Ivory, at the tip of a complex issue for traveling orchestra members

Musician Joseph Grimmer’s bassoon previously had a piece of ivory attached, but because of the recent ban on ivory made from elephant tusks, the traveling musician changed the ivory to plastic. (Betsy Hansen/For The Washington Post) It’s a mere quarter of a gram of ivory — about 1/ 100 of an ounce — embedded at the bottom tip of many violin bows. But because it comes from the tusks of the African elephant, its presence — often on the bow tips of viola, cello and bass players as well — has become a major headache for U.S. orchestras and soloists leaving the country for tours overseas. Overlapping state, federal and international rules designed to stop the horrific poaching of the world’s largest land animal have resulted in a regulatory web that has enveloped the rarefied world of the symphony orchestra, the tiny clique of artisans who make bows and the thousands of professional string players across the country. (Then there’s the odd bassoonist, whose instrument sometimes has an ivory band around the bell, and a subset of bagpipers who perform on instruments with more than half a dozen ivory parts.) In a classic Washington case of unintended consequences, the Obama administration’s widely lauded efforts in the past two years to impose a near-total ban on ivory importation has ensnared not only classical musicians, but also builders of pipe organs, guitar players, cane collectors, antiques dealers and even members of the National Rifle Association who collect, trade and sell weapons with ivory rifle stocks or ivory pistol grips. But it is arguably classical musicians, especially those who travel outside the United States for concerts, auditions and even teaching gigs, who have squawked the loudest, and in a large number of cases have changed out the offending ivory components in their instruments — or simply decided to leave behind that $100,000, ivory-tipped, early-19th-century François Tourte bow. Navigating the guidelines No musician wants to be seen as supporting the poaching of African elephants, whose population as recently as 1979 was more than a million but is believed to have collapsed to below half of that. It’s just that few, if any, musicians think their ivory-tipped cello bows are contributing to the poaching crisis. “I’m a big animal freak. I think what [conservationists are] doing is wonderful; shut these poachers down,” said Lewis Lipnick, the National Symphony Orchestra’s contrabassoonist. “But no one is going


Fighting climate change is not impossible

Lobby. Robert J. Samuelson exuded a dangerous The United States is on course to meet its goal to cut emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, despite congressional resistance and without significant economic costs, suggesting that the emissions pledges made in Paris are achievable. The prices of key technologies such as solar have fallen 80 percent in the past decade and are likely to get cheaper. Major economies such as China are deindustrializing and slowing coal use to improve air quality. Indeed, global carbon dioxide emissions fell slightly in 2015, in part because of these developments. Mr. Samuelson was right that additional efforts will be needed, including tax incentives for carbon capture and storage technology. Climate change is a difficult problem, but the United States has risen to such challenges before and seen our country and economy benefit. As President John F. Kennedy said, we embrace these challenges “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” That’s what making America great again will require. Paul Bledsoe, Arlington The writer was communications director of the White House Climate Change Task Force under President Bill Clinton. A carbon tax that addresses Such an approach would lessen the need for “choices” to be made by politicians and bureaucrats about what the “correct” energy mix should be. Most important, and in contrast with Mr. Samuelson’s pessimistic outlook, studies performed by economic forecasting firm Regional Economic Models and others quantitatively demonstrate that a gradually rising carbon tax would result in the reductions in greenhouse gases that scientists say must occur to avoid the most catastrophic outcomes of climate change. Kyle E. Thomas, Syracuse, N.Y Robert J. Samuelson said The potential for climate chaos and gutted economies is widely accepted by climate scientists and climate economists and increasingly accepted by the general population. As the effects of global warming become even more evident, people will demand that governments and corporations take the necessary actions to wean us off fossil fuels. Many interventions are in place, such as the Clean Power Plan, the U.N. Green Climate Fund, the Breakthrough Energy Coalition and the U.S.-China agreement on carbon emissions. And many interventions will be implemented to limit global warming, including mandated building and transportation energy efficiency, a price on carbon pollution, elimination of fossil-fuel subsidies, preferential tax treatment and financing for clean energy, use of hydroelectric power and geothermal electricity generation. Limiting global warming is


A space feat fit for the front page

The first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9, shown in a time exposure at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Dec. 21. (Joe Skipper/Reuters) Two days in a row, The Post published articles about the landing of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, which successfully placed 11 satellites in orbit, but these articles were placed on Pages 12 [“SpaceX successfully lands rocket booster after launch,” Dec. 22] and 13 [“Elon Musk envisions a city on Mars,” Dec. 23]. The landing of this rocket on U.S. soil is one of the great technical feats of our time and a precursor to future space exploration. Just what does it take to make front-page news in The Post? Ron Glaser, Haymarket


Beer of the Week: DC Brau’s Alpha Domina Mellis III

DC Brau’s Alpha Domina Mellis, a complex and flavorful IPA. (Steph Harding/From DC Brau) The week before Christmas brought the annual release of DC Brau’s Alpha Domina Mellis double IPA, and the brewery had an extra treat for all good little beer lovers: This year’s batch is double what it was in 2014. DC Brau President and head brewer Jeff Hancock says just under 4,000 gallons of Alpha Domina Mellis III, or ADM3, will leave the brewery this winter, heading to restaurants and bars from Virginia to Connecticut. (The company had planned to can Alpha Domina Mellis for the first time, but the can design didn’t receive government approval in time, so this is a draft-only release.) It’s a good thing Alpha Domina Mellis will be easier to find, because hopheads will be hunting for it. The recipe varies from year to year, though a heavy dose of wildflower honey from Burnside Farms in Haymarket, Va., is a constant. The malt comes from Copper Fox Distillery in Sperryville, Va. But what everyone will remember most about this year’s release is the witch’s brew of hops. It features Falconer’s Flight, the citrusy hop blend used in DC Brau’s popular On the Wings Of Armageddon Imperial IPA, along with Citra, Mandarina Bavaria, Hüll Melon, Equinox and something known as “Experimental Variety 05256.” From the honeydew melon and tropical fruit aromas to the long, lingering bitter finish, it all adds up to one of the brewery’s most complex and flavorful IPAs yet. — Fritz Hahn DC Brau Alpha Domina Mellis III. dcbrau.com. $5 per pint and $15 per 64-ounce growler at the brewery; expect to pay $9 per glass at beer bars. More from Food: Beer Column archive


Animal Watch: A reminder about potential dangers for pets

Pentagon City Mall, Among cases received by the Animal Welfare League of Arlington.


One year, two races: Inside the Republican Party’s bizarre, tumultuous 2015

it. He wants to be liked, and you could tell that backstage.” Standing next to Fiorina that night was Walker. For the Wisconsin governor, the debate was a critical opportunity. Over the summer, he had seen his lead in Iowa evaporate, eclipsed by both Trump and Carson. He was in single digits in the state most critical to his hopes of winning the nomination and his campaign was under pressure to reverse the trend. Through much of the evening, Walker was barely visible among the 11 candidates on the stage. After the debate, one of Walker’s sons made a telling observation. “Dad, you only got a couple questions because all the questions were about attacks on the other candidates,” Walker recalled his son saying. “He said, ‘You don’t attack any of the other Republicans; of course, you didn’t get any questions.’ ” Walker’s campaign was hobbled by more than the lack of visibility at the Reagan Library debate — mistakes by the candidate and what turned out to be profligate spending in the face of diminished resources. But like Perry, Walker found that experience in office and a record of taking on fights prized by conservatives provided little boost in the face of the appeals of pure outsiders: “I think because there’s frustration, voters have said we’re going to go as far removed from that, which again is why you had not only Trump but at least for a while you had Carly and Carson be a part of this wave of interest out there.” Within a week of the Reagan Library debate, Walker abruptly suspended his campaign. The decision, he said, came down to answering the question of whether he could make changes that would alter the trajectory of his candidacy. “If we can’t change so that we get more attention, then we don’t have a pathway to the nomination,” he said. When Walker announced his suspension on Sept. 21, he said, “I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field in this race so that a positive, conservative message can rise to the top of the field. . . . I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same.” None of the other candidates heeded Walker’s advice. AUTUMN GAVE RISE On the campaign trail, Bush was zeroing in on Rubio’s voting record, noting that he had missed more votes than


A British exit could be just the start of Europe’s unraveling in 2016

icy depths of the North Sea. And the United Kingdom itself could fall apart if Britain chooses to leave, with pro-E.U. Scotland likely to revive its demand for independence. But all of that may not be enough to outweigh the anxieties of British voters who gaze across the English Channel and see nothing but trouble. As Europe’s crises have multiplied over the past year, the once-overwhelming share of British voters who favor staying inside the E.U. has dwindled — with some polls showing the contest dead-even. And the “out” campaign has room to grow if Europe’s problems persist, as most analysts expect they will. “Given that by any objective measure the E.U. is in a terrible mess, I’m shocked that the ‘in’ campaign is still getting half,” said Charles Grant, director of the London-based Center for European Reform. Grant said he wants to see Britain remain part of the E.U., but he is pessimistic that it will. Fears about immigration explain why. “It’s always quite easy to scare people,” Grant said. “If the British vote to leave the E.U., it will be because of worries about migration and refugees.” Britain has largely insulated itself from the historic exodus of millions of people fleeing the war zones that ring Europe. It has opted out of an E.U.-wide refugee-relocation program and has used the 19 miles of water that separate this nation from the European mainland as a barrier to those who try to make it here on their own. But anti-E.U. campaigners have conflated the refugee issue with a record level of net-migration to Britain, much of which is fueled by European citizens moving here for economic reasons. Under the E.U.’s free-movement principle, Britain can’t stop them, prompting “out” advocates to argue that the country has lost control of its borders and can only get it back by ditching the E.U. The more that Europe has struggled with its management of refugee flows — and with other thorny problems, including terrorism and debt — the more confident anti-E.U. advocates have become that they will prevail. “The momentum is on our side,” said Nigel Farage, leader of the U.K. Independence Party and the country’s most prominent E.U. opponent. “For those of us who believe in nation-state democracy, 2016 is a very bright dawn indeed.” A British vote to leave, Farage proclaimed in a December speech on the floor of the European Parliament,


National Symphony Orchestra names rising star Gianandrea Noseda as music director

of artistry and recognition. Teatro Regio made its first North American tour in 2014; critics in New York and Chicago counted its performances of Rossini’s “William Tell” as a highlight of the year. He has worked well with the NSO, an orchestra he first conducted in 2011, and to which he returned in November. “I found a fantastic attitude. . . . I felt very naturally committed with them, in a normal sort of way,” Noseda said Saturday in a hotel lobby in New York. “What really impressed me is the development we got together, from the first rehearsal to the first concert, and how much the quality was increasing in the next two performances.” He added, “You see in the eyes of the players, the wish. ‘We can do it, we have just to be asked to do it, we want to deliver.’ ” Deborah Rutter, the Kennedy Center’s president, said, “I knew he was a great musician and a really generous, warm man. I didn’t know what the chemistry would be like.” After the first rehearsals, she said, speaking by phone Sunday evening, “people were calling me saying, ‘The musicians are going crazy down here.’ We didn’t want to miss out on anything. We wanted to strike while the iron was hot.” The swift move may be perceived as a victory for Rutter, who arrived in Washington in 2014 bearing the weight of high expectations for the music director search based on her track record of securing Riccardo Muti as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when she was that orchestra’s president. Noseda doesn’t yet have Muti’s stature, but he is also an Italian conductor with a significant international career who specializes in both orchestral conducting and opera. The search committee included NSO musicians, board members and members of the administration, and Rutter was only one voice at the table. “This has been a group process,” she said. And the committee, which began convening a few weeks after February’s announcement that Christoph Eschenbach would not extend his contract as music director beyond 2017, identified Noseda as a person of interest early on, without, participants say, more input from Rutter than anyone else. “All along the way,” says Matthew Guilford, the NSO’s bass trombonist and the head of the five orchestra musicians on the search committee, “he was in the highest ranks of the people we were possibly


‘The Kindness of Enemies’ explores the deep roots of the war on terror

weapon once belonged to the real-life Muslim leader Imam Shamil, who fought against the Russians in the Caucasian War, a conflict that dragged on for decades in the mid-19th century. “Allah was inscribed on the blade in gold,” Natasha notices. “I put my thumb on the crossbar — long ago Imam Shamil’s hand had gripped this.” Leila Aboulela’s previous three novels were long-listed for the Orange Prize (now the Baileys Women’s Prize). (Ahmed-naji Mahjoub) Aside from its spiritual aura, this antique is relevant to Natasha’s research on the types of weapons used in jihad, a subject that sparks a compelling debate with Malak and her son, who is one of Natasha’s students. That conversation, extended by a snowstorm that keeps Natasha from leaving, displays the anxiety Muslims feel when they’re indiscriminately tarred with suspicion. Why should the faithful in London, New York or Paris be expected to denounce the agenda and atrocities of criminals who have no relation to them? Malak’s son, Osama — who, for obvious reasons, goes by Oz — chafes at this expectation, this gelding of his religious passion. “Limiting jihad to an internal struggle has become a bandwagon for every pacifist Muslim to climb on,” Oz complains. “Jihad is not something we should be ashamed of,” he insists before taking Shamil’s antique sword outside and chopping the heads off snowmen. “The Kindness of Enemies” was published in the U.K. last summer, but it has grown no less pertinent in the intervening bloody months. It’s a rich, multilayered story, a whole syllabus of compelling topics. As a novelist, Aboulela moves confidently between dramatizing urgent, contemporary issues and providing her audience with sufficient background to follow these discussions about the changing meaning of jihad, the history of Sufism and the racial politics of the war on terror. But this novel is not merely a collection of pertinent debate subjects. Almost as soon as Natasha leaves Malak’s home, she’s beset by a swarm of troubles: Her academic career is threatened by a bizarre harassment charge; her ethics are stretched by a terrorism investigation; her equilibrium is upset by an antiabortion intimidation campaign. And then her apartment is ransacked; her estranged father in Sudan falls dangerously ill; and her stepmother sues her. Clearly, the plot is designed to put stress on Natasha, to drive her deep into herself and her half-Russian, half-Sudanese heritage. But this quick succession of trials begins


How would we pay for greater U.S. military force?

A drone used as part of the campaign against al-Qaeda. (Courtesy U.S. Air Force/Reuters) David Ignatius’s Jan. 1 op-ed, “Military tests for the next president,” was a sobering reminder of the gap between rhetoric and reality when it comes to using U.S. military power. However, Mr. Ignatius missed a key issue that few of our bellicose presidential candidates and columnists have addressed: How do we pay for all the military force they want to throw at various problems around the globe? There are times when the use of U.S. military power is essential, and defeating the Islamic State is an example of where diplomacy and coalition-building need to be supported with force. In other situations , such as dealing with China and Russia, sustained and persistent diplomacy, not force, is required. When the United States deploys its military abroad, it must pay for it; we can no longer afford to finance overseas military operations with deficit spending, budget gimmicks or shifting funds from vital domestic needs such as education, infrastructure and mitigating the national impact of climate change. Political candidates and many of Mr. Ignatius’s columnist colleagues seek to show their toughness by calling for a more robust military response to issues ranging from the Middle East and Russia to China. But until they detail what taxes they would raise to pay for their proposals, we should judge their calls for what they are: political grandstanding that is a recipe for bankrupting the United States at home and undermining its influence aboard. Kenneth C. Brill, Bethesda


Gilbert Kaplan, millionaire businessman and self-taught maestro of Mahler, dies at 74

pleasure it is to meet a man from Wall Street with whom I talk about music,” Mr. Kaplan recalled Solti remarking, “because when I meet my colleagues all I talk about is money.” In 1982, after a series of rehearsals, Mr. Kaplan hired the American Symphony Orchestra to present the Second Symphony under his baton at Lincoln Center. Estimates of the price tag of the affair, an invitation-only celebration of the 15th anniversary of Institutional Investor, reached $100,000. The orchestra, evidently skeptical of Mr. Kaplan’s abilities, placed two conditions on the performance: no tickets would be sold to the public, and there would be no media reviews. Even Mr. Kaplan seemed to harbor doubts about his preparedness. If the performance derailed, he planned to pivot on the podium and tell his audience, “Ladies and gentlemen, dinner is served.” Despite the ban on reviews, Leighton Kerner, classical music critic for the Village Voice, was in the audience made up mainly of Wall Street celebrities, along with at least one senator and two prime ministers. He declared the interpretation “one of the five or six most profoundly realized Mahler Seconds” in the previous 25 years. Even those attendees not schooled in music seemed to recognize that they had witnessed something remarkable. “I had the feeling,” he told the London Evening Standard, “that people in the audience were urging me to fulfill my dream because each of them had a secret ambition. . . . They were up with me that night, playing baseball for the Yankees, writing the book they never wrote, getting the girl they never got.” Encouraged, perhaps even emboldened, by the evening’s success, Mr. Kaplan went forward with his Mahlerian devotion. In 1984, he purchased from a foundation the original manuscript of the Second Symphony. After rigorously comparing the original with the commonly used version, he claimed to have found 300 errors in the latter and co-edited a new score that won the approval of the International Gustav Mahler Society in Vienna. As word traveled in the music community of Mr. Kaplan’s achievements, he became a sought-after scholar and conductor of Mahler, although, with few exceptions, he limited his conducting appearances to the Resurrection. More than 50 orchestras around the world engaged Mr. Kaplan, among them the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Philharmonic, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the China National Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra of La Scala


An introduction to the 4,000 kinds of bees in the U.S. and Canada

half of the 46 species covered may be in decline. A Colletes bee collecting pollen from a prairie clover. (Joseph Wilson) For many other bee species, their status is murky even to scientists, Carril and Wilson told me, because there is so little historical record of their past presence and abundance. “Nevada, for example,” Wilson said. “It’s probably a very diverse area, but it’s had very little bee research done on it.” So if we are making gardening resolutions in the new year, it might be good to promise ourselves to do more for these lesser-known bees and to pay more attention to them. We can attract them the same way we enrich our gardens for other pollinators and ourselves: with an extravagant floriferous garden that blooms abundantly from March to November. We should make sure that we steer clear of pesticides that can harm bees, and buy only plants that haven’t been treated with systemic neonicotinoids. Carril pointed out that the showiest double-flowered blooms offer reduced levels of nectar and pollen. One of the easiest and most bee-friendly plants is the annual sunflower. Perennial versions are also long-blooming and are high-performing garden plants for summer and fall. Look for varieties of Helianthus angustifolius and H. giganteus. Asters are also great for bees, along with goldenrods. There are many varieties to consider during the current garden-planning period some people call winter. You can build nesting boxes for bumblebees (not always successful) or simple wooden blocks drilled with holes for cavity-dwelling bees. Most usefully, keep a dry corner of your yard free of lawn, thick mulch or ground cloth. A dry-laid stone wall offers perfect nesting spaces. Asked which native bee he likes the most, Wilson said he is captivated by the 600 or so tiny species in the Perdita genus. “They’re small, so that’s interesting, but most are specialists in terms of which plants they visit.” Carril, who lives in Santa Fe but received her doctorate from Southern Illinois University, said she likes the few species of Exomalopsis that have moved north of the Mexican border. With their black-and-white-banded abdomens, they are handsome and archetypal. Her other special bee is the Diadasia, about two dozen species of medium-to-large bees that evolved to feed from mallow blooms but then adapted to also feed from cactus flowers. Her PhD thesis had to do with why they added a second source. Her research


Eagle-eyed kids may spot amazing winged hunters

while owls are nocturnal, meaning they hunt mostly at night. A raptor’s incredible vision and hearing allow it to find prey from a great distance. Kent Knowles, president of the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia, says, “Bird-wise, raptors are the top of the food chain. Without them the rodent population would explode.” A single family of owls eats hundreds of rodents a year. This gray Eastern screech owl lost part of his vision in an accident and now lives at the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia. Red-shouldered hawks are the most common raptors in the Washington area. This one is an educational helper at the Raptor Conservancy. programs and help return injured raptors to the wild. About 80 percent of raptors that come through the conservancy have been injured in run-ins with automobiles, Knowles said. Food and food wrappers tossed from cars or dropped by pedestrians attract mice, which in turn attract raptors, putting the birds near dangerous roads. The Raptor Conservancy rehabilitates more than 200 of these amazing birds each year. Some of the ones that can’t be released become educational helpers, visiting schools and other groups to give people a close-up understanding of these animals. The female bald eagle is larger than her male partner. Eagles nest in winter and can be spotted in Mason Neck State Park in Lorton, Virginia. Spotting raptors Observing raptors in the Washington area is easier if you know what to look for and when to do so. Raptor species are active during different seasons. For example, eagles are building their nests now and are often seen at Mason Neck State Park in Lorton. Ospreys nest along the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay in the spring. Red-shouldered hawks live in the Washington area year-round in woods near swamps. Learn to identify nests. Eagles and ospreys often return to the same nests year after year. Eagle nests are huge — five to six feet wide and about three feet tall, built in trees or on cellphone towers. Ospreys like to build smaller nests on platforms or water navigation signs. Barred owls like cavities in pine and cedar trees. Learn to identify raptors by sound. Knowles said a barred owl’s call sounds like “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you?” If you’re lucky enough to spot a raptor or two, Knowles said, observe them through binoculars and resist the urge to get close. “Enjoy watching them,


Possible kidnappings of Hong Kong booksellers put ‘one country, two systems’ in peril

in Thailand. Then three others associated with the publisher disappeared while visiting the mainland Chinese cities of Dongguan and Shenzhen. Most recently, Lee Bo, a business partner of Mr. Gui, disappeared on Dec. 30; according to Mr. Lee’s wife, he was lured to a Hong Kong warehouse where the publisher stores its books and did not return. So far, there is no solid information about what happened to the five. But all signs point to Chinese state security officers kidnapping and detaining them. Some of those who disappeared have made brief and furtive phone calls to family members, never saying where they are or why they disappeared. If the suspicions are true, then the case of the Hong Kong booksellers marks another chapter in China’s brazen campaign to silence critics where they live — anywhere. Hong Kong, a former British colony, was turned over to China in 1997 with an explicit promise that it could preserve its cherished freedoms under the principle of “one country, two systems,” meaning that China’s rulers, who tolerate little dissent at home, would not interfere with its freewheeling capitalism or democracy. If security thugs from the party-state in Beijing are now snatching Hong Kong booksellers who publish critical words about China’s leaders, then the pledge of 1997 is in tatters. The case of the missing booksellers seems to be another bell tolling for Hong Kong’s freedoms and autonomy. Just as ominous is the specter of the Chinese state abducting people abroad, such as the disappearance of Mr. Gui in Thailand. We have expressed alarm previously about China’s aggressive snatching of dissidents and their families overseas, including the kidnapping of Wang Bingzhang, a democracy activist who was abducted while on a trip to Vietnam in 2002 and then sentenced to life in prison in China. In October, China reached across the border into Burma to nab the fleeing 16-year-old son of human rights lawyers who were detained in July. It’s one thing to have patience with China on the complex issues of trade and maritime conflict. But there can be no patience with this behavior, in which China’s ugly quest for total control is being imposed far beyond the mainland. Read more about this topic: The Post’s View: Miss Kowtow 2015 Jerome A. Cohen: The insecurity underpinning Xi Jinping’s repression Fred Hiatt: The cracks in China’s crackdown The Post’s View: China exports repression beyond its borders


Bad Saint review: Not skipping a beat after its national fanfare

The following review appears in The Washington Post’s 2016 Fall Dining Guide as No. 3 on Tom’s Top 10. Waiting in line for a great meal has become common in D.C. where diners can wait hours before being seated at Bad Saint, Rose's Luxury or Little Serow. Washington's dining scene has gained national attention because of these restaurants and places like Pineapple & Pearls. 3. Bad Saint Ordering is the easy part. Getting a foot in the door of the hottest Filipino restaurant in the country? That’s where you need some help with this 24-seat shoe box. If hiring someone to stand in line for you goes against your grain (or budget), try showing up as early as 3:30 in the afternoon for a crack at the initial 5:30 p.m. seating. Also, keep in mind that if you show up 30 minutes or so before closing, there’s a chance a seat might be free, or close to it. The national attention lavished on Bad Saint appears only to have pushed the team harder to impress us. The food these days is even better than when the joint, personalized with family photos, opened to raves last year. The most arresting salad in town is a downy tower of raw shaved coconut, julienned snow peas, purple cabbage and edible flowers, invigorated with a lime leaf dressing. Some of the area’s best goat is here, too, trumpeting lemon grass and chilies in a braise that’s stained black with charred coconut. And I love the new accompaniment to a bowl of clams and sausage swimming in house-made XO sauce: fried Chinese doughnuts for sopping up the gravy. “I like people to be able to pick up food with their hands,” explains co-owner Genevieve Villamora, the smile at the door. Yes, ma’am! 3 1/2 stars Bad Saint: Prices: Sound check: The Top 10: No. 10 Komi No. 9 Rasika No. 8 Little Serow No. 7 Inn at Little Washington No. 6 Minibar No. 5 Convivial No. 4 Kinship No. 3 Bad Saint No. 2 Pineapple and Pearls No. 1 All-Purpose The most arresting salad in town is a downy tower of raw shaved coconut, julienned snow peas, purple cabbage and edible flowers. (Goran Kosanovic/For The Washington Posr) -- The following review appeared in The Washington Post’s 2016 Spring Dining Guide as No. 4 on a list of the year’s 10 best new restaurants. Bad news


Prince George’s County news in brief

Parks department to begin deer management program Prince George’s County Parks and Recreation is alerting residents of upcoming nighttime sharpshooting activities at county parks to help reduce the local deer population. Specially trained Maryland-National Capital Park Police officers will hold shooting exercises from sunset to sunrise Jan. 11 to 14 and 25 to 28 and Feb. 8 to 11 at Enterprise Golf Course in Mitchellville; Henson Creek Golf Course in Fort Washington; and Henson Creek Stream Valley Park in Fort Washington. Officials say the deer population reductions are needed to address the problems associated with too many deer, such as forest ecology degradation, deer-vehicle collisions, concerns about Lyme disease, landscape and property damage, agriculture damage, and poor herd health. All harvested deer will be donated to local food banks. For information about the program, email deermanagement@pgparks.com or visit pgparks.com. Stop the Violence march scheduled for King holiday Global Developmental Services for Youth and Prince George’s County leaders will gather Jan. 18 at 8:30 a.m. for the Stop the Violence March and Forum to celebrate the life, accomplishments and dreams of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Organizers say the march has a three-pronged approach: to enlighten residents about the impact of violence; to educate the public on available resources and ways to identify violent tendencies; and to empower people through workshops, seminars and classes. “The march intends to send a strong message that we want the violence to stop in Prince George’s County,” Seat Pleasant Mayor Eugene W. Grant, who is leading the march, said in a statement. For information, visit pgcstv.org. Maryland Horse Industry Board seeks nominees Maryland residents with experience with horses are invited to apply for three open positions with the Maryland Horse Industry Board. The open positions represent licensed veterinarians, the general public and the Maryland Horse Council. To qualify, applicants must have experience in the field they are representing. Part of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, the board monitors the state’s equine industry. Responsibilities include licensing; inspection and enforcement of commercial lessons; boarding, rental and rescue horse establishments; and promotion of the development and uses of horses in the state. Board members serve four-year terms and are appointed by the governor. Members must attend at least 50 percent of the board’s meetings, held second Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon at various locations throughout the state. To apply, visit mda.maryland.gov or contact Ross Peddicord at


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. Bruising question: Big dog vs. small dog: Adoptable cats at no-kill shelter: Gaithersburg Adopt dogs and cats at MCHS no-kill rescue: Rockville Reduced fees for cat adoption: Germantown — Compiled by Lisa M. Bolton


D.C. news in brief

Bowser announces initiatives to build D.C. tree canopy The administration of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) recently announced the launch of two initiatives aimed at expanding the District’s tree canopy and meeting the goal of a 40 percent healthy tree canopy by 2032. Canopy 3,000, a public-private partnership, plans to plant 3,000 trees in the District this year. The D.C. government will contribute $400,000 for more than 1,300 trees. The National Park Service, which controls nearly 16 percent of the land in the city, will also plant 1,000 trees this year to commemorate its 100th anniversary. Other partnership members include the U.S. Forest Service, American University, the American Society of Landscape Architects, the nonprofit groups Casey Trees and Washington Parks and People, global consulting firm AECOM, and the D.C. Baptist Convention. An Urban Forestry Advisory Committee has also been established to educate residents and businesses on the benefits of trees and provide an opportunity for government officials, utilities and arbor experts to exchange ideas and best practices. For information, go to doee.dc.gov/trees. D.C. Taxicab Commission donates retired vehicles Last month, the D.C. Taxicab Commission helped donate 10 retired taxis with wheelchair lifts to nonprofit organizations through an ongoing program to donate older vehicles to charities. Local nonprofit groups or donors can register with DCTC to be included in the program. To apply, they must provide confirmation of their IRS 501(c)(3) status and a brief narrative explaining how they will use the donated vehicle. Cab owners, who must often replace older vehicles under DCTC regulations, can receive a tax benefit by making a cab donation. To register, go to dctaxi.dc.gov. Human rights office seminar on fair housing laws is Jan. 25 The D.C. Office on Human Rights is having a free training session on the District’s fair housing laws from 10 a.m. to noon Jan. 25 at the Old Council Chambers, One Judiciary Square, 441 Fourth St. NW. The laws protect 18 classes of people from discrimination. Topics will include discrimination against the disabled, racial minorities, victims of domestic violence and recipients of government subsidies. To register, go to bit.ly/1kGerHJ by Friday. For information, email teresa.rainey@dc.gov or call 202-727-5343. — Compiled by Terence McArdle


Sweetgreen to move headquarters to L.A.

The company plans to keep its office in Northwest Washington and said it will not be laying off employees as a result of the move. “We’re taking the company to the next level, from a regional company to a national one,” said co-founder Nicolas Jammet, 30. “California is the key to our future growth.” The Los Angeles office is slated to open in February with 30 employees. The District office is set to shrink to 15 employees from the current 45. The move comes less than a year after Sweetgreen opened its first West Coast eatery in Los Angeles. Since then, it has opened two more outposts in California, and has plans to use its new headquarters as a jumping off point to open more restaurants in the region. The salad chain will keep its offices in Washington and New York. (Jeffrey MacMillan/The Washington Post) “We are not going to be a company with one mega-spaceship headquarters,” Jammet said. “The goal is to spread our leadership so we can be as close to the community and our customers as possible.” The company, which has become a darling among investors, has raised $95 million in venture capital funding to date. Its most recent round of funding brought in $35 million from T. Rowe Price in July. Earlier investors include Revolution Growth, the D.C. venture capital fund, and financial backers such as Gary Hirshberg, the founder and chairman of Stonyfield Farm; Scott Belsky, co-founder of online portfolio company Behance; and restaurateurs Danny Meyer and Daniel Boulud. Jammet said he and his co-founders will continue to travel between Los Angeles, New York and the District on a weekly basis. “The idea is to spread leadership around,” he said. “Our decision-making doesn’t necessarily happen nationally. We make decisions community by community.” Jammet and his co-founders, Jonathan Neman and Nathaniel Ru, opened the first Sweetgreen in August 2007, three months after graduating from Georgetown University. They were armed with $300,000 in funding from investors and used recipes they perfected in their dorm rooms. The company has grown to 39 locations, including 20 in the Washington area. It also has a corporate office in New York with 10 employees, who will be unaffected by the move. “We know that our success in California is the key to our growth nationally, just like being in D.C. all these years helped us unlock the East Coast,” Jammet said.


D.C. community calendar, Jan. 7-14, 2016

Thursday, Jan. 7 Memorials of the Reflecting Pool Middle East: How we got to where we are Washington Cathedral behind the scenes Memorials of the Tidal Basin Cathedral tour: “Jewels of Light” Manga madness Chess for kids “Shear Madness” Dance class “Freedom Just Around the Corner: Black America from Civil War to Civil Rights” Friday, Jan. 8 Conversation Circles Toddler story time Move, Learn, Create Lunchtime conservatory tour Open studio Fridays Art + coffee Flamenco dance class Friday ARTnights: Art and History of Burlesque Lecture William Phillips, 1997 Nobel Prize winner in physics, discusses Einstein, time and light, sponsored by the Philosophical Society of Washington. 8 p.m. Cosmos Club, John Wesley Powell Auditorium, 2170 Florida Ave. NW. 703-370-5282. Free. Saturday, Jan. 9 Used library book sale History, biography, mystery, fantasy, cookbooks, photography, most only $1. Proceeds support library programs. 10 a.m. Southeast Library, 403 Seventh St. SE. southeastlibrary@dc.gov. 202-698-3377. Admission, free. Saturday morning yoga Yoga in Mount Pleasant Family story time Family story time Family story time Trading card meet-up Yoga at Northwest One National Symphony Orchestra “In Your Neighborhood” program Author talk D.C. school lottery: How does it work? What do I need to know? Portrait story days: Alvin Ailey “The Cow” “A Family Affair” Capitol Hill Art League’s 12x12 Show Dance performance National Symphony Orchestra Sunday, Jan. 10 NSO in your neighborhood: From the strings to your ears Join this acoustic tour as a National Symphony Orchestra string quartet plays music in three spaces in the museum, with Andrew Hulva, graduate student of acoustics from Virginia Tech, who helps us understand acoustics and leads us on a journey to discover how a room’s space and building materials are used to promote beautiful sound.11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30-3 p.m. National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. 202-272-2448. Free, registration required. Genius of L’Enfant’s 1791 Federal City Plan A National Park Service ranger leads a walk and discusses the L’Enfant plan for the Mall. 1-3 p.m. Freedom Plaza, Pennsylvania Avenue between 12th and 14th streets NW. Jan Buerger, 202-497-1397. Free. Sunday yoga at the library America InSight: Tours for blind or low-vision visitors NSO in your neighborhood P.A.L. (People Animals Love) dog visit Shaw knitting and crocheting circle Classical piano concert “I’m Going Home” “Zorba the Greek” Dance class Instructor Christina Huertas teaches a beginner hip-hop dance class. 6 p.m. Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage, 2700 F St. NW. 202-467-4600. Free.


Using his mom’s recipes, this Mexican immigrant became the D.C. taco king

businesses before allowed us to move fast, and Osiris was able to make some incredible recipes for us to start with,” Wallace wrote. “We knew quickly out the gate that we were onto something special.” There were bumps along the way. After naming the business and creating a logo that included an outline of D.C.’s geographic boundaries, Hoil and Wallace learned that the District at the time required food carts to stay in a fixed position. Food trucks, which could move, needed licenses that could be hard to get. Frustrated, the pair turned back across the river to Arlington, where the rules were more lenient. Hoil hitched the taco cart to the back of his truck and moved it to a curbside spot in Rosslyn, between a Chipotle and Baja Fresh. Aping his mother’s routine, he made one item a day, sometimes pollo asado, sometimes a mole dish (which didn’t sell well), sometimes burritos. “One guy worked on the 14th floor of one of those buildings, and he would come down every morning to see what I was making,” Hoil said. “He got tired of it and said, ‘Why don’t you put this on Twitter or Facebook?’ I didn’t know what that was — I had a flip phone, not a smartphone.” So Hoil bought an iPhone, and the customer helped him set up social media accounts. District Taco now has 8,000 Twitter followers, 4,500 Facebook friends and 900-plus followers on Instagram. The chain doesn’t use traditional advertising. The first restaurant launched on Arlington’s Lee Highway in 2010, followed by others in Dupont Circle, Eastern Market, Metro Center, Alexandria and Dunn Loring. The Rosslyn store, located on Wilson Boulevard below a new Target Express, officially opens on Friday. Next up are restaurants in Skyline and Tenleytown. Hoil has hired Patriot Contracting, the firm that laid him off, to build the interior of the eateries. While experts warn that rapid expansion can pose a danger to young businesses, Hoil says District Taco’s finances are sound and his commitment to growth is unflagging. “The more I hire, the more efficient we become, the more people we serve,” he said. “The company is profitable . . . and I’m not making all these decisions by myself. I have a team, a board of directors, and the team is critical.” Hoil’s brother, Eric, has moved to Arlington and works as the company’s quality assurance


D.C. police make arrest in fatal shooting in Northeast

neighborhood of Langston-Carver, according to a department statement. Kimberly Thompson, 58, of Northeast was charged with first-degree murder while armed. He was arrested on a warrant Tuesday. Police said Thompson shot Charles Mayo, 53, the afternoon of Dec. 10 in the 1900 block of Bennett Place NE. Mayo died Dec. 17. An arrest affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court says Thompson and Mayo knew each other and the alleged shooter was angry about a dice game played in front of his sister’s house. Days before Mayo was shot, the affidavit says, Thompson fired shots in the air to break up the gambling game. — Peter Hermann Red pandas have returned to the zoo The rather implausibly exciting lives of the District’s red pandas are starting a new chapter, and this one will be in D.C. The National Zoo announced that after a two-year hiatus, two new red pandas have moved to its main zoo in Woodley Park. Red pandas made headlines in 2013 after one named Rusty captivated the Twittersphere when he escaped from the National Zoo. Police got involved, and it seemed the whole city was searching for him. Hours later, he was found in Adams Morgan and returned to the zoo. But in January 2014, he was moved to a Smithsonian facility in Front Royal, Va., so he could mate with a fellow local red panda. Since 2014, no red pandas have been at the National Zoo. The two new red pandas, both 1, are Tusa, a male, and Asa, a female. Visitors can see them in the Small Mammal House before they move to the red panda exhibit in the spring. — Julie Zauzmer VIRGINIA Army investigator criminally charged The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command said Thursday that it is looking into an incident involving one of its employees, who local police said went on a rampage in Fairfax County in which he allegedly exposed himself to a woman, demanded that his bill be lowered and pulled out a gun. The episode happened Dec. 22 at a restaurant in the Fort Belvoir area, according to Fairfax police. Authorities said Curtiss Davis, of Stafford, Va., went to a restaurant and began causing trouble. He was charged with two counts of abduction and other counts. Chris Grey, a spokesman for the command, said that Davis has been suspended with pay from his job’s law enforcement duties. — Dana Hedgpeth


Treasury Department renames building for post-Civil War black bank

thing that’s been most difficult for us is to desegregate the money,’’ Young said. “ . . . To desegregate, to get the right to vote in a democracy, and not have access to capital is to only be halfway free. And we’ve always known that.” Young spoke at a ceremony Thursday along with Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, who announced that the Treasury Department would rename its annex to honor the Freedman’s Bank. The annex, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the Treasury building, was built on the site of the old bank during World War I . “To commemorate that legacy and to renew our commitment to the promise of financial inclusion and the opportunity of a better life, we’re naming the Treasury Annex Building the Freedman’s Bank Building,” Lew said. “This is a challenge that we still face today, and it’s a commitment that we need to renew today,” Lew added. “Many Americans, especially low-income and minority families, have little or no access to the financial system.” He spoke of the extra difficulty that people who have limited access to the banking system encounter when it comes to saving their earnings, obtaining a mortgage or getting a business loan, and the Treasury Department’s programs to help. Alden J. McDonald Jr., president of New Orleans-based Liberty Bank and Trust, also tied the history of the Freedman’s Bank to that of the more successful black-owned banks that came in the following century. McDonald said he has worked in banking for 50 years, including becoming in 1967 the first black banking officer in Louisiana. “The tradition of inclusive prosperity has had its starts and stops in the history of our country. The establishment of the Freedman’s Bank following the Civil War is one of the most inspiring efforts aimed at developing a stable middle class and reducing the disparity between rich and poor Americans,” McDonald said. Lew said he hopes that 150-year-old idea will continue to inspire visitors to Washington. Perhaps, he said, families walking down Pennsylvania Avenue on their way to visit the White House will see the new sign on the Treasury Annex Building and will pull out their smartphones to look up the story of the Freedman’s Bank. Related reading: A shattered foundation: Wealth of black families in Prince George’s has vanished Wealth inequality is even worse than income inequality Wealthy African American investors are far more conservative than whites


Coyote sightings in Prince William County, authorities say

A coyote, not the same recently spotted in the Manassas area, keeps pace with a car in this file photo. (KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images) Look out! Wile E. Coyote has been seen in Prince William County. Authorities there are warning residents to be on the lookout after there have been some recent reports of coyote sightings in the Manassas area. Many of the sightings, police and wildlife officials said have been reported in the area bound by South Grant Avenue, Old Dominion Drive, Lake Jackson Drive, Prince William Parkway and Manassas City. “As human populations continue to rise and move into traditional wildlife habitats, human/wildlife contact becomes more prevalent,” said a statement from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The agency said coyote sightings are not unusual and they’ve had many reported in the past few years in that area. [Coywolves, coyote-wolf hybrids are prowling Rock Creek Park and D.C. suburbs] They also warned that the next two months are the breeding season for coyotes and unpaired coyotes are likely to move as they search for a mate. Most coyotes come out at night but they have been seen during the day and can be attracted to food or areas under porches, decks or crawl spaces to make a den, officials said. Authorities recommended that “the best way to prevent them from becoming a problem is to not give them a reason to take up residence in your community.” They gave several other suggestions, including keeping trash inside until the day of pick-up and not leaving pet food outside. Residents who have a problem with a coyote are encouraged to call the game and inland fisheries division at 855-571-9003.


‘A very not normal life’: Gianandrea Noseda, the NSO’s next music director

unswerving; Washington might look for Gergiev to guest conduct, or perhaps for a performance or two by soprano Anna Netrebko, who has appeared with him at a number of his notable debuts — including this summer’s “Trovatore” at the Salzburg Festival, in Austria — and recorded several of her solo albums with him. The violinists Leonidas Kavakos and James Ehnes are frequent collaborators with him. Noseda also, incidentally, used to conduct ballet in his Mariinsky days. Flexibility is one of his strengths. But for him, orchestras come first. “I am not an opera conductor,” he says, rather disingenuously, given that he’s one of the most sought-after opera conductors today. “In my house, my father, who was an amateur musician, a choral director, he always got recordings of symphonies for me. I got close to the opera much later.” “Much later” turns out to mean age 13, when he heard Carlos Kleiber conduct “Otello” in a live broadcast from La Scala, in Milan, and was hooked. He’s also a realist. He knows that the NSO isn’t viewed as one of America’s leading orchestras, although his excitement at the possibilities offered by the orchestra’s talent and the resources of the Kennedy Center are palpable. He knows the Kennedy Center Concert Hall doesn’t have great acoustics. “But actually when I conducted there two years ago, with the Israel Philharmonic,” he says, “I didn’t feel the same way I felt in 2011, [about the] acoustics. I thought, ‘Oh, I remember much drier, less helpful and friendly acoustics.’ And also this time, [in November], I have to say I was not negatively shocked.” He then cites other orchestras, such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra, which have surmounted challenging acoustics and had wonderful results. And he knows that some of the problems of the NSO are shared by the orchestra world at large. “This is the biggest challenge we have to face,” he says. “Just how to make an orchestra be part of the society in the 21st century. Continue to deliver the highest possible quality, and yet to be seen as a modern part of a normal life, and not just something connected with the golden age of the past. Everybody is facing that. Who will find the solution will be the winner.” “That’s why I’m desperate to find that myself,” he adds, “just to see what others are doing, just


Hunters caught with help of undercover operative: Robo-Deer

A Robo-Deer (Courtesy of Maryland Natural Resources Police) Two hunters in Maryland took aim at a protected deer, but found themselves ensnared in a trap. The men were on state property in St. Mary’s County when they found that the deer wasn’t a living creature, but a robot meant to trick poachers. Maryland Natural Resources Police have three animals — Robo-Deer, Robo-Bear and Robo-Turkey, spokeswoman Candy Thomson said. “We have an entire menagerie,” she said. “It helps us stop people who shoot real animals out of season or illegally.” Officers put the mechanical dummies out when they get reports of poaching, usually from neighbors who see lights at night in the woods or hear shots in a field, Thomson said. Among Robo-Deer’s latest catches: hunters David James Few, 21, of Taneytown, Md., and Brian Kelley Stitely, 24, of Fairfield, Pa. Natural Resources Police said the two men directed flashlights at Robo-Deer and then shot the dummy with crossbows from a road in Leonardtown around 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 23. Stitely was reloading his bow when police officers walked up to the men in their truck. The officers found two crossbows, two flashlights, 4.2 grams of marijuana and a glass pipe in the truck. On Thursday, according to Natural Resources Police, a district judge in St. Mary’s County dropped most of the charges against the men — having a loaded weapon in a vehicle, hunting from a vehicle, shooting from a roadway and possessing marijuana. The men pleaded guilty to one charge each, of spotlighting the deer. Thomson said that Maryland forbids hunters on state lands from shining lights at deer. As anyone who has ever heard the expression “like a deer in headlights” knows, the lights cause a deer to stand stock-still and thus make the animal an easier target. Few was sentenced to 30 days in prison, which will be suspended as long as he completes two years of probation. He was barred from hunting for two years. Stitely, who, according to Natural Resources Police, has already been arrested for deer poaching in Maryland and in Pennsylvania, also got a 30-day suspended sentence and three years of probation. Stitely was already banned from hunting in 45 states until the end of 2018. The judge extended that until the end of 2023, Natural Resources Police said. As for the dummy that the men shot, Thomson wrote in a news release,


Ask Amy: Monumental loss causes man to question profession

to heal. Dear Amy: I am a 60-year-old divorced woman. My cheating ex-husband gave me herpes. Because of this I have been reluctant to date. I have visited a website for people with similar conditions but didn’t find it acceptable. My question is, at what point in a relationship do you tell a potential partner that you have a sexually transmitted disease? Full of Fear and Loathing Full of Fear and Loathing: The time to disclose this is before you have sex (obviously). If you are dating someone and feel the relationship is headed toward sex, or if you want it to head in that direction, then you should disclose this condition in a plain and straightforward way, making eye contact and with your head held high (practice this, if necessary). If a potential partner can’t cope with the idea of wearing a condom, then he is not the right guy for you. Many people in your demographic are contracting (and spreading) STDs, and there is some likelihood that any potential partner also has an STD. Always use a condom. Don’t let this make you avoid getting to know new people. This situation may lead you to take your time when dating before becoming sexual with someone. Delaying sex in a relationship can help to build intimacy, which is very sexy. Check DatingWithHerpes.org for information and support. Dear Amy: I thought your response to “Looking to Move On” (the young professional who wondered whether to tell her boss that she eventually wanted to move to another job in another location) was spot on. I have hired and supervised many young professionals in a fast-paced digital environment and have noticed that a surprising number have a tendency toward “overtransparency” regarding their work goals. My advice to millennials: Your boss almost certainly knows that you will consider other jobs from time to time. Do not share with him/her every time you apply for another job or think about some new professional direction. You may think you’re being honest, but it will likely come across as immature and unfocused and may make your boss wonder about your commitment to your current job. Been There, Seen It Been There, Seen It: Amy’s column appears seven days a week at www.washingtonpost.com/advice. Write to Amy Dickinson at askamy@tribpub.com or Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611. 2016 by the Chicago Tribune


Ethiopia silences its critics with a deadly crackdown on dissent

have a “direct link with a group that has been collaborating with other proven terrorist parties.” Last month, police arrested Bekele Gerba, deputy chairman of the Oromo Federalist Congress, Oromia’s largest registered political party. The government also has arrested and allegedly beaten Hawi Tezera, an Oromo singer, in connection with her song about the protests. Ethiopian authorities also have begun attempting to silence media covering the demonstrations. According to reports, the government has arrested and charged several journalists, including Getachew Shiferaw, editor in chief of the Negere Ethiopia news site, under the country’s 2009 anti-terrorism legislation. Fikadu Mirkana, of Oromia Radio and TV, has also been arrested. The U.S.-based television channel ESAT, which has been covering the Oromo protests, claimed that the Ethiopian regime jammed one of its broadcasting satellites. Ethiopia has long been celebrated by the United States for its economic growth and its willingness to engage in the battle against the Somali extremist group al-Shabab. Generous U.S. aid has been granted. But the EPRDF regime, which won 100 percent of parlimentary seats in last year’s elections, is not interested in democratic reform or human rights. It continues to clamp down on independent media and censor information. The country remains among Africa’s most prolific jailers of journalists. In statements last month, the Obama administration expressed concern over the clashes in the Oromia region and the arrest of journalists but stopped short of explicitly urging the Ethiopian government to refrain from violently cracking down on protesters. The United States praised Ethiopia for releasing five of the detained Zone 9 bloggers shortly after President Obama’s visit to the country in July. But last month, the government summoned five bloggers back to court after they were cleared of terrorism charges. Government prosecutors are appealing their acquittal. The Obama administration said last month that the “United States has consistently applauded Ethiopia for being a model and a voice for development in Africa.” But as long as Ethiopia’s authoritarian master plan for development includes the suffocation of political opposition, a blatant disregard for human rights and cracking down on media, U.S. praise of the EPRDF regime will continue to undermine its claim to support democracy on the continent. Read more about this topic: The Post’s View: Ethiopia’s stifled press The Post’s View: The United States’ irresponsible praise of Ethiopia’s regime The Post’s View: Mr. Obama’s visit to Ethiopia sends the wrong message on democracy


China is changing, but its love of pandas is everlasting

as “Papa Panda” for his role in overseeing the nation’s black-and-white brood. “There are many highways, hydroelectric power stations being built. They separate the panda’s habitat.” A giant panda looks out from his shelter at the Bifengxia Panda Base in YaÕan, China, on July 7. (Lee Powell/The Washington Post) Estimates put the country’s wild panda population at more than 1,800; a new count has 422 living in captivity. Of course, the animals also play another role — providing the soft (and adorable) diplomatic power wielded by Chinese leaders through panda loans to zoos worldwide. Down another, smoother road in Dujiangyan lies a third panda home, where a familiar and beloved figure, Tai Shan, can be found. He’s the big brother of Bao Bao and Bei Bei back in Washington. The panda became a superstar in 2005 as the first born at the National Zoo to survive and grow up. Then China, owner of all pandas, wanted to take possession of Tai Shan in 2010. Now he is a hefty 30-something, in panda years. In human years, he’s 10. That birthday, on July 9, drew fans for a party. Cake was served. Tai Shan may have a history as a celebrity, but he still gets nervous around strangers, his handler says. When a Washington Post reporter first approached, he turned around, put up his stubby tail and relieved himself. In another part of the Dujiangyan base, two cubs are being fed by keeper Gao Qiang. They are more hungry than nervous — the innocence of youth. It is hard to look away when pandas eat. Or to do anything. Their presence elicits rapt stares and sometimes squeals from humans. By nature’s cruel standards, the animals should be extinct: Making panda babies is tough, and bamboo is what Donald Trump might call a low-energy food that’s terrible. The wilderness of Sichuan province is a dangerous place. But all of that seems irrelevant when you look like a stuffed animal. Back at Chengdu airport (just as in many other parts of China, a new aerodrome is under construction), there is one last panda encounter. At the gate, a seated, smiling cartoon panda gazes from a plastic-covered sign, wishing travelers “Bon Voyage.” Liu Liu contributed to this report. Read more: Bei Bei, the National Zoo’s giant panda cub, snoozes during his media debut Video: Panda fans visit Tai Shan in China Today’s coverage from


Why a food you have never heard of could be key to feeding the world

launch the Pulse Pledge, a website where eaters can vow to eat more pulses and get access to recipes, cooking tips and more. I spoke to Tim McGreevy, a pulse farmer in Washington state and chief executive of the American Pulse Association, about the campaign and about growing, cooking and eating pulses (which are sometimes referred to as “grain legumes”). Edited excerpts of our conversation follow. Let me start with the obvious question: What exactly defines pulses, and how is the term different from other categories we use for legumes and beans? They’re a legume. The legume category is broad. It includes soybeans, it includes peanuts. The category of pulse crops actually is a United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization definition. There are 11 types, but in the United States the primary pulse crops are dry beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas, a little bit of fava beans as well. They’re in their dry form; they’re not fresh. We’re not fresh peas, we’re not fresh green beans, which are terrific products but not pulse products. Pulses are really defined because they have a low oil content compared with the other legumes in the family. Smoky Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post; tableware from Salt & Sundry) So that’s what makes them unlike peanuts. Yes. Soybeans have a very high oil content, and so do peanuts. Pulses really are in their own category in the legume matrix. Legume plants are unique in the plant kingdom because they fix much of their own nitrogen in the soil from the air. The pulse crops in particular are very good at fixing nitrogen. They require none to very little fertilizer to produce a good crop, which is absolutely critical. Why else are they considered such an important food from a global perspective? For the developed world like the United States, where we have problems with weight management, these crops offer super high protein and an excellent source of dietary fiber. These foods will keep you full longer and will help with weight management. From the U.N.’s perspective, these are absolutely critical to food security. People don’t need as much dietary fiber in the developing countries, but they need the protein. In combination with a cereal grain like wheat or rice or corn, these crops are a complete vegetable plant protein, and they’re environmentally sustainable. In the Green Revolution, a


‘The Stargazer’s Sister’ review: What could a woman find in the sky?

(Pantheon) Caroline Herschel, tiny and fierce of will, was born in 1750, moved from her birthplace in Germany to England when she was 22 and worked as assistant, amanuensis and late-night stargazing companion to her beloved elder brother, astronomer William Herschel. She lived for nearly a century, keeping a journal for much of that time and composing numerous letters and two autobiographies. Before she died, she was awarded medals and elected an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society . Look her up, if you want to learn the facts of her remarkable life; some excellent biographies draw on that wealth of documentation. But if you want to get a sense of how her life might have felt, then turn to “The Stargazer’s Sister,” Carrie Brown’s intriguing seventh novel. Wisely, sometimes brilliantly, Brown skips over much of the familiar material, instead training her gaze on the blanks in the record and emphasizing experiences a biographer might scant. In the process, she avoids casting Herschel as a feminist heroine whose contributions were unjustly suppressed. Her Lina (as William called her) is not a historical personage but a sympathetic fictional character. Time in this novel passes as eccentrically as it does in our experience. Although Lina famously discovered eight comets on her own, her years as a “great comet huntress” slip by in a paragraph. Meanwhile, her early childhood in Hanover, when William, nearly 12 years her senior, told her marvelous tales about the creatures who “live on the moon and even on the sun . . . Lunarians, giants with long slender legs and faces calm as lakes,” fills nearly a quarter of the novel. Similarly, her intense and emotionally vivid first years in England, when she and William worked closely together and she was adapting to a new life, filled with marvels, occupy 150 pages. “How strange it seems,” Brown writes, “that it should be her brother who would become the first man in history — in recorded history, at least — to discover a planet, to expand the universe around them as surely as if he had put his shoulder to the ceiling of the sky and pushed against it, heaving it open like a door.” That lovely physical image suggests Brown’s approach, always firmly rooted in the senses. She sketches Lina’s astronomical work lightly, instead showing what drove her toward that work: her responsive nature, her sense of


Pianist Leon Fleisher brings energy, clarity to Prokofiev

Leon Fleisher. (Chris Hartlove) In its centennial year, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra does color about as well as any orchestra around, and conductor Marin Alsop’s programming plays to its strengths. Certainly the Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev, led by Alan Shulman’s flashy “A Laurentian Overture” (dedicated to Tallulah Bankhead), that comprised the Sunday program at Strathmore gave the orchestra a lot of chances to strut its stuff. But it was pianist Leon Fleisher, showing no signs of letting up at age 87, who offered the afternoon’s most interesting music-making. He rolled avidly through the playful opening of Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 4 for left hand with a tap-dancer’s crisp muscularity, still finding room to shape bits of the circular figures as they flew by without distorting the music’s momentum and maintaining a clarity that the orchestra matched beautifully as it echoed the piano. In the lyrical second movement, Fleisher’s glowing sonorities injected a sweetness to wry orchestral textures, and the bright, determined energy of the piano in the martial third movement led to a recap of the opening’s brilliant scramble, but lighter this time and conveying a sense of completion. The Prokofiev concerto and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 3 in A Minor may have been written within five years of each other by Russian composers in exile, but, except for their colorful orchestrations, they could not be more different. Where the Prokofiev bubbles with optimistic humor and energy, the Rachmaninoff seems to wander in search of a center. Its mounting climaxes dissolve, and its recurrent thematic material doesn’t really hold it together. What it does have, however, is gorgeous textures and interesting instrumental combinations, and in these, the BSO reveled. Alsop got the balances just right, outlined the rhythmic structure nicely and made her way through an essentially directionless score with a sense of vision. Reinthaler is a freelance writer.


Uptick in coyote sightings reported across Fairfax County, officials say

This coyote was seen in Fairfax County. (Courtesy Fairfax County Police Department) The number of coyote sightings in Fairfax County has increased in recent months and officials are warning that the predators could pose a threat to small pets, Fairfax County police said Monday. “The sightings are widespread and have been documented in most county parks and many communities,” said Lucy Caldwell, a Fairfax police spokeswoman. Coyotes have been in Northern Virginia for decades, but Caldwell said they are particularly active during January and February as the animals seek mates at the start of breeding season. Since mid-December, residential neighborhoods in Centreville, Springfield and Alexandria have reported sightings, Caldwell said. A coyote was also spotted at a business park in Falls Church in August, and last week one was hit by a car near Riverside Park in Alexandria. Police said coyotes typically feed on small animals, fruits and carrion, but will sometimes attack small dogs and cats they confuse for their natural prey. The animals may view larger dogs as natural competitors. Caldwell said officials have not received reports of coyote attacks on humans or pets with the recent increase in sightings. Still, she warned that residents should take precautions around the animals. Police said small pets should be kept under supervision outdoors or kept inside. Coyote encounters in residential areas often occur because the animals are attracted to food or den sites. Coyotes will often feed on garbage or compost. Police said people should never attempt to feed them. The sightings in Fairfax come after Prince William County officials reported an increase in sightings in the Manassas area.


A lesson from China on the myth of the economic miracle

in the 1980s. Back then, Japanese stock prices and land prices soared, Japanese investors bought high-profile properties including New York City’s Rockefeller Center, and lots of people were sure that Japan’s government-centric system would eclipse the struggling United States’ way-less-centralized system. But the supposed miracle came to a screeching halt at the end of the 1980s, and Japan’s economy sustained several lost decades. I never subscribed to the Japanese Miracle Theory because the numbers for Japanese stocks and real estate seemed to be irrationally high. A colleague and I at my then-employer, Forbes, wrote a 1987 cover story saying that, for which we got plenty of grief. But two years later, we were vindicated. Because of that experience, I never bought into the idea that China could combine a dictatorial government with unbridled free enterprise and supposedly-brilliant central bankers to create a miraculous economic system that would show the United States to be second-rate. My doubts were based on the fact that China’s economic statistics and corporate disclosures were as murky as the air over many of its major cities. And later, by the way, China’s government and central bank tried to prop up stock prices by using public money to buy shares and encouraging ordinary citizens to pour money into the market. That hasn’t exactly worked out, has it? The parallels between the Japanese and Chinese “miracles” are obvious. What isn’t obvious is that one of the things that caused problems in Japan and China could cause serious problems in the U.S.: believing that central bankers, be they at the People’s Bank of China, the Bank of Japan or the U.S. Federal Reserve, are endowed with the wisdom to micromanage large, complex economies. I’ve never worshiped the Fed, but I have tremendous respect for its imaginative efforts from 2007 through 2010 to keep the U.S. economy afloat despite the dysfunction afflicting much of the rest of our national government. But I think it’s clear that keeping interest rates so low for so long will prove to be a bad long-term strategy. So, I think, will the Fed’s decisions to be enormously open in order to avoid surprising financial markets. Even though the Fed has finally started to let interest rates rise, they will doubtless be low by historical standards when the next recession hits. That will make it much harder to stimulate the economy by cutting rates when it


Van Hollen get Sierra Club’s endorsement in Senate race

Hollen in Maryland’s U.S. Senate race, weighing in on a contentious Democratic primary. Van Hollen is competing against Rep. Donna F. Edwards for a seat being vacated by the retirement of Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D). “Chris is a climate champion, an environmental leader and a clean-energy jobs creator,” Sierra Club President Aaron Mair said at a news conference on the bank of the Anacostia River in Bladensburg. “He has shown that he has the fortitude to craft and pass legislation that will combat the climate crisis.” Van Hollen and Edwards have similar records and positions on this issue, and both score highly with environmental groups. Edwards previously served on the board of the League of Conservation Voters and worked on legislation to fund the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Restoration Program. — Rachel Weiner VIRGINIA Two found dead in Loudoun County Authorities in Loudoun County said they found a man and woman dead inside a Leesburg-area home in what they are calling an apparent murder-suicide. The incident happened in the Landsdowne Town Center neighborhood. County sheriff’s deputies were sent to a home in the 19200 block of Winmeade Drive about 9 p.m. Sunday for a report of a suicide. Authorities said they think the incident was “domestic in nature and was contained to the home,” according to a statement. It went on to say that “there is no danger to the community.” The names of the dead were not released. — Dana Hedgpeth Beware: It’s coyote season in Fairfax The number of coyote sightings in Fairfax County has increased in recent months, and county officials are warning that the predators could pose a threat to small pets. “The sightings are widespread and have been documented in most county parks and many communities,” said Lucy Caldwell, a Fairfax police spokeswoman. Coyotes have been in Northern Virginia for decades, but Caldwell said they are particularly active during January and February as they seek mates at the start of breeding season. Since mid-December, sightings have been reported in residential neighborhoods in Centreville, Springfield and Alexandria, Caldwell said. In addition, a coyote was spotted at a business park in Falls Church in August, and another was hit by a car last week near Riverside Park in Alexandria. Police said coyotes typically feed on small animals, fruit and carrion but will sometimes attack small dogs and cats they confuse for their natural prey. — Justin Jouvenal


Got matcha? Five healthy foods that will make their mark on 2016.

seeds — flax came on the scene, and now there are chia and hemp, too (more on hemp in a minute). Seeds are prominently featured in new formulations of energy bars, crackers, cereals and granola; they are available ground into flours and mixed into smoothies; you can buy packages of roasted watermelon seeds (which are delicious!); and more cooks are roasting the seeds from their butternut squash instead of throwing them away. I attribute this new popularity to the fact that seeds are part of almost any eating plan, from vegan to paleo. They are gluten-free, and many people with nut allergies can use them to substitute nuts in recipes. Plus they are a nutritional powerhouse, packed with healthy fat, fiber, essential minerals and protein. Seeds may be small in size, but they are a big deal this year, and probably beyond. Hemp Hemp offers a wealth of nutritional benefits, including healthy fats and high-quality protein. (Istockphoto) Hemp is a seed, but it’s in a class of its own, having a presence in almost every aisle at my local Whole Foods market. Not only can you buy the seeds, called hemp hearts, to sprinkle on cereal or yogurt, or bake into muffins and bars, but shelves are stocked with hemp milk, hemp oil and countless products made with the nutritious seed. Once fringe and even banned from production in the United States because of the plant’s relation to marijuana, hemp is now as common as flax on the labels of granola, cereals and bars. Don’t worry (or should I say, don’t be sorry?)m hemp foods don’t get you high — hemp has only trace amounts of THC — and it is now legal to grow it industrially in many states. Hemp offers a wealth of nutritional benefits, including healthy fats and high-quality protein. My guess is, you’ll be seeing a lot more hemp products down the pike. Sauerkraut Sauerkraut, which is fermented cabbage, naturally contains valuable probiotics. (Istockphoto) Not long ago, the only sauerkraut you could buy in an average grocery store was limp, grayish stuff that came from a can and tasted mostly like vinegar. Now kraut is having a renaissance thanks to our newfound understanding of the health benefits of fermented foods and the good bacteria (probiotics) they supply. Sauerkraut, which is fermented cabbage, naturally contains these valuable probiotics, but the heating process that makes it shelf-stable destroys


IAAF knew of Russia’s doping program since at least 2009, AP report says

the IAAF suspended the country from all sanctioned international competition until further notice, jeopardizing the country’s eligibility to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The open-ended suspension, the IAAF said, will not be lifted unless Russia complies with IAAF recommendations, purges coaches and officials involved in the doping and establishes a “strong anti-doping culture.” Former IAAF President Lamine Diack faces corruption and money laundering charges in France after being implicated in a scheme to blackmail athletes and cover up their positive doping results. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images) A five-person IAAF taskforce has been meeting with Russian officials in Moscow this week, according to the AP, a key step toward getting the federation reinstated and the suspension lifted in time for the Rio Games. However, Tuesday’s report is at least as damning for the IAAF as it is for the Russian federation. As early as 2009, Weiss wrote that the results of blood testing from that year’s world championships “strongly suggest a systematic abuse of blood doping or EPO-related products” on the part of the Russians. EPO, or erythropoietin, is a hormone that controls the production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, the abuse of which has been widespread among endurance athletes. The AP report highlighted two internal notes in which IAAF officials discussed a “rapid and discreet” handling of doping suspensions of more obscure Russian athletes — naming 10 athletes, all of them middle-distance runners, marathoners or race-walkers, as being eligible for that treatment — as well as a willingness to work “in close collaboration” with the Russian track and field federation to hide those suspensions. “These measures concern athletes without titles or major results,” read one briefing note prepared for then-IAAF president Lamine Diack, dated April 10, 2012 — four months before the London Olympics — and marked STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. “Their withdrawal from competition wouldn’t necessarily attract attention.” An IAAF spokesman, Chris Turner, told the AP the proposals were never put into practice. “In 2011 there was a huge influx of suspicious profiles coming through,” Turner told the AP. “. . . There was a need to prioritize, and in particular to expedite those cases which involved potential medal winners ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games. No cases were concealed or suppressed; the IAAF simply tackled them in order of importance.” Every athlete who tested positive, Turner added, “was investigated and has either been sanctioned or is currently


As early as 2009, Weiss wrote that the results of blood testing from that year’s world championships “strongly suggest a systematic abuse of blood doping or EPO-related products” on the part of the Russians. EPO, or erythropoietin, is a hormone that controls the production of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, the abuse of which has been widespread among endurance athletes. The AP report highlighted two internal notes in which IAAF officials discussed a “rapid and discreet” handling of doping suspensions of more obscure Russian athletes — naming 10 athletes, all of them middle-distance runners, marathoners or race-walkers, as being eligible for that treatment — as well as a willingness to work “in close collaboration” with the Russian track and field federation to hide those suspensions. “These measures concern athletes without titles or major results,” read one briefing note prepared for then-IAAF president Lamine Diack, dated April 10, 2012 — four months before the London Olympics — and marked STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. “Their withdrawal from competition wouldn’t necessarily attract attention.” An IAAF spokesman, Chris Turner, told the AP the proposals were never put into practice. “In 2011 there was a huge influx of suspicious profiles coming through,” Turner told the AP. “. . . There was a need to prioritize, and in particular to expedite those cases which involved potential medal winners ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games. No cases were concealed or suppressed; the IAAF simply tackled them in order of importance.” Every athlete who tested positive, Turner added, “was investigated and has either been sanctioned or is currently going through a legal process as part of being sanctioned.” A month after the 2012 Olympics, the AP report said, an internal brief prepared for Diack estimated that 42 percent of tested Russian elite athletes were doping. Diack, who was replaced as the IAAF’s president last year by Britain’s Sebastian Coe, has since been arrested as part of a French police investigation that alleges he was involved in an extortion plot in which money was accepted in exchange for covering up positive doping tests by Russian athletes. Last week, the IAAF gave a life ban to Papa Massata Diack, son of the former IAAF president and a marketing consultant to the organization, as well as Balakhnichev, the former president of the Russian athletics federation, and Alexei Melnikov, the head of Russia’s long-distance running and race-walking program. All were implicated in the extortion case.


On anniversary of deadly Metro smoke incident, 87 passengers file lawsuits

spring. “The NTSB is conducting an investigation to determine the cause,” Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said Tuesday when asked about the lawsuits. “Beyond that, we are unable to comment further on pending or active litigation.” As for financial settlements, Spitz said Metro lowballed the plaintiffs. “We did make efforts to resolve the cases with Metro. We submitted documents to them in the hopes that they would reasonably come to the table. And the response showed that they were not ready to reasonably come to the table. Their offers were so de minimus that they spoke for themselves.” He and Brooks-Rodney said their clients are especially troubled by a lack of information about the chemical composition of the fumes they inhaled. Officials have said that the electrical malfunction generated tremendous heat, causing several types of materials in the tunnel to melt, including cable insulation. The NTSB report is likely to contain specific information about the nature of the smoke. “Over the past year, that’s probably been the hardest part to deal with, and the most frustrating, obviously,” said plaintiff Jonathan Rogers, 32, of the District, who works for the D.C. Department of Transportation. “My health is impacted by breathing the smoke.” Rogers — who administered CPR to Glover as she was dying on the train — joined his fellow litigant Baker at Tuesday’s news conference. But their attorneys told them not to answer reporters’ queries. Instead, the two responded to a few planned questions posed by the lawyers. “A lot of the clients went to doctors after the event,” Rogers said. “All they could really do was sort of general tests to see how we were in the moment. But without knowing anything about what we inhaled, I don’t think they could really tailor their treatment very much.” Transit officials have cited federal rules that prohibit them from disclosing details about the incident before the NTSB investigation is completed. At the news conference, however, Brooks-Rodney excoriated the agency for its silence. “Metro, unfortunately, a year later, has not stepped up to the plate and said to the public that it is responsible for the smoke and fire,” she said. As a lawyer for Metro years ago, would Brooks-Rodney have advised the agency to publicly acknowledge culpability for such an incident while dozens of lawsuits were pending? To that question, she replied, “I try to tell all my clients to be forthright.”


Tai Shan, D.C.’s other star panda: Where is he now?

DUJIANGYAN, CHINA - JULY 9: Tai Shan, a giant panda, waits in his enclosure before a party for his 10th birthday at the Dujiangyan panda base in China on July 9, 2015. The flowers on the door to the right mark the occasion. Tai Shan was born at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington but was sent to China in 2010. (Photo by Lee Powell/The Washington Post) (Lee Powell/The Washington Post) Tai Shan won over Washington as the first panda baby to survive beyond birth at the National Zoo. See his life 10 years later in China. AT DUJIANGYAN PANDA BASE, CHINA A decade ago, Tai Shan became the first panda born at the Smithsonian National Zoo to survive past birth. His arrival ushered in an era of all things panda. Nicknamed “Butterstick” because of his tiny birth size, Tai Shan was a celebrity in a city full of boldface names, working the camera, winning fans. Then, he was gone. His owner, the Chinese government, wanted Tai Shan on its soil. So in February 2010, the tearful goodbyes came, and the panda left on a FedEx plane. Come Saturday, Washington’s newest panda cub will take center stage. Tai Shan’s baby brother, Bei Bei, will make his public debut. Nearly 5 months old, he is a furry ball of cuteness, difficult for even the hardest heart to resist. But, as the District’s panda fanatics will tell you, before there was Bei Bei, there was his oldest sibling. Now 10, Tai Shan is a hulking grown man by panda standards, but he’s still up to his boyish antics. Like young men everywhere, Tai Shan the panda can’t resist being disruptive during a video interview. See what happens in the background. “Yes, I’m talking about you!” Liu Yi, the panda’s handler, said as Tai Shan mugged for the camera from behind metal bars. He has a temper, Liu said. And at times he can be a little timid. That’s when Liu will step in with a pat on the paw and a quick scratch behind an ear. “Tai Shan, don’t be afraid,” she said. Life at this zoolike research base in southwest China has its challenges for Tai Shan. He loves apples, but he’s not allowed to have too many. They’re bad for panda teeth. At Dujiangyan, Tai Shan is one of 30 or so pandas. His “villa,” or enclosure, is like that


How to get rid of the winged things in your grains and flours, once and for all

anything that comes in a box in a glass container with a tight-sealing gasket. Do you have any other suggestions? Arrgh, I hate those little critters! I’ve had to deal with them a few times over the years, but lately — maybe through diligence, maybe through luck — I haven’t seen any. Pantry moths, more officially known as Indian meal moths (and they have a few other common names), get into your stored food through the groceries you bring home. The tiny eggs produce larvae; the larvae spin little threads and eat your food, then crawl out and chill in a cocoon for about a month, emerging as moths. Then the cycle begins again. What do they eat? They particularly like pet food and bird seed, plus breakfast cereal, flour, cornmeal, pasta, rice, grains, nuts, seeds, crackers, raisins and other dried fruit, cocoa, powdered milk, dried soup mixes and more. By cleaning out your pantry, throwing out the infested food and buying the traps, you’ve done very well. The only thing I’d add is that after you remove all the food for a cleanup, it’s a good idea to thoroughly vacuum the area, especially the corners and any cracks and crevices, because that’s where the larvae like to hide and spin their cocoons. (After vacuuming, get the vacuum cleaner bag out of the house!) A good set of containers will ensure that moths don’t get into your pantry food — or, if they’re already in it, will ensure that they don’t get out to infest more. I’m not sure you need to use glass containers; there are less-expensive plastic containers with a tight seal that would be fine. I keep a stash of canning jars that once contained pasta sauce, and I often use those to hold foods that are attractive to moths. Beats going out and spending money on a lot of new containers. Finally, here’s extra insurance for the future: When you bring home flour, cornmeal and similar grain/meal products, stash them in the freezer for four or five days. The moths don’t do well in temperatures lower than 50 degrees, and a long freeze pretty much guarantees that any eggs present will never hatch. If you’re wondering whether ingesting a few eggs or other meal moth byproducts will make you sick, the answer is no. In fact, you’ve almost certainly eaten some without knowing it. So they


Montgomery County news in brief

Movie screening and Alzheimer’s awareness program The Montgomery County Recreation Department’s Senior Team will hold an Alzheimer’s awareness program, including a screening of director Michael Worth’s 2015 romantic drama, “Broken Memories,” on Jan. 25. The movie tells the story of a family caregiver tending to an elderly parent with Alzheimer’s disease. The program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. The event is free, but reservations will be required through the ActiveMontgomery website, course No. 16619. Visit apm.activecommunities.com to register. Limited transportation may be available from the following senior centers (call to make arrangements): Damascus (240-777-6995), Holiday Park (240-777-4999), Long Branch (240-777-6975), Margaret Schweinhaut (240-777-8085) and White Oak (240-777-6944). For information, call 240-777-4925. Student essay contest for African American History Month Gaithersburg’s committees for Multicultural Affairs and Educational Enrichment are sponsoring an essay contest in honor of African American History Month for third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students who attend Gaithersburg elementary schools. Each essay should be about an African American who inspires the student, and must explain why. The person can be a role model in the student’s life, someone famous or someone whom the student aspires to be like. The top three winners will read their essays and receive awards during a reception Feb. 22 at the Bohrer Park Activity Center, 506 S. Frederick Ave. The essays should be typed, double-spaced and from 100 to 300 words, and will be judged on content and originality. The student’s name, grade and school must be included in the heading. Entries must be submitted via email by Jan. 29 to mac@gaithersburgmd.gov, with “MAC Essay Contest 2016” in the subject line. For information, contact Andi Rosati at 301-258-6350, Ext. 128 or arosati@gaithersburgmd.gov, or visit gaithersburgmd.gov. New program seeks to link students to county libraries County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) and other Montgomery officials this week helped launch Library Link at Harmony Hills Elementary School in Silver Spring. The program is part of a nationwide initiative to connect children with library system resources. The link seeks to ensure that all children enrolled in schools can receive a library card, which will enable them to benefit from the resources of the 21 public library branches in the county. For information, call Judy Stiles at 240-777-6507 or Derek Turner at 240-277-9030. — Compiled by Lisa M. Bolton


NTSB’s ‘10 Most Wanted’ list for 2016 underscores need for rail safety

Emergency personnel work at the scene of a deadly train wreck, Wednesday, May 13, 2015, in Philadelphia. The NTSB’s “10 Most Wanted” list for 2016 underscores the need for rail safety. (Patrick Semansky/AP) The risk of a disastrous tank car explosion in a major city and preventing tragedies like last year’s fatal Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia dominated the discussion Wednesday as the National Transportation Safety Board issued its priorities for 2016. The NTSB sent a stern message to Congress and federal regulators about the potential consequences of delays in installing automatic-braking technology to prevent high-speed derailments and in replacing rail tank cars that carry volatile flammable loads. NTSB Chairman Christopher A. Hart invoked the memory of a runaway train that derailed in flames in Lac-Mégantic, Canada, in 2013, killing 47 people and burning down more than 30 buildings. “We’ve been lucky thus far that derailments involving flammable liquids in America have not yet occurred in a populated area,” Hart said. “But an American version of Lac-Mégantic could happen at any time. Instead of happening out in the middle of a wheat field it could happen in the middle of a big city.” He said a federal requirement that railroads replace tank cars with a safer generation of tankers by 2025 was “much too long” to wait. NTSB board member Robert L. Sumwalt, who headed a safety board delegation sent to the Philadelphia Amtrak crash that killed eight and injured more than 200 last May, said a congressional decision to extend the deadline for installing automatic-breaking technology known as Positive Train Control was “very frustrating.” “Every day that PTC is not in place we run the risk of another Amtrak crash,” Sumwalt said, declining to say whether Congress or the railroads deserved most of the blame. “Is it going to take another five years or another three years for it to be implemented? If that’s the case, that’s unacceptable.” Federal Railroad Administration head Sarah Feinberg has made clear she intends to hold the railroads to strict deadlines to expedite PTC installation and get the outmoded DOT 111 tank cars replaced. Ed Greenberg, spokesman for the American Association of Railroads, said PTC is “a full-time focus of the freight rail industry,” which already has spent $6 billion on installation. “But the reality is this technology is not off-the shelf, it had to be developed from scratch and isn’t just about plugging in


Want to see panda cub Bei Bei in person? We have hints from the zoo.

In a photo taken in December, Bei Bei is held by his mother, Mei Xiang. Starting Saturday, you might be able to catch a glimpse of him if you visit the National Zoo’s panda house. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) Now nearly 5 months old, the National Zoo’s newest giant panda is ready to meet the public. Starting Saturday, you can visit Bei Bei (pronounced BAY-BAY) at the National Zoo’s panda house daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cuddly furball has grown from the size of a stick of butter to a little more than 20 pounds, says zoo spokeswoman Devin Murphy. He’s still sleeping a lot, Murphy says, but you may be able to see him play with his mom, Mei Xiang (may-SHONG), if you visit before 10 a.m. or in the early afternoon. “Sometimes she’ll lower her head and he’ll jump on her head, but he hasn’t quite perfected his climbing skills yet.” Just make sure you don’t wait until the end of the day: People might be lined up to see the cub, and Murphy says the zoo will have to limit each visitor to 10 minutes inside the panda house if crowds are too large. Animal keeper Nicole MacCorkle carries Bei Bei to meet reporters at the zoo on December 14. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post) Outside, you can see Bei Bei’s dad and 2-year-old sister if the weather’s not bad. At 1:30, they may even be munching on their favorite treat, “fruitsicles,” which Murphy says are “like ice pops for pandas.” The treats are made of frozen water and apple juice with pieces of apple and pear mixed in, but Bei Bei won’t be able to try them for a while. He’s still nursing, though Murphy says he has started playing with bamboo: “mouthing it,” in zookeeper-speak, and moving it with his paws. “It looks like he’s mimicking Mei Xiang sometimes,” she says. If everything goes according to plan, Bei Bei should be outside later this winter, once temperatures start to rise. He still occasionally sleeps in his den, where you can’t see him in person, but the zoo has “panda cams” set up so you can watch him while you’re exploring the rest of the zoo’s giant panda habitat. — Harrison Smith