Washington Life Magazine - April 2008

PAGES OF BETTER ECO-LIVING

ROBERT F KENNEDY JR WITH HIS DAUGHTER KATHLEEN “KICK” KENNEDY ON THE BANKS OF THE COLORADO RIVER

FROM THE CHESAPEAKE BAY TO THE RAINFORESTS OF BRAZIL DOWN THE COLORADO RIVER AND BACK TO THE NATIONAL MALL GREEN REFLECTIONS BY ROBERT F KENNEDY JR WADE DAVIS TED DANSON CHIP AND SALLY AKRIDGE WILL BAKER AMBASSADOR ANTONIO PATRIOTA AND MORE EXCLUSIVE

A P R I L 2 0 0 8 • $ 4 .9 5

WASHINGTON LIFE

PARTIES! PARTIES! PARTIES!

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE THE PENTAGON’S GREEN HAWKS WAYS TO GREEN YOUR LIFE LUX ALTERNATIVE FUEL CARS ENVIRONMENTAL FILMMAKING SUSTAINABLE BEAUTY PRODUCTS ECO-CHIC IN THE SEYCHELLES

5510 Wisconsin Avenue, Chevy Chase

C O N T E N T S A P R I L

2

0

0

8

COVER STORY

A GRAND CAUSE ROBERT F KENNEDY JR AND WADE DAVIS ON THE COLORADO RIVER

EARTH WATCH

32

53

WILL BAKER IS ON A MISSION TO SAVE THE CHESAPEAKE BAY

THE GREEN HAWKS WHY THE PENTAGON IS TURNING OVER A NEW GREEN LEAF

CAN WE RE-GREEN THE NATIONAL MALL?

88

EDITOR’S LETTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FYIDC WHO’S NEXT Annie Kaempfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INSIDER’S GUIDE 10 ways to green your life. . . . . . .

Bringing up baby with responsible products . . . . . . . . . .

Spa week, enviro-cab, and more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SOCIAL CALENDAR Save the date . . . . . . . . . . .

POLLYWOOD MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

60

Christopher Hitchens, biggest brain in the room?. . . . . . . .

Fête for Lucia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

EVENT SPOTLIGHT

School Night with Michelle Fenty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC

Love letters from the Archives with Patti Smith . . . . . . . .

Ted Danson examines global overfishing . . . . . . . . . . . .

Environmental filmmaking with Chris Palmer. . . . . . . . .

DIPLOMATIC DANCE

Embassies’ environmental savvy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Brazilian Amb. Patriota on his country’s eco-breakthroughs . .

ON THE COVER Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. with his daughter, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy.

(Courtesy of Teva and MacGillivray Freeman Films / Photo by Chris Rainier)

68

FROM TOP The Colorado River and the Grand Canyon (Courtesy MacGillivray Freeman Films / Photo by Wade Davis) / Queen Rania (Photo

by Tony Powell) / The Lexus RX 400H, SUV (HYBRID); $42,000; Lindsay Lexus of Alexandria, 3410 King St., Alexandria, Va.; 800-944-1925 / The National Mall. (Photo courtesy of the National Mall ) / Chesapeake Bay Foundation president Will Baker (Photo by Peter Muller).

©T&CO. 2008

There Are Times To Celebrate T I F FA N Y C E L E B R AT I O N ® RI N G S

WWW.TIFFANY.COM / CELEBRATIONS THE COLLECTION AT CHEVY CHASE 301 657 8777

FAIRFAX SμUARE 8045 LEESBURG PIKE 703 893 7700

LIFESTYLES WL FASHION

Boho bracelets and baubles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Store Adore launches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The District Sample Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

WL BEAUTY

90

36

Revolutionary cosmetic procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Green and glam: choosing the best eco-care . . . . . . . . . . .

THE DISH A guide to earth-friendly eating . . . . . . . . .

GREEN CARS Be the envy of the carpool lane. . . . . . .

LUXURY TRAVEL C’est chic in The Seychelles; Frégate Island frolics . . . . . . .

LIFE OF THE PARTY WL EXCLUSIVES Queen Rania Visits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Georgetown Pediatrics Gala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Japan! Culture + Hyperculture Festival . . . . . . . . . . . .

A private reception with Patti Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Venture Philanthropy Partners Screening of Kicking It. . . .

Under the Same Moon VIP screening and afterparty . . . .

Grand Canyon Adventure VIP screening and afterparty . . . .

Welcoming the British Ambassador . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Natural Resource Council of America awards . . . . . . . .

WASHINGTON SOCIAL DIARY

48

82 71

Y&GL Self-promotion 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NIGHTLIFE Virginia is for night-lovers . . . . . . . . . . .

Debbie Dean sings the blues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PAINT THE TOWN Virginia is for night-lovers . . . . .

WPA Gala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

AROUND TOWN “The Wiz” at Duke Ellington . . . .

Donna Shor jets with The Donald . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PARTIES! PARTIES! PARTIES! . . . . . . . . . . .

OVER THE MOON Palm Beach Polo . . . . . . . . .

HOME LIFE GREEN HOME Meridian House goes green . . . .

WHAT’S HOT Green home updates . . . . . . . .

RE NEWS Meet the new neighbors . . . . . . . . .

OPEN HOUSE On the market and ready to move HISTORICAL LANDSCAPES Pierre L’Enfant .

. . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP One of the pathways to spa bliss on Frégate Island. / Aveda Pur-formance Grooming Cream. / Paula Mendoza Emerald Gold Plated 24kt Ring ($1,400); available at Keith Lipert Gallery 2922 M St. NW, Washington D.C., 202-965-9736. / Larry Engel on location in Alaska.

(Photo by Larry Engel) / Patti Smith. (Photo by Tony Powell)

Tysons Galleria 1776M International Drive 571.730.1900

zegna.com

LIFE

WASHINGTON M A G A Z I N E

WA S H I N GTO N ’S P R E M I E R E LUXU RY L I F E ST Y L E M AGA Z I N E S I N C E 1 9 9 1

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Nancy Reynolds Bagley EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Michael M. Clements EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Katie Tarbox DEPUTY EDITOR

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Christina Wilkie

Beth Farnstrom COPY EDITOR

Claudia Krieger COLUMNISTS

Janet Donovan, Donna Evers, Ann Mah, Mary Mewborn, Vicky Moon,Yona Park, Khadejas Salley, Gail Scott, and Donna Shor CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & EDITORS

Chip Akridge,Will Baker, Mary Bird,Ted Danson,Wade Davis, Tara deNicolas, Michelle Fenty,Yvette Freeman, Jefferson Holland, Bob Nixon, Chris Palmer, Amb. Antonio Patriota, Shahram Salemy, and John Smith CREATIVE DIRECTOR

J.C. Suarès

ART DIRECTOR

Bridget Manifold CONTRIBUTING GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Elizabeth Demers PHOTO EDITOR

Paul Simkin CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Len Depas, Justin Kriel, Peter Muller,Tony Powell, and Kyle Samperton STYLISTS

Lana Orloff ADVERTISING DIRECTOR

Kelly Ginter LUXURY BRAND MANAGER

Krista Bullion SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

Alexandra Misci ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Anna Croll, Sara Padob, and Theodore Wilhite BOOKKEEPER

Kevin Smoot WEB TECHNOLOGIES DEVELOPMENT

Ernesto Gluecksmann, Infamia, Inc. INTERNS

Katie Buckman, Karyn Casper, Raven Holzer, Jessica Hurtt, Lakendra Smith, and Jaymee Sooijin FOUNDER

Vicki Bagley CHAIRMAN, EXECUTIVE BOARD

Gerry Byrne CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Soroush Richard Shehabi

Washington Life magazine publishes ten times a year. Issues are distributed in February, March, April, May, June, July/August, September, October, November and December and are hand-delivered on a rotating basis to over 150,000 homes throughout D.C., Northern Virginia and Maryland. Additional copies are available at various upscale retailers, hotels, select newstands and Whole Foods stores in the area. For a complete listing, please-consult our website at www.washingtonlife.com. You can also subscribe online at www.washingtonlife.com or send a check for $49.99 (one year) to: Washington Life Magazine, 2301 Tracy Place NW, Washington D.C., 20008. BPA audited. Email us at info@washingtonlife.com with press releases, tips and editorial comments. Copyright ©2007 by Washington Life. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content or photos in any manner without permission is strictly prohibited. Printed in the United States. We will not be responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs.

19020MM

MCLEAN VA Tysons Corner Galleria 703 556 6962

WASHINGTON DC The Collection at Chevy Chase 202 333 9010

2/28/08 6:33:33 PM

19020MM_WashLife.indd 1

EDITOR’S LETTER

Spring Forward Color your world by thinking green

10

to experience the finest in lux eco-hospitality. Finally, photographer Len Depas and stylist Lana Orloff show you how to accessorize naturally in our fashion pages.

Pollywood takes on an environmental focus as well, with a spotlight on green filmmaking with American University professor and director Chris Palmer.

We also give you the exclusive scoop on the Venture Philanthropy Partners/ WL-hosted screening of Kicking It (in the new media room at Teatro Goldoni) and the WL-sponsored screening of Under the Same Moon (and the after-party at Mate). Diplomatic Dance takes a look at eco-embassies; The Dish samples green cuisine; and Brazilian Ambassador Antonio Patriota writes on earth-friendly progess in his homeland.

In Washington Social Diary, the earth theme continues, as our regular columnists weigh in with wry social commentary on everything under the sun. Thinking locally was easy for WL this month.

We hosted another exclusive dinner with singersongwriter Patti Smith after thoroughly enjoying her reading of “Love Letters from the Archives” and we had the exclusive peek at the welcoming of the new British Ambassador.

In April, we are proud to be sponsoring fabulous nights out at the Children’s National Medical Center Ball, the Phillips Collection Gala, the Corcoran Ball, the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards, and Fight for Children’s School Night, among others. And stay tuned for May, as we’re sponsoring the Mosaic Foundation’s annual dinner along with many other occasions to think globally and act locally.

Nancy R. Bagley Editor in Chief Readers wishing to get in touch with Nancy can email: letters@washingtonlife.com

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

IL LU STRATION BY J.C. SUA RÈ S

I

t sounds like an exotic vacation, perhaps to some little-heard-of Pacific atoll: “We’re going green.”These words are on everyone’s lips this time of year – and, in their wake, one sees the first little organic pioneers struggling through the city’s sidewalk cracks; recycled totes appear tucked under arms at Dean & Deluca; and Tory Burch’s spring line of green caftans look very practical. We do our part keeping “Green” in style this month, starting with exclusive coverage of Wade Davis and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s IMAX film, Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk. Both of the film’s stars pen captivating contributions about rafting the “American Nile” with their daughters Tara and Kick (we also give you an exclusive peek at the post-film screening party chez Davis, co-sponsored by WL).

Water can be romantic, too – my husband and I got engaged underwater (scuba diving; he planted a sign with the big question 60 feet below). We got married against the verdant backdrop of Yosemite National Park after a coed bachelor/bachelorette river trip down the Tuolome river. Soroush and I have always shared a love of nature, which is why we are very excited to be bringing you our second annual Earth Issue, especially during a resurgence of environmentally-focused thinking and action in our country.

Our “Earth Watch” feature section examines environmentalism on a regional and national scale.

Will Baker of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation “wades” into the Chesapeake Bay both literally and figuratively, aided by photographer Peter Muller; Chip and Sally Akridge take us for a stroll on the National Mall; and we go into the Pentagon to look at the Green Hawks who are working hard to reduce our military’s reliance on fossil fuels. A special thank you as well to actor Ted Danson and his contribution on the overfishing of the world’s oceans.

Thinking globally is one thing; living green locally, however, is the focus of our Lifestyles section. Check out our “Ten Ways to Go Green” for ideas. Or, take a ride in the newest hybrid cars, get the inside scoop on the latest “green” personal care products, and fly to The Seychelles

CONTRIBUTORS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1

JOHN E. “CHIP” AKRIDGE, III is

chairman of Akridge, a commercial real estate firm in Washington, D.C. He and his wife, SALLY, started the Trust for the National Mall to restore and preserve the landmark space. They write about their motives in On a Quest to Save America’s Front Yard.

2 The Chesapeake Bay Foundation President

WILL BAKER pens a special report on the State of the Bay, sharing what is (and is not) being done to save the Chesapeake.

3

Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actor and Oceana board member TED DANSON reports on global overfishing and the government subsidies that support it.

4

WADE DAVIS, an anthropologist and ethnobotanist, has traveled and lived among a variety of indigenous peoples in many countries as an explorer-in-residence at the National Geographic Society. In our cover story A Grand Cause, he writes

12

about his journey down the Colorado River.

5

MICHELLE FENTY, wife of Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty and a lawyer with Perkins Coie, serves as co-chairwoman for Fight For Children’s School Night. In our Event Spotlight, she highlights the organization’s quest to restore the Washington public school system.

6

ROBERT KENNEDY JR. serves as chief prosecuting attorney for the Hudson Riverkeeper and president of Waterkeeper Alliance. He writes about his passion for white-water rafting in our cover story A Grand Cause.

7

Distinguished Film Producer-in-Residence and director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University CHRIS PALMER discusses training the next generation of environmental filmmakers.

8 As the Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S.,

ANTONIO PATRIOTA shares his country’s

multi-faceted plan to protect the Amazon rainforest, one of the earth’s most treasured and ecologically diverse biospheres.

9 A graduate of Yale University and The

Yale School of Medicine, Dr. SHAHRAM SALEMY is an assistant clinical professor of surgery at the George Washington School of Medicine and has twice been named one of America’s Top Plastic Surgeons by The Consumers’ Research Council of America. Salemy shares tips for picking a good plastic surgeon in Beautiful Revolution.

10 Appointed in June 2006 as the director of the Archives of American Art for the Smithsonian Institution, JOHN W. SMITH oversees the world’s largest archive devoted to collecting, preserving and disseminating the rich documentary evidence of art in the United States. His current exhibition and publications include Strange Messenger: The Work of Patti Smith, which is excerpted in our coverage of Smith’s concert.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

www.breitlingforbentley.com

PRESTIGE AND PERFORMANCE. Each inspired by its own “winged B” symbol, Breitling and Bentley share the same concern for perfection. The same extreme standards of reliability, precision and authenticity.The same unique blend of prestige and performance. Whether in the Breitling workshops or in the Bentley factory in Crewe, cutting-edge technology is placed in the service of noble traditions.

Symbolising this communion of ideals,Breitling participated in styling the instrumentation of the Bentley Continental models, the most powerful ever built by Bentley.

EXCLUSIVITY AND TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE. For devotees of fine mechanisms, Breitling has created a line of exceptional chronographs named “Breitling for Bentley”. Representing the culmination of sophisticated aesthetic research, these wrist instruments mirror the signature features of the famous British car manufacturer. Dedicated to the automobile world, they incorporate several exclusive technical characteristics, including a variable tachometer, and are propelled by high-performance “motors” patiently assembled by watchmakers at the peak of their art.Time is the ultimate luxury.

FLYING B CHRONOGRAPH

The greatest luxury in life is time.

Savour every second.

FYIDC

The Insider’s Guide to Washington | 10 Ways to go Green, The Social Calendar and the Eco In & Out List

PH OTO BY BE T H FA R NST R OM

Who’s Next 10

Questions for Environmental Film Festival director and green warrior Annie Kaemper

Do you have a treasured location?

Vinalhaven, Maine.

Where will you be in ten years?

Making sculpture.

How do you feel you can make a difference?

The Festival’s growing outreach to the city’s public school students.

How have you gone green?

I got rid of my SUV. What surprises you the most?

I live half a mile from my entire family.

What scares you?

Heights.

Something on my mind lately…

Eco-friendly vodka.

Things you can’t live without?

My dog, Ella.

Love most about the city?

The Redskins.

Environmentalist Annie Kaempfer with her dog, Ella at their home in Foxhall.

Dislike most about the city?

The Redskins!

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

15

FYIDC | THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WASHINGTON

1. REUSE BAGS

WAYS TO GO GREEN

In order to produce just 700 new grocery paper bags, a 15-year-old tree must be sacrificed. An even greater concern is the use of disposable plastic bags, which take a thousand years to decompose. Save many trees by purchasing and reusing eco-friendly grocery bags. www.reusablebags.com

TAKE CONTROL AND EMBRACE YOUR INNER ECO-WARRIOR WITH THESE SIMPLE DAILY CHANGES TO YOUR ROUTINE

BY YVETTE FREEMAN

2. DRINK SMARTER

4. REPLACE CONVENTIONAL

A sure way to contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emission is to bring in use your own mug to coffee shops. And if you brew your own coffee, purchase fair trade organic beans.

Learn more about fair trade at www.transfairusa.org.

Healthy alternatives include making your own products using items like baking soda, vinegar and borax; or purchae products from local health food stores. Check out www.ecover.com.

CLEANING PRODUCTS

3. STOP THE JUNK Save time and a great amount of carbon dioxide by calling up catalogue companies and asking to be removed from the mailing list.

Check out www.stopjunk.com for more tips.

5. ADJUST YOUR THERMOSTAT

6. BUY ORGANIC CLOTHING

7. BUY EFFICIENT…

Adjust your thermostat either up two degrees in the summer or down two degrees in the winter.

To make this easier, have a programmable thermostat installed. See www.energystar.com.

Try organic products from designers such as Beau Soleil, and consider clothing made from hemp, soy, and even recycled plastic bottles. For more go to www.edun.ie; www. allnaturalclothes.com; or www.fashionethics.com.

Leaving your TV on standby for a whole day uses the same amount of energy as driving 25 miles in your car. When not using an item, unplug it.

Or, purchase a Smart Strip to shut down numerous electrical devices at once. www.energystar.gov.

8. PURCHASE LOCALLY-GROWN ORGANIC PRODUCE

Local produce reduces gas emissions and energy that would otherwise be wasted by truck drivers who deliver similar goods all across the country. For more go to: www.sweetearthorganicfarm. com; www.localharvest.org; or www.bestofwhatsaround.org.

AND UNPLUG!

Fashion from Bono’s Edun line.

9. REDUCE, REUSE

10. USE SOLAR POWER

AND RECYCLE

Reduce your consumption by eliminating purchases that are not necessary, reusing items that we already own and purchasing used versus new items. Get your RR&R started at: www.secondchanceinc. org or www.loadingdock.com, and www. earth911.org.

Solar power chargers capably power electronics, such as iPods, cell phones, cameras, etc. by storing energy received by the sun. Simple, right?

Shop online for the Solio Universal Hybrid Solar Charger (www.solio. com). Additionally, consider purchasing clean power at www.cleancurrents.com.

Yvette Freeman is a consultant for Eco-Coach a full service consultancy company that helps with businesses and individuals become more green. www.eco-coach.com

16

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

MAZZA GALLERIE TYSONS GALLERIA

NEIMANMARCUS.COM

LIGHT + GRAY BRIONI

FYIDC | THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WASHINGTON

BABY STEPS

How to avoid contaminated cribs and other unsafe infant products

O

ver the past 30 years, hundreds of millions of pounds of fire retardant chemicals have been put into consumer products in the United States, particularly in furniture and electronics. Until recently, nobody knew that many baby and infant products also contained these toxic chemicals.

Unfortunately, this includes the most commonplace Russell Long with his son items for our little ones – cribs, infant car seats, swing sets, nursing pillows, changing tables, strollers, walkers, and baby backpacks from a variety of manufacturers.

Babies are especially vulnerable to fire retardant exposure because they spend a large portion of their early lives playing, sleeping, or being carried in cribs, playpens, bassinets, baby backpacks, or on furniture treated with these chemicals, often ingesting them from hand-to-mouth contact or inhalation. They also absorb these compounds from their mother’s breast milk and through the placenta.

Fortunately, there is good news. A number of baby and infant product makers (as well as furniture companies), make smolder-resistant products free of these chemicals. Many of them use fireresistant polyester fibers that resist ignition, helping overcome the need for fire retardant-treated foam inside the item. Parents need to ask retailers whether that new Pack ’n Play crib, nursing pillow, walker, stroller, toddler chair, or living room sofa contains “halogenated” fire retardant chemicals (this specifies the entire class of toxic fire retardants). If the retailer doesn’t know, our advice is not to buy it.

For products that you may already own, look for a small white label saying it meets flammability standards set by California or other regulatory bodies (usually underneath or on the side of the product).

If it has one, chances are that toxic fire retardant chemicals were used. If it doesn’t have a label, that doesn’t mean its safe – consumers are advised to call the manufacturer to ask.

By Russell Long, Ph.D., Vice President, Friends of the Earth, www.foe.org

18

THE GREEN LIFE HOW DO YOU PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT?

ALMA POWELL

PHILLIPPE COUSTEAU

“I no longer use plastic grocery bags or buy bo led water.”

“I buy local organic small farm food as o en as I can and only use environmentally sustainable cleaning products in my home.”

WALTER ISAACSON

GEORGE VRADENBURG

“I walk to work and take the wonderful Washington Metro around town and to the airport.”

NINI FERGUSON

“I catch a year’s worth of salmon in Alaska every year and bring it home to eat. It tastes great and it is wild.”

“I’ve been working with Kaine, O’Malley, Fenty, Hoyer and Davis on constructing green buildings and providing renewable energy sources.”

Two Two Power Power Sources Sources Working Working Together Together As As One.

MORE POWER WITH 70% FEWER SMOG-FORMING

in, but rather uses its own energy to charge itself. Not only delivering

EMISSIONS* AND GREATER FUEL ECONOMY.

better fuel economy ratings, but also better acceleration than

These are the benefits of Lexus Hybrid Drive. Simply put, it is a

traditional engines.It is a remarkable step forward, achieved by a

gas engine and an electric motor working together to create a

rather simple idea: two power sources working seamlessly together.

remarkably efficient vehicle. A vehicle that never has to be plugged

THE RX 400h. GIVES MORE TO THE DRIVER. TAKES LESS FROM THE WORLD.

L E XU S .CO M LINDSAY LEXUS OF ALEXANDRIA 3410 King St. Alexandria, Virginia (703) 931-3000

POHANKA LEXUS OF CHANTILLY 13909 Lee Jackson Highway Chantilly, Virginia (703) 968-9100

LEXUS OF ROCKVILLE 15501 Frederick Road Rockville, Maryland (301) 762-9009

LEXUS OF SILVER SPRING 2505 Prosperity Terrace Silver Spring, Maryland (301) 680-0400

*Than the average car. Vehicle shown with available equipment. Lexus reminds you to wear seatbelts, secure children in rear seat, obey all traffic laws and drive responsibly. Š2006 Lexus.

FYIDC | THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WASHINGTON

EDITOR’S PICK PHILLIPS COLLECTION GALA AFTER-PARTY APRIL TH AT ANDERSON HOUSE

If $1,000 a ticket is a bit out of your price range, get dressed up, meet your friends for drinks, and join the gala crowd for the fun part of the evening. Enjoy an elaborate dessert buffet, open bar with specialty drinks, live music and dancing while helping to benefit the museum’s education programs. $125; 8:30 - 11:00 p.m., 2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW; Black-tie; www. phillipscollection.org

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

“The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”

— Gaylord Nelson, former Wisconsin senator and co-founder of Earth Day

BY THE NUMBERS YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT

20.4 Average annual carbon emission (in tons) for an adult U.S. resident HOW MUCH YOU CAN SAVE

8.03 Tons saved by buying locally grown produce in season 7.73

Tons saved by recycling

2.6

Tons saved by going vegetarian

BEAT THE CROWDS Spend a spring weekend at Bermuda’s only eco-resort, the newly-renovated 9 Beaches. Formerly Daniel’s Head Village, the luxe getaway has undergone a three year renovation, and uses solar-powered electricity, recycled rainwater and battery-powered onsite transportation. The Paradise cabanas are suspended over the aquamarine water on stilts with viewing panels in the floors, and best of all, the flight from Washington to Hamilton is only two hours. 9 Beaches; Sandys, Bermuda; 441-239-2999; www.9beaches.com

20

TRÈS VERT La Cherche Midi has captured the scent of a summer afternoon garden party with notes of fresh cut lawn, white linen and pine for their Candle 05. Made in France of all-natural ingredients, Candle 05 comes beautifully wrapped in a recycled, biodegradable pine box. $50.00; www.lacherchemidi.com.

Co Co Sala‘s raspberry sin, coming soon to Penn Quarter (Photo by Len De Pas)

SWEET SENSATIONS A YUMMY HELLO TO CO CO SALA

Satisfy your chocolate cravings with a fivecourse dessert tasting at this Penn Quarter lounge, slated to open in early April. Before dessert, enjoy savory dishes like the Trio of Sliders, which includes spicy Moroccan swordfish, blue-cheese-stuffed sirloin burger and tandoori spiced chicken.Owned by awardwinning pastry chefs Nisha Sidhu and Santosh Tiptur, Co Co. Sala is our bet for Washington’s next hot concept lounge. 929 F St. NW; 202347-4265; www.cocosala.com

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

inspiring self-expression

Bethesda Wildwood Center • 301.564.0995 Reston Town Center • 703.435.0605 Market Common Clarendon • 703.807.4083

southmoonunder.com

south moon under women men swimwear habitat

FYIDC | THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WASHINGTON

Green or Not? Everything’s coming up green this spring – don’t get caught on the wrong side of the list

IN Grooving to bands at Earth Day (April 20) on the National Mall at the free Green Apple Music Festival; www.greenapplemusicfestival.com

Over-pampering yourself during Spa Week D.C., April 14-20; www.spaweek.org

Selfish ’tweens dropping plastic cups at Lollapalooza.

Over-eating during D.C. Restaurant Week

Rolling home safely in carbon negative EnviroCabs for the same price as normal cabs; www.envirotaxicab.com, or dial 703-920-3333 to reserve

Hitting the town in a souped-up SUV

Flashing your Bloomingdale’s Little Green Card gift card to benefit the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Flashing your Amex Centurion card

Adopting a zebra from Kenya; www.awf.org

Eco-friendly tools and tricks from Greater Goods; 1626 U St. NW, 202-449-6070

The Willard Intercontinental “Green Meetings” conference program reduces wasted paper, water, and electricity; www.washington.intercontinental.com

Feeding the hungry while improving your vocab by playing www.freerice.com

Linear Air’s Eclipse Jet. Not only are the jets lighter and more fuel efficient, they can be recycled when it’s time to trade up; 877-2-LINEAR; www.linearair.com

22

OUT

Adopting a baby from China

Energy hogging household appliances

Hotels that waste water, paper and plastics on over-the-top events

Mind-numbing computer games like Scrabulous

The jet-fuel guzzling Gulfstream G-5 you’ve been tooling around in

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

A 5% reduction in global energy use would be enough to power Australia, Mexico, and the entire UK.

So what are we waiting for?

ed the developing world and continu Because of surging economies in . bing clim is use rgy ene nations, global growth among the industrialized are rs use rgy ene And es are rising.

As a result, supplies are tight. Pric . ives rnat calling for viable alte

CHEVRON is a registered trademark of Chevron Corporation.

The CHEVRON HALLMARK and HUMAN ENERGY are trademarks of Chevron Corporation. ©2008 Chevron Corporation. All rights reserved.

e source of alternative energy all The good news is we’ve got a hug rce n, and it’s the lowest cost new sou around us. It’s called conservatio rgy ene al glob of 5% ction of just of energy we have at hand. A redu over 10 million barrels of oil a day. of nt ivale equ use would save us the ing it. So how do we do it?

Clearly, saving energy is like find rgy nomies alike, incorporating ene For developed and emerging eco n ptio sum con ce redu ld struction cou efficient technology into new con own r thei ce redu t businesses mus by up to 30%. Governments and to their citizens and employees. tion erva cons ote energy use and prom iency will play a crucial role, too.

Further improvements in fuel effic to incredible power when it comes And the average person wields ient effic e mor to g chin slower to swit conserving energy, from driving home appliances. to energy mean there’s more fuel Of course, not only does using less is, fact The ns. ssio emi greenhouse gas go around, it also means fewer . tely edia imm lts resu y, we’d see if everyone began conserving toda ded to get started but we need nee s step the of We’ve taken some way. your help to get the rest of the

ent one incandesc Replacing just mpact co a th wi lb light bu p would save fluorescent lam coal and over of ds un po 0 50 emissions a 1/2 ton of CO2

C

hevr Savi on S ng o teps u r - Si o w nce 1 n en 9 e 9 rgy: effic ien 2, Che

Take n:

vro cy by - W e use 27% n has im prov coge refin ed e ne e nerg from ries to p ration te y rodu chno othe c r l e o w g i addi se w y Savi a t t aste ng o d en ional ele our ther Chev ctric ergy peop ron E ity busin l n ess d ergy Solu e’s ener stori edica gy: t es ted t ions is a sepa o en - Im include: rat e r gy e pro fficie e, proven for s vements ncy. choo Succ - He ls by that are ess lowe an av lping r i n e the U rage g ene $274 .S of m ore t rgy costs emis million w . govern han 2 sions men hile t 0 re s by a n exp ducing g ave taxp % a r ecte d 1.9 eenhous yers e millio n ton gas s

FYIDC | SOCIAL CALENDAR

Visit Washingtonlife.com’s online calendar for information about local benefits and galas. You can also post your event online to be considered for our print edition and annual Balls and Galas Directory.

APRIL THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION GALA

04

The Phillips transforms into a 19th century French boating party, inspired by Renoir’s famous painting, Luncheon of the Boating SPONSORED Party. Proceeds to benefit the museum’s education programs. The Phillips Collection; 6:30 p.m.; black tie; $1,000; Contact Allison Signorelli at 202-387-2151 ext 315.

WL

THE CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOUNDATION CHILDREN’S BALL

05

Proceeds from this gala evening are set to benefit the Kids Care Fund at Children’s National Medical Center. National Building Museum; SPONSORED 6:30; black tie; $1,000; Lisa Cantu at 301-565-4956.

WL

VITAL VOICES GLOBAL LEADERSHIP AWARDS

07

Honoring female pioneers in the fields of political, economic, and social change. Past winners include peace activists and presidents. Terrace SPONSORED Theatre and Atrium,The Kennedy Center; business attire; Contact Kalpana Simhan at kalpanasimhan@vitalvoices.org

WL

CAPITAL AREA FOOD BANK’S TH ANNUAL BLUE JEANS BALL

08

Wear your Lucky and Levis to raise hunger awareness, although guests will feel full – 30 local chefs will prepare special dishes to feed the denim-clad crowd.

Marriot Wardman Park; 6 p.m.; blue jeans or casual attire; $150; Contact Jane Richardson at 202-526-5344.

24

SMITHSONIAN CRAFT SHOW PREVIEW BENEFIT

09

The nation’s most prestigious juried craft show and sale. 120 artists will exhibit everything from ceramics to leatherworks to wearable art. National Building Museum; 6:30 - 9:30 pm; business attire; $175; Contact Heidi Austreng at 202-633-5006.

GRAPES WITH THE APES

10

Enjoy music, hors d’oeuvres, local wine, and exclusive access to the Zoo’s Great Ape House, all to benefit the Asian Elephant Conservation Fund.

Smithsonian National Zoo; 6 - 9 p.m.; casual attire; $55; Contact http://nationalzoo. si.edu/ActivitiesAndEvents/YoungProfessionals/ AfterHours/default.cfm.

WASHINGTON TENNIS & EDUCATION FOUNDATION TENNIS BALL

11

This year, the gala honors Andre Agassi and Steve Case. Benefits help fund junior tennis programs in the city. Hilton Washington; 6:30 p.m. cocktail reception, 8 p.m. dinner; black tie; $500; Contact Dianne Ferring at 202-291-9888 ext. 220.

ART & SOUL

11

Jazz vocalist Julia Nixon performs; proceeds from the art auction will benefit a family shelter and a youth group home. The Music Center at Strathmore; 7 p.m.; cocktail attire; $100; Contact Heather Buckman at 301-365-4480 ext. 266.

CATHEDRAL CHORAL SOCIETY’S ND ANNUAL GALA

12

The gala will honor Bitsy Folger and Sidney Werkman for their work in education and the arts. The Ritz-Carlton Washington; 6:30 p.m.; black tie; $325; Contact Michael Sandnerat 202-298-6330.

Joel Limerick and Katie Rost at the 2007 Corcoran Ball (Photo by Kyle Samperton)﹚

$110 VIP; “runway chic”; Contact Stacey Kranitz at 202-723-5370 ext. 204.

FASHION FOR PAWS

12

Thirty to 40 well-known personalities will catwalk with posh pups, showing the latest in human and doggie couture. All proceeds benefit the Washington Humane Society. Italian Embassy; 7 p.m.; $65 standard,

SALUTE TO THE PARKS DINNER

16

The dinner proves the highlight of a full week dedicated to celebrating America’s parks, recognizing their needs, and honoring the people who work to preserve

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

FYIDC | SOCIAL CALENDAR

them. National Building Museum; 6 p.m. cocktails; 7 p.m. dinner; business attire; $500; Contact 202-223-6722.

THE CORCORAN BALL

18

The annual Corcoran Ball offers its guests a rare chance to dine and dance among treasured artworks.

Corcoran Gallery of Art; 6:30 p.m.; SPONSORED $500; black tie; Contact Marjory Zimmerman at mzimmerman@corcoran.org

WL

NARSAD’S TH ANNUAL “MISSION POSSIBLE” GALA

21

reception; 6:30 p.m. gala; black tie; $200; Contact Sabeen Altaf at 202-429-9210.

FIGHT FOR CHILDREN’S “SCHOOL NIGHT” BACK TO SCHOOL WITH THE STARS

24

The premiere fundraiser for education in D.C. will include entertainers, cocktails, and a dinner. Over 1,200 leaders from SPONSORED business, philanthropy, education, and government will attend. Washington Convention Center; 6:30 p.m.; “festive cocktail”; $500; Contact Jeff Travers at 202-772-0436.

WL

NARSAD will honor Joseph Greco, the writer and director of Canvas, a film about growing up with a schizophrenic mother. Adler Jewelry SPONSORED will auction off spectacular pieces, and an art auction will include museumquality works created by artists with mental illness. Swedish Embassy; black tie; Contact Trish Veatch at 703-535-1577 or tveatch@narsad.org.

This year’s gala is themed “The Cinderella Ball,” and will feature dinner, dancing, and a special performance by the Washington Ballet. National Building SPONSORED Museum; $500; black tie; Contact Jennifer Bristow at JBristow@washingtonballet.org or Stacey Miller at 202-362-3606 ext. 125.

KALIL GIBRAN “SPIRIT OF HUMANITY” AWARDS

THE TH ANNUAL HELEN HAYES AWARDS

The awards honor those who work towards diversity, understanding, and inclusion. The JW Marriot Hotel; 5:30 p.m.

This gala celebration will bring together 2,000 theater makers and theater lovers together to watch the

WL

23

THE WASHINGTON BALLET SPRING GALA

25

WL

28

Zain Verjee and Dina Habib Powell at Vital Voices 2007. (Photo by Edgar Becerra)

presentation of 24 awards for outstanding local theater performance. The Warner Theater and the JW Marriot Hotel; sponsorship at various levels, beginning at $100; black tie; Contact 202337-4572 or email info@helenhayes.org

SAVE THE DATE FOR THESE WL-SPONSORED EVENTS MAY : THE MOSAIC FOUNDATION’S TH ANNUAL DINNER MAY : BEST FRIENDS FOUNDATION BALL

Lindsay Czarniak with Hank Wyatt at the 2007 Fashion for Paws. (Photo by Rachel Smith)

‰ TUBSXPPE IPUFMT SFTPSUT XPSMEXJEF JOD BMM SJHIUT SFTFSWFE

A CHERISHED LANDMARK’S SECOND TERM The St. Regis Washington, D.C. redefines elegance after a landmark restoration. Discover the presidential style and bespoke service of the most prestigious hotel in our nation’s Capital, desirably located just two blocks from the White House.

For reservations and more information, please call 202-638-2626 or visit stregis.com/washington.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

27

LIFE OF THE PARTY

WL-sponsoredďš?

Hostedďš? and exclusive events | Georgetown Pediatrics Gala, Patti Smith at the Smithsonian and Japan Hyperculture Festival

Beth Dozoretz, HRH Queen Rania of Jordan and Pat Mitchell attend a luncheon in support of the Jordan River Foundation at the Dozoretz residence. (Photo by Tony Powell)

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

29

LIFE

of the

PARTY Mary Haft with Francois, Briana, and Johnson Pratt

Dr. David Nelson

David and Katherine Bradley

Matt Palmer and Ashley Fishburn WL EXCLUSIVE

GEORGETOWN PEDIATRICS GALA The Omni Shoreham Hotel PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Nicholas, Mary, Robert, and Laura Haft Dean Smith, Andy Cornblatt, and Susan Small-Savitsky

THE EVENT Laura Bush was the guest of honor at the 9th Annual Georgetown Pediatrics Gala, where supporters dined, danced, and bid on both live and silent auctions in support of Georgetown University Hospital’s children’s programs. The black-tie event was emceed by NBC News4 anchor Barbara Harrison, and the donor list was a veritable who’s who of Washington’s medical elite. This year’s beneficiaries include a mobile medical clinic, nutrition programs, and the Center for Child and Human Development. THE GUESTS Rita Braver and Bob Barne , Beth and Ron Dozoretz, Mary Hoobler, and Yemeni Amb. Abdulwahab Al-Hajjri.

Ashley Baumgarner, Daryl Carter, and Samara Lemke

Laurie Monahan and Rev. Lawrence Madden

Alice and Ken Starr

30

Michael Rankin, Carrol Dey, and Greg Gaddy

Nima and Hamid Fallahi

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Andy Cornblatt and Mindy Strelitz

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

H\Y FYgcfh cZ h\Y 7Ybhif]Yg

%, %,

The best of our nation’s past inspires everything we

H< < 79BHIFM 79B B FM

do today. Stay in gracious accommodations and enter a world shaped by true southern hospitality, from the renowned Williamsburg InnÂŽ to the

%%-

charming Williamsburg Lodge to the authentic

H< 79BHIFM 7 BHIF BHIFM HI H I Play golf on award-winning courses designated as 18th-century lodgings in the Historic Area.

&$ $

Audubon sanctuaries. Be challenged with a game of

H< H 79BHIFM 9BHIFM BHIFM from historic taverns with regional fare to luxurious tennis on classic clay courts. Enjoy dining options

fine cuisine. Relax with healing therapies drawn from

&&%%

five centuries of wellness practices in our new spa.

GH H 79 79BHIFM 79BH 9BHIFM BHIFM FM FM

Here, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find The Best of the American ExperienceÂŽ.

P.O. Box 1776, Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776 ()34/29 s #OLONIAL7ILLIAMSBURG COM Š 4HE #OLONIAL 7ILLIAMSBURG &OUNDATION

LIFE

of the

PARTY Rhoda Glickman, Alexandra Wentworth and Ginny Grenham

Sharon Patrick and Cheri Carter

Her Majest Queen Rania of Jordan

QUEEN RANIA’S VISIT The St. Regis Hotel & Dozoretz Residence PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT: A visit from Jordan’s Queen Rania that included a luncheon in her honor at the Ron and Beth Dozoretz Residence to support the Jordan River Foundation and a Vital Voices’ International Women’s Day tea at the St. Regis Hotel. “The number of Arab women entrepreneurs is on the rise… in my travels across the region, from Lebanon to Morocco to Dubai, I see Arab women taking on an ever greater role in society – as doctors, lawyers, and teachers,” Her Majesty said. The Queen accompanied her husband for a three day visit that included meetings with Congress.

THE GUESTS Melanne Verveer, Katherine Bradley, Janet Howard and Phyllis Oakley.

Jean Case and Samia Farouki Zainab Salbi, Vicki Sant and Bobbie Green

Maureen White and Sheila Johnson

Marsha Wilson and Ellen Noghes

32

Alyse Nelson Bloom and Sonnie Dockser

Wendy Sherman

Carol Jenkins

Mary Yerrick and Susan Davis

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

THE WILLARD I N T E RC ON T I N E N TA L, W HER E GR E AT M E E T I N G S H A P P E N.

From small meetings to large conferences, breakfasts to banquets, the Willard InterContinentalÂŽ always makes a good impression. With a location in the heart of D.C., this magnificent Washington landmark provides an inspiring setting for any gathering. Whatever your needs, our professional staff will ensure that every detail goes smoothly. At the Willard InterContinental, every event is a special one.

Do you live an InterContinental life?

Call 202.628.9100 or visit www.washington.intercontinental.com Š2007 InterContinental Hotels Group. All rights reserved. Most hotels are independently owned and/or operated.

LIFE

of the

PARTY

Hanayo Kato, Junko Koshino, and Ambassador Ryozo Kato

Alicia Adams and Michael Kaiser

Masaki Hamamoto

JAPAN! CULTURE + HYPERCULTURE RECEPTION Japanese Embassy Residence PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT Hosted by Ambassador Ryozo Kato and his wife Hanayo, the gathering celebrated the key artists and benefactors from the Kennedy Center’s two-week exposition of Japanese art forms. THE SCENE Performers and artists who had traveled from Japan got a taste of home cooking via the best Japanese food in Washington as they met with top brass from the Kennedy Center, sponsors Morgan Stanley and ANA, and many of Japan’s leading local diplomatic and business figures. THE GUESTS The Kennedy Center’s Michael Kaiser and Alicia Adams; Helen Henderson, Jonathan Kindred, and Yoshi Ogawa; artists Mimi Oka and Joe Kanamori; and fashion icon Junko Koshino.

Jay Sapsford and Jonathan Kindred Takako Takahashi and Chris Melton

Mimi Oka and Reiko Sudo Delectable culinary creations from residence chefs Masafumi Iwai and Tsukasa Matsuda

Dr. Gary Cleary, Joe and Etsuko Price, and Nobuko Saito

34

Shinsuke Sugiyama and Tomoyuki Yoshida

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

LIFE

of the

PARTY

Liza Kirwin

Tim and Shigeko Bork with John Smith

Philippa Hughes

WL HOSTED

Patti Smith and Rocco Caldararo

DINNER WITH PATTI SMITH Teatro Goldoni PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT This intimate dinner brought some of the city’s top art collectors, patrons and professionals together with the iconic musician and artist, Pa i Smith. The four-course gourmet affair followed Smith’s one-woman performance “An Evening of Spoken Word and Song with Pa i Smith” at the Archives of American Art. THE SCENE Forty lucky guests spent the evening cha ing about art and the le ers Pa i Smith read from the book With Love: Artists’ Le ers and Illustrated Notes. THE GUESTS Archives of American Art director John W. Smith, the Hirshhorn’s Kerry Brougher, Tim and Shigeko Bork, artist Mark Smith, Susan Eisenhower and collectors Cindy and Evan Jones.

Kevin Chaffee and Susan Eisenhower

Ann Anderson and Mike Hickok

36

Cindy and Evan Jones

Sarah Rosenwinkel and Mark Ein

Ingrid Schaffner and Kerry Brougher

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Andrea Evers and Brian Aitken

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

His Excellency Pierre Vimont The Ambassador of France Opera Ball Host

8

ashington National Opera and The Embassy of France have chosen Julien Pavillard to design this year’s Opera Ball. M. Pavillard is Artistic Director of the Fête des Luminères, a festival of lights enjoyed by four million people each year in Lyon, France. Mourka Glogowski, Claire Guiral and Bertrand Bigot join Julien to form the creative team for this dazzling event on Friday, June 6 — an Opera Ball not to be missed.

5DA 0LAN= #=HH at the Residence of the Ambassador of France

'NE@=U +QJA The evening includes dinner at one of 25 Ambassadorial residences, followed by dessert and dancing to the music of

Individual tickets begin at $1,000 per person.

Bob Hardwick and his

For individual tickets, please call Deana Taylor at 202.295.2437 or email dtaylor@dc-opera.org.

Orchestra at The Ball.

For corporate sponsorships, please contact Neil Alpert at 202.295.2421 or email nalpert@dc-opera.org.

Your Capital, Our Commitment

“Global asset management delivered from the most powerful city in the world”

Private Client Advising | Asset Management www.warcap.com | 202 244 2246 Warren Capital Group is a Registered Investment Advisor

POLLYWOOD

Where Politics﹐ Hollywood﹐ Media and Diplomacy Meet | Environmental filmmaking﹐ global overfishing﹐ film premieres﹐ and more﹒﹒﹒

Tom Hanks and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at the premiere of HBO’s John Adams at the Library of Congress. (Photo by Tony Powell)

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

39

POLLYWOOD | MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

Jokers Wild The Fourth Estate trades quips and jabs at usual and unlikely targets

BY JAN ET D O N OVAN

Dew Drop Inn It’s easy to understand why Christopher Hitchens was named the sixth smartest person in the world (according to Foreign Policy and Prospect Magazine): He gave up smoking and drinking.

Hitchens and wife Carol Blue were among A-listers at The Four Seasons celebrating the publication of The Second Home Book

by Marylouise Oates, wife of political consultant Bob Shrum. For those of us who can barely manage one home, it takes genius planning to operate two; or in their case, three. According to Publishers Weekly, Oates tells you “how to deal with everyone from plumbers (feed them well) to drop-in guests (have plenty of white towels on hand), and along the way she demonstrates that all the little emergencies of life can be a lot less hassle than you ever imagined.” Warning label: Sense of humor required.

“I want to thank all my girlfriends who hosted a great party for me,” said Oates. “Donna Brazile, Linda Douglas, Andrea Mitchell, Tammy Haddad, Ann Wexler”...and way too many more. “I want to thank Vicky Rollins. You know it’s really great when you get one of Washington’s top lawyers and former deputy chief of staff at the White House to organize your book. And, I especially want to thank my life partner and true love, Robert Shrum.”

Guests included Alan Greenspan, Betsy Fischer, Barbara Comstock, Bill and Carol Press, Ann Jordan, Liz and George Stevens, Tom Oliphant, Debbie Dingell, and David Mixner.

Monday Nights at the Shoreham The shenanigans of former New York

40

Governor Eliot Spitzer that transported sex from Amtrak to the Mayflower tops the list of perfect fodder for late night talk shows. For political satirist Mark Russell, it was a predictable opening for his gig at the Shoreham.

The presidential candidates, however, bore the brunt of his jokes. “We now return to our

Lani Hay and Christopher Hitchens at The Four Seasons to celebrate Marylouise Oates’ The Second Home Book.

previously scheduled presidential campaign.

Hillary Clinton won three big primaries last week; Texas, Ohio and Rhode Island and ran a new commercial. You know, the one with the sleeping children that asks if the phone rings at three o’clock in the morning, who do you want to answer it? Me, I gotta go with Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

“During the Clinton years when the phone rang at 3 o’clock in the morning, it

was Bill saying he’d be home in a couple of hours. At the Bush White House, they have voice mail: If it’s another war, press 1, if it’s another indicted Republican, press 2, if it’s another Katrina, our normal business office hours are from 9:30 to 4:30.”

Nestled in huge chairs munching on tubs of popcorn: Myra MacPherson, Baba Groom, Catherine Wyler, Richard Rymland, Alison Russell and Tom Bryant.

Laugh In Don’t tell Bob Schieffer he’s going out to pasture. The longtime CBS newsman, who is retiring soon, has a full dance card and can’t stop laughing just thinking about it. Honored at The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation’s First Amendment Award Dinner at the Ritz-Carlton on March 6, he laid out his plans, and looking over at old friend Jim Lehrer, remarked, “I’d like to thank you for being with us tonight and acknowledge there is actually one person here that is older than me.” Recognizing that most guests don’t like drawn out speeches he remarked, “Tom Brokaw, bear with me please. You just hate this stuff, don’t you?” In praising his wife, he quipped; “I’m the number one reason for gun control.” After touching upon how technology has changed journalism he ended by saying: “Be proud of journalism, be proud of what you do. Never forget that democracy simply cannot exist without a free and robust press and that reporters must be willing to go out and find the truth at any cost.”

Other honorees included Tom Curley, of The Associated Press, NBC’s Paula Madison, and the former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission Richard Wiley. John Roberts was the evening’s master of ceremonies.

Readers wishing to get in touch with Janet can email: columns@washingtonlife.com.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

POLLYWOOD | MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

Anne Taylor Fleming and Brooke Shearer

Paolo Valentino

Avish Khebrehzadeh and Henrik Ayvazian

Andrea di Robilant and Italian Amb. Giovanni Castellanetta

WL EXCLUSIVE

BOOK PARTY FOR LUCIA Virginia Shore and Tom Hardart’s Residence PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

Amanda and Carter Hood with Dan Sallick

THE EVENT A gathering to celebrate the release of Andrea di Robilant’s second novel, Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon, the compelling story of a woman’s life in 18th-century Venice. Di Robilant is also the author of A Venetian Affair, and both books are based on the lives of his Italian ancestors. THE SCENE ABC’s Good Morning America correspondent Claire Shipman and her husband, Time magazine Washington bureau chief Jay Carney co-hosted the party with Virginia Shore and her husband Tom Hardart at the la er couple’s beautiful Kalorama home. THE GUESTS Simmy and Haven Pell, Ludmila Cafritz, Jack Davies, Misia and William Broadhead, Theo Adamstein, Andrew and Leslie Cockburn, and Olvia Demetriou.

Claire Shipman

Luca and Maria Chiara Ferrari

Natasha Lebedeva

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Sarah and George Vassiliou

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Virginia Shore

Conrad Cafritz

41

POLLYWOOD | EVENT SPOTLIGHT

Gold Stars for Students John Legend rocks Fight For Children’s annual School Night

BY MICHELLE FENTY

A

s the District’s children wrap up a jam-packed year of learning, growing, and blossoming, the Mayor and I are proud to co-chair Fight For Children’s “Back to School with the Stars” on April 24. For many years, this annual event was the area’s most soughtafter social gathering to support D.C. education. The return of School Night will welcome 1,200 friends, supporters and education all-stars to celebrate Fight For Children’s genuine commitment to improving education.

The Mayor and I are joining Fight For Children’s founder Joseph E. Robert, Jr., its president and CEO Michela English, and School Night 2008 chairwoman, Sheila C. Johnson, to celebrate best practices throughout Washington public, charter and independent schools. As the culmination of School Night, Fight For Children will award four $100,000 grants to hard-working District schools that exemplify best practices in leadership, professional development and teaching.

We expect a glamorous crowd that night.

Emcee David Gregory will introduce local youth performers, including DC Urban Nation H.I.P. H.O.P. Choir and the DC Youth Orchestra. After the awards ceremony, the soulstirring five-time Grammy Award winner John Legend will perform. Guests will then rock into the night to the sounds of a live band.

School Night celebrates education all-stars of our community for their achievements in the “school subjects” in which they have flourished. Look for culinary stars Todd and Ellen Gray of Equinox, anchorwoman star Barbara Harrison of NBC4, athletic and civic star Tom McMillen, favorite dance

42

Above: Grammy-Award winning musician John Legend will perform for a crowd of 1,200 at the Washington Convention Center. Left: Fight for Children’s founder, Joe Robert Jr. will present four $100,000 checks to schools in the area that are making a difference.

Michelle Fenty serves as the co-chair of School Night along with her husband, Mayor Adrian Fenty

star Septime Webre of The Washington Ballet, scientists, business icons, and other community leaders.

School Night will unveil an avant-garde, interactive alternative to a silent auction at a typical event. Through a new partnership with DonorsChoose.org, a revolutionary non-profit charitable organization, School Night guests will be able to “fund” dozens of classroom projects on the spot. At computer kiosks, guests will log on and use a gift certificate to support a program they find most compelling.

Sponsored by Katherine Bradley and the CityBridge Foundation, this remarkable partnership is exclusive to School Night. It is the first time in the country that society fundraising meets online philanthropy. I am personally excited about the potential of this ingenious program. It will be wonderful to

see so many people making a direct, tangible impact in classrooms across the city.

I am also thrilled to greet Fight For Children’s future leaders – the Next Gen – our proactive committee of brilliant young professionals including Toni Leinhardt, Adrian Washington, Jair Lynch, and Karl Racine.

Not all of them have children, so their active momentum to make change in D.C. schools is appreciated.

School Night 2008 will be an unforgettable evening of fun, friends and philanthropy – and I can bet you’ll even learn something! I look forward to seeing you there.

Michelle Fenty is the wife of Washington D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty. She is a practicing attorney with the law firm Perkins Coie and is the mother of twin boys.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

POLLYWOOD | HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC

Alan and Irene Wurtzel

Dani and Mirella Levinas with Doug and Gabriella Smith

Steve Case and Michael Powell

WL HOSTED

WASHINGTON PREMIERE OF KICKING IT Teatro Goldoni PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT: Friends, film-buffs, and sponsors gathered for an intimate dinner and screening of Kicking It, the independent film produced by a group of Washingtonians, which was featured at the Sundance Film Festival in February. The film, which chronicles soccer players in the Homeless World Cup, received critical and audience acclaim in Park City, and the guest list at the Washington premiere was no less impressive. THE GUESTS Ron and Beth Dozoretz, Bob and Sarah Nixon, Catherine Wyler, and Jane and Calvin Cafritz.

Fernando Murias and Mark Lerner Iraklis Karabassis and Jack Davies

Jacqueline and Nicholas Perrins with Don Beyer

Raul and Jean-Marie Fernandez

Kristin Ehrgood, Megan Beyer, and Vadim Nikitine

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Susan Koch, Ted Leonsis, and Neil Barrett

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Robert and Paula Hisaoka

Bruce Levenson

43

POLLYWOOD | CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHT

Love Letters from the Archives Patti Smith shares an intimate night of stories, poetry and music

BY JOHN W. SMITH, DIRECTOR ARCHIVES OF AMERICAN ART

O

n Febr uar y 1, acclaimed poet, ar tist and musician Patti Smith presented her Washington fans with an early Valentine’s Day gift — a special evening of spoken word and song inspired by artist’s love letters from the collection of the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art. The event was a celebration of the Archives’ most recent publication With Love: Artist’s Letters and Illustrated Notes and proceeds from the evening will benefit the educational programs of the Archives of American Art, the world’s largest and most widely used resource dedicated to collecting and preser ving the papers and primary records of the visual arts in America.

Pe r f o r m i n g before a sold out audience at the auditorium of The Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture, Smith read from letters written by art world luminaries such as Joan Mitchell, Frida Kahlo, and Lee Krasner, and shared personal, offthe-cuff memories of her own, including a letter to Smith from iconic photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Her heartfelt solo performance brought their words vividly to life. Interspersed among the readings, she performed several of her own songs on acoustic guitar, holding the audience in thrall for nearly two hours. By turns

44

our rich holdings. Washington, D.C. residents and visitors have the unique opportunity to view original documents at the Archives’ headquarters, visit our new exhibition space, the Lawrence A. Fleischman Gallery, at The Donald Reynolds Center, attend a program, or access many of our collections online at www.aaa.si.edu.

This memorable event was the first in what will be a continuing effort to work with contemporary artists in exciting and experimental ways to bring their unique perspectives to our collections, and we invite you to be a part of it.

Artist, poet and musician, Pa i Smith reads a le er from With Love: Artists’ Le ers and Illustrated Notes edited by Smithsonian Institution Archives of American Art, Curator of Manuscripts, Liza Kirwin, (Photo by Tony Powell).

passionate, tragic and humorous, Smith’s incisive interpretations brilliantly demonstrated that in the right hands, these old letters are as powerful today as they were decades ago.

Following the performance, a group of forty fans and friends of the Archives of American Art convened for a private reception and dinner hosted by Teatro Goldoni.

Although our unparalleled collection of 16 million items has long been a crucial resource for scholars and art historians, never before has the public had so much access to

PS … PS … PS: I Love You Al Frueh was known for his elegant caricatures of theater personalities, which appeared in the New Yorker from its first issue in 1925 until 1962. On his second trip to Europe in 1912 he wrote more than two hundred le ers to his fiancé, Giulie e Fanciulli, in New York. His note dated November 26, 1912, is typical of his humor — two sentences followed by thirty-five postscripts. Le er from Alfred Joseph Frueh (1880–1968) to Giulie e Fanciulli, 26 November 1912. 6 pages. Alfred J. Frueh papers, 1904–1993. Archives of American Art.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

POLLYWOOD | HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC

Norman Dreyfuss and Kim Rhodes

Carlos, John, Antonio, and Enrico Cecchi

Kelly and Pat Rhodes

WL HOSTED

UNDER THE SAME MOON AFTER PARTY Maté Lounge Georgetown PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT WL, along with Norman Dreyfuss, John Cecchi and Pat Rhoades – the three local producers of the film Under the Same Moon – celebration the nation-wide theatrical release of the film with an advance screening at AMC Loews Georgetown and VIP reception a erwards (with drinks provided by Stella Artois beer and Snow Queen Vodka). THE SCENE Friends and family of the producers mixed with a group of WL’s Social List and The Young & The Guest List discussing the film, which was bought at Sundance two years ago by The Weinstein Company and Fox Searchlight. THE GUESTS Mark Ein, Amy Argetsinger, Andres, Carlos, John, Antonio and Enrico Cecchi, Kelly and Kim Rhodes, Osmar Nunez and Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld.

Chris Rothstein and Pamela Aparicio

Alina Zhukovskaya and Elizabeth Stratman

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Ed Romanoff and Hilary Granat

Ashley Taylor

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Bob and Sue Drosdzal

Natalia Lopatniuk and Mark Brzezinski

45

POLLYWOOD | HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC

What the Oceans Need How strategic trade policy can help end global overfishing

BY TED DANSON

recently had the pleasure and good fortune to meet with several ambassadors and delegations to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. I was there in part to thank them for their work and leadership, but also to discuss how we could most effectively address the issue of the government subsidies that lead to overfishing.

As an actor, I have played roles in science fiction and fantasy films, but I must tell you that what is happening to our oceans is far from being science fiction. It is a cold, hard fact. Governments are paying their commercial fishing fleets to plunder our oceans and the consequences of chasing down every last fish are cataclysmic.

A little background: A team of leading international scientists investigating the state of the world’s fisheries found that 29 percent have collapsed from Above: Contributor Ted Danson overfishing. Even more alarming, this in Geneva for WTO talks on same study projects that all of the global overfishing. Right: The word’s governments spend an world’s commercial fisheries could estimated $20 billion annually collapse within decades if current to outfit and sustain a global fishing armada with many times trends continue. Another study the fishing power needed to fish published in the scientific journal at sustainable levels.

Nature concluded that 90 percent of all the “big” fish – tuna, marlin and shark – are already gone. Even the notoriously the world’s governments give to global fishing cautious U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization fleets each year.These subsidies outfit and sustain states that 75 percent of the world’s fisheries are fishing operations that could otherwise not now overexploited, fully exploited, significantly afford to fish as long, hard or far away as they do. depleted or recovering. Our oceans are simply The bottom line is that subsidies have produced being fished beyond their limits. a global fishing armada with many times the A key culprit in this destructive trend is the fishing power needed to fish at sustainable levels. estimated $20 billion in subsidies that many of In short, we are fishing our oceans to death.

I

Why is this important? Quite simply, we are talking about food security, economic survival and the health of our planet — a crisis that demands a response from all reasonable people.The WTO is currently negotiating new international trade rules to control fisheries subsidies as part of its Doha round. These historic negotiations represent the first time that environmental concerns have led to the launch of a specific trade negotiation. But the results of these negotiations go far beyond trade. Success would help ensure the long-term sustainability of the world’s fisheries and the health of the oceans’ ecosystems.

The WTO took a tremendous step forward in the negotiations when it produced the first draft agreement on fisheries subsidies in late November 2007. The draft agreement contains a strong prohibition on capacity enhancing subsidies and provides for improved fisheries management.

The world needs such an agreement. That’s why I recently met with U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, who reiterated the Bush Administration’s commitment to ensure that fisheries subsidies are part of any final WTO agreement. We need leadership and a continued commitment from the United States to produce a strong WTO agreement on fisheries subsidies because the health of our oceans depends on it.

There are no good reasons not to, and a world of reasons to be supportive.

“GOVERNMENTS ARE PAYING

Ted Danson is an award-winning actor, Oceana board member and longtime advocate for the sustainability of the world’s oceans. If you would like to find out more about global overfishing please visit www.cutthebait.org.

their commercial fishing fleets to plunder our oceans.”

46

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

POLLYWOOD | HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC

Gail Percy and Wade Davis

Kristin Larson and Drew Kleibrink

Saralyn Mark, Lauren Cafritz, and Liz Lerner WL SPONSORED

GRAND CANYON ADVENTURE: RIVER AT RISK AFTER PARTY Wade Davis and Gail Percy Residence PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Steve Fleishli and Dal LaMagna

THE EVENT The VIP screening of Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk at the Smithsonian’s IMAX theater was jam-packed, but only 60 or so lucky guests were invited back to Wade Davis (the star of the show) and Gail Percy’s lovely home a er the credits rolled (or rather, popped, thanks to those red 3-D glasses). THE GUESTS Green architect and author Travis Price, Abigail Pilgrim and Kyle Renner, Lauren Cafritz, Kat Kennedy Townsend, Teva’s Liz Ferrin, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, Tara Davis, Bob Nixon, Robert F. Kennedy III, Steve Fleischli, Dal LaMagna, and Shane and David Ladd.

Eddie Bureau and Kathleen Kennedy Townsend

Kevin Harrington and John Grace

Campbell Howe, Tara Davis, Kick Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy III

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Shane and David Ladd

Rouzita Vahhabaghai and Travis Price

Dale and Ed Mathias

Liz Ferrin

47

Larry Engel, Associate Professor of The Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University, teaching on location in Alaska as part of the Classroom in the Wild program. AU is one of only three environmental film schools in the world.

(Photo by Larry Engel)

INTO THE WILD AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OUTFITS THE NEXT GENERATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL FILMMAKERS

W

ildlife filmmaker Randy Wimberg was with his dive team at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific, filming shipwrecks and the wildlife around them. They were focused on a particular area of the atoll known as Shark Pass that has a large congregation of aggressive reef sharks, so they built a shark cage to protect the cameraman. A panel of the cage was removed so that the camera would have an unobstructed view. It measured 20 inches vertically and extended around the circumference

48

B Y C H R I S PA L M E R

of the cage. The plan was for Wimberg to be in the cage while someone in the nearby boat threw chum (an oily mix of fish bait and blood) into the water to attract sharks.

Wimberg climbed into the cage and was eased out on a line about 15 feet from the boat.When the deck hand started throwing in chum and bait, the sharks began showing up in large numbers.

There were at least 30 reef sharks competing for food that was either stuck to the cage or drifting through it. Suddenly a shark shot right through the gap and exited through the other side of the

cage, grazing Wimberg as it passed. Then the inevitable happened. A shark shot through the gap but didn’t pass smoothly out the other side.

Instead it dove for the bottom of the cage. Scared, it frantically tried to get out of the confined space. Wimberg’s first reaction was to curl up in the bottom of the cage to escape the thrashing of the frightened animal. But the shark was diving down as well, trying to get out.

At the bottom of the small cage, Wimberg desperately tried to use his camera to push the animal up towards the exit but that didn’t work.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

POLLYWOOD | HOLLYWOOD ON THE POTOMAC He decided he had to get out himself. About the same time, his teammates in the boat above saw what was happening and quickly raised the shark cage to the surface.Wimberg managed to get out of the cage and into the boat without getting bitten by the shark. The shark was released unhurt. Wimberg’s near shark attack became a dramatic high point in the film.

Why do filmmakers like Randy Wimberg put their lives in danger to produce wildlife films with an environmental message? In Wimberg’s case, he is deeply committed to marine conservation and to stopping the wanton and wasteful destruction of sharks. By learning more about their habits and behavior, and educating the public about their value, filmmakers and conservationists are developing ways to stop shark numbers from plummeting.

Shark depletion is only one problem the world is facing. As everybody knows, we have immense environmental challenges. We are fouling our own nest to an unprecedented degree. Powerful images and films (as we saw with An Inconvenient Truth) can help.

I founded American University’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking – which I run with the help of my School of Communication colleagues

Larry Engel, Sandy Cannon-Brown and Maggie Burnette Stogner – to train filmmakers to produce films and new media that encourage conservation.

Our students produce films for Maryland Public Television and other nonprofits and government agencies.We also bring outstanding filmmakers to campus to talk about their work. Our most recent guests have included Boyd Matson and Brady Barr from National Geographic, Dan Mathews from PETA, McArthur from Free Range Studios, David Mizejewski from Animal Planet, and Dan Basta from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We provide innovative programs like Classroom in the Wild, an intensive outdoor workshop held in wilderness areas in which students camp out and learn how to meet the challenges – sometimes extreme challenges – of wildlife filmmaking in the field.

We recently launched the Student Short Film Festival with Phillippe Cousteau from Earth Echo International. This event is held every March as part of the Environmental Film Festival. We showcase the talents of emerging “green communicators” to promote environmental causes and empower individuals to make a difference. Another joint project we’ve embarked upon, this time with AU’s

GREENCODES FOR FILMMAKERS

BY LARRY ENGEL

Some steps to take into the field or on location to help the planet:

WATER Stop drinking bottled water.

Drink tap water, filtered if you wish, and use nalgene bottles or camelback sacks.

BATTERIES Use lithium batteries (AA and 9V in particular). While they cost twice as much as regular alkaline batteries, they last four times as long.

SNACKS Buy bulk. Pack snacks for crew in re-useable zip-lock bags.

VEHICLES AND GAS Don’t keep vehicles idling at location.

Turn them off.

TAPE VS TAPELESS Here’s the deal: running tape uses more power than recording directly to hard drives LITTER Don’t. Set up two garbage or discs and DVD’s. bags at all locations including the car/van.

One for trash; one for recycling.

CANNED AIR Forget it. Despite claims LIGHTS AND ELECTRICITY Don’t leave that the new cans don’t emit ozone-eating chemicals, they’re still chemicals that don’t tungsten bulbs on when offset. Save them and need to be added to our atmosphere. Use a bring the house lights back up, which in turn stiff paintbrush to clean gear. helps to cool down the room.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

CHRIS PALMER’S

TOP ENVIRO-FILMS An Inconvenient Truth Arctic Tale China Syndrome Cruel Camera Grizzly Man March of the Penguins Never Cry Wolf The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill To Fly! (IMAX) Who Killed the Electric Car?

Center for Social Media, is the development of “best practices” for green filmmaking, with the goal of making the School of Communication’s film program the first in the nation to go green. We are going to define standards for “green” production for students in university film programs and professional documentary producers. For more on green filmmaking, read the sidebar written by filmmaker Larry Engel on how to help the planet when making films.

British filmmaker Andrew Buchanan made a film for the National Geographic Society called Earth Report 2006 without, in effect, any carbon emissions. Al Gore did the same with An Inconvenient Truth. Of course there were emissions during the production of both films, even after following the “reduce, reuse, recycle” rule. But those emissions were tracked and the film production budget paid the money needed to buy the film’s “carbon offsets.” The money was used to build wind turbines on a Native American reservation.

The students at the Center for Environmental Filmmaking in the School of Communication at American University are the future Randy Wimbergs. The next generation will similarly devote themselves to shooting amazing footage and compelling stories, all with the goal of promoting greater conservation awareness and action.

Chris Palmer directs AU’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking (www.environmentalfilm.org.) and is also president of the MacGillivray Films Educational Foundation.

49

POLLYWOOD | DIPLOMATIC DANCE

Embassies Go Green Plus one important birthday and two tragic losses

BY GAIL SCOTT

E

mbassy Row is going green. Cuttingedge technologies reduce greenhouse gas emissions for new buildings, but renovating and retrofitting vintage mansions gives energy efficiency, too. For most, simple changes in daily life help create smaller carbon footprints. “We do not have to wait for new technologies,” said European Union Ambassador John Bruton. “We can use already existing ones,” like wind power, the complete energy source for the Ambassador’s Kalorama residence and half of the energy for the EU Commission’s M Street, N.W. chancery.

The House of Sweden is sealed with tempered glass to help control temperatures inside this “glass box,” and green policies there include serious recycling, double-sided printing, a filtration system instead of bottled water and no DPL cars left idling.

But the Finns were first. In 1994 when Finland’s “Green House” was built, only three trees were felled. The Finns boast energysaving design and landscaping: the vine-covered entrance for summer shade and lots of glass for more natural light. Finnish “green” policies include using phone and video conferencing to reduce travel costs and encouraging bike riding, walking and public transportation for daily commutes. Free bus passes, embassy bikes and even showers at work encourage this healthy lifestyle.

The Embassy uses only products produced in a sustainable way, organic and local, and all these simple environmentally friendly policies have saved over $100,000.

The Norwegian Embassy’s building engineer suggests day-to-day environmental policies, and the embassy has always been a leader in global warming research and conferences. Denmark

50

has spent $1.7 million to replace its embassy’s windows with energy-efficient glazing (solar filter) and insulated frames; the building’s thermostats automatically turn off when it is closed, and outdoor lighting is eco-friendly photocell.

Most recently, the Brits are leasing hybrid SUV’s and added a new “green roof ” to their Rotunda. It took 10,000 plants and grasses of 11

Afghan Amb. Said Jawad (3rd from left) celebrates his 50th birthday at Cafe Milano with his son Iman (left), and wife Shamim.

varieties and three weeks to create. Prince Philip put in the final plant during the Royal Visit last May. This roof is similar to the one on the new Swiss Residence, which is planted with succulent plants for insulation, keeping the Swiss cooler in summer, warmer in winter.

Germany is making green reforms in the upcoming two-year renovation of its 1964 chancery, and held a global warming conference in March. The Dutch were recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for purchasing wind energy and along with serious recycling, the embassy has participated in the Environmental Film Festival for the past 15 years.

If you want to help, “Restore Mass Ave” is a group working to re-green Embassy Row by planting trees. The organization works with over 20 embassies to plant and care for trees both on

the Embassy grounds and on the famous avenue.

Reluctantly Fifty Cafe Milano was the setting for Afghan Ambassador Said Jawad’s 50th birthday bash given by his wife Shamim. High ranking diplomats included Chief of Protocol Nancy Brinker, U.N. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Monaco’s Gilles and Ellen Noghès, Liechtenstein’s Claudia Fritsche, former U.N. diplomat Esther Coopersmith, former Jordanian Ambassador Karim Kawar and Meridian House International’s Stuart and Gwen Holliday along with Senator John Sununu who noted in his toast, “Ambassador, it’s better to be 50 and look 35, like you do, than to be 42 and look 50, like I do!”

In Memoriam On Sunday, March 2nd, Sweden’s beloved press counselor, Anders J. Ericson, died of a fatal heart attack just before pedaling over the finish line of a bike outing he had organized for over 200 participants. Fellow bikers and Embassy staff, fellow E.U. press and cultural counselors and friends around the world were shocked and greatly saddened. Anders, an experienced biker and hiker, was a distinguished Swedish journalist before joining the foreign ministry.

On Monday, March 10, the Embassy of the Principality of Monaco suffered the loss of Aurélien Seydoux de Clausonne, who played an important role in the development of the first Embassy of Monaco in the United States.Aurélien was greatly appreciated for his strong sense of professionalism, enthusiasm, and graciousness. He will be greatly missed by Ambassador and Mrs. Noghès and by all his friends and colleagues.

Readers wishing to get in touch with Gail can email: columns@washingtonlife.com.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

POLLYWOOD | DIPLOMATIC SPOTLIGHT

The Brazilian government has recently set aside an additional 20 million hectares of rain forest (9.98 percent of the overall Amazon region) for conservation.

BREAKTHROUGHS FROM BRAZIL BRAZIL’S AMBASSADOR SHARES HIS COUNTRY’S MULTI-FACETED PLAN TO PROTECT THE PLANET’S MOST DIVERSE ECO-SYSTEM

BY A N TO N I O D E AG U I A R PATR I OTA

B

razil is a country of continental dimension and great biological diversity. It is one of the ten largest economies in the world, a major agricultural power, and one of the world’s foremost producers of manufactured products, ranging from textiles to automobiles. It is also home to some of the planets most extensive inland waterways and more than a third of the world’s tropical forest – the Amazon rain forest. Brazil has over 55,000 plant species, accounting for approximately 22 percent of the world’s total, and over one million unique species of animals. Not surprisingly, conservation of the Amazon is one of the most significant issues in Brazilian society today, and under the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil has increased its efforts to protect the environment and its natural resources.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Our minister for the environment, Marina Silva, of the summit, including the Convention has been an environmental activist throughout on Biological Diversity and the Framework her career, and she is taking a leading Convention on Climate Change. role in raising awareness about Revolutionary at the time, these environmental issues. agreements serve as blueprints Under the leadership of for many of today’s multi-lateral President Lula and Minister Marina environmental commitments.

Silva, Brazil has achieved a level Part of the reason that Brazil of diplomatic leadership in the plays such an active role in these field of environmental protection conventions is that we are one not seen since 1992, when we of a number of countries that hosted the first United Nations stand to be most affected by Brazilian Ambassador Conference on Environment and global warming, which could Antonio Patriota Development in Rio de Janeiro. have a devastating impact on the The Rio Conference was a major milestone in Amazon forest by converting large portions of the history of global environmental cooperation, it into savanna. At the United Nations Climate and key documents were adopted as a result Change Conference held recently in Bali, we

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

51

POLLYWOOD | DIPLOMATIC SPOTLIGHT

agreed to enhance our current programs to reduce emissions in a way that is measurable, verifiable, and open to universal periodic review.

The Bali Action Plan established an Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action, whose chairman, Minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, a Brazilian diplomat, will preside over the negotiations for the first year.

During the past decade, Brazil has been party to the vast majority of the main treaties aimed at protecting the environment, including the Vienna Convention, Kyoto Protocol, Montreal Protocol, and the Stockholm Convention. Each of these agreements, in addition to the many others not named here, represents Brazil’s deep commitment to assuming a leading role in protecting national forests, the ozone layer, and bio-diversity. A prime example of this leadership is the development and adoption of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), one of the three trade-off mechanisms for reducing greenhouse gas emissions introduced under the Kyoto Protocol.

On the domestic front, the Brazilian government’s priority is to implement a new development model in the Amazon region, one that is based on social inclusion, respect for cultural diversity, and the sustainable use of natural resources. To realize this goal, we will need to reverse historical patterns of unsustainable development and exploitation of natural resources.The objective is to significantly reduce the deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon through a set of integrated actions; chief among them: proper zoning, law enforcement, and incentives for sustainable production.

Recent federal government initiatives have

“COMPARED TO THE 2004 PEAK, the reduction in emissions is more than one billion metric tons.” sought to preserve and promote sustainable forest production, while simultaneously curbing illegal deforestation. Noteworthy accomplishments to date include the setting aside of 20 million hectares of rain forest (9.98 percent of the overall Amazon region) for conservation, the demarcation of 93,000 square kilometers of indigenous lands, and the conservation of 194,000 square kilometers of forest in areas of conflict and expanding agricultural frontiers.

Endowed with a vast network of waterways, more than 75 percent of Brazil’s electrical power is currently being generated by hydroelectric plants and over 45 percent of our energy mix is supplied by renewable sources. Agribusiness is one of the greatest strengths of the Brazilian economy, particularly the production of ethanol and other biofuels. In March 2007, President Lula and President Bush launched a bilateral ethanol partnership, which constituted an important step toward promoting biofuels worldwide. Brazil’s experience has demonstrated that biofuels can provide myriad benefits: to the environment, through reduced greenhouse gas emissions; to the economy, by reducing expenditures on imported oil; and to society, through the creation of new and better-paying jobs in rural areas.

But in the battle to protect our forests, it is not enough merely to set aside land for conservation and provide alternative sources of income, so

enforcement plays a significant role in Brazil’s long-term plan to reduce illegal deforestation.

Eighty-three percent of the Amazonian forest’s original vegetation is still intact, and in order to monitor and control these vast areas, we employ an ambitious space program that encompasses a launching station, a data collecting platform, and earth observation satellites.

These monitoring systems have made it possible for Brazil not only to estimate the gross annual deforestation rate in the Amazon, but to operate a deforestation warning system that notifies law enforcement officials immediately upon registering illegal deforestation. As a result, there has been a marked decline in the practice, and with it, in CO2 emissions, which have dropped by over 400 million metric tons over the last few years. When compared with the 2004 peak, the reduction in emissions is more than one billion metric tons.

These efforts, in addition to many others, reflect the Brazilian government’s deep commitment to recognizing the economic and social value of the Amazon forest, and to protecting this fragile eco-system through a framework of government policies, international agreements, and law enforcement efforts. With continued energy and success, we look forward to ensuring that the rates of deforestation continue to decline, and the future of the forest is assured.

Below, left: The Amazonian rainforest is home to over 55,000 plant species and more than one million unique animal species. Below, right: Tactics for reducing illegal deforestation include rural job-creation, satellite monitoring, and sweeping conservation legislation.

52

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, Tara Davis, and Wade Davis on the Colorado River. The four rafted the river while being filmed for the 3D IMAX feature film “Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk.”

(Photo by Chris Rainier)

COVER STORY

Grand CAUSE

A

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Wade Davis re-examine water conservation, family-style

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

53

COVER STORY

Rapture ON A RAFT A father-daughter trip times two

BY WA D E DAV I S

The Colorado River, star of the film Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk is now playing at an IMAX theater near you. Photo by Wade Davis.

More about the film and the adventures detailed here can be found in Wade Davisâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; forthcoming book, Grand Canyon: River at Risk, published by Earth Aware Editions.

have always been drawn to rivers.

My heroes as a boy growing up in QuĂŠbec were the coureurs de bois, the fur traders and explorers who broke open a continent. I would spend hours on the banks of the St. Lawrence, imagining their journeys up the river.

When I, along with Tara, was invited to join a celebration of the Colorado, and travel the length of the Grand Canyon, by reputation the greatest white water trip in North America, I was delighted. It was, after all, at Lees Ferry that the modern rafting adventure began.The idea for the expedition originated with Greg MacGillivray, a pioneering IMAX filmmaker and dedicated conservationist. Recognizing that the supply and quality of fresh water were among the most daunting of global environmental challenges, Greg wanted to tell a story of water conservation against the backdrop of the Colorado, at once the most iconic and compromised river in the United States. Inspired no doubt by his love for his own daughter, Megan, Greg envisioned a journey in which two fathers, each in their own ways advocates for the wild, would run the river with their daughters, just before the girls left

54

home to attend university for the first time.

With this premise in mind Greg, together with Liz Ferrin and her team from film sponsor and investor Teva, recruited the two of us, along with Bobby Kennedy Jr. and his daughter, Kick. It was a bold and somewhat risky experiment.The success of the film would in no small measure depend on how these four characters got along.

If the chemistry was not right, it would surely show, especially once projected onto an IMAX movie screen six stories tall.

As it turned out, any such concerns evaporated within hours of our being on the river. Kick and Tara bonded from the start, forging a friendship that continues to deepen to this day. Bobby and I knew of each other, and had met once before the trip, when by chance we had both addressed a conference on river conservation.

But only once we were on the Colorado did we realize the extraordinary ways in which the trajectories of our lives had intersected. We had gone to Harvard at the same time, studied anthropology, and found inspiration in many of the same courses and professors. Both of us had come of age in Colombia, and as we compared notes, we were able to work our way down

through the landscape to countless remote mountain crossroads and small lowland towns that we had both come to know. A single phrase or reference, a forest traversed, a tribe encountered or an escapade survived, invoked telling laughter that reinforced our growing sense of fraternity even as it left both of our daughters wondering just how crazy their fathers had been in their youth.

Bobby had gone down the Colorado with his father in 1967, a journey that inspired in him a love of white water and a passion for rivers that would in time lead him to become the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foremost advocate of water and river conservation. I found him to be an extraordinary man, charismatic and brash, decent and true, with a terrific sense of humour and immense reservoirs of physical energy and strength.

In one instant he was an Irish bard regaling the guides with some bar room joke. In another he would be orchestrating the entire crew in an impromptu game of football in which the rules changed by the moment, with extra points being awarded on the spot for the most clever and cunning innovation. Kick, running the length of the rafts, bouncing from one pontoon to the next, catapulting off the rigging of the last to catch a

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

“THE SUCCESS OF THE FILM would in no small measure depend on how these four characters got along. If the chemistry was not right, it would surely show, especially once projected onto an IMAX movie screen six stories tall.” ball in midair instantly turned a touchdown into twenty points.

But then, a few minutes later, out on the river, all laughter aside, he would invoke from some deep well of memory a wave of anger and outrage at what had become of his country, offering with the precision of the finest courtroom orator a litany of scandal and betrayal that had left the United States politically, environmentally, and economically weakened and compromised. I had never met a person whose love of country was so sincere and yet so free of chauvinistic cant.

When Bobby spoke of his father and his uncles, it was for him a natural thing, a simple invocation of lineage. But for the rest of us, it was as if a magical window had opened onto the past. It left everyone on that river yearning for a time when we might once again have leaders of such caliber.

The opportunity to be with Bobby, Kick and Tara on the river was a father’s dream. I would watch Tara when Bobby spoke of what could be in this country, and see how his words inspired her.

She was about to begin college in Colorado.What better way to discover the American Southwest than to know the Grand Canyon and to travel the river with Bobby, with all his hopes and dreams of making this a better world.

One day he told the story of what his father had done, when word reached him in Indianapolis on the campaign trail in 1968 that Martin Luther King had been assassinated.

Against the advice of those who feared for his safety, he immediately made his way to the inner city, and as a pained and angry mob grew around him, he climbed on top of a car and, speaking from his heart, told the crowd that he too knew what it meant to lose a brother. As a result of his action, Indianapolis, unlike so many American cities, did not burn that night.

As we all gathered that first morning at Lees Ferry no one could have known how smoothly things would go. Watching Bobby and Greg speak to the assembled media, with

the camera crane rising overhead, and the loaded rafts clustered along the shore, I glanced at Kick and Tara, and then to the river, which I viewed with some trepidation. Not for fear of the white water, but rather out of concern that this most legendary of river trips might somehow disappoint. Plugged by no fewer than eleven dams, the Colorado is the world’s most regulated river. Nearly 25,000 people float down it every year. Its flow is determined not by nature but by technicians responding to the electrical needs of Las Vegas and Phoenix. The river provides more than half of the water supply of Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix, and all of the power for Las Vegas, cities that are home to more than 25 million people. If the Colorado ceased flowing the water held in its multiple reservoirs might hold out for three to four years, but after that it would be necessary to abandon most of southern California and Arizona, and much of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. As it is, by the time it reaches the delta its essence has been so drained that there is no water left. It enters the ocean a river only in name.

Hence we embarked on the Colorado Below: Kick, Tara, Robert, and Wade at the campfire.

(Photos courtesy of Teva and MacGillivray Freeman Films.)

Right: The 350-lb IMAX camera, which required four crew members to lift it into position. (Photo by Wade Davis).

exhilarated, but haunted by a question. Could a journey down a river, by any definition plundered and violated, still inspire? What remained to be learned? What lessons might its rocks still tell, its eddies invoke? Could a place where park rangers monitor every broken twig, and where river guides and their clients, out of deference for the many thousands who would follow and camp in the same sands, comb the beaches in search of fragments of food and other micro-trash, retain anything of its wild character? If not, what is one to make of this iconic canyon so revered in the American imagination?

These were only some of the questions and conceits I carried with me from the landing at Lees Ferry. In the end, of course, the river proved me wrong, making a mockery of my myopic time frame, my parochial concerns.The splendor of the river and its canyon even today transcends all that man has done to it.

Wade Davis and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (Photo courtesy of Teva and MacGillivray Freeman Films.)

Guarding the

PUBLIC TRUST

A generational approach to seeking a sustainable water policy

BY RO B ERT F. KEN N EDY, J R .

Bathing in the falls. (Photo courtesy of Teva and MacGillivray Freeman Films)

n 1967 my father took me and eight of my brothers and sisters on a Colorado River Whitewater trip through the Grand Canyon. Just above our putin stood the Glen Canyon Dam, which had been completed three years before; Lake Powell was still filling. The new dam complemented the Hoover Dam, nearly three hundred miles downstream at the other end of the Grand Canyon. Together they promised to irrigate a thirsty West, generate hydropower, and create great lakes with recreational opportunities for millions. Critics thought the Glen Canyon Dam a wasteful and reckless boondoggle for corporate agriculture and greedy developers.

Environmentalists said the dam would destroy the Grand Canyon National Park’s unique ecology and that the lakes would lose horrendous amounts of water to evaporation and seepage and would soon fill with sediment.

That year we camped on the Colorado’s

56

massive sandbars and bathed and swam in her warm 70-degree water and caught some native fish from its abundant schools. In 2006, I returned to paddle the Grand Canyon with my daughter Kick and my life-long hero and Harvard classmate (we sat through anthropology class together) Wade Davis – the real-life Indiana Jones – and his beautiful daughter Tara, with whom Kick had formed the kind of strong bonds that occur so often during whitewater adventures. I was sad to see that the spacious sandy beaches and massive driftwood piles where I had camped with my father were gone, the sands that once fed them trapped above the dam.The river, which should be warm and muddy, is clear and a frigid 46 degrees. Four of her eight native fish species are extinct, with two others headed there soon. The canyon’s beaver, otter, and muskrat populations have also disappeared, as have its indigenous insect species. Sediment has already

flatlined hydropower and nearly choked the upper reaches of Lake Powell, which is in severe decline as a tourist destination. The Colorado River no longer reaches the sea or feeds the great estuaries in the Gulf of California that once teemed with life. Instead, it ignominiously dies in the Sonoran desert.

What was once a dynamic and specialized ecosystem cutting through the greatest monument to America’s national heritage has been transformed into a cold water plumbing conduit between the two largest reservoirs in the United States – monuments to greed, shortsightedness, and corporate power.

And the gravest prophecies of the scientists and environmentalists have come true.

The reservoirs are emptying due to human consumption and evaporation, a situation now exacerbated by climate change. Lake Powell is now nearly a hundred feet below its capacity level. Hydropower revenues for repayment to the U.S.Treasury have been at a standstill for six years. Recreation access at the upper reaches of Lake Mead and Lake Powell are now obstructed by savannahs of sedimentary mud.Water quality is dropping precipitously and farmers need more water to flush the dissolved fluids from their fields. Sprawl development and agribusiness consumption triggered by the dam’s original promise continue their ferocious pace.

The Colorado River has nothing more to give and a train wreck is imminent. But while scientists continue to sound a warning, the river managers insist on business as usual, encouraging wasteful agricultural uses, the proliferation of urban sprawl, and dramatic increases in consumption. They have engineered a system geared to reward the powerful, destroy the river, and impoverish the rest of us.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

COVER STORY

“THE STRUGGLE OVER THE world’s water resources will be the defining struggle of the twenty-first century.”

The Colorado River is the poster child for bad river management hijacked by the water and power agencies which obstruct and control its waters to favor hydropower production over managing the rivers as a national park.The federal government provides oceans of money to corporate agribusiness to raise wasteful water-dependent crops like rice and alfalfa in the desert. Meanwhile, local and state governments encourage sprawling and water-hungry commercial and residential developments by offering tax breaks and subsidizing harmful infrastructure such as roads, sewer lines, and electricity. With such inducements, developers are building golf courses and swimming pools in the Arizona desert. They have drained the Colorado River dry and are now depleting the 112-millionacre, ten-million-year-old Ogallala Aquifer under the Great Plains states, which has dropped several hundred feet since modern irrigation practices surged following World War II. It’s not too late to implement rational water policy in the West that would serve America’s citizens rather than the greedy, powerful few and that would create an example for the democratic use of public-trust resources worldwide. If the grotesque handouts ceased, we could easily meet today’s needs, while protecting the rights of our children. In order to succeed we must adopt healthy legal and economic rules that reward the efficient use of resources and punish their inefficient use. Our legal system must confront polluters with the social costs of their activities.

But first, Americans need to be aware of their rights and the jeopardy those rights face before the juggernaut of corporate power. Democracy affirms individual rights to our natural resources.

But those rights cannot survive without a courageous citizenry that insists that their government not merely cater to commerce and industry but that it aggressively protects its citizenry’s right to good health; safe air, water, and food; and the enrichment of America’s national heritage and God’s creation.

The struggle for control of water is intertwined with the fight to preserve democracy from the

corrosive impacts of expanding corporate power.

The best measure of how a democracy functions is how it distributes the goods of the land; the air, waters, wandering animals, fisheri es, and public lands, otherwise known as the “public trust,” or the “commons.” By their nature these resources cannot be reduced to private property but are the shared assets of all the people held in trust for future generations.

Since ancient times, the laws of all just and equitable nations have protected these public trust assets as the property of all citizens, be they humble or noble, rich or poor. Roman law, our most ancient legal heritage, held that the most fundamental “natural,” or God-given, law required that the “air, running water, the sea, and consequently the sea shore” could not be owned as private property but were “common to all” Roman citizens.The Romans vigorously protected the waterways and the resources of the sea, seashores, estuaries, wetlands, and fisherie from control by private individuals. Everyone has the right to use the commons, but only in a way that does not diminish its use by others.

The first acts of a tyranny invariably include efforts of privatize the commons. Despotic governments typically allows favored persons or powerful entities to capture and consolidate

the public trust and steal the commonwealth from its citizens.

Following Rome’s collapse, Europe’s kings and feudal lords appropriated public trust assets, including rivers and streams, and dispensed them without regard to public rights. In the early years of the thirteenth century, Britain’s King John fenced in England’s forests and streams, erected navigational tolls, and placed weirs in the rivers in order to sell private monopolies to the fisheries.

The exclusion of the public from the rivers and waterways, and the stifling of commerce that ensued, helped prompt a citizen’s revolt. In 1215 angry, armed citizens confronted King John at Runnymede, forcing him to sign the Magna Carta, which laid the foundation for constitutional democracy by guaranteeing the personal liberties of the people of England. Centuries later it served as the blueprint for the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. Among the rights reaffirmed by the Magna Carta were “liberty of navigation” and a “free fishery” so that, according to Britain’s seminal legal authority, Sir William Blackstone, “the rivers that were fenced [by the King] were directed to be laid open.” Subsequent court decisions interpreted the document to mean that “the King was trustee” holding public waters “as protector of public and common rights” and that “he could not appropriate them to his own use.”

Eleventh-century French law provided that “the running water and springs … are not to be held by lords … nor are they to be maintained … in any other way than that their people may always be able to use them.”Thirteenth-century Spanish

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at the oars with Tara Davis and Kick Kennedy in the bow. (Photo by Chris Rainier.)

COVER STORY

Left: Camera crews capture a run down the river. Middle: The Colorado River’s sandbars were campgrounds for three generations of the Kennedy family. Right: Wade, Tara, Kick, and Robert. (Photos courtesy of Teva and MacGillivray Freeman Films.)

law likewise ensured the public inalienable rights to rivers, springs, and shores.

Neither could the king sell public trust assets to a private party. The nineteenth-century legal scholar Henry Schultes described public trust as “unalienable.” He explained that “things which relate to the public good cannot be given, sold, or transferred by the King to another person.” Henry William Woolrych, another leading legal scholar of the period, added that “notwithstanding such a grant, if the public interest be invaded, or the privileges of the people narrowed, the grant, pro tanto, is void.”

Following the American Revolution, each state became sovereign, inheriting from King George III the trusteeship of public lands and waters and wildlife within its borders. Both the Federal government and the individual states recognized the public trust in their statutes and ordinances. For instance, Massachusetts’ “Great

Pond Ordinance” of 1641 assured public access to all consequential water bodies, and the federal government’s Northwest Ordinance of 1787 gave all U.S. citizens unrestrained access to all the tributaries of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi and proclaimed that those waters and “the carrying places between shall be common highways and forever free.”

The struggle for control of water is intertwined with the fight to preserve democracy from the corrosive impacts of expanding corporate power.

The best measure of how a democracy functions is how it distributes the goods of the land; the air, waters, wandering animals, fisheries, and public lands, otherwise known as the “public trust,” or the “commons.” By their nature these resources cannot be reduced to private property but are the shared assets of all the people held in trust for future generations.

The struggle over the world’s water resources

will be the defining struggle of the 21st century. …. Local public utilities across North America are even now conveying water supplies that have benefited from substantial public investment to private companies, often at fire-sale prices. In recent years, only vigorous protests by citizens have kept corporations from privatizing the water supplies in places like Lexington, Kentucky, and Stockton, California. In The Grand Canyon and elsewhere, a more subtle but equally effective privatization of public trust waters is occurring as governments subsidize reckless and unsustainable water usages that favor avaricious developers, powerful utilities, and agribusiness barons over the American public.

Destructive government policies are draining our nation’s rivers and aquifers and trampling our democratic rights. It’s time for another kind of Battle of Runnymede, a peaceful uprising that will return to Americans their fundamental rights to their waterways.

KICK AND TARA’S WATER WISDOM “JUST THE FACTS” THE GIRLS WOULD LIKE YOU TO KNOW

Cu ing a minute of your shower every day saves more than 750 gallons annually.

Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth to keep excess water from going down the drain.

Use a broom rather than a hose to clean your driveway.

Water your garden during the coolest part of the day; avoid watering on windy days.

Xeriscape (Plant native species which don’t require additional watering).

Purchase a squeeze (pistol-grip) nozzle for your garden hose.

When doing laundry, use appropriate water level and load size.

Fully load the dishwasher to maximize the dishes cleaned in a cycle.

Install low-flow aerators on faucets to save 200-300 gallons of water each month.

Eat fewer meat and dairy products, or eat smaller portions. The amount of water used to produce animal products far exceeds the amount used for growing vegetables and grains.

58

oto by Wade Davis

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

vertime to ls work o a ri te a . m drying t package and quick ghtweigh n li io e ct n o te in ro rp ce m All ove mfort and performan Omniu offer co

Š2008 TEVA

TEVA.COM

EARTH WATCH | SPECIAL REPORT

CAN WE REALLY

SAVE THE BAY?

The Chesapeake Bay watershed is an unparalleled national treasure. But overfishing, pollution, and weak legislation have decimated the species and livelihoods that depend on the Bay. Chesapeake Bay Foundation president Will Baker shares his perspective on how it was, how to save it, and what might happen if we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t.

CHAMPION OF THE CHESAPEAKE Will Baker has dedicated his career to saving the Chesapeake Bay. He was photographed in his natural environment on March 13, 2008 by Peter Muller.

60

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

I

n 1984, President Ronald Reagan declared that it was time to “begin the long, necessary effort to clean up a productive recreational area and special national resource—the Chesapeake Bay.” He was right to recognize the Chesapeake’s national importance in his State of the Union address.The Bay’s watershed comprises 64,000 square miles in the heart of the mid-Atlantic region.Washington, D.C., lies in the very center.The Chesapeake is the United States’ largest estuary and the third largest in the world.

The Bay’s productivity has been legendary.

As recently as 40 years ago, and long after Captain John Smith sailed up the Bay in 1607, the Chesapeake was producing one-quarter of the nation’s succulent oysters and half of its blue crabs. Nine out of ten rockfish (a.k.a. striped bass) caught from Maine to North Carolina were born in the Chesapeake. In 1989, the (then) Maryland Department of Economic and Employment Development estimated the economic value of the Chesapeake to Maryland and Virginia at $678 billion. Rebecca Hanmer, former director of the EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program Office, noted in the Bay Journal (October 2004) that inflation alone marks the Bay as at least a trillion dollar resource today.

Nearly 17 million people—a number growing by almost 200,000 each year—live within the Chesapeake’s watershed. The cumulative impact of this migration has been severe degradation of a national treasure. We have uprooted forests

WHY IT MATTERS • The Chesapeake Bay is North America’s largest estuary (an area where fresh and salt water mix) and the world’s third largest.

• The watershed covers 64,000 square miles and is home to about 17 million people.

• 2007 saw one of the worst crab harvest levels in 50 years, and the oysters are all but gone: less than five percent of historic population levels remain.

• The Bay watershed supports more 3,600 species of plant and animal life, including about 350 species of fish.

• Thousands of watermen have been forced out of business due to depleted fisheries.

• After a one inch rain, health departments close beaches to swimming due to polluted runoff.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Right: Students on a CBF Education trip use a purse seine to survey the health of aquatic life in the Bay. Below, right: Tangier Island is home to heron, ibis, and a historic watermen’s community. (Photos courtesy of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, www.cbf.org)

and farmland to make way for sprawling development.

We have dumped partially treated sewage, as well as the fertilizer, waste, and soil that runs off yards and fields, into the rivers that are the lifeblood of the Bay. We have demanded more energy from power plants that spew poisons into the air, our waters, and our lungs. Many farming techniques deliver overloads of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to the Bay.We have all but decimated nature’s own filter system—the Bay’s network of forests, wetlands, underwater grasses, and oysters. As a result, the Chesapeake Bay is in critical condition. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes the Bay, and the tidal portions of many of the rivers that feed it, on its notorious “dirty waters” list.

To track its condition, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) issues an annual report assessing the state of the Bay. Using the best available science, CBF measures current data against the healthiest Chesapeake we can describe—the Bay Captain John Smith depicted in his narratives, a theoretical “100” on a 100 point scale. In 1983, the Bay’s nadir, it would have scored a 23, indicating a condition only 23 percent of 1607 levels. In 2007, the Bay scored a 28, one point lower than in 2006, a grade of D. The Chesapeake Bay Program (the federal/state partnership directing Bay restoration since 1983) and the University of Maryland have conducted similar assessments with similar grades.

We are determined to make the Bay a model of success, not failure, and we believe that the multi-state/federal effort to save the Bay will be a model for other complex ecological systems worldwide. Fortunately, critical elements of long-term success are starting to fall into place.

The world’s best estuarine scientists work here.

They have clearly defined the reasons for the

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Bay’s decline and the steps necessary to restore it. We know what the problems are, what pollutants come from which regions and in what concentrations. We know that nitrogen and phosphorus pollution are responsible for the Bay and rivers’ systemic decline. And we know the primary sources: inadequately treated sewage, polluted runoff from urban and agricultural lands, and even emissions to the air.

Science tells us what the Bay can tolerate, and provides a “roadmap:” we know the specific strategies that will reduce pollution and restore the natural filters. In addition, the vast majority of voters in the area believe the Bay can be saved, want their governments to invest in pollution reduction, and are willing to ‘foot the bill’ for a saved Chesapeake Bay. Finally, we thought we had the commitment needed to “Save the Bay.” The governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, the Administrator of the EPA, the mayor of the District of Columbia, and the chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Commission signed an agreement in 2000 to reduce pollution enough

61

EARTH WATCH | SPECIAL REPORT

to remove the Bay from the dirty waters list by a court ordered deadline of 2010.

As it turns out, there is still not sufficient political will to actually implement the agreement and to get the job done. And the longer our elected officials wait, the more expensive it gets.

We know the current price tag. If the states and the federal government committed $3 billion per year for the current decade, there is near certainty that the 2010 deadline would be met.

We would have a cleaner Bay and river system with water healthy enough to swim in even after big rains, fish and shellfish abundant and safe to eat, and a worldwide model of success.

It is not too late. And it does not have to be so expensive.

At CBF, we follow the 80:20 rule:We believe 80 percent of the pollution can be reduced for 20 percent of the cost ($6 billion over 10 years).

We have been pushing the states and the federal government to prioritize and focus their efforts on those strategies most efficient to address the problem, specifically re-engineering sewage treatment plants to maximum efficiency and helping farmers implement the best practices and technologies to address agricultural runoff.

Below: The Chesapeake’s watershed spans 64,000 miles and parts of six states and Washington, D.C. (Map courtesy of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, www.cbf.org)

62

Real success has been achieved on the sewage front, and if our leaders stick with the plan, significant pollution reductions will be realized in the next few years. On the agriculture front, farm and environmental interests are working in partnership as never before to encourage adequate funding, training, and technical assistance. One could almost begin to feel optimistic.

Unfortunately, however, as winter turns to spring, an all-too familiar reaction to a faltering economy is re-emerging. In state legislatures and at the federal level, we are seeing broken promises and the retraction of promised funds.

Are we once again about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is 40 years old. We have seen downturns before. We were not discouraged then, and we will not be now. While history may yet record that a wellmeaning but ultimately timid society lost the Chesapeake Bay in the early years of the 21st century, we see a brighter future. We believe that leaders can be encouraged to recognize that saving the Bay preserves the “national treasure” President Reagan cited years ago. We know that a victory for the Bay will demonstrate that humans can, in fact, learn to marry environmental, social, and economic prosperity for all. The economy and the environment are, after all, two sides of the same coin. We cannot have one without the other.

THE END OF AN ERA Recollections of Life on the Bay

BY JEFFERSON HOLLAND ust under a century ago, more than 32,000 people earned their livelihoods harvesting oysters on the Chesapeake Bay.They were known as watermen, and their way of life is synonymous with the Chesapeake and with Maryland’s bucolic Eastern Shore. During the past three decades, commercial overfishing has effectively put an end to this unique piece of American culture by draining the Bay, first of oysters, and more recently, of crabs, and by employing methods that swiftly put local fishermen out of business.

William J. McNasby, son of Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine, moved his oyster-packing business from New Jersey to Annapolis in 1886. To get an edge over the competition, McNasby moved his operation from City Dock to the other side of Horn Point in 1919. Here, he employed 32 shuckers who were paid between 20 and 30 cents per gallon of oysters. As part of the Annapolis Maritime Museum’s Oral History Project, oyster shucker Lyle Smith recently shared some early memories of working at McNasby’s Oyster Co. “I’m 67, and I worked at McNasby before I went to school in the morning. I would go down with my grandmother, I was in the sixth grade, I think it was, when

Hand tonging for oysters at the mouth of the Severn River, c. 1953. (Photograph by Marion E. Warren © M. E. Warren Photography, LLC 2008)

I started. My mother and grandmother and grandfather, they were shuckers, and that’s how I learned how to shuck oysters. And from there I moved to unloading boats when they came in, and from there I went to packing oysters and shipping them, with McNasby.

“A boat got paid by the bushel, 10 cents a bushel, I think it was, and then they went up to a quarter a bushel. We’d go and unload a boat, shovel out a big buy boat in a couple of hours, because they usually had three, four, five hundred bushels on them or more, and after we did that he’d pay us, and then I’d go on to school.”

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

WL has just launched a new feature which allows you to purchase pictures from events (even if they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get published into the magazine)

Please visit www.washingtonlife.com to view pictures.

All photographs will beprinted

by Chrome Imaging

EARTH WATCH | SPECIAL REPORT

Flight of the GREEN HAWKS WHY THE PENTAGON IS ON A GREEN MISSION

BY EVA SO H LMAN

64

The Pentagon has invested heavily in renewable energy solutions for the field such as SkyBuilt Power’s Mobile Power Station in order to lower reliance on fossil fuels. (©SkyBuilt Power 2007, SkyBuilt.com)

in the Pentagon. These meetings, which have already acquired legendary status, attract people from the Pentagon, the Army, Navy, Air Force, Department for Homeland Security, the State Department, Congress, embassies, think tanks, environmental organizations, security firms and the weapons industry, all seeking to make new connections and exchange information, knowledge and experiences.

A senior European security analyst who attended one of these meetings described it as “bustling with people from all kinds of groups and interests.Very dynamic.”

Ironically, it was the Iraq war – which many felt began over oil – that forced the Pentagon to see the advantages of alternative energy in

the field. Dan Nolan, who oversees energy projects for the U.S. Army’s Rapid Equipping Force, explains it was not until the cost of fuel was measured in blood (American blood) that the commanders started to understand.

“Our transports have never been as vulnerable and exposed as they are in Iraq. More oil is not the solution, it is the problem.” As a consequence the Army now tries to generate what is needed on site; it uses fuel cells that produce water as a byproduct. It uses tents that need 40 percent less air-conditioning, which in turn is now increasingly run on green energy instead of diesel. The diesel generators emit heat, which is easily spotted with infrared detection.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Th i s a r t i c l e wa s f i r s t p u b l i s h e d b y Th e Wo m e n’s In t e r n a t i o n a l Pe r s p e c t i v e (w w w.t h e w i p. n e t)

F

ormer CIA director Jim Woolsey eagerly leans across the table in the swank restaurant of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Washington. The seriousness of the matter he’s discussing is reflected in his sharp, almost transparent blue eyes. ”The United States’ dependence on oil makes us very vulnerable from a security and environmental perspective. Why buy oil from Islamic theocracies, which sponsor terrorism against us? We are fighting a war against terror, but are paying for both sides. How smart is that?” asks the sprightly 66-year-old Woolsey.

Woolsey is one of the Green Hawks at the Pentagon – a new movement of tree-huggers, activists, researchers, inventors, army people and neoconservative hawks – who are leading the way toward alternative energy and energy conservation in America. Their motivation is the security of the nation, since they see terrorism and climate change as the greatest threats against the U.S. as a superpower.

“The goal is to become energy independent, but to get there we have to shift to green energy,” says Woolsey, who has been engaged in this question since the oil crises in the 1970s.

But according to most estimates, the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer of oil, will continue to increase its oil consumption.

Unless something is done to counter this trend it will probably mean that the country, which already imports around 60 per cent of its oil, will become even more dependent on the oilrich Middle East.

In order to stop this scenario and find new solutions, the Green Hawks hold open forums

The record high price of oil is another reason the American Army – the world’s biggest consumer of energy – is shifting to green energy. The price of oil is expected to remain high in the near future since oil production is estimated to have already peaked, while the situation in the oil-rich Middle East looks likely to remain unstable.

The Department of Defense is therefore investing about $500-$600 million on research and development of solar, wave, biomass and wind energy, as well as conventional green energy sources. A new law demanding better energy efficiency has been passed, so by 2025 the Army will have to take a quarter of its energy from renewable sources. But that is far too little, far too late, say hawks like Todd Hathaway, a major in the Army who is writing his Ph.D. thesis on nuclear science, focusing on new environmentally friendly technology.

“We can’t afford to not fix this now, and that can only be done with cutting-edge technology,” says the fast-paced 36-year-old outside the Pentagon, whose front yard boasts a vast field of solar cells.

“Unfortunately there is a strong resistance against new technology from the multi-billion industry for established green energy. We – inventors, scientists, retired Army people and professors – have to invest our own money to

“WHEN THE U.S. ARMY desegregated, the country really desegregated; when the Army goes green, the country could really go green.” get the projects going. This is serious, as these are the kind of technologies that will make this planet survive.”

Woolsey says the fastest solution is the plug-in car that runs on electricity. They cost a quarter of the price to drive in comparison with petrol-guzzling cars; several models are expected to be on the market within the next couple of years.

“If we are to get to the core of the problem, we will have to tackle the car,” he says matter-offactly. About 70 per cent of U.S. oil consumption goes to road transport: the country’s 220 million cars are one of the main reasons why the U.S. emits most of the polluting greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the world.

Despite the green hawks’ efforts, the battle is far from won, although the issue of the environment has gone from taboo to trendy in a short time. Today Washington is buzzing with talk about the importance of living green, Hollywood celebrities drive green cars and Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s commitment to improving the environment has

attracted young voters in the primaries.

The increased awareness is partly due to Al Gore’s Nobel Prize and his film An Inconvenient Truth and individual efforts of individuals such as Nora “Envirobabe” Maccoby who, at the end of 2005, lectured then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.The 40-year-old film director had just led an energy delegation to China, one of the world’s worst producers of carbon dioxide, but which also harbors one of the fastest growing markets for alternative energy.

“I told him the rest of the world was moving ahead with technology that America developed and America was getting left in the dust. I told him that we could redeem the mistakes of the Bush administration and restore morale within the Army by leading a new technology revolution. I told him he could be a hero.”

Rumsfeld described the meeting bluntly.

“She kicked my ass, and she was right,” and he set the ball rolling. A month later President Bush talked about America’s “oil addiction” in his annual State of the Union address.

Left: Diesel fuel powers a military convoy in Iraq. IED attacks on transport convoy carrying fuel to desert camps have accounted for a large percentage of military casualities in Iraq.

Right: Former CIA director Jim Woolsey is a leading Green Hawk, encouraging the Pentagon to invest in green technologies.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

65

EARTH WATCH | SPECIAL REPORT

“OUR TRANSPORTS HAVE never been as vulnerable and exposed as they are in Iraq.

More oil is not the solution, it is the problem” “The dam was opened and suddenly it was OK to talk about renewable energy and energy independence,” says Maccoby.

Mitzi Wertheim – who Woolsey’s deputy when he was under secretary of the Navy – is considered by other hawks to be “the spider in the web” and is said to “know everybody in Washington.”

She is the main organizer of “energy conversations” at the Pentagon, which now bridge over 20 U.S. governmental agencies (www. energyconversation.org). She also hosts frequent energy consensus meetings, or “green salons,” in her home with guests who are the leading voices within the Pentagon, and works for CNA Corporation, a non-profit organization providing research and analysis for public sector leaders.

“There is a risk that a lot of parallel work is being done within the departments with regards to energy,” Wertheim says. “I want them to collaborate and share their work so we can get to grips with this big threat as efficiently as possible.”

She adds: “Even though the awareness of climate change and the disastrous consequences it has for the planet – causing droughts, floods and hurricanes, forcing millions of people to leave their homes and leading to conflicts and war – has

increased, it is far from where it needs to be.”

For now however, the greatest challenge is to make Americans – who consume twice as much energy and generate more than twice as much garbage as the average European – understand the vital importance of environment conservation and energy efficiency.

“Energy and the environment are big and multi-faceted issues and therefore very difficult to grasp on an immediate level,”Wertheim says.

Therefore her next plan is to produce “ABC books on energy,” she explains in her cozy but slightly cold living room – she keeps the heating down during the day to save energy, while hospitably offering a cup of tea and a warm poncho.

The Green Hawks – this new breed of scientists and inventors dedicated to new, non-conventional energy technologies – have long been dismissed as fervent evangelical environment loonies who nurse paranoid and utopian ideas. But now that the Army is shifting to green energy, the “loonies” are expected to come in from the cold, and as a consequence, their technologies will become more accepted.

New York Times’ columnist Thomas Friedman is

Left: The Q-Case™ Solar and Battery Power in a Case allows recharging in the field, reducing reliance on fuel. (©SkyBuilt Power 2007, SkyBuilt.com) Right: Green advocate Nora Maccoby with her son William. (Photo Roshanak Ameli-Tehrani)

of this belief. In his article “The Power of Green” he writes: “When the U.S. Army desegregated, the country really desegregated; when the Army goes green, the country could really go green.”

Maccoby has the same vision:“Then we’ll see as big a revolution for energy that we have seen with Internet and IT,” she says with a big smile.

Politicans have also taken notice. “The fact is that nearly every military challenge we face is either derived from or impacted by one thing: our reliance on fossil fuels and foreign energy sources,” says “Rep. Steve Israel, who co-founded a “defense energy working group” with Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, and former CIA Director James Woolsey.

“In a world where we borrow money from China to purchase oil from unstable Persian Gulf countries to fuel our Air Force planes that protect us against potential threats from these very countries, it’s high-time to make the choices and investments necessary to protect our country,” Israel says.

Trying to get your head around how much fuel the U.S. Department of Defense uses can be daunting. Here are some facts and figures to help put things in perspective.

The total U.S. government liquid

fuel use that is consumed by the Department of Defense, making that agency the world’s single largest fuel-burning entity. of total Department of Defense

energy consumption comes from “mobility”-type fuel, used in aircraft, ships, and vehicles.

The total number of barrels of

oil per day (kb/d) which the Department of Defense consumes. It costs almost $9 billion a day.

Of the top battlefield fuel guzzlers, only are combat vehicles – the Abrams tank and the Apache helicopter – ranked fifth and tenth, respectively. The other carry fuel and supplies.

66

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

On a quest to

SAVE AMERICA’S FRONT YARD

BY CHIP AKRIDGE

O

ver the last 20 years, I’ve enjoyed regular jogs through downtown Washington and across the National Mall. I started this routine to check on my properties throughout the District and ended each run with a scenic reminder of why I love this city, and why I am proud to be an American.

While I would look at the amazing icons on the National Mall – the sun coming up over the Capitol, the flags circling the Washington Monument, and the Jefferson, Lincoln and war memorials – I rarely looked at the National Mall as a property manager. Over four years ago, someone challenged me to look closer at the condition of the park; sadly, what I saw did not make this American proud. The National Mall, “America’s Front Yard,” was a disgrace.

The Trust for the National Mall needs $500 million to restore and preserve the Mall’s beauty. Most citizens are not aware of the current state of the Mall, which includes patches of dead grass and signs that are twelve years-old. (Photo courtesy of the Trust for the National Mall)

68

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

EARTH WATCH | SAVING THE NATIONAL MALL

My wife, Sally, and I agreed something Johnson was an inspired advocate for beautifying needed to be done, so with the help of Georgina green areas, making sure that parks and public Sanger and several other Washingtonians, we spaces were protected and that funding was founded the Trust for the National Mall in an appropriated and spent to that end. Today, effort to assist the National Park Service in with budget cuts and a deferred maintenance restoring the National Mall to a place of beauty befitting our nation’s capital.

We knew that we wouldn’t be alone in our efforts, since there were many people in this community who cared about this sacred and historic space.

We’ve designed the Trust after the Central Park Conservancy in New York. Thirty years ago, half of Central Park was closed off, and its 800 acres were completely run down.

In 1980, Mayor Koch asked Bill Beinecke, former chairman of S&H Green Stamps, to lead a private effort to restore that park, and a successful public-private partnership was born.

More than 25 years later, and with close to $500 million raised, Central Park is truly a world-class park.We hope to follow the New Yorkers’ lead, raise a similar amount, and restore the National Mall to a place of beauty and pride for future generations.

In November, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced the Trust’s designation as the official partner of the National Park Service (NPS) to fund the restoration of the National Mall. Under Chip and Sally Akridge on the balcony of their Pennsylvania Avenue apartment that overlooks the mall. (Photo by Justin Kriel) his and NPS Director Mary Bomar’s leadership our partnership is flourishing. They, bill of $5 billion in the NPS system, the work along with the new National Mall Superintendent cannot be done by the government alone.

Peggy O’Dell, truly see the value in creating The National Mall carries a $350 million productive public-private partnerships to restore deferred maintenance deficit, and with 25 our national parks. million visitors annually (more visitors than Others before us have set a wonderful Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon precedent of ensuring the beauty of and parks combined), the decay from this wear and protection of our public spaces. Lady Bird tear is massive and continues to grow.

“THE NATIONAL MALL carries a $350 million deferred maintenance deficit, and with 25 million visitors annually (more visitors than Yellowstone,Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon parks combined), the decay from this wear and tear is massive and continues to grow.”

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

The NPS is undertaking a National Mall Planning process to help determine the future of the space. This public process, with input from more than 23,000 people from around the country, is designed to enhance the visitor experience and protect the historic and civic integrity of the National Mall.

The most important messages from the public have been to protect the space for freedom of expression and First Amendment demonstrations, increase the number of toilets and food facilities, and improve the beauty of the area. The National Mall Plan, due to be released at the end of 2008, will serve as a blueprint for the Trust’s work.

The Trust has a long-term goal to raise over $500 million for the National Mall to help the National Park Service as it “preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values … for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” In addition to the estimated $350 million needed for the deferred maintenance backlog, approximately $100 million is needed for infrastructure improvements like building additional food and restroom facilities. Another $50 million is needed to improve educational programming the park’s rich history to impart its visitors with the rich history represented by the park.

The National Mall, the 700-acre stretch of land located between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial and from Constitution Avenue to the Jefferson Memorial, is a symbol of democracy and America’s heritage. It encompasses the strength and proud history of our nation, symbolizes the democracy that our forefathers worked so hard to secure, and represents the sacrifices of so many who have given their life to preserve our ideals. It is “America’s Front Yard.”

As a real estate developer and property manager, I know what an immensely difficult and ongoing task it is to maintain the National Mall in world-class condition. But to honor our forefathers and all the people who have made this land – and our country – what it is

69

EARTH WATCH | SAVING THE NATIONAL MALL

today, this national treasure must be fixed. And it needs our help now.

The Trust for the National Mall is working aggressively to build awareness of the need to repair the park and raise funds to support the National Mall Plan and the National Park Service’s work. We have an ambitious goal but are confident that with the continued support of Washingtonians and Americans across the country, we will get the job done. For more information about how you can get involved, visit our website at www.nationalmall.org.

John E. “Chip” Akridge, III is chairman of Akridge, a commercial real estate firm in Washington, D.C.

SAVE THE DATE

WL SPONSORED

MAY TH The Benefit for the National Mall For more information please contact Lindsay Shulman at 202-207-3930 or lshulman@nationalmall.org

Lady Bird Johnson was an inspired advocate for beautifying our green areas, making sure that our parks and public spaces were protected and that funding was appropriated and spent to that end. She spent numerous hours planting on The National Mall. ( Photo by Abbie Rowe, courtesy of the National Park Service)

Benefit for the National Mall

BY SALLY AKRIDGE

F

or all Americans and our international visitors, the National Mall is a celebration of our country’s values and history. Chip and I know what an honor it is to live in a city so vibrant and meaningful to millions of Americans and millions of people from around the world. And we know we’re not alone. On May 8th, the Trust for the National Mall will hold its first fundraiser. The inaugural luncheon is an opportunity for other like-minded citizens to take a leadership role in restoring and preserving the National Mall. We look forward to bringing people together for an exciting event on the Mall while making sure the Trust has the resources it needs to do the job and to raise awareness of this important issue in the greater Washington area.

Committee members of the Garden Party on the Mall gathered at the George Mason Memorial. From left to right, top to bottom: Trish Vradenburg, Pat Sagon, Lydia Logan, and Caroline Cunningham, Sally Akridge, Carolyn Boutté, Laura Bode, Ellen Marks, and Diane Sappenfield.

(Photo by Tony Powell)

70

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

LIFESTYLES

Fashion﹐ Art﹐ Dining﹐ and Travel | Alternative Fuel Cars, Green Beauty Products, Eco-Chic Pets and Eco-Lux Seychelles

PRECIOUS

MOTHER EARTH HAS IMPECCABLE TASTE AND SO CAN YOU WITH THE RIGHT SELECTION OF ACCESSORIES AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES

PHOTOGRAPHY LEN DEPAS STYLE LANA ORLOFF FLORAL CONCEPTS JANET FLOWERS FOR JANET FLOWERS WEDDING AND EVENT DESIGNS AND LANA ORLOFF WENDY MINK turquoise/agate mix choker ($129), W.A. Studio gold open square bracelet ($58), and Kendra Scott gold plated pyrite cocktail ring ($30); all available at South Moon Under, 10247 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda, Md., 301-564-0995, www.southmoonunder.com.

JANET FLOWERS WEDDING AND EVENT DESIGNS AND ULTRAVIOLET

FLOWERS COURTESY OF

PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTS

LEILA PARSA AND YASSINE EL NANSOURI

OPPOSITE PAGE: PAULA MENDOZA smoke topaz jewelry, gold-plated 24kt bangle ($1,500), clasp ($1,600), earrings ($500), and ring ($490); available at Keith Lipert Gallery 2922 M St. NW, Washington DC, 202-965-9736.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE: TED ROSSI silver python and Swarovski crystal headband ($240); available at Tabandeh, 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-244-0777.

DEVON LEIGH white turquoise necklace with pearls and quartz stones ($870), Zapphire Jewelry white shell and cubic zirconia earrings ($225) and Sparkling Sage gold-plated bangles with clear Swarovski crystal stones ($85 each); all available at Terra, 1706 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202-232-8581.

PAULA MENDOZA jade silver ring ($525); available at Keith Lipert Gallery 2922 M St. NW, Washington DC, 202-965-9736.

THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE: AMICI ACCESSORIES envelope yellow clutch ($42) and LEE ANGEL colorblock green necklace ($189); available at South Moon Under, 10247 Old Georgetown Rd., Bethesda, Md., 301-564-0995, www.southmoonunder.com.

ALEXIS BITTAR double strand necklace with chrysophase and leather ($585); available at Tabandeh, 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-244-0777. PAULA MENDOZA tan crocodile clutch ($1,000); available at Keith Lipert Gallery 2922 M St. NW, Washington DC, 202-965-9736.

JOSE BARRERA medallion necklace with coral and wood beads ($490) and IN2 Design wire bracelet with semi precious stones ($95); available at Tabandeh, 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-244-0777. PAULA MENDOZA brown crocodile clutch ($950); available at Keith Lipert Gallery 2922 M St. NW, Washington DC, 202-965-9736.

PAULA MENDOZA red crocodile clutch ($1,400); available at Keith Lipert Gallery 2922 M St. NW, Washington DC, 202-965-9736.

OPPOSITE PAGE: PHILIPPE FERRANDIS long cage earrings with enamel and crystal flowers ($580), JAMIN PUECH sequin handbag ($635), PHILIPPE FERRANDIS ring with enamel and crystal flowers ($265); available at Tabandeh, 5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-244-0777.

LIFESTYLES | FASHION EVENT

Fred Malek, Jason Eig, and Tom Daschle

Cristina Miller and Meredith Barnett

Michael O’Connor, Stephen Sorenson, and Steve Raber

STORE ADORE LAUNCH The Source PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

THE EVENT Native daughters Meredith Barne (daughter of über-lawyer Bob and reporter Rita Braver) and Cristina Miller launched their new online boutique shopping website, www.storeadore.com at a chic soirée a ended by many of the girls’, and their powerful parents’, friends. THE GUESTS Dan Glickman, Quinn Bradlee, Tammy Haddad, Margaret Carlson, Cathy Merrill, Jane Harman, Juleanna Glover, Becca Glover, and hosts Catherine and Wayne Reynolds.

catering by design 703.979.9400 • WWW.DESIGNCUISINE.COM

Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn

Bob Barnett and Natasha Barrett

76

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Casey Patten and Paige Speyer

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

LIFESTYLES | FASHION EVENT Nick Kassman and Naila Alkalaj

DISTRICT SAMPLE SALE The Galleria at Lafaye e Centre PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

THE EVENT At this fashionable charity event (or, at least, the one with the greatest variety of fashion-for-purchase), shopping was both satisfying for the wallet and the soul, since proceeds went to Martha’s Table Summer Camp.

THE SCENE Guests sported “quick-change” outfits (leggings and the like were encouraged, as dressing rooms were scarce) and sipped cocktails while crowing over the ultimate in luxe bargains from vendors like Wink and Urban Chic. THE GUESTS Cameron Dunlop, Cindy Jones, Tina Alster, Erica Pa on, Mary Amons, Theresa Wa s, Jessica Baca, Pamela Pressley, and Sean Wherle.

Courtney Mara and Kristin Haggerty

Ashley Glassman and Katie Miller

Diana Minshall and Ethan Drath

J.D. Schmidt

Severina Mladenova

LIFESTYLES | WL BEAUTY

Beautiful

(r)Evolution

Turn back the clock more quickly and safely than ever before with cutting-edge treatments — a special feature

BY CHRISTINA WILKIE

T

he stigma once associated with cosmetic procedures seems as outdated as UV tanning beds.

Newer, more advanced products and techniques offer today’s patients an unprecedented menu of viable (and often comparable) alternatives to cosmetic surgery, including, in some cases, outcomes that were once the exclusive domain of surgeons firmer skin, reduced cellulite, and a perfect smile. According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, the number of non-surgical cosmetic procedures performed annually has increased by 754 percent since 1997; in 2007, spending on ancillary procedures totaled nearly $9.6 million.

As science continues to evolve and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures become more accessible, we find ourselves with a broad choice of options. After consulting with multiple medical sources, here are a few of the newest ways to spruce up your face, body, and smile this spring.

Face: • The Illuminize™ peel was introduced in the fall of 2007, and employs a new generation of alpha hydroxy acids in combination with other commonly used peel agents to tighten skin and restore youthful appearance. Called “the date night peel,” it can be used on the same day of a social engagement and requires no down time. It is also appropriate for first-time chemical peel patients and can be performed on all skin types.

• The Lux 2940™ Laser by Palomar was introduced to the aesthetic market during the last four months, and revolutionizes the treatment of wrinkles, skin tightening, and skin photo damage. Old CO2 lasers, long-considered the gold standard for wrinkle reduction, vaporize large skin surface areas, resulting in a significant healing time. The Lux 2940 delivers microbeams in a grid pattern with untreated skip areas between the treatment columns, reducing the healing time to three or four days.

• The Titan™ (a.k.a. the mini face-lift) uses infra-red light to penetrate deep into the dermis, deep-heating the tissue in the targeted area and stimulating long-dormant collagen. As a result, the collagen contracts and tightens, producing visibly firmer-looking skin in the treated area.

Results become more dramatic over time as collagen re-builds through a series of treatments.

Titan is effective and safe for all skin types.

• Popular in Europe for decades, Left: Recently developed two-part treatments take advantage of freshly exfoliated skin by infusing it with vitamins and minerals.

78

Above: The next generation of laser facials offer patients dramatic results with little to no recovery time.

Microdermabrasion combined with the French technique of “Mesoglow” involves first uncovering the superficial layers of skin through microdermabrasion. Next, a Mesoglow cocktail of antioxidants, minerals, vitamins, and DMAE is infused into the skin with a syringe, and although a tiny needle is used, the skin is not pierced. The Microdermabrasion & Mesoglow procedure can also be used the same day as an important event.

Body: • Recently approved for use in the United States, Smartlipo™ is the first and only laser system to offer a revolutionary and minimally invasive procedure for the removal of fat.

Using a high-powered laser, Smartlipo™ targets a defined area, providing body contouring with less downtime and fewer side effects than traditional liposuction, owing to the use of local (as opposed to general) anesthesia and a one millimeter laser tube, rather than the traditional four millimeter removal tube.

• The Fraxel™ laser treatment is a revolutionary way to reverse the signs of aging on any area of the body including the chest, neck, and hands.This non-surgical procedure smoothes wrinkles and scars, improves texture, tone,

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

elasticity, color and also minimizes pore size.

The result is more youthful, radiant skin with minimal down time. FLT has been found to be effective in treating acne scars, surgical scars and traumatic scars.

• TriActive Laser Dermatology is a noninvasive, laser-based treatment targeting cellulite in areas such as the thighs, hips and buttocks. The result of three different applied methods already used separately, this treatment addresses the problem of cellulite using the combined action of a low energy laser to increase circulation, localized cooling to reduce inflammation and suction massage that promotes lymphatic drainage and stimulates collagen growth.

including the K-7 Evaluation System™ and the Tens Machine™, now allow dentists to perform much more comprehensive analyses of facial muscles to determine each patient’s jaw movement and personal relaxed optimal muscle positioning, resulting in a level of alignment for teeth and jaws that is unique to each patient.

• Thin shell veneer laminates that require little to no tooth preparation, and are approximately the thickness of a contact lens. Vivaneers™, a product available to veneer dentists, is rapidly becoming a popular choice for patients, as are Lumineers™, both of which are applied to teeth without any grinding or shaving, and which show the potential to last up to 20 years.

Smile: • The newest member of the Zoom™ family of in-office tooth whitening is the Zoom 3!™, which owes part of its development to the recent merger of Brite Smile™ and Zoom™. Zoom3! is ideal for anyone looking for immediate results and will lighten your teeth up to 6 shades from your natural color in approximately 45 minutes, although one anonymous dentist described it as “more pow for more oww.”

• For those who suffer from ground-down teeth and other types of long-term jaw damage, upto-date practices in neuromuscular dentistry, Below:“Date night peels” refer to exfoliants that leave skin glowing without the flaking and redness of traditional chemical peels.

Washington Life would like to thank the following physicians for their generous consultation on this feature: Dr. Shahram Salemy of Plastic Surgery Association P.C., Dr. Saeed Marefat of Metropolitan Plastic Surgery, Dr. Wanda Minnis-Dyson of Changes for Life, Dr. Philip Schoenfeld of Renu Medspa, Dr. Margaret Sommerville of Chevy Chase Dermatology, Dr. Alex Naini of Aesthetic Dental Spa, and Dr. H. Michael Rassael of Millenium Medical Spa.

certain treatments work particularly well during different stages in life. For example, while patients in their 20’s and 30’s may be best served by maintenance and prevention procedures such as lighter chemical peels and laser acne treatments, patients in their 40’s and up typically look for age reversal options that target sagging skin and sun damage. A quick breakdown of what you might want to consider, and when.

AGE

FACE

SMILE

BODY

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

ADDITIONAL NOTE

The Game Plan While many of the procedures listed on this page are suitable at any age,

20’s GOAL: REPAIR AND PRESERVE

30’s GOAL: PREVENT FUTURE DAMAGE

Acne lasers like Isolaz™, the first FDA approved laser for the treatment of acne.

Light chemical peels like Sensi™ and IS Clinical’s Fire & Ice™

Skin glowing facials using Vitamin C & Oxygen

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Important Note:As with any health decision, please consult with a doctor or a licensed practitioner before considering any aesthetic procedure. Only a trained professional can tell you if a particular procedure is right for you.

Invisalign straightening and Crest White Strips Professional™

Laser hair removal

Botox™ to relax early wrinkles

40’s GOAL: REVERSE DAMAGE AND RESURFACE

50’s+ GOAL: FILL IN DEEPER WRINKLES AND EVEN SKIN TONE

Facial fillers like Juvederm™, Restylane™, and Radiesse™

Deeper chemical peels like CO2 Glass™

PhotoFacials, a Ablative lasers combination of microdermabrasion Tightening lasers like Fraxel™ and laser facials

SilkPeel Microdermabrasion Chemical brow w/ crystals lifts with Botox™ Non-Invasive Bonding Contouring Professional Night Guard (if grinding becomes a problem)

TriActive Laser Dermatology

Intense Pulsed Light/IPL to even skin tone

Zoom 3! ™ Laser Whitening Frontal veneers

Smartlipo™ to target cellulite while skin is still elastic.

Deeper fillers like Perlane™ Neuromuscular dentistry if teeth and jaws display signs of wear.

Bonding and crowns Sclerotherapy to remove varicose veins Fraxel™ laser on hands, chest, and neck to repair damaged collagen.

79

WHAT TO EXPECT… from some of the procedures mentioned on the previous page: PROCEDURE

AVERAGE LENGTH OF ONE TREATMENT

NO OF VISITS RECOMMENDED

AVERAGE RECOVERY TIME

APPROXIMATE COST

Microdermabrasion and Mesoglow

40 minutes

6

None

$150 to $300 per treatment

Illuminize™ peel

10 to 15 minutes

6, one every 2 weeks

None

$125 per treatment

Lux 2940™

1.5 hours

1

2-4 days

$2,500 to $3,500

Isolaz™ laser

10-20 minutes

5

1 day

$1,500 for 5 treatments

SilkPeel Microdermabrasion-

40 minutes

5 visits

None

$165 each

Fillers like Juvederm™ and Restylane™

30 minutes

Varies with need

Results are immediate.

(Possible swelling)

Starting at $600 for lips and $1,200 for deeper facial folds

Botox™ and Chemical Brow Lift

10-15 minutes

Varies with need

None. Results appear in 3-5 days.

$375-$1100

Fraxel™ Laser Treatment

10-80 minutes

3-6 treatments, 4-6 weeks apart

1-3 days before returning to work.

$1,000 per treatment

Invisalign™

9 months

Varies with need

None

$5,000-$10,000, (potentially covered by insurance)

Non-invasive bonding

1 hour

1

None

$100-$400 per tooth

HOW TO CHOOSE A PLASTIC SURGEON

BY DR SHAHRAM SALEMY

W

e are fortunate to live in an area with multiple outstanding providers of plastic and cosmetic surgery services. However, this is a double-edged sword, as the wealth of talent can overwhelm an individual looking to choose a surgeon for the first time. There are a few simple steps that can help guide you both as a consumer and more importantly as a patient, to help you make a more informed choice.

Verify Their Qualifications • The surgeon’s training and Board Certification status are two straightforward ways to begin your search. It sounds simple, but formal residency training in plastic surgery, facial plastic surgery, or dermatology is not a requirement for an individual to present himself as a cosmetic surgeon. Find out where your doctor did his training and for how many years. The key point is that it was a formal, fully accredited program. Second, verify their Board

80

Certification status. Board Certification is a rigorous process, and it should serve to provide an extra measure of confidence to the patient. Both of these pieces of information will usually appear on the doctor’s website, but they can also be verified online (The American Board of Medical Specialties, www.abms.org).

Three Questions to Ask at Your Consultation • Three simple questions will go a long way toward giving you a sense of your surgeon’s abilities and whether he or she will be able to meet your expectations. First, ask about his/her experience, both in terms of years in practice as well as years performing the procedure you are considering. Second, ask to see before and after pictures. Finally, ask if it would be possible to speak to a couple of former patients. This will give you a firsthand account of how the surgeon cares for patients before and after surgery.

Two Warning Signs • There are two red flags that should give you pause during a consultation.

The first is if you feel pressure from your doctor to have surgery right away. This simply should

not occur during a routine visit. Not only are they supposed to serve you on your timeline, but patients tend to have a much more positive experience once they feel fully comfortable with all aspects of their procedure, and this sometimes takes two or three more visits to the doctor. If you feel pressure, take a step back and think things over. The second warning sign is the doctor who does not think you need a second opinion. You should feel comfortable seeking opinions from other surgeons to help you make a more informed decision. If your doctor feels that “he is the only one who can perform this procedure,” take some time to think that statement over, as it is often not the case.

Go With Your Gut • After the research is over, your questions answered, and the warning signs avoided, it comes down to comfort level, and this is different for everyone. Take your time, review your options, and pick the surgeon with whom you feel most comfortable, not only to achieve the results you desire, but to be there for you before surgery as well as during your recovery.

In the end, these efforts will pay off.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Ă&#x2013; Â

Ă&#x2013;

Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2013; Ă&#x2013;

Ă&#x2013;

B E A U T Y

Âş

O N

T H E

H I L L

Change For Life WELLNESS & AESTHETICS

I N N E R H E A LT H - O U T E R B E A U T Y

Â&#x2019; Â&#x2019; Look What's New At Change For Life!

LipoSculptâ&#x201E;˘ / Mesotherapy

Â&#x2019; Â&#x2014; Â&#x2014; ~}~} z {~ {Â&#x192;Â z~ Ă&#x2013; |Â&#x192;zÂ&#x152; ~{Â&#x152;

LipoSculptâ&#x201E;˘ Targets: Thighs, Abdomen, Pectoral Chest, Arms, Saddlebags & Buttocks, Love Handles, and Bra line.

Also Featuring:

â&#x20AC;˘ BotoxÂŽ Cosmetic â&#x20AC;˘ Microdermabrasion

â&#x20AC;˘ Chemical Peels â&#x20AC;˘ Fillers & More

Rediscover your Radiance!

We have services for all skin colors!

BotoxÂŽ Dermal Fillers IPL Skin Rejuvenation Microdermabrasion Laser Hair Removal Customized Facials Medical Peels Spider Veins Massage Acne Medical Director Board CertiďŹ ed Dermatologist

special offer... $100 Off Photorejuvenation & Sclerotherapy with mention of this ad we feature skin care lines from -

Jane Iredale, SkinCeuticals and Obagi

3105 14th St. NW â&#x20AC;˘ Washington 202â&#x20AC;˘483â&#x20AC;˘0008 www.radiancedc.com

www.cflwellness.com

202.575.4660 650 Pennsylvania Ave., SE - Suite 250 - Washington, DC 20003 We Welcome Private Parties

LIFESTYLES | WL BEAUTY

ARE YOUR PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS REALLY

NATURAL? GREEN SOLUTIONS FOR SKIN, HAIR, AND COLOR COSMETICS

T

oday’s consumers (and yes, I mean men, too) are looking for an alternative to traditional cosmetics, as well as better choices for their bodies and the environment. Beauty companies have become hip to this need and have subsequently thrown their hats in the ring; we’ve seen a surge in the launch of natural lines as manufacturers arrive at the understanding that green is not a fly-by-night trend but a major value shift.

“Customers demand social responsibility from companies and today, the media impacts the way consumers view beauty companies,” says Trenesa Danuser, vice president of Global Communication for Origins, one of the first major beauty brands to adopt environmentally conscious practices.

“Now that there’s Youtube, social media sites, and blogs, it’s easier to communicate companies’ misdeeds as well as things we admire about them. Successful companies listen to their customers – especially when they’re talking with their pocketbooks.”

According to ten-year cosmetic developer veteran Christina Marcaccini, founder of the eco-luxe brand RAW Natural Beauty, our skin is the first line of defense against

ALTERNA Hemp Organic Repair Treatment Conditioner, $28; Bang Salon, 1612 U St. NW, 202-299-0925.

82

the environment. “The average woman is exposed to over 160 chemicals a day,” she says,“and 60 percent is absorbed directly into the skin.”

Scary words like “parabens” and “petrochemicals” have gotten buzz because of popular research linking these chemicals to cancer and skin allergies. So how do we interpret the labels and what exactly defines natural? Buyer beware, says Marcaccini, adding, “since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not have any guidelines for the use of the word natural, thousands of products use it, and consumers are left to assume that these products are safe for people and good for the earth.”

You don’t have to have a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry to figure out what’s in your f avo r i t e s h a m p o o or lotion. Go to the EWG’s database, www. c o s m e t i c s d a t a b a s e. com. In seconds, the easy-to-understand website (powered by the Environmental Working Group, a government cosmetics watchdog agency) rates your product with a safety score from 0-10. Don’t be surprised if you make the switch to a more “natural” product.

– Khadeja Salley

Reese Witherspoon, Kate Hudson, and Jennifer Garner tout Alterna’s certified organic botanicals.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

ECO-HAIR A MANE-STAY

OJON Liquid-Hair Building 4 Step Ritual Kit, $129; Sephora, 3065 M St. NW, 202-338-5644.

Oil from the Ojon tree nourishes hair; a portion of each sale preserves the rainforests.

ORIGINS Conditioning Hair Oil, $22.50; Macy’s, 1201 G St., NW, 202-6286661; Origins Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave. NE, 202-589-1644.

The first prestige line to be certified under the USDA National Organic Program.

AVEDA Men Pure-Formance Grooming Cream, $14; Aveda, 1325 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-965-1325.

Manufactured using 100 percent certified wind power and specifically formulated for men.

COLOR COSMETICS MAKE-UP MADE BETTER

RAW Natural Beauty: RAW Minerals, $30; www.rawnaturalbeauty.com.

This pure mineral makeup contains antiaging botanicals and is perfect for women who suffer from skin sensitivities.

CARGO PlantLOVE, $20; Sephora, 3065 M St. NW, 202-338-5644.

Celebrities, including Courtney Cox and Mariska Hargitay, developed these ideal lipstick shades, which come in the first-ever compostable lipstick tube.

YOUNGBLOOD Crushed Mineral Eyeshadow, $16.95; www.ybskin.com.

Hypoallergenic, crushed minerals deliver long-lasting color applied wet or dry.

MAC Fafi Lipstick in Strawberry, $14; M·A·C, 3067 M St. NW, 202-944-9771.

Return six empty containers and get a free lipstick, lipgloss, or eyeshadow through the Back to Back to M·A·C Program.

JOSIE MARAN Bronzing Powder, $36; www.josiemarancosmetics.com.

Supermodel, Josie Maran aligns with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics to bring women a sun kissed glow, packaged in a biodegradable compact.

CAROL’S DAUGHTER Candy Paint Lip Gloss, $13.50; Carol’s Daughter,Wheaton Mall, 11160 Veirs Mill Rd.,Wheaton, Md., 301-949-1231.

Contains no lead, petroleum, mineral oil or artificial colors, only beautiful sheer color with a non-sticky feel.

83

LIFESTYLES | WL BEAUTY

C’WATRE HAERU Activating Ageless Serum, $25; www.cwatre.com.

Inspired by the ancient Japanese practice of absorbing valuable nutrients directly from the sea.

OLE HENRIKSEN Visual Truth Eye Crème, $45; Celadon Day Spa, 1180 F St. NW, 202-347-3333.

This paraben-free cream lifts, smooths and tightens while preventing further skin damage.

PANGEA ORGANICS Facial Cream, $30; Anthropologie, 3222 M St., NW, 202-337-1363.

Soak the box in water for one minute, bury it in soil, and presto!

Grow the same medicinal herbs found in the product.

RED FLOWER Organic Perfume, $186; Bluemercury, 1010 Wisconsin Ave. NW, 202-342-9800.

This prestige, organic perfume smells beautiful and is packaged in an exquisite glass bottle.

STELLA MCCARTNEY 5 Benefits Moisturising Cream, $76; Sephora, 3065 M St. NW, 202-338-5644.

Stella McCartney’s new eco-line is chic, 100 percent certified organic, and cruelty-free.

GREEN SEEN

FACIAL PRODUCTS FOR THE ECO-PHILE DESERT ORGANICS Age Reversal Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30, $15.99; Whole Foods, 1440 P St. NW, 202-332-4300.

All of Desert Essence’s products are manufactured using clean windmill power.

ZIA MEN Triple Action Wash, $13.95; www.zianatural.com; Whole Foods, 1440 P St. NW, 202-332-4300.

Fragrance and paraben free – gentle enough for the face but strong enough to cleanse hair and body, too.

84

NUDE Age Defense Moisturizer, $100; Barney’s NY, 116 Wooster St, New York, 212-965-9964 Trailblazer Bryan Meehan (founder of Fresh & Wild, the U.K. answer to Whole Foods) packages Nude in 40 percent post-industrial recycled plastics.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

fraxel Better skin, Easier.

The Center for Laser Surgery is proud to offer Fraxelâ&#x201E;˘ non-ablative laser skin rejuvenation. This quick non-invasive laser procedure repairs brown spots, age spots, sun damage, and wrinkles relatively pain-free and with little to no downtime. Natural, youthful results without surgery. Safe and effective, even on delicate skin.

Before

Call today for your complimentary consultation Evening and weekend hours available. .EW -EXICO !VE .7 s 7ASHINGTON $# 6ISIT OUR WEBSITE AT WWW LASERSURGERY COM FRAXEL

After After

LIFESTYLES | THE DISH

The Conscientious Diner When it comes to being green with your restaurant dining, the first step is learning to ask the right questions

BY ANN MAH

T

hese days a Washington menu often containers and to transport them.â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ask if they have reads more like a road map than a bottled water in recycled glass containers,â&#x20AC;? says food list. The foie gras is from the Catacalos. Otherwise, tap is your best option.

Hudson Valley; the salmon was caught wild in Alaska; the pork is Pennsylvanian; Wild caught seafood or farmed? the goat cheese hails from Coach Farm, N.Y.; Not all seafood is equal, says Joey Ritchie and the tomatoes were Brookhart, senior project grown in New Jersey. All manager at Seafood Choices this detail might seem Alliance, a nonprofit extraneous, yet for diners international association concerned about the focusing on ocean-friendly environment, knowing seafood.When ordering fish, where and how food is provenance is important. grown is important â&#x20AC;&#x201C; by Is it wild or farmed? And choosing more locally donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be afraid to ask for sourced ingredients you more detail. For wild fish, can help reduce the â&#x20AC;&#x153;the most sustainable Locally-sourced spring beets from carbon footprint of your approach is the handline Blue Duck Tavern in the Park Hyatt. meal. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s okay to enquire or trolling method, which about the origin of your food. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the first step to generally does not entail much habitat damage,â&#x20AC;? making your eating experience greener. she says. For farmed fish, Brookhart suggests looking for specific items like mussels, clams and Do you have any specials? oysters, or U.S. farm-raised catfish or tilapia.

Restaurants often use seasonal ingredients in their specials, using produce thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more likely Can I take this home? to be locally grown â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which is key to reducing With portion sizes ballooning, â&#x20AC;&#x153;we need to our carbon footprint. At the very least,â&#x20AC;&#x153;if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dial back the excess,â&#x20AC;? Catacalos says.When doggieeating whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in season, it helps to tune your bagging leftovers she suggests asking the kitchen body back,â&#x20AC;? says Renee Catacalos, publisher and to forgo the Styrofoam box (â&#x20AC;&#x153;it never goes away,â&#x20AC;? editor of Edible Chesapeake, a quarterly magazine she says) for a simple piece of recyclable foil. Some focusing on food grown and produced in the restaurants, like Tedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Montana Grill (2200 region. But how to know whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in season? Crystal Drive, Arlington,Va.) make an effort to use Catacalos suggests visiting the local farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eco-friendly aluminum containers.

In the end, simply asking questions is the market two to three times per month.â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grocery stores have erased our idea of seasons,â&#x20AC;? she warns. best way to encourage restaurants to think green. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Asking questions is a tipoff to establishments â&#x20AC;&#x153;In April and May the season is just starting.â&#x20AC;? that, as a diner, you care,â&#x20AC;? says Brookhart. â&#x20AC;&#x153;At least you have highlighted the issues important Sparkling or still?

In what kind of bottle? The bottled water to you.â&#x20AC;? industry has taken quite a bad rap lately, criticized Have any comments or dining suggestions? Email for using too much energy to produce the plastic WL at: columns@washingtonlife.com.

86

WHERE TO FIND THIS SEASONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SPRING PRODUCE STRAWBERRIES Feast on braised

rhubarb, strawberries and Greek yogurt at â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1226 36th St. NW) ASPARAGUS Sip asparagus soup with a citrus-y cocktail at Butterfield â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (600 14th St. NW) lemonade stand happy hour, Tuesdays from 5-7 p.m.

CLAMS Nibble baked northeastern clams at Il Mulino New Yorkâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (1110 Vermont Ave. NW) prix fixe lunch.

STRIPED BASS Sonoma

Restaurant and Wine Bar (223 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) offers grilled Mid-Atlantic striped bass with saffron braised vegetables on its new spring menu.

EARLY PEAS Tender and sweet young

peas are paired with Maine scallops, morels, and crispy speck at the Blue Duck Tavern (1201 24th St. NW)

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

LIFESTYLES | GREEN CARS

in the ENVY CAR POOL LANE Fueled by higher gas prices, consumers are turning in droves to vehicles to help save dollars at the pump.

How does the new crop of 2008 “green cars” stand-up?

A hybrid SUV that gets 20 miles per gallon is a start, but major car manufacturers still have a long road to travel before mass produced cars consistently hit between 40 and 60 m.p.g. Here are the best of the batch.

1

2

MERCEDES BENZ GL

3

88

BMW -SERIES

LEXUS RX H

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

1 BMW 3-SERIES (DIESEL) Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price: $32,400 Miles Per Gallon: 37 WL TAKE Available in Fall 2008, this “Beamer” will save yuppies the world over enough money at the pump to drink coffee at Starbucks forever.

GET IT BMW of Arlington, 3100 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington,Va.; 703-684-8500

MERCEDES BENZ E BLUETEC

LEXUS LS H L

GMC YUKON HYBRID

TESLA ROADSTER

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

4

5

6

7

2 MERCEDES BENZ GL320 CDI SUV (DIESEL) MSRP: $54,225 MPG: 24 WL TAKE The turbocharged V-6 diesel engine generates 398 lbs. per foot of peak torque and for all its strength, it still offers approximately 30 percent better fuel economy than vehicles equipped with comparable gasoline engines.This might be the way to get over the eco-guilt you’ll have for driving a car that gets 24 m.p.g.

GET IT Mercedes-Benz American Service Center in Arlington, 585 Glebe Road, Arlington, Va.; 703-525-2100

6 GMC YUKON HYBRID (HYBRID) MSRP: $50,945-$53,755 MPG: 20 WL TAKE GMC calls this “the world’s first two-mode hybrid propulsion system in an SUV.” We’re not sure what that means.We do know that the Yukon Hybrid gets 50 percent more fuel economy than non-hybrids in its class. Does that mean fifty percent less guilt?

GET IT Alexandria Pontiac Buick GMC, 499 South Pickett Street, Alexandria,Va.; 703-370-7211 7 TESLA ROADSTER (ELECTRIC) MSRP: $98,000 MPG: N/A WL TAKE Get on the waiting list now at www. teslamotors.com in order to get the look of a Lotus with no gas guzzling.

GET IT Tesla Motors, 1050 Bing Street, San Carlos, Calif.; 650-413-4000

KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THESE ECO-CONSCIOUS MODELS

3 LEXUS RX 400H, SUV (HYBRID) MSRP: $42,000 MPG: 23 WL TAKE Your last SUV only got 14 miles per galloon, so the extra 10 miles should help you get to a few more soccer practices in luxe Lexus style.

GET IT Lindsay Lexus of Alexandria, 3410 King Street, Alexandria,Va.; 800-944-1925 4 MERCEDES BENZ E320 BLUETEC, SEDAN (DIESEL) MSRP: $53,025 MPG: 27 City / 37 Highway WL TAKE This winner of the 2007 World Green Car Award blends fuel efficiency and low noise without sacrificing power, and reduces soot and pollutants often associated with diesel engines via specialized filters and catalytic converters.

GET IT Mercedes-Benz American Service Center in Arlington, 585 Glebe Road, Arlington, Va.; 703-525-2100 5 LEXUS LS 600H L, SEDAN (HYBRID) MSRP: $104,000 MPG: 22 WL TAKE Propelled by a 5.0-liter V-8 and a highoutput electric motor, this model provides V-12 power with V-6 fuel economy. Just don’t mention to your envious golf buddies that at 22 m.p.g., your new sedan only gets one mile more per gallon than its non-hybrid companion, the LS 460L sedan.

GET IT Lindsay Lexus of Alexandria, 3410 King Street, Alexandria,Va.; 800-944-1925

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

2009 AUDI Q7 HYBRID Get it: Rockville Porsche, 1125 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Md.; 703-684-8500

2009 CADILLAC ESCALADE HYBRID Get it: Available Fall 2008 from Lindsay Cadillac of Alexandria, 1525 Kenwood Ave., Alexandria,Va.; 866-493-7875 2010 BMW X6 HYBRID 2010 PORSCHE CAYENNE HYBRID

89

LIFESTYLES | LUXURY TRAVEL

C’est Chic in the Seychelles Frégate Island, a private resort in the Seychelles not only hosts Bill Gates, Paul McCartney and Elizabeth Hurley, but it has become a model for eco-tourism. In fact, Frégate is one of few carbon neutral islands on the planet.

B Y K AT I E TA R B OX

Voted by Condé Nast Traveller as one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world, Anse Victorin on Frégate Island encourages guests to put up a “privacy please” sign and bask in complete seclusion.

90

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

I

n the middle of the Indian Ocean, 115 islands form the Seychelles, one of the world’s most remote and exotic locations.

With beautiful beaches planked by oversized granite boulders, luxury resorts, and even fourleaf-clovers, the Seychelles are a modern-day garden of earthly delights.

The smallest of the granite islands, Frégate, is home to one of the most exclusive resorts in the world (only accessible by helicopter from Mahe). Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt honeymooned there, as did Paul McCartney.

Bill Gates visits every August; most recently, Elizabeth Hurley rented the entire island.

Though best known for offering the ultimate in luxury (private beaches, world-class spa, and butler service), the island and its owner (a German billionaire whose identity is unknown) have made conservation a top priority.

The government has strictly enforced

“BIBLICAL SCHOLARS believe that these islands, rich with flora and fauna, could have been the original Eden.” conservation laws since British colonial days and the islands are home to two UNESCO world heritage sites (the world’s largest exposed coral atoll and Vallée de Mai on the island of Preslin, the exact spot thought by some Biblical scholars to be the Garden of Eden). Frégate is just as aggressive in sustaining wildlife and creating a limited carbon footprint – the owner hired a naturalist to bring the seventh most rare bird in the world, the Magpie Robin, back from near extinction. The naturalist has preserved the area that the Aldabra Giant Tortoise made its own for hundreds of years. In fact, these sea creatures have never known humans to be predators, and so it is

possible to feed and hug them. During breakfast, I was also able to feed the island’s main bird, the Fairy Tern, out of my hand.A majority of the food is produced through state-of-the-art hydroponics.

While most of the hotel industry considers itself “green” if they don’t wash the sheets every day, Frégate Island demonstrates a new standard for environmentally friendly resorts.

THE ROOMS Each guest stays in a one-bedroom

villa that includes a large sitting room with television, mini-bar, and bathroom with outdoor shower. The four-poster beds curtained with netting add to the rustic romantic atmosphere.

Each villa on Frégate Island offers exceptional views of the Indian Ocean, a private pool, teak decks, and day beds.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

91

Clockwise, from top: The Rock Spa features treatments with organic ingredients created daily from island products; The villas each have a separate sitting and dining area, three showers, and 24 types of pillows; All of Fregate’s villas are so far from one another that seeing a fellow guest seems like an accident that shouldn’t have happened; Frégate Island has been the home of the Aldabra Giant Tortoise for hundreds of years; Set in the remote Indian Ocean, Frégate is the smallest of the granite islands in the Seychelles.

The resort has a pillow menu; one can choose from 24 types of filling, including feather and memory foam.The large bathrooms have Italian marble soaking tubs and two separate showers (indoor and outdoor). Outside, each villa has its own pool and comfortable day beds.

An estimated 1,000 species have been recorded in its waters. Deep-sea fishing is also worldrenowned. Most guests use their personallyappointed golf carts to find private beaches around the island and mark their spot by putting a “privacy please” sign to mark their spots.

SERVICE Each guest is assigned a private butler, who can be reached via cell phone, and who does everything from play with smaller guests to arrange private meals. “Anytime, anywhere,” is the resort’s motto – on demand, they will procure rare Cuban cigars, guacamole, and even fresh king crab legs from Hong Kong.

The resort flew a plane to pick up the latter (at some cost to the guest, naturally).

THE SPA Last year, the resort implemented an allnatural spa. Every item is edible: coconut scrubs, cashew nut massage oil, and papaya creams. The gardener goes out each morning to pick the necessary ingredients for the day’s appointments.

Signature treatments include a four-hand massage (perhaps the most heavenly thing I’ve experienced), along with a cinnamon wrap.

FOOD Frégate features one Mediterranean

ACTIVITIES The Seychelles are an aquatic

playground, known for diving and snorkeling.

92

restaurant connected to the Balinese-style reception area. Few guests actually dine in

the pavilion (In general, running into another guest seems like an accident that shouldn’t have happened). Most dine at various spots throughout the island: a specially-structured tree house, on the beach, in the villa or gardens, etc. With food being all-inclusive, staying on Frégate is like having a short-order cook on hand who will whip up anything from sushi to fried chicken. There is also an exotic ice cream menu, with flavors such as chili chocolate and rosemary strawberry.

THE BOTTOM LINE Frégate is expensive and

hard to get to, but if privacy is the ultimate concern, you’d be hard pressed to find a more heavenly location. Rates are available on request (about $3,000 a night). Frégate Island Private, The Seychelles, +49-6102-50 13 21, www. fregate.com.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y The Young & The Guest List﹐ Night Life﹐ paint the town﹐ Around Town﹐ Over the Moon﹐ and exclusive parties﹐ parties﹐ parties!

Kathleen “Kick” and Robert “Bobby” Kennedy, III at the Davis residence for an after-party for Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk . (Photo byTony Powell)

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| APRIL

| washingtonlife.com

93

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

THE YOUNG & THE GUEST LIST

Self-Promotion 101 Trying to make it big in the social blogette-o-sphere for 15 minutes of fame

BY K ATI E TA R B OX

NOT THAT

94

however. It’s an original way to self-promote.

More recently, people have taken to conducting popularity polls on Latenightshots. com.“Who’s the most popular in scene?”“Who’s the most popular at the bars?” “Who’s the new IT girl?” Pray your name never ends up as the subject of these postings.

There’s something very important in the art of interpersonal relationships. Everyone seems to have forgotten that subtlety is the most effective way of becoming popular, and always has been.

People we really notice are the ones who aren’t trying to seize the spotlight, but instead are making a difference in this city. Take the subject of last month’s “Who’s Next,” Phillippa Hughes, a steady hand in the art community. We called her; she didn’t call us. People whom we should be paying attention to would never grab the cyber-megaphone. Remember who the real stars of this show are, and they’ll be around a lot longer than it takes to blog a liquor-promo cocktail party at this month’s hot new bottle service club.

Readers wishing to get in touch with Katie can email: columns@washingtonlife.com.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

IL LU STRATION BY J.C. SUA RÈ S

N

o doubt about it - Georgetown the English language to downright drivel. Not that scenesters have caught spring anyone’s dropping their Economist to read this stuff. fever.The object of their affection You’re right to feel a bit of US-Weekly brain-death however isn’t the newest tipsy, guilt while reading items such as: Lilly-clad temptress to get her B.A. in only six “Yesterday was an absolutely fabulous day as years. Something much more basic – self-love – we rallied a dozen wonderful ladies for a brunch has got them swooning this time, and the idea of at Café Milano.” It’s a guilty pleasure populated by airing their trysts, nights out at The Rookery and its own characters; there’s the bon vivant former brunches at Peacock Café with anyone who has a Miss D.C. Kate Michael on www.KstreetKate. computer or a television. net; the gold-standard: It all started when the Pamela Sorenson on first casting call went out for www.pamelaspunch.com; a PB & J TV production of and zealous new-comer anyone’s dropping their a Washington-based reality Katherine Kennedy: www.

Economist to read this stuff. show centered around kkindc.blogspot.com. that perennial bastion of Each month these good taste, Late Night Shots.com. It seemed sites receive several thousand visitors who just like a good fit: PB & J is a reputable production have to know how the writers hit The Park on company behind such E! (or whatever) channel Fourteenth, then met up with Wright Sigmund favorites as Miss America Reality Check and Sports at L2, went to the chef ’s table at Teatro Goldoni, Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search. followed by the Four Seasons for another drink, Late Nights Shots is the place to go if you after which they woke up today and are “sooo want to seriously debate whether oral sex in psyched!” to do it all over again. How Fabulous! public is trashy. But, a TV show based on the Rumor has it that one blog has many “green” after-hours debacles of young Washington? themed postings because the bloggette hopes It’s definitely not the type of self-exploitation to woo the handsome Phillippe Cousteau, that you’d think future politicians would sign while another recently started her bolog up for, right? Wrong. It seems that younger to position herself as a blogger for their Washingtonians are more eager for their fifteen television application. minutes of fame than anybody guessed.

Instead of posting on a website, While no official casting announcements have one young Georgetown socialite been made, don’t rule anyone out. Most would be actually takes it upon herself surprised to learn that man-boy-about-town John to email hundreds of strangers Cecchi was twice selected to be The Bachelor and and regale them with her daily asked to audition for The Apprentice. (He wisely escapades. Last’s week email, titled declined all of these opportunities). Hometown “My 60 Seconds of Fame on hotties Lanah Hamilton and Tessa Horst both Saturday” (insert smiley face icon went looking for love on the The Bachelor, as well. here) chronicled onstage jumping There is no shame in self-promotion these days. up and down and included The easiest way to broadcast one’s cooler- photographs of her night than-thou life is starting a blog. The Washington with the band Burnt Siena. offerings range from interesting experiments with You have to give her credit,

| APRIL

| washingtonlife.com

/&8 8"7& 464)*

$0.*/( 5)*4 .0/5) $POOFDUJDVU "WF /8 XXX DVSSFOU ED DPN

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

NIGHTLIFE

Virginia is for Night-Lovers Zip across the Key Bridge to these Virginian nightspots

BY ED I E VAN H O R N

W

hile famously underrepresented in the Senate, the District “represents” with aplomb in all things nightlife. We’ve got Sunday brunch at Busboys and Poets, power lunch at the Palm, world vibes and big-name DJs at Ibiza on Saturday nights. It’s easy to forget (especially after a few too many Pabst Blue Ribbons between pizzas at Comet) that we’re mere miles from a world of options. Virginia’s red clay is steeped in history, true; but the here and now of Arlington, Alexandria and other Old Dominion burgs may surprise jaded Georgetowners looking for an alternative to M Street mainstays.

Thrasher’s bar menu is thoughtful and creative, offering delicious draughts like the “Eamonn’s Cocktail,” lovingly made with Irish red lemonade, Irish whiskey, and yuzu.Word to the wise: much like 1789, PX has a no jacket, no entrance policy which suits (pun intended) the intimate and luxurious space.

Thrasher is also involved (unsurprisingly) with The Majestic (911 King St.), which ties PX for best date-night spot. Originally founded in 1932, its art-deco décor is complemented by a working antique phone booth, from which patrons can drunkdial (for 25 cents, even) merrily and historically at the same time. Under its quaint tin roof, Thrasher mixes up “Majestic Classics” such as mint juleps, sidecars and even an egg cream or two.

ALEXANDRIA Old Town Alexandria is the kind of place to take your parents (cool parents HONORABLE who like to party, that is).

MENTIONS Quaint enough to please Vermillion (1120 conservatives, it’s still got King Street), whose enough bite to placate a microbrew menu is dad who remembers the staggeringly expansive; hedonism of Monteray the Bayou Room (219 Pop. The town tends to Alexandria’s The Majestic, King St.), the bouncy cater to those searching whose vintage neon sign is the only one allowed by town bybasement dance lounge for an upscale night out laws. (Photo by Zaid Hamid) under pricey Victorian rather than to college-age eatery 219 Restaurant; frat boys. PX (728 King St.) may be the definitive in retro (1920s) chic. A Todd King Street (same address), which draws Thrasher project (he’s the resident alcohol alchemist oenephiles with a rich and varied wine selection. at Restaurant Eve, also located in Alexandria), PX resembles Eighteenth Street Lounge in terms of ARLINGTON AND CLARENDON Clarendon has become well-known for its word-of-mouth exclusivity, signaling business hours by flying a discreet pirate flag out of the window eclectic mix of unique shops, trendy bars, and above “Dublin Chipper” Eamonn’s and turning on small restaurants. Eleventh Street Lounge’s a mellow blue porch lamp. Its occupancy set at a (1041 N. Highland St.) notoriety stems from strict 38 lucky souls, PX pays off once you get inside. a great selection of Belgian beers and from its

96

luxe ambiance: crystal chandeliers, cherry-wood staircases, and hip-deep plush couches. Liberty Tavern (3195 Wilson Blvd.) was originally a Masonic temple, which adds spooky juju to the bar experience. Impress a date by selecting cheeses; they come paired with honeyed figs.The weekend bar scene can become raucous, but the upstairs dining room remains a peaceful haven for the more sedate diner. Guarapo’s (2039 Wilson Blvd.) offers ceviche, paella, sangria, and other tempting South American fare (sister-bar nena is upstairs). EatBar’s (2761 Washington Blvd.) gentle and flattering lighting plays kindly across the ravaged visages of 70-hour-work-week-warrior Washingtonians, and its 70-wines-by-the-glass, velvet booths, and copper-inlaid tabletops are real customer pleasers.

Have a comment or know a great nightlife event?

Let us know: columns@washingtonlife.com.

GREEN DRINK ON! VODKA

Top-shelf vodka with recycled bottle, fivetime filteration, and eco-friendly facility.

SQUARE ONE VODKA

After-tax profits to land and water environmental causes, recycled paper label, packaging, and all PR materials.

ORANGEV

Brewed by one of the few small certified distillers, natural citrus taste that comes from a blend of valencias, mandarins, and tangerines.

DEATH’S DOOR SPIRITS

Small-batch spirits are made with special winter wheat and wild juniper berries.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

NIGHTLIFE

The Girl Has Soul Blues Alley hosts New York blues and folk singer Debbie Deane’s emphatic Washington debut

BY MARY BIRD

LEFT: Debbie Deane performs tracks from her latest album “Grove House” at the intimate Blues Alley.

ABOVE: David Mercer, Julia Cohen, and Bruce Kieloch.

(Photos by Tony Powell)

W

hen Debbie Deane came on stage at Blues Alley, the multi-talented Brooklynite – who grew up listening to Carole King, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan – found herself among friends.

After earning a degree in English literature at Harvard University, Deane embarked on her music career, studying jazz intensively at Boston’s Berklee College of Music and honing the piano skills that she continues to display as a singer-songwriter. She moved back to Brooklyn where she lived in a “jazz den,” a rental in Park Slope, which became an incubator for burgeoning jazz musicians.

The title song of her recent album, “Grove House,” was inspired by a President’s Day weekend visit to Musgrove Plantation in Georgia. Fellow guest and best friend, Louisa

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Mitchell in the realm of modern songwriting” – and her well-crafted, literate songs, with their jazz and soul influences and seductive hooks, are the reason why.

At Blues Alley, Debbie presented two sets which displayed her vocal artistry on piano and guitar. She was accompanied by Jim Whitney on bass and John Mettam on drums. It was John’s birthday, and he received a rousing “Happy Birthday” serenade.

Sarah Thorpe, Melissa Torres, Debbie Deane, Andrea Banks, and Roshanak Ameli-Tehrani.

CATCH DEBBIE WHEN SHE IS IN TOWN NEXT

Benton, inspired the line “2 cool chicks in the Grove House.”The CD, released in June of this year, is Deane’s debut on RKM Records, a label run by jazz saxophonist Ravi Coltrane. Fuse Magazine wrote that Debbie Deane “joins Joni

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Saturday, April 12, 2008 Concerts on Bonnie Branch, Ellicott, Md., 7 p.m.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008 Austin Grill, Rockville, Md., 8 p.m. www.debbiedeane.com

97

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

PAINT THE TOWN

Paint It ... Green Coloring our world, artists use an increasingly natural palette

BY BETH FARNSTROM

L

iving close to the earth didn’t always signify being hip and eco-friendly.

Bugs live close to the earth. In earlier times, serfs wearing rough-sewn smocks colored with vegetable dye slept barely a notch above it, on straw pallets. Today, eco is chic.

There are vegan suede stilettos; Salma Hayek and Cameron Diaz zip around the Hills in sexy little hybrid roadsters. But what’s the state of eco-art?

Pigment was once as precious (and as symbolic) as gold; a painting could be a literal “show” of status. Making artwork, then, with twigs and cow urine, wouldn’t signify “environmentally conscious” or “close to the earth, spiritually” as much as “crazy peasant.” In our century, Italian

MY ART PICKS

BY DR FRED OGNIBENE

Art collector and respected member of the Washington art community gives his must-sees: KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN ; Signature Theater (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington,Va.); through April 20 DAN STEINHILBER; G Fine Art (1515

14th St. NW); through April 26 AMY SILLMAN’S “THIRD PERSON SINGULAR”; The Hirshhorn Museum

and Sculpture Garden (Independence Ave. and Seventh St. SW); through July 6 HATNIM LEE PHOTOGRAPHS ;

Transformer Gallery (1404 P St. NW); through April 26 LUCY HOGG “FLOATING FACES”; Flashpoint Gallery (916 G St. NW); through May 17

98

art critic Germano Celant introduced the term Arte Povera, or “poor art,” to describe the work of artists who used sticks, rocks, and and other “common” materials. The draw then was more likely political – common art for the common man – but it certainly paved the way for artists who use natural materials today.

ON THE “NATURE” OF THINGS

Shinji Turner-Yamamoto’s recent Shigeko Bork Mu Project (1521 Wisconsin Ave. NW) exhibit, “De Rerum Natura: On the Nature of Things” (through April 25), has such close ties to the natural world that (in some cases) the environment actually laid down the brushwork. For his colorful “Rainbow” series, raindrops fell onto a layer of ash to form abstract patterns. Another Turner-Yamamoto project,“Three Windows: Sun, Moon, Star,” will open at the Embassy of Japan’s (2520 Massachusetts Ave. NW) lovely ippaku-tei (teahouse) on the 17th of this month. Even while reaching for the stars, this artist still remains rooted in the community. He’s been at work on a “seeding project,” with elementary science students to germinate seeds and to create small gardens, to be made later into a large-scale installation.

“Sun, Moon, Star” features “OMPHALOS,” a stoneware sculpture which burns incense to project a wavering image of the full moon onto a painting of stars suspended from the ceiling.

HOW GREEN WERE MY GALLERIES?

Georgetown gallery Govinda (1227 34th St. NW) displays Carlotta Hester’s Environmental art can also mean on-site, or “Elemental Journey” on April 18. Hester’s site-specific art. Brian Corrigan’s “14th Street “notebooks” look like gentle time capsules, and the Creative Economy” (a Spring 2008 with their lovingly manhandled edges and course at the Corcoran College of Art dreamy pastels. The notebooks record the and Design) will engage students with the artist’s memories through “collected bits of small business community in the emerging 14th life,” metaphorical dreck and fallout which Street neighborhood (and unofficial Gallery resemble the twigs and stones of Arte Povera.

Row of the District, according to many) of Natural materials can show one’s political northwest Washington. Students will conduct leanings or just one’s penchant for rolling research and create window installations for around in the dirt. And, if art is life, as many select retailers (among them Muleh, Vastu, and say, why not remove as many layers of that Home Rule). An event will be held in May to artificial onion as possible? unveil and auction off the window displays to Readers wishing to get in touch with Beth can email: columns@washingtonlife.com. raise money for a student scholarship.

SHOP LOCALLY THEME GLOBALLY

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

Dan Steinhilber, Andres Tremols, and Maggie Michael

Myrtle Katzen and Holly Bolter

Bill Paley and Robert Lehrman

AROUND TOWN

Foon Sham and Fung Sham

WASHINGTON PROJECT FOR THE ARTS BENEFIT AUCTION The Katzen Center PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

Taking down one of the many purchased works of art

THE EVENT An auction to benefit the WPA’s non-profit

Heather Podesta

mission to promote excellence in contemporary art in the region. THE SCENE Artists and art-lovers enjoyed “tidewater crab timbales” and more from caterer Design Cuisine before dancing to tunes provided by DJs Architect of Sound and Dex Dubious in the Christiana Lounge. THE GUESTS Heather and Tony Podesta, Bill Paley, Conrad and Ludmilla Cafritz, Philippa and David Hughes, Dr. Fred Ognibene, Kim Ward, Cyrus Katzen, George Hemphill, Sco Hutchinson, John Dreyfuss, Elise Hoffman, Michelle Zook, Jim and Mai Abdo.

Karen Gilday, Leigh Coriale, and Mary Beth Taylor

John Dreyfuss and Carol Hyuh

Jan Rothschild

Fred Ognibene, Molly Allen, and Trevor Young

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Ludmilla Cafritz, Kim Ward, and Conrad Cafritz

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Shen Wei

99

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

AROUND TOWN WL EXCLUSIVE

Willee Lewis and British Amb. Sir Nigel Sheinwald

ESU CELEBRATION City Tavern Club PHOTOS BY TONY POWELL

Pam Peabody, Bobbie Brewster, and Jamie Craft Monique Summers-Mally and Lady Sheinwald

Karen Fawcett and Tony Miles

Anne and Stephen Black

THE EVENT Considering its venerable history (it’s Washington’s second oldest building), the City Tavern Club was a fi ing venue at which to celebrate the changing of the guard at two of the capital’s most durable institutions: The English Speaking Union and the British Embassy. The event was hosted by the ESU to say farewell to executive director John Andrews and to welcome his replacement, Mark Olshaker. The turnover coincided with the recent arrival of the new British ambassador, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, and wife Julia. Guests included Stephen Trachtenberg, former president of George Washington University, and wife Francine; Ina Ginsburg; Jamie and Bob Cra ; Sue and Don Rappaport; Pam and Mike Peabody; Andrea and Stephen Weiswasser; Ann and Stephen Black; ESU President Gerald Kauvar and Lolo Sarnoff.

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

AROUND TOWN

THE WIZ Duke Ellington School of the Arts PHOTOS BY KYLE SAMPERTON

THE EVENT A $250,000 production of the The Wiz performed by Ellington students and sponsored by circus master Ken Feld. The Feld Family Foundation donated technical and theatrical equipment to produce the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most expensive musical production to date. Students performed opening night for a VIP crowd that included Mayor Adrian Fenty, School Chancellor Michelle Rhee and other members of the school board.

Ken and Bonnie Feld with Mayor Adrian Fenty and Councilman Jack Evans

Calvin Roberson and Rory Pullens

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Linda Greenan and Ed Soloman

Michaele Christian

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Rema and Ted Manousakis with Bonnie Feld

Sheryll Cashin

101

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

AROUND TOWN

Trump and the Turks Whether by jet a la Donald or by Western Union, getting around town is a must

BY DONNA SHOR

A GLOBAL MAGNATE (AND MAGNET) Christina Gold has dimples, a wide smile, and an easy charm that instantly draws you to her; she is also a CEO with international clout. Fortune magazine rates her one of the “100 most powerful women in the world.”

Panamanian Ambassador Federico Humbert Arias and his wife Daphne honored Gold with a reception at their home when she and husband Peter were here to receive the 2008 Leadership in Excellence Award of the Inter-American Development Council. It was awarded at the IADC’s seventh annual Winter Gala at the Organization of American States, where she was lauded for her work benefiting underdeveloped areas world wide and for the charitable initiatives she has instituted.

Henry Kissinger was honorary chairman of the black-tie gala hosted by IADC’s chair, Amb. Christopher Thomas, and its president and CEO Barry Featherman. Present also was former honoree Harriet Mayor Fulbright.

Western Union, the company for which Gold serves as president and CEO, was also honored for its “leadership in stimulating economic development in the Americas,” said Featherman. For those who remember Western Union’s business as telegrams and an occasional money order from home, that was back in 1851, when it was founded. It is now the world’s largest money-transferring business, with $68 billion per year to the Americas alone – and Christina presides over 355,000 agents

102

he reconfigured it for just 23 passengers, happy amidst the comfortable upholstery, mahogany paneling, golden bathroom fixtures, and oil paintings. There is always anticipatory chatter with the honorees on the way down … and a fun re-hash on the way back.This year, while Trump’s pilot of 17 years, Mike Donovan, guided the big bird gently down, the energetic ambassador of Malaysia, Rajmah Hussain, urged me to share the cockpit jump-seat with her (luckily, she is tiny) and we literally had a bird’s eye view of Washington, obtainable only from that perch, as we gradually returned to earth.

Above: Cyd Everett and Walter Denny at the Turkish Embassy.

Left: Donald Trump with the author at the Palm Beach Red Cross Ball

in 200 countries.

S u s a n H u r l ey Bennett helped organize the gala, which is always a let-your-hair-down party that throbs to a Latin beat, with many ambassadors from the Americas, interesting speeches, and a hot salsa band playing non-stop. The event draws guests from all over, including dynamic Ivonne ABaki, the popular, one-time Ecuadorian ambassador, who ran for Ecuador’s presidency, was appointed minister of finance, and has now been promoted to the presidency of the Andean Parliament. She and daughter Tatiana were joined this year by pal Bo Derek, adding to the high glamour quotient.

UP IN THE AIR: For this writer, a special part each year of the Palm Beach Red Cross Ball is the flight with the ambassadors to be honored there, aboard Donald Trump’s Boeing 727. Built to hold 158,

TURKISH DELIGHT: Cyd Everett chaired a beautifully done cocktail party for the Women’s Committee of the Washington Ballet, hosted by Nabi Sensoy, the ambassador of Turkey, and his wife Gulgun at their Massachusetts Avenue residence, complete with Turkish delicacies.As the flowered invitations promised, University of Massachusetts Professor Walter Denny came down from Amherst to speak on “Flowers in Ottoman Turkish Art”; we’ll never look at those tulips the same way again.

Seen: Kay Kendall and Jack Davies, Debbie and Donald Sigmund, Vibeke Lofft, Septime Webre, Maria Nedelcovich, and Paul Carp.

ANYONE WE KNOW? There was one funny sidebar to the alwaysmagnificent Kuwaiti National Day celebration: Sheila and Gerald Katz rushed in from Potomac to the party’s usual site, the Willard Hotel. Sheila thought ”How odd, just regular flowers, Rima always has spectacular ones at her events.” No AlSabah hosts in sight, and only a few familiar faces.

Then it hit. Wrong party. They regrouped and headed for The Four Seasons and the fête.

If there is an event Around Town should know about, please email columns@washingtonlife.com.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

AROUND TOWN

Parties! Parties! Parties!

Dan Aykroyd at the Kogod Courtyard, Oscar Night and the International Wine & Food Festival

Å The American Diabetes Association hosted cocktails at The Hay Adams to honor its selections for “Father of the Year.” Awardee JIM ABDO attended with his wife MAI.

Å Clyde’s chefs JOHN GUATTERY and

JAKE LYDON serve oysters at the 2008

Ñ JANET STANTON and her husband

Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival. (Photo by Tony Powell)

ROBERT STANTON, also a Father of the Year honoree. (Photos by Tony Powell)

Ç DANA KLINE, LINDA GATTI, KATHERINE WEBB

and NATALIE BOYD gather at SomaFit for the “Go Red for Women” campaign in support of the American Heart Association.

Ç CLAUDIA LEWIS

and BETH CASEMAN (Photos by Jonah Koch)

Å GABRIELLE URQUHART, PATTY BURKE, THEO ADAMSTEIN and KELLY MCAULEY

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

103

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

AROUND TOWN

Ç Actor DAN AYKROYD with Smithsonian American Art Museum director BETSY BROUN at the opening exhibition of painter John Alexander’s works.

Å LINDLEY

THORNBURG and chairwoman of Oscar Night DC PAMELA SORENSEN walk the red carpet in support of The American Red Cross.

É Songwriter

Å Angelina Jolie

PAUL SIMON

Impersonator TIFFANY CLAUS greets guests at Posh Restaurant for Oscar Night DC.

stops in at the Kogod Courtyard for cocktails to celebrate the Alexander exhibit.

É Proud mother

PHYLLIS GEORGE watches daughter Pamela Brown served as the evening’s emcee.

(Photos by Tony Powell)

É ANAIS DE VIEL

CASTEL and friend and fashion designer

JULIETTE LONGUET

at the Park Hyatt for Longuet’s trunk show.

É CONNOR and

KIRSTEN QUINTEZ browse at Longuet’s spring line. (Photos

by Tony Powell)

104

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

Rep. Dave Obey and Carrie Nelson

AROUND TOWN

Tia Nelson

WL EXCLUSIVE

NATURAL RESOURCES COUNCIL OF AMERICA AWARDS BANQUET Grand Hya Washington PHOTOS BY JAIME WINDON Professional Man Prima Moda Fine Italian Men's Wear 1619 K Street NW, Washington, DC 202-466-6255

THE EVENT This “Academy Awards” of conservation causes celebrated the National Trails System Act and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act’s 40th anniversary and awarded outstanding work in the field of global warming counteraction.

THE SCENE The late Senator Gaylord Nelson was posthumously recognized for being a founder of Earth Day; daughter Tia Nelson accepted the award.

THE GUESTS Chris Palmer, Noah Matson, Pete Martinez, Ann Georges, Bruce Ward, Jeff Olson, William Meadows, and Rep. Dave Obey.

Mark Udall and Rep. Tom Udall

Pete Martinez and Jeff Olson

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

On the corner of 16th and K Street One block from the White House

ProfessionalMan_WASH1006.indd 1

Kathleen Rogers and Chris Palmer

Noah Matson

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

105

9/8/06 11:53:46 AM

WASHINGTON S O C I A L D I A R Y

OVER THE MOON

At the International Championship Cup of the Americas of 1928, the United States Team: from left, W. A. Harriman, T. Hitchcock Jr. , M. Stevenson, Winston Guest, and L.E. Stoddard. (Photo courtesy of National Museum of Polo.)

Palm Beach Plays its Part Virginia may be for lovers, but Florida is definitely for horse lovers

BY VICKY MOON

Go for the Golf, Stay for the Stables For some folks, the annual winter migration to a warmer climate translates to a few rounds of golf. Such was the case when a group of men from Middleburg – Andy Fenton, John Palmer, Howard Armfield, Trowbridge Littleton, Andrew Stifler, and several others – joined host Jim Treptow in The Exumas, Bahamas for an outing on the links.

106

However, golf is only a side focus for most Middleburgers. Just ask Jim Treptow; the horses are what really bring their owners south. Horses of all types – talented polo ponies, thoroughbred race horses, and highjumping show hunters and jumpers congregate in Wellington, Florida. In the early mornings, Jim (who recently purchased Hickory Tree Farm in Middleburg) is out watching his racehorses (trained by Graham Motion) breeze

at Palm Meadows or run the afternoon races at Gulfstream Park. In between, he spends time at the horse shows, where Denice DeRisio Perry trains a slew of riders from Middleburg, including Ainsley Treptow (a senior at Foxcroft) and her mother, Mary Lea Treptow.

Cottontail and Little Lou Dee The equine enclave of Wellington (fondly referred to as “Welly World”) is located about

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

40 minutes west of über-shopping destination Worth Avenue, located in bright, beautiful, and bountiful Palm Beach. Naturally, then, it was at Welly World that two polo ponies – Cottontail and Little Lou Dee – were honored at the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame Awards Gala, attended by more than 300 people from all parts of the world.

The late Harry Payne Whitney’s favorite mount was the late, great Cottontail, who was noted for her “unfaltering courage.” The pair competed in international matches against England in 1909, 1911, and 1913 (A piece of polo trivia – female polo ponies are preferred – 99.9 percent of all polo ponies are female, in fact – as they are considered to have greater courage, intellect and stamina than their male counterparts.

No female editorial comment necessary).

Whitney’s grandson, Leverett S. Miller of Palm Beach, was on hand to accept the award. Little Lou Dee, the other pony recognized as one of the “Horses to Remember,” was bred and played by Hall of Famer Tommy Wayman.The gallant, black

mare was remembered “for her agility, speed and great heart.”

Averell H. Fisk, also of Palm Beach and a polo enthusiast, accepted the Hall of Fame Award in memory of his grandfather, W. Averell Harriman. The late sportsman and statesman, who had a farm in Middleburg with all types of horses, was honored for his skills on the polo field during the 1920s “Golden Age” of the sport and for his “great contribution toward the breeding of polo ponies.”

The polo celebration was co-chaired by Patricia and Julian Hipwood, the legendary British polo player. There were endless flutes of champagne and six hors d’oeuvres stations (representing the six chukkers present in the game itself), including a “World Tour of Polo,” which offered an Argentinian table, Australian “Shrimp on the Barbie,” French foie-gras, Italian bruschetta, Spanish jamon Serrano and queso Manchego, and

Right: W. Averrell Harriman’s grandson, Averell H. Fisk, accepts the Hall of Fame award in his grandfather’s memory. Below: Susan Hensley and Bill Fannon at the International Polo Club in Palm Beach

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

a clever take on Americana – lobster macaroni and cheese. All of this was followed by dinner and dancing in the main tent.

Other polo patrons in Florida for the season were: Garrick Steele, Jay Fetner, and Kevin Dougherty. Susan Hensley and Bill Fannon have been following the polo season south for several years and frequently attend the Sunday matches at the fashionable International Polo Club Palm Beach. Polo aficionado Stephen Seager of Chetwood Park in The Plains also stopped in for this whirlwind weekend.

Winter Equestrian Festival Elizabeth Wolf was spotted at a reception for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, held at a private home in Palm Beach. She spent her first full winter in Florida while recuperating from a broken leg (yes, it was a horse-related injury). Elizabeth fell in love with the lifestyle and spent the warm days watching several of her dressage horses go through their intricate moves. Her husband, Bill Wolf, flew down from Middleburg for several weekends.

The odds are good that they will be making this excursion into an annual event.

At every turn, more folks from Middleburg pop up. At the Winter Equestrian Festival Horse Shows, Charley Matheson signed copies of his new book (friend Julie Martin was also in town). Mimi Abel-Smith was riding her show hunters and Nellie Ann Foosaner commuted back and forth from Foxcroft with her father, Bob Foosaner.

According to the United States Equestrian Federation, Joe Fargis proved, once again, “that in equestrian sports, experience can compete alongside youth.” The 59-year-old team and individual gold medalist from the 1984 Olympic Games now claims Middleburg as home base. Joe was jumping high in the Grand Prix events; perhaps he has his eye on a spot on the U.S. team, which soon heads to this year’s summer Games in Hong Kong.

Allen Richards, who has a farm over near Delaplane, was busy riding and training. His neighbor, Troye Plaskitt, introduced her new line of Italian footwear at one of the show’s boutiques.

Troye has opened a new shop in Middleburg called Nobel Nielsen Shoes…expect all the full fashion details next month.

107

Together we can turn your dream into a reality BANK OF AMERICA CAN CREATE THE RIGHT MORTGAGE SOLUTION FOR YOU. Our experienced mortgage specialists strive to develop smart, flexible mortgage solutions for people like you, because we appreciate our neighbors. At Bank of America, we can help you turn your dream of homeownership into a reality with: • Simple processing with less paperwork • Fast loan approvals and closings • Competitive rates and a variety of financing programs

DON’T MISS A SINGLE ISSUE! NOW THERE ARE THREE WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE… CALL GO ONLINE OR CLIP AND MAIL

Call me today to find out how we can work together to get you into your new home.

Jason R. Gold Mortgage Specialist Office: 202.624.3768 Fax: 866.755.9633 1801 K. St. Suite 440 Washington, DC 20006

Get your Washington Life Magazine Subscription Now! Subscription rate: issues for $ includes First Class delivery) Name: ___________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________ City: _____________________ State: ____ Zip: ________ Phone: ___________________________________________ Signature: ________________________________________

jason.r.gold@bankofamerica.com Send subscription information to: Washington Life Magazine 2301 Tracy Place NW Washington, DC 20008

Payment Enclosed

Rate limited to U.S.A and its Possessions. For delivery to Canada, please add USD$10 per order, elsewhere add USD$20. Please allow 6–8 weeks for delivery of the first issue.

Credit subject to approval. Normal credit standards apply. Programs, rates, terms and conditions subject to change without notice. Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC ~ Equal Housing Lender © 2006 Bank of America Corporation

We also accept Visa and Mastercard.

Tel.: 202-745-9788 • Fax: 202-745-9268 • Email: info@washingtonlife.com

HOME LIFE what’s hot eco-chic design﹐ real estate news﹐ and historical landscapes

SHIGERU BAN’S

GREEN THUMB

JAPAN’S FAMED ARCHITECT PACKS HIS BAGS AND BRINGS HOMES INCLUDING THE KITCHEN SINK TO MERIDIAN INTERNATIONAL CENTER

ustainable architect Shigeru Ban’s eco-friendly approach to architecture goes beyond the “green” phenomena and our 21st century efforts to hybrid and solar panel the world. Ban’s philosophy takes saving energy and using recycled materials to a whole new level, attempting to redefine contemporary spaces by making use of ordinary materials with minimal waste production. In May, the Meridian International Center will host Ban for a series of lectures, and his paper houses will be on display at Meridian House and at the National Building Museum.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

Ban’s notoriety has him doing business everywhere between his hometown of Tokyo, Japan to New York, Western Europe, Rwanda, and back again. His assortment of architectural projects has included everything from posh, eleven-story condominium complexes in West Chelsea to paper-tube bridges and temporary housing for displaced persons.

Ban, 43, has become a major philanthropic contributor to refugee causes in places such as Japan, India and Turkey. After seeing photos of the 1994 refugee situation in Rwanda, Ban proposed a plan to replace the poorlymaintained aluminum and plastic sheet shelters

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Ban’s paper homes are made of 100 percent recycled materials, are carbon neutral and can be recycled for other uses. Though based in Japan, Ban’s homes have been constructed throughout the world, including Washington.

SAVE THE DATE May 16th for the Meridian International Center’s “One Night in Kyoto,” Spring Garden Party.

For more information please call Tom O’Coin at 202-939-5559 with paper-tube structures. Parts for the new sanctuaries were easily produced even in a third world country like Rwanda, and those living in the camps could build the houses with minimal training.

109

HOME LIFE | GREEN HOME

Left: Ban’s paper tube bridges, shown here on display at the MOMA, will serve as temporary housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right project. Right: Metal Shutter House in New York City is constructed completley of recycleable materials and is an example of Ban’s luxury properties.

After the devastating Kobe earthquake in his home country, Ban, averaging only $2,000 a house, created refugee shelters for earthquake victims with reusable, low cost, and easily constructible material: waterproof sponge tape, paper logs (or tubes) and beer crates.

One of his most well-known pieces is the paper church he built for the Kobe refugees.

Although designed for temporary use, the church, after standing for ten years, was only recently disassembled and the parts sent to Taiwan for reconstruction.

From 1995 to 2000, Ban continued to improve provisional housing strategies for displaced persons while working as a consultant for the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and later went on to develop the Voluntary Architects’ Network (VAN), an organization devoted to architecture assistance in crisis situations.

In 1996, Ban won the Kansai Architect Grand Prize. A few months later he accepted the Best Young Architect of the Year award from the Japan Institute of Architecture. In 2005, he received the Thomas Jefferson Medal in Architecture from the University of Virginia.

It came as no surprise when actorphilanthropist Brad Pitt petitioned Ban to

110

contribute to his ¨Make It Right¨ campaign in New Orleans. Pitt’s project aspires to create cost-effective and sustainable housing for the Lower Ninth Ward, one of the areas most devastated by 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. The assessment of cultural norms and ecological concerns when designing new projects is one of Ban’s most commendable traits, and Pitt’s project will take advantage of these skills.

Ban’s architecture is not restricted to building temporary natural disaster relief shelter; He has become a household name, appearing on some of the trendiest new construction sites in major cities around the world. He has contracted the Pompidou’s new sister museum in Metz, France, the center of operations for a major cosmetics company in Italy, and many lavish new villas in the Caribbean.

Whatever the project – and no matter the location – Ban manages to combine his natural edge with style and sustainability.

For example, the 2005 Nomadic Museum, constructed on the Hudson River’s Pier 54 (one of the largest additions to Manhattan in this century), was Ban’s collaboration with world-renowned photographer Gregory Colbert. It housed the latter’s art exhibit in a sustainable traveling museum. No hint of the

Ban photographed in Rwanda, where he has built extensive housing for refugees.

mass construction remains in Manhattan; if one were to walk to Pier 54 today, one would never know such an architectural behemoth had ever existed.

No matter who commissions Ban to construct his next architecture marvel, the resulting edifice is sure to be amazing. In a career where philanthropic relief effort rarely goes beyond monetary donations, Ban has reshaped his architectural gift to aid humanitarian causes while keeping true to his stylistic ideology.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

HOME LIFE | WHAT’S HOT

ECO-soft A

deep respect for the environment has seeped into all things decadent and delightful. While you’re shopping for yourself, your little one or that special someone, why not double-up and treat the earth too?

WL rounds up the chicest eco-gifts on the globe.

– Yona Park CHESAPEAKE BAY pure & natural soy candle ($9.99).

Target, 3100 14th St. NW, Ste. 201, 202-777-3773.

FREDDY&MA black pillow with flowers ($45). Available at www.freddy&ma.com.

FASHIONATION pyramid recycled plastic speakers ($14.95). Marshalls, 3100 14th St. NW, 202-265-3402 .

WATERWORKS bamboo textile bath towel ($74). Waterworks, 3314 M St. NW, 202-333-7180.

RADLEY recycled plastic random spot umbrella ($55). Available at www.radley.co.uk.

BABY SOY blanket, bodysuit and bib in pink and blue ($18, $14, $5.25). Daisy Baby, 4924 Del Ray Ave., Bethesda, Md., 301-654-7477 or www.shopdaisybaby.com.

111

HOME LIFE | WHAT’S HOT

DESIGN WITHIN REACH coral, kina and koura shades ($500, $2,000 and $2,200). At DWR Studio, 1838 Columbia Rd. NW, 202-265-5640.

LIGNE ROSET everynight cube ($775).

Ligne Roset, 3306 M St. NW, 202-333-6390.

ECO-sturdy

LIGNE ROSET downtown end table ($1,020). Ligne Roset, 3306 M St. NW, 202-333-6390.

C

onstructed from renewable resources, forest-friendly lumber or with minimal materials, eco-friendly furniture has taken the interior design world by storm. Whether it’s the products, or actual day-to-day philosophy of the company, home décor has turned a green leaf. – Yona Park

DESIGN WITHIN REACH cork stool and table ($350 and $385).

At DWR Studio, 1838 Columbia Rd. NW, 202-265-5640.

LIGNE ROSET trolley bar cart ($1,430 - $1,515). Ligne Roset, 3306 M St. NW, 202-333-6390.

WILLEM SMITH eclipse console table ($2,996). Arbiter ltd.

Washington Design Center, 300 D St. SW, Ste. 111, 202-554-9600.

ESCRIBA plano shelving system (starting at $1,730 per panel). VASTU, 1829 14th St. NW, 202-234-8344.

112

HOME LIFE | REAL ESTATE NEWS

The 10,600 square-foot colonial at 4815 Dexter St., NW has sold for $3,800,000.

Le Printemps in a Penthouse Beaux-Arts beauties and classic Colonials

BY MARY K. MEWBORN

THE DISTRICT With a price tag of $4.5 million, the four-story brick and limestone Beaux-Arts mansion at S St﹒﹐ NW in Kalorama is now under contract. The prospective buyer is former J. C. Penney’s executive Catherine West, who made Fortune’s 2006 list of the 50 Most Powerful Women before being fired barely six months into the job. Prior to her short stint with Penney’s, West had been with Capital One, First USA Bank, Chevy Chase Bank FSB, and Peoples Express Airline. She is the great-granddaughter and granddaughter

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

of a president and executive vice president of the Chicago retail behemoth Marshall Field & Co.The Embassy Row residence has oversized living and dining rooms, parlor, bar area, stateof-the-art kitchen, breakfast room, mahoganypaneled library, six bedrooms, six bathrooms, five fireplaces, enclosed patio and two decks – one with a view of the Washington Monument.

The seller is Mark Cohen. The property was listed by Michael Rankin with Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sotheby’s International Realty.

The 10,600 square-foot colonial at

Dexter St﹒﹐ NW has sold for $3,800,000.

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Built in 2003, the seven-bedroom house with six and a half baths now belongs to Robert Wilder, who was represented by Elizabeth Lavette Shorb of Washington Fine Properties.

William F.X. Moody and Robert Hryniewicki, also with Washington Fine Properties, listed the home for seller Cynthia Wilcox.

Georgie Benardete moved to London.

By press time, international real estate expert Daniel Cummings and his wife Linda are expected to buy Benardete’s house at

st St﹒﹐ NW. The elegant 4,200-square-foot, three-level, brick Colonial-style manse sits

113

HOME LIFE | REAL ESTATE NEWS

Above, left: Daniel Cummings and his wife Linda are expected to buy 1609 31st St., NW. Above, right: The three-level penthouse, #2C, in the Ritz-Carlton Residences at 1155 23rd St., NW

across from Tudor Place in Georgetown. Built in 1980 and recently remodeled, it has updated bathrooms and new wood floors. Fluted columns delineate the public rooms. There are five bedrooms and five baths, library, three fireplaces, and kitchen with two dishwashers, two ovens, two sinks and Sub-Zero refrigerator.

French doors lead from the kitchen to the patio and swimming pool.The estate was listed

by Kimberly Casey and Daryl Judy (who were named the number one team at Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty for 2007). The dynamic duo had the property under contract in just one day with an asking price of $3.4 million. Tutt, Taylor & Rankinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Michael Rankin assisted the Cummings.

Washington Fine Properties realtor Jim Bell and mortgage banker Mark Sco have sold their three-level penthouse, #2C (listed at $2,395,000), in the Ritz-Carlton Residences at rd Stďš&#x2019;ďš?

NW. to Mark Weinstein, executive director of the Washington National Opera. The couple now intends to purchase S Stďš&#x2019;ďš? NW from Pauli and Grant McClanahan. The $1.5 million house has four bedrooms, three and a half baths, a media room, a library, and a living room that opens onto a balcony with stairs leading to the garden below.

comes in the aftermath of Kenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision to leave his position as executive vice president of marketing with Discovery Communication in favor of becoming Nikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vice president of USA brand management. The couple are graduates of the University of Notre Dame, and she is a former associate publisher for People magazine. They now reside in Oregon.

for the American Red Cross and the widow of Howard V. Covell, a deputy chief of the D.C. police. During World War II she did administrative work at the Pentagon and it was there that she met Brigadier General Richard B. Moran and his wife Thelma T. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tillieâ&#x20AC;? Thickins, from whom she eventually purchased this house. Tillie and her husband regularly entertained high-ranking military VIRGINIA officers and their wives, and Mrs. Dwight On March 3, Audiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Marc Trahan and his Eisenhower was a frequent visitor. When the wife Jane acquired an 11-acre horse farm Thickinsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; marriage ended in 1948, Mrs. Covell in Purceville. The property, located at acquired the house with the understanding that Oakridge Hamlet Plďš&#x2019;ďš? includes a five- Mrs. Thickens would always have a place in it. bedroom with four and a half baths, office, On December 8, 1970, Mamie Eisenhower, great room and walkout basement with theater recounting the old days, wrote the following to and exercise area.The seller was Remax realtor her: â&#x20AC;&#x153;All we women of the war era seem to be Diana Austin, who was asking a mere $950,000. greatly scattered, and, of course, some of [us] Kimberly Casey and Daryl Judy with Tutt, have passed on, but I will always be grateful Taylor & Rankin Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International to you for your hospitality â&#x20AC;Ś We enjoyed Realty helped facilitate the sale. your lovely house and garden.â&#x20AC;? Thickens died Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on February 3, 1984. Built in 1936, the fourInternational Realtyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Kimberly Casey and bedroom house retains its original hard wood Daryl Judy were the listing agents for floors and architectural flourishes. It is priced Mansion Drive in Alexandria. By press to sell at $1.3 million. time, this property should belong to Moira and Timothy L. Buzby, VP/controller of the WL regrets omitting Julia Diaz-Asper of Tutt, Federal Agriculture Mortgage Corporation. Taylor & Rankin Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty as MARYLAND Mark Souder of Coldwell Banker is their the primary selling agent for 3017 O St. NW in Amy Weber Dice and Kenneth E. Dice, selling agent. The property is the estate of Marchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Real Estate News.

III sold their five-bedroom home at Mary Workun Covell, who died last October Woodside Plďš&#x2019; in Chevy Chase to Primacy at age 89. She was a chairwoman of the Please send real estate news items to Closing Corp. for $2.24 million. The sale National Cherry Blossom Festival, a fundraiser columns@washingtonlife.com.

114

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

FOREST HILLS

John Mahshie

Designed by awardwinning architect Travis L. Price III, AIA. Executed in the tradition of Frank Lloyd Wright, this residence offers approximately 11,000 square feet of luxurious living space in a spectacular setting. $4,950,000.

202.271.3132

CHEVY CHASE

Exceptional estate in the heart of Chevy Chase Village directly across from Chevy Chase Club. Built in 1927 by noted Washington, D. C. architect, Waddy B. Wood. $4,600,000.

Michael Rankin 202.271.3344 Jonathan Taylor 202.276.3344

WEST END

MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE HEIGHTS

Impervious 1929 construction with meticulous renovation.

Considered the best floor-plan for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s active lifestyle.

Perfectly sited on private cul-de-sac with commanding views. $8,300,000.

Carroll Dey 202.320.0441 Greg Gaddy 202.421.4734

LOGAN/ U STREET

Unquestionably dramatic & truly refined with 20 foot ceilings, entire walls of glass & carrera marble baths this modern masterpiece by Robertson Development includes, parking, 2 bedrooms + Den & is a block to Metro. $859,000.

Jeffrey Lockard 202.246.3344

PENN QUARTER

Magnificent penthouse unit is in the exclusive Ritz-Carlton.

World-class service, a 24-hour concierge, valet parking, in-home catering, and a top-rated fitness center. $3,400,000.

Jonathan Taylor 202.276.3344 Michael Rankin 202.271.3344

Large 2 bedroom 2 bath with views of the historic store fronts on 7th street includes Brazilian cherry hardwood flooring & on-site garage parking in the full service Residences at Gallery Place. $615,000.

Jeffrey Lockard 202.246.3344

GEORGETOWN

GEORGETOWN

This handsome federal townhouse in the heart of the East Village is rich in architectural history and details.

There are spacious rooms for elegant entertaining, a divine third floor balcony from which you can enjoy the views and a lush garden & patio on the main level perfect for al fresco dining. $2,495,000.

Julia Diaz-Asper 202.256.1887

nnn%kkij`i%Zfd

In the heart of Georgetownâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Business District and close to the Potomac River, this exceptional commercial opportunity is concealed behind a turn-of-the century rowhouse.

The completely renovated interior is comprised of two levels and a front terrace. Location is ideal for gallery or office desiring visibility and foot traffic. $999,000.

Dave DeSantis 202.438.1452

MCLEAN

rare offering. $17,500,000.

Ruth Ellis-Morillo

Magnificent chateau built with exceptional craftsmanship and design.

Extraordinary and elaborate details throughout. A 703.582.4254

KALORAMA HEIGHTS

Perfectly sited on an exclusive two block street in one of Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most desirable neighborhoods.

This 3-story residence has exceptional style and grandeur, great privacy, terraces and pool. $10,000,000.

Jonathan Taylor 202.276.3344 Michael Rankin 202.271.3344

WATERGATE

Elegant renovation of this 3,060 sq ft unit overlooking garden/pool/ river. Master suite with double closets, padded silk walls and imported bathroom tiles & fixtures. Custom-made Italian Gourmet kitchen w/top of the line appliances. $2,250,000.

Julia Diaz-Asper 202.256.1887

KALORAMA

Exceptional, Federal row house nestled along Rock Creek Park has 3 levels of living. Perfect home & garden for entertaining and is close to Embassy Row and downtown.

Parking. $1,250,000.

Kimberly Casey 202.361.3228 Daryl Judy 202.380.7219

4UTT 4AYLOR 2ANKIN 3OTHEBYS )NTERNATIONAL 2EALTY $OWNTOWN 7ASHINGTON $ #

'EORGETOWN 7ASHINGTON $ #

-ARYLAND

6IRGINIA

Š MMV Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty AfďŹ liates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Les Bords de lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Epte a Giverny, used with permission. Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International RealtyÂŽ is a licensed trademark to Sothebyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s International Realty AfďŹ liates, Inc. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each OfďŹ ce Is Independently Owned And Operated, Except OfďŹ ces Owned And Operated By NRT Incorporated.

HOME LIFE | OPEN HOUSE

Ravishing Retreats Escapes for athletes and nature lovers

PLAYER’S PARADISE

BEALL MOUNTAIN ROAD POTOMAC MARYLAND

Located in the heart of Potomac, this property combines wooded privacy and numerous “play” venues. Sited on six acres with a meandering stream and woodlands, this fully renovated house was recently remodeled by architect Jim Rill. Rock outcroppings overlook the stream, while a barn-styled sports complex features a full-court indoor basketball court and batting and golf cages.

ASKING Listing agent: Anne Killeen 301-706-0067 Washington Fine Properties

RAPPAHANNOCK RETREAT RUSH RIVER LANE WASHINGTON VA

Just outside the town of Little Washington, this 31-acre Italianate estate incorporates distinctly Japanese sensibilities and overlooks the Virginia Piedmont. Just above the house lies the Shenandoah National Park, while below lies a Mediterranean garden, secret garden room, an autumn garden, and a woodland glade, including one of the most extensive private collections of boxwood varieties in the region. Designed by Outerbridge Horsey and Merle Thorpe, the house is handicapped-accessible throughout and the winner of an award for Distinctive Residential Architecture from the National Capital Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

ASKING

Listing agent: Thomas Bryant 202-253-5220 Georgetown Long & Foster Realtors

116

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

-

FOXHALL 202.363.1800 WOODLEY PARK 202.483.6300 CHEVY CHASE/UPTOWN 202.364.1300 BETHESDA Gateway 301.907.7600

GEORGETOWN 202.944.8400 FOGGY BOTTOM 202.296.5200 FRIENDSHIP HEIGHTS 202.364.5200 CHEVY CHASE 202.363.9700

LONG & FOSTER REALTORS ®

GREAT FALLS, VA

WASHINGTON, DC

MCLEAN, VA

POTOMAC, MD

9801 Lindsey Blake Lane. Architectural Masterpiece. Sited on river-bend golf course. The owners have combined their talents to meticuosly renovate this home throughout with over $800,000 in high end renovations making it truly one of a kind. Casual elegance throughout for ease of living and entertaining. Year round veranda and patios make for resort-like living. $2,499,000.

11800 Forest Heights Court. Majestically sited on hilltop at the top of a cul de sac in private enclave.

Sunny, Light and Bright Custom home built in 2006 with no expense spared. Open floor plan for today’s style of living and ease of entertaining.

Huge gourmet kitchen opens to morning room and family room with coffered ceiling. Caterers kitchen.

Master suite with cozy fireplace. Private Guest Suite. Lower level opens to rear yard. $1,885,000.

1133 TOWLSTON ROAD. Stunning estate home on 1.87 landscaped acres offers a perfect venue for formal entertaining and stylish family living. Gorgeous millwork by renowned architectural firm of Versaci Neumann. Elegant foyer, embassy sized formal rooms and wood paneled library, 12’+ ceilings, 5 fireplaces, 38’ family room with vaulted cedar ceiling, custom mahogany wine cellar with tumbled marble flooring. Owner/Agent. $2,750,000.

Sited on 2.78 acres, this 20,000-square-foot residence features a first floor master suite and 10 additional bedrooms and baths. Entertaining is effortless with this banquet-sized dining room, chef’s kitchen, and family room overlooking the grounds. $5,750,000.

Sharon R. Hayman 703.402.2955 MCLEAN OFFICE 703.790.1990

Sharon R. Hayman 703.402.2955 MCLEAN OFFICE 703.790.1990

Karen Barker, 703.928.8384, www.karenbarker.com FOXHALL OFFICE 202.363.1800

vs. The Competition

25%

Krystyna Litwin 301.299.6098 POTOMAC FALLS O FFICE 301.983.0060

L ONG & F OSTER ®

2007 TOTAL MRIS AREA* MARKET SHARE ®

2007 Total MRIS Area Market Share Based on Dollar Volume of Sales

DOLLAR VOLUME OF SALES

20%

Total Metropolitan Regional Information System (MRIS ®) Database: Washington, D.C. and parts of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania

15%

15%

LONG & FOSTER

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

10% Weichert RE/MAX Allegiance

5% Jobin Realty

0

Washington Fine Properties McEnearney

Prudential Carruthers

Fairfax Realty

RE/MAX 100

Source: Data Concepts, select 2007 market share data. This representation is based in whole or in part on data supplied by MRIS®. Neither MRIS

*Includes all sales in DC, MD, VA, WVA, & PA covered by MRIS. Source: MRIS through Data Concepts, select market share data.

KENSINGTON, MD Enter this charming Cape Cod and be wowed by the most incredible expansion/renovation you could ever imagine! Approximately 4,400 Square Feet with designer finishes and quality craftsmanship abound in this exquisite 5-Bedroom, 3.5 Bath home. Seeing is believing! $1,195,000.

Sharyn Goldman 301.529.7555 BETHESDAY G ATEWAY O FFICE 301.907.7600

In select areas

POTOMAC/RIVER FALLS

MCLEAN, VA

GEORGETOWN

Gorgeous 3 finished level Colonial featuring side load garage, fabulous new gourmet table-space 2007 kitchen, sunroom addition, 4 bedrooms and 3 baths upstairs, 1st-floor family room with fireplace and built-ins, beautiful master suite with luxurious bath, large level fenced yard with deck and patio.

Sought-after pool/tennis community. $1,399,000.

Evans Farm. Elegant, spacious and beautifully sited at the end of a cul-de-sac. Over 7000 sq ft of living space on 3 finished levels. 5 bedrooms, 4.5 baths including a stunning gourmet kitchen, beautiful hardwoods, custom trim and wonderful sun-filled spaces. Lower level is an entertainer’s dream with expansive bar and access to professionally landscaped gardens & patios. $2,229,000.

Gorgeous Victorian with a wonderful vista overlooking Visitation grounds. Enjoy 4 floors of spacious living, including parking! This special house has a terrific pool for hot summer days, unique mantels and very interesting architectural features. Loaded with light and close to all of the amenities of Georgetown. $2,495,000.

Sharyn Goldman 301.529.7555 B ETHESDA G ATEWAY O FFICE 301.907.7600

CINDY JONES 703.795.0950 MCLEAN OFFICE 703.790.1990

WWW.CINDYJ.COM

Margaret Heimbold GEORGETOWN O FFICE

202.812.2750 202.944.8400

HOME LIFE | OPEN HOUSE GEORGETOWN GEM N STREET NW WASHINGTON DC

This handsome Federal townhouse in the heart of Georgetown’s East Village is rich in architectural history and detail. In addition to a state-of-the-art kitchen, there are spacious entertaining rooms and a thirdfloor balcony with views of the garden and patio on the main level.

ASKING

Listing agent: Julia Diaz-Asper 202-256-1887 Tutt, Taylor & Rankin Sotheby’s International Realty

KALORAMA CLASSIC CALIFORNIA STREET NW WASHINGTON DC

This historic Spanish-style Kalorama home dates to 1923 and features many of the original details throughout. Consisting of four levels, a two-car garage with attached guest house, and private rear and front gardens, the house has been restored by the owner with the assistance of Anthony P. Browne, an Architectural Digest “Top 100” interior designer.

The interior features five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, chef ’s kitchen, lower-level family room and wine room, and an integrated media and sound system throughout.

ASKING

Listing agent: Jim Bell 202-607-4000 Washington Fine Properties

118

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| A P R I L | washingtonlife.com

Jeff Mauer

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Washington Harbour Georgetown 202.487.5460 www.cbmove.com/jeffreymauer

Georgetown

WASHINGTON, DC

Perfectly renovated 3 level Federal in Georgetown’s prestigious East Village.

No detail has been overlooked in this charming 2 bedroom 1.5 bath home. Main level features a gracious living area with heart of pine floors, built-in bookshelves, woodburning fireplace, crown molding and elegant French doors overlooking a sunny brick patio below. The lower level offers a gourmet table space granite and stainless kitchen, woodburning fireplace, half bath and laundry room. The upstairs contains the master bedroom with custom closet cabinetry, stunning travertine bath and second bedroom. A perfect Georgetown gem! $1,295,000

3000 K St., NW Suite 101 • Washington, DC 20007

202.333.6100

Juan A. Umanzor Jr. Realtor UMANZOR & ASSOCIATES Bethesda Gateway Office Office (301) 907-7600 Cell (240) 606-8294 juan@longandfoster.com www.ourteamyourdream.com

$629,700 SILVER SPRING, MD Phenomenal Renovation! Luxury at its finest in Drumelda Hills. Excellent location, convenient to everything close to shopping, restaurants, and places of worship. Ammenities includes gleaming hardwood floors, carpet, new windows, granite countertops, an oversize finished basement, and it is situated on over 1 acre of land.

$600,000 ROCKVILLE, MD Beautiful 6 BR, 3.5 BA colonial located in the heart of Harriett Park, Rockville. Excellent location! This home features a lovely and spacious kitchen w/ granite countertops, a kitchen island, and breakfast bar. Loads of sunlight beams throughout this home on all three levels. Also features an attached garage and plenty of off street parking.

Serving those who expect only the best…

Leading the Market Washington Fine Properties

70%

60%

Liz Lavette Shorb

0%

$1 Million+ 573 Sales

$2 Million+ 122 Sales

11%

$3 Million+ 48 Sales

12%

TTR SOTHEBY’S

18% 18% COLDWELL BANKER

11%

25%

LONG & FOSTER

NEW PRICE! Turn of century estate on nearly acre and a half. Gorgeous public rooms, including grand foyer and ballroom. Ample bedrooms and staff quarters, heated pool and spa. Exceptional offering in our marketplace. $6,900,000

23%

29%

TTR SOTHEBY’S

CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND

27%

COLDWELL BANKER

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

12% TTR SOTHEBY’S

10%

29% COLDWELL BANKER

20%

32% LONG & FOSTER

30%

WASHINGTON FINE PROPERTIES

35%

LONG & FOSTER

40%

301-996-3220

WASHINGTON FINE PROPERTIES

Sherry Davis

50%

TTR SOTHEBY’S

EDGEMOOR - Rare opportunity to purchase this major Edgemoor Estate, White Chimneys. Exquisite English-style manor home sited on 1 acre double lot with pool and tennis. 6 BR, 5.5 BA, 7 fireplaces, 4-car garage. $7,600,000

COLDWELL BANKER

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

56%

LONG & FOSTER

WASHINGTON FINE PROPERTIES

60%

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

WASHINGTON FINE PROPERTIES

Washington D.C. Market Participation 2007 Sold Transactions 65%

$4 Million+ 17 Sales

Source of Data: MRIS; Participation in the Listing and/or Sale of the total number of Sales; Chart includes firms that listed or sold 50+ Properties over $1M

301-785-6300

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC

POTOMAC, MARYLAND

William F. X. Moody Robert Hryniewicki

Anne Killeen

Renovated Federal town home on premier East Village street. Gracious rooms with authentic period details & amenities. Garden with 30’ heated pool & guesthouse.

2 rental parking spaces nearby. $1,750,000

202-243-1620

RIVER FALLS - Truly one of the exceptional houses in River Falls, this stately all brick Georgian is full of warmth and charm. Crown molding, hdwd floors, 4 fpls, beautiful built-ins & more! Located within walking distance of the swim/tennis club. Whitman.

301-706-0067

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC

Beautifully maintained East Village Victorian sited on a much sought after street with 3BR/4.5BA, a wonderful Den, spacious Living Room, separate Dining Room, office, exquisite table-space Kitchen, private patio, 1 car parking and more. $1,895,000

Nancy Taylor Bubes

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS • LOCAL AFFILIATE

202-256-2164

WASHINGTON, D.C. GEORGETOWN BETHESDA/CHEVY CHASE POTOMAC NORTHERN VIRGINIA WFP.COM

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

KENT, WASHINGTON, DC

Experience the best Potomac River views in the entire Capital Region. Almost 2 hilltop ready to build on acres with dramatic 180 degree views. 1 mile from DC border. $5,950,000

Carrill McKenzie William F. X. Moody

Large 6BR, 5.5BA on coveted cul-de-sac with highest quality materials, wonderful for entertaining or relaxed family living. Huge top-of-the-line gourmet Kitchen, Library, Family Room, Playroom, 10’ ceilings, 2 car garage & circular drive. $3,550,000

703-966-6283 202-243-1620

Chuck Holzwarth

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING Impressive estate residence with 19,000 sq ft of luxury. 7 BRs including 2 fabulous Master Suites each w/ en-suite bath. Soaring ceilings, spectacular finishes. Finished Lower Level w/ full Kitchen, family room, game room & home office, Large lot with pool. Fabulous! $3,999,000

CHEVY CHASE, MARYLAND

Stunning Village home tastefully remodeled, top-to-bottom, in past 2 years. Offering 5BR, 5 full/2 half BAs, high ceilings, 4 fpls, 2nd Family Room, custom wine cellar & more! Main Hall & Dining Room open to stone terrace & garden w/ pool. Attached 2-car garage. $2,795,000

Sherry Davis

301-806-6829

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

KENT, WASHINGTON, DC

Anne Killeen

Bobbe Ward Patrick Chauvin

Spectacular from top to bottom. High ceilings, great room sizes, fabulous details. Sumptuous master suite, two story family room, and an extraordinary exercise room. Come see this dream house! $1,999,500

301-706-0067

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

POTOMAC, MARYLAND

Sited on a spectacular six acre setting, this fully renovated house offers the best of everything. Don’t miss the barn with the indoor basketball court, batting and golf cages. This one is a real prize! $4,400,000

Anne Killeen

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

POTOMAC, MARYLAND

Michael Matese

202-285-2616

301-996-3220

NEW PRICE! Lovely cul-de-sac setting. Built in 1999, this sunsplashed residence features a stunning open floor plan. 5 BR, 3.5 BA. $1,195,000

202-243-1604 202-243-1621

202.944.5000 202.333.3320 301.222.0050 301.983.6400 703.317.7000

301-706-0067

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

POTOMAC, MARYLAND

NEW PRICE! Welcome to a special home in Round Hill, one of Potomac’s premier neighborhoods. Located on two acres backing to parkland, this home has a terrace with heated swimming pool, separate spa, & 4 car garage. $3,699,000

Marsha Schuman

301-299-9598

CHEVY CHASE, WASHINGTON, DC

NEW PRICE! Sun-filled and Updated Residence!

3-story atrium, Family Room with 13’4” ceiling. 4BRs, 3.5 BAs. 2-car Garage. $1,195,000

Clare Boland William F. X. Moody Robert Hryniewicki

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS • LOCAL AFFILIATE

202-276-2902 202-243-1620 202-243-1622

HOME LIFE | HISTORICAL LANDSCAPES

The Value of Vision The Magnificent Plan of Pierre L’Enfant

BY DONNA EVERS

T

he plan for America’s capital city, created by Pierre L’Enfant over 200 years ago, was both prophecy and tribute. Since history teaches us that prophets are seldom appreciated in their own time, it should come as no surprise that L’Enfant died long before he got the recognition which he so richly deserved.

At the end of the Revolutionary War, congressional leaders couldn’t decide which city deserved to be the capital of the new nation; in 1791, George Washington decided to create a brand new city from a ten-mile square made up of woods, farms, and marshes above the confluence of the Potomac and Eastern Branch Rivers. When French engineer Pierre L’Enfant heard about Washington’s decision, he wrote to the President and asked for the job of designing the capital. Washington already knew L’Enfant to be a gifted designer as well as a decorated war hero; he’d fought in the American revolution with the Marquis de Lafayette, with whom he shared an avid interest in the brandnew country.

In L’Enfant’s letter to Washington, he wrote, “No nation perhaps had ever before the opportunity offered them of deliberately deciding on the spot where their capital city should be fixed.” He told Washington that the “plan should be drawn to such a scale as to leave room for that aggrandizement and embellishment which the increase of the wealth of the nation will permit it to pursue at any period, however remote.” He wanted to make a plan that the country would never outgrow. As America’s fortunes improved, the grand plan would be filled in with museums and monuments.Washington shared these visions of the future, and L’Enfant was hired for the job.

After studying the contours of the land, L’Enfant drew his magnificent plan, its grid

122

Above: The original District plan drawn by L’Enfant. Right: Pierre Charles L’Enfant.

of streets overlaid by geometrically correct circles, squares, and grand avenues. All these squares and circles were placeholders for the eventual monuments and tributes to future heroes that this new country would undoubtedly produce. The grandest avenue, which is now the National Mall, would be 400 feet wide and a mile long, lined with an allée of elms and “cultural buildings” running from the Capitol to the President’s house. When he finished the plan, he signed it with a flourish – and with the American version of his name, “Peter Charles L’Enfant.” Then, the transplanted Frenchman began the task of clearing land for the grand avenues of his monumental city.

Sad to say, L’Enfant’s work ended in failure and disgrace; at least, that’s what happened during his lifetime. Unfortunately, he was a man who did not work well with others. Imperious and quick-tempered, he ignored the threeperson commission appointed by Washington to oversee his work.When an influential citizen built his mansion in the path of one of the

plan’s key avenues, L’Enfant had his workmen tear the house down! So, less than a year after his appointment, Washington reluctantly fired him and the grand design was shelved.

For years after that, the avenues and squares stood empty and unadorned.

When Charles Dickens visited the capital city of Washington, he called it the “City of Magnificent Intentions,” full of “spacious avenues that began in nothing and ended nowhere.” L’Enfant refused other jobs and spent his time haunting the halls of Congress, petitioning them for the staggering $95,500 he believed he was owed.

Congress offered him a mere $3,800. L’Enfant might very well have starved had he not been taken in by his friends, the Digges family, who owned a large farm near Bladensburg, Maryland. It was there that he died in 1825, at the age of 70, penniless and quite forgotten.

Around 1900, Congress voted to finish L’Enfant’s plan. In 1909, the U.S. government decided to formally recognize the city’s original architect. L’Enfant’s remains were moved to Arlington cemetary, and the hillside in front of the Custis-Lee mansion. This was the same site that President John F. Kennedy later called the most beautiful vantage point in the city. Kennedy’s Eternal Flame is not far from L’Enfant’s tomb.

There lies the visionary, with the best view of a city that lived (for a while) only in his imagination.

Out of the woods and wilderness, he created monumental spaces grand enough to symbolize the new country’s audacious dreams of freedom.

As his plans prophesized, the nation’s capital is still growing into its design, propelled by the constant promise of an even better future just ahead.

WA S H I N G T O N L I F E

| APRIL

| washingtonlife.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. GEORGETOWN BETHESDA/CHEVY CHASE POTOMAC NORTHERN VIRGINIA WFP.COM

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

K ALORAMA, WASHINGTON, DC

K ALORAMA, WASHINGTON, DC

K ALORAMA, WASHINGTON, DC

Jim Bell

Jim Bell

Jim Bell

Rarely Available! Spectacular renovation of a large Kalorama residence with removed one bedroom guest house and garage. Large pool size garden and pool house. $3,795,000

NEW PRICE! Extraordinary 4 level rowhome featuring formal entertaining rooms, exquisite architectural details, gracious marble entry foyer, hardwood floors, ornate fireplaces, large kitchen/family room with fireplace, private terrace. Garage + 2 spaces. $2,399,000

202-607-4000

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING Spectacular, recently renovated residence with swimming Pool and charming Guest House. Large entertaining areas; stunning sun-filled Great Room; 6 Bedrooms; 5.5 Baths. Exquisite 2 acre setting. $2,850,000

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

301-299-9598

BEECHWOODS – Magnificent in-town estate on over 1.35 acres backing to national parkland with wonderful entertaining spaces, 7BRs, 7.5BAs, pool with cabana and shared tennis court.

202-262-2560 202-728-9500

202-607-4000

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

SPRING VALLEY, WASHINGTON, DC

Truly exquisite renovation of this 5BR/4.5BA Colonial with great entertaining spaces, gourmet table-space Kitchen opening to Family Room, 1BR/1 BA lower level with full Kitchen and expansive garden and patio in rear. $2,875,000

Nancy Taylor Bubes

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

Special custom home being built by renowned builder Bradbern Construction Co. Inc. on a 1.5+ acre lot in the heart of Bethesda. Over 9,500 sq. ft. of the highest quality finishes, with great attention to detail. Still time to customize. $3,999,999

Marsha Schuman

FOREST HILLS, WASHINGTON, DC

Bonnie Wimsatt Matthew B. McCormick

202-262-6585

BETHESDA, MARYLAND

NEW LISTING! Fully renovated magnificent estate with extra large lot, pool, two car garage, an au pair suite/ nanny residence on lower level. Large family room off of granite and stainless steel kitchen. Fireplaces, magnificent light, formal entertaining rooms. $3,795,000

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

POTOMAC FALLS, POTOMAC, MD

Priscilla Ryan

202-607-4000

202.944.5000 202.333.3320 301.222.0050 301.983.6400 703.317.7000

202-256-2164

INTERNATIONAL OFFERING

CLEVELAND PARK, WASHINGTON, DC

CHEVY CHASE, WASHINGTON, DC

Heidi Hatfield Anne Hatfield Weir

Anne Hatfield Weir Heidi Hatfield

You will not want to leave your garden, but when you do you can walk to everything. Terrific open floor plan, 4 bedrooms & 2 baths up; 1st floor bedroom; playroom.

202-243-1634 202-243-1635

Elegant home with 5BRs, 3 full & 2 half BAs, 4 fireplaces, pool, large living & dining rooms, sunroom, sun-filled cook’s kitchen, family room & media room. $2,999,000

INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS • LOCAL AFFILIATE

202-243-1635 202-243-1634