almost comically large selection of India pale ales, the beers best known for showcasing the fruity, herbal and piney aromas and flavors of the hop plant, Humulus lupulus. Inspired by some of McGarvey and Coleman’s favorite examples of the style, such as Bell’s Brewery’s Two Hearted Ale and the Alchemist’s Heady Topper, there will be a standard American IPA, a spicy IPA brewed with rye, a higher-alcohol double IPA, an IPA brewed with Belgian yeast and a heavily hopped wheat beer — a close relative of IPAs — in the mold of Three Floyds Brewing’s Gumballhead. The 3 Stars approach contrasts markedly with that adopted by its most similar competitor, DC Brau (not to mention the second production brewery to open in the District, Chocolate City Beer, with its focus on lighter, less hoppy products). Consider this: While DC Brau has released only a few beers that surpass 8 percent alcohol, six of the eight beers listed on the 3 Stars Web site cross that threshold. Greg Jasgur, beer director of Pizzeria Paradiso, says 3 Stars “will definitely fill a niche in the D.C. beer community. I think what they’re trying to do is a little more on the experimental side. There’s definitely room for that.” Three Stars emphasizes flavor enhancers such as pecans, peppercorns and single-origin, cold-brewed coffee, the last of which is sourced from Qualia Coffee in Petworth. The packaging, too, will send a different message. DC Brau uses cans and 22-ounce “bomber” bottles. 3 Stars is available only in kegs, but when the beer hits retail shelves in the coming months, it will appear in 750-milliliter bottles. For now, McGarvey is still trying to perfect his IPA recipes. He recently launched a barrel-aging program, with Pandemic in bourbon barrels and plans for saison in chardonnay barrels. The Takoma Park brew house is configured so he can easily double production by installing four more fermentation tanks. Yet McGarvey and Coleman stressed that quality and consistency are more important than expansion. “I’ve had a billion mediocre meals and beers, and I can’t remember where or what any of them were,” Coleman says. “I can tell you what knocked my socks off, and that is the kind of beer Mike and I want to make.” He adds, “You’re going to remember the first time you had a Pandemic.” Fromson, a freelance writer, lives in Washington. Follow him on Twitter @dfroms.


Respect Usain Bolt; don’t suspect him

“What he did last night was just amazing. If he would have lost, they would have said, ‘He’s probably not what he was on [in Beijing].’ I don’t think that’s the case. I think he’s supersonic.” Said Billy Mills, the U.S. gold medalist at 10,000 meters in 1964: “I don’t think he’s on any kind of performance-enhancing drugs. I just think he’s borderline inhuman. He’s just an incredible athlete.” Mills acknowledged his famous victory in Tokyo, in which an unheralded amateur overtook the world and Olympic champions over the last 100 meters, would have raised eyebrows today. This skeptical environment is a byproduct of busted world-class sprinters Ben Johnson, Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery. This is the can’t-believe-what-we-see world Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative chemist Victor Conte has given us. There are no Billy Millses anymore; we’d want to see the results of his urine test first. Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen dealt with unfair accusations when the 15-year-old broke world records and won gold medals, actually putting up a faster time in the last 50 meters of one of her races than Ryan Lochte did at the end of one of his. Bethesda’s own Katie Ledecky, 15, just missed the 800-meter freestyle world record when she surprisingly won gold last week, prompting another one of those beat-around-the-bush inquiries. Why not just ask, “So, did you use?” At least then the questioner wouldn’t feign compassion for having trashed a kid’s genuine Olympic moment. If it wasn’t before, skepticism is now required at the Games when any athlete in any discipline puts up a time or a performance that is so off the charts it hints of something other than a good coach and a grueling training regimen. Italy’s race-walking champion and three Nigerian women track stars were thrown out before the London Games began because of positive doping tests. Part of the suspicions around Bolt result from different drug-testing standards in the Caribbean. While Jamaica’s team doctor is a member of track’s governing body’s anti-doping commission, Jamaica and other Caribbean islands don’t have an independent anti-doping federation like the United States Anti-Doping Association. Bolt has said that he had been tested four times prior to the Beijing Olympics, and all had tested negative for banned substances. Glen Mills, his coach, is more adamant than anyone the world’s fastest man is clean. “We will test any time, any day, any part of the


Japan Inc. tests a survival strategy: English

Rakuten Inc. Chief Executive Hiroshi Mikitani gives a pep talk in English, the standard language at Rakuten, at a welcoming ceremony for new hires at its headquarters in Tokyo. (Koji Sasahara/AP) Japanese billionaire Hiroshi Mikitani decided two years ago that the employees at his company, Rakuten Inc., should work almost entirely in English. The idea, he said, was a daring and drastic attempt to counter Japan’s shrinking place in the world. “Japanese people think it’s so difficult to speak English,” Mikitani said. “But we need to break the shell.” With the move, which took effect at the beginning of last month, Mikitani turned his e-commerce company — an Amazon competitor — into a test case for corporate Japan’s survival strategy. As Japan’s population declines, all but guaranteeing ever-decreasing domestic business, companies here are grappling with how they should interact with the world and whether they can do it successfully. The country has both a dread of English and an understandable attachment to its own ornate business customs. Those idiosyncrasies made Japan a bewildering but envied powerhouse during its economic boom. They now make Japan a poor match, experts say, for global business. Mikitani took a step few other companies here have dared because, he said, he thought it would help his company expand and thrive. He also wanted to prove a point — that the Japanese, counter to the stereotype, could embrace the risks and embarrassment that come with learning a foreign language. At the time of the 2010 announcement, only about 10 percent of Rakuten’s 6,000 Japanese employees could function in English, according to a case study by the Harvard Business School. Rakuten operated in just two foreign countries — it has since expanded into 10 more — and most of its business came from Japan. Critics argued that Rakuten’s employees, forced to hold meetings and write memos in English, would simply become less articulate, less efficient and far less happy. At times, the two-year transition from Japanese to English — dubbed by the company as “Englishization” — has been as awkward as the term itself. Workers were told they would face demotions if they didn’t reach target test scores, and a handful of employees quit, Mikitani said. Other workers, quoted without the use of their names in the 2011 Harvard case study, saw it as an “exercise in perpetual humiliation” or as a “layoff tool.” Rakuten’s emphasis on


Blowing up Missile Defense Agency leadership

President Obama The move, announced Monday by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, made no mention of the fate of Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly, the current MDA director, who was sharply criticized in a May 2 inspector general’s report for having an abusive management style. We reported July 24 that Syring, the program executive officer for Integrated Warfare Systems, was under consideration for the job. With the Senate in recess until early September, it was not immediately clear whether the White House might put Syring in the directorship on an acting basis. The Pentagon inspector general found that O’Reilly, in the job since November 2008, had bullied and “yelled and screamed at subordinates in both public and private settings,” and had violated Pentagon ethics regulations. “We recommend the Secretary of the Army consider appropriate corrective action with regard to Lt. Gen. O’Reilly,” the three-month-old report concluded. A beeline for the exit Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton But those metaphors became a bit more real Monday when Clinton’s trip to Malawi reportedly ended with a hastened goodbye prompted by a swarm of bees. Local media outlets reported “a mini panic at the international airport after bees thronged the area.” A witness told the Nyasa Times that people “scampered” in all directions to avoid the critters and that Clinton made haste to board the plane to avoid them. But a State Department spokeswoman played down Clinton’s reported brush with the dangerous insects. “No panic or fleeing at all,” spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told Buzzfeed. Just “normal bees.” And our colleague Anne Gearan, who was traveling in the motorcade behind Clinton, confirms that the tales of swarms of killer bees are highly exaggerated. Some bees were on the tarmac, but “no one was ever in any danger,” she assured us. Still, just to be on the safe side, Clinton — who is on an 11-day tour of Africa and stopped in Malawi to meet with the country’s first female president — might want to rethink any bees-with-honey diplomacy. From bad to worse It seems that what happens in the Maryland suburbs doesn’t stay in the Maryland suburbs. A Food and Drug Administration official’s arrest in Laurel on charges of soliciting a prostitute has one watchdog group questioning his work for the agency. Last month, William Maisel, deputy director at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, was arrested on four counts of soliciting a


Jamie Stachowski: a man of character and charcuterie

for less, and he’s willing to push himself to extremes to secure the best. That internal drive is, as you might guess, not limited to a hunt for lunchtime sandwiches. Stachowski is known for pushing, prodding and even yelling at those around him to meet the standards he has set for himself. Some, even his own son, view Stachowski’s drive as sometimes excessive. Or, if they’re honest, perhaps totally over-the-top loopy. Then again, ever since Stachowski quit school to work as a cook more than 30 years ago, that drive has served the chef well and has earned him scores of fans who worship his skill at transforming all forms of meat into mouthwatering charcuterie. The siege mentality, in other words, seems to work for him. It’s as if he’s a wartime general locked in a never-ending battle to extract flavor from unyielding ingredients. Enemies are everywhere. Prisoners are optional. Jamie Stachowski, right, watches as his son Josef slice into a fresh pastrami at their shop in Georgetown. (Bill O'Leary/WASHINGTON POST) Anyone who knows the 49-year-old Stachowski understands where his inner commandant was developed: at Jean-Louis at the Watergate, the restaurant run with an iron fist by Jean-Louis Palladin, the most dominating figure in Washington gastronomy. Born in the Armagnac region of southwestern France, Palladin brought his two Michelin stars, his demanding technique and his temper to Washington. The chef left his mark on the young Stachowski, who started working at Jean-Louis in the early 1980s. Stachowski’s volatile temperament “comes from having exacting standards. [Jamie] learned a lot from French chefs, and that’s how they roll,” says wife Carolyn Stachowski, who met her future spouse while they were both working at Jean-Louis. “When Jean-Louis showed up, you would just stiffen up. He was scary.” Mitch Berliner, a veteran food distributor and Stachowski’s former partner in the MeatCrafters charcuterie business, was a regular diner at Jean-Louis. He knew how small the kitchen was; he also knew that cooks like Stachowski got “their butts kicked from time to time” by Palladin. “I don’t think there was a lot of fooling around in Jean-Louis’ kitchen,” Berliner says. “I think it was very disciplined.” Now it’s Stachowski who metes out the “discipline,” as in his penchant for pointing out another’s ignorance, whether during a casual conversation or at the farmers market, where his charcuterie customers can occasionally draw a sharp retort. Among his favorite


Kathleen Parker: Afghan athlete runs for more than speed

limited only by the horizon. Whether recreational or functional, to run is to escape. Run, Forrest. Run. Such a simple imperative. All God’s creatures run — or get eaten. Or trampled. Or raped. The world’s fastest woman tells a story about being approached by a boy on her way home from school, who said it was time little Fraser-Pryce learned about men’s “gifts.” When she told her mother about the encounter, Mom grabbed a knife and showed the fellow the sharp edge of his fate should he pursue her daughter again. It’s a fair guess Fraser-Pryce could escape a pursuer, but not all women are so swift. And, in some places still, women who run are ridiculed and shunned. How dare they express themselves as strong and free, and faster than the men who would punish them? One such runner stands out in London not because she is faster than most but because she runs at all. Tahmina Kohistani Kohistani, who ran wearing a headdress and clothing that covered her arms and legs, suffered moments of doubt leading up to her qualifying race. What was the point, after all, if back home she was reviled? But she found strength in that place that runners all seem to have — one imagines a tiny, gossamer village in one of the heart’s chambers where elves in silk streamers perform pirouettes to arias, churning out potions of endorphin-infused joy. Kohistani found her focus: “I will continue,” she said. “Someone should respond this way. And someone should take these problems and I am the one who is ready for the problem.” Talk about the travails of destiny. Imagine that by wanting to run, you are essentially instructing the Taliban and its ilk, a primitive, misogynist bunch — armed and dangerous toward women — that they are the bad ones. Imagine that by wanting to run, you are essentially instructing the Taliban and its ilk, a primitive, misogynist bunch — armed and dangerous toward women — that they are the bad ones. Imagine that by wanting to run, you are essentially instructing a primitive, misogynist religion — armed and dangerous toward women — that they, the Taliban and its ilk, are the bad ones. If you are that person, you’d better be able to run, all right, and you’d better be fast. And brave. This is the component missing from most discussions of world-class athletes,


Ethiopians contemplate a nation without Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

over the years. Meles’s health problems — the exact nature of which government officials have declined to disclose — came to public light when he failed to appear for a series of high-profile events, including the opening of the African Union summit in Addis Ababa last month. Early rumors, apparently spread by the nation’s assorted opposition groups, posited that the prime minister had died in an overseas hospital. Government spokesmen quickly assured the country that Meles was alive and, while ill, in need of little more than a short break from his duties, though they have declined to say where he is or when he will return. Meles, the longtime chairman of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, presides over a nation where human rights groups say dissent, even of the peaceful sort, has often been met with a violent governmental response, including the killing of 200 protesters in 2005. Under his rule — which was extended for another five years in 2010 when the incumbent reportedly received 99 percent of the vote in his native Tigray Region and his party and its allies won all but two parliamentary seats — tens of thousands of dissidents have been jailed. So have hundreds of journalists. “He’s like other leaders in Africa; some are better and some are worse, but all of them are addicted to power,” said Tola Benti, a young businessman who would like to see a change in leadership, even though he says it is a bit frightening to imagine what his nation would look like under someone else. Meles, 57, hasn’t exhibited the same ostentatious insatiability for riches and power as many other regional strongmen. Under his rule, religious and press freedoms have been slowly expanded, and a multi-party parliament has been established. Meles also claims to be anticipating his eventual resignation with some relish, telling FT Africa in 2009 that a peaceful transfer of power — which would be a first in Ethiopia’s modern history — “is a precedent that I would almost kill to set.” It was an unnerving contradiction in a nation that suffered grievously under the Communist Derg’s brutal reign that Meles helped to overthrow. At the Red Terror Martyrs’ Memorial Museum in Addis Ababa, curators have filled a room of glass cases full of skulls and assorted bones recovered from the mass graves exhumed after dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam’s ouster in 1991. “Of course,


Gu Kailai murder trial begins, as China's leaders hope for an end to Bo Xilai saga

A combination of two photographs shows British businessman Neil Heywood and Gu Kailai, wife of China's former Chongqing Municipality Communist Party Secretary Bo Xilai. Cold-blooded killer or scapegoat, Gu Kailai remains an enigma as she is tried for murder in a case that has shaken the ruling Communist Party and placed its secretive world of political privilege under intense scrutiny. (Reuters) HEFEI, China — The six-month saga surrounding Bo and his wife — including lurid allegations of corruption, murder and intrigue involving senior members of the Communist Party’s “red aristocracy” — opened a rare window onto the normally secret world of China’s elite politics. Now, with a leadership transition pending this fall, all evidence suggests the party wants the Bo affair settled, and quickly, so it can repair the damage and move on. The much-anticipated trial opened Thursday under tight security at the intermediate court in Hefei, the capital of Anhui province. Police barricaded the street leading to the courthouse, turning back all cars and buses. And the courthouse itself was ringed by police standing every few feet, and shoulder to shoulder up the main steps. A throng of journalists and onlookers was kept outside in a driving rainstorm. Around 9 a.m., two apparent supporters of Bo were quickly hustled away by police when they began shouting slogans. Gu and a household aide, Zhang Xiaojun, have been charged with murder in the poisoning death of a British businessman, Neil Heywood, with whom Gu allegedly had a business dispute. Bo has not been charged with any crime but was removed from all his party posts in the spring for unspecified “discipline violations.” Gu’s conviction is considered a foregone conclusion in China, where the police, courts and prosecutors operate under the party’s tight control and largely according to script. But the evidence presented in court, any witnesses allowed to speak and the severity of the eventual sentence that Gu receives will all signal how the party intends to handle Bo. Bo, the charismatic son of a Mao-era revolutionary hero, is still thought to command a following in China, particularly among the “new leftists” disenchanted with the country’s growing income disparity and the loss of socialist ideals. Some analysts say that the party’s senior leaders, who are meeting now for their annual summer retreat at the Beidaihe seaside resort, remain deeply divided over what punishment Bo should face. On the one hand, observers


Where astronomy’s appeal might wane, D.C. planetarium keeps interests alight

It’s been barely a year since NASA called an end to its nearly three-decade-long space shuttle program, and nearly four months since the space shuttle Discovery cruised over Washington en route to its final resting place at the National Air and Space Museum. For many, the sidelining of the shuttle program — a product of budget cutbacks — marked the end of an era, standing in sharp contrast to the national popularity space exploration witnessed during the Kennedy-era Space Race. But at the Rock Creek Park Nature Center and Planetarium in Northwest, ranger Tony Linforth, 43, works to ensure that an interest in space continues, tailoring demonstrations to appeal to audiences young and old. “I want to inspire,” says Linforth as he warms up a projector, casting a soft green light over the planetarium’s plush seating. “Visually, I like to invite people in. As they come in here, this is a striking reminder that, boy, you’re in for something special.” And, Linforth adds, there is plenty that makes Rock Creek’s planetarium special. A modest building tucked away in nearly 12 miles of forest, the planetarium is the only one in the National Park foundation, according to the National Park Service’s Web site. The center offers visitors a natural, serene setting unlike what’s offered at Washington’s only other planetarium, at the Air and Space Museum. But it’s the demonstrations that draw the biggest crowds, which in a single weekend can number several dozen. Throughout the week, Linforth and another ranger on duty offer free educational programs to the public. Manning a digital projector, the rangers guide audiences through 45-minute video presentations where planets, stars and galaxies are projected on the rotunda ceiling. The simulation also allows rangers to zoom in on planets, revealing icy cliffs, rocky canyons and colorful atmospheres. Lifting off from a nighttime screenshot of Rock Creek Park, Linforth calls out moons and planets as we swoop past. It’s only part of what he calls “the awe factor” of the planetarium. “I can blast off and go to a spot above the moon,” says Linforth of the computer simulation’s features. “That is basically some wild stuff.” The presentations are especially popular with schoolchildren and campers, Linforth says. And even though an older demographic might visit to hone their knowledge of space, younger audience members are among those most heavily invested in the program, often asking questions and making comments


Bernard Lovell, 98, was pioneering British radio astronomer

Sir Bernard Lovell, the radio astronomer who was one of the 20th-century’s leaders in the age-old effort to understand the secrets of the heavens, died Aug. 6 at his home in the village of Swettenham, in the English county of Cheshire. He was 98. His son Bryan Lovell confirmed the death and said he did not know the medical cause. Much of Sir Bernard’s groundbreaking work revolved around the use of a powerful and innovative scientific instrument, the celebrated radio telescope he built and operated for many years at the Jodrell Bank observatory in northwest England. Just as stars and galaxies make themselves known by beaming energy in the form of light, they may also reveal themselves by emitting radio waves. Much as the lenses or mirrors of optical telescopes gather visible light, the metal antennas of radio telescopes gather invisible radio waves. As Sir Bernard was one of the first to show starting in the 1940s, these faint electromagnetic signals from remote reaches of the universe can be collected, analyzed and interpreted to discern basic information about the cosmos. Sir Bernard Lovell, the pioneering radio astronomer who was one of the 20th century's leaders in the age-old effort to understand the secrets of the heavens, died Aug. 6. He was 98. (AP) As one of the foremost figures in radio astronomy since its earliest days, Sir Bernard, an emeritus professor at the University of Manchester, was celebrated in science and beyond. The Jodrell Bank observatory, operated by the university and named for the place where it was built, has also become widely known. The principal radio telescope at Jodrell Bank was completed in 1957 and has been named for Sir Bernard. With modifications, it is still used in cutting-edge work, contributing to the understanding of such cosmic phenomena as pulsars, stellar objects whose behavior is linked to Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. The technical and administrative details of building and operating his telescope did not cause Sir Bernard to lose sight of the deeper significance of his work. In 1958, he was chosen by the BBC to deliver that year’s Reith Lectures, which touch on fundamental and enduring questions. In earlier years, the annual lectures had been delivered by such figures as Bertrand Russell, Arnold Toynbee and J. Robert Oppenheimer. Yielding little to Plato and Aristotle, not to mention Galileo and Isaac Newton, Sir Bernard spoke on “The Individual


HR officials say GS system needs reform

be used simply to prevent workers from receiving their earned pay adjustments. Favoritism and discrimination were rampant under the recently abolished National Security Personnel System, the poster child of failed government pay-banding systems. When the system becomes subjective, rank-and-file employees get the short end of the stick, it’s that simple.” The personnel officials were less than fully enthusiastic about the veterans preference system. They support giving vets preference for government gigs, but they raised important questions about the process and conflicts with other priorities. “For example, some CHCOs noted that veterans preference clashes with diversity hiring goals, since most veterans are white males,” according to the report, scheduled for release Thursday by the Partnership and the Grant Thorton consulting firm. One disturbing “unintended outcome” identified by the HR officials, the paper added, “is that non-veterans essentially are excluded from consideration for some entry-level jobs, regardless of their overall qualifications or their qualifications relative to veterans who are hired.” In an interview, Robert Shea, a Grant Thorton principal, urged CHCOs to be more active in pushing for change within their agencies and with Congress. “CHCOs need to step up,” he said, “and make really rigorous arguments” for the flexibilities they need. Diversity reports As we reported in the Federal Eye blog, the Office of Personnel Management recently released two reports regarding diversity in federal employment. The reports on Hispanics and people with disabilities show noteworthy increases in employment, particularly among Latinos in the Senior Executive Service. The percentage of new SES hires who are Hispanic jumped to 5.4 percent in fiscal 2011, from 2.7 percent the year before, a significant increase. The increase in federal Latino employment overall was insignificant, from 8 percent in 2010 to 8.1 percent last year. Among 23 large departments and agencies, five had percentage declines in their Hispanic employment, although the actual number of Latinos increased in four of those agencies. Ironically, perhaps, it is at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where, from 2010 to 2011, the number and percentage of Hispanics fell — from 344 to 328 and 13.7 percent to 13.4 percent. EEOC attributed the change to a hiring freeze. “We have also lost employees to retirements and career advancement opportunities,” said Christine Saah Nazer, the agency’s acting communications director, “and the agency has not had the means to fill behind those who have left.” Previous columns by Joe Davidson are available at wapo.st/JoeDavidson.


Book details Soviet plans to wage germ warfare with lethal ‘designer’ strains

its intended use. Among their book’s revelations is an account of a largely successful Soviet effort to engineer deadly new strains, such as drug-resistant forms of the bacteria that cause anthrax and tularemia. In one of their more chilling accomplishments, Soviet scientists learned to alter microbes to give them stealthy characteristics, the authors say. The bacteria that cause plague, for instance — Yersina pestis — were modified so that standard medical tests could not detect an infection until the disease had progressed to an advanced stage, the authors say. Similar changes were made to a strain of the bacteria that cause Legionnaire’s disease. In the altered state, the bacteria would stimulate the body’s immune response to conceal symptoms of the disease, while simultaneously secreting a toxin that attacks a critical component of the nervous system known as myelin. “The destruction of myelin . . . induces an illness similar to multiple sclerosis, but with a quick death,” the authors state. Despite such achievements, the Soviet program suffered from deficiencies and gaps, including a failure to perfect delivery vehicles such as missile warheads. The gaps suggest that Soviet leaders were conflicted over how and when to use such weapons. One theory, explored by the authors, is that biological weapons were “developed not for military purposes, but for sabotage or terrorism.” Details about the dismantling of the bioweapons program after the Soviet Union’s collapse have been kept secret for two decades. Despite repeated requests, Russian officials also have refused to allow outside access to three biological laboratories operated by the Defense Ministry. The labs were part of the Soviet-era program, and it is “reasonable to conclude” that collections of microbes from the weapons program are warehoused there, in the same way that disease strains are kept in heavily guarded military and civilian laboratories in the United States, the authors say. They add that the lack of any transparency raises concerns about the security of the collections and the possibility of continuing research. “One must assume that whatever genetically engineered bacterial and viral forms were created . . . remain stored in the culture collections of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defense,” the authors write. More world news coverage: - South Korea to restart Iranian oil imports - Chinese aim to end Bo Xilai drama - Decoys part of dramatic defection of former Syrian PM - Read more headlines from around the world


Prospects: A running chance at a job

representing us well. There are all kinds of sports-related opportunities in the federal government. Many athletes might not realize that they can simultaneously do their sport and serve their country. The Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard all have programs that allow service members who are athletes to train and compete on teams and in national and international competitions. The Armed Forces Sports program is open to all active-duty personnel, including reservists and National Guardsmen on active-duty status. Service members, 21 of them in fact, qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. Each military branch has a program. The Army has the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP). It identifies exceptional soldier-athletes and allows them to compete in events that lead to qualifying for the U.S. Olympic team. Through Army funding, WCAP soldier-athletes receive the best coaching, training venues, and state-of-the-art sports medicine. Participants promote goodwill and a positive image of the military; encourage physical fitness; and contribute to the recruitment, retention and readiness of service members. More information about branch programs can be found online at SportsLink. The programs are usually jointly or entirely run by civilian federal workers. The Army’s Installation Command (IMCOM) oversees the Army’s sports program. Commands such as IMCOM are also in charge of fitness centers on bases. The Web site USAJobs Even the State Department has a sports program. Its Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs runs programs focused on “sports diplomacy” to help transcend cultural differences. The idea is that sports teaches leadership, teamwork, respect for rules and respect for one another. This bureau runs the Sports Visitors Program, which brings selected athletes, managers and coaches to the United States for technical sports training, sports management, conflict resolution training and exposure to valuable U.S. sports contacts. Participants are encouraged to hold clinics for youth when they go home. There’s also the Sports Envoys Program, in which national sports leagues and the U.S. Olympic Committee, athletes and coaches are chosen to serve as envoys or ambassadors. Grants are also dispensed. U.S. nonprofit groups can submit proposals to improve the infrastructure of youth sports programs. For more information, go to: www.exchanges.state. gov/sports. These are just a few of the sports programs in the federal government just waiting for your talents and athleticism. Derrick Dortch, president of the Diversa Group, is a career counselor who specializes in government job searches and military transition.


Law to aid pit bull owners could make all Md. dog owners liable for bites

Maryland lawmakers advanced a measure Thursday that would create yet another schism in life in the Washington region, making the Potomac a dividing line between legal poles on liability for dog bites. In Virginia, as in 13 other states, an owner can often avoid legal responsibility for a dog’s first bite if the pet has no history of violence. In Maryland, legislators’ proposed response to a recent court ruling — one that singled out owners of pit bulls — could make owners of all dogs liable for any bite, including the first. The latter approach has been taken by most states and might sound logical to anyone caught on the closing end of a canine’s cuspids. But amid protests, the emotional pleas of animal-rights groups and lobbying by the insurance industry, it remains unclear whether the General Assembly will coalesce around the plan before its special session ends, probably next week. The issue has become an urgent sidebar to the debate over expanding casino gambling that called lawmakers back to Annapolis. But it’s far from the socially significant statements — such as legalizing same-sex marriage — that Maryland’s Democratic-controlled legislature has sought to make this year. Pushing back against what many lawmakers see as the latest in a string of activist rulings by the state’s highest court, a Senate committee Thursday passed a measure that would come to the defense of pit bull owners by creating equally strict liability for all Maryland dog owners. If passed, the change could affect Marylanders as much as any recent change in state law, critics warned, possibly leading to new insurance requirements for dog owners, renters, homeowners, and possibly landlords. In many ways, the legislation is the latest in a series of recent conflicts between the state’s legislative and judicial branches. Tension has ratcheted up in the past two years between the General Assembly and Maryland’s high court, the Court of Appeals. Rulings by the high court on lead paint, land rights and representation for criminal suspects at bond hearings have repeatedly sent lawmakers back to the drawing board to rewrite state statutes. In May, the court rewrote a near-century-old consensus in state law in a case stemming from a 2007 attack on a Towson boy. The court said it was one of at least seven serious attacks in 13 years in which disagreements over liability had risen to the level of the state’s


Good drones, bad drones

In his Aug. 3 op-ed column, “Drones? Not over my back yard,” Eugene Robinson suggested that law enforcement would improperly use unmanned aircraft technology. To the contrary, law enforcement entities around the country have committed to using unmanned aircraft for limited operations that enhance public safety, such as conducting search-and-rescue missions, locating missing children and executing high-risk warrants. The unmanned aircraft industry shares Americans’ concerns about privacy and is committed to helping ensure that this technology is used respectfully and lawfully. My organization recently supported legislation that reaffirms the Fourth Amendment protections when it comes to individuals’ privacy and the use of unmanned aircraft. It has also established a dialogue with privacy advocates to address the issue and work toward solutions. The United States is a leader in unmanned aerial innovation. With growing international demand for this technology in countries such as Japan, Australia and Chile, where it is used in everything from agricultural to anti-poaching efforts, there is incredible job-creation potential. But if Mr. Robinson gets the “bureaucratic inertia and inefficiency” he is hoping for, the United States will lose out. Michael Toscano, Washington The writer is president and CEO of the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. l


Eugene Robinson: Heating up debate on climate change

The other escape hatch for deniers is the question of why the Earth’s atmosphere is warming. Yes, there may be climate change, this argument goes, but we know there have been ice ages in the past and other big temperature variations. What we’re witnessing is due to natural processes — perhaps some long-term cycle we are too feeble to comprehend. You can’t prove that human activity, specifically the burning of fossil fuels, is to blame. A Gallup poll last year found that this view — essentially, “You can’t pin it on our SUVs” — has been gaining traction in this country, even as it has become discredited elsewhere. Between 2007 and 2010, the percentage of U.S. adults who believed human activity contributed to warming declined from 60 percent to 48 percent. I wrote a column last fall when University of California at Berkeley physicist Richard Muller, one of the leading skeptics on climate change, reversed field and announced that his own careful research indicated that the atmosphere is, indeed, warming rapidly. Last week, Muller announced in the New York Times: “I’m now going a step further: Humans are almost entirely the cause.” Muller, who heads the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project, wrote that he and his team tried correlating the observed warming with phenomena such as solar activity and volcanic eruptions. “By far the best match was to the record of atmospheric carbon dioxide,” he wrote. The amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising because of human activity — the burning of fossil fuels. The more we burn, Muller wrote, the faster the atmosphere will warm. And the crazier the weather will get. We can’t do anything about the greenhouse gases we’ve already spewed into the atmosphere, but we can minimize the damage we do in the future. We can launch a serious initiative to develop and deploy alternative sources of energy. We can decide what kind of environment we leave to our grandchildren. I’d like to hear President Obama and Mitt Romney talk about the future of the planet. What about you? eugenerobinson@washpost.com Read more on this issue at PostOpinions: The Plum Line: Why is climate change MIA in presidential race? The Post’s View: Not so fast on blaming global warming Eugene Robinson: Feeling the heat The Post’s View: Mr. Obama needs to show he’s serious about climate change Michael Gerson: Climate and the culture war


Baltimore firefighter ran sex ring on the side, police say

Until last month, 29-year-old Jamar Simmons was living a double life, police say. He fought fires for Baltimore out of a decades-old brick firehouse in Hampden, earning close to $60,000 annually. He also managed a prostitution ring out of a renovated apartment in Carrollton Ridge in Southwest Baltimore, court documents say, pocketing a percentage of the cash earned by a group of women selling sex. On July 9, police raided the apartment and arrested Simmons and his alleged partner in the operation. Soon after, Simmons was suspended from the Fire Department without pay, and the fact he was facing multiple prostitution-related charges for a second time sparked questions about city personnel policies. The city recently revised its procedures for handling employees who are charged with crimes, after discovering that it had paid nearly $13,000 for sick leave to an employee in jail. But even under the new policy, an arrest or conviction does not always lead to termination. Jamar Marvin Simmons was living a double life fighting fires in Baltimore and managing a prostitution ring, police say. (Courtesy of Baltimore Police) Meanwhile, as Simmons maintains his innocence, the Fire Department plans to conduct its own investigation into his behavior. "We operate like a paramilitary organization," said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a city Fire Department spokesman. "The same conduct and behavior is expected of all of us, whether we are in uniform or out of uniform." Simmons' attorney, Warren Brown, said the very public fallout from the case has unfairly left the firefighter distraught and uncertain of his future. "I guess in a perfect world, public servants shouldn't have brushes with the law, but they do," Brown said. "So the question becomes, 'Is it a zero tolerance policy?' If you're hauled before a court, you're not worthy of employment? I don't think that should be the case." City officials said many factors, including the extent to which an employee is deemed to have broken the public trust, are considered in disciplinary decisions. Supervisors also look closely at the evidence against employees who've been arrested, the officials say. Inside the raided apartment, according to court records, city police found a stage with two floor-to-ceiling poles, a large bar with a DJ booth, two bedrooms and a kitchen with six lockers labeled with women's nicknames. In one room, court records say, police found a chalkboard with written reminders to the women. Among them: do


At Afghan orphanage, friends from different sides of the war

working at a local security checkpoint, he was shot and killed by insurgents when he walked out of a mosque. Although no killer was identified, no one doubted that the Taliban had taken down another government employee. “He was representing the government and security forces when he was killed,” Rahmatullah said. A few weeks after the killing, Rahmatullah’s older brother drove him to the orphanage, where about half of the boys are the sons of fallen soldiers and police officers. The other half includes a number of boys with familial connections to the Taliban. Rahmatullah was 8 when he arrived, and Hamidullah was one of the first boys he met. If Rahmatullah had inherited any biases from his father’s slaying, they hadn’t yet congealed. Mostly, he needed friends. “He was kind, well-behaved and smart,” Rahmatullah said of Hamidullah. “We became close very quickly.” But the topic of their fathers’ deaths has never come up. “It is our habit not to talk about this with each other. It’s a sad issue,” Hamidullah said. ‘That’s just how Kandahar is’ The two boys started studying together. They told each other made-up stories and jokes. Every day, they listened when the radio or television in the orphanage blasted the local news. “Things like 29 dead and 29 injured in bombing,” Hamidullah said. “Things about the attacks in Kandahar,” Rahmatullah said. They rarely talked about what they heard, except for Hamidullah’s occasional political commentary. “There will be fighting until the Taliban are allowed to come into the government,” he said. The boys still seek to rationalize the deaths of their fathers, even if they express little interest in exacting revenge. “He was fighting for the government. Defending our country. And I’m proud of that,” said Zulmai, 12, whose father was killed while serving as a bodyguard for Kandahar’s police chief. “The Taliban he was fighting for — they made mistakes, but they are good people,” said Agha Wali, whose father was killed in an American airstrike while fighting for the insurgency. Afghan officials worry that the unlikely bonds among orphans could come undone when the boys return to their home villages, surrounded again by those on the same side of the conflict. Hashemi, the orphanages’ director, estimates that 13 of the Kandahar orphanage’s 30 high school graduates last year might be susceptible to the insurgency’s recruitment tactics. The sons of fallen Taliban fighters have always


West Nile virus found in Maryland resident

Maryland health officials said Friday that an adult in the central region has a confirmed West Nile virus infection, the first case in the region this season. The virus has already been found in pools of mosquitoes in the District, Virginia and Maryland. Most people infected with the virus will not have symptoms. People who do develop illness usually have any combination of fever, headache, body aches, skin rash and swollen lymph glands. The symptoms generally appear three to 15 days after the bite of an infected mosquito. In rare instances, West Nile virus can be fatal. More serious illnesses The number of human cases in Maryland has varied over the past several years. In 2011, there were 19 human cases. In 2010, there were 23 cases. In the peak year of 2003, there were 73 human cases.


Afghan in uniform kills 3 U.S. Special Forces troops in third such attack this week

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan — Thursday’s incident, the third such attack this week, was particularly devastating because of its scale and the elite troops who were targeted. U.S. Special Forces are scattered across the country to carry out “village stability operations” — a responsibility that often entails training local police officers, many of whom once had ties to the Taliban, and navigating fierce tribal rivalries. The three service members were shot by a single assailant as they prepared to dine with tribal leaders at an Afghan checkpoint in the Sangin district of Helmand province, said Sangin Gov. Mohammad Sharif, who identified them as Special Forces troops. The assailant, whom several Afghan officials identified as a police officer named Asadullah, then fled the scene. Further details of the incident were hazy Friday night, when the bodies of the three Special Forces members arrived at Helmand’s Camp Leatherneck for a traditional “ramp ceremony,” the return of a fallen service member’s remains back home. Maj. Lori Hodge, a U.S. military spokeswoman, said in a statement only that “three U.S. Forces-Afghanistan service members died following an attack by an individual wearing an Afghan uniform in southwest Afghanistan today.” Afghan and U.S. officials said the attack was being investigated. Reached by telephone, Asadullah’s father, Shamsullah Sahraye Alokozai, denied the allegations against his son, saying that he was a loyal police officer who had joined the force four years ago. “The American forces have given their lives for us. Why would he do this?” he said. Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, said Asadullah joined the Taliban after fleeing the scene. As NATO troops leave Afghanistan, the coalition is increasingly relying on small groups of well-trained solders to advise and assist their Afghan counterparts. Members of the U.S. Special Forces maintain particularly close ties with the officers whom they mentor, living in the rural villages where Afghan Local Police were recruited to boost security. Those assignments often bring risks that even Afghan officials sometimes struggle to understand. “Did the men have to hold their meeting at night?” Sharif said. “It’s a dangerous time.” On Tuesday, two men in Afghan army uniforms shot and killed a U.S. soldier and injured two others in the eastern province of Paktia. On Wednesday, three NATO troops were killed when two suicide bombers targeted them as they walked to a meeting of Afghan officials in the eastern province of Konar, where the


For National Youth Orchestra of Canada, no crowds at Strathmore to impress

The National Youth Orchestra of Canada’s intensive summer training program for high school and college-age students is exemplary, providing the musicians with a stipend instead of charging them tuition. (Courtesy of Strathmore) August is a sleepy month for classical music in Washington, and Thursday night’s concert at Strathmore was a reminder of the reason why. Here was a free concert by the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, a group of the best young Canadian classical musicians, but they played to a mostly empty hall. The NYOC’s intensive summer training program for high school and college-age students is exemplary, providing the musicians with a stipend instead of charging them tuition. About 40 percent of professional orchestral musicians in Canada are alumni. This was the last stop on their North American tour, during which they have played two demanding programs. The level of musicianship across all sections was on par with that of professional orchestras. The opening work, Canadian composer Adam Sherkin’s mostly tonal “Terra Incognita,” premiered in 2005, provided some interesting colors. The opening section of eerie marimba tremolos and plangent string solos were given some added drama as the lights were set flickering by the violent storm that passed through. In Dvorak’s cello concerto, guest conductor Alain Trudel was careful to keep the orchestra in balance with his 16-year-old soloist, Cameron Crozman. It was not the best performance of the work in every sense, but Crozman’s singing sound high on the A string was fluid and well-tuned. The high point was a blistering performance of Shostakovich’s 10th symphony, pulled taut with moody tension, roiling outbursts and a fanatically martial scherzo. Two encores featured a twist that most professional orchestras would not even dream of trying, as the approximately 100 young musicians stood and sang two Renaissance songs in four-part harmony, John Dowland’s “Come again” and Pierre Certon’s “Je ne l’ose dire.” Downey is a freelance writer.


An American watches China’s Olympics coverage in Beijing

such as the recent race of former hurdles champion Liu Xiang — people gather around the TV sets in offices. Liu, who had to withdraw from the Beijing Olympics because of an injury to his Achilles tendon, hit the first hurdle and fell to the ground in agony. The CCTV commentators screamed and then sobbed. Later, a Chinese Web site set up for Liu reportedly received 28 million get-well messages. Of course, watching another country’s Olympics coverage throws the unabashed nationalism of the whole exercise into humorous relief. I’ve heard “March of the Volunteers,” the Chinese national anthem, played many times, but not once “The Star-Spangled Banner.” No doubt there are Chinese viewers in New York with the opposite complaint. My husband and I watched a broadcast of 16-year-old swimmer Ye Shiwensetting a world record in the women’s 400-meter individual medley. As she pulled ahead of the swimmers in other lanes, the male and female commentators lost their cool. “Jaiyou! JAIYOU!” they screamed — which translates as “add gas” — with voices rising in pitch until they sounded as if they might faint. When Ye touched the wall at the end, the camera cut to an image of a camerawoman dissolved in tears. So it’s not too hard to imagine why the Chinese would take umbrage at insinuations that Ye had a little help from performance-enhancing drugs. They even took umbrage at the incident in which China’s top-seeded women’s badminton team — along with teams from South Korea and Indonesia — was disqualified because the players deliberately lost their match to get a better placement later on. The People’s Daily said the players were the victims of a double standard. One TV station quoted the Chinese TV host Bai Yansong as saying, “When people judge these athletes on moral high grounds, has anyone thought in their shoes?” CCTV plays “We Are the Champions” with shots of Chinese athletes holding up gold medals. On a muggy Saturday night, the bars and restaurants of Beijing’s Sanlitun neighborhood and along Gui Jia, Ghost Street, with its red lanterns hanging from trees, have set up projector screens so that patrons can watch the Games in fuzzy low-definition. Back at our apartment, we channel-surf. Cinemax is showing “Supershark.” Back to CCTV. More table tennis. And then more badminton. Okay, so it’s not backyard badminton — but even with national heartthrob Lin Dan ripping off his


Md. Senate passes Prince George’s casino bill

the special session. Under the bill, Maryland would shed its status as a “free bite” state. Now, owners are often held responsible for a first attack only if the pet has a history of violence. The measure, which the House is also considering, attempts to fix what many lawmakers viewed as a flawed decision this spring when Maryland’s highest court ruled that pit bulls are “inherently dangerous.” The designation made Maryland pit bull owners and landlords who own property where they are housed automatically liable for injuries. The Senate bill would remove the dangerous designation from any breed and have Maryland, like most other states, consider owners responsible for any bite, including the first. Virginia and 13 other states still require victims to prove that an owner knew a dog had a propensity to be violent. Marylanders might soon see more “Beware of Dog” signs that could limit a homeowner’s liability if someone enters private property and is bitten. The Senate’s vote on the expanded gambling legislation followed more than four hours of debate on about two dozen amendments, most of which the chamber soundly rejected. Among them was a bid to scrap the Prince George’s casino and authorize only the table games, such as black jack and roulette, at the five slots locations Maryland voters approved in 2008. Sen. James Brochin (D-Baltimore County), who proposed the amendment, argued that the revenue the state would reap from table games is “low-hanging fruit” and that a new casino could significantly hurt business at several existing locations. That has been the argument of Maryland Live!, the state’s largest casino, which opened in June in Anne Arundel County and has the most to lose from new competition in Prince George’s. The National Harbor development, on the Potomac River, has emerged as the most likely site for a Prince George’s casino, but the measure would invite bids from a swath of the county that also includes Rosecroft Raceway. Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery), a proponent of O’Malley’s plan, argued that a Prince George’s location is “a unique economic development opportunity” that would yield financial benefits for both the county and state. “I agree that’s a great location, but we’re doing it at the detriment to the other five sites,” Sen. Allan H. Kittleman (R-Howard) said. The amendment to scrap the Prince George’s site was defeated 33 to 9. The chamber also turned back


In Olympics, it pays to root for Team USA

team, which was “robbed” of the gold medal in its game against the Soviets, has refused to accept its silver medal. This intense competition hasn’t been fully replaced by the rivalry between the two reigning Olympic superpowers — the U.S. and China. For one thing, the Americans and Chinese dominate different sports and rarely face each other in high-stakes matches. But you can still see the outlines of the same old East-West conflict. Just as the Soviets were portrayed on American TV as stoic, Ivan Drago-style athlete-bots (until Olga Korbut melted American hearts), the Chinese don’t get many humanizing breaks, either. Bob Costas hasn’t been having them over for many post-game chats, nor is Visa likely to feature them in its golden-tinged commercials anytime soon. The Chinese look something like our former athletic enemies, too, in the rigid state control of their Olympic development programs. The world’s most populous country has plotted its relentless march up the medal table — China practically doubled its medal haul from 2000 to 2008 — just as carefully as it has managed its currency and export economy. Americans love to be appalled by stories of Chinese sports officials whisking 6-year-olds into gymnastics sweatshops and platform-diving boot camps. Yet while the American system of Olympic development is free of direct government control and taxpayer subsidy, it is no less centrally planned and driven by boundless heaps of money. The nonprofit U.S. Olympic Committee organizes and equips our team, but its engine is gassed by NBC and Coca-Cola. Under its current contract with the IOC, the U.S. committee gets a 20 percent cut of the IOC’s global sponsorship revenues, and 12.75 percent of the IOC’s rights deals with U.S. broadcasters. (Do the math: NBC paid $2.2 billion to the IOC for the 2010 and 2012 Games, and $4.4 billion for all the Games between 2012 and 2020.) In many ways, the Olympic economy almost requires America’s team to lead the medal standings. Without U.S. stars and victories, millions of American viewers probably wouldn’t watch the Olympics. Without American viewers, sponsors wouldn’t pay the big bucks to the IOC and USOC. And without sponsors, U.S. networks such as NBC wouldn’t be spending billions to televise the Olympics. So ignore the quaint rhetoric in the Olympic Charter. By all means, root, root, root for the home team. Because if they don’t win, well . . . no Games.


Guor Marial: A man without a country on world’s biggest athletic stage

Mark Adams, an IOC spokesman. “Just didn’t quite get over the line in time.” When it was clear that Marial wouldn’t run for his former country, the IOC agreed to let him run as an “individual Olympic athlete,” a rare designation but not one without precedent. At the 2000 Games in Sydney, four athletes from East Timor competed, not long after the island nation became a sovereign state. And two decades ago, when Yugoslavia was the subject of U.N. sanctions, 58 athletes from three republics of the former Yugoslavia (Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro) were allowed to compete as “independent Olympic participants” at the Barcelona Games. Marial’s story moved IOC officials to grant an exemption and allow him to compete in London under the Olympic flag. “We wanted to try to help out,” Adams said. “It is a unique case. We do have athletes in the past who’ve marched under the Olympic flag, but I think these circumstances are so unique that it’s quite humbling.” Marial arrived here earlier this week and has been staying in Olympic Village with all the other athletes. He wears a white jacket with the Olympic rings and has to repeatedly explain to fellow Olympians why his wardrobe doesn’t sport the colors of any nation. If he were to somehow win the race, spectators would hear the Olympic Hymn in place of a national anthem. He realizes that’s not likely but says his mission here is bigger. “Bring awareness to the country,” he said, “and hope the young generation in South Sudan will see me and be able to dream high for the next years to come.” More 2012 Olympics Photos: Scenes from Day 14 Jenkins: Greatest Olympic athlete? Jim Thorpe. Wise: Forty years ago, the Cold War heated up on the court U.S. basketball tops Argentina, moves to gold medal game Photos: Scenes from the U.S. basketball victory BMX: Asphalt and dirt, plenty of danger Photos: 2012 Games, moments that made history Interactive: Olympic athletes throughout history U.S. women 4x100 relay team sets world record A marathon runner who runs without a country Graphic: The long and winding marathon course Oussama Mellouli wins marathon swim; Alex Meyer 10th Photos: Scenes from open water swimming Photos: Missteps at the Summer Olympics Olympic medal count Instagram: Post staffers keep their cameras out London Eyes: Share sights and sound Follow the Olympics live on our London Games blog


Sochi Olympics have an ugly side

no days off. Initially, their pay arrived sporadically, and the amounts were significantly less than what had been promised. Later, wages became nonexistent, as has happened to many migrant construction workers throughout Russia. After four months of work without hope that the situation would improve, the Uzbek men quit. They filed a complaint with Russia’s labor inspectorate in March but have yet to receive an answer. These abuses and other issues, such as the environmental impact of Olympic construction, have not received the attention they deserve, partly because of the stifling environment for independent and critical voices in Sochi. Journalists and activists often describe interference in their attempts to highlight issues of public interest, including abuses linked to the Olympics. One journalist told Human Rights Watch that the pressure on the media was “unprecedented,” with local authorities calling editors about which stories can and cannot be written. By now, most journalists in Sochi know that their options are to self-censor or quit. Russian authorities apparently don’t want to hear critical voices like that of Irina Brovkina, a middle-aged woman whose outrage and despair in the face of forced eviction from her Sochi apartment — to make way for Olympic construction — inspired her to organize small public protests. Brovkina started receiving threatening e-mails and phone calls, and a local paper began a smear campaign against her. In May, Brovkina staged a one-person picket outside the Sochi mayor’s office. Although a one-person protest does not require official permission, police officers dragged her into a patrol car and charged her with organizing an unsanctioned gathering and disobeying police orders. She spent three days in detention after a rushed, late-night court hearing for which she had no lawyer. Amazingly, Brovkina remains undeterred, but her experience sends a strong message to others who might seek to air grievances publicly: Do so at your own risk. Both Russia and the International Olympic Committee have clear responsibilities to end such abuses. To its credit, the IOC has intervened in a handful of cases, but its ad hoc approach has not led to meaningful protection for the majority of those affected by the preparations in Sochi. The IOC should take a strong, clear stand against human rights abuses during Olympic preparations. Otherwise, an embarrassing legacy will overshadow the feats and triumphs of the athletes competing in the Sochi Games. Read more from Opinions: David Ignatius: Palatial corruption,


‘Spoiling’ the Olympics with real-time news

News and USA Today. Fox News and Yahoo News, however, required readers to click once from the home page to get to Olympic results. Now, The Post did make some wise accommodations for digital readers. Olympic results were taken out of the subject line of e-mail alerts — you had to click on the e-mail to see the results. And the mobile team decided upfront not to send out “push” alerts to people who have downloadedPost applications to their mobile devices. A “push” alert is like a text message that shows up on your smartphone or tablet. The apps, however, did feature results in real time on their opening pages. Post Sports Editor Matt Vita said that Olympic results are news: “We treat the Olympics as a news event, not entertainment, and we cover them as we would any other news event. While I certainly understand how some people may be unhappy to learn the results before they get to watch the Olympics on TV in the evening, this is not a new issue. The simple fact is the results are readily available across the Internet, on any number of social media platforms and are transmitted live by most international broadcasters. We’d be doing a disservice to our readers, many of whom are not in the United States or may not watch the NBC prime-time shows, to hold results back or pretend in some way that they were not yet known to us.” I think that’s the right approach. I enjoy going home at night and seeing the TV broadcasts. But my job keeps me online and attuned to social media all day. I can’t avoid the spoilers. So I embraced them, following the breaking Olympic news more than I ever have before. And I still enjoyed watching the evening broadcasts. If anything, knowing the results made me want to watch the taped events even more. The old world of the morning paper over coffee, the evening paper on the commute home and the national evening newscast is pretty much gone. We live in a hyper-fast, super-competitive news environment in which The Post is trying to deliver news to people constantly on the go in their work and personal lives. The Post needs to get the news to them where they are, in real time, or be left behind. Patrick B. Pexton can be reached at 202-334-7582 or at ombudsman@washpost.com.


Greatest Olympic athlete? Jim Thorpe, not Usain Bolt

LONDON – Bolt has sprinted hard into immortality; he is indisputably the fastest man ever, and maybe one of the most cheerful, too. It doesn’t hurt that he knows how to freeze for the cameras while we’re still trying to recover from the breathless shock of watching him run. But Bolt himself knows that his claim to sit atop the Olympic pantheon with double golds in the 100 and 200 is nonsense. His boasting, “I am the greatest athlete to live, I am a living legend, bask in my glory,” was just a lot of noisy post-victory exultation. He may not even be the best in the Olympic stadium according to the decathletes. “Just because you’re fast doesn’t make you an athlete,” silver medalist Trey Hardee said. First of all, so many athletes crowd in at the door and jostle for space in the Olympic pantheon that before you can name one above all the others, you have to group and categorize them. Second, these discussions invariably fail to give proper credit to the historical greats. “They skew towards the modern athlete, because no one remembers,” says Olympic historian Bill Mallon. When you talk about greatest Olympic athlete do you mean the one with the most medals? That’s Michael Phelps with his 22 doorknockershanging around his neck, including that masterful, testing eight in a fortnight at the Beijing Games. But Phelps has the advantage of being able to enter multiple events and claim relays. In which case you might prefer Larisa Latynina, whose 18 gymnastics medals for the Soviet Union at the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics were the record for almost a half-century until Phelps broke it. Do you mean greatest Olympian, as in an athlete who dominated the Games like no other? Did something so unprecedentedly, and anomalously difficult that it will never be equaled again? That’s Eric Heiden, with his five individual speedskating gold medals at the 1980 Lake Placid Games, setting four Olympic records and one world record over a ridiculous variety of distances. By way of comparison, tell Bolt to win a gold in both the 200 and the 5,000 and see what he says. Do you mean greatest Olympian as in an athlete who won golds at multiple Games, rose to the occasion again and again and exerted his or her dominance over long spans? (If so, you will leave Jesse Owens off the


In Japan, energy saving takes its toll

a crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Japan’s east coast and caused shutdowns at several others, and Japanese companies obliged without complaint. Electricity conservation, or “setsuden,” was a way to help the post-disaster cause. But this year, Japanese business leaders say, the energy-saving feels more like a major drain than a goodwill duty. Unlike last summer, when severe shortages were confined to the northeast, even regions far removed from the Fukushima plant now face shortages, with all but two of Japan’s 50 viable reactors shuttered amid public opposition. Utility companies are importing record levels of fossil fuels, but even that hasn’t covered the gap. That leaves companies — many that were already energy-efficient — straining for unorthodox ways to meet peak-hour summer reduction targets. Electronics giant Panasonic told employees at its Osaka headquarters to take a nine-day paid vacation in late July. Manufacturer Nippon Tungsten, in Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, bumped work shifts to the weekend to avoid peak hours and, to use less air conditioning, started spraying factory rooftops with cold water. Breadmaker Nichiryo, based in Hokkaido, leased a 200 kilovolt-ampere diesel generator, which sits like a horse trailer outside its main factory and supplies electricity at four times the cost of the regional utility company. “It makes no sense financially to use the generator,” said Hidetaka Matsuda, a Nichiryo manager in charge of energy use. “We’re doing it just to achieve the reduction target.” Matsuda described the energy restrictions as “severe.” A Panasonic spokeswoman said they’ve had a “major impact” on business. At the Kawai Tekkou Iron Works plant in Hokkaido, some employees second-guess the need for conservation and point fingers at the utility company, which they feel should provide the necessary amount. “Our work shouldn’t suffer,” said Hiroki Kawai, an employee who is a third-generation member of the family business. Kawai said he was describing others’ complaints, not his own. The energy debate The economy-sapping energy shortages hint at the stakes of the fierce debate over Japan’s energy future. At the root is whether Japan, in the wake of the triple meltdown at the Fukushima plant, should renounce nuclear power to build a less disaster-prone country or re-embrace it to fuel a more economically viable one. At the 11 public hearings the government has held to discuss nuclear power, 70 percent of the citizens who spoke said they favored a no-nuclear policy by 2030.


3 Marines shot dead in Afghanistan

the war’s bloodiest battles, such “ramp ceremonies” were far more common than they are today. Now, the battle in Helmand has entered a new chapter — a swift drawdown and a concerted push to ready Afghan security forces. A year ago, Marines were in more than 60 locations throughout Garmsir. Now, Marines are based in three sites in Garmsir. Progress is visible. Marines can walk through local bazaars and across the district center in Garmsir. They can take off their body armor when they meet with large groups of local elders. At Forward Operating Base Delhi, where Friday’s attack took place, there was time for diversion — even an Olympics-style competition where Marines faced off against one another in weightlifting and running events. When they were attacked, the Marines were exercising in a gym on a part of their base used as the headquarters of the Afghan district police. That American troops felt comfortable putting their weapons down and exercising with their Afghan counterparts marked the strength of the partnership, officials said. U.S. troops at Delhi sometimes complained about the Afghan police work ethic, but the relationship was healthy. There was no reason to worry about internecine violence. The Afghan officer who targeted the Marines worked as a low-level assistant — delivering tea and doing basic administrative duties. U.S. officials would not discuss the incident, citing an ongoing investigation. But the Taliban promptly took credit for the attack. On Saturday, Afghan officials said another Afghan police officer killed at least 10 of his colleagues in Nimruz province in southwestern Afghanistan after he, too, was recruited by the insurgency. At Delhi, the investigation kept the Marine leadership up all night. Top Afghan security officials were investigating, as well, working to discern the assailant’s motives. “He was high on drugs and claims he lost control,” one Afghan official familiar with the investigation said. “It was another effort by the enemy to come between us and the coalition,” Parwani said. The ramp ceremony lasted about 20 minutes Saturday night. When the Marines dispersed and the plane sat alone on the airfield, its pilots turned their engine on and waited for the sign that it was time to depart. More world news coverage: - Clinton reaches out to Syria opposition - In Asia, a wave of territorial disputes - In Japan, energy saving takes its toll - Read more headlines from around the world


Pit bull politics

IN APRIL 2007, a neighbor’s pit bull mauled and nearly killed a 10-year-old Maryland boy named Dominic Solesky behind his family’s house in East Towson. With a pit bull’s classic locked jaw, the dog mauled the entirety of Dominic’s small body and punctured his femoral artery — usually a fatal injury. After five hours of surgery, more than two weeks in the pediatric intensive-care unit and a year in rehabilitation, it’s nothing short of a miracle that Dominic Solesky lived to tell the tale. The Solesky family sued the pit bull’s landlord and owner; the latter filed for bankruptcy immediately. The landlord found a loophole in Maryland law requiring landlords and owners to have actual knowledge of a dog’s violent nature before they could be held liable. Ultimately, the case went before the Maryland Court of Appeals, and in May the court essentially recast the state’s age-old conventional wisdom on dog attacks. Although more than 30 states and the District have owner liability statutes, the court went further, singling out pit bulls as “inherently dangerous.” Maryland is now the only state with a breed-specific liability law on the books. For the time being, residents who own — or lease property to someone who owns — a pit bull are legally responsible for any attacks the dog commits. In light of tragic cases such as Dominic Solesky’s and various others from the past decade, the court’s ruling is understandable and, at times, thoroughly convincing. But so are the claims of animal rights activists and others who object to the controversial science used to justify a breed-specific statute like this one. After all, there’s no practical way to identity which dogs are pit bulls, and there’s little evidence to show that pit bulls aren’t more prone to violence because of training instead of breed. Unfortunately, the court’s ruling has led only to further dispute. To remedy the situation, state legislators have proposed a bill that would expand the same liability to the owners of all dogs, regardless of breed. Maryland could then join ranks with the vast majority of other states — and the District, as well — that have adopted similar measures. In a special session otherwise dominated by the question of whether to expand casino gambling, the General Assembly should adopt a version of this legislation. The bill isn’t perfect, but postponing concrete action any further, as critics propose, is


A bike map for Washington and (eventually) by Washington

wants to use technology to improve transportation. The organization also worked on CiBi.me, a trip planner for New York City’s (delayed) bike-sharing program and on a trip planner for the TriMet transit system in the Portland, Ore., area. The bike-trip planners for New York and Washington were built as demonstrations, said Kevin Webb, the Washington-based co-director of transportation at OpenPlans. Much of the technical work was already done for the Portland project, so it wasn’t a huge leap to create the new sites. The New York planner went up in the spring, and Webb said he met with Bike Arlington officials this summer to discuss bringing it to the Washington area. BikePlanner went up a couple of weeks ago, but organizers really began promoting it Thursday. “No one knows the ins and outs and nuances of biking our area more than the people who bike it all the time,” Eatough said. “People have the areas they really know about and are experts on. People who bike to and from work have refined that trip. . . . They know it better than anyone else." Webb, 32, is one such traveler. He lives in Columbia Heights and uses Bikeshare as well as his own bike to get around. Like many commuters who use Bikeshare, his ride can combine a Metro trip with time on one of those cherry red bicycles. This kind of “unified” travel can help change the way people commute, he said. Capital Bikeshare is an important presence on the map. The Web site directs people to the closest station and gives the number of available bikes and the number of spaces open for leaving bikes. As they open, new Bikeshare stations will appear on the map. The plan is to add other transit options to BikePlanner so that travelers can see the full range of options when they make plans. The Web site could help different types of riders in different ways, said Shane Farthing, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. Experienced cyclists might want the fastest routes; occasional riders and newcomers might feel more comfortable knowing that they were taking a flatter or a safer path. “What people want is, ‘How do I avoid that hill?’ ‘How do I find an area where I don’t deal with too much fast traffic?’ ” Farthing said. “Getting information out there that is reliable and vetted is huge.”


Post-Olympics, pros and amateurs return to different worlds

LONDON — The Olympics long ago ceased being a solely amateur endeavor, but the rules on professionalism differ from sport to sport and are constantly evolving. Fans sometimes don’t know if they’re rooting for up-and-coming amateurs or the best in their fields, or something in between, and as the Summer Games draw to close Sunday, the athletes departing London on Monday are heading toward radically varied lifestyles. Olympic swimming, for instance, allows pros. So does track and field. Boxing does not. Less-prominent sports have no rules against professionals, but it can be difficult for those professionals to support themselves as they train. On Thursday night, 80,203 fans filled historic Wembley Stadium here to watch the U.S. beat Japan for the gold medal in women’s soccer, the conclusion of a tournament that included all of the best players in the world. On Saturday, another sold-out crowd came to watch Brazil face Mexico at Wembley, the conclusion of a tournament which the best players watched from afar, because each roster consisted of players age 23 or under, save for three exceptions who could be of any age. “It’d be nice to have the best players here,” said Tom Cleverley, a midfielder for Britain’s entry in the men’s soccer tournament. “But we have other things coming up that are more important to more people,” a reference to the English Premier League, in which Cleverley is a member of Manchester United. Different sets of rules The Olympics, it turns out, have only so much control over Olympic sports. Each sport’s international governing body — the International Federation of Association Football for soccer, the International Basketball Federation for basketball, etc. — decides who can compete in its sport at the Olympics and in other international competitions. USA Swimming, which has fielded perhaps the most successful American program dating from the 2004 Games in Athens, supports everyone from 22-time medalist Michael Phelps to 15-year-old Katie Ledecky, the Bethesda high schooler who won her first gold here at her first Games. But even within that structure — in which athletes can and do receive endorsement contracts — there are struggles. Missy Franklin Saturday, Franklin said her experience in London has left her torn on how to proceed. “I’ve been able to see the benefits [of] how people get these sponsorships and what it’s like for them and how much fun they’re having, and kind of wanting that


Election Day impersonation, an impetus for voter ID laws, a rarity, data show

A voter shows her ID in a primary election in Cornwall, Pa., on April 24, 2012. This primary was also a test run for the new Pennsylvania voter ID law. (Jeremy Long/AP) A new nationwide analysis of more than 2,000 cases of alleged election fraud over the past dozen years shows that in-person voter impersonation on Election Day, which has prompted 37 state legislatures to enact or consider tougher voter ID laws, was virtually nonexistent. The analysis of 2,068 reported fraud cases by News21, a Carnegie-Knight investigative reporting project, found 10 cases of alleged in-person voter impersonation since 2000. With 146 million registered voters in the United States, those represent about one for every 15 million prospective voters. The News21 report is based on a national public-records search in which reporters sent thousands of requests to elections officers in all 50 states, asking for every case of alleged fraudulent activity — including registration fraud; absentee-ballot fraud; vote buying; false election counts; campaign fraud; the casting of ballots by ineligible voters, such as felons and non-citizens; double voting; and voter impersonation. The analysis found that there is more alleged fraud in absentee ballots and voter registration than in any of the other categories. The analysis shows 491 cases of alleged absentee ballot fraud and 400 cases involving registration fraud. Requiring voters to show identification at the polls — the crux of most of the new legislation — would not have prevented those cases. The analysis also found that more than 46 percent of the reported election fraud allegations resulted in acquittals, dropped charges or decisions not to bring charges. In many cases, people simply made mistakes. Felons or non-citizens sometimes registered to vote or cast votes because they were confused about their eligibility. Some voters accidentally cast their ballots twice or went to the wrong precinct. And election officials made mistakes, such as clerical errors — giving voters ballots when they have already voted — and errors due to confusion about eligibility. One of the instances of voter impersonation fraud occurred in Londonderry, N.H., in 2004 when 17-year-old Mark Lacasse used his father’s name to vote for George W. Bush in the Republican presidential primary. Lacasse’s record was cleared after he performed community service. Claudel Gilbert, a Haitian immigrant in Ohio who had changed his address in 2006, received two registration cards in the mail and said he thought he had


Nuclear ruse: Posing as toymaker, Chinese merchant allegedly sought U.S. technology for Iran

helpful ally during recent international negotiations aimed at pressuring the government to scale back its nuclear program. In addition, there is no evidence that China has provided nuclear assistance to Iran directly since the early 1990s. Yet, despite repeated U.S. protests, Chinese businessmen continue to offer crucial assistance to Iran’s procurement efforts without fear of punishment or censure, U.S. officials and nuclear experts say. An unusual order Perhaps the most striking fact about the toy-horse plot, investigators say, is that it was discovered at all. The tip came in late 2008 from an obscure Homeland Security program that involves occasional factory visits by U.S. officials to guard against foreign pilfering of sensitive U.S. technology. During a visit to a Puget Sound steelmaker, an export manager there told a U.S. official about a bizarre query he had gotten from China. “It was a gigantic order: 20 tons of maraging steel,” recalled a law enforcement official familiar with the case. The mention of maraging steel raised eyebrows because of the alloy’s use in missiles and centrifuges. Months passed with no follow-up to the initial inquiry from the prospective buyer, and efforts by U.S. officials to investigate the unusual order reached a dead end. In the spring of 2009, a new query from China turned up in the steelmaker’s inbox. This time, the buyer claimed to represent a toy company, Monalila Co., a maker of playground equipment. The company Web site showed photographs of real toys, including its premier product, Model HF450, the “Magic Horse.” “No gas, no battery, no power, but can be ride [sic] as a horse and run smoothly on squares, parks, alleys and any other flat grounds,” read the product description, displayed beneath a photo of a black-and-white toy pony with a saddle and cottony mane. To make its ponies, the company needed the bulk order of maraging steel, wrote the purchasing agent, who identified himself as “Yi.” Except for the names and products, the $2 million order was identical to the one from the previous year. U.S. investigators were alerted, and they set up a sting. In a chain of e-mails, federal agents posing as salesmen teased out details about the order and who was behind it. Eventually Yi excused himself and handed over the correspondence to his boss, a man he called “Martin.” It quickly became apparent that Martin was not Chinese and had no interest in


Uganda’s Stephen Kiprotich takes surprising gold in marathon

LONDON — Yet after the men’s marathon had wound past Buckingham Palace and through the shadows of Big Ben’s tower, a relatively unknown Ugandan named Stephen Kiprotich, owner of only the world’s 53rd-best marathon time of the year, had distanced himself from the pack. Kiprotich won the men’s marathon Sunday, earning Uganda its first Olympic medal since 1996 and only its second gold ever. “Today I joined the champions,” he said, “so I am happy.” Kiprotich won with a time of 2 hours 8 minutes 1 second, well ahead of silver medalist Abel Kirui (2:08:27) and third-place finisher Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich (2:09:37), both of Kenya. Four years ago, Kenya and Ethiopia combined to win eight of the nine medals in the men’s marathon, 5,000- and 10,000 meter races, including all three golds. (The 2008 Olympic champion marathon champion, Kenyan Samuel Wanjiru, died after falling off a balcony following a domestic dispute last year.) In London, the two countries didn’t claim any of the golds, and won five men’s distance medals overall. “It is not good that we lost the gold medal,” Kenya’s Kiprotich said, “but to get silver and bronze is still a major achievement.” The lone American to finish the race was 37-year old Meb Keflezighi, a three-time Olympian who finished fourth in 2:11:06. A silver medalist from the 2004 Olympics, Keflezighi made a late charge but still finished more than three minutes behind the winner. “Did I want to finish fourth? No,” he said. “But at the Olympic Games, I’ll take it.” Keflezighi was born in the African nation of Eritrea but has lived in the United States since he was 12. He missed two months of training this year because of a foot infection but still seemed pleased with his performance Sunday. It was what happened before the race that bothered him. Because there are more than 100 runners competing, race organizers introduced fewer than 10 to the crowd. With an Olympic medal and a New York City Marathon title on his race résumé, Keflezighi said he should have been formally introduced. “I was very upset,” he said. “Shame on [International Association of Athletics Federations] on that one. . . . None of those guys have what I have. To not be introduced like that definitely hurts.” His U.S. teammates, Ryan Hall and Abdihakem Abdirahman dropped out of Sunday’s race after about 10 miles. Hall, the 10th-place


the race was 37-year old Meb Keflezighi, a three-time Olympian who finished fourth in 2:11:06. A silver medalist from the 2004 Olympics, Keflezighi made a late charge but still finished more than three minutes behind the winner. “Did I want to finish fourth? No,” he said. “But at the Olympic Games, I’ll take it.” Keflezighi was born in the African nation of Eritrea but has lived in the United States since he was 12. He missed two months of training this year because of a foot infection but still seemed pleased with his performance Sunday. It was what happened before the race that bothered him. Because there are more than 100 runners competing, race organizers introduced fewer than 10 to the crowd. With an Olympic medal and a New York City Marathon title on his race résumé, Keflezighi said he should have been formally introduced. “I was very upset,” he said. “Shame on [International Association of Athletics Federations] on that one. . . . None of those guys have what I have. To not be introduced like that definitely hurts.” His U.S. teammates, Ryan Hall and Abdihakem Abdirahman dropped out of Sunday’s race after about 10 miles. Hall, the 10th-place finisher at the Beijing Games, appeared to grab the back of his leg as he left the course and later said he had hurt his hamstring. “It’s a real bummer to have such a bad day when it’s such an amazing atmosphere out there,” Hall said. ”There was the potential to do something really special today.” Abdirahman, a four-time Olympian, barely made it 100 yards past Hall before he, too, pulled up. The pain in his knee had become too much, he said. “It was the hardest thing to do. At the same time I didn’t want to push hard and I didn’t want to take the risk because of the pain I was feeling in my leg,” he said. “The best thing was to shut it down and drop out.” Kenya’s Kiprotich was in front for most of the race’s first half, leading at one point by nearly 20 seconds. About 161 / 2 miles in, as he approached Big Ben on the race course, Kiprotich was joined by fellow Kenyan Kirui and Uganda’s Kiprotich, and the trio ran neck and neck. With about four miles remaining, Kenya’s Kiprotich fell slightly behind the Ugandan and Kirui. Less than a


feeling in my leg,” he said. “The best thing was to shut it down and drop out.” Kenya’s Kiprotich was in front for most of the race’s first half, leading at one point by nearly 20 seconds. About 161 / 2 miles in, as he approached Big Ben on the race course, Kiprotich was joined by fellow Kenyan Kirui and Uganda’s Kiprotich, and the trio ran neck and neck. With about four miles remaining, Kenya’s Kiprotich fell slightly behind the Ugandan and Kirui. Less than a mile later, Uganda’s Kiprotich pulled slightly ahead and took possession of the lead. “The pace was too fast and I knew I could not run away from them, so I just had to keep up with them,” the Ugandan said. “I tried to settle and then I had to break away because I wanted to win this medal.” There were 105 runners from 68 countries in Sunday’s race, but many of the world’s top marathon runners could not participate. Nations such as Ethiopia and Kenya feature many of the fastest runners but could send just three apiece to London. In fact, the world record holder, Kenyan Patrick Makau Musyoki stayed home because he was not selected by his country’s Olympic committee to compete here. Uganda, meanwhile, won its first medal since 1996. The country has competed in the Olympics since 1956 but had won only six medals in that time. Its lone gold before Sunday came in 1972 in the 400-meter hurdles. Running unaffiliated with any country, Guor Marial Marial said he wasn’t racing for a medal Sunday as much as he was trying to honor “the supporters, the refugees and the people of South Sudan. “That’s the reason I came here to run.” More 2012 Olympics U.S. repeats with gold in men’s basketball Photos: Scenes from the gold-medal win over Spain Jenkins: Women’s Olympic success began as a trickle Female U.S. Olympians hope trend continues Wise: Games were about legacy, humor, courage Medal is priceless when it’s your country’s only one Photos: Scenes from Day 16 Photos: Scenes from the Closing Ceremonies Video: Best moments, as told by the Post’s contingent Olympics go out with a musical bang Photos: 2012 Games, moments that made history Interactive: Olympic athletes throughout history Photos: Missteps at the Summer Olympics Final Olympic medal count Instagram: Post staffers kept their cameras out London Eyes: Share sights and sounds


Wal-Mart to begin building Georgia Avenue store in September

Wal-Mart’s store at 77 H St. NW has progressed as permits have been approved. ( Courtesy of OxBlue ) Wal-Mart plans to begin building a store on Georgia Avenue NW next month, and with construction already under way on its store off North Capitol Street, the retailer could open its first two District stores by the end of next year. Since announcing in late 2010 that it planned to open four stores in the District, the chain has had to temper its expectations. The original time line of opening four by the end of 2012 quickly proved unrealistic, and Wal-Mart acknowledged delays in the spring. Although the retailer has faced some opposition from community leaders and residents upset about its management practices, Wal-Mart spokesman Steven Restivo attributed the delays to the complexity of the mixed-use projects where its stores will locate. Unlike the chain’s sites in many rural areas, all but the Georgia Avenue project in D.C. are part of mixed-use developments, and none are owned by Wal-Mart. The store already under way, at 77 H Street NW, is a part of a development by JBG Rosenfeld that will feature 303 apartments above a 76,000-square-foot urban format Wal-Mart alongside other smaller stores. Work should be complete by the end of 2013 or early 2014, according to Restivo. Other projects are moving more slowly. A store pegged for East Capitol Street and being built in conjunction with the D.C. Housing Authority will need zoning changes via the city’s Planned Unit Development process, which allows developers to seek greater density. Restivo said Wal-Mart expects that process to begin in the fall. The developer of Wal-Mart’s site on New York Avenue NE, Rick Walker, has been juggling interest from other big-box retailers for a larger shopping center that he calls the Point at Arboretum, but has not announced any other tenants to this point. Walker also took issue recently with proposals to build two new nightclubs near the corner of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road NE, adjacent to his site. Walker wrote to the District’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in the spring opposing the clubs’ liquor license applications. “The use is of some concern to us,” Walker said. “We’re supporting the community in their opposition to the proposals.” Walker did not, however, think there was any reason to believe Wal-Mart would back out of the deal. “We’ve had no discussions with Wal-Mart


Retail demand in District would remain high even after Wal-Mart opens stores in city

No matter where residents stand on the debate over a plan by Wal-Mart to open a handful of stores in the nation’s capital, what is clear is that the District of Columbia is served by far less retail than the rest of the region, particularly by grocery stores. While the D.C. metropolitan area has more retail square feet per capita (42 square feet per resident) than the U.S. average (39 square feet per resident), much of that total reflects the impact of suburban store space. The amount of retail space per capita within the District itself is significantly lower at 35 square feet per resident. Analyzing further by type of retailer, the disparity becomes even clearer. Strolling through downtown D.C., it appears there is no shortage of coffee shops and, indeed, the District boasts 25 percent of the region’s Starbucks locations. On the other hand, while home to 10 percent of the region’s residents, D.C. is home to just 6 percent of the region’s total grocery store square footage. The result is a supply-demand imbalance in which one of every three dollars spent on groceries by a D.C. resident is tendered at a store outside of the District, in comparison to an average of one of every five dollars spent on groceries across the region. Currently, D.C. residents spend an estimated $770 million at grocery and big-box department stores outside of the District, enough to support an estimated 1.8 million square feet of retail space. To date, only two of the six Wal-Mart stores proposed in the District have been issued building permits, one at 77 H St. NW and the other at 5929 Georgia Ave. NW. Proponents welcomed the arrival of a low-cost, large selection retail operator, along with the more than 1,200 jobs it promised. Opponents expressed concerns over the impact the new retailer would have on local retailers. But sizing up the inventory and spending power for each proposed store, evidence suggests that there is sufficient un-met demand to support the new Wal-Mart stores. In fact, the current disparity between demand and supply for the kind of goods that Wal-Mart sells within a two-mile area surrounding the Georgia Avenue and Missouri Street site, where Wal-Mart plans to open its first store in the District by the end of next year, is enough to support an additional 250,000 square feet of grocery or discount department store space, even


three-course meal at a steakhouse, say — and are served quickly, since many of the items are prepared ahead of time. For restaurants, they help attract lunch customers at a time when many potential clients still prefer home-packed lunches or cheaper options such as deli sandwiches. In many ways, local restaurateurs say the movement is an offshoot of the popular D.C. Restaurant Week, which offers lunch for $20.12 and dinner for $35.12 at area restaurants two times a year. This year’s second installment of Restaurant Week begins Monday and runs through Sunday. “I was sitting here one day and was like, ‘People really like Restaurant Week,’” said Bryan Yealy, corporate chef at Georgia Brown’s in Northwest Washington. “Why can’t we use the prix fixe menu to get people to come in here all the time?” The $24 three-course lunch at Georgia Brown’s, which was implemented about five years ago, has raised the average lunch bill by 3 percent to 5 percent long-term, Yealy said. “Every once in a while, someone who would have gotten a salad gets the prix fixe,” he said. “That helps bump us up a bit.” The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington said it does not track lunchtime sales or trends. In any case, even area restaurants with preexisting fixed lunch menus are revamping their offerings to be more executive-friendly. Earlier this summer, The Source by Wolfgang Puck tweaked its lunch menu to offer two new prix fixe options: one geared toward business clients who need to be in and out in an hour ($22), and the other for those who have more time to linger ($45). Both menus offer three-course meals, but the latter includes more of the restaurant’s specialties and a glass of wine, Executive Chef Scott Drewo said. The Palm, a national chain with steakhouses in the District and Tyson’s Corner, has long been offering a three-course lunch that includes an appetizer, entree and dessert for $22.95. But even that may be changing, said Brian McCardle, vice president of culinary operations for the company. The Palm is looking to pare down its lunch menu to two courses and a lower fixed price. “We see a lot of people who choose not to get the dessert because they just want to be in and out,” McCardle said. “The whole idea of the business lunch, where you order three martinis and dine all day, is over.”