Garrett Faulkner • June 18, 2013

The Georgetown Library, ravaged by fire in 2007, is one step closer to its long-awaited capstone ceremony.

In a way, though, the capstone has already been laid in. The rebuilt cupola, the familiar tube-shaped dome crowning the library and a widespread collection of other federal and colonial buildings in the city, received its finishing touches last week, perhaps the surest sign that the library is on track for its reopening this October. The tower is nearly identical to the original structure, save for some slight modifications to the copper roof and other nominal changes.

“I’m thrilled beyond belief that the cupola has been recreated,” said Jerry McCoy, special collections librarian for the library’s Peabody Room, which houses historical documents and artifacts and sustained considerable damage during the fire. “It’s beautiful to behold.”

There was a little less pomp this time around, and certainly no formal celebration, unlike the cupola framework raising in January, which turned out dozens of Georgetowners, Mayor Fenty, Councilmember Jack Evans and the bulk of ANC 2E. But that was just the skeleton of the library’s most recognizable symbol, and though the crowd signed the cold piping in marker and waved their hard hats when it was finally plunked into position, there was still a feeling that the end was a long way off. The neighborhood needed a little extra levity.

Now, the end is in sight. The newly renovated library will feature an expanded children’s library and ample community meeting space downstairs. The Peabody Room will also be revamped, and McCoy will contribute its first new artifact: the burnt, twisted weathervane from the original cupola.

“[It] was bent by the 2000-degree heat,” he said. “It’s in two pieces and I plan to install it on the wall some place in the new Peabody room. It’s pretty dramatic looking.”

Garrett Faulkner •

Wisconsin Avenue restaurant and nightclub Third Edition was shut down temporarily for a liquor license infraction from Aug. 8 to 10 after a meticulous six-month investigation by the city. At press time, the doors were shuttered and chairs stowed with ABRA notification placards posted in the windows.

According to ABRA community resource officer Cynthia Simms, the popular restaurant, which draws substantial crowds to its upstairs dance floor in the evenings, received the three-day suspension following multiple violations of its security plan and voluntary agreement after a felony assault occurred on the property in February. The owners were also ordered to pay a fine of $1750.

Representatives from Capital Restaurant Concepts, the owner of Third Edition, did not return phone calls for comment.

Garrett Faulkner •

So long, Blue Bus — we hardly knew thee.

Actually, many of us knew it well, especially those with a penchant for riding Metro and who are so over the walk to Foggy Bottom. In that case, it’s a safe bet you’re pretty familiar with the slot-machine jingle of coins in the fare box and the bumpy, trundling ride of what sometimes seemed like a giant Advil mounted on axles. Whatever your thoughts on its aesthetics, though, you just couldn’t beat the shortcuts by which is swiftly ferried passengers to Rosslyn or Dupont stations.

But, lest anyone start to panic, let’s be clear: this is no eulogy. The Blue Bus, officially known as the Georgetown Metro Connection, is here to stay — it’s just enjoying a slight makeover. Beginning Aug. 29, the popular D.C. Circulator will take over the route, offering greater capacity, support for SmarTrip cards and, well, the little buttons that let passengers open the back doors (you have to admit, they’re pretty cool).

The biggest change, though, is behind the scenes: with the switchover the Georgetown BID, which has tenaciously funded the Blue Bus program since 2001 despite citywide slashes to transportation budgets, will relinquish control of the route to DDOT.

“The Georgetown BID is glad to see that bus service will continue to flow seamlessly through Georgetown between Dupont Circle and Rosslyn, via the new Circulator line,” said John Wiebenson, Deputy Executive Director of Operations for the BID. “The [Blue Bus] has served the community well over the past nine years and we’re happy that commuters and visitors alike will benefit from the integration of the Circulator into this bus line.”

It’s a transition that will, no doubt, be a load off for the BID, but carries with it the risk that the service could later be scrapped entirely if the transit agency deems it too much of a cash drain. Circulator’s route up Wisconsin Avenue, in fact, was given the chop last year before an explosive public outcry forced DDOT to backpedal and reinstate it.

The city is unlikely to try such a bold reduction in spending for a while, at least within the borders of Georgetown. For now, residents can cash in their quarters for SmarTrip credits and ride to their heart’s content. The new Circulator will make stops every 10 minutes at the Rosslyn Metro station, the intersections of M Street and 33rd, Wisconsin and 31st, and several others leading up to Dupont Circle. For the full list, visit www.dccirculator.com.

Garrett Faulkner •

ANC 2E’s September meetings typically aren’t any more cantankerous or combustible than the other 10 neighborhood huddles it puts on a year (though it has happened), nor do the issues typically spark any greater controversy among neighbors (the Hurt Home and Campus Plan wrangles of this spring probably win that category). The September gathering’s notoriety — at least among Georgetown’s political set — is born of the sheer length of the darn thing, something akin to a constitutional convention colored by troublesome pizza parlors and bike communes and such.

All right, all right — it’s not that bad. (But hey, after a two-month pileup of to-dos and a three-hour slog through it, a little levity’s always in order.) To be honest, there was nothing truly fearsome staring down the ANC at the Aug. 30 meeting, not even, if 2008 was any indicator, the commissioners’ own upcoming elections. Still, though, that’s three hours of material to get through — whew, what a hike.

MPD Lieutenant John Hedgecock was happy to report that crime in Georgetown took a slight dip since his last report in July, which he attributed partly to the arrest of three individuals that month, one of whom was armed. Hedgecock was more tight-lipped about a sexual assault that occurred on Aug. 29 in Burleith, skimping on most of the details but saying that patrol routes have been modified to provide more thorough coverage of the area.

The big ticket item of the evening was bikes, or more accurately, where to find space for the brand-new clutch of the two-wheeled contraptions coming Georgetown’s way. The commission invited DDOT’s Chris Holbin to deliver the pitch for the four Capital Bikeshare stations planned for the neighborhood, which will serve as pick-up and drop-off points for subscribers to the program, one of the first of its kind nationwide.
Bike sharing goes like this: you offer subscribers, who pay an annual fee, access to a bicycle at dozens of locations across the District. Riders check out a bike for 30-minute increments (longer rentals cost extra), then return it to any drop-off station when their time is up. Take that, gas prices.

Commissioners gave their blessing to most of the locations proposed, with one exception. Holbin explained that the University’s bikeshare station, originally intended for the sidewalk outside the 37th Street gate before DDOT deemed it too tight on space, is now planned for a section of Prospect Street above Car Barn, near 1789 restaurant. Six of seven commissioners immediately hedged, citing the potential for noise complaints, and urged DDOT to find a new site, preferably on University turf.

Also on the docket was the glut of liquor license proposals (eight in all), none of which ruffled many feathers among commissioners. Ever since ABRA granted seven additional licenses earlier this summer to Georgetown — a wide swath of which is under a moratorium, or cap on permits — the neighborhood has seen a dramatic rise in applications for licenses, which, given the restriction, had become such a rare commodity that the average price tag of an existing license soared into the tens of thousands. When ABRA issued the handful of new licenses at the request of ANC, fledgling eateries answered the call in droves. On the night of the meeting, the commission gave a green light to Paul Bakery (opening this fall), Come to Eat (a tenant that’s actually moving into the Georgetown Park Mall) and Hu’s Wear, the popular local clothier who will set up a yet-unnamed Mediterranean establishment at what is now Bartleby’s bookstore on 29th Street. Another Mediterranean eatery, M Street’s Morso, was denied a request to install patio seating on its front sidewalk.

Concerning zoning, the design concept for Serendipity 3, the New York ice cream icon and the latest store to create a sensation in Georgetown, earned an enthusiastic thumbs up from the ANC, which voted unanimously (with one recusal) in favor of the exterior awnings proposed by owner Britt Swann. The language of the committee’s written resolution, however, was a little less sanguine — drafted by 2E06 Tom Birch, the document urged the Old Georgetown Board to closely scrutinize the window awnings for any detriment to the neighborhood historic fabric. The OGB, a federally appointed panel of architects with authority over all building proposals in Georgetown, requested slight alterations to the window awning design, which will set the construction process back for at least another month until the next review meeting. Looks like that frozen hot chocolate will have to stay on ice a little while longer. Though Swann and his wife are staying mum about a firm opening date, rumors of an early to mid-fall opening persist — political hang-ups notwithstanding.

And, in the midst of the breathless race for the District’s mayoral seat, the ANC 2E itself will also be up for election this year — or reelection, as it seems to be turning out. With the exception of 2E04 Aaron Golds, who will graduate from Georgetown this coming spring, and 2E03 Bill Skelsey, who confirmed to The Georgetowner that he will not seek reelection, none of the incumbent commissioners are facing stiff competition, if any.

Skelsey, who has served on the commission since 2003, called his tenure a “fantastic experience,” but said balancing work, family life and his community involvement has proved an ever-growing challenge. Though he’ll be taking a breather over the next two-year term, Skelsey hinted he may run again in the future.

He also had a few nice things to say about P Street resident Jeffrey Jones, who will run against Michael Savage of O Street, calling Jones a “terrific candidate.”

Coming up in Georgetown:
—

September 10
The Georgetowner Mayoral Forum
Don’t forget The Georgetowner’s mayoral forum at Tony and Joe’s, hosted by Carol Joynt and featuring the big three — incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty, Vincent Gray and Leo Alexander — vying for the District’s executive branch and answering questions by you, the general public. 12 p.m. Free admission, $10 box lunch courtesy of Tony and Joe’s. RSVP at rsvp@georgetowner.com.

October 9
Fashion’s Night Out in Georgetown
Be there or be square—yes, we’re serious—at the Georgetown BID-sponsored “Fashion’s Night Out” event, originally conceived by Vogue magazine to widespread acclaim in New York City. Over 80 Georgetown shops and boutiques will stay open after hours, offering up tantalizing deals for fashionistas of all stripes. 6-11 p.m. See page 28 for a list of participating shops.

September 20
CAG meeting, featuring Kitty Kelley
The famed Georgetown author will discuss her wildly popular — and controversial — novel “Oprah” at the Latham Hotel, 3300 M St., 7 p.m.

October 9
Taste of Georgetown, Wisconsin and M
Another event popular with locals, the BID is now an old hand at Taste, bringing in over 30 Georgetown restaurants to dazzle visitors with chef specials hot and cold, sweet and savory. Perfect for a fall afternoon. 11 a.m. $20.

Garrett Faulkner • November 3, 2011

When it comes to educating the nation’s children, the talk always comes back, boomeranglike, to the almighty dollar — funding from the state, from the federal government, funding per student and household, funding for teachers and administrators.

The volatile combination that makes up the education debate — that is, students and how best to budget their scholastic upbringing — sparks some of the most heated name calling and bluster in the public forum.

Snips over the District’s public school budget have kept the newspapers working hard lately (as evinced the city council’s recent spat with DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee) but what you won’t hear about is the daily challenge for some schools to foot their own bill, that is, without help from taxpayers.

Enter the world of private education.

While the phrase conjures images of blazers and bookish upper-crusters, many private and parochial schools — which nationally are responsible for educating around 10 percent of students — operate on a lean budget, and aside from non-profit tax breaks and D.C.’s now-frozen voucher program, receive no public funding from the government. The business of keeping cash flowing freely, then, is a big one, and most of the nation’s private institutions have whole departments devoted to it.

Their job is to think of ways to drum up the dollars when tuition revenue won’t quite pay all the bills. And while most private schools are happy to accept donations from the general public, advancement departments usually have a few target markets in mind, with alumni and parents naturally serving as primary benefactors.

Most schools set a fundraising benchmark in the form of an annual fund, which aims to reach a certain dollar amount by the end of the school’s fiscal year. Annual funds are easy to donate to, are trackable — many schools keep a running tally on their websites — and can be tailored to commemorate a significant individual or date, say, the school’s centennial. They’re lucrative, too: Gonzaga College High School and St. Albans School report around 10 percent of their operating budget comes from annual fund revenue. In only 15 years, Woodley Park’s Maret School has increased its annual fund earnings from $250,000 to $1.6 million. Figures at other schools are smaller, but across the board annual fund revenue is cited as a gap-bridger when tuition, as it often does, only covers 80 to 85 percent of operating costs.

But advancement departments don’t just serve as liaisons for deep-pocketed alums. Most are composed of talented fundraisers with a knack for making donations worth the benefactor’s while. That means events — auctions, galas, golf showdowns and the like — which form a nicely symbiotic arrangement to earn money while fostering a lively social scene within the school community. Think of Washington’s storied gala scene on a smaller scale — and with higher-caliber small talk.

St. Albans, for example, is home to an active parents association that conducts the annual Christmas House Tour of five stately homes in Cleveland Park. The houses are typically owned by alumni or relatives of students, and through ticket and sponsorship proceeds, the tour has raised an average of $350,000 annually since 2004.

The yearly effort is contributed to the school’s Centennial Campaign, which is aiming for a hefty $80 million goal by the end of the year.

Sidwell Friends, the prestigious Quaker school with the Obama family bragging rights, recently passed — a year ahead of schedule — the $56 million benchmark for its Call Us Friends campaign, begun in 2002. The project was a grassroots effort by the school and over 150 volunteers (parents and students alike) to fund a new athletic center and fill out financial aid coffers for needy students.

The school’s annual auction and book club also directly benefit the Dollars for Scholars program, which has proved so successful that Sidwell Friends averages a guarantee of two-thirds tuition for its aid recipients — generous, given the school’s $30,000 price tag.

Many schools also maintain a long-term planned giving program, in which a lump sum is contractually placed in trust and supplies annual payment to an agreed-upon party. Georgetown Visitation’s Charitable Gift Annuity arranges for annuities to be paid to the donor for the duration of their life; afterward the original gift is bequeathed to the school. Opposite that is a Charitable Lead Trust, in which the school receives annuities for a slated amount of time before the gift is returned to the donor. Gonzaga, National Cathedral School and Maret School all conduct similar programs.

Talk about a step up from the bake sale.

Garrett Faulkner •

In the morning he would explode from the stable doors, a chaff-colored blur of lolling tongue and drumming footpads and ears all aflutter. As he ran he flung little clods of grass in every direction, meandering through the field as if it were an airy forest of his own design. Behind, the wood barn, light brown, stained with rain and standing in the shadow of quiet limestone mountains. Below them, the coal shelves and the strange subterranean reaches of mystic Appalachia.

But none of that was on Peanut’s mind. The sun was out, he was free, and if you thought it impossible for a Labrador to smile, you’d have been mistaken. Five years later, the Georgetown pooch has since graduated to more celestial pastures, but the Shenandoah Valley barn remains with a standard roster of around 25 canine guests. The boarding facility is the property of Country Dogs, started by Mark and Victoria Cave, who found their first customer in Peanut. The lab now graces the front page of the company’s website. “I spoke with [Peanut’s owner, a Georgetown resident] a year ago or so and said, ‘You know, we’ve never taken down that picture of Peanut. He was our first boarder.’ She was tearing up … We still have those real solid relationships with our old customers,” Mark Cave says.

It isn’t surprising. After all, it’s not always easy for vacationing dog owners to find a place to stay for their best friend, let alone a door-to-door service that carts dogs between the Washington
metro area and the 17-acre farm just south of Front Royal, converted in July 2004 to accommodate dogs. Cave and his wife — both former teachers at the Maret School in Woodley Park — got the idea from Josh Tuerk of Puppy Love Petsitters, who mentioned the high demand among dog lovers for boarding that wasn’t, well, dungeonlike.

That’s the draw of Country Dogs. After the shuttle ride from the city, boarders are led to spacious,
oversized stalls in what was once a barn for horses. Each dog is let out, off leash, into a giant fenced run for four to six hours a day and is free to explore the pond and fields with other furry guests.
Sounds like summer camp, only without the cafeteria food.

For the Caves, that’s exactly what makes their business unique. They eschew the concrete
paddocks and noisy corridors of traditional kennels in favor of a healthier, more peaceful setting, one that affords their boarders some freedom — and a chance to shake off the stress of being away from home.

“I don’t try to cut people down who are in the industry who are doing it other ways,” Cave says. “But we do believe strongly in the idea of fresh air and exercise.”

It’s catching on. Although the Caves count Washington as their original target market, they have since expanded to serve New York and Philadelphia with a 69-acre farm in Bethel, PA. Another facility serving Boston is in the works.

Both farms are designed for long-term boarding, with an average stay of 13 days. Some canine companions drop in for only a weekend, but Cave says the farms have hosted canine companions for six months or more.

He warns that customers can expect limited availability during the holidays— the D.C./Northern Virginia farm is booked for Thanksgiving and Christmas — but says last-minute spots do open up occasionally. Naturally, reservations are more easily obtained during the post-holiday lull.
Which, as any smart traveler knows, is the best time to leave town anyway. But don’t forget
your dog just might be having more fun.

Country Dogs charges a boarding rate of $35 per night, with a $22.50 transportation fee each way. Find out more at [www.country-dogs.net](www.country-dogs.net).

Garrett Faulkner •

The Plains, the sleepy, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it country town visitors must wend through to get to Middleburg from I-66, jumped the gun last weekend on celebrating the proverbial “dog days” of August.

Not that Adam, Annie, and a few dozen other shelter dogs were complaining. The July 24 “Dog Day in The Plains,” despite the oppressive heat and humidity, gave the Middleburg Human Foundation in Marshall, VA a chance to strut a number of its furry residents before the public. In all, the event lured in around 60 locals and out-of-towners with the prospect of ice cream, a raffle, a dog-themed puppet show for the kids (“The Barker of Seville”) and, of course, a chance to meet a few doe-eyed, lovable pooches in need of a good home.

Not bad for a town with just one main road, which was practically melting that day. “As hot as it’s been, people have really come out and supported us,” said Linda Neel, who thought up the event as a fundraiser for the shelter. Her husband Tom, with whom she owns the art and design gallery Live an Artful Life, was more blunt.

“Pretty good for a billion degrees,” he joked. Not surprisingly, ice cream sold fast and shade was a valuable commodity.

In all, the three-hour event managed to raise an estimated $1400 for the rescue organization (the official total is still being counted), which relies on help from over 100 volunteers on its four-acre farm to manage its community of rescued pets and livestock, which includes everything from dogs and horses to more unusual critters, including donkeys and chickens.

Perhaps more importantly, the gathering provided a venue for the shelter to show off photos and profiles of the animals under its care, and arrange live, in-the-flesh meetings with dog lovers who turned out that day (naturally, there’s no better way to get a pet adopted than to set up an aww-mom-can-we-keep-him scenario). Foundation President Hilleary Bogley was happy with the day’s results, saying that in a time of diminished financial contributions by the public, extra visibility always helps.

“I hope it turns out to be an annual event,” she said. Her canine companions seemed to make an impression, too. A two-year-old puppy, Annie, was on her way to being adopted by that afternoon, pending a little paperwork — Bogley, the court-appointed humane investigator for Fauquier County, is known for her thorough background checks to ensure adoptees are headed for a responsible and loving family. The shelter also passed out fliers urging fans to vote in a contest that would make it a prominent feature in the upcoming mutt flick “Smitty” with Mira Sorvino. (Voters can visit www.middleburghumane.org and click on the red banner.)

Dog day, indeed.
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