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January 14, 2004

A House Is a Home

Dear Homies:

A few more thoughts on why property taxes on the houses we live in are different from taxes on other investments. Stocks, bonds, CD’s, and savings accounts generate income, if we’re lucky, and we’re taxed only on the income we actually make from them, not on their full value. Capital gains taxes are assessed on the increased value of stocks and bonds only once, when we actually realize those gains. By contrast, unless homeowners rent out rooms, houses create plenty of expenses but no income. But property taxes are levied on the full assessed value of houses every year, and when those houses’ assessed value and the taxes on them soar as they have been soaring in DC, homeowners pay significantly higher taxes without realizing any additional income so they can afford them.

High tax advocates are often indifferent to the problem that this can cause homeowners. If house values rise and property taxes become too high for homeowners to afford, the high tax advocates think, then the old owners should simply sell their homes to new people who can afford them, and take their profits. But that ignores the fact that houses aren’t simply investments — they are where we live; they are our shelter; our houses are our homes. We are attached to and sentimental about our homes in a way that we aren’t about our stocks or our certificates of deposit. We’ll cheerfully sell a nonperforming stock or switch a bank account to another bank with a higher rate, but we don’t want our government to tax us out of our homes, to force us to move, even if we’ll make a profit when we sell. The high tax advocates who don’t understand that have all the sympathy and warmth of the Eskimo villages of the past that, when faced with straitened circumstances, put their nonproductive elders on an ice floe with nothing but a few days rations and a wave goodbye from the shore.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Primary Experience
Farrar Williams, farrarmiles@hotmail.com

[An open letter to the DC Board of Elections and Ethics] I am writing to inform you about my experiences attempting to vote in today’s District of Columbia Democratic Presidential Preference Primary, at the Ward One, Precinct 42 polling place at Mt. Rona Baptist Church. I arrived with the intention of casting a ballot with my preferred candidate, not listed on the ballot, written in. While I am aware there was no write-in option on the ballot, many leading District Democrats, including Mayor Williams and Delegate Norton, suggested writing in a candidate or casting a blank ballot in order to participate and show support for District voting rights. However, the ballot collection machine would not accept my ballot. I told the polling official that I had not filled out the ballot correctly by choice. I was given a second ballot, and tried to write in a candidate in a different place on the ballot. Again it was rejected. I was then given a third ballot, which I attempted to cast unmarked, as per the recommendations of Williams, Norton, and other supporters of District voting rights. The machine would not take this ballot, either.

My husband, who is not a registered Democrat but who had come with me to the polling place, then told the polling official that several District leaders had suggested write-in or blank ballots, and that it was implied they would be accepted for the tally, if not actually counted. The polling official said she knew nothing about this. I was then asked why I was attempting to cast a spoiled or blank ballot, if it would not be counted. I did not think this was anyone’s concern but my own, but I said I wanted to participate without choosing any of the listed candidates. I was then asked what the point was if the vote would not be counted. Again, I did not feel this was anyone’s business but my own, so, frustrated, I began to leave, having been refused the right to cast my protest ballot.

The polling official then complained to my husband (not to me, even though I was the voter) that my efforts to cast my vote had led to three spoiled ballots, for which they would have to fill out paperwork. Am I supposed to be sorry my efforts to exercise my rights inconvenienced them? Ironically, I was given an “I Voted” sticker, even though I had been denied the right to vote. The entire experience was especially ironic, considering the original purpose of the early District of Columbia primary was to highlight the disenfranchisement of District voters.

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Voters Guide
Paul Feteke, pfeteke@aol.com

Special kudos should go to the DC Board of Elections and Ethics, which appears to have sent out its Voter's Guide timed to arrive too late to make any meaningful contribution to making an informed voting decision. Ours arrived on the evening of primary day, after we had already been to the polls.

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DC Primary Thoughts
Peter Orvetti, porvetti@bulletinnews.com

I realize this won't be seen until after the primary, but I was rather irked by the primary supporters' constant pleas that we all come out to vote. They made little effort to remind voters that only members of two political parties were eligible since DC has no open primaries. Too often, DC is treated as a fully-owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party. I've long thought DC would have full representation by now (and maybe even statehood) if that was not taken to mean an automatic two Democratic senators and extra Democratic member of Congress.

Also, five candidates opted out of DC's primary for fear of alienating Iowa and New Hampshire. (Many did the same in Delaware four years ago.) But the “major” candidate who stayed on the DC ballot is leading the polls in both Iowa and New Hampshire! Clearly voters in these states don't feel threatened by us or insulted by Dean's DC participation. Perhaps in four years, DC will have a true first-in-the-nation primary, and frightened candidates won't scurry away.

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Primary Wrap-Up
Sean Tenner, DC Democracy Fund, stenner@mrss.com

On January 13th, DC’s lack of voting rights was finally national news. Nearly every major newspaper and media outlet in the United States reported on the District’s disenfranchisement because of the primary election we held to draw attention to the issue. DC’s plight was the lead story in the New York Times national news section and even the Wall Street Journal editorialized on methods to grant DC voting rights. Coverage improved because DC voter turnout was double the rate of our last presidential primary, and was substantially higher than the Democratic voter turnout rate of Iowa’s much-hyped, first-in-the-nation contest in 2000!

Governor Howard Dean won the primary with 42% with full election results available at http://www.dcboee.org/Information/elec_2004.shtm. But the most important results of the primary are that millions of Americans, including the presidential candidates, now know about our unequal status. In addition to the hundreds of articles nationwide generated over the past year, the primary achieved the following: Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), a presidential candidate in the DC primary, pledged to introduce a DC Statehood bill when Congress returns later this month. Kucinich serves on the House Committee with oversight over DC’s laws. Republican Congressman Tom Davis, who chairs the Committee, has offered a proposal for DC voting rights in the House. Eleanor Holmes Norton and many cosponsors are pushing a bill that would give DC two Senators and a House member. Because DC continues to fight for its rights in unique ways, Congress is paying attention.

Governor Howard Dean, during an appearance on WAMU’s "DC Politics Hour" the weekend before the primary, pledged to put a call for DC voting rights into his first State of the Union address if elected President. In his victory speech to DC supporters on primary night, Dean reiterated how much the primary has taught him and the other candidates about DC’s causes. Reverend Al Sharpton taught millions of Americans about our plight by raising the DC voting rights issue in the nationally televised Democratic presidential debates. With the country watching, Sharpton repeatedly challenged President Bush to "bring democracy to our nation’s capital." All the candidates issued detailed policy positions on DC issues ranging from voting rights to education to the fiscal problems imposed by our relationship with Congress.

Finally, let me address some of the well-known challenges faced by the proponents of the primary. DC Democracy Fund fought to make this first-in-the-nation primary binding, so that the winner would receive all of DC’s delegates at the Democratic nominating convention. However, the local DC Democratic Party, under heavy pressure from the Democratic National Committee, voted narrowly to make the primary non-binding to avoid a conflict with party bylaws. Though we were able to get some delegates, including our Shadow Senators Paul Strauss and Florence Pendleton, pledged to the winner of the primary, the largely non-binding nature of the election made it more challenging to attract candidate and media attention. The other challenge to the primary had more to do with politics than process. In late November, WTOP radio took a poll testing the strength of all nine Democratic candidates in the DC primary. The poll showed that Governor Dean had a nearly 3-1 lead over his nearest rival, Wesley Clark, with most candidates polling in single digits. Dean had the endorsements of nearly all the Democratic DC Councilmembers and a massive grassroots organization. Not coincidentally, five candidates dropped out of the race and pulled their name off the primary ballot just as this poll came out.

Presidential politics dictates that it is better to drop out of a primary than face embarrassment at the hands of the voters -- and this is what these five candidates did. Unfortunately, much of the local media took this as an indictment of the primary and the city, rather than as a move of pure political expediency by the five who dropped out. But no one said this would be easy. When the primary idea was hatched exactly a year ago, pundits and politicians were nearly unanimous: “It will never happen. DC will never go first.” But we did, and we educated millions about our lack of basic civil rights. With this momentum, DC Democracy Fund will continue to raise funds to donate to Federal candidates who stand up for DC and its right to vote. I hope that we can count on your continued support.

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Absentee Ballot Was Wrong
Mary Alice Levine, levines5@starpower.net

In response to Bill O'Field's posting in the January 11 themail and as a follow up to my posting on January 4, I can only assume that my daughter was given the wrong computer screen when she voted her absentee ballot on January 2. She was offered the choice of Joe Lieberman, John Kerry, and Wesley Clark, among others.

I hope she can now be assured that her vote was counted.

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The Big Lie(s)
Larry Seftor, Larry underscore Seftor at compuserve dot com

I've come to the conclusion that conventional wisdom about what matters does not often represent what a lot of people think. As an example, I work in Virginia and am subjected to the painful and worsening traffic problems in Northern Virginia. In my private conversations and in the public media traffic is listed as a major problem. But, faced with potential solutions, the people of Northern Virginia back away. As noted recently in the Post, it turns out that many people just don't care about traffic. Asserting that they do is a big lie.

I find the same to be true about voting rights for DC residents, as demonstrated by the low turnout for Tuesday's DC primary (in which I voted). People can sit at their keyboards typing messages about how the whole thing was flawed. But the fact is that a strong turnout would have made the national media in a significant way and would have made a difference. Those who moved the primary to January and those who voted made a difference. Those who discussed it rather than voting did not. I suspect the real problem is that the average DC resident simply doesn't care. Asserting that they do is another big lie.

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Who Looks Bad?
Connie Ridgway, kaniru at aol dot com

Gary, who are you talking about who “took your vote away” in this primary? The only people who did that are Terry McAuliffe and the DNC. They're the ones who don't want to look bad, thus they didn't “allow” us to have an actual primary.

Why do people choose to forget that the people who are not on the ballot (Kerry, Lieberman, Edwards, Gephardt, Clark) voluntarily took their names off? They did not want to be on the ballot because the DNC threatened them (in so many words). Or because they did not want to lose. Nobody made them take their names off.

As for the more bizarre names on the ballot, it is no different from other years, where anyone can run for president (or for Governor of California, etc.)

[The DC Democratic State Committee agreed to and signed the Democratic National Committee’s delegate selection plan, which required that Iowa’s caucus and New Hampshire’s primary be held before any other elections. Statehood advocates convinced the DC Council to pass a law requiring DC’s primary to be held first. That put the DC DSC in a quandary: break the rules of the Democratic party, set forth in the agreement it had made with all the other state parties, or disenfranchise the voters by turning the primary into a nonbinding preference poll, and actually choosing its delegates in a caucus at a later date. It put the DC Republican party, which had a similar agreement under the auspices of the Republican National Committee, in a similar quandary, which it solved by not participating in the primary at all, but holding a later caucus. Who is responsible for the disenfranchisement of voters, the DC politicians who voted to force this dilemma on the state parties, or the national party organizations that enforced the rules the state parties had agreed to? I know whom I blame. Similarly, the Democratic candidates who withdrew from the DC primary were simply following the rules of their party. — Gary Imhoff]

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Poor Gary
Ruth Holder, rutheholder@aol.com

You must be a very unhappy person, to have such an inexhaustible supply of venom. I wish you joy.

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Great Downtown Developments
John Olinger, North Lincoln Park, john.ollinger@att.net

The new movie theater on E Street is a great addition to downtown life. After work on Tuesday evening I met a friend and we walked down to the theater, picked up our tickets, stopped in at Chapters (around the corner on 11th Street), a great, locally-owned independent bookstore, walked over to 10th Street for dinner at Bisto D'Oc, a nice, little southern French restaurant, and got back to the movie for the 7 p.m. show. And when the show was over, we walked back on sidewalks full of pedestrians. Downtown has been bustling for a while, and each new venture provides another reason for sticking around after work and makes DC feel a little more like a city.

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Why We Don’t Want Real Estate Taxes to Increase
Eric Rosenthal, Capitol Hill, eric.rosenthal at mac.com

Peter Luger wonders why many of us are reluctant to pay the District more money in the form of property taxes, even though our homes have increased in value. Here’s why, at least for me: everything significant the District Government does -- schools, housing, public health, foster care, policing, emergency services -- is a disaster, really a tragedy, if you consider the impact it has. As expenditures rise each year, there is no evidence that more money leads to improved operations or services. From 2000 to 2004, for example, the District operating budget increased from about $4.7 to about $5.7 billion. Did anyone notice that services were 21 percent better? Combining all of its budgets (operating, capital, highway) the District spends over $11,000 per resident per year. Does anyone think the money is well spent or that it would be better spent if the District had more of it?

The Mayor, Council and School Board fiddle while life for our most vulnerable citizens remains hopeless. They renew the contract for a police chief who reliably delivers the worst-in-the-nation crime statistics year after year. They play budget games with the school system and fight about control while successive generations of students learn little about reading, writing and math, wasting the potential they were born with. They posture about health care services, shutting a hospital here, starting a new one there, with no evidence of the serious thought and planning required in a city with morbidity and mortality statistics that rival many developing nations.

So I would happily pay taxes, even more than I do now, if the funds were spent wisely and productively: if the eleven-year-old boy with mild learning problems I know had a quality school to go to, if my neighbors felt they could responsibly send their children to public schools, if $100 million plus health care decisions were based on a demonstrated need, rather than on a political need to quiet the squeakiest wheels, if all parts of the city were safe so that children did not have to live with the sounds of gunshots in the night. But absent evidence that improvements follow increased expenditures, I see no point in giving the District any more money to waste.

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Eureka! A Capitalist in themail
Len Sullivan, lsnarpac@bellatlantic.net

Three cheers for Peter Luger's posting from Georgetown on January 11! Property has been the basis for much of the capital formation that has made the US the richest nation in the world. The idea that our nation's capital city should be passing laws against gaining wealth, or at least against being taxed for that wealth, is ludicrous. Why not turn the city's attention toward finding relevant uses for these newfound revenues? How about earmarking all DC's residential property tax revenue increases over 10 percent for use in underwriting affordable housing so others in this city can become capitalists too? Why make houses more affordable for those who already own them, at the expense of giving a boost to first-time buyers who'd like to get on the American bandwagon? Why favor old owners who want to keep their taxes and property (and neighborhood) values down, over new owners who want to see their investment (and our capital city) grow?

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Is NARPAC Really a Commuter Lobby?
Richard Layman, Northeast DC, rlaymandc@yahoo.com

Until recently, I had always been impressed by the reportage and analysis of Len Sullivan-NARPAC. However, I was troubled by a recent post (themail, January 4, “New Year’s Notion for Commuters to DC”) that I felt was unduly critical of DC residents. In the January 7 issue of themail, NARPAC announces an analysis of the proposed K Street busway. A number of the statements in the report are troubling. One section is entitled: “Pedestrians are a major nuisance.” Another statement is “Sidewalks are now used inefficiently due to the narrowing caused by curbside trees with their root grates, etc.” And “Lost parking must be accommodated (and expanded) somewhere. It is essential to get people out of their cars downtown, but not by trying to get Americans to give up their second most desired possession.”

On the latter point, I will say that the public space was not originally created to provide parking for personally-owned vehicles. Parking is a privilege, not a right, and providing parking spaces isn't the primary development priority that suburbanites believe we should take up. (Jane Jacobs would say something like, “You are asking the wrong question. The question isn't 'why aren't there more parking spaces?' The real question is 'why are there so many cars?', or 'why do so many people want to drive knowing there aren't more parking spaces?'”)

To truly be a transit city, we must constantly improve and expand transit systems. It is encouraging to see the various initiatives of the DC Department of Transportation to do so, such as via the proposed K Street busway. Another is to encourage the use of transit by making less preferred modes more difficult and expensive to use. Providing maximum parking tears at the urban fabric and streetscape without encouraging the use of transit. Parking tickets are a “positive” disincentive that ought to encourage “rational economic-thinking” people to use other modes of transit. Instead, people blame the ticketer or the situation, instead of their decision to drive and park (perhaps illegally) in the first place. This relates to a serious concern faced by DC's advocates for a “livable city.” The US is dominated by an automobile-centric planning and development paradigm. Most every person in the region, including those who live in the city, has been imprinted with that paradigm without realizing that it is but one choice. Just one example is that there are plenty of people who think the solution to revitalization of our neighborhood commercial districts is in the demolition of the adjoining residential neighborhoods in favor of parking. I fall into the trap of arguing with people about this lunacy, rather than just walking away ruing the fact that they've never read Jane Jacobs Death and Life of Great American Cities. The “teachable moment” so often when the entire worldview of the “student” is shaped by the automobile. It is troubling that forty-two years after the publication of that book, people who allegedly care about the city think that planning for the pedestrian and focusing on urban design and the streetscape is a “nuisance” and that we should be focused on making life simple and free for car drivers.

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Interested in Starting a Jane Jacobs/Urban Design Reading Group?
Richard Layman, Northeast DC, rlaymandc@yahoo.com

Now is a great time to focus on urban design and the city because the City of Washington is ramping up for the next iteration of the comprehensive plan. If you're interested in joining a reading group focused on this, drop me an E-mail. A Monday evening is preferred on my end.

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Signage and Other Metro Snafus
Ralph Blessing, rblessin88@hotmail.com

Ann Van Aken questioned Metro's spending priorities, in that the agency will spend $100,000 each to change the signage in two stations. If they're spending that kind of money on signs, I hope that, at least, they're getting a quality product (gold-plated, perhaps). Based on other Metro projects, however, I'd be surprised if the end result is satisfactory. About this time last year Metro rebuilt the four enclosed waiting areas atop the Takoma station's platform. I'm not sure they were in need of replacement, but I'll defer to the "experts" on that matter. What I do know, though, is that two of the four were not properly sealed; now every time it rains the benches inside the enclosures are covered with puddles of water. In other words, they're of little value on the days when they're most needed. I've contacted Metro three or four times since last spring to report this problem. Each time I was thanked profusely for bringing it to their attention, but to date nothing has been done. My last communication was with the person identified in the Dr. Gridlock column as the "go to" person at Metro. She tracked down the office in charge and was told that Takoma was on its list and would be taken care of shortly. That was two months ago. Maybe a “Do Not Enter” sign would be easier to obtain.

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Family Study at Howard University
Sandra Epps, sepps@genomecenter.howard.edu

The Family Study at Howard University Center is conducting research to investigate factors contributing to hypertension and related health conditions including diabetes, and weight gain in people of African descent. This study is currently going on at Howard University, hoping to enroll 350 families. In participating in this study you and your family will be contributing to the effort of better understanding this condition that surely has affected a family member or someone you know. Eligibility requirements: must self identify as a person of African descent (Black, African-American, Afro-Latino, etc.), must be at least 14 years of age (minors must have parental consent), consent and participation from five or more blood relatives.

To be eligible, participants are not required to have the conditions listed above. Information will be collected by questionnaires. Blood pressure, weight, height measurements small amounts of blood and urine samples will be collected. Glucose and cholesterol test results will be provided. One visit is all that is required by each participant. All information will remain confidential. Each participant will receive $40.00 following completion of the visit.

You may be eligible. For more information on the Howard University Family Study, please call Howard University, 806-6522 or 806-6524. The Project Investigator on this study is Charles Rotimi, Ph.D.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Dorothy Height Speech, January 20
Joe Libertelli, jlibertelli@udc.edu

Please join us for an evening with Dorothy Height, who will speak on her new memoir, Open Wide the Freedom Gates, on Tuesday, January 20. 6:00 p.m. , reception; 7:00 p.m., introduction by Charles Ogletree, Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, and Chair, University of the District of Columbia Board of Trustees; 7:05 p.m., address and book signing by Dorothy Height. The event will be held at the UDC David A. Clarke School of Law, 4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Building 38, 2nd Floor (Red Line UDC/Van Ness Metro Station; parking under campus off Van Ness Street). Admission is free.

Social activist Dorothy Height was born in Richmond, Virginia, on March 24, 1912. At an early age, she moved with her family to Rankin, Pennsylvania. While in high school, Height was awarded a scholarship to New York University for her oratory skills, where she studied and earned her master's degree. Height began her career working as a caseworker with the New York City Welfare Department, but at the age of twenty-five, she began her career as a civil rights activist when she joined the National Council of Negro Women. She fought for equal rights for both African Americans and women, and in 1944 she joined the national staff of the YWCA. She remained active with the organization until 1977, and while there she developed leadership training programs and interracial and ecumenical education programs. In 1957, Height was named president of the National Council of Negro Women, a position she held until 1997. During the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Height organized "Wednesdays in Mississippi," which brought together black and white women from the north and South to create a dialogue of understanding. Leaders of the United States regularly took her counsel, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and Height also encouraged President Dwight D. Eisenhower to desegregate schools and President Lyndon B. Johnson to appoint African American women to positions in government. Height has served on a number of committees, including as a consultant on African affairs to the secretary of state, the President's Committee on the Employment of the Handicapped and the President's Committee on the Status of Women. Her tireless efforts for equal rights have earned her the praise and recognition of numerous organizations, as well. She has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Freedom From Want Award, and the NAACP Spingarn Medal. She has also been inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

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National Building Museum Lectures, January 22 and 26
Briana Hensold, bhensold@nbm.org

The New York firm of McKim, Mead & White designed in a classical style that became synonymous with the City Beautiful movement. Architect Samuel G. White, great-grandson of firm partner Stanford White, will discuss the firm's body of work, including the Boston Public Library and the now-demolished Pennsylvania Station in New York. After the lecture, he will sign copies of his book McKim, Mead & White: The Masterworks (Rizzoli International). Thursday, January 22, 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Museum members and students, $10; nonmembers, $15. Registration required at http://www.nbm.org.

Dr. Lee E. Gray of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte will present a history of elevators and skyscrapers in the 20th century. Focusing on the architectural and social impact of the elevator, he will discuss the changing perceptions and expectations of riders, the impact of new technologies, and the role the elevator plays in everyday life. This lecture complements the exhibition Up, Down, Across, which will be open for viewing. Monday, January 26, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Museum members and students, $12; nonmembers, $17. Registration required at http://www.nbm.org. Both events at the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW (Judiciary Square Metro, Red Line).

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Wardman Row House Bus Tour, February 1
Krista Schreiner Gebbia, DC Preservation League, krista@dcpreservation.org

The prolific developer Harry Wardman changed the face of residential Washington, DC. On this bus tour led by architectural historians Sally Berk, Laura Trieschmann, and Caroline Mesrobian Hickman, you’ll discover the reach of Wardman’s work, the variety of styles he used, and the nexus between early 20th century transportation and residential development in DC. A box lunch will be provided. February 1, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., departing from the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW. Admission $35 for DCPL members; $45 for nonmembers. Reservations required. Note: this event was originally scheduled during Row House Month, but due to Hurricane Isabel the tour was canceled.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING

Dupont Circle Co-op
Andrea Foster, afoster@pressroom.com

One bedroom co-op, 850 sq. ft., for sale in Dupont Circle! Open house on Sunday, January 18, from 12:00 p.m.-4 p.m., at 1725 17th Street, NW. Contact seltzerfilmvideo@aol.com. Features spacious foyer with library, arched entranceways leading to both living room and kitchen, large windows with southern and western light exposures, kitchen has original built-in glass door hutch, hardwood floors, high ceilings, ceiling fans in both the bedroom and living room, spacious walk-in closet off the bedroom, front desk attendant (from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m.), trash pickup at your apartment front door every morning, meeting room, storage space and bike room in basement, roof deck access, pet friendly building (dog park across the street and fenced-in yards on premise, great neighborhood close to 16th Street bus line and Dupont Metro. Price $290,000, co-op fee $362 per month.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED

Language Instructors
Charles Stevenson, Clc@geotrees.com

Geotrees.Com has a need for language instructors to work in suburban Northern Virginia. We invite your attention. The languages are Spanish, Korean, Vietnamese, Urdu, Persian/ Farsi, Chinese, and Arabic. People with English as a Second Language experience are needed. The greatest needs will probably be in Spanish and in ESL. Teaching experience is required. The need for American Sign Language instructors is to be determined, but we would certainly like to learn of you and keep your resume on file. Please send us your resumes as soon as possible, not in .pdf or HTML form. Searchable text or word processor files are best.

Do you know of any schools, organizations, NGOs, etc. who have people with these skills, people whom we can help put to work? Please let us know, or invite them to get in touch. If you're interested, please contact us at clc@geotrees.com, and include your resume. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Legal Secretary, Immediate Opening
Jon Katz, jon@markskatz.com

Silver Spring, Maryland. Up to $40k plus benefits. Great work and training, including criminal defense cases and trial work in caring office. Requires minimum one-two years of private law firm experience, sharpness, and fast-paced work. Fax or E-mail (in text form, without attachments) resume (one to two pages) and persuasive cover letter to Jon Katz, Marks & Katz, LLC: 301-495-8815, justice@markskatz.com. For more information, visit http://www.markskatz.com/jobs.htm.

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CLASSIFIEDS — SERVICES

Business Development and Government Contracting
Arthur Jackson, ahjgroup@earthlink.net

The AHJ Group is interviewing District of Columbia small, minority and women-owned businesses for upcoming District of Columbia L.S.D.B.E. Certified Contracts. Contact Bob Levin at 271-5522 or visit our web site, http://www.ahjgroup.com.

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