Primary DayDear Neighbors: If a primary dropped in a city and everyone was at the beach, would the bear hear it? Well, stranglers left behind working the dog days of August are asking that question as Harold Brazil's punim (face) meanders its way around town on the back of buses. September 10 is primary day in the District and a whole bunch of seats are up for grab on the City Council and School Board. The primary takes on special importance in the District because of the overwhelming number of residents who are registered Democrats. Primaries are really more decisive than the general election. I'd like to dedicate most of dc.story until primary day to the candidates. Given your druthers, I know you'd likely rather read about anything but...But if we want to uphold democracy, yada, yada, yada. You don't need a civics lesson from me to know that you earn your right to gripe only if you exercise your right to vote. The ballot candidates are listed below. You will only be able to vote for candidates of your registered party. But for our purposes, please feel free to toss in your two cents about any of the candidates. Bonus credit for the first person who can tell us something interesting (and factually) about the Umoja Party (which could overtake the Republicans in numbers). So you know the rules, we are electing two at-large city council members. One of them can't be a Democrat, which means that Carol Schwartz (the unopposed Republican) is very likely to take a seat on the council. Only one of the eight Democrats listed will survive until election day. Moreover, Harold Brazil still has two years left on his council term. If he loses, he stays on the council. If he wins, the city's got to fork over about $75,000 for a special ward election to replace him. Why is the "fiscally conservative" running for the council when he is already on it? To prepare for the mayor's race in 1998. Meanwhile, we need to know more about these candidates. Let's hear from the candidates. Let's hear from their opponents. Let's hear from the PEOPLE (still at the beach). At-Large City Council Seat
Ward 2
Ward 4
Ward 7
Ward 8
"Shadow" U.S. Senator
"Shadow" U.S. Representative
////\\\\\////\\\\////\\\\\/////\\\\ Also free! Dc.movie: short movie reviews and movie discussion. To subscribe, send an email message to story@intr.net and note the name of the newsletter in the subject line or body of the text. Please let me know if you receive weird formatting errors by copying the text back to me. I'm using the new, improved Eudora software, which has lots of great new features that make it harder to use. Cheers, Jeffrey Itell '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' City Politics Decrepit schools, permanent potholes,contaminated water, overflowing morgues, low-wage jobs, and rampant crime are just a few of the problems district residents have learned to live with. Out-of-touch, unresponsive politicians are at the lie at the heart of the problem. Be part of the solution by joining dc new democracy's progressive slate of ANC candidates. This fall, nearly 300 residents will be elected to advisory neighborhood commission seats to fight for better policy an services. Dc new democracy is building a permanent electoral coalition of concerned residents and community organizations to find, elect, and support progressive ANC candidates. The seats are both important and easy to win. We provide candidates with the necessary training and volunteer support. The final anc candidate and campaign manager training is august 29. Call dc new democracy at 543-4960 or write to dcnd@newparty.org for more information. Tom Hucker thucker@igc.apc.org [does anyone know about dc new democracy. Sounds intriguing, eh? I wrote to them but haven't yet received a reply. Jeff] '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Political Coverage I wonder if, with the help of denizens of the Internet, we could strike a blow against the networks that "call" an election before everyone has had a chance to vote. Suppose we see how many people would agree to switch to another network if the one they're watching predicts a race while the polls are still open in that state. The idea is simple, stupid! All of us folks can live very nicely until the results are in. It doesn't really matter if one network gets the "news" out a little sooner than the other. That's _their_ sport, and I don't enjoy playing it, or watching, either. E. James Lieberman, M.D. ejl@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Helicopters "last night (8/15) at about 11:30 p.m. A helicopter was flying around woodley park, seemingly very quickly, it sounded like an out of control fighting machine. It lasted about 20 minutes. Although I could not see it from my apartment, it was clearly in search of something (although going too fast to catch much of anything). Anyone know what was going on?" There does seem to be a lot of fairly frantic activity in the region, much of which could almost be characterized as some sort of rapidly-suppressed military or paramilitary activity. Heads up folks, as sherlock holmes might say, "come quickly, watson: the game's afoot". Persons who possess passports showing the us as place of birth may wish to start carrying them. Klaatu root@earthops.org ***************************** That night, around 11:15, I was driving up Cleveland Avenue with some friends when we passed a man holding a flashlight. Suddenly (as we were passing him) he dropped the flashlight and ran down the street. In front of us, a police car screamed around the corner (from garfield, he made a left) onto the *wrong side* of cleveland, siren screaming and lights on. He drove down near the guy and jumped out. We continued on (typical DC'ers, I guess ;)) and as we went down Reno, four other police cars appeared, all going towards Cleveland. I can only assume that they were after the guy. The next day I heard about the helicopters -- I wonder what he did(!). Daniel A. Turner tcg@us.net ****************************** Sherry, i'm glad to know a friend who is not afraid to tell dc story the truth about the alien helicopters taking over the swedish embassy. I see them occasionally too. Black ones, blue ones, sometimes green. The black helicopters are usually just out for a good time with the swedish summer interns. One of the interns must have gotten away. Hence the search. The green helicopters are the ones you really need to watch out for. They go after redheads. I spotted one hovering over madam's organ a couple of weeks ago stalking a couple of redheads who were drinking for half price. Keep an eye out. You could be next. Jim j. Foti jfoti@kra.com '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Speed Trap Drivers Beware -- of a speed trap in Rock Creek Park near grove #6 north of the park police station on Beach Dr. Victims of ruthless radar rangers abound for violating the almost standing-still speed limit of 25 mph. So if you're revving-up your mach 5, you had better outrun them, "cause them damn radar guns is loaded." Jim Foti jfoti@kra.com Victim # 5,325 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Car Repair In regards to the tenley exxon: I took my 1985 hyundai in on the recommendation of aaa (in 1990). The cool-off fan switch had gotten stuck in the on position. They did not have the part, and offered to show me how to turn it off using a screwdriver, a truly y chromosome solution. I said I could wait for the part. Then the real fun began, getting the part delivered from college park. Apparently, the dealership was having a bit of a problem with their driver, who went off and got drunk three days in a row without getting the part delivered to tenley town. The exxon folks and I had a bit of a chuckle over this and the dealers explanation that the guy had "gotten lost". The third day the dealership discovered what the real problem was, fired the guy, and personally delivered the part. (Fortunately, I did not need my car or I would not have found it so amusing). Dianne Rhodes drhodes@fenix2.dol-esa.gov ********************************* I have found the mechanical work done at parker's exxon (across from the safeway on macarthur blvd at intersection with reservoir road) to be fine quality and reasonably priced. In the rare instances where there have been problems over the years, they are dealt with swiftly and professionally. The former owner of that station, one bill parker, now operates the exxon further out macarthur blvd on top of the hill past delacarlia reservoir (maybe he likes water?). he is also an extremely reliable and competent mechanic, the kind who says "you don't need to do that" even if he could make an extra buck by staying mute. Lawrence Skrivseth lskrivseth@imf.org ******************************* When I had some body work done last year, my insurance company (usaa), sent me to petrovitch on 14th street, nw (mentioned in a previous posting) -- with which usaa contracts. Though not in a particularly desirable location, they did very good work. Greg Jones gmon6612@aol.com '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' dc.internet Wildlife Ecology Digest is available ~free~for subscription. This is a weekly e-mail digest for research, conversation, job opportunities, issues, thoughts, and general postings concerning wildlife ecology. We now have 3300+ members on the list (including wildlife professionals from all over the world) after it's third month of publication, and the information on the digest has been very informative and helpful to all parties involved. To receive this free, e-mail digest, please send e-mail to kingfshr@northcoast.com with the subject: "subscribe to wed." Your first issue will arrive soon after that! Please check out our website at >http://home.aol.com/wedigest< for more information on this service! David Doyle kingfshr@northcoast.com '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' dc.market Trusty car <sniff> needs good home. 1988 honda accord dx. 4-door, 5-speed, metallic light blue with flip-up headlights and janssen stereo/cassette. 101k but well maintained, excellent condition (only drawback - no ac). $4,200 or best offer. (It's served me well, but now I really need a smaller car for around-town and parallel parking.) 202/332-5434 (h) Gaelyn Gdavidso@nas.edu ********************************* Condo on capitol hill???? Please tell me that one of you have/know about an affordable (read: under $100k) condo for sale on the hill (prefer se/eastern market area). Need one bedroom, decent kitchen -- storage/closet space can be sacrificed for a place that has windows and lots of light. Most of the places i've seen are basements -- this is a cry for help from someone that actually wants to live in dc! Any suggestions will be appreciated -- i've seen everything in my range on the hill that the realtors have to offer and was not happy with any of them. W: (202)775-9680 x546 h: 202/547-8369. Vera Zildar v.zlidar@tfgi.com ************************************ Motorcycle for sale!! Beautiful 1992 honda shadow 600cc motorcycle. Candy apple red - looks like new. Only 9k miles - rides like a dream. Only one owner - has been well loved and taken care of. Teardrop tank - cruising lines (good woman's bike). Includes: fairing, backrest, cover, rain and other gear. Must sell - $3,500 o.b.o. Please call rachel -301-565-4225. Leslie Ruskin shanti.ruskin@lmco.com ************************************ Home pc computer assistance. I'll help you choose and buy the best model for the lowest price, get your computer up and running, teach you the ins and outs of windows 95 and applications, show you how to maintain your system, build special applications for you, and get you up and running on the internet. $60/hour. 202.244.4163. Jeffrey Itell Story@intr.net |
Send mail with questions or comments to webmaster@dcwatch.com
Web site copyright ©DCWatch (ISSN 1546-4296)