Mystery Drains
Dear Drain Watchers:
The water drains may be clogged, but the taxes and power and rights drain
out of DC just fine. Examples below.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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District of Columbia School Board
Ann Loikow, Cleveland Park, john1@erols.com
I must admit I read Len Sullivan's (and NARPAC's) comments on the
reforming the District's school board with some disbelief. It is the height of a colonial
overlord's mentality to suggest that the District's schools should be run by a
“regional” board. (If I remember correctly, NARPAC is based in Maryland.) Would
Fairfax County or Montgomery or PG County want District residents dictating to them how
their school systems are to be run? What we need to do is get folks from outside the
District (and that includes Congress, the President, the Control Board and our dear
"friends" in Maryland and Virginia) out of District affairs. It is a travesty
that the fiscal year has already started and the District government (including the school
system) doesn't have a budget. This is not the city's fault. The Mayor and the Council did
their work on time, but Congress didn't and has added some 81 separate riders to our
budget that they would never dare impose on their own constituents. It is also a travesty
that District residents have to get Congress's approval to spend their own tax money. For
those who don't know it, the Federal payment, which was really an in lieu of taxes
compensation to the District for the tax exemption of Federal property and property exempt
by Federal law and the provision of services to the Federal Government, was eliminated
several years ago. Also, folks should remember that the Feds, not the elected Board of
Education, have been running the school system for several years now with the advice of an
illegal “Board of Trustees.” The voters of DC have tried in several elections to
improve the quality of the elected Board of Education, but the day after they voted some
reformers in, the Feds took away the Board's authority. I would suggest that NARPAC get
out of the business of telling DC what to do and throw off their colonial mantle by
working to get full self government, at all levels, in the District of Columbia.
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Good for Goose, Not for Gander
Mark Richards, East Dupont, mark@bisconti.com
Interesting that neighboring Montgomery County passed legislation
extending health benefits to gay/lesbian domestic partners. DC can't do that. Congress has
been riding DC's budget since '92 on legislation passed by DC Council: Sec. 131 —
“Bars the use of funds made available by this Act to implement or enforce: (1) the DC
Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992 (also known as the District Domestic Partner
Act); or (2) any system of registration of unmarried, cohabiting couples for purposes of
extending them benefits on the same basis as such benefits are extended to legally married
couples.”
Here are some stats for toastmasters: Like eight states, DC's population
is under 1 million (525,000). DC's population is larger than Wyoming and similar to the
country of Luxembourg. The Gross State Product (GSP) for DC is $52,372 billion, greater
than 14 states and comparable to the Czech Republic (DoC, Bureau of Economic Analysis,
1997 data). Over 80% of DC's $4.7 billion budget is collected from local taxpayers. The
federal government exempts itself, non-residents (who earn $18 billion in DC and pay a
billion in taxes to Annapolis and Richmond), and much of the economy from local taxation,
and contributes under 20 percent to cover services it uses. DC citizens pay $1,738 billion
annually in federal taxes — more than 6 states (Alaska, Montana, South Dakota,
Vermont, North Dakota, and Wyoming), and DC citizens pay more federal taxes per person
than citizens from all but one state — Connecticut. (Census, 1997 data).
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Businesses Claiming to Be in DC
Adam J Marshall, adam.marshall@yale.edu
I was shocked recently, while checking for auto insurance rates, to see
that Geico claims to be headquartered in Washington, DC, when in fact it is across Western
Avenue in Maryland. Same thing goes for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority,
which recently changed its address to DC while remaining entrenched across the river in
Virginia. Does this deceptive and opportunistic practice disturb any other readers? If
these businesses are so concerned with the cache of a Washington address, shouldn't they
be forced to move their offices and workers -- not to mention their tax revenues —
into the city as well? It seems unfair that they can make fictitious claims of residence,
much like our (thankfully former) fire chief, without paying their dues.
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Unidentified, But Guilty, DCRA Official
N. Fiedler, NFiedler@aol.com
Did anyone else notice an interesting morsel buried in the Washington
Post's 11/19 coverage of the FBI's planned sting on Marion Barry? Just who is this
“D.C. government official” who “handled business licenses for the D.C.
Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs” and recently pled guilty to something?
Given the DCRA's history, the Post should follow up on this.
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Alternative for Local News
Kathy Chamberlain, kechamber@erols.com
The Washington Post isn't the only game in town for coverage of
DC events and politics. After all, it's really a national, not a local paper. The District
Weekly is about as close as it gets to coverage of local events and politics. On the other
hand, it's interesting that violent crime in DC gets good coverage by the Post. The
Common Denominator, on the other hand, covers most of the hot controversial DC issues
in a thorough and even-handed way. The CD also makes it easy for readers to write opinion
pieces. The down side is that it's a biweekly publication. Yes, the City Paper
has Loose Lips which is not-to-be missed, highly opinionated, fun reading about
behind-the-scenes local politics, but the City Paper doesn't pretend to cover
local political topics in the same depth as the CD. And, no, I'm not connected to the CD
in any way, although this does read like a commercial.
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There have been one or two postings in this e-zine regarding the new Orion
small buses on WMATA bus routes. Those postings have mentioned the noise. The three issues
that concern this e-zine contributor are: 1. Yes the noisy engine and gearing, but also,
2. The loud “WELCOME ABOARD METROBUS” that greets the Metrobus users as the
doors open to welcome them in. Doesn't the bus driver have a volume control? This sound
disturbs the whole area for a good block, and quite frankly, I don't want to hear it. 3.
With the winter season upon us, and snow probably in the future, the ground clearance for
those new bused seems to be extraordinarily low. I foresee either many stuck buses, or no
buses on those routes.
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The good news is that Starpower's reception is vastly better than DC
Cable's, proving the silliness of DC Cable's protests that the shadows on channels 4 and 5
were unavoidable. The bad news is that Starpower is every bit DC Cable's match in the poor
customer service department. After having been lied to about the channel lineup — my
salesman said Starpower offered all of the cable news channels, when in fact they have
neither MSNBC nor Fox News Channel — I've been endlessly tossed around from one
department to another as the company tries but fails to coordinate its TV and telephone
services. And Michael Handler's note in the last edition of themail adds to the impression
of a company that doesn't know which end is up: He's an employee of one of Starpower's
major partners and yet here he is telling us that Starpower is only available in
multi-unit dwellings. In fact, Starpower is available in large parts of Northwest, with
more blocks being wired daily, all of it in areas consisting entirely of single-family
houses.
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Bell Atlantic: Anyone Home?
David Sobelsohn, dsobelso@capaccess.org
Can anyone give me the name and telephone number of a competent employee
of Bell Atlantic? For years I have tried to pry suburban telephone books out of Bell
Atlantic. It usually takes about 4 months after my first request to get the 5 or 6 books I
want. Typically, each shipment — when I get them at all — consists of 1 or 2
books I ordered and 1 or 2 books I didn't, which I end up recycling. Is anyone home at
Bell Atlantic?
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Recently, on several occasions, friends and relatives have sent me (and
apparently everyone on their address list) a version of the following Internet hoax: it
promises that Bill Gates will pay you for forwarding the message, the amount to depend on
the number of people who receive your message. Sometimes I just delete the hoax message,
but lately I've been replying to my friend or relative with a brief note explaining that
this is a hoax and asking not to be sent any more. The thought occurred to me, though,
that this may actually be a virus, automatically sending out the hoax message to everyone
on your address list whenever you open the message. Does anyone know if this hoax is
actually being carried in an Internet virus?
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There's a new email list for Cleveland Park. The Cleveland Park list is a
place where you can exchange news about the neighborhood, including new stores, street
construction, city services, robberies and break-ins, traffic, parking, stuff for sale,
places for rent, where to eat, schools, and more. This is an unmoderated list, so when you
send a message to Cleveland Park, it is instantly sent to all subscribers. To subscribe,
send a blank email to cleveland-park-subscribe@egroups.com,
or visit http://www.adlerbooks.com/cleveland-park.
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The D. C. Public Library does provide interlibrary loan service. Request
forms are available at each branch. Customers are asked to provide information about the
book and, when known, the name of the library that owns the title. When the book arrives
it is sent to the branch designated by the customer. Reciprocity among the metropolitan
libraries means that residents of any jurisdiction can get a free library card at any of
the others. Each system requires its own card. It does not mean that a librarian at
D.C.P.L. can call another system and have a book delivered. All requests must go through
the ILL departments. If anyone has any questions, please call Roxanna Deane, Change Agent
for Internal Affairs, D. C. Public Library at 727-1936.
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I'm no more informed about the green dots on storm drains than Steph
“This is DPW we're dealing with” Faul. I usually associate dots of any color
with the Tree Division, and looking at the blockage in many of the storm drains around
town, it could mean that the city's about to plant trees there! A number of drains are so
blocked with dirt and leaves that they now have weeds growing out of them. Hello, DPW,
this is a routine maintenance issue, not rocket science. Drains should be examined and
cleaned on an annual basis, as we seem to have falling leaves pretty much the same time
every year (though many of the drains were blocked long before the end of summer). It's
nice that DPW has figured out a way to count them, but that doesn't do much good when an
intersection is flooded with every heavy rain because the nearest storm drain is
impenetrable.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
In the 1930s and 40s, Washington DC went through a whirlwind metamorphosis
from a “sleepy southern town” to the “Capitol of the Free World.” On
December 5th, Washington Storytellers Theater and the Historical Society of Washington DC
will present “Washington in Black and White,” a storytelling event featuring
prominent African American architect and DC native Charles I. Cassell and journalist and
author of The Washington Post: The First 100 Years, Chalmers M. Roberts,
illuminating their strikingly different perceptions of this transformation.
This program will be hosted by storyteller, Sherry Geyelin, also a DC
native, who has told her own stories of life in DC in the 40s, 50s and 60s in a recent
program in this performance series. Sherry will be interviewing these two men about their
memories of the beginning of the New Deal in 1933, the outbreak of World War II, and the
origins of the Cold War. Sunday, December 5, 3 pm, The Historical Society of Washington,
Christian Heurich House, 1307 New Hampshire Ave NW, $5. Call (301) 891-1129 for more
information.
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Collective Voice Initiative Concert
Alan Ponze, ponzeces@paho.org
Saturday December 4, 1999, at 7:30, the local singing group The Collective
Voice Initiative will be performing Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore in a Concert form. The
concert will be held at the Briggs Memorial Baptist Church, located at 5144 Massachusetts
Avenue in Bethesda, Maryland, which is just over the DC/MD line. Performing in this
wonderful concert will be Kathryn Thompson, Antonio Giuliano, Joshua Saxon, Aaron
Silverman, Linda Kiemel and Jim Knost, under the direction of Susan Oetgen. Admission is
$10 for what promises to be an unforgettable concert. For tickets and information please
call (202) 518-5410 and lend your support to local artists.
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City Guild Ice Skating Party
Terry Cordaro, tcordaro@ifc.org
Start your winter off on the right foot! The City Guild of the Historical
Society of Washington D.C. invites you to come ice skating with us on Wednesday, December
8! We will be ice skating at the Sculpture Garden Rink (between the Natural History Museum
and National Gallery on the Mall — closest to 7th and Constitution Avenue -- Archives
or Judiciary Square Metro stations are closest) from 6:30-8 pm. Afterwards, we will warm
up at the Dubliner: 4 F St. NW (tel: 202-737-3773.) It's about a half mile from the
Sculpture Garden so those who wish to drive are most welcome. Otherwise the Dubliner is
closest to the Union Station metro.
The event is free. However, admission to the Sculpture Garden Rink is
$5.00 and skate rental is $2.50. For more information and to RSVP, please call City Guild
Membership Coordinator Terry Cordaro at 202-458-7209.
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DC Democracy Discussion
Malcolm Wiseman, malwiseman@att.net
Discussion, questions and answers on DC democracy and the Adams v. Clinton
et al. lawsuit. Plaintiffs will be present; your participation is welcome. Sponsored by
the Petworth Library Friends. See http://dccitizensfordemocracy.org
for background. Monday, December 6, 1999, at 7 PM until 9 PM, Petworth Branch Library,
4200 Kansas Ave. NW (near Georgia Ave. and Upshur St. NW, Roosevelt H.S. and new Metro
Station at Georgia and New Hampshire Avenues. Library parking for early arrivals. George
S. LaRoche Esq. and plaintiffs representing Adams v. Clinton et al. (aka Twenty DC
Citizens lawsuit), will conduct the discussion with ample time to address audience
questions surrounding issues of rights and democracy in the District of Columbia. The
public is welcome and encouraged to participate.
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Hannukah Happy Hour on the Hill
Amanda Chorowski, Amanda@dcjcc.org
Thursday, December 9, at 6:30 pm, Tortilla Coast, 400 1st St., SE (METRO:
Capitol South), $5. For directions call (202) 546-6768. Pay at the door! It's the DCJCC's
first ever Hannukah Happy Hour on the Hill for young Jewish professionals! Grab a drink
after work and meet new people. Join us for all you can eat appetizers and frozen
margaritas at Tortilla Coast, the hottest happy hour around! Co-sponsored with NIJL,
Israel Bonds New Leadership, JOSH, GAP, JCCGW, JCCNV, Jewish Federation Young Leadership,
American Jewish Committee, NJDC Young Leadership and the RAC.
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Washington Ethical Society Craft Sale
Richard Steacy, richard.steacy@gte.net
It's the Washington Ethical Society's (WES) 10th Annual Helping Hands
Craft Sale. Friday, December 3, 7 pm - 9:30 pm (Champagne Gala — $25 donation), and
Saturday, Dec. 4, 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday, Dec. 5, noon to 4 pm. WES is Located on upper
16th Street near Kalmia, just 1/4 mile south of the Silver Spring/DC line. This is a
phenomenal event. Crafts people from all over the U.S. (actually now, the world) donate
their work and volunteers set up an absolutely amazing craft store. This event has given
$325,000 for area and national food banks, shelters and advocacy groups. But it only works
if we shop! Craft connoisseurs should go to the Gala, bargain hunters come Sunday
afternoon as prices are cut. There's a kids-only “Secret Shop” for children to
buy low-priced gifts for their family and friends. For further information, WES,
202-882-6650, or http://www.EthicalSociety.org/craftsale
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The John Eaton Elementary School is sponsoring its annual Christmas Tree
and Wreath sale beginning on Saturday December 4. Consider buying your tree from us and
help support our Co-Teacher Program. The Home and School Association hires six additional
qualified teachers to lower the student/teacher ratio and provide enrichment for all
students, but particularly those kids who need additional help to keep up or want to zoom
ahead. Trees will be sold for the next 3 weekends from 10 - 4 Saturday and Sunday on the
corner of 34th and Lowell Streets, NW. Buy your tree early and get the poor, parched thing
into a bucket of water, even if you are not ready to decorate it. This will ensure your
tree staying fresher and prevent it from drying out.
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Boy Scouts Christmas Tree Sale
Gloria White, GMarieW@aol.com
The Boy Scouts of Metropolitan Methodist Church will have their annual
Christmas Tree Sale Friday, December 10, through Sunday, December 12, at Metropolitan
Methodist Church, 3401 Nebraska Avenue, N.W. (across the street from American University).
The trees are as fresh as can be found (some cut just two days in advance of the sale),
high quality, all sizes and varieties. All proceeds benefit the Boy Scouts. Sale begins
Friday, December 10 at 6 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. Sunday, December 12.
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Tasting Society Intl. Featured Events for December
1999
Charlie Adler, wine@TASTEDC.COM
1) December 2, New Zealand Embassy: “Oysters and Wine,” Embassy
of New Zealand, 37 Observatory Circle, NW, 7-9:30 PM, $55 per person, portion of proceeds
benefit Leukemia Society of America. 2) December 7th, “Holiday Wine and Champagne
Extravaganza,” Radisson Barcelo Hotel, 2121 P St., NW, valet parking, Metro Dupont
Circle (Red Line), 7-9:30 PM, $35 per person in advance, $45 at the door. Over 100 wines
and champagnes to taste and order at 10-15% off. 3) December 8th, “Best of the Best
for 1999,” Join Ann Berta, Wine Columnist for Washingtonian Magazine, as we
celebrate her current favorites. Radisson Barcelo Hotel, 7-9 PM, $55 per person. 4)
December 14th, “Wine Basics 101,” Radisson Barcelo Hotel, 7-9 PM, $39 per
person. Our most attended event! 5) December 15th, “Delicious Dessert Wines,”
7-9 PM, $50 per person. Admit it, you love your wine sweet! Price includes wine and a
variety of desserts and sweets. Reservations: 1) Secure web form at https://labyrinth.dgsys.com/clients/tastedc.com/order.cgi.
2) Phone (202) 333-5588.
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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING
Premier “Old World” building near Metro, 4707 Connecticut Ave.,
NW, 1 bedroom, modern kitchen, oak hardwood floors, $1375, (202) 244-8598
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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
No, not AFI and kitchens together! To reply to two postings — the
Kennedy Center probably is closing down their AFI theater because they are putting the
money into renovating the Silver Theater in downtown Silver Spring. They will show their
classic and documentary films there. I even heard they plan to hold a documentary film
festival, sort of a Sundance in Silver Spring.
On kitchens — I recently had my tiny kitchen gutted and replaced. I
got good service from Don Wresche of Kitchen Engineering 301-470-2665.
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CLASSIFIEDS — CITY PAPER PREVIEW
Dave Nuttycombe, webmeister@washcp.com
From washingtoncitypaper.com's LOOSE LIPS column, appearing this Friday:
D.C. GENERAL MALAISE: When Mayor Anthony A. Williams entered office last January, he
acknowledged three hulking management imperatives that neither his predecessors nor the
aces at the financial control board had bothered to resolve: the scope and mission of the
University of the District of Columbia (UDC), the city government's relations with labor,
and D.C. General Hospital, aka the D.C. Health and Hospital Public Benefit Corporation
(PBC).
Eleven months later, Williams has whiffed twice on UDC and is still working to shove
managed competition down the throats of D.C.'s municipal unions.
That leaves the PBC, a policy area in which the mayor no doubt wishes he could wipe the
slate clean and just start over.
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:
FRIDAY: “4/0 Film Shorts,” a three-film program by local filmmakers, at 7 and 9
p.m. Friday, Dec. 3, at the District of Columbia Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St.
NW. Free.
SATURDAY: “Cookie Decorating Workshop,” from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Torpedo Factory
Art Center's Alexandria Archaeology Museum, 105 N. Union St., Suite 327, Alexandria. Free.
More details and more critics' picks are available online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/pix/pix.html
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