All That Jazz
Dear Hepcats:
Mayor Williams will not provide the full account of his fundraising activities that he
promised. Unfortunately, the Mayor still cannot recall what he did to create paper
nonprofits through which to funnel political funds. When the Mayor asked
Deputy Chief of Staff Mark Jones to remind him, Jones refused, and, of course, the Mayor
is powerless to command his staff to release the information to him. (Get this the
story is that Jones refused to provide the materials to the Mayor, and he wasn't fired on
the spot. Yeah, I buy that one.) Therefore, Williams has referred the entire matter to the
Inspector General for investigation. This has two benefits it defers the whole
matter for months or even a year, by which time the Mayor hopes that we shall all have
forgotten about it. Second, it gives everyone in the administration an excuse not to
answer questions from the public or the press: I can't talk about that; it's under
investigation. Mr. Mayor, I don't know how gullible you are, but I didn't just fall
off the turnip truck.
In the last issue, I asked how and whether your life had been affected by changes in
the city government over the past two years. There have been several good answers, one so
good that it was sent in, word for word, by two people. If these make you remember
something that had slipped your mind, please share it with us.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Non-Issues Some Places
Jean Lawrence, JKeLLaw@aol.com
[themail asked: Is your recycling picked up on schedule? Is your street cleaned
more frequently? Have the police patrols increased in your neighborhood? Has your child's
school, or the school closest to your home, improved?] I voted with my feet five
years ago and moved to Arizona after 35 years in Washington. Amazing how fast you can
forget about these bread-and-butter issues when they are automatically taken care of. The
schools could be better here, though. Guess that's true almost everywhere. And the police
could spend more time on real crime and less time on chasing teenagers around to see if
they are drinking beer or smoking weed. The problem is not enough real crime to
keep them busy! Seriously, it's an issue. It's not necessarily better here, but the sets
of problems are SO different it's amazing.
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Not Seeing the Light
James E. Taylor Jr., jimt25@erols.com
A Washington D.C. native, instead of moving out of the city I moved here to the Park
Skyland Community in 1993. The first thing I realized, after the first darkness, was the
lack of street lights. I wrote the Barry administration and was given every excuse
imaginable as to why street lights were not installed on the 2300 block of Skyland
Terrace. When Mayor Williams took office, he promised a change in how this city government
would respond to the needs of the people. The climate has not changed one bit. The only
difference in this administration from the previous administration is the polite
"tone of voice" in which you are given the run-around. This mayor has spent a
lot of energy profiling and strengthening his political base, but has done very little in
substance and nothing to ensure the safety of this east of the river community by
demanding his charges place lights on existing poles for this community of tax paying home
owners. This mayor is talking the talk but not walking the walk. Well, I wouldn't expect
him to walk the walk in my neighborhood because there are no lights and we wouldn't want
to jeopardize his Honor's safety.
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You ask whether the city service have improved after two years of Mayor Anthony
Williams's tenure. Things have not improved. How can they when Williams and his staffers
fail to intervene in the agencies and hold employees accountable?
A case in point with the MPD occurred during the summer of 1999. A group of us
citizens, including Carl Rowan, Jr., and Sandra Seegars, met twice with Dr. Abdusalam
Omer, Williams' Chief of Staff. At the first meeting Omer agreed that nothing had improved
and was eager to help us put pressure on Police Chief Ramsey. In the second meeting, he
was cold and distant, and it was clear that he had changed his mind. He promised to
contact us, but we never heard from him again. The Mayor's office never did anything about
the MPD, and it remains dysfunctional.
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MPD How Low Can It Go?
Andrea Carlson, BintaGay@aol.com
One day last week, I witnessed a school crossing guard at 13th and Irving Street, NW,
appear to purchase drugs. While he did so, he lit a cigarette. Meanwhile, students from
Harriet Tubman Elementary School watched and waited to cross the street. Horrified, I
called 727-1010, and was referred to the 4th District. I told the officer what I had seen
and she said I would have to call back the following morning because the supervisor was
gone for the day. I called back the following morning, noted what I had seen, and they
said the supervisor wouldn't be in until 2:30, so I would have to call back. Doesn't
anyone at the police department care that one of their employees is buying drugs and
smoking cigarettes on the job in front of little kids? I asked. You'll have to
speak to the supervisor, the officer responded. A resounding no, apparently. Until
this city cleans up the police department, the quality of life here, particularly in
struggling neighborhoods, will not improve.
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Gary makes the fatal mistake of asking for a midterm review of city services, etc. From
my perspective that of a down-in-the-trenches gadfly nagging bottom-rung workers
and their supervisors about specific problems it's a mixed bag. DPW/Sanitation is
apparently incapable of getting its act together, as evidenced by the fact that
January/February 2001 on my block is going about the same as in 2000. There was no
recycling collection on the scheduled day for four consecutive weeks (that string is still
intact heading into this week), and the trash guys decided to come on Tuesday instead of
Monday this week for no apparent reason. Since 2001 hasn't involved the sort of paralyzing
snowstorm that supposedly contributed to collection problems last year, this is anecdotal
evidence of serious backsliding.
Other fronts are more encouraging. Routine streetlight repair is pretty much that.
Repairs are done effectively and promptly so long as it's a minor repair (done by the
contractor); unfortunately, there's a continuing backlog of bigger no current
repairs that must be routed through DPW to Pepco. On transportation issues from
pothole repair to sidewalk work to street repaving I can't say enough good things
about Dan Tangherlini, acting Chief of Transportation. I'm seeing better responses to
individual complaints, thanks to Dan, and it's clear to me that he is at the same time
grappling with the long-term "vision" issues so atrociously neglected under
Hizzoner. (My only worry is that Dan lacks enough good middle managers to handle all the
day-to-day crap for him.)
One last point: Mayor Williams has also instituted a new Citizen Coordinator program to
ride herd on municipal services in the various wards. In my neck of the woods (Ward 6), we
didn't get a chair-warming crony. Instead, the Mayor appointed a neighbor of mine
Leo Pinson who had served as the volunteer PSA liaison/public meeting planner, as
well as general pain-in-the-ass for our, er, brick wall of a DCRA Housing inspector. I
can't think of anyone more invested in making my neighborhood (or DC) more livable, nor of
anyone with a better set of the smarts and people skills needed.
In sum: I think Mayor Williams is succeeding in starting to turn around our Queen
Mary-sized problems. The greatest danger, from where I stand, is for him to succumb to
complacency and so even as we commend the Mayor for taking some very real steps in
the right direction, it's essential to carp (as Gary does so well) about Robert Newman,
Vanessa Burns, and their yet-unaddressed legacy of ineptitude. It's a decent start, Mr.
Mayor, but don't kid yourself that you're anywhere close to being over the hump.
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Chinatown, Mt. Vernon Square
Richard Worthington-Rogers, wr446@aol.com
For the rich in this neighborhood, Northern Chinatown/Mt. Vernon Square there is a
sense of optimism. However, in reality, the pot holes are bigger, the surface of streets
not consistent, Walker-Jones Elementary school windows look like a juvenile detention
center, while the private school, Gonzaga College High School, on the other side of the
street, looks like a nice educational facility. The city-run homeless shelter for women
trailers are full every night. I score it a big fat F.
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The Washington Post series evaluating the Mayor Williams at mid-term began
with a description of a Hillcrest Heights civic meeting which Mayor Williams attended. The
residents of Hillcrest Heights were probably surprised to read that Mayor Williams had
spoken to their civic association, Hillcrest Heights being in Maryland. (In the pet peeves
department: our neighborhood is Hillcrest, not Hillcrest Heights. The Post should
know the names of D.C. neighborhoods.) The civic meeting was portrayed as a tirade of
complaints by angry citizens about city services. In fact, the meeting was not that way at
all. It is only natural for civic meetings where the Mayor is present to attract those who
have complaints, some of whom are from other neighborhoods. There were some complaints,
but the overall tone was one of strong support for Mayor Williams and acknowledgment of
improvements in city services. For me, the inaccuracy with which the series began,
unfairly painting a picture of dissatisfaction with the mayor's performance, cast doubt on
the accuracy of the rest of the series.
[The identical message, with the same title, was also sent by Robert Bush,
robertdbush@netscape.net. -- Gary Imhoff]
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Veterans Affairs
Bob Devaney, bobd1@erols.com
DC Bill 13-398 was filed by the whole Council. It would have given some welcome tax
relief to retirees, both civil and military, by raising the amount of the exemption for DC
tax. Give Mayor Williams a low grade for making sure the exemption amount shall NOT be
increased, thereby giving him more tax funds to pay off via golden parachutes
the inept department heads that resign.
Charlene Drew Jarvis may have been in office for too long; however. Adrien Fenty hasn't
paid too much attention to the folks at the Soldiers' and Airmen's Home.
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Any truth to the rumor that new Supercans are going to be given out? As an ANC
Commissioner I ought to know this stuff (at least I'm really earning my ANC salary!) but
two calls to the call center have not cleared this up. One person told me new cans would
be delivered in January. A second call at the end of last month, however, revealed that
a memo is going to be issued on this topic the next two weeks or so. The
polite operator was not sure whether everyone got a new can or just that new ones were
available. (My neighbor just got one within the last month by placing an order.) Anyone
got the scoop?
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Here's MY question: You are trash. Are you being picked up? I would love to pick you up
and drop you on you idiot head. Get with the program, asshole, or get out of town. We need
you no longer. Unsubscribe me.
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One Step Down and Other Landmarks
Jim McLeod, Foggy Bottom, jmcleod@attglobal.net
Bob Levine asked about One Step Down [Feb. 4, 2001]. I read a story about this jazz
club in the Foggy Bottom News about two years ago. The owner, Catherine Stuart, was in the
business for the love of jazz, not money, but apparently the lack of revenue caused her to
close the club last fall. Perhaps if the PBS Jazz series had come out earlier, this
institution (at 2517 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW) might have survived. It is less than six
blocks from the birthplace of Duke Ellington (2129 Ward Place, NW), although all that's
there to note DC's most famous native is a plaque on the side of a post office substation
(about halfway between Washington and Dupont Circles, off of New Hampshire Avenue).
In addition to these two landmarks, my neighborhood (Precinct 4) does still have
functioning historic institution -- Stevens Elementary (1050 21st Street, NW), built in
1868, and judged by the Preservation League as the city's most endangered, historically
significant public school. Has anyone heard what is to become of Stevens? It would be good
if the West End and Foggy Bottom kept some of its historic buildings alive.
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Mr. Henry's Capitol Hill on Friday nights from 9 p.m. to midnight or so, the Kevin
Cordt Trio/Quartet. Great jazz, nice atmosphere, no cover, and even better, no smoking! I
recommend it extremely enthusiastically.
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For more information on The One Step Down's demise go to http://www.onestepdown.com.
For information on where else to go in DC for live jazz go to http://www.dcjazz.com. The clubs I know of are Blues
Alley, the Bohemian Caverns and the Twins Lounge.
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Hey folks, there's a good (if somewhat limited) list of live jazz spots in DC, per Bob
Levine's request, at http://yp.washingtonpost.com/E/E/WASDC/0002/40/27/.
It's sad about One Step down, but there's lots of jazz in town still.
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To Robert Levine: condolences. My experiences with the place were much as yours; too
many great evenings to recount. Legendary jukebox, too. Since moving to Oregon in '92,
I've mentioned the place to local and visiting musicians who remember Joe Cohen and Ann
Mabuchi (sp?) well. So on one of my visits to DC two years ago, I knew I had to drop in on
a weeknight. Snippy manager (is it OK to use that adjective now?) and non-jazz crowd. Not
my cup of tea any longer. Memories of time past.
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Jazz Coming to Cada Vez
Kathy Simo, kathy@cadavez.com
Coming in March 2001, the Cada Vez Conference Center Restaurant and Theater, 1438 U
Street, NW.
Sunday brunch will be our jazz performance, geared to seniors and families. Nap Turner
will head up these Sunday brunch music programs Visit us at http://www.cadavezonline.com to view our facility.
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The Washington Post's Style Invitational for February 4, 2001, is a contest to
"come up with a joke that could be written only by a Washingtonian, and understood
only by the same."
Typical of the Washington Post, the example given was about the federal
government. Hello Washington Post, we may be a company town and the company's the
federal government, but Washington and Washingtonians are not just the federal government.
How about Style Invitational submissions from Washingtonians who understand and have a
sense of humor about living and working in our city of Washington?
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Property Line
Muriel Nellis, limn@aol.com
I have no way to discern when one's "property line" is one's own
responsibility, or when it belongs to the City government. One department
insists that when a service to a residential property is damaged or otherwise in need of
repair, it is a DC function if it is beyond ten feet from the front of the house
lawn or otherwise beyond that mark. Whereas, another insists that, for example, a tree
that is just on the edge of a lawn, just beyond a city sidewalk and twenty to thirty feet
from the property itself, it becomes the owner's responsibility whether its dying
limbs may threaten the life and limb of passersby, or even electric lines or cars and
passengers. Which is it? Are there several regulations? Aside from wishing for some
consistency, a good citizen needs to know! It shouldn't depend on which agency one calls
or which crisis looms. Advice?
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Questions on State Plans
Steve Leraris, leraris@aol.com
For the sake of argument lets say that DC becomes a state. Would we have a state senate
and a house of representatives? How many members would there be in each? Has a plan ever
been put together? When other states became states did they already have a state senate
and house set up or did these come after statehood was granted?
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Take the Tour of Presidential Churches, Update a Book, and Share
the Info
Mark-David Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
Like many new residents, America's new President and First Lady have been shopping
around for a "home" church. My parents are retired Baptist missionaries who
spent 30 plus years in Mali and South Africa. I rarely attend church, except when I go
home or on Easter Sunday when I go to the St. Matthews Spanish service. Sociologically
speaking, church is an important social institution (although I'm not as big on federal
funding as some local ministers seem to be they're already tax exempt; and since
they can have a space that often creates neighborhood problems, they should allow bars
with nude dancers a space, too).
In 1954, Olga Jones, a long-term District resident, wrote Churches of the
Presidents in Washington: Visits to Sixteen National Shrines (published by Exposition
Press in 1961). She dedicated her work to Future Presidents of the United States of
America who, it is hoped, will, like Lincoln, 'Cling to liberty and the right . . . and
have confidence in God.' Here is a tour you can take to update Jones' book, an
article for some writer, and a fundraising idea for a Community Development Corporation or
local nonprofit organization: The Presidential Church Tour. Thanks to themail, Bill
Cartwright Book Dealer in Matthews, VA, E-bay, Olga Jones and I, here is some basic info
for a tour, updated through John F. Kennedy:
1. Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, 36th St. between N & O Streets, John
Fitzgerald Kennedy.
2. The National Presbyterian Church, Connecticut Avenue at 18th & N, NW, Andrew
Jackson, James Buchanan, Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Dwight Eisenhower (this
church was razed and replaced with the Ernst & Young building, on which there is a
plaque. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Henry Ward Beecher, and deWitt Talmage spoke from the
pulpit. The minister of National Presbyterian married President Cleveland at the White
House. Before the new church was completed one early morning at 4:30 a.m., its 125-foot
tower fell into "a pyramidal heap of stones and sand," prompting an
investigation by federal rulers: "Good work should be more generally insisted on by
architects, and careless mechanists discouraged," they concluded. Today, the statue
of Rev. John Witherspoon, the "first Moderator of the Presbyterian General
Assembly... [and] the only clergyman signer of that 'cornerstone-of-democracy' document,
the Declaration of Independence," stands awkwardly near the place where the church
stood before demolition.
3. St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, James Madison, James Monroe, William
Henry Harrison, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, Chester A. Arthur.
4. Central Presbyterian Church, 15th and 16th Streets at Irving Street, NW, Woodrow
Wilson.
5. Friends Meeting (Quaker), 2111 Florida Avenue, NW, Herbert Hoover.
6. New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, New York Avenue and H Street, NW, Abraham
Lincoln.
7. Christ Church (Episcopal), N. Washington Street, in the former District city of
Alexandria, George Washington.
8. All Souls' Church (Unitarian), 16th and Harvard Streets, NW, John Quincy Adams,
Millard Fillmore, William Howard Taft.
9. National City Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Thomas Circle, NW, James
Garfield.
10. St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, 18th and Church Streets, NW, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
11. First Congregational Church, 10th and G Streets, NW, Calvin Coolidge.
12. Grace Reformed Church (15th & O Sts. NW) -Theodore Roosevelt.
13. First Baptist Church, 16th and O Streets, NW, Harry Truman (new edifice erected in
1956).
14. Foundry Methodist Church, 14 and G Streets, NW, until 1902, 16th and Church
Streets, NW, after 1904, Rutherford B. Hayes was a regular (like William and Hillary
Clinton -- will she still attend while in town?). Also James Madison, John Quincy Adams,
James K. Polk (he made Texas a state, Mr. Bush), Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley,
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman (especially Lincoln and Roosevelt) all visited
"on occasions." Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt sat together here (and
saved the free world -- I added that point). John Quincy Adams, the first president's son
to become president before George W., arrived late and sat in a chair in the aisle.
Foundry received this name because when those ungrateful British did not destroy Henry
Foxall's foundry in the city of Georgetown in the War of 1812, Foxall made a "thank
offering" by establishing this church. The Foundry manufactured canons for America.
Thanks to that big rainstorm, the British skipped Washington City before burning Foxall's
industry. So just as the Star-Spangled Banner was conceived, so too was Foundry conceived.
And there was also John Wesley's Old Foundry in London, England.
15. Calvary Baptist Church, 8th and H Streets, NW, Warren G. Harding
16. Metropolitan Memorial Methodist Church, Nebraska and New Mexico Avenues, NW,
William McKinley, Ulysses S. Grant.
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Drive for Alaskan Statehood, #2
Tim Cooper, worldright@aol.com
In 1949, Alaskas statehood drive gained momentum from an unlikely source.
Territorial Governor Ernest Gruening suggested to US Defense Department officials who were
bent on moving Boeing from Seattle to Wichita, Kansas, that the militarys interests
would best be served by installing radar stations on the northern and western coasts of
Alaska along with interceptor aircraft. Thereafter, the military canceled its plans to
move Boeing and immediately set aside $50 million for the construction of the Distant
Early Warning System along the Arctic and Bering coasts.
According to William R. Hunt in his bicentennial history of Alaska, [t]he
construction boom that followed during the next several years of building the DEW line and
the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System . . . saved Alaska from a postwar economic
collapse. It also encouraged advocates of statehood to press their cause. They could argue
more effectively that Alaska was ready for statehood because its economy was bolstered by
construction and military payrolls, and its population had increased. Seizing the
initiative, Governor Gruening sought to enlist the support of the Seattle Chamber of
Commerce, assuming, incorrectly it turns out, that its members would be grateful to him
for saving Boeing. Hunt notes that Seattle business interests had dominated Alaskan
trade since the Klondike gold rush of 1897-1898, and they feared the restrictions and
taxes a state might impose upon them. The Seattle business community wished to
maintain the status quo. Gruening had this to say about its refusal to support Alaskan
statehood: The so-called Alaska Committee of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce is
dominated by men who view Alaska as King George the Third and his ministers viewed the
Thirteen Colonies, an area to be ruled and exploited by distant men through their
representation in the colony, but never to be treated on a basis of equality. In
1952, a coalition of conservative and southern senators likewise opposed the Alaskan
statehood bill, fearing that any representatives from the state would likely be Democrats.
(The opposite turned out to be true.) Does any of this sound vaguely familiar?
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In the most recent issue of themail, Mark Richards writes: The Congress and
sixteen states approved the failed 1978 Constitutional amendment that would have granted
DC equal Congressional voting rights. Actually, that should be The Congress
and SIX states approved the failed 1978 Constitutional amendment that would have granted
DC equal Congressional voting rights. We're not talking the ERA here (which got
ratified by 35 states around the same time). We're talking about an amendment that went
absolutely nowhere. Convincing a majority to vote to reduce its own voting power is tough;
getting three quarters to agree to reduce their own power is even tougher.
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DC has passed a lot of milestones in the past year, but has it reduced the number of
millstones around its collective neck? Have you seen the new Green Line stations or looked
at the surprising trends in Metro utilization? What's happening in other comeback
cities? What did NARPAC suggest to the NCRC about its draft plan? Why should
President Bush take DC seriously? Got any ideas for a DC photo album? These and other
mind-boggling topics liven up the February update of the NARPAC web site at http://www.narpac.org. Feedback always welcome.
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CLASSIFIEDS EVENTS
Earthquake Relief Fund Raiser & Silent Auction
Maria Rosales, mrosales@rree.gob.sv
An event to benefit the victims of the earthquake in El Salvador, Tuesday, February 13,
6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Sesto Senso, 1214 18th Street, NW, 785-9525. Sponsored by the Vice
President of El Salvador, His Excellency Carlos Quintilla Schmidt; Fabian Koss and The
Many Hats Institute; Sesto Senso Restaurant; and Alan Salgado and Cassandra Eckert, DCity
Magazine. A minimum $20 donation at the door is suggested (tax deductible). DJ Jorge
Ciocca will be playing music. Complimentary hors d'oeuvres.
If you cannot attend but would like to submit a tax deductible donation, please make
checks payable to: The Many Hats Institute, c/o Consulate of El Salvador, 1724 20th
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20098, 331-4033
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CLASSIFIEDS HOUSING
Housing Needed in DC
Adnane Raiss, araiss@aol.com
A Fulbright visiting fellow from Morocco is currently seeking housing in the
Washington, DC, area. If you know of any place available, please send an E-mail or call
338-8346 and ask for Nabil.
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CLASSIFIEDS CITY PAPER PREVIEW
Dave Nuttycombe, webmeister@washcp.com
From washingtoncitypaper.com's LOOSE LIPS column, appearing this Friday:
THE JONES JONES: For a while it seemed that Mayor Anthony A. Williams might be a prime
candidate for a miracle ear. He has been near-deaf to the din of criticism that grew out
of the questionable fundraising activities of his minions, particularly his deputy chief
of staff, Mark Jones.
When the stories about that fundraising first broke, the mayor said he would provide a
complete accounting of the money that had been collected via a network of little-known
nonprofit organizations, effectively concealed from immediate public disclosure. He also
said he would ask an independent group of experts to advise him on how his administration
might continue to tap the coffers of corporations and small businesses to develop what he
calls a "public-private partnership" addressing what he calls important social
issues.
Williams intended to ride out the storm, hoping the story would blow over.
Executive-branch sources say that he also wanted to give Jones time to document
information from the various organizations he had used as conduits for the fundraising.
Williams gave Jones until Tuesday, Feb. 6, to produce the materials, but mayoral sources
say that Jones didn't meet that deadline.
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:
MONDAY: Create an Origami Valentine workshop with Glen Echo National Park
artist in residence Alana Marbury Hunter at 7 p.m. at First Class Inc., 1726 20th St. NW.
$30.
THURSDAY: Rick Moody discusses his new short-story collection Demonology at 7 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 15, at Olsson's Books & Records, 1200 F St. NW. Free.
More details and more critics' picks are available online at http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/pix/pix.html
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