News & Politics

Georgetowner • August 10, 2012

M&T Bank opened a new, full-service branch at 1420 Wisconsin Ave., NW, in the space once occupied by famed hipster clothing store, Commander Salamander. It is across from CVS pharmacy and another bank, BB&T. The M&T branch reports that will offer “several convenient features for customers, including extended weekday hours, Saturday hours, a customer service center, night depository and an ATM.”

“Our new Georgetown branch is an example our investment in and commitment to the greater Washington area,” said Steve Heine, M&T Bank’s greater Washington market manager. “This is a convenient location that will help us to serve existing customers and attract new customers with our high level of service and M&T’s wide range of banking products.”

The new branch manager Vickie Quezada and business banker Adeep Sandhu can meet with customers to deliver personalized solutions through the bank’s full product line as well as discuss a customized strategy for meeting their financial goals, says M&T which claims to be the leading Small Business Administration lender in greater Washington and the sixth largest in the nation.

M&T Bank Corporation is one of the 20 largest U.S. bank holding companies with more than 750 branch offices in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and Delaware. Founded in 1856 in Buffalo, N.Y., M&T was originally called Manufacturers and Traders Bank. Investor Warren Buffett owns large amounts of the bank’s stocks.

M&T’s hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday; 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday. The branch’s phone number is 202-333-6163.

Gary Tischler •

Forget Obama.

Forget Romney and the horse he rode in on.

Forget Syria and the job reports, and the drought and the two hurricanes coming to a coastline near you. Forget Kristin Stewart, tsk tsk.

Instead:

Rule Brittania.

God Save the Queen.

Aren’t the Olympics a hoot?

Wasn’t it just last week that we (myself included) were trashing NBC for their coverage of the opening ceremonies in London?

Well, I’ll take some of it back, just for the way they covered the Heptathlon, the women’s athletes version of the Decathalon in which the athletes vie in seven events — high jump, javelin, 200 meter dash, 800 meter run, hurdles, shot put and long jump– for the title of best woman athlete in the world.

We caught Bob Costas and company covering Great Britain’s Jessica Ennis, the nation’s darling competing before 70-to-80 screaming, delirious Brits on Saturday, already leading going into the last event, the 800-meter run.

She could have finished second or third and still won, but what she did was even more exciting. Leading most of the race, she was passed late by two runners but suddenly surged in what seemed to from nowhere and won going away.

The stadium erupted. It was the kind of noise I last heard at Nathan’s when John Riggins burst open for a game-winning touchdown against Miami to give the Redskins their first of three Super Bowl championships.

It was loud. The usually much more reserved Brits jumped up and down, cried, patted each other on the back and high fived.

The British—who did know how to put on an Olympics and then some—had a lot to celebrate about, especially over the weekend, when they started piling up gold medals in cycling, rowing, distance running and finally, on Sunday, in the redemption of the great Scots tennis hope Andy Murray pulverizing Roger Federer in straight sets to win men’s tennis singles event.

These Olympics have provided all sorts of fun in spite of rain, wind and badminton. It was terrific to see, for instance, Serena Williams regain a kind of teenage delight in winning, dancing for joy, and joining in the joy with her sister Venus in the doubles, picking up two gold medals.

It was interesting to see the transformations of Michael Phelps, at once both senior superstar and elder statesmen, as he got better and better, ending up with the most individual gold medals in Olympic history but also marching towards history and into retirement.

Even watching Billy Bush—a man who would be struck dumb if ever the letter “I” was removed from the alphabet—interview America’s fabulous gymnasts was a reminder that these incredible girls were just that—girls still squealing about Justin Bieber, as was the dominant swimmer Missy Franklin.

There were courageous firsts everywhere—the woman from Afghanistan competing, running and following her father’s admonition “to run”, and the blade runner. Kudos for the men’s basketball team for prevailing over Lithuania after being pushed to the edge by the old back door, pick and roll as practiced in the Ivy League.

If there is a gold medal for putting on a great show, let the Londoners share it with all the athletes here, except the ones ordered to tank their badminton games.

Jeff Malet • August 9, 2012

As the 2012 Olympics begin in London, the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian has opened a special exhibit, “Best in the World: Native Athletes in the Olympics,” featuring Native-American athletes who have provided some of the most dramatic moments in Olympic history. It also happens to be the 100th anniversary of the 1912 Olympics in which Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox ) won both the pentathlon and the decathlon (a feat not since accomplished), Duke Kahanamoku (Native Hawaiian) won the 100-meter freestyle, Andrew Sockalexis (Penobscot) placed fourth in the marathon and Lewis Tewanima (Hopi) won the silver medal and set an American record for the 10,000-meter competition. Tewanima’s record stood for more than 50 years until another American Indian, Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota), won Gold in Tokyo in 1964. Among the items on display are two gold medals won by Thorpe and the gold medal won by Mills. The exhibit is scheduled to run through Sept. 3. At Fourth Street and Independence Avenue, SW, the museum is located on the National Mall between the National Air & Space Museum and the U.S. Capitol. [gallery ids="100911,128530,128524,128505,128518,128513" nav="thumbs"]

Lisa Gillespie •

After several months of remodeling, the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum reopened to the public July 30. Back on view at the museum is the popular exhibition, “Separate and Unequaled: Black Baseball in the District of Columbia,” which examines the history of African-Americans in baseball from Reconstruction to the second half of the 20th century.

Lisa Gillespie •

Less than a year after opening, the Riot Act Comedy Theater (801 E Street), Downtown’s only comedy club, closed last month to retool and reopen as Penn Social next week. The new social club will still serve as a comedy club in its downstairs comedy club, but will also feature live music, karaoke competitions and games. The upstairs bar will get a new look and offer a medley of activities, and a sidewalk café will add to the social motif. The Riot Act featured both local and national comedians and an open mic night, a mishmash of amateurs, veterans and giveaways.