Weekend Round Up December 4, 2014
• December 8, 2014

Winter Wonderland at Bethesda Row

December 5th, 2014 at 06:30 AM | Free | Event Website

The first-annual holiday festival, Winter Wonderland on Bethesda Lane, will turn Bethesda Row into an outdoor street bazaar. A holiday market will pop up along the lane complete with festive tents to carry unprecedented deals on fashion, food, housewares, beauty items, and more. Additionally live entertainment will be on-site including ice carvers, face painters, balloon artists and a photo booth.

Address

Bethesda Row; 4950 Elm Street, Bethesda MD 20814

Potomack Company Design Online Auction Preview

December 5th, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. | info@potomackcompany.com | Tel: 703-684-4550 | Event Website

Preview Schedule (Online Bidding Open)

12/1-12/6: 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.

12/7: 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

12/8: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Preview and bid in Potomack’s Dec. 9 Design Online Auction. Register and bid through www.potomackcompany.com or www.invaluable.com.

Design Online Auctions highlight designers of the 20th and 21st Century in a timed online auction format.

View full details at EstateSales.NET

Address

The Potomack Company; 1120 N. Fairfax St., Alexandria, VA 22314

Relish DC Bi-Annual Sale

December 5th, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. | 30 – 80% off | relishdc@gmail.com | Tel: 202 333 5343 | Event Website

Who: Relish

What: Bi-annual Winter Sale featuring brands like Balenciaga, Marni, Dries Van Noten and Martin Margiela

When: Starts Friday, December 5th (no end date, but the best merchandise is available on a first come first serve basis)

Where: 3312 Cady’s Alley NW Washington, DC 20007

Smithsonian Holiday Festival December 6 & 7

December 6th, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. | gabrielle@prcollaborative.com | Tel: 202-339-9598 | Event Website

The Smithsonian will host a festival that will include concerts by the US Air Force’s Max Impact, Silver Wings, and Celtic Aire, seasonal films, Mars Chocolate demonstrations, family holiday photo opportunities, trunk shows featuring apparel, jewelry and art, book signings, festive food & much more. Gift-wrapping at the National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of American History & National Museum of Natural History. Smithsonian Holiday Shuttle will loop the National Mall every 10 minutes.

Address

National Mall and in the Smithsonian Institution Museums

Winter Craft Workshop @ Georgetown Library

December 6th, 2014 at 02:00 PM | FREE | rebekah.smith@dc.gov | Tel: 202-727-0232 | [Event Website](http://dclibrary.org/georgetown

The Georgetown Neighborhood Library will be celebrating the start of the holiday season with an afternoon of winter crafting fun. Learn to create a wide variety of holiday greeting cards and beautiful ornaments out of everyday materials! Then take your creations home for the holidays — or donate them to the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Plus, enjoy festive snacks and a live performance by acapella group GU Harmony. All ages and skill levels are welcome.

Address

Georgetown Neighborhood Library; 3260 R Street NW

Whiskey Talk and Tasting

December 6th, 2014 at 07:00 p.m. | jstiner@oatlands.org | Tel: 7037773174 | [Event Website](http://www.oatlands.org/)

Catoctin Creek Distilling company in Purcellville is the first legal distillery in Loudoun County since prohibition. It is a certified organic and kosher microdistillery that produces brandy, rye whiskey and gin from local fruit, grain and Virginia wine. Join owner Scott Harris to learn more about distilling and to sample Catoctin Creek spirits. Event at Oatlands. Call us at 703-777-3174 ext. 103 for more information.?

Address

20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane; Leesburg, VA 20176

Cantate Chamber Singers’ To Be Sung on the Water

December 6th, 2014 at 07:30 p.m. | $35-45 students $15 | exec@cantate.org | Tel: 301-986-1799 | [Event Website](http://cantate.org/)

Cantate (Gisele Becker, Music Director) presents stunning vocal and a cappella choral music about the natural world by Samuel Barber, Johannes Brahms, Edward Elgar, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Eric Whitacre, and more. Featuring soprano Rachel Evangeline Barham and keyboard artist Andrew E. Simpson. The public is invited to join the performers at a post-concert reception.

Address

St. John’s Norwood Parish; 6701 Wisconsin Avenue; Chevy Chase, Md.

Schedule and Traffic Alert: 3 Days of Memorials for Mayor Marion Barry
•

Thursday, Dec. 4, through Saturday, Dec. 6, the family of former Mayor Marion Barry, Jr., will have a Celebration of Life Remembrance Ceremony to honor Mayor Marion Barry, Jr. — it is being called “A Life Ends …The Legacy Begins.”

As provided by the Metropolitan Police Department, the following street and route closures for this celebration will take place in the District of Columbia. In conjunction with this event, there will also be several temporary street closures that motorists should take into consideration:

On Thursday, Dec. 4, from 8 a.m. to midnight, Mayor Marion Barry Jr., will lie in repose at the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Ave., NW. During these hours, the road ways on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, between 12th Street and 14th Street, NW, will have intermitted street closures as needed.

On Friday, Dec. 5, from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m., Mayor Marion Barry Jr., will lie in repose at the Wilson Building. The road ways on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., between 12th Street and 14th Street, NW, will have intermitted street closures as needed.

Following the viewing, there will be intermitted street closures from 9 a.m until 12:30 p.m., for the citywide processional, which was said to include all eights wards. It will begin at the Wilson Building and conclude at the Temple of Praise Church, located at 700 Southern Ave., SE.

On Saturday, Dec. 6, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., street closures will occur at the Washington Convention Center for Mayor Barry’s Memorial Ceremony. Street closures will be on L Street, between 7th and 9th Streets, NW.

Immediately after the memorial service, there will be intermitted street closures from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. along the processional route from Convention Center to the Congressional Cemetery, located at 1801 E St., SE.

MPD will co-ordinate intermitted street closures affecting vehicular traffic, Dec. 4 through Dec. 6, as needed. The intermitted street closures will be lifted when the events have concluded and do not pose a safety hazard to the public.

Michele Conley (1962 to 2014): A Braveheart Against Cancer
• December 5, 2014

I’m sure that when the movie “Brave” was in theaters, some of us might have been forgiven if we thought it was a film about the life of Michele Conley.

If ever there was a person who met the recurring challenges—two and then at last three battles with cancer—that life brought to her with bravery and courage, then it was Conley. In some ways, these battles for life became opportunities to help others who had faced and continue to face the same fights. She fought back by knowing the enemy, by embracing her life, and by founding Living in Pink in 2003, her own independent and non-profit organization which supports research to further the prevention and treatment of breast cancer. It was a year-round effort, with a highlight each year being the annual Living in Pink Luncheon and Boutique.

In 2013, Conley saw a son off to college, traveled to Europe and continued to participate in running races. She founded Living in Pink after watching her own mother battle breast cancer. She then battled the disease herself, twice.

When we talked to her two years ago about her life and activities, you never heard a whine or the word suffering—rather she talked about the cram course in information about the disease she undertook, and the fact that the second time around, she had opted for radical surgery, a double mastectomy and hysterectomy.

Faced with cancer, Conley went out and did things and told us that “I’ve always been that way—I have my mother as an example for that.” Living in Pink is pro-active, too, sponsoring the awarding of grants and supporting innovative research. The mission statement for the organizations states: “Living in Pink was created to find a cure for breast cancer so that the next generation of women will not have to endure the emotional and physical pain of breast cancer and treatment.”

She said last year, “We celebrate women that are living, surviving and thriving.”

She fought the great battle against cancer for one last time. This time, the result was not the same. Michele Conley passed away Nov. 28.

We remember her as a friend here at The Georgetowner, where we were strong supporters of Living in Pink and Michele. Her daughter Brooke worked at the newspaper.

What we remember is her sense of pragmatic optimism. She was, it seemed, always realistic about the dangers posed by cancer, but she was also actively hopeful that progress could be made. She burned up energy right in front of you. She had something else too: grace and graciousness, a sense of humor, blonde beauty and style. When you met her, you didn’t forget her.

Living in Pink and the struggle against cancer added to her natural vibrancy. In some ways, there was a sense of urgency in everything she did, echoing playwright William Saroyan’s call to “in the time of your life, live.”

“Cancer,” she said then, “is not for the faint of heart.”

Funeral arrangements are being coordinated by Joseph Gawler’s Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. The funeral mass for Michele Conley will be celebrated 10 a.m., Friday, Dec. 5, Church of the Little Flower, 5607 Massachusetts Ave., Bethesda, Md.

Vincent Orange Talks Small Business at Carr Workplaces
•

Join The Downtowner and Carr Workplaces for cocktails and learn more about opportunities available to D.C.’s small businesses. Meet Councilmember Vincent Orange and other local small businesses.

December 4, 2014

Carr Workplaces

888 16th NW

8th Floor

Washington, DC 20006

To RSVP, email rsvp@downtownerdc.com

Georgetown-Burleith ANC Meets Tonight: Hyde-Addison School; C&O Canal Dock
• December 4, 2014

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E will hold its December meeting, 6:30 p.m., tonight, Dec. 1, at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, 35th Street and Volta Place, NW, Heritage Room, main building, second floor. This following is tonight’s meeting agenda, as provided by ANC 2E.

Approval of the Agenda

Approval of December 1, 2014, ANC 2E Public Meeting Agenda

Administrative:

Approval of November 3, 2014 Minutes.

Approval of FY2014 Fourth Quarter financial report.

Transportation Report

Public Safety Report

DPW Report

New Business:

Introduction of new commissioners-elect and retiring commissioners.
Fiola Mare request for daytime valet parking staging area.

Community Comment ABC

Via Umbria, 1525 Wisconsin Ave., NW, ABRA-097178
Epicurean & Co., Georgetown University
J. Paul’s, 3218 M St., NW, ABRA-72358

BZA

1351 LLC, 1351 Wisconsin Ave., NW BZA # 18884

Old Georgetown Board

MAJOR AND PUBLIC PROJECTS

1. 3219 O Street, NW

Hyde-Addison Elementary School Addition Concept

2. National Park Service C & O Canal National Historical Park

C&O Canal at 34th Street, NW New dock Concept

PRIVATE PROJECTS

1. SMD 02 OG 15-057

1544 33rd Street, NW — Residence One-story rear addition, alterations
Concept

2. SMD 03 OG 15-012

3206 N Street, NW

Commercial Alterations, replacement curtain wall, sign pylon and covering
Concept

3. SMD 03 OG 15-054

1351 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial Alterations, new windows, sunken courtyard at rear
Permit – revised design

4. SMD 03 OG 14-321

1513 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial Rooftop and rear additions Revised concept

5. SMD 03 OG 15-048

1525 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial Alterations to front and rear, sign – Via Umbria
Concept

6. SMD 03 OG 15-040

1529 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial Awnings, menu boxes, sign, lights
Yummi Crawfish Seafood restaurant – existing Permit

7. SMD 05 OG 15-052

1132 29th Street, NW

Commercial
Rear additions, alterations
Concept

8. SMD 05 OG 14-279

1223 34th Street, NW

Residence

Alterations

Permit

9. SMD 05 OG 14-346 1065

Thomas Jefferson Street, NW

Residence

Additions and alterations

Revised concept

10. SMD 05 OG 15-042

3333 M Street, NW

Commercial
Replacement garage door
Concept

11. SMD 05 OG 15-039

1065 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial Sign – Nadeau
Concept

12. SMD 05 OG 15-020

1218 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial Alterations to rear fence for incinerator
Permit

13. SMD 05 OG 15-036

1218 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial Retractable skylight enclosure of rear yard
Permit / Concept

No Review at this Time by ANC 2E: The following additional projects, which are on the upcoming December 4, 2014, agenda of the Old Georgetown Board, have not been added to the ANC meeting agenda for OGB-related design review, and we do not propose to adopt a resolution on them at this time. If there are concerns about any of these projects, please contact the ANC office by Friday, November 28, 2014.

1. SMD 02 OG 15-056

1519 35th Street, NW

Residence Alterations to masonry openings on carriage house Concept
RECOMMENDATION: Returned without Action. Submission materials and a site visit on 18 November 2014 indicate that proposed alterations to masonry openings on west wall of carriage house would not be visible from a public thoroughfare. Refer to the Historic Preservation Review Board.

2. SMD 02 OG 15-051

3235 R Street, NW

Residence One-story rear addition, alterations to pergola
Permit

3. SMD 02 OG 14-349 3252 S Street, NW (Square 2154, Lot 852)

Residence
Site alterations Revised concept

4. SMD 02 OG 15-046 3246 Jones Court, NW

Residence

Replacement windows

Permit

5. SMD 02 OG 14-369 3252 Jones Court, NW

Residence
Replacement windows
Permit

6. SMD 02 OG 15-015 1728 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial
Demolition, 3-story building
Revised concept

7. SMD 02 OG 14-320

1826 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial
Two-story rear addition, roof deck, green wall
Revised concept

8. SMD 03 OG 14-370

1411 33rd Street, NW

Residence
Replacement windows
Permit

9. SMD 03 OG 15-019

1413 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial Replacement windows – existing
Permit

10. SMD 05 OG 15-050

1032 29th Street, NW

Commercial
Alterations, replacement door and gate
Permit

11. SMD 05 OG 15-044

1054 31st Street, NW

Commercial Replacement doors
Permit

12. SMD 05 OG 15-041

1028 33rd Street, NW

Commercial Sign – Thomas Moser
Permit

13. SMD 05 OG 14-329

3600 M Street, NW

Mixed-use Alterations to wood doors, replacement aluminum windows and storefront
Permit

14. SMD 05 OG 15-047

3330 Cady’s Alley, NW

Commercial Alterations to masonry openings Concept

15. SMD 05 OG 15-058

3069 Canal Street, NW

Residence Rear addition, replacement doors Permit

16. SMD 06 OG 14-289

1216 30th Street, NW

Residence Roof replacement Permit

17. SMD 06 OG 15-027

1319 30th Street, NW

Residence Alterations Concept

18.SMD06 OG15-055

1319 30th Street, NW

Residence Alterations Concept

19. SMD 07 OG 15-030

1633 31st Street, NW

Residence New garage Permit

20. SMD 07 OG 15-045

2703 P Street, NW

Residence Replacement front stairs and fence Permit / concept

21. SMD 07 OG 15-017

2523 Q Street, NW

Residence New window openings on side wall Permit

22. SMD 07 OG 15-007

2715 Q Street, NW (Square 1285, Lot 801)

Dumbarton House Replacement garage door Permit

23. SMD 07 OG 15-008

1901 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Commercial Awning, alterations Permit

24. SMD 08 OG 14-264

3614 Prospect Street, NW

Residence Partial demolition, 2-story rear/ rooftop addition, alterations to front, replacement windows
Revised concept

25. OG 14-292

3700 O Street, NW

Georgetown University Site work for new bus turnaround
Concept

26. OG 15-049

3700 O Street, NW Georgetown University – Ryan and Mulledy Halls

Alterations and site work
Permit

27. OG 15-037 —

3700 O Street, NW Georgetown University – J.R. Thompson Intercollegiate Athletic Center

New construction
Permit

28. OG 14-353 —

3220 Prospect Street, NW

Commercial
New construction

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E — 3265 S St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20007 — 202-724-7098 — anc2e@dc.gov — www.anc2e.com.

‘Five Guys Named Moe’: Heady Stew of Blues, R&B and Swagger
•

Director Robert O’Hara’s version of the Louis Jordan-based musical, “Five Guys Named Moe,” now at the Kreeger Theater at Arena Stage is said to be very different from the original which proved to be popular on Broadway and on tour and in the West End in the 1990s and in revivals.

Sad to say, I didn’t see the original, and Jordan, the man and the music and precursor of rock and roll, was just a little before my time. So basically, what I saw was as brand new as a baby, more or less, although a pretty energetic and loud baby.

What O’Hara has done is to place the music—it’s a heady, stewy mixture of blues, R&B, a little bit of big band oomph—into the hands of what purports to be a contemporary (or at least 1980s style boy group), echoing with contemporary swagger and style, who pop out of a radio being listened to by one very sad sack guy who’s heading towards hangover at five in the morning, lost his girlfriend, and is generally moe-aning the blues.

The five Moes—No Moe, Big Moe, Little Moe, Four-Eyed Moe and Eat Moe—are dazzling in white smooth outfits and decide to help out the lost guy, by the name of Nomax by giving him free musical advice about life, women, drinking, women, dancing, women, attitude, and oh, yes, women. Count the audience as the sixth moe—More Moe.

The Moes are all terrific singers with a lot of range, and even more moves. They dazzle with attitude. Try, for instance, Little Moe with “Messy Bessy” and the classic “Saturday Night Fish Fry” and Sheldon Henry as Big Moe, hooking up with Kevin McAllister, as the befuddled Nomax on “What’s the Use of Getting Sober When You’re Gonna Get Drunk Again.”

There’s a bit of contemporary flash and dazzle here—all achieved with the help a scintillating group six musicians to help glide things along. You might think Kanye or Jay-Z could come waltzing out to try their hand at some Jordan tunes. Yet, the songs have echoes—they have some of that bounce and rhythms of early rock, to be sure along the Bill Haley and Chuck Berry lines—but they dig back, too, with riffs and dollops of urban and southern blues and a little male Bessie Smith lamenting.

All the Moes can do their splits and spins, their cool moves—with sunglasses or not—they shine like a group of charmers who could talk and sing you into just about anything. They do just that when they persuade audience members—women all—to come up and do a conga line, in the calypso-raggae flavored first act closer “Push Ka Pi Shi Pie.”

The Moes— Jobari Parker-Namdar, as No Moe, Henry as Big Moe, Clinton Roane as Little Moe, Travis Porchia as Four-Eyed Moe, and Paris Nix as Eat Moe—are terrific entertainers and look great in white dinner jackets to boot. They embrace the music with their own sense of style, while leaving all the fun Jordan parts including the bluesy, often funny lyrics in.

And Nomax—as sung and performed by Kevin McAllister—does his part too. He’s got a deep and impressive bass voice that’s surprisingly evocative and affecting, and his stumble-bum act comes close to being endearing

What’s maybe missing from this—given that so much of the songs and material is about women of all shapes, sizes and dispositions—is an-in-the-flesh female performer. I’d say E. Faye Butler, who’s been at Arena enough to be comfortable, would be right at home with this bunch.

“Five Guys Named Moe” runs through Dec. 28.

Marion Barry: Mayor—Not for Life—But of Our Lives
•

If there was one man, one politician, who in the annals of home rule in the District of Columbia personified the struggles and human makeup of this city, it was Marion S. Barry, Jr.

Through all the turbulent years of his public life in the city he seemed to love with a great passion, as school board member, city council member and four-time Mayor of the District of Columbia (1979 to 1991; 1995 to 1999.)

Through his triumphs of which there many, and through his troubles, of which there were an equal amount, Barry remained, up and down but not always all around the town, the most indelible, inspiring, divisive and unforgettable political figure of this town, the town inhabited in its neighborhoods, not its federal presence as capital city of the United States of America.

Even now, a day and some hours after he died early on Sunday morning a little after midnight, it’s hard to believe that he’s gone. He died of heart problems associated with his various medical issues including diabetes, after just being released from the hospital after complaining that he was not feeling well. In Washington, in the latter part of Barry’s life, the news of Barry landing in the hospital was practically a standing headline, but the news of his death was a shock.

He lived a big, big life here, footprints, imprints, images, accomplishments that irrevocably changed the city, and reckless and wounding acts that divided the city.

Long-term, the landscape changed. The geography of opportunity changed for the better for a time for African Americans in general, and those living in poverty, looking for jobs, for the elderly, the sick, the disadvantaged youths whom he inspired with his outsized presence, his outsider ways, his often in-your-face approach to white establishment types. He opened up opportunities for jobs in the District government which did not exist before, in its bureaucracies and its police and fire departments. When he was first elected—narrowly over the District’s first popularly elected mayor, Walter Washington—he was young and electric, running on a slogan of “Take a Stand.” When he took office, the city was a town that was still suffering from the effects of the 1968 riots. Although no longer segregated, it had the look of a segregated city, complete with the desolation of run-down neighborhoods along the 14th Street corridor.

It turned out that Marion Barry, as a politician, was something of a natural, like Bill Clinton, a man who couldn’t live without the hurly burly of crowds, meetings, face-to-face contacts. He was more often than not supremely confident in the pubic arena. If his major share of constituents was among the less affluent, heavily black areas of the city, especially when his last base of power became Anacostia and Ward 8, he was comfortable, and uniquely himself in just about any setting. We can recall Barry coming to Citizen Association of Georgetown meetings, where he had some vehement foes, and controlling the meeting by dint of his presence.

The city continued to change. And after the 1990 scandal—the videos of the Mayor of the District of Columbia taking a hit from a crack pipe, “The bitch set me up,” which became a t-shirt slogan, the trial, the journey to prison and the triumphant release—Barry had changed, too. He would be re-elected mayor for a term that was highlighted by the imposed presence of a federally mandated control board which took away almost all his power.

He opted out, not to run again. In 2004, he won the Ward 8 council seat and had been there until his death.

He felt himself redeemed often, and often stumbled, here and there. His talk got him into trouble. His bad habits got him into trouble. He could be racially divisive.

But he was always in the arena. Always.

Everybody who lived here during the Barry years has strong feelings about him, one way or the other, which came as no surprise. Often, it depended on where you lived, who you were or what you were. Often, opinions fell along racial lines.

All that aside, we remember him. Very little time passed over the years when he did not make news. But in Ward 8, he had returned and found a home. His personal life was as turbulent as his public life—four marriages, all ended, and one son, Christopher Barry.

We interviewed him in 2004, when he was seeking to gain the Ward 8 seat. He had said then that he was running because people kept asking him to, that he couldn’t get through a trip to a grocery store without talking for hours with residents.

We met him at his campaign headquarters which was only a block away from the Players restaurant, where we would have lunch (chicken dumpling soup, a favorite). It took us 45 minutes to get there. People at bus stops would hail him or come up to him. An elderly woman touched his hand to “God bless” him, and Barry knew her by name and asked after her grandchildren and health. Young men would look at him in awe. Nothing that happened on that walk was anything less than genuine. Pressing the flesh, a respectful listening to problems. Barry was in his element.

Outgoing Mayor Vincent Gray, who experienced his own share of political and personal troubles, choked up announcing his friend’s death. There was a similar, and emotional moment in 2010, when Barry was stripped of a chairmanship and censured by the District Council as a whole. Gray, stoic but dignified, read off the bill and Barry’s colleagues, one by one, voted (often whispered and muttered) yea on the censure motion, while Barry pleaded with Gray not to proceed.

We remember him too taking on a DPS employee during hearings on potential large-scale layoffs of teachers—in another room, teachers in danger of being fired cheered him in.

We remember him not so long ago over lunch for a story about his autobiography, “Mayor for Life.” He was walking slower but ate with a hearty appetite. He recalled the details of growing up in the segregated south as a poor African-American child, daring to drink out of a whites-only fountain just to see what it was like. He said he had no faith in the idea of the slogan, “One City,” as touted by Mayor Gray. He called it a pipe dream.

There will be no more quotes, outrageous or inspiring. There will be commemorations and vigils to come. Many are saying that the big memorial will come next week after Thanksgiving.

But there will be no more headlines except the last one. In the minds of the people who were there over the course of his time in this city, he will remain the mayor—not for life—but of our lives in his times.
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The One and Only Marion Barry
•

He never really left the stage. Now he’s gone. For nearly 50 years, Marion Barry was a force to be reckoned with. There were those who idolized him and saw him as their only champion. Others detested him and viewed him as an odious, destructive presence.

One thing that cannot be taken away from Barry: he was a very successful politician. He was elected Mayor of the District of Columbia four times. The last time was truly amazing. He had been in prison for six months just a few years before but came back in 1994 and reclaimed the highest office. Even hobbled by poor health during his last days, he was still an elected official, representing Ward 8 on the District Council. He could have served there forever.

Barry, a self-proclaimed “situationist,” formulated himself to fit each and every situation. In 1974, when he was first elected to the D.C. Council, he was a dashiki-clad militant activist. He won citywide for the at-large position. Four years later, he needed to moderate his image. So, he became a pin-stripe politician who romanced the residents of Georgetown and Cleveland Park in their living rooms. He won them over and began his reign as mayor.

In 1982, Barry was supposed to face a formidable foe in former Cabinet secretary and former Ambassador Patricia Roberts Harris. The story is told that while Harris was testing the waters for her potential run, she ventured out to Anacostia. After giving a speech, she felt quite satisfied and thought she had connected with the crowd. She sat down. Seated next to her was Barry. He leaned over and whispered into her ear, “I’m going to kick your ass.” That’s exactly what he did. He cleaned her clock, winning seven of eight wards. I dare you to name his 1986 opponent.

To those who did not want D.C. to have more home rule, Congressional representation and ultimately statehood, Barry was the perfect and ideal justification for saying, “No.” His personal life, the bloated government payroll and corruption by close aides and friends all added up to hold D.C. back. We, the citizens of D.C., suffered — even today.

As a person, Barry was not vindictive or mean-spirited. He once told me that there was only one person in this city he would not speak to. Barry played the race card when needed. But more than anything he was a big-city mayor of the Richard J. Daley, Boss Tweed, Boss Crump and James Michael Curley vintage. That’s the way I believe he wanted to be remembered.

Regularly contributing to The Georgetowner and The Downtowner, Mark Plotkin is a political analyst and contributor to the BBC on American politics and also a contributor to TheHill.com.

Woman, Dog Pulled From C&O Canal
•

A woman and her dog were rescued from the C&O Canal near 31st and M Streets NW on Nov. 21, according to NBC4 News. It is unclear how and why the woman and the dog were in the water, with temperatures hovering above freezing. They likely fell in the water on a morning walk, around 8:30 a.m. Neither the woman nor her dog was injured.

Jogger Hurt at 28th & Q
•

A car struck and seriously injured a pedestrian around 4 p.m. on Nov. 26 at 28th and Q streets NW, according to police. The man, who was jogging at the time, was pinned under the car for almost an hour. D.C. Fire officials removed the man from under the car and brought him to the hospital. He is in critical condition following the accident.