Downtowner Town Topics
• April 6, 2016

Cherry Blossom Parade on April 16

The Cherry Blossom Festival will conclude its month-long festivities with the annual parade on April 16. This 10-block, bright pink parade is free to the public. The parade will be between 9th and 15th Streets NW along Constitution Avenue. It all starts at 10 a.m. and ends at noon, but you should get there earlier if you expect a good spot. The parade will consist of elaborate floats, huge helium balloons, vocal performers and 15 marching bands from around the country. If you can’t make the parade you can still get a chance to see it all — from noon to 2 p.m. the parade will be broadcast locally.

National Gallery: 3 Centuries of Prints

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, a special exhibition will be on display from April 3 to July 24. The gallery first opened in 1941, and since then has collected thousands of historical prints that range from America’s early stages to the present. Chosen to encompass the last three centuries of American history were 160 works. The exhibition begins with John Simon’s “Four Indian Kings,” 1710, and caps it all off with Kara Walker’s piece “no world,” 2010. The exhibition travels next to the National Gallery in Prague in October.

Will Annual D.C. Mosquito Infestation Be a Government Concern?

As temperatures rise in D.C., so do the number of mosquitoes. With the usual hot and humid conditions upon the city, a wave of mosquitos is a no-brainer, but the recent cases of the Zika virus have raised the concern of many public officials. Around the country there are already plenty of politicians trying to get funding for insect control — and are consistently failing.

Washington, D.C. has a long history of mosquito-related illness outbreaks, including yellow fever, malaria, dengue and West Nile virus. The District’s budget for the 2016 fiscal year was approved in Dec. 2015, and the neither the word “mosquito,” nor any other insect control related issues, are included in the 902-page council-approved budget.

Easter Egg Roll: PETA Ignored, Woman Arrested

A couple of interesting stories came from this year’s Easter Egg Roll on March 28. Every year, PETA pleads to the White House to stop the tradition of using real hardboiled eggs during their Easter festivities, and instead use ceramic eggs. This year, the White House announced they were using 19,000 hardboiled eggs for the 14-hour event. PETA brought up how an average chicken only lays an egg every one and a half days, and they are all just being rolled around and tossed away. In the spirit of tradition, the White House ignored the request like they do every year.

Also during the Easter Egg Roll, the event shut down temporarily when a shooting occurred at the Capitol. Unfortunately for a visiting guest, she was seen moving a temporary barricade at the same time the Capitol reports were coming in. Secret Service arrested her. A report from the Secret Service revealed that upon investigation, she was identified as a ticket-holding guest who had passed through security with the 30,000 guests that day. She was released when it was concluded she had no link to the shooting at the Capitol.

Eaglets Need Names

Last month, two baby eagles were born at the U.S. National Arboretum, and now they need to be named. At the moment, the two fuzzy newborns hold the temporary names DC2 and DC3. The American Eagle Foundation is asking the people of the internet to help give the two eaglets names that are suitable for either a male or female. You can submit your suggestion for a name on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram by using the hashtags #dceaglecam and #namethenestlings. The names will be announced on April 26.

Rito Loco Wins Best New Restaurant

From food truck to restaurant, Rito Loco has been getting both awards and a following for their one-of-a-kind food. Rito Loco has a menu with a wide range of flavors, from Cuban to Spanish and Southern Soul cuisine. The company started in 2011 when founders Daniel Diaz and Louie Hankins invented their signature “hangover cure” breakfast burrito at a barbecue.

The burrito joint earned itself the Best New Shaw Business of 2015 award for outstanding success in the area. If you want to see what all the commotion is about and try their famous burritos, you can find Rito Loco at
606 Florida Ave. NW.

Season Passes for Potomac Boathouses Will Be Honored
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According to a spokesperson at NCR Guest Services, which took over operations of the three boathouses on the Potomac River owned by the National Park Service, season passes for 2016 that were purchased from the previous vendor will be honored. There was some concern among passholders that they would only be able to use their benefits at the two remaining boathouses operated by Boating in DC: the Ballpark Boathouse on the Anacostia River and the location at National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. NCR Guest Services won the bid for a 10-year contract to operate the Boathouse at Fletcher’s Cove, Key Bridge Boathouse and Thompson Boat Center, which will allow boat and bike rentals from any of the boathouses they operate to be dropped off at any other.

Northeast Triangle Dorm to Be Ready in the Fall
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Construction on the Northeast Triangle, Georgetown University’s newest dorm, is about 75 percent complete. The exterior of the building is finished save for some masonry work. Many fixtures such as toilets, showers and tiles are already in place. The university expects the construction to be completed in late June or early July, resulting in on-campus housing for an additional 225 students starting with the 2016-17 school year.

The construction of the eight-story building — angled next to Reiss Science Building, White-Gravenor Hall and the Bunn Intercultural Center — began last year. There has been considerable impact on the main campus, with walkways blocked off and foot traffic redirected. The LEED-certified building will have a green roof and green terraces on the east side, bordering the Georgetown Visitation Prep property.

Comments Sought on Kennedy Center–Rock Creek Trail Connection
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The National Park Service is seeking comments from the public on its proposal to build a pedestrian-bicycle connection between the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Rock Creek Paved Recreation Trail. The link would improve access, as there is currently no direct access to and from the Kennedy Center to the east or southeastward to the recreation trail. The only pedestrian or bicycle access is via a series of crosswalks across F Street NW a quarter of a mile north of one of the Center’s parking garages. Comments can be made online at go.nps.gov/ConnectionEA.

‘Ransomware’ Attack Takes Out MedStar Computers
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Last week, a cyberattack crippled several local hospitals and outpatient medical centers when a virus disabled a number of MedStar Health’s networks and systems, including their email and patient-record databases, for at least two days. The healthcare provider, which operates 10 hospitals in the D.C. metro area, may have been victim of a “ransomware” attack, in which the company’s computers are held ransom for payment in digital Bitcoin currency. According to a report in the Washington Post, several employees reported seeing a message on their screens demanding payment of 45 Bitcoin, equivalent to about $19,000, though MedStar officials would not confirm this.

Many patients reported that their appointments were cancelled due to the network outage, though some were asked to bring a list of their current medications and allergies. Staff reverted to using paper to track what work they were able to do. Allegedly, when some blocked systems could be accessed, they were read-only, so that no information could be input or updated.

Last month, a medical center in Los Angeles resorted to paying $17,000 in Bitcoin to re-access their system. Attacks followed in Kentucky, West Virginia, California and Canada — suggesting a rising and unnerving trend.

Anne Louise Bayly Berman: 1975 to 2016
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Anne Louise Bayly Berman, known as Annie Lou, died of cancer Easter Sunday, March 27, at her home in upper Northwest. She had also lived in Georgetown. She leaves behind her husband MJ Berman and her children Charles (Charlie), Theodore (Teddy), Louisa (Scottie) and Helene (Nell). She was born on Christmas Day in 1975.

A third-generation Washingtonian, the endlessly energetic and positive Berman attended Blessed Sacrament School, Georgetown Visitation Prep and James Madison University and got engaged at the ruins of Georgetown’s Aqueduct Bridge on the Potomac, followed by a lunch at Cafe Milano. She was the founding editor of Daily Candy D.C., a blog on shopping and style that shut down, and a co-founder of BabyLove D.C., a non-profit that provides baby supplies to those in need. She served on the board of directors of the D.C. Public Library Foundation and Blue Igloo Playgroup. She was active in the PTA of Horace Mann Elementary School and was a teacher for Roots of Empathy.

Berman also volunteered for the Citizens Association of Georgetown, which said of her: “Annie Lou was an important founding member of the Oral History Project at CAG in 2010 — giving expertise and guidance based on her experience heading the oral history division for the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art. She conducted some of our first interviews, trained volunteers and moderated the first Oral History Panel evenings that have become so popular. We will miss her cheerful, personal attention to young and old alike at Georgetown events.”

Exelon Approved to Absorb Pepco
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With Pepco’s now-approved merger with Exelon, Chicago-based Exelon becomes the largest energy utility in the country. In a protracted two-year negotiation that saw an initial rejection of the merger by the District’s Public Service Commission, following massive protests by a coalition of activists called Power DC, a team led by Mayor Muriel Bowser negotiated a settlement agreement that increased investment in the District by the utility from $14 million to $78 million.
Though approval by the PSC was expected, the settlement was rejected in a 2-1 vote. The explanation was that it was not in the public interest, primarily because the four-year rate relief the mayor’s team negotiated applied only to residential customers and not to commercial or governmental customers.

Another deal was made changing four of about 140 terms in the proposal, including the terms of the rate relief, specifically by putting off the allocation until the next rate case. The new proposal lost the support of the mayor and many other officials involved in the process, but was approved nonetheless by the PSC on March 23.

Metro Rail May Shut Down Entire Lines for Up to Six Months
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Following the lack of District-wide chaos during a daylong shutdown of the entire Metro rail system March 16, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority CEO and General Manager Paul Wiedefeld and Metro Board Chair Jack Evans said they may need to shut down entire rail lines for as long as six months to perform maintenance.

“The system right now, in order to do the maintenance that needs to be done, cannot be done on three hours a night and on weekends. It just can’t,” the Washington Post quoted Evans as saying. “So in order to do repairs that are necessary, it may come to the point where we have to close the entire Blue Line for six months. People will go crazy. But there are going to be hard decisions that have to be made in order to get this fixed.” Wiedefeld is expected to make his decision on what he will do in the next six weeks.

Potomac River and District Get Environmental Praise
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The Potomac River got its best report card yet, a B minus, as it continued to improve its grade in the Potomac Conservancy’s biennial State of the Nation’s River reports. In 2013, it got a C, and in 2011, a D.

After decades of decline, shad, white perch and other common game fish are on the rebound; more people are spending their outdoor activities on or near the river by fishing, using water access trails and taking advantage of state parks on the river; and the top three pollutants are on the decline. According to the report, the Potomac River is on its way
to recovery.

“But the Potomac is not in the clear yet,” says Potomac Conservancy President Hedrick Belin. Pollution from urban runoff into the river is rising, blue catfish and snakeheads are invading the waters and underwater grasses, habitat and water clarity are recovering slowly, according to the report.

Washington, D.C., also received accolades, coming in for the second year in a row at the top of the Environment Protection Agency’s 2016 Top Cities list, which ranks metropolitan areas according to the number of buildings earning Energy Star certification. An Energy Star building must outperform 75 percent of similar buildings nationwide, according to a statement by the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.

DC Water Green Infrastructure Clarifications
• March 30, 2016

The following are clarifications to an article in the Feb. 10 issue of The Georgetowner on DC Water’s plans for the Georgetown area. DC Water’s Downspout Disconnection Program is part of the Potomac River Green Infrastructure Project. The implementation of that program will “offset the amount of GI required in the right-of-way by reducing the amount of stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces (i.e. roofs)” and control the amount of runoff to combined-sewer outflows 027-029. CSOs 025 and 036 will be controlled “through targeted sewer separation,” while CSOs 020, 021, 022 and 024 will be controlled “through construction of the Potomac River Tunnel,” according to an email from DC Water to The Georgetowner.

Though obtained from DC Water’s website, the labels on the map of CSOs that we published in the last issue do not accurately show how each CSO will be modified or eliminated, although it does show their locations. The inset map in that issue, showing the route of the Potomac River Tunnel, is labeled as Recommended Plan. It has been relabeled DC Clean Rivers Project. DC Water also noted that the overflow of the combined sewer is currently discharged into Rock Creek, as well as the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers.

Green Infrastructure construction on the right-of-way is scheduled to occur from mid-2017 to 2019. Sewer separation construction is scheduled for 2021 to 2013, and construction on the Potomac River Tunnel is set for 2023 to 2030.