Attention

Dear Attention Payers:

I've been listening to Carmen McRae, particularly her perfectly phrased rendition of “When Your Lover Has Gone,” and thinking of the only time I saw her perform live. I don't remember which club she was performing at, probably the Village Vanguard but maybe the Blue Note, and I don't remember what year it was, though it had to have been sometime in the late 1960's, but I remember the set clearly. McRae was singing with the Modern Jazz Quartet. Now, the relationship between a singer and her backup group is always problematic. The singer wants to be in the forefront, framed and supported by the instrumentalists, but the instrumentalists want to be showcased, to have their own solos and time in the spotlight. This innate, but usually suppressed, competition was exaggerated when McRae's backup group was the Modern Jazz Quartet. All of the MJQ's members were stars in their own right, and it may have been the most influential and popular small jazz group of all time; most singers would have been quite intimidated.

McRae was more than a match for all of them, and I'll always remember how she overshadowed them. It was early in the set, during “My Funny Valentine.” The song was supposed to belong to the Quartet, and to be performed mostly by them. McRae sang a verse and chorus at the start, and then the quartet took over. They played together, then each member of the quartet had a solo spot before McRae came back for a final chorus. But no one paid any attention to what the band did. As she finished her first chorus, McRae's voice grew weak and uncertain, raspy. When she finished, she retreated to a pillar at the edge of the stage and leaned against it. Throughout the next three or four minutes, as the band played, she occasionally coughed softly. Every eye stayed on her. When the last band solo — Connie Kay on drums — was finished, McRae stepped up to the microphone and sang in a stronger, clearer, purer voice than ever, and the audience greeted her first few notes with thunderous applause. Funny enough, McRae didn't have any more problems with her voice that night.

Now, think of Mayor Williams as Carmen McRae and of the city council as the Modern Jazz Quartet. Yes, I know it's a stretch in both cases, but bear with me. For his entire first term, Williams intimidated his backup group, both through the unquestioning support the Control Board gave him and through his stagecraft, the impression he gave councilmembers that he had the unwavering admiration of the citizens and that the council challenged him at its own peril. Now, however, the Control Board is out of business and Williams has used all his stage tricks numerous times; the council is familiar with them and unimpressed. And Williams's only unquestioning supporters are on his payroll or uninformed about political affairs. So when his voice is weak and raspy these days, his ideas bad, indefensible, and not thought through, as they have been in his bid to take over the schools and in his bloated proposed budget and in his numerous schemes to give away city resources to favored developers and business interests, the council simply plays over him and leaves him at the edge of the stage — flying off to Paris or Rome or wherever he is these days — while they call the next tune. It's the MJQ reunion tour.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Public Preferences
Patricia Howard-Chittams, pchittams@starpower.net

Hardy Middle School, one of the schools located on Wisconsin Avenue, a “west of the park” school believed to be one of the few “safe” middle schools in the city, practices discrimination, not only by ability, but also by race. After attending a meeting with my child’s teachers, my husband and I were pulled aside by another instructor and told to take a look at my child’s school section (8.4). (This instructor wishes to remain unidentified for fear of retribution, a fairly common occurrence in DCPS.) I was surprised to learn that his section 8.4 was made up entirely of African-American children. Using random sample techniques, there are a number of statistical impossibilities regarding this section. It is a statistical impossibility that an entire section at Hardy Middle School would be comprised of solely African-American children. It is also statistically impossible that a good portion of the students of this section would have IEP’s (Individual Education Plans) in place. It is also statistically impossible that almost all of these students would be out-of-boundary and would reside east of the Anacostia River. The air doth stinketh.

These children call themselves the Dumb as Dog Poop. These children say that the teachers and the principal call them stupid, and say they are impossible to teach. Teachers throw up their hands when you mention this section — they give the “what do you expect” look. These children, aware that they have been segregated from their classmates, are angry. An entire section of angry children has been created. These children are angry at being placed in a position over which they had no control. These children are angry at the teachers who call them the worst in the building. These children now act out against themselves, as they have no one else to rail against. When I learned of the educational apartheid existing at Hardy Middle School, the reality sunk in. I understood why my child complained about issues going on in the class, the talking, the fights, the jonesing, and the teachers who don’t teach, but who engage the students in conversations about the basketball game on television the night before. Who else are these children going to take their frustrations out on but each other? Now I understood why the students have more time to disrupt classes; they aren’t being taught. My child complained that this section is treated differently from other sections. My child complained that this section was told that they were too stupid to learn how to write an essay or to do algebra. Even when they begged to be taught, they were told that because of their test scores, they were incapable of learning algebraic methods. Tell that to Jaime Escalante. When the students voice their complaints, they are punished by the teachers. The students complain that they aren’t being taught the same things as the white section, section 8.1. But who is going to pay attention to the dumbest/darkest class in the school? The same teachers and administrators who purposely placed them in this section in the first place?

This is a deliberate action against African American children and another way to sabotage them and prevent them from achieving success later in life. Educational apartheid is alive and well and residing west of the park. The lottery system which was supposed to make the out-of-boundary process fair is a joke. It is a joke when a large school like Wilson will only take five students out-of-boundary for its freshman class. It is a joke when our own Board of Education allows schools like Hardy, Wilson, and Bannaker to develop “specialized” programs that effectively remove the school from the out-of-boundary process and the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Law.

At Hardy, the “specialized program” is an arts-based program. Application to this arts-based program is by interview, along with Stanford 9 reports, an essay on why art is important, and a recommendation from the student's art, music, or dance teacher. These requirements are only for out-of-boundary students, In-boundary students will not have to go though this application process. According to the Georgetowner Newspaper, this “allows the principal more freedom in selecting who will attend Hardy from outside the neighborhood.” This requirement that the students who apply be firmly grounded in an arts-based program is discriminatory on its face, as I was unable to locate one school east of the Anacostia River that has an arts-based program. This would make it virtually impossible for students who reside across the river to attend Hardy.

Ms. Carter in the Student Services Office states that the Student Services Office has nothing to do with schools' specialized out-of-boundary process. She said, “Schools can make up whatever requirements they want for their out-of-boundary process, and the Board of Education has nothing to do with it.” When a “so called” benign change has an adverse effect on a protected class, the change cannot stand. There is no real oversight at these schools to ensure the fairness of the system. Principals do not have to justify the numbers they forward to the Student Services Office for out-of-boundary students. It appears that they just pick a number, any number, and that’s the total number of out-of-boundary students who will be allowed to attend this year. Those that they cannot lock out of their schools, they segregate within them.

I wish my child could attend his neighborhood school. I wish that his school would provide the services he needs. I wish that the principal actually cared for the students in the school. I wish that gangs didn’t exist in my child’s neighborhood school. I wish the school were safe. I wish there weren’t weekly fires at my neighborhood school. I wish that many of the dedicated teachers at my child’s neighborhood school hadn’t been driven out by the administration. I wish the best teachers hadn't retired or weren't teaching at schools west of the park, in Prince Georges County, or in Virginia. I wish his neighborhood school had a working laboratory. I wish he could attend a school that would make sure that he could write an effective essay and learn to appreciate classical literature. I wish he didn’t have to participate in schools that have this academy system. Some college students don’t know what they want to study; how can we expect a high school student to specialize? I wish my neighborhood school had an effective and active PTA. I wish, I wish.

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Private Preferences
Ed Dixon, Georgetown Reservoir, jedxn@erols.com

The city has 82 private schools, according to the US Department of Education (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/). These schools served approximately 17,000 students in the 2001-2002 school year. The schools reflect the segregation in the city, with 41 schools having 10 percent or less of white students in the student body. (Twenty-two of these are tallied as 100 percent African American.) Another 26 schools consist of more than 68 percent white students in the student body. Of the remaining fourteen schools, only four are not majority white.

For four years, the Office of Economic Development and the Committee on Economic Development have provided public financing to private schools (http://dcbiz.dc.gov/info/rb.shtm). Public financing is a tool by which governments use economic leverage to achieve a given goal or the public good. The benefit to the borrower is reduced interest rates. The benefit to the investor (in bonds) is no taxes on capital gains. The city can also enforce First Source hiring laws (set asides in job growth for District residents) plus ensure that the hiring preferences for local, small, minority, and disabled business are upheld as well.

Since 1998, the Office of Economic Development has issued bonds for modernization and refinancing to eleven schools for over $160 million. Of these schools, all are in Northwest Washington, with the majority in Ward 3. All but two have white populations below 68 percent of the student body (the mean is 74 percent). As to the other two, the Owl School closed last year and the Kingsbury Center serves only special education students. Kingsbury was a majority white school in 2001-2002 when it received its public financing. According to the November 2002 report by Good Jobs First, “DC's economic development programs have failed to live up to their potential. In particular, the District is not using these programs to generate jobs with good wages and benefits for DC residents or to revitalize the neighborhoods most in need of economic development. Moreover, decisions over the use of economic development subsidies are not made with broad public input.” (http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/gjfpubs.htm)

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Baseball Boosters to Fast-Track Scheme by Uninformed Public
Ed Delaney, profeddel@yahoo.com

ESPN reports (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=1801828) that not only is a move of a team to Washington likely very soon but that “it's believed that the relocation committee was told this month, by the mayor and two powerful city council members, that it can put a long-term ballpark deal together in 45 days if MLB just gives the thumbs up.” Isn't this great? Without revealing their plan to the public or the full DC Council, the mayor and Jack Evans are reportedly telling MLB that they can bulldoze through a stadium scheme that will profoundly affect the District and require massive amounts of city funding before anyone knows what's hit them, all while hundreds of education jobs are being slashed.

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City of Special Interests
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com

The leading contender for the position of school superintendent, Rudolph “Greedy Rudy” Crew, has taken a clue from Major League Baseball. What Crew has realized is what MLB has known for decades -- most government officials in any city are suckers, ripe for the plucking. All you have to do is to play a few cities off against each other, and officials will get caught up in the fever of an auction bidding war. And city officials are especially irresponsible in an auction, since they're spending taxpayers' money and not their own.

The one good thing about DC's “education collaborative,” which is conducting the search for a new superintendent, is that the council and the mayor are participating, and therefore they cannot place all the blame for a botched process on the Board of Education, as they would do otherwise. All the parties in the collaborative are looking for a magician who will come to town, wave his wand, utter a few magical spells, and improve the schools, and they all seem to be convinced that Crew has the magic touch. Crew's inflated salary and benefits demands — now adding up to $600,000 a year at least — contribute to his inflated reputation. Just as deluded consumers convince themselves that a $3,000 Rolex keeps better time than a $30 Timex, the collaborative seems to have convinced itself that a superintendent who demands $600,000 a year must be six times better than a superintendent who could live on a mere $100,000.

Rudy Crew has been playing off St. Louis against Miami, and Miami against the District, proposing to all three cities that they get business interests to contribute to a scheme in which the Superintendent's compensation that is set in law would be doubled or tripled or quadrupled by private donations. Crew turned down St. Louis when business leaders there volunteered only to loan him the money to buy a house, rather than to give him the outright gift of a house, as he wants. The Miami Herald reported on Saturday (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/education/8671921.htm) that Crew might balk at accepting Miami's offer because business leaders there weren't offering him enough of an additional "sweetener" on top of the salary mandated by law. The first question that remains in DC is whether the Federal City Council or the Greater Washington Board of Trade would come up with several hundred thousand dollars a year to pay Crew. The second question is whom Crew would report to, the citizens of DC who had no say in choosing him or the suburban businessmen who would be paying his salary. The third question is whether everybody would ignore the obvious illegality of the arrangement, or whether someone could figure out how to get standing to challenge it in court. And the fourth and obvious final question is where we draw the line. The next time DC searches for a new fire chief or police chief or medical examiner, who would be foolish enough to accept the salary offered under the law, when it's obvious that DC is not only ripe for the fleecing, but eager to be fleeced, and that business interests are ready to pay for government officials who will give them special access and influence?

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Cough Up the Cash
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aoldotcom

An anonymous tipster has called in a tip to the District Police that resulted in the arrest of the chap who shot Chelsea Cromarty. Let's see if the District coughs up the $75,000 reward promised for a tip that would result in the arrest of the shooter. If they don't convey that cash to the tipster, then they can kiss any other reward incentivized tips goodbye.

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Reducing Accidents
Harold Goldstein, mdbiker@goldray.com

Ralph Blessing thought [themail, May 12] that in mentioning “'tailgating, weaving, red light running, passing stopped school buses, etc.” as the immediate cause of accidents," that I was also saying that they alone should be the focus of traffic enforcement while turning a blind eye to speeding .

I didn't argue that the above should be the sole focus; I said that these areas, “is where enforcement can have more benefit,” and that I wished there were more emphasis on them. I didn't say turn a blind eye towards speeders, nor did I imply it. But recent postings focusing on speed alone and enforcement that focuses on speed alone move attention away from traffic enforcement that can be most helpful in reducing accidents.

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May 2004 InTowner
Peter Wolff, intowner@intowner.com

This is to advise that the May 2004 on-line edition has been uploaded and may be accessed at http://www.intowner.com. Included are the lead stories, community news items and crime reports, editorials (including prior months' archived), restaurant reviews (prior months' also archived), and the text from the ever-popular "Scenes from the Past" feature. Also included are all current classified ads. The complete issue (along with prior issues back to March 2002) also is available in PDF file format by direct access from our home page at no charge simply by clicking the link provided. Here you will be able to view the entire issue as it appears in print, including all photos and advertisements. The next issue will publish on May 14. The complete PDF version will be posted by early that Friday morning, following which the text of the lead stories, community news, and selected features will be uploaded shortly thereafter.

To read this month's lead stories, simply click the link on the home page to the following headlines: 1) “Belmont Road Townhouse Still Looms Over Neighbors: Roof Structure Not Set-Back Is Claimed to be Illegal”; 2) “Collapsing Wall Near U Street Unnerves Neighbors on 17th: City Crew Prevents Worse”; 3) “Dupont's Ross Elementary Parents, Staff Planning Kid-Friendly Playground.”

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

National Building Museum Events, May 17, 22
Brie Hensold, bhenhold@nbm.org

Monday, May 17, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Smart Growth: Linking Land Use, Transportation, Economy, and the Environment. The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission in Charlottesville, Virginia, has successfully integrated grassroots planning and the regional transportation process, incorporating lessons from smart growth, New Urbanism, and healthy communities to meet the goals of diverse partners. Harrison Rue, the group's executive director, will discuss these techniques and demonstrate how Charlottesville offers lessons to other communities. Free. Registration not required. At the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line.

Monday, May 17, 8:00-9:30 p.m. Spotlight on Design: Lindy Roy. The designs of South Africa-born architect Lindy Roy are visually arresting. Marked by fluid forms, they are a clear response to context, with evident expression of construction techniques. Principal of New York-based ROY, she will discuss her studio's work, including a resort project in Africa, the Vitra showroom in New York, and the Wind River Lodge in Valdez, Alaska. Following the lecture, Roy will sign copies of her monograph ROY: Design Series 1 (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art). $12 Museum members; $17 nonmembers; $10 students. Prepaid registration required. At the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line.

Saturday, May 22, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Construction Watch Tour: Glenbrook Residence. The Glenbrook Residence, currently under construction in Bethesda, Maryland, features all natural materials, an underground spring-fed water furnace HVAC system, and a projected 100-year lifespan. The project's Virginia-based architect, David Jameson, will lead a tour of this house. Open only to Museum members, $14. Appropriate clothing required. Prepaid registration required and must be received by May 17.

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DC Public Library Events, May 17-19
Debra Truhart, debra.truhart@dc.gov

Monday, May 17, 6:45 p.m., Chevy Chase Neighborhood Library, 5625 Connecticut Avenue, NW. "Traveling India" presented by the Embassy of India along with readings from Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Refreshments. Public contact: 282-0021.

Tuesday, May 18, 7:00 p.m., Arts Club of Washington, 2017 I Street, NW. "The Immigrant Experience Seen Through the Eyes of Local Authors," featuring Dr. Dhooleka Sarhadi Raj, author of Where Are You From: Middle Class Migrants in the Modern World, and Franklin Odo, director of the Asian American Program, Smithsonian Institution. Public contact: 331-7282.

Wednesday, May 19, 1:00 p.m., Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library, 7420 Georgia Avenue, NW. A Common Life: The Wedding Story by Jan Karon will be discussed. Public contact: 541-6100.

Wednesday, May 19, 6:30 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Main Lobby. Kurt L. Schmoke, J.D., dean of Howard University School of Law and former Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, will discuss The Legacy of Brown v. Board of Education: Its Heroes and Implications for American Society. This landmark case challenged the segregation of public education. Schmoke will present interesting insights and facts about Howard University’s unique role in advancing the cause of social justice. In 1953, lawyers from the School of Law argued and won the landmark Supreme Court case. Notably they included: Thurgood Marshall and law professors James M. Nabrit, Jr., George E.C. Hayes, and Spotswood Robinson, III. Public contact: 727-1261.

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Mental Health Month Events, May 18, 20, 22
Linda Grant, linda.grant@dc.gov

The D.C. Department of Mental Health is observing May as Mental Health Month, a national event sponsored by the National Mental Health Association. 1) Youth vs. Adults Basketball Game, Tuesday, May 18, 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Kennedy Recreation Center, 7th and P Streets, NW. 2) First Annual Dinner and Consumer Awards Program, “Victory, Hope, and Unlimited Possibilities,” Thursday, May 20, 6 p.m. Washington Navy Yard, to celebrate consumers of mental health services recovery and the people and organizations who contributed to their success. 3) Mayor Williams will participate in the Walk-a-Thon in Ward 7, Saturday, May 22, starting at 11 a.m. at the Deanwood Metro Station and culminating at the IDEA Public Charter School, 1027 45th Street, NE. There will be a community fair at the IDEA Public Charter School. All events are open to the public. Contact Linda Grant at linda.grant@dc.gov or call 671-4155 for more information.

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Open Mic at the Potter's House, May 28
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

Do you have a song or poem to share? Talented musician Mary Shapiro (no relation) has been organizing wonderful open mic's at the Potter's House in Adams Morgan. These take place on the fourth Friday of the month from 7 p.m. to about 9 p.m. The name of the open mic is called "Venture 4th." (Ain't that a laugh? I love it.) The folks who show up are friendly and mutually encouraging. Everyone has fun — with spontaneous duo's and trio's sometimes forming right on the spot. The poetry shared is often moving and intellectually transforming. On May 28 I'll be singing some Paul Simon songs and “Put a Little Love in Your Heart.” Seems like this world could use that song quite a bit just now. My singing voice is somewhat akin to Paul Simon, so I'm on the lookout for an Art Garfunkel (or two), male or female, who could add depth to the singing. Mary Shapiro won't be there running the event this month, but her very talented friend Ken will be doing the honors. Come on by. Put a little love in your heart. The event is free. Refreshments can be purchased, camaraderie seized, social fabric woven. The Potter's House is located at 1658 Columbia Road, NW, about 1.5 blocks east of Columbia Road and 16th Street, NW. This coffeehouse sells the popular songbook, “Rise Up Singing,” too (http://guitarlessons.blogspot.com).

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CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE

Piano
Ted Knutson, dcreporter@yahoo.com

Piano for sale cheap. Friend in Alexandria has a twelve-year-old Kimball upright for sale. Needs tuning. Must move yourself. $350 or best offer. Motivated seller. Call or E-mail me, Ted Knutson, dcreporter@yahoo.com, 703-519-7772 (home and office).

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CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED

Full Time and Summer Law Secretaries Sought
Jon Katz, jon@markskatz.com

Our Silver Spring law firm has the following two immediate job openings. 1) Legal secretary: jump-start your career with hands-on litigation work. Superior pay, benefits, health insurance, paid parking, and Metro. Requires more an a year of secretarial experience. Prefer fluent Spanish. 2) Junior secretary for summer. Exciting work for criminal and civil litigation. Great pay and potential to continue past summer. Prefer fluent Spanish. Fax 301-495-8815. For more information, see http://www.markskatz.com.

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CLASSIFIEDS — WANTED

Laptop
Bryce A. Suderow, streetstories@juno.com

Does anyone have a used laptop he or she wants to sell or give away?

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