There Ain’t No Law That’s Hard and Fast
Dear Law Keepers:
Equality under law is perhaps the most important principle of law.
All fall under the law; all are treated the same by the law. The law is
the guarantor of our belief that “All men are created equal.”
Equality before the law, even more than which particular acts the law
forbids or commands, is why the rule of law deserves and requires our
respect. But our elected officials lack both respect for the law and
respect for the principle of equality before the law. Three events in
the past week illustrate this. First, at his press conference on
Wednesday, Mayor Williams promoted his plan for the National Capital
Medical Center. Dorothy asked him about two legal roadblocks that stand
in the way of his plan to build to NCMC and to prevent the careful
public examination of his plan that the Certificate of Need process
requires. He responded, to the delight of the NCMC supporters who
accompanied him, “There ain’t no law that’s hard and fast’ (http://octt.dc.gov/services/on_demand_video/channel16/March2006/1712.asx).
This response might well be the motto of his administration and the
attitude of DC government as a whole. There is no law that can’t be
broken, twisted, evaded, gotten around, no law that’s hard and fast.
Second, on Thursday, at the mayoral candidates forum held by the DC
Latino PAC, all five Democratic mayoral candidates pandered to their
audience by expressing their contempt for this country’s immigration
laws, and competed to list the ways in which they would use the city
government to encourage flouting immigration laws and making it easier
to evade them.
A few years ago, councilmembers, tired of the bother of getting their
parking tickets fixed one-by-one, passed a law exempting themselves from
parking laws, expressing their belief that they shouldn’t have to live
by the rules they impose on the rest of us. Their belief was affirmed by
the third event last week. On Thursday, US Magistrate Judge Deborah
Robinson gave Councilmember and former Mayor Marion Barry the gift of
just three years of probation for not filing and paying both federal and
DC taxes on over a half million dollars of income from 1999 to 2004, and
for testing positive for cocaine and marijuana use while waiting for his
trial. That insulting leniency was aggravated by two factors: the
transparently false claim that an average citizen who committed Mr.
Barry’s offenses and had his criminal record would escape jail time
and get the same light sentence; and the immediate announcement by his
attorney, Fred Cooke, that he was looking for ways to get around DC’s
weak laws on political contributions so that Mr. Barry’s “friends”
could pay off his tax debts (and presumably his legal bills). And why
shouldn’t a councilmember get paid off for the favors he has done?
After all, there ain’t no law that’s hard and fast.
Politicians’ contempt for the law is really contempt for the rest
of us, the powerless, the average, who have to abide by and live under
the laws they exempt themselves from or break with impunity. If I had
just two questions to ask at a forum for mayoral or council chairman or
councilmember candidates, they would be, “Do you have any respect for
the equality under the law, any at all?” And, ”If you don’t, why
should we have any respect for you? Any at all?”
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
After years of having their property assessments lag behind the
market, I guess DC tried to make up for it this year by doubling their
assessment of my house just as the market levels off. They are so far
off the mark and beyond what I could get for my house that it is
ridiculous. I guess I could just ignore it because of the 10 percent
cap, but I’m so angry that I want to fight back. Does anyone have the
name of a good person who could properly assess my property? Please
E-mail me; I’d really appreciate it.
###############
Property Tax Assessment Hikes in Anacostia
Le Eckles, e929@peoplepc.com
Recent residential property tax assessment increases are hitting
Anacostia (like most of the city — some of my best friends are white)
like a hammer. Unfortunately it’s at a time when two other massive
city projects are coming at us like a train wreck (pun intended). Is
there anyone out there who could help us understand the practical
consequences to/for the individual long-term homeowners of the recent
"Craig decisions" and/or the appeal process? Keep in mind all
those "new" housing units that are supposed to be turning
around East of the River are almost all under one
tax-free-for-five-years abatement or another, so existing homeowners are
carrying their freight and the new homeowners who might otherwise be
speaking up aren’t feeling a thing. A lot of taxpayer money being
spent to bring in new folks while older residents, many fixed-income
seniors whose home is their major asset, are being taxed out. I
apologize for leaving out the impact on rental housing, but the older
single family homeowner is about the last remnant of stability we have
left in the neighborhood. Look closely at Anacostia proper and you will
see we are being slumified, not gentrified, by illegal, cheap, jackleg
speculative “renovators” for the Section 8 money mill. Our single
family housing stock is being pushed over a cliff.
###############
What Your Government Doesn’t Want You to
Know
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
Buried within today’s Metro section of the Washington Post
is a revealing story about the inner workings of the District government
and about how difficult it is to get information from the Williams
administration [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/11/AR2006031101343.html].
The story centers around efforts by Adrian Fenty, chair of the council’s
Human Services Committee, to get information from the District’s
Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Administration and the
fatality review committee regarding the deaths of mentally disabled
individuals in group homes. In its efforts to delay and prevent
releasing the information, the Williams administration has told Fenty
that, even as a councilmember conducting an official council inquiry he
has to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Publicly, Mayor Williams frequently claims that his administration is
“open” and “transparent.” One of his favorite tactics is to
claim in public and at press conferences, “We’ll get that
information to you,” and then not to provide it. As the Post
article notes, “In June 2000, the mayor told the council that his
then-new administration would share information about group home
operations — and that there would be ‘no need’ for FOIA requests.
‘Everyone under my guidance is under the instruction that there’s no
need for a Freedom of Information suit. That information ought to be
readily accessible.’” In fact, the administration is making it
extremely difficult for the council to get any information, just as it
routinely does with the press.
Two weeks ago, following the Post story about the mayor’s
plans to charge “sponsors” to underwrite his trip to Africa [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/28/AR2006022801540.html],
I wrote a FOIA to get copies of the mayor’s fundraising letter, a list
of those from whom he solicited funds, the budget and itinerary for the
trip, and other information that should be readily available and easily
accessed for a trip that the mayor’s staff was actively engaged in
planning. The response that I received from the mayor’s lawyer: “We
will have 15 working days to respond to your request, subject to a
possible extension if needed to complete retrieval and review of
responsive documents.” It’s just another example, more common that
not, of how this administration uses FOIA regulations to delay and
obstruct the release of information rather than to facilitate it.
###############
DC Flat Tax?
Joan Eisenstodt, jeisen@aol.com
On travel yesterday, I saw a blurb in USA Today about the
proposed flat tax for DC, eliminating mortgage tax deductions, among
other things. Found the story on WJLA’s site: http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0306/308641.html.
Sometimes I skim themail. Did I miss a discussion on this? How likely
is this to happen? Who in Congress other than Del. Norton is opposing
it?
###############
NCMC: Show Us the Need
Jim Myers, Hilleast@aol.com
There’s a vast difference between truly needing something and
merely wanting it, however passionately. The difference seems apparent
in the call to build the National Capitol Medical Center, whose
supporters insist that the District’s Certificate of Need process is
“unnecessary” and “Bureaucratic Red Tape.” The group Citizens
for the NCMC says just this in a slick-paper mailing to homes on east
side of the city. “Why are all the Trauma Hospitals in Northwest
DC?” it asks, referring to a theme of injustice that’s become the raison
d’être for the NCMC proposal. Could the plan pass a test for
medical need? The suspicion is no, because advocates have been
surprisingly eager to avoid that subject. Would the NCMC save lives that
are now being lost? Would residents of the city live longer? Where’s
the evidence beyond a few questionable anecdotes?
Medical need is the big blind spot in support for NCMC, as the new
mailing demonstrates. It was mailed from 4010 Lane Place, NE, presumably
an epicenter of desire for a new hospital. Surely, 4010 Lane Place, NE,
is a long way from a Level 1 Trauma center. Well, no -- there’s one
close by. According to Mapquest, it takes about seven minutes at normal
speeds to drive between the Level 1 Trauma center at Prince George’s
Hospital Center and Lane Place, NE. And if NCMC were built, Lane Place
would be a very similar driving time away from that facility, too. So
what’s the deal? Does Lane Place need two nearby Level 1 trauma
centers? Across the rest of America, most Level 1 trauma centers serve
entire regions. Some states have none. The entire state of Maryland has
two. Nowhere else in America is it considered an injustice that not
every neighborhood has one, and the District currently has four to go
with a host of other emergency rooms in the area. Meanwhile, there’s a
gross disparity in real healthcare statistics that the folks at 4010
Lane Place, NE, seem to ignore. Many African America residents of this
city die before their time. The figures are appalling, and it’s not
for want of Level 1 Trauma Centers. If NCMC were built, lots more
District residents will die there, too, because what they needed all
along was convenient, affordable access to a family doctor and to
simple, lifesaving management of chronic diseases like diabetes,
hypertension, and obesity. In fact, it baffles me why the folks at 4010
Lane Place, NE, don’t see these unnecessary deaths as an injustice
worth being upset about.
###############
Tobacco Funds Council Hearing on Monday
Ken Jarboe, kenan.jarboe@verizon.net
On Monday, the City Council Committee of the Whole will hold a
hearing the “Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund and Tobacco Settlement
Financing Amendment Act of 2006,” Bill 16-605 [http://www.dcwatch.com/council16/16-605.htm],
and the “District of Columbia Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation
Asset-Backed Bond Issuance Approval Resolution of 2006,” PR 16-637 [http://www.dcwatch.com/council16/16-637.htm].
It will be the first hearing on any portion of the Mayor’s legislative
package concerning the National Capitol Medical Center (NCMC). While the
purported issue will be the NCMC, I would urge both supporters and
opponents of the NCMC look carefully at the two pieces of legislation in
question. They are not about authorizing the NCMC; they are about how
the tobacco settlement money is to be used. And this legislation allows
the city to raise $300 million to be used for “capital projects and
undertakings of the District” — in other words, for almost anything.
From what I can tell, Bill 16-605 is really a technical amendment to
clean up some of the previous legislation. There is nothing in the bill
or the resolution that requires that the funds be used for the NCMC. The
bill simply adds NCMC to the possible uses of the tobacco settlement
money — and I’m even not sure that is even needed. The current law
appears to give the Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation (TSFC) the
ability to issue bonds package for “capital projects and undertakings
of the District.” I will defer to the lawyers as to whether or not
that language is broad enough to cover the NCMC. But it is exactly that
broad language that gives me concern. Both the bill and the resolution
repeat that language of “certain capital projects and other
undertakings of the District.” And the resolution specifically
authorized the sale of $300,000,000 in bonds for “capital projects and
other undertakings of the District, including the proposed National
Capital Medical Center.” Again, note that there is no requirement for
this $300 million to be used for the NCMC. Also note that the Exclusive
Rights Agreement limits the Districts contribution to $212,168,000.
And so, what are these other capitol projects and undertakings? The
last time the TSFC issued bonds was in 2001; $521,105,000 worth on March
13, 2001, to be exact. Those bonds were used for debt-management
purposes. The money was used to pay off some of the District’s general
obligation debt and as a means of transferring financial risk, since, as
the CFO pointed out, “the bonds represent a debt of the corporation
and not a debt of the District.” So it is unclear what the funds from
the TSFC bonds will really be used for. Part could be used to finance
the NCMC, but it doesn’t have to be. According to this legislation,
the funds could be used for almost anything. It would seem to me that
prudent public policy would call for a clear understanding of what the
funds are going for. At least when they enacted the Ballpark Revenue
Fund, the Council locked down exactly how the money could be spent in
great detail. Rather than rush in with a $300 million open ended bond
sale, prudent public policy would be to wait for a decision on the CON
process and then take up the agreement itself.
Otherwise some interesting scenarios emerge. For example, what if
this bonding legislation is passed and the NCMC fails the CON process or
Howard can’t get FHA approval? The council has essentially given the
city $300 million dollars, carte blanche to spend on “capital
projects and other undertakings of the District.” With direction like
that, who knows what major capitol projects that the District is
currently involved in might benefit from these funds? This is just
another series of unanswered questions and another reason why the
council needs to take a very careful look at this whole proposal.
###############
A New Hospital
David Sobelsohn, dsobelso -at- capaccess -dot- org
A recent hospital stay (from a beating and robbery) has alerted me to
an angle on hospital siting I don’t recall having seen here before.
(My failure to remember it may have resulted from my beating, so please
forgive me if someone has already raised the issue here.) Especially for
patients hospitalized over a day, visitors can make a huge difference,
both in patient morale and in patient care. (Medical personnel provide
better care, on average, to patients who have frequent visitors.) But
hospital visitors must consider the same factors as other travelers:
time, distance, expense. As a result, hospital patients far from their
homes (all other factors held steady) will have fewer visitors than
patients in hospitals in or near their home neighborhoods. And
consequently (on the average) they will get lesser care.
I hope that hospital-siting decisions consider the importance of
facilitating hospital visits. This suggests either the importance of
siting hospitals near families of the patient population pool, or the
importance of other methods (e.g., mass transit) geared towards those
families.
###############
Don’t Throw Money Down the Rat Hole
Ed T Barron, edtb1@mac.com
There are now funds totaling $1.6 billion over the next ten years
being committed to the refurbishment of DC’s public schools. Much of
that money will be wasted unless there is a very good plan on just how
to spend that money. School Superintendent Janey should take the next
six months with a qualified planning team, to decide which schools will
remain in the system, which will be consolidated, and which will be made
into "specialty" schools. Only then can the planning begin for
the remaining schools.
The modifications for each school should be defined and then put into
bid packages for multiple schools to make the best use of contractor
skills and tasks. A good plan at the outset will ensure the most bang
for those big bucks. I just finished three full weeks of planning,
organizing, and coordinating, over the last six months, a one week trip
to Paris. I will be getting a lot of bang for my $2.5 thousand. For $1.6
billion there should be a great plan preceding that expenditure.
The announcement that two new charter schools will open in northwest
DC is very welcome. These two new schools, with classes from the sixth
grade upward, will help stem the flight of residents who currently have
no acceptable choices for their children in the public school system. It
will take too many years for the public school system to be able to
offer adequate schools to DC residents and the only near-term option
will be for parents to find charter schools that meet the needs of
parents wanting a good education for their children.
###############
Foxhall Village is the best kept secret in Washington, DC, to see the
cherry blossoms. Foxhall Village is a development of English Tudor style
townhouses built in the late 1920’s to resemble a Shakespearian
English Village, complete with three traffic circles. Approximately
twenty-five years ago, the elm trees that had been planted by the
original developer began to die. As these trees died, the FCCA (Foxhall
Community Citizens Association) organized a fund raising campaign to
replace the dead trees with cherry blossoms. Most of the streets
(Greenwich Parkway, Q, and P Streets) have Yoshino cherry trees (which
are the same type of trees found on the Mall). However, Surrey Lane is
lined with Quanson cherry trees, which bloom one week after the Yoshino
cherry trees. It is the blooming of the Quanson cherry trees that is
truly spectacular. I do not know of any other street in Washington, DC,
with such beautiful Quanson cherry trees.
Unfortunately, I am sure that I will be ostracized by my neighbors by
divulging Washington, DC’s, best kept secret as where to see gorgeous
cherry blossoms. Directions to Foxhall Village from downtown: 1) west on
Q Street, NW to Wisconsin Avenue; 2) turn right form Q Street onto
Wisconsin Avenue and go two blocks; 3) make a left onto Reservoir Road
form Wisconsin Avenue, drive past Georgetown University to Foxhall Road
(you will pass the French Embassy); 4) make a left from Reservoir Road
onto Foxhall Road (the German Embassy is at this intersection); 5) go
one very short block and make a left onto Greenwich Parkway.
###############
Gary asked for suggestions about outdoor spots to have lunch. Right
across the street from one of the places he mentioned, the Botanic
Garden, sits Bartholdi Park (Independence and Washington), a veritable
horticulturalist’s lab with a Bartholdi-designed fountain in the
middle. In warm weather, there are extra tables and chairs for the lunch
crowd to supplement the permanent benches scattered throughout.
Among my other favorite Mall spots (I work in "beautiful"
southwest DC, so such places are necessary for good mental health) are
the fountains on either side of the south entrance to the National
Gallery of Art. The sound of the running water totally drowns out any
traffic noises, and the enormous trees that shade the area add to the
feeling of being in a secret garden somewhere. And on the opposite side
of the Mall, right next door to the Arts and Industries Building, is the
Ripley Garden, a Victorian jewel with a serpentine pathway connecting
Independence with the Mall.
By the way, the Botanic Garden is holding its annual orchid show
through April 2. Gorgeous! I’ve been there four times already. For a
sneak preview, go to: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BcuXDRm3Zseu
(if you can’t click on this site, try copying and pasting it into your
web browser),
###############
Secret Cherry Blossom Sites
Victoria Lord, tory at a why a . yale.edu
Okay, at the risk of filling my favorite spot with dozens of
springtime revelers, I will tell all. The best spot for cherry blossom
picnics in DC is Stanton Park. The park has dozens of cherry trees, some
very old and some quite young, but all bloom beautifully and peak about
two to three days after the Tidal Basin trees. For years my family has
met up with others for an impromptu picnic on a day during peak blossom
time. There is a playground in the park for small children. Don’t tell
anyone where you heard about this.
###############
Where to Look at Cherry Blossoms
Sally Kram, skram@consortium.org
My favorite spot is Stanton Park. The trees rim the park and you can
picnic right in the middle. Sure the Capital Hill traffic circles the
park, but it’s a better way to see Cherry Blossoms than sitting in
traffic down by the Tidal Basin.
###############
For blossoms off the Mall, a wonderful display is in the little
enclave of Kenwood on River Road near Bethesda. The suits who live there
may not appreciate picnickers, but it’s a beautiful route for bikes
and near the Capital Crescent Trail, too.
###############
Not in the city but Kenwood off of River Road in Bethesda has streets
lined with cherry trees. Also, there’s Brookside Gardens in Wheaton,
and the Landon School has a nice set of azaleas.
###############
Official Animal
Bell Clement, clement at gwu dot edu
In re Mr. Catanzaro’s question about whether the District has an
official animal [themail, March 8]: how about our official dinosaur
(yep) Capitalsaurus? (No, really. See DC Code Sec. 1-161.) Can’t
Capitalsaurus be our official mascot? Seems somehow so appropriate.
[The bill designating the official dinosaur, http://www.dcwatch.com/archives/council12/12-538.htm,
includes a drawing of the dinosaur’s skeleton and the lyrics to the
song, Them Dino Bones. — Gary Imhoff]
###############
From a national prospective: a pig (at a trough). From the general
tenor of this list: a carp. From an urban prospective: a rat. From a
serious prospective: there can’t think of a single animal unique to DC
— a squirrel, house cat, dog?
###############
Panda mania is alive and well in DC, so my vote is to designate the
panda as the District’s official animal.
###############
I’m a member of a couple of listservs and always (well, usually)
learn something new when the dialogue gets started about the issue of
Zip/Flex’s getting free parking spaces. One issue that almost never
gets discussed, however, is the licensure issue. Why doesn’t the city
insist that cars parked — i.e., “housed” — in city-owned parking
spaces be tagged (and inspected) in the city. While I have mixed
feelings about the free parking space argument, it irritates me no end
to see these spaces ultimately housing cars that carry Virginia and/or
Maryland license plates.
###############
Kathy Patterson Campaign Kickoff: No Thanks
Douglas Neumann, dbn99@yahoo.com
In the whole sorry episode of the subsidy to the billionaires of
Major League Baseball, one of the more shameful performances was Kathy
Patterson’s. I have voted for Kathy in the past, considering her as
one of the more reasonable voices on the council. I probably would have
at least accepted her switch to be a supporter of the stadium if she had
offered a reasonable justification. Instead, her statement about her
switch read as if it were written by a MLB lobbyist or their handmaiden
Jack Evans. Yes, a commitment to the stadium was made by the council in
December ’04, but this was reached with the assistance of three lame
duck council members who had been defeated in part because of their
obeisance to MLB. Yes, money would probably be lost if the DC did not
adhere to this commitment, but more money would likely be lost by
pursuing the deal (Kathy should read up on the microeconomic principle
of sunken cost). Also, the argument that MCI Center was responsible for
development in its vicinity is spurious; one could argue just as
reasonably that the increase in lobbyists in DC in recent years, and
their housing and entertainment needs, is just as responsible for
development downtown.
Next, we have the MLB lobbyist fundraiser on Kathy’s behalf after
switched her vote. Here, the appropriate question is not whether she
“sold her vote.” It is whether she benefited in any way from her
vote or had enough sense to avoid the appearance of her vote having been
bought. She failed on both counts, which I think disqualifies her for
consideration as council chair. At least her electoral rival, Vincent
Gray, appeared to agonize over how he would vote. For Kathy, allegedly
one phone call from Evans was enough for her to ignore the views of DC
residents. This is a sign that it is time for her to leave government;
let her suffer paying her parking tickets with the rest of us.
###############
Government, Poverty, and the Economy
Edward Cowan, edcowan1114@yahoo.com
I fear that Victoria McKernan has grasped the wrong end of the stick
[themail, March 8]. The worst thing government can do is to attempt to
set wages and prices. It is self defeating. When one state or city does
it, the effect is to drive business elsewhere. When Washington does it
for all states, distortions follow. Among them: to make full-time jobs
into part-time jobs, to cause employers to turn from payroll help to
temps and other outsourcing, and to induce employers to redefine jobs so
as to justify lower pay.
“Living wage” is not self-defining. It varies with the model of
life the speaker has in mind, and perhaps with the circumstances of each
of us and what we expect. A “living wage” for a single worker of 24
is not the same as for a single parent of 34 with two children.
Government cannot legislate successfully to cover all situations (whom
would you like to write the regulation?). Employers must pay wages based
on what the job and the employee contribute to the business, not on the
employee’s situation in life. Notice that employers don’t ask how
many dependents you have before they declare what the job pays?
While I understand that taxpayers like Ms. McKernan would like to
shift some of the tax burden to employers, this is unrealistic.
Employers can pay only what a job is worth, taking account of what it
contributes to his sale of goods and services and what comparable jobs
elsewhere pay. Concerned taxpayers can encourage government to offer
reasonable subventions to employees who need help — food stamps,
health care, low-income energy assistance, housing vouchers, and so on.
Government at all levels does a lot of that now. If government tries to
force employers to pay uneconomic wages, it will lead only to unintended
consequences.
###############
Gary and Dorothy’s Next Lawsuit?
Art Spitzer, artspitzer at aol dot com
Gary asks [themail, March 8]: “Here’s a legal question for any
informed lawyers out there. Since the city council pretends that the
$611 million ceiling it mandated on city expenses for the baseball
stadium is real and has the force of law, who has the legal standing to
sue when the city inevitably spends over that ceiling?”
Speaking personally, and not on behalf of my employer, there’s a
reasonable case to be made that any DC taxpayer would have standing to
sue in that situation. The federal court of appeals here once discussed
the rules for what’s called “municipal taxpayer standing”: “When
a municipal taxpayer can establish that the challenged activity involves
a measurable appropriation or loss of revenue, the injury requirement is
satisfied. See, e.g., . . . Schreiber v. Lugar, 518 F.2d 1099, 1101 n. 2
(7th Cir.1975) (municipal taxpayer has standing to challenge city’s
expenditures to construct sports arena). . . . [T]he taxpayer need not
show that the specific taxes he paid were used unlawfully, nor that his
taxes will be reduced as a result of the judgment. By enjoining an
illegal expenditure, the court can redress the taxpayer’s injury
caused by the misuse of public funds and ensure that the funds will be
devoted to lawful purposes of possible benefit to the taxpayers. . . .
If a state taxpayer has shown that the challenged program involves a
measurable appropriation of public funds, the Court will recognize
standing. We do not think the standard is different for municipal
taxpayers.” District of Columbia Common Cause v. District of Columbia,
858 F.2d 1 (D.C. Cir. 1988).
Of course the ceiling would truly have to be “real and ha[ve] the
force of law” for such a lawsuit to be a winner, so the more
persuasive you are in themail in explaining why the ceiling is
fictitious, the more you’re undercutting your own potential lawsuit.
That’s why lawyers sometimes suggest to their clients, “shut up.”
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Rally for a Hospital at the DC General Site,
March 13
Vanessa Dixon, vmdixon@earthlink.net
The City Administrator, councilmembers, clergy, health care
advocates, and concerned citizens will hold a rally and press conference
for more than 250,000 residents who don’t have access to quality
health care. Residents will engage in a demonstration to support the
National Capital Medical Center, a comprehensive facility proposed to be
built at the DC General site. The rally will occur before a DC city
council hearing to consider funding for construction of the medical
center.
Eastern Washington suffers from some of the worst health statistics
in the western hemisphere, yet has only one hospital that is not full
service. Compare this to the eight full-service hospitals in the western
half of the city. The absence of a hospital at the DC General site
affects all District residents, those who have health insurance and
those without. The National Capital Medical Center will help to save
lives in every part of Washington, DC, from Ward 1 to Ward 8, especially
for more than 250,000 residents in Eastern Washington.
Participants may engage in civil disobedience. Monday, March 13, 9:00
a.m., Freedom Plaza (13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW). For
further information, contact Vanessa Dixon, Citizens for the National
Capital Medical Center, 726-4479.
###############
Hoops Sagrado Celebrity Basketball Tournament,
March 17
Mindy Moretti, mindymoretti@yahoo.com
Tired of Friday nights at home with nothing to do but watch “Ghost
Whisperer”? Itching to hit the hardwood? Looking for a way to
celebrate St. Patrick’s Day without doing battle for bar space at your
local pub? Interested in mixing it up with area celebrities, politicians
and average Joes all for a good cause? Want to play a little basketball,
watch a little basketball and enjoy some good food and drinks all at the
same spot? Then consider taking part in the first-ever Hoops Sagrado
“Celebrity Basketball Tournament” on Friday, March 17, from 7 p.m.
to 10 p.m. at Jelleff Boys and Girls Club just north of Georgetown (3265
S Street, NW).
The tournament will consist of two teams, each featuring a handful of
local and national politicians and local and national members of the
media as well as area-folks who simply love the game of basketball.
After the game, players and fans alike can stick around to watch some
NCAA action and enjoy a pint or two of Guinness and Harp as well as food
from area restaurants. There is a $30 suggested (tax-deductible)
donation at the door, with all proceeds going to Hoops Sagrado, a
nonprofit organization that uses basketball’s ability to connect to
offer DC youths and their Guatemalan indigenous peers a
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build relationships, develop
leadership skills, learn a different culture and language, and gain a
new perspective on life. Through Hoops Sagrado scholarships, the program
also gives Guatemalan indigenous youth the opportunity to gain an
invaluable education and break the cycle of poverty and need so
prevalent in Guatemala’s indigenous communities.
Hoops Sagrado needs to raise $50,000 to carry out this year’s trip
to Guatemala with fifteen DC youths as well as continue supporting the
scholarship program. The organization pays for the cost of airfare,
Spanish immersion classes, room and board with a Guatemalan family
during the stay in Guatemala, and for meals. The Hoops Sagrado
Scholarship program provides cost of tuition, uniforms, and school
supplies for the indigenous Guatemalan teenagers that qualify for the HS
Scholarships. Please contact Bryan Weaver at Sacredhoops@aol.com
or 422-2162 if you are interested in playing in the tournament. Hope to
see you there!
###############
Morehouse Glee Club, March 17
Debra Truhart, debra.truhart@dc.gov
Friday, March 17, 12:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
Library, 901 G Street, NW, Main Lobby. The Morehouse College Glee Club
continues its tradition of performing at the Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Memorial Library while on spring tour. Public contact: 727-1285.
###############
The American Skyscraper and Louis Sullivan,
March 18
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org
Saturday, March 18, 1:00-3:00 p.m., Environmental film festival,
Tall: The American Skyscraper and Louis Sullivan (82 min., 2004) traces
the experiments of the early skyscraper architects, especially Louis
Sullivan, the Chicago architect who pioneered new building forms. His
elegant buildings, some still standing and featured in the film, bear
out his reputation as the father of the skyscraper. Fierce rivals, led
by Daniel Burnham, designer of the Flatiron Building, competed with him.
The film documents the showdown between Louis Sullivan and Daniel
Burnham. Following the screening, filmmaker Manfried Kirchheimer will
engage the audience in a discussion of the film. $5 Museum members and
students; $7 nonmembers. Registration required. For festival
information, visit www.dcenvironmentalfilmfest.org.
At the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square
stop, Metro Red Line. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
###############
Poverty in America and the World, March 22
Michael Andrews, mandrews@udc.edu
The University of the District of Columbia presents an open forum on
Poverty in America and the World: Which Policies Work? on Wednesday,
March 22, at 5:30 p.m., at UDC Windows Lounge, Building 38, second
floor, 4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW (Van Ness-UDC Metro stop on the red
line). The moderator will be Sandra Lawson, coordinator, special events
and protocol; panelists will include Coralie Bryant, professor, Columbia
University; Vinay Bhargava, Director of Operations and International
Relations, World Bank; Angelyne Flowers, professor and codirector of the
Institute for Public Safety and Justice, UDC; Mark Wenner, Senior
Financial Advisor, Inter-American Development Bank, and Rick Rowden,
Policy Officer, Action Aid International.
Please RSVP to Sandra Lawson, slawson@udc.edu,
274-6272; Perita Baxter, pbaxter@udc.edu,
274-6246; or Paul Tennassee, ptennassee@udc.edu,
274-6277.
###############
Town Hall Meeting on Budget Priorities, April
1
Martina Gillis, martina@legalclinic.org
The Fair Budget Coalition is cosponsoring a town hall meeting with
more than a dozen community organizations on Saturday, April 1, 10:30
a.m.-12:30 p.m., at the True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street, NW. This
is an opportunity for community members to share their concerns and also
identify budget priorities for the District of Columbia. Come insert
your voice into the budget process! City department directors and all
council members have been invited. Fun children activities and food
provided; you must RSVP for child care. There will also be a raffle and
door prizes. Contact Martina Gillis, 328-5513 or martina@legalclinic.org.
Also, if you would like to be a cosponsor, please contact Martina.
We are asking cosponsoring organizations to allow your name to appear
on press materials, help publicize the event, attend the town hall and
turn out your base of community members, and donate in-kind support or
financial assistance, if possible.
###############
Renewable Energy Conference, April 6-7
Mike Andrews, mandrews@udc.edu
The Honorable David K. Garman, Under Secretary for Energy, Science,
and Environment, has agreed to deliver the keynote address at the
University of the District of Columbia’s International Conference on
Renewable Energy for Developing Countries 2006, scheduled for April 6-7.
Secretary Garman will deliver the keynote address at 9:00 a.m. on April
6 at the plenary session of the Conference at the Omni Shoreham, Woodley
Park. The conference will provide information on current research and
best practices on sustainable alternative energy sources to improve
quality of life in developing countries. Organized primarily by the
University of the District of Columbia’s School of Engineering and
Applied Sciences, the conference provides a forum for discussion of
topics relevant to the development of renewable energy solutions
throughout the world and in developing countries in particular. Experts
from academia, government and industry will come together at this
conference to evaluate best practices and solutions for feasible,
reliable, and sustainable generation of renewable energy. The program
will also include an Ambassadors’ Panel and an International and
Non-Governmental Forum. Details on the conference, including
registration, sponsors, speakers, and the Advisory Board, can be found
at http://www.icredc.udc.edu.
Secretary Garman is one of many distinguished speakers slated to
address the conference. US Representative Mike Honda (D-CA), ranking
member of the House Energy Subcommittee, will address the conference at
a dinner banquet Friday evening. Mr. Chuck Clinton, Director of the DC
Energy Office, and Dr. Rosenthal-Brendel, a Senior Energy Specialist
from the Energy and Water Department of the World Bank, will also
address the conference. Panel discussions throughout the conference will
explore a wide range of topics related to sustainable alternative energy
sources. The Conference will conclude on April 7 with the inauguration
of the Center of Excellence for Renewable Energy a multidisciplinary
center in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The Center
will be a national and international locus for innovation in the rapidly
growing area of renewable sources — solar, wind, fuel cells, etc.
Additionally, the Center will be a partner in the development of energy
efficient resources and uses for the District and other urban areas. The
conference has received strong support from the District of Columbia
Energy Office. This event will be located on the Cleveland Dennard Plaza
at the University, with transportation provided from the Omni Shoreham
Hotel.
Sponsorship for this first-ever conference is provided by the US
Department of Energy, the District of Columbia Energy Office. BP Solar,
Xantrex, World Council for Renewable Energy, DC Department of Energy,
SkyBuilt Power, Grundfos, and IEEE Society on Social Implications of
Technology. The University welcomes the participation of the public,
government agencies, industry, international and non-governmental
organizations, and foreign mission to the conference. For more
information, contact Mike Andrews, mandrews@udc.edu.
###############
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.