December 11, 2009

The Morning Metropolitan

Target Pop-Up Store by Theartofaccessories.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

December 10, 2009

The Georgetown Metropolis

1200 block of 30th St.

December 10, 2009

Fraudster Hired Out Evermay for Scam Marriage

Two and a half years ago, the elegant Georgetown estate Evermay was the site of a scam marriage put on by an international fraudster in a storyline that is stranger than fiction.

Specifically, in the spring of 2007 a British national named Kevin Halligen rented out Evermay to host his wedding to American Maria Dybczak. According to recent news reports:

THE wedding guests arrived in black limousines to see a British secret agent marry his US government lawyer bride, surrounded by the strictest of security. From the grand 19th-century Evermay mansion, where the ceremony took place, the guests had commanding views of America’s power base, Washington, DC. It is a city where former intelligence operatives and military men mix warily with politicians and power-brokers, looking for lucrative government security contracts. Among the guests at the wedding were a former CIA station chief and a security adviser to Barack Obama. The best man had once been special operations marine colonel.

The guests were some of the best-informed people in the capital. Yet none knew that the wedding was a sham, the priest was an amateur actor and Richard Halligen, the groom, was an imposter.

Had the wedding not been fake, it would have been illegal. That’s because Halligen was already married. Keep reading →

December 10, 2009

The Morning Metropolitan

Georgetown in the Snow by El Swifterino.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

December 9, 2009

The Georgetown Metropolis

1600 block of 30th St.

December 9, 2009

Track Planes, Noise Complaints

Plane over Potomac by DC Digital Photography

Ever had a fantasy of being an air traffic controller? Ever wanted to complain about a plane flying too loudly over your house? If you said yes to either of those questions, there’s a perfect website for you: Airscene.com.

Airscene is a system that tracks planes coming into and going out of airports. The link above is the one set up for Reagan National Airport. On top of merely tracking the progress of the planes, the system also uses about a dozen sound monitoring stations across the area to monitor how loud the planes are.

Here’s what it looks like:

This map indicates that at 1:19 pm on December 2nd, American flight 2033 from Boston (which is an A319 plane) was approaching for a landing at about 2300 feet above Georgetown. Keep reading →

December 9, 2009

The Morning Metropolitan

Tackle Box Menu by Vasta.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

  • Tudor Place running year long program for Stoddert Elementary Students.
  • Pop-up Target opening its doors this weekend behind the PNC Bank.
  • Q & A Cafe interviews Georgetown Cupcake founders today.

December 8, 2009

The Georgetown Metropolis

1200 block of 30th St.

December 8, 2009

Bacchus Wine Cellar Celebrates Nine Years

Nine years ago, Bassam Al-Kahouaji entered 1635 Wisconsin Ave. with his real estate agent to inspect the recently abandoned property. The previous tenants were the last in a series of disreputable shopkeepers and they left the odd space in shambles. Bassam had intended to open an antiques store, but the space was not appropriate for that purpose. Instead he saw the space as the wine cellar that it is, and thus Bacchus Wine Cellar was born.

To celebrate, last Thursday Bassam held a small but lively party fueled by fine champagne, caviar, and surprisingly ripe strawberries.

Bacchus Wine Cellar is the finest pure wine shop in Georgetown. It carries a wide selection of top quality wines from across the globe. But don’t take GM’s word for it, stop by their weekly wine tastings Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and see for yourself. You’ll probably end up chatting with a regular, and who knows you might end the night a new regular yourself.

December 8, 2009

Bicyclist Killed at 31st and M

Updated: It is not clear whether the bicyclist survived the collision or not.  More at Washcycle.

Last night a bicyclist was fatally struck by involved in a collision with a Dulles cab driver at the corner of 31st and M. The above picture was taken by Flickr user BrownPau and Twitter user Vnangia reported that the collision was fatal for the biker. There were no reports on the MPD2D listserv to verify these reports.

It appears from the photo above that the cab was heading westbound on M and turning down 31st St. It is not clear from the photo what direction the biker was heading when he or she was hit.