Not About Slots

Dear Pen Pals:

You may have noticed that I haven’t written about the slot machine initiative against which Dorothy and I are fighting. I happen to think that a gambling parlor with 3500 slot machines bears the same relationship to economic development that a brothel does to true love. On the other hand, my democratic political principles make me a strong advocate of initiatives, and I believe the initiative process should be available and open to scoundrels who want to try to use it to scam and fleece the public. But on the third hand, the slots initiative has so many legal flaws and problems that there’s no way it should make it to the ballot. I’m not going to write any more about it until the court case, which is being heard on Monday morning, is settled. Then we’ll know whether the slots proponents will be able to circulate petitions to get their initiative on the November ballot, and then I’ll write about the locals who are being paid to act as front men for shadowy, secretive, offshore gambling promoters, who are themselves fronts for unknown, unnamed, faceless interests that are the real funders of the initiative. Until then, you won’t hear a negative word from me.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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MPD Online Sex Offender Registry
Kaylin Junge, Manager of Internet Communications, MPD, kaylin.junge@dc.gov

In response to Ju Watson’s recent posting, the Metropolitan Police Department wants to let readers of themail know that we do maintain an online sex offender registry, and have done so since March 2001. Our department encourages District of Columbia residents to access and use the information in the registry appropriately, as a way to promote safer communities.

A link to our online sex offender registry is found on the front page of the MPD’s web site (http://www.mpdc.dc.gov). In addition to providing general information about DC law and procedures in this area, the online Sex Offender Registry also has a fairly advanced database that provides users with information on all Class A and B registered sex offenders who are living, working, or going to school in the District of Columbia. (Pursuant to DC law, the listing of less serious Class C offenders is only available in print at the police stations.) Due to the sensitive nature of this information, the link on the main page redirects all users to an “Important Reminder” that must be read prior to searching any of this information. Once a user acknowledges that he or she does not intend to use any of the information improperly, the user is redirected to the database, which contains information on all Class A and B offenders. In addition to reviewing a complete list of offenders, users may also search the database geographically (by quadrant, police district, or PSA) or for a specific person (by first or last name).

All of this information has been available online since March 2001. Additionally, legislation on the Sex Offender Registration Act of 1999 may be accessed on our web site at http://mpdc.dc.gov/serv/sor/sor_act1999.shtm. If anyone would like additional information about the online sex offender registry or have suggestions for improvement, please feel free to contact me at kaylin.junge@dc.gov. For additional information on the Sex Offender Registry Unit, please contact Sgt. Robert Panizari at robert.panizari@dc.gov.

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Half a Zoo
Larry Seftor, larry underscore seftor .the757 at zoemail.net

Because I traverse the National Zoo weekly as part of my exercise regime, I have watched, weekly, as the zoo has sunk to new lows. I could list a least a hundred large and small problems with the zoo, but I think that one statistic is telling enough to provide the whole story. In 1995 the National Zoo had about 6300 animals. Today, fewer than ten years later, the collection has dropped to about 2600. In short, the zoo is less than half of what it was just ten years ago. Furthermore, at $34,000,000 a year, the budget of the zoo is larger than 96 percent of the other zoos in the nation. Director Lucy Spelman has agreed to step aside because of widely publicized problems with her leadership at the zoo. Remarkably, however, she remains in this job through the end of the year, continuing her damage to this institution. Weekly, I see new problems arise. The management of the Smithsonian should immediately replace Spelman with an acting director while a new permanent director is found.

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Some More Perspective on a Downtown Stadium
Ed Delaney, profeddel@yahoo.com

“The stadium plan is already raising concerns among historic preservationists. ‘Can you imagine a baseball stadium, at night, in the glow of the Capitol? You could see it from everywhere,’ said Ralston Cox, an analyst with the US Advisory Council of Historic Preservation. Cox, who reviewed the commission's initial stadium plans, said the stadium would have ‘serious problems getting approved on the lighting issue alone.’ ‘I know it's all the rage to put stadiums downtown, but there are many, many problems with this,’ said attorney Tersh Boasberg, president of the Committee of 100 on the Federal City. ‘Do we really want to turn downtown into a sports zone?’”

Actually, these comments were made in the Washington Business Journal, April 13, 1998, to describe the stadium proposal at Mount Vernon Square, but it describes the stadium sites at Banneker Overlook, M Street, SE, and New York Avenue and N. Capitol Street. Only the RFK Stadium site, which is a nonstarter because of the massive public financing aspects combined with the WBC's not contributing a dime in financing at that site, wouldn't interfere with the skyline, which is so precious to the city and nation and which has taken so much effort to preserve. I mean, what if Disney wanted to plop down an Epcot-type sphere that would obscure the Capitol? This is akin to the same thing. We can't let MLB and the WBC ruin the skyline.

Jack Evans told the Loudoun Times-Mirror on June 22 that “[Washington and Northern Virginia] should say forget it if they don't make a decision by the All-Star break,’ Evans said. “For baseball not to respond, it would be shame on them and shame on us.’” http://www.timescommunity.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=12058706&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=506035&rfi=6. Welcome aboard, Jack! Of course, this echoes his comments from the June 23 Post last year, “Evans said he would permit no committee vote on new stadium taxes next year, when he and five other of the 13 council members are up for reelection. ‘There's a window of opportunity for baseball to come to Washington. They have to say, “We're ready to go.” This is just a ridiculous process, and I've had it. The citizens of this city are just fed up with this.’” He told the Times the next day that: “I don't even want to think about trying to do this next year. Baseball has one opportunity to come to Washington.” Of course, Evans seemingly caught amnesia on the subject for the subsequent twelve months, offering MLB the moon and working feverishly behind closed doors with developer buddies on stadium plans at previously rejected sites. But we're gonna hold him to it this time, and tell MLB to forget it right now!

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(Not) Breathing a Sigh of Relief
Gabe Goldberg gabe@gabegold.com

Ed T. Barron said [themail, June 3], “. . . relocate the hapless Montreal Expos there. That's the best scenario that DC taxpayers could hope for. Not that many of the DC folks would ever bother going to Loudon County (where is Loudon County, anyway?) . . . and convenient to the Dulles Toll Road. . . .”

Which is already congested and doesn't need stadium traffic bogging it down. And to find where they want to put it and learn to spell it, look at a map: Loudoun. The road to Loudoun and Fairfax/Loudoun counties aren't frontier territories waiting for baseball to bring them civilization and economic development. On behalf of Virginians who'd get no benefit from but major inconvenience from a stadium, I say NIMBY.

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Sex Offender Register
James Treworgy, jamie@trewtech.com

After reading [Ju Watson’s] message [themail, June 23], I went to Google and typed: “DC Sex Offender Registry.” The very first result takes you to http://mpdc.dc.gov/serv/sor/sor.shtm. Halfway down this page is a large link entitled “Search Sex Offender Registry.” Clicking on this link takes you to a disclaimer page that ends with a link to the search engine. I have tried it and it works just fine.

I am not sure what web site you were looking at. Perhaps there is some other outdated page elsewhere, but this very easily found MPD page provides all the info one would expect and a functional search engine.

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WASA and DDOT
Leila Afzal, Leila.Afzal@noaa.gov

A few issues back I wrote that Ordway Street, NW, was being reconstructed but that WASA was refusing to use this opportunity to replace lead service lines. WASA wrote back saying our street was being resurfaced, therefore was not eligible for that and other reasons for the replacement work. Well, WASA and DDoT finally communicated and, indeed, our street is undergoing a full reconstruction and WASA is going to replace any lead service lines it discovers. Next time, I hope it doesn't take a snide submission to the themail to get agencies (quasi-agencies) to talk. Now, if I can figure out why the city is going to spend $500,000 to build a retaining wall to accommodate about a fifty-foot stretch of sidewalk. Gee, I wonder if money has been allocated for the long-term maintenance of the wall. (The last two sentences were typed with tongue in cheek.)

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Lecture on Ralph “Petey” Green at Georgetown Branch Library, July 10
Jerry A. McCoy, sshistory@yahoo.com

Lurma Rackley will discuss her book Laugh If You Like, Ain't a Damn Thing Funny: The Life Story of Ralph “Petey” Greene As Told to Lurma Rackley at the Georgetown Branch Library, 3260 R Street, NW, on Saturday, July 10, at 1:00 p.m. For more information, call 282-0214.

Ralph “Petey” Greene was a native Washingtonian who, though he lived in Foggy Bottom, considered Georgetown his home. A comic genius, he spent years “clowning around” and spiraling to life's lowest depths. From there he conned, “speechified,” and rhymed his way to heights even he hardly imagine, using lessons he learned from his unconventional grandmother, “A'nt Pig.” Host of the national television show “Petey Greene´s Washington,“ Greene would end the show with his signature rhyme, “I'll tell it to the hot, I'll tell it to the cold, I'll tell it to the young and I'll tell it to the old.” Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing.

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Summer Camp Opening at NCRC
Ellen Simmons, mcpreal@aol.com

An opening is available for a four- or five-year-old at the National Child Research Center in Cleveland Park. If interested, please contact Ellen Simmons at 333-5258 or at mcpreal@aol.com.

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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS

Craigslist, a Recommended Web Resource
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

Do you know the way newspaper classifieds don't seem appropriate when you need to find someone to help you with a small task, especially when the need is upcoming and a bit urgent? A neat resource I came across recently is the classified areas of http://dc.craigslist.org. Originally started in San Francisco, the purpose of the original Craigslist was to connect people with complementary needs. This fellow Craig has done well with this no-cost resource. Along with listings of part-time and full-time jobs, this web site also is a venue for traditional buy/sell classifieds, as well as listing of services. The above-mentioned web link takes you to the DC-area version of Craiglist. It's interesting that so many technical and social innovations come out of San Francisco. Apple, Intel, eBay, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard all make their home in that neck of the woods. There might be ways of explaining the grouping of technical innovations that come from this area, but the social innovations? That's more of a cultural thing and a bit harder to explain.

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