Robert Devaney • August 15, 2013

After closing due to the April 2011 flooding and after months of serving customers on outside tables, Tony and Joe’s and Nick’s Riverside Grille are preparing to open their interior spaces next month.

Tony Cibel, owner of both restaurant, confirmed to the media that the eateries, with upgraded menus from chef David Stein, will open sometime after Sept. 1. Even Zagat has felt the need to opine on the changes: “Encircled by tall windows, with cascading water features, nautical wood, and stylish appointments, its newly remodeled dining room feels like a posh ocean liner. An eating bar faces the open kitchen. Popular seafood dishes from the restaurant’s past — crab cakes, lobster, rockfish, mussels and shrimp cocktail — will be menu staples, and specials featuring Chesapeake area ingredients will be introduced daily.”

Bill Starrels, an advisory neighborhood commissioner whose district includes the Georgetown Waterfront, had this to say about the restaurants’ re-birth: “It brings us happiness to see the re-opening of Tony and Joe’s and Nick’s at Washington Harbour. After seeing the ravages of the Potomac and, now, the sparkling, newly renovated restaurants, it is a good day.”

Robert Devaney • August 12, 2013

Cost-cutting. News-gathering jobs lost. It’s not just for old-school newspapers. It is about to hit AOL’s hyperlocal digital news network, Patch.

Last week, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong caused a bit of a stir in the business world of journalism, whether digital or print, citizen or professional, when he said that about 500 jobs would be cut and that local Patch news sites which were not profitable would be closed or merged with other local websites, according to media reports. That means about one-third of the approximately 900 Patch sites across the U.S. would be affected. Specific job cuts by AOL have not yet been announced.

AOL stated at the beginning of 2013 that it expected its Patch network to be profitable by the end of the year.

For Georgetown and surrounding neighborhoods, some good news: Georgetown Patch — which launched Sept. 8, 2010 — appears safe from any chopping block, although this has not been confirmed. It is the only Patch site in the District of Columbia. Edited by Shaun Courtney, GeorgetownPatch.com is a lively and up-to-the-minute mix of breaking news, news you can, calendar events and community commentary.

Armstrong also caused another stir Aug. 9 when during a conference call to Patch employees he abruptly fired Patch creative director Abel Lenz for taking a photo of him as he was speaking, according to the media blog, JimRomenesko.com.

A former Google employee, Armstrong co-founded the hyperlocal Patch in 2007. He sold it to AOL for $7 million in 2009, when he became head of AOL.

Reporting on the belt-tightening announcement, the New York Post wrote, in part: “In some towns, Patch sites have become quite popular as go-to destinations for political, youth-sports and local news. In others, the small staff and infrequent updates rendered the sites seldom-visited cyber ghost-towns. … By some estimates, AOL has spent more than $300 million on Patch since 2009, and it has yet to turn a profit.”

There are 45 Patch sites in Maryland and 30 in Virginia. The Georgetowner tried to contact Georgetown Patch for comment but did not receive a response by press time.

Robert Devaney • August 9, 2013

T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods, a new combo store at the Shops at Georgetown Park, will have a grand opening Sept. 8. At 3222 M St., NW., the clothing and housewares businesses will join the vibrant retail mix of commercial Georgetown. The opening day will run 8 a.m until 8 p.m.

Robert Devaney • August 7, 2013

We know you already know this stunner. It is definitely the talk of this town. When the founder of a marketing uber-website goes shopping, it’s not for a couple of books with a Super Saver discount. Billionaire Jeff Bezos agreed to purchase the Washington Post for $250 million, as reported by the hometown’s big newspaper Aug. 5, marking the end of 80 years of Graham family involvement. [Editor’s note: see more on the editorial page.]

Robert Devaney •

Einstein Brothers Bagels is making plans — as approved by the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment — for a new location on Wisconsin Avenue, reports Hyperlocal Glover Park. The Colorado-based chain will move into the space, vacant for five years, once occupied by Vespa Scooters and Fan Fair at 2233 Wisconsin Ave., NW, in the Georgetown Plaza office building. Einstein’s Bagels has another nearby spot: a kiosk on the second floor of the Car Barn building on Prospect Street.

Robert Devaney •

Cardinal Bank at 1825 Wisconsin Ave., NW, next to Safeway, opened Aug. 5. The Tysons Corner-based bank represents Cardinal’s second location in Washington, D.C. The new bank is part of a recent expansion of new boutiques and retail services along Wisconsin Avenue.

“We already have strong ties to the vibrant Georgetown community, and are excited to now have a physical presence as well,” said Kate Carr, Washington president of Cardinal Bank.

With on-site parking, the bank will be open seven days a week. It will host a grand opening ceremony on Sept. 12.

Robert Devaney •

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., has agreed to buy Allbritton Communications’ TV stations, which include the Washington’s WJLA Channel 7 and NewsChannel 8. Awaiting approval by the Federal Communications Commission, the $985-million deal was first announced July 29.

Sinclair of Hunt Valley, Md., owns 149 TV stations. “To buy a full-blown news operation in our nation’s capital and an infrastructure that allows us to be connected to our branches of government and be the pulse of national issues is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said David Smith, head of Sinclair. “We are especially excited to acquire the NewsChannel 8 local news channel.”

The Arlington-based Allbritton Communications will retain Politico.com and concentrate on digital media businesses. Its chairman and CEO Robert Allbritton lives on Q Street in Georgetown.

Robert Devaney •

Georgetown’s Volta Park officially opened its new playground July 22 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and visit by Mayor Vincent Gray, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, other local politicians, Parks & Recreation employees and friends of the park. After less than two months of construction, kids are already meeting playmates and enjoying play dates.

The renovated playground, located on Q Street between 33rd and 34th Street within the park, also features a jungle gym, rope structure, sand pit, plastic climber with an attached slide and see saw. A new PebbleFlex surface covers the ground, protecting children from scraped knees and other injuries.

Part of the Play D.C. initiative, the Volta Park playground is a product of a partnership between the Department of Parks and Recreation, Department of General Services and the Georgetown community. Play D.C. describes itself as a project that “will improve and renovate an unprecedented number of play spaces during the 2013 fiscal year…[and] prioritize maintenance and capital improvements.”

The community-based nonprofit Friends of Volta Park Georgetown raised and contributed about $40,000 to buy most of the equipment, and the city covered construction costs.

The DPR paid for the park’s “demolition and prep, equipment installation and delivery, the purchase of the new swing set, safety surface, benches and refurbished sandbox,” according to the agency.

Robert Devaney •

Here is a news brief from the Washington Post’s Clarence Williams last week — one of the only media outlets to mention this incident: “A man plunged from the Key Bridge near Georgetown Friday night July 26 and was pulled from the Potomac River by the D.C. police, according to authorities and witnesses. Few details about the 10 p.m. incident were available immediately. However, a witness said police in boats were in the area at the time. They quickly got the man out of the water and began CPR, the witness said. He was taken to a hospital. Authorities said he was unconscious but breathing.”

One observer at the scene later told the Georgetowner that a police officer said that the jumper is a bartender who worked in Georgetown.