A Plague on Both Your Houses
Dear Patients:
Nobody gained any glory from this week's City Council hearings on DC
General Hospital and the Public Benefits Corporation, but then, nobody deserved even
minimal credit. Regardless on your position on the future of DC General or the PBC, it is
clear that both of them have had terrible financial management and uncontrolled deficit
spending for the past several years, and that both the administration and the City Council
let it go on unchallenged. Mayor Williams, who in previous years was the Chief Financial
Officer and a member of the PBC Board, not only didn't correct the problem when he was CFO
— he didn't even raise any alarms about it. On the other hand, the PBC/DC General
budgets passed by the City Council for the past several years have been deliberately
inadequate — if the agency overspent its budget every year, year after year, then the
Council should have known that it either needed more money or should have been abolished
long ago. And it turns out that not one of the seven community clinics operated by the PBC
was even licensed until recently. How could that have happened?
The Mayor wants to scale back massively — nearly close — DC
General by January 1, but his administration hasn't developed anything but a sketchy idea
— certainly no reasonable plan or reliable financial figures — for how that can
be accomplished and still provide free medical care for the indigent. And the
Administration is still developing its plan almost in isolation, without either expert
help or, more importantly, without the community input that is vital to any plan's
success. The City Council is right not to sign on to anything the administration presented
to them on Monday. On the other hand, the grandstanders and show boaters on the Council
— Brazil, Chavous, and Graham most prominent among them — simply harkened back
to the bad old days of the city's mismanagement, calling for a free-spending policy on the
PBC and DC General. Damn the deficits; full speed ahead. We have a few months to come up
with something that will actually work. Health care advocates and unions will call for
massively increasing the funding for DC General and the PBC; if the administration intends
to counter that call, it needs to come up with a credible plan that shows how services
will continue to be provided to the poor. It needs to do so quickly, and it needs to
involve the public in that planning in order to convince the public that the plan will
work. You can link to the key testimony at Monday's hearing from http://www.dcwatch.com.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Sell Surplus School Property
Sharon Cochran, secochran@aol.com
David Pansegrouw expressed concern about selling surplus school property
due to overcrowded classes. I do not recall reading anything recently about overcrowded
classes in DC. My understanding is that there is more of a problem with finding teachers
to fill classroom in the entire metro area. If classes are overcrowded, it is more likely
due to poor resource management of the existing open 148+ schools than the surplus school
properties. According to the US Census Bureau population estimates released on August 30,
2000, DC is still losing population. We are not losing population as quickly as in prior
years, but we are losing families with children. The folks moving into DC have fewer
children or none. The US Census Bureau says that DC has over 20,000 fewer children 18
years or younger than in 1990. The big loss was with children under the age of 6; we lost
approximately 9700 in that age group. There is a slight growth bulge in of children in the
6 to 9 year old group. Hopefully the school system is capable of adding a classes for this
age group and decreasing them in the age groups of that have losses.
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One reader complained about renewing her tags. Ha! Try renewing a dog
license!
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Infill/density rezoning is going to be one of the hot issues for DC this
decade. Unfortunately, though, the discussion is filled with a great deal of cant, false
piety, and hand wringing. DC residents have to decide whether they want growth or
preservation — they can't have both. Unless advocates of growth AND preservation
together resort to some sort of disingenuous NIMBYism to suggest that someone else's
neighborhood is less wonderful and unique (and therefore more deserving of the wreckers'
ball and construction crane) than theirs (which to my mind is not an intellectually
defensible option), DC residents will have to make this binary choice. On the one hand,
urban sprawl and all its attendant miseries (including a dissipating tax base) as would-be
DC residents move to Loudon and Howard counties, where they are welcomed with open arms
and relatively inexpensive town homes; on the other hand, more congested,
construction-ridden, parking-less streets and neighborhoods, as new types of neighborhoods
and new enterprises come into existence in the District. It's a difficult choice —
and at the moment, I'm glad I don't have to be responsible for making it. But when push
comes to shove, I would rather see DC turn into Manhattan, New York, than Manhattan,
Kansas.
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My car renewal is due next month and I also have a question on the
benefits of one-year vs. two-year renewal. If I renew for two years, does this mean I only
have to have it inspected once during this period? Also, in contrast to Ralston Cox's
rates, mine is $75 for one year and $150 for two. Perhaps the age (1987) of my car is the
reason?
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Jack Evans Is Not Pro-Business
Nick Keenan, nbk@gsionline.com, Shaw
Jack Evans is often described as being “Pro-Business,” but the
reality is exactly the opposite. Business are comprised of people, and for the most part
the people who make up businesses want the same things from their government as everyone
else, and the things that make for a good business environment are the same things that
make for a livable city: Safe streets, good schools, reasonable regulation — in
short, good government.
The problem for Jack Evans is that providing good government is hard work.
It entails attending tedious oversight hearings, mastering the mundane details of
legislation, dealing with whiny constituents, and delving into the intricacies of the
notorious bureaucracy. It's a full-time job, at least, and Evans is just a part-time
councilmember, with another full-time job. Fortunately for him, none of that drudgery is
necessary. He has found that if attends dutifully to the needs of just a few constituents
— large institutions, some of them businesses but many of them also non-profits, some
of them in his ward but many of them outside the city — he can keep his part-time
job. In the past four years, Evans has raised over $1.2 million in campaign contributions,
almost all of it from large institutions, and almost all of it from outside his ward. In
the same period he has steered more than a billion dollars to his supporters, in the form
of the Convention Center, the MCI Center, and a raft of special interest and emergency
legislation. The Evans regime has been very good for some businesses, not for business.
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In response to Helen Hagerty's observation about low voter turnout during
the primary election last week, she states, “I don't know exactly what percentage of
registered voters showed up on Tuesday, but it's hard to make a case for voting rights
when no one votes in our local elections.” The case for congressional representation
is made with two words: we're Americans. Full citizenship rights are ours by birthright;
they are not something that have to be earned by electing an acceptable mayor or learning
to balance our checkbook or even, yes, voting. It's deplorable that only 12.7 percent of
us chose to vote in the election, but other Americans have similarly low voter turnouts.
Only here is that used as an excuse to impugn our rights to have a voice in our national
government.
I'm sick of it.
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What Would be REALLY Interesting
Anne Anderson psysrusa@cs.com
Kurt Vorndran notes the lack of candidates fielded by the minor parties as
an explanation for lack of media coverage. I agree that the lack of candidates is a
serious problem for our democracy and I hope that more people will run in future years. I
would have been satisfied if the media had noted the same in their coverage, and stated
the fact that, even though there are few candidates that will be running against the
Democratic party candidates in November, voters should be taking a look at all of them,
and listening to their ideas. That would be useful coverage, educating the public on the
process of a democratic election that I believe is supposed to offer a forum of ideas and
plans generated by candidates so that voters can decide who will represent them best for
the next cycle.
What would really be interesting: for voters to vote "other than
Democratic" in November, for any other candidate that seems promising, as a way of
waking up the media and the Democratic party. After all, why bother throwing your vote
away on a done deal?
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Third Parties and Primaries
Martin Thomas, martinth@excite.com
In Reply to Kurt Vorndran's message about the primary elections: the DC
Statehood Green party does not control who is on the ballot in our primary any more than
other parties. The process to get on the ballot is controlled by the DC Board of Elections
and Ethics. To get on the ballot, one needs only to be registered in the party and collect
a small number of signatures. I assure you that we have lots of healthy intra-party debate
about the elections. The fact that we had unopposed primaries is a sign of confidence in
our candidates and general consensus that focussing our efforts on the November elections
is the best strategy.
We have succeeded at putting five candidates on the ballot in November
along with two candidates for school board (non-partisan races). Finally, I'd like to
invite you to come in from the sidelines and help us elect candidates in November. To
volunteer, give me a call at 332-6558.
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A quick comment on the campaign poster issue: while I understand the
candidates' quibbling about the number of posters per block -- after all, they are
unsightly — I am more concerned about the REMOVAL of these items, which tend to
become forgotten eyesores following election day. I would direct this comment most to
Messrs Fenty, Evans, Ross, Fanning, Brazil and Mrs Jarvis, all of whom seem to have
plastered their placards everywhere (Mr. Evans, with extra cash in his pocket, even put
his posters all over parts of Ward Three, which makes it all the more likely that he'll
forget about them). Here's hoping that their respective campaigns complete their civic
duty by getting rid of these posters before they become yet another DPW nightmare.
By the way, I don't want this to sound like I am anti-poster. After all,
they play a vital role in local elections. Historically, though, some candidates tend to
deal with poster removal in an extremely poor fashion.
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[In response to Ralph Blessing] Please give me the address where you noted
three signs on one utility pole. I set up all of my own signs, so if there is a violation,
I am the one to blame. If the signs are “back-to-back” or in pairs (such as the
Jack Evans signs) or wrapped in a triangle (which is what I did), the signs are legal. If
this is the case, you will note many instances where I have three signs on one utility
post.
What is illegal is to place two sets of doubles (one on top of another) or
two sets of triples (one on top of another) on a single post. Please call or E-mail me and
let me know the situation. 487-0000 (cell), 338-9240 (home)
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Campaign Posters
Steve Leraris, Leraris@aol.com
If the city isn't enforcing the laws regarding posters how about a lawsuit
against the city and the offending campaign?
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In response to “Name-Your-Price Comes to Newspaper
Subscriptions” from the recent themail: the Washington Post subscription
rate is a steal. You get one of the best newspapers in the country for far less than other
major newspapers charge their local readers. Don't take it for granted.
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Naming DC
George S. LaRoche, LaRoche@us.net
Re: “Naming the District of Congress” by Mark Richards, 9/17/00:
In answer to Mark's questions, Tindall is fairly but not completely accurate, but his
factual inaccuracies are less important than an assumption apparent in his work: Tindall
seems to take the question of names (especially with regard to an assumed distinction
between “district” and “territory”) as indicative of legal or
constitutional status, but this assumption is not valid. As Shakespeare said, “a rose
by any other name would smell the same.” For the District this means that whether
this place be called a “district” or a “territory,” it would remain
under the same kind and degree of congressional power and would not be a “state”
or a part of a state. Thus, it should never be assumed that the formal name given at any
time was indicative of the present or future status of the District.
Turning to Mark's second question (“Do we live in an 'unnamed'
Territory with a municipal corporation known as 'The District of Columbia'?”): the
possible absence of a statute naming this place doesn't derogate from the fact that, for
almost its entire history, it's been called "the District of Columbia," and
that's worth something. But Mark is quite astute to note the strange and confusing fact
that the governmental institutions which run the District are referred to as “the
District of Columbia.” This strange usage is a remnant of the history of municipal
corporations. From long before there was a “District of Columbia,”
“shires” and “towns” and “boroughs” were not places, but
were legal franchises granted by the King to govern places. Congress was merely following
the tradition of municipal law inherited from Great Britain when it chartered a municipal
government for this land and water, and under that tradition, “the District of
Columbia” is not the place itself — it's the government of the place. So our
present reference to this venerable assemblage of dirt and running water as “the
District of Columbia” would be considered merely a convenient circumlocution, from
the point of view of the history of municipal law.
But this circumlocution, indeed, has devoured the history, in most places.
We now speak of “the government of” a place referred to (for instance) as
“the City of New York,” distinguishing the institutions of government from the
physical place, which itself is now called “the City.” But beware, calling a
place a “City” (or even a “state”) does not mean the residents of that
place will have the power to govern that place or to do the things other people in other
places do. Mark's last question (“Do all of us in D.C. live in the 'seat of
government,' but only some of us live in 'the Federal Capital'?¨) is especially
interesting if we try to answer the question with the assumption that these names are
indicative of something substantive, but this assumption — as I've said above —
is erroneous. No one I know in the District lives in the actual (distinguished from the
merely nominal) “seat of government,” because no federal functions
(“seatings”?) are carried out in or even close to their residences. Most don't
even live within sight of federal property of any kind. The District embraces far more
land than the federal government uses or likely will use as its “seat,” and it's
well past time for Congress to relinquish control of all the District not used as the
“seat.” That would change the substantive legal reality of the District, and
settle these questions, once and for all.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Sept. 22, 3:00-5:00. The Washingtoniana staff invites you to a Retirement
Party for Mary Ternes, Photo Librarian in the Washingtoniana Division on September 22 from
3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in the MLKML A Level staff lounge. Please bring a beverage or food to
share (non-DCPL-ers need not bring food) and join in the fun as we say goodbye to Mary and
celebrate her long career at the Library. RSVP by responding to this E-mail or calling
727-1199 or 727-2272.
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TasteDC.com’s Calendar of Wine and Food Events
Charlie Adler, wine@TASTEDC.COM
1) September 20, Wednesday, “New Restaurant Series: Yanyu Restaurant
8 Course Wine Dinner,” 3435 Connecticut Ave., NW. Metro: Cleveland Park (Red Line),
7-9 PM, optional valet parking available ($5 valet charge). $70 per person, tax and tip
inclusive. Chef and owner Jessie Yan (owner of Spices and Oodles of Noodles) is back from
her Far Eastern tour with an 8 course menu paired with wine!: a) lily bulb dumpling, b)
sea scallops with plum sauce, c) big duck, d) crab cucumber sonomono, e) honey roasted sea
bass, f) pan-seared tenderloin in orange sauce, g) sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf, and
h) trio of desserts. Seating is provided. 2) October 4, Wednesday, “California's Hot
New Varietal Wines,” Radisson Barcelo Hotel, 2121 P St., NW. Valet parking, Metro
Dupont Circle (Red Line), 7-9 PM, $48 per person. California is now producing some
fantastic wines other than Chardonnay and Merlot: Cal-Italia & Rhone varietals like
Sangiovese and Viognier, just to name a few. Join Robert Cavanaugh, formerly the Sommelier
at the Ritz-Carlton in Palm Beach, as we taste California's new wave of exciting wines! 3)
October 5, Thursday, “Burcak Harvest Festival with Live Jazz at the Embassy of the
Czech Republic,” 3900 Spring of Freedom (Between Connecticut Avenue and Beach Drive,
just off Tilden Street), NW. Parking available, 7-9 PM Festival and tasting, $45 in
advance. Burcak is the still fermenting wine that Moravians drink during the
“Vinobrani” (Wine Harvest). It's sweet and low in alcohol, but don't be fooled:
the day after has come to be called the Curse of Burcak! We'll accompany this drink
obtained from Sand Castle Winery in Pennsylvania with a menu of fresh salads, fruits and
foods from the harvest. The evening features guest appearances by Torzo's leading artist,
Zdenek Macku, and the renowned Czech jazz singer Jana Koubkova. Dress is very casual for
this event and the spirit will be joyous! 4) October 18, Wednesday, “Wine Basics
101,” Radisson Barcelo Hotel, $40 per person. Our most attended event! Learn how to
order wine in a restaurant, determine basic wine styles and varietals, pair wine and food
and more! 5) October 24, Tuesday, “New American Wine Dinner at Tahoga
Restaurant,” 2815 M St., NW, 7-9:30 PM, $70 per person. Join us for a 5 course meal
at Tahoga Restaurant, one of the area's premier restaurants specializing in regional
American cuisine. The dinner will include an appetizer, salad, fish course, meat course,
and dessert, all paired with Breaux Vineyard's (their 1999 Viognier won the “Best of
Show” at the VWGA Virginia Wine Competition) award winning wines. Space is limited to
only 35 people, so please sign up early! Dress is business casual. 6) October 25,
Wednesday, “Fall Wine Xtravaganza,” Cafe Soleil Restaurant, 839 17th St., NW,
steps from Farragut West Metro, street parking, 7-9 PM, $35 in advance, $45 at the door if
available. Xtravaganza's are a great way to taste over 35 kinds of wine in an informal
setting and also purchase them for 20% off per bottle and 25% off per case (sales are
handled by a local D.C. retailer). William-Harrison Imports is showcasing their portfolio
of hand-picked French wines from the Loire Valley, Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the south of
France. Light hors d'oeuvres will also be served. Dress is business casual. 7) November 4,
Saturday, “Oyster and Wine Festival,” Christopher Marks Restaurant, 1301
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 1-4 PM, $65 per person, tax and tip inclusive. Oysters, oysters,
and more oysters, and great wine! Taste a variety of at least 15 different types of
oysters freshly shucked on the half-shell from both the East and West Coasts paired with
wines from New Zealand and California (think incredible Sauvignon Blancs) and France
(Muscadet from the Loire Valley, oyster's perfect accompaniment!). Executive Chef Robert
Polk (formerly of Bistro Bis under Jeffrey Buben, and Occidental Grill) will also prepare
Oysters Rockefeller and a tasting of other prepared oyster specialties. If you love
oysters, don't miss this one! Dress is very casual for this
standing event. Reservations, phone 333-5588,
hpps://labyrinth.dgsys.com/clients/tastedc.com/order.cgi.
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CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE
Moving, and have the following items for IMMEDIATE sale: Bicycle, Miyata
210, 12-speed touring bike with drop handlebars — $50. Matching set of three
bookcases (72x30x12 inches, oak finish, 3 shelves, with 24" closed cabinet below)
— $40 each or all three for $100. Bookcase, wooden, six shelves (72x36x12 inches)
gray — $35. Television, color, 17 inch Zenith, with remote control — $25. TV
stand, swivel, 25" high — $15. Microwave stand, white, two shelves, cabinet
below (42x25x15) — $25. Typewriter table, metal, with wheels — $5.
For LATER pick-up, after open house (available late Oct or early Nov):
Double bed, Sealy Posturepedic mattress and box spring, frame, pad, and linens. Very clean
and in good shape — $150. Sofabed, opens into queen-size bed, blue/green/peach/gray
abstract pattern, clean (80x35x32 inches) — $90. Dehumidifer, Holmes model HDH25A, 25
pints/24 hours — $50.
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Is anyone interested in sharing two tickets to 11 games? I want to get
tickets in the first row of the upper deck “end zone,” which is the closest to
the ice surface you can get if you are upstairs. The tickets are $22 each if you order in
bulk.
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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING
Friends of mine are moving to a new home soon, but face a brief period of
homelessness because of construction delays at their new place. Their needs are really
basic: a small place (one room) where they can sleep, bathe, store clothes, plug in a
computer, and cook. It can be furnished or unfurnished. It can be Monday-Friday only. They
don't smoke and have no kids and no pets. They prefer someplace close to Metro. They need
housing for the month of October, but are willing to rent from September 23 through
November 30. If anyone has any leads, you can respond to them directly at b_mendelsohn@hotmail.com.
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My cousin, a professional female in her early 40's, is looking for a
one-bedroom apartment along the Connecticut Avenue corridor from Dupont Circle to Chevy
Chase Circle. She just got back from the Alaska bike ride for AIDS to find out her
landlord is selling the house she's been sharing. She is very responsible and reliable
tenant. She's looking for a place by November 1st for around $650 a month. Any suggestions
would be appreciated.
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Short Term House-Sitting or Rental Wanted
Rosa Balkcum, MACohan@aol.com
Couple with 11 year old girl and quiet, well behaved dog seek short term
(2-3 months with possibility of longer stay if desired) house sitting job or house or
apartment rental. Please call Rosa at 244-9701.
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CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES
Home Improvement Help
Karen Leuthy, KLeuthy@aol.com
Fall is a great time for fixing up the homestead. Well, it's been a wild
and woolly summer, but I'm now ready to take on new clients for a fall season filled with
fixing and sprucing and beautifying our wonderful historic homes here in district. Right
Hand is a unique new service that evolved in response to the wave of home improvement
questions and frustrations that have been bouncing around my neighborhood and the rest of
the city over the past few years.
Here's how it works: you, the overworked homeowner that has better things
to do on your evenings and weekends, have a number of things that you'd like to have done
around the house, but you don't have time to chase all the different people down, call
references, get quotes, wait for them to show up, etc. You call me, I do all the leg-work
and research for you, help you decide what materials you need and buy them for you,
supervise the work as it's being done and make sure it's all up to snuff. The idea is that
your time is better spent bringing home the bacon and enjoying your family, not playing
phone tag or sitting in traffic on Rockville Pike.
Right Hand is also an excellent resource for brainstorming. I've got tons
of literature, catalogs, books and magazines for you to pour over and be inspired by,
whether or not I'm the one overseeing your project. And yes, I also do Feng Shui sessions!
Right Hand is licensed, bonded and insured. Initial consultations are free. Let's get to
work!
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CLASSIFIEDS — CITY PAPER PREVIEW
Dave Nuttycombe, webmeister@washcp.com
From washingtoncitypaper.com's LOOSE LIPS column, appearing this Friday:
GUFF FOR THE GATEKEEPER: Like just about any political beehive, One Judiciary Square, the
District's seat of government, processes rumors as routinely as time slips. Every week, it
seems, city hall insiders roll their eyes over the latest alleged flare-up between Mayor
Anthony A. Williams and some contumacious councilmember.
Last week, though, the rumor mill ground out a story more suitable for political
rumination: Williams was ready to replace mayoral Chief of Staff Abdusalam Omer with
Bernard Demczuk, a former aide to Mayor-for-Life Marion S. Barry Jr.
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:
WEDNESDAY: Gore Vidal signs copies of his book The Golden Age to benefit the Eric
Friedheim Library at the National Press Club. At noon. at the National Press Club
Ballroom, 529 14th St. NW. $35.
SEPT. 22-OCT. 1: Arabian Sights 2000. At Cineplex Odeon Foundry, 1055 Thomas Jefferson St.
NW. $8.
More details and more critics' picks are available online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/pix/pix.html
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