Hip and Cool
Dear Hipsters and Cool Cats:
I'm taking the long way around, so please bear with me. Spring has sprung, and every
spring I recall one of the saddest saloon songs ever written, “Spring Can Really Hang
You Up the Most,” written by Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman for their musical
“The Nervous Set.” Back in the late 1950's and early 1960's, Fran and her
husband Jay, the novelist and magazine publisher who wrote the book for the musical, ran a
bar and cabaret theater called The Crystal Palace in Gaslight Square in St. Louis. Back
then, when people said both “hip” and “cool,” Gaslight Square was one
of the hippest and coolest neighborhoods on earth — a few Victorian blocks filled
with jazz, comedy, restaurants, antique and unique shops — and Fran and Jay were at
the center of it. The Compass Players were founded at their place and worked there before
they moved to Chicago and became the Second City comedy troupe. It was a world of
sophisticated entertainment; every great musician and comedian performed regularly there
and at the other nightspots in Gaslight Square. And then Gaslight Square died, killed by
crime and blight and governmental neglect. People stopped coming; the bars and nightclubs
closed, and not a trace of Gaslight Square remains today, aside from an historical plaque.
St. Louis hasn't had as hip and cool a neighborhood since.
Washington doesn't have a real entertainment neighborhood, but it does have Georgetown,
Adams Morgan, U Street, M Street, and Capitol Hill, all of which have a variety of
restaurants and shops. How healthy are they? Do you go to any of them regularly? Are they
well maintained by government services, or does the city government concentrate only on
oversized, monumental downtown projects? No neighborhood is the good, desirable
neighborhood forever — the destruction of the 14th Street shopping corridor
demonstrated that here in Washington. What should we be doing to build and protect our hip
and cool neighborhoods?
And if you have a taste for American jazz lieder, look into the Wolf-Landesman
songbook.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
I would like to know what's being done (apparently nothing) to put a stop to all the
car window smashings on the 2400 block of 15th Street, NW. At least once a week, sometimes
two and three times I see a car window smashed, and it doesn't matter if it's an older car
or a new one. Recently it happened to a friend of mine visiting from NYC. He lived there
for 39 years; nothing happened. He comes to DC for one weekend and his window gets broken.
It's so nice we can rely on the Metropolitan police to protect us and our property.
###############
West Nile Virus: Grounds for Development
Harold Goldstein, dcbiker@goldray.com
Yes, it is quite remarkable that we have had so little success in eradicating malaria
in the developing world. It is hard to believe that having such success with it here, we'd
be unable to do so if it were truly a priority.
But closer to home, and related to West Nile — West Nile is particularly virulent
in horses, with a extraordinarily high death rate. Breeding grounds for West Nile include
any conditions conducive to mosquitos such as damp conditions, pools of water, etc. So
perhaps you'd like to go for a horse ride, or give your kid a pony ride. Just go to the
Rock Creek stables where, over the weekend, one of the paddocks became off limits when a
ditch was dug through it and water allowed to fill it for a “frog sanctuary.” So
what we have is a mosquito/West Nile breeding ground right next to a horse stable!
Parenthetically the horses at rock creek get little time out of their stalls as it is
(there are not enough paddocks) and now one quarter of their paddock space is removed for
use by frogs. Any horse people out there?
###############
Victoria McKernan is confusing the public health problem of malaria in the Third World
and the lack of effective drugs to treat it with the potential public health problem posed
here by West Nile virus. The “Americans” she refers to (who spend more to
develop Viagra and pet anxiety treatments than she thinks they should) must be the
pharmaceutical industry. Just because malaria is a bigger problem for the world than West
Nile, doesn't mean we have a moral obligation not to be concerned about it. Also,
mosquito-borne illnesses such as encephalitis are and always has been a worry for people
in some parts of the US. State and local governments have controlled mosquito-borne
illnesses in this country by spraying mosquitocides for years.
Given the way some crises have been handled in this city in the past, I also think
there is reason to be a bit concerned about monitoring and plans for combating the threat
of West Nile, as raised in a previous issue. Elsewhere, the general assumption (and fear)
seems to be that it will likely become more widespread and is potentially serious.
###############
Phil Green's request for a recommendation for a good landlord-tenant attorney in the
last issue arrived while I am facing major harassment by the realty company that manages
this apartment building. I've been in an apartment since 1977 and the realty company has
repainted once; that time, I had a building inspector in, and the realty company was
written up. Slow learners that they are, they have taken exception with the notion that
they should maintain this apartment now and have actually put in writing what I must do
before they will deign to paint. Sigh.
It seems to me that, as the market tightens, realty companies (at least this one) have
taken to shamelessly harassing tenants who have rights under the rent-control law. Perhaps
they find that illegal harassment is cost-effective in the long run. I did not expect to
stay in this apartment forever when I moved here in 1977, but I also did not expect to be
on disability retirement now. Others in my building (the elderly, the severely disabled,
etc.) have encountered similar behavior on the part of management of the realty company.
I wonder: have other readers of themail who are tenants under rent control faced
similar challenges? Have organizations that advise on tenant rights found an increase in
activity? Should we launch a contest to find the silliest instance of harassment launched
against a tenant under rent control? And should we name names?
###############
Income Taxes
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
After completing my income tax forms this past week, I stopped to reflect on just how
complicated those forms are and how complex the tax code has become. I had the advantage
of a very sophisticated tax program on my computer and it took me about six hours to enter
all the data and to check the resulting output. My taxes are in the moderately complicated
tax category, as are those of a large number of taxpayers these days. Without the help of
the program, which knows all the current rules and regulations and does all the math
(selecting the proper forms based on the interview results), I would likely be unable to
do my taxes either correctly or accurately (even with a Master's Degree in Business)
Each year Money Magazine creates a tax situation for a couple and sends them
off to a large number of tax preparers to get their taxes prepared. The results are
astounding. Some preparers come up with a refund of several thousands of dollars. Others
arrive at a result that has the couple owing several thousands of dollars and the rest are
in between. Perhaps one or two preparers actually come close to what the rules actually
require. This is merely a reflection of how crazy the current tax code is. I feel great
pain for the folks who are ill equipped to handle this tax preparation and who cannot
afford to hire folks to create tax shelters or even to prepare their returns. Perhaps the
new administration will come to deal with this awful mess. I think that most folks would
rather have a simple tax code and simple tax forms to prepare than to have a tax refund.
###############
Thanks for Underwriting Verizon, Suckers
Gregory Diaz, zaidmot@aol.com
Todd Trafford complains of Verizon delay in refunding double-billed funds. I had a
similar experience with a deposit that took more than two years to get back. I thought
about collecting fellow plaintiffs for a class action against them, as I am personally of
the opinion that this delay is intentional. Just multiply your story by several thousands
and imagine how much it's worth to a mega-corporation like Verzion to keep your money
working for them — it sure beats their borrowing short term funds via commercial
paper! After repeated calls and endless badgering (always be nice to the "customer
service" people, they are just cogs in the machine), I finally got my check (which
Verizon twice claimed had been issued and lost!), and so sank back into listless
indifference about suing them. I am bagging my cell phone contract with them as soon as
the term is up. I'd rather use a string and a tin can than stick with Verizon!
###############
Washington and the “Real World”
Mark Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
Washington, DC, and the Real World are considered different places (to people outside
the District), according to Ari Fleischer, President Bush's main public spokesperson. A
recent article by Sally Quinn (“Why Do They Hate Washington? It's Full of Liars,
Cheats and Scoundrels. At Least, It's That Way Until People Move Here,” Washington
Post Style, 4-12-01) provided an example of how “Washington” means
different things to different people. The focus of the article was on elected officials
— those who stayed after they ran against “Washington” to get here.
From the article, you won't learn that the percentage of the elected officials who move
to D.C. to be part of the federal establishment are only a small portion of the District's
population and that the District is full of real locals in real neighborhoods who also
have perspectives. Quinn turned to many sources to answer her question about “Why Do
They Hate Washington?” The only hint of a local D.C. was this paragraph in which
Quinn quoted Mayor Williams: “All the things Americans think are bad 'they think are
manifold in Washington. And the local part gets maligned, too. 'Unfairly, he says. The
proof? 'More people are coming to Washington than are leaving.”
Quinn quoted Democratic campaign consultant Bill Knapp: “People are suspicious of
Washington. It's seen as an island removed from the rest of the country.” So, make a
note, D.C. is an island of the imagination! Quinn says the people who move here become
“part of the very culture they have been excoriating.” She noted the example of
Rep. Nethercutt of Washington state who, after being on Capitol Hill for a couple of
terms, broke his campaign pledge to support term limits. Nethercutt said he had gained
important knowledge and experience that has value. He said he was “surprised 'by the
friendly nature of the city” and said he does not feel at all corrupted living here.
He was also surprised “by the anger he sees when the police block Independence Avenue
so that he and other members of Congress can get to the Capitol during the 15 minutes they
have to vote. Drivers honk their horns in exasperation. 'It's symbolic of the perception
that there is an elitism for those of us who serve,' he says. 'All we're trying to do is
vote. We're trying to do our job and we hope to help the people sitting in those
cars.'” What an interesting problem I hadn't heard about!
Quinn has Chris Matthews trace “hostility toward the capital” to Europe's
“countryside” which was “suspicious of city folk.” Matthews said,
“American have always rebelled against government.” Quinn wrote, “Cultures
need culprits. For most of the 17th and 18th centuries people blamed the Devil for
society's ills. In the 19th century the Devil was Wall Street, big business and banks. In
the later part of the 20th century, it became Washington.” So there you have it:
Devil, Wall Street, Washington. Stan Greenberg, a Democratic pollster, pointed out that
“you could not be in Washington and be plausible as someone to fight big interests,
prescription drugs, and Medicare reform. You have to do it from outside Washington.”
Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster, said, “Republicans have to denigrate Washington
more than Democrats.” Yes, we've noticed that too! Quinn quotes former Senator
Claiborne Pell: “There are only two ways people leave Washington. By the ballot box
or the undertaker's box.” Gosh, that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room for D.C.
residents. Bill O'Reilly said he likes Washington: “What outsiders dislike, he said,
is the sensibility rather than the city. 'It's the idea of the cocktail party circuit and
the arrogance of power. Regular folks don't want to be looked down upon by the effete,
elite, corrupt Washington, or Hollywood or New York.' O'Reilly said that most of the
population in the United States feels powerless. 'They are at the mercy of every outside
force, 'he says, 'so you can understand the resentment over people who do have
power.'” Quinn and O'Reilly might be interested to know that even D.C. residents
empathize with that feeling! Now that the weather is getting warmer, I'm expecting the
mockingbirds to take up residence in District trees to serenade our “Real
Worlds” with their side of the story.
###############
Regardless of the topic, whenever I am told to never do something — “never,
never, never,” as Dana Carvey's George Bush once said, I am really, really, really
skeptical. Regarding the topic, which was giving almost nothing to these poor guys driving
the garbage truck, give me a break. It's not a bribe, it's thanks.
###############
Dear Big Tippers
Gabe Goldberg, gabe@acm.org
My regular mail carrier just retired (I'm in VA but don't think that matters). His name
is Jack and I did chat with him a couple times a week. For cheerfully handling the
ridiculous volume of magazines and packages I get and the avalanche of catalogs my wife
gets, for friendly and personal service, I didn't begrudge giving him a modest holiday
gift. Service came first, then gifts. It wasn't a bribe but a small token recognizing that
he made my postal service pleasant. I also mailed a postal comment form praising his
service. His replacement may have inherited the route but he'll have to earn his holiday
gifts. I think your exhortation never to tip government workers is too harsh. My wife
sometimes says I'm Scrooge, skeptical about holiday doings. I'll go surprise her with the
news that I'm for some holiday traditions.
###############
It is because I do chat with her [my mail carrier] frequently, ask about her family,
etc., that I give her a Christmas gift. And she does more than deliver-and-not-lose the
mail. She uses her brains and good sense to look out for us, too — aware of when
we're out of town, aware when the postal station has screwed up our situation in some way.
And I'm very grateful to her for that. I'll be sorry when she leaves, but I can understand
her working on her education so she doesn't have to wear out her feet over the next twenty
years. You may, but needn't publish this. Just letting you know that you have accomplished
the rare feat of out-cynicaling me.
###############
To Insure Prompt Service
Lee Perkins, lperkins@cpcug.org
Several years ago, I offered my carrier a Christmas tip and she told me that she
couldn't take it because it was against regulations.
###############
More Detail on National History Day Program
Mark Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
In the last issue of themail, I wrote that National History Day was April 11th. But
that was in D.C. only. Actually, National History Day is a yearlong event with a variety
of dates. National History Day is the umbrella program, and The Historical Society of
Washington, D.C. is the “state” sponsor. Mychalene Giampaoli, Education Director
and History Day Coordinator from the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., said
“you bet the students have fun with that!” She said that the National office
(located at the University of Maryland Campus, College Park, Maryland) issues a yearly
theme. This year it was Frontiers in History, next year will be Revolution, Reaction,
Reform in History. They send out a teachers book and contest rules and coordinate the
National Contest. The state coordinators disseminate this information. In DC the
information is distributed at the beginning of the school year, and there are teacher and
student workshops free of charge to all schools. Each school is allowed to send five
entries from each category to the divisional contest. Schools have their own method of
choosing their winning entries. Junior Division is grades 6-8, Senior Division grades
9-12. The top twelve projects go to the City Wide Contest on May 5. From City Wide, only 2
from each category go to the National Contest. All states and the District get a best of
state award. Giampaoli said that her students had a fun time with that, chanting “We
are not a state!” She said that last year D.C. students won a Woman's History prize
and a $10,000 scholarship. “I am biased,” Giampaoli said, “but our students
are awesome!” http://www.thehistorynet.com/NationalHistoryDay/02_contest/02.html
###############
Need Evidence?
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
Lest anyone need evidence that supports the case for term limits of City Council
members, one need only to observe the current antics of the majority of those on the
Council. They are trying, in a very misguided effort, to derail the viable health care
proposal of the Mayor which will undoubtedly dramatically improve the health care services
to those who need it most in D.C. The availability of health care services will greatly
increase in the mayor's plan and will provide far better services to those who have no
health care insurance.
It is likely that the Mayor's plan will ultimately cost a lot more than the current
system but the upside is that the coverage and quality of health care, to those who need
it, will be far better than it is today. No longer will there be a thousand dispatches of
ambulances in response to a painful hangnail. The ambulances always get lost, anyway (they
should try using the Pakistani cab drivers). The availability of over 100 neighborhood
clinics will make care easily reached by almost all those in need of care. The Council is
way off base on this issue and it is all a part of the posturing for the next mayoral
election.
###############
Ed Barron wrote in part: “UDC should reconfigure itself into two parts. The first
part should be a remedial school on a Junior College level to prepare students to enter
genuine four year universities outside of D.C. The other part of UDC should offer
specialized courses in programs (e.g. Health Care, Computer Science) that will lead to
viable, good paying jobs.” And the sooner the better. When I was attending UDC at
night, the University and the accrediting agencies were fretting about the dropout rate.
Well, the University was shooting itself in the foot with its requirement that everyone
matriculate, even if you just wanted to take one course. So, people dutifully enrolled;
took the course(s) that they needed for the job, promotion, or whatever, and then
“dropped out.” I “skimmed the cream” and then dropped out myself.
If the University had recognized the true needs of its community and offered
work-related courses, it could have become a power in the field, located as it was at a
Metro stop and on a bus line. In addition to DC residents, suburbanites traveling the Red
Line could have taken courses after work on the way home to the fringe parking lots,
rather than get there, get in their cars, and face yet another long commute cross-county
to their suburban college or technical school, only to park in a lot that is about a mile
from their night school building!. (This happened to me!)
The out-of-state colleges and universities that advertise night-school credentialing
and Master's programs were only filling an unmet need. UDC could have filled it as well or
better had it chosen to meet its obligation to its community as a land grant college. Had
it paid its adjunct professors a meaningful amount, they could have had the best of the
best as part-time faculty. It is not that they didn't think of it; faculty, staff,
students, and the community told them repeatedly. They chose to ignore the signs of the
times. Now, I don't think that an un-restructured UDC can possibly survive. It now offers
too little and costs too much. They have fired and forced out faculty who could have done
it. Now their staff is composed mostly of chaff. The Van Ness property could bring the
city megabucks as a commercial office center, with its underground garage and proximity to
bus and Metro stops. A Van Ness commercial campus could offer easily customizable office
space and revitalize the neighborhood. Don't think the planners downtown haven't thought
of it.
################
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Woodley Park Meeting to Discuss Redistricting and Crime
Martin G. Murray, Woodley Park Community Association, wpcadc@hotmail.com
The Woodley Park Community Association will meet on Thursday, April 19, at 7 p.m., to
discuss redistricting with guest speaker Councilman Phil Mendelson. Also, Assistant U.S.
Attorney Richard Tischner will discuss the prosecution of suspects in a recent spate of
Woodley Park crimes. The meeting will be held at the Maret School, Athletic Center
Building, 3000 Cathedral Avenue, NW.
###############
Shameless Self-Promotion
Cynthia Benjamin, cm_benjamin@yahoo.com
OK, here's two chances to see me perform briefly (in English): 1) DISH!, Saturday,
April 21, 7:30 p.m., La Casa in Mt. Pleasant, 3166 Mt. Pleasant Street, NW, $5. DISH!
features female actors and female musicians from DC bands performing solo. Musical
performances will be intertwined among the acting, and will rock the neighborhood. In
addition, we will be featuring a special gallery show of works by photographer Erin Zima.
Erin photographs musicians and theater performers in the hip-hop and go-go scenes. Her
work has appeared in Vibe and other publications. DISH! is a production of tranZmission, a
group that serves Mt. Pleasant, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights and Shaw. We put on one
show a month and each is different. Our shows are incredibly diverse, and we usually get
about 100 to 200 people in the audience, depending on what the event is.
2) Young Playwrights' Theater Empower Play Festival, Monday, April 30, 10:00 a.m.,
Millennium Stage, Kennedy Center, free.
###############
U Street 8th Annual Spring Clean-Up
Scott Pomeroy, pxleyes@bellantantic.net
Community Impact!, the U Street Business and Arts Coalition (UBAC), and the Cardozo
Shaw Neighborhood Association (CSNA) and sponsoring the cleanup on Saturday, April 28,
from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The staging area for tools and supplies will be behind the
True Reformer Building, 12th and U Streets, N.W. We have $5000 in plants and supplies! A
picnic will be held at 1:00 at the Duke Ellington mural at the 13th and U Streets Metro
Station, hosted and prepared by the residents of Campbell Heights. Planning meetings will
be held on April 16 and April 23 at 7:00 p.m. at Ben's Chili Bowl.
###############
Earth Day 2001, Klingle Valley
Beth Daley, beth@pogo.org
Please join Sierra Club and others as we celebrate Earth Day in Klingle Valley, April
22, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Featuring music, face painting, snacks and refreshments, exhibits
and lots of socializing with Washington, DC’s environmental community. Bring your own
picnic lunch, gloves for trash pickup, Frisbees, pets, chairs. Schedule: 10-12:00 trash
pickup in Klingle Creek, 12:00 brief remarks by dignitaries, 12:30 salsa music by Mariachi
Cuscatlan, 2:00 guided nature hike. About Klingle Valley: a beautiful, wooded area
adjacent to Rock Creek Park that has been threatened by recent proposals to rebuild an
abandoned road located in its creek bed. Sierra Club and local citizens have organized to
preserve the Valley from destruction. Klingle Valley is located in between Cleveland Park
and Mt. Pleasant. There are two entrances to the Valley located along the closed portion
of Klingle Road — one that is easily accessible by public transport and one easily
accessible by car.
By public transportation: from the Cleveland Park Metro, walk north on Connecticut
Avenue. At the first stoplight, turn right on to Porter Street. At the bottom of the hill
you will see barricades to Klingle off to the right (south) side of the bridge. H2 and H4
buses all make stops along Porter accessible to Klingle. By car: the other entrance is
located on Klingle Road west of its intersection with 31st Street in Cleveland Park. From
Connecticut Ave, travel east on Cathedral to 32nd. Turn right on 32nd. The first
intersection is Klingle Road, turn right again. Find parking and walk down.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED
ANC 3E is looking for a webmaster to update and possibly improve its website, currently
located at www.anc3e.org. Pay is modest, only $20-$30/month but monthly updates are
minimal, mostly posting agendas and last months minutes. If you're interested, E-mail Tad
DiBiase at twodeacons@aol.com.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING
Professional women seeks a bedroom or a house sit position for April 23 to May 13th.
Works in South Sudan for Save the Children UK and UN. Visiting to meet with congressional
staff and to catch up on US/other world culture before returning to Sudan. Looking on
Capitol Hill, Cleveland Park, Kalorama. Please be no cost. Pet and plant friendly.
Responses to rp_schmitt@iname.com.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — FREE
I have three desks and two computer tables that I would like to give away. The desks
are not high quality (they are made of wood grained pressboard) but they are quite
functional and sturdy. If you are not interested, but you know someone who may be, I would
greatly appreciated if you could forward this message to them. If you are interested,
please send an e-mail with your contact information to lizaalbright@mindspring.com.
###############
themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published every Wednesday and
Sunday. To subscribe, to change E-mail addresses, or to switch between HTML and plain text
versions of themail, use the subscription form at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/subscribe.htm.
To unsubscribe, send an E-mail message to themail@dcwatch.com
with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. Archives of past messages are available
at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail.
All postings should also be submitted to themail@dcwatch.com,
and should be about life, government, or politics in the District of Columbia in one way
or another. All postings must be signed in order to be printed, and messages should be
reasonably short — one or two brief paragraphs would be ideal — so that as many
messages as possible can be put into each mailing.
