Latest News

Robert Devaney • March 13, 2014

The District Department of Transportation has scheduled bridge preservation repairs on the Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge over Rock Creek Parkway and needs to close lanes temporarily.

According to DDOT, “the repairs will require temporary single-lane closures on southbound and northbound Rock Creek Parkway from Thursday, Feb. 27, to Monday, March 3. These closures will take place in off-peak (9:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.) and nighttime (9 p.m. to 5 a.m.) hours on the weekdays, and at nighttime (9 p.m. to 5 a.m.) on the weekends. Temporary signs and traffic control measures will be in place to alert and guide the traveling public through the work zone.”

For more information about this work, contact project manager Yared Tesfaye at 202-439-4796.

Gary Tischler •

I woke up this morning from three nightmares: I dreamt the Russians had sort of invaded the Crimea, that another snow storm had stopped D.C. and the region in its tracks and that the 86th Academy Awards show was still going on.

Two out of three isn’t bad.

Still, even though “12 Years a Slave” had in the end defied the steamrolling “Gravity” by winning the Best Picture Award just before midnight (Eastern Time), which made this one of the longer Oscars shows in recent memory, it sure felt like there was a lot of Oscars after life going on. There was twitter buzz about every little thing. The selfie, twitted by hostess Elleen DeEllen DeGeneres, was priceless as was John Travolta’s big flub-up of introducing Broadway star Idina Menzel (singing “Let It Go” from “Frozen”) as “Adella Dazeem.” But here’s my question: how did we know this is the correct spelling of the fake name?

Menzel, who appeared here at the National Theatre back in September in the pre-Broadway run of “If/Then”, knocked the song—apparently a favorite among pre-adolescent girls who are big fans of “Frozen”—out of the park. You go, Adella. Not only that, but the song won Best Oscar honors.

The Oscars ceremonies, which go way back to the day when Bob Hope was still only middle-aged as host of the black-and-white show, always bring out contradictory feelings. You feel like Tevye watching it. On the one hand, the incense-like whiff of self-congratulation that always seems to engulf these things, on the other hand, those trips down memory lane, which resurrect the still lively corpse of old Hollywood. On the one hand, the acceptance speeches—those that are eloquent and generous, like that of Cate Blanchett, who praised every of her rivals for best actress. On the other hand, the acceptance speeches, like that of director Alfonso Cueron, who won for “Gravity” and failed to acknowledge the existence of other directors, a selfie in the flesh.

Watching the Oscars this year—as opposed to sitting through them last year when Seth McFarlane saw the boobies and Ann Hathaway Fantined the ceremonies—seemed a little weird. The ABC crew covering the red carpet fanfare prelim made you long for Billy Bush, which is saying something, although during the course of watching, I managed to find out that that fringy thing midway down the dresses of Jennifer Lawrence, Blanchett and Amy Adams was a called a peplum, a word that no doubt will haunt me in yet another nightmare, as in “May I ask if that is a peplum you’re wearing?” There’s something sweet and throaty in that word, it sounds like organic chocolate.

This was one of those nights when you gave in to the excesses—there are always excesses—of improbability because to fight it was to worry about Ukraine, the coming snow day, the sub-zero weather after that. Those things were playing in the background, to re-appear on the midnight news or the morning paper, if you could find it in the snowdrift.

So instead, all right, all right, Matthew McConaughey was sitting in the front row with his mother and wife, looking almost angelic in a white tux, practically glowing with expectation, the longish hair perfectly combed, like a schoolboy’s. You thought: “My God, what if he doesn’t win?” Not only that, but he gently shared the spotlight with Kim Novak, who at 81, still looked glamorous like the movie star of yore that she is and seemed perfectly happy to be there, as if inhaling a last gulp of tinsel.

We live during a time when such proceedings are being constantly blogged about, twitted and texted to a fare thee well, in real time, often by anonymous (or not) professional snarkers like Nikki Finke, a Hollywood outsider-insider, who probably wears a perfume called “Cutting Edge 24/7” with a slight dash of “Super Self Absorption.” Jimmy Kimmel, by the bye, skewered those hidden twitterers, then promptly, in true Hollywood fashion, promoted his show.

DeGeneres was playful throughout, wandering among the seats, being insulting, but not too much, changing into at least two tuxedoes, dressing up as Glinda the good witch from “The Wizard of Oz,” ordering out for three or four large pizzas, and distributing them (which probably ran up the clock), generally running the proceedings like a slightly naughty Miss Congeniality.

The cool and the hip in the media did not like the tribute to “The Wizard of Oz,” celebrating its 75th anniversary, with big-voiced mega-star Pink doing a tolerable version of “Over the Rainbow,” with Liza Minelli and the Lufts in the audience. It’s easy to trash this sort of thing. Yet I think you do so at your peril: I remember a young girl and her date watching it a Biograph screening some years ago at the end of which the girl asked her date what he thought. “I thought it kind of dragged,” he said, which prompted this classic reply and end of relationship: “Frank, I don’t think you’ve ever been happy a day in your effing life.” (Almost as good as “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” which was uttered in the same year as “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more.”)

But I digress. Here are some highlights:

Thor and Theron (Charlize) handing out an award. Wow. Think of the kids they might have.

Bette Midler, singing, emoting, acting, emotionalizing “Wind Beneath My Wings,” after the traditional recitation — “In Memoriam” — of the departed.

The presence of a true legend and stately gentleman, named Sidney Poitier, obviously frail, but strong of heart, being asked how things were different from when he won an Oscar for “Lilies of the Field.” “Well, for one thing, we didn’t have this,” he said, pointing to the carpet. “So many changes.” And Poitier again, being joined by the amazing grace of Angelina Jolie to present the award for best director. “Please keep doing what you’re doing,” he told the audience of film-makers.

If Jennifer Lawrence became Hollywood’s instant darling last year—and she still is darling—this year’s entry was Lupita Nyong’o, who won the Best Supporting Actress nod for “12 Years a Slave.” Eloquent, poised, beautiful and funny, the Kenya native stole the evening from almost everybody, except perhaps for the fact that her movie won the biggest award of all. She and the movie deserved it. The Oscars—like the snow storm—are finally over, even if the Russians have not left the Crimea.

[See photos below from the DIstrict Council’s Elizabeth Webster. As in previous years, Webster was in Los Angeles over the weekend to visit friends and colleagues and to promote film production jobs in Washington, D.C.] [gallery ids="101659,145066,145071,145075,145062,145080,145087,145084" nav="thumbs"]

Paulina Phelps •

Sting will headline the seventh annual Performance Series of Legends benefit concert for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Wednesday, March 12, at 8 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore. He will be joined by special guest Paul Simon plus an additional surprise performer.

The benefit concert will help fund badly needed renovations at the arts school.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Sting has offered his resources and talents to our school,” said Rory Pullens, Head of School and CEO of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. “His contribution through this performance series not only gives our students inspiration and valuable exposure but provides a source of revenue that enables us to continue the important mission of providing arts education excellence to deserving students who wouldn’t otherwise have this opportunity.”

According to the school’s co-founder, Peggy Cafritz, “We are the only high school with a 100 percent graduation rate; 95 percent of our graduates go to college.”
To stay enrolled, students must earn above a certain grade point average, while also completing 34 percent more credits, which the school requires in comparison to other D.C. public schools.
Producing some of the best talent in the country, the Ellington School is ranked as one of D.C.’s top public high school.
The school also benefits the community by admitting 40 percent of the most economically disadvantaged students in the community.

Meanwhile, Duke Ellington School’s renovation plans are top on the agenda for the Advisory Neighborhood Commission’s meeting March 4.
Since its establishment in 1974, Georgetown and Burleith have supported the public school. Therefore, the renovation plans hold much significance for students and faculty at the school as well as the surrounding neighborhood. As the school is a landmarked building, the Old Georgetown Board and the Commission of Fine Arts have the authority to approve the plans. Certain elements of the renovation face controversy, such as a rooftop terrace. At a previous meeting, commissioners voted in favor of the school renovation but unanimously voiced “serious concerns about several elements in the concept submission.”

The funds for the renovation come from D.C.’s 2014 budget, which has committed $90 million dollars. The school hopes the city will continue to raise this amount to $130 million, as that is the average cost for high school renovations in the city.

The school’s annual Legends Benefit Concert on March 12 will contribute to those fundraising efforts. For this year’s concert, artists Sting and Paul Simon will perform — free of charge — as past performers have always done. With help from the city and from the benefit concert, the school hopes to move out of the planning phase and break ground this year.

The concert is the latest installment of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts’ Performance Series of Legends that has previously featured Dave Chappelle, Denyce Graves, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Smokey Robinson and Patti Labelle.

Individual ticket prices for 8 p.m. March 12 performance are between $250 and $750. VIP tickets are $1,000 each and will include access to a private reception prior to the concert. Sponsorship levels range from $5,000-$100,000 and are available through the Ellington Fund at 202-333-2555 or info@ellingtonarts.org. Visit www.ellingtonschool.org for details.

Georgetowner •

Georgetown Tobacco: Celebrating 50 Years!

March 7th, 2014 at 03:00 PM | info@GTTobacco.com | Tel: (202) 338 5100 | Event Website

March 15, 1964 was the day David Berkebile opened Georgetown Tobacco. To celebrate its 50th Anniversary, Georgetown Tobacco is holding a series of events with some of its favorite suppliers.

On March 7 from 3 to 8 p.m. Georgetown Tobacco’s Ashton Cigar representative Alec Rubiera will be spotlighting two of its Nicaraguan brands including San Cristobal Elegancia, and the San Cristobal Revelation.

Address

Georgetown Tobacco; 3144 M Street, NW

British Invasion: The Beatles & The Rolling Stones – The Washington Ballet

March 7th, 2014 at 07:30 PM | $25 – $125 | info@washingtonballet.org | Tel: 202.362.3606 x605 | Event Website

When the Beatles and the Rolling Stones invaded America in the 1960s, rock ‘n’ roll changed forever. Relive this revolution in Trey McIntyre’s “A Day in the Life,” an energetic, thrillingly visual and emotional journey set to classic Beatles’ tunes. Through poignant lyrics, hard-driving guitar licks and strutting dance, Christopher Bruce’s highly-acclaimed rock ballet Rooster, is the penultimate “battle of the sexes.”

Address

The Kennedy Center, Eisenhower Theater; 2700 F St. NW

Dumbarton House: American Red Cross Blood Drive

March 8th, 2014 at 11:00 AM | Tel: 202.337.2288 ext 227 | Event Website

Winter storms and freezing temperatures have resulted in thousands of uncollected blood and platelet donations. Help save lives by donating blood at the American Red Cross blood drive, hosted by Dumbarton House on Saturday, March 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call 1.800.RED.Cross or go to www.redcrossblood.org and use sponsor code “05314425” to register. Questions and sign-ups can also be made by contacting Bridgette Rodriguez at 202.337.2288 ext 227.

Address

Dumbarton House; 2715 Q St NW

Open Kitchen’s Intro to Knife Skills

March 8th, 2014 at 11:00 AM | $60 | holly.camalier@openkitchen-dcmetro.com | Tel: 7039428148 | Event Website

Don’t let the kitchen intimidate you any longer! Whether your menu is basic or upscale, perfecting your knife skills can go a long way in preparing a meal. Learn the basics of knife skills with our Culinary Director Doug Cooperman and dine on lunch you’ve prepared during class.

Address

7115 Leesburg Pike #107; Falls Church, VA 22043

The Wacky & Whimsical Tea for THEARC

March 9th, 2014 at 02:00 PM | $85-$150 | jstone@thearcdc.org | Tel: 202-889-5901 | Event Website

The Wacky & Whimsical Tea for THEARC is a fun-filled Sunday afternoon that will include high tea & tasty bites, a performance by the students of The Washington Ballet and circus-inspired games and activities for children of all ages and their families. Parents can enjoy a silent auction of the area’s most coveted experiences, a prize treasure trove and other fun surprises. All of the proceeds from the event will benefit the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC).

Address

The Ritz-Carlton Washington DC; 1150 22nd Street, N.W.

Washington Concert Opera Presents Verdi’s Il corsaro

March 9th, 2014 at 06:00 PM | $15-$110 | info@concertopera.org | Tel: 202-364-5826 | Event Website

Starring Michael Fabiano, Nicole Cabell and Maestro Antony Walker in this story of pirates on the open seas, battles and adventure. Epic in scope and musical offerings but intimate and personal, this rarely performed Verdi gem appeals to fans of grand opera and intimate voices alike.

Address

Lisner Auditorium at GWU; 730 21st Street NW

Sting, Paul Simon Headline Benefit for Georgetown’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts

March 12th, 2014 at 08:00 PM | Tickets : $250, $375, $500, $7500 | info@ellingtonarts.org | Tel: (202) 333-255 | Event Website

Supporters of Georgetown’s Duke Ellington School of the Arts will have the opportunity to help the school as well as see what will likely be an awesome concert by no other than Sting, Paul Simon and a special guest rumored to be Stevie Wonder.

The concert takes place Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Music Center of Strathmore in Bethesda

To learn more, call the Ellington Fund at 202-333-2555 or email info@ellingtonarts.org.

Address

THE MUSIC CENTER AT STRATHMORE;5301 Tuckerman Lane; North Bethesda, MD 20852-3385

Georgetowner •

Former, Sometimes Controversial, National Portrait Gallery Director Martin Sullivan Dies

If you met Martin E. Sullivan, he would not have struck as the kind of man to excite controversy or the oft-used phrase “firestorm.”

Face to face, Sullivan, the director of the National Portrait Gallery from 2008 to 2012 who passed away at the age of 70 Feb. 25, seemed a graceful man who spoke in direct and down-to-earth terms. He came to the NPG determined to bring something of a fresh spirit to the museum in the Reynolds Center, usually associated with presidential portraits and portraits of nationally known artists and dignified achievers and historic personages. When Sullivan came, so did Elvis—in a “One Life Exhibition” as well as expansive exhibition of Elvis portraits by Al Wertheimer.

But that’s not flashed controversy. That would be the 2010 exhibition, “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture,” an expansive, ambitious and far-reaching show that meant to show the vast scope and influence of sexual differences in American art, with the works by gay artists as well as portraits of the country’s often hidden or closeted culture of sexual difference. It was as much a portrait show as it was a history show, historic for its presence as well as its subject. The show received praise in many quarters for its cultural ambition and its breadth and depth, but ignited controversies and wrath from the right and left.

Conservatives railed against the inclusion of a brief video by the late artist David Wojnarowicz, “Fire in the Belly,” which depicted briefly a crucifix covered by ants.
Conservative politicians, including Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner and members of the House Appropriations Committee, objected to the piece as did Catholic religious leaders. When Smithsonian head G. Wayne Clough ordered the piece taken from the exhibition, there was outrage from arts groups and liberals. Even so, Sullivan complied, saying he did not attention taken from the merits of the entire show or make the museum a target for cutting arts funds.

Indeed, the show was a courageous milestone for the NPG, one Sullivan could take pride in, even if it put him in a position of taking shots from the right and the left. During his career, Sullivan administered grants programs at the National Endowments for the Humanities. He was director of the New York State Museum in Albany as well as director of the Heard Museum of American Indian Art and History in Phoenix.

Alain Resnais, Last of the New Wave Directors

In the 1950s and 1960s, the world of film was overtaken by a serious interest in the works of high-minded, bravely artistic and uncommon world-wide directors, who were at the head of a movie world far removed from Hollywood.

If the name Francois Truffaut, Federico Fellini, Ingmar Bergman, Michaelangelo Antonini, Jean Luc Godard, Louis Malle, Satjit Ray and Akiro Kurosawa ring a bell for you, then you were in your youth something of a cineaste, perhaps French, or were trying to impress your girlfriend who was studying art and living in the Village.

In those days, film—or cinema—was an art form film in certain circles, sometimes affected but mostly original, a kind of antidote to Cinemascope, Doris Day and Hollywood spectacles, not to mention the looming wasteland threat of television.

Include French director Alain Resnais, who died at the age of 91, in that stellar group. Perhaps outside of Antonini, whose subject was a kind of ennui, he was one of the most difficult artists working in film. His “Last Year at Marienbad” was a puzzling, beautiful black-and-white riff on time itself, as the lead actors, the mysteriously beautiful Delphine Seyrig and Giorgio Albertazzi continually run into each other, the man trying to suggest that they had met and loved before, to which the woman inevitably replied, “Yes,” “Perhaps,” “I’m not sure” and so on. It was a film where you could walk into it in the middle and not be any more or less confused.

“Hiroshima Mon Amour,” a film about guilt and loss and living in modern times was, if not accessible, at least resonant, while his most dramatic—and least surrealistic—film was “La Guerre Est Finie” (“The War is Over”) in which the suave, tired Ives Montand played an old Spanish revolutionary with Ingrid Thulin as his lover.

Resnais—who once said that he “made difficult films but not on purpose” was part of the French New Wave triumvirate that included the radical, political Godard and the classic movie maker Truffaut (“Jules and Jim”) . They were as different as night and day, weekend and workday, clarity and Proust. Thoughts like that is why you went to those movies then. They made you vaguely excited, stimulated hitherto untouched places in your imagination.

Au revoir, Monsieur Resnais.

Kaplan: Biographer Whose Subjects Made for Great Novels

Justin Kaplan was one of the finest American novelist of the 20th century.

Trouble was he wrote biographies about great figures of the latter part of the 19th Century.

It wasn’t actually troublesome. Kaplan, who died at the age of 88 of complications from Parkinson’s Disease, believed that biography was an act of story-telling, that it was an art form, like a novel, like poems, and short stories and plays.

He acted on the belief in the works for which he’ll be remembered, biographies of Mark Twain, Walt Whitman and Lincoln Steffens, writers, who were very different as writers, men and iconic American figures.

Kaplan, although he was born the son of a man named Joe, who owned a shirt factory in Manhattan, was to the book born. His father loved literature, Kaplan himself got a degree in English from Harvard, worked as an editor at “Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations” and would later enlarge the great quote book considerably into the windy fields of the vernacular. He and married a novelist. With Kaplan, the word and the wordsmiths were kings.

His biographies were interpretative, to be sure, but also descriptive to the point of poetry: he loved lists, he would drag out words as if they were infantry and squads in the work entire, which was a division.

It wasn’t just that Kaplan wrote a form of literary work, it was that his construction of biographies tended to be unorthodox: not for him, he was born in, lived here and there, did this and that, and died time after at such and such a date.

For his biography of Mark Twain,which he called, significantly, “Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain”, and for which he won a Pulitzer Price, Kaplan began with Twain’s arrival in New York City after a colorful and raucous career on the Mississippi River and a humorist and reporter in California. It’s fair to say that he looked at the mansions of New York and saw a kind of serious future there, perhaps the man in the white suit, he was about to become.

But it’s not just Twain who plunges into New York. It’s Kaplan, too. Here is a lengthy description of New York worth quoting, because it says a lot about Kaplan and the environs where Twain found himself. “On Sundays, the upright and well-dressed, acceptable in the sight of both Lorenzo Delmonico and the Deity, went to services at Bishop Southgate’s or across the river at Henry Ward Beecher’s in Brooklyn, to be reassured that godliness and prosperity went hand in hand, mostly to see and be seen, the ladies patting their tiny hats which looked like jockey saddles and batter cakes.”

His concept was that Twain and Clemens were one and the same, a kind of self-created amalgam of characters. Other biographies of Twain have been written—including an interesting autobiography—but none was written better than Kaplan’s.

The same can be said of the Whitman biography, which begins when the great work of “Leaves of Grass” and the rest had already been written and Whitman moved into the role of great old poetic sage after moving out of his brother’s house where he had been living. He was 61 years old.

This becomes a process of looking back and into the mind of a true—if awkward, odd, outsider-American. In its range, the book is every bit as far-reaching as “Leaves” and Whitman’s work, generous, curious, celebratory, a biography of a true American original.

Kaplan’s biography of Lincoln Steffens, the great muckraking crusader and foe of the trusts and corporations, did not attract as much attention, because, in spite of being a writer, Steffens was not naturally so. He was a political man and champion of causes, not always prophetic, especially after his visit to the new Soviet Union and his comment: “I have seen the future.”

Paulina Phelps •

On March 5, the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority issued an advisory, which affected more 1,010 persons, running businesses and living in areas west and southwest of Rock Creek Park. The advisory was a precaution after a power outage yesterday afternoon at the Ft. Reno Pumping Station, which an official told the Washington Post was caused by a switchgear failure. The email alert instructed residents who are experiencing low water pressure to boil water before cooking or drinking as it may be contaminated.

According to the D.C. Water and Sewage Authority, since this advisory was issued, water consumption has been restored in all areas except for upper parts of Northwest D.C., where it will remain in effect until Friday.

Water contamination remains a problem for any major city. According to the Washington Post, D.C. pumps 2 billion gallons from sewers and toilets into the Potomac and the Anacostia Rivers and Rock Creek annually.

The repeated instances and detrimental effects of water contaminated with lead has caused miscarriages, many believe, and needs to be stopped.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department ordered D.C. — along with a number of other rainy cities like New York, Philadelphia and Seattle — to stop dumping combined sewer overflow into rivers. This resulted in the creation and construction of the District’s $2.6-billion underground sewage tunnel, also known as “Lady Bird.” Construction on the tunnel began last July 29 and will be finished in stages with some parts opening in 2016 and the bigger sections following in 2018 and 2022.

While the sewage tunnel will fix many of the water contamination issues, it is a big budget item. DC Water’s general manager George Hawkins told the Washington Post, “Our ratepayers are paying for all this…we estimate [there will be] rate increases for the next 10 years, and maybe for 20, and most of that’s for the tunnel.” … “I want our ratepayers to understand that we have to do this, but it’s more important that they recognize the benefits of it…No one will ever see this tunnel, but they’ll see that the river’s cleaner, and down stream in the Chesapeake, it will be a significant difference.”

Robert Devaney •

Continuing his citywide push to talk to as many voters as possible, mayoral candidate Vincent Orange was welcomed at a meet-and-greet, hosted at the home Natalia Luis and Antonio Montiero, just up Foxhall Road from Georgetown, Saturday evening, March 8. Another co-host was Cidalia Luis-Akbar.

Orange, an at-large council member and Democrat, declared his candidacy for mayor last November and said he is focused on “leaving no one behind” and is known for his advocacy of a living wage bill as well as an affordable housing bill on the District Council.

While trailing in the polls behind fellow candidates, such as Mayor Vincent Gray and council members Muriel Bowser and Jack Evans, Orange said he is deterred, despite calls by one Washington Post columnist for some candidates to drop out of the race.

The Democratic Primary for D.C. mayor will be held April 1.
[gallery ids="101663,144752,144755,144760,144762" nav="thumbs"]

Gary Tischler •

A Safeway worker in Adams Morgan shook his head when asked about his feelings about Mayor Vincent Gray’s chances in the Democratic Primary with the election just a few weeks away on April 1.

“Man, he’s toast,” the man said.

“I don’t know, I’m really, really disappointed. I was before, but now this is bad. I voted for Gray last time. Hell, I went door to door with hand-outs and brochures.

“You know what’s really sad is that they didn’t need to do any of that stuff. He would have won anyway.”

This was the morning after businessman Jeffrey Thompson, the alleged lynchpin of a Gray’s off-the-books “shadow campaign” was charged and then pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiring to break federal and local campaign finance laws during a six-year period through illegal conduit contributions and off-the-books spending as part of an agreement in which he alleged that the mayor knew about the illegal contributions and, in fact, had asked for Thompson’s help directly. The news, already rumored late last week, dropped like a bomb on the ongoing primary campaign Monday. Thompson is alleged to have funneled more than $600,000 into Gray’s campaign in 2010.

Those contributions totaled more than $2 million, with some $600,000 going to Gray’s electoral campaign.

But so far, it doesn’t look as if the mayor thinks he’s toast or any other kind of breakfast food. In response, Gray, who has steadfastly denied doing anything wrong since the investigation into his campaign but has also refused to talk about it on the advice of his attorney, emphatically said that said that Thompson’s allegation are “lies. These are lies. These are falsehoods.”

Talking in an interview with WUSA’s Bruce Johnson and with other media, including the Washington Post, Gray, saying more about the 2010 campaign than he has in over three years, said that “I was shocked and surprise about the allegations. We anticipated that with Thompson speaking with the feds that this would all be finally over and cleared up. I was shocked. I spoke with Mr. Thompson about campaign contributions once, and it was then that he came up with the ‘Uncle Earl’ reference. That’s the only thing that was accurate. I assumed everything was on the up-and-up and that he did not want Mr. Fenty to find out about contributions to our campaign.”

Gray was intense and direct in his response to the allegation as part of a day that created a firestorm of local news, although that won’t last long either, given that Thompson, who gave new meaning to the idea of “Hey, big spender,” allegedly spread money around to numerous campaigns — not only to District council candidates, but to Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2008, among others. Councilman Vincent Orange, who’s also running for mayor has already admitted to receiving funds from Thompson.

“Sure, this business is going to affect the campaign,” he said to various reporters. “But I’m going to continue to say what I’ve been saying. These are lies.

The big headlines were that “Prosecutors say Gray knew” and allegedly asked for additional moneys and presented a budget for that money before the election. So far, a number of Gray campaign officials and workers have been indicted and pleaded guilty, including veteran campaign operative Vernon Hawkins and Gray’s public relations consultant Jeanne Clark Harris, both of whom figure strongly in the allegations as participants in the “shadow campaign.” Basically, it’s a campaign that was allegedly run off the books, with unreported funds, or disguised funds.

It would appear that Gray continues to keep on running which may or may not be good for the campaign as a whole, since almost every forum or public occasion will turn into a likely heated media event in which the mayor will be asked once again about the 2010 campaign, or whether he’ll resign or not or if he’s being indicted. That process no doubt began Tuesday when the Mayor was scheduled to give his annual “State of the District” address at a school.

Other folks have chimed in that the mayor’s chances, should he continue to run, have become slim, but others say that he still might be able to win at least the primary. By the way, David Catania, the high-profile at large council member who had indicated before that he would run if the mayor should win the primary, now has officially announced that he’ll be running in the general election in November.

“Here’s the thing,” said Mark Plotkin, a long-time Washington political reporter, pundit and expert who is a commentator and reporter on America politics for BBC America, “[U.S. Attorney Ronald] Machen was asked on a time when the mayor might be indicted — say before the primary or before the general election if he wins – and he said, “We have no time line.”

Machen did say at a televised press conference immediately after Thompson’s testimony that the guilty plea “pulls back the curtain to expose widespread corruption. . . . His plea gives the citizens of D.C. an inside look at the underground, off-the-books schemes that have corrupted election after election, year after year.” Machen called it “the tip of the iceberg.”

Plotkin thinks that certain elements could combine which could result in a Gray win. “First of all, we have no run-off elections. Which means that a candidate could get as little as 28 percent of the vote in the primary and win it. Second of all, Washington, in terms of voting, is a racial town. Not racist, but racial, which means that groups tend to vote for their own groups. I think a lot of people in Wards 6, 7 and 8 feel an affinity with Gray. And we don’t know who the beneficiaries of all this are. I’m sure Bowser thinks she is, that Jack [Evans] or Tommy [Wells] think they are. I can’t tell you. There was a lot of uncertainty in this campaign before that. Now, there’s a lot more. A lot of this boils down to whom people believe now. I’ve known Gray for a long time. He’s a very passionate, intense guy, and he can be extremely stubborn.”

Thompson, per his plea agreement, could face six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
“He [meaning Gray] could very well—and has to some extent already—use the really light sentence, and it is a light sentence, it’s a slap on the wrist, a kiss on the lips,”as a defense, and point to it as motivation for Thompson,” Plotkin said.

There were some immediate reactions from Gray’s rivals in the primary race.

Tommy Wells, the one person among the candidates who has consistently pushed the fact that he refused corporate campaign contributions and thus is not threatened by Thompson’s fund raising shadow, said that if the allegations are true, “Gray is absolutely disqualified from serving for mayor any longer.”

In a statement, Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, who is also running for mayor, said “Today is a sad day in the District. The allegations against the mayor are extremely serious. However, it is critical that this matter not cast a cloud over our city and the progress we have made. If the allegations are true, and if the mayor is charged, I believe he should do what’s in the best interest of the city.”

All along, this 2014 Democratic primary has been something of a surreal experience and operation, at almost every step of the way a process where everyone was supposed to ignore the elephant in the room, the single dark cloud overhead, Dorothy’s house whirling in the weather. That was and remains the investigation into the 2010 Campaign, into Thompson and, by inference, into Gray.

The elephant has made his first but probably not last roar. The dark cloud has dropped its first load of rain. Dorothy’s house is still circling, waiting to drop, like the proverbial other shoe.

The campaign at this late stage seems to be starting over. It remains as surreal as ever. ?

Georgetowner • March 3, 2014

Georgetown University Black Student Alliance presents: Battle of the Voices

February 28th, 2014 at 08:00 PM | Event Website

First Annual Washington D.C. Metropolitan Singing Competition. The Competition will feature the best performing vocalist from each participating university, Celebrity Judges & Audience Attendants (with both performance & Business experience) in the music industry, and Much More!

Proceeds from the event will be donated to Duke Ellington School of the Arts

Address

Gaston Hall; 37th and O St., NW

The Mellish at Mellow Mushroom Adams Morgan!!

February 28th, 2014 at 10:00 PM | $5 | themellishbooking@gmail.com | Tel: (202) 290-2778 | Event Website

This high-energy funk outfit, with its inebriating grooves and mesmerizing electric stage show, is guaranteed to deliver an incredibly wild show every time. Come join them at 10pm at Mellow Mushroom in Adams Morgan for a great night of high-energy music and delicious food and beer!

Address

2436 18th St NW

Open Kitchen’s Cork & Fork

February 28th, 2014 at 07:00 PM | $55 | holly.camalier@openkitchen-dcmetro.com | Tel: 7039428148 | Event Website

Grab your friends and watch as our chefs wine and dine you during an interactive Chef’s demonstration of three small plates paired with a tasting of three wines. You’ll get recipes for the dishes served, plus tips and tricks from the Chef for easy entertaining, cooking techniques, wine education, and more!

Menu: Cheese & Wine; Caramelized Onion, Apple, and Cheddar Turnovers

Roasted Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Crostini

Savory Blue Cheese Shortbreads topped with Dates, Honey and Walnuts

Address

7115 Leesburg Pike #107; Falls Church, VA 22043

A Taste of Puglia

March 1st, 2014 at 05:30 PM | 90 | primipiatti@aol.com | Tel: 202-223-3600

An authentic Pugliese dinner, showcasing the tremendous tastes of Puglia, Italy. Many of the ingredients included in the dinner are shipped fresh from Ceglie Messapica, the gastronomic capital of Puglia.

Address

Primi Piatti; 2013 I Street NW

The Yellow Ticket

March 1st, 2014 at 02:30 PM | Tickets available on the website from late January | Tel: (202) 518-9400 | Event Website

Hollywood’s first European superstar Pola Negri was cast in an early social drama, The Yellow Ticket, a tale of a woman who must pose as a prostitute and conceal her Jewish background to pursue an education. Shot partly in occupied Warsaw at the end of the First World War, it was produced by the German UFA studio and released by Paramount. Footage includes rare views of Nalewki, Warsaw’s Jewish district later destroyed by the Nazis.

Address

National Gallery of Art; 401 Constitution Avenue NW

Kids in the Kitchen

March 1st, 2014 at 10:00 AM | FREE | jlwkitk@gmail.com | Event Website

A FREEhealthy living activity fair for kids 3-13!

In addition to having healthy cooking demonstrations with professional chefs, we’ll have fitness class instructors there teaching Zumba, yoga, and more. Think obstacle courses, face painting, and free healthy snacks – all in the name of nutritional literacy!

The Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures van will also be conducting FREE dental screenings for kids up to age 12.

Address

YMCA National Capital; 1711 Rhode Island Ave NW

For A Woman

March 2nd, 2014 at 01:00 PM | Tickets available on the website from late January | Tel: (202) 518-9400 | Event Website

DC Premiere: In her mid-thirties, Anne knows practically nothing of her family’s past. After her mother’s death, Anne discovers old photos and letters that convince her to take a closer look at her parents’ past life.

Address

AFI Silver Theatre; 8633 Colesville Road; Silver Spring, MD

Family Concert: The Kennedy String Quartet

March 2nd, 2014 at 04:00 PM | Children Free – Adults: $30.00 each | sam@stjohnsgeorgetown.org | Tel: 202-338-1796 | Event Website

The Georgetown Concert Series, Family Concert
In this lively program for ages 4 and older, a string quartet from the National Symphony Orchestra engages the audience with musical contrasts, from the technical to the emotional. Enjoy hands-on fun with the musical instrument “petting zoo” which gives children a chance to get up close with the instruments they see played on stage.

Address

St. John’s Episcopal Church, Georgetown; 3240 O St.NW

Snuggle with the Stars

March 2nd, 2014 at 06:00 PM | $ 25 General Admission $50 VIP | Tel: 202-393-4266 | Event Website

Everyone throws an Oscar party, but only DC Shorts throws an Oscar pajama party. From the red carpet to the final award, DC Shorts aims to recreate the experience of watching from the comfort of your own home – only this home has a 2-story HD screen and serves up delicious foods and fancy drinks.

Address

U.S. Navy Memorial’s Burke Theater; 701 Pennsylvania, NW

Poetry Out Loud – District of Columbia Finals

March 4th, 2014 at 06:30 PM | Event Website

The DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities is pleased to host the 2014 Poetry Out Loud District finals on March 4th at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. The competition starts at 6PM and will feature performances by local artists and arts organizations including Split this Rock’s DC Youth Slam Team, DJ RBI with Words, Beats and Life, and Regie Cabico, a local poet and spoken word artist.

Address

Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company; 641 D Street, NW

Gary Tischler •

Amid a flurry of D.C. Democratic Party mayoral candidate forums, focus tends to get lost sometimes. Only three candidates showed up for the Penn Quarter Neighborhood Association-sponsored forum this week, but there were numerous other forums around town, as sometimes weary candidates rode the forum treadmill in advance of the April 1 primary.

At this forum were Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells and At-large Councilman Vincent Orange who made it to the mid-week morning forum for the D.C. downtown neighborhood which is actually a part of Ward 2, represented by Evans. Incumbent Mayor Vincent Gray had already declined the invitation earlier due to a conflict. Rising Ward 4 candidate Muriel Bowser did not attend either, as was the case for Andy Shallal, the Busboys and Poets restaurant(s) owner.

The forum—which often wandered into somewhat and site-specific issues pertinent to the owners and retailers of the Penn Quarter District—was held against the background of a new poll—from WRC 4—which showed Gray maintaining a still considerable lead with 28 percent of likely voters supporting him. But for the candidates chasing him, there was some movement—Bowser is opening up a lead over her fellow challengers, gaining a 20-percent support. That made for a distancing gap over Evans (13 percent ) and Wells (12 percent ) as well as Shallal (6 percent ) and Orange (4 percent ).

The Penn Quarter forum was held on a morning when yet another snow storm (brief, but full of flurries) hit Washington that morning. The candidates talked about familiar subjects. Evans continued to tout his experience (he’s the longest-serving council member by far), his expertise on matters financial, his desire to create more affordable housing for the city which is in something of a housing boom, not to mention operating at a surplus. Wells again talked about ethics—he’s the only candidate who’s not taking corporate contributions. In addition, there was talk about noise problems in Penn Quarter, commercial lighting and an apparent increase in the presence of prostitutes in the area.

The forum suffered from the absence of the other candidates. It’s hard to have a debate with a sitting mayor when he’s not there or when the person who appears to be the current leading challenger is not there.

The WRC4 Poll, conducted with WAMU-FM, the Washington Informer and Marist College, offered up similar results from the previous poll, conducted by the Washington Post—albeit with a narrower margin of a lead for Gray.

Many voters are still concerned over the cloud that hangs over the Gray campaign from his previous campaign, the indictments that resulted from a federal investigation which is ongoing and the activities of developer Jeffrey Thompson. While apologizing, the mayor has refused to talk about the issue

In the WRC poll, two-thirds of those polled said they preferred to have a different mayor this time around. That result seemed at least a little odd, as if separating voter discontent, mistrust and a willingness, a preference for someone new, to an unwillingness on a large base to support anyone else over Gray.

The poll also noted that there is support for Gray’s handling of governance, given that the city is not only on a sound financial footing but appears to be booming. Still, it’s been suggested—by the Post and the mayor’s challengers—that Gray can’t take the credit for all of that since the process of revival, educational reform and economic improvement began under Mayor Anthony Williams and continued under Mayor Adrian Fenty, whom Gray defeated in the previous election.

Once thing is certain for everyone: time is running out—with only a month to go.

Gray has to hang on to his lead and hope nothing emerges from the ongoing investigation. Bowser has to show signs—other than a Post endorsement which, it has been suggested, may backfire—that she can continue a going forward momentum. Both Evans and Wells, stuck at similar numbers from the Post poll have to find a way to move forward themselves. Orange and Shallal have to decide that they have the commitment and reasons to stay in the race.

All of them have to survive—like residents facing yet another storm or bone-chilling temperatures—what appears now to a vortex of forums.