Wisconsin Avenue Roadwork Begins in Glover Park
• April 19, 2012

With neighborhood concerns on traffic congestion and pedestrian safety, groundbreaking for the Wisconsin Avenue streetscape has begun. The project is expected to be completed before October 2012. The District Department of Transportation maintains that the changes will improve traffic flow and increase safety.

The $3.8 million project will place a median on Wisconsin Avenue, put up new “Martha Washington” or globe street lamps and upgrade underground electrical service as well as widen sidewalks in some spots. The construction area goes from Whitehaven Street north to Calvert Street.

The Glover Park advisory neighborhood commission told residents to contact Alberta Paul, DDOT Community Outreach Specialist, at alberta.paul@dc.gov. It also reported: “The community has identified significant concerns about the construction and the new traffic pattern diverting additional traffic onto 37th Street and about the project failing to include pedestrian safety improvements at 37th St. and Tunlaw Rd. The Mayor’s office has indicated that addressing concerns about the intersection of 37th St. and Tunlaw Rd. will be a top priority as the project moves forward.”

Stylin’ with Brad at Brooks Brothers
• April 18, 2012

Television personality and celebrity stylist Brad Goreski stopped by Brooks Brothers on M Street April 13 during his seven-city book tour, signing copies of “Born to Be Brad: My Life and Style, So Far.” Patient fans lined up to meet Goreski, get his new book and pose with him. Fashionable Brooks Brothers employees helped with the reception that included champagne, finger food and tunes from DJ Ben Chang.

Census Director to Become G.U. Provost
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Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau, will become Georgetown University’s new executive vice president and provost August 20, the university announced. He will serve as the chief academic officer for its main campus. 

Before serving as census director, Groves served as a professor at the University of Michigan and director of its Survey Research Center as well as a research professor in the Joint Program in Survey Methodology.

 “I am honored by the opportunity to be the next provost of Georgetown University,” Groves said. “I look forward to working with Georgetown’s world-class faculty and students to build the Georgetown of the future, one that fulfills all their aspirations.”

Public Library Lectures Celebrate George Peabody
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A free author lecture series in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of George Peabody’s arrival in Georgetown and the return of his fully restored portrait that was damaged in the 2007 Georgetown Branch Library fire.??

This May marks the 200th anniversary of 17-year-old George Peabody’s arrival in Georgetown in 1812 with his older uncle and their establishment of a dry goods store on Bridge Street, today’s M Street. Decades later, Peabody was a multi-millionaire and in 1867 he donated $15,000 to establish a library in Georgetown. Mr. Peabody believed that the only way to elevate oneself was through education. That was why he funded a library in Georgetown among dozens of other educational and cultural organizations throughout the United States. The Georgetown Branch Library’s Peabody Room was named in his honor in 1935 with the purpose to serve as a repository of Georgetown’s neighborhood history.

??The lectures begin at 6:30 p.m. each Thursday in May at the Peabody Room, located on the third floor of the Georgetown Branch Library, 3260 R Street, N.W. (corner of Wisconsin Avenue), Washington, D.C. For additional information contact Jerry A. McCoy, (202) 727-0233 or email jerry.mccoy@dc.gov.

??The line-up in May of Thursday, 6:30 p.m. author talks are:

??May 3, Garrett Peck, The Potomac River: A History and Guide

??May 10, John DeFerrari, Lost Washington, D.C.

??May 17, Michael Lee Pope, Hidden History of Alexandria, D.C.??

May 24, James H. Johnston, From Slave Ship to Harvard: Yarrow Mamout and the History of an African American Family

??May 31, David Mould, Remembering Georgetown: A History of the Lost Port City

Taxi Fares Increase April 21 by 44%
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The D.C. Taxicab Commission approved a fare hike of 44 percent, effective for most cabs in the city. The per-mile fare will go from $1.50 to $2.16, and the cost for idling will go from $15 to $25 per hour. The purpose of the increase is to bring cab revenues more in line with past fares, when a zone system was used as opposed to the present meter system.

Taxicab commission chairman Ron Linton told the Washington Post that the fare hike will take effect April 21, “but not all cabs will begin charging the new fares right away. Some will need to get their meters recalibrated.”

Still Talking: Zoning Panel Approves Extension
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The D.C. Zoning Commission approved a 60-day extension for comments for Georgetown University’s 2010-2020 Campus Plan.

Now in private discussions, local residents with university representatives asked for the extension, which now allows for testimony on the plan to be filed in the middle of June.

“We hope to come to some compromises on what the community needs and what the university needs,” Jennifer Altemus, president of the Citizens Association of Georgetown, told the campus newspaper, the Hoya. “I think both of our sides are very clear on what we’ve been wanting out of the process, and hopefully if we work together we can make that happen. [Private meetings] haven’t been successful in the past, but we haven’t given up trying.”

Georgetown Garden Tour, May 5
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But, wait, there’s more . . . to see besides Georgetowners’ homes . . . like their gardens. The annual Georgetown Garden Tour of eight private gardens is set for Saturday, May 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Each garden presents a unique perspective on designing precious outdoor space in this historic neighborhood. The 2012 tour includes the magnificent gardens of the Bowie-Sevier house on Q Street as well as several other gardens, both intimate and grand.

Tickets are $30 before April 28 at www.georgetowngardentour.com. Tickets may also be purchased by mail: Georgetown Garden Tour 2012, 3313 P Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20007 or by phone: 202-965-1950. Tour tickets are available at $35 the day of the event at any of the gardens or at Keith Hall, Christ Church, 3116 O Street, N.W.. A tea for ticket holders takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. at Keith Hall.

The Garden Tour is sponsored by the Georgetown Garden Club to benefit local organizations, with emphasis on the preservation of gardens, parks and green spaces. Past beneficiaries have included Book Hill Park, the Student Conservation Association at Montrose Park, Trees for Georgetown, Tudor Place gardens, the rose garden at Montrose Park, Rose Park and the Volta Park Habitat Garden.

The D.C. Emancipation Day Moment
• April 17, 2012

On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. His signature 150 years ago freed 3,100 slaves within the nation’s capital and pushed forward the arc of freedom for all African-Americans. It is still felt to this day — especially this past week with D.C.’s sesquicentennial celebrations all around town.

Many of us began with a walk around the monuments at the National Mall, especially those of Lincoln and King, went to Frederick Douglass’s home in Anacostia, Lincoln’s Cottage at the Old Soldiers’ Home, and concerts at Lincoln Theatre. On the holiday itself, many enjoyed a parade, speeches and fireworks at Freedom Plaza. There was a brunch at the Hamilton Restaurant and a party at Lincoln Restaurant. Many in the District government have been pushing for making the holiday bigger, especially Councilmember Vincent Orange. They deserve our thanks.

At Georgetown University, a April 17 commemorative program instructed on the history of blacks, Union soldiers and contraband camps near D.C. If the federals seized slaves as wartime contraband, they had the start of a chance for freedom. We have mostly forgotten such details, and even that of the nearby university’s landmark tower, seen for miles around. It is named for Rev. Patrick Healy, S.J., Georgetown’s president in the 1870s, born of a bi-racial slave and Irish father. The young Healy would have been considered a slave except that his father send him north for his schooling.

These are stories that need to be re-told. We need to sing the African-American hymns anew as well. At one Sunday event, a black preacher said that some of us need to “break the bondage of slavery in our minds.” We have heard that before but it needs to be said again.

“We got to figure out ways to own this emancipation,” said Rev. Raymond Kemp, moderator of the Georgetown commemoration, where Mayor Vincent Gray also spoke. To that and all the other salutes to struggle and freedom, we say, “Amen.”

Theatre Shorts April 18 2012
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Theatre Shorts

D.C. Democratic Primary Results: Decidedly Status Quo
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The District of Columbia Primary Elections — at least for the city’s overwhelming number of registered Democrats — did not shake up the status quo. If voters were concerned about perceived ethical mistakes or miscues by the District Council, no one got called on it — perhaps not even at-large councilmember Vincent Orange, whose electoral results with repeat opponent Sekou Biddle seemed a replay of the 2011 special election. Several council members were asked about donations from contractor Jeffrey Thompson to their campaigns. Democrats may want to rock the vote, but they did not evidently want to rock the boat.

In the end, it was good to be an incumbent for everybody: at last count, Orange led challenger Sekou Biddle by 543 votes for an at-large District Council seat. Unofficial Board of Elections numbers as of April 3 were: Orange, 21,237; Biddle, 20,694. With almost all votes counted, Orange appears to have won by 1.02 percent (39.77 to 38.75), which may be enough. (A candidate’s lead must be at least one percent to avoid an automatic recount.) Peter Shapiro grabbed 10.51 percent of the vote; E. Gail Anderson Holness, 7.254 percent. There were 1,614 undervotes, i.e., no votes, as well as 335 write-ins.

All of the voting precincts have reported in, including earlier votes, while more than 3,830 absentee and provisional ballots have not yet been counted — at least that amount had been requested; the number of returns is uncertain. All votes will be counted by Friday, April 13, and then certified on April 18.

Most of Orange’s votes came from Wards 8, 7, 6 and 5, while Biddle (who finished third in the 2011 election behind Republican Patrick Mara), got most of his votes in Wards 3 and 2 — that includes Georgetown.

Indeed, a black-and-white tale is told by the mirror-image votes of Ward 2, which went for Biddle, and Ward 8, which went for Orange — roughly 63 to 12 percent in both cases.

Meanwhile, some folks who were imagining ominous signs for Ward 8’s forever political leader Marion Barry were imagining in a major and mistaken manner. Barry swept aside several challengers with ease, winning 72.5 percent of the vote, and simultaneously blazed new Twitter frontiers for himself and his peeps with his election night comments. Other incumbents also did well: Muriel Bowser swept to victory with 65.39 percent in Ward 4, and Yvonne Alexander held up strongly in Ward 7 with 41.9 percent as her two top challengers—Tom Brown and Kevin B. Chavous split the vote, getting 22.45 percent and 21.42 percent, respectively.

Georgetown’s Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans ran unopposed.

The general election is on Nov. 6.

The District of Columbia Board of Elections & Ethics website displays all the latest election results: DCBOEE.org.