What Works Well
Dear Workers:
Two updates and a reader request. In the last issue of themail, June
14, I tried, unsuccessfully, to be brief in describing the legal
problems with the Video Lottery Terminal Gambling Initiative of 2006,
Initiative 69, best known as the slots initiative. But in trying to be
brief, I obviously left out some necessary details. One very well placed
and informed lawyer wrote to point out that the DC council already had
the power to overturn a host of laws that had been passed by Congress.
When DC gained Home Rule and the laws Congress had written for the
District were incorporated in the DC Code, the city council was granted
the power to amend or repeal almost all the provisions in the DC Code,
whether they were originally passed by Congress or were later additions
by the city council. That’s true. But the Board of Elections is saying
something broader than that, and the Superior Court’s order in our
lawsuit agreed with the BOEE. The BOEE is claiming that the city council
can amend, overturn, or repeal any section of the US Code, any federal
law, if that law applies specifically to the District and doesn’t
apply nationwide. That gives the city council plenary power over
Congress, or, rather, it sets up a hall of mirrors situation, in which
Congress can pass any law regarding the District, the city council can
overturn or repeal Congress’ law, Congress can then overturn or repeal
the city council’s action, the city council can then overturn
Congress, and so on endlessly. We fully agree that Congress gave the
city council the right to play with the DC Code as much as it wants, but
we can’t believe that Congress intended to grant, or even
inadvertently granted, the city council the power to overturn federal
laws.
By the way, we haven’t been able to locate any petition circulators
on the street trying to get signatures to promote the slots initiative.
The initiative’s proponents have only until July 10 to collect about
19,000 legitimate signatures of DC registered voters, so we should be
seeing them everywhere around town. If you find them, please write me
and let me know where they are collecting signatures. Two years ago, a
number of petition circulators misrepresented what the petitions were
— they claimed they were supporting an entertainment project, or
claimed the petition was against opening a slots casino, or even claimed
that the petition was a contest to win a car. If you encounter this kind
of deception from a petition circulator, please take down all the
details of where and when you were approached and what the
misrepresentation was, E-mail it to the Board of Elections and Ethics at
boee@dc.gov, and send us a copy of your
complaint.
Second update: Washington City Paper editor Eric Wemple won’t
be going to New York to edit the Village Voice. He was offered
the job and accepted it, but then decided to say where he is. The New
Times media company, which owns the Voice, explained his decision
with this strangely mixed metaphor: “The Voice is an enormous
and complex horse race. We asked Erik to mount several ponies
mid-stride, and he was alarmed to find us still in several of those
saddles.” (http://www.gawker.com/news/village-voice/breaking-new-voice-eic-erik-wemple-quits-before-he-starts-181133.php)
And here’s the reader request. Ernesto Gluecksman, ernesto@infamia.com,
writes: “I have been receiving your newsletter for some years now. How
about telling us what you think is working in DC for a change?” Well,
I could say that’s not my job, but perhaps you have some suggestions.
What’s working well in your opinion?
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
What Good Is a Big Central Library?
Victoria McKernan, victoriamck@mindspring.com
“What good are libraries” is actually an easy question to answer.
The benefits of public libraries have been clear for centuries. By
providing truly unlimited and free access to all the knowledge in the
world to anyone who wants it, libraries are more essential to liberty,
community, spirituality, and happiness than any church, congress or
university can ever be. There has been a lot of debate lately about
plans for the new central library. They all sound pretty grand, with all
the soaring atriums and so on, but is anyone thinking that maybe we
should reconsider the whole idea of even having a big central library?
In what way would a big central library better serve this city’s
population than improving existing neighborhood branch libraries, adding
a dozen more, and maybe even throwing in a small fleet of bookmobiles?
I grew up in a library culture, going at least once a week from
toddlerhood, but many of our city’s residents, for a variety of
reasons, never visit a library. I know many people who live within three
blocks of a library and don’t even know it’s there. It doesn’t
matter how grand a building the central library might be, a busy mom in
Petworth is probably not going to haul her three kids downtown on the
metro to go to it very often. But she might love the chance to stroller
them a few blocks away to their cozy neighborhood library. Whether or
not the Martin Luther King, Jr., library remains in its current
building, bored adolescents in Anacostia are not going to spend forty
minutes on two buses to go downtown and admire the architectural
elements. But if there is a welcoming branch on the way home from
school, with dynamic community programs and devoted librarians ready to
help them find interesting books, they just might decide to check it
out. I always pick up books at yard sales for neighborhood kids, and
they are as excited as Christmas morning. Imagine if a bookmobile showed
up at their local playground once a week!
So, who exactly would this grand and extremely expensive new library
be for exactly? There are plenty of meeting rooms, performance spaces,
and writer’s centers in this city, not to mention coffee bars and gift
shops. You can go to a free author reading in a bookstore every night of
the week. Why do we need these facilities in a big central library? Has
anyone actually studied how people use our libraries now? Pleasure
reading? Research? Internet access? Technology and information delivery
methods have changed dramatically. I would wager that nine out of ten
high school students today have never even held a bound encyclopedia in
their hands, nor would really ever need to fulfill assignments. But how
awful to miss the sweet serendipity of flipping through the pages in
search of one thing and tumbling across some other unsuspected
fascination? With Wikipedia three clicks away, are they really going to
make a special trip to a downtown library to browse the pages of Encyclopedia
Britannica? But what if they went to a poetry slam at their
neighborhood library, and while there, happened to see that long row of
leather-bound tomes and just pick one up in curiosity?
The most enormous central library in the world cannot hold enough
resources for those doing specialized research. And Washington is a
unique city in that there are so many specialized libraries and archives
available. As a novelist, I’ve probably done research in twenty
different libraries, archives, and association collections, from the
National Library of Medicine to most recently, the American Indian
Museum. Even if MLK were a pleasant place to visit and work in, it is
impossible to duplicate the resources already available elsewhere, and
ridiculous to try. It may be the perfect place to house the DC
historical collections, but I’m not convinced that we need a new
multi-million dollar showplace facility to do that. We need to reexamine
the role of libraries and focus on the ways they can continue to help
develop a love of reading, encourage exploration of the world and
empower people with knowledge. If someone can tell me how that is better
done with a grand new central library while our neighborhood libraries
crumble with leaky roofs and obsolete collections, I’m willing to
listen.
###############
Tsk, Tsk
Ed T. Barron, edtb@macdotcom
Tsk, tsk. That’s the equivalent of police Chief Ramsey’s reaction
to yet another cold blooded killing of a youth in Washington, DC. His
actual words, as reported in Friday’s Post, were, “It’s a
very disturbing trend.” Just another tsk, tsk, huh, Chuck? How about
cracking down on the increase in violent and major crime in the city
instead of sitting on your fat butt and watching the trends.
###############
The current councilmanic races in Wards 3 and 5 should convince
anyone who wasn’t already convinced of the need for either a second,
run-off round of voting in this city or a preferential -- or so-called
instant run-off -- balloting procedure if we are to stick with a single,
all-or-nothing round of elections. As things stand now, a candidate with
potentially as few as 1,000 votes could be elected councilmember for
Ward 5, where thirteen candidates are currently campaigning. In Ward 3,
possibly as few as 4,000 votes could be enough to send someone to the
Wilson Building. While it is encouraging to see so many citizens
stepping forward to run for these elective offices, the very civic
benefits of having so many candidates for local office get vitiated, if
not completely nullified, when the electoral process is so archaic and
inaccurate. Never mind the ongoing issue of deciding whether to vote for
the candidate you really support and, often, risking throwing your vote
away, or going with the lesser of the (many) evils and voting for the
candidate that you don’t support but that you think might actually be
elected.
I don’t pretend that either two-round balloting or IRV [instant
runoff voting] will completely solve either of these problems. To
paraphrase the old saw, the only solution to the imperfections of
electoral democracy is more imperfect electoral democracy. But, to me
anyway, either two-round balloting or IRV is almost a no-brainer. And,
whether you agree with me or not now, think about this again after the
Democratic primaries this fall. You might also want to remember that,
had we had either two-round balloting or IRV back in 1978, a certain
very controversial mayor might never have been elected. Of course, the
flip side to that is that, twelve years later, another mayor probably
also would not have been elected.
Either way, the time has long since come for the District of Columbia
to catch up to advanced democracies like Peru, Papua New Guinea,
Namibia, and Azania (South Africa) and stop dismissing the votes of
citizens who vote their convictions and not their conveniences. Who
knows? If we had a balloting/electoral system worthy of all these people
who are now coming forward to stand for election, we might even generate
enough interest in these elective offices to actually motivate more
citizens to validate the process and actually vote. A great
informational web site for what I am advocating here is http://www.fairvote.org.
###############
A while back, I said that the Nationals baseball team needed a Jackie
Robinson to excite the fans and draw in the DC resident sports fans to
RFK. Well, guess what? They have a modern day Jackie Robinson. He’s
Alfonso Soriano and he is the most exciting ballplayer on the Nats and
perhaps one of the most exciting in the National League. The really bad
news is that there is a very high probability that the Nats will trade
Soriano to get some young prospects. When you have a star you should
keep him and build a team around him.
###############
Adoption by Same Sex (Or Any) Families
Susan Punnett, susan@kidsave.org
If energy and passion are going to be focused on the issue of
adoption, please let’s make the focus the many children who need
adoptive families. Currently in the District there are three hundred
children in foster care who are waiting for a family to step forward to
adopt them. (At least as many more have no plans to be adopted but will
age out of foster care and be expected to live on there own.)
Organizations such as Kidsave are working to help these young people
find families. We welcome the involvement of anyone who was the interest
and commitment to help us help our children.
###############
The majority of people in Ward 3 who have expressed their opinions on
this subject matter to me, as a candidate for public office, would
rather this issue be decided by a vote of all voters than by our city
council, and this, not my own views on the issue, was the basis for my
comments. While the arguments favoring same sex adoption by Tanya
Washington and Paul Dionne [themail, June 14] are quite valid, these
nice people are just two of the many voices I hear, whereas I have heard
voices on the other end opposed to same sex adoption, with a long list
of reasons. The pros and cons of same sex adoption and who should decide
is split everywhere in this country and not just inside the District.
The reason I addressed the issues of same sex adoption is that it is
an issue on the table. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has
forewarned us that this issue, as well as sex-sex marriage, could
trigger Congress not just to reject it if it were passed by the DC City
Council. It could also push them to amend our Home Rule Act to prevent
us in the future from deciding such matters.
The point I was trying to make is that we in the District are far
more liberal than people outside the District; we are confronted with a
Congress that is quite conservative. There is a perception in Congress
that the majority of people in the District do not agree with same sex
adoption. Maybe, if same-sex adoption were passed by a referendum, that
might be persuasive enough for Congress to accept the will of the
majority. Otherwise, it would veto a law passed by the District allowing
same-sex adoption.
###############
When Is Being Young a Bad Thing?
Leo Alexander, Ward 4, Leo_alexander1@yahoo.com
For the last week, since I checked the voting record of the two
front-runners (Linda Cropp and Adrian Fenty) challenging for the office
of mayor, I’ve been trying to figure out what would make a black man
in a majority black city vote against Emancipation Day. I couldn’t
imagine a Jewish American voting against anything pertaining to the
Holocaust, and that’s exactly what the American slave trade is to
those of us of African American descent. I am completely stumped by this
one. The only answer I can possible give is that Fenty is young. Which
means he simply doesn’t know any better. After I wrote about this last
week, in The Slight That Must Be Answered, I received some very
interesting feedback. One was from an individual who was instrumental in
the planning of DC’s events surrounding the Emancipation Day parade,
“Not only did Fenty vote No on the holiday, but he later insisted on
being included in the events and parade!” Now I ask you, is that
youthful innocence or just plan stupidity?
Adrian is thirty-four years old. You would think that by that age, he
would have a clear understanding on the historical significance of such
a day. Somehow this was lost on the young candidate. His age is an issue
because when his supporters speak of him, one of the first things they
say is that he’s young and has the stamina the job requires. If you
didn’t know any better, you would think they were talking about the
next great Redskins’ prospect, not a mayoral candidate. His supporters
stress his youth, because aside from the school modernization plan,
their two-term city council member doesn’t have much to show for his
seven years in office. Even they know it takes more than a briefcase
filled with constituent service actions to run the nation’s capital.
The other thing they tout is that he looks mayoral. Granted, nice
picture, but it’s all style and very little substance.
We will be going to the polls September 12 essentially to hire the
next chief executive of our multi-billion dollar business, District
government. Just think for a moment, if you were a voting board member
of a multi-billion dollar conglomerate with an international brand and a
freshly achieved A-1 credit rating, would you entrust this to a person
with a resume that screams youthful lapses in judgment over a candidate
with thirty years of unblemished experience? Unless this fictional
company was designing the latest video gaming technology, experience
should win every time. I don’t know about you, but when I think of a
big city mayor, I envision a seasoned individual who has lived a full
and productive life. I want a person who has been through a couple of
wars, and has the scars to prove it. I want a person who hasn’t
concentrated their entire professional life on positioning themselves to
be mayor, but instead can show a proud record of legitimate achievements
(Fenty being censured by the DC Bar wasn’t exactly their vote of
confidence). The last thing I want in a mayor is someone young and
historically naïve, who fails to grasp the ramifications of voting
against Emancipation Day. It makes you wonder, which constituency was he
pandering to with his infamous No vote? I dare say it wasn’t anyone
who looks or thinks like me.
###############
A Wing and a Prayer
Jonetta Rose Barras, rosebook1@aol.com
This week, Mayor Anthony A. Williams will mark the official beginning
of summer with his cannon ball dive in the pool at Turkey Thicket
recreation center. Seems ironic that his honor will travel to the spot
in the city where one citizen has been barred from the facility without
the benefit of a hearing to clear his name and to address what his
supporters say are false allegations made by a Department of Parks and
Recreation staffer. An advisory neighborhood commissioner has pleaded,
in writing, with Department of Parks and Recreation Director Kimberley
Flowers to conduct a hearing in the case. Flowers has decided that she
has the authority to bar anyone from a DPR facility, and so she has.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Brenda Donald Walker reports that DC
Councilmember Kathy Patterson, chair of the Committee on Education
Libraries and Recreation, has asked for the creation of an internal
working group to address the many problems at the DPR and the stream of
complaints flowing into her office on a daily basis. Rather than call
for Flowers resignation — as others and I have — it appears Ms.
Patterson wants to prop up a weak manager. Perhaps Patterson, who is
running for council chairman, should collect a percentage of Flowers’
salary.
A prime concern these days about the DPR is the readiness of city
pools. Vincent Morris, the mayor’s spokesperson, told me last week
that all the pools will open on time. But other government sources have
said not to be fooled by the verbal gymnastics of DPR executives.
Sources say the pools may open on time, but expect frequent closures;
facilities are in poor shape and there are safety issues. And, then
there are problems with lifeguards. Once again, DPR is short of
personnel, although Flowers promised last year to create an Aquatics
Academy to resolve the problem of insufficient lifeguards. Regina
Williams, DPR spokesperson, says the agency had some “difficulty”
starting up the academy. Truth told, the Flowers administration has had
difficulty with a whole bunch of things.
###############
Foot Dragging Versus Public Safety
Jamal Turner, jamal_tur@yahoo.com
Earlier this year in themail, a yearlong delay by Phil Mendelson in
moving the Omnibus Public Safety Act of 2005 was the subject of debate.
Today, with summertime upon us, Mendelson, the chair of the Judiciary
Committee, is delaying yet another important piece of crime-fighting
legislation introduced by Chairman Cropp and supported by Chief Ramsey.
Cropp and Ramsey seek to allow police investigators access to the
criminal records of the most dangerous juvenile offenders. Mendelson,
however, says the earliest the bill could come up for a vote would be in
the fall. In the fall? After summer, when juvenile crime is at its peak?
Mendelson has the ability to move the legislation promptly, but he’s
foot-dragging.
Public safety could be greatly enhanced by this simple law
enforcement tool available to police in many jurisdictions with juvenile
crime problems. Young offenders benefit, too. Through arrest they can be
placed in to programs that provide counseling, education, drug
treatment, and job training.
###############
Adoption by Same Sex (Or Any) Families
Susan Punnett, susan@kidsave.org
If energy and passion are going to be focused on the issue of
adoption, please let’s make the focus the many children who need
adoptive families. Currently in the District there are three hundred
children in foster care who are waiting for a family to step forward to
adopt them. (At least as many more have no plans to be adopted but will
age out of foster care and be expected to live on there own.)
Organizations such as Kidsave are working to help these young people
find families. We welcome the involvement of anyone who was the interest
and commitment to help us help our children.
###############
The majority of people in Ward 3 who have expressed their opinions on
this subject matter to me, as a candidate for public office, would
rather this issue be decided by a vote of all voters than by our city
council, and this, not my own views on the issue, was the basis for my
comments. While the arguments favoring same sex adoption by Tanya
Washington and Paul Dionne [themail, June 14] are quite valid, these
nice people are just two of the many voices I hear, whereas I have heard
voices on the other end opposed to same sex adoption, with a long list
of reasons. The pros and cons of same sex adoption and who should decide
is split everywhere in this country and not just inside the District.
The reason I addressed the issues of same sex adoption is that it is
an issue on the table. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has
forewarned us that this issue, as well as sex-sex marriage, could
trigger Congress not just to reject it if it were passed by the DC City
Council. It could also push them to amend our Home Rule Act to prevent
us in the future from deciding such matters.
The point I was trying to make is that we in the District are far
more liberal than people outside the District; we are confronted with a
Congress that is quite conservative. There is a perception in Congress
that the majority of people in the District do not agree with same sex
adoption. Maybe, if same-sex adoption were passed by a referendum, that
might be persuasive enough for Congress to accept the will of the
majority. Otherwise, it would veto a law passed by the District allowing
same-sex adoption.
###############
On a Clear Day at the Ballpark, You Can See
Parking Level F
Tom Monroe, tmonroe77@yahoo.com
I wish I could say, but I can’t, that I find it hard to believe
that DC has put itself in position to have a stadium site with perhaps
its main asset and attraction outside of the game itself — its views
from inside the ballpark — about to be ruined with huge looming
parking decks because the penny-wise, pound-foolish owner (who’s
acting more like Abe Pollin by the day) doesn’t want to spend the time
and money needed to dig underground.
I know the baseball people want to ditch RFK Stadium for something
new because of the ability to have lots of luxury boxes, but you have to
actually give the potential box renters bang for their buck. Views of
Parking Level F might make the boxes a hard sell, and might even have
potential renters opting for boxes at Camden Yards, where amazing views
have kept the ballpark as a major destination and city icon.
I’m also wondering how the stadium can go up right by the Anacostia
River with all of the known and unknown environmental issues that were
pointed out in last week’s themail. No wonder those with common sense
wanted the new stadium on the land where the old stadium is!
###############
53 Buried Tanks
Michael Bindner, mikeybdc at yahoo dot com
Much as I hate to be an apologist for the current administration, I
must point out that the fifty-three tanks of oil buried under the
ballpark site would need to be cleaned up regardless of whether a ball
park were built or not. Whoever buried them should pay for the cleanup,
although the entity was likely governmental. My guess is the Navy.
If this is the issue that drives the possibility of cost overruns,
then it is a non-issue, since once damage is found, it must be cleaned
up, period.
###############
[Re: Fifty-Three Tanks of Oil Found Under Ballpark Site, Ed Delaney,
themail, June 14] Is Ed saying that no one at the Department of Health
knew of these issues? Or they just weren’t asked?
###############
[Re Mark Eckenwiler, themail, May 21] Your premise, that there is a
Department of Public Works policy against ROSA (Registration of
Out-of-State Automobiles) enforcement, is counterintuitive and just
plain wrong. You maintain that ROSA laws are not being enforced; yet our
data shows otherwise. Funny thing, though, it was just days ago that Tom
Knott’s weekly column ran an opposing viewpoint. He too panned ROSA,
but for different reasons. For those of you who don’t read the Washington
Times, Mr. Knott is a columnist who frequently decries parking
officers in the District as being too aggressive. Further, he is given
to describing these public servants in the basest possible terms,
calling them "Gestapo-like" thugs who stalk the unwary day and
night. Disgraceful language. Perhaps, Mr. Knott has a reason for railing
so against ROSA enforcement. To paraphrase an old adage, if your vehicle
is in compliance with the law, you have nothing to fear. But, I digress.
It seems that opinion regarding ROSA’s effectiveness diverges
depending on your perspective. DPW will continue to enforce parking
regulations — including those for ROSA — evenly and fairly, and
according to the law. We are committed to giving you the best possible
service. Here are a few ROSA facts: the number of ROSA warnings and
tickets issued has increased 36% over the last year. In April 2006, ROSA
officers wrote 4,669 tickets. At full strength, there are sixteen ROSA
employees divided into eight teams. The teams work five nights per week
in different wards of the city. They survey out-of-state license plates
and enter plate numbers into mobile data terminals. This documentation
flags out-of-state plates that are consistently parked on the street.
After three sightings over a thirty-day period, such a vehicle is
assumed to belong to a resident who has not yet complied with the law to
register his/her vehicle in the District.
Our rotating system is designed to cover the city in a thirty-day
span. However, some vehicle and equipment malfunctions and temporary
personnel shortages have slowed our coverage time. We are working on
operations improvements, filling empty positions and buying better
mobile computers to improve our performance. You misspoke when you
stated that once a vehicle has received a ROSA ticket, "the
enforcement clock on that vehicle is reset, restarting the cumbersome
warning-and-waiting grace period." In fact, that same vehicle can
be ticketed each and every time it is observed on the street without a
DC registration sticker. If you need to request additional parking
enforcement or any other municipal service, please call 727-1000.
###############
This is to advise that the June 2006 on-line edition has been
uploaded and may be accessed at http://www.intowner.com. Included are
the lead stories, community news items and crime reports, editorials
(including prior months’ archived), restaurant reviews (prior months’
also archived), and the text from the ever-popular “Scenes from the
Past” feature. Also included are all current classified ads. The
complete issue (along with prior issues back to December 2002) also is
available in PDF file format directly from our home page at no charge
simply by clicking the link provided. Here you will be able to view the
entire issue as it appears in print, including all photos and
advertisements. The next issue will publish on July 14 (the 2nd Friday
of the month, as always). The complete PDF version will be posted by the
preceding night or early that Friday morning at the latest, following
which the text of the lead stories, community news, and selected
features will be uploaded shortly thereafter.
To read this month’s lead stories, simply click the link on the
home page to the following headlines: 1) “Mayor Pushing Accelerated
Comp Plan Revision Process with Final Hearing Set for June 13 —
Community Leaders Charge Review Too Rushed”; 2) “Kalorama Park’s
New Memorial Trees Dead — Water Line Not Fixed by City’s Parks Dep’t.”;
3) “Historic Dupont East Mansion Home of the Green Door Receives
Needed Restoration of its 77 Wood Windows”; 4) “An Adams Morgan
Essay: Four O’clock in the A.M.”
###############
Regarding Mr. Padro’s comments in themail [June 11], I believe he
is speaking about an issue much larger than any one DC candidate. The
issue really centers around why DC is disproportionally harmed by the
Hatch Act versus our neighbors. And that comes down to one thing — DC’s
lack of full representation.
While the OSC has only issued a ruling on ANC commissioners, a broad
interpretation such as Mr. Padre’s would affect a significant number
of DC candidates and community leaders. It’s a fundamentally unfair
proposition either way you look at it -- and it’s a home rule and DC
representation issue. Congress has lumped DC government employees in
with federal employees, except for mayor, councilmembers, and Recorder
of Deed. For Congress to say that every elected or appointed DC official
is Hatched is yet another slap in the face. In the federal regulations,
our neighboring federal representatives actually went so far as to write
exemptions for government employees in over one hundred towns in
Virginia and Maryland around the District allowing them to run for their
city council and mayor positions but, not surprisingly, they left out
DC.
Issues such as these are exactly why I’m running for the Shadow
Representative position. DC needs to stand united against federal
regulations that treat us like second-class citizens. Any attempt at
short-term political gain by exploiting this unjust federal law is
nothing more than a circular firing squad. I’m looking for volunteers
to help me get over the hump with petition signatures this weekend. Any
DC voter who wants to help me fight for full voting rights in Congress,
please E-mail me at mike.panetta@gmail.com.
###############
Comprehensive Planning by Laundry List
Len Sullivan, lsnarpac@bellatlantic.net
The 510 page, 42-ounce, penultimate draft of DC’s new twenty-year
Comprehensive Plan is now being picked through by every special-interest
activist in town. It contains some 394 "action items," of
which 68 are deemed “priority,” and 152 already “ongoing.” Only
twenty-eight involve capital funding (such as building an
“archeological curation facility”), and a mere seven will not be
completed by 2010 (such as “ending homelessness”). Fifty-five
percent of the items involve environment, affordable housing, historic
preservation, parks and arts. Economic and infrastructure development
get 18 percent; land use and urban design guidelines 14 percent. NARPAC
has bombarded the small, dedicated, overworked OP staff with hundreds of
comments. We find little solace in the realization that most of these
actions will have little or no irreversible impact on our capital city’s
long-term posture. In fact, DC’s prominent and unique global,
national, and regional roles are essentially ignored in this paean to
“neighborhoodism.”
However, NARPAC sees the 49-action Transportation Element a serious
threat to DC’s future. The Comp Plan’s relatively short sections on
infrastructure and city-owned facilities at least recognize their roles
in keeping up with urban growth. But the DDoT section developed its own
“visions” and “goals” (apparently with council and mayoral
acquiescence) independent of the Comp Plan outline and assumptions.
Rather than treating transportation as a key infrastructure precursor to
sound urban growth (like water, sewer, and power), it is relegated to
the Tangherlini Fantasy of urban decoration, entertainment, and
sociological leveling. Why would DC purposely plan for continuing
reductions in urban mobility, regional connectivity, and population
security (i.e., no real growth in on-road or off-road (metrorail)
transportation) for the next twenty years? It would guarantee creeping
economic stagnation, and defer indefinitely the empowerment of DC’s
under-served quadrant east of the Anacostia. Take a look at NARPAC’s
critique and alternative proposals at http://www.narpac.org/REXDCPLAN.
These broader interests would make great issues for mayoral and council
candidates. Too bad they’re so busy pandering.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Reception for Tommy Wells, June 20
Naomi Monk, nmonk10501@aol.com
You are Invited to a southwest community reception for Tommy Wells,
Democratic candidate for DC city council, Ward 6. Please join hosts
Manny Fernandez, The Honorable Nadine Winters, Naomi Monk, Lida
Churchville, Jan Eichhorn, Richard Westbrook, Andy Litsky, Meg Brinckman,
Max Skolnik, and Charlotte Drummond, on Tuesday evening, June 20, 6:30
p.m.-8:30 p.m., The Channel Inn, 650 Water Street, SW (corner of Maine
Avenue and 7th Street). 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, free
parking available across the street. For more information, please
contact Charles Allen at Charles@WallsForWard6.com or 329-2192.
###############
DC Public Library Events, June 21-23
Debra Truhart, debra.truhart@dc.gov
Wednesday, June 21, 1:30 p.m., Chartered Family Health Center, 3924
Minnesota Avenue, NE (Benning Community). Kindercize. John
“Kinderman” Taylor, a superhero of song, dance and rhyme, encourages
learning and a sense of self-worth. Ages 3-7. Public contact: 680-9316.
Thursday, June 22, 10:30 a.m., Southwest Neighborhood Library, 900
Wesley Place, SW. Derek Riley, "Mr. Derby," provides an
engaging and moving song and dance experience. Ages 2-8. Public contact:
724-4752.
Thursday, June 22, 10:30 a.m. Takoma Park Neighborhood Library, 416
Cedar Street, NW. Kindercize. John “Kinderman” Taylor, a superhero
of song, dance and rhyme, encourages learning and a sense of self-worth.
Ages 3-7. Public contact: 576-7252.
Thursday, June 22, 1:30 p.m. Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library, 330
7th Street, NE. Kindercize. John “Kinderman” Taylor, a superhero of
song, dance and rhyme, encourages learning and a sense of self-worth.
Ages 3-7. Public contact: 671-0200.
Friday, June 23, 10:30 a.m. Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room 200. Derek Riley, “Mr. Derby,”
provides an engaging and moving song and dance experience. Ages 2-8.
Public contact: 727-1248.
###############
Building in the Aftermath, June 27
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org
Tuesday, June 27, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Building in the Aftermath: Re-floatin’
NOLA: A Better Future for New Orleans. For years, New Orleans, Louisiana
(sometimes called "NOLA"), has struggled to maintain its
day-to-day existence in the face of outdated infrastructure and
persistent social and economic stratification. Hurricane Katrina and the
subsequent levee collapse exacerbated this situation and have caused
civic leaders across the country to reexamine the often unstable and
fragile foundations in their own communities. University of Virginia
School of Architecture professor William R. Morrish will explore NOLA’s
historic roots and sift through the debris of renewal efforts to
identify critical pivot points and initiatives that can be used not only
to rebuild damaged areas, but also to "re-float" the idea of
New Orleans as a culturally rich, vital city. $12 Members of Museum,
American Planning Association, and American Society of Landscape
Architects; $17 nonmembers; $10 students. Prepaid registration required.
At the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square
stop, Metro Red Line. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
###############
Free Soccer Lecture, Cleveland Park Branch,
July 6
Beth Meyer, Cleveland Park Branch, lmeyer8090@aol.com
The Cleveland Park Branch Library presents what every parent, coach,
and sportscaster should know about soccer -- but probably doesn’t, a
book talk and signing by Jim Haner, author of Soccerhead: An
Accidental Journey into the Heart of the American Game on Thursday,
July 6, at 6:30 p.m., Cleveland Park Branch Library, 3310 Connecticut
Ave., NW. For more information call 282-3080.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — FREE
I have been cleaning out the closets at work, and have five computers
to donate. My preference would be to give them to a local nonprofit, but
they have to go to someone soon. They are: 1) one Power Mac G3 with
mouse, monitor, and keyboard plus Mac OS 9.x, Quark, MS Office for the
Mac 2001. 2) Two HP Pavilions model 6736 (667 CPU, 64MB RAM, CD, 20 GB
disks). 3) One Compaq Presario 4505 with 32 MB RAM, CD, 8 GB disk. 4)
One HP Pavilion 8560C with 128 MB RAM, CD-R, 20 GB disk.
I have mice, but no keyboards or monitors for the PCs. I wiped the
hard drives, but I have all the original installation CDs with Windows,
Works, etc. All of them have network cards, and some have modems. My
office is at 18th and T, NW, and I would be glad to meet anyone after
work or on a weekend to pick them up.
###############
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.
