Gambling

Dear Gamblers:

We haven’t written much about the Video Lottery Terminal Gambling Initiative of 2006 in themail, although everything about it is online at http://www.dcwatch.com/election/init20.htm. In fact, we’ve written about it only once, when Dorothy noted in the April 5 issue that the first version had been withdrawn, so here’s an update. The initiative is designed to force the city to issue a license to run a slots casino to the gambling interests that are sponsoring it. These are the same gambling interests that were behind the slots initiative in 2004 but, since they have hired a different local agent to be the proponent of their efforts this time, the DC Board of Elections and Ethics treats the two efforts as though they are not connected in any way. Since early April, the initiative was rewritten to answer the initial concerns expressed by Charlotte Brookins-Hudson, the General Council of the city counsel, and resubmitted to the Board of Elections. The BOEE ruled that it was a proper subject for an initiative, and Dorothy and two Anacostia citizen-activists, Thelma Jones, the president of the Fairlawn Citizens Association, and Anthony Muhammad, the chairman of ANC 8A, appealed that ruling to the Superior Court on three grounds: that the initiative appropriates funds, since it requires the Lottery Board to license and regulate gambling casinos, which forces it to expand significantly; that it concerns administrative matters that cannot be the subject of legislation, since it forces the Lottery Board to issue a license to the initiative’s sponsors; and that it attempts to overturn a federal law. We didn’t know it in 2004, and nobody mentioned it then, but the Johnson Act, the federal law that outlaws gambling devices nationwide, has a specific provision that forbids them in the District of Columbia. While states can opt out of the Johnson Act and legalize gambling, the provision that covers DC has no such opt-out option.

In response to this problem, the sponsors of the slots initiative and the Board of Elections and Ethics argue that the Home Rule Act grants DC a power that no state has — the power to overrule Congress. They argue that the DC city council can overturn, amend, or repeal a federal law if that law applies specifically to the District of Columbia and doesn’t apply nationwide. On the face of it, that claim appears to be outrageous, and we think it is based on a complete misreading of the Home Rule Act, but the BOEE and the initiative’s lawyers have actually found two court cases from the 1980’s that agree with them, and Judge Judith Retchin of the Superior Court, without even holding a hearing, upheld their motions to dismiss the complaint against their finding the initiative to be a proper subject for an initiative. Dorothy, Ms. Jones, and Mr. Muhammad immediately filed a notice of appeal with the DC Court of Appeals, and filed a motion for a stay of the order. Judge Retchin turned down the motion for stay yesterday, and yesterday the motion for a stay was immediately refiled in the DC Court of Appeals.

Today, in an extraordinary and unprecedented action, the Board of Elections issued petitions for the Video Lottery Terminal Gambling Initiative. In its entire history, the BOEE had never before issued petitions while a matter was under appeal -- and certainly never while a motion for a stay was pending. Yet it justified its action by claiming that it was required by simple fairness, which must mean that it had been unfair to all past initiative proponents by not issuing petitions before the question of whether the initiative presented a proper subject for an initiative had been fully and finally adjudicated.

To me, however, the most interesting question is what happens if Dorothy, Ms. Jones, and Mr. Muhammad lose in the DC Court of Appeals, and if that Court finds that the city council indeed has preeminent power over Congress when it comes to federal laws concerning the District. Statehood advocates would have to rethink their position, for who would then want to be reduced to the much lesser powers a state has? We could start by overturning the Johnson Act, go on to overturning the federal prohibition against spending DC funds on lobbying for statehood, proceed to rescinding the federal prohibition against paying for the shadow Senator and Representative positions, and then take on all the other things that annoy Congress. Don’t like the school voucher program that Congress passed? The city council could stop it. Want the District to fund abortions or establish needle exchange programs for drug addicts? There’s no reason to fear Congressional opposition, because Congress would have no power over us. The city council could legalize gay marriages, and Congress couldn’t do anything about it unless it wanted to pass a Federal Marriage Act outlawing gay marriages nationally. Life, as I said to Dorothy after the BOEE meeting, life in DC is always interesting.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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Eleanor Holmes Norton and the Boathouse
Larry Seftor, larry_seftor.the757@zoemail.net

I’m concerned about the plan of the National Park Service (NPS) to provide public land on the C&O Canal to Georgetown University for a private boathouse and exercise facility (see http://www.savethecanal.org). I would have hoped that Eleanor Holmes Norton would speak up against this pending travesty by the NPS, but learned that she teaches at Georgetown (a fact confirmed on her web site). This is a classic conflict of interest, as Georgetown gets federal funds and is subject to a wide array of legislation. My experience is in the sheltered world of government contracting, where such a conflict of interest would never be allowed, either by self-imposed ethics standards or by the government contracting officers who manage our contracts. It turns out that Congress has rules that regulate outside employment, including teaching, by members of Congress. To make a long story short, there are nine criteria that Norton must satisfy to teach, the ninth of which is the self certification that there is no “significant potential for a conflict of interest.” I assert that in the case of the boathouse and the NPS there is not just the potential for a conflict of interests, but an actual conflict. The deal the NPS and Georgetown are pursuing pits Norton’s interests based on her association with Georgetown against the interests of the non-Georgetown constituents she serves in Congress. Therefore, I call on Ms. Norton to remove this conflict, either by resigning from Georgetown or resigning from Congress. The standards of the House of Representatives Committee on Standards of Official Conduct require no less.

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Fifty-Three Tanks of Oil Found Under Ballpark Site
Ed Delaney, profeddel@yahoo.com

From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/07/AR2006060702062.html: “The DCSEC board voted to spend $2.9 million in contingencies to help remediate unexpected environmental problems at the site after workers found 53 unreported tanks of oil under the soil.” Barely highlighted and left out of several versions of the Post’s story of the Lerner group’s cost-cutting power play that will stick garages where a sight line was supposed to be was the disturbing but sadly predictable news that significant environmental hazards exist at the site. The careful estimations of environmental remediation from Natwar Gandhi, Mark Tuohey, the mayor, and several council members were based on assurances that no significant environmental contamination or hazard existed at the current site while they erroneously and transparently jacked their cost estimates at the site they didn’t want (RFK Stadium) due to remediation costs at that site, despite extensive testing done at the RFK Stadium site in 1993 and no significant testing done at the current site due to existing structures. Yet even the privately conducted testing uncovered not one, not two, but fifty-three unreported tanks of oil under the soil. One has to wonder what an independent and comprehensive environmental impact study conducted there, as it was at the RFK Stadium site, would find.

Unfortunately, those boosting the ballpark project will not be eager to find out; both Jack Kent Cooke and the city resisted independent and comprehensive testing until public pressure from a coalition of environmental groups and citizens brought it about and finally let everyone know what we were dealing with at the RFK Stadium site, which was $8 million worth of remediation for lead contamination. As those rightly concerned about the current stadium site pointed out time and again, cost uncertainty has become an issue at the site due to a host of concerns including the environmental one given its previous industrial uses and proximity to the Anacostia watershed. With the Lerner group’s obsession with trampling all barriers to an April 2008 opening along the Brigade’s propensity to obscure key fiscal facts concerning the real costs of the ballpark project, there will be more resistance than ever to any effort to get to the truth, since it might cost the Brigade some coin and some time. Nevertheless, this testing has to occur due to the ballpark project’s potential to wreak more real environmental harm to our region and beyond than any other city project in the modern era. Before, we were talking in abstracts; now, we’re talking about documentation of dozens of environmental hazards and who knows how many others. This is not some minor code issue; this is as big as it gets environmentally.

The real concern now as it was in 1993 is getting the proper testing done before the ballpark project proceeds any further at the current site. Only a project where agendas are so clearly held by key members of the DC government from the mayor to his appointed heads of departments and many members of the DC council could the uncovering of such a massive level of contamination at a site directly adjacent to the river not lead to banner headlines in the media and impassioned outcries for stoppage of construction and further study from even the most environmentally passive citizens. (I’m hoping that still occurs once enough citizens find out what’s being perpetrated.) For the Post to mention this critical finding only once in passing and not again in subsequent days, and to actually have the item edited out of some versions of the story, fits in with the pattern established beyond doubt over several years of apparent complicity with the Brigade to get the ballpark deal done and keep the negative news at a minimum until it’s too late for anything to be done about it. I really hope that enough people will be concerned to the degree that is needed because this isn’t something that we can afford to leave unaddressed.

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Nader Calls for Environmental Impact Statement at Stadium Site
Shawn McCarthy, shawn@essential.org

[An open letter from Ralph Nader to Mayor Williams] Your Administration can no longer ignore the significant environmental hazards that exist at the construction site for the proposed new baseball stadium. On June 8, 2006 the Washington Post reported a major discovery of 53 tanks of oil under the soil at the stadium site that has caused $2.9 million extra to be spent on environmental cleanup. This troubling level of contamination is only the beginning and I renew my request, with increased urgency, for you to call for a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) at the stadium site.

Given the site’s proximity to the Anacostia waterfront, the varied uses of the land -- including industrial uses - in its history, and the ballpark project’s potential to wreak serious environmental harm, it’s time for you to give taxpayers an accurate assessment of the costs for building a stadium at the current site. From the beginning, you have sought to establish tight control of this important environmental matter. With the help of your appointed city planners, the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission leadership, and Chief Financial Officer, the Williams Administration has continually provided assurances that no significant environmental contamination or hazard exists at the stadium site. However, as of June 8, 2006 — after just two weeks of digging -- the cost of environmental cleanup has swelled 30 percent over the environmental cost estimate provided by a private firm that was hired by the city for $420,000. In the DC council appropriations hearing on June 12, 2006, Councilmember David Catania called this environmental cost estimate “a sham.” Indeed, all signs point to a “yes-men” firm hired to produce a favorable estimate in order to avoid cost caps and gain Council approval for the project.

Mr. Mayor, the proper testing must be done. Please do not undermine the well-being of the citizens and the environment to make up for past mistakes concerning this stadium. You can not allow the cost uncertainty of the project, your Administration’s propensity to obscure the real costs, or the Lerner group’s drive to an April 2008 opening to mask the environmental hazards at the stadium site. I look forward to your response, and a forthcoming Environmental Impact Statement.

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July 4th Trash Collection Schedule
Mary Myers, mary.myers@dc.gov

In observance of Independence Day, Tuesday, July 4, the Department of Public Works offices will be closed and all services are deferred for the day. All sanitation services, parking rules, and enforcement resume Wednesday, July 5.

If you have DPW collection service, setting out trash and recyclables after a public holiday is easy. Just remember to “slide.” Now, all city trash and recyclables collection slides one day following the holiday. Let’s say your normal collection day is Tuesday. Since Independence Day falls on a Tuesday this year, your trash will be collected on Wednesday; Wednesday’s trash day will then slide to Thursday; Thursday’s trash will be picked up on Friday, and Friday collections will be made on Saturday. In the past, the post-holiday trash collection schedule was staggered, with one schedule for residents in once-a-week collection (Supercan) areas, and another schedule for households (with mini-Supercans) in twice-a-week collection neighborhoods. Now the routes have been harmonized allowing uniform trash and recycling collection citywide.

The District government observes eleven legal holidays. On these holidays, District government offices are closed and most services are suspended for the day. Unless informed of a schedule change, residents can expect that there is no city trash and recyclables collection; no street and alley cleaning; no sanitation enforcement; no nuisance abatement, towing, or abandoned vehicle removal; no DPW parking enforcement, including meters, residential, and rush hour lane restrictions on these days. For more information, visit the DPW web site at http://www.dpw.dc.gov and select “Holiday Schedule” on the home page.

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Roving Youth
Charlotte Drummond, Gangplank Slipholders Association, charlottedrummond@gmail.com

A slipholder at Gangplank Marina reported a band of ten to twelve young men walking along the waterfront promenade behind Channel Inn throwing rocks at him as he walked along the dock at 9 p.m. on Sunday. They taunted him as he turned to see what was going on and continued to throw rocks after he continued on his way, until they finally hit his arm. He made it home to his boat without serious injury and chose not to call the police. He estimated their ages at 12-16 years old.

There is no way to know now if these were local youth or tourists passing time before they got back on a bus to head home. Either way, the escalation of violent events in SW is alarming. I would urge residents to stay alert and call the police as soon as possible to report such occurrences.

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Comment on the Children’s Budget Report
Susie Cambria, scambria@dckids.org

Last year, the city council mandated that the Mayor present with his FY 2007 budget proposal a Children’s Budget Report. This is the first year that such a report of funding for children and youth has been done in the District of Columbia. DC Action for Children was part of a group of advocates and government officials who developed the first Children’s Budget Report. In fact, the idea for the children’s budget was that of DC ACT and shared with the Council during budget hearings last year. DC Action for Children will be sharing our views of the first ever Children’s Budget Report with Mayor Williams and his staff — all in an effort to make the FY 2008 iteration better. But we need and want to share your views, too. So please take this short survey so we can provide the most complete comments to the Mayor later this month. There are two links you can use to get to the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=942422183270 or http://tinyurl.com/kndxm. The deadline is June 19.

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Write to a Foe of DC Voting Rights
Andy Catanzaro, Stamp Act Congress, catanzaroa@gmail.com

Congresswoman Candice Miller wrote in Human Events that the “DC Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act” (HR 5388), sponsored by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC) and Rep. Tom Davis (Virginia) is unconstitutional and insupportable. I urge everyone to write her and give her the facts directly about the constitutionality of the bill. Or if you favor another solution, send it to her, as she does not make any statements about how to solve our voting rights issue.

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Tommy Wells and the Hatch Act
Kenan Jarboe, kenan.jarboe@verizon.net

As chairman of Tommy Wells’ campaign for the DC city council, I would like to respond to the issue raised by Alexander Padro concerning the Hatch Act. The Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel has never issued an opinion on the application of the Hatch Act to school board members. Furthermore, since the inception of Home Rule, it has always been the custom and practice in the District of Columbia for school board members to run for city council — from Marion Barry in 1972 through Council Chair Linda Cropp, right up to William Lockridge in the last election. Mr. Padro’s interpretation could potentially have far-reaching implications for virtually every elected and appointed DC official, including a number of candidates in the current elections. Before we jump to any conclusions, I believe we need to carefully consider the those implications and the wisdom of applying the Hatch Act to elected and appointed officials in the District of Columbia. If there is a contrary ruling by the Office of Special Counsel concerning school board members, our campaign will, at that time, determine whether or not to challenge this affront to Home Rule and common sense.

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ANC6D’s Hatching a Questionable Egg
Lea Adams, Southwest Waterfront, workinprogress247@mac.com

Hatched ANC commissioners and DC Board of Education Member Tommy Wells? You can’t prove it by me! I’ve received two invitations to a Ward 6 event for Tommy Wells, both from Commissioner Max Skolnik at anc6d.org. The first says “we” are having a "meet and greet" and the second is identified as a “Southwest Community Reception.” Frankly, I’m disappointed that Max has chosen to use his office for a blatant endorsement of Wells’ candidacy, and I’m relieved that other Ward 6 ANCs have not followed suit. As a citizen who believes in and respects the ANC process, I think this is not the most appropriate use of their time and influence.

With the tacit blessing of Sharon Ambrose, who has succeeded in dividing this Ward along racial and economic lines to everyone’s disservice, I was already inclined not to support Wells. When I heard him take credit for many "accomplishments" of the current school board, and add that there’s still "a lot to be done," my question was, why doesn’t he stay and finish the job? You don’t begin renovating a house full of children and then abandon them to move into bigger house!

This Hatch Act stuff is the last straw. I don’t think ANCs should be Hatched, but the law says they are, until and unless OSC changes its position. Are we expected to vote Wells into our only legislative body if he ignores the rules?

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Jonathan Rees and Same-Sex Adoptions
Tanya Washington, Tmwash70@yahoo.com

[Re: Jonathan Rees’ comments advocating a referendum on adoptions by same-sex couples over legislative action, themail, June 11] While decision making by referendum may make sense in many cases, his advocacy of voter referendum over Council action regarding same-sex adoptions would have the effect of subjecting people’s rights to majority opinion. Individual rights are intended to speak to larger issues beyond the temperature of the public at any given time, such as fairness and protection against discrimination. As an African-American and a woman who has important rights that were gained through legislative action, I am very hesitant always to rely on majority opinion to determine individual rights. For example, I doubt all public schools would have been legally desegregated in 1957 if that decision had been left solely to voter referendums. With regards to Mr. Rees’ exhortations against councilmembers’ listening to “special interests” as opposed to voters on this issue, the members of these "special interest groups" are also voters whose lives would be directly affected by this decision. Finally, whether this decision is made by Council action or referendum, if it passes we still run the risk of Congress stepping in and repealing it, which has happened in the past with other voter referendums.

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Same-Sex Adoptions
Paul Dionne, news at paul dionne dot com

I would like candidate Jonathan Reese to tell us why he has singled gay people out regarding DC’s adoption laws. Have there been referenda extending the right to adopt children to black people? Hispanics? Women? People with disabilities? Did we ever have a referendum allowing interracial adoptions? Why are people in same-sex relationships any different and singled out?

Perhaps while he is at it he can explain to us how Congress was looking out for the will of the District voter when it blocked the counting of ballots, and later the implementation of, the Medical Marijuana initiative that passed a few years ago. Did Congress save us from our evil legislators when the council overturned the term-limits initiative? Is he really so naive to believe that Congress cares about the District voter? Adopting a child is not an easy process. Potential parents, as well as every other adult living in the house, have to go through background checks. Furthermore, potential parents have to prove that they can support the child financially, take parenting classes and undergo a home inspection. Our society would probably be better off if every parent had to go through this process.

Adoption is about the best interest of the child and should remain that way. Each child goes to the best possible parent(s) available. If those opposed to same-sex adoption believe that gay people are not fit to be parents, then perhaps they ought to put themselves in the adoption queue. Instead they argue that we ought to reduce our pool of potential adoptive parents and thereby let children languish in foster care instead of being placed with permanent parents. The truth is that those opposed to same-sex adoption are about sound bites and hate. They know that they can score a few victories with sound bites that play on people’s fears, but the reality is that they can’t find any substantive arguments for their positions.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Fort Stanton Park Father’s Day Ceremonies, June 17
Ava Harrison, avaharrison@rootinc.org

The Calvin Woodland Foundation and ROOT present the 2006 fifth annual Father’s Day commemoration ceremonies parade and picnic at Fort Stanton Park in southeast Washington, DC (18th and Erie Place, SE). Saturday, June 17. Community parade, 10 a.m.; picnic 12 p.m.-until. There will be free food, live musical entertainment, children’s activities, information from various social services, and speakers.

Join us as we ask for a moratorium on murder across the corridor. We need volunteers and food donations. We welcome social service organizations’ participation. Please contact Ava Harrison, 332-ROOT, avaharrison@aol.com.

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Annual Hillcrest Garden Tour, June 17
Michelle Phipps-Evans, invisiblecolours@yahoo.com

The thirteenth annual Hillcrest garden tour will start at the East Washington Heights Baptist Church at 2200 Branch Avenue, SE. This year’s theme is curb appeal. The tour guides will point out interesting features about the homeowners, the homes, and the gardens during the one-hour-and-a-half tour.

As an added bonus this year, the garden tour committee will conduct a curb appeal demonstration at the home of Tuskegee Airman Curtis Christopher Robinson, one of Hillcrest’s distinguished residents. Following the tour, all visitors are invited to a gallery reception at 2132 Branch Avenue, SE, where light fare will be served and works by artists from east Washington will be displayed. Professional art consultant Sharon Burton will be available to discuss the artists and their work.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 the day of the event. Meet at the East Washington Heights Baptist Church at 2200 Branch Avenue, SE, on the corner of Alabama and Branch Avenues, SE. Saturday, June 17, at 11 a.m. To purchase tickets and for more information, please contact Mary Hammond at 582-3059 or Kathy Chamberlain at 581-8272. To reserve your ticket for $10, E-mail GardenTour@HillcrestDC.com by June 14 and give your name and the number of tickets you wish to reserve.

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Sixteenth Street Heights Yard/Estate Sale, June 17
Beverly Lewis-Koch, blewis.koch@verizon.net

Two of the largest 16th Street Heights Civic Associations are cosponsoring a joint yard/estate sale. We are seeking vendors to sell items with flair. On the lawn of Simpson-Hamlin Church at 16th and Allison Streets, NW, Saturday, June 17, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The fee for outside vendors is $25. Vendors must provide their own tables and chairs. Contact Beverly if you are interested, 882-0879, blewis.koch@verizon.net.

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National Building Museum Events, June 18-19
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org

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

Sunday, June 18, Part 1, 1:00-2:30 p.m.; Part 2, 2:45-4:00 p.m. Film: Frank Lloyd Wright. This two-part film (1998) produced by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick depicts Frank Lloyd’s Wright career and life of 92 years. The screening complements the exhibition Prairie Skyscraper: Frank Lloyd’s Wright Price Tower. Free. Registration not required.

Monday, June 19, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Lecture: Pinwheel on the Prairie: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower. Frank Lloyd Wright designed several skyscrapers, but the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, is the only one ever constructed. The 19-story, 57,000-square-foot high rise, incorporating office, retail, and residential space, served as the corporate headquarters for the H.C. Price Company. The iconic building was designed to resemble a tree in form and function, with branch-like, cantilevered floors that “broke the box” of conventional construction. Anthony Alofsin -- professor of art and art history at the University of Texas at Austin, guest-curator of the exhibition Prairie Skyscraper: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower, and editor of the accompanying catalog of the same name — will discuss Wright’s use of “rotational geometry” as the key to understanding the form of the building. Following the lecture, Dr. Alofsin will sign copies of the catalog (Rizzoli). $12 Museum members; $17 nonmembers; $10 students. Registration required.

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DC Public Library Events, June 19-20
Debra Truhart, debra.truhart@dc.gov

Monday, June 19, 10:30 a.m., Juanita E. Thornton/Shepherd Park Neighborhood Library, 7420 Georgia Avenue, NW. Derek Riley, “Mr. Derby,” provides an engaging and moving song and dance experience. Ages 2-8. Public contact: 541-6100.

Tuesday, June 20, 10:30 a.m., Washington Highlands Neighborhood Library, 115 Atlantic Street, SW.
Derek Riley, “Mr. Derby,” provides an engaging and moving song and dance experience. Ages 2-8. Public contact: 645-5880.
Tuesday, June 20, 12:00 p.m., West End Neighborhood Library, 1101 24th Street, NW. West End Book Club. Book discussion of The Reluctant Tuscan by Phil Doran. Adults. Public contact: 724-8707.
Tuesday, June 20, 1:30 p.m., Kindercise. Parklands-Turner Community Library, 1600 Alabama Avenue, SE. Kindercise. John “Kinderman” Taylor, a superhero of song, dance and rhyme, encourages learning and a sense of self-worth. Ages 3-7. Public contact: 698-1103.
June 20-28. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Main Lobby. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Thursday, 3-7 p.m. Books Plus, The Library Store, is presenting its summer sale of 20-50 percent off all greeting cards, note cards, new books, postcards, posters, and gift items. Proceeds from the sale support the DC Public Library. Public contact: 727-0321.

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Reception for Tommy Wells, June 20
Naomi Monk, nmonk10501@aol.com

Manny Fernandez invites you to a southwest community reception for Tommy Wells, Democratic candidate, DC city council, Ward 6, Tuesday evening, June 20, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at the Channel Inn, 650 Water Street, SW (corner of Maine Avenue and 7th Street, SW). Meet our next city councilmember, share your ideas and concerns for making Southwest a more livable and walkable community, and find out why Tommy deserves your vote in the September 12 primary. Come and bring your friends! Free hors d’oeuvres, cash bar. For further information, visit http://www.WellsforWard6.com. Paid for by Wells for Ward 6, David Sheldon, Treasurer, 512 8th Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003.

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Community Dialogue on HIV/AIDS with Marie Johns, June 27
Kilin Boardman-Schroyer, kschroyer@dc-cares.org

DC Fights Back! and Greater DC Cares’ Citizen Academy will host the second in its community dialogue on HIV/AIDS series. Join us on June 27, National HIV Testing Day, as DC mayoral candidate Marie Johns meets with key stakeholders from the community and the public at large to dialogue about HIV/AIDS and its impact on the greater DC community. Statistics have shown that Washington, DC, has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection of any major city in the country, with one out of twenty residents estimated to be HIV positive. What’s more, studies show that HIV disproportionately affects African Americans and has gotten so out of control in the metropolitan area that some have suggested declaring the District of Columbia in a state of disaster.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the event will start promptly at 6:00 p.m. and will go to 7:30 p.m. Opening remarks will be provided by Johns and she will then engage in a dialogue with members of the communities most affected by HIV/AIDS. All District residents will be encouraged to share their own, personal experiences with the disease. This in no way is an endorsement of any mayoral candidate, rather it is a series which hopes to bring all candidates to the table one at a time to discuss this crucial topic. This program is free and open to the public — but reservations are required! To register, for information on event location, or for more information, contact Kilin Boardman-Schroyer, 777-4457 or kschroyer@dc-cares.org.

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CLASSIFIEDS — VOLUNTEERS

DC Emergency Radio Network Looking for Volunteers
Bill Adler, billonline@adlerbooks.com

The DC Emergency Radio Network is looking for volunteer communications specialists. The DC Emergency Radio Network uses inexpensive FRS and GMRS radios to communicate during an emergency. These radios, which have a range of 1/2 to 5 miles, can be purchased at numerous area stores and are easy to use. FRS and GMRS radios are those little walkie-talkie type radios you frequently see families with at the beach or Disneyworld. (And that gives you an idea of how easy they are to use.) The DC Emergency Radio Network works even when cell phones, land line phones, and the Internet are down. DCERN Communications Specialists are the backbone of our emergency communications network: communications specialists are DCERN members who are certain (or nearly so) to be on the air during an emergency.

While hundreds of people in the Washington, DC, area are part of the DC Emergency Radio Network, it’s important to have a core of DCERN members who can ensure that there’s a critical mass of people on the air during an emergency, so that no matter where you are, there will be somebody to talk to. There’s no training needed to become a DCERN communications specialist, but I do have guidelines that I can E-mail to you, or which you can download from http://www.dcradio.org/comm.html. More material will be prepared for DCERN Communications Specialists soon.

If you’re interested in being a DCERN communications specialist, or learning more about DCERN, please E-mail or call me at 986-9275. There’s more information at http://www.dcradio.org and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dcern.

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