Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Vol. XLVIII, No. 49
The Northwest Current
Zoo shouldn’t change hours, neighbors say
Sidwell’s consolidation sparks traffic concerns
steeling the show
■ Education: Lower grades
By KELSEY KNORP
would move from Bethesda
Current Correspondent
Neighbors to the National Zoo protested an upcoming change in hours last Wednesday, when Zoo director Dennis Kelly appeared before the Woodley Park Community Association to address complaints. The most contested of a series of changes is the opening time for the Zoo grounds, which is poised to shift from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. at the start of the new year. Many nearby residents, some of whom have lived in the area for decades, described how early grounds access has become an integral part of their lifestyles, whether for exercise, commuting shortcuts or general recreation. Despite substantial backlash — often both personal and emotional — Kelly stood his ground, citing safety concerns as the primary reason for the shift. “We are the only zoo in America that opens its gates to the public when it’s dark,” he said. “In fact, we’re the only place in Washington, D.C., that invites people to come in the dark to a federal facility.” Beyond the lack of daylight, Kelly noted hazards posed to pedestrians by the “dozens” of vehicles that travel throughout the Zoo in the early morning hours to provide care to the animals and prepare the exhibits to open. “We haven’t had an incident with a vehicle yet, but almost every month the police report on their rounds, my keepers report that we have near-misses,” he said. “I’m not going to wait for a tragedy to make a change.” For Myra Marshall, a Mount Pleasant resident and Friends of the National Zoo member, the Zoo is a sanctuary. She tearfully shared her objections to the later opening, saying she had walked through the grounds every morning, starting promptly at 6:15 a.m., for the past 20 years. See Zoo/Page 5
NEWS
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/The Current
St. John’s College High School hosted a special dinner theater performance of “Steel Magnolias” on Thursday. The play’s run continued Friday and Saturday at the Chevy Chase school.
— Page 7
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
Sidwell Friends would retain the Washington Home building and driveway for the lower school.
kind of real fundamental changes, we’re going to make this situation worse.” The Washington Home reached an agreement in September to sell its 5.7-acre campus to Sidwell for $32.5 million, and the nonprofit plans to close its facility in December 2016 to focus on providing in-home services. Sidwell will move its 295-student lower school from Bethesda to unite its grades on a single campus. The school also plans to replace two existing campus buildings with new space in the Washington Home building, which will be expanded with two new additions. Sidwell hopes to complete its project in time See Sidwell/Page 15
Millie’s reaches agreement with ANC on hours, operations By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
The upcoming seafood restaurant Millie’s has reached an accord with the Spring Valley/Palisades advisory neighborhood commission, resolving a lengthy dispute over issues like operating hours and neighborhood impacts in its liquor license application. The settlement agreement the commission approved last Wednesday allows Millie’s to be open from 11 a.m. to midnight daily, and its outdoor seating must stop serving alcohol by 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. The restaurant will have a smaller bar than originally proposed; forbid staff from parking on the street; offer discounted off-street parking to patrons; have no outdoor amplified sound; and offer no drinking games or all-you-can-drink specials. “I think it’s a good compromise that provides the protections it needs [to],” commission chair
SPOR TS
Jewish Community Center receives $6.5 million donation
As Sidwell Friends School prepares to relocate its lower grades from Bethesda to the current site of the Washington Home, many neighbors are worried about a twice-daily influx of cars onto neighborhood streets for pickup and drop-off of 300 or more students. The Washington Home, a nonprofit providing senior housing and hospice services, is located at 37th and Upton streets NW, just north of Sidwell’s middle and high school campus. Sidwell’s plan to use the existing Washington Home building and driveways would increase activity on these residential side streets, which neighbors say are already bursting with existing traffic from Sidwell and Hearst Elementary. “The situation today is untenable,” one resident told Sidwell officials at a community presentation Monday. “We really want you guys to come into the neighborhood, but by definition unless we do some
Gonzaga rolls past H.D. Woodson to repeat in DCSAA — Page 9
Brian Kapur/The Current
Millie’s still faces preservation concerns over plans to expand the former gas station.
Tom Smith said of the agreement, which went through eight drafts before reaching the version the commission passed unanimously. Restaurant owner Bo Blair hopes to turn the former Chicken Out space at 4866 Massachusetts Ave. NW into a spinoff of the original Millie’s he
HOLIDAYS
Segways offer novel way to take in D.C.’s many holiday sites — Page 17
runs in Nantucket, Mass., which serves Baja-style seafood in a relaxed atmosphere. Blair also owns five Jetties sandwich shops and other D.C. eateries. But his plans faced resistance in Spring Valley, whose modest commercial strip has no comparable large late-night venue. The neighborhood commission initially declined to support Blair’s alcohol application, filed in October, unless he agreed to stop serving alcohol at 11 p.m. Commissioners said last week that additional restrictions — especially on drinking games and drink specials — made them comfortable with the later closing time. Blair pointed out during the meeting that his restaurant has no obligation to stay open for the full length of the approved hours and said he expects he’ll often close earlier than the deadline, with a dwindling number of patrons as midnight approaches. “If [you’re] able to have enough busiSee Millie’s/Page 5
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