Exceptions to the Rule
Dear Exceptionalists:
A few issues ago, I wrote that “your name won't go in themail
completely lowercased unless you are ee cummings.” It turns out that I
would be wrong to allow even that exception. A letter from Jay M.
Pasachoff in the current issue of Harvard Magazine makes the
correction: “[Y]ou make the common mistake of writing the name of E.E.
Cummings '15 in all lower case, as 'e.e. cummings '15,' I suppose
because he wrote much of his poetry in lower case. When I wrote to him
in 1960 to invite him to lecture at Quincy House, he wrote back in lower
case but signed his name with capital E, E, and C. And on the address
side of the postcard, along with the 3¢ stamp, he typed 'EECummings'
quite clearly.” See the error into which you fall when you grant
unearned exceptions to perfectly good general rules?
You undermine the rules themselves, just as Mayor Williams and his
City Administrator John Koskinen are undermining the rules when they
give Assistant Chiefs of the Fire Department painless, secretive slaps
on their wrists for lying on their job applications, exaggerating their
qualifications and abilities (see Koskinen's statement at http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/fire020426.htm).
You make the lowered standards the new standard, just as Mayor Williams
does when he continues to say, even after the Inspector General's
investigation, that he doesn't see why he should have to account for the
multiple pools of off-the-books money he raises and spends, as long as
he thinks their purpose is good.
Ah well, I'll make another exception to general rule of mine, and say
something good about DC government. I'll join the general chorus of
praise for the Metropolitan Police Department's handling of the several
recent demonstrations held throughout downtown. The professionalism and
courtesy that the MPD showed the demonstrators was in marked and welcome
contrast to the MPD's behavior two years ago. Now if only Chief Ramsey
and the managers of the MPD would heed Colbert King's repeated reminders
over the past month in his op-ed column in the Post that
old-fashioned, common street crimes are still too common in this town.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
Meter Feeding?
Tim Cline, Columbia Heights, Timandann@aol.com
I do understand that on streets with zoned parking for two hours that
just moving across the street or down the block will not get you out of
a ticket for violating the zone parking rules. Fair enough, I suppose.
However, some time ago the District put stickers on parking meters that
said that if you parked longer than two hours, even if you fed the meter
that you could get a ticket. So I knew that eventually the following
would happen. I was parked at a meter on O Street just off 16th NW. When
my two hours were nearly up, I went out to the car and saw that a nearby
metered spot was open so I moved my car and put coins in that meter. An
hour and a half later, I got a ticket for a red meter noting that my car
was “observed” at 1:01 and since it was now 3:30, I had overstayed
the two-hour limit. If I had just fed a meter, I would just say,
“guilty, your honor” and forgot it. However, if the ticket brigade
is going to ticket cars at meters by claiming that they have
“observed” them overstaying the limit (even with time on the meter),
that means that they can essentially ticket any car at a meter anytime
they choose to.
So my question (and I do not know who to ask, that is why I am
writing) is: If you park at a meter for the allotted time (say two
hours), how far do you have to go to another meter before being ticketed
for meter feeding? It would seem that if you move even one spot, you are
no longer meter feeding, but in a new parking spot. I'll probably pay
the ticket because it is too much of a pain to do anything else. I
normally ride my bike, so this is not an issue I will have to deal with
very often. Anyone know the answer to my question? Or suggest who might
have an answer?
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The Mayor and Connie Morella
Joan B. Aron, jba12@juno.com
The Mayor's recent action in support of [Rep. Connie] Morella [R-MD]
impelled me to send a second rather large contribution to Chris van
Hollen, Jr., in Montgomery City, one of Connie's rivals as nominee for
Congress. Either the Mayor wants a Democratic Congress or he doesn't,
and my bet is that he doesn't care. I wish more DC residents would
E-mail him about this, as I did.
###############
The fallout continues from Mayor Williams's decision to host a
political fundraiser for Republican Connie Morella at Georgia Brown's
Restaurant on April 18. At its monthly meeting on April 20, the Ward 8
Democrats adopted the following censure resolution: “Be it also
resolved that the Ward Eight Democrats, Inc., will not support or
endorse any candidate who has supported or intends to support,
financially or otherwise, a non-Democratic Party candidate for political
office.” The vote was 30 in favor of the resolution, 2 against, and 2
abstentions. Phil Pannell, chair of the Ward 8 Democrats, will introduce
a similar resolution at the May 2 meeting of the DC Democratic State
Committee at MLK Library, 7:00 p.m.
In an effort at damage control and to head off a censure vote, the
Mayor's Chief of Staff Kelvin Robinson met on Monday with the Executive
Committee of the Democratic State Committee. On Saturday, Mayor Williams
held a closed door meeting at Southeastern University with other
selected members of the State Committee. Two people may be punished for
opposing Williams's support of Morella by losing their jobs. Phil
Pannell has resigned from his position as Executive Assistant to School
Board President Peggy Cooper Cafritz both because of his support of the
resolution and because he will challenge Williams loyalist Norm Neverson
in the June election to chair the Democratic State Committee. Also,
Lendia Johnson, currently the Ward 8 community outreach coordinator in
the Mayor's Office of Public Advocate, voted for the Ward 8 censure
resolution, and an effort is already underway to fire her.
Fallout also continues from the DC Inspector General's investigation
of fundraising activities by the Executive Office of the Mayor. On
Wednesday, May 1, the Council's Committee on Government Operations will
hold a public hearing on the IG's report. Mayor Williams has agreed to
attend and respond to all questions. The DC Chamber of Commerce
attempted to protect the Mayor from the Committee's questions by a
letter dated April 5 to Councilmember Vincent Orange, chair of the
Government Operations Committee: “With great respect, the District of
Columbia Chamber of Commerce recommends that the Mayor be allowed to
respond instead to the recommendations of your committee, rather than to
the IG's report itself, since there have been referrals of portions of
the report to other governing entities” (http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/ig020405.htm).
At its markup of the FY 2003 budget for the Office of the Inspector
General, the Government Operations committee signaled its intention to
ask the entire Council to approve a $2 million reduction in the IG's
budget, restating its recommendation that Charles Maddox resign and its
lack of confidence in the independence and performance of the IG's
Office. Mayor Williams and his advisors are also attempting to punish
Councilmember Orange for pursuing the Mayor's fundraising schemes —
Williams has met privately with Harry Thomas, Jr., and encouraged Thomas
to run against Orange for the Ward 5 seat, and Thomas is filing an
election committee with the DC Office of Campaign Finance.
###############
Ward 8 Democrats Vote to Censure Mayor
Williams
Robert H. Kennell, tourone3@att.net
The Ward 8 Democrats voted 32-2 to censure Mayor Anthony Williams for
co-hosting a fundraiser for a Republican Member of Congress. The Ward
Delegation to the DC Democratic State Committee will join with other
Ward Democrat to register their displeasure with The Mayor on this
critical issue.
We urge all Democrats tired of Mayor Williams helping the Republicans
defeat Democrats like Maryland State Delegate Mark Shriver (nephew of
Sen. Ted Kennedy) to attend the DC Democratic State Committee Meeting
(open to the public and press) on Thursday May 2, at 7 p.m. Tell your
State Committee members to vote not to endorse Tony “the traitor”
Williams as Mayor.
###############
DCTV Unveils New State of the Art Public
Access Television Production Facility
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
Have you always wanted to produce your own television show? No need
to just dream about it. It's now easy to do it. On Saturday, April 27,
DCTV unveiled its new state-of-the-art television production facility at
901 Newton Street, NE, in the renovated Brooks Mansion building, right
across the parking lot from the Brookland subway station on the Red
Line. http://www.dctvonline.org.
If you missed the grand opening ceremony, not to worry. You can meet
many of the key players (DCTV staff and producers) in an 18-minute
QuickTime slideshow at http://storymakers.net/dctvgrandopening.mov.
This 16-megabyte file is accessible to dial-up users -- although it does
take about 45 minutes to an hour to download with a 56K modem. (Best
viewed using Netscape. You should be able to view the QuickTime
slideshow as sections of it are downloaded.) Do you have broadband? You
can view the same video in full-motion RealVideo at http://storymakers.net/dctvgrandopening.ram.
Very close to DCTV are two other amazing organizations: Byte Back (a
nonprofit computer training facility) and Dance Place (a theater,
school, community resource and community arts center) You can learn more
about the incredible work of Dance Place in the Hometown Heroes section
of the WETA web site, http://www.weta.org/productions/hheroes/perlo.html.
Further info about Byte Back and Dance Place at http://www.byteback.org
and http://www.danceplace.org.
Even if you don't create your own television show, do think about
joining DCTV as a member. For $30 per year you can affirm and support
the exciting work of community media production, a truly populist and
democratizing revolution unfolding before our eyes — even more
exciting when integrated into the Internet for community-produced
video-on-demand.
###############
The Skies May Be Friendly, But . . .
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
The airline security at DC National reeks of paranoia. I witnessed
the multiple wanding down of a white haired, grandmotherly white woman,
clearly in her mid-seventies, and the searching of her carry-on shopping
bag. She was the only person singled out of about thirty that were going
through the multiple baggage screening lines. With all the lines open,
the time spent in security check was only a couple of minutes (unless
you are a seventy-five-year-old lady). Something is whacky about the
system that uses random searches as opposed to the much more effective
profiling used in Europe. The airlines could do a far more effective job
by emulating the processes developed by El Al and in use for many years.
El Al has trained persons to profile all passengers. Then they select
those for intense screening who are the most likely to be terrorists. El
Al has armed and trained pilots and crew members on all their flights
and have had terrorist proof cockpit doors for years on all their
aircraft.
In contrast, at National Airport, the check-in at the airline
counters is a bloody disaster. Long lines with a wait more than ninety
minutes are faced by passengers who have been told to arrive two hours
before flight time. These passengers then spend the bulk of those two
hours getting past the check-in counter, woefully understaffed. Thank
goodness the security check was so efficient or we would have missed our
flight to Aruba and our swim with the fishes. We made our flight with
only fifteen minutes of time to spare. The message is clear: if you can
possibly do so, go with only carry-on luggage. That coupled with an
electronic airline ticket means you can bypass the check-in and go right
to security.
###############
Czech Champion of Freedom and Democracy to Be
Honored in DC
Mark Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
The Washington Post ran the article, “A Hero of Democracy
Finds a Home, DC Park Location Approved for Stored Statue of
Czechoslovakia's Founder,” by Manny Fernandez, on March 22 (Metro).
The article caught my attention because it reported, “[a] bronze
statue of the founding father of Czechoslovakia — stored away under
the rule of the Nazis and banned under communist leaders — finally
will have its own turf in a small Northwest Washington park. The 12-foot
likeness of Tomas G. Masaryk, created in 1937 and currently in storage
at the National Gallery in Prague, has never been exhibited in the
country Masaryk founded. In Washington, it is to be the centerpiece of a
memorial to Masaryk, an ardent democrat inspired by American political
philosophy who organized Czech resistance against Austria during World
War I and championed his country's independence.” Masaryk will be
added to the many statues of the world's heroes of democracy in DC. I
learned of Masaryk while visiting Czech Republic and by reading the
works of Jan Patocka and Vaclav Havel. The Post article reported that
there is a plan to unveil the monument at a joint presidential ceremony
with President Bush and Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel in
September. Here are some resources:
Interpreting Václav Havel, by Walter H. Capp, Masaryk, Patocka, and
Havel, http://www.crosscurrents.org/capps.htm:
“[W]e must call attention to similarities in the principal ideas and
sense of vocation of Masaryk, Patocka, and Havel. Note, first, that all
three mixed keen interest in theory and unfailing commitment to
scholarship with dedicated involvement in direct political activity.”
The Legacy of TGM, http://www.hrad.cz/president/Masaryk/cv_uk.html.
This memorandum, written by Tomas G. Masaryk for British friends and
members of the British government in April 1915, is from R. W.
Seton-Watson, Masaryk in England. http://www2.h-net.msu.edu/~habsweb/sourcetexts/masaryk1.htm.
Masaryk University http://www.rect.muni.cz/internat/cesp.html.
The Czechs in America http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imcz/ndl.html.
A New Monument Rises in Washington, American Friends of the Czech
Republic, http://www.afocr.org/newsletterSpring2001.htm.
Watch clip: Authorizing the Establishment of a Memorial to Honor Tomas
G. Masaryk in the District of Columbia, http://www.house.gov/radanovich/VLowczechmemorial.htm.
###############
In response to Paul Williams question, “Is there really separation
of church and state?” surely, Mr. Williams, you jest. Look around our
city and our country and you realize there is no separation between the
two: churchgoers (from Maryland mostly, no less) freely allowed to
double park and illegally park on our city streets on Sunday morning;
church groups allowed to take over a national park on a Saturday (Marion
Park taken over frequently by Pleasant Lane Baptist Church on Capitol
Hill), including banning dog walkers from the park for the day, putting
up portable toilets -- and then not removing them for a week or so —
and being allowed to broadcast at full volume sermons invoking the name
Jesus Christ so many times I thought someone was having a spasm or a
seizure.
Every politician from the president on down invoking the name and the
power of Jesus Christ, stating — with few challenges — that “this
is a Christian country in which we live.” Excuse me? The last time I
checked, the Founding Fathers put nothing in the Constitution about the
United States of America being “a Christian country.” Separation of
church and state? Give me a break. I frequently hear Christian groups
inveighing for “freedom of religion.” Why don't we speak out loudly
and strongly in favor of “freedom from religion” and the constant
barrage of religion being crammed down our throats?
###############
What a relief to read appreciations of DC! I stopped being a
committed reader of themail because frankly, I was sick of the rambling
complaints about very few and oft-repeated topics: schools, Mayor
Williams, the DMV, Mayor Williams, and representation. I don't have
kids, I'm still so grateful that Barry is out that I'm less outraged,
I've always adapted a Zen attitude towards the DMV — bring a book, be
prepared to wait — and I have yet to feel like we've gone anywhere in
moving forward the representation issue.
There are few other cities in this country where I've felt as
comfortable, even fewer where I'd choose to live. Not to be repetitive
but I love flying into National (yes, National) and seeing so much green
space. I love walking through Dupont and Logan Circle and discovering
new and fascinating little details about my neighborhoods. I love going
to Ben's Chili Bowl at 2 a.m. I love it when transplants are convinced
that there's no culture here, only to discover that their favorite
performer from back home is sold out! And I resent having to pay to see
great art when I go to museums elsewhere, when I can see it for free
here. I love that I know my neighbors and the vendors in my
neighborhood, and that Mrs. Calomiris at Eastern Market still slips me a
tangerine when I buy produce and asks after my mother. So thanks to
everyone who took a moment to appreciate this little town. We may now
return to our usual kvetching.
###############
DC Voting Rights, the UN, and Le Pen
Tom Matthes, tommatthes@earthlink.net
Astronomers have been celebrating the alignment of five planets in
the night sky. But a similar harmonic convergence of news headlines
bodes ill for the current DC voting rights campaign. This alignment
starts with George (“Star Wars”) Lucas’s melancholy prediction (in
Time Magazine) that “All democracies turn into dictatorships —
but not by coup. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether
it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon or Adolph Hitler.” It continues with
the bleak reports from the coup/countercoup in Venezuela and the French
presidential election. The convergence ends with news that DC voting
rights radicals are hopeful that the United Nations will soon proclaim
that the disenfranchisement of District voters is a human rights
violation of the principle of “one man, one vote.” Their last, best
hope of success comes from an organization that respects “one man, one
vote” less than the Articles of Confederation did. They trust the UN
to empower two senators from DC to hold equal sway with the senators
from California and Texas. They have convinced themselves this would be
the ultimate implementation of “one man, one vote.” Like Alice’s
queen, they can believe at least two impossible things before breakfast.
The Founders of the United States knew that democracies have an
unfortunate habit of giving way to dictatorship. Their answer to this
perpetual menace was the Constitution. In the words of Benjamin
Franklin, it gives Americans “A republic, if you can keep it,” a
warning echoed by Mr. Lucas. The key to the Constitution is not “one
man, one vote,” but its division of powers among the three federal
branches of government and the individual states, plus guarantees of
individual rights. But the whole system crumbles unless the Constitution
is obeyed, in its own words, as the “supreme Law of the Land.” Part
of that supreme law, for better or worse, is the provision putting the
District of Columbia under the “exclusive” legislative control of
Congress — a provision rejected by DC voting rights' proponents too
impatient to amend the Constitution. “One man, one vote” is not the
last word in a modern democracy, which rejects the right of the majority
in ancient Athens to “ostracize,” i.e. exile, unpopular citizens.
That is why serious students of American democracy will reject any UN
order to overturn the US Constitution's rule against DC statehood, or DC
votes in Congress. One might ask, “Who will be authorized by the UN to
present the DC statehood order to Congress?” How about a Frenchman
wearing a Jean Marie Le Pen campaign button? Salman Rushdie writes in
the Washington Post that “Maybe it's the French electorate that
should resign instead of [defeated Prime Minister] Jospin.” One man,
one vote isn’t everything.
###############
Representation in themail
Michael Bindner, mbindnerdc@aol.com
I just spent some time reviewing the Alexander v. Daley decision. It
affirms my contention that Congress cannot grant voting rights to the
District legislatively except by admitting it as a state. I had stated
that it could do so through Maryland. I retract that. The court based
its refusal to grant voting rights through either on the constitutional
provision that electors to the House (and since passage of the 17th
Amendment, the Senate) must be eligible to vote for the largest house in
the state legislature. The implication of this provision is that voting
in Maryland's congressional and senatorial elections is not allowed
unless District residents can also vote for the Maryland House of
Delegates, which is full retrocession (or if you will, reunification
with Maryland).
Adams v. Clinton, the other case, the arguments of which were not
fully addressed by the Court, seeks a declaration that the status quo is
unconstitutional. The court has, so far, not seen fit to address the
plaintiffs' arguments. For reasons I have shared with George LaRoche, I
do not think they will accept them. Where does this leave DC would be
congressional voters? For one thing, it nullifies the drive for voting
representation outside of statehood or reunion with Maryland or a
constitutional amendment granting voting rights (and hopefully full-self
government). This is actually good news, as mere voting rights was seen
as a way for the Federal City Council to have its cake and eat it too
(placate the masses with voting rights while retaining its ability to
move behind the scenes). This forces voting rights advocates to chose
further domination of local government by the Federal City Council
(those nasty folks who give Tony, the local congressional delegation,
and the District Council all that money), support for statehood, or
support for reunion with Maryland. The quicker that advocates come to
consensus around one of these options, the quicker change will occur.
The best way to force such consensus would be a referendum (using
instant run-off voting) between these options — or one between just
statehood and retrocession — it depends upon how the measure is
drafted. Such a vote could either be a citizen initiative (which takes a
lot of work) or a referendum — which takes Council action. As I stated
previously, I doubt the District's well-paid Council has any initiative
to move this issue along. The only possible incentive for doing so is
the desire to be the governor of a state, rather than its mayor, in
order to run for President. None of that crowd is anywhere near
presidential caliber.
###############
Power in DC and Voting Rights
Malcolm L Wiseman, Jr., wiseman@us.net
Let's say it one more time: After more than two hundred years of not
being in the State of Maryland, we folk in this city and ersatz state of
Washington, a.k.a. “the District,” have spoken. Everyday, all the
time, and through an election referendum: We want statehood without any
melding with Maryland. In Maryland the feeling is probably mutual. If
there are still doubts, let's vote again. We are quite different in mind
and culture from our MD neighbors. Time and absence can do that. On the
scale of U.S. history, two hundred years is a very long time to be
estranged. There are few Maryland roots in Washington. For generations
of native Washingtonians (contrary to popular myth there are many) there
has been scarce empathy or shared experience with Marylanders.
So, to continue to debate recession to or voting rights in MD (or
anywhere else) is to seek an expedient that denies the expressed will of
our people. Are we to stand by and accept this continued manipulation,
distraction, and waste of time and energy? Or will we stand up and
demand our rights? If we did get shafted with such a solution, how could
it be effective with a 70 percent(?) majority against it? I charge that
the peculiar District status is a constitutional flaw, negotiated by
slave-holders. For it to have remained the status quo for so long can be
attributed to racist machinations of the U.S. Congress. The only way for
the country to come clean is to respect the wishes of the people of
Washington and grant statehood through act of Congress. Until Congress
can accomplish this act, the DC Line needs to be moved, as it once was
in 1846 to accommodate the will of Arlington people. The new District
line would circumscribe the Nation Capital Service Area, which would
nominally be the Mall, Capitol, White House, and other significant
monuments, federal buildings and riverfront. This move would be simply
an act of Congress, no amendment necessary because the District clause
of the Constitution says, “there may be a Districtö and it “may not
exceed ten miles square.” In other words, the Constitution allows for
a small or even nonexistent District. While Congress is debating on the
entrance of Piscataway or Potomac (my choices for State names),
Washington City would function within the Territory of Columbia under a
territorial government, governor, councils, etc. Only this is equality,
self-government, self-determination, and full democracy. What we have
now is third-class citizenship, since the second-class citizens of
Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa don't pay federal taxes and rule
their own roost.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
The DC Society of Young Professionals is hosting a Gold Cup bus trip
on Saturday, May 4. This event features bus pickup spots at both Union
Station and the Vienna Metro Station, complimentary parking passes and
reduced admission for all groups of four or more who drive themselves
there, admission to the DCYoungPro Tents on both the North and South
Rails, a catered buffet, a full open bar, a chocolate tasting, the
chance to network with other young professionals, a complimentary
after-party at Capitol City Brewing Company, and more! For more
information, to purchase tickets, or to learn about all of our events,
please visit www.dcyoungpro.com,
E-mail me at events@dcyoungpro.com
or call 686-6085.
###############
Sierra Club Forum: Environmental Issues in the 2002 Elections,
Wednesday, May 1, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Charles Sumner School, 17th and M
Streets, NW, Lecture Hall 102. Interested in learning about local
environmental issues and how they will play into the DC elections this
fall? Then come listen to presentations by Sierra Club representatives
of the national political staff and the Washington, DC, Chapter. Ask
questions, and learn how you can get involved helping to elect good
environmental candidates. Free and open to the public. For more
information call 547-3410.
###############
WASA Sewer System Public Meeting
Libby Lawson, Libby_Lawson@dcwasa.com
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) will hold a
public meeting to discuss and solicit public comments on a planned
project for Improvements and Modifications of Combined Sewer System (CSS)
Structures to prevent dry weather combined sewer overflow (CSO). This
project will be supported in part with Federal grant funding from the U.
S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA).
The purpose of this project is to prevent dry weather CSO by making
necessary improvements and modifications to the CSS structures where
appropriate. A draft Environmental Information Document (EID) on the
project is available for review at the Washingtoniana Division of the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Public Library.
The meeting will be at the District of Columbia Water and Sewer
Authority, Central Operations Facility, Room 407, Blue Plains Advanced
Wastewater Treatment Facility, 5000 Overlook Avenue, SW, on June 5,
2002, 6:00 PM - 8:00 p.m. Public comments are solicited on the project.
The public comment receipt period will close seven days following the
public meeting. Written comments should be directed to the attention of
Mohsin Siddique (787-2634), moshin_siddique@dcwasa.com
or Olivia Atkinson (787-2354), oatkinson@dcwasa.com,
or mailed to: DC Water and Sewer Authority, 5000 Overlook Avenue, SW,
Dept. of Engineering & Technical Services, Washington DC 20032,
Attn.: Dr. Siddique or Ms. Atkinson. For more information, visit our web
site: www.dcwasa.com.
###############
Bike to Work Day May 3rd
Eric Gilliland, gill@waba.org
On Friday, May 3rd, join hundred of bike commuters for a celebration
of clean transportation at Bike to Work Day 2002. Celebrations will be
taking place at eleven different locations around the region, with the
main celebration occurring at Freedom Plaza in downtown DC. Each pit
stop will offer breakfast, entertainment, dynamic speakers and chances
to win bicycles and other prizes. Not sure how to get there? Join one of
19 “commuter convoys” for the ride in. Each convoy will be lead by
an experienced bike commuter.
Did you know you can get a free ride home in an unexpected emergency
if you bicycle to work? When you take transit, bicycle, walk or carpool
to work, the Guaranteed Ride Home program will pay for a taxi or other
convenient transportation in an unexpected emergency. To register please
visit www.commuterconnections.org.
For more information and registration, please visit http://www.waba.org/new/bwd/index.php.
Bike to Work Day 2002 is sponsored by the Washington Area Bicyclist
Association, www.waba.org; Commuter
Connections, www.commuterconnections.org;
CommuterPage.com, www.commuterpage.com;
Pepco; DC Lottery; the General Services Administration. Prizes and
donations from City Bikes, www.citybikes.com;
Gold's Gym; Fresh Fields; Virginia Department of Transportation.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING
Efficiency for Rent, Dupont Circle East
Alex Feshenko, afeshenko@worldbank.org
Available immediately: spacious efficiency, Dupont Circle East,
furnished (also can be rented unfurnished). Great for young
professionals/students/interns. Downtown DC, 8 minute walk to the White
House; Dupont Circle, McPherson Square/Farragut North Metro-walking
distance; central AC; 24-hour concierge/safe building; rooftop deck and
swimming pool; convenience stores nearby (Fresh Fields, etc.); parking
available in building; one month's refundable security deposit; 6-12
month lease; located between 15&14 on N, 1440 N Street, NW; walking
distance to restaurants, etc.; $999 per month, inclusive of water and
gas utilities. afeshenko@worldbank.org
or call 518-1230.
###############
The DC Independent Media Center seeks to partner with other
progressive and/or community organizations to share our great office
space in the heart of Adams Morgan. Individual furnished office space or
open shared work space available. Wired with high-speed Internet,
in-house tech support, and collaborative energy. Reasonable
month-to-month rent. Kitchen and meeting room access. Please E-mail dc@indymedia.org
for details.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — VOLUNTEERS
Phonefriend Volunteers Needed
Susan Russell-Smith, pcamw@juno.com
Help children who are lonely, scared, or just need to talk. Prevent
Child Abuse of Metropolitan Washington is looking for new volunteer
listeners to staff the PhoneFriend support line for latchkey children.
Training provided. This opportunity provides skills for future
employment, an opportunity to meet others, and a chance to make a
difference. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old and speak English
fluently. Please call 202-223-0020 for more information. Training begins
May 9th. PhoneFriend training dates: Thursday, May 9, 6:30-9:30 p.m.;
Thursday, May 16, 6:30-9:30 p.m.; Thursday, May 23, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
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Urgently Need Coach for Ketcham
Patricia Bitondo, PBitondo@aol.com
DC Cal Ripken Baseball is looking for a coach to coach a third-grade
team from Ketcham Elementary School. They are at the Rookie level (Coach
pitches). The games are usually on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon
at Ketcham School's Field. They should have one practice during the
week. Season is over at the end of June. This is a wonderful opportunity
to get in some volunteer service. Call Pat at 337-2843 or respond to
this E-mail.
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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
Help, I need to find someone who disassembles/re-assembles sofas so I
can move mine down into my basement. Looking for a handyman type who has
possibly done this type of thing before.
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