Capital Comment Blog

Mentoring in Ten Minutes

Former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino offers young women in Washington a new way to network.

When ailing White House press secretary Tony Snow stepped down in March 2007, Dana Perino, then the White House deputy press secretary, suddenly found herself in the spotlight. And as Perino put it, “At that time, the [Bush] administration never had an easy day.”

Moments after learning that her boss’s cancer had returned, Perino prepared to step in front of the press gaggle for a briefing. Snow asked her, “How are you feeling?”

“Terrible,” she answered. “How am I supposed to replace you?”

Perino hasn’t forgotten his next words: “You’re better at this than you think you are.”

She echoed that advice at her “Minute Mentoring” event, which she created because she couldn’t find time for every young woman who wanted to meet for coffee. Last Thursday, she held a forum with the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani, the nonprofit Running Start, and the Women Under Forty Political Action Committee. Fifteen female mentors involved in politics, communications, and public affairs met with 45 young women, ages 23 to 33, in a speed-dating-style forum.

Tweet Beat: The Best Congressional Tweets of the Week

Technology is great and everything, but sometimes we can’t help but miss the days when outrage was expressed through op-eds and cable news soundbites, not tweets. These days, if it isn’t healthcare it’s the deficit; if it isn’t the deficit it’s federal funding for abortion; and if it isn’t federal funding for abortion it’s the trying of terrorists like Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in civilian courts rather than military tribunals. It’s Twitter, y’all! How can you possibly delve into complicated policy matters in 140 characters or less? Plus, all the back-slapping, sycophantic RT-ing between party members is getting really old.

In other news, David Vitter saved raw oysters! We’re starting to worry about John Shimkus—when he isn’t constantly quoting passages from the Bible, he’s repeating himself. Repeatedly. Chuck Grassley is back! Zach Wamp knows his strengths, Bob Goodlatte is eating chips, Paul Ryan knows who your daddy is, Denny Rehberg is checking his facts (better late than never), Mary Fallin is looking forward to “Going Rogue” and John McCain is sarcastic. Only one question remains: What is this “stimulous” you speak of, Joe Wilson? It sounds fabulous.

Can DC’s New Digital News Operations Replace the Once-Great Newspaper Bureaus?

When Dan Froomkin surveyed the fresh digs where he would set up shop for Huffington Post’s larger Washington bureau three months ago, he realized its potential: rooftop party central.

“I grew up in Washington,” he tells me, “and I have never seen a view like this. You have to see it.”

The roof on the building on Pennsylvania Avenue is a block from the White House and it was the setting for a small gathering when the office opened. Last Friday Froomkin hosted another gathering of reporters and sources.

The mood was less festive in the building next door where Newsweek houses its DC bureau. The money-losing weekly, owned by the Washington Post Company, had just announced another round of layoffs. The Washington bureau didn’t take much of a hit but the bureau already had lost its swagger: Newsweek had moved to smaller quarters; reporters and editors had been asked to move from offices to cubicles.

“Yes,” says Newsweek bureau chief Jeff Bartholet, “we’re facing the same financial pressures afflicting other news outlets. But until now, anyway, we’ve tried to find savings in Washington by cutting back on travel and by moving into smaller offices to save on rent.”

There have been several sob stories about the death dance of the traditional Washington news bureau, including those of the news weeklies. Gone are the robust bureaus for the Los Angeles Times, Newhouse News, and other once-healthy news organizations. Digital media bureaus now are taking their places with as many reporters and plenty of swagger.

“I mourn the loss of those bureaus,” Froomkin says, “but there’s a lot of optimism, a lot of energy in the kind of Internet journalism we are doing.”

November Photo Contest: The Finalists

Check out the finalists in our wide-angle-themed photo contest. Then cast a vote to choose a winner.

The votes are in, and the finalists in our wide-angle photo contest have been selected. Now we need you to choose a winner.

You know the drill: Check out the finalists' gallery (click here to see it in a new window), then take the poll at the bottom of the page to vote for your favorite. The photo with the most votes at noon on Monday, November 30, will be the winner. It’ll appear in the January issue of The Washingtonian.

Remember, it’s only one vote per person, so play fair. If we notice voting irregularities for any photo, we reserve the right to disqualify it from the contest.

Good luck to this month’s finalists, and happy voting, readers!

>> Click here to see the finalists

Looking for next month’s theme? Check back on December 1 for details on how to enter.

Tom and Rahm Do It—Who Else Has Dance Fever?

Tom DeLay isn’t alone. While the former House majority leader had a quick fall from grace on Dancing With the Stars—stress fractures in both feet caused him to drop out early—a lot of fancy footwork is going on in political circles (and not just in the health-care-bill negotiations).

President Obama, who danced onstage with Ellen DeGeneres to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love,” has a classically trained ballet dancer heading the White House staff: Rahm Emanuel studied dance throughout his Chicago childhood and was offered a scholarship with the Joffrey Ballet. We even hear that Emanuel worked with a private ballet instructor at a downtown DC studio in recent years.

In his years on Saturday Night Live, Minnesota senator Al Franken danced up a storm, including in a memorable sketch where he played Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.

The Blogger Beat: New Columbia Heights

This week, we explore Columbia Heights with blogger Andrew Wiseman.

Andrew Wiseman has lived in Columbia Heights for 2½ years, but he’s been in DC for more than ten. The son of an Air Force officer, Wiseman says that’s a record: “I love DC—so much so, I’m even a Nats fan.”

Wiseman has been blogging about Columbia Heights since March 2008. He tried out lots of names for his site—Heights of Columbia (taken), New (Columbia) Heights (corny)—before settling on New Columbia Heights, a celebration of all the new shops, restaurants, and development in the DC neighborhood. Not surprisingly, Wiseman writes to an audience comprised mostly of his neighbors. He pens features on local bands, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, real-estate development, and even celebrity sightings.

We caught up with Wiseman to get the scoop on what’s new in his neighborhood. The best pizza spot? Architectural eye sore? Bizarre crimes? Read on for his answers.

“Yes, Senator, We Know Who You Are”

When Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz complained this fall after being singled out for additional screening at the Salt Lake City airport, he became the latest in a long line of politicians who’ve run into trouble at airports. Here’s a roundup of some of the most memorable confrontations.

Security

In 2000, cameras caught Congressman Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island trying to shove a woman who was monitoring a metal detector when he was told his carryon bag was too large to fit through the x-ray machine.

In March, when gloved officials asked to search the bag of Oregon congressman Peter DeFazio, who had helped create the Transportation Security Administration, he allegedly mumbled a swear word.

Boarding Gate

Louisiana Senator David Vitter, of “DC madam” notoriety, threw a tantrum in March after he set off an alarm by opening a security door to a restricted area while rushing to catch a flight. When confronted by an employee, Vitter went into a “do you know who I am?” tirade before fleeing the scene.

Indiana congressman David McIntosh was charged with two counts of assault and battery in 1996 after trying to push his way past two USAir employees and onto a full plane. Both workers said McIntosh smelled of alcohol.

Last Woman at the High Court

One place you won’t find more women is among Washington’s exclusive bar of Supreme Court advocates.

It’s been a historic year for women at the Supreme Court. Elena Kagan became the country’s first female solicitor general, and Sonia Sotomayor became the third woman to sit on the high court. But one place you won’t find more women is among Washington’s exclusive bar of Supreme Court advocates.

Latham & Watkins partner Maureen Mahoney, widely considered the queen of the DC appellate bar, is scaling back her practice and partially retiring. Renowned Supreme Court advocate Beth Brinkmann, previously chair of Morrison & Foerster’s appellate group, has left to be a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s Civil Division. Among the cream of the crop of Washington’s Supreme Court lawyers, the last woman standing is Patricia Millett.

Tweet Beat: The Best Congressional Tweets of the Week

It’s becoming clear that the only thing more tedious than the 2000+ page healthcare bill is the sheer volume of our representatives’ tweets about it. To their merit however, the GOP congressmen on Twitter are livening things up by becoming increasingly inventive with their metaphors. This week alone we have the healthcare bill depicted as a giant monolithic structure; as “abominable works” passed under cover of darkness; and as a deliberate homage to Cold War-era communism. Gresham Barrett even states that our forefathers are weeping tears of sorrow somewhere over this scandalous piece of legislation. Sources tell us that despite the frosty weather, the air conditioning is still blasting away in the Longworth building this week- possibly to blow away all the rampant melodrama.

In other news, (and there isn’t much- nobody except Rick Perry seemed to even notice the tragedy at Fort Hood) Michele Bachmann is wearing a lei, John McCain is still still STILL obsessed with earmarks, Earl Blumenauer is taking nods from the Darrell Issa school of tweet humor (jokes your dad makes in front of all your friends), Virginia Foxx and John Shimkus are praying for a way out from all this rampant socialism and John Barrow is eating tacos. Jason Chaffetz is going to need his generous federal insurance plan if he keeps having Pop-Tarts for dinner. And there’s surely nothing more unnerving in the Twittersphere than Zach Wamp talking about “mojo.”

DC’s Biggest Ego?

It’s been a year since the messiest law-firm breakup in recent history. Last November, Michael Hausfeld was, as he said at the time, “abruptly and unceremoniously” told—via a note left on his office chair—to leave his firm. The antitrust lawyer had been the top rainmaker at the DC plaintiffs firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll (now Cohen, Milstein, Sellers & Toll) when his partners voted him out.

He didn’t go quietly. He started his own shop, Hausfeld LLP, taking about 20 other Cohen, Milstein lawyers with him, and hired Venable partner Stefan Tucker to look into a possible lawsuit.

In a town with some big egos, Hausfeld is known for having one of the biggest. In the words of one source who knows him, “People who have a reputation for being difficult to work with have that reputation for obvious reasons.”

The Blogger Beat: Bullets Forever

This week, we talk hoops with Washington Wizards blogger Mike Prada from Bullets Forever.

Mike Prada’s blog was named Bullets Forever by mistake. He’d been blogging under the name Bullets Fever—a nod to the Nils Lofgren song that was recorded after the team won the 1978 championship—when sports site SB Nation approached him about joining its blog network. Prada accepted, and when asked what he wanted his URL to be, he said “Bullets Fever,” but they heard “Bullets Forever.” “It was probably a blessing in disguise,” says Prada. “I bet a lot of Wizards fans don’t know who Lofgren is, and besides, lots of people—including myself—wish the Bullets never changed their name.”

Prada, a 22-year-old Bethesda native, has been a Wizards fan all his life. He started going to games with his dad in the late 1990s and continued to follow the team during college at Brandeis University. He wrote about sports for his college newspaper but missed being able to talk to fellow Wizards fans about his hometown team. That’s when he decided to start a blog.

Prada says he writes for an audience of avid Wizards fans who know the game and the team inside and out. He opens a comment thread for every game and encourages fans to post thoughts and commentary as the game is being played. Prada was able to score press credentials this season, so he also does interviews and reports during games and practices. Readers can blog, too—a section called FanPosts allows anyone to post a link, picture, quote, or video.

We caught up with Prada to get his predictions for the 2009-2010 season, which got underway two weeks ago with a win against Dallas. There’s already a lot to debate—the team’s new coach, Flip Saunders, and Gilbert Arenas’s health, for starters—so read on for Prada’s answers. Then leave your thoughts on the team in the comments section below.

Surprising Hire

DLA Piper didn’t have a hole in its roster of top Republican lobbyists for long. Weeks after former House majority leader Dick Armey resigned, DLA welcomed former Florida senator Mel Martinez to its ranks. Martinez, who left the Senate in August, started at the firm on October 1.

You wouldn’t think Armey would be a popular guy around DLA, where he caused some heartburn for his colleagues. Armey resigned after his role as chairman of the conservative group FreedomWorks—which helped organize protests against health-care reform at town-hall meetings—entangled the firm and its clients in a mess of bad publicity.

But apparently his word still carries weight. While Martinez was looking for his next landing place, he says, Armey served as “a good recommendation for me” at DLA.

More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos

A Night Out: Knock Out Abuse Gala

Hundreds of women and a ’60s theme? This year’s Knock Out gala was the place for sequins, bouffants, and lots of Dolman sleeves.

>> See more Knock Out photos in our slideshow here

What: Knock Out Abuse Against Women 16th anniversary fundraiser.

Where: Ritz-Carlton, Washington, DC.

When: Thursday, November 5.

Ticket price: $500.

Attire: Cocktail or “groovy ’60s attire.” Lots of women got into the spirit with sequined minidresses, psychedelic prints, headbands, and touches of tie-dye. More than one sported afro wigs, and several wore perfect bouffants that would have made Jackie O. jealous.

Who: The sold-out gala, created by DC events planner Andre Wells, hosted more than 750 Washington women. The more notable names in the crowd included Channel 9’s Andrea Roane, who played emcee for the evening; Knock Out founders Cheryl Masri and Jill Sorensen; actress and domestic-abuse survivor Robin Givens; socialite blogger Pamela Sorensen; and two of Bravo’s Real Housewives of DC, Mary Amons and Lynda Erkiletian. Among the handful of lucky men in attendance were fashionisto and founder of Evolution Look modeling Paul Wharton and hair guru Erwin Gomez. Hunk-of-beef Clinton Portis was scheduled to attend, but word around the party was that the Redskins star got sick and had to cancel.

Tweet Beat: The Best Congressional Tweets of the Week

Big week in Congress: Pelosi releases a healthcare bill for all to read, resulting in the usual grumbles about how long it is. To which we reply, would you rather have a bill one could scrawl on the back of a Big Mac wrapper? Luckily our representatives, brilliant, biting humorists that they are, are able to see the funny side.

In other news, Pete Hoekstra is on Huckabee, Joe Wilson is making friends in Europe (don’t tell him they’re all socialists over there), Cynthia Lummis is hanging out with someone named “Hoppy” and Bob Latta is abusing the caps lock key. And happily, many representatives gathered outside the Capitol Building at the end of the week to protest the healthcare bill, resulting in yet more bad jokes for the weekend.

It might have been Halloween, but there were few costumes and not much candy up on the Hill. Apart from John Shimkus, who’s been inexplicably playing the part of a preacher all week.

Three Quarterbacks Walk Into a Bar. . .

Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Theismann, and Jason Campbell spend an awkward evening together analyzing the Redskins season.

More than 150 Redskins fans gathered at Union Jack’s British Pub in Ballston on Tuesday night to meet two of the team’s most beloved icons—and one of its most beleaguered players. For $98, fans at ESPN 980’s “A Night of Quarterbacks” could down Sam Adams beer, nibble on meatballs and drunken chicken, and put questions to the evening’s guests of honor: Sonny Jurgensen, Joe Theismann, and Jason Campbell.

As fans lined up to pose with the three quarterbacks, Rick “Doc” Walker, tight end for the Redskins 1988 Super Bowl championship team, stood by the bar, biting an unlit cigar. Asked how much of the season’s woes can be put on the management, he replied, “Players win or lose games. This team hasn’t proven to be skillful enough to get the job done.”

Doc placed his stogie in the ashtray and looked us in the eye when asked about the fan fracas at Fed Ex Field, where stadium security have confiscated critical signs directed at the team’s owner, Dan Snyder, or its top executive, Vinny Cerrato. “I don’t like anything that is restrictive,” he said. “But as a player, if a fan says something that crosses the line, I’d like to kick his ass, so I understand why [management is] doing it. The sign of a good fan base is how you react to the bad times. Once you only start cheering for wins, you become a Cowboys fan.”

Didn’t Like the Salon Idea? Have a Glass of Pinot Noir

Having taken a beating for trying to set up evening salons where reporters could mingle with corporate types who’d pay big money for the privilege, the Washington Post now is attempting a more benign way to raise revenue: wine tastings—with reporters as guests.

This week’s event is scheduled for Thursday from 6 to 8:30 PM at the Post’s downtown DC headquarters.

The failed salon plan would have brought reporters together with politicians and businessmen for “off-the-record” chats, sponsored by corporations for as much as $25,000 a pop. This time the main event is the tasting of the wine; reporters are invited as an added attraction for the event, which is open to TastePost members.

Unmasking the Other Deep Throat

When W. Mark Felt, the onetime number two at the FBI, unmasked himself as Deep Throat in May 2005, a few close observers weren’t surprised. They had suspected that Felt was Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s fabled Watergate source: In 1974, just two months after All the President’s Men disclosed Deep Throat’s existence, Washingtonian editor Jack Limpert fingered Felt as the likeliest Deep Throat.

What remains a Watergate mystery is how the Nixon White House learned in October 1972 that Felt was the Washington Post’s source. Decades later, it’s apparent that the White House had a secret source of its own inside the Post, a person who might be dubbed Richard Nixon’s Deep Throat.

Nixon realized early on that someone in the FBI was leaking to the Post. In a conversation captured on the President’s voice-activated tape recorder on October 19, 1972, four months after the break-in, White House chief of staff H.R. “Bob” Haldeman told Nixon that the culprit had been identified. “It’s pretty high up,” Haldeman said. “Mark Felt.” After a flash of anger, Nixon asked Haldeman how he’d found out.

The Blogger Beat: Capital Weather Gang

We check in with members of Capital Weather Gang and get their forecast on everything from Thanksgiving weather to government snow days.

Jason Samenow launched Capital Weather Gang, a blog about Washington weather, in 2003. Back then, he was the only contributor. “I immediately recognized a blog’s potential to facilitate a two-way dialogue between readers and forecasters,” says Samenow. “I also liked the dynamic nature of blog content given the dynamic nature of weather.”

In 2004, Samenow enlisted weather techie Jamie Jones, who converted the site into a group blog and helped add contributors. Last year, the Washington Post picked up Capital Weather Gang to host on its own site. Entries run the gamut from daily weather forecasts (obviously) to weekly commentary on climate-change issues. Says Samenow: “We try to write accurate, informative, and entertaining posts for the Washington-weather consumer.”

Today the site has more than a dozen contributors, almost all of whom have other full-time jobs. We sat down with Samenow, Jones, and lead meteorologist Dan Stillman to get their bests and worsts on Washington weather. Read on for their predictions about everything from government snow days to Thanksgiving Day weather—and find out what they’ve promised to do if they’re wrong.

A Night Out: Signature Chefs Auction

Washington foodies fundraised for infant health with dozens of top-notch restaurant bites.

>> To see more photos from the event, head to our photo slideshow

What: A night filled with more than 25 food-sampling tables, silent auction items, and a fast-paced live-auction finale.

Where: The Ritz-Carlton hotel ballroom in downtown DC.

When: November 2, 6:30 to 10.

Why: To benefit March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization committed to preventing premature birth, birth defects, and infant mortality.

Ticket prices: $200 per person, $2,000 per table.

Who: The evening was a who’s who of the local restaurant scene. PS 7’s mixologist Gina Chersevani, chef Travis Timberlake of Art and Soul, and Restaurant Eve bar wizard Todd Thrasher manned their food stations while ABC 7’s Leon Harris, former Top Chef finalist Carla Hall, and Hell’s Kitchen winner Rock Harper hosted the auction ceremonies. Redskins defensive end Andre Carter was called out from his seat by the audience, and Citronelle and Central’s Michel Richard was rumored to be milling about, though we never saw him.

The Worst Style Story? The Polls Are Now Open

You want to read a sweet piece of prose, check out Henry Allen’s most recent, and perhaps last, essay for Style. His review of Edward Burtynsky’s photographs of big oil’s beginning, middle, and end starts with the image of an oil-soaked cormorant that became a metaphor for the Persian Gulf War, walked us through the exhibition, tried to tell us something about ourselves, and ended with the oiled water bird.

Allen on Friday got into a scuffle with Style writer Manuel Roig-Franzia after hurling this line about a piece written by Roig-Franzia and Monica Hesse: “This is total crap. It’s the second worst story I have seen in Style in 43 years.”

Readers want to know: What was the number one worst Style story?

November Photo Contest: Deadline Today at Noon

The deadline for submissions is Tuesday, November 17, at noon.

It’s time to dust off your fisheye lens—we want your best wide-angle photos for our November photo contest.

Rusty on how our monthly contest works? Here are the details: Send your submissions by noon on Tuesday, November 17, and our judges will pick the best shots to advance to the reader-voting round. Then we’ll open it up to you, the reader, to select a favorite. The winner will be published in the January issue of the magazine.

Photos—one per e-mail—should be sent to photocontest@washingtonian.com. Be sure to include the photographer’s name, phone number, e-mail address, and place of residence, along with a sentence or two describing the photo and explaining why it fits the theme. Photos should be 300 dpi and at least four by six inches. And remember, both the photographer and the photo’s subject need to be from the Washington area, which includes the Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

Good luck!

Our policy on photo rights: The photographer retains the copyright. However, because the photographer has submitted his or her photo to the contest, the magazine has the right to print the winning photograph in the current issue of the magazine and online as well as in any future issues as long as usage is related to the photo contest. The magazine also has the right to use the finalists online in relation to the photo contest.

Need inspiration? Check out all the past photo contest winners here.

Fists Fly After Post Editor Tells Writer, “It’s the Second Worst Story I Have Seen in Style in 43 Years”

UPDATE: Tell us what you think the #1 worst Style story is here.

It’s come to this: The Washington Post Style section, for years known as “the sandbox” because it was a playground for sometimes immature writers, has turned into a boxing ring because one of the editors was revolted by a story that came across his desk on deadline.

Details are sketchy, but numerous witnesses report that veteran feature editor Henry Allen punched out feature writer Manuel Roig-Franzia on Friday. The fracas took place in sight of Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli’s office. Brauchli rushed to separate the two.

It should be noted that Allen is nearly seventy, but he served in the Marines in Vietnam. He also won a Pulitzer prize in 2000 for criticism. Both apparently came into play when Allen jumped Roig-Franzia.

The Guest List: November

A monthly roundup of people we’d like to have over for drinks, food, and conversation.

Joy Zinoman After 35 years, the head of Studio Theatre is stepping down. How has Washington theater changed? What’s next?

John Lannan The only one of the Nationals’ 30 pitchers to last the entire season, he might have suggestions for a better season next year.

Stacie Turner According to insiders, the Georgetown real-estate agent is one of Bravo’s Real Housewives of DC cast members, so watch out for film crews.

David Ferriero The newly appointed US archivist, who headed the New York Public Library, comes here with a mission of transparency and openness.

Cate Blanchett The Australian actress will be here for a month of performances in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Kennedy Center.

Brian Nutting The longtime Congressional Quarterly editor was fired for asking impertinent questions about mass layoffs at the newly merged Roll Call–CQ.

This article first appeared in the November 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.

More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos

The Tweet Beat: The Best Congressional Tweets of the Week

It’s all about healthcare this week, and Joe Wilson knows it: His wife has the dreaded swine (the tweet was written by his son). Will it affect his stance on allowing illegal immigrants to purchase insurance? Probably not. He is, however, “honed” to serve in South Carolina, so we guess he’s been working out to stay healthy.

In other news, Roy Blunt’s campaign against Robin Carnahan takes a lofty tone, Chellie Pingree exposes Louie Gohmert as a horrible punner, Arlen Specter uses fighting words, Robert Menendez introduces the most obvious bill of all time, Zach Wamp had a good time on his birthday (even though he had to, you know, do his job and all), and Bill Nelson is left slightly disappointed. And sorry, Kevin Brady, but we couldn’t help sniggering when we read your last tweet.

Fire Dan Snyder!

Bloggers take to the barricades against the Redskins owner.

In this disheartening Redskins season, a revolt against team owner Dan Snyder has spread through Redskin fandom. In response, Fedex Field security has been ordered to shred, stomp, or seize any protest signs directed at Snyder or the team’s top executive, Vinny Cerrato. (See accounts by the Post’s Dan Steinberg of fans at Monday night’s loss who were allegedly harassed by security and ejected for screaming “Danny sucks” near the ESPN booth.)

Fans in turn have taken their protest to a place beyond management’s control: the Web. From bitter blogs to fiery Facebook tirades, what some describe as Fascist Landover is under attack.

Allbritton and Politico Attack the Post on a Second Front

Robert Allbritton says he’s not aiming to compete with the Washington Post.

“That’s not the plan,” he says.

But what he’s doing indicates the opposite.

Taking a page out of his creation of Politico, Allbritton has put his money on a veteran Post staffer -- this time Jim Brady -- to build a web site that could again strike at the Post’s heart. Politico challenged the Post’s command of national politics; the new venture will take on the Post’s coverage of local news.

“We have been talking about lessons learned from Politico in news, the web, and the economy,” he says. “Now it’s time to put something together. If we wind up competing, that’s the way it goes.”

Allbritton’s new “something” will debut in the spring, separate from Politico. “Different name, different brand, different staff.”

Same kind of leader: a journalist who bridled under the Post’s bureaucracy. Two years Allbritton convinced Post political stars John Harris and Jim VandeHei to leave the capital’s dominant daily news operation to start a new venture based on high-speed, high-intensity coverage of political news. Now he’s brought in Jim Brady to apply the formula to local news.

Washington Read

Book reviews and the latest news on Washington authors.

The story that comes to mind when reading Haleh Esfandiari’s memoir of wrongful arrest, surprise raids, puzzling interrogations, and solitary confinement in Ahmadinejad’s Iran is Franz Kafka’s dystopian novel The Trial. Yet unlike the fictional bank clerk Joseph K., Esfandiari—who runs the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Middle East Program in DC—survived her ordeal, including four months in Iran’s Evin Prison on trumped-up charges, to deliver a taut, jolting narrative that describes how life in the Islamic republic is stranger—and darker—than fiction.

Esfandiari, who fled Iran in the winter of 1978, had been visiting her mother in 2006 when Iranian police forced her cab off the highway outside Tehran, swiped her passports and plane tickets, and disappeared into the night.

Interrogations follow. Esfandiari pleads her innocence. An investigator with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence twists her testimony. The story, a snapshot of Iranian paranoia in response to the Bush administration’s rhetoric, is also a luminous panorama of Iranian life. In prison, Esfandiari befriends the female guards, whose dark chadors disguise worldly concerns about body weight, love, and the future. In the juxtaposition of these women with Esfandiari and the generation that came of age before the revolution, the book channels another Kafka story, The Metamorphosis. As Esfandiari’s tale proves, Gregor Samsa’s transformation from man to insect is no more frightening than Iran’s from homeland to prison.

The Blogger Beat: DCBeer

With the cold weather ramping up, there’s nothing we want more than a pumpkin beer and a warm fire. That’s why we recruited the guys behind DC Beer for a little advice on what to drink this fall, where to get it—and how to stave off a hangover.

DCBeer began as Mike Dolan’s personal blog—he’d post updates every now and then, but he lacked a real focus and regularity. Wanting to start a blog about the local beer scene, Dolan relaunched his site in June as DCBeer, and he and his friends Andrew Nations, Mehan Jayasuriya, and P.J. Coleman began posting about local craft brewers, homebrewing, bartenders, and more. They even started an e-mail newsletter and a homebrewing club, and they’re teaming up with bars to host tasting events; the second one is tonight at the Black Squirrel.

The site is geared toward beer drinkers, brewers, and bartenders, but you don’t have to be a connoisseur to get something out of it. In fact, the writers don’t even consider themselves experts: “I’m a beer enthusiast,” says Dolan. “But I guess I’ve read enough and tasted enough to at least pretend to be an expert.”

We caught up with the self-proclaimed beer nerds to find out what they’re drinking this fall. Read on for where they go for a good beer selection (not Brickskelller!), their favorite beer that comes in a can, and their ordering tips for beer virgins. Sláinte!

The Smart Set Is Reading Dahlia—and the Next Graham Is Working at Slate

Dahlia Lithwick is Ben Bradlee’s kind of woman. She’s got the Yale undergrad and Stanford law degrees, the talent to pen brassy features about the Supreme Court, a sense of humor, and an eye for the jugular. Back in his day, Bradlee might have roped her into a beat on the Washington Post Style section alongside Sally Quinn.

Lithwick doesn’t write for Style—you have to read Slate, the Washington Post Company’s online magazine. Covering legal affairs since 1999 and now also writing a serialized chick-lit novel, Lithwick is a Don Graham kind of woman.

The Post Company head adores Slate. The Post in print is his albatross, a newspaper that loses millions; Slate represents his digital dream, with the potential to do great journalism and make a profit.

“Slate itself is now a good business,” says Jacob Weisberg, the New York–based chief of the Slate Group. No one will provide proof, but word is that the magazine will make money this year.

Slate is also a good place for Grahams to work. Washingtonian has learned that Laura Graham, 32, one of Don and Mary Graham’s four children, has been hired as director of product development and strategy. She will work out of Slate’s Arlington office. She becomes the second member of the third generation of Grahams to work at a Washington Post publication. Her cousin, Katharine Weymouth, is Post publisher and head of Washington Post Media.

A Night Out: Harman Center for the Arts Annual Gala

Washington celebrates Shakespeare with dinner, dancing, and Mickey Rooney.

>> See more photos from the gala in our photo slide show here

What: Harman Center for the Arts Annual Gala

Where: Harman Center for the Arts and the National Building Museum

When: Sunday, October 25, 6 to 11 PM

Ticket prices: $750 per person, $15,000 per table

Why: To fundraise for the center’s outreach and educational programs (fans of the Shakespeare Free for All, say thanks), to honor British actor Sir Ian McKellen (known to many as X-Men’s Magneto) with the William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre, and to give the Sidney Harman Award for Philanthropy in the Arts to Heidi and Max Berry.

The Agenda: Theater patrons walked up the red carpet and into the Harman lobby for drinks and socializing an hour before curtain. At 7, guests were ushered into the theater for award presentations and a series of scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Actors from the Shakespeare Theatre Company cracked highbrow jokes between Synetic Theater’s goblinesque, eerily unspoken “That Shrewd and Knavish Sprite” performance, Step Afrika’s powerfully rhythmic Zulu dance number, and a surprise appearance by Mickey Rooney. The actor—who at age 15 played Puck in the 1935 movie version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream—received a standing ovation for his revival of the Fairy King’s jester. Ian McKellen’s acceptance speech—peppered with smart quips, a soliloquy from Sir Thomas More, and a flawless English accent—was met with similar enthusiasm. After the show, guests followed a wood fairy through the crisp autumn evening to the nearby National Building Museum for a sit-down dinner, drinks, and dancing.

A Night Out: Fall Fête at the Corcoran

The Corcoran’s Fall Fete drew hundreds of Washington’s next wave of politicos, power players, socialites, and wannabes to the museum on Saturday night.

>> See more photos from the event in our slideshow here

What: 1869 Society Fall Fete: “A Nautical Affair”

Where: Corcoran Gallery of Art

When: October 25, 8 to midnight.

Ticket price: $100 regular admission; $150 VIP; $200 “captain” pass.

Who: The latest collection of young, bright, beautiful things Washington has to offer, dressed in—for the most part—beautiful gowns and suits. “Who ever said DC is Hollywood for ugly people never attended this party,” we heard a photographer exclaim. In keeping with the night’s nautical theme—a nod to artist John Singer Sargent’s current exhibit at the museum—plenty of guests donned sailor and captain hats. We also saw some designer boat shoes and plenty of navy blue on dresses, accessories, and ties.

Organized by the museum’s 1869 Society—which targets young professionals between ages 25 and 42—the Corcoran’s Fall Fete drew hundreds of Washington’s next wave of politicos, power players, socialites, and wannabes. We also occasionally spotted the older guest trying to, um, get down with the kids.

How Teddy Became Our Biggest Loser

In an era when some baseball players try injections or supplements to gain an edge, it’s comforting to know that fans can still root for a loser.

Teddy Roosevelt has become Washington’s most endearing mascot, emerging during the fourth inning of every Nationals home game with three other Rushmore-style Presidents to race around Nationals Park. Teddy’s winless streak remains unrivaled in all of professional sports since the race’s 2006 inception. Of course, losing every race requires some creativity. Our favorites from the 2009 season:

“Mrs. Bernanke, Can We Have Recess?”

While Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke shepherds the nation through a financial storm, his wife, Anna Bernanke, is quietly navigating her own full-time project—to open a new private school.

The proposed school, Chance Academy, will offer an arts-oriented curriculum to prepare inner-city students for college. It was intended to open this fall at Joe’s Movement Emporium, a community arts center in Mount Rainier. Those familiar with Bernanke’s proposal say the building contract fell through at the last minute and she’s looking at other options for a site. According to these sources, the launch is being funded by the Bernanke family’s own money.

Apparently, a dinner more than a year ago with Kathleen Kennedy Townsend helped plant the seed: Townsend, a former Maryland lieutenant governor and daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, told Anna Bernanke about Touchstones Discussion Project, a nonprofit that aims to help students think independently.

“I Don’t Have Time to Learn to Act”

No one knows what to make of Howard Gutman. When President Obama nominated him to be ambassador to Belgium this spring, the Belgian press couldn’t choose which of Gutman’s three hats to lead with: Was he a high-powered DC attorney? A Hollywood bit actor and would-be TV producer? Or a close Obama confidant?

Sure, he’s a longtime partner at Williams & Connolly, one of the city’s top law firms. But he also has a Screen Actors Guild card and a role in the upcoming movie Fame, and he was a top Obama fundraiser as well as one of the “Washington insiders” the GOP has attacked.

Gutman graduated from Harvard Law, clerked on the Fifth Circuit and for Justice Potter Stewart, and did a stint with FBI director William Webster before settling at Williams & Connolly in 1982. He spent two decades building a practice in corporate litigation and labor law as well as representing people such as Steven Rales and Nigel Morris. He also represented former Bolivian president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada against charges of human-rights abuses.

The Tweet Beat: The Best Congressional Tweets of the Week

What did our congressmen and women do before technology? With all the tweeting, texting, blogging and kindling going on these days, it’s a wonder they have time to update their Facebook pages. Luckily, Bob Latta has a solution. Hopefully it’ll help Jim Oberstar, who seems to have a problem hitting the right tiny keys, or Sherrod Brown, who’s singularly averse to capital letters.

In other news, Rick Perry is going to the State Fair, Joe Wilson’s audiences aren’t quite as prolific as he might hope for, Eric Cantor is friends with someone called SWAC Girl (who may or may not be a conservative superhero), Jason Chaffetz is making friends in high places again and Arlen Specter is watching the playoffs. And we don’t know, John Shimkus, but we’re willing to bet that reading the entire Harry Potter series, even including “Quidditch Through The Ages,” is much more entertaining than reading the Baucus bill.

Jack Nelson, RIP

Jack Nelson, one of Washington’s best and most respected journalists of the past 40 years, died Wednesday morning at his home in Bethesda. Barbara Matusow, his wife, told friends, “I want you to know that Jack passed away this morning. He looked very peaceful and beautiful, young even, which is a lovely image for me to hold on to.”

Barbara was a Washingtonian senior writer from 1987 to 2002, and she has continued to write for the magazine as a contributing editor. In the October issue, Barbara wrote about Jack’s taking part in the clinical trial at NIH and what a wonderful resource those trials can be for Washington area residents. She said Jack was very pleased with the story, especially the picture of him with Barbara and with Leo, his sheltie puppy.

Here is a link to the Washingtonian story.

And here is a link to the Los Angeles Times story today outlining Jack’s incredible career in Washington.

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DC Radio Boss Calls the Downie Report “Thin Gruel” and Attacks the Post for Bad Numbers, Bad Reporting

The Washington Post and the Columbia School of Journalism have spent much of this week celebrating the latest report on how to save journalism, this one by former Post editor Leonard Downie and Columbia University professor Michael Schudson.

But all the self-congratulation didn’t sit well with Jim Farley, head of news and reporting at WTOP radio, Washington’s all-news station. He called the report’s denigration of radio journalism “thin gruel—not based on any serious research.”

The Post devoted a chunk of Monday’s opinion page to a Downie-Schudson essay promoting their ideas, which boil down to suggesting ways for charities, government, and universities to help finance journalism. The new business model, they argue, is handouts and subsidies of various kinds.

Post media reporter Howard Kurtz used his Monday media column to give the Downie report more attention. Kurtz focused on the report’s listing of new ventures that show “journalism is being revived and reinvented in some encouraging ways.”

The Blogger Beat: What She Has . . .

This week, we peruse the sale racks with bargain-hunting fashion blogger, Kelcey Ostrega.

Kelcy Ostrega started her fashion blog, What She Has . . ., as a New Year’s resolution in January. She calls herself a “blog-posting camel. I can go long periods without posting, but when I do, I’m loading up.”

Ostrega has always been interested in fashion, she says, “but I don’t really think I had any idea what I was doing until two or three years ago.” She attributes her evolving sense of style to her husband, Piotr. “He’s Polish and has that innate sense of European style that a lot of Americans lack,” she says. “I used to buy a lot of things just because they were a good deal, and he’s taught me to buy things because they look great on me.”

Even still, Ostrega is a bit of a bargain hunter. As the blog title suggests, many of her posts are wardrobe wish lists, but she has a real knack for finding high-fashion riffs at more wallet-friendly stores. Need proof? Check out her Fabulous Finds Under $50 list.

We caught up with this 28-year-old fashionista to chat about Washington style. Read on for her tips on glamming up a work outfit, her biggest fashion pet peeves, and where she goes to flex her bargain-hunting muscle.

Going to China?

Two years ago, United Airlines trumpeted that it was the first airline to fly nonstop between the capitals of the world’s greatest powers: the United States and China. The new route was the result of heated airline bidding and a special ruling by the Transportation Department.

The route from Dulles International Airport was a big step in what economist Zachary Karabell calls “superfusion”—the growth of a single giant economy linking both countries.

Then came the global economic meltdown. Now United says it can’t find enough business to support year-round operation of the once-celebrated route; the airline has suspended it from October 25 through March 27. While United says it’s just a seasonal thing, the move is a sign of the cooling of bilateral relations between the countries amid the economic crisis and recent trade disputes.

Continuing the service, United spokesperson Sarah Massier says, “doesn’t really make sense if we’re not getting the passenger amounts we want.”

This article first appeared in the October 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.

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October Photo-Contest Finalists

The votes are in, and the finalists for our contrast-themed photo contest have been selected. Read on to vote for your favorite.

Our contrast-themed photo contest fielded a good mix of entries—everything from portraits to landscapes to studio shots. Now that our judges have selected their five favorites, it’s time for you to choose a winner.

Go here to view the finalists' gallery, then take the poll at the bottom of this page to vote for your favorite. The photo with the most votes on Friday, October 30, at noon will be declared the winner and will run in the December issue of The Washingtonian.

Remember, it’s only one vote per person, so play fair. If we notice voting irregularities for any photo, we reserve the right to disqualify it from the contest.

Good luck to this month’s finalists, and happy voting!

> > Click here to see the finalists

There were lots more photos that our judges liked; check them out in the runners-up gallery. Go here to see all the past winners. And for details on how to enter next month's contest, check back November 1.

Newspaper Redesign Can Be Okay But Great Reporting Is Still What’s Important

On the day the Washington Post unveiled its new design, the newspaper did what it still does best: It published the second in a powerful investigative series about how the District misspends millions to treat AIDS victims. The articles, by Debbie Cenziper, are maddening, saddening, and solidly grounded in documents.

But was it easier to read? Is the new Washington Post easier to read than it was Sunday?

Biggest change for readers throughout the Post is the typeface. The Post switched from Postroman to a version of Scotch Roman, “a sturdy typeface used in newspapers since the early 1800s.”

The new type is thinner and will allow the Post to get more words on the page. Being less bold, it is slightly harder to read, especially for Boomers with fading eye sight, and they make up the bulk of print readers.

Redskins Nation, Rise Up! Vinny Cerrato Has to Go!

Dan Snyder bought the Washington Redskins in May 1999 and at first looked like a savvy businessman who loved the team and might become a great owner.

Little did fans know that his hiring of Vinny Cerrato that year would doom the team to years of disappointment and mediocrity.

There was a brief moment of hope in 2001 when Snyder fired head coach Norv Turner after an 8–8 season and hired a tough, experienced coach, Marty Schottenheimer, and gave him some real power. One of the first things Schottenheimer did was fire Vinny Cerrato.

Who was Vinny Cerrato? He had been the player personnel chief for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1990s, leaving mostly wreckage behind, before he was hired by Snyder in 1999 and fired by Schottenheimer in 2001. But when Schottenheimer’s Redskins went 8–8 in 2001, Snyder fired Schottenheimer and, figuring he could run the team with someone like Cerrato as his yes man, rehired Vinny.

It’s been one disaster after another ever since.

Warning: Crash on the Palin Interchange

In honor of Washington’s godfather of go-go, Seventh Street, Northwest, from T Street to Florida Avenue has been “symbolically designated” Chuck Brown Way. The honor was certainly deserved, but why stop there? Here are other area routes that could be named after local personalities:

U Street, Northwest: Jim Vance Street. Washingtonians trust this local mainstay as the go-to source for what’s happening. Cleaned up since the early ’90s, U Street now boasts the same swagger that made it a favorite long ago.

I-270: Ben Stein Highway. You’ll need a pair of dry, clear eyes to make it through the tentacles of this stop-and-go artery without falling asleep during rush hour.

Military Road, Northwest: Dick Cheney Road. With plenty of deer creeping on and around the shoulder of this street near Rock Creek Park, there’s unlimited hunting potential, and heavy traffic means innocent bystanders are always at risk.

Spirited Bidding: Rare-Liquor Auction Raises Money for Mount Vernon

What do George Washington, a North Dakota liquor-store owner, and an anonymous United Kingdom spirits fanatic have in common? They all know their whiskey.

Whiskey was cause for celebration at Wednesday night’s rare-spirits auction, held at George Washington’s estate. The Spirit of Mount Vernon has held its annual Industry Heritage Dinner and auction since 2002 to raise money for education programs at Mount Vernon, and this year’s event brought in more than $200,000. Auctioned spirits came from the recently reconstructed distillery at the Virginia property, reopened to the public in 2007 to give researchers insight into Washington’s ahead-of-his-time distillation techniques.

The most sought-after item went to an anonymous bidder from the United Kingdom, who took home five gallons of George Washington Distillery Dedication Rye Whiskey for $25,000. The spirits were specially produced in honor of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, to mark his ribbon cutting at the distillery.

The Tweet Beat: The Best Congressional Tweets of the Week

One thing we can usually depend on our representatives for is that they’re more commonly found on C-SPAN than TMZ. Not this week, however. What with Arlen Specter striking up a friendship with Magic Johnson, Maria Shriver being caught using her cellphone while driving, Keith Ellison bigging up Michael Moore, Russ Feingold chilling with Bon Iver and Denny Rehberg’s employee appearing on Jeopardy, it’s all seeming rather more glamorous than usual. We doubt Abra Belke will do as well as Barack Obama though, who managed to snag the big $1.4 million prize- to the profound irritation of House Republicans.

In other news, Chuck Grassley is faster than all the other over-60s, Arnold Schwarzenegger has an adorable breakfast (and seems to threaten his wife with “swift action”), Joe Wilson won some kind of award (presumably it’s not for rudeness), Jeff Flake is back from the remote island of Jabonwod and Darrell Issa is sucking up to Newt Gingrich again.

Who’ll Reign Supreme?

President Obama’s first Supreme Court pick, Sonia Sotomayor, is likely still unpacking, but high-court observers are placing early bets on the next new justice. John Paul Stevens, 89, has hired just one law clerk for the 2010–11 term, bolstering speculation that his retirement is imminent. In the past, Stevens—the oldest member of the court—had by this time of year hired all four of his clerks for the next term. Retired justices can hire one clerk.

Lots of names get bandied about anytime a spot appears poised to open up. Predictions from Supreme Court advocates and former Stevens clerks include Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick, US attorney general Eric Holder, and DC Appeals Court judge Merrick Garland. Court watchers think Obama will go for a woman, a minority, or someone whose credentials would diversify the court, such as a governor.

The Blogger Beat: Endless Simmer

A little of this, a little of that—this week's Blogger Beat chats with Endless Simmer's Stefanie Gans.

Endless Simmer might be a cooking blog, but persnickety cooks should beware: The writers post recipes, but they never include measurements—only ingredients. “To us, one of the best parts of cooking is being creative and a little dangerous with ingredients,” says Stefanie Gans. "We like to explore, even if that means messing up every now and then."

Gans—known as Gansie to readers—is one of the blog’s founders. She and her former coworker Brendan Spiegel started the site in June 2007 as an outlet for their growing obsession with food and cooking. “It started as a bunch of coworkers bringing in the previous nights’ dinner to share tastes, recipes, horror stories, and successes,” says Gans. “A blog was the next logical step.”

Spiegel, who still contributes to the blog, has since moved to New York City to pursue food and travel writing, so Gans holds down the fort in Washington; she’s both a writer and an editor. In addition to original recipes, the site includes entries on local restaurants, cooking shows, celebrity chefs, breaking foodie news, farmers markets, and seasonal cooking. “We’re basically somewhere between regular consumers of pop food culture and total snobs,” says Gans. “We can just as easily enjoy offal or destroy a Dunkin’ Donuts egg-and-cheese croissant.”

We convinced Gans to take a timeout from her busy eating schedule to answer our cooking questions. Favorite recipe? Biggest disaster? Advice for novice cooks? Read on for her answers.

A Day in the Life of the Post: Why It’s No Longer Number One in Covering Politics

Here’s one reason the Washington Post is losing readers: it is in a daily scrum on terrain it once ruled—covering Washington politics.

The snapshot of one day’s news cycle may not offer a broad comparison, but on one Tuesday in October, the Post lost ground on many fronts.

Let’s begin with the coverage of the Virginia governor’s race. The Post did run a page one news piece on the first prime-time debate between Republican Bob McDonnell and Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. It was a serviceable account. On washingtonpost.com, the McDonnell-Deeds story drifted to the bottom of the “More Headlines” section. Chris Cillizza posted a well-reported piece on polls saying Deeds is trailing with strategists describing how he might win.

Meanwhile, over on AOL’s Politics Daily, Jill Lawrence’s column on the debate led the home page, with pictures and a come-hither angle: how will presidential politics play out in Virginia?

Adam Nagourney in the New York Times also casts the Deeds-McDonnell race into the national realm with a smart column asking whether Virginia Dems might have been better off with Clintonite Terry McAuliffe on the ballot. Deeds beat him in the primary.

Politics Daily also ran the news that Hillary Clinton had ruled out running for the White House on its home page under “Top Stories.” The Post played the news on page two with a story by Anne Kornblut and an artsy, bizarre photo of Clinton through a windshield: half of the image was a blurred reflection on a side window.

A Night Out: Human Rights Campaign National Dinner

President Barack Obama joined Lady Gaga and the cast of Glee for HRC's black-tie soirée.

To see the full slideshow of photos from the night, head here.

What: Human Rights Campaign National Dinner.

Where: Washington Convention Center.

When: Saturday, October 10. The opening reception kicked off around 5—though many attendees got there earlier to leave time for Secret Service security lines—and the event ended around 10:30, when guests hit the downstairs after-party.

Ticket price: $250.

Dress code: Black tie.

Who: More than 3,000 members and supporters of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities flooded the convention center for an evening of fundraising and entertainment for the Human Rights Campaign. Highlights of the sold-out event included the cast of the popular and gay-friendly Fox series Glee, led by the very hilarious Jane Lynch; a performance by pop star Lady Gaga; Gavin Creel, star of the Broadway revival of Hair; comedian Dana Goldberg; and one last-minute addition to the program who brought live CNN coverage, fresh off his Nobel Peace Prize: keynote speaker President Barack Obama. Also in attendance were Tipper Gore and Representative Patrick Kennedy, who presented the National Leadership Award in honor of his late father, Senator Edward Kennedy, to Judy and Dennis Shepard, 11 years after their son Matthew was murdered. The event also boasted 32 corporate sponsors and 50 dinner sponsors, such as Paul Hastings, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Accenture, Microsoft, and Lockheed Martin.

The Guest List: October

Ris Lacoste After years away from the local dining scene, the former 1789 chef is getting closer to opening her new place in DC’s West End.

Robert Bennett After 20 years at Skadden, Arps, the legendary white-collar defender jumped to Hogan & Hartson in September, making him the latest of a string of litigation partners to depart Skadden this year.

Helen Mirren The famed British actress (and dame) has been the toast of the town while starring in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s sold-out production of Phèdre.

Van Jones The Obama “green-jobs czar” became one of the first casualties of the administration when he resigned after controversial old comments resurfaced.

Casey Wilson The Alexandria native—and daughter of Republican political consultant Paul Wilson—was recently let go after two seasons on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. What’s it really like working on the show?

Christopher Nassetta The head of Hilton Hotels is moving into his new corporate headquarters in Tysons Corner, bringing approximately 300 jobs to the region.

This article first appeared in the October 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.

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