News & Politics

Peter Murray • April 23, 2015

Peter Thiel, the multi-billionaire investor who founded PayPal and Palantir Technologies and played a key role in funding Facebook, SpaceX and LinkedIn, comes to Georgetown University on Tuesday, March 31, to deliver “Developing the Developed World,” as part of the Michael Jurist Memorial Lecture series.

The lecture is cosponsored by Georgetown Young Americans for Liberty, Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative, and online publication Venture Capitol and will touch upon Thiel’s philosophy regarding technology and innovation, the focus of his new book “Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build The Future.”

The event runs from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the ICC Auditorium and admission is free with a complimentary copy of “Zero to One” for the first 300 attendees. For any questions or concerns, contact Christopher Grillo at cfg32@georgetown.edu.

The Washington, D.C. office of Thiel’s company Palantir Technologies jumped from the suburbs to the city in January, when it moved from McLean to 1025 Thomas Jefferson St. in Georgetown between Baked & Wired and Washington Harbour.

Gary Tischler •

These days, St. Patrick’s Day, the American national holiday saluting this country’s Irish heritage, which holds multitudes, sneaks up on you.

There was and will be a parade, and there will be green beer and Guinness, in all the establishments calling themselves worthily or not Irish, and there will be singing and beer on the floor and bragging and the telling of tales, perhaps. It’s the cliché of it all.

Someone somewhere, whole slew of somebodies are reading one by one out loud “Ulysses” and the lads will be hoping that there’ll be a lass, like Molly in that same book saying “yes, yes, yes.”

But there is something about the Irish worth celebrating, and it has less to do with froth on a glass, than it does the way the Irish have made their presence felt in the world, here, for certain, aye, but also elsewhere wherever they showed up in numbers.

Our histories—that sea of Americans different from one another and the same—are intertwined, beginning with early immigrants and landowners, going on to the flood of migrants in the wake of the mighty, blighted potato famine which brought a flood of the Irish to these shores, some of them just in time for the Civil War.

There is something about the Irish—they came from a country beautiful, but hard in giving out its natural wealth. They come from a country full of tillers and priests and nuns and publicans and teachers and politicians and rebels and thinkers, and the men and women of words, words, words, and actors, poets and playwrights and the mighty mothers of them all.

Getting older makes wretched excesses of Irishism less appealing, but the song on songs linger, and the words remain strongly spoken and go on being written. I remember the celebrants, too: once, I went to a St. Patrick’s Day bar in San Francisco accompanied by a young lady named Margie O’Clair, black of hair and smart of whip-like wit and beauty, too. She asked me why I wore an orange jacket to an Irish bar and proceeded to tell me why I shouldn’t have. And yet, I survived, because the Irish, I guess, can tolerate a German’s stupidity. [Editor’s note: orange is the color for Irish Protestants, who also have been called Orangemen.]

In years gone by, I knew the local places here—some still surviving—the Dubliner and Kelly’s Irish Times, cheek to cheek near Union Station, Danny Coleman and Hugh Kelly, proprietors, respectively, and I heard a gentleman from the Irish Embassy, at three in the wee morning sing “Danny Boy” in the kitchen of the Irish times., red faced and white haired and in fine voice as he was.

Here in Washington, we always tell the tales of the Kennedys, the brothers, John, Robert and Ted, the father Joe, and the mother Rose, and the not-so-holy ghosts of their stories. Boston, no matter who lives there will always be an urban shrine to the Irish.

Washington always had a lively Irish music scene, and in the 1980s, there was the Irish Tradition, the closest thing to local Irish rock stars, with accordionist Billy McComiskey, guitarist Andy O’Brien and champion Irish fiddler Brendan Mulvihill, singing “The Wild Rover” in the Dubliner and Times.

It’s the music and the poets that survive and count for so much. The Chieftains were just in time, and the plays and playwrights always are—George Bernard Shaw, the greatest and smartest wit that ever lived, Oscar Wilde, the most sophisticated man who came to such a sad end, Brendan Behan, Samuel Beckett and a whole new generation of Irish Playwrights. And let me just list: Joyce Himself and Flann O’Brien and Yeats and Seamus Heaney and the American Eugene O’Neill.

In the wiki wonderland, there is a category called “List of Irish People”. Not all, but it seems so. And the longest list are made up of writers, actors and musicians, not generals or Wall Streeters. To with: actors: Stephen Boyd, Kenneth Branagh,Pierce Brosnan, Gabriel Byrne, a number of Cusacks, including Sinead, wife to Peter O’Toole, Daniel Day Lewis, Colin Farrell, Barry Fitzgerald, whose horse knew the way in “The Quiet Man”, Fionnula Flanagan (ah, what a name), several Gleesons, including Brendan, Richard Harris, Micheal Mac Liammhoir (co-founder of the Gate Theatre), Colm Meaney, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Liam Neeson, Maureen O’Hara, Milo O’Shea, Niall Toibin, Fiona Shaw.

Towith: musicians: Chloe Agnew, Big Tom Of big Tom and the Mainliners, Enya, Sinead O’Connor, Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, Liam, , Paddy, Tom and Willie Clancy, The Corrs, The Edge, Seamus Ennis , Uilleann piper, Angela Feeny opera singer, Rory Gallagher, blues/rock guitarist, and I could go on, but here’s one that sums it up: Finbart Furey, singer/songwriter, uillean piper, 5 string banjo player and actor.

Towith: writers: John Banville, Brendan Behan, Maeve Binchy, Patrick Bronte, Brian Coffey, Roddy Doyle, several Delaneys, Thomas Flanagan, Brien Friel, F. Scott Fitzgerald (says so here), Oliver Goldsmith, Seamus Heaney, James Joyce, Patrick Kavanagh, Benedict Akiel (Saoi of Aosdana) C.S. Lewis, Malachi Martin, horror writer, Frank McCourt, poet Nuala Nik Dhomhnaill, the glorious O’s, Edna O’Brien, Sean O’Casey, Frank O’Connor, Mairtin O Direain, Sean O’Faolain, George Bernard Shaw, Laurence Sterne, Bram Stoker, horror writer, John Millington Synge, Twenty Major, blogger, Oscar Wilde. And so on.

So many words, so many characters, so many songs.

So, I would suggest what we can all do for St. Patrick’s day. Say a word or two, sing a song, act a part. And, of course, say a prayer.

David Roffman •

All right, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament has arrived. So, it’s time to make our 2015 NCAA predictions.

There are lots of ways to measure the performance of a team when preparing our 2015 NCAA predictions. Some examples, moving from least useful to most, are won-loss record, RPI rating, average margin of victory, NCAA tournament seed, and predictive power ratings. Yes, that’s correct: won-loss record is at the bottom of the list when it comes to making your NCAA predictions. Luck plays a large role in wins and losses, so margin of victory is a better predictor to use when making predictions for the 2015 NCAA tournament. Our power ratings combine margin of victory with information about who a team played, where they played them, and when they played the game. These are the most important factors when rating a team.

I must interject here that several teams in the select 64 simply do not deserve to be in the tournament. Texas and UCLA come to mind. They both have 13 losses on the season. Pathetic! Indiana doesn’t deserve to be in the tournament either.

I might also interject here that every sports pundit in America thinks Kentucky –including the President of the United States — will win it all, based on the fact that Kentucky has a purported five players who will go in the first round of the NBA draft this year. And they’re all freshmen. They may all make NBA teams in the first round, but they will not win this year’s NCAA Tournament. Stay tuned for my upset prediction.

Locally, it is impressive that Georgetown University, University of Maryland, University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University have all made the cut to the select 64. They will all win their first two games which will take them to the Sweet Sixteen, but only U.Va. will advance any further.

I am also impressed by the state of Iowa, which is fielding three teams in the tournament: Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa. All three are sleepers and could surprise a lot of people. Another powerful sleeper to watch is Wichita State. They got to the Final Four last year remember, and they come in with a solid team this year as well.

Here is the way I see the four divisions coming out: In the Midwest, Kentucky will make the final four by narrowly defeating a tough Notre Dame squad.

University of Virginia emerges out of the East defeating a super Louisville team.

In the West, I see Wisconsin and Arizona in a heated battle with Arizona coming out on top.

And in the Southwest, it will come down to Gonzaga and Duke, but the stronger team will be victorious, and that is Gonzaga.

Thus, my Final Four will be Arizona playing Kentucky, and Gonzaga meeting UVA. Two great games for sure. The upset of upsets will be Arizona beating Kentucky handily, and meeting Gonzaga in the Final game for the title. Arizona has a solid starting five, including a very hot three point shooting guard and a big, tough center. Gonzaga also is solid, with a 5th year senior at point guard and he too can knock down the threes with ease.

I predict Arizona will be victorious in the end. And it will be great for college basketball to see the all freshman Kentucky squad go down in defeat.

Although a few games have begun, there is a link to this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament brackets. Take a chance, fill them it and see whether you, I or President Obama is right.

NCAA.com

Robert Devaney •

“There will be no changes,” said Vanussa Mendes, who with her husband purchased Georgetown Hairstyling, the century-old barber shop business on 35th Street. Most of the staffers are women, who cut men’s hair only.

“It will be operated in the same way as before for our clients,” Mendes said. The men’s haircut spot has been a favorite of Georgetown residents and students for decades. Mendes bought the business from retired barber Rigo Landa, who sold it to his stepson Ed Lara a few years ago. The 55-year-old Lara died suddenly last June of a heart attack, leaving the future of the shop uncertain.

New owner Mendes takes over the barber shop with employees Veronica Corado, who has worked there for more than 20 years, Orathai Jaran and Nguyen Kha. Previously, Mendes worked at Aveda in Bethesda. She hails from Brazil and lives in Falls Church with her husband and 13-year-old daughter. [gallery ids="102054,134559" nav="thumbs"]

Caitlin Franz •

The Georgetown gas station at 2715 Pennsylvania Ave N.W. is under new management.

The former Lukoil/Georgetown Getty has become a Valero gas station.

Abe Sayyad, station manager, said the change took place at the beginning of April.

“We provide the lowest gas prices of any station in the area,” Sayyad said.

In addition to offering low price fuel and affordable automobile repair services, the gas station is working to bring more convenience store elements to the location, including snacks and drinks.

Valero is currently in the process of incorporating the store. The transition should be completed within the next few weeks, according to Sayyad.

“We’re happy to be in the area,” Sayyad said.

The D.C. council prohibited the sale of property containing a gas station for a use of any other kind without prior approval from the Gas Station Advisory Board.

Robert Devaney •

Carolyn Papetti is set to become the new general manager of the George Town Club by June 1. She will replace Christian Broder, who will depart by the end of this month. Both Broder and Papetti are working at the club during the transition. Papetti arrives from Nick & Toni’s in East Hampton, New York.

Linnea Kristiansson •

Few people know that the Williams sisters weren’t the first African American siblings to take tennis by storm. Before Venus and Serena, Margaret and Roumania Peters were an unbeatable pair in the Jim Crow tennis era of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s. Council member Jack Evans will ask the District Council to name Rose Park tennis courts at 26th & O Streets after the sisters.

Having begun playing tennis as young girls in Georgetown, the sisters were eventually offered tennis scholarships to Tuskegee University in Alabama. Due to segregation, the Peters sisters could play only in the all-black American Tennis Association. Established in 1916, ATA is the oldest black sports organization in the country.

During their time in Alabama and for a decade after leaving, the Peters sisters dominated the women’s game, winning 14 doubles titles between 1938 and 1941 and between 1944 and 1953. Roumania won ATA national singles titles in 1944 and 1946. Films of their ATA victories were shown at black movie theaters, including the Mott on 26th Street NW near P Street in Georgetown, where they were local heroes. The Peters also played matches in front of the British royalty on a trip to the Caribbean. Celebrities such as actor-dancer Gene Kelly practiced with them when he was in Washington.

Both Peters sisters earned master’s degrees in physical education from New York University and returned to Washington to work. The little-known predecessors of Althea Gibson, who, in 1956, became the first person of color to win a Grand Slam title (and went on to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Nationals), their wider recognition is long overdue.

Linnea Kristiansson •

No, it’s not the kind of club you were hoping for. The retail take-over of restaurant space continues. Four years after the Ralph Lauren-owned retailer left town, Club Monaco will return to 3295 M St. NW, an address which once held Rhino Bar & Pumphouse, which closed Feb. 28 after 18 years. The building for decades held a bar, more or less for college kids, such as Winston’s and the Shamrock.

Real estate broker John Asadoorian, who represented the landlord in deal, told the Washington Business Journal that the store is aiming to open by early 2016. The new Club Monaco will mark the brand’s return to greater Washington. The company used to have stores in Georgetown and at Pentagon City.

Club Monaco has changed its approach to casual wear in recent months, adding denim and other trendy styles to its shelves. To boost its rebranding, the company had a pop-up boutique in Noma restaurant — considered one of the best restaurants in the world — in Copenhagen, Denmark. The new location will also give shoppers a view into the preppy revamped appeal of Club Monaco.

Robert Devaney •

For the Washington Nationals, the future is now, as in this season, their 10th anniversary in the nation’s capital. They also announced that Nationals Park would host the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Yes, again the team is tagged to win the World Series, but it lost to the New York Mets, 3-1, in its home opener April 6.

Whether the place to see baseball or to take in a cool baseball social scene, Nationals Park has some new additions — besides the players — that include new Kentucky Bluegrass on the field, the second set of grass since the stadium opened — and food, lots of it, and luxurious stadium boxes.

As if there were not enough to eat taste-test at the stadium on South Capitol Street, new concession concepts include Throwing Cheese, “featuring decadent macaroni and cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches, Virginia Biscuit Company (in May) with ham and friend chicken biscuits. Also expanded is South Capitol Sushi: “After a successful introduction last season, the sushi stand has been relocated to Section 217 in the Norfolk Southern Club. The stand will continue to offer fresh hand-­rolled sushi and seasonal rolls all prepared in-­house.”

There are many fan favorites to choose. For the whole food shebang at Nats Park, click here.

There are other cool add-ons for fans the team reports: “Norfolk Southern and the Nationals have teamed up to build and install an innovative scoreboard, mini?railroad and mural. The train-­themed scoreboard updates in real time by pulling feed directly from the official Nationals scoreboard located in the ballpark.”

Boxes have expanded, too: “Championship Boxes at Club 24, created to attract local business leaders. Club 24 allows companies to conduct business in an intimate, private setting, while enjoying a game at Nationals Park — inspired by the 1924 Washington Senators, the last team to win a World Series for Washington, D.C. Also, due to the high demand for Club 24 boxes, K Street Boxes are currently being constructed and will have identical amenities to Club 24.”

Still, it is about the future for the home team and baseball: the Nationals has donated baseball caps, T-shirts and jerseys to all D.C. Little League and D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation Rookie League players. Approximately 4,500 participants, ranging in age from 4 to 13 years old, will wear Nationals-branded apparel all season. Capitol Hill Little League, at Payne Elementary School, hosted its own Opening Day festivities March 28 with food, games, a “Parade of Teams,” featuring Nationals Racing President Bill Taft, along with several baseball games.