Friday Round Up
#GUESTEDITOR
Elaina Plott
Staff Writer for Washingtonian
“I’m beaming about the fact that I don’t have to cover anything related to healthcare! Godspeed, Hill staffers and reporters. You deserve a stiff Manhattan.”
Weather: Looks like this weekend will be grayer than that last patch of hair on your grandpa’s head. We top today off with clouds and a few peeks of sun before it takes most of the weekend off. Today’s high in the low 60s will dip into the 50s before it makes its way into the mid 70s tomorrow! Sunday is taking this whole “April showers” thing a little too seriously as it kicks off our last week in March by making it rain.
Awesome events: Some Sophisticated Ladies are celebrating 100 years of Ella Fitzgerald tonight at the Kennedy Center; The National Cherry Blossom Festival will bloom this weekend! Got allergies? Watch it live on Facebook; While you’re out and about, take a special Tidal Basin tour; Get inspired by the outdoors and celebrate the launch of Filson’s outdoor collection this Saturday; Here’s a performance that’s sure to be on fire this weekend – check out Artomatic’s event calendar for more details and a list of events; Nothing pairs with wine quite like spring – Take a tour of various wine regions this weekend (without leaving DC) during Spring Wine Fling!; Show your support for women in the arts on Saturday aka SWAN day at Guillotine Theatre; Aca-cuse me? This a cappella performance on Saturday will be pitch perfect for anyone so judge for yourself at the Lincoln Theatre!; Take a peek into the life of former President Obama and his staff at Politics and Prose on Sunday; Finish the weekend – and start your week off right – at Trunk Club on Monday because Best Buddies is hosting a spring shopping event beginning at 6 pm. Oh, and there will be wine.
From Elaina: Tonight and tomorrow night, the Hamilton’s 14K Restaurant is debuting a five-course menu with scotch pairings. Per my food-savvy colleagues, you can expect tuna carpaccio, a blood orange and duck confit salad, roasted salmon, a bone-in fillet, and chocolate mousse. Which, hi, if this is your style, call me, let’s hang; Also, Cher! Cher, my poster goddess of emoji-laden political activism, is playing at MGM National Harbor tomorrow night. Which, hi, if this is your style, call me, let’s hang.
#WATCH
Duke? More like Puke. We’re only kidding – but these guys aren’t.
#LOCAL
Our friends at “the Stranger Things bar” (Mockingbird Hill/Southern Efficiency) are so popular with their latest pop up that patrons are trying to bribe their way past the line; The Mean Girls Musical premiering at Washington’s National Theatre is definitely fetch; 10 DC high school seniors are going to college on a full ride; You can’t spell “cool” without C&O!; Captain Cookie is making room in DC for more cookies!; This startup wants you to play more Mario Kart; Move over, San Fran – DC is the best city for women in tech!
#NATIONAL
Memphis lost a legend this week, but his legacy lives on with everyone who’s ever visited Raiford’s legendary Disco. We’ll drink a 40 in his honor this weekend; #PrayForLondon; Yes way! Norway is the happiest place on earth; Eric Trump is getting his very own Trump Jr.; We’re all living vicariously through the Obamas; Well at least Tom Brady’s jersey made it across the border; .We could all use a little business advice from a Girl Scout; Beauty and the Beast brought in a pretty penny in its debut weekend
From Elaina: Take a break from politics and read Vogue’s excellent, superreal cover story on Selena Gomez. Some song picks: It Ain’t Me, Sober. And in honor of her budding romance with The Weeknd, here’s a fun song of his with Daft Punk that I’ve been playing on loop all week. (Nothing against Bella. Bella, you’re perfect. Stay strong.) My favorite tweet this week, from Matt Drudge (who else?).
#SOCIALSEEN
This is what a March Madness tip off looks like
We’re daydreaming of warmer weather and wagging tails
Meet a Frank Sinatra impersonator who also gets mistaken for George Clooney
The “H” in H street actually stands for “hoagies”
Take a hike! (No, really)
Spring clean your heart out. Or don’t. We don’t care.
#EDITORSPICK
Welcome to the world, baby Jack! Jackson Adam Shultz isn’t even a week old and he’s already creating quite the buzz. As a very famous baby, Jackson is already receiving much deserved attention from paparazzi disguised as family and friends. Who can blame them? Even his naps are picture perfect.
#TWEETOFTHEWEEK
#BIRTHDAYS
Famous birthday wishes to Carla Frank, Will Marty, Kathleen Crowley, Pat Zubin, Cyra Master, Abby Kohlman, Beau Walker, Kasdin Miller Mitchell, Margaret Atkinson, Ryan Grim, Clinton Yates, Emily Milhoan, Thomas Maxwell, Jim Vorndran, Marc Marriott, Dan Shepherd, Scott Lazarus, Hunter Carpenter, Ken Spain, Andy Moskowitz, Charles Cooper, Alex Smith, Chris Taylor, Johnny DeStefano, Courtney Lamie, Jessica Haese, Ali Napolitano, Wells Ellenberg, Matt Lira
#FAMOUSFORDC
We’re welcoming Aunt Debbie and Grandma Bobbi to DC! Scot Seplowe is at your service this weekend!; How long is Maureen Shanahan gracing the capital with her presence?; Lisa Kramer likes guys who can play acoustic guitars; Michelle Fields also answers to “Frogger”; We’re sending lots of love to McRae Lenahan and her entire family this weekend and always; Rowan Bishop’s farm party is poised to be one for the record books; How much candy did Will Marty eat this week for his birthday?; How young is too young for Josh Shultz’s baby boy to start interning with FamousDC?; Is Matt Bravo playing golf this weekend?; Bess Hughes loves super casual Twitter shout outs; Why hasn’t Ben Jenkins invited us over for an office tour yet? Tell Jon Tripp thank you for doing 22 push ups every day to bring awareness to the fact that 22 veterans commit suicide everyday. Ali Rubin, Kerry McNellis, Joyce Kazadi, Karina Carlson, and Adams Paschal had an amazing week with several successful Axios events; Let’s dive deeper: Ali, Kerry, Joyce and Kate carpool to Clarendon from DC together each morning. They’re so good at logistics that they have their pickup (including the timing of the morning Starbucks order) down to the minute; (Secretary) Tim Berry got a haircut on Monday to look sharp for Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday. Seriously — we asked him about it and he said it was for Terry; On Tuesday morning the all-American playlist was all Karina! She is now taking applications for road trip playlists; Zirkelpup has a big photoshoot coming up; When is Mike Emanuel having us over for dinner?; Adam Buckalew and Paul Edattel‘s (matching) tie game was strong on Wednesday; Becky Card‘s definitely wore her Belle dress best; Ask Mike Tadeo if there were gold leaves in his salad; Doug Thornell rumored to be next Georgetown head basketball coach; David Almacy was spotted at the White House yesterday; Michael Kaplan thinks Bill Clinton still has the gift of splendid oratory; Is there anything cuter than Sara Croom’s twins?; Will Phil Roth read this email from his phone?; This is the portion of the email in which we give Ken Spain a shout out; Congratulations to Phill Herndon and Robert Zirkelbach on being association innovators;
From Elaina: Wesley Lowery, you deserve a weekend full of T-Pain; New York is too far from Amanda Whiting; Hope Noah Pollak is having better Tinder dates than the one he witnessed; Matt Fuller, respond to me.
#MAKINGMOVES BY S3 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Congratulations to Jenna Gibson on being promoted to senior editorial producer at CBS News; Fortune’s Washington correspondent Tory Newmyer is joining the PowerPost team at the Washington Post in April; Richard Just has been named the new editor of Washington Post Magazine. Just has plenty of experience, having served as editor of both the National Journal and New Republic; Brooke Brower joins the CNN Politics team as managing editor. He was previously a senior producer for the network; Brian Worth joins Franklin Square Group as partner. Worth was coalitions director for Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and most recently, working on lobbying efforts for Uber; Travis Tritten and Kimberly Leonard join the Washington Examiner as a defense and national security writer and senior health care reporter, respectively; Justin Cole, former director of public affairs at the FTC, joins CTIA as vice president of public affairs; Washington Examiner welcomes Kimberly Leonard to its team to cover health care policy. Leonard makes the move from U.S. News & World Report; Stephen Gandel is joining Bloomberg Gadfly from his most recent role as deputy digital editor at Fortune; Tracee Carrasco joins Fox Business Network as a reporter; Jonathan Slemrod, former policy advisor to Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), joins OBM as associate director of legislative affairs; Tim Hogan joins the Hub Project as national press secretary. Hogan previously was the Clinton campaign’s rapid response spokesman; Leora Hanser joins the National Geographic Society as senior vice president for partnerships; Eli Stokols makes a move from POLITICO to The Wall Street Journal. He will focus on the White House; U.S. Chamber of Commerce alumnus Eileen Braden joins the public affairs team at JPMorgan Chase as its new head of civic engagement; CNN Money adds Donna Borak, previously with The Wall Street Journal, to its team as a senior economics writer; FiscalNote welcomes Marty Kilmer to its team as chief operating officer. Kilmer makes the move from LexisNexis; Obama campaign veteran Adam Beck, previously with the American College of Financial Services, joins AHIP as vice president for employer health policy and initiatives; Jack Kalavritinos is the new associate commissioner for external affairs at the FDA; The Global Business Travel Association adds Andrew Meehan to its team as vice president for government relations; Brandi Lowell joins the Ingram Group from her most recent role as director of federal government affairs at Duke Energy. She also previously served as chief of staff to former Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC). Amanda Bunning, previously director of government affairs at the American Conservative Union, also joins the Ingram Group; Emily Stephenson joins POLITICO as its new news editor. Stephenson makes the move from her previous role covering the White House at Reuters; The Locust Street Group welcomes Rebecca Schieber to its team to focus on grassroots and advocacy efforts; Bloomberg Politics’ John Homans has been named the new executive editor of Vanity Fair‘s The Hive. Prior to this, Homans also served as New York Magazine‘s executive editor; Laura Haines joins the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America as senior vice president and head of government affairs. Haines makes the move from The Hartford, where she served as vice president of federal affairs; And finally, we are wishing Lia Seremetis the best of luck as she says goodbye to The Raben Group and hello to the restaurant business. Check out her brunch menu at The Hilltop Bar & Restaurant.
#BYE
TGIWeekend.
