Your Electronic Backfencedc.story is presented in association with Washington’s News Station WTOP-1500 AM and 94.3 FM. The DC area is once again ranked number one for the most time wasted in traffic.* WTOP helps you navigate with traffic and weather together on the 8s. *** WTOP-AM and FM! (*LA is number one for congestion — if you don’t consider my sinuses.) -^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^ Dear Neighbors: I only have one more issue to remind you to reserve a spot for our dc.story get together on October 27 at the DC Jewish Community Center. The festivities begin at 7:30 PM and I promise everyone a name tag with their email address. Fred Siegel will be joining us from Brooklyn to talk about his new book about the District, LA, and New York — *The Future Once Happened Here.* John Leo calls it *The best book about cities in decades.* Michael Barone, known for the annual *An Almanac of American Politics,* will introduce Fred. The DC Jewish Community Center is located on 16th and Q Streets, NW. The cost is $12 for members of the DC/JCC and $15 for non-members. Dinner and soft drinks will be served. To reserve a spot with the DC/JCC, call 202.518.9400, extension 269. Leave a message since the JCC will be closed for a Jewish holiday. In addition, please send me an email RSVP at story@intr.net so I know how much food to order. **** As Carl Bergman notes below, we will be bestowing the first annual Boss Shepherd and John Macmillan Awards on Monday. So far we’ve only received one nominee for the Shepherd award and that was from a politician’s wife. I know how fixated we all seem to be on infrastructure these days — I had no idea roundabouts would be so controversial — but I would like to devote Sunday’s issue to nominees for the two awards. To kick in my two cents, I would like to give the Macmillan award to Hizzoner for being asleep at the wheel. Congress and the Control Board gave him enough leeway to begin to turn the city around but he punted and played politics all year. Now he gets to play tennis all day. I have several favorites for the Boss Shepherd award, but I’m excluding friends from my list. (The first time I’ll ever be accused of being an honest journalist, I assure you.) So my pick is Constance Newman of the Control Board. Why a Board member? Because the sooner they finish their work, the faster we can regain control of the city. Why Newman? I understand from others that she is dedicated and capable. Can I be wrong? You bet! Why not someone else? I can only think of two other people to pick — one owes me dinner and the other one I owe dinner. -^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^ ***It's Time to Preserve Your Family Memories.*** Video History Services provides quality audio and video interviewing services for people who wish to preserve their family history. VHS Staff use skilled interviewing techniques to capture the warmth, energy, sense of humor and overall personality of those being interviewed. Photos, home movies & video, favorite music and other memorabilia can be used to edit-together a video biography that tells a colorful story—for the benefit of future generations. Video History Services: "Helping People Recall the Past for Memories to Last" For more information, please contact Reed Dewey at 202/363-8433 or rdewey@erols.com. -^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^ In this issue of dc.story, a look forward to the Shepherd Macmillan awards, weird news from abroad, a lot of grouching about vouching, and one more time round the roundabout. Cheers, '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Who’s The Boss? Who Gets The John? A Reminder. At the dc.story get together on Monday, we’ll hand out the first Boss Shepherd and John Macmillan awards to the persons who done the most and least, respectively to build democracy in DC. Why the John Macmillan award to the bum of the year? Macmillan, an old line segregationist, was the longtime chair of the House DC Committee who not only bottled up Home Rule for over 20 years. Right This Way Mr. Sousa....Part of DC life is making it past the gauntlet of guards to get inside a government building even if you work there. What strikes me as odd is that every federal and city agency does it differently. For years, the guards at the Wilson Building would let anyone in - without going through the metal detector - if you gave them a knowing nod. It’s the feds, though, who defy logic. HHS was tough, required photo ids. Visitors sign in and out (who reads these logs?). At HUD we just waved simple paper passes to guards from 20 feet away. Then there was DOT. If you forgot your pass, you just hooked up with someone who had one. I used this ‘he’s with me’ system to get as many as 8 people in. The office joke was you could probably bring in a brass band, but would need a property pass to get’em out. Have you similar quirky experiences? And what are the invariably good natured guards looking for when they search briefcases? ***** News From Abroad Do you ever wonder about the accuracy of news reports from abroad? Here’s a piece from an article about Washington in South Africa’s leading English language paper, The October 5th edition of the Sunday Independent. "Drivers are not aggressive; if anything they are too slow. Getting from A to B is invariably simple. Few friends live more than 15 minutes away by car and rush-hour traffic rushes along nicely." Huh? ***** When Do You Call The Cops? I live on Connecticut Avenue in Cleveland Park. A few nights ago, I heard the telltale shouts of a crazy person some time after midnight. He was screaming curses, most of them featuring the "F" word and some of them pretty inventive. He was also quite loud and seemed to get louder the longer he went at it. I was trying to decide whether to call the police when I saw revolving lights and spotted a cruiser at Conn. & Macomb. The screaming stopped. I never spotted the person who was screaming, so I don’t know whether he was among those I might recognize. I’m curious. In a situation like this, do you usually call the police? Are you resigned to screaming in the night? Do you call only after some amount of time (10 min.? 15?)? Or only if you think that someone is in real danger? I find that the longer I live here (20 years now), the less inclined I am to pick up the phone. **** Belted The constitutionality of a seat belt law may be questionable, if it is used as a tool to manufacture "probable cause" to stop a vehicle, when the _real_ intent of the policeman was a fishing expedition. Given Ms. Faul’s example of the felon roundup in Grand Prairie, Texas, and her speculation that enforcement won’t be "draconian" in D.C, but selective, I’m immediately suspicious. I’m not quite ready to give up what’s left of my Fourth Amendment Rights for automotive "safety" . **** Another Belt I take it that Steph "Likes Big Brother Watching" Faul will not be making any contributions to the Libertarian Party this year? I love it when the government makes me responsible for the behavior of others. I forgot....where is that in the Constitution? Oh, yeah — it’s right before the Thought Control Amendment. ***** Cabs and Belts Maybe taxi drivers *should* be included in the new belt law. Easily 80 percent of the D.C. cabs I take have no available back-seat belts. Either the belts simply don’t exist or they’re buried in the skanky crack between the cushions. As someone who always buckles up — and gets concerned in the hands of the occasional speedy cabbie — this really ticks me off. ***** Round and Round We Go I am a veteran Boston driver who never had trouble with rotaries there, but I just don’t get what the story is with DC circles. Most of the circles have traffic lights. So why do so many of them never turn green, but instead alternate between red and blinking yellow, so that no matter when you try to go into the circle, you’re cutting in on someone? Wouldn’t it make sense to time things so everyone got a turn? Especially since the traffic lights are already there? In a city of horrendously indecisive drivers, you just don’t want to leave this much to individual judgment; most DC drivers have none. ***** Look Here! Anne Drissel (drisselab@aol.com) writes about the lack of arrows indicating where the lane changes occur as being "incredibly dangerous as people guess where to switch lanes." .Fewer accidents would occur if drivers noticed that there are signs posted indicating where these changes are supposed to take place. **** When, Oh When Does My Sticker Expire? Dianne Louis Rhodes wonders why she has a 2-year inspection sticker and wonders if it’s because she renewed for two years. Well, I registered my new truck for 1 year and got a 2-year sticker. Then I registered my motorcycle and got a 1-year inspection sticker. Huh? I’m amazed that anyone does register for two years. There’s no financial incentive, and if I bail out and move to Arlington in the next year, I lose the money for the extra year. ***** Vouch This If Richard Rothblum wants to argue that people oppose school vouchers because they fear vouchers will be successful, he is indeed running out of arguments. I oppose vouchers because I have no intention of passing out $3,200 per student to schools that are completely unaccountable to the public. They are not accountable for whom they admit; they are not accountable for whom they hire; they are not accountable for curriculum; they are not accountable for test scores; and they are not responsible for disabled students or disruptive students if they don’t feel like admitting such students. We already have evidence about voucher programs from Milwaukee and Cleveland, which have shown no academic gains for students in the private schools. And if working people want to "stiff" the public schools, as Mr. Rothblum argues, they should do just as President and Mrs. Clinton did: pay for their children’s education themselves. *** Vouch That Mr. Rothblum is the second pro-voucher writer in as many weeks to ask, "what is the downside?" of a school voucher plan. It seems to me the huge downside is obvious; the dismantling of an education system that, overall, continues to serve the country very well. If the vaunted forces of market competition are what our public schools need, why is our system working so well in so many districts without it? And why have vouchered students in the Milwaukee school system not done better after this competition was started there? The problem in the DC school system is years of mismanagement by the system administrators and their school board overseers. Subsidizing private schools won’t help that. And even if a limited voucher program was successful (at raising test scores and graduation rates), proponents must address what is to become of the students who are excluded from the program. Otherwise voucher programs are akin to clear-cutting the forest to save it from a few diseased trees. ***** Another Fine Product of D.C. Public Schools
Not *that* good, obviously, or they’d have taught Mr. Rothblum the difference between a plural and a possessive. However. Removing a child from the D.C. public schools and paying private tuition elsewhere frees up more resources for the students who remain. This would not be the case under the voucher plan, which truly would "stiff" the public schools. The talented, easy-to-teach students would be the first to leave, leaving DCPS to educate the more expensive learning-disabled students at, presumably, the same per-capita cost. And if Mr. Rothblum thinks that D.C. vouchers would cover tuition at Sidwell Friends, he needs to review his math. ***** Vouch For This Ken Nellis argues that "the concept [of school vouchers] is bad because it argues that we are not committed to providing quality public education." Ken – doesn’t the condition of the DC schools tell you the same thing? Face it. The schools are broken. The unions, the bureaucracy, and the ideologues have the system in a headlock. "Providing quality public education" is the last thing on their minds. These selfish people cannot be reformed. The results of their machinations are truly tragic. How long can we continue to graduate unprepared and illiterate young people into the city? We can’t pass up an opportunity to try something that is promising. It may be that the threat of competition is the only thing that might save the concept of public education. ***** Why School Vouchers Won’t Work You don’t even need to get into the ideological issues of school vouchers, you just need to look at the facts on the ground to see why vouchers will not help to better educate kids in the District — according to the Post, there are only 2 private, non-religious schools in the area with tuition under $3200 (the value of the vouchers) and only one of them has only a few spaces. The Congressional pro-voucher contingents’ response? We’ve found some more spaces, especially in parochial schools (ever hear of separation of church and state?) and we plan to build some more private schools. Oh, *that’s* a good plan. Now I see why we needed the wisemen of Congress to run our city. ***** The Difference There’s a difference between "public education" and "public schools" the two are not synonymous. The first refers to education supported by public funds, and the second to the particular institutions established historically for that purpose. If the latter don’t work, and these days they don’t in DC and other cities, why shouldn’t we abandon them and use the same funds to provide decent "public education" for the kids in institutions that do work? ***** Sigh! I long for the good old days. In 1953 the concern about our high schools was, will Western Senior High-now Duke Ellington- win the Cadet Corps competition again! This of course is from one former happy student’s perspective. ================= ***For information re advertising, contact Jan Genzer—the dc.story marketing maven—at Oltjan@aol.com or 202/364-0383.*** ================= dc.queries MacHelp! My small and slow but beloved Macintosh SE (vintage 1989) is not working (I think it can’t access the hard drive). Although it’s not much more than a glorified typewriter, it is still useful, and I’m not quite ready to upgrade to a higher-powered machine. Does anyone (a) know where I can get an old Mac repaired very inexpensively? or (b) have an old Mac you’d like to sell me (equally inexpensively)? Bob Kulawiec kulawiecr@guvax.georgetown.edu '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' dc.events Scientific History Made in Chevy Chase DC On Thursday October 23 at 7:30 p.m. HCCDC will present a program on the history of the Carnegie Institution of Washington’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. This program will offer a glimpse of one of Chevy Chase’s most interesting buildings, from the architectural as well as the scientific perspective. This special presentation will be held on Thursday Evening October 23, 1997 at 7:30 p.m., at the Carnegie Institution of Washington , 5241 Broad Branch Road NW The presentation will feature many old photographs of the building’s construction and early research done at the building. Admission is free for Historic Chevy Chase Members, a donation is suggested for non members. Enter the auditorium at the North entrance off of the driveway on the 32nd Street side of the property. Parking is available on the driveway and nearby streets. William West Hopper 202-364-2852 wwhrestoration@juno.com ***** Martin Gilbert’s "Holocaust Journey: Traveling Through the Past." Lecture and book signing by Martin Gilbert. Offered to the public free of charge on Thursday, October 30, 1997. The lecture will be held at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Pl., SW, Washington, DC 20024 at 7:00pm for 1 ½ hours. To register, call (202) 488-0427. Phyllis Conyers pconyers @ushmm.org ***** Free Talk About Meditation Introduction to Shambhala Meditation - Meditation in the Tibetan Tradition. Free talk on Friday evening, 8:00 p.m., Nov. 7 followed by a reception. This event is taking place at the Shambhala Meditation Center in Silver Spring, MD. The public is welcome-bring a friend! Details and a map on how to get there at: <http://www.his.com/~pshapiro/dc.story/announce13.html>http://www.his.com/~p shapiro/dc.story/announce13.html David Uglow uglow_d@bls.gov ***** Good Knight Concert Series Nov. 13. On Nov. 13 Jazz trumpeter and pianist Rick Harris will play. All performances will be at St. Margaret’s Church, 1830 Connecticut Ave., 3 blocks north of Dupont Circle, 6:30pm Wine and hors d’oeuvre, 8:00pm music. $10 donation will benefit the Good Knight Child Empowerment Network, a charity that protects children. We will also collect used clothing and canned food for Bread for the City. Bruce McBarnette (703) 404-8429, mcbarnet@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' dc.market Need to put some photos up on the web? Photo scanning service offered. $5 per photo (or slide/negative). Up to 5 by 7 inches in size. 10 or more photos, $4 each. Phil Shapiro pshapiro@his.com ***** Prepare For Fall Let Pete help you with your Fall garden projects. Fall is the best time to plant those trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs and pansies you’ve been thinking about. Improve your winter garden with rock and wood hardscapes. Revitalize your garden with expert maintenance, pruning, dividing, and clean up. Many satisfied DC Story readers as clients. Philip Walker, Jr. gardens@gowebway.com ***** For Sale: a black leather Skylounger from Ikea; $85 (a few minor cat scratches adds character...) and a psydo white leather full couch, $100; I can send you a digital picture if you like...and the first person with the dough gets.....no promises on holding!! Please help me get them out of my house before a Halloween party! Paul Williams PKelseyW@aol.com ***** For Sale: Rolling Stones tickets- Thursday, October 23rd at 8 o’clock with Sheryl Crow at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium-Section 234, Row 2-four excellent seats-$90 each or best offer. Call Lori Watzman at 202-265-5375. Debbi Koplen 76624.60@compuserve.com ****** Couples massage training class. Sunday, October 26, 1997, from 2-5pm Bodywise Bodyworks, 3701 Connecticut Ave. Share nurturing, relieve stress and pain with a great basic back massage. All materials supplied. Class kept small; register early. Taught by Jenn Weed, CMT, CFR, BA. $100. per couple 202-966-6113. Jenn Weed jennwren@erols.com **** Rooms for Rent Male owner-occupied Silver Spring townhouse has several rooms for rent. Two on the 2d floor each for $275/month share one bath. A room on the 1st floor, really big with lots of afternoon sun, has its own private full bath & rents for $325/month. All 3 are available end of Nov. Utilities are split 4 way, usually $45 per person on average. Each room has a private phone line & is cable ready. Men or women welcome but no smokers or pets. For further information call (301) 680-3636 or (202) 775-6522. David Sobelsohn dsobelso@capaccess.org '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' Also free! dc.movie. Free movie passes, short movie reviews, and movie discussion. Send an email message to story@intr.net to subscribe. -^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^-^ 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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