NEWS · 6

BY KATE OCZYPOK

CRUMBS AND WHISKERS TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: HOW ABOUT A KITTEN?

With the news of President Biden’s new German Shepherd puppy Commander at the White House, Georgetown cat café Crumbs and Whiskers has recommended the Bidens adopt a homeless cat for the White House. Crumbs and Whiskers has many cats available like nine-month-old Mr. Sweetie or two tabby cats named Mario and Walter. A spokesperson for the café said there was talk of Commander hoping for a buddy of the feline variety to keep him company.

AREA RADIO HOST DENNIS OWENS DIES

Late news getting back to the area— Dennis Owens, who was the voice of local classical music radio for decades, passed away in September at a hospice in Naples, Florida. Owens was 87 years old and died of degenerative heart disease. The broadcaster was on WGMS for nearly 40 years until his retirement in 2005. The Washington Post reported that Owens told their columnist Bob Levey in 2002, “Classical music is like sex, you never know how long it’s going to last, and it’s embarrassing if you clap at the wrong time.”

SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS CLOSE TEMPORARILY DUE TO OMICRON

The National Zoo and Smithsonian museums are operating on a reduced schedule through Monday January 17. Many Smithsonian museums will be open for five days-a-week or less. The National Air and Space Museum is closed through the 17th, as will the Anacostia Community Museum. The Air and Space Museum was already planning on being closed for six months beginning at the end of March due to renovations. Other noteworthy closures include the Natural History Museum, closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, the American History Museum, closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

METROBUS DEALING WITH COVID RELATED STAFFING SHORTAGES

Like many businesses, schools and other venues, Metrobus reduced bus service starting Monday. Buses will operate on a Saturday schedule (but some routes will have additional trips). MetroAccess is planning on reducing shared rides and increasing accessibility rides and Metrorail will be operating normally.

D.C. REQUIRES VACCINE TO ENTER RESTAURANTS, GYMS, MORE

In case you missed it, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Wednesday that beginning this month, individuals ages 12 and older will be required to show proof of a coronavirus vaccination to enter businesses in D.C., including restaurants, gyms and other indoor venues. The effort is due to District officials trying to get the city out from under a huge new wave of infections, due to the ultracontagious omicron variant.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

JANUARY 20

COMMISSION OF FINE ARTS

Next meeting 9 a.m. at: 401 F St. NW, Suite 312

FEBRUARY 3

OLD GEORGETOWN BOARD

Next meeting 9 a.m. at: 401 F St. NW, Suite 312. Filing deadline Jan. 13.

JAN. 18, 24, FEB. 9

GEORGETOWN NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY

Virtual Art and Vision with Nick Cruz Velleman, Tues. Jan. 18, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Virtual Gentle Yoga, Mon. Jan. 24, 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Film

Screening: Seven Songs for Malcolm

X, Wed. Feb. 9, 6:00 -7:45 p.m.

THROUGH FEB. 27

WASHINGTON PRINTMAKERS GALLERY

Harmony – 15 Interpretations exhibit. For more info: https://www. washingtonprintmakers.com/exhibitslist/harmony

JAN 12, 19 & 26

SHOP MADE IN DC: WINE AND WATERCOLORS

5 – 7 p.m. at 1353 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

Historic D.C. Firehouse 4 in Shaw contains an Airbnb penthouse unit. Courtesy Airbnb.

New District Rules May Curtail Airbnbs

BY PEGGY SANDS

The multitude of home owners and renters who have been renting out their dwellings to high-paying weekend and short-term visitors as so-called “Airbnbs,” will face far stricter regulations in 2022. The impact of the new rules passed by the D.C. Council in 2018 but just released as final rules by the District Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Agency, will certainly curtail the operation of many if not a majority of the Airbnbs that have sprung up in the District over the past ten years.

The new rules require that in order to rent out a property for less than 30 days, it needs to be the primary residence lived in and owned by the individual renting it out. In addition, for a shortterm rental to be legal, the owner must continue to live in the rental property — the host remains present throughout the guests’ stay. Under these conditions, there’s no limit to the number of days rooms on the property can be rented out.

The rules make a distinction for “vacation” rentals that are the vast majority of Airbnb bookings. They do not require the host to be present and can be run by professional managers. But they cannot be rented out for more than 90 days a year. Experts who have followed the evolution of Airbnbs in the District believe that most of the Airbnb hosts in D.C. will be unable to meet these requirements.

Over the past ten years, it is the rare residential neighborhood where a property owner and not rarely, lessees of single-owner homes, secondhomes and even rooms, don’t occasionally and sometimes often rent a portion or all of the property out to temporary visitors. During college homecoming and graduation times, Georgetown areas’ residential parking places are increasingly full of SUVs with out-oftown license plates; quiet empty neighborhood houses suddenly are full of young sometimes noisy and partying youths.

During pre-pandemic times, the travel landscape saw a boom in short-term and temporary rentals. Middle- and lower-income owners and even student renters, would move to a friend’s house for a weekend or a month to make hundreds of dollars renting their abode to strangers for a short time. With heated earnings on Airbnbs in 2017 and 2018, it was clear that Airbnbs had become an important source of income for some home owners and renters in D.C. But increasingly the District saw developers convert entire condo and apartment buildings into temporary rental investments, complete with specialty cleaning crews, decorators and public relations teams in an increasingly competitive market. “In 2018, around 6,300 D.C. hosts welcomed a total of 517,500 guests via Airbnb,” the DCRA reported, “The average Airbnb host in the District of Columbia earns approximately $10,000 per year, totaling almost $100 million.”