At-Large Election Has Heads Spinning AgainMarch 27, 2013
• March 26, 2013

In case you haven?t noticed, there?s an election coming up.

It?s yet another special election for the at-large seat vacated by D.C. City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson when he became chairman. The election is April 23, the field is large, the turnout is expected to be low, which it shouldn?t be, but probably will be, given the track records of past elections.

This particular election, though, has the potential to be a bellwether election for what is a city in a state of flux and change, and surprisingly?given the economies surrounding jurisdictions and across the country?with a robust economy and a substantial budget surplus. It occurs at a time when the major issue still seems to be ethics?past infringements by the likes of former Chairman Kwame Brown and Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas Jr., the latter languishing in prison, as well as the recent reprimand of Ward One Councilman Jim Graham, and the continued cloud of the District Attorney Office?s ongoing investigation of Mayor Vincent Gray?s 2010 mayoral campaign. Mayor Gray, with a rousing State of the District address, is sounding confident these days, while some challengers are lining up to shoot for his job, notably among them Ward 4 Councilwoman Muriel Bowser, who officially announced that she will run. Others?Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells and Ward 2 Council Jack Evans?are said to be exploring (Wells) or not saying no (Evans).

The race could be an indication how thing will go in the 2014 mayoral race, and may have a lot to say about where the power is in a shifting and changing city population on issues such as schools, the homeless, what to do with the surplus, statehood, relationships with congress, and affordable housing, as well as crime.

The race has attracted some predictable folks?Michael Brown, for instance, after being ousted from his at-large seat in the last special election in which he ran as an independent, is back again, this time as a Democrat, his true calling, we presume, since he started out that way. Anita Bonds, a familiar face and figure as a government official and adviser, for years, working with Mayors Barry and Williams, is holding down the seat as an interim council member and has drawn some advantage of name recognition for that. And back again is Patrick Mara, a Republican and a school board member who was narrowly defeated by Vincent Orange in a previous election.?

*The Georgetown Business Association will host an at-large candidates forum at Tony & Joe?s Restaurant, April 1, 6:30 p.m.*

Weekend Round Up March 21, 2013
• March 25, 2013

HUGE USED BOOK SALE

March 22nd, 2013 at 10:00 AM | $1 or 25 cents | FriendsofPalisadesLibrary@gmail.com | Tel: 202-966-3291 | Event Website

For the benefit of DC’s Palisades Library,
Fri. March 22 and Sat. March 23, 10 am – 4 pm. 20,000 titles. Most books $1 or 25 cents each, discounted by the bag on Sat.
FriendsOfPalisadesLibrary@gmail.com

Address

4901 V St. NW (corner MacArthur Blvd.)

Artini 2013 @ The Corcoran

March 22nd, 2013 at 07:30 PM | $125 – $200 (VIP) | membership@corcoran.org | Tel: (202) 639-1753 | Event Website

8:30 P.M. TO MIDNIGHT (VIP SPEAKEASY OPENS AT 7:30 P.M.)

Presented by the Corcoran’s 1869 Society, ARTINI is a vibrant evening of art, cocktails, entertainment, and dancing.

General Ticket, Member and Non-Member Price: $125

VIP Ticket, 1869 Society Price: $169

VIP Ticket, Non-Member Price: $200

All proceeds benefit the NOW at the Corcoran exhibition and performance series.

Address

Corcoran Gallery of Art; 500 17th St NW

Tea with the Easter Bunny

March 23rd, 2013 at 10:00 AM | Begin at $15.00 | Event Website

Enjoy a festive spring tea with the Easter Bunny! Families will sample spring tea blends, sandwiches, petite desserts, and scones, while visiting with the Easter Bunny. After tea, families will partake in a scavenger hunt through Tudor Place’s 5.5 acres of gardens in search of the Easter Bunny’s favorite flowers and animal friends.

Address

Tudor Place; 1644 31st St NW

Easter Eggstravaganza

March 23rd, 2013 at 10:00 AM | Event Website

One of the most EGGciting Easter events in the area, this is a time for kids and families to come out and enjoy a fun-filled event. Come on out and enjoy the festivities with us!

Two Easter Egg Hunts

Life-size Easter Bunny

Face Painting

Games

Prizes

Hosted by National Community Church-Georgetown. NCC strongly believes in kids and families! We put a lot of effort into investing in kids lives and having events where they can have fun and learn valuable lessons.

Address

Rose Park; 2600 O St NW

The Giving Tree Band at Hill Country Barbecue

March 29th, 2013 at 08:30 PM | Free | info@hillcountrywdc.com | Tel: (202) 556-2050 | Event Website

Where: Hill Country Barbecue Market in Washington D.C.

When: Friday, March 29th, 2013

Doors: 8:30 pm

Show: 9:30 pm

Set time: 9:30 pm

Ages: All Ages

Price: Free

Address

410 7th Street NW

Business Group to Meet March 20; Former Head Moves to State Bank of India
• March 19, 2013

The Georgetown Business Association will meet Wednesday, March 20, for a spring networking mixer at TD Bank at 1611 Wisconsin Ave., NW, 6:30 p.m

ALSO: Rokas Beresniovas, former GBA president, has accepted the position of vice president with the State Bank of India to head its expansion market in Washington, D.C. He was previously with HSBC Bank USA.

Irish Celebrate at St. Patrick’s Day Parade in DC (photos)
• March 18, 2013

It was a sea of green Sunday for the 42nd Annual Washington, D.C., St. Patrick’s Day Parade featuring Irish dancers, military, police and fire processions, bagpipe and traditional marching bands and floats. We caught most of the action along 7th Street, NW, as the parade started to wind down Constitution Avenue. View our photos of the parade by clicking on the photo icons below. [gallery ids="144295,144180,144172,144164,144158,144150,144142,144134,144127,144120,144112,144105,144098,144187,144194,144200,144288,144280,144273,144267,144259,144252,144245,144239,144228,144221,144214,144207,144090,144084,143972,143964,143957,143948,143942,143935,144302,143928,144307,143920,144313,144319,143980,143988,143994,144076,144070,144062,144056,144049,144042,144036,144029,144022,144016,144009,144002,101205" nav="thumbs"]

Weekend Round Up March 14, 2013
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Embassy Chef Challenge

March 14th, 2013 at 07:30 PM | $250 | emily@pivotpointcom.com | Tel: 202-661-7581 | Event Website

Cultural Tourism DC presents the 5th Annual Embassy Chef Challenge. Embassy chefs from DC show off their international culinary skills in this annual competition, judged by a panel of celebrities and over 400 guests. Guests can look forward to silent and live auctions, five star global cuisine, and a top shelf open bar.

Address

Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar: First Annual Mussels & Beer Tasting

March 15th, 2013 at 06:00 PM | 50 | afrancis@rbpropertiesinc.com | Event Website

On Friday, March 15th, join Sea Catch Restaurant & Raw Bar (1054 31st Street, NW) for their First Annual Mussels & Beer Tasting. From 6 to 9 p.m., enjoy a selection of beers, unlimited pours, PEI mussels, wings, house-made potato chips and raffles and giveaways. $50 inclusive.

Address

Sea Catch Restaurant; 1054 31st St NW

Machiavelli’s Prince Throughout The Centuries

March 15th, 2013 at 03:00 PM | Open To The Public | Event Website

On the 500th anniversary of the completion of “The Prince,” the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington, D.C., and the Department of Italian at Georgetown University are proud to present a symposium on Machiavelli’s enduring legacy. Specialists will illustrate the relevance of “The Prince” within their disciplines, while filmmaker Luca Verdone will talk about his film-in-progress on the writer’s life, seen both from a public and a private perspective.

Address

Georgetown University; ICC AUDITORIUM; 37th and O St., NW

Walk for Wishes

March 16th, 2013 at 12:00 PM | free | jhoffman@cvic.com | Tel: 202-232-6627 | Event Website

Make-A-Wish® Mid-Atlantic’s 2013 Walk For Wishes® is a community-wide celebration and effort to grant wishes for local children with life-threatening medical conditions. Walkers of all ages will come together in our nation’s capital and enjoy a day that includes the walk itself and ongoing family-fun festivities including; great music, face painting and balloon art, special guest appearances and other surprises.

Address

The National Mall

Get Schooled in AnaphylaxisTM: An Interactive Experience at NBC4 Health Fair

March 16th, 2013 at 09:00 AM | Free | acline@ccapr.com | Event Website

A life-threatening allergic reaction, or anaphylaxis, can happen anywhere, and at any time. Learn more about life-threatening allergies and your role in keeping your school and community educated at Get Schooled in AnaphylaxisTM: An Interactive Experience.

Come out to explore an animated tour through the community to discover where allergens might be hiding, take home educational materials and receive free giveaways.

WHEN: Saturday, March 16 & Sunday, March 17 from 9am-5pm each day

Address

WHERE: 20th Annual NBC4 Health & Fitness Expo; Walter E. Washington Convention Center – Halls B & C, Booth #1213

Choral Evensong

March 17th, 2013 at 05:00 PM | Free | Tel: 202-333-6677

Christ Church, Georgetown presents music of Richard Ayleward, Orlando Gibbons, and William Boyce. Sung by professional Choir of Christ Church.

Address

31st & O Street NW

PINOCCHIO. The Story of a Puppet

March 19th, 2013 at 07:30 PM | TICKETS ARE $30.00 | michele.giacalone@esteri.it | Event Website

One of the most renowned Italian books, Pinocchio: the Story of a Puppet, is often considered to be a children’s story, but actually it is more than this.
This performance combines literature, theater, dance, and music to bring to realization the most celebrated Italian “piece of wood,” through the story of the timeless work of a wood carver that teaches beauty and truth.

Address

Terrace Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; 2700 F Street NW

Alex and Ani Georgetown: Meet Your Neighbor Event

March 20th, 2013 at 07:00 PM | georgetown@alexandani.com | Tel: 202.333.4195

Join Alex and Ani Georgetown (3068 M Street, NW) for a Meet Your Neighbors Event on Wednesday, March 20th. From 7 to 9 p.m., come on in to shop, network and enjoy lite bites and energy punch. Invite and share with vendors. RSVP: georgetown@alexandani.com. 202.333.4195

Address

3068 M Street, NW

Supporters of Israel Gather in D.C. for Annual AIPAC Conference (photos)
• March 14, 2013

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) held its annual policy conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., March 3 through 5. Headliners included Vice President Joe Biden, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, former Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird and U.S. Senators John McCain, R-Ariz., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and John Cornyn, R-Texas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could not attend personally but spoke about Iran’s nuclear ambitions to the conference via satellite, declaring “We have to stop its nuclear enrichment program before it’s too late.”
To thunderous applause from the approximately 10,000 delegates, Biden in forceful terms emphasized the Obama administration’s hard line against Iran’s declared ambition to build its nuclear capability: “. . . prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Period. Period. End of discussion. Prevent! Not contain. Prevent!”

View our photos from the AIPAC Policy Conference by clicking on the photo icons below.
[gallery ids="101187,143236,143242,143248,143255,143262,143269,143276,143282,143288,143295,143229,143222,143216,143325,143173,143319,143180,143313,143188,143308,143194,143202,143208,143302" nav="thumbs"]

Globetrotters Dribble Over Key Bridge to Nation’s Capital
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Harlem Globetrotters Ariel “Mighty” Mitchell and Herbert “Flight Time” Lang dribbled and spun pink basketballs over Key Bridge from Arlington, Va., to M Street and up 35th Street to Holy Trinity Catholic School, taking part in an anti-bullying program Feb. 27 — along with demonstrations of their basketball skills to the delight of elementary school students in the auditorium on O Street. Mitchell said the duo was carrying pink basketballs for breast cancer research.

“It’s a lot of traveling, but it’s a lot of fun,” Lang told ABC7 News. “If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t be able to do it for so long.” Lang is right: he was twice on the CBS reality show, “Amazing Race,” in 2009 and 2011 with fellow Globetrotter Nate “Big Easy” Lofton. Only the 11th female Globetrotter, Mitchell will join other teammates next month for their tour in Great Britain. Another set of Globetrotters is in North Korea with Dennis Rodman. (Time out: What? Rodman sitting next to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un . . . ?) Now, that’s some serious sports diplomacy.

The Globetrotters will play three games here over the weekend — one at the Verizon Center, March 2; two at the Patriot Center on March 2 and 3.
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Thousands Celebrate Woman’s Right to Vote, Re-creating March Down Pennsylvania Ave. (photos)
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On March 3, women and men from around the U.S. came to Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Woman Suffrage Parade of March 3, 1913, “to honor the Suffragist & the 22 Delta founders who marched in the original 1913 march.” The event on March 3 was largely organized by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority which was also celebrating the 100th anniversary of its founding by 22 collegiate women at Howard University. Today, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is the largest African-American Greek-lettered sorority in the world. The event was attended by an estimated 20,000 sorority members from as far away as Japan, Germany and Guam. Members of the National Organization for Women, the League of Women Voters, the National Women’s History Museum and several other women’s organizations joined the Deltas, many dressed as suffragists.

The 1913 march down Pennsylvania Avenue was organized by the suffragist Alice Paul for the National American Woman Suffrage Association and was scheduled on the day before President Woodrow Wilson’s first inauguration. The marchers were jeered and harassed largely by men who were in town to attend the inauguration. Less than two months after the sorority’s founding, the founders of Delta Sigma Theta began their political activism by participating in that historic march. The local police largely stood by as more than 200 women were injured and treated at local hospitals. Nevertheless, most of the marchers finished the parade. The march and the attention it attracted were important in advancing women’s suffrage in the United States. In 1920, the 19th Amendment secured the right to vote for women.

View our photos of the 2013 rally at the Capitol and march down Pennsylvania Avenue by clicking on the photo icons below. [gallery ids="101188,143381,143374,143368,143362,143355,143349,143342,143336,143394,143329,143399,143322,143404,143315,143410,143387" nav="thumbs"]

Civil War Sailors of the USS Monitor Buried in Arlington With Full Honors (photos)
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Two crewmen of the USS Monitor were laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery March 8, 150 years after the famous ironclad sank off North Carolina during the Civil War. The Monitor made history when the Union ship fought the Confederate ship Virginia in the first battle between two ironclads on March 9, 1862. The battle was declared a draw. The Monitor sank nine months later in rough seas, killing the 16 men on board. The remains of two sailors were retrieved when the rusted hulk of the ship was recovered off the ocean floor in 2002. On Friday at about 5:30 PM, the remains of the still unidentified crewmen were given a funeral at Arlington National Cemetery with full honors. Several civil war and period reenactors added color to the spectacle.

View our photos of the event at Arlington by clicking on the photo icons below. [gallery ids="101191,143510,143516,143524,143530,143537,143544,143551,143558,143565,143572,143579,143586,143592,143599,143606,143612,143619,143504,143497,143648,143408,143642,143637,143415,143632,143421,143428,143434,143441,143448,143456,143463,143470,143477,143483,143490,143626" nav="thumbs"]

Smithsonian Receives Donation of Warner Bros. Artifacts at American History Museum (photos)
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In a special donation ceremony on March 8, Warner Bros. chairman Barry Meyer presented the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History’s director John Gray with 30 Hollywood movie artifacts. Several of these were on display during the ceremony at the museum’s Warner Bros. Theater, including the Batman mask from the 1997 movie “Batman and Robin,” worn by George Clooney, a suit worn by Paul Newman in “The Helen Morgan Story” and a golden ticket from “Charley and the Chocolate Factory.” Also, a large selection of puppets was on hand from Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride.”
After the ceremony, the museum kicked off its three-day 2013 Classic Film Festival made possible by Warner Bros., featuring several films of Bette Davis in recognition of Women’s History Month. [gallery ids="101192,143702,143695,143688,143681,143674,143666,143660,143716,143652,143721,143645,143726,143639,143733,143709" nav="thumbs"]