Dumbarton House Pledges Major Help for Mt. Zion
• March 26, 2015

I was heartened to see the revived attention being given to Mount Zion-Female Union Band Cemetery in the last issue of the Georgetowner and have since learned of the Preservation Plan being developed for the site, funded partially through a grant by the National Trust of Historic Preservation. The cemetery has abutted the historic Dumbarton House property since it opened—less than a decade after Samuel Jackson completed construction of our Federal period estate here on the heights of Georgetown in 1799.

As its neighbor for over two centuries, Dumbarton House is happy to assist in whatever way is most helpful to the cemetery, Mount Zion Church, and the Georgetown community: providing staff or volunteers for clean-up efforts, fundraising, hosting community meetings or public programs, mounting exhibitions on the history of the site, etc.

We look forward to supporting the effort to restore this incredible piece of Georgetown’s past.
– Karen Daly, Executive Director, Dumbarton House

U.S. Attorney Retires With Unfinished Business
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Almost everything that anyone connected with the still ongoing investigation of former Mayor Vincent Gray’s 2010 mayoral campaign does replays the scandal and its handling over again, like a spool of old Nixon tapes.

A week ago this Monday, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr., announced that he would be stepping down and resigning his position as of April 1 and handing over the reigns to his highly-regarded top assistant Vincent H. Cohen Jr.

Machen will be leaving without resolving the fate, case and future of Gray remains in limbo. Gray remains, because he was all but publically indicted after a deal was reached with businessman Jeffrey Thompson last year back in March just days before the Democratic primary. At that time, Machen stated that Gray was aware of a shadow campaign, run by Thompson, which illegally funneled nearly $700,000 into Gray’s campaign.

At the time Machen promised that the Thompson indictment was only the tip of the iceberg in the Gray campaign scandal. Most savvy political observers were counting the days to when Gray would be indicted. Yet, the indictment never came and the investigation remains ongoing.

Machen’s investigation of the Gray campaign produced several indictments of lower campaign functionaries , a little at a time, until the explosion of the deal with Thompson.

Many observers, including Gray backers, have questioned the timing of the revelations that came with the Thompson deal, coming as it did just days before the primary election in March. The eventual winner, Muriel Bowser who is now mayor, had already gained some momentum prior to that but many Gray supporters felt that the Thompson revelations cost Gray the election.

Machen, who is the District’s longest serving U.S. Attorney, said he was resigning for personal reasons, not for anything having do with any cases, including the ongoing Gray investigation. His legacy remains solid. Regardless of what happens with Gray, he has exposed corruption on the city council , convicted dozens of government officials including three city council members—former council chairman Kwame Brown, Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas Jr and at large councilman Michael Brown. Ethics in high and low office seem to be less of a talked-about problem in the city.

His office has handled numerous high profile national security cases, including those involvingd former Blackwater World employees, and a Mexican drug cartel leader.

Still, most observers agree that his ultimate reputation will hinge on what happens in the Gray investigation. The obvious delay in indicting—or clearing—Gray bothers many people, and it certainly had an impact on the electoral politics of the city.

According to a Washington Post article, Gray’s lawyer, Robert S. Bennett, said that the investigation should be ended without charges against Gray. According to the Post, he said that “I am hopeful that this investigation will finally be closed because the mayor is innocent of all allegations of wrongdoing.”

With the ongoing investigation, Gray’s future and standing remains in doubt. It seems to many observers that there ought to be a kind of time limit for an investigation to produce a result, one way or another.

Red-Top Meters Make Motorists See Red
• March 11, 2015

Those red-top parking meters which have popped up around town and across the city have everyone confused, including handicapped drivers, the ones for whom they’ve been installed. The special meter program is meant to ensure that on-street parking is accessible to residents and visitors with disabilities, who would have to pay for parking. (Currently, those with a proper handicapped parking placard may park for free in any metered spot with no time restrictions.)

In two years’ time, the District Department of Transportation has installed about 1,200 red-top meters. But the special spots, near corners and popular venues, are not ready for prime time. For one thing, the restrictions that go with them are not yet in effect.

Says DDOT: The red-top meter program is not currently being enforced. Anyone can park at a red-top meter. Persons with disability placards or tags do not have to pay. When the program rolls out, then only individuals with disability placards and tags can park at red-top meters and they will have to pay.”

Along with criticism from the District Council – and despite legislation that halts the program – DDOT officials admit that the rush to install the meters at the end of Mayor Vincent Gray’s term led to over-the-top red-tops in certain neighborhoods.

“One of the reasons there are so many meters clustered together in a confusing and illogical way is that there was just an overall goal to install 1,200 and to hit a number,” DDOT’s new acting director, Leif Dormsjo, told the Washington Times. “So that led to a whole bunch of perverse outcomes. . . . The best way to handle this is to start to clean up the most egregious examples of where we’ve got too many meters concentrated in the same area.”

Let’s rub out some of these red-top meters, get the program right or don’t do it at all. And let’s hope that Mayor Muriel Bowser – who appears to be settling in as a no-nonsense administrator – clips other programs that were rushed and wasted taxpayer money. Future programs will be launched, one hopes, with better planning and more public discussion.

Meanwhile, it’s time to end the confusion. For now, anyone may park at a red-top meter. Just remember you still have to pay.

Holiday Decorations Need a Re-do
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In Georgetown, it still looks a little like Christmas. Oh, wait – it’s March. Why in the world are some of the holiday decorations still up?

Lately, people have been talking about a future with gondolas across the Potomac, a Georgetown Metro station and other expensive projects coming real soon. It’s all very well to imagine a dazzling future, to think outside the box and think big.

But maybe we ought to do the right-now things better before getting to work on the future. We all know what the future is like: usually not much like the one we drew up 20 years earlier. We’ve seen what can happen with exciting, big schemes. Witness the not-yet-happening Purple Line and the downtown Silver Spring project. Witness the D.C. streetcar project – with missed deadlines and a continuing series of snafus, collisions and other problems that have the project on life support.

The 2028 Action Plan for Georgetown is being coordinated by the Georgetown Business Improvement District, the same entity in charge of the holiday lights and decorations.

To be honest, it was difficult to appreciate the presence of Christmas in Georgetown this past season. The two Christmas trees – across from the Four Seasons Hotel and at Francis Scott Key Park – were underwhelming. (And the one on the east side of town was only lighted two-thirds of the way up.) The lighting along M Street and Wisconsin Avenue also requires a serious rethinking.

Georgetown’s farsighted planners and leaders should be setting their sights on projects for today and creating a fresher, more hands-on approach to decorating for the holidays, which are the most important season for our merchants. 

Next Christmas, let’s at least get the decorations up and back down in more timely fashion.

Bibi at the Bat
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It’s a good thing for American politicians that Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu isn’t a player in U.S. politics. Don’t, for now, consider his views on the Iran nuclear threat. Instead, marvel at his performance before the joint session of Congress.

Talk about being a master of the moment. From the very start, he seized the day. He walked down the center and worked both sides of the aisle – shaking hands, touching shoulders, smiling with good cheer. And when he got to the podium, he looked up to the packed gallery and, to thunderous applause, raised his right hand and waved. There was not a trace of nervousness or hesitation. Bibi grasped the lectern and was immediately in charge, and seemingly at home.

Without teleprompter, he thanked all the right people. And with a natural politician’s touch, he singled out Minority Leader Reid, who had suffered a serious eye injury, and said with warmth, “Harry, good to see you back on your feet. Just shows you can’t keep a good man down.”

After that opener, he told the rapt audience that he was “deeply humbled” to be addressing “the most important legislative body in the world.” A little praise has been known to sway and charm a crowd. The prime minister hit exactly the right note with that line.

Midway through the speech, he pointed out that “with us today is Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.” Wiesel stood up in the front row of the gallery and acknowledged the mention. The ovation was overwhelming. Everyone rose to show respect. When the premier said that the Jewish people would no longer “remain passive in the face of genocidal horror,” and when he proclaimed, “Those days are over,” the House shook.

He closed perfectly by saying, “May God bless the State of Israel and may God bless the United States of America.”

Politics and persuasion require theater and style. Netanyahu knows this, and practices it with ardor and audacity. He went to high school in suburban Philadelphia and college at MIT. The American idiom is putty in his hands. He came up to the plate and hit the ball out of the park.

Netanyahu’s strong words and powerful oratory have altered the negotiations. That was his primary purpose, and I believe that he has succeeded.

Political analyst Mark Plotkin is a contributor to the BBC on American politics and a contributor to TheHill.com.

Forums to Prioritize Mayor’s Budget
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Back in the waning days of January, Mayor Muriel Bowser – after having to deal somewhat shakily with the aftermath of a L’Enfant Plaza Metro blaze that resulted in injuries and a fatality and revealed glaring communication problems between Metro and first-responders – proclaimed the following month Fresh Start February.

This might have been decided on one of those days when the sun came out and there weren’t constant dire predictions from the various local storm centers. Whether or not there was a meteorological (or astrological) trigger, the mayor announced that she and staff members would attend at least 30 events throughout the District over the course of the month. These included a successful open house and three Budget Engagement Forums, the first of which was held Feb. 19 at Woodrow Wilson High School. The scheduled Feb. 21 forum at Anacostia High School was moved to Feb. 28 due to the weather. Another meeting was held at Dunbar High School earlier this week.

The Wilson High School event was packed in spite of bitter cold, according to attendees, which says something about residents’ budget concerns. The meetings were intended to gather community input on priorities, with the comments aggregated by budget planners as part of the budgetary decision process. They seemed to be a small-scale version of the citywide community town halls initiated by Mayor Anthony Williams during his tenure.

On the face of things, the forums are a laudatory idea, though they have yet to reveal what’s really on the mayor’s mind when it comes to the budget or, for that matter, her ability to make tough calls on budget matters and on other nagging, won’t-go-away issues (such as affordable housing and homelessness, the continuing safety problems with Metro and the stop-and-go status of streetcars).

One of the decisions she did make – to drop plans to turn the former Franklin School into a contemporary art museum – has been met with anger from many cultural leaders.

We look forward to the results of the community budget meetings and applaud the effort. However, so far, the process seems to be presenting another face and version of Bowser the candidate. She’s handled weather, school closings and snow removal issues well, but when it comes to making other decisions, Mayor Bowser can stop running for the job. She already has it.

An Evening with ‘Believer’ David Axelrod
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David Axelrod started off as a journalist, then became a political consultant and then a senior advisor to a president. Now he’s telling his own story – as an author. Paired with CBS News analyst John Dickerson at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, Axelrod charmed and delighted hundreds who came out on Feb. 11, a cold Wednesday night.

Axelrod does not suffer from George Will disease. He’s never stuffy, stiff, pedantic, arrogant, haughty or humorless. In fact, he’s very funny, with a Borscht Belt timing that comes naturally. This likable raconteur has loads of stories, and he tells them with a twinkle in his eye and deadpan delivery. He reminded the audience that “nobody watches ‘House of Cards’ as a documentary.” And when they hissed at the mention of former client Rod Blagojevich, he instantly commented, “That’s the usual reaction.”

The crowd of millennials and older suburban liberals listened intently, almost with reverence. Most of all they wanted to hear about their president, Barack Obama.

Axelrod was the man behind the candidate when Obama won his first big race, for the U.S. Senate, in 2004. He described how in a seven-candidate field this black man with a strange name came out on top. Axelrod told his wife that Obama was a long shot, and other candidates would pay him more, but he would go with Obama and “that would be something he could be proud of for the rest of his life.”

He said this with real emotion and genuine conviction. It rings true. He wants you to believe he is a “Believer” – the title of his book, subtitle: “My Forty Years in Politics” – not just a hired gun who will work for anybody. Candid and revealing, he told the crowd that Obama was unhappy in the Senate, so unhappy that he was seriously thinking about leaving Washington and running for governor of Illinois. One day, the senator came off the floor and ran into Axelrod. With a disgusted look on his face, Obama muttered that “all they do is yack, yack.”

The presidential campaign of 2008 was Axelrod’s main focus. He said the 2008 campaign was “willing to take risks” and to “raise our sights.” The Rev. Wright controversy “tested his mettle” when it “brought race screaming back into the campaign.”

Axelrod claimed that Obama as president wants to “take on hard things.” The fight for health insurance for all was a prime example. When asked why Obama has not done more for D.C., his response was meandering but really comes down to: we had to do more important things. He said he “hopes” Obama will do more in the time remaining, but this was not spoken with any passion or force.

He spoke movingly of his own personal struggles, especially his daughter’s epilepsy. Axelrod paid tribute to his wife and all she has done as a caring and loving mother. He closed saying that in politics “you never get the perfect.”

This is a substantive, smart guy who is honest about his trade and tells his story with a savvy Chicago style. He is a welcome departure from the people with whom I’ve dealt in the Obama camp who are – unfortunately and almost universally – arrogant, unpleasant and unattractive in every way. There is more than a little hero-worship of Obama that is sometimes a bit much to take. Axelrod is a fierce Obama loyalist, but that should not stop you from reading his book.

Political analyst Mark Plotkin is a contributor to the BBC on American politics and a contributor to TheHill.com.

D.C. the Top City for Music Lovers? Nah.
• February 26, 2015

A new Condé Nast Traveler feature has ranked D.C. as the top American city for “music lovers,” above New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, Austin, Memphis, Detroit and more for the top spot. This ranking defies common sense and logic.

No doubt the District is a great place to be a music lover with venues like the 9:30 Club, the Kennedy Center, the Black Cat, the Historic Synagogue at Sixth & I, the Lincoln Theatre, the Howard Theatre, U Street Music Hall, Gypsy Sally’s, DC9 and Echostage, to name a few. D.C. is the home to great music genres like go-go and hugely talented musicians like the Foo Fighters, Fugazi, Thievery Corporation and, more recently, Paperhaus, Will Eastman – with a stable of young electronic acts he has helped raise – and Wale.

But Condé Nast only scratches the surface of that history. Here’s what they had to say about our city:

“Despite its staid reputation—or maybe because of it—the nation’s capital has fostered thriving underground music scenes for decades, including go-go (the funky genre’s driving force, Chuck Brown, was from D.C.) and hardcore, led by bands like Bad Brains and Fugazi. Today there are plenty of places to see live music in D.C., including legendary venues like Bohemian Caverns, where Miles Davis and John Coltrane once played; the 9:30 Club has hosted everyone from Arcade Fire to Rob Zombie. D.C.’s museums are also filled with music history: The National Museum of American History, for instance, has old cassettes and other pop-culture ephemera in its collection.”

Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Arcade Fire and Rob Zombie have nothing to do with D.C. other than that they got paid to play here once or maybe a handful of times. Also, why shout out Rob Zombie over pretty much every other major music act that has played at the 9:30 Club at some time or another?

Sure, “old cassettes and other pop-culture ephemera” are cool, but are they a reason that D.C. should be the number one city for music lovers in America? Absolutely not. Music lovers would probably prefer more local acts, more venues, more music festivals, more recording studios and more of an industry infrastructure to support all of that than technological artifacts.

D.C. is a great city for music lovers and should certainly make this list – and be proud to make it – but by putting the District at the top, Condé Nast calls their entire ranking into question. In all, the publication comes off as more patronizing to the District than anything else.

New York City or Los Angeles deserves the top spot on this list. Both are home to hundreds of venues not to mention all of the country’s major (and most of the minor) record labels and the music media. Massive pop stars and bright-eyed, aspiring musicians alike call both cities home. For Christ’s sake, bands move to those places to get their careers started. They don’t move to D.C.; they move away from D.C. to those cities.

Hopefully this changes and D.C. eventually – and rightfully – becomes the best city in America for music lovers. A stronger industry presence or festivals on national park land (cough, cough, the National Mall and Meridian Hill Park) could change that. More venues, like the one proposed by I.M.P. at the Wharf development in Southwest, could help too. For the District to reach this title, in essence, D.C. needs more reasons for musicians to stay put. A list put out by Condé Nast meant to throw a curveball at its readers just isn’t going to do it.

Letter to the Editors: What About Residents’ Windows?
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I’m a 26-year resident of Georgetown who loves this neighborhood’s character and people.  I appreciate the efforts to keep it a distinctive and special part of our nation’s capital.  Yet, I’m troubled by the overreach of local officials (i.e., the Old Georgetown Board) who are denying residents permission to make their homes more energy efficient (i.e., replacement windows).  While at the same time I see many businesses actively modernizing and upgrading their properties in Georgetown (i.e., the Georgetown Business Improvement District’s Georgetown 2028 15-Year Action Plan).  However, I do not believe enough has been done to explore how Georgetown homeowners can make their residences more sustainable, while preserving the historic integrity of the area.
— Katherine Molloy, Q Street resident

Jack Evans Report: Metro at a Crossroads, Again
• February 23, 2015

Public transportation in the District of Columbia has made significant strides since I served as chairman of the Board of Directors for the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in the 1990s. Our downtown lacked a strong business community and was riddled with crime. Many buildings were vacant. Still, District leaders were resolved to advance an ambitious agenda to modernize public transportation.

Today, our Metro system is again at a crossroads. Although we have difficult financial decisions to make, I stand firmly against any proposal that would increase fares or reduce service for our residents.

In order for public transportation to work, it must be both convenient and affordable. Unfortunately, our transit system has moved away from being either. In 2014, rail fares increased by three percent, parking in Metro lots and garages increased and bus fare increased from $1.60 to $1.75. These increases were all driven by a six-percent increase in transit costs and $1.14 billion in capital improvements. WMATA has established a trend of fare increases every other year to keep up with rising costs.

I wish to emphasize that no fare increases were scheduled to occur this year, but they are now being discussed among WMATA leadership. Accepting back-to-back fare increases while facing an unprecedented loss in ridership is something that simply does not make sense. Making the Metro system less affordable will only push more riders to other options. Even without a fare increase, WMATA forecasts an additional loss of two million riders in the coming year as riders shift to arguably more reliable and efficient competitors such as Uber and Lyft.

Fare hikes and service reductions would not move us closer to our goals for our public transit system. Rather, they would cripple public perception and discourage longtime riders. I am most concerned, however, about the damaging impact fare hikes and service reductions would have on our city’s most vulnerable residents. When a single mother is tasked with waking before sunrise to catch multiple buses to a job on the other side of the city, our job is to ensure her commute is as cost-efficient and convenient as possible. It is not to make it more challenging.

So why are fare hikes and reductions being proposed? They are ways to reduce the subsidy required from jurisdictions in the region. Metro’s budget is funded through operating revenue and through contributions from the federal government; the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia; Montgomery, Prince George’s, Fairfax and Arlington counties; and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church.

In fiscal year 2016, the plans are for the net operating subsidy to be reduced from $919 million in November to $883 million in December and then again to $877 million in January.

I have already made my position known to WMATA’s interim general manager, Jack Requa, and new chairman, Mort Downey. The District of Columbia is well positioned to contribute at least $331 million to avoid these dangerous cuts and hikes. I have urged my colleagues from surrounding jurisdictions to think seriously about increasing their contribution to avoid potentially calamitous harm to the trust in and ridership of our transit system.

As your board member, I will continue to push for creative solutions that will lower or maintain fares, enhance service and boost ridership. Given recent Metro setbacks, I am more determined than ever to create the safe and efficient public transportation system District residents deserve.

Jack Evans is the Ward 2 Councilmember, representing Georgetown since 1991.