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Friday August 12, 2005
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Splashing around the Potomac River in a canoe or kayak can be a refreshing way to get some exercise AND to escape the stresses of city living for a while. But lately, boating in the District has been anything but a stress-free experience -- especially if you're involved with the battle of the boathouse. The battle lines in this fight were drawn years ago. On one side: Georgetown University; negotiating with the National Park Service to acquire land on the Potomac for a boathouse. On the other, rowing groups and environmentalists; objecting to the notion of public riverfront land becoming private, and to the size of the proposed structure. It would be built in Georgetown, near the head of the Capital Crescent Trail -- next to the 100-year old Washington Canoe Club. Opponents say the proposed boathouse is so massive, it would dwarf everything around it and block the view of the river from the canal. WAMU's Lisa Nurnberger checks back in on the story... as all interested parties wait for the results of an environmental assessment by the Park Service.
We're a society that prides ourselves on efficiency. Eyeglasses in an hour. The one-minute manager. Even six-minute dates. But when it comes to music, how can a one-minute-long composition express anything of great complexity - - much less represent an entire war? This Spring, Catholic University commissioned 19 composers to write 60-second pieces about the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the result was larger than the sum of its very small parts. Gail Wein reports.
Legendary Washington musician Keter Betts died last Saturday at the age of 77. During a career spanning over 50 years, the jazz bassist appeared on more than 200 CDs -- playing for the likes of Dinah Washington, Charlie Byrd and Etta Jones. For 24 years, Betts was Ella Fitzgerald's regular bass player, and their concerts often featured unpredictable exchanges between the two of them. He lived in the Washington area for most of his career, but it was only in recent years that Betts recorded albums under his own name. In this piece produced by David Schulman, Keter Betts described his music... in his own words.
WAMU's Senior Commentator talks about stem cell research.
Every few weeks our Crummy But Good Food Editor Donovan Kelly pulls us out of the studio and drags us to a neighborhood restaurant worth of our attention. A 'Crummy But Good' establishment is a place that might look a little sketchy from the outside but offers great food on the inside. And today we'll help you plan a 'Crummy' experience for the whole family. We head to Leesburg, Virginia and La Chocita Grill.
What do Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald have to do with a line of discount furniture? In Rockville Pike, the latest novel by local author Susan Coll, plenty. While telling a tale of marital discord and angst in the suburbs, the Fitzgeralds' graves come into play. And from giant discount furniture stores on the Pike to the massive Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, the book is packed with regional references. Here to talk about Rockville Pike -- the book and that stretch of road in Montgomery County -- is author Susan Coll.
We're not ready to leave the Pike just yet. Writer Melissa Jordan shares a fascination with this busy stretch of road. She offers some thoughts on the corridor of commerce that rushes past her North Bethesda condo development.
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