Your Electronic BackfenceDear Neighbors: Courtland Milloy’s column in The Washington Post today—Down but Undaunted In the Battle Over D.C.— was interesting. It seems that the definition of a community activist is someone who disagrees with the Control Board’s/Congress’s/White House’s decision to ratchet up their leverage over the Barry administration. Says Milloy: "I wanted to know how a community activist feels when the city that he has been fighting for so earnestly ends up losing the battle over home rule." But what do we make of thousands of volunteers who sit on ANCs, Citizen Associations, PTAs, and other groups? Are they not community activists? Are they expected to march in the streets and block traffic on the 14th Street bridge in favor of better managed government? Milloy’s not concerned with community activists. He’s fixated with a dwindling group of power wannabes who want to exploit racial politics like their elders did a generation before. Which brings us the Marcus Garvey Charter School and why the Board of Education (with no other responsibilities other than to divvy up parking permits) hasn’t acted on evaluating its charter in light of the arrest and conviction of its academic masters. I’m told (and read in the Post) that the process will soon run its course. But the process has lasted over six months. Perhaps I missed this item in the story, but was the school board required to wait until the end of the criminal trial to conduct its investigation? If not, then why wasn’t this incident handled expeditiously. Forget about the missing notebook—Dr. Anigbo’s public conduct after the incident is certainly enough evidence for the Board to withdraw the school charter. A charter is a privilege, not a right, if I recall. **** Don’t run up those credit card bills yet, but the congressional bailout provides the District a large windfall in fiscal year 1998. We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars here. The question is whether our city leaders will use the money responsibly— like retire debt or redecorate the mayor’s playroom. Chances are the money will go towards debt retirement. Otherwise, Jenkins Hill is likely to look like Golgotha on a busy day. **** Some America On-Line subscribers have written to complain about how and if they receive dc.story from AOL. Like I can fix your problem. I recently received the following email newsletter, the Seidman Insider, which might give you some indication of AOL’s email problems. >>>> > > Though I’ve always been supportive of AOL, I have to draw the line on E-mail. So for you AOL members, I have to say this: If E-mail is the application you use most, and you communicate regularly with people via Internet E-mail, and AOL is your sole Internet provider, it’s time to look for another solution. -^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^ In this issue of dc.story, death in the afternoon, a bicycle debate for two, a disappearing CVS (No Way!), and more on schools. Cheers, -^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^ Also free! dc.movie: Free movie passes, short movie reviews, and movie discussion. Send an email message to story@intr.net to subscribe. '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Death in the Afternoon I don’t believe in the death penalty, but I’d have a helluva time not sending Curry and his truck to the chamber. And accompanying him—if we ever find the perps, which won’t happen in this lifetime—the D.C. "government" drones responsible for letting that murderer behind the wheel. My 16-year-old son Chris knew Ben Cooper and last Thursday went to his Georgetown Day School memorial service. I didn’t go, but when I asked him about the service, he said it "was really something." No doubt. But what was really something for me is that there but for fortune—or The Force, or something akin to it—could have been Chris. I second Steph’s idea to try Curry for murder and to sue the contractor that hired him. But don’t stop there: take the real criminals—the D.C. government drones—to court. And this Mom and Pop operation will kick ass big time: he’s a leading tobacco company attorney and she’s the dean of Georgetown University Law Center. (The writer’s alma mater, since we’re into full disclosure). And kudos to our sysop for his kudos to our Fourth Estate. Events such as this every now and then make one glad to be a member thereof. **** Mr. Curry And His Dump Truck Congratulations to the Post for following this story. But a nagging questions remains, If the truck had upset in Anacostia, and killed a 17 year old who wasn’t really going anywhere in life, would the accident have received the coverage and follow up that it did? The Post’s past record does not lead to an obvious answer to this question. **** More School Follies Leila Afzal’s Aug. 17 post correctly chided Gen. Becton for not opening as many schools as possible on time Sept. 2 and finding temporary sites for students from the schools unsafe to open. Yes, that would be hard work, but the plan to put 70,000 students out of school for three weeks because fewer than two dozen schools remain under repair makes little sense. Among many other aspects of the school mess that make little sense: Under the "all or nothing" theory—either all schools can open or none can—what are we to do come Sept. 22 if a few schools still can’t be opened? Must we wait until the last repair? That could be New Year’s .If not, how will Becton justify opening all but 3 schools? Or all but 5? Secondly, I fail to understand the logic that if Parents United drops the lawsuit, all is well. In the first place, anyone else could refile the same lawsuit. But more significantly, why would unsafe schools suddenly be safe to occupy if the lawsuit is dropped? I have heard no good answer. **** School Roofs Why is Parents United angry with Judge Christian? Because she is requiring DC Public School construction practices be held to a standard of care unheard of in most jurisdictions. It is routine for roof repairs to be performed on occupied buildings. Roof repairs and replacements are performed on hospitals with critically ill patients in them. It isn’t necessary to close the hospital for either safety or building code compliance. It is not necessary to close all of these schools for these reasons, either. There may be some of the schools where, due to specific circumstances, it would be wise to perform the repairs when the building is vacant. Typically this is the exception, not the rule. Leaking roofs are not in and of themselves are not fire code violations. Nationally recognized experts have testified to that effect in her court. I believe that we as a community owe Judge Christian a great debt for her work to force the system to fix fire code violations and I thank her heartily. But there is a point where reason has to return to the process. We have in my educated opinion, passed that point months ago. All of our children (and we parents, too!) are being held hostage to the judge’s insistence on rules that go well beyond the standard of care normally required in such situations. **** Marcus Garvey’s Mission What does an Afrocentric education entail? How is it helpful to a student in our society? **** CVS Disappearing?Galey Modan modang@guvax.georgetown.edu Does anyone know anything about the closing of the CVS on Columbia Rd. west of 18th St.? (There’s a sign in the window that says it closed this past Friday.) **** Rock Creek Park I couldn’t agree more with Stephanie Mencimer who wrote that cars drive too fast, too brazenly through Rock Creek Park. While driving my car I stopped at a Beach Drive-Ross Drive intersection, a marked intersection, to let a cyclist pass. The driver behind me, apparently impatient, honked to let me know that I shouldn’t have given the bicyclist the right of way. And so it goes in Rock Creek Park. On the winding roads of Ross Drive and near the Nature Center, cars often travel so fast that they frequently pass over the double yellow lines into the oncoming lane. Cars do whiz by bicyclists fast and close — drivers don’t care. There are those who say about Rock Creek Park: "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it." That’s a unimaginative view of this treasure. Anyone who’s spent time walking, hiking, running, cycling through Rock Creek Park knows that it’s an amazing place. I grew up Manhattan, and I would never have believed that in a city I could live just five minutes from a wilderness where I could see rabbits, deer, snapping turtles, foxes, and other animals on nearly every visit. Rock Creek Park, the park, is something that Washington, DC can boast about. As a commuter route — well, that’s nothing special. I would like to see fewer cars traveling through Rock Creek Park. This will make Washington a better place to live. **** Aggressive Bicyclists I have to comment on Ken Levinson’s remark that he has seen just as many bicyclists "terrorizing" motorists and pedestrians as he’s seen "aggressive" drivers. It is absolutely ridiculous to compare aggressive driving and aggressive bicycling. While there are a few kamikaze bike messengers, they are basically risking no one’s lives but their own. Instances of bicyclists harming motorists are completely unknown to me. I did read, years ago, about a guy in New York who had a heart attack after being hit by a cyclist. On the other side of the coin, bicycling is the most dangerous sport in the world, based on fatalities, most of which are the result of one-sided encounters between cars or trucks and bicyclists. The egregious calculation which equates technical traffic violations by bicyclists to aggressive driving by motorists is dangerous. It engenders an attitude that encourages motorists to perform maneuvers in traffic that put bicyclists at risk because they "had it coming." I have often had motorist try to injure me while driving to get back at some perceived advantage that I may have taken of them. This is not tit for tat. Drivers have no right to risk the lives of bicyclists to stoke their rage at being stuck in traffic. Ken Levinson’s excuses for driving ring pretty hollow to my ears. Get off your butt, Ken, and get on a bicycle — be a part of the solution instead of the problem. **** WDCU Jazz LamentDon Taylor dtaylor648@aol.com Anyone catch Gerry Hanlon’s WDCU show last Friday, 8/15, 1 to 6 p.m.? He invited call ins. A first for WDCU I think. Great response. All callers I heard were amazingly articulate. Couldn’t catch it all, but did hear a phone number for supporters of jazz, or to get the WDCU crew on another station or something — (703) 768-1234 A e-mail address was mentioned also that I didn’t quite get. Maybe another dc storyier heard that. Conclusion: there are/were more jazz listeners (very young as well as older) than WDCU or radio "pros" ever knew about. Well, seemed like that to me. Hanlon spins jazz, but runs a call-in act as well as McGinty and better than . . . Inspired advertising. Maybe not too late to find another home. **** Monkee Tickets Howard Griffin writes that he bought 4 tickets to the Monkees concert for $27.50 each. I thought about attending that concert, but ended up getting tickets for Bob Dylan instead. Tickets for Dylan cost $20. Tickets for the Monkees (without Mike Nesmith, the only real musician in the group) cost $27.50. Does that bother anyone besides me? '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' dc.queries Computer Buy I’m contemplating purchasing a Gateway computer via mail order. I would appreciate any feedback pro or con. Thanks. Kathy Crawford K._Crawford@telesiscorp.com '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' dc.events Zoo lecture In commemoration of Hispanic Heritage Month, Francisco Dallmeier, director of the Smithsonian’s Measuring and Assessment of Biodiversity program, will present "Guarding Nature’s Crown Jewels: Assessing and Monitoring Biological Richness in Tropical and Temperate Rainforests." He will explain why collecting and analyzing data is critical to understanding fragile forest ecosystems and predicting what the future holds for them. 25 September 1997. 7:30 p.m. Education Building. National Zoo. Enter at Connecticut Ave. Park in Lot A. Free, but please RSVP by calling (202) 673-4801 or e-mailing nzpem053@sivm.si.edu. Margie Gibson Office of Public Affairs, National Zoo NZPEM053@SIVM.SI.EDU (202) 673-4866, FAX (202) 673-4607 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' dc.market Wanted:::Cleaning service Three young professionals - all working about 60-70-hour weeks can’t keep up with the dog hair of two lovable dogs. We’re looking for recommendations for a good cleaning service/person to come to Mt. Pleasant twice a month. Just need cleaning of two bathrooms and vacuuming. Must be bonded, legal, and trustworthy. Aries Keck akeck@nasw.org **** ISO Very large, gallery-framed, curved edge, glossy red frame, Desperately Seeking Susan movie poster in Italian. $35.00 h)202-232-3449, w)202-884-8597 Patty Friedman patty@embassy.org ================= dc.story is a discussion group. The opinions stated are the sole responsibility of the authors. dc.story does not verify information provided by readers. Kibitzing by Jeffrey Itell. Copyright © 1997. All rights reserved. |
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