Woman fatally stabbed in Northwest DC

A woman was fatally stabbed Monday night in Northwest Washington, D.C. police said. The stabbing was reported around 8 p.m. at Kansas Avenue and Emerson Street NW, said Margarita A. Mikhaylova, a D.C. police spokeswoman. Circumstances of the incident could not be learned immediately. Police said they were looking for an older teenager. The site of the incident was north of Grant Circle NW and the Barnard Elementary School. It is about 200 yards northeast of Sherman Circle. The homicide appeared to be the 110th this year, about a dozen less than last year at this time.


Montgomery County Animal Watch

These cases were received by the Montgomery County Animal Services Division. For information, call 240-773-5900. This number provides recorded information on topics such as the new animal services and adoption center’s hours and location in Derwood, adoption and licensing procedures, and lost-and-found and field services. Mount Airy Alleged horse neglect: Takoma Park Kitten attacked: Reduced FEES FOR CATS Cats and kittens will be available for adoption at the next open house of Friends of Montgomery County Animals at the following location. Call 301-977-4833 or visit fmca.org or facebook.com/fmcainfo.PetSmart at Milestone Center,20924 Frederick Rd., Germantown. Hours: 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday. Cats at no-kill shelter Cats and kittens will be available for adoption through the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County’s no-kill shelter at the following location. For information, call 301-740-2511 or visit awlmc.org.Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County no-kill shelter, 12 Park Ave., Gaithersburg. Hours: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday; noon to 3 p.m. Saturday; 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday. Humane Society adoptions The Montgomery County Humane Society’s private rescue shelter has dogs, puppies, cats and kittens available for adoption. Call 240-252-2555 or visit mchumane.org.MCHS Adoptions and Education Center, 601 S. Stonestreet Ave., Rockville. Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except holidays. — Compiled by Lisa M. Bolton


Jamshid Amouzegar, former Iranian prime minister, dies at 93

the Jackal. As he took the OPEC ministers prisoner, he introduced himself by saying, “I am the famous Carlos. You will have heard of me.” Jamshid Amouzegar in 1975. (STR/AP) Three people were killed during the initial siege. Dr. Amouzegar was one of several hostages flown to Algeria, where he and a Saudi Arabian oil minister were threatened with summary execution. The Algerian president, Houari Boumedienne, said any killings would result in a full-scale attack on the airplane on which Carlos held the hostages. After 72 hours, a settlement was reached, leading to the release of Dr. Amouzegar and the remaining hostages. Carlos went free and was not captured until 1994. Jamshid Amouzegar was born June 25, 1923, in Tehran. His father was an Iranian supreme court justice and scholar who wrote 20 books, including a dictionary of the Persian language. Dr. Amouzegar studied at Tehran University before leaving Iran in 1944 to study civil engineering in the United States. He received a bachelor’s degree in 1946 from Cornell University, a master’s degree from the University of Washington in 1948 and a doctorate from Cornell in 1950. He did not return to Iran after leaving the country in 1978. He lived in Chevy Chase, Md., and later in Rockville and was an independent consultant to the governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for many years. His wife of 54 years, the former Ulrike Schultz, died in 2005. Survivors include three brothers, Jahangir Amuzegar, a former Iranian minister of commerce and finance and board member of the International Monetary Fund, of Bethesda, Md., Hushang Amouzegar of Holt, England, and Kuros Amouzegar of Washington. Dr. Amouzegar described the kidnapping by Carlos the Jackal in an interview that was published in The Washington Post in 2000. “On Dec. 21, 1975, I was presiding over the OPEC conference in Vienna when a door flew open. ‘Don’t move, this is . . .’ Gunshots drowned out the voice. I ducked for cover. When the shooting stopped, I looked at the bullet holes in the wall behind me. Had I been two inches taller, I would be dead. Later, my wife needed medical treatment in the United States. I accompanied her. While we were here, the shah was overthrown. Other former prime ministers were killed. The upshot? I believe in fate.” An earlier version of this story incorrectly implied that Dr. Amouzegar had a role in


Local digest: Oct. 19, 2016

THE DISTRICT Suspect is charged in two fatal shootings D.C. police have arrested a suspect in connection with two fatal shootings in Northwest and Southeast Washington. Daryl Thompson, 27, of Suitland, Md., was charged with two counts of first-degree murder while armed. Police said he was arrested in Michigan and extradited to the District, where he was formally charged Tuesday. Police said Thompson was charged in the July 30 shooting of Edward Roberts Jr., 29, in the 3500 block of 14th Street NW in Columbia Heights, and in the Aug. 29 shooting of Tyler Jerel McEachern, 23, who was attacked about 2 a.m. in the 3100 block of Buena Vista Terrace SE. Police did not discuss possible motives in the cases or say whether the two homicides are related. — Peter Hermann Sloth bear at zoo is euthanized A female sloth bear suffering from tumors was euthanized Monday at the National Zoo, officials said. Hana, a sloth bear who was born in Poland in 1994 and who came to the zoo in 1998, became sick with liver problems this summer, a zoo spokesman said. Blood draws in recent weeks indicated she had elevated liver and biliary enzymes, a possible indication of liver or gallbladder disease. Although Hana’s condition initially improved on a modified diet, antibiotics and other medications, they ultimately proved ineffective. Over the weekend, Hana became lethargic and showed signs of discomfort and a decline in appetite, the zoo said in a statement. She was anesthetized Monday for an exploratory surgical procedure, and veterinarians found tumors associated with her liver, bile duct and gallbladder. Staff decided to euthanize her, and a pathology report that will reveal further information about her condition is expected soon. In June, the zoo euthanized another sloth bear, Francois, after he developed severe degenerative disc disease in his spine. Francois was 25, which is considered to be in the geriatric years for the species. During her time at the zoo, Hana gave birth to two male cubs: Balawat, in 2006, and Hank, in 2012. She was known for striking what appeared to be meditative poses, grabbing her toes and inhaling deeply. Hank remains at the zoo. Sloth bears are not related to sloths or necessarily lazy. They got their name from English settlers because of their dark, shaggy coat and long claws, which resemble sloths’ claws. — Dana Hedgpeth MARYLAND Harassment case of Miss Maryland


Local digest: Oct. 19, 2016

a possible indication of liver or gallbladder disease. Although Hana’s condition initially improved on a modified diet, antibiotics and other medications, they ultimately proved ineffective. Over the weekend, Hana became lethargic and showed signs of discomfort and a decline in appetite, the zoo said in a statement. She was anesthetized Monday for an exploratory surgical procedure, and veterinarians found tumors associated with her liver, bile duct and gallbladder. Staff decided to euthanize her, and a pathology report that will reveal further information about her condition is expected soon. In June, the zoo euthanized another sloth bear, Francois, after he developed severe degenerative disc disease in his spine. Francois was 25, which is considered to be in the geriatric years for the species. During her time at the zoo, Hana gave birth to two male cubs: Balawat, in 2006, and Hank, in 2012. She was known for striking what appeared to be meditative poses, grabbing her toes and inhaling deeply. Hank remains at the zoo. Sloth bears are not related to sloths or necessarily lazy. They got their name from English settlers because of their dark, shaggy coat and long claws, which resemble sloths’ claws. — Dana Hedgpeth MARYLAND Harassment case of Miss Maryland is dropped Prosecutors have dismissed charges against a Germantown man accused of stalking and harassing Miss Maryland. According to online court records, all three charges were dropped Tuesday against 51-year-old Valencio Fernandes Pires. Maryland State Police arrested Pires in August after 19-year-old Hannah Brewer of Manchester filed a report saying she had received frightening and unwanted contact from Pires. Pires’ attorney, Francis Malofiy, said in an email that his client says the accusations were false and is considering his legal options. The Carroll County State’s Attorney’s Office did not immediately return a voice mail seeking comment. — Associated Press Woman killed, man injured in Largo An 18-year-old woman was killed and a man was injured in a double shooting at about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday at Swiss Gap and Prince Place in Largo, Prince George’s County police said. Police identified the woman as Allyssa Banks, 18, of Upper Marlboro. When police arrived, she was suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Authorities said the wounded man’s injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. Police said Banks and the wounded man knew each other. — Dana Hedgpeth and Lynh Bui


D.C. community calendar, October 20-27, 2016

Correction: Thursday, Oct. 20 Garden tour and kids in snugglers Gentle yoga classes Washington Cathedral behind the scenes Washington National Cathedral, 3101 Wisconsin Ave. NW. 202-537-2228. www.nationalcathedral.org. $26, age 11 and 12 $21. Travel the Tropics Read and play bridge Music for little ones Botanic Garden concert: Les Deux America InSight: Verbal description museum tour Afterschool lounge Afterschool workshops with Asian American LEAD Monster games Paper plate vampire craft Game night at the library Kid’s chess club Learn to play chess Let’s communicate in American Sign Language (ASL): beginning level Yoga at Northwest One Coloring club for adults “The Hopefuls” Salman Rushdie at Washington National Cathedral Tai Chi with Susan Lowell “Sense and Sensibility” “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum” Art of the airport tower “Romeo and Juliet” “The Little Foxes” Holy City: A Pilgrimage of Sight Friday, Oct. 21 Baby and toddler story time Children’s safety seats and belts inspection English conversation circles Preschool story time Bilingual Spanish story time Storytime with Council member Nadeau Move, Learn, Create Culinary Kids Storytime with Councilmember Nadeau Renwick Invitational Curator Gallery Talk Longing for longans and loquats: Classical organ concert John Muller’s “A Treatise of Artillery” Global Kids U.S. Department of Agriculture’s farmers market Friday artnights: drop-in figure drawing Saturday, Oct. 22 ESL conversation circle Yoga at your library Family story time Family story time Practice with Love Yoga Gatherings: Family story time Lego Club Under the Big Top Family Day Living in Harmony: A Revitalizing Guided Meditation to Find Daily Joy and Balance Taraji P. Henson: This Cookie Doesn’t Crumble Superfoods workshop Pop-up yoga at the library Superfoods workshop GIVE: Free tutoring programs 21st Century Consort: Election section Dance Performance Performing Indonesia: Music from Sulawesi and West Java Culinary Kids Sunday, Oct. 23 Pop-up yoga at the library Soothing Sunday yoga Georgetown band concert Shaw knitting and crochet circle Monday, Oct. 24 Children’s safety seats and belts inspection Baby and toddler story time English conversation classes Viniyoga Mondays Toddler art and stories Reader’s theater After-School workshops with Asian American LEAD Bat headband Wii game night American Sign Language (ASL) for beginners Everybody yoga Let’s speak English Future Perfect: Energy Democracy: Germany’s Energiewende to Renewables Chef Kwame Onwuachi: Top chef to chef at the top Spiders: Predators and Prey Yoga with Caroline Poetry readings Zumba at Southwest Library Tuesday, Oct. 25 Toddler story time Children’s safety seats and


Will we be able to manage outsize metropolitan growth?

managing our metropolitan future. Financing, operating, upgrading and maintaining transportation infrastructure are the most frequently publicized challenges. With disparate, continually competing political jurisdictions, and a still mostly auto-dependent population, the future Washington region is likely to remain plagued by insufficient, underfunded public transportation resources. The sprawling, low-density, single-family subdivisions dominating suburban Washington rely on networks of widely separated arterial and feeder roads, the embodiment of 20th-century, car-centric zoning and planning strategies. Most suburban residential neighborhoods and road networks won’t change. Consequently, suburban traffic congestion, already terrible, will probably worsen. Will Washington emulate Houston, with future residents driving dozens of miles farther out into Virginia and Maryland in search of cheaper land and less pricey housing? Will innovative technologies somehow improve mobility? Might traffic congestion ease with increased telecommuting, autonomous autos and more people inhabiting walkable communities closer to jobs, with access to transit that might exist in the future? Skepticism comes easily in light of the many years and enormous expense required to date for the yet-to-be-built Purple Line between Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Add to this the zeal and litigation with which the Purple Line’s suburban opponents have fought its still-pending implementation. Metrorail’s Silver Line extension (eventually to Dulles and Loudoun County) took decades of planning and is costing billions of dollars to construct. Yet it’s still unclear whether portions of the county to be served by the Silver Line will be rezoned to enable denser, mixed-use development. Contemplate how long it has taken and how much it has cost to construct Washington’s streetcar line, intended to be part of a downtown streetcar network that may never be built. Or recall the demise of the proposed Columbia Pike streetcar line in Arlington County. Long-term infrastructure investment that doesn’t immediately solve today’s problems, or that requires trade-offs adversely affecting some citizens, is always a hard sell. For a growing number of Americans, finding decent, affordable housing will be increasingly challenging as city populations grow. It’s a big problem for many urban residents because the amount of affordable housing in Washington and other U.S. cities has been shrinking for decades. Rising land and construction costs, gentrification, fewer sources of public-sector housing investment and subsidy, and conversion of existing units from below-market to market-rate have contributed to the steady decline of affordable housing opportunities. Then comes the lamentable state of public education in many cities, including the District, and in less-affluent


Bao Bao, the National Zoo’s 3-year-old giant panda, is moving to China next year

The panda cub is moving in early 2017 as part of a breeding agreement with a conservation group. The playful panda cub Bao Bao is leaving the National Zoo for China early next year, zoo officials announced Thursday. As part of a breeding agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association, all giant pandas born at the Washington zoo move to China by the time they turn 4. Bao Bao will celebrate her fourth birthday August 23. “Bao Bao is very special to us at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo,” Brandie Smith, associate director of animal care sciences, said in a statement. “She was the first surviving cub born at the Zoo since 2005.” “We are sad to see her go,” she added, “but excited for the contributions she is going to continue to make to the global giant panda population.” Bao Bao will fly FedEx to Chengdu, in southwestern China, in the first several months of 2017. The zoo said that she was leaving so early in the year because it is better for pandas to travel in the winter months, when it isn’t hot. From Chengdu, Bao Bao will be driven to a base run by the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, where she will be part of a breeding program that aims to increase the wild panda population. The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently took the giant panda off the endangered species list and classified it as “vulnerable,” estimating that there are about 1,860 pandas in the wild. Bao Bao’s older brother, Tai Shan, moved to China in 2010. With Bao Bao’s departure, the zoo will be down to three pandas: Bao Bao’s mom and dad, Mei Xiang (may-SHONG) and Tian Tian (t-YEN t-YEN), and her younger brother, Bei Bei, who was born in August 2015. The zoo said that special opportunities for visitors to say goodbye to Bao Bao will be announced soon. For now, we’re left to replay a video of her having fun in the snow. Bao Bao Blizzard


Washington Post bestsellers: Oct. 23, 2016

Paperback Fiction 1. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (Riverhead, $9.99, $16). By Paula Hawkins. A woman witnesses a shocking crime. [14] 2. A MAN CALLED OVE (Washington Square, $16). By Fredrik Backman. An old crank might just be softened by his new neighbors. [21] 3. THE LAST MILE (Grand Central, $15.99). By David Baldacci. Amos Decker must determine whether a man on death row is innocent or guilty. [5] 4. OF MICE AND MEN (Penguin, $11). By John Steinbeck. The story of George and Lennie, California laborers, during the Great Depression. [10] 5. THE LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP (Broadway, $16). By Nina George. Monsieur Perdu owns a floating bookstore on the Seine, which he takes to the south of France. [2] 6. PRIVATE SYDNEY (Grand Central, $15.99). By James Patterson and Kathryn Fox. The world’s best investigation company tries to find a vanished businessman. [2] 7. BLUE (Dell, $8.99). By Danielle Steel. A woman who lost her husband in an accident takes in a 13-year-old runaway. [4] 8. THE GREAT GATSBY (Scribner, $16). By F. Scott Fitzgerald. A novel of love lost and fortunes gained in the Jazz Age. [83] 9. INFERNO (Anchor, $9.99). By Dan Brown. Robert Langdon’s newest investigation revolves around Dante’s “Inferno.” [8] 10. CROSS JUSTICE (Vision, $9.99). By James Patterson. Alex Cross, home to North Carolina, pursues his cousin’s innocence and his own personal demons. [2] Nonfiction/General 1. MICHELIN GUIDE WASHINGTON, DC 2017 (Michelin Travel Publications, $12.95). By the editors of Michelin Travel Publications. [1] 2. MILK AND HONEY (Andrews McMeel, $14.99) By Rupi Kaur. A collection of poetry and prose about survival. [18] 3. YOU ARE A BADASS: HOW TO STOP DOUBTING YOUR GREATNESS AND START LIVING AN AWESOME LIFE (Running Press, $16). By Jen Sincero. [31] 4. ALEXANDER HAMILTON (Penguin, $20). By Ron Chernow. [48] 5. THE SECOND MACHINE AGE: WORK, PROGRESS, AND PROSPERITY IN A TIME OF BRILLIANT TECHNOLOGIES (Norton, $16.95). By Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee. [2] 6. UNINVITED: LIVING LOVED WHEN YOU FEEL LESS THAN, LEFT OUT, AND LONELY (Thomas Nelson, $16.99). By Lysa TerKeurst. [8] 7. THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES: THE SECRET TO LOVE THAT LASTS (Northfield, $15.99). By Gary D. Chapman. [196] 8. 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE (Simon & Schuster, $17). By Stephen R. Covey. [31] 9. THE NEW JIM CROW: MASS INCARCERATION IN THE AGE OF COLORBLINDNESS (New Press, $19.95). By Michelle Alexander. [18] 10. THE WITCHES:


This wealthy county is hoping beer can help heal its budget hangover

recent years, turning the fast-growing Washington suburb into a popular destination for beer tourism, officials there say. In Prince William County, there are four breweries, and an additional six are getting ready to launch operations, officials say. Arlington County has three breweries, while Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Co. is one of the state’s largest craft operations. Fairfax County, in contrast, has just seven small breweries, even though its population of 1.1 million residents is roughly equal to those four jurisdictions combined. The proposed amendment to Fairfax’s zoning ordinance is modeled after the zoning rules in Loudoun and Prince William. It would allow breweries that produce up to 15,000 barrels of beer per year to operate in most busy retail areas, neighborhoods zoned for light- to heavy-intensity industrial use and some planned residential and commercial districts. The change, subject to revisions, would open those same zones to liquor distilleries that produce a maximum of 36,000 gallons per year and to makers of wine, cider or mead that produce up to 5,000 gallons annually. County officials say inspiration for the amendment lies in the frustrations experienced by the owners of the Caboose Brewing Co. as they worked to open a brewery and restaurant at the Mosaic District shopping center in Merrifield. Caboose Brewing has a 15-barrel brewhouse in Vienna, Va. (Astrid Riecken/For The Washington Post) Matt Greer, co-owner of Caboose, said the 6,000-square-foot facility that is expected to open early next year would complement his company’s first brewery and restaurant in Vienna, which opened last year and is popular on weekends. But the process of getting all the necessary approvals from Fairfax has been “a little bit painful,” Greer said, citing a $16,000 fee his company had to pay to apply for special-exception zoning approval to sell food at the brewery. “That’s the amount of money it takes just to get their attention.” The proposed zoning amendment has generated concern over how an influx of new breweries would impact traffic, noise and quality of life in the county. Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence) said she worries that the 15,000 barrels-per-year limit could open the door to larger breweries that generate a lot of extra traffic. Most craft breweries produce about 3,000 barrels annually. “We need to make sure that if we make a change there has to be a way of mitigating what the impact could be,” Smyth said, adding that she


Bao Bao heads to China next year as part of a breeding agreement

THE DISTRICT Panda will move to China in 2017 Bye-bye, Bao Bao. One of the National Zoo’s giant pandas, Bao Bao, will go to China in late winter 2017 as part of a breeding agreement the zoo has with a wildlife conservation group there. Under the agreement, giant pandas born at the zoo in the District are sent to China by their fourth birthday. And Bao Bao will turn 4 in 2017. “Bao Bao is very special to us at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo,” Brandie Smith, the zoo’s associate director of animal care sciences, said in a statement. Zoo officials said Bao Bao is the first surviving cub born at the zoo since 2005. — Dana Hedgpeth Prosecutors hold off on murder charge The U.S. attorney’s office for the District has decided against pursuing one of two first-degree murder charges that D.C. police said they filed against a 27-year-old man on Tuesday. Daryl Thompson, of Suitland, Md., remains charged with first-degree murder in the Aug. 29 fatal shooting of Tyler McEachern, 23, in the 3100 block of Buena Vista Terrace SE. He has been ordered detained. On Tuesday, police and the mayor announced at a news conference that Thompson had been charged in McEachern’s death and in the July 30 fatal shooting of Edward Roberts Jr., 29, who was shot in the 3500 block of 14th Street NW in Columbia Heights. Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said prosecutors decided not to pursue the case involving Roberts. Miller said that case “remains under investigation.” MARYLAND Day-care worker charged with abuse An employee of a day-care center in Upper Marlboro was arrested after allegedly abusing a 3-year-old boy at the center, police said Thursday. About 8 a.m. on Tuesday, D’Aira Nichel Thompson, 25, of Cheltenham was trying to restrain the boy in a chair when she told him to put his head down and slammed it on a table, Prince George’s County Police said in a statement. The boy suffered a contusion to the right side of his head. Thompson was charged with second-degree child abuse and second-degree assault. — Justin Wm. Moyer VIRGINIA Arlington seeks feedback on surplus Arlington officials are for the first time inviting public comment on how to spend $17.8 million left over from the past fiscal year and on guidelines for next year’s proposed budget. The fiscal year ended June 30 with $191


Reagan’s boyhood home is falling apart. And its director is begging for money to fix it.

in sore need of repair. He decided to send a fundraising letter to about 40 “conservative gentlemen” who he thought might donate, and included a detailed list of repairs and estimated costs. Money, or lack thereof, is the problem. After Norm Wymbs finished the house, he turned his attention to Reagan’s former middle school and spent an estimated $25 million transforming it into the Dixon Historic Center (now the Northwest Territory Historic Center). There was a brief window when it looked as if the house on Hennepin Avenue would join other presidential sites as part of the National Park Service. In 2001, then-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert pushed a bill making the home — located in his congressional district — a National Historic Site to be owned and operated by the federal government. The bill passed by voice vote; President George W. Bush happily signed it. Reagan would have joined an illustrious, if random, list of other presidents honored with their own historical site administered by the Park Service , including George Washington, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Herbert Hoover, John. F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. (These parks are separate from the 13 presidential libraries, which are operated by the National Archives and Records Administration at an estimated cost of $60 million a year.) But Hastert’s bill was contingent on the sale of the property to the federal government. When the Interior Department offered only $420,000, based on an appraisal of the structures and the land, the foundation was offended. The offer, it felt, didn’t take into account the Reagan legacy and the effort and money that had gone into the restoration. “It’s insulting,” Wymbs told reporters in 2003. “I say the heck with them.” Although the deal would have ensured the financial future of the house, the people of Dixon still aren’t sure that they’d accept an offer and give up all control. “I think the sentiment is that this is our hometown president and the story of that is ours to tell,” says Thompson. A statue of Ronald Reagan stands outside his boyhood home. Caretakers hope to eventually expand the site to include an exhibition and meeting space, if they can raise the money. (JEFF ROBERSON/ASSOCIATED PRESS) The house on Hennepin Avenue has enjoyed modest success: Open April through October, it welcomes 10,000 to 15,000 visitors


A U.S. Census proposal to add category for people of Middle Eastern descent makes some uneasy

Iranian-American actor Maz Jobrani made a comedic Public Service Announcement of the U.S. Census Bureau going door-to-door as a way to encourage Iranian-Americans to write in “Iranian” for the 2010 Census, so they could be counted. The federal government is considering a new Middle East-North Africa (MENA) classification for the 2020 census. For the first time in four decades, the federal government is poised to add a new ethnic category to the U.S. census form, adding a box for people of Middle Eastern and North African descent. Details are still being negotiated, but as the form is currently envisioned, people would be able to check the new box in addition to race identifiers, such as “white” or “black.” Within the new category, they would also be able to specify national origins, such as Saudi or Israeli, and ethnic affiliations, such as Berber or Kurdish. The new form would go to Congress for final approval in 2018 in time for the 2020 Census. The move comes after more than 30 years of lobbying, but also at a time of rising Islamophobia and calls by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to ban people from Muslim lands. Some are questioning whether the new designation could lead to profiling or otherwise put them in danger. The proposed addition would create a race and ethnicity category called MENA for people with roots in the Middle East and North Africa. It has been championed by organizations representing Arab Americans and others with roots in the geographical swath from Iran to Morocco, who complain of being ignored in the decennial count. The region comprises a jumble of ethnic and racial categories, including people who identify as white or black, Arab or Aryan. Sanaa Mehdi, 30, is originally from Morocco, but when filling out the census form in the past, the D.C. resident has checked off “white.” “That was the closest it came,” she said, though she would have liked a more specific option. “I think it’s a good thing to be able to choose where you’re from exactly.” But to many, counting people with roots in majority-Muslim countries feels like a double-edged sword. “If this helps provide some hard data, it’s useful,” said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “But unfortunately in today’s environment, we have to have concerns about the possible misuse of this data. We’ve had too many problems in the post-9/11


A journalist’s dark perspective on the nuclear deal with Iran

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in September. Jay Solomon warns, “The next U.S. administration must be prepared to confront an Iranian regime just as hostile to the West as past ones.” ( Iranian Supreme Leader’s official website / via European Pressphoto Agency ) Elaine Sciolino is author of “Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran.” Her most recent book, “The Only Street in Paris: Life on the rue des Martyrs,” will be published in paperback and in a French edition in November. Anyone who hates the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran will love this book. In “The Iran Wars,” Wall Street Journal chief foreign affairs correspondent Jay Solomon tells the story of Iran’s nuclear program and its projection of power in the region, and the American struggle to contain the country. His conclusions are dark. He argues that the United States and its global partners gave away too much and got taken for a ride by forging an agreement to prevent Iran from expanding its nuclear program. Even more ominous, he declares, the agreement makes the world more, not less, dangerous. “This Iran deal, rather than calming the world’s most combustible region, risks enflaming it,” he writes. It is challenging to understand Iran from afar. American journalists are invited into Iran only episodically and on visas of limited duration. Solomon seems to have visited Iran once, to attend a conference on “U.S. terrorist efforts” in the spring of 2014. His book includes an on-the-record interview with only one Iranian official during the trip: the deputy governor of Iran’s Central Bank. "The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East," by Jay Solomon (Random House) Solomon’s access to Iranian officials also seems to have been limited. He does not seem to have interviewed either President Hassan Rouhani or Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the two main Iranian players in negotiating the nuclear accord; they talk to Americans, including journalists (although sometimes off the record). The paucity of official Iranian voices in Solomon’s book is noticeable because he was granted a nearly 90-minute exclusive interview in Damascus in 2011 with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Such access is rare, and Solomon devotes several pages to the interview. But it doesn’t touch on the subject of Iran and the nuclear deal. Instead, the author tells us that Assad’s “soft voice” put him “at ease,” and he


The good and bad news on climate change

Steam billows from the coal-fired Merrimack Station in Bow, N.H., in January 2015. (Jim Cole/ASSOCIATED PRESS) GOOD NEWS — kind of. So far this year, the country’s energy-related greenhouse-gas emissions are running at their lowest level in a quarter-century, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced this month. Federal experts project that, at year’s end, the country’s climate tab will be the smallest since 1992, continuing a downward trend since its peak during the George W. Bush administration, when carbon dioxide levels seemed destined to rise inexorably. The encouraging findings reflect an increase in renewables and more fuel switching from coal to cleaner natural gas — driven by the much-maligned fracking boom. Both factors helped offset a slight rise in oil consumption spurred by low prices. The nation still emits vast amounts of carbon dioxide; 1992 levels are way too high. Part of this year’s uptick in renewables came because higher water levels in areas formerly affected by severe drought meant hydroelectric facilities could produce more power, so similarly large increases in green power generation might be harder in future years. An unusually warm winter reduced heating-related emissions. And natural gas, though only about half as bad for the climate as coal, still produces a lot of greenhouse-gas emissions as it is extracted, transported and burned. In other words, it will not always be so easy to achieve emissions cuts of the size the country has seen during the past several years. Meanwhile, the government cannot enforce the country’s centerpiece emissions-cutting policy, because the Supreme Court has stayed the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan pending completion of a federal lawsuit, and Republican-led states are resisting it. The fate of the Clean Power Plan, the Paris Climate Agreement and much else rests on the results of next month’s presidential election. A GOP administration — and particularly one led by Donald Trump, who has called climate change a “hoax” — would undermine a range of federal emissions-cutting policies. Even as energy experts continue to describe the challenge of transitioning the country’s sprawling energy system, scientists continue to articulate why that transition is necessary. Over the past several years, for example, experts have put more effort into defining the connections between climate change and natural disasters. The Proceedings on the National Academy of Sciences published a paper this month finding that climate change played a key role in encouraging wildfires in the western U.S.


An inspired rendering of Dvorak by a revitalized BSO

Finnish maestro Hannu Lintu’s musical authority powered the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra through a stunning performance of Dvorak at Strathmore. (Kaapo Kamu) Musical sparks flew Saturday at Strathmore, where a revitalized Baltimore Symphony Orchestra delivered a stunning performance of Dvorak’s Eighth Symphony. Hannu Lintu, a Finnish maestro with a respectable if not top-tier career, drew the finest playing from the BSO that I have heard. I’ve already noted the improved quality of the orchestra this season, due to a raft of new players. But the clay has to be molded, the musicians inspired. This doesn’t always happen, but when it does, the frisson grips the entire hall. The program opened with “Cantus Articus” by Einojuhani Rautavaara, who died in July — perhaps Finland’s most successful composer after Sibelius. It’s a three-part paean to songbirds and swans of the North, with the orchestra playing grand and melancholy lines under a recording (sometimes electronically manipulated) of the birds’ calls. This “travelogue” genre — music accompanying videos of oceans, planets and forests — is fine as far as it goes. I’m not sure it belongs on a mainstream symphonic program, where the musicians’ talent is wasted, but, whatever. Angela Hewitt offered the Beethoven Concerto No. 1 in a lush, slightly calculated reading. (Richard Termine) Canadian pianist Angela Hewitt then offered the Beethoven Concerto No. 1 in a lush, slightly calculated reading. The purling runs and sensitive transitions were those of a thoughtful, mature artist, but I would have relished some more sharp edges, such an important element in early Beethoven. The music isn’t necessarily diminished by this lyrical and self-indulgent approach (for example, slowing down whenever the music moves to a remote key), but I’m not sure it’s enhanced, either. Still, there was much to enjoy in this performance, including the woodwind playing in the Largo, both sensuous and pure. The Dvorak I praise unreservedly. Lintu is not the most graceful conductor, but his musical authority is manifest. You could tell from the musicians’ body language (as well as your ears) that something extraordinary was going on. Lintu’s control of pulse (altering it without changing speed) is so natural that one could think it was easy. And he didn’t attend only to principal melodies; on several occasions, he ignored the first violins to do detailed work with pizzicato accompaniments. But he was impelled throughout with the afflatus of Dvorak’s earthy genius and made the


Bye-bye, Bao Bao: Imagining the day one of our giant pandas leaves us

Mei Xiang and cub Bao Bao in April 2014. The giant panda offspring will head to China next year. (Smithsonian National Zoo via Associated Press) Giant panda Bao Bao will depart the Smithsonian’s National Zoo for China in late winter, within the first few months of 2017. — News release from the “Mom, I don’t wanna go!” Bao Bao “Now, Bao Bao, we’ve talked about this,” her mother, Mei Xiang, said patiently. “The clock has always been ticking. You shouldn’t be surprised.” “Is it because I’m a foreigner?” Bao Bao said, angrily shredding a piece of bamboo. “Am I being deported? Is this because of Donald Trump?” Mei Xiang chuckled. “No. You’re as American as the bison or the prairie dogs. You were born here, Bao Bao. You’re a citizen. But soon you will be reaching sexual maturity and —” “Ugh, Mom! Gross!” Bao Bao raised a black paw, the universal sign of “Enough.” There was a grunt. Mother and daughter turned toward the mesh fence and saw Tian Tian, Bao Bao’s father, on the other side. “Zounds!” he said. “A party and I wasn’t invited?” “Dad, you are so clueless!” Bao Bao said. Mei Xiang ambled over and started to explain. “Tian Tian, your daughter is going to China, as per the agreement. Soon, Bao Bao will be reaching sexual maturity — ” “Mother!” “Soon she will be old enough to help our species and so she is leaving, just like with Tai Shan.” “Tai Shan,” Tian Tian said softly. “My son and heir. How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! We shall not see his like again!” “I heard he mostly just slept all day,” Bao Bao said. Tian Tian grunted again. “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child,” he muttered before settling back on his haunches and stroking his ample belly. “Bao Bao, you’re going to be fine,” Mei Xiang said in a soothing voice. “I’ve packed everything. Bamboo, apples, pears, cooked sweet potatoes. . . . Also, some half-smokes, chicken wings and mumbo sauce.” “Mom, I don’t even speak Chinese!” Bao Bao wailed. “You’ll learn.” “What if the other pandas don’t like me?” “How could they not like you? You’re


Mr. Putin plays troublemaker on nuclear security

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the opening session of the newly elected State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, in Moscow, on Oct. 5. (Alexei Nikolsky/Pool photo via Associated Press) THE IMPROVEMENT of security for nuclear materials like weapons-grade uranium and plutonium, as well as reductions in nuclear weapons arsenals, brought Russia and the United States together over the past 25 years. But the common ground has been disappearing as President Vladimir Putin takes a more confrontational stance toward the United States and tensions deepen over Russian actions in Syria and Ukraine. When it was signed in 1987, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty was the first to wipe out a whole class of nuclear arms. Russia inherited the obligations of the Soviet Union to eliminate ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with a range between about 300 and 3,400 miles. But the United States says Russia is quietly violating the treaty with a new ground-launched cruise missile, and recent reports suggest Russia may be making more of them. Russia has denied being in violation. The Obama administration has now asked for a rare meeting of a special commission established to hash out compliance issues. A violation of this magnitude, if true, cannot be overlooked; a failure to settle the issue could weaken the treaty. Earlier, Mr. Putin announced the cancellation of an agreement that called for each nation to dispose of at least 34 metric tons of plutonium made surplus by the reduction in nuclear arsenals, all told enough for about 17,000 nuclear weapons. The point of the agreement was to show the rest of the world that the drawdown would be permanent and to keep fissile material from falling into the wrong hands. It was just one aspect of a much wider effort to secure nuclear, chemical and biological weapons materials in the former Soviet Union under legislation sponsored by then-Sens. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). The U.S. plan to mix the plutonium with uranium and turn it into fuel for power reactors began to falter some time ago. Construction began on a facility at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina, but costs skyrocketed. The administration and outside experts found it would be a lot less expensive and faster to dispose of the plutonium by dilution and burial. Russia also tried mixing plutonium with uranium but now is heading toward another approach, using the plutonium


Man accused of fatal Maryland shooting also charged in Northwest slaying

A suspect accused of fatally shooting a man in the driveway of his Prince George’s County home in August was charged over the weekend with killing a man outside a restaurant in Northwest Washington. In both cases, police said attempted robbery appeared to have been the motive. An arrest affidavit says authorities linked the Aug. 5 shooting in the District with the Aug. 17 shooting in Maryland by matching bullet casings found at both scenes to the same .40-caliber handgun. Police said that gun was traced back to the suspect, Master Matthew Thomas, 30, of Southeast Washington. Thomas was charged Oct. 20 with first- and second-degree murder in the killing of Oscar Colindres Garcia, 37, as he sat in his Dodge Dart at his home on Joplin Street in Seat Pleasant. Thomas was arrested at his house in the District and held in the D.C. jail, awaiting extradition to Prince George’s County. While in the jail, police said they served Thomas with an arrest warrant charging him with first-degree murder while armed in the shooting of Chijioke Agbakahi, 59, of Northwest. Agbakahi was wounded Aug. 5 as he hung out with friends in the back of Move & Groove Caribbean Market & Accessories in the 5100 block of Georgia Avenue NW. He died at a hospital on Aug. 10. Agbakahi’s relatives could not be reached Monday. A worker at the Move and Groove restaurant said Agbakahi stopped there regularly to spend time with friends and others. According to the affidavit, he was out back with a group, including a toddler and another employee who was grilling jerk chicken, when two gunmen approached that August day. Police said the other apparent robber was carrying a .45-caliber pistol, and that at least one other person in the chicken restaurant’s yard also had a gun and returned fire. Agbakahi was struck in the head. He was the only one injured. Police are still looking for a second attacker. On Aug. 17, police said, Thompson shot and killed Garcia as he pulled into his driveway just before midnight from his job as a cleaner. Police said the victim’s wife and children were inside. In addition to his cleaning job, Garcia also worked at a deli in downtown Washington. Lynh Bui contributed to this report.


‘Death with dignity’ laws and the desire to control how one’s life ends

to legalize physician aid in dying in November. In Washington, D.C., the city council is expected to vote on legalizing the practice next month. “It’s almost never about pain,” said Lonny Shavelson, a Berkeley, Calif., physician who specializes in the care of the terminally ill and who began writing prescriptions for lethal doses of medication in June, when California’s law took effect. “It’s about dignity and control.” Pain ranks near the bottom of a list of patients’ concerns in the first two states to legalize physician-assisted dying, Oregon and Washington, which provide the most complete details about people’s motivations. Only 25 percent of the 991 Oregon patients who died after taking lethal prescriptions from 1998 to 2015 were concerned about pain or had inadequate pain control, according to reports filed with the state by their doctors. In Washington, 36 percent of 917 who died were concerned about pain, records show. In contrast, at least 90 percent of patients in both states were motivated by a loss of autonomy, state records show. Forty-one percent of patients in Oregon and 53 percent in Washington said they feared burdening the people they loved. Montana, Vermont and California also permit physician-aid-in-dying, but they haven’t released detailed information. Seeking control Compassion & Choices, an advocacy group, focuses heavily on the need to relieve dying patients of pain. One of the group’s new ads promotes the District’s proposed Death With Dignity Act as giving “a dying person the option to avoid the worst pain and suffering at the end of life.” Dan Diaz, the widower of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old California woman who became the best-known advocate for the right to die, has spoken publicly in support of the legislation. Maynard, who had an aggressive brain tumor, moved to Oregon in 2014 to use that state’s aid-in-dying law. She died that year after using a lethal prescription. “The dying process is what Brittany feared,” Diaz said. “She was afraid that her final few days on this green earth would be ones where she was tortured by the tumor.” Mary Klein, a 68-year-old D.C. resident who is fighting advanced ovarian cancer, said she wants choices at the end of her life. “I want to have the option to control my own body and control my own life,” said Klein, a retired journalist and artist who appears in a video created by Compassion & Choices. Although Klein says


Ice cream truck vendor shot on Alabama Ave. SE

THE DISTRICT Ice cream vendor shot on Alabama Ave. SE The driver of an ice cream vending truck was shot and seriously wounded Monday night in Southeast Washington, police and witnesses said. The man was found in his truck about 6:15 p.m. in the 2200 block of Alabama Avenue SE, police said. They said he was conscious and breathing when taken to a hospital. A businessman in the area said it appeared the victim was shot elsewhere and drove his boxy green truck to Alabama Avenue. He said people in the area described the man as an ice cream vendor. — Martin Weil Suitland man charged in fatal shooting D.C. police arrested a suspect Friday in the shooting death of a man in Southeast Washington last month, police said. Andre Becton, 24, of Suitland, Md., was charged with second-degree murder in the Sept. 15 shooting of Darnell Peoples, 35, of District Heights, Md., in the 600 block of Mellon Street SE. — Peter Hermann Sale of nursing home to school can proceed A judge decided Monday to allow the controversial sale of a Northwest Washington nursing home to neighboring Sidwell Friends School. Residents of the Washington Home had sought to block the $32.5 million sale, arguing that the transaction violates a D.C. law requiring landlords to give tenants right of first refusal before selling a rental property. D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert R. Rigsby ruled that nursing facilities are fundamentally different from housing accommodations, and therefore are not subject to that tenant protection. Washington Home officials said they were pleased with the judge’s decision. The nursing home is to close Dec. 15, and the Washington Home plans to shift to providing in-home hospice care. It will also continue to provide about 10 inpatient hospice beds at a location yet to be determined. MARYLAND Invader kills man in Montgomery house A man living in a house in Montgomery County was shot and killed Monday night in what appeared to be a home invasion, the county police said. The incident was reported about 10 p.m. in the 7900 block of Muncaster Mill Road in the Gaithersburg area, said Capt. Paul Starks, the county police spokesman. —Martin Weil Silver Spring man, 64, is fatally struck by car A man was fatally struck by a car as he crossed Georgia Avenue near Regina Drive Monday, Montgomery County police said. Authorities said a 2015 Toyota


Why the Middle East knows not to trust the United States

An explosion rocks Kobane, Syria. (Gokhan Sahin/Getty Images) When the United States fights its wars in the Middle East, it has a nasty habit of recruiting local forces as proxies and then jettisoning them when the going gets tough or regional politics intervene. This pattern of “seduction and abandonment” is one of our least endearing characteristics. It’s one reason the United States is mistrusted in the Middle East. We don’t stick by the people who take risks on our behalf in Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and elsewhere. And now, I fear, this syndrome is happening again in Syria, as a Kurdish militia group known as the YPG, which has been the United States’ best ally against the Islamic State, gets pounded by the Turkish military. The YPG is a special case for me because I had a chance to meet some of their fighters in May at a secret U.S. Special Operations forces training camp in northern Syria. They described battling to the last man — and sometimes woman — as they drove the Islamic State from its strongholds. Special Ops officers embedded with the YPG recounted their battlefield exploits with deep respect, expressing what one called “the brotherhood of the close fight.” Unfortunately, allying with the United States can be a dangerous proposition in the Middle East. Last Thursday, Turkey said its warplanes shot 18 targets in YPG-controlled areas of northern Syria. The Turks want to block the YPG from linking up with its fighters in a pocket known as Afrin, northwest of Aleppo. The Turks also want to prevent the YPG from playing a leading role in the liberation of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s capital, as the United States had planned. “If it doesn’t stop, it could preempt all plans for Raqqa,” warns a Pentagon official about the Turkish onslaught. Kurdish sources tell me that because the United States isn’t responding to pleas about Afrin, the YPG is appealing to Russia. The U.S. alliance with the YPG was forged during the liberation of Kobane from the Islamic State in late 2014. The Kurds were down to a few hundred fighters when U.S. Special Operations forces intervened. The assistance was brokered by Lahur Talabani, the intelligence chief of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK. He sent several of his operatives into Kobane with GPS devices to call in U.S. close air support, via an operations center in the PUK’s


D.C. crime report

51st St., 61st St., Northwest HOMICIDES Emerson St., Kennedy St., ASSAULTS Brandywine St., Columbia Rd., Florida Ave., Georgia Ave., Girard St., Jefferson St., Rock Creek Church Rd., Tracy Pl., 10th St., 14th St., 22nd St., ROBBERIES Chapin St., Clifton St., Dumbarton Rock Ct., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Girard St., Irving St., M St., M St., Macomb St., N St., North Capitol St., North Capitol St., Q St., Thomas Cir., Wisconsin Ave., Seventh St., Seventh St., 11th St., 13th St., 16th St., 17th St., 18th St., BREAK-INS Hobart Pl., Holly St., Irving St., Irving St., Ontario Rd., Rittenhouse St., Rock Creek Ford Rd., Seaton Pl., T St., First St., Seventh St., 13th St., 17th St., 29th St., 35th St., 36th St., THEFTS Argonne Pl., Barry Pl., Benton St., Blair Rd., Blair Rd., Brandywine St., California St., Calvert St., Carroll St., Carroll St., Cathedral Ave., Church St., Cliffbourne Pl., Clydesdale Pl., Columbia Rd., Columbia Rd., Columbia Rd., Columbia Rd., Columbia Rd., Columbia Rd., Columbia Rd., Columbia Rd., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Connecticut Ave., Constitution Ave., Cortland Pl., Dahlia St., Eastern Ave., Elm St., Elm St., Euclid St., Euclid St., Everett St., F St., F St., Fessenden St., Florida Ave., Florida Ave., Florida Ave., G St., G St., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Georgia Ave., Girard St., Greenwich Pkwy., Gresham Pl., Gresham Pl., Gresham Pl., H St., H St., H St., H St., H St., H St., Harrison St., Harvard St., Harvard St., Harvard St., Holmead Pl., Holmead Pl., I St., I St., I St., I St., I St., Illinois Ave., Ingraham St., Ingraham St., Irving St., K St., K St., K St., Kenyon St., Kingman Pl., L St., L St., L St., L St., L St., Lanier Pl., Logan Cir., Longfellow St., Longfellow St., Longfellow St., Longfellow St., Longfellow St., M St., M St., M St., M St., M St., M St., M St., M St., M St., M St., Marion St., Massachusetts Ave., Massachusetts Ave., Massachusetts Ave., Monroe St., N St., N St., N St., N St., N St., N St., New Hampshire Ave., New Hampshire Ave., New Hampshire Ave., New Hampshire Ave., New


Senior Md. corrections investigators out of jobs following internal affairs probe

Portrait of a Prince Georges County emergency response officer in Upper Marlboro, Md. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post) Weeks after federal prosecutors arrested 80 people in a widespread bribery and drug conspiracy inside a Maryland prison, two senior Corrections Department employees who helped in the probe say they have been fired. Steven F. Geppi, the agency’s director of investigation, intelligence and fugitive apprehension, and Debra Gonzalez Morin, the chief of intelligence, said they were told on Tuesday that “their services were no longer needed.” They said the state Department of Corrections is also investigating several other employees who work in their former division. Gerard M. Shields, a Department of Corrections spokesman, confirmed Wednesday that Geppi and Gonzalez Morin are no longer working for the department. Shields said their departures were not connected to the three-year investigation at Eastern Correctional Institution, in which prison guards were accused of smuggling drugs, cellphones and tobacco into the prison in exchange for money and sex. Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stephen T. Moyer. (Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post) Corrections Secretary Stephen T. Moyer received a complaint involving Geppi and Gonzalez about two weeks ago, Shields said, and the two were placed on administrative leave. Shields would not elaborate on the nature of the complaint, only describing it as misconduct. The Maryland State Police internal affairs division investigated, he said. “[Moyer] was disturbed by the allegations, and as a result he took swift action,” Shields said. The investigation is ongoing. Geppi said in an interview Wednesday that he was told a couple of weeks ago that someone filed a complaint against him, but he was not told what the complaint was about. “I’m not sure about the circumstances, because I wasn’t given a reason,” Geppi said. Geppi said he has since learned that about a half-dozen other employees who worked in his division have been suspended. Geppi and Gonzalez Morin said they think that their investigative work, which has resulted in more than 200 guards and correctional officers losing their jobs in the past couple of years, led to the allegations against them. “It’s my opinion we made an awful lot of enemies,” Geppi said. Gonzalez Morin, who has worked for the department for 16 years, said the complaint, investigation and dismissal came as a surprise. “Two weeks ago, we were shining stars. They loved us,” Gonzalez Morin said. “They wanted to give


National Symphony Orchestra executive director to step down

NSO Executive Director Rita Shapiro is stepping down at the end of the year. (Scott Suchman) Rita Shapiro, the executive director of the National Symphony Orchestra for 15 years, is stepping down at the end of the year, the orchestra announced on Wednesday. Shapiro, 61, says the decision is her own. “Fifteen years is a very, very long run in a job like this,” she said, speaking by phone on Wednesday morning. “I just think it’s healthy for me personally and for the organization to make a change.” Many people expected Deborah Rutter to clean house at the NSO when she came from the Chicago Symphony to become president of the Kennedy Center in 2014. The announcement in January that Gianandrea Noseda would become the orchestra’s next music director — he will take over in 2017 — was a major step. Shapiro’s departure, on the heels of a new contract for the orchestra musicians, leaves a clean slate for a new administrative director as well. “This is one of the most exciting, most important new moments for an institution, when you bring a new music director on board,” Rutter said by phone on Wednesday afternoon. It’s “a fresh new start in a lot of different ways. And she’s put so many of the building blocks in place, it sets the stage for somebody to come in and say, ‘This is how we’re going to build on it.’ ” Rutter added: “I realize sometimes when you say, ‘I’m going to go do coffee roasting,’ or whatever, there’s always this question, ‘Was she encouraged to leave?’ That is not the circumstance. I want to reinforce that. This was a time when she said, ‘I am making this decision.’ ” Shapiro has worked with music directors Leonard Slatkin and Christoph Eschenbach, as well as Ivan Fischer as principal conductor, and she led the search that culminated in Noseda’s appointment. And she has arranged five international tours for the orchestra in the past few years — after a long period during which the orchestra didn’t tour at all. Initiatives such as the NSO in Your Neighborhood program, the SoundHealth program that brings musicians to play in local hospitals, and the new Declassified series of late-night Friday programs aimed at a younger audience have signaled the orchestra’s desire to keep abreast of the field’s efforts to reach new audiences and play a greater role in


These elephants have been retired from the circus. But are their lives better?

intelligence and emotional depth. I wondered: Now that elephants are departing from the circus that calls itself the Greatest Show on Earth, after so many years of making them perform for us, what have we learned about them? And what have we learned about ourselves? After retiring from “The Greatest Show on Earth” last Spring, are their lives better? The rail-car doors had been opened. At one of them, an enormous, wrinkled gray head was emerging. Her name was Asia. At 7,900 pounds, she was so big and so textured, and the rail car so industrial-silvery sleek and small in comparison, she looked like an alien stepping through a portal from another world. Handlers surrounded the ramp like spotters. “Easy, Asia,” said one. She used her trunk to sweep the ramp the way a visually impaired human would use a cane, feeling for the way ahead. Asia was born wild somewhere on the continent for which she was named in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War. The first record of her in this country was in 1971, when she was bought by an old elephant hand in the Catskills. That was two years before Congress banned the importation of endangered species like Asian elephants. Still a baby, she was among the last wild-born Asian elephants brought to this country. In 1988 she was sold to a powerboat-racing restaurateur who’d decided to have a go at the performing-elephant business. Ringling acquired her in 1991. The long years of Asia’s life were visible in the profusion of pink speckling her face, trunk and ears. All her handlers agreed: Not much seemed to surprise Asia. She had seen cities, audiences and handlers come and go. She’d been quarantined and treated for tuberculosis. She was the alleged victim in a courtroom drama after a Humane Society inspector saw her get hit with a bull hook. Yet she’d still move toward humans whenever they came near. Asia’s four traveling companions also got off the circus train’s two elephant cars. The biggest was Tonka at 11,000 pounds, then Luna at 8,200. Though they were in their early 30s and technically adults, Tonka and Luna were more like teenage besties, following each other around, sleeping side by side, standoffish toward outsiders. The other two elephants, 10-year-old Mable and 6-year-old April, were less than half their size and twice as energetic. All four were born in


Washington Post bestsellers: Oct. 30, 2016

Paperback Fiction 1. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (Riverhead, $9.99, $16). By Paula Hawkins. A woman witnesses a shocking crime. [15] 2. A MAN CALLED OVE (Washington Square, $16). By Fredrik Backman. An old crank might just be softened by his new neighbors. [22] 3. INFERNO (Anchor, $9.99). By Dan Brown. Robert Langdon’s newest investigation revolves around Dante’s “Inferno.” [9] 4. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (Grand Central, $8.99). By Harper Lee. The Pulitzer Prize-winning tale set in the Depression-era South. [90] 5. THE LAST MILE (Grand Central, $15.99). By David Baldacci. Amos Decker must determine whether a man on death row is innocent or guilty. [6] 6. PRIVATE SYDNEY (Grand Central, $15.99). By James Patterson and Kathryn Fox. The world’s best investigation company tries to find a vanished businessman. [3] 7. THE LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP (Broadway, $16). By Nina George. Monsieur Perdu owns a floating bookstore on the Seine, which he takes to the south of France. [3] 8. CROSS JUSTICE (Vision, $9.99). By James Patterson. Alex Cross, home to North Carolina, pursues his cousin’s innocence and his own personal demons. [3] 9. THE SYMPATHIZER (Grove, $16). By Viet Thanh Nguyen. A half-Vietnamese, half-French communist spy lives a double life in Los Angeles in this winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. [12] 10. EILEEN (Penguin, $16). By Ottessa Moshfegh. The portrait of a young woman as a potential murderer. [1] Nonfiction/General 1. MICHELIN GUIDE WASHINGTON, DC 2017 (Michelin Travel Publications, $12.95). By the editors of Michelin Travel Publications. [2] 2. ALEXANDER HAMILTON (Penguin, $20). By Ron Chernow. [49] 3. THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE TRIPOLI PIRATES: THE FORGOTTEN WAR THAT CHANGED AMERICAN HISTORY (Sentinel, $17). By Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger. [1] 4. MILK AND HONEY (Andrews McMeel, $14.99) By Rupi Kaur. A collection of poetry and prose about survival. [19] 5. YOU ARE A BADASS: HOW TO STOP DOUBTING YOUR GREATNESS AND START LIVING AN AWESOME LIFE (Running Press, $16). By Jen Sincero. [32] 6. OPERATION MINCEMEAT: HOW A DEAD MAN AND A BIZARRE PLAN FOOLED THE NAZIS AND ASSURED AN ALLIED VICTORY (Broadway, $15) By Ben Macintyre. [6] 7. THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES: THE SECRET TO LOVE THAT LASTS (Northfield, $15.99). By Gary D. Chapman. [197] 8. MARCH TRILOGY SLIPCASE SET (Top Shelf, $49.99). By John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell. [1] 8. THE NEW JIM CROW: MASS INCARCERATION IN THE AGE OF COLORBLINDNESS (New Press,


‘Kind of taboo’: Pot industry moms form support group in an era of legalization

to sell or purchase the drug in the District. Maryland legalized medical marijuana three years ago, but the program has been embroiled in controversy and remains in the early stages of making the drug available to patients. Virginia passed legislation in 2015 allowing the use of medical marijuana oil for people suffering from severe epilepsy. The drug is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government. “Having kids while we’re in this industry is kind of taboo,” said Macias, who lives in Fort Washington, in Prince George’s County. The mothers have different philosophies about how they broach the topic with their children. With her youngest, age 6, Macias refers to marijuana as medicine, and tells him that “marijuana” is an inappropriate word to use. Jay Mills, left, and Chanda Macias talk in a group of moms involved in the local marijuana industry. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) Macias and her husband, who also works at the dispensary, categorize some marijuana-related words alongside prohibited curse words. Banned words include “dispensary” and “pre-roll,” as in a pre-rolled joint that is sold at the Dupont Circle business. Her young son thinks she works at a pharmacy. Her concerns are practical. She doesn’t want his classmates or teachers to think she is a drug dealer or that she uses marijuana in front of him. A first-grader, after all, could have trouble distinguishing in conversation that his mother doesn’t sell marijuana to everyone — only to those with a medical marijuana card. “He knows it as the medicine,” Macias said. “So when he has a cold, he’s like, ‘Mom, do I need the medicine?’ And I say, ‘No, no, you need a cough drop.’ ” Hopkins-Greene, of Columbia, Md., said her 10-year-old son knows about the drug and its controversies, and she tries to answer his questions in age-appropriate ways. Jay Mills, who lives in Northeast Washington, teaches classes on how to cook edibles and grow marijuana. She gardens at home with her 3-year-old son, and he helps with the tomato, onion and, yes, marijuana plants. As he grows older, she plans to be transparent about marijuana and her profession. But there are boundaries: His friends who come over can’t see the marijuana plant. The National Holistic Healing Center dispenses medical marijuana to registered patients. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) Chanda Macias displays products at the National Holistic Healing Center. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) “He wanted


‘An incredible impact’: Poor kids are being priced out of youth sports. Here’s one solution.

Carlos Amaya, 10, left, participates in an after- school soccer program in Gaithersburg, Md. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) As poor children around the country get priced out of expensive youth sports leagues, a volunteer baseball coach in suburban Maryland has devised a novel solution to one of many financial barriers. It’s a small, square checkbox. Marc Berk, a health policy researcher, got the checkbox idea on vacation in New York. He noticed that museum-goers who couldn’t pay the requested donation fee had to explain why — a demeaning procedure. He wondered whether something similar kept lower-income families away from youth sports. Berk persuaded officials in Gaithersburg to amend their fee-waiver process. Instead of requiring families to fill out forms proving their need, administrators added a checkbox to the sign-up form. It says, “I am a resident of the City, and I am requesting a waiver of all fees.” Waiver requests soared by 1,200 percent. Participation jumped 31 percent; for children who attend high-poverty schools, it shot up almost 80 percent. Soccer coach Esteban Ochoa leads students in a warm-up session during an after-school soccer program in Gaithersburg, Md. (Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post) “Just doing this one small thing had an incredible impact for a lot of families,” said Berk, who published his findings this summer in the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration. The fee — $50 today, but $40 during the study period in 2009 — was covered by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant, so the change cost the city nothing. Now, having read the results of the study, Gaithersburg officials are considering making the waiver process permanent, which could increase costs for providing youth sports by at least several thousand dollars. There is also a risk of waiver fraud. But city officials say they are weighing those downsides against a growing body of research that says participation in youth sports improves physical and mental health, lowers crime and teen pregnancy rates, and increases college enrollment. “Is this a service that you now provide like police or other non-revenue-generating departments?” City Manager Tony Tomasello asked. “They don’t make any money, but they benefit the public. Are we trying to fund a public benefit, or are we trying to fund health and fitness? Obviously it’s both, but I think it’s really gravitating toward more of a social benefit.” Tomasello, Berk and youth sports experts also acknowledge that waiving fees


Marine Corps Marathon is runner’s chance to honor cousin killed in helicopter crash

MARSOC Foundation , which supports the families of active duty, medically retired and deceased soldiers. Stanford Shaw with his cousin, Ashley Papadopoulos. Papadopoulos took up running as a way to help deal with her grief after Shaw was killed in a helicopter crash. Papadopoulos plans to run in the 2016 Marine Corps Marathon. (family photo) “When my cousin was killed in that helicopter accident, that foundation reached out to all of the family members of the people that were lost and really helped them through the finances of all of that,” Papadopoulos said. “I felt like that was the right avenue to take.” Shaw was not much of a runner himself. Any time he needed to pass a conditioning test for the Marines, he would “barely make” the time, according to his mother, Mona. “He liked to lift weights and work out that way,” Mona said. “He did not have a runner’s body. He was a moose, a big guy. Not fat, by any means, but big.” When Shaw attended the Naval Academy, his company was named after the jackalope, a mythical cross between a jack rabbit and an antelope. In many ways, he embraced his company’s nickname. “Ford used to make the most ridiculous face, with his thumb in his ear and fingers all sticking up to look like antlers, and make what he called a jackalope face,” Mona said. “When everything got scary or difficult, they were in trouble or there was any kind of trouble going on around them, he would just say, ‘Make the jackalope face and run.’ ” “It’s how I start most of my mornings. It’s the time I think about Ford. I say hello to him,” said Ashley Papadopoulos, who took up running as a way to help deal with her grief after her cousin was killed in a helicopter crash. (family photo) Papadopoulos reached her goal of raising $7,000 for MARSOC on Thursday. As she trained to run the 26.2-mile race that begins and ends near Arlington National Cemetery, Papadopoulos would leave the house daily as early as 5 a.m. “My quiet, on-my-own runs early in the morning, it’s my favorite time,” Papadopoulos said. “People call me crazy for getting up as early as I do, but it really helps me stay positive throughout the day.” Papadopoulos will run the marathon with Shaw’s fiancee, Marine Corps Capt. Lindsay Pirek. Papadopoulos said she


Neuroscientists show how tiny fibs snowball into big lies

In a new study, the brain scans of people who lied during a game showed that the region of the brain associated with emotion reacted less strongly as they continued to deceive a partner. (KEITH SRAKOCIC/ASSOCIATED PRESS) A little dishonesty goes a long way. Scientists who studied the brain activity of people who told small lies to benefit themselves found that these fibs appeared to pave the way to telling whoppers later. The findings, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, demonstrate how self-serving lies can escalate, and offer a window into the processes in the brain at work. It’s commonly held wisdom that small transgressions often lead to bigger and bigger ones, study co-author Tali Sharot of University College London said in a news briefing. “Whether it’s evading tax, infidelity, doping in sports, making up data in science or financial fraud, deceivers often recall how small acts of dishonesty snowballed over time and they suddenly found themselves committing quite large crimes,” Sharot said. The researchers suspected this had to do with a biological process known as emotional adaptation, where over time the brain responds less and less strongly to a repeated stimulus. “The first time you cheat, you feel quite bad about it, but that bad feeling keeps you from cheating a whole lot,” she said. “So it’s good. It curbs your dishonesty.” Sharot and her colleagues designed a set of two-person guessing games. Eighty participants were asked to work with another person (who they thought was another participant but was in fact an actor) to guess how many pennies were in a jar. But by shifting who got a reward after each round, the scientists made several versions of this game, some of which incentivized participants to lie. The actual study participants had higher-resolution images of the jar than their partners, so they could choose whether to lead their partners to a more or less accurate answer. In one version, participants were told that going for the most accurate estimates would help both them and their partner. In another, overestimating the amount would benefit them but hurt their partner. In a third, both players would benefit if the participant overestimated the amount; in a fourth, overestimating the number of pennies would benefit the partner, at the participant’s expense. Another version would benefit only one of them (with no effect on the other). The scientists also took a subset of


After 14 years of waiting, work begins on the National China Garden

Calif., and Vancouver, British Columbia. But the arboretum’s is the first one created directly by Washington and Beijing, said Samuel T. Mok, president of the foundation. Its scale is also unusual. Using principles of feng shui, the garden will incorporate aspects of famous classical gardens in various Chinese cultural centers, including the bamboo-rich Geyuan Garden, built during the Qing Dynasty, and other gardens in Yangzhou. The finished garden will include a peony garden, a scenic lake, gardens of ornate stone and a grand pavilion, to be fabricated by Chinese artisans. In the bucolic heart of the arboretum, dignitaries gathered on a red, cloth-draped dais as the national flags of China and the United States flapped in the afternoon breeze. The recurring theme of their speeches was of the garden’s symbolic cultural importance. “I hope our cooperation will be as enduring as this garden will be,” said Catherine A. Novelli, an undersecretary at the State Department. The garden and its structures will be used for “robust” cultural programs between Chinese and U.S. organizations, the officials said. Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai, in an interview, said the garden will be “important for the people of our two countries, not only for the governments.” Catherine Woteki, the Agriculture Department’s chief scientist, said the garden “is going to provide opportunities for research as well as something to be enjoyed by the public.” She said the department recently signed an agreement with China on research using the animal and plant gene banks that each nation preserves. The two countries have the largest gene banks for agriculture in the world, she said. For the arboretum, the garden will provide a hub to connect the institution’s disparate collections of Chinese plants, said Olson, the director, referring to its inventories of Chinese magnolias, crape myrtles and conifers. “And we get to plant so much more. It’s something long overdue and a unifying theme for the arboretum.” So as the National Zoo’s Bao Bao returns to China, Washington loses a panda but welcomes a garden. More from Lifestyle: Once barely surviving, the grass on the Mall gets a serious makeover How a plain and tired lawn became the Rose Garden With re-creation of 1500s garden, a reminder of when herb knowledge was a survival tool Whether White House garden keeps growing, Michelle Obama has planted seed of healthy eating Why the Japanese maple is a must-have for any foliage-loving gardener


From aglianico to zibibbo, he poured an alphabetical tour of wine grapes

Jason Tesauro, right, brought wines from A to Z to his latest Grapetionary event, which took place last month in Potomac, Md., and entertained about 80 guests. (Michelle Frankfurter) More than 1,300 varieties of grapes are used around the world to produce wine. Dedicated wine fiends may be able to experience most of those over a lifetime. Jason Tesauro would like us to taste an alphabet’s worth in a single fascinating evening. He calls it Grapetionary, an A-to-Z exploration of the world of wine that combines ampelography (the study of grapes) with geography. It’s educational and fun — emphasis on fun. Tesauro, 44, is co-author of “The Modern Gentleman” and sommelier and brand manager for Barboursville Vineyards in Virginia. He thought up Grapetionary while flipping the pages of Wine Grapes, an encyclopedic reference written by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz. Think of it as the Oxford English Dictionary of wine grapes. “I was going through the book page by page, and I realized there were a lot of grapes that sounded interesting but not very delicious,” he told me. “And there were some that were interesting and delicious. I thought, what a great party these would make. And I love a theme party.” Tesauro unveiled Grapetionary in June at the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival. He repeated in October at the Potomac, Md., estate of technology entrepreneurs Ken and Kavelle Bajaj for about 80 guests. The event was much more than just a wine tasting: Dinner was cooked by Masseria chef Nicholas Stefanelli, who closed his restaurant for the evening. (Two days before the party, Masseria was awarded a Michelin star.) Tesauro and David Kurka, Masseria’s wine director for the al fresco event, selected the wines. Tickets cost $275 a pop, with a few auction-item sales benefiting the neonatal intensive care unit at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. The extravaganza at the Bajaj estate may become an annual affair; chef Robert Wiedmaier of Marcel’s has already committed to cook next year. Tesauro also is planning a Grapetionary in California next year with Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyards, who has been working to expand the diversity of grape varieties in the Golden State’s vineyards. The wine list at this year’s event spanned aglianico to zibibbo. The event would not be easy to replicate at home, even without a Michelin-starred chef whipping up dinner. “It took me three months to


Metro’s biggest SafeTrack surge hits the Red Line this week, affecting 200,000 trips daily

20 blocks around the city, to prevent unnecessary barriers to traffic flow. Although Metro plans to add buses to four major routes that augment Red Line service, the agency is limited in how much it can boost capacity on those bus lines. At the outset of SafeTrack, the agency dedicated a team of bus operators to provide extra service; because this surge involves a complete rail segment shutdown, most of the extra buses are already scheduled to be used to shuttle people between the Fort Totten, Brookland, Rhode Island Avenue and NoMa stations. “Our ability to beef up existing routes service is greater on surges where we don’t also have to serve closed stations,” Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said. Surge 10 is coming at a precarious time for SafeTrack. According to Metro officials, in recent weeks fewer riders have been heeding their warnings to avoid stations and segments of the system affected by the surges. Ridership fell significantly at stations affected during the first five surges, with the number of diverted passengers exceeding Metro projections. But more recently, ridership in surge zones has crept back up. People appear to be tuning out the message and ignoring the warnings. “I think there is a risk as people start to understand this work that they start being complacent,” SafeTrack Director Laura Mason said at a Metro board meeting this month. “We need people to do different things, because buses cannot replace a rail car full of people.” Wiedefeld said he is optimistic that commuters are paying attention for this, the mother lode of all surges. “When they see that it’s a total shutdown,” Wiedefeld said, “tens of thousands of people a day understand what that means.” Dormsjo said it’s critical that people recognize that this shutdown is no run-of-the-mill episode of single-tracking. “We’ve got an optimistic view that people are paying attention,” Dormsjo said. “But we need to get people’s focus on this.” Despite the expected traffic woes, Wiedefeld appeared excited to get started. This project is addressing a critical and complex interlocking that lies along one of the oldest stretches of tracks in the system — and it’s a part of the rail network that has long been avoided because of the logistical difficulties involved in conducting maintenance. For that reason, Wiedefeld said, “we can’t wait to get in to do this work any longer.” And now that Metro’s round-the-clock maintenance


Everything you ever wanted to know about SafeTrack Surge #10

A double crossover, a juncture where trains change tracks, outside Rhode Island Avenue station. Metro will replace the crossover during its 10th SafeTrack surge, a rail service shutdown from NoMa to Fort Totten. (WMATA photo by Larry Levine) Correction: This SafeTrack surge, involving a 25-day segment shutdown on the Red Line from Fort Totten to NoMa-Gallaudet, will create commuter havoc on Metro’s busiest rail line. In addition to the closure of two stations — Brookland-CUA and Rhode Island Avenue — trains will run less frequently, which means crowded station platforms and rail cars. More people are likely to drive, so roads will be more congested, adding to the headaches already created by the closure of a segment of Beach Drive in Northwest Washington. Buses will run more frequently to provide some relief, but they are likely to be crowded, too. Although the shutdown affects only a segment of the line, service will be disrupted from end to end, officials say, so they’re urging people to avoid the Red Line altogether if possible. We realize that won’t be possible for most riders, so we’re here to help. Whether you’ll be riding the line or seeking alternatives, we’re here to try to get you through it. What is SafeTrack Surge #10? It’s a line segment shutdown that affects the Red Line between NoMa-Gallaudet and Fort Totten from Oct. 29 through Nov. 22, affecting 200,000 peak trips daily. The Brookland-CUA and Rhode Island Avenue stations are closed. What does it mean? Red Line trains are running in two segments: from Shady Grove to NoMa-Gallaudet every six minutes and Glenmont to Fort Totten every 10 minutes at peak times. The Rhode Island Avenue Metro parking garage is closed. Limited free shuttle buses replace trains between the NoMa-Gallaudet and Fort Totten stations, but be prepared for crowds and waiting. After 9 p.m., Red Line trains run every 15 minutes. The last Fort Totten-bound Red Line train departs Glenmont at 11:02 p.m. (35 minutes earlier than normal). Try the Green Line if you’re looking for an alternative path for travel between Fort Totten and Gallery Place. If you’re a MARC or Virginia Railway Express rider, consider transferring to Metro at alternative stations to avoid crowding and delays at Union Station. The tenth surge in Metro’s long-term maintenance overhaul known as SafeTrack runs Oct.29 through Nov. 22 on the Red Line. Take a look at how it


Cisco co-founder Sandy Lerner’s next big idea: Redefining road food

Sandy Lerner at her new store, Gentle Harvest, in Marshall, Va. (Gentle Harvest/Courtesy Gentle Harvest) Before long drives, Sandy Lerner plugs a back-seat mini fridge into the cigarette outlet of her Chevy Volt and fills it with the sort of local, organic foodstuffs she has been cheerleading for two decades. The owner of the first farm in Virginia to be both certified organic and certified humane, Lerner doesn’t want to risk getting hungry on the highway, where the only option might be gas station food. “And I am so not alone,” says Lerner, sipping coffee in the cafe of Gentle Harvest, her new retail and grocery store an hour west of Washington in Marshall, Va. When Lerner tells locals that the store, the first of “hundreds” she plans to open near the region’s highways, will have a drive-through window, take-home meals and a $5 organic hamburger, “The first thing they say is, ‘Oh, thank God, I don’t have to bring food with me anymore,’” she says. Ask her how she plans to adhere, at those price points, to the farming practices she has espoused at her 800-acre Ayrshire Farm and Hunter’s Head Tavern in Upperville, and she flashes a knowing grin. “We’ve spent 20 years learning how,” she says. Reinventing the system By any account, Lerner, 61, is a formidable businesswoman. In the 1980s, she and her then-husband founded tech giant Cisco Systems, which made the router ubiquitous, and made millions when they cashed out their stake after she was fired in a corporate shake-up. In 1996, she followed her longtime interest in animal welfare to start Ayrshire, with a focus on rare and endangered animal breeds. That same year, Lerner started the cosmetics company Urban Decay; she sold it a few years later, and now it’s part of L’Oreal. Stephanie Bates, a friend and fellow business owner in Upperville, Va., long ago realized Lerner’s reach. “She’s a woman of endless talents, and she has this ability to fill the niche that people are looking for,” Bates says. Lerner’s experience at Ayrshire taught her that she’d need to buy a slaughterhouse to make the economics of this new fast-food model work. So, when one of the half-dozen U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified facilities in Northern Virginia became available this year in Winchester, she did just that. Horses graze at Sandy Lerner's Ayrshire Farm in Upperville, Va., the first farm in Virginia


who want to feed their children healthy food but who might still need to get fast food occasionally.” To that end, the sweet potato spuds with a kid’s burger are baked instead of fried (there is, by design, no fryer on the premises) and come with a small cookie and organic juice or milk, for $6. Families will be able to sift through all the choices by ordering ahead of time online or via the brand’s app, which allows more time for a cooked-to-order approach. Lerner’s Home Farm Store in Middleburg, Va., which closed in August so she could focus on the new stores. (Michael Williamson/The Washington Post) Community and convenience The store should also get its share of wanderers, drawn to town by a street that’s now teeming with excuses for food-minded folk to take a detour. The nationally acclaimed Red Truck Bakery has its Marshall location next door. That proved particularly fortuitous when Gentle Harvest’s building caught fire in early September, weeks before the planned opening, and a baker working the early shift was there to call 911. The damages were minor. Across Main Street is the newly opened Field & Main Restaurant, serving destination-worthy fare from Virginia’s Piedmont region. Riccordino’s, a tiny bricked-in kitchen by the same owners, hawks Chicago-style hot sandwiches next door. Down the street, the Whole Ox butcher shop sells cuts from animals raised on the pastures of “neighborhood farms” and opens the Butcher Bar for dinner Tuesday through Saturday evenings. “Park the car once, and it’s kind of like three-stop shopping,” says Red Truck Bakery owner Brian Noyes, who watched the street’s only grocery store, an IGA, close just before he opened in Marshall last year. “We’ve all wanted something else to come, so here it is next door.” Lerner said Marshall’s momentum is one of the reasons she chose to locate Gentle Harvest’s headquarters and first store here. The store will keep one foot in the community-grocery aisle for which its Middleburg predecessor was known while launching the new brand’s more convenient concept, one Lerner has been honing for years. “This is the food system I know,” says Lerner, a California-raised convert to Virginia culture. “I’m not Bill Gates; I can’t fix it all, but I can help here.” Pipkin writes about food, local agriculture and the environment. More from Food: Have questions about cooking? Join our live chat Wednesdays at 12.


Samuel Kosgei, Perry Shoemaker win 2016 Marine Corps Marathon

family because nobody had anything scheduled. I figured I would give it a try and see how I felt and drop out if it got too painful.” Shoemaker is relatively new to competitive running, taking it up when her family moved from Pittsburgh in 2011. She finished fourth at the next year’s Marine Corps Marathon and has been a mainstay in the local competitive-running scene since. Though the race doesn’t offer prize money, both Kosgei and Morkama believed a victory would pay off later on. Kosgei hopes it will burnish his résumé and help him make the Army’s World Class Athlete Program, which is based in Colorado Springs and put five athletes on the U.S. Olympic track team last summer. He has done most of his training at Fort Riley in Kansas, where he works as a medic. “I would like to train with those guys,” he said. “I like Fort Riley — they let me train in the mornings — but having fast training partners would help me get better.” Like four of those five WCAP athletes, Kosgei was born in East Africa. He came from Uganda to run at Lamar University and became a U.S. citizen when he joined the Army. Morkama is a recent transplant to Arlington, coming on a six-month business visa from Ethiopia. He has run seven marathons under 2:20, all in Europe, but his manager, Arlington’s Jay Wind, said a victory at Marine Corps likely would open more doors for Morkama in the United States than a top-10 finish in a European marathon. The course was altered to accommodate the Metro SafeTrack restrictions that kept the system from opening at 5 a.m. ahead of the 7:55 a.m. start. An hour-long window gave latecomers a chance to race, but they were still up against a 1:15 p.m. deadline to reach the 14th Street bridge. Nearly two miles were cut from a trip north on Rock Creek Parkway, and runners instead were routed around a Pentagon parking lot and farther south in Crystal City. Runners also managed the trip to and from National Harbor, the new home of the pre-race expo after years of moving between the D.C. Armory and Washington Convention Center. In the end, 19,724 runners finished, including Arlington’s Al Richmond, who has completed all 41 Marine Corps Marathons. He ran it in 6:39:47. Will Brown, the other remaining “Ground Pounder,” did not finish.


Kerry promises to work ‘to the last moment’ to end Syrian violence

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds an award as he speaks at Chatham House in London on Oct. 31. (Peter Nicholls/Reuters) LONDON — In London to accept the Chatham House Prize, given by the prestigious think tank, Kerry said he would “rather be caught trying” to reach seemingly impossible diplomatic agreements than submit to the inevitability of war. “Believe it or not, there’s nothing inevitable about conflicts raging in places like Syria, Yemen, Libya and South Sudan,” he said. “If war is a choice, then peace is also a choice.” But after years of futile efforts to stop the conflict in Syria, the secretary also acknowledged just how difficult it will be for the region’s warring parties to end the violence in that ravaged nation. “Syria is a whole bunch of wars taking place in the same place,” he said, before listing a half-dozen ethnic, sectarian and geopolitical fault lines. “The mix is just about as difficult as any diplomatic cocktail I can think of.” The president-elect, whether it's Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, will face the daunting task of dealing with these three global issues. Kerry was across the Atlantic for less than 36 hours. But he returns to Washington with a trio of awards recognizing his contributions to global peacemaking, including one given in Ireland on Sunday and two in London on Monday. With just 2½ months left before a new president takes office, Kerry’s visit may be among his last during a half-century-long career in public service that began with a combat tour in Vietnam and included 28 years as a U.S. senator. The Chatham House Prize was awarded in particular recognition of the Iran deal — perhaps the most high-profile agreement of Kerry’s four-year tenure at State — and was given jointly to Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. The deal, reached last year after marathon negotiations in conference rooms across Europe, limits Iran’s nuclear capacity and imposes strict international monitoring in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. It was fiercely opposed by the Israeli government, Republican critics in Congress, Persian Gulf states and hard-liners in Iran. But it was praised Monday by Philip Hammond, Britain’s former foreign secretary and current treasury chief, as “one of the great achievements of modern diplomacy.” Hammond, who participated with Kerry in the talks, said the secretary had fought “three separate battles” to reach the deal —


1 killed, 3 injured in shootings across District

A series of shootings in the District stretching into early Tuesday left one dead and three people injured, according to D.C. police. The shootings occurred in Southeast, Northeast and Northwest Washington. The fatal shooting occurred about 5:10 p.m. Monday in a parking lot in the back of an apartment building in Congress Heights. Police said they found Justin L. Jenkins, 27, of Southeast, lying in the 1600 block of Savannah Street SE. Police said Jenkins was pronounced dead at Prince George’s County Hospital Center in Maryland. Police said there was no clear motive yet known. Authorities are looking for a silver two-door Honda Civic. About 9:45 p.m., police said a man was found shot in the face in the 300 block of 53rd Street NE, near Grant Park. A police report says that 17 gunshots were reported in the area. The victim was taken to an area hospital. The police report lists drug dealing as a possible motive. Two people were shot and wounded early Tuesday near Howard University. Police said the shootings occurred about 2:45 a.m. in the 700 block of Fairmont Street NW, near Georgia Avenue and a block from the university’s Greene Memorial Stadium. It did not occur on the campus. Police described the victims as two adult males who suffered what appeared to be nonlife-threatening injuries. Authorities did not comment further, but said additional information would likely be made available later Tuesday.


Central review: A protege keeps his master’s magic alive

Chef-partner David Deshaies will open his own restaurant soon, but continue to consult at Central. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) The Thai quinoa salad is finished with a flourish at the table, shaken like a cocktail before being plated. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) Central Michel Richard: 3 stars, Excellent Central Michel Richard is a downtown restaurant that looks much like it did when it opened almost a decade ago (think drum lights and warm wood) and serves some of the same dishes, including a tuna burger and sky-scraping Napoleon. Nostalgia recently drew me back. The restaurant’s guiding light, the legendary chef Michel Richard, who first made a splash at the late Citronelle in Georgetown, died in August at 68. Was the French native’s sole surviving business still good? With the debut of a fall menu in October, I had fresh reason to return to the American bistro with a French sensibility, under the command of David Deshaies for the past three years. My hopes were high. The boyish executive chef spent 15 years cooking with his mentor, at both establishments. In addition to kitchen duty, Deshaies, 38, is also general manager and a partner at Central (say sen-TRAL). The chef had me at the Thai quinoa salad. Even if you’re not sold on the mild ancient grain, hear me out. Deshaies packs a little show in the animated first course, layering a glass jar with fluffy steamed quinoa, peppery arugula, julienned carrots slick with sesame oil and cubed pickled daikon. To this, a waiter adds a drizzle of coconut-peanut dressing, closes the lid and shakes the contents as if he were a bartender. Moistened, the ingredients are strewn on a plate to form a tantalizing tropical hedge. The mirror over the bar features a caricature of Michel Richard, who died in August at 68. (Deb Lindsey /For The Washington Post) When creating new dishes, Deshaies says, he relies on some time-tested lessons of his former boss: “Use lots of color.” “Not too much flavor.” Also, recipes shouldn’t be so complicated that they can’t be replicated by underlings. Enter pumpkin soup, a first course that begins with a bowl cupping a fried egg decorated with minute croutons and even tinier prosciutto bits. Over this, a server pours a pale-orange, piping hot, curry-laced broth. As much as I’ve grown weary of seeing eggs as garnishes, the lacy fried egg


Woman dies in five-vehicle crash in Prince George’s County

A five-vehicle crash Monday in Prince George’s County killed a woman and sent two people to the hospital, police said Tuesday. Around 12:30 p.m. Monday, officers responded to the report of a multi-vehicle collision involving two commercial vehicles and a passenger car on fire with the driver trapped inside on southbound Route 5, north of Surratts Road in Clinton, Maryland State Police said in a statement. An investigation revealed that the driver of a 2015 Ford box truck failed to reduce speed to avoid a collision and struck a 2008 Toyota Camry driven by 52-year-old Margaret Omoyiwola Fadojutimi of Cheltenham, Md., the statement said. The initial collision started a chain reaction involving two other vehicles as Fadojutimi’s car caught fire, trapping her inside, as the box truck overturned and struck yet another vehicle, the statement said. Fadojutimi was pronounced dead at the scene, police said, while the drivers of the box truck and one of the other vehicles involved in the collision were transported to hospitals. No information was immediately available about whether charges would be filed. All southbound lanes of Route 5 were closed for about six hours, police said.