Fin: Iconic Old Town Theater to shut doors

Transcription

Fin: Iconic Old Town Theater to shut doors
Vol. 8, No. 1
January 5, 2012
www.alextimes.com
Fin: Iconic Old Town Theater to shut doors
Owner cites economy, poor
Hollywood movies, employee theft
By Derrick Perkins
The marquee is coming down and
the curtains at Old Town Theater are
drawing to a permanent close after this
weekend, ending Roger Fons’s nineyear stint as the film house’s owner.
Fons said a year of poor ticket sales
played a pivotal role in his decision to
sell the King Street property to Robert
J. Kaufman, president of PMA Properties, in October. Sales had dropped by
about 50 percent from 2010, he said.
Though Fons can’t say for sure
what precipitated the theater’s financial downfall, he believes the turbulent
economy and a lackluster string of Hollywood films combined to seal the theater’s fate.
“I thought the movies were all pretty bad,” he said. “There wasn’t very
SEE Theater | 6
Photo/David Sachs
Though the Old Town Theater’s future is unknown, the fate of the iconic marquee is not. New owner Robert Kaufman has applied to restore the building’s original facade.
Group vies for public support as waterfront vote nears
Meanwhile, debate gets
political as city council
candidates weigh in
By Derrick Perkins
File Photo
Waterfront For All — a group of residents, business owners and other
stakeholders — supports City Hall’s plan and aims to dispel misinformation to the public.
Society fair combines fresh
market with restaurant - 7
As the city’s contentious
vision for the Potomac shoreline heads into the home
stretch, a resident group is
drumming up support for
City Hall’s plan and dispelling what it calls misinformation.
Waterfront For All, a
group founded to back City
Hall’s proposal shortly after
opponents formed Citizens
for an Alternative Alexandria
Facing fear
with art - 14
Waterfront Plan, is holding
public informational sessions
leading up to city council’s
January 21 meeting, the earliest the blueprint can be approved. Supporters want to
give residents another chance
to examine the city’s plan,
said organizer Shayna Englin.
Beyond that, group members hope to stamp out what
they consider misinformation
about the plan, particularly
the assumption waterfront
property owners cannot or
SEE Waterfront | 5
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ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 3
THE WEEKLY BRIEFING
Tim Lovain announces run for city council
Former Alexandria City
Council member Tim Lovain
has joined the ever-crowding
race for a council seat at City
Hall.
Lovain, a Democrat, served
one three-year term on council
before losing the 2009 election
to Republicans Frank Fannon
and Alicia Hughes and fellow
Democrat Kerry Donley.
“I was deeply honored
to serve one prior term as an
Alexandria council member,”
Lovain said in a statement. “I
am proud of the contributions
I made to our community’s accomplishments during those
years, and I look forward to
the opportunity to be of further assistance to our great
city.”
A father of three daughters
in the public school system,
Lovain’s reputation on council was that of a transportation
and environmental guru. H i s
2012 platform echoes the tenets of his previous term.
“I have become a very
strong believer in the principles of ‘smart growth’ and
‘transit-oriented
development,’ principles that have
proven to improve the quality
of life in communities while
reducing car traffic,” Lovain
said. “Because of my expertise in federal transportation
policy, I can help bring federal
resources to bear in this effort.”
Lovain specializes in federal transportation policy for a
living and is an active member
of the Northern Virginia Street
Car Coalition. As a councilman he headed the city’s
budget and fiscal affairs committee, which analyzes City
Hall’s budget line by line.
“Council’s most important
duty is approval of the annual
budget, and I am committed
Tim Lovain
to being a thoughtful financial steward of [tax dollars],”
Lovain said.
Lovain will join Democrats Charles Sumpter Jr. and
Justin Wilson in the June primary. So far only one Democratic councilman, Rob Krupicka, has indicated he will
not run again.
- David Sachs
Radle to challenge Moran for Congressional seat
Will Radle Jr.
Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) faces a primary challenge after
Fairfax County resident Will
Radle Jr. announced his aspiration to unseat the 11-term
incumbent last week.
Radle, a personal financial
advisor, lost a bid to chair the
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in November. He
did not expect to win but ran
“on principle” after Democrats failed to stand up to cuts
in education funding, he said.
The 39-year-old said his
bid for Moran’s House seat
comes after several years of
taking issue with the congress-
man’s ineffectiveness securing
more take-home pay for federal employees, who comprise
a significant portion of the district, which includes Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church
and parts of Fairfax.
And he just doesn’t agree
with how the 11-term congressman does things.
“I’m represented right now
by a person who basically tries
to shut other people down,”
Radle said. “I think that’s going to be very different if I get
the opportunity to serve.”
- David Sachs
ACPS finance audit delayed
The results of an independent audit into Alexandria
City Public School’s financials won’t be finalized until
later this month.
Officials expected to publicize the results of the review
— conducted by Robinson,
Farmer, Cox Associations —
in mid-December. Superinten-
dent Morton Sherman called
for the study after discovering employees knowingly violated internal policies, including keeping administrators
and school board members in
the dark about budget transfers.
At least one staff member has resigned and another
placed on administrative leave
following the revelations.
While it appears no taxpayer
funds were misappropriated
for personal gain, Sherman
said ACPS would tighten its
checks and controls following
the audit’s results.
- Derrick Perkins
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4 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
CRIME
Bank robber
remains at large
Alexandria police say an
unidentified man strode into
Virginia Commerce Bank at
5140 Duke St. on December
28 and held up a teller for an
undisclosed amount of cash.
The suspect, described as a
black man about 5-foot-7 with
a medium build, entered the
bank at 2:27 p.m., according to
authorities. Implying he had a
weapon, the suspect demanded
money from a bank teller.
After taking the cash,
the suspect — wearing a red
stocking cap with black trim,
black-hooded sweatshirt, dark
pants and boots — fled on
foot. He was last seen heading west on Duke Street, police said. Authorities did not
release the amount of money
stolen in the heist.
There were no reported injuries during the robbery.
Police urge anyone with
information regarding the
heist to call Detective Chris
Whelan at 703-746-6884 or
the department’s criminal investigations unit at 703-7466711. Witnesses can remain
anonymous.
Holiday thievery
Burglars made off with
four laptops after breaking
into a locked 1700 block King
St. office building during the
holiday break, city police say.
Authorities don’t know
how the thieves got inside the
building but believe the incident occurred between 3 p.m.
December 23 and the morning
of December 27. A company
employee reported the missing
valuables at 11:56 that morning, said department spokeswoman Ashley Hildebrandt.
Nothing else was taken in
the heist, she said.
There were no known witnesses to the incident or surveillance footage, though the
thefts remain under investigation. Authorities do not have
descriptions of the suspects.
Stolen car
recovered on
Janneys Lane
City police are looking for
the individual responsible for
stealing a resident’s car and
then abandoning it on the 500
block of Janneys Lane in late
December.
The vehicle, a 1995 Honda
Accord, went missing overnight December 26 and was
not recovered until 6:41 the
next morning. Police say the
Accord was found before the
resident reported it stolen.
Authorities did not specify
where the car was stolen but
described the unidentified location as an unsecured parking lot. How the thief entered
the vehicle and got the engine
running remains a mystery,
said Ashley Hildebrandt, department spokeswoman. She
did not say if the car was damaged during the ordeal.
Police do not have descriptions of the suspects involved.
Suspect makes off
with loose change
A thief left a vehicle parked
on the 1400 block of Roundhouse Lane with minor damage
after breaking in and stealing
loose change late last month.
City police don’t know
how the thief got inside —
the vehicle was locked — but
said the suspect made off with
coins stored in the console.
Though the time of the incident also is unknown, the
owner reported the break-in at
1:19 p.m. December 27.
There were no witnesses,
said Ashley Hildebrandt, department spokeswoman. Police did not release the sum of
the coins stolen.
Nothing else was missing
from the vehicle, according to
Hildebrandt.
Authorities
recommend
residents keep their vehicles
locked at all times and, if possible, park in well-lit, welltraveled locations. They also
urge residents to refrain from
leaving valuables in their vehicles.
- Derrick Perkins
POLICE BEAT
The following is a selection of incidents
reported by the Alexandria Police
Department. For a full crime blotter,
log on to www.crimereports.com.
January 3
ASSAULT
1500 block Princess St.
7:43 a.m.
No further information.
BREAKING AND ENTERING
4800 block Eisenhower Ave.
2:20 a.m.
No further information.
LARCENY
400 block E. Monroe Ave.
8:36 a.m.
No further information.
January 2
ASSAULT
4500 block W. Braddock Road
8:18 p.m.
No further information.
BREAKING AND ENTERING
1300 block Mount Vernon Ave.
10:47 a.m.
No further information.
LARCENY
200 block Swamp Fox Road
8:21 p.m.
No further information.
January 1
ASSAULT
700 block King St.
1:30 a.m.
Assault occurred between two or
more people who had a prior relationship or were known to each other.
300 block S. Van Dorn St.
12:21 a.m.
Assault occurred between two or
more people who had a prior relationship or were known to each other.
3000 block Duke St.
8:30 a.m.
No further information.
Fax: 703.548.1831
Email: david@damianilaw.com
Rosecrest Avenue
12:22 a.m.
No further information.
ASSAULT
300 block S. Alfred St.
11:47 a.m.
Assault occurred between two or
more people who had a prior relationship or were known to
each other.
ROBBERY
Assault occurred between two or
more people who had a prior relationship or were known to each other.
LARCENY
BREAKING AND ENTERING
200 block Century Place
8:56 a.m.
No further information.
4200 block Raleigh Ave.
5:47 p.m.
No further information.
700 block Queen St.
3:16 p.m.
No further information.
LARCENY
December 28
1100 block King St.
8:35 p.m.
No further information.
500 block S. Van Dorn St.
1:59 a.m.
No further information.
3100 block Jefferson Davis Highway
12:38 p.m.
Employee theft.
LARCENY
December 29
1200 block Trinity Drive
12:09 p.m.
No further information.
ASSAULT
attorneys and counselors at law
703.548.1800
ROBBERY
December 31
Damiani & Damiani, pc
604 Cameron Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
December 30
LARCENY
5900 block Duke St.
9:47 p.m.
ASSAULT
300 block S. Reynolds St.
11:30 p.m.
Assault occurred between two or
more people who had a prior relationship or were known to each other.
ROBBERY
5100 block Duke St.
4:17 p.m.
No further information.
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its clients with excellent legal representation. The attorneys strive
to be accessible and exceed their clients’ expectations. Our offices
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ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 5
Waterfront
FROM | 1
will not redevelop their land
until a blueprint is finalized.
“I actually think the biggest [misconception] … is
that we can move forward and
not do anything,” she said.
“That there’s lots of time for
delay and we have all the time
in the world, and if we do
nothing, everything will stay
the same. At the end of the
day, there is zoning, there is
by-right development and at
this point they can move forward [with redevelopment].”
Three waterfront sites
slated for redevelopment,
possibly as hotels, in City
Hall’s plan, have proven a
sticking point for residents:
the Robinson Terminals and
the Cummings/Turner properties. CAAWP unveiled a
competing plan emphasizing public parks and cultural
venues in October, and resident Joe Demshar rolled out
a plan calling for mixed-use
retail and residential or office
buildings at the three controversial sites in late December.
Officials held off approving City Hall’s plan once already. The city council opted
to create a waterfront plan
work group with the charge
of narrowing the gulf of disagreement between plan opponents and supporters rather
than vote on the proposal in
June. The work group released its recommendations,
largely skirting the question
of whether boutique hotels
belong on the waterfront, in
December.
And as a final vote approaches, the debate about
the river’s edge has taken
a political turn. Opposition
group members have long
warned they would remember
the outcome at the ballot box,
but city council candidates
aren’t waiting to wade into
the discourse.
Republican candidate Scott
Gordon panned the city and
CAAWP’s proposals in a
statement released Tuesday.
Neither offers a viable proposal for the city’s Potomac
shoreline, he said.
Sean Houlihan, expected
to soon announce his candidacy for city council as a
Democrat, described CAAWP
members as “negotiating in
bad faith” in a letter to the
editor to the Times. He called
for the city council to vote on
the proposal rather than delay
again.
Englin hopes her group’s
events will get residents up to
speed with the process. Waterfront For All held its first
informational meeting in Del
Ray on Wednesday. It will
hold a second in the city’s
West End on Sunday and a
third in Old Town on January
15. The group also is lobbying residents to show up in
support of the plan during the
January 21 city council meeting.
“There have already been
more than a 100 events for
folks to learn about the plan,
and at this point we’re at decision time,” Englin said.
“These are three more opportunities for folks to come
together and learn about the
plan.”
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6 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Alexandria Times’
Cause of the Month
The Alexandria Times will donate a portion of every
paid display ad in January to our Cause of the Month. Please join us in contributing to this worthy cause.
January’s cause:
ACT for Alexandria is a
community foundation
that seeks to raise the
level and effectiveness
of community engagement and giving for the
benefit of all Alexandria.
Donations can be
accepted online at:
www.actforalexandria.org
Thank you to the following Alexandria
Times advertisers for supporting First Night
Alexandria in the month of December.
Alexandria Country Day School
Alexandria Convention &
Visitors Association
Alexandria Fire Department
Animal Resorts
Baja Fresh
Bishop Boutique
Old Town Boutique District
Brahm Opticians
Bugsy’s Pizza
The Business Bank
BW Antiques
Caffi Contracting
Carlyle Club
Chadwick’s
Charles Town Races & Slots
Chart House / Landry’s Seafood
Chevy
Christine Garner Weichert Realtors
Circe Salon & Spa
Clyde’s Restaurant Group
Columbia Pictures
CommonWealth One
Federal Credit Union
Conklyn’s Florist
Conrad’s Furniture
Cosmetic Hearing Solutions
Decorium
Diann Hicks - Pet of the Week
Diann Hicks - Weichert Realtors
Dishes of India
Disney Productions
Donna Cramer McEnearney Associates, Inc.
Downtown Baptist Church
Fibre Space
Focus Features
Foster’s Grille
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum
Gold Works
Gossypia
Hana Tokyo
Healthway Natural Foods
Hermitage
Holiday Inn
Hunan Café
Indigo Landing
Indus
Janet Caterson Price McEnearney Associates, Inc.
King Street Cats
King’s Jewelry
Lamplighter
Lee Design & Interiors
LeRefuge
Little Theatre
McCormick & Schmick’s
McEnearney Associates, Inc.
Mt Vernon Estate & Gardens
National Art & Framing
Old Town Transit & Dash
Paramount
Phyllis Patterson Coldwell Banker
The Potomack Company
Prudential / PenFed Realty
Rebuilding Together Alexandria
Rubini Jewelers
Salvation Army
Shuman’s Bakery
Silver Parrot Jewelry
St. Elmo’s Coffee House
St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School
Stonewall Kitchen
Sue Goodhart McEnearney Associates, Inc.
Symmetry Financial Group
Taverna Cretekou
Ten Thousand Villages
The Weinstein Group
Warner Brothers
Westwood College
Woodland, Inc.
Yves Bistro
Zoe Boutique
Image/pma properties
The building that currently houses the Old Town Theater may no longer display the iconic “Old Town”
sign and marquee, as depicted above in this rendering.
Theater
FROM | 1
many good movies last year.
You’ve got to have a product
that’s worth something.”
But “it’s probably a number of things,” Fons added,
indicating the addition of the
King Street Trolley and last
year’s temporary parking fee
hike likely played a roll in deterring sales.
The trolley, a popular and
free way for tourists and commuters to travel up and down
Alexandria’s main drag, tends
to ferry passengers from the
King Street Metro station to
the waterfront and skip everything in between, he said, including the 800 block cinema.
And after nine years of
running the theater, Fons is
“burnt out.” He never intended to open a movie theater,
but unable to rent the space,
he resumed the nearly century-old building’s original
purpose.
In retrospect, he admits
it was a mistake. Financial
difficulties, constant maintenance and rampant employee
theft plagued his tenure as
owner.
“I’m disillusioned quite a
bit,” he said. “It’s like being
Atlas and somebody removed
the world. I’m whipped.”
Kaufman
likely
will
rent out the theater as retail
space, Fons said. Kaufman
did not return calls, but the
8,500-square-foot film house
is listed for a five-year lease
on PMA’s website. The property holding company is asking for a rent of $42.50 per
square foot.
Barbara Ross, the city’s
deputy planning director,
confirmed staff was working
with Kaufman to determine
the property’s future. There
are no definite plans yet,
though the parcel is zoned for
retail use.
“The loss of the theater on
a main street is a common occurrence in towns across the
country, but it is still a very
sad thing,” Ross said.
Kaufman submitted an
application to restore the
building’s original facade
— essentially removing the
box office and the overhang
— before the Board of Architectural Review. Al Cox,
the city’s chief preservationist, doesn’t see any reason
the board won’t approve the
changes at its mid-January
meeting.
In the interim, Fons plans
to auction off as much of his
goods as possible the weekend of January 14. Theater
seats, television sets, even
film projection equipment
will be available to the highest bidder.
Nine years after buying
the theater, Fons is washing
his hands of the endeavor.
“It’s just a business, that’s
all,” he said. “Everybody
said, ‘But you get to watch
the movies for free.’ But hell,
you don’t have the time for
it.”
ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 7
Society Fair expands Armstrong’s culinary kingdom
Concept combines fresh
market with restaurant
By Derrick perkins
Local chef and restaurateur Cathal Armstrong hopes
foodies far and wide will eat
up his new restaurant and
market, a marriage of American fare and European style,
at 277 S. Washington St.
Society Fair, slated to begin serving customers before
January’s end, will feature a
wine bar and demo kitchen
blended with a bakery, butcher’s shop and grocery store.
There’s nothing quite like it
on the East Coast, Armstrong
said Tuesday.
“We were talking about
how to describe it the other
day and the word ‘interactive’ came up,” he said, leaning against the combination
checkout counter and coffee
bar as employees put the fin-
ishing touches on the store.
“[Interactive] reminds me of
video games, but there isn’t
another word for it.”
Like a particular glass of
wine? Bring a few bottles
home. Wonder what brand
olive oil Armstrong prefers
at his string of Alexandria
restaurants? It’s available for
purchase at Society Fair.
“We want to be able to
showcase the foods we love
and share them,” said Robbie
Shinn, Armstrong’s man in
charge of retail development.
“These are the things we love,
anything from potato chips to
home ware.”
From the seed of an idea
to fruition, the process took
about five years. Two of his
employees wanted to strike
out on their own, and Armstrong — owner of Restaurant
Eve, Eamonn’s and Virtue,
among other local culinary
SEE Society fair | 9
photo/Derrick Perkins
Society Fair, slated to open later this month, is local restaurateur Cathal Armstrong’s latest project.
sold
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703-371-7601
www.philcef.com
philcef@verizon.net
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8 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Embezzlement ‘unlikely,’ internal audit reveals
Former city employee
stole from Buffalo, but
probably not Alexandria
By David Sachs
A former city employee
guilty of embezzlement in
Buffalo, N.Y., had few opportunities to steal local tax
dollars, and likely did not,
according to an internal audit
released by Alexandria City
Hall last week.
The report states Timothy
Wanamaker did not have au-
thority to collect money for
transactions in the general
services department of which
he served as deputy director.
He could not authorize payments from the department,
either.
Wanamaker resigned last
month.
“The audit did not discover any internal financial problems or issues,” city spokesman Tony Castrilli said in an
email.
Wanamaker, who came to
Alexandria after a short stint
as a California city manager,
pleaded guilty to a felony
charge of stealing government
funds from the city of Buffalo between 2004 and 2008
while serving in a variety of
top posts. He tendered his resignation about 48 hours after
revealing his theft of roughly
$30,000 in municipal and federal funds, much of it spent
on travel, entertainment, car
rentals and hotel rooms.
Unlike in Buffalo, Wanamaker’s post in Alexandria
included no travel and Wa-
namaker only billed for 7.5
hours of compensatory time.
Only $40.70 was reimbursed
to the general services department during his 15-month
tenure, none of which was
given to him, according to the
audit.
A series of checks and
balances within City Hall
prevented embezzlement, the
report stated, like the finance
department’s oversight and
approval of transactions. Subsequently, the only form of
payment Wanamaker received
was his biweekly paychecks,
officials said.
“The lack of current evidence with regard to the misappropriation of city assets
does not eliminate the possibility that Mr. Wanamaker
might have misappropriated
city assets in as of yet, [an]
undisclosed manner,” the internal report states. “However
… we believe that such misappropriation is improbable.”
Wanamaker was the third
city employee connected to
embezzling in 2011.
VeloCity to roll into Del Ray
Nonprofit forced
to move after Old Town
location sold
By Derrick perkins
Fears that Alexandria’s
nonprofit, do-it-yourself bicycle repair shop, VeloCity,
would roll out of town have
proven unfounded. The waterfront institution will take
up new digs in Del Ray later
this year.
Christian Myers, one of
the two men who founded the
donations-driven organization located in a Union Street
warehouse, publicly worried the group would have to
move its gear and educational
programs across the river to
Washington after the property
was sold in 2011.
But after working with the
Del Ray Business Association and neighborhood residents, VeloCity supporters
secured a new building on the
2100 block of Mount Vernon
Ave., the organization said in
a statement on its website.
“We are excited to join
this vibrant and active community, which will enable
us to continue our programs
with Alexandria,” the group
said.
VeloCity has yet to release
the date of its reopening in
Del Ray.
2460 Eisenhower Ave. Alexandria, Va 22314
(703) 960-3400 • holidayinn.com
Holiday Inn Alexandria SW at Hoffman Town Center
File photo
Christian Myers, one of the two men behind VeloCity, had contemplated moving the group to Washington after their rented warehouse was sold to new owners in 2011.
ALEXANDRIA TIMES Society Fair
FROM | 7
institutions — set about
making it happen.
He gives his wife and
business partner, Meshelle,
full credit for the concept
but admits his Irish heritage
played a role. His parents
still go to one shop for fish,
another for beef and a third
for lamb. The Armstrong’s
decided to to take a typical
European town center, flush
with local shops, and combine it into one stop.
And several nights a
week patrons can reserve a
seat at the demo kitchen to
watch one of Armstrong’s
chefs prepare and serve a
meal. Shinn compared it to
dinner and a show or getting a front-row seat to a
Food Network taping. “It’s almost like dinner theater,” he said. “The
chef will talk about where
January 5, 2012 | 9
[the ingredients and meal]
comes from or why he
chose this dish … It’s kind
of a fun, interactive way to
do it.”
Armstrong is banking
on the country’s rapidly
growing interest in culinary arts and Alexandria’s
homegrown food fetish to
spur Society Fair to success. Every product on the
store’s shelves will boast
the additional distinction
as an Armstrong-approved
product.
And if an amateur chef
doesn’t quite know how
best to use a particular cut
of meat or specialty item,
Armstrong’s
employees
will be on hand with suggestions.
“People are really interested in cooking and in
food,” he said. “Some of
the stuff we sell here, if you
searched around the Internet for a few hours you can
find it, or you can come here
and find it at arms reach.”
photo/Derrick Perkins
The goods found on Society Fair’s shelves are the brands chef Cathal Armstrong used in his expanding
restaurant empire.
Save the Date
The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce presents:
n’s
a
The Chairm
n
o
i
t
c
u
A
d
n
a
February 11, 2012
The Westin Alexandria
Featuring:
Auction with a Twist
Your local newspaper
the original social networking site
110 South Pitt St., Alexandria, VA
703.739.0001 • www.alextimes.com
The Most Giving People in Alexandria
VIP Champagne Reception 5:30pm — 6:30pm
Cocktails 6:30pm — 7:30pm
Presentation of Chairman’s Chamber Charity Award
Dinner Dancing and Live Auction 7:30pm to Midnight
Designed By Yellow Dot Designs
ACVA
RW 2x20 5,
Banner
Jan 2012_Layout 1 12/16/11 2:14 PM Page 1
10
| January
2012ALEXANDRIA
TIMES
Powered By
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BR
56 RESTAURANTS WITH $35 MENUS!
ACVA RW 2x20 Banner Jan 2012_Layout 1 12/16/11 2:14 PM Page 1
Join us for Restaurant Week and explore our new menu!
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Modern American cuisine
56 RESTAURANTS WITH $35 MENUS!
comes to life with our seasonal,
BROWSE MENUS. MAKE RESERVATIONS. GET DIRECTIONS.
locally-sourced menu items.
Enjoy a meal in our quaint,
downstairs dining room, or relax
with a beer in the upstairs bar.
703.549.0533 • 715 King St., Old Town • thelighthorserestaurant.com
Join us for
Restaurant Week!
1510-A Belle View Blvd. • Alexandria
703.660.6085 • dishesofindia.com
Belle View Shopping Center
Two course dinner for two
for $35.00
220 N. Lee St.
Reservations accepted
703-535-3340
www.theoverwood.com
RestauRant Week specials: JanuaRy 13-22
$20 Lunch for Two:
Salad paired with two 6
ounce beers
Small pizza with two 6
ounce beers
$35 Dinner for Two:
Salad paired with two 6
ounce beers
Large pizza paired with two
12 ounce beers
124 King St • 703.837.1245
No Reservations Required
60 RESTAURANTS WITH $35 MENUS!
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Browse Menus.
Make Reservations.
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ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 11
Let’s Eat |
A special advertising feature of the Alexandria Times
French cuisine and music at Yves Bistro
Start the new year
off right with a visit to
Yves Bistro, a French
cafe with wonderful atmosphere and delicious
food.
The restaurant, located at 235 Swamp
Fox Road and across
the street from the AMC
Hoffman Movie Theater,
prepares
scrumptious
French cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Diners say the breakfast is first rate, with
selections like quiche,
omelets, croque monsier (ham and cheese on
toast), croque madam
(turkey and cheese on
toast) and steak and eggs.
The lunch and dinner
menu offers just as many
tempting
selections.
Customers swear by the
sirloin steak frites, steak
tartare frites, moules
nicoise frites (mussels
in tomato garlic sauce),
moules au calvados frites, roasted duck, pork
tenderloin and seafood
linguini.
And do not forget
about the appetizers,
which also receive rave
reviews. Yves Bistro
serves up brie amandine,
hot clams casino with
garlic butter and bacon
and escargot provencales.
There also are hamburgers and cheeseburgers
available for diners looking for American cuisine.
But it’s not just the
food setting Yves Bistro apart from other Alexandria eateries. The
restaurant’s atmosphere
provides an out-of-town
experience locally, especially when singer Simone Marchard performs
live from 7 to 11 p.m. ev-
ery other Friday. Music
lovers flock to the eatery to hear her perform
songs from Edith Piaf,
known as “the voice of
the sparrow,” and other
well-known French singers. There’s no doubt
Marchard, who takes
the stage again January
13, enhances the already
breathtaking dining experience with her mellifluous voice.
Yves Bistro also has
affordable deals. The
well-priced entrees are
even cheaper from 4:30
to 6:30 p.m. everyday,
when the dinner special is “buy one entree,
get the second entree of
equal or lesser value on
the house.”
But that’s not all.
Wine lovers will want to
visit after 6:30 p.m. Sundays through Tuesdays,
when couples may order
two entrees and a bottle
of wine for $32.
Really, there is no
better way to start the
new year than a visit to
Yves Bistro. The amazing atmosphere, great
menu selections and affordable deals make the
French bistro a must for
2012.
Hours:
6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday
6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday and Thursday
6 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Friday
10 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Saturday
10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday
For more information,
call 703-329-1010
or go to
www.yvesbistrova.com.
Hunan Cafe
From the founder of
Au
PieddedeCochon
Cochon
Au Pied
235
Alexandria, VA
VA 22314
22314
235 Swamp
Swamp Fox
Fox Road
Road Alexandria,
235 Swamp Fox Road Alexandria, VA 22314
Across from
from Eisenhower
Eisenhower Metro
Across
Metro Station
Station
Across from Eisenhower Metro Station
703-329-1010 • Open 7 Days a Week
703-329-1010
• Open
7 Days aVAWeek
Alexandria,
235
SwampFox
FoxRoad
Road
Alexandria,
VA 22314
22314
235 Swamp
Across
from
Eisenhower
Metro
Station
Across from Eisenhower Metro Station
703-329-1010
DaysaaWeek
Week
703-329-1010 •• Open
Open 77 Days
$14.
$14.
95
$
95
$14.
15.
95
$
95
32.00
50
$29. 95
$14.
Sunday,
Monday
Tuesday
Special
Two
Entrées
and a&Bottle
of Wine
for
(Dining-in Only)
2 entrees and a bottle of wine for
Maine Lobster Dinner
(in-dining
only - Sun,
& Tues
6:30 pm)
Everyday
fromMon
6:30
PM after
to closing
(After 6:30pm)
Maine Lobster Dinner
Mainefrom
Lobster
Everyday
6:30 PMDinner
to closing
Maine
Lobster Dinner
From
the
founder
of closing
Everyday from 6:30 PM to
Au Pied de Cochon
From the founder of
Yves and Oyuna, your hosts, bring you
theyour
founder
of bring you
Yves andFrom
Oyuna,
hosts,
the ideal neighborhood bistro.
the ideal neighborhood bistro.
Au Pied de Cochon
Au Pied de Cochon
Chinese Restaurant • Eat In & Carry Out
Enjoy fine food and fabulous views
from our veranda, bar or dining room.
Minutes from Old Town and
National Airport. Ample free parking.
One Marina Drive, Alexandria, VA 22314
indigolanding.com • 703.548.0001
2010 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.535.3155 or 703.535.3156
www.HunanCafeVA.com
$5 off any purchase over $25
Serving Country French Cuisine since 1983
Le Refuge
W here
you can
experience the tastes
and ambiance of a
paris
cafe Without leaving
the city limits .
127 N. Washington St.
703.548.4661
WWW.lerefugealexandria.com
12 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Sports
T.C. Williams rebounds with
thrashing of Lee Lancers
Titans improve record
to 4-2
By Derrick Perkins
On the road after two consecutive home losses, the T.C.
Williams Titans dominated a
winless Robert E. Lee team
Tuesday night, clinching their
first win of 2012.
“It’s a new year,” said senior
point guard Daquan Kerman
following the 71-32 rout of the
Lancers. “Forget about 2011.”
After a tight initial eight
minutes, the 4-2 Titans broke
out in the second quarter. Fast
breaks, a smothering defense
and an impassioned return to
the fundamentals — making rebounds, smooth transitions and
heads-up play — translated into
a game that quickly spiraled out
of Lee’s hands.
It was a far cry from the
struggling Titans who fell 51-50
to West Potomac on December
13 and 48-38 to W.T. Woodson a
week later. But there wasn’t any
gimmick behind the turnabout,
Photo/Derrick Perkins
T.C. Williams guard Dealo Robertson looks for an open teammate during
the Titans 71-32 thumping of Lee.
just hard work, said freshman
standout Malik Smith.
“We’ve been working hard
over the break. We had to
come out strong in 2012 and be
strong,” the 5-foot-6 point guard
said. “We’ve got to keep working hard, keep practicing and
keep listening to the coach.”
Photo/Derrick Perkins
Coach Julian King gives the Titans a pep talk during Tuesday’s road game
against the Lee Lancers.
Coach Julian King confirmed
he had the team running drills
most days during the school district’s holiday break — they had
Christmas off — and the practice paid off. They still started
slow against Lee, a hallmark of
T.C.’s recent squads, and made
mistakes, but they displayed a
marked improvement in the second half, the coach said.
“It’s going to take time with
this team,” he said. “There’s going to be some ups and downs.”
Just weeks ago, following
their second loss of the nascent
season, King’s players looked
lost. Few with any experience in
the program could recall such a
troubled start; losing was something other teams did on Earl
Lloyd Court.
With a 13-day stretch to
dwell on the two defeats,
they’ve found their answer:
hard work.
“We’ve got to work hard and
we’ve got to have pride,” Kerman said.
A year ago, the team harnessed the still painful memoSEE T.C. Williams | 13
Roundball
roundup
Cardinals soar over Falcons
After placing third in the Capitol
Classic in Richmond during the holiday break, Bishop Ireton returned
to regular season play with a win
against Good Counsel.
The Tuesday night victory came fast on the
heels of the annual tournament, in which the Cardinals trumped the Falcons in overtime. Their second meeting of the season proved less dramatic.
Good Counsel jumped out to an early 18-14
lead, but Ireton’s squad turned on the afterburners
in the second quarter. They steadily outscored the
Falcons en route to a 72-61 victory.
Sophomore forward Ty Quarles led the Cardinals in scoring, netting 15 points on a pair of
3s, a 2-point field goal and seven free throws.
Teammates Taylor McHugh, Patrick Moseh and
Mark Noe contributed to the win, each enjoying
10-point performances.
The Cardinals return to the court Friday night
with a 7:30 home matchup against St. Mary’s
Ryken.
Saints face tough matchup
with Maroon
With regionally ranked Episcopal next on their schedule, the St.
Stephen’s and St. Agnes Saints will
have a tough time shaking off their 1-2
George Long Holiday Hoops tournament performance.
After a comfortable 56-36 win against Lee on
December 27 to start the annual competition, the
Saints fell against Wakefield and John Paul the
Great in successive matchups in the following days.
After narrowly losing to Wakefield, 62-58, the
Saints looked to rebound against John Paul the
Great. The two teams hung tough with one another,
entering the half tied at 28. Following the break, the
Saints steadily built a lead in the next eight minutes
of play.
But John Paul the Great came back in the fourth
to send the game into overtime with the score stuck
at 58. The Dumfries school then outscored their Alexandria rivals 11-5 to secure a 69-63 win and third
place in the tournament.
The 1-5 Saints will look to rebound as underdogs
against 6-1 Episcopal, ranked No. 6 in the region by
the Washington Post. The two teams meet at 7:30
p.m. Friday at Episcopal.
- Derrick Perkins
ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 13
sports shorts
Football
Track & Field
Saints trio earns statewide honors
Titan shot-putters leave their mark
Three members of the 2011
St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes
football team earned statewide
honors, the private school announced late last month.
Despite their 1-8 record,
the Saints saw three players named to the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic
Association all-state teams.
Junior running back Darius
T.C. Williams shot-putters Jonathan Anderson and
Jose Urratia enjoyed personal bests en route to qualifying for regionals at the F.I.T.
Invitational on December
27.
Anderson took second
place in the tournament after
throwing his shot put ball 50
feet and 2 inches. That’s 2
feet more than his previous
performance and just oneand-a-quarter-inch short of
qualifying for the state tournament.
Urratio, who earned a
third-place finish at the invitational, tossed his ball
46 feet and 2 inches, while
teammate Michael Crockett threw for 45 feet and 9
inches. Crockett was oneand-a-quarter inches shy of
qualifying for regionals.
On the girls team, Ayzha
Ward earned a spot in the
state tournament after taking third place with a heave
of 36 feet and 10 inches. The
toss was 2 feet farther than
her previous personal best.
T.C. Williams
Kerman, Smith and company they were playing to
uphold the program’s legacy.
Nobody wants to be remembered as the group that let
the tradition down, he said.
After two district losses,
the message seems to have
sunk in. Even after an impressive win, senior forward T.J.
Huggins said the group had
more work ahead of them.
They’re not satisfied yet.
“We’re just hungry. We’re
more mad than happy. We let
the dynasty down,” Huggins
said. “[Losing] taught us a
lesson. It really did. It pushes us and gets us motivated.”
Hunger is what King
wants to see in his players.
They hadn’t shown the willingness to give it their full
effort until the matchup with
Lee.
“I’ve told them it’s not
so much about the wins and
losses, it’s about the effort,”
King said. “Hopefully, [the
win] will boost their confidence and show them they
did something right.”
Manora and sophomore Jordan Waite, the heart of the
Saints defense, were named to
VISAA’s first team.
Junior Khamaal Whitaker
— the squad’s wide receiver,
part-time rushing threat and
defensive maverick — earned
a spot on VISAA’s second
team for his 2011 performance.
Crew
Early registration available
for indoor rowing event
Area rowers interested in
competing in the 2012 MidAtlantic Erg Sprints, to be held
at T.C. Williams next month,
will receive a discount if they
register before Wednesday.
About 1,400 athletes with
ties to more than 100 different schools and rowing organizations competed in 2011’s
iteration, making it the thirdlargest indoor rowing event
in the world. Organizers will
set up more than 100 different
events for junior, collegiate
and master rowers for this
year’s competition.
Events also will be held for
parent-and-child teams and
coxswains as well as lightweight and adaptive rowers.
Early registration fees
range from $5 to $20, though
event-day registration will
cost $40. The all-day competition is scheduled for February
4, and the top finishers will
qualify for the World Indoor
Rowing Championship in
Boston on February 19.
FROM | 12
ries of the previous season’s
ineligibility scandal to motivate them. They played to
win and to restore the program’s reputation — a mantra King’s players repeated
until they bowed out in the
semifinal round of the state
championship tournament.
Even before this season’s
first tipoff, King was telling
- Derrick Perkins
Classes begin January 11
14 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
SCENE AROUND TOWN
Calendar of
Events
To have your event considered
for our calendar listings, please
email events@alextimes.com.
You can also post your event
directly to our online calendar
by visiting www.alextimes.com.
Now to January 16
‘THE PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS OF STEVE JOBS’ In
tribute to the tremendous influence of
Steve Jobs, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office showcases “The Patents
and Trademarks of Steve Jobs: Art
and Technology that Changed the
World.” The exhibit features more
than 300 of the patents bearing the
name of the iconic innovator along
with many of the trademarks that
have given Apple its instantly recognizable identity around the world. The
exhibit is free.
Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday and noon to 5 p.m.
Saturday.
Location: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office/National Inventors Hall of
Fame and Museum, 600 Dulany St.
Information: www.uspto.gov
Now to January 27
SOLO PREVIEW 2012 In lieu
courtesy Photos
From the visceral to the abstract, artists drew upon common horrors to capture a constant in the human condition — fear — for the Target
Gallery’s latest thought provoking exhibition.
The face of fear
Target
Gallery’s
Fears and
Phobias
exhibit
showcases
art that
terrifies
By David Sachs
Alexandria artist Suzanne
Vigil thinks cockroaches are
pretty.
“When you get up very, very
close to one, you see that a
cockroach is absolutely beautiful. It’s got jeweled tones to it,”
Vigil says. “When I show people
a cockroach and cover up the
head, they look at the body and
realize it’s actually beautiful.
When people are scared of them
it’s because all people normally
see is the head and the tail end of
the cockroach — the ugly part.”
Some may disagree with
Vigil’s view on the attractiveness of cockroach anatomy, but
most will agree the insect is an
iconic symbol of fear, making it
an ideal subject matter for Target Gallery’s Fears and Phobias
exhibit opening January 12. The
local artist used color pencils to
create “Ick,” a shiny, realistic
close-up of a roach that forces
viewers to confront their fear —
if they have any.
of a solo exhibit in January, The Art
League Gallery hosts a group preview
exhibit featuring work by artists who
have been selected for solo exhibits
in the coming year. The show features
work by Cecily Corcoran, Theresa
Esterlund, Elissa Farrow-Savos, Juan
Hernandez, Pattee Hipschen, Marcia
Jestaedt, Georgia Nassikas, Suzanne
Vigil and Andrew Zimmermann. The
exhibit is free.
Time: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: The Art League, 105 N.
Union St.
Information: 703-683-1780 or
www.theartleague.org
Now to February 12
ROCK YOUR PARK The City of
“I want the viewer to have
appreciation [for the roach],”
she said. “I want them to disassociate themselves with all the
negative things and just look at
the color and try to get the whole
sense of what cockroaches do, if
it’s possible without going out
of your mind.”
Vigil initially wanted to draw
a snake but her fear of the animal made her cringe and shudder as she Googled images online, so rather than recreate her
SEE Fear | 17
Alexandria Department of Recreation,
Parks and Cultural Activities offers
free community open play days
and nights at Ben Brenman Park’s
synthetic turf field. Families, friends
and neighbors of all ages can visit the
field to play soccer, lacrosse, touch
football, rugby and toss a Frisbee.
Time: 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday; noon to 5 p.m. Saturday; and 1
to 5 p.m. Sunday
Location: Ben Brenman Park Field,
4800 Brenman Park Drive
Information: Contact Mac Slover
at 703-746-5402 or mac.slover@
alexandriava.gov
January 6 - 7
PAT MCGEE BAND The rock band
from Richmond comes to Alexandria
to perform live for two nights at the
Birchmere. Tickets are $29.50.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: The Birchmere, 3701
Mount Vernon Ave.
ALEXANDRIA TIMES Information: 703-549-7500 or
www.birchmere.com
January 6
INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY
PLAYGROUP Children learn valu-
able social skills and work on their
developmental skills through play.
Parents and caregivers will interact
with their child in stimulating activities that reinforce physical, cognitive
and social development. The playgroup is free.
Time: 10:30 a.m. to noon
Location: Cora Kelly Recreation
Center, 25 W. Reed Ave.
Information: Contact Deatrice Williams at 703-746-3430 or deatrice.
williams@alexandriava.gov
OPENING RECEPTION —
‘ARTIST WARRIORS: POST
APOCALYPTIC ADVENTURE’
The Del Ray Artisans asked artists to
imagine a post-apocalyptic world of any
making and document what they saw.
Come see what the future may hold.
The wearing of apocalyptic fashion for
the opening is encouraged. The show
runs through January 29.
Time: 7 to 10 p.m.
Location: Del Ray Artisans gallery,
2704 Mount Vernon Ave.
Information: 703-838-4827 or
www.thedelrayartisans.org
January 7 - 8
CRASH COURSE IN ACRYLIC
PAINTING This workshop is ideal for
beginners or those in need of some
additional basic painting knowledge.
Fundamental painting techniques
are taught using a variety of brushes,
palette knives, rollers and other tools.
Color mixing, the use of acrylic mediums and the use of different painting
surfaces are covered as the students
explore the use of photographic references and subject matter ranging
from still life to landscape.
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location: The Art League, 105 N.
Union St.
Information: 703-683-2323 or
www.theartleague.org
January 7
OLD TOWN FARMERS MARKET
The market includes local dairy, fish,
fruits, vegetables and artists. There
is free parking in the garage during
market hours.
Time: 5:30 a.m.
Location: Market Square, 301 King St.
Information: 703-746-3200
ADVENT ART CLOSING
CELEBRATION The Christmas Attic
and Make-A-Wish Foundation of the
Mid-Atlantic invite the public to the
closing celebration of the Advent Art
exhibition. Canvases of advent art will
be available via a silent auction, with
proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish
Foundation.
Time: Noon to 2 p.m.
Location: The Christmas Attic, 125
S. Union St.
Information: www.christmasattic.com
January 8
CIVIL WAR SUNDAY Explore
the Civil War in Alexandria with
January 5, 2012 | 15
Civil War Sundays, a showcase of an
original May 26, 1861, edition New
York Tribune detailing Col. Elmer
Ellsworth’s death in Alexandria; a
Peeps diorama illustrating Ellsworth’s
death; a TimeTravelers Passport exhibit featuring the Civil War drummer
boy; a diorama of a heating system
constructed in Alexandria to warm
Civil War hospital tents during the
winter of 1861; a cocked-and-loaded
Wickham musket discarded in a privy
during the 1860s; and an exhibit on
the Lee Street site during the Civil
War. The event is free.
Time: 1 to 5 p.m.
Location: Alexandria Archaeology
Museum, 105 N. Union St.
Information: 703-746-4399
ERIC JOHNSON The Grammy
Award-winning artist from Texas is
best known for his electric guitar
skills. A couple of Eric Johnson’s biggest singles are “Camel’s Night Out”
and “Cliffs of Dover.” Tickets are $35.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: The Birchmere, 3701
Mount Vernon Ave.
Information: 703-549-7500 or
www.birchmere.com
January 9
PARTNERS IN ART GROUP
Looking for a chance to get together
with creative people to discuss art
and exchange ideas? Join a meeting
of the Del Ray Artisans’ cooperatively
led Partners in Art group. Guests may
find the group engaged in a creativity
exercise, enjoying a short demonstration or in a lively art-related discussion. Free and open to the public.
Time: 2 to 4 p.m.
Location: Del Ray Artisans, 2704
Mount Vernon Ave.
Information: Contact Millie Mateu
at globaleducationsolutions@gmail.
com or Katherine Rand at katherine@
katherinerand.com
LET’S TALK BOOKS The book
discussion group will discuss “The
Ballad of Tom Dooley,” by Sharyn
McCrumb. The discussion is free and
open to everyone.
Time: 7 to 8 p.m.
Location: Kate Waller Barrett
Branch Library, 717 Queen St.
Information: Contact Heather
Martyn at 703-746-1703x4
January 10
COLLAGE CUT UPS Feel
overwhelmed by the deluge of junk
mail and magazines arriving in the
mail? Take those scraps and have
fun. Play with the Collage Cut Ups in
a supportive environment promoting
an exchange of ideas, creativity and
networking with beginner and experienced collage artists. RSVP by 9 a.m.
Time: 1 to 4 p.m.
Location: Del Ray Artisans, 2704
Mount Vernon Ave.
Information: Contact the outreach
director at dra.outreach1@gmail.com
SPOT AND AVOID FRAUD Come
to this presentation with the Investor Education Foundation and U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission
to learn how to protect yourself and
others from financial and investment
fraud. The event is free.
Time: 7 to 8 p.m.
Location: Kate Waller Barrett
Branch Library, 717 Queen St.
Information: 703-746-1703
January 11
RED HOT AND BLUE FUNDRAISER Eat at Red Hot and Blue
and 15 percent of the sale will go to
United Community Ministries. The
restaurant is generously hosting
this event to support UCM and raise
awareness of its programs.
Time: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Location: Red Hot and Blue, 6482
Landsdowne Centre
Information: 703-550-6465 or
www.ucmagency.org
January 12
MCHF LEATHERNECK HISTORY SERIES This special event
features a guided tour through the
National Museum of the Marine
Corps’ galleries and will conclude
with a seminar in Scuttlebutt Theater.
Contact the Marine Corps Heritage
Foundation for reservations.
Time: 5:30 to 9 p.m.
Location: National Museum of the
Marine Corps, 18900 Jefferson Davis
Highway
Information: 703-649-2365 or
www.usmcmuseum.org
SECOND THURSDAY ART
NIGHT: WINTRY MIX Cozy up at
the Torpedo Factory and enjoy a wintry celebration complete with a sweet
candy buffet and do-it-yourself snowflake station. Mix it up with exhibition
receptions in Target Gallery for “Fears
& Phobias”; Studio 9 and Site 2 and
3 galleries for “Connectivity: Threads
of Community”; and The Art League
Gallery for the 2012 Solo Preview and
the All-Media Membership Show. The
event is free.
Time: 6 to 9 p.m.
Location: Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union St.
Information: 703-838-4565 or
www.torpedofactory.org/thursday.htm
FREE SUPERHERO MOVIE
Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library
will screen “Captain America: The
First Avenger.” The screening is free.
Time: 6:45 p.m.
Location: Charles E. Beatley Jr.
Central Library, 5005 Duke St.
Information: 703-746-1702 or
www.alexandria.lib.va.us
LATIN AMERICAN BOOK
DISCUSSION GROUP The dis-
cussions are in English. For stories in
Spanish and English, please contact
the adult services/reference desk at
703-746-1702x3.
Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Charles E. Beatley Jr.
Central Library, 5005 Duke St.
Information: 703-746-1702
THE ART OF FASHION: HAUTE
COUTURE THEN AND NOW
Join fashion guru Susan Boyd, owner of
Wear It Well Wardrobe and Image Consulting (www.wearitwellconsulting.com),
for an evening of fashion at its most exclusive. Following a screening of “High
Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the
Haute Couture,” Boyd will talk about
why some fashion is considered art and
offer shopping tips for high-fashion,
high-quality clothes. Refreshments will
be served. The event costs $15 for DRA
members and $20 for nonmembers.
Time: 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Del Ray Artisans, 2704
Mount Vernon Ave.
Information: Contact Susan at 703973-4333 or wearitwell@gmail.com
CIVIL WAR DANCE CLASS In
preparation for the Civil War Ball on
January 28, learn the waltz, polka and
Virginia reel from an expert dance
master. Reservations are recommended; tickets cost $12.
Time: 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Location: Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal St.
Information: 703-746-4242
January 13 - 15
EDDIE FROM OHIO The North
Virginia folk band comes to the
Birchmere for a three-night stint. The
group, Eddie from Ohio, has produced
nine CDs independently and sold
upward of 150,000 copies to date,
according to the band’s website.
Tickets are $35.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: The Birchmere, 3701
Mount Vernon Ave.
Information: 703-549-7500 or
www.birchmere.com
January 14
GET YOUR WINTER FICTION
FIX The Friends of the Beatley Cen-
tral Library will hold a Get Your Winter
Fiction Fix book sale. Hardcover books
are $3, and paperbacks are $1.
Time: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Charles E. Beatley Jr.
Central Library, 5005 Duke St.
Information: 703-746-1702 or
www.alexandria.lib.va.us
January 15
MY KISSING HANDS: UNIQUE
KEEPSAKES Jennifer Stackpole
will be at Hooray For Books to create
her custom ceramic pieces which feature the impression of a child’s hand
or foot. Each is carefully hand-finished
to become a beautiful keepsake to
treasure forever.
Time: 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Location: Hooray for Books, 1555
King St.
Information: 703-548-4092
January 18
DUNCAN BOOK DISCUSSION
GROUP The group will discuss “Sav-
ing Fish From Drowning,” by Amy Tan.
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: James M. Duncan Jr.
Branch Library, 2501 Commonwealth
Ave.
Information: Contact Ruth Hailu at
703-746-1705x3
BE A BETTER CONSUMER
Ferris Kaplan, an adjunct professor
at George Mason University, will lead
the presentation on how to become a
better consumer.
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Charles E. Beatley Jr.
Central Library, 5005 Duke St.
Information: 703-746-1702 or
www.alexandria.lib.va.us
January 20
HISTORY-INSPIRED BEER
AND CUISINE This culinary
adventure will pair history-inspired
beers from Yards Brewery of Philadelphia with a four-course meal fit for
George Washington. Reservations are
required; tickets cost $85.
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal St.
Information: 703-746-4242 or
www.gadsbystavern.org
January 23
PARTNERS IN ART GROUP
Looking for a chance to get together
with creative people to discuss art
and exchange ideas? Join a meeting
of the Del Ray Artisans’ cooperatively
led Partners in Art group. Guests may
find the group engaged in a creativity
exercise, enjoying a short demonstration or in a lively art-related discussion. Free and open to the public.
Time: 2 to 4 p.m.
Location: Del Ray Artisans, 2704
Mount Vernon Ave.
Information: Contact Millie Mateu
at globaleducationsolutions@gmail.
com or Katherine Rand at katherine@
katherinerand.com
January 24
COLLAGE CUT UPS Feel overwhelmed by the deluge of junk mail
and magazines arriving in the mail?
Take those scraps and have fun. Play
with the Collage Cut Ups in a supportive environment that promotes
an exchange of ideas, creativity and
networking with beginner and experienced collage artists. RSVP by 9 a.m.
Time: 1 to 4 p.m.
Location: Del Ray Artisans, 2704
Mount Vernon Ave.
Information: Contact the outreach
director at dra.outreach1@gmail.com
The Little Theatre of Alexandria presents
The 25th Annual Putnam County
Spelling Bee Jan 14 - Feb 4
Experience the pressure, angst, and joys of childhood
as you follow the quirky adolescent outcasts (and some
even quirkier adults) as they engage in this classic and
contentious form of schoolhouse competition.
600 Wolfe St, Alexandria • 703-683-0496 • www.thelittletheatre.com
16 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Impressive ‘Pariah’ revolves
VIBRANTLY ALIVE!
POTENTLY MOVING AND HEARTFELT!
around lesbian teen
“
”
PETER TRAVERS
EXPERIENCE THE
“
THRILL OF DISCOVERY.”
A.O. SCOTT
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AMY BIANCOLLI
WINNER
FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION AWARD
NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW
WINNER
BREAKTHROUGH DIRECTOR
DEE REES
GOTHAM AWARDS
PARIAH
[puh-rahy-uh] noun
1. A person without status 2. A rejected member of society 3. An outcast
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Alike is 17 and never been is the butch Laura (Pernell away from home. This story,
kissed. She dreams of being Walker). They go to a nearby so tellingly written and acted,
kissed by a girl. The bright lesbian club together, which is about the painful awkwardBrooklyn high school stu- Alike visits with sweet shy- ness of that process. What
ness,
making makes it worse is that there’s
dent has accepted
wardrobe adjust- repressed hostility between
her lesbianism for
ments
between her parents, and Alike’s sexusome years, it aphome and desti- ality becomes the occasion
pears, but hasn’t
nation so she can for tension with deeper sourccome out to her
pass in two roles.
es.
parents, her sister,
Her mother The film is an impresor really anyone
knows the story sive debut for Dee Rees. It’s
except her gay
AT THE on Laura and wants said to be somewhat autobiofriend, Laura. Yet
everybody sort of
MOVIES Alike to stop seeing graphical. It began as a 2007
knows. She lives in By Roger Ebert her. She encour- short subject, was brought to
ages a friendship maturity at a Sundance laboa condition familiar to many families, where with Bina (Aasha Davis), the ratory, and one of its producsomething has long been daughter of one of her church ers is Spike Lee, whose pressensed but never acknowl- friends. Ironic: Laura has ence in Brooklyn must have
edged. Home life is a process never made a pass at Alike, been an inspiration for Rees.
of evasion. Words take on
more than one shading.
Alike (pronounced a-LIEkee) is played by Adepero
Oduye, in a performance so
natural and touching that
she does what every director hopes for: She brings the
character into being without the need of explanatory dialogue or obligatory
setup scenes. She is an A
student, being raised by Arthur (Charles Parnell), an
affectionate policeman, and
Audrey (Kim Wayans), a
churchgoing mother. It’s
clear both parents know their
daughter is gay, but that’s
never acknowledged out loud
and is consigned to that unspoken category of family
realities that are either (1) behavior the girl will outgrow
photo/Focus Features
and correct, or (2) somehow
the other parent’s fault.
Adepero Oduye stars in writer/director Dee Rees’ “Pariah.”
Situations like this are not
uncommon in many families,
and apply not only to homo- but Bina wants to cuddle and On a low budget, she takes
sexuality but to any area in kiss, and Alike at last acts on advantage of the vibrant phowhich a teenager has entered her sexual feelings. But Bina tography of Bradford Young,
a realm of her life that parents is the solution to no prob- who also shot the short subchoose to remain blind to. lems.
ject. So what we’re seeing
Alike shares a room with her “Pariah” is probably too here is the emergence of a
sister Sharonda (Sahra Mel- loaded a word to be the title promising
writer-director,
lesse), who, like many sib- of this film. Alike lives in a an actor and a cinematogralings, knows the story, thinks world where homosexuality pher who are all exciting, and
it’s no big deal, and goes is far from unknown, and her have cared to make a film that
along with the official fam- problems will grow smaller seeks helpful truths.
ily denial. Alike’s best friend in a few years as she moves
ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 17
Fear
FROM | 14
phobia, she drew a universal
symbol of horror.
And there are few things
more basic to the human condition than fear — it’s relatable, which Assistant Gallery
Director Allison Nance knew
when she helped choose the
exhibition’s theme.
“It’s such a theme that
anyone can relate to,” says
Nance. “It can be open to
anybody but can mean something different to everyone. It
can be personal; it can be political.”
Louisville artist John Talbott Allen chose the latter.
His piece, “Shrapnel and Battery Acid,” consists of faux
IEDs (improvised explosive
devices) made from cheerfully colored construction paper.
The creation juxtaposes terror felt by American soldiers
exposed to the camouflaged
bombs with the detached reality the majority of Americans
experience when it comes to
wars abroad.
“These are objects of terror and fear,” Talbott said.
“The whole presence of them
drives anxiety and fear, but
here in the U.S., it’s just
something foreign. I’m trying to bring a discussion to
people who don’t really have
a connection to soldiers or the
war.
“I’m trying to bring something that should be important
and should be a cause of anxiety, yet when people watch
the war on TV, it’s almost a
form of entertainment.”
Talbott’s and Vigil’s approaches represent the polar
extremes of literalism and
metaphor. The exhibit’s juror,
Lia Newman of Artspace in
Raleigh, N.C., leaned toward
metaphorical and abstract
pieces when choosing the
lineup. She shied away from
the blatant interpretations of
the theme, like Vigil’s cockroach.
“I was most surprised by
the number of artists who
chose quite literal approaches
in the visualization of particular fears and phobias,”
Newman said in her juror’s
statement. “When selecting
works of art for the exhibi-
tion I leaned toward those
that were less obvious in their
portrayal. I was most interested in works by artists who approached the theme in a more
conceptual manner.”
Fears and Phobias opens
January 12 and runs through
February 19 at Target Gallery inside the Torpedo
Factory Art Center, 105 N.
Union St. Opening reception
including a juror’s talk takes
place January 12 from 6 to
8 p.m.
Local Pros
Directory
Introduce your team of
professionals to your
Alexandria neighbors
in the Local Pros
Directory published by
the Alexandria Times.
The Local Pros Directory
is a categorical listing
designed to provide
our readers with an
easy-to-use guide of
service professionals
and organizations in and
around Alexandria.
The Local Pros Directory
provides your company
with an effective
communication tool
delivered monthly
in a quality editorial
environment to
Alexandria’s highestincome residents for less
than 2 cents per copy.
A healthy career starts here.
Now offering Medical Assisting Diplomas.
SCHOOL OF HEALTHCARE /
MEDICAL ASSISTING
A medical assisting diploma will prepare you for a career
in the growing field of healthcare:
• Career-focused courses train you to support doctors
and nurses.
Residents who receive City trash service should place trees for
Christmas • recycling
pick-up at the curb by 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, January
14 or Saturday, January 21.
Tree Recycling • Remember to remove plastic bags, stands, and ornaments from
The City of Alexandria reminds residents to recycle their holiday Christmas trees:
January 14 and 21
trees, so that they can be properly recycled.
• Any trees set out at the curb after January 21 will be collected as
part of regular refuse collection services and will not be recycled.
For more information, visit www.alexandriava.gov/recycling or
call the Department of Transportation & Environmental Services
(T&ES), Solid Waste Division at 703.746.4410.
• Real-world externships give you on-the-job skills.
• Gain the satisfaction that comes from providing quality
healthcare to patients.
Call today for a career success kit with information on
careers and salaries.
877-499-5158 • westwood.edu
AnnAndAle cAmpus | 7619 little RiveR tuRnpike | suite 500 | AnnAndAle, vA 22003
ARlington BAllston cAmpus | 4420 FAiRFAX dRive | ARlington, vA 22203
Westwood College has been certified to operate in Virginia by the State Council
of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).
18 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 19
Obituaries
Love the hat!
Where’d you
get it?
ALICE M. BALLARD, of
Alexandria, January 2, 2012
Thanks!
I made it.
ROBERT C. BARANOWSKI
(79), of Alexandria, December
30, 2011
ANN M. CAVALLARO, of
Alexandria, December 20, 2011
GERTRUDE B. CHAPMAN
(98), of Alexandria, December
24, 2011
Make your own.
JOHN W. CONNOLLY, of
Alexandria, December 20, 2011
JAMES F. FLINT, of Alexandria,
December 29, 2011
102 N. Fayette St, Alexandria, VA
703.664.0344 www.fibrespace.com
WHITMAL W. HILL (91), of
Alexandria, December 21, 2011
DAVID C. LAVOIE (65),
formerly of Alexandria,
December 28, 2011
Bishop Boutique is a chic
and intimate sanctuary for the
fashion savvy, offering a unique
selection of shoes, handbags,
accessories and seasonal flair!
ALLEN G. SCHIENBEIN (81),
of Alexandria, December 23,
2011
WILLIAM D. SLAY, of
Alexandria, December 31, 2011
NANCY C. WILLIAMS (78), of
Alexandria, December 26, 2011
City Council and
Planning
Commission to
Hold Joint
Work Session on
Waterfront Plan
The Alexandria City Council
and the Planning Commission will hold a joint work session on Tuesday, January 10,
from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., to review recommendations from
the Waterfront Plan Work
Group and discuss possible
changes to the City’s draft Waterfront Small Area Plan.
The work session will be held
at City Hall, 301 King St., in
the second-floor City Council
Chambers. It will be broadcast live on Comcast Cable
Channel 70 and on the City’s
website at alexandriava.gov/
Video. For more information
about the City’s draft Waterfront Plan, visit alexandriava.
gov/Waterfront.
Monday - Saturday: 10am - 7pm
Sunday: 11am - 5pm
815B King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
571.312.0042
The new AlexTimes.com
More opinion.
More entertainMent.
More sports.
More news.
more AlexAndriA.
What
can
the
times
do
for
you?
235 S
w
Alexa amp Fox
R
ndria
, VA 2 d.,
2314
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adve only
Alex rtise in t
he
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and dria Tim
my b
cont
usin es
e
inue
s to g ss
row.”
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Yves Co
urbois
703.739.0001
20 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
Our View
Local politics
in full swing
It is often said there are two seasons in the Washington metro area: winter and summer. We agree
there are two, but they are not winter and summer but
holiday and political — with the political ever more
encroaching on the holiday.
As we flip the calendar to 2012, the political season is shifting into high gear nationally and locally.
The national race for president heated up this week
with the Iowa caucuses. But whereas the presidential
field is shrinking, with Michele Bachmann joining
Herman Cain on the sidelines following poor Iowa
showings, new candidates continue to step forward for
local races.
This week, former City Councilman Tim Lovain
joined his erstwhile comrade Justin Wilson and newcomer Charles Sumpter Jr. in vying for the six-seat
Democratic slate chosen by a primary vote June 12.
Those three join incumbent Democrats Del Pepper,
Paul Smedberg and Kerry Donley in running for city
council (incumbent Democrat Rob Krupicka will
not seek re-election). On the Republican side, Scott
Gordon has announced his candidacy to join Republican Frank Fannon and Alicia Hughes incumbent on
council.
The Democrats decided to hold a primary rather
than their traditional caucus this year as part of
sweeping changes they initiated in response to losing two council seats in 2009. We still think moving
Alexandria’s local election from a separate springtime
contest to one tied in with state and federal elections
was a poor and politically motivated decision. Poor
because local issues will get lost in the noise surrounding the presidential contest and politically motivated because the change was voted in by a lame-duck
council that included Lovain and Wilson, who had just
lost seats.
The race for the 8th District congressional seat
also promises to be interesting, as Republican Patrick
Murray announced he will seek a rematch of his 2010
contest with incumbent Democrat Jim Moran. Moran, however, must get past a primary challenge from
Will Radle Jr., a Fairfax financial advisor who ran
unsuccessfully to chair the Fairfax County Board of
Supervisors in November.
While Radle is self-admittedly a longshot to unseat
Moran, it is high time a Democrat stepped forward to
create competition for this seat, considered by most
pundits to be safely Democratic. Congressman Moran
has held this seat for 21 years, despite being involved
in a series of embarrassing incidents during his career.
Alexandria Democrats love to privately grumble about
Moran, but in election after election no viable candidate has chosen to challenge him for the nomination.
Good for Radle for giving it a shot.
This holiday season has been superseded by the
political. Let us hope the political season doesn’t then
devolve into the silly season.
Opinion
“Where the press is free and every man is able to read, all is safe.”
- Thomas Jefferson
Your Views
In redevelopment, as in life, hindsight is 20/20
To the editor:
In 1967, newly married
and new to Alexandria, I was
anxious to open a retail shop.
My husband and I began touring spaces and wandered into
a small, empty building on the
300 block of King St.
The man sitting in the one
chair in the center of the room
turned out to be local real estate icon Welly Goddin. He
told us the block, along with
the 400 and 500 blocks, was to
be destroyed to make way for
“higher density, urban renewal
development,” something city
officials decided was necessary for Alexandria’s growth.
I later found a space a few
blocks away and have been
there for 44 years. In these
past decades, I have watched
the city change, but I can say
the redevelopment of those
blocks did not make the area
more attractive to visitors and
shoppers. Instead, those buildings broke the flow and charm
of our Main Street. I am not
even certain demolishing the
existing buildings enabled the
city to grow — whatever that
means.
But there are lessons there,
at least in my mind. Things
don’t always pan out as
planned. Developers bringing
the promise of increased revenues aren’t necessarily acting
in the best interest of the city
and its residents.
Who can conclusively say
implementing the waterfront
plan won’t devalue the historic homes that make Alexandria so charming? How does
increased density — whether
it is along the waterfront, at
Mark Center or the strip mall
slated for redevelopment in
Arlandria — affect the quality of life of the city’s diverse
residents?
Do we want to look back in
four decades and wonder what
happened to our lovely city?
- Amanda Lasker
Gossypia
ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 21
What’s the rush on the waterfront?
To the editor:
Maybe I missed it, but
nowhere in the waterfront
contretemps do I recall the
urgency for this significant
project. Really, why now?
What’s the rush? The world
will not come to an end if
the mayor and his city council acolytes abate their rush
to judgment. Who’s working
for whom here?
The city’s plan is indisputably divisive. It created
an extraordinary community
reaction. Absent any compelling explanation for a
burning need to refashion a
unique and historic section
of Alexandria, this could
be an instance when doing
nothing is the right choice.
Choosing this option
will allow the advocates of
competing waterfront plans
time to explain how their
proposals address important
metrics. Foremost among
these metrics must be quality of life, not for overnight
visitors, but for permanent
residents, particularly those
directly affected by alterations to the waterfront.
Other, more easily quantifiable metrics include cost,
traffic and density. Of all
these, however, density is
the real snake in the grass.
Just as a glass can hold only
so much fluid, so too can Alexandria hold only so many
people, structures and vehicles before the quality of
life atrophies from traffic
congestion.
You don’t have to look
far to see the consequences
of densification. The Pentagon annex at Mark Center
is but one. Our city officials
approved it, but belatedly
agreed with our congressional delegation that it was a
mistake. It’s too massive
a structure with too many
people using too many cars
to reach it.
To prevent the waterfront
from becoming Mark Center, the city should forestall
its rush. There is no burning
urgency to reshape the waterfront now, or in the near
future.
Tabling this vigorously
contested initiative will defuse the city-caused fury
among the residents City
Hall was created to serve.
After all, the elected and
appointed public servants
pushing their waterfront
plan are not our lords and
masters. It’s the other way
‘round.
- Jim Roberts
Alexandria
Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater
in Arlandria
To the editor:
The Arlandria redevelopment controversy highlighted
the evaporating ability of poor
— and typically non-white —
people to stay in Alexandria.
This is often presented as a
loss to the emigrating residents, but is also a loss to us
all.
Arlandria’s residents are
part of the fabric of our society. Apart from those with office jobs, many build homes,
fix cars, tend gardens, man
road crews, care for children, clean buildings, deliver
goods, wait tables, dispose
of trash and do all manner of
work residents rely on daily.
Most give an honest day’s
work for low pay, and if some
are less than exemplary in
their conduct, they cause less
damage than their well-heeled
counterparts in the financial
sector. We would do less well
without them than without all
of Alexandria’s lawyers.
Arlandria’s homes are
modest and its businesses
equally so, but to call the
community “blighted,” as a
developer’s advocate said at
the recent city council hearing, is more than an insult to
residents; it exposes the sad
and crass disdain of the com-
fortable for those with little.
Gated communities exist
for those seeking the lobotomized peace of exclusivity.
I would rather my community embrace its poor. I would
rather my children and grandchildren grow up with the
“sons of Pullman porters” as
well as “sons of engineers.” I
mayor grew up in segregated
Alexandria. If his community
had been redeveloped out
of existence while he was a
child, I expect he would have
taken his considerable talents
elsewhere.
Whether this would have
been his loss is for him alone
to determine, but it certainly
Like Harlem in the
previous century,
today’s Arlandria is a
boisterous steppingstone to the American
dream.
want them to learn from their
experiences how capriciously life doles out advantages
without regard to individual
merit.
Like Harlem in the previous century, today’s Arlandria
is a boisterous stepping-stone
to the American dream. I am
proud of my city for electing
a black mayor when it was inconceivable we would inaugurate a black president. Our
would have been ours. We
will bear these unknown losses until we learn the poor always are with us, and we have
important lessons to learn
from, and with, them.
-Victor M. Glasberg
The author, a resident of
Lynnhaven and Del Ray for
36 years, works as a civil
rights lawyer in Old Town.
Rep. Jim Moran has done more harm than good
With Congress’s favorable spaces because politicians
ratings in the single digits, failed to provide leadership.
I encourage the Alexandria We have known the Base
Times to retract
Realignment and
editorial page edClosure
Act’s
itor Denise Dunconsequences
bar’s Quick Take
since its May
on December 22,
2005 announce2011, applauding
ment, more than
politicians
for
six years and
micromanaging a
seven
months
parking lot rather
ago. No soluthan providing
addressing
MyView tions
effective,
sustraffic challenges
A. Will Radle Jr.
tainable solutions
have been develto the challenges
oped; no asphalt
confronting our community has been poured. We hear of
and nation.
future construction that may
Congress has been re- eventually help, but not now.
duced to patrolling parking And Rep. Jim Moran’s
(D-8) performance while
shepherding this project during the past seven years has
tarnished our community.
House Democratic leaders,
including former Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, have questioned his actions and statements.
Influence and persuasion
are a congressman’s instruments and Mr. Moran’s reputation costs our community.
Consistently rated among
the nation’s worst in traffic
congestion, our district possesses the best arguments for
federal investment in transportation infrastructure. Yet
Mr. Moran fails to lead.
Beyond Alexandria, our
national debt has grown by
more than $12 trillion during
his tenure, yet he consistently asserts he would change
nothing.
It is time for us to move
forward. On our current path,
the interest payments on our
national debt will exceed a
trillion dollars annually by
2020. Your quality of life
is at risk; lives may be lost.
The safety net would be destroyed.
In more than 20 years on
Capitol Hill, the only comprehensive economic and
fiscal plan Mr. Moran submitted to the Congressional
Budget Office for analysis is
one I crafted in 2010.
Together we can, and
must, ensure our nation endures and thrives. The plan
I wrote increases household
incomes, lowers the costs of
American production, provides universal health care,
eliminates our deficit and
reduces debt. We will invest
heavily in our nation’s future
and strengthen our human
capital through education
and health care.
The writer is a 2012
Democratic candidate for
Virginia’s 8th Congressional
District.
22 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
No one waterfront plan will ever please all
To the editor:
I write this having read
many articles and opinion
pieces about the waterfront
proposals. The Alexandria
City Council, Citizens for
an Alternative Alexandria
Waterfront Plan and the
waterfront plan work group
have offered their ideas for
the shoreline. When this issue comes to a close, I expect a great many people
on the discussion’s various
sides will be unhappy with
the final decision.
There is no way to
please everyone in a plan
this expansive.
History and quaint
neighborhoods serve as
Alexandria’s main attractions. The key is maximiz-
ing the potential of these
assets while also protecting
them. Not every aspect of
the waterfront needs redeveloping.
Mid-size hotels and retail development in North
Old Town may make more
sense than near Robinson
Terminal South. Encouraging commerce in that Old
Town neighborhood would
provide additional, pedestrian friendly dining and
shopping options for nearby employees and guests
staying at existing hotels.
Old Town has undergone significant renovation
in recent years. I was sad
to see so much open space
disappear when the public housing developments
— probably Old Town’s
largest area of open space
— were replaced with town
home and condo communities featuring rooftop decks
rather than greenery. I hope
city council members are
mindful of what we already
have lost in previous redevelopment projects.
The plans thus far debated have varying levels
of merit. Choosing a final
one encompassing the best
of each plan will prove a
difficult task. I hope our
officials and residents will
remain respectful as this issue comes to a vote.
- Kim Moore
Alexandria
We should be embarrassed by our current
waterfront, not protective
To the editor:
As a proud resident of
an 18th-century home in
Old Town on the 300 block
of Prince Street, it is important to note that just because most of us aren’t as
loud as the Boyd Walkers
and Andrew Macdonalds
of the world, that doesn’t
mean we don’t strongly
support the city government’s waterfront plan to
revitalize an area residents
should currently be embarrassed by — not fighting to
protect.
I have also been appalled the boat club has
been at the center of all of
this drama. Our city council has a responsibility to
the residents of Alexandria,
not to an elite group of club
owners, most of whom
don’t even live in the city.
We have a beautiful
city and Old Town is the
heart of it. The city’s plan
does nothing to change the
charm or historic aspects of
Old Town. It simply fixes a
waterfront that doesn’t do
our city justice. I hope city
council does the right thing
and supports a waterfront
for all Alexandrians.
- Nikki Enfield
Alexandria
City Hall needs to stay out
of the kitchen
To the editor:
In complete candor, I don’t
understand City Hall’s “thinking” that, because the food
cart pilot failed, the program
needs expanding rather than
scrapping. A pilot under such
parameters is not a fair experiment, but a rigged game:
heads, food carts win; tails, doing away with food carts loses.
When food trucks first became vogue in Washington, the
At the time, Washington’s
health department had the resources to retool its regulatory
methodology to inspect and
properly regulate this novel
enterprise. Although I oppose
food trucks, overseeing their
health and sanitation will impose new burdens on Alexandria’s government, a body
lacking the resources to expand its regulatory outreach.
In an era of austerity, when
A pilot under such
parameters is not
a fair experiment, but a
rigged game: heads, food
carts win; tails, doing
away with food carts
loses.
city’s health department had to
establish a regulatory framework to apply to this unforeseen trend. Despite the D.C.
government’s poor reputation,
it has a long history of good
performance when it comes to
restaurant sanitation and food
safety inspection.
resources required to correctly
oversee food trucks are not
readily available, it is foolish
for City Hall to consider relaxing current regulations prohibiting food trucks.
-Dino Drudi
Alexandria
Icing the kicker on the waterfront
To the editor:
At the end of football
games, when a team is close
to defeat from a last-second
field goal, the losing team will
often call a timeout. It’s called
“icing the kicker.” It’s a stall
tactic coaches use to get in
the kicker’s head so that he’ll
miss and keep the game alive. It doesn’t often work.
The Citizens for an Alternative Alexandria Waterfront
Plan seem to be playing by the
same rules. Faced with certain
defeat, CAAWP has sought to
permanently delay a vote on
the waterfront by the Alexan-
dria City Council. Worse, it’s
negotiated in bad faith, pocketing every compromise and
then complaining it’s not be-
have taken place to get input from Alexandrians on the
waterfront plan. We’ve been
heard in this process and what
called plan is badly named —
it’s not a plan, it’s a string of
ideas, many without any economic or legal viability.
... [Citizens for an Alternative
Alexandria Waterfront Plan] negotiated
in bad faith, pocketing every compromise and
then complaining it’s not being heard.
ing heard.
It’s been more than two
years. Nearly 100 meetings
Alexandria wants is an economically viable waterfront
for all of us. CAAWP’s so-
It’s past time that we have
a waterfront for all that’s a
good mix of retail, small ho-
tels, parks, and other public access and flood mitigation. The city can’t afford to
delay any more. CAAWP’s
tactic of “icing the kicker”
should be treated for what
it is — a gambit to prevent
any progress — and council
should move forward with a
vote to approve the compromise waterfront plan that has
emerged from two years of research, planning and negotiations.
- Sean Holihan
Alexandria
ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 23
OUT OF THE ATTIC
The Hugo Black House
Around 1800, Thomas
Vowell Jr., a prominent Alexandria merchant, built a new
home along what was then
called Water Street. It later
became South Lee Street. The
brick house was on the west
side of the street between
Gibbon and Franklin streets
and measured about 30 feet
across and 40 feet deep. An
1817 advertisement described
other buildings on the property, including a large kitchen
and smoke house, and along
Franklin, a brick stable and
carriage house.
The two-and-a-half story
building had a gabled roof
with paired dormers on the
front and rear, Flemish bond
brickwork and a front stoop
of Aquia sandstone. Situated
on a hill and facing east, it
originally had a clear view of
the Potomac River. In 1842,
Edgar Snowden, a member
of the Snowden family that
ly 20th century. By the 1920s,
there was a rear wing addition
as well as a smaller one to the
south.
Photo/Library of Congress
owned and published the Alexandria Gazette, purchased
the property. It remained in
the same family until the ear-
Weekly Poll
In 1939 Supreme Court
Justice Hugo Black and his
wife moved from Seminary
Hill to the home at 619 S.
Lee St. Two years later, they
opened their home for a historic house tour. The Blacks’
grounds included a landscaped terrace, rose garden,
grape arbor and tennis courts,
which were located on the far
west side of the property. In
1969, Black and his second
wife obtained a preservation
easement for their home and
land with the Virginia Historic Landmarks Commission.
Black died in 1971, a few
years before this photograph
was taken, and the property,
often called the Hugo Black
House, was sold but remains
protected today.
Out of the Attic is
provided by the Office of
Historic Alexandria.
How often did you go to the Old Town
Theater (see story, page 1)?
Never.
Once or Twice.
Every once in a while.
Frequently.
How did your neighbors vote?
Visit www.alextimes.com to vote and view the results.
Last Week’s Poll:
Which non-incumbent Alexandria City Council candidate
has the best chance of winning a seat in 2012 thus far?
616 Votes
Thumbs UP to Chef Cathal
Armstrong for
opening another
restaurant in Alexandria. Society
Fair brings a unique twist to
a gourmet shop by making it
“interactive.” Shoppers can
bring home the chef’s favorite food items, get coached
on how to prepare them and
even reserve a seat at the
demo kitchen as one of the
chefs prepares and serves a
meal. Best of luck, Cathal, on
what is certainly a timely new
venture.
— Patrice Culligan
Thumbs UP to VeloCity for
staying in the City
of Alexandria.
There were rumors
it would move
across the river,
but it has decided to move to
Del Ray. The Del Ray Business
Association and neighborhood
will welcome VeloCity with
open arms.
— Patrice Culligan
pculligan@alextimes.com
David Sachs
Editor-in-Chief
dsachs@alextimes.com
EDITORIAL
Derrick Perkins
Reporter &
Photographer
dperkins@alextimes.com
Denise Dunbar
Editorial Page Editor
ddunbar@alextimes.com
Steven G. Artley
Editorial Cartoonist
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Publisher
Thumbs Down to Alexandria City Public
Schools for requiring students to
attend classes
Monday — a federal, state and city holiday. To
add insult to injury, administrative personnel in Superintendent Morton Sherman’s office
took the day off, meaning
frustrated parents who tried
calling in to complain had their
calls unanswered. Reportedly,
a large percentage of students
were absent that day, so it’s
questionable much real learning took place anyway.
— Denise Dunbar
Thumbs DOWN to the bank
robber who ended
2011 on a down
note by holding
up the Commerce Bank at
5140 Duke St. on December
28. Here’s hoping 2012 sees
far fewer bank robberies and
home break-ins in Alexandria.
— Denise Dunbar
Alan Baldwin
abaldwin@alextimes.com
Pat Booth
Office/Classified Manager
pbooth@alextimes.com
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Art Director
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HOW TO REACH US
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24 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
At Home
Make a fashion statement
at the office desk
By Elaine Markoutsas
They’re dashing, even daring, decorative, sometimes
spare. They may double as dining tables, consoles or even
vanities.
Desks have become quite
the fashion statement.
You still may find them
in the home-office category
on retailers’ websites, but it’s
clear there have been some big
changes. “Work” isn’t part of
their overall look, though they
are up to task, and many take
up a smaller footprint in keeping with today’s downsizing of
homes and interiors.
The most fetching designs
are clean lined or simple in
proportion, along with an eye
to style, boasting architectural
details, interesting finishes,
textures, colors and hardware.
These decidedly less bulky
desks are designed to work
anywhere in the house to complement existing furnishings.
“When we design desks,”
says designer Erin Davis, of
the Dallas-based manufacturer
Global Views, “we make them
look like nice pieces of furniture, not something obviously
utilitarian, so they fit seamlessly into (a range of) decor.
“You might look at our zebrawood desk, and think it’s a
side table,” says Davis. “It’s
streamlined and the beveled
drawers are kind of hidden.”
Those kinds of features
are appreciated when the desk
meets a well-decorated interior.
Working from home or
bringing work home has made
some sort of office space a
necessity in recent years. Between 2011 and 2015, there
will be nearly 2 million homebased businesses and more
than 3 million corporate home
office households, according to
the International Data Corp.
Converting a spare room
into a dedicated home office
inspired a new genre of furnishings as manufacturers considered features such as pullout
trays or shelves for keyboards,
space for printers and computer
towers, cord management and
charging stations.
Office-style chairs on casters have been widely availSEE Desk | 25
Photo/Crate And Barrel
At 6 feet long, this work table also can do double duty by
dining for four. The top is crafted from reclaimed telephone
poles and finished in a clear sealer with lacquer.
HOME OF THE WEEK
One-of-a-kind townhome in Potomac Yard
This executive, full-brick townhome stands
out in the highly sought-after community known
as Potomac Yard by Pulte Homes. Thoughtfully
designed, it reflects modern living.
The residence features hardwood floors
that extend through the open layout on the
second floor. The gourmet kitchen offers stainless steel appliances, sleek upgraded cabinets
and rich granite countertops. It’s great for impromptu or elaborate dinners.
Other highlights include a fourth bedroom
on the first floor with a full bath and a deck
off the kitchen. In addition, the home contains
a fourth-level bonus room with wet bar and
a rooftop terrace — with a fireplace — with
a view through to the bonus room. The combination is great for large get-togethers or an
intimate retreat.
Outdoors, Potomac Yard will boast gardens, jogging paths, tennis courts and a playground, among other amenities. Not only are
the commodities great, but the house’s location is terrific. Enjoy an easy walk from the
home to Potomac Yard Shopping Center and
the Braddock Road Metro Station. Visit pulte.
com/potomacyard for more details.
courtesy photo
courtesy photo
Potomac Yard is conveniently located near shops and the
Metro. Enjoy jogging paths, a garden and a playground onsite.
Stainless steel appliances, upgraded cabinets and granite countertops make this gourmet kitchen a culinary
dream.
At a Glance:
Location: 2313 Main Line Blvd.,
Price: $796,065
Style: 4-Level Townhome
Contact: Pulte Homes,
Year Built: Brand new
Square Footage: 2,181 sq. ft.
Alexandria, VA 22301
571-970-4043
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 3.5
Parking: 2-Car Garage
ADVERTORIAL
ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 25
Desk
FROM | 24
able, even for kids and teens
at PB Teen. There even is a
selection of handsome Herman Miller chairs (a company
known for its high-end commercial office furniture) at
Pottery Barn.
But an escalating shift
from PCs to laptops, notebooks, iPads and smartphones equipped with Wi-Fi
has altered the paradigm to
an amazing portability that
allows working remotely —
even poolside.
According to a recent
study by the American Home
Furnishings Alliance, nearly
73 percent of Americans report that they consider their
office “at home” to be wherever they can use a computer.
“Today’s home-office category can be defined in one
word: mobile,” says Jackie
Hirschhaut, AHFA vice president of public relations.
So desks that better integrate into our living spaces
are becoming more of a standard. And with that comes
an upgrade in desktop accessories — everything from
elegant crocodile embossed
leather blotters at Ralph Lauren Home for about $600 to
chic decoupage trays from
John Derian to a bit of bling
in Swarovski-studded tape
dispensers, staplers and wireless mice, all shown off in an
extensive category of desks
and travel at Neiman Marcus.
There’s always been a
market for writing desks,
which traditionally have covered styles including English
Chippendale, French Provincial, Biedermeier, chinoiserie
and Art Deco. But the trend
to personal computers in the
home necessitated larger
surfaces and more storage
— desks with matching credenzas, bookcases and file
drawers. Now you can even
find such groupings in Belgian Modern at Restoration
Hardware.
Some who didn’t have a
spare room chose the camouflage tactic: Hide the home
office in a closet, armoire or
cabinet.
But, of course, as TVs
morphed into sexier, ultrathin flat screens, there was no
longer a desire to hide them.
Showing off thin, compact
laptops or iPads is analogous.
Perhaps not coincidentally,
there has been a proliferation
of smaller-scale and leaner
writing desks, which may
also be tapped for household
paperwork, financial management and homework. From
just under 4 feet long up to 6
feet, they can range in price
from a couple hundred dollars
to nearly $10,000.
Most of the attention-grabbing designs appeal for their
simplicity and their spins on
tradition and materials.
Several styles appear to
lead the pack. The classic Parsons style, which never really
was out of vogue, has shown
up in a range of materials.
Often attributed to French designer Jean Michel Frank out
of a course he taught at the
Paris Atelier in the 1930s, he
earlier used it in his interiors
and it even popped up in Bauhausian homes in the 1920s.
Frank often played against
the ultra-simple form, whose
legs and top have equal value,
by cladding it in luxe materials such as parchment, leather,
gold leaf and shagreen (sharkskin). At West Elm, there are
two Parsons options, one with
a hint of Hollywood glamor in
mirror cladding, and the other
in an antiqued silver metal,
both on engineered wood.
Lending a modern sensibility,
either desk would add sparkle, especially to a traditional
room.
Mirrored, all metal, glass
(including a dramatic black)
and Lucite are perhaps surprising models.
Architecturally
inspired
designs also are quite popular, especially those with the
X-factor, which feature X’s at
the sides — either as supports
or as part of the framework.
Variation includes Z’s and
V’s. And trestle tables show
centuries-old European influence.
Then there are the desks
with sawhorse construction,
similar to a slab-style surface
often seen spanning a pair of
file cabinets. Here, the open
legs are a lighter alternative to
more monolithic piers. Some
of these look especially dashing in rustic woods.
Wood choices are expansive, with a good representation of the familiar oak and
cherry, plus figured exotics
and painted pieces. Sligh Furniture Co. launched a color
options program in 2010 to
break out of the brown furniture shell with lively hues
such as fresh olive, sassy
green, morning yellow, blue
bliss and vintage ivory with
silver leaf edging.
Then there’s bolder color
for those who crave it. Home
Decorators sells a wood desk
that’s finished in high-gloss
lacquer in orange, soft blue
and pale green. At CB2,
there’s a powder-coated steel
desk in chartreuse.
Mixed media also offer
striking design mashups. Rustic black wrought iron bases
rock reclaimed wood tops.
Others sport ultra polish and
sophistication, with gleaming stainless steel or polished
nickel frames paired with
more refined woods.
Then, too, riffs on more
traditional forms have got
legs, such as exaggerated or
angular cabriole shapes.
Stylish desks are being
shown with comfy wing chairs
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or upholstered chairs, some
slipcovered, which make them
more compatible with living
room furnishings. Lily Pulitzer Home even shows a sassy
hot pink chair in a delightful
Chippendale style (available
at Neiman Marcus), smashing
with a white desk.
And there is no shortage of
stylish file cabinets, some of
which sit smartly on casters,
so you can roll them around
where you need them.
As technology continues
to propel, today’s modern
consumer wants to soften his
surroundings, according to
Judy George, CEO of Judy
George International (www.
j u d y g e o rg e i n t e r n a t i o n a l .
com). The High Tech/High
Tough concept actually was
espoused by John Naisbitt
in his mega-selling “Megatrends” in 1982; he since devoted a book to the subject.
With one of the JGI brands
of furnishings, Hotel Maison,
George adds to that formula a
bit of luxury and a marriage
of tradition with an edge.
“An adaptive mix of styles
is arcing a luxury theme, coordinating elements of classic
furniture with a modern twist
that never goes out of style,”
says George. “Designers are
fearlessly grouping unique,
even eccentric elements. And
consumers like the eclectic
mix. With furniture — like a
wonderful desk — personality
is key.”
26 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES
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Weekly Words
78 First, second or third, on a
diamond
79 Unruly prison outbreak
80Endure
83 Blue-blanket baby
84 Pricey Chinese vases
85Frazzled
87 Fox chaser
90 “Hit the brakes!”
92 Blood system letters
93 Prom locale, often
94 Deserve to receive
95 Dernier ___ (latest fashion)
96Freeloader
99 Language in Mumbai
101 Render dysfunctional
104 “For ___ a jolly good “
105 It’s stranded in your body
106 Bubble-blower’s mouthful
107 What a high-rolling
meat-cutter does?
111 Diamond or sapphire
113 No more than a smidgen
114 The only ones they have to
blame?
115 Address a crowd
116 Wintertime afflictions
117 Shipping container’s weight
118 Skier’s incline
119 Romantic rendezvous
120 Runs off at the mouth
121 Ram’s mates
122Succulent
DOWN
across
1
Desert plants
6
Av follower on the Hebrew
calendar
10 Cleansing bar
14Assailed
19 Stay clear of
20 Trunk of a tree
21 Golden Fleece carrier
22 Muscat resident
23 St. Paul resident
25 High-five sound
26 Stepford victims
27 Meat-cutter’s tools for
negotiations?
29 Whitney who invented the
cotton gin
30
31
32
33
36
37
38
39
41
42
43
46
47
50
51
53
Airplane announcement, for
short
Deplaning gift in Maui
Taiwan city
Rips to shreds
Cincinnati player
“Now ___ seen everything!”
Fish bait
Turn on the waterworks
Icky, sticky stuff
Descriptions on product boxes
Tried and true
Subdued attention-getter
Definitely overcooked
Bronzed by the sun
Brit’s broth
“National Velvet” author
Bagnold
54 Vigorous spirit
56 Kind of ring or swing
58 Female lobsters
60 Pulpit of yore
61 ___ de mer (seasickness)
62 Bollywood dress
63 In pieces
66 Singer ___ “King” Cole
67 Some kitchen slabs and this
puzzle’s theme?
70 “7 Faces of Dr. ___” (Tony
Randall pic)
71 City on Lake Winnebago
73 Prominent features for Spock
74 Door unlocker
75 Winged one in Wonderland
76 Hull attachment
77Lots
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Arch slightly
Control a 747
“Cannon” star William
Light, metallic sound
Often-impractical one
Trees used for making
sharps and flats on a piano
“An Iceland Fisherman”
author Pierre
Mongolia’s ___ Bator
Take out, as pants
Japanese fish dish
Lowest deck on a ship
Visibly astonished
Cool treat on a stick
Big Apple area
“J’Accuse” author Zola
Where the meat-cutter’s
money is kept?
180 degrees from WSW
“My country, ___ of thee ...”
24
28
34
35
38
40
42
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
52
54
55
56
57
59
62
63
64
65
67
68
Colander kin
Net lining of a hat
Uno, ___ tres
Constantly stewed dude
Prefix in many Ocean Spray
drinks
Ump’s relative
Word processor command
Bubbling on the stove
Place to retire for the night
Ball-___ hammer
Bingo relative
Turn Batman into Bruce
Wayne, e.g.
Tease the meat-cutter?
Baby-powder ingredient
As a result
Flightless Australians
Latticework strip
Get a wife or husband
Round figures
Old salt
Guy Roseanne hides?
Pitching staff leaders
Inner Hebrides island
Digs like pigs
Cattle-catching weapon on
the pampas
Tin Woodman’s desire
69 Thumb-and-forefinger sign
72 Having a sharp edge
75 Annoyance from a faucet
77 Tub trio of rhyme
78 German city of Beethoven’s
birth
81 “___ will be done ...”
82 Make muggy
83 Girl’s hair ornament
84 Least arid
85 Half a trumpet’s sound
86Sash
88 “Chilean” fish
89 It often contains lots of letters
90 Elaborate plans
91 Lock of hair
93 Cocktail made with lime
juice and vodka
96 Shouts for the tenor
97 Broken, as promises
98 Famed portrayer of Lincoln
100Twosomes
102 Bread, clams or cabbage
103 ___ with (tolerate)
108Melt
109“Present”
110 A famous Fitzgerald
111 Make a note of (with “down”)
112 “To ___ is human ...”
Last Week’s Solution:
ALEXANDRIA TIMES January 5, 2012 | 27
Missing Cat
Washington Street
Streetscape
Improvements
City of Alexandria’s
Department of
Transportation &
Environmental Services
(T&ES)
Design Public Hearing
Wednesday, January 25, 2011,
6-8 p.m.
City Hall, Sister Cities Rm. 1101
301 King Street,
Alexandria, VA 22314
Find out about the proposed
streetscape design improvements
to the Washington Street corridor,
between Church Street and Gibbon
Street. The proposed project will
add enhancements to the lighting,
sidewalk and streetscape improvements, traffic safety improvements,
and drainage improvements.
Review the proposed project plans
and the National Environmental
Policy Act documentation at the
public hearing or at City of Alexandria City Hall, 301 King Street,
Room 3200. You can also review
the project on the City of Alexandria web site atPublic Hearing Ad12-16-11-WashingtonStreet.doc
http://alexandriava.gov/tes/info/
default.aspx?id=2876. Please call
ahead to ensure the availability of
personnel to answer your questions.
Streetscape and landscape impact
information and tentative construction schedules are available for your
review at the above address and will
be available at the public hearing.
Give your written or oral comments at the hearing or submit them
by February 8, 2011, to Mr. Rashad
K Friday, MS, MBA, Project Manager, City of Alexandria, City Hall,
301 King Street, Room 3200, Alexandria, VA 22314. You may also
e-mail your comments to rashad.friday@alexandriava.gov. Please reference “Washington Street Streetscape
Comments” in the subject line.
The City of Alexandria ensures
nondiscrimination and equal employment in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI
and Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964. If you need more information or special assistance for
persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, contact
T&ES at 703.746.4025. TTY/TDD
703.838.5056 State Project: U000-100-616
UPC: 64662
Alexandria Board of
Architectural Review
Old & Historic
Alexandria District
LEGAL NOTICE OF
A PUBLIC HEARING
A public hearing will be held by
the Alexandria Board of Architectural Review on WEDNESDAY,
JANUARY 18, 2012 beginning at
7:30 PM in Council Chambers,
second floor of City Hall, 301
King Street, Alexandria, Virginia
on the following applications:
CASE BAR2011-0360
Request for window replacement
at 316 N Pitt St, zoned RM Residential
APPLICANT: Robert J. Almassy
by Chris Sullivan
Lost gray tabby with white markings in Old Town around Fayette
& Prince on December 22. If you
have or have seen Scooter please
contact us at 703-549-9273 or
King St. Cats at 703-231-7199.
ADOPTABLE PET OF THE WEEK
CASE BAR2011-0361
Request for alterations at 732 S
Royal St, zoned RM Residential
APPLICANT: Stanely & Sandra
Bysshe
CASE BAR2011-0362
Request for alterations at 400 N
Union St, zoned RM Residential
APPLICANT: Allen & Rebecca
Weh by Christine Kelly
CASE BAR2011-0363
Request for alterations at 326
King St, zoned KR King Street
Retail
APPLICANT: East Banc, Inc. by
Robert M. Gurney
CASE BAR2011-0364
Request for partial demolition at
815 ½ King St, zoned KR King
Street Retail
APPLICANT: 815 ½ King St, LLC
CASE BAR2011-0365
Request for alterations at 815 ½
King St, zoned KR King Street
Retail
APPLICANT: 815 ½ King St, LLC
CASE BAR2011-0367
Request for partial demolition/
encapsulation at 204 & 206 S
Union St, zoned W-1 Waterfront
Mixed Use
APPLICANT: Lawrence N.
Brandt, Inc. by Robert Brandt
CASE BAR2011-0368
Request for alterations at 204 &
206 S Union St, zoned W-1 Waterfront Mixed Use
APPLICANT: Lawrence N.
Brandt, Inc. by Robert Brandt
Information about the above item(s)
may be obtained from the Department of Planning and Zoning, City
Hall, 301 King Street, Room 2100,
Alexandria, Virginia 22314, telephone: (703) 746-4666
OF THE
THE WEEK
WEEK
ADOPTABLE PET OF
ALEXANDRIA CITY
COUNCIL - JANUARY - 2012
The item described below will be considered by City
Council on the following date. The City Council
reserves the right to recess and continue the public
hearing to a future date. For further information
call the Office of the City Clerk at 703-746-4550.
ALEXANDRIA CITY COUNCIL
SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 2012
9:30 AM, CITY HALL
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
301 KING STREET
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA 22314
MASTER PLAN AMENDMENT #2011-0001
TEXT AMENDMENT #2011-0005
WATERFRONT SMALL AREA PLAN
Public hearing and consideration of a request for A) an amendment to the City’s
Master Plan to include the Waterfront Small
Area Plan chapter; and B) a text amendment
to Section 5-500 of the Zoning Ordinance
for the W-1/Waterfront mixed use zone.
Staff: Department of Planning and Zoning
The Waterfront Small Area Plan boundary includes
Daingerfield Island at its north end and Jones Point Park
at its southern end (both national parks). In between, the
plan is bounded to the east by the Potomac River and to
the west by (from north to south) East Abingdon Drive
beginning just north of Marina Drive to the railroad
tracks,Continuing southeast along the railroad tracks to a
point just west of Pitt Street, Continuing east along Bashford Lane to North Royal Street, Continuing south along
North Royal Street to Third Street, Continuing east along
Third Street to North Fairfax Street, Continuing south
along North Fairfax Street to Queen Street, Continuing
east along Queen Street to a point approximately 100 feet
west of North Union Street, Continuing south about 100
feet west of Union Street to Wolfe Street, Following along
the northern, western, and southern boundary of Windmill Hill Park until it meets South Union Street, Continuing south on South Union Street to Jones Point Park.
Love is in the air and these two lovely Orange Tabbies are
~ Buffyto~share it with!
looking for someone
Atis4in
years
old,
Buffy
sweet,
smart
and
loving.are
Love
the air
andRabbit,
theseistwo
lovely
Orange
Tabbies
Meet
Roger
and
these
extremely
handsome
She is crazy
aboutfor
humans;
bonds
wellit and
looking
someone
to share
with!is very loyal.
gentlemen are 2 year old neutered males who are very
Perhaps
overfed
in
her prior
home,
Buffyhandsome
has plans to
MeettoRoger
and
Rabbit,
these
extremely
bonded
eachget
other.
They
are fun
loving,
life loving cats
back
in
shape
in
2012.
gentlemen are 2 year old neutered males who are very
and have quickly become staff favorites! They are super laid
bonded
to each
other.
They are
fun loving,
lifeher.
loving
cats
Buffy
hopes
for an
Adopter
to exercise
with
Although
back and have been great with kids, dogs and other cats!
andrides
have are
quickly
favorites!
super laid
car
her become
favorite staff
activities,
it’s They
time are
to branch
out.
back
and
have
been
great
with
kids,
dogs
and
other
cats!
For
the
Month
of
February
we
want
to
spread
the
The Shelter is now offering a “New Year-New Friend”
love
around
and
are waiving
our
adoption
fees
promotion
to help
Buffy
and
buddies
intothe
their
For the
Month
of February
weher
want
to spread
on
bonded
pairs
of
cats!
new
homes
pronto.
love around and are waiving our adoption fees
bonded8,pairs
of cats!
From today toon
January
2012,
our adoption fee is
For$20.12
more with
information
about
Roger
andinRabbit
all standard
adoption
policies
place. or
For more
information
about Roger
and Rabbit
or
any
of our
winter adoption
promotions
please
any ofthe
ourAnimal
winter
adoption
please
PLEASE
VISITpromotions
US AT of Alexandria
contact
Welfare
League
contact
the Animal Welfare League of To
www.ALExAndrIAAnImALS.org
LEArn
at 703-746-4774
or visit us on theAlexandria
web
at:
703-746-4774
orAnd
visitHEr
us on
the web at:
morE at
ABoUT
BUFFY
wAITIng
www.alexandriaanimals.org FrIEndS,
or CALLwww.alexandriaanimals.org
US AT 703-746-4774,
THAnK YoU.
Thankyou.
you.
Thank
Alexandria’s
Pet of
ofthe
theweek
week
Alexandria’s Pet
sponsored by Diann
isissponsored
DiannHicks.
Hicks.
Diann
DiannHicks
Hicks
703-628-2440
703-628-2440
www.diannhicks.com
www.diannhicks.com
28 | January 5, 2012ALEXANDRIA TIMES