C&O Canal. Tom Birch, a Georgetown advi-sory neighborhood commissioner who lobbied for the Pennsylvania

Capital Bikeshare to add new stations throughout District


Initial plans for a seven-story mixed-use building at 1711 Florida Ave. offer insufficient community amenities for Adams Morgan, the Zoning Commission ruled last week, as com-missioners refused even to hold a public hear-ing on the project until the issue is resolved. A development team that includes the Triangle Ventures firm is hoping to add 125 to 130 residential units above ground-floor retail and community space at Florida and Champlain Street, a site now occupied by a three-story public parking garage. The proposed glass-faced building would retain 95 parking spaces, and units may be either rentals or condominiums. The project falls within the neighborhood’s Reed-Cooke Overlay, whose restrictions include a maximum height of 40 feet for new buildings — barely half that of the proposal. At Monday’s meeting of the Adams

Morgan advisory neighborhood commission’s planning and zoning committee, several dozen residents said the precedent of disregarding the overlay was their biggest concern. “Developers will come, they will stand in rooms like this and say, ‘How can you object to ours if you have an 80-foot glass tower at 1711 Florida Avenue?’” said one resident. “And the Reed-Cooke Overlay will be tissue paper.” Developers noted at the meeting that their project barely stands taller than the adjacent storage building and that their property sits on the very edge of the overlay, but neighbors would have none of it. “We have to protect the edges of the over-lay if the overlay is going to be protected,” another resident said, adding, “encroachment eventually means there is no overlay left.” Developers routinely seek exemptions to particular zoning restrictions. In this case, the developer plans to seek Zoning Commission approval through a “planned-unit develop-

ment” process, which requires providing pub-lic benefits to the community in exchange for additional density for the project. Last week, zoning commissioners decided that the benefits proposed for the new build-ing don’t sufficiently balance the requested size. “I think the goal of replacing that parking facility with a residential building is a very laudable one,” said commissioner Konrad Schlater. “I am supportive of this project going residential. I’m certainly open to rezon-ing to the zone they requested, ... but I think the application needs work.” In a letter to the commission earlier this year, Triangle highlighted the improved ambi-ance to the neighborhood as a key public benefit. “The [planned-unit development] serves the broader community by converting an eye-sore into an attractive, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use residential and commercial proj-ect,” the letter states.

As additional amenities, Triangle pointed to the project’s environmental sustainability, its plan to reserve 10 percent of its units for affordable housing (rather than the legally required 8 percent), and its offer of 875 square feet of community space fronting Champlain Street. The D.C. Office of Planning recommend-ed that the Zoning Commission move the project forward and deal with concerns during

Size of planned building draws fire in Adams Morgan

By KATIE PEARCECurrent Staff Writer

Though the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service is eying 19 post offices in D.C. for possible closure, the agency says an extensive public process will come before any decisions. “At this point, the Postal Service is only studying certain Post Offices, stations and branches,” agency spokesperson Freda Sauter wrote in an email to The Current this week, adding that “no decision has been made” to close any offices. To grapple with what Sauter called a “dire financial predicament,” the Postal Service is considering closing nearly 3,700 stations nationwide. In the District, the sta-tions under review include locations in Adams Morgan, Brightwood and the West End, as well as at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and a handful of federal facilities. The Postal Service came up with the list based on customer demand, workload, revenue, expenses and proximity to other post offices or mail-service facilities, according to Sauter.

There’s already been some talk in Adams Morgan about possible closure of the Kalorama post office at 2300 18th St. On the local listserv, a few residents dis-cussed mobilizing to preserve the station, which one person argued is part of the neighborhood’s identity. But another sees the closure as a realistic, under-standable outcome: “That we in Adams Morgan will be inconvenienced and have to go to a CVS or another piggyback location or to a different neighborhood to use postal services doesn’t indicate to me the ruin of the area,” she wrote. A second location in Adams Morgan, the Temple Heights station at 1921 Florida Ave., is also on the Postal Service’s list. Advisory neighborhood commis-sioner Stacey Moye noted that if both stations close, “That’s no post offices at all in Adams Morgan.” “The thing that’s striking to me” about post offices in D.C., including the ones in her area, “is when I’ve gone into any of them, they’re always packed,” she said. “There’s always a line of people. It doesn’t seem like there’s a lack of people wanting the service.”

Postal Service to seek input before closures

Bill Petros/The CurrentDevelopers hope to build a seven-story building on the site of a parking garage.

See Bikeshare/Page 14

See Post Offices/Page 19

See Florida/Page 14

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Police Report

6 Wednesday, august 3, 2011 the Currentn g d f

This is a listing of reports taken from July 24 through 30 by the Metropolitan Police Department in local police ser-vice areas.

PSA 201

Theft (below $250)■ 5100 block, Broad Branch Road; unspecified premises; 8 a.m. July 27.Theft from auto (below $250)■ 5300 block, 28th St.; street; 6:05 a.m. July 26.■ 3300 block, Quesada St.; street; 3:30 a.m. July 26.

PSA 202

Stolen auto■ 3900 block, Ingomar St.; res-idence; 12:01 p.m. July 27.Theft (below $250)■ 4200 block, Wisconsin Ave.; restaurant; 1:15 a.m. July 25.■ 5400 block, 42nd St.; resi-dence; 10:55 a.m. July 27.Theft from auto (below $250)■ 4500 block, 49th St.; street; 7 a.m. July 25.

PSA 203

Robbery (force and violence)■ Brandywine Street and Connecticut Ave.; sidewalk; 2:30 a.m. July 30.Burglary■ 4400 block, 35th St.; resi-dence; 7:45 a.m. July 28.

PSA 204

Burglary■ 3600 block, 38th St.; resi-dence; 2 a.m. July 30.Stolen auto■ 2400 block, 39th Place; street; 3:30 a.m. July 27.■ 2400 block, 39th Place; resi-dence; 8:30 a.m. July 27.Theft (below $250)■ 3900 block, Macomb St.; unspecified premises; 10:30 a.m. July 24.■ 2200 block, Cathedral Ave.; parking lot; 3 a.m. July 26.■ 2300 block, Wisconsin Ave.; store; 5:30 a.m. July 29.Theft from auto ($250 plus)■ 2600 block, Woodley Road; street; 8:45 a.m. July 25.■ 2700 block, 31st Place; resi-dence; 4 a.m. July 30.Theft from auto (below $250)■ Unspecified location; street; 5 a.m. July 26.■ 4200 block, Cathedral Ave.; street; 12:45 p.m. July 27.■ 2700 block, 29th St.; street; 11 a.m. July 27.■ 3900 block, Benton St.; park-ing lot; 1 a.m. July 28.■ 2400 block, 39th St.; street; 10:30 a.m. July 28.■ Unspecified location; street; 6 a.m. July 30.

PSA 205

Burglary (attempt)■ 4200 block, Garfield St.; resi-dence; 10:39 a.m. July 25.Stolen auto■ 4500 block, Klingle St.; street; 9 a.m. July 29.■ 4600 block, Greene Place; residence; 8:30 a.m. July 29.Theft from auto ($250 plus)■ 5200 block, Sherier Place; street; 6:30 a.m. July 26.■ 5100 block, Macomb St.; street; 3:30 a.m. July 30.■ Unspecified location; resi-dence; 5 a.m. July 29.

PSA 206

Assault with a dangerous weapon■ 3200 block, Prospect St.; street; 3:14 a.m. July 29.Burglary■ 2900 block, M St.; residence; 12:30 p.m. July 30.Stolen auto■ 37th and O streets; universi-ty; 2:30 a.m. July 25.Theft ($250 plus)■ 3200 block, M St.; store; 11:51 a.m. July 26.Theft (below $250)■ 2700 block, Q St.; sidewalk; 8 a.m. July 24.■ 1200 block, 28th St.; office building; 4:13 a.m. July 25.■ 3200 block, M St.; store; 2:20 a.m. July 25.■ 3000 block, M St.; store; 1 a.m. July 26.■ 3200 block, M St.; store; 4:24 a.m. July 26.■ 1300 block, Wisconsin Ave.; store; 3:58 a.m. July 27.■ 1200 block, Wisconsin Ave.; store; 3:40 a.m. July 27.■ 1800 block, Wisconsin Ave.; parking lot; 9:12 a.m. July 27.■ 1000 block, Wisconsin Ave.; unspecified premises; 6 a.m. July 28.■ 3000 block, M St.; store; 11:44 a.m. July 29.■ 3200 block, M St.; restau-rant; 10 a.m. July 29.■ 3200 block, M St.; store; 2:40 a.m. July 29.■ 3200 block, M St.; store; 1:48 a.m. July 30.Theft from auto ($250 plus)■ 3800 block, Reservoir Road; street; 1:30 a.m. July 27.Theft from auto (below $250)■ 1600 block, 28th St.; street; 8 a.m. July 24.■ R Street and Wisconsin Avenue; street; 2 a.m. July 25.■ 1600 block, 28th St.; street; 10 a.m. July 26.■ 3000 block, Q St.; street; 9:30 a.m. July 27.■ 3800 block, Reservoir Road; street; 1:30 a.m. July 27.■ 1600 block, 31st St.; street; 10:30 a.m. July 30.

PSA 207

Robbery (fear)■ 2300 block, M St.; hotel;

4:30 a.m. July 28.Burglary■ 800 block, New Hampshire Ave.; residence; 7:30 a.m. July 29.Theft (below $250)■ 600 block, New Hampshire Ave.; restaurant; 9 a.m. July 27.■ 900 block, 23rd St.; unspeci-fied premises; 11:55 a.m. July 27.■ 25th and N streets; sidewalk; 4 a.m. July 27.■ 2100 block, H St.; unspeci-fied premises; 8:35 a.m. July 30.■ 21st and G streets; unspeci-fied premises; 11:30 a.m. July 30.Theft from auto (below $250)■ 2400 block, M St.; street; 10:30 a.m. July 24.

PSA 208

Robbery (stealth)■ 1800 block, M St.; tavern; 12:30 p.m. July 30.Assault with a dangerous weapon■ 17th and L streets; sidewalk; 1 a.m. July 24.■ 1900 block, M St.; sidewalk; 2:15 a.m. July 30.Burglary■ 1700 block, U St.; residence; 8 a.m. July 29.■ 1700 block, Willard St.; resi-dence; 7:15 a.m. July 29.Stolen auto■ 1300 block, 19th St.; street; noon July 28.■ 1700 block, R St.; street; 8 a.m. July 29.Theft ($250 plus)■ 2000 block, K St.; office building; 4:30 a.m. July 26.Theft (below $250)■ 1200 block, 18th St.; restau-rant; 1:45 a.m. July 25.■ 1900 block, M St.; restau-rant; 1:15 a.m. July 25.■ 1700 block, L St.; street; 5:30 a.m. July 26.■ 1100 block, New Hampshire Ave.; hotel; 11:12 a.m. July 26.■ 1100 block, 22nd St.; street; 9:15 a.m. July 26.■ 1100 block, Connecticut Ave.; unspecified premises; 7:48 a.m. July 26.■ 1300 block, New Hampshire Ave.; sidewalk; 2 a.m. July 27.■ 1600 block, P St.; store; 6:10 a.m. July 28.■ 1600 block, M St.; sidewalk; 12:30 p.m. July 28.■ 1600 block, Connecticut Ave.; restaurant; 3 a.m. July 30.Theft from auto (below $250)■ 2100 block, Massachusetts Ave.; parking lot; 8 a.m. July 24.■ 23rd and O streets; parking lot; 9:30 a.m. July 25.■ 1200 block, New Hampshire Ave.; street; 6 a.m. July 26.■ 1800 block, New Hampshire Ave.; street; 6:45 a.m. July 26.■ 1700 block, Q St.; street; 8:30 a.m. July 27.■ 1400 block, T St.; street; 11:30 a.m. July 27.■ 1500 block, 15th St.; street; 3:50 a.m. July 28.

■ 1100 block, Connecticut Ave.; parking lot; 7:30 a.m. July 28.■ 2500 block, Massachusetts Ave.; parking lot; 10 a.m. July 28.■ 2000 block, O St.; street; 10 a.m. July 28.■ 2200 block, Decatur Place; residence; 10:30 a.m. July 28.■ 2500 block, Massachusetts Ave.; alley; 12:30 p.m. July 28.■ 20th and N streets; street; 7 a.m. July 29.■ 1500 block, Q St.; street; 11:30 a.m. July 30.

PSA 303

Robbery (force and violence)■ 1700 block, Columbia Road; sidewalk; 2:13 a.m. July 30.Robbery (pocketbook snatch)■ Fuller Street and Mozart Place; sidewalk; 5:50 a.m. July 27.Theft (below $250)■ 2400 block, 20th St.; alley; 10 a.m. July 26.■ 2000 block, 18th St.; unspec-ified premises; 11 a.m. July 29.

PSA 307

Stolen auto■ 1300 block, 10th St.; street; 10:30 a.m. July 29.■ 13th and Riggs streets; street; 7 a.m. July 29.■ 1200 block, 11th St.; street; 12:01 p.m. July 30.■ 1500 block, 10th St.; street; 12:01 p.m. July 30.Theft (below $250)■ 1200 block, 11th St.; unspec-ified premises; 1:15 a.m. July 27.■ 1300 block, 13th St.; resi-dence; 11:30 a.m. July 29.■ Unit block, Thomas Circle; church; 1:30 a.m. July 30.■ 1300 block, 14th St.; restau-rant; 9:54 a.m. July 30.■ 1300 block, Rhode Island Ave.; liquor store; 9:30 a.m. July 30.Theft from auto (below $250)■ 1300 block, 14th St.; street; 9 a.m. July 27.

PSA 401

Assault with a dangerous weapon (knife)■ 6900 block, Georgia Ave.; unspecified premises; 12:40 p.m. July 28.Assault with a dangerous weapon (other)■ 6800 block, Piney Branch Road; residence; 7 a.m. July 28.Stolen auto■ 1400 block, Iris St.; street; noon July 25.Theft (below $250)■ 300 block, Carroll St.; hotel; 2 a.m. July 26.■ 300 block, Carroll St.; hotel; 9 a.m. July 27.Theft from auto (below $250)■ 6900 block, 5th St.; street; 1 a.m. July 30.

psa 201■ chevy chase

psa 202■ Friendship heights tenleytown / aU park

psa 204■ MassachUsetts avenUe heights / cleveland parkwoodley park / glover park / cathedral heights

psa 203■ Forest hills / van ness

psa 205■ palisades / spring valleywesley heights/ Foxhall

psa 206■ georgetown / bUrleith

psa 207■ Foggy bottoM / west end

psa 208■ sheridan-kaloraMadUpont circle

psa 303■ adaMs Morgan

psa 307■ logan circle

psa 401■ colonial villageshepherd park / takoMa

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the Current Wednesday, august 3, 2011 7

“I don’t know if you’ve heard the term picker?” Yvette Freeman asked at

the start of an interview last week. I had — but only because of the History Channel’s “American Pickers,” which is now headed into its third season. The program fea-tures antique-hunters who buy items that seem suited for nothing more than a Dumpster, and then transform them into usable — and more important, saleable — pieces. Freeman hasn’t been featured on the show, but she did just parlay her picking practice into a store: Foundry, named in honor of her father’s workplace during her early years, will open this month at 1522 U St. For years, the Dupont resident has been buying furniture and accessories at estate sales (some of which she also runs, as an estate liquidator), flea markets, antique stores and auctions, and then trans-forming them in her Swann Street garage. Previously a small-scale devel-oper, she initially used the items when staging her houses, some-times selling them to the buyers afterward. She dreamed of opening a shop to further the practice, but “I’ve always been [too] terrified,” she said. That changed 43 days ago (“Not that I’m counting,” she joked). While driving from Ben’s Chili Bowl to a friend’s house with takeout in hand, she noticed the couple who own the building at

1522 U St. putting up a “For Lease” sign. “Serendipity,” she called it. She stopped to chat, and the rest is his-tory. That history stretches back a decade, to when Freeman picked her first item intended for updating: a Federal-style sofa for $5 from a barn in West Virginia. “My fingers were bloody by the time I fin-ished because I knew nothing about upholstery,” she said. But she sold it for $45 — “and thought I had hit the lottery.” Today, her efforts are a bit more polished. A recent visit to her store revealed a number of stylish piec-es. An antique dresser ($595) is shabby chic in a Gustavian-style color thanks to a four-step process of sanding and painting. A rectan-gular ottoman has been reuphol-stered with a Union Jack fabric, offering a striking focal point for a sitting area ($625). And wooden industrial carpet carts salvaged from a textile mill now work as rolling clothes racks ($265).

Freeman also sells some items as they are, buying both antiques and new pieces to round out her collection. A shiny metal pedestal table is new ($525), as are a set of four Italian leather lounge chairs ($625 each). A long “Village Antiques” sign ($250) comes from

a shuttered shop, but no work was needed to ready it for sale. And a painted metal table ($165) salvaged from an industrial warehouse is “exactly how it was, minus a few layers of dirt.”

Many proj-ects start as just a gleam in Freeman’s eye. A 5-foot-tall deco-rative column caught her attention at a barn in Fredericksburg, for instance, but she did not know at first how she would repurpose it. “I loved the column for the color, and I didn’t know what I was going to do with it,” she said. “By the time I left Fredericksburg, hit a little traffic and got home, it was a lamp.” That lamp is now offered for $165. Foundry’s initial hours will be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Sunday and by appointment. Freeman hopes to expand eventu-ally to seven days a week.

D.C. picker gets her debut at U Street’s FoundryoN the streetBETH COPE

Bill Petros/The CurrentYvette Freeman sells repurposed refurbished goods at Foundry.


By JACKIE zUBRzYCKICurrent Correspondent

A year after Congress approved the District’s medical marijuana program — and the same day as a downtown protest about what some see as the slow implementation process — the D.C. Health Department announced last week that formal applications to open dispensaries and cultivation centers will be accepted starting Aug. 5. The department plans to select operators by the third week of December, according to agency director Mohammad Akhter. Eighty-eight organizations and individuals hoping to open cultivation centers, along with

50 hoping to open dispensaries, are qualified to apply, Akhter said. Those come from a larger pool of hopefuls that submitted required letters of interest in June. Akhter said those qualified will be notified of their status and able to access the applica-tion forms soon. The Health Department will accept the applications through Sept. 9, at which point a monthlong review process will begin, led by a five-person panel made up of a consumer representative or patient advocate, as well as officials from city agencies including the Metropolitan Police Department and the Office of the Attorney General. The top appli-cations will go to the advisory neighborhood

commissions in whose areas the facilities would open, which will get 30 days to com-ment. The application announcement came late in the day on July 26. That morning, about 20 District residents and representatives from several organizations representing potential medical marijuana patients had gathered by the John A. Wilson Building to demonstrate dissatisfaction with program’s implementa-tion so far, particularly the lack of an announced timeline. It takes up to 120 days to grow marijuana, said rally organizer Nikolas Schiller, a con-sultant with the D.C. Patients’ Cooperative, and the city’s delays mean even more time

before potential patients can get access to a medicine they need. Kayley Whalen of Safe Access DC said the protest “showed how serious we are and that D.C. government is really dragging its feet.” Health Department director Akhter coun-tered in an interview that the process has been fairly efficient so far, as the medical marijua-na program had just been consolidated into the Department of Health after Mayor Vincent Gray took office — the cultivation centers were initially slated to be under the jurisdic-tion of Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration — and new rules were put out

Health agency moves forward with plans for medical marijuana program


A plan to build nine stories of apartments on the First Baptist Church’s parking lot at 17th and O streets NW has sparked concerns from residents of a neighboring con-dominium building about noise, traffic and shadows from the new project. Developer Keener-Squire, how-ever, remains confident that its pro-posal is consistent with nearby buildings and that it will win Board of Zoning Adjustment approval for a 90-foot-high building. Keener-Squire has been working for almost a year with the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington D.C., whose holdings stretch along O Street between 16th

and 17th streets. Under the terms of a 99-year-lease, the company would build on the site of the church’s 36-space surface parking lot. Because the site is part of the church property, Keener-Squire can average the low-rise church into its new building’s density for zoning purposes, allowing it to build a larger building than the parking lot site would otherwise accommodate. “The residents of the surround-ing area were gasping” when they first heard of the project, said Ann Lassen, who lives in The Richmond condominiums across O Street from the planned new building. Lassen was one of several Richmond resi-dents who attended two community meetings on the plans last month, most recently last Thursday. A half-dozen residents at the

Thursday meeting objected to the height of the planned building and to the development plan to offer more than 200 small units rather than fewer larger apartments. At 90 feet, the new building would cast a shadow on The Richmond, a high-rise constructed in the late 1980s, and the adjacent pocket park on O Street, they said. And the number of units would lead to additional traffic from residents in their daily activities and from movers as the apartments turn over, the neighbors argued. A 90-foot building is already allowed without special approval in a section of the parking lot property, and most nearby buildings are already 90 feet. But a part of of the parking lot site is zoned only to

Project for church lot to seek zoning reliefSee Marijuana/Page 18

See Dupont/Page 19

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Postal problems It’s not unusual for District residents to think of their neighbor-hoods as urban villages — a sentiment that underlies concern about some area post offices slated for possible closure. That’s particularly true in Adams Morgan, where two post offices — Kalorama, at 2300 18th St., and Temple Heights, at 1921 Florida Ave. — are among the 19 locations in D.C. and approximately 3,700 nationwide on the U.S. Postal Service’s list. One commenter on a neighborhood listserv described the former site as key to the neighborhood’s identity. And advisory neighbor-hood commissioner Stacey Moye noted that both locations — like others in the District — always seem busy. Discussion on the listserv was hardly uniform, however. Several residents foresaw little inconvenience from the closings, as long as other post offices nearby stay open or a local retailer such as CVS offers stamps and flat-rate packaging under the Postal Service’s new “Village Post Office” model. Given the financial crunch facing the Postal Service because of declining revenue and a requirement that it pre-fund retiree health benefits, closing a substantial number of retail locations seems essen-tial to its survival. But it’s also clear that, even though technology has reduced the number of people sending letters and paying bills through the mail, many people continue to rely on the Postal Service to facilitate com-merce and communication. Thankfully, the plans are proceeding under rules that spell out a 60-day period for public comment, as well as various criteria for the agency to consider. We’re glad that post office customers will have an opportunity to weigh in — and that the public will get to see details about why their particular post office made the list. We understand the need to create the “smaller, leaner and more competitive” Postal Service envisioned by officials. In doing so, the agency needs to ensure its customers know about the services it offers online and how they work. It also ought to make every effort to identify retailers willing and able to provide “Village Post Office” services where closures take place. As a tradeoff for the convenience of email and online commerce, many of us may no longer have a full post office within walking dis-tance.

Thirst for change A couple of Fridays ago, Metro announced that it would allow train and bus riders to carry and drink bottled water throughout the system over the weekend to come, due to the record-breaking heat. The news gave us pause: Shouldn’t water be allowed at all times? Commuters who ride bikes or walk to Metro stations surely get thirsty — even when it’s not 100 degrees outside. We understand and respect the purpose of Metro’s food and drink ban: Avoiding trash- and rodent-filled stations is important. But we doubt that allowing water would cause major problems. Empty bot-tles could of course become litter, but water is unlikely to draw a rat infestation. And bottle-recycling bins — perhaps attached to the sys-tem’s newspaper receptacles — could cut down on littering while encouraging environmentally friendly behavior. The Washington Examiner reported a few days after the announcement that the system wouldn’t repeat the midsummer leni-ency unless the heat continued to exceed 100 degrees. The paper quoted a Metro spokesperson saying that D.C., Maryland and Virginia laws actually prevent the agency from allowing water. We think the Metro board should revisit this topic. Working together, the three jurisdictions could surely agree to tweak their reg-ulations to allow water on our trains and buses. Then Metro’s leader-ship could launch a pilot to ensure such a change doesn’t cause prob-lems. Riders face enough problems; thirst shouldn’t be one of them.

Currentthe northwest

ch n10 Wednesday, august 3, 2011 the Current

D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan laid out an argument in a Washington Post op-ed this past weekend as to why his settlement with

Ward 5 Council member Harry “Tommy” Thomas wasn’t a capitulation.

Mr. Nathan noted that he had achieved the only goal he legally could obtain: a promise from Thomas to repay the $300,000 in city money that he alleged-ly diverted to his personal use. (We have to say allegedly because Mr. Thomas neither admitted nor denied guilt).

Now the ball is in the criminal court of U.S. Attorney Robert Machen. It’s up to his office to determine whether Thomas will face penal-ties such as jail time or forced resignation from his public office as this scandal unfolds.

But it’s not solely a federal criminal matter. The city of Washington is a victim here, too.

As a political entity, the citizens of the city are entitled — no, obligated — to weigh in on the Thomas affair. It’s one thing for citizens to await action by the U.S. attorney, but that doesn’t mean the city’s political establishment can’t act, or that the judicial process has to play out before the political system acts.

Thomas, by agreeing to pay back $300,000, is acknowledging that he did something wrong, legal niceties aside. Yet he will continue to serve as a council member, earn his $125,000-a-year salary and vote on the issues that come before the D.C. Council. We all must await the criminal process, adhering to the legal “innocent until proven guilty,” but again that is not an excuse for inaction by Thomas’ fellow council members.

First and foremost, some believe the council should consider and vote on emergency legislation that would require Thomas to disclose any contribu-tors to his new legal defense fund. The fund is being set up to help him cover his legal bills and fulfill his promise to repay the city $50,000 every six months for three years. Who will give to this secret fund, and what will those individuals or interests want in return?

On WPFW’s “DC Politics” radio show last week, Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells said he is one of several council members working on a new ethics law to curb abuses. But in response to a ques-tion your Notebook emailed to host Chuck Thies, Wells shied away from the idea of emergency legis-lation to put tougher standards into effect quickly. Wells told the radio audience that a roiling contro-versy like the Thomas situation is not the time for quick action, but rather an opportunity to step back and thoughtfully consider legislative changes.

Well, we’re all for thoughtful changes, but we also believe that if your house is on fire, you don’t form a committee to discuss fire department poli-cies; you get out the biggest fire hose you can find.

It’s all well and good that several council mem-bers agree that a tough, new ethics standard must be written for the council. But that doesn’t mean those same council members can’t take emergency action

in September to cure or limit abuses immediately.A simple emergency law could require that any

defense fund publicly report the source and amount of funds raised. It could apply to any fund that directly or indirectly benefits an elected or senior official of the District government.

Council member Thomas, who is clinging to his public job despite calls for his resignation, is not a man of wealth. What will he do in return for the

money to pay his obli-gations?

And who will con-tribute to Thomas’ defense fund when even the city’s attorney gen-eral says bluntly that

Thomas’ worst legal problems lie ahead?In his Post op-ed, Nathan made it clear that the

U.S. attorney likely will find criminal wrongdoing by Thomas. In defending his decision to allow Thomas to neither admit nor deny wrongdoing, Nathan wrote, “A thoughtful observer can deduce the significance of a settlement without the need for express confessions.” He wrote that a settlement, so quickly reached, speaks for itself: “ ... A reasonable outside observer can fairly draw the conclusion that the defendant has recognized that a publicized trial would not inure to his benefit.”

That’s a lawyer-speak way of saying that Thomas knew he couldn’t win and instead will focus on combating any criminal charges that may be brought against him. Nathan said there’s “a specter of a crim-inal prosecution” hanging over Thomas.

Council member Wells, at-large member David Catania, Ward 3 member Mary Cheh, Ward 4 mem-ber Muriel Bowser, Ward 7 member Yvette Alexander and even Chairman Kwame Brown have all taken varying rhetorical positions criticizing Thomas and his diversion of city money. But will they take immediate action to stem the wrongdoing, to clarify who is paying for what while this ethical mess is cleaned up? Will there be a clear and quick toughening of the city’s ethics law, or will there be a drawn-out legislative process, dragging on for months?

Again, without getting into whether Thomas is criminally responsible for his public-funds mess, the council members could reassign his staff on the council, bar him from serving on any committee and set up a special committee to act as the Ward 5 rep-resentative for constituent services. Thomas has never explained where the $300,000 went or why it’s not properly accounted for in his records. Let him defend himself, but let the city get on with its business.■ Non-non-disclosure. The weekend brought news that Suzanne Peck, who is undertaking a thorough review of city government operations, is asking offi-cials to sign nondisclosure statements to prohibit public disclosure of her reform efforts. The fact that the nondisclosure documents were made public should tell you something about the effectiveness of such efforts.

Tom Sherwood, a Southwest resident, is a politi-cal reporter for News 4.

An ethics emergency … ?

TOM SHERWOOD’S NotebooK

Parkland has room for youth education I was relieved to learn that D.C. and federal officials finally arbitrated the fate of the aban-doned building on Chesapeake Street [“Feds, D.C. formalize Fort Reno land swap,” July 6]. As a teenager growing up here 30 years ago, I witnessed how this brick house became a vital

refuge where young people could gather to learn chess or other skills. Covered in ivy, it still bears the name “Northwest Youth Alliance.” But this land swap leaves much to be desired. The city has already suffered the loss of its youth center and endured decades of blight during the unusually long dispute. The National Park Service’s stated intentions are to convert this former community resource into “light office space.” Surely there is enough square footage

and surrounding land to accom-modate both desks and space to instruct today’s youth on vegeta-ble gardening, recycling, com-posting and healthy cooking. Numerous federal programs, like the first lady’s Let’s Move campaign, and local expertise could be tapped in support of a more robust community presence under the Park Service’s tenure. I, for one, would gladly volunteer and help raise funds for this pur-pose.

Isaac SkeltonChevy Chase

Letters tothe eDitor


Drivers, bikers should consider each other According to two of last week’s letters, bicyclists continually exhibit contempt for traffic laws [“Bicyclists’ behavior needs close study” and “Sidewalk bicycling jeopardizes walkers,” July 27]. Such attitudes are an outgrowth of century-old traffic laws, customs and regulations that were written on behalf of automotive traffic, com-muting and travel. Bicycle pedaling has been con-sidered a sideshow, if not an out-right anomaly. So it’s with little wonder that these readers are out-raged. People often argue that the auto is part of our culture and its easy mobility means it’s here to stay, so we should get used to it. But greed is not acceptable in any civilized society — of course, neither is a commuting cyclist zooming away on a sidewalk. Only through emotional sobriety and an urgent reduction of automo-tive speed limits can we all exist together. Also, every driving test should incorporate the rights and privileges

of cyclists, who themselves must respect the seriousness of commut-ing within traffic.

Edward AbramicFoggy Bottom

in Cleveland Park, a heartwarming tale I shared this story with Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh and she inspired me to let more people know. This is one of the many rea-sons I love Cleveland Park. When I got into my car on Thursday morning (July 28), I real-ized I couldn’t start the engine because my (one and only) car key had fallen off my key ring. I had four other keys on the ring, but not the one I needed most! I searched my car and my home, called my boss to let her know I’d be late, and proceeded to explore the sidewalks of Cleveland Park to retrace my steps. I had taken our dog, Chester, for three long walks since I last used the car — all in different directions! I had also gone swim-ming at the Cleveland Park Club the evening before. I combed the sidewalks, grass and curbs for an hour and a half that morning with no luck. I assumed a friendly dog walker might find the key. I called a friend who lives a few blocks away to ask

if she would post a “reward for lost key” on the Cleveland Park listserv. I asked my neighbors to block my car in with theirs in case someone with bad intentions found my car key (our other car had been stolen from in front of our house two years ago), and I went to work via Metro. I was quite upset because it would take three days to get a replacement key made (for $100), and my husband was out of town (with his car) — I was essentially car-less. When I came home that night, I walked Chester for quite a while and strained my eyes looking for that #@*! key. I enlisted the help of friends who were out walking their dogs. When I got back, my neigh-bor informed me that someone had left a note taped to the driver’s side window (which I hadn’t noticed). Another neighbor had found the key on his way to the bus, noticed the Mazda logo and thought it might be the key to our car. Apparently, the key fell off the key ring half a block from our home. I am so grateful, and I appreciate everyone who helped me — espe-cially Nye, who found the key, took the time to assess the situation and then left the note on my car.

Honora PrecourtCleveland Park

Letters tothe eDitor

Letters to the eDitorThe Current publishes letters and Viewpoint submissions representing various points of view. Because of space limitations, letters should be no more than 400 words and are subject to editing. Letters and Viewpoint submissions intended for publication should be addressed to Letters to the Editor, The Current, Post Office Box 40400, Washington, D.C. 20016-0400. You may send e-mail to [email protected].

Woodrow Wilson High School soon will be returning to its home school on Chesapeake Street and Nebraska Avenue after a one-

year stay in Building 52 on the campus of the University of the District of Columbia. It was far from a perfect year in this temporary facility, but it was not the cataclysmic situation that some community mem-bers, merchants and reporters had predicted. Much of our success stemmed from the working partnership that we established with President Allen Sessoms and other members of the university admin-istration, specifically Grae Baxter, provost and vice president for academic affairs; Barbara Jumper, asso-ciate vice president for facilities management and real estate; Pat Thomas, athletic director; and Chris Myers Asch, a faculty member. We also enjoyed a positive and open relationship with other members of the uni-versity team. Although we did not achieve all that we set out to do, we made significant progress and forged a lasting relationship that will benefit the students of Wilson High School and the university community. I would like to publicly acknowledge and thank President Sessoms and his entire staff for providing the support and resources that allowed both institu-tions to take a positive step in better serving the young people of our city. I look forward to building upon the strong foundation that has been established and con-tinuing to find opportunities to work together. Most of the credit for this past year’s success is attributable to the flexibility, patience and understand-ing of the students, parents and staff, who had to adapt to the challenge of having a school with 1,550 stu-dents in an office building without a cafeteria, audito-

rium, gymnasium or lockers. They turned a challenge into an opportunity and worked to ensure that our community continued to thrive as a safe place in which teachers taught and students learned. I also would like to thank the businesses of the Van Ness community, the local leaders, the Metropolitan Police Department, Metro transit officials and Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh for partnering with and supporting us during our time in Building 52. Without their assistance, we could not been successful. As a result of the support and services we received, Wilson graduated more than 300 students. The class of 2011 had nine commended scholars, four National Merit semifinalists, two National Merit finalists, four National Achievement participants, two National Achievement semifinalists, one National Achievement scholar, one National Hispanic scholar, four presiden-tial scholar nominees and one presidential scholar semifinalist. There were 895 acceptances to 237 colleges and universities, including in Great Britain, Hungary and Canada. The class of 2011 will be attending 143 schools, and six students will join the military (three in the Air Force and one each in the Army, Navy and Marines). Our graduates have amassed more than $18.7 million in scholarships. As you can imagine, we are looking forward to returning to our newly modernized and beloved school in Tenleytown. However, we are stronger, bet-ter equipped and more resilient because of the incredi-ble year we spent at the University of the District of Columbia. I extend my heartfelt appreciation and grat-itude to the Van Ness and university communities for embracing, supporting and partnering with us so our entire school community could continue to grow and prosper in our nation’s capital. Peter J. Cahall is principal of Wilson High School.

Van Ness, UDC helped Wilson High thriveVieWPoiNtPETER j. CaHaLL

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By DEIRDRE BANNONCurrent Correspondent

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a federal design-review body, has approved conceptual plans to renovate the Watergate Hotel. New York-based owners Euro Capital Properties, and their archi-tectural firm, Gensler, need approv-als from three separate agencies — including the arts panel — before the project can move forward. The owners plan to turn the property into a luxury hotel, according to Jacques Cohen, principal with Euro Capital. The firm purchased the iconic Foggy Bottom hotel, which has been vacant since 2007, for $45 mil-lion in 2010. Cohen said his firm is excited about the project and “moving as fast as possible to open before the next inauguration in January 2013.” Proposed projects include replacements of windows and doors, installation of signage and entrance canopies on the Virginia Avenue side of the building, and modifications to the rooftop enclo-sure. The biggest project involves elevating the ballroom ceiling by six feet and removing existing columns to create a larger space. Thomas Luebke, secretary of the Commission of Fine Arts, said the commission had determined that all changes were consistent with the building’s original design concept. The D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board and National Park Service will consider the plans next. The Park Service is involved because the hotel is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, which means the property’s renova-tions are eligible for tax-credit financing. The Department of the Interior, via the National Park Service, must review and approve the renovations in order for the owner to secure that financing. According to the Tanya Washington-Stern of the D.C. Office of Planning, the agency’s standards for renovation are much more rigorous than those of the Commission of Fine Arts or the Historic Preservation Review Board. She said concept plans have been submitted to her office but the building’s owner has not yet filed an application for rehabilitation.

Current Staff ReportD.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson

told D.C. Chamber of Commerce board mem-bers and major contributors last week that the city’s school system is now considered a leader in national reform efforts, thanks to its progress over the past four years.

Henderson, the former executive director of Teach for America, said before Michelle Rhee took over the D.C. school system, its

leaders were not committed to recruiting truly talented teachers. And the key to improving student achievement, she said, is to improve the quality of the workforce.

To that end, Henderson said, recent profes-sional development efforts have been highly effective. More than 60 percent of teachers who were rated “minimally effective” by the system’s IMPACT evaluation tool last year moved up into either the “effective” or “high-

ly effective” category this year.Meanwhile, top performers are getting

rewarded: Two hundred and ninety nine teach-ers who were rated “highly effective” for two consecutive years are eligible to receive salary increases of up to $20,000.

Henderson said the school system’s dys-functional state before Rhee took over made it easier to implement major changes such as introducing a common core curriculum. Now,

she said, there is a very different sense of pos-sibilities.

Henderson also spoke about the impor-tance of partnering with parents and commu-nities, noting that she is particularly proud of efforts on Capitol Hill that changed feeder-school patterns and established a planned sixth-grade science academy at Jefferson Middle School. She said she hopes to produce

D.C. school reform effort has netted national acclaim, chancellor says

Fine arts panel clears plans for Watergate Hotel

See Henderson/Page 18

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For more information on the GW community calendar, please contact Britany Waddell in the Office of Community Relations at 202-994-9132 or visit us at www.neighborhood.gwu.edu

GW COMMUNITY CALENDARA selection of this month’s GW events—neighbors welcome!

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Wednesday, Aug 3 at 8:30 p.m.Films on the Vern 2011 - TRON Legacy (2010) PGMount Vernon Campus2100 Foxhall Road, NWThe last of four movies showcasing �ctional stories shown at GW’s Mount Vernon Campus. Movies will be shown Wednesday nights on the Mount Vernon Campus Quad. Rain location for all dates is the Eckles Library Auditorium, also on the Mount Vernon Campus. These �lms are free and open to the public.

Tuesday, Aug 16 at 7 p.m.The Center for Inquiry DC presents: Penn Jillette: God, No! Signs you may already be an Atheist and other Magical TalesLisner Auditorium730 21st St., NWIn his new book God, No!, The outspoken half of famous magic duo Penn & Teller presents an uproarious, atheist reinterpretation of the Ten Commandments. Penn Jillette is a cultural phenomenon as a solo personality and as half of the world-famous Emmy award winning magic duo Penn & Teller. The event will include a book signing. The show costs $15 for Adults, $35 for Adult ticket and book, $10 for CFI Friend of the Center and $25 for CFI Friend of the Center ticket and book. Tickets are available from the Lisner Box O�ce, ticketmaster.com and 202-397-SEAT.

Friday, Aug 19 at 4 p.m.GW women’s soccer vs. GeorgetownMount Vernon Field2100 Foxhall Road, NWSupport GW women’s soccer as they take on Georgetown. This event is free and open to the public.

Sunday, Aug 21 at 5 p.m.GW men’s soccer vs. Old DominionMount Vernon Field2100 Foxhall Road, NWSupport GW men’s soccer as they take on Old Dominion. This event is free and open to the public.

Thursday, Aug 25 at 5 p.m.GW men’s soccer vs. CatholicMount Vernon Field2100 Foxhall Road, NWSupport GW men’s soccer as they take on Catholic. This event is free and open to the public.

Wednesdays at 3 p.m.Foggy Bottom MarketEye Street Mall I St. between New Hampshire and 24th Street, NWThe Foggy Bottom market returns for another season. O�erings include fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs, organic and grass-fed meats, handmade cheeses, breads, desserts, preserves, herbs, �owers, plants and more. Every Wednesday from 3-7 p.m. through Nov 23. For more information, visit www.freshfarmmarket.org.

Tobey and Casey Wood, twins and returning GW mens’s soccer players, gear up for what is expected to be an exciting season.

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Athletics in northwest wAshington August 3, 2011 ■

By BORIS TSALYUKCurrent Staff Writer

Not many baseball players get drafted by their hometown team. Even fewer can run the base path at a stadium down the road from where they grew up. But L.J. Hoes, a 2008 graduate of St. John’s College High School, is one of the lucky ones: He’s shining for his local squad, the Baltimore Orioles’ Class Double-A affiliate Bowie Baysox. And there’s no place like home, says Hoes, 21, a native of nearby Mitchellville, Md., who was brought up to Bowie of the Eastern League in May. “I came out here all the time just as a kid, running around trying to get foul balls and stuff like that,” he said. Now he is the one local kids are chasing, as the hometown hero has drawn lots of fans with his skills on the field — he holds a .318 batting average with four home runs, 35 RBIs and 13 stolen bases this year — and his easygoing approach off the diamond. Hoes has played mostly in left field for the Baysox, but he’s also seen time at second and third base. He says all that matters, though, is being on the field. “I just like being out there and competing,” he said in an interview on Wednesday afternoon after Bowie took on rival Harrisburg in the rubber match of a three-game set. Attendance at Prince George’s Stadium soared last week with Harrisburg in town because the opponent boasted top Washington Nationals prospect Bryce Harper — the first overall pick in last year’s Major League Baseball draft. And Hoes admitted that going head-to-head with Harper put a little added pressure on his shoulders, especially since the two teams were jockeying

for position atop the league’s Western Division. Although his squad dropped two of three games to remain in second place, the Orioles prospect had a ter-rific series. He went 6 for 10 at the plate and homered twice — his first two dingers of the season — to push Bowie to its lone win of the series, on Tuesday. Teammates joked with him after the win because he hadn’t previ-ously showed that kind of power. “I’m a gap hitter. I’m not gonna hit 20 or 30 home runs; I might get two or three,” he said. In other words, he’s not Harper, an 18-year-old who has built his reputation on hitting towering home runs. In Wednesday’s game, Harper ripped off one of his signature bombs, his first since moving up to Double-A. Though not a power hitter, Hoes is an intriguing prospect in his own right who could soon make an impact in the majors. His game is

centered on making contact, getting on base in a variety of ways and hustling around the bags. He said he’s set on helping his team in as many ways as possible. “I just want to go out there and put the swings on balls, try to drive balls, hit doubles, steal bases, stuff like that. So that’s my main focus and goal,” he said. It hasn’t been the easiest journey to this point for Hoes, who dealt with family illnesses two years ago and battled his own sickness last season. “I’ve dealt with adversity my first couple of years: [In] 2009 my mom had cancer, my dad had a stroke, so I had to deal with that stuff, and last year with me having [mononucleosis]. … It feels good to be finally stress-free and be relaxed and play my game and really focus,”

he said. Luckily, both his parents sur-vived and are now doing better. And a year after the mono cost him much of his strength, his weight is now up to a personal-high 193 pounds and his batting average leads Bowie. He has caught fire of late, hitting a whopping .364 over the last 10 games with an on-base percentage of .476. And if he had enough at-bats to qualify, he’d be among the league’s top five in the category. Hoes is also serving as a mentor for younger sister Kendra, a 2011 graduate of St. John’s who will play

softball in college. “It’s definitely fun being around her. We definitely talk about softball stuff, baseball stuff. I talk to her about boys and stuff like that, so it’s pretty cool,” he said. Hoes’ own rise took much more than luck, and he’s encouraging his sister to put her best foot forward. “I try to instill that focus in her and that work ethic. … I just tell her go ahead and work hard and stay focused on what you have to do.” If you do that, Hoes said, any-thing is possible. “This right here … is a dream come true.”

Cadet Hoes becomes hometown hero

Matt Petros/The CurrentOrioles prospect L.J. Hoes, shown playing for St. John’s, bottom right, is now starring for Bowie, at right and bottom left. Last week, his Baysox hosted Harrisburg and Nats prospect Bryce Harper, above.

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brother, Christy. Over the years, the place became a regular hangout for college students and many locals. “It’s not just a bunch of drunk, rowdy Irishmen,” Hughes said of his clientele. The owner said he will inform the neighborhood this week of the closing, and he’s already thinking about how to go out with a bang. He’s planning an upcoming neigh-borhood appreciation night, and he expects the pub’s final Halloween bash to be quite a show. Sitting at the end of the bar on Monday afternoon, Hughes remi-nisced about past St. Patrick’s Day parties and all of the good people he’s come to know over the years. He also recalled the glory days when business was bustling. One year, he recalled, he asked his boss if he could have a raise: “He told

me business was so good, he didn’t need me anymore,” Hughes joked. But now the pub is in the final year of a five-year option that was picked up at the end of its last agreement. Building owner UIP Property Management was seeking another long-term pact, but Hughes realized during negotiations that he couldn’t meet the financial burden. The management firm declined to comment yesterday. Ireland’s Four Fields was known for most of its existence as Ireland’s Four Provinces but in late 2005 gave up the name to his brother’s bar in Falls Church, Va. Still, the “Four P’s” nickname has stuck around over the years. Hughes, a Friendship Heights resident, said it won’t be easy for him to let go of a place that became a home away from home for him and many others. “I’ll miss it. It beats the hell out of working,” he quipped. “So be it, it’s life.”

PUBFrom Page 1

and M station within his single-member district, said he was glad to see the expanded service. “[Capital Bikeshare] certainly has taken off and is very popular in the city,” Birch said. “By placing additional bike stations in Georgetown, not only are Georgetown residents given more opportunity to use bikes for trans-portation, but it also provides encouragement for people coming from elsewhere to use the bikes when they come to Georgetown.” Capital Bikeshare members — who subscribe at rates ranging from $75 per year to $5 per day — can

pick up a bicycle at any station and return it to any other. Today there are about 1,100 distinctive red bicy-cles at more than 110 stations in the District and in Arlington. Despite the significant expan-sion, some residents are still requesting additional stations. Holben said many of them won’t have much longer to wait: He expects most service expansions to be timed to the annual renewal of the District’s contract with Alta Bicycle Share, the private company that manages the local program. But the next set of new stations might come even sooner. “There’s always funding that pops up, and we’re hoping to have another round before [the next contract renewal],” said Holben.

BIKESHAREFrom Page 5

cally set at the start of each two-year council term and don’t see much turnover. But Wells said he’s glad to see the council is now “getting more attention to committee stewardship than we’ve ever had before.” The recent reshuffling was set in motion this spring, when Ward 5 member Harry Thomas relinquished his economic development committee amid allegations that he had misused public funds. The council voted 12-1 to approve the new assignments on July 12, the day after Chairman Kwame Brown had proposed them. Wells, the only council member to vote against the new structure, last month became chair of a committee focused on Bowser’s former terrain — parks, libraries and recreation — in addition to planning. Though Wells said he has met with Bowser to make the adjustment smoother, he said he has “offered the same with Mary Cheh but there’s been no follow-up.” One of Wells’ public gripes about the new setup was his loss of his transportation responsibilities; in his six months chairing that committee, he was carving out a reputation for his agenda of “livable, walkable commu-nities.” But Cheh said she plans to move “exactly in the same direction” as Wells, and pointed out that he remains a member of the transportation committee. “I hope and I’ve expressed to him that we’ll move forward in partnership,” she said. “Any initiatives he wants to pursue, I plan to work on.” She also said she will follow Wells’ lead and not pursue a controversial “medallion system” for city taxi-cabs. According to Cheh, it makes sense to pull together transportation, public works and the environment. When Chairman Brown approached her about the new structure the night before the council vote, she initially said, “Whoa, OK, let me think about it,” she recalled. But “adding it all up, I went back and said, you know what, it sounds very exciting, linking these things together. At the end, I kind of jumped at it.” For example, she said, her environmentally focused interest in finding energy-efficient lighting for the city overlaps with the D.C. Department of Transportation, the agency that installs streetlights. Cheh said the shift, though, interrupted the focus on ethics reform of her former government operations

committee. She said she will “wrap up an investigation of personnel practices” in Mayor Vincent Gray’s admin-istration by heading a temporary committee focused on that task. And Bowser, who took over the government opera-tions post, said she’ll also be concentrating on ethics. “We have a couple of bills around ethics reform for the government that of course have our attention,” she said. “We’re looking where the holes are.” Bowser said her staff is also focusing on contracts and procurement, and ensuring that “the elections board [is] prepared for the changes they have in leadership.” In his new committee, Wells said he and his staff are “familiarizing ourselves top to bottom with the Comprehensive Plan of the city” and communicating with planning director Harriet Tregoning. Through plan-ning, Wells said he can continue to focus on his goal of creating “five-minute living” in the District, ensuring that residents have easy access to transportation and amenities. He’s also interested in focusing more on public spaces near waterways. “There’s no centralized plan-ning for what happens on the water at the Anacostia and Potomac rivers.” In addition, Wells said he plans to take inventory of city parks and libraries, checking in on the status of construction projects and meeting directly with Friends groups that support the properties. And he said he’s looking into how to restore Sunday hours for neighbor-hood libraries. Meanwhile, Council member Orange is heading a new Small and Local Business Development Committee, which takes over many of the responsibilities of the former economic development committee. Orange said his committee will work to “tighten up some things” with legislation related to small businesses — including creating more secure agreements for con-tractor payments and strengthening a law that requires D.C. agencies to expend 50 percent of their budgets to local, small and disadvantaged businesses. Through the committee, which oversees most of the city’s cultural affairs, Orange and his staff will also be focusing on events like the 150th anniversary of D.C. Emancipation Day next spring. He said he’s also inter-ested in reviving the “rather dormant” D.C. Boxing and Wrestling Commission. Just back from a trip to the Los Angeles area, Orange reported the entertainment industry’s interest in shoot-ing more movies in the District. “We need to develop more infrastructure to make that possible,” he said.

COUNCILFrom Page 1

the public hearing process, and most commissioners were initially will-ing to go that route. But Schlater said the “light amenities package” should be resolved now. Schlater persuaded his col-leagues to table discussion of the project until Sept. 26. “I hope the applicant has gotten clear direc-tion,” said commission chair Anthony Hood. “ … Hopefully we’ll see a little more in the [ameni-ties] package.” In an interview with The Current, Triangle attorney Jacques DePuy said he wasn’t concerned by the commission’s decision. “I think in the grand scheme of things, this will just be a small blip on the radar screen, even though there was obvi-ous concern about the amenities,” DePuy said. “We got a lot of posi-tive reinforcement as to most other aspects of the project.” Developers will use the commu-nity meetings to determine which amenities should be added, he said. But neighbors this week said they would rather see a different building altogether — something that con-

forms to the Reed-Cooke density and height restrictions, and that is generally more in keeping with the historic row houses across Florida Avenue and V Street. “There’s a lot of successful development options that can remain within the nature, the char-acter, the uniqueness of our corner of Washington, D.C.,” one resident said. “I would hate to lose that to a cookie-cutter building being put down in the middle of this.” Neighborhood commission chair Wilson Reynolds said there will be many opportunities for the public to continue sharing its opinions. His commission’s planning and zoning committee alone will likely have many meetings on the project this year, he said; the first is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 22 in the 3rd District Police Headquarters, 1620 V St. “Please understand this is the begin-ning of the beginning,” Reynolds said. In a previous interview with The Current, Triangle partner Ernie Marcus said developers hoped to start construction in 2013. Before Triangle purchased the Adams Morgan corner property in 2007, it served as a longtime parking bay for phone-company service trucks.

FLORIDAFrom Page 5

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By JESSICA GOULDCurrent Staff Writer

Like any local teen, 17-year-old Diego Arene-Morley has his hands full. There are his

classes at Sidwell Friends School, his sports and a social life that took him to two proms this year. But that’s not all. In his spare time, he’s become one of the chief lobbyists for the local solar com-munity. How does he do it? Well, you could say that he gets his power from the sun. “People consider certain servic-es they purchase totally out of their control,” he said. “I think solar energy is an interesting option for people to control what they pay for and what kind of life-style they live.” It all began five years ago, when Arene-Morley and his best friend Walter Lynn went to see Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” with their parents. “Global warming sort of has a vague connotation,” Arene-Morley said. But pollution can have seri-ous consequences, he said, espe-cially for children who suffer from asthma. “Kids die every year because they have asthma attacks. Kids actually lose their lives because of how we produce ener-gy.” So, together with their parents, the boys decided to promote clean energy. They started with distribut-ing light bulbs. “We bought $3,000 worth of [energy-efficient] light bulbs wholesale,” said Lynn, who attends Georgetown Day School. “And we sold them for the same amount of money we bought them for. We sold them from my living room.” It was his bar mitzvah project. Then — with the help of Lynn’s mom, environmental strate-gy consultant Anya Schoolman —they began researching the possi-bility of creating a solar coopera-tive right in their Mount Pleasant

community. “The kids from the very begin-ning did work that if they hadn’t been here, we never would have [done],” Schoolman said. “In Mount Pleasant, every single house has two flights of steps. I would have given up at the very first half a block, but I had two strong 12-year-old boys going up and down and up and down.” In fact, with two idealistic teens watching, the adults felt they had to stick with it. “You’re like, ‘They can’t see us fail,’” Schoolman said. “‘They can’t see us give up.’” And they didn’t. The boys devoted countless hours to the effort. “We distributed fliers to see how interested people were, scruti-nized Pepco bills, calculated the value of solar, wrote a research guide about how solar works, lob-bied, testified and ran a solar expo,” Arene-Morley said. Ultimately, a group of neigh-bors decided to come together to

buy solar panels at a discount. They called themselves the Mount Pleasant Solar Cooperative. Meanwhile, as the boys grew, so did the movement. The two joined dozens of activists citywide, and linked arms with solar indus-try leaders to push for legislation that supports renewable energy. The local solar community had its first big victory in 2008, when the D.C. Council passed the Clean and Affordable Energy Act, which created new incentives for renew-able energy, including a $2 mil-lion-per-year solar rebate program. Then, in July of this year, the council passed the Distributed Generation Amendment Act, which increases the amount of solar credits utilities like Pepco are required to buy, and requires that those credits come from within D.C. “We’re trying to make sure the market remains robust for solar for people in the District of

Columbia,” said Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh, who championed both bills. As a result, the local solar industry is heating up. These days, the Mount Pleasant Co-Op includes 350 members who advocate for solar power and solar-friendly policies. Meanwhile, a series of similar groups have sprung up across the city. Georgetown, Petworth, Shepherd Park, the Palisades, Mount Vernon Square, Capitol Hill, Deanwood,

Hillcrest and Anacostia now have solar co-ops of their own. Lynn said watching the solar community expand has taught him a lot about mobilizing for change. “If people want to do something and you show them how to do it, it really galvanizes movement,” he said. And although it’s been a lot of work, Arene-Morley said it’s worth it. “It’s more engaging than doing the more routine things of a teenager, just sleeping all day.”

The People and Places of Northwest Washington August 3, 2011 ■

Local teens look to sunny side of energy

Above and below, courtesy of Anya Schooman; right, Bill Petros/The CurrentWalter Lynn, above left, and Diego Arene-Morley, above right, have spent the past five years organizing community support for solar energy. The pair, shown today at right, helped launch a solar coopera-tive in Mount Pleasant and advocated for a D.C. clean-energy law.

ANC 2DSheridan-Kalorama

The commission will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 19 at Our Lady Queen of the Americas Church, California Street and Phelps Place NW. For details, contact [email protected] or visit anc2d.org.

ANC 3BGlover Park

The commission will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 8 at Stoddert Elementary School and Recreation Center, 4001 Calvert St. NW. For details, call 202-338-2969, contact [email protected] or visit anc3b.org.

ANC 3CCleveland ParkWoodley ParkMassachusetts Avenue Heights

At the commission’s July 18 meeting:■ Alex Sanders of the Potomac Appalachian Trails Club requested a grant of $512.50 for signage along the Whitehaven trail. The commission will consider the request at a future meeting.■ commissioner Victor Silveira asked representatives of Washington Hebrew Congregation, 3935 Macomb St., to consider allowing businesses to valet park cars in the congregation’s lot. The representa-tives said they would look into the possibility.■ Jim Flanagan, representing the company that manages the apart-ment building at 3333 Wisconsin Ave., responded to neighbors’ con-cerns about residents making noise on the building’s roof and parking illegally in the neighborhood. “We’ll do everything we can to remind people not to be stupid,” Flanagan said. Neighbors also said that parking in the neighborhood is much more difficult now because of the number of apartment build-ing residents who have obtained Zone 3 stickers and park on the streets.■ commissioners voted 8-0, with Nancy MacWood absent, to sup-port an application to the Historic Preservation Review Board for a garage replacement at 2927 Ordway St.■ commissioners voted 8-0 to ask that CVS Caremark reconsider a decision to terminate its contract with Cathedral Pharmacy, 3000 Connecticut Ave. The commis-sion’s resolution also asks that the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking and any other applicable local or federal agency investigate the action.■ commissioners voted 8-0 to ask the Historic Preservation Review Board to determine whether a 6-foot-high wrought-iron fence at 3414 29th St. is appropriate for the neighborhood.

Some commissioners were con-cerned that supporting the new fence would create an undesirable precedent, but the body decided not to object as long as the review board says the new fence is in keep-ing with the community’s “rhythm and character.” The homeowner had mistakenly replaced an existing 6-foot-high chain link fence with-out getting a permit.■ commissioners voted 8-0 to sup-port an application to the Historic Preservation Review Board for a rear addition at 2941 Newark St. The addition will not be visible from the street.■ commissioner Lee Brian Reba said he was pleased with a recent D.C. Council vote to move eastern Woodley Park from Ward 1 to Ward 3 — a shift for which he had lob-bied. “This is a prime example when the community, the ANC and the community organizations come together, anything is possible,” Reba said.■ commissioners voted 8-0 to ask the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to postpone a hearing on extended hours at Taste of India, 2621 Connecticut Ave., so the com-mission can discuss the plan at its Sept. 19 meeting. The commission didn’t receive the application in time to review it for the July meet-ing and doesn’t plan to meet in August.■ commissioner Lee Brian Reba announced that the National Zoo is preparing an environmental assess-ment for a new retaining wall on its property. Residents with comments or questions can email [email protected].■ commissioner Victor Silveira announced that Bistro Le Zinc is now open at 3712 Macomb St.■ commissioner Victor Silveira said he has been trying to get the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to take action against two homes in his single-member district that appear to be abandoned. Judy Hubbard, from the office of Ward 3 Council mem-ber Mary Cheh, said she would help guide attention toward his effort.■ commissioner Trudy Reeves said she has been trying to get the D.C. Department of Transportation to remove signs banning parking on the east side of Wisconsin Avenue during certain hours on Thursdays. The signs say the roadway must be kept clear for street cleaning, which Reeves said doesn’t occur.■ commissioner Catherine May said she was impressed with the Glover Park advisory neighbor-hood commission’s parking survey and that her neighborhood should consider a similar effort.■ commissioners discussed digitiz-ing the body’s files to go “all vir-tual” when its lease on office space expires this fall. They decided to continue studying the idea, but said they will likely try to retain a physical office for at least another year or two.■ commissioner Catherine May

announced that the Polish Embassy, 3100 Whitehaven Parkway, plans to build a structure around its roof-top mechanical equipment to bring the building into compliance with zoning regulations.■ commissioner and treasurer Trudy Reeves resigned as the repre-sentative for single-member district 3C06 because she plans to move. Commissioners voted 8-0 to switch Bill Kummings from the secretary to treasurer position and to appoint Victor Silveira as the new secretary. A replacement for Reeves’ 3C06 seat has not yet been found. The commission will meet at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 19 at the 2nd District Police Headquarters, 3320 Idaho Ave. NW. For details, call 202-657-5725 or visit anc3c.org.

ANC 3DSpring ValleyWesley Heights

The commission will meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 7 in the new medical building at Sibley Memorial Hospital, 5215 Loughboro Road NW. For details, call 202-363-4130 or visit anc3d.org.

ANC 3ETenleytownAmerican University Park

The commission will meet at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church, 42nd and Fessenden streets NW. Agenda items include:■ presentation by D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton about the intersec-tion of local concerns and the fed-eral government.■ presentation on political autono-my for D.C. by Johnny Barnes of the American Civil Liberties Union.■ open forum.■ police report.■ discussion of a grant proposal from the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home.■ discussion of and possible vote on a public-space application for a sidewalk cafe at Cafe India, 4909 Wisconsin Ave.■ discussion of and possible vote on a public-space application for a curb cut at 4322 42nd St.■ discussion of and possible vote on Public Space Committee and Alcoholic Beverage Control Board applications by Public Tenley, 4611 41st St., for approval of a sidewalk cafe.■ presentation by Clinton Perrow of the D.C. Prevention Center. For details, visit anc3e.org.

ANC 3FForest Hills

The commission will meet at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Capital Memorial Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 3150 Chesapeake St. NW. For details, call 202-362-6120 or visit anc3f.us.


Northwest Real Estaten

ANC 2D■ sheridan-kalorama

ANC 3B■ Glover Park/cathedral heiGhts

ANC 3D■ sPrinG valley/wesley heiGhtsPalisades/kent/foxhall

ANC 3C■ cleveland Park / woodley Parkmassachusetts avenue heiGhts cathedral heiGhts

ANC 3E■ american university ParkfriendshiP heiGhts/tenleytown

ANC 3F■ forest hills/north cleveland Park

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It’s not immediately apparent upon entering this first-floor unit at 2501 Wisconsin Ave.,

but walk down the entry hall —

past the vast gourmet kitchen — and you’ll find that the 3,200-square-foot space opens up like a stadium. The long main room, which houses dining space at one end and living at the other, has a huge cut-out in the center, offering a view down to the lower level. “People come in and … their jaw just drops,” said Realtor Matt Conway. It’s certainly not your typical condo. The only two-story option in the building, Unit 101 has two bedroom suites, two entrances (one on each floor), two garage parking spaces and, just to mix up the numbers, three bathrooms. The building was constructed seven years ago, and this unit has already seen updates, undertaken four years ago to open the kitchen to the dining room. The former space has dark cherry cabinetry and top-of-the-line appliances:

Viking professional fridge, double oven, range and wine refrigerator, as well as a Bosch dishwasher. Add in the double sink, expansive granite counters and endless stor-age, and it’s clear this kitchen was created for a cook. The current owners are undoubtedly oenophiles as well: Along with the upstairs wine fridge, they have a 750-bottle stor-age unit that doubles as furniture in the downstairs den; it’s negotiable for inclusion in the purchase. Back upstairs, a hallway of sorts — with a railing setting it off from the cutout — connects dining room to living. Windows line one wall, and while the unit sits slight-ly below grade because it runs alongside sloping Wisconsin Avenue, window wells keep things bright. Brazilian mahogany floors add grandeur to the open main-floor space, which would be per-fect for cocktail parties. A powder room rounds out this floor, and tucked next to it is a graceful staircase down to the lower level. The central room downstairs is arranged as a den, with a wall-mounted flat-screen that conveys. Built-in speakers make it a complete media room. On either side of the den are

master suites. The larger of the two reads like a spa: Thick off-white carpeting softens the space, and a ceiling fan adds to the peaceful vibe. Outside the two windows, a statue and plants set on pebbles act as a meditative rock garden. This suite has a large walk-in closet with a built-in dresser, mir-ror and many shelves, as well as a bathroom so big that it has room for a 19-foot-long double vanity. There’s also space for a jet tub, shower and linen closet. Across the den, the other suite is slightly smaller but still luxuri-ous. It opens onto a small patio, and double closets take the place of the walk-in. The bathroom has a double vanity — not 19 feet long but still sizable for a second bath-

room — and a tub/shower. Finally, tucked away near the downstairs entrance is a particular-ly appealing feature: a laundry room, giving owners not only a washer/dryer, but also room to fold clothes and store cleaning supplies. Another hall closets sits nearby. The building, too, has perks: The concierge provides services, such as pet care, and a roof deck offers a view stretching from the U.S. Capitol building to Virginia. It’s a perfect spot for regular condo association parties, including an annual Fourth of July fete. There’s also a central courtyard with benches for relaxing, but occupants

would find plenty of other spots to perch in the neighborhood, as well. Just outside the doors is the Glover Park commercial strip, which includes a Whole Foods, numerous restaurants, several gyms and even a park. Georgetown is a hop, skip and jump down the road. Unit 101 at 2501 Wisconsin Ave. is listed for $998,000. The monthly condo fee is $1,425. For details, contact Dan Conway (202-486-9115; [email protected]) or John Edelmann (202-423-6900; [email protected]) of The Love Group at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Georgetown office.

A Look at the Market in Northwest Washington August 3, 2011 ■

Expansive Wisconsin Ave. condo offers two-story living

Photos courtesy of Coldwell Banker Residential BrokerageThis 3,200-square-foot, two-story unit at 2501 Wisconsin Ave. is listed for $998,000.

ON THE MARKET BETH COPE

SELLING THE AREA’S FINEST PROPERTIES

CHEVY CHASE4400 JENIFER STREET NW

202-364-1700

DUPONT1509 22ND STREET NW

202-464-8400


Northwest Real Estate

opportunity — my hope is anyway — to have the school available to the community, and to make the space an attractive place for students to go after school,” she continued. According to Cheh, the Reno School restoration project was ini-tially awarded $4 million, only to be dropped from the District’s budget twice. She secured just over $979,000 for the project this fiscal year, which will be used to stabilize the building’s structure, remove asbestos and lead paint, and pay the architect for plans. Cheh said an additional $4 mil-lion to $5 million will be needed in order to complete the renovation. She is currently working to allocate funds for the project in fiscal year 2012, but she said the effort may have to proceed incrementally. The Reno School dates back to the Civil War, when black residents — both those fleeing slavery and those freed after the Emancipation Proclamation — created an enclave in an area of Tenleytown then called Reno City. The schoolhouse, which was in use through the 1950s, is one of the last remnants still standing from that community. Along with the physical work, the renovation plans call for creating an exhibit in the building that uses photographs and the written word to describe the history of the school and segregation in the D.C. public school system. Despite its historical signifi-cance, the building fell into disrepair in recent years. It was last occupied in 2003, when it was used as a school for children with special needs. Since then, the building has been damaged by weather and van-dalism. The Tenleytown Historical Society initiated efforts back in 2003 to have the school listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and in 2009, the group submitted a formal application to the National Park Service, which approved the request. Jane Waldmann, a member of the Tenleytown Historical Society, said she told Cheh during the initial push for renovation, “This school des-perately needs restoration. In my eyes, it is criminal to let it decay to the point it has.” Architect Ronnie McGhee said he’s excited about the plan. He has

worked on a number of historic preservation projects, including many that are significant for the black community. “The social value of the building is probably the area of the project I focus on — the joy of working on a building that has this kind of history behind it. The chance to put [it] back in service for its intended use, what it originally was, is one of the high points,” he said. “It’s a great oppor-tunity, and the fact that we can go to the community and get their input, and to tie the building back to the community, that’s really our goal.” McGhee said his design plan, for which he is seeking silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, will leave the “lightest touch” on the building’s facade in order to maintain its integ-rity. The architect’s first concept placed the addition on the south side of the Reno building, which served as the school’s original entrance. He said this was the most architectural-ly sound solution, but the city’s preservation office and the Tenleytown Historical Society were concerned about the impact to the building’s front, so the firm is now working on a plan that would place the addition on the west side. School officials pushed for the connecting structure — rather than just renovation of the Reno building for Deal use — for security reasons, to minimize the shared facility’s entrances and exits. It will also pro-vide cover for students accessing Reno in inclement weather. The public will have a number of opportunities to review and com-ment on the plans as they move forward. McGhee anticipates mak-ing a presentation at the Tenleytown-Friendship Heights advisory neigh-borhood commission’s September meeting before going before the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board later that month.

RENOFrom Page 1

on April 14. Montgomery Blair Sibley, organizer of the Medicinal Marijuana Company of the District of Columbia, which applied to open a cultivation center, said the timeline has been “completely reasonable.” The rally’s organizers had mixed feelings after learning of the new time frame. “In some respects, [the announced timeline] is really good news. We’ve been waiting for some sort of timeline since April,” Schiller said after the Health Department’s announcement. But the protest also had other goals that remain unaddressed. “Patient education is important. … There’s been zero communication from the government for patients,” Schiller said. He also said patients should be allowed to grow their medicine at home, which he said is important to those

who have trouble getting to dispensaries or need spe-cific breeds of cannabis. In terms of notifying patients of the city’s plans, Akhter said it would be “very premature for us to con-tact folks when we don’t have anything to offer.” And he said restrictions on home growth are necessary for safety. Akhter said the announcement’s timing was unre-lated to the protest. “Everybody’s been rushing toward the anniversary [of congressional approval], saying, ‘Can we complete this by the anniversary?’” The director asked the public to be patient as the District works “to make sure that we create the best program, and that it stays in place for a long time for people to benefit from it.” “We are beyond weighing risk and benefits,” Akhter said. “We have determined that medicinal marijuana is in the best interest of our residents. That’s why we’re moving very thoughtfully forward.” The regulations can be found at hrla.doh.dc.gov.

MARIJUANAFrom Page 8

similar results in wards 4 and 8.When asked how the business

community could help improve public schools, Henderson said its members should engage high school students to help them adjust to the workforce, volunteer to teach trades to students, and “press us for ever-higher-quality graduates.”

The chancellor also said she’s working to increase student technol-ogy use. She said some software packages allow students to acceler-ate their learning on their own — with a teacher present to help when needed — and she’s working with “a large technology company” on its potential uses.

Henderson also spoke of results, noting that she’s particularly happy that the percentage of students rated

“below basic” in District middle schools has declined by half. She attributed much of that growth to improved support services.

But Henderson pointed out that the standards for “proficiency” are not that high — equal to just the 16th percentile on the SAT. The “advanced” rating is equivalent to the 51st percentile on the SAT.

When asked about the place of arts in the public schools, Henderson said her aim is to have an art teacher and a music teacher at every school. She mentioned that jazz artist Wynton Marsalis has agreed to lead a concert of student musicians at the Kennedy Center. “Test scores are just one measure of our progress,” Henderson said.

Asked about the school system’s costly special-education program, which sends many children to out-of-state private schools, she report-ed that public schools are now ful-

filling their obligations to more special-education students, with the result that some court orders requir-ing outside placement have been lifted and others will be soon.

In particular, the school system’s “autism program is truly outstand-ing,” she said. As a result, some parents whose children attend pri-vate schools are now asking to par-ticipate in the local programs.

Part of the improvement is that the school system is testing more young children who appear to have challenges, Henderson said. A few years ago, the system tested 500 each year; now the number is 5,000.

Attorney Claude Bailey asked Henderson to help him convince his son and wife to transfer from a selective Montgomery County pri-vate school to the D.C. system. She gave him her card and said she would give the family a personal tour to encourage the switch.

HENDERSONFrom Page 12

Bill Petros/The CurrentThe schoolhouse once served residents of Reno City.

ch n

Wesley Heights 3273 B Sutton Place NW

Yolanda M. Mamone, CRB, ABRAssociate Broker

202-262-9754 [email protected]


Northwest Real Estate

allow for a 70-foot building, neces-sitating an exemption. The development company’s Gary Squire told residents that he has significant experience in the neighborhood and that smaller, less expensive units will do best in today’s market. As planned, most apartments would be one-bedrooms smaller than 500 square feet that would likely lease for between $2,000 and $3,000 per month, he said. “We have a lot of buildings … and the bulk of our demand is for relatively affordable units,” Squire said in an interview. “Obviously, this is not affordable housing, because it’s too expensive,” he added, but the building would include the legally required 8 per-cent of units below market rate. Squire said his company has always worked to maintain good relations with neighbors near its buildings, both during the planning process and once new residents are in place. “Where we feel like we can without causing us major problems, we try to accommodate the neigh-bors,” he said. For instance, he said, Keener-Squire’s architect has already rede-signed the building’s planned roof deck to direct noise away from The Richmond in response to prelimi-nary feedback. The company also anticipated concerns about loading

noise and located the loading dock within the building. “Our business is a longtime Dupont Circle resident,” Squire said. “We’ve probably built and renovated more apartments in the immediate area in the last 27 years and we probably own more property in the immediate area [than any other company], so we’re very familiar with the neighborhood and we’re trying to stay a decent neigh-bor.” Several neighbors asked whether the development could move for-ward as a 70-foot building, which Keener-Squire representatives declined to answer at the meeting. In the interview, Squire said it was too early to know. “I haven’t really ana-lyzed it that carefully. We’d have to regroup and figure out what to do about that, but we’re hoping to get the variance approved,” he said. Squire wouldn’t say what his company has agreed to pay the First Baptist Church during its 99-year lease of the parking lot site, but said the current plan would generate “significant income” for it. “The church also has an interest … in generating income from this site that will allow it to enhance and increase its programs in the community,” Squire said. Lassen said she’s still making up her mind about the project, but she encouraged her fellow neighbors to attend the developer’s Aug. 10 pre-sentation before the Dupont Circle advisory neighborhood commis-sion.

DUPONTFrom Page 8

But the Postal Service is emphasizing that residents and businesses can weigh in on the closures. “We want to hear from our customers,” Sauter said. Proposals to close will be posted in affected offices, she said, and then the public will have 60 days to give comments to the agency. The process will include a public meeting for each station. The Postal Service will take these comments into account in studying its facilities. Once the agency makes decisions on the closures, residents and busi-nesses will get another 60 days’ notice — along with a full rationale — if their station is set to shut down, Sauter said. And for the first 30 days of that, customers will have the chance to appeal the decision to the Postal Regulatory Commission. This involved process was cause for D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton to temper her concern over the potential closures in a news release last week. “The timeline for review is long and complicated, ensuring no closings in the foreseeable future,” the release states. Norton also noted that the Postal Service made a similar announcement two years ago, looking at 13 sta-tions in D.C., but never followed through on closing any

of them. She warned, though, that she can’t “be sure that the outcome will be the same this time because of the growing Postal Service financial crisis.” The agency faces an expected $8 billion loss this year, according to Sauter. With more customers taking care of their mail needs online or at places like drugstores, the Postal Service sees the opportunity to reduce its fleet of 32,000 retail offices across the country, the agency said last week. The reductions would continue a series of cost-cut-ting measures the agency has taken over the last four years, including eliminating more than 110,000 jobs. The agency is also launching its “Village Post Office” model to offer some of its products and services in locations like drugstores and grocery stores. Though the closure list in D.C. this year differs entirely from the stations the Postal Service looked at in 2009 — which included offices in Petworth and LeDroit Park — Sauter said that as far as she knows, only the offices on the more current list are under review “at this time.” Among the D.C. post offices under review, in addi-tion to the locations in Adams Morgan, are Brightwood, 6323 Georgia Ave.; State Department, 2201 C St.; the 20th Street Station, 20th and M streets; and Walter Reed Finance Station, 6800 Georgia Ave. The full list is avail-able at tinyurl.com/postoffices.

POST OFFICESFrom Page 5

6339 31st St NWWelcome to this Federal style brick home that is deceptively large with 4 �nished levels in immaculate move-in condition. �is home has been extensively renovated and has lots of wonderful entertaining spaces, both inside and out. Side hall entrance into LR with wood �oors and pretty wood-burning �replace which is open to the entertainment sized DR. Renovated Kit with granite counters and rich cabinets. Two sided Gallery with PR which serves as a path through to the Great Room with 14 foot ceiling, custom cabinetry, intricate wood �oor and French doors

leading to the Deck, which overlooks the tranquil, private back yard with a waterfall and pond. �e 2nd level o�ers 3 BRs and 2 FBs. �e spacious 3rd level with 12 foot ceiling, high quality wood �nishes and plenty of storage could be used as a Home O�ce or 4th BR. �e �nished LL rec area can serve as an au-pair/ in-law suite with its updated FB, �replace and separate entrance. Located on a quiet tree lined street in the sought a�er Barnaby Woods section of Chevy Chase, DC. $999,000.

Let Cestari Guide You Home…

#1 Agent Company-Wide#1 Agent in Chevy Chase202-253-8757 cell202-966-1400 [email protected]

Wednesday, Aug. 3

Children’s program ■ChristylezBaconwillexplainhowtomakemusicthroughpoetryandhip-hop(forages12through19).6p.m.Free.Tenley-FriendshipNeighborhoodLibrary,4450WisconsinAve.NW.202-727-1488.

Class ■Aweeklyworkshopwillofferinstruc-tionin“SahajaYogaMeditation.”7p.m.Free.WestEndNeighborhoodLibrary,110124thSt.NW.202-724-8707.

Concerts ■The“Live!onWoodrowWilsonPlaza”serieswillpresent“MetroHasTalent,”fea-turingWashingtonMetropolitanAreaTransitAuthorityemployees.Noonto1:30p.m.Free.RonaldReaganBuildingandInternationalTradeCenter,1300PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-312-1300. ■TheU.S.ArmyChoruswillperform.6p.m.Free.MillenniumStage,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600. ■TheHarbourNightsconcertserieswillfeaturesinger,songwriterandguitaristDavidAndrewSmith.7to9p.m.Free.Plaza,TheWashingtonHarbour,3050KSt.NW.202-295-5007. ■The2011WashingtonInternationalPianoFestivalwillfeatureaconcertbyYuriDidenko.7:30p.m.$20;$10forseniorsandstudents.WardRecitalHall,CatholicUniversity,620MichiganAve.NE.washingtonpianofest.com. ■TheU.S.MarineBigBandwillperformworksbyBillyStrayhorn,HoagyCarmichaelandSammyNestico.8p.m.Free.WestTerrace,U.S.Capitol.202-433-4011.

Discussion ■EsmeraldaSantiagowilldiscussher

book“Conquistadora.”7p.m.Free.PoliticsandProse,5015ConnecticutAve.NW.202-364-1919.

Films ■“NoMaSummerScreen”willpresentBradBird’s2004film“TheIncredibles.”7p.m.Free.LStreetbetween2ndand3rdstreetsNE.nomasummerscreen.com. ■The“FilmsontheVern”outdoorfilmserieswillfeatureJosephKosinski’s2010film“TRON:Legacy.”8:30p.m.Quad,GeorgeWashingtonUniversityMountVernonCampus,2100FoxhallRoadNW.202-242-6673.

Sporting event ■The2011LeggMasonTennisClassicwillfeatureBernardTomic,RyanHarrisonandAndyRoddick,amongothers.4p.m.$40to$75.WilliamH.G.FitzGeraldTennisCenter,16thandKennedystreetsNW.202-397-7328. The tournament will continue through Sunday at various times.

Thursday,Aug.4

Children’s program ■Aparkrangerwillleadchildrenages3andolderonaDiscoveryHikealongtheWoodlandTrailinsearchofsignsofanimals.4p.m.Free.RockCreekNatureCenter,5200GloverRoadNW.202-895-6070.

Concerts ■Participantsinthe2011WashingtonInternationalPianoFestivalwillperform.6p.m.Free.MillenniumStage,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600. ■TheJazzonJacksonPlaceserieswillfeatureviolinistChelseyGreenofTheGreenProject.6:30to8:30p.m.$25.DecaturHouse,748JacksonPlaceNW.202-218-4332. ■TheFortRenoconcertserieswillfea-tureperfor-mancesbyTheEvens(shown)andLaughingMan.7:15p.m.Free.FortRenoPark,40thandChesapeakestreetsNW.fortreno.com. ■TheU.S.MarineBigBandwillperformworksbyBillyStrayhorn,HoagyCarmichael

andSammyNestico.8p.m.Free.SylvanTheater,WashingtonMonumentgrounds,15thStreetandIndependenceAvenueSW.202-433-4011. ■Typhoon(shown)andLadyLambtheBeekeeperwillperformindiepopandrock.8p.m.$10inadvance;$12onthedayoftheevent.Sixth&IHistoricSynagogue,600ISt.NW.800-745-3000.

Discussions and lectures ■KaleeThompsonwilldiscussherbook“TheDeadliestSea:TheUntoldStoryBehindtheGreatestRescueinCoastGuardHistory.”Noon.Free.U.S.NavyMemorial,701PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-737-2300. ■TheClevelandParkMysteryBookClubwilldiscussPaulDoiron’s“ThePoacher’sSon.”6:30p.m.Free.Barnes&Noble,55512thSt.NW.202-282-3080. ■PsychoanalystsKerryMalawista,AnneAdelmanandCatherineAndersonwilldis-cusstheirbook“WearingMyTututoAnalysisandOtherStories:LearningPsychodynamicConceptsFromLife.”7p.m.Free.PoliticsandProse,5015ConnecticutAve.NW.202-364-1919.

Performance ■TheTopazHotelBar’sweeklystand-upshowwillfeaturelocalcomics.8to10p.m.Free.1733NSt.NW.202-393-3000.

Special events ■“PhillipsAfter5”willfeatureaprogramon“SpiritualityinArt,”featuringmusicandvideosbyDJRobinBellandachairyogaclassledbyKimberlyWilsonofTranquilSpace;andagallerytalkon“SeeingSound:KandinskyandSynesthesia.”5to8:30p.m.Costvariesbyactivity;registrationsuggest-ed.PhillipsCollection,160021stSt.NW.phillipscollection.org/phillipsafter5. ■APeaceCorpsSummerSocialwillofferachancetomeetreturnedvolunteersandaskquestionsaboutwhatit’sliketoliveandworkoverseas.6to8p.m.Free.LangstonRoom,BusboysandPoets,[email protected].

Walks and tours ■Aparkrangerwilldis-cusstheOldStoneHouse,theoldestresi-denceinD.C.10a.m.Free.OldStoneHouse,3051MSt.NW.202-426-6851. ■Aparkrangerwillleadanall-agesnaturehikeinMontroseParkandpointoutfavoritetreessuchastheAmericanbeech.2p.m.Free.MontrosePark,RStreetbetween30thand31ststreetsNW.202-895-6070. ■U.S.BotanicGardenvolunteerSusanOllingwillleadaneveningtouroftheNationalGarden,focusingontreesandshrubsofthemid-Atlanticregion.5:30to6:30p.m.Free.NationalGardenLawnTerrace,U.S.BotanicGarden,100MarylandAve.SW.202-225-1116.The tour will repeat Aug. 25 at 5:30 p.m.

Friday,Aug.5

Concerts ■The“Live!onWoodrowWilsonPlaza”serieswillfeatureanItaliancelebration.Noonto1:30p.m.Free.RonaldReaganBuildingandInternationalTradeCenter,1300PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-312-1300.

■FrancisKimwillpresentanorganrecital.12:15p.m.Free.NationalCityChristianChurch,5ThomasCircleNW.202-797-0103. ■The“JazzintheGarden”serieswillfeatureAlanWonnebergerandCompanyperformingondrums.5to8:30p.m.Free.SculptureGarden,NationalGalleryofArt,7thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-737-4215. ■TheColombiabandSextetoTabalawillperform.6p.m.Free.MillenniumStage,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600. ■The2011WashingtonInternationalPianoFestivalwillfeatureaclosingconcertbyparticipants.6p.m.Free.WardRecitalHall,CatholicUniversity,620MichiganAve.NE.washingtonpianofest.com.The concert will repeat Saturday at 11 a.m. ■TheU.S.ArmyConcertBandwillpres-ent“SunsetsWithaSoundtrack,”featuring“EmperorWaltz”byStrauss,“OrpheusintheUnderworld”byOffenbachand“Csardas”byMonti.8p.m.Free.WestSteps,U.S.Capitol.703-696-3399.

Discussion ■FoodwriterClaraSilversteinwilldis-cussherbook“AWhiteHouseGardenCookBook:HealthyIdeasFromtheFirstFamilytoYourFamily.”Noon.Free.JeffersonRoom,NationalArchivesBuilding,PennsylvaniaAvenuebetween7thand9thstreetsNW.202-357-5000.

Films ■“FridayTeenFilmfest”willfeaturePeterSegal’s2004film“50FirstDates,”starringAdamSandler,DrewBarrymore,RobSchneiderandSeanAstin.2p.m.Free.ChevyChaseNeighborhoodLibrary,5625ConnecticutAve.NW.202-282-0021. ■“RecoveredTreasure:UCLA’sAnnualFestivalofPreservation”willfeaturePaulStrandandLeoHurwitz’s1942film“NativeLand”andHerbedKline’s1941film“TheForgottenVillage.”2:30p.m.Free.EastBuildingAuditorium,NationalGalleryofArt,4thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-737-4215. ■TheFreerGalleryofArt’s16thannualMadeinHongKongFilmFestivalwillfeatureChanHink-KaiandJanetChun’s2010film“LaComédieHumaine,”abouttheadven-turesofavicioushitman,ageekyscreen-writerandafeistypregnantteenstar.7p.m.Free.MeyerAuditorium,FreerGalleryofArt,JeffersonDriveand12thStreetSW.202-

633-1000.The film will be shown again Sunday at 2 p.m.

Saturday,Aug.6

Children’s program ■Childrenages5andolderwilllistentoastoryaboutswimminglegendGertrudeEarleandcreateaspecialpieceofart.1to4p.m.Free.NationalPortraitGallery,8thandFstreetsNW.202-633-1000.The pro-gram will repeat Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.

Classes ■FirstClassInc.willofferaseminaron“HowtoGeneratePassiveResidualIncome.”10a.m.to12:30p.m.$55.FirstClassInc.,172620thSt.NW.202-797-5102. ■FirstClassInc.willofferaseminaron“Mega-ProfitsFromtheCommoditiesSuper-Boom.”1:30to4p.m.$55.FirstClassInc.,172620thSt.NW.202-797-5102. ■ArtistKristinaBilonickwillleadascreenprintingworkshopontheuseoftextincreatingpatternsonrecycledwallartandtextiles.2to4p.m.$55;reservationsrequired.TextileMuseum,2320SSt.NW.202-667-0441,ext.64.

Concerts ■Brooklyn-basedindiegroupThePopUpswillperformfamily-friendlymusic.6p.m.Free.MillenniumStage,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600. ■SingerNancyScimonewillperformjazzselections.7:30to11:30p.m.Free.BlueBarLounge,HenleyParkHotel,926MassachusettsAve.NW.202-638-5200.

Discussions and lectures ■JohnHowewilldiscussthejoysandperilsofbeinganeclectic,ratherthanafocused,collector.10:30a.m.Free.TextileMuseum,2320SSt.NW.202-667-0441,ext.64. ■U.S.BotanicGardenvolunteerToddBrethauerwilldiscuss“GoodEnoughtoEat—LegumesandRosaceae.”10:30to11:30a.m.Free;reservationsrequired.ConservatoryClassroom,U.S.BotanicGarden,100MarylandAve.SW.202-225-1116.

Films ■AMCEntertainmentandtheAutismSocietywillpresentthe2011film“TheSmurfs”inasafe,acceptingenvironmentforchildrenwithautismandotherspecialneeds.10a.m.$6.AMCGeorgetown14,3111KSt.NW.autism-society.org/sensoryfilms. ■TheNationalGalleryofArt’sfilmpro-gramforchildrenandteenswillpresentMichelOcelot’sanimatedfilm“Azur&Asmar”(forages6andolder).10:30a.m.Free.EastBuildingAuditorium,NationalGalleryofArt,4thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-737-4215.The film will be shown again Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ■“FromVaulttoScreen:NewPreservationFromFrance”willfeaturethe1929film“L’Arpète”andthe1907film“Le

Events&Entertainment20 Wednesday, august 3, 2011 the Current

Thursday auguSt 4

Wednesday auguSt 3

Thursday, auguSt 4■Concert: The“Live!onWoodrowWilsonPlaza”serieswillfeatureVictorProvostonsteelpan.Noonto1:30p.m.Free.RonaldReaganBuildingandInternationalTradeCenter,1300PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-312-1300.

SeeEvents/Page21

Friday auguSt 5

Saturday auguSt 6

4530 Wisconsin Avenue, NW202-244-7326

www.middlecmusic.com

YOUR MUSIC STORE & MORE!

LARGEST SELECTION of sheet music in DC!

MON-THUR 10 am – 8 pm FRI & SAT 10 am – 6 pm

SUN 12 – 5 pm

CDs, Music Posters.Come in Today forYour Print Music,

Accessories and Gifts.

ChapeaudeMadame,”withaccompanimentbypianistAndrewSimpson.2p.m.Free.EastBuildingAuditorium,NationalGalleryofArt,4thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-737-4215. ■“RecoveredTreasure:UCLA’sAnnualFestivalofPreservation”willfeatureCecilB.DeMille’s1935film“TheCrusades.”4:30p.m.Free.EastBuildingAuditorium,NationalGalleryofArt,4thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-737-4215.

Performances ■TheInternationalSpyMuseumwillpresent“TheESPinEspionage:AnEveningWithAlainNu,theManWhoKnows.”7p.m.$25.InternationalSpyMuseum,800FSt.NW.202-393-7798. ■DancEthoswillperformnewworks.8p.m.$22;$17forstudents,teachers,seniorsandartists;$8forages17andyounger.8p.m.DancePlace,32258thSt.NE.202-269-1600. The performance will repeat Sunday at 7 p.m.

Special event ■TheWashingtonAnimalRescueLeaguewillholda36-hour“Round-the-Clock‘HomeSweetHome’Adopt-a-Thon,”featur-ingcatsanddogsavailableforadoptionwithregularfeeswaivedinfavorof“pay-what-you-can”donations.11a.m.Freeadmission.71OglethorpeSt.NW.202-726-2556.

Sporting events ■TheWashingtonMysticswillplaytheNewYorkLiberty.7p.m.$10to$300.VerizonCenter,601FSt.NW.202-397-7328. ■D.C.UnitedwillplaytheTorontoFC.7:30p.m.$23to$52;$15forcollegestu-dents.RFKMemorialStadium,2400EastCapitolSt.SE.202-397-7328.

Walks and tours ■Aparkrangerwillleadchildrenages8andolderonahiketoFortDeRussyanddis-cusshowtheforthelpeddefendWashington,D.C.,dur-ingtheCivilWar.10a.m.Free.RockCreekNatureCenter,5200GloverRoadNW.202-895-6070. ■DocentswillleadtoursoftheFolgerShakespeareLibrary’sElizabethanGarden,whichisfilledwithamixofplantsmentionedinShakespeare’sworksandherbspopularinhisday.10and11a.m.Free.FolgerShakespeareLibrary,201EastCapitolSt.SE.202-544-7077.The tour will repeat Aug. 20 at 10 and 11 a.m. ■AbustourwillvisitD.C.locationsusedasbackdropsinmorethan50televisionshowsandmovies,including“TheExorcist,”“TheWestWing”and“WeddingCrashers.”10a.m.$34;reservationsrequired.TourdepartsfromalocationnearUnionStation.800-979-3370. ■RoccoZappone,anativeWashingtonianandfreelancewriter,willleadaninteractive“WalkingTourasPersonalEssay,”filledwithhisreminis-cencesandimpressionsofalifetimeinD.C.10a.m.orbyappointment.$25.MeetatthestatueofAndrewJacksoninLafayetteSquare,16thandHstreetsNW.202-341-5208. ■Aparkrangerwillleada“HollywoodontheC&O”walkingtour,featuringvisitsto

sitesfrom“St.Elmo’sFire,”“Dick”and“TheExorcist.”12:15p.m.Free.C&OCanalNationalHistoricalParkVisitorCenter,1057ThomasJeffersonSt.NW.202-653-5190. ■Aparkrangerwillleadages10andolderonatourofFortStevensanddiscusstheactionsinthesummerof1864thatledtoJubalEarly’sraidonWashingtonandthetwobattlesthatstoppedtheConfederatetroops.2p.m.Free.FortStevens,1000QuackenbosSt.NW.202-895-6060.

Sunday,Aug.7

Class ■EliotCohenwillleadahands-onwork-shopon“DigitalCameraBasics.”10a.m.to5:30p.m.$256.ComputerLab,NationalMuseumofNaturalHistory,10thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-633-3030.

Concerts ■TheweeklySteelDrummerSundaysconcertserieswillfeatureRogerGreenidge.Noonto3p.m.Free.Plaza,TheWashingtonHarbour,3050KSt.NW.202-295-5007. ■EastRiverJazzwillpresentthe18-memberDunbarAlumniJazzEnsembleinconcert.4to7:30p.m.$20to$25inadvance;$25to$30onthedayoftheevent.AnacostiaArtGallery&Boutique,2806BrucePlaceSE.bemojazz.com. ■DahlakRestaurantwillhostitsweekly“DCJazzJam”session.6:30to9:30p.m.Free.1771USt.NW.202-527-9522.

Discussions and lectures ■TheRev.Dr.RogerFerlo,associatedeananddirectoroftheInstituteforChristianFormationandLeadershipattheVirginiaTheologicalseminary,willdiscuss“ExperiencesWithSeminaryEducationToday.”10:10a.m.Free.PerryAuditorium,WashingtonNationalCathedral,MassachusettsandWisconsinavenuesNW.202-537-6200. ■NationalGalleryofArtlecturerDianeArkinwilldiscuss“Italian‘PitturaMetafisica’:AVisionaryWorld.”2p.m.Free.EastBuildingAuditorium,NationalGalleryofArt,4thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-737-4215.

Films ■TheTextileMuseumwillpresent“AmericanExperience:RachelCarson’sSilentSpring.”2p.m.Free.TextileMuseum,2320SSt.NW.202-667-0441,ext.64. ■“FromVaulttoScreen:NewPreservationFromFrance”willfeaturethe1927film“LeManoirdelaPeur”andthe1920film“LaMain,”withaccompanimentbypianistAndrewSimpson.4:30p.m.Free.EastBuildingAuditorium,NationalGalleryofArt,4thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-737-4215.

Performance ■LedbymembersoftheStepAfrika!troupe,participantsintheWashingtonPerformingArtsSociety’sSummerPerformingArtsAcademywillexplorethetra-ditionsofsteppingandotherpercussivedancestyles.6p.m.Free.MillenniumStage,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600.

Walks and tours ■Aparkrangerwillleadchildrenages8andolderonatourofHerringHill,avibrant19th-centuryAfrican-AmericancommunityintheheartofGeorgetown.10a.m.Free.OldStoneHouse,3051MSt.NW.202-426-6851.

■Aparkrangerwilllead“AVeryRetailGeorgetown,”awalkingtourabouttheneighborhood’straditionasamagnetforshoppers.12:15p.m.Free.C&OCanalNationalHistoricalParkVisitorCenter,1057ThomasJeffersonSt.NW.202-653-5190. ■Aparkrangerwillleadages8andolderonawalkingtourofGeorgetown.2p.m.Free.GeorgetownWaterfrontPark,WisconsinAvenueandKStreetNW.202-895-6070.

Monday,Aug.8

Children’s program ■ChristylezBaconwillexplainhowtomakemusicthroughpoetryandhip-hopsounds(forages12through19).6p.m.Free.MartinLutherKingJr.MemorialLibrary,901GSt.NW.202-727-0321.

Class ■PeterMandelwillleadaseminaron“WriteandSellYourFirstChildren’sBook.”6to8:30p.m.$45.FirstClassInc.,172620thSt.NW.202-797-5102.

Concerts ■DeboBandwillper-formitsinter-pretationsofclassicEthiopianpopmusic.6p.m.Free.Atrium,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600. ■TheU.S.NavyConcertBandwillper-form.8p.m.Free.WestSteps,U.S.Capitol.

202-433-2525.

Discussions and lectures ■TheD.C.ScienceWritersAssociation’s“ScienceCafe”serieswillfeatureStephenParkeroftheNationalHumanGenomeResearchInstitutediscussing“BeyondGenes:TheHiddenLandscapesofYourDNA.”6:30p.m.Free.CullenRoom,BusboysandPoets,10255thSt.NW.202-387-7638. ■JonathanYardleywilldiscusshisbook“SecondReading:NotableNeglectedBooksRevisited.”7p.m.Free.PoliticsandProse,5015ConnecticutAve.NW.202-364-1919. ■“LooksAren’tEverything”willfeatureinformalconversationwithMaryJoArnoldi,curatoroftheexhibition“Race:AreWeSoDifferent?”;AliconeAmos,curatoroftheAnacostiaCommunityMuseum;GabrielleTayac,historianwiththeNationalMuseumoftheAmericanIndian;KonradNg,directoroftheSmithsonian’sAsianPacificAmericanProgram;andPawanDhingra,curatoroftheSmithsonian’sAsianPacificAmericanProgram.8to10p.m.$30.NationalMuseumofNaturalHistory,10thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-633-3030.

Films ■The“MarvelousMovieMondays”serieswillfea-turethe2004film“TurtlesCanFly.”2p.m.Free.ChevyChaseNeighborhoodLibrary,5625ConnecticutAve.NW.202-282-0021. ■“Climate.Culture.Change”willfeature2001’s“TheWheel,”1988’s“TheCircle,”2002’s“WhentheIcebergCalves”and2009’s“TheAgeofStupid.”6:30p.m.$7.Goethe-Institut,8127thSt.NW.202-289-1200,ext.160. ■“Dial‘H’forHitchcock,”asummermovieseries,willfeatureAlfredHitchcock’s1954film“DialMforMurder.”6:30p.m.Free;ticketsrequired.HelenHayesGallery,NationalTheatre,1321PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-783-3372. ■TheScreenontheGreenfestivalwillfeatureHowardHawks’1953film“GentlemenPreferBlondes,”starringJaneRussell,

MarilynMonroe,CharlesCoburnandElliottReid.8p.m.Free.NationalMallbetween12thand14thstreets.877-262-5866.

tour ■AU.S.BotanicGardenvolunteerwillleadalunchtimetouroftheconservatoryanddiscussconnectionsbetweenexoticplantsandeverydaylife.Noonto1p.m.Free.ConservatoryGardenCourt,U.S.BotanicGarden,100MarylandAve.SW.202-225-1116. The tour will repeat Aug. 15, 22 and 29 at noon.

Tuesday,Aug.9

Children’s program ■“NationalGeographic:RacetotheEndoftheEarth”willfeatureahands-onwork-shopaboutthechallengesthatBritishexplorerRobertF.ScottandNorwegianexplorerRoaldAmundsenfacedintheracetobethefirsthumantoreachtheSouthPole(forages8through14).1:30p.m.Free.PalisadesNeighborhoodLibrary,4901VSt.NW.202-282-3139.

Concerts ■TheHarbourKidsconcertserieswillfea-tureMr.KnickKnack.10:30a.m.tonoon.Free.Plaza,TheWashingtonHarbour,3050KSt.NW.202-295-5007. ■The“Live!onWoodrowWilsonPlaza”serieswillfeatureOuttatheBlueperformingrock.Noonto1:30p.m.Free.RonaldReaganBuildingandInternationalTradeCenter,1300PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-312-1300. ■PercussivoMundoNovowillperformwithamixoftraditionaldrums,Bahiapercussionandoriginalinstru-mentsfash-ionedfromdigi-talobjectssuchasvideogamecontrollers.6p.m.Free.MillenniumStage,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600. ■TheU.S.NavyBandwillperform.8p.m.Free.U.S.NavyMemorial,701PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-737-2300. ■TheU.S.AirForceConcertBandand

Events&Entertainment the Current Wednesday, august 3, 2011 21

Monday, auguSt 8■Concert:The“Live!onWoodrowWilsonPlaza”serieswillfeatureSideFXBandperformingaltpop.Noonto1:30p.m.Free.RonaldReaganBuildingandInternationalTradeCenter,1300PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-312-1300.

SeeEvents/Page22

Continued From Page 20

Sunday auguSt 7

Tuesday auguSt 9

Monday auguSt 8

A St. Luke’s tradition returns.

Jazz in theGarden3655 Calvert Street NWat Wisconsin Avenue

Friday, August 12 6:30-8:30 PMTara Hoffman Trio

metrocrossroads.org

rming lives, pursuing justice

CROSSROADS

SingingSergeantswillpresent“DisneyandPixarFavorites.”8p.m.Free.WestSteps,U.S.Capitol.202-767-5658.

Discussions and lectures ■SallyWolff,aprofessorofSouthernlit-eratureatEmoryUniversity,willdiscussherbook“LedgersofHistory:WilliamFaulkner,anAlmostForgottenFriendship,andanAntebellumPlantationDiary:MemoriesofDr.EdgarWigginFranciscoIII.”Noon.Free.MaryPickfordTheater,JamesMadisonBuilding,LibraryofCongress,101IndependenceAve.SE.202-707-4241. ■JoeEhrmannwilldiscusshisbook“InSideOutCoaching:HowSportsCanTransformLives.”6:30p.m.Free.Barnes&Noble,55512thSt.NW.202-347-0176. ■TadDaleywilldis-cusshisbook“ApocalypseNever:ForgingthePathtoaNuclearWeapon-FreeWorld.”6:30to8p.m.Free.LangstonRoom,BusboysandPoets,202114thSt.NW.202-387-7638. ■BruceDuffywilldiscusshisbook“DisasterWasMyGod:ANoveloftheOutlawLifeofArthurRimbaud.”7p.m.Free.PoliticsandProse,5015ConnecticutAve.NW.202-364-1919.

Films ■Aseriesofscreeningsbasedon“AFI’s100Years…100Movies”listwillfeatureNo.83—JamesCameron’s1997film“Titanic,”starringLeonardoDiCaprioandKateWinslet.5p.m.Free.GeorgetownNeighborhoodLibrary,3260RSt.NW.202-727-0232. ■TheCapitalIrishFilmFestival’s“IrishPopcorn!”serieswillfeatureTommMoore’s2009animatedfilm“TheSecretofKells.”7p.m.Free.RenaissanceWashington,DCDupontCircleHotel,1143NewHampshireAve.NW.irishfilmdc.org.

Performances ■SpeakeasyDCwillpresent“DaredevilsandYellow-Bellies:Storiesaboutcourageandcowardice.”8p.m.$14.TownDanceboutique,20098thSt.NW.speakeasydc.com. ■“NineontheNinth,”hostedbyDerrickWestonBrown,willfeaturepoetE-Babyand

anopen-micpoetryreading.9to11p.m.$5donationsuggested.LangstonRoom,BusboysandPoets,202114thSt.NW.202-387-7638.

Sporting event ■TheWashingtonMysticswillplaytheAtlantaDream.7p.m.$10to$300.VerizonCenter,601FSt.NW.202-397-7328.

Support ■RecoveryInternationalwillhostagroupdiscussionforpeoplesufferingfromstress,anxiety,panic,depression,sleepproblems,anger,fearandothermental,ner-vousoremotionalproblems.7p.m.Free.ChevyChaseCommunityCenter,5601ConnecticutAve.NW.202-364-2680.The group meets every Tuesday.

tour ■BiochemistandU.S.BotanicGardenvolunteerBethBurrouswillleada“Mid-dayTourintheGardenofGoodandEvil:Medicinal&PoisonPlants.”Noonto1p.m.Free.ConservatoryGardenCourt,U.S.BotanicGarden,100MarylandAve.SW.202-225-1116.

Wednesday,Aug.10

Benefit ■TheFriendsoftheNationalZoowillpresent“Rock’n’Roar,”abenefitcon-certfeaturingtheB-52s.6to9p.m.$65.Lion/TigerHill,NationalZoo,3001ConnecticutAve.NW.nationalzoo.si.edu.

Class ■HousingCounselingServices,alocalnonprofit,willpresentaforeclosure-preven-tionclinictohelphomeownersindangeroflosingtheirhomes.Noon.Free.Suite100,241017thSt.NW.202-667-7712.The event will repeat Aug. 17 at noon.

Concerts ■The“Live!onWoodrowWilsonPlaza”serieswillfeaturetheBBJazzGroup.Noonto1:30p.m.Free.RonaldReaganBuildingandInternationalTradeCenter,1300PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-312-1300. ■Participantsinthe2011Washington

InternationalPianoFestivalwillperform.6p.m.Free.MillenniumStage,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600. ■TheHarbourNightsconcertserieswillfeaturesinger,songwriterandguitaristWillemDicke.7to9p.m.Free.Plaza,TheWashingtonHarbour,3050KSt.NW.202-295-5007. ■TheU.S.MarineBandwillperformworksbyJohnPhilipSousa,MortonGould,LeonardBernsteinandJohnWilliams.8p.m.Free.WestTerrace,U.S.Capitol.202-433-4011.

Discussion ■TomScoccawilldiscusshisbook“BeijingWelcomesYou:UnveilingtheCapitalCityoftheFuture.”7p.m.Free.PoliticsandProse,5015ConnecticutAve.NW.202-364-1919.

Films ■“NoMaSummerScreen”willpresentthe2000film“OBrother,WhereArtThou?”7p.m.Free.LStreetbetween2ndand3rdstreetsNE.nomasummerscreen.com. ■WJFFYear-RoundwillpresenttheD.C.premiereofMichalBat-Adam’s2009film“Maya,”aboutastrugglingyoungactresswholandsthelead-ingroleinathe-aterproductionandresearcheshercharacterbyspendingtimeobservinginapsychiatricward.7:30p.m.$10;$9forseniorsandstudents.GoldmanTheater,WashingtonDCJewishCommunityCenter,152916thSt.NW.washingtondcjcc.org. ■TheLionsofCzechFilmserieswillfea-tureTomásMasín’s2009film“3SeasonsinHell,”abouta19-year-oldnon-conformistpoetlivingin1947CzechoslovakiawhoisblindtotheCommunistbehemothlookingoverhim.8p.m.$11;$9forstudents;$8.25forseniors;$8forages12andyounger.AvalonTheatre,5612ConnecticutAve.NW.202-966-6000.

Meditation ■TheDivineScienceChurchwillofferaweeklyhourofsilentmeditation.Noon.Free.

202535thSt.NW.202-333-7630.

Thursday,Aug.11

Children’s program ■Aparkrangerwillleadages5andolderonanexploratoryhikealongtheWoodlandTrail.4p.m.Free.RockCreekNatureCenter,5200GloverRoadNW.202-895-6070.

Concerts ■The“Live!onWoodrowWilsonPlaza”serieswillfeatureMiramarperformingrhum-bamusic.Noonto1:30p.m.Free.RonaldReaganBuildingandInternationalTradeCenter,1300PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-312-1300. ■TheHarwichRoyalBritishLegionBrassBandwillperform.6p.m.Free.MillenniumStage,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600. ■TheEmbassySerieswillpresentaconcertbyOktet9,aSlovenianacappellaensemble.7:30p.m.$30.EmbassyofSlovenia,2410CaliforniaSt.NW.202-625-2361. ■TheU.S.MarineBandwillperformworksbyJohnPhilipSousa,MortonGould,LeonardBernsteinandJohnWilliams.8p.m.Free.SylvanTheater,WashingtonMonumentgrounds,15thStreetandIndependenceAvenueSW.202-433-4011.

Discussion ■LarrieD.Ferreirowilldiscusshisbook“MeasureoftheEarth:TheEnlightenmentExpeditionThatReshapedOurWorld.”7p.m.Free.PoliticsandProse,5015ConnecticutAve.NW.202-364-1919.

Film ■ReelAffirmationswillpresentAshChristian’s2011film“Mangus!”7and9:15p.m.$12.Landmark’sEStreetCinema,55511thSt.NW.reelaffirmations.org.

Special events ■“PhillipsAfter5”willfeatureaprogramon“TheArtofSound:KandinskyandBeyond,”featuringsoundandinstallationartistRichardChartierandcuratorElsaSmithgalldiscussingtheroleofsoundinChartier’swork;andagallerytalkon“Bonnard’sRomanceWithNature.”5to8:30p.m.Costvariesbyactivity;registrationsuggested.PhillipsCollection,160021stSt.NW.phillipscollection.org/phillipsafter5. ■TheNeighborhoodFarmInitiative’sthirdannualfilmfundraiserwillfeaturelocallightfareandwine,livemusicand Ian Cheney’s2010documentary“TruckFarm,”aboutaNewYorkerwhoisdeterminedtogrowhisownfoodinthecity.6:30to9p.m.$20.LetelierTheater,3251ProspectSt.NW.neighborhoodfarminitiative.org.

tour ■AparkrangerwillleadatouroftheOldStoneHouseasseenthroughtheeyesofapre-Revolutionarywoman.10a.m.Free.OldStoneHouse,3051MSt.NW.202-426-6851.

Friday,Aug.12

Children’s program ■ArtistMaryannePollockwillpresent

“MakeYourOwnSuperhero”workshop(forages6through12).1p.m.Free.PetworthNeighborhoodLibrary,4200KansasAve.NW.202-243-1188.

Concerts ■The“JazzintheGarden”serieswillfeaturejazzvibraphonistChuckRedd.5to8:30p.m.Free.SculptureGarden,NationalGalleryofArt,7thStreetandConstitutionAvenueNW.202-737-4215. ■TheU.S.ArmyConcertBandwillpres-ent“SunsetsWithaSoundtrack,”featuringselectionsfrom“TheSoundofMusic”and“TheKingandI.”8p.m.Free.WestSteps,U.S.Capitol.703-696-3399.

Discussions and lectures ■U.S.BotanicGardenvolunteerKyleWallickwilldiscuss“FabulousFabaceae.”Noonto1p.m.Free;reservationsrequired.ConservatoryClassroomandTerrace,U.S.BotanicGarden,100MarylandAve.SW.202-225-1116. ■Panelistswilldiscuss“JewsandtheLawinModernEurope:Emancipation,Destruction,Reconstruction.”2to4p.m.Free;reservationsrequired.RubinsteinAuditorium,U.S.HolocaustMemorialMuseum,100RaoulWallenbergPlaceSW.ushmm.org/events/summerworkshop2011.

Festival ■RestorationChurchwillhostaTurtleParkblockpartyfeaturingmoonbounces,facepainting,popcorn,hotdogsandmusic.6:30to8p.m.Free.FriendshipRecreationCenter,45thandVanNessstreetsNW.

Film ■The16thannualMadeinHongKongFilmFestivalwillfeatureAlexLaw’s2009film“EchoesoftheRainbow,”aboutthetri-alsandtri-umphsofapoorfamilyin1960sHongKong.7p.m.Free.MeyerAuditorium,FreerGalleryofArt,JeffersonDriveand12thStreetSW.202-633-1000.ThefilmwillbeshownagainSundayat2p.m.

Performances ■The“Live!onWoodrowWilsonPlaza”serieswillfeature“BestofSpokenWord,”hostedbyPoem-Cees.Noonto1:30p.m.Free.RonaldReaganBuildingandInternationalTradeCenter,1300PennsylvaniaAve.NW.202-312-1300. ■MetroDCDanceswillfeatureRasMikeyC,SilkRoadDanceCompany,NewSchoolofDanceArts,CapitolMovementDanceandMayzsoul.7:30p.m.Free.CarterBarronAmphitheatre,16thStreetandColoradoAvenueNW.202-426-0486.

Sporting event ■TheWashingtonMysticswillplaytheNewYorkLiberty.7p.m.$10to$300.VerizonCenter,601FSt.NW.202-397-7328.

The Current welcomes submissions for the calendar, although space constraints limit the number of items we can include. Items must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the event, and they should include a summary of the event and its date, time, location with complete address, and cost to attend (indicate “free” if there is no charge). Also, please list a telephone num-ber for publication. Entries may be emailed to [email protected] or sent to The Current, P.O. Box 40400, Washington, D.C. 20016-0400.

Events&Entertainment22 Wednesday, august 3, 2011 the Current

Wednesday auguSt 10

Continued From Page 21

Friday, auguSt 12■Concert: ElectricJunkyardGamelanwillperformbandleaderTerryDame’soriginalgroove-drivenmusiconself-inventedinstruments,suchasanelectricrubberbandharpandcopperpipehorn.6p.m.Free.MillenniumStage,KennedyCenter.202-467-4600.

Thursday auguSt 11

Friday auguSt 12

Events&Entertainment the Current Wednesday, august 3, 2011 23

“Changes,” featuring Ron Riley’s recent paintings of clouds as metaphors for the changes in our

lives, will open today at the Foundry Gallery and continue through Aug. 28. An opening reception will take place Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. Located at 1314 18th St. NW, the gallery is open Wednesday through Friday from 1 to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. 202-463-0203.■ Touchstone Gallery will open two shows tomorrow and continue them through Aug. 27. “MiniSolos@Touchstone” highlights the work of 37 emerging area artists. “Summer Sampler” presents works in diverse media by the gallery’s artists. An opening reception will take place Friday from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

Located at 901 New York Ave. NW, the gallery is open Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. 202-347-2787.

■ “Against All Odds: The Chilean Mine Rescue,” highlighting the rescue last fall of 33 Chilean miners, will open Friday at the National Museum of Natural History and remain on view indefinite-ly.

Located at 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, the museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 202-633-1000.■ Honfleur Gallery will

open two shows Friday with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. and continue them through Sept. 9.

“East of the River” features the work of artists rooted in D.C.’s wards 7 and 8. Resident artist Mei Mei Chang presents an installation-based exhibit on mapping time and place. Located at 1241 Good Hope Road SE, the gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 202-580-5972.■ “(Un)Lock It: The Percussive People in the Go-Go Pocket,” presenting photographs by poet and musician Thomas Sayers Ellis of D.C.’s go-go culture, will open Friday with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Gallery at Vivid Solutions and continue through Oct. 7. Located at 2208 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE, the gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. 202-365-8892.■ “Unseen” opened recently at Studio Gallery, highlighting new or previously unexhibited works by gallery members. The show will continue through Aug. 13. A “First Friday” reception will take place Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.

Located at 2108 R St. NW, the gallery is open Wednesday and Thursday from 1 to 7 p.m., Friday from 1 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. 202-232-8734.■ “Investigating Where We Live” opened last week at the National Building Museum as the culminating project for the museum’s four-week summer program for local teens. The exhibit will continue through May 28. Located at 401 F St. NW, the museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the exhibit is $8 for adults and $5 for ages 3 through 17. 202-272-2448.

Exhibit highlights artist’s use of clouds as metaphors for life On ExhiBit

Ron Riley’s paintings of clouds are on exhibit at the Foundry gallery.

Constellation Theatre Company will re-present “The Ramayana” Aug. 4 through 21 at Source. Rama must conquer the king Ravana to res-

cue his beautiful wife Sita and save the world from darkness. This sweeping tale of romance, abduction,

friendship and war is told by an ensemble of goddess-es, demons, monkeys and heroes. The show won the 2011 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Sound Design. Performance times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Sunday (except Aug. 7) and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, as well as at 8 p.m. Monday, Aug. 15. Tickets cost $20 to $35. Source is located at 1835 14th St. NW. 202-204-7741; constellationtheatre.org.■ The Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint will present Henry Mills and Stephen Fleg’s world premiere of “Underwater Poems” Aug. 12 through 20. “Underwater Poems” integrates music, poetry and theater in a room filled with amplifiers, creating an elegy for a lost friend who found joy in music and poetry. Performance times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Tickets cost $10. The Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint is located at 916 G St. NW. 866-811-4111; flash-pointdc.org.■ Shakespeare Theatre Company will present “Julius Caesar” Aug. 18 through Sept. 4 at Sidney

Harman Hall as its 21st annual “Free for All” produc-tion. Fearing that Caesar’s growing strength and imperi-al ambitions threaten the republic, a faction of politi-cians plots to assassinate him. But when Caesar is killed, chaos engulfs Rome. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday; 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; and 2

p.m. Sunday. Free tickets can be reserved through an online ticket lottery the day before each show or picked up at the box office two hours before the per-formance. Season subscribers and Friends of Free for All members may reserve tickets in advance. Sidney Harman Hall is located at 610 F St. NW. 202-547-1122; shakespearetheatre.org.■ The GLBT Arts Consortium and Capitol Hill Arts Workshop will present “D.H.S. Pinafore” — a Department of Homeland Security-focused rendition of “H.M.S. Pinafore” — Aug. 4 though 13. This rendition of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Pinafore” has several unique updates, but viewers can still expect “When I Was a Lad” and “I’m Called Little Buttercup.” Performance times are 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Saturday. Tickets cost $10 to $20. The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop is located at 545 7th St. SE. 202-547-6839; chaw.org.■ Sydney Theatre Company will present “Uncle Vanya” starring Cate Blanchett Aug. 4 through 27 at the Kennedy Center.

Area theater company remounts ‘The Ramayana’

On StagE

ashley ivey (left), Jim Jorgensen and Katie atkinson star in Constellation theatre Company’s production of “the Ramayana,” opening aug. 4.

“abandoned Barn” by Richard F. Wyvil is part of an exhibit at touchstone gallery.

Seetheater/Page24

Shakespeare theatre Company will stage “Julius Caesar” as its annual “Free for all” production.


On a dilapidated, remote farm, Uncle Vanya and his niece Sonya have worked slavishly for years to sustain an estate in decline. Now Professor Serebryakov and his wife Yelena have returned to visit, bringing with them chaos and dis-ruption. Constant visits from the charismatic Astrov are not helpful. From this hotbed of disarray grow three consuming love affairs, each of which is destined to wither in

disappointment before it has reached bloom. Performance times generally are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $59 to $120. 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org.■ Studio 2ndStage has extended the new Andy Warhol musical “Pop!” through Aug. 14. Who shot Andy Warhol? This musical murder-mystery extrava-ganza — featuring book and lyrics by Maggie-Kate Coleman and music by Anna K. Jacobs — re-

creates the freewheeling atmo-sphere of Warhol’s infamous Factory, complete with a cast of colorful characters. Performance times are 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $38 to $43. Studio Theatre is locat-ed at 1501 14th St. NW. 202-332-3300; studiotheatre.org.■ Charlie Fink is staging two new musicals at Woolly Mammoth. “Who’s Your Baghdaddy or How I Started the Iraq War,” fea-turing singing and dancing CIA agents, closes Aug. 7. “F#@king

Up Everything,” a Brooklyn-based rock comedy centered on character Christian Mohammed Schwartzelberg, runs through Aug. 14. The shows are running in reper-tory, with the former at 5 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday, and the latter at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $17 to $25. Woolly Mammoth is located at 641 D St. NW. whoisyourbagh-daddy.com.■ Scena Theatre is reprising last summer’s production of Oscar

Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” through Aug. 14 at the H Street Playhouse. Thanks to carefully crafted dou-ble lives, Jack and Algy have it all — until love and marriage enter the equation. Jack loves Gwendolyn. Algy loves Cecily. Yet both women insist on marrying the elusive man who is “Earnest.” After “true” identities are revealed, will all live happily ever after? Performance times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $16 to $40. The H Street Playhouse is located at 1365 H St. NE. 703-683-2824; scenatheater.org.■ Bruce Norris’ “Clybourne Park,” the recipient of the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is back at Woolly Mammoth through Aug. 14. In the 1950s, a white communi-ty in Chicago splinters over the black family about to move into the neighborhood. Fast-forward to present day: As we climb through the looking glass of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” the same house now represents very different demographics. Performance times are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 7:30 p.m. Sunday. Ticket prices start at $30. Woolly Mammoth is located at 641 D St. NW. 202-393-3939; woollymammoth.net.■ Keegan Theatre is presenting Robert Harling’s “Steel Magnolias” through Aug. 21 at the Church Street Theater. Six Southern women talk, gos-sip, needle and harangue each other through the best of times — and comfort and repair each other through the worst. Performance times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets cost $30 to $35. The Church Street Theater is located at 1742 Church St. NW. 703-892-0202; keegantheatre.com.■ The Kennedy Center is hosting the hit Broadway musical “Wicked” through Aug. 21. Featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, the play takes place long before Dorothy visits the land of Oz. Performance times generally are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets cost $37 to $250. 202-467-4600; kennedy-center.org.■ Arena Stage is offering a sum-mertime run of last year’s hit pro-duction of “Oklahoma!” through Oct. 2 in the Fichandler Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Set at the turn of the 20th cen-tury, the musical tackles issues of class, culture and the convergence between farmers and cowmen in this rugged frontier. Performance times generally are 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday; 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Ticket pric-es start at $45, with certain dis-counts available. Arena Stage is located at 1101 6th St. SW. 202-488-3300; arenastage.org.

thEatERFrom Page 23

Now your home can fund its own improvements. Or almost anything else for that matter.

Special rate of Prime -.26%, currently:

This variable rate is for three years for initial draws taken at closing under the interest-only or revolving-line-of-credit payment option.

For subsequent draws, rates as low as Prime +.49%, currently:

This variable rate applies to the revolving and interest-only options taken after closing and includes a .25% discount for a qualifying SunTrust deposit relationship and a .25% discount for

SurePaySM (ACH) payment option.

* The Special Rate Advance offer is in effect for the first three years after your account is opened and is applicable only for advances taken under the revolving and interest-only options at or before the closing of the loan, and to be disbursed immediately upon expiration of any applicable rescission period, and is valid for applications received between 7/18/11 and 8/31/11 that close no later than 9/30/11. Subsequent advances to the Special Rate Advance(s), as well as any balances remaining upon the expiration of the Special Rate, shall accrue interest at the standard rate(s) and margin(s) as described below and in your Equity Line agreement. The 3.74% APR listed above is for lines of $50,000 or more with a Combined Loan-To-Value (CLTV) ratio of 70% or less. An additional 0.25% interest rate reduction may be obtained with a qualifying first mortgage from SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. Maximum discount is 0.75%. These interest rate reductions do not apply to Fixed Rate/Fixed Term advances or during the repayment period, and are not available on existing consumer loans or lines. Offer and rates for new and refinanced consumer home equity lines, as well as for home equity credit line increases, and are subject to change without notice. Not valid for payment of existing SunTrust obligations. The Prime Rate means the highest per annum “Prime Rate” of interest published by The Wall Street Journal in its “Money Rates” listings, which was 3.25% on 7/18/11. The lowest standard Annual Percentage Rate (APR) as of 7/18/11 as indexed to the Prime Rate was 4.24%. For lines closed at a SunTrust Bank branch in D.C., MD and Northern VA (cities and counties of Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, Loudoun and Prince William), standard APRs could range from Prime + .99% (currently 4.24% APR) to Prime + 4.99% (currently 8.24% APR) and are based on your credit line amount, CLTV ratio and other factors. The rate is variable during the draw period and applies only to the revolving and interest-only options (during the repayment period for these options, the rate is fixed based upon the Prime Rate in effect on the last day of your draw period plus a margin of 4.00% with a 20-year straight amortization). The maximum APR is 18% for properties located in VA, MD and D.C. Fixed Rate/Fixed Term options are also available, and the APR is indexed to the Prime Rate in effect on the day preceding the first day of the billing cycle in which each such advance is taken, plus a margin of 4.00%, which results in an APR of 7.25% as of 7/18/11. For each advance taken under the Fixed Rate/Fixed Term option, there will be a $15 processing fee if and as allowed by applicable law. Offer available only for owner-occupied, single-family primary residences. Not valid on condominiums, second homes, manufactured homes or cooperatives. SunTrust must be in a valid first- or second-lien position. Exclusions and limitations apply. Property insurance is required, and if applicable, flood insurance will be required.

† Consult your tax advisor.

SunTrust Bank is an Equal Housing Lender. Member FDIC. © 2011 SunTrust Banks, Inc. SunTrust, Access 3 and Live Solid. Bank Solid. are federally registered service marks of SunTrust Banks, Inc.

THE CURRENT Service Directory % 202/244-7223 (FAX) 202/363-9850

THE CURRENT NEWSPAPERSService Directory Department

5185 MacArthur Blvd. N.W., Suite 102, Washington, D.C. 20016

Categories listed in this issue

The Current Service Directory is a unique way for local businessesto reach Northwest Washington customers effectively. No matterhow small or large your business, if you are in business to provideservice, The Current Service Directory will work for you.

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In any event, the advertiser assumes liability for the content of all advertising copy printed and agrees to hold theCurrent Newspapers harmless from all claims arising from printed material made against any Current Newspaper.

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For information about the licensing of any particular business in Washington, D.C., please call the DistrictDepartment of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs at (202) 442-4311. The department's website iswww.dcra.dc.gov.

Home ImprovementHome ServicesIron WorkKitchens & BathsLandscapingLawn CareLocksmith

Masonry

Painting

Pest Control

Plumbing

Roofing

Tree Services

Windows

Windows & Doors

Air ConditioningCabinet WorkCarpet CleaningChimney ServicesCleaning ServicesElectrical ServicesFloor ServicesHandymanHauling

Electrical Services

CABINET WORK

CLEANING SERVICES

FLOORING

HANDYMAN

It’s “AlwaysSomething”

X Carpentry X Drywall RepairsX Caulking X Light Electrical & Plumbing

X Deck Repairs X Storm DoorsX Ceiling Fans X General Repairs

X Some Assembly Required

703-217 6697 / 703 217 9116Licensed Chris Stancil Insured

Always Something Inc.

Handyman Services

X No Job Too SmallX Very ReliableTo Do List

It’s “AlwaysSomething”

THE CURRENT

No job too small, references available

RAMOSCONSTRUCTION

• Weatherizing• Carpentry & painting• Roofing • Plumbing

Call Victor at 301-996-5541

WWWWWW..CCUURRRREENNTTNNEEWWSSPPAAPPEERRSS..CCOOMM THE CURRENT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011 25

HANDYMAN

CALL 703-585-2632 OR703-237-2779

C

CLEANING SERVICES

Handyman Services

Joel Truitt Builders, Inc. 734 7th St., SE

202-547-2707Quality since 1972

Our craftsmen, who for 30 years have done quality work, would work on your project. Our shop can build or

duplicate almost anything. We are a design & build fi rm. We are kitchen and bath designers. We cam bid on your plans.

• Carpentry – • Repair or New Work

• Repairing & Replacing Storm Windows, Doors & Cabinets, etc. • Plaster & Drywall Repair

• Painting & Finishing• Stripping Doors & Trim

• Building Shelves, Storage & Laundry Facilities

• Countertops• And Much More!

Say You Saw it in

THE CURRENT

Say You Saw it in

THE CURRENT

Chevy Chase Floor Waxing ServicePolishing, buffing, waxing, cleaning, fine wood floors.

Using old fashioned paste wax hand work. All work done by hand family owned and operated 301-656-9274

THE CURRENT

Marathon General Contractors• Kitchen & Bath Remodeling• Additions, Decks, Patios• Painting and Wall Covering• Finished Basements• Carpentry & Tiles

Lic/Bonded/Ins301-814-8855 / 301-260-7549

Call 301-947-6811 or 301-908-1807 For FREE Estimate30 years Experience — Licensed & Insured — MD Tree Expert #385

APPALOOSA CONTRACTORSDrainage Problems • Timber • Walls • Flagstone • Walkways • • Patios • Fencing

Landscape Design & Installation • Tree Service

— With The Boss Always On The Job —


Hauling

ANGELÕS TREES ANDTRASH REMOVAL

BRUSH• BRANCHES • YARD DEBRIS

ALL FURNITURE • APPLIANCES

BASEMENT/GARAGE CLEANING

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H: 703-582-3709 • Cell: 703-863-1086240-603-6182

HOME IMPROVEMENT

KITCHENS & BATHS

LANDSCAPING

LANDSCAPING

LAWN & LANDSCAPINGComplete Yard Maintenance

Call José Carbajal 301-417-0753301-370-7008

Receive 15% OFF Any Project Landscape Design & Lawn Care Mulching Stone & Brickwork

Patios Walls & Fencing New Plants & Trees Snow Removal Year-round Maintenance

Call 202.362.3383 for a FREE estimate www.tenleyscapes.com

Valid through 8/31/11Code cnp831

202-363-0502Licensed, Bonded, Insured - Serving N.W. DCGovernment secured background clearance

Kitchens/Bathrooms/Basement/AtticRemodeling, Tiling,

Grouting, Caulking, Plastering,Painting, Drywall, Deck

Building and Preservation,Special Project Requests.

Lead Paint Certifiedwww.creightonshomeimprovements.com

Creighton’s

MASONRY

26 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011 THE CURRENT

Foley HomesTHE KEY TO YOUR REMODELING NEEDS

General Contractor • Handyman ServicesDesign/Build • New Construction • Remodeling

Licensed • Bonded • Insured(CELL) 202-281-6767 • (OFFICE) 703-248-0808

[email protected]

F

Say You Saw it in

THE CURRENT

Locksmith

Champion Home Improvements, LLC

$100 o� Gutters, Roof Repair and Basement Waterproo�ng Decks,Screened Rooms, Fences, Patio, Awnings, Roo�ng, Windows and Siding

1-866-275-5809www.championwindowsinc.com

Trusted for over 20 yearsSenior Discount / References!

Licensed * Bonded * Insured

Thomas Designs and Construction, Inc.Quality Renovations and Improvements

• Interior Renovations • Additions• Kitchens / Baths • Decks• Porches / Sunrooms • Garages• Finished Basements • In-Law Suites

703-752-1614Licenses in DC, MD and VA. www.thomas-designs.com

DC’s #1 resource for repair and restoration No job too small

Also: Bobcat Work • Hot Tubs/Pools • Excavation Demo/ Hauling • Residential/Commercial

•Stone/BrickFlagstone

Retaining Walls Repointing•ConcreteDrivewaysSidewalks

Exposed Aggregate•Leaky Basements

Sump PumpsWater proofi ng

$200 off Custom Patio Design & Installation

CALL PETER 202-468-8600

P. MULLINS CONCRETE

All Types of ConcreteDriveways • Sidewalks • Floors / SlabsWheelchair Ramps • Retaining Walls

Step Repair/ New Steps • Brickpointing

Paul Mullins202-270-8973

Free Es t imates • Fu l ly Insured

Stone and Brick, New and Repair, Walks, Walls, Patios, Fireplaces, housefronts, hauling and bobcat work. Historic Restoration SpecialistRJ, Cooley 301-540-3127Licensed & Insured Free Estimates

Briggs Painting & Guttering, Inc.

301-509-4659licensed • bonded • insured

• Owner supervised • Interior / exterior• Power washing

• Wallpaper removal • Plaster • Drywall • Carpentry

INBUSINESSSINCE1973

John A. Maroulis Painting Company301-649-1097

Serving Your Neighborhood Since 1979

• Interior & Exterior • Plastering • DrywallQUALITY isn’t our goal,it’s our STANDARD!10% OFF WITH THIS AD!LIC.# 23799 / Bonded / Insured

INTERIOR • EXTERIOR FREE ESTIMATES

DC LIC. # 2811• MD LIC. # 86954 LICENSED • BONDED • INSURED

301-933-1247

TENLEYTOWN PAINTINGTENLEYTOWN PAINTING“We grew up in your neighborhood –

ask your neighbors about us.”

Interior/Exterior PaintingPower Washing • Deck Cleaning

Gutter Cleaning • General Carpentry202.244.2325Bonded • Insured • Since 1980

Plumbing

DC’s Plumber’s License #707

202-251-1479

Dial A Plumber, LLC®

Just Say: I Need A Plumber ®

• Insurance Repair & Replacement• Licensed Gas Filter• Water Heater• Boiler Work• Serving DC• References• Drain Services• Licensed & Bonded

Tree Services

Branches Tree

ExpertsCertifi ed Arborist

• Full Service• Diagnostic Tree Care

• Pruning• Insect & Disease Control

• Fertilization

301-589-6181Licensed Insured

10% off

July and

August


MASONRY PAINTING

PAINTING

• Ants• Termites • Stink Bugs

• Bees• Rodents

Residential &Commercial202-396-8929

Servicing the Washington Area for over 25 years.

PEST CONTROL

PLUMBING

For information about the licensing of any particular business in Washington,

D.C., please call the District Department of Consumer &

Regulatory Affairs at (202) 442-4311.

The department's website is www.dcra.dc.gov.


THE CURRENT

Free Estimates

ROOFING

MORE ROOFING ADS ON THE NEXT PAGE

“Stopping Leaks-Our Specialty”Flat Roofs • Roof Coating • SLate Repairs

Shingle Repairs • Insurance Work • Gutters & DownspotsSkylights • Chimney Repairs • Metal Roofing

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301-277-5667 • [email protected]

C.K. McConkey& Sons, Inc.

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

HOOVER ROOFING, LLC.Licensed/Bonded/Insured

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Historical Exterior RestorationSpeak Directly with the Owner - Don

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35 years

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Family ROOFING

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We Take Pride in Our Quality Work!

Family Renew Restoration, Inc.Historic Window & Door Restoration

T T 301-855-1913 T TEnergy Efficient Windows

Replication, Weather-StrippingGlass, Painting, Storm Windows

See Our historic resume at: www.renewrestoration.com

Tree Removal is Our #1 SpecialtyFirewood • Crane Service Available

Licensed Tree Expert / Member National Arbor Day Foundation• References • Fast Service • Insured • Serving MD Since 1986

Charlie Seek 240-876-9212


28 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011 THE CURRENT

WINDOW WASHERS, ETC...Celebrating 15 years

RESIDENTIAL SPECIALISTSSERVING UPPER N.W. 202-337-0351

Residential Specialists Windows • Gutters • Power Washing

DC • MD • VA

IWCAFREE ESTIMATES Fully Bonded & Insured

Member, International Window Cleaning Association • In the heart of the Palisades since 1993

In the heart of the Palisades since 1993

ROOFING THE BEST VALUE FOR NEW ROOFS AND ROOF REPAIR IN DC

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TREE SERVICES

WINDOWS & DOORSFor information about the licensing of any particular business in Washington,

D.C., please call the District Department of Consumer &

Regulatory Affairs at (202) 442-4311.

The department's website is www.dcra.dc.gov.

THE CURRENT THE CURRENT

THE CURRENT Classified Ads % 202/244-7223 (FAX) 202/363-9850 E-mail: [email protected]


Newspaper Carrier Needed (car required)Earnings on most routes $50-$70

The Current has openings for Home Delivered newspaper delivery routes to serve on Wednesday

(daylight hours), rain or shine. Dependability is essential.

Call Distributor Jim Saunders301-564-9313 Petsitting Services, Inc.

JULE’S

[202] 277-2566PO Box 25058Washington, DC 20027 [email protected]

Setting the Standard for Excellence in Pet Sitting and Dog Walking Since 1991

• Mid Day Dog Walks • Kitty Visits • In-Home Overnight Pet Sitting and other Pet Care Services • Insured and Bonded

HELP WANTEDPETS

Antiq. & Collectibles

Furniture Restoration• Refinishing • Repairs • Painting• Chair Caning & Any Woven Seating• Picture Hanging & Frame Restoration• Experienced w/ Reasonable Rates

Ray 301-589-2658 Takoma Park, MD

Seat Weaving – All types Cane * Rush * Danish * Wicker

Repairs * ReglueReferences

email: [email protected]

CHAIR CANING

STEVE YOUNG • 202-966-8810

Child Care AvailableBETHESDA FAMILY seeking respon-sible, driver/childcare for two middle-school aged boys. Monday through Thursday 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Must have own insured car, perfect driving record, local references, famili-arity with NW DC, Bethesda and Chevy Chase. Great pay for the right person.Contact Paul and Amy at301-320-4419 or [email protected]

The Little Red PlayschoolIs accepting 3 year olds for a new 3 day/week program on Tue.,Wed. & Thurs. mornings, 9:30-12:30. Call barbara at 202-537-5192 for more info or www.littleredplayschool.comFacebook: Little Red Playschool

Child Care WantedFRIENDLY, RESPONSIBLE nanny needed in AU Park to care for our daughters ( 6 & 4) afterschool & help w/housework. About 40 hrs/wk. Com-petitive pay & benefits. Drivers lic. re-quired, car a plus. live-out pref’d. Spanish speaking welcome. Can sponsor a G5. Call 202-363-4701 or send CV/refs to [email protected]

LOOKING FOR an afternoon babysit-ter M-F for our 2 daughters (11&9) for after school pickup, activities, home-work supervision etc. light dinner prep. 3pm-7pm, starting late Aug. Must have car, refs, non-smoker. $15-20/hr. Pls call Patti at [email protected] or 202-256-3659

Cleaning Services

Benny’s Cleaning Co., Inc.Residential & Commercial

Weekly/Bi-Weekly - One Time Experienced cleaners, Own trans.Excellent work, Reasonable PricesGood References • Lic. & Insured

703-585-2632 • 703-237-2779

MGL CLEANING SERVICE Experienced Husband & Wife Team

Licensed Bonded, Insured

Good References, Free EstimatesOur customers recommend us

Mario & Estella: 703-798-4143

Computers

��%ORFNV�GRZQ�IRU�&KHY\�&KDVH�&LUFOH�

Computer problems solved,control pop-ups & spam,upgrades, tune-up, DSL /Cable modem, network,wireless, virus recovery etc.Friendly service, home or business. Best rates.

Call Michael for estimate:202-486-3145

www.computeroo.net

New Computer? iPod?Digital Camera?

NW DC resident with adult training back-ground will teach you to use the Internet, e-mail, Windows, Microsoft Word, nu-merous other programs, or other elec-tronic devices. Help with purchase and setup available. Mac experience. Call Brett Geranen at (202) 486-6189. [email protected]

Estate SalesESTATE SALE: Aug. 5-7, 10 am-3 pm. 4425 Windom Place NW. Isfahan silk/wool Oriental rug, Walnut Armoire, 2 black metal patio chairs and glider, 91” Oak storage cabinet, Antique pine white egrets, tools. High Quality Sale. Check Craigslist for sale details. 202-679-3108.

FurnitureGENTLY USED round dr table w/ 4 wicker/wood chairs for $200. Pottery Barn. 2 leaves, dark wood. Barely used.or email [email protected]

Handyman

Your Neighborhood

HANDYMANDonald Davidson

202-744-3647• Sash Cords, Glass, Wood Rot, Blinds• Doors, Locks, Mail-Slots, Shelves• Decks, Steps, Banisters & Moulding• Carpentry, Tub Caulking & Safety Bars• Furniture Assembly & Art Hanging

23 years experienceRecommended in May ‘03,‘04 ‘05

“Washingtonian Magazine”

Handy Hank ServicesSERVICES:

• Carpentry • Painting Int/Ext• Gutters/Downspouts

• Drywall/Plaster Repairs • Light Rehab – Tile Installation

• Flooring – Wood/Tile

Established 1990Excellent Local References

Call Today 202-675-6317

TToomm WWaassss HHaannddyymmaann SSeerrvviicceeHauling • Cleanouts

Drywall Repairs • Glass Pane repairsCarpentry • Furniture Assembly

Tilework • PaintingPrep Home for Re-saleCall 301-412-0331

Hauling/Trash Removal

202-635-7860

Bulk Trash Pick Up

• Sofas as low as $15.00• Appliances as low as $25.00• Yards, basement & attic clean-up• Monthly contracts available

VeryLow Prices

MMiikkee’’ss HHaauulliinngg SSeerrvviicceeJunk Removal

Commercial and ResidentialServing NW DC Since 1987

240-876-8763

Help Wanted

Are you a pet lover looking for fun, rewarding part-time work?

We are seeking dog walkers/pet sit-ters. Exp. w/animals a must; refer-ences required. Great opportunity for someone w/flexible schedule who enjoys animals, being outdoors and getting exercise!

Call 202-277-2566.

Help Wanted

BOOKKEEPER / CUSTOMER SERVICE position available. Work easily and earn weekly payment; This position is responsible for

maintaining the accounting records of the company and the

integrity of all financial and operational data. It's easy work

for you, Its fun and you will be glad to work.

Send inquiry/resumes to : [email protected]

PT Dog Walker needed11 a.m.-3 p.m., M-F. Must have ex-perience working with animals and love dogs, have own vehicle and pass background check. apply online at www.zoolatry.com

Housing for Rent (Apts)FOGGY BOTTOM condo: 1BR, 3 large closets, modern kit., gran/stain appliances, balcony/courtyard view, W/D.Incl all utils. Metro/ G’town- 6 min. $2,500/ mo.incl pk. Call 240-780-1490.

NORTH ARLINGTON, Lee Highway. 1LG br, $775 and 1MED br, $650 incl utils. 4mi from DC. Avail Sept 3. Please leave message. 571-235-6867

PALISADES: ONE BR basement Apt. in private home. Sep. entr., W/D, A/C. Avail. 9-1-2011. $950 util inc. Call Jane 202-686-5979.

AU / Cathedral AreaIdaho Terrace Apts – 3040 Idaho Ave, NW

11BBRR.. $$11440000 All utilities included. Sec. Dep. $250

Controlled entry system.Metro bus at front door.

Reserved parking.Office Hours: M-F, 9-5,

202-363-6600Vista Management Co.

Instruction

Cooking ClassesGlover Park/ Burleith

Simple, delicious, everydayvegetarian cooking.

Eat dinner first, then learn howto make it!

Contact Juliette @[email protected]

www.healthylivinginc.org

Instruction

Voice/ Piano Students: The Music is in You!

Study with exceptional teacher. Fully equipped professional studio.

Lowell School AreaCall Dr. Jeanne Estrada.

(202)716-6444

Landscaping

TERRA VERT GARDEN CAREWill keep your plantings looking

great all season long!General garden maintenance

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a skybox, and a concession area stands ready to serve snacks. Roses are finally growing in Wilson’s rose garden after a prolonged absence. “It’s stunning,” said Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh as she toured the building yesterday. “I’m pleased, and proud of what’s been done here.” “The school will be magnifi-cent,” said Matt Frumin, who chairs the parent group Wilson Management Corporation. “We did all we could to make it as great as possible. And it is. It’s spectacular.” “I think it’s going to light up their cerebellums,” said PTA presi-dent Leticia Long. In fact, Cahall said, the overhaul of the hulking 75-year-old building is already having impacts on the Wilson community. Basketball players are talking about improving their game. And Cahall said he feels inspired. “I was telling [City Administrator] Allen Lew, I feel a lot of pressure now,” Cahall said.

“I’ve worked in four different school districts. And I’ve never seen a school like this.” But Cahall said he anticipates some bumps as teachers and stu-dents acclimate to the new school, which cost $105 million to reno-vate. The first hurdle will be getting the building up and running by the start of classes Aug 22. “If I were a first-year council member, I’d be very anxious,” said Cheh amid the hum and buzz of construction equipment. “But hav-ing been through this, I’m very confident everything will be ready to go.” Meanwhile, teachers will have to learn how to operate the high-tech Promethean boards, and stu-dents will have to navigate the new space. “I’ve walked this building once a week for a year now,” said Cahall. “And I still find things.” The principal admits that he’s still figuring out the phone system. And the lights in his office seem to shut off every 20 minutes. “The devil’s in the details,” he said. “It won’t be perfect the first day or the second day. People are going to have to be patient.”

But, Cahall noted, after a year spent in temporary digs at the University of the District of Columbia, Wilson students are accustomed to transition. Now, he said, he’s just waiting to see the look on their faces when they return.

WILSONFrom Page 1

task force, said he already has a sense of what he hopes the task force will recommend. “A set of laws governing conflicts and providing strong penalties for ethical violations should be imple-mented in DC and apply to all elected officials (ANC and up) and all DC government employees,” Tope wrote in an email. Tope said he joined the task force because he found too many flaws in an ethics reform bill put forward by Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh and Council Chairman Kwame Brown. In an email, he described the proposed legislation as “laughable … it would do noth-ing to stop the antics of the Council.” The Comprehensive Ethics Reform Act, which

would create an Office of Government Accountability, was also dismissed by Attorney General Irving Nathan as a measure that would complicate rather than strength-en enforcement against ethics violations. Cheh has said she still considers her bill a good start toward much-needed reform and that she expects to introduce campaign finance legislation in the fall. She said she would be pleased to accept the task force’s input. “I think it’s a great idea, the idea that we could have all the community groups weigh in and help us push our way through this,” Cheh said in an interview. “The influence of money and contributions and lobbyists has certainly cast a cloud over some of the activities of the council, and we need something to help address that.” As it prepares its recommendations, the task force is seeking community input by email at [email protected].

ETHICSFrom Page 3

Government agencies are given leeway in getting zoning variances when programmatic needs demand more space, Bray said. But activists in Mount Pleasant have argued all along that the site is too small to meet the general speci-fications. Zoning board members began to home in on the same issue. “At what point do you look at the site and say, we just can’t do this? Did the library ever look at a smaller expansion?” asked member Michael Turnbull. “Did you look at other sites, look at splitting this up?” member Jeff Hinkle asked. Bonvecchio said decisions were driven in part by a 2006 D.C. Council decision not to build a new central library, and to distribute funds to neighborhood libraries instead. He said officials feared the $11 million allocated to expand the Mount Pleasant branch would dry up if not used. “Mount Pleasant, being the only library in Ward 1, we

found a way to get it all in,” he said. But other renovated libraries haven’t met the full program, either. For example, the site of Takoma’s branch — another historic Carnegie library — couldn’t fit 22,500 square feet, so library officials settled for 11,500. Others have two entrances. “So your plan is adaptable,” said Gregg Edwards, a Mount Pleasant advisory neighborhood commis-sioner spearheading the opposition. “There is nothing unique about this [lot], except it does not meet program needs the library has come up with,” Edwards told the zoning board. “It’s fairer to say this is merely a list of desires by DCPL, yet they say they are required to shoehorn this in on an unusually small lot,” said Chris Otten, a library activist also fighting the rear addition. The Mount Pleasant advisory neighborhood commission, in a last-minute attempt at compromise, has said it would not insist on removal of the rear addition if the long handicapped ramp were elimi-nated from the design. That idea was not discussed at the zoning hearing. But a disability advocate, Mary

Jane Owen of Disability Concepts in Action, testified that she “really considers the ramp to be atrocious.” She said other disabled patrons who don’t want to use a long ramp into the rear of the library were unable to make it downtown to testify. And Otten was not allowed, for procedural reasons, to represent more than a dozen residents of nearby apartment buildings that have suffered three serious fires in recent years. Instead, he was allowed only to testify briefly as a single witness. The residents, most of whom were not present, can still present complaints, mostly about light, air and fire safety, but only in writing. Ellen McCarthy, a library con-sultant, dismissed those concerns. “All neighboring properties will continue to enjoy light and air,” she told the board. “A lot of opponents said we didn’t need to do anything. But they are not the people who don’t have libraries and computers at home, and need reading pro-grams for their children.” Library attorney Bray said the situation is “extraordinary” and needs quick resolution.

LIBRARYFrom Page 3

Bill Petros/The CurrentWilson High School principal Peter Cahall says he’s amazed by the $105 million transformation.

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nwc -- 08/03/2011

Documents

new assignments ward

frank hughes

staff members

new area

s tommy wells

new committee responsibilities

s mary cheh

new committee assignments