Bragging Rights
Dear Anonymous:
I know that a retiring modesty and a reluctance to promote oneself is
characteristic of most Washingtonians, but occasionally even a Washingtonian can't resist
bragging. Greg Rhett sent the first message below, and Dorothy and I couldn't help but
check it out. Sure enough, there it is, right on page 52 of the current issue of Campaigns
& Elections. DCWatch is the top state election news site in the nation. I
wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't read it there, but the magazine is published
by Congressional Quarterly, and they're reliable, so it has to be right.
Does length matter? Readers have said it before, and you've said it again;
several people who labeled their comments as not for publication agreed with the
“short question” in the last issue, and wrote that too many long messages are
making themail too long. Dana Katherine Kressierer, dkressie@webreflection.com, asked, “What
is your administration going to do about the problem?” Okay, okay, I've heard you.
Believe it or not, I already do send back most messages that are too long for themail's
format, and ask people to shorten them. I do make exceptions — when a long message
opens up a new and interesting topic, during election campaigns, and when a message just
amuses me. (I like Ms. Persiflage's ramblings, and they wouldn't be half as funny at half
the length.) But I'll be a stricter taskmaster from now on. There may be selective
enforcement, but there will be enforcement.
Another reader who wants to remain anonymous suggests that themail accept
anonymous contributions in order to respect readers' privacy. That sounds reasonable, so
I'll explain why themail doesn't accept unsigned messages. I don't fact check or
independently investigate your messages. If you recommend a seamstress or gardener —
there are one of each this time — I'll print your recommendations without trying them
out first. The only guarantee other readers have is that someone out there, a fellow
member of the list, believes what he or she is saying enough to sign it. Please keep
writing, and please keep signing.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
According to the September '99 issue of Campaigns & Elections
magazine, DCWatch is now one of the top five State Elections sites in the country. (Since
you have been categorized with other “states,” might this recognition help us in
our fight for full citizenship rights?) The other four sites are in: NJ, NY, CA, and MN.
Each site was noted for coverage of local politics. But, only our beloved DCWatch drew
this special note: “DCWatch is particularly good, with several articles and a weekly
e-mail forum that keeps interested residents involved.”
Although we don't say it, I'm sure all my fellow loyal subscribers are
very proud and appreciative of this great service you are providing to our Nation's
Capital. Now, if we can figure out a way to get some national ranking for Plotkin, we
won't need to file lawsuits to gain our citizenship rights! Just the fear of experiencing
the collective wrath of you two national powerhouses could scare Congress into doing the
right thing.
###############
Organizing to Fight Alcohol Abuse of Neighborhoods
Rob Fleming, rfleming@dclink.com
Earlier this summer, Councilwoman Sharon Ambrose convened a task force to
advise her on issues that needed to be addressed in her planned re-write of the city's
Alcoholic Beverage Control law. Many of the people on the task force were either bar
owners or worked for the alcoholic beverage distributors. The rest were residents or ANC
members. The meetings were inconclusive, identifying but not resolving any issues. When it
was over, the task force was disbanded. But the bar owners and distributors have a
continuing organization that can prepare their positions, draft suggested legislative
language, lobby the Council, and monitor the progress toward a new law. The neighborhood
folks need a similar capability. The DC Alcohol Control Coalition is working for better
regulation and enforcement of alcohol sale and consumption in DC. The Coalition will meet
again at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, September 15th, at Councilman Jim Graham's district office
in the Reeves Center, 14th and U Streets, NW. The purpose of the meeting will be to
develop an agenda in response to the planned re-write of the city's ABC code and to select
interim officers and board members to pursue formal incorporation as a non-profit
organization. Reeves Center is one block west of the U Street Metro Station. For more
information, call Rob Fleming at (202)797-2388. For continuing news of efforts to reduce
drug and alcohol abuse in DC, subscribe to Progress Notes, a monthly e-newsletter, by
sending a blank (no text, no subject) e-mail message to progressnotes-subscribe@egroups.com.
###############
Nuisance Properties
Thomas A. Dibiase, TwoDeacons@aol.com
Regarding the writer complaining of nuisance properties, help may be on
the way. The US Attorney's Office is taking community prosecution city-wide. One of the
most successful aspects of community prosecution in the pilot project in the 5th District
has been nuisance abatement. The office assists the community is closing down or cleaning
up nuisance properties and in serious cases, seizing them through its forfeiture power.
The new chief of the 3-D Major Crimes Section is Kathleen O'Connor, a veteran of the 5-D
project. She'd be happy to start compiling a list of nuisance properties to attack once
the unit is up and running (around November). The general number at the USAO is 514-7566,
and ask for Ms. O'Connor. I'm currently an AUSA in the 5-D community prosecution section
assigned to Trinidad, where we've cleaned up, closed, and seized a number of properties.
###############
Getting Better
Mary Lou Fahey, mfahey@tei.org
Concerning the postings about whether life in DC under Mayor Williams is
getting better, I offer two contrasting responses. On a recent walk through our AU Park
neighborhood, my husband and I found two problems that required calls to the various
powers that be: a downed high voltage electrical wire and a stream of water presumably
from a broken underground pipe.
On calling PEPCO's supposedly emergency number, my husband was transferred
to customer service where a recording forecasted a ten minute wait. He hung up, redialed,
and was again directed to customer service where he was placed on hold. He was eventually
able to explain the problem. His request to speak with a supervisor was refused (she was
“busy”). The PEPCO employee kept saying, “You should have called the
emergency number.” He did, but even if he didn't, shouldn't PEPCO operators be
trained to transfer emergencies to the emergency number? The operator claimed he could
only give us customer service.
In contrast, his call to the DPW (on a Saturday!) was answered immediately
by a human being who took the information and promised to send someone right away. Both
problems were fixed by the next day, but I'd say DPW is beating out the private sector in
responsiveness.
###############
Selective Police Enforcement
Sharon Cochran, secochran@aol.com
It sounds to me like Bryce A. Suderow wants selective enforcement of city
laws. I'm hearing him say that if you are a young black male and hang on the corner, you
should go to jail. If you are white and own a car you just got to be right. Car owners do
not have the right to park where ever they choose. Many of us here in the Northeast
section of Capitol Hill would love to see the enforcement of traffic and parking rules. We
cant get tickets for double parked cars or Maryland and Virginia licensed cars that have
parked on our streets for years.
As for the police response, a few years ago in Fairfax Village (that's a
middle class black neighborhood in far SE off of Pennsylvania Avenue, for those that don't
know) I witnessed a young black woman handcuffed and taken to jail for double parking and
then sassing the police. Lots of police responded that time too and threaten to haul us
all off to jail. We were surprised that so many officers even existed in the city since we
never saw them in our part of town. It took many hours for the young woman's mother to get
her released from the 7th district police station. We learned from that experience that
when the police are threatened, they will respond like any gang, and that they not REALLY
accountable to anyone. Perhaps instead of asking for non-enforcement of the law, we should
ask for funding and appointment of the Citizen's police review board.
###############
Austin Kelly, making a justified complaint about Crestar, refers to the
bank as a "previously reputable" local company. Reputable when? I've been urging
folks to avoid Crestar since 1996, when they denied me a bank account on the grounds that
none of my government-issued photo IDs was a driver's license. A current U.S. passport is
satisfactory ID for foreign dictatorships, but not for Crestar — not even when
coupled with a current D.C. Department of Health & Human Services photo ID, a
raised-seal District birth certificate and a current phone bill for proof of address.
(Yeah, I know, one can get a “non-driver's ID” card from the DMV. But a passport
and birth certificate, which the District issues in a wallet-sized embossed form, really
should be enough for anyone to whom I'm trying to give my money.)
I'm banking at a competing local institution, Adams, whose branches at
Dupont Circle and K Street NW (but not Union Station) are happy to honor a U.S. passport
as ID. And, so far, no spam.
###############
After two weeks of volunteer heavy duty home building in upstate NY (not
for the Clinton's), I have come home and begun to catch up on my periodicals piled up on
the dining room table. A recent issue of Time has an article about Bal'mor and
the twenty-nine candidates in the running for mayor. For those who (mistakenly, other than
the schools and the crime rate in some parts of D.C.) think that our city is not so fair,
they should read about the terrible climate in Baltimore. Middle class folks are fleeing
the city at the rate of more than 1000 per month due to the out of control crime and drug
use in the city. Time reports that between one in ten and one in eight of all the
persons living in Baltimore are confirmed drug addicts.
###############
Metro Considers Staying Open Later
David Sobelsohn, dsobelso@capaccess.org
Next week (I think it's September 16) the DC metro board will meet to
consider expanding Metrorail's weekend hours. The Washington Post is taking
comments the paper promises to forward to the Metro board. Send your comments to nightwatch@washpost.com.
###############
My theory that the rainstorms headed for Washington are diverted by the
hot putrid air coming out of Congress may have been proven right. Soon after Congress
departed on their August break the rains came down on the city and turned what loomed as a
dust bowl with tumbleweeds, back into a steamy, tropical, and lush green paradise. I
propose that Congress take the whole summer off beginning next year.
###############
Thanks for calling a breather in the “Statehood debate” in
themail. Perhaps people who want to continue this online could start their own listserve.
###############
Computer with Very Floppy Disks Needed
Jeffrey Itell, Story@intr.net
I'm helping an elderly gentleman convert files on six floppy disks (the
five-and-a-quarter inch variety) to the common smaller, not-so-floppy floppy disks. In
other words, I need use of a PC that has both a large and small floppy drive.
Alternatively, I would also appreciate recommendations for a vendor that provides this
service.
###############
Gardener Recommendation
Erica Nash, enash@cais.com
Highly recommend for gardening: Zoe Richardson, 202-362-9309.
###############
Carina Jonsson of Sewphisticated in Bethesda is an excellent seamstress.
She learned her craft in Swedish technical schools and both designs and alters clothing.
301-215-7375. Sewphistic@aol.com.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
The Foxhall Community Citizens Association and Friends of Hardy hold their
annual picnic Sunday, September 12, from 1 - 4 pm at Hardy Recreation Center, 4th & Q
St NW. Enjoy food and drink, Rec Center re-dedication, public safety promotion and games
for kids of all ages. For details, see http://www.foxhall.org/picnic99.htm
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE
For sale — portable baseball/softball backstop $350, flat main
section with hinged sidewings, wheels and support struts. Buyer must move it. Contact Rtlreuter@AOL.com or 202-362-0710.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — CITY PAPER PREVIEW
Dave Nuttycombe, webmeister@washcp.com
From washingtoncitypaper.com's LOOSE LIPS column, appearing this Friday:
FRIENDLY FIRE: In the early days of his administration, Mayor Anthony A. Williams coined a
mantra for his new-look government. “I want to be held accountable,” the mayor
said at nearly every public appearance. “That's all I ask.”
Most onlookers filtered through Williams' rhetoric, dismissing it as political boilerplate
that would be forgotten before the air went out of the campaign balloons.
Ward 3 Councilmember Kathy Patterson, however, took the mayor at his word. The only
councilmember with the political courage to endorse Williams over three of her colleagues
in last years Democratic primary, Patterson has since exchanged her pom-poms for a
bullhorn.
Patterson's vigor for mayoral hounding looked pretty intense in May, amid Williams'
scandal over consulting income. And after Williams sacked procurement chief Richard Fite
in late June, Patterson kept the pressure on. By August, though, it seemed as if Patterson
had nominated herself as the mayor's personal Ken Starr.
Read the entire Loose Lips column here: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/lips/lips.html
From washingtoncitypaper.com's CITY LIGHTS page, here are a few early
warnings for upcoming events:
TO OCT. 9: R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, at the
District of Columbia Arts Center, 2438 18th St. NW. $10-$15.
THURSDAY: Jim Whittaker shows slides from his mountain climbs and discusses “A Life
on the Edge” at 7 p.m. at the Wilderness Society's Adams Gallery, 900 17th St. NW,
Second Floor. Free.
More details and more critics' picks are available online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/pix/pix.html
###############
themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published every
Wednesday and Sunday. To subscribe, to change E-mail addresses, or to switch between HTML
and plain text versions of themail, use the subscription form at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/subscribe.htm.
To unsubscribe, send an E-mail message to themail@dcwatch.com
with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. Archives of past messages are available
at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail.
All postings should also be submitted to themail@dcwatch.com, and should
be about life, government, or politics in the District of Columbia in one way or another.
All postings must be signed in order to be printed, and messages should be reasonably
short — one or two brief paragraphs would be ideal — so that as many messages as
possible can be put into each mailing.
