Don’t Tell the Mayor

Dear Sworn to Secrecy:

It looks like the city council has figured out how to deal with Mayor Williams's intransigent refusal to admit the disastrous failure of his health care plan. They're treating him like the hapless, clueless father in a television situation comedy. They're letting him think that he's in control and everything is going according to his plan. They're letting him claim success, when in fact they're running the show. Today's Washington Post editorial (“A DC Health Care Flip,” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1086-2003Nov4.html) succinctly describes what has happened in the past few days: “The linchpin of the new alliance, the administration said, would be the full-service Greater Southeast Community Hospital, which would care for poor communities on both sides of the Anacostia River. Yet since the decision, the public and the city's most vulnerable citizens especially have had great reason to worry themselves sick as they watch Greater Southeast Hospital lose its accreditation, its parent company go into bankruptcy and the DC health department declare that Greater Southeast failed to meet its licensure standards. Now the mayor, in an act that has enriched the meaning of the word 'somersault,' has voiced his support for an agreement with Howard University to build a new, publicly subsidized hospital on the very site where the late DC General Hospital stood.”

Yet at his press conference today, the mayor cheerfully denied that there had been any “flip-flop” on his part, and claimed that the developments of the past week showed only that everyone now agreed to the basic elements of his health care plan. As long as the councilmembers continue to humor him in this way, we stand a chance of finding a way out of the health care mess, with a new hospital on the old DC General site that, while officially run by Howard University, will function basically the same as the old public hospital did. And all it will have cost us will have been several hundred million dollars and a lot of grief over the past few years. The major remaining stumbling point will be how much public financing will be devoted to building the new hospital; the mayor expressed reluctance to committing to the possible hundred million dollars that is now being discussed. My proposal is to rename the project. Call it the “Howard University Hospital and Baseball Stadium,” and the mayor will gladly come up with a half billion for it.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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What Was Good for Barry
Ed Dixon, jedxn@erols.com

As the Council looks over another revenue bond issue for a private school in Ward 3, it should be no surprise that concerned neighbors get little notice from their elected leaders. City officials and the bond industry have increased the economic disparity in city schools by disproportionately providing for private school expansions. The tryst between bond counsel and the elected officials should lead most residents to the conclusion that policy has more to do with money than sound education policy.

The National Cathedral and the Beaver School are requesting that the city publicly refinance a loan they made with Riggs Bank in order to save the schools three-quarters of a billion dollars annually. The latest proposal would be the latest in nearly a dozen private school renovations in Ward 3 that have divided neighbors in NIMBY battles while the vast majority of public schools in Ward 3 await much needed repairs and renovations. On the one hand, parents with children in private schools in Ward 3 (e.g., Jack Evans at Beaver) argue that the issue is about improving schools for the city's children. Others see congestion, redundancy in planning, and a higher cost of living without additional services coming to the neighborhoods. Meanwhile, city officials put off deciding how to address the huge structural investment the city already has in its public schools.

Richard Newman of Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin and Kahn is representing the schools' parent organization, Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation. The schools' neighbors have organized themselves to the extent that they got to the Committee on Economic Development's hearing on the bond issue but they don't really understand the “cost of doing business” in the city. This year, Newman has already given healthy $500 checks to Evans, Brazil, and Williams, who are critical of the legislation. That's on top of the more than $5000 Newman and Arent, Fox gave to elected officials over the last few years. And the easy part for the Foundation is that the lawyer fees are written into the bond issue to ease the pain of the million or so that will go to Arent, Fox. But Arent, Fox is not acting any differently from Holland & Knight or Shaw, Pittman, or what used to be Wilkes, Artis. And Williams and the council are not behaving any differently from the way many of our elected leaders have acted in decades past.

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DC Transit Alternatives Demonstration Project
Mark David Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com

The District of Columbia Transit Alternatives Analysis and Anacostia Corridor Demonstration Project is an 18-month joint project between the DC government and Metro to study public transit alternatives including a light-rail demonstration project in Anacostia on the rail that carried chlorine to the Blue Plains plant until Sept. 11. The rail line is owned by CSX. The demonstration project will be 2.7 miles running from Anacostia Metro, through Anacostia's historic district, to two other locations. DC officials hope to build a 33-mile network. Learn more here: http://publicspace.justicesustainability.com/DCTransit/index.shtml.

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Where Is the Casey Mansion’s Furniture?
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

The 2001 and 2002 tax returns of the secretive Casey Mansion Foundation show that in those two years the Foundation spent over $1.87 million for furniture and equipment, supposedly for the proposed mayoral mansion. People at the Casey Mansion Foundation won't say what they have bought or where it is, or how much more they spent this year for furniture for a house for which there aren't even architectural plans. Today at his press conference, the mayor was asked if he knew anything about it. He seemed honestly confounded and puzzled by the question, as though it were the first time he had been made aware that the Foundation was already spending lavishly on furniture. The mayor expressed his faith that at some future date all would be revealed, but didn't express any curiosity about it. The mayor and the council believe that they must deliberately turn a blind eye to the Foundation's activities, and let it dictate the terms for what is inaccurately described a “gift” of a mansion that the Casey Foundation will always own, manage, and control. They live in fear that demanding any public disclosure or accountability would break the deal, and cause Betty Brown Casey to withdraw her offer. Still, I would like to know what treasures the Foundation has bought so far, and where they are.

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Mike Fox, Cherished Adult Literacy Luminary
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

Since the early 1970's, Mike Fox was one of the most outspoken advocates and one of the most effective teachers of adult learners in the District of Columbia. Mike died on Saturday, and friends are collecting stories about his life on the blog (web log) at http://mikefoxinspirations.blogspot.com. If you know anyone in the city whose life was touched by Mike Fox, thanks for informing them about this opportunity to share stories about his life's work. Before he died, Mike Fox made one last and lasting contribution to the city. He set up the Mike Fox GED Fund to help adult learners who find it difficult to pay to take the GED test. If you're interested in contributing to this fund, thanks for contacting Catherine Baker at catherinebaker@mac.com.

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Recalling Mayor Williams
Wenzell Taylor, wink12@juno.com

Are Washingtonians abused and neglected enough to support a recalling of Mayor Williams? Would you support a recalling of Mayor Williams?

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Remembering Walter Washington
Anne Heutte, Brookland, heuttea@earthlink.net

I was a member of the coalition that struggled to keep the network of freeways out of this city back in the 60's and 70's, and I will not say how we abused Walter Washington in his role as appointed mayor of DC. He went along with it, beautifully. He withstood the abuse, and obviously survived it. His graciousness is a lesson to all of us. And the freeways aren't here.

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Number of Employees
Bryce A. Suderow, streetstories@juno.com

I want to respond to a comment that Randi Blank [Office of Personnel, themail, October 26] made several issues ago. She commented that the reason the District had so many employees is because it has to fulfill state functions as well as city functions. Readers, help me test her theory. Can anyone select a western state with a very small number of residents? Then tell me how many employees it has for every hundred residents

We have about 30,000 employees and 500,000 people. That means that we have six employees for every one hundred residents, doesn't it? That seems like a lot.

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Citizen Summit III
Neil Richardson, Neighborhood Action, neil.richardson@dc.gov

Gary Imhoff's suggestion that fear of low attendance at this year's Citizen Summit was the real motivation behind Mayor Williams' decision to reschedule the event from November 1 to November 15 is completely ridiculous. It is also mean spirited and cynical. DCWatch is entitled to have whatever opinion it wants to have regarding the usefulness and general merit of the Citizen Summit. But it is not entitled to its own set of facts. The truth is that the mayor made the decision to reschedule the Summit out of respect for former Mayor Walter Washington, whose funeral and burial was to be held on the date originally designated for the summit. No other consideration went into the decision to reschedule.

The implication that the mayor is “cooking the numbers” in an effort to suggest a higher registration for the event has no basis in fact. The total number of participants as of Wednesday of last week was indeed over 4000. As of today (Wednesday, November 5), we have 5142 registrants, 310 facilitators, and 251 volunteers. The registrations have come in the mail, over the phone, and over the Internet.

I hope to see you -- and thousands of other citizens — on Saturday, November 15, at the Washington Convention Center at or before 8:30 a.m. For more information, please visit http://www.neighborhoodaction.dc.gov.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

CHIME Music Around the World on DCTV, November
Dorothy Marschak, dmarschak@chime-dc.org

These are programs from our series Music Around the World taped in 2002-2003 at DC public library performances. This year we are presenting many performances from this series in DC Public Schools where they are being integrated into the curricula. We are looking for sponsors to tape more of these for airing on TV. 1) “Great Women Jazz Singers” by singer/actress/songwriter Cynthia Lin, November 6, 9:30 p.m.; November 8, 10 p.m.; November 9, 9 p.m.; November 11, noon; November 13, 8:30 p.m.; November 16, 7:30 p.m.; November 18, 11:30 a.m.; November 20, 10 p.m., November 23, 9:30 p.m.; November 25, noon; November 27, 5:30 p.m.; November 30, 8:30 p.m.; December 2, 1 p.m.; December 4, 7 p.m. 2) “Music of the Arab Peoples” by Grant Chamberlain, November 5, 11 a.m.; November 8, 3 p.m.; November 9, 10 p.m.; November 12, 11 a.m.; November 16; 6 p.m.; November 19, 2 p.m.; November 25, 1 p.m.; November 27, 10 p.m.; November 29, 10 p.m.; November 30, 7:30 p.m.; December 3, noon; December 6, 9 p.m. 3) “Appalachian Songs and Tales” by Ralph Lee Smith and Lea Coryell, November 6, 8:30 p.m.; November 9, 6 p.m., November 11, 2 p.m.; November 13, 7 p.m.; November 15, 3 p.m.; November 16, 9:30 p.m.; November 18, 1 p.m.; November 20, 9:30 p.m.; November 22, 9 p.m.; November 23, 8 p.m.; November 25, 3 p.m.; November 27, 7 p.m.; November 29, 9 p.m.; December 2, 11:30 a.m.; December 4, 9 p.m.; December 6, 10 p.m..

Lots of choice! Try to join in. For information about CHIME’s many activities, to volunteer with us, or to donate, visit our website, http://www.chime-dc.org or E-mail us at info@chime-dc.org.

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Education Summit on Reading, November 8
Charles Stevenson, anjinsan@geotrees.com

The Greater Washington Urban League, Inc., Education/Employment and Training Division, and DC VOICE present an educational summit on reading at the National Children's Center, 3400 Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue, SE, on Saturday, November 8, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast and working lunch provided. Workshop topics: developing community partnerships to improve literacy, supports for quality teaching and literacy, and read and rise. Speakers: William Lipscomb, Principal, Sousa Middle School; Bob Munson, Cluster Coordinator, Experience Corps; Patrice Sheppard, Lydia's House Literacy Program; Darin McKeever, Heads Up University-Neighborhood Initiative; Iris Toyer, Director, Public Education Project and Co-Chair, Parents United; Erika Landberg, DC VOICE Senior Associate for Community Engagement; and Evans Moore, Greater Washington Urban League.

Admission is free. Please RSVP by Friday, November 7 (you may also register on the day of the event) to Gwendolyn Griffin or Debbie Clark, Greater Washington Urban League, Inc., Education/Employment and Training Division, 265-8200, ext. 260, web site: http://www.gwulparentcenter.org; or to Erika Landberg, DC VOICE, 986-8534.

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Ward 5 Economic Development Summit, November 8
Vincent Orange, vorange@dccouncil.us

The Ward Five Fourth Annual Economic Development Summit, “The Economic Resurgence of Ward 5,” will be held on Saturday, November 8, from 9:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m., at Trinity College. The agenda includes 1) a panel on an economic overview and forecast including Councilmember Harold Brazil, Chair, Committee on Economic Development; Eric Price, Deputy Mayor, Office of Planning and Economic Development; Andrew Altman, Director, Office of Planning; Stanley Jackson, Director, Department of Housing and Community Development; Milton Bailey, Director, Housing Finance Agency; and Michael Stevens, President/CEO, District of Columbia Marketing Center; 2) a panel on commercial development with John Ray, Manatt Phelps and Phillips Law Firm, on the Gateway Market Center, (The Washington Beef Company Properties); Vicki Davis, Mid-City Urban, LLC, on the Rhode Island Avenue Metro Development; Art Lawson, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, on the Florida/New York Avenue Subway Station; Michelle Hagans, Fort Lincoln Development Corporation, on the Washington Gateway (COSTCO Shoppers Food Warehouse, Staples etc.); Donna Hanousek, Historic Brookland Community Development Corporation (CDC), on 12th Street Main Street; and Robert Brannum, North Capitol Community Development Corporation, on North Capitol Main Street; 3) a panel on education with Dan Gohl, Mckinley Technology High School Campus, on McKinley Technology High School; and 4) a panel on commercial/residential with Ted Mariana, University Conference Center and Hotel; John Sunter, Arboretum Way Apartments and Townhouses; Jack Lester, Fort Totten Townhouses Development; George Yeonnas/Jack Anderson, Rocky George Homes at Emerson Street; and Michael Hull, Fort Totten.

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National Building Museum Family Programs, November 9
Briana Hensold, bhensold@nbm.org

Sunday, November 9: Flying in the Great Hall, 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Learn about model airplanes as members of the DC Maxecuters fly their rubber band-powered free-flight model airplanes in a series of launches in the Museum’s Great Hall. Free. Appropriate for all ages. Registration not required. Plus Flying Fun: Twirly-Whirly, 1:00-3:30 p.m. Families create fun paper forms that twist and turn when moving through the air. $3 per person. Appropriate for all ages. Registration not required.

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Civil Liberties Symposium, November 21
Joe Libertelli, jlibertelli@udc.edu

Please join us for "In the Aftermath of September 11: Defending Civil Liberties in the Nation's Capital," sponsored by: ACLU of the National Capital Area, the DC Bar, DC Affairs Committee, and the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law. Friday, November 21, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Lunch will be served. Evening reception will conclude symposium. Event free of charge. Location: David A. Clarke School of Law, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Building 38, 2nd Floor. Please RSVP to: Lawreview@udc.edu by November 14.

Topics: treatment and restrictions on demonstrators, job security and bargaining rights of government employees, treatment of immigrants, relationship between the federal and DC governments in times of crisis, surveillance cameras and other privacy issues. Confirmed participants: Nadine Strossen (President, ACLU), Johnny Barnes (Executive Director, ACLU of the National Capital Area), David Cole (Georgetown University Law Center), Charles Ogletree (Harvard Law School), Wade Henderson (Leadership Council on Civil Rights), Arthur Spitzer (ACLU of the National Capital Area), Mark Roth (AFGE), Council Member Kathy Patterson (DC Council), Mary Cheh (George Washington University Law School), Walter Smith (DC Appleseed), and Thorn Pozen (Arnold & Porter).

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The Cat in the Hat, November 22
Lois Kirkpatrick, lkirkp@fairfaxcounty.gov

The Fairfax County Public Library invites you to a special screening of the new Mike Myers holiday film based on The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss. This screening is being cosponsored by Inova Health System. Join us at 8 a.m. on Saturday, November 22, at the Reston Towne Center Multiplex Cinemas, located at 11940 Market Street in Reston. Tickets are $20 each, of which $14.50 is a tax-deductible gift to Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children. Call 703-204-3379 weekdays between 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., or E-mail jeanne.bridgeman@inova.com.

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Take the Money, December 3
Susie Cambria, scambria@dckids.org

The DC EITC Campaign is psyched to kickoff the new tax season with the “Take the Money” Outreach Kickoff Fair on December 3 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. at the Thurgood Marshall Center, 1816 12th Street, NW. So if you are a service provider, business, government agency, civic association, or other sort of organization that touches low- and moderate-income working folks, please join us. We will provide you with a full set of outreach materials, including fliers, envelope stuffers, drop-in newsletter stories, and more! Questions? Call the DC Fiscal Policy Institute at 408-1080 or E-mail pierre@dcfpi.org.

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CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE

Teak and Silk
Robert Marvin, robert_marvin@yahoo.com

British Colonial cabinets, teak coffee tables, batik scarves, objects d'art, monk paintings, silk wall hangings, rosewood chopsticks, butler trays, Japanese lanterns, mango wood vases, lacquer boxes plus gift items. ustreetasiahouse.com, an Internet retailer, is holding an open house on Saturday, November 8, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., to give people a chance to browse through our new shipment from Thailand. Stop by 2004 11th Street, NW, Suite 437. Questions, call Rob Marvin at 249-0535. Check out the November 22 and 23 preview of items from the latest shipment.

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CLASSIFIEDS — WANTED TO BUY

Computer Monitor
Bryce A. Suderow, streetstories@juno.com

I'm looking for a color VGA monitor for a computer

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CLASSIFIEDS — PARKING

Parking Available on U Street
John Hughes, jah@radix.net

Parking spots available for compact cars near U Street Metro. $125/month for each. The area is fenced and lighted. E-mail for more info.

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