Muscles
Dear Consumers:
There is more in this issue about the cellular telephone towers that Bell
Atlantic Mobile wants to build in Rock Creek Park. If we want to stop these towers from
being built, we need to exercise our muscle, but first we have to realize where we have
muscle. DC residents normally don't have political muscle in Congress, but against a big
contributor like Bell Atlantic, we're the 97-pound weakling who gets sand kicked in his
face. (Does anybody else remember the Charles Atlas ads?) Let's face it, Eleanor Holmes
Norton isn't going to fight for DC residents and against Bell Atlantic in Congress; she's
not going to pull her madwoman routine against this violation of home rule. But we don't
have to rely on nonexistent political power; we also have economic power. If we oppose the
towers, we can vote with our pocketbooks and take our business elsewhere.
Nobody has to be a Bell Atlantic customer. Bell Atlantic Mobile customers
can switch to Sprint or another cell phone company. But there's no reason to limit a
protest to the Mobile division. Any Washingtonian can switch home and business telephone
service, too. Local telephone service is available now anywhere in Washington from
Starpower (the same Pepco/RCN company that's wiring for cable), and a dozen other
companies are trying to break into the local telephone market in the central business
district, where it's most lucrative. All it takes to switch telephone companies is,
ironically, one telephone call. Bell Atlantic isn't competing on service since telephone
service is so reliable that service isn't an issue. And it's not competing on cost; it's
more expensive than any of its competitors. It's betting on its customers' inertia and
reluctance to change, and it's competing on its corporate image: “We're your
friendly, neighborly company; we contribute to charities and wire schools for the
Internet.” Well, if they're not good friendly neighbors, if they're really hostile
bullies, we can overcome inertia and dump them.
If the civic associations in the Rock Creek Park neighborhood boycott Bell
Atlantic, the company should lose a couple thousand residential customers in the first
month; if citywide civic associations and environmental groups join in, they could pry
loose several thousand more customers in the following few months; and if the organized
Democratic, Republican, and Statehood Parties try hard, they could account for another
twenty or thirty customers among them. If the Mayor and Councilmembers claim they're
helpless to influence Bell Atlantic, ask them when they'll introduce legislation to forbid
the DC government from doing business with the company if it builds the towers. If Marie
Johns, the president of Bell Atlantic, and also the president of the DC Chamber of
Commerce, gets a few hundred letters from former customers telling her why they switched
to another company, she'll feel the sands shifting. And the company will really sit up and
take notice if it starts losing business customers, where it makes its real profits. If
the downtown nonprofits and law firms that use Bell Atlantic start disconnecting, and let
it be known that they're changing service providers because of this issue, Bell Atlantic
will abandon the idea of building the cellular towers in the park, and suddenly discover
that it's just as feasible to erect antennas on tall buildings around the edges of the
park. After just a few months of weight lifting, the 97-pound weakling will be able to go
back to the beach and be admired by all the girls for his powerful new muscles.
Or we can keep eating sand.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
Congress Disses DC, Part II
Ann Loikow, johnl@erols.com
At about the same time the NCPC was voting on Bell Atlantic Mobile's (BAM)
application to put two large cell towers in Rock Creek Park, the Senate accepted without
debate an amendment by Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD) to force the National Park Service to put
the BAM towers in Rock Creek Park. The amendment would require the Park Service to
implement its April 7, 1999, Notice of Decision approved by the National Capital Regional
Director within one week of the enactment of the D.C. appropriations bill. “Neither
federal agencies or local agencies should block this,” Mr. Daschle said, according to
the Washington Times. Daschle's amendment also directs any federal agency
receiving applications to locate wireless communications antennas on federal property
under its control in the Washington, DC, area to complete consideration of such
applications, and take final action within 90 days of receipt, including right of way
permits at market rates. It further declares that any agency receiving such applications
may consider, but is not bound by, decisions or recommendations of the NCPC or any other
area commission or authority. The DC appropriations bill still has to be voted on by the
House, but heaven knows what they will do.
So much for good planning or respect for the integrity of national
parkland (much less consideration of the interests and views of DC residents or park users
from other parts of the country)! This is an open invitation for there to be an antenna
farm in Rock Creek Park if I ever heard one. I also think this is a strong indication of
how Congress is willing to desecrate national parks for the benefit of a single company
(and campaign contributor).
###############
Cellular Towers in the Park
Joseph Davidson, jhd@Radix.Net
Two weeks ago while riding on a bicycle path in Rock Creek Park, I got
involved in a nasty bicycle collision caused by a downed tree blocking visibility. I
suffered a bicycle-tire-track shaped bruise across my chest, while the other guy
(apparently) broke his collarbone. He had to lay there in pain for longer than needed
because we were in a cellular dead zone and others with cell phones were unable to call
for help. Thank God it was not more serious. The towers should be built! Some side notes.
The ambulance arrived quickly after being called. The decision should be made by the
District, not Congress. I do not own a cell phone — and do not intend to get one.
###############
The Miracles of Modern Science
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
We are being treated to a good bit of misinformation when we are told that
adding two new 100 foot communications towers to Rock Creek Park will increase the safety
of those who use or transit through the park. Adding these towers will likely decrease the
overall level of safety as more folks with their cell phone toys will be using them while
driving to and from work. This is a dangerous phenomena today. Washington, DC, is one
place where it takes all the concentration you can muster while driving to avoid conflicts
and collisions with those who are paying less attention to what they are doing while
driving. Using a cell phone while cruising through Rock Creek Park is a major distraction
that creates an accident just waiting to happen.
I'm not opposed to new technology. In fact, I probably have cornered the
free world's supply of digital gizmos for entertainment and communication (with the
exception of a cell phone, which I eschew). I have a mobile phone in the Bimmer but have
never made a single call or answered a single call on that phone while the car was moving.
This input to themail is being crafted on, and sent by, my 6-ounce shirt-pocket-sized Palm
Pilot. This giz is ideal for my holiday trips. With it I can send and receive my E-mail
daily from any phone in the world (even cell phones). A lot better than even my laptop
computer (weighs in at about 7 pounds and won't fit into anyone's pocket.)
No, we do not need to defile the bucolic environs of Rock Creek Park with
the erection of 100 foot phallic-like symbols that will only encourage more people to
abuse the technology of their cell phones by making calls while driving through the park.
###############
Mayor Williams on Democratic Governance
M-D Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
The July/August issue of Harvard Magazine features
“Democracy's Prospects,” a discussion about the outlook for democratic
governance held April 6th at the Kennedy School. The six participants, including Mayor
Williams (great photo), were chosen from a multidisciplinary group involved in a project
called “Visions of Governance for the Twenty-First Century.” No mention of DC's
“peculiar” undemocratic structural arrangement. Here are a few excerpts:
“...I was elected because people didn't trust the performance of the
District's government — so they elected a career bureaucrat. That's a very ironic
statement by the voters, maybe because they didn't trust elected officials to move
government forward, and they wanted someone who knew what he was doing, who knew
government organization. You have governments now trying to move into the next century,
with state-of-the-art systems and approaches. Yet in the District, we not only were not
using 1950s approaches, we had slid back to the turn of the previous century in many cases
— that's how bad things were. Half the human-services network in the city was under
federal receivership. So people wanted a change. There was also frustration, a lack of
confidence, in local government, in that voters didn't believe elected officials were
ready to make any difficult choices....”
“...There is an appetite for looking at different ways for government
to perform its business. One impediment, though, is the mistrust not just of government,
but of authority in general. I am not sure whether it is skepticism, or vanity politics,
or exalted individualism, or something else, but everyone wants to be involved. No one
wants to MAKE a decision, but everyone wants to have a check on decisions. Everybody
worships process and pays very, very little attention to actual product. That's the
situation you find sometimes, and you actually wish for the situation of 40, 50, or 60
years ago when there were political machines — when you could build an organization
and it actually produced some outcome. One thing about Ronald Reagan's administration
— there was an organization there, and outcomes were produced, whether you liked them
or not. There is something to be said for that.”
“In my city, people DO want a discussion of values and morality
around the political center. They don't want to hear extremes, but they do want this
discussion of values. There is a notion in my city that things are torn completely
asunder, for example, along the lines of race, and that there needs to be some discussion
on bringing everyone together. I am not sure how you are supposed to hold that discussion,
but people seem to want it.”
[The article is online at http://www.harvard-magazine.com/ja99/demo.ssi
— Gary Imhoff]
###############
The Mayor’s Vision Is 20/20
Sharon Cochran, secochran@aol.com
Mayor Williams got twice as many votes as Carol Schwartz and he won in
every ward of the city. I think that the primary and general election results clearly
indicate that most of us don't want business as usual. We don't want decisions made behind
the scenes before the idea hits the light of day. I don't want a “sideways
thinking” Mayor that checks in with a whiny city council that only finds time to give
itself a huge pay raise, a paid vacation in the far east and takes the summer off. Mr.
Barron seems to think that it is a problem that Mayor Williams tries to solve problems. I
don't.
###############
DC Libraries Open 7 Days a Week
Phil Shapiro, Chevy Chase DC, pshapiro@his.com
I heard from a librarian friend of mine that the DC Public Libraries are
still considering the possibility of opening 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. Those of us
who volunteer our time to support libraries need to work harder to enlist the support of
everyone else who cares about libraries. If you care about libraries, please consider
joining the Friends of the Library group at your neighborhood library. Dues are usually no
more than $10/$15 per year. The Friends of the Library groups need your added voice to
say, “Yes! Yes! Yes! Open the libraries 7 days a week.” Friends of the Library
membership forms can be requested at the reference desk of your neighborhood library.
Other ways you can support libraries are donating books for book sales and
volunteering to help with the hundreds of small tasks the Friends of the Library undertake
to make the libraries better for us all. Also, a fine way of supporting libraries is to
invite a Friends of the Library volunteer out to lunch. (Italian food preferred.
<grin>) Friends of the Library web sites you can visit include http://www.erols.com/chevchas/friends/
(Friends of Chevy Chase DC Library) and http://members.aol.com/friendstpk
(Friends of Takoma DC Library.) The DC Public Libraries web site is at http://dclibrary.org
###############
Local Channel Problems with District Cablevision
Patrick Carroll, Carroll.Patrick@tci.com
There have been several messages recently from District Cablevision
subscribers concerning local channel problems. Most of these problems can be resolved by
scheduling a regular service call (202-635-5100/District Cablevision Customer Service). If
the service tech is unable to correct the problem, he will route it to the Maintenance
Department. If any District Cablevision subscribers have already taken this route and
still find their local channels to be unwatchable, they should relate their problem, via
e-mail, to District Cablevision's new e-mail address. That address is: dclp.user@tci.com . Leave your account number or a
contact number and a District Cablevision representative will get back to you within 24
hours.
###############
Second Response from District Cablevision
Fitzroy Francis, Francis.Fitzroy@tci.com
Hello DCWatch users: I am the customer operations manager at District
Cablevision and I can be reached via E-mail at francis.fitzroy@tci.com
or the customer relations group can provide assistance at user_dclp@tci.com . Regards, Fitzroy K Francis,
District Cablevision/TCI/ATT, Customer Operations, Phone 202-635-5640, Fax (PC)
202-635-5107, Fax 202-636-5726, francis.fitzroy@tci.com
###############
In regard to Bill Rice's posting about bad reception of Channel 4:
District Cablevision has always held that poor reception on Channel 4 is the result of
improperly installed, and most likely illegal, cable connections on your segment of the
neighborhood cable drop. When I had my first cable connection several years ago, Channel 4
was plagued by ghosts. This was shortly after all the drops were attached to houses in the
neighborhood. I expect a lot of people just jumped on because the drops weren't sealed off
initially. I dropped my cable account for several years, but started back up about six
months ago. Channel 4 is very clear, using the same drop I had poor reception on in the
past (it is right outside my basement door). It looks like they managed to clean the
“scum” off their wire. You should be asking District Cablevision to get this
fixed. Probably not always easy to find the taps, but in the end they will.
###############
Living in Cathedral Heights, we too have trouble getting channels 4, 7,
and 9. Adding to the mystery is that when we disengage cable, all these channels come in
perfectly. Maybe it's time for a congressional investigation into D.C. Cablevision.
###############
Better TV Reception — Not
Paul Penniman, unclepaul@aol.com
It's been true from the beginning that because of the way we receive our
cable signal and because of the proximity of the local towers, we get a double signal, and
our local franchise is not really going to address the problem. Better to get a TV that
can get over-the-air signals as well as cable. Do these kinds of TV's still exist? I'm
sure someone can explain the technicalities better. I know someone who had a technician
(not from District Cablevision) come to their house to reprogram the tuners in the set (I
think) to get the signals in synchronicity.
###############
Two years ago I bought a satellite dish and was amazed at the clarity of
the picture and the crispness of the sound. I experimented with the different programs
offered by Direct TV and USBS, two of the companies offering programming
“packages,” and finally honed my selection down to an affordable approximately
$40 package where I receive all HBO channels, a plethora of news and public service
channels, what I call the “goody” channels: HGTV, Food TV, Bravo, Starz. About a
year ago when I found it impossible to get a good clear picture on Channel 4, I canceled
my DC cable subscription. I connected a cheap $29 indoor antenna to my television, with
the result that I now get channel 4 crystal clear. District Cablevision is an idea whose
time has gone — long, long ago.
###############
I finally gave up on DC Cable and got DirecTV. I could not be happier. The
service from the installer was great. If you live in the city, you do need a $17 FM
isolator to get the network channel. I now get 100+ standard Cable stations including all
those “digital” ones that you have to pay extra for on DC Cable and every local
channel from both Washington and Baltimore and PBS stations from as far away as West
Virginia. I also get 4 Starz, 5 Encore, 5 HBO and 2 Cinemax channels all for about 60% of
what I was paying DC Cable, and getting a lot less. With the first three months free, I
will pay for the dish by September. It has also never been down more that 3-5 minutes and
then only when we have a storm and it loses the signal for a moment. Like I said, it is
great.
[DirectTV and Dish Network are the two remaining large satellite
television companies. They both frequently offer deals in which you can get the satellite
receiver and dish for free, or months of service for free, with a contract for service.
They are roughly equivalent; Dish Network is a little cheaper, and DirectTV offers a
larger number of extra-cost sports packages. The drawbacks are that neither offers the
local cable stations — Channel 8 local news, City Council, Mayor, public schools, and
public access stations — and that receiving local broadcast stations by satellite in
areas where they can be received on-air isn't quite legal until Congress changes the law,
which it is doing now. — Gary Imhoff]
###############
Ok, so we are having problems with AT&T's 75% stake in DC Cablevision.
I agree that the lower channels on District Cablevision are bad. Is it their intent to get
everybody to upgrade to digital perhaps? Is Starpower a viable alternative? Wednesday's
postings suggested that it might be. How do we contact Starpower, please?
[While Starpower's local telephone service is available everywhere in DC,
its fiber optical cables for television service aren't yet widely installed in the city.
For information on either service, call 1-800-RING-RCN or go to the web site http://www.rcn.com . — Gary Imhoff]
###############
Refuse Collection and Post Error
E. James Lieberman, ejl@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu
The Washington Post reported in its Metro Section that there
would be no refuse pickup in Montgomery County on Monday, July 5. I duly waited until July
6 to put my refuse out; my neighbors had none at curbside so I called the office and
learned that the Post was in error — not for the first time — and that
Montgomery County always follows a regular schedule of pickups when a holiday occurs on a
weekend day. Only when it falls on a Monday, e.g. Labor Day, will the schedule be pushed
back a day. In this case, because of the confusion, the County sent its trucks on a quick
tour of Monday's route on Tuesday so folks like me would not have to keep a tub full of
superheated garbage for another week. That's community service. Maybe they should bill the
Post for the wear and tear on the trucks.
###############
Mark Richards of Dupont East asks “does anyone know what birds
cohabitate with us in DC? I ask because lately I'm hearing one, both day and night, and in
different parts of town, that has an amazing number of calls — loud, interesting
sequences. Don't know if they have favorite trees (as with monkeys), but they hop from
branch to branch, calling out. Have some tropical birds moved to town?” Those are
mockingbirds, very distinctive with white wing patches; and they are ubiquitous from the
south through the mid-Atlantic and now as far as New England. They are from the mimidae
family (along with thrashers and catbirds) and sing (mimic/mock) the songs of other birds,
generally running through a nice medley over and over. The male does a lot of singing in
the middle of the night in the summer to attract females. Mockingbirds like conspicuous
perches from which to sing, too, such as high in a tree, on a light pole, top of a stop
sign. You can always spot them.
###############
Dead Trees (And More to Follow)
Ralph Blessing, rblessin@usia.gov
Nebraska Avenue east of Connecticut will never look the same with the
demise of all the stately elm trees that arched the roadway as recently as ten years ago.
In recent days a number of dead or diseased elms along that stretch have been taken down.
As if to add insult to injury, DPW (or the contractor hired to remove the trees) used
tacks or staples to affix “No Parking” signs to all the surviving trees between
Connecticut and Oregon Avenues. From what I understand, it is illegal to post signs, even
those approved by the city, by any means that punctures the bark of the tree, since such
methods only invite more disease. But I guess it's a good way to insure more work removing
dead trees in the coming years.
###############
Tim Cooper suggests forming a coalition to stop any movement for a death
penalty. The David Clarke Coalition, formed originally to oppose Senator Shelby's death
penalty proposal years ago, reactivated to fight Senator Hutchison's proposal a couple
years ago, is still in existence and is discussing Mayor Williams' proposal; if he takes
it any further, the Coalition will certainly be quite active. If anyone would like more
information, you may contact me or Sam Jordan, last active Chair of the Coalition and now
the Director of Amnesty International USA's Campaign to Abolish the Death Penalty, at
202-544-0200. Of course, ANY work is welcome, whether as part of the David Clarke
Coalition or not.
“Ms. Dorothy Persiflage” challenges me to prove my contentions
that the death penalty does us no good and may do harm. But those who oppose the death
penalty do not need to prove OUR case any longer, for the research has been published and
republished and republished, even in the mainstream defining Washington Post. From
now on, those who want blood must prove THEIR case. And what do the advocates of
governmentally sanctioned barbecues of human beings offer in support of their macabre
barbarism? Only “doubts,” “familiarities,” “skepticism,” and
“beliefs.” No, Daniel, the burden is on YOU to prove the benefits of state
sponsored murder to the District. Let's see your evidence: the proof, studies, and
research showing that murder stops murder. You are the one who wants to change the law in
the District, so prove your case.
###############
I don't know how well its removal was handled because I live in New
England now, but it did snow twice in D.C. last March. National Airport received 8.4
inches on March 9 with nearly another half-inch on the 14th; Dulles received 8.9 inches on
the 9th, 4 inches on the 14th, and 1.4 on the 15th. The city must have done something
right, because it was gone when I visited in mid-May :>)
###############
There was more than a dusting. I know because I was trying to hold a
January 8 meeting and several of the participants were waylaid at a variety of airports
around the country because National was closed for a period of time. There was snow and
terrible ice.
###############
Financial Advisor Information Sought
Lorie Leavy, lleavy@email.usps.gov
Here's a real boomer request: has anyone had a positive experience with a
local financial advisor? I'm looking for recommendations, plus a little background on how
these folks typically structure their fees.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Ganz-Burstein Concert at Temple Micah July 18
Sid Booth, SidBooth1@aol.com
Readers of themail are invited to attend a concert with world-renowned
pianist Brian Ganz, together with violinist Joseph Burstein, playing a newly acquired
Stradivarius violin, at Temple Micah on Sunday, July 18 at 7:00 p.m. Mr. Ganz will perform
Chopin's Preludes, Opus 28, for solo piano, featuring all 24 preludes, each in a different
key. In a performance of the Brahms Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Mr. Burstein will
play the violin and Mr. Ganz will play the piano reduction of the orchestral
accompaniment.
Mr. Ganz, widely regarded as one of the leading pianists of his
generation, has performed with the National Symphony and Baltimore Symphony, and with
various orchestras overseas. He is Musician-in-Residence and a member of the piano faculty
at St. Mary's College of Maryland, and has just been appointed to the part-time faculty of
the Catholic University of America. Mr. Burstein, a member of Temple Micah, will be
playing a Stradivarius violin produced in 1708 during the master's “golden
period.” Mr. Burstein purchased the instrument recently and, with the Stradivari
Society of Chicago serving as matchmaker, has made it available as a long-term loan to
Janice Martin, a brilliant young violinist. Temple Micah is located at 2829 Wisconsin
Avenue, Northwest, between Fulton and Garfield Streets. Tickets are $15 and available at
the door. The performers will join audience members for refreshments to be served after
the concert.
###############
Cell Tower Press Conference
Ann Loikow, Cleveland Park, johnl@erols.com
Libby Kelly, Executive Director of the Council on Wireless Technology, a
national organization looking into the impact of cell towers and the wireless technology,
is bringing a number of experts to DC on Monday, July 12, for a press conference in front
of the Department of Interior at 9:30 a.m. The Bell Atlantic Mobile application for Rock
Creek Park will be used as a example of the problem. Afterwards they have appointment with
Secretary Babbitt, National Park Service Director Stanton, and a number of folks in
Congress. The folks at the press conference will be Linda Evans (the actress, who is an
avid environmentalist and interested in this issue); Dr. Martin Blank, a professor at
Columbia who is a biophysicist specializing in cellular research and the effect of
environmental electro-magnetic fields on humans and other species; Jim Evans, an
ornithologist and expert of bird strikes, i.e., the effect of antenna towers on bird
geomagnetic (directional) senses; Jim Jones, ANC 4A08, from Crestwood in DC, who has been
one of the leaders in the fight against the Bell Atlantic proposal; and, if he can come,
Phil Mendelson. If you can come, please do and bring all your friends and pass the word
along about it.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING
Refurbished English Basement for Rent — Mt.
Pleasant
Anne Drissel, drissel@aol.com
Renovations ready for July 15 move-in! Newly carpeted large living/dining
room, bedroom. New kitchen floor. Newly painted. W/D A/C Private entrances; use of patio.
One block to Rock Creek Park; 5 min. via Crosstown bus to Cleveland Park Metro.
Non-smoker; no pets. $650 + 1/5 electricity. 202-232-6517 evening; 703-364-2865 daytime.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES
Need a Sitter?
Andrea Carlson, BintaGay@aol.com
The teacher's aide from my daughter's class at Hearst Elementary has time
available for babysitting. She's experienced, responsible, and nurturing. E-mail me for
details.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — OBITUARY
Sad News about Philip “Pete” Walker
Gabe Goldberg, gabe@acm.org
Readers of themail may know gardener Philip “Pete” Walker, who
occasionally posted here. He did some landscaping for us; we found him a sweet, funny,
smart, talented, energetic fellow. He died recently; here's his obituary. His mother's
E-mail address is GWALK1227@aol.com
Philip A. Walker, Jr.
Asheville. Philip A. “Pete” Walker, Jr., son of Philip A. Sr.
and Grace Walker, died on July 7 at St. Joseph's Hospital following a brief illness. Pete,
born in Ruston, Louisiana, on September 6, 1960, attended public schools in Asheville,
completed A.B. and M.A. degrees at UNC-Greensboro, and further graduate work at the
University of Maryland. During his time of graduate study he held a number of teaching
assignments in American History: at Guilford College, Greensboro College, High Point
College, and Gallaudet University. He also published an article on his favorite research
subject, President Lyndon B. Johnson, in the Presidential Studies Quarterly. His major
interest, other than teaching and historical research, was landscaping, and for the last
two years of his life he was owner of a landscaping business in Washington, D.C.
In addition to his parents he is survived by a brother, Kelly Walker and
wife Bryson and nephews, Taylor and Wes, and nieces, Betty and Maggie, of Columbus, Ohio,
sister Elaine Potter and husband “Bo” of Monroe, North Carolina, and sister
Jenny Davids and husband Scott and nephew John Ross of Annapolis, Maryland, as well as
other relatives and friends. A memorial service will be held at 3:30 pm, Saturday, July
31, at Grace Episcopal Church conducted by the Reverend William G. Edwards. Memorials may
be made to the Grace Episcopal Church Outreach Program, 871 Merrimon Avenue, Asheville, NC
28804.
###############
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