Gt 11 04 2015

Page 1

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

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Vol. XXV, No. 14

The Georgetown Current

Agency outlines stormwater plans

LiTTLE HEROES

■ Infrastructure: Residents

raise concerns about impacts By KELSEY KNORP Current Correspondent

The latest phase of the D.C. Clean Rivers Project will require street sweeping in parts of Georgetown and Glover Park following the installation of “green infrastructure” to minimize harmful stormwater

runoff into the Potomac River and Rock Creek. Planners shared details for the latest iteration of the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority’s $2.6 billion plan at a community meeting Oct. 7. The agency, also known as DC Water, evaluated several options for the federally mandated project and determined that the most cost-effective option would be to install pervious pavement on various streets to complement a long-planned system

of sewage overflow tunnels. Residents have generally been supportive of green infrastructure measures that have multiple environmental benefits, as opposed to costly and disruptive tunnels. But permeable streets in Georgetown will need more care than many residents are used to — sweeping is necessary to prevent growth of weeds from below and potential clogs from above, planners said — See Green/Page 4

GU Hospital plans win nod from ANC By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer

Brian Kapur/The Current

The Georgetown Library’s annual Halloween party on Thursday featured games, snacks, a parade, crafts, bingo and a movie.

A new $560 million building planned at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital’s campus won significant community support Monday following an agreement governing traffic, construction and noise impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods. The Georgetown advisory neighborhood commission unanimously supported the hospital’s certificate of need application, in which MedStar must persuade city health officials that a major investment is valuable to the District and doesn’t duplicate other hospitals’ offerings. Commissioners also generally supported an Old Georgetown Board application for the project, governing the proposal’s compatibility with the neighborhood’s historic district. “MedStar has made, in my view, a very strong case that this is needed,” said commission chair Ron Lewis. “It’s really in need of renovation.”

Current file photo

Community leaders said the existing hospital is outdated and support the planned expansion.

The project comprises a new five-story “surgical pavilion” building that will replace above-ground parking adjacent to the existing 1940s hospital building at 3800 Reservoir Road NW. Construction is slated for late See Hospital/Page 8

Officials, movie buffs celebrate Exorcist steps

Confucius grant lets Hardy offer new Chinese program

By MARK LIEBERMAN

By MARK LIEBERMAN

Current Staff Writer

Current Staff Writer

The year was 1973. Michael Queen stumbled out of Blues Alley in Georgetown late one night, heading home. A few blocks away, he saw a peculiar sight — a camera crew surrounding a steep staircase and the neighboring house at 3600 Prospect St. NW. “I didn’t know what was going on,” Queen said. “I thought there was some horrible accident because there were police cars and everything.” Queen quickly learned that he was actually seeing the filming of “The Exorcist,” which would go on to win an Academy Award and become one of the most revered Hollywood horror films of all time. When the movie came out, Queen saw it once, then twice, then 12 more times in theaters, and countless more on video and

Patricia Pride, principal of Hardy Middle School, has long wanted to bring a Chinese language program to her students. That goal is now on track to become reality in the 2016-17 school year, thanks to a new partnership with George Mason University’s Confucius Institute, a program that funds Chinese language and culture programs at schools across the country. The first phases of the Confucius Classroom program will kick off with a ceremony at the school this

NEWS

Brian Kapur/The Current

A Friday ceremony honored the steps between M and Prospect streets NW for their role in the film.

DVD. The self-proclaimed “Exorcist junkie,” now a Gaithersburg resident, was just one of several hundred See Exorcist/Page 7

SPOR TS

Mayor honors local artists at annual awards ceremony — Page 3

Wilson tops rival Walls for DCIAA girls soccer title — Page 13

Friday at 6:45 p.m. “This is definitely a strategic language for our students and one that’s needed,” Pride said. Hardy’s application was developed by Jonathan Jou, a friend and colleague of Pride’s who moved from China to the U.S. as a teenager and now teaches English as a second language. The approved proposal includes instilling in the current middle school curriculum a reverence for Chinese cultural traditions, partnering with feeder elementary schools and Wilson High School to make the program a broader educaSee Chinese/Page 8

INDEX

NEWS

Starbucks modifies Georgetown alcohol plans after concerns — Page 7

Calendar/18 Classifieds/25 District Digest/2 Exhibits/19 In Your Neighborhood/16 Opinion/10

Police Report/6 Real Estate/15 School Dispatches/12 Service Directory/23 Sports/13 Week Ahead/3

Tips? Contact us at newsdesk@currentnewspapers.com


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