Prince Charles at G.U., May 4
• June 12, 2013

Didn’t get enough of the royal treatment last week? Prince Charles of Britain is speaking at Georgetown University’s Gaston Hall on May 4 at a conference on sustainable agriculture, part of his work with organic farming and the natural world. Charles is on an official visit to the U.S., May 3 through 5. The Washington Post is hosting the confab, “The Future of Food.”

Georgetown Farmers’ Market Now Open
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As of last week on Wednesday, May 4th, The Georgetown Farmers’ Market is open for its 2011 season. Operating out of Rose Park, this will be the Georgetown Farmers’ Market 9th year in operation. The market is sponsored by the Friends of Rose Park in cooperation with the DC Division of Parks and Recreation. The market is open from 3:00 until 7:00 p.m. every Wednesday (rain or shine) until the last Wednesday in November at the corner of O and 26th Streets, near the P Street Bridge.

The history of the market goes back to 2002, when the Friends of Rose Park began working on the details that would allow them to sponsor a small farmers’ market in Rose Park during the week. The DC Department of Parks and Recreation, local ANC officials and the office of DC Council Member Jack Evans all supported these efforts, and it wasn’t much time before the market was open.

The Friends of Rose Park provides a team of volunteers to help with the market. The market has been described as the best place to meet neighbors in Georgetown, and it is where the dog people, kid people, tennis players, and basketball players all converge once each week.

“We will have a good selection of vendors at the first market of the season with the number growing as the season progresses,” said Leslie Wheelock, co-manager of the market. “Customers can expect to find farm fresh produce, meats, eggs, baked goods, quiches, fresh fruits, charcuterie products, jams, garden plants, flowers and dog treats.”

The market is a traditional, producer market, with vendors selling what they grow. The market also supports vendors who utilize local foods to create baked goods and other offerings that can be incorporated into a light dinner (or mid-afternoon snack). So far this season, the vendors include:

Anchor Nursery: fresh vegetables, fresh cut flowers, plants

Quaker Valley Orchards: berries, honey, apples, peaches

Les Caprice de Joelle: paella, soups, quiche and other goodies

Mid Trees Farm: Fresh meat, eggs, herbs and dog treats

Magnolia Bread Company: a field-to-table Baker; new to the market this year.

Stachowski Brand Charcuterie: fresh and cooked sausages, cured meats, gallantines, terrines, and cold cuts; new to the market this year.

For more information visit RoseParkMarket.com

Social Safeway is the Greenest Grocer in Town
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The Georgetown Social Safeway is now Washington’s first LEED-certified grocery store, as announced last Friday, May 6, during a celebration marking the store’s first anniversary. When the store opened last year at 1855 Wisconsin Avenue NW, officials promised that not only would the store provide a friendlier shopping setting for customers, but it would also have a friendlier impact on the environment by virtue of being the Eastern Division’s greenest store to date. Now, that promise becomes reality.

The Georgetown store – one of 15 operated in the District by the company – will commemorate the opening with a week of activities and amusement that includes cooking demos by area chefs, wine and cheese tastings, and a Spring Floral Festival outside on the grounds. Friday’s official LEED Certification announcement will include city and community leaders, Safeway Eastern Division management and representatives from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Afterwards, events will include a moon bounce, along with costumed characters, sampling and more, leading into a bustling weekend of fun pursuits.

The 71,067-square-foot Georgetown store, which operates 24 hours a day, was designed to promote the character and historic nature of its upper Georgetown neighborhood, maintaining the open, inviting atmosphere that resulted in people dubbing it the “Social” Safeway. But going much further than that, the store was designed and built to be the first LEED-certified grocery store in the District, and Safeway’s second LEED-certified store nationwide (the other being located in Santa Cruz, CA).

LEED (which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across the most significant environmental metrics – energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. Safeway has built and plans to maintain this store to LEED specifications.

Zoning Meetings Confront Issue of All Undergrads on Campus, Loop Road
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Two meetings of the D.C. Zoning Commission—May 12 and May 16—dealt with the issues of the D.C. Office of Planning’s review of Georgetown University’s 2010-2020 campus plan. The Office of Planning calls for the university to house 100 percent of its undergraduate students on campus by fall semester 2016, as well as the university’s proposed loop road, which would cut north to south on the west edge of the main campus.

At the May 16 zoning board meeting, District Department of Transportation officials said it cannot support the university’s application for the road because Georgetown did not submit enough information. “The Zoning Commission members were left wondering how they could evaluate a plan without specific guidance or suggestions from the transportation agency,” according to the Georgetown Patch.

Zoning commissioner Peter May found it “unusual” to get a report, especially for something as long gestating as the campus plan, and for DDOT to then “say you believe their report is inadequate.” This uncertainty left the zoning commission wondering how it might evaluate the loop road, especially in light of the possibility that a new hospital might be built on the campus in the future.

At the May 12 meeting, Jennifer Steingasser of the Office of Planning discussed its findings with Maureen Dwyer, an attorney for Georgetown University, who questioned Steingasser on the requirements of housing 100 percent of undergraduates on campus by autumn 2016 and the huge cost involved. Steingasser said that the panel ignored the economics and simply wanted to issue constraints on students living in the nearby neighborhood—whose larger numbers affect the quality of life—and that it hoped to maintain “neighborhood conservation” and restore balance.

The Office of Planning stated in its report: “O.P. is concerned that the maximum total enrollment of students…places the surrounding neighborhoods at the tipping point of diminished residential character. Off-campus student living and commuting traffic add to the deterioration of the residential character of the surrounding neighborhoods.” If Georgetown cannot meet the projected numbers, it would have to adjust its enrollment caps.

While the evaluations by the Office of Planning and the DDOT are not binding on the zoning commission, they do have enormous influence on the zoning debate.

The next zoning meetings on the campus plan will be on June 2 and 6.

Key Bridge Exxon Condo Design Jilted by Old Georgetown Board and EastBanc’s Lanier
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EastBanc presented its design for a high-end condo complex at 3601-3607 M Street (the gas station property next to the Exorcist stairs) to the Old Georgetown Board, April 7, and was sent back to the drawing board—and then again on May 5. The latest remarks included a stronger rebuff of the design by the local advisory neighborhood commission, which sent a new letter to the OGB. Even the lead spokesman on behalf of the project, EastBanc’s boss Anthony Lanier, said he agreed that the design should go back to the drawing board.

Residents may be fuming about the height of the complex against their backyards, but it was the way the condo looked and worked on the street that garnered the rejections. While some OGB officials agreed with Georgetown architect Robert Bell’s opinion that the condos as drawn had a look of “Marriott-hotel quality,” others found the design unfriendly or uninviting to pedestrians. While not exactly a high traffic area in terms of walkers, the Key Bridge Exxon will close by the end of July 2012. (The property is owned by D.C.’s gas station king, Joe Mamo, who also owns Parker’s Exxon on MacArthur Boulevard, Georgetown Exxon at Q Street and the Watergate Exxon.)

After neighbors’ comments and citing the review process, according to the Georgetown Patch, Lanier said at the May 5 meeting: “The design that we are objecting to, including myself, in many aspects and perhaps including our esteemed architect, is a function of combination,” adding that he is “happy to abandon that process” of accommodating through the current design.

A new design for the M Street condos will be considered at a future OGB meeting for the fourth time.

Home Invasion on S Street; Burglaries on 33rd Street
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Here are two reports from the Department of Public Safety at Georgetown University:

On Saturday, May 7, at approximately 1:35am, DPS responded at the request of the Metropolitan Police Department, which reported that at approximately 1 a.m. a home invasion robbery occurred at a residence in the 3500 block of S Street NW, a group home comprised of both Georgetown students and non-students. Three suspects, at least one of whom was armed with a handgun, entered the home looking for a non-student who was not in the residence. The suspects ransacked the home and left with three laptops and other electronic devices, escaping in an unknown direction. MPD responded and searched the area with negative results. MPD detectives will continue to investigate the incident.

On Wednesday, May 4, at 7:56pm, a Georgetown University staff member reported to DPS investigators that two residences in the 1300 block of 33rd Street had been burglarized the day before on Tuesday, May 3, at 10:30 am. In the first residence, entry was made through an unlocked door. Three laptop computers, an MP3 player and jewelry were taken. In the second residence, the screen was cut, but no property appeared to have been removed. A witness made contact with a possible suspect who was leaving the residence. MPD responded and canvassed the area with negative results. The case will be handled by MPD detectives.

Anyone with information regarding this or any other incidents, or who noticed any suspects before or after the incidents, please call 202-687-4343.

Georgetown Library Spring Fundraiser with Carol Joynt, May 22, at St. John’s
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After beginning her first hometown book tour at Bridge Street Books, Carol Ross Joynt will continue by reading selections from her new memoir “Innocent Spouse: A Memoir,” answering questions and signing her book on May 22, 5 to 8 p.m., at St. John’s Church (3240 O Street, NW). The free event in Blake Hall is sponsored by The Georgetowner, the Georgetown Business Association and Georgetown Cupcake. It will benefit the Georgetown Public Library, specifically the Peabody Room and the library’s children’s programs. Call Randy Roffman for details and reservations: 703-798-0330.

Cops Catch 35th Street Robbers
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Two suspects involved in the April 20 robbery of a woman walking toward 35th Street and Volta Place were apprehended the same day. The Metropolitan Police Department had talked to the woman and posted a lookout for the suspects. MPD spotted two suspects shortly after the incident, and upon searching the suspects, found them in possession of the stolen purse. Within four days in April, there had been three robberies on 35th Street. MPD also arrested a suspect from an incident at 37th and O Streets. According to police, the suspect has an arrest history of thefts and receiving stolen property. MPD will determine if he is linked to other neighborhood crimes.

Movie Mystery: Loews Evacuated After Shouts in Theater, May 8
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Georgetown’s Loews Theaters on K Street were evacuated the evening of May 8, as fire trucks arrived on the scene, responding to an emergency call. According to NBC News and other news organizations, “D.C. Fire and Rescue said someone yelled something inside the building Sunday night at about 10pm. That caused a panic inside a theater, and everyone took off running toward the door. Emergency crews evacuated the entire building as a precaution. According to D.C. police, one woman was hurt during the rush to the door. Investigators said the person who caused the commotion may have been drunk and tried to pull off a prank. No one was arrested.”

Felicia Stidham: Most Happy Friend of Our Town
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Felicia Stidham passed away on April 24. Her career spanned from wholesale and retail apparel to owning her own boutique real estate brokerage in D.C. A memorial service was held May 2 at St. John’s Church on O Street. She is survived by her brother Steven Plerhoples of Philadelphia.

Awarded by the Greater Washington, D.C., Association of Realtors, Stidham received her local training with Begg/Long & Foster in Georgetown, where she was a top lister and top producer. Before that, she had sold co-ops and brownstones on the Upper East Side of New York. In 2002, with seven years experience in real estate sales, Stidham started her own firm, Felicia Stidham Real Estate, LLC.

At the time of her death, Stidham was working on two books: “Georgetown Reveries: a Social History of Georgetown” and “The Life of Mary Rogers.” She was an active volunteer in the community. She had served as a director on the boards of the Friends of Book Hill Park, the Georgetown Business Association and the Georgetown Ministry Center. She also served on the Trees for Georgetown committee and chaired the 2008 Greens Sales at St. John’s Church.