Brevity Is the Soul of Wit
Dear Long-Winded Contributors:
Bless Mark Richards: he sent in some jokes, so I'll keep my promise and
refrain from ranting. If brevity is the soul of wit, keep it short. If you keep it short,
themail will be shorter. And if you keep it short, I will too. Just like I'm doing now.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch
################
Many years ago I was in the U.S. Air Force. During my service it was made
very clear to me that, even as one at the lowest rung in the service, I was to be held to
the highest standards of conduct. Not only was I to avoid a conflict of interest, I was to
avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. To make sure that I really, really, really
understood this, I was required periodically to read the appropriate regulation, and sign
a certification that I had done so. If peons in the service with no power to control
Government funds have to avoid conflicts of interest, the Mayor of D.C., with great power
to influence the expenditure of Government funds, should also.
Anthony Williams should not have accepted funds during his campaign for
Mayor from business entities that do business with the D.C. Government. This appearance of
a conflict of interest is unacceptable. There are two solutions. The hard one is for
Williams to resign. The easy one is for the two organizations who gave money to Williams,
and who certainly knew better, to avoid doing contract work with the D.C. government
during the period of Williams term.
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He’s No Better Then the Rest of ’em
Harold Goldstein, dcbiker@goldray.com
Put food on his table!! Give me a break. Lets call a spade a spade.
Williams is revealed to be no paragon of morality. Ms. Drissel wants the other candidates
to fess up to income received but the other candidates are not the issue; we know how our
fat cat politicos line their pockets before, during and after their terms in office but
this one was supposed to be different! Now he's revealed to be just like all the rest.
“Guys, I'm here, ready to take on any legal contracts that may or may not be conflict
of interest but are still legal.”
Conflict of interest? Is there any question? Of course it's conflict of
interest. Whenever anyone gives you something for money and they are doing business with
you (and meetings, schmeetings, they give him nice bucks for zippo in exchange and they do
business with him and it is conflict of interest sure and simple. You people who are ready
to let him off the hook woulda all but hung our dear Mayor Barry. And this is after he
stuffed the pockets of his crony simply because, as he himself put it, the law allowed it.
So Mayor Williams is just another in a long line of DC politicos ready to stretch the law
as far as it goes so as to benefit himself and his buddies. Now he may yet be a competent
mayor, we'll find that out, but he sure is no paragon of virtue.
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Financial Disclosure
Kurt Vorndran, Kvorn@nteu.org
While I'm not particularly interested in defending the Council vis a vis
the Mayor, at least in recent weeks, I think Anne Drissel may have over spoke herself in
challenging the Council members who ran for mayor to make a financial disclosure. As
members of the Council they already do. These reports are on file at the Board of
Elections and Ethics and are available for public inspection. This requirement has existed
since the beginning of Home Rule.
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For Ms. Drissel
Kevin M. McCarron, kevinmc@smart.net
Dear Ms. Drissel, why did you issue your challenge only to candidates of
political parties funded by corporate interests?
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Let’s Just Make Up Some Jokes
Mark Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
ONE: Why did the chicken cross the road? (We can add to this list. These
are supposed to be funny, not offensive.)
Dr. Seuss: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes the chicken
crossed the road, but why he crossed, I've not been told!
Mayor Williams: We're setting up performance indicators and you'll be able to judge us by
improvements we make for all of our citizens, even our chickens.
Camille Barnett: Because DC people eat their young, even the chickens know that.
Norman Dong: I did not mean to hit the chicken with my clipboard.
The Washington Times Editorial Page: The Founding Fathers never intended for DC
chickens to have equal rights.
Marion Barry: There is no proof that the chicken crossed the road, but the chicken
commissioner will get back to you, all right now?
Tom Davis: Because we gave DC chickens the choice to attend any chicken school in the
country, and my guess is he was on his way to our superior school in Virginia.
David Howard: I've learned that we must be sensitive to our city's diversity, so I'll
refrain from commenting until I understand their sensitivities.
The Washington Post: It took Alice Rivlin to stop Catania and Evans from giving
tax breaks to rich chicken owners, who, it appears, don't manage their chickens well.
Eleanor Holmes Norton: That is a home rule issue, so I won't comment on it.
Jesse Jackson: If the TV cameras are there, let me know and I'll walk with it across the
road.
TWO: A little boy came home from school one day and said to his father,
“Dad, what can you tell me about politics? I have to learn about it for school
tomorrow.” The father thought some and said, “OK, son, the best way I can
describe politics is to use an analogy. Let's say that I'm capitalism because I'm the
breadwinner. Your mother will be government because she controls everything, our maid will
be the working class because she works for us, you will be the people because you answer
to us, and your baby brother will be the future. Does that help any?” The little boy
said, “Well, Dad, I don't know, but I'll think about what you said.”
Later that night, after everyone had gone to bed, the little boy was woken up by his
brother's crying. Upon further investigation, he found a dirty nappy. So, he went down the
hall to his parent's bedroom and found his father's side of the bed empty and his mother
wouldn't wake up. Then he saw a light on in the guest room down the hall, and when he
reached the door, he saw through the crack that his father was in bed with the maid.
Because he couldn't do anything else, he turned and went back to bed. The next morning, he
said to his father at the breakfast table, “Dad, I think I understand politics much
better now.”
“Excellent, my boy,” he answered, “What have you learned?” The little
boy thought for a minute and said, “I learned that capitalism is screwing the working
class, government is sound asleep ignoring the people, and the future's full of
poop.”
################
Community Policing
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
Police Chief Ramsey made a big promise to introduce Community Policing
into the District as a way of getting major reform in the Police Department and reducing
crime in the District. Community Policing means putting more police in the neighborhoods
and interacting with the people who live in those neighborhoods. This approach has worked
in many cities and, certainly, there is a need for more trust between community residents
in many areas of the city and the police who are trying hard to control the crime in those
communities. The problem is that Ramsey has not really implemented this process. He has,
in contrast to adding more police to the streets, added seventeen more high paying
“suits” in his top heavy bureaucratic administration.
Ramsey was hired from a lackluster pool of applicants when Barry was still
mayor. At that time the District could not attract any applicants with decent credentials
since nobody wanted to be a part of the city while Barry was mayor. I say it is time to
put Ramsey on notice. Put your money where your mouth is. Let's implement community
policing and get a good relationship established between the residents and the cops in
high crime areas. This will result in dramatically reduced crime rates and the
apprehension of many more of those committing the crimes. If Ramsey cannot, or will not,
implement this process then we should begin the effort to find a competent replacement. We
should be able to attract more qualified candidates this time.
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I have been in the DC area for nearly five months, and on the whole, I
think the experience has been worthwhile. I don't miss Boston one bit, except for one
thing: Why does it take so looooong for the post office to deliver the mail? I have paid
some attention to this. When I lived in Boston, I could count on receiving something I
know was sent from another state in two or three days, no longer. Here, the average is
over a week. Is it my imagination, or does DC have a particularly slow (incompetent) post
office?
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Thousands More Parking Spaces? Woohoo!
Parke Wilde, Dupont Circle, pwilde@econ.ag.gov
Please, nobody read this note while your blood is still hot after
struggling in vain to find a parking space (see Joe Davidson in themail last week). It
will just make you madder. With cool deliberation, though, we have to think that thousands
more parking spaces means thousands more cars. And more cars in DC are a very bad idea. If
the parking problem were completely solved — picture a free 100-story parking garage
on K street or at 18th and Columbia — the next biggest bottleneck would be the
streets themselves as cars come into and out of town. You know: the same streets that meet
in intersections blocked from entrance to exit by a suburban minivan that ran the last
yellow light long since turned red. The long run politics work like this. if the parking
problem were completely solved, the public pressure and motivation to widen streets,
expand freeways, and construct bridges would grow that much faster.
Instead, contemplate in your mind a healthy, livable Washington with no
transportation stress. Birds are chirping in the background. What do you picture? Either
1) what you picture is not possible or 2) it requires a much smaller population than
actually exists or 3) it includes still better public transport and bikeways and fewer
cars. Look for these features of the real livable city, and we won't have to waste our
time in frustration looking for thousands more parking spaces.
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Lights Out
James E. Taylor Jr., President, The Park Skyland Civic Association, jimt25@erols.com
Bob Phillips wrote, “you can't sell the cow and have milk too!”
and “It is difficult to save money when your neighbors keep buying things you can't
afford.” These quotations should be made part of the oath of office for council
members. They have soon forgotten that the reason for the Control Board's existence is
because they have sat on their hands during budget sessions for so long that their
“instant tea” knowledge of the budget is a strange revelation to those who have
watched this sudden transformation from, know nothing and do nothing, to know all and do
anything.
My second complaint, is sick trivia: How many of you would believe that
there is an entire street in this city without light fixtures. Well if you said no, you
are wrong! Resident's of the Park Skyland community on the 2300 block of Skyland terrace
have been trying to obtain a solution to this safety problem for over eight years. All we
have gotten from the past and present mayor is “I will forward your situation to DPW
for response.” The problem is that DPW does not respond and there is no follow up
mechanism in place for the mayor to know if the problem has been addressed. At this rate I
will likely have to wait until a new mayor is elected to pose this safety question again.
You would think that this mayor would sense that something is really wrong
with a scenario in which part of a tax paying community is without pole lights for their
entire block. This, we wrote, is not a matter of convenience, this is a matter of safety!
The only way out for this community to get lights is for one of us to get hurt or die in
this darkness in order for officials to hurry up and install lights! Until, however, if
you must visit beautiful southeast, come on by, we will leave our porch lights on for you.
###############
Last in the Nation
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
Last Sunday's CBS edition of 60 Minutes described the preparation by local
governments to be ready for the year 2000 (Y2K). Our beloved city of Washington is
purported to be dead last in readiness of computers in critical systems for the turnover
to the year 2000. The person hired by the District to ensure readiness was hired less than
two years ago and found that the 67 agencies of the city were totally unprepared. Her
analysis of what will be ready by the end of this year — fugggedaboutit. Instead, the
city is going to plan B. That means retraining all those recently trained persons (to use
the District's computers) in using manual systems when the computers don't work. This is a
giant step backwards toward stone tablets and carbon paper. But the message is clear. If
you live or work in the District, bad things are likely to happen.
The most initially visible of these bad things are: unsynchronized traffic
lights; water system stoppages, and failures of automated systems on the Metro. It is
likely that PEPCO has things under control from a power delivery standpoint. Eventually
these malfunctioning critical systems will be made to work. And someday, in the next
millennium, all the critical systems will be made computer ready. There will, likely, be
some discomfort for a while.
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She Was Joking, Right?
Jean Lawrence, JKelLaw@aol.com
The head of DC's Y2K project said on “60 Minutes” that a two
week power outage in DC was a possibility. Uh, wouldn't that be sort of ... bad? Of
course, I should talk out here in Phoenix — 2 weeks without air would be pretty
fatal.
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A reader notes that she saved by escaping GEICO. I'll second that. When I
moved to DC their rates were double anyone else's. (I have a perfect driving record, and
am supposedly the kind of driver they like to insure.) I called for a quote a year later
and they quoted something reasonable. I asked what the story was, and the agent told me
that they charge a lot more for people who have lived in DC for less than a year, because
they have more accidents in that first year. No other company seems to have found this, if
rates are an indication. I told them they'd lost my business forever.
I've also heard that they charge a lot for urban ZIP codes because they
don't really want the city business. Anyone heard similar things or is it one of those
urban myths?
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In Defense of NARPAC, Public Information
Mark David Richards, 17th Street Strip, mark@bisconti.com
The question of NARPAC's legitimacy to speak on behalf of the interests of
DC residents is not surprising in this peculiar political jurisdiction where rhetorical
dominance and special interest access is often more important than the vote of local
residents. Our nerves are sometimes raw. Yet, NARPAC provides an extraordinary service to
District citizens who wish to sharpen their rhetorical arguments on public policy issues
by making accessible on their web site hundreds of quality reports and data about District
issues. The reports were produced by diverse groups with many interests — and NARPAC
is open to adding reports and links to the web site. NARPAC is particularly interested in
how this region can cooperate and gain efficiencies from which we could all benefit, a
subject that deserves more thought. No doubt, NARPAC (like all groups and individuals) has
biases, which they show in their editorial positions. So what? We can agree or disagree.
In either case, their contribution is unique and important, and I appreciate that greatly.
Sadly, the quality of NARPAC's information providing service is superior
to most of what is offered by our tax funded institutions, including our Legislative and
Executive offices. NARPAC has set an example that our paid officials should examine. It is
imperative that our citizens have access to information. How are we to know if people like
Ms. Holt, who previously sat with sealed lips in budget meetings where data was clearly
cooked, won't do that again? The only way is for citizens to have access to information.
And for at least a few to wade through it and speak up when the Holts of the world fail to
convince their colleagues to be honest, sit with lips sealed, an accomplice to a situation
for which we in DC get punished.
One more point. District residents get incensed when not just Congress but
neighboring jurisdictions think they know what's best for DC, on top of the voice they
have in their own state, county, special districts, and local jurisdictions. An example of
this mentality is a poll sponsored by the Federal City Council in November 1994 in which
they interviewed (1) DC residents and (2) suburban residents. They asked both groups about
local DC issues, such as police presence, prisons, sentencing, judges, court capacity,
public schools, the most important issues facing DC, and best solutions. That survey did
not ask DC citizens questions about the suburbs — only the other way around. Certain
issues are for residents only, local VOTERS whose money pays for the services. Example: DC
doesn't offer advice on whether Fairfax should own their own satellite or not, nor should
Fairfax advise on public funding to UDC. Which decisions about DC are national, which are
regional, and which are local — can someone answer that? We should have clarity on
that question, and we obviously don't.
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Sandy Allen, Medicaid, and Addiction
Rob Fleming, Mount Pleasant, rfleming@dclink.com
Sandy Allen has taken heat here and in the Washington Post for
allegedly cutting part of the Mayor's request for Medicaid matching funds. Medicaid
currently gets seven dollars in Federal Medicaid money for every three dollars it
appropriates, so this appears to have a big impact on our struggling public health care. A
closer look will show that it will have a big impact, but for the better. First, DC should
be able to qualify for an even better Medicaid match, but the city's Medicaid
administrators have not filed for the waiver that would make it possible. Second, the
city's Medicaid program has not managed to spend the money it had in the first place. In
FY '98, it returned $48 million to the treasury (where it was used for debt reduction).
This is more than the combined appropriation cut and Federal match. It would be good if
there was no Medicaid surplus, because health care providers complain about slow pay, no
pay, and underpay for the services they actually render. Third, the cut was not made to
the original budget request for the Commission on Public Health, but from funds added on
by the Chief Financial Officer late in the game.
Fourth, the Mayor's budget came to the Council in the form of a plan to
cut direct funding for DC General, neighborhood health clinics, and other services and put
the money into an expanded Medicaid program that would extend coverage to everyone,
including single men and undocumented aliens, making less than 200 percent of the poverty
level for income. While this was applauded as good, many health care providers and patient
advocates questioned whether the system could make the transition to Medicaid quickly or
effectively. Many current providers are not Medicaid-qualified, and even if they are,
questioned whether severely impaired individuals (including the mentally ill, addicts, and
recent immigrants) could actually get over the paperwork hurdles to join Medicaid and be
sufficiently proactive to get services in a managed care environment. Fifth, Sandy Allen
used the money to enhance services, including Child and Family Services, Maternal and
Child Health, more inspectors for foster homes and group homes for the mentally retarded,
and AIDS and substance abuse services. In some cases, Medicaid does not cover these
services. For instance, the Administration's plan would have cut direct funding for Detox
and In-patient substance abuse services, which are not covered by Medicaid unless there is
a co-occurring mental or physical disease. This in a town where half the adults say they
know someone with a drinking problem and a third know someone who abuses drugs. Finally,
the Budget, with Councilmember Allen's reallocations, passed the Committee on Health and
Human Services, the full Council, the Control Board, and the consensus process involving
the Administration. All of these bodies have members quite capable of overriding Ms Allen
if her actions were so misguided and personal.
When you read beyond the headlines and the vitriol, the reallocation looks
more like an enlightened response to an underperforming Medicaid system, a clear public
need, and expert opinion from the provider and patient community. Maybe Medicaid will get
better at getting Federal money, making payments to providers, extending coverage to more
people and more services, but right now, it does not make sense to put all our eggs in
that one basket.
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FY 2000 Medicaid Budget
Sandra C. Allen, BarbD32751@aol.com
After reading the recent posting regarding cuts in the FY 2000 Medicaid
budget made by the DC Council, I think it is important that the readers understand the
Council's actions. The Department of Health, which the Medical Assistance Administration
is a part of, submitted a budget request for Medicaid in the amount of $242 million in
local funding, which is actually a decrease from the amount budgeted for FY 1999 ($247
million in local dollars). The Office of Budget and Planning (OBP) added $19 million
dollars in local funding to the Medicaid budget. We asked for an explanation of what and
how the additional $19 million dollars would be used. Not only was I not provided with a
satisfactory answer, but neither were my colleagues on the Council nor the members of the
Control Board.
The District's Medicaid program has enjoyed huge surpluses in past years.
In three out of the past four years, the Medicaid budget has enjoyed double digit
surpluses. In FY 1998, the Medicaid program ended the fiscal year with a surplus in excess
of $48 million in local dollars, all of which was used to eliminate the accumulated
deficit. Last year, my Committee reduced the OBP recommended baseline budget by $10
million in local funding. Even with that reduction, the Medicaid surplus was sufficient
enough to fund all FY 1999 expenditures for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
and Healthy Families expansion. As of a week before the Committee on Human Services mark
up, the Medicaid Director was anticipating a surplus of $7 million in local funding. Faced
with real pressing health needs, my Committee redirected some $13 million dollars to other
health related programs. The Chief Financial Officer provided the Council with an
extensive list of omissions that were left out of the budget. I redirected the majority of
the $13 million to programs that had been “mistakenly cut.” The Medicaid
Director could not persuade the full Council, the Control Board or the Mayor to reverse my
Committee's actions. He could not justify the increase. During the consensus process, we
did give him $3.5 million back, thus increasing his budget by $9 million in local funding
over what the agency had requested and at least $4 million dollars over his FY 1999
budget. When Mr. Offner could not persuade policymakers to further increase his budget, he
met with hospital officials and threatened to reduce their rates if he did not get a
budget increase.
Mr. Offner's does not have to cut rates. He has more money than he
received last year. Mr. Offner has enjoyed a slush fund of millions in past years and has
returned millions in unspent surplus funds without increasing anyone's rates. When the
Medicaid budget enjoyed huge surpluses, Mr. Offner did not increase rates to doctors or
group homes or hospitals. In fact, he was able to achieve those surpluses in large part
because he cut rates to doctors, hospitals, pharmacists and other providers. As a
Councilmember, I have a duty to ensure that our tax dollars are well spent. I opposed the
Mayor's budget proposal to expand Medicaid benefits to all uninsured District residents
because the proposal's underlying assumptions were not appropriately analyzed, financing
was speculative and inadequate, and because of the potential to jeopardize the District's
“safety net.” I will continue to fight and oppose Medicaid policies that
threaten the financial stability of the hospitals and the “safety net.” However,
I did support a compromise pilot program to be implemented in FY 2000 and the formation of
a committee of all the stakeholders to jointly implement health care restructuring for the
District. In the FY 2000 budget, I increased funding for HIV/AIDS, and increased funding
by 20 percent for substance abuse programs that have been cut year after year, put money
into the Child and Family Services budget to provide services to children and families in
distress, put money into Maternal and Child Health to further address infant mortality,
and put funds in the budget to increase the numbers of inspectors for day care facilities
and group homes for the mentally retarded. Why? Because I understand the major problems
currently facing our children, youth, and families. As many of you know, Greater Southeast
Hospital is in serious financial trouble. I am also working with the Mayor, the Control
Board, Greater Southeast Hospital, and an advisory group on developing a rescue plan to
save the hospital. I introduced legislation, which the Council passed last week, that
would enable the District to make an emergency loan to a hospital in a medically
underserved area that is financial trouble.
I have been a leader in health care related issues since I took over as
Chair of the Council Committee on Human Services and I will continue to be one. I will
continue to put the needs of children and families first, and fight for the most needy
residents of the District of Columbia.
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Good Buffet Sundays at Yenching Palace
Constance Z. Maravell, Zinnia@CopmuServe.com
Sunday I was very pleasantly surprised when I took a friend to Yenching
Palace. They have an excellent buffet. I found it better than their regular cooking. The
vegetables were crisp and tasty without too much oppressive sauce from a jar — the
only exception was the mixed vegetables that had some gooey white stuff on them but the
mushrooms were delicious none-the-less. They also had their hot and sour cabbage. My
friend ate the meat and she said the chicken prepared in a variety of ways was good. The
buffet costs $6.95. Fortune cookies for dessert. No tea or maybe I just didn't ask.
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Know we've probably discussed but looking for good reliable TV repair in
the area. Thanks!
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I'm recently engaged and looking for a good, local photographer who
specializes in location portraits (for our engagement photos). I'm not interested in a
studio shot. Please write with referrals. Thanks!
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First Time Homeowner Seeks Advice
Richard Rosenthal, rrosenthal@aarp.org
Anybody have any advice for a first time DC home buyer? What would a 700+
sq ft 1BR with a roof deck and parking in Dupont Circle cost? What are property taxes
around there anyway? Any other thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Despite nearly a year (or 20, depending on how you count) of hype, you
still don't "get" all the hoopla surrounding “Star Wars: The Phantom
Menace: Episode I.” This briefing is for you. Saturday, May 29 at 2:00 p.m. at the
Fairfax City Regional Library located at 3915 Chain Bridge Road in Fairfax. If you have
already seen SW:TPM:E1, and are a certified, rabid geek, you can come too. Just don't
scare the newbies.
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Update on Esperanto, the international language. History, current status,
and introductory lesson: 2 hrs., by former president of national Esperanto organization,
near Chevy Chase Circle. Free. Call 202 362-3963 for information and state weekday time
preference.
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DC Taxes, The Progressive Alternative
David Schwartzman, dws@scs.howard.edu
A town meeting to discuss the tax cut and budget legislation that favors
the wealthy, and alternatives that provide real tax relief for low and middle income
people while restoring and expanding our safety net Wednesday, June 2, 7-9 pm, SEIU
Auditorium, 1313 L St. NW. Tyson Slocum, Citizens for Tax Justice, Institute on Taxation
and Economic Policy; Jennifer Thangavelu, Washington Regional Network for Livable
Communities; David Schwartzman, DC Statehood Party, DC Economic Human Rights Coalition.
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CLASSIFIEDS — OFFICE AND VACATION SPACE
Our documentary video production company is looking to lease office space
in Dupont Circle, beginning as soon as possible. We only need four offices for our
operation, but we also need some office support — at the very least to share the
reception area. If anyone knows of a company that is looking to lease out some of their
office space then please contact me at 301-429-1809 or e-mail me directly at jginsberg@jic.com .
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CLASSIFIEDS — VACATION
Are you thinking of a Vermont vacation? Hiking, biking, kayaking,
swimming, relaxing? Ex-DCer has a one BR apartment and 2 B&B rooms available in
southern Vermont. Rent by the day, week, month or longer. Email for more information.
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CLASSIFIEDS — CITY PAPER PREVIEW
Dave Nuttycombe, webmeister@washcp.com
From washingtoncitypaper.com's LOOSE LIPS column, appearing this Friday:
Keeper Of The Shame: Each year, Congress goes out of its way to remind the District of its
colonial status.
Seven years ago, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby forced the city to hold a referendum on the
death penalty following the Capitol Hill murder of one of his aides. Last year, Georgia
Republican Rep. Robert Barr decided that District residents couldn't be trusted to decide
their own drug policy, so he enjoined the city from counting the results of its medical
marijuana ballot initiative.
That same year, Rep. Todd Tiahrt also forbade the city to spend its own tax dollars on
needle exchange programs, those nefarious promoters of illicit heroin use.Lest the Hill's
colonialist tradition lapse in 1999, Tiahrt is cooking up a meddlesome little rider for
this year's D.C. budget cycle. The Kansas Republican is still fuming over revelations last
November that the District had funded more than 700 abortions in violation of federal law
in 1997 and 1998.
So he wants the District to give the money back.
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:
Thursday, June 3, and Friday, June 4: After Life, Japanese writer-director Hirokazu
Kore-eda's film about the blandly institutional, somewhat shabby processing center for
heaven, where each new arrival must choose the one and only memory that he or she will
take into the world beyond. At 8 p.m. at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 7th
& Independence Ave. SW. Free.
To June 16: “Fantasy,” artwork on view from noon to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and
from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday to Wednesday, June 16, at Fraser Gallery, 1054 31st St. NW.
Free.
More details and more critics' picks are available online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/pix/pix.html
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