Volunteering
Dear Shovelers:
Only three properties on my block haven't had their sidewalks
shoveled yet: the private school run by a nonprofit charity, the vacant
lot owned by the DC government, and the pocket park owned and run by the
DC Department of Parks and Recreation. None of the properties on 14th
Street that are owned by the DC government or controlled by the National
Capital Revitalization Corporation have had their sidewalks shoveled.
Yesterday, the city called for volunteers to shovel the sidewalks around
DC schools. I didn't, and wouldn't, volunteer.
I've written it before, and I'll stick by it. The DC government
shouldn't rely on citizen volunteers to do the work that taxpayers pay
city workers to do. It's fine and commendable for citizens to volunteer
for things that aren't in the budget, that are above and beyond what we
expect the government to do. But we expect and pay for the government to
do routine maintenance on its properties. That's why the DC public
schools and the Parks and Recreation Department have maintenance workers
and buildings and grounds budget lines and snow shoveling equipment.
Shoveling snow from sidewalks is in their job descriptions and in their
budgets. Why didn't the DCPS and Parks and Recreation maintenance
workers shovel the sidewalks on Monday or Tuesday? Because Monday was a
scheduled holiday and Tuesday was a snow day, a day off for city
workers. The city workers who are paid to shovel snow from around the
schools didn't shovel the snow because it had snowed, so the city called
on citizen volunteers to do the work. You gotta love the logic, but you
shouldn't have to do the work.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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Seeking Snow Removal Comments
Kathryn M. Sinzinger, newsdc@aol.com
The Common Denominator is seeking comments (for publication) about
how well the DC government is doing with snow removal efforts in
residential neighborhoods throughout the District. How well is the job
being done in your neighborhood? Please feel free to respond to NewsDC@aol.com
or news@thecommondenominator.com.
[I've waited until after midnight on Thursday morning, the city's
self-imposed deadline of sixty hours after the end of the snowstorm to
have plowed neighborhood streets, to report: no plow has gone down my
block. -- Gary Imhoff]
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There Oughta Be a Better Way
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aol.com
Over the past 24 hours the plows have been up and down Massachusetts
Avenue in front of my house thirty or forty times. For the last twenty
of these pass-bys there has been no snow to speak of to plow. And yet,
the side streets that feed into Massachusetts Avenue have been unplowed.
Supervisors have passed by at least five times here early on Monday
morning. Once the primary roads have been made passable it seems that
the plows should then be revectored to clean up the side streets instead
of replowing bare roads. I'll open my driveway up to the street when I'm
sure that I won't be plowed in again. Should have the sidewalk in front
of the house cleared by late tonight. That will beat Mayor Williams's
clearing of the streets by a mile.
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In the fourteen years I've lived in DC one of the mysteries has been
where all the snow plows have gone. For most of that time I lived in
Friendship Heights where for many storms (such as 1996) we never saw a
snow plow, even after the storm abated. Now that I live in sight of
Massachusetts Avenue I finally have the answer to my question. There are
commuter routes in DC that get an amazing amount of plowing. My wife and
I watched in wonder as trains of three plows flowed up and down
Massachusetts Avenue. Often we would hear the passage of one or more
plows every ten minutes. The effect of this concerted effort was
impressive. As the snow ended on Monday, the surface of Massachusetts
Avenue was clean, visible, and only wet. This did not stop the plowing
as plows continued to work this street, ensuring that this road was
clear curb to curb. Frankly I don't know what is more frustrating,
wondering where the plows are or watching them as they march by,
ignoring my small section of street. If only one of those hundreds of
passes down Massachusetts Avenue had detoured past my house I'd now be
free, instead of snowbound. The moral is that it doesn't matter how many
plows and crews DC deploys. If they are all focused on non-taxpaying
nonresidents (remember, no commuter tax) rather than taxpaying
residents, we continue to be poorly served.
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How did the terrorists manage to make it snow so much? We know all
harm and all of our ills come from either Iraq or Al Queda. They must
have made it snow.
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License Suspended in Error by DMV
Jason Ziedenberg, jzdc@justicepolicy.org
So, as I arrive at Avis to rent a car, I'm startled to hear the
attendant tell me, “Sorry, Mr. Ziedenberg, my computer says your
license has been suspended.” How? Why? Of course, Avis can't tell me.
I get on the phone with the DMV, and at first, they can't tell me either
("Please report to permit control, 65 K Street, and no, it isn't a
criminal manner"). I cancel my trip to Annapolis, return to my
office, and after an hour on the phone to the DMV, the culprit is found.
“Mr. Ziedenberg, you seem to have some sort of ticket in Washington
state, reference code I-333333.” No, I remember that, I paid that, I
have the canceled check to prove it. “We don't accept canceled checks
as evidence of anything, sir, please come in to 65 K Street for
adjudication.” Adjudication? I didn't do anything?
Then, on the phone with Washington State, and after an hour with
them, “Oh, yes, you paid this ticket last March. And we sent the
closed adjudication form to the DMV in March.” I have the kind
official in Washington state fax the form she sent to the DMV to me, and
call the DMV trying to get this fixed. “No, Mr. Ziedenberg, you cannot
fax the form to us, nor can Washington state. You must come to 65 K
Street with a paper copy.” I then send flowers to the kind official in
Washington state, and the paper copy is on the way, both to me, and
them.
Living here for six years now, I thought I was immune to getting
aggravated over this kind of stuff. I defend this city as a great place
to live, with relatively good civil servants at every turn. But I am
furious at the city for suspending my license in error, partly because
of the canceled meeting and wasted time, but more because I wasn't even
notified! I'm told DC will jail you for driving with a suspended
license, and they most certainly do in the Western states I drove in
during the fall. Imagine trying to call the DC DMV from a jail in
Nevada, and DC taxpayers, you'd pay the daily rate of my incarceration
in the DC jail for this and police processing costs. I'd like to know if
anyone on this list has experienced something similar, and if anyone has
any recommendations for recourse other than going to 65 K Street, which
I assume I will have to do, as soon as the paper form from Washington
State arrives.
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We at Lobbyline commend Councilmember David Catania for another act
of championship on behalf of the most vulnerable insured people of DC..
Mr. Catania has introduced legislation to oppose the for-profit
conversion and merger bid of CareFirst BlueCross/BlueShield. Read about
Mr. Catania's legislation here http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/CATANIA/news/20030204carefirst.htm.
Mr. Catania reports that his legislation is made on behalf of 135,438
District residents, working for both small and large employers and for
seniors under Medicare supplemental products.
The recently threatened end to care for thousands using Children's
Hospital was enough to illustrate what profit motives can do to the
mission of a nonprofit insurance provider. It can rip away the care from
an entity that prides itself on care first. It can place second the
health of a community by an entity that prides itself on prioritizing
the community's health first. If CareFirst the for-profit-to-be can be
drawn to business deals that jeopardize the health of the community's
children then CareFirst the for-profit can do far worse. Advocates for
vulnerable populations work to enlarge, not shrink health coverage for
our most vulnerable uninsured and insured population. It is our belief
that the critical mission of providing affordable insurance to the
vulnerable and to the community at large will be compromised in the
event of a conversion. Ideally and true to their original mission the
Blues -- BlueCross/BlueShield -- help individuals and families,
particularly the community's children and community's indigent, access
critical, high quality preventive care and treatment.
CareFirst needs to reconsider the bid for conversion. Instead, it
should reconnect with the original mission to help the needy and
increase health care resources for the poor and the vulnerable
individual and small group policyholders. It is a difficult mission to
fulfill, but the community can apply its varied and creative resources
to help CareFirst BlueCross in its original nonprofit mission. Please
visit www.lobbyline.com to thank
Mr. Catania for this act of courage and to write your Councilmembers and
urge them to follow Mr. Catania's example. All relevant officials in the
Washington metropolitan area should continue to help get the word out
about the need to reexamine and oppose the CareFirst bid for a
conversion. All Washingtonians need to work for the expansion of health
care options for our community. Please do your part. Begin by supporting
Mr. Catania and reading more about the assault on health care for the
vulnerable at http://www.healthcarenowdc.org
and http://www.carefirstwatch.org.
###############
DC Alliance for Action
Cecelia Holmes, ccadadc2@aol.com
The Jackson DC Alliance for Action, a think tank for progressive
Democrats in the District of Columbia formed by supporters of former DC
mayoral candidate Arthur Jackson, Jr., is appealing to Democrats tired
of a DC Democratic Party divided and unable to make a decision on
crucial issues such as changing the DC primary election date and DC
General Hospital, to unite and form a citywide alliance slate to run
candidates for Delegate to the Democratic Convention and for the DC
Democratic State Committee seats at large and in all wards. The slate
will seek to replace Norm Neverson by nominating one of the following
leaders of the progressive wing of the DC Democratic Party to run for
Chairperson: former Ward 8 Democratic State Committeeman Arthur Jackson,
At-Large Committeewoman Mary Wolfe, former Shadow Representative John
Capozzi, or former Ward 1 Dems President Shelore Williams. The alliance
is also interviewing candidates for state committee in all wards, and is
expected to support the re-election of the most progressive members of
the State Committee, such as Wanda Lockridge, Harry Thomas, Jr., Jacque
Patterson, and Linda Moody.
The Alliance for Democratic Action believes that the slate must be
formed and run on a Real Democratic Platform addressing health care and
DC General Hospital, reform of our DC public schools, stronger ethics in
city government, and supporting a favorite or daughter to address
national Democrats on our desire not to accept broken promises from the
Democratic Party, and being ignored by the Republican Party on our right
to self determination. We will be holding a series of town meetings this
fall to hear from Democrats in all eight wards. If you're tired of the
corruption, abuse of power, and total disregard and disrespect for the
people of our city by those who run as Democrats and govern as
Republicans, we invite you to join the Alliance for Democratic Action
Think Tank. E-mail Cecelia Holmes at ccadadc2@aol.com.
###############
Tell you what. When Representative Flake has experimented with his
voucher program in a city in his state that has problems, issues, and
population similar to our own community's, and found the experiment
successful, I'll be interested in discussing the possibility of trying
it out. In the meantime, I would prefer to support our public school
system in its attempts to improve the quality of education the city
provides. Let's take a survey — admittedly anecdotal. How is your
local school doing these days? Is there a charter school near you? How
is it doing? Do we have any success stories to report?
###############
The Last Bastion of Affordable Housing in the
West End
Gabe Goldberg, gabe@gabegold.com
Deborah Akel said, “It is a rent-controlled building, much to the
dismay of the owners, who live out of state and spend only the barest
minimum to keep the building in code.” A longtime out-of-state friend
who invests in real estate has repeatedly observed that rent control
leads to owners investing less in property and ultimately to reduced
affordable housing supply. I've often argued the tenants' side of the
equation. But this quote struck me as boiling down to: The landlord is
unhappy with the low return allowed on his investment. The tenant is
unhappy with the low spending level the landlord is willing to make.
I guess one could note that the landlord likely knew the building was
rent controlled when he bought it, but it still seems to me that any
investor will keep expenses in line with return. Is it bad that the
landlord is out of state? Or limits expenses, as return is limited? If a
better return was available, would the landlord be less motivated to
redevelop and (presumably) escape rent control? In a situation like
this, what should the landlord do?
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Teachers and Their Unions
Tolu Tolu, tolu2books@aol.com
[Re: “Looting the Rights and Revenues of DC Teachers,” Elizabeth
A. Davis, themail, February 12]: I keep feeling extremely concerned for
the DC children who must wonder how these people who are supposed to be
educating them cannot take care of themselves. Or not have known what to
do about this situation a long time ago.
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Road (Modification) Rules
Mark Eckenwiler, themale@ingot.org
Karen Alston inquired in the last issue about how to get rumble
strips on her block. The answer is to contact the District Division of
Transportation at 671-2730 to get a request form. There is extensive
info on the process on DDOT's page about (warning: provocative language
follows) “traffic calming.” Head to http://ddot.dc.gov/services/traffic_calming/index.shtm
for details. Nota bene: DDOT policy makes clear that you will
need to work through your local ANC.
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What would make us think we could choose a future presidential
champion for DC any more wisely than we have, in the past, chosen a
mayoral champion for DC? I'm on the verge of discarding the Washington
Post Metro section on arrival. Continually frustrating articles
about graft, lying, cover-ups, incompetence, and greed have been
commonplace for more years than I care to remember. The Post was
among the missing this morning — the blizzard made my day!
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Chief Ramsey and US Attorney Howard on
Hometown Security, February 20
John Aravosis, John@SafeStreetsDC.com
SafeStreetsDC.com and the Kalorama Citizens Association are
cosponsoring a public meeting with Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)
Chief Charles Ramsey this Thursday, February 20, at 7 p.m. at the
Goodwill Baptist Church, 1862 Kalorama Road, just off Columbia Road. The
media is invited. Citizens' and MPD officers' concerns with public
safety, breakdowns in the District's 911 emergency response system, and
issues of police behavior and visibility will be the focus of the
meeting. Ward 1 Council member Jim Graham will be joined by Ward 2
Council member Jack Evans. Other council members have been invited and
are expected to attend. US Attorney Roscoe Howard will also be present
to discuss MPD officers' concerns that they are hamstrung by cumbersome
policies and procedures attendant to making an arrest. Key eyewitnesses
to the fatal fire January 15 near Dupont Circle, Dr. Ben Stearn and
Nicolas Gutman, will be on hand to give firsthand accounts of their
frustration in reaching 911 and the ensuing MPD investigation. Laura
Munoz will be joining her family in giving an account of a particularly
horrendous run-in she and her family had recently with an MPD lieutenant
returning from Sunday Mass. The incident has sparked outrage in the DC
Latino community and is the subject of an ongoing internal MPD
investigation. US Attorney Roscoe Howard will address police officer
concerns regarding what they consider to be cumbersome arrest
procedures.
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African Music in CHIME’S Free Library
Series, February 22
Dorothy Marschak, chime-dc@erols.com
Music of Africa, with Leo Sarkisian, will be held at Francis Gregory
Library, 3660 Alabama Avenue, SE, on February 22 at 2:00 p.m. Mr.
Sarkisian will perform on the kanoun, one of the world’s oldest
instruments, and introduce and demonstrate, with recordings, music from
all parts of Subsaharan Africa that he has collected personally. He has
written, produced and hosted the Voice of America’s Music from Africa
programs for 40 years. Refreshments will be served, thanks to the
Friends of Francis Gregory Library.
On March 1, at 2 p.m., African Drumming with Steven Nash and friends,
will be held at the Washington Highlands Library, 115 Atlantic Street,
SW. For directions to the libraries, call Francis Gregory at 645-4297 or
Washington Highlands at 645-5880. A complete schedule of these programs
along with the whole series of 22 programs in the series “Music Around
the World” being held this year at 11 DC public libraries is on the
website http://www.chime-dc.org.
You can also contact info@chime-dc.org
or call 232-2731 for more information about them or CHIME.
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Community Building Bazaar, February 22
Parisa Norouzi, dcparisa@aol.com
Help create permanent affordable housing in Columbia Heights! Join
the Ella Jo Baker Intentional Community for a Community Building Bazaar,
Saturday February 22, from 1-4 p.m. at the Josephine Butler Parks
Center, 2437 15th Street, NW. Free music and performers, and yard sale,
bake sale and silent auction! Contact Parisa Norouzi, dcparisa@aol.com,
588-5255.
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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED
Editor/Typist and Webmaster
Tolu Tolu, tolu2@books@aol.com
Temporary help wanted in Northeast. Twenty hours per week. Must have
excellent typing and editing skills Also, I need my web pages updated.
Contact me at 331-4418. Leave background and contact information.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE
New set of Handbook of Psychology, 12 volumes, I. Weiner, ed., Wiley,
2002, list $1800. Volumes each devoted to a major topic, e.g. History of
Psychology, Clinical, Research, Forensic, Developmental. A superb
reference. Price, $900 (to be picked up near Chevy Chase Circle).
E-mail, or call 362-3963.
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