A Gift to the Mayor
Dear Citizens:
Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah. In the seasonal spirit of giving,
I’m giving Mayor Williams the strategy and speech he needs to sell the
baseball stadium lease to the majority of city councilmembers whom he
has been unable to bribe or bully into supporting it. I’m doing this,
of course, with full confidence that the mayor would never take any
advice from me, so I’m not in any danger of actually helping him. Here’s
the speech: “I want the citizens of the District of Columbia and their
elected representatives in the city council to know that I listen to
you; I have heard you; and I will follow your wishes. You have told me
that my administration has struck a bad deal for the city and the city’s
taxpayers with Major League Baseball, and that you want a better deal. I
accept your judgment. Therefore, I am not going to resubmit the ballpark
lease to the council until after I have negotiated a better agreement
with Major League Baseball.
“To the officials and team owners of Major League Baseball, I say
that you have nothing to fear. You will still make a tremendous profit
on this deal, and you will gain a team in a major American market, one
of the best sports markets in the country. But Major League Baseball
also has to understand that I don’t have the authority to commit this
city, to make a deal on behalf of the city, by myself. No deal with this
city is final until the city council approves of it. Therefore, in this
last round of negotiations with MLB, I am going to partner with
representatives of the city council, and not just with those who have
supported the agreement in the past, but also with those who have been
critical of it. I am removing my lead baseball negotiator, Steve Green
from further involvement in the negotiations, and I also am asking for
his resignation from this administration. He undermined negotiations
between potential team owners and members of the city council by going
to Major League Baseball; that was contrary to the interests of the
city, and indicates that his loyalty was to MLB, rather than to the
citizens of the city. Although I have the highest respect for Mark
Touhey and William Hall of the Sports and Entertainment Commission, I am
also asking them not to participate in any further negotiations with MLB.
Their law firms represent MLB and other baseball team owners; that
presents a clear conflict of interest, and they should have disclosed
that conflict to me earlier.
“I promise that the councilmembers and I will bring Washington a
better agreement; one that will cost the taxpayers less and put us at
less financial risk from cost overruns and from future stadium upgrades;
and one that the city council can support enthusiastically. And I
promise that if I can’t get that better agreement, I won’t insist on
baseball at any cost, or on sacrificing our city’s higher priorities
for a sports stadium.” Make that pitch, Mr. Mayor, and MLB will offer
to give a free Frank Robinson bobble-head doll to every kid in the city
who fills out a simple ten-page application. You can call that a
tremendously generous concession; and that will provide enough cover for
a few more councilmembers to vote for the agreement, even though it will
still be the worst deal any city has ever made to build a stadium and a
huge giveaway to MLB. But you would rather fight with the council than
win, wouldn’t you?
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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I Don’t Love Baseball Like Everyone Else
Ed Dixon, Georgetown Reservoir, jedxn@erols.com
What about the Major League Baseball, the players involved, or the
hypnotized fans should I idolize? The city’s deal with the MLB has
shown the true nature of that greedy venture. Our lawyers, brokers,
developers and politicians chase down and fawn upon the emperor with no
clothes.
As an example of a player involved, Johnny Damon just signed with the
Yankees for four years in exchange for $52 million. What about playing
baseball is worth more than a million dollars per month? (Or about a
dollar a second) I f only our teachers were worth that amount. Though I
have no qualms with the rights of workers, I like to think that the
worker is providing something of value. I don’t see that relationship
here.
“Well educated” fans line up, encouraging this use of money as if
nothing else in life matters. I dare to disagree. Our minds and hearts
should know better than to believe in these temples of wealth and their
minions that siphon away from society’s needs. The worship of
athleticism would be one thing, but far too often we are reminded that
our worship of athleticism comes at the cost of our own personal health.
We are bombarded with snack food and soda and beer ads from companies
that have the same interest in the sport as the players and the MLB. We
have fallen prey to our own insecurities and throw money at these idols
of ours as if we know no better.
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So sorry the mayor has to interrupt his travel plans to carry water
for his baseball masters yet again. Ah, some things on the plantation
never change. You’ve got to appreciate all the hard work of the Sports
and Entertainment Commission to secure their forty-nine free parking
spots and all the other cool items they negotiated for themselves. Right
on, Sports Commissioners! The Sports and Entertainment Commissioners are
the best and brightest shortsighted dimwitted political opportunists in
the city. I mean, who appointed those imbeciles? Ambrose, Evans, and
Patterson should be ashamed of themselves, but political cockroaches
have no shame. I remember Cropp when, as president of the school board,
she steered that baby into the ditch. We told Chavous, Allen, and Brazil
to hit the road. Who’s next? Oh, and I love how the rulers say we’re
negative. Since when are you happy to eat garbage material from elected
officials who are supposed to be advocates for the taxpayer/citizens?
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Two points seldom heard on our discussion board: 1) The DC council
has held out for less money, as Jerry rightfully accused George. 2) The
bottom line on the stadium deal has nothing, repeat nothing, to do with
whether schools will be fixed or improved. Politicians who say otherwise
are pandering. Citizens who think otherwise are thinking wishfully but
unrealistically.
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I have been involved in this city now for well over ten years. I have
come to know and respect many of our councilmembers. Among them is
Councilmember Kathy Patterson. I can tell you right now that she is
honest, hard working, and knowledgeable of the issues at hand. I have
met with her on issues and I have given testimony to committees that she
both chaired and served on. But one thing she doesn’t do is sell her
vote! Neither does she change her opinion easily. When I have spoken
with her either through personal meetings or E-mail she has been open,
frank and direct. She is always helpful when I’ve needed her or her
staff’s assistance, and has always served me and the voters of this
city honorably.
Given that, we all know her vote is pivotal in this baseball mess. I
respect her for her opinion and her savvy ways that she stays informed.
She is a true leader in this city and frankly if we had a few more cut
from the same cloth we probably wouldn’t be having our entire city
council tied up on one project for so long. The real sad effects of this
entire baseball mess is it has overcome good government. It has taken
over. From the beginning the deal was bad, and this mayor knew it,
leaving the council now to make the best of the deal to salvage
baseball. The burden should not be placed on the members of council, it
should be placed on the executive branch. It is sad that we didn’t
have better leadership from the start so that one single project didn’t
take total control of our entire executive branch and our council at a
time when there are certainly more important issues to this city and
real quality of life issues that should be of far greater importance
that one simple stadium and inevitable horrible cost over runs.
Stand tall, Councilmember Patterson, you are representing the people
that elected and reelected you to your seat. Even if you don’t agree
with her decision or her vote, you have to appreciate her method of
gathering the information to reach her conclusion and to determine her
vote. Perhaps a few more of you could listen to your constituents and
stand up for the real issues in this city. Councilmember Patterson
clearly weighed the issues of MLB and this stadium deal and made her
decision based on knowledge. She should be respected for it!
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Takoma Park Historic District Brochure
Released
Bruce Yarnall, DC Historic Preservation Office, bruce.yarnall@dc.gov
The Takoma Park Historic District brochure, the nineteenth in a
series of historic district brochures published by the District of
Columbia Historic Preservation Office, has just been released. The
twenty-page brochure outlines the history and architecture of Washington’s
first railway commuter suburb, founded by Benjamin F. Gilbert in 1883.
Containing excellent examples of Stick and Shingle style houses in
addition to Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Bungalow architecture, the
Takoma Park Historic District contains approximately 160 contributing
buildings covering the years from around 1883 to 1940. The district was
designated by the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review
Board in 1980 and added to the National Register of Historic Places by
the National Park Service in 1983.
The brochure was researched and written by Tanya Edwards Beauchamp.
Sponsor of the publication was The Historical Society of Washington, DC,
with special assistance from Historic Takoma, Inc., and financial
support of a Dorothea deSchweinitz Preservation Services Grant from the
National Trust for Historic Preservation. The brochure was also funded
with the assistance of a matching grant from the US Department of
Interior, National Park Service, through the DC Historic Preservation
Office.
Individual copies of the Takoma Park Historic District brochure may
be obtained by calling 442-8835 or sending an E-mail message to historic.preservation@dc.gov.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
American Flag Exhibit, January 4-8
Amanda Sheehan, asheehan@wusatv9.com
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History
will preview the "For Which It Stands: The America Flag in American
Life" exhibition at the 51st Washington Antiques Show from January
4 to January 8, 2006, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. This traveling
exhibition, not slated to open until 2007, will be free and open to the
public at the 51st Washington Antiques Show, more than a full year
before it takes to the road. “For Which It Stands” is a
complementary exhibition to the presentation of the Star-Spangled Banner
at the National Museum of American History.
The theme of the 51st Washington Antiques Show is “Sweet Land of
Liberty: Images of America in the Arts of the New Republic.”
Forty-five premier dealers from the United States, Canada and England,
featuring 18th and 19th centuries’ furniture, paintings, oriental
rugs, and decorative arts, will participate in this show. Admission will
be $15 for a one day pass and $25 for a run of the show ticket. The
Admission price will include the catalogue. The Eagle Society Champagne
Reception will kick off the show at 5:00 p.m. ($1000 for two tickets)
Attendees will not only be offered an intimate tour of the loan exhibit
but will also be able to preview of the wonderful antiques available at
the Show. At 6:00 p.m., the Gala Patron’s Preview ($250) will
commence. Attendees will enjoy cocktails and an elegant buffet-dinner
while visiting the many fascinating exhibitor booths at the Show, and
the Smithsonian loan exhibition. Complementary valet parking is
available. Advance reservations are required.
Since its inception in 1955, the Washington Antiques Show has raised
millions of dollars to provide for the health and well being of children
in the metropolitan Washington area. It has become an annual event that
is part of the fabric of our community, and thousands of volunteers have
given of their time and talents to work, not only on the Antiques Show,
but also for the institutions which the show benefits. The Thrift Shop,
a 501(c)(3) organization established seventy-six years ago, is made up
of Child Health Center Board and the Board of Visitors of the Children’s
National Medical Center, The Ladies’ Board of The House of Mercy, and
the Founders Board of St. John’s Community Services, Inc. All proceeds
from the Show are passed directly through The Thrift Shop to these four
charitable all-volunteer boards. For more information on the show, visit
the web site at http://www.washingtonantiques.org.
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National Building Museum Events, January 5
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org
Thursday, January 5, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Lecture: Extreme Preservation.
Faced with destruction in 1969 to make way for the Metro headquarters at
Sixth and G Streets, NW, the original Adas Israel synagogue (1876) was
preserved by moving it to a site several blocks away. The structure is
now the home of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington.
Panelists involved in the project, including a former DC government
official, will be joined by a preservation expert to discuss the move
and the ramifications of such extreme measures. This program is held in
conjunction with the exhibition Jewish Washington: Scrapbook of an
American Community which will be open for viewing. $10 Museum and Jewish
Historical Society members and students; $15 nonmembers. Registration
required.
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Bill Mooney went to The Seeing Eye, a resource center for the use of
Seeing-Eye Dogs, in search of good dog stories. He came away with the
most important one: the first. Mooney performs "With a Dog’s
Eyes: Capturing the Life of Morris Frank" for Washington
Storytellers Theater on Friday, January 20, 2006, at the City Museum of
Washington. Mooney is a multitalented actor, writer, and solo performer
who has won two Emmy Awards for acting, and was nominated twice for
Grammy Awards for recordings of his stories. He is best known for
portraying Paul Martin on the TV serial "All My Children". To
prepare "With a Dog’s Eyes," Mooney interviewed Lois Frank
(Morris’ widow) and studied audiotapes of Morris Frank. The result is
a captivating experience of opening up new worlds of independence for
blind people.
This performance takes place on Friday, January 20 at 8 p.m., at the
City Museum of Washington, 801 K Street, NW. For tickets, call 545-6840.
Purchases can also be made form our web site, http://www.washingtonstorytellers.org.
The Washington Storytellers Theater, now in its 16th season, is
dedicated to promoting the art of storytelling for adults, both through
nurturing local performers and by presenting the top artists from around
the country.
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