Serving Burleith, Foxhall, Georgetown, Georgetown Reservoir & Glover Park
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Vol. XXIV, No. 21
The Georgetown Current
Principal’s removal draws criticism
glow in the dar k
■ Wilson High: Chancellor
won’t renew Cahall’s contract
By GRAHAM VYSE Current Staff Writer
Wilson High School principal Peter Cahall made headlines last Friday with an unexpected announcement: D.C. Public Schools has decided not to renew his contract for the 2015-16 school year.
Since the weekend, D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson has offered no explanation for Cahall’s removal, but on Monday she told the Washington City Paper that the decision is final. As a matter of policy, the school system doesn’t comment on personnel matters. In a Dec. 8 letter published by the City Paper, Cahall told the D.C. Council that he is being removed as the result of low student test scores, calling the choice “purely capricious
and arbitrary.” Cahall also cited a variety of data points to demonstrate school improvements during his six-year tenure. Among many other positive outcomes, they show increased student achievement in English and math as well as an uptick in the number of students taking Advanced Placement exams. In addition, Cahall noted that he oversaw a $120 million modernization of Wilson’s See Wilson/Page 8
City opens new play facilities at Rose Park By DYLAN REFFE Current Correspondent
Brian Kapur/The Current
This light-art installation over the C&O Canal was one of seven in the area over the weekend as part of the Georgetown GLOW event, sponsored by the local business improvement district.
Over 200 people came out to see Mayor Vincent Gray cut the ceremonial ribbon and kick off festivities at the grand opening of new recreation facilities at Rose Park Saturday afternoon. The park at 26th and O streets is a Georgetown staple, with its baseball diamond, dog area, jogging path, basketball and tennis courts, and playground frequented by visitors of all ages. The modernization of the playground and resurfacing of the tennis courts came as part of the citywide Play D.C. initiative. To date, 30 playgrounds across all eight wards of the city have been renovated, with another 10 expected to be opened early in the new year. At Rose Park, the playground upgrades include a miniature farmers market stand for children to play in. The farmers market playhouse represents the longstanding tradition of the park’s weekly market.
Brian Kapur/The Current
Updates include a miniature farmers market stand, which alludes to a weekly community fixture.
“There are over 45 farmers markets in D.C. now, but this is the best one,” said Gus Schumacher, who’s been visiting the Georgetown park for over 50 years. “It’s See Playground/Page 14
Church gets partial victory in board’s ruling on appeal
Glover Park Hardware loses its longtime lease
By ELIZABETH WIENER
By BRADY HOLT
Current Staff Writer
Current Staff Writer
Glover Park Hardware announced Monday that it must abruptly relocate from its longtime location at 2251 Wisconsin Ave. next month, having lost its lease for the property with no replacement site yet determined. The store will begin clearance sales in the new year before shutting its doors on Jan. 15, owner Gina Schaefer told The Current yesterday. Schaefer said lease renewal negotiations broke off suddenly about a month ago. “We had a deal and the landlord decided at the last minute to lease to someone else,” she wrote in an email. The store has been in place in Glover Park since 2005. “It felt like the worst part of business,” Schaefer added. “We like to think of ourselves as members of the community and a desirable tenant. We are easy to negoti-
NEWS
Brian Kapur/The Current
Clearance sales will begin next month, leading up to the store’s anticipated Jan. 15 closing date.
ate with. None of that worked in our favor this time.” Chesapeake Realty Partners, the building’s owner, is in the midst of a redevelopment project to construct apartments behind the older building housing the hardware store and a Washington Sports Clubs gym. The company’s co-chairman and chief operating officer, Josh Fidler, had told The Current in January 2013 that the project wouldn’t affect the retail tenants. Fidler couldn’t See Hardware/Page 5
SPOR TS
Zoning rewrite wins preliminary approval from commission — Page 3
Local basketball squads impress at showcase events — Page 9
The Embassy Church in Cathedral Heights can continue operating a private child development center but needs a special zoning exception for its youth mission, the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment ruled on Tuesday. For the case, board members were forced to wade into the murky intersection of church use and zoning law. Their decision means zoning hearings will continue in what has become a freighted fight between the church at 3855 Massachusetts
HOLIDAYS
More restaurants offer holiday fare for Christmas dining — Page 16
Ave. and neighbors upset by intense activity at the busy site. The board was acting on an appeal by next-door neighbor Joan Kinlan, who complained about noise from the St. Alban’s Early Childhood Center and the youth mission, which houses as many as 30 people at the church. Illegal construction of a playground on public space, and just feet away from their home, was the last straw that spurred an appeal filed last spring. But zoning board members, while clearly sympathetic with Kinlan and her family, dismissed their See Church/Page 5
INDEX Calendar/18 Classifieds/25 District Digest/2 Exhibits/19 In Your Neighborhood/8 Opinion/6
Police Report/4 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/22 Service Directory/23 Sports/9 Week Ahead/3
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