Town Topics

Robert Devaney • June 18, 2013

It seems that people cannot fail to be charmed by former Providence, R.I. mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci, who held court at Cafe Milano, March 22, as guest of Bill Shields of the National Low Income Housing Coalition and Thomas Quinn, top lobbyist at Venable Partners. Cianci is on a book tour for his memoir, “Politics and Pasta: How I Prosecuted Mobsters, Rebuilt a Dying City, Advised a President, Dined with Sinatra, Spent Five Years in a Federally Funded Gated Community, and Lived to Tell the Tale.”

Shields, one of D.C.’s “Rhode Islanders in exile”, introduced the longest-serving mayor of Providence, who ended his first term (1975 to 1984) after pleading no contest to assault of his wife’s alleged boyfriend with a lit cigarette, an ashtray and a fireplace log—and his second term (1991 to 2002) after being found guilty on one charge of racketeering. He was acquitted on 26 other charges brought by the feds’ “Operation Plunder Dome.”

“I thought I got railroaded,” said Cianci, who is credited with cleaning up and revitalizing Providence (even making appearances on the TV show of the same name). The radio talk show host and unapologetic “two-timing mayor” spoke like an updated combo of New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and comedians Henny Youngman and Jerry Seinfeld.

“So, CIA Director Bill Casey is at the airport and asked me ‘Who are you?’ And I said, ‘Aren’t you supposed to be the head of the CIA?’ ”

“Sinatra called” about getting his mother’s doctor’s son into Brown University and wanted an answer before his second show of the night. “So, I called the president of Brown. He wasn’t home. So, I sent the cops to find him.”

One of Cianci’s nephews was on the waiting list at Brown, which needed zoning approval for construction of a hyperbolic paraboloid. So, the mayor got the zoning commissioner to “put it on the waiting list.” “I heard there was a hyperbolic paraboloid in Georgetown.” (Yes, it is called Yates Field House.)

Taking advantage of five years in prison in Fort Dix, N.J., Cianci read a lot of books. “Don’t let the time do you—you do the time…And don’t change the BET channel.”

Sounds like reading “Politics and Pasta” will be time well done. [gallery ids="99217,103504,103507" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

President Barack Obama outlined his administration’s energy policy, termed “America’s Energy Security,” at Georgetown University’s McDonough Arena, March 30, before a thousand-plus crowd of students, faculty and VIPs — Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, among others.

After a few acknowledgments, especially to basketball coach John Thompson III on the Hoyas’ loss to Virginia Commonwealth University, Obama leapt into a history of energy use and proposals, imported oil, more drilling, biofuels, wind and solar:

“We’re going to have to think long term, which is why I came here, to talk to young people here at Georgetown, because you have more of a stake in us getting our energy policy right than just about anybody. … Richard Nixon talked about freeing ourselves from dependence on foreign oil. And every president since that time has talked about freeing ourselves from dependence on foreign oil. Politicians of every stripe have promised energy independence, but that promise has so far gone unmet… And today, I want to announce a new goal, one that is reasonable, one that is achievable, and one that is necessary. When I was elected to this office, America imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. By a little more than a decade from now, we will have cut that by one-third. That is something that we can achieve… Other countries are now exporting technology we pioneered, and they’re going after the jobs that come with it because they know that the countries that lead the 21st century clean energy economy will be the countries that lead the 21st century global economy. I want America to be that nation. I want America to win the future.”

Then the president appealed directly to the youth: “We need you to dream big. We need you to summon that same spirit of unbridled optimism, and that bold willingness to tackle tough challenges and see those challenges through that led previous generations to rise to greatness – to save the democracy, to touch the moon, to connect the world with our own science and our own imagination.”

Students waited for tickets on a first-come, first-serve basis, which caused long lines, and many were turned away. Some have proposed going back to the lottery system used for Obama’s 2009 address at Georgetown’s Gaston Hall.

Robert Devaney •

Mayor Vincent Gray signed an executive order last Friday authorizing a $1.00 fuel surcharge for all taxicab rides originating or terminating within the District of Columbia, the D.C. government reported. The charge took effect Monday for all fares originating and ending in the District. It has been extended, effective today, to trips that begin in the District and end in other jurisdictions. The action followed a recommendation from the D.C. Taxicab Commission to offset the impact of the steady rise in fuel prices in the metropolitan area on taxicab operators. As originally adopted, the surcharge—just as a similar surcharge that the D.C. Taxicab Commission adopted in 2008—was intended to apply only to fares originating and ending within the District. However, the rulemaking action was revised yesterday to make it applicable to all taxicab fares. As revised, the charge will remain in effect until July 27, 2011, unless terminated earlier by the chairperson of the Taxicab Commission.

Robert Devaney •

Two students arrested at Georgetown University in October 2010 for creating a drug lab in a Harbin Hall dorm room will spend three years on probation and perform community service, according to the Associated Press. Charles Smith and John Perrone were sentenced in federal court here, March 18. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced the pair to six months in jail, but suspended the sentence and ordered them to complete three years on probation and 200 hours of community service, the AP reported. The two pleaded guilty last month to manufacturing the illegal hallucinogen DMT. The sentence was recommended by prosecutors and the teens’ attorneys. At the time of their arrest, Smith was a freshman at Georgetown University and Perrone was a freshman at the University of Richmond.

Robert Devaney •

“Violent crime is down,” Lt. Hitchcock of the Metropolitan Police Department told the April 4 meeting of the ANC 2E. In his police area (PSA206), “there have been eight robberies in 2011 compared to 11 this time last year,” he said. But, he cautioned, property crime has increased.

Property crimes, specifically burglaries (breaking and entering) and thefts, have risen throughout the District, according to the Washington Post. Compared to last year at this time, burglaries are up 18% and thefts are up 23% citywide. Persons walking and using iPhones and similar devices are particular targets to thieves, especially in Ward 2, which has a reported property crime increase of 46% this year over last, according to The Washington Post.

At the ANC meeting, Hitchcock said he wants to hold separate meetings for the neighborhood and businesses. “We need your help,” he said. “…If something is suspicious. Call 911; you can remain anonymous.”

According to the MPD, 117 cases of burglary have been reported in Ward 2 since Jan. 1. Georgetown University’s Department of Public Safety reported 42 instances of property crime for the first two months of 2011, according to the Hoya. For all of Georgetown, the most common crime is the simple grabbing of a smartphone or a laptop.

Robert Devaney •

In a March 31 pre-hearing submission to the D.C. Zoning Commission, Georgetown University offered more concessions to the neighborhood, including more beds and a lower main campus enrollment cap.

“This submission makes significant new commitments in direct response to community concerns…and conveys additional data and information in support of various aspects of the Campus Plan,” the university said.

Citing its high on-campus housing compared to other colleges in D.C., the university said “its initial proposal to add housing in the 1789 block was withdrawn after negative neighborhood feedback. In light of further neighborhood feedback…Georgetown will commit to providing 250 new undergraduate beds either on campus or outside of the residentially-zoned land.” The university would ultimately have to detail whether it is simply adding beds or building new dorms.

“In May 2009, architects hired by the university identified spaces on campus that could potentially hold up to 800 beds, including North Kehoe, Harbin Esplanade, North Residential (an area past Darnall Hall), a small extension to Village C, and the walkway outside of Lauinger Library,” the Georgetown Voice reported.

“The university also proposed to lower its main campus enrollment cap from 16,133 to 15,000,” according to the Voice. “However, only 133 spots in the total enrollment will be eliminated; 1,000 students in the School of Continuing Studies will be relocated to a satellite campus by the end of 2013. The proposed cap of 6,675 undergraduate students remains unchanged.”

Georgetown added that its “willingness to move forward with the commitments in the 2010 Campus Plan, including voluntary enrollment maximums in particular –– for the first time in its history and notwithstanding the financial implications and significant management challenges…is expressly predicated on adoption of all of the elements of the 2010 Campus Plan.”

The zoning commission will meet Apr. 14, 6:30 p.m., for the first of three hearings on Georgetown University’s campus plan.

Robert Devaney •

Two Georgetown University students were awakened by unknown intruders early Saturday morning, April 9, in their dormitory rooms at the large LXR complex on 35th Street and on N Street. In two separate incidents, one female student woke to find a male stranger next to her; another women woke to a stranger shaking her shoulder and saw him run out of the room. No one was harmed and nothing was stolen. (The main entrance to Loyola Hall is at the middle of 35th Street and locks automatically.)

Here are excerpts from the two crime alerts by the University’s Department of Public Safety, which terms these incidents as burglaries:

“On Saturday, April 9, at 4:30 a.m., a Georgetown student woke to find a male laying in bed next to her. The student screamed, at which time the male suspect fled the room. A male subject matching the description was seen running through the courtyard, climbing the fence, and fleeing west on Prospect Street toward campus. DPS searched the area with negative results. The Metropolitan Police Department was notified and responded to investigate. Witness description of suspect(s): South Asian male, approximately 6 feet tall, short black hair, medium build, wearing a black sweater with collared shirt and tan pants.”

“A Georgetown student reported that on April 9, at 3:30 a.m., she was sleeping when someone shook her awake by the shoulder. When she turned to see who it was, she saw an unknown male exit her room. A roommate who was downstairs saw the suspect flee and exit the front door. Witness description of suspect(s): White male with freckles, approximately 6 feet tall, medium build, wearing a dark crew shirt, a striped maroon sweater and tan pants.”

The Department of Public Safety is requesting that anyone with information for these incidents call 202-687-4343.

Only two weeks ago, Georgetown University announced that it would be installing security cameras at the entrances and exits of its residence halls. “Cameras will be aimed at entrances and exits and not at student rooms,” the school’s housing services office emphasized.

The nickname, “Georgetown Cuddler,” while criticized as downplaying the threatening incidents, has been used for several years to mark several crimes of a varying nature.

In March 2010, the Washington Post reported: “An Arlington man who was dubbed the ‘Georgetown Cuddler’ was sentenced Friday to more than 26 years in prison for burglary and assaults on five male Georgetown University students. D.C. Superior Court Judge Gregory E. Jackson sentenced Todd M. Thomas, 24, to prison for burglarizing the homes and assaulting the students between 2007 and 2008. The victims said they awoke in the middle of the night to find Thomas in their apartments. At times, Thomas was massaging or groping the victim’s shoulders and ankles. Another time, Thomas sexually assaulted one of the victims. The attacks occurred in the 1200 and 1300 blocks of 33rd and 35th streets N.W.”

At the time of the 2010 report, the MPD was still searching for a suspect or suspects who were targeting women at or near Georgetown University, and then reports of such incidents tapered off—until last weekend.

Robert Devaney •

The renovation of the Nevils Hall student apartment complex on the corner of 36th and N streets has nearby neighbors concerned about traffic and noise. The project, beginning May 16, calls for a three-week intense schedule of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.—chutes, dumpsters, interior demolition, asbestos abatement and reconstruction. Georgetown University promised that workers would not park on residential streets and that most deliveries to and from Nevils would be routed through the campus. Large dumpster trucks, however, would have to drive on Prospect Street and 34th Street, school reps said.

Recalling the Nevils Hall makeover during the 1980s, Karen Cruise, a Citizens Association of Georgetown board member who lives on 35th Street across from Loyola dormitory, remained skeptical that noise could be kept to a minimum. At the April 4 Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting, Karen Frank, head of university facilities and student housing, told commissioners she would see if deliveries could begin an hour later in the morning. The first phase continues until Aug. 23 with most work going on inside the building, which contains mostly four-, five-, and six-person apartments with full kitchens, and which served as Georgetown University Hospital in the early 1900s.

Even Georgetown University seniors who live at Nevils are being inconvenienced: By May 14, they must move out of their apartments, before senior week and their graduation day, although the university is compensating them. Each evictee— whose college tuition is among the nation’s highest—will receive a whopping $200.

Robert Devaney •

An Executives Without Borders fundraiser at the downtown Smith & Wollensky, April 5, benefited wounded warriors and featured Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, former U.S. Administrator to Iraq and current president and CEO of World T.E.A.M. Sports, and Sgt. Rusty Frost of the U.S. Air Force, a double amputee who served in Iraq.

Along with 400 others, Bremer and Frost will take part in “Face of America,” a 110-mile bicycle ride, starting April 16 at the steps of the U.S. Capitol and ending on the battlefield of Gettysburg, Pa., the next day. At least 80 of the riders will be military members who were wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan. (The first-day miles will take riders past the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington and over the Key Bridge to Georgetown and up Canal Road towards Frederick, Md.)

At the fundraiser, the upbeat Frost, who suffered through 30 surgeries and recovered at Walter Reed Hospital, said he loved bicycling across the country. “The best thing to do [for recovery] is to get out of the room, off your crutches,” he said. “I can’t lose any more feet.” Frost, who met his wife Catherine at Walter Reed (“I could not run away from her.”), said his vehicle was hit in Samarra, Iraq. His job? Ironically: Explosive Ordnance Disposal. And his opinion of the film, “The Hurt Locker”? “I laughed the whole time,” Frost said. “We’re professionals. There’s no time to be a lone wolf.”

Look for the bicyclists coming over Key Bridge at M Street early Saturday morning—and salute some real American heroes.

Gary Tischler •

You never know what you might find in Georgetown Tobacco, that’s for sure. It’s not the only tobacco shop in the Washington area, but it’s probably the most original one. It is absolutely the most enduring, and it’s one-of-a-kind shop in Georgetown, now celebrating its 47th anniversary.

I’m looking at a Georgetowner cover dated July 1-15, 1992. That’s when we interviewed David Berkebile, the founder, owner and president of Georgetown Tobacco. Interview may be too formal a word, really. It was more like catching up, getting re-acquainted, with the occasional question thrown in. And all along, there was the enticing, oddly comforting aroma of pipes and cigar tobacco permeating the walls of the building.

It’s exactly the kind of time you expect to pass at Georgetown Tobacco if you just happen to wander in, drawn by the atmosphere, the humidors, the eccentrically beautiful masks and as many bearded gentlemen.

I’m looking at the picture, from a watercolor collage by David Connell from 1992, with Berkebile, wearing a checkered shirt, red tie, holding a cigar in his right hand, smoke trailing up. There’s a box of Los Puros cigars below to the left, a storefront Indian, a smoothly curved pipe to the right, an old-fashioned cash register, a wooden duck, tobacco leaves, boxes of shop items under glass and the store façade.

On the surface, nothing much has changed except that nineteen years went by. Berkebile, a navy vet, a homegrown guy, a Georgetown resident, look s about the same. In fact, he looks pretty good for a guy who’s squeezed by 70. He’s got a mustache now, another checkered shirt and a cigar in his hand, just as before.

This is on the third floor of the shop, where few venture. I don’t know why: you could open a museum with it and likely get people to trudge up the narrow stairs just to see what’s there. It’s a little museum of Americana.

“I like to collect stuff,” he says, matter of factly. “These posters—they’re Belle Epoch—I got into it and it’s fascinating, the history.” He does a little selling and buying and things pile up. There’s a stuffed vulture, an American eagle, a bellhop and a bust of Groucho Marx, books on antique posters, and advertisements from the turn of the century.

“You know, I didn’t start out wanting to be a tobacconist, “he said. “It wasn’t a great passion of mine. I mean, I smoked a pipe in the navy, but that was it…I learned a lot, often from the people who worked for me. I like to learn things. It never stops.”

Back in the 1990s, he talked about the romance of cigars and pipes and it was apt. “Oh boy, there was a real boom in cigars. It became something of a trendy thing, with cigar rooms and the cigars, expensive ones, becoming a kind of power symbols for men.”

He does smoke the odd cigar in a savoring, expert slow pleasure kind of way. “Cigar smoking and pipe smoking,” he said, “they’re about savoring, taking your time. Not chain smoking round the clock.”

But even there, in that store suspended in time, some things have disappeared. “Dad’s don’t hand out cigars when a baby’s born anymore,” he said. “Gone, like whistling.”

You can get a product list on the Georgetown Tobacco website, brands of cigars, pipes, tobacco and the masks and posters and stuff. What you can’t get is the quiet quality of a kind of island, where people sort of talk, quietly, and they usually know what they’re talking about. You won’t get the employee loyalty and memories on the website.

Berkebile is not much of a self-promoter. He’s what you might call a person of interest—not in a criminal sense, but in the sense that everything in that building says something about him, where he came from, what he thinks, what he’s curious about.

He works at getting things right. He’s known as one of Georgetown’s good citizens. After two marriages he married Sandy, his high school sweetheart from his days at Western High School, now Duke Ellington School for the Arts. He lives in Georgetown, a place he loves as much as he loves the salient people in his life, his three daughters and Sandy’s three sons. He loves the store; he talks to people here, he kicks backs, he can look around his office and see his life story from the surrounding collection of trinkets, posters, statues and pipes.

From a seat on the third floor, he can see M street and its facades, he can smell the aroma wafting up from below, and he can feel the texture of his life.

Georgetown Tobacco is located at 3144 M Street, NW, or just follow the smell of fragrant pipe tobacco until you see the beautiful Victorian masks in the window. For more information visit Georgetown Tobacco online.