When the News Isn’t News in themail
Dear Newshounds:
Yes, you know what I'm talking about. Not one person has written to
themail to comment on the disappearance of Chandra Levy or the behavior
of Congressman Gary Condit, which is dominating not only local but also
national news. Congratulations. Since everyone else is behaving so well,
I'll bring the subject up myself. How do this case and how it has been
handled reflect on the Metropolitan Police Department? The MPD, Chief
Ramsey, and Deputy Chief Gainer are getting a bad reputation nationally
because of the Levy case — one of my friends now calls Chief Ramsey
“Inspector Clouseau.” Has the MPD displayed incompetence, lack of
initiative, or favoritism in the Levy case? Have the comments been fair
or unfair. the criticism deserved or undeserved? Is the problem the MPD
or the press coverage of the MPD?
You're the people with the experience; what has your experience been?
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Nuisance Property Fines: Enigma Within Riddle
Within Conundrum
Mark Eckenwiler, eck@ingot.org
There's a certain property in my generally splendid Hill neighborhood
-- let's call it "617 Morris Place, NE" for convenience —
that's a boarded-up shell. The rats are so numerous that their squeaking
reportedly keeps neighbors from sleeping at night. Block activists have
sought, with some success, to have fines imposed, but the blight
remains.
Lo and behold, the offending property is on the list of
tax-delinquent lots up for sale by the city on Monday, July 16. The
Office of Tax and Revenue lists the TY2000 balance as $829, a pretty
decent price for a 1520 sq. ft. lot, let alone a renovatable historic
townhouse, in the current market. Ah, but OTR warns that bidders need to
do their due diligence, and provides a list of various other agencies (WASA,
DCRA, DPW) that might have outstanding fines or liens the bidder would
eventually have to pay as a condition of obtaining a deed. This is good
advice, as accumulated fines/water bills sometimes run to tens of
thousands of dollars. Your Loyal Correspondent, hoping to discern same,
calls the listed phone numbers. The DPW number, of course, is no longer
in service. The DCRA number rings forever. But resourceful to the end,
YLC calls his Secret DCRA Numbers (available through http://www.panix.com/~eck/dcphones),
thinking this will get him the desired info.
Of course, Ms. Weston at Housing Regulation (442-4610) tartly
instructs him to file a FOIA request, which will cost a minimum of $10
to process (and which, YLC knows from personal experience, will be
promptly lost and never acted on). Plan B — calling DCRA Adjudication
(442-8167), the office that handles the hearing process for fines —
fares no better: he is told that Tax and Revenue, not DCRA, is the
repository of information on DCRA-imposed fines and liens. Of course, it
was OTR that sent him to DCRA in the first place. The upshot is that
I've given up on the fantasy of buying and restoring this eyesore.
Buying a property with potentially enormous, but unknown, liability,
doesn't appeal to me, and I suspect the average rational buyer — whose
info is probably no better than mine — would feel the same. Naturally,
the worst nuisance properties are likely to carry the biggest
uncertainty (on top of higher costs to restore), and are thus least
likely to be dealt with by market forces. But heck, why on earth would
the District government want to encourage the elimination of eyesore
properties by providing relevant information to the public on request?
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Honesty in Employment
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
At the July 11th press conference at which Mayor Williams announced
his new Chief of Staff, the Mayor stated that, “Kelvin Robinson joins
the District from the Florida League of Cities, where he served since
1994 as the Director of Legislative and Public Affairs.” However, a
check of the League's web site showed that Mr. Robinson wasn't on the
staff roster, and wasn't listed on the League's legislative publications
issued earlier this year. When pressed, Joan Logue-Kinder, the Mayor's
new press secretary, acknowledged that Mr. Robinson left his position
with the League in February, “to spend time with his family and decide
his next career option.” When asked whether that was synonymous with
“unemployed,” she said, “Yes.”
Many people at 1 Judiciary Square have already begun to ask how long
Ms. Logue-Kinder will last as press secretary. Her most recent faux pas:
no members of the print or broadcast press corps attended the July 11th
press conference because the press office failed to invite them or to
put it on the Mayor's public schedule. The Mayor claims to want to
improve his relations with the City Council, but only four
Councilmembers attended the conference because the Mayor's office
summoned them with only a few minutes' notice; when Council Chairman
Linda Cropp was called, the Mayor's office refused to tell her what the
press conference was about, and she didn't show. Back in May, at the
first press conference she managed, Ms. Logue-Kinder shooed
Councilmembers Ambrose and Allen out of line for the press photographs,
because she didn't recognize them; the Mayor had to invite them back.
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Let's review the rules of the road. When traveling in Rock Creek
Park, or on any street where bicyclist have as much right to be there as
cars, don't decide to pass the bicyclist on blind curves. When you
decide to cross that solid double yellow line, which is against the law
by the way, make sure you can see for at least 300 feet or what ever
amount is indicated in the drivers handbook. Bicyclists, the rules of
the road apply to you also. Stop at stop signs or take the chance of
becoming road kill.
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Missile Defense?
E. James Lieberman, ejl@gwu.edu
Can we have much faith in a missile defense system when the
governments (I include the Feds) of DC cannot provide security against
flying manhole covers?
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My experience with solutions to noise problems is mixed. I live in
the 3rd District; sometimes I have gotten a response from the police
when I have called them about excessive noise, sometimes no response or
a response after hours and hours of being hostage to massive noise
pollution (our house windows are shut, yet outside music is loud in the
middle of our row house). I am not sure in DC but I know in other places
noise limit laws are tied to measuring the noise level, which requires
equipment that the police do not have so the noise laws are of rather
limited use. Far more practical is the old “disturbing the peace.”
This can be applied anytime of day, not just late at night. I used to
think “maybe they will turn it down at 10, I'll wait till then.”
What I have learned in my area is that by 10 the party is just really
getting going and it is likely to go on and on (well after midnight). As
the police are slow to respond, I don't wait until 10 anymore. If it is
unreasonable on going noise (excessively loud music from a residence or
speakers out a window that I can clearly hear with my windows and doors
shut) I call. I then call back an hour later if the noise is continuing.
If you have more than one phone line in your house, have someone else
call on it — the more people complaining, the more likely MPD will
react.
I work in the music industry and can relate well to loud music, but
my attitude is go to a club or rent a recording/rehearsal studio if you
want to listen to very loud music (that is what I do). I had a next door
neighbor thought, who liked to have his club experience at home. When he
did not answer the door or phone, my quick solution was to put my bass
guitar amplifier and rather large speaker box (it can, and has, made the
9:30 Club rock) against the wall, hook up a cassette machine to it and
play some bass heavy music. Usually his music would be turned down
within three minutes. I also know someone who would respond to speakers
out the window with their own speakers out the window playing classical
music loudly. That also usually got the offending noise turned down soon
(but not as fast as the bass against the wall).
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Another Noise Problem
Bradley S. Frey, docyankee2@aol.com
I live in NW Washington, DC, at 1618 Kalmia Rd. The nearby houses are
having a problem with the Lowell School at 1640 Kalmia Rd. This is a
private middle school, and they have recently installed an outdoor air
conditioning unit (it is huge) that emits a practically constant high
pitched wail in addition to an excessive amount of hum. The unit is
behind the school and is adjacent to the backyards of our houses. I can
hear the unit inside my house with the windows shut as it resonates. It
is a constant source of irritation and is affecting the quality of our
lives. The school has been unable to control the noise to our
satisfaction and they are reluctant to build any sort of wall or sound
barrier around the unit because of the cost. Also, they do not seem to
perceive the need for additional noise control measures from this unit.
Do you have any suggestions about what we can do? I cannot relax, sleep
and live in my own home with this constant noise and I feel I may have
to sell my home and move elsewhere if something is not done.
I am also forwarding this message to our Ward 4 councilmember Adrian
Fenty to see if he can be of any assistance or offer any suggestions. I
am desperate and I would appreciate any guidance.
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What the advocates for home-buying v. renting for low-income DC-ites
seem to be missing is that there is virtually no supply, particularly in
up-and-coming neighborhoods. With one-bedrooms in
Dupont-Adams-Morgan-Logan selling for $175K or more, even a zero-down
loan is a chimera for most low-income families (fyi, payment plus
interest on $175K at 7 percent works out to be about $1100/month,
exclusive of taxes, condo fees, upkeep). Under current mortgage
guidelines (mortgage = one third of monthly gross salary), this leaves
out anyone below appox. 200 percent of federal poverty level (FPL) for a
family of four. “Buy, don't rent,” is a mirage for almost half of DC
residents (according to the 1999 census, 22.3 percent of DC residents
are still below FPL). The incentive/aid programs, as beneficial as they
are to the middle class (and in the spirit of full disclosure, I
qualified for, and took advantage of all of them), are illusory for
people near or below FPL -- the very population to which they are
ostensibly targeted. It's like Porsche offering a 50 percent discount
off sticker price to qualified buyers whose income is less than
$15,000/year. Even at half-price, if you have to ask, you can't afford
it.
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One is tempted to suggest that Gregory Diaz contact Congress about
the shipping crates on his street given that he's so enamored of the
unique status that the Constitution has bestowed on the District and its
residents.
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Ellington
Agate Tilmanis, atil@loc.gov
I visited the very interesting Photographica website outlining all
kinds of photographic activities and possibilities. Among them is U
Street Walk, Part 1. It lists the area as being the birthplace of Duke
Ellington. This is an error. He was born in his maternal grandmother's
house in Westend at the edge of Dupont Circle on 21st St., NW, just
north of M St. The house no longer stands, but there is a building there
named after him. I am sure he was taken to his parents' house in the U
St. area shortly after his birth. The area was a bustling black area of
Washington up to the 60s. Mr. King wrote about it nostalgically on the
editorial page of the Washington Post a few weeks back.
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I am far less concerned about the fireworks on the Mall than I am
concerned about fireworks in my neighborhood. I totally fail to
understand why DC allows them to be sold and used. In our area fireworks
go on at night for at least four or five days after the Fourth, usually
not starting until 10 at night. Particular favorites in our area are
loud rockets and lighting a whole pack of firecrackers at one time. To
me the fireworks create noise pollution, litter (lots of debris the next
morning as well as the burnt rockets in my yard and on my roof), and the
potential for injury (I heard one news report this year of fireworks
injury). In our area this year I saw very small children, under five
years, very close to fireworks as they were being lit. Further, based on
very casual observation, it seems to me that many fireworks stands in DC
are operated by people from out of the area (fireworks stand with a
truck with North Carolina plates). What does DC get out of it? Some
vendor permit money? I have called the police about fireworks and have
gotten a response. Not exactly a timely response, but at least slightly
faster than other noise complaints. I have also been curious if any
permit is needed for large fireworks displays and, if so, how the permit
process works. Howard University has a big fireworks display around
homecoming (good luck parking on my block then) that while smaller than
those on the Mall for the Fourth is a professional display. Two years
ago, the fireworks started at 10:00 p.m. -- out of the blue there was an
explosion that thundered in our house; it took me a few moments to
realize it was a fireworks display. Last fall it was a little earlier
but I still question the reasonableness of the fireworks display,
considering that residential areas directly abut the University and are
provided a front row seat that might not be desired. At least with the
Mall, residential areas do not directly abut the Mall. My attempts at
communicating with the Howard University about their fireworks have been
met with a "what's your problem?" attitude. At least the
University could publicize the event so the neighborhood could know they
are coming and the people who like fireworks could plan on watching
them. Do other schools in DC have fireworks displays?
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“You say Referendum and I Say
Initiative...”
Tom Matthes, tommatthes@earthlink.net
Michael Binder's helpful clarification about DC rules on initiative
and referendum misses the forest for the trees. If the City Council is
authorizing unconstitutional initiatives, its members are violating
their oath to uphold the Constitution and are wasting tax money on the
balloting and any resulting litigation. American democracy exists only
as long as the Constitution exists, and the Constitution contemplates
the District of Columbia as a safe haven for Congress to be master of
its own home. The only legal solution to lack of democracy in the
District is retrocession for the residential areas.
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Ignorance and Tired Clichés
Michael Piacsek, mpiacsek@union.org.za
Every time I begin to think that Mr. Barron contributes useful
observations about D.C., he proceeds to utter tired clichés without a
shred of evidence to support his claims. (Fired Teachers, 7/11). Are
there incompetent teachers? Certainly. Can unions like NEA and AFT
prevent them from ever being fired? No. As Paul Vance showed clearly
this week, D.C. can fire incompetent teachers (and demote incompetent
principals to boot). But more generally, education for our children and
the administration of city services will never improve as long as people
like Mr. Barron resort to knee-jerk accusations and senseless criticism
like calling people bloodsuckers. Does he volunteer as a tutor at a
local school? Does he attend school board meetings or PTA meetings? Does
he help fundraising efforts for public schools? If so, I applaud him.
But even standing on those pillars does not give him the right to bash
others just because he heard Rush Limbaugh say it already.
Perhaps Mr. Barron gets an adrenaline rush because he knows he will
get a rise out of others by using such inflammatory language. But there
is far too much work to do to sit around wasting the time it takes to
type out trash like Mr. Barron serves up all too regularly. It's not the
first time I've had to listen to ignorance, and it surely won't be the
last, but this will be the only time I bother to respond to it in this
forum.
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Fired Teachers
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
To those who decry the firing of teachers because they lack the
proper credentials, instead of firing those who are not competent
teachers, the problem is with the Teacher's Union. You cannot fire an
incompetent teacher. They will hang on forever sucking the blood (and
money) from the school system. Their presence also demoralizes the rest
of the teaching staff. Until control of the educational processes is
wrested from the teachers' unions there will be no improvement. The
success of the private schools is largely attributed to the competent
teachers unburdened with a teacher's union.
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This is to advise that the July, 2001 on-line edition has been
uploaded and may be accessed at http://www.intowner.com.
Included are the community news stories, crime reports, editorials
(including prior months' archived), restaurant reviews (prior months'
also archived), and the text from the ever-popular “Scenes from the
Past” feature. Also included are all current classified ads. The
complete issue (along with prior issues back to January 2001) also is
available in .pdf file format by direct access from our home page at no
charge by clicking the link provided. The next issue will publish on
August 10, and the website will be updated shortly thereafter.
To read the lead stories, simply click the link on the home page to
the following headlines: “Towing Service Use of Public Space Being
Ignored by Police and Metro”; “Neighbors, The Phillips Reach
Agreement on Expansion Plan; BZA Gives its Approval”; “Estonians
Praise City Firefighters for Saving Embassy on Mass. Avenue”;
“Former City Manager in Zoning Dispute.”
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Water and Sewer Authority
Libby Lawson, Libby_Lawson@dcwasa.com
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) announces
upcoming community meetings and a formal public hearing this summer and
fall to discuss proposed rate changes. We encourage your participation
and the Board of Directors needs your input as part of the rate making
process. The meetings will cover the following topics: the rationale for
proposed increases, the Board of Directors’ rate making process,
customer service improvements, customer assistance programs, capital
improvement program, and drinking water quality initiatives. We will
also have on hand departmental managers who will assist you if you have
a specific matter to discuss.
The second in a series of community meetings will be held July 19,
2001 at The Southeastern University, 501 I Street, SW, Multipurpose
Room, 2nd Floor, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Another community meeting will be held
on August 16th. A formal public hearing will be held September 20th,
with a comment period of 30 days after the hearing. This information
will be publicized in the near future and on WASA’s website, http://www.dcwasa.com.
If you have questions, please call WASA’s Public Affairs Office at
787-2200, or E-mail llawson@dcwasa.com.
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CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE
Tennis Racquets and Two Nights at the Radisson
Barcelo
Laurie England, Topspindc@aol.com
Wilson Profile and Wilson Junior Titanium tennis racquets. Both in
excellent condition with new strings. $72 for both or best offer.
Gift certificate (from the hotel director of sales) for two
complimentary nights valid anytime through December 31, 2001 at the
Radisson Barcelo Hotel, 2121 P Street. Oversized rooms with coffee
maker, TV, etc.; fully equipped health club and swimming pool; walking
distance to Dupont Metro, restaurants, monuments. Certificate valued at
$318 ($159/night); asking $199/ best offer.
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CLASSIFIEDS — WANTED
Photoshop Question
Randi Rubovits-Seitz, rrs2623@gwu.edu
Does anyone have an Adobe Photoshop 5.5 or 5.0 book I can buy or
borrow?
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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED
I need people who do: 1. stained glass (existing transoms and new
standard size windows), 2. brick repointing, 3. skylight installation,
4. blacktop or concrete driveways, 5. faux paint finishes (fireplace
mantles). Contact Dave De Seve at 462-7632 or ddeseve@bellatlantic.net
to provide estimates.
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CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES
Government Contracts for DC Business
Arthur Jackson, jacksonahjgroup@aol.com
We are seeking business and professional firms based in D.C. to apply
for certification as local, small or minority/women owned businesses to
bid on government contracts. More than $200 million will be awarded
before Dec. 31, 2001. Call 508-1059 or E-mail.
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