Robert Devaney • April 10, 2013

After Mayor Vincent Gray introduced his Fiscal Year 2014 Proposed Budget and Financial Plan March 28, he was seen around Washington at such places as Georgetown’s new Capella Hotel for a blossom ribbon cutting and Nationals Park for baseball’s opening day. Gray’s view? “D.C. is the place to be,” he said at the Capella.

“This proposal is the District of Columbia’s 18th consecutive balanced budget,” according to the mayor. “As you know, the District’s economy is growing rapidly, with more than 28,000 private sector jobs created over the past two years and an unemployment rate that has fallen nearly three percentage points. To support our growing population and to continue building a more prosperous, equitable, safe and sustainable city for all, my proposed budget makes important investments in three key strategies: (1) growing and diversifying the District’s economy; (2) educating children and preparing the workforce for the new economy; and (3) improving the quality of life for all residents. . . . The $10.1 billion budget leverages the District’s strong financial position to make major investments in expanding affordable housing, strengthening education and workforce development, and safeguarding public safety without raising new taxes or fees.”

While the budget centers on education, housing and public safety, it looks to revamp the main public library, the Martin Luther King, Jr., branch, and expand library hours. Also, within the budget’s fiscal 2014 to fiscal 2019 Capital Improvements Plan, streetcar lines get $400 million. The first one slated to be from Georgetown to Minnesota Avenue for this year. Others include an Anacostia line and a line along Georgia Avenue. Amid other line items: $10.7 million for bike lanes and trails. The new budget also funds 10 new Capital Bikeshare stations beyond the more than 50 DDOT has already funded.

Gray also announced a series of town-hall-style meetings — for each ward — to introduce District residents to, and receive feedback from them on, his proposed fiscal 2014 budget. These meetings include:

Youth Town Hall Meeting: Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., April 20, Sumner School and Archives, 1201 17th St., NW.

Ward 2 Town Hall Meeting: Saturday, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., April 20, Sumner School and Archives, 1201 17th St., NW.

Robert Devaney • April 3, 2013

The Hoya basketball team–the No. 2 seed in the South Regional of the 2013 NCAA Tournament–is set to play Friday in Philadelphia against Florida Gulf Coast University.

For this March Madness, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team looks strong with coach John Thompson III and star player Otto Porter leading the way.

And, for good measure, there’s a “Jack the Bulldog” inflatable on top of the Prospect Street house of Jack Davies, who has placed Santa Claus and a hockey player atop his river view deck before.

“Yesterday afternoon with the assistance of three young men from Georgetown’s athletic department and my nephew Clarke Williams, we put up the bulldog,” said Davies, businessman and philanthropist, who is a founder of AOL International and part owner of the Washington Capitals and other sports teams. “We were nearly foiled by strong winds but Jack the Bulldog prevailed.”

At first unaware that he and the Georgetown mascot share a first name, Davies said of the high-sitting inflatable — which was provided by the university — “It’s better than an inflatable Jesuit.”

“The Hoyas are my neighborhood team,” Davies said. “I am a big fan of John Thompson III and his wife Monica and of the way Georgetown runs its program. I would like to see Coach Larranaga do well with Miami, but Jack the Bulldog shows my true favorite.”

It seems everyone has a favorite, religiously filling in their NCAA brackets. As he has done since his first year in office, President Barack Obama shared his picks with ESPN: Louisville, Ohio State, Florida and Indiana in the Final Four; Indiana beating Louisville in the April 8 national championship game.

Retired Georgetowner publisher Dave Roffman chimed in from Alabama: “My Final Four, Ohio State, Miami, Louisville and Georgetown.” Roffman commented: “Well, since I spent 42 plus years in Georgetown, I have to root for the Hoyas. But Michigan is definitely tough. I like Miami and Ohio State to reach the finals. They have the best point guards.”

Looking at the brackets, the coverage and marketing of the tournament, the conferences and the number of schools (not even counting play-in schools) and their often obscure names, you realize a lot has changed since March Madness officially became March Madness.

One thing you can practically say with certainty is that there is no clear-cut favorite this year. Indiana, for instance, has a number-one seed in this tournament, but hardly any hoops nut is picking them to win it all—except POTUS.

“Those great upset years with the great oddball schools forging into the regionals and NCAA finals by whooping up on the likes of Duke, Kansas or, yes, sad to say, Georgetown in early rounds may be over,” said Georgetowner arts & entertainment editor Gary Tischler, who began his career as a sports writer years ago in northern California.

“I’m not making a prediction here—bad enough that I filled out the bracket minus the eventual champion—but it looks impossible to try,” Tischler said. “Everybody’s a crap shooter these days even those who think it’s a game where you say crap(s) all of the time. Talk about the old, long-shot guys. Look who’s got a number-one seed—Gonzaga, a small school with a great basketball program which became so consistently good that it became a so-called mid-major.  VCU and Butler, giant killers of yore, are now legitimate contenders right up there with Georgetown, which is playing a school that beat another top seed, Miami, whose coach led George Mason to the Final Four in 2006.”

Tischler’s take-away? “Hate to go against the president: Georgetown and St. Louis in the final in a nail biter.  Don’t know who; just know when.”

Whatever the pick, Georgetown–and the entire Washington area–is enjoying the national attention of being a top seed in the NCAA basketball tournament. And Jack the Bulldog is staring down on D.C. and Virginia. Let’s hope he gets to sit and stay for a couple of weeks.
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Robert Devaney •

According to the National Park Service and DDOT Trees, Canal Road will close between Foxhall Road and Arizona Avenue, NW, beginning tomorrow, March 26, through Thursday, March 28, between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., for scheduled road work.

A longer project is also slated to begin this week, closing Canal Road between 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sundays through Thursdays: repairs at the trail bridge over the C&O Canal and Canal Road at Arizona Avenue, NW, by the NPS. Reconstruction of the bridge will also close the Capital Crescent Trail at times; bicycle traffic will be detoured over a temporary bridge. The NPS reported to cyclists and other users of the trail: “The contractor is working during a night time road closure of Canal Road from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Traffic is re-routed around this closure. If all progresses well, the contract should be complete with all repairs in June. The CCT trail is slated to remain open during most of this process. We required the contractor to install a temporary bridge to serve the commuting public. . . . It is our intention for the daily CCT commuter not to be impacted from 5 a.m. through 9 p.m. time frame.”

Robert Devaney • March 19, 2013

The Georgetown Business Association will meet Wednesday, March 20, for a spring networking mixer at TD Bank at 1611 Wisconsin Ave., NW, 6:30 p.m

ALSO: Rokas Beresniovas, former GBA president, has accepted the position of vice president with the State Bank of India to head its expansion market in Washington, D.C. He was previously with HSBC Bank USA.

Robert Devaney • March 14, 2013

The United States Postal Service has signed a contract with local developer EastBanc to sell the historic Georgetown post office on 31st Street, as first reported by the Washington Examiner. The price of the sale is more than $4.5 million.

Anthony Lanier, president of EastBanc, said a post office will remain on the first floor of the 19th-century building which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

According to the Examiner, “a spokeswoman for the Postal Service confirmed that it had formed a contract with a buyer and that a retail post office would remain on the premises after the sale.”

The sale to EastBanc has been years in the making. EastBanc’s design and use for the building was reviewed by the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, the Old Georgetown Board and D.C.’s Board of Zoning. Future use of the post office building calls for offices, a back addition with much of the new space below grade, according to the Georgetown-Burleith ANC.

Lanier’s EastBanc group owns and has redeveloped many M Street retail buildings. It is known for its development of Cadys Alley and the adjacent stores. Another EastBanc development is in the works for condos at Wisconsin Avenue and the C&O Canal to be built on the Verizon parking lot, next to Grace Church
The United States Postal Service has signed a contract with local developer EastBanc to sell the historic Georgetown post office on 31st Street, as first reported by the Washington Examiner. The price of the sale is more than $4.5 million.

Anthony Lanier, president of EastBanc, said a post office will remain on the first floor of the 19th-century building which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

According to the Examiner, “a spokeswoman for the Postal Service confirmed that it had formed a contract with a buyer and that a retail post office would remain on the premises after the sale.”

The sale to EastBanc has been years in the making. EastBanc’s design and use for the building was reviewed by the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission, the Old Georgetown Board and D.C.’s Board of Zoning. Future use of the post office building calls for offices, a back addition with much of the new space below grade, according to the Georgetown-Burleith ANC.

Lanier’s EastBanc group owns and has redeveloped many M Street retail buildings. It is known for its development of Cadys Alley and the adjacent stores. Another EastBanc development is in the works for condos at Wisconsin Avenue and the C&O Canal to be built on the Verizon parking lot, next to Grace Church
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Robert Devaney •

It may seem far off, but April 27 is coming fast for home-owners, volunteers and designers working to make the 82nd Georgetown House Tour a success. The main players met to strategize and socialize March 6 at the 34th Street home of Frank Randolph, who is again co-chairing the house tour with Stephanie Bothwell. There are eight houses on the tour. The tour’s popular Patrons’ Party will be held April 24 at the home of Marc Schappell and Tom Anderson, both executives at Washington Fine Properties, LLC. For more details, visit www.GeorgetownHouseTour.com, or call 202-338-2287. [gallery ids="119500,119490,119495,119483" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney • March 13, 2013

The March 4 meeting of the Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission was standing room only, its biggest of several agenda items a discussion of the traffic changes on Wisconsin Avenue in Glover Park. These changes have gone beyond mere “traffic calming” to produce cars waiting in one lane for longer than planned through the neighborhood north of Georgetown.

Along with the commissioners at the table were Councilmembers Jack Evans (Ward 2) and Mary Cheh (Ward 3) along Terry Bellamy, director of D.C. Department of Transportation. Evans repeatedly said he wants two lanes going north on Wisconsin Avenue and got applause from the crowd, when he said the revisions needed to come sooner than one year. Cheh plans a May 1 roundtable on the traffic issue. Bellamy brought his DDOT team to the meeting and said it could make some changes and added that 37th Street and Tunlaw Road was the next traffic project to tackle.

Others used the phrase “terrible idea” to describe the changes. Commissioner Tom Birch said he disliked the “needless left turn” lanes, commission Bill Starrels said he did not go to Whole Foods in Glover Park but rather one in Foggy Bottom and commissioner Ed Solomon expressed concern about the traffic’s “ripple effects” through Burleith. Calling Georgetown “traffic-challenged,” Joe Sternlieb, CEO of the Georgetown Business Improvement District, said he was worried that fewer people might come to town.

On the other hand, Glover Park commissioner Jackie Blumenthal said, “People are generally pleased.”

Robert Devaney •

“The NPS violated the federal judge’s restraint order,” Jack’s Boathouse owner Paul Simkin told the Georgetowner March 4. “Our lawyer has filed an emergency motion for sanctions against NPS for violations.”

The same day the National Park Service announced that B&G Outdoor Recreation of Boston would be awarded the contract to operate at the site of Jack’s Boathouse at 3500 K St., NW, it also handed an eviction notice to Simkin March 1.

In the announcement about the new contract, the NPS said bids for the property “were accepted through February 6, 2013, but Jack’s Canoes and Kayaks did not respond.” Simkin told Fox 5 News: “That’s because they had a restraining order from federal court giving them more time to sort things out. He says the letter states in part, ‘The NPS indicates its agreement not to take any action against the plaintiff until March 31, 2013. So that’s why this is all the more confusing, March 1, to be given an eviction notice.’ ”

“We’ve filed in Federal court,” said Simkin, whose eviction by the National Park Service in December was changed last month to a wait-and-see. “The following is a statement I’ve put out to supporters.”

“. . . We are suing the NPS and National Park Foundation to stop them from taking Jack’s—and to have the court determine whether the NPS or the NPF even have the right to try to get rid of Jack’s. . . . All of this legal stuff goes against our primary philosophy of providing a laid-back experience where you can paddle, use the grills, and maybe just lower your blood pressure a little.

“While this may not be the fight of the century, it sure is a big deal to our employees and customers and is likely to take several years to resolve unless the NPS and the NPF come to their senses. . . . In the meantime, enjoy the water, enjoy Jack’s and we will do our part by making sure the experience remains one worth fighting for.”

“We are not going to abandon the community or our thousands of supporters,” Simkin said.

Robert Devaney •

The Friends of Book Hill Park plan a April 10 party at the 31st Street home of Cheryl and Mike Naeve to raise funds to complete the trident fence on the Reservoir Road section of the park.

“Our group was able to raise funds to restore the trident fence on the Wisconsin side of Book Hill Park,” said Julia Diaz-Asper, co-president of the board of Friends of Book Hill Park. “We also rescued the partial fence from the Georgetown Library’s basement and were able to restore it with the help of Outerbridge Horsey. We are missing the rest of the fence on the Reservoir Rd side of the park. Marston Luce referred us to a person who is able to reproduce the trident fence; the Trident logo was designed by a local artist. The trident motif was designed originally to represent the reservoir at the top of the hill behind the library.”

For more information, contact Julia Diaz-Asper at jasper@ttrsir.com or 202-333-0077.

Robert Devaney •

Here is an update from Homicide Watch D.C. (“Mark every death. Remember every victim. Follow every case.”) on alleged killer of Viola Drath, Albrecht Muth:

Weakened by a months-long fast and in critical condition at United Medical Center, Albrecht Muth on March 6 attempted to win back his right to represent himself at his upcoming murder trial. Muth spoke with the court by phone, saying that, in fasting, he intends to possibly die before Easter, will subpoena Gen. David Petraeus and other high-ranking government officials for evidence he was an Iraqi brigadier general and that his wife, 91-year-old Viola Drath, was killed by an Iranian agent. “This marks the last time I will address myself in public,” Muth also told the court.

Muth’s claims, though, did little to sway Judge Russell Canan, who urged Muth to end a months-long hunger strike that has left attorneys at a loss on how to proceed with the trial scheduled to begin March 25. “You say you’re innocent of these charges,” Canan said to Muth. “I would hope you would have enough faith in the criminal justice system that you’d be vindicated.”??Muth said his fast is motivated by religious reasons; the angel Gabriel appeared to him and told him not to eat, he said. The fast “aims to bring me into one with Christ Jesus during this Lenten season,” Muth said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner said doctors at United Medical Center suspect he may be drinking water when no one is watching. No plan is in place yet that would allow Muth to appear in court without jeopardizing his fragile health.