Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Serving Chevy Chase, Colonial Village, Shepherd Park, Brightwood, Crestwood, Petworth & 16th Street Heights
Vol. XLIV, No. 8
THE NORTHWEST CURRENT ABC Board issues get council airing
ENGINEERING FUN
■ Oversight: Graham defends
chair from activists’ criticism By ELIZABETH WIENER Current Staff Writer
Some neighborhood activists trying to put Alcoholic Beverage Control Board chair Charles Brodsky on the hot seat got little support Tuesday from the D.C. Council member who oversees the
alcohol board. “You’ve done a terrific job,” Ward 1 member Jim Graham, who has overseen the alcohol board and helped refine the city’s liquor licensing laws for seven years, told Brodsky. At an oversight hearing, he called Brodsky “an effective and dedicated chairperson” and said the board is “striking about the right balance, protecting neighborhoods but simultaneously meeting the needs of businesses.”
Some activists from Georgetown and Logan Circle, both neighborhoods with active bar scenes, complain Brodsky has helped tip the board toward business interests, in particular by terminating some voluntary agreements that are designed to shield residential neighborhoods from alcohol-driven disorder and noise. Some have also charged Brodsky with conflicts of interest. Brodsky, See ABC/Page 2
Rock Creek work revives path debate By CAROL BUCKLEY Current Staff Writer
Bill Petros/The Current
Maya Jones, 4, of Chevy Chase was among thousands of kids who attended Saturday’s annual Discover Engineering Family Day at the National Building Museum. The festival featured dozens of hands-on activities.
As federal and city authorities gear up for a longdelayed rehabilitation project targeting the 3.7-mile Rock Creek Multi-Use Trail as well as a 2,600-foot-long path in Georgetown’s Rose Park, residents are waiting to see whether history will repeat itself. A proposal issued in 2000 — and resurrected a handful of times over the past decade — sought to widen the 4-foot-wide Rose Park path, which wends among trees and a tot lot, into a 10-foot trail. The wider trail would ease the way for users, bicyclists in particular, to access the existing Rock Creek trail via a renovated P Street ramp. It’s not yet clear whether an upcoming environmental assessment will yet again revive that proposal, which some residents say would encourage bicycle traffic along a path heavily used by pedestrians, including chilSee Trail/Page 2
Bill Petros/Current File Photo
Some feel a wider path in Georgetown’s Rose Park could create safety problems, with bicycles clashing with pedestrians.
Janney director stages school’s 20th musical
City council set to begin ward, ANC redistricting
By JESSICA GOULD
■ Census: Population growth
Current Staff Writer
Janney Elementary School parents say this year’s musical promises to be especially sweet. On Friday and Saturday, students in the fourth and fifth grades will perform “Willy Wonka Junior” — a version of the classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” the candy-coated morality tale based on the book by Roald Dahl. For many students, it will be their first time on stage, and director Ginny Curtin said she’s seen the children come a long way since rehearsals began weeks ago. “They’ve practiced like there’s no tomorrow,” she said. “I’ve really been amazed by how far they’ve come.” But, for Curtin, this year’s musical also has a special
NEWS Gray urges District residents to look to Cairo for voting-rights inspiration. Page 3. ■ Council extends parks probe. Page 3. ■
will require boundary changes By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
Bill Petros/The Current
Janney Elementary’s production of “Willy Wonka Junior” this weekend is one in a long line of musicals for director Ginny Curtin. significance. It’s been exactly 20 years since she first began directing musicals at the school. According to Curtin, it all began back when her own children attended Janney. “When my kids were in the See Janney/Page 5
PA S S A G E S ■ A visit fit for a prince at British School of Washington. Page 11. ■ GWU helps Ben’s Chili Bowl preserve papers, memorabilia. Page 11.
For most D.C. officials, the 5.2 percent increase in the city’s population is a positive indicator that after years of shedding residents, the District is once again a desirable location. But for those officials responsible for redrawing ward and advisory neighborhood commission boundaries, any population change
SPORTS ■ Sidwell Friends girls win ISL A basketball crown. Page 9. ■ Gonzaga, St. John’s prepare for title runs. Page 9 .
can be a mixed blessing. Per D.C. law, each of the city’s eight wards must contain a roughly equal number of residents — plus or minus 5 percent — so population growth forces the city to reconfigure its internal borders. “There is nothing worse than changing ward boundaries. People get crazy about it,” said Ward 2 D.C. Council member Jack Evans, cochair of the council’s redistricting committee, at a Foggy Bottom meeting last week. The U.S. Census Bureau announced in December that the See Redistrict/Page 5
INDEX Calendar/20 Classifieds/29 District Digest/4 Exhibits/23 In Your Neighborhood/16 Opinion/6 Passages/11
Police Report/8 Real Estate/15 School Dispatches/12 Service Directory/25 Sports/9 Theater/23 Week Ahead/3