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July 17, 2002

The Paranoid Style

Dear Paranoids:

People of a certain generation who studied American government, politics, or sociology all read Richard Hofstadter's book, The Paranoid Style in American Politics. The title essay of that book was an attack on the John-Birch-like right wing, but the idea applies equally well to any fanatics, whether of the right, left, or center. Hofstadter wrote, “I have neither the competence nor the desire to classify any figures of the past or present as certifiable lunatics. In fact, the idea of the paranoid style as a force in politics would have little contemporary relevance or historical value if it were applied only to men with profoundly disturbed minds. It is the use of paranoid modes of expression by more or less normal people that makes the phenomenon significant.”

Today, Mayor Tony Williams held a press conference designed to quiet the continuing uproar over the flagrant and pervasive election fraud in his campaign's forged voter petitions. The great mystery of this whole episode has been, of course, why? Why would a Mayor who enjoys good poll numbers, adequate numbers of volunteer workers, and an embarrassingly rich campaign chest of more than $1.4 million have to submit forged petitions? Today, the Mayor gave an explanation that well expresses the paranoid style: sabotage. People opposed to him, he charged, had infiltrated his campaign and sabotaged his petition efforts.

Get a grip, Mr. Mayor. You have nobody to blame but yourself. I have never known a candidate in DC who did not begin to panic a month before petitions were due, worrying whether enough signatures had been gathered, demanding to see the petitions, begging the circulators to double and redouble their efforts. Tony Williams would have us believe that he never cared, never bothered — and has still not bothered — to look at his petitions, that he never became engaged in his own efforts at reelection. And that left him open to betrayal by enemies who posed as friends and deliberately sabotaged him. Hofstadter wrote: “Any historian of warfare [or, he might have added, political campaigns] knows it is in good part a comedy of errors and a museum of incompetence; but if for every error and every act of incompetence one can substitute an act of treason, many points of fascinating interpretation are open to the paranoid imagination.” Your errors, Mr. Williams, and your incompetence, not treason. Abandon the paranoid conspiracy theory, and accept responsibility.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com 

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Parking Break for Councilmembers
Ann Loikow, johnl@erols.com 

I hope other readers of themail were as outraged as I was to read that the Council, with three no votes (Patterson, Mendelson and Ambrose) voted to exempt themselves from most District parking rules on the rationale that they should be treated the same as members of Congress. As most District residents probably know, Congress routinely exempts itself from laws that apply to others (most notoriously regarding employee rights). Our imperial Congress is not an example the DC Council should follow. DC citizens should thank those three Council Members who have the courage to say no.

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The Snakeheads
J. Smoak, halfsmoak@hotmail.com 

Gary Imhoff's characterization of our administration as one which would rather “force ten innocent people to pay fines they don't owe than to let one guilty driver go free” extends beyond the DMV. After real property tax payments for a 2nd property were not applied to my tax account, my mortgage company was notified by the DC government of its intent to sell the property for outstanding taxes. The mortgage company, in response, paid several thousand dollars to satisfy the outstanding debt, then came after me. I was forced to pay the taxes again (to them) in order to salvage my credit and my relationship with my mortgage company. Armed with canceled checks to verify payments not applied to my tax account, DC government acknowledged cashing the checks, but showed little or no interest in researching the problem, since they didn't quite know where the payments went. Finally, after several months of visits and phone calls, DC Gov finally discovered that some less-than-alert employee had applied the payments to the address on my check (i.e., my residence), rather than to the designated lot and square of the subject property. Resolved, right? Not so fast, says Mr. Slater of DC Gov. I still couldn't get my several thousand dollar credit refund until 1) I could prove exactly which payment — mine or the mortgage company's — created the overpayment, 2) my residential mortgage company contacts DC government with assurances that they will pay any additional assessment once the erroneous payments are backed out of my residential tax account (yeah, right), and/or 3) Santa dyes his hair. Pick a reason. Any reason. And I'm sad to say that I have several stories like this, involving more than this one department. Ironically, the employees themselves seem kinder, gentler, less combative than in years past. But the systems, psychology, and culture under which they operate can be likened to the (Crofton) Chinese Snakehead Fish. Voracious. Predatory. No natural enemies.

I think I miss Marion Barry.

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Ditto to Eric Scharf
Dawn Dickerson, ddd668@aol.com 

Eric Scharf's post in the last edition of themail regarding the parking ticket issue at DMV said exactly what I was thinking and know to be true. Folks have chosen not to pay those tickets and now it's time to pay the piper, and they whined loud enough to get themselves out of it. Which is so typical of the frustration that natives like myself feel about the Council. In an election year, the squeaky wheel gets the whole can of oil. People know they owe those tickets and ought to pay them.

I have over $400 in old tickets from over the years that I blatantly refused to pay, and now I have to register a car. And you know what, I'm gonna suck it up and pay them! That's what people who take responsibility for their actions do!

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Lights Out at the Lincoln Memorial
Jon Desenberg, jondes@hotmail.com 

Occasionally, as I'm driving back over the Memorial Bridge into the city at night, the Lincoln Memorial is completely dark. Unlit, it's like a black hole at the end of the bridge. Are we really this desperate to save on the government's electric bill? I'd really like to hear the answer to this latest DC mystery.

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The Petition Scandal
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com 

Two challenges and two complaints have been filed against Mayor Williams's primary qualifying petitions with the DC Board of Elections and Ethics. A challenge charges that the candidate hasn't collected the minimum number of valid voters' signatures required for the office. In the Mayor's race, that is 2,000 signatures. One challenge was filed jointly by DCWatch (Gary Imhoff and myself) and two Republican party activists (Shaun Snyder and Mark Sibley), on the basis of analyses that were done independently by the two groups. A second challenge was filed by Sandra Seegars and Absalom Jordan, supporters of Democratic mayoral candidate Doug Moore.

A complaint doesn't affect whether a candidate will appear on the ballot; instead, it is a formal filing with the BOEE that alleges violations of DC election laws and regulations. Both DCWatch and the DC Republican Party filed complaints alleging that the massive forgeries and other irregularities on the Williams petitions should be referred for legal prosecution. Williams’s Chief of Staff, Kelvin Robinson, spent a week lobbying prominent Republicans in the city and on the Hill, asking them to discourage the Republican Party from filing a challenge to Mayor Williams's petitions, and in the end the Republicans filed only a complaint.

The next step in the petition scandal will occur next Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., when the BOEE holds a public hearing to consider and resolve the DCWatch/Snyder challenge at its conference room, 270N at One Judiciary Square. Prior to that, the BOEE's general counsel will hold a closed door pre-hearing conference to attempt to resolve the issues. Mayor Williams, who is determined to defend the petitions before the BOEE, will be represented both by Doug Patton, his former deputy mayor for economic development who is now with Holland and Knight, and by Patton's friend from the Business Regulatory Reform Commission, Vincent Mark Policy, with Greenstein, DeLore and Luchs, who normally represents real estate interests and landlords. Meanwhile, several councilmembers have helped secure David Wilmot as legal counsel for Scott Bishop, the campaign staffer who oversaw the circulation of the Williams's petitions, whom the campaign is setting up to be its fall guy.

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An Independent Williams
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com 

Should the challenges to Mayor Williams result in fewer than two thousand valid signatures, Tony Williams will have to reregister as an Independent and collect 3000 signatures on new petitions. That poses a question. Does the mayor need 3000 signatures from those voters who are registered as Independent? If so, the mayor may be hard pressed to find 3000 Independent registered voters in DC.

When I was collecting signatures for Kathy Patterson to be on the Democratic Primary Ballot of September 10, I had to ask those signing the petition forms if they were registered as Dems (as well as residents in Ward 3). That cut down the number of eligible signers considerably in upper NW, where there are enclaves of Republicans and Independents. Hey, we might even see Tony Williams's petition carriers up here in NW.

[The answer is no. Petitions for Independents in the general election can be signed by members of any party, or of no party. Williams would have another option, also, which is to run as a write-in candidate in the Democratic primary. — Gary Imhoff]

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Mayor on Ballot
Jeanne Thum, jeannethum@hotmail.com 

I signed a ballot for Anthony Williams at the Safeway at 13th and D on Capitol Hill. So there's a least a few legitimate signatures out there.

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Petitions
Ginny Spevak, gspevak@earthlink.net 

I too was puzzled that it took Ed Barron so long to collect signatures for Kathy Patterson. I was warmly greeted by almost everyone I asked to sign while collecting 79 signatures for Kathy Patterson in 2 1/2 hours at the Davenport Street Safeway. That's thirty per hour. Incidentally, although I enjoyed a companionable time at the Safeway with a petition-gatherer for David Catania and my husband and I signed petitions for minor candidates at the vehicle inspection station, neither of us ever saw a petition gatherer for Mayor Williams.

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What’s Wrong with This Picture?
Ralph Blessing, rblessin88@hotmail.com 

Today's (July 17) Post reports that DC libraries may need to cut back their hours, including being closed on Saturdays (except MLK branch), due to a budget shortfall of $1.4 million. Meantime, the DC Sports Commission is hitting us up for an additional $1.6 million to fund this weekend's Grand Prix race near RFK. It's good to know that we have our priorities in order.

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DC Auditor Investigates Shortfall in Day Care
Sue Bell, sbell@giftsinkind.org 

Did anyone see this article in the Sunday Metro section of the Post on July 7? The issue is that the Office of Early Childhood Development ran short of money this spring, forcing the agency to stop accepting children of low-income parents in its subsidized day-care program. One of the causes? Free after school care was made available to all District school children during the last school year (01-02), regardless of economic need. Essentially, TANF money was being used to provide free after school care to middle and upper income kids (as well as kids who receive reduced and free priced lunch). Aside from the obvious problem of misdirecting funds intended for poor children, some of the long-standing, community-based nonprofit after school program are now in jeopardy. Here are two key excerpts from the article:

“The city audit comes after an independent review of the $55 million program that found some day-care providers had been overpaid and some children may not have been eligible for the assistance. There also are questions about why federal welfare funds committed to provide child care for needy families wound up paying for after-school programs open to all DC public school students, which a school official said violated the agreement with the city to serve only poor children. Funds for that program, which were included in the $55 million budget, also dried up, and the school system had to abandon its summer afternoon programs.

“DC Council member Sandy Allen (D-Ward 8), chairman of the council's committee on human services, asked the city auditor to examine the childcare subsidy program's expenditures.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33764-2002Jul6.html

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Department of Transportation
Clyde E. Howard, Jr., ceohoward@hotmail.com 

What's with this new Department of Transportation? They have yet to provide a solution to the most screwed up intersection in the city. The intersection that I am referring to is the intersection that funnels Eckington Place, NE, 1st Street, NE, Florida Ave., NE, and New York Ave., NE, together into one giant cluster of spaghetti, which backs up traffic all the way to North Capital Street, NE. This intersection has been the cause of traffic tie-ups for years, with no solutions ever made or any traffic corrections made. It would seem that the Department of Transportation, now newly formed and independent of DPW would began to exercise its power to effect change in the way traffic flows through this intersection. The drivers of this megalopolis have suffered too long the inaction of the former transportation office under DPW and now the newly formed Department of Transportation to correct an intolerable situation.

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Chief Few
Keith Jarrell, kjarrell@qwest.net 

The real thing that disturbs me about Chief Few and his lies and false resume is that the mayor fell for every bit of it! Then he essentially upheld the Chief in his lies and waited for months to finally ask for his resignation. This proves to me that the mayor has real flaws in his judgment, and his ability to judge people. Along with major problems with his senior staff. They are negligent at the least for not investigating Fee's background thoroughly. They are terrible in preparing the mayor for his public endorsement of this and no doubt other issues.

But mainly what I think we as citizens must look at now is how to judge this mayor and his current campaign filing problems! We are talking the mayor of our city here, someone that we should be able to trust. If we can't trust his senior campaign staff to get current and proper signatures on his petition to be on the September ballot, how can we trust him and his decisions that will follow? I have a real problem with this! I have a real problem in believing that this many mistakes can happen. Who is on first and what's on second over there? We are in a grave situation here. I think the right thing for this mayor to do is to speak out publicly and withdraw himself from the fall election and call for a special election to elect the next mayor of the District of Columbia and for him to stay out of the race.

Just like Few, this mayor is unfit to lead this city and to portray to us any longer that he is in charge, when in fact he is not. There is a vast recorded here of bad judgments and of not telling the whole story or not giving all the details to the people. I am in hopes that many people will speak out on this subject.

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Stupidity Running Rampant
Lyla Winter, mrscalabash@att.net 

Not only Ronnie Few, but how many others who have been hired by this administration, whose qualifications have been erroneous, have turned out to be crooks, or whose contracts have allowed them to quit, but with an enormous severance pay? Who does the vetting of hiring the Mayor's staff? I'd suggest they be fired — but they'd probably make out like bandits.

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Even Your Friends Don’t Know Who You Are
Harold Foster, Harold.Foster@MNCPPC.ORG 

The current edition of Business Week, which I happened across in a Nashville hotel, mentions the new generation of so-called centrist elected African-American leaders who are emerging at the state, local, and Congressional levels. To hear BW tell it, this first “post civil rights era” genus is defined by a more pro-business (or, at least, a less anti-business) attitude; a willingness to leave more social uplift to the tender mercies of the private sector and individual enterprise and “even,” as BW itself put it, some receptivity toward cutting taxes.

The article then goes on to list the most prominent recipients of The Street's 30 pieces of WorldCom/Enron silver, including the mayor of Detroit and an aspirant to that office in Newark, whose biggest claim to fame seemed to be that he was willing to take on a Marion Barry-type “old school” mayor named Sharpe James. . Nowhere in the 10+ column inches of this encomium did I find the slightest mention of your — your, mind you — esteemed Mayor, Anthony “Big Bucks” Williams. After all that we here locally well know that Big Tone's done to qualify for just such a Hall of F(Sh?)ame of New (or is it Next?) Generation African-American Centrist Leaders, I would have thought he would have been front and center in such an article in such a magazine.

So I guess Tony “Let Them Pay With Plastic” Williams will have to find some other, more dramatic, way to illustrate his fitness for this new elected Afro-American elite. Wiping out yet more public sector responsibilities, such as caring for the health and educational needs of those who can't buy these services on the upward-creeping private market here in town, to throw over to the tender mercies of the all-mighty market might get him properly recognized by his like-minded colleagues at BW. Or maybe he could get his fifteen minutes of fame the next time BW publishes this particular hit parade if, oh, say, he just scraps the entire public school system and hands out vouchers on the first day of school next year. Or shuts down the entire Department of Public Health and replaces it with a telephone menu of all the private HMOs that what Walter Fauntroy accurately calls “the least, the last and the lost” here in town can go to instead.

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Election-Related Activities
Susie Cambria, scambria@dckids.org 

A group of service providers, advocates and residents known as Human Needs 1st is compiling a calendar of election-related events. If your community group or organization is sponsoring an event (voter registration, candidate forum, etc.), we would love to know. Please E-mail jrobinson@clasp.org and we will add it to the calendar. As soon as we have a home for the calendar, we will be sure to announce it here.

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CSNA vs. Masons
Glenn Melcher, glworld88@hotmail.com 

Once again, the race card is raised without any merit on the issue of parking (themail, July 14). The Cardozo Shaw Neighborhood Association is not opposed to the Prince Hall Masons, as Mr. Howard would have one believe — what CSNA (and the Westminster Neighborhood Association and every other member of the community to whom I have spoken — regardless of race) opposes is a parking lot on two lots that are zoned for residential use.

The facts are quite simple in this neighborhood dispute. The DC zoning regulations do not permit a parking lot on residentially zoned property. The Masons currently illegally operate a parking lot on five residentially zoned lots at the corner of Vermont Avenue and T Streets. They had a special exception to operate a parking lot at that location that expired more than a dozen years ago. In 1998, the Mason purchased the two adjacent lots to their illegal parking lot. Those lots also are residentially zoned and located in the Greater U Street Historic District. I, as the local Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, informed them at the time that any attempt to expand their current parking into these two residential lots would be vigorously opposed by the community. Not only are these lots located next to a National Historic Landmark (the Tibbs Home) but the front directly on our community's only National Park — the African-American Civil War Memorial. Contrary to assertions by Mr. Howard, the members of this community that oppose a parking lot do understand the true character of our community along U Street: its rich history so important to African–American culture. A parking lot simply does not fit with that character or the image we should be projecting to the tourist we are hoping to encourage to come into our community.

I further find it frustrating that the Masons have refused to explore other options for parking. In the four years since they purchased the lots (at a price that was an incredible bargain given today's property values), the Masons have not explored other possible options for providing parking for their members. Suggested alternatives have been rejected out-of-hand by representatives of the Masons as too costly. Yet, were the Masons to sell the two lots they purchased (presumably to a developer that would build historically appropriate residences — as required by the zoning on the property), they would realize a profit of several hundred thousand dollars — more than enough to cover alternative parking costs for years to come. Why, one wonders, do they reject the obvious solution?

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Prince Hall Masons Versus the Cardozo Shaw Neighborhood Association
Scott Pomeroy, cardozo_shaw@yahoo.com 

I was disappointed when I read Clyde Howard’s recent post and the lack of the specifics about the “Special Exemption” the Prince Hall Mason’s are applying to receive. The Cardozo Shaw Neighborhood Association (CSNA) has taken the position to oppose this special exemption to convert a residentially zoned lot that the Masons purchased in 1998, adjacent to the parking lot that the Masons own and operate. The special exemption would pave right up to the Evans-Tibbs House, an individual National Historic Landmark due to its relation with African American Opera signer Lillian Evans Tibbs, or “Madame Evanti.” The special exemption is being opposed by the Westminster Neighborhood Association (WNA) and the owners of the Evans-Tibbs House, and was placed on the CSNA agenda at the request of WNA. When the Masons presented it to ANC 1B one month, earlier they stated that the new spaces would be for their Board of Directors. Even ANC 1B put conditions on their approval of the Special Exemption, requiring the Masons to provide parking on their lot for the community and to negotiate directly with the President of the Westminster Neighborhood Association and the owners of the Evans-Tibbs house to alleviate concerns raised at the ANC meeting.

Since these steps have not been taken by the Masons to date, CSNA voted to support the residents affected by the proposed lot. No one questions the contributions that the Masons have provided to the community for generations; however, that does not mean they can do whatever they desire, unquestioned by others who are affected by their actions. The issue will now go to the Board of Zoning Adjustment for their consideration. As for CSNA telling people how to cut your grass, anyone who reads themail knows that this is strictly the purview of DCRA.

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Prince Hall Masons vs. the Cardozo Shaw Neighborhood Association
Paul Williams, pkelseyw@aol.com 

Clyde E. Howard, Jr., posted a piece about the desire of the Masons at 1000 U Street to expand their parking lot by nine additional spaces, and the opposition they faced by CSNA (and the ANC and Westminster Neighborhood Association, by the way). He left out one very, very important piece of information, however; their current parking lot is illegal, as the site is zoned residential, and despite being paved for years, the Masons have never received zoning variance and approvals to operate the parking lot! It also has an illegal guard shack erected upon it. And now they are asking to expand an illegal parking lot into another residentially zoned parcel. Perhaps they should start with trying to operate a legal parking lot in the first place?

Their original lot (on the northwest corner of Vermont and T Street) had been the site of a substantial apartment building until the 1970s, and on the desired expanded lot, a wood frame house until about the same time. The parking lot they propose would also pave the lot right up to the Evans-Tibbs House, an Individual National Historic Landmark due to its relation with African American Opera signer Lillian Evans Tibbs, or “Madame Evanti.” Her late relative had been in the process of purchasing that lot to avoid such a situation, but died before the purchase was complete.

Some of us that have been in the U Street neighborhood for decades remember fighting the Masons for years in the early 1990s to clean up two abandoned properties they owned to the west of the parking lot, at the corner of 11th and T Street. They did so only after years of pressure and exposure as the owners of these abandoned, drug infested homes that added to the neighborhoods despair. I now have to wonder if they were planning on allowing them to deteriorate or burn to expand the parking westward as well. I lose sympathy for owners of historic housing that let them fall into such a condition. For those of you that don't know the 10th and U Street site, the U Street Metro entrance is twenty feet from their building, actually two blocks closer than their proposed parking lot, and by looking at the majority of large and new model cars, I don't buy the argument that the Metro costs too much to use; its likely less costly than the gas spent driving a Lincoln Continental in the city traffic to and from the outer suburbs. (I was the former VP, co-President, secretary, etc., of the CSNA years ago. )

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Young Professionals
Michael Karlan, events@dcyoungpro.com 

The DC Society of Young Professionals is hosting a Saturday Evening at the Kenyan Ambassador's Residence. On Saturday night, July 27, go from Potomac, Maryland, to the heart of Africa. The Ambassador and his staff are our hosts as we experience a taste of Kenya with complimentary authentic Kenyan food, an open bar, art, film, and a very special unique musical and dance presentation by a world renowned authentic Kenyan group. We will also have dancing from one of D.Sc.'s greatest D.J.'s. Spend a casual evening with the Ambassador and his staff, and tour the home and backyard of this fantastic diplomatic residence located in one of Potomac's most exclusive neighborhoods. This event is $65. For more details or to purchase tickets, please visit www.dcyoungpro.com, E-mail events@dcyoungpro.com, or call 686-6085.

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Stroke Prevention Talk
Barbara Roberts, Barbara202@aol.com 

On Thursday, August 18, at 6:00 p.m., Dr. Chalela from NIH will be discussing Stroke Prevention. The program will take place in the lobby of the Martin Luther King , Jr., Memorial Library. The library is located at 901 G St., NW. It can be reached by taking the Metro to either Metro Center or Gallery Place. (It is diagonally across the street from Gallery Place.) For additional information, please contact the Technology Division at 727-1175.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED

Administrative Assistant for Children’s Advocacy Organization
Matthew Kessler, matthew@stand.org 

Stand Up for Children, a national grassroots children's advocacy program (http://www.stand.org), is seeking an Administrative Assistant for its National Office in Washington, DC. Salary from $22-$26K plus excellent benefit package including 100 percent paid employee health benefits. Full job description and application procedures available at http://www.stand.org/aboutus/admin.html

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Part-Time Waiter
Victoria McKernan, victoriamck@mindspring.com 

Opening at one of DC's top restaurants for a part-time back waiter on Saturdays (and occasional Fridays) from 6-10 p.m., and to fill in other waiter shifts as needed. Must have fine-dining experience, personable attitude, flexible schedule, and be reliably available on short notice. This is not a full-time waiter position or an extra income deal for someone with a full-time job. It is the perfect job for an artist/writer/freelancer who just needs the security of making the rent. (Average $600 or more a month.) E-mail Victoriamck@mindspring.com or call 387-2571.

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CLASSIFIEDS — CAUSES

Cosponsors for Who’s in It for Kids? Elections 2002
Susie Cambria, scambria@dckids.org 

For the past few elections, DC Action for Children has joined with other child-, youth- and family-interested individuals and organizations in an effort called Who’s in it for Kids? The focus of the effort is to raise the awareness among candidates and the public about the state of children in the District and more importantly, to learn from the candidates what they think about children and meeting their needs. We invite you to join us this year by signing on to Who’s in it for Kids? Signing on means that your name/organization name will be included in all educational materials, will be apprised of activities of the effort and will be encouraged to promote the event and materials related to the initiative. Plans include a candidate forum for At-large City Council members and a voter guide for mayoral candidates.

If you would like to sign on, please send the following information to DC ACT (dcaction@dckids.org, 1616 P Street NW, Suite 420, WDC 20036, 234-9108 fax): Name, Organization, Address, City/St/Zip, Phone, Fax, E-mail. Also indicate whether you are signing on as an Individual or Organization. Questions should be directed to: Frankeena Wright or Susie Cambria at 234-9404.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING

Fully Furnished Rooms
Donald Lewis, Donald.Lewis@starpower.net 

Small room: $600 with breakfast, utilities; no phone access; large room: $800 with breakfast, utilities; no phone access; lower cost negotiable for a part-time or commuter housemate. Nonsmokers looking for mature, responsible housemate(s) to share home, groceries, meals, cleaning, house chores, etc.; part-time or commuter housemate ideal; cooking skills, neat/cleanly and cat lover a plus; short-term renters considered. The house is beautifully furnished with deco and Asian antiques, wood floors, lots of windows, and great lighting; there are 3 1/2 bathrooms so bath is only shared with one other person for each room; front and back porch; basement rec /TV room. Less than a ten-minute walk or six blocks to Tenley Metro (Red Line) or easy car parking.

Scoop on us: We are looking for someone who wants to join a warm collaborative atmosphere. We like to eat together when possible and a housemate could contribute to monthly food for meals if he/she is interested. Housemates are requested to get their own phone line(s). Room includes all furnishings, utilities, shared supplies (laundry detergent, TP, cleaning supplies, etc.), and a cold "take on your own" breakfast -- i.e., bread, English muffins, jelly, butter, fruit, yogurt, hot and cold cereal, milk, tea, juice, coffee, etc. Does not include lunch or dinner but could arrange to share groceries, meals. Interviewing candidates now for early/mid August for small room or September for the large room; E-mail Donald.Lewis@starpower.net or phone at home, 362-9494, before 10:30 p.m.

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CLASSIFIEDS — WANTED TO BUY

Clubs and Kayak
Phil Greene, pgreene@doc.gov 

I am looking to purchase a set of cheap but decent children's golf clubs (for right handed swing), anyone out there have a kid who has outgrown theirs or lost interest? Also seeking a good used kayak.

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CLASSIFIEDS — DONATIONS WANTED

Photocopier
Jenice View, jenice@aol.com 

The Just Transition Alliance is a young 501(c)(3) in need of a small photocopy machine. Ideally, someone looking for a tax write-off would donate one in good condition. Please contact Jenice View, Executive Director, at 588-1850.

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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS

Dressmaker/Tailor in DC
Joan Eisenstodt, jeisen@aol.com 

Desperately seeking a really good dressmaker who can take an existing article of clothing and make a copy. Any ideas? Need someone in the District because of transportation.

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