Rest Assured
Dear Washingtonians:
Rest assured, there are many other topics in this issue of themail
before you will get to a continuation of the debate over the National
Capital Medical Center. We shall call your attention, though, to the
contributions below by Leo Alexander and Vanessa Dixon. According to the
City Administrator’s office, Alexander and Dixon are two of the four
leaders of the Citizens for the National Capital Medical Center
organization, along with Gregg Rhett and Paul Savage. (Vanessa Dixon,
however, says that the four leaders are Rhett, Savage, Jerry Adams, and
herself, and not Alexander.) In any case, as a former broadcast
journalist, Alexander is tasked with communications and public relations
for the group.
What is striking about Alexander’s messages in this and the last
issue, Rhett’s in the last issue, and Dixon’s in this issue, is how
they all either misread and misunderstand or deliberately misrepresent
so many statements. They distort the message posted by Eric Rosenthal in
the January 29 issue of themail beyond recognition, claiming that when
he wrote, “some of the rhetoric emerging from the meeting [of the
CNCMC] included appeals to racial divisiveness,” he meant that there
was racial division among the attendees at the meeting; or that when he
cautioned against “intellectually lazy and divisive appeals to
race,” he was accusing “members of my community” of being
intellectually lazy. In this issue, Dixon joins Alexander and Rhett in
assailing Rosenthal for imagined and invented racial insults, while
completely ignoring — and therefore, we must assume, condoning —
Alexander’s explicit and overt appeals to racial divisiveness.
Alexander misinterprets our characterization about his message in the
last issue (that it was the “ugliest, nastiest, and most offensive”
we ever published in themail) as a personal statement that he is the
"ugliest, nastiest, and most offensive" writer we ever
published. Dixon contends Dorothy’s reporting about the January 30
meeting of the CNCMC is a retaliatory attempt to sabotage it, simply
because she was “offended” by being excluded from the meeting, but
she reported simply what she was allowed to see. In fact no more than
fifteen people had come to the meeting more than forty-five minutes
after it began, when the drapes were pulled; and in fact Dorothy
recognized attendees who had been employed by Walker Marchant in the
past.
We must assume that the tactic of appeals to race, personal attacks,
and false accusations is a deliberate and coordinated tactic, and
therefore that Rosenthal’s initial suspicion — that the CNCMC would
attempt to use racial divisiveness to promote its cause — has been
amply justified. The debate over the National Capital Medical Center is
well worth having. There are good arguments for and against it, and
there are still many open questions about exactly what the Williams
administration is proposing — the exclusive rights agreement signed by
Mayor Williams and President Swygert of Howard University on January 5 (http://www.dcwatch.com/issues/health060105b.htm)
raised more questions than it answered. That debate should and will
continue in themail. But themail, while it is an open forum that invites
submissions from everyone on all sides of this and other others, is also
edited. We’re not going to allow it to be used for personal attacks
based on race or religion; rest assured, we’re not going to allow it
to sink into the muck and mire that characterized DC’s politics in the
past.
Gary Imhoff and Dorothy Brizill
themail@dcwatch.com and dorothy@dcwatch.com
###############
In Thursday’s Washington Post, an article on the stadium
land owners’ refusal to sell (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/01/AR2006020100868.html?sub=AR)
indicates that the Chief Financial Officer is offering to purchase three
properties for about $4.7 million, but he has only assessed them at $1.5
million. So either he is way overpaying for the properties, or he has
dramatically underassessed them. Which is it? More likely the latter,
meaning that he’s giving up a lot of tax revenue from just these three
properties alone, part of his pattern of continued underassessment of
commercial properties.
Meanwhile, in the same issue, the Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/01/AR2006020101595.html)
regurgitates the same whining from the CFO about how 42 percent of the
city’s land is tax exempt. Yeah, because the city government itself
exempts nonprofits from property tax, because the city keeps granting
TIFs, and because much of land is non-revenue-producing parkland in
comparable percentages to other states.
And earlier in the week, the Post reported (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/25/AR2006012500830.html)
that Ben’s Chili Bowl had its tax assessment rise from $438,000 to
$1.1 million, but that they knocked it down on appeal to $550,000.
Please — that’s how much one-bedroom condos are going for in that
area, much less Ben’s prime real estate parcel with direct frontage on
the U Street corridor.
###############
Class Action Notice to Residential Taxpayers
Peter S. Craig, swedecraig@aol.com
As required by the court order of Judge Hamilton, the Office of Tax
and Revenue has finally published, in the Washington Post, on
February 2, on page B5, below the fold, a notice to taxpayers about the
pending class action lawsuit involving assessments for tax year 2002. As
might be expected, OTR printed the notice in very small print. Notices
will also be served by mail.
The published notice is important for tax year 2002 taxpayers (or
their heirs) who have sold their homes since 2002 or whose owners are
now dead, in order that the former owners (or their heirs) may receive
the refunds ordered by the court.
###############
Traffic Calming in the Plan for Rock Creek
Park
Harold Goldstein, mdbike@goldray.com
Bicyclists cringe at the words "traffic calming devices,"
since such devices make bicycling less pleasurable and much more
dangerous no matter how fast or slow one rides. If you, in fact, support
any option that includes traffic calming and you submit your comments,
please add that any such devices be bicycle friendly. It is easy to do
this if the planner desires . . . gaps in the speed bumps for bicycles,
etc.
###############
Only Took Three Years
Ed T. Barron, edtb@aoldotcom
About three years ago I reported to the DC Department of Public Works
that the bases of street lamps on Massachusetts Avenue were rusting
away. One had already fallen over on top of a moving car during morning
rush hour. Some of the bases were in dreadfully rusted condition and the
whole pole could have been easily pushed over by one or two AU rowdies.
Today they are replacing the rusted base on the lamp pole in front of my
house. They are working south down Mass. Ave. from Westmoreland Circle
and have replaced the worst of the rusted bases. The new base is a heavy
duty cast aluminum that should last another fifty years.
###############
The Post reports (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/03/AR2006020302842.html)
that Mr. Williams has once more dumped hundreds of pages of a
yet-again-revised baseball deal on the council with a demand for instant
approval — though, apparently, big chunks of the deal are being kept
secret. Seems like Mr. Mayor is an admirer of Mr. DeLay’s tricks: don’t
let them read the law before they vote on the law. Says he, “The idea
that this process can go on indefinitely is not okay with me.”
Oh, really? That the Council would think of voting on the stadium
lease without we or they thoroughly understanding it is not OK with me.
Wishful thinking, perhaps, but this one should sit on the agenda for
however long it takes to erase its odor — or forever — whichever
comes first.
###############
This is an excerpt from my blog (http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com),
taking off from yesterday’s column by Colbert King in the Washington
Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/03/AR2006020302511.html)
about Fred Malek, leader of the Washington Baseball Club’s effort to
bring major league baseball back to Washington, and for his organization
to purchase the team. “I can’t remember the name of the song that
has the chorus, ‘This is how they do it to you.’ If I ever take up
podcasting, I’ll hum it (although I talk too slow to sound good
aurally from a broadcasting sense — although, when I talk about urban
revitalization issues I tend to talk plenty fast).
“One of my colleagues argues that Mayor Williams is basically a
good sort who relies too much on the people around him to do the right
thing. In some respects, I think this is true. The people around him on
the baseball thing gave Mayor Williams bad advice on how much to give to
baseball. DC offered so much that it is a major step backwards in the
advances municipalities have made in the constant battle between
professional sports teams wanting free stadia and balancing this
avariciousness on the part of elected and appointed officials. . . .
Although I’d argue that the repercussions of this contract, the fact
that DC City Council is having a hard time mustering the will to vote in
favor, and that a goodly portion of the populace continues to be
appalled by the contract so much so that there is a major campaign
against signing the agreement, probably communicates to other
professional sports leagues (but not baseball, not yet) that being so
greedy is likely to anger too many people and is ultimately
counterproductive.
“In keeping with this belief, the 12/21/05 issue of themail
featured a post by John Hanrahan that disclosed that the law firm that
employs Mark H. Tuohey, chairman of the DC Sports and Entertainment
Commission, one of the city’s negotiators for the baseball lease, has
extensive ties with Major League Baseball, and that a case for conflict
of interest could be made. On Thursday, I complained to the Office of
the Inspector General that the Washington Convention and Tourism
Corporation, as a recipient and steward of DC tax monies, should not be
lobbying for the baseball stadium contract in advance of a vote on the
matter by the DC City Council. I think that an ethics complaint to the
DC Bar Association about Mr. Tuohey should be considered.
“That being said, I wish we could just move on. It’d be a lot
easier to move on if Major League Baseball didn’t continue to be so
avaricious. I mean, who cares about $250,000 a year for supporting youth
baseball and other activities, when they managed to get the DC
Government to agree to provide MLB with 42.5 percent of the profits from
ancillary development on the stadium site — said site being bought by
the DC Government and basically given to MLB for some middling rent.”
###############
Petulant Mayor Growing Tired of Stadium Fight
of His Own Making
Ed Delaney, profeddel@yahoo.com
From http://www.nbc4.com/news/6661609/detail.html:
“Williams said Wednesday he’s growing tired of the stadium fight.
‘You know the mayor’s stupid and this was an awful deal, it’s
still awful and everybody’s bad, I don’t have any desire whatsoever
to continue that game,’ said Williams. ‘I think it’s now time to
have a vote. I do not have any intention whatsoever this time of
withdrawing the legislation. I think we just need to have a vote. And if
you want baseball, this is what we have.’” Pardon me if I’m not
moved by the jet-setting mayor’s fatigue over his inability to get
through a truly wretched deal at an unworkable site that the mayor has
admitted is being fought for due to the desire of developers, as well as
his insistence on fighting the council when they’re not objecting to
paying a record-breaking sum of over half a billion dollars of public
money towards the project but are daring to insist on capping the cost
at that agreed-upon sum while considering a site where the costs are
certain for land, parking, and environmental remediation plus
improvements for the roads, Metro station, and overall infrastructure.
I’m also not moved by the mayor’s petulant outburst, especially
since it inaccurately portrays those opposed to his terrible boondoggle
and are seeking some semblance of fiscal accountability for it. We’re
not the ones who’ve been hurling petty insults like “the mayor‘s
stupid” and “everybody‘s bad,” but have instead shown restraint
and stuck to attacking the faults of this boondoggle with clear and
specific analysis and presentation of the facts. If the mayor wants the
games, all of his making, to stop, he can let the DC Council handle the
ballpark matter from here on out (which ought to happen anyway, whether
the mayor wants it to or not).
The mayor’s meltdown is reminiscent of his outburst on national
television a year ago regarding “those jackass council members” who
weren’t backing his sweetheart deal, and it is emblematic of the
meltdown mode the Brigade goes when things aren’t going its way. The
Chief Financial Officer’s “I won‘t take this to Wall Street”
meltdown this week is just one of a long list that shows which side has
lost its cool and resorted to emotion-filled attacks rather than
discussion of the facts. Remember Steve Green bellowing “BUT . . .
FOR!” at the hearing where a citizen dared ask where the money’s
coming from, Eric Price saying “don’t f*** with me” to Barbara
Lang over the ballpark-driven Anacostia Waterfront Corporation
legislation (according to the City Paper’s Loose Lips last
February), Jack Evans yelling “stick it where the sun don’t
shine,” Mark Tuohey claiming “there are no cost overruns,” as well
as Major League Baseball’s Bob Dupuy telling the city “we’re not
going to be dictated to” and Jerry Reindorf saying that “DC didn’t
have a great first season.”
###############
In Support of the Mayor’s Parking Bill (Not)
Jack McKay, jack.mckay@verizon.net
I think very highly of Cheryl Cort, but I cannot agree with her
support (in the January 25 issue of themail) of the current parking
bill, which would increase Residential Permit Parking (RPP) fees to $25,
$50, and $100, for the first, second, and third cars in a household.
These fees are much too small to cause anyone to give up a car. People
who struggle to find curbside parking spots on our crowded inner-city
streets are already under plenty of pressure to get along without a car,
if possible, and roughly half the households in this area (Ward One)
already do so. An annual RPP fee of $25 or $50 will be merely another
tax to be paid by those who cannot get along without a car.
The “poison pill” in the parking bill is this provision:
“Whenever the number of residential permit parking permits exceeds the
number of curbside parking spaces in residential permit parking zones,
the Director may increase the fees above levels necessary to cover
administrative costs in order to manage demand and reduce parking
congestion.” Um, how high would that be? Cheryl notes that the number
of RPP stickers issued in Adams Morgan amounts to three times the number
of curbside spots available. How high will the RPP fees have to go to
persuade hundreds of Adams Morgan car owners to give up their cars? An
off-street parking spot costs at least $900 a year. Is that where RPP
fees would go?
We’re caught in a dilemma. In order to have a significant effect on
the number of cars parked on the street, RPP fees would have to become
truly onerous, far above a mere $25 a year. But such fees are, I think,
politically impossible, and for good reason. We homeowners with garage
space would be able to avoid such heavy fees, while lower-income
apartment dwellers would not. This is a tax that will hit hardest those
who can least afford it.
###############
[Re: Reeves Center Spurred Development on Fourteenth Street?"
themail, February 1] In the early 1990s, I wrote an article for Recreation
News (July 1, 1994, Day Off: “U Street Makes U-Turn: Corridor Back
to (Night) Life,” p.2) about the revival of the U Street corridor.
While there, I interviewed twenty-six business owners and, among other
questions, asked if they thought that Marion Barry’s building of the
Reeves Center had had a leading role on spurring this development.
Although, to my fury, the editor interpolated his own opinion — that
Marion Barry’s government center did indeed spur growth — every
single respondent replied, “Absolutely not!” When did this change?
###############
I read Elliot Negin’s piece on noise pollution in DC [themail,
February 1], and I have a few thoughts about it. First, I have lived
next door to two construction sites in the city, and while the 7:00 a.m.
wake up call of saws, hammers, cranes, etc., can be unpleasant, I don’t
think it is an unreasonable time to begin work. I would support strictly
enforced, high-dollar fines for construction activities that occur
outside of permitted times. That is only fair.
Second, although his suggestion about emergency vehicle siren usage
has initial intuitive appeal, it is not really a workable solution. I
speak from the perspective of nearly 26 years as an emergency responder
(fire, EMS, and law enforcement). The siren level of most modern
electronic sirens is not adjustable. Responders operating emergency
vehicles have the double-duty of ensuring that they get to the emergency
but also ensuring the safety of their crews, other motorists, and
pedestrians. Virtually all state motor vehicle codes grant
"emergency vehicle" status to fire and EMS vehicles only when
both the lights and the siren are activated (although some states permit
law enforcement vehicles to operate only emergency lights). Emergency
apparatus operators will try to be considerate of people sleeping by
keeping the siren off at times, but they do so at a risk. If they are
involved in an accident without having used the siren, then they could
be held at fault, and there is legal precedent for criminal conviction
and incarceration of negligent emergency vehicle operators. Having
worked many midnight shifts in a police car in DC, I can tell you that
this city never sleeps. There is plenty of motorized and pedestrian
traffic in many areas of the city at all hours of the night. I do not
think emergency vehicle operators should be required to forego safety to
preserve the still of the night.
Finally, were I a councilmember, I would seek to enact legislation
that addresses the high noise levels of car stereos. I have seen many,
many vehicles operating stereos at such loud volumes that the songs
could be clearly heard sitting halfway down the block in another vehicle
with the windows rolled up. The operators of such vehicles cannot
possible hear horns or sirens. Further (and I speak from the experience
of having lived in a seventh floor apartment in Logan Circle), the noise
can easily be heard by residents at all hours of the day and night. This
type of noise is simply an unnecessary and impolite intrusion by
motorists into other people’s lives. Unfortunately, at present the
police do not have the authority to issue a notice of infraction unless
they have recorded the decibel level using a noise meter, and as far as
I know, only DCRA inspectors have those meters and the training to use
them. A much simpler and more effective solution can be found in the
noise ordinance in effect in Tacoma, Washington, which subjects the
violator to a fine if the noise of a car stereo can be heard outside the
car after certain hours. I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask
motorists to listen to music at a level that doesn’t escape their car
— doing so would increase safety and reduce noise pollution.
###############
NCMC and Certificate of Need
Frank Zampatori, frankz05@att.net
Proposed legislation is soon to reach the city council from the
Office of the Mayor to create the National Capital Medical Center (NCMC).
Council Chairman Linda Cropp will determine if the proposed legislation
will be assigned to the Committee of the Whole, or to the Committee on
Health, or maybe to the Committee on Economic Development. People who
observe the city council believe a strong push will be made by the
Administration to have Chairman Cropp assign the proposed legislation to
the Committee of the Whole, where it is believed the approval process
will be quicker, and with at least seven Councilmembers running for
higher office or reelection, there will be less support for requiring a
complete, public, and independent Certificate of Need (CON) process. The
CON process is currently used wholly or in part in thirty-six states and
DC. The mayor and the city administrator have urged that the NCMC be
exempted from the CON process, arguing it will be time consuming, will
delay construction of NCMC, is a rarely used and outdated process, and
could tie up the NCMC for five years. Two recent decisions in DC
requiring a CON process involved the construction of the new George
Washington University hospital and the closure of DC General.
GW filed a CON application on July 13, 1998, with the DC State Health
Planning and Development Agency to construct a new 371-bed hospital,
that would result in the closure of its existing hospital, at a cost of
$96 million in private funds. The CON faced several challenges,
including one from Columbia Hospital for Women. The process did not
require five years. The CON application was approved on December 21,
1998, only 162 days after it was filed. When DC General was closed in
2001, the legislation and the authority closing the hospital
successfully avoided the CON and received an exemption. The impact of
the closure was felt in ways not easily foreseen and resulted within two
years of a perceived need to construct a new medical facility on
Reservation 13 in place of DC General. Through the use of a CON process,
these problems could well have been avoided.
The NCMC is first and foremost a health care delivery issue and not a
political issue. A new 250-bed hospital with a projected cost today of
$484.7 million requires a thorough and complete review of a proposal
that will commit the city and its resources for decades to come. The CON
process allows for that review. It is interesting that the mayor, city
administrator, and various supporters of NCMC are now taking positions
similar to the position taken by the Bush Administration on July 23,
2004, when it urged through its Federal Trade Commission and Justice
Department that states reconsider CON laws because they were
restrictive, time consuming, and anti-competitive.
###############
Wow, I’m just appalled by Leo Alexander’s letter [themail,
February 1]. Often times there are things in themail that I don’t
agree with or that I think are plain wrong, but I have never been quite
so shocked. Gary, I appreciate your introductory apology as a warning!
Please, contributors to the mail, we have here an excellent, healthy
forum for information and debate about important matters for our
wonderful city, please don’t sink to this level and ruin it.
###############
Is This How Mr. Alexander Celebrates Black
History Month?
Lisa Alfred, lisa_alfred@verizon.net
Mr. Imhoff and Ms. Brizill, I applaud your decision to print the
racist letter from Leo Alexander (“The Race Card and Guess Who Played
It?” themail, February 1). I agree with Mr. Alexander when he says,
“You can always tell when you have got your opponent threatened,
because that is when they usually start hitting below the belt.” That
is exactly what Mr. Alexander has done by explicitly introducing race
and religion. He states no concrete reasons for the construction of the
NCMC. Anecdotes are not sufficient when you are talking about the kind
of long term expenditures that constructing and maintaining the NCMC
will take. You don’t build a hospital to address “but what if?”
It is unfortunate that Mr. Alexander and others believe that the
District is experiencing some sort of inordinate emergency crisis. Where
are all these emergencies? Just saying that primary care is a “valid
issue” dismisses the real crisis, which is not in emergency care, but
in primary and secondary care. If the city is truly experiencing an
emergency heath care crisis, then the Mayor and the Council should
declare a state of emergency so that all city agencies can focus on this
problem. Additionally, the Mayor should fully fund and build the level 1
trauma center at Greater Southeast that it promised back in 2001 and
2002 as part of the safety net to fill the gaps left by the closure of
DC General.
I believe that everyone should be heard, including racists like Mr.
Alexander. As an African-American, I have personally apologized to Mr.
Rosenthal for those remarks because I do not believe that they reflect
the opinion of African-Americans. We can disagree on anything and
everything, but hurling racist insults is unnecessary. I’m writing
this as I’m signing a condolence book for the family of Coretta Scott
King. Mr. Alexander reminds me of the racists who hurled insults at Mrs.
King and her family. If the CNCMC will be employing a strategy of racism
and threats, then their argument is not “intellectually lazy,” it’s
just plain old dumb. This “strategy” was used against the King
family time and again, yet they continued to fight for the well being of
us all. I was hoping that Mrs. King could go on and greet Dr. King with
better news to report about race relations, alas, Mr. Alexander has
dashed my dreams. Whether DC builds the hospital or not, Mr. Alexander
has not contributed to a much needed open discussion on the NCMC.
###############
Mr. Leo Alexander said [themail, February 1], “You can always tell
when you have got your opponent threatened. . . .” Incorrect analysis,
sir. You have your opponents amused. What is that phrase? Oh yes, now I
remember, that old saw goes: “In a debate, the first one to use the
word ‘Nazi’ loses.” I substitute the word “racist.” Mr. Leo
Alexander, poor little thing, tried mightily for the gold but fell
somewhat short. He gets a “C”; oh, what the heck, make it a “C+”
for effort. I tend to lose interest the moment someone whines
“racism.” That poor old dog is plumb worn out and just can’t tree
the squirrels like he use to. One has to admit, the dog sounds good
though. Ever now and again, that hound can still whoop and holler but
afterwards drops his head back and goes to sleep under the front porch
with all his best days in the distant past. It is an “intellectually
lazy” argument. To get the gold sir, the correct phrase is: “racist,
sexist, bigoted, misogynist, homophobe.” That would leave me shaking
in my boots. Honest. I am not kidding around. Try it sometime.
Mr. Leo Alexander is not an “anti-Semite.” He said so himself:
“not now nor have I ever been.” That settles that. I accept that as
the truth which was brought down from Mt. Sinai itself. Nor, I hasten to
add, is Mr. Leo Alexander a racist or a bigot: no, not he. Which brings
me to the point of all these electronic scribbles: I find his word
choices and phrase selections curious for a non-anti-Semite, non-racist,
and non-bigot.
“Racist pail of water” appeals to me because at least it is
inventive. It is only one in the bunch. The rest are just
“intellectually lazy.” Racism explains everything, doesn’t it?
Convenient too. “My people — African Americans.” Could someone
please find out when did African Americans get together and elect Mr.
Leo Alexander their sole spokesman? More perplexing, why can’t they
just speak for themselves? I know of several who seem to do a top-k
notch bang-up good job with no help at all that I know of from Mr. Leo
Alexander. “Jewish medical community.” I didn’t know there was
one. Is there one? Have I got to specify now when I go to the hospital,
in case I have to that it is the Cajun medical community for me? Forgive
my confusion. I thought there were just doctors and nurses. Is Jewish
better than Cajun? I know this much, the food is better in Cajun
hospitals. “Ill-informed, racist, Hebrew lost soul” is a wonderment
of phraseology for a non-bigot, non-racist, non-anti-Semite. “I
contend that it is morally reprehensible for you, or anyone else, to
maliciously report these completely baseless and vicious lies.” Well,
at the end of the day, I am left puzzling over who is “morally
reprehensible” and “malicious.” Mr. Rosenthal’s comments just
don’t fit into those two categories. Lots of smoke, so little fire.
Puzzling, but not for long.
###############
In the February 1st edition of themail I was labeled, “the ugliest,
nastiest, and most offensive” writer the newsletter had ever
published. Considering the source: thank you. Please forgive me for
forgetting my place, which is to allow someone to get away with
referring to members of my community as “intellectually lazy.” Which
begs the question, what would he have said next if left unchallenged?
Disparities in healthcare in the District of Columbia are at a critical
level, and I am glad that we are taking this issue seriously. But in
order to understand and appreciate our position, folks outside of the
black community will have to be open-minded and set aside their personal
bias, and show some empathy. Because after you scrape away all the
rhetoric, blind yourself to race and sexual orientation, and get down to
the real issues, the people who call DC home are all basically the same.
We want safe, clean, and healthy communities. We want our children to
get a quality education and have the options that that will offer. We
want to work and own property. And we expect our government to do the
right thing. Essentially, we all recognize the need for an equal
distribution of this city’s resources; i.e., jobs, health care,
vocational education, and affordable housing.
This brings me back to the issues surrounding the National Capital
Medical Center. First of all, the quality of healthcare dispensed from
DC General Hospital, the nine community health centers, and the Public
School Nurse Program of the Public Benefit Corporation was never an
issue. The problems were in management, billing, collections, and
facilities. The place was hemorrhaging money, and instead of addressing
those four areas, the mayor’s and the Financial Control Board’s
solution was to shut it down. This was the ill-fated process used to
close DC General Hospital. First, administrators of the hospital were
responsible for the submission of a detailed closure plan that addressed
the needs of patients that were currently admitted, and patients that
accessed that facility for services in the past. Second, the Department
of Health (DOH) approved the plan and coordinated the process; which
included DOH’s advising the community by facilitated public hearings;
providing resource information; and ensuring provisions were made for
the safekeeping, storage, and accessibility of patient medical records.
Sensing a potential political powder keg, District officials answered
the expressed concerns regarding the desertion of a community by saying
that systems would be put in place to ensure residents had access to the
same level of care and services. DOH was charged with developing a
health care access program for uninsured and uninsurable residents of
the District with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty
level and inmates of the DC Jail. The DC HealthCare Alliance was put in
place to fill the void that was left once the hospital’s doors closed
to inpatient care.
Greater Southeast was awarded a five-year contract to manage the
Alliance program, and as such, the institution was to establish itself
as a Level 1 trauma center. This never happened. Greater SE was also
charged with establishing a Satellite Emergency Department (SED) at the
DC General site. It was supposed to house one or two EMS vehicles so
transportation would be readily available to patients accessing the SED
in need of a higher-level of care. This was poorly implemented and
eventually phased out. The Washington Times has covered this Alliance
contract extensively and reported on January 20 that the parent company
of Greater SE, Doctors Community Healthcare Corp., based in Arizona, was
also plagued with financial difficulties. The parent company was using
the Alliance money to jet set and run its other healthcare operations
around the country. DOH sources say it never invested in the physical
plant at Greater SE, DC General, or the community clinics. In
combination with these issues, and the facility holding area’s
inability to pass the Fire Department’s inspection, the contract was
canceled and turned over to DOH. Now there it is, the District simply
never delivered on its promise to the citizens in the eastern sector of
our community. I hope this answers some of your questions and makes the
argument as it pertains to need.
###############
I have found it difficult not to respond in kind to the outrageous
allegations hurled at a community group to which I belong. When someone
strikes an unjustifiable blow, our instincts can lead us to retaliate
with greater force. Therein lies the trap of responding to a vicious
report as that told by Dr. Eric Rosenthal — not to respond in kind. I
will do my best in this submission not to descend into the pit of
retaliation.
The debate about the National Capital Medical Center or NCMC (the
Level 1 trauma hospital and primary/specialty care facility proposed to
be built at the DC General site), unfortunately has descended to the
level of personal attacks. Enough! This descent was initiated by Eric
Rosenthal, whom Gary Imhoff and Dorothy Brizill defended as one of the
most “reasonable contributors” to themail. No matter how
“reasonable” some may perceive Eric’s chronic criticisms to be
about the NCMC, he is wrong — factually and ethically — to make
allegations based on nothing more than rumor. Eric alleged "racial
divisiveness" at the January 12 meeting of the Citizens for the
National Capital Medical Center, a community group organized in support
of the NCMC. In defense of Eric’s unsubstantiated allegations,
Gary/Dorothy accept these without question as true. I’m astonished at
this blind defense given that neither Eric nor his defenders attended
the meeting in question. However, I was present at that meeting (and
every meeting of the community group) as have been dozens of respected
community members and health industry leaders. The January 12 meeting
was led by a respected facilitator. Any inappropriate remarks, of a
racial nature or otherwise, would have been immediately denounced by
Greg Rhett (the meeting convener), Councilmember Gray, the facilitator,
or me. For the record: The community group is racially diverse (I guess
Eric’s unnamed source failed to mention that). Ironically, the only
reporter who was allowed entry to a subsequent community meeting on
January 30 was a white male. What an odd action for an alleged
“racially divisive” group.
On January 30, Dorothy unsuccessfully attempted to attend the
community meeting. What followed was an inaccurate reporting of events.
According to the sign-in sheet, the meeting was attended by 26 persons
(not twelve to fifteen as Dorothy reported), there was no representative
from the Walker Marchant Group (Howard University’s PR firm), and
Councilmember Gray did not arrive until near the end of the meeting
(despite Dorothy’s assertions that he leads the community group). I am
saddened that Dorothy, for whom I have deep respect, is offended by not
having been allowed to attend the January 30 meeting in her capacity as
a journalist. However, that should not result in retaliatory attempts to
sabotage the real issue of building a Level 1 trauma hospital with
primary/specialty care in the most underserved area of the city —
eastern DC.
Those who support the NCMC are asking for health care justice in
terms of having just one Level 1 trauma hospital in eastern DC where it
is needed most, given that this area experiences the greatest illness,
injury, and a whopping 90 percent of the city’s homicides. The
residents of eastern DC are not daring to ask for equivalent access by
demanding eight full-service hospitals (including three Level 1 trauma
centers) in eastern DC as there are in western section of the city.
Supporters of the NCMC submit that Washington, DC, desperately needs the
services that would be provided by the NCMC. This is supported by a
report recently released by the American College of Emergency
Physicians, “[DC] risks losing its excellent standing . . . because
emergency departments are regularly reaching their capacity, and
patients are frequently and increasingly diverted to other facilities.
At the same time, four hospitals in the District have closed in the past
10 years. If these trends continue, patients will suffer, and . . .
District of Columbia officials need to act, perhaps by reopening or
building new emergency care facilities.”
As for Eric’s absurd allegation of “racial divisiveness” in the
community group, I challenge him to reveal the so-called source who
allegedly attended our January 12, meeting. Let that person identify
him/herself and specify what remark was supposedly deemed to be racist.
It really speaks to a level of desperation that Eric is attempting to
assassinate the character of a community organization simply because he
disagrees with our position on a health care issue. Eric Rosenthal, I
make this accusation, sparingly but in your case it is said with all
possible conviction: your unsupported charges of “racial
divisiveness” and “intellectually lazy” against the community
group are blatantly racist. This might as well be 1906 Mississippi where
one white male can make unfounded allegations against two well-respected
black males (Councilmember Gray and Greg Rhett), and those allegations
are blindly supported by others. Both Councilmember Gray and Mr. Rhett
have a long and positive history of service in the DC community and they
deserve an apology. Councilmember Gray’s leadership in this health
care campaign is noble and necessary. He is doing what elected officials
are supposed to do — representing the interests of constituents. In
this case, Gray’s Ward 7 constituents are disproportionately impacted
by the lack of access to the services that would be provided by the NCMC.
In my opinion, the most offensive message themail has ever published
are the unsubstantiated allegations of racism by Dr. Eric Rosenthal. How
did race get introduced into an important health care discussion? I
suggest that all of us refocus on the real issue of eliminating health
care disparities in our nation’s capital and access to quality health
care for all.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Recorder of Deeds Open House Days, February
11, 24
Alexander M. Padro, PadroANC2C@aol.com
The sixth annual DC Recorder of Deeds Building open house days will
offer free guided tours in honor of the 125th anniversary of the
appointment of Frederick Douglass as the first black DC Recorder of
Deeds. The District of Columbia Recorder of Deeds Building, completed in
1942, features seven WPA-era Black history murals (depicting African
American heroes including Benjamin Banneker, Frederick Douglass, Crispus
Attucks, Matthew Henson, and the Massachusetts 54th Regiment) and other
artwork, in a building designed to house the only District agency led
and staffed almost exclusively by African Americans for 125 years. Come
visit the ROD Building and hear about the history of past recorders of
deeds, including Frederick Douglass (the first Black recorder of deeds,
appointed by President James A. Garfield in 1881) and Blanche K. Bruce,
the work of such prominent African American artists as William E. Scott
and Selma Burke, and see the building’s intact 1940s decor, which was
almost lost to demolition in 2001.
The 2006 open houses will be held on Saturday, February 11, from 1:00
p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and on Friday, February 24, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00
p.m. Tours will be held at 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on February 11 and at
6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on February 24. The tours are free and no
reservations are required. The DC Recorder of Deeds Building is located
at 515 D Street, NW, just one block from the Archives/Navy Memorial
Green and Yellow Line Metro station and Judiciary Square Red Line Metro
station.
Sponsored by the DC Office of Tax and Revenue/Recorder of Deeds. For
more information, call the DC Recorder of Deeds at 727-0419.
###############
National Building Museum Events, February
11-12
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org
Saturday, February 11, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Office tour: Toyota
government and industry relations office. Toyota’s recently renovated
government and industry relations office in Washington, DC, reflects the
auto maker’s commitment to environmental excellence. Gensler associate
Jill Goebel, IIDA, will lead a tour of this 25,000-square-foot
sustainable workplace, which includes extensive use of natural light,
locally quarried stacked stone walls, veneer and substrates from managed
forests. The project is one of the first in Washington to participate in
the US Green Building Council’s LEED Commercial Interiors
certification program. Open only to museum members, $18. Space is
limited. Prepaid registration required. To register, call the Museum or
visit www.nbm.org beginning Thursday,
January 26.
Sunday, February 12, 1:00-2:00 p.m. Film: Glenn Murcutt. Australian
architect Glenn Murcutt received Finland’s Alvar Aalto Medal in 1992.
This documentary records one man’s rare talent to make inspired forms
and celebrates a special affection for the planet and its people. (54
min.) Free. Registration not required. At the National Building Museum,
401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line. Register for
events at http://www.nbm.org.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
I have been having problems with Microsoft Word on my three-year-old
computer. Can anyone recommend a techie?
###############
Can anyone refer me to a very good masonry/tuckpointing contractor
with good experience working with old, District row houses?
###############
themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published every
Wednesday and Sunday. To subscribe, to change E-mail addresses, or to
switch between HTML and plain text versions of themail, use the
subscription form at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail/subscribe.htm.
To unsubscribe, send an E-mail message to themail@dcwatch.com
with “unsubscribe” in the subject line. Archives of past messages
are available at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail.
All postings should also be submitted to themail@dcwatch.com,
and should be about life, government, or politics in the District of
Columbia in one way or another. All postings must be signed in order to
be printed, and messages should be reasonably short — one or two brief
paragraphs would be ideal — so that as many messages as possible can
be put into each mailing.
