Gt 02 24 2016

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The Georgetown Current

Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Halcyon helps entrepreneurs off the ground

DC Water preparing to unveil runoff proposals

Muggle magic

■ Environment: Permeable

pavement among possibilities

By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

One D.C.-based startup company wants to build a charger device that will keep electric cars running for days. Another wants to spur everyday consumers to hold their favorite brands accountable for social injustices. Still another wants to provide weatherproof tents to underprivileged families around the world. These fledgling businesses have several things in common: They want to change the world, and they’re getting a boost from the Halcyon Incubator. Nestled between residential town homes on Prospect Street NW in Georgetown, the startup community inducts a new class of fellows twice a year, providing them with tools and resources to hone their ideas, expand their horizons and formulate short- and long-term growth plans. At a kickoff event in the incubator’s auditorium on Thursday, eight new fellows presented their ideas to a crowd of fellow young entrepreneurs and investors hungry for new ventures to support. The event also included a conversation with José Andrés — the local restaurateur behind popular eateries like Beefsteak, Jaleo and Minibar — who urged the audience to be active in matters of social justice and praised the fellows for their passion and vision. Applications for the incubator’s fifth cohort went live the same day as the event — “not a coincidence,” the incubator’s program manager Ryan Ross said. The S&R Foundation, which opened the Halcyon Incubator fellowship program in fall 2014, whittled down the last applicant pool from 200 to the eight who presented onstage Thursday, according to S&R CEO Kate Goodall. “We stopped just short of a blood sample for this group,” Goodall joked during the event. The fellowship unfolds in three See Incubator/Page 5

Vol. XXV, No. 30

Serving Burleith, Foxhall, Georgetown, Georgetown Reservoir & Glover Park

By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer

Brian Kapur/The Current

Muggles of all ages have gathered at the Georgetown Library since last Thursday to watch a different “Harry Potter” movie each evening. Friday’s movie event, shown, also included a potions class and a costume creation craft. The event will continue today at 4:30 p.m. and wrap up Thursday with a Yule Ball and Quidditch Tournament.

Plans for stormwater-capturing “green infrastructure” in western Georgetown and Glover Park and in eastern Ward 4 remain under development as the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority prepares to unveil its detailed plans to the public this spring. The agency, also known as DC Water, is tasked with reducing sewage overflows into the Potomac River and Rock Creek. These overflows occur regularly during heavy rain because stormwater and sewage use the same pipes in large swaths of the city, and large amounts of runoff can overwhelm the sewage treatment system. To address the issue, DC Water has been exploring ways to reduce the amount of water that enters the sewer system during a storm. In the two Northwest project areas, the agency’s toolbox includes installing permeable pavement in alleys and in parking lanes to

Brian Kapur/Current file photo

Construction impacts, as seen in this similar 2014 project in Chevy Chase, alarm some residents.

allow water to soak through rather than run off; installing vegetation that would replace curb lanes in areas close to intersections where parking is prohibited; shifting downspouts from the storm sewer into rain barrels; and separating the storm sewers from the sanitary sewers. “We’re working with the community leaders now to look at an ideal mix of those practices and See Green/Page 14

Bill to expand university police powers draws concerns By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

A D.C. Council bill to expand the jurisdiction of university police forces into off-campus locations has sparked varied concerns from affected communities, where many residents worry about the precedents the bill could set. The bill was introduced Dec. 15 by Ward 5 Council member Kenyan McDuffie and cosponsored by six colleagues, including Ward 3’s Mary Cheh. If approved, university police could get permission from the Metropolitan Police Department to operate within a defined “campus” that could include public and private properties in nearby neighborhoods. Under the bill, officers would also need more hours of training and could receive city authorization to operate at other universities in an emergency. Phillip Morse, American University’s executive director of university police and emer-

Brian Kapur/The Current

Under current D.C. law, George Washington University police and other universities’ officers lack off-campus authority.

gency management, told The Current that the bill addresses anachronisms in the old regulations for special police officers — such as campus police — which haven’t been updated in more than a decade. He said he and other chiefs in the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area recommended the changes in part to make the law consistent

with what his staff and other university police forces are already doing. Morse said that American University would only use its officers off-campus to enforce the school’s student conduct code. The bill changes the definition of “campus” but does not include any language that would affect a university police department’s policies on arrest authority over students and non-students. The main changes that Morse wants to see reflected in the law include allowing special police officers to wear their uniforms and drive their licensed vehicles to and from events that take place in areas not on campus. But many community leaders aren’t convinced. Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D chair Tom Smith said at a meeting this month that students in his district are concerned that a university police presence will lead to conflicts between university policy and See Police/Page 3

DISTRICT DIGEST

SPORTS

SHERWOOD

INDEX

Gondola study

And still D.C. champs

A bumpy road

Calendar/15 Classifieds/21 District Digest/2 Exhibits/15 In Your Neighborhood/6 Opinion/8

Georgetown BID prepares to review feasibility of new transit link to Rosslyn Metro / Page 2

St. John’s wrestlers win fourth straight city title as Gonzaga sophomore shines / Page 12

Overdue for repairs, Beach Drive is slated for about two years of disruptive reconstruction / Page 8

Police Report/4 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/7 Service Directory/19 Sports/11 Week Ahead/3

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