Hometown Gossip
Dear Gossips:
Jeffrey Itell, the founder of themail, has kind words in this issue
for Dorothy's ability to break news, but all of us can break news. It's
easy. Just tell the rest of us what's going on in your corner of town.
We won't know what's happening in your block and your neighborhood
unless you write and tell us. We can read the Post and the Times
to find out what's going on in Islamabad and Kabul, but we need your
contributions to find out what's happening in Cleveland Park or
Brookland or Capitol Hill or Anacostia. Just whisper it in our ear.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Despite the ongoing controversy and investigation (both by the
Inspector General and the Office of Campaign Finance) over questionable
fundraising activities by the Executive Office of the Mayor, Mayor
Williams has launched into a new round of private fundraising by
government officials. This time, he is seeking “gifts and donations to
support the Citizen Summit II,” on October 6, which marks the public
kickoff of his reelection campaign.
Citizen Summit II will be held in the Convention Center, almost two
years after the first Citizen Summit on November 20, 1999. Under the
Mayor's Order, the Mayor delegates the “authority to solicit, receive,
and use gifts and donations to support the Citizen Summit II” to his
new Chief of Staff, Kelvin Robinson, and gives Robinson the ability to
delegate that authority even further. Robinson has, in fact, delegated
fundraising responsibility to his Deputy Chiefs of Staff, Gregory
McCarthy and Joy Arnold, as well as to Beverly Wheeler, Executive
Director of Neighborhood Action, and Lafayette Barnes, Director of the
Office of Partnerships and Grants Development. This extraordinary
fundraising is being undertaken despite the fact that nearly $1 million
was included in the EOM budget for fiscal year 2002 to underwrite the
expenses of Neighborhood Action and the Citizen Summit.
Last week, when I requested a copy of the Mayor's Order from his
Communications Office, they said they were unable to locate a copy of
it. If they're still looking, they can find it at http://www.dcwatch.com/mayor/010914.htm.
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Street Cleaning — Well, Not Really
John Whiteside, john@logancircle.net
A few weeks ago new parking signs appeared on my block, announcing no
parking once a week on each side of the street for street cleaning. I
was glad — the street needs to be cleaned — but since the signs went
up we've seen cars get ticketed, but no actual street cleaning. Before I
dive into the mass of bureaucracy to try to get street cleaning to go
along with street cleaning parking restrictions, does anyone out there
have any helpful suggestions on getting to someone in DC government who
may be able to actually help?
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Emergency Plan and Appropriations
Katie Mann, kmann@biglizard.net
Does this make sense to anyone out there? If it does, can you explain
it to me? Congress is upset that DC doesn't have an effective
(existing?) emergency plan. Heck, I'm pretty upset too. There response
is to hold part of our funding hostage until the city produces a plan
and the programs where funds will be withheld includes the fire
department. Yes, the fire department — which presumably is expected to
respond to oh, I don't know, fires . . . which last I checked
constituted an emergency. Eleanor Norton is quoted in the Post's story
(published online on Friday) as saying there'd be a plan by Tuesday.
There will? I don't know much about the emergency management director,
so I'm not intending to call into question his competency in my next
statements. I know he inherited a department that is a mess, so I'll
assume he's been doing the best he can to straighten it out. But, how
exactly is he supposed to put together a meaningful, well-thought out
plan between now and Tuesday?
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Courts Must Do their Job in Protecting
Citizens
Ron Eberhardt, RGE1022@aol.com
Say it isn't so! According to the Washington Post (Metro, B2,
Saturday) a Pennsylvania man of Bosnian extraction attempted to ram his
automobile into the Saudi Embassy on September 14. At the time of his
arrest he was quoted as saying he hated the US and wanted to return to
Bosnia. Good riddance! However, after pleading guilty to the charge in
U. S. District Court, he was released from jail pending his December 7
sentencing hearing. If law-abiding citizens must cooperate with
stringent security measures then so must the courts do their job much
better to protect that public. I cannot imagine any circumstance wherein
this either sane or insane man would be released upon the public given
his attempted act and conduct. Both the U. S. Attorney and the senior
presiding judge of the District Court must raise the consciousness of
jurists whose responsibilities include protecting the public from
danger.
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Disarming the Terrorists
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
In 1974 there were two significant events. One was the end of the
Apollo moon landing program and the other was our first gas crisis with
shortages of gasoline and long lines at service stations to get three
gallons of gas. That was enough gas to get you to another gas station to
wait on another line. I wrote a “white paper” at that time imploring
the US Government to keep the very vibrant, talented and successful
Apollo Program Team of engineering and management intact and to give
that team a new mission. That new mission, I wrote, would be to make
this country energy independent. It would have been an incredibly
challenging mission and one that would have taken the bread and butter
out of the mouths of the Arab countries.
It is timely now to do that very thing, to find a way to live without
the oil that fuels the terrorists coffers with the money they need to
finance their operations. With the demand for oil drying up, the
terrorists will not be able to conduct their deadly activities. The
discovery of oil, and its rapid increasing demand has lifted some Middle
Eastern nations to a prosperity level that enables them to challenge
free world civilization. Let's put those nations back into the stone age
by cutting off the demand for their product.
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DC Administrators and GW University
Janice H. Hopper, Burleith, magpietai@msn.com
Official DC's fawning on George Washington University — how sad a
commentary! Does anyone know just what is the source of that
university's political power? I may have been wrong when in a recent
letter to the editor of the Northwest Current I said that no university
is above the law. Certainly no university should be above the law, and
the residents of Foggy Bottom need and deserve protection from that
university's takeover. Let's support them effectively!
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Reply to “Shame on the Park Police”
John Wheeler, vwheeler@erols.com
Ron Eberhardt complained about the Park Police operating radar last
Sunday morning on the Rock Creek Parkway near the Kennedy Center. He
gave three reasons: 1) In this time of emergency, they should have
better things to do, if not, they should be sent home; 2) On Sunday
mornings, people are going to church; 3) People are in mourning.
The first reason is the typical argument from anyone stopped by the
police — “You should be catching murderers, not [whatever you were
stopped or arrested for].” The second reason suggests that people
going to church are not subject to traffic regulations. I know that
parking regulations are generally ignored by the police during church
hours, but this is the first time I've heard the argument that driving
regulations should also be suspended during church hours. The final
argument suggests that driving regulations should be suspended when
we're in mourning. To Mr. Eberhardt this is obvious. I, like the Park
Police, don't get it.
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Re: Shame on U. S. Park Police
Kerry Jo Richards, kjr1@yahoo.com
I must respectfully disagree with Mr. Eberhardt regarding speed
enforcement on Rock Creek Parkway this past weekend. While sadness and
rage in this time of trouble is real and valid, I don't think there is
anything wrong with enforcing the speed laws on a curvy, dangerous road
like Rock Creek. Countless times driving it, I had wished someone would.
I think that even in times of trouble, some semblance of normal
enforcement would be necessary. If, in his distraction, a driver had
sped off the road and into a biker this weekend, perhaps there might be
a different reaction. But regardless, I don't believe the officers were
showing any disrespect by doing their jobs.
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I, too, have seen the Park Police stopping speeders between the
Kennedy Center and Memorial Bridge. The police nab speeders there often.
Unlike Mr. Eberhardt, who was extremely bothered by this, I think it's a
good idea to keep drivers from speeding. Mr. Eberhardt says that he was
“offended” because the speed zone was being enforced on the Sunday
after September 11th, during a time when he says that the police have
more important things to do, such as stop terrorists. I don't know if
the US Park Police are trained in anti-terrorist tactics, but I do know
that people die in speeding related traffic accidents every day of the
week, regardless of any other emergency.
I'm grateful that the Park Police have the good sense to keep up
their important work of making the roads safer for all of us.
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I noted with satisfaction that Dorothy Brizill scooped the Washington
Post with her missive about the District’s shaky response to the
catastrophes of September 11. She reminded me of one reason why I
started this E-zine years ago -- to create a forum for neighbors to
report news. Opinions are fine, I suppose, but I usually don’t have to
look past the foot of the bed to find one. Juicy stories are harder to
come by. That’s why the Post and other news organizations
monitor themail for story leads. From your neighbor’s mouth to Leonard
Downie Jr.’s ear.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Are your plans changed yet again with the on-again/off-again World
Bank/IMF event? Looking for something fun and constructive to do the
weekend of September 29th? Why not gather in Georgetown on the serene
lawn of Grace Church from noon to 4 p.m., enjoy inexpensive tastes from
our finest local Georgetown restaurants, sit together around picnic
tables while browsing a silent auction catalog of items donated by local
businesses, and decide what to bid on! For those on a limited budget,
the food is just $1- $4 per taste. It is also an excellent opportunity
to meet other residents and to strengthen our community relations in
these difficult times.
For more information about this Fall Festival, see http://www.gracedc.org/TOG2001.htm.
(Grace Church is at 1041 Wisconsin Avenue, just below the C&O
Canal). And there is now a new blue “Georgetown Shuttle” bus service
running every 10 minutes from three Metro stations — see http://www.georgetowndc.com/shuttle.php.
For individualized directions right from your home, see www.gracedc.org/directions.htm,
enter your address and click! All proceeds go to the Georgetown Ministry
Center, an interfaith ministry to men and women whose lives are barely
functioning on the fringe of society; who are kept healthy though the
daily availability of GMC staff, and by the wintertime overnight shelter
that rotates weekly amongst local houses of worship.
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Woodley Park Community Association
Martin G. Murray, wpcadc@hotmail.com
The Woodley Park Community Association will hold its fall general
membership meeting on Tuesday, September 25, at the Association of Homes
& Services for the Aging Headquarters, southeast corner of Calvert
and Connecticut Avenues, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Commander Peter
Newsham, 2nd District Police, will speak on Crime Awareness and
Prevention Efforts in Woodley Park, and at-large members of the
Association's Executive Committee will be elected. All are welcome!
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The next regularly scheduled public meeting of Advisory Neighborhood
Commission 3C will be held on Monday, September 24, at 7:30 p.m., at
Second District Police Headquarters, 3320 Idaho Avenue, NW, Community
Room, First Floor. This draft agenda is subject to change without
notice. There will be no preceding PSA. The community forum will include
the application to HPRB to subdivide Tregaron Estates, demonstration of
new voting machines by representatives from Board of Elections,
consideration of a resolution to authorize a park bench in public space,
consideration of a resolution to eliminate intellectual property rights
for human genes and food, and consideration of a resolution regarding
the violation of Woodland/Normanstone tree and slope overlay.
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CLASSIFIEDS — VOLUNTEERS
Blind, Retired Professor Seeks Volunteer
Reader
Sid Booth, SidBooth1@aol.com
Fellow readers of themail, before you read the message from Ben
Rigberg that appears below, I would like to recommend, on the basis of
my personal experience over the last eighteen months or so, the delight
of being one of Ben's volunteer readers. His depth of knowledge,
extraordinary curiosity in all things, perspective, wit, and wisdom have
made reading to him a weekly pleasure. Now, in Ben's words:
I am interested in obtaining the services of one or more volunteer
readers to read articles or books in my home during weekday hours
between 9 and 5. I am a blind, retired college professor. I live on
Connecticut Avenue, two blocks from the Cleveland Park Metro stop on the
Red Line. Please call me at 966-5939. Ben Rigberg
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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED
Wanted, a legal secretary, fully bilingual Spanish-English. Silver
Spring. Up to 40k, DOE. Prior legal experience necessary. Exciting work
from trials to immigration. A big heart, sharpness, and quality
required. Convenient to subway and plentiful parking. Please fax or send
resume and cover letter addressing your interest and ability for the
position to: Marks & Katz, LLC 1400 Spring Street, Suite 410, Silver
Spring, MD 20910. Fax: 301-495-8815. Please do not send E-mail
attachments. For more information, visit http://www.markskatz.com.
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CLASSIFIEDS — CAUSES
Coalition Launches “No More Oak Hills”
Campaign
Jason Ziedenberg, jzdc@cjcj.org
A diverse coalition of advocates, juvenile justice organizations,
youth activists, and citizens today announced its ³No More Oak Hills²
campaign. “No More Oak Hills” is a campaign to close DC's decrepit
Oak Hill Youth Facility, located in Laurel, MD, and replace it with a
network of small locked and staff secure facilities and a continuum of
community programs for delinquent youth. The coalition's new web site (www.nomoreoakhills.org)
demonstrates that Oak Hill is beyond repair, and that the youth should
be moved closer to their home communities into rehabilitation programs
and smaller facilities. On the website, you can send an E-mail or post a
letter to the Mayor, or members of the commission recommending an
expansion of DC¹s juvenile jail system. (www.nomoreoakhills.org,
or 202.425-4659)
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