The Foggy BoTTom CurrenT
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
D.C. activists sound off on constitution
Work on Francis Field due for second phase
HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, KID
■ Recreation: Group still
needs funds for renovation
By CUNEYT DIL
Current Correspondent
Hundreds of Washingtonians turned out for two constitutional convention events over the weekend to give their say on how the District should function as a state, completing the final round of public comment in the re-energized push for statehood. The conventions, intended to hear out practical tweaks to a draft constitution released last month, brought passionate speeches, and even songs, for the cause. The events at Wilson High School in Tenleytown featured guest speakers and politicians calling on the city to seize recent momentum for statehood. Many residents agreed the 51st state should have a larger legislature, and others suggested diluting certain proposed powers of the executive, such as the lineitem veto. On the other hand, a sizable portion of residents took issue with the convention process, which instead of using elected, voting delegates gave any attendSee Statehood/Page 5
By DANIEL BOWES Current Correspondent
Neighbors of Francis Field in the West End hope to start the second phase of a long-term renovation project later this year, although funding for the project is still in doubt. The field is located at the edge of the neighborhood along Rock Creek Park, just west of 25th Street NW. Improvements to the site have been ongoing since 2006,
when Friends of Francis Field board member Gary Griffith had a vision for the run-down field. Griffith updated the community on the renovation process at a meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A (Foggy Bottom, West End) last Wednesday. The latest work will focus on the center of the field — which is currently a mix of sand and patches of grass — so that local sports teams can use the space safely. Additionally, this effort will include an updated landscaping plan for the entire site, south field restoration, more trees for the dog park, and a See Francis/Page 14
ANC calls for more study of Ward 3 shelter site plan ■ Homelessness: Cheh
Brian Kapur/The Current
The all-volunteer Picnic Theatre Company presented a performance of “Casablanca,” based on the 1942 silver screen classic, at Georgetown’s Dumbarton House last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
defends selection process
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
Passerby tussles with Logan theft suspect By KATIE PEARCE Current Staff Writer
Following a rash of package thefts in Logan Circle, neighborhood resident Wade Solien Wilson chased down a suspected perpetrator last Friday before the man abandoned an armload of packages and fled, Wilson reported in a phone interview. Metropolitan Police Department Cmdr. Stuart Emerman, who heads the 3rd District, confirmed this account: Wilson was able to “intervene with the individual that was stealing packages, and was able to recover the packages, but the suspect was able to get away,” he said. Emerman said police believe
Vol. X, No. 29
Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
Photo courtesy of Wade Solien Wilson
Wilson recovered several stolen parcels, but the suspect escaped.
the suspect may be the same man they previously arrested a few months ago for package thefts in the 3rd District. This time, though,
there was no arrest. John Fanning, the chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2F (Logan Circle), said the neighborhood has recently experienced “a surge of package thefts from front steps” of single-family homes. Neighbors have been discussing the problem through emails and have circulated a security camera image of one suspect — whom Cmdr. Emerman said is thought to be the same thief police have been tracking. “The individual I believe that’s in that picture, we previously arrested,” he said. Wilson believes he had an encounter with this man Friday afternoon, as he was walking his See Thefts/Page 2
Residents near the proposed Ward 3 homeless shelter location are increasing their criticisms of the D.C. Council’s site selection process. A new citizens group and the area’s advisory neighborhood commission are both calling for further study of the plan for 3320 Idaho Ave. NW. The council approved the Idaho site — now a parking lot behind the Metropolitan Police Department’s 2nd District Headquarters — after rejecting Mayor Muriel Bowser’s original plans to lease land at Wisconsin Avenue and Edmunds Street NW. Council members concluded that it was fiscally imprudent to enter into costly leases with private developers and instead chose to use the government-owned police site. The effort is part of the broader push, widely supported in principle, to close the D.C. General family shelter and distribute shortterm homeless services to smaller
Brian Kapur/The Current
The shelter would replace the parking lot behind the station.
facilities around the city. But in several neighborhoods, the specific sites selected have come under fire for various reasons. Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh said the deciding factor for Bowser’s Ward 3 site proposal was its price tag, not community fears about the shelter’s impacts. “When you want to put in a facility for homeless families, wherever you’re going to put it, it seems it’s inevitable there will be some who object,” Cheh said in an interview. “The key factor was See Shelter/Page 5
NEWS
PASSAGES
BUSINESS
INDEX
Historic district
East meets West
Hotel reopens
Calendar/16 Classifieds/22 District Digest/4 Exhibits/17 Foggy Bottom News/11 In Your Neighborhood/12
Burleith community divided on whether to seek preservation protections / Page 2
Exhibit at Hillwood showcases artwork from Japan’s little-known art deco era / Page 7
Glover Park Hotel boasts fresh renovations, Southern Italian restaurant / Page 3
Opinion/8 Police Report/6 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/10 Service Directory/20 Week Ahead/3
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