Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Vol. XLIV, No. 5
Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
THE NORTHWEST CURRENT
UDC plans for pool upgrades
Revised law targets noise disturbances
WHITE-OUT
■ Police: Arrests possible for
By KATIE PEARCE
disorderly conduct violations
Current Staff Writer
After two years of closure, the University of the District of Columbia’s pool is slated to reopen sometime this year as host to a more competitive university swimming program. The D.C. Council approved a $2.8 million renovation contract for the facility Jan. 24. The end result, said university athletic director Patricia Thomas, will be a six-lane, 25-yard pool that will allow the school to participate in NCAA Division II men’s and women’s swimming and diving competitions for the first time. But the pool, once a free resource for community members, will start charging membership fees to non-students when it reopens. “This place was pretty much open to the public. The public had gotten used to coming in and using it whenever they wanted,” university spokesperson Alan Etter said recently. “But these facilities are first and foremost for the use of students and student athletes.” When the pool shut down suddenly in December 2008, officials told patrons it needed a relatively See Pool/Page 21
By KATIE PEARCE Current Staff Writer
Effective yesterday, an amended D.C. law gives police officers discretion to make arrests for nighttime noise that is “likely to disturb or annoy” nearby residents. The provision, one of several amendments recently tacked onto the city’s disorderly conduct laws, allows such arrests for “unreasonably loud noise” between 10 p.m.
Bill aims to clear way on snowy sidewalks ■ Council: Cheh, Wells seek
to simplify fines for scofflaws By BRADY HOLT Bill Petros/The Current
Mary Louisa Leopold of Chevy Chase joined dozens of sledders on the snow-packed slopes at Fort Reno Park Saturday.
Hardy to get new head after troubled year By JESSICA GOULD
faces.” Henderson’s decision comes after a year of turmoil at the Georgetown middle school, which Hardy Middle School will soon became a flashpoint for debates get a full-time principal, Interim about former Schools Chancellor Schools Chancellor Kaya Michelle Rhee’s leadership. Henderson announced last week. In December 2009, Rhee Meanwhile, Hyde-Addison announced that longtime Hardy principal Dana Nerenberg — who principal Patrick Pope would be was appointed to take the reins at Bill Petros/The Current leaving his post to plan and lead a Hardy last year — will focus solely new arts-focused middle school. on the elementary school. School officials are expected to Rhee said the job would build on “The last year has been a diffi- select a principal within a week. Pope’s leadership of Hardy’s awardcult one for the entire Hardy community,” Henderson wrote in a Jan. 25 letter to parents. winning arts program. And she promised a smooth tran“We share responsibility in making mistakes which sition under Nerenberg, who had garnered positive See Hardy/Page 21 have contributed to the challenges that Hardy now Current Staff Writer
NEWS ■ School Without Walls receives autonomous designation. Page 4. ■ Council bills target unemployment, power outages. Page 3.
and 7 a.m. At a Georgetown meeting Monday, Lt. John Hedgecock said Metropolitan Police Department officials had been “getting all kinds of legal opinions on what we can and cannot do” with the new measure. But at-large D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, who introduced the disorderly conduct amendment last year, characterized the noise measure as more of a clarification than a significant change of operations for police. “It’s actually not anything new,” See Noise/Page 20
SPORTS ■ Gillespie reaches 1,000 points, but Cubs fall to Falcons. Page 11. ■ Visitation’s swim and dive team pulls upset. Page 11.
Current Staff Writer
As the D.C. Council prepares for a hearing on legislation that would allow fines for residents and business owners who don’t clear snow from their sidewalks, one member is suggesting another way to improve pedestrians’ winter safety: make it the city’s responsibility. Last month, Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh and Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells proposed that the District simplify enforcement of its existing law that sidewalks must be cleared within eight daylight hours of the snowfall’s end. In their Winter Sidewalk Safety Amendment Act, they suggest replacing a city-filed lawsuit against non-compliers with a simple fine. After the safety act was introduced last month — a year after a similar bill stalled in committee — community response on both sides quickly became as active as this
PA S S A G E S ■ Arena Stage honors student playwrights. Page 13. ■ Georgetown pair turns design ideas into new business. Page 13 .
Bill Petros/Current File Photo
The city would fine homeowners $25 and businesses $250 if the bill becomes law. year’s winter weather. Advocates of the legislation say it would provide a much-needed incentive to follow a critically important law; others say it could prove too problematic for the elderly or infirm and difficult to enforce. In an interview, Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham put forward an alternate concept that he said would make sidewalks safe while avoiding the complications of fining residents and offering a critical boost to the See Sidewalks/Page 5
INDEX Business/7 Calendar/22 Classifieds/30 District Digest/4 Exhibits/25 In Your Neighborhood/16 Opinion/8
Passages/13 Police Report/6 School Dispatches/14 Real Estate/17 Service Directory/26 Sports/11 Theater/25