Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Vol. XLIV, No. 11
Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
THE NORTHWEST CURRENT Probe clears Fenty over park deals
Schools clamor for full funding levels
T U G - O F - WA R
■ Budget: Extra funds reduce
By ELIZABETH WIENER
cuts but don’t eliminate them
Current Staff Writer
An 18-month investigation into contracts for city parks and recreation projects is winding down much the way it started — with rancor, and some questions still unanswered. Special counsel Robert Trout last Friday delivered his long-awaited written report on the case, finding “no wrongdoing” by former Mayor Adrian Fenty, and no intent by his administration to circumvent the D.C. Council’s role in approving multimillion-dollar contracts. But Trout also found that the layered contracting process resulted in approval of “grossly inflated” bills and “significant waste of taxpayer funds.” In answer to the thornier question of criminal culpability, Trout recommended that U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen investigate allegations of contracting irregularities by two firms, Banneker Ventures and Liberty Engineering and Design, and their owners, Omar Karim and Sinclair Skinner, both friends of Fenty who benefited from the fat park contracts. At a hastily called news conferSee Contracts/Page 23
By JESSICA GOULD Current Staff Writer
Dozens of parents, students and advocates lobbied against proposed cuts to their school budgets Monday evening, while Mayor Vincent Gray emphasized that he has done his best to protect the schools during this tough time. “When I ran for mayor, I said it was my top priority to provide an
Study mulls narrowing roads to slow speeders ■ Transportation: Agency
suggests varied improvements Bill Petros/The Current
The Friends of Forest Hills Playground held a fundraising event Sunday afternoon at the Franklin Montessori School, which included a hands-on cooking class and creative-movement activities for children.
AU Park report prompts landmark fears Register of Historic Places. The document itself — titled “American University Park in Washington, D.C.: Its Early Houses, A new document that details the Pre-Civil War to 1911” — does not shared history of about two-dozen nominate homes for historic landhomes in American University Park mark status, but facilitates the has sparked concerns among the paperwork for individual applicaarea’s advisory neighborhood comtions, proponents said. Renovations missioners that preservationists Bill Petros/The Current to properties designated as landwould be more easily able to desigmarks are subjected to a more rigornate the properties as historic The commission backed landmark nominations for 4131 Yuma St. ous process designed to ensure they against homeowners’ wishes. remain loyal to their history. The Tenleytown Historical and three other houses. The bulk of the 33-page report Society is backing the “multi-property document,” prepared by a member of its board of describes the area’s transition from farmland to a residirectors, for acceptance by the D.C. Historic dential neighborhood, when developers laid out the area See Houses/Page 25 Preservation Review Board and, ultimately, the National By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
NEWS ■ Officials mull adding waterfront stairs to Kennedy Center. Page 3. ■ Potential tax hikes spawn early debate. Page 5.
excellent education to the children of the District of Columbia,” Gray said. But, he added, “We’re facing a huge budget deficit.” Gray said he was able to soften the blow to the schools after chief financial officer Natwar Gandhi announced an unexpected increase in the District’s projected revenue for fiscal year 2012. Of the $105 million in additional funds, Gray directed $76 million toward the schools, resulting in a $50 million budget gap. The school system’s total proposed local budgSee Schools/Page 32
SPORTS ■ Boys, girls lacrosse teams kick off season. Page 13. ■ School Without Walls becomes a school with lacrosse. Page 13.
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
The D.C. Department of Transportation hopes that installing a series of “curb extensions” will help prevent speeding cars from cutting through neighborhood streets in a section of Northwest, according to a report released last Wednesday. Curb extensions — in which roadways are narrowed around intersections to slow traffic and offer easier pedestrian crossings — represent about 20 percent of the $9.4 million of improvements the department recommends in its Rock Creek West II Livability Study, which covers Forest Hills, Friendship Heights, Tenleytown, American University Park and part of Chevy Chase. Other recommendations include establishing designated bicycle routes; changing signal timing at some intersections and adding additional pavement striping; and making more significant changes to Ward Circle, Chevy Chase Circle
PA S S A G E S ■ Exhibit offers kids’ space for playing, relaxing. Page 15. ■ GDS debate team charges ahead without coach. Page 15 .
Bill Petros/Current File Photo
The report recommends improved signage at Ward Circle. and 40th Street and Fort Drive. But the most consistent recommendation has been the curb extensions. “It’s something slightly new to us, within the last few years,” said Transportation Department planner Anna Chamberlin. The extensions — which can be paved or vegetated, with the livability study recommending some of each — are common in Europe, she said, and the department has used them in other parts of the city as part of larger streetscape renovations. See Traffic/Page 24
INDEX Business/9 Calendar/26 Classifieds/37 District Digest/4 Exhibits/31 In Your Neighborhood/22 Opinion/10
Passages/15 Police Report/6 School Dispatches/16 Real Estate/21 Service Directory/33 Sports/13 Theater/31