Offense
Dear Readers:
It’s not often that themail begins with an apology, but an apology
is appropriate in tonight’s issue of themail, because it contains what
may be the ugliest, nastiest, and most offensive message that we’ve
ever published, and we should explain why it is appropriate to print it
here. The Williams administration is promoting the controversial
National Capital Medical Center proposal, under which the city will
build a hospital on Reservation 13 (the site of the closed DC General
public hospital) that was originally to be operated by Howard University
and now would be run by a new nonprofit organization to be created by
Howard University. (Many of the documents outlining this proposal are
available at http://www.dcwatch.com/issues/health.htm.)
One of the strongest — as well as most reasonable — critics of
the NCMC proposal has been Dr. Eric Rosenthal, who has published several
well reasoned messages in past issues of themail questioning its
rationale. In the last issue of themail, January 29, Rosenthal wrote a
message about the creation of a group called the Citizens for the
National Capital Medical Center (CNCMC), which he said was born at a
meeting of “Councilmember Vincent Gray and representatives of the
Williams administration, Howard University, and the Walker Marchant
Group [a public relations firm]” with supporters of the proposed new
hospital. Rosenthal wrote that “some of the rhetoric emerging from the
meeting included appeals to racial divisiveness,” and he expressed the
hope that the CNCMC would “make a serious attempt to demonstrate that
the National Capital Medical Center is needed and that it would make
Washingtonians healthier,” rather “than resorting to intellectually
lazy and divisive appeals to race.”
Regrettably, the submissions below show that Rosenthal’s fears,
rather than his hopes, have been proven true. Dorothy attempted to
attend the January 30 meeting of the CNCMC, but was barred from
attending by Greg Rhett, one of the organizers of the meeting as well as
one of the contributors to themail below. Rhett allowed another reporter
to attend because, he said, that reporter was “friendly to Wards 7 and
8,” but refused to allow her entrance. However, before she was
excluded she did identify most of the twelve to fifteen people who
attended the meeting: Rhett; Councilmember Gray; Leo Alexander, the
other contributor to themail published below, employees of Walker
Marchant; and employees of Howard University.
Rhett’s leadership of the CNCMC proves true Rosenthal’s suspicion
that the group is not an authentic grassroots organization. Rhett would
not tell Dorothy where he is currently working, and he doesn’t
identify his affiliation in his message below. But Dorothy has confirmed
that he has been detailed from the Department of Health to the Office of
the City Administrator to work with Gina Lagomarsina, the Senior Policy
Advisor on Health to the City Administrator. Rhett’s assignment is to
work on public relations to garner support for the NCMC. He is being
paid to write letters to newspapers, to set up and attend meetings to
make the case for the NCMC, and to get civic organizations to adopt
resolutions in support of the project. When Rhett barred Dorothy from
the meeting, he said that if she had any questions about the meeting or
about his role in the meeting she should speak with Vince Morris, the
mayor’s press secretary.
The CNCMC is more Astroturf than grassroots. It was originally
organized by Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray, growing out of
discussions in December in the Ward 7 Democrats, which he chairs. Gray
tried to deny to Dorothy that he had any involvement with the group,
until she confronted him with the fact that his chief of staff, Dawn
Slonneger; Gina Lagomarsina; and others had already confirmed that he
began it, and that he was coordinating its activities with the mayor’s
office. Gray condemned Rosenthal to Dorothy in the same terms as Rhett
does below, accusing him of racism for pointing out the CNCMC’s
divisive racial appeals. But Rosenthal’s fear is more than confirmed
by Leo Alexander’s contribution to the discussion, about which the
less said, the better — except to apologize again for printing it.
Gary Imhoff and Dorothy Brizill
themail@dcwatch.com and dorothy@dcwatch.com
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The Mayor’s Library Task Force Report
Pleasant Mann, pleasant@chesapeake.net
This expresses my concern that the effort to improve the District’s
libraries is grinding to a halt. Last fall, the mayor set up a Task
Force, made up of an extensive list of luminaries, to plot out the
future of the District Public Library System. Contracts to rebuild four
branch libraries were canceled and the search for a permanent library
director for the District was put on hold until the Task Force began its
study and issued a report. Unfortunately, after looking at the written
products of the Task Force and participating in one of the “Listening
Sessions” established in support of the Task Force proposals, I am not
expecting much.
To start, the Task Force report is surprisingly weak. If you
remember, the Task Force was originally reluctant to release its report
to the public. This reluctance was apparently due to the quality of the
report, rather than any secrets it might hold. Starting with the
one-page summary, the largest provisions of the report are to replace
the central library and to resume the issuance of overdue notices to
book patrons. The six service priorities it calls for, developed by a
group primarily of people who never used a District library, are
basically generic goals that almost any library system should try to
meet. The Task Force Summary Report is just an expansion of these
generic prescriptions, with most of its sentences ending in question
marks. The 328-page Technical Report is incredibly disorganized, with
relevant facts occasionally popping up out of all the fluff. In sum,
because the Task Force did not try to look at the current state and
weaknesses of District’s library system or use relevant examples from
other systems (the Task Force looked at cities that had recently
constructed new central libraries rather than those recognized as the
best library systems in the country), the report is not of much use in
plotting the way ahead for DC libraries.
The weaknesses of the Task Force report were to be addressed by the
establishment of a series of “listening sessions” where the public
could influence the process of rebuilding the library system.
Unfortunately, the "listening" process is somewhat
constrained. For example, participants can discuss what a new central
library should look like, but not whether closing down and moving out of
M.L. King Library is a good idea or not. And, while there is a listening
session in each Ward of the District, there are some notable gaps in the
schedule. The West End Branch is not having a session, even though it is
mentioned as the most likely location for a mixed use project with
commercial developers. It would be nice to get the opinions of West End
library users on what form such a joint project should take. And there
is the issue of the patrons of the Tenley-Friendship, Watha T. Daniel,
Anacostia, and Benning branches, who cannot participate since their
libraries remain shut down.
Given the situation, I can only suggest that the District hire a new
director for the library system as soon as it can. Then maybe we can all
start to resolve the immediate problem getting our four closed library
branches reopened and the longer-term effort to bring our library system
up to a level of performance worthy of the District. We might even get
the new librarian to rewrite the Task Force report.
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Reeves Center Spurred Development on
Fourteenth Street?
Matt Forman, Matthew.Forman2@verizon.net
Last week, the Washington Post quoted Linda Cropp justifying
the new baseball stadium by arguing that, “Our visionary mayor, Marion
Barry, put the Reeves [Municipal] Center up on 14th and U Streets
because it acted as an incentive to bring about economic development
that changed the area.” The way I see it, 14th and U is only just now
becoming decent, twenty years after the Reeves center was built. Seems
like a little delay between cause and effect. Is that how long we must
wait for redevelopment near the stadium?
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Once again, the Department of Motor Vehicles has levied its hidden
car tax. A few weeks ago we received notice that a parking ticket was
past due, and now doubled as a result. As is DMV’s usual practice, the
ticket was issued on a plate for a car that couldn’t have been driven
at the time and at a place where the alleged parking infraction
occurred. So, following DMV’s procedures posted on its site, we
requested a copy of the ticket and served notice by mail (our supposed
right) that we protested. No ticket was forthcoming (how can you produce
something that doesn’t exist), but a few weeks later a “dear
chump” nastygram did, informing us that collection procedures would
begin and we had been stripped of all appeal rights. So what’s the
cheapest thing to do? Pay the hidden car tax (which is what these fines
really are) and move on.
This fake ticket thing happens with alarming regularity. A few months
ago, the most recent reformer DMV head in her then-zeal wrote to themail
denying the practice. Well, ma’am, it’s true.
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Support the Plan for Rock Creek Park — A
Plan for Everyone
Laurie Collins, lauriec@lcsystems.com
After nearly ten years of planning, the National Park Service (NPS)
is poised to adopt a management plan for Rock Creek Park that enhances
recreational opportunities without additional closures of Beach Drive.
The plan recognizes community concerns that closing Beach Drive would
impose significant negative impacts on neighborhoods surrounding the
park. NPS is soliciting public comment on the proposed plan until
February 28, and you are urged to weigh in with NPS in support of their
“preferred alternative” — Alternative A. Special interest groups
are still pressuring NPS to reverse course and close Beach Drive anyway,
so it is critical you make your voice heard today. There are two ways to
comment electronically: via E-mail to rocr_superintendent@nps.gov,
or via the Internet by visiting http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?projectId=11262&documentID=13218.
Alternative A is a win/win solution that will enhance recreation,
improve visitor safety, better control traffic volumes, and improve the
use of park resources. The following are the key elements of Alternative
A: 1) communities surrounding the park already compromised when weekend
closure of Beach Drive was implemented in the 1980s. Alternative A
recognizes that additional closures would impose significant negative
impacts on local neighborhoods. Local leaders representing these
community concerns include: DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton,
Congressman Chris Van Hollen, the DC City Council, the Montgomery County
Council, and citizen associations and ANCs surrounding the park. 2)
Trails will be upgraded and deteriorating segments will be
rehabilitated. In addition, Congress has authorized funding to study the
feasibility of an additional hiker/biker trail along Beach Drive to
complement the park’s extensive trail system already in place. 3)
Traffic calming devices will be installed on Beach Drive to better
manage motorized and non-motorized uses. 4) Numerous visitor centers and
historic resources will be rehabilitated or expanded, including the
Pierce Mill complex, Linnaean Hill complex, the Lodge House, and nature
center.
Please contact NPS before February 28 to ensure that your voice is
heard. This is your last opportunity to comment before NPS issues a
final decision.
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Keystone Cops?
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aoldotcom
It boggles my mind that a prisoner being transported from a jail cell
to a courtroom can get out of the transport van, climb under the van,
and just not be noticed by the transporting cops. Nobody saw him climb
under the van, and they only were aware that he’d hidden under the van
when he dropped off as the van was driving through a tunnel and was hit
(and killed) by a car behind the van. Are we back in the era of Keystone
Cops?
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Citizen Lobbyists Versus Paid Influence
Peddlers
Greg DuRoss, internetgreg@verizon.net
I too read with great satisfaction Colbert King’s second column on
the impact of lobbying (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012701209.html).
It is true that the Constitution guarantees us the right to petition our
government. In today’s vernacular that would be called a citizen
lobbyist. What the Constitution did not envision was today’s system of
paid influence peddlers and all the opportunities for graft and
corruption that are part of that system. That is what I believe Mr. King
and many of us would like to see changed, but that would require a
majority of like-minded people who really want reform to be elected to
local, state, and national governing bodies. And that stands a snowball’s
chance in hell of happening, especially if current elected officials and
lobbyists have anything to say about it.
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Noise Pollution in DC
Elliott Negin, ejnegin@aol.com
Joan Eisenstodt rightfully complained about noise pollution in the
District, and there is something we can do about it: amend the
regulation governing the hours workers can be doing construction when
the site is near residential buildings. I live in Dupont Circle in a
nine-floor condominium. Next door is a nonprofit association that is
rebuilding a carriage house that sits behind its headquarters on 18th
Street and behind my building. Construction started in late September
and is expected to stretch into June. Construction starts every morning
at 7 a.m. That’s when the workmen start hammering, sawing, and
throwing debris into a dumpster right out my window. Dirt from the site
routinely covers the cars (including mine) that are parked next to my
building. Other residents of my building and I have complained to the
association, the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) — to no
avail. I am about to collect signatures on a petition to MAA to try to
push them to roll back the morning start time to 8 a.m. on weekdays and
9 a.m. on Saturday. I will let you know how the association responds.
At the same time, I have drafted a petition to present to the city
council to amend the regulation on construction time. I have already
contacted Jack Evans’ office about this issue. The current regulation,
DC Municipal Regulation 2003 DCMR Title 12, Section 105.1.11(7),
authorizes construction to be conducted legally between the hours of
7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The regulation is
administered by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. The
regulation should be amended to take into account that there are
residential neighborhoods in Washington. I propose that the regulation
be amended to read: “DC Municipal Regulation 2003 DCMR Title 12,
Section 105.1.11(7) authorizes construction to be conducted legally
between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday if
the construction site is more than 100 feet from a residential building
(house, condominium or apartment building). If the construction site is
within 100 feet of a residential building, construction can be conducted
legally only between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday, and between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.”
I know that cutting the hours of construction will not do anything
about the noise during the day, but we can look into ways to dampen
sound and try to get the city council to pass a new regulation to cut
noise. I don’t know how practical that is, but we can do something
about the hours. Readers of themail who are interested in joining the
fight to make DC a more livable city by cutting noise pollution, please
contact me. There are other things we can do. For example, get police
cars, fire trucks and ambulances to significantly lower their sirens
between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., or dispense with them altogether, as they
have in other cities, and use their flashing lights overnight.
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Anatomy of a Political Campaign
Jonathan R. Rees, jrrees@peoplepc.com
Coca Cola said it would never give away its’ secret formula but I
will on what I believe will in time prove to be a trend in DC political
campaigning. If you were a political candidate running for city council
how much money would you need? Maybe $5k, $10k, $20K, $30k or none of
the above?
What if you erected a web site and you just happened to have the
current and accurate E-mail addresses of 11,000 Ward 3 voters, plus you
have the E-mail addresses of Ward 3 voters you obtained from local
groups that like you. How much would it cost you to send an E-mail
directing you to their campaign web site? Right. It would cost you
nothing! For the mere cost of erecting your own web site and having
between eleven to fifteen thousand E-mail addresses to registered
voters, you can run a campaign for near nothing.
This approach, along with a small amount of mini-flyers, has netted
me around 12,400 hits to my web site. This approach allows me to reach
voters as often as I want and at no cost! This is my campaign, and my
goal is to show all that you do not need a fancy campaign office, paid
staffers, fancy yard signs, or any of the other trappings of the past.
My approach is different. I do not run around town professing to have a
secret formula to win with, I am not cuddling up or rubbing shoulders
with the Democratic party elite, I do not attend any of the socials the
politicos throw, but I just quietly do my thing and humbly present me
and what I have to offer and will allow the voters to decide. This is
Rees for DC City Council Ward 3 in a nutshell.
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Given that Marion Barry is set to go back to court on February 8, it
might be a good time to correct the popular perception that he is a
“felon” (see themail item by Cecilio Morales, January 29). Barry’s
drug conviction from the 1990 sting was a misdemeanor conviction for
which he received the full six months. His current income tax charge
also is a misdemeanor. I certainly don’t want to get into the swirling
back-and-forth between Barry defenders and Barry detractors, just wanted
to be accurate about his conviction and his current guilty plea.
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The NCMC and Solidarity with Barry
Michael Bindner, mikeybdc at yahoo
The debate on rebuilding DC General, aka the National Capital Medical
Center, is amusing in that it shows that at least the Mayor can admit he
was wrong about closing it in the first place. Many activists put in
much effort to prevent its closure, and the current proposal, which is
based on the experience of overcrowded emergency rooms since then, as
proven them right.
As to solidarity with Barry, it is DC taxpayers who lack
representation who are in solidarity with him. If you are not the least
bit upset by your lack of representation, don’t come to the rally.
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You can always tell when you have got your opponent threatened,
because that is when they usually start hitting below the belt. What
saddens me is that a member of the Jewish community is the one being
used to carry their racist pail of water. Before I begin, I’ve got to
put this disclaimer out there; I am not now, nor have I ever been
anti-Semitic. Now let’s get down. Less than a month has passed, and I’m
back on this blog taking on yet another member of the Jewish community
as it relates to my people — African Americans. Quite frankly, I’m
surprised and disappointed by this disturbing pattern, because I can
remember a time not that long ago when our two communities stood
together, side-by-side, kindred spirits and comrades in the struggle for
justice and equality. Unfortunately, for some of our more history
challenged brethren, this fact has been lost. Here in 2006, one of our
struggles continues to be for justice and equality in healthcare. And
we, the Citizens for the National Capital Medical Center (CNCMC),
welcome this public health policy debate. However, there must be ground
rules. First and foremost, there must be respect for your opponent.
This, unfortunately, has been lost, or never existed. Because why else
would a member of the Jewish medical community use the term
“intellectually lazy” when speaking of the members of the CNCMC.
Now to this ill-informed, racist, Hebrew lost soul, Eric Rosenthal, I
take exception with anyone who labels my community in such a derogatory,
stereotypical manner. I have been to all three meetings of the CNCMC,
and not once has there ever been any mention of anything racial, except
when we discussed the disparities in healthcare, and that’s not
“divisive appeals to race,” that is a blatant reality. And as far as
“political threats,” once again your ignorance is painfully obvious;
we discussed sound political strategy — you support our issues and we
will support you, the candidate. That is no threat. That’s grassroots
politics 101 in its purest form. I contend that it is morally
reprehensible for you, or anyone else, to maliciously report these
completely baseless and vicious lies.
The bottom line is there are three Level 1 trauma centers in the
District and all are located within a half mile of each other, west of
North Capitol Street. Granted, access to primary care on the east side
of the city is a valid issue. But what happens in the case of life and
death emergencies? Two recent incidents graphically illustrate the
point: a young child and her mother suffered injuries from a car
accident a few blocks from Greater Southeast Hospital. The girl and her
mother were transported across town, where she died at Children’s
National Medical Center. Her mother survived at Washington Hospital
Center. Then there was the case of the shooting in Kenilworth; both
victims were taken to Prince George’s Medical Center where one died.
No one can say whether or not those two would have lived had there been
a Level 1 trauma center in the eastern sector — but what if? Don’t
these taxpaying citizens have the same right to a fair distribution of
our city’s resources as it pertains to emergency medical care? Are not
those two deaths worth this moral investment? Financial questions to
District and Howard University officials are fair game, but to question
whether or not there is a need is down right mean.
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NCMC: Let’s Not Go There
Greg Rhett, jrhett3009@aol.com
I am compelled to respond to the recent submission by Dr. Eric
Rosenthal on behalf of the DC Federation of Civic Associations, the Ward
7 Democrats, the Ward 5 Democrats, the DC Democratic State Committee,
the River Terrace Civic Association, the Hillcrest Civic/Citizen
Association, the Citywide ANC Assembly, the Marshall Heights Community
Development Organization, the Howard University Board of Trustees, the
DC Health Care Coalition, the Fairlawn Citizens Association, the
Eastland Gardens Civic Association, the Kingman Park Civic Association,
the DC Antiwar Network, the ANC 7B, the ANC 7C06, the Burville Civic
Association, the Fort Davis Civic Association, and the Benning Ridge
Civic Association. Members of the above organizations have deliberated
and voted affirmatively to support the Mayor’s NCMC Initiative.
Subsequently, the Citizens for the National Capital Medical Center (CNCMC)
evolved to assert our collective resolve to challenge the powerful and
well financed DC Hospital Association (DCHA) and the DC Primary Care
Association (DCPCA), as they attempt to block this initiative in order
to protect their market share of the DC medical services industry.
Collectively, we are men and women, old and young, rich and poor, gay
and straight, “Black,” “Latino” and “White.”
Dr. Rosenthal, I attended that January 12 meeting of the CNCMC, along
with about thirty other witnesses. The anonymous source for your
“report” was dead wrong. Furthermore, labeling participants as
“intellectually lazy,” is insulting and demeaning. Sadly, you have
intentionally inserted race into what was once a lively public policy
debate. Your inaccurate implications are a juvenile attempt to
undervalue, underestimate, and marginalize fellow District citizens with
whom you disagree. Playing the “race card” demonstrates your lost
confidence in the merits of your own argument. Frankly, your deliberate
inaccuracies exceed the boundaries of decency and civility. And to that,
we vehemently object. Please remember your oath, Dr. Rosenthal:
“First, do no harm.”
Out of pure decency, we expect your fellow opponents at the DCHA and
the DCPCA to immediately issue public statements repudiating your
racially divisive and unsubstantiated statements against the CNCMC
participants, and my Ward 7 City Council representative. It is
imperative that each side take the “high road” and continue this
debate solely on the merits of our respective positions. The real issue
remains the moral injustice of the current distribution of
District-based hospitals, with certified Level 1 trauma services. The
real issue remains the current disparity in equal access to emergency
Level 1 trauma services. The CNCMC will exercise our constitutionally
protected rights to assemble, speak, and organize ourselves in order to
legally impact public policy decisions. We have no legal obligation to
either justify or explain our actions and strategy to any opponent.
Yes, we are deliberating, organizing and mobilizing for justice and
fairness. Yes, we are using maps of the current distribution of
District-based hospital resources to show that the NCMC is not only
needed, but absolutely necessary. Yes, we are using maps to demonstrate
the moral injustice of the current configuration of District-based
hospitals. And yes, we have issued a promise to all who seek our votes;
we will remember those who demonstrate their support of our interests.
We share our opponents’ desire to “make Washingtonians healthier.”
Yet, we differ, strategically. So goes the debate. Again, we challenge
Dr. Rosenthal to join us in a Public Citizen Debate on the NCMC. He
previously declined this challenge. Nevertheless, we will never concede
our rights to transparently petition our government and openly debate
public policy issues affecting our community.
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Re: A Tragedy in a Tragedy
Ralph J. Chittams, Sr., rchittams@yahoo.com
Katherine Howard’s response to “A Tragedy in a Tragedy” [themail,
January 29] provides an opportunity to clearly focus on an ongoing
problem. In my original posting, I indicated that all life is important.
And no life, even a white one, is any more or less important than any
other. I then asked the rhetorical question, why. To state that I
“mindlessly compare” is just another example of imperialist thinking
emanating from a false premise of superiority. My intellect, or the lack
thereof, as Ms. Howard surmises, is not the issue. To make it such is
nothing more than an ad hominem attack that seeks to shift the
focus from the issue at-hand. In America, in 2006, a white life is still
viewed as having more value than any other life. I did not underestimate
anyone’s intelligence. Quite the opposite is true. I overestimated. I
assumed that the concept of the fellowship of mankind would be something
around which all could rally. I assumed that the brotherhood/sisterhood
of all humanity is a concept that could be embraced. I assumed that
after forty years of civil rights legislation hearts and minds would at
least be able to contemplate the possibility that all men are created
equal. How sad that I was wrong.
Yes, the District’s ambulance service is lacking. It has been
lacking for years. However, the fact still remains. It wasn’t until a
white person was ill-served that the issue gained legs.
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Katherine Howard’s posting [themail, January 29] referred to “a
white citizen” and “black persons.” Was this a mindless
differentiation, or did it demonstrate either a lack of intelligence or
a racial motive? I would wager that far more defenseless “black
persons” have been attacked and killed in America (and yes, even in
DC) by “white citizens” than vice versa. African-Americans have been
killed by Euro-Americans for reasons other than their materials
possessions for nearly four hundred years, and the latter have seldom
received “their just reward/punishment.” Nothing justifies the
killing in question, and racial enmity certainly doesn’t explain it.
Let’s remember that the “race card” African-Americans are so often
accused of playing comes from a white deck. Katherine Howard represents
white supremacy in all its oxymoronic glory, and she should be ashamed
of herself for reading racial paranoia into a simple, sad, and shameful
tragedy.
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From http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20060130-113023-7600r.htm:
“DC CFO Natwar Gandhi yesterday lashed out over a change in the
ballpark financing plan saying he will not sell bonds needed to pay for
the construction unless adjustments are made. City officials negotiating
with MLB over a revised lease agreement eliminated language requiring a
reserve of rent to help back the stadium bonds. Last fall, bond raters
on Wall Street said the reserve was needed to grant the bonds with an
investment-grade rating. ‘Our position is that would have given us an
investment-grade rating,’ said Maryann Young, a spokeswoman for
Gandhi. ‘We will not take this deal to Wall Street. There definitely
needs to be a discussion about this.’" Given the CFO’s track
record, this appears to be not about investment-grade bonds, but about
the CFO’s obsession with preserving his prized bond rating at any
cost. The CFO admitted in his testimony in spring 2005 regarding
alternative ballpark financing methods that, “Typically, the least
costly way to finance any public sector construction project is to issue
tax-exempt general obligation bonds. If, for various reasons, a
jurisdiction does not want to issue general obligation debt, issuing
tax-exempt revenue bonds is the next least costly financing
mechanism.” At the time (March 16), the Post’s Steve
Pearlstein suggested the CFO’s motivation at the time for not choosing
either of those methods but expressing approval of the Deutsche Bank
private financing plan: “The city could also just use general
obligation bonds, which the CFO is loathe to do because there is nothing
he prizes more than his bond A bond rating and the more you borrow, the
harder it is to maintain that.”
The CFO continued to support the Deutsche Bank’s plan, even after
its main benefit of massive tax relief to city business was eliminated,
due to the hefty revenue reserve requirements because the other bonding
methods might “count against the city’s debt load.” (Times,
November 10, 2005) When it got to the point that the CFO was accepting a
plan that could cost the city $1.2 billion or more to pay off just to
keep from putting even the slightest strain on the city‘s bond rating,
Pearlstein’s suggestion was validated, and the CFO‘s motives
regarding ballpark financing and bonding methods became suspect. The
fact that the CFO won’t even try to bring a bond package to Wall
Street without the rent reserve is extremely questionable, since he
might know that it would likely succeed without a problem. Previous
stadium deals have had investment-grade general obligation and revenue
bonds supporting them, with Wall Street’s approval of municipal bonds
voted on in referenda and passed by legislatures without the significant
levels of reserves the CFO had requested — so sizable in the Deutsche
Bank’s plan that they wiped out the $6 million of annual tax relief
that was initially planned for DC businesses as part of the financing
deal. The main reason that public financing was so welcomed by Major
League Baseball is because of the lack of bonding issues that scenario
presented. When government-secured tax streams have been a large part of
a ballpark package as they are here, Wall Street has not required the
rent reserves that the CFO is insisting on. It appears more and more
obvious that the CFO’s insistence on the rent reserves is not based so
much on Wall Street’s requirements as his apparent “don‘t tread
near my precious rating” agenda. And as far as having “a discussion
about this,” the CFO has a reputation of discussing things with the
council and hiding key facts until after votes.
“[The council] will pass something, and then they will submit it to
Wall Street, and they’ll say, ‘Excuse me, you forgot to talk to Dr.
Gandhi,’” Young said. “Then we’re talking a month delay.” Who’s
worrying about a month when the lease doesn’t have to be done until
June, even according to MLB and the Brigade? Let’s take a chance and
see what they say! We know you don’t want to, but this project is not
the CFO’s personal property.
“City sources said bank officials also were baffled by the change
and had not been informed. A Deutsche Bank spokesman yesterday said bank
officials were continuing to operate as if they were part of the deal
and remained in contact with Gandhi.” Gotta love the disconnect here!
If the Deutsche Bank deal won’t die, it’s up to the council to use
some wooden stakes on it ASAP.
“Gandhi was caught unaware by the financing changes and was said to
be angry. ‘This is DC’s deal and has been shepherded by Dr. Gandhi
all the way,’ Ms. Young said. ‘This is bad form.’” If anyone
would know about bad form, it’s the guy who engineered a $54 million
bump in the stadium cost figures by directly deceiving the council to
its face that it was voting on minor technical amendments. The bottom
line is that the DC council has the CFO where it wants him on the
stadium deal — in a position of need. When supposedly “technical”
amendments were brought before the city council in fall 2005 to make the
bonds investment-grade, the CFO termed the amendments as minor and didn’t
acknowledge until after the fact that the amendments in fact increased
the city’s commitment to $589 million from $535 million, despite
pointed questions from council members on the ramifications. And now the
CFO wants to come crying to the council for redress after the Brigade
ditched the Deutsche Bank proposal? Not so fast!
If Gandhi and/or the Brigade wanted rent reserves nailed down and
finalized to the letter for Wall Street, they could’ve done the exact
same thing for the council in terms of cost certainty of overruns for
the project, with no more of their vague promises and works-in-progress.
If its members wanted to, the council can make it extremely easy for the
CFO to not take anything to Wall Street and for Tuohey, et al.,
not to have to deal with a ballpark at the RFK Stadium site by rejecting
the deal completely and telling MLB to take a road trip! However, if all
the parties want to get a stadium deal done and get the Brigade and the
CFO onto more pressing city business, it will be easier for all
concerned for the council to ditch both the CFO and the Brigade and hire
experienced consultants, as they’ve leaned towards doing in order to
get the results the city needs.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
National Building Museum Events, February 2,
4, 9
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org
All events at the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW,
Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
Thursday, February 2, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Lecture: Architectural Designs
for Early and Modern Washington, DC. Showing seldom-seen architectural
drawings at the Library of Congress, C. Ford Peatross, the library’s
curator of architecture, design, and engineering collections, will
discuss some of Washington’s most important buildings, monuments, and
memorials as well as anonymous structures of everyday life and ambitious
projects that were never built. The drawings tell the sometimes
surprising story of the capital’s planning and growth over two
centuries. After the lecture, he will sign copies of his edited volume
Capital Drawings: Architectural Designs for Washington, DC, from the
Library of Congress (Johns Hopkins University Press). $10 Members and
students; $15 Nonmembers. Registration required.
Saturday, February 4, 1:00-2:00 p.m. Film: Gropius: Man of Vision.
Written and narrated by Chester Nagel, FAIA, this documentary focuses on
the contributions of architect and teacher Walter Gropius. (1983, 50
min.) Free. Registration not required.
Thursday, February 9, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Lecture: Greening the Built
Environment in Response to Climate Change. The National Building Museum
and the Koshland Science Museum (KSM) present a discussion by Tim
Beatley, Teresa Heinz Professor of Sustainable Communities, University
of Virginia (UVA), and Bruce Hayden, professor and chair, department of
environmental sciences at UVA, about green design concepts for homes and
communities. They will examine the relationship of architecture and
climate change, and specific design features that can diminish the
potential impact of climate on the urban environment. This program will
be held at the Koshland Science Museum, corner of 6th and E Streets, NW.
$12 Museum members, Friends of KSM, and students; $17 nonmembers.
Prepaid registration required.
###############
Join the School Modernization Campaign,
February 3
Marc Borbely, borbely@fixourschools.net
The newly launched School Modernization Campaign needs you. Sign on
today (http://modernizations.org),
and urge three other people to do so, too. Your signature tells the
Council rebuilding our schools is a priority. Sign on to the Campaign,
online, and then come down to the Wilson Building, 10 a.m. to noon, on
Friday, February 3, for School Modernization Lobby Day.
Parents, teachers, students and neighbors all across the District for
the past year have been building a movement to demand that the Council
fully commit to building twenty-first-century, high-quality public
schools for all. Much progress has already been made: the bill that has
emerged from the Education and Finance Committees aims to provide $3
billion for DC public school facilities over the next fifteen years —
the amount of money needed to modernize enough space for the number of
students currently enrolled in DCPS. This is thanks to Councilmembers
Fenty, Patterson, Evans, Gray, Mendelson, Orange and Cropp.
There’s one more major legislative push still needed: the bill as
it stands gambles on the Chief Financial Officer’s having
significantly underestimated future economic growth in the District.
(Much of the money would be allocated only to the extent expected
revenues are revised upward by the CFO.) This is a big gamble; too big a
gamble for something as important as schools. There is an alternative
approach that would guarantee the funding. Instead of allowing a final
$64-million-per-year income tax cut (“Tax Parity Act”) to go into
effect in 2007, the Council should use that money for school
modernizations. The Education Committee proposed this. How can we say we
have too much money, so let’s give some back — and at the same time,
we don’t have enough money for schools and so have to gamble on
economic windfalls beyond the CFO’s current projections? The $64
million that would be saved by canceling the last phase of the Tax
Parity Act is almost exactly what’s still needed to fully fund the
school modernization program. It comes out to about $10 per person per
month on average (more for high-income people; less for low-income
people). Surely most of us would let the District keep that money, so it
can (finally) modernize our schools.
###############
Marie Johns for Mayor Campaign Headquarters
Opening, February 4
Liz Rose, lizrosej@aol.com
On Saturday, February 4, noon to 2:00 p.m., please join us for the
headquarters opening party at 1405 H Street, NE. For more information,
call 725-8945 or visit http://www.johnsformayor.com.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED
Bilingual Receptionist and Secretary
Jon Katz, jon at markskatz dot com
Silver Spring trial law firm seeks a bilingual (fully fluent in
Spanish and English) receptionist/junior secretary and a bilingual
litigation secretary. Both positions require one year minimum relevant
experience. Great pay, full benefits, and ideal workplace. Fax resume to
301-495-8815. For more information, see http://www.markskatz.com.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — VOLUNTEERS
I am seeking serious and dedicated volunteers to work on a
documentary. Please post and read stories at http://www.voy.com/136871/.
If you would like to volunteer for this important national project,
please call Tolu, 331-4418, or write PO Box 48331, Washington, DC 20002.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
Can anyone recommend an upholsterer to reupholster cushions and
create pillows?
###############
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