News & Politics

Peter Murray • January 29, 2015

The 7-Eleven convenient store at 2617 P St. NW was robbed 5:13 a.m., Jan. 7. and again at 2:20 a.m. on Jan. 9, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

The robber on Jan. 7 wielded a handgun and was seen on surveillance tape wearing a dark jacket with white stripes around the waist and sleeves, light blue jeans, white gloves and black shoes with white details. His face was mostly covered by a hood and a face mask. Police say the suspect was a black male weighing between one hundred and one hundred twenty pounds and between 5’2″ and 5’5″ in height.

A 7-Eleven employee said that the robber got away with about $40 and some packs of cigarettes.

Then, according to police, four black males robbed the store in the wee hours of Jan. 9. A surveillance photo from the convenient store shows one wearing a dark bomber hat lined with a light fur lining, a leather jacket and white gloves. Another man is wearing an orange and blue jacket with face covered with a bandana and sunglasses and the third wears a dark jacket and covers his face with a black hat and a red bandana. Police say the robbery occurred at 2:23 a.m.

The store’s owner, Girma Hailu posted to a neighborhood safety message board that he is “very stressed out” by the incidents and that the second robbery was worse than the first, though nobody was harmed in either incident. He also said that on both occasions the robbers used “27th st as cover,” taking advantage of the dark street and the store’s window on that street, which is largely covered.

The MPD is urging anyone with information about either robberies to contact the department with details.

D.C. police also advise area residents to take the following precautions in day-to-day activity: always be aware of your surrounding; do not be distracted by your cell phone, music, reading, etc.; avoid traveling alone, especially at night; do not openly display electronics; use ATMs during the day in well-populated areas.

Anyone with information on the Jan. 7 or Jan. 9 robbery should inform the 2nd District headquarters — 202-715-7300.
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Georgetowner •

Spotlight on Design: 11th Street Bridge Park

January 8th, 2015 at 06:30 PM | $20 | efilar@nbm.org | Tel: 202-272-2448 | Event Website

The 11th Street Bridge Park, Washington, D.C.’s first elevated park over the Anacostia River, took another step forward with the recent selection of a winning design by firms OMA and OLIN. Jason Long, partner-in-charge at OMA, Hallie Boyce, RLA, ASLA, partner at OLIN, Scott Kratz, director, 11th Street Bridge Project, and David W. Smith, executive director, The Pearl Coalition, discuss the project, community involvement, and plans to create an engaging civic space.

Address

401 F Street. NW. 20001

Elvis’s Birthday Fight Club (5th Anniversary)

January 9th, 2015 at 08:00 PM | $18-22 | info@astropopevents.com | Tel: 202-321-2878 | Event Website

Celebrate the King of Rock n’ Roll’s birthday with sucker punches, burlesque and below-the-belt comedy. The theatrical production includes seven bouts of flimflam fisticuffs with ringside commentary by “Elvis” and Kittie Glitter.

EBFC is a potent mix of silly, sexy, and satire. Fighters range from the surreal to the sublime. While the 2015 fight card is top secret, past matches have included Godzilla vs. Bridezilla, Congress vs. a Clown, and “Putin vs.a Unicorn.”

Address

Gala Hispanic Theatre; 3333 14th St NW

Kids in the Kitchen

January 10th, 2015 at 10:00 AM | Free | jlwkitk@gmail.com | Event Website

Please join The Junior League of Washington and Children’s National Medical Center for a fun, free healthy eating and fitness activity fair for children, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on January 10, 2015. We’re going to have lots of great activities for kids, including exercise classes like Zumba, cooking demonstrations with professional chefs and nutrition experts, and more. Sign up is required.

Address

Children’s National Medical Center’s Washington National Diabetes Care Complex; 111 Michigan Ave., NW

Portraits in Design: Le Corbusier

January 10th, 2015 at 01:00 PM | $20 | efilar@nbm.org | Tel: 202-272-2448 | Event Website

Anthony Flint, author of “Modern Man: The Life of Le Corbusier, Architect of Tomorrow” (New Harvest, 2014), presents a portrait of Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, better known as Le Corbusier (1887–1965). Flint suggests that there is much to learn from the Swiss-French architect of the Villa Savoye and the Ronchamp chapel.

Address

401 F STREET, NW

CAG Salutes Oral History Pioneers

January 13th, 2015 at 07:30 PM | Sueinnovent@aol.com | Tel: 202-337-7313 | Event Website

CAG will hear from well-known Georgetowners Richard Levy, Elizabeth Stevens, Philip Levy, Anne Emmet, and Gary Tischler. These engaging Georgetowners have recorded their recollections about life in Georgetown in one-on-one interviews with CAG’s oral history volunteers.

The City Tavern Club also invites CAG members to continue the evening with dinner on a space-available basis in the Grill Room. Reservations are due Thursday, January 8 to Sueinnovent@aol.com. Dinner is $35 per person.

Address

3206 M Street N.W

U.S. Navy Memorial Authors on Deck

January 13th, 2015 at 12:00 PM | Free | mweber@navymemorial.org | Tel: 202-737-2300 | Event Website](http://www.navymemorial.org/)

The US Navy Memorial presents Commander Andrew Faltum. The Author will present his most recent book, The Supercarriers: The Forrestal and Kitty Hawk (Naval Institute Press, 2014). This historical overview covers the Forrestal-class supercarriers and the follow up ships.

A historical overview written in a nontechnical style, this book will appeal to general audiences, naval enthusiasts and hobbyists.

Following the presentation, Faltum will be available for a Q&A session and book signing.

Address

United States Navy Memorial; Naval Heritage Center, Presidents Room; 701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Yoga at Georgetown Library

January 13th, 2015 at 12:30 PM | Free | geoyogarsvp@gmail.com | Tel: 202-727-0232 | [Event Website](http://dclibrary.org/georgetown)

Take an Om Break at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library. Join the Georgetown Neighborhood Library for a variety of yoga classes taught by teachers from Yoga Activist.

To RSVP for any or all classes, please send an email including your name and the date(s) you are interested in attending. The first 30 RSVPs will be registered and the remaining RSVPs will be placed on a waiting list. Please RSVP to the following email address: geoyogarsvp@gmail.com

Address

3260 R St. NW

Amos Gelb •

Goodbye 2014 – Hello 2015

Rather than look back, I thought perhaps a way to start 2015 was to look forward and see some of the fun that might be to come. So here are 10 big media things to keep an eye on:

1. Local Television

2014 ended with a big shuffle. Sinclair Broadcast Group took the reins of WJLA and longtime news director/station guru Bill Lord headed out that door and straight up Wisconsin to the ailing WUSA. Can he repeat his magic farther up the dial? How will WJLA fare under new ownership with a news operation that takes its marching orders from a centralized news hierarchy?

2. The Washington Post

There’s a lot of new energy now that the Age of Bezos has dawned. New culture, new publisher (Fred Ryan, the former general from WJLA and Politico) and new building will generate plenty of armchair analysis.

3. Social Media Bloopers

What will be the next great faux pas to enliven our humdrum lives? It’s been a while since a Weiner popped up, and everyone has now learned that you don’t dis the Obama gals. But it is the gift that keeps on giving. More to come, guaranteed.

4. Radical Fundamentalists

What will they come up with next in their unfortunately very effective media strategy, and will legitimate governments finally figure out a way to counteract them?

5. Net Neutrality

This is the single most important issue facing anybody who uses the internet for anything. The outcome, to be decided this year, will define all our worlds.

6. Hometown Machiavellis

Will Frank Underwood and Olivia Pope, the lead characters of the shows “House of Cards” and “Scandal,” continue to give us Washingtonian the guilty pleasure of thinking that we are indeed smarter than everyone else (oh, come on, don’t deny it)?

7. The New Republic

TNR is dead, long live TNR. Can the Facebook-billionaire owner really reinvent the icon of American liberalism after its very public self-immolation at the close of 2014?

8. CNN

President Obama joked last year that CNN was in search of its dignity. The big question for 2015 is whether it can find its identity. The Network of Record has been best known more recently for its endless coverage of events long after there is nothing to say (along with the uninformed wanderings of a misanthropic cook).

9. Voice of America

Less on the radar but still important: What is the future of VOA? Elements in Congress seem intent on making it a propaganda agency, while the journalists who work there are committed to journalism. The venerable agency’s survival is by no means assured.

10. Colbert

Finally, the biggest and most pressing unknown in all of American media for 2015: Colbert. What will he look like now that he has shed his Comedy Central persona and moved into his new CBS chair? And just as important, can he challenge the Grand Wizard of Late Night, Jimmy Fallon?

ATM is all a-Twitter to see (or at least something social).

Gary Tischler •

Just because everyone’s published their annual tally of noteworthy losses doesn’t mean people have stopped dying. Attention must be paid—constantly.

During the last days of the old year and the first days of the new, we lost an eloquent, soul-stirring presidential not-quite-wanna-be, the first African-American senator elected in the 20th century since Reconstruction (and a Republican to boot), a courageous sportscaster who changed the way we talk about games and athletes, an actor who memorably embodied Franklin Roosevelt in a long career of varied characters, a local attorney and leader who helped spark a neighborhood revival by founding the Atlas Arts Center, a Golden-Age-of-Hollywood star who gave it all up (a la Greta Garbo), a small man with a big talent for country music and a former beauty queen-cum New York public official and celebrity legend.

MARIO M. CUOMO

The former New York governor was blessed with a huge rhetorical gift which vaulted him into the role as a leading liberal light and presidential hopeful with his elegant and eloquent speeches critiquing the disparities that existed in Ronald Reagan’s morning-in-America America. Always thought as a leading Democratic presidential aspirant and hopeful, Cuomo never quite managed to take the final step and throw his hat and heart formally into the ring. His last near-bid came in 1992, when, at the last minute, he opted out instead to deal with New York state’s budget woes, paving the way for a long-shot run by then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton.

Cuomo challenged Reagan’s sunny optimism about life in America by saying “Mr. President you ought to know that this nation is more a ‘Tale of Two Cities’ than it is just a ‘Shining City on a Hill.’ ”

Cuomo, a three-term governor of New York who lost the gubernatorial election to Republican George Pataki in 1993, died Jan. 1 at 82. He had been suffering from heart problems. He was the father of the current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

EDWARD W. BROOKE

Brooke, an African American Protestant Republican who grew up in Washington, was the first African American popularly elected to the Senate in 1966 in Massachusetts. He was blessed with an elegant style, good patrician looks and an almost casual gift for the hands-across-the-aisle approach to politics and policy that seems now like a lost, indecipherable art.

Speaking of lost arts and extinct species, Brooke was a liberal, Rockefeller-style Republican. He represented a state that was then 90-percent white and mostly Catholic. He was elected across a broad voting spectrum likely because he said, “I do not intend to be a national leader of the Negro people. I intend to do my job as a senator from Massachusetts.” With Sen. Walter Mondale (D-Minn.) as a co-sponsor, he led the fight for Fair Housing Act of 1968.

Brooke received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004. Brooke died Jan. 3. He was 95.

STUART SCOTT

Scott, a trailblazing ESPN sportscaster and anchor who revitalized the way people heard, looked at and understood sports, lost a gritty, brave, seven-year battle with cancer Jan. 4. He was 49.

On Sports Center, Scott reported and talked about sports the way much of his audience, and most of the athletes—particularly those in the NFL and NBA—talked, which was a casual use of the vernacular (within limits), in phrases and descriptions that were colorful, visceral and energizing, including his trademark “booyah”.

Scott was diagnosed with cancer and fought without letup, including the use of a martial arts program.

He was the father of two teenaged girls.

PAUL SPRENGER

A nationally noted attorney and litigator famous for major class action suits, as well as a developer and in Washington, D.C., as the founder of the Atlas Performing Arts Center (which sparked a boom in the H Street Corridor in NE), died Dec. 29 of an apparent heart attack while snorkeling in Curacao with his wife and law partner Jane Lang. He was 74.

He and his wife received a Washington Post Award for innovative leadership in the theater community from the Helen Hayes Theatre Awards Society.

ED HERRMANN

Herrmann had a long and varied career as a film, television and stage actor but he was best known for his charismatic, ebullient portrayal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1976 television movie “Eleanor and Franklin,” based on Joseph P. Lash’s Pulitzer Prize winning book. To many viewers, his was the best-remembered version of FDR, not entirely discounting the efforts of Ralph Bellamy and, yes, Bill Murray.

He also starred in many Broadway roles, including Shaw’s “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” and received a Tony nomination for David Hare’s “Plenty.”

Herrmann died Dec. 31 at the age of 71.

LUISE RAINER

Luise Rainer, who died Dec. 30 at the age of 105, was an actress uniquely suited to and representative of Hollywood’s Golden Age during the 1930s. Classically trained in European theater—she was a protégé of the famed director Max Reinhardt—Rainer got an MGM contract and won back-to-back Best Actress Oscars for “The Great Zigfield” and “The Good Earth” (in which she played a well-disguised Chinese peasant). After that, little happened and few roles emerged to her liking. She, like Greta Garbo, packed it up and called it quits, never to return to Hollywood, although sporadically appearing on stage.

LITTLE JIMMY DICKENS

Dickens, who died Jan. 2 at the age of 94, stood only 4 foot 11 inches, but loomed large on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry, always sporting an outsized cowboy hat and a checkered shirt with cowboy boots. He was, as fans noted, “a little man with a big voice” that had a classical twang.

The title of his songs certainly were grits-and-gritty flavored with a dash of down-home humor—“May the Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose,” “A-Sleepin’ on the Foot of the Bed” and “Take a Cold Tater and Wait.”

BESS MYERSON

One way or another Bess Myerson, who died Dec. 14 at the age of 90, was a prototype of celebrity before the true age of celebrity—the one we’re living in today—had actually arrived.

It all began with a Miss America crown in 1945, followed by years as a television personality and a model as well as being a regular on the popular TV game show, “I’ve Got a Secret.” Her fame led to an eventual appointment as New York City Commissioner of Consumer Affair which led to a friendship with Mayor Edward Koch. Later, she was involved in a high-profile conflict-of-interest scandal that rocked New York. She was acquitted of any wrongdoings.
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the Georgetowner Editorial Board •

There’s a lot on the plate for new District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, who outlined some of her plans in a general way at her inauguration earlier this year.

One of he more optimistic expectations was “winning the Olympics in Washington DC  in 2024.” She won’t have to worry about or look forward to that one.  The U.S. Olympic Committee chose Boston to represent the United States as a possible host city.
That being said, Bowser has to grapple with the states of the city, which she accurately described as “both rich with prosperity and rife with inequality.”

She’ll have to deal with the dichotomy—how to spread the prosperity all over the city in terms of well-paying jobs, further improved schools,  affordable housing, protecting and improving the plight of the homeless.

Conversely, while the city is considered prosperous, not to mention hip, cool, and a destination place for not only new residents but visitors, it does have a budget deficit of around $200 million, a matter that will have to be resolved before it’s brought before a strongly GOP controlled  Congress  that’s not apt to be all that sympathetic to the city’s problems, and may not resist the temptation to fiddle with city legislation, even if passed by the council and approved by the mayor.  It’s happened before and there’s no reason to think it won’t again.

That’s why Bowser, who is personally popular, is already promising to work on the District’s relationship with Congress, alongside Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s only member of the House of Representative, albeit a non-voting one.
Getting further development into the city is one priority, especially in Ward 8 and Ward 7, both of which suffer from high unemployment.

She still seems, as do residents, lukewarm about the proposed focus on getting streetcars going in the District. So far, the existing project is behind schedule, and has proven unreliable in some ways in test runs, filled with accidents and delays.  Bowser has called Metro the fulcrum of any transportation plan, with a focus on buses.

Transportation is a challenge for a changing city—with an influx of over a thousand residents per month, it’s key to have a coordinated transportation plan to deal with the newcomers, and the resultant lack of parking, increased traffic density (in spite of a marked increase in bicycle use.

While crime statistics have improved under Police Chief Cathy Lanier, recent weeks have shown a marked increase in violence and homicide in the city. The murder rate for 2014 surpassed 2013. 

While every politician who’s run for something or is planning talks about affordable housing,  no one has yet to proffer a true definition of what that means.  Middle class residents are struggling to meet mortgages, or rent prices, while renting stock is becoming increasingly out of the reach of people who don’t make a six-figure salary, or are in the lower double digits in terms of income.

Bowser will also be dealing with a District Council that is headed by  veteran liberal Phil Mendelson, and is packed with a majority of members who have served only five years or less, with two seats still open for special elections this year.
Bowser has already shown that she’s a quick study in the arena of city-wide electoral politics.  School is, of course, out on her cabinet choices, who should be given a chance to show their stuff..

Robert Devaney •

As Vincent Gray ends his time as Mayor of Washington, D.C., he has been on a kind of farewell tour of the city which he served for four years as chief executive and earlier as District Council Chairman.

Moving from Georgetown to Shaw and beyond, whether at evening receptions, radio talk shows or ribbon-cutting ceremonies, Gray is saying good-bye with a hearty handshake to friends and acknowledging his achievements — and the bittersweet tug that he would have liked to serve four more years.

Gray was seen at the Dec. 19 Duke Ellington School groundbreaking, even though construction work on the school has been underway for some time. On hand, of course, were notables, including D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and Ellington School co-founder Peggy Cafritz.

On Dec. 22, Gray was given a high-spirited tribute by the entire D.C. Hospitality Alliance at Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place. The heavy-hitter group is composed of Events D.C., Destination D.C., Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington and the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C., and hosted the event at the 25-year-old restaurant on the Georgetown waterfront.

Officials, politicians and well-wishers applauded Gray for his years of service, as they focused on his support of projects that built up downtown and benefitted neighborhoods, increasing residents, visitors and the tax base.

With jokes and friendly banter all around, Gray, a happy warrior for his city, took the microphone at Tony and Joe’s. He mentioned his official farewell speech on Dec. 17 on Dunbar High School. “I got carried away,” he said. “It was the longest speech I’ve ever given.” The mayor went on to say that D.C. was the hottest commodity in the nation, and those in the convention, hotel and restaurant business agreed.

On his third to last day, Gray was seen in Shaw for a round of 17 ribbon cuttings — some for new businesses, others for renovated storefronts. His last full day as mayor is on New Year’s Day.

Muriel Bowser becomes D.C.’s seventh popularly elected mayor Jan. 2. [gallery ids="101961,135757,135734,135761,135754,135740,135744,135748" nav="thumbs"]

the Georgetowner •

D.C. Taxicab Commissioner Ron Linton resigned from his post after three years of work on updating outdated regulations. Under his post, taxis were mandated to install credit card readers and, in March, the city will test its own app for hailing cabs. Mayor Muriel Bowser has appointed former administrator for the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Eric Rogers to fill the position.

the Georgetowner •

Still not sure where to go or what to do for New Year’s Eve? Or even what to wear?

Before you step out for the evening, why not check out Rent the Runway’s promotion for New Year’s Eve in its new store at 3336 M St., NW? For $50, rent a dress and an accessory for an order placed in-store only (some restrictions apply). Hurry.

All right, now it’s time to decide. Herewith is an extended list of places in and around town to ring in MMXV a/k/a A.D. 2015 on Dec. 31:

Malmaison (3401 K St., NW) at the Georgetown waterfront, will host a New Year’s Eve Supper Club prepared by Michelin two-starred chef Gerard Pangaud. NYE dinner includes a three- ($69) or four- ($89) course dinner menu with optional open bar pairing; seating limited to two hours. Also available: all-you-want drinks and dancing from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m; call 202-817–3340 for more details.

Peacock Caféat 3251 Prospect St., NW, will offer two seatings with a special prix fixe menu. The first seating ($57) runs from 5:30 to 7:45 p.m. The second seating ($69) begins at 8 p.m. and includes a glass of Champagne at midnight. For details, call 202-965-8990 ext 127.

Enjoy an all-inclusive five-course prix fixe menu with a midnight toast at Café Milano (3251 Prospect St., NW). Guests can also dance to music performed by Manolito the Gypsy and other surprise entertainers. Early seating is from 4 to 7 p.m., with the regular a la carte dinner menu available.

If you’ve “got a crush on wine” like the folks at Eno Wine Bar, you’ve met your match. From 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., at 2810 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, next to the Four Seasons Hotel, $55 (advanced purchase on Eventbrite) or $66 (at the door) gets you passed hors d’oeuvres and wine and bubbly by the glass at $9 (20 percent off bottles of Champagne); deejay and just before midnight a glass of bubbly and a chocolate treat. For details, email Sabrina@EnoDC.com.

The Capella Hotel at 1050 31st St., NW, will offer its New Year’s Eve Celebration Package at $350 per person: Taittinger Champagne drinks accompanied by canapés in the Rye Bar, a four-course dinner in the Grill Room, live music and dancing in the heated Taittinger Rooftop Lounge and a midnight toast (special room rate is available for those staying the night).

Chez Billy Sud at 1039 31st St., NW, will offer a four-course tasting menu at $90 with optional wine pairing. For details, call 202-965-2606.

For making the scene and dressing to impress, check out River Bash 2015 at Washington Harbour, put on by Tony and Joe’s Seafood Place (3000 K St., NW) and Nick’s Riverside Grill (3050 K St., NW), starting at 9 p.m.; $110 per person (group of ten, $100 per person). It includes eight bars, two heavy appetizer buffets, heated party tents, Josh Burgess Band (DJ Myra at Nick’s and DJ Dermont aka “Blac Pearl” at Tony and Joe’s). Call 202-342-3764 and ask for Brett.

Fiola Mare (3050 K St. NW, Suite 101) will offer a New Year’s Eve Chef’s Tasting Menu of five courses for $175; a la carte menu options available from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.; live music past midnight. For details, call 202-268-0065.

Cozy up to the big, roaring fire at La Chaumiere (2813 M St., NW) and delight in fine French dining in Georgetown. The chef has prepared a special New Year’s Eve menu with everything from baked onion soup and escargots to sautéed sea scallops, beef tenderloin medallions and veal piccata.

Cafe Bonaparte at 1522 Wisconsin Ave., NW, will offer an NYE menu at $65 that includes risotto of wild mushrooms and arugula or boudin of shellfish with tarragon lobster sauce and sauteed spinach as well as beef tenderloin or organic salmon. For reservations, call 202-333-8830.

Bistrot Lepic at 1736 Wisconsin Ave., NW, has organized a jazzy New Year’s Eve celebration with a three-course menu at $65 and loads of live jazz performed by Natalie Jean. For details, call 202-333-0111.

Martin’s Tavern in the heart of Georgetown at 1264 Wisconsin Ave., NW, adds sparkle to its annual soiree with festive holiday garlands and dazzling décor. The full dinner menu starts at 4 p.m., and the chef will feature four “Farewell 2014” dinner specials, hats, noisemakers included.

If you’re looking for a classic D.C. institution to ring in 2015, look no further than 1789. The historic restaurant at 1226 36th St., NW, near Georgetown University will offer a prix fixe menu ($125) and a prix fixe menu with wine pairing ($175) in addition to its popular a la carte menu; 202-965-1789.

Soak in one of the best views of Washington on New Year’s Eve at the W Hotel’s POV rooftop lounge0 at 515 15th St., NW. Amidst a stunning D.C. backdrop, some of the city’s most sought-after deejays will be spinning tunes throughout the night as the Champagne flows. Limited seating is available for bottle service. Contact POVEvents@Whotels.com for pricing.

Treat yourself and indulge in caviar, oysters and lobster at Plume in the Jefferson Hotel at 1200 16th St., NW. New executive chef Ralf Schlegel has organized a decadent seven-course New Year’s Eve dinner. The first seating ($165) is between 5 and 6 p.m. The second seating ($225), between 9 and 9:45 p.m., includes a glass of premium Champagne.

The swanky Blue Duck Tavern in the West End at 1201 24th St., NW, has two events on New Year’s Eve. The restaurant will serve a special four-course menu ($120), including a Champagne toast, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. In the lounge, a New Year’s Eve party ($185) will run from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. The party will feature a premium open bar, small plates, a dessert table and live music by Karla Chisholm.

Wherever you decide to go on New Years’ Eve, the Georgetowner wishes you the best as you celebrate bringing in 2015!

the Georgetowner Editorial Board •

The $139-million Duke Ellington School for the Arts Modernization Project is running over budget, according to the Department of General Services, and may also miss its deadline: the start of the historic high school’s 2016-17 academic year.

Ellington students have moved to Eugene Meyer Elementary School on 11th Street NW.

The construction will expand the 1898 school building at 3500 R St. NW – originally known as Western High School – to 294,900 square feet. The plans include a new atrium, an 850-seat theater and a classroom and limited-use space on the roof.

The school’s main portico will be preserved. Plans for exterior changes to the school still face scrutiny by the Historic Preservation Review Board.

The formal groundbreaking for the modernization project, by then mayor Vincent Gray, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, other local politicians and school officials, took place Dec. 19. [gallery ids="101967,135687" nav="thumbs"]