The Palisades News

NewsT h e P a l i s a d e s
A Newsletter of the Palisades Citizens’ Association Representing the Greater Palisades Area Volume 20• Number 3 • December 2008
PCA GenerAl MeMbershiP
tUesDAY, dec 2 • 7:30 PM
Palisades Recreation Center Jerry Price and other representatives of Sibley Hospital will be there to discuss options to reno- vate the Sibley Hospital Campus, among other items. Please make plans to attend!
The Palisades Citizens’ Association • 1
In this issue:. Luminaria .............................................................1 Riverside Project ...............................................1 Out and About ................................................. 2 From the President .......................................... 3 SMB .......................................................................4 Marine Corp Marathon Pictorial ................ 5 Erratum ................................................................ 5 Palisades Village Party ...................................6 Wilson Whole School ....................................6 What’s that Smell? .......................................... 7 Palisades History Book Gift Idea ................8
Light A Candle On The Longest Night! Participate In The
Palisades Luminary Tradition On Sunday, December 21, the
Palisades will shine in celebration of the Winter Solstice. Lanterns made from candles planted in sand-filled paper bags (in the luminaria tradition of Santa Fe) will glow along front walks, porches, and sidewalks. This year, the evening’s glow will be even brighter because the Palisades Community Fund will donate all proceeds from the sale of the luminaries to DC Hunger Solutions, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the current hunger crisis in Washington.
Thanks to the generosity of this year’s donors, including Wildbird Center, Pipe Dreams Plumbing & Heating, Inc, Palisades Community Church, Polliwog Design, and CVS, luminary night will continue to be successful. Over the years, this event has raised more than $12,000 for the Palisades Community Fund. This year many of our neighbors right here in Continued on page 5
PCA Members Vote on Riverside Hospital Project
At its November 12 general meeting, the PCA held a vote on the proposed Canal Parc townhome development. Two developers, The Athena Group of New York
and DC’s Willco Residential seek to build 37 townhomes on the 2.7 acre site, located at 4460 MacArthur Boulevard, and current location of the recently-closed Riverside Hospital.
PCA members opted to support the developer’s application to the DC Zoning Commission, but with several conditions attached. These include:
Limits on building height;• Appropriate setbacks, demarcation, and protections for previously existing • wetlands; Wider interior roads and provision of a turn-around for emergency vehicles;• Increased parking for residents, visitors, service and delivery vehicles;• Improvements on the quality and appearance of affordable housing units;•
Continued on page 6
2 • Volume 20 • Number 3
November 22, 2008 through January 11, 2009. • The Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture will present its 4th annual Holiday Art Show and Sale in the park’s Popcorn Gallery from November 22, 2008 through January 11, 2009. Browse and buy fine artworks for everyone on your holiday shopping list! Whether you are looking for a one-of-a-kind fused glass pendant, a gorgeous oil painting, or a striking ceramic vase to hold a holiday bouquet—Glen Echo Park’s Holiday Art Show and Sale will be sure to please. The show will feature works by resident artists and instructors, and other invited artists. It will include glass, ceramics, photography, painting, and more. The park’s major resident visual arts groups, including the Yellow Barn Studio and Gallery, Glen Echo Pottery, Photoworks, and the Art Glass Center at Glen Echo will be represented. In conjunction with the park’s Winter’s Eve holiday event, a reception will be held in the Popcorn Gallery on Saturday, December 13, from 6 pm to 9 pm The reception is free and open to the public. The Popcorn Gallery is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 pm to 6 pm. Extended holiday hours have not yet been determined. Please check our Web site at www. glenechopark.org for updated gallery hours. Glen Echo Park is located at 7300 MacArthur Blvd. in Glen Echo, Maryland, six miles northwest of Georgetown along the scenic Potomac River palisades. For more information, call (301) 634-2222. December 4-11-18. Tuesdays. 7:30 pm. • Class. Psychic Development. Improve Your Intuitive Abilities. Institute for Spiritual Development, 5419 Sherier Place, Washington, DC. http://www.isd-dc.org December 7-14-21-28 Sunday. 11 am • Sunday church service followed by refreshments and hospitality. Institute for Spiritual Development. www. isd-dc.org December 9, Tuesday, 2:00-3:00 pm. • The Mount Vernon Foreign Language Cafe. Want to brush up on your language skills, practice a little bit, or show off a second language? Join GW faculty and students in infor- mal discussion over coffee and cookies in all of the languages taught at GW, including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish, as well as American Sign Language GW Mount Vernon Campus Eckles Library First Floor 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007 December 13 Saturday, 6:30 pm. • Pastor’s Christmas Dinner. Palisades Community Church 5419 Sherier Pl NW Washington DC 20016 December 13 Saturday. 7 pm.• Message Circle. Top DC Area Mediums Channel Spiritual Messages Of Love, Inspiration & Practicability. Institute for Spiritual Development, 5419 Sherier Place, Washington, DC. http:// www.isd-dc.org December 13, 2008, Saturday, 6:00-9:00 pm. • The Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture will present a fun-filled celebration of the holiday season. Winter’s Eve will be held at Glen Echo Park and will include performances, holiday crafts for kids, and a hot chocolate bar. All activities are free and open to the public. The Capital Accord Chorus will be on hand to “light up the dark days of winter with song.” This women’s a cappella chorus will perform holiday songs from 7:15 pm to 8:45 pm in various loca-
tions throughout the Park, including Adventure Theatre, the Puppet Co. and the Arcade Building. The evening will also include a holiday craft room where children of all ages can make festive gift bags, 3-D snowflakes, and a 2009 calendar featuring their own artwork. A complimentary hot chocolate bar will be set up in one of the Park’s classrooms, offering hot chocolate and other treats. During the Winter’s Eve celebration, the Partnership will hold a special reception in the Popcorn Gallery, where the annual Holiday Art Show and Sale is currently on exhibition. The reception will provide visitors with a unique opportunity to shop for holiday gifts. The show features a wide range of artwork, from one-of-a-kind fused glass pendants, to beautiful oil paintings, to striking ceramic vases— perfect for holding a holiday bouquet. Many of the Park’s resident artists’ studios and galler- ies will also be open during Winter’s Eve, including the Art Glass Center, Glen Echo Pottery, and the Yellow Barn Studio. Glen Echo Park is located at 7300 MacArthur Blvd. in Glen Echo, Maryland, six miles northwest of Georgetown along the scenic Potomac River palisades. For more information, including digital images from our 2006 and 2007 events, please call (301) 634-2228 or visit www.glenechopark.org December 14, Sunday, 11:00 am• Christmas Pageant, Sunday, Palisades Community Church 5419 Sherier Pl NW Washington DC 20016v December 21, Sunday, 11:00 am• . Choral festival and christmas tea Palisades Community Church 5419 Sherier Pl NW Washington DC 20016 December 21 Sunday. 11:00 am• . Special children’s recital and winter solstice celebration church service. Institute for Spiritual Development, 5419 Sherier Place, Washington, DC. http://www.isd-dc.org December 24, Wednesday. 8:00 pm.• Christmas Eve candlelight service. A unique non-denominational celebration and interpretation of the universal nativity story. Institute for Spiritual Development. http://www.isd-dc. org December 24, Wednesday• . Christmas Eve services family worship service, 5:30 pm. Candlelight service of readings and carols, 10:00 pm. Palisades Community Church 5419 Sherier Pl NW Washington DC 20016. For more information, call the church at 202-966-7929. January 11, Sunday, 11:00am• . Help control invasive vines along the Capital Crescent Trail in DC! We will be helping The Nature Conservancy and National Park Service cut invasive vines, including English ivy and wisteria, which are strangling trees along the river and providing unsafe trail conditions. Winter is a great time to stretch those inside bones and warm your muscles! We will meet outside the Washington Canoe Club at the CCT Georgetown trailhead Sunday, at 11am--dress warmly, and bring lunch and water. The Conservancy will provide gloves and hand tools, but you are welcome to bring your own. Please sign up so we have an idea of how many tools to bring, by e-mailing Mary Travaglini, the Potomac Gorge Habitat Restoration Manager of the Nature Conservancy at [email protected] and pass the word along to your friends. Parking is free along the meters in Georgetown on Sundays, and of course you can bike, walk, or bus there.
Out and About
From the President You received a very important piece of mail about two
weeks ago – a fundraising letter from Ellen Maxwell and Margie Palm, who are co-chairs of the Palisades Community Fund (PCF). I urge everyone reading this to consider making a contribution to support one of the lesser-known organizations of the Palisades – but one with tremendous impact from Foxhall Road to the Maryland border!
The PCF is the grant-making arm of your citizens association. It was established by the PCA in December 1995, and 100 percent of its funds are raised through the generosity of neighbors like you. All contributions are fully tax deductible; the PCF has non-profit status through a link to the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region.
The PCF exists to fund projects that can help make the Palisades a better place to live, and to build community spirit. Ellen and Margie are supported by a top-notch board, who include Treasurer Julie Russell, Alex Ashbrook, Bill Barnard, Judy Dollenmayer, Jimmy Ervin, Dee Kerr- Bashouri, Eliza Klose, Carolyn Ortwein, Penny Pagano, Laura McGiffert Slover, Chris Stacy, and yours truly in an ex-officio capacity.
Through its small endowment that has been raised over the years, the PCF has supported many of the people and institutions that help make the Palisades the great neighborhood that it is. These include:
Support for Palisades seniors by providing start-up funding • for the Palisades Village senior care project, while also funding safety modifications for homes to accommodate senior needs; Helping to make MacArthur Boulevard more attractive by • providing a matching grant for MacArthur Beautification Group fundraising; Equipment and support for Palisades parks (including the • Rec Center), neighborhood churches, schools (especially Key School and Community Preschool of the Palisades), and the Palisades Fire Station; Support for art in the Palisades, from helping to establish • the Palisades Community Band to assisting the work of the DC Neighbors Through Art program, which is a joint program with our partners, Hillcrest Citizens Association;
and most recently Working to make the • Palisades Farmers Market a real- ity. The PCF financed permit issuance, signage, and other requirements that are prerequisites for making the market such a success. As we start to focus on the holidays, it is more important
than ever to consider making a contribution. The recent wave of economic bad news has affected our city in a number of ways, and is not surprisingly hitting our weakest. The Palisades is not isolated from any of this bad news, of course, but these events also serve to remind us that we are part of a larger com-
munity. Food banks, shelters, and feeding centers in our city are being simultaneously hit with increased demands for support, while the pool of contributions decreased dramati- cally. One food bank has reportedly expe- rienced a 20 percent rise in customers, com- bined with a 30 percent drop in support over recent months.
This is why the PCF has authorized a contribution back to its parent, the Community Foundation, that will be used to help address this imbalance. It is also why the PCF board has also decided that all proceeds from the annual Luminary Night will be directed to DC Hunger Solutions, as our front-page article notes.
You can support the PCF and make a contribution to those less fortunate by pur-
chasing luminaries or by responding to the PCF’s fundraising letter. Either way, you are doing what good neighbors do, which is working together to address community concerns and to help those in need.
As the nights get longer and the days get colder, we should all count the many ways we are blessed, not least of which is living in such a wonderful place as the Palisades. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday and a happy new year!
Remember to show up for our December general meeting, which will take place on Tuesday, December 2 at 7:30 pm, as always at the Rec Center. Jerry Price and other representatives of Sibley Hospital will be there to discuss options to reno- vate the Sibley Hospital Campus, among other items. Please make plans to attend!
-Spence Spencer President
After serving as house band to the Palisades Farmers Market during its inaugural summer, the Sherier Mountain Boys are
responding to the change of season by heading into hibernation like the good mammals that they are.
“We’ve enjoyed play- ing for the folks, even at the sometimes punitive hour of 10 am on a Sunday morning,” said head Boy Michael Dolan, whose address lent the group its name. “We’ll be practicing regularly at an
undisclosed location all winter, and look forward to returning to the Market in the spring with a lot of new tunage.”
Market goers have come to expect the unexpected from the troubadours, who call their casual approach to performance “practicing in public.” Besides familiar (“Last Time,” by the Rolling Stones) and less familiar (the Vogues’ “Five O’Clock World”) oldies and a stream of pogo-inducing nuggets like Donovan’s “Rikki Tikki Tavi” (http://www. vimeo.com/videos/search:Sherier%20 Mountain%20Boys), the Boys habitually improvise blues songs about passing shoppers and younger fans.
Front man Dolan keeps up a steady stream of palaver and timely tunes, like “The Disgruntled Voter Blues” (“…I’m a disgruntled voter, and I got a ballot I’m just dying to use…”) and “Aging Hipster Blues” (“…woke up this morning, put on my skinny black jeans, got out my Jack Kerouac T-shirt, and baby you know what that means, I’m an aging hipster, got the aging hipster blues…”) that appeal to older listeners. A Dolan original, “Palisades,” hollered to a Bo Diddley rhythm, distills the neighborhood’s history into a series of high-energy couplets.
The Sherier Mountain Boys emerged from WMD, a rock & soul outfit in which Dolan and Mountain Boys guitarist Josh Wein played in 2007. Since a triumphant charity show at DC9 last November, WMD (the name refers not to weapons of mass destruction but to co-founders Wein, Dolan, and drummer Ian Martinez) has been on hiatus. When Martinez joined the Obama for America campaign and was assigned to campaign
in southern Indiana, it looked as if WMD or any version thereof would be as hard to find as its mar- tial homonym.
But over the winter a friend gave Dolan a bull fiddle (“For a few months, I was properly afraid of it, but then I
started messing around,
and except for being a lot like laying bricks, it’s a great instrument to play.”), and in the spring he and Wein began picking at acoustic versions of punk, soul, and rock tunes, and a cadre of like-minded musi- cians began to coalesce on Dolan’s front porch or in his backyard shed.
The Boys roster remains fluid and their Sunday morning appearances usually are sans percussion, but at their most recent full-band performance, at the Palisades Arts & Crafts Festival, the line-up was Dolan on bass, Wein and Glen Seidlitz on gui- tar, Dave Nuttycombe on drums, Steve Seem on harmonica, and Niall Sullivan on alto sax. Missing that day was Joe Morris, a stalwart of the band who had to be out of town. Palisadian
Sean Griffin, another charter member, also wasn’t available that day. Situated at the center of a triangle formed by the artisans’ booths, the band delivered a 90-minute set that was by turns driving, melodic, and crisply propulsive.
“Our first official performance was in July in Janice and Michael Kaplan- Allen’s yard, for one of the musicales they were throwing,” Dolan recalled. “Josh was away, so I dragooned Joe and Dave and Steve and Sean.” Also
in that evening’s crew were guitarist Miles Tag, another Sherier denizen, and mandolin player Allen Blakey. “Nobody had played with anybody else but me, and some of the guys hadn’t even played with me,” the bassist said. “But we had a set list, and we got through it before a big thunderstorm hit, and we weren’t half-bad. Or should I say, nobody threw bottles that hit us.”
Soon after, Palisades Farmers Market organizer Christopher Baer called. “Chris wanted to have some music to go with the vegetables, and we wanted to have a place to play out,” Dolan said. “It’s been a perfect arrangement. We’ve even taken a few bucks out of the hat.”
And to book the Sherier Mountain Boys into your living room, contact Dolan at [email protected]. “We can bring as many or as few of us as you want,” he said. “All you need is cash.”
-Mike Dolan
Sherier Mountain Boys End Market Season on Grace Note
Marine Corp Marathon through the Palisades Photos courtesy of Penny Pagano
Erratum The October issue of the PCA Newsletter had the wrong introduction to the list of July 4th award winners. The editor regrets the
error. The correct introductory paragraph, written by Mat Thorpe, that should have accompanied the list of award winners is given below.
The Awards Committee (Mat Thorp, Julie & Jack Koczela, Mary Stapp & Joel Achenbach), in its 2nd year of full operation, performed like a semi-oiled machine. Just as we did last year, marchers were chosen “ who demonstrated creativity, humor,
and community spirit.” Julie, Mary, & Joel did the brain work; Jack & Mat did the leg work. Civic minded Palisades businesses provided the awards.
Note: Although Mary Stapp considered that Julie Koczela`s impromptu dancing with Alma Bolivia was outstanding, the other judges did not consider that it merited an award.
Washington are struggling to feed their families. DC Hunger Solutions works to ensure that everyone in the District has three healthy affordable meals every day.
In the spirit of the holidays, please join us in reaching out to the rising number of people in need by purchasing one or several sets of luminaries. Celebrate with us the beauty of the Palisades by adding to its glow on the Winter Solstice, December 21.
If you will be out of town on December 21, ask a neigh- bor to light and extinguish your lanterns. If you live along MacArthur Blvd., consider lining the median strip with luminaries for travelers to enjoy. Each 12-candle set costs $10,
including paper bags and sand. Buy your sets at these locations:
December 6• : 10:00 am- 4:00 pm at the Key School Tree Sale in Key School parking lot on Hurst Terrace. December 14-21• : Porch Sale at 5814 Sherier Place, NW, most afternoons and evenings from 4-7:00 pm
If you have any questions or can volunteer to sell luminary sets, please contact Polly Johnson at 202-364-4356 or [email protected]
Let’s make this event a glowing success for holiday generosity and community spirit.
-Polly Johnson
Luminaria continued from page 1
6 • Volume 20 • Number 3
Palisades Village, will host a party on Sunday, January 25th, to mark the launch of its services and introduce its newly hired
executive director to the community. The celebration, which caps two years of preparation, is scheduled for 4 pm in the Eckles Library on George Washington University’s Mount Vernon campus.
Palisades Village is a nonprofit community-based network designed to provide activities, support, and appropriate services so that residents 50 and older can remain in their own homes in Foxhall and Palisades. With year-old Capitol Hill Village, the Palisades Village opening makes Washington the only city to have two active Villages.
In addition to signing its new executive director, Palisades Village will be moving from its temporary office on the grounds
of Sibley Memorial Hospital to a new office on MacArthur Boulevard. “We have a growing list of volunteers, from seventh- graders to septuagenarians, and will also help members to find trustworthy professionals and paid service providers for more complex needs,” said Village president Andy Mollison.
In keeping with its goal of helping members to stay con- nected with the community, Palisades Village has enlisted the help of students from three neighborhood schools, the Field School, the Lab School, and Georgetown Day School. Last month, in that inter-generational spirit, a cadre from grades 7 and 8 of Georgetown Day raked leaves for Village supporter Fred Pelzman and filled 26 leaf bags for an Arizona Avenue resident who described the students as “absolutely angelic.”
-Judy Rosenfeld
Help the Palisades neighborhood’s public high school, Woodrow Wilson, earn cash for its PTSA sponsored projects, supplies and equipment by shopping at Whole Foods (near Tenley Circle) on Tuesday December 9th. Whole Foods donates 5%, yes 5%, of the day’s sales proceeds to the school! 5% of that day’s sale goes towards Wilson High School and will support the Debate Team, Drama and Music Departments You can support public edu- cation by simply grocery shopping that day. Thank you.
-Jack Koczela
If You Plan To Party With The Village On January 25th
Palisades Village asks that you let them know that you are coming, either by calling 202-244-3310 or by e-mail at info@ palisadesvillage.org.
Parking for an event at Mount Vernon must be within the campus boundaries If you park on the street, your car may be ticketed or towed.
There is a parking lot near the W Street entrance to the campus, and a parking garage off the Whitehaven Parkway. The walk from the parking lot is hilly, so some party-goers may find the parking garage preferable.
Handicapped parking must be reserved beforehand with a call to the Events and Special Services Office, 202-242-6673.
-Judy Rosenfeld
Whole Foods!
Palisades Village Plans Party to Introduce Executive Director
Georgetown Day School “angels” rake leaves for Palisades Village Supporter Fred Pelzman
Placing caps on the total amount of impervious lot coverage;• Preservation of currently proposed green spaces and provision for • additional green spaces; Applicant development and implementation of a beautification • plan for MacArthur Boulevard, from Foxhall Road to Q Street; and An ongoing commitment from the developer to consult and col-• laborate with the PCA on all traffic issues, including the timing of construction traffic.
The motion, put forward by David Mitchell, was modeled after a similar resolution passed by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3D on November 11.
The developers are applying for zoning variances through the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process, which is designed to encourage “high quality developments that provide public benefits.” Following on the ANC resolution, the PCA also urged the developers to consider ways to improve the “benefits” side of the PUD equation, and mandate amenities that can make a difference across the Palisades neighborhood.
-- Spence Spencer
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Potomac Interceptor Odor Abatement Program - Update At the PCA general meeting of April 1, DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) General Manager Jerry Johnson and other
WASA officials reported on the construction plan for the Potomac Interceptor Odor Abatement Program, pending since 2001. The plan, which is to reduce sewer gas odors emanating from faulty vents along the Potomac River corridor, calls for the construction of six separate odor control facilities.
Following is an update on the implementation of the program: On November 20, 2008 the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) approved the design for the site at Fletcher’s Boathouse in the 1. C&O Canal NHPark. In recent months, the National Park Service (NPS) approved the concept plan for the three sites in Maryland. The NPS will 2. require a special use permit for the national park sites. WASA is working on fulfilling the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic 3. Preservation Act-Section 106 for all sites. WASA expects to submit plans for all sites to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) by December 2008 for a 4. January 2009 NCPC hearing. This is dependent upon timely responses by stakeholder agencies (see item three). WASA will request building permits and go to bid by June 2009 for the DC site and the three Maryland sites, and 5. November 2009 for the two Virginia sites. WASA is working with the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority on the two Virginia sites. Those sites require a spe-6. cial exception to the zoning regulations for Fairfax and Loudoun Counties. WASA anticipates completion of the entire project by March 2012. 7.
In addition to the above-mentioned work, in recent months WASA has (1) installed a new filter at a faulty vent at Mile 7 next to the Capital Crescent Trail, near Newark and Potomac Ave. in the Palisades, resulting in the elimination of sewer gas odors in the area, and (2) examined other sections of the Palisades to consider interim solutions to the odor problem (which is expected to be resolved on a permanent basis once the new odor control facility is installed at Fletcher’s Boathouse).
During the past year, PCA has been collaborating with other river communities and conservation groups to support WASA in their effort to move expeditiously on the odor abatement plan, and will continue to do so in the future. It is gratifying to report that WASA has made considerable progress on the project since April. For background on the Potomac Interceptor Odor Abatement Plan and schedule, visit: http://www.potomacinterceptor.com.
-Sally Strain
NewsT h e P a l i s a d e s
Editor Ron Szoc
Sally Strain Alice Stuart Mat Thorpe
P.O. Box 40603 • Washington, DC 20016
The Palisades News is published eight times each year (October - December, February - June) by: The Palisades Citizens Association
P.O. Box 40603 • Palisades Station Washington, DC 20016 www.palisadesdc.org
Membership Individual $25; Senior (over 65) $20; Household $40;
Sponsor $100; Patron $250; Life $500 To join or for additional information,
contact PCA Administrator: 202-363-7441 or
[email protected]
202-364-9595
202-363-7771
363-7441 phone/fax [email protected]
Material must be submitted to the editor by the middle of the month
for inclusion in the next month’s edition which is
published by the 1st of that month.
Worry no more about what to give to all your history-loving friends and family members! The Palisades of Washington, D.C. (Arcadia, 2005), by local histo- rian Alice Fales Stewart, is now available and in its fourth printing. It contains over 200 photographs, most never before published, and the engaging stories of many of our long-time residents, including those of the late Harold Gray to whom the book is dedicated.
Please fill in the order form below and mail it, together with a check made out to Alice Stewart, to Alice Stewart / 5031 Eskridge Terrace, NW / Washington, D.C. 20016. All books will be autographed and/or inscribed personally according to your instructions (on a separate sheet, please). Part of the proceeds benefits the PCA. Prices include DC sales tax, postage and handling. Delivery is free within the Palisades on 5 or more copies; orders will be filled within 24 hours.
1 book $22.85 _____________________________________ NAME 2 books $45.00 3 books $67.00 _____________________________________ STREET
4 books $89.00 5 books $107.50* _____________________________________ CITY STATE ZIP 6 books $129.00* _____________________________________ PHONE OR E-MAIL ADDRESS IN CASE OF QUESTIONS
*Please add $3.00 for out-of-Palisades delivery addresses
History of the Palisades Book Gift Idea

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The Palisades News