THE NORTHWEST CURRENTWednesday, April 14, 2010 Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967 Vol. XLIII, No. 15

■ Gonzaga lacrosselooks tough in earlyseason play. Page 13.■ Wilson boys lacrossewins its first game.Page 13.

■ Neighbors want moreaction for Dupont Circlepark. Page 5.■ Chevy Chase seesmajor rise in burglaries.Page 3.

NEWS SPORTS■ Local brothers teamup for ‘SophisticatedLadies’ show. Page 15.■ Dumbarton Houselures treasure hunters.Page 15 .

PASSAGES INDEXCalendar/48Classifieds/62District Digest/4Exhibits/53In Your Neighborhood/8Opinion/10Passages/15

Police Report/6Real Estate/PulloutSchool Dispatches/16Service Directory/57Sports/13Theater/53Week Ahead/3

By JESSICA GOULDCurrent Staff Writer

Several years ago, SidwellFriends student Lara Mitra spentspring break with her mother, vol-unteering at an orphanage inBurkina Faso.

Mitra said the trip to the smallWest African country was life-changing. “The children gave newmeaning to the seemingly ordinaryconcepts of simplicity, sharing andperseverance that I had learned as achild,” she said.

As she left, one of the orphans grabbed her hand.“‘Don’t forget me,’” Mitra remembers her saying.

“‘Write.’” And, ever since, she has. Now,

Mitra wants to give other Sidwellstudents the opportunity to forgesimilar friendships.

On Thursday, she pitched “E-Family Worldwide” to a panel ofbusiness leaders as part ofLearnServe International’s SocialVenture Fair.

Mitra was one of 45 studentsfrom 30 D.C. area schools whodebuted their projects at the event,which took place in Foggy Bottom’s

School Without Walls. “A lot of teenagers do service work at orphanages

By ELIZABETH WIENERCurrent Staff Writer

With the District facing itsroughest budget review season inmemory, the upcoming election isalready causing fireworks overMayor Adrian Fenty’s proposed$5.3 billion spending plan for fiscalyear 2011.

Fenty briefed the D.C. CouncilMonday on his budget proposal,designed to address a projected

$523 million budget gap in the fiscalyear that begins in October, as he satdirectly opposite his majorannounced rival for the Democraticnomination, Council ChairmanVincent Gray. Fenty called the plana “budget which cuts the fat, andmanages what we have in a betterway.”

Gray opened the session with anattack. “It’s not a fiscal plan thatrises to the reality we face. Themajority of tough decisions are leftto the council,” the chairman said.He argued that Fenty’s proposal isbalanced with “one-time funding,

Students pitch social-outreach projects

City looks to expandmeter options, fees

See Budget/Page 9

Legislators wrestlewith Fenty’s budget

By IAN THOMS Current Staff Writer

District Department ofTransportation officials are stand-ing firm on their plan to create amedian on Wisconsin Avenue inGlover Park, but there’s still someconcern that the painted medianwill create traffic congestion wherelittle currently exists.

One of many recommendationswithin the 2009 Glover Park trans-portation study, the median will runintermittently along WisconsinAvenue from Garfield Street southto 34th Street. Transportation plan-ners said it should slow speedersand in turn make the area safer forpedestrians.

“We’re very worried about ourcitizens getting run over by cars,”Transportation Department officialChris Delfs said at a communitymeeting last week.

This summer, TransportationDepartment workers will startimplementing some of the study’sproposals, such as widening certainsidewalks and installing new streetlamps. Reconstruction ofWisconsin Avenue is set for the fall,and the agency probably won’t putin the painted median until early

District eyesroad tweaksto Wisconsin

See Wisconsin/Page 7

Bill Petros/The CurrentAlex Hill and Lucas Ferrier joined other volunteers Saturday atGlover Archbold Park to remove trash and debris. The eventwas part of the 22nd annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup,which was sponsored by the Alice Ferguson Foundation.

P I T C H I N G I N

By CAROL BUCKLEYCurrent Staff Writer

The city launched a pay-by-phone parking pilot Monday thatwill allow motorists who park in oneof the program’s 700 spaces to leavethe quarters at home.

But parts of the pilot zone —which includes areas in DupontCircle; sections of downtown alongK Street, I Street and New YorkAvenue; and blocks around UnionStation — may also leave motoristswith lighter wallets in another sense:Mayor Adrian Fenty has proposedraising the hourly parking rate to $3in busy areas of Ward 2.

For drivers who complained thatlast year’s increase to $2 an hourdemanded 16 quarters to cover atwo-hour stay, the news that a pock-et-busting 24 quarters would beneeded for the same period in high-demand areas will hardly be wel-come.

But the rate hike will not beimposed at change-only meters, said

District Transportation Departmentspokesperson John Lisle. “We onlywill do that where people haveoptions” such as multispace meters,he said.

“It’s unfortunate we had to raiserates before replacing meters,” saidTransportation Department directorGabe Klein of last year’s increase,which also marked the start ofenforcement on evenings andSaturdays. Speaking at a recentcommunity meeting, Klein touted

■ Finances: Critics attackcuts in social service programs

Bill Petros/The CurrentBusy sections of Ward 2 wouldsee fee hikes to $3 an hour atmeters under the mayor’s budget.

Photo Courtesy of LearnServeLara Mitra’s proposal would linkstudents with orphans in Africa.

■ Parking: DDOT introducespay-by-phone pilot initiative

See Projects/Page 56 See Meters/Page 12

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