News & Politics

Robert Devaney • August 16, 2012

The United States Park Police questioned a person along the C&O Canal Aug. 13 around 4 p.m. The individual appeared to match the description of a suspect who sexually assaulted a woman near the canal in July. The pursuit brought out officers, detectives, members of the SWAT team and a K-9 team as well as a helicopter which circled above the vicinity of Key Bridge and the canal.

After the show of force, most Park Police officers left the scene as detectives continued to question the individual. Officers declined to say whether the “person of interest” was suspected of being involved in the July 25 incident along the Capital Crescent Trail where a female jogger was choked and molested in the area north of Three Sisters Island or the July 7 sexual assault where the suspect led the victim onto the C&O Canal towpath just off of 31st Street and pushed the victim down into the bushes. The victim was able to get away from the suspect.

One officer said he was grateful that the local media, including this newspaper, was getting the word out about the attacks and added that persons need to aware of their surroundings at all times and not be distracted by earplugs and the like. Parks after dark, another said, become different places, requiring everyone to be alert.

The police continue to seek the public’s assistance on these assaults. Call the U.S. Park Police Communications Section at 202-610-7505, or the U.S. Park Police Tip Line 202-610-8737, reference case #12-33695. Also, call Detective Glenn Luppino, 202-610-8750; reference case #12-36735. [gallery ids="100941,130204,130197" nav="thumbs"]

Gary Tischler •

Al Freeman, Jr., was one of those famous actors who you never heard about much as time went on.

Of course, you knew him if you studied drama at Howard University, where he taught for years ever since the mid-1980s.

You knew him too, if you saw the Spike Lee’s epic “Malcolm X,” a biographical movie with Denzel Washington in the title role of the legendary African-American leader.

Freeman, who had trained and performed for years on Broadway in cutting edge plays in the 1960s, had a significant role in “Malcolm X” as Elijah Muhammad, the Nation of Islam’s leader with whom Malcom X battled for political leadership.

Lee called Freeman one of the greatest actors of all time.

Freeman, a Texas native, made his mark on Broadway early in 1962 with “Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright,” and later with the acclaimed African-American novelist and playwright James Baldwin’s “Blues for Mister Charlie.” In addition, he starred in the electric LeRoi Jones’s controversial plays, “Dutchman” and “The Slave.” Later, he appeared as a tough cop in “The Detective,” which starred Frank Sinatra.

Washington audiences got a chance to see Freeman at work in 1993 in “A Community Carol,” an updating of Charles Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” in which he played the Scrooge as a contemporary, stingy, heartless money lender in contemporary Washington and Anacostia who, instead of “bah humbug” said—often—”horse puckey.” Freeman shone in showing the warm core of a cold-hearted miser.

Freeman died August 9, of undisclosed causes, according to a Howard University spokesperson. He was 78.

Gary Tischler •

You Britons, you Celts, you English lads and lasses, gentlemen and gentle women, and your mighty cousins from across what we all lightly call the Pond, but which Drake and Raleigh and Hornblower and Cook knew to be a mighty sea, gather around, you happy billion.

Years from now, when you skype your grandchildren, you can tell them—and show them on YouTube—that you were there, when Britain and America rose to great heights, when the crown and all our Londoners, and merry men and women along with our cousins shone like a billion stars at an Olympiad unmatched in the history of Olympiads because those who spoke the English tongue, and those who spoke American with all its discursive magic were the stars in the firmament here thanks be to selective television coverage.

Though presumptive American president Mitt Romney questioned our resolve, we showed him, although he had gone to Israel and Poland and did not see his wife’s horse do dressage, which was sad.

Years from now, we will tell tales of courage, glam, great deeds and flips, and heroics aquatics, of dazzling speed, and wheelies, of batons passed cleanly, and of battles on the beaches with bikinis and you could tell of the night when the queen did fly and the corgies did not.

The names and videos shall resound around the campfire of the world internet, familiar as household words resound again (and in instant replay again still and on Facebook still again): McCartney, and a lot of Harry in the nightclubs, and Phelps in the water, and a flying squirrel astonishing to behold except to fashion critics, we shall talk of the Bolt, and the tall, Guinevere-like dolphin named Missy, and the fabulous millionaires of basketball weeping in triumph at having vanquished the Spaniards. We shall wade again through a sea of tears, of silver medal winners—second place to you, bub—and bronze medal winners—seriously?—and those who did not win at all, who we admired for their spirits to their face and on television, but called losers behind their backs, because, well, they did not win.

Watch again as Britons—including, of course, the Scots—won more medals and gold than ever won by Britons, except for the ransom of noble French prisoners at Agincourt. Remember the mighty leader of London named Boris—seriously?—taunting the world with the spectacles that were staged in our fair city by the Thames.

Remember where you were when, like Ladies of the Lake of old, like Made Marians, there arose from their urban chariots Posh, Ginger, Sporty, Baby and Scary (indeed, and still), spicy very much so, and George of the Michael claimed Freedom for us hearty, irreverent of souls, and thousands yelled, and the ghost of the Lennon arose in the night and we imagined and wept, and the unforgettable Jessie J exhorted us to dance, some of us did, and some of us, sadder and wiser and sitting down did not.

He—and she—that did live those 17 days of the London Olympiad and survived shall never forget what was done here, and will count those days as a treasure and remember Paul Ryan singing “I Am the Walrus”—or was it another dark balladier?—for Ryan was ever present during that time. Yet Who did strive on, in the very final act, to see, feel and inspire another generation?

All of us, we few, we happy few billion, we connected on tape delay band of brothers shall always remember the London Olympics.

But for now: Whom will the Nationals play tonight? Where is this knight named Robert? And did I hear that Jennifer Aniston is now fully engaged?

Georgetowner • August 13, 2012

Invited to TICKETED event a Men Against Breast Cancer & Nordstroms Styling Expo

August 11th, 2012 at 08:00 AM | $50 | BjsEventsDC@gmail.com | Tel: 202 495 8515 | Event Website

Men Against Breast Cancer (MABC) is the first and only national 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization designed to provide targeted support services that educate and empower men to be effective caregivers when cancer strikes. On Saturday, August 11th 2012 from 8am-11am Men Against Breast Cancer & Nordstrom will host a Styling Expo. Tickets are $50 which includes:

• $25 Nordstrom Gift Card

• Gift Bags

• Catered light breakfast

• Raffle for a $250 Nordstrom Gift Card

• Special complimentary entry for all attendees to our raffle for a chance to win a Bvlgari watch valued at $4,500.

Address

Hosted by Nordstrom’s- Tyson Corner Center (3rd Fl)

3rd Annual Midsummer Night’s Dream

August 12th, 2012 at 07:00 PM | $15-$20 | press@theartsoiree.com | Tel: 202-841-6441 | Event Website

A group of talented local artists use the magic of art to transform the heart of Georgetown into an enchanted wonderland of Midsummer Night’s Dream. Locals and guests of town are invited to celebrate the summer and immerse into a fantastic, fairy-laden setting of color, art, music and performance Sunday, August 12, at Washington Harbour, 3050 K Street NW, Washington DC 20007.

Address

The Washington Harbour, 3050 K Street NW,

Edible Poems? & Other Literary Foodstuffs.

August 16th, 2012 at 11:30 AM | awwnm1@gmail.com | Event Website

Fulbright Scholar Jennifer Cognard-Black of St. Mary’s College, will moderate a panel of writers who sandwich food history within literary eras and genres. Panelists include: Melissa Goldthwaite and April Linder, professors at St. Joseph’s University, and E.J. Levy, University of Missouri. Event is 11:30-1:30 p.m. All AWWNM events are free and open to the public. AWWNM is a 501 (c) (3) public charity.

Address

American Women Writers National Museum, 1275K St NW, Suite 102 (shared space, 13th St NW entrance) Washington, D.C.

Susan Calloway Fine Arts: You Too Can Buy Art

August 17th, 2012 at 06:00 PM | Tel: 202.965.4601 | Event Website

Susan Calloway Fine Arts presents a first ever exhibition, specifically tailored for young collectors and first-time art buyers. On view through Saturday, September 8, join other first-time art buyers at the opening reception of You Too Can Buy Arton Friday, August 17, from 6 to 8 p.m., and enjoy an evening of hot art, fun music and small bites. The show features a selection of affordable contemporary and vintage artworks, hung assemblage style and curated by Kerin Backhaus and Liz Mixer.

Address

Susan Calloway Fine Arts, 1643 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

Karen Feld •

As I awoke Tuesday morning to his “Good Morning, America” theme playing in the background, I was shocked to learn that my friend, Marvin Hamlisch, the award-winning composer, conductor and versatile entertainer had passed away at the relatively young age of 68.

Marvin had an engaging personality and a quick and delightful sense of humor. Over the years, our friendship developed. He was intellectually curious and politically concerned. He spent time in Washington after he was named the first Principal Pops Conductor for the National Symphony Orchestra. Although his main residence was in New York, he bought a house around the corner from mine in Georgetown. But he still preferred to stay a few blocks away at the Four Seasons Hotel where he had a tuned grand piano moved into his suite so he could write. And presidents from both parties frequently invited Hamlisch to perform his numerous hits at The White House. He usually spontaneously incorporated some special material as well. He liked Washington and once told me that the Lincoln Memorial was his favorite monument. He said he could look at the stone, read the words and “feel the man.”

I first met Marvin through a mutual friend some 35 years ago at the Westbury Music Fair in New York where he was performing. We were introduced in his dressing room before the show. Marvin seemed to take an immediate liking to me. I found him smart, funny and real, but he just wasn’t sexy. In fact, he was outright “nerdy.” After all, we were both in our twenties – he, a few years my senior– and sex appeal was important in those days.

He invited me to join him at his mother’s house for an informal dinner after the show. It was the classic story of the haymisheh Jewish guy taking “a nice Jewish girl” home to meet his mother, in this case, a widowed Austrian immigrant. We sat around her dining table as she served up her special goulash, one of Marvin’s favorites, and bragged about “my son, the entertainer.” She must have thought a “shidduch” was in the works. Marvin laughed as she related embarrassing childhood stories about her son.

Our paths crossed again several years back on a cruise ship in the South Pacific. We were both part of the onboard “enrichment” program: Marvin as a performer; and I, as a lecturer on “political dish.” He spent his days composing, and we met in the private dining room for dinner. His nerdiness became more appealing as he matured, and his accomplishments stacked up.

Hamlisch was open to new ideas and beliefs, always curious, always questioning. He believed in the healing arts. He consulted a psychic, Dezia, at the suggestion of his wife Terre. One of Dezia’s best known clients was Yoko Ono, and she is said to have predicted John Lennon’s death. Hamlisch also visited the Dalai Lama. Whatever he believed, it seemed to work for him. Yet, no matter how brilliant he was musically and otherwise, even the best spiritual healers and teachers could not save him from the toll that a recent kidney transplant took on his body.

He barely stopped working long enough to recover, keeping a hectic pace conducting top orchestras, performing at major venues, and creating, writing, composing. Although he accomplished more in those short 68 years, than most in a lifetime, his work wasn’t finished. HBO’s Liberace film is still in the works. The legacy he left is vast.

Four months ago, he quietly accepted a kidney from a close friend. At his age, he would not have had such good fortune waiting on an organ donor list. He was too young to die, but too old to move up the list for an anonymous donor kidney. Though the surgery was deemed successful, just months later his body rejected the kidney and he fell into a fatal coma. Marvin did not want to use his well-nurtured and extensive connections to leap frog the organ-waiting list. Had this very private celebrity gone public with his transplant surgery, speculation as to how he got the kidney when there is a waiting list of younger individuals, would likely have taken on a life of its own via the show biz grapevine. And he wasn’t one to complain or seek sympathy.

Despite his many awards — Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, Golden Globes, a Tony and even a Pulitzer Prize– Hamlisch told me one of his most cherished possessions was the duck that came down during the TV show, “You Bet Your Life,” a gift from Groucho Marx. Marvin had been a pianist for Groucho. And producer Joe Papp gave him a gift he always treasured as well — advice after they opened on Broadway with “A Chorus Line.” It was this encouragement, Hamlisch confided, that changed his life. “Be true to yourself and write the music you feel is right for the show, even if you’re criticized for it.” He lived up to that.

Hamlisch was an authentic man, he didn’t want his life tabloidized even though his success was larger than life. He was what my grandmother called “a haymisheh guy.”

Alevha-sholem.

Gary Tischler •

Two Critics, One of Art, One of Film, Both With a Little Acid: Robert Hughes and Judith Crist

Robert Hughes, 74, had a life writ large, and he wrote large, too, doing for the visual arts (and his native Australia) a great favor, writing books, essays, criticism and biographies about the former, and a big, giant readable history for the latter and thereby helping large numbers of readers understand both better.

Judith Crist, 90, was one of the top movie critics of the 1960s and 1970s, a field that came to be dominated just a little in that era by women writers, making movies that much the better.

Both critics died this past week, leaving behind a readable accumulation of reading matter on their specialties and lives. The fact of their passing reminded us that critics, when they’re as good, sharp, deeply informed as Hughes and as popular as Crist, could be enormously important and influential, no matter how much you might disagree or get angered by their opinions.

Hughes was skeptical to some degree about modern art, but he also helped make it palatable and understandable to every day sort of readers with his position as a writer for Time Magazine and a PBS television series, and his lively, if often controversial opinions and style, dubbed “pugnacious by many.”

His best-selling history, “The Fatal Shore,” told the history of Australia from its convict settler beginnings to modern time in a lively, detailed style that seemed almost novelistic.

Crist was nothing if not passionate about movies—sharing a fondness for serious films, some foreign directors and, of course, the critics’ darling, Woody Allen. But she was absolute death on Hollywood extravaganzas like “Cleopatra” and star-studded dashers, once calling “Cleopatra,” the Burton-Liz tempest in a pyramid a “mouse.”

Crist was delightfully readable if not particular cutting edge in her tastes or deep in her thinking. That honor, I think, went to Pauline Kael, a contemporary of Crist’s who could also be tempestuous but for my money had deeper insights. Both added immensely to our understanding of movies and to the broadening of our likes (and sometimes dislikes).

One would have to wonder how either Crist or Hughes would fare in today’s Internet world, where every blogger is a critic, and twitterers presume to hold the same job.

Passing of a Fashion Journalist: Anna Piaggi

Not everyone that writes about fashion becomes famous unless they somehow become publishers of a fashion magazine, but Anna Piaggi managed that not inconsiderable task. That may have had something to do with the fact that she had a terrific and original fashion sense of her own. She knew hats, she knew drama, and she had a collection of thousands of dresses and shoes. And her writing and flair inspired no less a fashion legend than Karl Lagerfeld.

Lagerfeld was so impressed by her that he once said, according to one obituary, that Anna “invents” fashion. Fittingly, she died at 81 in Milan, the fashion hub of Italy.

The Music Man: Marvin Hamlisch

If music were an empire, Marvin Hamlisch would be its emperor. If music were a kingdom, Hamlisch would be its king. If music were a bunch of states, Hamlisch would be the president, by acclamation with no negative ads.

Marvin Hamlisch, who died at age 68 this week, was our music man, maybe the music man. Seventy-six trombones weren’t ever enough—he had music in movies, music on stage, symphonic music, pop music, every which kind of music and he had the Oscars, the awards, the acclaim to prove it. Not that he couldn’t have done it just by talking about it.

Hamlisch, who was the National Symphony Orchestra’s pop conductor—a position created just for him—for 11 years, was in a word everywhere, but especially in our heads and memories. Romance? Try “The Way We Were,” the recurrently romantic song sung and performed by Barbra Streisand in a movie starring Barbra Streisand, but not composed by Barbra Streisand.

In the year of “The Sting” and “The Way We Were,” two classic, hugely entertaining films, Hamlisch collected three Oscars, a haul that seemed almost unseemly until you listened to the Scott Joplin ragtime score for “The Sting” and never, ever forgot it. He was a part of “Performances at the White House,” he was on television playing the piano and educating kids with his versatility, he sang, he talked, he never stopped being music’s music man.

He was also ubiquitous on Broadway, most memorably with the music for “A Chorus Line”, a one-of-a-kind legendary Broadway musical about—Broadway. Dim the lights a little, a flicker, for Marvin Hamlisch, the music man. [gallery ids="100939,130033" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney • August 10, 2012

Although traffic in the nation’s capital has always been an issue, the rising number of traffic-related pedestrian deaths is becoming more of a cause for concern. In 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 13 of the 24 traffic-related fatalities that occurred in D.C. were pedestrians.
In contrast, 101 of the 493 traffic-related fatalities in Maryland were pedestrians. Meanwhile, Virginia tallied 73 of 740.
While the total number of traffic-related pedestrian deaths is lower in the District than its neighboring states and even the states with the most pedestrian fatalities, including California, Florida and New York, its percentage of 54.2 is the highest in the United States. NHTSA also found that a majority of pedestrian fatalities occurred in an urban setting, at non-intersections, during the night.
However, drivers may not always be to blame for being distracted. In this digital age, more and more pedestrians are crossing streets with smartphones in hand, headphones synced in and heads facing down, completely tuned out to the world. As these traffic statistics continue to stagger in, keep in mind that it is both the pedestrian’s and the driver’s responsibilities to be aware of their surroundings.

Georgetowner •

For a few months now, rumors and facts about the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the College of Art and Design have been swirling through the press, among bloggers, students, local artist and Corcoran members.

The historic Flagg buildings which houses the gallery has been put on the market. Board of trustees’ chairman Harry Hopper III acknowledged as much again in a letter sent to Corcoran members on July 20 and stated that no decision to actually sell the classic, much admired property had as yet been made.

The Corcoran scheduled two town hall community meetings in August, the first of which was held last week featuring a panel that included faculty member, and noted artist Bill Dunlap, performance artists and poet Holly Bass, Philip Brookman, the Corcoran’s chief curator, and Mark Schwartz, the Corcoran’s director of development and communications, who moderated the affair.

The auditorium at the Corcoran was about 75 percent full for the meeting, and most of the people there, many of them members or students, were plainly frustrated, angry and puzzled. Because Corcoran officials, including Hopper, had indicated that there was some consideration about actually selling the Flagg building and moving the Corcoran and presumably its collection to the suburbs, either in Virginia or Maryland, many people became alarmed. “You would be committing suicide if you do such a thing,” one member said. Dunlap, whose career was helped by having exhibitions of his work at the Corcoran, said that the Corcoran was losing touch with its institutional memory and the local arts community. “Where are the exhibitions of local artists today?” he asked. “An institution that loses its connection to the community is going to lose its soul.” Dunlap suggested that a serious attempt be made to get philanthropists and businesses to donate. “People like that can keep a sale like that from happening,” he said. “I mean, this isn’t just a business. It’s a treasure. It’s part of the heart and soul of the community. You can’t start selling things off like it’s some mergers and acquisition deal.”

Brookman suggested that the Corcoran might perhaps consider re-inventing itself. “I think this must become a modern art museum, full-service, with interaction from the community and with visitors, programs that encourage people to come and get a full experience.”

“It would be a tragedy if the Corcoran were to sell this building,” Bass said.

Schwartz assured people that the Corcoran would continue to hold its scheduled exhibitions through 2014. “No decision has been made on the sale. There is no imminent closing or sale or anything like that. “
Even so, there was a sense of urgency at the meeting, a sense of something imminent. It’s true that the Corcoran has been having its share of problems. It’s been under critical attack. Its planned renovation and extension with a Frank Gehry-designed project fell through, and it is now on its third director over a short period of time.

The fate of the Corcoran’s own large collection was not mentioned, save for assurances that selling it off was not being considered.

A search firm is now working on finding a replacement for temporary director Fred Bollerer, a banker who focused on the Corcoran’s financial issues. In fact, it’s the gallery that’s losing money while the school has been financially sound and successful.

“What we’re doing here is opening a community dialogue, we want to listen to what you have to say,” Schwartz said. “No decision on the sale has been made.”

Another community meeting, focusing specifically on the college of art and design, is scheduled for Aug. 23.

Gary Tischler •

Phil Mendelson is the new (but interim) chairman of the District of Columbia Council. Who would have thunk it?

Yet, it was obvious after Chairman Kwame Brown resigned after admitting to bank fraud, something quickly and quietly had to be done. Mendelson, a veteran, amiable, and not ethically challenged at-large Council member, was, by vote of his colleagues on an 11-1 count, accorded the title of interim council chairman until a special election (along with the general election) can be held on November 6.

The only nay vote came from at-large council member Vincent Orange, who, perhaps flush with two victories (to complete a term and to get a full term) for an at-large seat, isn’t happy unless he’s running for something.

Orange didn’t fight hard for the chairmanship since it was obvious that the council had coalesced around the steady, honest Mendelson but he did go for the council’s chairman pro tempore, and took a loss by an 8-4 vote. It was fight day at the council for this debate, and Orange went down fighting—or at least comparing himself to fighter Manny Pacquiao, a welterweight fighter who last a tough decision recently. According to the Washington Post, which headlined the proceedings as “Fierce Uproar on D.C. Council,” Orange insisted that “I am the best,” and he did so loudly if you got to watch the video of the contratemps.

Ward 7’s Yvette Alexander teared up as she watched the council erupt in charges and counter charges and warned that anything could happen and that any one of them could walk out in handcuffs.

The council gave the positon of chairman pro tempore to Michael Brown, still going as an independent, even if his late father Ron Brown had been commerce secretary under President Clinton. Brown, too, has had a little black ethics cloud over his head, which Orange, Ward 8 council member Marion Barry and others pointed out. He did plead guilty in 1997 to a misdemeanor campaign finance violation and had financial problems similar to those that got Kwame Brown in trouble.

Barry—not shy of using hyperbole—warned that this was like “Lincoln at Gettysburg,” that things hadn’t been this bad since 9/11. He pointed out Brown’s tax problems, and so the kettle had to listen to the pot. Barry has been in tax trouble himself among other things.

The whole thing—check the video in part—seemed unseemly. Soon enough, what with Barry making charges, his own troubles—jail for a sitting mayor—came up going back to 1990.

Mendelson spoke quietly but eloquently about the reputation of the council: “Right now,” he said, “the symbol of this council is tarnished. Some people have even lost faith in our citizens’ ability to elect good government which imperils not only this institution but the autonomy of the District overall.”

“I ask everyone to pursue with me a very basic goal: Let us be honest, let us act with integrity, let us become individually and collectively an institution people can trust.”

Sounds simple. After the vote, someone was heard to say that “It’s over.” In November, both Mendelson and Orange have indicated they will run for chairman of the council. So, it’s probably not over.

Robert Devaney •

The Georgetown Business Improvement District met June 13 at the House of Sweden on the Potomac River for its annual meeting. Along with several reports on its work, the BID also elected new directors to its board — Christian Videla of TD Bank, Jay Freedman of Foley & Lardner and Scott Milson of Vornado Realty Trust — and re-elected Crystal Sullivan, John Asadoorian, Curt Winsor and Ed Solomon. There are other board members who are appointed or ex officio.

After a reception in the lobby, the group heard from main speaker, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier, who touted D.C.’s lower violent crime rate but advised retail establishments to consider hiring professional security guards to combat shoplifting. Of the 16,000 crimes reported in the District, 60 percent are thefts, she said. Lanier also said that MPD has put traffic management on its top-five list of duties. Noting that traffic deaths were down 60 percent, she said that on-street “cameras are worth it.”

Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans said how well Georgetown is doing, adding that “Aside the unstable political situation [in the District government], everything is fabulous.”

BID executive director James Bracco gave an update on projects and showed images of the holiday plantings to come as well as a sketch of the holiday ornament to be dramatically suspended over the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, much like the lighted decoration that hangs each Christmastime at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan. [gallery ids="100861,126864,126857,126840,126852,126847" nav="thumbs"]