Town Topics

Georgetowner • November 1, 2012

**Get Ready for Flooding
Along the Potomac**

As Georgetown and other D.C. neighborhoods
cleaned up after Hurricane Sandy, dodging
a major hit compared to New Jersey and
New York, flooding along the Potomac River is
the next worry. Especially for Georgetowners,
the riverside complex, Washington Harbour,
is on their minds, as they recall the April 2011
flood there.

The Potomac was predicted to overflow its
banks and flood by late Oct. 30, according to the
National Weather Service. It advised that ?residents
and businesses along the Potomac River in
. . . Washington should prepare for a flood not
seen since the floods of 1996.?

Citing Little Falls as a point of reference, the
Weather Service predicted flooding at 10 feet
and continuing to 15 feet in the early hours of
Nov. 1. The waters should recede to nine feet by
Nov. 2, according to the NWS.

**The Barber of Georgetown:
Rigo Landa to Retire**

Rigo Landa of Georgetown Hairstyling, the
classic, old-school barber shop at 1329 35th St.,
NW, will officially retire Nov. 8. Landa, who
began working at the barber shop in 1968 and
bought it from two brothers who owned and
operated it, has sold it to his stepson Ed Lara,
who previously worked in the airline industry
and also is a guitarist. Rigo, who has traveled all over the world, was born in Cuba and will hold
on to his barber?s license for now ? in case Ed
needs an extra day?s work for himself, Veronica
or Nguyen.

**Doc?s Georgetown Pharmacy
To Become a 7-Eleven**

We know our former publisher Dave Roffman
will not like this news flash one bit.

According to Carol Joynt and CarolJoynt.
com, the retail space once known as the
Georgetown Pharmacy, which closed years ago
to become a clothing store and then an art and
decor store, is set to become a convenience store,
i.e., a 7-Eleven. The closed store is at the corner
of Wisconsin Avenue and O Street.

?My source on this is
next to golden, and so I?m
going with it,? Joynt writes.
?Apparently, the Donohue
family has done a deal to
lease its building at Wisconsin
and O to the 7-Eleven chain.
Work already has begun on
the interior. Everyone seems
to like to look for signs that
Georgetown?s charm is a
thing of the past, and this latest
development will probably
be included on that list, along
with reports of a TJ Maxx,
Target and a bowling alley at
Georgetown Park mall, and the
new mega Nike store on M
Street. But, the times they are a changin?.?

The Georgetown Pharmacy was run and
owned by Harry Alexander ?Doc? Dalinksy, who
was a Georgetown institution with customers
that included senators, judges and journalists.
His Sunday brunch, provided by the Georgetown
Inn, was frequented by the likes of Ben Bradlee,
David Brinkley and Art Buchwald, as seen in a
classic Fred Maroon photo.

**Comedy Legend Carl Reiner
Gets His Georgetown Degree**

Comedian, writer and director Carl Reiner
? who received the Kennedy Center?s Mark
Twain Prize for American Humor in 2000 ? was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Oct. 23 at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, Calif. Reiner studied at Georgetown?s School of Foreign Service in 1943 after joining the Army during World War II.

?Today, Georgetown University delights to honor the director of ?The Jerk,? the father of Meathead and Betty White?s on-screen boyfriend,? the university?s Bernard Cook said. ?Actor, writer, producer, wit, Carl Reiner is a renaissance man whose seven-decade career spans the history of television and the maturity of feature film.? Reiner is also known for his creation of the 1960s television series, ?The Dick Van Dyke Show.?

Reiner says his ?biggest triumph? as a comedian was when he impersonated his professors in a Christmas show he was asked to put on in Georgetown?s Gaston Hall, according to the university. ?This evening I will never forget,? he told Cook. ?There we were ? Gaston Hall was packed with soldiers, the balcony was filled with the Jesuit fathers, the priests and the lay teachers.? The comedian even impersonated the stern mannerisms of Rev. Edmund Walsh, S.J., after whom the university?s foreign service school is named.

Reiner recalled his days in D.C. fondly. After all, he also met and married his wife Estelle while in Georgetown. ?

Georgetowner •

**Ice Rink Ready Before Thanksgiving**

After inaugurating and showing off its newly re-worked fountains with water spouts,
Washington Harbour has shut it down and begun the seasonal conversion of the elliptical space into an ice rink?to be ready for skaters before Nov. 22.

According to Washington Harbour?s owner MRP Realty, ?The 11,800-square-foot
Washington Harbour Ice Rink?larger than the rinks at Rockefeller Center in New York City or the National Gallery of Art?s Sculpture Garden in Washington?will be ready to welcome its first skaters before Thanksgiving. In addition to offering open skating, discounts to college students and the opportunity to skate with Santa Claus, the rink will accommodate parties and special events, such as birthdays, family gatherings and
corporate events.?

Hours of operation for the ice rink will be noon to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday; noon to 10 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday. Admission is $9 for adults, or $7 for children, seniors and mili-
tary. Skate rental is $5, and skating lessons are
available.

**West Heating Plant: Oct. 25 Meeting; Auction Next Month**

Property hunters can now learn more about taking part in the upcoming auction of the
Georgetown Heating Plant at a meeting on Oct. 25. Jones, Lang, LaSalle is marketing the federal property, owned by the General Services Administration.

The meeting will be at the main auditorium of the GSA National Headquarters Building, located at 1800 F Street, N.W. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. The building will be open for site tours from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Speakers at the meeting include Bill Dowd, the Acting Regional Commissioner for GSA. Tim Sheckler, the Director of GSA Real Property Utilization and Disposal Division for the National Capital Region, will also be speaking, as well as a representative of the District of Columbia Office of Planning.

Topics to be discussed at the meeting are the acquisition, the GSA online auction and the
terms of the sale. Neighbors, local groups and Ward 2 councilman Jack Evans have called for use of the included open space that part of the
sale to be set aside as parkland for public use.
The West Heating Plant is at 1051 29th Street, next to the C&O Canal and north of K Street NW. Built in 1948, it was used as a steam generating plant for federal building until 2000. The opening and closing dates, minimum bid and bid increments for the sale have yet to be set. The site is scheduled to go to auction in November.

**D.C. Jazz Fest, S&R Team Up for Performances at Evermay**

The D.C. Jazz Festival and the S&R Foundation have partnered to host the DCJF Annual Trustee Reception on Nov. 14.

The reception, including a performance entitled Jazz Meets the Latin Classics, will feature legendary musician, 10-time Grammy Award-winner and National Medal of the Arts recipient Paquito D?Rivera and his Latin jazz trio. DCJF and the S&R Foundation will also jointly host jazz performances by Yotam Silberstein on Nov. 2 and Cyrus Chestnut on Nov. 9 as part of the Overtures Holiday Concert Series. The events will be held at the Evermay Estate, the S&R Foundation?s headquarters. For his Jazz Meets the Latin Classics performance, D?Rivera will perform alongside the extraordinary Yotam Silberstein and Alex Brown. D?Rivera will bring his unparalleled virtuosity to the DCJF Annual Trustee Reception to celebrate the rich tradition of jazz in the nation?s capital.

?A great jazz performance energizes the spirit and stirs the soul,? said Sachiko Kuno, president of the S&R Foundation. ?The S&R Foundation is delighted to collaborate with the D.C. Jazz Festival for what promises to be three spectacular evenings of jazz.? Tickets to the first two performances of the Inaugural Overtures Holiday Concert Series can be purchased for $50 at www.OverturesSeries.org, and include refreshments and on-site valet parking.

**Obamas Celebrate 20th Wedding Anniversary at Bourbon Steak**

The Obamas — the president and the first lady ? celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary at Bourbon Steak Restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue Oct. 6. Because of his debate with Mitt Romney, President Barack Obama had missed the true date of the nuptials, Oct. 3. Chef Adam Sobel was happy to serve the first couple and tweeted an image of the menu ? which included
potato blintz with fried quail egg, creme fraiche and oscetra caviar, Chesapeake rockfish crudo with apple, radish onion, seared diver scallop with cauliflower tempura, risotto, and sweet potato soup with cabbage, seared foi gras and maple syrup. He later deleted that tweeted photo of the menu. The president gave Sobel a box of Presidential M&M?s; the press was kept across the street at at Le Pain Quotidien; the Obamas? waiter thanked the president for keeping his mother alive with Obamacare (it is not yet fully
operational).

**DDOT, GGW Host Live Chat on Parking**

The District Department of Transportation and Greater Greater Washington will host an online live chat at noon, Oct. 18, to solicit public input on the future of parking in the District. To date DDOT has held a series of a series of community conversations, called Parking Think Tanks, to gauge the state of parking and solicit public input on parking in the District. This live chat will offer an additional opportunity for anyone who visits, lives or works in the District to provide their input on parking. The comments received from the public will help shape future parking policies and programs to create a more efficient use of parking resources.

Following the Parking Think Tanks and the live chat, DDOT will host a public summit to report on the input received from the public; how the input may potentially shape the outcome of comprehensive curbside parking management plan; and the agency?s next steps. Additional information about this summit will be posted online at ddot.dc.gov/ParkingThinkTanks.

**COMMUNITY CALENDAR**

Oct. 25, 7 p.m. ?Dumbarton Oaks Park Conservancy: lecture by Judith Tankard on her book, ?Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes.? Georgetown Public Library, 3260 R St., N.W.

Oct. 26, 7 p.m. ?Georgetown Gala: Putting on the Glitz; Citizens Association of Georgetown. Embassy of the Russian Federation, 2650 Wisconsin Ave., N.W.

Oct. 27, 10 a.m. ?Georgetown Public Safety Meeting, at Georgetown Safeway Cafe, sponsored by Citizens Association of Georgetown. Discuss safety and crime issues with Officer Atkins; bike registration demonstration.

Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m. ? ANC2E Monthly Meeting. Georgetown Visitation Prep, 35th Street. Halloween Happenings Georgetown Theatre Company will read poetry and short stories by the master of macabre, Edgar Allan Poe. A ?horrors d?oeuvre? reception will follow the reading, and a supernatural surprise is guaranteed. A $10 donation to
the Georgetown Theatre Company is requested. Oct. 27, 8 p.m. Grace Episcopal Church, 1041 Wisconsin Ave, NW.

**HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS**

Paul Bakery has taken a different spin on Jack-O-Lantern making. They?ll be carving bread rather than pumpkins, and they invite you to join them at their Georgetown Bakery and Caf?. Cost is $15 per person; this includes a large pumpkins shaped loaf of bread, a stencil to carve a design, and a drink and treat. To reserve a spot email paulb03@paul-usa.com. Oct. 22 and Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to noon, 1078 Wisconsin
Ave., NW.

Smith Point will have its 11th annual Halloween celebration, featuring two options for open bars. From 9:30 p.m. through 12:30 a.m. the open bar will be $40, and from 11:30 p.m. through 12:30 p.m. it will be $20. Costumes encouraged, and tickets are first come first serve at the door. Oct 30, 9:30 p.m., 1338 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

Many families will be gathering in Glover Park for a Halloween parade. The event will begin at Stoddert Elementary School and will go down 39th Place, left on Benton Street down to 39th Street, Oct. 31, 4:45 p.m. Thunder Burger & Bar will celebrate Halloween with a costume contest. Prizes for Best Male Costume and Best Female costume will be awarded ? each will win a $50 Thunder Burger & Bat gift certificate. Oct. 31, 10 p.m., 3056 M St., NW.

Gary Tischler • October 5, 2012

I wrote my first story—at the request of then publisher David Roffman—for the Georgetowner in 1980, a kind of long (what else is new), discursive piece on Ted Kennedy’s run for the presidency, a train wreck of monumental proportions, right up until the moment at the 1980 Democratic National Convention when the senator redeemed himself with a stirring speech that laid out his liberal principles like the party’s gift to the nation.

That means some 32 years have passed, and here I am, still writing, and here we are, in the middle of a particularly disheartening presidential campaign, where principles are as hard to find as a Republican moderate who admits to being one.

A lot has changed in the landscape and streetscape, the nightlife-scape, the business-scape of Georgetown, which remains what this publication is about. Needless to say, I have changed—ask my doctor or anybody who hasn’t seen me in a while. On occasions like these—anniversaries and the remembrance that goes with them—we tend to forget or note what’s going on in front of us. I don’t spend as much time in Georgetown as I might and like, but the differences are notable from my own observations, and from those that appear in our publication.

We talk a lot in Georgetown who was who which tends to identify the village—it’s a historic district after all, and maybe that fact alone, which makes it very difficult to dramatically change the physical look of homes and buildings and tends to make people talk a little too reverentially about his place. Let’s face it: yes, the young senator Kennedy (John Fitzgerald) lived here for a time, but he had not yet made the connection to Camelot, and the Georgetown University is a lodestone of history and training ground for diplomats and government leaders, and yes, it’s expensive to live here, in terms of real estate and a host of other things. Yes, Georgetown is a special place, it’s famous, historic, grand with some grandees who live or have lived here, but it hardly bears the stamp of elitism, as some people would still have it.

In fact, when I went to one of the CAG sponsored summer concerts at Volta Park this year, I was energized by the buzz there, the squeals of children, the bustle of young families, dogs running around, kids chasing kids, parents keeping a wary eye on them. I noticed the presence of new village leaders in the ranks of the Citizen Association, the realtors and merchants on site, people I did not know personally, but people full of enthusiasm. Gone, it seems are the rancorous old days of pitched cultural and political battles among CAG and ANC factions, and relations between commerce and residential interests seem good, although town and gown, not as much as one might like. All of this will change immediately when the Hoyas once again return to the NCAA basketball finals, as they did in the 1980s with John Thompson and Patrick Ewing.

The past is a great place to live in—the whole city is pockmarked with landmarks and statues and monuments and notes about where Abraham Lincoln walked, George Washington slept or had a beer on his way, where so and so fought duels and everyone remembers the face of Robert Frost at JFK’s inauguration. Every neighborhood in Washington has its share of historic places and moments and Georgetown has more than its share than most. In my neighborhood at Lanier Heights, long-time neighbors tell tales of the FBI running across rooftops chasing members of the SDS in the halcyon 1960s. So it goes.

Georgetown is a great place to live if you like to breathe in history deeply, if you have some means, if you appreciate the unique nature of the place. These days, it’s full of entrepreneurs and technology leaders. Mansions change hands, while history makers remain with us as ghosts or occupants of the rarefied grounds of Oak Hill Cemetery.

Our publication, which has changed hands only twice under three publishers is to me and those of us who, to put into the words of Captain Jean Luc Picard, make it so, like a tall chair, a vantage point where we watch, comment, write about, and document the village and city parades as they go by. The emphasis changes or becomes enlarged, but never diminished—the parade as always has presidents, neighbors, musicians, cultural mavens, grand dames, and plain dames, people who engineered startups with a little help and a lot of imagination. In Georgetown, you can see what small businesses are: they make things like fine clothes, leather jackets, cupcakes and pies, they sell things and they let you sit down for breakfast or dinner in a place they filled with their personalities, which is why we remember them. They are also: publishers and writers, editors, and the people who answer the phone and give you information or call you to twist your arm for advertisements. That would be us, since 1954, and we change, too but remain at your service.

In addition to our biweekly print publication, the Georgetowner has published an email newsletter every Monday and Thursday for almost two years. The newsletter has been a great source for up-to-date news and views on life in Georgetown and beyond. Sign up for the newsletter at www.georgetowner.com.

Robert Devaney •

Here’s something you rarely hear in this historic town: “Tear down that house.”
Georgetown’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC2E) at its Oct. 1 meeting approved a raze permit for 3324 Dent Place, N.W. — and neighbors not only agreed but applauded the decision.
The blighted property has been a neighborhood eyesore as well as a safety and health problem for years, added neighbors who spoke of holes in the ruined house and rats, racoons and drug addicts coming and going. During Hurricane Irene in August 2011, a tree fell on the roof of the house, dealing it a “death blow,” said commissioner Ron Lewis, who called the case “extraordinary.” The present owner of the property is Deyi Awadallah of Falls Church, Va., who asked for the permit but has not submitted design plans for a new house on the property. The raze must be approved by the Old Georgetown Board.