Robert Andrew will provide an illustrated overview of the important
on-line Citizen Atlas, which has a range of capabilities. For example,
for visitors it provides an intuitive menu for locating a restaurant
with a desired cuisine, with information about the closest parking
garages. For D.C. residents, it holds promise of readily finding on-line
such map-based information as one's nearest polling station, the
particular public school boundary one lives within, and one's Patrol
Service Area (PSA).
Howard Bray, a leader of the Friends of Whitehaven Park, will clarify
and point out irregularities in the current push to add pristine wooded
parkland to the proposed Casey-Foundation-sponsored mayor's mansion
estate project. Among salient concerns is the degree of residual control
the foundation is to keep, should the major project get off the ground.
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Bill 15-133, the "Rental Housing Conversion and Sale Act of 1982
Amendment Act of 2003" will be before the city council in early
October. The bill is intended to provide tenants with an opportunity to
purchase a housing accommodation prior to the transfer by an owner of a
controlling interest within a 12-month period.
The hearing is scheduled for Thursday, October 9, at 10:00 a.m., in
Room 413, the Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Delegates
who wish to testify should contact Mr. Ron Clark at 724-8198 by close of
business on Monday, October 6. Fifteen copies of written testimony are
requested. Written statements should be submitted by close of business
on Friday, October 25, to Ms. Phyllis Jones, Secretary to the Council,
Suite 5, Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
20004.
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Consideration of Police PSA (Patrol Service Area) reconfiguring
reportedly is in the offing for the city council. The core of the matter
is whether PSAs should follow Planning Office clusters or ANC
boundaries. Interested delegates or associations should register their
preferences with councilmembers.
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HOWARD BRAY, FOXHALL
Community opposition continues to the anticipated closing of a large
tract of national parkland in northwest Washington and the adjacent
proposed mayor's estate. The city council will hold a public hearing on
the controversial issue at 10 a.m., September 30, at the Wilson
Building.
Councilmembers will vote later on the national Park Service transfer
of jurisdiction to the District of 1.8 acres of the 4-acre Whitehaven
Park between Foxhall Road and Lower-Archbold Park. The city intends to
lease this land to the private Casey Mansion Foundation, which has
offered to build a mayor's mansion on its 17-acre tract next to
Whitehaven.
Opponents, including the Defenders of Wildlife, the Audubon
Naturalist Society, Sierra Club DC Chapter, and Glover Park Citizens
Association, contend 17 acres is large enough for the mansion and
grounds. The Mayor's Official Resident Commission concluded in 2001 that
the tract is large enough for a suitable mansion and "to meet all
reasonable security concerns."
But the transfer permits the Foundation to erect an 8-foot-high
perimeter fence, a guardhouse, and a second access road on the parkland,
ending public access to a serene, wooded wildlife habitat that has been
enjoyed for more than fifty years. For months District officials have
advocated the transfer in response to reported threats by the Foundation
to withdraw the offer of the mansion.
"This is philanthropic blackmail," John Finney, chairman of
the Foxhall-Palisades advisory neighborhood commission, testified at a
September 4 National Capital Planning Commission hearing, The ANC voted
to urge delay until public agencies study available alternatives that
would cause far less, or no, loss of parkland.
The Planning Commission voted for the transfer. Some commissioners
said that having only the mansion built on the Foundation's property
would avert the by-right development of many houses there. "That is
not a guarantee," said Kent Slowinski, chairman of Friends of
Whitehaven Park, an association of park neighbors. "No easements
exist in accord with NCPC policy. The Foundation rejected a binding
agreement rejected by NPS."
Opponents of the transfer are weighing a lawsuit to deter the loss of
parkland. To testify or provide written statements for the DC Council
hearing, contact Aretha Latta at 724-8196 or alatta@dccouncil.us by the
close of business September 26.
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The following highly paid police command staffers in the District are
eligible for eligible for the salary bonus program: Chief Charles H.
Ramsey, $175,000; Executive Assistant Chief Michael Fitzgerald,
$141,400; ROC North Assistant Chief Ronald Monroe, $141,400; ROC Central
Assistant Chief Brian Jordan, $141,400; ROC East Assistant Chief Jose
Acosta, $141,400; 1st District Commander Thomas E. McGuire, $105,548;
2nd District Commander Jeffrey Moore, $105,548; 3rd District Commander
Larry McCoy, $105,948; 4th District Commander Hilton Burton, $90,111;
5th District Commander Jennifer Greene, $112,619; 6th District Commander
Willie Dandridge, $107,256; 7th District Commander Winston Robinson,
$128,217; Forensics Commander Christopher Lojancano, $107,256; Assistant
Chief, Special Services Alfred Broadbent, $141,400; Off. Superintendent
Detectives John Barrett, $122,111; Special Op. Div. Cathy Lanier,
$107,256; Major Narcotics Commander Mark Beach, $105,548; and Violent
Crimes Brance Micael Anzallo, $85,191. Source: The Common Denominator,
September 11, 2003. (ROC, Regional Operations Command)
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The following account, unedited, is an instructive example of how
neighborhood residents can made a difference in their areas in defining
matters and speeding up less-than-efficient city response times for
problem resolution.
DIARY OF THE DOWNED LINES
Sally MacDonald (Woodley Park)
Monday, August 25, 2003 — A utility pole was broken at the base
after being hit by a truck in an apartment parking lot, by a busy back
lane, behind 2900 Connecticut Avenue NW. The pole was left leaning onto
the truck, with live electric wires on the ground, in the parking
lot/roadway, across the open gate to a deep construction pit.
Tuesday, August 26, 2003 — Word spread in the neighborhood of a
"hit" utility pole. The truck disappeared; the pole was
propped up with scrap lumber pieces; live wires were still on the
ground; the construction pit was still wide open. I called a DC
Emergency Management officer who put me through to a DDOT (DC Department
of Transportation) official, a Mr. Buchanan, called a NEMO officer. He
agreed to call me back after he checked the site.
Wednesday, August 27, 2003 — At 2:00 PM, returning from work, I
expected to see it all repaired or being so. Nothing had been done,
while curious onlookers wandered under the leaning pole and stepped over
the downed wires. I sat on the nearby stone wall and started phoning
DDOT to ask why our community had been left in such danger.
Mr. Buchanan said that he had not visited the site; had sent an
assistant instead; had never asked or spoken to the assistant afterward;
had not asked for repairs or informed anyone; and he, Mr. Buchanan does
not "call people." NEMO must be DDOT's version of "Don't
ask; don't tell."
Construction workers at the pit told me that there were 400-plus
volts in the wires (deadly!); PEPCO had seen it but could not begin any
work until authorized by DDOT; the Fire Dept. had seen it but could not
help because of the electrical work. This was the only information we
had.
Every DDOT official that I called was "in a meeting" —
none was reachable! Their young women assistants, and I, worked hard to
find someone, anyone, to help — but we were expected to know, and
report:
- Who owned the pole (PEPCO or Verizon or other?)
- Who had been notified (That's how I found that Mr. Buchanan had
told no one.)
- How many volts were involved (It seems there are different repair
requirements)
- Who at DDOT would be responsible for authorizing the work.
How could we be expected to know such things?
Eventually, a DDOT Streetlight Field Engineer arrived at the site,
declared it to be a Verizon pole, said, "IT'S NOT MY POLE. I'M
OUTTA HERE!" and left us . . . with no help or advice. Again, DDOT
— "Don't ask; Don't tell"?
Mr. Abdi, the DDOT Head of Streetlights, was the only official to be
found, and, just before his leaving time of 4:45 PM, he saw fit to help
us! He called MC Dean, the DDOT contractors who repair the streetlights.
I called the MC Dean supervisor to verify that we would, with Mr. Abdi's
request, quality for their help. Then, at 5:00 PM, I went home to get
the lunch I had never had.
The MC Dean crew arrived with a new pole and two huge trucks. Three
men removed the broken pole and worked until a lightning storm made to
impossible for them to stay.
Thursday, August 28, 2003 — The MC Dean crew returned, put in the
new pole and replaced the wires. The job was done — efficiently and
well — without any loss of electricity to the area!
I found out that the wires only had 120-plus volts (still plenty
dangerous!); that the pole was a DDOT/PEPCO pole with streetlight wire
and . . . that IF MC Dean had been called by DDOT earlier (Tuesday?),
they would have come, quickly, as they did after our Wednesday calls for
help. . . . MC Dean and its crew are to be thanked and commended!
Mr. Abdi deserved our thanks; the DDOT women assistants who worked to
help us should also be given credit.
Later, one of the unfound officials, when I told him of his
assistant's efforts to help, said, dismissively, "That's why we pay
them well!" He failed to see the most important difference, that
being, while the assistants tried to help, neither they nor I could
AUTHORIZE any work to be done. He was surprised that I described the
situation as a "problem."
He seemed not to understand. In addition to the very obvious physical
danger to many residents, the problem was that, apart from Mr. Abdi, who
was eventually found, the DDOT officials who are paid to authorize did
nothing, were unreachable, never responded or literally walked away!
What are we paying for people to be in charge who do not help, respond,
or even seem to care — during or even after a crisis?
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There has been some advocacy in recent months for the restoration of
voting rights to persons convicted of felony crimes once they have
served their adjudicated time. Little known, however, is that such
restoration is already District law. DC Code Sec. 1-1001.02(7)(A),
specifies: "Any person in the District of Columbia who has been
convicted of a crime in the United States which is a felony in the
District of Columbia, may be a qualified elector, if otherwise
qualified, at the end of his incarceration."
Interestingly enough for activists in university-impacted areas, the
same section, 1-1001.02 (Definitions) of the law, in section (16)(A),
defines: "The term 'residence,' for purposes of voting, means the
principal or primary place of abode of a person. Principal or primary
home or place of abode is that home or place in which the person's
habitation is fixed and to which the person, whenever he or she is
absent, has the present intention of returning after a departure or
absence therefrom, regardless of the duration of the absence." The
law continues: "(B) In determining which is a principal or primary
place of abode of a person the following circumstances relating to the
person may be taken into account: (i) Business pursuits; (ii)
Employment; (iii) Income sources; (iv) Residence for income or other tax
purposes; (v) Residence of parents, spouse, and children; (vi)
leaseholds: (vii) Situs of personal and real property; and (ix) Motor
vehicle registration."
Elements of this list of considerations were adduced by a Georgetown
ANC activists in a previous election when she claimed students are legal
residents of their home states for voting purposes, and challenged them.
For this, she was subjected to an extralegal trial at the Board of
Elections, with attorneys (the ACLU inter alia for the defendant), rules
of evidence, and the chief of the Board of Elections taking a de facto
prosecutorial role at times.
Seemingly, trumps in the matter was subsection (E) of the law, which
states: "No person shall be deemed to have gained or lost a
residence by reason of absence while employed in the service of the
District or the United States governments, or while a student at any
institution of learning. . . ." However, ". . . if a person .
. . intends to maintain residence in the District for voting purposes,
he or she shall not register to vote in any other state or territory
during his or her absence."
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Most people don't know it, but there is a Pro Bono Institute in
Washington. Its president, Esther Lardent, has noted that despite the
economy many law firms have signaled their commitment through the
creation of support staffs, internal awards, and newsletters. On
reported example, Washington's megafirm Holland & Knight, examined
its lawyers' pro bono hours and economic targets. it concluded that pro
bono does not displace paying work and that full billable hour credit is
worth the cost. It therefore strengthened its commitment. (Source: The
Washington Law Journal, January 6, 2001)
Right on, ABA and star law firms. Before long, it will be time to
form an exploratory Federation committee to visit the DC Bar, and
perhaps Ms. Lardent, to inquire about possibilities of establishing
cooperative relations between the Federation or (in principle)
individual associations and the Pro Bono Institute or its members. This
is an interesting area that needs work, and in which associations have
historically been at a disadvantage.
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DINO DRUDI
With the helpful intervention of At-large Councilmember Phil
Mendelson, the Federation discovered that the Board of Elections
tabulation system lacks a crucial accountability feature: the capacity
to tabulate the number of blank ballots cast in the at-large council
contest in which two candidates are to be elected. The old election
tabulation system routinely provided this information on request, but
his year, even though the Federation had been pressing since November,
clarification of the date the Board provided was not forthcoming.
In March, Councilmember Phil Mendelson, anxious to learn the actual
percentage of the vote he received in his successful reelection bid,
asked the Federation when our recomputation would be forthcoming and
learned of the difficulty in obtaining clarification needed to recompute,
whereupon he wrote directly to the Board requesting the data.
Board of Elections and Ethics Executive Director Alice P. Miller's
June 24 reply stated: "… last year the Board's Ballot Tabulation
System was enhanced for the first time in 20 years. Unfortunately, the
enhancement was not programmed to record the number of blank ballots.
Therefore, it is not possible to obtain the number of blank ballots from
that election at this time. Subsequent to a conversation with the
vendor, it has been determined that the system is capable of producing
these results and they will be available in the future."
The Board, using the quirky methodology it has used in the past, gave
winning candidates Democrat Phil Mendelson, with 90,316 votes out of the
133,302 valid ballots cast in the election, 47%, and Republican David
Catania, with 51,698 votes, 27%. But clearly Mendelson's 90,316 votes
out of 133,302 is 68% and Catania's 51,698 votes is 39%. Because there
is no a priori way to compute how may of the 42,986 remaining non-Mendelson
voters did not vote for any candidate, versus those voting for only one
candidate, the Federation cannot publish the true percentages each
at-large council candidate received. Only actual data from the Board of
Elections would allow such a recomputation.
Because the Board published an "undervote" figure that
apparently counted every ballot in which the vote did not vote for any
at-large candidate as two undervotes and every ballot in which the voter
voted for only one at-large candidate as one undervote, the 74,765
undervotes the Board reported (if accurate) suggest most voters who did
not vote for candidate Mendelson did not vote for any at-large
candidate. Under the most extreme variant of this assumption, only
11,216 voters who did not vote for Mendelson did vote for some other
candidate in that contest, meaning that 90% of voters supported
Mendelson's reelection and 51% supported Catania's reelection.
Alternatively, no more than 22,433 non-Mendelson voters could have voted
for only one at-large candidate, with 26,166 voting for none. Under this
assumption, intuitively the most plausible one, Mendelson is reelected
with 80% and Catania with 46%. (For purposes of these calculations,
because the 74 overvotes the Board reported represent between 8 and 24
invalid ballots, the Federation treated them as negligible.)
Because of the quirky way the Board of Elections computes percentages
in the at-large council contest where two candidates are to be elected,
as a public service in each election year since 1990, the Federation has
recomputed the statistics and published the actual percentage of voters
casting valid votes for those contests voting for each candidate. The
Board's percentages use as their denominator the sum of votes cast for
each candidate, inflating it by double-counting to the extent some
voters voted for two candidates as election law allows for this office.
The Federation believes the Board of Elections should publish the
number of overvoted, undervoted, and blank ballots for each contest and
should present meaningful percentages so that at-large council
candidates can readily assess their electoral mandates as their council
colleagues servicing in positions where only one is to be elected. As
the Florida election fiasco in 2000 shows, having a complete data audit
trail for the entire election process is crucial.
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Robert Andres
Foxhall Citizens Association
Allen E. Beach
Chevy Chase Citizens Association
George Clark, Esq.
Forest Hills Citizens Association
Dino J. Drudi
Michigan Park Citizens Association
Kathryn A. Eckles
Residential Action Coalition
Elizabeth Elliott
Foggy Bottom Association
Carroll Green
Manor Park Citizens Association |
Guy Gwynne
Burleith Citizens Association
James H. Jones
Crestwood Citizens Association
Ann Loikow, Esq.
Cleveland Park Citizens Association
Sally MacDonald
Woodley Park Citizens Association
Ann Renshaw
Chevy Chase Citizens Association
Laura Richards, Esq.
Penn Branch Citizens/Civic Association
A.L. Wheeler, Esq.
Association of Oldest Inhabitants
|
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Carroll Green
As we push on through our 93rd year of operations, the Federation and
its member organizations can reminisce fondly over past accomplishments
and contributions to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents
and visitors to our city, the nation's capital.
Our concerns and actions today are no less important than our
historical concerns actions and achievements, and they are in many ways
much more challenging. The population of the metropolitan area continues
to increase, taxing our infrastructure to its maximum and triggering
competing interests on nearly every public project. Many observers cite
the Washington area as having the second worst traffic situation in the
country.
Competing interests vie heatedly over what limited green space
remains; bicyclists and environmentalists challenge motorists over Rock
Creek Park and city streets; developers, high-rise apartment buildings,
and campuses expand into traditional residential neighborhoods.
The council has revoked electorally mandated term limits for elected
officials; a public health system is in total shambles; billboards
deface the cityscape; and there is the widespread selling of single
containers of beer and alcohol. The list goes on and on. Our work is far
from finished; the question quickly becomes which issue or issues to
tackle next.
One of our member organization's goals are neighborhood preservation
and community improvement. It's theme is to promote the general welfare
and enhance the quality of life in our neighborhoods. These goals, and
this theme, are surely the mantra of activists across the city.
Politicians come and go, special interests continue to curry favor
through the legislative and administrative process by campaign
contributions. Unfortunately, far too often the resulting favors to
special interests are given to the detriment of the public at large.
Telecommunication towers, billboards and special signs, and the sale of
single containers of beer and alcohol are but a few prominent examples
of this process at work.
Our job, in many ways, is simple and straightforward: to remind
officials constantly that the health, welfare, and safety of the
citizens of this city are far more important than the narrow focus and
economic self-interest of for-profit, and sometimes also of nonprofit,
corporations.
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The back issues of the Federation newsletter are online for anyone
who wishes to consult them, on the DCWatch web site at www.dcwatch.com/federcit.
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At its September 11 meeting, the Board of Directors:
- heard a report on citywide tree planting, liquor establishments,
and historical districts;
- reviewed Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) being
established citywide;
- reviewed the recent BZA decision on halfway houses and the work of
the Halfway House Task Force, requiring that ANCs be involved from
the beginning in the planning process;
- heard a report on the George Washington University planning case
decided by the DC Court of Appeals on September 11, 2003;
- heard a report on the administration of public contracts by the DC
government;
- considered the role of the police department (MPD) on the issues
of sale of temporary tags to criminals elements and after-market
tinting of vehicle windows that impairs police work and safety.
- noted recent charges of police malingering;
- resolved against the planned test closing of Beach Drive and in
favor of an alternative bike path;
- heard a report on the new election equipment;
- noted that DC law allows released felons to vote;
- discussed appointment and meeting of the DC Zoning Advisory
Committee; and
- noted current efforts to align PSA districts with ANC boundaries
(true only in 3F and 3 and 4C); police commanders may have been told
that city services are distributed on a cluster basis (which is not
true).
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Two matters of interest to associations are proposed for the October
2 NCPC session:
1) File No. Z.C. 01-02, text amendment to the Zoning Regulations to
add Chapter 26, Regulation of Antennas, Antenna Towers and Monopoles. 2)
File No., Z.C. 02-35, text amendment to the DC Zoning Regulations
modifying the definition of building height. (Commission action
requested on both items: approval of report to the DC Zoning Commission
pursuant to Section 8 of the National Capital Planning Act (40 U.S.C.
Sec. 8724 and DC Code Sec. 2-1006(a).
The deadline for registering to speak at the NCPC meeting is
September 24, one week prior to the meeting date. "If no member of
the public signs up to speak by the deadline, then the proposed project
may be moved to the Consent Calendar without presentation or
discussion." Witnesses need 25 copies of written comments.
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At press time, unofficial reports are that Elizabeth Noel, Esq., has
been renominated as DC People's Counsel, and her name is to be forwarded
to the city council for confirmation. The Federation was among other
organizations that endorsed Ms. Noel's candidacy. The People's Counsel
operation, basically a law office that protects rate payer interests in
utility matters, has been one agency that has consistently functioned
efficiently overall during the past two and the current city
administrations.
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Sally MacDonald, Woodley Park
The city is now actively recruiting residents to become Community
Emergency Response Team members. Twenty hours of free training at George
Washington University Hospital will enable individuals and teams to help
respond, rescue, triage, and treat families and neighbors and be able to
report accurately to the Fire Department what is needed and what has
been done. Training includes fire suppression, cutting off/marking gas
mains, safe rescue of victims debris, triage, emergency bandaging, along
with rescue and reporting techniques. Supplies, including tools, gloves,
emergency rations, helmets, and water purifying supplies, are issued to
graduates of the course, who will then work under the guidance of the
Fire Department. To enroll, call Juliann at 741-2933.
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September 24, 2003
October 28, 2003
November 25, 2003
December Quarterly Luncheon
January 27, 2004
February 24, 2004
March 23, 2004
April 27, 2004
May Annual Awards Banquet
June 22, 2004
July No Meeting
August No Meeting
NOTE: FOR UNAVOIDABLE REASONS, THE SEPTEMBER ASSEMBLY WILL BE HELD ON
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, AT THE SUMNER SCHOOL. PLEASE NOTE THE DATE. |