Tagged
Dear Taggers:
I mentioned the Mayoral and Presidential appointees to the National Capitol
Revitalization Corporation in the last issue of themail. Ralston Cox, rcox@achp.gov, asked who they were. Good question. A place
to start to get some answers is http://www.dcwatch.com/ncrc.
Danilo Pelletiere commends Councilmembers Patterson and Graham for calling for hearings on
the Metropolitan Police Department's actions during the World Bank/IMF demonstrations.
This call is actually a proposed amendment to the City Council ceremonial resolution
submitted by Councilmembers Cropp and Jarvis that praises Chief Ramsey for the MPD's
actions. See the resolution at http://www.dcwatch.com/council13/13-temp
(this is a temporary URL, which will be changed when I get the resolution's number).
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Invisible Primaries, School Board Vote, and No Taxation or
Representation
Mark Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
The D.C. Primaries seem to have been virtually invisible — both before and after
the election. I'm not always observant, but I think themail was one of the only places
that “covered” the issue even a little. The Post printed sample
ballots. As far as who was running for what and why, I missed the informed discussion
— if I didn't know a few people, to vote would have been a pointless guessing game. I
hear turnout was below 10 percent — not surprising, given all the coverage. Does it
matter? I'd be curious to know why people did not vote.
Speaking of low turnout, there's another election scheduled for Tuesday, June 27th to
decide how the next School Board will be chosen — keep the current type of Board (100
percent elected) or switch to a Board that is majority elected/minority appointed by the
Mayor? Cost of referendum: $370,000. I hope to see serious information and discussion
before this vote — public forums characterized by civil discussion. Has anybody laid
out comparative information (diagrams and all!) for voters to read and think about? If we
keep the current board, will there be changes in other ways that will make it functional,
or will we keep the same 32-year status quo? If we pick the new proposal and discard some
of our local voting rights in hopes of gaining a functional Board, how will they work more
effectively than the current one? I'd like to see a running list of advantages and
disadvantages — and why — for both approaches. If we're supposed to vote on
this, it would be nice to know something about what the outcome can be expected to look
like.
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As I'm new to this listserv and the DC School Board election debate, would someone
explain the benefit of keeping the school board elected officials? I volunteer in a DC
public school, and I can't tell what the benefit is for the kids or the school in having
an elected school board.
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One should never be surprised when these dead of the night sessions take place. That's
politics. After all, we can't really expect the City Council to be honest, can we? This
city dealt with Marion Barry for how many re-elections? Then we slipped and put him in
office again, and again. So as voters our track record isn't very clean either. We should
and frankly must take back our city. We must stand up for what is right and fail to
re-elect those that do not the will of the public. There is no better time than now,
either. For the time has come that the citizens should begin to hold themselves to higher
standards and get the officials that vote the way we want them to. Let's all take action!
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Politics
James E. Taylor, Jr., Park Skyland, jimt25@erols.com
Whooopieeee.... That the mayor announced his plans for re-election two years early
confirms what English historian Christopher Dawson stated, “As soon as men decide
that all means are permitted to fight an evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable
from the evil they set out to destroy.” We still don't have the basic safety measure
of street lights on Skyland Terrace, S.E., after more than ten years. While our
politicians clamor “taxation without representation,” meanwhile we continue to
sit in darkness. We have “taxation without the basic safety of street lighting”
more than five months after I responded to the mayor's invitation to citizens to send him
E-mail.
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An Ominous Sign
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
The abrupt resignation by Acting Fire Chief Tippett is a very ominous sign that
something is seriously wrong at the top in the D.C. Government. From all appearances
Tippett was making some real progress in shaping up the fire and emergency response
elements. Tippett appeared to have the support of key personnel in the Fire Department,
and had announced very positive plans to improve the quality of his Department. One of
those efforts was the replacement of the aging and inadequate fire station in Ward 3.
We will have to see what kind of spin the Mayor's office puts on this resignation, but
it seems that Tippett could not get the support he needed from the Mayor's office to
implement the reforms that he was proposing. It is a very ominous sign when good leaders
jump ship.
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Last Friday was David Carr's last day at The Washington City Paper. I'd like
to make a comment on what I think his three major contributions were to the paper while he
was editor. I should say up front that I didn't like or respect Carr.
Contribution #1: He took what had been a pretty decent alternative newspaper and turned
it over to twenty-somethings who knew nothing about the city. Under his tutelage, you
didn't need to know anything about the neighborhoods or the politicians. All you needed
was a hip, cynical attitude. In the second half of Carr's tenure, competent adult
reporters like Jonetta Rose Barras contributed less and less to the paper. Contribution
#2: The paper became more and more unwilling to criticize the status quo. Contrast its
coverage of the police and the school system with that of The Common Denominator.
That paper has been publishing important stories week after week, slamming those agencies
and making it clear that the blame lies with the heads of those agencies, Arlene Ackerman
and Chief Charles Ramsey. The City Paper has rarely criticized the agencies and certainly
not their heads. Contribution #3: Carr drove the real “Loose Lips” into
retirement. The “Loose Lips” column was the best thing about that paper. Ken
Cummins had a vast knowledge of both the players in this city and its citizens. Ken could
use his wicked sense of humor to lampoon Barry's agency heads, but just below the surface
he was idealistic. He could always be counted on to cover a story that would help a
neighborhood. He always wrote the controversial stories that no one else would touch.
Unfortunately, over the years, Carr constantly pressured Ken Cummins to change his style
and make his column more like like the rest of the paper. Ken eventually quit because Carr
wore him out.
I'd like to hear what other subscribers to themail think Carr's contributions were.
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Supreme Court Suit on Taxation
Michael Bindner, mbindnerdc@aol.com
Donald Lief suggests that the District government file suit to prevent the collection
of federal income taxes, which would be heard in the Supreme Court. It actually may not,
as we are considered and instrumentality of Congress, not a state. Congress would prohibit
funding for the Corporation Counsel to file such a suit. Livingston is right, statehood is
the only answer.
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DMV, IMF, TWR (Taxation Without Representation), and Trees
Danilo Pelletiere, dpelleti@gmu.edu
1) A quick note on waiting for the DMV and failing the exhaust test. The advice my
family received from our mechanic many years ago when our car failed the exhaust tests
despite not having any problems was gun your engine before you enter the bay. The
rationale was that after sitting in line for hours either at an idle or preferably with
the engine off, your engine isn't running hot and therefore is not exhausting efficiently.
Since then we have never had a problem (though I always feel terrible about the car behind
me).
2) Kudos to Graham and Patterson for suggesting the Council have hearings on the IMF
protests. We don't need a witch hunt, but we do need some answers to the questions such as
those asked by Todd Hettenbach in the last themail. Also, Mark Goldstone of the National
Lawyers Guild has announced that after they are done defending criminal cases from the
protests, they will be filing a number of civil complaints and suits against the city.
3) I think the Taxation without Representation message for our license plates is great.
If people don't like it, they can keep their old plates or get special plates. I'm still
trying to figure out Celebrate and Discover.
4) Finally, in response to Erica Nash, while I understand and share the concern about
social programs and spending, we shouldn't be so dismissive about trees. Not only is it
bad enough that our tree canopy has declined nearly 40 percent since 1973, but trees also
help us clean water, reduce run-off and sewage overflow to the Anacostia (a true health
hazard). They also clean the air and reduce asthma significantly (another health hazard,
particularly in poor communities which are losing trees the fastest). And perhaps most
perceptibly they cool the city through shading and evapotranspiration. As the tree
coverage has declined, the heat “island” of the city has become nearly 9 degrees
hotter than the suburbs. For those among us who can not afford air conditioning, shade
trees can be a true blessing. The District needs to plant trees.
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I'd say to the “constantly aghast” Ron Eberhardt regarding his opposition to
the no taxation slogan initiative by Council Member Linda Cropp, that merely living in DC
for 20 years in such a state (no pun), might not be enough time to understand and
internalize the problem. Some of us who have lived here only one year, and many others
like myself who are natives, do understand that DC citizens are historically cheated into
second-class citizenship and paternal outside governance.
We have little or no capital, political or otherwise. Many of us feel cheated and
undervalued, and we know it's because we live in THIS peculiar capital. So we can't be
overly wrought about making “absurd and embarrassing” appearances or spending
capital that we don't have. Recent polls have shown that while most Americans believe that
DC should have representation, most of them think that we already have it.
Since we don't have revolutions anymore, the next best thing is getting your message
into the media. I applaud Ms Cropp's consciousness raising proposal, and I can't wait for
my Taxation Without Representation plate! Yet, we'll see how the feds move to stop it.
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New Tag Slogan Is an Intriguing Idea
Kenneth Nellis, nellisks@aol.com
Despite one reader's comment that the proposed license plate slogan, “Taxation
Without Representation,” is “nutty and offensive,” I, for one, like it!
There's lots of folks out there that don't understand the situation. This would certainly
start a buzz which could only work in our favor.
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License Plate and Voting in DC
E. James Lieberman, ejl@gwu.edu
I'd happily display the proposed “Taxation without Representation” license
plate. Sure it's political. What should we have, “The Pothole State”? As for
voting, if more of us who usually vote Democratic would vote for Bush in November it might
help in two ways: the Gore Democrats might take us less for granted, and the Hill
Republicans might be less scared of giving us a real vote.
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New Tag Slogan
Alison Kamat, akamat@aol.com
I think changing the DC license tag slogan to “Taxation without
representation” is a great idea. I can't see how changing the slogan will add to the
expense of printing a tag, and it certainly will attract attention from tourists, most of
whom have no idea about our plight. It will be interesting to see if Congress allows us
freedom of speech on this issue, or if they will deny us even that right.
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Papers Served — Very Confused
Gabe Goldberg, gabe@acm.org
Alvin M. Hattal said, “Gabe Goldberg and James McLeod posted complaints about the Washington
Post on April 30. . . .” What?
I suggested that Phil Shapiro, who had earlier complained about the Post, forward his
complaint to the Post's Ombudsman, whose job it is to receive and investigate and
remedy complaints. I mentioned that I'd enjoyed her interview on WAMU and suggested that
people could retrieve it via RealAudio. Phil responded that he'd indeed contact her. What
in that can you possibly interpret as my complaining about the Post? You might
quote snippets of what you're responding to, to establish context and ensure you're
correctly attributing quotations.
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Lucky Stars Is Right
Jean Lawrence, JKelLaw@aol.com
My pal Al Hattal writes: “I knew the Post, and the LA Times is
no Post. Count your lucky stars.” Robert Kennedy was said to have perfected
the 20-minute Sunday New York Times. I was always in awe of that. But out here in
the Valley of the Sun, the Arizona Republic can be polished off in less. Like Al,
I miss my Wash Post like fire! You people are lucky to have it to kick around.
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In the 1990s there has been an 11 percent drop in the number of teens who have ever had
sex. The majority of teens, 52 percent, are choosing to be abstinent. This has led to a
drop in teen birth rates in every state and DC. According to a study by the Consortium of
State Physicians Resource Councils, the reason for this is the trend toward abstinence,
not increased contraceptive use. The program that I am the DC director of, Free Teens,
does encourage sexual abstinence as a choice for non virgins. Also, we do teach about the
effectiveness of condoms in reducing the risk of sexually transmitted diseases or
pregnancy. We also give clear information about the failure rate of condoms in preventing
pregnancy in actual use (about 20 percent) and in preventing the spread of HIV or other
STD's. However, more important than the above statistics is the fact that abstinence only
education is directive. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is a study
which followed more than 12,000 teenagers from the 7th to 12th grade. It found that five
factors had a great impact on decreasing teen sexual involvement and other high risk
behaviors. They are: 1) good relationship with parents, 2) clearly expressed disapproval
by parents of their teen being sexually active, 3) strong disapproval of their teens using
contraceptives, 4) teens having made an abstinence pledge, and 5) involvement in church
activities. This study show that teens do not respond well to mixed messages, that a clear
pro abstinence message given by parents who take time to care about their teenage children
will do the most good. Teens do not lack information about contraceptives. What they lack
is a clear directive information from adults in their lives who can guide them to make
right choices.
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There is debate about whether schools should grant diplomas to students who do not pass
certain required tests. Both VA and MD are proposing to not grant diplomas to those who do
not pass specific tests in math and English. The debate centers on whether or not the
failure to pass the tests lies with the students or with the teachers that they have had.
In the very old days, when I was in High School, you got a Regents diploma if you
successfully passed the Regents exams (a very tough set of exams, if I remember
correctly). If you did not pass the Regents exams you got a plain old diploma.
I'm not sure what the standards are for a diploma for graduates of the DCPS. I have
heard that you need only to recite the alphabet (with only two errors) and be able to
count to ten (without using your fingers or toes) to qualify for a D.C. diploma. Perhaps
there should be two levels of diplomas. Prospective employers of the grads would soon be
able to determine which of the diplomas meant something tangible.
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Gypsy Moth Caterpillars
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
This is a particularly bad year for these critters. They really chew up trees and can
retard a tree's growth by a year when they denude it. After chomping through one of my oak
trees, a huge band of them were marching (in cadence) across my lawn toward a lovely small
Chinese Elm tree. I halted the convoy and queried their leader as to where they though
they were going. The reply — “We're going out for Chinese.” You can thwart
these pests somewhat by wrapping duct tape (the answer to every homeowner's prayer) around
any uninfested tree trunk with the sticky side out. If they are already in the trees the
only answer is to spray pesticide on their tents and walkways.
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Work Vehicles on City Streets
Sheila White, sheila@pressroom.com
Is it illegal for persons to park work vehicles (flat-bed trucks) on residential
streets in the District? The truck in question is a flat-bed tow truck. It takes up three
parking spaces in a neighborhood where parking is already difficult. I have asked the
police, DPW and anybody else if parking this vehicle on city streets is illegal, and I get
no response. Any suggestions?
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As a child, I remember going to Eastern Market for May Day. It had a carnival/fair
atmosphere and it was really nice. If anyone knows when it will be this year, or if they
still have it at all, please contact me [and themail].
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Who wrote the best essays on Washington's future and what did they say? Are the feds,
the metro area, or the city government really serious about urban blight removal? Who's
afraid of gentrification? Do DC's latest official statistics change the trend lines? What
do experts think should be done for transportation around DC? Details are available in the
May update of the NARPAC web site at http://www.narpac.org.
C'mon over anytime.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
“Death” and Memory in Bethesda
David Sobelsohn, dsobelso@capaccess.org
Footlights — DC's only drama discussion group — meets monthly to discuss
plays from the modern theater. Participation is free. On Monday, May 15, we will discuss
“Death and the Maiden” (1991), the “international sensation”
(Washington Post) by Chilean expatriate Ariel Dorfman. In a country that has just restored
democracy, a woman — blindfolded and tortured under the junta — kidnaps and
interrogates a stranger who sounds like the man who tortured her. When he won't confess,
she faces a dilemma: should she forget the past, or give him the benefit of the doubt, or
trust her memory and take revenge? This is “riveting drama that asks profound
questions” (Chicago Tribune), a “masterwork” (The Times
(of London)). Our discussion takes place 7:30-9:30 p.m. (dinner at 6:30) at Delray
Vietnamese Garden, 4918 Del Ray Avenue, a few blocks north of the Bethesda Metro. Our
guest speaker: Professor Saul Sosnowski, head of the Latin American Studies Center at the
University of Maryland and currently preparing his next book, The Politics of Memory
and Oblivion. For reservations E-mail ainews@bellatlantic.net
or call 638-0444. For a copy of the play go to Olsson's, 1307 19th St., NW; Politics &
Prose, 5015 Connecticut Ave., NW; or Backstage Books, 545 8th St., SE. And for more
information go to www.footlightsdc.org.
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Venture Capital and Networking Seminar for Entrepreneurs
Michael J. Karlan, michael@dcyoungpro.com
Tuesday, May 9, 2000. Come join Acorn Venture Capital, Wallace Willmore Cromwell,
Michael Karlan, and Gregory Bland for an informative evening designed to acquaint you with
the process of securing venture capital for your business. Acorn Venture Capital is a
Philadelphia based seed capital fund specializing in very early stage companies in
Internet, wireless applications and general businesses with an advantage. Wallace Willmore
Cromwell is a private investment firm specializing in raising funds, mergers and
acquisitions, and advising middle market companies on various facets of corporate finance.
A special guest for the evening is an angel investor with significant financial and
business experience who will share his views on angel investment and successful growth
strategies for new companies. Michael Karlan and Gregory Bland are local attorneys who
specialize in representing small businesses. For more information about them, please visit
www.michaelkarlan.com and www.gregorybland.com.
Come prepared to network and to discuss your ideas and investment needs, and to
participate in some of the fun exercises planned to help you be ready to make that ever
important pitch for funds. This event is being hosted at the Wyndham City Center Hotel,
1143 New Hampshire Ave., N.W. (closest Metro stations are Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle),
on Tuesday, May 9, beginning at 7:30 p.m. The price is $30 in advance or $35 at the door.
For more information about this event, or to purchase tickets, please E-mail michael@dcyoungpro.com, visit www.dcyoungpro.com, or call 686-6085.
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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING
Take a vacation in southern Vermont — rooms and a small apartment available. Canoe
or kayak on the Connecticut River, swim, bicycle, watch softball, or just relax. E-mail
for more info, and don't forget that after July 1, Vermont is the place for civil unions!
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Temporary Rental Available
Edna Small, Erklein@aol.com
Temporary housing available for four weeks (plus a couple of days) from 6/13 to 7/17.
If interested, call 337-4906 for more info, or E-mail Erklein@aol.com.
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Office Sublet Available
Stew Reuter, Rtlreuter@aol.com
Dupont Circle psychotherapy office available for sublet Wednesdays and/or Fridays. Near
Metro, large enough for groups, lovely building and quiet street. Call 299-0059.
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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
Excellent Housekeeper/Apartment Cleaning
Ron Eberhardt, RGE1022@aol.com
In response to an earlier request, here is a recommendation of a superb and highly
reliable cleaning service. From weekly house or apartment cleaning to running your
personal errands. Monica Newton runs Professional Services Cleaning. I have known her for
more then a decade. They have never disappointed me regardless of a fine home or an
apartment move-out cleaning. Contact her at 703/329-0221 or at monican7o8@aol.com.
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