The Georgetown Metropolitan

You may have noticed a sharp increase in the number of marijuana-oriented shops opening in Georgetown in the recent months. I can count at least five new shops I’ve noticed. They are all the product of a new gold rush that sprung up in response to a new law passed by the DC Council last year.

But first, some background. As you may know, DC legalized medical marijuana back in 2009. It actually voted to legalize medical marijuana by way of a voter initiative in 1998, but Congressional interference meant the DC was barred from actually counting the votes on that initiative until 2009. (Congressional interference will be a theme here). Following the legalization of medical marijuana, DC authorized a small number of dispensaries to sell pot to people with approved medical conditions.

Then in 2014 voters were asked to decide on a new initiative: I-71. This would fully legalized the possession and use of marijuana for purely recreational purposes. It was approved, and despite efforts from various Republican Congressmen, the initiative became law. However, those same Congressmen, led by Maryland rep Andy Harris, inserted a rider into DC’s budget bill to prohibit the city from passing a law to legalize the sale of recreational pot.

So possession and use of pot for recreational uses was legal, but the sale of it was prohibited. Into this uncertainty entered “gifting shops”, otherwise known as I-71 shops. These shops operate on the flimsy pretense that they are not selling marijuana. Rather, they claim, they are selling you art, t-shirt, weird candy (or whatever) and as a bonus they throw in some free marijuana. This is the business model for all of the pot shops you see in Georgetown (and the rest of DC).

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The recollections of a long time Georgetown realtor.
• The “Welcome to Washington DC” sign on the other side of Key Bridge seems to be getting a face-lift.

The French Market returns next weekend to Book Hill to celebrate 20 years. I’d joke that it was nearly old enough to drink, and then I remembered that it’s French, so it’s been drinking for years now. C’est la vie…

The festivities start Friday and they run all the way till Sunday. Friday it is from 10 am to 5 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday it’s noon to 5:00.

This is always a great time and hopefully this incredible weather will still be around by then.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• More details on the French restaurant that is planning to take over the Booeymonger space.
• The fight to save the Foundry Branch trolley trestle and what it could become.

This week, WMATA floated what it is referring to as a “Draft Visionary Network” for its extensive Metrobus system. The plans would dramatically redraw the entire existing network across the whole service area. And consistent with that, the changes suggested by the plans would significantly impact bus service through Georgetown.

It’s important to state first that this is a very preliminary plan. It was drafted looking at the data and prioritizing faster services between the most frequented destinations. And WMATA is soliciting feedback from the public. One of the tools they released lets you plan a trip and see how your time would compare between the current network and the proposed one. (More on that down below).

The new system would represent a clean break from the current one. All the old route names (including the historic streetcar route numbers) would apparently be tossed. In their place would be brand new route numbers consisting of the route’s origin jurisdiction and a three digit number (e.g. DC100, VA203, etc.)

Just for reference, here is the existing bus map for Georgetown:

The bus routes are as follow:

• 31,33 – The main Wisconsin Ave. routes that go either to Foggy Bottom or downtown, depending on which bus you catch
• D2 – The bus to Dupont Circle, which travels in a loop up to Glover Park and back. Through Georgetown it’s mostly on Q St.
• D6 – Long haul bus line that travels from Sibley to RFK. Through Georgetown it mostly overlaps with the D2, thus increasing the bus options between Georgetown and the Dupont Metro stop
• 38B – Orange Line With a View! This bus travels between Ballston and downtown. It travels along M St. in Georgetown
• G2 – This bus links two universities: GU and Howard. It winds its way through west Georgetown and then travels along Dumbarton and P towards Dupont, and beyond
• Circulators – Of course there are also Circulator bus routes (some of which are on the chopping block), but WMATA doesn’t control them and so are not part of its future network

As stated, none of these routes would, per se, remain. Some would largely remain under a new name. For instance, the 30 series buses would fall into the new DC101 line (DC’s Alternative Rock Bus Line!) It appears the DC101 line would travel to Farragut North. The 38B will also be largely replaced by the VA283.

Separately, the D2, D6 and G2 would effectively be merged into the DC100. This new line would start at Sibley, like the D6, and follow that bus’s route through Georgetown. However, instead of traveling along Massachusetts Ave., it would head down to P St. and travel east on that street until New Jersey Ave. At that point it would head south and terminate somewhere near Union Station.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Transformers vs. the Neighbors.
• Blank Street Coffee is trimming back its expansion into DC, but is still going to open a Georgetown location this summer.

An explosion of color is now occurring at 1513 35th St. The residents there planted a gobsmacking 1,000 tulip bulbs, and we all get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

And better yet, the display was created for a worthy cause. As you can see from a sign posted next to the flowers:

So if you’d like to pay it forward, consider donating to the cause!

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Probably should’ve have mentioned this yesterday, but remember that due to Emancipation Day, trash and recycling get shifted a day this week.
• Remember the House Tour is this weekend!

Plenty of ink is spilled over the sight of cherry trees blossoming each spring. But I’d like to submit for your consideration another reliably beautiful bloom from Asian lands: the wisteria. And nowhere are the wisteria blooms as impressive than at Georgetown’s Dumbarton Oaks gardens.

While the peak was last week, there is still time to enjoy these scene if you scurry over there (not today, since it’s closed, but definitely tomorrow).

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Some fantastic vintage shots of the dearly departed Booeymonger’s.
• GU Capital Bikeshare station relocated.