themail.gif (3487 bytes)

February 18, 2007

Snowed Under

Dear Snow Bunnies:

Mayor Fenty and members of the city council promised this week that when they take control of the schools, they will improve public education with all the skill and ability that they demonstrated in clearing the streets after our little snowstorm. They didn’t really say that, but after all, what did we have, a couple inches of snow? And how well did they clear the major thoroughfares? And how long did it take to get to the side streets, and how many of the side streets did they get to at all? They know that residents judge city administrations by how well they deliver simple services like snow removal, and still they did a shoddy job after a light snowstorm. Shouldn’t this crew have to show competence and management skills over something easy before it takes over major and difficult new responsibilities?

Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com

###############

Overdevelopment in Friendship Heights
Wendy Maiorana, wendymaiorana@rcn.com

We in Friendship Heights have been fighting the Office of Planning for five years and the Akridge Development Company for this past year, because both want to bring building heights and density levels and lot occupancy that are grossly out of scale with our very dear neighborhood. We are trying to fight city hall (which wants the taxes they envision) and the developers (envisioning the millions they can make). The infrastructure they want is not here. Maryland is adding to our Red Line five hundred new condos at the Shady Grove Metro, five hundred new condos at Geico, 384 new apartments (along with Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, and Whole Foods) — Chevy Chase Point (107 new condos), and Giant, and Rodeo Drive, and Akridge wants to triple density at Jenifer Street and Wisconsin, deemed the most dangerous intersection in DC.

Both the Office of Planning and Akridge have been deaf to neighbors’ concerns about the above, along with our other concerns about school overcrowding, insufficient Fire and Emergency Medical Services, an already maxed-out water supply in Ward 3, traffic gridlock in the Upper Wisconsin Avenue Corridor and a soon-to be maxed-out Metro. On March 8 the Zoning Board will decide whether to up the zoning along the Upper Wisconsin Avenue Corridor. If they get the upgrade, it opens up more height and density possibilities for developers to come in and Rosslynize Martens, the Outer Circle, Neiman Marcus’ outdoor parking, Rodman’s parking, WMATA, and Lord and Taylors, all of which are up for grabs at this point in time.

We in Friendship Heights, fully support more development in our neighborhood, but we are against over-development: height, and density that will dwarf our surrounding neighborhoods and overwhelm our family-friendly streets. We want to keep the existing zoning in place and welcome and encourage development within these very generous parameters. If you support our cause, we ask you to write a letter to the Zoning Commission, Suite 210 South, 441 4th Street, NW, Washington DC 20001, referencing Case Number 06-31, Akridge PUD, by March 5. Unfortunately, letters cannot be E-mailed, but you can E-mail our new Councilmember Mary Cheh at mcheh@dccouncil.us, and you can send me a copy of your letter or E-mail. You don’t have to say much, just “I oppose the Akridge proposal, Case Number 06-31, because. . . .” They will be counting the pros and cons.

###############

Metrobus Drivers
Brendan Conway, bconway@washingtontimes.com

It seems like every DC pedestrian or motorist I know can relate a near-death experience involving a Metrobus, be it a bus zooming through a red light or cutting off a lane of traffic like it’s entitled to. Many Metrobus drivers undoubtedly do their jobs well with the appropriate caution. But on the occasion of the two Metrobus-induced pedestrian deaths Wednesday at Pennsylvania and Seventh, I’d like to ask: shouldn’t we be demanding that bus drivers set the city standard for better safety? It wouldn’t be that hard. According to the insurer AllState, Washington is the second-worst city in the country for auto accidents (only Newark, NJ, is worse). Arlington and Alexandria are also near the bottom, which suggests that our problem is as much a state of mind as any US capitol-specific factor (the east coast’s worst traffic congestion, L’Enfant’s confusing city layout, mindless drivers, tourists, the continued impossibility of enforcing that cell-phone ban — did I mention mindless, clueless drivers?). This editorial calls on Metro General Manager John Catoe to make some big changes: http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20070215-080826-4941r.htm. I’m curious to see whether themail’s readers think this problem is as serious as I do.

###############

EnergyStar Rebate Program
Leila Afzal, leila.afzal@noaa.gov

I was wondering how many folks have encountered a problem with the EnergyStar Rebate Program. Last summer we bought a refrigerator and submitted the paperwork for the EnergyStar Rebate. Six months passed and we heard nothing. I sent the paperwork in again. In January, I received a survey asking me how I liked the program and if I liked the rebate in the debit card form. Of course my response was that, I never received the money and I would not like it in the form of a debit card. I wrote to my councilwoman asking her to look into this, but I have not received any correspondence from her. I E-mailed one of the readers of this list regarding the problems he had with the debit card. I think there is a serious problem, if not fraud, involved here. If anyone has additional information regarding the rebate program, I would love to hear it.

###############

New Wireless Service and the Story of Sergey Brin
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com

The GW Hatchet newspaper has an interesting article about a new wireless service, Rave, coming to college campuses around the country. It might or might not be adopted by colleges in our area. (See http://tinyurl.com/2bcfgg.) You can learn a lot by going to college (newspapers).

Fascinating reading about a math enthusiast who grew up here in the DC area. (See http://tinyurl.com/3a6v9d) “The universe is made up of stories, not atoms.” (Muriel Rukeyser). And what a story it is. Search, and ye shall find.

###############

Lobbying for Voting Rights Instead of Statehood
Joyce Paul, jarpaul@verizon.net

As long as statehood is on the back burner, we will continue to be denied true democracy in DC.

###############

A Better Bargain
Bell Clement, clement dc at verizon dot net

In reply to Jonathan Rees’s point [themail, February 14] that no taxation is a better bargain for DC than full representation: good heavens, Mr. Rees! What else would you sell?

###############

Tax-Exempt Status for DC
John LaBelle, jlabelledc@starpower.net

I applaud the idea of a tax free DC. However, where is the room for more than 300,000 new residents to come? Sounds like a major windfall for property (many absentee) owners. We would be forcing out many current residents of DC at a substantial loss of what DC is.

###############

A Congressional Vote Versus Tax-Exempt Status
Jonathan R. Rees, jrrees2006@verizon.net

The last edition of themail was devoted almost entirely to the issue of voting rights for the District of Columbia. Assume that Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton gets full congressional rights to vote on everything. I would challenge the people over at DC Vote, Mayor Fenty, and the entire DC city council to tell the people of DC how they would be better off with that congressional vote versus federal tax-exempt status. Let’s be real about it all. I mean, just one vote in a body of 435 people who get to vote on all issues versus average workers putting $4,800.00 back in their pockets not in the pockets of Uncle Sam.

The only people who would benefit from DC’s getting full congressional voting rights are the District’s political elite and its wealthiest citizens, who make over $200k a year. These benefits would not trickle down to anybody else. The people of the US territories are not clamoring to get a vote, as they do not want to give up their tax exempt status.

As I said before, DC would see boom times if its residents were exempt from federal taxes: 1) a major influx of new residents (300,000 in the next decade) who want the benefits of no federal taxation; 2) a major housing boom to meet the needs of new residents; 3) a major increase in DC tax revenues; 4) a major increase in businesses wanting to locate in DC to tap into our new labor pool; 5) a major increase in money in each Washingtonians’ pocket that would be spent and bolster the DC economy; and more. But DC would not change nor grow from getting full congressional voting rights. Remember people, it is not you who will get the vote, but just one person who does not always seek what the rest of us do. If we held a public referendum on this issue, I would bet that 95 percent of the voters would chose tax-exempt status rather than a congressional vote for the delegate. It is time for DC Vote and others to stop misleading people about any benefits in a congressional vote and for our local leaders to promote tax-exempt status instead.

###############

Two Points
Henry Townsend, henrytow@gmail.com

As for DC asking for tax-free status, well then, why not California? Per capita, the California representation in the Senate is unfair, at least as it should seem to any inhabitant of California. Only one for each fifteen million inhabitants, one-fiftieth as much as for a senator from DC. So any new senators should be first assigned to California. Repeat argument for New York, Florida, etc., etc., etc.

Alice Rivlin [themail, February 14] some time ago disqualified herself as a sensible source of comment on DC when she affirmed the preposterous notion that we have a "structural budget deficit," continuing the old lament that DC needs and deserves more federal money. The problem in our city, of course, with its per capita expenditures far exceeding those of any comparable city, with an extra dollop of “state” thrown in, is the miserably inefficient way the present revenues are spent.

###############

DC Kids Can’t Be Fixed Like Broken Toilets
P. Wolf, pbwolf@bellatlantic.net

A correspondent wrote, "DC Kids’ Test Scores Can’t Be Fixed Like Broken Toilets." Why not? It would take just a few hours of a plumber’s time per kid per incident.

###############

Issues at the Core of Student Failure in DC
Tom Blagburn, ztburn@msn.com

Our government continues to avoid attacking the issues that are so closely associated with inner-city student failure. I hope we can start a real discussion around these concerns because governance really doesn’t matter as much as the issues that I have seen unaddressed for decades in District public schools.

###############

Concerned for What in DCPS?
Erich Martel, Wilson High School, ehmartel@starpower.net

I don’t know if I am the only one, but I see nothing in these pro- versus anti-mayoral takeover arguments about education and the problems of education in DCPS. Do people on either side have an opinion or policies they are hoping to implement via the present structure or via mayoral control, regarding special education, more graduation requirements for a high school diploma, increasing graduation requirements, reducing instructional time in high school classes to make room for eight classes each year in high school, students’ attendance and tardiness and truancy, students’ behavior, improving teachers’ effectiveness, improving reading skills in the early grades, improving math skills in the early grades and on up the grades, or social promotion and social graduation?

It appears that both sides agree that the Master Education Plan is great and that the primary problem is governance, though I’m not quite sure if that includes the educational policies that one or another type of governance implement. So far, it appears that there is no difference in the educational policies that are being proposed or planned. Well, there is the difference over charter schools and the “chicken or the egg” disagreement over charters as a contributing cause versus a consequence of educational stagnation in DCPS.

It seems, therefore, that there really is little education point in having a referendum or even telling our councilmembers how they should vote. The choice appears to offer two options at this point: a chancellor with great authority ruling from above versus a superintendent with great authority ruling from above (aided by a weakened Washington Teachers Union). It seems like the schools, that is, improvement of the education in our classrooms, is being held hostage to other agendas.

###############

School Reform
Michael Bindner, mikeybdc at yahoo

There are three major issues regarding taking over DCPS. First, can the city agencies do better? According to the GAO, probably not. Second, should they? Definitely not. The literature on school effectiveness shows that strong principals are the key. Dismembering DCPS and having other agencies take these functions is a large step backward. Rather, the lines of authority should be altered so that each school has a core maintenance and procurement staff responsible to the principal and a school board for that individual school composed of teachers (or their union representatives), parents (who should be a majority, with a majority of these from “n boundary”), students (for the high schools and junior high), and one or more of the local Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. An appointed Board of Regents would advise a Chancellor and a small staff to distribute funds to each school. The third question is how to do the reform. It should be passed by the council as a charter amendment to be voted on by DC electors. Given Tom Davis’ GAO report, I doubt that Congress will pass a proposal anyway.

While you are at it, I suggest taking this opportunity to change how the grades are organized in DC. Early childhood should be pre-K through 3, middle should go 4-7 (to keep the seventh graders away from the older kids), secondary should be broken up into three pieces. Begin with a joint track from 8-10, where one must gain literacy at tenth grade to graduate -- and graduation comes as soon as one is literate at that level, even if they are in eighth grade. Attendance to tenth grade is mandatory, and disruptive students will be sent to special schools. Dropping out is not allowed until age eighteen. Students who are emancipated or who have an unstable home life should be paid to attend school. (If they must show up someplace and obey, they should receive the same consideration as those of us in our later years who have to do the same thing at work). After the tenth grade, students go to either a vocational-technical track or an academic/junior college track from 11-14. Graduation occurs when sixty college-level credits are earned or when a technical certification is achieved or a union sponsored apprenticeship is completed. Youth in the vo-tech track should receive coop employment and be paid for it.

###############

The Slippery Slope of the DC School Takeover Vote
Kathryn Pearson, kap8082@aol.com

Many in the media and elected officials are actually against a popular vote by the public on the mayor’s school takeover, and against waiting for a council vote until Wards 4 and 7 have elected council members. They are against having the public’s stamp of approval. They are advancing arguments that make sense only to the power hungry and to those who disrespect the rights of a civilized people to have their say. Are the powers-that-be afraid that the public might realize too soon that the emperor is wearing no clothes? It’s time to see who runs DC, the voters and residents, or some powerful moguls behind the scenes with their own agenda. I’ve heard some silly, ridiculous, desperate arguments before, but this beats them all. The media have boosted the egos of some our elected leaders too high. The argument goes something like this: the people voted overwhelmingly for the elected official and the elected official mentioned that education was a priority when he was campaigning. Therefore, whatever the elected official wants to do about education is the gospel and the voters do need to be able to vote on what they are entitled to vote on. Apparently the voters should have inferred that top priority meant an automatic school takeover without the stamp of approval by the voters. Furthermore, anybody that does not support this vein of thinking is in the minority and is not playing with a full deck.

Here’s more faulty thinking, the big fallacy. All 142 precincts voted for the mayor and he wants the takeover legislation to pass. Congress can pass this takeover plan without going to the people for a referendum as currently required by the home rule charter. This law is not for mayors, and Congress is there to jump in when the people’s rights need to be ignored. Therefore, the mayor need not adhere to the law established for home rule charter amendments. He can go directly to Congress and bypass the voters. Never mind that the city is demanding the right to vote on Congress but does not see a connection with ignoring the right to vote by the citizens. Is this the type of logic being taught in our schools today?

Furthermore, the argument suggests that the right to vote and academic excellence are mutually exclusive. Now they do teach in school about factors that are mutually exclusive, but never that democracy is inconvenient and can be breached when the mayor and media have an agenda that they need to accelerate. Both our young people and our citizenry as a whole are not supposed to see the fallacies in the arguments and smile and nod as the mayor and council steamroll their issue of control pass the citizens. And we’re supposed to like it and tolerate it.

###############

CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS

DC Public Library Events, February 20-22
India Young, india.young@dc.gov

Tuesday, February 20, 12:00 p.m., West End Neighborhood Library, 1104 24th Street, NW. Book Club. Sally Hemmings by Barbara Chase-Riboud will be discussed. For more information, call 724-8707.

Tuesday, February 20, 6:30 p.m., Southeast Neighborhood Library, 403 7th Street, SE. Capitol Hill Book Club. Call 698-3377 for book title.

Wednesday, February 21, 12:30 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room 443. “The Making of a Holiday.” A film hosted by Lavar Burton highlighting the key moments and accomplishments in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the popular movement that led to congressional legislation establishing a national King holiday. All ages. For more information, call the Black Studies Division at 727-1208.

Wednesday, February 21, 1:00 p.m., Capitol View Neighborhood Library, 5001 Central Avenue, SE. Learn about the tradition of African American quilt making. Ages 6-12. For more information, call 645-0755.

Wednesday, February 21, 2:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room 443. “Civil War to Civil Rights: The Trials and Triumphs of Black America.”

Thursday, February 22, 6:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, 2nd Floor East Lobby. Author Anita Hackley-Lambett will discuss her new book, Freeman Henry Morris Murray: First Biography of a Forgotten Pioneer for Civil Justice. For more information, call the Black Studies Division at 727-1211.

###############

The Quander Quality, February 22
Bell Clement, clementdc@verizon.net

On Thursday, February 22, 6:30-8:30 p.m., the Historical Society of Washington hosts a presentation and book-signing by Judge Rohulamin Quander for his new book, The Quander Quality. The event is held at The Carnegie, on Mount Vernon Square , 801 K Street, NW. Please use our south (K Street) entrance. The Quander Quality is the story of Judge Quander’s father, James W. Quander. James was born in segregated Washington, DC, in 1918, and was soon diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, with the prognosis “not expected to live beyond age 10.” The book chronicles the nine decades of James’s life in DC, and offers a fine portrait of hometown Washington through the course of the twentieth century. Judge Quander, founder and president of The Quander Historical Society, will also speak about his current work, which documents the Quanders’ African roots and the family’s history in this country, which dates from 1684. The event is free but reservations are requested. RSVP to 383-1837 or RSVP@historydc.org.

###############

Green Building for Kids Benefit Concern, February 24
Ingrid Drake, ingridnatasha@yahoo.com

Please join M.O.M.I.E’s TLC for a benefit concert on Saturday, February 24, from 7-11 p.m., at All Souls Unitarian Church. The concert features Baltimore-based group Fertile Ground, singer Ayanna Gregory, rock-reggae band Pure Light Seed, and Bomani "D’mite" Armah. It also features special performances by M.O.M.I.E’s youth and families! Your support will help M.O.M.I.E’s TLC raise money for a state-of-the art, "green" educational facility on Georgia Avenue. Support our mission to nurture the genius of at-risk children and create a transformative educational system .

Tickets are selling fast. Purchase today! Buying tickets online is easy. Just visit http://www.momiestlc.com, click on our donate now button and designate the payment as “concert ticket.” This concert will leave you energized, renewed, and inspired! Call 285-7937 or E-mail momiestlc@gmail.com for more information about purchasing special packages like our “Star People Package” or “Groove Package” with exciting incentives.

###############

National Building Museum Events, February 27
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org

Tuesday, February 27, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Smart Growth: Lessons Learned from the Clarksburg Town Center. Amy Presley, Lynn Fantle, and Kim Shiley of the Clarksburg Town Center Advisory Committee will share their perspectives on a highly publicized planned development where the built project was inconsistent with the smart growth plans approved by county officials. The story that unfolded in Clarksburg, Maryland, serves as an example of why residents, planners, and developers need to work in concert throughout the entire development and building process to ensure integrity of design and expectations. Registration not required. Smart Growth is presented in association with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Smart Growth Network. At the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW, Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line.

Tuesday, February 27, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Docent training open house. Have you considered sharing your interest in architecture, urban planning, and design by volunteering at the National Building Museum? At the Docent Training Open House learn about the Museum’s docent program and see if you’d like to give tours of the Museum’s historic home and groundbreaking exhibitions. After this introductory session, training begins in mid-March and continues through April. Free. Registration required by E-mailing kcotner@nbm.org. For more information on docent or other Museum volunteer opportunities, please call Kristi Cotner at 202.272.2448, ext. 3302, or visit www.nbm.org for an application.

###############

Fathering on the Frontline, March 1
Kadija Ash, kadija.ash@ccs-ds.org

Catholic Community Services and the Washington Parent Education Collaborative will host the second annual parent education symposium, Fathering on the Frontline. The symposium will educate parents and professionals who work with them on important fatherhood issues. The one-day event will include presentations and workshops on fathers’ rights, using media, handling emotions, father support groups, child abuse and neglect, as well as information on father-friendliness for organizations and funding. Commissioner Isaac Fulwood, Jr., former DC police chief, will serve as keynote speaker. March 1, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Catholic University of America, Pryzbyla Center, 620 Michigan Avenue, NE. For more information on the symposium and to register, call 772-4344.

###############

FY 2008 Budget Event, March 8
Susie Cambria, scambria@dckids.org

DC Action for Children, DC Fiscal Policy Institute and The Arc of the District of Columbia invite you to attend an important budget event, "What’s in store for the FY 2008 budget?" This is a briefing on the important budget issues in FY 2008. The event is being held on March 8 from 9:45-11:15 a.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, in room A-5. Panelists are Bob Ebel, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Chief Economist, DC Office of Revenue Analysis; Eric Goulet, Budget Director, Council of the District of Columbia; Ed Lazere, Executive Director, DC Fiscal Policy Institute; and William Singer, Chief, Budget Development and Execution, DC Office of the City Administrator. Registration begins at 9:30.

Registration is required. Send your name, organization (if applicable), address, phone, fax, and E-mail to DC Action for Children, dcaction@dckids.org, 234-9108 (fax) or by mail to 1616 P Street, NW, Suite 420, Washington, DC 20036. Registration by phone is not available, but feel free to call with questions, 234-9404, or E-mail scambria@dckids.org.

###############

Public Display of Affection, March 20
Michael Andrews, mandrews@udc.edu

This week’s art show opening was canceled due to inclement weather, the gala opening has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, February 20. The show is "Public Display of Affection." It is an invitational art show on the theme of love. The twenty-two participating artists are professionals from a variety of disciplines: painting, printmaking, photography, sculpture, ceramics, and glasswork. The artists are from around the country (with several locals as well) and the show is culturally diverse. Some of the local artists represented are Michael Platt, Zeki Findikoglu, Sean Hennessey, Gabriela Bulosiva, Elwood Gibson, Eric Lynn, Michael Janis, Meredith Rode, Jim Spillane, Chuck Johnson, George Smith, Audrey Lew, Aurelio Grisanty, Helen Zughaib, George Smith, and Daniel Venne.

The opening reception for the show is Tuesday, February 20, from 6:00-9:00 p.m. We will have light refreshments. Several of the participating artists will be in attendance for an informal artists talk at 8:00 p.m. on opening night. The address is Gallery 42, University of the District of Columbia, 4200 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Building 42, Room A12. For more information, call 274-5781. Parking is free on opening night for participating artists and their friends. Visitors on opening night must otherwise pay $3.50 for the UDC garage, but street parking is free after 6:30 (there are usually plenty of spaces on Connecticut Avenue or Van Ness Street at that time). The University is also easily accessible by Metro on the Red Line, Van Ness/UDC stop.

###############

CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS

The Best Roofer in DC. . .
Wendy Blair, wblair@npr.org

. . . is L and M Contracting, on Alaska Avenue, NW, near the Maryland line. Dave Lindemanxe has been highly recommended by Washington Consumer Checkbook year after year, his wife runs the office, and now one of their sons is in the business as well. He has vast experience and is honest.

###############

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.


Send mail with questions or comments to webmaster@dcwatch.com
Web site copyright ©DCWatch (ISSN 1546-4296)