Visibility

Dear Far-Sighted Readers:

You do know, don't you, that Mayor Williams and Chief Ramsey don't take your concerns about crime seriously? They think you're deluded. They think you just don't understand how good you have it, here in DC. They dismiss your accounts of poor and nonexistent police service, of 911 failures, of unstaffed and understaffed PSAs (Police Service Areas), of unreported and underreported crimes. Your stories are just that — stories. They're merely anecdotal. And besides, they're anecdotes from citizens, and Mayor Williams and Chief Ramsey know that citizens' stories can't be trusted because citizens have agendas.

Instead of listening to citizens, Mayor Williams and Chief Ramsey rely on statistics. Williams and Ramsey trust statistics, because the statistics are official. And official statistics show that crime is down and that citizens' perceptions are wrong and that their concerns aren't based in reality. That means that the best way to address citizens' concerns about crime and the Metropolitan Police Department is to run public relations campaigns rather than to reform the police department. Are people concerned about how few police cars they see patrolling their neighborhoods (their neighborhoods, not downtown)? Well, Williams and Ramsey know that people are mistaken, so instead of addressing residents' concern by increasing the number of patrol cars in neighborhoods, they have the patrol cars turn on their flashing lights to make them more visible. Are people concerned about crimes in their neighborhoods? They have roving patrols set up roadblocks and stop cars at random for “safety checks,” with the purpose of increasing police visibility to citizens. Dorothy and I ran into one of these roadblocks on 13th Street tonight, and “increasing police visibility” was the actual explanation the officer in charge gave for having eight patrol cars full of officers spend their evening stopping citizens at random. (If the only alternative to inadequate police presence is police harassment, citizens will soon learn to prefer police invisibility.) Coming next, I'm sure, MPD will respond to citizens' complaints about having so few police officers on foot patrol by outfitting officers with sequined hats and sneakers with flashing lights, to make them more visible.

Why are these initiatives so unserious, so frivolous? Because, from the top down, city officials don't take you seriously. Do you have a crime or police story? Share your anecdote with people who will take you seriously in the next issue of themail.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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911
Paul Dionne, Pdionne at speak easy dot net

Customer service is all about accessing things in convenient ways. You can pay your telephone bill in several ways: phone, wire transfer, in person, and via mail. Yet, there seems to be only one way of reporting an emergency. The implications of not paying your phone bill on time are not so serious, but when the reporting of an emergency is delayed even by moments then tragedy can strike.

Why is it that we have accepted 911 as the only mechanism for reporting an emergency? It may be the most convenient and efficient way to report an emergency, but every system is subject to failure (especially one expected to run 24/7). Our city needs to be willing to break away from total reliance on 911. Certainly there ought to be other means to get emergency help, especially in this digital age.

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Williams Dismisses Citizens’ Accounts of 911 House Fire Tragedy
John Aravosis, john@SafeStreetsDC.com

In a personal E-mail, Mayor Anthony Williams today encouraged citizens to dismiss new revelations in the latest and most shocking case of delays in the city's 911 system. Williams told a citizen he “would not base [his] information” on an interview in which a victim says he escaped a burning building, failed to reach a 911 operator, and then had a police officer drive away after he pleaded for help. “I would not base my information on what I read in SafeStreets.com (sic). That's my opinon (sic),” Williams wrote in a February 5 E-mail to Dupont Circle resident Paul Hofer.

Hofer had written to Williams two days earlier, expressing concern after reading the interview in which victims and neighbors give new details of the early-morning January 15, fire at 1617 21st Street, NW, in which one man burned to death while reportedly 911 and at least one police officer initially failed to respond. Nicholas Gutman revealed in the interview that after he escaped the burning building and came to the aid of a naked, bleeding friend who was forced to jump from the 3d floor, he saw a police car parked in front of the building. Gutman says he ran to the parked police car, knocked on the window, and the officer rolled the window down halfway. Gutman, who says he was now in shock, mumbled the words “help... please... fire.” Gutman says the officer rolled the window back up and drove off without a word. The home at 1617 21st was destroyed, three nearby homes were damaged, and one man died in the blaze. Mayor Williams also dismissed the eyewitness account of Dr. Norman Ristin, who lives at 2027 Hillyer, directly behind the house that was destroyed.

In an interview, Gutman challenged Mayor's Williams' explanation of why so many residents could not get through to 911 to report the deadly fire. “The Mayor says there was a problem with 911 because the lines were clogged, so many people were trying to call about the fire.” But Gutman says it is unlikely he had much competition trying to report the fire, as he was one of the first to know about it. “I was inside the house and was calling,” Gutman said. “I couldn't see the fire, so it's very unlikely others could.” I understand the information on SafeStreetsDC.com makes Mayor Williams uncomfortable; it should. But facts are facts. Mayor Williams can't pretend to care about fixing 911 and the police while dismissing victim accounts. Mayor Williams either wants to get to the bottom of things or he doesn't: which is it? The SafeStreetsDC.com interviews with Dr. Ristin and Mr. Gutman, and Mayor Williams' dismissive response to those interviews, can be viewed in their entirety here: http://www.safestreetsdc.com/subpages/mayor.html.

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Tenleytown Metro Versus the Elderly
Lyla Winter, mrscalabash@att.net

My apartment building, for residents who are retired/disabled, is a block away from Tenleytown Metro. Wilson High School students' behavior in this station is frightening. Not only do they run up and down the escalators, but sit on the steps and hand railings, pushing riders aside and yelling obscenities. A mass of young people, shoving and running on the platform is dangerous. Occasionally, there are security guards near the kiosk, but they're oblivious to the chaos. We seniors have learned to schedule our appointments, shopping, etc., before 3:30 or after 5:00 p.m., or just to stay home, in order to avoid this heart attack-inducing situation at Tenleytown Metro.

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Follow-Up on Metro and the Elderly
Jackie Boden, jboden2003@yahoo.fr

I am pleased that some people have no problem with Metro service. Unfortunately, many do, and they sent . many E-mails to me after my "Metro and the Elderly" posting. It appears that others also have serious problems, based on the E-mail I received. If our society is to become a place we enjoy living in, we need to pay attention to the needs of others, particularly those less able to help themselves. The real problem in DC and the country is that there are too many people willing to overlook anything that does not affect them personally. That leads to a lack of accountability and the resulting lack of responsibility we see daily in government, the schools, police, Metro, emergency services, health care, etc.

That is why the involvement of people like John Aravosis is so vital; but for giving individuals like John to succeed we all need to look around, stop complaining and get involved. That means holding people responsible. In the case of Metro, when you write and never receive a reply — as I gather is the experience of many -- write the Board members and let them know you will remember them at election time and by raising contributions to those who do care. If you glance at the local papers or read DC Watch it is easy to conclude we have the best government money can buy -- the way to change that is to make yourself heard and contribute to the opposition. For the elderly it means using sites like DC Watch to make your views and fears known. Those that are not computer skilled can surely find a friend or relative to assist them in posting. As I said above, I received many E-mails, but there has only been one posting on this site. If people want change they need to address their concerns and needs in a public forum and be persistent.

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American Ignorance and the DC Presidential Primary
David Sobelsohn, dsobelsoatcapaccessdotorg

We face a major hurdle in securing equal voting rights: most Americans think we already have them. What effect will increasing visibility for one of the few chances we have to cast a meaningful vote have on our effort to teach other Americans about our lack of the right to vote?

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Presidential Primaries vs. Primary Health Services Revisited
Timothy Cooper, Worldright@aol.com

In her screed, “Presidential Primaries vs. Primary Health Services,” Ms. Payne, who I understand is a resident of Maryland and of not DC or Anacostia, implies that the move to make DC's presidential primary the first-in-the-nation and the need to improve emergency medical services in Anacostia, are mutually exclusive issues. They are not. Ms. Payne misrepresented my current position on DC statehood and retrocession, misquoted my statement before the UN, and misstated my title. What is more alarming is her apparent effort to divide DC between east and west with shameless race baiting tactics. The DC equal rights movement has always been and always will be about building bridges among races and across the many groups and neighborhoods of DC. Ms. Payne’s divide and conquer strategy is therefore suspect in serving other interests, perhaps related to her residency in Maryland.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Women in Film and Video Job Fair, February 8
Dorinda White, dorinda@rindimdia.com

The Seventh Annual WIFV Job Fair will be held at Atlantic Video, 650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, on February 8 from 12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Have you ever just wished that someone could get a whole bunch of potential employers together in one room and give you the chance to speak with, schmooze and impress the people who actually make the hiring decisions? Relax, WIFV has done just that. Polish up those resumes, read up on those trade magazines, and put on your best interviewing smile. All attendees must bring photo id for entrance into the building. WIFV will bring together representatives from more than thirty companies spanning all disciplines from the news and entertainment industry. Confirmed participants include National Geographic, WETA, WRC-TV/NBC4, Atlantic Video Services, International Broadcasting Bureau/VOA, Associated Press Broadcast Services, Metro Video Productions, Washington Internship Center, WTBP-Temporary Broadcast Professionals, Inc., The Actors Center, Double R Productions, AFTRA/SAG, Interface Media Group, Video Labs Corp., Word Wizards, American University, C-Span and many more.

The 2003 Job Fair will include some new features for job seekers. These include government agencies and talent agencies. Other new features include free 15-minutes sessions with a career coach, an internship corner listing DC internship opportunities, and a published list of current national media job openings which will include job listings ranging from NY to LA. While many area employment functions are geared toward the entry level crowd, the WIFV Job Fair is unique not only in that it focuses on the film and video industry, but that it offers opportunities to everyone from just starting out, to mid-career or people in transition, to seasoned professionals. The 2003 Job Fair is open to the entire Washington area community, including members and nonmembers, women and men alike. Attendees should bring resumes and business cards and be prepared to meet with potential employers. Limited parking is available at or around Atlantic Video. The closest Metro stop is Gallery Place on the Red line. Cost: $10 for WIFV members, $20 for nonmembers, $5 for WIFV Student members and $10 for non-WIFV students. For more information, contact Job Fair Chair Dorinda White at dorinda@rindimdia.com.

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Angela Polite, The History of Gospel Music, February 8
Dorothy Marschak, chime-dc@erols.com

Gospel singer and actress Angela Polite presents the history of gospel music this Saturday, February 8, at 2 p.m. at Francis Gregory Library, 3660 Alabama Avenue, SE. Ms. Polite will explore the historical context of gospel music from slavery to the present, when it has moved out of the pews and become an influential force in the making of many genres of popular music. She will illustrate with her own singing and recordings from great gospel singers such as Mahalia Jackson. Ms. Polite recently appeared in “The Amen Corner” by James Baldwin at the H St. Theater, and “The Gospel According to Fishman” at the Signature Theater, and has sung at Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Theater, and the Apollo Theater in New York. She grew up singing gospel at her church in South Carolina.

This program is one of a series of twenty-two free Music Around the World programs for all ages that CHIME (Community Help In Music Education) is presenting at twenty-two DC Branch libraries this year. It will be taped for later airing on DC Public Access TV. For a complete schedule and for more information about CHIME, visit our web site at http://www.chime-dc.org, or contact us at info@chime-dc.org. For directions to Francis Gregory Library, call the library at 645-4297.

Past programs in the series will air on DC Public Access TV (Channel 6 (Comcast) and Channel 11 (Starpower). Our program on traditional Appalachian folk songs and tales with Ralph Lee Smith and Lea Coryell, presented last October at Mt. Pleasant Library, will be shown nine times in February, thanks to sponsorship by the IMF: February 8, 8:30 p.m.; February 12, 9 p.m.; February 14, 2 p.m.; February 16, 3 p.m.; February 18, 7:30 p.m.; February 21, 8 p.m.; February 24, 5 p.m.; and February 27, 4:30 p.m.

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Speakers at National Women's Democratic Club, February 20
Pat Bitondo, pbitondo@aol.com

On Thursday, February 20, 7:00 p.m., Ambassador Lalit Mansingh from India will address Indo-US relations and recent developments. $35 per person. On Thursday, March 6, 12:00 p.m., Kurt Schmoke, Mayor of Baltimore from 1987 to 1999, who became the Dean of the Howard University School of Law on January 1, 2003, $19.50 per person. Both of these events are tax deductible. Proceeds to assist Neval Thomas elementary school with grief counseling, tutoring supplies, and equipment and supplies for the school. It also goes toward funding a Young Women's Leadership Project in various public high schools.

For reservations, call Pat Fitzgerald at 232-7363 or E-mail pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org. Advance payment is required to hold a reservation.

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CLASSIFIEDS — FREE

16 mm projector
Tim Cline, timandann@aol.com

We have an old Bell and Howell 16 mm sound projector that we would be happy to give to someone or some organization that could use it. If you are interested, E-mail me and tell me why.

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