THURSDAy, MARCH 5 , 2020. THE WASHINGTON POST eZ re B5
news?”
Barbara Ann Nusser was born
July 23, 195 2, and grew up in
New Jersey. She graduated in
1974 from Northwestern Univer-
sity with a degree in radio,
television and film production,
and worked as a newscaster and
disc jockey for a country radio
station in fuquay-Varina, N.C.
She joined the raleigh station
WrAL-TV as a secretary but was
soon elevated to producer of a
children’s show and co-host of a
morning show. She eventually
spent several years as the first
female evening news co-anchor
(alongside Charlie Gaddy) in the
market.
In 1981, she was the writer and
assistant producer for the Pea-
body Award-winning documen-
tary “fed Up With fear.”
Her first marriage, to James
Battista, ended in divorce. Survi-
vors include her husband, John
Brimelow; a stepdaughter; a
brother; and a sister.
[email protected]FROM STAFF REPORTS
AND NEWS SERVICESBobbie Battista, who was
among the original anchors for
CNN Headline News and hosted
CNN’s “Ta lkBack Live,” a viewer
participation program, died
march 3 in Davenport, Iowa. She
was 67.
The cause was cervical cancer,
family spokeswoman Wendy
Guarisco told CNN.
During her 198 1-2001 career
with the cable news company,
ms. Battista anchored coverage
of major events including the
attempted assassination of Presi-
dent ronald reagan, the Chal-
lenger space shuttle explosion
and the Persian Gulf War.
When she moved from CNN
Headline News to CNN in 1988,
she anchored shows that includ-
ed “CNN NewsHour.”
After leaving the network, she
started a public relations compa-
ny and had hosting duties on
Georgia Public Broadcasting and
the satirical onion News Net-
work.
“It occurred to me that some
would say, ‘oh, how the mighty
have fallen,’ ” she told the New
York Times regarding work for
the onion. “I thought about that,
but I said, ‘Hey, why not?’... You
watch the news today, and you
don’t know what is real. When I
was doing newscasts at CNN,
people would come up to me and
say, ‘ That s tory c an’t b e real.’ N ow
the lines are really getting
blurred.”
referring to a segment about
“lingerie football” on an actual
news show, she asked herself:
“my mouth was hanging open.
How does this belong on theBOBBIE BATTISTA, 67
Newscaster anchored CNN’s coverage of Challenger explosion, Gulf War
rIC Feld/ASSoCIAted PreSSobituaries
Bobbie Battista hosts CNN’s
viewer participation program
“TalkBack Live” on Nov. 1,
2001 , in Atlanta. Battista spent
20 years with the company and
later had hosting duties on the
satirical Onion News Network.resulted in serious illness, offi-
cials said, but most new coronavi-
rus cases are turning up outside
China.
Ta kehiro Shimada, the minis-
ter for communications and cul-
tural affairs at the Embassy of
Japan, made no mention of the
virus in his address Wednesday,
though he did announce a special
visitor to the festival: the 2020
olympic torch.
The Summer olympics, to be
held in To kyo in August, remain
on schedule despite speculation
that the global health crisis m ight
prompt officials to adjust festivi-
ties.
The torch being carried around
the world to the opening Ceremo-
nies this year was made to resem-
ble a cherry blossom, Shimada
said.
The National Cherry Blossom
festival, considered the largest
U.S.-Japanese celebration, honors
the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees
to the District from To kyo, and
several of the original trees re-
main. To day, the District has
about 3,700 flowering cherry
trees.
Peak bloom occurs when
70 percent of the blossoms along
the Tidal Basin are open. The
blossoms typically reach peak
bloom about April 3, making this
year’s prediction about a week
ahead of schedule, though the
peak bloom dates c ould shift with
the weather.
Last year, the trees reached
their peak on April 5. Two years
ago, peak bloom was march 25,
according to Park Service records.
once the flowers open, the
show can last 10 days given the
right conditions: l ight wind, mini-
mal rain and mild temperatures.
[email protected]this year have led to some interna-
tional cancellations.
Two student dance troupes
from Japan — one from a high
school and another from a univer-
sity — have withdrawn from the
festival, which will run through
April 12. one of the event’s Japa-
nese corporate sponsors has is-
sued a companywide ban on in-
ternational travel, which means
emissaries from the organization
won’t attend the festival in Wash-
ington.
on Wednesday, D .C. mayor mu-
riel E. Bowser (D) assured those
who gathered to hear the peak
bloom prediction — a group that
included foreign ministers, jour-
nalists, tourism officials and fi-
nancial backers — that the city
was closely monitoring the coro-
navirus.
“D.C. at this stage has no con-
firmed cases,” she said. “We are
open for business and we expect
to welcome thousands of people
to our city over the next few
weeks. But just know this: We are
a world-class city and we have
world-class preparedness as well.”
festival President Diana may-
hew said the number of VIP tick-
ets for the parade’s grandstand
seating is up this year compared
CHERRY BLOSSOMS from B1 with the 2019 festival. She said
she’s o ptimistic that the event will
go on with minimal disruption.
Though some international vis-
itors and vendors might skip the
festival this year, mayhew said
92 percent of people who come to
the District to see the blooms are
domestic travelers.
No financial sponsors have
withdrawn because of the global
health crisis, organizers said.
“We are moving ahead as
planned,” mayhew said. “This is
still about showcasing Washing-
ton, D.C., so no matter when the
blossoms are [peaking], we will
have our four weeks of events to
do just that.”
City tourism officials for weeks
have braced for a drop in visitors
as a result of the coronavirus
outbreak, particularly among the
1.9 million international tourists
who come to the District annually,
many of them from China.
Several professional confer-
ences planned in the District have
recorded a dramatic dip in atten-
dance, said Elliot ferguson, presi-
dent of Destination DC, the city’s
tourism arm. Destination DC and
festival officials said they will take
cues from the mayor’s office, pub-
lic health officials and the Centers
for Disease Control and Preven-
tion as they continue preparing
O∞cials monitor
coronavirus news
as festival nears
for the festival.
No scheduling adjustments
have been made, officials said.
“one thing to remember is we
may see stronger visitor numbers
from the domestic community
this year because those who want
to travel may be rethinking their
international travel plans,” fergu-
son said. “We’re not being insensi-
tive when we say D.C. is open forbusiness, but D.C. is still a city
that’s open for business and we
hope individuals will chose to
come here.”
Hand-sanitizing stations will
be set up at event entrances and
throughout the festival, ferguson
added.
Hotels vying for visitors during
the festival have made an effort to
underscore rigorous cleaningschedules to guests, he said, in-
cluding emphasizing t he cleaning
of front doors, elevators and com-
mon areas, as well as providing
regular updates to visitors.
“There’s n ot much else they can
do,” ferguson said.
The coronavirus has spread
rapidly, though most cases re-
main mild. About 16 percent of
confirmed cases in China haveBIll o’leAry/tHe WASHIngton PoSt
Cherry trees near the Tidal Basin are expected to bloom slightly early this year because of a wet and
mild winter, but the peak bloom prediction dates sometimes shift with the spring weather.try to hang on.”
In January, Evans gave up the
Ward 2 seat he held for 29 years,
as his colleagues prepared to ex-
pel him for repeated ethics viola-
tions involving his private con-
sulting work for businesses with
interests before city government.
Just 10 days later, he filed to
reclaim the seat in the June pri-
mary and in the special election
to complete his term. He faces
seven Democrats and a republi-
can.
o n Wednesday, Evans gave his
first interviews to news outlets
since resigning. He t old the DCist,
“A week ago people thought Joe
Biden was dead in the water, so I
mean, politics is a funny business,
you know?”
He declined to speak with The
Washington Post.
Evans skipped a candidate fo-
rum hosted by the Sierra Club in
february, has not promoted his
campaign on social media and
did not make his traditional ap-
pearance at a popular Groundhog
Day event — where critics dis-
played a large sign denouncing
him as corrupt.
“A damaged politician going
into the election wants there to be
as little news as possible because
it reminds people you are embat-
tled,” s aid Chuck Thies, a political
operative who has informally ad-
vised Evans.
Instead, Evans and supporters
who remain loyal have been
working to collect signatures and
small donations under the city’s
new public financing program,
according to interviews with ac-
tivists in Ward 2, operatives and
EVANS from B1 Evans’s rivals. Evans personally
collected signatures outside gro-
cery stores, civic association
meetings and farmers markets,
and by going door-to-door, ac-
cording to multiple people who
have spotted him.
Leroy Thorpe, a Shaw commu-
nity activist close to Evans who
volunteered to collect signatures,
said he saw a racial divide in
support for the lawmaker’s come-
back bid.
“Couple of whites were a little
angry, and some said they would
support him but didn’t want to
sign,” Thorpe said. “Black people
have no problem signing.”
That lines up with a poll con-
ducted by The Post in November
before Evans resigned. It found
that most voters disapproved of
Evans, but black residents were
more willing to be forgiving.
maryEva Candon, a longtime
Democratic activist and friend of
Evans’s, said he will focus on
asking voters for forgiveness and
reminding them of his accom-
plishments — including securing
money for parks and helping topull the city back from the brink
of bankruptcy.
“Even people who don’t intend
to vote for him don’t deny all his
accomplishments for the ward,”
Candon said. “He’s going to talk to
people and say that he made a
mistake and ‘Please, I hope you
can trust me again.’ ”
In a feb. 7 fundraising letter
obtained by The Post, Evans
asked supporters for a second
chance.
“I recognize that I have person-
ally tarnished my legacy of public
service,” Evans wrote. “I also rec-
ognize that D.C. residents are a
generous and redemptive citizen-
ry a nd extend second chances....
I would greatly appreciate an op-
portunity to redeem myself in the
eyes of the voters and my col-
leagues on the D.C. Council, and
make amends for my mistakes.”
Yvette m. Alexander, a former
council member, is not in a mood
to be forgiving. She said that
Evans called her to ask for a
donation but that she declined.
“The friend in me most certain-
ly would give. But the council
member in me would be a little
torn,” Alexander said. “ Not that
we don’t like Jack and appreciate
his service, but what are the con-
sequences for what you did?”
Evans has also lost longtime
supporters in the D.C. business
and LGBTQ communities.
The Gay and Lesbian Activist
Alliance declined to include him
while scoring candidates, citing
his ethics troubles despite his
longtime support for LGBTQ
rights. Lobbyist David Julyan en-
couraged executives and fellow
lawyers to back Patrick Kennedy,
a 28-year-old neighborhood com-missioner from foggy Bottom
who chaired Evans’s 2016 cam-
paign but now is running against
him — and to his left.
Evans “continues to be a friend,
but he is not going to return to the
council and supporting his effort
will bring confusion and likely
ensure a far-uber progressive willtake the seat,” Julyan wrote in a
feb. 18 email to business advo-
cates obtained by The Post and
first reported by the D.C. Line.
David Catania, a former coun-
cil member who lobbies for busi-
ness interests, held a fundraiser
and meet-and-greet for Kennedy
at his lobbying offices Tuesdaymorning.
“The business community, like
everybody else, is done with Jack,”
Kennedy said. “I have support
from people who are democratic
socialists, who are in the business
community and LGBTQ commu-
nity, and education activists.”
Evans is to appear with his
primary opponents for the first
time at a forum Thursday evening
at foundry United methodist
Church, which he has attended
for years.
With three months until pri-
mary day, he also faces the pros-
pect of new developments in the
various ethics scandals surround-
ing him.
federal authorities who have
issued subpoenas related to Ev-
ans and searched his home have
not charged him with a crime, but
they have not said whether the
case is closed. The city ethics
board has reactivated a case
against Evans that was halted
because of the federal probe.
To m Lindenfeld, a political
strategist in the District, said D.C.
voters are willing to be forgiving
— but perhaps not so quickly.
He c ited the example of m arion
Barry, who failed to win a 1990
council election after his convic-
tion on drug charges but returned
to the m ayor’s o ffice and the coun-
cil after his release from prison.
“There’s a cooling-off period
that’s necessary,” said Lindenfeld,
who himself returned to main-
stream politics after pleading
guilty to a political corruption
charge in 2014. “Even marion
tried it too early and lost, and
that’s somebody who people
thought was unbeatable.”
[email protected]Evans set to appear at his first candidate forum in bid to reclaim council seat
MArlenA SloSS/tHe WASHIngton PoSt
Jack Evans at a D.C. Council meeting in July. He resigned in
January as his colleagues prepared to expel him for repeated e thics
violations, but 1 0 days later he launched a bid to reclaim the seat.“I would greatly
appreciate an
opportunity to redeem
myself in the eyes
o f the voters.”
Jack Evans,
former Ward 2 d.C. Council member,
in a Feb. 7 fundraising letter