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Georgetowner • May 9, 2016

Amy Austin, president and CEO of Theatre Washington, will speak at Georgetown Media Group’s Cultural Leadership Breakfast, Thursday, May 5, from 8 to 9:30 a.m.

The former publisher of Washington City Paper, Austin moved into the top spot at Theatre Washington in September of last year. Her predecessor, Linda Levy, headed the organization, formerly known as the Helen Hayes Awards, since 2008. Theatre Washington represents and supports all sectors of D.C.’s theater community and continues to produce the annual awards, to be held May 23.

The new location of the breakfast series is the Rosewood (formerly the Capella) Washington, D.C., Georgetown, at 1050 31st St. NW. The cost is $25. To RSVP, email richard@georgetowner.com or call 202-338-4833.

Gary Tischler •

Guess what? It’s Super Tuesday again.

Yup, it’s another big presidential primary day for Republicans and Democrats in five states. Experts, predictors, strategists and media types are predicting that, barring some sort of miracle, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton will have made it all but impossible for their challengers to loosen their strangleholds on their respective parties’ presidential nominations.

The only reason to doubt this even a teeny bit is — not that rumored plot by Ted Cruz and John Kasich to somehow stop Trump from gaining the required number of delegates — that this has been an election process immune to the realization of predictions. Trump has been said to have done himself in politically so many times that his jacket should look like a sieve.

Not likely to happen this time. He’s attempted to look, sound and be presidential. And while you can question the degree of success he’s had, he’s certainly toned things down. Plus, his wife Melania wishes he would stop going on Twitter or Instagram.

Among the five states in play — Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland — the real Super Tuesday may be in Maryland, where Democrats are battling it out for the nomination to run for the Senate seat vacated by Barbara Mikulski, and the seat in the Eighth Congressional District, made up largely of Montgomery County.

If you look at these two high-profile races, it looks like a lineup for a future Bill Maher talk show.

In fact, Democratic Congresswoman (from the 4th District) Donna Edwards, who is in a tight battle with Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen for the Senate seat, has recently appeared on the show.

In the Eighth Congressional District, the battle appears to have narrowed down to three major figures: state legislator Jamie Raskin, businessman David Trone and business executive Kathleen Matthews, a former Washington news anchor and wife of political commentator Chris Matthews.

In both races, there are few differences among the candidates in terms of issues; all the candidates skew to the left, favor abortion rights, are anti-gun and generally (although not always) reflect the policies of the incumbent president. Debates in both races tend to go along the lines of the degree and intensity of opposition to the National Rifle Association.

Money is a factor in the congressional race, where the late entrant — businessman David Trone — has spent upwards of nine, and perhaps ten, million dollars of his own money. That buys a lot of flyers, and airtime for Trone’s commercials, which are impressive in their tone and production, like little minute-movies of the rise of a progressive businessman.

Gender also plays a part in both races, although it’s a card played indirectly by the two female candidates. Some negativity has polluted the air, but in the year of Trump, it’s barely noticeable.

Trone has accused his rivals of taking money from big business or PACs. This is a little ingenuous, given that he has the wherewithal to spend more money (because he has more money).

Tuesday it is. Again.

Gary Tischler •

The particular flavor of the race for the GOP presidential nomination — part hucksterism, part carnival¸ part surrealism, part circus, part reality show, part social-media festival and part political Ripley’s Believe It or Not — just never fades, not even after another Super Tuesday made it plain that the chances of Donald Trump not getting nominated are somewhere between one percent and zero.

It would seem that Indiana now looms large in the fertile fantasies of media types, strategists and Ted Cruz as the place where Trump can be, if not stopped, at least slightly embarrassed. And after that, who knows? Hope springs eternal after a couple of hits of Stella Artois. Maybe then Trump won’t make the magic number needed for a first ballot win. And maybe then the next voice Cruz hears will say, “Wake up, Ted, wake up. You’ve been dreaming.”

It has not been a particularly good week for Ted and for that other guy from Ohio. The reaction prior to the big, five-state, East Coast Super Tuesday, when Cruz and the other guy decided to form a Stop Trump alliance by not actively running in selected states (like Indiana), ranged from puzzlement to ridicule to “Huh?” It probably helped precipitate Trump’s impressive sweep of the board — often by big margins — in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware and Maryland.

It was, as Trump likes to say, a disaster, causing the ever-modest Trump to say in his victory speech: “I consider myself the presumptive nominee, absolutely.”

For Cruz, things may or may not have gotten better on Wednesday, when he got one of the GOP fallen, businesswoman Carly Fiorina to become his running mate, a move that seems calculated to have someone — preferably a woman — in place to do battle with the other all-but-presumptive nominee in the general election. Cruz praised Fiorina for how she stood up to Trump when he took one of his sexist cheap shots at Fiorina’s appearance after she had moved up to the first tier in the debates (when they were still crowded, when the field was still ablaze with the hopes of more than a dozen candidates, when Ben Carson was considered presidential material).

The move — although it did stop the conversation from becoming totally Trump-centric — was greeted with skepticism by the media and derision by Trump. But that was nothing compared to what former House Speaker John Boehner said when asked about Cruz. He called him, flat out, “Lucifer incarnate,” and added: “I have never worked with a more miserable son of a bitch in my life.” He shed not a tear.

Clinton also had an impressive showing in the same primaries, winning four out of five, losing only in Rhode Island. While Bernie Sanders didn’t initially appear ready to quit, he did lay off a large number of staffers. He also laid off his heavy criticism of Clinton. With superdelegates in play, there is now no path to the nomination for Sanders, not even an arrival at the convention by parachute. (It probably wouldn’t open.)

This was Trump’s week, and we got to see the many versions of Trump that we all know and love to talk about. There was lots of talk that some savvy and professional political types, like the nattily dressed and experienced Paul Manafort, would work hard to reign in mean-motor-mouth Trump and make him presidential. We got to see both this week.

He has taken to calling Cruz “Lyin’ Ted” again, but during the course of a victory speech he attacked Hillary Clinton — and the Obama administration — by once again going after her as a woman and playing pin-the-slur with his latest nickname, “Crooked Hillary.” Here are excerpts from his tirade: “She’ll be a horrible president. She knows nothing about jobs, except for jobs for herself. When it came to answering the phone at three o’clock in the morning, she was sleeping. She doesn’t have the strength or the stamina to deal with China and other things.”

But there was also this gem: “If Hillary Clinton were a man, I don’t think she’d get five percent of the vote. I think women don’t like her.”

The more presidential Trump was on hand the very next day with a speech on foreign policy before the Center for the National Interest, a heavyweight more-or-less-conservative think tank. It was a speech that veered hither and yon, the yon being a no-holds-barred attack on the “Obama and Clinton administrations’ foreign policy,” which “was a disaster, let me tell you, it was a disaster, a real disaster.”

Speaking from a teleprompter, Trump started things out saying that his foreign policy would be “about America first,” which, perhaps unfortunately, was also the name of a GOP group trying to stay out of World War II early on.

In fact, the speech contained most of the themes and strands he gave in an interview to the Washington Post editorial board, themes he has reiterated often without going into specifics. He hinted again about allies not paying their fair share (NATO, South Korea). “Our friends and allies must pay their fair share of the cost of defense,” he said. He called for a NATO summit “very early in my administration,” and claimed that he would destroy ISIS, “quickly, very quickly, it will happen fast,” without quite explaining how.

While Trump stayed on message, it was a labored message, striking broad and bombastic themes, with not much underlying heft. Often, it sounded like a speech by a man who had lost interest in reading somewhere in high school.

When he blasted the Iranian nuclear deal, or said Iran would not get an atomic bomb, he seemed to be waiting for the kind of applause he gets at his rallies. It came, but it was tepid and underwhelming, the way establishment support often is.

Just ask Ted Cruz.

The thin-skinned Trump was still in evidence, here and there. Upon hearing that Lena Dunham, star of the HBO series “Girls,” said that she would move to Canada if Trump won, Trump responded in characteristic fashion, calling her “a B-actor with no mojo.”

Take that.
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Richard Selden •

ZGF Architects, a firm based in Portland, Oregon, with offices in Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., has been chosen from a pool of eight to carry out a feasibility study for an aerial gondola between Georgetown and Rosslyn, Virginia. The firm worked on the preliminary concept for the Portland Aerial Tram.

The selection was announced today by the Georgetown-Rosslyn Gondola Executive Committee, a coalition of the Rosslyn and Georgetown Business Improvement Districts; the D.C. and Arlington County governments; Georgetown University; and developers JBG, Penzance and Gould Properties.

Georgetown BID CEO and President Joe Sternlieb said in the announcement that ZGF “brought together the most experienced team of subject matter experts in engineering, transportation, and economics from across the country to serve as subcontractors and contribute to the study.”

The study has a five-month project schedule and a budget of approximately $190,000.

Robert Devaney • May 4, 2016

It’s official: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has been appointed by CTF Georgetown Hotel LLC., new owners of Capella Washington, D.C., to take over the management of the hotel, which opened in 2013 on 31st Street NW, next to the C&O Canal.

“Effective April 21,” according to Rosewood, “the hotel, formerly owned by Castleton Hotel Partners I, LLC., has been renamed and is now known as Rosewood Washington, D.C.  Rosewood and Capella Hotels are working closely together to ensure a smooth transition for guests, associates and partners.”

New to town is the Rosewood’s managing director, Pascal Forotti.

Meanwhile, Castleton Hotel Partners I, LLC, also announced the $65-million sale of the 49-room Capella, an office building transformed into a hotel by Castleton. The Capella quickly garnered high praise from travel experts.

“I’m very humbled by all that we have been able to accomplish in our first hotel venture and our partnership with Capella Hotel Group, turning a former office building into one of the best luxury hotels in not just the nation’s capital but the entire country,” said Bruce Bradley, managing member of Castleton Hotel Partners I, LLC. “As a developer, we have made it our mission to identify unique business opportunities and to drive value for our partners. I would like to thank Capella Hotel Group for their assistance in helping us achieve these goals with their incredible service level and globally recognized brand.”
 
“Capella Washington, D.C, was our first Capella branded property in the United States and we could not be more pleased by the excellence in which we achieved our vision,” said Horst Schulze, president and CEO of Capella Hotel Group.

“Rosewood Washington, D.C., is an exciting addition to Rosewood’s collection of properties and strengthens our presence in North America,” said Sonia Cheng, chief executive officer of Rosewood Hotel Group. “The hotel draws on the capital’s rich culture and history to express Rosewood’s trademark philosophy of ‘A Sense of Place’ in innovative and memorable ways.”

Georgetowner •

Click here to read the French Market preview in the current issue of The Georgetowner.

Lecture & Book Signing: All the Presidents’ Gardens
APRIL 28TH, 2016 AT 07:00 PM | $25-$35 | PROGRAMS@DUMBARTONHOUSE.ORG | TEL: (202) 337-2288 | EVENT WEBSITE

Hear garden historian Marta McDowell speak on book “All the Presidents’ Gardens: Madison’s Cabbages to Kennedy’s Roses, How the White House Grounds Have Grown with America.” From George Washington’s obsession with collecting trees to Michelle Obama’s kitchen garden, find out how the White House grounds are a reflection of America’s enthusiasms. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

Dumbarton House, 2715 Q St. NW

Friday Morning Music Club
APRIL 29TH, 2016 AT 12:00 PM | FREE | EVENT WEBSITE

Calvary Baptist Church in Penn Quarter present a free concert of chamber works for clarinet, violin, cello and piano by Schumann and Welcher.

755 8th St. NW

Zenith Gallery Opening Reception
APRIL 29TH, 2016 AT 05:30 PM | FREE | EVENT WEBSITE

Zenith hosts a meet-the-artist opening reception for “Burning Bright: The Fascinating Fire Paintings of Peter Kephart.” The exhibition of works on paper burned over the remnants of a bonfire runs through June 25. There will be demonstrations at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

1429 Iris St. NW

The Bronte Sisters: Their Life in Keepsakes
APRIL 29TH, 2016 AT 06:45 PM | $30 | TEL: 202-633-3030 | EVENT WEBSITE

Deborah Lutz, professor of English at the University of Louisville, performs a literary show-and-tell and signs copies of her book, “The Bronte Cabinet: Three Lives in Nine Objects.”

S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Drive SW

“Tender Tears, and Love, and Life”
APRIL 29TH, 2016 AT 07:30 PM | $55 (INCLUDES WINE AND DESSERT RECEPTION) | EVENT WEBSITE

The Russian Chamber Art Society presents its last concert of the season, with three vocalists performing art-songs by Glinka, Arensky, Taneyev and Rachmaninov in Russian, accompanied by founder and artistic director Vera Danchenko-Stern.

Embassy of Austria, 3524 International Court NW

Bike Tour: The Landscapes of Oehme, van Sweden
APRIL 30TH, 2016 AT 10:00 AM | $25 MEMBER | $35 NON-MEMBER. | EFILAR@NBM.ORG | TEL: 202-272-2448 | EVENT WEBSITE

The Washington, D.C.-based firm of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates (OvS) revolutionized modern American landscape architecture through the use of ornamental grasses and perennials to create living tapestries requiring relatively little maintenance. Join Museum staff and OvS principals on a bike tour for an illuminating ground-level exploration of some of the firm’s major D.C. projects, including Pershing Park and the Virginia Avenue Gardens.

National Building Museum, 401 K St. NW

Revolutionary War Encampment: The First Oval Office
APRIL 30TH, 2016 AT 10:00 AM | FREE WITH ADVANCE REGISTRATION | $5 PER PERSON AT DOOR | FHERMAN@TUDORPLACE.ORG | TEL: 202.965.0400 | EVENT WEBSITE

Long before the White House, George Washington’s “Oval Office” was a humble camp tent. To celebrate its Bicentennial, Tudor Place welcomes a beautiful reproduction of this historic structure to the grand South Lawn. Experience how America’s future first President slept, ate, and strategized during critical moments of the Revolutionary War. Washington Camp Tent on loan from the Museum of the American Revolution which will open in spring 2017 with the original tent on display for the public.

Tudor Place, 1644 31st St. NW

Bowen McCauley Dance Move Me Festival
APRIL 30TH, 2016 AT 01:00 PM | FREE | SAMANTHA@BMDC.ORG | TEL: 7039015175 | EVENT WEBSITE

Bowen McCauley Dance presents a family-friendly celebration of arts and culture featuring live performances and interactive demonstrations. Visitors will experience a poetic adventure through dance, theatre, music, fitness and the language arts.

Kenmore Middle School, 200 S. Carlin Springs Road, Arlington, Virginia

The Brooklyn Rider Almanac
APRIL 30TH, 2016 AT 08:00 PM | 30-35 | OFFICE@DUMBARTONCONCERTS.ORG | TEL: 2029652000 | EVENT WEBSITE

The Dumbarton Concerts season ends with the triumphant return of Brooklyn Rider. To celebrate its 10th anniversary together, the group commissioned a wide-ranging assemblage of musicians to write new works, including Wolco’s Glenn Kotche, Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier and a host of jazz luminaries, including Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus, pianist Vijay Iyer and guitarist Bill Frisell.

3133 Dumbarton St. NW

Yoga Inspired by Sculpture
MAY 1ST, 2016 AT 11:00 AM | FREE | EVENT WEBSITE

Artist and certified yoga instructor Lisa Marie Thallhammer offers free pop-up yoga classes inspired by Arlington’s award-winning collection of public art, leading participants through postures, intentions and breathing that are inspired and focused on three permanent public art works.

Verizon Plaza, 1320 N. Courthouse Rd., Arlington, Virginia

Jackson Art Center Open Studios
MAY 1ST, 2016 AT 12:00 PM | FREE | JACKSONARTCENTER@GMAIL.COM | TEL: 240-601-7185 | EVENT WEBSITE

Great local art and a chance to explore the historic Jackson School (1890-1971), home to local artists for studio space since the mid 1980s. Free event with food and drink, live music, children’s workshop, and an opportunity to meet the artists and rummage through the old school building.

3050 R St. NW

Foghorn Stringband
MAY 1ST, 2016 AT 04:00 PM | FREE | EVENT WEBSITE

Foghorn Stringband features the intertwining harmonies of founding members Stephen “Sammy” Lind and Caleb Klauder along with powerhouse vocalists Reeb Willms and Nadine Landry.

Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE

The Washington Chorus Presents Parisian Spring
MAY 1ST, 2016 AT 05:00 PM | $18-$72 | STAFF@THEWASHINGTONCHORUS.ORG | TEL: 202-342-6221 | EVENT WEBSITE

Join us for an evening filled with glorious gems of the French repertoire, including At the Lighting of the Lamps, written by TWC’s Music Director Julian Wachner in the French choral style. The program showcases the sumptuous Requiem of Maurice Duruflé. The concert features the Kennedy Center Concert Hall’s Rubenstein Family Organ with renowned French organist Thierry Escaich – Duruflés’ successor at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Church in Paris.

Kennedy Center Concert Hall, 2700 F St. NW

Juliana Zovak •

“Only we the people can build a confident America. So, today, I am asking for your help,” House Speaker Paul Ryan told students April 27 at Georgetown University. The town hall event in Gaston Hall was hosted by the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service.

Ryan spoke about building a confident America before taking questions from students in the audience and via Twitter.

He began by telling the student crowd that he wanted to make the case for supporting Republicans.

“The America that you want is the America that we want: open, diverse, dynamic. It is what I call a confident America, where the condition of your birth does not determine the outcome of your life — where we tackle our problems together so that all of us can thrive.”

Ryan’s remarks covered student debt, the war on poverty and rehabilitation for criminals, among other issues, examples of the work needing to be done in this country. He urged the students in front of him to step up and get involved: “We need your ideas.”

After his speech, in keeping with the town hall format, Ryan took off his suit jacket and rolled up his sleeves as he prepared to answer questions.

Inevitably, the talk turned to the current election, with one student asking what advice Ryan had for young Republicans who feel they have few desirable options in this race.

Ryan said that, beyond the person, young voters should consider the ideas and the platforms that are being advanced. “In front of you is not just a vote for a person, a political personality. In front of you, if we do our jobs the right way, will be a choice of two paths that you will have to take.”

Ryan also addressed questions about immigration, the Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act and the difficulties students face in paying for higher education. He said he opposed the Democrats’ solutions to these problems and gave his reasons why. Though he highlighted the need for viable Republican alternatives, he did not always explicitly share those in his answers.

In his response to the question of paying for college, perhaps the issue closest to the hearts of the millennials in the hall, Ryan called for more competition in student lending and among colleges — and the need to have credits more easily transfer. He even commented on his host Georgetown University’s high tuition.

“Not everybody can afford a place like this. So how do we get this kind of an education within reach of people who have no chance of affording it?”
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Juliana Zovak •

Updated at noon, April 26.

Georgetown University undergraduate Edward Blatz Jr. passed away early Sunday, according to an email sent to the Georgetown community by Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson.

On April 26, Aquita Brown, a public affairs specialist for the Metropolitan Police Department, confirmed to The Georgetowner that the death which occurred April 24 at 1401 33rd Street NW was that of Edward Blatz, Jr.

Blatz, 21, was a junior in the McDonough School of Business and a member of the men’s lacrosse team. From Garden City, New York, he is survived by his parents, Edward Sr. and Anne Marie, and his two older sisters Elizabeth and Jessica.

The 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Sunday Masses at Georgetown’s Dahlgren Chapel were held in Blatz’s memory. At the earlier service, students and faculty filled the chapel and lined the sides and the back of the church; many more stood outside in the courtyard. Father Raymond Kemp urged the congregation to hold one another close.

The Georgetown University Athletics Department released a statement Sunday quoting Kevin Warne, head coach of the lacrosse team: “Eddie was a great young man who was well-respected and well-liked by his teammates and the Georgetown lacrosse family. He was a very bright student and a talented player and words cannot express the loss we are feeling right now.”

On Sunday, a person familiar with the case said that the deceased was a Georgetown student and that the accidental death may have been caused by a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol.

Robert Devaney •

UPDATED at noon, April 26.

The Sunday morning discovery of a death at 1401 33rd St. NW stunned the quiet Georgetown neighborhood just as church was letting out. It is suspected but not yet confirmed that the deceased was Georgetown University student Edward Blatz., Jr.

The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed that there was a death report Sunday, April 24, at 1401 33rd St. NW. “This matter is currently being investigated as a death report,” MPD Second District Commander Melvin Gresham told The Georgetowner in an email. “There were no unusual circumstances involved at this point.”

On April 26, Aquita Brown, a public affairs specialist for the Metropolitan Police Department, confirmed to The Georgetowner that the death which occurred April 24 at 1401 33rd Street NW was that of Edward Blatz, Jr.

The white house at the northeast corner of 33rd and O Streets has been a group house for at least seven years, according to one neighbor. It is believed that the house is occupied by students from Georgetown University, four blocks to the west. Another neighbor said that a male student who was on the lacrosse team had overdosed and died. A person familiar with the case said that the student’s death may have been caused by a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol.

Late Sunday afternoon, one of Georgetown University’s student newspapers, the Hoya reported: “Edward Blatz, Jr., a junior on the men’s lacrosse team, died early Sunday, according to a university-wide email sent by Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson this afternoon. Known to many as ‘Eddie,’ Blatz played defense on the lacrosse team. . . . The cause of death has not been announced as of press time.”

Jeanne Lord, associate vice president of student affairs at Georgetown University, was seen entering the 33rd Street house midday. A young couple was seen at a nearby corner visibly upset.

MPD closed off 33rd Street north of O Street for a time.
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