Federal Money
Dear Rappers and Dancers:
It's just federal money, and as everybody knows, federal money is
free money. It's like an unexpected gift or a lottery prize. It doesn't
have to be spent wisely and carefully, like your own hard-earned cash;
instead, it can be frittered away on all the useless and somewhat silly
things you always wanted. You can give your friends some of it so they
can share in the fun. And the best thing is, you don't really have to
spend it well to get more of it. It just keeps coming.
I used to say that it didn't matter what the legislation actually
says, as long as it has the right title. The "Benefits for Widows
and Orphans Bill" will pass, even if all the benefits actually go
to undeserving plutocrats. The same thing is true about spending federal
money. If the money is earmarked for domestic security against
terrorism, it can be spent on anything, and nobody's going to complain.
Of course, we still don't have a 911 system that works, and the police
and fire department radios still don't work in the subways, but that can
wait for the next round of grants, or the one after that.
(Jo Becker, Sarah Cohen, and Spencer S. Hsu, “Anti-Terrorism Funds
Buy Wide Array of Pet Projects: Some of Region's Unused Millions Could
Be Lost,” Washington Post, November 23, 2003, p. A01, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6311-2003Nov22.html:
“Two years after Congress approved a massive infusion of cash to help
gird the Washington area against terrorism, much of the $324 million
remains unspent or is funding projects with questionable connections to
homeland security. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on
New York and Washington, lawmakers doled out the money quickly, with few
restrictions and vague guidelines. Left to interpret needs on their own
— and with little regional coordination — cash-strapped local and
state officials plugged budget holes, spent millions on pet projects and
steered contracts to political allies.”
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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What Would Senator Proxmire Say?
Paul Michael Brown, pmb@his.com
From a story in the Sunday Post regarding the District's waste
of federal grant money that was supposed to be used to fight terrorism:
“Another District agency directed $100,000 to the mayor's politically
popular summer jobs program, documents show. Forty low-income young
adults were trained in first aid and other emergency skills, then paid
to rap and dance about emergency preparedness as part of outreach
efforts.”
I will sleep better at night knowing the District government thinks
the best way to spend a $100K federal anti-terrorism grant is paying
forty people $2,500 each to “rap and dance about emergency
preparedness.”
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The front page article in today's post (“Anti-Terrorism Funds Buy
Wide Array of Pet Projects,” November 23) mentions on the inside page
that the DC Department of Parks and Recreation spent $2,950 to buy
"300 whistles and lanyards for emergency shelter operations."
Now, whistles on lanyards strike me as a very sensible item for
emergency shelter staff to have. Good planning! But can anyone from the
Department of Parks and Recreation tell us why the Department paid $9.83
per whistle? It's less than a drop in the DC budget bucket, but why not
just go to CVS and buy 300 whistles for, maybe, $200?
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Tax Assessment Class Action Lawsuit
Peter S. Craig, swedecraig@aol.com
On November 19, the three-judge panel of the D. C. Court of Appeals
issued the following per curiam order in our case, District of
Columbia v. Peter Craig, et al., 03-DA-24. The court had before it the
District of Columbia's application for permission to appeal the decision
of Superior Court Judge Eugene N. Hamilton granting class action
certification to our lawsuit, which challenges the methodology used for
Tax Year 2002 residential assessments, as well as the District's
emergency motion to bar depositions of Mayor Anthony A. Williams and CFO
Natwar Gandhi, both of which had been ordered by Judge Hamilton. We had
also filed a motion to hold the District in contempt of court for
disobeying the order by the DC Court of Appeals which stayed the
proceedings in the Superior Court until further order of the court. The
court's order reads as follows:
“On consideration of the applications for permission to appeal, the
oppositions, and reply thereto, the applicant's emergency motion for
protective order or for mandamus relief, respondents' motion to hold
applicant in contempt, the applicant's response, this court's order
directing the parties to address the question of judicial
disqualification, and the responses which agree that disqualification is
not necessary and that this division may resolve the issues presented,
see United States v. Will, 449 U.S. 200 (1980), it is
“ORDERED that the applications for permission to appeal are denied.
See Ford v. ChartOne, Inc., No. 03-DA-13 (DC Oct. 30, 2003). It
is
“FURTHER ORDERED that the applicant's motion for protective order is
denied as moot. It is
“FURTHER ORDERED that applicant's alternative request for mandamus
relief is denied. Applicant has failed to demonstrate a need for this
extraordinary relief. Banov v. Kennedy, 694 A.2d 850, 857 (DC 1996). It
is
“FURTHER ORDERED that the administrative stay entered on October 21,
2003, is hereby vacated. It is
“FURTHER ORDERED that the respondents' motion for contempt is denied.
“PER CURIAM
Judge Hamilton has ordered a status conference in this case for
December 3 at 1:00 p.m.
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How to Help DC School Bands
Dorothy Marschak, dmarschak@chime-dc.org
The Common Denominator has a feature in its November 17
edition on the lack of funds, uniforms, and instruments for the DC high
school bands, once the pride of their neighborhoods. You can access this
story at http://www.thecommondenominator.com/111703_news3.html.
The kids are doing their best to raise their own funds, helped by
donations from the teachers' own pockets, but this cannot overcome a
school budget so squeezed that there is no money at all in it for
instruments, instrument repairs, uniforms, or, for that matter, for
music instruction, other than as an option in competition with other
needed school “enrichment” optional activities, such as P.E., or,
more compellingly, reading specialists. The benefits to children and to
the city of supporting school music, bands in particular, are well-known
yet ignored at funding time. The politicians have let the schools down,
despite all the rhetoric, and so the Community must step in to help.
CHIME, which is mentioned in the article, has been collecting and
distributing donated instruments in good repair to DC public schools for
four years, but this year we would like to make our instrument drive
more widely-known, and involve other partners in our effort, so that
every child with an interest can get in a band and have a decent
instrument to play, and each school can have a band capable of competing
in the national competitions such as those held two weeks ago at RFK
Stadium, where DC was so pitifully underrepresented.
Besides band instruments, we are also interested in donations of
pianos in good condition (DCPS will pick them up), 1/2 and 3/4 size
violins (for a new string program at Amidon Elementary School), and
rhythm instruments for very young children.
If you would like to join us in working on this drive, have an
instrument to donate, want to make a donation to purchase or repair
instruments or buy uniforms, or want to help with any other CHIME
program, please contact us at info@chime-dc.org,
or visit our web site, http://www.chime-dc.org,
and click on the CHIME In page.
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The 2003 Thanksgiving Essay Contest for Students
Charles Stevenson, anjinsan@geotrees.com
Are you involved with young people in any way — as parent, teacher,
mentor, clergy, counselor? Are they interested in history, and its
influence on our present lives, and on the future? And do they approach
this dynamic subject in intelligent, articulate ways? If so, they may
wish to take part in "The 2003 Thanksgiving Essay Contest,"
organized by Nightwolf Productions and Geotrees.Com, in cooperation with
Pacifica Foundation's WPFW FM 89.3. The contest is open to students of
all nationalities, in grades 7 through 12, within the WPFW broadcast
area (50-70 miles of Washington). We welcome short essays, 500 to 1000
words, that discuss our gratitude and responsibility in living in a
country built on the hard work and hard times of others. Prizes? We
offer gift certificates to bookstores of quality for first, second, and
third place in each age group. There will be a brief live discussion of
the contest with Gloria Minott on WPFW's “Metro Watch,” Friday, the
21st, at 9:40 p.m.
Winners will be announced on Sunday evening, November 30, on WPFW's
Nightwolf Show, and entries are due by Friday night, the 28th. We would
like to have winners and their families join us in person at the WPFW
studio at that time. For details, questions and submissions please visit
the contest web page at: http://www.geotrees.com/essays.html.
This page also has links to Nightwolf Productions, Geotrees.Com, and
WPFW.
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Not About Parking
Erica Bersin, eyzarblu at aol dot com
My E-mail is not about parking, though I hope you'll run it anyway.
My frustration lies with the street conditions and driving on both M and
Wisconsin through Georgetown. My hope is that some higher-up DC
government folks read this listserv and might respond. We pay a fortune
in taxes to live in one of the nicer parts of the city (this I can just
about swallow). What I can't swallow is what the heck is it going to?
Can they get one more metal plate on top of another? Don't they realize
that rubber on metal doesn't make for stopping in wet weather?
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I am responding to a posting by Bob Levine in the November 17th
themail about a car parked in the same spot for five days in Georgetown.
The law was changed in June at the request of DPW and the Mayor in order
to streamline the removal of abandoned cars. Don't ask me to explain how
lifting the 72-hour restriction helps remove abandoned cars; there is a
nexus, but I don't agree with it. As a result, I introduced a bill in
early July to reinstate the 72-hour rule. The bill also would make other
changes related to abandoned vehicles. A number of Councilmembers were
uneasy with the repeal. My bill, 15-412 (the "Parking Amendment Act
of 2003") was co-introduced by Councilmembers Allen, Ambrose,
Chavous, Orange, and Patterson. It was referred to the Committee on
Public Works and the Environment, chaired by Councilmember Carol
Schwartz. I am not aware of a hearing being scheduled yet. In short, I
sympathize with your complaint and have a bill pending to fix it. A
strong showing of widespread community support would be helpful.
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Don't like people parking in front of your house for what seems like
weeks at a stretch? Petition DPW to have your block added to the list of
streets receiving alternate-side weekly sweeping. All it takes is a
majority of residents on the block signing a petition. Not only is our
Capitol Hill block much cleaner, but there's a lot more parking space
"churn" with the street cleaning. We also had problems with
Library of Congress and Hill staffer commuters with suburban plates
parking on our block. A few calls to Parking Enforcement cleared that up
after the repeat offenders started getting tickets every day. My
experience is that Parking Enforcement will respond quickly, especially
to hazardous situations, like cars parked in front of hydrants. The
fines for blocking hydrants need to be higher. It's a clear health and
safety issue.
DC needs a more comprehensive street cleaning program in the
neighborhoods. In New York, every street, no matter how humble, receives
weekly sweeping. Why can't we get that here as a matter of course?
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Shoveling More Bunk
Jason Juffras, jjuffras at aol dot com
Despite Marc Sibley's eloquence in informing me that my views are a
“bunch of bunk,” I continue to believe that the January primary is a
bold and worthwhile experiment. Continuing to hold a May primary that
has minimal, if any, impact and minuscule turnout (8.8 percent on May 2,
2000) accomplishes little. Although it is indeed unfortunate that voters
won't have a chance to vote for their party national committee
representatives, I imagine that most voters would rather have taken a
chance at influencing the presidential race -- at least this voter
would. The primary for DC Delegate will be held in September 2004, at
the same time as the DC Council primaries, so this is clearly another
non-issue.
Those who persist in bemoaning the $350,000 cost of the primary — a
cost that has been paid by the city in every presidential election year
since 1972 — should clarify if they support eliminating the primary
entirely, as this would be the only way to avoid the $350,000 cost.
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This is in response to the contribution that began: “In total
secrecy, affecting a long-standing, contentious neighborhood issue, on
September 18, David Clark, the Director of the Department of Consumer
and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), agreed to issue Certificates of Occupancy
that will allow Boys Town to operate a large group facility at the
intersection of Pennsylvania and 14th Street, SE, prompting the
Southeast Citizens for Smart Development (SCSD) to call for an
investigation.”
I would like to understand why the Southeast Citizens for Smart
Development thinks a halfway house would not be smart development.
Readers should know that many youths awaiting trial, who have been
court-ordered to halfway houses, now languish in jail, in preventive
detention actually, because of there are not enough halfway houses in
DC. It's like the old South Africa. Kids who have been convicted of
nothing remaining in jail for months, because neighborhood after
neighborhood fights the establishment of halfway houses in their
sacrosanct neighborhoods. If the idea of committing youths to halfway
houses, so they can go to school and continue somewhat their normal
activities while awaiting trial, is not a good idea, people should be
working for legal reform rather than stonewalling the system by their
“not in my backyard” actions.
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Verizon’s Call Blocking
David Sobelsohn, dsobelso-at-capaccess-dot-com
If Verizon operates in Michigan and has the same call-blocking
software here as there ("privacy protection" is what they call
it there, I think), yet another problem with the product is that it
blocks all calls from 1010 access numbers. I suspect it also blocks
calls from people using calling cards. Best advice: ask before you buy.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Building Suburbia Lecture at the National Building Museum, December
4
Brie Hensold, bhensold@nbm.org
Yale University professor of architecture and urbanism Dolores Hayden
will discuss how designers, builders, and residents of all classes have
constructed life in American suburbs since the 1820s. She will examine
the seven historic patterns of suburban neighborhoods that embody the
material history of private dreams even as they form complex and
problematic urban realms. After her lecture, Hayden will sign copies of
her book Building Suburbia: Green Fields and Urban Growth, 1820 -
2000 (Pantheon).
Building Suburbia, a lecture by Dolores Hayden, on Thursday December
4, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at the National Building Museum, 401 F
Street, NW (Judiciary Square Metro, Red Line). $12 Museum members and
students; $17 nonmembers. Registration required.
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