The Potomac River
Monthly Archives: April 2011
Watch the GU Campus Plan Hearings
GM couldn’t make it down to the Zoning Commission for last night’s GU campus plan hearings since he had important business elsewhere. But once he realized that the Buffalo Sabres playoff game wasn’t on national television, his schedule freed up. So he watched the hearings over the Internet. And if you missed them, you can still watch them right here. (GM couldn’t get it to embed, so you’ll have to go to the ZC’s website).
Some initial impressions: GU put on a very strong case. Their lawyer, Maureen Dwyer of Goulston Storrs, was very sharp and represented her client well. Substance-wise, there wasn’t too much new to the presentation than what they’ve put on before. But overall they seemed to be better prepared than in other settings and their arguments were tighter than before.
Richard Hinds of CAG (and Cleary Gottlieb) led the cross-examination, which is a fascinating feature of the proceedings. He was similarly sharp. His focus was largely on the enrollment numbers and the question of how many students (both undergrad and grad) are and will be in the neighborhood. An additional focus (primarily from representatives of Foxhall) was the loop road issue on the west side of campus.
Anyway, it’s a very fascinating watch. No matter which side you’re on in this debate, you’re probably going to see something you like in the video. And huzzah to the DC government for getting these hearings up on the Internet so fast.
In the interest of full disclosure, GM should note that he recently agreed to become the secretary of CAG. For what it’s worth, he hasn’t participated in any of the planning for these hearings. The views expressed here are his own and don’t reflect those of CAG.
Filed under Zoning
Poor MPD Response Cited in Recent Break In
GM got a tip yesterday from a Georgetown resident. He reported to GM that the apartment building he lives in near 30th and P was subject to repeated intrusions recently by a suspicious individual. Specifically, severally nights ago a man was harassing women outside the building. A resident broke up the incident and no police were called.
However, last night the same individual gained entry into the locked building and was walking the hallways loudly banging on the doors. Soon thereafter it was discovered that the mail from the mail boxes was tampered with and destroyed.
A call was placed to MPD. But it took the police 40 minutes to respond. The officers were rude and dismissive of the complaints and claimed that no crime had taken place. They doubted the severity of the harassment and told the residents that maybe next time they should just call the post office. They grudgingly searched the premises and then left without taking any statements from the residents. All in all, a rather poor response in GM’s opinion.
The one bright note: residents contacted the CAG safety patrol officer (via their block captain), who came immediately to the location and stayed there until the police arrived.
Filed under Crime
The Morning Metropolitan
Photo by Byron Peebles.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- A she said, they said situation at Griffin Market.
- Condos, condos everywhere.
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Why Wait? Start Voting Now!
Last November, At Large Councilmember Kwame “Fully Loaded” Brown was elected as chair of the D.C. Council. That meant his at-large seat has to be filled. So the District is holding a special election on April 26th.
But there’s no need to actually wait for April 26th to vote. The District has very permissive early voting rules. You can just go down to the DC Board of Elections and Ethics at One Judiciary Square and vote right now. The doors are open from 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM. You don’t need to pretend you’re going to be out of town, or observing Passover, etc. You can just go an vote early, no questions asked.
You can vote by mail too. Go here to order an absentee ballot (again, no need to pretend you’re going to actually be absent on the 26th). Continue reading
The Morning Metropolitan
Old Stone House by Ken McCown.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- Georgetown Apple Store in Peep form.
- Mmmmm, melted cheese. Speaking of grilled cheeses, GM just had one at Wingo’s the other day. It was fantastic, highly recommended.
- Another Book Hill storefront gets filled up.
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Key Parts of GU Campus Plan Hearings Postponed
This week, the Zoning Commission hearings for the proposed Georgetown University campus plan will begin. These hearings will be an opportunity for government agencies, the school, community groups, and the public to testify for or against the plan. The first of three hearings will be this Thursday at 6:30 pm at the Zoning Commission’s hearing room at 441 4th St. NW, Suite 220-S.
This first hearing was expected to be dominated by the school’s presentation and the ANC’s. However, due to the school’s recent changes to their proposal, the Office of Planning is delaying the issuance of its report on the plan. As a result, the ANC has requested and been granted a postponement to their scheduled testimony. Now the Office of Planning is expected to file its report on May 5th and to testify on May 12th (at the same time and location as listed above). The ANC will testify afterwards. Continue reading
The Morning Metropolitan
Photo of Halcyon House sculpture by Andrew Morrell Photography.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- Some of the new stores that are coming to Georgetown, are getting close.
- Speaking of new stores, the recently vacated Sixteen Fifty Nine space is already filled up.
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
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