Walgreens Opens in Chinatown

April 10, 2013

Walgreens opened in March at 801 7th St. NW with 21,400 square feet in Chinatown. The store includes a pharmacy with a walk-in clinic, a juice and smoothie bar and a boutique beauty department with a nail and eyebrow bar. Spread over three levels, Walgreens’ newest Well Experience flagship store—the seventh in the U.S. and Puerto Rico—will employ 75 people and showcase a unique pharmacy format that offers quality, affordable care and has nurse practitioners on site. The front of the store will be open 24 hours a day with extensive, but shorter, hours for the pharmacy and Take Care Clinic. Douglas Development Corporation restored the building along with several existing properties that are being transformed into a state-of-the-art, mixed-use development that includes about 22,000 square feet of office space and 33,000 square feet of retail on several floors, including the Walgreens, Panera Bread (673 H Street)—which opened in January—and Yo! Sushi restaurant, coming soon.

Ribbon Cutting Inaugurates Rose Park Improvements

April 8, 2013

Residents gathered Oct. 17 for a ribbon-cutting inaugurating the recent improvements to Rose Park at 26th and O Streets. Georgetown advisory neighborhood commissioner Tom Birch emceed the event.

The new improvements include a new brick walkway, an improved “tot lot,” a new fence and new benches. The benches have been ordered but were not installed at the time of the ribbon cutting. The project began 18 months ago and was finished on time and under budget three weeks after ground was broken. All improvements were paid for by community donations. The new brick walkway includes bricks inscribed with the names of people who donated money to the project. The work was completed by Perez Landscaping & Stonework.

The Georgetown Garden Club donated new sycamore and cherry trees as well as new rose bushes.

David Abrams, who lives across the street from Rose Park, was awarded with a plaque for “15 years of service” to the park. Pamla Moore, founder of Friends of Rose Park Foundation, was also awarded for her service to the park. Abrams is pleased with the improvements, as they make the park “safer” and “cleaner.”

Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans also gave remarks and joked that Birch had been at Rose Park to greet Pierre L’Enfant and George Washington to Georgetown. ANC2E commissioners Jeff Jones and Bill Starrels were also present at the event.

On Oct. 31, a pumpkin festival will be celebrated at Rose Park. A pumpkin parade will begin at 4:30 p.m.
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CPAC 2013: A Little Farther and Further Afield This Year

April 3, 2013

The Conservative Political Action Conference — also known as CPAC — was held at National Harbor in Maryland, just south of Washington, D.C., March 14 through 16, instead of the Washington Marriott Wardman Park near my Adams Morgan neighborhood where it was last year. That was a bit of downer, as I couldn’t simply walk into the conservative political lion’s den as I had last year.

I probably shouldn’t be writing about this although I don’t work for MSNBC nor am I a big fan of Bill Maher. But if liberal Democratic strategist Paul Begala and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson can spar more or less good naturedly in CPAC’s popular “Fight Night” event, I can’t resist making a few observations.

In this CPAC, the annual Washington Times Straw Poll—a sort of heated popularity contest for in-the-moment political prom king bragging rights among conservatives—seemed to matter only a little, adding as it did a little more luster to the suddenly red-hot conservative darling Rand Paul, the new senator from Kentucky, and son of eternally and perpetual Libertarian presidential candidate Ron Paul. Rand finished ahead of youthful Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who only a few weeks ago was anointed the savior of the Republican Party in a Time Magazine cover. Although Pope Francis I is currently the cover boy of Time Magazine, don’t be surprised to see Rand on Time’s cover soon. This can be a mixed blessing, of course, somewhere between making the cover of Sports Illustrated and being Playmate of the Year. Look what happened to the first GOP hero of the year to make the Time cover, New Jersey GOP Governor Chris Christie, who not only did not receive a speaking offer from CPAC, but was the butt of a fat joke from still thin-and-mean pundit-author-of-many-many-books Ann Coulter, who also chose to call former President Bill Clinton a “forcible rapist” during her speech.

But I digress, which wasn’t difficult to do during the course of this three-day nearly love fest among conservatives, where defiance, quips, anti-Obama snarks and intramural spats were the order of the day. If you’re a conservative at a thing like this, it’s natural given today’s political climate—or as we call it around here, the eternal frost or the ice age—to express your disagreement with, defiance of, and outright contempt for President Barack Obama, and say things about him that you might not say about your worst enemy or Bill Maher or the North Korean ruler for life, as the ever popular, funny and zinger queen (sit down, Michele Bachman), Sarah Palin did when she called the president a liar in the manner of the infamous shout-out from a GOP congressman during a State of the Union address.

That happened often. But we were also treated to some rumblings in the ranks. Senator John McCain, who must by now feel like a GOP dinosaur or just sour, got so exasperated that he called Sen. Paul and fire-breathing Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, “wacko birds.” McCain later apologized and said “he respected them both.”

Social conservatives who passionately oppose gay marriage rights got a stinging surprise at the convention when Ohio Sen. Rob Portman who once shared their opposition said he was for it after his son came out. Both liberal and conservative pundits piled on.

Possible presidential candidate and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said that the GOP “can’t be seen as the anti-everything party” and urged for more inclusionary stances. In this crowd, that sounded almost liberal in tone.

At CPAC, the GOP and its conservative members seemed to return to its more intransigent stance of being in opposition—they liked Paul’s filibuster on drones not because they agreed with him but because he was defying the president—and they witnessed a bravura performance by former Alaska governor and McCain vice-presidential running mate Sarah Palin. There seemed to be an attitude that Obama and the Democrats shouldn’t actually act like they won the election and that the GOP should stop soul-searching why they night have lost the election. Sen. Cruz said it was not a failure of conservative principles. More and more, the most conservative members there—and they were all there—acted as if an electoral anomaly had occurred (twice), some sort of glitch in the body politic that didn’t need addressing.

Palin was her usual dry, acerbic, one-liner self now that her daughter’s career on “Dancing with the Stars” appears to be at an end. A standup comedy career is an option. Witness her attack on New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-“Big Gulp” campaign. She also took on Karl Rove, once considered the devil by liberals, but now, apparently, a target for the conservative wing of the party, after he questioned some of the tactics of ultra-conservatives.

If the atmosphere at the CPAC was an indicator—and, like polls, they rarely predict the political future so early on—the cold war between the administration and the House of Representatives, between the Republicans and the Democrats, and, between Republicans and Republicans, is bound to heat up. Nobody wins, except Mr. Stalemate, and maybe the future of the country.

Hoyamania Strikes; Bulldog Guards the Hilltop


The Hoya basketball team–the No. 2 seed in the South Regional of the 2013 NCAA Tournament–is set to play Friday in Philadelphia against Florida Gulf Coast University.

For this March Madness, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team looks strong with coach John Thompson III and star player Otto Porter leading the way.

And, for good measure, there’s a “Jack the Bulldog” inflatable on top of the Prospect Street house of Jack Davies, who has placed Santa Claus and a hockey player atop his river view deck before.

“Yesterday afternoon with the assistance of three young men from Georgetown’s athletic department and my nephew Clarke Williams, we put up the bulldog,” said Davies, businessman and philanthropist, who is a founder of AOL International and part owner of the Washington Capitals and other sports teams. “We were nearly foiled by strong winds but Jack the Bulldog prevailed.”

At first unaware that he and the Georgetown mascot share a first name, Davies said of the high-sitting inflatable — which was provided by the university — “It’s better than an inflatable Jesuit.”

“The Hoyas are my neighborhood team,” Davies said. “I am a big fan of John Thompson III and his wife Monica and of the way Georgetown runs its program. I would like to see Coach Larranaga do well with Miami, but Jack the Bulldog shows my true favorite.”

It seems everyone has a favorite, religiously filling in their NCAA brackets. As he has done since his first year in office, President Barack Obama shared his picks with ESPN: Louisville, Ohio State, Florida and Indiana in the Final Four; Indiana beating Louisville in the April 8 national championship game.

Retired Georgetowner publisher Dave Roffman chimed in from Alabama: “My Final Four, Ohio State, Miami, Louisville and Georgetown.” Roffman commented: “Well, since I spent 42 plus years in Georgetown, I have to root for the Hoyas. But Michigan is definitely tough. I like Miami and Ohio State to reach the finals. They have the best point guards.”

Looking at the brackets, the coverage and marketing of the tournament, the conferences and the number of schools (not even counting play-in schools) and their often obscure names, you realize a lot has changed since March Madness officially became March Madness.

One thing you can practically say with certainty is that there is no clear-cut favorite this year. Indiana, for instance, has a number-one seed in this tournament, but hardly any hoops nut is picking them to win it all—except POTUS.

“Those great upset years with the great oddball schools forging into the regionals and NCAA finals by whooping up on the likes of Duke, Kansas or, yes, sad to say, Georgetown in early rounds may be over,” said Georgetowner arts & entertainment editor Gary Tischler, who began his career as a sports writer years ago in northern California.

“I’m not making a prediction here—bad enough that I filled out the bracket minus the eventual champion—but it looks impossible to try,” Tischler said. “Everybody’s a crap shooter these days even those who think it’s a game where you say crap(s) all of the time. Talk about the old, long-shot guys. Look who’s got a number-one seed—Gonzaga, a small school with a great basketball program which became so consistently good that it became a so-called mid-major.  VCU and Butler, giant killers of yore, are now legitimate contenders right up there with Georgetown, which is playing a school that beat another top seed, Miami, whose coach led George Mason to the Final Four in 2006.”

Tischler’s take-away? “Hate to go against the president: Georgetown and St. Louis in the final in a nail biter.  Don’t know who; just know when.”

Whatever the pick, Georgetown–and the entire Washington area–is enjoying the national attention of being a top seed in the NCAA basketball tournament. And Jack the Bulldog is staring down on D.C. and Virginia. Let’s hope he gets to sit and stay for a couple of weeks.
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Conservatives Gather for CPAC Three-day Pow-wow at National Harbor (photos)


Top conservatives gathered for the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference — also known as CPAC — at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor, Md. March 14 through 16. After its failure in the last presidential election, the Republican Party remains divided over whether it needs to change to cope with shifting demographics and social mores. Headline speakers included former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, former Republican Governor Jeb Bush and vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Sen. Rand Paul won the straw poll with 25 percent of the vote followed by Sen. Marco Rubio with 23 percent.

View our photos of what amounts to a “who’s who” in American conservative politics by clicking on the photo icons below. [gallery ids="144665,144554,144548,144541,144534,144527,144521,144514,144507,144501,144494,144487,144481,144561,144568,144575,144657,144649,144643,144635,144629,144621,144615,144608,144602,144595,144588,144582,144473,144467,144359,144351,144345,144338,144331,144673,144323,144678,144316,144683,144309,144689,144365,144373,144380,144460,144453,144446,144439,144433,144426,144419,144413,144406,144399,144393,144386,101206" nav="thumbs"]

At the National Zoo: Elephants in the ‘Hood


One of the really, really swell things about living where I do in the Lanier Heights of Adams Morgan is that I can walk to the National Zoo. Which meant that today, even though it was bitter cold on a day that is supposed to be a part of spring, I could walk over to the zoo to the press opening for the National Zoo’s new state-of-the-art Elephant Community Center, part of its Elephant Trail program that also includes an Elephant Barn which opened in September.

Walking over we ran into National Zoo Director Dennis Kelly who was headed in the same direction. “This is about saving the Asian elephant,” Kelly said. “Wait until you see. It’s not just an exhibit. It’s something we all care about passionately. There is a real threat here. This is about research, observation and study. It’s a great opportunity for us.” The Asian elephant is on the endangered species list.

“I know some people who remember this from way back,” he said. “I used to live near National Cathedral. I could walk here all the time. Sure, it’s a great thing to have as part of your neighborhood.”

The zoo’s chief veterinarian Suzan Murray is obviously passionate about the elephants. They number three now, although the zoo wants to build a functioning, familial herd of “maybe seven to ten elephants,” she said

Once you get in the new center—the former elephant house, which housed, back in the day not just elephants but rhinoceros, hippos and giraffes—you get an real sense of space and excitement about the future. And that’s before the three elephants Ambika, Shanti and Kandula actually arrive—well, two, because Kandula, who is Shanti’s son—has opted to stay outside. Kids are making elephant noises on an exhibit that lets them do it. There are press persons and parents and elephant keepers milling around with each other, looking at the new center, which has the look of something bigger, plenty of light, a sand (and heated) floor, lots of straw and branches and toys, which lets the elephant keep their minds bus and a pedal which lets the elephant turn on the shower.

If you want to talk about elephant passion—it’s hard to pick among Murray, Marie Galloway, the elephant keeper at the zoo for the past 26 years, or the three children who were the winners of the Washingtonian Magazine’s letter writing contest, Ethan Schipper, a kindergarten student at Westbriar Elementary School in Vienna, Sarah Price, a third grader at Woodacre Elementary School in Bethesda, and Tony Phonemany, a fifth grader at Crestwood Elementary School in Springfield.

The children were there with their families, high energy as you expect but when Shanti and Ambika ambled in, they—and everybody else—got quiet. Elephants of all ages and stages remain mysterious, proud animals. They’re tool users but also playful, slow and big—their weight runs into tonnage. Unlike, say, Pandas, who get by on unworldly cuteness, elephants get respect wherever they might appear—they’ve got majestic mojo, no question.

Maybe the most passionate and most excited person in the room was Galloway who tells you that Ambika was actually very shy about entering the new space, while Shanti raced toward it the minute the doors opened and her son opted for the cautious way. “He backed in,” she told the gathered press. “So, yes, elephants do walk backward.”

“I could talk about elephants all day if you let me. Elephant stories,” she said. “They are so very, very smart. So, we do things all over the enclosure—hide treats or food, let them figure things out. You’ll never get to the end of everything there is to know about them.”

Ethan Schipper wants to work with elephants. “I want to save your family,” he wrote in his letter. “He gave all the contents in piggy bank—$1.85—to help the elephants. “This is the woman who helped when Kandula was born. She caught him.” Ethan stood silent, one of those best-day-of-your-life moments difficult to articulate whether you’re five or 85.

The Elephant Community Center is part of Elephant Trails project, a $56-million effort which began several years ago and which now which totals 8,984 square meters. The community center features state of the art animal care facilities, space for socializing, training and playing, has climate control a wading pool and shower, and it is a complete green building.

The Circus Comes to Town


When you see a parade of elephants marching by the Capitol, it can only mean one thing: the Circus is in town. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey “Dragons” will be in the Washington, D.C., area for five weeks of astounding acts of bravery and astonishing athleticism bringing the lore of the dragon to life, starting at the Verizon Center, from March 21 to 24. The show will move to Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena on March 27 through April 7 and conclude at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, April 10 through 21. [gallery ids="101207,144690,144680,144687" nav="thumbs"]

The Circus Brings Out the ‘Dragons’


Performers from the farthest reaches of the earth assembled in Washington, D.C., for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s production of “Dragons,” to showcase its astounding acts of bravery and astonishing athleticism. While the circus has finished its run at the Verizon Center, you will see be able to still see performances in the D.C. area. The show will move to Baltimore’s 1st Mariner Arena on March 27 through April 7 and conclude at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, April 10 through 21.

View our photos from opening night at the circus, March 21 at the Verizon Center, by clicking on the photo icons below. [gallery ids="101209,144811,144818,144825,144831,144839,144846,144853,144860,144867,144873,144881,144887,144895,144901,144909,144915,144922,144803,144797,144952,144947,144942,144701,144936,144709,144716,144723,144731,144738,144746,144753,144761,144768,144775,144782,144789,144929" nav="thumbs"]

Canal Road Repairs to Close Sections This Week and Beyond


According to the National Park Service and DDOT Trees, Canal Road will close between Foxhall Road and Arizona Avenue, NW, beginning tomorrow, March 26, through Thursday, March 28, between 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., for scheduled road work.

A longer project is also slated to begin this week, closing Canal Road between 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sundays through Thursdays: repairs at the trail bridge over the C&O Canal and Canal Road at Arizona Avenue, NW, by the NPS. Reconstruction of the bridge will also close the Capital Crescent Trail at times; bicycle traffic will be detoured over a temporary bridge. The NPS reported to cyclists and other users of the trail: “The contractor is working during a night time road closure of Canal Road from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. Traffic is re-routed around this closure. If all progresses well, the contract should be complete with all repairs in June. The CCT trail is slated to remain open during most of this process. We required the contractor to install a temporary bridge to serve the commuting public. . . . It is our intention for the daily CCT commuter not to be impacted from 5 a.m. through 9 p.m. time frame.”

Equality in the District

March 28, 2013

As we wait for Mayor Gray to transmit his budget proposal to the District Council, I thought it would be a good week to reflect on some things our government is good at versus some areas that need improvement.

One area our government is pretty good at is ensuring civil rights for all our citizens. Our Human Rights Act is one of the most expansive in the country. In addition, we have the distinction of being one of the first jurisdictions to legalize marriage equality. I remember clearly the introduction of our marriage equality bill, just a few short years ago. I knew it was a historic moment. Due to the volume of legislation we introduce, members often delegate signature authority to a chief of staff or principal legislative staffer. With marriage equality, though, this was the kind of bill I was proud to personally sign.

As with so many areas, however, we can always improve. I watched with interest a recent hearing on our Marriage Officiant Amendment Act. This bill, which I coauthored, provides residents of the District with the ability to select a marriage officiant of their choosing, without having to either attempt to navigate the courthouse, wedding party in tow, or else work through a religious organization. I think it is preferable for couples to be able to select a person of importance in their lives to perform their ceremony, rather than a person they may not know well or at all.

Of course, there is more work to be done on the federal level and around the country. On March 26 and March 27, the Supreme Court will hear arguments relating to marriage equality — specifically, the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as California’s Proposition 8. To show community engagement on these historic issues, a rally in support of freedom and equality will be held by United for Marriage beginning at 8:30 a.m. on March 26, meeting outside the Supreme Court at First and East Capitol Streets, NE. I hope to see you there.

Of course, my office is always available to help my constituents with these and any other D.C. issues.?