Downtowner DC March 20, 2019
By • March 26, 2019 0 492
CITYCENTERDC SNAGS FIRST TIFFANY’S IN DISTRICT
Famed jeweler Tiffany & Co. opened its first shop in the District on March 4. The store is located in CityCenterDC, home to many other luxury retailers, including Burberry, Louis Vuitton and Carolina Herrera. A Tiffany archival exhibition, with pieces like Jackie O.’s ruby pin and FDR’s watch, is on view through the end of the month.
GEORGETOWN LAW STUDENT IS PLANE CRASH VICTIM
Cedric Asiavugwa, 32, was headed home to Nairobi, Kenya, after his fiancée’s mother died when he lost his life in the Ethiopian Airlines accident on March 10. A George- town Law student passionate about serving refugees and other marginalized groups, Asiavugwa and 156 others perished when the Boeing 737 Max crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa Bole Interna- tional Airport.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUNDS DON’T GO AS FAR
The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reports that, while D.C. allots more funds to subsidized housing than any other local jurisdiction, rising construction costs and other factors have reduced their impact. The District’s $100-million-plus annual commitment to the Housing Production Trust Fund established by Mayor Muriel Bowser is producing about a third fewer units than it did four years ago.
AUTHOR TALK AT BETHUNE COUNCIL HOUSE
On March 23, as part of its celebration of Women’s History Month, the recently renovated Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site at 1318 Vermont Ave. NW will present “A City Changing, Opportunity to Make Friends: Mrs. Bethune in 21st Century Washington,” a talk about Bethune’s Scroll of Honor by Ida E. Jones, author of “Mary McLeod Bethune in Washington, D.C.”
FANS PLANK FOR RBG ON HER BIRTHDAY
On March 15, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg turned 86 years old. The Outrage, a “female-founded activist apparel company,” threw a birthday party for Ginsburg on the steps of the Supreme Court. Paying homage to the justice’s epic workout routine, thousands came out to plank — that is, perform the push-up-like isometric core strength exercise — while singing “Happy Birthday.”
LOWEST METRO RIDERSHIP SINCE 2000
Metro ridership has dipped to fewer than 600,000 average weekday trips. The number has not been that low since the year 2000, when the original system had not yet been completed. Officials and Metro board members do not appear overly concerned, attributing the drop to shrinkage of the federal workforce, the rise of Uber and Lyft and an increase in the number of people working from home.
HOUSE PASSES PRO-STATE- HOOD BILL
The next step toward D.C. statehood has been taken. On March 8, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, the For the People Act of 2019, by a vote of 234-193, along party lines. In addition to endorsing statehood for the District, the bill aims to expand voting access, redesign ethics investigations and require presidential candidates to release their tax returns.
