B2
S
KLMNO
TUESDAY, APRIL 27, 2010
JOHN KELLY’S WASHINGTON
In tough times, a valentine for Silver Spring shop’s owner
F
or nine years, Dawn Spencer has owned a Silver Spring shop that sells
greeting cards. She has followed the life passages of her customers through the cards they buy, cards neatly arranged under familiar headings: Birthday, Graduation, Wedding, Anniversary, Get Well Soon. And when the worst happens,
Sympathy. That’s a fate Dawn is hoping she can avoid. Her card and gift shop on New Hampshire Avenue in Colesville Center is called Patches. Battered by the weak economy, Patches is hurting. “The snow is what really put me behind,” Dawn said. From the first storm in December to when the last snow of February was cleared, Dawn’s revenue dropped $26,000 from the previous year. She’s so far behind on the rent that her landlord is talking about evicting her. There are some who will say
that Patches deserves its fate, that its closure would be the unfortunate, but inevitable, byproduct of the engine of capitalism. Survival of the fittest and all that. But many of Dawn’s
customers don’t agree. On Saturday, they threw a fundraising dinner for Patches.
Jacqueline Sealey, a customer
of Dawn’s who owns a graphic design and printing company, organized it, sending out invitations that asked for support from Gold Level ($50) to Platinum Level ($750). And in the way that a strip shopping center is a bit like a family, Dawn’s fellow
small-business owners chipped in, too. George Bourzikos at the Greek Village Restaurant discounted the space for the event and served up moussaka, baklava and more. The family that runs Colesville Beer & Wine donated champagne. Kelly’s Limousine Service offered to ferry senior citizens who didn’t want to drive after dark. About 70 people attended, dancing to an oldies band called Boomerang. (For $100, you
could dance with Dawn.) “The community just came
together,” Dawn said on Monday, still amazed at the outpouring of support. More than $7,000 was raised. “The money goes straight to the landlord in order for me to stay here,” she said. “I’ve got to keep my doors open.” Dawn said she has cut her
expenses as much as she can. She’s the store’s only paid employee. She sold her jewelry. She sold her car. “I’m a single woman, so it’s all
on me,” she told me Monday. “This is all that I have. This is my everything.” A lot of strip shopping centers look as if the plague has swept through. “Space for Lease” signs are popping up like mushrooms after a spring rain. Dawn ticked off the nearby stores that had shut in the past year: the frame shop, the dry cleaners, the Cup & Cone ice cream shop. “That closed, I think, in
October,” she said.
Donna Beausoleil stopped in
to buy a birthday card for her mother. She’s a co-owner of Exit Realty Solutions, a few doors down from Patches. It’s been hit by the economy, too. Nearly everything her firm earns these days goes to pay the rent. “Thank God for alimony, that’s all I can say,” said Donna. Dawn emigrated from
Jamaica with her parents when she was 7. “They came to the United States with nothing,” she said, “just that entrepreneurial drive to have your own business.” They ran a transport company in Baltimore that took senior citizens to their appointments. After college, Dawn spent 18 years working at a local formalwear company, outfitting everyone from bridegrooms to high school madrigal singers. When the owner of the company retired and the son took over, the vibe changed and she struck out on her own. She picked the name Patches, she said, because the shop sells a patchwork of things (cards, stationery, Mylar balloons, cookbooks, wind chimes — you can even get your keys cut) and because life itself is a patchwork of experiences. Some of the patches in the quilt of life are sad, but many are happy. On Saturday, despite the dire
circumstances that brought people together, Dawn saw the happy side: “I saw what I lived for all my life — being kind and being nice to people — I saw it returned.”
JOHN KELLY/THE WASHINGTON POST
“This is all that I have,” Patches owner Dawn Spencer says of her store. “This is my everything.”
So, buy a card at Patches. Buy some wrapping paper or a balloon. Or think about the Patches in your neighborhood, the small business where the owner recognizes you, takes a few minutes to chat, thinks of you as more than just a customer. You’ll miss it when it’s gone.
kellyj@washpost.com
MELINA MARA/THE WASHINGTON POST
Workers grade an empty lot in Southwest Washington. Although no building is planned for this lot near the new Safeway, it will be seeded in the meantime, according to a foreman overseeing the operation.
Southwest neighborhood takes a turn for the better
southwest from B1
Three District government agen- cies moved into the office space this month.
At Sixth Street and Maine Av-
enue two blocks away, Arena Stage will reopen this fall after a $125 million makeover, expand- ing its footprint with a new play- house and rehearsal, office and public space. “The bottom line is that South- west is back,” said Andrew Litsky, chairman of the Advisory Neigh- borhood Commission for the area and a resident since 1977. “For everyone who was complaining there was a paucity of everything, they’re wrong.” Southwest, in the shadow of
the U.S. Capitol, is a mix of federal workers, the elderly, profession- als and public housing residents. It was targeted by the federal gov- ernment for wholesale urban re- newal in the 1950s, with blocks of brick rowhouses almost entirely torn down. Thousands of resi- dents were displaced. New modernist architecture re- placed the old, with vast stretches of concrete, high-rises and mini- mal stores. It was the opposite of the style favored by today’s city planners, who say Washington should be remade into walkable neighborhoods with dense devel- opment around Metro stations and first-floor retail. Council member Tommy Wells
(D-Ward 6), who represents Southwest, calls the Metro and the waterfront “built-in ameni- ties” that will give urgency to re- development as soon as financing begins flowing. A water taxi is scheduled to launch this summer, serving the waterfront in South- west and the Nationals’ ballpark in Southeast, he said. Wells is pushing for a narrow road along the waterfront for pe- destrians and bicyclists. “We essentially have a six-lane
highway that goes through the neighborhood,” he said. “How do we make it more animated, safer, more livable and walkable to de- emphasize the car?” The revival was a long time
coming. Fannie Mae, the mortgage gi- ant, walked out of a deal to be the anchor tenant in 2005, dashing hopes that the aging mall, empty since the Environmental Protec- tion Agency moved out in the ear- ly 2000s, would be razed. But For- est City Enterprises found con- struction financing two years ago, just as credit markets were freez- ing.
On Third Street, the Bernstein
Cos. have completed renovation of a 126-apartment building and gutted another the same size, cre- ating condominiums instead. Tight credit markets have put a
bigger renaissance on hold. For- est City, which is developing Wa- terfront with Vornado/Charles E.
“The bottom line is that Southwest is back. For everyone who was complaining there was a paucity of
everything, they’re wrong”
— Andrew Litsky, chairman of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission and an area resident since 1977.
LOCAL DIGEST
VIRGINIA
Court to hear appeal on Dulles rail tax
The Virginia Supreme Court will hear an appeal of a legal challenge to a special tax on commercial property owners that is helping fund the Metro- rail extension to Dulles Interna- tional Airport.
FFW Enterprises of Tysons Corner sued Fairfax County in 2008, challenging the tax on commercial and industrial prop- erty owners in Tysons and other stretches of the first 11.5 miles of the 23-mile rail line. The suit argued that the tax
district is unconstitutional be- cause residential real estate is not being taxed. The county created the special tax district to help pay its costs for the $5 billion project.
THE DAILY QUIZ
Before he became a biologist, Francisco Ayala held which job?
(Hint: The answer is in the Health & Science section.)
EARN 5 POINTS: Find the answer, then go to washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on “Quizzes” to enter the correct response.
A circuit court judge dis- missed the case last June, and FFW Enterprises appealed to the Supreme Court. Merni Fitzgerald, a county
spokeswoman, declined to com- ment.
—Lisa Rein
Woman dies after crash in Reston
A 74-year-old Sterling woman who was involved in a car crash Friday in Reston died in a hospi- tal Saturday, police said. Mattie S. Holder, of the 200 block of East Charlotte Street, was traveling west on Sunset Hills Road shortly after 3:40 p.m. when the 2009 Toyota Scion she was driving went out of con- trol near Reston Parkway, police said. The car crossed the median
strip and the road’s eastbound traffic lanes before coming to rest in a drainage ditch. Police said Holder might have
suffered a medical problem while driving, causing the car to go out of control. She died at Inova Fairfax Hos-
pital.
—Paul Duggan
THE DISTRICT
New library opens in Anacostia
The District on Monday opened the new $14.7million Anacostia Public Library, part of an effort by the administration of Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to complete the construction of long-awaited libraries through- out the city. The library, which can hold 80,000 books, DVDs, CDs and
POINTS EVENTS
You Qualify!
other materials and features 32 computers for public use, was six years in the making. Although the former library’s closing pre- dated the Fenty administration, the mayor was criticized in 2007 for quickly moving to rebuild the Georgetown public library after a fire while construction on oth- er libraries were in limbo. “This facility is a perfect exam- ple of the city government striv- ing to deliver world-class ser- vices and facilities to our neigh- borhoods,” Fenty (D) said in a statement about the new facility on Good Hope Road SE. “This state-of-the-art facility
will serve as a valuable tool for our youth, providing them with additional educational resources enabling them to continue down the path of academic progress.” The library will be open Mon-
day through Saturday.
—Nikita Stewart
POINTS & REWARDS
Betty’s Azalea Ranch
Platinum and Gold members qualify for all sorts of goodies! Log onto washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on “Coupons & Discounts” under Benefits. You’ll find everything from coupons for free pizza to $50 off on the famous Kaplan programs that prepare you for the SAT, ACT or GRE. And be sure to take advantage of members’ 20 percent off at the Washington Post Photo Store!
My Organic Market
Smith, is still trying to line up fi- nancing for the second phase. And a plan to transform 47 acres along the Washington Channel into an inviting stretch of hous- ing, restaurants, shops and cul- tural attractions has not been started, for the same reason. For now, the community’s most notable new feature is the Safe- way, a 54,100-square-foot store with underground parking that opened last week. The supermar- ket it replaced, also a Safeway, boarded up on a neighboring lot, was a poorly stocked eyesore that languished for years, angering residents. The new one features a food court, deli, cheese bar, bakery, sit-
MALL
INDEPENDENCE AVE. CONSTITUTION
AVE. F
395
I ST. M ST.
Waterside Mall
Nationals Park
D.C.
R
U.S. Capitol
0 MILE
1/2
Hains Point
295
NATHANIEL V. KELSO/THE WASHINGTON POST
down sushi bar and full-service deli, along with a Starbucks. The store has hired 40 local residents. On opening day, April 16, workers in chef ’s hats handed out sour- dough bread slices with a balsam- ic-vinegar spread and other sam- ples as shoppers scoured the eye- catching aisles.
reinl@washpost.com
Man is denied bond in Montgomery stabbing
Prosecutor says he rammed car, attacked his ex’s companion
by Dan Morse
Breakups can set off all kinds
of reactions. Phone calls to the ex. Jealousy. Sadness.
Edwin Escobar-Salmeron, to hear a Montgomery County prosecutor tell it in court Mon- day, took things to his own lev- el.
Seated behind the wheel of a
Toyota Camry late Friday, he saw his ex-girlfriend leave a Wheaton bar and climb into her Honda Accord with four others, authorities said. He rammed the side of the Honda, crashing it into a parked car; got out and banged on the Honda’s win- dows; and approached a man who’d exited the Honda and stabbed him five times, four of them in the chest, according to police charging documents. “His ex-girlfriend was out at a bar with another person. He apparently didn’t like that,” As- sistant State’s Attorney Danielle Sartwell said in court, arguing successfully that Escobar-Sal- meron should remain held without bond.
Escobar-Salmeron, 29, of Adelphi was charged with at- tempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, stalking, reckless endangerment and malicious destruction of prop- erty, police said. Authorities say he is a member of the MS-13 gang and might be in the coun- try illegally. The 27-year-old stabbing vic- tim, whom officers said they found “completely unrespon- sive” lying on a sidewalk, was
taken to a hospital. He is expec- ted to survive. In court Monday, Sartwell said Escobar-Salmeron’s immi- gration status made him a flight risk, noting that federal agents have placed an immigra- tion detainer on him. In 2005, she said, he had been deported after two convictions for reck- less endangerment in the coun- ty.
A witness at the crash and stabbing scene also said Esco- bar-Salmeron had been deport- ed.
But it was unclear, according to court records, whether he had ever left the country. In 2006, Escobar-Salmeron was present at two court hear- ings in Montgomery in an un- successful bid to get a new trial on the reckless endangerment charges, according to court rec- ords. That conviction stemmed from a 2003 incident in which he threatened four people with a machete, according to police accounts.
Ernestine Fobbs, a spokes- woman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, de- clined to comment, as did Sart- well. According to court rec- ords, Escobar-Salmeron has not obtained an attorney. In Friday’s case, police say Es- cobar-Salmeron followed the group and rammed the Honda a short distance away. A witness gave officers five digits of the Toyota’s license plate, which the witness said was blue, leading officers to suspect that it was a “Chesapeake Bay” tag. They put “CB” after the five numbers, giving them the full tag num- ber, which led them to Escobar- Salmeron, according to charg- ing documents.
morsed@washpost.com
A complete list of PostPoints Spots can be found at washingtonpost.com/postpoints.
Check out the discount coupons for azaleas, dahlia bulbs and gardening tools at bettysazalearanch.com.
MOM has an incredible selection of natural and organic products. See myorganicmarket.com.
The Big Screen Store
Expert education is free here, and the customer service is the old-fashioned kind. See thebigscreenstore.com.
washingtonpost.com/postpoints
Not a PostPoints member yet?
Log onto washingtonpost.com/postpoints for more information about this exciting free program.
1 4
S
4TH ST.
7TH ST. 4TH ST.
S. CAP. ST.
A
A
n
a
I
c
V
A N E
o
.
E
s
t
i
a
P o t
R
.
S Y
E
W
.
M
T.
TH
o m c a
vi R er
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56