The Tax Check Is in themail
Dear Taxpayers:
You know, it's just about time that I started thinking about doing those
tax forms. Now, where did I put them?
If you're in the same last-minute position, don't worry, they're all on
the web — federal forms at http://www.irs.ustreas.gov
and DC forms at http://www.dccfo.com
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch
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Hey, Gary! Do you hear my staff and me crying foul? While the newspaper
industry doesn't officially consider The Common Denominator to be a “real
newspaper” until we reach our first anniversary of publication in June, we would
appreciate a little more respect from the knowledgeable home crowd for “D.C.'s
hometown newspaper.”
Get hip, Gary, please! We are the ONLY newspaper that focuses on local
D.C. news and circulates in every neighborhood of our city. Our recent reader survey,
while necessarily low-budget, seems to indicate that we are being read widely in D.C. (and
also to some much-smaller degree in PG and Montgomery counties, where we don't circulate)
by the nearly 100,000 readers that we claim. With all the outcry for D.C. residents to get
involved to help our community, I've been perplexed as to why the efforts of four D.C.
residents (all professional journalists) to give our city a real “hometown
newspaper” have been so ignored by our local media colleagues....
[In the last issue, I had written that DC had one and a quarter local
newspapers, if you go by circulation figures. Kathy's right — we do have local news
in our neighborhood papers — the InTowner, the Current newspapers, the Afro-American,
the City Paper, and, of course, the Common Denominator. — Gary Imhoff]
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News Radio
Jim Farley, Vice President, News and Programming, WTOP Radio, JTFnews@aol.com
I know that public radio has some really loyal fans (deservedly so). But
have your readers noticed how little local news coverage WAMU provides on a regular basis?
And have they noticed that here on WTOP we've added regular monthly local public affairs
programs like “Ask the Mayor” and “Ask the Chief”? If you have
impressions about WTOP formed from many years ago, we want you to know that the station
has been under new management for almost three years now and we think we've come a long
way. Admittedly, that's not an unbiased point of view.
The Orioles have been on WTOP for 21 years. Nothing new there except that,
for the last two seasons, we have broken into games with news, traffic and weather updates
when we felt the need. And we took a lot of heat from O's fans last summer when we blew
out an entire game to provide continuous coverage of the severe weather (tornado alerts)
that included 11 people being struck by lightning at the Free Tibet Concert at RFK
Stadium. News is our primary mission. Also new this year: we have Steve Dolge doing the
weekday pre-game show (instead of the Orioles team of Jim Hunter and Fred Manfra). That's
so we can make room for news, traffic and weather updates inside the pre-game broadcasts.
Yeah, being an all-news station that also carries baseball does make us
feel schizophrenic. But we hope people notice that we have eliminated Maryland football,
Maryland basketball, and several weekend talk shows so that with the exception of Orioles
broadcasts (which a lot of people love) we are providing news and information nonstop.
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Less ’tude, More News
Elizabeth M Wulkan, ewul@loc.gov
NPR is tainted with the “holier than thou, we have all the news and
can tell you the 'right ' way to think” attitude. I am jaundiced. I wish there were a
“just the facts, ma'am” station. I want the facts, without the spin, the
interpretation and the editorial comment. WTOP doesn't do it for me — too many blood
and gore traffic accidents. Can anyone give me a clue?
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To paraphrase talk radio....“long-time reader, first-time
poster”...but I digress....do I have the record yet? (bands playing, car horns
tooting?) DC income tax refund in 5(6) working days? ...in the mail by noon 3/29...in my
mailbox by 3 pm 4/9. Yay Tony & gang! Cheers....
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Many thanks to Bob Andrew, rdandrew@erols.com
, for the information on the updated (new to me) website for the DPW. I used it
immediately after I read the article and submitted a request for the repair of the traffic
signals/signs along both sides of Connecticut Ave. NW that show whether to use 2, 3, or 4
lanes of traffic during rush hour. Today is Monday 12 April. Let's see how long it takes
to get them in proper working order. To repeat the website address it is http://www.publicworks.ci.washington.dc.us
Thanks again!
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Onlining District Government
T. J. Hardman, thardman@earthops.org
Greetings all. I'm pleased to see that the District's Department of Public
Works has got a web-site up, but I have to take a strong issue with the designers of the
site, and wish to pass on a request to whoever's in charge of citywide
“onlining” of the government. Whoever did the layout of the site did a nice job,
but they've made a horrible mistake common to newcomers to the information age. They're
simply “not getting it.” The District's citizens aren't all such technophiles
and cognoscenti as are we. Many of the citizens who will be looking for information will
be using a search-engine to find that information. DPW's site is almost entirely reliant
on CGI or the Common Gateway Interface, and many of the most-popular search-engines do not
search nor properly index CGI-interfaced sites. Almost no major internet search-engine,
for instance, can index pages generated by ASP, a common page-authoring gateway from
Microsoft. Using such technologies makes search-engines almost totally useless to the
exact person — the internet novice — who may most need them to find a specific
page or document.
Any District infosite managers who are in the process of getting a site
together are strongly advised to keep in mind that information tools aren't meant to be
flashy or have all of the latest gadgets; they're intended to provide the greatest amount
of usable information to the most people through the greatest number of routes of access.
DPW has totally shot itself in the foot with regard to this. If anyone needs pointers to
information theory, feel free to mail me. I'm not looking for work though I could sure use
it, I just plain hate to see the internet equivalent of someone using a digital watch to
fix a broken hammer.
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When I tried this it didn't work.
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Don't Upscale the District
Gabriella Modan, Mt. Pleasant, modang@gusun.georgetown.edu
In regards to NARPAC's latest news, I don't think that what the District
needs is “tens of thousands of upscale homes and well over 100,000 upscale
jobs.” What this city needs is more affordable housing which is in decent condition,
and decent-paying jobs that the people of this city have the qualifications to be hired
for.
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Storm Windows/Doors Recommendation Wanted
Jo Radner, jradner@american.edu
Does any themail reader have a good storm door / storm window company to
recommend? We're interested in quality and appearance, economy, reliability and promptness
of installation service. Thank you.
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No Orkin or Chem-Lawn
Andrea Sexton, awsexton@erols.com
I am oh so tired of Orkin and of Chem-Lawn, yet I need monthly bug service
and an occasional chemical lawn service. Any suggestions?
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
The Friends of Cleveland Park Library will hold their annual spring book
sale this Saturday and Sunday, April 17-18, from noon to 4:00 p.m. at the Cleveland Park
Library, Connecticut Avenue and Macomb Street, NW (one block south of the Cleveland Park
Metro on the red line). Don't miss out on this great community event where literally
thousands of used books, in nearly every subject imaginable, will be available for
extraordinarily reasonable prices. All proceeds benefit the Cleveland Park Library.
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The John Eaton Elementary School Home and School Association is sponsoring
its 6th Annual Auction at the Austrian Embassy on April 24, 1999. The Silent Auction
begins at 6:00 p.m. with the Live Auction following at 8:30. Due to the many generous
donations from friends and neighbors of Eaton, we have many wonderful items up for bid. We
have dinners for two; theater, football, and baseball tickets; weekend getaways near and
far; and an opportunity for your child to ride on a float during the Macy's Thanksgiving
Day Parade. We have trips to Aspen and Jackson Hole. Artwork, jewelry, and items made by
our children are also available. The evening promises to be a whole lot of fun and
proceeds from the auction go directly to support our children. Tickets are $20 each in
advance and $25 at the door. For additional information, please feel free to email me.
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Williams Town Meeting on Budget
Linda Talvadkar, Talvadkar@aol.com
District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams will discuss his proposed
budget with the citizens of Ward Three at a Town Meeting co-sponsored by the Ward Three
Democratic Committee and Ward Three for Williams on Tuesday, April 20th at 7:30 p.m. in
the Great Hall of St. Columba's Church, Albermarle Street at 42nd Street, N.W. (two blocks
west of Tenleytown Metro Station). All interested residents are invited to attend. For
further information, call Richard Levine, Coordinator of Ward Three for Williams
(301-435-6922) or Thorn Pozen (202-942-6196).
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Annual Democratic Fundraiser Dinner
Linda Talvadkar, Talvadkar@aol.com
The District of Columbia Democratic State Committee invites you to its
20th Annual Kennedys-King Dinner and Fundraiser Thursday, April 30th, 1999 at the Omni
Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St., at Connecticut Ave., N.W. Come and celebrate the good
work of the Democratic Party and its vision for the future based upon the principles of
President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. National Democratic leaders, Democratic National Committee members and D.C. Elected
Officials will be present. The evening will commence with a reception and silent auction
beginning at 6:00 p.m. followed by dinner, program and dancing from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
For tickets or general information call Paula Nickens, Chair of the D.C. Democratic State
Committee at 202-554-8790.
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Tasting Society International Mid-April/May 1999
Calendar of Events
Charlie Adler, wine@TASTEDC.COM
1) April 21st, Wine Basics 101, with Michael Franz, Wine Columnist for the
Washington Post, 7-9 p.m., Radisson Barcelo Hotel, 2121 P St., NW, $35. Learn the
basics with Michael Franz, wine columnist for the Washington Post: how to match
wine and food, differences in grape varieties, how to purchase and order wine, and more!
2) May 19th, Embassy of Switzerland Wine Tasting and Dinner with Michael Franz of the Washington
Post, 7-9 p.m., 2900 Cathedral Ave., NW, $45, tax and tip inclusive. A pairing of
Swiss wines and international cuisine will showcase impressive but little known wines from
this country.Reservations: RSVP at (202)333-5588 or email: wine@tastedc.com , or the Reservation Form at our Web
Page at http://www.tastedc.com/reservations.html
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CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE
A beautiful spring evening, baseball in a section of season ticket
holders, Boog's barbecue — what could be better? Four tickets, upper box, $18 ticket,
just above third base, looking for someone who will enjoy them. Please contact masiegel@consultingwomen.com if interested.
Thanks.
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CLASSIFIEDS — CITY PAPER PREVIEW
Dave Nuttycombe, webmeister@washcp.com
From washingtoncitypaper.com's LOOSE LIPS column, appearing this Friday:
Evans' Gender Gap: Branded as a shill for the city's vested interests during his
well-funded 1998 campaign for mayor, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, who faces
re-election next year, is repositioning himself as a hard worker for everyday
constituents.
Earlier this year, he backed Dupont Circlites in their perennial fight against even more
bars, supporting renewal of a moratorium on new liquor licenses on the 17th Street strip.
Then he stood with downtowners who opposed the gargantuan Solar Building project, which
would add a parking garage and three stories to a K Street office monolith.
Now Evans is shielding his constituents from the most daunting menace yet: homeless women.
In a letter to Mayor Anthony A. Williams, Evans last month lashed out against the
relocation of a women's homeless shelter from its former site near Mount Vernon Square to
4th and L Streets NW. Construction of the new six-square-block convention center —
which Evans pushed through the council — forced the shelter's move.
Read the entire Loose Lips column this Friday at: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/lips/lips.html
From washingtoncitypaper.com's CITY LIGHTS page, here are a few early
warnings for upcoming events:
Monday, April 19: Christopher Buckley reads from and signs copies of “Little Green
Men” at 7 p.m. at Politics & Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free.
Thursday, April 22: Frank Stella speaks about his career with New York City Director of
Cultural Affairs Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel at 6:30 p.m. at the Corcoran Gallery of
Art's Hammer Auditorium, 17th & New York Ave., NW. $20.
More details and more critics' picks are available online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/pix/pix.html
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