Last summer, my predecessor Ruth Samuelson reported on the fall of an elite Georgetown ad agency and its "flamboyant" owner, Jack Shoptaw. Hammer Communications fell on hard times like a lot of businesses tied to the real estate industry–the agency repped builders like Toll Brothers and Brookfield Homes–but threw boozy parties right up until starting [...]

First, there was a rumor. Then, there was a website.
And since you can always count on some former Hammerite to repeat the news as soon as it starts swirling around, it's time to start talking about SN Residential, Jack Shoptaw's latest project. "SN Residential will be opening their door on January 1, 2010. For any [...]

Some stories are published long before the drama ends. When I wrapped up my piece on Hammer Communications last June, I knew it would be one of those tales. All I could offer was one long chapter of this epic narrative—thankfully, this section provided plenty of twists: Happy "hours" all night along at Georgetown's Papa [...]

After writing about the demise of Georgetown advertising firm Hammer Communications, I'm keenly aware of the misfortunes of America's big builders. Until this year, Hammer was seemingly swimming in cash from builders slowly gobbling up land across the Washington D.C. region. But when the housing crisis hit, the losses mounted.
Take, for example, national company KB Home. [...]

After 110 comments and too many correspondences from reformed, newly-sainted commenters (read: people fearful of damaging their own reputations) pleading to remove certain things they'd written from our public thread, we finally  shut down comments on the Hammer Communications story. 
That was a few weeks ago. Since the story came out, I've heard little rumors about Jack [...]