Baring Witness
Dear Witnesses:
An antiwar group based in Marin County, California, Unreasonable
Women Baring Witness, has announced that they are going to hold a nude
(that's why the they spell “baring” that way) protest march in
which, they promise, “One hundred thousand women and men will strip on
January 18 in Washington, DC, and San Francisco.” Pardon me for being
skeptical about projected attendance figures, but if you had an
opportunity to travel from Marin County on the eighteenth of January to
either DC or San Francisco in order to march naked outdoors, which city
would you choose? After the march, we'll have a good chance to verify
the count of of protesters by reviewing the tapes from the MPD's cameras
set up to spy on protesters, and I'll bet those tapes will have plenty
of close-ups.
I've encouraged those of you who have spam censorship programs on
your work E-mail addresses to change your subscriptions to themail to
your home E-mail addresses, because censorship programs are so crude and
inaccurate. Brian Livingston, in the latest issue of InfoWorld, reveals
how crude and inaccurate they are: “Researchers used nine different
e-mail clients to request newsletters from 125 large corporations. They
found that one in four of the sent messages were shunted as junk by
Hotmail and Yahoo (http://www.silverpop.com/downloads/documents/SpopStudy_TheBrokenLink.pdf).
Too bad if you rely on e-mail for important business communications.”
Now I need to add one more request; if you decide to set up a censorship
filter on your home account, please be sure to put themail on the list
of acceptable addresses, because the filters on home addresses are just
as bad as the ones used by businesses.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
Follow the Money
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aoldotcom
With so many of the relatives and friends of the thieving leaders of
the Teacher's Union working on Mayor Williams' staff it will be
interesting to see just how much money made its way from the coffers of
the Teacher's Union into Mayor Williams' campaign war chest. Too bad
this event occurred after the mayoral election last November. It might
have had a very positive effect on the election results with Carol
Schwartz as our mayor.
And what looney tunes in the Teacher's Union decided that they would
borrow money to repay teachers who had been overcharged for their union
dues last year? The teachers who overpaid will get a check, then they
will have to give that money back, plus interest, over some period of
time. Sounds like another pea and shell game to me. Are the teachers in
DC so naive that they can't see what is going on?
###############
Residential Parking Permits
James Treworgy, jamie@trewtech.com
I've long harped against DC's RPP system, but it's gone from theory
to reality. Some of my neighbors in Mount Pleasant have recently decided
to zone their streets, winnowing away the number that remained unzoned.
Naturally, my neighbors on the newly zoned Lamont street with
out-of-state registrations have migrated their cars down to 19th Street,
and, since I can't get an RPP sticker, I will be ticketed if I park
anywhere but 19th. I'm sure they are also happy to advise their
out-of-town guests and contractors to park on my street, since they'll
be ticketed on their own. What a great system. People who live on
unzoned streets get the runoff from their zoned neighbors, and can't
park on their street. Is there some rationale for denying people on
unzoned streets an RPP sticker? Is DMV using this as a carrot to
encourage people to zone their streets so they can make more parking
ticket revenue?
Of course, I could just jump on the bandwagon and petition to get my
street zoned. Sure, that would accomplish the short-term goal of getting
the unwanted out-of-staters off my street, but then where would we be? A
couple months from now the whole neighborhood will be zoned, instead of
unzoned. The status quo will be achieved, and we will have exactly the
same number of cars in Mount Pleasant as we did before. The only
difference is that then my guests and contractors will get parking
tickets, as there will be no legal place to park during the day, whereas
before they didn't. Oh, yeah, and a few people will be forced to
register their cars in DC so the city will make a few bucks.
RPP is useless. It restricts parking during the day when there is no
parking problem. It causes my out-of-town visitors to get parking
tickets, or causes me to have to obtain a permit in person every time I
have a daytime visitor. It surely doesn't do anything to reduce the
number of cars that park in my neighborhood, though, since every one of
them belongs to a resident, or guests thereof. We have a parking problem
in this city: the people who live here have too many cars.
Unfortunately, instituting this ridiculous zoning system in residential
neighborhoods isn't going to solve it. At the very least, those of us
who still value unzoned parking on our street should be permitted to
obtain RPP stickers. Beyond that, the system needs an overhaul.
###############
Since its opening, Waterside Mall in southwest DC has stayed open at
least the same hours as Metrorail. Metro riders have been able to walk
through the mall on their way home. On January 2, with no input from
area residents, the mall began closing at 10 p.m. As a result, Metro
riders who used to walk through the mall after 10 p.m. now walk around
the mall, through deserted and poorly lit parking lots near the
Greenleaf Gardens housing project. Increased crime is a matter of time.
As it happens, during December, the mall's new owners occasionally
closed the mall early; they also closed on Christmas Day. Every time I
stopped by when the mall was closed, I saw a handful of security guards
sitting together on the closed mall's first floor. I'd guess they were
drawing a salary. I'm not sure what else they were doing.
On December 25, I sent E-mail messages to Jim Graham and Sharon
Ambrose calling their attention to this situation — Ambrose because
this is her ward, Graham because he is on the WMATA board, and because
Waterside Mall's early closure will discourage use of this Metrorail
station, especially late at night. At first, Jim Graham replied that,
“I of course have no influence over Waterside Mall and its closing
time.” When I pointed out that Graham has more influence than I do, he
replied that, “this mall is not in Ward One,” and that I should
bring the matter to Sharon Ambrose's attention. Both times Graham
offered to check into enhancing Metrorail security. I replied that the
increased safety risk is not on Metrorail property but on Waterside Mall
property or on public streets, neither visible from the Metro station.
Nevertheless, in a later E-mail message, WMATA's Richard White promised
that, “our patrol officers will increase their visibility around the
street level at the Waterfront Station after the business hours for the
Waterside Mall.”
Eventually, after I sent my E-mail message twice, Sharon Ambrose
replied reporting her plans to meet with mall management on Friday,
January 10. ANC Commissioner Andy Litsky will also attend that meeting.
So if other Ward Six residents want to register an opinion on this
matter, send copies to alitsky@aol.com
and to sambrose@dccouncil.washington.dc.us.
###############
Whither the Recyclers
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
Not sure what the problem is but the folks who normally pick up the
recyclables in upper NW DC on Tuesday mornings have not yet appeared as
of late Wednesday evening. Since these folks are not involved with snow
or leaf removal, it makes me wonder if the recycling folks are in some
form of dispute with the city (late payments, perhaps).
###############
Inaugural Message
Mark David Richards, mark@bisconti.com
Thank you for highlighting Kathy Patterson's statement at the
inaugural. Her statement was heartening and honest and reassuring, and
my clap was sincere . . . good government! And that's why Kathy
Patterson was reelected, even with a capable challenger. I also
appreciated her focus on emergency planning in DC, which the mayor also
discussed. Public safety and planning ahead, that's good government.
###############
Recently there have been at least two letters to themail defending
unions. Let's cut through the crap. Marion Barry hired thousands of
incompetent and unqualified people after he became mayor for patronage
purposes. The DC unions have protected those peoples' jobs. We the
residents of DC have paid a high price for the unholy union between
Barry and the DC unions. And the position of the unions is not
defensible.
###############
Happy, Prosperous New Year for the Nation’s
Capital City? Not Likely!
Len Sullivan, lsnarpac@bellatlantic.net
Do inner cities benefit from the drums of war? Is DC any exception?
Who received NARPAC's fourth "Hats Off" Award and why?
NARPAC's answers can be found in the abbreviated January update of its
web site at http://www.narpac.org/INTHOM.HTM.
Try a new approach to making DC better. Get positively involved.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
CHIME Music Mentors Program, January 16
Dorothy Marschak, chime-dc@erols.com
The CHIME Music Mentors program in partnership with Big Brothers Big
Sisters (BBBS) is finally getting underway. There will be a joint
orientation meeting with CHIME and BBBS on January 16 at 6 p.m. at the
downtown offices of BBBS, 666 11th Street, NW, Mezzanine level (in the
Metro Center Building).
The meeting will only take about an hour and will inform you about
what the responsibilities are as a CHIME Big Music Mentor and how BBBS
will process your application. If you decide to make the commitment at
that time, the machinery will be set in motion that will result in your
being matched with a same-sex Little Brother or Sister (you both have to
agree to the match). The commitment on your part should be for a year to
see your Little (aged 8-13) at least twice a month. At least one of
those times you agree to go together to a non-pop music performance:
CHIME will have a listing of suitable programs that are either free or
for which we get offers of free tickets from partnering performing
organizations. At other times you would be free to share your love of
music in any other way you choose, including providing instruction or
other kinds of mentoring, or share other kinds of enriching activities
such as museum or library visits, help with schoolwork or hobbies, or
just talking. You would be covered by BBBS insurance for all these
activities.
Please let me know as soon as possible if you plan to attend the
January 16 orientation, as BBBS needs to have a list on advance. Please
also invite anyone else you think might be interested, particularly
potential male mentors. There is most info about the program on our web
site at http://www.chime-dc.org.
You can also contact me at dmarschak@chime-dc.org
or 232-2731.
###############
Councilmember Phil Mendelson will hold a town hall forum to present
information, discuss and gather feedback on the issue of Klingle Road,
Councilmember Phil Mendelson will hold a town hall forum to present
information, discuss and gather feedback on the issue of Klingle Road,
at Adas Israel Congregation, 3600 block of Connecticut Avenue, NW, at
Porter Streets, NW, in the Kogod Chapel (lobby level), on Tuesday,
January 21, from 7:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. “The Mayor's proposal for Klingle
Road remains a controversial topic. The public deserves a chance to hear
accurate information on this issue and present its views,” stated
Mendelson. Dan Tangherlini, the Director of DC's Department of
Transportation, will be on hand to present the Mayor's plan and traffic
analyses.
###############
Historical Society Book Sale, January 25
Ryan Shepard, rshepard@hswdc.org
The Historical Society of Washington, DC, will be holding its 5th
annual book sale on Saturday, January 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the
Heurich Mansion (1307 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, near the south exit of
Dupont Circle Metro). All proceeds from the sale will go to benefit our
research library, which will be reopening in May at the new City Museum.
More information about the Society and City Museum can be found at http://www.hswdc.org.
For additional information about the sale, please contact rshepard@hswdc.org.
Thanks to themail subscribers who contributed books!
###############
Footlights, the Washington area's only modern-drama discussion group,
has arranged for group discount tickets to a performance of Jennifer
Maisel's “The Last Seder” (2002). In this “touching” and
“funny” new play (Chicago Sun-Times), four sisters return
home for a final family holiday before their memory-addled father moves
to a nursing home. The performance takes place at 3 p.m., Sunday,
January 26, at Theater J, DC JCC, 1529 16th Street, NW (Dupont Circle
metro). Tickets are $22 and include a post-show discussion. Afterwards,
Footlights will gather for continued discussion over dinner at Bua, an
inexpensive nearby Thai restaurant. Send your check, payable to
“Footlights,” to Robin Larkin, 5403 Nibud Court, Rockville, MD 20852
(301-897-9314 and rlarkin@footlightsdc.org).
For further information, go to http://www.footlightsdc.org.
#########
DC Act Meetings, January 28 and February 4
Susie Cambria, scambria@dckids.org
What’s in store for FY 2004? January 28 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at 1616
P Street, NW, 7th floor conference room. Featured panelists are: Arte
Blitzstein, Budget Director for the City Council; Ed Lazere, Executive
Director of DC Fiscal Policy Institute; and Dallas Allen, Director of
Budget Formulation for the Office of Budget and Planning. Cosponsoring
organizations are DCFPI, DC ACT, WLCH, Fair Budget, WCA, SOME.
Cast Your Vote for Kids! final report release and budget advocacy
panel. This meeting, sponsored by DC ACT, is being held on February 4
from 2:30-4:30 p.m. at 1616 P Street, NW, 7th floor conference room.
Confirmed panelists are: Mary Levy (education), T.J. Sutcliffe
(homelessness), Angela Jones (child care), and Frankeena Wright
(health).
RSVP for either meeting to DC Action for Children, 234-9404 or dcaction@dckids.org.
Please note, there is limited street parking and the cost for the
parking garage is $12. The closest Metro stop is Dupont Circle on the
Red Line; use the south exit.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE
Exercise Equipment
E. James Lieberman, ejl@gwu.edu
Precor 9.20 Low Impact Treadmill, fine condition, $300. Rowing/skiing
machine, $50. Weight/exercise bench with 3 barbells, $50.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED
New local hardware store seeking experienced personnel for full and
part-time jobs. Come be a part of the dynamic commercial district along
the 14th St. corridor! Employees with construction, hardware, plumbing,
or electrical backgrounds are needed to round out the staff and add
expertise to the business. Retirees from these fields are encouraged to
apply. All applicants must be serious about customer service and eager
to help the growing hardware demand in the Logan Circle Area. Please
send responses to the E-mail address above.
###############
themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published every
Wednesday and Sunday. To subscribe, to change E-mail addresses, or to
switch between HTML and plain text versions of themail, use the
subscription form at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/subscribe.htm.
To unsubscribe, send an E-mail message to themail@dcwatch.com
with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. Archives of past messages
are available at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail.
All postings should also be submitted to themail@dcwatch.com,
and should be about life, government, or politics in the District of
Columbia in one way or another. All postings must be signed in order to
be printed, and messages should be reasonably short — one or two brief
paragraphs would be ideal — so that as many messages as possible can
be put into each mailing.