Downtowner
By • January 29, 2020 0 643
SALON OPERATOR TO CUT BACK
Ratner Companies, based in Vienna, Virginia, is set to close 10 percent of around 850 stores in the District and 16 states. The parent company of Hair Cuttery, Bubbles, Salon Cielo, Salon Plaza and Cibu, Ratner is making the move due to competition and rising operating costs, the Washington Business Journal reported.
DIVERSIFYING DISTRICT STATUARY
The D.C. Council heard public comments on a bill to create eight new statues, one in each ward, by the end of 2030. The statues would honor women and people of color born or raised in D.C. who made major contributions to the region or the country. Among the proposed honorees were playwright Mary P. Burrill and medical researcher Charles Drew.
MARCUS GOODWIN ENTERS COUNCIL RACE
Marcus Goodwin joined an already crowded race to become an at-large member of the D.C. Council. Goodwin, 30, a real estate professional, is running as an independent. When at-large Council member David Grosso (I) decided not to seek a third term, it opened up a Council seat for the first time since 2015.
NINJA SHOW TO TAPE AT ARMORY
The popular NBC show “American Ninja Warrior” will be taping in April at the D.C. Armory on East Capitol Street SE. The show — with an indoor obstacle course, unlike most — will tape in the afternoon and early evening, according to WTOP. Tickets to join the live audience are free..
CHRISTMAS TREES PILE UP
Christmas trees have been piling up on D.C. sidewalks since the holidays. When the Department of Public Works changed its tree collection process, it underestimated the demand for pickup. Typically, trees would be put out by a certain time to be picked up, chipped and composted. This year, residents had to call 311 to set a date for pickup.
There was a rare bobcat sighting in D.C. last fall.
BOBCAT CAUGHT ON CAMERA
A bobcat — rarely seen in the D.C. area — was captured on a night camera along the C&O Canal near the Palisades. Daniel Herrera, a field technician for DC Cat Count — a three-year project documenting the lives of feral cats — shared the photos, taken last fall. The last time a local bobcat made the news was when one escaped its National Zoo enclosure a few years ago.
TRUMP IS 1ST POTUS AT MARCH FOR LIFE
On Jan. 24, President Donald Trump became the first president to speak at the March for Life in person. The annual anti-abortion rally on the National Mall, marking the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, typically has presidents call in or appear on video.
RACINE SUES INAUGURATION COMMITTEE
Karl A. Racine, D.C. attorney general, has sued President Trump’s inaugural committee and business. The suit alleges that the president’s committee breached its nonprofit status by spending over a million dollars for event space at the Trump International Hotel.
