Serving Dupont Circle, Kalorama & Logan Circle
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Vol. IX, No. 32
THE DUPONT CURRENT 2nd District sees command change
CUTTING THE LEASH
■ Police: Klein replacement
moves from Capitol Hill post By CAROL BUCKLEY Current Staff Writer
Cmdr. Matthew Klein of the Metropolitan Police Department’s 2nd District announced this weekend that he is stepping down from the post he has held for a little over two years. In an open letter to the
community, he said the transfer would allow him to spend “much needed time” with his family. Klein will be replaced by Inspector Michael Reese, formerly of the Capitol Hill substation in the 1st District. Fraternal Order of Police head Kris Baumann openly doubted Klein’s time-with-family claim — a workhorse for outgoing officials of all professions. In a Washington City Paper
report, Baumann alleged that the move is a result of Klein’s role in exposing the open-book cheating scandal that had Assistant Police Chief Diane Groomes investigated and then exonerated. Baumann cited “widespread information” within the department that Klein was involved as a whistleblower, but neither Klein nor department officials have discussed the lead-up to Groomes’ suspension. See Police/Page 10
Neighbors protest parties at yoga site By TEKE WIGGIN Current Correspondent
Bill Petros/The Current
Ward 4 D.C. Council member Muriel Bowser and Department of Parks and Recreation director Jesús Aguirre cut the ribbon Saturday on the Upshur dog park, the first of its kind in Ward 4.
Problems with rowdy parties have prompted a group of Adams Morgan residents and the local advisory neighborhood commission to protest caterers’ use of host Stroga, a yoga center at 1808 Adams Mill Road. A protest hearing before the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is scheduled for today, according to Cynthia Simms, spokesperson for the city alcohol agency. The hearing comes despite steps that Stroga owner Doug Jefferies said he has taken to alleviate community concerns. For instance, Jefferies said he has cut back on the frequency of the events that have agitated neighbors most, “Grey Goose Mansion” parties that are part of a Grey Goose Vodka promotional campaign. According to some community members, when the Grey Goose parties started in early September, Stroga transformed into a de facto weekend nightclub — one
Bill Petros/The Current
Residents complain about rowdy parties, but the owner says he is taking action to address concerns. that is unaccountable to the neighborhood because of a liquor licensing loophole. See Stroga/Page 5
Library appeal will continue this year
Biddle looks to April ballot after winning interim post
By ELIZABETH WIENER
■ Council: Critics question
Current Staff Writer
Though construction of an expanded Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library is under way, a protracted zoning appeal of the project continues. The Board of Zoning Adjustment Tuesday delayed until Feb. 1 consideration of an appeal of building permits for additions to the historic library at 16th and Lamont streets. Expansion of the 1925 library has been controversial in the community, with some neighborhood groups objecting to an addition that they say would crowd the site and impede access to adjacent apartment buildings. Objections have also focused on a long ramp that would lead disabled patrons to a new entrance on the library’s west side. But the zoning appeal filed by a current advisory
NEWS ■ Whole Foods seeks ABC license for eat-in areas. Page 3. ■ Zoning board delays decision on Van Ness project. Page 3.
committee’s voting process By CAROL BUCKLEY Current Staff Writer
Bill Petros/Current File Photo
An obscure zoning question is the focus of a challenge to plans for the Mount Pleasant library. neighborhood commissioner and a former commissioner centers on an arcane question: whether the city’s zoning administrator correctly identified the rear yard of the corner lot in allowing the side of the expanded library to See Library/Page 10
PA S S A G E S ■ What do beer and religion have in common? Chris O’Brien will tell you. Page 13. ■ How to pick a life coach. Page 13.
Newly seated at-large D.C. Council member Sekou Biddle is vowing not to soft-pedal his approach to a tenure that could be as short as four months. When the April 26 election rolls around that will seat either him — or his replacement — as at-large member for a nearly full term, Biddle said in an interview yester-
EXHIBITS ■ Phillips show pairs own works with visiting masterpieces. Page 23. ■ American Ballet Theatre visits Kennedy Center. Page 23 .
day, he plans to have a legacy already in place. “I want my four-month term … to be reflected in my influence on colleagues and … some outcomes [in terms of] legislative pieces,” he said. Biddle added that he is meeting with other council members now and examining ways he can “move legislation and bills forward in a timely fashion.” It remains to be seen if or how critiques of the messy process that led to Biddle’s success last week at the Democratic State Committee will impact his chances in April. See Biddle/Page 5
INDEX Calendar/20 Classifieds/29 District Digest/4 Dupont Circle Citizen/11 Exhibits/23 In Your Neighborhood/18 Opinion/8
Passages/13 Police Report/6 Real Estate/17 School Dispatches/14 Service Directory/25 Theater/23 Week Ahead/3