The Citizens Are Always Wrong

Dear Citizens:

The citizens who are wrong include me. I predicted in Wednesday's issue of themail that Mayor Williams would respond to citizens' and Councilmembers' complaints, act with common sense, and admit that the Department of Motor Vehicles should not try to collect traffic tickets and parking tickets that were more than a few years old. I was wrong. Everyone knows that DC's ticket records aren't good enough to believe, and everyone admits -- including Mayor Williams and DMV Director Sherryl Hobbs Newman — that people don't keep records long enough to prove that they paid parking tickets from several years past. But I was wrong. That shows that I can't predict the future, even as far ahead as twelve or twenty-four hours. The lure of easy money was too strong. The glowing, enticing promise that the Mayor acted on was that the city will be able to dun citizens for millions of dollars, hundreds of millions of dollars, in over aged tickets that they won't be able to dispute and that they will be forced to pay if they want to drive. In a pretense of generosity, the Mayor said that there will be a limited amnesty period, perhaps six months, during which late fees and penalties may be waived, but that any tickets that the city claims are owed will be collected. (See http://www.dcwatch.com/govern/dmv020620.htm.) 

Councilmember Carol Schwartz, Chair of the Council Committee on Public Works, said that this decision was a compromise with which the majority of Councilmembers agreed, but the truth is that Ms. Schwartz was the only Councilmember who was informed of the Mayor's decision before Thursday's press conference. The majority of Councilmembers don't agree with the Mayor's position and are outraged by it. Last Tuesday, Councilmember Chavous was persuaded to withdraw an emergency bill that set a statute of limitations on collecting traffic and parking tickets because of false promises that the administration would act on its own. (See http://www.dcwatch.com/council14/14-c.) Unless Mayor Williams and Councilmember Schwartz twist a lot of arms, and perhaps break a few legs, on Tuesday at the next Council legislative session, the last scheduled session before summer recess, the City Council will pass Chavous's bill, and they'll pass it with enough votes to override a Mayoral veto.

But then again, you know how good I am at predicting the future.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com 

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The 80% (or 72% or 47%) Solution
Larry Seftor, Larry_Seftor@compuserve.com 

Almost the entire time I have read themail and its predecessor (dcstory) DMV has been a continuing topic of discussion. During that time the comments have always varied; some people have good experiences and some, concurrently, have had bad. That is not surprising to me. I personally have had good and bad experiences, usually within weeks of one another. Some years Half Street will be a snap and C Street will be a trial. Just this past month C Street was easy while Half Street left me furious. The bottom line is DMV works 80 percent (or 72 percent or 47 percent or whatever) of the time, and that is just not good enough. People with routine transactions should have a good experience virtually all of the time (99.9 percent) and those with problems to be resolved should almost always (95 percent) find a competent person at DMV who cheerfully solves their problem.

There has been much discussion about the management of DMV and, lately, of the computer system. There is much to criticize. However, perhaps in the name of political correctness, there is virtually no discussion of the biggest problem, the quality of staff at DMV. There are obviously many conscientious people working at DMV, providing the 80 percent or 72 percent or 42 percent satisfaction level. But there are many people working at DMV who should be fired. In fact, thinking back, all my bad experiences have been tied to particular front-line staff. There were the counter staff several years ago who spend fifteen minutes ignoring customers while they argued among themselves about which function key to use on the computer to accomplish something. And there was the Half Street staff several weeks ago who were conducting training on my car and who, in the next lane, trapped four innocent cars inside the building behind another car while they continually evaluated it. (My view: after twenty minutes or so, either pass it or flunk it. In any case, don’t bring other cars into that lane if the lane is effectively removed from service.)

Note that everyone is suitable for every job. Otherwise the whole concept of job interviews would be outdated. In fact, doing a particular job well (or even satisfactorily) requires a combination of skills, personality, and attitude. Simply filling openings with bodies is a travesty. Unfortunately, that is apparently what DMV Director Sherryl Hobbs Newman plans to do. In the Post on Friday she is said to plan to hire sixteen people from the city’s welfare-to-work program to staff the service counters at DMV. Some of these people (80 percent or 72 percent or 42 percent or whatever) may be suitable for this front line job. But I’ll guarantee that not all of them are. Those that are not will lead to future postings to themail. I implore you Ms. Newman, don’t simply give jobs to these people. Instead, interview them for these openings and only make placements that make sense. A battered populace deserves no less.

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All-in-One Enforcement
John Whiteside, john at logancircle dot net

In the last issue of themail you took issue with the idea of using DMV to help collect unpaid fines. While the city's execution of this idea has been terrible, is it really such a bad idea? Massachusetts has been linking every car and driving related transaction together for just this purpose for years -- if you do not pay your parking tickets, you can't renew your license or your registration. It works -- all those old parking tickets get paid within a year or so or else your registration lapses. Additionally, you have to get your renewal form stamped by your insurance agent to verify that you're insured, and if your insurance is canceled the DMV (or at they call it there, the Registry) is notified and your registrations is canceled.

It works. It's a lot harder to ignore fines or drive uninsured. Of course, they've got systems with accurate information about what people actually owe. The city has the right idea in trying to crack down on these payments; their mistake is not having the systems in place to do it correctly.

[The point is that DMV is being fashioned to enforce all DC bill collecting, including taxes — not just car and driving related transactions — and that auto licenses and registrations will be refused is any debts claimed by DC are not satisfied. Is that what we want and what the City Council intended? — Gary Imhoff]

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Ordway Street, an Open Letter to DOT
Sam Carabetta, samueljc@starpower.net 

[This is the most recent in a long series of E-mail exchanges with the Department of Transportation on scheduling the repair of Ordway Street.] There have been no recent repairs made to Ordway Street to make it safe. In fact, a traffic study has recently been executed by the National Child Research Center, (a preschool with very young children) which has an entrance on Ordway Street and Highland Terrace. Comments have been made about the terrible condition of Ordway Street. Parents are very concerned about dropping their children off for school and dealing with the congested traffic which weaves around the sinking roadbed. I hope you will understand that this means that cars travel from left to right, very close to the children who are in the process of exiting in between cars and crossing Ordway. Currently, the traffic is even heavier because children are now being dropped off during the morning rush hour for summer camp at the Cleveland Park Club, which also has its entrance on Ordway Street. Your plan for repair of Ordway Street in 2004 is completely irresponsible. This is a very dangerous situation and has the potential for a tragedy!

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Mayor’s Ward One Town Hall Meeting
Clyde E. Howard, Jr., ceohoward@hotmail.com 

The Town Hall meeting held on Monday, June 17, was a bust. It was nothing more than a mosh pit of minutia. There was no substance in the mayor's responses nor was he or his staff very helpful to the people in need. A lot a posturing and grandiose lecturing on the good and bad occurring in Ward 1. There were no solutions offered that could be considered as being good for the whole of Ward 1. In other words, it was nothing more than a back slapping good time for the mayor's kickoff for election. You can be sure it will be a long time before I will attend another pseudo town hall meeting of the mayor's.

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Councilmember Ambrose and Public Safety in Ward 6
Bryce A Suderow, streetstories@juno.com 

A comment on public safety in Ward 6 seems appropriate in light of Sharon Ambrose's campaign for reelection. Some months ago, two light skinned black men robbed a number of people in one of our PSAs on Capitol Hill at knife point. One day an activist recognized the two men walking west on A Street. She phoned 911 and told a dispatcher that she was walking east on A Street and that the men were walking west on it. They were being sought for crimes committed in her PSA, she said. She asked the dispatcher to send a squad car. The dispatcher asked: her: what's a PSA? My friend explained what it meant, but that didn't produce the desired results. The dispatcher refused to send a squad car unless the activist told her where she was. Since she was en route to Eastern Market for a meeting, the activist was on the move and could not give the dispatcher a fixed address. Thus the dispatcher did nothing, and the criminals escaped arrest.

That night the activist phoned Chief Ramsey's office and got Chief Terry Gainer. She told him what the dispatcher had said. “Oh that's really unfortunate,” Gainer sympathized. But he added: “We have to play the hand we've been dealt,” and he went on to say how hopeless the personnel of the MPD and the dispatchers were. In other words, Gainer used the excuse that Ramsey and Gainer have used ever since they took office: I'm a victim and I can't improve things.

In light of the attitudes of Ramsey and Gainer, one wonders why Sharon Ambrose has tolerated this helpless wringing of hands and the continued poor performance of the MPD. I would like to suggest that she has not criticized the Chief for failing to improve the MPD because Ambrose is afraid of the Chief. He's so good at snowing the public and the politicians, Ambrose and any other members of the City Council would be putting themselves at risk if they pointed out the lousy job the Chief has done. The only thing Ambrose has done as a member of the City Council is to require the Chief to put more officers on the street. This actually damaged the department because Ramsey took detectives and other specialists from their jobs and put them on the street, thus preventing them from clearing their cases. Any opinions on Ambrose's performance?

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Paranoia Reigns
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com 

The way things are headed downtown, tourists will find the only way to see any of the attractions in our Nation's Capitol will be to head for the underground bunkers where they will be wanded and strip searched before they get a quickie tour of the Capitol, White House, or Washington Monument. The Vietnam Memorial is probably next for tunneling.

The latest gem in the paranoiac minds of the loonies who run the Metro system is to close the Smithsonian Metro Station for the whole day on the Fourth of July. This, despite the fact the over 100,000 folks used that station last Fourth of July to see the fireworks on the Mall. There will be chaos and marked inconvenience for those who have been regular attendees at the fireworks show. It's no wonder the tourists are hesitant to come to Washington.

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Why I Wish I Lived in California
Joan Eisenstodt, jeisen@aol.com 

Just spent a week in CA on business. I know CA has problems, including a budget shortfall. What I love is that it's so nice to go out to dinner and stay in or walk through hotels that are smoke-free. I felt like I could breathe for a week. I'm now in Ohio, where it's worse than in DC. How come we don't have healthy laws to allow us to breathe? And now that studies show that smoking contributes to more cancers, and certainly makes many of us sick, it makes no sense to have smoke-filled restaurants.

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Should I Move Out of DC
Yoma Ullman, ullman724@aol.com 

You hardier souls will call me a wimp, and you'll be right, but after reading themail each week, I descend into despair, if not hysteria. Why do we have to put up with the dysfunctions of DC, a place that yet offers so much that's good? Why do we have to live in fear of wrongful accusations about unpaid tickets, nonexistent tax delinquencies, weak emergency services, nontraceable towed cars? I could go on for quite a while, culminating in our lack of a meaningful vote.

Only partly in jest I ask: In order to save my sanity, do I leave town, or do I stop subscribing to themail? But I also ask, is it as bad or worse elsewhere? How about it — you who have recently moved here?

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Video Producers of DC Club Formed
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com 

Video Producers of DC is a new no-dues club that meets monthly on Saturday afternoons at public libraries around DC. The purpose of the club is to help people improve their skills at shooting and editing video. Club meetings include screenings of video clips that show good (and less good) video production techniques. Meetings also include question-and-answer sessions on camcorders, video editing equipment, video editing software and sources of equipment and supplies. Meetings are informal and grassroots. Video novices particularly welcome. The first meeting will be at Mt. Pleasant Branch Library on Saturday, June 29, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the downstairs meeting room. The second meeting will be at the Takoma Branch Library, Saturday, July 13, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room. The third meeting will be Saturday, August 17, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Anacostia Branch library. Meetings are free but do require advance registration via E-mail or phone. Register for meetings by sending E-mail to pshapiro@his.com or calling 703-812-9547 with your name and home phone number. (Meeting registration is to keep the number of attendees within the space available at meeting rooms.) A free moderated E-mail list has been set up for the club to extend the learning that goes on at meetings. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/videoproducersofdc. Video Producers of DC has been formed by Tony Watkins, a video producer with ten years experience producing community television for public access DCTV, and Phil Shapiro, who has had several years experience producing community media in the DC area. See http://www.videodc.org and http://storymakers.net/. 

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Query — Orange Boxes?
Nick Keenan, Shaw, nbk at gsionline dot com

I have noticed that a number of boarded up houses in the neighborhood have been painted with orange boxes that may contain some or all of the letters R, F, and C. They look official. Does anyone know what they are?

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Racial Distrust, Perceptions of Quality of Life, and Segregated Housing Patterns
Mark David Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com 

A new report by the Urban Institute and Fannie Mae Foundation, “Housing in the Nation's Capital,” will be a valuable resource for discussing a key quality of life issue-affordable housing. See http://www.knowledgeplex.org/kp/report/report/relfiles/fmf_0507_hnc.html. The report examines data by race/ethnicity and shows DC as an overall diverse population with quite segregated settlement patterns.

This week, Gallup announced a few more data points to add to the research base on race/ethnicity issues: http://www.gallup.com/poll/releases/pr020618.asp?Version=p. Gallup showed a decline in the perception that almost all or many blacks dislike whites. Gallup conducted a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,360 adults June 3-9, 2002. The sample included 236 African Americans and 263 Hispanic Americans, weighted to their census proportion. Gallup asked, “In general, how do you think people in the United States feel about people of other races? Do you think only a few black people dislike whites, many black people dislike whites, or almost all black people dislike whites?” In June 2002, 60 percent said only a few, 32 percent said many, and 4 percent said almost all. That is an improvement since June 1996, when 51 percent said only a few, 43 percent said many, and 3 percent said almost all. Also in June 2002, Gallup found that: “Whites' perceptions of Blacks' attitudes have changed even more markedly over this period. In 1995, only 37 percent of whites believed that black dislike of whites was relatively rare, while the majority of whites believed that many or all blacks feel that way. However that perception became substantially more positive by 1995, when a majority of whites said that only a few blacks dislike whites. That figure remains the same in the latest poll.” Gallup continues: “Today the percentage saying 'only a few whites dislike blacks' is 52 percent among blacks and 62 percent among whites. . . . Still, 10 percent of blacks today believe that 'almost all white people dislike blacks' and 36 percent believe many whites dislike black people . . . 46 percent of blacks believ[e] that white hostility toward blacks is fairly widespread. . . . 34 percent of whites share this view.”

Another Gallup poll of 1,011 adults interviewed by telephone in January 2002 found 62% of white Americans saying corporations who made profits from slavery in the US should not apologize to black Americans who are descendants of slaves; 23 percent of African Americans held that view, but more, 68 percent, thought they should apologize. The study also examined personal satisfaction with various aspects of life. Overall, there was an impressive level of satisfaction on most measures across groups -- 80-90 percent at least somewhat satisfied. But African Americans gave lower “very satisfied” ratings than other groups on the following measures: “your community as a place to live,” “your current housing,” “your family life,” “your financial situation,” “your safety from physical harm or violence,” and “your job, or the work you do.” Both African Americans and Hispanic American gave lower “very satisfied” ratings on “your education.” On “your personal health,” just over half of all groups were very satisfied, about 35 percent somewhat satisfied, and just over 10 percent dissatisfied.

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No Scam at the DC Office of Tax and Revenue
Mark Eckenwiler, eckCUT@THISingot.org 

In the last issue, Anise Jenkins posted a virulent critique of OTR's real property tax delinquency notices, claiming that the mailed notices of the impending tax sale are “fraudulently worded.” In fact, the OTR letter she quotes appears to me mandated by recently enacted DC Code sec. 47-1341, which requires a) mailing of a notice at least 30 days before the property is advertised for sale [which must obviously precede the sale itself] and b) specific language demanding payment within 30 days of the date of the notice. So I fail to see any impropriety here; this time, at least, OTR is obeying the laws duly passed by the Council. (Note also: the tax “sale” isn't a sale of the property title, but rather of a lien. A delinquent owner can “redeem” a property weeks or even months after the sale.)

I can't help commenting (despite the fact that it will surely bring howls of execration against me) that I just don't understand people who don't pay their DC Real Property taxes on time (assuming they have notice, and Ms. Jenkins doesn't suggest otherwise in her case). DC hits laggards with a 10 percent penalty off the bat, plus 18% interest/year; if the property goes to tax sale, add advertising fees; and if the tax sale buyer files a foreclosure action before the owner pays up, add the buyer's costs and attorney fees as well. And before the Class Warriors blow a gasket, let me also point out that DC has a low-income Real Property tax abatement program good for a five-year free ride (albeit apparently only for new purchasers!), as well as the refundable income tax credit (Schedule H) for low-income owners' RP taxes.

Some links to useful resources on the above topics: search for property by owner/seller name, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/realestate. Search for OTR tax records (assessment, sales) by address or square and lot, http://cfo.dc.gov/services/tax/property/database.shtm (be sure to enable cookies or your search won't work). Search DC Code, http://dccode.westgroup.com (click search button at upper right; the tax sale statutes are in title 47, chap. 13A). Info on Real Property taxes and credits and exemptions, as well as on the tax sale, http://cfo.dc.gov/services/tax/property/index.shtm. Disclaimer: I say all of this as a vocal critic of OTR's real property assessment practices (see past themail issues), so don't bother accusing me of being an OTR shill.

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Regarding the Armored Car Robbery
Doug Harris, wemmickdc@yahoo.com 

I attended the meeting of ANC3E later the same day as the robbery. An officer from the 2nd precinct (Lt. Carter, I believe) was there for a report and told more of the story. According to this officer, the armored vehicle was not forced off the road but was in the process of picking up money from a bank. The driver was in the car and two other armored vehicle employees were transferring bags of money. Three assailants overpowered the two in back and took the money. The driver, seeing the attack, attempted to drive away, but crashed into the tree.

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In Search of Students of Colman McCarthy
Charles Stevenson, info@geotrees.com 

Students of Colman McCarthy, past and present, are invited to join a freshly minted new E-mail discussion list: PeaceTrees, hosted on Yahoo. This list arose from his current evening class, but welcomes those from his earlier sessions as well. This includes any and all academic classes where the main theme was peace building. If in doubt, ask! If you'd like to join, please send an E-mail to: info@geotrees.com, with your student name, year(s) of your class, and your E-mail address.

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Street Art
Matthew Kessler, matthew@stand.org 

In response to the posting from Wednesday edition of themail asking where the statue of President Washington is. I respectfully respond by reminding the reader of the 550-foot Washington Monument, which has been the symbol of this wonderful city since 1884. It is still the largest masonry structure in the world. I think the street art is a wonderful idea and adds a bit of color and whimsy to our city. They also stimulate conversation. I see many, many people standing around them talking about them. The only thing that I don't understand is that we have many important problems that need to be addressed in the city: no representation, a $19 million DMV system that is not working, less than adequate schools, etc., yet so many people are worried about this street art, including an elected official who was on the news a week ago complaining that an elephant was placed on the northwest corner of Wisconsin and Military Road rather than the southwest corner. (What is the difference, you ask. Northwest is Maryland, southwest is DC. He claims that is insulting to residents of DC).

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Statues of Washington
Valerie Kenyon Gaffney, vkg0531@aol.com 

A statue of George Washington? At Washington Circle, at 23rd, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania Avenue, where else? Sculpted by Clark Mills, it's been there since 1860, except for a brief period during the early 60s (1960s, that is) when it was temporarily removed to allow for construction of the K Street underpass. There is also a statue on the Washington Cathedral grounds, in place since 1959. For more information on this and all the other sculpture in and around DC, see The Outdoor Sculpture of Washington, DC by James M. Goode, from which I lifted the above info.

As for the delightful and entertaining elephants and donkeys, see http://partyanimals.org. 

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Statues of Washington
Taylor T. Simmons, TTSimmons@aol.com 

I believe that's him on a horse at the center of Washington Circle, 23rd and K Streets and Pennsylvania and New Hampshire Avenues. Also, isn't there a small one inside the Washington Monument? Probably others as well.

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In Response to Statues
Matthew Gilmore, hdceditor@hotmail.com 

There are two statues of GW in Washington: one at Washington Circle, one at the Cathedral. http://kittytours.com/thatman2/search.asp?subject=20. 

And, with regard to Party Animals, from http://www.partyanimalsdc.org/:  “Washington, DC - Mrs. Laura Bush and District of Columbia Mayor Anthony A. Williams today unveiled the first eight of the 200 'Party Animals' — especially designed 4.5 x 5 foot sculptures of donkeys and elephants — that will be displayed all over Washington, DC from April through early fall of this year.

“'Party Animals is a terrific arts project designed to celebrate the talent and creativity of Washington-area artists, as well as our nation's democracy,' said Mrs. Bush. 'I encourage DC residents and visitors alike to take the time to see these unique sculptures.'

“The event, held at Freedom Plaza, marked the debut of the whimsical sculptures designed by 200 artists chosen by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Party Animals is the largest local art exhibit in District of Columbia history.”

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Tributes to General Washington
Mark Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com 

One reader asked where the statues of President George Washington are. Washington Circle is a good start-one by Clark Mills was located there in 1860. But, at least one was banished to museum status. In the 1830s, Congress commissioned Horatio Greenough to sculpt George Washington. His twenty-ton marble sculpture was unveiled in 1843 on the east lawn of the Capitol. Among residents (apparently more like John Ashcroft than most of the ones I know in DC these days) the tribute fell flat. Historian Constance McLaughlin Green wrote (1962), “'The Spectator,' wrote one outraged citizen, 'will always be shocked at the nudity of the figure,' a lifeless seated colossus partly draped in a Roman toga. Apparently disappointment over that travesty spurred the [Washington] Monument Society on to widen its fundraising campaign.” The Society turned to abstraction and eventually raised enough funds to build the Washington Memorial, which has acquired less official nicknames. Greenough's sculpture was eventually moved inside the Smithsonian — it is odd, and worth a visit.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

DC We Read 2002 Finale
Patricia Pasqual, changedc@yahoo.com 

Meet Amy Hill Hearth, the journalist who discovered the Delany Sisters, at one of the final DC We Read 2002 events on Tuesday, June 25. She will speak at the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library at 901 G St. NW in Rm. A-5 at 6:30 p.m. A'Lelia Bundles, noted local author of On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam CJ Walker, will interview Amy Hill Hearth and share her reflections on her own historical writing. No reservations required. For more information call 727-1186.

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Literary Event, 6/24/02
Alexander Padro, Padroanc2c@aol.com 

The Friends of Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library will present author Fred Jerome discussing his new book, The Einstein File: J. Edgar Hoover's Secret War Against the World's Most Famous Scientist, at the library on Monday, June 24, 2002, at 7:00 PM. Admission is free. J. Edgar Hoover is known to have investigated and kept files on most of the notable figures in America during the nearly half a century during which he ran the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Even Albert Einstein, the best known scientist of his day, was not beyond suspicion, as is explained in Jerome's new book, published last month by St. Martin's Press.

This summary from Amazon.com outlines the book's contents: “From 1933 until 1955, the Federal Bureau of Investigation compiled a 2,000-page file on Albert Einstein, hoping to 'destroy' his immense stature by linking him to Soviet espionage activities. At one point, not long before the scientist's death, a serious attempt was made to have him deported. This alarming campaign — responsible in large part for Einstein's exclusion from the Manhattan Project — is the subject of Fred Jerome's The Einstein File. Einstein's disloyalty, in the FBI's view, was clearly evidenced by his adamant political stances. He was a socialist, a pacifist (though he advocated war with Germany), and an outspoken foe of McCarthyism, nuclear war, and racism. Jerome's skillful narrative weaves the file's hateful (and often ludicrously inaccurate) entries with American political history, creating an invaluable context for both Einstein's views and the FBI's actions. Further, Jerome points to the more recent 'sanitizing' of Einstein, from angry activist to 'genial, absent-minded professor.' This is a fascinating, compelling tale, one that reads like the strangest of fictions. — H. O'Billovich”

The Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library is located at 1701 8th Street, NW, across R Street, NW, from the Shaw-Howard University station on Metro's Green Line. For more information, contact Branch Manager Mary N. Hernandez at 671-0212 or mary.hernandez@dc.gov. 

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PDCD Ward 5 Community Meeting
Stephanie Rones, premiercdc@yahoo.com 

The Premier Community Development Corporation, Inc. (PDCD), a new open membership community development corporation in Ward Five, will be hosting a Community Development Forum on Thursday, June 27, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Mount Calvary Church Community Center, 605 Rhode Island Avenue, NE. A panel discussion on commercial development, gentrification, affordable housing, and increasing property taxes will be held. Local community leaders, housing industry experts, business and city leaders will be on hand to discuss and answer questions from local residents regarding future changes in Ward Five. Refreshments will be served immediately following the Forum at the Adobe Design Center located at 606C Rhode Island Ave., NE. Residents of the Ward Five community founded the Premier Community Development Corporation in November of 1999. The mission of PCDC is to promote and improve housing, economic, and community development in Ward 5. Our objective is to enhance the overall quality of life throughout the communities in the Ward. PCDC is sponsored by Sun Trust Bank and the Enterprise Foundation. For more information, E-mail premiercdc@yahoo.com or telephone 529-1947.

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Democracy and AIDS: How Congress Spreads HIV in DC
Wayne Turner, actupdc@aol.com 

A community forum hosted by the Stand Up for Democracy in DC Coalition, Tuesday, June 25, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., at the National Council of Negro Women, 633 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, (Navy Memorial/Archives Metro, Green and Yellow lines). Come to a special presentation by PreventionWorks, DC's harm reduction program working to reduce new HIV infections among injection drug users and their partners. Featuring Patsy Fleming, former Clinton Administration Director of National AIDS Policy and President of PreventionWorks; Paola Barahona, executive director of PreventionWorks; Fred Johnson, deputy director, PreventionWorks.

Learn how Congressional control over DC's budget and laws hurts effective HIV prevention efforts, and what we can do to fight back and save lives. Democracy, it's a health issue. Free DC's Budget Now! Refreshments will be served. All welcome! For more information contact Stand Up for Democracy in DC Coalition, 232-2500, http://www.standupfordemocracy.org. 

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CLASSIFIEDS — EMPLOYMENT WANTED

Entry Level Job Wanted
June Kress, Kressman@erols.com 

The St. Luke's Shelter, now in its 11th year of operation in NW Washington, houses up to six men for up to six months to assist them in addressing the root causes of their homelessness and reclaim their lives. One of our current residents just passed the GED exam, and in the process received the Student of the Year Award by Catholic Charities which had been tutoring him. However, finding a job has not been an easy task. If you know of any business looking for an entry-level employee who is serious, will be loyal and hardworking, and has passed a test probably some of us would have a hard time passing, please E-mail me the details. This man is about 50, in good health, and has beginner computer skills.

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CLASSIFIEDS — SCHOLARSHIP LEADS WANTED

Education Scholarship Problem
Bob Levine, rilevine@cpcug.org 

All right, I’ve got a problem. I’ve been a literacy tutor for seven years. My student reads well, and now her granddaughter just graduated 6th in her class at Dunbar and is trying to figure out how to compete her education. She’s been accepted to Hamilton but nobody has guided her to any scholarship money. Can we get this student some help?

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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING

Southern Vermont Vacation
Lynn Dorman, natesima@yahoo.com 

I have a furnished apartment (which can be made into either two or three bedrooms) available all summer and maybe longer. Rent varies with length of stay. If interested in a Southern Vermont vacation, E-mail me at: natesima@yahoo.com. 

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CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES

Congratulations to the Washington Informer
Vernon Price, The AHJ Group, ahjgroup@earthlink.net 

The Washington Informer, one of Washington's oldest black owned newspapers, has received a temporary certification as a Local Small Disadvantaged Business Enterprise from the Office of Local Business Development, which allows the newspaper to bid on District of Columbia agency advertising and marketing contracts. These contracts total over $10 million per year. If your business would like information on how to become a small, minority, veteran or women-owned business, contact Vernon Price at The AHJ Group, 271-5522.

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