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Gary Tischler • October 2, 2013

Newtown, Connecticut. Aurora, Colorado. Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Seattle, Washington. Oakland, California. Carson City, Nevada. Tucson, Arizona. Binghamton, New York. Fort Hood, Texas.

Add another name to that list. The District of Columbia.

This morning, Washington, D.C., became another name on a list of mass, multiple shootings which have sent cities, even one as security-conscious as the capital of the United States, into a nerve-wracked, chaotic emotional and media-state after the suspected shooter—identified as Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas—entered the Naval Sea Systems Command Headquarters building at the historic Navy Yard near Nationals Park and allegedly killed at least 12 persons. Alexis is also known to have been killed.

The scene shown on television—press conferences, people walking outside of the area, television and print reporters descending on the area, tense officials announcing the latest information on the number of dead—looked both like scenes from another country and another place and familiar.

The other shootings over the past 15 years took place in restaurants, community centers, a movie theater, an elementary school, a coffee shop, a church, a military installations. All played out to the sound of rapidly fired gunshots, sounds that have not yet reached the level of being commonplace.

Mayor Vincent Gray, Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier and other local law enforcement officials, including those of the U.S. Park Police and the FBI, and hospital officials gave out scattered bits of news to what remains a shocking event. No one could clearly remember anything quite like this. There have been attempted bombings, or shootings here, and there was a disastrous 1982 plane crash over the waters of the Potomac and the takeover of the Islamic Center and going back to the 1940s, the shootings in Congress by Puerto Rican militants.

President Barack Obama said: “We’re confronting yet another mass shooting and today it happened on a military installation in our nation’s capital. … These are men and women who were going to work doing their jobs and protecting all of us. They’re patriots. They know the the dangers of serving abroad, but today they faced the unimaginable violence that they wouldn’t have expected here at home.”

“I am deeply saddened by today’s senseless act of violence, which is the deadliest single incident in the District in more than three decades,” Gray said. “I want to express my deepest sympathies to the families of those whose lives were lost, and my thoughts and prayers are with those who suffered injuries – and particularly our first responders, who reacted to this incident with unflinching and unstinting bravery.”

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus called the shootings “a horrific attack” and “stunning blow” against the U.S. Navy.

In a heartfelt response to the crime and her caring for the wounded at the Washington Navy Yard, MedStar Washington Hospital Center Chief Medical Officer Janis Orlowski said, “There’s something evil in our society that we as Americans have to work to try to eradicate. … I would like you to put my trauma center out of business. I really would. I would like to not be an expert on gunshots. … Let’s get rid of this. This is not America.” 

But something like this is a scene where confusion reigns amid the fog of blogs—wrong information merges with facts, a kind of information chaos is created. No one yet at this writing has mentioned motive in the case of Alexis, who was identified as a civilian navy contract who may have gained entry to what is considered one of the most secure buildings of the District of Columbia with an ID not his own.

Police have secured the area. The wounded are at the hospital. Workers at the Navy Yard have left the shut-down buildings. Flags are already at half-staff, the school lockdowns ended, traffic at M Street, SE, detoured and events postponed, including tonight’s Nationals-Braves game and music concert at the White House.

Those dozen killed we will soon learn of — and their families’ grief we may hardly know. So, how will we feel — and deal with such tragedies — tomorrow?

Georgetowner •

It was a busy and, at times, noisy day for the District of Columbia City Council, but in the end it made two significant (if controversial) decisions.

The council could not find enough votes to override Mayor Vincent Gray’s veto of the Council’s proposed Large Retailer Accountability Act—known everywhere now as the “Walmart bill”—which would have brought about a so-called “living wage” requirement for of $12.50 an hour (or less, with benefits) to large, non-unionized retailers opening in the District. The bill was aimed at future and current retailers with corporate sales of $1 billion or higher with stores of at least 75,000 square feet.

The debate had been raging off and on all summer, since it came to be associated with the future and fortunes of Walmart stores, which are open shops and which in many instances pay non-living wages to employees. When the council passed the legislation, Walmart, which had been slated to open several stores in the District of Columbia, threatened to pull out of development of all area stores, including a highly touted one in Ward 7.

The issue for the council members who proposed the legislation, like City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, was that it would lead to more under-paying jobs in the District. Mayor Gray in his veto said the bill was a “job-killer.” In effect, the debate often became frame in terms of “no jobs” or “low paying jobs” or “living wage jobs.” Organized labor, already in retreat in many parts of the country where similar issues are being debated, supported the bill forcing many council members into hard decisions. Opposing the measure were two city council members who had already announced they would be running for mayor: Muriel Bowser (Ward 4) and Tommy Wells (Ward 6), whose opposition was active and vocal, and included a proposal to raise the District’s minimum wage based on inflation numbers. Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, who has also declared his mayoral candidacy, voted for the legislation. New member Anita Bonds changed her vote from supporting the bill to opposing it, saying there were issues of fairness.

The council needed nine votes to override the veto. They got only seven. About 100 supporters of the bill had gathered outside the Wilson building to express their support of the Council bill.

Later in the day, a council — increasingly aware and worried of its past ethical problems and lack of support on that front from the general public — voted 9-4 to censure Ward 8 Councilman Marion Barry and to strip him of his Chairmanship of the Committee on Workforce and Community Development for taking gifts from DC construction companies in two instances totaling over $6,000. THe council disciplinary panel was led by Ward 5 council member Kenyan R. McDuffie. Barry had admitted the charges and took a $13,600 fine from the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability.

It is the second time in three years that Barry has been censured, in addition to having longstanding tax problems and being convicted in 1990 of cocaine possession charges (during his mayoral appointment) in the wake of a sensational trial which landed him in jail.

Council members seemed cognizant of Barry’s often reported legal troubles, the ongoing cloud that still seems to hang over the Mayor’s election campaign, and the fact that three high profile council members—Harry Thomas Jr, former City Council Chairman Kwame Brown and Michael Brown—have pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges.

Robert Devaney •

Georgetown alumnus and former Los Angeles Dodger owner Frank McCourt, Jr., will donate $100 million to Georgetown University to establish a school of public policy. It is the single largest gift ever to the university. In October, the McCourt School of Public Policy will become Georgetown’s ninth school and its first new one since 1957.

McCourt, a real estate developer, earned a bachelor’s degree of economics in 1975. His father and two of his brothers and a son also attended Georgetown University. McCourt was last in the news 2012, when the Dodgers were sold for a little more than $2 billion, and was criticized by Major League Baseball for his management of the team.

“The McCourt School for Public Policy will leverage Georgetown’s location in Washington, D.C., its relationships with global leaders and its legacy of public service to launch a new approach to public policy,” according to a university spokesperson. “The McCourt School will contribute policy-based, data-driven research and solutions to the urgent policy issues of our time. This world-class research institution will incorporate the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, a nationally ranked graduate program.”

“Georgetown is uniquely positioned, at this moment in our university’s history, to build on our existing strengths as we grow to meet the needs of the complex and evolving public policy field,” said Georgetown University President John DeGioia. “The McCourt School of Public Policy will build on the foundation we have created while leveraging our most valuable resources – our location in the nation’s capital, our national and global reputation and our commitment to civil and civic discourse and engagement – to become the premiere academic resource for public policy in the 21st century.”

“There has never been a more urgent need for this work,” McCourt added in the university announcement of the gift. “The issues facing global leaders are more acute, dynamic and interrelated than ever before. We recognize an opportunity here to serve the world in a new way through an innovative approach to public policy research and analysis.”

According to the university, the McCourt School will also house a new Massive Data Institute, “which will harness and navigate the data that new advances in technology and communications have generated in the past decade. The Massive Data Institute will take an innovative approach to shaping public policy by training the next generation of leaders to critically analyze, extract and use these large sets of data to better inform public policy.”

“The generosity and partnership of Frank McCourt brings to life our vision to connect the Jesuit values of service and justice with a critical need in the 21st century for scholars, leaders, policymakers and organizations to work together in new ways,” DeGioia said. “Understanding the data now available to us and using it in the creation of public policy will be fundamental to shaping the public policy of the future.”

“The McCourt family has had a long relationship with Georgetown over multiple generations, and we are very pleased to partner with the university to bring to life the bold vision of a new public policy school,” McCourt added. “Georgetown’s unmatched interconnections with the people, institutions and ideas that shape global public policy make it uniquely qualified to develop the preeminent public policy school for our time.”

The university will officially launch the McCourt School for Public Policy at an academic ceremony Oct. 8 and will host an Oct. 9 event with members of the national and international policy communities, dignitaries and congressional leaders.

Georgetowner • October 1, 2013

Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Annual Fall Festival of Indian Dance and Arts

September 27th, 2013 at 06:00 PM | $27.50-$125.00 | esaluke@dakshina.org | Event Website

Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company celebrates 10 years of excellence with its annual fall festival of Indian Dance and Arts. The festival features award-winning artists who have been pioneers in the arts of classical to modern Indian dance, music, theater, and spoken word.

Address

Shakespeare Theatre; 610 F Street NW

Art All Night DC 2013

September 28th, 2013 at 07:00 PM | Free | Tel: 202-265-SHAW | Event Website

Art All Night: Nuit Blanche DC will be presented on September 28 from 7:00 PM to 3:00 AM in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC. This will be the second presentation of the DC version of this Parisian overnight arts festival (a “Taste of Art All Night” was presented in 2012). Over one dozen venues ranging from the 32,000 square foot Wonder Bread Factory to the 500 square foot storefront at 1033 7th Street, NW will be included in the festival.

Address

1033 7th Street, NW

The Land Beneath My Feet, Tom Neel Celebrating 25 Years

September 28th, 2013 at 06:00 PM | Free | art@liveanartfullife.com | Tel: 540-253-9797 | Event Website

The Piedmont’s premiere landscape painter, Tom Neel, celebrates 25 years of fine art sales with a land loving event! “The Land Beneath My Feet” will focus on the beauty of our area and a painter’s passion to capture it. Along with new paintings, the event will feature a full color book and short film also titled “The Land Beneath My Feet”. Hosted by The Hill School in Middleburg, VA. For more information 540-253-9797 www.LiveAnArtfulLife.com/events. RVSP appreciated art@LiveAnArtfulLife.com.

Address

The Hill School; Sheila C. Johnson Performing Arts Center; 130 S Madison Street

Park After Dark

September 28th, 2013 at 06:00 PM | Tickets are $175, of which $125 is tax-deductible | siler@canaltrust.org | Tel: 301-714-2233 | Event Website

Park After Dark is an annual benefit for the C&O Canal National Historical Park put on by the C&O Canal Trust, the nonprofit partner of the Park. Guests enjoy a special evening in the Park under the stars with live music, great food, libations, live and silent auctions, a campfire, a photo booth, and more. This year marks the third year the Trust has held this event for the Park.

Address

C&O Canal National Historical Park; Historic Great Falls Tavern; 11710 MacArthur Boulevard

Meet the Artist Behind Anna Bags

September 28th, 2013 at 03:00 PM | Free | jayne@annabags.com | Tel: 3013539416 | Event Website

Georgetown boutique Sterling & Burke Ltd hosts an opening reception introducing artist behind Anna Bags, a D.C.-based luxury leather handbag company.
Anna Bags is known for combining creative design with the highest quality materials and impeccable craftsmanship. Anna Bags creates works of sophisticated, wearable art. Bags are made in our workshop located just outside Washington, D.C..
During GW Alumni Weekend (Thursday-Sunday), 10 percent of ANNA bags sales will go towards the GW scholarship fund.

Address

Sterling & Burke Ltd; 2824 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

DC Walk for the Animals and Pet-A-Palooza

September 28th, 2013 at 10:00 AM | $20 for adults $15 for children under 13 | whs@washhumane.org | Tel: 2027237.5730 | Event Website

Join the Washington Humane Society for the 2013 DC Walk for the Animals and Pet-A-Palooza at our new venue, the Kingsbury Center! It’s a celebration of our community’s animals and a walk to end pet homelessness in DC. There’s something for every animal lover. Show how much you love DC’s animals – Sign up to walk with us today.

Address

Kingsbury Center; 5000 14th St. NW

Opera Nova Presents – Season Opening Brunch and Concert

September 29th, 2013 at 01:30 PM | $22-$25 | mcdm1@verizon.net | Tel: 703-536-7557 | Event Website

Come join Opera NOVA supporters for lunch and a creative program by Artistic Director Jose Sacin and his chorus of outstanding voices.

Meet Alexandria Vice Mayor Allison Silberberg, a passionate advocate for the common good, and cheer for special honoree Tony Torchia, beloved tenor with Washington National Opera.

Address

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) Building; 4301 Wilson Blvd; Arlington, VA 22203.

3rd Annual Chefs Go Fresh and Seafood, Sept. 30

September 30th, 2013 at 09:00 AM | Individual tickets are $75.00 | chefsgofresh@georgetowner.com | Tel: 202 338 4833 | Event Website

For the 3rd year, Georgetown Media Group continues the popular event, Chefs Go Fresh, while highlighting seafood this year. Local chefs rev up for a motorcycle tour of farms near Annapolis, sponsored by the Maryland Department of Agriculture and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries, in an effort to introduce D.C. area chefs to purveyors of produce, meats, seafood and other local products.

Address

Brasserie Beck; 1101 K Street NW.

Robert Devaney •

Media guests were treated to five-star dining and comfort onboard a Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER on the Washington Dulles International Airport tarmac Sept. 25 without leaving the ground.

Qatar Airways invited food, travel and local journalists to a unique Airplane Dinner that showcased its award-winning “Culinary World Menu.” The event was the first of its kind ever staged in the history of the airline, where its aircraft became a converted restaurant and did not leave its gate.

Guests ordered from an a-la-carte menu—designed by chefs Nobu Matsuhisa, Tom Aikens, Vineet Bhatia and Ramzi Choueiri. While on the airlines’ Boeing 777’s Business Class seats and tables, diners enjoyed delicacies, such as mushroom rice fritters by Bhatia, fillet of beef anticucho by Nobu and braburn apple puree with vanilla creme by Aikens. The chefs, who have earned a combined five Michelin stars, worked together to make sure the menu represented the diversity of Qatar Airways’s clients, blending dishes from all over the globe.

Guests were also introduced to James Cluer, the Qatar Airways Master of Wine, who showcased the airline’s unique champagne and wine selections and discussed how taste palates change at high altitude and the challenge of choosing the best vintages for the rarefied air of 35,000 feet.

“Qatar Airways has a long tradition of offering a hospitable, personable five star signature service. We are glad to share our latest menu developments with visitors at the event,” said Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, which flies daily to Washington, D.C from its hub in Doha, Qatar and also daily to Chicago, New York and Houston.
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Georgetowner • September 27, 2013

SAVE THE DATE

3rd Annual Chefs Go Fresh and Seafood, Sept. 30

September 30th, 2013 at 09:00 AM | Individual tickets are $75.00 | chefsgofresh@georgetowner.com | Tel: 202 338 4833 | Event Website

For the 3rd year, Georgetown Media Group continues the popular event, Chefs Go Fresh, while highlighting seafood this year. Local chefs rev up for a motorcycle tour of farms near Annapolis, sponsored by the Maryland Department of Agriculture and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries, in an effort to introduce D.C. area chefs to purveyors of produce, meats, seafood and other local products.

DC Shorts Film Festival Office

September 19th, 2013 at 06:30 PM | Free-$100 | info@dcshorts.com | Event Website

For 10 years, the DC Shorts Film Festival and Screenplay Competition has screened the world’s top short films to audiences throughout the region. This year, we will showcase over 153 films from 23 nations at 6 venues — including the country’s largest collection of short films by emerging Russian filmmakers. Hundreds of filmmakers and thousands of audience members will gather to mix, mingle and explore the art of short cinema.

Address

E Street Cinema: 555 11th Street NW

11th Annual Michael Wilbon & James Brown Celebrity Roast & Golf Classic

September 20th, 2013 at 07:30 AM | $250-$650 | dccapgolf@sorellegroup.com | Tel: 202-248-1930 | Event Website

Join us on Lansdowne’s Greg Norman championship course to benefit DC College Access Program and the thousands of students DC-CAP serves. Registration/breakfast is at 7:30 a.m., then tee off at 9:30 with dozens of sports, broadcasting and political celebrities and compete for prizes. The day of golf is part of a 2-day event featuring a Celebrity Roast/Auction on Thursday, Sept. 19. Play golf, attend the roast/auction or both. See website for details and sponsorship packages. RSVP by Sept. 6.

Address

Lansdowne Golf Resort; 44050 Woodridge Parkway

Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Annual Fall Festival of Indian Dance and Arts

September 20th, 2013 at 06:00 PM | $27.50-$125.00 | esaluke@dakshina.org | Event Website

Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company celebrate 10 years of excellence with its annual fall festival of Indian Arts and Dance. The festival features award winning artists who have been pioneers in the arts of classical to modern Indian dance, music, theater, and spoken word.

Address

Shakespeare Theatre; 610 F Street NW

Rachel Farbiarz: Take Me With You

September 20th, 2013 at 06:00 PM | Free | info@heinercontemporary.com | Tel: 202.338.0072 | Event Website

Heiner Contemporary is thrilled to present Rachel Farbiarz: Take Me With You, an exhibition featuring new drawing, collage and installation by the DC-based artist.

Address

Heiner Contemporary; 1675 Wisconsin Ave NW

Library of Congress National Book Festival

September 21st, 2013 at 10:00 AM | Event Website

Come to the 13th annual Library of Congress National Book Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are honorary chairs for the event. 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Address

The National Mall, between 7th & 14th Streets

D.C. Green Festival

September 21st, 2013 at 10:00 AM | $10.00 Day Pass, Discounted tickets available online | jackelin@greenfestivals.org | Tel: 828-333-9432 | Event Website

Come to Green Festival D.C. on September 21st and 22nd and participate in an annual celebration of sustainability and ecological balance at the nation’s largest green living event. Enjoy cooking demos, environmental films, keynote speakers, kids activities, fashion, beer & wine, and a marketplace with hundreds of local and national green businesses at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall A. Discounted tickets are available online- Visit Greenfestivals.org for more information!

Address

Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall A

Fashion 360 Conference

September 22nd, 2013 at 10:00 AM | $75-$125 | Event Website

District Fete brings the fashion industry to our nation’s capitol with The Fashion 360 Conference (“Fashion 360”). Fashion 360 was created to provide industry insights and participate in engaging skill-building workshops that aid in the proficiency of core areas. It’s where industry leaders and influencers collide with interactive experiences and challenge themselves to increase their performance.

Address

District Architecture Conference Center; 421 7th Street NW

Robert Devaney • September 25, 2013

A neighbor alerted the Georgetowner Sept. 20 about a stop-work order by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs for the small corner condominium construction at 3220 Grace St., NW. The permit cited retaining wall work that lacked permits. All construction at the site has stopped.

The project itself has gone through major changes because of challenges from Georgetown’s influential Advisory Neighborhood Commission as well as the powerful Old Georgetown Board, an advisory committee of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.

Such a shutdown may seem ordinary or routine. Yet it was the added postscript under the order that caught our eye, thanks to our neighbor. It has a classic Georgetown ring to it, helpful but not too haughty.

The unsigned letter is a succinct rebuff and quite the advertisement for one of Georgetown’s favorite architects. It reads:

“Now that the property value of the neighbor has been saved from this incredibly ugly building, please do yourselves and the neighborhood a favor.

“Walk a quarter of a block east and knock on Frank Schlesinger’s door. Let him design a nice set of row houses in keeping with historic beauty of the street you seem hell bent on destroying.

“Frank designed 3303 Water Street and 3336 Cady’s Alley. He made everyone a lot of money with great designs. Please let him do the same for you. Please. Really . . . PLEASE.”

Reporting on the same story, Georgetown Patch earlier contacted Larry Parker of DCRA. He responded to Patch, which explained, ” . . . the stop work order was probably issued for work outside of the parameters of the permits issued for the site, which include a permit for a retaining wall. He also said the permits were not posted anywhere on the site, which could also lead to the stop work order.”

Let’s see if Schlesinger gets a new account.
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