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January 28, 2007

Educationing Our Students

Dear Educationalists:

A common way of insulting the Board of Education is to seize upon every mistake and typographical error in their publications as evidence that they are illiterate and therefore incompetent. I should know; I’m not above taking a cheap shot myself. Well, turnabout is fair play, so I should note that in his latest weekly newsletter, Councilmember Jack Evans badmouths the public schools and promotes the mayoral and city council power grab for the schools by writing, “"The consensus is that the DC Public Schools (DCPS) fail to education the large majority of our students” (http://www.dccouncil.washington.dc.us/EVANS/Newsletter.html). So, are you reassured that when the mayor and council are in control, they’ll education our students better?

The mayor and council want to emulate New York City Mayor Bloomberg’s takeover of that city’s schools because of what they misrepresent as its great success. Here’s how the New York Times evaluated that “success” in an editorial today: “The Regents and State Legislature have been fretting about the cold shoulder the city has shown to parents and communities since soon after legislators gave Mr. Bloomberg full control of the public schools. That’s when the city did away with the long-standing system of 32 community school districts and combined them into 10 regions. It may have saved money, but it also put more distance between the school system and families. Schools Chancellor Joel Klein has promised to rectify those problems. But the new reform, which sweeps away the 10 regions altogether, runs the risk of making the situation worse.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/opinion/28sun3.html?_r=1&oref=slogin).

A cold shoulder to parents and communities; more distance between the school system and families. That’s what we have to look forward to. In fact, that’s exactly what the legislation is designed to create — lessening parental and public control of and involvement in the public schools by eliminating the power of the elected school board. The mayor and councilmembers may claim now that they want to be accountable for the schools, but they don’t mean it for a minute. The legislation proposed by Mayor Fenty, which he wants Congress to impose on the city, creates a new powerless and ineffective “Office of Ombudsman for Public Education to serve as a communication and problem resolution mechanism for residents regarding issues related to public education in the District. . . .” Once the legislation is passed, they’ll pass the buck to the Ombudsman, just like they pass it to the Board of Education now. The mayor will tell you not to go to him when the schools fail to perform for your children; your councilmember will tell you not to bother him or her when there’s a problem with your neighborhood school. They’ll tell you to go to the Ombudsman, and disclaim any responsibility when your complaints disappear down that dark hole. The rule should be that if they break it, they’ll own it, but you know they’ll squirm out of accepting any responsibility for educationing our students as soon as they’ve given themselves control of the school system’s money, contracts, and land.

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

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A New South Capitol Street, SE
Clyde Howard, ceohoward@hotmail.com

Isn’t it wonderful that DDOT will revitalize South Capitol Street, SE, for the stadium attendees but can’t repair Benning Road, NE, or 11th Street, NW? I hope that you noticed that DDOT intends to put a circle in the roadway at Potomac Avenue, SE, to facilitate the baseball crowd. However, there must be some transportation planner/engineer who has a circle fetish because, with the number of vehicles that use South Capitol Street to reach Southbound Route 295, this circle will be nothing but a traffic choke point. If you don’t believe that, you should have seen the number of vehicles that were backed up to Virginia on the Southwest Freeway trying to move Southward on Route 295 just for today due to DDOT’s informing drivers to use a different route other than the South Capitol Street Bridge.

Using circles is part of DDOT’s over-all plans in treating the exchange of traffic with roads east of the Anacostia River. And if the planners don’t understand the problems with circles why don’t some of them drive Washington Circle and Dupont Circle during rush hours, that experience will teach them to devise another plan. But what can you really expect from the planners who designed the Southwest Freeway?

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New Chancellor
Paula Edwards, deliriousindc@aol.com

In addition to the cost of the new chancellor’s compensation package [themail, January 24], would the District not also be responsible for buying out the old superintendent’s contract?

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Blogs
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

The Washington Post is off to a promising start with its blogs (http://blogs.washingtonpost.com). Marc Fisher, in particular, is a breath of fresh air. Keep an eye on the above site as regular community members are added to this blogging corps. And if you’re interested in the massive changes taking place at newspapers, look no further than the recently released Harvard report, “Goodbye Gutenberg.” (http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/06-4NRwinter/index.html).

Every freedom movement needs its own songs, so sing along, won’t you (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwigFZtHF48). The instrument I’m playing in this song is a Grand Strumstick, which I bought at the House of Musical Traditions, in Takoma Park. This three-stringed instrument is very easy to play and will include many more people within the musical experience.

Inclusion. Participation. Blogs. Strumsticks. YouTube. This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.

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The District’s Historic Preservation Law
Jack McKay, jack.mckay@verizon.net

A lot of people read themail. My note in the December 10 issue (“Preserve Architecture, or Lives?”) led to a powerful column in the Post by Marc Fisher (December 21), and a spot by Maureen Umeh on the Channel 5 Ten O’Clock News (January 12). On January 16, the Mount Pleasant ANC passed my resolution calling for the addition of a personal hardship exception to the District’s historic preservation law. The resolution does not mention nor judge the specific case of the handicapped-access ramp for the Walbridge Place residents.

Tersh Boasberg, chairperson of the Historic Preservation Review Board, objects to our resolution, complaining that a personal hardship exception could “completely gut preservation protections for the entire city” (E-mail to ANC 1D, January 22). Current District law does not permit the HPRB to consider hardships, financial or personal; the board is “to assure that alterations of existing structures are compatible with the character of the historic district,” without exception. Appeal of a permit denial can be made to the Mayor’s Agent, but that person is allowed to override the HPRB decision only if “failure to issue the permit would result in unreasonable economic hardship, or that issuance of the permit is necessary in the public interest.” “Unreasonable economic hardship” applies only if the property is rendered completely useless for habitation, so the permit denial amounts to a “taking.” “Necessary in the public interest” means “social or other benefits having a high priority for community services.” Does anyone care about the welfare of the residents of a private home? Evidently not.

The HPRB defends itself with the assertion that its judgments are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. But that Act is written for public buildings and places of employment, not for private homes. In the Walbridge Place home, the residents can get into the house via a back door facing an alley. That’s sufficient for ADA, so that’s sufficient for the HPRB. That the elderly residents cannot go out the front of their home, and that they have no suitable second basement exit in case of fire blocking the first, doesn’t matter. Mr. Boasberg will attend the February 6 meeting of the Mount Pleasant ANC with a request that we rescind our resolution calling for a “personal hardship” exception to historic preservation law. Should historic preservation regulations have absolute priority over the needs of the residents of a home? According to current law, yes.

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All’s Well
Ed T Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

The DC Department of the Environment called this week to apologize for the inconvenience of the cash card rebate for my energy efficient appliance [themail, January 24]. DC provides rebates for those who buy energy efficient furnaces, air conditioners, refrigerators, etc. You fill out the downloadable paperwork and a rebate comes (it took four months) in the form of a Chase Bank “Cash Card.” DC does not send checks, since that would require those filing for a rebate to include their Social Security Number, and that would discourage folks from filing for the rebate. The “Cash Card” requires using an ATM machine to get the cash back. Most ATMs except Chase Bank ones charge a fee for Chase Bank cash cards. In my case, I could only get $90 out of my $101.50 Cash Card, since you can only withdraw in $10 or $20 amounts. I wound up leaving $9.50 on my cash card. DC Environment Office is sending me another cash card with $12 on it so that I can withdraw another $10, thus completing my rebate. All’s well that ends well.

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Our Addiction, Part II
Leo Alexander, leo_alexander1@yahoo.com

As I read the comments raised by my message last week on the impact of illegal immigration on the citizens of the District of Columbia, a couple of questions crossed my mind. Our elected officials took an oath to uphold the laws of the District and the Country. Does that mean they can selectively choose which laws to enforce as it pertains to illegal immigration? The next question is since when did the needs of an illegal immigrant supersede the needs of a legal citizen when it comes to competing for jobs in our labor market, or in any other circumstance? In 1868, the 14th Amendment was ratified granting citizenship to all persons born in the United States. This applies to children born to legal and illegal residents. Do you suppose legislators had any idea what impact this law would have over a century later? I doubt it.

My position on illegal immigration and its impact on the local labor force isn’t based on the politics of being a Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative; it is based on the sole premise that the needs of Americans must come first. On this conclusion alone, I support stricter penalties on employers who hire illegal laborers and landlords who rent to them. I also support a military presence in our commercial ports and along our borders; after all, we already have military resources positioned in South Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq. And finally, I also support redrafting the 14th amendment and expatriating those born in this country to parents of illegal status. These children should be legal citizens of their parents’ native land, not ours. It’s only fair, because if an American couple works in a foreign land and has children, they too are Americans. This addiction to illegal immigrants concerns me on a number of levels. The unskilled labor and service industry jobs here in the District were once occupied by members of the black community. Black folks used these opportunities to support families and to instill in their children a desire to achieve a better life. We gained this better life thanks in large part to the struggle of the Movement. However, I refuse to believe that my people and other Americans fought for these rights in order for their children to have to compete with an illegal immigrant work force and their children.

Mr. Bindner offers a solution from the liberal corner [themail, January 24]: “If right to work laws and immigration restrictions were repealed, domestic workers would be preferred and illegal immigration would vanish.” Just vanish, huh? So we’re just supposed to believe that they will also voluntarily take their 14th amendment protected offspring with them? Not. And a man after my own heart, Mr. Wiseman, writes [themail, January 24], “. . . ninety-day get-out-of-Dodge amnesty is more than fair. . . . I have empathy for them and the bad conditions in their native lands, but I feel more for my neighbors who have been pushed out of their low-income jobs right here in their own country.” Words of a true patriot. Aside from the many world humanitarian arguments, the bottom line is that there’s only a finite number of jobs and affordable housing units available in the District of Columbia. So who do you want to get them, Washingtonians or illegals? I think you know where I stand.

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African Americans or Illegal Immigrants
Carolyn Long, carolynlong@earthlink.net

I have a question on the issue of "our addiction to illegal immigrants." Last week (January 18) Leo Alexander wrote that twenty years ago it was “black folks” who “did the landscaping, the housekeeping, cooking and dish washing in the hotels and restaurants, manned the parking garages, drove the cabs, worked the street crews, and were the maids, nannies, and chauffeurs for the rich.” This week (January 25) Malcolm Wiseman wrote that, “Throughout the 1980s I had housecleaning people to do my home, and they were all African-American women who spent about four to five hours doing a good job for which I paid them $50-$60. . . . Since the beginning of the ‘90s, all of my house cleaners have been Latinas. . . .” The impression given by both these posters is that illegal immigrants have priced local African Americans out of these service jobs.

My question is, do the African Americans of our city actually want these less-than-desirable jobs that are no longer open to them, or do they feel that they have moved beyond performing such “demeaning” work, leaving the jobs available for recent immigrants? I am not African-American myself, so I can’t speak for this community. I do have a number of African-American friends, and none of them would dream of taking jobs as laborers or domestic servants.

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Public-Private Partnership Scams Are Rampant
Mike Licht, mikelicht@yahoo.com

Re: Gary Imhoff’’s “Blogging in themail.” January 24: the “lousy long-term proposition for taxpayers and citizens” has a long history in this town. When you hear term “Public-Private Partnership,” grab your wallet.

Take the Marshall Federal Judicial Center. A privately-owned building on Federal land, it gets leased by the federal government until it is a thirty-year-old wreck, then reverts to public ownership. See http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/40C65.txt.

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Why the Difference?
Peter Orvetti, peterorvetti@gmail.com

One of the big arguments for DC congressional representation is that DC residents pay federal taxes while the residents of American Samoa, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico do not. Can someone tell me how this difference came to be? I know the first three have very low populations. But Puerto Rico has six times the population of the District, and in fact has more people than about two dozen states.

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A Real Sham
Ed T. Barron, edtb1@macdotcom

DC now has voting rights for the next few years as part of a package Congress passed. DC is lumped in with several territories, Puerto Rico, Samoa, et al. Here’s where the sham comes in. All of these territories (we are the only territory that pays income taxes, by the way) can vote on legislation and amendments as part of the Committee as a Whole. if, however, the vote passes by a majority that is only a majority because of the votes by the territories, then the vote is retaken without the votes from the territories. This means that DC and the other territories can vote only if their vote is meaningless. Some voting rights, huh?

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Correction
Kevin Kiger, kkiger@dcvote.org

Gary wrote [themail, January 24] “All five delegates were Democrats then, as they are now. They represent the District and four territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands).” Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuno is a Republican, not Democrat.

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Why We Are Hesitant to Give the Mayor Our Schools
Mai Abdul Rahman, spotlightoneducation@yahoo.com

Quality education is a right that must be met for all our children. But this simple goal of better-run schools and responsive central administration appears almost impossible to achieve because educating our children has become a political issue and a source of funding for many private and nonprofit organizations. And now with the charter school movement ($13,200 per student) and the modernization money of $3.1 billion that we DC tax payers are generating, DCPS has become a cash cow for corporations near-and-far and a power base for politicians who want to make names for themselves.

Colbert King wrote an article addressing Mayor Fenty‘s school takeover (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/05/AR2007010501737.html): “It will be a quite a show. But chances of the fight actually benefiting children are about as good as those of the Atlantic Ocean being emptied next week with a teacup. That’s because the focus is on gaining power and control, not on children. Pushing aside the school board and granting the council line-item control over the school budget, as Fenty proposes, invites lawmakers to micro-manage school spending and operations. Any wonder it was [Mayor Marion] Barry who first proposed that scheme?”

For the sake of our children and our city, we need to have an open debate about the ramifications of a takeover and what it will mean to our kids, DCPS families, and the city. Los Angeles courts recently found the school takeover by Mayor Villaraigosa unconstitutional. The judge cited a 1946 California constitutional amendment that “specifically removed municipal authority over school districts and appears to reflect the people’s determination to separate municipal functions from school functions due to the variety of conflicts that arise between their respective interests.” The New York city school takeover is not as rosy as the mayor would like us to believe; the jury is still out and the overall results have been mixed. The EdBuild no-bid contract directly benefited and involved officials in the Fenty administration, adding to voters’ worry about abuse of power and cronyism.

No one would argue that DCPS has not failed its students, teachers, and the city. Certainly, DCPS school governance and its future are very important to the 58,000 DCPS families and more than 12,000 Charter school families. Mayor Fenty had plenty of chances while on the campaign trail to discuss his ideas of takeover with his voters. I believe, if he had allowed input and open discourse about his plans to take over the schools, he probably would have had unanimous approval for his plan, just as he had received 80 percent of our votes. Mayor Fenty hesitated to discuss his take over plans while on the campaign trail because he clearly did not trust us — his voters — to agree with him. He wanted to control the debate and outcome. So, he has taken it upon himself to make decisions on our behalf with little input.

Many parents in DC are frustrated with their local schools. They are impatient with the slow improvements and want to provide their children the quality education they deserve. They are anxious and tempted to approve the mayor’s request to control the schools. But the problem for most of us is our inability to see how such a transfer of power will drastically improve our schools. As we compare our schools and city agencies we are not convinced that trusting the Mayor and the council with our school governance will provide us better run schools, small class sizes, trained teachers, competent principals, clean facilities, and responsive central administration.

City agencies that are under the control of the mayor and the council have not fared well for too long. Our mental health institutions, shelters, libraries, recreation centers, park facilities, Youth Services, Departments of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Employment, and Procurement Offices have all had management and governance issues. Again, these are agencies that have been managed and controlled by our own council and mayor. Quality education is not impossible to achieve. But most of all it is not an issue of governance, but rather accountability and adherence to the successful formula of many private schools. To offer the quality education that our children deserve, we need to insist that our schools keep small classes, equip and train our teachers, clean and maintain school facilities, hire competent principals and administrators, and make sure that DCPS central administration is an asset to our schools not a drain.

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Feeling Hoodwinked, Railroaded, Bedazzled, Disenfranchised over Hostile School Takeover?
Kathryn A. Pearson-West, wkpw3@aol.com

“Taken for granted” did not seem to adequately convey how some citizens are feeling about the hostile school takeover. Someone at the Ward 5 Democratic Committee January meeting shouted out, “Hoodwinked!” That word seems to capture many citizens’ sentiments about the rush to take over the schools with a new, unproven mayor and council. A rage is brewing throughout the city over the elected leadership’s steadfast determination to take over the schools no matter what, without the advice and consent of the electorate. It’s showdown time. Elected leaders have imposed their faulty logic on the public and expect everyone to buy it. According to the politicians, they are entitled to take over the school system because the public voted for them after they mentioned that education was a priority. Oh, never mind that the takeover of the schools did not emerge in the campaign rhetoric during the primary, when the District tends seal the vote for candidates. Get this: some state that they are elected by the people and that is good enough justification to pass the education bill that they see fit. They actually say this without cracking a smile, as that argument made real sense and as if all citizens are mindless and willing participants in a mockery of democracy. Are we, the electorate, in Wonderland?

It is really curious and suspicious that a freedom-loving city seeking statehood/voting representation would insist that a major piece of legislation changing the home rule charter would be voted on in April when the council members for Wards 4 and 7 are to be elected on May 1st. The city can’t wait a month for these two wards to elect their leaders so that they too can be at the table with the other council members. Show those wards some respect. And then there is to be no referendum so that the voters can chime in as required, because the powers to be said they want to bypass the voters and go to the Hill for their blessings. We’re told that that would hold up the process. Be real. We can wait a minute or two for what has culminated over the last thirty years.

When Mayors Williams and Barry wanted to take over the schools (and clearly they had lots of experience and talent in their shops, too), the city did not want to go along. Now it is supposed to be okay because the new kids on the block say so. Sounds like a power grab with faulty justification for proceeding without the electorate’s say-so. Laws and rules were put in place for a reason. The public has learned over the years that politicians do not walk on water. They make mistakes and sometimes their good intentions do us more harm than good. They sometimes violate the public trust. They need the checks and balances provided for in this democracy we love.

Opposition is growing against the takeover. History shows us that it does not take a lot of people to make a resistance movement move forward and work for the people. Those who want to wait until all wards are empowered with their council members at the table are looked at as the bad guys right now by political pundits and other proponents who claim we are against change and guardians of the status quo. No, we believe that we can follow the rules of law and democracy and have good schools, too. We can have both; it is not mutually exclusive. We are teaching our young people that democracy matters. Furthermore, we’ve been down this road before and we’re not falling for the “okey-doke.” It makes no sense to rush this legislation and ram it down the throats of the taxpayers without fully vetting it in the wards and with a referendum. We talk cost when it is about votes from the public, but nobody said anything about the council raising its salary or the money invested in changing around the Wilson building to accommodate a new administration. Priorities are often shown through the money budgeted.

Many citizens suggest that the mayor concentrate on making the city run right and follow up on all the money that the city is going to spend on all these sports facilities. D.C. has set a precedent for paying for them sports ventures or at least sharing in major expenses. Let’s make sure that the city agencies run with some level of efficiency, e.g., collecting the garbage, issuing drivers permits quickly, and removing the snow, before we single handedly disenfranchise the citizens in the nation’s capital.

Working together, collaboratively, we can raise each student’s test scores to comply with “No Child Left Behind” law without the school takeover. The mayor should go into neighborhoods and clean them up and make them more conducive to learning. Help improve family values toward learning. Right now there is disunity in this city over the proposal and all many see is a power grab instead of a sincere agenda. We want this administration to succeed, but not at the expense of our little freedoms. And the guilt trip about not wanting great schools is not working. We can disagree with the means while still supporting the goal and contributing to positive ideas for reform. The New York school model is not a panacea. Don’t make us think that it is all that and we have to jump this moment to give our young people have good schools. Work with our elected school board and superintendent and make that system work. Don’t give up just to work another agenda. And think about making the superintendent an elected officer. We have heard everything else, and it seems like we’re open to experimentation. By the way, try taking over special education and give the schools help there as well as cleaning up the buildings.

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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

Legacy: Treasures of Black History, January 31
Bell Clement, clementdc@verizon.net

On Wednesday, January 31, at 6:30 p.m., the Historical Society of Washington will host a book signing for Legacy: Treasures of Black History at The Carnegie on Mount Vernon Square, 801 K Street, NW (please use our south, K Street, entrance). Authors Dr. Thomas Battle and HSW Trustee Donna Wells, both of Howard University’s Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, will discuss and share images from their new book, published by the National Geographic Society. Legacy traces African American history from the beginnings of the African slave trade in the 1400s through abolitionism and Jim Crow, to the civil rights and the Black Arts movements of the 1960s and beyond. Essays from twenty-four scholars are illustrated by rare photographs and many never-before-seen images, giving readers a taste of the treasures housed at that important Washington institution, the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are recommended. Please RSVP to 383-1837 or RSVP@historydc.org.

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Womans National Democratic Club Events, February 1, 6
Pat Bitondo, pbitondo@aol.com

Norman Ornstein has appeared on many network programs and at other forums and will be speaking about the new congress and the year ahead at the Woman’s Democratic Club on Thursday, February 1. Bar opens 11:30 a.m., lunch served at 12:30 p.m. Members $19, nonmembers $25.

On Tuesday, February 6, Ray Suarez will speak on his book, The Holy Vote: The Politics of Faith In America. Suarez is a regular on the PBS News Hour. The book examines the way Americans worship, how organized religion and politics intersect, and how this is transforming our current and future mindset. Some may remember Suarez from his National Public Radio career, when he was host of the nationwide program, Talk of the Nation. This a WNDC Educational Foundation Event (tax deductible); checks should be payable to WNDC-EF. Bar opens at 11:30 a.m., lunch 12:30 p.m. Members $19, nonmembers $25. Both events and the WNDC, 1526 New Hampshire Avenue, NW. For reservations, contact Patricia Fitzgerald at 232-7363, ext. 3003, or pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org.

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National Building Museum Events, February 1, 5
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org

Thursday, February 1, 6:30-8:00 p.m. David Dixon, FAIA, principal-in-charge of planning and urban design at Goody Clancy, and Harriet Tregoning, executive director of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute and director in the urban and economic development department at the EPA, will explore the heated topic of density. The discussion will consider the economic, social, environmental and cultural benefits of higher-density development, as well as the feared neighborhood impacts of additional traffic, parking pressure, and soulless architecture. This lecture is presented in collaboration with the DC Office of Planning and held in conjunction with Washington: Symbol and City, which will be open for viewing. $12 Museum members and students; $20 nonmembers. Prepaid registration is required. Walk-in registration based on availability.

Monday, February 5, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Lecture: The Archaeology of Tomorrow: Architecture and the Spirit of Place. In his three decades as an architect, author, educator, and philosopher, Travis Price, AIA, has developed an architecture informed by ecology and mythology that restores spirit of place to modern design. His projects worldwide — including the world’s largest solar-powered building (the Tennessee Valley Authority’s one-million-square-foot complex) — and his design/build expeditions that include a floating house on the Amazon and a stargazing temple at Machu Picchu, suggest alternatives to homogenization in the American landscape and around the globe. After the lecture, he will sign copies of his book The Archaeology of Tomorrow: Architecture and the Spirit of Place (Earth Aware Editions). This lecture is held in conjunction with The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design, which will be open for viewing. $12 Members and students; $20 nonmembers. Prepaid registration required. Walk-in registration based on availability. 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.

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DC Public Library Events, February 3, 5, following
India Young, india.young@dc.gov

Saturday, February 3, 10:00 a.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room A-5. Co-authors Dr. E. Lynn Jacobowitz and Dr. Adonia K. Smith, discuss their book, Have You Ever Seen…? An American Sign Language Handshape DVD/Book, and demonstrate the new ASL DVD/Book for children. Jacobowitz and Smith are co-owners of ASL Rose, a Frederick, Maryland, collaboration which creates, publishes, and distributes American Sign Language and English bilingual and bicultural education materials. Fun for all ages! For more information, call Adaptive Services at 727-2142.

Saturday, February 3, 2:00 p.m., Cleveland Park Neighborhood Library, 3310 Connecticut Avenue, NW. Author Rosemary Reed-Miller, the owner of Toast and Strawberries, will discuss her book, The Threads of Time: The Fabric of History, and host a fashion show. For more information, call 282-3080.

Every Monday and Wednesday in February, 6:30 p.m., Capitol View Neighborhood Library, 5001 Central Avenue, SE. Step Aerobics. For more information, call 645-0755.

Monday, February 5, 6:30 p.m., Northeast Neighborhood Library, 330 7th Street, NE. Capitol Hill Mystery Book Club. Enjoy a lively book discussion of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. Call 698-3320 for more information.

Every Wednesday in February, 7:00 p.m., West End Neighborhood Library, 1101 24th Street, NW. Qigong is a form of Chinese medicine using movement, breathing and meditation techniques. Adults. The DC Public Library is not responsible, nor does it endorse health information given to participants

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Nikki Giovanni, February 14
Michael Andrews, mandrews@udc.edu

The University of the District of Columbia is pleased to bring to the Van Ness Campus Main Auditorium (Building 46 East) the world renowned poet, writer, and educator Ms. Nikki Giovanni. Ms. Giovanni’s 7:00 p.m. lecture on Valentine’s Day, February 14, will commemorate African American History Month and ignite the University’s current Literature-Live Reading Series, which promotes the culture of reading and writing across the curriculum and the academic community. Ms. Giovanni has written more than a dozen books, received nineteen honorary doctorates, and remains a sought-after distinguished voice on civil rights and equality.

Over the past thirty years, Ms Giovanni’s outspokenness, in her writing and in lectures, has brought the eyes of the world upon her. One of the most widely-read American poets, she prides herself on being "a Black American, a daughter, a mother, a professor of English." Giovanni remains as determined and committed as ever to the fight for civil rights and equality. Always insisting on presenting the truth as she sees it, she has maintained a prominent place as a strong voice of the Black community. Her focus is on the individual, specifically, on the power one has to make a difference in oneself, and thus, in the lives of others. This celebrative event, free and open to the public, will culminate in a raffle of several of Ms. Giovanni’s books, a reception, and book sale/signing sponsored by Karibu Books.

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CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS

Upcoming.Org
Richard Layman, rlaymandc@yahoo.com

Upcoming.org is a group calendar application that allows users to post events, as well as to create customized calendars that can be inserted into their own web sites. Users can link to anyone’s listed calendar entry. DCist uses Upcoming; so does my blog, http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com.

But the value in the network is in the number of participants. Few DC-based organizations are using it, other than music clubs. Many of the events listed in my calendar, I’ve entered myself.

Public presentations for DC government organizations, advocacy groups (i.e., all the various activities going on around organizing about the schools governance issue), and institutions based in the city ought to be listed in Upcoming, thus increasing the publicity of events that deserve broader awareness and participation.

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The Well-Considered Thoughts of Bloggers
Richard Layman, rlaymandc@yahoo.com

Gary wrote: “If I blogged, and offered daily off-the-top- of-my-head thoughts rather than the well considered and moderate opinions I normally write. . . .” [themail, January 24]

I like to think of my own blog as a site for daily, quickly written, “well considered” although not necessarily “moderate” opinions. It’s read by journalists, government officials, developers and others throughout the city and region (and beyond). I don’t think of what I write as moderate, progressive, or conservative, just logical and informed. The blog, http://urbanplacesandspaces.blogspot.com, is wide ranging, focusing on DC the most, the region secondarily, and with a fair amount of coverage of best practices elsewhere.

I describe the blog thusly: a community’s physical form, rather than its land uses, is its most intrinsic and enduring characteristic. This blog focuses on place and placemaking and all that makes it work -- historic preservation, urban design, transportation, asset-based community development, arts and cultural development, commercial district revitalization, tourism and destination development, and quality of life advocacy — along with doses of civic engagement and good governance watch dogging.

Check it out!

[Richard, you do realize that I was attempting a self-deprecatory joke, don’t you? — Gary Imhoff]

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