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December 17, 2006

Patronage

Dear Patrons :

Councilmember Kathy Patterson failed on December 5 to get a majority of the city council to support Mayor Williams’s bill to dispose of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Central Library and replace it with a smaller facility. But she has given notice of her intention to introduce the legislation again this Tuesday as an emergency bill, which would require nine votes. This is a very questionable move, since there is obviously no emergency. There are no architectural plans for the new library; there are not even any schematics, but the mayor and his supporters want the city council to make the decision now, in the absence of any firm plans and with several key question left unanswered. They seem to believe, correctly, that the longer that councilmembers consider this bill, the less sense it makes and the less support it will have. To gather the nine votes, Williams and the Federal City Council have been pulling out all the stops, personally lobbying and cajoling councilmembers and offering them whatever they want to get their votes. One of the bribes being offered is adding an unfunded $170 million to the capital budget for branch libraries, on top of the unfunded $275 million that the new central library would cost.

In the meantime, to strengthen their case that MLK Library is too far gone to be renovated, the District government and the library administrators have continued in their policy of demolition by neglect. The building has broken elevators, leaking pipes, security breaches, and overheated reading rooms (the Black Studies Reading Room had to be closed last week when the heat reached 98 degrees). Now head librarian Ginnie Cooper seems determined to discourage use of the library further by reducing services. On December 8, she closed the periodical reading room, without any prior notice to the rank-and-file staff at MLK or to the librarians who head the other reading rooms at MLK, and she reassigned the periodical librarians to other duties. The excuse for getting rid of the periodical reading room is that the space is needed for a computer laboratory, even though MLK already has plenty of empty space in the basement and on the fourth floor, and even though every reading room is already jammed with computers. The plan is never to have another periodical reading room, but what to do with the periodical collection is currently an open question. MLK chief librarian Pamela Stovall said that it has not yet been determined, but some library staffers have said privately that some valuable items that are not available on microfiche or electronic databases have already been thrown away or destroyed, and that the periodicals that were destroyed were not offered to branch libraries or other institutions before they were tossed.

The question remains: why should we trust the administration, the library Board of Trustees, or the top officials of the library system to treat a new central library any better than they treat MLK, or to treat the public any better in a new library than they treat us now at MLK?

Gary Imhoff and Dorothy Brizill
themail@dcwatch.com and dorothy@dcwatch.com

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Pathetic Personnel Office
P. Walters, kontidy@gmail.com

If there is any question why District government employees are often cynical and unmotivated, one need only go as far as the Office of Personnel to find the reason. Take their management of this season’s so-called “open enrollment” period, the annual opportunity to review benefit elections, change medical insurance carriers, and sign up for new benefit plans. DCPS employees received this week on December 15, or later, a letter dated December 8, but postmarked December 14, announcing that the open enrollment period, which was supposed to end on December 11, had been extended to December 14 — and, oh, by the way, medical insurance premiums were increasing 25 percent. Of course, at that late date nothing could be done about it. It was too late to move to a lower-cost plan or opt out.

This open enrollment was marked a long series of such foul-ups. Employees were told they could enroll using computer systems that didn’t work or didn’t exist. After weeks of trying to gain access, we were told that the PeopleSoft system that DCPS brochures informed us we could use to manage our personnel information “won’t be rolled out to DCPS until next year.” Mailings were sent referencing manual forms to use for open enrollment, but containing no such forms. Workshops to explain benefit options were announced the day they occurred, and were scheduled immediately after work hours, making it impossible to attend. Could it be that the whole inept process was engineered to prevent employees from exercising their basic rights to information and the opportunity to make informed decisions?

Mr. Fenty, are you listening?

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Metro Fares
Wallace Gordon Dickson, wdickson@wdn.com

I want to express my total agreement with Ed Barron [themail, December 13] on the matter of Metro’s fares policy and Metro operational funding in general. Mr. Barron criticizes Metro’s announced policy of increasing fares, and I agree with him. Although I have been a resident of the District of Columbia for about 25 years, I am a former resident of Arlington, Virginia, and a former member of the Virginia General Assembly. I served four years on the House of Delegates’ Transportation Committee in the late 1960’s. In that capacity, I was a cosponsor, with Arlington State Senator Charles Fenwick, of the legislation that established the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, the Virginia component of the Metropolitan Area Transportation Compact and a participant in the creation of the MetroRail program. I remember our early considerations regarding fare policy for the Metro system. The underlying Metro policy and public transportation philosophy agreed to at that time by all those who participated in the creation of the Metrosystem was the fundamental concept that the fare structure should always incorporate the lowest fares possible, and, importantly, that the fares should never be considered as an element of the necessary funding for the rail system. The three jurisdictions forming the Compact -- DC, Maryland, and Virginia -- agreed on a policy of sharing the cost of the system through federal and state funding, not fares. It was the general understanding of all those parties involved in the establishment of the regional transportation system at that time that fares should be kept as low as possible, or even free, to encourage the greatest ridership and create a Metro system that would provide affordably available transportation for the populations of all three jurisdictions, DC Maryland, and Virginia, particularly those who, economically, needed it the most as a viable way to get to work and around the region. The most expensive component of the entire system was and always would be the cost of labor, and there was no economical way that fares could ever come close to paying for that expense. To be viable, the system would need the full and enthusiastic financial support of the three jurisdictions that made up the Compact, along with the generous commitment of support from the federal government.

Today, it appears that the current Metro leadership, and the several states and the federal government, have discarded that rational established policy and decided to use fares to pay for operations, as though that makes good economic sense, something I’m sure would have Senator Charlie Fenwick, (known, in Virginia at least, as the “Father of Metro”) rolling over in his grave. Today, the political leadership in DC, Virginia, and Maryland have abdicated their financial obligations established under the Compact. The three jurisdictions need to step up to the plate and start funding the Metro system adequately so that fares could be kept in line with the reality of affordable transportation for the region. It is their responsibility to properly fund the system, and they have not done that. Now the system has been allowed to fall into disrepair and neglect. Increased fares will never be sufficient to bring the system up to the standard envisioned by those of us who helped to create it. Seems that all our government leaders are more intent on raising their own salaries and cutting taxes, rather than honoring their obligations to provide the public with needed services. That’s a sad state of affairs. Seems the legislators can always find the money for their own salary increases, but never enough to properly fund this essential transportation system at a standard of modern efficiency we as Metropolitan Area residents could and should all be very proud. They will end up making Metro far too expensive for those riders who need to use it most. The more they squeeze the riders, the fewer riders they’ll have, and the less support they can expect from the general public. I think the Metro board needs to go back to the boards and draft a new and more realistic budget for the future which would include adequate funding from the members of the transportation compact and the federal government, and keep the fares affordable for all.

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God Rest Ye
Robin Diener, DC Library Renaissance Project, rdiener@savedclibraries.org

In spite of having had every advantage over the citizen advocates of the public library movement in DC, Mayor Williams and the board of Library Trustees have failed spectacularly in their scheme to engineer the giveaway of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library. Their euphemistically titled “library transformation” bill has been defeated twice. In an attempt to muster votes for the last scheduled session of the city council on Tuesday, they are desperately circulating emergency legislation. It calls for a sense of the council declaration that a new library be built on the old convention center site. This cynical move fools no one, certainly not the six council members who opposed earlier versions (Barry, Brown, Catania, Graham, Gray, and Schwartz). It is time for the mayor to stand down.

Then the closed processes and manipulative mindset that banned discussion of MLK at the library listening sessions will be laid to rest. In this season of renewal we can prepare to do the work of library transformation that the Library Trustees and the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Libraries woefully botched. This might involve some turning the other cheek, but in the spirit of the season, we even invite the architects of the failed scheme to join us in moving forward.

To be part of the free public library movement and participate in real library transformation, contact the DC Library Renaissance Project, 387-8030, or Robin Diener at the E-mail above.

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Superintendent Asks Board to Bypass Union & Wilson HS LSRT to Negotiate Autonomy
Erich Martel, ehmartel at starpower dot net

On December 20, the DC Board of Education will consider a special resolution to authorize the Superintendent to negotiate terms of autonomy for Wilson High School with representatives chosen by the Wilson High School principal and to set aside $250,000 for the transition. Although the Superintendent requested the current audit by the Office of the Inspector General of the class of 2006’s completion of graduation requirements, he is not waiting for the results. Neither is he requiring the principal to produce the public budget and management documents that all stakeholders should see prior to an informed vote to give the current school administration greater local discretion over school funds.

On Monday, December 18, my attorney will file a motion in Superior Court in response to DCPS’s failure to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request sent on July 17. The request for documents is on behalf of the public’s right to know how its tax money is being spent and how the public public’s trust is being met. My article in the current American Educator, “Protecting Academic Standards: How My Union Makes It Possible,” has just been posted online (http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/issues/winter06-07/includes/martel.htm). The article details the history of altered records and certification of ineligible students for the Wilson High School diploma, subsequent retaliation by the principal, and the failure of the superintendent or Board of Education to hold him accountable.

On December 15, Woodrow Wilson High School Local School Restructuring Team chairman Chuck Samuels sent an E-mail to members of the Wilson H.S. LSRT containing notes made by Wilson H.S. parent Mary Froning on a meeting between Wilson principal Stephen Tarason and Superintendent Clifford Janey (http://www.dcpswatch.com/wlson/061215.htm). Note the bold and undisguised plan to bypass the newly signed teachers contracts, empower the principal to choose who will represent Wilson High School, and redefine “consensus.”

Instead of responding to my requests for transparency and accountability, the superintendent is planning to cancel basic contractual rights and impose a local autonomy plan that will preserve the existing status quo along with privileged exemption from compliance with municipal regulations, statutes, and contract provisions. Instead of fostering a model of cooperation among stakeholders, the response is imposition from above, so as to bypass my insistence that there be prior guarantees of accountability, including full transparency into the current operation and management of Wilson High School.

My vote against the autonomy proposal, last May, which was widely supported by Wilson H.S. teachers — and requested in advance by over twenty teachers — was based on the refusal of the principal to release public documents. My concern was soon confirmed by the large numbers of seniors who were certified for graduation despite missing graduation requirements. As few as 221 of the 420 seniors (the number on the graduation day program), a bare 53 percent, legitimately met all graduation requirements (see http://www.dcpswatch.com/martel/061126.htm).

Beginning in August of 2005 (and previously through the SCAC), I requested: public documents and authorizations from the past three to five years, including complete budget documents showing all revenues and itemized disbursements; extra-duty pay guidelines and awards (which were not shared with the staff for several years); copies of all reports, including audits and investigations since August 1998; copies of authorizations that allowed favored staff to attend graduate courses during paid duty hours, to “upgrade” favored staff into higher pay plans without advertising them as new positions, and to list staff with locally created job titles under standard budget lines; new audits of the current budget, the integrity of student academic records and compliance with graduation requirements with their findings released PRIOR to any autonomy vote; specific language describing reports and procedures for ensuring their delivery to a future governing body; and establishment of an elected teacher committee to review student academic records to ensure compliance with promotion and graduation requirements.

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A Most Convoluted Fare System
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

I have never seen a more convoluted fare system than the one proposed by the folks at Metro. The only thing they left out is that you get to ride free on your 95th birthday. Who dreamed up this awful system of fare increases? Compare this mess with the neat, simple system used by the much more extensive subway system of New York City. There is one fare for anywhere you want to travel in the entire NY City subway system -- two bucks. The only special fare is the "Train to the Plane," which takes airline passengers from midtown Manhattan directly to Kennedy Airport. If you fly out of LaGuardia, however, it’s the good old two buck, Chuck.

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The Real Transgression in the New Town Redevelopment Proposal
Richard Layman, rlaymandc@yahoo.com

In my blog, http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com, I have written quite a bit about the New Town redevelopment proposal for the Florida Market area in the Northeast quadrant of DC, located in Ward 5, just across the street from Ward 6, north of Florida Avenue. There are many reasons why this proposal is problematic. Mostly it has to do with a special kind of sole agreement, where the proposal has been written by the developers for the developers, and the executive branch of the DC government has deliberately muzzled the Office of Planning from weighing in, has ignored previous OP reports considering the area, and has prevented the OP from being able to evaluate or analyze the project in substantive ways, and in a manner which attempts to protect and extend the public interest.

But the reality is even worse because: If this were a contract signed by an agency of the DC government, it would be illegal because of its failure to conduct a competitive bidding process, because it is a sole source contract over $1 million that does not comply with other DC government contracting regulations, and because of many provisions counter to other DC laws and regulations. With DC government agency contracts, there is an administrative law review system where the contracting process can be challenged. The question is: why isn’t it illegal when the DC city council passes the same kind of contract as a law? DC government instrumentalities such as the National Capital Revitalization Corporation and the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation also have detailed and specific contracting guidelines ensuring fairness and openness. The Florida Market Bill, which was inserted as an amendment (Title II) to Bill 16-812, a completely different bill concerning the provision of workforce housing, would violate those provisions if it were it a contract entered into by either of those organizations or by the DC government. (For the text of the bill, see http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com/2006/12/florida-market-bill-before-city.html.)

There is something terribly wrong about entering this bill as an end around and loophole to evade DC government contracting procedures, laws, and regulations. The DC council should be ashamed that it continues to consider this matter. And clearly, DC laws need to be changed to prevent this kind of corrupt behavior, which does a disservice to government and citizen interests.

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A Little Christmas Present
Phil Carney, philandscoop@yahoo.com

Some time ago when the German Marshall Fund renovated their building at R Street and New Hampshire Avenue, NW, they built a very attractive planter in the sidewalk in front of their building facing R Street, NW. Every time I went by there, I would think about neighbor Nancy Balsdel and wonder how she could negotiate the sidewalk hazard in her motorized wheelchair. I don’t remember the first attempts to correct this problem, but it has been well over a year. Today I was waiting for a red light and saw that the planter obstruction was gone. The sidewalk isn’t as attractive as it was with the planter, but it is now a lot more practical. Just then, Nancy came rolling unhindered down the sidewalk-without any obstruction to negotiate. Great timing and a great little Christmas present!

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HIV Prevention Plan
Clifton Roberson, clifton.roberson@dc.gov

The new District of Columbia HIV Prevention Plan for 2006-2007 has been posted on the web. It can be found at this address: http://doh.dc.gov/doh/frames.asp?doc=/doh/lib/doh/services/administration_offices/hiv_aids/pdf/prevention_plan_2006-2007.pdf.

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That Is Then, This Is Now
Jonathan R. Rees, jrrees2006@verizon.net

It was December 1989 when I signed a lease for a large, older, two bedroom apartment with a large living room and spacious kitchen on Mt. Pleasant Street, NW, across the street from the 7-Eleven. My rent was $389.00 a month. In December 2006, that very same apartment is renting for $2,200.00 a month. In less than twenty years, rents in DC have jumped 500 percent on average. In December 1989, my income was just $32,000; in the same time period, my income has only jumped 179 percent. For most Washingtonians, rent increases vs. wage increases have been about the same as I have experienced.

I blame this gap on the DC city council, which allowed it to happen and acted to stop these steep rent increases only when people started screaming. As long as developers, real estate holding companies, and others fuel the political campaigns of our mayoral and city council candidates, they will in the next twenty years do the same. The National Low Income Housing Coalition examined all fifty states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in its report. Virginia ranked 41st; Maryland ranked 45th, and DC was last in affording an apartment. Recently, Danilo Pelletiere at the Low Income Housing Coalition wrote: “Do you earn $21 an hour on the job? That’s what you need to afford a two bedroom apartment in our area, making it the tenth most expensive place to live in the nation, according to a new study. . . . At $1,286 that means you have to earn $21.37 an hour to afford a two bedroom unit.”

The problem is the average family earns only $17 per hour. It is a gap between income and rent that is widening, hurting many with lower incomes. Experts say no more than 30 percent of family income should go to housing. It is time for a rent freeze and/or a windfall profit tax on greedy landlords, especially for those whose properties were paid off back in the 1970’s and have no justification other than greed to charge these outrageous rates. The only way Mayor-elect Fenty can deliver on his promise to the voters of affordable housing is through a rent freeze or by using taxpayer dollars to build 18,000 apartment units in the next five years. I doubt either will happen, so we will not be seeing any affordable housing coming down the pipes.

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Unconscionable
Ed T Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

The Mayor’s proposal to spend $275 million on a new library is unconscionable. Just take a look at our neighbors in Montgomery County. They have opened a state-of-the-art new library, which took two years to build, and they spent a measly $26 million. Who in their right minds thinks that we should spend $275 million on a new DC library?

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Right Turns Around Busses
Russell Cramer, ruslcramer@yahoo.com

In reference to “Right Turns Around Busses” [themail, December 6]: how about the more sensible solution of not having bus stops at intersections, but at least fifty yards before them?

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Preserve Architecture or Lives?
Laura Elkins, laura@3plystudios.com

Does Michael K. Wilkinson [themail, December 13] know the elderly couple in Mount Pleasant? Obviously, they want to stay in their home of 46 years, and the Historic Preservation Office/Historic Preservation Review Board should help find a creative solution, rather than coldly dismissing their request. HPO and HPRB bend and ignore regulations whenever it suits their political purposes, why shouldn’t they do it out of compassion? The older people I know want to stay at home as long as possible -- elder care is often the death knell that they avoid as long as possible.

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Grading the Mayor
Michael Bindner, mikeybdc at yahoo dot com

I would say bringing baseball back to DC is a major accomplishment and getting punked by baseball in the stadium deal is a major flub. (In exchange for building the stadium he should have insisted on part ownership of the team as a nonnegotiable.)

Holding the line on the Jack Evans and company’s proposed tax cuts in 1999 is a major accomplishment. That, more than anything else, safeguarded DC’s finances. On the downside, letting Natwar Gandhi get tougher with property taxpayer than was necessary, especially in the appraisal process, was a major failure (both as mayor and chief financial officer). Not fixing or abolishing DCRA and making sure its activities are adequately funded and supervised (including a graft investigation) is a major omission. Not negotiating a support agreement with the United States for services provided to the National Capital Service Area, in exchange for compensation, is a major failure.

I would otherwise agree with the Mayor’s list.

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Anthony Williams’s Legacy
Chris Wells, echriswells@yahoo.com

George Bernard Shaw once wrote, "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." Accomplishment: eight years of abysmal stewardship of the District’s resources. Failure: the District’s web site and call center; they close tickets and the problem still exists.

Unfortunately, there are those that see and cannot see, expect a paycheck with no accountability for the work they were supposed to do!

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Mayor Williams’s Accomplishments
Clifton Allen Roberson, Department of Health, clifhouse@yahoo.com

Mayor Williams has one accomplishment that will make a long-term impact on every person living in Washington. Our city has one of the best health care packages for the under served in the nation. For the first time, the emergency rooms will no longer be the only source of basic health care for the poor, uninsured, under insured, children and the homeless.

If you stand at the corner of North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue, you can hear homeless men and women discuss which clinics they are now assigned to for primary medical health care services. This is an extraordinary accomplishment for any municipality and saves us tens of millions of dollars by providing a vehicle for primary care and not just the use of more expensive emergency room visits.

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Hits and Misses
Julius W. Hobson, Jr., julius.hobson@verizon.net

As the former chair of the board at DC General when it was closed, I think it was one of Mayor Williams’s greatest failures. I’m not disappointed in Williams because I never voted for him. Customer service is also a problem. I mailed in my tag renewal form with my check. The check was cashed — they’re good at that — but my registration never showed up. I had to go to the Georgetown Park Department of Public Works office, where I was told this is a regular problem. So much for service!

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Grading the Efforts of Mayor Williams and Council Chair Cropp
Len Sullivan, lsnarpac@bellatlantic.net

From NARPAC’s vantage point in “Ward 10,” outer space to many themail readers, Williams and Cropp deserve top grades for repairing the pathetic image of our nation’s capital to outsiders. The city’s official decorum is no longer global laughing stock, or embarrassing Americans nationwide. Major economic developments, from the Anacostia Waterfront Project to the Hope VI housing renewal east of the river, are permanently changing the exterior face of our nation’s capital. The temporary lurch towards fiscal irresponsibility has been fully, if not overcorrected. DC’s future success as a world-class city now depends primarily on re-balancing its polar socioeconomic demography. The “dumbbell effect” of too many poor needing to be offset by too many rich, leaves too little room for key middle class families and their ethics.

Not surprisingly, we give failing grades to city efforts to break the cycle of poverty among DC’s most seriously disadvantaged. Undereducated, often missing, parents leave on the city’s doorstep the next generation of essentially lost, heavily counter-cultural, kids. Growing winning chicks from losing chickens is a Herculean urban task. Trying to move the University of the District of Columbia to east of the river, changing the school board composition, and closing down a dysfunctional hospital were all brave if insufficient steps. We also flunk the mayor for pretending DC’s future can be dictated by 150-odd “neighborhoods” unrestricted by city-/region-wide compromises, or by the unique demands of a global capital.

In between, we give DC’s leaders barely passing marks in local, regional, and federal government relations. By most statistical measures, every local agency, including the school system, has too many employees and too few modern facilities for the services it delivers. We also see insufficient top leadership influence on the city’s long-range infrastructure planning. Area-wide, DC failed to inspire cooperation from the metro area’s leaders or strengthen its weak regional organizations. At the federal level, executive and legislative, DC influence seems to have been minimal (perhaps inevitable under the circumstances). Nevertheless, Williams and Cropp have set the stage for further capital city progress. We can only hope the Fenty/Gray team will build on this legacy.

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CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE

Adams Morgan: Then and Now
Josh Gibson, joshgibson@alumni.ksg.harvard.edu

Give the gift of Adams Morgan this holiday season. My co-author, Celestino Zapata, and I have published a book entitled Adams Morgan: Then and Now. The fantastic photos in the book were taken by Earl Fenwick, Jr. and Nancy Shia. It’s a short book, about one hundred pages, with historical and current photos of different scenes in Adams Morgan. It’s by no means a definitive history, but I think most residents will find it interesting.

If you live in Adams Morgan, you can buy it at Potter’s House (1658 Columbia Road) and Idle Time (2467 18th Street). If you live elsewhere in the DC area, it’s at Candida’s, Lambda Rising, Busboys and Poets, Books-a-Million, Kramerbooks, and maybe a couple of others, (Let me know if you see it anywhere else). If you live outside of the area, you can get it directly from the publisher ($16.99, postage included), http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=arcadia&Product_Code=0738542830&Product_Count=&Category_Code=.  Or you can get it from Amazon ($17.58, postage included): http://www.amazon.com/Adams-Morgan-Then-Now/dp/0738542830/sr=8-1/qid=1164263779/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3480099-2064162?ie=UTF8&s=books.

I hope you enjoy it.

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CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING

Furnished Two-Bedroom for Rent
Josh Gibson, joshgibson@alumni.ksg.harvard.edu

Charming and comfortable furnished apartment available for a six to twelve month rental in 2007 (available January 10-December 31, 2007). Large living room, master bedroom, second bedroom currently used as a home office (can serve either purpose), table-space kitchen with all new appliances, bathroom with vintage claw-foot tub. Apartment to be featured on The History Channel!

Entire corner-unit apartment is filled with extensive sunlight through large and plentiful windows. Vintage hardwood floors, moldings, period details throughout. Just steps to dozens of unique ethnic restaurants, shops, and services. But, as the best of both worlds, the apartment itself is located on a quiet and peaceful one-way street. Great community feeling to the building and the neighborhood. Steps from multiple bus lines, easy walking distance to three Metro (subway) stations.

Tastefully and comfortably furnished with unique pieces from around the country and the world. Owners would prefer to leave some belongings (books, wall hangings, etc.) in place in apartment above and beyond the basics (furniture, linens, kitchenware), but can be flexible on this point if it is a deal breaker. E-mail for information on cost or with other questions: joshgibson@alumni.ksg.harvard.edu.

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CLASSIFIEDS — VOLUNTEERS

DC Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign
Ed Lazare, lazere@dcfpi.org

The DC Earned Income Tax Credit Campaign needs volunteers starting in January 2007 to help low-income DC residents complete their tax returns and get valuable benefits like the Earned Income Tax Credit. The Campaign supports free tax preparation clinics throughout the city. Volunteers can serve as tax preparers, greeters, translators, and financial counselors. No prior experience is necessary and training is provided.

Join the Campaign by signing up at http://www.dceitc.org today. Volunteering just a few hours a week from mid-January through tax season, can equal over $5 million dollars returned to DC’s neediest residents! The Campaign needs to recruit over six hundred volunteers in order to provide our services citywide. Please help spread the word!

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CLASSIFIEDS — PETS

Adopt Kittens: The Dude and the Duchess
Pat Yates, PatEdCats@aol.com

These darlings are five-month-old kittens from the same litter, and they have been together all their short lives. Dude, the boy, has medium-length, fluffy hair and is mostly black with white markings; Duchess, the girl, is has sleek, short hair and is mostly gray with white markings. Dude is a bit bigger and definitely the leader, always wanting to bounce off the walls and then curl up in someone’s lap and purr; Duchess is a sweet, endearing creature who loves to be petted and cooed to. The previous owner gave them to the DC Animal Shelter because she didn’t want them any longer, and they have been in my foster home since December 6. Both have been altered, tested, and inoculated, and both appear to be in good health. They get along fine with humans, canines and other felines.

You may see their picture on http://www.washhumane.org (link to cats in foster homes), and if these aren’t exactly what you are looking for, you might stumble across others who tickle your fancy. There is never a shortage of our city’s wonderful cats and kittens at the DC Animal Shelter. (The same is true of dogs and puppies.) To see Dude and Duchess, or to get more information, please contact Pat at 265-2855 or PatEdCats@aol.com.

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CLASSIFIEDS -- RECOMMENDATIONS

Utilities Merry-Go-Round
Paul Penniman, paul@mathteachingtoday.com

What are people doing for cable, phone, and Internet these days? I have had negative experiences with, in turn, Verizon, Comcast, and RCN (nee Starpower), although I am tempted to take Comcast’s latest offer for a bundled package. On the other hand, perhaps I could split the $100 reward with any of you to start with RCN.

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Fine Music
Ron Leve, Dupont Circle, theron@comcast.net

While there are quite a few organizations that put on a series of concerts by visiting artists or groups, there aren’t to my knowledge many locally constituted music groups that put on their own series. That’s why I want to let you know about the Fessenden Ensemble that presents a series of chamber music concerts at St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Tenleytown on a Tuesday evening nearly every month during the concert year. The group consists of a dozen or so fine musicians who are also part of other major local performing arts groups. Over the year, you’ll hear them in configurations ranging from solo to nonets. They are especially strong in the winds, which happens to be a favorite section of mine.

You can find out more about the group at its web site, http://www.fessendenensemble.org, where you’ll also read blurbs of praise from local reviewers such as the Post’s Cecilia Porter, who called it "one of the finest chamber music groups in the Washington area."

Treat yourself or others to a special value with the holiday special that’s being offered: a five-concert series at a discounted price of $110, plus two tickets for guests.

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