Washingtoniana

Dear Washingtonians:

Two items of breaking news that you may not have heard yet: The Common Denominator reports on its web site today that Peggy Cooper Cafritz, the president of the Board of Education, is not going to run for a third term (http://www.thecommondenominator.com/012306_news2.html).

And WTOP reporter Mark Seagraves reports that the Department of Public Works has been overcharging other DC government agencies for work that it does for them (http://www.wtopnews.com/?nid=25&sid=679003). “The records reveal a pattern of mismanagement, over-billing and poor bookkeeping resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in waste."”You know that waste, fraud, and mismanagement are out of control when the government doesn’t just do it to citizens, but does it to itself.

It’s a long issue, so I’ll be brief, but I must comment on the defenses of Councilmember Kathy Patterson that are offered below. It’s one thing to suggest, as I did, that Kathy changed her position to support the ballpark stadium giveaway hoping that she would benefit politically from it. That’s bad enough, but it only implies political expedience and self-interest. Kathy’s defenders, below, suggest that she analyzed the costs and benefits of the ballpark and came to the conclusion that it would be a profitable deal and an economic benefit for the city. Isn’t that even worse? If it were true that she believed that, wouldn’t it imply poor judgment and incompetence? If she came to that conclusion about a deal that stinks as badly as this one, what would it say about her ability to do business for the city?

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Dealing in Our Future and in Our Past
Mark Meinke, issan@verizon.net

The DC government’s task force on the public libraries and its carefully controlled public discussions continue to ignore the primacy of the Washingtoniana Division in chronicling and preserving the District’s history. The Martin Luther King, Jr., Public Library, slated for development as a major real estate parcel, has been home to the 101-year-old Washingtoniana Division for many years. The plans, as released, mention Washingtoniana’s collections only in passing with not a word about better housing and professional quality archival facilities for these important collections. Perhaps that is an indicator of the Task Force’s wish to write off and bury Washingtoniana, perhaps it’s simply an oversight.

The Division’s collections, its professional staff, and Washingtoniana’s hours have made it a Mecca for those researching DC history and its ramifications. The loss of Washingtoniana would be a major loss to the preservation of the city’s history and documents.

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School Disposition
Parisa Norouzi, parisa@empowerdc.org

[An open letter to members of the Committee on Government Operations) I appreciate your attention to the important matter of determining the best use for publicly owned property in the District. The system has been failing DC residents. We have lost dozens of public building, such as historic schools, to sale, transfers, or other types of disposition which have, as an understatement, shortchanged the residents. Many of our public buildings have been converted into high-priced condos. Meanwhile, community needs such as recreation, senior centers, job training, and affordable housing are still unmet.

Please vote “no” on the disposition of Bruce and Old Congress Heights Schools, because 1) we need an inventory of public property – we don’t know what we have, and because of this we are failing to plan. DC Code states that the Office of Property Management is to be compiling an inventory, the first stage of which is to be completed by March. What is the status of this inventory? The Committee on Government Operations is charged with oversight. 2) We need a new policy for determining new uses for public property which ensures community input, and which prioritizes community uses. The greatest barrier to providing services to the community — whether it’s affordable housing, recreation, whatever — is the cost of real estate. Residents are owed the right to benefit from our own public assets. 3) Residents in Congress Heights and in the area surrounding Bruce School do not feel that their voices have been heard. According to testimony from Carol Mitten at the December 19th hearing, because of Congressional interference charter schools will have “first right” to schools that are expected to be “downsized” by DCPS, but they have a weaker “first preference” to those currently on the list. If this is true, than we should be sure to utilize these properties as prioritized by the community, as charters are set to get the largest public land grab in recent history (I’ve heard as many as more than twenty schools).

Additionally, the District government has a responsibility to ensure fiscal responsibility. We support the resolution authored by Ms. Schwartz, which calls for a moratorium on the disposition of public property until the inventory has been completed and a facilities audit is conducted. We simply should not be spending millions of taxpayer money on rent when the District can rehabilitate historic public structures. I appreciate your action on this matter.

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Save Our Schools
Lee Glazer, saveourschoolsdc@yahoo.com

[An open letter to members of the Committee on Government Operations] I write on behalf of Save Our Schools and the People’s Property Campaign to urge you to vote no on the disposition of Bruce and Old Congress Heights School. Past declarations of "no further public use" have generally ignored pressing community needs such as recreation, senior centers, child care, job training centers, and affordable housing, and instead been virtually given away to private developers. Residents in Wards 1 and 8 have definite ideas and proposals for public uses for these two buildings, but their input has been stymied. Residents in Congress Heights and in the area surrounding Bruce School do not feel that their voices have been heard by the city council. As stated at the December 19 hearing, charter school lobbyists and Congress have attempted to circumvent community input and have succeeded in claiming first right to school properties to be excessed in coming years. But according to testimony from Carol Mitten at that hearing, charters only have the weaker “first preference” to schools currently in the control of the Office of Property Management. Community groups, Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, and civic associations in Wards 1 and 8 have clearly stated that they do not believe these valuable properties should be handed over to charter schools. Charter schools, while supported with public dollars, are private, independently owned and operated entities, and they are, by definition, not community schools that neighborhood students may attend as a matter of right.

Before declaring these properties surplus and handing them over to charter schools or other private landlords, please commit to enacting the following reforms: 1) complete an inventory of public property so that planning can be carried out rationally. DC Code states that the Office of Property Management is to complete the first stage of such an inventory by March of this year, and the Committee on Government Operations is charged with oversight of this effort. 2) Develop and implement a new, democratic process for determining new uses for public property that will guarantee community input and prioritize community uses. Public property belongs to the residents of the District of Columbia and you, our elected officials are entrusted with protecting and preserving our legacy to future generations. 3) Support the resolution authored by Ms. Schwartz calling for a moratorium on the disposition of public property until the inventory has been completed and a facilities audit is conducted. We simply should not be spending millions of taxpayer money on rent when the District can rehabilitate historic public structures. I appreciate your action on this matter.

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DC Olympic Team
Shawn Rolland, shawnrolland@yahoo.com

To continue our fight for DC voting rights in Congress, we’re proud to announce that we are launching a much bigger and bolder effort: the District of Columbia Olympic Committee (DCOC). That’s right. We’ve started the process of getting Olympic teams for the District of Columbia. We figure if other territories that have a single, nonvoting delegate in Congress like Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands can have their own Olympic teams, why not DC? If we can’t have representation in Congress — then we should at least have representation in the Olympics.

We’ve even put together a curling team -- it was the only sport that fit our collective athletic prowess, plus nobody wanted to wear the tight body suits for the luge. (We’re pretty sure you didn’t want to see that either.) The DCOC even has an official sponsor, Labatt Beer. We’re going to need your help in pleading our case to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Please join us and send a message to the IOC today. Tell them to “Let DC Play!”

You can learn more about this effort at http://www.DCOlympicTeam.org. Visit the site, join a team, and send a message to the International Olympic Committee. You’ll be helping make the case for democracy in DC.

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Investor Education Booklets from DISB
Michelle Phipps-Evans, michelle.phipps-evans@dc.gov

District of Columbia investors may now visit the web site of the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB), to download for free a series of publications on investor education. Publications cover a variety of subjects on investing, including Five Keys to Investing Success, A Primer for Investing in Bonds, Where to Invest Your College Money, Getting Help With Your Investments, Mutual Funds: Maybe All You’ll Ever Need, Maximize Your Retirement Investments and The Basics for Investing in Stocks. These booklets tackle the basics of several key investor topics and are designed for the beginning, intermediate and long-term investor who has never learned the basics. Each booklet includes a glossary of terms and information on the role of state securities regulators and how to contact them.

The publications are produced by the editors of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and the Investor Protection Trust (IPT), a nonprofit dedicated to investor education and protection. DISB has made these publications available to District residents as part of its citywide consumer outreach program. The agency has been working in conjunction with IPT and the American Library Association to bring free investor-education seminars to the District’s public libraries. Planning is underway for the initial launch in late March 2006.

For more information or to download any one of the booklets, visit http://www.disb.dc.gov and follow the Consumers link to go to Brochures and Publications. Hard copies of select booklets will be available at the agency at 810 First Street, NE, Suite 701, by the end of March.

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EMS Service
Greg DuRoss, internetgreg@verizon.net

There has been a lot of coverage in themail and other press about the death of a NY Times reporter in northwest Washington, and the seemingly poor response by the DC Emergency Medical Service. History does unfortunately repeat itself when it comes to poor emergency services. Back in 1999, I wrote several articles for The InTowner about the death of a young woman at 16th and U Streets, NW, so close to a fire station you could see it from where she collapsed and died. Despite repeated calls and even an in-person request from a bystander who ran over to the station, it took about fifteen minutes for the first EMS squad to arrive, and that was from a station much further away. When the EMS squad from the U Street station did finally respond, they headed off in the wrong direction due to a dispatch misunderstanding. This and other events subsequently contributed to a shakeup in the Fire department leadership, but clearly after six years the systemic problems remain, and then, like now, there does not appear to be much interest in addressing those problems. Meanwhile, people die when they should not, and the District is not held accountable because according to District law they have no liability.

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BCC Rescue Squad
Ed Kane, Chevy Chase, DC, ermk@aol.com

I totally agree with Ed Barron’s words on the BCC Rescue Squad. They are great, deserve our full support, and from our area always should be called when an ambulance is needed.

My last experience with them was on Christmas Day, when, after taking a bad fall which ruptured my quadriceps, I had to get to the Sibley Hospital emergency room. Two young, motivated, and highly qualified volunteer emergency medical technicians showed up at the house five minutes after we called them, and promptly and cheerfully got me off to the hospital. Good for you, BCC Rescue Squad.

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A Tragedy in a Tragedy
Ralph J. Chittams, Sr., chittams@sewkis.com

Why is it that it takes the death of a white person in DC to raise up voices of righteous indignation “west of the river”? Ambulances have been misdirected, gotten lost on the way to, and mistreated many black residents of the District of Columbia. Where was the public outcry when those persons did not receive proper treatment? Yes, I am sorry that Mr. Rosenbaum did not receive timely care. Yes, I am appalled that he was assaulted on the streets of my city. But no, his life is no more important than my neighbor’s, who was senselessly shot on the steps of his home. Mr. Rosenbaum’s death is no more tragic than that of any of innocent victim of crime in this city. Since Mr. Rosenbaum’s death, how many of you know how many other people have died in the District of Columbia as a result of criminal activity? Most of you don’t know because those victims have been black. And unfortunately, still, in 2006, the death of white people is more news worthy than the death of black people. Why, oh why, is that?

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Rees’ Rant
John Capozzi, Johncapozzidc@aol.com

[Jonathan] Rees might want to brush-up on the recent history of national and DC politics, based on his recent post [themail, January 18]. His contention is that the nation has now found the political center after going from the left to the right.

When Rees compares the city council to Joseph Stalin, he needs to review the history books. Stalin was not a “social engineer” but a ruthless dictator who signed a treaty with Hitler, murdered millions of his own countrymen and millions more that were not from Russia. The DC city councilmembers do have their faults, but please try to be a little kinder to people who serve the city.

I won’t address the rest of his comments on issues that face the city, since he lists school construction and the stadiums as project with equal value and detrimental consequences. I guess he would equate the needs of baseball fans and our school kids equally, as well.

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Councilmember Patterson has Unquestionable Integrity
Tom Heinemann, tom_heinemann@yahoo.com

From 2001 through 2003, when I served in the administration’s Office of Policy and Legislative Affairs, I have had the pleasure of working with Councilmember Patterson on Judiciary issues. In my experience, Kathy Patterson has always acted with complete integrity. The policy decisions she made while chair of the judiciary committee were always grounded on painstaking research where all sides of a given issue were fully analyzed. On judiciary issues, the administration was never given a free pass. Any support of the Mayor’s public safety initiatives only came after she and her staff independently reviewed and researched the initiative to conclude that indeed the initiative was the most appropriate approach. No proposal moved out of her committee as a favor to the Mayor.

I’ll bet that if you looked through her record as chair of the education committee, the judiciary committee and the government operation’s committee, you will see the same pragmatic approach to the issues. To suggest that she sold her vote to baseball is absurd. Could it be that she used the same approach to baseball that she has for everything else she has done? Could it be that she researched the issue to death, weighed the pros and cons on every detail then concluded that support of the stadium was the right thing to do? Do you have reason to believe otherwise?

It’s easy to criticize. It’s easy to say “no” to everything. It’s a lot harder to take a controversial risk on something like baseball — unless you’ve concluded through soul searching and the weighing of all the pros and cons that it’s the right thing to do.

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Councilmember Kathy Patterson
Keith Jarrell, kjarrell@rcn.com

Councilmember Kathy Patterson is one of our brightest and sincerest councilmembers. She is not at all about selling her vote. Your comments [themail, January 22] are really quiet remarkably, less thought out than I would have expected from you. Councilmember Patterson is articulate and thorough; she is informed and decisive. She knows the issues in this city and is aware of the needs of the voters in this city as much as anyone. For you to even consider that she sold her vote for the baseball stadium deal is really inconsiderate and unthinkable.

If you read carefully what Patterson is quoted saying, Major League Baseball’s return to Washington, DC, will help finance school improvements and other badly needed improvements. She’s on record saying this months ago. At this time her vote was still leaning toward supporting baseball. She also is on record saying that she wanted to support baseball and the stadium deal and was still looking at creative ways to do so. For your article or paper to suggest that she sold her vote to the mayor for a political fund raiser is less than creative and far less than accurate. We’re facing the need for more than one billion dollars in school renovations and repairs. I certainly would much prefer that we spread our thought process collectively, thinking of ideas to help in gaining this kind of money from activities in legitimate earnings rather than foot the bill myself through higher taxes. Baseball seems to be the key here. I don’t think baseball is the answer to all our problems, perhaps a part of them but not all.

As for political fund raisers go, if you have ever attended any of them in this city many of the people in attendance don’t even vote in the District. They work for firms or organizations that do business here and they spend their money as their part in shaping the politics as we know it. The real voice in this and every city is indeed the voters. Surely the voters in this city will support Kathy Patterson in her quest to serve us as our council chair. Her record is clearly one of concern and action for the citizens of our city. As for fund raisers, the one in question is Mayor Williams attempt to put his efforts to help shape our next city leaders. Keep in mind this fund raiser was put into motion just after Evans announced that he would no longer seek the office of chair, leaving the best candidate standing and that is indeed Kathy Patterson. I hope in the future you won’t post thoughts about good honest people without first researching and qualifying your thoughts. I appreciate your efforts in our city’s political structure and know you want to be fair. But to think that Councilmember Patterson would need to sell her vote for political gain is ridiculous. Her record stands solid on issues that affect the people of this city, not selling out to anyone.

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Gary’s Got It Wrong
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aoldotcom

Following Gary’s suggestion, I read the Colbert King article in Last Saturday’s Post. In that article King strongly implies that Kathy Patterson has sold her vote on the Baseball Stadium issue to get Mayor Williams’s support for her election run in the fall for city council chairperson. I’m not so sure that having Tony Williams’ support is anything near a plus. What I am sure about, knowing and supporting Kathy through thick and thin over the last ten or twelve years, is that Kathy does not play politics. Kathy does more research on the issues that affect all DC residents than any other council person. Kathy has a good staff and makes excellent use of that staff. Her support for the new baseball stadium is based on her own analysis of the economic benefits of Major League Baseball in DC when compared with the long term costs of the stadium and associated development. There are times when Kathy Patterson and I disagree with her analysis. But she does not play politics and did not sell her vote to get support from Tony Williams.

I’ll do some of my own research to see just what Kathy has done in the interests of all DC residents over the last several years.

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Proposed Residential Park Fee Increases
John Henry Wheeler, zippytrash@att.net

I mostly agree with Paul Wilson’s suggestions (themail, January 22) for enforcing parking rules in residential areas with severe parking problems, but I disagree with his objection to raising the cost of a residential parking sticker. The increase is greatest for additional cars. We have neighbors with more cars than drivers in the house, and all cars are parked on the street. Maybe an increase in the cost of additional residential parking stickers will cause them to part with the dearly loved cars. Yes, the citizens must accept some of the responsibility for the parking problems in residential neighborhoods.

My wife and I share a car. So far that has presented few conflicts. When we both retire and may have more need for an additional car, we’ll go with the Zip car. It makes economic sense, as well as being a good citizen.

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In Support of the Mayor’s Parking Bill
Cheryl Cort, Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities, ccort@washingtonregion.net

Curb space in the city isn’t unlimited. In many neighborhoods it’s a valuable and scarce public resource that needs to be managed to make it available in a fair way. The Mayor’s Parking Bill starts to do this. The bill proposes to make modest increases in fees for additional residential parking permits and caps it a three per household. This proposal, coupled with other management tools recommended in the Mayor’s Parking Task Force, can have an appreciable effect of making parking more available to residents and address visitor parking. Where there’s plenty of parking on a neighborhood street there is no need to change the fees. On-street parking is actually good for the neighborhood because parked cars serve as traffic calming devices. In high demand areas, can we all agree that it’s downright unneighborly to be one household parking four cars on the street? This is a shared, limited public resource.

While many neighborhoods have historically low car ownership rates (in my U Street area more than half of households did not own a car in the 2000 Census), more households are getting residential parking permits, and more visitors are parking on neighborhood streets. Since enforcement does not operate at night, any car can be parked on the street without an RPP sticker after 6:30 p.m. until the next morning. Thus, we need to manage on-street parking for residents and visitors, where demand outstrips supply of valuable public street space.

The Residential Parking Permit (RPP) program was originally designed to keep commuters from “hide and rideö in neighborhoods near Metro stations or good bus lines. The program needs to be retooled to meet the new needs of residents. In neighborhoods where more residents have cars and permits than there is public curb space (it’s three to one in Adams Morgan), we need to use management tools like pricing residential permits, along with simplified enforcement of visitor parking. Multi-space meters could replace the current two-hour time limit system now regulating visitor parking in RPP zones. The hours of enforcement should be extended to run 24-hours a day. Pay and display enforcement is much easier than time limits, and can even be monitored remotely via wireless sensors. This eliminates all the much talked about problems of residents who don’t register their cars in DC, or visitors who park every night. Paying at the curb to park will help non-permit holders consider if it’s still worth it to park, or if an alternative mode of access might be more desirable. Multi-space meters can be set to charge more during peak demand periods in order to ensure that 1-2 spaces per block are always available, and can accommodate overnight guests — as a resident might want to have that option for a guest on occasion. It won’t be free, as it is now, but it will be worth it.

These reasonable measures to manage residential permits, in combination with the parking management recommendations similar to the Adams Morgan Transportation Plan, can make on-street parking more available for residents. Dedicating new revenues to neighborhood streetscape improvements will benefit everyone, whether you own a car or not. This helps everyone recapture the value given away everyday at the curb, especially the 37 percent of DC households who don’t have a car. Using pricing to make on-street parking available for residents and some visitors and giving back to the neighborhood where that value is created can make everyone happy. The Columbia Heights Public Realm Plan is still unfunded; this revenue source could be used to fund it. Local parking revenues is the proposed funding source for the exciting streetscape improvements for Adams Morgan. We could also use revenues to discount fully transit fares for DC students and low income people, who tend not to own cars.

The Adams Morgan Transportation Plan, http://www.18amstudy.com/assets/adamsmorgan/documents/36x72_parking_plan.pdf and http://www.18amstudy.com/assets/adamsmorgan/documents/executive_summary1.pdf, proposed a comprehensive fix for many of the deficiencies in the RPP system by placing multi-space meters on RPP streets to manage spillover visitor parking 24 hours a day (RPP holders do not pay meters). This will greatly help RPP holders find parking. But pricing for meters needs to be set to ensure visitors are encouraged to make their stays shorter, or find alternative modes of transportation, or be willing to pay a steep price for parking because it’s worth it. The revenues are proposed to be returned to the neighborhood for public space improvements. These recommendations could really benefit other high demand neighborhoods that experience spillover demand from commercial areas or have too many residential permits issues for too little curbspace.

Some have said that unless RPP permits are market priced — probably over $1000 a year (given that an off-street space rents for over $100 per month), a marginal fee increase won’t have enough impact. But the increased fees send a signal that some will respond to; car owners who could use their garages for their second and third cars might take those cars off the street. Curb space in high demand neighborhoods isn’t unlimited; it’s a very valuable and scarce public resource that needs to be managed to make it available in a reasonable way. Pricing is the best way to do this. Another way is to limit the issuance of new RPP permits in neighborhoods where public curb space cannot supply enough parking for all the RPP permits issued in the area. Visitor parking would still need to be managed in this approach. I’d still suggest market rate pricing of visitor parking via multi-space meters to enable relatively easy enforcement 24-hours a day.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Heurich Mansion (Brewmaster’s Castle) in Danger, January 28
Ann Loikow, Cleveland Park, aloikow@verizon.net

I would like to pass on the following message from “Friends of the Castle” concerning the possible loss of the Heurich Mansion/Brewmaster’s Castle. The Brewmaster’s Castle is located at 1307 New Hampshire Avenue, NW (corner of 20th and New Hampshire, one block west of Dupont Metro south) and was the former home of the Historical Society of Washington, DC.:

“By now you are hopefully aware that The Brewmaster’s Castle (http://www.brewmasterscastle.com) is in crisis and is in immediate danger of being put up for sale. The Friends of The Castle are holding a meeting of concerned community leaders and citizens this coming Saturday, 28 January, at 10:00 a.m. at The Castle to discuss ways that people can help save this unique historic site that is this year celebrating its 50th year in the public domain. Any sale would mean that this Washington, DC, Landmark on the National Register of Historic Places would no longer be open to the public. And the real value to the public is precisely this, its extraordinary intact interior and its status as the most intact late-Victorian house museum in the country. We urge you to please join us this Saturday so that we may get your ideas on how to build community support to prevent loss of this rare local treasure. If you plan to attend, please let us know by reply E-mail. For more information contact Gary F. Heurich, 333-2313, ext. 11, 333-9198, GFHeurich@FoggyBottom.com.

“Interest expense has risen around $150,000 in the past two years and has broken the foundation’s budget. The foundation is in default on interest payments and must raise $250,000 by February 15 or The Brewmaster’s Castle will either have to be sold or face foreclosure. Visitation, usage, and program revenues more than doubled last year over the previous year, and, not including interest payments, The Brewmaster’s Castle is self-supporting. But the increase in interest rates means that The Brewmaster’s Castle must raise an additional $1,750,000 by the end of the year in order to reduce enough of its debt so that it will then be completely self-supporting. Learn more at http://www.BrewmastersCastle.com.”

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National Building Museum Events, January 26, 28
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org

All events except Construction Watch Tours at the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.

Thursday, January 26, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Lecture: Rubble: Unearthing the History of Demolition. From the straight boulevards that “demolition artist” Haussmann smashed through rambling old Paris to the televised implosion of Las Vegas casinos, demolition has played an ambiguous role in our lives. Author Jeff Byles will present a history of the little studied art and science of un-building and will discuss the nature of destruction as a prelude to renewal. After the lecture, he will sign copies of his book Rubble: Unearthing the History of Demolition (Harmony Books). $10 Museum members and students; $15 nonmembers. Registration required.

Saturday, January 28, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Construction watch tour of the GSA Federal Building. A major federal building designed by architect Moshe Safdie is currently under construction in the NOMA (North of Massachusetts Avenue) neighborhood of Washington. The agency headquarters includes a six-story, crescent-shaped wing and two rectilinear, eight-story wings connected by an atrium. Jean Hundley, project manager with the General Services Administration, will lead a tour of this 422,000-square-foot project. Open only to museum members, $18. Space is limited. Prepaid registration required. To register, call the Museum or visit www.nbm.org.

Saturday, January 28, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Magnificent metalwork for kids. Learning about metalworking is fun for families with children of all ages. First, explore selected ornamental metal objects during a special tour of Cityscapes Revealed: Highlights from the Collection. Then experience the metalworking process by creating your own pressed metal magnet to take home. This is the first in a series of family programs in 2006 designed to complement the new long-term exhibition Cityscapes Revealed: Highlights from the Collection. $5 per project. All ages. Drop-in program.

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Solidarity Rally for Barry, February 8
Anise Jenkins, anisej@hotmail.com

In response to numerous media inquiries, Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition and DC Resist confirm that they remain committed to holding the solidarity rally for former mayor and current Ward 8 DC councilmember Marion Barry, on Wednesday, February 8, at 9:30 a.m. The rally will be held during the scheduled sentencing hearing before Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson at the DC District Court, at 3rd and Constitution Avenue, NW.

Let there be no doubt that this rally will go on as scheduled. We are holding this rally for Mr. Barry because he is standing up for democracy by fighting to include those who continue to be shut out of the political and economic system. Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition recognizes that Mr. Barry is a high profile target for nonpayment of taxes that the federal government doesn’t deserve to get from DC residents. Right now, DC is a federal territory and we are being treated worse than the residents of the other territories.

Stand Up! for Democracy in DC Coalition and DC Resist urge all DC residents and others to make a strong turnout. The groups also recommend that supporters mail positive letters on behalf of Mr. Barry to Magistrate Judge Deborah A. Robinson, District of Columbia District Court, 1225 E. Barrett Prettyman US Courthouse, 333 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001.

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Strange New World: Art and Design from Tijuana, February 16
Barbara Ruesga Pelayo, bruesga@sre.gob.mx

The Cultural Institute of Mexico will host the great exhibition: Strange New World: Art and Design from Tijuana, showcasing artwork from thirty-one contemporary artists living in the Tijuana-San Diego region. The opening of the first stage of a national tour of this extraordinary contemporary art exhibit, featuring paintings, installations, photography and video, will be on Thursday, February 16, at 7:00 p.m., at the Cultural Institute of Mexico, 2829 16th Street, NW. The Ambassador of Mexico, Mr. Carlos de Icaza; Minister Alejandro Negrín, Director of the Cultural Institute; Curator Rachel Teagle; and some of the artists will attend. For more information contact Alfonso Nieto, 728-1628, or visit our web site, http://www.instituteofmexicodc.org.

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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS

To Network or Not to Network
Gabe Goldberg, gabe at gabegold dot com

Paul Penniman inquired (themail, January 22): “This basement computer sits right next to a TV which has an RCN cable connection, so all we need to do is use a splitter and another modem and hook up the computer. But RCN says they will charge us $30-40/month for using this extra modem, even our own. Any suggestions beyond just asking the guy in the basement to get his own DSL connection?”

Try a wireless repeater on the first floor, between the upstairs wireless access point and the basement computer. Or try IP-over-powerline, connecting using electrical wiring. Your ability to use the latter likely depends on how the house is wired, whether basement and upstairs are on separate circuits, etc. If you like, E-mail me privately; I’ll point you to people who do networking.

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