Yoko wants Washington to give peace a chance

Tourists wandering by the Jefferson Memorial on Monday morning got a bit of a celebrity surprise, as Yoko Ono stopped by as part of her interactive Wish Tree art project.

“Hello, this is Yoko,” she said as she took the stage in front of the Tidal Basin, adding that the “cherry blossoms are even more beautiful than I ever heard about.”

Wearing black and a white pageboy cap with sunglasses, Ono asked everyone present to fill out a tag with a wish and tie it to one of six potted cherry tree saplings (not the actual cherry trees — touching them is illegal).

But first, she showed them how it was done. Her wish: “The cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., will always bring beauty and peace to this city. So be it. 4-02-07.”

In addition to the throng of Japanese media, we even spotted a couple of Beatles enthusiasts in the crowd — one in a Beatlemania T-shirt and another in a Ringo T-shirt. Apparently, they’re not among the segment of fans who blame her for breaking up the band.

The installation is part of Ono’s citywide “Imagine Peace” project, which also includes a large billboard outside the Verizon Center.

“We’re going around the world trying to get the message of ‘imagine peace’ around the world,” she said.

After the Tidal Basin event, Ono traveled to THEARC cultural center in Anacostia, where three more Wish Trees were set up. All nine trees from the Tidal Basin and Anacostia will be permanently planted at THEARC. A 10th tree will be planted at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

But what of the wishes themselves? Fear not, she said. They will not be destroyed, but rather will go to the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, where they’ll be kept for a “couple of centuries.”

Tark the Shark: All about education

Just in time for the Final Four, legendary college basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, the mind behind the dominant UNLV teams of the early 1990s, got a shoutout on the House floor Friday — as a champion of education.

“I rise today to honor Lois and Jerry Tarkanian for their commitment and dedication to the Clark County community and congratulate them on being selected by the Clark County School Board to have a new middle school named in their honor,” said Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev.

Of course, anyone who remembers Coach Tarkanian’s golden days at UNLV and Fresno State might find it odd that he’s being honored for his commitment to education. After all, he was constantly running afoul of the NCAA for his recruiting practices and a poor graduation rate.

But money talks, and Tarkanian’s $100,000 grant to Fresno State’s Madden Library probably helped put a shiny coat on his legacy. Porter also noted that Tarkanian’s wife, Lois, was a longtime teacher and school administrator.

“Their dedication to education and the community are truly commendable and have enriched countless lives,” Porter said.

A Porter spokesman did not return a phone call.

Haddad’s brunch turns 10

It has become a virtual truism around town: MSNBC Vice President Tammy Haddad works Washington better than anyone. And, on April 21, Haddad and her husband, World Bank attorney Ted Greenberg, celebrate the 10th anniversary of their annual see-and-be-seen, schmooze-and-sip Annual Garden Brunch, which precedes the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

Joining them as co-hosts are a bipartisan roster of such political and PR types as Hilary Rosen, Alex Castellanos, David Adler, Kathryn Lehman, Beth Viola and Loretta Ucelli.

Haddad still recalls the first brunch, when Barbra Streisand walked out because she didn’t like some of the questions that New York Times reporter Rick Berke told her he would ask her during an interview. Still, Haddad jokes that “I invite Rick Berke back every year despite the fact that I worry he’ll upset somebody else.”

Buckley skewers again

Author Christopher Buckley knows how to poke fun at Washington and, in his latest book, “Boomsday,” he does just that by telling the story of Cassandra Devine, a young blogger who sounds remarkably like Ann Coulter (long legs, blond hair). Devine proposes dealing with the soaring costs of the aging baby boomers by having them commit suicide by age 70 (as a matter of national duty, of course), and says the government should provide incentives for doing so.

Shocked? Humored? If you’re among the lucky VIP crowd of 100 or so, you can give Buckley your own reaction Wednesday night at an invitation-only book party at Cafe Milano.

By the numbers

$5.5 billion: Previously estimated net worth of New York Mayor and potential presidential contender

Michael Bloomberg, according to Fortune magazine

$13.6 billion: Bloomberg’s actual net worth

Yeas & Nays Q&A

“McCain stinks up the joint.” – Headline on the Daily Kos blog’s post about Sen. John McCain's Q1 fundraising report. McCain raised a disappointing $12.5 million

“Good afternoon. Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin’s office.” – A receptionist’s phone greeting Monday at the office of the South Dakota congresswoman, who wed former Rep. Max Sandlin, D-Texas, over the weekend in Sioux Falls