News & Politics

Robert Devaney • July 26, 2011

The first Americans called it Tohoga – “sweet land of sassafras.” This settlement may have changed its trails and huts, but Georgetown remains the meeting place for the District and its nation.

When walking along M Street – once called Bridge Street, and later referred to as “The Miracle Mile” – we should be mindful that these same steps were once trod by the likes of George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Other notables followed: Francis Scott Key, William Marbury, Benjamin Stoddert, William Corcoran and J.C. Calhoun. Georgetown, formerly of Maryland, was the first (and for a while the only) complete business community and village in the new nation’s capital.

The Old Stone House (residential, 1765) and the City Tavern Club building (business, 1796), both on M Street, are the oldest structures in Washington. The beginnings of IBM occurred on 31st Street. Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone switching station was next to the C&O Canal, where such a telecommunications structure still remains today. Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the country. President Abraham Lincoln frequented Oak Hill Cemetery, where his son Willie was once interred.

Then in the late 19th century, Georgetown suffered an economic downturn as a result of progressively worse flooding and river silting. Becoming almost a slum, the city was essentially frozen in time.

That freeze later melted when those with government jobs sought housing here during and after World War II. The antique, authentic aesthetic has attracted smart, affluent Americans and foreigners alike ever since. It is said that by leaving their homes untouched, the poor saved Georgetown.

Fifty years ago this month, in 1960, Georgetown became the fashionable place again when an N Street resident by the name of John F. Kennedy ran for president. Today, we are intimately familiar with the senators and government officials, foreign dignitaries, journalists, authors, artists and businesspersons all living or working here. Together we are helping this old town continue to tell new stories. You see, history is not only the past in Georgetown. It is present all around you. [gallery ids="99248,104169,104190,104174,104186,104179,104183" nav="thumbs"]

Gary Tischler •

Walk into the offices of DC City Council Chairman Vincent Gray, and it’s like walking into two different
worlds.

Along a small corridor of offices and cubicles, there are people talking on the phone; computers are on. It’s got all the signs of any busy bureaucratic office. Walk into his office, with Gray leading the way, and the busy sounds die down. His office is reminiscent of an expansive drawing room — leather chairs, a large desk, books and pictures on the wall.

The two-world metaphor works in another way now: Gray, who prevailed over incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty in the race for the Democratic mayoral nomination on September 14, now has his feet in two different places. He’s still the Council Chairman, but he’s also the presumptive mayor of the District of Columbia.

It’s presumptive because usually, in this heavily Democratic city, if you win the Democratic Party’s nomination you become mayor. There are only ever nominal Republican or third-party opposition in the general election, which this year is November 2. This will probably be the case again, even though some disaffected folks have started a Fenty write-in website.

“People don’t know what to call me or how to describe my status,” Gray joked as we settled in for an interview.

Gray’s victory has unsettled people. While it’s sometimes jarring even to Gray, it’s even more jarring to Fenty supporters and supporters of DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee, who had trouble imaging such a result ever coming to pass. Some of the same people have painted the results in the darkest of terms.

That included Rhee, who at first, in the aftermath of the Newseum’s premiere of “Waiting for Superman”, used the word “devastating” describing the election results. Of course she later backtracked.

Gray, who says he hasn’t yet seen the film, said that he’s not making personnel decisions at the moment. So the oft-asked question about Rhee’s status, asked almost routinely throughout the campaign, goes largely unanswered when I asked it yet again. “I know, I know,” he said. “But I haven’t made a decision on that yet. Honestly, when she and I met we didn’t talk about any of that. We talked about educational issues, education philosophy, ideas about schools and children and teachers. It was a pretty far-ranging conversation, so we didn’t get to that. We’ll obviously be talking again.” But if pictures and video of the two emerging from their recent meetings were any indication
— the two literally stood at some distance from each other, and Rhee left quickly — than clearly the discussions had some heft to them.

“Right now, nothing is off the table,” Gray said. Asked if that included Rhee staying on as chancellor, in some form or another, he said, “I haven’t ruled it out.”

As usual, Gray is being deliberative, not making up his mind quickly even if there is a certain amount of pressure — most of it coming from the media.

“Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that we are where we are,” Gray said. “I feel most of the time incredibly humbled by what’s transpired, but I was confident in making that decision to run. I never thought we couldn’t win. And as those first polls about the mayor surfaced, and later on, it was pretty clear to me that there were a lot of unhappy people out there, some angry people.”

“Of course, when some early polls came in election night they had us behind,” he said. “That had a chilling effect, to say the least.”

Back in the summer, when we first had a long conversation with Gray at the Busboys and Poets site near his campaign headquarters, he stated emphatically that this city was more divided today than at any time in its history of home rule. He turned out to be acutely accurate.

“I get these questions all the time,” he said. “What are you going to do about Marion Barry? Are we going to go back to the old politics? That sort of thing.”

“I understand that, believe me. But…people should remember that I wasn’t part of all that. I’m not a career politician, who’s been doing this stuff all of my life. I didn’t run for office until 2004, the first time,” he said. “And when it comes to Mr. Barry, I’m interested in responding to the needs of his constituents, as well as the constituents in all of the city’s wards. I’m not obligated to Mr. Barry.”

It’s fair to say he proved that earlier this year, when Mr. Barry once again came under fire, and the council as a whole voted to censure Barry and strip him of his committee chair position. When the vote came, it was Gray who handled it with both dignity and toughness, unwavering, because it was the correct thing to do, in spite of Mr. Barry’s emotional importuning during the proceedings.

“We did what we had to do. People seem to forget that,” Gray said.

There is certain toughness in Gray that isn’t always readily self-evident. He has what in old-school terms you might call good manners, but there are fires burning there. A widower, he’s lived alone, in a house in the Hillcrest neighborhood, in Ward 7 since the death of his wife Loretta, a schoolteacher, in 1998. He has almost a courtly way about him. He’s a man who believes in observing the formalities.
There’s almost an idiosyncratic dynamic about him. You saw it in the campaign. He carries himself with authority and confidence, fully aware of the importance of position and endeavor. But at the same time, he has the very quality that many people thought Fenty lacked: a consideration for and curiosity about people.

At candidate forums, he could get prickly and combative, but he also looked like somebody that was enjoying himself. His theme is that he will run a One-City government, inclusive of the participation and the views of others. “Don’t stand on the sidelines,” he urges people when it comes to issues. “Be a part of the debate, a part of the discussion.” Put him in a parade, and he might take hours to get through, as you could see, at the Adams Morgan Festival, two days before the election. His supporters surged forward only to lose the candidate, who had been buttonholed by someone he knew, jaw-boning as the parade passed by.

“Yeah, I guess it does take me a while to get through a parade,” he said. “I just think it’s important to talk with people and even more important to listen.”

He knows he’s got his work cut out for him. “We’re facing a huge $175 million budget deficit
— more than that I’m told — and we need everybody working together on that. We’re all in this together.”

He knows too that the election results, which showed him winning by huge margins in the mostly black wards and losing by large margins in the mostly white ward, exposed the great divide that he had identified. “It’s not just race. It’s economic; it’s perceptions of government,” he said. Nationally, his win was being touted by media types as a rejection of education reform.

Gray typically resented that notion. “That’s just not an accurate perception or reality,” he said. “I am firmly committed to education reform, and I think a lot of good things have already been done in that direction. The election wasn’t about whether or not to reform the schools or that they needed reform. They did. I want to continue to do that. In fact, I want education reform to expand to include early education, [with] more emphasis on charter schools, vocational schools. We have to tackle the other issues that impact schools — the lack of jobs in the poor wards. It’s disgraceful. My approach, I think, is a little more holistic.”

“We’re going to move forward,” he said. “Make no mistake about that.”

Gray’s vision of “One City” was tested in a previous race for the council chairmanship. There he defeated Kathy Patterson, the council member from predominantly white Ward 3, by a double-digit margin. “One City” was put into practice again this week, when he embarked on the first of eight promised town hall meetings across all of the city’s wards.

“We’re going to be there to listen to people,” he said. “We’ll have groups on different topics so that there won’t be redundancy. I want to know what’s on people’s minds — what they’re concerned about when it comes to myself.”

“I want to be the man that unites the city,” he said. “I want people to feel that they’re not forgotten — that they’re part of the debate, part of the discussion.”

He also said that he would revive Mayor Anthony Williams’ Citizens Summit, probably in November, in which residents from all wards can come together to provide input on planning and budget issues.

Gray is known as a consensus seeker, deliberative, and even “plodding,” as one critic described it. “That’s not it at all,” he said. “Leadership to me is not just about making decisions per se. It’s about making decisions and getting people to come with you — to understand what you’re doing, hopefully by inspiring people.”

Gray knows he’s walking a bit of a tightrope — allaying the fears of the people who voted against him while meeting the expectations of the people who voted for him.

“I think my wife would have warned me not to get a big head,” he said. “But I can tell you this much, nobody has to worry that I’m going to be wearing a hat that doesn’t fit me.”

There’s a solidity about the man. It’s not that he’s got a thousand close friends but that he has a solid life; his children, Jonice Gray Tucker and Vincent Carlos Gray, and grandchildren are proudly exhibited in photographs on the wall. There’s his Catholic faith and his best friend Lorrain Green, who was his campaign chairman and “the person I’ll talk with, go over things with” he said. “I’ve known her for 20 years or more.” Gray, who once was a highly touted high school baseball player at Dunbar High School — enough to make major league scouts look at him — still plays in a Washington Recreation League at first base. “Keeps me in shape,” said Gray, who at 67 is the city’s oldest elected mayor. He also has a cat named Samurai and is, apparently, known to be quite the hand-dancer.

Dignity and respect mean a lot to him. “I’ve always believed you treat people with respect,” he said. “Everyone.” [gallery ids="99204,103437" nav="thumbs"]

Gary Tischler •

The real deal begins Wednesday.

Ever since DC City Council Chairman Vince Gray scored a solid and surprising win over incumbent mayor Adrian Fenty back in September, there was a certain air of calm before the storm throughout the city, as voters waited in place for the validating election that occurred this week.

While everywhere else across the country, Democrats are all but shaking in their collective boots awaiting an impending wave of national discontent that seemed likely to take away their control of the House of Representatives, here in Washington, Democrat stalwarts can rest assured that they’ll stay in control of the city, in as much as the city has control over itself.

It’s pretty safe to say that what the Democratic primary brought about in September will pretty much stand as the election result. So, we feel safe in saying that, even though we went to press before the election results were tabulated, Gray will officially become the city’s sixth mayor, Kwame Brown will become it’s City Council Chairman, and the makeup of the city council, sans Brown’s seat, will stand pat.

The bigger question becomes what happens next, and what will be the major issue confronting the new mayor, chairman and council?

Hint: It’s probably not school reform.

The big cloud looming over Washington and its governing types is the huge ($175 million and counting) budget deficit, which, if it isn’t solved could lead the city back into the control of a control board. The city is required by law to present a balanced to congress or see the return of the bad old days of control board authority.

Nobody’s making predictions, but Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, who was the only council member to vote against the last budget and who’s something of an expert on city finances, said that tough decisions are ahead, and to him, that means severe cuts up and down the line.

Others on the council, Michael Brown and Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells among them, have talked about raising taxes. This would certainly fly in the face of all the mighty political winds blowing across the country, where tax cuts for anybody making a salary, however meager or large, are being proposed and will be the focus of major debates once the electoral blood-letting is done.

Not in DC. Presumptive mayor Gray hasn’t chimed in on that, although at the last of the town hall meetings held in all of the city’s eight wards, he did opine that he himself wouldn’t mind paying additional taxes. Which is not to say that everyone else in the city might not.

Gray has spent much of his time on the town hall meetings throughout the city, drawing largely favorable reviews from those attending. Ever since the resignation of DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee and the ensuing commentary, things have been quiet. Too quiet.

As Gray himself acknowledges, people throughout the city haven’t yet gotten a handle on what a Gray administration might look and feel like, and how it would differ from the previous tenant. It’s probably fair to say that it will be, as Gray promised, more inclusionary, less breathlessly active, more thoughtful, and more cognizant of the entire city. The city remains divided, as Gray was the first to truly see, and the post-election doings haven’t done much to bridge that gap. The town hall meetings were meant to give people an idea of who Gray was, and to begin healing that divide.

While there were initial rumblings in the media and in different parts of the city in the aftermath of victory (or defeat, depending upon where you lived and who you supported), the grumblings so far haven’t amounted to much. Except for the write-in effort for Fenty which will allow people to vote for Fenty as a write-in-candidate.

In typically contemporary fashion, the effort had its start on Facebook and launched to raise funds and support for Fenty. Never mind that Fenty lost by a clear10 percentage point and that nobody is questioning the result. It’s an effort by folks who fear and think that Gray, whom they otherwise like, is somehow going to derail school reform in the district which, depending on where you sat, was a big success under Fenty and Rhee.

Fenty disavowed any support for the effort, said he was supporting Gray repeatedly, and assured that he was going to vote for him. Although he stopped short of sharply discouraging the effort. “I can’t tell people what they can or can’t do,” he said.

The effort, while perfectly legal, only exasperates the divisions existing in the city. It is a peculiarly undemocratic approach that says: We won’t accept the election results that we don’t like and we’re going to try and change them.

They’re not the only ones who have some of that attitude. Consider the Washington Post. The media always plays a heavy role in politics. It’s the nature of the best that we are. But the Post holds a particularly influential position on matters of local importance in this city.

During the course of this campaign, the Post looked almost schizophrenic
in its coverage, with the editorial page supporting team Fenty-Rhee consistently, strongly, and with all guns firing. On the other hand, the reporting has been, for the most part, consistently excellent and even-handed. There is no small amount of irony in the fact that it was a Washington Post poll which discovered early on that there was a growing groundswell of discontent around Fenty and Rhee—not against reform or policy, but against the high-handedness of their methods. That discovery was made early in January and no doubt helped a still undecided Gray jump into the fray. The fact that neither Fenty nor Rhee heeded the warning signs resulted in yet another late-election Post poll which showed the same results only more so. But by then it was probably too late.

Not that the Post has given up. This year, the Post editorial board appears to have discovered Republicans in our midst, something it hadn’t previously noticed outside of Carole Schwartz, the most unorthodox Republican that ever lived. The local GOP has avoided the mayor’s race, but has fielded candidates in the council races. Two of them managed to gain the support of the Post, in the name of political diversity. That would be David Hedgepeth, running against incumbent Democrat Mary Cheh in Ward 3, and Timothy Day in Ward 5 running against Harry Thomas Jr.

“They’ve come out of the closet,” a neighbor of mine suggested. But it’s doubtful that the Post suddenly got GOP fever, even with the ill political winds blowing out there. They chided Ms. Cheh for what they saw as her tepid support of school reform and, not coincidentally, her support of Gray during the primary election. Thomas is also a strong Gray supporter.

But still there seems to be a watch-and-wait attitude in the city. Even the announced and impending resignation of DC Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin caused barely a ripple in the media. The announcement was made via mass e-mail recently. Rubin said he would be working as a consultant through January 2.

Rubin’s departure, and a sure change in the city attorney’s office come January, along with Rhee’s departure mark three pairs of shoes that dropped. The rest await the workings of transition, a process that Gray hopes to finance through private donations, as opposition to tax funds. Speaking of taxes…we’ll that’s going to have to wait for now, too.

Gary Tischler •

When Kaya Henderson was chosen to be Interim Chancellor of the District of Columbia School System in the midst of a turbulent political sea change, things in her life began to change in a big way.

It’s not like she didn’t have a big job before: she had been Michelle Rhee’s right-hand person for years, first at The New Teacher Project, then as Deputy Director, running the Office of Human Capital at DCPS when Rhee became the District’s first chancellor.

“I was used to being kind of under the radar. You could talk to people without talking shop, or that ‘hey—you’re so and so, wow!’ kind of thing,” she said. “Before this happened, I could come home to Brentwood, stop at the nearby tavern because their kitchen stayed open until closing, talk to my friends, have a hamburger and relax.”

“Now, you can’t do it anymore,” she said. “People come up to you all of the time. You end up talking about the schools even among my friends.”

Henderson has become kind of famous in her own way. People write articles about her now. They want to know not only about the efficacy of the Impact Evaluation System for evaluating teachers, but about her dog and her boyfriend.

That’s not likely to get any better soon. Rumors have been swirling in the press this week that Mayor Vincent Gray was going to announce that he would make Henderson’s status as DCPS Chancellor permanent.

When I asked her if she actually wanted the job, which she’s probably been asked hundreds of times by now, she shot her head back and sighed. “People said I was, I don’t know, ambivalent about it,” she said. “I just don’t like that word, that’s all. This is a job you have to get used to. You have to decide to do it and do it right, that you make progress, that you make it better for the kids. The mayor and I get along. We meet once a week. I think he wants reform as much as anybody.

“So however it works out, I’ll be fine with it.”

“You know what happens when you get at the center of things like this job,” she said, not entirely happily. “People get to know your business. They want to know your business.”

That probably comes with the territory, which brings with it the media. She knows that, pretty well too.

Her first foray into the land of flashbulbs came when she was introduced to the public as interim chancellor in a giant hug-a-thon, featuring presumptive mayor Vincent Gray, then-acting Mayor Adrian Fenty and Michelle Rhee, who had just announced her resignation.

The appointment came at a tumultuous time. Gray had only a short time ago upset Fenty in a Democratic Primary election, a seismic political event which many saw as a referendum against school reform, Rhee and Fenty.

“That whole thing was a shock in some ways,” she said. “If you told me when we first got here that I would be here, where I am, interim chancellor and all that, I’d have said you got to be kidding. We all thought we would be in the midst of a second Fenty term, doing our jobs, continuing on with the work that had begun and so on. But it was Michelle who asked me to do this. She said: You’ve got to make sure this continues, and that’s why a lot of the team remained, assuring continuity.”

Now she’s here, and very much a public figure. Not that she’s exactly shy.

Henderson, 40, can command a room, even when its practically empty, as when she went with Gray on a series of town hall meet-and-greets that not only introduced Gray to the folks in the various wards of the city, but also Henderson.

She came in out of her office hands outstretched to sit with me at one of those big long conference tables. This is a woman who doesn’t leave you much room not to like her. She’s direct, with an open, animated face that breaks easily into a smile or laughter. She is also a serious person, something of a wonk whose comfort zone is probably three-hour banter about policy.

Nobody should make any mistakes: she is totally committed to school reform, which includes notions that you ought to be able to fire bad teachers and reward good ones, and that the Impact Evaluation System is an excellent and fair way of evaluation. Listen to her talk, and you get the notion that she’s spent a lot of time with Michelle Rhee: “I believe with all my heart that a great teacher can change a classroom, can change your life.” This is practically a mantra of reform—just the other day the governor of Indiana used almost the exact phrase talking about teacher’s unions.

She is also a patient worker and a relationship-builder; that much talked about revolutionary, dynamic contract signed by the Washington Teachers Union under George Parker was led by Henderson. “It’s about trust, it’s about relationships and building a process,” she said. “We all—our team, Parker’s team—worked on this long and hard under difficult conditions, but in the end we got there…Now we sort of have to start all over.”

Nathan Saunders, a strong critic of the Impact Evaluation System, defeated Parker in an election for the WTU’s presidency.

“Philosophically, I agree with Michelle,” Henderson said. “She has been and is my best friend. But that doesn’t mean I’m her, or that I work like she does, or have a similar personality, or always agree with her.”

Henderson exudes certain straightforward warmth, a no-nonsense straight talk, and an optimism that is obvious. She’s had some hurdles to deal with—a faction-driven problem over principals at Hardy School in Georgetown for one, facing budget cuts and possible school closings.

You’d think that Henderson would have been a natural fit for the education world, given that her mother Kathleen was a teacher and a principal. But in fact, she went to Georgetown University and the School Of Foreign Service. Because she was interested in policy, she ended up at Teach for America, teaching middle school in the South Bronx.

“Still, I grew up in the suburbs, Westchester. And my mom was a huge influence on me, that’s absolutely true,” she said. “We lost her in 2003 to colon cancer. She was 53. Just 53…We decided—she decided—to make the most of the time she had left. We spent a lot of time together, with her friends, teachers, principals and superintendents, and it was such a time. It was full of life. She wanted to spend her last hours with her friends and that was a blessing.”

Just with the open tone that she talks about her mother, you can tell this might have happened last year and that she thinks a lot about her. “Oh yes,” she said, “You have to wonder what she would have thought about this. It’s funny…I talk to her old pals, superintendents some of them, and I look where I am and I think about her, sure.”

And when the interim tag comes off, she’ll think about her again.

As of Wednesday, March 9, the day of The Georgetowner’s publication, Ms. Henderson was officially named Chancellor of the District of Columbia Public School system.

Gary Tischler •

The last time Vincent Orange had a seat on the city council in 2006 after representing Ward 5 for eight years, he decided to run for mayor. Adrian Fenty rolled over him, just like every other candidate in a knockout victory.

Now, Orange is back as the newly-elected at-large city councilman, winning a special election to fill the seat formerly held by Kwame Brown, who was elected council chairman last year in a race against Orange. Talk about perseverance.

Orange won a tight race, considering the low voter turnout citywide, that featured a strong challenge by Republican Patrick Mara, who was endorsed by the Washington Post and won impressive pluralities in Wards 2, 3 and 6. Orange, boosted by a strong lead in fundraising late in the campaign, name recognition and experience ended up taking 28 percent of the vote to Mara’s almost 26 percent. Orange won by a margin of over 1,000 votes.

Sekou Biddle, a Shepherd Park resident and Teach for America worker, was the nominal incumbent, having been appointed to fill the seat on an interim basis by the DC Democratic Committee, with support from Mayor Vincent Gray and Chairman Brown. Incumbency was not enough to push Biddle across the finish line in the lead. He finished third, winning 20 percent of the vote.

Bryan Weaver, a Ward 1 activist and ANC Commissioner, made a credible showing at 13 percent (he won a majority in Ward One), followed by Josh Lopez, the young Hispanic candidate who worked on former Mayor Adrian Fenty’s campaign and helped lead a write-in campaign for him.

Looked at from a distance, the results of this race appear to be almost a replay of the results in the mayoral race, which saw Gray upset Fenty by winning heavily in the primarily black wards of 8, 7, 4 and 5, while Fenty took a large majority in the primarily white wards of 3, 2 and 6. Orange scored big in the same wards as Gray, while Mara took large majorities as Fenty. What’s clear is that Mayor Gray’s campaign slogan of “One City” remains no more than just a slogan.

Voter turnout, as usual in such special elections, was not even respectable, coming in at 9.48 percent of eligible voters, according to DC Board of Election figures. Before DC voters again rail against interference from the federal government or for voting rights in congress, they might look long and hard at that figure: 43,208 voters out of 455,842 eligible voters voted in this election.

True, special elections don’t draw a heavy turnout, but for an election deemed critical by many observers, it’s a poor showing that needs to be improved.

Both Orange and Mara indicated they would not support a tax increase on the $200,000 plus earners in the city, something of a surprise from Orange, but not from a GOP candidate. The tax increase is a critical part of Mayor Gray’s budget and the election results probably doesn’t bode well for it. Expect a big budget fight ahead in the upcoming weeks.

What the results showed is that the city, while losing black residents, remains a deeply divided city. Mayor Gray, under a continually raining cloud over hiring practices and investigations from a variety of sources, has been so far unable to effectively lead. School reform was probably not a major issue, since there wasn’t a candidate that doesn’t support reform. The ethical scandals surrounding the mayor, the chairman and some members of the council, however, was a big talking point in the candidate forums.

Orange returns to a council that is different from the one that he left. Brown, the man who defeated him in the chairman race, remains chairman but is a considerably weaker leader almost in as much hot water as Gray and even more unpopular.

For Orange, it’s something of a major comeback and triumph. He won in spite of having lost convincingly in his last two campaigns. He won in spite of a majority of the council support for his opponents. That signals a divided council, which Orange may have difficulty in influencing. On the other hand, Orange brings one quality that is healthy in these tense times to the council: he is an unwavering enthusiast and optimist, not the worst attitude for an elected official.

Georgetowner •

With the sun shining, there’s no reason not to hit the town. Here is what’s going on this weekend, straight from the Georgetowner’s online events calendar. And as always, we encourage you to get involved with your community by uploading your own events or any we may have missed.

Family Fair in Georgetown!
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:00 AM
Members: $8 (per child), Nonmembers: $10 (per child),
Adult Chaperones: $5
Youth@DumbartonHouse.org
Tel: 202-337-2288
Kids on spring break? Celebrate spring at two of Georgetown’s historic house museums, Dumbarton House and Tudor Place! Children of all ages make their own delicious treats at both houses, including ice cream sundaes and chocolate houses! The family fun continues with children’s games and crafts. This program serves as a great introduction to our great Summer Camp Program, Georgetown Summer History Weeks.
2715 Q Street, NW, Washington, DC 20007

SMJO – A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald featuring Kim Nazarian & Phil Woods
April 23rd, 2011 at 08:00 PM
Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra featuring vocalist Kim Nazarian and saxophonist Phil Woods.
Tickets: $55 Gen. Admission.
Blues Alley Jazz Supper Club
1073 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.

VINIFERA WINE BAR & BISTRO EASTER SUNDAY EXTRAVAGANZA
April 24th, 2011 at 11:00 AM
$45 per person for adults
$20 per person for children 12 and under
mquinn@sheratonreston.com
Tel: 703.234.3550
This Easter, Vinifera continues its tradition of inviting families to enjoy a petting zoo provided by the Leesburg Animal Park and Sunday brunch. Guests can visit the baby lambs, ducks, bunnies, goats and beloved long haired llama on Vinifera’s front lawn. Executive Chef Bo Palker will serve a delicious three-course meal of classic dishes and gourmet twists. There will be three Easter egg hunts for children ages 12 and under at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., and a visit from the Easter Bunny himself.
11750 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, Virginia 20191

Georgetowner •

Here is what’s going on this weekend, straight from the Georgetowner’s online events calendar. And as always, we encourage you to get involved with your community by uploading your own events or any we may have missed.

Georgetown House Tour Hospitality Suite
April 30th, 2011 at 10:00 AM
FREE For All To Attend

Join The Georgetowner Newspaper for our Hospitality Suite to Benefit the The Georgetown House Tour on April 30th. From 4-6PM, enjoy cocktails, Hors d’ oeuvres, and a day full of special events.

Hosted By
Canal Group Builders
The Georgetown Social Editor, Mary Bird
Address

Boffi Studios
3320 M Street NW
Washington DC 20007

Dataklysmos: Multidimensional Sculptures
April 30th, 2011 at 06:00 PM

Irvine Contemporary announces Dataklysmos, an exhibition of new multimedia sculptures by [dNASAb]. [dNASAb] (who goes by “Disney”) is a Brooklyn-based artist who constructs complex, multidimensional works that visualize the world of data and the materiality of digital technology in new ways.Opening reception 6-8 p.m.

Address

Irvine Contemporary
1412 14th Street, NW

Family Stories: Daughters, Mothers, and Bubbes
May 1st, 2011 at 01:00 PM
mwestley@jwv.org
202 265 6280

We invite to you portray your beloved daughters, mothers, and bubbes in skits, scrapbooks, videos, song and dance routines, or whatever your imagination can conjure. Exhibits will be open from 1-5pm. Treasure hunts for the kids.
Address

National Museum of American
Jewish Military History
1811 R Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Georgetowner •

Maddy’s Day
—

May 13th, 2011 at 12:00 PM

Maddy’s Bar & Grille will donate 100% of the day’s profits to benefit breast cancer research at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Bring your friends and grab lunch or join us for happy hour as we raise money for breast cancer research at the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center on May 13. 100% of the day’s profits will be direct to breast cancer research at Lombardi. It will be a fun filled day with great food, drinks, and music.

Maddy’s Bar & Grille
1726 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20007
(2.5 Blocks North of the Dupont Circle Metro)

5th Annual Potomac Wildlife Art & Decoy Show
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May 14th, 2011 at 10:00 AM

The Community Foundation of Charles County’s 5th Annual Potomac Wildlife Art & Decoy Show is a free art and decoy exhibit celebrating the Potomac’s natural beauty. The show directly benefits the community. Donations to the Community Foundation are appreciated. Wildlife art and decoys on display, Potomac Decoy Collectors Association exhibiting antique duck decoys for show and sale, free decoy identification and appraisals, and decoy competition will be held. 10am-5pm

College of Southern Maryland
8730 Mitchell Rd–Business & Industry Bldg, Conf Center
La Plata, MD 20646

The Land That I Love
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May 14th, 2011 at 05:00 PM

May 14 – June 3 “The Land I Love” by the Piedmont’s premier landscape artist Tom Neel,opening May 14, 5 – 8 PM. Acclaimed for his strong sense of color and composition, Neel’s rich oil paintings are known to capture the best of the Piedmont region. Opening will feature live jazz by the Brian Litz Trio and wine by Barrel Oak Winery. See our website for calendar of upcoming events.

Live An Artful Life
6474 Main Street
The Plains, VA 20198

“Innocent Spouse- A Memoir”
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May 22nd, 5-7PM

You’re invited to an evening with Carol Ross Joynt on the publication of her new book, “Innocent Spouse- A Memoir” Enjoy a reading, discussion/Q&A and a meeting with the author and have your booked signed! Music and Refreshments will provided. All proceeds from the sale and signing will benefit the new Georgetown Public Library under the direction of the D.C. Public Library Foundation. There is no charge for this event but seating is limited. To R.S.V.P call Anna 202 727 4943
Black Hall
At Potomac and O Streets in Georgetown
(Adjacent to St. John’s Church)

Venus in Fur
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May 25th, 2011 at 08:00 PM

A comedy-drama that explores the complex relationship between sex and power. Reality and fantasy, strength and weakness, pleasure and pain all blend together in one of the smartest and funniest plays in recent years.

The Milton Theatre
1501 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20005

National Sporting Library & Museum Book Fair
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May 28th, 2011 at 10:00 AM

Saturday, May 28, 2011, 10 am – 5 pm, the Library will host the NSLM Book Fair. Six authors are scheduled to talk for 20 minutes then sign books, beginning at 11:00. The authors are: Rita Mae Brown, Kate Chenery Tweedy and Leeanne Ladin, Tim Rice, Bill Woods, and Norman Fine. Booksellers will be on hand and the authors’ books will be available for purchase. Check www.nsl.org for details in early May.

The National Sporting Library and Museum
102 The Plains Road
P.O. Box 1335
Middleburg, Virginia 20118-1335
Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saturday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m

Georgetowner •

District Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan reported that his office is investigating allegations against Capitol Petroleum Group, the Springfield-based gasoline supplier, accused of engaging in practices that could be inflating pump prices, reports the Washington Post. Accordingly, this enormous regional enterprise “owns, operates or supplies” 164 stations in the DC area, as well as 71 stations in New York City.

Concurrently, Maryland’s Attorney General Douglas Gansler is also investigating a “sudden and dramatic” increase in prices at a handful of Maryland gas stations, supplied by Empire Petroleum Holdings, based in Gaithersburg, MD. Gansler said his office has received phone calls from customers and gas station owners worrying about the price increases of about 25 cents per gallon. Gansler demanded Empire turn over proper documents concerning the purchase and sale of gasoline from last month as proof of the legitimacy of the recent price hike.

“Such a significant price increase in such a short amount of time is deeply concerning to this office,” wrote Gansler, whose office is charged with ensuring fair market competition and protecting consumers.

However, an attorney for Empire Petroleum claims they are being unfairly targeted, and that these distribution companies do not make any price decisions—the oil companies do that.