The Georgetowner: February 10, 2021 Issue

SINCE 1954

VOLUME 67 NUMBER 5

GEORGETOWNER.COM

FEBRUARY 10 - MARCH 9, 2021

TRANSITIONS

S T R E AT E R I E S TO U T E D A S SCHOOLS OPENED D.C . S M A L L B U S I N E S S C RU S A D E R , KRISTI WHITFIELD R E A L E S TAT E : 2 0 2 0 S A L E S F I G U R E S FA B I O L A M A R T E N S D E S I G N S F U N N Y VA L E N T I N E S / L I F E LO N G LOV E S

IN THIS ISSUE IN THIS ISSUE

NEWS · 5 - 6 Town Topics

BUSINESS · 7 Ins & Outs

EDITORIAL/OPINION · 8 Time for the Great Reimagining Community Calendar Letter to the Editor

ABOUT THE COVER

Coat - A. Potts @apottscollection Dress - Michael Kors @saks Shoes - Dr. Martens @drnartensofficial Brows - Clear Brow Gel @anastasiabeverlyhills Eyeliner - Highlighter @marcjacobsbeauty Lips - Donatella @patmcgrathreal Hair - Sebastian Zero Gravity Hair Spray @sebastianpro_official The Georgetowner gives a nod to Vice President Kamala Harris in our Black History Month Issue as we celebrate this Historical moment in America. A very special thanks to @thewestlightdc team for the beautiful backdrop and former home to Vice President Kamala Harris.

PUBLISHER Sonya Bernhardt

FEATURES EDITORS COPY EDITOR Ari Post Richard Selden FASHION & BEAUTY SENIOR DIRECTOR CORRESPONDENT Lauretta McCoy Peggy Sands GRAPHIC DESIGN Troy Riemer PHOTOGRAPHERS Philip Bermingham Jeff Malet ADVERTISING & MARKETING Kate Sprague Richard Selden

THE VILLAGE · 9

Kristi Whitfield: Helping D.C. Businesses Find ‘Every Opportunity to Rise’

COVER · 10 - 12 Transitions Valentine’s Gifts: Are You Thinking Outsite the Heart-Shaped Box?

LE DECOR · 13

Happy New Year and a special thanks to our stakeholders listed below. We wouldn't be here without you. Thank you for all of your support!

HERO

Edward Weidenfeld

EDITORIAL PARTNER

Designs for Living

Friends of Volta Park

REAL ESTATE · 14 - 15

Grayson & Company

FOOD & WINE · 16

John & Kristen Lever

2020 Real Estate Stats Sales Clarity: Cultural Tourism Georgetown Couples: Romantic Despite the Pandemic

CLASSIFIEDS · 17 Service Directory

BOOK CLUB · 18

Kitty Kelley Book Club

Peter Higgins Lisa Paul Koches Penny Farthing and Andrew Miller Richard Murphy

BYLINER Robyn and Leon Andris • Carp For Success, LLC • Gertraud Hechl • Coleman Jackson • Pamla Moore • Chris Putula • Ann Randolf • Lisa Rossi • Paige and Tim Shirk • Robert Alan Stowers • St. John’s Church, Georgetown

ADVOCATE Cathleen Clinton • Nelson Cunningham • Paul and Diana Dennett • Diane Eames • Howard & Ellen Eisenberg • Elizabeth Friedman • Georgetown Village • Peter Harkness • Peter Higgins • JAB Holding Company • Jerome Libin • Mapping Geogetown • Jerry McCoy • Skip Moosher • John Rentzepis • Toni Russin • Stephanie Bothwell Urban and Landscape Design • Christopher Wolf

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Robert Devaney

CONTRIBUTORS Mary Bird Susan Bodiker Allyson Burkhardt Evan Caplan Didi Cutler Donna Evers Michelle Galler Amos Gelb Wally Greeves Christopher Jones Kitty Kelley Rebekah Kelley Jody Kurash Shelia Moses Kate Oczypok Linda Roth Alison Schafer Mary Ann Treger

1050 30th Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Phone: (202) 338-4833 Fax: (202) 338-4834 www.georgetowner.com The Georgetowner is published every other Wednesday. The opinions of our writers and columnists do not necessarily reflect the editorial and corporate opinions of The Georgetowner newspaper. The Georgetowner accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. The Georgetowner reserves the right to edit, rewrite or refuse material and is not responsible for errors or omissions. Copyright 2020.

Please send submissions of opinions for consideration to: editorial@georgetowner.com For advertising inquiries email advertising@georgetowner.com or call (202) 338-4833

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DOWNTOWNER DC: FIREWORKS, LLOYD AUSTIN, NATS APPAREL, HQ2

THURSDAY IS WEEKEND WRAP UP WITH FUN THINGS FOR THE WEEKEND

BY KATE O CZYPO K

A rendering of Amazon’s planned HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia. Courtesy NBBJ and Amazon.

MAYOR BOWSER, ‘JUST’ BEING A MOM

BY PEG G Y SANDS

Miranda (at a younger age) and Muriel Bowser.

Photo from the mayor’s Instagram account.

WILD THISTLE KITCHEN: SPICED PEAR AND VANILLA BEAN GIN FIZZ

BY ANITA PARRIS SO ULE

Spiced pear and vanilla bean gin fizz. Photo by Anita Parris Soule. Courtesy Wild Thistle Kitchen.

BIGGEST HIT ONLINE 3,029 VIEWS BIDEN SPOTTED IN GEORGETOWN SUNDAY

BY KATE O CZYPO K

The presidential entourage picks up sesame bagels on Jan. 24. Courtesy Call Your Mother.

GEORGETOWNER.COM 4 FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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VIEW LISTINGS

TOWN TOPICS

NEWS

5,000 Linear Feet of Streatery Decking Proposed

BY PEGGY SA NDS A pilot project to install some 5,000 linear feet of deck panels — providing expanded space for Georgetown eateries and perhaps some retail stores about eight feet out from the curb along M Street and Wisconsin Avenue — is being proposed by the Georgetown Business Improvement District.

The concept was to come under review by the Old Georgetown Board, as well as the District Department of Transportation’s public space committee, this month.

This “streatery” initiative has been a topic of discussion and resolutions by the Georgetown-Burleith advisory neighborhood commission, which held its monthly virtual meeting on Feb. 1, and by the Georgetown Business Association.

“Expanding the sidewalks in Georgetown’s commercial area is a project that has been proposed for years,” Georgetown architect and 30-year resident Outerbridge Horsey told The Georgetowner on Feb. 1. “Businesses are suffering due to the impact of the pandemic restrictions. But traffic flow is also down and parking enforcement has been loosened.

Now is the time to really look at sidewalk expansion and streateries and see how it works as a pilot project.”

“Since the beginning of 2020, 59 storefront businesses have closed permanently, with more expected over the winter,” BID CEO Joe Sternlieb said in two public Zoom presentations about the project on Dec. 21. “While we are uncertain what shape the economic recovery will take in 2021, we know for sure that Georgetown will be competing for retailers and restaurants, and with e-commerce, in ways that we’ve never experienced.

“To bring back customers and attract new retailers, we have to create a better environment than the one that existed before COVID,” Sternlieb continued. “Over the last seven months, we have created more streateries than any neighborhood in the city. The response to sidewalk cafes on M Street and Wisconsin Avenue has been overwhelmingly positive, and we believe is the key to Georgetown’s recovery in 2021.”

“I believe they will be the savior of

Georgetown commerce,” Clyde’s Restaurants Group President John McDonnell at the Dec. 21 meeting. “We were originally skeptical about extending our dining onto the sidewalk of Wisconsin Avenue, but we have found that it has greatly enhanced our business and the liveliness of Georgetown at night.”

“Wider sidewalks for pedestrians, dining and eventually outdoor retail sales will change the look, feel and success of Georgetown,” Sternlieb said. “We believe that the new outdoor dining options will encourage more restaurants to open and the increase in sidewalk activity will induce more retailers to sign leases here. Wider sidewalks will also be friendlier to those in wheelchairs and with disabilities, and to families with strollers, who have always found Georgetown challenging.”

“Over the fall, the Georgetown Business Improvement District designed and prototyped sidewalk extension platforms under Mayor Bowser’s temporary streatery initiative at Clyde’s and Bodega restaurants that create a safer, more comfortable and more attractive pedestrian and dining experience on Georgetown’s streets,” said Jamie Scott, the BID’s planning and economic development director.

The BID proposal to install the platforms through the end of 2021, when the mayor’s

streatery permits expire, would be funded in part by the city and part using the BID’s capital project funds. Over a dozen city agencies and Georgetown groups have been involved in the planning, according to the BID. But many concerns remain. In particular, the District’s gas and water agencies require full access to their underground facilities for maintenance and to respond to emergencies.

That means that the platforms have to be easily mobile, with utility access points marked and easy to reach.

There are also concerns about parking once regular and even increased commerce is restored. “Any approved plan has to assure that parking for customers and residents will be tolerable,” said Horsey. “That means working out arrangements with parking garage owners and city officials for possible subsidies. Parking issues will be different along the wider commercial M [Street], K Street with its many garages and the narrower business areas of Wisconsin Avenue from Prospect up to Q and R Street, and must be addressed in any plan, perhaps separately.”

The pilot project is expected to be ready to go by April, according to the BID, which noted: “Any proposal to make it permanent in 2022 will depend on feedback from all the stakeholders and require a new plan and a new permit.”

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FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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TOWN TOPICS

ANC Revs Up Over Speed Limit

BY PEGGY SA NDS The Georgetown-Burleith advisory neighborhood commissioners are always very solicitous to one another, continually thanking each other and their guests profusely for their insights, proposals and public service. The meetings are pictures of civility, seldom becoming heated.

But at ANC 2E’s monthly meeting on Feb. 1, a lively discussion broke out about two issues that, according to Georgetowners in the know, have exacerbated commissioners for decades: speed limits and large truck traffic in residential areas.

The debate was sparked when the commissioners were considering two resolutions billed as “Safer Streets for Georgetown.” One proposed lowering the speed limit to 15 miles an hour; the other pertained to large trucks traveling east-west.

“Has anyone really noticed a difference in car speeds since Mayor Bowser lowered D.C.’s residential limit from 25 to 20 miles per hour as part of the pandemic limitations imposed last spring?” asked

6 FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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Eric Langenbacher, president of the Burleith Citizens Association.

That actually might work, several commissioners noted, chuckling. It seems that people often drive five to 10 miles above the speed limit. So, at a posted 15 mph limit, they might actually drive around 20 to 25 mph.

“Complaints and demands for explanations about the noticeable increase in the number of large heavy trucks on east-west residential streets of Georgetown have filled my voicemail and inbox,” said Commissioner Elizabeth Miller, who lives on R Street. “They really have no business even being on those streets. Regulations for years have detoured them to the wide commercial streets of M and Wisconsin Avenue, not P, Q, R Streets and others.”

“We will have a robust discussion about this in our March meeting,” concluded Chairman Rick Murphy, after the topic had taken up about 15 minutes of the almost four-hour virtual ANC meeting.

DDOT hard at work.

Georgetowners Find Getting Vaccination Appointments Challenging

BY PEGGY SAN D S The day after President Joe Biden’s inauguration, a new concern filled the minds of District health experts and residents: getting an appointment to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, so life could finally start heading back to the pre-2020 normal.

A Jan. 21 District Department of Health announcement stated: “2,235 vaccination appointments are now available for District residents who are 65 years of age and older, and/or health care workers and who live in priority zip codes.” But the distribution list of priority zip codes left out Georgetown and other parts of Ward 2 and Ward 3, including zip codes 20003 through 20009.

“The District of Columbia has instituted a ‘computer lottery’ where thousands of seniors compete with each other and thousands of much younger people twice a week to snag one of a few hundred scarce appointments,” wrote Georgetown resident Don W. Crockett, who is 83 years old and has a heart condition.

“The first lottery lasted only minutes before the computer system crashed,” he continued. “The last lottery for 740 vaccine doses opened Friday morning at 9:00 AM. The competition lasted for only 13 minutes before all appointments were taken. During that 13-minute time, I filled out the lengthy questionnaire three times only to have it rejected each time, requiring me to start over.”

Stories filled the internet about the difficulty of getting an appointment.

Hospitals in Georgetown, such as MedStar Georgetown University and Sibley Memorial, advised their former patients to check that their patient registrations were up to date and promised to notify them when their turn for a vaccine appointment was scheduled.

On Jan. 22, DC Health announced that “at 9:00 a.m., 740 additional appointments will become available to any DC resident who is 65+. Use the portal, or if needed, use the call center, to register for an appointment.” But by 9:15 a.m. most of those who went online received this notice: “All 2,235 vaccination appointments made available this morning

have been booked. Please check back here for future appointment releases and please sign up for alerts via email or text for future announcements.”

“I understand your frustrations about the roll-out,” wrote Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Gwen Lohse, who lives on O Street NW. “Many of you just had confirmation numbers from the portal with no appointment (try to get a new number if you are 65 and older). If you cannot use an on-line portal, call coronavirus call center at 855-363-0333.” However, there are many stories on social media about residents who spent hours on hold trying to get through.

“But take any vaccination location you can get,” wrote Lohse. “If you need a ride, a volunteer, masked neighbors will take you! (car windows open). I will pass along reasonable information as it is available.”

Some Georgetowners, including this reporter, heard that Howard University Hospital had appointment slots open, and signed up. But some were then notified that their appointments were canceled due to a lack of vaccine.

“If you previously attempted to get an appointment and you did not receive a notification with a confirmation code, date and location, you must re-register,” Mayor Muriel Bowser wrote online, advising residents with internet access to register for an appointment through vaccinate. dc.gov. “Those who qualify can try to get an appointment anywhere in the district.

We appreciate your patience as we work together to get Washingtonians across all eight wards vaccinated.”

“This ‘computer lottery’ nonsense must stop,” concluded Crockett. “It’s unconscionable for the District to place computer finesse and pure luck ahead of often-dire health considerations. Seniors should be able to fill out and submit the questionnaire on their own time and the District should then prioritize appointments according to age and health criteria, as is the practice in Maryland and Virginia.”

BUSINESS

INS & OUTS

BY RO BE RT DEVA NEY

NEW MANAGEMENT: SARA’S MARKET ON Q

There’s a new business owner of Sara’s Market at 3008 Q St. NW. The store is being refreshed and restocked with the top-quality items patrons expect, according to Nathaniel Hailu. Along with fine wines and cheeses, the dry cleaning and alteration services remain. Neighbors are relieved and very happy.

SHUT DOWN TEMPORARILY: CHARCOAL TOWN AND MIRAMAR

Two 31st Street eateries (and neighborhood nuisances), Charcoal Town Hookah and Shawarma at 1027 and Miramar Shawarma and Hookah Bar at 1033, were temporarily shut down on Jan. 30 by the District Department of Health for violating COVID restrictions, serving after midnight and allowing hookah smoking in the establishments.

CONGRATS: FOUR SEASONS GETS TOP MARKS

U.S. News & World Report, a global authority in rankings, consumer advice and information (and headquartered at 1050 Thomas Jefferson St. NW), recognized the Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC, as the number-one hotel in the city and the numbersix best in the nation in its annual evaluation of hotels that offer high-quality amenities and exceptional experiences. “Our hotel being selected as #1 in DC and #6 in the U.S. is an incredible honor, and we are so grateful,” said David Bernand, regional vice president and the property’s GM. “The creativity, resiliency and innovation that our team has shown over the past year has been incredibly inspiring, and I am so happy that we were able to continue to offer extraordinary experiences and wow our guests.”

IN: AMIGO MIO ON M

No more pho for you, my friend! Amigo Mio, a new Mexican restaurant — in the location that Miss Saigon called home for nearly two decades — opened at 3057 M St. NW last week.

OUT: BREDICE BROS. SHOE REPAIR AND HARDWARE STORE

Mr. Lee has closed his hardware store and shoe repair business at 1305 35th St. NW after almost 20 years. He returned to South Korea because of declining business and COVID precautions. Lee was beloved by many for his advice on tools, screws and shoes, as well as his witty retorts and teasing nature.

IN: LOBSTER ROLLS & RAY BANS

At 3030 M St. NW a Ray-Ban sunglass shop is about to open. Two blocks west, at the former Paul Bakery, Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls is fixing to open at 1078 Wisconsin Ave. NW. It has locations from Dupont Circle to Rehoboth and Miami.

Mason’s Lobster coming to Wisconsin Ave. in former Paul’s Bakery.

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48th Year

1819 35th St NW Washington DC between S & T Sts at Hardy Middle School (Across from the social Safeway)

manager@georgetownfleamarket.com

antiques, collectibles, furniture, jewelry, vintage furnishings & accessories

SEQUELS CONSIGNMENT NOW ACCEPTING SPRING & SUMMER 10:30am - 5:00pm, Tues. - Sat. 4111 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington, DC (202) 966-7467

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FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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EDITORIAL

Send Your Feedback, Questions or Concerns, Tips and Suggestions to editorial@georgetowner.com or call 202-338-4833

Virtual Event Positives

BY KATE OC ZYPOK

We know it seems like it’s easy to fall into Zoom fatigue these days, but if you stop and think, virtual meetings and events might actually have some positives. Before COVID, we were subject to terribly long commutes and daily Metro delays. Now, we can just hop on to a meeting in the comfort of our own homes. It’s easy to step out for a

minute or mute yourself if you get another phone call, or just happen to need to use the bathroom. You don’t even have to be fully dressed up, just your top half is needed to look presentable! No matter what your situation is, we hope you can make the most of this time of online meetings and events.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR FEB. 10, 5:30-6:30 P.M.

FEB. 26, 8-9 P.M.

Cocktails, Conversation and COVID with Martha Joynt Kumar.

Art of the Love Letter

FEB. 13, 11:30 A.M.

ST. JOHN’S, GEORGETOWN

GEORGETOWN VILLAGE

GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH Grace’s Table

FEB. 13, 1-3 P.M.

DUMBARTON HOUSE

Time for the Great Reimagining Well, that was fun! Nothing like a little snow to lend some beauty and stillness to our days. Like a fresh coat of white paint, it really freshened up the place.

While there was no sledding at the Capitol (thanks, insurrectionists), people were out and about, enjoying themselves in COVIDsafe ways, building snow forts, engaging in snowball fights and watching their children and pandemic pups play with abandon.

But as the snow recedes, and the dogs have their way with it, we’re reminded of the ugliness it all-too-briefly hid from view: the fallout from the nightmare of Jan. 6 — the Green Zone vibe downtown, the impeachment trial, the embarrassingly inept rollout of the vaccine (our holy grail!) and the challenges families continue to face as they try to stay afloat while learning and working from home.

If 2020 was the Great Reckoning, baring truths about our society we’d rather overlook, then 2021 has to be the Great Reimagining. Suppose we hold a series of snow days during which we collectively rethink our relationships and priorities: • Reimagining the “work-life balance” so that it becomes an authentic, attainable state rather than a cruel and elitist joke.

• Transforming “equity” from an of-themoment catch phrase to a guiding principle governing housing, education, health care and opportunity.

• And making “We’re all in this together” not just pretty words but a constant reminder that each of us is connected to the rest, and deserving of respect and compassion.

The new administration is calling for unity and we’re here for it. If nothing else, the inauguration signaled a new beginning, an “American spring” for a sorely challenged nation. But it’s going to take a lot of hard (and loving) communal effort.

As we’ve so recently relearned, democracy, like snow, can be fleeting.

Dear readers, what matters to you? What issues are uppermost in your mind — from the sublime to the ridiculous, the global to the hyperlocal? What would you do to solve them? Share your ideas and initiatives and tell us what you think we should be covering in greater depth (and what we may have overlooked). The Georgetowner is your voice. Use it!

How long is it taking to get your mail?

YOUR OPINION MATTERS. Post your response.

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Virtual Galentine’s Day Tea

FEB. 13, 7 P.M.

GEORGETOWN PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Film Discussion, “13th”

FEB. 18, 10-11 A.M.

COMMISSION OF FINE ARTS

DUMBARTON HOUSE

FEB. 28, 10-11 A.M. Annual Meeting

MARCH 1, 6:30-7:30 P.M. ANC 2E MEETING

Note: The Georgetown-Burleith advisory neighborhood commission meets on the Monday prior to the monthly Old Georgetown Board meeting, except during holidays.

MARCH 7, 4-5:15 P.M. HOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC CHURCH

Becoming an Anti-Racist Parish

FEB. 25, 5:30-6:30 P.M. GEORGETOWN VILLAGE

Cocktails, Conversation and COVID with Jane Hyatt Thorpe.

Letter to the Editor Covid-19 Vaccinations The CDC has declared that seniors 75+ have priority for covid-19 vaccinations.

I am 83 years old with a heart condition but cannot obtain an appointment in the District of Columbia. Unlike Maryland and Virginia, where seniors register and are then assigned appointments, the District of Columbia has instituted a “computer lottery” where thousands of seniors compete with each other and thousands of much younger people twice a week to snag one of a few hundred scarce appointments.

The first lottery lasted only minutes before the computer system crashed. The last lottery for 740 vaccine doses opened Friday morning at 9:00 AM. The competition lasted for only 13 minutes before all appointments were taken. During that 13-minute time, I filled out the lengthy questionnaire three times only to have it rejected each time, requiring me to start over.

The District has 11,000 seniors 85+;

26,000 seniors 75+; and 53,000 seniors 65+; or 91,000 total. Because the District receives an allocation of only about 6,000 vaccine doses per week, it would take 15 weeks to vaccinate that entire group and twice that time with second shots. Even assuming that 50% of those might have vaccine phobia, it would still take 8 weeks to vaccinate 50% of all seniors with two shots before moving on to other younger and less vulnerable groups.

This “computer lottery” nonsense must stop. It’s unconscionable for the District to place computer finesse and pure luck ahead of often-dire health considerations.

Seniors should be able to fill out and submit the questionnaire on their own time and the District should then prioritize appointments according to age and health criteria, as is the practice in Maryland and Virginia.

— Don W. Crockett

THE VILLAGE

Kristi Whitfield: Helping D.C. Businesses Find ‘Every Opportunity to Rise’

BY C HR IS TOP HER J ON E S Start-up entrepreneurs and business owners often deride big government, but one D.C. official with local business experience of her own — Kristi C. Whitfield, director of the Department of Small and Local Business Development — has dedicated herself to supporting local small business owners and the District’s socioeconomically diverse neighborhoods, especially during the pandemic.

According to a 2019 U.S. Small Business Administration report, over 76,000 small businesses, employing over 245,000 employees, contribute to the District’s economy. Supervising just over 50 employees, Whitfield made the point that her “small and nimble” agency, with only a $14-million budget, is able to experiment with innovative approaches.

Just keeping track of the volume of DSLBD’s programs is a challenge.

Harnessing web-based solutions, the DC Capital Connector is a “free, online matchmaking tool that connects small businesses to Community Development Financial Institution lenders and bonding agents with the push of a button.” The program has verified the local credentials of over 1,900 Certified Business Enterprises in the District and helped direct close to $1 billion in contract procurements their way through Procurement Technical Assistance Centers. “That’s local dollars going back into local companies who are hiring local people,” Whitfield noted.

The listings of all government contracts — known as “The Green Book” — have been moved online for the first time, enabling CBEs to connect more readily to contracting opportunities across every field and industry. Each of the District’s Business Improvement Districts has been certified for tax purposes. And DSLBD provides a clearinghouse for information and support services, not only from the Small Business Administration, but from other financial, accounting, business, technical support and marketing entities.

Whitfield has worked side by side with Mayor Muriel Bowser to enhance the DC Main Streets program, dedicated to developing the city’s 26 commercial corridors. The number of Main Streets — which employ significant numbers of D.C. residents at a “livable wage” on Clean Teams — has doubled since the mayor first came to office in 2014. In 2020, DSLBD “celebrated over 300 loans totaling more than $1.5

million to local small businesses” and “over 65 Robust Retail grants totaling $1 million.”

Whitfield is not at all your stereotypical government bureaucrat. With a master’s degree in city planning from M.I.T., she worked as an advocate for affordable housing, inspired by her activist parents, as well as by her upbringing in the racially integrated planned community of Columbia, Maryland.

“So, my dad was Black and my mom was White and they fell in love in the ’60s and got married,” she recounted. “They worked at Job Corps and did housing rights and my mom would go in and try to rent an apartment and see if anything was available and then my dad would go in separately and try to rent an apartment” — documenting the racial discrimination of the time. Whitfield’s upbringing drove her to thinking about how society could be structured to create opportunities for others, rather than hold them back.

“So, my dad was Black and my mom was White and they fell in love in the ’60s and got married,” In 2009, however, after a “full career” in planning and housing advocacy, she and her then-boyfriend (now her husband) took the plunge to become entrepreneurs.

Finding a toehold in D.C.’s burgeoning food truck industry, they established Curbside Cupcakes, the idea being: New York loves cupcakes and L.A. loves food trucks, so why not fuse the two concepts?

Soon, their business took off. “We had three trucks. We had a brick-and-mortar location ... and then we had a temporary kiosk at Pentagon City, and then we were one of the first vendors in the cohort that went into Union Market. We had quite a little distribution system going at one point,” she said with pride.

After a few years, as Whitfield was advocating for D.C.’s 17-member food truck association, word hit the street that the District Council was contemplating shutting down the food truck industry downtown.

Whitfield (right) with Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio and Torie Partridge of Cherry Blossom Creative at the Downtown Holiday Market. Photo by James Partlow IV. Courtesy DSLBD. She quickly arranged a meeting at the Wilson Building with her Ward 4 Council member at the time, Muriel Bowser.

“Hi, would you shake my hand before you regulate me out of existence?” were Whitfield’s first words to Bowser. During an intense back-and-forth, she eventually used a deft maneuver to win an understanding.

“I picked up my phone and said, ‘If you do that, we’re going to tweet it out to 65,000 people,’” Whitfield recalled.

Eight years later, when she applied for the position of DSLBD director, Mayor Bowser was heard to say: “Cupcakes, right?” Ever since their first meeting, the two have demonstrated mutual respect and admiration; the mayor knew she had hired a fierce advocate for D.C.’s small businesses, with whom she could work closely.

Whitfield helped set up a “first-of-itskind” pilot project, the Made in DC kiosk at Reagan National Airport. Designed to “connect makers with the market” for D.C. crafts, “It was one of the most profitable kiosks in the entire airport and I was really excited because their first customer was Cory Booker, who — for a halfsecond — was almost going to be the president,” she said with a smile. The Made in DC movement has since taken off with Shop: Made in DC stores in Georgetown, at the Wharf, in Dupont Circle and on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. When the COVID pandemic hit the District in early 2020, Whitfield turned her entrepreneurial skills and bright sense of humor toward savvy media outreach.

She hosted the mayor’s podcast, “Every Opportunity to Rise,” featuring local start-ups such as bicycletrash.com and mahogonybooks.com. She made sure DSLBD staff made phone calls to all 1,900 CBEs to ask them what sort of support they needed during the pandemic. And she helped Mayor Bowser, along with the Main Streets and the BIDs, to deliver almost 3,000 care packages with PPE to local small businesses.

Over the holidays, Whitfield launched the #iBuyDC Challenge, encouraging shoppers to post photos of their local purchases to allow “residents and businesses to showcase

how they support the local economy every day while highlighting the local businesses they love to visit.” To make the online campaign go viral, she encouraged supporters to challenge their friends and family to do the same. In one post, Whitfield challenged local radio talk-show host Kojo Nnamdi to join the effort. On Small Business Saturday, the campaign drew national attention when Vice President-elect (at the time) Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, took up the challenge and posted photos of their shopping visit to the Downtown BID’s Holiday Market.

Using the tools of “distance virtual learning,” Whitfield helped DSLBD post webinars under the Build Back Better program and enhance the website’s “Business Toolkit” to provide answers to every question entrepreneurs and small business owners might ask at each phase of their business trajectory. Whitfield helped the Main Streets redirect $750,000 in their budgets toward direct grants to local businesses. She also steered local business owners towards millions of dollars of federal COVID-19 stimulus funds as they became available through the SBA. In a recent press conference, Whitfield drew attention to the Latino Economic Development Center and its services as a CDFI, in both Spanish and English.

In Georgetown, high rents and retail vacancies are of concern to Whitfield. But she believes Georgetown is “lucky” to have an “amazing BID” under the leadership of Joe Sternlieb, who was an M.I.T. classmate of hers.

As a former entrepreneur, Whitfield most of all wants D.C.’s local small business owners to know that DSLBD is approachable and there to help. During the pandemic, she said, business owners have “been through a crucible.” She emphasized: “It’s okay to not be okay. And you don’t have to bring some social media version of your perfect self to DSLBD when you ask for help, because we deal with actual, real people whose credit is shot and who are exhausted, and who are really at their wits’ end.” Mainly, she said, “DSLBD is here to help you, so please call us.”

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TRANSITIONS B Y L A U R E T TA J . M C C O Y P HO TO G R A P H E R N I K K I D A S K A LA KIS

I’m reminded in these transitional times on so many levels to be thankful. A silver lining is not always what you think it is.

There’s more to it than meets the eye.

A.POTTS DESIGNER Via Zoom, I met with Detroit-born fashion designer Aaron Potts in his New York-based design studio. He wore an orange skullcap, a black A. Potts collection original tee and a smile that would light up any room. I asked him about his roots in fashion, his family and where it all began.

A graduate of Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, a division of the New School, Potts has interned with Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis and with Donna Karan at DKNY. He has designed for Victoria’s Secret, Anne Klein, Badgley Mischka, Tamara Mellon, KaufmanFranco and Escada (in Munich, Germany). He has dressed a host of celebrities, including Michelle Obama, Naomi Campbell, the Williams sisters, Jennifer Lopez and Carrie Underwood.

Potts spoke about his supportive family and about his art teacher, Ms. Oni Akilah, at Renaissance High School, describing her as his guardian angel. She researched Parsons, helped him develop his portfolio and put together all the requirements needed for entry into that school, encouraging him to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. He admits he was glad he got accepted. Parsons was the only school to which he had applied.

Q&A WITH AARON POTTS AVAILABLE AT GEORGETOWNER.COM

JACKET AND PANTS • A.POTTS @APOTTSCOLLECTION TOP • THEORY @SAKS

10 FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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CREATIVE DIRECTION & MAKEUP LAURETTA J MCCOY @BEAUTYCOMESTOEARTH DESIGNER & REMOTE STYLIST A. POTTS @APOTTSCOLLECTION MODEL SANJANA FOR @CIMATALENTMANAGMENT LOCATION THE WESTLIGHT LUXURY PENTHOUSE WASHINGTON DC @THEWESTLIGHTDC

PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEO NIKKI DASKALAKIS @CURVEDANDCO PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSIST RUDNEY NOVAES @RUDNEYNOVAES HAIR LATRICE STRADER @LATRICESTRADER SPECIAL THANKS TO CAROLE FEDERMAN @CSEVENTEEN17

JEWEL EMBLEM JACKET • ALEXANDER MCQUEEN WHITE SHIRT • DONNA KAREN @SAKS CAMOUFLAGE SHORTS • A. POTTS @APOTTSCOLLECTION

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JACKET • DOLCE AND GABANNA TOP • THEORY @SAKS SHORTS • A. POTTS @APOTTSCOLLECTION

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FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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COAT • A.POTTS @APOTTSCOLLECTION DRESS • MICHAEL KORS @SAKS SHOES • DR. MARTENS @DMARTENSOFFICIAL

22 FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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FACE • BALANCE/GLOW TONER & NOURISH / FACE FOOD @VIRTUESKINFOOD FOUNDATION • SILK CRÈME / OIL FREE / PHOTO EDITION @LAURAMERCIER BROWS • CLEAR BROW GEL @ANASTASIABEVERLYHILLS EYES • HIGHLINER EYE LINER @MARCJACOBSBEAUTY LIPS • DONATELLA @PATMCGRATHREAL

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FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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COVER

Valentine’s Gifts:

ARE YOU THINKING OUTSIDE THE HEART-SHAPED BOX?

BY C HR IS TOP HER J ON E S As Valentine’s Day approaches, we’d all LUV our gifts to brim with creativity, heartwarming inspiration and a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. Too often, however, failing to think outside the heart-shaped box, we end up giving and receiving a certain sameold-same-old.

But this season, sparkling gift ideas abound — guaranteed to set even the most weary hearts aflutter.

Instead of the tired old Whitman’s Sampler purchased at the last minute from CVS, why not surprise your love-crush with La Madeline au Truffe, recognized by Forbes as the world’s most expensive chocolate truffle? From Danish chef Fritz Knipschildt, the chocolate sensation starts with a rare French Périgord mushroom surrounded by a “rich decadent ganache,” then “enrobed in Vairhona dark chocolate” and sprinkled with a “fine cocoa powder.” “It all came about because I adore both chocolate and fungus truffles,” Knipschildt reflected. At $2,600 per delight, each truffle is presented in a gold-painted box emblazoned tastefully with a Guinness World Records insignia and tied with a ribbon. chocopologie.com

the I Love Plastic Surgery Cotton Baby Bib will help keep Baby clean in case of “spit up,” “spilled formula” or “strained peas,” while expressing love for the latest reconstructive surgical practices. Or, for $28, the handmade Winky Kissy Emoji Toilet Paper Cozy will convey your sweet Valentine wishes to your intended, most likely a few times per day! cafepress.com/mf/107593796 etsy.com/listing/777021611

How about the perfect Valentine’s gift for school or office? Made of hand-forged Damascus steel, the Schimmel Pen may seem a bit upscale for the persnickety purchaser — retailing at $50,000 per pen.

However, each pen comes with a gold nib, a “nice gift box,” a certificate of authenticity and free shipping. Remarkably, Chad Schimmel, the pen’s creator, guarantees that the product will come “personally delivered by the Maker [to] most parts of the world.”

Boldly, he even declares that delivery will also “include an opportunity for dinner and dancing with the maker at his discretion.” etsy.com/listing/275862672

These days, lovers are all gaga about “sustainability” — not only in their relationships, but in their wardrobe selections. From the London Sock Company, Edible Socks might be on fleek for what you seek. “Because we’re using fruit fibres, they’re 100% edible,” the company boasts on its website. “These socks can be worn with your favourite suit, whilst smelling like your favourite fruit, then when [you’re] done, you take them off and enjoy the remarkably fruity flavour as the fruit fibres melt in your mouth.” Prices start at $18 per pair. Perhaps a choice aperitif by a crackling fire to accompany the scrumptious hose? londonsockcompany.com

Or is the target of your affections more down to earth? If so, this Anatomically Correct Heart-Shaped Box might be just the thing. “For the pragmatist, the doctor, the person who thinks Valentine’s Day is nothing more than a greeting card holiday,” why not present them with this delightfully romantic keepsake box “modeled and printed from an MRI scan of a real human heart”?

Cost: $39.99. Comes in “Blood Red.” etsy.com/listing/933560872 If you’re looking for more affordable cadeaux romantiques, you might try these artisanal selections. How about a Valentine’s gift for the new parent to help “express [their] baby’s sweet and funny personality”? Priced just right at $15.99, 12 FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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In the age of Marie Kondo, however, such gewgaws might not spark joy. Something more precious and easily stored might be the way to go. Have you thought of a NanoSculpture, “so tiny it can stand on a human hair,” from London-based artist Jonty Hurwitz? Made of microscopic polymer with the distinction of being the “smallest sculpture ever made,” this tiny nude female form called “Trust” can only be viewed through a scanning electron microscope — so no need to blush when unveiled! One of Hurwitz’s sculptures of Cupid and Psyche was photographed on the forehead of an ant.

As of press time, Hurwitz has not provided Valentine’s Day pricing. cnn.com/style

If the object of your affection is not drawn to edible socks, maybe a snazzy modern ride will win them over. Why not present a little trinket from Cadillac’s luxury car division? Recently premiered at the vaunted Consumer Electronics Show, the Cadillac eVTOL Air Taxi provides vertical take-off and landing as well as full aerial mobility. To facilitate your furtive trysts, this four-rotor personal aircraft will be able to travel — not only off-road, but in the sky — up to 56 mph. Cadillac has not yet developed a working prototype, nor set a price. Presumably, however, the air-drone comes with the required 90-kWh battery needed to power the craft. Remember to

La Madeline au Truffle, recognized by Forbes as the world’s most expensive chocolate truffle. keep it charged — just like your love life! cnet.com/news Speaking of flying, maybe your romantic crush will fall for an “adorable gliding creature” that’s “fun to own” and loves to “climb and glide”? Then, why not give the gift of a Flying Squirrel? Such creatures are known to be “highly active” but “have fun personalities.” Be cautious, however, with kids around, and remember that flying squirrels are “nocturnal and require a lot of space.” Price per Flying Squirrel: $125.

(Permits required in 15 states, though in Utah only for “northern flying squirrels.”) crazyrichpets.com Perhaps your crush is more into beagles than flying squirrels. If so, sweep them off their feet with a trip to Dog Bark Park Inn, USA, in Cottonwood, Idaho. This wondrous hotel stands 10 meters high and five meters wide and is shaped like “an enormous beagle” named Sweet Willy. According to the hotel’s website, visitors can “sleep inside him” and may luxuriate in the “double room in his stomach and a loft room in his muzzle.” The site serves as a “wacky conception” by Sweet Willy’s “chainsaw artist owners,” Dennis and Frances. A sign on the hotel’s site reads that Sweet Willy is a “noble and absurd undertaking.” Rates are $158 per night for double occupancy, including breakfast. roughguides.com And, pray tell, what if your love is ferret-owning? If so, the Ferret Patterned Hammock would make a sweet offering indeed. Handmade and designed to provide ferrets with a ferret-themed place to sleep — and (literally) hang-out — these cozy and fleece-lined nests just might be irresistible.

Price: $10. Caution: Musky scents can be intoxicating. etsy.com/listing/709423574 Perhaps one wishes to hone the gentle art of seduction through a crack at crazy cosplay? Toward this end, could any token of affection possibly top the Bovine Long Horn Skull Shaman Minotaur WGT Costume Voodoo Priest Headdress Witch Doctor Headpiece available on Etsy? The headdress’s creator, Jezebel’s Fascination,

conjures the following ludicrous spectre: “Skull of the mythical half-bull/half-man almost comes to life once resting on your head.” This “monstrous headpiece is the perfect brooding finishing touch to your hellish costume while devouring human sacrifices!” Price on the Installment Plan: Four “easy payments” of $47.52 per month.

Just keep those payments hush-hush! etsy.com/listing/682430401 Cupid’s arrow has often hit its mark owing to the seductions of the stringed instrument — from the ancient lyre to the acid-rock guitar. But, what if your beloved only twangs annoyingly? In this case, try the gift of hypnosis. This “Play Better Guitar, Self-Hypnosis CD” offers to lull the struggling guitar neophyte into a “relaxed state where the hypnotic suggestions can take effect on [the] subconscious mind” to make it easier to “get into the zone.”

Caution: The CD must not be used “while driving” or “operating machinery” or in case of “epilepsy, schizophrenia or a heart condition.” Aspiring Guitar Gods are also advised to “consult a physician before use.”

Price: $15.69. etsy.com/listing/469674354 Deep down, we all know that, no matter how hard we try, we are not the perfect bearers of our special love messages. Others can certainly do a better job. Fortunately, we can outsource once-popular celebrities to convey our Valentine’s missives on our behalf, using the star-studded new website, Cameo. If you search carefully on the site, you’d be surprised how affordable such video Valentines can be. For only $50, Nadia Comăneci — the first gymnast to score a perfect 10 in Olympic competition and years later be fired by Donald Trump on “Celebrity Apprentice” — will make a brief video recording for the object of your lust. Or, for only $60, you might choose Butch Patrick, the actor who played Eddie Munster on the 1960s hit show “The Munsters,” to create a cameo for your Valentine’s sweetheart.

Beware, however, Mr. Patrick no longer looks like the little werewolf boy from the show, but just like the 67-year old actor he currently plays on Cameo. cameo.com

LE DECOR

Designs for Living INTERIOR DESIGNER FABIOLA MARTENS SHARES HER SECRETS FOR MAKING A HOUSE A HOME

BY SU S A N BODIKE R Fabiola Martens does not do trends. That doesn’t mean she’s stuck in one look or period, but as with fashion, she believes “you have to integrate them thoughtfully.” This year’s hot colors (per Pantone anyway) or patterned wallpaper can bring light and life to a room, but they can also make it look dated a year from now. Her advice? Curate carefully.

Martens, who started out as a trial lawyer in Belgium, (“I loved the theatre of it!”) takes a lawyerly, methodical approach to her design work. Developing a relationship with clients--“getting into their skin”-- is key to gaining a better understanding of their lifestyles, preferences, expectations and understanding of the design process.

“I ask them to share photos of things they like. It doesn’t even have to be interiors, but it helps us get on the same aesthetic wavelength. It builds trust. And that makes decision making easier.”

At the end of the day, she’s looking to create an environment where the homeowner feels comfortable, where they “look like they belong.” If it’s not authentic, it’s just a “decorated” stage set where they don’t feel welcome or able to take advantage of the space. Her guiding principle is always “make it livable and make it yours.”

The silent partner in this conversation is the house itself--its architecture, the lighting and overall setting. “Location really is everything. For example, people are in love with Tuscany, but it just doesn’t translate to DC. The lighting is all wrong. So we would look for a way to create the Tuscan feel but not necessarily with the exact Tuscan hues.”

There is one trend, however, that Martens

thinks is here to stay: Work From Home.

More and more of her clients (well, all of us) are looking for solutions that expand space without knocking down walls or doing extensive renovations. They need offices and places where kids can do their homework that are both private but still connected to the rest of the household.

Many home furnishing options can be reconfigured to serve as a desk or workstation. Table- or counter-height console tables with attractive baskets or rolling carts are excellent choices and fit in anywhere. The point is, think creatively.

And rooms that might have been used only occasionally (e.g. the traditional formal den) can be smartly reincarnated as a school room or family room with furniture that does double duty for work and play.

If you’re going the built-in route and are willing to take it on as a DIY project, Martens suggests speaking with a kitchen company (vs a closet company), which offers a broad variety of storage and cabinetry options that keep their looks over the long haul.

Finally, Martens tells clients to keep a sense of humor about the house and expect delays. Ultimately, it’s all about “the person with the hammer and the nail:” the furniture makers, millwork fabricators and all the other artisans involved in the creation of a home that is in the process of becoming uniquely yours.

Luminous and sophisticated, this reimagined parlor is equally welcoming to family and more formal gatherings. Courtesy Fabiola Martens Interior Design.

Fabiola Martens Interior Design, 4910 Massachusetts Ave NW, (202) 450-4042, fabiolamartens.com.

A cool color palette and spare furnishings lend a zen-like vibe to this Georgetown pied-a-terre. Courtesy Fabiola Martens Interior Design.

Designer Fabiola Martens.

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FEBRUARY 10, 2021

13

PROVIDED BY WASHINGTON FINE PROPERTIES

2020 REAL ESTATE SALES

REAL ESTATE ADDRESS

SUBDIVISION/NEIGHBORHOOD

1617 29th St NW 1405 34th St NW 1607 28th St NW 1671 31st St NW 1315 31st St NW 1431 33rd St NW 4432 Chestnut Ln NW 1055 Wisconsin Ave NW #4E 1312 30th St NW 1688 31st St NW 3030 P St NW 3112 N St NW 1400 34th St NW 3512 P St NW 1418 33rd St NW 1514 30th St NW 3009 Dumbarton St NW 3218 Volta Pl NW 3150 South St NW #3E 4406 W St NW 3329 Prospect St NW #PENTHOUSE 6 3030 K St NW #PH217 4774 Dexter St NW 3014 P St NW 3332 O St NW 3303 Water St NW #3A 3315 O St NW 3406 P St NW 3524 - 3526 K St NW 4845 Hutchins Pl NW 3022 O St NW 1320 29th St NW 3030 NW K St NW #PENTHOUSE 212 3600 Massachusetts Ave NW 4500 Edmunds St NW 1914 35th St NW 3011 P St NW 1804 45th St NW 4125 Parkglen Ct NW 2737 O St NW 3048 N St NW 1355 28th St NW

GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN PHILLIPS PARK GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN NONE AVAILABLE GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN PHILLIPS PARK GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN WESLEY HEIGHTS GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN PALISADES GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN OBSERVATORY CIRCLE WESLEY HEIGHTS BURLEITH GEORGETOWN FOXHALL GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN

BEDS

FULL BATH

HALF BATH

LIST PRICE

CLOSE PRICE

9 7 8 6 6 6 6 4 5 6 4 4 3 5 4 5 4 5 3 5 4 3 6 4 4 2 5 4 6 6 4 5 2 6 5 5 3 5 6 4 4 4

7 7 8 5 6 6 6 4 5 4 2 5 2 5 4 5 3 4 3 5 3 3 7 4 4 2 4 5 7 5 3 4 2 4 4 4 2 4 4 4 4 3

3 4 3 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1

$17,750,000 $21,000,000 $12,000,000 $6,100,000 $6,999,000 $5,300,000 $4,995,000 $5,500,000 $5,650,000 $5,000,000 $4,495,000 $4,495,000 $4,675,000 $4,995,000 $3,995,000 $3,995,000 $3,595,000 $3,899,000 $3,795,000 $4,350,000 $3,995,000 $4,700,000 $3,450,000 $3,495,000 $3,800,000 $3,295,000 $3,250,000 $2,995,000 $2,995,000 $3,100,000 $3,000,000 $2,985,000 $2,975,000 $3,195,000 $3,295,000 $3,200,000 $2,995,000 $2,895,000 $2,999,000 $2,895,000 $2,950,000 $3,000,000

$17,750,000 $17,250,000 $12,000,000 $6,100,000 $6,100,000 $5,200,000 $5,175,000 $5,100,000 $4,900,000 $4,600,000 $4,400,000 $4,200,000 $4,200,000 $4,000,000 $3,800,000 $3,800,000 $3,750,000 $3,700,000 $3,695,000 $3,690,000 $3,650,000 $3,500,000 $3,450,000 $3,450,000 $3,350,000 $3,150,000 $3,100,000 $3,075,000 $3,025,000 $3,025,000 $3,000,000 $2,985,000 $2,975,000 $2,900,000 $2,865,000 $2,865,000 $2,850,000 $2,825,000 $2,800,000 $2,750,000 $2,675,000 $2,665,000

Making time FOR YOU AND

YOUR LOVED ONE

Being a family caregiver is a rewarding, yet challenging responsibility that can be filled with moments of joy and frustration. Ingleside recognizes the delicate balance of caring for oneself while supporting a loved one living with Alzheimer’s or other dementias. It’s time to take care of both of you.

For a limited time, Ingleside Memory Support is offering a 30-day trial respite stay at our engaged community. Experience our person-centered program and extraordinary respite care services. Contact us for more information—call today!

INGLESIDE AT ROCK CREEK 202-933-5347 www.ircdc.org/memorysupport

A not-for-profit life plan community

INDEPENDENT LIVING // ASSISTED LIVING // MEMORY SUPPORT // LONG-TERM CARE // SHORT-TERM REHABILITATION 14 FEBRUARY 10, 2021

GMG, INC.

FOR A FULL LIST OF REAL ESTATE SALES VISIT GEORGETOWNER.COM

4845 Hutchins Pl NW 3022 O St NW 1320 29th St NW 3030 NW K St NW #PENTHOUSE 212 3600 Massachusetts Ave NW 4500 Edmunds St NW 1914 35th St NW ADDRESS 3011 P St NW 1804 St NW 3300 45th Newark St NW 4125 3030 Parkglen P St NW Ct NW 2737 St NW 3009 O Dumbarton St NW 3048 St NW Ln NW 5001 N Millwood 1355 St NW 2425 28th L St NW #700 3401 NW 1524 Prospect Swann St St NW 4865 Ave NW 1735 Potomac Fraser Ct NW 3636 St NW St NW 3454 SMacomb 4500 4992 Dexter WarrenStStNW NW 2908 St NW St NW 3719 N Morrison 4891 1177 Macarthur 22nd St NWBlvd #6DNW 3338 Pl Dr NWNW 2925 Dent Glover 3037 St NWSt NW 1449 O Swann 1815 St NW 942 T 45th St NW 1683 St NW 4554 31st Lowell St NW 4005 Ct NW 3017 Highwood Cathedral Ave NW 4821 St Ter NWNW 2820 Dexter Bellevue 3722 St NW 1412 R 35th St NW 2234 St NW 5243 49th Sherier Pl NW 4338 Ln NW Ave NW 3700 Forest Connecticut 3052 St NW #307 3000 R Woodland Dr NW 1228 St NW St NW 3619 30th Chesapeake 1801 RdRd NW 2803 Hoban Woodley NW 3324 Rd#605 NW 1801 Reservoir 16th St NW 3406 St NW 4634 N 30th St NW 3131 St NW St NW 4841 P Sedgwick 3229 Rd NW 4616 Reservoir 30th St NW 3030 Lane NW 1421 W 27th St NW 2805 St NW Ave NW 2216 Q Cathedral 3264 St NWRd NW 3233 N Klingle 3303 St NWRd #2M 5001 Water Loughboro NW 1818 St NW 1708 37th Hobart St NW 3340 St NW St NW 3934 N Morrison 3252 St NW 5604 N 32nd St NW 3608 St NWSt NW 4462 STindall 4511 Pl NW #7 2122 Q N St 3537 Edmunds St NW 128 Bryant St NW 3323 2307 Reservoir 1st St NW Rd NW 3528 5727 Edmunds 16th St NWSt NW 3533 St NW 4630 TChesapeake St NW 3635 3123 SNSt StNW NW 1230 St NW 3649 30th Veazey St NW 1510 26th St NW 1707 34th St NW 2820 Bellevue Ter NW 2804 P St NW 3716 S St NW 2000 48th St NW

R U T L E D G E FA R M

Middleburg, Virginia • $8,000,000

circa 1740 w/addition in 1820 | 6 BR, 5 fireplaces | 113 lush acres, 5 barns | Derby field | 218 x 80 indoor arena | 250 x 150 all-weather outdoor arena | 80’ lunging arena | Polo field (or 2 grand prix fields) | 4 board, double fencing | Guest house | Farm office /3 BR house | Machine shed | Carriage house w/apartment | Stone spring house/office | 3 BR apartment | Pond

Paul MacMahon Sandra Bravo Greenberg

(703) 609-1905 (202) 308-3813

D I XO N S M I L L R O A D Marshall, Virginia • $2,375,000

PALISADES GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN OBSERVATORY CIRCLE WESLEY HEIGHTS BURLEITH SUBDIVISION/NEIGHBORHOOD GEORGETOWN FOXHALL CLEVELAND PARK GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN KENT GEORGETOWN WEST END GEORGETOWN LOGAN CIRCLE PALISADES DUPONT NORTH BURLEITH CLEVELAND PARK WESLEY SPRING HEIGHTS VALLEY GEORGETOWN CHEVY CHASE KENT WEST END GEORGETOWN WESLEY HEIGHTS GEORGETOWN LOGAN/DUPONT NONE AVAILABLE LOGAN/SHAW GEORGETOWN WESLEY HEIGHTS HILLANDALE WOODLEY WESLEY HEIGHTS OBSERVATORY CIRCLE BURLEITH GEORGETOWN PALISADES WESLEY HEIGHTS CLEVELAND PARK GEORGETOWN MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE HEIGHTS GEORGETOWN WAKEFIELD BERKLEY GARFIELD GEORGETOWN DUPONT CIRCLE GEORGETOWN FOREST HILLS GEORGETOWN SPRING VALLEY GEORGETOWN FOREST HILLS GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN WOODLEY PARK GEORGETOWN CLEVELAND PARK GEORGETOWN SPRING VALLEY BURLEITH MOUNT PLEASANT GEORGETOWN CHEVY CHASE GEORGETOWN CHEVY CHASE BURLEITH AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK PALISADES DUPONT CIRCLE OBSERVATORY LEDROIT PARK CIRCLE GEORGETOWN BLOOMINGDALE OBSERVATORY CIRCLE 16TH STREET HEIGHTS BURLEITH AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK BURLEITH GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN NORTH CLEVELAND PARK GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN OBSERVATORY CIRCLE GEORGETOWN BURLEITH PALISADES

FIDELIO

The Plains, Virginia • $6,490,000

6 4 5 2 6 5 5 BEDS 3 5 6 4 4 4 7 4 3 8 5 76 6 5 4 7 3 4 5 5 4 5 6 4 5 4 5 5 3 6 4 5 3 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 5 4 5 5 3 5 3 4 2 5 5 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 2 4 6 3 5 5 4 3 5 3 4 3 3 5 5 3 5 4

5 3 4 2 4 4 4 FULL2BATH 4 6 4 2 4 3 4 5 3 4 3 64 4 5 5 3 7 3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 5 4 4 2 4 4 3 3 4 5 3 4 2 2 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 3 4 2 4 4 2 3 3 5 3 2 3 3 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 3 2 4 4 3 5 4

1 1 1 1 1 2 1 HALF2BATH 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 21 1 2 1 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 11 2 1 2 11 111 22 1 112 1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1

DEERFIELD

Upperville, Virginia • $4,500,000

$3,100,000 $3,000,000 $2,985,000 $2,975,000 $3,195,000 REAL $3,295,000 $3,200,000 LIST PRICE $2,995,000 $2,895,000 $4,950,000 $2,999,000 $4,495,000 $2,895,000 $3,595,000 $2,950,000 $3,300,000 $3,000,000 $3,900,000 $2,695,000 $2,750,000 $2,650,000 $2,500,000 $2,450,000 $2,590,000 $2,699,000 $2,400,000 $2,295,000 $2,200,000 $2,595,000 $2,100,000 $2,495,000 $2,090,000 $2,495,000 $2,075,000 $2,675,000 $1,795,000 $2,700,000 $1,975,000 $2,395,000 $1,995,000 $2,375,000 $1,900,000 $2,495,000 $1,899,000 $2,895,000 $1,875,000 $2,450,000 $1,995,000 $2,325,000 $1,850,000 $2,195,000 $1,800,000 $2,295,000 $1,795,000 $2,250,000 $1,794,000 $2,295,000 $1,795,000 $2,275,000 $1,495,000 $2,300,000 $1,625,000 $2,375,000 $1,525,000 $2,195,000 $1,575,000 $2,195,000 $1,450,000 $2,265,000 $1,550,000 $2,199,990 $1,499,000 $2,100,000 $1,549,000 $2,095,000 $1,395,000 $1,995,000 $1,599,900 $2,675,000 $1,500,000 $2,150,000 $1,425,000 $2,295,000 $1,399,000 $2,189,000 $1,295,000 $1,990,000 $1,499,900 $2,250,000 $1,400,000 $2,150,000 $2,000,000 $1,995,000 $1,975,000 $1,998,000 $1,795,000

$3,025,000 $3,000,000 $2,985,000 $2,975,000 $2,900,000 ESTATE $2,865,000 $2,865,000 CLOSE PRICE $2,850,000 $2,825,000 $4,950,000 $2,800,000 $4,400,000 $2,750,000 $3,750,000 $2,675,000 $3,225,000 $2,665,000 $3,050,000 $2,625,000 $2,695,000 $2,615,000 $2,600,000 $2,569,000 $2,585,000 $2,425,000 $2,460,000 $2,425,000 $2,400,000 $2,410,000 $2,150,000 $2,400,000 $2,105,000 $2,400,000 $2,090,000 $2,400,000 $2,075,000 $2,400,000 $2,022,000 $2,400,000 $1,975,000 $2,395,000 $1,950,000 $2,375,000 $1,900,000 $2,375,000 $1,899,000 $2,365,000 $1,875,000 $2,350,000 $1,835,000 $2,325,000 $1,830,000 $2,305,000 $1,799,900 $2,300,000 $1,795,000 $2,300,000 $1,794,000 $2,295,000 $1,780,000 $2,275,000 $1,710,000 $2,275,000 $1,575,000 $2,200,000 $1,575,000 $2,195,000 $1,575,000 $2,195,000 $1,561,000 $2,175,000 $1,550,000 $2,132,119 $1,550,000 $2,100,000 $1,549,000 $2,095,000 $1,510,000 $2,075,000 $1,500,000 $2,065,000 $1,500,000 $2,050,000 $1,425,000 $2,020,000 $1,415,000 $2,017,500 $1,407,000 $2,000,000 $1,400,000 $2,000,000 $1,398,000 $1,995,000 $1,975,000 $1,950,000 $1,950,000 $1,925,000 $1,925,000

M AYA P P L E FA R M

Middleburg, Virginia • $3,200,000

Prime Fauquier County location minutes from Middleburg | Unbelievable finishes throughout Antique floors and mantels, vaulted ceilings | 6 BR, 5 full BA, 2 half BA | 6 FP, gourmet kitchen | Improvements include office/studio, stone cottage with office, spa, guest house, pool and lighted tennis court | Landscaped grounds with stream, waterfalls, boxwood and special plantings | 61 acres

181 acres | Brick manor house c. 1844 | 4 bedrooms, lovely kitchen, multiple porches, pine floors, 7 fireplaces, original mantels, large windows, detailed millwork | c. 1810 log cabin/pool house, guest house with theater, 2 tenant houses, 5-bay garage and workshop | Sizable pond

Original portion of house built in 1790 in Preston City, CT | House was dismantled and rebuilt at current site | Detail of work is museum quality | Log wing moved to site from Western Virginia circa 1830 | 4 BR, 4 full BA, 2 half BA, 9 FP & detached 2-car garage | Historic stone bank barn and log shed moved from Leesburg, VA | Private, minutes from town | Frontage on Goose Creek | 37.65 acres

Paul MacMahon

Helen MacMahon

Paul MacMahon

(703) 609-1905

LO N G B R A N C H

The Plains, Virginia • $1,950,000

(540) 454-1930

B U ST H E A D R OA D

The Plains, Virginia • $1,100,000

(703) 609-1905

H A L F W AY R O A D

The Plains, Virginia • $925,000

6 BR, 5 1/2 BA, 5 FP, sweeping stair case | Basement level w/ media room, office, gym, billiard room, full bar w/ kitchenette, full bath & outside entrance leading to pool and spa | 3-car garage, heated 4-car garage w/ car lift | Potting shed/studio w/ heated green house | 20 car barn for serious collector | Swimming pool w/ spa | 5-stall barn | Property fenced and cross fenced | 68.23 acres

Gorgeous 71 acre parcel in a wonderful location between Middleburg and The Plains | Rolling land with stone walls and 2 ponds | Enchanting property | Property is in conservation easement and may not be divided further

82.69 acres | Mostly wooded, mountain views, bold stream in very protected area | Conservation easement | Can not be subdivided | Prime Orange County Hunt location | Halfway between Middleburg and The Plains

Hard to find parcel | 13.37 acres between Middleburg and The Plains | 1/2 open, 1/2 wooded with a spring fed pond - easily expandable | Wonderful elevated building site just inside the wood line with a level building area among large old growth trees and substantial rock out cropping |Impressive mountain views to the southwest.

Paul MacMahon

Helen MacMahon

Paul MacMahon

Helen MacMahon

(703) 609-1905

info@sheridanmacmahon.com www.sheridanmacmahon.com

(540) 454-1930

(540) 687-5588

(703) 609-1905

(540) 454-1930

110 East Washington Street Middleburg, Virginia 20117

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FEBRUARY 10, 2021

15

FOOD & WINE

Clarity: Culinary Tourism

BY OLG A B OIK E S S Dynamic chef-restaurateur Jonathan Krinn’s spacious, COVID-savvy, Clarity restaurant, located at 442 Maple Ave. East in Vienna, Virginia, serves classically based, modern fare. Choices range from 48-hour sous vide short ribs and caramelized scallops to pasta, salads and burgers. Grateful for the support of his Northern Virginia clientele, Krinn is deeply concerned about sustaining the area’s vibrant international restaurant community.

One way to do this, he decided, is to expose his customers — many of whom would normally travel to far-flung food destinations in Asia, Africa and Latin America for dining adventures — to opportunities for these experiences close to home.

Krinn has invited an array of top-flight local chefs to join him in his kitchen on selected nights, when they will prepare three or four of their signature dishes from

places like Trinidad, Laos, Burma and Peru.

These are available for in-house dining as well as takeout (with advance notice), along with Clarity’s regular menu.

These collaborations are a rewarding experience for both kitchens, says Krinn, who is meeting these chefs for the first time and learning about new ingredients and techniques. In preparation for the first in the series, a visit from Prince Matey of Apploo Bar & Grill, Krinn Googled specialty markets to find some of the spices needed for Matey’s Ghanaian dishes, including a goat soup and a plantain dumpling.

Intrigued by the dumpling, Krinn plans to adapt the technique for his own Frenchstyle “dumplings.” Meanwhile, his Spanish

sous chef was fascinated by Prime’s rice dish, made with North African spices; it is similar to paella.

“Everybody in the kitchen is having fun, thinking about food,” says Krinn.

Guests can make reservations for dining at Clarity on the guest chef evenings starting now. But for those that want carry out, each menu will be posted one week ahead of each chef’s visit on Clarity’s Facebook page and website. Here is the upcoming schedule.

THURSDAY, FEB. 18

Chef Seng Luangrath of Thip Khao in Columbia Heights Laotian cuisine with an exotic twist

TUESDAY, FEB. 23

Chef JoJo Law-Yone of Thamee in the H Street Corridor Pioneering the next generation of Burmese culinary traditions

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3

Chef Carlos Delgado of Service Bar and Chelita in the U Street Corridor Peruvian comfort cuisine A sneak peek: Peter Prime’s Trinidad and Tobago specialties include cuminglazed pork belly, jerk-smoked chicken wings, Trini-Chinese chicken and grilled marinated oxtails. Krinn tells us that these dinners are selling out fast.

Georgetown Couples: Romantic Despite the Pandemic

BY KATE OCZ Y P OK As someone who just got engaged last October, I was eager to take on a story about Georgetown couples who have been together for decades. It’s been a rough year for everyone, but these three couples have managed to see it through with grace, strength and a little humor.

DAVID AND MARGARET DUNNING

David and Margaret Dunning met through what Margaret calls “a wonderful human being” named Garland Nicholas.

Nicholas works at Celadon Spa & Salon on F Street. David’s former girlfriend was a client of his, as was Margaret.

“David’s former girlfriend had him go to Garland because she didn’t like his haircut from the Senate barbershop,” Margaret said. Garland didn’t like Margaret’s thenboyfriend and, lo and behold, ended up playing matchmaker.

“To make a long story short, we met through our hairdresser,” David said in the background during our phone call, chiming in at just the right moments. Margaret added that their first meeting was almost 30 years ago.

As far as their relationship during the pandemic, they agreed that what they learned about one other has been good.

“We’ve had enduring support of each other,” Margaret said.

Of course, both laughed knowingly when Margaret echoed former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s mother-inlaw: “It helps to sometimes be a little deaf.”

There have been plenty of surprises 16 FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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during their year together in lockdown.

“I’m a cook and all of the sudden, poof, I found a sous chef,” David said, speaking of Margaret. “I know she is just being helpful, but I had to say: ‘Listen, you’re in my office now!’” David mentioned Ina Garten’s cookbook “Modern Comfort Food” as his latest inspiration. They have been making lots of soups, including Margaret’s favorite beef stew.

Being stuck inside together has allowed the couple to recall some of their best moments. One of their most romantic evenings was their honeymoon night in Kennebunkport, Maine. Margaret described a picturesque autumn evening with all the lobster you could eat and all the champagne you could drink.

One of the most challenging times was when they first started out together in the ’90s. They were a commuting couple — Margaret living in Manhattan and David in D.C. They made it work by focusing on what’s important and ignoring the small stuff.

“You just have to let go of the little irritants,” David said. “I just go play tennis.

That’s my nirvana.”

While they don’t have children of their own, David proudly mentioned all the surrogate children he has in the neighborhood, as well as plenty of nieces, nephews and grandnieces and -nephews.

“We love everything about Georgetown — its sense of community, our wonderful newspaper, the beauty of our neighborhood, our bookstores, coffee shops and bodegas,” Margaret said. “We love parks, too. David

is so involved with Rose Park.” David added that he loves D.C.’s, and particularly Georgetown’s, international flair.

As far as their first date post-COVID, David immediately proclaimed: “Miami!”

Margaret laughed and clarified his answer, saying the two love to travel and they are hoping to pick a country or city they haven’t yet visited.

GRACE AND WORTH BATEMAN

Forty-three years ago, Grace and Worth Bateman married after meeting as colleagues at work. Worth is an economist who worked on public policy issues in and out of government. Grace is a lawyer who practiced in a private firm. Both have been retired for a while now.

Their life together during the pandemic hasn’t changed much, except they have been unable to spend time with their children and grandchildren, whom they “greatly miss.”

Being retired, the couple are fairly used to spending time together. “We both try and have coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon when we’re both at home,” Grace said. “Having an established routine made it easier for us to adapt when the pandemic took hold.”

They have been forced to rearrange some of their typical activities due to COVID. Grace is now grocery shopping, as she’s a bit younger and in better health than her husband. “Worth is a great cook and loves to grocery shop,” Grace said. “We’ve both learned that Worth enjoys doing the grocery shopping a whole lot more than I do!”

After over four decades together, both agree there’s not a whole lot of surprises, “even during a pandemic,” as Grace said.

Although their home isn’t large, they appreciate three floors to separate on occasion.

Both Grace and Worth spoke fondly of one of the most romantic moments of their lives: their first kiss. The two found themselves alone in an elevator soon after they met. “Our lives might have been forever changed if the elevator had stopped to pick up another passenger, or if one of us opted to take the stairs,” Grace said.

With that fateful moment in mind, they say the best advice they were ever given is: “Take the elevator.” Funnily enough, Grace and Worth shared the same piece of advice as Margaret and David, credited to the late Justice Ginsburg’s mother-in-law: “It helps to be a little deaf.”

Having lived in Georgetown for more than 40 years, it was hard for Grace and Worth to pin down what they enjoy most about the neighborhood. “If we had to choose, it would be Georgetown’s human scale, the architecture, the streets, the parks, the gardens, everything,” Grace said. “It may sound trite, but it’s nice to live in a community where you know your neighbors and everything you need is just a short walk away.”

Happy Valentine’s Day, Georgetown!

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FEBRUARY 10, 2021

17

KITTY KELLEY BOOK CLUB

‘Pride in Her Family’ HOW A DECADES-OLD MEMOIR AND A BRAND-NEW FELLOWSHIP CELEBRATE BLACK WOMEN AND BLACK WRITERS R EVIEWE D BY KIT T Y K E LLE Y Carole Ione grew up in a world of beautiful Black women of various shades, where marriages crumbled, fathers fell by the wayside and mothers forged ahead with careers and the “occasional” man. As a 10-year-old sitting at the piano listening to her mother sing Calypso songs, Ione, as she now calls herself, “learned early on from those lyrics that soldiers and sailors could be trouble — you might never see them again.”

Ione’s only paladins were women: her great-aunt, Sistonie, a physician and member of Washington’s Black aristocracy; her grandmother, Be-Be, a former Broadway chorus dancer who ran the best restaurant in Saratoga Springs, drawing celebrities like Cab Calloway, Paul Robeson, Josephine Baker and Ethel Waters; and her mother, Leighla, who carved a career writing mysteries. Ironically, the biggest mystery hid behind the stone wall of secrets that kept the women estranged and incapable of bonding as a family.

At the age of 19, against fierce objections, Ione married a white Frenchman. In 1956, they moved to his home in Alsace, where everyone in the textile-manufacturing town was white and spoke a German dialect called Elsässerditsch. That part of France,

the Haut-Rhin, was scorned by Parisians as the “exterieur,” so its denizens tried to be “more French than the French,” Ione writes.

As a Black American woman, she became a freakish curiosity, stared at in the streets.

“I realize now that it was exactly that depressing feeling of being thought inferior to the society I lived in that I had hoped to escape by marrying,” she writes. “[I longed] to assuage the painful and confusing aspects of blackness.”

Soon, she and her husband moved back to New York, where they occupied separate bedrooms and led separate lives, as he encouraged a philosophy of free love. Ione began an affair with a married alcoholic man many years her junior, followed by an even more unconventional relationship with a woman painter who lived in a loft on Canal Street. She writes: “I had begun to understand that I was — like most people, I thought — not simply heterosexual but sexual, and from then on I would resist any labels on my sexuality.”

After her divorce, she married “a gay man living as a heterosexual,” with whom she had three children. But after 13 years “of no love for me,” she again divorced.

Ione received no succor from her mother

Happy Valentine’s Day from The Georgetowner Staff

Next Issue: March 20 Stay connected online at georgetowner.com 18 FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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or grandmother, only a “frosty politeness.”

Both blamed her for leaving her husband and becoming like them: a single mother.

Feeling betrayed and desperate for a sense of belonging, Ione sought to explore the lives of her family, a word she italicizes as if it’s exotic and foreign. The result, published in 1991 when she was 54, was “Pride of Family: Four Generations of American Women of Color.” A rich reverie of superb writing — half memoir, half biography — “Pride of Family,” nine years in the making, probes the tortured bonds of mothers and daughters and the journey of one girl through a gnarled thicket of secrets.

With bracing honesty and eloquence, Ione documents the alienation she felt within her own community, where a pernicious line of color had segregated her since childhood: If you’re white, you’re all right.

If you’re brown, stick around.

If you’re black, get back.

When she found her maternal grandfather late in life, she asked him about his mother. He told her that she, Ione’s greatgrandmother, was good-looking: “She was fair. Very light skin — and she had good hair.” That one word — hair — is freighted for Black women, and Ione was particularly sensitive about it, as her mother and grandmother were light-skinned beauties with straight, silky hair.

“Mine was fuzzy, woolly, nappy … everything I didn’t want it to be,” she writes. “[M]y hair was bad … not in the worst degrees of ‘bad’ — for there are degrees — but ‘bad’ nonetheless. Did this make my mother and grandmother love me less, did it create a subtle distance between us?”

That distance narrowed when Ione discovered the diary of her greatgrandmother, Frances “Frank” Anne Rollin (1845-1901), and unearthed many family

secrets. Rollin also gave Ione, a writer, a feeling of pride for her foremother, a 19th-century activist who was the first known African American biographer.

In 1868, Rollin wrote “Life and Public Services of Martin R. Delany” under the name Frank A. Rollin.

That biography is little known today, but the biographer lives on, having been recently embraced by Biographers International Organization, which established the Frances “Frank” Rollin Fellowship for African American Biography, providing a $2,000 fellowship for a writer working on a life story of an African American figure or someone whose story provides a significant contribution to the Black experience.

Ione, now 83 and living in Kingston, New York, is thrilled by the fellowship. “It’s a dream coming true through the centuries,” she told the organization. “There was a line in [Frank’s] diary in which she said she wanted to ‘make her mark in literature,’ and now [I feel] it’s finally happened.”

This review originally appeared in the Washington Independent Review of Books.

Georgetown resident Kitty Kelley has written several number-one New York Times best-sellers, including “The Family: The Real Story Behind the Bush Dynasty.”

Her most recent books include “Capturing Camelot: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the Kennedys” and “Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the March on Washington.” She serves on the board of Reading Is Fundamental, the nation’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

All schools are open and thousands of students DC PUBLIC SCHOOLS TEACHERS, STAFF, ADMINISTRATORS, are back in the classroom.

STUDENTS, AND FAMILIES - THANK All schools are open and thousands ofYOU students To our teachers and classroom aides, custodial foremen and security officers, are in the classroom.

All schools are open andback thousands of students are back in the classroom.

principals and administrative staff, and all who played a role in reopening schools this week: thank you. Thank you for helping us welcome students back to To oursingle teachers and classroom every DC Public School. aides, custodial foremen and security officers, principals and administrative staff, and all who played a role in reopening schools thistoweek: thankpartners: you. Thank you forthe helping us welcome students Thank you our labor AFSCME, American Federation of back to every single DC Public School.

Government Employees, the Council of School Officers, the Service Employees International Union, Teamsters, and the Washington Teachers’ Union.

Thank you to our labor partners: AFSCME, the American Federation of Government Employees, the Council of School Officers, the Service Employees After all the dark days we have experienced this past year, seeing our young International Union, Teamsters, and the Washington Teachers’ Union. people filled with joy to be back in the classroom was a true bright spot. And the masked smiles we saw at pick-ups and drop-offs across all eight wards were a After all the dark days we have experienced this past year, seeing our young reminder of how important this reopening was for our young people. people filled with joy to be back in the classroom was a true bright spot. And the masked smiles we saw at pick-ups and drop-offs across all eight wards were a Of course,ofmonths of planning preparation went making this week reminder how important thisand reopening was for ourinto young people. possible, and we are proud of the plans that, together, we put in place: vaccines for teachers; PPE for students and and preparation staff; symptomatic andmaking asymptomatic testing Of course, months of planning went into this week protocols; HVAC upgrades and building enhancements; and readiness possible, and we are proud of the plans that, together, we putschool in place: vaccines plans that arePPE posted online forand anyone look up. Theand science tells us that with for teachers; for students staff;to symptomatic asymptomatic testing these typesHVAC of protocols in place, in-person learning is safe. now, by protocols; upgrades and building enhancements; andAnd, school readiness bringing students backonline into their classrooms, weup. can better address thethat with plans that are posted for anyone to look The science tells us these types of social-emotional protocols in place, in-person learning safe. And, now, by academic and needs caused by thisispandemic. bringing students back into their classrooms, we can better address the academic needs caused by this pandemic.

And this isand onlysocial-emotional the beginning. As we continue through the school year, look ahead to the summer, and prepare for the future, we look forward to eventually And this is only welcoming backthe all beginning. students. As we continue through the school year, look ahead to the summer, and prepare for the future, we look forward to eventually welcoming backthank all students.

So, once again, you. We are in this together, and we will get through it together.

So, once again, thank you. We are in this together, and we will get through it together.

With hope and appreciation, With hope and appreciation, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chancellor Lewis Ferebee Mayor Muriel Bowser and Chancellor Lewis Ferebee

dcpsreopenstrong.com dcpsreopenstrong.com

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FEBRUARY 10, 2021

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