Mixed Reports
Dear Parkers:
Today there are mixed reports about the performance of the Department
of Parks and Recreation. One writer is delighted, one is displeased, one
believes late is better than never, and one says that a park is
maintained well because the residents do the work themselves. What about
all the other parks? I don't see any evidence of increased maintenance
in any of the pocket parks in Columbia Heights. Will your local ball
fields be ready for the summer season? Keep those letter coming.
Former City Auditor Otis Troupe died last week, and was buried on
Saturday. For two terms as auditor, he was a lonely voice in our city's
government -- honest, independent, uncorrupted, incorruptible -- who
exposed widespread corruption and numerous scandals, most often to
disappointingly little effect. His zeal, his outspokenness, and his
refusal to trim the truth cost him a nomination to a third term. Those
of us who benefited from his work, which includes all the citizens of
the city, will miss him.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Phil Carney, asked whether readers have seen any maintenance
activities at local parks and recreation centers. Absolutely NOT. The
fountain at Franklin Park at McPherson Square (between 13th and 14th
Streets) has been out since the middle of summer last year. Yet, I see,
at least three times, a week a Parks and Planning Truck sitting in the
middle of the park, in the mud with an “employee” or two inside the
truck taking a nap. Nothing has been done at all. The park is a mess,
messengers ride through there on their bikes and rip up the grass. The
mud is awful. And yes, the official truck is sitting there parked in the
mud and you can see huge tire marks where they have torn up the ground
several times a week. I have never seen them OUT of the truck, they are
always IN the truck doing nothing. I haven't seen the fountain run since
July or August of last summer.
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Parks and Recreation
Judie Guy, gpgazed@aol.com
You asked for comments on city maintenance of local parks and rec
centers. Thanks to public/private partnership formed years ago by
neighbors of Guy Mason Rec Center in Glover Park/Mass Heights, our rec
center was greatly improved and continues to be well maintained. A
similar group is now forming to work on Stoddert Rec Center on the west
side of Wisconsin.
I'm curious to know whether any neighbors (AU?) have considered
adopting Ward Circle, which has been a disaster for some time — a ring
of badly maintained tress now surround (why?) the statue in the center.
Rampant weeds will probably reach 12" by this weekend if not yet
tended. Assume city has responsibility here. It's a very prominent
eyesore.
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Bravo to Neil Albert, the Director of Parks
and Recreation
Pete Ross, peteross@prodigy.net
After many years of neglect, the Department of Parks and Recreation
installed a sprinkler system and planted grass on the mud bowl known as
the Hardy Soccer Field in February 2001. Permits were issued to several
soccer teams and soccer organizations to begin using the field 6 weeks
after it had been resodded. Members of the Foxhall Community Citizens
Association (FCCA) had been concerned about the premature issuance of
permits to use the newly planted soccer field. As president of the FCCA,
I wrote to Mr. Neil Albert advising him that newly planted soccer fields
should not be used for one year in order to allow for root structure and
germination of the turf.
Mr. Albert independently verified that the newly sodded soccer field
should not be used for a minimum of six months so he took steps to
cancel permits and redirect users to other fields. In addition to
confirming to me in writing that he was canceling permits, he took the
time to personally call me and tell me that he was canceling permits.
This year, the grass at the Hardy Recreation Center has been cut several
times. In previous years, the grass was never cut until mid June. When I
spoke to Mr. Albert, he said that many improvements needed to be made
and was hoping that residents would notify his department of any
problems. His E-mail address is Neil.Albert@dc.gov.
Bravo to Mr. Albert. Our DC Government needs more conscientious people
like Mr. Albert.
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Stead Recreation Center: Good, Bad, and Err .
. . with Thanks
Phil Carney, philnopus@erols.com
Wednesday, themail asked where Parks and Recreation lawnmowers were.
Thursday, for the first time this year, Stead Recreation Center was
mowed and trimmed. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but too many of us
have had too many “coincidences” with a DC government that still
seems only to react for a CYA. Good: they did a good job of mowing and
trimming at Stead. (This time last year, the sporadic Stead mowing
missed cutting large segments of the field and there was no trimming.)
And having worn out two weed eaters over the years trimming at Stead
under previous DC “leaderships,” I do notice how well the work gets
done. They did a good job. Bad: Friday, I discovered twelve large bags
of grass cuttings dumped in public space in the adjacent alley. Why
can't the contractor remove the cuttings or leave the cuttings on the
playground to be picked up with the trash? Oh well, maybe the ripped
open bags of grass cuttings covering the alley will help soak up some of
the daily spilled grease from the many restaurants' open grease
containers. More bad: twice last week, two different contractors drove
vehicles onto Stead's field. The field has a new irrigation system with
pop up sprinklers that are designed for human feet, not for vehicles.
Does the Parks Department care? Yet more bad: last year, Parks and
Recreation was unable to turn on the water for the irrigation system
till July and even then couldn't do the necessary inspection of the
system. This year...?
Really good: a week ago, the University of Southern California's
Washington Fellows Program with volunteer service by their Fellows from
the University of South Carolina: painted the building, cleaned the
area, planted flowers, added sand to the sand box and chips to the
children's play area, and painted a mural on one wall. More good: the
west wall which faces the basketball courts belongs to Cafe Luna and
Skewers Restaurant. Years ago the owners had a large mural painted on
the wall. The owners just had a new mural painted on the wall. Yet more
good: Stead Recreation Center should be our neighborhood treasure and
thanks to everyone's efforts, for now, Stead is our beautiful gem.
Err . . . with thanks: I have mixed emotions about even mentioning
this, but. . . . The University of South Carolina Fellows did an
exceptional amount of volunteer work for no reason other than to help.
My most sincere thanks to each of them. The University of Southern
California paid a few thousand for our neighborhood playground fix up,
which is temporary. But the University of Southern California got a
valuable zoning variance, which is permanent. It's a pretty good deal --
for the University. The owners of Cafe Luna and Skewers have been
supportive neighbors and the mural is a significant addition to the
playground, but the owners save thousands in parking expenses by getting
free parking at the playground. Sorry that my nose is bent out of shape
over motives. The bottom line is that our neighborhood playground is
significantly better and for that I really do thank all who helped to
improve our neighborhood.
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Countdown for DC General and Home Rule
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
I spent ten hours at Friday's City Council hearing on DC General
Hospital, and I saw a different hearing from the one reported by the Washington
Post. The Post concentrated on the fact that Control Board
member Eugene Kinlow left the hearing in tears. It didn't report that he
had been unable to answer most of the Councilmembers' reasonable
questions, and showed tremendous ignorance of the contract and the
“health plan” that the Control Board advocated. It didn't report
that he had misrepresented many of the facts, and had repeatedly claimed
that the Council already had information that the Control Board and
Mayor were still refusing to share, such as the due diligence and audit
reports on the contractors by Price Waterhouse. It didn't report that he
had claimed that the Council had been included in discussions from which
they had actually been excluded.
In the past few days Mayor Anthony Williams has repeatedly,
hypocritically, claimed that the City Council was hurting home rule
simply by acting independently and by refusing to accede to his wishes.
Apparently his reasoning is that he should always get his way, and that
if the Council doesn't act as a rubber stamp for him, then it's their
fault when he bypasses the democratic institutions of this city to
enforce his will. The Mayor is behaving like a robber who, holding a gun
on his victims, tells them, "Don't make me shoot. It'll be your
fault if I shoot you." By unanimous votes, the Council rejected the
contract with Greater Southeast General Hospital and overrode the
Mayor's veto of their supplemental funding of DC General Hospital. On
Monday, when the Mayor refuses to accept the results of the democratic
process, refuses to accept that his proposal lost the vote, when he goes
before the Control Board and asks them to discard the democratic result
-- then it will be the Mayor himself, and he alone, who strikes a blow
against home rule and democracy in this city. It is widely and credibly
rumored that the Mayor has been lobbying on Capitol Hill to get the term
of the Control Board extended (or to create another oversight,
monitoring entity that wouldn't be called the Control Board, but would
have similar powers) to ensure that the Council will not be able to
exercise any checks or balances over his power.
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Ward Eight Democrats and Community Unite to
Save DC General
Arthur Jackson, ahjgroup@earthlink.net
As National Civil Rights and Political leaders organize to save our
nation's capital's only Public Hospital, former D.C. Shadow Senator,
Jesse Jackson offered to help negotiate for the release of American
soldiers in China, but not to save D.C. General Hospital. And our
Delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton, has not come forward to
help save our hospital, even though 80% of our voters, continue to vote
for the congressmember without a vote. On Saturday April 21, the Ward 8
Democrats met for the annual Chew and Chat meeting. A motion by Absalom
Jordan to condemn Mayor Anthony Williams for his health plan, which
would close D.C. General Hospital, and to support the City Council
position was seconded by me, and passed 37-1. The lone opposition was
Phillip Pannell, who works in The Mayor's Office.
The grassroots campaign now pits the Mayor's million dollar corporate
political machine against the people of the District of Columbia, the
D.C. City Council, Democratic, Republican, and Green Party
organizations, ANCs, tenant councils, PTAs, and other local civic and
community organizations.
Once the Control Board has approved the contract, Congress can veto
the contract and require the Mayor and the Council to develop a proposal
that reforms the hospital system, but retains the public status of the
hospital with full budget funding. And to investigate D.C. Chartered
Health and all proposed contractors associated with the plan and their
campaign and financial connections to the Mayor and his office. While
the D.C. Democratic State Committee has not addressed the issue of D.C.
General Hospital, a group of State Committee Members will push for an
organizational position at its May 3rd meeting. For location, call me at
5081-1059 or E-mail me at ahjgroup@earthlink.net.
We are inviting all D.C. residents to attend this citywide meeting and
demand that the D.C. Democrats stand up for the people and join the
growing number of city activists and organizations calling upon Congress
to override the Out-of-Control Board and veto the Mayor's plan; and
requesting the Mayor, City Council, and Health Director to appoint a
task force that includes representatives from Washington Hospital
Center, George Washington, Providence, and Greater Southeast Hospitals,
labor unions, and present/former patients at D.C. General Hospital to
develop a comprehensive plan to save D.C. General Hospital.
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A trivia question about DC plates someone might have the answer to:
when we got to the end of the six-digit numeric sequence, plates
numbering switched to a 2 letter/4 number format (i.e. AA 1234, AB 5678,
etc.). We worked our way up to AY; the new "Taxation without
Representation" tags kicked in at AZ, and so on.
Something I have noticed during my commute out to Virginia; we moved
on to the B's and I've seen BA, BC, and BD, but no plates that read
“BB XXXX.” Why not? What is special about “BB” that it doesn't
appear on plates? There are some two-letter combinations I can
understand skipping because of their connotations, but why no BB plates?
And will we have “DC XXXX” plates at some point? Not an earthshaking
matter, but I'm curious.
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Apparently a nurse is a bad nurse when called on to minister to a
sick person at D.C. Superior Court. The proof is the story of a man that
was examined twice by nurses for breathing problems before he died in
custody. Frankly, I don't know whether a nurse should be qualified to
diagnose a potentially fatal asthmatic condition. But I do know that a
nurse must be smart enough to call in a doctor when presented with a
case beyond his/her capabilities. As part of the jury pool for Superior
Court this case is relevant to all of us. After all, if any of us fall
sick while on jury duty, which nurse will be called to tend to us?
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As someone who was part of the very large group of people who worked
to designate the old Sears/Hechinger's building landmark status, I could
not let Mr. Barron's remarks go unanswered. First there was no “small
group” who achieved this feat. The Art Deco Society, The DC Historical
Society, the Mayor's Office of Planning, and the owner of the building
at the time all supported landmarking this building. At the time there
was no, I repeat, no opposition. The Art Deco Society had been working
for years to have it landmarked, and it took years a hearing, and many,
many meetings to get this designation. It was no small effort or
undertaking. Now, some people may not appreciate its design, but I like
it. It's unique for several reasons, with national recognition which
anyone interested in modern architecture can read about in the
application.
The notion that Home Depot turned down the building because of its
historical designation is nonsense. The site was never big enough for a
HD. They would have needed to take over Iona House, the Methodist
Church, the Tenleytown Cemetery and the town houses on River road to
meet HD's standard. The current owners of the building, who purchased it
at a discount because of the historic designation, tried to sell HD on
going smaller, but they apparently were unsuccessful. This building can
be used for a thousand other things. I too am sorry that we no longer
have a hardware store in Tenleytown, but that's not the building's
landmark designation's fault. That's like blaming trees for being green.
We are fortunate to have such a unique, nationally recognized building
by a world renowned architect in our community.
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What an Impossible Task
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
You have to feel sorry for those on the City Council who are trying
to redraw District Ward boundaries to be in line with the results of the
year 2000 population census. This task ranks numero uno in the lose-lose
class. Change is always difficult, because neighborhoods are what urban
living is all about. New York City with a population of some eight
million people is really a complex of a thousand or more distinct
neighborhoods, each with its own priorities and culture. Here in D.C.
there are distinct Wards with geographical boundaries that have
developed into genuine neighborhoods with intense loyalties and a sense
of pride that you would not find even in suburbia.
There are always folks who never get to know their next door
neighbors, or who never participate in any neighborhood events. But, for
the most part, most areas have a sense of cohesiveness that will be very
difficult to intrude upon. I wish the Council members who are trying to
draw up the new boundaries good luck. They have an impossible task when
it comes to making anyone happy with the results.
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Vocal protesters on Foxhall Road have been complaining about the
Field School moving into the Cafritz Mansion complex on Foxhall Road.
Their complaints center on additional traffic on Foxhall Road. The
school appears to be a good use of a very pleasant, in-character with
the neighborhood, looking building and the school has promised to pay
for widening the road and putting in appropriate signage to moderate any
traffic impact. I am most curious, however, to learn where those vocal
protesters were when that totally out of character complex was approved
for construction just a quarter mile north of the Field School on the
other side of Foxhall.
This brand new, abuilding, complex is a hideous looking monstrosity
that comic Arte Johnson would characterize as “The Bunker.” That
architecture might be quite appropriate somewhere else but it sure looks
out of place on Foxhall Road. It also looks like it will be more than
just a visual distraction and may cause a heap more traffic problems
than the Field School. Go figure.
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You might want to alert your readers to Joe Sobran's analysis of the
[Lieberman/Norton] No Taxation Bill. “Washington, D.C. — Tax
Haven?” April 12, http://wwww.griffnews.com.
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Sen. Bob Smith told New Hampshire state lawmakers on April 24 that NH
residents “shouldn't have to pay income tax to neighboring states,
even if they work there,” and said he plans to “introduce a bill”
that would “prohibit nonresident income taxes unless two states have a
reciprocal agreement permitting them.” Smith said he “resents”
that “even though” NH “has no income tax, some of its residents
are paying one to other states.” Smith: “It's taxation without
representation.” He added that NH residents are paying over $200M per
year in income taxes to ME, MA, and VT (AP, April 25). Too bad Senator
Smith gets an exemption, unlike all of us, to be a resident in his own
state. If he lived in DC, which he probably does, I am sure he is really
ticked that he has to pay FEDERAL taxes without representation, too.
Wonder if he will “introduce a bill here.” Nah.
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President Bush Reaffirms Unprincipled Position
Against DC Voting Rights
Mark Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
President Bush, in the shortest answer to any question asked in an
interview by The Washington Post, reaffirmed his opposition to DC
voting rights. Question: “Where do you stand on whether the District
of Columbia should have voting rights in Congress.” Answer: “I'm
against the senators. That's a short answer.” Question: “What about
the delegate having full voting rights?” Answer: “I guess it's
logical if I'm against the U.S. senators, I'm against the full voting
rights.” He might as well have said, “If they don't like being
second class citizens, they can move.” But, even among federal leaders
there has always been disagreement about what the exclusive legislative
power does and should mean, and what should be done about this
contradiction. For example, President Monroe (1818) said, “. . .
Congress legislates in all cases, directly, on local concerns of the
District. As this is a departure, for a special purpose, from the
general principles of our system, it may merit consideration, whether an
arrangement better adopted to the principle of our government . . . may
not be devised. . . .” In the District, there was concern about losing
rights even before Congress assumed exclusive legislative authority in
1801. In 1800, a Washington City resident predicted problems ahead.
Attorney Augustus Woodward (“Epaminondas” was his pen name) said,
“The effect . . . is to reduce us to that political situation, which
Americans deprecate; we are to be governed by laws, in the making of
which we have . . . no share in electing the members of congress, who
are exclusively to legislate for us. We are reduced to the mortifying
situation, of being subject to laws, made, or to be made, by we know not
whom; by agents, not of our choice, in no degree responsible to us. . .
. [H]aving other constituents to serve, [they] are not likely to be very
tender of our rights, or very much alive to our interests.” After 200
years there is much historical evidence to show that Woodward was
correct-his words ring true in 2001. Although President Bush has gained
the most powerful position in our nation, he represents a minority
viewpoint even among Republicans. My 1999 national poll of 500 college
graduates registered to vote found 61% of Republicans supported voting
rights for D.C. citizens in the Senate and the House. Certainly many
Republicans support local self-government. But there is much work to do
while DC citizens wait for a leader with a principled rather than a
political opinion, leaders like many of the Democrats and Republicans
who preceded him.
I developed a comparative chart of some options Congress and/or
states could take to grant DC citizens greater or equal political
rights. Sam Smith posted the chart at http://prorev.com/dcops.htm.
Comments and critique always welcome.
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OK, I will be contrary. I ordered Verizon's self-install DSL. On the
day my service was to become active, I followed their instructions to
install everything, and it worked beautifully. The service has been
decent since then; a few weeks ago it seemed to go out a lot for an hour
or so at a time, but that has since stopped.
One reader complained about the E-mail software -- this is like
complaining to your phone company because you have a junky telephone.
DSL is just connectivity; you can use any software you want. Rather than
muddle along with Netscape (which Verizon bundled) I just kept using
Outlook and Internet Explorer. I did have to spend 90 seconds adding the
Verizon settings to Outlook but it was worth it.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Bike to Work Day, May 4
Eric Gilliland, Washington Area Bicyclist Association, gill@waba.org
How are you getting to work on May 4th? Join with hundreds of area
cyclists and ride your bike to work. The Washington Area Bicyclist
Association (WABA) will be leading 15 commuter convoys from across the
region down to the main celebration at Freedom Plaza between 8 and 9
a.m. Have free coffee, juice and bagels will listening to national and
local figures (the mayor will be riding) talk about the latest advances
for cyclists. Enter into drawing for great prizes including a new bike.
Celebrations will also be taking place in Bethesda, Silver Spring,
Alexandria and Rosslyn. Check out http://www.waba.org
for details.
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Woodley Park May 3 Membership Meeting
Martin G. Murray, wpcadc@hotmail.com
Woodley Park Community Association (WPCA) General Membership Meeting,
Thursday, May 3, at the American Association of Homes and Services for
the Aging (AAHSA), southeast corner of Calvert and Connecticut Avenue
(enter at Calvert Street through restored mansion facade), 6:15 - 7
p.m.: A guided tour of the new AAHSA headquarters by AAHSA VP Debra
Cloud, 7 - 8 p.m.: “Gardens of Woodley Park,” slide presentation by
Jack Woodruff, landscape architect for the Marriott Wardman Park and
Omni Shoreham hotels. Co-sponsored by the Woodland Normanstone
Neighborhood Association, 8 - 9 p.m. WPCA Business Meeting, featuring
the election of officers, adoption of restated by-laws, and other
business.
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Cleveland Park Citizens Association Meeting
Isabel Furlong, isabelf@email.msn.com
Cleveland Park Citizens Association will hold its monthly Membership
Meeting on Saturday, May 5, 10:15 a.m. at the Cleveland Park Library,
Connecticut Avenue between Macomb and Newark Streets, NW. The main
program will address skyrocketing property assessments. D.C. Deputy
Chief Financial Officer Herbert J. Huff and his staff will address
“sticker shock” caused by an average 46 % increase. DCFO Huff and
staff will answer questions, explain appeals process. Forms and info
will be available. Also, are those "special signs" billboards
coming to Cleveland Park? One has been proposed for the 7-11 Building at
Connecticut and Porter. Ann Hargrove of the Kalorama Citizens
Association will background on the DCRA permitting on this controversial
issue. Other issues: Rosedale; a new business directory; the annual tour
bus invasion, redistricting, Giant Food Store; and trash task force. The
officers of the Second District will give a PSA 204 update immediately
following the meeting.
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Cada Vez Open House
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
Cada Vez, the new technology conference center/restaurant at 1438 U
Street, NW, will be holding a neighborhood open house on Saturday, May
5, from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Located within the former Mecca Temple, this
12,000 foot conference center is well stocked with audiovisual equipment
as well as high-speed Internet throughout the building. The founders
have an interesting vision for the facility as a tech gathering place
for both the corporate sector and the nonprofit sector. Events held at
Cada Vez can also be web cast. Further info at http://www.cadavezonline.com.
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