Mayday
Dear Maydayers:
Dorothy, Jim Myers, and Dave Mallof lead off this issue of themail
with messages on three separate but related situations. What they all
have in common is the city’s headlong rush into selling off its
assets. Dorothy writes about the mayor’s education transition
strategy, which is largely a strategy for transitioning prime school
facilities to real estate interests and developers. Jim Myers writes
about the sell-off of the city’s Boys and Girls Clubs. The
Metropolitan Police Department owned and operated the Boys and Girls
Clubs in Washington until just a few years ago, when the city
transferred the clubs and their real estate to the nonprofit
organization — whose board is top-heavy with real estate interests —
that now owns them. Post columnist Marc Fisher summarizes the
strategy of that board: “Sell off city clubs that sit on land that
would make developers salivate” (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/28/AR2007042801437.html).
And Dave Mallof details the shady way in which these real estate deals
will be done, just as one sell-off of city schools will be done on
Tuesday, by an emergency bill that has had no public hearings; that wasn’t
listed on the printed calendar of the council; and that won’t even be
written and made available to the members of the city council until
tomorrow, the day before they will pass it.
Tuesday will be May day, the international socialist day of
celebration. Mayday is also the international radio and telephone
distress signal. And it will be the day when residents of Wards 4 and 7
elect new councilmembers to replace Mayor Fenty and Council Chairman
Gray. Residents of those wards will determine whether to add two more
councilmembers who will go along with this agenda of dispossession or
whether they will elect councilmembers who will protect the city’s
assets and residents. Let’s wish our city well.
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The Education Transition Strategy
Dorothy Brizill, dorothy@dcwatch.com
On Friday, Mayor Adrian Fenty had a press conference to release his
“Education Transition Strategy” (http://www.dcpswatch.com/mayor/070427.htm).
This paper was presented as the mayor’s plan for implementing his
school takeover once Congress has imposed it on the District. As has
become the usual practice at Fenty press conferences, the strategy paper
was distributed to the press just as the conference began so that
reporters couldn’t review it thoroughly before asking questions; and
Fenty followed his new tactic of avoiding any hard questions by simply
saying, “That’s a good question,” and moving on to the next
question without answering. Although stories in the print and broadcast
press didn’t reflect it, reporters were skeptical of the strategy
paper, noting that it lacked both specifics and a timeline, and failed
who or which offices would be responsible for implementing its
components. The vagueness of the plan leads to two possible conclusions,
both of them unpleasant: either the administration is hiding the
specifics and won’t release them to the public, or this sketchy
transition strategy does in fact reflect the full extent of the
administration’s planning to date for its takeover of the schools.
Two points, in particular, raised tough questions. First, the mayor
announced that he going to engage in fundraising from private sources
for the schools, especially from developers and contractors who could
contribute renovation and repair work. This led to questions about
whether the administration would have adequate safeguards and disclosure
requirements to prevent conflicts of interest. The mayor suggested that
contractors and developers would contribute purely out of civic interest
and from philanthropic motives, not out of any self-interested desire to
participate in the billions of dollars of school construction contracts
the administration will control. Second, the mayor said that there was
no firm plan either to retain or replace Superintendent Clifford Janey
(whom the administration did not invite to participate in the press
conference). On the other hand, Miami school superintendent Rudy Crew is
revealing to the press in that city that Washington, DC (among other
schools districts) is courting him with proposed annual compensation
packages ranging from $600,000 to $900,000 (see http://www.cbs4.com/defede/local_story_101220350.html
and http://www.cbs4.com/local/local_story_103203430.html).
Crew said, “the Washington, DC, scenario is very real.”
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The Boys and Girls Clubs: Cashing out in the
District
Jim Myers, hilleast@aol.com
District residents, alas, are often so eager to hear their city is on
the upswing that they — and local media — will embrace such claims
even when they aren’t so. The latest triumph of gentrification
mythology comes from the cash-strapped and foundering Boys and Girls
Clubs of Greater Washington, which wants to right itself financially by
selling off its properties in the District. B&GCGW says membership
is down at the clubs because changing demographics have produced a
shortage of kids “at risk” in the city. So B&GCGW is packing up,
cashing in, and heading for the suburbs. The largest and oldest club in
the city, Eastern Branch on eastern Capitol Hill (closer to the packed
DC Jail than the US Capitol), will be the first to go, with
redevelopment plans to follow at the Jelleff Branch in Georgetown, Club
#10 in Columbia Heights (currently propped up by a $500,000 District
subsidy) and Club #11 in Ward 8.
For the community around Eastern Branch, B&GCGW’s questionable,
if not downright bogus claims about changing demographics seem largely
an attempt to hide the organization’s deeper failures: Eastern Branch
has been a false front for years, and that’s the main reason
membership declined there. Staff turnover was constant. Programs that
officials touted for Eastern were often, in fact, not offered -- a
slippery practice still in evidence at a community forum in March when
B&GCGW CEO Will Gunn listed various programs like football and
baseball as ongoing, while few in the audience knew they had not been
offered at Eastern for years. At the same time, successful programs that
B&GCGW also touted, like the Bren-Car Dancers, actually paid monthly
rent for use of the Eastern building while B&GCGW counted
participants as its own members. For fifteen years or more, little
effort was made to attract kids from the community itself. Outreach was
nonexistent. Would-be community volunteers were rebuffed, and offers to
bring more kids were sometimes greeted with, “We don’t have staffing
for that.” Recently, Eastern mainly focused on contract after-school
services for charter school students bused in from elsewhere. Few can
remember that last time the Eastern pool had water in it, and the club
was shut down on Saturdays and Sundays.
However, the most damnable aspect of B&GCGW’s claim about
changing demographics are the serious youth issues B&GCGW and its
consultants have so skillfully managed to ignore in their zeal about
pricey real estate. Drug gang violence centered at 17th and
Independence, SE, a block from Eastern Branch, left a trail of dead and
wounded across the community in 2005 and 2006. The park across from the
Eastern front door remains a gathering point for drug use and sales.
Girl gangs are on the rise at Eastern High and Potomac Gardens. A major
theme on the newhilleast listserv, right now, involves reports of
wilding kids attacking elderly residents and vandalizing property. Youth
issues have been the primary focus at every community policing meeting I’ve
attended this year, and a recent Barney Circle session with Mayor Fenty
was almost totally devoted to citizens’ concerns about kids in
trouble. And here’s what B&GCGW is saying: “Let’s take the
money and run.”
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Emergency Legislation to Sell Schools Without
Competitive Bidding or Notice
Dave Mallof, dave2009@yahoo.com
[An open letter to Council Chairman Vincent Gray]: I am now aware the
DC Council plans to introduce wholly inappropriate emergency legislation
to memorialize the permanent sale of public school property to
preordained parties without community input or public hearings on the
legislation, the affected schools, or their subsequent sale or
disposition. This is a dangerous action for the affected communities and
a citywide precedent with potentially seismic implications for
residents. Yet I am now informed it is being introduced in last-minute
fashion — the amendment apparently will not be fully written until
Monday night — with no public input. I want to urge and respectfully
warn the council to not advance such a profound piece of legislation as
an emergency measure. If I am correct that this legislation will be
perceived as plainly wrong, the potential political and electoral
fallout could be massive.
This bill would have a dramatic immediate community impact. Even if
this legislation involves only selected schools, four days before it is
to be introduced the general public does not know which schools are
affected. How many are in this category? Where are they located? Have
the ANCs or local community groups been notified on the permanent
endowment granted by such action? The local DC neighborhoods that will
face permanent sale to a charter (likely with investor-partners in the
background) will also face almost certain subsequent subdivision of land
or facilities for secondary development rights. These neighborhoods must
receive notice and provide comment.
It will also have a possible citywide impact: The council may also be
setting a dangerous precedent: this legislation begins to establish a
permanent mechanism whereby the mayor unilaterally determines
“surplus” schools, then unilaterally leases these properties, and
then subsequently provides for no-bid sales to the lessees. This all
would be executed without local community input on the use of the
"surplus" schools and without competitive bidding if these
schools are eventually to be sold. Under the seemingly innocuous banner
of allowing a charter to have a combined right of first offer and first
refusal, the DC Council is preordaining preferred winners for permanent
ownership and subsequent economic development of vital DC public
property. The entire city government, both the executive and the
legislative branches, must act beyond reproach regarding former
relationships, given that this is about public property.
Could it be that former Mayor Williams and a host of pre-aligned
developers already have plans to fund the no-bid purchase of these
properties, and then subdivide the properties into other development
projects? Given this stew of interrelationships and valuable properties,
haste on Tuesday by the DC Government is irresponsible and dangerous.
The DC council must circulate this measure as standard legislation, not
as a ramrod twenty-four-hour emergency, and provide for public hearings
on both the details of the mechanism to be employed and the specific
affected properties before advancing any amendment to a DC council vote.
See the Council’s Legislative Calendar for two planned actions on May
1, http://www.dccouncil.us/calen77.htm,
and also see the FBR Partners press release from January 24, http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=71352&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=953326&highlight=.
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Forty-Two Percent of Metro DC Residents Are
Working Poor
Jonathan R. Rees, jrrees2006@verizon.net
Despite recent claims in the local media about how great the economy
is in the Metro DC area, it is not that great. The truth is, 42 percent
of the people in Metro DC are living paycheck to paycheck, and 35
percent would face eviction if they lost their jobs as unemployment
income would not be enough ( http://video.nbc4.com/player/?id=96023).
What is the cause of people living paycheck to paycheck? Well, ask
Mayor Fenty! It is his good friends who are bleeding all of us into the
poor house. We are talking about Fenty’s buddies in the real-estate
(developers) industry who keep on gouging people with unjustifiable
rents and condos that go for more than a four bedroom house. This is the
price we all pay when developers have to kick out big money for
politicos like Adrian Fenty, Muriel Bowser, Mary Cheh, and those fat
checks and freebies they got.
Our rents or mortgages go up 5.5 percent a year, but our pay only
goes up 1.75 percent, and it has been at this pace for the last eighteen
years. It is rents that are hurting DC, and rents have been the tool of
the gentrifiers to chase minorities and the poor out. (DC rent control
increases should net be fixed at the CPI plus 2 percent, but at 1.75
percent, which is the average annual wage increase for a worker.) Mayor
Fenty and our DC city council oppress people so their friends can get
rich while everybody else is losing ground and struggling to keep their
heads above water. It has been the Democrats on the DC city council who
intentionally allowed rents to skyrocket while talking out of the other
side of their mouths about how much they care about the middle class and
poor! The council voted themselves a $24,000 a year wage increase
because of higher rents and so on, but they did not vote for any of us
to get a $24,000 a year wage increase so we can meet our rent increases!
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I called a voter list management house a few days ago for variously
sorted lists to use in a special mailing to Ward 7 constituents. I was
surprised when the list house owner informed me that he could not sell
lists to me because the Fenty campaign had ordered and paid for a
specially designed list for use by “Mr. Vandell,” another candidate
in the Ward 7 council race. Perhaps it was inadvertent that the list
house gave me what should have been proprietary information.
Nevertheless, our telephone exchange included other comments by the
owner that led me to believe that he was credible in his assertions.
I am not certain what advantage the candidate gains by repeatedly
denying the role played by the mayor in his campaign. Voters in the ward
have long presumed that the Fenty group has had a major involvement. The
impact that candor on this topic would have on the Ward 7 contest is
uncertain and possibly inconsequential. However, a more important
concern would be campaign finance reporting requirements. Has Mr.
Vandell reported a properly valuated estimate of the mailing list
contributions? Has the Fenty campaign reported its expenditures for Mr.
Vandell? That is a matter for the Office of Campaign Finance.
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News for the Washington
Post
Phil Shapiro, pshapiro@his.com
So the Washington Post has launched something called
“PostPoints” where readers can earn points. This initiative is
presumably to hang on to a diminishing subscriber base. Here is some
news for the Post. The problem is not with readers. The problem
is with the product you’re delivering to us. It’s not relevant to
our lives, unless you’re keen on doing an ultramarathon in Tennessee
sometime.
It’s time to end the tweaking and start the revamping. And guess
what, if you listened to your readers, you might gain an understanding
of what they want.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the Post did a travel
piece on Sightseeing Cruises for a Close Up View of the Icebergs of the
North Atlantic. Your frame of reference defines your view of the world.
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Ms. Lorn [themail, April 25] makes a number of statements against the
allocation of space for dog owners to exercise their pets. I would like
to think that in a city such as DC that all public needs could be met,
both for dogs and children. Further, Ms. Lorn seems to worry that
someone will label her a Dog Nazi or crazy. After reading her posting I
will freely say it sounded like she is both. The tone and tenure of her
posting sounds like she is more that a little obsessed against dogs. I
would like to add that I am not a dog owner but would recommend that Ms.
Lorn be muzzled and kept on a short leash.
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[Gary] stated on April 26 that the “. . . newer sense of the word
[forensic] derives from its origin as applying to debate and argument,
as in a court or a legal proceeding.” Quite the reverse! The word
forensic is derived from the Forum in Rome, where Cicero and his ilk
originally debated and argued (quo usque tandem. . . ?).
There is really no “newer sense,” no change in its fundamental
meaning, as currently applied to resolving conflicting opinions, often
in a courtroom setting.
[I think that William and I actually agree on the original sense of
“forensic.” I wrote that the use of forensics as applying to a
scientific method of solving crimes is the newer sense of the word,
deriving from the fact that it originally applied to debate and
argument, particularly the kind of debate that could be found in a
court. I think that’s what he’s also saying. — Gary Imhoff]
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC Public Library Events, April 30, May 1-2
Randi Blank, randi.blank@dc.gov
Monday, April 30, 6:30 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room 221. All the World’s a Stage Film
Club. We will watch Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006), starring
Kirsten Dunst. This movie is rated PG-13. For more information, call
727-1161.
Monday, April 30, 6:30 p.m., Woodridge Neighborhood Library, 1801
Hamlin Street, NE. We will watch the film version of Their Eyes Were
Watching God, starring Halle Berry. For more information, call 541-6226.
Monday, April 30, 7:30 p.m., Georgetown Neighborhood Library, 3260 R
Street, NW. Book discussion hosted by the Literary Friends Group. For
more information, call 282-0220.
Tuesday, May 1, 1:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library,
901 G Street, NW, Enhanced Business Information Center (e-BIC), 1st
Floor. Licensing and Tax Office Hours for Businesses at e-BIC. If you
are starting a business or want to take your existing business to the
next level, speak to experts from the Department of Consumer and
Regulatory Affairs and the Office of Tax and Revenue during special
office hours at the Library. For more information, call 727-2241.
Tuesday, May 1, 4:15 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library,
901 G Street, NW, Room 215. Assistive Technology Users Group and
Support. Assistive technology users meet to share information. For all
levels who use assistive technology for the blind and visually impaired.
For more information, call 727-2142.
Tuesdays, May 1-May 29, 6:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial
Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room A-5. The Audio-Visual Division presents
the Hot Movie Hits series. For more information about the series, call
727-1265. May 1, The Departed (2006). This fast-moving, well-acted,
intense drama of undercover cops and criminals stars Leonardo DiCaprio,
Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Rated R. May
8, Casino Royale (2006). Martin Campbell directs Daniel Craig as super
agent 007. From Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel. Rated PG-13. May
15, Dreamgirls (2006). The adaptation of the hit Broadway musical stars
Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. Directed by Bill Condon. Rated PG-13.
May 22, Blood Diamond (2006). This drama shows the dramatic search for a
rare diamond during Sierra Leone’s ‘90’s civil war. With Leonardo
DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou. Directed by Edward Zwick. Rated R. May 29,
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006). Will Smith stars in this true story of
a man who rises above homelessness and adversity to make a life for
himself and his son. Gabriele Muccino directs. Rated PG-13.
Tuesdays and Saturdays, May 1-May 29, Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m.,
Saturdays at 12:00 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library, 901
G Street, NW, East Lobby. Shakespeare in the East Lobby Film Series. The
Language and Literature Division presents this film series. For more
information, call 727-1281.May 1, 2:00 p.m., Romeo and Juliet (1996).
One of Shakespeare’s most performed plays, this modern adaptation of
Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy concerns the fate of two
“star-crossed lovers.” Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation, starring
Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. Rated PG-13. May 8, 2:00 p.m.,
Othello (1990). This domestic tragedy involves one of the most intense
dramas with a small group of central characters. Misplaced trust and
dark suspicion brings down an otherwise good man. The Royal Shakespeare
Company’s presentation stars Ian McKellen and Imogen Stubbs. Made for
TV. May 15, 2:00 p.m., As You Like It (1978). A pastoral comedy
centering on several elaborate gender reversals, lots of humor, clever
wordplay, and romantic chance-encounters. Produced by BBC and Time-Life
Films, starring Helen Mirren and Brian Stirner. Made for TV. May 19,
12:00 p.m., Romeo and Juliet (1996). Rated PG-13. May 22, 2:00 p.m., The
Merchant of Venice (1980). A play sometimes classed as a comedy with
romantic and dramatic events surrounding a set of characters in Venetian
society and a Jewish money lender. Produced by BBC and Time-Life Films,
starring Warren Mitchell and Gemma Jones. Made for TV. May 26, 12:00
p.m., The Taming of the Shrew (1976). An earlier Shakespeare comedy
involving a “play within a play” with the theme of wooing and
wedding. Fast-paced verbal repartee is employed to the maximum. San
Francisco’s prize-winning American Conservatory Theater’s
production, starring Fredi Olster and Marc Singer. Made for TV. May 29,
2:00 p.m., The Taming of the Shrew (1976). Made for TV.
Tuesday, May 1, 7:30 p.m., Takoma Park Neighborhood Library, 416
Cedar Street, NW. Poetry at Takoma Spring Series. Local poets Phyllis
Berman, Heddy Reid, Cheryl Snell, and Julia Wendell read from their
work. For more information, call 576-7486.
Wednesdays, May 2-May 30, 6:30 p.m., Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Memorial Library, 901 G Street, NW, Room A-9. The History Division
presents the Asian film series. For more information, call 727-1161. May
2, Monsoon Wedding (2001). English, Hindi, and Punjabi with subtitles.
As the monsoon rains near, Lalit Verma’s family comes together for the
recently arranged marriage of his daughter, Aditi, and romance abounds
throughout the family. Directed by Mira Nair. Rated R. May 9, Blind
Shaft (2003). Mandarin with subtitles. In modern northwestern China,
itinerant coal miners Tang and Song have come up with a moneymaking
scheme to take advantage of the unregulated mines and negligent owners.
Directed by Li Yang. Unrated. Original title: Mang jing. May 16, Take
Care of My Cat (2001). Korean with subtitles. Five girlfriends, recent
high school graduates in the port city of Inchon, begin to grow apart
with the responsibilities of young adulthood in this coming-of-age
story. Directed by Jae-eun Jeong. Unrated. Original title: Goyangileul
butaghae. May 23, Hong Kong 1941 (1983). Cantonese with subtitles. A
love story set during the Japanese invasion and occupation of Hong Kong.
Directed by Po-Chih Leong. Rated R. Original title: Dang doi lai ming.
May 30, Yahaan (2005). Hindi with subtitles. A romantic drama of life
between a Hindu army officer and a Muslim woman in the troubled region
of Kashmir. Directed by Shoojit Sircar. Unrated.
Wednesday, May 2, 6:00 p.m., Woodridge Neighborhood Library, 1801
Hamlin Street, NE. The Literary Friends hosts ”Why I Love Their Eyes
Were Watching God.” Actress-playwright Joy Jones explains her Hurston
devotion. A showing of the film will follow. For more information, call
541-6226.
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National Building Museum Events, May 1, 2, 4
Lauren Searl, lsearl@nbm.org
All events at the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW,
Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
Tuesday, May 1, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Building for the 21st Century: The
Solaire and Beyond: Integrating Environmental Performance into Building
Design. The 27-story, 252-unit, Solaire residential tower overlooks New
York City’s Battery Park neighborhood. The design by Pelli Clarke
Pelli Architects was chosen as an AIA Top Ten Green Project for 2004. It
incorporates photovoltaics, a geothermal energy system, blackwater
treatment (for reuse of water in toilets and for the irrigation of a
neighboring park), gas-absorption chillers, and more. The Gold LEED-rated
building consumes 35% less energy than typical structures of its size,
incorporates an advanced HVAC system, daylighting, high-performance
windows, ENERGY STAR fixtures, and occupancy and daylight sensors to
further optimize energy use. Rafael Pelli will discuss the Solaire and
two other Battery Park buildings -- the Verdesian and the Visionaire —
being designed by the same team, using lessons learned from the Solaire
project to further the state of the art of sustainable high-rise
residential design. Free. Registration not required.
Tuesday, May 1, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Building in Harmony documents the
ten-month building process that the Canadian Amateur Musicians (CAMMAC)
went through when they demolished their eighty-year old lodge, replacing
it with an innovative “green” music center. Learn about the center’s
integrated design that incorporated sustainable features such as natural
heating and cooling and a water filtration system, while still retaining
the former structure’s spirit. After the screening, the film maker,
Richard Burman, will lead a discussion. This program is held in
conjunction with The Green House: New Directions in Sustainable
Architecture and Design, which will be open for viewing. $5 Members and
students; $10 nonmembers. Prepaid registration required. Walk-in
registration based on availability.
Wednesday, May 2, 6:30-8:00 p.m. DC Builds: Considering Downtown DC:
The Center City Action Agenda 07. Where is Downtown DC heading? Will it
come into its own, with a character befitting a great capital city;
while also thriving as a diverse, dynamic, and culturally rich
centerpiece for the Washington area? Alex Krieger, principal of Chan
Krieger Sieniewicz, will present strategic actions needed to ensure DC’s
competitiveness and livability. He will discuss the visionary framework
and the near-term strategies developed in cooperation with local and
federal partners. This lecture is presented in collaboration with the DC
Office of Planning and held in conjunction with Washington: Symbol &
City, which will be open for viewing. $12 Museum members and students;
$20 nonmembers. Prepaid registration required. Walk-in registration
based on availability.
Friday, May 4, 10:00-11:30 a.m. School Building Week Awards Ceremony.
School Building Week 2007, from April 30 to May 4, reinforces the
connection between school facilities and student learning. It creates
greater public awareness of the importance of well-planned and
sustainable buildings that enhance student performance and support
culture and community vitality. The week’s events will culminate with
the School of the Future design competition Awards Ceremony at the
National Building Museum. The competition gives students an opportunity
to think about the learning environment, express their creativity, and
experience the planning process. Visit http://sbw.cefpifoundation.org
for more details.
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Taste of Shaw, May 5
Alexander M. Padro, PadroANC2C@aol.com
The second Taste of Shaw, a progressive dining and art event along
lower 9th Street, NW, near the Washington Convention Center, will be
held on Saturday, May 5, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The event will
feature samples of a variety of dishes, beers, and cocktails from venues
along four blocks adjacent to the new Washington Convention Center.
Stops on the Taste of Shaw include Old Dominion Brewhouse, Vegetate
Restaurant and Lounge, Be Bar, Long View Gallery, Azi’s Cafe, Queen of
Sheba Restaurant, Chang’s Mongolian Barbeque/Tokyo Sushi Bar,
Breakwell’s Coffee + Tea, Ninth Street Gallery, TG Cigars, and Modern
Liquors. Businesses scheduled to open later this year, like D’Vine
Cravings Bakery and EuroMarket Cafe, will be previewing their offerings.
The first Taste of Shaw was held in Little Ethiopia, the 1900 block of
9th Street, NW, in 2004.
Tickets entitle participants to a sample of food or beverage at each
of the participating venues. The tickets are $20 in advance, and $25 on
the day of the event. For more information and a listing of where
tickets can be purchased, go to http://www.shawmainstreets.com
or call 265-SHAW.
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Discover Historic Silver Spring, May 5
Jerry A. McCoy, sshistory@yahoo.com
On Saturday, May 5, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., discover the old in the
new South Silver Spring! Silver Spring Historical Society member Karen
Kali will conduct a walking tour of South Silver Spring. The tour starts
from the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station, 8100 Georgia Avenue. The
cost is $5.00 per person; children under thirteen are free; and it is
free for SSHS members with membership card. Friendly dogs are welcomed!
Reservations are not required. For additional information, E-mail sshistory@yahoo.com
or call 301-537-1253.
Also on Saturday, May 5, from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., the Silver Spring
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station will hold its monthly open house
at 8100 Georgia Avenue (intersection of Sligo Avenue). Limited parking
available in front of station. This is the only building in downtown
Silver Spring listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Free .
For more information, call 301-495-4915.
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The Fairfax County Public Library invites you to a free event where
civil rights pioneer Julian Bond, chair of the NAACP, reveals how race,
technology, and immigration shaped today’s music. Please join us on
Tuesday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the McLean Community Center, located at
1234 Ingleside Avenue in McLean. Tickets to this free event will be
distributed on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 7 p.m.;
limit four per person. For directions, call 703-790-0123. To hear a
short interview with Julian Bond, listen to the library’s podcast at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library.
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Citizen Academy Environmental Issues Forum,
May 10
Maya Graham, mgraham@greaterdccares.org
The environmental impact of the new baseball stadium’s development,
the effect of the Anacostia River’s pollution on surrounding
communities, the fact that DC has some of the worst levels of air
pollution in the country, how urban tree cover is vital to community
health and economic efficiency — these issues of concern impact our
day-to-day lives and the future of our region’s standard of living,
and yet they are often not given the attention they deserve.
On May 10, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at 1727 I Street, NW, Greater DC
Cares will host a forum to discuss the major environmental issues listed
above, alongside others confronting our region. The forum will
incorporate conversation about the current state of the District’s
tree canopy, the Anacostia River’s pollution, global warming’s
effect on our neighborhoods, green building legislation and alternative
energy, the green living movement, and sustainable business practices.
It will equip you with the knowledge and specific, actionable steps to
directly contribute to local environmental causes. Panelists will join
us from The Casey Trees Endowment Fund, Friends of the Earth, and Live
Green, amongst others. If interested, please contact Maya Graham via
E-mail at mgraham@greaterdccares.org
or at 777-4445 to RSVP. As always, our event is free and open to the
public. Space is limited, so please sign up as early as possible.
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CPCA Meeting, May 15
George Idelson, Cleveland Park Citizens Association, g.idelson@verizon.net
The Cleveland Park Citizens Association meeting on Tuesday, May 15,
will feature an update on the Tregaron Conservancy and Washington
International School campus modernization, Also on the agenda will be a
question and answer session on the popular Cleveland Park Listserv and a
report on the CPCA officer slate for 2007-08. The meeting, which will be
at the Cleveland Park Library (Connecticut Avenue and Newark Street,
NW), starts at 6:30 p.m.
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