Hardy Park Courts: State Of Play

The tennis courts at Hardy Park were to have been resurfaced by June 21, in time for the start of summer camp. As of Friday, August 19, it hadn’t happened. On Thursday evening, Wesley Horton, 24, and Lukas Chandler, 22, made a go of a tennis game. Having recently moved to the area, they noted…

GU’s Park Loop Road Nouveau

Can Georgetown University see the forest for its own trees? A new test is underway. GU, with its long record of irreverence for its western front with Glover Archbold National Park, is proposing to build a road that would intensify traffic along its steep border with the forest. The east-west road, part of GU’s 2017-2036…

Ward 3 School Board Rep.: From Here, What?

After 18 months on the job, Ruth Wattenberg makes it clear that her role as the democratically elected Ward 3 representative on the DC State Board of Education comes with handcuffs. (This article originally was published on The Hoe.org, July 4, 2016.) Does she vote on funding for schools? No. Is she empowered to oversee…

$900,000 More For Wilson High School?

(This article originally appeared in the June 2015 edition of Foxhall News, the newsletter published by the Foxhall Community Citizens Association, available at Foxhall.org.) $900,000 More for Wilson? School’s New Principal Hails from Aspen High By John Bray Wilson High School, slated for a budget cut by DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson despite rising…

Wilson High School Budget Woes

(This article originally appeared in the April 2015 edition of Foxhall News, the newsletter published by the Foxhall Community Citizens Association, available at Foxhall.org.) Burgeoning Wilson High School’s Budget Woes – And the Murky Big Picture By John Bray At Wilson High School, fast-rising enrollment is being met with a budget cut, setting off a…

For 2D Cop, Traffic’s The Ticket

Exiting the police station, the first move is southbound on Idaho Avenue. Officer Anthony McElwee is rolling into service in an unmarked Chevy. It’s about 11 a.m. on a weekday in Northwest Washington, D.C. I’m in the passenger seat, taking advantage of the Metropolitan Police Department’s ride-along program (after I get my “he’s clean” diagnosis…

GU’s Better Neighbor Push

At the center of Georgetown University’s work to keep good relations with Foxhall and other nearby communities is Cory S. Peterson. For the past three years, since taking on the post of director of the Office of Neighborhood Life, Peterson has been pushing for closer connections with the communities, rapid and thorough response to student…

E Pluribus Twelve: A DUI Verdict

Were we jurors to believe that this trio of officers couldn’t tell whether the driver was under the influence of alcohol? She had pleaded not guilty. Our sworn duty was to presume her so unless the prosecution proved guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.