D.C. Fisheries & Wildlife Department May Bail Out NPS to Fix Fletcher’s Boathouse
• January 16, 2015

The Boathouse at Fletcher’s Cove — a concession owned and controlled by the National Park Service — is upstream on the Potomac River about two miles from the Georgetown shoreline and is stuck in the mud. Literally.

The boathouse has operated out of this small cove for more than 100 years, but the cove has now filled with silt and debris, which has grounded and isolated the walkway out to the dock at an angle and has made getting to it unsafe. Additionally, silting at the entrance to the cove from the water side makes entering the entire cove virtually impossible at any time other than at the highest tide.

In mid-October the NPS declared the walkway to the dock unsafe for public use, effectively shutting down the business and access to the river two weeks before the end of the season with no concrete plans to fix the problem. One NPS official admitted that the NPS does not have the money to dredge the cove or make any substantial long-term repairs.

Fletcher’s is treasured by fisherman who see it as an ideal fishing location, in part because of the currents from Great Falls and the depth of the water mid-river.

Aside from fishermen themselves, the biggest impact may be for the D.C. Fisheries & Wildlife Division. Fletcher’s is the only boathouse that rents fishing boats which, according to the District, account for 60 percent of D.C’s fishing and wildlife permits sold in the city, bringing in $60,000 for D.C. government.

At a Dec. 17 public meeting, held by the Park Service at its Ohio Drive office for the National Capital Region, Bryan King, director of D.C. Fisheries & Wildlife Division, saw the problem as urgent, saying that without Fletcher’s there would be no D.C. Fisheries and Wildlife Department. Without a working boathouse at Fletcher’s, King said, “We don’t even qualify for de minimis status . . . we don’t exist and that’s not hyperbole, that’s not exaggeration, we don’t exist.”

In a Dec. 29 follow-up with the Georgetowner, King said that he had later found that the department would still exist, but it would be hard pressed to cover its expenses and would be spending much more money than it brings in. “It’d be a slow painful death if we didn’t have that money,” King said.

At the Dec. 17 NPS meeting, King also said that D.C. has “literally hundreds of thousands of dollars,” part of a federal aid package “that we are currently not using, and it is strictly for boating access. . . . Now given that we haven’t spent any of this money of which we are supposedly obligated to spend, and we have money going back two, three, four years and in that sense it has been assigned to us, and it is non-competitive. … we could have a grant [for Fletcher’s] off our desks in a matter of weeks.”

There is a catch in this possible federal bailout: commercial activity is not allowed to take place where the federal funds are used. “The question is whether or not a government entity, [in this case the Park Service concession, operated by Guest Services, a private corporation] is considered a commercial enterprise. If the answer is no, it opens up literally hundreds of thousands of dollars with a 25-percent match.”

King is expecting an answer to whether D.C. government dollars can and will be used to help resolve the issue, at least in the short term.

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Marchers Halt Georgetown Traffic to Protest Ferguson Decision
• December 29, 2014

The D.C. Ferguson protest movement again marched through Georgetown Nov. 29, stopping traffic, to protest the grand jury’s decision not to indict a Ferguson, Mo., police officer for killing 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9.

About 200 marchers met at the Foggy Bottom Metro stop around noon and proceeded west to Georgetown to make shoppers, visitors and residents aware that “black lives matter,” seeing Brown’s death as “police brutality” and asking observers to condemn racial profiling and racial bias by police departments across America.

The peaceful protesters blocked the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street — the center of Georgetown’s retail district — for more than 20 minutes. Driving south, car were blocked on Wisconsin Avenue. On M Street, cars traveling from Virginia idled on Key Bridge. The protestors then backtracked along M Street sidewalks to return to the Foggy Bottom Metro Station to head to Arlington, Va.

A light force of Metropolitan Police Department officers and cruisers closed and protected intersections, helping to coordinate the marchers’ flow along M Street. Some on-lookers took in the protestors’ arguments with sympathy; others asked why they would disrupt the start of the Christmas shopping season on Small Business Saturday. Marchers made the point: “No Justice. No Profits. . . . No Justice. No Peace.”

The protesters later met at Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, Va., with a demonstration that included a “die-in.” The Ferguson, Mo., police officer Darren Wilson — on administrative leave since the shooting — officially resigned from the city’s police department today, according to his attorney.
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‘Interstellar’ Gets Glamorous Launch at Air & Space
• November 6, 2014

The science fiction film, “Interstellar,” made its North American and Washington, D.C., premiere — appropriately enough — at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Nov. 5. Directed, co-written and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, known for his Batman movies, “Interstellar” tells the tale of a dying Earth, which humankind must depart for its own survival through a wormhole and find a new home. Actors Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain along with Nolan and his wife Emma Thomas, a co-producer of “Interstellar,” greeted fans and media in front of the Air & Space Museum at the National Mall before viewing the film at the museum’s IMAX theater. The film is seen as a booster for manned space exploration and is influenced by such science fiction classics as “2001: a Space Odyssey.” It opens nationwide Nov. 7. [gallery ids="101908,136358,136332,136361,136354,136337,136341,136346,136350" nav="thumbs"]

Chez Billy Sud Welcomed to 31st Street
• October 23, 2014

Chez Billy Sud was standing-room-only for its opening party in the former Cafe LaRuche space at 1039 31st St., NW. Owners Eric and Ian Hilton of the Thievery Corporation and executive chef Brendan L’Etoile greeted guests in the revamped French restaurant. [gallery ids="101898,136654,136661,136648,136643,136622,136639,136633,136628,136658" nav="thumbs"]

Care for Kids Kick off Party at Ann Hand and Peacock Cafe
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The Care for Kids Card Program celebrated the start of its annual 10-day shopping event. The evening started off with cocktails at Ann Hand’s new store on Prospect St. and then moved to Peacock Cafe for dinner. All proceeds from the event will go to support the young patients of Children’s National Hospital. [gallery ids="101896,136685" nav="thumbs"]

46th Annual Meridian Ball Sparkles
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The 46th Annual Meridian Ball, held on Friday, Oct. 17, proved again to be one of Washington’s most elegant evenings. The ball was held at the Meridian House, Eugene Meyer’s home while raising daughter Katharine Graham, both past publishers of the Washington Post. The Meridian International Center’s mission of education on global leadership through the exchange of ideas, people and culture. [gallery ids="101897,136664,136682,136680,136669,136674" nav="thumbs"]

James Brown Premiere
• August 7, 2014

Comcast & NBC/Universal took over the Newseum on July 11 for a packed event celebrating the the movie; “Get On Up,” the story of James Brown. The evening started with a cocktail reception, followed by a screening of the film and a panel discusssion moderated by Touré, host of MSNBC’s “The Cycle,” and featuring the director Tate Taylor, star Chadwick Boseman and close friend of the late singer, Reverend Al Sharpton. [gallery ids="101827,139241,139257,139250,139255,139245" nav="thumbs"]

Ford’s Fetes Dingell and Jones
• July 2, 2014

Ford’s Theatre Society hosted a star-studded evening June 22 with appearances by VIPs of politics, business, stage and screen. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., and legendary actor James Earl Jones received the Lincoln Medal in recognition of their commitment to leadership and service. [gallery ids="116315,116332,116336,116342,116321,116327" nav="thumbs"]

It’s a Timely Woman-to-Watch Dinner
• April 11, 2014

Running Star hosted its eighth annual Women to Watch Awards Dinner April 2 at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, celebrating some of the most impressive young women leaders in the country. [gallery ids="116782,116776,116787" nav="thumbs"]