February 28, 2013 · 10:00 am

Vote for Georgetown in the Best of DC Poll!

Every year the Washington City Paper conducts a reader poll to find out what the “Best of DC” is. Too often the readers poll ends up only identifying “The most patronized but not really that good” (Seriously, Ledo Pizza for best pizza? Come on.). So lets try to make sure some worthy Georgetown stores or restaurants don’t get overlooked.

So here’s GM’s quick list of Georgetown places he thinks rank among the best in DC in their respective categories. If you agree, go here and enter them in. If you have other ideas, throw them in the comments and try to get some votes headed their way.

There are a ton of categories, but GM’s being brutally honest by sticking to Georgetown places he truly thinks are the best in DC:

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February 28, 2013 · 8:00 am

The Morning Metropolitan

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

  • Tudor Place’s Peter family owned the quarry that provided early DC with much of its sandstone.
  • Neighbor calls in an alert to DC to complain about the imminent arrival of TJ Maxx, Home Goods and Michaels. (It was a joke).

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February 27, 2013 · 2:00 pm

The Georgetown Metropolis

1300 block of 35th St.

1300 block of 35th St.

 

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February 27, 2013 · 10:00 am

ANC Preview: The Plural of Anecdote is Not Data

Photo by randomduck.

The ANC meets next week for its March session. And it will be a star-studded affair. Well…not really “star-studded”, more like “public servant-studded”.

You see, not one, but two councilmembers will be in attendance to discuss a topic that has created a significant degree of whining recently: the Glover Park lane reconfiguration. Ward Three’s Mary Cheh and our own Jack Evans will be there to go through the ritualistic act of listening to angry people stand up and complain about how a few extra seconds of travel time via car through Glover Park is the absolute worst thing to happen to them in their entire lifetime.

The ANC has been incredulous of the changes ever since they were first implemented. Recently, they have been soliciting residents to complain about how the changes have affected them (ostensibly they asked for positive comments too, but who is going to write their commissioner and say “got through a couple blocks in a reasonable amount of time!”?).

To be fair, some have been complaining about the changes before the ANC asked them to complain. But now it appears that the ANC might request the changes be undone simply based upon these anecdotal complaints (to the tune of millions of dollars wasted). The old saying goes, the plural of anecdote isn’t data. Particularly in this case where we can actually gather real data!

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February 27, 2013 · 8:00 am

The Morning Metropolitan

Photo by S. Sasaki.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

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February 26, 2013 · 2:00 pm

The Georgetown Metropolis

3200 block of Grace St.

 

3200 block of Grace St.

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February 26, 2013 · 10:00 am

Who’s Behind $15 Million Bid?

West Heating Plant

UPDATE: GM was mistaken. While the Levy Group owns several of the buildings along Pennsylvania Ave. next to the Four Seasons, it doesn’t own the hotel, Strategic Hotels does. However the root of the prediction still holds since the Levy Group is teaming with Strategic Hotels to bid on the West Heating Plant.

Original Post:

As of last night, the standing highest bid on the West Heating Plant is over $15 million. The auction was supposed to close on February 19th, but it was always labeled a “soft close” and GSA will likely keep the bidding open until 24 hours goes by without a higher bid.

The bids are anonymous. Until last night the high bidder was “Bidder #5” for $15 million. That was topped by a bid for $15.2. All we know is that neither is EastBanc; Anthony Lanier announced that they are no longer in the running.

GM has heard no rumors or tips as to who could be throwing around that much dough. But for the record, he is going to guess that the winning bid will come from one of two sources: the Levy Group or New York money.

The Levy Group owns the is teaming with the owners of the Four Seasons and they have been the most aggressive group pushing various ideas they’d like to implement as if they already owned it. For instance, they’ve already privately floated the idea of building a bridge across the canal to connect the two buildings (that has no chance in hell getting built). Continue reading →

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February 26, 2013 · 8:00 am

The Morning Metropolitan

Photo by PJ Mixer.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

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February 25, 2013 · 2:00 pm

The Georgetown Metropolis

1000 block of Cecil Place

 

1000 block of Cecil Place.

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February 25, 2013 · 10:00 am

A Georgetown Gondola?

Photo by jrodmanjr.

Way out in the other Washington (Seattle, Washington) some folks are pushing for a novel approach to urban transit: gondolas.

Two separate proposals for sky gondolas have been floated for the Pacific northwest city recently. One is a pipe dream, but the other at least stands a faint chance of seeing the light of day.

GM mentions this because he recently heard a not entirely unserious argument to bring such a system to Georgetown. It’s a crazy idea, but maybe not as crazy at is seems at first.

The idea would be to better connect Rosslyn with Georgetown University. Stringing a system between those to points could potentially move a great deal of individuals. Georgetown estimates that its GU-Rosslyn GUTS bus route carries over 700,000 riders a year.

There are two possible technologies for aerial transit: trams and gondolas. The only two aerial transit systems in the U.S. use trams: Roosevelt Island, New York and Portland. These systems have just two large cars that travel back and forth between just two stations. This limits frequency since the cars can’t come any faster than the length of the whole trip. Continue reading →

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