Gt 04 23 2014

Page 1

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

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

Vol. XXIII, No. 39

The GeorGeTown CurrenT

Designer digs headline 83rd house tour

GU plans incorporate sustainability concepts

EGGCELLENT HUNTER

■ Planning: University eyes

more green space, bike routes

By KAT LUCERO Current Staff Writer

Georgetown is widely famous for preserving its 18th- and 19th-century dwellings. While many share the same architectural ilk — Colonial, Federal, Victorian — their stylish interiors reflect residents’ varied tastes and lifestyles. Visitors can walk through some of these dapper residences at the annual Georgetown House Tour this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. “It provides a unique glimpse of Georgetown’s impressive architecture and the stories behind the bricks and mortar that make Georgetown so special,” tour co-chair Barbara Wolf said in a statement. In its 83rd year, the event will feature eight houses that have undergone renovations but retain the classic appeal of historic Georgetown. Some owners have revealed their international and artistic flair, while others prove that a family-oriented home can be just as stylish. The ninth property on the tour belongs to The George Town Club at 1530 Wisconsin Ave. In the past See Tour/Page 5

By KAT LUCERO Current Staff Writer

The long-term vision for Georgetown University and its associated hospital has started unfolding in tangible ways, as the school narrows down its sustainability goals and prepares for a variety of construction projects. The latest presentation on the university’s “master plan,” which took place last week, included a look at initiatives expected to come out of

School system holds steady on contested Walls merger ■ Education: High school

Brian Kapur/The Current

The 22-month-old Gustav Eckstrom-Montgomery takes part in the Easter egg hunt Sunday morning at St. John’s Episcopal Church on O Street in Georgetown.

Current Staff Writer

Decades ago, the section of Rock Creek Park between Georgetown and Dupont Circle was anything but idyllic. Bottles, newspapers, plastic and other junk items were strewn everywhere. The hillsides were rapidly eroding, invasive species took over much of the greenery, and rendezvous activities were frequent occurrences. When Gary Sikora and Peg Shaw were walking their dogs 25 years ago through this area, they were stunned by the garbage. In response they started working to clean up and later restore this one-mile stretch, known as “P Street Beach” and “The

NEWS

Black Forest,” located on the east bank of Rock Creek from P Street to south of Pennsylvania Avenue. Their efforts — undertaken in consultation with the National Park Service, which oversees Rock Creek Park — haven’t stopped. Sikora and Shaw still use tools as well as their bare hands to close off worn-dorn foot trails, scattering leaves to prevent erosion. They also actively work to remove nonnative plants and replace them with native species. Last Saturday, they took eight visitors on a tour of their longtime work area, which the couple has been “quietly, humbly and awesomely restoring,” said Scott Einberger, a National Park Service rang-

Current Staff Writer

Brian Kapur/The Current

Gary Sikora points to evidence of his work to improve the park.

er who accompanied the group on the pre-Earth Day walk. One project involved the oncedecrepit trail called the “Scary Place” due to its steep incline. In September 2003, they rebuilt it using logs split See Volunteers/Page 14

SPOR TS

Catania calls for uniform curriculum to advance reform — Page 3

Georgetown native anchors local lax powerhouse — Page 11

parents request council’s help By GRAHAM VYSE

25-year volunteer project boosts ‘Black Forest’ By KAT LUCERO

the new Office of Sustainability. That university office, created last summer, is working on both long- and short-term plans to improve campus life, including adding more green space, bike routes and Capital Bikeshare stations, as well as cutting gas emissions in half by 2020. The office is also creating a campuswide sustainability plan that it hopes to launch by next summer, director Audrey Stewart reported. She said the first draft of the plan has identified eight priority issues — energy, water, food, transportation, buildings, purchasing, grounds and See Campus/Page 5

Critics of last year’s merger between School Without Walls and the Francis-Stevens Education Campus took their case to the D.C. Council last week, but D.C. Public Schools is reaffirming its commitment to the blended arrangement. “The merger of these two schools has been productive and positive and will remain under one principal,” school system spokesperson Melissa Salmanowitz wrote Monday in an email to The Current. Explaining why Richard Trogisch would continue to lead the Walls high school as well as the pre-K-through-eighthgrade Francis-Stevens school, Salmanowitz wrote that “one principal is needed to lead the various programs and staff between the two campuses.” She noted Trogisch’s previous experience in pre-Kthrough-12th-grade settings and argued that the merger would ultimately benefit all students involved. “While change of this magnitude

Brian Kapur/The Current

Many high school parents are pushing for separate principals.

is difficult, we have seen very positive student interactions, such as world language clubs and tutoring opportunities,” Salmanowitz wrote. She also credited the new arrangement with expanding high school student access to sports facilities for lacrosse, soccer, basketball and cheerleading, among other benefits. Salmanowitz’s statements came in the wake of last Thursday’s hearing of the D.C. Council’s Education Committee, where three School Without Walls High School representatives — two parents and one student — testified in favor of each campus having its own principal and budget. See Walls/Page 14

INDEX

DIGEST

Deadline extended for public comment on zoning rewrite — Page 4

Calendar/16 Classifieds/25 District Digest/4 Exhibits/17 In Your Neighborhood/8 Opinion/6

Police Report/6 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/11 Service Directory/22 Sports/9 Theater/19

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