Capital Comment Blog

Brendan Sullivan Says “Thank You” With Flowers

The Williams & Connolly senior partner shows his appreciation for (finally) functioning escalators.

Everyone in the Washington area who rides the Metro has an escalator story, and generally it’s about them not working. Brendan Sullivan, senior partner at the law firm Williams & Connolly, is no different—except for what he does when they are working.

The Williams & Connolly building is located at 12th and G Streets, Northwest, above the Metro Center station. More than 600 employees work for the firm, many of them commuters. Sullivan says, “We’ve been here ten years, and the escalators have been broken 80 percent of the time. There’s always one working, but only one. It’s pathetic how often they’re broken.” He says the firm has complained “hundreds of times.” In fact, Williams & Connolly has staffers who keep track of the breakdowns.

But Sullivan says a “miracle” happened this week: Both escalators were running—one up, one down. How did he mark the occasion? He sent a $100 bouquet of flowers to Richard Sarles, the general manager and CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority. An accompanying letter said, “Williams & Connolly thanks you and your team. This week marks the first time since June 2011 in which both escalators are working at the same time, up and down.”

We tried to get a comment from Sarles, and phoned the WMATA main number three times, but each time, after dozens of rings, there was no answer.

DC Government Will Step In to Prevent Muth Starvation

The Office of the Attorney General may seek a court order to prevent Albrecht Muth from starving himself to death while incarcerated.

The DC government said on Thursday evening that it will “take steps to seek a court order” to prevent Albrecht Muth—who was arrested last summer and charged with the Georgetown murder of his wife, Viola Drath—from starving himself to death.

“Linsanity” Topples the Wizards

Last night’s defeat proves the team has a lot of work to do if the rebuilding effort is ever going to be a success.

I recently adopted a young puppy named Lana.

I trust that she’s going to be a really good dog sometime soon. But for now, she’s very much a work in progress. One minute she’s delighting people with her precociousness, and the next she’s peeing all over the carpet. She’s smart, she’s fun, and oh, my God, why is she biting my toe?

Watching the Washington Wizards play basketball makes me think of my new puppy.

Last night, the Wizards blew a perfectly good chance to secure their first back-to-back wins of the season when they hosted a depleted Knicks squad at Verizon Center. With Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony out of action, the Wizards fell victim to the NBA’s latest sensation: Linsanity.

A Conversation With Ivanka Trump About Winning the Old Post Office Bid

The Trump Organization says it’s committed to making the historic property the “finest hotel in the country, if not the world.”

Photograph courtesy of Ivanka Trump.

The Trump Organization scored a big win this week when it was chosen to redevelop the historic Old Post Office building on Pennsylvania Avenue. The late-19th-century building and clock tower were last redeveloped in the 1980s. The architect at that time was Arthur Cotton Moore, who is also the architect for Trump. What it will mean to Pennsylvania Avenue is another mixed-use development, similar to the J.W. Marriott hotel complex and joining the also historic Willard Hotel and the W, which for decades was the Hotel Washington.

Our Favorite Washington Breakup Stories

If you’re not feeling so romantic this Valentine’s Day, we have the perfect antidote: love stories gone awry.

Photograph courtesy of Flickr user twid.

Whether you’re single or coupled this February 14, nothing puts Valentine’s Day in perspective like hearing about when other people’s relationships crashed and burned. A few weeks ago, we asked for your breakup stories, and you delivered some doozies. Here are our favorites.

Freedom of Speech?

I deployed to Iraq for six months, and was there for my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I didn’t get a phone call from my boyfriend for any of those days but thought maybe he was just busy. (Oh, he was busy, all right.) Finally in February, when it was time for me to come home, he told me he couldn’t pick me up at the airport. I was livid but couldn’t wait to see him again to work things out. We weren’t living together, so I kept calling for a week after I got home. At that point I knew something was going on, but we had been in a relationship for a year and a half; he had all my stuff at his place. Eventually I got in touch with him—or rather, his new girlfriend. She broke up with me while he sat next to her; he’d never had the guts to do it himself. Loser.

Washington Lets Its Hair Down, and Then Some

Francine Levinson confesses to exploring a medical marijuana dispensary business, and Katharine Weymouth of the “Post” appears before this morning’s buyouts at one of the most raucous events Washington has seen on a Tuesday in some time.

Photograph by Jeff Martin.

Slideshow: Kennedy Center Gala for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

It’s a keeper of a Washington party when the after-dinner band is soulful and kicking it, the publisher of the Washington Post is among those dirty dancing, and your dinner partner reveals she’s bucking to become one of the city’s first weed merchants. We expected nothing less from the annual Kennedy Center gala for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. For 13 years it has maintained a standard of beguiling fun. Before dinner there was sensational dancing on the stage of the Opera House and, after dinner, a dancing sensation among the more than 800 rollicking guests.

The evening began at 7 PM with the sold-out show. Tickets for the benefit started at $500 and went up to $25,000. The acclaimed New York–based troupe performed “Arden Court,” “Home,” “Takademe,” and “Revelations.” First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughters, Malia and Sasha, were in the audience, though they stayed pretty much in their box and did not linger for the after-dinner hoopla. It was a school night, after all, but also, notably, the first time Mrs. Obama has attended the event as First Lady.

As soon as the show was over, guests in black-tie attire filed along the red carpets before ducking into the elevators to get up to the roof, where they were instantly and irresistibly put in a dancing mood by the horn section and the soaring voices of Free Spirit. Many hit the dance floor before heading to their assigned tables for dinner. Just as the meal was served, Alvin Ailey artist director Robert Battle led his dancers through the three rooms, in a procession of physical beauty and grace that left us mere Washington mortals breathless, picking at our salads and wondering if we should eschew the beef and have the salmon instead, or maybe just fast.

Power Circuit: Lots of Moves From Firm to Firm

Neil Eggleston Joins Kirkland & Ellis, plus a few changes at Miller & Chevalier.

While the past few weeks have been dominated by moves from government into private practice, this week we’ve got lots of lawyers jumping from one firm to another.

Top white-collar defense lawyer W. Neil Eggleston has landed at Kirkland & Ellis as a partner. He was previously a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton. Eggleston has represented many high-profile clients, including former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel in the prosecution of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Eggleston also served in the White House counsel’s office under President Bill Clinton.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has brought on a new co-managing partner for its Washington office: Bill Burck, who came from Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Burck’s practice includes both complex domestic and international disputes, and white-collar criminal work. He will also practice out of the firm’s New York office.

David McIndoe and R. Michael Sweeney Jr., previously co-heads of the commodities trading group at Hunton & Williams, have joined Sutherland Asbill & Brennan as partners.

Steptoe & Johnson welcomed Edward Schwartz and Andrew Lee as partners in its global antitrust and competition practice. Schwartz joined from Shearman & Sterling, and Lee came from White & Case.

Ted Olson Celebrates the Prop 8 Decision

The local lawyer talks about the ruling and what’s next in the quest to legalize same-sex marriage.

The past 36 hours have been a total whirlwind for Ted Olson. After receiving word that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals would issue its ruling Tuesday morning in the Prop 8 case, Olson—one of the lead lawyers in the fight to get the 9th Circuit to deem California’s same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional—flew from Washington to San Francisco Monday night. He was at the court Tuesday at 10 AM when the decision was issued: a victory for Olson and co-counsel David Boies, along with the same-sex couples they represent. From that point on, Olson’s day was dominated by demands from the press, including an appearance on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show last night. He then boarded a plane at 11 PM and landed back in Washington this morning. After a quick stop at home for a shower and a change of clothes, he headed back to his Farragut North office at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

“My job today is to keep my eyes open,” he says.

Olson, one of the country’s best Supreme Court lawyers and former solicitor general during the George W. Bush administration, has never been shy about the fact that he hoped to eventually argue the Prop 8 case at his favorite venue—the US Supreme Court. But the narrowly tailored wording of the California appellate court decision has left many court watchers speculating that the justices will not take up the case as most had expected. The 9th Circuit worded its opinion to apply specifically to the circumstances in California, where same-sex marriage was first legalized and then stricken down again by a voter-approved ban. Because the ruling is not applicable to the entire country, the Supreme Court may be less likely to take the case.

Washington Post Buyouts Take Reporters By Surprise

One reporter says executive editor Marcus Brauchli “lied” about rumors of buyouts.

Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli this morning announced another round of buyouts—the fifth since 2003—but this one sounds more like a layoff.

For one, the Post will offer the buyouts to selected individuals. And this time, Brauchli explicitly says, “We may turn down some volunteers if we feel their departure would impair our journalism.”

More than a few Post writers were taken off guard by Brauchli’s buyout alert. Asked last week in chats with reporters if rumors of a buyout were true, he put them down.

“He lied,” says one reporter.

No doubt the Post must reduce its costs. Revenues for the Post Company plunged last year due to declining enrollment in Kaplan, the company’s for-profit college. And the newspaper division continued to lose advertising revenue and readers. In the third quarter of 2011, print advertising revenue was down 13 percent. Daily circulation fell 5.4 percent.

Brauchli said, “It is important that we achieve real savings.”

For veteran reporters, those savings will come by lopping off higher salaries. Brauchli mentioned that “we will continue making tactical hires, so that even as we get smaller, we get stronger.”

In the newsroom, that means hiring younger, less expensive staffers.

Brauchli’s memo was short on details, but he called for two “Town Hall meetings,” one at 11 AM and another at 4:30 today.

He has some explaining to do.

The Four Seasons to Resume “Power Breakfast” Tomorrow

DC’s see-and-be-seen morning spot reopens after a $1 million facelift.

Raju Narisetti’s Departure Leads to Shifting Responsibilities at the “Washington Post”

Sandy Sugawara and Katharine Zaleski could come out as big winners in the “Post” shakeup.

Raju Narisetti was so important to the Washington Post he’s irreplaceable. Reading between the lines, one gets that sense from the memo that went out today from Washington Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli.

“With Raju’s departure,” Brauchli wrote, “we want to designate some people to pick up critical duties that he handled, at least on a temporary basis.”

The memo goes on to name about a dozen people and their “teams” to handle the tasks left undone when Narisetti left this month for the Wall Street Journal. Brauchli hand picked Narisetti to split managing editor duties with Liz Spayd. He’s handled the Post’s digital side since 2009.

The big winners in the post-Narisetti age are Sandy Sugawara and Katharine Zaleski.

Sugawara, who’s been at the Post for decades, began as a beat writer, moved up to become top business editor and, recently, editor of the universal desk. In her broadened role, she and her team will control the play and timing of news across the print and digital pages. Brauchli demands, “When they come looking for news, please work with them to ensure we’re moving fast, either with staff or wire content.”

Zaleski came to the Post from Huffington Post in 2009 to help spread Post stories across social media networks. She’s now executive director of digital news. Post-Narisetti, Brauchli says she “will be the primary contact for all matters pertaining to digital traffic and engagement. . . .” And she will report directly to Brauchli.

As for Narisetti, he will manage digital networks for the Wall Street Journal, where he and Brauchli both once worked.

At this point, no editors to replace him have surfaced, but Sugawara and Zaleski could be prime candidates.

Can a Brother Get a Little Respect?

Why Sunday will go down as the last time anyone underestimates Eli Manning.

Eli Manning. Photograph courtest of Flickr user angiesix.

How did we not see it coming? How did we not anticipate that Eli Manning would do it again? How could we ignore the reams of evidence at our disposal illustrating Manning’s reliability in big moments? Apparently our national infatuation with Tom Brady and his dreamy hair and his supermodel wife has clouded the fact that nowadays, when the bright lights are on, Manning—not Brady—is the guy you want center stage.

Sure, I know many of you predicted the Giants would win the Super Bowl (at least, many of you are saying that now), but according to the website Gambling911, as late as Saturday night, the Giants were still three-point underdogs at more than 80 percent of the legal sports books in America. In retrospect, that seems so naive.

Let’s start with the most obvious evidence—like the game the two teams played against each other three months ago. The Giants won that meeting by four points, even though it took place in Foxboro and despite the fact that Manning had to orchestrate his air attack without the benefit of starting receiver Hakeem Nicks, who missed the game due to a hamstring injury. (Nicks wound up with ten catches for 109 yards in the Super Bowl.) Even with that shorthanded roster back in November, with a team on the verge of what would turn out to be a mind-numbing four-game losing streak, Manning and the Giants had enough firepower to beat the Patriots.

You’ve Got Mail!

Now that the US Postal Service allows living people on stamps, we asked some illustrators to take a stab at a few. Could one of these designs be stamped on your next thank-you note?

The Opera Party Goes On, Even When the Opera Doesn’t

After mezzo-soprano Susan Graham fell ill, the Kennedy Center canceled her performance, but philanthropist Bonnie McElveen-Hunter went ahead with the fete in her honor.

Eric Motley, Bonnie McElveen-Hunter, and MapHook president and CEO Dr. Paul Carter. Photograph by James R. Brantley.

Slideshow: Opera Party at Bonnie McElveen-Hunter's Home

In show business, the work ethic is simple: The show must go on. But what happens if a solo performer falls ill, and there’s a party planned for her after the show? Businesswoman and philanthropist Bonnie McElveen-Hunter answered that question Saturday as she welcomed guests to her Georgetown home. “On O Street, the show always goes on!” she said.

The party was to be in honor of mezzo-soprano Susan Graham after a midday performance at the Kennedy Center. But the evening before, soon after she arrived in Washington, the singer’s throat began to bother her, and by Saturday morning it was worse. The show was canceled, disappointing a few hundred fans holding tickets. Graham boarded a train home to New York to recuperate.

Her pianist, Malcolm Martineau, who did make it to the McElveen-Hunter party, said the performance would have been the last stop in a month-long tour that took them across the country and up to Canada. “In the evening, Susan felt something wasn’t right,” he said. “We went out in search of a humidifier and found one at CVS. But when she was warming up at rehearsal, it was not good. She’s the last person to cancel. It’s always a tough decision, but for the voice, when it’s not right, it’s not right.”

So the Giants Won the Super Bowl—But What About the Redskins?

Councilman Marion Barry thinks the Redskins’ problems stem from their location. We all know the issues are much bigger than that.

Everyone has a theory as to why the Skins can’t make the Super Bowl. Photograph by Brian Murphy.

The New York Giants are Super Bowl champions once more, and all we can do is lash out at the gleeful New Yorkers in our lives.

Why are you so happy? You lost to the Redskins twice. That should automatically preclude you from competing for the Super Bowl, let alone winning one. Stop smiling at me!

But they don’t care. They are the victors, and we are wallowing in a pool of misery that’s become all too familiar. Marion Barry knows what I’m talking about.

See Bob Dylan’s Jacket at the Smithsonian

The jacket the folk legend wore during the “Electric Dylan controversy” will be on display at the museum.

Update (02/07): The Smithsonian plans to make an official announcement regarding the item later today.

Bob Dylan’s leather jacket will be making a permanent home* in the collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, according to a source familiar with the transaction. The jacket is significant because he wore it the night of what Wikipedia calls the “Electric Dylan controversy.” It was the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, and Dylan shocked the folk music community by switching from acoustic to electric on three numbers, including “Maggie May” "Maggie's Farm" and “Like a Rolling Stone.” The performance reportedly received boos as well as applause from the audience.

At the time, Dylan was the king of American folk music, and the popular performers of the genre (Peter, Paul, and Mary; Joan Baez; Judy Collins) were steadfastly acoustic. Folk music topped the charts in the early ’60s, and bridged the gap between the rock tidal waves brought by Elvis Presley in the ’50s and the Beatles in 1963. The Beatles revolution eventually prompted other folk stars to go electric. Dylan, though, caused a stir, because he was Dylan.

Another reason the gift is significant, according to the source, is that “Bob Dylan didn’t save anything” from the early years. Apparently he’s not a pack rat.

Among the Smithsonian’s most beloved and talked-about collections is the museum’s assortment of entertainment artifacts. They include Irving Berlin’s upright piano, Minne Pearl’s hat, a yellow guitar that belonged to Prince, a signpost from the hit TV series M*A*S*H, Archie Bunker’s chair from All In The Family, the “puffy shirt” from a memorable episode of Seinfeld, and Carrie Bradshaw’s laptop from Sex and the City. These pieces of American pop culture are a reason the Smithsonian is often called “America’s attic.”

Our source did not know when the jacket will be presented, nor whether Dylan himself will make the presentation.

*Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated the status of Dylan's jacket. It will be loaned to the Smithsonian, rather than given as a gift to the permanent collection.

The Good, Bad, and Complicated Bill Clinton in a New PBS Documentary

Narrated by Campbell Scott, the next “American Experience” chapter focuses on the controversies and heartbreaks of the Clinton administration.

Whatever your feelings about former President Bill Clinton—reverence, doubt, curiosity, rage—your point of view will likely be satisfied by the four-hour documentary, Clinton, that will air over two nights on PBS stations beginning Monday, February 20. For a Washington audience, it plays more like a home movie, with all-too-familiar characters resurfacing.

The documentary is produced by Barak Goodman and Chris Durrance as part of the PBS series “American Experience,” which is creating a collection of presidential biographies. Clinton is a juicy subject, and that’s part of the beauty of this film; it’s a history lesson and a captivating cautionary tale all in one. The biography is split into two parts. The first two hours, “The Comeback Kid,” revisit his unstoppable imperative as the first baby boomer president. The second two are called “The Survivor.” The opening scenes are focused on what you might expect: Monica Lewinsky, the White House intern who became a household name for having oral sex with Clinton in the Oval Office—prompting endless jokes and the second impeachment vote in US history.

For those who remember the arc of the Clinton years, many familiar faces appear onscreen to testify about the man—though not the man himself. There are close friends and advisers: David Gergen, Wesley Clark, Mike McCurry, Dick Morris, Sidney Blumenthal, Harold Ickes, James Carville, Dee Dee Myers, Leon Panetta, Mark Penn, Joe Purvis, Robert Reich, Robert Rubin, John Podesta, Harry Thomason, and Betsy Wright. One wonders, though, where is good friend and first White House chief of staff Mack McLarty?

Meanwhile, a boatload of journalists have their say, including Christiane Amanpour, Jonathan Alter, Max Brantley, John Harris, David Maraniss, and Jeffrey Toobin.

Battle of the Bureaus

In the age of closing bureaus, more reporters are covering Washington than ever.

A decade or so ago, the Washington press corps included bureaus from far-flung newspapers. In the digital age, most bureaus are defunct or depopulated. But there are more reporters than ever covering Washington. The Post remains the largest news operation, with a newsroom staff of just over 600, hundreds fewer than a decade ago. NPR, also based here, has 283. Here are the top ten other news organizations (excluding TV) and the size of their editorial staffs.

Here’s What Women Want

Melinda Henneberger's She the People is a hit for the Post.

Hennenberger's new blog topped the Post's site in its first month. Photograph by Erik Ueke.

The number of Washington Post blogs has topped 100, which raises a question: Has the Post ever seen a blog it won’t publish?

The New York Times gets by with 62 blogs. The Wall Street Journal publishes 53, the Los Angeles Times 30.

When Post national editor Kevin Merida brought on Melinda Henneberger this winter to write about national affairs from a woman’s perspective, blog number 108 was born. She the People was launched in January with 25 contributors, including 11 from the Post.

Simon Doonan’s “Gay Men Don’t Get Fat” Book Party at the W

The Barneys creative ambassador at large has made a successful side gig out of being a professional gay man.

Simon Doonan in his carnation throne built for a queen. Photograph by Jeff Martin.

Slideshow: Simon Doonan’s “Gay Men Don’t Get Fat” Book Party

The late Gianni Versace once told Elton John that when he died he wanted to go to heaven and not only be gay, but be “super gay.” Simon Doonan can relate. He’s made being gay into a side profession, in addition to his already successful careers as creative ambassador at large for Barneys New York and as a writer. His new book, Gay Men Don’t Get Fat, was celebrated in Washington on Wednesday evening with a très gay soiree on the rooftop of the W Hotel, featuring pink patent wing chairs, loads of pink flowers, pale pink skinny “boy” margaritas, “power gays,” drag queen Heidi Gloom—and Doonan, of course, in his trademark flowered shirt, trilling. The deejay was Shea Van Horn, who sometimes performs in drag, though not on this night; he went preppy instead.

Clint Eastwood and Patrick Leahy’s Bromance

At a Smithsonian event, the actor and the politician were practically inseparable.

Bromance in action: After awards and remarks, Clint Eastwood and Senator Patrick Leahy take a seat to watch some film highlights. “We have a lot in common,” said Eastwood. Photograph by Jeff Martin.

Slideshow: Clint Eastwood Honored at Smithsonian Gala

Even though they are ten years apart in age, director/movie star/icon Clint Eastwood and Vermont senator Patrick Leahy could be brothers—or at least bros. Not only are they somewhat similar in height and appearance, but they both speak in that creamy rasp that’s instantly familiar to Eastwood fans. And they were practically inseparable Wednesday night when Eastwood was honored at a gala at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Leahy, a member of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents, presented the Oscar winner with the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal for distinguished contributions in film.

Eastwood arrived in town Tuesday, and he and Leahy had dinner that night. What the senator came away with was that “the trait Eastwood most detests when he encounters it is racism,” a theme that threaded through Eastwood’s 2008 film Gran Torino. Praising it, Leahy said, “That movie alone would be enough for any moviemaker.” Okay, Senator, we asked, but do you think you could be his stand-in? Or at least loop his voice? Leahy became the diplomatic man of the Senate that he is: “Oh, he’s fine on his own. I don’t want to go there.”

This Super Bowl Sunday’s Competing Storylines

Tom Brady vs. Eli Manning, Giants vs. Patriots defense, and Madonna’s performance vs. your sanity.

Can Brady’s lead feet conquer the Giants’ pass rush? Photograph by Flickr user Jeffrey Beall.

It’s supposed to be all about the quarterbacks. Tom Brady bested Dan Marino’s record-setting 1984 season, and he didn’t even lead the league in passing. Eli Manning declared himself one of the league’s elite, and he backed it up by coming within a few of his no-look bombs of breaking Marino’s record himself.

The defenses, which ranked 27th and 31st in the league during the regular season, were just along for the ride. Yet in the playoffs, the teams who have gone up against the Giants and Patriots have averaged under 14 points per game.

That brings us to the most pivotal story lines heading in to Super Bowl Sunday.

The Best of Craigslist’s Missed Connections

As Valentine’s Day approaches, the posts get sweeter, funnier . . . and more desperate.

Photograph by Flickr user xxjoyceeyxx.

Maybe it’s the approach of Valentine’s Day, or the pseudo-spring weather, but it seemed a good time to check in with the “Missed Connections” on Craigslist. They’re alternately weird, entertaining, and even endearing. It makes one wonder: Is Washington a city of lonelyhearts? Or has OKCupid become our love lifeline? Regardless, we pulled a collection of standouts, and will have more as February 14 approaches. All ads appear as posted (spelling errors and all).

Haber’s Crash Course at Aussie Surfing School

Washingtonian’s intrepid columnist spends an epic day in Australia’s surfing mecca of Torquay—and has the bruises to prove it.

It wasn’t by design that I spent two extra days in Australia by myself. Let’s call it a travel SNAFU. My wife had intended to join me down under for some leisure time during and after my work at the Australian Open. But when a work commitment scuttled her trip, I found myself staring at a $5,000 fare difference in order to move up my return flight from Wednesday to Monday. As much as I love my kids and wanted to get home early to see them, I would need to have several dozen children to sufficiently amortize the cost of their affection against the $5,000 fee. (It’s right there on the standard actuarial tables—check for yourself.) And that’s how I wound up in Oz for two extra days.

But it afforded me the chance to do something I’ve always wanted to try, in a place that’s famous for it: surfing.

I rented a car (I could write a separate column about the perils of driving on the left) and ventured to a town called Torquay (pronounced “tor-KEE”). The tiny seaside village sits about 60 miles southwest of Melbourne at the gateway to Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Torquay is to surfing what Cooperstown is to baseball—it may not be the precise birthplace of the sport, but it is the source and guardian of much of its culture.

What’s Up With the Wacky Weather?

It’s February 1, and it’s above 60 degrees. We talk to an expert over at Capital Weather Gang to find out why.

Unless you live in a bunker and haven’t come out in weeks and weeks, you’ve noticed something wacky is up with the weather. Washington is experiencing what feels like springtime in winter. It’s been more warm than cold. The only significant snow, oddly, happened back in October. This week, temps have been in the high 50s and even the 60s. The ten-day forecast, including the February 11 anniversary of 2010’s “Snowmageddon,” is also predicted to be relatively mild, though a little cooler than this week.

To document the phenomenon, members of our staff snapped photos showing random signs of warmth around the city. We also checked in with Jason Samenow, chief meteorologist of the Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang. The daily weather blog, which began as an independent site and was absorbed by the Post in 2008, is written by 15 contributors that provides the forecast, insight, and even some humor. Samenow has been interested in the way weather works since he was ten, and now he’s the Post’s first full-time weather editor.

Here’s what Samenow had to say:

Hey, That’s My Name on the Building

The names behind some of Washington's biggest law firms

Most of DC’s largest and most powerful law firms are named after lawyers who are retired or long dead. But in a few cases, real people with those names are still working in the buildings.

Thomas Hale Boggs Jr. is a K Street legend. His law and lobbying firm, Patton Boggs, has the biggest lobbying presence in the District. Boggs—who joined the firm then called Barco, Cook, Patton & Blow in 1966—was one of the first lawyers to start a lobbying practice at a traditional law firm. “Boggs” was added to the name in 1967. He is still chairman. Founding partner James Patton Jr. retired in 2000.

Robert Strauss founded the firm that would become Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld—one of Washington’s largest law and lobbying firms—in 1945. At 93, he remains a partner at the firm, where he splits his time between the Washington and Dallas offices. Of Akin Gump’s other name partners, only Alan Feld, who joined in 1960, remains at the firm, though he’s based full-time in Dallas.

Douglas Henderson is the only remaining founding partner of the intellectual-property behemoth Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner. Ford Farabow, Arthur Garrett, and Donald Dunner also still practice at the firm. Henderson started the firm in 1965 with Marcus Finnegan out of an office overlooking Farragut Square. Henderson, 76, still oversees some client relationships.

Dickstein Shapiro was founded in New York in 1953, but by 1956 Sidney Dickstein and David Shapiro had moved to Washington, which became the headquarters. Today, Dickstein Shapiro has 235 lawyers. Sidney Dickstein still has an office at the firm and is involved with one client, though he’s mostly retired. Shapiro died in 2009. Dickstein’s favorite memories are of defending clients against McCarthy-era loyalty-security reviews in the 1950s.

Of Washington’s major law firms, Wiley Rein is one of the newest. It began in 1983 when Richard Wiley and Bert Rein, along with 37 other lawyers, broke from Kirkland & Ellis because Richard Wiley’s communications practice conflicted with a Kirkland client. Wiley Rein now has about 300 attorneys, 80 of whom focus on communications law. Both Wiley and Rein have active practices.

This article appears in the February 2012 issue of The Washingtonian.

What Makes Washington Rock?

When a fire at H Street’s Argonaut ended his DJ gig, Paul Vodra decided to start a Web platform.

Paul Vodra. Photograph by Erik Ueke.

Paul Vodra is a band geek. A Washington-band geek.

Vodra grew up in Falls Church playing drums and has always been in bands. He has DJ’d, both on the radio and in local clubs, as P.Vo, what he calls his “JLo name.” Now he has launched an Internet radio station dedicated to music from the area, called Hometown Sounds (hometownsoundsdc.com). The project grew out of a 2009 DJ gig Vodra had at DC’s Argonaut at which he played only local music.

We talked to him about what makes Washington rock.

“The Washingtonian” Is Looking for Green Giants

Know someone who’s working hard to better the environment? Nominate him or her for a Green Award.

The Washingtonian’s annual Green Awards recognize local people and groups working to improve our environment and encourage green living. Send nominations to Leslie Milk at lmilk@washingtonian.com by Friday, February 10, 2012. Winners will be profiled in the May issue. To see last year’s winners, click here.

In Defense of Frank Gehry

The memorial commission responds to charges that the planned Eisenhower memorial resembles a “theme park” and says the family has made “factual errors.”

Recently we ran a Q&A with Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of former president Dwight D. Eisenhower, about her family’s uniform objections to the proposed Frank Gehry design for the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Presidential Memorial, which is to be built adjacent to the Mall and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education. Eisenhower compared the design to a “theme park” and said the family objected to it on many fronts, including whether it was environmentally sustainable. Also, she said, it “has its back” to the education department, and her grandfather “didn’t have his back to Lyndon Johnson.”

In response to that post, we heard from Daniel J. Feil, who has served as executive architect for the Eisenhower Memorial Commission for the past six years. He said the Susan Eisenhower interview had “an ill effect,” and that the Commission’s point of view should be heard, too. Here is our conversation:

Kids, Here’s Your All-Access Supreme Court Pass

Supreme Court justices are notoriously private, but students on field trips often snag valuable time with America’s reclusive judges.

The Supreme Court justices are a private bunch. They rarely talk to the press, and no cameras are allowed in their courtroom. But there’s one group they open up to: students.

Spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says the court doesn’t keep track of the number of field trips that score one-on-one time with the justices, but she says they’re “not uncommon.” Students from Montgomery County’s Paint Branch High School chatted with Justice Sonia Sotomayor during a 2010 trip to One First Street. Third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders from DC’s Kendall Demonstration Elementary have also visited with Sotomayor.

For the past three years, Tillman Breckenridge, an appellate lawyer at Reed Smith, has organized a Supreme Court day for kids with the Just the Beginning Foundation, which focuses on inspiring students to go into the law. In 2010, the students met with Justice Samuel Alito. The year before, they met with Chief Justice John Roberts. And this past fall, they met with Justice Elena Kagan.

Breckenridge says the hardest part of organizing the meetings is getting in touch with the justices’ chambers: “Once you’ve done that, they’re actually very giving of their time.”

This year, a friend of Breckenridge’s who worked with Kagan when she was solicitor general connected him with the justice. Kagan told the high-school juniors and seniors about losing out to Sotomayor when Barack Obama filled the first high-court vacancy of his presidency. The call from Obama was, Kagan said, “the nicest rejection” she’d ever received. She used the story to emphasize to the students the importance of not giving up on a goal.

This article appears in the February 2012 issue of The Washingtonian.

How to Prepare for Sunday’s Super Bowl

Not headed to Indianapolis? We have the week leading up to the Super Bowl planned for you.

Lucas Oil Stadium. Photograph by Flickr user Carl Van Rooy Photography.

Super Bowl week can be loads of fun, provided that you’re an executive with an NFL corporate sponsor or a C-list celebrity getting paid to show up at a party. For those of us who aren’t fortunate enough to be spending the week in exotic Indianapolis, it’s an interminable stretch. To make things easier, I’ve broken the week down with a daily planner.

Monday

Take it easy; you were probably up late last night watching the Pro Bowl. We’re just kidding, of course. No one actually watches more than five minutes of the Pro Bowl. You’d get more out of watching John Beck running an unofficial offseason practice during a lockout. Today will be relatively quiet. The Patriots are getting settled, while the Giants are just arriving. Both head coaches and select players will be made available to lob platitudes at disinterested members of the media.

A Conversation With Rob Lowe

What does Hollywood heartthrob Rob Lowe do when he comes to Washington? He dines with a group of women, of course, and in this instance the venue was Georgetown’s glam Bourbon Steak.

The dinner Saturday night, organized by Meet the Press executive producer Betsy Fischer, and included CNN’s Jessica Yellin, NBC’s Ilana Drimmer, Paige Ralston Fromer, Susanna Quinn, and Washingtonian publisher Cathy Merrill Williams. Lowe talked with his dinner partners about politics as well as life in Hollywood.

Why Movies and TV Shows Set in DC Aren’t Usually Filmed in DC

Remember Homeland’s “Farragut Station”? It looks nothing like either of Metro’s two Farragut stops. But it’s not because producers are lazy.

Homeland’s “Farragut Station” (shown) looks nothing like either of Metro’s two Farragut stops. Photograph of Homeland by Susan Stabley/Unsuckdcmetro.blogspot.com.

An episode of the first season of Showtime’s Homeland involved a meeting in “Farragut Square.” Local fans winced because, apart from grass and benches, it wasn’t remotely DC’s Farragut Square. What happened? It’s simple. Though intensely of and about Washington, Homeland is shot mostly in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Would we rather shoot in DC? You bet,” says co–executive producer Alex Gansa. But filming in Washington is expensive and complicated.

Dr. Newt Gingrich for President?

If he were elected, the former Speaker would be the first White House occupant in more than a century to hold a PhD. We take a look at the advanced degrees of presidents in history.

Newt Gingrich’s presidential bid could deliver the Oval Office its first PhD in a century. Gingrich got a doctorate at Tulane; his dissertation was on Belgian education policy in the Congo. A PhD is rare in the White House—only Woodrow Wilson had one. While the three most recent Presidents boast graduate degrees, post-college education is uncommon. Here’s a guide.

White House Source: President Will Have to Vacate Oval Office Next Year

Planned renovation to the White House means the next president—whoever it is—may be displaced from the Oval Office for as long as a year.

The Oval Office, shown here in May 2011, may have to close next year for renovations. Official White House photograph by Pete Souza.

Update: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney was asked about our report Wednesday and referred all comment to the GSA. From the transcript:

Q: Can you -- there are reports out about some renovations having to do with the Oval Office. And can you explain what is true, what is not true? Is the Oval Office going to have to be vacated for some time? Does the President, whoever he may be, have to be relocated to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building?

MR. CARNEY: Jake, I have a very broad portfolio, but renovations to the campus here are not part of it. So we refer those questions to the GSA, which handles the renovations and all the work that’s done on the property here. So I don’t have anything specific for you. I would just refer you to the GSA.

Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney are already knee-deep in what many observers are saying could be the nastiest presidential bid in decades—but a year from now, the ultimate victor, no matter who he is, may not get to claim the ultimate prize: the Oval Office.

According to sources familiar with the discussions, beginning sometime next year the President may be relocated from the White House West Wing and the iconic Oval Office to temporary office space next door in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, formerly known as the Old Executive Office Building.

Killing Caught on Tape

A tape played in court of the gruesome stabbing of Kevin Blackwell Jr. shows that homicide in DC is still all too real.

The Wire depicts in raw detail and dialogue gritty crime scenes in the mean streets of Baltimore. But those scenes are fictional. Testimony in court last week included dialogue of how a murder went down in DC—but it was real. The story was captured by Homicide Watch DC, a website featured in The Washingtonian’s February issue.

Mark Plotkin Fired Over Anger Management Issues

Sources at WTOP say the radio host’s firing stemmed from his repeated outbursts in the workplace.

Mark Plotkin quit speaking to me about 15 years ago. I had done something to cross him, he thought. It was a mystery to me. Whatever it was he thought I had done made him angry. If we saw each other in a public place, he would ignore me or say something disparaging.

What had I done? Why was Plotkin so angry? What provoked his rage?

Only Plotkin can answer those questions, but sources say it was rage that did him in as political analyst at WTOP. He had been hosting the weekly Politics Program With Mark Plotkin every Friday for the past decade. Jim Farley, WTOP vice president of news and programming, met with Plotkin yesterday and gave him his walking papers.

For the record, Farley said, “We’ve decided to part ways. We met for 45 minutes. There was no rancor.”

No one else would speak on the record, but a variety of sources at WTOP told me Plotkin’s demise had to do with his repeated outbursts of anger at the radio station.

Plotkin would “drop the F-bomb” regularly, one staffer reported.

WTOP valued Plotkin as the foremost political analyst on local matters, and the station sent him to anger-management classes, sources say. Still, the outbursts continued.

Fellow employes started to complain. The matter was bumped up to the station’s human-relations department. Bosses talked to Plotkin repeatedly. In the end, Plotkin’s own pattern of behavior did him in.

Farley is telling people that WTOP’s political coverage will not suffer, but Plotkin was unique. Despite whatever anger issues he might have had, he is one of the preeminent analysts on politics in Maryland, Virginia, and the District. He knew every player and had access to every state house.

Plotkin is irreplaceable. I would tell him, but he’s not talking to me.

Drew Barrymore and Vinessa Shaw Stop in DC for “Big Miracle” Premiere

The “whale movie” was inspired by real-life events—and a real-life local love story.

Drew Barrymore with her new fiancé, Will Kopelman, at the premiere of Big Miracle. Photograph by Jeff Martin.

Slideshow: Big Miracle Premiere Party

The so-called “whale movie” came to town last night with a splashy screening and a Potomac waterfront after-party for some 1,400 people. Big Miracle is the film’s official name, and it has an interesting, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting local angle. First, you need to know the name Bonnie Mersinger Carroll.

It was 1988, and Carroll—then Bonnie Mersinger—was working at the White House as the executive assistant for Cabinet affairs. President Reagan stopped by her West Wing office to inquire about an incident that was unfolding in Alaska, where three whales (two adults and a baby) had become trapped in the Arctic Circle by rapidly forming ice. The drama was receiving national media attention. “He saw that the National Guard was involved,” says Carroll, “and he wondered what the White House could do to help. And that’s how I met Tom Carroll.”

Jim Farley Explains the Mark Plotkin Firing at WTOP

The station’s vice president of news and programming talks about the decision to get rid of the popular radio host.

Well-known and popular political commentator Mark Plotkin has been fired by WTOP radio for “personnel issues,” according to Jim Farley, the station’s vice president of news and programming. Plotkin had been with WTOP for ten years and hosted the weekly Politics Program With Mark Plotkin. He is friend to many of the city’s political leaders.

The firing happened today. In an interview, Farley said, “We have parted ways. His show was canceled. It will be replaced by news.” When pressed about the “personnel issue,” Farley said, “It’s the kind you can’t comment on.” But he did say the decision came from management, had nothing to do with any demands, was not an economic cut, and that Plotkin “was doing a fine job, and it has nothing to do with competition.”

Farley also said the issue had been “brewing” for a while.

Given that this is a presidential election year, we wondered if Farley would quickly try to fill Plotkin’s slot with a new political commentator. “Yes, eventually,” he told us, “but we have strategic partnerships with Politico, CBS, and CNN. We have an abundance of riches when it comes to political coverage.”

Finally, he said that the firing “was done without rancor. Mark and I are still friends.” There was a severance package included.

Calls for comment from Plotkin have not yet been returned.

In This Issue: On Washington’s Pot Culture

Editor Garrett M. Graff gets blunt about the marijuana-focused cover story of February’s “The Washingtonian,” on newsstands today.

Washington Is America’s Most Literate City

Nerd alert! Academics say Washington reads more than the rest of the country.

Just in case yet another typo-riddled work e-mail had you doubting Washington is filled with smart people who read a lot: We’ve now officially been declared the most literate city in the country—for the second year in a row. Dr. John W. Miller, president of Central Connecticut State University, published a study examining various kinds of data that indicate if a city is well read: newspaper circulation; how many people purchased a book online in the past year, visited a news website in the past week, or owned an e-reader; magazine and journal subscription data; number of bookstores in the area; educational attainment; and prevalence of libraries.

Washington ranked first overall, ahead of Seattle, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Boston. The District also ranked highest in the second data set—Internet usage to access books and news—as well as in newspaper and magazine/journal circulation. So yep, Washingtonians are smart. Cue the dramatic removal of eyeglasses.

Our 10 Favorite Election-Themed Films

Take a break from CNN and the endless string of debates.

In February and March, the election season kicks into high gear, with 26 presidential primaries or caucuses, including Virginia’s—but it seems as if the 2012 election has been under way forever.

What’s the antidote to an overdose of political reality? How about some of Hollywood’s finest election-themed films? Pop the popcorn and enjoy the rides. Here are ten worth watching.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Only the original will do. Starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Angela Lansbury, it’s a satire of campaigns and political marriages, with brainwashing and anti-Communism as the spice—not to mention the McCarthy era, vague recollections of failed presidential contender Richard Nixon, and Cold War paranoia.

Remembering Richard Holbrooke at an A-List Georgetown Book Party

Washington’s power players—including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—come together to celebrate the legacy of the late diplomat and political adviser.

Slideshow: Photos From the Book Party

It’s interesting to watch Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrive at a party. She slips in quietly. There’s no bombast. But suddenly the gravitational pull of the room shifts subtly in her direction. There’s a frisson, a buzz; you see the top of her head, the flip in her long blond hair; you see people move toward her but also make way. She has a wide, warm smile for friends, and it was mostly friends Tuesday evening at an A-list book party at the Georgetown home of Gahl Burt. Clinton dropped by on her way to the Capitol for the State of the Union.

The party was for Derek Chollet and Samantha Power’s new book, The Unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the World—but it was, most of all, a gathering of his nearest and dearest, which means diverse Washington power players, many of them as complicated and beguiling as Holbrooke himself. Clinton, of course, but also Power, who co-edited the book. Power is now a special assistant to President Barack Obama, though during the last election she resigned from her adviser position after calling candidate Hillary Clinton a “monster,” a comment she thought was off the record.

Power Circuit: The Revolving Door Continues to Spin

Plus Dechert hires an “international counsel” from Ecuador.

There are lots of moves out of the Justice Department to report this week, and one House staffer has crossed over to K Street.

Leslee Gilbert, most recently staff director and counsel for the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, is now a vice president at lobbying firm Van Scoyoc Associates, where she specializes in science and technology funding. After Republicans took control of the House in 2010, she became the leading staffer on the committee. She had previously been the committee’s Republican staff director.

Litigation boutique MoloLamken has welcomed Justin Shur from the Department of Justice, where he was deputy chief for the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division.

Monica Derbes Gibson, formerly a trial attorney in the Department of Justice’s Environmental Defense Section, has joined Venable as of counsel in its environmental compliance group.

McDermott Will & Emery has welcomed back Warren Rosborough as a partner in its global antitrust and compliance practice. Rosborough was previously in the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, where he was a trial attorney. He was an associate at McDermott from 2004 to 2007.

Baker Hostetler has picked up two partners from Morrison & Foerster. Barry Bretschneider and John“Jack” Corrado have joined the firm’s intellectual property group. Corrado was formerly the head of Morrison & Foerster’s Washington and Northern Virginia litigation groups

Reed Smith’s financial industry group has added W. Thomas Conner as a partner. He came from Sutherland Asbill and Brennan.

George Marcou, formerly a partner at King & Spalding, has become a Washington-based partner at virtual intellectual property law firm Johnson, Marcou & Isaacs. Based in Savannah, Georgia, the virtual firm has employees located throughout the United States, including in the District.

Dechert has hired Alvaro Galindo as international counsel. Galindo, who is admitted to practice in Ecuador but is based in the firm’s Washington office, advises on international arbitration matters. Prior to joining Dechert, he served as director of the International Affairs and Arbitration Unit for the Republic of Ecuador’s Office of the Attorney General.

The State of the Union of DC: An Interview With Mayor Vincent Gray

The city’s mayor finally ’fesses up to having a special someone and responds to claims that he’s “embattled.”

Mayor Gray at his office. Photograph by Erik Uecke.

More than a year ago, just before he was inaugurated, I did a 45-minute interview with mayor-elect Vincent Gray. It covered all the usual bases but ended in a highly unusual way: He spun me around in a spontaneous demonstration of hand dancing, his favorite pastime. During that interview, Gray seemed just a bit defensive about the expectations loaded on him as the successor to Adrian Fenty, who was a charismatic leader but failed to connect with the voter base he needed—the very base who elected Gray. The year since has been a tough one for the mayor, though he won’t say so himself. Tuesday afternoon he invited me to his office for a “State of the Union of DC” interview. What struck me was his apparent self-confidence, polish, ease in the job. No defensiveness now. We did the interview with no handlers, no tape recorders—just the two of us and photographer Erik Uecke.

We started with the day’s news of Flip Saunders being fired as the Wizards’ head coach, news we were breaking to the mayor.

Rounding Up Reactions to the “Shit People in DC Say” Video

DC finally got its own version of the neverending meme—but was it funny or just tired?

As proof that the “sh*t some group of people say” meme apparently still isn’t dead, the SocialStudiesDC video “Shit People in DC Say” went viral. (Or perhaps DC viral, like DC famous?) For better or worse, we’ll admit we’ve heard or uttered most of the phrases in the video—including the opening line, “What do you do?”, which, in our defense, is used by basically all DC professionals at one point or another. Below, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite reactions to the video from local blogs.

Flip Saunders Relieved of Duties, but Probably Just Relieved

The Wizards are a completely different team from the one the head coach was hired to lead—and they need a different man.

Usually when you’re told you’ve been relieved of your duties, it’s just a nicer way of being told you’re fired. In this case, Flip Saunders should be truly relieved.

Relieved that he won’t have to listen to Andray Blatche complain about shooting the 17-foot jumpers for which he so readily settles. Relieved that he no longer has a front-row seat to the latest episode of the Nick and JaVale Show. Relieved that a “little league” mom won’t be able to question his abilities while anointing her son the future of the NBA. He’s free from this mess (although his son remains on the coaching staff), and he’s getting paid, to boot.

Saunders was never the right man for this job. That’s because this is not the team he was hired to coach. When he signed a four-year coaching contract in 2009, the Wizards were a veteran-laden team looking to get themselves back to the playoffs following a down year. Since then, Abe Pollin passed away, Ted Leonsis took over, and general manager Ernie Grunfeld was tasked with dismantling the roster. All of a sudden the Wizards were one of the youngest teams in the NBA, headed down a long road of rebuilding.

It’s hard to blame Saunders for what’s become of the Wizards, now the losingest team in the NBA, but it’s easy to see why he was let go. His message was lost on these players—a fact that one player openly admitted. Whether interim coach Randy Wittman fares any better is anyone’s guess. My money is on “not much.”

Wittman’s job is to stop the bleeding. If he can keep the team from doing anything too embarrassing from this point forward, it will be considered a job well done. Then he, too, will be sent on his way to make room for a new coach, who will be tasked with turning this franchise into a winner.

Idealistic (read: crazy) Wizards fans are already kicking around the idea of John Wall’s college coach, John Calipari, making his return to the NBA. I’d expect a far less splashy hire. Not a retread, but instead some experienced assistant who is ready to take the helm of a team and make it his own. Whoever he is, I wish him nothing but luck.

A Q&A With Trevor Potter, Stephen Colbert’s Lawyer

The DC-based lawyer talks super PACs, TV appearances, and those Mitt Romney serial killer ads.

It’s been a while since we last caught up with Trevor Potter, the Washington lawyer hired by Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert to help the star form his super PAC. Since Potter’s first appearance on The Colbert Report last spring, what the former Federal Election Commission (FEC) chairman assumed would be a one-time thing has turned into a regular TV gig. And thanks to Colbert, Potter has landed another celebrity client: the host of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, Jon Stewart. When Colbert decided to run for “President of the United States of South Carolina” leading up to the Republican primary in the state earlier this month, he had to give up control of his super PAC. Colbert handed the reins to Stewart, who then asked Potter to also represent him.

There is now a Facebook fan page dedicated to Potter—a Republican who has also advised Senator John McCain and former president George H.W. Bush. Potter even admits to occasionally getting recognized in public. He chats with us here about what the experience has been like. The interview has been edited for length.

Saunders Out With the Wizards

Owners of the struggling team have finally had enough.

A number of media outlets are reporting that the Wizards have fired coach Flip Saunders. This is probably not much of a surprise to anyone, because the Washington basketball team has had a dreadful, near-dysfunctional season so far—a record 2–15. Earlier, management had said Saunders’s job was secure. CBS Sports may have nailed it, though: “Disappointing losses to the struggling Boston Celtics in a winnable game at home followed by a thrashing by the Philadelphia 76ers Monday night may have changed ownership’s mind.”

WTOP has confirmed Saunders’s firing.

Haber Down Under: Why Serena Williams Lost That Loving Feeling

The tennis star’s admission that she dislikes her profession is driven by ego, disconnection—and honesty.

“I’ve never liked sports,” said Serena Williams in Brisbane recently. Photograph by Flickr user James Boyes.

Serena Williams doesn’t like her job. Well, take a number. The line forms over there.

The former number-one player in the world made her frank declaration two weeks ago at the season-opening tournament in Brisbane. “I don’t love tennis today, but I’m here,” she said. “I’ve never liked sports and could never understand how I became an athlete.”

Her statement smacks of resentment—resentment toward a sport that has simultaneously consumed her life and provided her untold riches and comfort. She has a gift, but according to this recent proclamation, it’s a gift that has been foisted upon her without her consent. Hard to imagine Yo-Yo Ma resents the cello, but Williams resents tennis.