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May 31, 2000

Going Uptown

Dear Uptowners:

We need more than just one movie palace like the Uptown, which we all love. I propose another grand screen at a renovated Tivoli Theater. HGTV's (Home and Garden Television's) “Restore America” series has filmed a show on the still endangered and threatened Tivoli that will be shown on June 4 at 10:00 p.m. (District Cablevision channel 202, also available on Dish and DirectTV satellites). There must be some other good movie theater screens around. Come on, let us know your secret favorite; we won't tell.

It's a long issue of themail, so I won't even rant about the politics of envy and spite evidenced in Joyce Ladner's and Colby King's recent columns in the Post, in which they complain that the problem with DC schools is that there are too many involved parents who want too many good services for their kids, and that any kid who gets a good public education in a school on the west side of the park is taking it away from a kid on the east side of the city. I won't even point out how stupid it is for Ladner to have written: “She [Kathy Patterson] is but one of the many critics on the council, in the mayor's office, on the control board, in Congress and among the 'parent activists' who feel they know more about how to reform a greatly underperforming urban school system than the superintendent. Would they tell their children's pediatrician how to examine their children and recommend their own course of treatment?” Ladner, of course, is the former member of the control board who assumed she knew better than a former school superintendent, who pushed taking authority away from the elected school board, and who heckled members of Parents United and berated a District judge because they pushed for schools that were physically safe, at a minimum.

Yeah, right, the best way to ensure that your child gets a good education is to pay no attention, leave it to the "experts," keep your mouths shut, and don't complain. That's also why it's best to eliminate an elected school board. The less involvement that the public has with the schools, and the less control we have over them, the better they will be. But I'm not complaining; no, not me.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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The Uptown
Ann Loikow, johnl@erols.com

The best movie theater will always be The Uptown. It is the last of the theaters from the golden age of movies, with a truly large screen, a full balcony, and great audiences, as well as new seats and a great sound system. What more could one want (besides more parking, but with this is the City so take Metrobus or rail, especially with Metro's extended weekend hours)!

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The Uptown and More
David F. Power, pp002945@mindspring.com

The balcony seats at Uptown theater are probably the best approximation of “stadium seating” that also gets you one of the biggest screens in downtown. The stadium seating at Mazza Gallerie is worth one or two visits, but probably not worth the extra price (and the screens are NOT the biggest). For regular priced seats in a "stadium" format, just go the Hoyt on Route One in Alexandria (south of Crystal City).

The Uptown is still the best big screen, in my opinion, although it is starting to show signs of wear and tear. Seats are not as comfortable as at many other locations. Most comfortable seats are probably in the two “larger” rooms at Wisconsin Cineplex Odeon. Worst theaters would include the Outer Circle, which has become a total stank hole and worthless shoe boxes like Janus and Tenley Circle. Dupont Circle Five (Cineplex Odeon) is still the best repertory house, until Visions opens this summer in the old Embassy Theater space.

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Gladiator at the Uptown
Natalie Hopkins, Nhopkins@hazmed.com

Go to the Uptown to see Gladiator. It is a spectacle movie that needs a good venue. I'm ordinarily not a fan of violent adventure movies, but this one is good summer fluff if you can take a little blood. We're talking the Romans after all.

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Fair City Mall and Others
Sid Booth, SidBooth1@aol.com

Just saw the Hank Greenberg Story (a grand slam!) at the Cinema Arts Theater in the Fair City Mall. Sound/screen were excellent, multiplex theater accommodations quite nice, chairs exceptionally comfortable, with lumbar pad. Management seems to care what the customers think — has chairs/tables for schmoozing, drinking and eating prepared salads and other unexpected food treats. Ample outdoor (free) parking, but it's a long trip from Mt. Pleasant (35 min. on Memorial Day, probably longer other times) but this is a fairly new “arts theater” and I wanted to check it out while awaiting the opening of the new theater at 19th and Florida. Also still a good venue, with $1 validated indoor parking, are the Wisconsin Avenue Cinemas, whose relatively new hardware provide excellent presentations of sounds and sights. No question, the Uptown continues to offer outstanding equipment, decent seating, super convenience to Metro, but parking? Whoa! Remember the Post headline when Star Wars (the original) opened some 20 years ago? — “The Movie that Ate Cleveland Park!” Best recent experience: the Multiplex 16, Lubbock, TX, great sound/sight, comfortable stadium seating — and arm rests with cup holders that can be folded up and out of the way. What a concept!

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The Avalon
Connie Ridgway, kaniru@aol.com

My favorite is the Avalon which has an angelic cherub painted on the ceiling holding a roll of movie film. It's also big, and the seats seem to be well situated. The Cinema theater on upper northwest Wisconsin has pretty good seats and a nice-sized theater (I like theaters big so you get the sense of experiencing something with a real crowd. The oohs and ahhs in a small theater just don't do it).

General Cinema's higher prices are a deterrent, but it's a nice movie theater (I haven't done the “Club Cinema,” but the “regular” theater has well placed, roomy seats (stadium style so everyone can see) and a good selection. And, if you get the “Entertainment 2000” books, you get twelve coupons which give you a $5.00 ticket price at General Cinema. That beats the AMC and Loews Cineplex deals in the book, which require you to mail in a coupon to get the tickets. (These books also offer two for one deals at many local restaurants and other things like dry cleaning and car wash discounts.)

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Bailey’s Crossroads and Shirlington
Lee Perkins, lperkins@cpcug.org

Bailey's Crossroads for Mission Impossible 2. Seats not comfortable and cup holder make getting into and out of seat a pain. Screens smallish but ok for what was a glorified cartoon anyway. Plenty of bargain price screenings. Theaters are clean, audience polite, staff nice, and you can park inside the garage on weekends for free. If you like big screens and comfortable seats, and even nice staff, go to the Shirlington.

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Janus — Movie Theater as Torture Chamber
Ralston Cox, Dupont Circle / Strivers' Section, rcox@achp.gov

My vote for the worst movie theater in D.C. goes to the Loew's Cineplex Odious (oops, I mean Odeon) Janus at 1660 Connecticut Avenue at R Street. The seats are appalling (lumpy, misshapen, springs coming out or creaking/screeching when you move around in your seat), the seating is badly cramped (at best), the theater is filthy, the view from some seats is blocked by columns — and don't even THINK about buying their incredibly overpriced styrofoam (mis-labeled as “popcorn”) topped with melted God-only-knows-what. The HVAC system is regularly on the blink — I've worn coats during movies in the summer and winter trying to make up for over-zealous A/C or absent heating.

On the good side, they do show some movies that don't get much of a run at standard theaters. If you must go, just expect to be uncomfortable. I'm holding out hope for the renovated Embassy Theater on Florida at 20th which plans to open as an “art house” theater in late summer. Please, God, let it be good and let it put the Janus out of its misery for good.

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Summer Movies: Mission Impossible 2
Stacey Whitmire, swhitmire@att.com

Don't bother seeing Mission Impossible 2. It's the worst piece of movie trash I've seen in a while due to the horribly bad dialogue, drawn out love interest that is not very interesting, the hokey “native” music they play every time the love interest appears on the screen — surprise, she's a person of color (if I were her, I'd be mad), and the laughable stunts that go well beyond ridiculous. I hoped to see the fun spy gadgets and clever physical stunt tricks that Ethan Hunt used in the first MI, but instead saw only two or three cool gadgets and many more laughably unbelievable stunts, such as when Hunt kicks a gun buried in the sand and it flies, impossibly, directly into his hand. Also, the dramatic pauses that pepper the movie are melodramatic.

This movie was made for movie goers that have seen it all, but Tom Cruise's nonchalant delivery every time he does something fantastic is droll.

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Your Mission: See MI2!
Matthew Kessler, matthew@stand.org

Given the rainy weather in the nation's capital over Memorial Day weekend, it gave me the perfect opportunity to throw caution to the wind and see Mission Impossible 2. I say it like that for two reasons: one being that I am indifferent to Tom Cruise as an actor (last movie I saw him in was Eye's Wide Shut ... do not see this movie). The second is that I am not a huge action adventure person. I was a little worried going in that I would not understand the movie, given that I have not seen MI1. I was definitely proved wrong. I am sure there were references to MI1 that people who have seen MI1 would appreciate much more. The sequel, however, was written in such a way that a first timer like myself would understand. Don't get me wrong, it is definitely a technical movie meaning that you do have to pay close attention (make sure you get your popcorn and go to the restroom before the movie starts). If you don't pay attention most likely you will lose track of what is happening.

Tom Cruise gave an awesome performance. He was perfect for the part; suave yet rugged, kind yet ruthless, and of course there was a little attitude thrown in there which rounded out the character perfectly. The cinematography and special affects in the movie are the best I have seen in a while and the equipment and high tech gadgets are of James Bond quality. Woo and Cruise have put together an edge of your seat, nail biting, action packed picture. I highly recommend spending the $9.00 to go to the big screen and see the movie. If you wait until the video I don't think the small screen will do it justice.

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Unsolved Murders
Keith Jarrell, keithndc@bellatlantic.net

Memorial Day Week End, and how many families have lost a son or a daughter? A mom or a father, a cousin or a neighbor to a murder this past year? How many unsolved murders does our city have now? The odds are tremendously powerful that if you decide to kill another human being in the District of Columbia, that's right — take the life of another person — you'll stand at least an 80% chance of never being caught! That's a powerful, and FRIGHTENING message! The closure rate on homicides currently is approximately 20%. Well below the national averages, which means 8 out of 10 killers go without reprimand, jail time, or even being accused.

What is being done about this? The City Council finally passed some guidelines for the Chief of Police beginning next year, with budget 2001. We should all be thankful to Councilmember David Catania for bringing the bill for a vote, and certainly to the other members of our city council that voted it through. But the questions is, since most of them have sat on their hands for years and allowed the problem to get to where it is today, will they work to see that it is enforced? It's time for action, it's time for action by our Council to stand up for the people that put them if office, and demand a change to current policy within the Metropolitan Police Department, to assure us that something is being done. If they don't, then all of us should stand up for our own good and begin to vote them out of office one by one. Frankly a good place to start is by getting Brazil out. He chairs the oversight committee for the Police Department. Is he afraid to speak up and to sponsor legislation that sets higher standards? Does he think well enough ahead to know that something must be done? As residents of this city, we deserve better. Let's think of these things and these people that are not providing us with all that we should have.

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Different Strokes
Larry Seftor, Larry_Seftor@compuserve.com

A correspondent to themail recently wrote “defending” the D.C. police by noting that when her five cars were stolen (some more than once), the police recovered them each time. In my book, having that many cars stolen is damning proof that the police are not doing their job — which is to prevent crime, not act as a lost and found agency.

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Is this the DMV or Am I Having Root Canal?
Nick Samuels, nsamuels@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu

First, to John Whiteside's question, if you have a valid out-of-state registration for your vehicle, you do not have to pay the excise tax. This is only for new cars being registered in the District, or for cars with expired out-of-state ones (and remember to bring your out-of-state registration with you to the DMV).

However, my experience at the DMV's C Street office last week was something a bit worse than being drawn and quartered. I had moved within the District and needed a new driver's license and residential parking permit, and since I'd just received a registration renewal, wanted to do that as well. I went on a Wednesday to take advantage of what the DMV advertises as a low-volume time on a day when it's open until eight p.m. Suffice is to say that the numbers I was given reported waits of forty-one and thirty-three minutes, respectively.

More troubling, however, was the rudeness and searing incompetence of the employees there. This was a simple transaction, and no one seemed to know what to do, and took it out on me that they didn't. I didn't seem to be the only one having problems: at window after window, drivers were being frustrated by DMV staff who clearly couldn't care less whether they helped or not. I encountered one man who was new to the District, and asked if it was always this way. I didn't know what to say. It's embarrassing that the agency that many of us have the most direct contact with — and that new residents experience first — is such a mess. And it never seems to get better. After last week, any considerations aside, I think the only way to force change there is to privatize (and it's a shame change has to be forced).

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Traffic Choke Point on Massachusetts Avenue
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com

Each day, during the afternoon rush hour there are traffic tie ups at Massachusetts Avenue just north of 49th St. NW. Mass. Ave. essentially becomes a single lane back south of 49th Street due to cars making left turns from Mass. Ave onto Yuma Street for entry in Spring Valley North. This is a dangerous intersection with cars trying to break through the southbound traffic on Mass. Ave. Almost a year ago, and without any hearings or notices, the DPW installed a traffic light with a left turn signal to permit cars to safely turn off Mass. Ave. and enter Spring Valley North.

Unfortunately the DPW did not do their homework, either before or after the installation of the traffic light. The problem is that they installed the light, not at the intersection of Yuma and Mass. Ave, but 100 yards north of Yuma St., where 50th St. NW, intersects Mass. Ave. The biggest mistake they made, however, was in not following up to see what the impact of the left turn signal is. It has absolutely no effect. Drivers entering Spring Valley, including trucks servicing Starbucks, Chicken Out and Sutton Place Gourmet, continue to turn left at Yuma. All of these left turning vehicles could enter Spring Valley North much more safely and without tying up Northbound traffic by simply driving another 100 yards to 50th St., and then turning left using the left turn signal. The solution to this choke point problem is to put a "NO LEFT TURN" sign at Yuma Street prohibiting left turns during rush hours in both directions.

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Dismissing Parking Tickets
David Sobelsohn, dsobelso@capaccess.org

Phil Greene writes of his success in dismissing a ticket for parking by an unauthorized “no parking” sign. Parking adjudication is not always so rational. About three or four years ago, a misunderstanding between myself and my apartment building management led to my car's getting ticketed and towed from my building parking space. The ticket was for parking on private property without the owner's consent. Acknowledging the error, building management retrieved my car (at no cost to me) and signed a letter supporting my petition to dismiss the ticket. Nevertheless, one year later, my petition was rejected and the ticket affirmed. I asked building management if they'd prefer to support an appeal or to pay the fine; they agreed to pay the fine, which we did. Eight months later, I applied to re-register my car. Instead of getting my new tags in the mail, I received a photocopy of the letter denying my petition to appeal the parking ticket. Let's hope Phil Greene's experience shows that parking enforcement has become more rational since then.

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Parking Permits and Spaces Redux
Joan Eisenstodt, jeisen@aol.com

When last we spoke about this issue, it was contentious, but I am still convinced the City would be doing a great service to its tax-paying residents by allowing ONLY those with the correct neighborhood permits to park on city streets (at least in residential neighborhoods) seven days a week versus just five. The influx of out-of-state cars on weekends in our Capitol Hill neighborhood is staggering. We who live here find ourselves, if we can even find a parking space, up to ten blocks from where we live. This weekend, we saw no fewer than ten cars on our street with out-of-state licenses. At this point, we'd even pay a little more for the “privilege” of knowing we might have a space on our own street!

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Rollerblading Hit and Run Verdict
Lee Perkins, lperkins@cpcug.org

What bothers me is what bothered me when I first heard about the hit and run, namely, “what on earth was that idiot child doing rollerblading in the dark during rush hour?” You all DO remember that in January at 5:30 p.m. it is pitch black. In this case, I think that the verdict the jury rendered was correct — manslaughter, not murder.

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Jury Behavior
Joan Eisenstodt jeisen@aol.com

Larry Seftor's comments echoed my own regarding the jury in the DeLeon case .. and the behavior of one juror. My husband recently served on a DC grand jury and said one of their jurors slept through much of the testimony and then asked inane questions because he had been asleep during pertinent testimony and other jurors' questions. I don't think jurors are given enough information about “expected” behaviors nor what to do if that is violated. Then again, in the grand jury situation, my spouse said the juror was awakened and complained about but not removed.

The outcome of the DeLeon trial seems to me, a non-attorney, a miscarriage of justice and one over which there should be some action ..the very least of which is to instruct juries about dealing with inappropriate behavior.

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Jury Duty
Gloria White, GMarieW@aol.com

I, too, found the reports about the hit-and-run trial worrisome. I have served on juries twice in the District, once in District Court and once in Federal Court. Both experiences were fairly frustrating. In both cases, the defendant(s) were black and a majority of the jurors were black. My second experience, in Federal Court, was by far the more frustrating. I found that the jury was fairly racially polarized, with the black jury members much more willing to ignore evidence and make excuses for the defendant's criminal behavior with the white members (and any dissenting black members) eventually caving in to the intransigent beliefs of the minority. One piece of advice I have from my experience, if someone is EAGER to serve as jury foreman, they probably shouldn't be chosen. In the first of my experiences, the person who wanted to be foreman was ill-prepared for the task and in the second the person who wanted to be foreman was confrontational, unrelenting, and fairly racist. There were several others on the panel who would have made good jury forepersons. I think the foreperson should be chosen with more care. All that said, I think it is important for people to serve on jury duty. My college-age daughter has been called for jury duty this summer and I think it will be a very worthwhile and interesting experience for her.

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Selling the Tobacco Windfall Funds
Sharon Cochran, secochran@aol.com

Am I getting this right? My understanding is that some members of the city council want to sell the monies from the tobacco windfall, for as little as 10 cents on the dollar, to have themselves a immediate nest egg? Does Ed Barron really think that this is a better idea than the mayor's idea of spending the tobacco funds for neighborhood health clinics and insurance? This money was intended for and belongs to the DC citizens who need health care, not to the investment banker friends of Jack Evans. Some folks might think that this is flat out stealing from citizens of the District. Despite Ed Barron's misgivings, I think that the health of District citizens are worth investing in and a much better long term investment than a new Jag for some New York banker.

[Actually, this is wrong. It is the Mayor, and possibly some of his supporters on the Council, who propose selling the expected future years' income from the tobacco lawsuit settlement in order to get current income (though I believe he expects to get considerably more than ten cents on the dollar). The majority of the Council opposes this, and wants to “securitize” most of the money, as Scott McLarty writes below. — Gary Imhoff]

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Whither the Tobacco Settlement?
Scott McLarty, scottmclarty@hotmail.com

In the May 28's themail, Ed T. Barron wrote, “The Mayor wants to spend most of the windfall income from the tobacco settlement on new programs that would make health insurance available to seven thousand folks who don't have medical insurance and for some health clinics in neighborhoods where medical care is not accessible.” This is not true; the Post misreported the story. Both the Mayor and Council advanced plans to securitize most of the Tobacco Settlement (75% of $61.4 million). “Securitization” means putting the money into special accounts, which would help establish DC's financial solvency. The trickle of revenues from the securitized money, we're told, would go towards services. But DCPCA explains that “payments generated through securitization will likely be tax-exempt. As such, any prior assignment by the DC City Council related to programming (including health care initiatives) would be overridden and the monies could only be used for capital improvements.” The securitization idea wasn't an inspiration of Council members, it's from the Control Board, and it reveals priorities that have little to do with the well-being of the people of DC.

DCPCA, DC Action for Children, the Coalition on the Tobacco Settlement, and the Health Care Now Coalition have urged people to call Council members and tell them that repairing DC's social safety net (especially tobacco prevention and health care coverage and services) is more urgent than bailing out DC government's reputation for ineptness. In response, Councilwoman Linda Cropp said at the budget mark-ups on May 19 that these are Council goals, but there's no money in the budget. The initial purpose of the Tobacco Settlement was to help states (and DC) repair the damage to health care and the social fabric caused by nicotine addiction, and help prevent future addiction. Were DC's share of the Tobacco Settlement directed towards services, we'd have some money in the budget ($1.2 billion dollars over the next 25 years) to cover a lot more than, say, seven thousand of DC's 80-thousand-plus uninsured, and to reverse DC's atrociously high infant mortality and low male life expectancy. The final mark-up for the Tobacco Settlement money is June 6, at 10:00 am. Council's main switchboard number is 724-8000.

[Again, the Mayor has opposed securitization, and his proposed FY2001 budget allocated $64.1 million for immediate programmatic expenses; this is the subject of on-going negotiation between the Council and the Mayor. There is no legal restriction on spending the income from any securitized funds; any income received by the government is tax-exempt, so that status has no impact on its use. The income from the funds would not have to be spent on capital improvements. — Gary Imhoff]

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A Mistake on the Lake?
Philip Blair, Jr., pblair@worldbank.org

Our sister city Cleveland is engaged in a four-year experiment in school governance, and maybe we can learn something from it. The Cleveland public school system is almost exactly the same size as ours, and Cleveland has many problems in common with Washington, and almost all other big-city systems. In 1995, a federal judge put the Cleveland public school system into the control of the State Department of Education. In 1998 the Ohio state legislature gave control of the Cleveland public schools to the mayor of the city, who appoints the entire nine-member Board of Education and the CEO. In 2002, the voters are scheduled to vote on whether to keep the new appointed board or return to an elected board.

As the proposal was being put into effect, Clevelanders were pretty evenly split: 46% had some confidence that the mayor would be able to improve the schools, though 51% did not share that confidence. Now, at the end of May, a new poll shows that 68% of Cleveland's voters would return to the elected school board, and only 20% favor continuing with mayoral control. The preference to return to the elected Board holds across race, income, and gender. A suit is in progress to determine if the voters can decide the issue prior to the scheduled 2002 elections. This result is — surprisingly, perhaps —- linked with general satisfaction with the CEO, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who has been in office for 18 months. 35% of the poll respondents see improvement under her regime, vs. 9% who see deterioration.

I read about this in the Cleveland Plain Dealer: check out their web site at http://www.cleveland.com/news; there is a May 29 article by Scott Stephens and Joe Frolik on the recent poll commissioned by the Plain Dealer.

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D.C. Public Schools Art Show at Reagan National Airport
Dave Comstock, Glen Burnie, MD, ramperdc@erols.com

Please pass to the involved schools and students. Sorry it's taken a while to get to you, but late is always better than never! I would like to take a moment to thank the fantastic artists of the D.C. public school systems for the wonderful works of art that graced the terminal at National Airport. I am an employee there for US Airways, and you all helped fill some of my down time! I would get a break from loading and unloading the airplanes and head up to the front of the terminal to stroll around the temporary gallery you put there for our enjoyment. It was such a pleasure to see the talent and imagination displayed there for all of us. Just think! People from all over the world pass through our airport every day. You brought pleasure to an enormous group of people! Thank you all and continue to expand your minds through art and other hobbies. You will be happier later in life for it!

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Sleep and School Starts
Steph “Early to rise” Faul, steph@faul.com

The call for later high school starting times for teenagers has a sound scientific basis: teenagers' circadian rhythms make them stay up late and sleep late. These sleep patterns are biological, just like adolescence itself. Early starting times mean the kids simply don't get enough sleep, which impairs their ability to learn. Lack of sleep raises blood levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, and has a similar effect to aging, and sleeping six hours or less a night sharply elevates the risk of having a drowsy driving crash. So starting high school at 9 (which used to be the standard 30 years ago anyway) makes good sense and will eliminate the problem of teens being too tired to learn.

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Listserv
S. Willet, sawillet@aol.com

Kenneth Nellis, nellisks@aol.com, writes: “In a recent issue of themail a writer wrote, 'In the past year, I posted messages to this listserv about. . . .' The term 'listserv' is frequently incorrectly used to refer to various E-mail distribution systems. In fact, Listserv is a registered trademark licensed to L-Soft International, Inc., http://www.lsoft.com, and refers to their specific software product that performs this automatic function. themail does not use the Listserv software.”

It seems that the term “listserv” has become the generic catchword for this type of service; just as “xerox” has become for copying, “kleenex” has become for disposable facial tissue, “dutch cleanser” for powdered cleanser, etc. I don't think Xerox or Kleenex are worried about their brand name being utilized this way, so why should L.Soft International? Thanks for letting us know the origin of “listserv.”

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Communication, Sensitivity, and Jackie Robinson
David Sobelsohn, dsobelso@capaccess.org

Ed Barron writes of a NY group that wanted to hold a “picnic” or an “outing" to honor “the former black catcher of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson.” Supposedly the group gave up the terms “picnic” and “outing” under pressure from African-American and gay interest groups. This story has the flavor of an urban legend. Its credibility suffers from its apparent confusion of Dodger infielder Jackie Robinson, who never played catcher, with fellow Hall-of-Famer Roy Campanella, Robinson's Dodger teammate and the team's first black catcher.

Expression has two functions: emotional release and communication. For emotional release, your language need only satisfy yourself. If it makes you happy to use words like “niggardly,” and you're speaking mostly for emotional release, go ahead. But for communication, use language tailored to your audience. To communicate effectively, avoid language that will distract your audience from the message you're trying to communicate. When speaking, to avoid distracting your audience, avoid words — especially seldom heard words — that sound so much like more often heard, heavily charged words, that your listeners will have to stop paying attention to your message, if only for a second or two, in order to process the word you spoke in its context, and realize that you intended no offense (“WHAT did he say?”). Of course it's silly to consider the word “niggardly” itself offensive. But to use the word, especially when speaking to an African-American audience, is to communicate, subliminally, that you don't care whether your audience gets distracted from your overall message. It's a more subtle message of disrespect than the word “nigger,” but it's still a message of disrespect. It's the same reason people refer to the mouth harp less and less as a “Jew's harp.” Does using these words help your audience understand what you're trying to communicate? For many audiences, a word like “niggardly” will distract more than it will help. Fortunately English has such richness that giving up “niggardly,” at least for spoken communication, will cost little. Like any living language, English continues to develop. Words fall out of favor for various reasons (the increasing ascendancy of “impact” to replace both “effect” and “affect” is a notable current example). Effective communication — which includes sensitivity to your audience — is the best reason for careful choice of words.

[The story isn't an urban legend; John Leo described the incident in his column in US News and World Report: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/000522/22john.htm. It happened at the State University of New York, Albany, where the affirmative action director banned the use of the word “picnic” (and later “outing”) with the explanation, “Whether it's true or not, the point is the word offended.” — Gary Imhoff]

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Baseball in Washington
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com

Oh wouldn't it be loverly to have a major league baseball franchise right here in Washington. Wouldn't that just stick it right up Angelos' nose. But there's little chance of that happening. One thing that could help would be for all D.C. voters to help elect Bush in November. If Bush were elected and the electorate in D.C. showed strong support for him, we'd have a real ally in getting a major league team here.

And, while on the subject of baseball, let me correct a part of my posting last Sunday when I noted that an event was held in honor of Jackie Robinson, a former Dodger ”catcher.” I originally thought that the event had been held in honor of Roy Campanella, who was a former catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the same era as Jackie. Jackie, however, was an outstanding second baseman for the Dodgers and also played a little first base in his later years. Ah those wonderful days in the sun filled bleachers of Ebbets Field watching Reese, Snyder, Furillo, and that great center fielder, Pete Rieser backing up that great pitcher, Don Newcombe. Let's get a team here in D.C.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING

NYC PhD Looking to Rent
Meredith Davis, mpd6@columbia.edu

PhD research fellow at the Smithsonian September 2000 - June 2001 looking to rent an apartment or share one. Can pay up to $1100 per month; allergic to suburbs. Any advice or leads welcome.

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Cleveland Park Apt. for Sale
Alicia George, ajgeorge@earthlink.net

Co-op apartment for sale by owner — $138,000. Can't beat the location! One block off of Connecticut Ave. in the heart of Cleveland Park. Just steps from Metro, shops, and restaurants galore. One bedroom plus den, table-space kitchen, hardwood floors, nine-foot ceilings, extra closets. Located in a charming older building with all new windows. Looks out on a large yard with gardens and picnic tables. Shown by appointment only — 966-2833.

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CLASSIFIEDS — PETS

Give a Dog a Home
Francesca Dixon, fgdixon@aol.com

Beautiful, all-black German Shepherd, AKC registered, born Sept. 98, very playful, needs room to run and a family that can spend lots of quality time training him. Excellent watchdog. Best offer. 347-4909.

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CLASSIFIEDS — DONATIONS WANTED

Needed: Refrigerator
Matthew Kessler, matthew@stand.org

Stand For Children (a non profit grassroots organizing organization) looking for someone to donate a refrigerator. Will pay for pick-up. Please E-mail matthew@stand.org.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED

Job Opportunity for Paralegals
Clare Feinson, cfeinson@erols.com

The company I work for, Aspen Systems Corporation, is looking for qualified paralegals to work in its Federal Services Division in downtown DC. If you are hired after my referral and work for Aspen for 90 days, you and I each get $500. I don't know anything about the paralegal jobs — they are in a completely different division of Aspen — but I do know that Aspen is a relatively decent place to work, with good benefits. If you are interested, please contact me directly at cfeinson@erols.com or at work, cfeinson@aspensys.com. I need to forward your resume to Aspen by June 21.

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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS

Seeking E-mail Listservice
Jon Katz, jon@markskatz.com

Please recommend a good e-mail listservice that can offer the option of one consolidated daily message rather than an automatic message each time that it is ready.

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Need Help with My PC
Greg Jones, GMON6612@aol.com

Can anyone suggest someone to come to my house and help get my PC going again? After I turn it on, it freezes at the “Starting Windows 95” screen. Nothing I've tried so far gets it past that point. (This occurred while I was downloading an update of my Norton antivirus program. I was disconnected from AOL after the download but while the new virus information was being installed.)

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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. POLITICAL HOSPITAL: Gilbert Allen has been working in the transportation division of D.C. General Hospital for one year. Allen's daily duties consist of driving sick and underprivileged D.C. residents to the hospital's clinics and main campus at 19th and Massachusetts Avenue SE.
In all, Allen's employment at D.C. General is a pretty unremarkable thing, save for one detail: He is the son of Ward 8 Councilmember Sandy Allen, who chairs the D.C. Council's Committee on Human Services. Gilbert Allen denies any link between his job and his mother's power. “I applied for the job and it was open,” he says, adding that he received “no help whatsoever” from Sandy Allen.
But Gilbert Allen's hiring also it marks another politically savvy move by John Fairman, CEO of the D.C. Health and Hospitals Public Benefit Corp. (PBC). The CEO has spent his five years at the hospital quietly assembling a political machine that has all but guaranteed the outcome of that debate: Plenty of money for the hospital, with few strings attached.
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:
SATURDAY: Davis Memorial Goodwill Industries record sale, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Davis Memorial Goodwill Industries, 2200 South Dakota Ave. NE. Free (sales proceeds benefit Goodwill's job-training and placement programs for people with disabilities).
TUESDAY & THURSDAY: The Hope Diamond Mystery, a 1921 movie serial. Chapters 4-8 show Tuesday and Chapters 9-15 screen Thursday; each program runs a bit longer than two hours. At 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 6, and Thursday, June 8, at the Library of Congress' Pickford Theater, 101 Independence Ave. SE. Free.
More details and more critics' picks are available online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/pix/pix.html.

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