Possible Error

Dear Washingtonians:

I'm almost, but not quite, ready to admit error. In Sunday's issue, I said that the DC public school system wouldn't make any real changes in its special education programs because of the exposure of its carelessly heartless treatment of Jonathan Herring, a nearly blind student who was denied the special equipment he needed to study for a year and a half, even though there had been two court orders demanding that the system provide the equipment. I wrote that there would be no changes and no consequences because the denial of special education services was the deliberate policy of the system in order to save money.

Maybe, just maybe, School Superintendent Paul Vance wants to prove me wrong. On Tuesday, he suspended four DCPS officials, including Anne Gay, the assistant superintendent for special education; and Judith Smith, director of the Office of Mediation and Compliance, and said that “other suspensions may be imminent.” Vance issued a press release that included this statement: “We are determined to permanently change a culture that permits the needs of our students, especially our most vulnerable, to go unattended. We will not allow employees to neglect and treat our students in a less than acceptable manner. Employees must understand that at DCPS, it is not business as usual.” (http://www.dcwatch.com/schools/ps030805.htm)

I'll take a wait-and-see attitude. Ray Bryant, the special advisor to Vance for special education reform who has really been running special education, is still in place, and it was his policies that Gay and Smith were implementing. And DCPS's bureaucracy will be sure to take a wait-and-see attitude, too. It will take a concentrated effort to convince them that Vance means what he says, and that he isn't just doing what he needs to do to cut short some bad publicity in this one case. But still, grudgingly, I have to admit that it is a refreshing change to see one administrator make the effort to at least appear to get angry at his staff's callous mistreatment of citizens.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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The Cold War
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

Some tension is a normal part of the relationship between the mayor and the city council. However, over the past six months the working relationship between Mayor Williams and the members of the city council has deteriorated markedly. The most recent incident occurred last week. The council convened an emergency session on Wednesday, even though it was on its summer recess, to override the Mayor's veto of its emergency bill to suspend the government's credit card program (Bill 15-381). The bill resulted from council hearings this spring on the Office of Property Management that uncovered the abuse of government issued Visa credit cards. The credit cards had been intended to make small purchases easier and faster, but it was revealed that twenty government employees had monthly spending limits of a half million dollars, that some employees were making large purchases by charging just under their $2,500 daily limit for several days, and that it was questionable whether some items had been bought for government or personal use. Under the council emergency bill, new reporting and record-keeping requirements were instituted and the credit card program was suspended for 225 days or until the Williams administration provided details on how these requirements would be implemented and monitored in each District agency. Mayor Williams's veto unconvincingly argued that the bill was “not a responsible approach” and that “the bill could interrupt vital government operations and inadvertently create conditions that threaten public safety.” The council overrode the veto by an 11-0 vote, and its attitude was summarized by Councilmember Carol Schwartz: “If the mayor spent as much time and energy fixing this program as he does defending it, the council would not be here today overriding his veto. Once again, the council must save the mayor from himself.” Though the mayor claimed the legislation would be virtually impossible to implement, today deputy mayor for operations Herbert Tillery said that the administration would have a plan to implement it in place by the end of this week.

The growing schism between the mayor and the council was highlighted on two other issues — Police Chief Ramsey's contract and the performance of Inspector General Charles Maddox. Mayor Williams offered Ramsey a fat new contract and benefits package that required council approval. This resulted in oversight hearings that showed significant and widespread public dissatisfaction and criticism of Ramsey's management of the MPD, particularly of the community policing program. In the end, a divided council compromised by passing Ramsey's $25,000 annual salary increase by a 7-6 margin but by refusing to consider his proposed benefits package. That package remains bottled up in Kathy Patterson's Judiciary Committee, where it could remain for as long as a year to provide an opportunity for another performance assessment next year.

The whole council is concerned about Inspector General Charles Maddox's poor performance, and this spring it adopted legislation significantly increasing the qualification requirements for the office. For example, an IG must now have been a member of the DC bar for seven years and a graduate of an accredited law school or be a licensed Certified Public Accountant. Since Maddox could not fulfill the requirements of the bill, it would have required his resignation or removal. When the mayor vetoed that legislation, the Council quickly overrode it, with the sole opposition of Harold Brazil. The mayor declared the legislation “unlawful,” and defied the council to make him enforce it. In June, the council filed suit in DC Superior Court, arguing that the mayor usurped the Council's “legislative authority by refusing to enforce a properly enacted statute.” The lawsuit was the first in twelve years to involve the mayor and the council. Last Friday, DC Superior Court Judge John M. Campbell issued a ruling invalidating the legislation as it applied to the incumbent, and on Tuesday the council filed an appeal to the DC Court of Appeals.

Perhaps the best example of the bad relations between the council and the mayor was the July 14 legislative session of the council, its last before its long summer recess. Just three days prior to that meeting, on Friday, July 11, the mayor sent two bills to the council and asked them to declare both as emergencies and pass both on an emergency basis. One bill would have leased the old convention center to the Washington Convention Center Authority so the WCCA could demolish it and construct and operate a parking facility in its place. The other would have reappointed J. Roderick Heller to the board of the National Capital Revitalization Corporation. Responding to councilmembers' complaints that the mayor had sent controversial and complicated legislation to the council without any notice or consultation, Council Chairman Linda Cropp pressured the bills' proponent, Harold Brazil, to withdraw them or face certain council rejection of them.

What’s a Charter?
Ed Dixon, Georgetown Reservoir, jedxn@erols.com

About $20 million in unbudgeted congressional pork (i.e. taxpayers money) went straight to charter schools in FY 2002 according to Citizens Against Government Waste. That money was for facilities. In fact, almost $30 million dollars in pork was handed out by Congress due to influence peddling on the Hill and DCPS didn't get any fat off the cow (http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2003_dc).  So Charter Schools are making that same grab for public money that private schools are, through influence peddling.

Charter School proponents claim that 99.5 percent of per pupil spending goes to the charter schools. Charter Schools can claim no administrative oversight costs because they are being carried by some other administrative agency, DCPS, SEO, the Department of Education, the Federal City Council as well as corporations inside and outside of DC. No matter how you chop up the schools in the city, DC taxpayers will still have a large number of kids struggling to succeed at levels of their counterparts who were handed a better hand at birth. And the same greedy intransigence blocking money to those children will exist. There is little difference between a Charter School and a traditional public school with a strong PTA unless you go the Edison Schools route.

The majority of Ward 3 children in DCPS are college eligible based on class alone. That is a credit to DCPS. Parents from across the city are sending their kids to schools like Deal and Wilson, hoping their children will gain from the exposure. A few miles down the road in Bethesda are the newly renovated BCC and Walt Whitman High Schools, public schools with all the bells and whistles. The neighborhoods of Ward 3 are not that much different from those in Bethesda, the residents of which, by the way, are not running off to charter their own schools. Maybe that's why so many parents choose to just cross the District line and get an attractive school rather than listening to these arguments about the benefits of charter and private schools. We haven't learned a thing since Brown vs. the Board of Education. Ward 3 is just a battle line.

Going, Going, Gone Update
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

After months of “will she or won't she” speculation, Molly Raphael, the director of the DC Public Library, has announced that she will retire to take a new job as the director of the Multnomah County (Portland), Oregon, library system. She will remain here until the end of September, and will begin work in Portland in late November.

Brian DeBose of the Washington Times had a good insider scoop today, detailing the search to replace City Administrator John Koskinen (http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20030805-093104-4414r.htm).  According to DeBose, the search committee has narrowed the list of candidates to five: Herbert Tillery, currently deputy mayor for operations under Koskinen; Lloyd Jordan, former director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs; Robert Bobb, former city manager of Oakland, California; Teree Caldwell-Johnson, former county manager of Polk County, Iowa; and Darnell Earley, city administrator of Flint, Michigan. DeBose also revealed the members of the search committee: Michael Rogers, former city administrator under Barry and now executive vice president of Medstar Health, Inc.; John Ray, former councilmember now with Manatt, Phelps, and Phillips; Martha Knisley, director of the Department of Health; Dan Tangherlini, director of the Department of Transportation; Josh Williams, president of the Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO; Barbara Lang, president of the DC Chamber of Commerce; and Calvin Smith, director for human services and public safety for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Weeks after Joy Arnold left the administration to take a new job at the National Capitol Revitalization Corporation, the NCRC has finally decided what job title and description she will be given. After repeated requests, NCRC released this statement last week: “Joy Arnold will join the staff on August 4 as Senior Advisor. Her responsibilities include managing our strategic partnerships which includes community affairs and intergovernmental relations. Her position reports to the CEO [Ted Carter].”

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

CHIME Music Around the World Programs on TV, August and September
Dorothy Marschak, dmarschak@chime-dc.org

These programs were taped during live performances of a series of twenty-one programs presented at eleven branches of the DC Public Library between September 2002 and May 2003. They will be broadcast on Comcast Channel 5 and Starpower Channel 10. Traditional Afro-Cuban rumba presented by Ivan Navas and friends, Thursday, August 7, 5:30 p.m.; Thursday, August 14, 11 a.m.; Saturday, August 16, 6 p.m.; Tuesday, August 19, 12 p.m.; Thursday, August 21, 12 p.m.; Saturday, August 23, 6 p.m.; Tuesday, August 26; 2:30 p.m.; Saturday, August 30, 3 p.m.; Wednesday, September 3, 1:30 p.m.; Saturday, September 6, 7 p.m.

Great women jazz singers presented by singer/actress Cynthia Lin: Saturday, August 16, 10 p.m.; Tuesday, August 26, 3:30 p.m.; Wednesday, September 3, 11 a.m. Music of the Arab peoples presented by Grant Chamberlain: Saturday, August 9, 12:30 p.m.; Wednesday, August 13, 11 a.m.; Wednesday, August 20, 11:30 a.m.; Tuesday, September 2, 11:30 a.m.

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DC for Dean August Meetings, August 11 and later
Kathie Boettrich, DC for Dean, boettrich4dean@yahoo.com

DC for Dean will hold a series of “Howard Dean for America Information Sessions” to be held across the District. At these meetings, District residents will have the opportunity to learn directly from the DC for Dean organization about Governor Dean's record on issues and about his campaign positions. “The Dean campaign is a true grassroots effort, and the information sessions are yet another way for people to share their excitement about the campaign,” says Kirstin Fearnley, coordinator of the DC for Dean visibility committee. “These aren’t professional paid staffers coming from out of town to talk to strangers; these are residents of the District who want to communicate with their friends and neighbors why they should vote for Howard Dean.”

DC for Dean sees the libraries as an effective venue for furthering the spread of Gov. Dean's message throughout the community. "District libraries were a natural choice for our talks," says Susan Laws, a DC for Dean Visibility volunteer. "People come to libraries to learn and share information, and community meetings often take place in DC libraries. Unfortunately, the DC government has had to slash library hours and book budgets this year as the impact of Bush's economic policies have kicked in. So bringing people together in libraries to engage in the political process is more meaningful now than ever." Session schedule: Monday, August 11, Petworth Branch Library; Thursday, August 21, Washington Highlands Branch Library; Monday, August 25, Francis A. Gregory Branch Library. The sessions are open forums, meeting between 7 p.m.- 8 p.m. in the library's meeting room. The general public is encouraged to attend. Voter registration information will also be provided.

DC for Dean is a grassroots organization with hundreds of volunteers in Washington, DC. The organization's initial goals are to win the DC primary and caucuses for Howard Dean. To achieve this, the group has established a powerful Ward-Precinct-Block organization that is already at work across the entire DC area. For more information on DC for Dean, see http://www.dcfordean.org.

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CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE

Soccer Uniform Shirts
Sam Farmer, farmer_sammy@yahoo.com

Set of used, but in good condition, soccer uniform shirts with numbers on the back. Would fit a team of 14-18 year olds. Light blue with claret strip on the front. If interested please contact me.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING

One Bedroom Apartment for Rent
Corinne Rothblum, corinne.rothblum@verizon.net

Sunny, spacious one bedroom apartment for rent near the National Cathedral. Top floor corner unit in quiet, well-maintained building. Hardwood floors, renovated kitchen, rooftop deck, and basement storage. Walk to Giant, Fresh Fields, coffee shops, and restaurants. Excellent bus connections to downtown, pleasant walk to Metro (1.25 miles to Cleveland Park). $1,300 plus utilities; available mid-September. Please contact Corinne Rothblum at 301-864-7684 (home); 352-6696 (cell); E-mail, corinne.rothblum@verizon.net.

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CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES

Nanny
Michele Job, Micheleblg@aol.com

Available to start immediately. Active and cultural-minded English-speaking nanny available immediately for summer, possibly longer. Fluent French and Flemish. Live-in possible. Prefer Washington, DC, metro area and Metro accessible. References available. E-mail micheleblg@aol.com.

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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS

Big Bugs (Insect and Computer)
Clare Feinson, cfeinson at erols dot com

1) For insect-type bugs, you may also want to try caulking your steps or other woodwork. We had cockroaches we couldn't get rid of — the cats liked them, but I was tired of finding half-eaten roaches in the living room, not to mention whole ones scurrying around. Then I noticed that the bugs seemed to come from (and disappear into) minute gaps between the treads on the wooden stair. We caulked all the seams on the stairway, and since then, nary a bug has been seen.

2) For those of us bugged by spamming (and who isn't?) I read recently in a computer publication that one way to keep spammers from harvesting your E-mail address from postings on the web (like themail!) is to spell the address out rather than use dots and the “at” sign — for example, cfeinson at erols dot com. I had seen some people post this way, but I didn't know why before. Spammers do this to us all when, for example, they use “V-I-A-G-R-A” instead of “Viagra,” to avoid filters. Time to do it back to them.

[It's not just spammers who have to spell things out these days. The last issue of themail was rejected by some companies' E-mail filters for objectionable content because one message contained the offensive word “j-o-k-e.” It'll be interesting to see how many filters reject this issue because Clare used the “V” word. — Gary Imhoff]

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